Okay, so this is the last chapter. I've tied what people wanted to happen into this long thing of a few different years :P at the start of each part will be the time of year and the ages of the children. Enjoy!

July 8th — Emily 8, twins 1

"And this," the saleswoman said, leading Kendall and James through the back door. "This is the backyard. Spacious, as you can see. Lots of room for the children, some flower beds at the back."

"The place is really nice," Kendall agreed, glancing up at James. "Good neighbourhood too. It's safe, know what I mean?"

James nodded. "And the kids have all got their own room, and we've got one spare."

Kendall walked back into the empty kitchen, looking around one more time. "Jamie, if you love it as much as I do . . ."

James nodded, turning towards the saleswoman and holding out his hand. "We'll take it."

"Great!" She shook his hand, glancing down at the simple gold band around his fingers. "You two are married, then?"

"Yeah, but just for a couple of months," James grinned, wrapping an arm around Kendall's waist. "It wasn't anything hugely exciting; we wanted to save up for this place."

"Well, you made the right choice!"

"I always think salespeople are so overly peppy," Kendall said sometime later, as he and James unpacked the twins' things into their rooms. They'd left the children staying with their grandma until they'd unpacked the majority of their things, they could sort out redecorating and other things at a later stage. The children were coming to the house that evening.

"I do too," James chuckled, folding up the last of Hannah's clothes and shutting the drawer. "But on the bright side, we've got this awesome place now. It's perfect!"

"That's true." Kendall stacked up the last of the empty boxes, giving a tired smile. "There, all done! Maybe at the weekend the kids can stay with your mom and we can start painting the place the way we all want."

"I guess that could be arranged," James grinned, looking around the room with a kind of wonder in his eyes. "So . . . yeah. Wow, this is really happening."

Kendall nodded, holding his hand. "It feels kind of surreal; never thought this would be happening to me . . . that I'd be here with you, together with Emily and two more children, married and moving into a cute house together with a picket fence and everything."

"Like some kind of modern fairytale, right?" James teased.

"Exactly," Kendall teased back, pecking him on the nose. He heard a knock on the door and grinned. "Okay, they're here!"

They showed the children around the house, letting them run around and examine each and every room, before sprinting around the garden and squealing in excitement. "You like it, right?" James asked at last as they gathered in their new living room. "I know it's a bit of a change, but trust me, this place is better for us. There's a lot more room, it's easier to go back and forth since it's not in the middle of the city anymore."

Emily nodded like she kind of understood. Hannah and Adam just smiled sweetly up at them. They ordered pizza and ate together while watching some Disney movie where the pretty girl and the handsome guy got together in the end. Really, it could've been any of them. James couldn't remember. Though he could swear there'd been a frog in it somewhere. Afterwards, they put the children to bed and kissed them goodnight. Emily seemed perfectly content, while the twins seemed slightly uneasy but happy to settle down for the night.

Kendall lay down in their own bed, snuggling into James' side. "Our first official night together in our new home. Feels good, right?"

James nodded, grinning and nuzzling Kendall's cheek fondly. "But, you know . . . I don't think it's official until we've had sex in this room."

"Wow, you're blunt."

"You love me for it."

"I guess I do." Kendall cuddled closer, hand on James' chest as he leaned in to kiss him. "Okay then. Let's make it official before I get too drowsy."

James licked a line down Kendall's neck, the blind moaning softly and pressing his hips against James' thigh. "You have no idea how sexy you are when you make those noises, do you?" James rasped against his pale neck. "I mean, it's like, gay porn kind of sexy."

Kendall laughed, hand playing with James' hair lightly. "Maybe I should be a porn star, then."

"No," James replied bluntly. "No one's going to watch you have sex with someone else."

"No complaints there."

Kendall straddled James' lap and continued to kiss him. James grinned against the blond's lips, wrapping his arms snugly around his waist and pushing his shirt up.

Then suddenly, they heard the click of the door opening. Kendall rolled off his husband and lay sprawled on the bed, biting his lip. James looked to see Adam standing in the doorway, holding onto the door handle. "Adam?"

Adam pouted, sucking his thumb.

James gave a small chuckle. "I guess it's a bit strange sleeping in a new house, right?"

Adam nodded, still suckling on his thumb. He blinked up at them with large green eyes. James just gave him a tired smile, lifting the covers and getting up to go over to him. He picked his son up in his arms, kissing his forehead before walking back to the bed and sitting him down between himself and Kendall. Kendall tickled under Adam's chin, making him giggle and kick his small feet.

James suddenly felt a little hand tugging at his hair and turned to see Hannah standing by the bed, frowning. She lifted her arms, and he sighed before picking her up too. "Didn't want to be left out, I suppose," Kendall shrugged, nestling close to them. "My wittle babies."

Hannah giggled. Kendall tapped her on the nose and she laughed louder. Then James prodded her in the side and she squealed. "Okay, okay," James said at last, laughing. "We need to be quiet, or Emmy's gonna wake up."

"Too late."

Emily stood at the door in her Hello Kitty pyjamas, rubbing at her eye sleepily. "Sorry sweetie," Kendall said. "We didn't mean to wake you."

Emily shrugged, yawning before mumbling, "Can I sleep here tonight too?"

"We can probably squeeze you in."

Kendall and James found themselves lying on the opposite sides of the bed, their three children snuggled in between them. "Now, go to sleep," James said sternly. "Or we'll all be like zombies in the morning."

The twins were already falling asleep, and Emily's eyes were closed. Kendall smiled softly over at James, lifting his hand and blowing him a kiss. "Night, Jamie. I love you."

James pretended to catch it, before winking and replying, "I love you more."

April 24th — Emily: 9, twins: 2

At the moment, Kendall was kind of tired. Or every tired, and very stressed out.

"Shh, sweetie," he said soothingly, rubbing Emily's back as she threw up into the toilet, gagging and shivering. "It's okay . . ."

Emily had been diagnosed with what Kendall called stomach flu for a while now. Two weeks, to be exact. Not that anyone was counting . . . except Kendall. He'd been counting. The whole thing was a nightmare; he'd had stomach flu once or twice as a kid and it had never been this bad. All the fevers and the sneezing and the coughing and the stomach pains and the vomiting led to one huge nightmare for both Kendall and Emily. He could barely concentrate on feeding the two kids who could actually keep their dinner down, not to mention his work that he was seriously falling behind on. It didn't help that James was never around to help with anything.

Kendall himself had felt a bit strange before Emily got sick. But since he'd really only seriously thought about it in the last two weeks, he deemed it as his mind turning it into something it wasn't. He just continued with giving the twins their dinner and struggling to swallow any himself. He left James' portion in the microwave for him to heat it up when he eventually got his ass home. Though who knew how long that would take? He kept coming home late recently. To avoid the responsibility of taking care of his children, maybe? Or just to avoid Kendall?

Kendall waited until James eventually showed his ridiculously handsome face, acting as though this was a perfectly normal time to show up at. "Hi, James."

"Hi, Kenny." James grinned at him, pecking him on the lips. Kendall barely responded, and James misinterpreted it. "Emily's still sick, huh?" he asked, mouth drooped in disappointment.

