[LEXI SAFFI WHITE]

Lexi grinned as they stepped out of the airway and the wave of heat hit her. She welcomed it with open arms. As much as she loved England and all it had to offer, particularly what England had given her, God did she loved her home country. The warmth alone was one of the biggest things she missed, particularly when it was three months down the line of dismal cold and rain and she just wanted some sunshine. She basked in it for a moment, already imagining being sat in a bikini soaking it all up at the beach. They had tried to get a hotel, not wanting to impose on her parents with the kids - plus space was nice - but her parents, being typically Italian, refused, and instead they had offered her and James their little villa by the beach. It wasn't far from her parents, who she was here to visit, but it came them just enough space not to feel clustered.

"This is glorious," She grinned over at James, shifted Tae in her arms a little so he was set better on her hip. Jarad was hanging on to her spare hand, his thumb in his mouth - he was tired and cranky already - and James had control of Rory and most of the bags. They did not have enough hands between them anymore, she was lucky they were mostly well behaved. "Oh there they are!" Thank God, her father had offered to come and pick them up to save them getting a taxi, and she gave him a cheerful wave as he spotted them and pulled forward from the queue to park up at the curb, hurrying to get out and enveloped Lexi - kids and all - into a hug, and then the same for James. "Ciao, mia splendida figlia!" Her father grinned. "James, it has been too long."

JAMES EDWARD WHITE

[JAMES EDWARD WHITE]

LEXI SAFFI WHITE

truth be told, james had never liked flying. he tended to avoid it as much as he could. it was why he'd come across the ditch on a boat when he'd made the journey from ireland to england. but he would fly for lexi and seeing as he family hailed from the warm and sunny italy, he'd do it as often as she asked him. at least when he could. he made sure to keep a count of the amount of little heads he could see bobbing by lexi, tae in her arms and jare by her side. rory was safe in her stroller, fast asleep as she had been for much of the plane ride. he was thankful that she was so much quieter in comparison to her brothers and most of her cousins. she was chill as far as most things went, though she did have her moments and that was when james was sure his family was coming out in her genes.

with one hand on the luggage cart and the other on the stroller he made sure to watch where he was going and to keep an eye on jare while he did. being tired and cranky might make him more prone to pushing his luck and trying to pull away from lexi so he was ready to drop his hands and run to grab him if needed. he didn't blame jare, flying was hard work and tiring, especially for kids. "glorious and hot." he said as he walked next to his wife, grinning a little as he looked up at the sun that was shining down on them. "i might burst into flames, just warning you." he joked as he spotted her parents just ahead of them as she did.

this trip couldn't have come at a better time. things had been harder since the whole jack episode, it had driven a wedge between him and lexi and they were still trying to figure out how to sew things back together. then her parents had offered them their villa and they'd jumped at the chance. some time away, in a different setting with just them and the kids and no worries of home. those problems would be there waiting when they got home but they'd be more recharged so they could deal with them better. he embraced lexi's parents as they came over and greeted them, kissing her mother's cheek and shaking her father's hand. "it's good to see you guys too." he said warmly as he watched jare greet his grandparents with all the enthusiasm a tired and grumpy child could. tae as shy as he was, smiled at them from around his thumb but he made no effort to stretch out to them. the events of the past few months had worked a number on him and he was still a bit clingy towards his parents. but he knew that lexi's parents wouldn't mind. just seeing him would be enough.

[LEXI SAFFI WHITE]

"glorious and hot." Lexi glanced over to him and gave a small eye roll as he looked up to the sun, but the clear affection in her gaze made it obvious she did it with love. "i might burst into flames, just warning you." Lexi laughed gently, "Are you just admitting you're a vampire?" She teased, trying to bring Tae in on the joke with a grin at him. "I wouldn't have thought it with all the garlic you eat!" She peered down at Jare still sucking on his thumb. "We'd better have a fire extinguisher at the ready, right boys?" Her grin widened as Jare frowned, his mouth puckering slightly around his thumb as he peered up at her, then his dad in confusion. "Oh dear, not even a smile." She looked back at James with a small chuckle.

