After waking up the next morning to excruciating backache with Aidan, as suspected, not remembering a thing, I finally manage to feel semi normal again, once ingesting a bunch of painkillers and engulfing my entire body into a boiling hot bubble bath which, I'm afraid to say, is more than what can be said for Aidan. Having asked why we fell asleep on the sofa to begin with and whether or not he said anything to embarrass himself, I decided to cut him some slack and lied my way through explaining. "Nothing to be embarrassed about," I'd said, "but you couldn't quite make it to the bedroom and because you trapped me beneath your body, I had no choice but to stay with you."

There really was no point in telling him what had actually happened and I'd rather keep the whole indirectly proposing to me while drunk under wraps. He'd be mortified to learn of the truth, not to mention incredibly apologetic. Besides, I would quite like to forget about it myself. I'll be the first to admit I often dream about being future Mrs Richards and if last night has taught me anything, it's that I simply cannot be. Sophie has already claimed that title, or at least will do in a matter of months.

Luckily, he accepted my vague response and proceeded to lose interest once all attention turned to the matter of his headache, followed by what he described as being 'a hangover from hell'. He's currently not feeling too good and is getting well equated with my toilet bowl as a result.

"You okay, baby?" I ask, hesitantly entering the bathroom to check on him.

He's been in here for over twenty minutes now and the dreadful sounds of him emptying his stomach on repeat has me itching to nurse him better. I hate seeing him so helpless. Self inflicted or not, I worry about him.

"Fine, nothing I don't deserve." he replies, looking much better with a bit of colour to his cheeks.

Carefully, I place the glass of water I made for him down beside his weak body and crouch down to his level, rubbing him on the back as I go.

"Thanks for looking after me." he whispers, removing his head from the toilet to take cautious sips of the water.

He winces in pain as he attempts to swallow the liquid, the motion proving too much for his fragile stomach. "I'm never drinking again." he groans, watching me crush two pills into dust for him.

"I've heard that one before." I smile, stirring my mixture into his water. "Drink this slowly." I instruct, offering his cheek a small caress when he obliges, no questions asked.

He manages to drink the entire thing without bringing it back up, which is progress in itself and happy in the knowledge that he's able to control such bodily movements, I suggest making him something to eat.

"You ready to face some toast? It'll make you feel better and you need to line your stomach." I state, smiling at his attempt to kiss me. "Uhh, not before you brush your teeth." I scorn, pushing his face away on a tremendous giggle.

He offers me an immediate eye roll but proceeds to lift his heavy body up off of the bathroom floor, making a point to flush the chain and grab his toothbrush on the way. He then gets to work, loading the damn thing with enough toothpaste to supply the entire Californian state and I leave him to it, entering my kitchen to make him some toast instead.

Minutes later he returns looking fresh, well fresher, with teeth brushed and face washed. His shirt is still creased beyond the point of no return and while his trousers appear to have gotten lost somewhere between us waking up to now, he still looks marvellous in his black boxers. "Kiss me now." he demands, rather impatiently pulling at my waist and capturing my lips with his own, making me taste mint.

He devours my mouth in an unforgiving caress and proceeds to push his luck with a not-so-subtle hand sneaking down the back of my shorts.

"Eat!" I firmly state, thrusting some lightly buttered toast in his face, keen for him to ingest it.

He offers me a cheeky smirk before taking a large bite out of the slice I'm still holding and continues to chew whilst fondling my behind.

