(Sang's Apartment)

~Sang~

A loud knock at my door rouses me from my sleep. Groaning, while rolling out of my bed, I think that whoever this is better have a damn good reason for waking me up, and possibly waking up the twins. I'm rubbing the sleep from my eyes while keeping them closed as I open my front door; the smell of salt water greets me, letting me know that it's Axel who's about to be condemned.

"There better be a damn good reason you're waking me up, Axel," I mumble, still rubbing my eyes.

"Pookie?" I hear a familiar voice say to my left.

My whole body freezes at the nickname I used to respond to.

What the hell is this?

"Axel? Is this some kind of sick joke?" I ask through gritted teeth, eyes still firmly shut.

"It's not a joke, Sang. Open your eyes," I hear him tell me.

"Darling."

"Ten."

"Princess."

Each word was like a vice grip on my heart, just getting tighter and tighter. My breathing becomes shallow and I squeeze my eyes tighter. They're not real, they can't be real.

"Axel, what kind of game are you playing at?" I manage to say through the aching in my chest.

"It's not a game, Sang. Open your eyes," I hear Marc's voice tell me.

"No!" I grit out, trying to get my breathing under control.

"Aggele."

"Peanut."

"Cupcake."

"Axel, this isn't funny! Stop it!." I squeeze my eyes tighter, my hands forming into fists.

"Baby."

"Axel, just stop it now and I won't have Raven beat your ass."

"Shit, Trouble just cursed."

"Axel, make it stop." My breathing becomes more shallow by the second, my heart hammers away in my chest, making sure I feel every beat. My chest feels tight from the lack of oxygen being circulated in my body. I squeeze my eyes even tighter, make my fists tight enough for my nails to draw blood.

Anything to stop this nightmare.

"Brandon, Corey," Axel calls out.

I feel the air shift multiple times, before I smell the twins before me. Brandon smells like motor oil and musk, Corey, like fresh linens and baby powder.

They'll help me through this, they always do.

"Hey sweetie. It's just you, me, and Corey, ok? I need you to breathe for me, Sang. Take a deep breath," I hear Brandon instruct, while Corey uncurls my hands.

I follow his instructions, and take a deep breath in, only to be assaulted by the memories of my past. Irish spring soap, citrus and ginger, sweet spice, moss and berries, leather and cyprus, lavender and lilacs, and faint scents of sugar and vanilla, musk, and the ocean.

"Brandon, no," I whimper out.

"Sweetie you have to breathe," I hear Corey tell me.

"But Corey, I smell them," I say as a tear escapes my clenched eyes. "How can I be dreaming if I smell them?"

"Sweetie, you're not dreaming," he tells me. "I need you to breathe with me, come on."

"I have to be dreaming," I cry out. "They left," I whimper as more tears cascade my my face.

"Sang, sweetie, you gotta breathe."

I feel Brandon's calloused hand cup my cheek, while Corey takes one of my hands and puts it on his chest.

"Follow Corey, Sang. In." I feel Corey's chest expand and try to make mine do the same. "And out." I blow the air through my mouth when I feel Corey's chest retract. "Good, again. In....and out."

We do this a few more times before we get my breathing back to normal. I take a few more deep breaths on my own and can still smell them...my boys...who left me.

"Sang, I need you to open your eyes now, ok?" Brandon says to me.

"No," I grit out, as I feel more tears gather in my eyes.

"Sang, it's ok, we're here," Corey tells me. "We're not gonna let anything happen to you."

"You trust us right?" Brandon asks me. I nod. "Ok, then trust us to know what we're doing. We're here for you, Sang. Nothing's gonna hurt you."

"We're not gonna hurt her," I here North's voice bellow out.

My breath hitches as I remember all the times I'd hear his voice, the tears come faster now.

"Newsflash asshole, you already did," I hear Brandon call out.

"Baby."

My chest gets tight again, my breathing falters.

"Raven, shut him up," I hear Corey tell them.

"Shut it, East, or Axel won't be the only one in the dog pound."

"Dog house, Raven, dog house."

"Same."

The normalcy in Marc's correction, and Raven's answer, is enough to make me laugh, hiccups taking over the tears. I feel Corey's hands swipe at my face, drying my tears away.

"There's our Sang," I hear Brandon say. "Think we can see those pretty green eyes soon?"

I take a deep breath to calm myself and nod my head.

They won't let anything happen to me.

I tilt my head down, and slowly open my eyes. Brandon lifts a finger to my chin, bringing my head up to look at them.

"There's our girl, you ready?"

I take another breath and nod again before Corey and Brandon slowly move to the side. And then I see them, my boys. Owen and Sean are standing in between Marc and Axel, behind them are Nathan, Victor, Kota and Gabriel, and in the back are Raven, North, Silas and Luke. They're all here, I slowly count them over in my head, looking over each of them, they all look the same, as if time stood still for them. There's only one major difference...there's this pain in their eyes, like the kind Brandon use to have. Victor's fire eyes are completely doused out, it pains me to see them this way. I cut my eyes over to Axel and ask the one question that's on my mind.

