The next morning I was awoken at 3 in the morning by Brooklyn who was hungry, and as I walked around the kitchen feeding him my mind travelled to what Ashton and I had talked about the night before.

Having another kid so soon after I had Brooklyn was a lot to take in. Ashton was going on tour soon, there was no where to put another child, I didn't know if we could physically and mentally have another baby right now.

I was so deep in thought that I couldn't go back to sleep and brought Brooklyn over to the sofa with me, curling up and snuggling him to me.

I was so in love with Brooklyn. He was my son and he had changed my life completely for the better. I was going to get to love him for the rest of my life and he was mine forever.

Being an actual mother was the most amazing thing and I couldn't imagine my life now without him.

I didn't notice Ashton walking into the living room until he sat down next to me, his leg touching mine.

"What are you thinking?" He asked me softly and I spoke not moving my eyes from Brooklyn's face.

"I don't know if we are ready to have another baby."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because, you're going to go on tour soon, there's no where to put another baby, there's  a lot of things that go along with it and I don't know if we can do it."

"Well, why don't before we make any final decisions we go talk to your doctor to see if we can. And if we can then we will discuss it further until we figure out what to do for us, and if not then we will wait until we can have another child."

I didn't reply.

"Carter if you're not ready then we won't do this. I was just talking last night, I don't want to pressure or rush you into having another baby with me if you're not ready."

I took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled it.

"I'm just scared."

"Why are you scared?"

"Because I know that if I get pregnant again then in a few weeks you're going to leave for tour and you're going to be gone. I'm going to be alone with our baby and another one on the way and I don't know if I'm strong enough to handle that."

"Carter you are the strongest person I know, I have all the faith in the world that you can take care of Brooklyn when I'm not here."

"I don't know how to do this without you." I whispered and I felt his arms go around my shoulders.

"Hey, it's okay." He said into my hair. "You're going to be just fine. We're going to be just fine. You, Brooklyn, Gracie and Ender are going to be just fine."

I sucked in a staggered breath.

"Why don't you take that spa day today? You're stressed and I think you need to take some time to relax and think."

"Okay." I sniffled.

"Okay." He squeezed my shoulders.

The rest of that morning was spent getting the kids ready for school and dropping them off, Ashton then driving me to the spa a few blocks away.

He came around to open my door and then got my bag out of the floor board.

"Alright. Call me when you're ready to be picked up and I'll come get you. Don't worry about anything today okay, I just want you to have a day to yourself and relax."

I nodded.

"Come here." He pulled me into his arms to give me a hug.

"Please don't look so sad." He said as he tightened his hold around my waist.

"I'm sorry."

"Just smile for me."

I looked up at him and he brought his hand up to my lips, using his fingers to raise the corners of my lips.

At this cute gesture I let out a laugh and Ashton smiled.

"There we go. That's my girl."

He brought his lips down to mine for a sweet, loving kiss.

"I love you." He murmured against them.

"I love you too." I genuinely smiled back.

"Now go have a relaxing day at the spa."

"Yes, Ash." I chuckled.

"I'll see you later." He kissed me once more before I took my bag from his shoulder.

I waved as I walked inside the spa, ready for a stress free day.

After I checked in I started out by getting a facial and then a de-stressing neck and shoulder massage. I was then taken to a room with a bath in it. A lady added some bath salts and pressed a button that made lights glow beneath the warm water. When she left she turned out the lights and I took off my robe, sinking beneath the bubbles for a bit.

After that I was treated to a lunch of soup and salad before I was given a two hour body massage where I almost fell asleep.

I had never felt so pampered in my life.

My mind did start to wander a few times to the thought of having another baby with Ashton, and every time it did a part of me couldn't help but feel like in some way it might be a good thing for us.

My biggest fear that I would never admit to Ashton, was that one day, he was going to leave me. I needed to trust him more. What he had said last night about how he loved me made me feel like it was almost too good to be true. I needed to trust the fact that he loved me enough to never leave me or our child and possibly another child.

