You're Mine

chapter 143

"Leo, wait!", Amelia laughed, holding back her son, who was way too excited when he watched his uncle, aunt and cousins drive onto their property. Layla was standing next to them, also jumping up and down. "Let's give them a second to get out of the car, you crazy kiddos."

"Whose gonna reach these arms first?", her brother wondered, crouching down to catch the happy children, so nobody would fall. "Oh, it's a tie!", he chuckled, hugging them tightly. "I've missed you guys so much!"

"We've missed you too, Uncle Derek!", Layla informed him before she moved on to greeting her aunt and cousins, so her mother could hug the brunette. Owen was waiting inside with Logan, Eleanor, and the twins.

"It's so good to see you, Amy!", the neurosurgeon said, kissing his sister's head as he embraced her. "Those were two very long weeks.", he added, following her into the house after she had hugged Meredith and the kids.

"Tell me about it.", his sister grinned, leading everyone into the living room, where they greeted the rest of the family. "Okay, so the plan is that you two take the guest room with Ellis, Zola gets to sleep in Layla's room and Bailey stays with Logan. Leo, you either get to choose one of these two rooms to sleep in as well, orrrrr you join mommy and daddy for the weekend.", she offered to her toddler, who she knew would feel sad and left out otherwise.

"In your bed!", the four-year-old cheered. He really missed his special Saturday treatment of getting to sleep in between his parents. "Where I belong.", he pointed out proudly, making his aunt laugh.

"I see nothing has changed.", Meredith smiled, ruffling the boy's hair. "Logan, somebody asked us to take this bag right here to his boyfriend.", she announced to the teenager, whose face lit up.

"THANK YOU!", the young brunette yelled and took the bag upstairs with him to open the gifts Atlas had 'sent' him. He loved how caring his boyfriend was and wished he could just hug and kiss him right now.

"Well, we also brought a gift for each of you, but I guess he's just gonna get his later.", Derek figured after watching his nephew leave the room, totally understanding his excitement. "So, this is for you two.", he started, handing Luna, who was sitting in Owen's lap, and Lucas, that cuddled with him, a plush animal each.

"Tank you!", the little girl replied with her favorite phrase, which she loved to say to everybody, no matter what they gave her. Her same-aged brother stared at her for a second, before he blinked multiple times, looking like he was concentrating.

"Tan u.", he repeated his sister's words, trying his best. With him being silent most of the time, he was slower in acquiring the same amount of vocabulary as his twin and other same-aged children.

"Awww, you did so good, Lucas!", Zola praised her cousin and clapped her hands, aware of how hard it was for the one-year-old to speak, especially when so many people were in the same room, even though they were all family.

"And this is for you, Leo.", her mother continued, handing the toddler an animal domino game. "And that is yours, Layls.", she said, giving the seven-year-old a coloring book of Harry Potter, which she was still a huge fan of.

"Thank you!", the kids said in unison. They had gratefulness figured out since their parents had always taught them to be thankful for whenever somebody was kind to them or gave them presents.

"Alrighty, who wants ice cream and fruit salad?", Amelia questioned. "Logan, Honey, once you're done unwrapping your gifts, come downstairs to eat.", she shouted for her son to hear. "Usually, I'd want him down here immediately, but this is kind of a special situation, and he really misses Atlas."

"You don't have to justify your decision, Amy. Young love.", her brother replied. "I mean, Zola here has a crush but won't tell me on whom because she's scared I'll hurt him. I mean, just because I used to do so with your first boyfriends, doesn't mean I'll do it to my daughter's."

"Of course not.", his wife laughed, nudging his arm as she shook her head, before she focused back on Ellis, who still needed to be reminded of the food in front of her, always getting distracted by more interesting stuff. "So, how is your new school, Layla?"

"It's good. I have a new best friend named Sadie. She is really nice and doesn't live far from us.", the young brunette answered happily. "On Tuesdays, we go to volleyball practice on the beach."

"Wow, that sounds so exciting!", her uncle beamed at her. "And you, Leo? How is pre-school? Do you like it?", he wanted to know from his nephew, who was sipping his chocolate milk.

"It's nice but exhausting.", the mini blonde shared matter-of-factly. "I enjoy getting smarter, but I really don't wanna have to work for it, you know?", he shrugged dramatically, causing everyone to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"You are just adorable, Honey.", his father let him know, still smirking. "It's basically how everybody feels, but nobody ever says it out loud, so it was really amusing to hear you say it.", he explained to the toddler, not wanting him to think he was made fun of.