5 years later

" Everly! She's doing it again!"

Looking up from my laptop I roll my eyes at Liam's loud voice this early in the morning. He's always been an early bird but that doesn't mean he has to wake up the entire house just because he's awake. He might be turning 23 in a few weeks but he definitely has the mindset of a 5 year old. Speaking of 5 year olds...

" I'm on my way!" I yell in reply.

I exit the dating app I've been trying to sign mom up for. Since James left to go back to his family in Canada, mom hasn't been the same. They started dating a few years ago but things quickly ended when James decided to move back to his homeland. Of course he wanted mom to tag along but she didn't want to abandon me. Even though I no longer live in the same state as she does. Liam and I moved to Boston roughly around 3 years ago. It's only a 3 hour drive from mom so at least we aren't hours away. Mom still decided that it was better for her to stay close to her kids. Speaking of her kids, Alexa and Luke have moved back to New York since their honeymoon in Europe had ended. Mom couldn't be happier to have her eldest daughter live close by.

I step into my fluffy bunny slippers and walk over to where Liam was calling for help. Once I enter Chicka's room I see her sulking in the corner while Liam is trying to put on her shoes.

" You have to put on your shoes Chicka." Liam argues with the 5 year old sitting in the corner of her room.

" My name is Caroline!" she yells.

Oh no. It's one of those days again. Why does it have to be today? I quickly curse the universe under my breath and walk over to the two of them.

" What's going on with the two of you?" I snort, trying to hold in my laugh.

I can't help but laugh at the sight in front of me. Liam, a full grown adult with a short temper, arguing with a 5 year old who also has a short temper. The two of them tend to lash out on each other at times but nevertheless that they still have an unbreakable bond. I sometimes feel like I'm thrid wheeling between my daughter and husband. Chicka is definitely a daddy's girl.

" Babe, why aren't you dressed yet? The party starts in an hour." Liam asks in a defeated tone once his eyes land on me. I look down at my Teen Titans pjama set an shrug as a response.

" Do I have to do everything around here?" I hear Liam mutter to himself under his breath.

I chuckle at his comment because it's slightly true. Liam does the cooking, obviously since I still can't make scrambled egs. He tried teaching me for a few months, even signed me up for a cooking class but nothing came out of it. Since Liam is the early bird he's always up and ready to get Chicka ready for school. He loves making her cute little lunches and helping her pick out different shades of pink dresses to wear for school. She's obsessed with the color pink and sparkly unicorns. I like unicorns too if I'm being honest so I don't complain.

Liam leaves most of the cleaning for me and Mary, our help. I don't like to refer to Mary as our help because she's become such a big part of this family. Heck, she even has her own room in our house. We love her dearly and like to help out whenever we have time. Seeing as Liam has more free time on his hands he usually spends his free time playing with Chicka. He really does help out a lot not because he has too but because he wants too.

" Sweetie what's wrong?" I ask Chicka while trying to bend down to be eye level with her. I notice her glossy eyes and red cheeks.

Liam sits down next to me and waits patiently for Chicka to tell us what's wrong.

" I'm sad." she mumbles but I'm still able to hear what she says.

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion and look over to Liam for an explanation. He looks just as confused as I am.

" Why are you sad?" I ask wiping away a tear that has fallen from her left eye. She folds her arms together and pulls out her bottom lip. It's something she regularly does.

"Are you guys going to forget about me when the new baby comes?" she asks while a few more tears roll down her cheeks.

My breath hitches as I look down to my bump. This is what she was worried about? God how could I have not seen this coming?

I look over at Liam for help because I'm at a loss of words. He takes a deep breath and exhales it before clearing his throat.

