Chapter 35:

Jake's POV:

I watch over Sophia as she sleeps for the remaining of the night before falling asleep myself. The next morning, both our families and our closest friends meet up with us at the hospital to bring them home. The journey home feels longer than normal, but I think that's just because I'm so fascinated by my babies. As soon as we enter the house, we're greeted by posters and banners welcoming our new, beautiful creations into the world. Sophia and I gasp, then, thank everyone for all they've done. Our families and friends have supported us so much during this time and I don't know how I'll ever repay them for it.

"Can we show our niece and nephew around their house?" James asks, gazing down at them in their pram while touching Arabella's cheek.

"Of course you can, they'd love to bond with their uncles," I allow with a smile. I take Arabella from her pram. "This is your new home, babies! Guess what? The last time you were here was when you were in your mum's belly. You both made her look so adorable and beautiful." Sophia smiles, pecks my cheek, then, taps Arabella's nose as she makes a playful face to her.

"Come on, babies, I'll show you my room, my room's the best," Zach boasts cockily with a smirk, taking Mason from his pram.

"Sit down and let me get you two a piece of 'Welcome To The World, Babies' cake," Sophia's Mum offers, going off to cut the cake.

"Oh my God, you shouldn't have gone to all this trouble just for the twins coming home, guys," Sophia frowns. "You all do too much."

"Shh, don't complain and be happy," Zoey orders.

"I am, very happy, indeed," Sophia confirms. "Thank you all, again." I kiss Sophia and sit her next to me as her mum passes out pieces of cake.

"Where's Avril?" Sophia asks Emily.

"I have no idea, she never replied to my message this morning. I was asking her if she was meeting up with us today," Emily replies.

"I hope she's okay," Sophia worries.

"She is; you're such a worrier. She's probably having a nap," I assure her, squeezing her hand tight. She nods and gives me a bright smile before finishing her piece of cake.

*That Night.*

Sophia's POV:

After saying goodnight to everyone, I stare at my phone, waiting for a reply. I texted both Avril and Liam a few times but I haven't gotten a reply. I'm so worried about them. Has something happened Avril and the baby and now they're in hospital? I sigh, why am I such a worry-guts? Stop it, Sophia, they're fine. Jake scares me by hugging me from the behind. I gasp with shock and try to catch my breath.

"Aw, I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean to scare you," he chortles. "I see you're worrying about Avril. I think I know what'll take your mind off things, a bath!"

"I don't know, Jake, I don't want to leave the twins alone."

"They're not alone; they'll be in here with their daddy."

"I know, but I don't like leaving them."

"Oh, I see how it is; you don't trust me alone with them."

"Of course I do, baby, I just miss them. I even missed them when James and Zach took them today around the house!"

"Problem solved: I bring their bassinets into the en suite and look after them while you bath."

"You always were the smart one."

"Ha, we both know that's not the truth," Jake chuckles. He kisses my nose and lifts their bassinets into the en suite. He turns on the water and adds bath salts and bubbles to the bath. I start to feel self-conscious at the thought of undressing. My body just gave birth to two babies. My belly doesn't look bad but I'm scared he'll think I'm fat. "Is everything okay, sweetie?"

"Yeah, don't worry."

"Do you want me to cover my eyes?"

"Do you mind?"

"Baby, of course I don't, tell me when I can open them." He shuts his eyes and I undress. I study my reflection in the mirror and notice that I'm not even that big. I was expecting to see around a five or six month bump sticking out but it doesn't even look like I have had two babies. I look at my belly, it wasn't as thin as it was before I was pregnant but it was a bit more than an average belly size of a woman. I'm so happy that I'm not big! I look about the size I was when I was three and a half months pregnant. There's a little bump, but at least it's not saggy or big. It shouldn't take me long to lose this weight if I exercise. I'm so surprised but I'm not complaining. I'm so thrilled.

Now I don't have to worry about Jake wanting someone else for their body, I'll get mine back soon with all the breastfeeding, hopefully. That's what I was afraid of. I must be one of the lucky, rare Mums who lose the weight after giving birth. I only have a small bump sticking out from my lower abdomen, the most I need to work out for is about two months and I'll be back to my old size. I smile with content while I turn around from the mirror.

