((This is what Nicki and I had written up and planned for the future plot))
assuming its 15 years (This was the origional future time, then brought down to 10 years):
1) Jordan, 12, intuition
2) Aiden, 9, vaporization
3) Erin, 5, vocal pacifism
Nicki sighed as she looked up at her ceiling. Everything was getting so weird right now. Kaz had been gone for a few months, he was afraid that his physical control was slipping again and he had gone somewhere to try and get it back under control. Nicki understood; Kaz's powers were in constant flux and because they were in the physical realm Kaz was always afraid he was gonna hurt her. She had gotten used to his occasional absences (he even left only a month after their wedding) but this one was different. Kaz had been gone for months instead of weeks and to top it all of: Nicki was pregnant.
Kaz wasn't aware of Nicki's condition: they had made love right before he left and she figured that that was mostly likely when it happened. Nicki hadn't been sure until recently as well. She had started to vomit in the morning and when she had missed her period for the third month in a row she decided it was time to take an EPT. After seeing the two lines of positivist she made an appointment with her doctor and sure enough, Nicki was with child.
Nicki had to admit that she was scared. She was gonna have a baby. She knew everything there was to know about pregnancy and birthing (since her powers had gotten stronger, Nicki was able to absorb a lot more, letting her basically go through every medical text book and web site she could find without so much as breaking a sweat) but she was still scared. She didn't know how to handle this alone...she didn't want to handle this alone.
"Come on Kaz...hurry up for Christ sake..." Nicki sighed to her ceiling, turning on her side and holding on to her stomach lovingly. "You're gonna have a kid for crying out loud...you gotta come home Kaz..."~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sky was beautiful, clear and blue. Hardly a cloud in the sky. Short of breath Kaz looked up to the sky, facing the sun, which seemed to loom so close high up in the Himalaya Mountains. Breathing heavily he pushed on. Closing his eyes he concentrated on the earth and snow around him. Learning years ago that his mutation wasn't as simple as he had originally thought, he pushed himself to the physical limit. Laughing at the thought, <Physical limit. There is no limit.> Thrusting his arm out in front of him, the snow began to glisten, then melt, and finally after becoming a small stream, evaporate in front of Kaz, only to solidify a moment later and drop into his hand.
Moving his arm quickly in an arc, Kaz forced a strong gust to blow away the top layer of snow from the surface of the mountain. Water is a simple thing to manipulate. Little mass to control. Kneeling down, Kaz pressed his hand to the earth. Slowly his fingers began to seep into the ground, till his fingers were buried to the second knuckle. He felt the strength and how solid it was. He wanted to strip that strength, to make it as thin as wet paper. <Liquefy it.> Squeezing the earth in his hand the ground beneath him began to shudder slightly as the molecules began to move faster and faster, moving away from each other more and more. Kaz suddenly fell forward as the earth under his hand gave way as heated up and became liquid rock. Clenching his jaw Kaz forced the searing pain away as he forced his flesh and body to heal itself. Lifting up the chuck of magma into his hand, Kaz stared at it, seeing his flesh burn from the heat, his shirt was on fire.
Kaz's opposite hand was blue, frosting his hand up to his elbow. Without knowing it he had been making the molecules of the ice reach dangerously close to absolute zero. The nerves of each hand were numb with pain or cold, sending waves of pain to rack his body. Kaz's mind suddenly reeled on him, as he saw himself kissing some woman in a tavern, hand under her shirt and in her hair. His heart sank. Bile welled up in his throat. Tears ran freely from his eyes. Looking at his left hand, he saw his wedding band clearly through the ice that now covered his entire arm. He would welcome the pain of guilt till he died. He dishonored himself, but most of all, he dishonored Nicki. Crying out to the heavens, Kaz brought his arms together. Each arm seemed as if it was trying to destroy the other. Steam rolled up into the sky. When he moved his hands apart, a completely smooth and polished looking black rock fell to the ground at his feet. A second later his wedding band snapped. Kaz caught half of it with his right hand but the other half hit the black rock with a tinkling noise.
