“You ready to see the house?” Justin asked the twins.  “I know we brought you here a couple times, but that was before we started the remodel, so it’s gonna look different now.”

The twins nodded emphatically, excited to see their rooms.  Justin and Mikayla knew they’d need their own rooms soon enough at home, trying to figure things out as they wanted to keep a room for Jackie.  The beach house had a guest room, but nothing specifically just for Jackie.  The house was more for the 4 of them, soon to be 5.

Justin unlocked the door, the twins rushing inside.  The interior was a soft white color, splashes of color throughout from the art inside, all ocean themed.  Whether paintings of the ocean waves or colorful sunsets, the ocean pulled everything together.  The couches were a sandy beige color with throw pillows of varying blues throughout the house.  The kids ran upstairs, excited yells coming from both of them.

Mikayla checked on Barb, excited at her mermaid themed room.  It was a light pink color, with a trim of mermaid scales in pinks and purples, mermaid wall stickers along with seahorses and starfish.  “I LOVE it, Mommy!” Barb squealed.

“If you decide mermaids aren’t cool anymore, we can change it.  You wanna see your brother’s Lego pirate room?”

“Wait, WHAT?” Barb continued, her eyes widening with excitement.

She ran into Joshy’s room, a soft buttery yellow with a Lego brick trim in red, yell, green, and blue.  There were wall stickers of Lego pirates, along with a medium sized treasure chest full of the Duplo blocks.  “As you get older, we’ll swap the bigger pieces for the smaller real Legos,” Justin said.

“This is so COOL!” Joshy cheered, opening the treasure chest and beginning to build.

Mikayla bent down to Barb.  “You have a little toy chest in your room, wanna go check it out?”  Barb nodded emphatically and ran back to her room, squealing at the toys she found.

Mikayla walked with Justin into their master suite.  “I’d say we did alright with their rooms,” Mikayla smiled.  “Justin, this looks incredible… I know I’ve seen it in the various stages, but fully finished, furnished…”

“It’s our perfect little getaway.  I know what I want to do in here tonight…”

“Absolutely.  If we time it right, maybe we can see the moonlight…”

“If not, we have candles we can light to help set the mood.”

“The mood is always set with you, baby,” she purred, pulling herself closer to him, resting her head on his chest.

“Eww, they’re being all mushy,” Joshy groaned, alerting the grownups to their presence.  

“Come sit down, we need to tell you something before we say it to everyone else today.” Mikayla said, motioning to sit on their California King bed, which had a quilt in colors of a soft sunset, muted colors but still beautiful.  Joshy and Barb sat on either side of Justin and Mikayla.

“Ok, this is pretty big news, but you’d find out eventually.  In October, you’re going to have a baby brother.  He’s in my tummy right now, just like you two were before you were born.”

“Do we HAVE to?” Joshy whined.

“At least you get a brother to play with.  Can we get a sister, too?  I’m tired of playing with boys all the time…”

“It doesn’t work like that, honey, I’m sorry.  Just one baby, and it’s a boy.  Maybe at some point later on, but not now,” Mikayla said, looking at Justin.  Justin smiled, thinking about her wanting to have another baby together, securing their marriage a little firmer.  “Then again, just the two of you can be a lot, soon it’ll be 3, I don’t know if we can handle 4…”

“Jackie could help, she’d GREAT!” Barb cheered.

“We like Jackie too, and it would let her stay with us, but that’s not the reason mommies and daddies have babies.”

“Why DO mommies and daddies have babies?”

Justin and Mikayla looked at each other.  “Because they love each other.  When mommies and daddies love each other a lot, they make a wish, and sometimes that wish turns into a baby.”

“Why couldn’t you wish for a puppy?” Joshy frowned.

“We already have one dog, isn’t that enough for now?” Justin laughed.

“You don’t wish for just anything, you wish and wish for a baby.  If you’re really lucky, the wish comes true.  Sometimes it takes a while, lots of wishing, so it’s not like you make a wish once and that’s it.”

“Can I wish for a baby girl?” Barb asked.

“No.  Only grown ups can.  You’re way too young.”

“So there’s really a baby in your tummy right now?” Joshy asked.

“Yeah.  Daddy, wanna show them the pictures?” Mikayla asked.

