"Daddy" Ben quietly whispers. He has his hands on his shoulder and tries to shake him awake.

Archie's arms are around Veronica, who is sound asleep next to him. One of his hands is placed on her stomach and his head rests close to hers. "Daddy?" the little boy says again, a little louder this time.

Archie begins to shift. He slowly turns away from Veronica and towards his son. "Good morning buddy" he mumbles in his deep morning voice "what's up?"

"I'm bored. Can I stay here with you?"

"Of course" Archie smiles. He turns onto his back and reaches one of his arms out to his son. The other one is still around Veronica.

Ben snuggles into Archie's side. His eyes are closed and there is a smile on his face. "Daddy why is Ronnie here and not in her room?"

"She was here last night because we wanted to talk a little but then she fell asleep and I didn't want to wake her up" Archie says even though that's not the truth. She stayed over on purpose and she will sleep in his bed every night from now on. It's comfortable and she loves having Archie so close. He loves having Veronica and his baby close. He knows they're safe with him. Veronica always giggles when he says that and teases him a little. 'like I'm not safe in my room 10 feet away from here' she always says but she loves how Archie wants to protect her.

"Okay" Ben shrugs. He doesn't think about how much sense this answer makes and he doesn't really care either. "What are we doing today?"

"We want to buy some stuff for the baby. You can come or stay with grandma and grandpa"

"I wanna come" Ben says. "I wanna help choose stuff"

Archie smiles and squeezes him close before he kisses the top of his head. "That's great buddy"

Veronica slowly opens her eyes. She looks over to Archie before she turns to lie on her side. One leg lies over Archie's, one hand lies in her stomach and her head rests on his shoulder.

"Ronnie!" Ben giggles. "Is the baby a boy or a girl?"

"I don't know yet" she giggles "but we will know soon"

"How are we supposed to buy stuff for the baby then?" the little boy asks. He sits up so he can look at Veronica better.

"We can but stuff like a stroller, a crib, a changing table and maybe even some clothes like grey onesie for example and when we know the gender we can go again"

"Okay" Ben nods. "I'm excited to be a big brother. I can't wait to hold the little baby. You'll be a great mommy Ronnie"

"Thank you sweetheart" Veronica smiles. She feels tears in her eyes. Everything makes her either cry or laugh or super mad and Ben's sweet words make the the tears roll down her cheeks itself.

•••

After some delicious breakfast Archie and Veronica walk hand in hand through the baby clothing section. Ben and Ella walk in front of them. Archie promised that both can choose an outfit for their baby sibling and they are super excited about it. Since this morning Veronica has this weird feeling in her stomach. It doesn't feel bad and it's not painful but it feels weird. Suddenly she realizes it. It's her baby. It's not kicking, the baby is too little for that. It feels more like little waves. She can't really describe it. She stops walking and pulls Archie closer.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" she grins. A little excited giggle leaves her mouth. She places Archie's hand on her stomach and waits a second before his face lights up.

"Oh my god" he whispers. "It's moving around!"

"Mhm. Isn't this amazing"

"This is more than just amazing" he smiles. His eyes move from her stomach to her face. She looks so happy. He slowly leans forward kisses her. "I can't wait to hold our little baby"

"Me neither" Veronica grins.

"Daddy!" Ella giggles as he runs towards him and Veronica. Ben follows her. "Look what I have" the little girl says excitedly. She holds a pink onesie with little daisies on it up. "I want this for the baby"

"Sweetheart we don't know if it's a girl yet" Archie smirks. He knows Ella wants a sister.

"Boys can wear that too" she says. She drops it into the cart. There are already a few white short sleeve onesies, little baby socks, a few hats and diapers in it. They also ordered a changing table, a crib, a stroller and a car seat but those things will be delivered to them. Ella wraps her arms around Veronica's legs and looks up to her father.

"She's kinda right Archiekins and it's so super cute"

"I got this Ronnie, look!" Ben says and hands Veronica a grey onesie. It has a little bunny on it.

"This is adorable" Veronica squeals.

"And it's for boys and girls" he says confidently. He places his hands on his hips and looks from Veronica to Archie with a big smile on his face.

"I'm proud of both of you" Archie says "you two will be amazing siblings"

Ben walks over to Archie and holds his arms up so Archie lifts him into his arms. He kisses his cheek and squeezes him close. "I want to sit in the cart daddy"

"Me too, me too" Ella giggles. She lets go of Veronica and walks over to Archie. She reaches her arms up to him so he first places Ben and then Ella into the cart. Veronica wraps her arms around his arm while he pushes the cart.

Her eyes sparkle as she walks through the aisle of the store. She so excited. She can't wait to have her baby in her arms. She always promised herself to give her children the most beautiful childhood and a lot of love and attention. She promised to give her children the childhood she never had.

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