:: Emma's POV ::

I pulled into the drive way parking next to JJ's truck. He stayed with Noah while I took care of inventory at the boutique; I was exhausted to say the least. It was after midnight and my day had started close to six this morning. It felt like it was ages ago.

I sighed as I got out of the car and threw my purse over my shoulder; I was looking forward to seeing the faces on the other side of that front door. I locked up the car and made my way into the house. I was doing my best to stay as quiet as possible as I set my purse down on the entryway table and unzipped my boots setting them off to the side. I knew Noah was probably sleeping and the last thing I wanted to do was wake him.

I followed the flickering glow coming from the living room and was instantly met by one of the sweetest things I had ever seen. JJ sat on the couch, his back against the oversized arm rest, one foot resting on the ground, one leg lying across the cushions and his head resting on the back of the couch; he was sound asleep with Noah in his lap. Noah's cheek rested on JJ's chest, his Ninja Turtle blanket draped over his small body and his little hand clutched the fabric of JJ's shirt. I was seriously jealous that I was missing out on this snuggle fest. JJ was perfect for cuddling up with; he's always so good at being our big teddy bear. My heart felt like it was going to burst it was so swollen with love for these two boys; they made my life feel so complete.

I walked over to the couch, still attempting to be quiet, thanks to my years in ballet; I knew how to be light on my feet. I bent over and kissed Noah's cheek before I very carefully lifted him away from JJ's body, careful not to wake either one of my sleeping boys.

Once I successfully separated the two I quietly carried Noah up the stairs to his bedroom. I gently laid him down on top of his plaid sheets and pulled his covers over top of him. I envied his deep sleep; he never even flinched as I moved him from the warmth of JJ's body to the cool fabric of his sheets. I knew he was exhausted and he was getting over a bad cold, the medicine he has been taking really knocked him out. I kissed his forehead before turning to walk out of his room, pulling his bedroom door shut behind me leaving just a small crack.

I walked down the hall to my bedroom and decided to change out of these clothes I had spent way too many hours in before going back downstairs to check on JJ. I traded in my tight skinny jeans for my PINK boxer shorts, pulled off my blouse and bra and replaced it with my pajama top cami and pulled my long hair up into a ponytail. I already felt a sense of relief. I retreated to my bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth before I made my way back downstairs.

I headed back down to the living room; I was actually surprised that JJ hadn't woken up. I knew he must have been exhausted, he's been pushing himself so hard lately and he seems to be in high demand. The natural nurturer in me worried about him even though he always insisted he was fine, so I had to back off. I didn't want to be the smothering girlfriend. No guy wants that.

He looked so peaceful and inviting as he slept, he was adorable. I leaned over and softly kissed right near the corner of his mouth, his lips were out of range with the position his head was in. His eyes slowly opened as he turned his head to face me and his hand came up and rested on the back of my thigh, his thumb rubbing up and down against the bare skin my shorts exposed.

"You just get home?" His voice sounded gruff and sleepy, it was actually pretty sexy.

"About thirty minutes ago."

"Mmmm." JJ groaned as he reached up and grabbed my hand pulling me onto the couch with him.

I nestled myself against him, melting into his right side as he wrapped his right arm around me holding me close to him. I laid my head on his chest and tangled my legs up with his. I craved coming home to this all day. I loved the way he held me; it was like an unspoken language between us, like he just knew what I wanted, what I liked.

I moved my head so I was able to look up at him, his eyes meeting mine. A comfortable silence fell over us as our eyes studied one another; no words were needed for us to know what we were feeling. My hand traveled up his chest and made its way to his. I laced our fingers together as JJ brought my hand up to his lips kissing it gently.

"I love you."

His voice came out softly and before I even had a chance to respond, his lips were on mine. He unlaced his fingers from mine and placed his hand on my cheek as he deepened our kiss. He had never kissed me like that before; it was as if he wanted to validate those words with that kiss. Like he wanted to wash away any doubt that I may have had, if that was his goal; he was successful. It's safe to say my heart was fluttering, those words had never sounded so good, so honest, so... real.

He broke our kiss and my eyes struggled to reopen. I felt like I was dreaming and I didn't want to wake up. After taking a deep breath I allowed myself to open my eyes, only to be met with his. There was no doubt in my mind that I loved him. I loved him with everything I had, every ounce of me.