She felt some of the tension ease, despite the cranky kids, just to be stepping into her home country, just to see her parents. She adored her life in England, but with how stressful things had been recently, coming here felt like a bit of a reset; a well needed break from everything. They still had things to talk through, and fences to mend but it was not ground breaking, it was not life altering, they were here together and she felt that being back in Italy would do them both good. She smiled as she was - carefully - embraced by each parent, hugging them both fiercely even with the child in her arms. "Boys, say hello," She reminded with a quick prompt. Jare kept his thumb in his mouth but released her other hand to give his grandparents a wave. "Some of us are a little tired," She apologised and her mother gave her a knowing look but smiled. "It's okay, I'm sure you'll want to get settled in, perhaps a nap is in order." Her mother agreed.

"it's good to see you guys too." She smiled at the interaction between her parents and Jare. "Come, let us take your bags." Her father said, his English not quite as fluent as her mother as he went to take the luggage from James and pack it into the boot. "You should get into the car," He directed Lexi and the children to the car. It would be a little bit of a squeeze and she glanced at James, "I know we shouldn't, but Rory and Tae will have to sit on our laps." Her parent's care didn't seat 7, and it was only a short trip; her parents were safe drivers, or as safe as you could be in Italy. Her mother glanced over and gave a typically motherly shake her of head, "Andrà bene, figlia"

JAMES EDWARD WHITE

[JAMES EDWARD WHITE]

LEXI SAFFI WHITE

he laughed at lexi's teasing and he shrugged slightly. "you never knew?" he watched as jare frowned at his mother's jokes and he laughed just that little bit harder but he tried to disguise it with a cough in case it upset jare. it hadn't been a long flight but any kind of flights were rough. and it seemed that jare took after him when it came to flying. rory had been a dream, tae had clung onto lexi which in reality worked because they'd had enough hands between them to deal with any problems.

he watched as they greeted each other, smiling a little as jare waved to his grandparents and tae lifted his head away from his mother's shoulder long enough to wave at his grandparents, following his brother's lead. it pained him to still see tae was so unwilling to let lexi go most of the time. they'd finally just managed to get him to start sleeping in his own room again, though it had been a long and tough process. but during the daylight hours it was a struggle sometimes still. he didn't argue with lexi's father as he took the luggage, knowing that it wouldn't be one he'd win. he thanked him quickly as he turned his attention to rory in the stroller.

"sounds like a good plan. if they go flying, at least they'll bounce" he said with a grin as he unstrapped rory and he lifted her out of the stroller carefully, trying his hardest to keep her comfortable as he felt her head drop against his neck as he folded the stroller down so it would hopefully fit into the car easier. "there we go." he said as he handed it to lexi's father who had played a brilliant game of tetris to get everything to fit into the boot. "alright jare, into the middle." he said as he opened the door to the backseat and he held his hand out to jare to help him into the car.

[LEXI SAFFI WHITE]

"you never knew?" She grinned and shook her head, "I did wonder why you sparkled so much in the daylight," She teased, keeping her comments PG-13 considering the children, despite the temptation to mention his penchant for sucking on her neck. Jare looked unamused as it was, there was no need to torment the grumpy kid. She knew as soon as they got some ice cream in him, he would be happy as larry. She was relieved the airports had gone pretty smoothly, not too long in the queues, and the flight had been smooth. Once they got to the villa, she knew they would bounce right back at the site of the pool and the pretty space.

