Chapter 121

**Artemis**


Seeing Blue juggle, the children’s home and motherhood is like watching a bee buzzing around a hive. She has been going non-stop and is trying so hard to make up for the time she lost not being there to help. I know she thinks that she will let someone down if she isn’t giving one hundred percent of herself in everything she does, but I can see her burning out. At night she’s been crashing as soon as her head hits the pillow, but she’s up any time the triplets need to be changed or fed.

I try to help as best I can, but she always tells me to sleep, and she will handle things. Only she doesn’t realize that she sleeps through a few of the nightly cries, and I make sure nothing wakes her. Now that she will let the babies in the nursery, I turn off the monitor while I’m in there and switch to getting alerts on my phone. That way she can sleep, and I’ll still be able to hear the babies.

She needs the rest. Since the babies came, I’ve been in full dad duty. Not that I don’t work anymore, but I try to keep my work minimal for now. Once the kids are older than I will put more time into work, but right now we only have one client we do security work for so that doesn’t take much time. Besides that, we have been working on different charity projects, and we will be attending a charity ball in our honor next week. This charity event will be all about the hard work both Abigail and Blue have put into the children’s homes.

The charity board wants to honor them specifically and donate to their work as well. It’s a special event and one they deserve.

“Dad! Can I have a friend over today after school?” Lilly asks from the back seat.

She and I have our times in the morning when I drop her off at school where she can talk to me about anything. Did you know that eight-year-olds are very smart? At least our daughter is. Sometimes I forget that she’s a child because of how mature she speaks sometimes. She also has a habit of worrying about things that no child should need to worry about. There has been many occasions when I’ve had to remind her that she’s a kid and all those big things are for us to worry about.

Slowly she’s gotten better at being a normal kid and even though I encourage it I’m not sure how I feel about playdates. For the one fact that her new best friend is a boy. Trust me, I have done my best to discourage it, but just like Blue, she’s stubborn and determined. She might not be our blood, but she and Blue are cut from the same cloth. I hope that over time she’ll pick up something from me as well, but that hasn’t happened yet.
“Which friend?” I ask her hoping that it’s anyone other than…

“Jaime! His mom said he can come over to our house. We want to watch the new movie that came out last week.”

I tighten my hold on the steering wheel and try my best to not show how annoyed I get by the mere mention of that punk’s name. If Blue were here, she wouldn’t hesitate in agreeing, but I’m not her. She’s all about fun and spontaneity while I’m not quiet in her league. Sure, I’ve changed a lot since we’ve been together, but some things never change, like my need to plan and organize things. I still plan my days out to the hour and hope that everything goes smoothly. With four kids that hardly ever works but I try anyway.

“Sure, he can come, but Dane will be hanging out with you guys too.” I tell her.

“Okay!” She says happily.

She and Dane are a package deal at this point. He is her shadow and she’s happy to have him following her around. I tried to convince the principal that he needed to accompany her to school as well, but she wouldn’t hear of it. She assured me that their security was more than enough. What I didn’t tell her is that Dane is parked outside every day, and we designed a camera inside Lilly’s wheelchair as well as an earpiece she can use if she needs him.

All of which she was happy to have. She says it all makes her superhero like Iron Man but a girl version. I have to agree with her there. She could be an epic superhero with the hardware she’s packing.

“Will his mother be bringing him or is he coming in our car?” I ask her regarding her friend.

“He is coming with us!” She’s smiling like this is the best day of her life.

Fuck she better not have a little kid crush on that boy, or I won’t be able to guarantee to return him to his mother completely intact. By the time we arrive at Lilly’s school I have brought myself to the point of wanting to leave that boy at a bus stop somewhere and force him to hitchhike home. Yes, I know he’s a kid but he’s going near my kid and that’s a dangerous place to be for anyone.

I park on the side of the road and open the door and lower the ramp from the council in the front seat, but I also climb out to make sure Lilly gets out properly. She’s still young so I don’t want to leave her alone for this part until she’s used to it.

Just like with her wheelchair, our car is specially designed for her and to make getting in and out easier on her. We also have a special arrangement for the triplets as well.

“Lilly bug!” Someone calls out.

Lilly’s face brightens and she tilts her head around me. “JayJay!” She calls out in reply.

I step aside in time to see the boy of the hour running over to us. Lilly wheels herself away from the car but stops when THE BOY meets her.

“I brought you your favorite!” The boy says before pulling out something from his backpack.

Lilly gasps and takes it. Her hand strength has improved a lot and she’s gotten much better at gripping and holding things.

“Wow, thanks Jay Jay.” She holds whatever it is wrapped in what looks like wax paper to her chest like it’s a teddy bear. “My dad said you can come over today! You can ride in our special car.”

“Okay! Hi Lilly’s dad.” The kid says waving happily at me.

I tilt my head at him but cross my arms and give him a stern look. The kid is oblivious and walks around Lilly’s chair to push her along.

“Bye Dad!” Lilly calls over her shoulder and then they’re gone.

My phone rings and I smile when I see it’s Blue calling.

“Hey beautiful.” I say when I accept the call.

“Hi! I wanted to make sure Lilly told you about the playdate today. I spoke to Jaime’s mom and everything has been planned, so I hope you were nice to him today.” I can see that look she makes when she is silently asking me if I did something stupid.

“Lilly asked and informed the boy that we will be taking him in our car. I did not say a single word to him, so stop worrying.”

“His name is Jamie by the way, and of course I worry. Lilly has had some difficulty making friends and Jamie has stood up for her so many times. He’s a good kid.”

“What do you mean? Why would he need to stand up for her? What happened?” This is the first time I’ve heard of an issue like this at her new school.

“It’s nothing major, but kids can be mean. A couple of girls said some hurtful things to her, but Jaime stepped in and handled business. You know he reminds me a little bit of you.” I can hear the smirk in her voice.

“Don’t you dare compare me to an eight-year-old boy. We are nothing alike. Also, he gave her a gift of some kind, do you know what it is?” I ask moving the conversation back to what matters.

“Oh! Yeah, it’s super sweet. Jaime’s mom made him these apple turnovers one day and Lilly loved them. So, he brought her a new flavor on another day and has been bringing her new flavored turnovers ever since. Isn’t that so sweet?”

He’s been feeding her all that sugar?

“Leave it alone Artemis. He’s sweet and not doing any harm. If you mess with that boy, I swear to god that you won’t be getting off in any way shape or form for the next month. Okay sweety? Love you!” She hangs up on me, leaving me in silent pain.

She sure knows the right way to threaten a guy.