Leaving Wesley in my bedroom, I made my way down the hallway to Arlo’s and peeked into his room, doing my best not to wake them up when I realized that Aurora had climbed into Arlo’s bed at some point and they were holding hands.

Oh.

They’re so cute.

Going into the room, I sat on the side of the bed and carefully started shaking Arlo’s leg.

“Arlo. Rory. It’s time to wake up you two,” I whispered softly.

They both stretched, blinking a few times and Arlo opened his eyes first, a small smile on his face.

“Hi, daddy.”

“Hi, sweetie. How are you feeling?”

“My tummy hurts again.”

Aurora finally woke up and she looked around confused before realizing where she was and yawning.

“I’ll get you some more medicine just hang on. Hi Rory.”

She waved before stretching.

Wesley came into the room and she smiled at him, blowing him a kiss.

“Oh you two are so sweet,” he smiled, squatting down by the bed, “did you sleep good Rory? Arlo?”

“I had a bad dream and started to cry and Rory climbed into my bed and gave me hugs until I felt better and we falled asleep. My tummy hurts Wes,” Arlo stuck out his bottom lip.

“Can I take a look? Make sure it’s doing good?”

Arlo nodded and Aurora climbed out of the bed to get out of the way, coming to stand next to me, looking scared.

“He’s okay sweetie,” I whispered softly, wrapping my arm around Aurora.

She leaned into my hug, her head on my shoulder and she nodded a few times, watching Wesley check Arlo’s incisions.

“They look good bud. The reason it hurts is that they’re not all puffed up anymore. I’ll get you some Tylenol while your daddy makes pancakes,” Wesley softly patted Arlo on the head and he nodded quickly.

“Rory do you want to help me with the pancakes or do you want to stay with Arlo?”

She poked me and I smiled, getting to my feet.

“Alright. Let’s go! You can help me mix things. We have to make them all kinds of colors. They’re special pancakes,” I held my hand out and she took it, following me to the kitchen.

I pulled Arlo’s stool out and let Aurora stand on it in front of the counter as I started grabbing out what we needed, as well as separate bowls for the different colored pancake mixes.

“Alright! I’ll make a big bowl of the batter and then we can put them in different bowls. After that, I’ll add the colors and you can help me mix okay?” I smiled down at Aurora and she nodded excitedly.

We quickly got the mixes made and I moved over to the stove, grabbed the pan I had that had small molds on it to make shapes onto the pancakes, and got everything ready.

“Can you do me another favor super helper Rory?” I smiled at her over my shoulder, “can you go ask your daddy if he wants pancakes too?”

She nodded and ran off to Arlo’s room as I started cooking the pancakes, humming softly to myself.

I was suddenly hugged from behind, and a gentle kiss was placed on the top of my head.

“I would also like pancakes,” Wesley laughed, “but can I only have purple unicorns?”

“You’re so difficult,” I laughed, “yes sweetie. Purple unicorns just for you.”

“Can I do anything to help?”

“Where are Arlo and Aurora?”

“Watching TV in your bed. They asked and I figured you wouldn’t mind.”

“Of course, I don’t. Arlo loves to take over my bed. Can you set the table for me? Plates and cups are above the dishwasher. We also need syrup and juice or milk. Milk for Arlo please.”

“Whatever you want,” he kissed the side of my neck and started moving around the kitchen as I finished the pancakes and set them on the table.

“Arlo! Rory! Breakfast!” I called down the hallway before taking a seat at the table.

They both came into the room giggling and took their seats at the table and I let them pick which pancakes they wanted, before giving all of the purple unicorns I had made to Wesley and taking the remaining for myself.

We all ate quickly, Arlo and Wesley getting to know each other more, as best a 5-year-old could, and when we were done, I gathered up all of the dishes, setting them in the sink before taking a seat and taking Wesley’s hand under the table.

“So. Kiddo’s,” I smiled, “Wesley and I came to realize last night that we like each other a lot. More than friends do and we have decided to do something called dating. Do you know what that is?”

Arlo shook his head and Aurora leaned over, whispering something in his ear and he nodded quickly, “Rory said it’s where you are together a bunch and you go eat special foods and kiss and stuff.”

“Yes, that’s exactly it. It’s also our way of deciding if we want to be boyfriends. So I wanted to ask first if you had any questions for us.”

“Does that mean… does that mean we would be a family?” Arlo smiled.

“Maybe down the line. Right now, Wes and Rory are just our friends. She’s your best friend and Wesley is a special kind of friend to me. That’s all.”