She shifted Tae carefully, not wanting to jostle him as they sorted the bags. Her father managing to pack them in surprisingly well, and waved off her offer of a hand. He'd never been one to let her lift much of a finger for things like that, though she was always happy to. She guessed they were probably happy to see her and the family, it had been some time and it had to have been hard, sending their daughter off to England for a short trip and then not having her return. "sounds like a good plan. if they go flying, at least they'll bounce" Lexi tutted but half smiled, until Jare heard the words and gave a grumpy frown. "No more flying." He argued, and Lexi sighed. "No, Jare, we're going in the car now."

"Here let me help," Lexi's mother took ownership of the grumpy child for a moment and Lexi gave her a grateful smile as they tetris'd themselves into the back of the car. Jare even seemed mildly less cross with his grandmother for a minute, and then they were all in and the doors were shut. "va bene allora, off we go!" Her father announced as he climbed back into the driver's side and started the car, sliding into traffic easily enough as Lexi kept a firm hold on her son. "siamo così felici che tu sia venuto" Lexi smiled at her mother's sentiment and glanced to James, who perhaps had skipped his Italian, "We are glad to be here too, ma," She knew her husband would understand easily enough from her reply. "thank you for offering up the villa." Her father waved it off, "You need your own space, we are just glad to have you with us again."

JAMES EDWARD WHITE

[JAMES EDWARD WHITE]

LEXI SAFFI WHITE

james knew in that instance that he could learn more than a thing or two from lexi's father. when he took the three kids somewhere on his own, it seemed like it took him forever to wrangle them all into the car. but her parents made it seem easy as pie and within the blink of an eye they were in the car and all strapped in, kids in their places and even a smile crossed jare's grumpy face. he kept his arms around rory, holding her securely against his chest as the car pulled into traffic and he couldn't help but smile as he felt her sleeping against his neck still. he took the moment to look down at his daughter and he leaned his head against hers softly. he could hear lexi and her parents talking in the car behind them and his untrained ears picked up some of the italian being spoken in the car. he lifted his head and grinned before he looked across the car at his mother in law. "sono contento di essere qui?" it was clunky and spoken with his usual accent but he tried. he hadn't been as strict with his learning of italian as he should have been over the years but he had tried to brush up on his skills before they'd came.

he couldn't wait to get to the villa and change out of the clothes he'd been in since they left england. it hadn't been a very long flight but flying was always grotty and the kids had been all over them, spilling drinks, food and of course the fluids that still flew out of their daughter like lightning had gone everywhere. so a shower, some clean clothes and a meal ladden with carbs, tomato, meat and gelato called his name and then sleeping till noon the day after. he knew the kids would be tired and that would make them hard to settle tonight but once they were down, he had plans to take lexi out onto the balcony, with a bottle of wine, some chocolate he's grabbed while they had been in duty free and to just take some time staring up at the stars.

[LEXI SAFFI WHITE]

"sono contento di essere qui?" Lexi shot James a quick grin and reached across the tiny space to give his hand a light squeeze. Maybe the odd lesson had sunk in somewhere. She didn't berate him for it - it was tough to learn a second language, especially as you got older; things didn't stick unless you practiced consistently. She tried to talk to the kids in Italian, she wasn't huge on culture but she wanted them to have the advantages she had by being bi-lingual. Jare could be stubborn about it, but he was already pretty fluid, she shared her babbling to Rory in equal English and Italian. "I am glad to hear it," Her mother responded in slightly stilted English of her own.

The drive wasn't too long and she was glad for it, winding down the window to let in a blast of air as the car began to get stuffy with all the people inside. "You must have dinner with us this evening, tesoro," Her father announced, and Lexi smiled, "That depends on what you're cooking." She joked, but she loved the food in her home country, and her parents were both good at cooking. "Non preoccuparti, tesoro, it will be me making the food," Her mother promised and Lexi laughed, seeing Jare brighten at the mention of food. "But not until later tonight, when you have had time to settle." her mother added, knowing they would likely need time to freshen up. Lexi knew she needed a shower and clean clothes, as did the kids to feel better. They could grab something to eat too, to keep them going until tonight. "That would be lovely," She said, glancing at James to make sure he didn't mind.

