"Daddy! Can you tell us a story?"

Stephanie cocked her head to the side, flashing Ty her toothy grin, revealing the gap of one of her front teeth missing.

"I'm too old for stories." Tessie commented, cockily. She was running a hand through her thick, long brown hair, her eyes flickering back and forth between Ty and her younger sister.

"Too old for stories, eh?" Ty said, cocking an eyebrow at our twelve year old daughter. She nodded, setting her phone down and smiling at him.

"Yeah, Dad. All the stories you tell are so unrealistic." She responded. I saw Ty flinch a little at the words, his eyes falling on the floor for a moment. I was about to walk over and comfort him, but Stephanie launched herself into his arms before I could, giggling.

"I love your stories, Daddy! Tessie just doesn't understand because she a big kid." I saw Tessie roll her eyes at the six year old's comment, a smile still playing on her lips.

"Mom? Are you gonna come sit with us?" Tessie asked, scooting over so I could sit on the bed beside her. I nodded, shifting Stephen in my arms, careful not to wake him.

"Mommy!" Steph squeaked, climbing back on to the bed and curling up beside me, staring at Ty.

"You woke up Stephen!" Tessie snapped at her younger sister. I saw Steph recoil a little bit, her big blue eyes glistening with tears.

"I'm sorry." I reached over and ran my hand through her hair, caressing her cheek.

"Tess, apologize for snapping." Ty looked at her, anger flickering in his eyes.

"No." She shrugged, "I didn't do anything wrong, Dad. She woke him up, and Mom just got him to sleep again. And then the baby is going to scream and-"

"You're a big meanie, Tessie." Steph said, burying her face against my side. I opened my mouth to say something, but Tessie had already whirled around to glare at the little girl.

"Yeah? Well, you're a loud mouthed, whiny brat that took my Dad." Tessie stalked out of the room before Ty or I could say anything. I stared after her for a moment, feeling Steph starting to cry beside me.

"Maybe I should go-" Ty started.

"No. I'll go talk to her. Try to get Stephen to sleep and make sure Stephanie stops crying." I left the kids on the bed, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Ty had moved on to the bed to sit in between our six and four year old, both of them throwing themselves on to his lap and giggling.

I walked down the hall until I reached Tessie's bedroom, knocking gently.

"Tess, honey, can I come in?" There was no response.

"Theresa, I know that you're in there. Let me in so we can talk." There was a sound of the door clicking before the door swung open and revealed Tessie face down on her bed.

"I'm sorry." She whimpered, immediately hugging me, her face buried against my shoulder, "I didn't mean it, and I don't know why I said it. She. . . . I'm sorry, Mom." I brushed her hair out of her eyes, smiling sadly down at her.

"It's okay, baby girl. I understand." She shook her head.

"She didn't deserve that and. . . . why did I even say it?" I watched as she moved back, burying her face in her hands, her brown hair shielding her face from me completely.

"She did steal Daddy away, you know." She whispered, "I don't feel bad for saying it. He was my dad first, he treated me the way he treats her. But when she came along, I wasn't anything anymore. He made me do everything for Steph, play with her, do her hair, help her get dressed. But he never did anything with me, his first daughter." I felt my heart clench a little and touched her shoulder gently, my eyes on the pink comforter beneath us.

"He loves you, Tessie. He-"

"And it's going to be the same with the new baby, you know?" She made a gesture toward my stomach, "He'll be so happy with his new little girl that he'll forget about Steph and me." I shook my head, taking her face in my hands and forcing her to look at me.

"Tess, sweetheart. Your father loves you both. Right now he's spending more time with Stephanie because she needs him more. You're a big girl now, a gorgeous young woman. Steph is still trying to figure everything out, she's still a baby. The reason it may seem like your father is favoring her is because she's in desperate need of her Daddy, just like you were at that age." Tears began to escape Tessie's eyes and fall on to my thumbs, her lips trembling.

"I don't want to grow up, Mommy." She sniffled, calling me that for the first time in years.

