A/N: One day behind...

August 12th 2023

Chapter 222
On The Stroke Of Midnight

It was so very tempting for them to just not take down the decorations, to leave the house exactly as it was after December was done, into January, February, March, all year long if they felt like it. They had a house that felt so magical and full of cheer, and they couldn't have loved it more if they tried. But it wasn't just about the decorations, although of course they fit very well into the why. The biggest factor came down to Simon and Jackson Friar.

The one-year-old twins were mobile now, teetering along on their little feet, usually within hand's reach of one another, and whatever they understood of their house and why it was this way, it didn't matter so much as the fact that they absolutely loved it. Oh, they were so enthralled by all of it that they could almost have been left to their own devices, completely unattended, and they could have been fine… mostly… They'd just stand there, mouth agape, eyes wide, swaying along on their feet, especially when they were near the Christmas trees. They mostly kept their hands to themselves, but there were definitely some things that made their little hands want to reach out so much, so for that they definitely could not be left on their own.

They weren't the only ones to feel that way, but it was their fascination that would make everyone come to a full stop and take the time to take it in as much as they did. Maya and Lucas could both say that this Christmas had been everything they had wanted it to be and more, solely for the way that watching their children experience it all had allowed them to experience that magic, that spirit, in ways they hadn't done in far too long. They'd loved Christmas for so long, especially together, especially as parents, but never like this… on this year when they might have needed it the most. How could they put all of that in boxes, in storage? It wouldn't fit. Anyway, they weren't going to go and worry about all that, not for now. For now, the holidays were not over, so the magic would get to carry on for a little while longer.

This was thanks to the turn of the year coming around the corner, and while they might not have been ready to close the chapter on Christmas, they did very much look forward to New Year's Eve, too, so they had to start and figure out what they would do, more than the things that felt obvious by now. It was barely a question, not since the opening of Friar & Olsen's. New Year's Eve had now been bound to the bakery, and every time they rolled around to this point in time they were left to contemplate that they had been in business for another year, that the Olsens had been among them for that time, too, when they had been complete strangers, it felt, only a moment ago.

It was the same situation every year, as they started talking about the big countdown to midnight. The kids would claim that they would all keep awake for the big moment this time. No one would try and stop them, but they weren't going to force anything on them either. If they fell asleep, it would come down to the moment whether or not they tried to wake them up again in the last minutes to midnight.

As they headed into the bakery on the morning of the thirty-first, it was really a toss up whether or not the kids would manage to rest up and try for midnight. They'd all been given the choice to stay at home, but as that would mean missing out on the baking of the special New Year's Eve treats… No, they couldn't do that. So, they were all there, ready to roll up their sleeves and make things with their mother and her aunt and the young bakers.

Even after a few years, it still felt like the bakery had to be a dream sometimes. Maya had not forgotten the time she'd spent baking cakes in her kitchen, by herself, with Lucas, then with the likes of her sisters, of Ariel, and Stella, and Phoebe, the Brett girls… They were all growing up, too, her junior bakers, and maybe most of them would carry the things they had been taught only so far as being able to be that friend or family members tasked with making all the cakes because they were that good at it, but maybe some of them would take those skills and run with them, make a career of them.

At the top of that list was Lambert Day, for sure. He'd come right back to them, as soon as he could, after his accident, and his surgery and recovery. As soon as everyone was at ease letting him go, there was just no reason of holding him back. The bakery, the kitchen, was where he wanted to be, where he was most at peace, so they couldn't have kept him from it without feeling that they were going against what his heart wanted and his soul needed.

He was right there with them that morning, him and several others, as everyone prepared for the evening's party. They had been so very busy over Christmas, but this felt even busier to them, for the obvious reasons of their anniversary and the night they had set it. A new year for the world and one for the bakery, too.

"Hey, hold on, let me see, turn around?" Lambert came up next to Jamie as he climbed on top of his step to get at table level. The three-year-old very nearly idolized the Day boy, so he did as told when he was asked. "Yeah, better get that apron tied on right. You're going to be busy," Lambert told him before pulling the straps on either side and retying them at the small baker's back.

"I need my apron," Jamie recited with a nod as he patiently stood and let Lambert work.

"Yeah, sure do. Better?" he smiled, and Jamie reached around his back before nodding. "Good," he offered a fist for bumping, which Jamie gladly returned.

"Can they help, too?" Noah asked his mother, pointing to the twins, who were visible through the kitchen doors, back in the front of the bakery with Riley. The doors had been propped open, thinking better of leaving them to flap open and close each time someone went through on the busy day. They were exceptionally closed until noon, and they needed every second of every minute while they had them.