"You underestimate me, Miss Stark." he teases, inching that little be closer to me. "I can multitask." he then winks, before removing my underwear and showing me just how so.

~~~~

After spending the entire morning and afternoon in bed, Aidan and I finally arrive at my Dad and Hannah's house, ready and waiting with an extremely excited April bouncing up and down on the spot, unable to contain herself.

"Can we sing along to Frozen? And dance?" she asks, just as the door leading to the living room opens, revealing an equally ecstatic Emily.

"Yey! You're here!" she squeals, dragging April in by the arms. "Hurry, we need to build a fort." she dramatically adds, the pair soon hurrying off to do their own thing.

I shoot Aidan an amused smile and while sending his own back in the form of a rather relieved, 'thank fuck my hangover has gone', I can't help but yawn at the memories of how said hangover now ceases to exist. As it turns out, excessive exercise and multiple orgasms is the cure and engaging in such activities, whilst enjoyable, is exhausting.

"Hey you two, all set?" questions my Dad, popping out from nowhere and quickly glancing at his watch.

"Sure are. We've got chocolate, face masks and Frozen." I reply, certainly not missing Aidan's sudden smirk at my doing so. "Where's Ethan?" I ask, searching the room for his adorable presence.

"Hannah's just getting him sorted for you." he answers, before firmly moving on to the topic of health and safety. "All his diapers are stored away in his bedroom and he's not due a bottle for another two hours or so. You remember how to make his formula, right? And you shouldn't have to wind him anymore but sometimes he needs a little hand. Oh, and he's been teething lately so he may cry more than usual around bed time, and-"

"Dad, calm down. I've looked after him before. We'll be fine." I ensure, gesturing a hand between Aidan and I. "Besides, there's two of us now. I'm better equipped." I wink, bringing his attention to Aidan for what appears to be the first time.

"Well, from what I can see, this one may not be up to it." replies Dad, no doubt referring to Aidan's 'slightly paler than usual' complexion and putting two and two together, knowing he was out with the lads last night. "Good night, Son?" he smirks, cheekily patting him on the shoulder.

The fact that he refers to him as 'Son' certainly doesn't go amiss and the odd feeling of dread suddenly washes over me as thoughts of Sophie's Father calling him the same thing enter my mind. It's not that I'm jealous, although I'd definitely go as far as to say I had a touch of envy, but more so a hold over possession. Aidan is mine, and was long before Sophie even met him and the thought of her spending the rest of her life with him makes my very skin crawl. Why should she get to live the life I always dreamed about while I sit at home and mope about it for the rest of my living days. Granted, I understand she may well be a perfectly nice person, but it doesn't make it any easier.

Aidan is mine. Always has been. Always will be.

"Yeah, good night. Slightly regretting it this morning though." laughs Aidan, still somewhat tender in his explanation. "Thank God for Amelia though, she's been looking after me all day. Your daughter is an angel." he adds, sending a subtle wink my way.

"That she is." agrees Dad, suddenly turning when the sound of Hannah's footsteps on the floorboards can be heard.

I choose to ignore Aidan's sly reference regarding my methods of nursing him back to semi respectable health and allow Hannah to engulf me into one of her motherly hugs instead.

"Hey sweetie, nice to see you again." she greets, simultaneously landing a gentle kiss to my cheek. "Aidan, I overheard you had a rough night, I hope you're ready for this." she smirks, offering him a tight squeeze too, whilst gesturing a hand towards the three young children in the room.

I must say, their reaction to me inviting Aidan over to help is really rather calm, if not slightly unnerving. I'd half expected a disapproving comment or two but instead, the pair seem at complete ease with the idea and considering they both know about our ongoings, I can't put it down to lack of knowledge.

"Yeah, Amelia had to babysit me last night, so she has plenty of practice for tonight." he claims, making everyone laugh, myself included.

Hannah responds by subtly winking at me and unsure what to do in return, I awkwardly cough and question when their check-in time is, desperate for the distraction. The pair have yet to have an evening to themselves since Ethan came along and a night away in a luxury hotel is exactly what the doctor ordered, apparently. It's been planned for some time now and seeing how excited they are about it is really rather inspiring to watch.

"Five o'clock, so we better be off. You have our number so call if you need anything, and I've written the hotel's number down on the fridge in case we don't get reception out there. His milk formula is in the usual place and his diapers are-"

"In his bedroom, I know." I gently intervene, smiling at her ability to underestimate my Dad in regards to him giving us the low down on the whereabouts of everything.

"Right." replies Hannah, relaxing ever so slightly. "And a word of warning, no sugar after 7.30, you'll regret it if you let them eat chocolate all night." she points, angling her finger towards a happily playing Emily and April, who appear to be creating a makeshift door out of bedsheets.

I nod my head in understanding and after Dad insists on taking us through the safety checks one more time, I'm glad to be finally waving them off, joyfully bouncing Ethan is my arms as we do so.

"Right then little man, what first? Frozen or face masks?" I ask, lifting his tiny body up to then pretend-drop him; something I know he loves and enjoys.

"For the love of God, help a bro out and say neither." mumbles Aidan, making me laugh and Ethan too as my girlish giggles seem to set him off.

He bounces up and down in my arms and proceeds to shout gibberish at us both, as if engaging in some sort of political debate. His cute noises and sheer determination has both Aidan and I smiling like idiots and requesting a hug from the bundle of cuteness himself, I pass Ethan over to him so I can apply face masks to myself, Em and April, all awhile we stuff our faces with endless amounts of chocolate.