Justin pulled out his phone, going through the pictures and video he took at the last appointment.  “This is a picture of your brother.  He’s still really small, but soon Mommy’s tummy will start getting bigger to let him grow big and strong so he’s healthy when he’s ready to be born.  Here’s a video of them showing him to us.”  The video showed Silas wiggling around a little bit on the screen, starting to look more like a baby and less of a blob, seeing his head and nose, legs and arms moving, but nothing super defined compared to the anatomy scan they’d be doing in a month or so.  

“What’s that sound?” Joshy wondered. 

“That’s his heart beating. Yours sounded like that too when you were in my tummy. Now it sounds more like a regular heartbeat, but in my tummy, it sounds like that.”

“Wow,” Barb gasped. 

“Yeah.  I wasn’t sure we’d get our wish of another baby. It took a lot of wishing to get you two, and I’m so glad I did,” Mikayla smiled. 

Justin heard the knock at the front door. “That’s probably the caterers, I’ll let them in, show them where to set things up. You wanna show the kids the rest of the house?” Justin asked Mikayla. 

She nodded, first showing the twins the balcony off the master bedroom. They didn’t go out onto it, wanting to save the view of the backyard for downstairs in its full glory. The table was big enough for her and Justin, two chairs to sit in and have breakfast while watching the sunrise or a glass of wine to watch the sunset.  

There was a medium sized TV in the bedroom, wanting to have most of the TV watching downstairs with family and friends.

They went downstairs, seeing the couches and the large flatscreen TV mounted against the opposite wall, all with a wide open view of the ocean and the backyard. The kitchen and dining area flowed into the living area well, feeling airy, open, and inviting.  The kitchen has light stained cabinets and light marble counters, stainless steel appliances for a sleek but pulled together look.

The twins were shocked speechless as they looked outside. Through the reinforced sliding glass door, they saw a large grassy area with a pop up soccer goal, and a small treehouse swing set. There was room for up to 6 kids in the treehouse for if they had friends over.

“Can we go play?” Joshy asked. Mikayla nodded, the two practically stampeding out the door. There was also an area of stone patio with a large table and chairs that were weather durable for being out year round.  Justin had put in an outdoor kitchen with a large grill, a sink, counter space to prep and serve food; everything they would need to entertain friends and family or otherwise entertain guests.  It felt like home but also somewhere else entirely.

In the far corner of the patio, near the edge by where the sand started, was a hot tub to seat 6 comfortably, 8 if you really needed to.

Justin walked up to Mikayla, standing in the doorframe of the sliding glass door.  “It’s incredible, isn’t it?” he sighed, wrapping an arm around her as she nodded in agreement.  “The staff knows to order you apple cider instead of champagne, though I think a couple sips for birthday toasts to the woman of the hour will be ok. But that’s for tonight.”

“I hope it’s ok I came early,” a voice said behind them. “Great place, you rent this for the weekend?”

“We bought it, fixed it up a bit,” Justin said. “Mostly her wishes and wants, of course.”

“Josh, you shouldn’t have,” Mikayla sighed, seeing JC holding an Edible Arrangement fruit basket in one hand and a small colorful bag in the other.

“It’s rude to show up empty handed to a party, especially for a beautiful birthday girl…”

“JC!” the twins shouted from the treehouse.

“Hi guys.  Great house!  Keep playing, I wanna talk with the grownups a bit.”

“Should I be nervous about what's in the bag?” Justin wondered.

“Just a birthday present, you don’t have to open it right now. Could even wait until Monday…” JC shrugged. 

“Yeah, can we go upstairs and talk about that?” Justin asked. 

“Are the kids ok by themselves?” JC wondered. 

“Just got here, so they’re in good hands,” Jackie said. “Oh, hi… I wasn’t aware you were coming…” Jackie stammered, looking at JC.

“Are you a JC girl, Jackie?” Mikayla smiled. 

“She has to be. It’d be awkward if she was a fan of mine,” Justin said. 

“I can work for you and still be a fan, but yes.  Technically I could classify myself as a JC girl back in the day.”

“And now?” JC asked. 

“I work for Justin, I know that kind of thing isn’t allowed.”

“Mainly cuz Joey would be all over you if it was,” Justin laughed. 

“Didn’t stop him the first couple times we met,” Jackie admitted with a laugh. “I’ve got the twins, go do whatever you need to do.”

They headed upstairs, Justin closing the master suite door. “I was thinking, Monday night that I take the twins home, and you two get some alone time here.  Take another day off work, work here, whatever, but just for you two.”

“Justin, you're sure you don’t want…” JC started.

“I was also thinking JC could be here Sunday night, I don’t know. Maybe it’s too much…” Justin sighed, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck. 

