2 month anni (:

On the 4th of September, I woke up a little early.  Hallie had been pretty good yesterday, which was amazing.  Alexis was FINALLY starting to slowwwwly warm up to us, although she'd just told us, upon asking, that she wanted to think for a few days about being adopted by us.  Things were looking up! (: 
I woke up on my side.  I smiled and turned my head to look at Flynn...what I saw was his feet. 
His...feet?  Okay...
I sat up quickly and saw I must've thrashed around in my sleep last night enough to have flipped myself to the other end of the bench. 
I looked at Flynn's sleeping face, and a weird feeling washed over me.  I felt like I needed to be close to him, for whatever reason.  Velcro Rapunzel, maybe, as he'd call it?  I dunno.  But regardless, I laid down on my side behind Flynn and carefully set an arm around him, breathing in the smell of his shirt.  I did this for a few minutes, but then he woke up.  I felt his hand on my arm, and then he turned to give me a smile. 
"Well, good morning, darling." He gave me a smile.  "What's up with you?" 
I shrugged and sat up, shoving the hair from my face so I could look at him.  I drew my knees to my chest and shrugged again, a little embarrassed to explain that I felt, basically, clingy today.
"I-I dunno.  It's stupid...but I feel...needy today, I guess.  I feel like I need to be close to you or something, I don't know.  It's dumb...Just - never mind." 
His face slowly created another smile as he sat up too.  "That's fine.  I get that way sometimes, too.  And it's not that hard to fix!" 
I quirked a brow, until he leaned forward and pulled me close into a warm, loving hug that made my spine feel tingly. 
I put my arms around him too, and unfurled my legs until I could lean a little closer into him.  We just sat there for a few moments, and I enjoyed his strong embrace.  But all good things must come to an end, and he slowly pulled away, bumping his forehead with mine and laying down on his back.  I flopped down on my side beside him, and he pulled me super snug and tight into his side.  I put one of my hands on his chest and propped my chin on his chest as well, staring into his brown eyes. 
My hubby, bless his heart, tolerated my oddness.  He gave me a smile and then he pulled me close into a kiss that made my head spin. 
When that was over, I gave him a wide-eyed look, to which he rubbed his thumb on my cheek. 
"I-ah....w-well..." I mumbled, trying to regroup my thoughts.  "Love you."  I finally spit out. 
He gave a quiet laugh.  "Love you too, honey." 
I grinned and shut my eyes, leaving my head on his chest.  Until a thought occured to me.
Hallie was silent. 
Hallie.  Was silent. 
I quickly pulled away from his arms and propped myself up on my elbow to look at him.  "Did you get up any with Hallie last night?" 
He shook his head.  "I slept like a rock.  Did you?"
"No..."
He got a mildly concerned expression on his face, and my feelings inside matched it.
I sat up, turned to face the other direction, and flung myself onto my side, leaning out to look at the babies, who always slept near the bench anymore. 
I leaned really far, and my arm was shaking, so I could likely faceplant hard any second, but I still made sure Hallie was sleeping safe and sound. 
She was.  Her tiny little chest rose and fell rhythmically.  She had just slept through the night, which was a surprise anymore. 
Then, I felt an arm snake out around my waist. 
"Hey, you're gonna smack your face off that dresser pretty soon here...you keep bobbing around."  He pulled me into his front, and held me close.  "Hallie's okay?" 
"She must have just slept the night..she seems fine.  I don't want to wake her up to check on her." 
"Okay."  His shoulders must've drooped an inch in relief, because I felt his arm grow heavier all of a sudden.  He planted a kiss on my cheek and I snuggled a bit closer, curling up into a ball. 
I was allowing my eyes to drift back shut when I heard tiny footsteps. 
Alexis appeared just outside of the bench. 
I jumped all over and quickly pulled away from Flynn, my face blazing red.  I don't know why I was embarrassed, but I was. 
"Hey, honey...why're you up so early?" 
