Chapter Text
I couldn't believe it was already time to celebrate Jack's birthday again. And of course the girls. This was going to be their first birthday now, and I couldn't help but reflect on the last year with them. All four of them were doing amazingly well, already walking in the adorable clumsy baby steps of early toddlers everywhere, and had been for a few months. I wasn't totally surprised. Mom had always told me I walked young too, but the fact that all four of them started walking in the same week was amazing. Tiana and Stephanie were the first ones to both stand up on their own and walk, taking us by surprise when it happened. Sammi and Dani weren't far behind though. And now they have all started talking. So far Danielle and Samantha have the bigger vocabularies, but all four of them say Mama, Dada, Papa, and a small handful of other words everyday. We had flown out for short visits to everyone at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years again, stopping at Cincinnati first this year. Mom drove up to visit for a few days while we were there as well. We flew to Ireland again for Christmas. I was fully recovered from my heart issues by my birthday, so I had once again found perfect Christmas presents, but this year, I had also found presents for Jack, Mark, and all four girls to supplement the bigger gifts I got for everyone. I was once again declared the winner of Christmas in Jack's family. Dee, Momiplier, Thomas, and Julie called to thank us for the gifts as well, surprising Jack and Mark. My family had waited Christmas for a few days until we flew in for the visit. Clarissa and Darrell had decided that they would wait to fly in until closer to when we got there so they could spend some time with all of us and got to the family get together. Eddie had gotten the job as a sound tech on the crew and had taken over the lease for my apartment, and he and Ray had gotten engaged two days after Christmas, although most of the family didn't know until New Years. I had helped arrange it, with Jack's and Mark's assistance, so we knew, but we had agreed not to tell anyone. They had flown back to visit Mom after filming wrapped for Christmas. Meanwhile, we had booked Chica and Steve, who were now best buddies and nearly inseparable, into a doggie hotel for our trips for Christmas and New Years. We had decided that flying the shorter distance of Ireland to my mother's was a lot more doable than directly flying home and then turning around and flying right back out, and we didn't want another immensely long flight with the girls so soon after the first one. They had seemed to like flying quite well however, and behaved pretty well, especially for not-quite-one-year-olds. It also helped that the flight we were on was an overnight with very few first class passengers in the compartment with us, so there wasn't a whole lot of distraction. They actually did sleep for much of the flight. Actually, they slept for most of all of our flights, whenever we went somewhere by plane with them. They had also seemed to very much enjoy spending time with all the different family members, even if they didn't remember meeting them before. They had needed to wake up and warm up a little bit, but then they were happy to go toddle over to whoever wanted to talk to them or play. It was adorable.
Mark came into the room, distracting me from my reminiscing. "Hey sweetie, what's up?" Mark looked over at me, grinning.
"Well, at least you still notice when I come into the room. You looked completely lost in thought there. What were you thinking about this time? The girls? Work? Jack? Me? The dogs? Dinner? Family? All of the above, at the same time?"
I laughed. "Okay, you caught me. I was just thinking about the last year with the girls. Or actually last six months or so. I still can't believe how well they traveled and how much they have grown. They definitely don't look like babies anymore." I sighed. "So, where are they? Playing with Daddy no doubt, but where?"
Mark grinned. "Actually, Uncle Eddie and Uncle Ray stopped by. Daddy and the girls went to go meet them and play. Sammi called Eddie 'Unca Eddie' which made him pick her us and hug her right before I came in looking for you. She's really talking a lot lately, isn't she?"
I nodded. "Yup. So is Dani, although Steph and Tiana aren't that far behind either. I can't believe our babies are almost a year old." Mark came over and hugged me. I smiled and hugged him back. "So, are Jack and the girls going to be busy with Ray and Eddie for a little while?"
Mark looked at me curiously. "Probably. What did you have in mind?"
I grinned at him. "Well, we still need to plan the party for the girls. Also, we need to figure out Jack's present. I'm not sure what to get him this year."
Mark grinned and chuckled at me. "Yeah, babe, I kind of doubt you can out do last year. That was a hell of a birthday surprise. Plus, you flew his family out as a surprise as well. I know we are doing that again, but we need something else too. And you're really out of ideas?"
I thought for several minutes. "Maybe not. Let me talk to a few of our friends and make a few phone calls. I might just have something that will work. But, I'm going to wait to tell you, in case it falls through." I leaned into Mark and kissed his cheek. "Actually, I kind of want to see if while the family is all here, if some of them will watch the girls so we can have a weekend to ourselves. We haven't really had that since last summer, and even then all we could do was think about my surgery." I shivered a small bit, making Mark wrap his arms around me. "I hate thinking about that. It was too close to a disaster."
Mark nodded. "That it was. Now, come here, gorgeous." He kissed me. "We have a few minutes of alone time. Can we slip away together?"
