Both Matthew and Cailen looked over to where the girls were sitting.
It was instinctive now, whether it was your own child saying it or not, when you heard 'Daddy' or ‘Papa’, you look.
Maddison was standing from her spot and making her way over to where Cailen and Matthew sat, a sheet of paper in her hands.
"Look, isn't my flower pretty?" She asked holding up the paper to Cailen where he saw a simple flower drawn on it.
It was pink with big petals and a small green stem and looked like every other flower drawing she'd ever done but Cailen still nodded along, smiling at his daughter.
"Yes, it's beautiful, love." Cailen smiled, his arms still bouncing Misha up and down on his knee.
"But- But isn't mine beautiful-er?" Aariyah stood in a hurry, rushing over to them and nearly tripping as she held up her own drawing of an almost identical flower.
Cailen shared a knowing look with Matthew, smiles creeping over both their lips.
"I don't know, they're both pretty beautiful, right Matt?" Cailen asked, slowing his movements with Misha.
His arms were beginning to get tired.
"Yeah, I couldn't choose." Matthew agreed, reaching out to push Aariyah's dark hair back behind her ear. "Why don't you guys go ask Zeke? He always loves your guys' drawings." Matthew suggested.
The two girls gasped and looked at each other.
"We could give them to him for his birthday!" Aariyah suggested, Maddison nodding along.
"There you go, he'll love that." Cailen agreed and watched as the two girls darted off, heading for the kitchen with Ezekiel's name leaving their mouths on a loop.
Cailen chuckled to himself as he returned his attention to the little girl in his lap, now looking a bit tired as she yawned.
"Uh-oh, someone's getting sleepy." Cailen said in a sing-song voice.
Misha shook her head in protest but it was obvious she was lying in the way her eyes were drooping shut.
"Do you want to go lay down in Maddie's bed?" Matthew asked but it was clear it wasn't up for debate because then, he was standing and leaning down to pick her from Cailen's lap.
The girl made a small noise of protest but didn't put up much of a fight as Matthew rested her on his hip and headed off in the direction of Maddison's bedroom.
Misha often took naps in there when they would come over, sometimes Maddison would go lay down with her if she didn't feel like playing.
Cailen was beyond happy that his children and his friends' children got along so well.
Sure, they had their disagreements but it was no worse than them fighting with their own siblings. Two minutes later, they were back to playing and coloring together.
Cailen couldn't help but smile when he thought about his life and how it had turned out.
He remembers a time when he thought he would never make it out of University, and now, he was married to a man he absolutley loved and had two children he absolutely adored.
He remembers imagining a life of being alone, and now...
Now he was anything but alone and he couldn't imagine his life any other way.
Cailen stood when he heard the doorbell ring, fully prepared to answer it but then Ezekiel was racing in through the living room, yelling at him to sit back down and that he had it.
Cailen let him answer the door, he did not however, sit back down.
He wanted to know who was going to be in his basement and he wanted a proper head count should they set the house on fire.
He followed Ezekiel to the door, leaning against the frame of the entrance that led from the hall into the living room and peaked around to see a few people stumbling into the house.
There were three boys Cailen had never seen before and two girls, one of them looking vaguely familiar.
Ezekiel greeted them a bit nervously and Cailen briefly wondered if one of these girls was this Elliana girl.
If it was, then Cailen could easily say he was proud that his son was remaining somewhat calm and collected, at least more than Cailen was expecting.
"Um, Aii is downstairs... I'm going to wait up here for everyone else." Ezekiel explained to this group and pointed down the hall towards the basement door.
The group of kids kicked off their shoes, Ezekiel kicking them into a somewhat organized pile to the side, and then they were shuffling down the hall past Cailen.
They each gave him a small smile as they passed that Cailen returned, and since Cailen remembered what it was like to be fifteen, he waited until they were headed down the stairs before turning to Ezekiel.
"I know we've already been over the rules, but Zeke, believe me when I say if I hear anything suspicious or smell anything-" Cailen began, only to be cut off by his son.
"No drugs, no alcohol, no sex, no breaking things. I know." Ezekiel said a bit tiredly.
Cailen didn't want to be that parent, but he needed Ezekiel to know these rules and follow them.
