When the twins - both girls - came along, Cory couldn't help but make fun of his best friend. "Shawn Hunter, father of four girls. Who could have seen this twist coming?" he teased as he tried to rock the younger twin, Eliza, to sleep.
"Shut up!" Shawn shot back without any heat in his voice, still too much in awe of the babies. Emma, unlike her twin, was already sleeping peacefully (for now anyway).
"I'd say we got pretty lucky, didn't we?" Katy asked as she watched two year old Victoria try to make a run for it until Topanga caught her.
"We did," Shawn confirmed. He didn't care that he didn't have any sons - there wasn't much use in carrying on the Hunter name anyway.
"I want one of these," Jack said out of the blue, startling Eric. His husband's eyes widened in shock for a few seconds before he smiled.
"I'd love to give a child a home that needs one." Still wistful every time he thought about Tommy (who dropped by for periodic visits), Eric often wondered what parenthood was like. He just hadn't brought it up to Jack yet for a multitude of reasons.
"Sounds good to me." Jack leaned over and kissed him for a brief second before turning his attention back to his brother and nieces.
"Newlyweds," Shawn teased him just as Eliza started fussing in Cory's arms. He went to pick her up but Topanga beat him to the punch and started cooing at the newborn. Much to his surprise, Eliza quieted down immediately.
"I think Topanga's her favorite. Can you stay here and help us out?" Katy asked somewhat seriously.
"Wish I could but kinda have my own kids to take care." Topanga jerked her head over to the car seat a few feet away from her, which was holding her own sleeping seven month old. She and Cory hadn't expected to have a third child but Bea was magnificent and perfect (despite the sleepless nights).
"Auggie's the only little brother I need. I'm rocking this big sister thing," chimed in Maya as she scooped up Victoria, the toddler still trying to wander away.
"You showed up at our apartment in a daze when you found out your parents were having twins," Riley reminded her, grinning.
"To be fair, Mom and Dad were dazed too." Maya started tickling Victoria and grinned when she started giggling.
"Definitely wasn't expecting to see two babies on the ultrasound." But three days after their birth, Katy was glad they had been given this extra surprise. She was sure she'd be singing a different tune tomorrow next morning but she was going to enjoy it for as much as she could.
Shawn reached up and squeezed Maya's shoulder. "You ready to help with diapers again, kiddo?"
Maya nodded. "Not really but I've got diaper changing down pat so I think we're okay."
Emma and Eliza chose that moment to start crying in sync, which in turn woke up Bea, and all the noise proceeded to set off Victoria. Topanga handed the newborn over to tend to her own daughter while Shawn, Katy, and Maya tried to calm down the three younger Hunters.
"Still want to do this?" Jack yelled at Eric over all the noise.
Eric wrapped his arms around his husband and nodded. "Yes!"
"Good!" Jack leaned against him and sighed as all the babies finally started to quiet down. "I love you."
"Love you too." Eric couldn't wait to parent someone with this man he adored with every fiber of his being.
"We should probably go," Cory said to his wife after Bea fell back asleep.
"Sounds like a good plan. Sorry, Maya." Riley flashed her best friend an apologetic smile and shrugged her shoulders.
"Nah, I understand. It's okay, Riles."
"You sure?" Riley pressed.
"Believe me, I'd want to get out of here too but these three are kind of my responsibility too." Maya would help out without complaining (okay, she'd probably complain but not as much as she should).
The Matthews' departed, leaving just Jack and Eric, who also intended to make a quick exit. "You know how proud of you I am, right? You got a great job, a perfect wife, and four pretty amazing girls." Jack pulled his brother in for a hug and kissed the top of his head.
"I'm too old for this," Shawn whined but the smile on his face gave him away.
"You're never too old for anything I do to you. Sorry, little brother."
Shawn looked to his brother-in-law for help but Eric's only response was to shrug. "I'm the same with Cory, Morgan, and Josh. Not going to deprive Jack of his big brother duties. Sorry not sorry!"
"Didn't we talk about you using the current Internet lingo?" Jack asked rhetorically.
"Yes, but I didn't retain it."
Jack sighed and bumped his shoulder affectionately. "Let's head home."
"Sounds good to me." Eric waved goodbye to his brother and sister-in-law while Jack hugged them again.
And for the first time, the entire Hunter family was finally left alone. "We should probably nap, right?" Katy asked her husband.
"We're going to need the sleep but I'm not tired," Shawn admitted.
Victoria started babbling and pointed in the direction of the kitchen. "And that's my cue to feed her. Get some rest," Maya encouraged as she started heading towards the fridge.
Shawn and Katy wheeled the bassinets into their room and sat down on the bed only to stare at the newborns with looks of love and adoration on their face. "They're pretty cute when they're sleeping," Katy whispered as she snuggled him.
"That they are." He kissed her and then turned his attention back to Emma and Eliza. "I'm so glad I met you."
"I'm glad I met you too." She still had a hard time believing sometimes that someone actually loved her enough to stay.
"Stop being so sappy!" Maya called through the door, careful not to wake the babies.
Her parents started shaking with laughter. "She knows us well," Katy said.
"I'm so glad we decided to go wild and have sex on the kitchen floor," Shawn replied out of the blue.
"I thought we decided this was the wall sex." Katy grinned at him.
"Could have been either," Shawn conceded. Finding happiness was something he hadn't really expected - he had given up hope a long time ago - but he was so happy he didn't know to deal with it sometimes. But with Katy and their daughters (and Cory, Topanga, and Jack too) by his side, Shawn was sure he could do anything. Katy felt the exact same way - her life flipped upside down in a good way the day she met Shawn, even though she hadn't realized it at the time. These two people who had been hurt so badly had come together and found love in unexpected ways. They wouldn't let it slip away.