“I know you, T.  What’s in that head of yours?” JC asked. 

“Have her sleep between the two of us. Nothing kinky, just sleep, but yeah…. Like I said, maybe too much…”

“I’m ok with that if Kay is,” JC sighed. 

“Being next to my favorite guys? What more could a woman ask for for her birthday?“

“I could think of something,” JC teased, raising an eyebrow.

“C, no…” Justin warned. 

“You say that now,” JC chuckled. 

“There’s not enough alcohol in the world, C…”

“Thank you for the generous offer of Monday night,” JC said. “But you should really take her out to dinner. I can watch the twins, with or without Jackie.”

“Stay here with the twins while I take her to dinner, we can do dessert here together with the kids before I take them home for the night. Send Jackie home so she doesn’t suspect anything…”

“Suspect what?” Jackie asked, the door open slightly. “I came to tell you the caterers are ready, and Lance and Michael are here…”

“Come on in, you might as well know…” Mikayla said, Justin and JC giving her a look. Jackie closed the door behind her, looking at the three across from her. “JC is the twins’ biological dad. We’d just split up when I found out I was pregnant, Justin and I got together not long after I found out. You know about the miscarriage, and I’m pregnant with Justin and my second… We’re telling everyone about the baby today.”

“You’re having a baby?” Lance asked, the door open. 

“Jesus, does no one KNOCK anymore?!” Justin asked, frustrated. 

“Wait… why is JC here?” Lance asked. 

“We saw each other a few days ago, stuff with the school. Everything is out in the open. He knows about the twins being his, we’re working to figure out custody stuff and all that,” Mikayla said.  “Let’s go downstairs before the whole party is up here looking for us.”

“But you’re having another baby?” Lance asked again excitedly.

She smiled, nodding quietly. “Due in October.  I wasn’t sure, after the miscarriage…”

“You too? Michael and I keep striking out with surrogates, had a couple miscarriages…”

“Lance, I’m so sorry…” Mikayla said, hugging Lance. “Seriously, reach out to us if you need anything.  It was rough for both of us…”

“You know we had struggles before the twins.  I’m glad it wasn’t all for nothing,” JC said, putting a hand on Mikayla’s back.  “Even if I didn’t find out at them until this week.”

“We tried to tell you…” Lance said to JC.

“Enough. You guys go downstairs, Mikayla needs to get ready for the party.”

Justin closed the door behind everyone, leaving just the two of them. Justin walked to the walk-in closet, grabbing a garment bag. “Outfit number 1…”

“I’m afraid to know how many I have this weekend,” Mikayla laughed. 

She opened the bag, seeing a spaghetti strapped knee length sundress with flowers in varying shades of blue, the dress accentuating her bust and waist.

“I guess it’s a good thing I’m not showing yet, this dress would barely fit otherwise.”

“Either way I’d enjoy it,” Justin smirked.

Mikayla put on the dress, matching it with a pair of sandals she kept at the house. She and Justin walked downstairs, mingling and saying hello to the family and friends that came. 

Miranda approached her sister, giving her a hug. “You DO know JC is here and he’s playing with the twins, right?”

“Is he?  I had no idea…” Mikayla replied sarcastically. “I saw him on a tour for work this week and we got to talking. He knows that he’s the father, stepping up like I always wanted him to.  Things are good now, Mir…”

“Only took 5 years…”

“Better late than never,” Justin said, giving Miriam a hug. “It’s how it should’ve been from the start.  Now we figure out schedules and custody stuff and legal paperwork to give him parental rights, guardianship, whatever…”

“If you’re happy, I’m happy, Kayla,” her sister said before running after one of her boys.

The afternoon portion of the BBQ was typical BBQ fare; hot dogs and burgers and different salads in iced buckets, lemonade and iced tea; the vibe was very casual.  They all had the option to enjoy the beach, some just lounging on blankets on the sand, others like Mikayla, Justin, and the twins getting into the water.

Movies were available to watch, it was very easygoing. Erin and her husband and kids came, along with others from work.  People were free to come and go as they were able to with their schedules. 

“Auntie Miranda, this house is so COOL!” one of her nephews shouted.

“Yeah, how’d you find this place?” someone asked. 

“So, we bought this place a while back,” Justin smiled. “Fixed it up to make it ours. We want it for reasons like this, to get together with people and enjoy the time spent with each other. We’ll do weekend trips here, longer during summer if I’m not touring.  So yeah, we look forward to lots more parties and memories made here with all of you.”

