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Leaning against the side of the brick building, Malcolm is once again extremely grateful that he and Dani had listened to JT’s suggestion of getting the “leash” to keep track of their son whenever they’re outside, especially when they’re among large crowds. Or even just the regular New York city streets. Dani always likes to say how Ezra has inherited so much of Malcolm’s need for exploration and causing her stress from being reckless on a daily basis. Thankfully, the leash wraps around one of Malcolm’s wrists, and then one of Ezra’s so they’re both able to have both hands free and his son has a little more sense of freedom than he would normally.
“Ezra, be careful, please,” he calls out as his son walks around in front of him, alternating between skipping and jumping back and forth on the sidewalk.
He watches Ezra with a smile, after three and a half years still not quite believing that this is his son. The time is going by so fast, too fast for his liking, and he does his best to savor each and every moment that he gets to spend with his son. He wants to enjoy every moment while it lasts.
“Malcolm?”
Turning slightly at the voice while making sure to keep Ezra in his line of sight, he’s taken aback a bit by who he sees. She’s hardly changed at all since the last time he saw her, save for some new styling and a darker blonde color to her hair. He stays by the wall so he’s out of the way of the foot traffic on the sidewalk. “Eve. Wow. Hi. It’s...been a while.”
She nods slowly with a small smile. “It certainly has. How are you?”
He takes a deep breath, fiddling nonchalantly with the wedding band wrapped around his finger. “I’m good. Doing a lot better. Night terrors don’t come as often as they once did.”
“That’s good. That’s really good.”
“Yeah. And how are you?” he asks quickly, suddenly remembering the manners that had been instilled in him from a very young age.
She shifts a little on her feet. “I’m good. Finally got some closure. Then I took a much-needed vacation and did some traveling. I just got back into town a few days ago.”
“Oh. That’s great. I hope you got what you needed out of your vacation.”
“I think I did.” She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Listen, I know we left things in kind of a weird place the last time we saw each other, but would you maybe want to—”
“Daddy! Daddy!”
His full attention instantly shifts to his son, the little boy running up to him with an eager smile. He happily gathers his son into his arms, holding him close and adjusting the wrist straps so they don’t pull too harshly on either of them. “What is it, Ez?”
Ezra grins. “I sawed a bug.”
Malcolm laughs quietly at the look of pure glee on his son’s face. “Not surprising. There are many, many bugs all over the streets of New York.”
“You have a son.”
He turns back to Eve, watching as she takes in his son’s appearance. From his perfectly blended complexion to his straight dark hair, and to his expensive clothes that Malcolm’s mother insisted on buying for her grandson. And since they’re on their way to see her, he and Dani figured it would be best to dress their son accordingly.
“Hi,” Ezra pipes in, interrupting Malcolm’s thoughts. The toddler is smiling brightly at Eve, always ready and eager to meet new people. Something that doesn’t always let Malcolm's nerves be at ease.
“Um...hi. I’m Eve. I’m an...old friend of your dad’s.”
“I’m Ezra. Do you know my mommy too?”
Eve’s eyes shift up to meet his. “I’m not sure. Who exactly is—”
“Well, looks like we’re showing up to your mom’s place empty-handed this time. They just sold their lost one.”
Malcolm knows his entire face lights up when he sees Dani approaching, expertly carrying their daughter on her hip and the diaper bag that doubles as her purse over her shoulder. He can’t help but smile whenever he sees them. He loves them both to the moon and back. He’s never ashamed to let his affection for her show; he’d shout it from every rooftop in New York if she let him.
“That’s okay,” he tells her. “I’m sure my mother won’t mind. As long as she gets to see her grandkids, she’s happy.”
Dani laughs quietly. “Yeah, that’s true.”
“Mommy!” Ezra exclaims from Malcolm’s arms, immediately getting Dani’s attention.
“What is it, baby?” she asks, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face.
“That’s Eve,” he says with his toothy smile, pointing directly at the woman in question.
Dani’s gaze shifts to the blonde woman and her eyes go slightly wide for a split second. She sobers up quickly. “Oh. Uh, hi. I don’t think we ever met properly. Before. I’m Dani.”
Eve nods. “The detective, right. Though, from the looks of things here, you’re a lot more than just a detective now. Congratulations, I guess.”
Dani gives her a tight smile, adjusting her hold on Quinn. “Thanks. How long have you been back in town?”
“Not long. I was going to ask Malcolm if he wanted to grab lunch sometime and catch up, but I’m going to guess that you don’t have too much free time on your hands anymore.”
Dani shakes her head. “Not usually, no. But we manage to make it work.”
“Right. Well, I’ll see you around, then, Malcolm. Detective,” she says with a slight nod before moving past them down the sidewalk.
“I think that went well,” Dani says after Eve is out of earshot.
“Definitely could have been worse.”
Dani laughs and nods. “It definitely could have been.” She shifts her attention to their son, smiling brightly at him. “What do you think, Ez? Should we go see Mimi now?”
Ezra grins, bouncing excitedly in Malcolm’s arms. “Mimi! Mimi! Mimi!”
Malcolm smiles at his son’s excitement, gently patting his back and then setting his feet back on the pavement. He adjusts the strap on his wrist a little, watching as Ezra moves ahead of them down the sidewalk, but not too far ahead since the strap on his wrist only allows for so much distance.