I hop into the bath slowly because I'm still in pain down there from yesterday and relax in the warm water. They said it could last a few weeks which is what I was expecting but thankfully, I had no tears, so, I didn't need any stitches. I was worrying too much about labour that I forgot it was still going to be painful after the birth. These postpartum pains might last a while but I sure hope not. All the pain is worth it though; I have my two little babies now. I don't regret anything.

"You may open them now," I tell him. He opens his eyes and sits beside the bath with the bassinets. I wash myself before finally, relaxing in the water. Instead of closing my eyes to relax more, I never stop looking at my babies getting stroked by their father.

"You're such a protective mummy, gazing down at them like that," Jake chuckles. "I've a huge feeling you'll get more protective as the years go by."

"You can't say anything, you're just as protective," I remind.

"Okay, fine, I am. I just can't help it, I love them so much and they're so perfect. It's all gone so fast," he notes, playing with my toes as if they were the most fascinating thing in the whole world. He brings them to his lips and kisses them lightly, then, blows on them, causing me to shiver, in a good way.

"You're so beautiful, Jake, how did I get a guy as good looking as you?" I wonder.

"Nothing's as beautiful as you." He cups my cheek and places a soft kiss on my lips. I close my eyes and kiss him back gently. It is so soft, so perfect. What did I ever do to deserve him? I must have had been a very good person in my past life. Arabella starts to whimper, so, he takes her out and brings her to his chest, rocking her back and forth and shushing her. "It's okay, baby girl, don't cry." She calms down and he kisses her before laying her back down. "You know what I noticed, baby?"

"What is it, Jakey?"

"Your boobs are absolutely huge." I laugh and his smirk grows.

"I bet you're thrilled about that," I wink.

"You won't believe how thrilled." I chuckle and kiss him gently. "You want to come out now, baby?"

"Yeah and then, we can sleep."

"Are you still worried?"

"No, she's probably fine. Thanks for the idea about the bath, baby, it worked."

"You're welcome, darling." He helps me stand up, grabs the towel and wraps it tightly around me. "You look beautiful." I give him one of my biggest and warmest smiles and he assists me out of the bath. I peck his lips and change into pyjamas. He carries the bassinets back into our room and I lift Mason out.

"Goodnight, Ara, I love you so much. I hope you enjoyed your first day in your home. You're going to love it here. You'll get to see your grandparents, uncles and aunt every day. Night, sleep tight." I kiss her softly on the forehead before I move to the next bassinet, holding my Mason while Jake says goodnight to Arabella. "Hey, sweetie, I know you're already asleep, so, I won't lift you up. I love you so much, sweet dreams, goodnight." I kiss him slowly to not wake him up. I hop into bed and wait for Jake to come in too. He removes his shirt, as it's a hot night, since, it's still Summer. He catches me checking out his chest and six-pack.

"Hey, baby," he purrs sexily, getting into bed beside me. He leans over me and kisses me spontaneously. He pulls back and cocks his head. "You like what you see?"

"You know I do," I whisper, trailing my fingers over his chest.

"Mmm," he moans. I hold the back of his head, yank him down and crush my lips on his in a brutal kiss. Our mouths part and his tongue fights mine for dominance. He smashes his lips on mine in a hungry kiss and grabs my cheek. He moves his hand down to my neck and pulls my wet hair behind my back, revealing my neck. His tongue retreats and his lips make their way down to my neck. He begins kissing it, nibbling on it occasionally. He starts to suck and I remember our twins are in the room. This is something we shouldn't do with our twins here. I move my neck away from his mouth and lean in, my lips searching for his. I find them and connect them with mine. He hesitates before kissing me back because of my sudden abrupt move. He presses his body against me, moaning into our kiss.

"I love you," he says against my lips. I smile uncontrollably and we pull apart.

"I love you too," I repeat. He kisses my forehead lovingly and strokes my cheek.

"Goodnight, princess." He falls onto the space beside me and turns the light off. He holds me in his arms, as he does every night, and we drift off to sleep. I hope we stay like this forever and things never change.

