25th of December, 1999
Brooklyn and Janet are 33, Michael is 41

Brooklyn: "Okay, this one is for auntie Janet and the new baby!" Jason exclaimed.

He held a wrapped gift for Janet to take.

She thanked him before ripping it apart.

"Oh, my Gosh! Jase, how did you know?" she beamed at the little pink baby shoes.

Jason shrugged and hugged her.

"Do you like it, baby girl?" my best friend asked her rounded stomach as she placed the shoes on it.

I couldn't believe she was pregnant again. After she swore she would never have another child, I was really surprised when she told me she was pregnant.

"It's not fair!" Katie scoffed. "Why does the baby get all the good presents?"

I chuckled and pulled her to sit on my lap along with Prince.

"I don't like mommy anymore." she stated.

"Why?"

"Because she got my sister inside her and she doesn't give me attention anymore."

I sighed, squeezing her little shoulder.

"Mommy, can I give daddy a pwesent?" Prince whispered in my ear.

"Of course, baby." I smiled.

He hopped down and walked towards Michael, who's attention was paid to Paris.

Our two babies have grown into beautiful children. Every day I saw Chris in my son, and I finally started accepting the fact that Paris looked like me.

Michael and I were changed people. The family life really helped us put our differences aside. And we were focusing on us, finally.

Of course, our problems didn't disappear over night. We had intense therapy together for over six months until we got to the point of happiness again.

We also found a donor for my dad earlier this year. He had a transplant surgery planned for next month.

I looked at Janet and Brandon, with a smile plastered on my face.

Seeing her pregnant made me want another baby. But there was no way I'll be getting pregnant any time soon. I was just starting to lose all the baby fat Paris left me.

"Ugh, make her stop kicking." Janet whined, holding her stomach.

Brandon laughed and rubbed it.

"There are too many girls in this family." I heard Jason whisper to my husband.

"I know, they're everywhere." Michael whispered back.

I took a couch pillow, then threw it at him. It caught him off guard.

"Mommy, that wasn't nice!" Prince said.

"He's right, babe. That wasn't nice."

I rolled my eyes, "I heard your little conversation."

"We just pointed out the truth, auntie Brooke."

Dad burst out in laughter.

"What?" I asked.

"You have the baby face on. Watch out, Michael." he shook his head.

"There are enough babies around here as it is, Brooke." Janet murmured.

"I won't mind another grandson or granddaughter." dad winked.

"Guys," I sighed. "I don't want another baby. Not yet, at least."

I noticed Michael smirking in the corner of my eye.

"Don't dare think about it." I warned.

~

Michael: Brooke got into bed with me after the long day we've had.

"This was probably the best Christmas ever." she said as she got comfortable.

"Mmhm." I agreed.

She cuddled close to me. We lay there quietly for a while.

"So, about before..." I whispered.

"What about before?"

"About the whole baby thing... You want a baby, don't you?"

It was probably just because she's been spending almost every day with Janet, but I had hope that wasn't the only reason.

Prince and Paris were growing up, and it was effecting us both.

"You know me too well, Mike. But I can't get pregnant again. It's too early. Plus, I need to focus on Janet and getting our niece safely into this world." my wife sighed.

I bit my lip, "Maybe we don't have to get pregnant again."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Adoption. I mean, we already have two children of our own. We could save a life."

It's always been my dream to adopt children. But our mutual dream to have our own children got in the way.

But now that we have Prince and Paris, I can achieve that dream, too.

"Won't that take time, though?" Brooke frowned.

"Of course it will, but we have patience. Right?" I said.

"I guess."

I nudged her ribs, making her let out a shriek.

"Stop it." she giggled.

"Make me." I teased, and kept on tickling her.

It came to a point where she was begging me to stop. I was in between her legs, ready to charge at her again.

"Please..." my wife begged while breathing heavily.

I smirked. "Give me a kiss."

She pecked my lips lightly.

"There, now can you get off?" she groaned.

"Depends. Can I get another kiss?"

She kissed me again, a bit longer this time.

"Mm, just the way I like it." I mumbled against her lips.

I held her close, tugging at her shirt.

"I don't think Santa will come next year." Brooklyn said as she tried to push my hand away.

I rolled my eyes and went in for another kiss.

She was starting to ease into it. Her fingers traveled down to my pants, but she stopped when Prince called for her.

"Mommy!" he shrieked again.

"I'm coming, Prince!" I told him.

"No, I want mommy!"