"I wanted to talk."  She looked down, but then she tipped her chin up and stared at me.
"Okay," I resituated myself to sit up against the bench leg, and she came over.  I pulled her onto my lap and gave her a kiss on the forehead.  "What's your topic?"
"I...I want to stay with you guys.  Last night, I decided that you guys were the best family I've ever had, and you've stuck it out with me the longest.  And I like you." 
I smiled at her, feeling as if the weight of the world had gone off of my shoulders...about that topic, anyway.  "Oh, honey...I'm so glad you feel that way.  You know we both love you very much, right?  We'll let Tangled Fan know as soon as we can!" 
"Okay."  Her lips hinted at a small smile,  which I had honestly seen hardly anything close come from her. 
She rested her head up against me and I cuddled her close, turning to give Flynn an astonished smile.  He grinned, and he looked like he wanted to join in and create a group hug, but didn't; knowing she'd not take too kindly to that situation. 

But then she did something even more surprising.  "I love you...Momma."
First time she'd said that.  First time she'd called me her mother.  I was soaring. 
"Love you too, baby girl."  I gave her another extra-tight cuddle, but then she wormed away from me. 
Had I overdone it? 
Nope.  The girl was full of surprises. 
She took a deep breath and walked the few steps over to Flynn, standing to say it.  "And I love you, Dad." 
His face lit into the most adorable, surprised, and loving smile known to mankind.  He said he loved her too, and then, I think almost by accident, he pulled her into a bear hug. 
When he reluctantly let her go, I watched her face.  Flynn did the same thing. 
She looked up at him and gave him a smile. 
An honest to goodness smile. 
"I'm going back to bed."  she said, givng her eyes a rub. 
"Okay, sweetie." 
When she'd left, Flynn slowly turned towards me, wide-eyed.  I matched his expression and grabbed his hand. 
"I think the wall she's built around herself is finally falling, brick by small bri-"
He grabbed me into an excited hug before I could even finish my sentence.  When he released me, I laughed. 
"Excited just a  bit?" 
"I'm just so....so glad she's finally beginning to realize we won't hurt her...that poor child."
"I know...I'm really happy too.  I've been waiting so long for this to happen-"
"Two weeks.."
"Two and a half." 
"Fine, two and a half."
"But anyway...two and a half weeks for her to warm up just the slightest bit...and now it's happening!"  I squeaked at the last one, and he grinned. 
"Yup," he stared lovingly at me and I squirmed.
"I suppose we should get up..."
"Rapunzel.  Alexis just went back to bed because it was too early for even THEM!  Lay back and chill for awhile.  Enjoy that peace and quiet." 
I chuckled, nodding, and flopped backwards. 
He laid down as well, turned on his side to look at me, so I turned to face him. 
"You ready for a day out?" 
It took a second to register that today was our 2-month anniversary.  I will admit that.  xD  When it clicked in my mind, I nodded with a grin.  "Happy 2-month anni, honey."
He gave me a big smile, stroking my hair.  "Happy anniversary to you too, my precious girl."
My stomach fluttered in an explosion of butterflies, and I impulsively grabbed him into a kiss.  He reached over and pulled me close to him, and the kiss intensified before I finally pulled away.  When I did, he gave me a peck on the nose and a smile, but he didn't loosen his arm around me.
"So, you like being called 'my precious girl'?"  He joked, and I giggled quietly.   
I wormed away from him and rolled onto my back, staring up at the underside of the bench.  I randomly thought about how badly I wished I could dress up a bit for him for our anniversary outings - or even simply change my dress! 
"Hey," he said quietly, reaching to push the hair from my face.  "What's the matter?  All of a sudden, you just..."
"Oh, it's nothing."  I knew he'd give me the same old lecture if I told him. 
"Honey, in my experience, when you say something's nothing, it's usually something.  I won't laugh or anything, you know that." 