"I love you too."

I hated how shaky my voice sounded as I said it, but it was only because it was so full of emotion. I was fighting back tears. Happy tears of course but tears none the less. It felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders, I was holding that in for so long, it was killing me. It felt so good to get it out.

.........................................................

:: Emma's POV ::

My eyes fluttered open as the sun came radiating through my bedroom windows. I ran my hand across the sheets feeling for JJ but having no luck. I couldn't help but to pout, I hated the mornings that football had to pull him away from me so early.

I wrapped the blankets around my bare body as I sat up enough to check the clock on my bedside table. 8:15. JJ had left for a team work out around six and I vaguely remembered him kissing me goodbye before he left. He always seemed to do that regardless if I remembered it or not and I loved that about him. Let's be honest, I love everything about him. I pulled myself out of bed and quickly grabbed my clothes that JJ had removed just a few short hours ago.

I slipped my clothes on before walking into my bathroom. I looked in the mirror and laughed to myself, it was safe to say that I had "sex hair" and I found it amusing, if only my hair had this much volume on a daily basis. I threw my hair up into a messy bun and proceeded to brush my teeth, JJ's scent from his shower this morning lingered in the air; I slowly inhaled the faint smell of his Axe shampoo, I loved it. I couldn't even begin to fathom a scent more comforting than his.

I dropped my toothbrush back into the holder and made my way out of my room and down to the kitchen. Noah was still sound asleep and I planned on letting him sleep in as long as his little heart desired. It was Saturday and there was no real hurry to go anywhere.

I walked into the kitchen immediately over to my Keurig; I always made it a point to get it powered up first thing every morning. I hate to say it but I needed my coffee to properly function in the morning. I was met by a note JJ had left for me.

Good morning beautiful,

Last night was incredible. I can't stop thinking about it.

I'll call you when I get finished.

I love you.

J

A smile spread across my face and I actually felt myself blush as I set the note back down. He was right, last night was incredible. It was beyond incredible. We had both confessed our love for one another and we had spent most of the night expressing that.

I brewed myself a cup of coffee before settling in on the couch. I turned the TV on and naturally ESPN came on the screen. This was life with my two boys. I listened for a little bit, mostly because JJ always seems to be such a big topic and I always like knowing what they have to say about him.

I took a sip of my coffee and heard Noah's little footsteps coming down the stairs. I always knew once he made it down because the slow footsteps would turn into running footsteps. When you have a 5 year old, everything is a race.

"Good morning cutie!"

I smiled as he came running towards me. I loved mornings with him, for the first thirty minutes as he still continued to wake up he was the best cuddler. I hated to think that it wouldn't be long before he outgrew that, I was going to enjoy it while I still could.

"Is JJ here momma?"

I kissed the top of his head, "No, he had to go do some team stuff. You'll see him later."

The room was silent as I enjoyed my cuddle time with Noah. I felt so happy about everything in my life at this moment. I had spent so much time focusing on Noah and focusing on work that it just felt so good to feel like I had someone focusing on me, someone to take care of me at the end of the day.

"You know what you need to do today?"

Noah looked at me, "What?"

"You need to write your letter to Santa. He needs to know what you want for Christmas...." I smiled, "Only if you've been a good boy of course."

Noah's eyes lit up, "Right now?"

I laughed at how fast he woke up with just those few little words, "Well, you don't have to right now... but sometime today you should. Christmas is like a month away! Can you believe it? "

The smile spread across Noah's face like wildfire, "How many days is that? Ten?"

"No about 34 days."

"Can we go get a tree?"

"A tree?" I laughed as I started tickling him, "We have to have Thanksgiving first goofy."

Noah was giggling as he wiggled around on the couch trying to escape from me, "Okay, okay!"

He was so excited about Christmas and I loved that, he always made the holiday so much more enjoyable. Time had come and gone so quickly the last few months, but the time brought a lot of great things with it so I couldn't really complain. Within the next couple of weeks, we'd be out buying a Christmas tree and hanging lights. I was okay with that, it's my favorite time of the year and it was nice I was actually going to have someone special to share that with. For so long it's been me and Noah going to family events and holiday parties, and the continuous third degree I received from family members about my love life was getting old. I was gladly welcoming this change in our lives.