"No one ever wants to grow up, Tess." I felt my throat starting to close, "Just know that some people don't have the privilege of living past a certain age, people that did want to grow old. Don't take it for granted." She nodded, burying her face against me again, her hand resting on my stomach as she stared across the room with a blank expression.

"Why is it so different with you, Mom? Why can you act like you love all of us the same?" I kissed the top of her head, laughing.

"I do love you all the same, Tessie. You guys are my world, my life. Your father does too, and if you feel that it's not that way, then I want you to talk to him. He needs to know you're feeling like this." She looked away again, clenching my shirt in her hand.

"Do you think Steph will forgive me?" She asked. I nodded before I knew what I was doing.

"Yeah, sweetie. Sometimes sisters say things they don't mean. But the best part of that is that you forgive each other afterward. No matter what, they're the ones that are always there for you."

I sat there for a while, until I heard Tessie's breathing grow heavier. I gently laid her down, pulling her blanket over her body and kissing her forehead.

"Goodnight, Princess." I brushed my hand along her cheek, "I'll see you in the morning." She stirred a little, but didn't wake. I hit the light on my way out and slowly shut the door, making my way back down the hall. I stopped in the kids' doorway, smiling to myself when I found them both asleep on Ty, his own eyes shut as he held them both.

"A little help, Mrs. Wells?" He croaked, a hint of a smile on his face. I walked over and picked up Stephen, heading across the room to his bed and setting him down. Ty tucked Stephanie in before doing the same with Stephen and following me out, leaving their door open a crack. I was surprised when we made our way back to our room and I found the bassinet set up in the corner of the room.

"I did this when you were at work." He explained, "I figured since we did this with Steph and Steve, that we'd do it with our new little angel too." He took my stomach in both hands before leaning forward to kiss me.

"Is she okay? Tessie?" He whispered, his lips still brushing against mine. I shut my eyes and leaned against him, inhaling his familiar scent.

"She's okay, Ty. I think you should sit and talk to her tomorrow though, she's got a lot going on in her head and I think the best way to figure it out would be to talk to you." He sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"I've been preparing myself for her teenage years for a while, yet no amount of preparation seems to help much." I smiled a little, wrapping my arms around him.

"Maybe you should just let things happen then, baby. Let her do this on her own, we can just help her out along the way. If she needs us, she knows we're here for her." He nodded.

"I guess. . . I guess you're right. I just can't believe my baby's twelve, Ally. My little Tessie." I felt a sudden jolt in my stomach and jumped back, earning a laugh out of Ty.

"I think the baby kicked." He said, still laughing, "I thought you'd be used to this, after how much Stephen kicked. These babies want out, Al." I started laugh a little myself as I felt her kick again, my eyes darting back toward Ty.

"He wants to see her amazing Daddy." He stepped toward me again, "And her beautiful Mommy."

We moved back to the bed, Ty keeping his hand on my stomach as our baby kicked up a storm inside me, earning laughs out of the both of us as we laid in the dark room.

"Mama?" Stephen's voice echoed through our quiet room, his shadow reflecting in the doorway.

"Yeah, bud?" I replied, groaning as I sat up. He moved closer, Stephanie following closely behind.

"We had bad dreams." She went on, hopping up on to the bed with her stuffed bear, her big eyes filled with tears. I heard Ty sigh beside me as he started to scoot over, making enough room for the kids to sleep between us. Just as I had finished helping Stephen on to the bed, Tessie stepped into the room, her eyes meeting Ty's.

"Is there enough room for one more?" She whispered.

"Of course, baby girl." Ty said, patting the bed beside him. I grinned as she crawled into the bed beside him, burying her face against his chest and laughing at whatever he whispered in her ear.

I felt Steph bury herself against me, patting my stomach a few times and whispering something that I couldn't quite hear to it.

"I love you, Mommy." She poked her head back up, a grin stretching across her face. I brushed her hair from her face and kissed her cheek, returning the smile.

"I love you too, Steph. I love you too." 

***AN***

Hope you guys enjoyed! 

Let me know what you thought!

~ChasingMadness24