"Hey, don't talk back. I can send everyone home in a heartbeat, mister." Cailen said even though he probably wouldn't.
He wasn't that mean, he would just scold Ezekiel later if he had to.
"I just want you to think, okay? If there is anything happening down there that you don't like, or you know we won't like, come and get us. Text us if you want. I know it's not cool to be the party pooper, but I have no problem being that." Cailen explained.
He knew peer pressure could be a horrible thing so Cailen had absolutely no problem doing the dirty work for his son.
"Okay, I will." Ezekiel agreed sincerely and Cailen believed him.
Despite his sarcastic comments and 'tough' persona he tried to put out, he was a good kid and Cailen knew he wasn't the type to get into anything bad on his own.
"And we will be popping down from time to time." Cailen warned.
"Yes, father." Ezekiel sing-songed.
"Don't you yes father me-" Cailen was saying but then the doorbell was ringing again and Ezekiel was turning around in a hurry.
Cailen waited patiently as Ezekiel opened the door, turning with a start when he felt more than heard Tripp come up beside him.
Tripp grinned innocently at Cailen, obviously knowing he had startled the man but quickly turned his attention to the door.
"Bennet! You made it, dude!" Tripp exclaimed excitedly as a couple more kids piled in through the door.
Tripp stepped forward to share some kind of 'bro handshake' with who Cailen assumed to be Bennet, and then he was directing them down the hall, four more bodies to add to the head count.
There was a light tap on the door behind them. Ezekiel spun around again, reaching for the door and pulling it open.
Cailen could tell right away something was different about this guest by the way Ezekiel stood up straighter and pulled the door wide open instead of halfway.
"Hey, you- you came." Ezekiel stuttered out, smiling a bit nervously at whoever was standing in the doorway- Cailen couldn't see quite yet.
"Come- come in." Ezekiel gestured to the hallway and then a young girl was stepping through the doorway and Cailen suddenly realized who this was.
Elliana Hayes.
Elliana was in fact, a very pretty girl, her hair a light brown at the roots but gradually getting lighter until it was turning blonde about halfway down. She had soft green eyes accentuated by a small amount of make-up, you could hardly tell really.
She had a beautiful smile when she flashed it at Cailen, then Ezekiel.
"Yeah, I said I would, didn't I?" She asked a bit playfully as she gently toed off her shoes.
"Y-yeah, I just- I didn't really- I mean- thanks." Ezekiel said, settling on a simple thank you rather than an explanation on how he probably thought she hadn't meant it.
Elliana smiled, looking slightly amused.
"Happy birthday, finally caught up to the rest of us. You're no longer the youngster." She teased and Cailen had to bite his lip from chuckling at the obvious blush that crept over Ezekiel's cheeks.
"Yeah, thank you." Ezekiel chuckled nervously, scratching at the back of his neck. "Um, you- you look great." He said, mostly to the floor but hey, at least he got it out.
"Oh, thanks." She said, a slight pink tinting her own cheeks that had Cailen happy for his son.
So he had a shot.
"Zeke, love, aren’t you going to introduce me?" Cailen asked, stepping into the hallway a bit more.
Ezekiel jumped a little, apparently forgetting his father was present, and turned toward him, his eyes wide.
"Uh, yeah." He gestured towards Cailen. "Elli, this is my Papa… Papa, this is Elliana."
"Hello, sir." Elliana smiled, holding out her hand ever so politely.
"Oh, call me Cailen, I'm not that old." Cailen teased and shook her hand briefly.
"Is he the firefighter?" The girl asked curiously, turning slightly to Ezekiel.
Ezekiel's mouth dropped open slightly as he attempted to answer the question but nothing was coming out.
"Actually, my husband is the firefighter, was the firefighter." Cailen explained for his son, sending the girl a smile
"Oh, then you’re the nurse! Aii told me he saved her when she was a little girl. Then, he was taken care of in the hospital by his husband that happened to be working there as a nurse. That's so amazing. Both of you saves lives and get to save each other, too." Elliana said, her tone sounding truly wistful.
Cailen smiled and nodded his head. He could tell that this girl was quite the romantic.
"Knock knock," Came a voice from behind Ezekiel and then William was stepping through the threshold.