Kneeling down he put his hand into the snow and found the fallen half of the ring. "I'm sorry Nicki. I'm so sorry." Pressing the two halves together, he forced the metal to knit together with the other metal, returning the ring to its previously whole state. Kaz put the ring on his finger and looked out across the great expansive mountain range. His stomach groaned at him. Sighing Kaz knew he needed to eat. Food, water, sleep and air, were the few things he hadn't seemed to be able to lower his need for. Looking to a passing cloud in the distance, miles and miles away, Kaz made his body lighter and lighter until he just slightly too heavy to float away. Kicking off the earth and snow, he launched himself into the air, heading down the mountain range in great leaps, letting his much lighter body float down for the most part.
"You're gonna have a kid for crying out loud...you gotta come home Kaz..."
Kaz went wide eyed as he heard Nicki. <...Nicki....> His mental voice was soft and loving as he thought of his wife. His concentration vanished. He began to plummet to the ground hundreds of feet below at rapidly increasing speeds. <A kid? Me..a dad.> The rocks and earth below flew towards him becoming larger by the moment. <No...Not now...> 200, 150, 100, 75 feet. Twisting in the air as he fell, Kaz gathered up all his strength, steeled his will. He didn't bother trying to lighten his body, it took too long. Instead he just gathered all the force he could muster, focused it towards the ground and let loose. Twenty-five feet before smashing into the ground, Kaz let loose a spherical blast larger than any before. For a short moment, Kaz stood in the air, completely free from gravity's pull. The blast of force, whatever it was, Kaz wasn't even sure, crushed the rocks below into such a fine powder, when he did hit the ground, it was if he landed in a net that took all the force away letting him land safely.
Crawling out of the powder was a lot harder than ever would have imagined, but the thought of Nicki and his unborn child drove him to get out of his self made ditch in the earth. <Nicki....>
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Nicki sighed as she stood up, looking at herself in the full length mirror in the corner of the master bedroom. This place was huge without Kaz around...actually this place was just huge. The idea of having a little one running around and making some noise actually sounded a lot better than what was the current situation.
Nicki stood in front of the mirror and positioned her hands over to stomach, letting her stomach look bigger than it really was. She smiled as she looked at her reflection. This could be okay...sure she was young, but she had been preparing to have children since she was about fifteen. And she had grown so much since she had been with Kaz and particularly since they had been married. Nicki had found so much of herself, be it with her rising strength of personality or with her increasingly growing powers. She had found herself becoming more like a telepath than she had ever thought possible: she could actually implant ideas into people's heads. Maybe with all of this, maybe with Kaz, she could actually pull this off.
Nicki smiled brightly as she felt a thunk outside of her home. She laughed happily. Kaz was home. Nicki started running down the stairs, plugging in quick security codes as she ran as fast as she could. Just as she expected, Kaz was at the door by the time she finally got down stairs (he was faster and faster by the minute). Nicki flung her arms around Kaz's neck, kissing him strongly on his lips. "You heard me huh?" Nicki smiled as she pulled away. She took Kaz's hand and placed it on her stomach. "You're gonna be a daddy, Kaz." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaz's eyes went wide as Nicki nearly tackled him when she came down the stairs. Not that he would complain. He returned her kiss and held her close before he felt Nicki's stomach under his hand. "How did you..." Kaz was blank in his mind except for the bliss he was feeling. He was home. He was with Nicki again. Kaz felt everything about Nicki, he could feel the child growing within her. For a moment fear flooded him. He feared he would hurt their child, or worse Nicki. He bashed those feelings down and dead. Over the last few months he had gained a great deal of control over himself. He was only scared because he'd been alone for almost the whole time, only going into inhabited area's every so often for food if he had to, though he hadn't seen anyone before the last couple of days since. He was being paranoid.
Kaz ran his hands through Nicki's hair as he smiled widely at her. Kissing her forehead. "How long have you known?" Hugging Nicki, Kaz breathed in, savoring her scent. He held her close but still gently. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry I wasn't here for you." Kaz looked Nicki in the eyes. He could tell she had grown up a bit more since he had last seen her. Kaz remembered years ago when he first saw Nicki. In the infirmary at Xavier's Sister School. She looked so young then. Young and innocent, and naive about the world. But it wasn't until they spoke in the library that his thoughts about her changed. She wasn't just some ordinary teenager. Smart, funny, caring, mature, and she didn't run from him or have an ulterior motive for talking to him. He couldn't imagine his world without her in it.
