NOTES: Obviously, I am not clairvoyant, so I have edited the timeline of some of Idina's projects to work more with the story, as well as the doc a bit. The IVF story does not really work with what I knew at the time of starting to write this. This is 100% fiction.

One of the pictures was not straight. Idina tilted her head, then the frame. Now nothing was straight. She should have taken Aaron up on his offer to hang the pictures. The faces that were smiling back at her made it all worth it. Walker and Erika at Disney, the triplets, a gorgeous portrait of their little furball. Her family had grown so much. Looking over her shoulder at the triplets who were playing with Jane, it was easy to see how much. Not a single piece of clothing they had initially bought fit. And most distressingly, she could no longer lay them across her stomach while they slept.

"Can I have a second opinion?" she asked.

Jane came over and nudged a few frames. "Better," she announced.

Idina nodded, it was.

"I like that one," Jane said, pointing to one of Walker standing with an Elsa across, the widest grin on his face, showing his teeth, eyes gleaming. Jane and Erika were in it too, standing with a slight gap on Walker's side.

"I hope he wasn't bugging her," Idina said.

Jane shook her head. "He did say you were his mom, but obviously she couldn't actually comment on that."

Idina rolled her eyes. "I can't stand it," she said. "Like they're paid to do that I know, but come on, I'm a mom, I know Elsa isn't real, you can admit to me that they've sneezed in your mouth and the dress is itchy."

Jane laughed.

"Think Aaron will like it?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jane replied. "Looks very good."

"Not too cluttered?" She had been too indecisive. It had been easy to rationalize putting up the pictures because Erika or the triplets were in them, and she needed more pictures of them.

"Good for now," Jane assured her. "Although in my expert opinion, do not fight it. It will get cluttered, and they will be so many different frames, and then one day, in a decade and a half from now, you will finally sort it all out. Everyone does it."

Idina smiled: "Things to look forward to."

She put the tool away and sat down with Jane and the triplets until the door opened, and small paws pitter-pattered across the house.

"Hi, Mom!" Walker called out.

"Over here," Idina said.

The dog came barrelling down the hallway, looking disappointed when he encountered the baby gate. Louie barked, laying down, his tail wagging and thumbing against the floor. Idina got up to let the dog in. Louie knew the rules; the kids had trained him well. He pattered over to Jane, laying his head down in her lap next to the baby.

"Good pup," she said, scratching the dog behind his ear. His tail wagged, thumping against the nanny's leg.

Walker and Erika followed, and the dog went back to them.

"Mom, when's Aaron going to be back?" Walker asked.

"Soon," she replied. "He went shopping." He was getting baby food. Today, they were starting the process of weaning the triplets. Aaron kept assuring her it would be slow; they would still use breast milk until the triplets were at least ten months. Idina knew it had to have come sometime, but this felt all too soon. Where were the little pink babes who could lay on her stomach? At the same time, it would be a relief. No more getting up in the middle of the night, less pumping, and fewer aches.

Less time breastfeeding the babies, staring at them, and holding their little hands.

"Oh, Idina," Jane said, giving her a one-armed hug around the shoulders. "I know they're growing up, but they're still babies."

She nodded. And she was so grateful she had spent all this time with them. It still felt like it was not enough. Nothing would feel like enough when faced with the prospect that it would never be the same again. With Walker, and Erika, both growing, gaining independence. One day, they would move out. And it would be her, Aaron, and the triplets. Walker would never be small enough to fit in her arms again, never light enough to hold on her hip as she kissed his little pudgy face and sang to him to keep him calm. Walker would never babble at her, waving his hands around like he was telling her the secrets of the world.

"Are you sure they can eat normal food?" Walker asked. "Aaron said once you couldn't give them water because their insides hadn't developed the right stomach lining yet."

"Yeah, they're old enough," Idina said. "They can't eat it all the time, Mommy still has to feed them, but they can have some mango purees or yogurt as a treat," she explained.

Lucinda crawled over to her eldest brother, pulling at his pants. Walker picked her up and she squealed as he made faces at her.