" Listen Chicka, your mom and I love you so so fu- fricken much." I shoot him a glare at his almost slip up. " Just because there is a new baby on the way doesn't mean our love for you will just go away. We are going to be busy once the baby comes but we will always make time for you because we love you. You're going to be a big sister now and you're going to be amazing at it because you are the smartest, prettiest and funniest 5 year old girl in this whole entire universe. We don't ever want you to feel left out okay? "

I'm almost in tears once he finishes. I love how good he is with his words. He always knows what to say at the right time. Even though Chicka isn't his biological daughter he still cares for her as his own. Chicka knows that Liam isn't her biological father. There was no point in hiding it from her until who knows when. It was better for us to help her understand at a young age before the truth somehow slips and then leading to Chicka taking it up in the wrong way. She didn't ask a lot of questions about Justin and why he isn't in her life. I guess Liam being there from the moment she can remeber helps a lot with the situation.

Chicka sniffs a few times before nodding her head. A smile spreads across my face as I see her mood lighten up. I look back to Liam and mouth a quick 'I love you' which he responds to by winking.

" Now come on. Put on my shoes dad! We don't wanna be late." she orders Liam. Liam looks taken back by her sudden mood change and does as he is told. I give Chicka a quick kiss on her head and walk out of her room.

I walk over to my side of the walk - in closet in search of my outfit that I have chosen for today. Today is my first ever Gender Reveal party. I couldn't have one with Chicka because of the circumstances I was in at the time but Alexa insisted on planning the whole party. The party was going to be held at our house. Alexa and Luke had arrived a few days ago for the party and have been staying with us ever since. Mom surpised us all by showing up last night because we were expecting her early this morning. I was happy that my family was here and that they made all the effort to be here today.

" Stella and Ryan called to say that they will be here in the next 40 minutes with Lucas" Liam announces as he too enters the closet.

I turn around to face him. I smile as I think about Stella and Ryan. They recently got engaged. Shocking I know. Who would have thought that Stella and Ryan of all people would end up together nevertheless put a ring on it? I'm honstley terrified of the kids that they will have. I don't know what's worse, having little Stellas running around or having little Ryans running around. The thought sends a shiver down my spine.

Lucas got into Harvard and is now a successful accountant. He still hasn't had luck with girls because he is so focused on his work but I know he'll come around eventually. He moved to California after he graduated. I don't even know how he ended up in a car with Ryan and Stella. Poor guy.

" That's great. We haven't seen them in a few weeks." I comment as I spot my outfit hidden behind a few coats. I really need to organize this closet.

Stella and Ryan have been living in Philadelphia ever since they left the gang. They really make an odd couple but hay who are we to judge?

Speaking of the gang... Chase is still its leader since the day Liam signed it over to him. I don't know a lot about what's happening with it because I'd rather not. Chase still provides minimum security to all of us even though we rejected it a few times in the past. He insisted on having a few guards around us since Liam was the gang's previous leader and he could still be in danger because of it. Although I didn't like the idea it still made sense. We haven't gotten any threats since Liam left the gang so that's good news.

When Liam was the gang's leader he made a lot of money. When he signed the gang over, Chase had refused to take the money that Liam had earned through out his journey. It was a lot of money. I, being independent and all, didn't want the money because it didn't feel right to use money that was earned by being in a gang. The money did get both Liam and I through college and Liam had decided to open up a night club after he got his MBA business degree. The nightclub has been successful ever since. I on the other hand am in my 1st year of law school. It takes up a lot of time but I know it'll be worth it.

"How do I look?" I'm brought back to reality when Liam speaks up again. Turning around I let my eyes travel over his body. He looks exactly the same as every other day with his dark colored jeans and white t-shirt.

" The same as every other day." I answer a little confused by his sudden interest in his appearance.

Liam's smirk drops at my confusion and he rakes a hand through his hair. He might be dressed casual but damn he still looks hot.

" I put on my new shoes you bought the other day. " he mumbles. My eyes shift to the said shoes and I realize it is one's I bought him.

" How was I supposed to know? You have so many pairs of shoes that looks exactly alike. " I laugh as he rolls his eyes at my lack of observation.

He shakes his head and walks over to me. He leans down and gives me a quick peck on the lips. " You need to get dressed babe. The guest will be here any minute now." he whispers into my ear.