Kaz put his arms under Nicki gently, and walked them up the stairs to the couch, being extra careful to not bump into anything. As he walked he looked around. He couldn't help feel bad about leaving her there alone, it had a similar feel to an old castle. Strong, safe, quiet and stale. Kaz set Nicki on the couch then sat next to her, half on the cushion as he faced her. His smile never left his face. "I heard you as if you were right next to me, just as was heading down the mountains. I came as fast as I could." He had done just that, not bothering to board a ship or plane, he just ran across the earth and water. He had stopped at a bank when he got into town, got some money and bought some decent clothes. He wouldn't go home to Nicki in the rags he had been wearing.
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Nicki chuckled as Kaz started treating her like glass. She laughed softly as she sat down next to her husband. "Please please, come on babe. I'm not gonna crumble in front of you, I promise." Nicki laughed, pushing her forehead to Kaz's. She smiled happily, stroking his cheeks. She was so happy he was home. Things just made more sense when Kaz was around.
"I felt like you would. I've gotten stronger since you left hon...a lot stronger. It's not just you who can hear what I think anymore. It's not just your thoughts echoing in my head. It's everyone. I knew where you were...half way across the world, I knew where you were." Nicki smiled, pushing her head closer to Kaz's. "I've only known for sure for about two days. But I'm three months along...I'm gonna start showing in a month," Nicki chuckled happily, leaning in and kissing Kaz softly.
Suddenly Nicki pulled away from him, looking into Kaz's eyes with a blank expression. Her face twisted in anger and Nicki grabbed Kaz by the upper end of his ear and twisted it. "You made out with some girl in a bar!?!?" Nicki twisted harder, her voice accusatory even though she knew exactly what had happened.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaz laughed at himself as Nicki poked fun at him. He had to admit he was being a bit over protective of her. Why was he suddenly acting like that? He never had before. And for up and leaving for months on end, he didn't feel he had the right. His inner thoughts were a jumble. He took a deep breath. Kaz listened intently as Nicki explained to him how her abilities had been growing. He had always known she could do much more, but he was surprised at how much more, and so quickly. "You been getting any headaches or anything? Overloading at all?" He laid his hand on her stomach again and rubbed his thumb against her softly. "Three months huh? Have you told anyone? You're mom maybe?"
It hit him just as she pulled away from him, <She knew where I was...> His mind had no time to continue that line of thinking before she twisted his ear. He clenched his teeth. It hurt but not as much as her words and tone. Mostly because he knew he had been wrong in what he did. Taking his hand off of her he looked down and away from her, ashamed and guild ridden. All he could do was nod when she accused him. No, not accused him. That would imply possible doubt. There wasn't any. He had done it. Regardless of his mental and physical state, he had done it freely. Soft, full of sorrow and regret, "Yes. I'm so sorry. There's no excuse for what I did." Glancing up at her, then back to the floor. "Believe me, I felt like killing myself once I realizing what I was doing...I thought of you and...." Kaz dropped his head further. "I'm so sorry."
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Nicki chuckled as she heard all of Kaz's thoughts go crazy in his head. "Shhhh, its okay honey. I know you're just be protective and just cause you were gone for a few months doesn't mean you give up all husband-rights in worrying about me."
"I've been getting headaches but that's from morning sickness," Nicki chuckled as Kaz started asking more and more questions. "No overloading. I haven't had one since that time last May and I'm handling so much more information than I ever did before. I've absorbed medical websites. I can turn on and off telepathy...I'm in completely control of my powers for the first time in my life," Nicki smiled happily.