"I just wish I could dress up a bit for you once in awhile...I mean, you're always making up these great outings, a-and what have I done to thank you or return the favor?  Nothing.  And it's just...ugh.  See, I told you it was stupid."  I didn't meet his eyes during all of this until I was done. 
"Baby, I don't care what you look like.  You should know that by now.  You don't have to dress up or anything.  And you have returned the favor, time and time again.  First of all, you've stuck with me for the past two months, and sure we kind of got off on a rocky, hundred-mile-an-hour ride from being engaged to married with four foster kids in less than a week.  You've loved me when I don't deserve it - such as on Monday - and you're just there; and you've got a heart of gold.  That, precious girl, is what counts."  His eyebrows furrowed as he studied my face.  I was almost in tears over that one. 
"I-I...." my voice cracked, and I wasn't sure what to say anyway.  My lips blubbed uselessly as I tried to make words come out.  Until he leaned over and gave me a sweet, passionate kiss.  I closed my eyes and enjoyed every second until he slowly pulled away and smiled at me.  I was more than just slightly dazzled, and I stared silently at him until I could think up something to say. 
"O-oh, gosh...now I've really forgotten what I wanted to say," I joked, and he chuckled. 
"Good.  Just don't forget what I told you," he gave me that grin of his, and my heart fluttered.  But then that grin turned into his mischievous grin. 
And then he reached to tickle my side.  
With a slightly louder-than-expected gasp, I elbowed him until he removed his tickling fingers. 
"You're a brat," I laughed quietly, turning to my side away from him as if I was mad at him. 
"Oh, but you wouldn't love me any other way, would you?" 
"Hmph."  I tried to sound mad, but it failed....bigly.  He laughed through his nose and pulled me close to him, kissing my hair and wrapping his arm around my waist.
And then I heard Hallie whimper.
Flynn, who had been pulling me a tad closer, froze.  I held my breath.
And then she was quiet again.
I loosed my breath and shot a fist in the air.  "Yes!"  I exclaimed quietly, and then Flynn flat-out laughed. "Shh!"  I exclaimed, sitting to clap a hand over his mouth.
 Merida ducked her head under the bench.  "What is all the laughin' about?!  Or do I even want to know?" 
I turned to look at her, still keeping my hand pressed over his mouth.  If I left him speak now, I'd regret it.  "I, um..well, see, I was listening for Hallie to cry, because I heard her whimper, and when she quieted down again, I shot my fist in the air and was like, 'YES!'..and he found that highly amusing for whatever reason.  We didn't wake you, did we?" 
"Naw, I was up anyhow.  I was just wonderin' what all the laughin' was over."  She quirked a brow when Flynn tried to speak through my hand. 
I left him mumble for a few seconds, but then I felt my hand get wet.  He licked my hand.  He legit licked the palm of my hand. 
"Oh my gosh, you are sick!  I can't-ugh!"  I squealed, yanking my hand off of his mouth and shoving his chest hard enough to knock him backwards, before I wiped my hand off on his shirt.  "I can't believe you." 
Merida was chortling, giving me a gleeful grin.  Flynn was laughing. 
"I can't believe the both of you!"  I grumped, trying to sound disgusted - I didn't have to try too hard - and wiped my hand a couple more times and shook my head. 
"What I was trying to...say...whilst I was so r-rudely...restrained...is that I was wondering if you, Merida...Merida!  If you would watch the kids while we have a day out.  It's our two-month anniversary."  He said between gales of laughter and attempts to get Merida to pay attention. 
Merida allowed her chuckles to subside before she answered.  "Sure...I can watch 'em."
"Not sure I want to go with you today, you sick creature," I grumbled, looking at my hand. 
"Oh, come on..." he laughed, sitting up and grabbing me into a one-armed hug before I could move away from him. 
"That was pretty disgusting there, pal...but it was hilarious."  Merida said, still grinning.
"Says you, she who does not have a wet hand," I laughed. 