Being in love was scary, and the more I fell in love with Ashton, the more terrified I became that somehow he would get taken away from me.

After my massage was complete, I went to the nail salon to get my nails done and then changed into a sweater and yoga pants, curling up in a chair and having a cup of tea before calling Ashton.

My body felt light and airy when he pulled up in front of the spa, and I felt a flutter of excitement in my stomach when I saw him.

Every time my eyes landed on him I was always taken aback by how incredibly handsome he was.

Not being able to help myself, I practically skipped out the door and straight into his waiting arms where he was leaning up against the drivers side door.

"Hey baby, how was your spa day?" He asked me as I wrapped my arms around his narrow waist, my head resting on his chest.

"Amazing. Thank you." I mumbled as I continued to hug him.

"What's gotten into you? Not that I'm complaining." He chuckled, his arms going around my shoulders.

"Nothing. I just love you a lot." I smiled happily into his tee shirt.

"I love you too, so much." He moved his head so he could press a few kisses to my lips. "Now let's go get our kids from school."

"Okay." I smiled up at him and he giggled adorably as he hugged my shoulders to him for a few more seconds.

Today had really been one of my first times away from Brooklyn, so when I opened the car door to get inside and saw his little self in his car seat, an over whelming feeling of love washed over me.

"Hi baby boy, I missed you so much." I leaned down to pepper his forehead with kisses.

His hazel eyes were pretty and looked up into mine.

"Did you have a good day with your dad?" I asked him, rubbing my nose across his skin.

"We had a great day." Ashton commented. "We took a few naps, drank some milk, changed a few diapers. It was a grand old time."

I grinned as I sat back up in my seat, Ashton matching my expression.

"We missed you though." He winked at me and a blush settled over my cheeks.

He took my hand in his and then pulled away from the curb on our way to the school.

Ashton carried Brooklyn into the school in his arms (after I had hugged my son for a few moments, kissing his face a few more times).

When we got to the classroom Ender was waiting outside, Gracie sitting on the floor next to him, waiting for us.

"Hey you two, ready to go?" I asked brightly.

Ender nodded, stepping towards me as Gracie slowly pulled herself up into a standing position.

She kept her head down but took my hand like she normally did. She wasn't acting like her normal self.

I nudged Ender's shoulder and nodded towards Gracie and he just shrugged, mouthing "I don't know".

We got to the car and Gracie hadn't said a word, Ashton giving her worried glances in the rear view mirror the entire ride home.

When we walked through the front door, she went straight upstairs and to her room, not stoping to get a snack like she always had.

"Ender come here." Ashton waved him over.

"What's up with her?" I asked, all of us speaking in hushed tones.

"I don't know, she was like that when I got there, she wouldn't talk to me when I asked her what was wrong." He replied.

"Okay. Thanks bub, now go do your homework." I patted him on the shoulder and he nodded, taking his back pack to the bar.

I took Brooklyn from his car seat and grabbed a bottle, taking him over to the nursery so I could feed him, then rocked him for a little bit until I changed his diaper and then put him down in his crib.

He made a few noises as I left but didn't cry, and I joined Ashton at the bar where he was helping Ender with a math problem.

"Hey, I'm going to start dinner, anything particular you guys want?" I asked.

"Chicken tacos!" Ender exclaimed.

"Alright, alright. Chicken tacos it is." I laughed.

I became increasingly worried about Gracie when she didn't come downstairs at all while I made dinner. Typically she would run down as soon as she heard me open the refrigerator so she could help me.

"I'm getting worried." Ashton said as I pulled the taco shells from the oven.

"Me too. Something is up."

During dinner Gracie was quiet, barely touching her food and then setting her plate on the counter before going back to her room.

Ashton and I gave each other concerned looks.

After dinner we cleaned up and sent Ender to play with Brooklyn for a little bit while we went to check on Gracie.

When we approached her room she was sitting on her bed, Ellie the Elephant in her hand as she lazily pretended like her toy was jumping up and down.

I knocked twice on the open door.

