Mikayla woke up the next morning, both men curled up against her.  The last few days had been a whirlwind, from the argument after the twins’ party to what transpired the night before.  She still wasn’t fully sure what she’d ever done to deserve the life she’d been given, but through the ups and downs, she was thankful to be where she was at that moment. To be loved by two amazing men, and love them in return.  

“Before anything else today,” JC started, sitting up, “thank you for yesterday.”

“My pleasure,” Mikayla smiled.

“I meant Justin,” JC replied.  Justin’s eyes widened, causing him to sit up. 

“What the FUCK did I do yesterday that you’re thanking me for?” Justin asked with a shriek.

“I meant yesterday, not last night.  I had it in my head that this wedding was gonna be big and nothing that I’d want except for ‘marrying’ Mikayla.  I get to help make this the wedding we’d have wanted years ago, at least in part.  I can’t tell you what that means to me.”

“Not to sound weird, but I love you, C.  I’m sorry you didn't get the chance the first time around, even if it was your fault.  I’m not gonna be a dick about this, even though I totally could.  Mikayla and I both had the thought come up, even if I wasn’t even home at the time.  The original idea was for the two of you, and that’s how we want it to be, as much as possible.  Sure, I’m taking advantage of a chance to renew our vows, but you guys are the main focus. Ours will be quick, get a few photos in for the media or whatever for our October anniversary.  As much as possible, we want this to be about you and Mikayla.  I know I get jealous at times, but I also know that she is happier now that things are back on track between you two.”

“I am, too.  I really wish you’d seen the existence I had.  Not life, existence.  I was just getting through each day, wishing I could find a way to make it right again.  Any time I saw you both, something inside just snapped that I got mad instead of apologizing for what I’d done.  This whole mess is my fault, and I’m glad I’m getting a second chance at love with you, Kay.”

“Thank you to both of you for taking all of this on. Justin, for raising the twins as your own, loving me at a time I felt very alone. Josh, for giving me the twins and for never letting go of your love for me.  You’re both such great dads and I’m lucky to have both of you in my life.  I really don’t know how I deserved any of this.”

“It’s us that don’t deserve you, Kay,” Justin sighed, kissing her cheek. 

“Think the twins are awake yet?” JC asked with a smirk, his hand on Mikayla’s thigh.

The sound of running footsteps quickly answered that question.  JC sighed, Mikayla laughing at the reality that he thought the twins wouldn’t be wide awake first thing on their birthday.

“Rookie mistake,” Justin chuckled.  “Never ask, or they will pop up and ruin your plans.”

 “They were born super early in the morning, so I’m not surprised they’re up early today,” Mikayla laughed before the twins opened the door.

“Guess what, guess what, guess WHAT?!” Barb shouted, bouncing onto the bed.

“It’s February, we’re in the middle of nowhere, so... did you see Bigfoot?” Justin teased.

“Just you, Daddy,” Joshy joked.

“I wear that name with pride,” Justin smiled.

“I bet you do,” Mikayla smirked.  “Ummm, is it snowing ice cream?  I’d love to see that…”

“No, it’s our birthday!” Barb shouted, exasperated at their joking.

“Gee, I think I remember being in a hospital 5 years ago today,” Mikayla laughed.  “Stop growing though, seriously.  How are you two 5 already?  We love you my darlings…” She pulled the twins into her arms, making one group hug on the bed.  They heard Silas crying through the monitor.  “I guess he feels like he’s missing out.”

“I’ll grab him,” Justin said, swinging his legs out of bed.  They had made it a habit to get partially dressed before going to sleep, in case the twins needed something.  As much as Mikayla wished Justin had still been naked in their bed, she knew it could have been awkward for the kids.

“So, what do you want to do today?” JC asked.

“Can we start with presents?” Joshy replied.

“Umm, no,” Mikayla said gently.  “I was thinking breakfast?”

“Chocolate chip pancakes?” Barb wondered, almost starting to drool.

“I think that can be arranged,” Jackie said from the doorway.  “I’m a light sleeper, those stomping feet as you ran down the hall woke me up.”

“Sometimes it’s good to be a light sleeper, other times, not so much,” Mikayla chuckled.  “Being a mom or working with kids, you need to be ready for anything at a moment’s notice, even when asleep.”

“Well, I’m still just working with kids, so let’s just go with that for now,” Jackie replied.

