Betty POV:
"Alright, kiddos!", Jug hollered, his voice echoing sharply through the rooms downstairs. "Veronica and Archie are coming over today so that we can meet baby Charlie, so this house needs to be clean!". The kids audibly gasped in unison as they skittered over to find us, faces covered in elation.
"I forgot that was today!", Lola exclaimed excitedly. "Wasn't he born like two weeks ago? He's gonna be super teeny, like a lil' nugget!". She began to giggle a little, biting her lip as she observed her dad's playful expression in response.
"Yes, he'll be super teeny tiny, just like all of my nuggets used to be.", he confirmed. "So, Trinity, I need you on kitchen duty. Lola will cover the living room. Ashton will cover the dining room. You also each need to tidy your rooms up. Mommy and I will take care of the rest. Got it?".
They all nodded understandingly, willingly rushing off to begin their various chores. Veronica and Archie had promised that they'd be his favorite cousins. Of course, they didn't add the fact that he won't ever have biological cousins, not wanting to ruin their new senses of purpose, which was kind of them. The kids were very excited to meet the newest addition to the Andrews family.
Jug and I were just as excited to meet our godson, if not more.
Not even two hours later, the kids came sprinting down the stairs to inform us that their designated rooms to be cleaned were "spotless, Mama! Even Trinity checked to make sure!". Jug performed his little inspection and returned with a hug from behind to confirm that they had indeed done a very thorough, careful cleanup job.
"We should reward them. They're amazing kids. Remind me how we got so lucky?", he said, his head laying on my shoulder as he sighed a content sigh.
"I could ask you the same. Maybe we should ask them.". I tilted my head over and placed a small kiss onto his nose. "Maybe we can take them all somewhere individually. For now, though, I think Charlie will be more than enough to satisfy them.".
"I second that proposition.".
Just then, the doorbell rang. Ashton made it to the door before we even had the chance to turn around and step foot outside of the kitchen.
"Hey, buddy! How's it going?", we heard, the voice very obviously belonging to Archie. "Have your sisters been annoying you lately?", he whispered loudly, prompting Ashton to chuckle faintly while he pulled him into a tight hug.
"Not really.", he replied. "I love them. They're great sisters, really.".
"Damn right, we are!".
"Trinity! Language, please!", Jug scolded briefly before his smile quickly returned. He opened his arms widely, throwing them around Archie and patting his back a few times.
"How have you been, man? Everything been running smoothly with the moody wife and the crying baby?".
"Hey! I heard that, you know!", I said, quickly realizing that I hadn't been the only one to do so. Veronica stepped out from behind Archie, cradling a tiny bundle of warmth in her arms.
"Oh my- Is that really him?". Lola kept her tone hushed as she peeked out from behind Trinity on he stairs, eyes widened in awe. She immediately tiptoed over as soon as the couple nodded their heads eagerly, pouting her bottom lip when she stopped at a safe distance.
"You can come closer, sweetie. You won't hurt him, don't you worry.". Archie came over, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder before he lead her over welcomingly. Our other two babies followed behind cautiously, all of their spirits brightening as soon as they laid eyes on him.
Jug and I followed suit a moment later, not wanting to overcrowd around the newborn. He truly was an adorable little guy, with auburn hair and big brown eyes. Jug's hand quickly found the small of my back, and he brought me snuggly into his side with a grin.
"What a beautiful little boy you made there.", I admired. "I can't tell who he resembles more. He has Veronica's nose and-".
"Archie's face structure, yeah. He's more perfect than I could've imagined.", Veronica finished, quickly beginning to bounce him when he began to whimper.
"What about me?". The quiet whisper of insecurity came from behind us, belonging to the boy who inherited his dad's head of jet black wavy hair.
"Don't worry, Ash.", Jug responded, kneeling to match his height. "You're still my little boy, okay? You're just as precious, I promise.". Ash's relief came quickly, his smile returning in a moment's notice.
"Oh, guys, we forgot to ask if Kevin and the Topaz girls could come over to meet our boy. Would that be alright with you?", Veronica said.
"Kevin'll be over in 20 minutes.", I answered. "I knew you'd want him over, too, so I invited him as soon as we'd heard you two were ready for us to meet him. I also tried the Cheryl and Toni, but they have previous obligations. They'd love to meet him another time, though.".
They both beamed, waltzing over to the living room and taking a seat.
"You know me too well, B.", she said cheerily, as if reminding me of something I'd forgotten, which I got a kick out of.
"Now, which one of you would like to hold him first?".