*Next Morning.*

I wake up to an already awake Jake, holding Mason. I must have slept in late, probably because of how tired I was from yesterday. "Look, baby, your mummy's awake," Jake points out, lifting him up slightly, so, he could see me. I lean up and crawl over to the end of the bed that Jake is seated at. I cup Mason's little cheek that fitted in the palm of my hand perfectly and he looks up at me.

"Morning, Mason, is your daddy taking care of you?"

"He sure is, isn't he?" Jake coos. He sighs heavily and looks up to me.

"What's wrong?" I question with worry.

"Do you think they know I'm their father or am I a complete stranger to them? I know they're only babies, but, I think they both already know you're their mother. I'm just worried that they don't feel the connection for me that I feel for them."

"Of course they know you're their father, Jakey. They were able to hear our voices from in there; they always kicked when they heard yours. They know who you are from your voice, just like they know mine from my voice. Please don't worry about things like that, please don't worry about anything."

"You're right, thanks, Sophia, I'm sorry for being stupid."

"Don't apologise, you have nothing to be sorry for, we all have our doubts and you know I especially do."

"Well, the new rule now is that neither of us gets worried nor doubt anymore."

"Deal," I agree and he kisses me with content. "Be back in a minute, need to go toilet and wash." He starts to stand but I pull him back down. "I don't need the help anymore, baby, I promise. Thank you though; I really appreciate how caring you are."

"You're welcome, baby, but there's no need to thank, it's my job to take care of you. I promised myself I'd take care of you and the twins for the rest of my life and I'm never going to stop."

"Come here, Mr. Sappy, I love you so much."

"He loves you more," he grins cheekily and I peck his lips. I lean my head down and kiss Mason too before going over to the bassinet and kissing Arabella. I go to the en suite and close the door behind me. I freshens up in the bathroom by having a quick shower and go toilet. As soon as I finish and open the door, I could smell it. I know that smell and it isn't a good smell. "Oh my God, Jake, it's disgusting!" I scrunch up my eyes and nose at the smell coming from one of my beautiful babies.

"I know, I know, I'm on it," he grumbles.

"I'll do it, you can leave the room if you want, the smell is horrible," I mumble.

"No, I want to do it. I need some bonding time with her; she needs to know I'm her daddy. It's my responsibility as her father to look after her too. Please, can I do it?" he informs.

"Of course you can, have fun," I joke and he chuckles.

"Can you take Mason while I do it?" I nod and take my baby boy from him. I rock him soothingly and watch his daddy try to do this without puking. Jake gets Arabella from her bassinet, takes off her bodysuit and changes her diaper. He puts a new diaper on and kisses her nose. He gets up with the waste in a plastic bag to bring to the bin and shakes it in my face.

"JAKEY! EW!" I shriek. He laughs and takes it away.

"I'm only joking, I wouldn't do that, I'm sorry, darling." He kisses my cheek and departs the room to put it in the rubbish. I lie beside Arabella and lift her up too. I'm getting good at this, now I can hold both of them.

"You have SuperDad as a dad, guys; you're such lucky, little babies. Well, really we're the lucky ones because we have you both."

I smile down at them and place them on the bed, playing with their fingers. Wow, Jake even changed her clothes and bodysuit, he really is SuperDad! I knew he was going to be a great father straight away! Everything is just so perfect now; I didn't know life could get any better from what it used to be. So far, we're not sick and tired of being parents and hopefully, we never will. I don't see how I could ever be tired of them anyway; I'm obsessed with these babies. I love them too much to be sick of them. However, my opinion might change as the days move on when they're not newborns anymore and I'm suffering from lack of sleep from night feeds and crying.

I look at my phone sitting on the bedside table. Should I or should I not check to see if I have any messaged from Avril. I know that if I do check and I don't see any messages or missed calls from her, I'm going to freak out. But I'm also, sort of, freaking out not knowing if she's messaged or not. She's a really good friend and I can't help being concerned, that's one of the things I hate about me, I'm too concerned for others. I go to grab it but pull my hand back. Fuck it, I'm doing it, forget about the consequences. I take the phone from the table and check for messages. Jake enters and frowns at me with worry. I sigh long and heavily.

"Good or bad news?" he questions.

"Great news," I assure, smiling up at him and passing him my phone.

