Gray Area (sequel to White Noise)

Ch 12 - Our Five Children

"I've gotta admit, Tor. You guys did pretty good."

"Yeah," she agreed, smiling down at the sleeping bundle in my arms. "We kinda did, didn't we?"

It had been almost two weeks since Tori had given birth to Avery. Even though I was a little biased, it was obvious to me that she was the most perfect baby ever to be born. She had her daddy's dark hair and brown eyes and her mama's nose and sassy personality. She really was a little angel.

Tori and Cal had jumped into the whole parenting thing with both feet. For those first two weeks, I had been on adult babysitting duty, taking a couple of boys here and there and making them crash at my place. I know the new parents appreciated all the extra hands they had around, but it got pretty overwhelming at times. Joy and Mali had flown back home the day before, so all the boys were now back to staying at Tori's house.

Watching them interact with Avery was the funniest, yet most adorable thing I had ever experienced. None of the boys (except Calum, of course) would even go near her for days. They would just stand back and peer at her over the side of her crib. Ashton was the first one to give in and hold her, followed closely by Luke, and then finally, Michael a day or so later. Seeing those boys holding a newborn was something I didn't know I needed until it happened.

As if on cue, the front door opened, and the boys filed into the house one by one. They had all been at the studio that morning redoing some backing vocals for the new album. It had practically killed Calum to leave, but Tori finally convinced him that he could survive a few hours apart from them.

As soon as he entered the living room, he headed straight for Tori, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "How are my girls?" He turned to me, and I handed him his daughter wordlessly. Once she was safely in his arms, he gave her a kiss as well.

"We're fine, babe. How was the studio?"

Ashton answered for him, making his way towards Calum and smiling down at the baby. "It was really good. The album is pretty much done."

"That's great, guys! Congrats."

None of the boys paid either of us much attention. They were all surrounding Calum, ooh'ing and aww'ing at the tiny, sleeping princess in his arms. Who would have thought that those four would be such softies?

I'll never understand how watching a sleeping baby can be so enthralling, but it certainly is. After several minutes, I had to take advantage of the opportunity and sneak a picture of the guys gazing adoringly at the newborn.

I turned the screen so Tori could see. She said, "Aww. Our boys. And girl."

"Our five children."

"True that."

As we were admiring our little family, Avery decided nap time was over. She started squirming in Calum's arms until she fully woke up. She opened her eyes and let out a sweet yawn and grunted. All the boys were grinning ear to ear, soaking up her cuteness. But those grunts quickly turned into an all-out scream, her little face turning red with the effort.

"Damn, she has her daddy's lungs," Michael pointed out.

"Hey, don't swear. She can hear you," Ashton reprimanded, placing his giant hands over Avery's tiny ears.

Luke threw in his two cents. "I doubt she can hear him over the wailing, Ashton."

Calum tried his best to console Avery. "Hey there, little princess. It's okay." He put her up to his shoulder and gently bounced her, rocking back back and forth. She became quiet, but in the next second, she let out some gas with a noise that would rival anything I'd ever heard from the boys.

Luke, Michael, and Ashton wasted no time jumping back and laughing like little kids. Well, laughing may be an understatement. It was more like Luke and Michael literally rolling on the floor while Ashton almost fell backward and lost his breath. All the while, poor Calum could only sit there, trying, but failing miserably, to be the grown-up. He didn't make a sound, but his eyes were all crinkly, and his whole body was shaking from the internal laughter. Their reactions had me cackling as well.

In the meantime, Avery had gone back to crying. Tori scolded the boys, through her own giggles, I may add. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves, laughing at a young lady who has no control over her bodily functions." She stood and approached Calum for a handoff. "Come here, my love. It's feeding time."

The boys, minus Calum, quickly sobered up, scattering in all directions. The concept of breastfeeding seemed to scare the living daylights out of them.

Tori rolled her eyes and told them, "You don't have to run, boys. I'm going to the nursery." They came back, looking guilty and embarrassed, as they should have.

I said goodbye to Tori and kissed my precious niece as they headed to the nursery. I had a couple of errands to run, so I decided it would be a good time to leave anyway.

But before I did, I asked, "Okay, I'm leaving. But does anyone want to hang out with me at my place?" I'd gotten kind of used to having company, and didn't want to spend the evening alone. Besides, I felt Tori and Cal would appreciate a little quiet time. And I knew exactly who would volunteer.

Luke and Michael both jumped up, answering, "Me!"

Since they had been staying at my place here and there, Michael had bought an XBox to keep there so they wouldn't be bored out of their minds. Now, everyone thinks those boys are obsessed with Fifa. But I wouldn't know because they pretty much only played one game at my place. I'll let you in on a little secret: They're experts at Just Dance, any and all versions. Now, I'm not saying they didn't look goofy as hell while playing, but they'd memorized pretty much every move to every song. I'm pretty sure the only reason those two would go to my apartment was to play it in private. They didn't want Calum and Ashton to know, so even to this day, it's our little secret.

"Well, I have a couple of stops to make, but it won't take long. I can pick you up in an hour, or you can tag along now." They opted to leave with me then. "Ashton, you hold down the fort here, I'll see you tomorrow." I gave him a hug, then turned to Calum. As I was about to give him a hug, too, I noticed the little gift Avery had left on his shoulder. "Um, dude, you might want to change your shirt." I gave him a pat on the back instead, as he looked to see what I was talking about.

He didn't say a word. He just gave a defeated sigh and left to change.