Chapter 12 ~ Well, Hello There!

I woke up before sunrise the next day. It felt way too early.

I thought about falling back asleep, but when I noticed that Kittles wasn't in her bed, I went on a mad search for her, hoping she didn't run away in the middle of the night.

I felt very relieved when I found her scratching her scratching post downstairs.

I turned around to go back to bed when the baby monitor echoed with Jack's cries.

I headed up the stairs, faster than I had planned, knowing for sure that I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep this morning.

As the sun started to make it's appearance, I took care of Jack.

While I was changing his clothes, he pointed out the window and 'oohed' in awe at the frost building up on the window. I smiled at told him how it was just frost from the fall/winter chill outside. He wanted to look out the window, so I walked closer. His eyes widened as he saw the ground, trees, rocks, and houses covered in frost. I thought it looked beautiful, too, but we couldn't just stand there forever. I had to finish getting everyone ready.

About an hour later, I walked downstairs again to find Nicole brushing Miles and Bailey brushing Kittles.

I smiled and asked them, "Do you guys just love them, or what?"

Nicole looked up at me with a huge grin on her face and said, "Mom, they're perfect and unique! Thank you so much for letting us keep them!"

"Oh, you're welcome. I love them just as much as you kids do, you know." 

Kittles purred in contentment as Bailey finished brushing her.

Nicole was right about them being adorable, but especially about them being unique.

Suddenly, the bus horn honked out front. I looked at all of the frost again and made all of my kids put on a jacket and their choice of either a scarf, mittens, or a hat before they left.

"Ugh, do we really have to, Mom?" Paris groaned.

"Do you not see the snow building up as we speak? You're going to freeze if you don't put something on!" I said as I put her hat on for her, since she refused to. "Now, have a good day at school, girls!" I waved to them, realizing I had no boys who were in school.

Things were different now.

A lot different.

I went upstairs to take care of my only current boy in the house, Jack. I noticed something about him when I picked him up; he really needed a bath. I thought for a moment, then saw the bathing table Jay had given me.

"Time for a bath!" I sang in a cheery tone.

Jack wasn't so cheery at first. "But, Mom, I don't want to... it's scary."

"What's scary about a bath?" I started running the warm water as Jack sat on the counter space beside it. "Oh, is the drain scary?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah, it's gonna suck me up." He looked as if he was going to cry.

"No worries, as soon as the water is warm, we plug it up." I felt the water with my hands to see if it was at the right temperature or not. It felt perfect. "See? Watch." I plugged the drain and the water started to fill up around the little bath seat.

Jack looked relieved. "Okay, good."

I laughed and ruffled his hair as I placed him into the water. He insisted on keeping his shoes on, for whatever reason, and I let him. I don't know why I did, but I let him do it. That little goofball.

But, when I started to wash his body, for some reason, he still didn't like it.

I was done scrubbing him and I knew exactly what would make him happier.

"Here, you can play in the bubbles if you want, Jack." I smiled at him, drying my hands with a towel from the shelves underneath the bath area.

His face lit up with excitement as he scooped up some of the bubbles with his little hands and put them on his chin, just like any other toddler would. I laughed at him as he became more and more creative with how he placed them on his face and body.

Eventually, bath time was over, the water was drained, and Jack was all clean.

I came downstairs to a kitchen full of girls who were busily working on their homework, helping each other here and there. They all were laughing while doing their homework, which was strange to me.

"Is homework fun, or something?" I said, curiously.

They all laughed even more and Naomi finally answered my question. "It's super fun."

I was still wondering, but I decided if they were having fun while doing homework, that I should let them. "Alright then. And, uh, Naomi? Why are you sitting on the floor?"

She shrugged. "I dunno."

Alrighty then.

All of a sudden, it hit me. I wasn't pregnant.

I know it's a weird thought for someone to have, but I'm constantly pregnant, so not having that big, baby bump is weird for me. I decided to head across the street to find the next baby daddy.
"Paris, you're in charge for tonight!" I said, handing her the extra car keys, just in case they needed to go somewhere.
She smiled and jingled the keys in her hand. "Don't worry, everything will be fine."
I smiled and closed the door, hoping that she was right and everything would be fine.

As I walked over there, in the rain, I thought about something else.

Would I ever find the love of my life and get married? Would I be willing to bend the challenge rules a little bit? Would that work? Would- 

Out of nowhere, lightning struck and interrupted my thought process. I immediately dropped all thoughts I had in my head and ran as fast as I could across the street. I was relieved when I made it to the front porch without getting electrocuted.

