Chapter Text
Penelope looked up from her book as she heard the calamity on the porch. Little feet make a lot of noise, especially when joined with excited paws. She folded over the corner of her page, something she knows drives her husband crazy but a habit she cannot seem to break. She was waiting with a smile as the door burst open, her son tumbled in as he pulled along his younger sister. Jane toddled after him to keep up, always happy to follow the brother she adores wherever he decides to lead her. Lady pranced in after, their fierce protector and favourite playmate. Whatever excitement they’d gotten into out by the lake had clearly worn her out as the golden retriever flopped down to curl by the fire.
“Mum, I caught a fish!” Thomas stopped in front of her, looking ready to burst from the excitement of it all. “Dad said we had to set it free because it was too small but it wasn’t. It was huge.”
“Huge!” Jane nodded in agreement before reaching her pudgy hand to pat on Penelope’s stomach. “Hello, baby.”
Jane was obsessed with the idea of being a big sister, constantly telling her unborn sibling about her day, her favourite bedtime story or asking questions about what it’s like in Penelope’s tummy. She had a hard time believing she had ever been in there too once upon a time. Just last week she’d been very put out about it.
“But how did I get in there?”
“Dad put you in there silly.” Thomas, the ever knowledgeable big brother, rolled his eyes dramatically. He looked so much like his father when he did that it made Penelope’s heart squeeze.
Penelope had looked frantically at her husband for support, not really wanting to have another discussion about where babies come from. Colin had just winked at her and then opened his arms to his children.
“Who wants ice cream?”
The mention of a sweet, or any food really, diverted them nicely. They were Colin’s after all.
Now they stood before her and she was amazed they hadn’t asked what was for tea yet.
“Are you hungry?” Penelope reached forward to brush Jane’s curls from her face. They weren’t red, instead the dark rich brown of the Bridgertons. It was Thomas who had her hair that he insisted be in a style exactly like Colin’s. His father was his idol, his uncle Simon with his flashy car a very close second.
“Dad says we have to go play nice in our room so you can rest because you’re growing the baby. He promised we could have three bedtime stories if we did.” Thomas grabbed his sister’s hand once again and tugged her away.
“Not even a biscuit?” Penelope called after them but they were already lost to their world of make believe that no adult was allowed to enter.
Deciding to enjoy the quiet she rose to her feet, a little bit harder to do now that she was almost six months pregnant. This baby would be a big one, she was certain of that. This pregnancy took more out of her than the last two. She tired easily and her legs were always sore. She didn’t let it slow her down, she was a mother with two inquisitive and energetic children, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t have a nap when her husband insisted.
Finally up she went in search of the man she loved but he beat her to it, striding through the door the children had left open.
“Love, why are you up?” His cheeks were rosy after his afternoon of fresh air. “I told you to text me if you needed anything.”
They’d moved in together two weeks after that first night. They’d married less than six months after that. They spent a year all over the globe and seeing the world. Colin wrote his final instalment in his travel series, An Ex-Single Man In The World had been a hit. He was working on a second cookbook and the third novel in his fiction series that Netflix was already trying to buy the rights to. Penelope still wrote her column, happy for now to do that and spend as much time with their growing family as possible. She was a big pull for the paper and she was proud of it. There was a novel she was writing when the mood struck and the editing of Colin’s work he insisted she get credit for.
A lot had changed in the last 7 years, the cabin being one of them. The moment Colin found out Penelope was expecting Thomas he threw himself in renovating and making it into the perfect family getaway. It was twice the size but just as comfortable and homey. He added a large porch and they had internet and cell service now. Admittedly she still missed the days when they could come here and hide away from the rest of the world. Now they had to wait until their children were fast asleep.
“Husband, I will have you know I have done this before.” She happily walked towards him, the twinkle in his eye when she called him that always meant she always got her way.
“Nice try wife, you need to be resting.” He pulled her into his chest, one arm around her waist and a hand resting on the curve of her belly. “Mostly because I plan to keep you up most of the night.”
He leaned down to kiss her smiling mouth, their moment from sweet to sinful in a flash. He still did that to her. He made her feel content and loved one second, then turned on and desired in the next. She stood on her tiptoes and pulled him more firmly to her. That was another thing with her and pregnancy hormones, not that he ever complained. But it didn’t help that he was so damn attractive and he looked at her like…
“Eww!” Thomas’s shout echoed down the hall. “They’re kissing again.”
Colin sighed as he took his delectable lips away and nuzzled Penelope’s neck.
“You were the one who wanted all the babies.” She sunk into his embrace, held on for a moment longer.
“I think I meant the making of babies. I should have been more specific.” Colin kissed her cheek and laced his fingers with hers. “What do you want for dinner?”
“I thought you promised the kids sausages and chips.” Colin did try to expand their children’s palate as much as possible but they were still too young to truly appreciate their father’s talent in the kitchen.
