Chapter 36:

Avril's POV:

The next week after the twins come home, I go to my appointment. We've decided to know the gender of the baby. I'm a mixture of emotions: happy, excited and anxious. I've no idea why I'm anxious, probably in case I regret it, but I know I won't. I'll finally be able to decide on a name once I know and buy the right stuff for them. I hope Liam is okay with the gender. I know he doesn't mind or is disappointed but he said he thinks it's a girl, so, I'm not sure if that means he secretly wants one or not.

"Are you excited?" Liam questions with a bright smile, disturbing me from my intense thoughts.

"Very," I answer, returning his smile. "What about you?"

"Of course I am. I can't wait to know."

"I'm a bit nervous though," I confess.

"Nervous, why?" he enquiries.

"Just in case something is wrong."

"Don't be silly. Our baby is absolutely fine and healthy. Your pregnancy has been great so far and it will continue to stay that way for the remainder of it. You shouldn't worry so much." He rubs my knee soothingly for support and I smile my thanks to him.

"I hope so," I whisper with hope.

"Stop worrying, baby, please."

"I'll stop. I just can't help my thoughts sometimes; they drift off into stupid thoughts themselves. I'll my very best to stop them," I promise.

"I know that you will, I love you. Everything's going to be okay and we're going to be so thrilled to find out that our baby is a girl." He smiles cockily at me and it made me feel assured that our baby was indeed his when he said, "our baby".

"No, we're going to find out that it's a boy. You're wrong and I can't wait to rub it in your face," I disagree.

"You must mean your boobs because you're not going to be right," he chortles.

"Liam, dirty boy!" I giggle and slap his chest playfully.

"Seriously though, I just have a gut feeling that it's a girl and I'm always right with these things."

"Looks like this is the first time that you'll be wrong then," I sneer.

"Oh, you little-" he stops and chuckles to himself at his almost slip.

"What were you going to say there? Finish that sentence," I urge, giving him a stern look.

"Nothing, Mum, nothing."

"Don't call me your mother! That's incest!"

"Well, you're the mother of my baby, so, I can call you Mum," he quips with a laugh at the end and I look away with saddened eyes. I really hope he is... "Baby, what's wrong? Did I upset you? I'm really sorry if I did."

"You didn't Liam, I'm just being stupid," I assure him.

"What were you thinking?" he wonders curiously.

"Nothing." I hope he lets it go soon because I really don't want to tell him and upset him with my thoughts.

"Avril, tell me." Looks like I jinxed it.

"It's nothing," I emphasise.

"Okay, if you say so," he sighs as he gives up. He moves his hand on my belly and strokes it. Simultaneously, he grabs my hand and kisses it, putting a smile on my face. A few moments later, the nurse calls my name and we enter the room. We sit down at our usual spots and greet our doctor.

"How are you both today?" she asks us.

"Great, thanks," I reply.

"Very excited," Liam adds.

"I can see you both want to know as soon as possible, so, I'll get it over and done with, so, you can celebrate your wonderful news," she smiles. "Can you pull up your shirt for me, Avril, please?"

"Of course." Liam reaches over and pulls up my shirt to the bottom of my bra and beginning of my bump, giving it a quick feel before taking my hand to squeeze.

"This might be cold." She spreads the gel onto my abdomen and belly, moving it around with the wand. We look to the screen and lay eyes on my beautiful baby. They look beautiful as ever and bigger than last time. They're growing so fast and I can't wait to hold them in my arms. That adorable, gorgeous and small hand, those legs and those tiny fingers, everything about them is just perfect. I made that. That baby growing inside me is mine. I hear their heartbeat and it brings the biggest smile to my mouth instantly. I've never smiled as much as I've had since I've gotten pregnant. "Everything seems great. Would you like to know the sex now?"

"Definitely," Liam confirms as I nod at him. The anticipation is driving me crazy!

"You're having a little boy, congratulations!" she announces with joy.

"Told you that I was right!" I squeal.

"Whatever," he laughs. "Now kiss me!" I kiss him deeply and we wrap our arms around each other as much as we can with me lying on the bed with gel on my belly.