I was panting from running for my life when this man greeted me at the door.

His eyes a bright blue and his hair a dark brown, he was very handsome. I was sure that his child would be as cute as ever, that is, if he accepted my offer to be in my challenge.

After he opened the door, he noticed that I was out of breath and he quickly invited me inside. He didn't say anything, all he did was stare at me.

"Hi, I'm Payton Bear." I said, trying to get some conversation going. "And you are?"
He shook his head as if he was trying to literally shake thoughts out of his head. "Hey." He sighed. "I'm sorry, you're just so beautiful, I couldn't find the right words to say. My name is Jared White." He shakily smiled, obviously nervous.
I felt a little flutter in my heart. I was in shock. No one had ever said that to me, besides my dad. That was years ago when I was last called beautiful. "Why, thank you." I blushed. Now I was the one who didn't know what to say. Out of habit, I just explained my challenge and asked if he wanted to participate, all while hoping on the inside he would agree.
"Wow, that's cool. 100 kids? You sure, girl?" He laughed.
Gosh, his laugh was contagious.
Giggling, I managed to reply, "Yes, I'm totally sure."

"Well, Payton," He smiled again, "I'd love to help you."
I was relieved, "Great!"
"But.."
"Yes?" I raised an eyebrow.
He seemed even more nervous now than he was before. "Are you sure I can't stay around for the baby, to you know, help out and watch him or her grow up?"
I was shocked. No other challenge dad had ever asked before hand about that. They always just seemed to want to have another baby with me, which is against the challenge rules. "Um, sure! If you really want to, I guess that's fine." I smiled slightly at him.
His face lit up in relief. "Okay, great! I love little kids, and if it means spending more time with you, then I'm all in."

He tilted his head to the side and kissed me. Wow. Something lit up inside me as our lips met. I never felt this way with any other challenge dad before.
It was like we were meant to be.
I shook the thought out of my head as we ended our kiss and headed to the bedroom.
But... was it really true? Were we meant to be together? Would he be the one that I would end up marrying?
With all of the thoughts in my head, it was hard to focus on what my heart was telling me.

After I was sure I was pregnant with his child, I fell asleep at his house. Paris was in charge at home anyways, and I had faith in her.
As Jared turned out the lights and crawled back into bed, he put his arm around me.
"I love you, Payton."
I didn't know what to say, but I tried to say what my heart was telling me.
"I love you, too."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The sound of the rain hitting the windows woke me up. I found myself with my head on Jared's chest when I woke up.
I rubbed my eyes and stretched as Jared, already awake, said, "Good morning, Payton." 
I smiled and said "Good morning, Jared."
He laughed a little bit after looking at me for a few moments.
"What?" I laughed.
He smiled and said, "You know, you sleep talk a lot."
Memories of my dad flooded my head. My dad used to always sleep talk. He told me I did, too, as a little girl, but I thought I grew out of it.
I sat up and criss-crossed my legs on the bed as he told me all about what I was saying last night. He went on and on and on. "First, you were talking about how you were worried that Paris had burned the house down by accident, then you mumbled on about how the pet food dishes needed to be filled."
I laughed, remembering the dreams I had last night that all were along those lines.
Then, he suddenly looked sad. "But then... you started crying in your sleep, talking about your dad. I got worried, but I didn't want to wake you up, so I just rubbed your back until you stopped sleep talking."
I sighed. "Yeah, I remember that dream, too." I started playing with my fingernails. "You probably don't want to hear my sob-story, so I'll just go." I started to get up and leave when Jared reached out to touch my arm.
"No, Payton. It's fine. If you want to talk about it, I'm here for you." He said, sympathetically.
I took a deep breath. "Okay, here goes nothing. So, um, my dad was a soldier in the military. He had been in the military for 5 years when my mom had me. He decided to stay home with my mom and I while I grew up. Right after my 3rd birthday, he decided to go back into the military. Little did I know, that goodbye was the last. He died in war, trying to save his partner from an incoming bullet. He dove in front of him, blocking it from harming his friend. His friend survived, but he didn't." Tears filled up in my eyes. "I still remember what he last said to me.
'Pay Pay, you never stop anyone from being the beautiful girl you are. Love you, bunches!'
Jared saw the tears in my eyes as I finished my story.
"Wow, Payton... I'm sorry that you had to go through that." He couldn't find the right words to say, but when he wiped the tears from my cheeks and kissed me, I felt like he was all the comforting that I ever needed.
After a little more chatting, I got up to leave.
"Wait, Payton, you forgot one thing." Jared said, getting up.
"I did?" I looked around, searching for my clothes, make-up, or umbrella to see if I was forgetting it. I had everything, though.
"This."
Jared kissed me for the longest time, yet I didn't want to let go. I really felt a spark between us. Maybe we were meant to be husband and wife, or maybe best friends. I wasn't sure, but I knew one thing I was sure of.
He loved me without a doubt, but I was questioning if I loved him or not.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I arrived home to a sleeping toddler, quiet house, broken sink, giant puddles, and a plumber.
"Hi, Ma'm, I'm sorry about anything my kids did... I was out for the night and left my oldest teenager in charge." I apologized to the repair technician.
She looked up from her work. "Oh, no, it's fine. I got a call from a girl named Paris saying that the sink starting flooding while they were upstairs and needed someone to come fix it."
I smiled. "Oh, great! Thank you for fixing it, then!"
The plumber started to put her tools away. "It's all done! Good as new."
"Thank you very much!" I handed her $50 for the repair work and she was on her way out.

