This story will contain themes of infertility. I'll give a warning for those specific chapters at the beginning of those chapters.

This story will only be updated every other week.

And not to be That Person, but if you're reading this story, please let me know. Leave a comment, otherwise I'll assume no one is reading on this site anymore, and I'll save myself some time and not post here.

"So how are the kids?"

Rose sat up as Elizabeth peeled off her gloves after performing Rose's yearly gynecological exam. When Rose's regular gyno had moved to a different clinic, and she realized her midwife was certified to provide women's health assessments, she elected to stay under the care of Elizabeth and the rest of the staff at the clinic.

"They're great," Rose said with a smile. "Sianin's running around and talking up a storm. And Ainsley's about to start Reception this autumn."

"No!"

Rose grimaced and nodded. "I know. It's got James and me in a bit of a panic. She's just our little girl, you know?"

Elizabeth smiled sympathetically. "Yeah, I know, but you and James will be fine. This is one of those hurdles all parents have to jump, but everyone does it." She walked to the door. "Go ahead and get dressed. I'll be back in a few minutes with the paperwork."

Rose took off the horrid exam gown as soon as she was alone. After she'd put her clothes back on, she grabbed a pen and sent James a quick message.

"Just about done. Headed to the park soon."

He replied almost immediately. Brilliant! We're already here. See you soon love xo.

Rose looked up when the door reopened, and Elizabeth walked back in with some papers.

"Here's the summary of your visit," she said, "and a new script for your birth control."

"Oh, I won't be needing that," Rose said.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah, James and I had a bit of a false alarm last month," Rose admitted. "I thought I was… Turns out I wasn't. Anyway, we've decided to begin trying for another baby."

"Well good luck," Elizabeth said, crumpling the prescription order in her fist. "Now go on and enjoy this beautiful day. And give my best to James."

Rose departed the clinic and drove home, then made the short walk to the park that was just outside their neighborhood.

The park was filled with people as everyone enjoyed the warm, sunny weather after a week straight of clouds and rain. She smiled and waved to the people she knew, but her focus was on the tall, skinny, brown-haired bloke who was pushing two little brown-haired girls on the swings. It was all too easy for her to see this same picture, but with a newborn strapped in a wrap on James's chest.

"Mummy!"

The vision disappeared with Ainsley's shout, and Rose blinked just in time to see her daughter jump off the swing and land awkwardly on her feet. Rose cringed, but when Ainsley began sprinting towards her, she figured her four-year-old was fine.

"Hello, Ainsley," Rose greeted, swinging her child up onto her hip with ease. "Are you, Daddy, and Sianin having fun?"

"Yeah!" she said.

Rose pecked a kiss to Ainsley's temple, then set her on the ground as James walked up to her with Sianin on his hip.

"Hello, love," James murmured, pressing a kiss to her hair. "Appointment go well?"

"As well as it can go with someone poking around in my privates," she whispered, grinning when he snorted in her ear. Then she turned her attention to the baby in his arms. "Good afternoon, my sweetheart! Was Daddy pushing you and Ainsley on the swings?"

Rose frowned as an awful stench hit her nose.

But before she could say anything James said, "I think someone needs a nappy change."

"No," Sianin said, shaking her head.

"Yes, you do," he countered, poking her belly after each word. "You, my little darling, are stinky."

"Stinky," she repeated with a toothy grin.

"Yep, let's go change that nappy," he said.

Rose watched James walk away towards the picnic tables before Ainsley grabbed her hand and tugged her back to the swings.

After a while, Ainsley grew bored of the swings and ran to go play near the slides, where James and Sianin were. Rose smiled as James lifted Sianin again and again to the top of the smallest slide in the park so she could scoot down it. When Sianin saw Ainsley, her face lit up and she sprinted towards her big sister, who turned it into a game of chase, where James joined in the shenanigans.

"Is that your husband?"

Rose glanced over and saw a woman she'd seen regularly at the park with her children.

"Yeah," she said.

"Oh, he's just so good with your girls," the woman cooed as they watched James snatch both girls up into his arms, having caught them in their game of chase.

Warmth and love swelled up inside Rose as her lips stretched into a huge grin. James really was the best father.

"Yeah, he is," she said proudly.