She left, and Flynn turned to me. 
"Sorry."  He told me, but I could see that dirty little grin he had on his face.
"No way are you sorry, I see the smirk on your fa-"
He broke me off.  "Okay...it was pretty funny.  Now...since she's up, do you want to just get up and get moving?"
"Sure," I said, pulling away from his arm and crawling out from under the bench. 
I rummaged around, found the ribbons and flowers that Tangled Fan had used in my hair once, got my brush, and got to work.  I might not have any other dresses to wear, but I have a lot of hair, and I could dress that hair up like it was in the movie, when Rapunzel gets to see the kingdom.  Annnd so I did! 
When I was done, Flynn was waiting for me. 
He gave me a huge grin, we said goodbye to the girls, and then we were off. 

When we had made our way to the floor, Flynn stepped away from me. 
"Give me a twirl," he smiled and gestured. 
"Why?"  I furrowed my brows. 
"Because," he chuckled, and I rolled my eyes, but I did give a twirl. 
That failed hugely. 
Remember how I always say I'm not graceful?   Un-graceful people should NOT EVER twirl.  Ever. 
I twirled, and I twisted my back the wrong way.  But then, on top of that, I got one leg tangled around the other.  I stumbled into Flynn, who was standing right by me, and then he staggered backwards. I kept going, and I tried to catch myself, but I couldn't.  Tangled Fan's floor was actually clean of clutter, so there was nothing I could grab onto.  Except for Flynn, and he was stumbling as bad as I was by now!
So finally, I went down right on top of Flynn with an oof and a thump. 
I caught myself before I smacked my head off of his, luckily. 
He gave me a surprised and slightly stunned expression, and I probably matched it. 
"A-are you alright?"  I finally managed. 
He chuckled, staring at me. "Yep...you?" 
"Well, yeah...I mean, I landed on something slightly softer than the hard floor...and you didn't," I laughed. 
"Remind me to not ask you to twirl.  Ever.  But what I wanted to say is that you are gorgeous, and I love your hair that way."  He gave me a warm smile, and cupped my cheek in his hand.
"Oh...well, um...thanks," I realized I was still on top of him, and I sat abruptly. 
He sat up too, and I realized I was still across his legs.  I scrambled awkwardly in an attempt to get up, but he took my hand in his - with such gentleness that I was surprised; he wasn't just keeping ahold of me so I couldn't go - and I stopped to look at him a few seconds before I slowly stood, squeezing his hand and not letting go of it.  He stood as well, and then swept me up close to him and into a tender kiss. 
When he pulled away, he bumped his forehead with mine and I stared up at his brown eyes, which were giving me a loving gaze.  I grinned as the butterflies started up, and kissed his cheek.  He tried to conceal the pleased grin, but it came anyway, and he pulled me a bit closer for a hug.  When we pulled apart, he took my hand in his again and gave me a sweet smile. 
"So...what're we planning on doing?"
"Well...you know how awhile back, when Jase rode Maximus, how you wanted to as well?  It slipped my mind until the other day...so why don't we go ride?" 
I gasped.  He was actually going to do this?  Awesome!  "Really?" 
He chuckled, nodding.  I squeaked with excitement and grabbed him into a quick, excited hug, before I left him lead me to where Maximus was at. 
"Let me ride him first, so he won't buck you off or anything," Flynn told me when I raced over to him excitedly. 
"Oh, he's fine...he was as sweet as pie with Jase," I told him.  "That was just a one-time thing, I think." 
"I just-" 
Maximus nuzzled my hand with his plastic nose, and I giggled.  "He'll be fine, Flynn...if I fall, you can say 'I told you so'." 
Flynn gave me an uncomfortable glance, but he finally sighed and nodded.  "Alright...but just don't get hurt, okay hon?" 
"Okay," I laughed, and Flynn gave me a boost up into the saddle. 

When I was situated, he let go of the reins reluctantly and rested a hand on my leg.  "You sure?"