Of course, this left me alone to mop up the puddles from the sink breaking earlier.
As I mopped I thought about what had happened at Jared's house. Millions of thoughts bounced around in my head, making me a little dizzy.
Do I love him? Is he my soul mate? Are you sure, Payton? Is this the right thing to do? Should I listen to my heart or my brain? Is this what you want to do? Really? Why are you doubting yourself? What is happening?
There was so much stress going on for me right then and there. I had to stop mopping the puddles for a few minutes to sit down, just to be able to stay conscious. I almost passed out, feeling so light-headed from the confusion.
I really felt lost. I had no idea what to do or where to go.
I'm just going to have to take it one step at a time.

I really decided that I needed some fresh air.
"C'mon Miles, Kittles! Wanna go outside?" I said, playfully, making Miles' ears perk up. As I opened the door, Miles was skidding on the wood floor to get outside, while on the other hand, Kittles slowly rose out of her bed to follow me out the door. Boy, were they different.
I sat on the front porch for a little bit, watching Miles run around and jump into the leaves and poke his head out. He eventually got tired and lied down in his warm dog house. I realized how big the house really was when he actually got in it. I could have saved money on a smaller one, but this one was so darn cute I just had to keep it.

On the other side of the yard, Kittles was running through her Kitty Palace, playing with a stuffed mouse on each level. She was adorable as she crawled through the tunnels, peeked her head out through the little windows, and pounced on her cute, mouse toy. She wasn't as active as Miles was, but I think all cats are like that. I loved having a cat and a dog.

I finally got up and off of the porch to rake some leaves. I really needed to relax outside with fresh air to fill my lungs. But, I just really needed to loosen up. It didn't matter where. I was just so stressed with all of those thoughts, feelings, and questions bouncing around inside of me, so unwinding made me calm and feel better.
I was done raking up a big pile, so I burned it to get rid of it.
Boy was that a mistake, though.
I lit the match and lit the pile of leaves, and little did I know, the breeze had caused the fire to catch the bushes and the grass on fire along with the leaves, too. I cursed under my breath as the fire became bigger and bigger, and getting hotter and hotter by the second. I ran inside as fast as I could to grab the fire extinguisher that hung up on the wall near the door. I freaked the pets out with how quickly I was moving and how scared I seemed. I just didn't want it to move the the house.
I pulled out the little bit of braveness that I had to try and extinguish the bright and burning flames in the front yard. A huge cloud of smoke started to build up above the house as I struggled with getting it to calm down.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar looking man running towards me with another fire extinguisher. I looked closer and found out that it was Jared.
I was instantly relieved. Hopefully he was braver than I was. I knew for a fact he was stronger than me. "Jared! Please help!"
He was shocked. "Payton, you live here?"
I didn't really have time for questions in that moment. "Obviously. Can you please help me?" I sounded sarcastic and mean by the way the tone in my voice sounded when I said it.
He instantly starting aiming at the blazing fire with his fire extinguisher. He was able to do the trick. The fire had finally stopped burning, leaving only a burnt patch of grass behind.

