This Love

22

A few weeks later I find myself running around the house kid-proofing before Leia arrives with Cooper and Emily. Lexi and Jill help throwing anything that could cause chaos into one of the many closets in the house. "I don't know why we end up doing this like an hour before they get here, it's such bad planning on our part" Jill says as we finish cleaning, "time gets away from us that's all" I tell her and she rolls her eyes at me. My hands go to my hips as I nod in satisfaction at the cleaning job we've done. There's a knock on the front door followed by the doorbell ringing a few times, I laugh at my favourite duo as I walk over to answer the door.

When I swing the door open my legs get attacked, "AUNT CALLIE" I grin down at Emily and Cooper, ruffling their hair as they hold on tightly. "Thank you for doing this, we really need a break" I look up at my older sister, "you know I never say no to looking after these ones, plus the girls love having them over" she pulls me into a quick hug before dropping two duffles belonging to the now running kids at my feet. Once Emily and Cooper have said goodbye to Leia she waves at me and leaves. "Who's ready for some dinner?" I ask with a grin, the two kids stick their hands in the air while jumping up and down, I laugh and lead them to the kitchen.

After dinner Emily and Cooper's energy levels lessen as we all gather in the living room to watch their favourite Disney movies. "I want a prince someday" Emily tells me a with a smile, I bring her to my side, "you'll have one my darling don't worry" I reply making her giggle as she gets pulled into the movie again. I look over at Lexi and Jill who are watching me, I'm confused by their expressions, Jill brings her hands up into a heart then points at us. I smile peering down at my niece who is practically asleep, my gaze moves to Cooper who is curled up next to Lexi already sleeping, I feel the utmost love for these kids not knowing what I would do without them. I silently shut off the movie a few seconds later and carefully stand before lifting Emily into my arms, she relaxed into me her head on my shoulder, I hum a lullaby quietly bringing her to our spare bedroom, Lexi in my heels carrying Cooper. We tuck the 6 and 7 year old under the covers before leaving the room silently.

——

The next day starts off with me getting woken up when I feel my bed shifting. I open my eyes to see Emily and Cooper jumping on my bed, "Aunt Callie it's time to get up" Cooper says while grinning, "I don't think it is Coop" I reply pretending to sleep again, "Aunt CAAAALLIEEE" Emily whines, I laugh and open my eyes. I swiftly sit up and grab them into my arms, they giggle as I hug them to me, "you guys are something else" I say, the look at me confused making me laugh, I let go of them and get out of bed, "last one to the kitchen is a rotten egg!" I yell making them hop off the bed and run out of my bedroom. I chase the two kids being slower on purpose making it to the kitchen last, "don't sit next to me, you're a rotten egg Aunt Callie" I'm shocked by Emily's sass, my mouth hanging open, "you tell her Em" Lexi says as she walks into the room. "You can sit with me Aunt Cal" I smile at Cooper who is patting the chair next to him, I walk over and kiss his head before sitting down, "glad that one of you still loves me" I joke. Emily hops from her seat and runs over climbing onto my lap, "I still love you, even if you are the rotten egg" I burst out laughing as she wraps her little arms around my neck in a hug.

After a few hours of avoiding total chaos in the house me, Lexi and Jill manage to calm down the kids in our care. We're sitting on the couch in the living room watching Emily and Cooper who are playing with some toys that Leia packed in their respective duffle bags. "I think my exercise quota of this week has been met, those two are wild" Jill mumbles, I laugh, "yeah met my quota for the whole year to be honest" Lexi shoves me and I smile. My phone starts ringing, the tone letting me know that it's a FaceTime call, I slide off the couch to go grab the device off of the counter.

The smile on my face widens when I see that it's Dan who wants to video chat, my finger hits accept with no hesitation. A second later his face appears on my screen, "Danny" I say happily, he grins, "hey Cal" he replies, "to what do I owe this call" he shrugs, "just because I miss you" I purse my lips, "I guess I can accept that answer" he laughs making me giggle. I sit down at our little dining table resting my arm on the table, "how's it going over in the racing world?" He sighs the smile dimming on his face, "it's alright, it's been mostly just been practice for the race tomorrow" I notice how tired he sounds making me frown, "you should rest Dan, you seem tired" his face moves out of view for a second before reappearing when he's laying on a bed, his arm behind his head, "I'm trying Cal, there's just so much happening so quickly around here" I nod in understanding. "How's it in Barrie?" I rest my chin on my palm, "nothing crazy just a lot of preparing for the draft and then training camp" he smiles, "it's better to be busy than he bored I guess" I nod giving him a smile as well, "very true". "AUNT CALLIE" I jump in surprise my eyes widening, "whatcha doing?" Cooper asks as the two of them climb onto the chairs on either side of me, "talking to a very good friend" I reply while rotating my phone letting it rest on the vase of flowers in front of us, a grinning Dan is watching us, Emily moves into my lap squinting at the small screen. I wrap an arm around her to keep her steady, "Dan this is Emily and that's Cooper, the niece and nephew I told you about" he waves at them, Emily buries her head into my hair shyly but Cooper waves back at the Australian, "are you guys being good for your aunt?" "Yessss" the little boy replies enthusiastically. "Aunt Callie" I peer down at the little girl in my lap, "what's up Em?" She looks at me her fingers curled into my shirt, "is he your prince?" I look up at Daniel who's already watching me a small smile on his face, "you know what I think he just might be" I tell Emily who grins.

Before Dan can say anything Lexi and Jill come into the room swiftly taking the kids away, "lets let Aunt Callie finish talking to Daniel" Jill exclaims as they all leave the room. I wave at them as they leave before turning back to my phone, I pick up the device and rotate it vertically holding it closer to me. "Sorry about them" I tell him, "never apologize when kids join our facetime calls" he replies with a smile, I shrug, "you're so good with them Cal" I blush, "it certainly didn't start that way, imagine me as a college kid trying to hold a baby without messing it up or injuring either of them" he chuckles, "glad you figured it out in the end" I nod while watching him yawn. "Go to sleep Danny" I mumble, "only if you'll be my princess" I blush again, "you heard that?" he nods, "hard to miss when the girl you like calls you a prince" I look away shyly, "Emily is in her fairytale phase and we we're watching disney movies yesterday, she told me she wanted a prince" I explain, "I wish I was there for that" I smile, "maybe someday you will be" he grins, "I hope so" we sit there in silence just watching one another. "I miss you" I say breaking the silence, he shifts his body so that he's laying on his side, his head on his pillow, "we'll see each other soon Cal, be patient" I nod while twisting my hair around my finger, "I'n gonna go to sleep, but i'll text you later" I smile, "okay, sleep well, good luck tomorrow" he smiles one last time before hanging up the call. I lower my phone with a sigh, running my fingers through my hair, "you okay?" I look over at Lexi, "yeah, I will be" she smiles, "we'll always be here if you need us" I smile, "I know". My phone vibrates and I lift it to see that Jill sent me a photo, I open the attachment and smile when I see that it's a picture of me and Emily, i'm sitting at the table and she's in my lap, smiling up at me, it must have been when she asked me if Dan was my prince. My instinct is to save the photo to my phone, I bite my lip as I go into my Instagram posting the photo so that Leia can see the moment between us. I take a few seconds to think of a caption, which ends up being cryptic but meaningful, 'You know what I think he just might be...' I smile at the use of my answer to Emily's question.