I shook my head ruefully. "Not really. I want to Mark, but you know what will happen. Besides, we really do need to plan this party for the girls. We have too many little ones in the group, what with my nephew, Henry, Felix's and Marzia's son, Jacob, and Suzy's and Arin's daughter, Katie, and the girls to plan something like a trip to Disney or Lego. Honestly, I'm not sure what to do for them. I know what theme we are going with, mostly because it's obvious. Maybe just have a princess party in the afternoon for them, and a grown up party for Jack separately?"
Mark smiled at me. "That sounds smart. The girls all love the different princesses and we have been calling them our little princesses since before they were born. Are you going to get costumes for them?"
I laughed. "Of course. It's called dress up, Mark. That and tea parties are a hallmark of childhood for most little girls, even if we dress up as knights or dragons instead of the fairies and damsels in distress. Actually, I have some ideas for activities and we can let Jack's nieces and nephews help the little ones. I think mostly it's just going to be about the birthday foods for the kids. Well, that and opening presents."
Mark raised an eyebrow at me. "Who dressed up as a knight or dragon?"
I laughed. "I did. Or the witch. I never wanted to be the helpless princess. I was occasionally the prince even, when we were playing in a group and we didn't have any boys who would play with us. And by us, I mean my cousins and I usually. Actually, when I dressed up as the dragon, that was at a children's story time at a library when I was little. Later, I was running storytimes as an adult, and dressed up as the witch or the queen. Or a pirate. I still would have been the dragon, but we didn't have the costume for me."
Mark chuckled. "Well, that's interesting. So, we have a dress up party for the girls, with all their favorite foods and some cake. And a grown up party for Jack."
I paused for a minute. "Maybe not. Let';s ask Jack if he would rather have dinner out with friends and family, or a party here. I have an idea if he wants dinner out. Let me check with our family first and see if they can watch the girls for a bit. Like I said earlier, a weekend of just the three of us, not at a convention, would probably be the present Jack would like most. "
Mark nodded. "I think you're right. And babe, don't stress. We got this. You are amazing at all this, but Jack and I both are low key." I reached over and pulled Mark into a kiss, just as Jack walked in, trailing the girls like ducklings and Eddie and Ray following close behind.
Jack grinned. "Well, girls, looks, like Papa and Mommy are having a good time. But they forgot ta include poor Daddy. What do ye four think about that?"
Dani ran over and tackled Mark's leg, followed shortly by Tiana and Stephanie. Sammi refused to let go of Jack's leg, which she had ridden into the room on. I grinned and escaped, heading over to Jack. "I didn't forget you, you doof. Mark just said something sweet. We were talking about the P-A-R-T-Y for some people. We have a theme and everything." I kissed Jack, long and hard, bring him in close. Sammi looked up at us and giggled before climbing off of Jack's leg onto mine. All three of us were used to the girls clinging to our legs like trailing vines, so this was nothing new, and I barely noticed the difference.
When we separated from the kiss, Jack looked a little shaky. I grinned at him. He raised an eyebrow and growled low in his throat. "Stop torturing me. Too many little eyes here. And yer brother and his fiance." I winked at him and turned toward Mark again. He saw the whole interaction and looked at me shaking his head with a grin. "What? Mark looks like he wanted ta say something. What's going on?"
"He was just telling me I was right about something else. Let's go rescue him from the mob of princesses." I started to walk over, bringing Sammi with me, still on my leg, but stopped when I heard something that startled me.
Sammi was looking up at me. "NO! No Papa."
I bent down, gently pulling her off my leg, to face her. "Why don't you want me to go over to Papa? What's wrong Sammi?"
She crossed her arms. "Papa mean."
I looked at Jack for help. "Why is Papa mean, baby? What did he do wrong?"
She pointed at Jack. "Dada. Papa no Dada."
I suddenly understood. "Oh baby, Daddy and Papa aren't fighting. Daddy didn't mean Papa was bad. He just felt lonely because Papa was talking with Momma not him. Okay? Look, Papa and Daddy and Momma all love each other very much and we love all our special princesses too."
Sammi looked at Jack. "Dada, k? No mad Papa?"
Jack shook his head. "No Sammi girl, I'm not mad at yer Papa. I'm sorry I confused ye. Now go give him a hug like yer sisters." Sammi ran off and hugged Mark's legs, knocking him off balance. Fortunately, he was able to catch himself on the back of the couch. He looked down and grinned at Sam.
I looked at Jack. "Whew. I'm glad we got that figured out." Suddenly, a thought occurred to me making me chuckle. "It's almost like riding herd on the comments sections of three YouTube channels, Twitter, and Tumblr, isn't it? Dealing with four toddlers."
