Chapter 16: The Last Swim of Summer

AN: Surprise! I'm back! I know I haven't written in FOREVER and I am SO SORRY about that. Life got crazy. I'm starting off slow... just this story for now and I can't guarantee I'm going to be updating as often as I did at the beginning of the story, but I do want to continue this. SKYEWARD WILL LIVE FOREVER FOR ME! Bear with me guys! I appreciate all of you more than I can mention. Feel free to shoot any ideas or things you'd like to see in the story my way! Much love, guys!

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. They are from AOS and have just ruined my life and this is my way of coping. The story is actually my idea though so that's pretty cool!

Growing up, Skye lived for summers at the orphanage. It was when the world allowed her more time to be out and away from the cramped rooms. She would spend countless hours dividing her time between the community pool and the library where she would use the internet. It didn't even matter to Skye that her and Jemma were close to their due dates. She still wanted the family to have a fun-filled last day of summer. She was an adapter and loved the cold as much as she loved the heat, but she knew she would miss the pool and outdoors when it came to entertaining the little ones. So it was early one morning when Skye and Jemma both snuck away from their sleeping husbands and decided to set up their day.

The pair passed Melinda, who was already up and doing Tai Chi. They walked to the kitchen and cut up all the fresh fruits and veggies they could find. They blew up all the pool toys they had. They made punch and pulled out all the yard toys they owned and then made tea and smiled to each other as they clinked their glasses together and waited for the kids to wake up.

Grant was woken with an "Oomph" as Lyla jumped on top of him. "Daddy, where's Mommy?" He looked around and noticed she was gone and sat up. "I'm not sure. Why don't we go look for her?" With that he swung her up into his arms as she giggled and they made their way down the hall.

Leo woke up to a small body snuggling into his side. He opened one eye and pulled his son into his side. Ian giggled and looked up at him. "Daddy, wake up! I wanna go play!" Leo faked being asleep and pulled him up and over to his other side as he pretended to settle back into sleep. Ian was unrelenting as he laughed and wiggled around in Leo's arms. "Fine, fine. If you insist, Ian. We'll go play."

Phil was downstairs drinking his coffee, reading the paper, and watching his wife finish up the last of her Tai Chi. He slowly took another sip of his drink before hearing little feet barrel through the back door and into the back yard. He laughed and pushed his coffee to the center of the table as Lyla threw herself into his lap. He'd learned early on that she immediately went for his lap when coming into a room. She kissed his cheek and was off and running again, this time right into Melinda's waiting arms. Phil rarely saw his wife abruptly end a Tai Chi session, but noticed that it was becoming more and more common when it came to her grandbabies.

After a small breakfast, Skye and Jemma helped the kids get into their swimsuits. They were promised a long day of swimming, bbq'ing, yard games, and whatever else they could come up with as long as it was outside. Leo and Grant grilled burgers and hot dogs while Melinda and Phil played in the pool with the kids. Skye and Jemma sipped on lemonade, both of them too large to feel like even attempting to get into water, but were more than happy to play in the sand with Lyla and Ian after lunch.

Once the sun started to set, steaks and ribs were grilled and the patio cushions were all piled into the large tent that Grant had purchased ages ago and never got to use since Skye would never stay anywhere that didn't have wifi. Everyone told stories and the kids sat in the tent while the adults made hand puppets with the tent walls and flashlights. The night ended with everyone sitting around the fire pit and roasting marshmallows for s'mores. The kids, even full of sugar from the sticky treats, were still ready for bed shortly after and Grant and Leo took them upstairs for baths while Skye, Jemma, Phil, and Melinda all got to work cleaning up. Everyone met up in the movie room to watch a movie, causing the kids to promptly fall asleep. They were tucked into their beds, exhausted after the exciting day. The adults found that they too longed for the comforts of their own beds and soon followed the example of the little ones.

Melinda and Phil took advantage of the rare early evening and grabbed a bottle of wine on their way out to the garden. They sat on their bench and sipped on the wine together with Phil softly talking and Melinda contentedly listening as always.