They pulled up outside a modest but respectable little villa. It was two stories, with three bedrooms - one with en-suit - and one master bathroom. It even had a lovely little pool in the back. Lexi could not say she grew up unlucky. As the car was put into park, she carefully climbing out with children in tow, turning to see if James needed any help climbing out at all as her father went around to pull out the back. "I have them, non provarci nemmeno" He warned as he saw her hesitate, about to try and help. Lexi raised a hand in surrender and tried to herd the kids toward the front door instead, opening up the wrought iron front gate for them to dash through; it was more of a tired waddle from Jare however.

JAMES EDWARD WHITE

[JAMES EDWARD WHITE]

LEXI SAFFI WHITE

james listened to them talk as they drove away from the airport, the traffic getting thinner and thinner the more they drove. while it was stressful travelling with the three kids, he did know that they needed to make the effort to come across more. it wasn't all that fair, the amount of time they spent with his family while lexi's parents didn't get to see them as much as they'd have liked. it had been hard for james to remember lexi's family at one time or another, because he was so used to just having his siblings they were the only family he'd had to think about. now there was lexi and the kids and her parents, it was a failing on his part and he knew it.

he heard them mention dinner and well it wasn't hard to see where their kids got their love of food from. he pulled himself from looking at the places they were passing and he shifted in the seat a little, making sure rory was still comfortable and he looked over at lexi and nodded lightly to her. it was fine with him if they went to her parents to eat tonight. that meant they could tuck the kids up early and settle into their first night there without too much stress of deciding to order in or go out to find food.

when they got to the villa james smiled a little and he nudged jare softly with his elbow, just to gently make sure he was awake enough to walk into the villa by himself. if he wasn't then james would come back and carry him in, because he doubted tae was going to let go of lexi for a little while. he hoped that being somewhere new would help him but there was going to be that time he took to get used to being there and james wasn't sure how long it would last. as he climbed out of the car, he heard lexi's father claim the bags as his job and he just looked over at him and smiled his thanks, adjusting the sleeping child in his arms as he walked to the door with lexi, going through the gates and trailing behind jare. "did you know it has a pool buddy?"

[LEXI SAFFI WHITE]

She smiled as James nodded to her look, glad that he was happy to do dinner later. It made things easier for her, it meant that they would all be fed without having to cook themselves, and they could at least have a couple of hours now to relax and unpack before they popped over to her childhood home. Her parents would help entertain the kids and they could just relax. There was a little car sat in the driveway in front of them and Lexi smiled; it was hers from when she'd learned to drive many years ago, left behind with her family when she moved to England. "We thought you could use it to get around," Her mother said when she caught Lexi looking at the Red Citroen. She glanced at James and then smiled, "That's brilliant, thank you mama," It would make things much easier for them to get around not having to rely on taxi's or asking her parents for a lift.

Lexi shifted Tae into a slightly more comfortable position, hoisting him onto her hip as they headed for the front door. "did you know it has a pool buddy?" He heard James ask their eldest and she smiled as Jare perked up a little. "There's a pool?" He asked, glancing around as if he expected to see it there and then. Lexi grinned and waited for her mother to take the lead at the front door, unlocking it with a set of keys and then handing the keys straight to Lexi with a smile. Her father shuffled in with the bags, Lexi felt guilty but he wouldn't let her anyway, gently dropping them in the entry way.

"Thank you," She kissed her father on each cheek. "We will leave you, let you settle in." Her father said. And though Lexi loved them and this felt short and sweet, she was a little glad - she wanted time to sort the kids and their bags. "You don't have to," She felt that she should say it and her mother chuckled, "No, we leave now. Give you both time." She smiled and Lexi pulled her into a hug, and then her father. "Come tonight for dinner... at 6," Her father said and she nodded, shifting Tae a little again and seeing them to the door. She gave them a wave as they headed back to their car, and when all the goodbyes were done she turned to James with a small smile. "Well, time to unpack then!"

