< January >

{ Tate }

Since being home, I haven't slept very well. I think I'm worried about too many things all at once.

It's currently 3 am and I'm still wide awake. Ashton was sound asleep next to me and I didn't want to wake him up. He and the boys were back in the studio this past week and he hasn't been getting home until around midnight.

I slowly climbed out of bed and grabbed my phone. I quietly exited mine and Ashton's room, closing the door behind me. I took a peek into Riley's room and he was sound asleep, curled up with his blankie.

I made my way downstairs and settled on the couch, grabbing a blanket and pulling it over me as I turned the tv on. I flipped channels then finally settled on George Lopez. I sat the remote on the coffee table and kept my eyes focused on the tv.

One episode in and now 3:30 am, I heard a door open upstairs and I looked to the steps expecting Riley, but saw Ashton instead, coming down the stairs in sweatpants instead of just his boxers.

He reached the bottom and came and sat on the couch, pulling me into his body and kissing my head,

"Trouble sleeping?" He asked as he ran his hand up and down my arm. I nodded. "Baby not letting you sleep or other reasons?"

"Both" I sighed and brought my arms around Ashton's bare torso,

"What's bothering you?" Ashton asked softly as kept kissing my head,

"Just thinking about the baby, Jack, Riley, and your dad," I told him,

"Well, the baby is perfectly fine. Jack will be here later and he will be fine. Riley's okay. And don't worry about my dad. I won't let him get anywhere near you and the kids" Ashton promised,

I nodded and closed my eyes,

"Baby lets go back to bed" Ashton whispered. I nodded and turned the tv off and we walked back to our room and got in bed.

I rolled closer to Ashton and he started to hum quietly. As I started to doze off, our room door pushed open. Both Ashton and I adjusted and saw Riley standing there,

"Riles? Come here baby boy" I spoke. Riley walked over to the bed and Ashton pulled him up and put him between us,

"What's wrong bubby?" Ashton asked as he pulled the covers up,

"Scawy" Riley mumbled and held his baby blanket tighter,

"Aww. There's nothing scary. But you can stay with Mommy and Daddy for the rest of the night" I told him, kissing his head and cuddling him.

{ Ashton }

I had some things to do today before we went and picked up Jack from the airport tonight. Riley woke up when I did, but Tate was still asleep. Tate's slept horribly the past couple days so she needs her sleep.

I got Riley and myself dressed then ran up to our room,

"Tate, baby, I'm going to Lowe's to get plants. I'm gonna take Riles with me. You okay by yourself?" I asked, sitting down,

"Yeah. Get pretty plants" she mumbled and rolled over. I laughed and gave her a kiss before grabbing Riley and heading out.

****

"Okay Ri, what should we get?" I spoke as I pushed the long cart through the rows of plants. Riley hummed and looked around.

I felt like a normal person at the moment. A normal dude instead of 'the musician'. I was doing normal people things and I wasn't worried about people hounding me. No cameras, no crazy questions. I was doing 'dad' things with my son.

Riley pointed to a couple of plants and I grabbed them. They were nice and Tate would like them too.

"What else Riley?" I laughed as he was really trying to look for good plants.

"Uhhh" he dragged then gasped, "Unca Wuke! Aunt SiSi" he yelled and took off before I could grab him. When I looked up, Luke and Sierra were coming towards us and Riley was already in Sierra's arms.

"You should really keep an eye on your kid" Luke joked,

"Yeah yeah. What are you all doing here?" I asked as Sierra put Riley down and he climbed on our cart.

"Same as you" Sierra smiled, "Where's Tate?"

"Home. Baby's been keeping her up at night. She needs some sleep" I nodded.

"Baby bwudda bad," Riley told them making us all laugh,

"Could be a sister bubba" I laughed, "You'll sorta have a brother in a few hours"

****

When Riley and I got home, I took all the plants and sat them in the landscaping where I was gonna plant them, then grabbed Riley and went in the house.

"Tate!?" I called. She should be out of bed by now,

"I'm coming" she called back as I took Riley to the living room. Tate was coming down the stairs in shorts and a sports bra. Her hair was wet, meaning she showered, and the little baby bump was showing.