" Yeah yeah get out so that I can get ready." I answer as I unzip the white dress that I'm planning on wearing today.

Alexa had explained to us that the theme of the party is going to be white seeing as we don't know the gender. Everyone comes dressed up in white and gets to choose between a pink or blue ribbon, guessing the gender, before entering the house. I'm full on convinced that it's a boy while Liam argues and says it's a girl. I don't know why but I really do think I'm having a boy. Call it a mother instinct.

" Can't I see my beautiful wife getting dressed before all choas breaks free down stairs?" Liam questions with a smirk.

We've been married for almost a year now and every time he calls me his wife I melt all over again. It just sounds so right coming from his lips. Maybe it's the accent that I'm still obsessed with. Damn.

" Your wife still thinks we're having a boy." I tease as I start to strip out of my clothes.

" It's a girl." Liam argues as his eyes zoom in on my bump. He points two fingers to his eyes and then points it to my belly. I laugh at this and quickly pull the white dress over my head. The dress is absolutely beautiful. It fits perfectly around my swollen breast and stops just above my knees. The sleeves of the dress reaches my elbow and is made of some sort of see-through lace with little patterns covering it. All in all its a gorgeous dress. I pair the dress with a pair of white sandals. My feet are going to hate me after today.

" You look beautiful love." Liam says as he comes to a stop behind me. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer to him.

" I can't wait to rip off your dress tonight." he whispers into my ear.

My cheeks flush at his perverted comment and I give him a slight shove with my elbow.

" And here I though I was the one with the pregnancy hormones." I chuckle as I start applying some makeup.

Liam leaves after a few minutes and I quickly finish up getting ready. Satisfied with my look I leave the room and walk over to Chicka's room. On my way there I pass the nursery that we have started setting up. Liam and I still need to figure out how to put the pieces of the crib together. That will be a challenge.

" Hey baby. You ready?" I ask Chicka once I enter her room. She's also wearing a white dress, much to her dismay because she wanted it pink. She has a little bow in her ponytail that I'm sure Liam struggled with.

" I want cake!" she yells getting all excited.

" Let's just hope Aunty Lex got a cake for the party." I laugh at her excitement as I walk over to her and pick her up.

She's a sweet tooth just like me but she also gets a really bad sugar rush once she has had too many sugar at once.

The two of us make our way down the stairs together. I'm shocked when I see the decorations. I don't think I've ever seen this much white in a room. I have to give it to Alexa for the amazing job she did. The inside of the house is decorated with different kinds of baby items and helium balloons. The party is mostly going to happen outside seeing as we are on the verge of summer. The outside of the house is even more breathtaking than the interior. I'm surprised Alexa got everything ready in time.

The guest start arriving one after the other. Chicka runs off with a few other kids to go play at the kids section which gives me time to socialize with everyone. My eyes catch the blue and pink colored ribbons that are wrapped around everyone's wrist and smile down at my own blue ribbon on my wrist. Of course Liam has his pink ribbon wrapped around his wrist. If this baby turns out to be a girl then I don't know how I'll survive with Liam. He tends to take winning a little too far.

Soon enough Liam and I are called over to where a small group has formed. I don't know what the gender reveal idea is going to be and I'm really excited to see what Alexa had come up with. Walking over to the crowd I see a huge rag thrown over the wall to cover it and another one laid out on the grass. In the middle of the said rag is a bucket with what looks like white water balloons inside. Chicka also makes her way through the crowd with Alexa and comes to stand next to me and Liam.

" Now if I can have everyone's attention please." Alexa announces.

My eyes catch the pink ribbon on her wrist.

" I first of want to congratulate Everly and Liam on the baby. It's been an absolute honor watching Caroline grow up into the beautiful little girl she now is and it's no doubt that the two of you make great parents. I know for sure that this baby is going to be very spoiled, " she looks over to Liam," and very loved by the people that surround it. I'm rooting for another girl though because someone, " she looks over at Chicka," doesn't like playing with dolls. " the crowd laughs and Chicka sticks out her tongue." I'm now tired to referring to the baby as an it so let's find out the gender already! In this bucket, " she points to the bucket in the middle, " are three balloons filled with either blue paint or pink paint. The three of you will throw the balloons into the wall that is covered by the rug and the color that splashes onto the rug is the gender of the baby." she explains.