"They're still too little, Bee," Maya smiled at him. "Next year, I'm sure we can give it a try then. For now, they're better staying out there with Aunt Riley, okay?"

"Okay," Noah nodded. That wouldn't stop him from asking for anything he could bring out for the twins to taste. Whenever he'd get one, he'd run off and bring the offering out to his baby brothers and his aunt, and Riley would see to splitting it off for them to share. It was a good deal for all involved, including the one of them who would become a first-time mother in the new year. The twins, meanwhile, didn't take long to understand that, every once in a while, their big brother would have treats for them, so they started looking into the kitchen, squealing whenever Noah would run over to them. More than once, either Noah nearly crashed into people or the twins tried to scurry through the open doors themselves.

"Hey, Maya?" Riley's voice floated into the busy kitchen, and Maya took a step back to look at her best friend, fully expecting to spy one or both of her twin sons attempting to come and snatch up a snack of their own. Instead, while Simon and Jackson remained with her, Riley was nodding over to the main doors, which were locked shut. Out on the sidewalk, waving when she spotted her, was Mrs. Felicia Brown, the science teacher at her middle school. Maya was so surprised to see her there, and she moved at once to let her in.

"You know, this is on me, I should have checked to see if you were open," the older woman stated as they hugged.

"Please, you're always welcome," Maya smiled.

"Well, that's good to hear," Felicia chuckled. "I wanted to come and wish you a happy near year before Marlene and I drove out to our son's, and I figured you'd be here, today being… today…"

"I appreciate that," Maya smiled on. "I know that's not the only reason you're here, but I appreciate it."

"Am I that obvious?" Felicia hummed.

"Only in a good way," Maya promised her, and the fellow teacher liked the sound of that.

"It's only that I was wondering, with the turn of the year and all…" Again, her intentions revealed themselves without her having to say a word. She wanted to know when Maya would return to school, resuming her teaching post. One way or another, time moved onward, and she was physically recovered from her loss, but wasn't all of it, which complicated the question.

"I've been thinking about it," she informed her colleague. "I'm meeting with the principal in a few days," she went on to reveal, the news happily received.

She very soon saw Felicia out, locking the doors again, and before turning around she knew he'd be there, waiting for her. He would have heard her, and this meeting would have been news to him.

"This is good news, right?" she asked as she turned to him. He had that worried look on him again, the one that had been there, surfacing or not, since they'd lost their Sara, and part of her would have given anything to never have to see it again, to know that he never had to worry about her, but then that wouldn't have been her Lucas, would it?

"Yeah, if you're ready," he told her, coming up to put his arms around her.

"It's not like I'm not happy to be home with those two," she nodded over to the twins, "Or spending more time out here. But if I keep going that way, I'm not sure I'll ever go back, and I know I'll definitely regret that. And I miss it, miss the school, miss my students… I have to go back."

"Sounds like you do," he nodded. She wouldn't say it aloud, but she was feeling the thought bubbling in her chest, and she knew that he likely understood just where her head was at because of it. She was so sure that it was time, but what if she went back and she couldn't do it? She might just… break down, and then… "So, you've got a while to get used to the idea," he pointed out, and it made her smile. She did, didn't she? They would get through today, and tomorrow, and then she'd start preparing for that meeting, and then they'd set a date… and start looking forward to that date… prepare to see her students again…

"You want to come with me, first day back?" she looked up at him.

"I'll go whenever you want me to," he promised. "Am I just sitting and watching, or…"

"If you want to model, I'm not going to stop you, just remember there will be kids in the room," she gave him a small smile that made him laugh. There she is.

"I'll behave, I promise," he told her.

"Just until we get home, right?" she asked him. He crossed his heart with his finger, and she nodded her approval.

By the time noon rolled around and they opened their doors to the day's customers, the bakery had emptied out of a number of their helpers, as they'd done their part and retreated to their own families or activities for the day. Several if not all of them would be back again later on, at the approach of midnight, but in the meantime, they would have clients coming through, some of them also coming on the side of dear friends and honored guests.

Though they had not been able to come down for Christmas, they had the Minkus family in attendance, which would have been thrilling for that fact alone, but then seeing as their friends lived so far away and couldn't visit them nearly as often as any of them might have liked, when they did come together, it would be that much more wonderful. The days of their long summer visits were far behind them, but they were traded in for the pleasure of getting to spend time with their children up close This counted four-year-old Ada Marie, but it now also counted her nearly two-year-old brother Bertie.

