Chapter Text
Their living room practically vanished under the presents and decorations.
As much as she’d always loved the holidays, Olivia’s Christmas enthusiasm skyrocketed now that they had kids to celebrate with. She grinned as she leaned into Ethan’s side, watching as Zoey and Jonah opened their gifts.
“You think we went overboard this year?” she whispered.
“I know we did,” Ethan admitted, smiling softly. “Don’t we always?”
Chuckling, she rested her head on his shoulder and propped her feet up on the coffee table while the kids unwrapped their presents, excitedly thanking their parents for their new toys and clothes
Once the floor had vanished underneath all the gift wrap, Ethan reached under the tree and dug out two small presents. He handed one to each of the kids. “You two need to open these at the same time.”
Jonah and Zoey unwrapped the boxes, and when Olivia counted down from three, they opened them to reveal new shirts. Olivia tried to bite back a grin as the twins read the captions on the shirts.
“Big sister?”
“Big brother?”
As the meaning registered, both kids gasped and dropped the shirts. Zoey stared up at her parents, her eyes wide.
“Are you gonna have a baby?”
Olivia nodded, breaking into a grin. “Mm hmm. We found out last month, and you two are the first to know.”
Jonah climbed onto the couch. “Are you having more twins?”
“It’s just one baby this time.” Ethan drew his son into his lap. “The baby is due in June.”
Zoey joined them, putting her hand on her mom’s stomach. “Is that why your belly got a little bigger, Mommy?”
Olivia rolled her eyes at her daughter’s bluntness. “Yep. But it was bigger than this when I had you and Jonah because twin babies make you bigger than one baby.”
“Is it a boy or girl?”
“We don’t know yet, but we can find out next month”
“Okay!” The twins hugged their parents before climbing down to play with their new toys.
“And I think Daddy is going to make us some muffins since he can somehow make those, but not pancakes.” Olivia smirked and grabbed Ethan’s hand, pulling him off the couch. “And also because Baby wants blueberry muffins.”
Ethan shook his head in amusement as he followed his wife into the kitchen. “I think they took the news well.”
“I think so, too,” Olivia agreed. “They’ve been asking for a brother or sister ever since Zaid and Ines brought Gabriella over. It helps that they’re old enough to be a little more independent now.”
Ethan nodded as he set out the ingredients to make muffins. “They seemed really surprised.”
“I think they were. They definitely weren’t expecting that.” Olivia yawned as she sat down to watch Ethan fix breakfast. When the muffins were done, Jonah and Zoey joined them in the kitchen to eat.
Zoey climbed into her seat and picked up a muffin. “Can we name the baby Elmo?"
Olivia shook her head. “We’re not naming your sibling Elmo.”
“Squidward,” Jonah suggested, giggling mischievously.
“I don’t think so.” Ethan ruffled his son’s hair as he joined his family at the table. “We’ll let you two help us pick names when the baby’s closer to being here.”
“I wish you were having twins again. Then we could both name a baby.”
“As much fun as that sounds, I don’t think the world is ready for another set of Ramsey twins.”
Zoey grinned. “We’re gonna teach the baby all kinds of stuff.”
“I’m pretty sure by ‘teach,’ you mean get your little sibling into mischief or frame them for your own shenanigans.”
Jonah frowned. “How’d you know?”
Olivia had to laugh. “Your Uncle Jackson and I did that with your Aunt Lizzie all the time. So I know you two will do that, too.”
Zoey swallowed a bite of her muffin and drank her milk, getting a milk mustache on her upper lip. “Is the baby a secret?”
“It was until now. We thought you could help us tell everyone else,” Ethan supplied, handing his messy daughter a napkin, which she ignored for the joy of licking her lips.
That evening, the kids paced impatiently as they waited for Alan. As soon as he arrived, they greeted him with enthusiastic hugs.
“Grandpa!”
Grinning, Alan leaned down and hugged his grandkids. “There’s my two favorite grandkids.”
The twins shared a mischievous glance and tried to contain their giggles as they hugged him. “Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas!” Alan set down the large bag containing their presents.
Zoey tugged on Olivia’s sleeve. “Can we tell him now, Mommy?”
“I suppose. Mom and Jackson and Lizzie won’t be here until later, so you can tell them when they get here.”
“Okay.” Jonah and Zoey grabbed Alan’s hands and steered him to the couch. When he sat down, Zoey handed him a gift before she and her brother sat on either side of him.
He opened the present, digging through the tissue paper to find a picture frame with three photo slots. In the first two were recent pictures of Jonah and Zoey, with a third slot containing a note saying, “Baby Three.”