"Your girls seem to play well together, too," the woman noted. "How old are they?"

"Ainsley's four," Rose said, "and Sianin's sixteen months. They've always gotten on well. Ainsley loves having a little sister, and Sianin just adores her."

"My boys are always fighting with each other," the woman said fondly. "They're five and four." She pointed to a group of boys playing football, and Rose nodded politely as though she knew which boys the woman was talking about. "Then again, that might just be the nature of boys."

They continued chatting about little things, like parenting and silly things their kids had done and the woes of picky eaters.

"Oh, dear, I think your littlest one just fell," the woman said sympathetically, glancing towards the playground.

Rose scanned the area and almost immediately found James. He and Ainsley were crouched down beside Sianin, who was laying on her belly on the ground. She watched James pick their daughter up and brush her off, then pepper kisses all across her body and give her a cuddle.

"She'll be fine," Rose said, knowing James had the situation well in hand. "Her legs sometimes go faster than her body can keep up with. We've had lots of stumbles and falls in our house."

The woman was still staring at James with a puzzled furrow in her brow.

"What?" Rose asked, frowning.

"I can't get over your husband," the woman said. "He is just so good with your daughters."

"Er, well, I mean… he is their father," Rose said, confused.

"And how you managed to coerce him into coming to the park, I have no idea," the woman said. She let out a little laugh and nudged her elbow into Rose's side. "You'll have to share your secret."

"I'm sorry, but what do you mean by coerce him into coming to the park?" Rose asked, feeling a twinge of irritation prickle across her scalp.

"Oh, you know," the woman said, flapping her hand vaguely. "It's just that most men wouldn't waste their Saturday like this, is all."

"What do you mean, waste?" Rose demanded, feeling offended on James's behalf that this woman dared to assume that he hated playing with their girls at the park.

The woman's eyes widened. "Nothing, it's just that we usually only see mums here. It's so great that he comes, too, and that he actively plays with them."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Rose asked hotly. "That because he's a man, that means he's not obligated to spend time with his children?"

"Well, most men have better things to do with their weekend, is all," the woman said. "My husband was still asleep when we left for the park. Saturdays are his days to sleep in."

"When are your days to sleep in?" Rose asked, even though she thought she already knew the answer.

The woman laughed. "Oh, I haven't slept in in five years, since my first boy was born."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "That doesn't seem very fair."

The woman shrugged. "It's just the way things are."

"It's really not," Rose said shortly. "James and I give each other time to sleep in, or go out alone, because we're partners."

When the woman didn't answer, Rose scowled at her. "Not that you'd understand a partnership if you're so shocked that James is here with us. My husband has a duty to our children, same as me. We share all of the responsibilities of child care, because that's what it means to be a parent. It takes two people to make a child, so why should he be exempt from taking care of them?"

The woman opened her mouth as though to protest, but Rose was too aggravated to want to hear the excuses she came up with.

"Just because he's a man?" Rose rolled her eyes. "Well, being a man doesn't excuse anyone from domestic duties. He lives in our house, he's the father of our children, and so he has the same responsibilities to our marriage and our daughters as I have to them. If you don't believe that, and if you and your husband don't operate in the same way, that's your choice, but don't sit here and assume that my husband doesn't enjoy spending time with his kids. Our girls mean the absolute world to him, and it brings him such happiness to play with them."

Rose stood up from the table, ignoring the woman's gobsmacked expression, and walked away from the frustrating conversation she'd just had. How dare that woman assume that James didn't take on half of the work that comes with being a family. How dare she assume that he had to be coerced into coming to the park. James was always the first one to suggest a park day, and quite right. He needed to burn off nearly as much energy as their kids.

She found James and their daughters at the see-saw, and she smiled when Sianin jumped off and raced towards her. She crouched down and caught her toddler in her arms, then blew a raspberry into Sianin's neck. She shrieked out a laugh, and then tried to blow her own raspberry, but only succeeded in dampening Rose's neck with spit.

"Have you been having fun?" Rose asked. Sianin babbled excitedly, and Rose nodded as she caught a few words her daughter was saying. "It sounds like you're having a great time. Why don't you go back to Ainsley and keep playing?"