Along with them, and giving the Friar twins a run for their money, were the Mantovani and Choi 'twins,' Elena and Eloise. Their sweet Lena and Lolo were just a couple of weeks older than Simon and Jackson, fourteen months old and some dust, and while they might have been born of the combination of one each of their mothers and fathers, they had the same birthday, had grown at the same time… They were twins to any and all who knew them, and that was all that counted. The girls looked very much like their mothers, though in both cases their father's side would be just as undeniable. Elena was very much the union of Chiara and Asher, while Eloise was a near perfect split between Sophie and Ray.

Last but certainly not least, when the Babineaux family came along, they brought along Freddie. He was the only one of their foster children still on hand at the moment, which was specifically upsetting to Freddie himself. He never liked seeing anyone go away, which was perfectly understandable to any and all even if they hadn't gone through anything like what he'd done in his young life, and not too long ago, just before Christmas, they had gone and said goodbye to all three of the others who'd been in the house of late. Bringing him here, Zay and Nadine hoped to give him something to make up in some way for the disappointing Christmas they'd all had.

Maya and Lucas were most motivated to make sure that this came to pass. Not so long ago, it seemed clear to them, they had been sure without any confirmation of any kind, that their friends had suffered the loss of what might have been one or even two children, a loss that could well have motivated their turn to fostering. And then weeks ago, when the two of them had suffered their own loss, the assumption had been confirmed. Twice it had happened to them, without having ever spoken of it with any of their friends. It remained a guarded secret now, shared only so far as the Friars, but the fact that it had been shared remained deeply important for that reason.

Nadine had been so good to Maya in those first days and weeks, so much so that Maya didn't know how she could have recovered without her. Lucas felt the same way toward his oldest friend, as much as he regretted their having this shared experience.

And now they were all here, this great pack of friends that they were, with a growing number of their children running around together, keeping them in smiles at every turn. It was all still so new to them, this idea that they could be parents together when not so long ago they had been the pack of kids running around. And in a matter of months they would have one more to add to this bunch, with Dylan and Riley's first coming along. If that didn't give them all something to root for in the new year…

That seemed to be the question on everybody's mind, as they advanced toward midnight. They still had time to go, but more and more it was clear that the people who came into the bakery were not just there to pick up something and go, and pick up something to sit and eat a while before carrying on with their day. People were starting to arrive in wait of the countdown, and among them were the grandparents and great grandparents. And as they might have expected, both Lucas and Maya were asked The Question: What did they look forward to in the new year, what were their resolutions if they had them?

For Lucas, when his mother asked him, the answer so far from him at first. Lately, all he'd been thinking about was Maya, and the children, and making sure that they would all be alright after what had happened back in November. It had been especially necessary with Maya, for what she had directly experienced, even though he knew that even she would not want him to keep thinking about all that and lose himself in the process. This had been a difficult time for him, too, and the turn of the year could bring him a lot of good if he let it.

So, what did he want? What did he see of his future in the year 2030? Well, despite what had happened near the end of this year, not all of the current year had been bad, had it? The biggest thing to come out of it all was the show, him and Ava taking their segments and growing them into this bigger project together. They were barely starting, and they had so much space to grow. That was easily the biggest thing he could think about just now, and it was as reasonable an expectation as there could be. He wanted to keep teaching young riders, work with his father… He wanted his wife and their children to have the best life they could have, all of them and him together. Beyond that, he couldn't really begin to put into words what he wanted, and that was okay for him. He was okay with not knowing what the future had in store for him. All he wanted to know was that they were about to start a new year, a new slate. He didn't need anything else, not so long as he had the people that he loved around him.

When the question was put to Maya by her father, even if she knew it was bound to come, it caught her off guard. It was just that… she didn't know what she wanted. Not unlike Lucas, her sight was set on what she already had and seeing that she got to hold on to all of it. She hated to think about how scared she'd been made by their loss. It wasn't as though she didn't know that it was something that could happen to her, but then it did, and it put forward this thought of what else could happen… At this point, her biggest resolution for the start of the new year was a return to appointments with Dr. Eisley. She'd considered it for a while but hadn't gone through with it until now. She had helped her so much in the past, and moving forward, it felt like the thing to do, for herself and for the family at large.

She didn't go and tell Shawn all that when he asked her the question, though of course he would be as supportive now as he had been in the past. She mentioned her gearing up to get back to work though, and her father was glad to hear it. The more they talked though, she did want to consider more of what she could do with this new year ahead of her. Some things went without saying. She wanted her family to be happy, to have a great year both together and on their own. She wanted to keep thriving up at the school as a teacher, and right here in the bakery as she'd done already…

She wanted to do more music. That was one thing she could say for sure, as soon as the thought came to her. She'd gotten to do more of it lately, thanks to her collaborations with her daughter, for her show with Lucas, and it had been a wonderful experience as much for what she got to share with Ava as for what she got to do on her own. Did she know exactly what 'I want to do more music' would translate into? Not yet, no. But already having that idea spinning in the back of her head was something she could work with.

