Forever Yours, Daniel ✹ Phan (Sequel to House Plants)

Chapter Twenty

Cat's POV
-
It was March 13th, 2024....Catherine and Aj's 5th birthday was here already, and we had agreed to tell them the truth when they were old enough....now.
-
I came over with presents for my kids, and they greeted me at the door, "Hi!"
"Hey sweethearts, happy birthday!"
Dan and Phil were finishing up last touches to the cake they made for our kids and then came to see me.
"Today..." Phil whispered in my ear.
"Should we talk to them now?" I asked.
Catherine and Aj were listening, so I had to talk quietly.
-
We sat down in the lounge with the kids and I explained that my name is Cat.
"But...." Catherine was confused. "But I'm Cat.."
"Yes, I know. You were named after me. Do you know why?"
I looked at Dan and Phil who had Aj sitting between them, as Catherine was on Dan's lap.
"I'm your mother..." I smiled.
"But we don't have a mum." Aj chimed in.
"You do. You see, before you were born, yours dads asked me to be their surrogate, meaning I'd become pregnant with you two."
"But they're gay.." Catherine giggled.
I couldn't help but laugh after the entire Howell family was laughing at Catherine's comment.
"Yes. The doctor made it possible for both of them to father you guys.. And I'm your mother. I held you in my belly for 9 months."
The kids shot up from their seats and hugged me. "We love you Mum." They said.
"I love you guys, too."
"But.." They broke away from the hug and Aj started to question. "Why do you talk like that?"
I chuckled. "You see.... I'm from a different country than your dads. I was born in North America, while you were born here in England. I stayed here while you were growing up and decided to move here."
"So you could be with us?" Catherine added.
"Exactly." I looked up at Dan and Phil, who were smiling as they cut the cake. "You're going to be starting school soon, aren't you?" I asked. They nodded and got excited.
"I have another question.." Aj said, quietly. "If she was named after you, why's my name Adrian?"
Dan and Phil heard their son ask me that question and Dan went to grab a picture from their bedroom.
-
"See, Aj... Catherine... Your aunt Angela and uncle Adrian died young. We named you after Adrian because we wanted you to know who my brother was. And Catherine, your middle name is Angela because wherever Adrian was, Angela followed. They were very happy together." Dan explained.
-
"How did they die?" Catherine chimed in.
"Um... They were going to college and your uncle Martyn was helping them unpack and get settled into their dorms. Someone very mean came into the college and had a gun. Adrian saved Angela by taking the bullets that were aimed at her and her friend..... Angela was very sad to know he died saving her..." Dan was choked up. It had been nearly six years since they died and yet, their deaths had such an impact on our lives.
-
Phil finished for him, "Angela died a couple days after Adrian.. She didn't want to live without him....so she didn't."
-
Catherine and Aj understood why they had only one aunt and uncle in England, but they still hadn't met my family. We agreed that my family would come visit after you told them that I was their mom.
-
"My family is coming to see you guys!" I announced. They were about five minutes away. "You have two more uncles and an aunt, and a grandpa that's coming."
-
My dad and my brothers, and sister all came to visit me and meet Catherine and Aj. When Sarah saw Catherine, she instantly hugged her.
"A LITTLE CAT!!" She fangirled about the fact that her niece had the same name as her older sister. Matt and Paul helped Dan and Phil with the gifts, but I think it was just a way to ask about their homosexuality. They were always questioning.
-
Aj and Catherine got to open their presents after we all ate some cake and sang happy birthday.
They both got an equal number of presents each, and a few presents together, including an indoor play set from my dad.
-
Dan and Phil decided that five years old was the right age to show them a few of their videos, so it was a special gift for Aj and Catherine to see their dads' YouTube videos. They always wanted to, but Phil was afraid they'd be too inappropriate for their children.
-
Phil hooked up his laptop to the television in the lounge and we all watched some of their more appropriate videos, including Phil is Not on Fire. The kids loved their dads' videos and hugged them after each video ended.
-
My family didn't stay in England, but left later that day, hugging our abnormal, but unique family. Aj and Catherine were exhausted and needed to go to bed by the time the party ended.
I kissed them goodnight and left after tucking them into bed.
-
Dan and Phil gave me hugs and thanked me for coming over.
"No problem, guys. I love to come by. It's no issue... I live next door."
"True... But we appreciate everything you've done for these two.." Phil smiled. Dan wrapped his arm around Phil's back, saying "Well, it's getting pretty late. Philly, we need to sleep. I'm still catching up on sleep from 4 years ago."