"Well, duh. She didn't just spring out of bed and start singing and dancing around the house, did she?" Thought how the hell would James know, he wasn't even fucking there!

"Um . . . so . . ."

"She's still really sick," Kendall sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm worried about her, okay? That's all." Kendall turned to glare at James. "And where were you?!"

"Kendall," James relied slowly, frowning. "I was at work. You know, making a living, for my family?"

"Your work doesn't end this late!" Kendall snapped. Then he stopped. "Hold on. What are you saying?"

"What am I—"

"I'm making a living for my family," Kendall mimicked. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm doing plenty for this family, I'm the one cleaning up our daughter's vomit and giving her medicine every few hours!"

"I never said you weren't doing your bit for this family, stop putting words in my mouth!" James snarled, Kendall's condescending tone getting to him. "I was just explaining where I was, since you had to go all 'where were you for the past two hours' nutjob on me! What, do you think I'm having an affair or something now?! Is that what you think?!"

"I don't know, are you?! You seemed very quick to jump to that conclusion."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me, why the heck would I go off and do that? In case you haven't noticed I do kind of love you and have no interest in losing that—"

"Oh you don't?! Then what were your intentions the last time you ditched me?!"

James stopped. Kendall stopped.

"Wow . . ." was all James managed to say. "I . . . I guess I deserved that."

"No, no you didn't!" Kendall said frantically, eyes wide with horror. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that!"

"I think you did . . ." James said numbly. "I'm sorry, Kendall . . ."

"No, I'm sorry! Jamie, please!"

James finally looked up again. Kendall grabbed his arm, eyes full of tears. James was startled out of being mad; he hadn't expected that. Surely Kendall didn't feel that guilty about it?

"I'm s-so sorry," Kendall wept. "I don't know what's gotten into me . . ."

"Babe, shh. It's okay." James wrapped his arms around him, holding his trembling husband close to his body in an attempt to soothe him. "Don't cry, please . . ." He tilted Kendall's chin up. "You're not getting sick too, are you?"

"I don't think so," Kendall hiccuped. "Well, I have been getting sick a little, but not like Emmy and I don't gave a fever . . . I think I'm just stressed. I'm sorry I lost my temper and turned into a psychotic monster, I'm just worried about her."

"I know, sweetie," James said soothingly. "She's your baby, it's understandable. You can't help getting upset over her being unwell."

Kendall sniffled, drying his eyes and trying to smile. "On the bright side," he said at last. "Her fever's gone down and she's not as stuck to the bed. She's just still throwing up."

"Look, it's just one of those things we have to let be," James said gently. "She just has to get better herself. There's nothing you can do except make her feel a bit more comfortable while doing it."

Kendall nodded at last, swallowing. "O-okay."

James smiled, kissing his forehead. "Good. Now go and get some rest, okay? I'll take care of Emily if she needs anything."

"No, you just came home from work—"

"I'm fine. Go, Kendall."

Kendall kissed James goodnight and reluctantly did as he was asked, going upstairs for a nap. James went upstairs and peeked into Emily's room. She was sitting up in bed, reading a book. She looked up, her brown eyes blinking at him sleepily. "Call me if you need anything, okay?" James said. She nodded and he left the room again, going to the kitchen to sniff out something to eat. He found the note Kendall had taped to the microwave and smiled to himself.

Throughout the evening, Emily needed things like a hot water bottle when her stomach hurt, or a glass of water, or just come company and comfort. It wasn't so much the work itself that was stressful, but the state their daughter was in. James could now see why Kendall had turned into a raging psychopath over it, if he'd been dealing with this for the past two weeks.

Emily was sick for at least another week, but eventually she stopped throwing up and she stopped staying in bed all day. Her biggest step to recovery was when she went outside to play a gentle game of soccer with her younger brother and sister. It gave Kendall the peace of mind he needed to get back to his daily routine, and finally do his work for James' magazine again. James, meanwhile, could concentrate on his writing and modelling without having to worry about any of his family members. It was a huge relief for all of them.

Then one evening a few days later, James came home from work to see Emily building Lego houses with the twins. "Dad's in the bathroom," she told him when he asked.

James walked upstairs into his room, putting down his bag and glancing at the closed bathroom door. "Hey, Kendall," he called. "I'm home. Now was your day?"

"Fine, it was fine . . . Hey, James?" Kendall called from the bathroom.

"Yeah?" James kicked off his shoes and pushed them under the bed, unbuttoning his shirt.

"I'm pregnant."

"You what?!" James' hand caught on a button. He winced and sprinted into the bathroom. "What?!"

Kendall, standing there completely nonchalantly, pointed to the three positive pregnancy tests sitting in the bathroom sink. "I'm pregnant."

". . . Oh."

"I decided to check, because even though Emily's been better for a while I haven't been completely myself, so . . . yeah." Kendall gave a nervous smile. "Well?"

"Babe, that's great!" James wrapped his arms around Kendall, kissing him. "I'm really happy, honestly. I'm just kind of surprised is all. Though I guess it explains all those moods."

"Trust me, so am I," Kendall chuckled. "So, I booked a checkup appointment for next week. You'll come, right?"

"Nah, I'll just let you fend for yourself. Ouch! I'm kidding, of course I'll go! As if I'd miss it!"

The following week, the two got out of the car and walked hand in hand into the clinic. Once it was their turn, the two hurried into the room and greeted the nurse with big smiles. What with Emily finally better, and another little Diamond on the way, they were over the moon.

"Nice to see you both again," the nurse smiled sweetly, taking out her equipment as Kendall sat down in the chair and lifted his shirt up. As usual, she rubbed the blue gel into his skin, and he hardly flinched. She rubbed the sensor over his belly and the fuzzy images began to appear on the screen. "So, when did you find out you were pregnant?"

"Just last week," Kendall replied, holding James's hand. "Thing is, I probably had the symptoms for a while but I didn't realise. My daughter's been sick so I was a bit stressed out . . ."

"I see. Okay . . ." The nurse studied the image carefully, moving the sensor slowly over Kendall's belly. "Judging by the size of the fetus, I'd say you're about six or seven weeks along . . ." Her voice died out, brow furrowed slightly. "Hmm . . ."

"Is something wrong?" James asked, frowning. He glanced at Kendall, who just looked slightly puzzled.

"I want to go have a word with Dr Collins," the nurse replied, putting down the sensor. She smiled at them. "Don't be worried. I'll only be a moment." Then she left the room.

"Jamie, you're squeezing my hand really hard . . ."

"Sorry." James loosened his hold. "I'm just kind of worried, what if something's wrong?"

"She said not to worry," Kendall said bluntly.

"But don't they always—"

"James, I'm sure nothing's wrong." The tone of Kendall's voice told James he needed to stop talking, immediately. Kendall looked away, biting his lip and pouting slightly.

"Good afternoon." Dr Collins had entered the room, nurse pattering along behind him. He smiled at the two men in greeting, walking over to the ultrasound machine, turning some knobs on it and picking up the sensor again. "So, Amy tells me you're at most seven weeks long? You didn't notice any symptoms?"

"I was a bit unwell," Kendall answered slowly. "But I thought it was because of stress."