I sighed as the fear of the raging fire was done and over with. I tossed the almost empty fire extinguisher on the grass by a tree and looked up at Jared. He seemed upset.
I took a deep breath again and apologized. "I'm sorry... I didn't intend to sound mean, I was just panicking. Yes, I do live here, just right across the street from you."
He smiled at me. "You know I'd never be mad at you, right? I just saw a huge cloud of smoke and came to help as soon as possible. I didn't know you lived here. That's awesome, though."
I smiled and gave him a hug as he accepted it and hugged me back even tighter.
"I'm just glad you're alright." Jared said, releasing our hug, but still holding his hands around my waist.
I left my hands around his neck and said, "As long as I'm here with you, I'm perfect."
Gah.
For some reason I felt as if I should've never said that. It was like I mentally slapped myself. I have no idea why, but I had a strange feeling it was all wrong.
Just go with your heart.
I kissed him as he kissed me back, and we stood there for what seemed like forever, the leaves falling and the pets playing together.
The school bus horn honked very loudly, interrupting our little moment we had.
I let go of him and he let go of me. "You should stick around for a while, maybe we can go see a movie or something later."
He smiled and headed with me to the door. "Sounds like a plan."
My kids all looked at me curiously, but I just gave them that 'Not-Right-Now-I'll-Explain-Later' look and they instantly understood.

Jared stayed downstairs in the kitchen to get something to eat as I went upstairs to check on Jack. When I walked in, Nicole was playing with him already.
"Momma!" Jacks face lit up.
I smiled at him and said, "Hey there, sleepy boy! You've been sleeping all day!" I ruffled his messy hair as he laughed.
Nicole put Jack down on the floor to play with some toys and told me she had questions for me.
"That guy was a challenge dad, huh?" She asked.
"Yes, why?" I raised an eyebrow at her.
"He seemed like much more than that to you. The way you looked at and held each other... I could just tell there was something more than just the challenge between you two." Nicole explained. "Are you dating?"
I thought about it for a moment. "I honestly don't know." I finally said, "I feel that way, too... almost like we were meant to be. But, how would we stay together? I'm still doing my challenge no matter what, you know."
"Well," she started, "As long as he's alright with it, you two could date, he could live here or what ever, and you could still call/meet other guys, just for the challenge."
"Hm." I thought about what she had said for a minute. "You know, that actually could work."
I then explained to her how we were planning on going to the movies or something later and how she could now be in charge.
"Now. Don't let the other girls do what they aren't supposed to or get into trouble while I'm gone. You can explain everything to them about me and Jared if you'd like to." I handed her the extra set of house keys and the keys to the extra car. "I'm trusting you."
"Trust me. Everything will be fine! Now, go have fun with Jared!" She jingled the keys in her hand, then continued to take care of Jack.

I walked down the stairs to see Jared talking to all of the girls who were sitting at the dining table, being distracted from homework by listening to him. They all started busting up in laughter suddenly. I didn't know why, but it was probably because I didn't hear what Jared had said.
I started to slow down on the stairs, re-thinking what Nicole had said about dating Jared. It was a possibility, but I didn't know if right now was a good time.
Jared looked at me and I gave him that 'Let's-Talk-Somewhere-Else' look. He understood and walked towards the kitchen sink.
“So, are we leaving soon?” He asked, checking the time on his watch.
“I know where we are going, but I’m driving because it will be a surprise to you! We are going…” I checked the wall clock to see what time it was. “Right now!” I grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door with me. The door slammed when I realized something.
“Whoops, forgot one thing.” I poked my head back inside. “Paris, you’re fired. Nicole is in charge.”
The door closed for good this time and I walked down the porch steps, still holding Jared’s hand, and left to the voice of Paris whining and the other twins laughing. 

I hopped into the car and sat down in the front seat. “C’mon Jared! I’m excited!” I smiled. He was taking his time to get there. “I’m coming, I’m coming!” He reassured me, laughing. I started the car and drove out of the driveway, excited to get there.

I parked the car and stepped outside, breathing in the fresh, autumn night air. Suddenly, my stomach churned and I quickly said, “Be right back, Jared.” before rushing to the bathroom.

I then threw up everything I had eaten that day. Well, at least I knew I was pregnant. I ate a mint and walked back to the car.

“Sorry, Jared, it’s just the sickness from pregnancy.” I said, rubbing my stomach.

He looked down at me and frowned. “It’s all my fault, huh?” He asked.

I smiled at him and said, “No, it’s not your fault. This is the way it always goes. Besides, I’m as happy as I could ever be, carrying our child inside of me.” He smiled and kissed me again.