"Positive," I grinned as I clucked Maximus on. 
He was perfect.  I walked, trotted, and cantered him.  He was acting absolutely perfect, until we went near the guinea pig cage on the floor. 
The guinea pigs in the cage both ran over to the cage side and started squeaking.  Max shied before loosing a round of violent bucks.  I gasped and clung to his mane, wrapping my legs around his barrel.
Mistake. 
He squealed, pinning his ears, and crowhopped in disapproval.  I glanced up just in time to see him almost ram into a bin, and he swerved.  I wasn't ready for it, and I flew off, landing right on my back. 
It knocked the breath out of me and I couldn't even get myself to move.
Flynn was at my side in a moment.  "Are you alright?"  He frantically studied my face. 
Well, it's kind of hard to speak when the breath's been knocked right out of you.  Finally, I managed to squeak.  "Y-yeah, I'm alright.  Just"-I coughed, and cleared my throat before continuing -"Just a bit stunned, and need to catch my breath." 
"I knew I should've gone on him first, or led you, or something...oh gosh,  I just need to listen to my gut instinct...you end up getting-"
"Flynn.  It's fine.  I'm fine" - we'll not mention my aching back quite yet - "Don't beat yourself up about it.  If anything, it's the guinea pigs' faults," I joked. 
"I know, but-"
I stuck my hand out.  "Help me up, please?" 
"Oh.  Sure."  He helped me up, and I gave him a smile. 
"Thanks.  See?  I'm walking, talking, breathing...I am fine."
"What about your back?  You landed hard on it." 
Crumbs.  I couldn't lie..."It does hurt, I'll be honest.  But I'm fine." 
"Let's go back-"
"Flynn, I am-"
He started to pick me up. 
"FLYNN!"  I yelped.  "Put.  Me.  Down.  Now!  And no, we're NOT going back home.  I'm fine.  If I feel like I need a break, I'll let you know.  Okay?  Quit obsessing, please." 
He stared down at me, and got a calculating expression on his face. 
Finally, he nodded and set me down. 
"Fine...but you're positive?" 
"I am positive, dear." 
"Okay."  He trailed his hand down my arm tenderly, and then he grasped my hand, pulling it up to kiss it. 
"I don't think you should ride him, though..." I joked.  "Sorry."
"Oh, I wasn't planning on riding anyhow.  I just wanted to before you, to try and work the sillies out of him.  I still don't trust that creature," he said, staring at me. 
"What?"  I asked, referring to his stare. 
He didn't answer me, he just simply took a stride towards me and pulled me close. 
I could hear his heart pounding, he was holding me so close. 
"W-wh..." I trailed off, and he tightened his arms around me. 
Well...either he'd answer me, or I'd eventually stop breathing from his tight grip.  Whichever came first?  I wasn't sure.

His heartbeat eventually slowed, and only then did he allow me to pull away.  He put his hands on my shoulders and swallowed.  "It just scared me, is all."
"Everything scares you," I chuckled, but I could see in his face that he had indeed been terrified. 
"Everything that includes you or the girls," he corrected. 
I nodded, silently scolding myself for chuckling at his obvious concern.  "Sorry."  I gave him a small, sheepish smile and glanced around, trying to think of something to get his mind off of me falling. 
"Why don't we sit up on the window?"  I suggested, nodding towards the window. 
He wet his lips and nodded, letting go of me.  I took his hand and led the way to the window, thankful for a distraction. 
We hopped up onto the windowsill and I sat down in the one corner, trying to very discreetly rub at my back. 
He saw me, though. 
He quirked a brow, but he sat and didn't say anything. 
Phew. 
Dodged a bullet on that one. 

We sat and watched the outdoors for a good long while.  We just sat in silence and enjoyed one another's presence, which was nice. 
After a good while, though, Flynn got restless.  He stood, and asked how my back was. 
