First Time

"You're still okay to have Sophie?" I asked Denise. Whilst the boys were at the studio, working with some groups, us girls crowded around Denise's. A nearly 3 year old Sophie and a recently turned 2 year old Alena were sat at the kitchen table, colouring in. Me, Denise, Gabby and Danielle were standing around the breakfast bar, drinking coffee.

"It's fine." She brushed me away with a wave of her hand. "We've got Alena too, so it will be a nice little sleep over for them."

"Are you sure?" Danielle asked, taking a sip of her drink. "I feel like we are intruding in your valentines day."

"Paul took me out for a romantic breakfast this morning. It was lovely. So we are going to look after our two granddaughters and watch a film." Denise said with a smile.

"Frozen?" Sophie asked, not even looking up at us. "Please?"

"Sophie, baby, I think Nana and Papa have seen that film so many times. I don't think they want to watch it again." I told her. She glanced up at me, her eyebrows raised. "Look, it's Joe." I said, referring to the face she was pulling.

"Uncle Frank hasn't." She replied, grinning at me. I rolled my eyes, taking a sip of my coffee.

"Uncle Frankie is 17, baby." I told her. "I don't think he wants to watch a film about princesses and snow." She glared at me, before going back to her colouring.

"Frankie's got a girlfriend." Denise mumbled, making the three of us stare at her, our mouths wide open. "Yeah, her name is Melissa. They've been dating for a few weeks now."

"Awww." Gabby said, clutching her chest. "He isn't the young boy we used to know."

"He is taking her out tonight. For dinner." Denise told us, grinning. "He has all his clothes laid out, a card and a bunch of flowers for her."

"God, I wish Kevin would do something like that for me. All I got this morning was a kiss to my forehead and he was gone." Danielle moaned.

"You've been married nearly 8 years. You shouldn't expect anything less." I replied, winking at her. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Although I haven't been married a whole year and all I got this morning was Sophie thrown onto my bed."

"Sounds like your marriage is going well." Gabby nudged me with her elbow. "I got a bunch of roses and an invite to dinner."

"Wait until you marry Nicholas, don't expect anything more." Danielle muttered, as Alena walked over to her. "Yes?"

"Mommy, wee." She said, wiggling. Danielle sighed and climbed off the stool. She picked Alena up and walked her out of the room.

"What are your plans then Allie?" Gabby asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I'm cooking for Joe. It's been a long while since we had the house to ourselves." I told them. The two of them grinned at me. I rolled my eyes, sighing.

"Allie, if you ever want time by yourself, just ask me or Paul. We'd love to take Sophie off your hands for a while." Denise smiled at me. "She is no trouble."

"Yes!" Sophie shouted, walking away from the table. Gabby picked her up and sat on the counter. I winked at her. "I trouble."

"You're an angel." Denise said, pressing a kiss against her granddaughter's head. Sophie rolled her eyes, again looking like Joe. "You are lovely and an angel."

"No." Sophie shook her head. Danielle walked back into the room, dragging a pouting Alena behind her. "Daddy says I a monkey."

"You are a monkey. A cheeky little monkey." I stuck my tongue out at her. She stuck her tongue out at me in reply. "Me and Daddy are going to take you back to the zoo."

"Can we go zoo?" Sophie asked, excitedly. I turned to Denise, seeing as she had Sophie over night and tomorrow.

"I'll talk to Papa when he gets home, okay?" Sophie cheered, making Alena copy her. I smiled at the two little girls, who seemed very excited by the prospect of the zoo. Sophie tugged on my sleeve, before pointing at the floor. I pulled her off the side and placed her of the floor, before she and Alena ran back to the table. Danielle sighed, resting her elbows on the bar. "What's wrong Dani?"

"Alena had another accident." Danielle told us. We all know that Kevin and her were trying to toilet train Alena, but they were struggling. "She goes through a period where she stays dry for a day or two, but then she just forgets and ends up in a diaper again."

"She is still only little, Dani." I told her. She twisted her lips to one side and ran her fingers through her hair. "You've just got to give her time. She'll get there."

"Frankie was almost 4 when he got out of diapers. He was fine during the day, knowing when he needed the toilet but then at night, he would just forget. The amount of times I had to clean his sheets." Denise shook her head, smiling at the memory. "We got a plastic sheet on his bed, so it was easier to clean."