Gah.

Why do I keep saying things like that? Do you really mean it, Payton? Really?

I was getting really good at pushing my brain’s thoughts out of my mind and listening to my heart’s wants.

For the rest of the night, I’m going to listen to my heart and my heart only.

We stood in the moonlight for what seemed like forever, with my hands on his neck and his around my waist. Suddenly, music started to get louder and louder, breaking us from our trance. I looked around and took in a deep breath of the fresh air.

“Well, we are at the Fall Festival, after all, so let’s have some fun!” I said, grabbing one of Jared’s hands and pulling him along with me towards all of the activities.

We both laughed as he tried to keep up with me, losing his balance here and there.

My heart was fluttering the whole night. Every time I looked at him, he smiled, or he laughed, I felt like my world had slowed down and my heart was just happy.

I was at the fall festival with Jared, my kids were safe at home, and I was pregnant with Jared and I’s child.

Everything was perfect.

As soon as Jared saw the pie-eating contest table, he took control of where we were going, sending me flying this time.

“Are you sure, Jared?” I said, not really wanting to participate in the competition.

“Oh, c’mon Payton, it’ll be loads of fun!” He smiled at me.

I took his word for it and headed closer towards the table. We decided that it would be best to go on opposite ends, so that we would have no idea who was winning. We all lined up with boysenberry pies in front of us.

Two small bell rings sounded and one long and loud horn sounded, signaling the beginning of the contest! All of us smashed our faces into the pies, eating as fast as we could.

I was down to just the pie crust left when the festival worker announced that Jared and I were both tied, and that it would be a photo finish. I was determined to beat him. I swallowed the last bit of the pie and raised my hands in victory, only to hear another cheering voice at the same time I shouted. Jared and I had tied. We looked at each other and laughed. I guess we were both really good at this sort of thing.

The festival worker then shouted, “Award goes to this young man in the red!”, and handed Jared an award, plus a bunch of pies. I cheered and clapped for Jared, along with everyone else, when suddenly, Jared then looked at me and said, “I think Payton deserves it way more than I do. Congratulations to the most beautiful girl in the world, Payton Bear!” Jared handed me the award and all of the pies.

“Awe, thanks, babe.” I said, kissing him.

Jared then stopped for a moment. “I don’t really like the nickname ‘babe’. We should come up with really cute nicknames for each other! Want to?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

With a smile on my face, I said, “Sure.” “Okay, I’ll go first. You’ll be Pay for short and Little Red for a nickname!” He said, confidently.

I smiled, looking at my hair color. I thought it was adorable. “I love it! You’ll be Jer for short and Jear-Bear as your nickname!” I said, proudly.

“It’s perfect. Just like you.” He kissed me in the middle of the festival.

The moon was shining bright, the music was playing, the orange leaves were falling, and fireworks were going off in celebration.

That moment was perfect.

I felt perfect, Jared was perfect, and the night was perfect.

No, it was better than perfect.

It was outstanding, amazing, fantastic, awesome, and absolutely stunning.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I got home to a house full of sleeping kids and sleeping pets.

Everything was unusually quiet. It was strangely relaxing, though.

It gave me time to think about everything that had happened this day.

Meeting Jared, to me, was I think the best thing I have ever done. I feel so complete when I’m with him. But, what to do, oh, what to do?

I went into the bathroom and turned the shower water on the ‘hot’ setting. I really needed to just take a nice, relaxing, warm shower to loosen up and think about everything.

I scrubbed my face with face wash, trying to get the face paint from the festival off.

As the steam started to fog up the bathroom mirrors, I thought everything over, never taking my mind off of the situation.

I decided that I just needed a full night’s sleep, and then I’ll feel better in the morning.

I pulled the covers over me and I turned out the bedroom light.

You just need to sleep, Payton. Then, everything will be better.

My thoughts were right. I just needed sleep.

After about 30 minutes, I finally fell asleep as I was lost in a world of thoughts, confusion, pregnancy, and love.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 11 - Paws and Wings! (Baby #6)

First off, I would like the thank The Baudelaire Legacy and Calista's Crazy Colorful Cats for the new family fur balls!

Check out The Baudelaire Legacy here!

Check out Calista's Crazy Colorful Cats here!

Enjoy the chapter!

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The next morning was as normal as they always were in this family. Waking up to the sound of growls on the sunny Saturday morning, the calmness after the kids are taken care of, and the strong scent of my coffee coming from the kitchen.