Avril's POV:

*Yesterday.*

We got home from the hospital yesterday. It was the first time I saw the twins and they were the most beautiful babies I have ever seen. Sophia told me to tell Liam as soon as I got home but I didn't because I was really tired and I didn't have the energy to tell him. I'm definitely doing it today; I'm not holding it in anymore because I can't hold it in anymore. Liam looks over at me from the other side of the kitchen table. He inspects me curiously and I look down at the table with shame. Why did I have to hold it off for so long?! I don't know how to tell him. HELP!

"Avs, yesterday, when you said you needed to tell me something, what was it? The curiosity is driving me insane," he puzzled.

"It was nothing, I promise."

"Baby, I know when you lie, that was one of them. What's the matter?" he demands. I shake my head and he reaches over and strokes my hand. "Baby, you can tell me anything."

"I know but this is best left unsaid. I change my mind."

"Avril, please, I'm really worried now. I'm not going to stop worrying, I really need to know. Please, Avril," he begs.

"Okay, but promise me you won't get mad or upset."

"I promise," he responds, giving me a reassuring smile.

"I've been worrying about when the baby is born because we don't know whose baby it is and if we did find out it isn't yours, I don't want you to feel like you have to stay with me. It's not fair if you stay and help me care for some other guy's baby. I've been trying to tell you this for so long but I finally got the courage to now. Please don't be mad."

"Avril, I know it could possibly be Gavin's baby and I told you when we first got together that I want to be with you, even if it's not my child. I already love that baby; I don't care if it's not mine. I love you both too much to ever leave. If he's the father, then, whatever, but that baby will always be my child in my eyes. I'll love him or her as if they're my own and care for them just as a normal father would. You don't need to worry about me not wanting to be with you if we find out he or she isn't mine. I wish you would have told me sooner, so, you didn't have to be stressing all this time."

"I'm sorry for not saying it sooner. Liam, you're the sweetest guy ever and I love you so much, but are you sure you don't mind caring for a baby that isn't yours, it doesn't seem fair for me. You could continue your education, find a girlfriend, go to college, get married and have your own children. If you stay with me, your whole life is going to change, drastically overnight."

"Baby, I already have a girlfriend, she's absolutely perfect and I have always loved her. I will get married, I'm going to make you my wife one day and when we're older, I want to have more kids with you. I don't mind skipping college, I already have a job. I'm saving up for the baby and when we have lots saved, I can go to college to get a better job. We don't need to worry about all that though, Avril, we should just live in the moment. Please don't worry if it's not mine. It probably is, I believe he or she is."

"You do?" I ask, trying to hold my tears in from his beautiful speech.

"Yeah, I don't know how I know, but I do. Do you not?"

"It's not that I don't, it's just, we don't have proof. I don't even want to think about it yet; I still have 15 weeks left. Liam, I love you so much, thank you so much for assuring me. I really don't deserve you in my life. I don't know what I ever did to get you."

"You were your perfect self. Av, It's me who doesn't deserve you. You've so many wonderful characteristics, you do so many kind things and you're an amazing friend, daughter, sister and girlfriend. You've had such a bad past with your dad leaving and your mum being an alcoholic. You deserve a very happy life after everything you've been through. I know you used to cut, Ryder told me and I'm so sorry that you had to result in that, baby. This is exactly why you deserve a happy life. I'll do everything I can to give you it and we're going to be the happiest family."

"Why did he tell you that?" I gasp.

"He got told by Sophia a few months ago that you cut when you found out you were pregnant and he got really worried. He told me to keep an eye on you."

"I don't need someone looking over me, I won't do it again. Why did she have to tell him that?" I sigh.

"She was super worried about you, she told him to make sure you don't try it again. Then, when we got together, he told me too to look after you. I always will, baby. Whenever you're upset or feeling low, please confide in me, I'll do everything I possibly can to help you through it. Even if it's the most stupid thing ever, tell me and we'll get you through it. I want you to know you can tell me anything, day or night, I won't tell a soul and we can get through it together. It's my job as your boyfriend to care for you and I don't do it because I have to but because I want to. Since we're on the subject, is there anything else worrying you?" he informs.