The Delacours: Part Deux

sixteen.

The next morning, the kids woke up early so I got out of bed to get them breakfast. As they sat down to eat, I watched them from the kitchen while I drank my coffee. Chris came down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Hey," he said, kissing my forehead, reaching for a cup. "What time did you guys get in?"

"Not that late, actually."

"Did you get the stuff?" he asked under his breath. I nodded.

"I got two different kinds. One for us and one for them. Reid assured me it would make everything feel great, so... here's hoping," I said, holding up my coffee mug. Chris tapped his against mine. "Val and Zane can both smell it from inside my bag though. He made it special for them." He smirked as Zane came down the stairs. We both kissed him good morning. The kids finished up their breakfast and got dressed. There was a knock at the front door, I checked it. It was Ray and Aria.

"Hey! Why didn't you tell me you were on your way? The kids are getting dressed now," I said.

"I tried!" Aria said. "But your phone is off!"

"Oh! Shit. I forgot to turn it back on after I fired Morgan."

"You did what!?" Chris and Aria said.

"I found a replacement for him."

"I hope it's not that asshole that kissed you."

"No! Even though I offered him the position before that; he denied my request. But his Lieutenant? She's got a good head for it and can put her foot down if she needs to. She'll be perfect. I hope Anna agrees." I grabbed my phone from my jacket and turned it on. I had a few voice-mails from Morgan all complaining about how I treated him and yelling about how he 'won't leave the office'. I deleted them all.

"Well, when do you want me to bring the kids back?" Aria asked.

"Sunday night work for you guys?" I said.

"Yes! That's fine with me!" Aria said. The kids came downstairs with their backpacks full of pajamas and clothes.

"Aunt Aria! Uncle Ray!" Ava yelled, running to hug them. "Bye Momma! Bye Daddy! Bye Poppa!"

"Oh, okay... Bye..." I said, as she pulled them out the door.

"Bye, Momma," Noah said, hugging me.

"Bye, guys," Odie said. I gave him a kiss on the forehead. I closed the door behind them.

"Have a good day at school!" I called out to them as they rushed out the door.

"So, surprise weekend starts now!?" Zane asked.

"Well... yes, but the main surprise is gonna wait a little. Val is still asleep, so we should wait for her to wake up." I cleaned up the dishes from breakfast and could hear Val moving in the room upstairs. I poured her cup of coffee and brought it up to her. She was making the bed, so I wrapped my arms around her from behind and held the cup in front of her. She grabbed it and took a sip.

"Good morning," I said, softly. She moved out of my arms.

"Good morning," she said with a kiss. "Did the kids leave?"

"Yes. And they hardly even said goodbye to us. I was feeling kind of bad giving them to Ray and Aria again, but they seem like they're gonna enjoy the weekend with them."