"Hey, we've got a question for you," Maya smiled when she and Lucas had collected the kids and settled in around a table with them for dinner. It was only fair that they find out what they all had in mind, and as ways of starting a conversation at mealtime… "What do you guys want this new year to be like? What would you like to do?"

It was a strange concept for some of them to consider, as young as they were, but there was no worry for the boys, not when they had their big sister to lead by example.

"I want to write more songs," Ava started, receiving warm smiles from her parents for it. "And I want to get better at riding, so I can maybe do competitions," she revealed, which was a new thing for Maya and Lucas to hear. "And I… well…" she started, then stalled, her eyes giving her away just a bit for the way they darted to the side and back, thinking she hadn't been noticed. It might have been easier if she hadn't waved at her best friend when they'd gone and sat down, letting her parents know exactly where the Farrells were sitting. "I don't know, that's all I got," she tried to brush this off and not go red in the face until she rivalled her hair.

"Hey, Sweetpea?" Lucas lightly tapped her elbow, as he sat next to her. She looked up at him, eyes round with concern. He leaned in nearer to her ear. "You can tell us anything, yeah? We're with you all the way." She still looked doubtful when she looked at him again, at Maya, too. She was clever enough to understand what he might have been suggesting, but her face still read like she didn't want to assume anything, because what if she'd gotten it wrong and she gave herself away? Lucas gave her a nod, and she looked to her mother. Maya motioned for her to come around the table, so she did.

"We're always going to love you for exactly who you are, okay? Right here, right here," she tapped her finger over her daughter's heart, and over her own. "Promise. Got it?" Ava nodded, and there were tears welling up in her eyes. Maya stood to embrace her, and Ava hugged her back. The way they stood, Ava could not see what she saw in that moment, which was Kelsey Farrell, staring back at them, at the scene, with such genuine concern in her eyes… Maya tried to signal as best she could that everything was fine, but to see the way she kept staring, she needed more than that in order to stop worrying for her best friend. Right there, Maya had a feeling that her daughter would have a far better year than she could imagine, and whatever her unspoken wish for that new year had been, there were chances it would come true.

The more the evening advanced, the more things went roughly as Maya and Lucas had figured they would, so far as the kids attempting to stay awake until midnight. They had no concern where Ava was concerned, but the boys were another matter, those of them at least who had a vague idea of what was going on. It all came down to Elliott, Noah, and Jamie. Noah was trying the very hardest and, whether he realized it or not, was turning into the most likely to miss out on midnight. He was insisting to any and all that he was alright, that he was not sleepy in the slightest, but one look at him and he was clearly losing ground. They tried to get him to lie down somewhere and get a bit of sleep, promising that they'd wake him up when it was almost time, but he refused. In the end, he'd doze off, down like a rock, with fifteen minutes to go.

Elliott, for his part, would do well enough until about half an hour to midnight, where he would start blinking and yawning and rubbing at his eyes, but he would stick it out. The real trooper that night was Jamie. Maybe it was because he was at the bakery, and it was his favorite place to be, and he was so giddy at being there for so long, but he didn't show any sign of falling asleep. He was wide awake the entire time and playing the part of the youngest waiter on the job. People were so amused that they gave him tips. He had no idea what to do with them, so he'd just stick them in his apron and move on, figuring they were paying him and that it would all go in the registers.

"Should we wake him up?" Ava asked, leaning over the five-year-old Noah, curled up on the seat where Lucas had settled him. "He's going to be upset if he misses it."

"You know how he is when he's just woken up, don't you?" Maya smiled sympathetically. Ava knew just what she meant so, as unfortunate as it would be for him, she left her brother to sleep, there near the other sleeping children. The last minute of the year was upon them.

They all stood together, families, friends, guests, and they counted down the final seconds. Zero came, and it brought along the year 2030. There were cheers, hugs, kisses, all around them. The Farrells were not far away, and Maya and Lucas spied their daughter as she grinned and waved at her best friend and got the same back from her. They looked at each other, even as Lucas casually gave Ava a light nudge to the back, inciting her to go over and talk to Kelsey. She took the suggestion and was off at once.

"Happy New Year," Lucas told his wife, and her smile was easily the best thing that this new year had to offer so far.

"Happy New Year," Maya told her husband in return, trusting as she did every single year for as long as she'd been able to that, with him by her side, the wish had already come true.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners