Unfamiliar

[Taniya_K]

I can’t believe this is the last chapter of this fic. It’s been a long time coming, I guess, but it’s still a bit for me to end this fic.

I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who had read this, and the previous two, stories, and to everyone who has left a comment, whether just the singular one, or for every single chapter.

Also, a big big thank you to all those on the forum who kept pestering me to update, and helped me out when I couldn’t think anymore (although it’s probably their fault with their ness that I couldn’t think anymore! )

And a HUGE thank you to Naomi and Laura for all the times that I’ve bugged them, moaned to them, and kept them up until 3am just discussing fics and what to do, and what not to do.

Be warned: a long chapter to end the long story! Hope you enjoy, for the last time

Epilogue:

“Daddy!” The muffled scream reached his ears to pull him out of his relatively deep slumber. Before he could make another move or say something else, another yell accompanied it. “Daddy!”

Turning over onto his back, Aden look at the time as it glowed red in the darkened room. 3:12am it told him. Shaking his head lightly to wake himself up and get himself thinking, he pushed himself up onto his elbows just a second before the patter of footsteps could be heard and then pausing in front of his room. The bedroom door, which had been left open by a small margin, was pushed further carefully to the space that could only let in the small figure of an almost four year old.

“Daddy?” The whisper was barely audible, but in the dim light that shone behind her, Aden could make out the figure of his daughter standing by the door, dressed in her Tinkerbelle pyjamas.

“Yeah, baby. What’s wrong?” He replied with concern, though was glad that she seemed well enough to have climbed out of bed and made her way there. Without another word, and just the sounds of some shuffling, Aden felt a small dip in the empty bed as he relaxed onto one elbow to use the other hand to rub at his eyes. “Krissy-”

“There’s something in my room, Daddy.” She told him with an urgency. Her small hand shook his arm to make him look at her.

“What kind of ‘something’?” Aden asked her while dropping down his hand to her side. She had managed to crawl her way right up next to him and he could now see her other hand clinging tightly to the teddy that he had given her on the day she was born. A ghost of a smile made it’s presence on his lips as he remembered that day, and how Krissy never slept without that pink and purple bunny with wings and the words ‘Daddy’s Angel’ embroidered onto it’s feet.

“A ‘crawly.” She said fearfully in a low voice. Aden could see her blue eyes glisten at just the thought of it and clutch the teddy closer to her while her other hand stayed still on his arm.

“I’m sure it wasn’t.” He assured her soothingly and brushing back the dirty blonde hair that had fallen into her eyes. Cut into a fringe, just like her mother’s, it always seemed to stray into her eyes when sleeping or playing around, also like her mother. However, unlike Belle, their daughter’s hair was much longer; reaching halfway down her back in gentle waves.

“It was!” Krissy cried hurriedly. “It’s on the wall. And it’s big!”

“How big, sweetheart?”

“This big!” She dropped her teddy to take a hold of his arm and placed one hand on either end of his forearm to indicate how long the apparent lizard had been. “Daddy…”

“Ok, it’s ok.” Aden murmured when hearing her teary voice and seeing her bottom lip tremble. “Let’s go see if we can find it, yeah? Then you can go back to bed.”

“No!” She called out frantically, using her tiny hands on his chest to stop him from getting up. “What if it’s still there, Daddy?”

“Then we’ll get rid of it.” Aden informed her with a soft smile though relaxing back against the headboard and pillows as Krissy kept her hands on him to push him back.

“What if it hurts you?” She whispered fearfully. Keeping silent, he let out a chuckle at her young innocence and protectiveness.

“It won’t. I’ll make sure it won’t, alright?”

“But what if it does? What if it’s playing hide-seek and jumps on you? Like the other ‘crawly?” Krissy asked him worriedly, her hands now dropping down to her lap and grasping onto the soft toy once again.

“What other one, Krissy?” Aden questioned her in reply, curious as to when this had occurred and why he hadn’t been informed.

“The small green one.” Scrunching up her nose, she shook her head as if the thought of it made her skin crawl. “At the ca-ra-van park.” She sounded it slowly to avoid any mistakes or from getting her tongue tied around the difficult word. Even at the tender age of 3, Krissy had gained the stubbornness from presumably both of her parents, as well as the need to always be right, including using the right words most of the time.

“Then what happened, angel?” He asked her again, wondering whether her phobia of all things classes as creepy-crawlies, spider or reptiles had stemmed from this single event.

“Then it flew away.” She said matter-of-factly, using her hand to make a soaring gesture with a light shrug of her shoulders and Aden was pretty sure that the reason why she was telling him this story had been forgotten.

“It flew away? Are you sure about that, Krissy?”

“That’s what Uncle Ric said. After it went in-vis-, in-vis-.” Krissy struggled to finished off the word, her brow furrowed as she sought for it in her memory.

“Invisible?“ Nodding furtively at her father’s correct phrase, she let out a small yawn that reminded Aden of the time. “I promise you that this one won’t have hidden, or turned invisible, alright? And your Uncle Ric and I will be having words about that.”

“But, Daddy!” Krissy moaned as Aden lifted her up onto his lap, intending on taking her back to bed. “I’s scared!”

“What are you scared of it doing, sweetheart? I’ll make sure it’s gone, ok?”

“What if it comes back? What if it gets angry and tries to… eat me?!” Krissy added the last two words in a low whisper, laying her head down onto her father’s shoulder and sniffling softly to keep away the tears that dared to fall.

“It’s not going to eat you, honey. Daddy wouldn’t let that happen to you.” Aden reassured her while stroking her hair comfortingly and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Who told you that, anyway?”

“Uncle Drew.” She murmured without moving.

“Of course.” He grumbled to himself, making a mental note to have a word, and perhaps more, with him too. Letting out a sigh, Aden looked at the time once again to see that it was now 3:21am. “Let’s get you back to bed.”

“I wanna stay here.” Krissy told him before he even got the chance to throw the covers aside and get up. “Please, Daddy?” Looking at him with her bottom lip between her teeth and her eyes glassy, Aden knew that there was no way that he could say ‘no’ to her.

“Ok. But in the morning, we’re going to go back to you’re room, alright? Not like last time.” He said strictly, recalling when she had supposedly found a Pinocchio-like person under her bed a few months back and refused to re-enter her bedroom for a week. Needless to say, Krissy hadn’t seen either the movie or the ‘person’ ever again.

“Ok.” She agreed somewhat warily.

“Good.” Placing another kiss onto her forehead, Aden grinned when he heard her giggle at his actions before pulling the covers back to let her get in. Not needing another prompt, Krissy slid off his lap and onto the bed, and then under the covers. It was only when Aden laid back down again did he realise that there was in fact plenty of light coming in from both the balcony doors and the main door that he hadn’t needed to switch on the lamp.

Looking across at his daughter, Aden draped his arm around still form atop of the covers. She laid facing him with her teddy tucked safely under her chin and into her small body to keep it with her.

“Daddy?” She murmured suddenly. Opening his eyes that had drifted shut after having thought that she had fallen asleep, he gave her a questioning look as she carried on. “What if the ‘crawly comes in here?”

“It won’t, sweetheart. Now go to sleep, ok?”

“But the door’s open!” He could see her eyes look over his shoulder towards the open door when she added guiltily. “And my door’s open.”

“Come here.” Gently, Aden pulled her closer to him until she was shuffling herself up to him to lay her head right next to his, with her forehead resting lightly against his chin. One of her hands came free of the toy and clasped lightly at his chain that he still wore; a habit that she had had almost all her life. Using the arm that was around her, Aden held her tightly to him to make her feel as safe as he possibly could. “That better?”

“Night, Daddy.” She said after nodding and looking up at him in response to his question.

“Night, Krissy.” Aden waited once again until she settled back down and closed her eyes. Listening to her steady breathing, he watching her from under his lashes as she slept. With her eyes moving ever so slightly under her eyelids, he was finally certain that she was indeed asleep. Letting out a sigh of both relief and content, Aden closed his eyes and fell back into the peaceful slumber that he had been in before

---

“Here you go.” He placed the bowl with the pretty flower and fairy design onto the counter next to the little girl who was perched on it.

“I wanted chips.”

“You’ll get chips.” Roman told her with a gentle smile before nodding at the special plastic bowl that he had just prepared. “But you have to eat the salad first.”

“But I don’t like salad! It‘s rabbit food!” Krissy whined, crossing her arms petulantly at him as he got back to work with a couple more orders for the customers of the Diner. “Granddad?”

“I’m listening, Kris. It’s not going to change anything, but I’m listening.”

“No fair.” She muttered with a pout, letting out a loud sigh when she got no more attention from the only other person in the kitchen with her. “Why don’t I get chips?”

“Because you have to eat healthy too. Now c’mon. The quicker you eat that, the quicker you get your chips. And I know you eat it when your mum gives it to you, so you can’t tell me that you don’t like it.” Roman informed her pointedly, not missing the sudden perking up at the mention of Belle.

“Mamma only makes rabbit food. I have to eat it. Don’t like it…” Krissy explained to him, earning herself a humorous look. Shrugging nonchalantly, she pushed a piece of the iceberg lettuce from side to side with the plastic fork and carried on innocently. “That’s what Daddy calls it.”

“Well, your daddy’s not the best at cooking either, and some of this ‘rabbit food’ would do him some good too.” He replied with a chuckle, glancing over his shoulder at the young girl to see her fork a small portion of the salad into her mouth, chewing it carefully as if it were some kind of foreign meal. “It’s not going to hurt you, Krissy. There’s nothing to be scared of.”

“I’m not scared!” She insisted immediately. “I don’t gets scared.”

“Alright.” Roman simple answered, turning back to his job at hand. He knew that bringing up the fact that he knew of many occasions where she had in fact been scared, including having been filled in with what had happened the night before, would have gotten him nothing but a big tantrum, so he left her statement alone.

“Granddad, what’s this?” Krissy spoke up after a moment’s silence, holing up a small strip of orange with her fork.

“That’s a pepper.” He informed her after taking a quick peek at it over his shoulder.

“Why’s it orange?” She asked, tilting her head to the side as she stared at it intently. “Looks icky.”

“It tastes just the same as the green, red and yellow ones.” Roman told her to urge her to finish her meal.

“I want a blue one.” She replied before bringing the piece of pepper to her mouth and nibbling on it to try it. “I likes blue.”

“You don’t get blue ones, sweetheart. Just green, yellow, red and orange.” He explained to her, reaching around the little girl for a tissue as he prepared a burger on the opposite bench. “Now eat up otherwise you won’t have time to go to the beach with your aunty and uncle.”

“I’m eating.” Krissy huffed, finding herself another tomato and munching on that instead. “Why don’t you get blue ones, Granddad?”

“I don’t know, Kris. You just don’t.” He shrugged simply, carrying on with his job at hand.

“But why?” She prodded, her voice increasing in a pitch to show her annoyance at his blasé answer.

“I really don’t know.” Roman repeated, turning to face her with a soft smile. “Why don’t you ask your father? He’ll know.”

“Daddy knows everything.” Krissy agreed, nodding her head before forking some more lettuce into her mouth and making a small face at it’s crunchy texture. “Can I please have chips now, Granddad?”

“Hmm…” He pretended to think about it as the little girl put on an angelic face that made him sigh and give in. “Alright. Pass me the bowl.”

“Thank ‘ou.” She smiled widely, holding out the half-empty bowl to him, who took it and added some ships to the side. “Eww, Granddad! No mix!”

“If you want chips, you have to have it like this.” Roman told her strictly, placing the plate back next to her and hearing her sigh heavily. “Good girl.”

“I’m always good.” She said matter-of-factly, jabbing a fork through one of the chips and eating it slowly.

“What’s wrong with it?” He asked her in concern when she failed to eat them normally.

“I don’t wants them to taste like rabbit food.” Krissy informed him. Roman chuckled at her words, going back to his work when he saw her, finally satisfied with the taste, eat the whole chip.

There was a brief silence in the kitchen as neither one of them spoke, but rather focused on what they had been doing. The only sounds that reached their ears was the usual buzz of the Diner until a red haired woman entered the kitchen with a loud huff.

“It’s a madhouse out there for just the one person.” Irene exclaimed, dumping her purse in the corner before pulling on an apron.

“Hi, Nanna!” Krissy called out excitedly to the lady, waving at her even though she was only a few feet away.

“Hey, there, girly.” She replied in the same tone, though a bit more calmer. “Wow, don’t you look pretty! Where did you get this jacket from?”

“Aunty Nico made it.” She told her, not knowing that the elder lady already knew the details about the present that Nicole had sent for her niece from where she was at university in Queensland, studying fashion and business management. “It came in a special brown present on a plane. All the way to my house.”

“Really?” Irene gasped. “Well, darl, it must have been a special plane if it came all the way to your house.”

“Not the plane, Nanna! The present.” Krissy giggled. “And a letter.”

“What did the letter say?”

“I dunno. ‘twas for Daddy and Mamma. But I wears this.” She held out her arms so that Irene could see the blue, denim jack more clearly. The sleeves were only three-quarters in length, and as Krissy bent her elbows again, they were on show for her to tell her more stories. “Nanna, look. I gots an ouchie.”

“Oh no!” Irene exclaimed dramatically, taking hold over the slim arm and looking at where there was a band-aid just above her elbow. “How did that happen?”

“I felled off the horsey.” Krissy frowned, picking up another chip and eating it while Irene let go of her arm gently to cross her own ones.

“Aren’t you a bit too old for that rocking horse, Krissy?” She asked her sceptically, giving her a narrowed eyed look that made the girl in question look down in embarrassment.

“No…” She answered, munching on another chip as Irene chuckled and turned away to help Roman with the orders that had began to pile up.

Krissy sat, eating her chips and watching as two of her grandparents got about doing their jobs. With her legs swinging back and forth from where they hung down from the edge of the counter where she was sitting, she drummed out a repetitive sound that got louder and louder in the small kitchen area. A little while later, even after both Irene and Roman had given her odd looks, she began sway gently to the rhythm that she was making, not paying much attention to her actions until a sudden laughter broke her out of her world.

“What are you doing, Krissy?” Matilda laughed as she peeked into the kitchen from the doorway, watching the young girl as she danced in her seat, still munching away on her chips.

“Aunty Mattie! Can we go beach now?” Krissy asked in reply, going still as a wide grin cracked onto her face at the sight of one of her favourite aunts.

“After you’ve had your lunch, you can, missy.” Irene told her warningly.

“But Nanna…” She moaned, looking over at the almost empty bowl and then to the elder lady, before placing a hand on her tummy and letting out a heavy sigh. “I’m all filled up.”

“Hmm…” Irene eyed her carefully, knowing that the little girl would crumble if she was lying. When she simply looked back with a small smile on her face to show that she was telling the truth, Irene finally nodded. “Alright, then. Go on, get outta here.”

“Yay!” Krissy exclaimed, clapping her hands as Matilda came over to her.

“Ok, then, c’mon munchkin. Let’s get going.” She said, lifting her up into her arms as Krissy’s own arms looped around her neck to keep her steady, even as she frowned at her words.

“I’m not a munchkin.” Krissy shook her head. “I’m a Jefferies.”

“Well, you’re my munchkin.” Mattie insisted, giggling softly as she carried her out of the kitchen, waiting for the little girl to wave and shout her goodbyes to both Irene and Roman, and even Colleen in the end, before exiting the Diner and heading towards the beach.

“Aunty Mattie?” The young girl spoke up, halfway through on their journey to the beach.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” She replied, looking over at the girl before following her eyes as they stared at her left hand that helped carry her.

“I likes the shiny ring. Is pretty.” Krissy told her, reaching out to touch it with careful fingers.

“Thank you, honey.” Mattie smile, pressing a kiss to her temple, causing the girl to giggle at her actions. “But you need to do me a favour. It’s a big girl’s job…”

“I’m a big girl!” She claimed, pushing herself up with a hand of her shoulder to try and make herself taller as if it would back up her words. “I am!”

“I thought you were.” She laughed, stifling it quickly to act serious. “You have to keep this a secret from Mamma, ok?”

“Lying’s bad, Aunty Mattie.” Krissy frowned, repeating the words that she had been told frequently throughout her life.

“It’s not lying, Krissy. It’s just a secret.” Mattie added in a hush voice to make it seem more important. “I’ll tell her later, ok?”

“Ok.” She finally agreed, smiling widely. “I’m good at secrets.”

“I dunno…” Mattie pretended to think about it, causing Krissy to shake her head furiously and clapping both her hands over her mouth.

“No telling Mamma.” She said, the words just recognisable from where they were muffled by her hands.

“Alright. I believe you.” She nodded, using a hand to push back the hair that had fallen forward onto the 3 year old’s face from her head shaking.

“Look!” Krissy suddenly pointed over to the side at where a man got out of a black car, removing her hands from her mouth to lay the other one along her aunt’s shoulders. “Daddy!”

Matilda paused by the edge of the sand dunes to wait for him to make their way over, clearly having seen the two of them as he headed towards them as opposed to the Diner. Coming to a stop in front of them, he grinned widely as Krissy’s eyes took him in before scrunching her nose up in a way that reminded him of her mother.

“Yucky!” She squealed at him, dropping her hand back to hold onto her aunt. “Daddy all sweaty.”

“Oi, cheeky.” He chuckled, reaching out to her with a hand that she tried to get away from. Unfortunately for her, Aden managed to lay a hand on her back before leaning in and pressing a couple of kisses to her cheek that made her cry out in disgust.

“Ewww!” Krissy drew out, wiping her cheek with a hand. “Sweaty kiss.”

“I’ve changed my clothes, little princess. And my kisses are not sweaty!” Aden replied with a fake huff, that did nothing to change his daughter’s attitude.

“No bath, no clean.” She stated while crossing her arms strictly, reminding him of a phrase that both him and Belle used on her frequently.

“Got to agree with the girl, Aden.” Mattie interjected with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah. You would.” He rolled his eyes mockingly at her, making her laugh. The third person with them, totally clueless to what her father meant by his words, forgot about the fuss she had been making as she reached out a hand to tug on his t-shirt lightly. “What’s up?”

“Aunty Mattie’s shiny ring.” She told him in awe, letting go of him and touching the silver and diamond jewellery instead.

“Wow. Very pretty and sparkly.” Aden said, a grin breaking out on his face as he noticed the finger that it was on. “Did Ric give it to you?”

“Yup. Last night.” Matilda informed him, the smile contagiously spreading to her.

“Congratulations, I guess. Been a long time coming.”

“Tell me about it!” She exclaimed, rolling her eyes. “But you can’t tell Belle, yeah? I haven’t told her yet and I want to be the one to do so.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t want to get involved in any of that weddingy stuff.” Aden replied, smirking lightly. “Didn’t even bother with my own.”

“Daddy?” Krissy spoke up again, not understanding fully what the grownups were talking about. “Can I have one?”

“What?” He asked, confused and almost fearfully. “A wedding or a ring?”

“A shiny ring.” She told him matter-of-factly, pouting when the other two laughed at her words. “What’s funny?”

“Nothing, angel.” Aden answered, stroking her hair delicately and pushing it back behind her ears. “Maybe when you’re a bit older, ok?”

“Oh…” Krissy pouted disappointedly.

“Right, well, we were going to the beach, weren’t we, Kris?” Mattie added in a cheerful voice, hoping to get the young girl smiling away. “Uncle Ric’s waiting there just for us.”

“Yup!” She replied, the pout disappearing and being replaced with a smile that wasn’t as happy as it usually was.

“I need to go see Roman, but I’ll be back in about 20 minutes or so, and then we have to go.” Aden told her, eyes averting to his daughter to see that her unhappiness was still there. He had no doubt that within the 20 minutes spent playing on the beach would make her forget about her denied request, but he still wished that it wouldn’t take that long. Reaching out a hand to her, he curled his fingers under her chin to hold it gently and to make her look at him. “20 minutes, yeah, baby?”

“Alright.” Krissy sighed, her mind too preoccupied about her recent upset to remember her annoyance about his return from the gym.

“Hey, if you don’t want to come, then you can stay with Aunty Mattie.” He carried on, smirking lightly. “But you won’t get to see Mummy…”

“No!” She suddenly exclaimed, shaking her head and causing Aden to drop his hand. “I wanna come.”

“Good.” He smiled as her mood lightened up a bit at the mention of her mother. “Because I’m sure Mummy will want to see you too.”

“Ok, so 20 minutes.” Matilda repeated with a nod as Aden agreed and pressed a light kiss to Krissy’s forehead after saying his goodbyes to let them get on their way. He had just managed to turn away when he was called back again.

“Daddy, jacket.” Krissy simply said, holding her arms out towards him and upwards slightly. “Too hot.”

Rolling his eyes at both her minimal words and actions, Aden did as she asked and slipped off her denim jacket for her, leaving her in just her 3-quarter length jeans and a T-shirt that was more than fine for the warm sunny day they were currently having.

“Happy, now?” He asked her, chuckling lightly at the fact that she had already started to repeat her story about the scrape on her arm to Matilda. “I’ll take that as a yes, then.” He murmured to himself as he began to walk away again.

“Bye!” Krissy shouted at his retreating form a few seconds later. Twisting a bit, Aden waved in response to her yell, for which she waited for before she got back into her conversation with her aunty about her minor accident as they carried on down to the beach.

---

“Here you go, love.” Irene said, handing him a fairly large white, square box as she re-entered the kitchen from the stocking area. “I’ve even taped down the sides to stop the little missy getting into it until later.”

“Thank you, Irene.” Aden chuckled, looking at the edges to see the blue, thin strips keeping the flaps securely shut before placing it onto the counter next to him. “Now just to wait and see if it‘s the right one.”

“Darl, trust me when I say that there’s no way that you can go wrong with cake.” She huffed, flapping her hands as she got back to work. “You ought to know that after the past 6 years now.”

“Yeah, but Belle’s been a bit off with me for the past week. Something tells me I’ve done something wrong, and I haven’t even been around her for the week for her to know so.” He told her with pursed lips as he tried to think about it. “I think Krissy might have said something about all the fun outings and the junk food we’ve been eating.”

“Well, if she doesn’t know yet, she’ll know the second she sees you.” Irene said, eyeing his stomach pointedly as she got about to preparing a sandwich.

“Are you trying to say I’ve gotten fat?” Aden said in a fake hurt tone, crossing his arms after looking down at where she had before. “I just came from the gym, actually.”

“Alright, alright.” She exclaimed, holding up a hand as she went over to the fridge. “I’m not the one who needs to know all the details.”

“Besides, what was I supposed to do? Take a packed lunch of carrot sticks and celery everywhere we went?” He scoff rhetorically and sarcastically, picking up a cooling French fry from the bowl that he recognised as the one they kept for Krissy and eating it slowly. “She knew what would happen by letting us spend a week alone together. It’s her fault, really.”

“Aden, really, darl. I don’t care.” Irene told him, taking the bowl still half filled with chips out from his reach. “Shouldn’t you be going, anyway?”

“Oh, crap.” Aden winced, looking at the time on the kitchen clock to see that it was now just over 20 minutes since he had came to Diner to get the cake, only to have ended up chatting to Roman, Irene and a stressed out Annie on a break from her on-off relationship. “Thanks for the cake again, Irene.”

“Um, Aden…?” She called him back as he picked up the box and almost made his way out of the kitchen. “Forgetting something?”

“Oh, right.” He finally noticed the blue jacket lying on the side where he had placed it when he had first entered, heading over to it to pick it up. “She’d never speak to me if I forgot the jacket from Aunty Nico.”

Irene laughed at his mocking of the nickname, knowing that he really loved the relationship that Krissy had with his pseudo-sister, even if it had led to many tearful moments and a few tantrums when she hadn’t been allowed to go with Nicole when she went off to university. The last of which had been only a few months beforehand, at the end of the winter break, when the young girl had gotten as far as packing her small pink faux-Gucci bag, which had been a gift from the dotting aunt, with her essential toys and books the day before the blonde had been due to fly out to Queensland. It had been a very tearful task for Nicole to convince her niece that going with her would be a bad idea, finally swaying her into the idea of stay by reminding her that her parents wouldn’t be there.

“I’m sure Nicole wouldn’t appreciate it either.” Irene said, chuckling. “Matilda on the other hand…”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Aden laughed, rolling his eyes at the well known rivalry between the two girls that only seemed to have escalated with time, to the amusement of everyone else. “Righto, I’ll catch you later.”

“See ya.” She replied as he left the kitchen once again.

He wasn’t too surprised to see that the Diner had become busy once again, especially considering that it was the week off school and with the hot weather they had had, no-one had felt like staying inside much. As he made his way through the crowds, Aden smiled politely at the table of girls who were sat outside by the pier. Although he was still on his way to being a fully trained clinical psychologist, he had managed to gain some experience by working at the high school as a counsellor for small periods of time. He may have been a bit older now, and a bit more mature, the fact that he still got attention from the girls made him laugh and feel a bit arrogant, no matter how many times he had been told, usually by one person in particular, that he was going to end up with either a beating or a lawsuit if he didn’t stop smiling back at the girls.

Walking over to his car, Aden unlocked the doors via the remote control before opening the passenger seat door and placing the cake down onto it. He threw the jacket on top of it and then shut the door to look over at the beach and the sea. It was a calmer day, with more people surfing or just sunbathing than playing around. In fact, as he began to make his way over to where 4 people in particular were, Aden realised that it was only them who were playing games in the hot sun.

“… throw poperly!” He was able to hear his the end of his daughter’s huff as he reached the bottom of the sand dunes.

“Properly.” Aden corrected her, reaching where she stood barefoot in the sand.

“Daddy, Uncle Ric not playing poperly!” Krissy moaned at him, dropping the cricket bat that had been in her hand and looking up at him with a pout and squinted eyes in the bright sun.

“I am!” Ric argued from where he stood about 10 feet away, a small tennis ball in his hand that he had clearly been bowling to her.

“Not!” She countered, resting her hand on her hips in irritation after turning to face him.

“Ok, ok.” Aden interrupted at the man opposite them opening his mouth to disagree with what she had just said. “Anyway, we have to go now, Kris.”

“Wait!” She said hurriedly, picking up the discarded cricket bat and standing like she had been taught to when batting. “One more.”

“Just the one.” He warned, knowing that anything that started with ‘one more’ would end up with more than just the one, and a small tantrum.

“Promsies.” Krissy told him, using her own word for ‘promise’ that she refused to change for the actual one.

Sighing, Aden took a couple of steps back as he watched her concentrate hard on the slow ball that Ric had thrown before jumping back slightly as she swung the bat around to hit it, completely missing it and almost getting his shins instead.

“See?” She pouted, turning back to face him after dropping the relatively heavy bat. “I’s doing it poperly. Uncle Ric not.”

“How about we practice later, yeah?” Aden suggested to her, running a hand over her hair as her annoyance turned into an exhale. “Go say bye to Aunty Mattie and get your shoes back on.”

“Ok, Daddy.” Krissy replied sweetly, skipping the short distance to where Mattie was laying on the sand with an open magazine and a few essentials around her.

Picking up the ball that had gone just a few feet behind him, Aden tossed it in his hands before throwing it over to Ric, who caught it effortlessly.

“Mate, you don’t argue with a 3 year old.” Aden told him as he walked over to him, retrieving the wooden cricket bat on his way.

“Yeah, I’ve now learnt.” Ric muttered, accepting the bat from him.

“And you also don’t tell them scary, untrue things about geckos.” He said pointedly, making Ric smirk a bit sheepishly before chuckling nervously.

“It was just a joke.” He replied with a small shrug. “She didn’t believe it until Drew added his bit. Even then, I doubt she actually believed it.”

“Trust me, she believed it.” Aden informed him, crossing his arms loosely. “Now, it’s probably going to take her ages to stop believing it.”

“She’ll get over it soon. We were just joking around.”

“Yeah, Belle’s gonna find it really hilarious.” He told him, this time the smirk on his face. A small look of horror, mixed with some fear and perhaps amusement, passed Ric’s face, but before he could open his mouth to say anything, the little girl they had been talking about approached them. Or rather, approached Aden, coming to stand next to him and tug lightly at his jeans.

“Daddy, look.” Krissy said urgently, carrying on with trying to gain his attention without looking up at him.

“Honey, I’m looking.” He said, prying her hand away from his jeans before seeing where her eyes were focused on her bent elbow. “What happened?” He asked, lifting her up into his arms when she failed to answer or look at him.

“My ouchie’s bleeding.” She told him, though he could already see it from where the band-aid that had been upon it had now peeled off.

“Ok, how about we go home, and we’ll put another plaster on it, yeah?” Aden replied, letting go of the injured arm, glad to see that it wasn’t actually bleeding but just tinged red to make it appear so to the young girl. “Did you say bye and thanks to Aunty Mattie?”

“Yup.” She nodded, before turning to look over at Ric. “Bye, Uncle Ric.”

“What, I don’t get a thank you?” Ric asked her in mock incredulity, to which Krissy simply shook her head.

“You don’t play poperly.” She explained, laying her head back down onto her father’s shoulder as he laughed at her words.

“Well, she told you.” Aden chuckled as Ric simply rolled his eyes, the two of them walking over to where Mattie was so that Aden himself could say bye and thank her before making him way back up to the car park.

By the time they had made it to the car, Aden was surprised to find that Krissy was still awake when she lifted her head up from his shoulder. She hadn’t spoken a word, nor moved, from the second she had laid her head down, and he had assumed that the activities of the day had taken a toll on her.

“Wanna sit in front.” She said, pushing away from him and looking more awake than ever as Aden reached for the door handle to the back seat. “Please?”

Not saying a word, Aden looked at her and thought about it. Mentally calculating how long the journey home would be, how many dangerous portions to it there were, and how many times over Belle would kill him if she found out about it, he sighed when Krissy continued to stare at him with her innocent eyes and adorable smile on her face.

“Alright, but just this once.” He gave in, placing her onto the ground as he opened the door and retrieved the items that were currently taking up the seat.

“What that?” Krissy asked, eyeing the white box carefully after she pulled her jacket off of it when Aden took them out of the car before placing the cake box onto the roof of it.

“It’s a secret.” Aden simply replied, the smile now on his face as he helped her into the seat and pulled the seatbelt across her body. She laid her denim jacket over her lap, kicking her legs that were out straight in front of her with some amusement. “Here, you have to do a special job for Daddy.”

“Ok!” She immediately agreed, excited as he brought the cake box back to her and placed it atop of her lap, and subsequently her jacket.

“You have to hold this and make sure nothing happens, ok? That means no moving around or letting go of it.” He instructed her, watching as she wrapped her arms around it even though they only reached halfway around. “You think you can do that?”

“Yup!”

“Good.” He nodded before turning to make sure that the door was locked and unable to be opened from the outside and then shutting it. Walking around to his side, Aden climbed into the driver’s seat and had the engine started and ready to go within seconds. “You ready, angel?”

“Yup!” Krissy repeated, keeping her eye trained on the box in her hands and staying as still as she can. Smiling at the great care that she’s taking, Aden pulled out of the parking slowly, both aware of the young girl sitting next to him, and the cake in her hands, knowing that hurting either of them could be one of the worst things that he could do.

---

Rubbing his hair thoroughly with a towel, Aden stepped into his bedroom. The room was much cooler than the bathroom that he had just exited, mainly due to the fact that his quick shower had been one of marginally hot water. Although it felt nice, the sudden change in temperature raised goosebumps upon his upper bare body, causing him to walk over to the dresser and pull out a t-shirt that he intended on wearing atop of the jean that he had already pulled on.

However, Aden had simply managed to throw the towel onto the bed before the shirt also joined it when a muffled scream, just like from the night before, reached his ears.

Aden made his way out of the bedroom and down the hallway where Krissy's room was situated, his normal pace hurrying up when she called for him once again, this time her voice filled with both fear and tears.

Reaching the half open door, he almost froze at the sight before him. With many teddies strewn around her where she was by her small, white cupboard, Krissy stood with her arms crookedly caught in the air and a grey hoodie over her head lopsidedly.

By the time she called once again, fighting slowly against her own imprisonment, Aden had made his way over to her. Crouching on the floor before her, he laid a hand gently on her waist to still her movements.

“Stay still, honey." He instructed, not surprised when she went completely still at his words. He could hear her sniffling through the thick fabric as he figured out that her mistake had been trying to pull the jumper down over her head via a sleeve.

"Hurry, Daddy." She cried as he reassured her that he was before tugging slowly on the hoodie to pull it upwards while holding onto the t-shirt that she on underneath so not to pull that off too. It only took seconds for him to rid her off the entrapment, letting the grey clothing fall to the floor as he took her in.

Apart from the glassy and wet eyes and the trembling lip, Krissy looked completely fine. Of course, her actions had caused for her hair to go in all directions, for which Aden reached out a hand to smooth down and sort out as well as he could.

"You ok?" He asked her gently.

"Yes." Krissy whispered, Aden watching as she nodded timidly, sniffling lightly as a tear leaked out of her eye and made it's way down her cheek.

“Alright, come here, angel." He sighed, allowing her to walk into his open arms. Her tiny slim ones wrapped themselves around his neck as she buried her face into his shoulder, letting him to hold her little body to him tightly and rub her back comfortingly as she began to stop crying. "Shh... Daddy's here now."

"I's scared, Daddy." She whispered back, clinging onto him tighter as he carried on hushing her until she relaxed her posture a bit.

"Daddy was scared, too. This is why you wait and ask for help, ok?" Aden told her, his tone both forceful yet loving enough for her to not mistake it as yelling. "You wait for me or Mummy before you do or try on something new, yeah?"

"Ok." Krissy replied quietly, backing away from her father and allowing him to wipe away her now-ceased tears from her cheeks. "Daddy gots scared?"

"Yeah, sweetheart." Aden smiled lightly, stroking her hair softly as he did so. "I always get scared when you call like that or cry."

"Sorry." She replied seriously and a bit sheepishly. "I's just looking for my teddy."

"Which one?" He asked her, dropping his arms to rest on his crouched knees as she took a couple of steps away from him. "The bunny's up on your bed, Krissy."

"Not Bunny." She said, shaking her head while going back to her small cupboard. "Snakey."

"The colourful one?" Aden questioned, smirking to himself as Krissy placed her hands on her hips while staring narrow-eyed at the are around her. It was a spitting image of Belle, especially the pursed lips, when she couldn't fond something in particular.

"Uncle J's Snakey." She told him, making him nod.

"That's the one I'm talking about." Aden informed her, making her turn to him with the question of where it was on her face. "It might be in the other room with your other toys."

"Oh." Krissy replied before beginning her way towards the door. Unluckily for her, she made her way past Aden, who grabbed her by the waist and pulled her towards him to stand between his bent legs, facing the mess in front of them.

"Clean this up first." He instructed her, making her whine.

"But Daddy!" She moaned, stomping a foot in annoyance while crossing her arms. "Cleaning's boring."

"You know you have to tidy up at some point." Aden carried on, resting his chin lightly on her shoulder. "Do it now so when Mummy comes you can play with her, yeah?"

"But I wants Snakey." Krissy huffed, turning around to look at him with a tiny pout and puppy dog eyes that he knew her one of her aunts had taught her.

"Fine. But you tidy this up or Daddy goes alone to get Mummy, alright?" Aden told her strictly, making her smile happily.

"Promsies." Krissy vowed, holding out her little finger towards him to make her promise stick.

"Good." He smiled, hooking his own pinky finger around hers for a second before pressing a kiss to the back of her fingers and then standing up. "Now, c'mon, sweetheart. We have to go in 10 minutes, ok?"

"Ok." Krissy agreed, practically skipping out of the room and towards the room that use to be her nursery. After she had grown too old for it, they had decided to pack away the crib and other baby stuff, leaving simply the toys and dresser in there. It stored mostly everything that was Krissy's in the house, apart from her teddies and the rocking horse which were in her room.

Following her out of her room, Aden wasn't too surprised to see that the young girl was already on her way back, the multi-coloured snake as old as her wrapped around her waist to keep it from trailing on the ground.

Re-entering his room, he headed straight for the top that he had thrown onto the bed and pulled it on. He picked up the damp towel that was next to it, wincing as he saw the small water stain it had left on the bed sheets. Knowing that if Belle had been there, he would have gotten a tut and a predictable teasing about how useless he was and why she even bothered with him after over 6 years.

The thought bought a smile to his face, throwing the towel into the hamper in the bathroom before returning to where the vanity table was to sort out his hair. Sticking out on all directions from where he had rubbed furiously at it, Aden simply ran a hand through it a couple of times to get it to stand up in one way, knowing they would dry a bit flatter.

A small beep from his phone told him that the reminder he had put on it was now activated, and as he looked at the time, Aden hurriedly went to the bathroom to retrieve his watch and the chain that he had taken off before going to the gym. He had only stepped a foot across the threshold when the familiar patter of an almost 4 year old sounded from the room he had just left.

"Krissy..." He said warningly as he glanced over his shoulder to see her climb onto the bed and jump slowly.

"Daddy..." She replied in the same tone, cheekily, and jumping a bit higher but making sure that the bed springs didn't squeak. A giggle joined her words before she carried on with what she came in to see him for. "Daddy, can I have a pony for my birthday?"

"Maybe when you're older, baby." Aden replied automatically, having heard her pleas for a horse or a pony many times lately.

"Can I have a piano?" She asked him instead, making him pause from where he was sorting out his hair once again, this time the bigger mirror letting him see himself better.

"A piano?" He repeated in confusion, continuing with his hair for a second longer. "You can't play the piano."

"Can too!" Krissy answered him instantly, her voice carrying an insistent tone. "I play Grandma's."

"Oh..." Aden murmured, recalling the baby piano that Amanda had in her house, though he hadn't been aware that anyone played it well enough to teach his daughter. "We'll see, yeah?"

"Please, Daddy?" She pleaded. Aden sighed and checked his reflection before turning to leave the bathroom.

"Let me talk to Mummy about it first." He told her, frowning as the bed and the little girl came into view. "Get off the bed, angel."

"But it's fun...!" Krissy moaned, not stopping but slowing down her actions. Even though she was in the middle of the bed, with the long, snake teddy in her hands, there was a nervous feeling inside of him that she was going to get her leg stuck around it and fall.

"I don't care if it's fun." He replied sternly, standing at the end of the bed with his arms crossed and watching her carefully. "What have we told you about jumping on the bed?"

"It's fun?" She said, smiling sweetly at him as if it would lessen the fact that she was still bouncing up and down.

"Krissy." Aden simply said, strictly, not amused by her joking around.

"I mights fall and get a big ouchie." Krissy answered his previous question, a sigh accompanying her words.

"Then why are you still jumping? Do you want to get hurt and go to the hospital?" He warned her as she merely shrugged in response. Her bouncing hadn't stopped but she had looked away from him. "Sierra, stop and sit down now, or you're not coming to pick up Mummy."

The threat, along with the rare use of her first name, made her actions stop almost immediately. She stayed standing for a moment, watching her father as if to see if he was kidding around before sitting down like he had said when his stiff posture told her that he wasn't.

“Good." Aden nodded, uncrossing his arms and rounding the bed to the side nearer to the door. "You ready to go?"

"Yup." She answered, nodding her head and shuffling slowly towards him until she was close enough to reach out for him. There wasn't any need for words as Aden lifted her up and dropped a kiss onto her head before placing her safely onto the floor.

"Ok, then. Daddy's almost done, too. But if you be safe and promise to hold onto the railings, you can go downstairs." He informed her while perching on the edge of the bed.

Krissy grinned widely at his words. Being allowed to go down the stairs alone was a privilege for her, and she did it as carefully as she could every time she was told she could. A mere 'ok, Daddy' was her response as she ran out of the room, slowing only when Aden yelled out at her that she'll get hurt if she doesn't stop.

Shaking his head amusingly, he pulled on his socks before slipping on his sneakers, tying them quickly as he caught sight of the time once again. Even though he had kept an eye on the time all day, somehow he was now nearly running late to the reason why he had been so careful that day. There would be endless teasing from Belle if he was.

Aden stood up as soon as he was done, heading straight out of his room without another glance. He could hear soft chatter coming from Krissy, presumably playing with her teddy, as he climbed down the stairs. By the time he had reached the bottom, the girl had stopped in her conversation before pushing herself up to stand on the couch that she had been sitting on.

“Ready, Daddy?” She asked him, dropping the multi-coloured snake onto the sofa next to her as she grabbed onto the back of the couch to help her keep her balance when Aden rounded behind it.

“I think so.” He replied, before checking to make sure he had everything. “Watch, phone, wallet-”

“I can't see phone.” Krissy interrupted him with a frown on her face.

“It's here.” Aden assured her, patting his jeans pocket where he had put it earlier. “Right, c'mon then, kiddo. We need to make a move on.”

“Got keys, Daddy?” She enquired when he lifted her up into his arms from the sofa. He paused on his way towards the door, making the little girl giggle while looping her arms around his neck. “Silly Daddy.”

“Hey!” He scowled playfully, tickling her stomach to make her squeal and shriek in giggles as he retreated back towards where his car and house keys were placed on the kitchen table. “Ok, got my keys, watch, phone, wallet, baby girl... Anything missing now, smarty-pants?”

“Just Mamma.” She answered with a nod, making him smile before pressing a kiss to the top of her head as he walked towards the front door once again.

“Good. Do you want the teddy?” Krissy nodded furiously at his words, letting loose one arm from around his neck to allow him to hand the snake to her on their way out. Aden had managed to open the door and turn back around to close it when something odd caught his eye. “Honey, where are your shoes?”

“Oops. I forgots.” She replied sheepishly, giggling softly while looking down at her bare feet as Aden rolled his eyes and let out a small chuckle. Re-entering the house, he went straight over to where her shoes where lying around on the floor before bending down and picking up a pair of sandals.

“Will these do?” He asked her, holding them out in front of them.

“Yup.” Krissy said simply, pressing her lips to his cheek to kiss him quickly. “Love 'ou, Daddy.”

“Love you, too, angel.” Aden replied, tightening the arm that held her in a short form of a hug as they exited the house once again.

Making sure that the front door was locket, Aden carried on down towards where his car was parked on the driveway, unlocking it with the remote button on his keys. Opening the back door closest to him, he lifted Krissy into her booster seat before helping to strap her in. There was a muddle of hands and soft toys as Aden tried to get the job complete, only getting it done when he manually stopped Krissy from 'helping' him out and tied her hands up with the snake teddy bear.

“No fair.” She huffed, shaking her arms to try to rid herself of the tie around her wrists. “Daddy...!”

“Hold on a second.” Aden murmured, finishing with the straps on the seat before picking up the sandals that he had thrown onto the floor to place next to her. “Put these on, yeah?”

“Ok.” Krissy agreed, holding out her hands towards him to allow him to undo the tie around it. Tugging on it lightly, the colourful teddy came undone from around her hands and she grabbed for it before Aden could even get his hands to move. “Mine!”

“Yeah, yeah.” He rolled his eyes, a smile forming on his face nonetheless before backing away and standing straight to shut the door, making sure that it was childlocked.

Aden rounded the back of the car to get to the driver's side before opening the door and getting in. Once he was seated and had stuck the key into the ignition, turning it to start the engine, he pulled on his seatbelt and averted his eyes to the rear-view mirror briefly. The sight of Krissy trying to put on her shoes, concentration written all over her face as she leant forwards to reach her feet and her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth, made him chuckle to himself as he finally began pulling out of the driveway for the hour-long drive to the city.

---

“Where Mamma coming from?” Krissy asked.

“Perth.” Aden replied, glancing up at the arrivals board in the airport, waiting for it to change so that he could find the right flight that Belle was on.

“Oh.” She replied, craning her head back, bumping it into her father’s one as she did so, causing them to both laugh as she freed a hand from where it gripped onto his t-shirt to rub the bit she had hit. “Sorry, Daddy.”

“It’s alright.” He said, hitching her higher in his arms before pressing a kiss to her forehead and then looking back at the arrivals board. The flight that he had been looking for was now there, but to his disappointment it was late. “Looks like we’re going to have to wait a little bit longer, sweetheart. Mummy’s plane’s late.”

“No fair.” Krissy said, sighing heavily and clutching onto her father’s top once again as he simply stood there, looking at the board.

“So, what do you want to do now?” Aden asked her, slowly walking away and towards the rest of the terminal. Even though they were in the arrivals section, it was fairly busy and crowded, with quite a few of shops.

“I wants to see the planes!” She answered with enthusiasm, clapping her hands as she leaned away from him before pointing over to the end of the terminal, where there was an entire wall made of glass. “Look, there!”

“I see it, Krissy.” He assured her, pulling down her arm and taking the two of them towards the café that was situated right in front of the massive glass window that overlooked the runways.

Reaching the café, Aden headed to one of the empty tables that was, luckily for them, right next to the window. He lowered Krissy down onto one of the chairs, only for her to keep standing and press her hands up against the cold glass to peer outside.

“Careful, honey. Don’t get too close to the edge of the seat.” Aden warned her, taking the seat opposite her and leaning forwards so that he could reach out across the table to hold her if he needed to. The only reply that he got a was small nod of the head as kept on watching the planes.

Ordering a coffee for himself and an orange juice for his daughter, Aden pulled out his phone from his pocket, hoping for a message from Belle telling him if she was any closer to landing. Even though he could see the arrivals board from where he sat, it was telling him that the plane was due within the next 10 minutes. But he knew that there were a few times when the plane would land earlier than stated, though he doubted that this would be one of those times.

“Daddy?” Krissy broke into his thoughts as she took another sip from her juice and turned back to watch a plane lift off with awe. “How do planes stay up?”

“They fly.” He replied, his words forcing a look of confusion to spread across her face as she looked over at him. “Like a bird. But planes have engines.”

“Like a car?” She questioned, tilting her head to the side as she thought about it.

“Yup.”

“Is it scary?”

“It can be.” Aden shrugged in reply, leaning back in his seat when Krissy stood steadily in the middle of her chair.

“Daddy scared of planes?” She asked him a bit intriguingly, her brow furrowing as she spoke.

“No, but Mummy was. Still is a bit.” He confessed to her.

“I’m not!” Krissy exclaimed, smiling wide as if it was a huge accomplishment.

“That’s good.” Aden said, reciprocating her smile and sitting forwards once again as she turned back to the planes.

“I wanna go on plane.” She announced, not to the surprise of Aden. “Go Disneyland and see Tinkerbelle and Cinderella!”

“One day, baby.” He replied, chuckling. “If you’re a good girl, then we’ll all go one day.”

“Yay!” Krissy squealed, shuffling to the edge of her seat before stepping onto the small ledge that was in between the window and their table. She only had to take two steps before Aden had swept her up into his arms and onto his lap. “Can we go now?”

“No, not now.” He laughed as she turned to face him, hands resting on his shoulders as she sat down on the table behind her. “You still have school to go to, remember? And Mummy and Daddy have work.”

“But I wanna go on plane!” She huffed, crossing her arms and pouting lightly.

“Well, technically, you have been on a plane.” Aden told her, reaching out a hand to brush back her hair and coerce her out of her mood. “You just don’t remember because you were in Mummy’s tummy then.”

“No fair.” She sighed again, the pout disappearing while one of her hands came out to hold onto his.

“Sorry.” He apologized light-heartedly to her. “We’ll go somewhere this year in the summer holidays. If you’re good until then, of course.”

“I’m always good.” Krissy said proudly before holding out her little finger towards him. “Promsies?

“Promsies.” Aden agreed, using her own word before pulling her off the table. “Now c’mon. We have to go get Mummy.”

---

Aden pressed the menu button on his phone once again not surprised when the locked screen showed him that there were no new messages or missed calls. Although the plane had landed almost 30 minutes previously, they were still waiting for her to appear from beyond the doors that separated them from the her.

A heavy exhale from the girl in front of him, sitting on the barrier that formed some kind of walkway for the new arrivees, made him tighten the arm that he had wrapped around her waist to keep her from falling. He dropped a kiss to the top of head just as the phone came to life in his hand.

“Belle.” He sighed in relief as he answered the phone.

“Where?” Krissy asked him suddenly, scanning the area around before turning to see the phone that her father was speaking into. “Hi, Mamma!”

“Krissy says hi. Where are you?” Aden said before the person on the other side of the phone could get a word out.

“I heard.” She laughed. “And I’m close. I knew you’d be getting impatient so I though I’d just ring and let you know that in a matter of seconds, I’ll see you.”

“That soon?” He asked, eyes averting to the doors that were now opened, but with only a small steady stream of people coming through.

“In fact…” Belle trailed off, humour clear in her tone as she paused.

“Yes…?” Aden prompted.

“I can see you two right now.” She informed him, making his head snap right up and search for her. It wasn’t the easiest of tasks; considering that Belle wasn’t a tall person as such, but he was soon able to spot her. The phone was still at her ear, the soft smile on her face being translated into a light giggle into his ear, while pulling a small suitcase trolley behind her.

“Look.” Aden pointed out to Krissy, who had still not been able to see her mother.

“Mamma!” She called out happily, waving frantically until Belle snapped her phone shut and waved back. “I see her!”

“I know.” He laughed, pocketing his own phone as she approached them. It didn’t take long before Krissy’s small hands were on the arm around her waist, hoping for him to let her go to her mother. “Alright, calm down, gorgeous. Let her reach us first.”

The words had just left his mouth when Belle came into reach for them, and the second she let go of her luggage, the 3 year old reached out with both arms for her. Gladly accepting the invitation, Belle hugged her tightly before picking her up into her arms, careful of her feet as she let out a dramatic groan.

“Baby, you’ve grown!” She told her, hitching her higher in her arms as she balanced her on her hip.

“Really?!” Krissy asked in amazement, leaning away a bit to look down at herself.

“Yup, I’d say so.” Belle told her before turning her attention to Aden, who was waiting patiently on the other side of the metal barrier. “Hey.”

“Hey…” He copied, accepting the brief kiss that she pressed to his lips. “Everything ok?”

“It is now.” She smiled, bringing her suitcase in front of her so that he could take it. “I’ll meet you in a second.”

“Where you going?” Krissy immediately asked, a bit alarmed, looking back and forth between her parents.

“Well, we need to go around this so we can get to Daddy.” Belle told her, tapping the barrier lightly, knowing that Aden had gotten the idea as she walked away to do as she had said.

“Oh.” Krissy simply replied, before wrapping her arms around her mothers neck once again and resting her head against her shoulder lightly. “Missed ‘ou, Mamma.”

“I missed you, too, sweetie.” She said, tightening her arms slightly in a form of a hug.

“What about me?” Aden asked as she came to stop in front of him, a smirk playing on his lips.

“I think I might have missed you.” Belle answered, mockingly exasperated, a twinkle always in her eyes. “Just a bit, though.”

“Good to know.” He said matter-of-factly as they made their way out towards the car park.

“You know,” She began, looking over at him with amusement. “There’s a reason why that has wheels.”

“Yeah, but it’s easier like this.” Aden shrugged, glancing at her and at Krissy as she lifted her head up to see what they were talking about.

“Sure, sure.” Belle replied nonchalantly. “You just wanna show off.”

“Show off, what?” He asked her incredulously, a smile tugging at his lips nonetheless, making her edge a bit closer to him so that she could lower her voice for him.

“All them muscles.” She whispered a bit sultrily, that earned her a curious and appreciative look from her husband.

“That why Daddy goes to gym.” Krissy spoke up, clearly having heard her words, though Belle was glad that she was too young to understand the more distinctive tones of voice. “Daddy went today.”

“He did?” Belle asked her. “So what did you do when Daddy was at the gym?”

“Granddad made me eat salad.“ She informed her with a grimace. “Then I’s at the beach with Aunty Mattie and Uncle Ric.”

“Wow, sounds fun!” She replied, coming to a stop at the elevators that would take them to where the car was parked.

“No, cos Uncle Ric don’t play poperly.” Krissy huffed. “But Daddy said we can practice.”

“And we will.” Aden assured her, feeling her eyes on him until he looked over at her. “Tomorrow.”

“Uh, not tomorrow.” Belle quickly interrupted as the elevator finally pinged to signal it’s arrival. “We’re at Mum’s, remember?

“Yay, Grandma!” Krissy exclaimed, clearly happy with the prospect of seeing Amanda.

“You only like it because your grandma spoils you with sweets and presents.” Aden countered, reaching out a hand to tickle her quickly, making her squirm and giggle as they stepped onto the lift.

“I like presents.” She stated straightforwardly, resting her head against Belle’s shoulder once again. “Uncle Ric gave Aunty Mattie shiny rin-” Krissy cut off her sentence half finished, straightening her posture as she remembered her promise. She covered her mouth with a hand, looking first at Aden, who was signalling her to be quiet, and then at Belle, who was pointedly ignoring the two of them and focusing on the strap of her bag on her shoulder. “Oops.”

“’Oops’ what?” Belle asked, glancing up at Aden, understanding the cautious look that he was giving her before facing Krissy. “I’m sorry, darling, I didn’t hear what you said.”

“It’s ok.” Krissy hurried replied, relief flooding her as she relaxed.

“What else did you do while I was away?” She questioned her and pushed back her dark blonde hair, hoping to move past her mistake.

“We had fun!” She exclaimed, making Belle laugh. “We went to the zoo, the park, shopping, cinema…”

The list carried on, including a few descriptions, as Belle simply nodded and added a few agreeing sounds along the way. The lift they were in was taking it’s precious time, and as she glanced over at Aden, she wasn’t too surprised to see that he was in his own world.

Unwinding her arm from where it kept a hold of Krissy, Belle reached out towards his, grasping it lightly until he slipped his fingers in between hers and tightened it. She raised an eyebrow at him when he looked at her, only for him to give her that smile, never failing to make her tummy flip or her heart to skip a beat, even after so long.

A smile making it’s way onto her face, Belle threw him a cheeky wink while tugging him closer as the elevator came to a stop at where they needed to get off. She had just managed to step off the metal box when Krissy’s words came back into focus to her as she showed her the injured elbow.

“Does it hurt?” Belle asked her sympathetically, holding her arm in one hand to take an exaggerated look at it as Aden guided them towards their car.

“Yup.” She nodded before sighing. “Daddy kissed it better, but it don’t work.”

“Liar!” Aden cut in, gasping dramatically at her words. “Who was playing happily today? And yesterday?”

“Well, even so…” Belle laughed, pulling the injured arm up to her lips and pressing a kiss as close to it as possible. “There we go. All better.”

“I hope so.” Krissy said, a heavy tone to her words as if the minor scratch was a huge burden upon her. The other two chuckled at her words; Belle brushing a kiss to her forehead as they approached the car. “My car!”

Deciding against asking Krissy when she had become the official owner of Aden’s black Audi, Belle opened the back door of it and helped her climb into her seat, grabbing the teddy that laid there on the way. Strapping her in within seconds, she climbed into the front passenger seat and was joined by Aden In the driver’s side soon after. It wasn’t long before they were back onto the road, and with Krissy’s continue play by play of what they had done for the past 5 days that Belle hadn’t been there, she partially relaxed at the knowledge that she was home again.

---

“No, don’t, Daddy!” Krissy squealed, jumping away from Aden when his hand reached out towards her. “Mamma, Daddy’s cheating!”

“I’m not!” He added quickly. Aden knew that Belle would know that he was, in fact, trying to cheat even from where she was in the kitchen, whereas the two of them were situated in the front room, playing a racing game on the games console.

“Liar.” She retorted, shrieking in small giggles when Aden reached out once again to tickle her lightly at her waist. Sitting on the floor, with her standing only a few feet away, it wasn’t hard for him to do the two tasks at once, especially when it was as fun as it was.

“What was that?” Aden asked, pretending to be offended even though her eyes were glued onto the TV screen, concentration written in everything she did. “Did you call me a liar?”

“Yup.” Krissy simply stated, twisting both her hands and tilting her head as she turned a corner on the game, even though she had been taught many times that it wasn’t necessary to move herself to move the car.

“That’s not nice…” He muttered, paying little attention to the game so that he could still be a competition to his daughter’s car while creeping a hand closer to her, before suddenly grabbing her at the waist.

“Hey!” Belle’s voice called out from the kitchen as Krissy screamed and then yelled out to her. “If you two can’t play nice, you don’t play at all.”

“’S’not me…” Krissy replied insistently, though her voice had trailed off as she carried on playing.

“Me, either.” Aden said in the same tone, though he was sure that Belle wasn’t paying anymore attention to them as she spoke on the phone.

Turning his own attention back to the game, he was surprised to see that they were nearing the end of the race. With only one small stretch left, he put all his effort into it, making sure to overtake the only other car in the race and earning himself an angry huff and moan from the girl next to him as he did so. Rolling his eyes at her predictable response, Aden awaited for the last corner in the track and purposely over turned to make his car crash.

“Yay!” Krissy cheered a few seconds later when she managed to get her car to cross the finishing line before Aden’s. “I win!”

“Impossible!” Aden gasped, pouting dramatically as she clapped ecstatically after putting down her control.

“Oh, Daddy. You so silly!” She sighed exasperatedly before giggling, stepping over to him and climbing onto his lap to wrap her tiny arms around his neck. After pressing her lips to his cheek for a kiss, she back away and spoke in an earnest voice. “But I still love ‘ou.”

“I’d hope so!” Aden laughed, brushing his own lips against her forehead before patting her lightly on her back. “C’mon, now. It’s way past your bedtime.”

“5 more minutes…” She pleaded immediately, sticking out her bottom lip in an attempt to sway him.

“No can do, angel.” He simply shook his head.

“Fine…” Krissy huffed, jumping off his lap and making her way into the kitchen, where Belle was still on the phone. Walking over to where she stood, leaning against the counter next to the fridge, she waited until she had finished her sentence, like she had been taught to do.

“Mattie, I swear, I didn’t know.” Belle laughed, glancing down as Krissy began playing with the button on the pocket that was on the trousers that she wore. Covering the mouthpiece on the phone as she half-listened to her best friend try to suss her out about whether she had known about the engagement before she had said anything, she smiled softly. “Having fun, sweetie?”

“Daddy said it’s bedtime.” She sighed, dropping her hands by her side. “Water, please, Mamma.”

“Well, we better do as Daddy’s says, then.” Belle stated lightly, crouching down and picking the young girl up before sitting her down onto one of the kitchen stools. The voice over the phone was now calling for her attention as Belle got out Krissy’s plastic cup and filled it with cool water.

”I know you knew, Belle.” Mattie groaned, more annoyed at the fact that she was denying it more than that she already had known.

“Fine, but don’t be mad at her!” She hissed down the phone, having handed Krissy her glass and then walking away a bit so that she couldn’t hear the conversation. “She only let a bit slip, and then I asked Aden about it, who-.”

”Aden told you?!” She interrupted, anger clear in her voice.

“Who wouldn’t tell me either.” Belle completed her sentence, rolling her eyes though no one was watching. “But I kinda had a hunch.”

“Hmm…” Mattie murmured, thinking over what she had said and then sighing in defeat. “Alright. Well, I guess that’s a good thing because I’m going to need my one and only flower girl.”

“That would be a good start.” She giggled, looking over at where the girl in question was still sipping her water while twisting the seat side to side with the help of the countertop. “Have you asked her?”

”Not yet.”

“Hold on.” Belle replied, bringing the phone down again to speak to the other girl instead. “Krissy, would you like to be a flower girl for Aunty Mattie’s wedding?”

“Yeah!” Krissy replied delightedly, stopping in her actions and placing her cup down.

“It’d mean wearing a dress, though.” She informed her, watching as the little girl simply shrugged as if wearing a dress wasn’t something that made her have a tantrum these days.

“Ok.” She readily agreed. Shuffling to the edge of her seat, Krissy jumped down onto her bare feet and skipped back into the front room.

”I knew she wouldn‘t let me down.” Mattie added, laughing.

“What? Be spoilt and gushed over by the whole town? Why would she turned that down?” Belle said dryly, a smirk pulling on her lips as she overheard her daughter’s excited voice telling Aden about her being a flower girl.

”Well, the spoiling and the gushing will start tomorrow, if my maid of honour can tear herself away for a few hours and get started on the wedding preparations.” Matilda suggested heavily, a smile clear in her words.

“Am I still allowed to be the mid of honour when I’m married?”

“Sure, why not?” She dismissed easily, making Belle chuckle.

“I’d love to, in that case.” Belle replied, quickly adding on more before Mattie could carry on. “But not tomorrow. It’s Ryan’s birthday and we’re at Mum’s. But I can do Sunday.”

“Sounds good. We can start on the actual shopping next week then.”

“It’s a date.” Belle confirmed. “Plus, hopefully by then, I’ll have something of my own to share with you.”

“Ooh, sound‘s intriguing.” Mattie answered, gushing slightly as she did. “Any more hints?”

“Nope.” She giggled.

“Alright, then. I guess I can just about wait until then.” Mattie sighed heavily and dramatically.

“Right, I have to go now, cos I probably have about 5 minutes before Krissy calls for something.” Belle informed her lightly. “So I’ll chat to you tomorrow.”

“The joys of parenthood, hey?“ She laughed good-naturedly. “Ok, bye.”

Replacing the handset after she herself had hung up to the dialling tone, Belle spun around and sighed as she saw that the rest of the washing up was still there waiting for her, like it had been before her best friend had called.

Picking up the half empty cup that Krissy had left behind on her way over to the sink, she pushed up the sleeves of the top that she was wearing and carried on with rinsing them free of the soap suds. As she did so, she could hear some light chatter coming from the front room, though the words weren’t loud enough for her to understand. It wasn’t long before the talking had stopped and there was a patter of footsteps going up the stairs; the warning to slow down called out after her.

The buzzing of the blank TV was soon switched off, and Belle smiled to herself as she heard the approaching footsteps from behind her. They were quiet, bare feet against the cool tiled floor, but it was enough for her to know that he was there. That, as well as the reflection via the window in front of her, his eyes fixed on her until he finally reached her.

“Back home, and already doing the washing up.” Aden murmured, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin lightly on her shoulder. “I missed you.”

“Cos I do the washing up?” Belle asked wryly, acting nonchalant as she carried on with her job.

“No. Well, ok, maybe.” He teased, pressing a kiss to her neck. “That was part of the reason.”

“I’m sure.”

“I’m being serious!” Aden insisted, pulling back a bit without letting loose his arms around her. “I know it’s all part of your job and the new fancy promotion, but don’t ever go away for another 5 days again. We missed you too much. And did a lot of things that we shouldn‘t have.”

“I heard! We need to have a talk about that, actually.” Belle told him strictly, a smile tugging at her lips nonetheless. “Even more of a reason why not to go away for another year or two.”

“Maybe not even then.” He added with an exasperated sigh, placing his chin back onto her shoulder as she turned the tap off.

“Maybe not.” She agreed in a murmur, picking up a towel from the side to dry her hands. When she spent longer than a few seconds on carrying out the act, Aden peered over her shoulder to get a better look at her face. “What?”

“You ok?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Belle replied, brushing off his concern quickly and easily.

“I just expected more of the quips and jokes rather than the agreeing.” Aden confessed to her.

“I guess 5 days away from you has made me a bit slow on that front.” She said playfully before throwing the towel to the side and turning in his arms to face him. “Just give it time.”

“You sure that’s it?” He questioned, making sure as she stretched her arms out and over his head to loop them around his neck.

“Yup.” Belle assured him, pulling him closer as she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes to bring him into a passionate kiss. It seemed to last for only seconds before they had to part for air, but it didn’t take long for Aden to gently nudge her back into the counter, trapping her between the two of them, and claiming her lips once again.

This kiss was a more slower one, taking it’s time and elongating it for as long as they could without having to pause for the need to breathe. Belle could feel Aden’s smooth fingers work their way under the hem of her top, drawing relaxing circles on the small of her back. It was enough for her to push off the counter and press up against him, giggling as she caught him by surprise, but never once breaking the kiss.

That was until there was a yell from the top of the stairs, loud enough for them to hear in the kitchen very clearly. Pulling apart somewhat reluctantly, Belle looked up at him pointedly while allowing her hands to trail down his chest slowly.

“What’s a ’pastey’?” She asked him in a low whisper as he rested his forehead against hers.

“Toothpaste.” He replied, causing her to pull back and raise an eyebrow at him.

“A week ago, she was able to call it ‘toothpaste’, Aden.” Belle said incredulously as he simply looked innocent. “You’re the worst when it comes to teaching her things, you know that?”

“What? It was just the slip of the tongue late one night when she wouldn’t brush her teeth.” Aden informed her. “It’s not my fault she picks up on stuff quickly. She’ll use the right word soon enough.”

“Aden, she still calls me ‘Mamma’, because you use to and never corrected her.” She reminded him with a huff, pushing him away as she did so. “Yet, for some reason, when it came to you, you made sure she stopped calling you ‘Dada’ and ‘Adeh’.”

“You saying that you don’t like it that she calls you that?” He asked her, a smirk forming on his lips.

“I’m saying that there are some things that she’s too old for.” Belle corrected him. “And reverting back to baby speak is one.”

“Mamma! Daddy…!” Krissy’s voice cut into their little conversation, annoyance seeping into her voice. “Where are ‘ou?”

“I’m coming, baby.” Belle called out in reply, already making her way towards the other room. There was a smile tugging at her lips as they both recognised the irony in the situation, though neither one of them commented on it. “Finish the washing.”

“I was going to, anyway.” Aden muttered, throwing her a wink when she glared at him mockingly over her shoulder.

She disappeared into the front room with another step, and could hear her as she commented on Krissy changing herself successfully into her nightdress, and the reply that she got for it. Her footsteps were light on the stairs, but there was a sudden shriek coming from the young girl, hurrying footsteps joining it as she presumably ran away from her mother and a game that they were playing.

Picking up the discarded towel to get started on drying the dishes, the simple thought of the two most important people in his life having such fun brought a wider smile to Aden’s face, and made the chore he was now doing seem less boring.

---

“Finally asleep?” Belle asked him from where she was stretched out on the bed, propped up only by the two pillows behind her and the headboard.

“3 stories later.” Aden confirmed, nodded while shutting the door behind him before pulling off his top as he made his way slowly over to the closet. “I just hope she doesn’t wake up like last night.”

“What happened last night?” She questioned him, watching him without even bothering to avert her eyes when he got started on undoing his belt with the intent of pulling off his jeans.

“Got scared.” He answered briefly, words mumbled as his attention went to finding something to wear to bed before giving up and deciding that what he was wearing was enough.

“Of..?” Belle prompted, making him smirk.

“Of what Ric and Drew told her about magical lizards that fly and go invisible.” Aden informed her while crossing his arms as she giggled deep in her throat at his words.

“Oh, that’s mean.” She said, laughing nonetheless. “They’re mean.”

“Tell me about it.” Aden muttered, shaking his head softly and turning to head into the bathroom. “She wouldn’t even go back to her room until I made her this morning.”

“Did you manage to find it?” She asked him amusedly.

“No, funnily enough.”

“Must have been invisible.” Belle stated, laughter clear in her voice as Aden merely scoffed.

Leaving the door to their bathroom open, he turned on the light to get a quick look of himself in the mirror. Feeling tired, Aden was surprised to see that his image didn’t reflect it as he turned on the cold water tap to allow the steady stream of water gush out and into the sink.

After splashing his face with the cool water, the silence that was between them finally became noticeable to him. It wasn’t that it was quiet that bugged him, but rather that Belle had been quiet for most of the day since she had been back.

“You sure everything’s ok?” Aden asked her, coming to stand in the doorway after picking up a towel and patting his face dry.

“Hmm…?” She replied, earning herself a roll of the eyes from her husband.

“Everything ok? You’ve been quiet a lot today.” He prodded and leaned lazily against the doorframe.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” Belle nodded, pushing herself up a bit on the bed. “I’m just thinking about stuff.”

“Well, you should relax and switch off. It’s late, and you’re home now.” Aden told her, his typical ‘bad boy’ smile, the one that had never failed to make her feel better or to smile back, now spread across his face, before he pushed himself away from the doorframe and back into the en suite.

“That’s true, and I love it.” She sighed contently, pushing herself up a bit on the bed so that she was sitting straighter. “I think it was just the plane journey back. You know what I’m like with planes.”

“Righto.” He laughed as he turned off the tap and began clearing up the little mess he had made before Belle saw it in the morning. “Actually that reminds me.”

“Hmm?” She merely replied, silently asking him what he was reminded off.

“I kind of promised Krissy that we’d go somewhere on a plane in the summer holidays because she’s never been before.” Aden explained to her whilst picking up the towel he had discarded and throwing it into the hamper. When he got no sort of answer from Belle, he carried on with a hint of worry. “That’s ok, right?”

“Yeah. I mean, it would be.” Belle said, clearing her throat as she did. He could hear the light shuffling signalling that she had gotten up from the bed before the sound of rustling could be heard. A small metallic clang, one that he identified as her bag hitting the floor once again, followed as he still waited for more of an explanation.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Aden finally asked, drying the small spillage of water around the sink and looking around the room to make sure it was at the cleanest that he could get it so late at night.

“I dunno if I’ll be able to fly by the time it’s summer…” She answered, her voice trailing off as the sound of more shuffling and rustling reached him.

“Why not?” Once again, there was no answer to her question. Getting a bit irritated by her vagueness, he sighed and hit the light switch to turn them off before heading back towards the bedroom.

Belle was back on the bed, this time under the covers but still sitting up. Instead of looking up at him as he entered the brightly lit room, she stared at something that she was tapping in her hands. Curious, Aden began walking over to the bed, pausing halfway when he eventually caught sight of the item and realised it’s importance.

“Is that what I think it is?” He questioned her slowly, confusion and surprise written clearly on his face as she tilted her head up to look at him.

“It is.” Belle confirmed, a soft smile gracing her features as a ball of nervousness grew in her stomach. “I was going to wait until I came home, but I just couldn’t. I‘m sorry, I should have waite-”

“It’s fine.” Aden muttered, brushing it off and approaching the bed with small steps. “Is it positive?”

“It is.” She repeated, her soft smile widening while holding up the little white stick for him to see, even though she knew that he wouldn’t understand it without the instructions.

“Wha-?” He began, shock settling in as he finally got to where she was and sat on the edge of the bed, taking in what she had just told him. “Wow. Since when?”

“I don’t know.” Belle shrugged, her eyes already tearing up slightly though she did her best to keep it at bay. “A few weeks, at least.”

“We’re having another baby?” Aden asked her, as if to make sure that what he was being told was right. At her nod, confirming his doubts, the grin that was on face was contagiously spread across him. “Oh, my God. We’re having another baby!”

“So I can assume that you’re happy about this then, yeah?” Belle joked, the tears that she had tried to hard to keep back finally leaking down.

“I’m way more than just happy, babe.” He assured her, brushing away her tears with both his thumbs before pulling her into a short but deep kiss just to show her how true his words were. “It’s great. Amazing, even. And kinda cool, considering how we weren‘t even trying.”

“It might be amazing and cool for you, but for me it’s another 9 months of getting fat and having all them aches and pains again.” She reminded him, making him laugh before pressing his lips back to hers. “Let’s not forget the birth too.”

“It’s months away, Belle.” Aden rolled his eyes, the smile on his face never once dying down as he let his hand travel down to her abdomen where their baby was growing. “Besides, this time we’ll have proud big sis Krissy to help out a bit too.”

“Help out?” She asked him, incredulously. “How much do you want to bet that her first question will be how did the baby get into my tummy?”

“Ah, yeah. I guess it’s too early to tell her the truth.” He murmured, earning himself a light slap to the head for his efforts. “We’ll just make something up when the time comes. Who knows, maybe we could get Mattie to explain it to her.”

“What, like she explained how Santa can fit down the chimney when he’s so fat?” Belle scoffed, remembering her best friend’s answer to her daughter’s question had only made her more upset and worried for Santa’s wellbeing more than ever. “No thanks. She’d probably scare the girl.”

“Well, don’t worry about it. You’re not allowed to stress about a thing, alright?” Aden said to her, strictly. “I’m here, and I’ll worry about all that. We’ve done it once before, so it’s all familiar ground once again.”

“Hmm…” She smiled at his words, placing a hand atop of the one of his that laid upon her stomach. “What would I do without you?”

“You know you’d be completely lost.” He stated in fake seriousness, making her giggle before nodding in the same manner. “Nah, you’d be fine. You’d probably be off with some other fancy dude, having their baby instead.”

“Like I would have let anyone get me pregnant before the age of 25, twice might I add, apart from you.” Belle replied in an overly-sweet tone, allowing her other arm to drape lazily over his shoulder.

“Yeah, I love you, too, sweetheart.” Aden smirked, picking up the hand from his shoulder and pressing a kiss to it. “And I’m glad.”

“I love you.” She said, all tones of teasing leaving her voice as he leant over to press a gentle kiss to her stomach before laying down onto the bed next to her.

“The next 9 months are going to be fun.” He sighed, chuckling softly to himself as he twisted to look over at her, using a hand to prop his head up.

“With you by my side, what could go wrong?” Belle replied cheekily, running a hand through his already dishevelled hair as he groaned and buried his face into the pillow. “What?”

“You’ve just jinxed it.” Aden told her in a grumble.

“Shut up. You can’t believe in that junk!” She huffed as he peered up at her with a raised eyebrow as if asking her if she really wanted him to answer that. Instead of replying when he turned his face back into the pillow, Belle reached behind her to retrieve a pillow of her own before using all the force she could muster to proceed with hitting him over the head with it.

“Oi!” He hissed, pushing himself up onto his knees almost immediately. “What was that?”

“Nothing.” She giggled, still holding the pillow in between her hands.

“I’m sure.” Aden said sceptically, pulling the pillow out of her hands with one smooth motion and then pointing it towards her with the intent of repaying the favour. “If you want a fight, then bring it on, babe.”

“You want to fight a pregnant woman?” Belle asked him in fake awe. “You’d lose, anyway.”

“Yeah?” He replied before using a gentle force to hit her legs through the covers a couple of times with the pillows, making her laugh as she tried to get him to stop.

“Ok, ok! I get it.”

“That wasn’t even the use of all my energy, you know?” Aden informed her, placing the pillow back behind her.

“What are you suggesting?” She asked him in a sultry voice, reaching out for his hand to make him come closer to her.

“Wasn’t that, but now that you mention it…” He smirked, pulling her down by her legs so that she was half laying down before leaning over her and claiming her lips with his. It didn’t take long for her to urge him to unbutton the shirt that she was wearing, managing to get it down and thrown to the side as they broke for air.

“I forgot about this part of pregnancy.” Belle said a bit seductively, her voice deep and husky as her hands trailed down his bare back as he kissed his way up from her neck to her ear.

“I sure as hell didn’t.” Aden replied, his voice just as husky, speaking just a second before he took her lips between him once again. Pushing away the covers that separated their bodies, he let his hand skim over her currently flat abdomen, allowing it to linger longer than was necessary in an instinctive gesture. It may have been a long 5 days for the both of them, but they both knew that the coming home present was well worth it, and would be still for the rest of their lives.

---

I really hope you enjoyed it, and thought it was fit for the ending of the fic. It was meant to be longer, but I had to cut out a scene because it was getting tedious, lol. I may continue with small one/two-shots every now and again, but I’m not entirely sure yet.

Thank you all once again.

Taniya xoxo

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