Haley's POV
I woke up with Steven in between Nathan and I. I looked down at his precious, innocent face as he slept, wondering how I created something this beautiful, this perfect. Time was passing way too fast. I remember when I found out that I was pregnant, crying on the bathroom floor with Nathan holding me. I remember watching my belly grow, and eventually move with his kicks and turns. I remember when my water broke, just as I grabbed my high school diploma, then rushing off stage, a little embarrassing trail of amniotic fluid following behind me. I remember the doctors placing him on my chest as they cleaned him off. The fact that my little boy was now three, turning four was scaring me. One more year and he'll be starting preschool. I swept the wavy hair from his closed eyes and let a tear of happiness escape. Nathan reached over and wiped it away.
"What's wrong, babe?" He asked with eyes full of concern.
"Nothing. I'm just so proud of him, and us, for coming this far. Him from being in the hospital with his underdeveloped lungs, and us for going from nervous teenagers who secretly liked each other and becoming what we are today. He's grown so much." I paused, biting my lip. "In a year he'll be off to preschool.
Nathan's eyes widened. "I forgot about that."
"I hope he loses some of his stubbornness before then. I knew he would be stubborn seeing as how he's your kid, but jeez." I teased
Nathan chuckled and stuck his tongue out, playing with our son's hair.
"I love you." I told him, holding his warm hand.
"I love you too."
He carefully leaned over Steven, kissing my lips softly. He still took my breath away, even after being together for four years. It was comforting to know that he still gave me butterflies, only by holding my hand. I love how much I love this amazing man.
____________________________________________________________________________________
After I cleaned up the mess Steven made after his breakfast I was already stressed out. This was the third day in a row that he threw it on the floor after not getting what he wanted. I hated even thinking this, but maybe we need to start putting him in timeouts. Just the thought made me feel bad but what else could I do? I washed his highchair and dish and sat on the couch, looking at the commercial on the TV screen that Destery had on. "What are you watching?" I asked, letting out a long. stressed out breath.
He looked at me, understanding in his eyes. "Pokémon. You can change it if you want." He said, handing me the remote.
"Destery. Why the fuck would I change Pokémon? Have you forgotten about all the cards and stuffed animals I still have?"
He let out a laugh, putting the remote back on the coffee table along with his feet. "so don't get mad when I say this... I'm not trying to tell you how to parent... But I think Steven needs more discipline."
I closed my eyes. I knew I wasn't the only one to think so, but it's still weird to hear it coming from someone else's mouth. I could feel his eyes burning holes into me, waiting for a reply. I took in a deep breath, eyes still closed, and nodded my head.
Destery placed a hand on my knee. "I get that it's hard. I see what's happening. It's hard to have a kid. Especially one that turned out to be a lot like Nate."
I chuckled, opening my eyes.
Destery continued. "Kids like Nate need a little discipline."
I nodded my head again, feeling a little better that someone understood. I knew Bay would too, but she was at work so I couldn't talk to her. Now the hard part, convincing Nathan to agree. He wanted to be a very laid-back, lenient parent.
I finished watching the show and went upstairs to find Nathan. I found him in Steven's room playing with his favorite Ninja Turtles action figures. It was his favorite game. "I WIN!"
I walked in and sat on Steven's bed, watching him continuously knock over Nathans Ninja Turtle screaming "I WIN" over and over again. "Steven, why don't you go and see what Uncle Destery has on TV?" I suggested.
"Okay." His little voice said, running out of the room and down the hall.
"I'm guessing you want to talk about something?" Nathan guessed, sitting down on the bed.
I slowly nodded my head, wishing I didn't have to tell him.
"What is it?" He asked, starting to get nervous.
I sighed, ready to get this over with. " I think we need to be a little more hard on Steven. He can't keep getting away with his attitudes and temper tantrums. I think we need to start doing timeouts."
Nathan's face was straight and emotionless. I hate when he does this. I don't like being able to not read him. It was a couple minutes before he answered me. Finally, he nodded his head in agreement. "Okay... I really don't want to but if it's what we have to do, then I'll do it to make my son a better kid."
"Thank you for not fighting this, babe. I don't like it either but he can't grow up being disrespectful."
He kissed my lips, giving me the butterflies as always.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Destery's POV
Nathan brought Steven back upstairs for his nap. I was still sitting on the couch in my pajamas when Bay got home from work. "You're still in your damn pajamas?!" Bay asked exasperated.
I gave her an evil grin, wiggling my eyebrows. "Yea, wanna go to bed?" I retorted, winking.
"You perve." She replied, sitting on my lap and kissing me. I kissed her back, deepening the kiss, licking her lip for access. She opened her mouth and soon our tongues were dancing. As much as I wanted this to continue, I needed to talk to her about something. I pulled away breathlessly. "Bay, I want to ask you something."
She stiffened immediately. "What is it?"
"I think I know what we should get Haley for her birthday."
Bay's eyes widened, like she was thinking something way different. "Oh, um, what were you thinking?"
"We should get her and Nathan a room to a nice hotel for the weekend. We'll watch Steven. They've both been stressed out so much lately, it would be a nice time for them to relax."
Bay looked really surprised. "Wow... Who knew you could be so romantic?" She teased.
"Hey!" I whined, pushing out my lower lip, trying to make her feel bad.
Bay laughed, kissing me again. "It's a great idea."
___________________________________________________________________________________
Well, this is my first chapter writing by myself in this story. :) Hope you all love it. :D
I love you, my beautiful readers. :3
~Fair Winds~
Haley :)
