On the Court #Wattys2015

CH 24: To Stir and Let Sit

Darren's practice ends in a few short hours and Toni was trying to quickly put the kids to bed. Now eight and a half months pregnant, things didn't come so easily to her. The nursery was finished the other week and it made her so much more excited. That was what she really had hope for. Her baby getting here.

She and Darren decided that after the baby was born things will be much more settled and organized. As of right now Joseph didn't want to go to bed...

"Joseph! Get out of there and get to bed."

"I'm not tired!"

Geez, she heard that a lot. Like every night. Thank the heavens Rory was already asleep. No one needed double-trouble at this time in the evening.

"You better get your little butt to bed, now!"

He broke into sobs. Toni merely rolled her eyes. These fits annoyed her so much. "You are five years old. Five year olds do not cry."

"Well, I cry."

"You must still be a baby."

"No I'm not." He stomped his foot and Toni knew that she got to him.

"Well babies don't listen to their mommies and you're not listening so..."

"I go to bed now!" he rushed out and then sprinted up the steps. Toni sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Kids were hard and she just had to be patient.

After getting herself a small bowl of Rocky Road she made her slow journey up the stairs. Darren suggested getting another house because the steps were a 'safety hazard'. Toni thought he was being ridiculous. Now she thought it would've been better than this. Every step she took made her feet hurt. She knew it would only be a couple of weeks before it would start getting better but she was hurting now.

Curled up in bed with a bowl of ice cream is how Darren came to find Toni. He made sure to stay quiet making his way to his bedroom but right when he opened the door Toni shrieked.

"You scared me!"

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake anyone up."

"I guess you're off the hook for nearly making me pee myself," she giggled. "How was practice?"

"It was alright. I'm really sore though."

"Aw. Well go take a shower and I'll massage your back."

He opened his mouth to say something but Toni kept going. "And you can do my feet," she smiled. He rolled his eyes with a twitch to his lips, "There's always a catch." "Yup, so chop chop so I can get to bed."

While Darren was in the shower Toni changed into a tank top and some little shorts. When he got out off the shower he laid down on his stomach in the middle of the bed. Toni straddled his lower back and started working the heel of her hands into his back. He groaned out in pleasure and closed his eyes. His arms were folded so he could rest his face on his hands. It made it easier for Toni to work his muscles.

In a matter of minutes his soft snores took the silence of the room. "Darren," she whispered. He didn't answer and even though she was kind of upset about her missing a massage she thought him being this tired was so cute.

"Baby, get under the covers."

He mumbled something before lazily crawling up the bed and getting settled under the thick blankets. Toni turned off the lamp and cuddled up next to him.

"Sorry," he murmured, talking about how he fell asleep on her.

She reached up and stroked his hair. "It's okay. Tomorrow."