Nicki twisted Kaz's ear a little harder before looking down to him. She lifted his head by the ear and made him look directly in her eyes. "Do it again, and I'm telling Abby." Nicki threatened. Even to someone as strong as Kaz, the threat of Abyss was a serious one. Nicki and Abyss had gotten very close in the year since Kaz and she had gotten married and she had come to think of Abyss as the big brother she always should have had rather than the one she got stuck with. "There is absolutely more important things going at the moment and I'd rather focus on that. I know you're sorry, I know you've been tearing yourself up about it, as you should be, and it's not okay; but I don't want to focus on it. We'll both let it go?" Nicki asked. Kaz had the tendency of sticking to things that made him miserable and Nicki was asking him more to let it go than anything else. Yes, she was mad, but she still trusted Kaz with everything she had. The situation was an odd one, with Kaz's mind and body going through things that were likely to take over at one point or another. Nicki was willing to let it go if she was assured that it would never happen again. The fact that Kaz was also not denying it (not that he could) was making it easier to let go. "And you owe me something shiny..." Nicki added as she released his ear and let her hand wander back down to her stomach.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaz nodded and listened to Nicki and she told him she was alright, and that he still be be protective. Something like that should have been obvious to Kaz, it normally would have, but recent events and happenings had thrown him through a large loop. "That's great love." He spoke with a smile. He was very happy for her that she could control her powers so they give her problems anymore. "Is there anything that can help with the morning sickness? Anything I can do?"
Abby, Nicki's nickname for Abyss, maybe others called him that too, Kaz didn't know. To him, Abyss would always be Abyss. It had been a long time since Kaz feared anything that Abyss 'could' do to him. With Kaz's new growth in power, he could reach Abyss' strength easily while moving at incredible speeds, even make his hand so thin, it would cut at the atomic level. His fear of Abyss came not from powers, but his words. Abyss had been Kaz's best bud for some years now, and what he had to say really held weight with Kaz.
Kaz looked up to Nicki, straight in the eyes as she told him he had been wrong to do what he did, that she was mad, and obviously hurt. But he also saw understanding there. Understanding how sorry he was, that he felt like crap about it, and that he would never do it again. She wanted to let it go. She was asking him to let it go. "I'll try." He wouldn't lie. It wasn't something as simple as throwing out the trash, not for him. But he would try. She was right though, again, like many times before then, there were more important things to worry about at the moment.
"And you owe me something shiny..."
Kaz looked at her curiously, then understood that the subject was being dropped. Absently he rubbed his ear that she had just let go and spoke under his breath, "Shiny?" He went through is brain, trying to remember if he had said he'd bring her something shiny. After a moment he felt stupid. "A car?" He cracked a small smile as he looked at her. Setting his hand on his thigh, he felt something hard in his pocket. Reaching in, he touched a cool, smooth, solid object. <The stone.> He pulled it out and looked at it as he held it out of her view. Nodding slightly, he held it in his hand, covering it completely, took her hand in his and set it in her hand. He looked at her eyes as he moved his hand away.
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Nicki looked down to the stone she was holding, examining it briefly before looking up and smiling to Kaz. "You made this..." she smiled sweetly. Kaz's powers were mind blowing for Nicki, always had been, always would be. Things had gotten more intense with Kaz though: he was starting to gain control over the physical realm. Nicki had started to call him Neo as a joke but then again...it fit somewhat.
Since he started to understand he could bend the world to his own view, Kaz had taken to making things for Nicki: things like stones and gems...he had even take a lump of coal and made a diamond for her. She had such a wide collection of odd things from Kaz that she would never be able to explain it should anyone ask...
Like their child...
"We're gonna have a baby honey..." Nicki smiled happily.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
((Time Jump, five years))
Kaz looked up from his desk in the study at his list of To-Do's. Swimming pool, sun window in the bedroom, new windows for the living room and kitchen... <Oh, that's right..> Finish Aiden's room. Kaz shook his head slightly as he thought of his second son. The little one was two years old already, "And I still haven't finished the room." Laughing he got up from the chair and headed towards the hallway. Looking around he didn't see Nicki, so he called to her, "Hun, will ya be alright with the kids if I run out to the store for a bit? Gonna try to get Aiden's room finished soon!" Sure, he could have had contractors come out and do it, but Kaz had built the rest of the house by hand. Of course he had no idea how to do it at first, Nicki had taught him and shown him how to do it all and drew up the plans.
Heading out to the car he kept reading his list and what he needed to get. Never realizing he didn't have his wallet or keys. He had already gotten inside the five car garage and into the truck before he ever thought of them.
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"SURE HONEY!" Nicki yelled back to her husband. She was in the boys room (It was supposed to be just Jordan's but Kaz was really taking his time finishing Aiden's room), changing their littlest with Jordan at her side.
