Love over Hate

Wake Up

Groaning, Jared plopped down onto the large king-sized bed, stretching his arms up above him. Following along behind him, you laid down, resting your head against his chest. "That was exhausting!" He exclaimed, yawning widely.

"But it was fun." You argued. Truthfully, tonight had been lots of fun. Spending time with his two sons, getting to know them a little bit better. Your favorite part had been watching Jared interacting with his boys, seeing how loving and caring he truly was. Making you really crave a family with him. Not just the getting married part, and becoming the step mother to these two wonderful boys. But it tugged on your hormones, and you wanted a baby of your own. "Your boys are amazing, and they love you so much."

"They are pretty awesome. I love being a father, and I just wish I had more time for it." He mumbled, and you turned until you were laying on your stomach, staring up at him. You could see the guilt eating at him, worried that he wasn't there enough for his kids.

"Jared, you are such an amazing person." You insisted, and he glanced down at you in surprise. "It's true. You try so hard to be there for everyone. You want the best for everyone, and that's one of the reasons I fell in love with you. You are there for your kids, and now that our relationship issues are hopefully behind us, along with the problems with the front office, maybe we can figure something out. Maybe we can create a schedule with Gen. Get your boys a little bit longer."

"You would consider that? Even though they aren't your kids?" He asked, and it hurt a little that he would even have to ask that.

"Of course! I love those boys, and I would love to someday become their Step Mother." You answered, hoping you weren't going too far. "Jared, I love you, and I want to be a part of your life, a part of everything. I wouldn't mind adding to the family, creating a life of our own."

"Are you saying what I think?" He asked you, his face very serious.

Taking a deep breath, you nodded, nervously awaiting his response.

Pulling you up his chest, he brought his lips down to yours, kissing you with a force you hadn't felt before. "I would love that." He whispered, brushing the hair back from your face. "I always wanted to have a house full of kids, and having a baby with you would make me the happiest man on Earth!"

Feeling giddy at the way he took the news, you pressed your lips to his again, your hands sinking into that wonderful mane of his. As his hands skimmed your body, the sound of little footsteps sounded in the hallway, and the door creaked open. "Daddy?" Tom's voice called out, and you pulled away from Jared, laying down next to him.

"Yeah buddy?" Jared asked, sitting up and turning the light on. Both boys stood there, holding their favorite blankets in their hands.

"Shep had a bad dream, and we wanna sleep with you." Tom explained, stepping farther into the room.

Patting the bed next to you, you smiled at the boys. "Come on in." You smiled at them. At the invitation, both boys raced into the room, jumping onto the bed, settling into the bed between the two of you. Knowing there was no way you could cuddle against Jared now, you sighed, reaching over and turning off the light.

As the three of you settled down under the covers, you felt a little body cuddling up to yours. "Is this okay?" Shep asked as he snuggled as close to you as he could.

"Of course." You whispered, ruffling the boy's hair. Sighing in contentment, Shep closed his eyes, asleep within seconds. Jared glanced at you over the boy's heads, shrugging his shoulder silently apologizing for the interruption. Smiling at him, you snuggled against the boy, your eyes growing heavy as you realized how happy you finally were.

"Shh, we don't want to wake her." You heard Jared whispering as the bed was jostled. Peeking one eye open, you watched as Jared and the boys crept out of the room, leaving it darkened for you to sleep in. Snuggling deeper under the covers, you fell back to sleep.

"Is it time?" Another voice whispered some time later, as the side of the bed dipped. Struggling to wake, your eyes flittered opened, a smile gracing your face as you saw Shep's little face in front of yours. "She's awake!" He yelled, definitely waking you up for sure.

"I bet she is." Jared chuckled. Moving to sit up, you saw a tray in his hands, Tom waiting by him. "The boys wanted to bring you breakfast in bed."

On the tray was oatmeal and toast, along with a cup of coffee. Placing it on your lap, you took a bite of the toast, looking at the boys as you ate. "So, what's the plan today?"

"Well, we both don't have to be to the studio until this afternoon." Jared started talking, sitting down on the bed next to you, Tom in his lap. "The boys wanted to come with us, and I said they could as long as they behave. Since Gen won't be back yet."

"Yeah, and if need be, we know one of the PA's will help out." You agreed.

"We were also thinking this morning we could go shopping." Jared started to say as Tom bounced up and down in his lap.

"We want to buy a present for you!" He exclaimed. Glancing between Tom and Jared, you knew you were outnumbered.

Reaching over and tickling Shep, you asked him. "Is this something you want to do to?"

"Yeah!" He exclaimed between giggles. "Dad said we could go to the mall, and find a..." He started to blurt out until Jared's hand covered his mouth, covering up what he was going to say.

Wondering what they were up to, you finished off your coffee. "Well, let's get going then!"

Getting a house full of boys up and ready to go was no easy feat. Jared went down to the kitchen, cleaning up the mess they had made for breakfast. That left you to get the boys ready, along with yourself. Shep kept wiggling as you tried to help him button up his shirt, and by the time you turned to Tom, you realized his shoes were on the wrong feet. Sighing, you helped him fix that, only to see that Shep had paired his flannel shirt with a pair of bright orange swim trunks. "I see you have your father's clothing style." You chuckled as you handed him a pair of jeans instead.

With both boys finally ready, you went back in your room. Knowing that you would soon be in the makeup and hair dresser's trailer, you went simple, keeping it lowkey, braiding your hair down your back. Slipping on some slim jeans and a sweater, you went back downstairs, seeing Jared struggling to get both boys into their car seats. Once that was taken care of, you climbed into the passenger seat, ready to see what Jared and his boys had up their sleeves. Because you never knew with him.