JAMES EDWARD WHITE

[JAMES EDWARD WHITE]

LEXI SAFFI WHITE

well that was something that would take a heck of a weight off their shoulders. he spotted the little red car in the drive and he smiled at the thought of lexi being a teenager, running around in that with the music blaring, not a care in the world as the wind whipped the hair around her face with the hot sun baking down on her. it was a stark difference to the memory he had of him driving around when he'd been a teen with the rain, snow and grey skies of ireland. "thank you." he said with a genuine smile as he thought about how easy it was going to be to get around now. although he was going to check the tank when they were gone and if it was full he was going to need to find a way to thank them for that.

he saw his oldest perk up a little at the mention of the pool and he nodded quickly. "oh yeah there's a pool." he said with a bit of a chuckle as he reached to ruffle his hair gently. he'd known the idea of that would perk jare up more than a little and when tae was more awake and less cranky he'd be happy about it too. rory also but she had a little less freedom in the water than their other two did. as he stepped through the door he shifted rory in his hands so he could grab the stroller lexi's father had already got from the back of the car and he flicked it open carefully and then he leaned down to settle rory into it so she could keep napping while they got settled into the house. she was usually a good sleeper so it wouldn't matter if she slept and then had to sleep again later tonight.

james rested his hands on jare's shoulders gently as he watched lexi bid goodbye to her parents and he nodded his own as they left the small villa. it was then he took a quick moment to breath and just enjoy the fact they'd made it with all their luggage, all their children and not a squabble between any of them. even though james wasn't sure that would continue he was going to count it as a win that the three kids didn't try to kill each other while stuck in a metal bird. "alright!" he said as he looked down at jare. "if we get everything unpacked really quick, we can find your swimmers and you can go for a swim?" he wasn't against using bribery to get the boys to help unpack. "no packsing" he heard tae grumble sleepily from his mother's shoulder, his arms still hugged around her neck. "i sweepy." he saw the yawn and he looked at lexi quickly. it was going to be a fine line of keeping the boys awake long enough so they slept tonight and risking letting them nap now.

[LEXI SAFFI WHITE]

She felt like a weight had lifted as they arrived - not that there should have been any weight on her shoulders, and if anything most people thought that leaving home and landing in another country with kids in tow would have been more stressful not less. But for Lexi, it just made things fall into place a little. She had missed home, and her parents, and after a surprisingly easy flight and then the ease of being picked up and arriving to their beautiful villa with a car ready to go... it just helped her settle. England and James and their family was her home, through and through, but Italy was where she had been born and brought up for seventeen years, it was hard not to feel that little bit of right settle in her heart at returning back for a short stay.

She was ready to unpack and get everything set up now her parents had left. She hadn't brought too much; knowing the weather she had stuck to bikini's, shorts, tank tops and dresses. The weather was more intense than England, though she had to admit she preferred Italy's heat to England's. "alright!" Lexi looked over at James as she shut the front door after waving off her parents. She hoped this trip was good for them - it felt like it would be. Things had been unsettled since the drama with her fake brother, and the arguments that had followed. They had argued before, plenty actually, being both passionate and stubborn people meant that they were often drawn into them. This had felt big, though, both of them angry that the other hadn't trusted them. It took time to get over that, and she hoped that being away from their home and having fresh air and fresh scenery would make a difference. They had been mending fences slowly, and though they were back sharing a bed, things still felt off.. stilted. That wasn't them. Lexi's love language had always been touch, she loved being close to James; couldn't get enough of him. But there had been distance between them the size of the grand canyon, and she wanted that gone. She wanted him to hold her again, to kiss her, to remind her of how much he loved her - and her to him. She wanted to show him what he meant to her, how much he meant to her every day.