"Mommy, can I go wit Daddy?" Jordan asked, looking up to Nicki. She smiled down at her little boy. He looked like his dad and it wasn't just the shining silver locks (which Nicki insisted on keeping short). He even had his father's adventurous spirit. Nicki finished with Aiden's diaper quickly.
"If you want, I'm sure Daddy will need someone big and strong to help carry everything he's gonna need to finish Aiden's room," Nicki smiled down to her eldest. Jordon smiled proudly and showed his mother his muscles. "Wow! I think you fit the ticket. I'll call Daddy and tell him not to leave yet okay?"
"You don't need to Mommy," Jordan smiled and started to run. Nicki picked up Aiden and went after him.
"Bean I know you're fast but that the garage is really far away honey."
"No silly Mommy! Daddy's coming back!" Jordan laughed.
"Why would he be comi-"
And before Nicki could said another word, Kaz was through the door. Nicki's mouth dropped slightly and looked down to her son.
"Dada!" Aiden gurgled.
"Daddy, can I go wit you to da store?" Jordan asked, looking up to his father's crimson eyes.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaz nearly bumped into Jordan as he came back into the house. "Whoa, little speedster there." He saw Nicki's look of surprise and raised an eyebrow. <What? Did I suddenly go bald? Please tell me I didn't.> Kaz got down on one knee and put his hand on Jordan's head, tussling his hair a bit. "Sure. You can help me carry things home to finish your brother's room....Soon as I find my wallet and keys."
"I know where dey are." Jordan said with a mischievous smile, one he seemed to wear a lot.
"Oh you do huh? Did you hide them somewhere?" Kaz asked with a smile thinking Jordan was playing a game.
Shaking his head, which made his short silver hair toss around. "Uh-uh."
"Did Aiden?"
Giggling, "Noooooo." Jordan began to rock back and forth on his feet.
"Mommy?" Kaz looked up at Nicki, hoping she knew what the little one did.
Turning around Jordan ran back the way he and Nicki had come from, stumbling once before he reached the stairs. Kaz stood up and watched his son run off.
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Nicki moved down the stairs slowly, bouncing Aiden as he got fussy, wanting to be set down. As she got down the stairs, Nicki set Aiden down to he could bobble around a little.
"Honey...I don't think Jordan hid them...I think Jordan might just..." Nicki stopped again, thinking of how phrase what she was thinking. "Jordan knew you were coming back up. Before anything else he knew you were coming back up..."
Jordan came running towards the stairs before grabbing the banister the best he could and walking down the stairs carefully. He got down to the bottom and showed the wallet and keys to Kaz.
"See Daddy! Found em!" Jordan smiled brightly. He leaned down briefly to kiss his brother on the head and then scooted by, running over to Kaz. Jordan seemed to have a thought suddenly and turned around, kissing Nicki's tummy. "Cause sisters need kissies too right Mommy?" Jordan asked.
Nicki's eyes went wide. She had only recently found out that she was pregnant yet again...heck, she was probably only about a month a long. She looked down to her little one, a confused look on her face.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaz looked at Nicki quizzically. "How could he? I mean I do sometimes forget the keys but...Maybe he was just hoping and got lucky..." Kaz doubted it was such a big coincidence, and he was sure Nicki would doubt it too. Kaz watched Aiden take a few tentative steps around Nicki's feet and smiled. He liked to be around mommy that was for sure, <Momma's boy.>
"Careful Jordan." Kaz called out as Jordan came down the stairs. When the boy showed the keys and wallet Kaz remembered he left them on the nightstand. "Thanks kiddo. You're like a blood hound, you knew right were they were." He smiled, showing his son that he was proud of him, as he kissed his little brother's head.
Kaz had just opened up the door when he heard, "Cause sisters need kissies too right Mommy?" <Wishful thinking of a kid.> He thought as he looked at Jordan then to Nicki. The look of shock on her face told him he was wrong. "You're not? Are you? When did..." He looked at Jordan and put his hand on the boy's head as he came near, "How did he..." Kaz's expression was one of complete dumbfoundedness.
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Nicki nodded as Kaz asked her if she was pregnant. "I just took the test this morning..." Nicki shook her head, amazed. "It's positive. I..." Nicki smiled happily. "I was gonna tell you tonight..." Nicki scrunched her nose as her husband for leaning down, getting on eye level with her oldest son.