I rolled off of Brooke, letting her get out of bed.

"I expect you to be naked when I come back." she winked before closing the door shut.

~

Janet: "Do you hear that?" Brandon laughed quietly. "I can't believe they're having sex while their son is in the room next to them."

"I won't even comment." I muttered.

I squirmed around in his arms, trying to get as comfortable as I possibly could.

I totally understood why Brooke was complaining when she was pregnant with Paris. I felt like I will never lose all this baby fat.

When I finally found a good position, I nested my face in Brandon's chest and started drifting off.

But, of course, all good things must end. A knock on the door interrupted my attempt to fall asleep.

Kate peeked her head inside, "Daddy, I can't sleep. Auntie Brooke and Uncle Mike are too loud."

Oh, my God. I will personally kill them in the morning.

"Can I sleep with you guys?"

"Of course, baby girl." Brandon smiled.

He let go of me and made room for her right in the middle of the bed.

The movement made the baby inside me kick.

"Katie," I said, lifting up my shirt. "Do you wanna feel your sister kick?"

"No." she shook her head.

"Why not?" I asked.

"I don't like her." my daughter answered and looked down at her hands.

"But she's your baby sister, Katie." my husband told her.

She shrugged, then covered herself up with the blanket, hiding from us.

"Kate Jo Knight, come back up." I said, trying to pull the blanket off her face.

Her piercing eyes were uncovered.

"Do you still love me?" she whispered.

"What kind of question is that, Kate?" Brandon looked appalled.

"Everyone's giving attention to this new baby. Especially you guys. You don't even say 'goodnight' to me anymore, mommy."

"Your mommy's just tired, baby."

My daughter scoffed. "But that's no excuse! If the baby gets to sleep with her and hear her say goodnight, I should, too! She was my mommy first!"

She hid herself in the blanket again.

I looked up at Brandon who had a smile on his face.

"Talk to her." he mouthed.

"Katie..." I said softly. "Baby? We still love you. I promise I'll try saying goodnight more often."

"But you love this baby more." Kate hid herself deeper inside the blanket.

"You'll always be my baby. I love you very much. More than anything in this world." I told her.

"Even more than daddy?"

"Even more than daddy." I chuckled.

She attacked me in a giant hug, putting her head on my bump.

"Mommy, she's kicking really hard! Does it hurt?" she looked at me.

"A bit." I admitted.

She then put her lips on my skin. "Stop hurting mommy."

I sighed happily.

~

4th of January, 2000
Brooklyn is 34, Michael is 41

Brooklyn: I bounced my leg nervously.

"Babe, stop it. You're stressing me out." Michael said, putting his large hand on my thigh.

"What if she doesn't like us, and then we won't-" I started saying, but he cut me off.

"She will. Now, please, enough with the worries."

We were at an adoption agency, hoping to look at some potential children.

A couple came out of the room we were waiting to go into, happy tears filling their eyes.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, you can go in now." the receptionist said.

Michael grabbed my hand and we stepped inside with Brandon following.

A woman with big glasses was sitting behind a table, filling out some papers.

"Please, sit." she cleared her throat.

More nerves started building up inside me again.

A couple of minutes later she finished with her papers, then looked up at us.

"Yes, how may I- Oh, wow, what a surprise!"

The lady came out of her shock. "I'm sorry for being so rude. My name is Margaret, and I am one of the social workers here."

"I'm Michael." my husband smiled, stretching out his hand.

Margaret shook it.

"It's a pleasure. And you must be Brooklyn."

I nodded.

"So are you planning to adopt?" she asked.

"Yes. Very much so." Michael told her.

"Alright," Margaret turned to the folders behind her. "Do you have any age references?"

"We want a baby." I said.

"Of course you do."

She opened the folder, and showed us a picture of a beautiful black woman. She looked really young.

"Well, you just got lucky. This is a young woman from Kenya who's about to give birth. She had decided to give him up, but she has conditions."

We went over the list Margaret gave us. Thankfully, we were able to provide all of the things the mother listed.

"Now, I know you have two children, but it is mandatory that we send an inspector to your house and see that it is child safe. It might take a while, obviously. We have assure the mother that her child will be in good hands, and that we found a potential home. And considering that she hasn't given birth yet, it might take longer."

I sighed deeply.

Michael cleared his throat, "Can we meet the mother before the adoption?"

"She informed that she doesn't want any contact with the adopting parents." Margaret explained.