“Oh, do you have any plans to celebrate Valentine’s Day with Eli?” Mikayla wondered.  “I feel bad that we took you away during your first Valentine’s Day…”

“We celebrated over the weekend,” Jackie smiled goofily, a blush rising to her cheeks.  “Twice.”

Mikayla had to stifle her laugh.  “That’s great. I’m glad things are going well between you two.”

“Very well,” Jackie could stop smiling, “we have another night out planned for once we get back home.”

“Are you in love with Uncle Eli?” Barb asked Jackie.

“I am, yeah.”  The smile on her face got wider somehow.  “And I owe it all to your mom.”

“I’m sure at some point you two would have met. I just made it happen sooner,” Mikayla smiled. “Now, who wants breakfast?”

“ME!!” the twins shouted, bouncing up and down.

“I'll get started, I have a surprise for this,” Jackie said, the smile still plastered across her face.  She turned and walked out of the doorway, closing the door behind her.

“It’s Valentine’s Day, too, Mommy,” Barb said. “Are we celebrating that, too?”

“We can.  I mostly wanted it to be about you two. Turning 5 is a big deal. You only do it once.”

“You say that every year, Mommy,” Joshy sighed. 

“You two are here because Mommy and Daddy loved each other so much that we wanted a family,” Mikayla replied. 

“Tell us how you met. When did you fall in love?” Barb asked with a wistful sigh. 

“You wanna hear this, bud?” JC asked Joshy. 

“Yeah, I’m ok.”

“Well, I already knew your daddies from the TV show and their band, I’d been a fan for a long time. Honestly, I was super ‘in love’ with Daddy Justin because we’re closer in age. Daddy JC is older, so I didn’t feel quite as strong a connection, though I did think he was very handsome.”

“I’m starting to regret this,” Joshy sighed, JC pulling him tight against his chest. 

“I used to teach at a school closer to Grandma and Grandpa, not the one you guys go to now that’s closer. I was told I had a new boss, someone would be leading the music department. I was sitting at the piano, playing for fun, and I suddenly saw Daddy closer than I ever had before.”

She took JC’s hand, nestling her fingers between his. “I tried so hard not to be scared or too excited, he was my new boss.  I didn’t want to make a bad first impression and have it be weird working for a man I’d been a fan of for years.  I loved the guy I’d seen on TV, but the more I got to know him, the more I fell in love with the real him.”

“Daddy, when did you fall in love with Mommy?” Joshy asked. 

JC smiled. “The moment I saw her.  I heard the music first before I saw her. The music was beautiful, but the woman playing it was even more beautiful. She took my breath away. That’s how you know it’s love, you feel like you’ve been hit my a truck; but instead of hurting, you feel happy and different. I knew I wanted to get to know her, that my life as I knew it had changed.”

“We had to hide being in love for a while, because he was my boss. They said he wasn’t actually my boss, but still didn’t like that we were together. I think it was because of who Daddy is.  If it had been anyone else, it probably would have been fine. But because he was famous, they were nervous that it wasn’t going to work out.”

“You split up, and got married to Daddy Justin, so I guess they were right…” Barb sighed. 

“Only because I did something I shouldn’t have,” JC said. “I loved your mommy very much and made one big mistake. I never stopped loving her, even when we were mad at each other.”

“What did you do?” Barb wondered. 

“That’s a story for when you’re much older, a cautionary tale,” JC sighed. 

“A WHAT?!” Joshy asked, confused by the large word. 

“A story of what NOT to do,” Mikayla replied. “He made a mistake, then he thought I made a mistake.  What matters now is that we’re still in love with each other, that we all love the both of you.”

“What’d I miss? He needed to be changed, diaper and clothes…” Justin said, bringing Silas with him into the bedroom.

“Barb asked how Josh and I met and fell in love,” Mikayla said softly.  “How we knew when we loved each other.”

“I knew before I even saw your face,” Justin answered quickly.  “The second I saw you standing in that corner, I knew.”

“Justin, there’s no way…” Mikayla gasped.  

“I kissed you right away, didn't I?” he smiled.

“Yeah, you did,” she sighed, somewhat unhappily.  

“Why don’t you sound happy about that, Mommy?” Barb wondered.

“Because I was with Daddy JC.”  She looked at Justin.  "You knew, without even seeing my face, knowing who I was?”