It was a nice Saturday morning, so far.

"Hey, Mom!" Paris said, as I stirred creamer into my morning coffee, "Nicole and I are going to rake the leaves... wanna come?"

"I will come with you girls, but, after I finish my coffee, okay?" I smiled at their cute faces.

"Okay!" They dashed out the front door and towards the trees with leaves scattered all on the grass below them. I sipped the last drops of my coffee and headed out, realizing that raking leaves would be difficult with my huge, pregnant stomach that was always in the way.

I mainly just helped them build up the big leaf piles and burn them, leaving a patch of burned grass in random spots.

It was all pretty relaxing. I went to walk back inside, but I noticed all of the sad, rotten pumpkins on the front porch. All of my kids' jack-o-lanterns didn't last very long. The only ones left were my toddlers'.

I grabbed a trash bag from one of the kitchen cupboards and gathered all of the sad, rotten,  deflated pumpkins into it. It made me a little sad that the little moment of joy we had as a family making those jack-o-lanterns had nothing to represent it anymore. It was just a memory now.

I know that it seems like a silly little thing to feel sad about, but it was one of the rare times that we were all together as a family doing an activity with each other. I'm always so busy and the kids are, too. It was a fun moment that we all had together that I was proud of.

It occurred to me how much I cared about this moment.

I just need to make more of them.

I bent down a little bit to drop the trash bag into the trash can when I felt a strong kick in my stomach. It did hurt, but I figured I had just overdone it for today.

Walking up the porch steps, I felt another strong pain coming from my stomach.

Labor was the only thought of what was happening I had in my mind.

Barely making it to the nursery in time, I welcomed Jack Bear into the world!

I thought of the name Jack with all of the sadness in my mind with the dead jack-o-lanterns that are now in the garbage can. Jack would be our new "jack-o-lantern" for us in the middle of fall right now. I was thankful he was a boy, too. I needed a boy to break the streak of girls.

"Welcome, Jack!" I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

His little, bright pink eyes, inherited from his dad, sparkled up at mine as a little smile showed across his sweet face.

I sat down in a chair and unwrapped his blanket a little bit to play with his fingers and toes.

To my surprise, I discovered little blue wings coming out of his back.

"You're a FAIRY!" I shouted in excitement, way louder than I should have.
I stared in awe at his natural blue sparkle and glow on his face that he had to him. He was adorable. "Let's see what else you look like!"

With that, I called everyone downstairs for birthdays.

Jay aged up into a smart, brave, kind young adult. He was handsome and would definitely have no problem building a family of his own, with his good looks and love for kids.

But, aging up into a young adult meant moving out on your own.

I would focus on that after all of the other birthdays, though.

My first set of twin girls grew up into beautiful teenagers. I loved them so much!

My second set of twin girls aged up into gorgeous little werewolf children. They were as excited as I had ever seen them when they found their werewolf fur finally growing, their fangs getting sharper, their growls becoming deeper and their eyes turning more yellow.

They were adorable little werewolves!

Now, Jack was obviously as cute as anyone could be. His vibrant blue/pink/purple hair, bright pink eyes, and sparkling blue wings. He was the best fairy I had ever seen and as adorable as ever! How could you not just fall in love with that sweet, fairy face?

All of my other kids admired his wings and natural sparkle and glow he had to him.
He was something else, I tell you.

With the birthday excitement dying down and the cakes being put away in the fridge, I knew exactly what time it was. Time to say goodbye.

Jay looked at me from across the room with that 'Well-I-Guess-It's-Now-Or-Never' look on his face. We both sighed as he held his arms out, asking for a hug.

I tried to hold in the tears as he rubbed my back.

"Jay," I started to say, my voice starting to become shaky, "You were such a big help to me and I'm glad that you were my first child. Thank you for always helping out and encouraging me. I'm going to miss you." I hugged him even tighter. "I love you, Jay... bunches."

He hugged me back and sniffed a little bit, too. "I love you too, mom. But, you know that this isn't goodbye forever, right? I promise I will keep in touch with you. Always."

It was a bitter-sweet moment. Sweet that my challenge was making progress, but bitter because I had to accept that fact that my kids were growing up and moving on.

And with that, he had taken his belongings and walked out of the house, calling a taxi.

I grabbed a tissue and wiped the tears from my cheeks as I watched him drive away.