"When are they going to get teeth?" he asked.

"In a few months."

"You still going to feed them when they have teeth?"

Idina frowned and shook her head. She had tried that with Walker, and it had not been pleasant. She would still pump and give them bottles occasionally. As Aaron had promised, they would wean the triplets slowly. For their health, for Idina's sanity.

~

With all the babies lined up on a high chair, Idina was almost ready not to go through with it. They were still babies; they were not a year old. It was too early.

Aaron came down from upstairs with his camera, grinning ear to ear. Even Walker and Erika were seated at the table, wanting to be a part of this milestone.

"Really," she teased.

"You should film it," Erika said to everyone's surprise.

"Can't argue with miss all-As," Aaron said, making the girl blush. Her marks had been updated over the holidays. Tutoring was working.

Idina smiled. Erika knew better than all of them how it would feel to have these happy memories preserved. Or more accurately, how it felt to not have them at all.

One of the triplets cried out, wanting food.

Idina took the camera from her husband. She had this moment with Walker, so she would film. He and the elder kids could have this with the triplets. Jane brought out the purees which she had prepared. Idina was firm that they would make them at home. Who knew what could get into them at the factories, she trusted that the professional nanny knew what she was doing.

"Who gets the honour?" Jane asked.

"Aaron," Idina said, fiddling with the camera.

"Make sure the red light is on," Aaron said, helping her out. "Okay, it's filming, don't touch the buttons." He took the strap and put it around her neck, then kissed the tip of her nose, holding her face with both hands.

"Erika, want to film backup on your phone?" Idina asked, just in case. Erika nodded, smiling, and got her phone out.

"I'll do it," Jane said, and Idina thanked her.

The nanny handed the bowl to Aaron, instructing him again on how to feed the triplets so that he did not accidentally hurt their fragile little palettes with the spoon.

"Alright, let's go oldest first," he decided, scooping up some of the mango purees and getting down to the level of the high chairs.

Soren looked at him, grumpy, wanting food. He stared at the spoon, probably guessing it was something he could eat. Aaron, with a wide smile, held to spoon up to his lips. Idina held a breath, wondering if this would be the start of fights and spilled food. She exhaled when Soren ate. He gurgled contently, some of it spilling out of his mouth, but he clearly liked the taste. Aaron cleaned him and offered him a bit more, which the baby took happily.

Idina felt her chest swell, then asked Walker and Erika if they wanted to feed the other two. They walked around the island, ready to help when with a loud giggle, Soren spat up the food all over his father's face.

It was quiet until Idina's cackle rang out through the house, and soon everyone was laughing. She got a warm towel for her husband, kissing her baby's head as she passed.

"There's going to be at least two years of that," Idina warned him.

"I think it got in my mouth," Aaron bemoaned.

One of the babies shrieked, hungry. "Well, we've got to feed them," Idina said, picking up a spoon and handing it back to him. "You signed up for this," she reminded him playfully.

She gave the camera to Walker, and he took it with a reverence. He ran his thumb over Aaron's name on the strap as he put it over his head.

Idina and Jane armed themselves with napkins and spoons as they went about the tasks of getting the triplets their first non-milk meal.

~

Late one night after school had started back up, Idina found Aaron and showed him some papers she had drawn up.

"Plans for the next year-ish," she explained. She had been collaborating with her team, and she had made these spreadsheets. Green was projects she would definitely get offered, such as Enchanted Two, lighter green was a high probability. Yellows were maybes. Blues were auditions, interviews, and other trivial things she would definitely be doing. They were all filled in on a calendar spanning a few months into the next year.

"It's tentative," she explained, "and obviously depended on what meds I can get, and if they work. But I want to know what you are comfortable with, about how much I will be out. I have marked the LA ones. Those would be filmed sooner, and the press would be domestic across the states, obviously, and I would be going coast to coast quite often. But I tried to ask for any international filming to be done at least seven months from now, so there is a good adjustment period, and there is enough time to cancel or readjust if things do not work out."