"Hey Bean, how do you know all these things? Like how do you know you're gonna have another little one to look after? And how do you know it's gonna be a girl? And how did you know about Daddy coming back and Daddy's keys?" Nicki asked, holding her little boy's hands.
"I dunno Mommy," Jordan shrugged, looking up to Nicki's eyes. "I just knew. Like how you know when I'm thinking about stealing a cookie..."
Nicki's eyes moved to Kaz's. Nicki did know when her little boy was going to steal a cookie...did her little boy know for the same reasons?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaz couldn't help but smile as Nicki told him it was true. That they'd be having another child. He wanted to hug her right on the spot and plant a kiss on her lips, but Jordan was the big issue at the moment. Kaz leaned over a bit and picked up Aiden as Nicki began asking Jordan questions. <You think he's telepathic?> Kaz watched Jordan shrug and met Nicki's gaze. Looking back to Jordan his brow furrowed a bit, "You steal cookies?" Kaz shook his head slightly as he chuckled. Jordan looked at his dad and seemed to slump a bit his face showing that all telling 'uh-oh' look.
Aiden began to shuffle in Kaz's arms and lean towards Nicki. Kaz began to move to set him down when Jordan turned and grabbed Aiden's nook from the coffee table. Standing on his tip toes he held the nook out to Aiden who took it and put it in his mouth. Aiden laid his head on Kaz's shoulder. Raising an eyebrow, "Did Aiden say something to you?"
Shaking his head, "No." Jordan seemed to become a bit confused why Nicki and Kaz were asking him so many questions.
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Nicki kissed Jordan's head, ruffling his hair and trying to reassure him that he wasn't in any trouble. "Don't worry honey, we're just trying to figure some stuff out. You seem to know so so so so SO much," Nicki smiled, tickling her son on the last 'so'. "And we're just trying to figure out how you knew some of this stuff. Like...how you knew Aiden wanted his nook. It sounds like you just kinda know though huh?"
Jordan nodded his head again, his worried look shifting a little. "Is it bad I know so so so much?" he asked.
"Oooh, no honey. Not at all," Nicki smiled and crossed her legs under herself, hugging her son tightly. She then sat him down in her lap. "Okay, you know how Mommy and Daddy have really cool powers? Like how Uncle Abyss does too?" Nicki asked. Jordan nodded his head. The two had been very forthcoming with their children since they knew it was likely they would have powers too. Nicki had been somewhat expecting to have this conversation with her son for quite awhile. "Well, we think because Daddy and Mommy have powers and you're made up of parts of Mommy and Daddy, you'll have powers too. And we're trying to figure out if this is your power. Does that make sense?" Nicki asked. Jordan nodded.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaz gently twisted his torso slowly side to side as Aiden lay against him, quiet with eyes half shut. For being only five, Jordan was quite smart and understanding. Perhaps that was also his ability, but perhaps not. When the discussion of whether or not to tell Jordan about their abilities came up, Kaz was reluctant. He hadn't been sure of letting him know at such a young age, though it would be hard to explain Abyss when he would stop over and some of the other things that happened if they didn't tell him. Nicki had been fairly adamant about telling him. Kaz had agreed, partly because Nicki was Mom, and they usually seemed to know a thing or two, and also because, well, Nicki really did know more than Kaz. Once it was decided he fully supported the choice. Now that it seemed Jordan may be developing his own abilities, he was quite glad they had told him.
"If he really does just 'know' things...I have no doubt he'd do well at casinos." Kaz couldn't help himself and laughed at himself. Looking at Jordan sitting on Nicki's lap and Aiden in Kaz's arms, Kaz couldn't help but feel a bit out of place. He'd been a father for five, almost six years already, but still he felt odd at times. Nicki was defiantly more the caretaker of the kids, while Kaz felt more the protector. He didn't always know what to say to Jordan, and this was one of those times. He was very glad Nicki had explained it to him, he would have probably jumbled everything up and really confused the boy.