I couldn't believe that my first child had just moved out as an adult. I don't think I will ever be as emotional as I was with Jay moving out as I will be with any other kids. Jay was just my only child for a long time and he was with me and as loving and helpful as any child could ever be.

I surely would miss him. But, like he said, it wasn't the last goodbye.

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"But, Mommy, why can't I just fly?" Jack whined, blocking the morning sunshine from his face by covering it with his hand. 
"Well, everyone else learns to walk as a toddler, including you. It'll be fun!" I put his hands in mine and helped him stand up. 
He sure was smart for a toddler, trying to get his way around things.
Maybe his fairy powers made him smarter.
I'm pretty sure I was right. He caught on way faster than any of my other kids had.
Within 20 minutes, he had it down.
"Now can I just fly everywhere?" He smiled.
I smiled back at him. "Sure."
He first floated off of the ground, then flew in circles around the block table.
"Yay! I'm better at flying than walking, anyways." He had a smirk on his face.
I giggled and kissed him on the cheek.

With the ring of a doorbell, I was out of the nursery, and opening the front door to see Jacob standing there, a frown on his face.

I was instantly curious. "Uh..."
He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, looking nervous. "I know that challenge rules are to only... you know... 'have a baby' once and then not see each other again, but I was wondering if maybe, you-"
"No." I interrupted, "These things are a one time, and one time only, kind of deal. I'm sorry, but the answer is a definite no."
"Oh, c'mon-" He pleaded.
I cut him off again, "NO. Now get away from me and my family."
He gave up the fight and jumped back in his car, intimidated by me a little bit.
I really didn't mean any harm, I just never want to/ like to deal with the challenge dads after already having the baby.

I went back inside to check on my little baby, whose dad had just run off.
He was as cute as ever, playing with a toy rocket, not even bothering to get out of the toy chest.
Everything was normal and happy, until I heard a loud pounding on the front door.

I opened the door, looking for a person, when, to my surprise, I heard a meow instead of a voice. I looked down and saw a cat and a small dog.

Nicole's words and smile rang back through my mind.
"Are we getting a puppy?"

They were strangely colored, with multi-colored spots covering both of their bodies. It looked like both of them had got into a fight with a huge bin of art supplies.
Maybe it was paint.
I bent down and looked at them closer as the dog playfully bowed, shaking his butt in the air and the cat lifted her paw up to put it on my hand.
I carefully pet each pet's fur to inspect their strange colored dots.
My hand ran smoothly through each animals' fur. It defiantly wasn't paint. It was an odd color for a cat or dog to have, but I guess it just makes them very unique.
I thought about keeping them for a little bit, but when the dog started licking my hand and the cat rubbed her face on my leg, I instantly fell in love with the both of them.
Hey, we had room in our family, so why not keep them?
It was decided.
These two animals are now part of the Bears!

I called all of my kids down to make friends with our new pets.
Nicole was the one who was down there first. She was confused at their strange colors at first, but after I explained everything to her and added in that we were keeping them, her eyes lit up with excitement.
The dog was instantly drawn towards her, too. They had a special connection right from the beginning. She bent down, letting the dog sniff her hand, and instead, the dog smothered her hand in kisses, making Nicole bust out in laughter.
As they were bonding, I realized that neither of us even bothered to look at their name tags on their collars.
"Once he stops kissing your hand, you should check to see what his name is. I never bothered to look." I said, picking up the cat to check hers.
"It says 'Miles'." She smiled, "That name is perfect!" She rubbed his ears with love.
I read the cat's name out loud. "Kittles. Her's is pretty good, too." I scratched her neck.

She squirmed to get down after a while of me carrying her, so I put her down. She ended up sniffing my hand, too! I guess it's something that all pets do to get to know a person. I wouldn't know, since my mom was always very against having a pet, even though I had begged her for years.
But, it was my house, my family, and my rules, so we were going to have pets!
I thought about it for a while and came to the conclusion that I would probably take care of them myself, without help from the kids. They would most likely only be willing to fill their pet bowls and play with them, but I was totally fine with it.
Having pets is a big responsibility, but I was ready for what was ahead of us.
I led Kittles inside with the kids and Miles to relax and make themselves at home.
Nicole bought some pet supplies and watched the pets for a while to make sure they were comfortable with their new home.