Rose pressed a kiss to Sianin's temple, then opened her arms to release Sianin. She darted back to Ainsley, and Rose smiled to herself as she watched her daughters run around the playground.

"Penny for 'em?" James came up to her and bumped his hip against hers. "You seem flustered."

Rose sighed. "I had a chat with another mum. She couldn't get over how wonderful you are with the girls."

James preened for a moment, before he frowned.

"And that upset you?"

"No," Rose said. "Of course not. But what she said afterward did. She kept fawning over the fact that you came to the park, too, and that you were playing with the kids. Like it was this foreign concept."

"Doesn't her husband come to the park with them?" James asked.

Rose shook her head. "Nope. Saturdays are his day to sleep in, evidently."

"Fair enough, I suppose," James said. "So he gets Sunday morning wake-ups?"

Rose chuckled softly at her daft soulmate. "Wrong again. Apparently she hasn't gotten a lie-in since their first child was born."

James blinked. "But-but that's not fair!"

"I know that," Rose said. "I guess we missed the memo that it's the woman's job to look after her family while the man sits back and watches."

"Oh, that's rubbish," he growled. "Relationships and parenting are all about teamwork. I mean, it took two people to make a child, so why is it that only one half of that partnership is actually expected to do all the work?"

"That's almost exactly what I told her," Rose said with a laugh.

James beamed at her. "Did you also tell her that her husband is a lazy twat?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I went for a little more tact than that. Not much, mind. I just told her that it's fine if she's okay with how her marriage and family works, but that she shouldn't assume that all fathers are like her husband, because there's nothing you love more than playing with and taking care of our kids."

James's smile softened and he leaned over to press a lingering kiss to her forehead.

"Quite right," he murmured, resting his forehead against hers. "You and I are the best team there is. You're my equal and my partner in all things, Rose. I'm sorry society seems to want to overlook what a marvelous job you do as a mum in favor of praising dads for doing the bare minimum. It's not fair."

"I know," Rose said gently. "But it doesn't matter, because you and I know better. Don't worry about what other people have to say. We know how it should be, and all we can do is normalize that for our kids so that they grow up and know that their significant other, if they have one, needs to be held accountable."

James smiled softly at her. "Have I mentioned lately that I love you?"

Rose beamed up at him. "Yeah, but it's always nice to hear it again."

"Well then, I love you," he murmured, and he pressed a kiss to her lips.

She cradled the back of his neck in her hand as she returned the gentle pressure of the kiss. They broke apart after a few seconds, then Rose lifted James's arm so she could check the time on his watch.

"I think it's just about snack time, don't you?" she said.

James nodded. "I'll unpack the food while you get the kids?"

They turned away from each other, him towards the picnic tables and her towards the playground.

"It's snack time," she announced when she approached her children. "Is anyone feeling peckish?"

"Food!" Sianin crowed. "Food food food, Mama!"

"I'll take that as a yes from you," Rose said, picking up her toddler. She turned her attention to Ainsley, who nodded and led the way back to their picnic bench where James had fruit and crackers waiting for them.

oOoOo

Summer continued to march on, warm and pleasant. James and Rose made sure to take advantage of the lovely weekends by taking family trips across the country with their girls. They went camping and hiking—which was sometimes tricky with a young toddler—and made visits to the beach.

They also went on private holidays together, sans kids, and enjoyed their alone time. Robert and Jackie were always thrilled to keep the girls for a weekend, even if sometimes the girls—namely Sianin—weren't always thrilled to be without Mummy and Daddy for a couple of days.

"Mama? Dada? Mama! Mamaaaaa!"

Rose heard Jackie talking softly to Sianin as she began to wail louder for them. Then Ainsley's voice joined in the mix, too.

"We're gonna have fun with Gran," she said. "Don't cry, Sianin. Mummy and Daddy will be back on Sunday. It's okay. Don't cry."

James rested his hand on Rose's lower back and guided her out the door and to their car. Once the door was closed, they couldn't hear their baby crying anymore, but that didn't mean they felt any better about it.

"I hate this stage," Rose mumbled, trying to ignore the ache in her chest that was telling her she was traumatizing her child.

"I know," James sighed, opening the passenger door for her. "She'll be all right, though. I promise."