He kissed her cheek and took the papers from her, looking over them, a smile forming on his face.

"You're going forward with the documentary?" he asked.

Idina nodded. "So much has changed since then, but I want to. We put in all that effort, and that hard part is over. Seemed like a safe re-entry into celebrity life."

He nodded, hand on his chin. "The part..." he stated. "I know you wanted to be candid, but the part we did about you not wanting kids, and the strain it put on our marriage, could we take it out?"

Idina looked at him, prompting him to go on.

"I know some of the stuff I said, I don't want Erika to see it," he said, his eyes growing glassy. "I love her so much, and she knows that, but I do not want her to see it. If you can have it taken out. I know with the contracts and stuff they might not."

Idina sat down in his lap, putting the schedule on the desk. Resting her hand on his chest, she asked: "If we can't, would you prefer if I just cancelled the entire thing?"

"I-" he paused. "Please," he said. "I know how much effort you put into that. And I love it too, I think it is amazing. But I have been thinking about this since you mentioned it in Florida. That interview where we talked about how much I wanted my kid, and you explained how being pregnant would have affected your career, and how this had negatively affected our marriage for a while. And the arguments we got into about surrogacy. I get that it was to show the struggles working moms face, and the discrimination, but I do not want Erika to hear it. I regret that so much; I had no idea what I was talking about." The tears started flowing freely, his voice cracking. "I was so stupid to say any of that."

Idina hugged him, kissing away his tears. She planted two light kisses on his closed eyelids in a manner he had often done for her while he held her close, arms around her hips.

"I don't want the triplets to think they weren't wanted either," Idina said softly. "And you are right, we need to take out that section, or at least edit it heavily. If it cannot be done; I will cancel the whole thing. This family is worth more than one passion project. It is the passion project." She held him. So much had changed since her World Tour, it almost felt like a different life. "I love you," she said, repeating it over and over again. It was all she felt, all she could say.

Aaron sniffled and whipped his nose. "Now, let's see what else is on here," he said, picking up the sheets of paper.

~

Erika's 18th birthday was the next on Idina's list of things to do. It was fast approaching. Erika was a bit more receptive to talking about it than she had been the first year. She was still adamant she did not want a big party. The family was okay, she did not really want her friends over.

Idina was envisioning a small, intimate party for her eldest daughter. There was one aspect that was still bugging her.

"How come you don't want to invite any of your friends over?" she asked.

Erika shrugged a bit. "Well, um," she said, finding the right words. "I guess we are not that close. I think, like, I think it would be awkward, I do not really like people coming over, and I do not like going to their houses. I do like them, I just prefer when we go out like bowling or something, I do not like hanging around people's homes." She tried to read Idina's face. Erika was not yet good at that. "I think it is okay if your sister and mom come, and the same with Aaron's sisters. They are nice, and then it can feel more like a party, but also not. If that makes sense."

Nodding, Idina followed along.

"I'd like to cater it," Idina said. "We'll make you a cake, of course, but for the meal, I'd like to cater it."

"Are you sure?" Erika asked. "That sounds a bit extra."

Idina nodded in confirmation. "If you're good with that, we can have the chef come in next week and make the tasting menu for you."

"Oh, uh, wow," she said, starting to look a bit overwhelmed. "I guess," she shrugged. "It's kind of surreal."

Idina smiled and pulled her in for a hug. "This is very real," Idina assured her. "My dad would like to come too," she added, "if you are okay with that. He likes you."

Erika smiled and nodded. "Yeah that is fine too, I think family is fine, but I do not want it to be like a huge party with lots of people. I would be okay with a small party, but I am not sure whether I would prefer no party or not."

Idina kissed her temple. "I am throwing you a party because it is the big eighteen. And we want to celebrate this. But everything after the fact that there will be some semblance of a party is in your control."

Erika hugged her mom back. "I'm still trying to get used to this," she apologized. "I'm just not always expecting the rich people stuff."

"Well, I plan on continuing to spoil you with rich people stuff for the rest of my life, so if all goes well you've got a nice three decades to get used to it."