"Thank you," we say in unison while I had a few tears in my eyes.

"You're welcome. Would you like a copy of the ultrasound?"

"Yes, please. Four copies if you could."

"That's not a problem! I'll go print them for you now." She gives us a big smile as she exits the room.

"Baby, I love you so much," Liam proclaims.

"I love you more," I tell him with a smile.

"Nu-uh, I do and my baby boy, I love you so much too! I'm going to teach you football and you're going to be the best footballer ever. We're going to play so many matches against each other and I'm going to spoil you rotten-" He stops to mull something over.

"What's wrong?" I worry at his sudden silence.

"I kind of wish that we were having twins," he admits, puzzling me.

"Are you mad in the head?" I snap while gawking at him with horror. He bursts out with laughter and I stare at him even more confused, wondering if he's only joking.

"It was just an idea. I'm worried that he'll get lonely."

"He'll have Mason and Arabella as a friend, so, he won't be lonely. One is enough right now, we wouldn't be able to care for two properly."

"Are you ruling us out ever having another baby?!"

"Liam, what the fuck is up with you and babies today? I'm not ruling it out forever, I'm just saying that maybe we'll have another in the future. I'm not going through all this again for a while, so, you better not make any plans for new babies any time soon."

"I won't make any plans then. We can start doing up the nursery the right colour now and getting some clothes and teddies."

"Sophia said that she's going to help me shopping one day and help pick everything that we need," I state.

"We won't go shopping for a while then because she and Jake are busy with the twins. They've only been parents for a week; they won't have a lot of free time."

"I hope she brings the babies with her, they're the cutest things ever," I comment.

"No, that's you and our baby boy," he corrects. I blush crimson and kiss him spontaneously.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too," he repeats. I stare at his enchanting eyes as he cups my cheek and pulls me into another kiss.

Jake's POV:

Sophia and I take the twins on their daily walk. We're meeting up with the others at the park. School starting back last month but Sophia and I are getting home-schooled, so, we can look after the babies all day. Neither of us wants to leave them at home with either a child minder or Zoey. It's nothing against them, Zoey is great with the kids; it's just that we just love the twins so much that we don't want to leave them from our sights.

The twins are now four months old. To say that they haven't gotten bigger would be a total lie. They haven't gotten much bigger, but they're bigger than they were before. When they were born, they were the tiniest babies I had ever seen; now they look like normal sized four month olds. Their mother's milk has helped that happen, which is good because they used to be a dangerously small size. I used to worry about breaking them when cuddling them during their first few weeks but I don't worry about that much anymore because they're not as fragile looking.

My babies are the happiest babies that I've ever encountered. They smile almost constantly all day long and they laugh at anything. Seeing them smile or hearing them laugh really is the cutest thing you could ever see and hear. I would never trade my life for anyone in the world because life can't get any better at this point.

There's nothing more than just seeing them that brings a smile to my face. The pregnancy had its few ups and downs but we made it through to the other side as a family. We've never been as strong until now and I believe that we'll just keep getting stronger.

The twins are starting to make Sophia restless. When they were born and for the first few weeks after their birth, they would sleep almost all day long. Now, they're starting to get cranky and cry more often, much to our delight (note my sarcasm). It breaks our hearts seeing them cry, along with our ears. However, I don't mind, unlike Sophia. She's not used to it, so, she gets quite groggy when waking up in the middle of the night.

I always do the night time and she and I both do the day, much to her disapproval. She doesn't want me to do both times because she sees it as unfair. I keep telling her that she needs and deserves the rest for all she's done this past year. Plus, I love singing lullabies to calm them down, so, I don't mind getting up. I don't know why she complains about it, she gets to relax more, so, she should be happy! That's the one of the only things I want in this world: her to be happy. I know how much she stresses about things and there's always at least one thing left in her mind that's worrying her. I hope, one day, to make her have nothing to be afraid of.

We're both so protective of the babies now; we're always making sure that everyone is holding them properly and keeping a close eye on them. They joke that we have trust issues but they know deep down that we just love the babies so much.

