time

epilogue.

'I'm so glad you're here.' Demi admits glancing at Matthew as her daughters run ahead of them both.

'You know I'm always happy to help out whenever I can. How are you feeling?' He asks causing her to shrug her shoulders.

'Tired, sore... The usual post-birth aches and pains.' She replies glancing down at the stroller she's pushing.

'It's a shame that Wilmer had to go back to work so quickly.' He says as the girls stop just outside of Toys R Us.

'I know but this is his final season. He's trying to get it all wrapped up and then he'll be able to be home for like four months before starting the Netflix series which is filmed here and means no more long New York trips.' She replies.

'That's good then.' He says as they reach the girls.

'Okay. So you both have some money from your birthday and Christmas which is why we're here, okay? You have around $100 each and mommy will tell you when you've spent it all but you don't have to spend it all today. You need to stay together though and not run away from me and Uncle Matthew.' Demi says bending down in front of both girls as they nod their head.

'Okay, mommy.' Pearl replies taking hold of her little sister's hand. The past four years have been extremely busy for the Valderrama family; when Pearl was 18 months old Demi and Wilmer got married in a small private ceremony before announcing to their friends and family that they were expecting baby number 2! Lilah Juniper was born three days before her big sister turned two and the pair have been best friends ever since.

'On you go then.' Demi says smiling. They all make their way into the toy store and Matthew grabs a cart.

'How's the little one fitting into the family then?' Matthew asks glancing into the stroller.

'Really well. He's amazing, Matthew... Literally a dream baby. All he does is sleep and eat, barely even cries.' Demi replies causing Matthew to smile.

****

'Mom, I want to buy this!' Pearl says gesturing to a large Calico Critters house.

'I want to buy it too, mommy!' Lilah says causing Demi to sigh.

'Girls, this is $70 and you don't need one each so why don't you both pay for it. You can each pay $35 and then you have some money left to get other stuff?' Demi suggests and the girls look at each other before nodding their heads.

'How much money do we have left if we buy this?' Pearl asks.

'You'll have $65 each.' Demi replies.

'Okay. We need to buy furniture for the house.' Pearl says and Demi nods her head.

'Once you've decided what you want to get with the rest of the money, you can both pick out a little animal family each and I'll buy them for you.' Demi says softly.

'Really, mommy?' Pearl asks and Demi nods her head.

'Yeah, you've both been such good girls and I know we haven't been able to do much because mommy's been recovering from having Huxley.' Demi replies smiling.

'Thank you!' Both Lilah and Pearl say smiling as they go back to picking out their furniture. Making her way over to the self, Demi goes to pick up the box before she feels a hand on her shoulder.

'I'll get it.' Matthew says causing her to smile.

'Thank you.' She replies softly.

______

'Do you think you'll have any more kids?' Matthew asks causing Demi to glance over at Pearl and Lilah who are curled up on the sofa watching the Smurfs.

'No, I don't think so. I was pretty content with two and although I wouldn't change Huxley for the world, I'm happy with three. I can handle three.' Demi replies causing Matthew to laugh.

'Three does seem like a pretty good number.' Matthew says and she nods her head. Glancing down at the infant curled up on her chest she can't help but smile.

'I never thought I'd have a family like this and then I had Pearl and I dreamt of having more kids...' Demi admits.

'And now you've got three perfect tiny versions of you and Wilmer.' Matthew says and she nods her head.

'I know. I'm giving up music...' She says.

'Really?' He asks and she smiles.

'Wilmer and I have spoken about it and I just- I don't want to miss out on anything. I missed Lilah's first steps, I missed Pearl's first school play and those are things I'll never forgive myself for.' She replies.

'So you're giving it up completely?' He asks.

'Yeah. For now anyway. I just- I want to be a mom that the kids look back and remember me being there for their school plays and everything else. I love music but it isn't my everything anymore.' She replies.

'That makes sense. Did someone just come in your front door?' He asks and she glances behind her.

'I hope not.' She replies smiling slightly. Standing up she makes her way out into the hallway and gasps as she sees Wilmer quietly taking off his shoes.

'Wilmer...' She says quietly.

'Oh hey, nena... I thought you would've been in bed.' He says as she rushes towards him and throws her arms around him.

'We had a movie night with Matthew.' She replies smiling as she buries her head in the crook of his neck.

'So the kids are still up?' He asks and she shakes her head.

'They're sleeping on the sofa.' She replies smiling.

'I've missed you.' He says.

'I've missed you too... I didn't know you were coming back today; I thought it was next week or something.' She replies.

'I got everything filmed so that's me. No more flying back and forth from here to New York.' He says and she nods her head.

'I love you.' She whispers.

'I love you too.' He replies.

****

'It's been so long since we last did this.' Demi says smiling as she glances at Wilmer lying in bed beside her. Pearl is cuddled into his side while Lilah cuddles into Demi.

'I know. We'll be able to do this a lot more now that I'm going to be home.' Wilmer replies smiling as he kisses her head.