Aaron knocked on the doorframe, "What's going on?" he asked.

"I got her to agree to let us cater her birthday party," Idina announced triumphantly as her husband came over and sot on the other side of their daughter.

Erika leaned into Aaron, a satisfied smile on her face. The one on Aaron's grew, and he wrapped his arms around her. "I love you so much," he said, kissing the top of her head.

Idina smiled her heart light and warmed. It was terrible that Aaron's parents' stubbornness was why they were missing seeing how happy their son was or having a role in their grandchildren's lives. She rested her hand on his knee; he was so strong, a pillar for the family.

"Do you want Diane and Robert to come?" Aaron asked.

"Do they want to?" Erika asked, excitement in her voice that answered the question.

"I haven't asked yet," Aaron admitted, "but they asked if we were doing anything, so I wanted to double-check with you."

"Yes, please," Erika said.

"We have to go soon," Aaron reminded them.

Erika's face lit up again. "The knitting lessons!" she remembered. "Although, I don't need them anymore." She reached over to her nightstand and handed Aaron the sweater that she had started. "Look!" she said.

"This is amazing," Aaron replied.

Idina got closer, and Aaron handed her the project. She smiled. She did not have the technical skills to make any intelligent comments. Maybe tonight would change that.

"We should have some lunch, then we'll go," Idina said. "And I'll get changed," she promised, even though Erika never bothered her about her dress the way Walker did.

"There's frozen pizza," Aaron said, and the girl's eyes went wide with excitement. He was grinning to himself, overwhelmed by the feeling of making his daughter happy. Not to mention she was here, comfortable with him, and no one was threatening it. He hugged her tightly again. There was something so freeing in not being scared that someone would take her away, and it was affecting Erika too. She smiled more and laughed more. She enjoyed spending time with them.

In the kitchen, Idina found everyone chowing down, the smell of pizza in the air. Her husband pulled her close, and they swayed to the tune of their own. Heat rushed to Idina's face as he hummed.

He kissed her cheek. "Come on, love, you know the steps," he said.

The dancing lessons. Idina rolled her eyes, but Aaron kept insisting on humming the eight count they had learnt. Rolling her eyes, she took a step back, laughing aloud as he spun her around in the kitchen. She placed her hands on his arm and back, trying not to overthink it. Muscle memory, Aaron's lead. That was all she needed. Then she collided with him.

"Ops," she said, cheeks turning red.

He took her hand and spun her around into a dip, then kissed her lips. When she was standing straight again, her head was spinning.

"Now I need food," she told him in a serious tone.

He gave her a paper plate he had already prepared, and she sat down with him on the island. Walker and Erika had been staring at them, making no effort to hide the fact.

"Can I dance with you, Mommy?" her son asked.

"After," Idina promised, mouth full of pizza.

When the plates were thrown out and counter wiped, there was enough time that Idina taught Walker a few steps. Standing him on a chair, Idina gave him directions while Aaron sometimes offered a correction.

"I want to spin you, Mommy," he said after a few minutes.

She dipped below his arm, twirling, and holding onto his fingers. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Aaron and Erika dancing too. The girl was standing on his nice shoes, as he told her the directions. Left foot back, right foot back, left foot forwards, as they spun in small circles in the kitchen.

"Mom," Walker said, bringing her back.

He held his arms up expectantly. She continued to dance around him, never gladder that she had powered through those god-awful lessons. Maybe, it was okay to let Aaron be the lead sometimes. But only maybe. She looked back at him and Erika. They were both smiling, eyes gleaming. He spun his daughter around, then they fell back into the steps they had been praying.

This was the life she had imagined when she first met Erika. At the time, it had been a consolidation prize of sorts, a child if not a baby. But Erika was not a consolidation prize. Or any prize. She was their daughter, giddy, and theirs. A light in their life and an absolute treasure to Aaron. She could see them now, dancing a homecoming or prom, should Erika one day choose to go. Weddings, perhaps Erika's own. It was all in front of them.