~~~~

The remainder of the evening flows by relatively well and with Aidan and I on our best behaviour, we manage to avoid any awkward questions circulating our involvement with one another. Having decided to keep a respectable distance in front of Emily and April, knowing that their eight-year-old minds wouldn't be able to grasp the idea of a secret relationship, we keep the longing looks and inappropriate touching to a minimum and do so by sneaking in the odd kiss whenever they're not looking.

It's been fun watching the two sing and dance along to Frozen while Aidan balanced an equally excited Ethan on his lap, never once taking his eyes off of him. The pair switched between hysterically laughing at their failed attempts at decent choreography and begging Aidan to join in and do the manly voice of Olof.

Poor Aidan had no choice but to refuse, having not the slightest clue of the lyrics but I soon settled the peace by offering to voice him myself, and did so rather terribly. By the time they'd both run low on energy and fell asleep in their man-made fort, it was time for Ethan's last bottle which I quickly gave to him before settling him into his crib, accompanied by a rather reluctant Aidan.

"I don't want him to go to sleep, I've enjoyed playing with him all night. He's my best buddy now." he moans, lightheartedly pulling down his jeans and removing his T-shirt, before settling into my old bed.

I quickly join him and curl into his side, perfectly moulding myself against his frame, never wanting to let go.

"I know you don't but he needs to sleep. You guys can play again tomorrow morning." I promise, landing a brief kiss to his tattoo'ed peck.

I still love that he has the date imprinted there.

"Do you remember when I snuck in here the night after my Mom's funeral?" he randomly asks, whilst gently caressing my hair.

"How could I forget. It was the night you told me you loved me." I reply, repositioning myself so that I can stare up at him.

His face is graced with a cheeky smirk and I instantly know he's thinking back to that night.

"Hmm, that was one of the worse days of my life, yet the best night ever. Finally getting you." he whispers, face still smirking. "I couldn't get over how lucky I was. You looked so beautiful lying there. I never told you this but I knew then that I wanted to marry you." he adds, pausing briefly at the mention of marriage. "I just knew you were the one."

I squeeze his body tighter to mine and land soft kisses up and down his torso, enjoying the feel of his warm skin beneath my lips perhaps a little too much. His words effect me greatly but instead of feeling upset, they somewhat please me, knowing how special that moment was for him too.

"Me too, I loved everything about that night, although I was so scared we'd wake my Dad." I admit, giggling when he tickles my hip in a knowing squeeze.

"I wish we could go back to that moment. I'd give anything to be that carefree again." he states, nuzzling my cheek.

"I don't. I'd much rather be here with you right now." I insist, gently pulling on his hair. "I've spent so much of my life reliving my past when I should've been focusing on the present. Look how lucky I am to have you by my side." I state, stroking his cheek. "There's no use in wishing for something that can never be. I think it's about time we both moved on, don't you?" I smile, meaning that in more ways than one.

"To our future, Miss Stark." he grins, making me smile.

I notice how he says 'our future' not 'the future' but decide to let it slip in fear of it ruining the moment. I am in no way prepared for him leaving me next week but have all the faith in the world that while unhappy without him, I'll have the strength to live out my life in his honour. He's expressed on a number of occasions how much he wants me to be happy and I'll make damn sure that I at least give it my best shot.