"Why?"

"They wanted to see you," he responds. "And meet the twins."

"How?"

"There was a bit of a large misunderstanding. Things will need to be discussed in the morning."

I give a slight nod to him as I take a step back and open my door further. Brandon and Corey lead them into the living room.

"I'll go get the twins," I mumble.

"Mom," I hear Cole call out, making me giggle.

"Or they'll get me. Brandon?"

He gives me a nod as we walk down the hallway to the twins room. I hear the front door close behind the last of the boys as Brandon and I reach the twins' room. Taking a deep breath, I open the door and we walk inside.

"Mommy," Cole says from the left side of the room. "Morgan had a bad dream."

"You did?" I ask in a soothing voice, walking over to her bedside.

Her little head nods in the darkness as I sit on the edge of her bed.

"Do you remember what happened?" I ask her.

She shakes her head no before she clings to me in the darkness.

I hate seeing her like this.

It seems that I've passed along more than just my genes to them, I've passed along my penchant for nightmares as well. I have to do my best to make them feel better, even if my own feelings can't take seeing the boys, my twins deserve to know their fathers.

"You know what makes me feel better after a bad dream?" I ask them.

"What?" Cole asks from his seat on his bed beside Brandon.

"Surprises."

"I like surprises," Morgan mumbles into my chest.

"Good, because I have a surprise for you two. There are a few people out in the living room who want to meet you," I tell them. "Would you like that?"

"Are they good people?" Morgan asks.

The vice grip returns to my heart, and I do everything in my power to breathe through it. I have to be strong for them.

"Yes love, they're very good people," I tell her.

"We'll meet them," Cole announces.

"Alright. Let's get up."

I stand from Morgan's bed, with her little body wrapped around me, noting that Brandon does the same with Cole. With Morgan's head buried in my neck, we walk out of their room and down both hallways, into the living room.

When we walk in, I see that the boys are standing around the living room, looking very out of place, while Axel stands by the breakfast bar that serves as a divider between the kitchen and living room. Marc, Raven, and Corey are looking mildly relaxed on the closest couch. Brandon and I stand next to each other with the twins in our arms as they take a look around the room. You can see the moment their eyes light up in recognition as they look at their daddies in person, for the first time.

Morgan is the first to break the silence, when she looks up at me and says, "Mommy, is it really them?"

"Yes my love," I tell her. "They're here just to see you two. You wanna tell them your name?"

"Morgan Elizabeth Sorenson," she says with a smile.

I notice Victor's eyes light up in recognition for his child having his name. His eyes are blazing a full infurno as they glisten with unshed tears.

"What about you, little guy?" Brandon says while repositioning Cole on his hip. "You wanna tell them who you are?"

"Cole Joseph Sorenson," he replies lowly, while looking around the room wearily.

His eyes widen slightly as they land on Gabriel; he's lost his two blonde locks, but his eyes are just as crystal blue as they have ever been. His face breaks into a huge grin as he looks at his son, and I now see a matching one on Cole's face.

"Well, I think it's time we introduced ourselves," Luke says with a grin.

"We know who you are," Cole tells him.

"You do?" Sean asks, surprise coloring his face.

"Mhm," Morgan says while they nod together. "You're daddy Sean," Morgan says while pointing to Sean.

"You're daddy Luke," Cole says while pointing at Luke.

"You're daddy Nate," Morgan continues.

They do this through all 9 of their fathers, going back and forth.

"You're daddy Silas."

"You're daddy North."

"You're daddy Kota."

"You're daddy Owen."

"And you're my daddy," Cole says, pointing to Gabriel.

"And you're my daddy," Morgan finishes while pointing to Victor.

By now, all of the boys have giant smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes.

"You told them about us?" Sean asks through his sniffles.

"Of course she did," Morgan says in a very "duh" tone, causing everyone to laugh.

"Mommy loves you," Cole chimes in.

"And you love her," Morgan finishes.

"Right?" Cole asks, looking a little uncertain for the first time tonight.

"Absolutely right, little man," North tells him, quickly changing my prince's expression.

"Mommy, can we stay up and talk to our daddies?" Morgan asks me.

"Of course you can angel. Not too late ok?"

"Ok." They respond together.

Brandon and I set the twins on their feet, and they rush off to be fawned over by their fathers. I give a sad smile before walking into the kitchen to prepare some hot chocolate. I hear Axel walk in behind me, standing guard over by the opening.

"How are they here, Axel?" I ask while taking the milk and marshmallows out of the fridge.

"We have a situation that can wait until morning to talk about," he responds, moving from his place to bring out the pot and cups.

"Why are they really here, Ax?"

"Sang, please, can't you just enjoy tonight?"

"Without knowing how long they're here for, or why? No Axel. I can't," I tell him, looking him in the eyes. "But I can pretend." I pause as I hear peals of laughter. "For them."  

(Sangs Kitchen)