It was pretty sore, but I was fine.  I told him so, and he didn't look very relieved. 
We left the windowsill, and walked around for awhile, just about general whatever, until Tangled Fan came hurrying in.  Great -I could ask her about Alexis! 
"Tangled Fan!  Wait up a sec," I exclaimed, waving my arms so she would see us. 
She stopped abruptly, and bent to look at us.  "Yes?" 
I glanced at Flynn and he gave me a  confused look, but then it clicked.  He gave me a smile and a nod before grasping my hand. 
"Can we adopt Alexis?  I think we're ready." 
She smiled and nodded.  "Awesome!  For sure...I'll just make a note to not toss her up into a box or anything." 
"That'd probabbbly be best," I laughed, even though I was mildly horrified. 
She left, and I turned to Flynn. 
"Well...we just added another to our family."  He gave me a crooked grin and I couldn't help the tingle that went up my spine. 
"I'm just so glad she's warming up to us!"  I continued walking, and he hurried to catch up with me. 
"I almost passed out when she as much as LOOKED at me this morning." 
"I know..I could see it in your face," I grinned as I remembered his expression. 

We walked for awhile, but once darkness crept up on us, we headed back. 
Everything and everyone was quiet, but they were up. 
"Merida!  How were the girls?" I walked over to her and asked.
"They were all good...weren't ye?"  She asked, and Jase and Alexis nodded.  We watched Jase hurry over to Flynn, and I reached to pick Alexis up.  "And Hallie was just a pleasant little girl, like she used to be." 
"Awesome," I exclaimed. 
The two babies were already sleeping, so I didn't bother Hallie. 
"And how did y'two enjoy yer day out?"  She gave me a smirk. 
"It was great, thanks so much for watching the kiddos for us!  I fell off of Maximus, but other than that, it went well.  We also ran into Tangled Fan, and Alexis...you're officially adopted now." 
She gave me a big grin and hug, and then squirmed to get down.  I let her go, and Merida gave me a quick, one-armed hug. 
"So how bad did yer hubby flip when ye fell?" 
"He managed to keep it to a minimum, after I told him to stop obsessing." 
She laughed and rolled her eyes. 
"Hey...you up for a girl's day out tomorrow?"  Merida asked. 
"Well..I dunno.  Flynn, what-"
"Go for it.  I can handle all the kids," he told me.

We sat up and talked for awhile, planning, but then we all went to bed. 
By the time we got to bed, my back was aching like nobody's business.  I sprawled out on my back, trying to stretch it out.  Flynn flopped down beside me and watched me as I writhed around in odd attempts to relieve the soreness. 
"Your back still hurt, baby?"  I glanced up at his concerned expression. 
I considered doing a quick little white lie, but I didn't.  "Yeah, it hurts." 
"Should I-"
Should he go get Tangled Fan? What was his first thought?  Mine was NO.  And so I said so. 
"I was going to ask if you wanted me to rub your back." 
"Oh.  No, it's-" I broke off as he did so anyway.  "Well..that does make it feel pretty good." 
He chuckled to himself and continued for a few minutes, until I suppose his hands got tired.  When he was done, I turned to my side and pulled him into a quick kiss. 
"Thanks,"
"Anytime..I'll do anything to please my girl," he joked, giving me a wink. 
I rolled my eyes and then they crossed as he gave me a peck on the nose.  I grinned and then flopped onto my back, trying to find a comfortable spot.
"Thanks for letting me go with Merida on a girl's day out tomorrow," I told him. 
"Excited?" 
"Kind of..." I smiled. 
"Just stay safe." 
Gosh...well, I do suppose one of the last times we'd gone on a girl's day out, I'd ended up hurting my arm, so he did have a point.  "I will," I laughed, and then he leaned over so we could share a sweet goodnight kiss.  When he started to pull away, I leaned into him and kissed him back, and when I pulled away, he gave me a big smile.  He told me good night and I returned it, and then I was out.