He tugged her towards the couch once again, nudging her until she was sitting with her feet up.
“And they will have it, I asked what you desired.” He spread the blanket she’d made him years ago over her legs, tucking her feet in.
He takes such good care of me.
“Colin, don’t go to any trouble.”
He sat down on the edge of the couch, ran his hand up and down her arm in soothing strokes.
“For you my darling…” He analyzed her face. “I do believe you are craving something rich. How about steak with my cream mushroom sauce?”
He knew her too well.
“That would be heavenly”
He beamed at her like he’d just won a prize and cupped her face
“Done.” He stood up and glanced down the hall. “I’ll check on our spawns and then start on dinner. You are not to move, if you want something you tell me.”
He started to walk away but she grabbed his hand. He glanced down at her with a questioning look.
“You are getting all of the kisses tonight.”
His eyes went dark and a slow grin spread over his face.
“Oh yeah?” The thinly veiled excitement in Colin’s voice made a shiver go up Penelope’s spin.
“Oh yes. All of them.”
He winked at her before going to make sure their babies didn’t kill themselves in some sort of Lego accident and she went back to her book with a happy sigh.
Colin slowly moved out of the twin bed he’d been sitting on. Jane was curled up on his chest so he tried not to jostle her too much while sliding his arm out of Thomas’s hold. Thankfully he was able to get his daughter settled in her own bed without her waking, Lady jumping up to curl at her feet.
He’d promised them three stories but it somehow became five, more for himself than for them. They were growing so quickly and even with another on the way he knew this time with them was fleeting. Thomas had just turned five but you’d think he was 18 by how confident and self assured he was. Jane was a bundle of love and affection, always snuggling the dog or her brother when he would allow it. Her numerous aunts and uncles were always happy to oblige her, as were her parents. Colin was so proud of the little people they were.
He couldn’t wait to meet the newest member of his family.
He kept the children’s door slightly ajar and left the hall light on. He’d sent Penelope to rest in their room while he got the children settled down for the night.
He worried about her. The doctor had assured them that mother and baby were fine but he hated how taxing this pregnancy was on his wife. She never complained but he was grateful she left him fuss with minimal argument.
This would be their last stay at the cabin before the baby came. In a few days the whole Bridgerton clan would be out for a family day. Penelope adored them all, as did Colin, but he wanted her as relaxed as possible before the chaos.
He closed up the house, set the alarm system he’d insisted on having installed with the renovations. His babies and his wife were his universe, he didn’t take any chances where they were concerned.
Colin picked up a stray child’s sock and one of Thomas’s plastic dinosaurs that had magically appeared by the front door and tossed them on the sofa. Content that all was well he made his way to his waiting wife.
When he opened their bedroom door all he could do was grin.
The room was dark except for a few lit candles spread around. They smelled of vanilla and sugar as they cast his wife in a soft glow. Penelope had always been gorgeous, but pregnant she was radiant. She was wearing black silk that flowed over her curves and made her hair flame. She was draped over the bed, sexier than she had any right to be. Her skin looked soft and welcoming, the purse of her lips just begged to be kissed.
His wife was his literal dream come true.
She was also fast asleep.
He chuckled to himself and got ready to join her. He blew out the candles and like he had with his children just minutes before carefully got his wife under the covers. Only then did he slid into bed behind her, spooning himself close and wrapping Penelope in his arms. Even in her sleep she reached for his hand, linking their fingers together in the way she knew he needed.
He relaxed into her, pressed a kiss behind her ear and grinned as she sighed. Penelope never fully settled in sleep until she felt her husband beside her. Colin didn’t even attempt it without her. He’d spent no more than eight nights apart from her in all their years together and had not slept a wink each time.
He laid awake for a few moments, breathed in deep the smell of his wife’s hair. It was something that happened every night. It was as if he was dreaming during the day, loving the woman in his arms, raising the family they had built together. He loved sleep but he loved his life even more, hated the thought of missing one minute of it.
Tomorrow she would be put out that she’d fallen asleep during her failed seduction. No doubt she would wake him up in interesting ways to make up for it. In his opinion there was no better way to start the day than being kissed awake by his wife.
He squeezed her hand, whispered softly in her ear as not to wake her.
“There is a feeling that they tell in tall tales, write in ancient languages and play out on dancing stages. They try to name it, catch it in words as if such a feat were possible. No sonnet or brushstroke that could capture my attention like the pull of your eyes. No note of melody that sighs on the wind could ever behold enough the tremble of my heart when your hands reach for mine. No God could create the desire you pull from me, to protect and to cherish, to become for one second worthy of your devotion. I am but a man lifting my thanks to the stars for giving me one of their own.
I love you. Words that could never fully say what I feel for you my darling, but nevertheless they are true.”
And as the soft warmth of his wife seeped into him Colin lost the battle of the night with a contented smile on his face.