Run, Girl (If You Can)

Keeley beamed at her husband when he walked through the door with a bouquet of flowers. "What are those for?"

"Do I need a reason to spoil you?" he asked as he put them in a vase.

Obviously he didn't because he did this sort of thing all the time. Aaron had become surprisingly sweet.

He held her tightly for a moment before turning his attention to the babies. They were lying side by side on a colorful mat with soft, dangling toys hanging from a bar above it and staring at the pretty things, enraptured.

"They seem to like this thing."

"Oh yeah, they've been staring at it for the past forty minutes. It was a good purchase."

"Speaking of purchases, your package is here."

He handed it to her and she ripped it open eagerly. Inside were a bunch of books and CDs she bought online for the babies. The parenting books she read talked about how reading to your children and listening to music helps stimulate their little brains.

Talking to them also supposedly helped with language acquisition so she spent a good chunk of the day talking to them as if they could actually understand what she was saying. Aaron had already teased her about the baby voice she used on them more than once.

She couldn't help it! Babies and animals brought it out naturally.

Dinah and Molly had been a bit wary of the new members of the family. Keeley was pretty sure they didn't like all of the crying. But when the babies were quiet, the cats were rarely found too far away. They seemed curious about these tiny humans and all of the baby toys.

Violet began to cry. She probably needed a diaper change. Keeley was about to handle it when Aaron swooped in before she even could.

"I've got it. I haven't seen them all day." He kissed their daughter's face before looking back up at her. "Why don't you go get dinner started? I'll watch them for a while."

That was a simple enough thing to do. She gave the flowers a passing sniff, unable to resist, and smiled as she headed into the kitchen to make a quick and easy chicken casserole.

She could hear Aaron quietly talking to them in the other room. His baby voice wasn't nearly as bad as hers but he still definitely had one. What a hypocrite.

Keeley shook her head indulgently. These days she wasn't sure who was the favorite in this house anymore, her or the twins. Aaron had turned out to be a more doting father than she would have expected considering the way his own father had treated him.

Maybe that was why. He could be overcompensating by being the kind of father he wished he had. The thought made her a bit sad.

Once the casserole was in the oven and she had set a timer, she walked over and saw that he was sitting next to both of the babies on the ground and tickling them with a silly grin on his face. Kaleb and Violet brought out the best of him.

No, that wasn't entirely true. So did she. Now that Aaron knew how to love, he loved deeply.

Keeley knelt down and hugged him from behind, planting a kiss on his neck. "It's nice seeing you be such a good dad."

He stopped tickling Kaleb to reach up and smooth her hair. "I'm glad you think so. I have no idea what I'm doing."

The baby made an indignant noise, wanting the tickling to continue. Keeley laughed. "Your son is summoning you."

"Our son," Aaron corrected before resuming what he was doing before she came over.

She rolled her eyes. He had way too much fun saying things like that. Sometimes it still amazed her how happy Aaron was merely by having her nearby. It was hard to believe she had that much of an effect on anybody, let alone someone generally known for being a robot.

Looking at him now, no one could accuse him of being emotionless. He was like any other family man delighting in his wife and children. It was adorable.

Her arms around him tightened and she hummed contentedly. In moments like this it was easy to forget all of the things working against them outside of their own little bubble. Right now they were just a normal happy family.

Keeley's attraction toward her husband grew as she watched him play with their babies. She was tempted to pull him to the ground and kiss him senseless.

And why couldn't she? They were married; no one was stopping her. He would probably be thrilled.

"Hey Aaron," she called softly.

"Mm?"

She knocked him to the ground, making sure that it was far enough away that they wouldn't accidentally hit Kaleb or Violet, and pounced on him with enthusiasm. He momentarily froze before responding even more passionately than she expected.

It had been a while since Keeley had kissed him like this. The last time was probably the night the twins were conceived. His surprise made sense.

Aaron tangled his hands in her hair as they went and his heartbeat was so loud that she could hear it mingling with her own. She hadn't felt like this in a long, long time. She couldn't even remember the last time she had enjoyed kissing him this much.

The casserole timer went off and she reluctantly pulled away but he wasn't done yet. Aaron continued kissing her neck as she protested. "Dinner is going to burn!"

"So?"

"Aaron," she whined. "I'm hungry."

"So am I but not for food."

Keeley let out a heavy sigh. Well, he had been experiencing a dry spell. She should have known this would happen eventually. They were husband and wife; Aaron would expect a real marriage.

"Can we wait until the babies have gone to bed? Please?"

He stared at her, unblinking. "…you'll allow it? For real?"

She nodded, not meeting his eyes as her face turned bright red. She had brought this upon herself by making out with him. "Can you let me up now?"

Aaron released her immediately and she hurried into the kitchen to take the casserole out. She was lucky it hadn't burned.