Alan grinned. “Are you telling me you two are getting a brother or sister?”
“Yeah!” Jonah nodded. “Mommy and Daddy told us this morning! They gave us the picture frame to paint for you!”
“Look at our shirts!” Zoey picked up the tee shirts and showed them to her grandfather before she and her brother left the room.
“I think this was a fun surprise for everyone, huh?” Alan hugged Ethan and Olivia. “Congratulations. Those two told me not long ago they’d been asking for a sibling.”
Olivia nodded. “They started asking last year when my nephew was born. Then they met our coworkers’ baby a few months ago and haven’t stopped asking since then.”
“Ethan asked for a sibling until he met friends who had younger siblings. Then he made it very clear he liked being an only child.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Olivia laughed, reaching over to squeeze Ethan’s hand. “I’m sure those two will be less excited when the baby’s actually here and spends all its time pooping and sleeping.”
A voice from down the hall interrupted them. “Daddy, Zoey took my iPad!”
Olivia snorted and gently nudged Ethan toward the hall. “Duty calls.”
Ethan didn’t think conferences could become any more boring, but the homesickness they induced proved him wrong.
A symposium in New York kept him away from home for three nights, which felt entirely too long for him. On his last night, his phone rang with an incoming Facetime call from Olivia’s phone.
Ethan answered it, and a moment later Zoey’s face filled the screen. “Hi, Daddy!”
“Hi, baby.”
“Hi!” Jonah worked his way into the camera, waving at his dad. “Mommy’s pooping. She left her phone on the couch.”
Ethan chuckled. “She should’ve known it would fall into the wrong hands.”
“Are you still coming home tomorrow, Daddy?”
“I am.” Ethan nodded. “But I may just decide to stay another day or two. I haven’t seen much of the hotel yet.”
“Nuh uh! You’d miss us too bad!” Zoey accused, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Yeah. Mommy even said you would probably get up early so you can come home,” Jonah added.
“You’re right. I can’t fool you two, can I?”
“Nope!” Zoey shook her head. “What time are you gonna be home?”
“I’ll be home in the morning,” Ethan promised.
“Okay. We’re gonna go get a snack. Love you!”
“Love you, Daddy!"
“Love you, too. I’ll see you first thing in the morning.”
When the kids ended the call, Ethan set his phone aside to charge. Suddenly feeling even more impatient to go home, he readied himself for bed.
The next morning, he quietly slipped into the house, knowing that Olivia and the kids were probably still asleep. He set his bags down and shut the door behind him, taking care not to make too much noise.
He’d been home a few minutes when bare feet padded down the hall. Jonah and Zoey rushed into the room, both still wearing their pajamas.
“Daddy!”
Ethan’s heart melted as he caught Jonah and Zoey in his arms. He stood up, hugging them. “Hi, guys.”
The twins hugged him excitedly as Olivia made her way into the room, yawning and smiling softly.
Zoey kissed Ethan’s cheek. “Did you miss us?”
“I did. Conferences aren’t any fun. I’d much rather be here.”
Jonah hugged him. “Did you bring us anything?”
“Why would I do that?”
“Cause you love us!” Zoey insisted, rolling her eyes as if her response explained everything.
“Hmm. I suppose I can’t argue with that.” Ethan set them down. “I left a bag for you in the living room. You’ll find two of everything, so no fighting.”
When the kids left to investigate their souvenirs, Olivia wrapped her arms around Ethan’s neck. She leaned up and gave him a kiss. “I think you were missed.”
“That was mutual.” Ethan looped his arms around her waist and gently pulled her closer to himself. “But they weren’t the only ones I missed.”
“Yeah?” She stole another kiss. “We missed you, too. You’re home in time for today’s appointment.”
“I said I would be. I’m never wrong.”
“Sure.” Olivia squeezed his arm before releasing him. “My appointment is at noon. Your dad is taking the kids out for the day, so we have some time to ourselves. I’m thinking Japanese for lunch and maybe some baby shopping.”
"Why did I just feel my wallet shrink?” Ethan teased, but there was no hiding the affection in his eyes. Once his dad arrived to spend the day with the twins, Ethan and Olivia left for her doctor’s appointment.
As Ethan drove to the clinic, Olivia rested her arm on the center console. A moment later, Ethan’s hand rested on top of hers. She glanced over at him and smiled softly. Her other hand went to her stomach, feeling the barely present bump.
Even if her first pregnancy had been more than five years ago already, she couldn’t believe it was already time for round two.