“I did.  I know things in our business are fleeting.  It didn't  matter who you were, I needed to take my chance before I lost it forever.  It actually helped that you were with JC, it meant I got to see you, not lose you to who knows where.  I’ve loved you every day since the first time I laid eyes on you, Mikayla.  That’s why I’m so protective of this, of us.  I was afraid of losing you then, I’m afraid of losing you now…”  The emotion in his eyes was real.  He was honestly pouring his heart out to her in front of JC and the twins.  “I’m so glad I get to renew our wedding vows in June, because I cannot imagine having to live my life without you, I never want to try.”

“Wow,” Barb gasped slowly.  “That’s so romantic… Like something a prince would say in a movie.”

“Sometimes life can feel like a movie,”Mikayla said softly.  “Especially with your daddies around.  I feel like I’m living in a fairy tale.  Not a perfect one from start to finish, but most fairy tales have some kind of conflict.  This is my happily ever after, with all of you,” she hummed, pulling the twins into a tight hug, Justin and JC leaning in.

“Well, I think I smell pancakes cooking, shall we head downstairs?” Justin asked, the twins practically leaping off the bed in excitement, rushing to the door. Justin and JC pulled shirts on quickly before heading out of the room together with Mikayla and the twins.

The kitchen had balloons and streamers around, looking well put together.  “I thought you said the twins woke you up a little bit ago,” Mikayla said. “This must have taken a bit…”

“I did this after you all went to bed last night, it didn’t take long.  The balloons aren’t helium and just taped up, otherwise they’d be lying on the floor by now.  Well, I COULD have done helium and had them up before you guys came down just now.”

The balloons hung in the corners where the streamers attached to the walls, Mikayla impressed with her work.  “I think you missed your calling as a party planner.  Between your cooking and design skills…”

“I just do it for fun, it’s nothing big like what you’re planning for the wedding.  I’m already overwhelmed by the level of detail you’re dealing with that I don’t know how I’ll handle my own…”

“Seeing wedding bells, are you?” Mikayla smiled.

“I don’t want to say.  Not yet, but eventually.”

“With Eli?”

Jackie blushed.  “I really think he’s it.  He’s so sweet, funny, smart, and then, well, you know…”

“What?” Justin asked, having missed their conversation earlier.

“Things are moving along well, she’s very… satisfied,” Mikayla giggled, wiggling her eyebrows at the last word.

“Oh.  Well, glad to hear it,” Justin said awkwardly.  He didn’t need to have those kinds of images about her in his head.

“These don’t look like chocolate chip pancakes,” Joshy said, looking at the plate of finished pancakes.  “The batter is plain,” he continued, looking at the mixing bowl.

“These are special.  I’m using mini M&Ms and sprinkles.  I pour the batter on, put them on top, and then cook.  The colors from the M&Ms would turn the pancakes a weird color if I mixed it well enough to have them spread throughout the batter.  I learned that the first time I tried to make them a few years back.  At first it looked cool, the colors were all marbled and swirled, but as I kept stirring to evenly spread them, it got funky.  Though it doesn’t compare to the brownies an ex made for me.”

“Oh, I need to hear THIS story,” Mikayla chuckled.

“He knew my favorite color was blue.  For my birthday or anniversary, I forget which, he tried to make blue brownies instead of just putting blue frosting on top. My teeth turned blue eating them, and there were… other unintended results.”

“What?” Joshy asked, curious about the big words.

Jacklie leaned in close, whispering to the twins.  “I had rainbow poop for a week.”

“RAINBOW POOP!” Joshy yelled, Justin almost spitting out his sip of coffee, JC stifling a laugh.

“Ok, there’s a mental picture I didn’t need,” JC chuckled.

“I’d rather have that than the other I’m having,” Justin answered honestly.  Mikayla gave him a look. He leaned in, his breath on her ear.  “I really didn’t need to know Jackie is having sex.  I guess it’s something you assume but don’t need to think about.”

“You can’t get the mental picture out of your head?” Mikayla asked, Justin shaking his head.  She whispered back, “Just imagine what I did to you last night, see if that helps…”

A smile spread across Justin’s face, his eyes widening.  “Now we have a different problem,” he said quietly, pressing his hips into her, feeling him getting hard.

“A problem I’ll love to take care of for you, later,” Mikayla replied with a wink and a smile.”Let’s enjoy breakfast and our day with the kids.”