"if we get everything unpacked really quick, we can find your swimmers and you can go for a swim?" Lexi chuckled as Jare clapped his hands together excitedly and grabbed his little case, trying to heave it toward the stairs. "Careful, sweetie, daddy will help you." She promised, raising a brow pointedly at James. Jare sighed and looked at his dad, "hurrry," He complained. "no packsing" Lexi peered down at the child in her arms; grumpy child. "i sweepy." She exchanged a glance with James. "Well, how about we check out the pool first, and then you can have a little nap before dinner?" She promised, hoping that compromise what happened as she picked up once of the cases and headed up the stairs. She remembered the layout well enough and headed toward on of the smaller rooms to drop Tae's case off. "Look bud," She said softly, pointing to the animals painted on the walls.

JAMES EDWARD WHITE

[JAMES EDWARD WHITE]

LEXI SAFFI WHITE

he liked lexi's parents well enough, thought of them as family now. he'd fought them when he'd first joined their family through lexi. they'd been warm and loving and over the top and he hadn't known what to do with that. it had scared him at first, that it was all a ruse to build his trust so they could crush it by telling him that he wasn't good enough for their daughter. it hadn't been rational but it was his reality. he'd never had parents who had done that, the hands that had been supposed to comfort had hurt him instead, their words instead of loving had been harsh. so he for a long time he hadn't known how to accept it, how to take their words as truth rather than a lie, that when her father reached for him he wasn't going to knock his block off and the kiss her mother offered him wasn't one with a hidden meaning. it had taken him years to see they loved him just the same.

he wondered whether lexi had told them about the last few months. told them everything that had happened between them, with the man pretending to her brother and then everything that had happened between his arrival and now. he knew that he hadn't acted the best throughout but he'd been trying to protect his family the only way he'd known how, by barring his teeth and holding onto them as tightly as he could. it had shattered them, everything that had happened over the last few months. they were working through it but there was still something there that was broken. they didn't hold each other like they used to, their passion for each other was smaller, the conversations sometimes awkward and instead of spending every night wrapped up in each other's arms they slept apart, together but apart. he didn't know how to fix it but he wished he did. he missed having her in his arms, having her hair almost suffocating him at night, feeling her breath on her neck while he listened to her breathing in the dark, her soft hands running over his back when she couldn't sleep. it was the little things he missed most of all, he just missed her.

he chuckled as jare grabbed his case and he stepped forward, reaching over his son's shoulder to take the weight of the case for him. he saw the pointed look his son gave him and he held up his free hand in surrender and he grinned down at him. "i'm hurrying, lead the way boss." he said as he rested his hand down on jare's shoulder softly as they made their way up the stairs to where the boys would be staying. they'd have their own rooms here too, just like at home. he wasn't certain they'd stick to those rooms but he knew jare was more independent than tae was, so if anyone was going to stay in their own room all night it would be their oldest. "isn't this cool kiddo?" he said as he opened the door to the small rom jare would be in, glancing around at the animal paper, the bed with the matching bedspread.

tae was close to tears as he held onto his mother's neck, so desperate for sleep yet so unsure about being in a place he hardly remembered that he couldn't nod off against his mother's shoulder. he sniffled as he watched his brother and his dad head up the stairs without him and lexi and he held onto the heck of lexi's shirt a little tighter. he listened to his mother's words, focusing on the softness in her voice and he lifted his little face to look up to her and he twisted his mouth a little as he thought about what she said. he brought one hand to wipe it against his nose as he sniffed again and he nodded a bit. "otays." he said, the grumpy tone still there but more willing than before to listen to her. he held onto her neck as they walked up the stairs and he looked around a little curiously as the walked into the room and his gaze followed his mother's hand to the animals that were painted onto the wall. he reached his own little hand out to touch one of the face of the tiger that had been painted there. "tiger."