"Stress?"

"Our daughter's been very sick for a couple of weeks, but she's better now . ."

"I see."

A few seconds of silence passed. Eventually James burst out, "Is something wrong?!"

"James!" Kendall snapped.

"What can you see?" James urged, ignoring him.

Dr Collins sighed. "Not something I see, but it is something that shouldn't be there at seven weeks, I'm afraid . . ."

"What?" Kendall choked, eyes widening. "What are you talking about?"

Dr Collins sighed, switching off the machine. He quickly wiped down Kendall's stomach and sat next to them on a stool. "Kendall," he said at last, sighing. "There's no heartbeat . . ."

Kendall and James just stared at him, both feeling completely numb.

"It's not entirely uncommon," Dr Collins continued. "This can happen in maybe 20% of pregnancies. Plus you've been under a lot of stress lately . . . it just happens. I'm sorry."

Whatever happened afterwards, Kendall didn't say a word.

"You know," James said at last, as they drove home from the clinic. "He said that if we wanna have another baby at some point, we can try again in a few months . . ."

Kendall stayed silent, looking out the window.

"You know . . . it's not your fault."

"But it is."

James turned to glance at Kendall: he hadn't expected to blonde to say anything. Kendall finally turned to look at him, tears dripping down his cheeks. His lip quivered. "I m-must have fine something wrong . . ."

"You didn't know you were pregnant, and you were worried about Emmy, we both were. It's nobody's fault."

"I know I shouldn't be so upset about it," Kendall continued softly. "Because it's not like we're losing our first kid . . ."

"You have every right to be upset," James reassured him, moving a hand over to intertwine it with his. "It'll be okay . . ."

Kendall just looked down, crying silently. When they got home, Katie took one look at them and immediately knew something was wrong. However, she thought it would be better not to ask, and told Kendall to go upstairs and rest for a while. "You can just tell the kids that he's tired," Katie said quietly to James. "I guess it's not a lie."

James was glad they hadn't told the children about the pregnancy; he knew explaining what had happened would break their hearts. So instead he cooked them dinner and they watched a movie together. After he sent them all to bed, he finally went to his and Kendall's room to see his husband. He found him curled up asleep on the bed, clutching a pillow close to his chest. James gently pried it from his hands and lay down next to him, holding him close and secure in his arms. Kendall snuggled into his chest and continued to sleep softly.

James had hoped that by the end of the week, Kendall would would be back to his old self. But he knew this was a high expectation and wasn't particularly surprised when Kendall was in the same state of depression. However, he'd been sure that after another week, he'd have some of his old bounce back. But he didn't.

And another two weeks passed. He still acted as he had before they found out about the baby. He read to the kids, he cooked for them, he cleaned, he played with them, he worked on his column. But outside of that, he did nothing else. He just sat and read quietly, speaking only when spoken to. He didn't smile much, not even for the children, and if he did, it never really reached his eyes. James would never have expected losing a baby he'd barely known about could've affected him so badly. It was worrying him. He wanted his old Kendall back, the one with the dimples and sparkly eyes and adorable laugh. He missed him like crazy.

Eventually, he decided that he had to do something, something drastic. Small sweet gestures weren't enough anymore. So he called his 'Mini Chief Advisor' as she'd named herself, and the two sat down in the kitchen to talk, while Kendall was upstairs giving the twins a bath.

"I'm really worried about Dad too," Emily sighed mournfully. "He's always so sad now."

"I know," James replied. "And I called you here because I wanted to get your opinion on my plan to try and help him get better."

"Tell me," she said eagerly.

"Well, his birthday is coming up soon, so it fits in well," James said to her. "And, I was thinking . . ."

"Yeah?"

"Maybe a puppy?"

"A puppy?" Emily's eyebrows rose. "You think that'll cheer him up?"

"Well, I dunno. That's the thing. But I've tried so many ther things and it's just . . . it's staring to really worry me." James paused. "But, think about it. Everyone loves puppies, especially Kendall. And it'd be a distraction for him."

"I guess so," his daughter replied thoughtfully, brow furrowed. She looked so much like Kendall when she did that, it was almost frightening. "Where will we get the puppy?"

"I was thinking the animal shelter that's just on the outskirts of town. He can pick a dog from there, and it'll be an abandoned one too so everyone's happy, know what I mean?"

Emily nodded, grinning. James could tell she was starting to get excited bout the idea of a dog in the house. "When will we bring him?"

"I think this weekend. I don't want it to be too close to his birthday either; I want him to be surprised."

Emily nodded. "Are you gonna tell Hannah and Adam?"

James chuckled. "I'm not sure they can keep a secret. I'll tell them the night before, I guess. Make them promise to stay quiet. I could give them some candy for the car trip, that might keep them silent."

Emily giggled, nodding in agreement. "So, we're getting a puppy?"

James nodded. "We're getting a puppy."

That weekend, James told the twins what he was planning. A threat from Emily ensured that they would stay silent. He'd checked the visiting hours for the shelter, and deemed everything ready when he walked into the kitchen that morning. He just prayed and prayed that it would all go well.

"Hey, Kendall."

Kendall looked up from where he was pouring out orange juice for the twins. The corners of his mouth rose in a slight smile. "Yeah?"

"We're going out today," James told him, keeping an eye on the twins as he spoke to make sure they didn't giggle. "To a surprise location. So . . ."

Kendall nodded. "I'll get dressed." As he finished giving the children their breakfast, he walked past James, gave him a small peck on the lips, and continued out of the room towards the stairs.

James got the children dressed and ready. "Okay," he whispered to them. "Are you ready to go get a new puppy?"

They all nodded eagerly and ran to put on their jackets. Kendall walked over to James and did the same. He wrapped his arms around James's middle and pressed a gentle kiss to his chin. "I'm sorry I've been so glum," he said quietly. "I've been trying to perk myself up . . ."

"Maybe today will help," James replied, grinning down at him. "Come on, let's get going."

They went down to the car. As soon as they all sat down and were safely strapped in, James took out a bandana and held it up. "Babe, I'm gonna blindfold you."

"Now I'm getting suspicious," Kendall said, cocking an eyebrow.

James just chuckled and tied the bandana over Kendall's eyes. "And now, off we go!"

James drove off through the town, turning on the radio and humming along in time to the latest overrated pop hit. Emily sang along for the chorus. Adam and Hannah tried, but most of their words didn't make sense. He just smiled at them encouragingly through the rearview mirror and let them continue. "How much further?" Kendall asked at last, glancing towards the window and then towards James.

"We've only been driving for fifteen minutes," James told him. "Another ten." Their surroundings were starting to get quieter. He spotted a sign for the animal shelter on the side of the road and smiled to himself, following the directions. Eventually, they drove down what he almost considered a bit of a dirt track, and he pulled into an available parking space. "Okay, we're here!"

Kendall moved to take the blindfold off, but James slapped his hand away before he could. "Not yet," he said sternly. "I'll take it off."

"Whatever," Kendall sighed, giving in and slumping down on the seat.

The children jumped out of the car, jumping up and down in excitement. James helped Kendall out of the car, wrapping an arm securely around his waist. "Okay. Just follow me."