And indeed, when they arrived at their hotel in Bristol, five text messages from Jackie were waiting for them. Four out of the five were photographs of the girls playing, and the fifth message read, "She was fine after five minutes. She's still fine. Ainsley too. Enjoy your weekend."

They smiled at the photos of their daughters, and they were relieved that they could enjoy their holiday, guilt-free.

There were also some days when they stayed local for their activities, and visited museums and theaters together, or when they all stayed at home and had quiet family days in. And while James and Rose adored family time, there were certain days they needed alone time.

For James, this was usually a night out with his work friends at one of the pubs near the university. The pub hosted quiz night every Thursday, with the prize being a fully-paid tab for the winning team. Since James's team consisted of various uni professors, both inside and outside of the science department, they almost always won.

He also picked up golf, when his work mate convinced him to tag along on a round one Sunday afternoon. While he was only mediocre at it, it was fun and a way for him to stay fit, and so after discussing it with Rose, he joined the clubhouse for nine o'clock tee-time every first and third Sunday.

On those mornings, Rose and the girls would make a big breakfast—"You've got to have some stamina," Rose explained on that first Sunday morning. To which James had teased, "Oh, I think you're more than familiar with my stamina."—before they would go out and do something together.

Sometimes the girls joined Rose with running errands, and while it wasn't the most exciting activity, it was still a day out with Mummy. And sometimes Rose planned a girls' day with her daughters and her mother.

One particular Sunday, they all went to a kid-friendly nail salon and drank the fancy drinks Rose had picked up from the cafe across the street.

"Hot chocolate for Miss Ainsley," Rose said, handing her daughter the travel mug. "I put some ice cubes in it, so it should be cool enough to drink now." Then she turned to her mum and handed her the foamy chai latte.

"Chock, Mama!" Sianin chirped. "Chock!"

"I've got your chocolate milk right here," Rose soothed, pouring it into Sianin's sippy cup. "See? Here you go, sweetheart."

"What'd you get, Mummy?" Ainsley asked, licking the melted whipped cream from her upper lip.

"An iced caramel macchiato," Rose answered.

"Can I try some?"

"Just one little sip," Rose allowed, gesturing for Ainsley to come closer. Ainsley took a small pull from the straw and swallowed. "What do you think?"

Ainsley shrugged. "It's okay, I guess. There's no chocolate in it."

Rose laughed. "No, there's not. It's coffee-based. Like what Daddy drinks."

Ainsley scrunched her nose. "Daddy's coffee is yucky. Your drink is better than that."

"I think so, too," Rose said.

Their names were called a few minutes later, and Rose sat with Sianin in her lap and Ainsley in the chair beside her as they all—except Sianin—got manicures and pedicures.

While Rose had mother-daughter dates when James had plans, James likewise had father-daughter dates when Rose had plans. Unlike James, Rose's alone time varied from week to week. Some weekends she spent the day shopping with friends. Other times she picked a night for herself and went to see a film or had dinner out.

When Rose went out on weeknights, James planned a kid-friendly meal prep and taught his kids the finer points on cooking. It was tricky, sometimes, because Sianin didn't have a long enough attention span to want to help assemble the ingredients. But for the most part, his toddler happily dumped the contents of various cups James gave her into the mixing bowl he pointed to.

"Does Sianin want to shake some of this parsley into the bowl?" James asked, handing the ingredient to his youngest.

"Shake shake shake," Sianin said, raising her arms to be lifted up.

James held her up so she could reach the bowl and watched her turn the bottle upside down and shake it vigorously.

"Well done, darling," James praised, even as parsley flakes fluttered all across the counter and onto the floor. "I think that's good enough."

"Shake?" Sianin asked as he took away the bottle.

"I've got some bread crumbs you can add," James said. "No shaking, though. Just dumping. Give Daddy a minute to measure."

Sianin babbled to him and Ainsley as they assembled the rest of the ingredients into what would be their dinner of meatballs.

"And now we just roll them up into little balls," James said, scooping out a bit of the raw meat mixture. He plopped it into his palm and rolled it around until it was a near-perfect sphere, then set it aside.

When all of the meatballs were assembled—some more lumpy than others, thanks to Ainsley's help—and everyone's hands were washed, James took the plate over to the stove and heated up a frying pan with a bit of oil in it.