"Hi baby" she grinned and wrapped her arms around me neck, kissing my lips quickly then pulled back when Riley attacked her legs. She leaned down and picked him up, kissing all over his face,

"You feeling a little better?" I asked as we moved to the kitchen to get a little lunch,

"Yeah. I actually cleaned while you were gone" she told me and sat at the table, putting Riley on top.

****

Tate took a Riley to take a little nap and I grabbed the mail, smiling when I saw Tate's Christmas present in there. It was a little late but it got delayed in shipment.

I walked back inside as Tate was walking back down the stairs,

"Come here baby. I have something for you" I smiled. She gave me a look but walked over and I handed her the envelope,

"It's your Christmas present but it didn't come until today" I laughed. She slowly opened the envelope and her eyes widened,

"No fucking way" she beamed and wrapped her arms around me and giving me a kiss. I got us season tickets to the LA Galaxy games. We've got four tickets so me, her, Riley, and Jack can all go.

"Thank you babe" she smiled and held onto me

{ Tate }

Riley had woken up from his nap and the three of us got in the car and headed to the airport. Jack lands in 45 minutes. I was excited but also nervous. Ashton and I are about to finish raising my little brother, although we don't have much 'raising' to do considering he's 16, almost 17, it's still scary. Riley, on the other hand, was very excited for Jack to come.

"Jack? Jack home?" Riley asked as Ashton parked in short term parking,

"Yeah bubba. We're picking Jack up to come home now" I laughed.

"Yay Jack!" Riley giggled, "Daddy me out"

We walked into the airport and Ashton held onto Riley's hand while we waited for Jack. Riley started to get restless. He began to whine and Ashton and I were both praying that Jack would come around the corner any second.

Right as Riley was at tantrum point, I saw Jack,

"Look Riles" I grinned. Riley looked up and Ashton let go of his hand and he took off.

"Jack! Jack!" He squealed as Jack hugged him. I grinned and leaned into Ashton as Jack and a Riley made their way over,

"Hey sis" Jack smiled and hugged me, pulling back quickly and setting his hand on my stomach,

"Holy shit! You really are pregnant" his eyes widened

"Nice to see you too" I laughed and took Riley from him.

"Hey Ash" Jack laughed as Ashton hugged him,

"How many bags you got? I know a lot of your stuff arrived at our house yesterday" Ashton asked as we walked to baggage claim.

"Just two" Jack replied.

We got Jack's bags and got in the car and decided to stop and get dinner. Riley, of course, had to sit next to Jack. But Jack was happy to sit next to him,

"Thank you for taking me in" Jack suddenly spoke up, "I really appreciate it"

"Jack, you don't have to thank us. I'm glad you're here" I smiled at my little brother, "So, hows grandma?"

"Uh, not good. She's in a nursing home now. When I first asked Ashton if I could live with you all, she wasn't too bad. Now she's bad" Jack sighed. My grandma, we found out, has Alzheimer's. She can't really take care of herself anymore, much less another person. It would've been too much on Jack to take care of her.

****

When we got home, we got a Riley in bed then Ashton and I went downstairs to help Jack. We walked into his room and noticed most of his clothes were put away. I grabbed the box his comforter and bed sheets were in and put his bed together for him and Ashton started to pull things out of boxes.

"Thanks" Jack smiled once we had finished. He climbed on his bed and sat under the covers, "What are the rules?" He asked,

"I mean we don't really have rules. You're 16, you're smart. Just don't be stupid" I laughed,

"Okay" he laughed too, "Oh, um, I've already got a job and I've gotten on a baseball team"

"Seriously? Jack, we told you that you didn't have to get a job. We'd help you out because of baseball" Ashton laughed,

"I know but I want a job. It's just at the ball park. The team I'm on now plays there. I played them in that tournament I played here and they found out I was moving and asked if I wanted a spot" Jack beamed.

"Okay then" I smiled, "Now, back to living here" I nodded, "This is your house too. If you want friends over, ask us and they can come. We don't mind" I promised.

"Thank you" Jack smiled,

"Alright. We'll let you get to bed. Goodnight" Ashton laughed as he and I left the room, shutting the door behind us.

"We're a family of four" Ashton hugged me, "and in June, a family of five"

"A family of five" I grinned, leaning up and placing a kiss on his lips.