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When Cullen returned from the kitchen with an armful of snacks and two cups of tea, Celeste had already gathered the children onto the bed and was speaking to them softly, in an attempt to calm them down from their hyperactive post-playtime state. Her attempts were failing miserably, however, as the children were as wound up as could be. Abandoning the effort to quiet the children, her arm curled firmly around Stanton’s little waist, who struggled half-heartedly against her grip even as she pressed ticklish kisses all down his cheek, causing the curly-headed child to squeal with both delight and feigned embarrassment. Elinor joined in, then, attacking her brother’s stomach with all the tickles her tiny fingers could muster, until the little boy was reduced to a giggling mess at his mother’s side. Cullen stood quietly at the door, delighting in the laughter and happy glow of the three most precious things in his life, all gathered together on the bed.
“All right, everyone,” Cullen said with a warm grin as he set the cups of tea on the bedside table before placing the snacks within arms’ reach of the children. “Time to settle down. Your mother and I need to talk to you, and it’s very important.”
Elinor looked back and forth between her parents with wide, amber-golden eyes. “Like, a real big people talk? That kind of important?”
Cullen chuckled and leaned down to press a kiss to his daughter’s nose, then ruffled a hand through Stanton’s hair briefly before reaching for his cup of tea. “Yes, kiddos, a real big people talk. Now, remember the talk we had a few months ago? About our family, and how much you both liked having a sibling around?”
The children were silent but nodded eagerly, both pairs of eyes shining up at their father and hanging on his every word.
“Well,” Celeste picked up where her husband had left off, “how would you feel if we told you there was going to be another sibling? Someone else to play with, a new baby brother or sister?”
Both of the children just stared for a few moments, tiny mouths hanging wide open in surprise. Celeste gave her most reassuring smile and pressed a kiss to the tops of their heads, saying quietly, “What do you think, kiddos?”
Elinor was the first to respond, her eyes disbelieving as she pulled at the empty, knotted-up sleeve of Celeste’s shirt. “Do you really mean it, Momma? A new baby, here? With us?” Both Cullen and Celeste chuckled and nodded, their eyes meeting for a moment to convey the pure, unadulterated elation that had been coursing through both their veins for the last few days, since Celeste had realized that she really was pregnant again. That there would be another little Rutherford, soon enough.
As soon as Elinor realized that her parents were being totally serious, that she was really going to have another sibling, she began firing questions like arrows. “A boy or a girl? What will her name be, if she’s a girl? Oh, Mama, do you think she’ll look like me, or like Stanton? Or like you or Dad? Will they have curly hair like us?”
With the onslaught of questions from the girl, Celeste almost missed Stanton muttering something unintelligible into her side. She pressed a hand to Elinor’s head to quiet her for a moment, leaning down so that her ear was closer to her son’s mouth.
“What was that, love? You said something?”
The boy’s eyes, every bit the same shade of honey as his father’s, were glistening just the slightest bit as he looked up at his mother.
“Are you gonna have enough love for another baby? They’re gonna need lots of love, too, you know.”
Celeste gave a small sigh and bent down to press another kiss to Stanton’s upturned face. “Stanton, my darling. Of course we have enough love for another little baby. You know, love isn’t something that ever runs out. It’s always here,” she pointed gently at his chest, earning a little giggle out of the boy, “right here in your heart. There’s always enough love for more.”
Stanton still looked a little bit skeptical of the theory of unlimited love, but he nestled back into his mother’s side quietly, his thumb moving upwards into his mouth as it so often did when he was ready for a nap. Elinor seemed to grow quiet then, too, perceiving the shift in the atmosphere of the room and deciding that she was up for sleeping as well. She flopped and twisted onto her side, until her head rested in Celeste’s lap, and her eyes quickly fluttered shut.
Stanton’s breathing was growing quieter, deeper, slower, and Celeste was sure that he was asleep by this point. Until he stirred, looking up at Celeste and then to Cullen. In a small, thin, sleep-strained voice, he murmured, “You promise you’ll love the new baby as much as you love me an’ El?”
“We promise,” Cullen said softly, scooting up the bed enough to place a tender hand on Stanton’s mop of curls.
“Pinky promise?”
Cullen and Celeste looked at each other and then back down to their little boy, laughing to themselves. But, as parents often do, they took the request in stride - Cullen offered his left pinky while Celeste offered her right, and both of their fingers were encircled by Stanton’s own little fingers as he sealed the deal. When he’d made sure to make his point, his tiny hands fell back to their former position, with one thumb in his mouth and the other hand tucked beneath his cheek against Celeste’s side. As the little ones began to snore softly, Cullen made to grab Celeste’s hand gently. He extended his little finger once again, looking up at her to make sure she got the meaning of the gesture. When she did the same, he tangled his little finger around hers, giving her a huge, loving smile, full of hope and joy and pride.
“Pinky promise?” he whispered, relishing the snores of his children in the background. Celeste gave a soft laugh and returned the grin, squeezing his pinky with her own.
“Pinky promise.”