One of the best things about the babies getting older is that they're starting to recognise faces now! They love being with us and often cry when we're not with them which makes me feel good, not in a mean way or anything, but in a good way that I know they love me as much as I love them. Well, that's not entirely true because they can never love me as much as I love them, it's impossible to reach that far, it's the same with my love for Sophia. She always says she loves me as much as I love her and instead of arguing with her, I agree to stop the disagreement but I secretly lie because my love is much more infinite. She'll never know how much I love her, it cannot be measured.

Love is the best thing in this world. I've yearned for it all my life and I have the dream life that I've always wanted. If this life ever gets taken away from me, I would be heartbroken and there would be no need to go on anymore.

Our lives are much busier now and we're never separated from the twins. Our parents urge us to go out because we haven't been alone since the birth but we always decline their babysitting offers. As much as we want to be alone, we miss our babies too much. Even if we did try leave, they would cry for us to come back. Sophia and I don't mind never being apart from them; it doesn't feel like a job to us, like it is to other people, it feels like a holiday to us.

With advantages of them getting older come disadvantages. Now that they're older, they giggle, laugh, smile and know us but the bad thing is that they're getting older and soon they won't be babies anymore. I'll miss this stage of their life; I won't ever be able to get it back, once it's happened, it's over. Everything's flying by quick but with the end of a stage comes a new stage with more memories and milestones. I'm excited for their next milestones, like walking and talking. Those moments will forever be unforgettable.

I dread the feeling of them growing up and moving out. I know that it's years away but I can't help worrying about it at the back of my mind. I don't want my babies ever out of my life; I hope that they don't ever move too far away when they're adults because I always want to be involved as a big part of their lives at all ages. No matter what age my babies are though, they'll always be my babies to me.

Thinking about the future like this makes me predict what my life will be like when I'm older. I hope to take over my father's business company, even though I don't need to with the amount of money we have but I don't want our parents paying for us for the rest of our lives, I want to pay for my family myself. So, after I finish this one year of home-schooling, my dad said I can work for him and then, when he retires, I'll be the CEO and owner. Hopefully, I can pass my future job down to Mason or Arabella or if I have any more children.

Obviously I want more, Sophia does too but we're going to wait a few years. First I want to get married and after a few years in the business, we can start trying. I think that Sophia might want a few more years than what I'm wanting because she's finding this difficult. Who wouldn't though, she's only seventeen, she never knew how to care for a baby, let alone two, but she's doing an amazing job and I'm so proud of her!

Now that I've turned eighteen and I'm a father, I feel so mature. I feel like a real adult now and I won't go back to my childish behaviour. This whole experience has been a real eye opener into what I was doing wrong in my life: the partying and drinking needed to stop and my treatment of girls was unacceptable. Luckily, the karma I got wasn't bad karma. Although, many wouldn't agree that it was good if they were in my position because I'm only a teenager and I've two children already. Unlike those people though, I see this all as a blessing. Of course I was scared at first and in a bit of denial, who wouldn't be? But I never once felt regret for what's happened nor do I now.

Sophia catches me smiling at her as all these thoughts enter my mind. "What are you so happy about?" she asks, fully intrigued.

"Having you three in my life."

"You always know how to make a girl smile, don't you?" she giggles, leaning over and kissing me.

"It's a gift," I comment happily.

Arabella makes a few babbling noises to get my attention and spreads her arms out for me to carry her. Arabella loves to be held by me, we don't know why but she always wants me to hold her. If she's being held by someone else and I'm near her, she starts squirming in their arms and crying for me to hold her instead. She doesn't cry though when I'm not there because she knows it's either them or no one to hold her. I find it adorable that she's so attached and a daddy's girl, I hope she stays that way forever. Whereas, Mason doesn't really care at all who's holding him, as long as he's looked after.

"Come to Daddy, sweetie," I coo, taking her out of the twin pushchair. I balance her on my hip and bounce her in my arms. I take one of her little hands and give it a kiss which sends her into a giggling fit.

"Do you think she'll ever be as attached to me as she is to you?" Sophia worries, gazing at Arabella with a sad smile.