"Do I hear barking?" Kendall asked slowly, looking around.

"I dunno, probably in a garden somewhere," James murmured, before leading him up to the front gate. A woman walked out to meet them, giving a bright smile. "Morning! Are you here to take a look around?"

"Yeah, we are," James replied, reaching out and shaking her hand. "I'm James, and this is my family. Kendall, Emily, Adam and Hannah." He pointed them all out before adding, "We're here to adopt." As he looked at the dogs in the nearby outdoor pens, he wondered how they were going to choose one. Or more, how Kendall was going to choose one, he was such an animal lover.

"Adopt?!" Kendall's mouth dropped open.

James just laughed and tugged the blondfold off. "I know it's early, but I wanted to surprise you and cheer you up. Happy birthday, babe."

Kendall looked around, eyes lit up in a way James hadn't seen since they'd gone to that damned doctors office. "Oh my god, Jamie . . . we're getting a dog?!"

"Well, yeah." James turned to the woman. "Have you got puppies here?"

She nodded. "Two litters, one of sheepdogs, one of alsatians. But most of the dogs here make good family pets."

"They're all so cute!" Kendall was squealing, petting a small terrier through a gap in the fence. "I just want them all!"

"Our house isn't big enough, I'm afraid. You're limited to one."

"Okay, I guess I can handle that . . ." Kendall straightened up and walked back to the woman. "So, can we see the puppies?"

The woman, who introduced herself as Becky, led them around to the pens at the back. Side by side were two large pens containing two litters of puppies. At the sight of visitors, they immediately scampered toward the fence, yapping and jumping up and down in excitement. Kendall, Emily and the twins all squealed. James just chuckled and smiled fondly.

"Can I go in?!" Kendall asked eagerly.

Becky nodded. "Any particular breed you fancy?"

Kendall pointed towards the alsatians and Becky opened the gate, letting him go in to greet them. The children watched him enviously as he knelt on the ground, the puppies leaping into his arms and licking at his face. Becky glanced down at the children and smiled sweetly, moving towards the sheepdog pen. "How about you three keep these little guys company while your dad picks one of the others?"

The children all shrieked with excitement and ran into the pen.

"Adam, stop pulling its tail!" James called worriedly. "Hannah, don't touch that!"

"I suppose it must be hectic, adopting so many children," Becky said to him a little sympathetically.

James nodded, deciding not to correct her. They'd learned that it was better not to.

"Think you'll ever adopt more?"

James shrugged. "I don't know. The thing is, we were going to. But the mother lost the baby about a month ago. Kendall was very upset about it, he's been in a bit of a slump ever since."

"So, that's why you brought him here?"

James nodded. "I thought it would cheer him up. I know how much he loves animals, and I thought the kids would like it too. If we ever do adopt another child, it certainly won't be for a while. Not until this whole thing has kind of cleared up, if you get what I mean."

"I do." Becky smiled fondly and watched Kendall cuddling one of the puppies in his arms. "Well, I can already see one of these little guys is gonna be going to a sweet, loving family."

"Aww," James joked. "What a nice thing to say."

"Jamie!"

James walked over to the fence where Kendall stood, holding a puppy in his arms. The little dog was nibbling at his jacket collar, one of its ears flopped over. "I like this one the best," Kendall giggled, scratching behind the dog's ear.

Becky walked over and opened the fence, letting Kendall out and taking the puppy from him. "This one's a boy. He's a real sweetheart, isn't he?"

Kendall nodded, beaming. He turned to where the children were still playing with the other dogs. "Should we get them out now?"

They did, and Becky said to them, "We've gotta get this guy ready to take home, so why don't you look around at the other dogs while you wait?" Then to her surprise, she handed the puppy to James. "If you take him around to the front door, they'll get him ready for you. Plus you can buy anything you want from us; a bowl, leash, collar, whatever."

"You okay with that, Jamie?" Kendall smirked slightly. "Think you can handle him?"

"Pfft, of course I can, he's tiny."

"I'll show your family around, then," Becky smiled. "Feel free to have a look yourself, James, once you've got everything sorted."

James carried the little puppy around to the front of the shelter. "Um, so . . . puppy," he said at last, glancing down at him. The little animal looked up at him with big brown eyes, tongue lolling out of his moth. He looked like he was smiling. It made James smile back. "You're gonna make Kendall happy, aren't you? You can do that for me, right?"

The puppy licked his cheek and nuzzled up against his chin.

"Good. I thought so."

He rang the bell at the front door and a cheerful looking man in a polo neck t-shirt ran to answer it. "Morning!" he greeted. "I'm Dave. Did Becky send you around?"

James nodded, holding out the puppy. "We wanna adopt this little guy, if that's cool."

"Not a problem!" Dave took the puppy and sat him on the counter, taking the little numbered collar off from round his neck. "If you like, you can buy him a new collar here. But we don't do licenses, I'm afraid."

"That's okay. A collar would be great." James listed out everything else he needed and paid for it, taking it all in a carrier bag.

Dave placed a piece of paper or him on the counter, hanging him a pen. "This is an adoption certificate. You'll have to sign your name, write the dog's name . . ."

"He doesn't have a name yet. He'll get one once my husband shows up; he's out looking around."

"Okay, how about you take a seat outside and wait for him?"

James did, sitting on one of the benches with the puppy on his arms. "This suits you," he commented, playing with the bright red collar around his neck. "Very smart. Might even get one for myself." Or Kendall. Hmm . . .

Now was not the time to be considering these things. Despite how awesome they were.

A few minutes later, he heard the children calling him in excited voices. Wondering why they sounded so hysterical, he looked up. His jaw dropped.

The children were sprinting around the corner towards him, shrieking random words he couldn't understand through their enthusiasm. But he got the message clearly when he was Kendall and Becky walking and talking to each other. Kendall held a leash in his hand, that was attached to a collar worn by one of the biggest dogs he'd ever seen. He was bulky and had long black fur, and was panting loudly. He was so tall that he reached Kendall's waist. "Um, Kendall," James said uncertainly as they got closer. "What is that . . .?"

Kendall gave him a sheepish grin. "It's a dog."

"Daddy's adopting him!" Adam shrieked, hugging the monster dog around its neck.

James gaped at Kendall. "You can't be serious!"

"Nobody wants him because he's so big," Kendall pleaded. "And because he's getting older and everyone always wants puppes. Please Jamie, just look at his face!"

James did, and sighed. The dog glanced up at him, seemingly unimpressed with him too. "He'll eat the puppy."

"No he won't!" Kendall gasped, horrified.

"Don't worry," Becky reassured James, patting him on the shoulder. "Monster's very passive, he won't do a thing."

"Then why is his name Monster?!"

"Pleeeaaaassseeeee!" four voices pleaded. And he was met with four pairs of— nope, make that five— gleaming puppy eyes and little whimpers. Then he realised that he'd brought Kendall here to cheer him up.

James sighed, and face palmed. The things he did for that manipulative blondie. "Fine."

Kendall cheered, hugging him and giving him a big kiss, before holding his arms out to Monster. The dog jumped up and licked at his face, paws on his shoulders. James frowned to himself. Came to get a puppy. Got a puppy and a dog almost as tall as I am.

