Father Figure

At six am, Sidney let me into his house. We'd arranged for me to show up early enough to get to see the boys wake up. He gave me a bright smile and pulled me into a hug. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yes! They're going to be so happy," I stated.

We walked into the kitchen where he'd started preparing breakfast. I unwrapped my scarf from my neck and slipped out of my coat. "Here, I'll go put them in the closet," Sidney told me as he took my coat and scarf from my hands.

"Oh, thank you," I told him. I moved to continue what he'd started cooking.

I finished slicing up the potatoes and dumped them into the dish. Sidney came up beside me and dumped the grated cheese into it. I dug a large spoon out of one of his drawrs and stirred everything up. 

"I think I hear someone," Sidney told me as I slipped the dish into the oven.

I looked up to see his excited smile, waiting anxiously by the counter. Seconds later, three pairs of feet came running downstairs. "Mama! Daddy!" Kris yelled out as he spotted us. They quickly changed directions and ran to us. "Merry Christmas!" Kris yelled out as he flung his arms around my neck.

"Merry Christmas boys!" I told them as I gave each of them hugs. 

They all babbled in excitement as they hugged us. "Why don't you go wake up your grandma, grandpa, and Aunt Taylor?" Sidney suggested

They all jumped and ran back up the stairs, yelling for their grandparents and aunt.

I watched Sidney for a moment. He was so excited and happy. He honestly looked more than thrilled to have them with them. I bit back my smile. It made me feel good... Better than good. Words couldn't describe the emotions having Sid so happy about being with them evoked. 

I slipped my arm around Sidney's waist and leaned against him. His arm rested around my shoulders. 

"I think they're pretty perfect," I mumbled. 

"I think we did a pretty good job of making babies," he stated. 

I rolled my eyes and pulled away in hopes he would miss the pink tint to my cheeks. He began laughing, though, so I was guessing he saw. 

"But wouldn't you want all your kids to be just as perfect? I think it's a sign," he hinted with a wink. 

I wanted to smack that playful smirk off his face. He was doing this on purpose and knew it. "But that would mean us getting married and having sex again. That isn't happening," I retorted quickly.

"We don't have to be married. We weren't last time we fooled around," he pointed out. 

I glared at him. "You think you are so funny for getting me to blush, don't you, Mr. Crosby?"

He smirked and looked back at the stairs as everyone filed down. "Yeah. I think I'm hilarious."

"Dad! We got everyone down!" Beau announced excitedly as he ran to his father. 

Sidney picked him up and smiled widely. "Does this mean it's time to do stockings?" he asked. 

Their eyes all lit up. "Can we? Please? Please? Please?" each of them begged. 

He laughed and put Beau back down. "What do you think?" he asked me. 

I shrugged. "I think so," I answered. 

The boys all ran off to the living room, dragging a tired Taylor with them. "Mama, Dad? Which one is ours?" Gab yelled. 

"One second, we're coming," I called back. 

Trina smiled and gave us both hugs. "Merry Christmas!" I told her. 

"Merry Christmas, Nathalie," she responded. 

I quickly gave Troy a hug, as well, before following Sidney into the living room. The boys were all peaking into the stockings while Taylor took pictures from the couch. I walked over and shooed the boys away before handing each of them their stockings. 

They all plopped down on the ground and began digging. I sat down next to Taylor to watch them. 

"Oh my gosh! I got bouncy ball!" Kris yelled out as he found the ball in his stocking. 

I almost let out a groan as I began picturing the trouble that ball would cause. Sidney walked over and sat beside me as his parents sat on the love seat. "You can keep those here," I told him quietly. 

He chuckled and rested his arm on the back or the couch, just above me. "No, I think Uncle Mario needs them," he stated. 

I let out a laugh. Sidney quickly handed his sister her own stocking before sitting back down beside me. I couldn't hold in my grin as I watched all four of them open their stockings. Sid quickly grabbed his camera and began filming them. 

"Daddy, can we open our presents now?" Beau asked after they'd gotten through the stockings. The other two quickly stood at his side and have their father a begging smile. 

"Sure. Go ask grandpa if he wants to hand out the gifts," Sid replied. 

Troy stood up as the triplets ran to him. "Come on. You boys can help me hand them to people," Troy told them. 

They all got to the tree and began sorting through gifts. Kris ran one to Trina as Beau ran one to Taylor. Gab came up to me and dropped a box on my lap. 

I gave them all curious looks. I hadn't expected any gifts. I didn't want them spending money on me at all. We weren't really family except through he boys. 

"Come on, open it up," Sidney whispered as he bumped my arm. 

I gave him a hesitant look. "You guys didn't have to spend money on me," I mumbled. 

He shook his head. "Just open it. Too late for that, anyways," he told me with a teasing smile. 

I signed and quickly checked who it was from before I began tearing the paper away. I grinned as I pulled out five books, all popular and well known books that were supposed to be good. I used to read a lot before the boys and hadn't really gotten the chance to pick it up again since them. 

"Thank you!" I called across to Trina. She smiled and nodded her head before going backs to helping Beau with his gift. 

We slowly made our way through the gifts under the tree. The boys nearly died of excitement the whole time. They'd never been so happy with everyone around them. 

"Daddy! You get the last present!" Beau yelled as he carried a present forward to Sidney. This was my gift to him. I had no idea what to get for a guy that had everything already, so I did the only thing I could think of that might mean something. 

"Boys, come sit down by us," I suggested. They all grinned before running over to pile around Sidney and myself. 

"Can I help you unwrap it, Daddy?" Gab asked from between us. 

Sidney smiled down at his son. "Of course," he told him. He shifted the gift over slightly so the two of them could tear away at the paper. 

Once they got rid of it, Sidney tugged open the box and just stared. I could see his eyes getting misty as he looked down at my gift. 

With delicate hands he reached down to pull out the photo album. I tried to bite back my smile, knowing how much he'd missed was in those books. There was a book for each year. 

He gingerly flipped it open. The first page was us during the short visit he made the weekend I got pregnant. Our faces were scrunched up and goofy, just for the photo. Our arms were looped around one another and we were dressed to go ice skating. Sidney swallowed hard before turning the page. The pages in front of him was a time line of the eight months the boys were in my stomach. The last photo was me looking like death in the hospital. 

As he turned the page again, I knew for sure there were tears in his eyes. It was a photo of each boy swaddled in the hospital blankets and caps. 

"That's us!" Kris exclaimed from my lap as he reached over to point at the picture. 

"Yeah, buddy. Those are when you guys were only one day old," I told him softly. 

Sidney closed the books quickly and turned to me. His lips were clenched between his teeth. He glanced at each of the boys before looking back at me. 

Trina and Troy slowly pulled Taylor into the kitchen to give us a moment. "Thank you," he whispered out before pulling me into a tight hug. 

I smiled and wrapped my arms around him. "Now you won't have missed a thing. The boys even picked out some of the pictures to add."

"Hug party!" Beau declared. Soon enough, three more pairs of arms wrapped around us. 

I smiled to myself as I rested my head on Sid's shoulder. This was what it was like to have our family together...