Aurora whispered something in his ear again and he shook his head before tilting it.

“Rory wants to know if you were boyfriends then will you be husbands someday?”

“Possibly. But not for a while” Wesley softly squeezed my hand and I rubbed the back of his with my thumb, “right now, Eli and I really need to get to know each other more. I know a lot about him because of Jeremiah, but that’s not enough for us to figure out if we will be good for each other and for you guys. But I think we will.”

“Mmkay.”

“Are you okay with that? With daddy dating Wesley?” I smiled at Arlo.

“Mhm,” he nodded happily, “I like seeing you smile daddy and Wes makes you smile. Does that mean I get to see Rory a lot?”

“I want you both to know that even if Elijah and I decided that we don’t want to be boyfriends, you’ll still get to see each other and be friends. You’re far more important than our relationship with each other,” Wesley reached over the table and gently patted the top of Arlo’s head, “is there anything else you want to know?”

Arlo shook his head again but Aurora looked confused and slightly worried.

“Rory? Are you okay?”

She came around the table and pulled on Wesley until he bent down and whispered in his ear and he picked her up and hugged her.

“She’s scared that if you’re my boyfriend you can’t be her teacher,” Wesley sighed.

“Oh, Rory! I’ll be your teacher this year, don't worry honey,” I reached over and pushed her hair behind her ear, “I’ll just tell people that your daddy is my special friend and promise that I won’t give you anything I’m not supposed to. You’ll still be able to be in my class and go to and from school with me. So you don’t have to be scared honey. Your daddy and I will always protect you and Arlo.”

She climbed off of Wesley and hugged me tightly and I gently kissed the top of her head.

“Alright. Why don’t you guys go play? I’m going to clean the kitchen and then we can do your work okay Rory?”

She nodded and went with Arlo to his room.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, tilting my head back to stare at the ceiling.

“You okay?” Wesley whispered, squeezing my hand.

“Didn’t think explaining this to the kids would really make it real. I… Wes, I’m fucking terrified to date again.”

“Why?” He let go of my hand and I got to my feet climbing into his lap and laying my head on his shoulder.

“Ash was the first and only person I ever dated and she shattered my heart by abandoning our son, being unfaithful, and telling me she couldn’t love me anymore. I’m scared that… you’ll wake up one day and tell me that I’m not worth it. That my quirkiness is embarrassing for you. I dress crazy, I’m silly all the time, I mean you see my house. It’s not exactly the home of an adult I don’t think. Every room is a different color. My bathroom is rubber duck themed after all. Arlo’s is unicorns. I’m just… very free-spirited and… I worry that we’re different. You seem so…”

“Straight-laced? Button upped?”

I nodded and looked up at him and he shook his head with a smile.

“You’ve only seen me at work or after a really bad time. I’m also incredibly silly and quirky in my own way. So don’t worry. I’ve already learned a lot about who you are. I like what I see. I adore it. Your individualism is amazing. So don’t change anything about who you are for who you think I am. Just learn who I am Elijah. I can embrace who you are because it’s complimentary to me. You’ll see.”

I wiped a tear away and smiled at him, nodding.

He kissed me softly, squeezing my leg before pulling my head back to his chest, “alright. I’ll do the dishes for you. You don’t get a say in that. You have other stuff to get done don’t you?”

“You’d do that?”

“Would it make things easier than me sitting here while you did everything?”

“Yes but it’s what I’m used to. Doing everything. Even when Ashley was here I did everything.”

“I'm not her. I’m not like her. So let me show you that.”

“Right. Right okay. I’ll get the kids changed and print out Rory’s work for the day. Thank you. I… truly appreciate you. But don’t forget you have to work today.”

“I didn’t,” he laughed.

I kissed him deeply and climbed off of his lap, heading to my bedroom.

After having Arlo and Aurora change, I sent them to the living room and changed as well into a bright pink ribbed t-shirt and tight black pants and pulled half of my hair into a high ponytail.

Grabbing my laptop, I went to the living room and printed out all of the worksheets I needed for Aurora and checked my email to find that Arlo’s teacher had sent his work for yesterday and today over to me.

Thank god.

Arlo didn’t miss much.

With a happy hum, I printed everything out for Arlo and grabbed my box of crayons and pencils, carrying them over to the small living room table and having the kids sit with me.

“Do you need me to explain any of this to you before you do it, Rory?” I set the small packet in front of her and she looked through it quickly before pointing to a certain page and grabbing her whiteboard.

You had me do this. Do I need to do it again?