He set the meatballs in the pan to cook, and while they fried, he and Ainsley cleaned up the mess they'd made.

"Time to flip them," James announced when the timer went off.

"Can I try?" Ainsley asked as she watched him expertly turn them.

"Sure," he said. "Just be very, very careful. The grease pops a bit." He lifted her into his arms so she could reach the stove, and he supervised her turning the last five meatballs in the pan. "Well done!"

When the meatballs were done, James heated up some canned spaghetti sauce, trying to ignore the blasphemy of using sauce from a jar with homemade meatballs.

Someday I'll teach them the homemade sauce recipe, too, he mused, but for now, he was content with the triumph of having successfully entertained both children throughout the process of making the meatballs.

It was easier than when he taught them how to make various soups and stews, when everything had to simmer for over an hour. The girls didn't enjoy having playtime interrupted to tend to the soup, and so James was often the only one checking the status of their meal.

As summer finally waned into September, the heat was replaced by cooler, damper weather, and the Tyler-McCrimmon household prepared for a new school term. Only this time, it wasn't just James getting ready for a new term, but Ainsley was as well.

Ainsley seemed enthusiastic about the prospect of beginning school, and so James and Rose worked hard to hide how conflicted they were feeling. They wanted to be happy for their daughter, but it was hard to accept the evidence that their little girl was growing up.

"Wasn't she just a baby last week?" James sighed the night before Ainsley's Reception year started. "Where did the last five years go?"

Rose shook her head and cuddled closer to James.

The next morning got off to an early start, as Ainsley woke up a full hour before she needed to, and subsequently woke her parents. Knowing they'd never get their over-excited child back to sleep, they rolled themselves out of bed to get the day underway.

They made a big, special breakfast to celebrate the occasion, and they took a photograph of Ainsley, thinking they could document all of her first days of school over the coming years.

Finally, it was time to drop Ainsley off at her school. James walked with Sianin on his hip as Rose held Ainsley's hand and guided her through the building and to her classroom. About half a dozen other children were already there.

"Good morning!" A petite black woman stepped up to them. "My name is Miss Wallace. And who are you?"

Ainsley took a step back and clutched at Rose's hand.

"Go ahead, sweetheart," Rose soothed. "This is going to be your teacher this year."

After looking up at Rose for confidence, she finally squeaked out, "I'm Ainsley."

"Hello, Ainsley," Miss Wallace said. "I'm delighted to meet you. We're going to have a fantastic year together! Those other boys and girls over there will be in class with you, too. Why don't you go say hi?"

Again, Ainsley looked up uncertainly at her parents.

"Go ahead, darling," James said, smiling encouragingly. He stepped towards her and crouched down to wrap her in a hug. "Mum and I will see you this evening when school is done. Okay?"

James pressed a kiss to her hair and stood up to let Rose say goodbye to their daughter. He then turned his attention to the teacher.

"I'm James Tyler-McCrimmon," he introduced, sticking his hand out for the woman to shake. "Ainsley's dad. Obviously."

"Pleasure," Miss Wallace said with a smile. She then turned to Rose, who was looking after Ainsley as she went to go say hello to the other kids in the class. "And I take it you're Ainsley's mum?"

"Yeah. Rose Tyler-McCrimmon," she answered, shaking the teacher's hand.

"First one off to school?" the teacher asked with a knowing smile.

"That obvious?" James asked sheepishly.

"A little. But don't worry. The first few days are the hardest, but I've found most kids enjoy coming to school."

"Until they hit their teenage years," Rose mumbled under her breath, making James laugh.

"Right, well, we best be off," he said, slipping his hand into Rose's. "Thanks. We'll be here to pick up Ainsley at 3:30."

He started guiding Rose out of the room when Sianin squealed, "Ainsley!"

"Ainsley's gonna stay here," James said.

"Ainsley." Sianin pouted at him.

"Time for you to be dropped off at daycare," James said cheerfully, bouncing his baby in his arms as they walked out of the school.

"Ainsley! No no no!"

They made it the car, and Rose opened up the door for him as he wrestled their shrieking, writhing baby into the car seat. Sianin continued to cry as they drove a few blocks north to the daycare.