Whether I succeed or not, I have no regrets being with Aidan this last month, and while loosing him again is going to prove heartbreaking, I'm rest assured that I'll always have the memories to look back on.

Days at the beach, eating frozen yogurt, New York. All of them.

~~~~

At 3.37am, Ethan wakes up screaming and whining, his poor teeth obviously keeping him awake. Aidan stirs from beside me and while slowly opening his eyes mutters out a husky, "I'll get him." before throwing the covers off of his body and making his way over to Ethan's bedroom.

He returns moments later with a sobbing baby in hand and while my brother is clearly in a state of distress, I can't ignore how attractive I find Aidan rocking him back and forth.

"Hey buddy, what's wrong?" I soothe, walking over to them to stroke his chubby cheek.

His skin is sticky with wet tears and as my fingers make initial contact, he fiercely turns his head into Aidan's bare chest, frantically screaming as he goes.

"It'll be his teeth, I'll grab some medicine for him." I offer, hating how his dramatic cries pierce through my heart in an agonising clench.

"Okay, darling. Maybe get some of that stuff your Dad was talking about. The gel that we can rub into his gums." suggests Aidan, switching Ethan from one arm to the other to better accommodate his clinginess.

I turn to leave and momentarily halt all actions to allow myself a glimpse into Aidan's life as a Father and relish in his natural ability, secretly watching from afar. The way he effortlessly calms Ethan by gently rocking him and whispering words of encouragement into his ear really does take my breath away.

"Shh, little man. Your big sister will be back soon and we'll get you sorted, won't we?" he softly hums, now sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I'll let you into a little secret, shall I? Even though it's almost four in the morning and I'm tired as hell, I wish more than anything this could've been my life four years ago. I wish I could've protected her from the hash realities of the world back when she most needed me to. She's strong, your sister, but I need you to look after her for me when I'm gone, just for a little while. Can you do that for me?"

Ethan completely stops all whining to simply look up to Aidan as if genuinely intrigued by what he has to say. Of course, it's all in my head but I swear for a second an unspoken moment passes between them, the pair seemingly engaging in a unique bond having spent all of twelve hours together. It's really rather special and mesmerising to watch but nothing in this world lasts forever and Ethan soon begins his loud cries again, which essentially snaps me into action, reminding me of my duties.

I descend the stairs two at a time, hoping to relieve my baby brother of his tooth ache as quickly as possible and skid to a halt in the kitchen to rummage through the medicine drawer, thankfully locating the bottle that states '6 months +' in record time. I then quickly check on the girls to find both are still soundly asleep where Aidan and I left them, in their fort, and make my way back towards the boys, who have now moved through to Ethan's bedroom, grateful for their ability to sleep through it.

"Sorry it took so long, I couldn't find the gum stuff. How is he?" I ask, sounding nothing less than out of breath from rushing around.

"He's fine, just grumpy. How do you wanna do this? Shall I hold him while you rub the gel in?" he asks, repositioning himself to enable me sufficient access.

I nod my head whilst quickly cleaning my hands with a disinfectant wipe and squirt a generous amount of cooling gel onto my finger. I carefully smear it into Ethan's slightly swollen gums and notice the effects almost instantly. His face smooths from all creases and the dramatic sobs have stopped all together, making it that little bit easier to rock him back to sleep, which Aidan does so within roughly two seconds flat.

It's a slightly strange feeling to be experiencing this with Aidan and oddly enough, emotionally satisfying. It isn't sad and doesn't bring up unwanted feelings of 'what if', although I'd be lying if I said I didn't secretly wish we could have this life one day. It's only natural to think so. He's been great with Ethan all night and I just know he'll be a great Dad one day, whereas me, well I've already made my intentions clear.

If Aidan's not the Father, I'm not interested.

"You okay, darling? You seem distracted." whispers Aidan, gently putting Ethan in his crib and tugging on my arm to grab my attention.

I quickly shake my head and force my mind to stay focused.

"Yes, fine. Just thinking." I admit, suddenly desperate to connect with him on a deeper level. "Take me to bed, Aidan." I plead, clearly not making myself clear enough.