“Yes. It’s a review. I know you don’t need it, but I need you to do it again so I can make sure you really understand the math I’m teaching you.”

She nodded and got to work, her tongue sticking out from time to time.

I helped Arlo with the small work pages his teacher sent me and then we read a book together before I chewed on my lip, trying to figure out how to do a reading group for Aurora.

“Hey, Wes?” I called.

“Yeah?”

“I think I’ll need your help with Rory’s work,” getting to my feet, I went into the kitchen and found him finishing the dishes for me, “thank you, babe. Anyway, I can’t do reading groups with Aurora because she’s not ready to talk to me and they’re incredibly important. Can I trust you to give me a legitimate report if I give you her monthly reading log?”

“Of course,” he nodded, “her education is important to me. I wouldn’t lie. If there’s something she’s struggling on I’ll tell you.”

“Thank you. I hope she’s ready someday but I won’t push her to talk to me. You could even have her do it with Jerry at her speech therapy. It might help. She has an obvious love of books.”

“God you’re so smart,” he sighed happily and kissed me again, “thank you baby I hadn’t even thought of that.”

“Well, we have to support each other right? That’s… what a true relationship is isn’t it?”

“Yes. You’ve never had that I can tell. There’s a difference between someone just being there and actually supporting each other, building a life together, and making things run smoother. You already are for me. Taking Rory to and from school is more than I could have asked.”

“Do you need me to do that on Fridays? I didn’t think about the fact you’re off.”

“How about we do this?” He took my hand and spun me around, wrapping an arm around my waist, “yes because I’m not off until 3 am and asleep until 5. I’ll start simply staying awake until you pick her up, and then sleep until you drop her off. Then, on Friday we can have dinner together, sometimes just us 4, other times with my dad, and maybe we can stay the night together. Either here or at my house. Saturday during the day we can do something really fun with the kids and then we can go on a date that night. Jerry and Holly can watch them. Even if Saturdays during the day are just shopping trips with the kids for groceries and stuff. I would just like to have a day or two every week that’s the 4 of us together. Sunday is usually my chore day. Laundry and cleaning.”

“Mine too. That all sounds perfect. Dating you is far simpler than I thought it’d be. You’re a father too so you understand… thank god. I’m just a bit… I never dated Ashley. We were just suddenly together. Which I’m not against, but I’d like to get to know you better before things were just a little more official.”

“I agree,” he kissed the side of my neck, “but I’m highly affectionate. I can’t promise to not give you kisses when you pick up and drop Rory off.”

“I need it. Kiss me all you want. Oh and since we’re simply dating… if you do want to see others, that’s obviously okay.”

“God no thank you,” he snorted, “that sounds exhausting. Trying to work at the hospital, take care of Rory, keep my house running, and date you is all I can handle. Not that I think dating you will be hard. You’re already making my life easier. I just can’t imagine juggling multiple people.”

“Alright. I’m not going to either I just didn’t want you to feel stuck with only me. But I’m big on monogamy after Ashley. I won’t put up with even an inkling that I’m being cheated on.”

“She really broke you didn’t she?”

I nodded and he hugged me tighter, kissing the side of my head. 

“Don’t worry,” he whispered, “I don’t have that in me. I’m not a cheater, I won’t even look at other people. Besides you’re beautiful, witty, sweet, and incredibly intelligent. I can’t imagine there’d be someone else I wanted to be with. Jerry has been trying for the better part of a year to get us together. But I would… cancel his dinner invites.”

“Why?”

“Fear. After my fiancé left me for his ex-girlfriend I truly thought there was something wrong with me. That no one would want me. Plus, I had Aurora. Then working at the hospital. I never had time. But… I realize now I have to make the time. I promise to always make time for us. For you and Arlo and Rory.”

Spinning around, I stood on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck, “I know. Also why the hell do you have to be this tall?”

He laughed and leaned down, whispering in my ear, “so I’ll be able to hold you against walls when I finally get the chance to bury myself inside of you. Just wait. It’ll feel so good,” he softly licked my ear lobe and I let out a quiet moan.

“I’ve never done that… beyond what we did last night no one’s touched me like that but myself,” I whispered, ensuring the kids wouldn’t hear us.

“I know. We’ll work up to it. Don’t worry. You can always do it to me too. I don’t have a preference. If all you ever need is that extra stimulation that’s fine. Even if all we do is what we did last night, I won’t care. As long as we get those moments together from time to time. I know with the kids they might not always happen, but I hope they do.”

“Like you said,” I pulled him down and kissed him deeply, smiling, “we’ll make time.”