Jack laughed. "Ye would be tha one person I know of who could say that with any certainty. Now, let's help Mark." I grinned and nodded, heading over and scooping up Tiana and Stephanie, snuggling them close. Jack took Dani, kissing her on the tip of the nose. The girls shrieked and kissed us back. The next half hour was typical chaos and noise for our family. Steve came in and distracted Dani, who walked over and started playing with him.
Tiana squirmed in my arms. "Ica? Where Ica? Want ta pway. Woof woof. Ica? Here Ica!" I let her down, grinning as I whistled for Chica , as requested. She came in carefully, hearing the girls and Tiana immediately ran up and started petting her. "Pat. Pat. Pat pat. Good Pupper. Ica good." I laughed and made the guys listen. Mark grinned as well. Jack shook his head, smiling. Sammi and Stephanie were playing with our hair. I suddenly had an idea.
"Stephanie, Sammi, would you like to come with Momma and get a new hair cut? Mommy wants to look pretty for her little princesses at their party. Do you want to also?" Stephanie nodded. I looked at Mark and Jack and mouthed 'Color?'
Sammi crossed her arms. "NO! No hair. Bad."
Mark grinned at her. "Someone is auditioning to be the youngest ever member of the Grumps I see. Sammi, don't you like the pretty colors in Momma's, Daddy's, and my hair?" Sammi nodded. "Would you like pretty color in yours too?"
Sammi suddenly squealed and grinned, clapping. "Boo. Boo. Boo. I wike Boo!"
I chuckled. "Sammi wants blue then. Okay. How about you Stephanie?"
Stephanie looked at us for a minute, her face scrunched up, thinking hard. "Wed. I wan Wed."
Jack and Mark looked confused. "Red for Princess Stephanie. Got it. Go find your shoes baby." She toddled off, to look for her shoes. I sent Sammi on the same errand. "Tiana? Dani? Can you please come here for a minute? The doggies can wait." They both walked over, holding out their hands to be cleaned. Jack grabbed the wet wipes and wiped the doggy drool off. "I'm going to go with your sisters to get haircuts. Do you want to come? We can get pretty colors for you as well."
They both jumped up and down, clapping. Tiana immediate started singing a nonsense song she made up on the spot about hair. We couldn't really understand any of it, but she was happy, so we just let her do her thing. Dani looked at us, grinning. "Geen! Peas. Geen!"
I chuckled. Jack looked surprised. Mark laughed. "Dani wants green then. So we have Stephanie, with red, Dani with green, Sammi with blue. I wonder what color Tiana will pick."
I rolled my eyes at Mark. "You know what color she's going to pick Mark. What color does she always pick? Purple. Right Tiana? Purple hair for you?" She danced in place now, nodding and squealing with delight. I shook my head. "Okay girls go find your shoes for me! Well that's done. Now we just have to get them in."
Suddenly, I heard chuckles behind me. I turned to look. It was Eddie, Ray, and Jack. I raised an eyebrow at them. Jack answered. "Love, tha girls all picked tha colors of Momma's hair streaks. I don't know if they know they can pick other colors."
I stood up and looked over at him. "Well, I don't know. I also know those happen to be their favorite colors and the colors of Papa's and Daddy's hair too. And Uncle Felix." I thought for a minute. "Hang on, they know yellow is an option too, since Uncle Arin and Aunt Suzy have that. And Holly has pink hair. No, I think they just wanted their favorite colors."
Jack grinned. "Well, they still are gonna match their momma."
I winked. "Yep. We'll all be color coordinated. Do you want me to see if they can take you too, Jack? You could use a refresh on the green, and you are starting to look a little shaggy."
"Yes, please!" I raised an eyebrow at Mark, and he nodded as well.
I grabbed my phone and called the local haircut place I used and asked if they could get us all in. At first they thought I was joking, but as soon as they realized I was serious, they scheduled us all to start in forty five minutes. I sighed and went to chase down shoes and girls, matching them up, and herding everyone to the car. I talked to Eddie briefly and asked if he wanted to come with us, but he wasn't feeling it, so he and Ray headed home. I got everyone in the minivan, loading in their car-seats, and buckled in place. Mark and Jack were in the front, so I rode in the middle of car-seat land, as Jack and I called it.
We arrived exactly on time. Jack and Mark went first, while the girls all got their hair washed, cut and styled. I had the hair salon use the spray-in temporary dyes, demonstrating how they worked to me, so I could do it again later, at home. Even though I was fine with dying the girls hair, I knew the chemicals could be harsh and didn't want anything that could hurt them. One of the stylists also recommended hair chalk, which shows up well even on very dark hair. I thanked her and bought the recommended product in the colors the girls wanted, as well as pink, orange, and yellow. Then when Jack and Mark were all ready, it was my turn. The girls all watched, giggling when Jack said I looked like an alien with the foil in my hair and squealing when they saw me with the blonde streaks before the color was added. Dani ran over and patted my hand. "Momma k. Fix hair."