[LEXI SAFFI WHITE]

"isn't this cool kiddo?" Jare gave the room a look with a critical childish eye and then shrugged - he would like it tomorrow, but he was still cranky from the flight and whilst it was exciting, he was over that part of the journey and was half thinking about home. The place where all his toys were and it felt right. This place was nice and odd, but the allure of the pool was keeping him from doing a Tae and having a cry. The baby. Even Rory hadn't shed as many tears just yet and she really was the baby. He was young enough that he didn't know he was being mean, and he was tired enough that he didn't care. He set down his case and wrinkled his nose, bored of looking at the room - it was pretty bare and uninteresting aside from the bright colours and animals painted on the walls. Nothing fun to look at. "Pool now." He looked up at his dad with eyes the same shape and colour as his father - the same eyes that could get anything they wanted out of Lexi.

Her arms were full with Tae however as she focused on the young child clinging onto her with a death grip. She tried to point out all the exotic animals she knew he liked, forcing her voice to remain soft but excited to encourage him to feel the same. At the reach of his hand she grinned and moved closer so he could touch the animal. "tiger." She nodded in encouragement. "Yeah bud that's right - tiger. He'll protect you tonight, along with all the other animals." She said, gently bopping her son on the tip of his nose. "I think Jare wants to go in the pool, shall we get ready so we can play too?" She asked, thinking about how exhausting the day was going to be if she was going to have to work this hard with the boys. Rory was an easy baby but she'd never considered just how easy until now. She couldn't even spare a thought for her and James in these moments - and she needed to. They had things they needed to work out; important things - and she knew that they could once the kids were down but by then she felt she might just fall asleep by dropping wherever she stood.

"Okay everyone, pool time." She made the decision as she gently set Tae down. A couple of hours of play to cheer them up and then they'd be hungry enough to eat and that'd send them off into a good sleep tonight. She wondered if it might be worth rescheduling her parents dinner to tomorrow perhaps. Her gaze travelled naturally to her husband and she felt a bitter sweet pang. Normally by now he'd have come over and wrapped his arms around her, kissed her neck, made her smile. They had always been very much about touch, unable to let go of each other, she felt cold without him, never quite warm enough or settled, like something was missing; tense and on edge. God she missed him and he was standing right damn there.

JAMES EDWARD WHITE

[JAMES EDWARD WHITE]

LEXI SAFFI WHITE

he had to bite his lip and he had to bite it hard as he saw the grumpy look on his sons face. he knew it wasn't the time but it was so adorable and it was so much like looking in a mirror. jare was his spitting image and he'd been born with the same ability to be cranky more than most. even though jare was an easy going kid he had his moments and getting up early to fly to italy was more than enough reason to be cranky. he'd put up with so much the last few weeks and james was so proud of him. he'd taken james and lexi being so worried about tae so well. he seemed to know that his brother needed his parents and had let them do what they needed with his brother, but that didn't mean james was about to take it for granted, or punish him when he finally showed a little unhappiness. they were just so lucky he'd been so chilled until now. "please?" he added softly as he crouched down next to the case jarad had put down onto the ground and he opened it, rumaging through it until he found the bathers his son would need to get into the pool. "here bud, put these on and we can head down to the pool." he said as he stood up and he ruffled his sons dark hair.

he looked over at where lexi and tae stood next to the wall, pointing out the animals on the wallpaper. he smiled softly as he watched the two golden heads bent together as they looked at the different creatures there were. he walked over to tae's suitcase and crouched down at it, rummaging through it for his bathers just like he had for jare and he set them down on the bed tae would be sleeping in, reaching his hand to touch lexi's lower back lightly to let her know he was there. he watched as she bent to put tae down and he could see the lip start to quiver and he grabbed the bathers off the bed, crouching down and pulling the waist band of the shorts over his sons head with a smile. "is this how they go?" he said as he looked over at jarad with a smile and then back at tae, who as grumpy as he was, let out a soft giggle as he tried to push the pants off his head. "nooo." james grinned as he pulled them off his sons head gently and he handed them to him quickly. "you show me how they go then." he said as he stood up and he stepped around him to stand next to lexi.