Kaz kneeled down and looked at Jordan. "How about after we go to the store we all go for ice cream?" He looked at Nicki, basically inviting her and Aiden to come with. They'd have to take the van, but Kaz could have the construction materials ordered and delivered to the house. Ice cream sounded good, a way to celebrate two surprises in one day. Jordan looked at his dad and smiled immediately at the thought of ice cream, "Yay! Can I get two scoops? Pleeeeaase!"
Kaz laughed, "Sure, but only if you get Aiden's diaper bag." Jordan got up and ran upstairs. When Jordan had reached the stairs, Kaz leaned towards Nicki and kissed her deeply. "Family just keeps growing huh." Kaz smiled as he ran his hand through Nicki's hair.
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Nicki smiled as she looked up and saw her husband with their little one...or their would-be middle child. She had seen a lot change in Kaz since they got married but even more since he became a father. Nicki knew that Kaz felt out of place in the situation, mostly because Kaz didn't think of himself as tender. Kaz was constantly convinced he was going to be something of a negative influence on the children, but Nicki did the best she could to squash that idea.
It was clear with Jordan. That little boy thought Kaz held the moon. It was clear to see how much Jordan adored his dad and the older he got the clearer it was, thought it was evident to Nicki since the moment Jordan was born. He had always been more comfortable lying on his father than he had on Nicki. It was a great moment when that uncomfortable look stopped appearing on Kaz's face when Jordan would crawl onto him while Kaz slept. Kaz might not have seen the change in himself but it was clear solely by the careful hand on Aiden's back.
Nicki smiled as Kaz bent down and kissed her. She rose to her feet and leaned in, kissing Aiden on the cheek and giving another one to Kaz. "I know. It's like falling off a log with us isn't it?" Nicki laughed. Her nerves about having another baby were gone: she was sure that they could handle it. Nicki remembered her first pregnancy, her first delivery even, and how scared she was. None of those feelings remained; just the unbelievable happiness that came with expecting another little one. "We gotta take a break after this one..." Nicki chuckled, placing a hand on her stomach. "Or else you'll be building rooms for the rest of our lives."~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaz laughed at Nicki's comment. He looked out the window for a moment then back to his wife. "I think New York’s got enough room for that." He winked at her before kissing her again. "EWWWWWWWWWW!" Jordan said with a half smile half frown on his face. "Daddy's got girl germs!" He burst into a giggle-fit and handed over Aiden's bag to Nicki.
"Oh I do huh. Well I bet I can beat you to the car still. If I catch you I'll get mom to give you those girl germs too."
Jordan shook his head violently. "Nuh-uh!"
Standing up straighter, Kaz put his hand, with the keys, on his hip, "Oh, You don't think I'll beat ya huh?"
"Nope!" Jordan bolted for the door but snatched the keys from Kaz's hand before he ran out the door, giggling all the way to the garage. Kaz looked at Nicki, shrugged then 'ran' after their son. "Oh you little sneak! I'm gonna tickle you like you've never been tickled before!"
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((time shifts forward 8 months))
Nicki sighed as she looked up at the ceiling of her spacious bedroom. The California King bed that she used to think was so comfortable was now the equivalent of prison - being the HUGE kind of pregnant she was she wasn't able to move very well without some help. That and she had the worst time sleeping when she was forced to be on her back. Nicki tried to shift a little, all but failing except she managed to move an inch...just enough to make the little one fall directly on her bladder. Nicki rolled her eyes.
But she had to be happy. Today was Saturday. That meant that around seven o'clock Jordan would rush into the room and tell Kaz to wake up Aiden so the family could watch cartoons in the bed together. Nicki loved this tradition and it was actually kind of extra fun since she got pregnant: Jordan got the biggest kick out of putting Aiden on her stomach and watching him go up and down in such an exaggerated way.
Nicki sighed, trying to look at the clock. Failure. She tried to grab Kaz's wrist to look at his watch but remembered he had stopped wearing it when his battery died. Nicki sighed once again, frustrated.
"Honey? Kaz, are you awake?" she asked~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaz had been laying in the bed relatively quiet, close to drifting off to dreamland just as Nicki asked if he was awake. Lifting him up a bit he pushed some pillows up against the head of the bed and sat up a bit more using the pillows for support. "Now I am." He said in a joking tone. Kaz set his hand on Nicki's stomach, "How ya doin?" Kaz looked at the clock and sighed, "3, 2, 1." As soon as he hit one, Jordan ran into the room and jumped onto the bed, right onto Kaz's chest, nearly knocking the wind out of him. "Oof! You're getting heavy kiddo. It's time isn't it?"