I smiled at her. "Thank you Dani. I know I'll be okay. They aren't done yet. Next they have to add the pretty colors. Like they did for Daddy and Papa. I'll be right here and you can watch, but you need to go back over to Papa and Daddy now, okay, baby? Good girl. Thank you."
Jack grabbed her hand and held it the rest of the visit. When we were done, the girls were all impressed, patting my knee, like I was a dog. I grinned holding on to Sammi and Dani, our two little runners. Next we stopped to eat at Applebee's. The girls all wanted Macaroni and Cheese and broccoli, so that's what they got, along with some milk to drink. I ordered two side orders of apple slices and yogurt for them to share as well. I got a salad with chicken, blue cheese, and pecans. Mark got a burger. Jack got a chicken dish. We ate quickly, helping the girls as much as they would let us, and making sure most of the food stayed on the table, instead of flying through the air. The girls behaved quite well, even if they were very messy eaters. We got them cleaned up, changed, and loaded in the car in no time, heading home for a relaxing evening. Tomorrow was the party after all, and we needed to unwind before things got completely crazy. Eddie had keys to the house, and he had been sneaking Jack's family in while we were gone, promising to make sure everyone stayed out of sight until I gave the signal. Mark and I had arranged everything, making the flights all coordinate so everyone arrived at the same time, hiring a shuttle for all of them, and asking Eddie to let them in. And of course, Jack's family was in on it. Dee, Mom, and Momiplier had arrived earlier in the week, which Jack new about, and he knew his parents were flying in, but he didn't know we managed to get everyone else as well. Just before we got home, I texted Eddie and told him about how far away we were. He sent back a thumbs up, so I knew everything was ready. There were no cars in our driveway, except our own, of course, and everything looked quiet when we pulled in. Jack and Mark came around to help me unleash the girls, but I sent Jack in to unlock and turn on the lights inside first. After he left I turned to the girls and whispered "Shhh. Momma and Papa have a surprise for Daddy in the house. Let's go help him find it, but be quiet okay?"
All four girls grinned and put fingers on their lips like I had and giggled. I helped them out of their seats, one at a time. Mark held Tiana and Stephanie by the hand, while I had Dani and Sammi. We lead them in, the girls tiptoeing and being far more quiet than I had expected. Jack was in the kitchen, sorting the mail still. We watched, just out of sight until he stepped into the living room and turned on the light switch. Suddenly, everyone popped out, us included. The girls squeal with delight and ran over hugging him and yelling "Prise, Dada. 'Prise!" Mark and I grinned at each other. Everyone else was calling out to Jack too, who stood looking like he was going to pass out. I stepped over and kissed him.
"Well, Jackaboy, did we surprise you?"
"Holy mother of god! I thought I was going ta have a heart attack. How even did ye...?"
"Happy birthday, sweetie. Mark and I planned this as part of your present." I kissed his cheek. "Now, I think it's time for some stories and bed for the princesses. After all, tired princesses won't get presents or sweets tomorrow." Immediately all four girls looked at me and smiled.
We heard a chorus of "Okay Momma." All four of them headed for the nursery, where we had converted the cribs into toddler beds. Mark and I helped them get ready to sleep, brushing little teeth, changing into jammies, and putting away the toys that were still out. When we were done, I looked out at Jack, who was talking to his brother Simon, but stopped and excused himself as soon as he saw me. He joined us and we tucked everyone into bed, placing kisses, hugs, and stuffed animals with everyone, then we settled in for the stories. This was our nightly ritual. Each of us read a story to the girls, who had picked the next nights books the previous night. Each girl picked who was going to read one story, then what story was going to be read. They had to share. And we had a chart, to keep track. The worst punishment the girls had gotten so far involved a timeout and losing two turns picking stories. It had seemed traumatic at the time, but it worked. Dani had been punching people, and when she was punished with this twice, she hasn't punched anyone since. It also stopped the biting. Tonight, the girls listened to the stories, but were clearly tired and excited about tomorrow. Only Sammi made it to the end of the last book, so she got to turn the light off next to her bed and chose the book she wanted tomorrow. We wrote it on the chart next to her name, making her grin and wished her goodnight, turning the other lights out as we left. The only remaining light was from two small nightlights at the end of the beds on either side of the room. One was a SepticEye Sam, by the foot of Samantha's bed and the head of Danielle's, and the other was a Tiny Box Tim, between Tiana and Stephanie. They watched over the girls while they slept and prevented bad dreams, we had told them. Fans had made them for the guys and given them to them at a convention, specifically for the babies. As we closed the door, I noticed Sammi was also asleep now, and I smiled. I put an arm around each of the guys and kissed them one at a time. We headed back into the bedlam that was the living room now, even if it was quiet chaos.