Soon the caterers started getting the dinner portion ready; steaks, chicken, tri tip, grilled veggies and sides like loaded mashed potatoes and fancier pasta salads. Those remaining for dinner sat down to eat together; champagne, wine, beer, and sodas available for the kids.

Justin grabbed his glass of champagne, standing up next to Mikayla, getting everyone’s attention. “I propose a toast to the woman of the hour. Mikayla, we all love you and are thankful for another year with you.  I look forward to what the next year has in store for us.”

They all raised their glasses, Mikayla taking a small sip of champagne before standing.  “Thank you, everyone, for coming. It’s been a hell of a year, good and bad, and I look forward to a great year ahead.  I know it will be, because Justin and I are having a baby.  Silas Randall, a little boy.  We’re so excited to add to our family.  We’re excited to watch him grow up, things we missed…” Her voice trailed off, Justin pulling her to sit next to him, Mikayla suddenly sobbing into his shoulder.  

“It’s ok, baby,” Justin said softly, rubbing her back.  “You don’t have to say anything else.”

“Tell them…” she says in a quiet voice.

Justin clears his throat, trying not to be swept up in the emotions his wife is feeling at that moment. “We… we uh… we miscarried early last year.  It was very hard on both of us.  But we made it through, and we’re here now; 16 weeks along and they say he is completely healthy and don’t see any complications.  We’re very blessed, and ready for the next chapter in our story.”

JC looked at Mikayla from across the table, knowing he was now part of the next chapter of her life, hoping to fill in the missing pieces from the last 5 years.

Some stayed later than others, Mikayla putting the twins to bed while the guys got the hot tub started. She came back down to the backyard, her eyes practically bulged out of her head at the sight of Justin and JC shirtless in the hot tub.

This is only something you’ve dreamed about… she smiled to herself.  The looks on their faces soon caught up with what she was thinking, scooting farther apart with bothered looks on their faces.

“Not happening,” Justin laughed.

“You keep saying that,” JC chuckled.

“I keep meaning it…”

“I feel we’re missing something,” Lance said to Michael.

“You don’t think…” Michael replied.

“No,” Justin was quick to say.  “We’re ok again, but let’s not take things too far…”

“What were you thinking?” JC asked Lance.

“Some twisted love triangle…” Lance answered.

Mikayla tried to hide feeling hurt, but knew that anyone that wasn’t the three of them wouldn’t understand.  

“I mean, it makes sense,” Michael countered.  “If it were to happen.  We all know JC’s a freak, Mr. Digital Getdown…”

“I wrote that almost 20 years ago,” JC sighed.  

“Still a song about cyber sex,” Michael laughed.  “Dare I get into your solo album stuff?”

“I’d rather we not,” JC blushed.  “Just because I write about it doesn’t mean I’ve done any of it…”

“THAT is bullshit, and we know it,” Justin laughed.  He looked at Mikayla.  ‘Care to weigh in on this?”

“At the risk of incriminating myself and/or JC, no…”

“Oh, it’s definitely happened.  I mean, odds are all of us have at some point…” Lance said.

“Are we talking about cyber sex or threesomes?  I’m somehow lost now,” Justin chuckled.

“The first, but I could see if you guys are wanting the latter,” Michael teased.

“Nope, definitely not,” Justin continued.  “Babe, you getting in?” he asked Mikayla.

“Do you really not remember from last time?  I can’t do hot tubs for a while.  I could probably put my feet in, but definitely not get all the way in.”

“Well now I just feel like an asshole…”

“You’re fine, babe,” Mikayla said, sitting on the edge of the hot tub, swinging her legs around to sit between Justin and JC.

“So you’re really not freaked out by finding out you’re a dad, to twins no less?” Lance asked JC.

“Maybe because it’s Kayla?  Anyone else, sure, it’d be ‘how could I be so irresponsible’?  But we’d been trying for so long, it makes sense.  Was it surprising at first?  Yeah, a little.  But again, once it all came out, it all made sense.  They’re great kids, thanks in part to Justin.”

“What did I do?” Justin wondered. 

“You loved my kids as your own when I couldn’t. You gave Mikayla everything I couldn’t. As much as I was hurting, I knew it was my fault and she was doing what she thought was best.”  JC looked up at Mikayla adoringly, knowing none of it had been to hurt him, but to give his children the home and family they deserved. He only wished he’d been smart enough to have done it himself all those years ago.