He looked disappointed, but quickly shook it off.

"Well, I believe we're good for now," she broke the little silence. "I'll give you a call to let you know when the inspector is coming."

"Thank you so much!" I beamed, stopping myself from getting up and hugging her.

Michael let out a small laugh and clutched my hand tighter.

~

"Mommy, look at what I did for you!" Prince squealed, and showed me a picture he drew.

"You drew this yourself?" I smiled.

The drawing was a little too complicated for a 3-year-old.

"Daddy helped me a bit." he mumbled.

I kissed his forehead, "I still love it. Thank you, baby boy."

"You're welcome, mommy. Happy birthday."

"Babe!" Michael called from downstairs. "You ready? We need to go!"

"Yeah, we'll be there in a sec!" I said.

"Where awe you and daddy going?" my son asked.

"To dinner. Grown ups only, honey." I answered.

"That's not fair!"

"You'll stay with Louise, and we're coming back tomorrow morning . I promise. Now come say goodbye to daddy."

He nodded.

Really, Michael planned a night for us. It's been a while since we were able to just the two of us, alone. With the kids and everything around, I was really happy to do this.

And maybe it could get my mind off the adoption. I can't lie, I was nervous about what the mother would think when she hears it's Michael and I who want to adopt her baby.

"Bye, daddy!" Prince exclaimed when we met Michael downstairs.

"Bye, Prince," my husband said, hugging him. "Be a good boy. We'll be here tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you more, daddy!"

~

Michael: "Happy birthday, babe." I smiled as Brooke and I clinked glasses.

"Thank you, Mike." she kissed my cheek before taking a sip from her champagne.

"I have a little surprise for you." I declared, taking out a little envelope from my pocket.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Open it."

I watched her rip open the envelope, then take out the folded paper.

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, I am delighted to know that you might be the parents of my baby boy. You are truly two amazing people - I couldn't have been happier to hear that my son would be getting the good life he deserves, that I can not give him. Thank you so much!
Much love, Anaya."

"Anaya? Is- is she the mother of the baby we want to adopt?" my wife gasped.

"Yup. I pulled a few strings and talked over the phone with her. She's a very lovely woman. I received this just before we left the house." I said.

I knew how much it meant to her to know the mother of the baby we were planning to adopt. She claimed she couldn't just take a child without knowing the woman who gave birth to him.

She attacked me in a hug, almost tipping both of us from the chair.

"You are the best!" she laughed happily. "Wait, didn't Margaret say that she didn't want any contact?"

"Anaya told me it was only because she's scared she might feel regretful after giving him away."

"Oh."

Brooke's face fell all of a sudden.

"You didn't let me finish. She is more than excited to know it's us who adopt him. She even told me we can name him however we like."

"I definitely have a name." she smiled.

"Tell me." I bit my lip, wrapping my arms around her waist.

"Kamron."

"That's a great name. I love it."

She kissed me lovingly. The kiss started to get a bit too hot. Thankfully, our waiter cleared his throat, telling us the food was here.

~

Brooklyn giggled when I placed my lips all over her neck and chest.

"I thought that tickle war we had at Christmas was enough." she said, playing with my hair.

"But I love hearing you laugh, baby..." I whispered to her skin.

"I'm tired," I heard her yawn. "Oh, my God, it's almost 3 AM, Mike! We should get some sleep, we promised Prince we'll be there."

"Brooke, this night is for us to enjoy, together, alone. You know I miss the kids, too, but right now I just want us to talk, or watch a movie, or take a sexy bath together..."

"Alright. But no more sex. You wore me out."

I chuckled lowly and kissed her tenderly.

"Wouldn't it be funny if we find out you're pregnant in a month?" I questioned.

"I won't be." she rolled her eyes, cuddling her naked self close to me.

"Who knows..." I mumbled.

"Oh, shush." Brooke hit my chest lightly.

She took the remote and chose a movie for us to watch.

As the movie went on, I drew circles on her lower back, and started feeling a bit sleepy myself.

"Mike," my wife whispered. "I think it's sexy bath time."

"Really?"

She got up, showing her beautiful curvy body. "Yeah, let's go."

"Maybe just one more round?" I pouted.

"You said you want a sexy bath, now come before I change my mind."

I hurried to dash out of bed. I followed her quickly, scooping her in my arms and carrying her to the bathroom.

~

I really am sorry for not updating as frequently as I used to! Senior year is tough!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please, tell me your thoughts!

~ShoamEmily