Jordan nodded excitedly. "Alrighty then. Could you get Aiden for me?" Jordan nodded, got off the bed and got his brother from his room, carrying him slowly into the room, being as careful as he could. Kaz took Aiden from the boy, set him in his lap and then lifted Jordan into the bed. Kaz handed Jordan one of the remotes to the tv, both he and Nicki had one, on either side of the bed. Turning the tv on, Jordan went right to the On Demand menu and pulled up old episodes of Tom and Jerry. Once Jordan had laid on his stomach with his feet in the air, moving back and forth as he watched the cartoon, Kaz looked over at Nicki, "Something on your mind love?"
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Nicki smiled as Jordan ran into the room. "Hey there Bean. Where's Mommy's kiss?" Nicki smiled sweetly. Jordan leaned over and gave Nicki a kiss on the lips and stomach before taking off to go and get his little brother. Nicki thought about if Jordan could lift his younger brother out of the crib but remembered that Kaz had taught the boy how to lower one of the sides of the crib to allow Aiden to get out on his own.
Nicki looked over to her husband, a slightly pained look on her face. "Move me please?" she asked with desperation in her voice. "The little one's been sitting on my bladder for like five minutes," Nicki chuckled.
Nicki smiled as she was moved to the similar sitting position that Kaz was, just with extra pillows. Nicki sighed in a much happier way than she had been that morning. "Good morning honey," she smiled and leaned slightly, catching Kaz's lips.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaz hid his smile and small bit of laughter as he helped Nicki into a more comfortable position. He knew he shouldn't laugh, it wasn't nice, but it was one of those random reactions people just couldn't always help from having. Though he did feel for Nicki. Not that he knew what it was like to have a kid inside ya pressing on all of your innards. "If ya need to use the restroom, let me know." When Nicki was pregnant with Jordan, she had had to use the rest room often, and it seemed to be a normal thing. When she had to go....she had to go 10 minutes ago.
Kaz returned Nicki's kiss before leaning over and gently setting his head on her stomach listening to the little one within, Aiden sat entranced with the tv just like his brother, so he wasn't bothered by Kaz's movements. Kaz kissed Nicki's stomach before sitting back again in the bed. "Ya know, you're getting close to the day....I think we should think of a name for her."
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Nicki laughed as the kids came running back into the room and jumped onto the bed. She giggled a little, watching as Aiden focused on doing the exact same thing that his older brother was doing. Aiden was getting close to three and was starting to become completely infatuated with his older brother as all little ones did. Nicki loved to watch the two boys do anything together.
Nicki smiled down as her husband laid on her tummy, kissing it. Nicki smiled brightly and stroked his silver hair, leaning the best she could to kiss his forehead.
"Oh my Gosh, that's true. We haven't settled on a name now have we?" Nicki shook her head. The name thing was odd: Kaz and Nicki always picked out both a boy and a girl's name since they never wanted to know what their baby was, but because Jordan had guessed as to the baby's sex the couple decided to find out if he was right. And he was. So the fact that they didn't have to settle on a boy's name made it feel as thought they were further along.
"Well, I know you have issues with it, but I still am thinking about Barbara after my mother..." Nicki shrugged.
"Barbara's a Grandma name Mommy, not a sister name," Jordan chuckled as he watched the Flinstones.
"Yeah Mommy, naw a sissa name," Aiden followed.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaz knew what Nicki was about to suggest and nearly sighed when she said it. Nicki's mom was a decent woman and all, but...he didn't quite like the idea of his daughter being named after her. He wasn't able to explain why, it just didn't sit well with him. Kaz couldn't hold his laugh in as Jordan and Aiden put their two cents in. "I think that's three against one hun." He gave her a playful smile. Kaz leaned over a bit to the nightstand next to him and opened the drawer, grabbing a pen and paper. "Maybe we should write a list down and figure it out from there?" He looked at Nicki to get her thoughts before he pushed it or continued further.
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((That's all that we had gotten written.....))