"Oh, what have we here?" the daycare aide cooed when James carried a crying Sianin inside.

"She seems to be a little upset that Ainsley won't be at daycare with her," James said with a grimace as he made to hand off the baby to the aide.

"Dada! No no no!" She clenched her hands into fists around his sleeves and threw her body against his chest.

"Hey, you're okay," he whispered, brushing his lips across Sianin's head as he cuddled her close. "Everything's okay, Sianin. We're at daycare. You love daycare! You've got all your little friends, and lots of fun toys!"

Sianin was not impressed and continued squirming in his arms.

"You're gonna be late for class," Rose said, rubbing her hand across his lower back.

He sighed and nodded, and he gave Sianin a tight squeeze and kissed her forehead.

"We'll see you tonight, darling," he whispered. "Ainsley, too. You'll see her tonight. Love you lots."

He transferred the baby to the aide, and after Rose gave Sianin a kiss goodbye, they turned and walked out of the room, trying not to let their hearts break at the utter distress in Sianin's cries.

"Blimey," James said when they reached the car. "I didn't expect the first day of school to be so traumatic."

"I know." Rose groaned and rubbing at her forehead. "Ainsley seemed to be the only one who took it well."

"I guess her reaction is the most important," James mused. "I didn't expect Sianin's reaction, honestly. I mean, they're not even in the same room at the daycare. Why would she be so upset Ainsley wasn't coming with her?"

"Dunno. Guess she thought we were abandoning her sister?"

James shook his head and hopped into the car to drop Rose off at work before he drove himself to the university.

Sianin eventually got used to the fact that Ainsley wasn't going to the daycare with her anymore, and after a few days, she stopped throwing a fit when Rose and James left Ainsley behind at the school.

Ainsley utterly adored school. She always came home excited to tell them what she'd learned that day—"We got a new word list and I knew them all!" "We learned to count to twenty!" "We got to mix paint today!"—and James and Rose were thrilled to see Ainsley so happy.

As the crisp, cool autumn weather replaced the lingering warmth of summer, the family settled into their new routine. Both girls were enjoying school and daycare, and James and Rose were thoroughly enjoying their work.

Autumn was always hectic for Rose, as many people, couples, and families took advantage of the beautiful autumn scenery. She also took advantage of it whenever she and James went out with the girls for a weekend of family fun.

With a camera safely tucked in her bag, she and James loaded up the girls and drove them to a tiny town a few miles away. They braved a corn maze, letting Ainsley make the suggestions on which paths to take, as she seemed much more interested in it than last year.

They often ran into dead ends and when they did, James and Rose calmly guided her back to the fork they'd come from, and they tried a different path instead.

Rose took a generous number of photos of her family in the maze, but her favorites were the few minutes when Sianin was interested in the maze, and Ainsley took her by the hand and walked with her a few paces ahead of James and Rose.

When they exited the maze, they went pumpkin picking, and they laughed when Sianin attempted to pick up a pumpkin the size of her torso.

"How about a little help, eh?" Rose cooed as she saw Sianin's face twist up in frustration.

She crouched behind her toddler and picked up the pumpkin before bringing it to Sianin's chest.

"Go ahead and grab it," she encouraged, and she felt Sianin's arms wrap around the pumpkin.

"Smile, love."

Rose looked up and saw James had her camera, which he was pointing at the two of them. She beamed at her husband, who snapped a few photos.

"Gorgeous!" he crowed, pocketing the camera. "What a large pumpkin, Sian."

"Punkin," she said, before she lost interest in it and ducked under Rose's arms to toddle off where Ainsley was hefting her pumpkin into her arms.

With the pumpkins picked, James and Rose judged that Sianin had had enough of their day out. They'd planned to go apple picking as well, but decided that could wait until next weekend; there was no sense in dealing with a completely avoidable temper tantrum.

When they got home, and after Sianin took her afternoon nap, Robert and Jackie came over to help carve pumpkins. They mostly helped with Ainsley's pumpkin, while James, Rose, and Sianin worked on another, and after a messy half hour, the family's four pumpkins were all carved and proudly put on display on the front porch.

And though October was busy for Rose, she made sure to keep her lunch hour completely free on the twenty-seventh in order to keep her annual tradition of sharing lunch with her soulmate on his birthday.