But he saw how happy Kendall was, and decided it was worth it. Besides, how much harm could a dog the size of a small cow who was named Monster do? Haha . . . ha.

Some paperwork and discussions later, and the family were back in the car. Monster was sitting on the floor in the back, head on Emily's lap. Kendall held the puppy in his arms, who he'd named Bailey. "I love you," he cooed, holding the puppy up in front of him and kissing his head. "Yes I do, I love you so much."

James shook his head fondly and drove home.

Bailey's things were set up in the kitchen, James laying out a few newspapers around on the surrounding tiles. "Just in case . . ." He then went through the cupboards and found a worn blanket and some old cushions from their old apartment. He arranged them on the floor for Monster to sleep on. "There, that should be comfortable!"

"What if they want to sleep with us?" Kendall asked innocently, still cuddling Bailey in his arms with Monster sitting by his feet.

James stared at him. "Babe, I have to draw the line somewhere . . ."

Kendall sighed, placing Bailey down on the floor. "Okay, fair enough." Then he hurried over to James and pulled him in for a kiss. "Thank you so much," he said softly, pressing their foreheads together gently. "I love you."

James grinned, hugging him close. "I love you more."

December 25th — Emily: 11, twins: 4

The first thing Emily always did when she woke up was crawl to the end of her bed, and look for her presents. A typical childlike thing, she knew. Presents from relatives or friends were left under the Christmas tree downstairs. But the presents from Santa were left on the ends of their beds. Well, to Hannah and Adam it was Santa. Emily knew who really left the presents on the end of the bed and in their stockings, and they were a lot more wonderful than some fat old man in a red suit.

Emily reached the end of the bed, reaching down to feel around for her present. She grasped it and eagerly picked it up. The wrapping paper crinkled against her fingers as she carefully tried to suss out what the present was. It was rectangular, and when she shook it she heard a faint rattling sound. Putting it down beside her, in the low light she reached for her red stocking with the fluffy white trimmings and picked it up. It was bulging. What 'Santa' liked to do every year was fill their small stockings with as many tiny presents as he could. Shaking the stocking, she could tell it was full of little tiny things. But she couldn't look yet, until they were all together as a family.

Suddenly, her bedroom door opened and a small head peeked inside. "Emily!" a voice hissed. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah, I'm awake."

The twins rushed in, carrying their presents and leaped onto the bed, squealing. "Look Emmy, my present is huge!" Adam crowed, struggling to hold the huge box as well as his little stocking. "I think it's the fire truck I wanted!"

"It's not yours," Hannah jeered. "It's mine. You don't get any presents this year because you're a baby!"

"Emmy!" Adam's lip quivered.

"Leave him alone, Hannah," Emily scolded, prodding her. Hannah scowled and poked back. So Emily grinned and tackled her onto the bed, tickling her. Hannah shrieked with laughter, trying to push her off. "Stop, stop it!"

Adam was cheering, jumping up and down on the bed and singing 'Jingle Bells' when he had the breath to.

The three children were so noisy they didn't notice the bedroom door opening again. "Kids," James mumbled, smiling tiredly at them. "Do you have to make so much noise?"

"Yes!" Adam replied incredulously. "It's Christmas! Where's Dad?"

"He's still half asleep. Why don't we go wake him up?" James smirked, and the children grinned back. "Come on, grab your presents and let's go."

They did as they were asked and ran out of the room, down the hallway to their parents' room. "DAD!" they screamed, stampeding in and leaping onto Kendall's sleeping figure.

Kendall shrieked, bolting up with wide eyes. "Huh?!" He blinked sleepily, rubbing at one eye.

"The kids wanted to open their presents," James explained, sitting down on the bed next to him and wrapping an am around him. "Merry Christmas, babe."

"Happy Christmas, Jamie," Kendall replied lovingly, pecking James on the lips and snuggling into his embrace.

"Blech," Hannah gagged. "Don't be gross."

"Don't call me gross, you rascal." Kendall grabbed Hannah and tugged her into his arms, kissing her rosy cheek. "Come on, aren't we going to open presents? Whose turn is it to get the ones from the tree?"

Three hands pointed at James, who sighed and stood up. "Don't start without me!"

The Diamonds' family tradition had always been that the presents from Santa, and from each other, were opened in their parents' room. After that, they'd generally go off and play with them while Kendall started to work on Christmas dinner, James sometimes giving a hand and sometimes too pre-occupied with keeping the children in tow. Kendall's mother, her husband John, Kendall's sister Katie and James' mother Brooke came over for dinner, when they would open those gifts and play games together. Then in the evening, Carlos and Logan normally stopped by for a while. Kendall and James had always loved that security of having a routine on Christmas Day. It was something they looked forward to. Though all the cooking sometimes stressed Kendall out a bit, he'd always been better at it than James, so he didn't complain.

"Okay," James announced, walking back into the room and sitting on the bed with his stack of presents. "Let's see . . . this one is for Emily, from me and Dad." He handed it over. "This one is from Hannah and Adam," which they'd bought with that usual Christmas allowance and parental advice, "Then there's Kendall's presents from me, from Emily and from the twins. Then my presents, and the twins'. There!"

And so the opening of presents began. Emily received a new set of paints and brushes from Santa, a dress from Kendall and James and flower hairpins from the twins. She knew instantly that James had picked out those last two; they were co-ordinated far too well for Kendall to have chosen them. Adam got the fire truck he wanted, along with a polar bear plushie from Emily, who'd bought both her siblings cuddly toys that year, and a kids hockey set from his parents. Though Hannah remarked that Adam was too wimpy for hockey, he seemed happy. Hannah's presents were a mermaid Barbie doll, a reindeer plushie, and a pair of purple shoes. Kendall must've picked those out; they were too sparkly and Hannah-like for James' refined style. She knew that much.

"Okay, now it's our turn," James said eagerly, picking up his first present, which was from Adam and Hannah which indirectly meant it was from Kendall, but neither of them said anything. "Hmm . . ." He gave it a little shake, smiling teasingly at the giggling twins. "I wonder what it could be." And he opened it to find a new kit of Cuda hair gel. James let out a gasp, eyes wide. "It's just what I wanted!" The twins beamed from ear to ear, glowing with pride. Next, James opened his present from Emily. She'd decided to make them their gifts, and had struggled for a week or two to knit James a patchy and colourful scarf, and a beanie for Kendall. However, James seemed happy and wrapped it around his neck. Then, last as always, he opened up the last gift from Kendall, to reveal some designer sweatshirt that he had bought for him. V-neck, of course. Kendall always said that James looked best in those. "Thank you, babe. I love it." He kissed Kendall lightly, ignoring the faces that the kids made at them.

"Now me," Kendall beamed, opening up his CD the twins had given him. James had no clue who the band was, even though he'd found the album himself; some hippie indie rock thing that Kendall loved. But what he saw in those artists, he would never know. He let out a delighted squeal when he opened Emily's present and placed it on his head, resting it so his bangs hung out like always. "I think you've got about a thousand beanies now, babe," James chuckled.