Looking over at Dani, Malcolm takes her free hand in his and laces their fingers together. He smiles sweetly at his daughter, laughing when she squeals and reaches one of her hands out to him. He presses a kiss to her outstretched palm before their little family continues their journey down the sidewalk toward their car to go to his mother’s house.
.
.
.
As soon as the front door is open, Ezra is bolting through the house in search of his grandmother, shouting her name the entire time. It’s like a one-sided game of Marco Polo.
Malcolm chuckles quietly as he watches his son disappear from his view, the little boy eager to find his grandmother. At three years old, the toddler knows the layout like the back of his hand so he knows exactly what room his grandmother will be in without having to think about it. But it doesn’t stop him from shouting her name, clearly.
“I’m gonna go change Quinn,” Dani tells him after the front door is closed, adjusting her hold on their daughter ever so slightly.
He nods. “Okay.” He gives her a quick kiss and then watches her move deeper into the house toward one of the bathrooms.
“Daddy! I founded Mimi!”
Malcolm smiles at the sight of his mother walking into the front foyer, dressed as elegantly as ever with a toddler sitting on her hip clutching tightly to the neckline of her incredibly expensive dress.
“I can see that, buddy,” he says to his son. “I hope you didn’t interrupt Mimi if she was busy.”
His mom waves him off. “Oh, he’s never an interruption, darling. I’ll gladly take spending time with my grandson over anything else any day of the week.”
“I love you, Mimi,” Ezra says with a wide grin, throwing his arms around his grandmother’s neck.
The woman beams and hugs him back. “Oh, I love you too, Ezra.”
“Mimi, guess what?” Ezra speaks up as he pulls back from the hug, but keeps his arms around Jessica’s neck.
“What is it, darling?”
“We met...um...we met daddy’s friend Eve. But I don’t think—I don’t think mommy likes her.”
Malcolm pulls his lips in tight, groaning internally at his son’s need to share just about everything that happens in their lives with his grandmother. “Yes, we saw Eve on the street earlier on our way here.”
His mother lets out a huff of air. “Well, I can’t say I’m thrilled about her being back in town. Not after everything she put this family through. I hope you’re never going to speak to her again.”
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” Dani interjects as she rejoins the scene, carrying Quinn comfortably on her hip. “She seemed pretty...surprised and maybe a little uncomfortable to see Malcolm happily married with two kids.”
“Oh, that’s quite alright,” Jessica says with a flourish of her hand. “We don’t need her. But what I need right now is some expert snuggling from my beautiful grandbabies.” She wiggles the fingers of her free hand in Quinn’s direction, a bright smile on her face.
Dani obliges, handing Quinn over easily before wrapping an arm around one of Malcolm’s and leaning against him. He leans against her too, smiling at the scene in front of him.
“Now then,” Jessica speaks up, “Ainsley should be here soon, so until then, I’ll be spending some quality time with my grandchildren, you two know where the drinks are.” She turns and makes her way toward the den-turned-playroom that she had done once Ezra was born. Well, before he was born, would be more accurate.
“So,” Malcolm says, taking a deep breath and looking toward his wife, “shall we grab a drink? Take a bit of a reprieve from being parents for a moment?”
She laughs, dropping her forehead to his shoulder before looking back up at him. “There’s never a reprieve from being parents. We’re always somehow in parent mode.”
Malcolm laughs with her. “That we are.”
The front door opening behind them interrupts whatever either of them was going to say next, signaling Ainsley’s arrival for their family dinner. She’s dressed in her usual attire, having probably come straight to their mother’s place from work.
“Malcolm, Dani,” she says with a wide smile, speeding over and pulling them both into a hug, the front door falling closed behind her. “How are you guys?”
“We’re good, Ains,” Malcolm says back with a smile of his own.
“Though, we are still recovering from a run-in with Eve,” Dani informs her.
Ainsley’s eyes go comically wide. “What? She’s back? Why? Why is she back? What did she do?”
Malcolm stifles a chuckle. “Relax, Ains, nothing bad happened. She just saw me and wanted to say hi.”
Dani lets out a small sigh. “And then she saw Ezra, then me and Quinn, and I think things got a little weird for her. Not that I’m complaining, though.”
Ainsley laughs. “I don’t think any of us are going to bat an eye about that.” She smiles and claps her hands together once. “Now, where are my beautiful niece and nephew?”
“Mom has them in the playroom.”
Ainsley grins. “Excellent. I’ll just go and—”
“Auntie Ainsley!”
“Ezra!” Ainsley exclaims as she turns around, stooping down just enough to catch her nephew as he runs at her. She wraps her arms around him tightly and spins, peppering kisses all over his face and making him giggle.
His mother joins the scene a few seconds later, still carrying Quinn in her arms and approaching with a smile, her eyes locked onto Ezra.
Malcolm smiles as he watches the scene, leaning against Dani as her arms encircle his waist from behind. “We’re doing a good job, right?” he questions as he watches his mother and sister interacting with his children, wide smiles on all of their faces. “We’re not horrible parents?”
Dani nods against him, her chin resting on his shoulder. “I think that neither of us is a serial killer and we love our children more than life itself.” She turns her head just enough to press a quick kiss to his cheek. “So I’d say we’re doing a pretty damn good job.”