10 years later [Tayvin AU]

Part 13

8 DECEMBER 2015

ADAM POV

The month of December was always an interesting one in our household. It was the month of Lottie's birthday, Amy's death, and Christmas. So a lot of both joy and sadness. This year there was a little extra joy around because it was also Taylor's birthday, just 4 days after Lottie, on the 13th. Taylor was literally a shining light in my life. She brought so much excitement and happiness to our apartment. Despite the fact we had only really been going out for 2 and a bit months, we both knew this was endgame for us, although we hadn't really spoken about it in too much detail. Taylor basically lived with us now, although we hadn't officially moved in together, with staying over most nights and more and more of her stuff around the rooms. Lottie was over the moon, especially as it meant she didn't have to have babysitters if I had a late shoot or had to go away for a night or two.

Today we are having a 5th birthday party for Lottie at the zoo, with her birthday being tomorrow. Everyone is dressing up as animals and we are going to play games in their indoor education centre, since it is December in New York and had snowed over the weekend.

"Are you ladies ready yet?" I calle dup the hall towards Lottie's room where Taylor was doing Lottie's hair and face paint. That was another nice change since Taylor became more of a fixture in our life - Lottie always had her hair done perfectly for dance and for school, mainly opting for braids, which was a skill i never mastered.

"2 minutes!" Lottie called back, with both my girls' giggles filtering down the hall.

Lottie was obviously dressed as a lion, with a mane and fleece lion suit made by Taylor, while Taylor was a monkey and I was a black bear.

"ROAR!" I heard Lottie scream behind me, having crept up slowly. I jumped and pretended to be scared of her, while made her laugh even more.

"Is Lottie the lion ready to go?" I asked, holding up her snow boots and jacket which she started to put on.

Taylor came up to me in her monkey outfit and gave me a kiss as she went over to get her jacket and boots too. Even now those short, familiar, kisses still make my heart stop momentarily.

TAYLOR POV

"Happy Birthday to you, dear Lottie...happy birthday to you!" Everyone sang as we brought out Lottie's cake.

"Make a with darling!" I whispered to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

She looked at the cake with a very serious face, smiled, and blew out her number 5 candle.

"I really hope it comes true!" Lottie exclaimed, clapping her hands while we served cake to her 8 friends, all dressed as their favorite animals.

I had never really helped throw a kids birthday party, but it seemed like it had been a success. The kids got to touch and hold a bunch of small animals, played lots of games, and had birthday snacks including the cake. The only way we were able to get the party sorted was thanks to my friend Soph, who had recently been promoted to event manager at the zoo, since they usually only have parties in the summer period.

Next Lottie opened her presents from her friends. These consisted of 2 sets of Lego, 3 stuffed toys, a zoo themed word game, and a couple of DVDs. She was polite as usual, thanking every guest for coming to the party, for their presents, and giving them goody bags as they were leaving.

"I'm so exhausted!" Lottie said, falling backwards onto the sofa as soon as we got home.

"Well....you better get your energy back overnight because tomorrow is a big day!!" Adam said, tickling her as I went to get dinner ready. We had decided to just have chicken nuggets for dinner because we were all tired and tomorrow we were spending the whole day together for her actual birthday.

next morning- Lottie's birthday!

Adam and I were woken up at 6.30am by a lump sitting on top of our entangled legs.

"Wake up! It's my birthday!" Lottie squealed, bouncing up and down on our legs a little.

"Sorry little one.....you missed your birthday! You slept right through it!" Adam said

"Nuh uh....you would've woken me up....right Taylor?" Lottie said, with her face going from excited to concerned.

"Of course Lottie-bug. Daddy is just being silly!" I told her, glaring slightly at Adam. I felt very protective of Lottie.

"So what are we doing today?" Lottie asked, crawling up to sit crossed legged on top of Adam's chest.

"Well....we could start with presents and waffles....then we are going to go ice skating and to the cinema....and out for dinner." Adam explained, as we both watched Lottie's eyes get wider and wider with pure excitement.

"Well what are we waiting for!" She exclaimed, bouncing off the bed and running down the hall to the living room where her presents were waiting.

I had bought her a new dance outfit, some new storybooks with cool illustrations, a water bottle to take with her to school (because she loved my bottle so much), and a multi-coloured tutu. Adam had bought her a new bed, since her's was a toddler bed that was getting a little small and a kids digital camera so she could be 'just like daddy'. She was so excited to open all her presents, with Adam promising he'd put together the bed sometime this week.

ADAM POV

As soon as we got to the ice-rink, both Taylor and Lottie started getting really excited. I'm not a great skater, so decided to let the girls skate while I took photos. It was adorable to see Taylor helping Lottie balance and gradually move her feet. The skates she was renting had two bladed to make it easier, but it was still a new experience for her. Taylor was as graceful as can be and looked like a pro. Seeing the two of them together out there made me smile. I was so proud to be able to call Lottie my daughter and Taylor my girlfriend, and I loved them both with my entire heart.

"So what movie do you want to see Lottie?" I asked, holding her on my shoulders as we made our way into the cinema. It was a small cinema, mainly showing older films on the weekend rather than new releases. "We have the choice between 'Sleeping Beauty' or 'Open Season'."

"Um....Open Season!" She replied from her perch on my shoulders

We bought popcorn and drinks before going to sit down. Lottie insisted on sitting between Taylor and I, and we couldn't say no since she was the birthday girl, although I would have loved to sit next to Tay.

After the cinema we went to a 50's style diner where we had burger, root beer floats, and ice cream sundaes, as per Lottie's request a few weeks before.

By the time we got home, Lottie was out cold, making bedtime very easy.

"I'll get her in her PJs and wake her up slightly, if you could get her toothbrush and washcloth ready?" Taylor said, smiling at me. We had gotten into a routine at bedtime over the last few weeks, and even though Lottie was basically asleep we kept it pretty much the same.

"Finally some us time!" I said to Taylor as we sunk into the sofa, having successfully gotten Lottie to bed and back asleep.

"I've really enjoyed celebrating Lottie's birthday this weekend. It was fun." Taylor said, leaning into me as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

"Well thanks for helping us make it so fun!" I told her, leaning down and kissing her, feeling her smile against my lips. "Onto your birthday on Thursday!"