Nanny

26

Today is Bear's first birthday party. Destiny could feel the bright and happy aura from the scene as she watches Liam interacting with his family as well as Sophia's family. She is elated to see her boyfriend enjoying himself. It has been so long since she saw Liam happy and smiling.

Destiny barely notices Liam's parents coming up to her. When she does notice them standing next to her, she gives them a welcoming smile. She asks them what is going on, and they thank her for bringing back their old son as well as teaching him how to love again. They also thank her for being a wonderful mother figure to their grandson.

Destiny smiles and says, "Thank you, and Liam helped through that miscarriage."

Meanwhile, at the other end of the party, Liam is having a conversation with his two older sisters. He would roll his eyes at certain parts of their conversation because his older sisters were teasing him. He would then blush when they would tease him about his relationship with Destiny.

Ruth, his oldest sister, asks, "So, what are your thoughts on getting married to Destiny? You guys have been in a serious relationship for a while."

Liam glances over at his girlfriend who is talking to his parents and answers, "I have been thinking about proposing to Destiny lately. I think I am going to propose to her after the sexual harassment case is over. I would definitely propose if I win the case."

Nicola, who is now holding her one-month daughter, squeals in excitement and says, "That is so sweet!" She looks at her older sister and jokes, "It would be nice to have another sister."

The youngest son glares at his two older sisters and laughs sarcastically before saying dryly, "You guys are so funny."

Ruth laughs and explains, "Oh! You know that we are just teasing you."

Liam knows that his older sisters are teasing him, but it is still a little annoying. But that is what he gets for being the youngest. Teasing. Constant teasing no matter the age.

He moves past the teasing and asks, "Would you guys help me pick out an engagement ring for Destiny."

Ruth immediately answers, "Of course!"

Nicola adds, "You probably want to check with Sophia's parents and see if they will be okay with you moving on and marrying Destiny."

Liam is confused by Nicola's statement and expresses that thought out loud, "Why should I see if Sophia's parents would be okay with me moving on with Destiny? I thought they would be okay with me dating Destiny."

Ruth shakes her head and responds, "Dating and marrying someone is different. You should at least let Sophia's parents know about your plans on getting married to Destiny in the near future."

Liam knows his sisters are right, so he ends the conversation. He leaves his sisters behind and makes his way over to Sophia's parents. He notices that they are having a conversation amongst them. He clears his throat to get their attention. Once he grabs their attention, he smiles warmly and starts up the conversation by asking them if they were enjoying the birthday party. The smile on his face becomes a little bigger when they say are enjoying themselves.

He changes the subject by asking, "I know you guys know that I'm dating Destiny. But am I wondering how you would feel about Destiny becoming Bear's stepmother when I marry her in the near future?"

Sophia's mother is the first to speak up, "I would be happy to have a sweet and kind woman become Bear's stepmother."

Liam starts smiling when he hears that comments and listens to Sophia's father say, "And we both believe that Sophia brought Destiny to yours and Bear's life for a reason."

The smile becomes brighter when he hears once again, and Liam says, "I know. I have been heard that from everyone for the last year or so."

Meanwhile, Destiny has finish her conversation with Liam's parents and decides it to bring out Bear's birthday cake. She heads to the kitchen through the backdoor and grabs the birthday cake out of the fridge. She goes over to the drawers and opens the first one, grabbing a box of white and red birthday candles. She places one candle in the center of the cake, which was the tummy of the teddy bear. She grabs a lighter and lights the birthday candle before tossing the lighter and the box of birthday candle in the drawer and then closing it. She picks up the cake and heads back out to the party.

She calls out, "It's cake time."

She places the birthday cake down on the picnic table and then picks up Bear, who was trying catch a butterfly. She heads back to the birthday cake and starts singing "Happy Birthday" before looking up to see Liam is standing beside and singing the Happy Birthday song. She smiles everyone started gathering around the table and singing "Happy Birthday" to Bear.

Destiny then leans close to the lit birthday cake but making sure that Bear doesn't touch the candle and hurt himself from touch the little fire. And once the song is over, Destiny tells Bear to blow out the candle. She laughs when the one-year-old grabs her necklace and sucks on the heart shaped locket. She gently pulls the locket out of his mouth and blows the birthday candle out with Bear. Everyone starts cheering and clapping when the candle was blown out.

Destiny holds her hand out for Bear to high-five it and says, "Good job, Bear!"

Liam is even a part of this special moment by sharing a kiss with his soon-to-be fiancée (hopefully). He then gives his son a kiss on the forehead and a hug. He looks around the party seeing how everyone is so happy and enjoying themselves.

He then offers to cut the cake. He cuts slices of the cake for everyone and  passes the plates to the party-goers. He looks up to see Destiny feeding Bear some of his birthday cake before eating some of the cake herself. He then realize that Destiny was right about having this party to forget about the lawsuit that is still happening.

~~~

Later that night, Destiny put Bear down for the night and is now in the kitchen washing all of the dishes. She doesn't notice Liam coming up behind her until she feels arms around her waist. She looks over to see Liam is holding her.

She goes back to washing the dishes and listens to Liam say, "Thank you."

She looks at him, placing a clean and wet plate to the side to dry off while she asks, "Thank you for what?"

Liam kisses her cheek and answers, "For throwing this birthday party for Bear and getting my mind off the case for the day."

Destiny finishes washing the dishes and turns away from the sink. She wraps her arms around his neck and leans in for a kiss. She smiles warmly when he leans in as well, and they shares a sweet but short kiss. She pulls away from the kiss and tells her boyfriend that she would do anything for him and would do anything to make him happy.

That is what a relationship is about. Making each other happy and be there for each other during the dark and hard times.