Generations: The Long Game

New Year's Eve '28

Happy New Year to my readers and especially to my three favorite people Thenurserynursefan1 Claire278826 Angelnoosh I absolutely cannot wait to release our new project in the new year!

New Year's Eve '28

There were no huge preparations left to be made. No decorations to hang. The house was still decorated for Christmas from the week before, and he probably wouldn't even pull it all back down and pack it away until the following week. Their friends had made everything special and had given her the Christmas of her dreams. His dreams. When he watched Mia carry her up to bed that night, he knew that bond was irreversible and unbreakable. The thing that dawned on him that night was how no one seemed to bat an eye. No one was surprised by how loving she behaved toward her now. For him it seemed like a marked change. Something to celebrate or commend maybe. He should have known Marjie would win her over eventually. She had a way of making people fall in love with her. A charm she never recognized in herself and surely didn't understand.

He puttered about the kitchen preparing lunch for them and their children and letting his mind wander. Their friends...family would arrive in time for dinner and then stay until midnight. Truthfully, most would get so drunk they will just stay. He made a mental note to prepare guest rooms. Autumn and Winter would just walk home and potentially Char and Mia would go with them and stay in one of their guest rooms. He would let them sort that. As he cut Rory's portion into small bites she could manage, Marjorie walked in with her on her hip. Not one to be out done, she had been cruising around the furniture all week no doubt trying to beat her brother in learning to walk. He had managed it a week after his first birthday, but Reece had no doubt she would strike out before her's.

He grabbed the plates from the countertop as she secured Rory in her highchair. With the plates on the table, he buckled Emery into his booster seat and sat his plate in front of him. As he and Marjorie settled into their own seats, he placed his hand on hers. He had always found comfort in the contact. "This looks lovely darling. It always amazes me how you can take so little time and make something so magnificent." He shot her a smile as they ate and talked animatedly about the upcoming get together. "Promise me that you and Mia won't take me upstairs before midnight. I know I will probably fall asleep somewhere long before that, but I want to be down here with all of you. You can wake me and kiss me at midnight." He squeezed her hand and promised her, knowing nothing could keep him away from that midnight kiss. Only a few short months ago he didn't think he would have another Christmas with her let alone another New Year. When she invited everyone over Christmas to come back for New Year's Eve, he had grumbled, but if this is what she wanted, he would deliver ten-fold. He would make it the best New Year's Eve she had ever experienced.

As the others began to arrive, he was busy preparing all her favorites. He and Mia's homemade pizza, the casserole she fell in love with shortly after they started dating, waffles made with Mia's recipe (one of the few things they could get her to eat during the cancer treatment), and the chocolate tarts that were now famous at his restaurant. Mia and Viv popped through the kitchen door talking animatedly when both stopped dead at the sight. "Um, Reecy don't you think you've gone a little overboard? I mean I know our little family has grown but the pizzas alone would probably feed us until next year. He waved her away. "Mia it will be buffet style. Eat what you like. Anything left over will probably be eaten by you lot after you have started drinking, and if not, I am sure there is more than one of you that will gladly take it all off my hands." Vivian chucked. "He has you there. Bon and I would not turn any of this down. We have a four-month-old that still doesn't sleep through the night."

Mia and Reece exchanged a knowing glance. Vivian rolled her eyes. "Don't you two start. I am fully aware we asked for your DNA. I just didn't anticipate we get all of your energy with it. That girl never sleeps." As the two began to laugh, she could hold back and joined them. Siobhan swung the door open and the three looked up. She was dressed to the nines and looked amazing. "What are you three laughing about?" Viv wrapped her arm around her wife's waist with a look that a mix of pride and desire. "I was just telling them about CJ's Reece energy." The blonde beamed with pride at the thought of the little girl before excusing herself.

"Wanna bet she's off to call Carly's mom to check on Jamey and CJ. Spending her whole adult life in childcare did nothing to assuage her guilt for leaving them. Jamey's just turned eight, but she still sees the four-year-old she taught to tie his shoes." Mia looked from Viv to Reece and then down to the floor. "I can't really say I don't do the same with Lynn and Lucy. It's hard sometimes when you love your children so much, but that time you missed is always in the back of your mind. At least for me it is." They exchanged glances and the three fell into an easy silence as they finish setting up.

Marjorie couldn't wipe the smile from her face as she looked around the table. Everyone was here. Their whole village. Their friends. Their family. She watched as they talked about the families they built. Families that never would have existed without the Knight nursery. If what she believed she heard in the hospital were true, families that wouldn't haven't existed without her. As she was lost in thought, she felt Reece's fingers lace through her own. She looked at him as she sipped the mocktail. Her eyes met with his as they listened to the chatter and laughter around the table.

After everything was cleared away and the drinks were flowing freely, he pulled at her elbow and made a waving motion for her to follow before trying to get the others too as well. He pulled the coats out of the closet in the foyer and helped her on with hers before pushing his arms through his own. She questioned him, but he just guided her through the house and out to the back garden. As the others began to gather just as perplexed as Marjorie, they heard the first whistle before the sparks lit up the sky above them. She pressed her body into his side with her eyes wide and a broad smile spanning her face. "My love you've done this?" He nodded as they watched the fireworks zoom through the air. He pulled her in closer when he felt her shiver. Soon the finale made it impossible for them to hear anything being spoken but he saw her mouth the words, "Thank you."

The rest of the night was full of laughter and stories. As she had predicted, he found her in the space room sound asleep on the chaise. "Gorgeous? Gorgeous it's time to wake up. It's nearly midnight." The words no more then left his lips before they smiled at each other listening to their village scream in unison. "10 ... 9 ... 8 ... 7... 6 ... 5... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Happy New Year!" She smiled into his kiss.

They had made it.

She had made it.

As long as she was alive, 2028 was gonna be a wonderful year.