Gift of Love

Six days later, Ash was up with the sun as he normally was since getting pregnant with Rori almost six years ago. He’d woken up during the period right before sunrise known as false dawn, unable to go back to sleep, and decided to get up and start getting ready for the day. Dr. West could very well call after starting his rounds near eight and say that Adrian had gained those last four ounces he needed to in order to come home, and he wanted to be ready if that happened.

Andy never once stirred when he crawled out of bed, but then again, he’d been all but drop-dead exhausted upon finally coming to bed the night before. He and the guys had been getting to work on their new album as much as they could, and he even tried to do some tracking from home as well, but that was easier said than done. Even CC wasn’t really doing much in regards to tracking his parts, but then again, who could blame him since he was twenty-five weeks pregnant himself? Even Jake was demanding that he get a bit more rest, especially after what’d happened with him, because he didn’t want to go through what he and the young frontman were.

Once he’d showered and gotten dressed, the bassist quickly checked on his husband, who was still sleeping soundly, and left him a note on the pillow. That done, it was time to check on the older kids to see if they were up yet before going downstairs. Leila and Levi were still soundly asleep in their toddler beds, but Rori wasn’t in her room.

Shrugging, Ash figured she was downstairs with Amy, and if she wasn’t, she was by herself quietly watching cartoons. It was something she’d been known to do since she was about a year and a-half old, so he wasn’t too worried about her. Just as he’d suspected, he heard the TV on in the living room as he got to the bottom of the stairs, and peeking in, he saw his oldest child sitting quietly on the couch, her attention riveted to the screen. Chuckling softly to avoid startling her, he headed to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee, something he’d needed since he was around sixteen. The amount had changed over the years, but he still needed his morning coffee, or he pitied those who lived with him.

“Morning, Mommy,” Rori said a few minutes later, walking into the kitchen behind him.

“Morning, Princess,” he answered, gently cradling his coffee mug. “What’re you doing up so early?”

“Woke up from a bad dream and couldn’t go back to sleep,” she answered, yawning. “Are you gonna be making breakfast any time soon?”

“How long have you been up?” the bassist countered. She was almost never up before him, and definitely not for an extended period of time.

“A couple hours, I think,” she answered pitifully. “And Daddy put my Poptarts up too high to reach so the twins wouldn’t get them and make a mess.”

“Sheesh… All right, I’ll get started on breakfast,” he agreed. “But let’s see how high you can reach so we can put those Poptarts down a bit lower, but the twins still won’t be able to reach them, okay?”

“Okay, Mommy,” the little girl answered, nodding.

“C’mon. I’ll make sure Daddy knows when he gets up not to put ’em too high again.”

Giving him a bit of a sleepy grin, Rori followed him over to the pantry and showed him which shelf she could reach without having to stand on tiptoe or climb on anything. Thankfully it was a full shelf higher than what the twins could reach at the moment, so unless they climbed on something, they wouldn’t be able to get her Poptarts.

Since he was about to make breakfast anyway, she decided to forego eating one of her Poptarts right now, and just went back to the living room to continue quietly watching TV. With a soft sigh, Ash started gathering pans and anything else he needed to make breakfast this morning, which was undoubtedly going to be a lot. He and Andy had always had high metabolisms and usually ate twice as much as a “normal” person. So far, each of the kids seemed to have an equally high metabolism, so he wasn’t sure if he should be scared or not.

A short time later, he had at least two dozen pancakes fried up, an entire pack of bacon and sausage frying, and was going to scramble a dozen eggs once the meat was done. About the time he started cracking the eggs into the pan, he heard footsteps behind him and looked over his shoulder to see his sleepy-eyed husband with a toddler on each hip, and couldn’t help but grin. Being the youngest of their group, Andy had always looked a bit baby-faced to him, and it was just too cute, but the cuteness of holding little ones while yawning made him look even cuter. And the only times he ever got away with calling him cute were when he was asleep, or had just woken up and didn’t feel like fighting the issue.

The younger man set Leila and Levi down, patting their rears gently as he told them to go watch TV with their sister, who got to pick what they watched. He then walked over to their Keurig and started making his own cup of coffee, something he’d undoubtedly need when running on about six hours after sleep after being up for twenty-four or more. He shook his head and sighed softly as he continued scrambling the eggs, knowing that things were just going to get harder when they brought Adrian home. However, with the baby being their own flesh and blood, they’d make it work, come Hell or high water.

“So who talked you into doing this?” Andy asked, his voice still a bit gravelly as he woke up.

“Rori, since you put her Poptarts up too high for her to reach,” he answered, flipping his hair out of his face.

“I did? Damn, I didn’t mean to do that,” he said sheepishly. “The twins got into them one day this week and ground them into the carpet. That’s the only reason I moved them.”

“Well, they were up a shelf too high for her to reach without climbing on something,” Ash told him. “I moved ’em back down, though. And they’re still up a shelf too high for Leila and Levi to reach without climbing on something themselves.”

“Looks like you’re just about done. Want me to start getting the kids in their seats?” his lover asked.

“That’d be awesome, if you would,” the bassist answered, turning off the stove.

“Biersack brood!” the younger man yelled, that sexy deep voice carrying through the house. “In the kitchen! Now!”