Kendall glared at him. "You can never have too many beanies." He then opened James' present; some John Green books that he'd been desperate to get his hands on.

The five of them cuddled in bed for a while, chatting while the children marvelled over their presents. But eventually Kendall got out of bed and said, "Okay, babies. Go get dressed, and I'll get started on dinner."

"I'll help!" James volunteered immediately, running out after him. "Bring your toys downstairs and play all you want once you're ready, okay?"

"If you like the sweater, you should wear it today," Kendall teased as they walked into the kitchen. "I love seeing you in v-necks."

"Oh yeah?" James grinned, standing closer to Kendall and pinning him against the counter, hands on either side of his waist. "How much?"

"So much it kinda turns me on a little," Kendall replied softy, closing the tiny distance between them and pressing his lips to James'. James kissed back eagerly, pressing his body up against the blond's. Only Kendall pulled back too soon and huffed out, "Okay, I've got to get started." He turned and started fumbling around, turning on the oven. "Gotta get the turkey in first . . ."

"We haven't got much to do though, right? Not a much as last year."

"Yeah, my mom is making mashed and roast potatoes, your mom is handling veggies and Katie's gonna make Mom's snickerdoodles for after. I've just gotta make stuffing, and cranberry sauce. And cook the bird, obviously. Then while it's cooking, I'm gonna make some cakes or something. And there's ice-cream in the fridge."

"We're gonna be busy," James chuckled, rolling back the sleeves of the baggy shirt he often wore to bed. "Okay, give me my first instructions."

The two worked at the food while keeping their ears open, ensuring the children were getting along and not causing any trouble with one another. Once they'd finished everything except take the turkey from the oven, they went off to shower and get ready. "I'm getting a little bit of pudge here," Kendall sighed, tapping his stomach. "Comes with age, I guess."

James —who still had the body of a god, naturally— gaped at him before shaking his head and saying, "Babe, you're not old. You're not even thirty yet."

"Pudge."

"You've had three children. Look, if it bothers you so much, come to the gym with me!

Kendall, the king of laziness, made a face. "You know what, I think I'm okay . . ."

It wasn't long after that when the visitors arrived, all squealing their greetings and giving huge hugs with the arms that weren't carrying presents. Katie, who was twenty-one now, was the last to arrive. "Sorry!" she said breathlessly, hanging up her jacket when she walked in. "I had to give Hunter a hand getting the stove to work, it's been acting up." Hunter was Katie's boyfriend, and they'd recently started living together. Kendall still ranted to James that it was too soon, she was too young, etc etc. Then James pointed out what Kendall had been doing when he was twenty-one and the blond clamped his mouth shut.

The eight of them sat down at the cramped kitchen table, the food already spread out in the centre. They stuffed themselves and chatted away, laughing and joking. Hannah kicked up a fuss when Kendall tried to make her eat some carrots —she prety just wanted to eat a plate of potatoes— but other than that, everything was fine. After dinner, Kendall gave Bailey and Monster a bowl of leftovers each, and they all settled down in the living room to watch some movies together.

Some time in the evening, when everyone was eventually gone home, Kendall changed out of what he claimed as his 'good clothes' and into some sweats and a t-shirt. Likewise, Emily took off her new dress in exchange for jeans and a t-shirt. They sat around and watched the kids play with their toys. "You know," Kendall said at last. "I'm tired. I'm gonna go to bed." He kissed all the children's heads, then James' lips. "Night, everyone." He went off upstairs, James watching him go.

He watched the kids playing for another while, but eventually he could see they were getting tired. They weren't playing anymore, just sitting and kind of staring at their toys blankly, half lying on the floor. Eventually, Emily couldn't keep her eyes open and the twins had fallen fast asleep. "Okay," James laughed softly, picking his two youngest up. "Come on, Emily. Bedtime."

James put the twins to bed, tucking them in carefully so he didn't wake them and kissing them goodnight. He kissed Emily goodnight too, and went off into his room. As he closed the door, he was surprised to see Kendall sitting up in bed and reading, rather than sleeping like he'd expected. "You're still up, babe?"

Kendall nodded and looked up, putting the book down. "Yeah. I couldn't sleep, I wanted to talk to you . . ."

"Oh." James frowned. "Am I in trouble?"

"No, no! Of course not!"

"Oh. Well, um." James cleared his throat, remembering the three remaining residents of the house were meant to be asleep. "Carry on."

"Jamie," Kendall said softly, standing up and walking toward him, wringing his hands. "I've been thinking a lot lately . . ."

"About what?"

"A baby. Well, our baby . . ."

"You mean the one we lost?" James said uncertainly, worried about upsetting Kendall again. It had been almost two years since that had happened, but he still wondered if he brought it up, would Kendall lapse into a depression again? He'd never mentioned having another child since then.

Kendall nodded, but James saw no trace of that usual sadness in his eyes. "I know we've been putting it on hold for a while. Well, I have. I was just scared the same thing would happen again. But I can see now that as long as we're careful, it can't happen. Right?"

James nodded slowly, before saying, "So . . .? Are you saying you want to start trying again?"

Kendall nodded, smiling eagerly, by slightly nervously too. "Yeah. I am."

James grinned, leaning down and kissing Kendall gently. "So, when do you want . . .?"

"Well," Kendall's smile widened, his arms wrapping around James' middle. "I don't really think there's a specific time we should start trying. We should just stop trying not to have one . . ."

James, safe to say, couldn't believe his luck. "So, now? No condom?"

"Yes James," Kendall chuckled, walking backwards towards the bed and sitting down.

James lunged at him, knocking the blond flat on his back. Kendall burst into laughter, muffling the sound by pressing his lips to James' neck. James groaned, holding Kendall's waist and lifting him up the bed so his head rested on the pillows. Kendall happily reached down and tugged his shirt off, James doing the same before leaning down and licking up Kendall's chest. Kendall giggled, hand threading through James' dark hair. "Shh," James hissed teasingly, lips brushing over Kendall's navel. "Don't wake the kids."

"You shush," Kendall quipped back, hips rocking up slightly as James's tongue slid over his hip. "Mmm, Jamie . . ."

James slid Kendall's pants down his thighs, tugging them off and dropping them onto the floor. He leaned in and mouthed at the tent in Kendall's boxers, the blond gasping loudly and tugging hard on James' hair. He breathed heavily, head thrown back against the pillow. James glanced up at him. Cheesy as it sounded, his blond hair spread on the pillow behind him looked a little like a halo. He told Kendall that, and the blond laughed before tugging James up and kissing him again, their tongues clashing as Kendall flipped them over and straddled James' waist. He scooted down and yanked James' remaining clothes off, the brunet's hard cock springing out. Kendall licked at it eagerly, before closing his lips around it and slowly swallowing it up. James moaned loudly, brushing Kendall's bangs from his forehead so the blond could look him in the eyes.

"God, Kenny," James growled, finger stroking down Kendall's cheek. "It's forever since you've done this."

Kendall lifted his head up, coughing a little. "That's why I'm not very good at it," he wheezed slightly, hand on his throat. "Maybe some other time . . ."