"Any special requests from the birthday boy?" Rose asked as she straightened her hair.

James shot her a wicked grin in the mirror. "Oh, but how are you gonna top this morning's wake-up call?"

Rose rolled her eyes at him. "I meant for lunch, you plum."

"I have to admit, it might be a little daring to have you suck me off over lunch, but we could lock my office door…" he mused.

"For food!" she exclaimed, amusedly exasperated at her husband. "Blimey. Are you sure you haven't turned fifteen instead?"

"Nope!" he said, popping the 'p'. "Thirty-five!"

"Thirty-five going on fifteen," Rose added under her breath, but James heard her and stuck his tongue out at her.

"Oh, you love me," he said with a boyish grin that she could never not return.

"Indeed, I do," she said. She set her hair straighter down and turned around to face him properly. She stepped up to him and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "Right, I'll see you for lunch. Since you haven't told me what you want, I'll just pick up what I want, to hell if you like it or not."

James pouted, and Rose winked at him, then slipped past him to get the girls ready for their day.

Around mid-morning, James wrote to her with his lunch request.

If it's not too late to make a suggestion, how about Chinese?

"Sounds good," she replied. "I'll be there at quarter after noon. Love you."

When lunchtime came, Rose picked up their order of James's favorite dishes, and she drove to the university. She smiled and waved at the office secretaries on her way to the lifts. She hit the button for the sixth floor, then walked to the end of the corridor and rapped her knuckles lightly on the ajar office door.

"Just me," she said, stepping inside.

James stood up from his desk to help her with the bags, and he closed the door behind them.

"How has your morning been?" he asked, pulling up a chair for her.

"Not bad," she said. "No photoshoots today. Just a lot of edits and taking orders for more appointments. We've already had one booking for a Christmas shoot."

"Already?" James asked, twirling chopsticks through his lo mein.

"Mhm," she said, taking a bite of her fried rice. "They didn't have much room in their schedules, apparently. Between getting married at the beginning of December, then they both work in retail. They wanted to make a reservation before we were booked up."

"Did you get their whole life story while you were at it?" James teased.

"I swear I have the sort of voice that just begs to be talked to," she replied.

"I can attest to the truth in that statement. I can't seem to stop talking around you."

"It's a good thing you've got a very pleasant voice to listen to," she said with a wink. "So how's your morning going?"

"Not bad," he answered. "Had my nine-a.m. lecture. My students all sang 'happy birthday' to me and someone made cake, so we had a bit of sugar as they listened to me drone on."

"Your students adore you," Rose said, feeling so proud of her husband that he genuinely loved his work.

"I suppose," he allowed, but Rose saw the pleased glint in his eyes. "This afternoon is lab day. Shouldn't be too difficult an experiment."

They continued their idle conversation, and as usual, halfway through eating, they swapped meals and Rose finished off his shrimp lo mein and James had her pork fried rice.

"This was brilliant," James said, collecting all of the empty boxes to throw away. "Thank you very much."

"You're very welcome," she replied, stepping up to him. She rocked up onto her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders to press her lips to his. His hands rested at her hips as he tilted his head to the side to deepen the kiss. She sucked at his lower lip, teasing it between hers, before she released it and gave the same attention to his upper lip.

He grinned into the kiss, before easing them out of it.

"I love you," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers and rubbing the tip of his nose against hers.

"As I love you," she replied, tickling her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. She pressed a parting kiss to his lips and stepped away. "I'll see you tonight for dinner. Requests for dessert?"

A filthy smirk overtook his face and she rolled her eyes and hastily added, "I meant cake. Bloody hell, James."

He giggled and gave her bum a quick pinch. "Can you blame me for being unable to keep my hands off of my fantastic, beautiful wife?"

She shook her head at her daft husband and stole another kiss before she opened the door.

"Behave yourself," she said. "And later tonight we'll see about revisiting the other type of dessert."

"Can't wait," he called after her.

He leaned against the door to his office and watched her walk to the lift, and if she exaggerated the swaying of her hips, well, it wasn't as though anyone else was around to see it. When she entered the lift, she turned back around and blew a parting kiss to James before the doors slid shut.