As I was about to head inside, too, I heard a shout from the street.
"Wait, Mrs. Bear?" I looked back and standing there was a delivery man pulling a large box out of his delivery truck.
"Yes?" I was curious. The only mail that I ever received was bills. "Is that package for me?"
He started rolling it up the pathway on a cart. "Sure is. I just need you to sign here." He handed me a clipboard that read 'To: Mrs.Bear From: Jay Bear ... Love you Mom! Hope this will help you out.'. I quickly signed the paper and brought the box inside the house to open it up.
After being distracted by Kittles and her cute little face for a few minutes and reading a few assembling instructions, I figured out that he had given me a baby/toddler changing/bathing table and 3 baby monitors.
I stopped what I was doing for a moment because I was so shocked.
He was living on his own now... how could he afford to just gift this to me?
He was always very generous and kind-hearted, but I worried about him financially a little bit. I got up off the floor and stopped assembling the table to mail Jay some cash before I forgot to do it later. I put the same words on the note in the envelope as he did, changing the 'Mom' to 'Jay'. I also added a little 'P.S.' note telling him how much I loved and appreciated this gift.
About an hour went by, and the table was built, in the nursery, and the monitors were placed around the house. I fell in love with it and couldn't wait to use it!

As soon as I went back downstairs to check on the new pets after building the changing table, I saw Miles playing with a squeaky bone toy he got out of the dog toy crate. I laughed at how he rolled on his back with the toy in his mouth, the way his ears flapped around, and the way he was growling at the toy. The squeaking got annoying really fast, but the way Miles played with it sure didn't. I knew I wasn't going to regret bringing these pets into the family.

Upon further inspection, I found Kittles playing with a wall feather toy that Nicole had hung up for her. She swatted the feather over and over again, entertaining herself with the new toy. I grabbed something to eat from the fridge when I heard her sneeze over and over again. The toy must have tickled her nose. I laughed from the other room and dug into my plate of leftover cake.

I then saw Paris come down and plug in the coffee maker.
"Coffee?" I looked at the clock. It was getting late. "Really?"
She shrugged her shoulders as she placed a cup into the machine. "Eh, why not?"
"You're going to get all buzzed from the caffeine in that drink. You just wait." I warned her.
About 15 minutes later, I was right. She was all hyped up on coffee.
"See? What did I tell you?" We both laughed.
"I'll just get some work done around the house. Take out the trash, feed the pets, you know, make use of my late-night energy." She rinsed out her mug.
"There you go." I gave her a pat on the back. I was thankful she was willing to help out. This way I could relax for a little bit.

Paris indeed did what she said she would do. She filled the pets' food dishes, one with cat food and one with dog food. Miles didn't hesitate to dig right in, but Kittles spent some time pawing her food before eating it.
Paris left upstairs to put Jack in his crib, while I stayed downstairs and washed the dishes.

Suddenly, I felt my back pocket vibrate. I pulled out my phone to find a new message from Paris. This picture was attached to it. I read the message.
"It looks like Miles followed me up into the nursery. Him and Jack love each other!"
I laughed at the way both of them looked curious of each other.

Out of the blue, I heard a weird, electronic noise. Peeking around the corner of the stairs, I realized it was some sort of high-tech litter box Nicole had picked out.
I figured out that every time Kittles would use it, it would automatically clean it using some sort of laser technology. Seemed odd to me, but if it kept me out of cleaning the cat litter, I was totally fine with it.

With all of the kids and pets taken care of, I figured I would go to bed, since all of my other children were sound asleep. I started to head up the stairs, and Kittles followed right behind me. I really loved her. I wanted her to be my kitty. I've always wanted a kitty, too.
As I was changing into my PJ's, I came up with an idea.
Kittles can be mine, and Miles can be all of ours!
I thought it was a great idea, so I decided to go with it and announce the news to the kids tomorrow.

Miles was already sleeping in his small, blue bed when I walked in.

Kittles had no choice but to sleep in the leopard-print bed. I found it adorable how our beds matched. I also loved the pets sleeping in my bedroom with me. That way, I won't have to worry about them escaping in the night, because if they leave, I'll hear it.

I pulled my bed covers up and laid my head down on the soft pillow.
Yesterday and today had been pretty successful, with my 6th child, birthdays, and 2 new pets, I would call it a great new start in the new house... in my new life.
Now, I just had to wait and see how the whole fairy child and pets thing would work out.
Only time could tell.

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Thank you for reading and sorry for the long wait, the holidays caught up with me!
I also apologize for the shortness of this chapter!
I love you all, and don't forget, all feedback is appreciated!