"Mmm." Danielle nodded. "I think I might try that. She's wearing those night time ones, but they are giving her a rash where she is wearing them for so long."

"Oh god, all this parenting talk." Gabby complained. At the age of 24, she was still a whining child. "I might go and find someone I can talk to about something normal. Like TV, or food. Rather than diaper rash."

"Give it time, Gab." Danielle grinned at her with a nudge. "You and Nick will be having babies soon."

"We aren't even engaged yet. Sorry guys, no babies yet. You'll just have to get one of these to have another one." Gabby held her hands up and stared at me and Danielle.

"No thank you." Danielle shook her head. "Alena is a handful; I couldn't have another one now. It's all on you, Aleah."

"Great." I rolled my eyes. They all burst out laughing.

"What's going on in here?" Frankie said, as he walked into the kitchen. We all turned to him, grinning. He looked panicked as he crossed the room to grab an apple. "What?"

"Nothing." Gabby sang. Out of all of us, Gabby had the closest relationship with Frankie. They both had the same interests and always seemed to be hanging out with each other. "Just wondering what you had planned for Valentines night."

"Not a lot." He replied, shrugging. After being in Frankie's since he was 8, it was weird to think that he had a girlfriend. "Might stay in- Mom, you've told them." He stared at Denise, who was looking away. "Seriously? You know they'll go and tell Nick, Joe and Kevin."

"If you don't want us to tell them, we won't." I shrugged my shoulders. Frankie stared at me, deciding whether I was being serious or not. "Look, they are your brothers and they'll love to know you've got a girlfriend, but we know what they are like. They will want to meet her and will mock you, but they are your older brothers, so they can." I winked at him.

"I just don't want to throw her into this family. I'm in it and I think it's crazy. Especially with them two." He pointed at Sophie and Alena who were throwing crayons at each other.

"Stop!" I yelled at the both of them. They looked sheepish and put the crayons back on the table. "Pick them all up." I told them, before turning back to Frankie.

"In time I will tell them. I just don't want them to know now. They will be smug and we've only been dating a few weeks. Maybe in a few weeks, I can bring her to dinner." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Don't rush." Gabby replied, patting his shoulder. "If I knew anything about this family before I started to date Nick, I would have run away the second I saw him."

"I take some offence to that." Denise said as she carried two juice boxes to the girls, who were putting their crayons back onto the table.

"No you don't Mama J." Gabby grinned at her. Denise rolled her eyes at Gabby, but smiled in reply anyway. I glanced at the clock, deciding it was time to go.

"I'm going to leave." I announced before finishing the rest of my drink. "I've gotta make a start on dinner and Joe will be home in an hour." I placed my mug into the sink before walking over to Sophie. "Me and Daddy will pick you up tomorrow, okay baby?" I asked her. She nodded her head, giving me a hug. "Be good for Nana and Papa. They will tell me if you've been bad."

"Okay Momma." She replied, smiling softly at me. I pressed a kiss against her forehead, brushing her curly hair out of her eyes.

"I love you baby." I whispered to her.

"I love you Mommy." She was clearly distracted by the fact that I had interrupted her colouring. I pressed one more kiss against the top of her head before standing up. I walked over to Denise and hugged her.

"Thanks for having her tonight." I said as I hugged her. "I'll ring when we come around to pick her up."

"We'll probably take them out tomorrow, maybe the zoo. Don't worry about rushing to pick her up. Enjoy your night." I pressed a kiss against her cheek before pressing kisses against Dani and Gabby's cheek.

"I'll see you this weekend." I yelled as I walked out of the house. I pulled my keys and phone from my bag and climbed into my car. I hooked my phone up with the speakers and started the car. I pulled away from the house and dialled Joe's number.

"Hey baby." I smiled as he answered the phone. Even after nearly 4 years being together, he still made my heart flutter. "What's up?"

"I've just left Sophie with your Mom." I told him as I drove done the road.

"Al, you rang me almost 3 hours ago and told me exactly the same." He laughed.

"Gabby and Dani were there. We got...distracted." I admitted. I could hear movement in the background, shuffling of feet and papers.