"Okay, I can deal with that," James chuckled, hands moving down to squeeze Kendall's ass as the blond crawled back up his body. He tugged Kendall's boxers down and slid a hand between Kendall's cheeks, rubbing and pressing against his puckered hole. Kendall whimpered, their noses bumping together as he gripped James' shoulders tightly. James slid two fingers inside at once, carefully scissoring them and leaving light kisses along Kendall's cheeks. "Sorry I'm going dry," he said softly. "I can get some lube if you—"

"We're all out anyway," Kendall dismissed, hips shallowly thrusting back against James' fingers as he pushed a third one inside. "Oh god . . . I already checked."

James grinned at him, rolling them over and trapping Kendall beneath his burly body. "How long have you been planning this?" He slid his fingers from Kendall's asshole and settled between his legs.

"I've been thinking about it for a while," Kendall replied breathlessly. "But I was on and off the whole time, I didn't decide properly until last night. I was looking at you, and all the kids and the dogs and I just kind of thought, what was the point of putting it off anymore? I'd love another baby, I know you would too. The twins are old enough that we and they can handle it. And I just kind of knew if I never decided to have another kid I'd just keep thinking about it, and regretting it . . ."

James shrugged, gripping the pale flesh of Kendall's thighs in his hands. "Good enough for me." Then he pushed inside, muffling the blond's loud moan with his lips and tongue. Keeping their mouths locked in a hard kiss, James began thrusting his hips, tapping off Kendall's prostate at every move. His hands wandered over Kendall's soft body, wanting and needing to touch him everywhere. Weak moans and gasps were heard every second their mouths parted, their eyes locked between kisses as James moved faster and harder.

James wrapped his hand around Kendall's dick and stroked it until he came to his climax, shuddering and coating their chests in cum. His hole constricted around James' cock and the brunet gave a low moan, filling Kendall up and painting his insides white. Kendall's legs dropped onto the bed weakly, James resting on top of him and weakly giving him a quick kiss and nuzzling into his neck. "Hopefully that made a baby," James whispered, moving to lie on his side as his arm looped around Kendall's waist.

"I don't think it's gonna happen that quickly," Kendall replied, giggling and kissing James on the nose. "And even if it does, we've still got nine months left to wait before he or she s born."

"Don't be a killjoy."

Kendall rolled his eyes, kissing James' lips next. "I love you."

James kissed back, wondering whether or not they should bother to get up and wrap the covers over them. "I love you more."

October 31st — Emily: 14, twins: 7

"Yeah, Jas, I'm still here," Emily said, slouched on her bed with her phone pressed to her ear. "Sure, I'd love to come! You know where Tom's house is, right? I've never been there . . . no, at that last party I couldn't go, remember? My parents had a date night and I had to babysit. But I'll be there this time. Mhm. What are you wearing?"

Emily rifled through her closet, sighing. "I haven't get anything as short as that. Maybe I can cut the ends off some old shorts . . . I'll call you in a little while."

As Emily hung up and tossed her phone onto the bed, she suddenly spotted two small children at the door. She sighed, eyeing her brother md sister with tired eyes. "What do you want?"

"I heard you talking," Hannah said immediately. "Are you going to a party?"

"So what if I am? It's none of your business, is it?"

"We're telling Daddy!" Adam said gleefully, before turning and sprinting down so the stairs with an exaggerated evil cackle. Hannah followed, squealing with laughter.

"Hannah, Adam!" Groaning in exasperation, Emily ran down after them and into the kitchen.

"Daddy!" Hannah shrieked, running over to the table. "Emmy's going to a party!"

James looked up from his magazine. "A party?" he echoed, frowning.

Adam nodded enthusiastically before bellowing, "A grown up party! With cut shorts!"

"Shut up!" Emily hissed at them. "Can't you ever keep the mouth shut?"

"You never told us you were going to a party, Emmy," James said, standing up. "You said you were going to sleep over at Jasmine's house."

"It's not a total lie," Emily admitted at last.

James smiled brightly, clapping his hands together. "Well, guess what! Now you can stay here with us, and go trick-or-treating!"

"What?! Dad, no!"

"Yes!" James replied, smile widening. "Happy Halloween! You can sort out this candy to give to the kids calling over." He pointed at the bags of candy and empty bowls that littered the kitchen table. "I was supposed to do it but . . . now I'm off to help Kendall with the costumes for our little monsters." He pinched the twins' cheeks and walked off and out of the kitchen, calling over his shoulder at his oldest, "No dawdling!" Her groan followed him and the smaller children up the stairs.

"Kendall!" he called, walking down to the bedroom at the end of the hall. "How are you doing?"

"I'm almost done!" Kendall called back. James and the twins walked into the room. Kendall was kneeling in the middle of the floor, some thread between his teeth as he sewed along a hem of Cathy's Halloween costume. The little girl was almost two years old, and beaming proudly as Kendall finished adjusting the shop-bought pumpkin costume so it fit her right. She had long blond hair and big green eyes, the spitting image of Kendall. "That's a Knight, through and through," was the first thing James had said when she'd been born. They'd been overjoyed at having her.

"There!" Kendall grinned, picking up the pumpkin hat and placing it on her head. "All done! Jamie, isn't she just the most adorable thing?" He wrapped his arms around Cathy and kissed all over her cheeks, and she squealed in delight, hugging him.

"She is adorable," James smiled lovingly, bending down and hugging them both, kissing Cathy's forehead. He pulled back and said, "Where are the twins' costumes? I can help them with theirs."

"On the bed in Hannah's room," Kendall answered, picking Cathy up with ease and resting heron his hip. "Come on, let's go get them. You can handle the face paint, you know I'm useless with it . . ."

James and Kendall dressed Hannah and Adam in their Halloween costumes; Hannah wore a black dress with a tutu and fairy wings, striped tights and a hairband with bat wings on top of her dark hair, complete with a sparkly wand. James painted her face white, with black lips and little cracks across her cheeks, as she'd requested. Adam had wanted something much easier to manage, to their relief. "I wanna be Spiderman, Daddy!" And he was now all kitted out in his costume, complete with a mask.

"You both look fantastic," Kendall grinned at them. "You can go downstairs and wait for us in the living room, okay? Take Cathy with you."

The twins hurried out with their baby sister safely walking between them, and Kendall took James' hand, leading him into their shared room. "So, Jamie," Kendall grinned, winding his arms around James' neck and pecking his lips. "Planning on dressing up at all?"

"Nah, I don't think so," James chuckled, gently thumbing the skin under Kendall's shirt. "I figured I'd leave it to the kids and their wild imaginations."

"Oh. Well." Kendall took James' hand, playfully messing with his fingers as he led him towards the closet. "You know, I've got a costume. But I think I should probably wait until we're back here to put on on."

"Ooh." James smirked. "Do you wanna show me?"

Kendall laughed, opening the closet and digging around, until he finally pulled out a plastic packet with a large label on the front. "I've already opened it and tried it and stuff, but this is basically what it looks like on."