tae didn't want to go into the pool, he was tired and he wanted to go to sleep but he knew that jarad really wanted the pool. the animals had been a good distraction for him until his mother had lowered him to the ground and his lip had quivered without him being able to help it. it was a strange place, even though he'd been here before. the memories were fuzzy and he couldn't see it all clearly but there was something familiar about it. he giggled, despite himself, when his dad pulled the short over his face, trying to push them off as he did. he looked up at his dads smiling face and he relaxed a little. his parents were more relaxed here and that made him relax a little too. he wasn't worried about why they were worried, why they were scared and why they were snapping at each other. it had left him unsettled and upset with no way of knowing why. he scratched at his forehead where his hair bounced against it and he did what his dad said and he put the new clothes on so they could go into the pool. "ready."

[LEXI SAFFI WHITE]

"please?" Jare's frown didn't budge for a moment as he watched his father crouch down in front of him, his eyes following his dad's movement. He didn't understand what the please was for. Please what? He didn't ask, puzzling it over for a moment. "here bud, put these on and we can head down to the pool." He took the clothing and scrunched his nose as the ruffle of his hair, patting it back down when James had moved on, but he did do as he was told and started to get changed for the pool, clumsily pulling on his bathing shorts. He liked swimming, and he always liked going to the pool at home, though this one probably didn't have the awesome slides and stuff. So it wasn't that bad, he was just tired and kind of wanted to go home in that moment. He knew things had been weird at home, being older than Tae he picked up more than just a vibe. He'd caught Lexi crying once even though she had tried hard not to let anyone see her, and he'd felt sad for it, trying to make her smile. He didn't like it when his parents fought. It wasn't a very normal occurrence for his family and it always felt off - and then there was Tae who really struggled with it, and he felt he had to big brother him so Tae wasn't so sad either. It was tough work.

Lexi looked up at the touch, having been so starved of it recently, anything between them almost caught her by surprise; if anything she was just hype aware of him in those moments. She bit back the sigh at the sight of Tae's wobbling lower lip. "is this how they go?" She smiled as James playfully put the bathers on her sons head instead. "nooo." And then her heart gave a little squeeze at the sound of his giggle. It had been missing recently, though having the other family come through and play with the kids had helped bring it out of them despite the tension in the house. "you show me how they go then." Lexi hovered for a moment, watching the kids as they grumpily sorted themselves out. "ready." She smiled and bent down to kiss the top of her son's head - both of them. "And look at you both! My favourite boys," Before having kids she could never have imagined loving something so much, but she couldn't love anything more now. "Okay, you two go down and jump in, we will be right there. Jare, look out for your brother and be careful please - no running or shoving." She knew it was a risk to leave them unsupervised for a minute with the water, but she trusted Jare as being old enough and responsible enough to look out for Tae and be sensible for a moment. Her parents had already set the pool up ready for them, so they didn't need to remove a cover. A few toys and floats were put in a box on the side, ready to dig through. Jare gave a nod to his mum with a serious face and went to grab his brothers hand, moving to toddle out of the room. "Come on Tae, let's play!"

"I'm just going to get ready too," She told James, having not prepared to hop straight into the pool, but she would rather be in her swim suit to play with the kids than sit at the side and have to just watch - especially with the mood they were in, they would need some encouragement. She headed into the master bedroom. It was a beautiful room, the kind of thing you might see on a honeymoon - which made her stomach flip a little. Beautiful four poster bed, large bay window to let in light with a cute little balcony, an old oak dresser and wardrobe, the adjoining bathroom was gorgeous, but she couldn't investigate the jet bath right now as she bent to flip open her case and dig out a simple green bikini, pulling off her comfy plane clothes and slipping on her swim suit.

JAMES EDWARD WHITE