"Which means you stood around talking, yes?"

"It was important." I replied, not sounding convincing at all. "We were discussing parenting things."

"Sure you were. Or just gossiping."

"Maybe." I replied, laughing softly. "What are you doing?" I asked when I could hear Nick shouting in the background.

"Well, Nick wants me off the phone so we can write the end of this song. I don't know why he needs me, he hasn't taken any of my ideas on board anyway." Joe complained.

"Just sit there, he might listen to you." I told him.

"He never does. Not even when I told him when he was 8 that going too fast on his bike will end up with him falling off. And what happened?" Joe asked me. I rolled my eyes, hearing this story so many times.

"He fell off and hit his head."

"Exactly." I could hear the smugness in Joe's voice. "Anyway, after this song, I'll be on my way home."

"I'll be waiting." I replied, smiling to myself.

"You better be. I love you."

"I love you."

* * *

"Baby, I'm home." Joe shouted as he walked into the house. I smiled, shifting on the bed. Dinner had been made, it was all ready to be served up. "Where are yo-?" Joe stopped. I grinned, knowing why. I knew that Joe always put his keys and wallet on the table in the hallway. So I stuck a note on the mirror, knowing he will see it. I heard his feet thundering up the stairs, which meant he read the note that read:

'There is a present in a bedroom. Come up and find out. Allie xoxo'.

"Allie?" Joe asked, sticking his head around the door, an adorable grin on his face.

"Come here." I wiggled my fingers at him. He narrowed his eyebrows, but stepped in the room anyway. He sat on the bed opposite me. "Open it." I handed him a box.

"Al, I didn't get you a Valentines day present." Joe replied, moving the box around in his hand. "I didn't think we were buying each other presents."

"I didn't buy this...technically." I grinned at Joe. He gave me a worried look, before pulling the lid off the box. I bit my lip as I watched him see what was in it.

"Allie." He whispered, his eyes watering. I grinned at him as he clutched a pregnancy test in his hand. "Are we-?" He couldn't even finish his sentence.

"I'm pregnant. We've having another baby." All of a sudden, Joe threw himself on top of me, the test flying out of his hand. He put all his weight in his hands that were above my head. He pressed kisses all over my face, making me laugh.

"When did you find out?" He asked after he pulled away. I rubbed my hands against his arms, the both of us grinning at each other.

"Yesterday." I replied. "I've been feeling different. I've been waking up feeling sick, my boobs hurt. So I took a test, just to see." I told him. The smile on his face was something I'd remember for a long time. "I'm about 2 weeks gone."

"We spent almost 7 months trying. And the only time we don't try, you get pregnant." He laughed, pressing a kiss against my forehead. He shifted, moving down so his face was in line with my belly. He lifted my t-shirt up, under my boobs and pressed a kiss against my stomach. "Hello baby." He whispered, pressing his nose against my stomach. I grinned to myself, resting a hand against the back of his head. "It's your daddy here. We've waited a long time for you. And now we've gotta wait."

"If this baby is anything like Sophie, it's going to be a long, old wait." I laughed. Joe glanced up at me, winking.

"You've got to stay in there to cook and Mommy will look after you." He whispered. "But we can wait. We can wait for you. I'm good at waiting. I waited nearly 3 years to be with your Mommy again and now we are married and expecting you."

"Joe." I called, feeling the tears gather in my eyes. Joe looked up at me, panic rushing across his face. He moved again so that he was face to face with me.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he laid down beside me. He pulled me so that I was lying on his chest. I could feel his heart beating and it made me relax. "Allie?" He asked.

"Sophie is going to be a great sister." I whispered in reply. I looked up at Joe, who was grinning down at me. "Don't you think?"

"If it's going to be like her and Alena, she is going to be the best big sister." Joe pressed a kiss against my forehead. "Let's ring her and tell her."

"One, I'm not telling my daughter she is going to be a big sister over the phone." I poked his nose, making him grin. "Two, I think we should wait a while. Go for a scan and check everything is okay."

"Okay." Joe breathed. "Okay. Book an appointment now."

"Shut up." I shoved my hand into his ribs. "It's Valentines day. I've cooked dinner and after we've eaten, we going to come up here and have a lovely, romantic bath."