James groaned at the sight of the Rocky Horror Picture Show costume Kendall had bought. Kendall had always had a strange obsession with that movie; every time they showed it back in Minnesota he'd try to rope either James, Carlos or Logan to go with him and if they wouldn't, he'd go by himself, dressing up and partying with the rest of those strange cultish enthusiasts. However, James wasn't complaining about this one. Kendall had bought a Rocky costume, which really just consisted of a pair of tight and shiny good shorts. That, he could live with.

"You'll watch it with me later, right?" Kendall asked hopefully.

"If you're wearing that, I can manage."

"Yay!" Kendall put the costume away again and grabbed James' hand, leading him towards the door. "Okay, let's take our three little monsters out to get some candy."

"Four, actually," James corrected. "Em was trying to sneak off to a party, so she's coming with us now."

"Oh." Kendall frowned for a second, then shrugged. "Okay. No point in nagging her about it."

The two walked downstairs to find Emily sitting on the couch, texting with a pout on her face. Cathy was sitting on the floor, watching the twins with wide fascinated eyes as they acted out what they'd dressed up as. James loved to see them interact with her like that. "Okay, kids," Kendall announced. "Ready to go?"

"Yes!" three voices squealed. Emily gave an unenthusiastic grunt and got to her feet.

Kendall held Cathy's hand securely in his as they walked down the street, littered with pumpkins and black streamers and kids running around in their costumes. The last thing he wanted was her getting distracted amd wandering off somewhere. James walked behind the twins, keeping a close eye on them. Emily sloped along behind them, hands in her pockets. "This is so unfair," she muttered. "So bloody unfair."

"Don't complain, Emmy!" Kendall called back to her as they neared their next house. "If you'd just told us about this party we might have let you go."

"It's not even a big deal!" Emily whined. "It's just a party, I bet you both went to parties when you were fourteen!"

"Well, James did." Kendall rolled his eyes. "You can talk to him all about it."

"Thanks for shoving me under the bus," James retorted. "Really, I appreciate it."

Kendall glanced over his shoulder at them, eyelids fluttering slightly. "Sweetie," he said, lips pouted and eyes large. "I love you."

And even Emily couldn't help smiling when James visibly melted and replied instantly, "I love you more."

August 25th — Emily: 19, twins: 12, Cathy: 7

"Does this really have to happen?" Kendall pleaded to his husband sitting in the driver's seat. "Can't we turn the car around?"

James shook his head, giving Kendall a fond but slight exasperated smile. "No, you know we can't."

Kendall gave a mournful sigh, slumping back in his seat. The whole family were in their seven seater car, with Cathy and the twins in the middle and Emily in the very back, some bags on the seat beside her. They were going to drop her off at her university, or as Kendall had been muttering for the last week, "the child stealer. It turns them into drunk and nutty college kids, I'm telling you!" James only rolled his eyes and patiently told Kendall that college was a good thing. Neither of them had gone, of course, so what did Kendall really know about it? It was just his parental instincts taking over as usual, and his impending grief of having their oldest child missing from the house.

"I just saw a sign," Adam spoke up, looking out the window. "It said half a mile to go."

Kendall glanced briefly in the mirror at his four children, smiling wistfully. They'd all grown so much. Cathy was engrossed in her Nintendo DS, fingers jabbing frantically at the buttons, her dark eyebrows furrowed (yes, she even inherited slightly more dainty versions of Kendall's monster brows). Hannah was listening to her iPod, head leaning against the window as her hand idly played with her dark braided hair. Adam was looking out the window with eagerness in his wide brown eyes. Then there was Emily, her wavy blonde hair laid over her shoulder, just lost in thought. They were all so beautiful. He had to look down and play with his jacket zipper so nobody saw how badly he wanted to cry.

"We're here."

Kendall looked up, startled. They were driving in through the front gates, James following the signs carefully so he could see where he was supposed to park. When they did, it was all he could do not to steal the car keys and lock them all in the car, laughing evilly and trapping them there for eternity. But everyone else got out of the car, so he did too.

James lifted the bags from the car trunk and stood them beside Emily." There you go."

"Thanks, Dad." Emily looked at them all, standing in a row and watching her. "So," she said at last. "This is it."

"You have to tell me about any cute college boys you meet," Hannah teased.

"And what the parties are like," Adam said quickly.

Kendall wanted to collapse.

"I will." She hugged them both in turn, exchanging goodbyes. Then she went to Cathy, picking her up and spinning her. Cathy laughed loudly, hugging around Emily's neck with her small arms. "Love you, Emmy."

"Love you too, Cathy." She kissed the little girl's cheek, setting her down. "Don't let those two idiots boss you around."

"I won't," Cathy promised, squaring her shoulders as Hannah and Adam both scowled playfully at her.

Then Emily went to Kendall, who immediately grabbed her and pulled her forward. She smiled affectionately for her silly overemotional father, who was crushing her a bit. But she didn't complain.

"Bye, sweetie," Kendall snuggled, hugging her tightly. "Have a good time, okay?"

"Okay, Dad," Emily replied, smiling and hugging him back.

He held her tighter. "And . . . and don't do anything stupid, okay? And don't forget to call us and remember all your assignments and—"

"Dad." Emily squirmed out of the hug, holding his hands. "Listen. I'm gonna be fine, okay? And of course I'll call."

"Every day?"

"No, Dad." Emily gave an exasperated laugh, shaking her head. "I have to have a life too, you know."

"Every week, then?!" Kendall pleaded.

"Of course."

"Okay." Kendall took in a few slow breaths, calming himself down and managing a smile. "Okay . . ."

Emily grinned at him, before moving on to the last person. "Bye, Dad," she sad softly, hugging him.

"Bye, Emmy," James whispered, clinging onto her. For god's sake, he'd promised himself that Kendall would be the weeping one, not him! But he let a tear or two fall anyway, because really, what did it matter?

When Emily left his arms, he just wanted to pull her back in. But he let her step back, holding her large suitcase in one hand and a duffel bag in the other, a handbag slung across her shoulders. "So, I'll see you guys soon," she told them. "I'm gonna to go the main office by myself, if that's cool."

"Okay," Kendall said, drying his eyes and nodding quickly. "Be safe."

As she headed up the steps towards the doors, Kendall shrieked out, "We love you!"

"I love you more!" she called over her shoulder, waving and blowing a kiss. Then she turned and headed inside, disappearing from view.

Somehow Kendall found James' hand and gripped it tightly, pressing their bodies together. James wrapped an arm around his waist, holding him close.

"Should we go home now?" Cathy piped up.

"Y-yeah, I guess we should . . ." James pulled himself together. "Okay, back in the car."

The three children hopped into the car. "I bet when we get back, Hannah's gonna go straight for Facebook," Adam cackled, trying to brighten up the atmosphere. "So she can gaze longingly at pictures of—"

"I do not have a crush on Joshua! Shut up!"

"I was gonna say Zack, actually. But who's Joshua?!"

Hannah covered her face and turned away, cheeks bright red.

James chuckled, starting the engine. He looked over at Kendall to see the blond's gaze focused on the school doors, a few tears trickling down his cheeks. "Hey," James said softly, reaching out to wrap a comforting hand around his. "I love you."

Kendall looked up at him, managing a wobbly smile. "I love you more."

And there you have it :) thank you guys for reading!