~Luke~

I had to admit, Sang's idea for North's party was genius. I don't know why Gabe and I didn't think of it ourselves. A bounce house nerf war! Sang ordered enough nerf guns and ammo for all of us, plus inflatable pads that we could put anywhere.

When Gabe and I got back from the hospital yesterday, I immediately started to make North's cake while Gabe not so silently freaked about not knowing what was going to happen. But that all changed when we got a look at what was in the giant boxes shipped to us from Amazon. Victor only lifted his head from his computer and raised his eyebrow in question before going back to looking for Volto on his computer.

It was decided that we'd keep the nerf war to the top floor so that we could keep a better eye on the children. After they went to bed, we locked the staircase door, and restricted the access to the top two floors. There was no way Volto or anyone else was going to get in here and ruin this. Gabe and I enlisted Marc, Brandon, and Nathan to help us cover the hallway and main floor, along with every wall and floor in the apartment opposite Sang with the inflatable mats. That way, the kids could bounce around to each apartment when looking for targets. There'd be extra ammo hidden away in each apartment, so hopefully they never ran out.

It took us hours to set everything up, and now everything is perfect. There's only one thing left to do. Wake up the kids!

Gabe and I grin at each other before bounding out the of the bed in Marc's guest room. We race out of the apartment and bounce along down the hallway to Sang's, muffling our laughter behind our hands. When we get to her apartment door, we bounce in place as Gabe pulls out his phone to call her, putting it on speaker. It rings a few times before she picks up, her voice husky with sleep.

"Hello?"

"We're outside your door," I whisper into the phone.

"Luke? Why are you whispering?" she asks.

"We don't want the kids to hear us," Gabe tells her.

"Guys, it's five in the morning. They're still sleeping. And you should be too."

"But if we're gonna surprise North with breakfast, we need to start now," I plead.

"You know you two are more excited than the twins are about this?"

She doesn't give us a chance to answer as the sounds of her getting out of bed fill the phone. She hangs up, and a few moments later, she's opening the door in a light pink lace robe, her hair piled up in a messy bun, and her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Listen very carefully, because I'm only going to say this once," she starts. "You will wake them up, you will get them dressed, you will leave me to shower and get my life together in peace. If I have to do anything besides supervise breakfast, you two will be very, very sorry. Got it?"

Man, Cupcake sure doesn't like it when we wake her up early.

"Yes ma'am," we squeak.

"Good," she steps back to allow us inside. "They're still in bed. Good luck."

With that, she turns the corner and walks back to her room.

"Man, Trouble sure is mean in the morning," Gabriel grumps.

"Well she does have the twins most of the time. You think she'll finally let them stay over with us?" I ask him.

"I think we've proven ourselves," he nods. "But getting the kids ready without her help would really prove it to her."

"Let's do it," I grin.

With a nod from Gabriel, we lock the door and round the corner. Running water can be heard from Sang's room as we pass, the door is opened a crack. We pass by hers and go straight to the twins room, walking in through the already open door. Like little angels, the two are snug in their beds, turned so that they're facing each other. Gabriel goes over to Morgan, and I walk over to Cole.

"Hey little guy," I say lowly, shaking him slightly. "It's time to get up." He moans as his eyebrows pinch together and he turns over onto his other side. "Cole," I say, shaking him again. "Come on, buddy, it's time to get up." He makes a few unintelligible grumbles before pulling his blanket over his head.

"Man," says Gabe. "These two really don't like to be woken up."

"Morgan won't wake up either?" I ask him.

"Nope, the little munchkin turned over before taking a bite at my hand when I tried to pull down the covers."

"Guess now we know why Sang said 'good luck'."

"How the fudge are we supposed to get them up now?"

We're both quiet for a few moments, thinking over how to get the kids out of bed when a lightbulb goes off in my head.

"I've got it," I say with a snap of my fingers. "They just won't help us make breakfast for North's birthday."

Gabriel's head tilts to the side, and his eyebrows scrunch up before he catches on to what I'm doing. His eyes widen and light up as he gets a big grin on his face.

"You're right. And if they don't help with breakfast, I guess they won't want to help us wake him up."

"Or play all the games we have planned," I include.

"Or eat the awesome cake you made."

"Cake?" the twins voices call out excitedly. "Who's got cake? Where's the cake?"

"Ah, ah, ah," I shake my head at them. "You guys can't have cake until you help us with North's birthday party."

"Will we be able to give Daddy North our presents?" Morgan asks us.

"You got him presents?" Gabe asks.

"Uh huh," Cole nods. "We made em."

"Of course you can give him your presents. But you gotta get out of bed and help us out first." I tell them.

"Ok!"

They jump out of bed, nearly knocking Gabe and I to the ground, and rush over to their closet.

"Can I wear my princess dress, Daddy Luke?" Morgan asks me.

"I want to wear my rangers costume!" Cole calls, digging into the wardrobe.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, buddy," Gabe calls out, grabbing up Cole as I grab Morgan. "We've already got your outfits picked out, but first we've gotta get you guys washed up."

"But I wanna wear my princess dress," Morgan pouts, her lower lip quivering as she looks at Gabe.

Gabe's eyes bug out, much like they used to when Sang gave him that look when we were younger and quickly tries to placate her. "How about this munchkin? You can wear your princess dress for cake and presents. Ok?"

Her whole face changes in a complete 180 as she grins at him and nods enthusiastically, agreeing straight away.

Whew, one crisis over. Now to get them washed up.

After we got the twins washed and changed, we headed into the kitchen where Sang joins us, dressed similarly to the twins. She's wearing a black crew neck t-shirt, with black leggings with black and pink socks, no sneakers. When we start the nerf war, all of the main lights will be out, leaving only the exit signs and the night lights in each apartment to light the way. Which means if you are wearing bright colors, you'll be spotted easily.

We fix a nice healthy breakfast for everyone, filled with pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, and fruit, and then it's time to wake the birthday boy. Carrying the twins out of the apartment is a daunting task filled with a few almost slips, but we manage to make it through the hallway and down the stairs unharmed.

Unlocking the door to Silas and North's apartment, we sneak into North's room and set the twins down. As soon as they're on their feet, they jump up on his bed screaming, "Happy birthday, Daddy North!"

He jolts awake, just managing to catch the kids before they take a tumble over the side of the bed. His eyes widen, then narrow when they land on me.

"Lucian! What the he— What is this?" he asks angrily, moving the twins into a better position on the bed.

"It's your birthday, Daddy North!" Morgan squeals. "We're having a party!"

North's eyes soften as he looks down at Morgan and says, "Magpie, we don't need to have a party for my birthday."

"Don't you wanna celebrate, Daddy North?" Cole asks with a small frown.

As Morgan's eyes start to water, North's eyes widen as he quickly backtracks.

"That's not what I meant, guys. Of course I want to celebrate. I just don't want you to have to go through too much trouble."

"It was no trouble, Daddy North," Morgan smiles. "Mama, Daddy Luke, and Daddy Gabe did all the work."

"Sang Baby?"

"The works already done, North," Sang replies. "All you have to do is show up. Now get dressed and meet us at my place before breakfast gets cold. We still have to wake the others."

After the twins give North a kiss on the cheek, Sang and I pick them up before going out to wake everyone else.