Moments later, the pitter-patter of multiple pairs of little feet could be heard on the hardwood flooring.

“Yes, Daddy?” Rori asked, her siblings right behind her.

“Get in your seat, Princess. Mommy’s almost got breakfast done,” Andy answered, grabbing one of the twins in each arm.

“Yes, sir!” she said happily, being goofy by saluting him as she did what she’d been told.

“You’re so silly, Rori,” his lover chuckled. “I think you must get it from Mommy. There’s no way Daddy’s that silly.”

“Hey! That’s coming from the grown man with a Batman obsession!” Ash shot back, laughing.

“Your Hello Kitty obsession is equally as disturbing as my Batman obsession,” he told him. “Some people even think it’s more disturbing.”

“Bah, who cares? You’ve always been sillier than me,” he insisted, bringing plates over to the table. “Levi, you throw your food this morning, and I’m gonna wear your butt out.”

The little boy ducked his head, and he couldn’t tell if it was in shame, or to hide a devious glint in his eyes.

“Levi Briar-Andrew Biersack, look at me.” Ash used his I’m-not-fucking-around tone, which usually scared the kids into at least looking at him. “Do you want me to go get my belt?”

With fear in his eyes, his older son shook his head quickly.

“Then don’t throw your food, or I’m going to get my belt. Understood?” he asked.

Just as quickly as he’d shaken his head, Levi nodded and started eating.

“That’s a good boy,” he chuckled, ruffling his hair. “Same thing goes for you, Leila.”

Like her twin, the little girl ducked her head, but not before he saw the devious glint in her eyes for sure.

“Leila Brietta-Amethyst Biersack, look at me.” Once again, he used his I’m-not-fucking-around tone, but the little girl refused to look up. “You have three seconds to look at Mommy before he goes to get his belt. One, two, three…”

Before he even finished, she looked up at him with fear in her eyes, as well.

“Do not throw your food, little missy. If you do, I’m going to get my belt. Understood?”

Quickly, she nodded her head and started eating.

“Sheesh, it’s usually the mother that kids don’t listen to,” Andy said dryly, swigging his coffee as he sat down.

“I’m not sure if it’s because, like you, I’m a guy, or because they’ve seen me threaten Rori with my belt, then actually use it,” he responded, shrugging.

“Well, either way, so long as they behave and we don’t have a huge mess to clean up, I’m happy,” his lover told him.

Breakfast was fairly calm and uneventful, other than the twins both getting devious gleams in their eyes like they wanted to throw their food, anyway. Glaring, Ash started to push his chair back from the table, which caught their attention and alerted them to brewing trouble if they dared to defy him. Quickly, they went back to eating without bothering to throw their food, and soon enough, everybody’s plates were clean.

While he was busy wiping hands and faces of dirty toddlers, Rori being a good girl and going to the bathroom to clean herself up, Andy took all the dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher. That was including the griddle he’d used for the pancakes and the pan for the bacon and eggs. Just as he was finishing up with the twins, the house phone started to ring, but his lover was busy finishing up with the dishes. Sighing from having to multitask, as usual these days, Ash grabbed the cordless phone and held it between his head and shoulder as he took the twins out of their high chairs.

“Hello?” he asked, barely able to manage the feat.

“Is this Andrew or Ashley Biersack?” the caller countered.

“Ashley,” the bassist answered, setting Leila on the floor and patting her rear so she’d go play. “Who’s asking?”

“My name is Amy Cook. I’m a nurse in the NICU at UCLA,” the woman told him. “I’m calling on behalf of Dr. Daren West.”

The doctor’s name made him perk up even more than the word “NICU” had. He knew the call was about baby Adrian.

“Your premature son, Adrian, has gained enough weight to go home, and doesn’t seem to have any problems,” Amy continued. “He’s free to leave whenever you and/or your…husband can come get him.”

“Thank you so much for calling to let us know,” Ash said, grinning as he set Levi down on the floor.

“It’s not a problem, Mr. Biersack. See you later.”

He couldn’t help the girlie scream that bubbled up from his throat, although he tried to keep the volume down a bit. Andy glanced up at him, his eyebrow cocked in curiosity as he looked at him, clearly wondering if all semblance of sanity had been lost by his husband. With a giddy grin, he quickly told him that the phone call had been from a nurse in the NICU, and he saw him holding his breath as he continued. His lover broke out in an equally giddy grin when he told him that Adrian was ready to come home, telling him to go get him himself while he stayed home with the rest of the kids and told them what was happening.

Ash wrapped his arms tightly around his waist and tilted his head back, gently pressing their lips together in a chaste kiss, before darting upstairs. His keys, phone, and wallet were all on top of the dresser, and he had to get the carrier out of the room they’d set up at Adrian’s nursery. Thankfully, the base to said carrier was already in the back seat of the car, so he didn’t have to worry about getting that put in before leaving.

Once he was ready to go, he went back downstairs and said bye to his family, giving them all a kiss of some kind before he darted out the door. He was so excited that his baby was getting to come home, and much earlier than he’d anticipated, to boot, that he couldn’t contain his excitement. The entire drive to the hospital to pick up his son was spent with a grin on his face, no matter how irritating other drivers got. Nothing could dampen his mood right now, and that was just part of the joy he felt at getting to bring Adrian home at last.

Notes