"Of course she will, she loves us both as much. You promise me that you'd stop worrying about that. Please, Sophia, I know it's not easy but please," I beg.

"I will," she reassures, reaching over and stroking her cute little cheek.

"There's the park, babies, do you recognise it?" I ask rhetorically. I point my finger to the park at Arabella and she grasps my finger with curiosity. "You're so adorable, Ari. You're going to be just as smart and beautiful as your mummy."

"And you're going to be as strong, fit and sweet as your daddy, Mace," Sophia finishes, ruffling his small amount of hair. We reach the park and everyone stands up from the park benches to greet us.

"Why, hello there, babies," Danny exclaims, bending down to give Mason a kiss in the pushchair.

"How have you been, little man?" Austin questions Mason, brushing his little cheek.

"He's doing well, aren't you, baby boy?" Sophia beams at him. Mason just gurgles in response and smiles at all the happy faces looking at him.

"I won't give you a cuddle today because I know how fussy you get when being taken from your daddy," Charlie acknowledges to Arabella. "I'll give you a big kiss instead though." He kisses her softly on her forehead and plays with her cheeks.

"She looks so tired," Alex notes.

"Yeah, it's usually their nap time now, so, she'll probably fall asleep at any minute," I answer.

"Hopefully we can hold her then," Brad remarks. We wait a few minutes before she falls asleep in my arms.

"Who wants to go first?" I say softly and quietly, making sure not to wake her. I pass her gently to Cameron and he whispers a thanks. Mason fell asleep in Emily's arms a few minutes ago and he looks so cute. I really wanted to cuddle him. I reach over to his cheek and stroke it. "Can I hold him, Ems?"

"Course you can, Daddy," she giggles and a grin plasters itself on my face. She gives his forehead a kiss, then, passes him to me slowly. I rock him with ease and bring him to my chest. I lie back on the bench and continuously kiss my beautiful baby's head. I don't know how long I watched him in my arms but it felt like a really long time. I'm so awestruck at how perfect he is. I think I'm still in shock that it all happened so fast. I think it'll take a while to settle in fully. I'm a father now. I'm going to be the best father to them. I will do anything for them and protect them forever. My eyes stay fixed on him as he sleeps soundly and moves slightly in my arms. It all feels so surreal.

"Such a sappy, lovey-dovey father," Bennett chuckles as he catches me gazing at Mason.

"Wait till you're one," Cameron quips with a wink.

"Which hopefully won't be anytime soon because I wouldn't be able to do this at all, I'd be so bad," Bennett admits.

"No, you wouldn't, have some faith in yourself," Jayden assures.

"Well, I need to find a Sophia first," Bennett reminds, referring to Sophia as being the one for me. I smile at Sophia and kiss her softly.

"You're still a teenager yet, you've lots of time to find your special someone," Ty points out.

"Like I found you," Taylor smiles lovingly.

"You're too cute, I love you, baby," Ty giggles. He leans in and kisses Taylor passionately and Taylor lifts him up and places him on his lap where they begin a radical, hot make out session.

"There are too many couples in this group for me to handle," Danny sighs.

"Hey, cut it out, not in front of the twins!" Sophia interrupts with a chuckle. I pass Mason to Austin and lift Sophia off the ground and into my arms in a bridal style. "What did I just say?"

"That you love me so much and you want to make out so bad," I lie with a smirk. Before she can reply, I smash my lips on hers and battle her tongue.

"You're lucky that the babies are asleep, this is not something they want to see," Alex mumbles with fake disgust. I adjust her and she wraps her legs around my torso, supporting herself with her arms around my neck. My hands slide down to her ass and give it a squeeze. Wolf whistles fill the air at us two couples turning up the heat.

"Want to join them?" Charlie says seductively to Emily.

"How did I know that you'd ask that?" Emily laughs.

"Because you know me too well," Charlie confides, wrapping his arms around her waist before placing his lips on her.

"There are girls over there; do you want to ask them if they want to make out with us?" Brad offers.

"Worth a try," Bennett agrees, walking off with him, Danny and Alex.