Both Liam and I walk over to the bucket and pick up a balloon. I hand Chicka her own balloon. Hopefully she doesn't pop it before it lands on the wall. The crowd immediately takes a step back to prevent any paint from getting on their clothes.

I look over to Liam and smirk. " You ready to lose?"

Liam rolls his eyes at me as Alexa begins the count down. Once she reaches the last number the three of us throw the balloons towards the wall. Pink paint splashes onto the rug.

" Yes!" Liam yells as he scoops me into his arms. The crowd behind us starts cheering and laughing at Liam's reaction. I laugh along and hug Liam tight. Once he puts me down he bends down and kisses my belly. Even though I was wrong with the gender I'm still happy that it's a girl. Liam then turns to Chicka and picks her up while whispering something into her ear which makes her laugh. Everyone starts congratulating us. Some being very happy with their pink ribbons and others saying that the next one will be a boy. I blush at the thought of having more children. I definitely do want a big family.

Mom is in tears as she comes to hug me. She's just as excited to have another grandchild. She keeps on pushing Alexa and Luke for grand babies but I don't think that will happen anytime soon.

" I'll see you at the engagement party in two weeks yeah?" Stella asks as she grabs her coat from the counter.

" I wouldn't miss it for the world." I smile as I walk her over to the front door. Stella and Ryan decided on staying at a hotel nearby for more privacy for the night before heading home tomorrow. I'd rather not know what they are planning on doing. Poor Lucas had to follow because his car is back at their house.

I wave Stella goodbye and close the front door. I'm exhausted and my feet are killing me. Luke had to take Alexa to their room because she had one too many drinks. Mom already passed out in her bed and Liam took Chicka up to her room to get her ready for bed.

I look over at the mess in front of me. The people sure know how to party. I don't have the energy to clean up now so I decide to make my way over to my own room. I can do with a couple hours of sleep now. I first stop by Chicka's room to kiss her goodnight. Liam is sitting on her bed with one of her My little pony books.

" Mind if I interrupt?" I ask standing by the doorway. Liam looks up for the book and smiles towards me. Chicka waves her hand over to me telling me to come closer. I climb into her bed with her and hold her close while Liam continues on reading the book. I know he likes the book a little more than he should. I'll tease him later on about it.

" Mommy?" Chicka speaks up interrupting Liam from reading further.

" Yes?" I ask as I laugh at Liam's annoyed expression.

" How did the baby get inside of mommy?"

The blood drains from my face leaving me pale. My eyes almost pop out of their sockets when I register the question in my head. This is probably the most dreaded question that every parent fears. How the hell am I supposed to explain to her how a baby gets inside-

" Long story short, the condom broke-." Liam answers before I can.

I punch him in his shoulder to stop him from answering her question further.

" Liam!" I scold as I watch him crack up with laughter.

This is not funny. You can't say that to a five year old girl. The nerve this guy has. I glare at him for a few seconds before laughing with. It's true, the condom did probably break because we weren't planning on having kids while I'm still law school. It still doesn't make it right to say that to Chicka. God only knows what's going through her head.

" What's a condom?" her little voice asks.

All laughter dies down the second the question leaves her mouth. I look over to a flustered Liam and smirk.

" You got yourself into this one." I laugh as I stand up and kiss Chicka goodnight. I quickly leave the room before Liam can stop me.

I enter my room and quickly get rid of my shoes. I figure I might as well have a shower while Liam explains to our 5 year old what a condom is. Before I can get into the shower Liam enters the room with a small smile on his lips.

" I'd rather not know." I laugh as I walk over to him.

He folds his arms around me and kisses the top of my head.

" I'm glad the condom did break." he says after a few quiet minutes.