"Gracie?" I called out to her softly and she turned back to look at me. "Are you okay?" She didn't answer and turned back around to look at her toy.

Ashton and I glanced at each other before walking in. I took a seat in front of her on the bed while Ashton took one beside her.

"What happened Gracie?" Ashton asked her softly. "You're not yourself."

"Yeah, baby we're worried about you. What's going on?" I asked her.

"Some kids in my class were mean to me." She said so quietly I almost didn't hear her.

"They were mean to you? What did they do?" Ashton asked her.

"They called me names, and pulled my braids." She frowned.

"Oh, baby come here." I moved forward, pulling her into my arms. "I'm so sorry."

Gracie rested her head on my chest, sniffling  as her eyes began to water.

"What did they say to you?" I asked her as I caressed her cheek.

"They called me ugly and wouldn't let me play in the playhouse. Then they hid my crayons and my lunch so I couldn't find them." She whimpered. My jaw dropped open and I looked at Ashton who looked just as surprised as me.

"Did you tell them to stop?" Ashton asked her, scooting towards us.

She nodded.

"Did they?" He asked again.

"No. Then they called me a liar and told Ms. Melrose I called them stupid when I didn't! And when I started to cry they pulled my braids." Her eyes were teary and I hugged her close to me.

"Gracie, I'm so sorry sweetie." I rested my head on hers.

"Am I ugly?" She cried and my heart sank in my chest.

"No baby of course you're not ugly. Don't you ever believe that." I hugged her fiercely. "You are beautiful, Gracie."

"Baby girl." Ashton frowned as he moved in to console her. "Honey, honey look at me." He said and she looked up. "I want you to tell me who you think the prettiest person in the world is."

"Mommy." She cried.

"Mommy? Okay what do you think makes her pretty?"

"Her hair." Gracie hiccuped over her words.

"What else?" Ashton asked.

"Her eyes."

"Tell me one more thing."

"Her smile."

"Yeah." He nodded. "Gracie, all of those things make your mother beautiful, yes, but even if she didn't look the way she did, I would still love her because her looks aren't the only part I love about her, it's her heart that I love. Not only are people beautiful on the outside, but they have beautiful hearts on the inside. Your Mommy has a beautiful heart because she's sweet and caring and loves harder than any person I know. That's what is really beautiful about her."

Gracie looked up at him in wonder and honestly I did too.

"Gracie you are so sweet and friendly and have the power to make everyone around you happy. Sweetheart, you are beautiful. Inside and out you are beautiful." He told her in a passionate voice.

"I'm beautiful like Mommy?"

"You're beautiful like you, Gracie." I chimed in.

"But I want to be beautiful like you." She looked up at me.

"Baby, you are so much like your Mommy it's scary." Ashton laughed. "Not only are you beautiful like her but your beautiful like yourself too."

"So i'm not ugly?"

"No. You're not ugly. And anyone who ever says you're ugly is lying." I said.

She nodded.

Ashton moved to put his arms around the both of us.

Gracie stopped crying after a few minutes, and I pressed a kiss to her damp cheek.

"Are you okay?" I asked her and she nodded.

"Tomorrow, if those kids say anything else to you, don't listen. Tell your teacher and stay far away from them." Ashton said.

"But Liz, Danny, and Jake are my friends." Gracie poked out her bottom lip.

"Well they aren't very good friends if they make you cry." Ashton told her and she thought about that before nodding. "You're a sweet little girl and deserve to have nice friends."

"Okay. I won't listen to them." She said.

"Good girl." He smiled.

"I love you Gray." I hugged her tighter.

"I love you too, Mommy." She said and a wide smile spread across my lips.

"That's my Gracie." I tickled her sides and she began to laugh. "Now give me a hug."

She turned around in my lap and wrapped her little arms around my neck.

"Do you feel better?" I asked her and she nodded.

"Good."

"Thank you Mommy. Thank you Daddy." She moved to hug Ashton too.

"Of course princess." He smiled, hugging her back.

"I'm hungry." She said as she pulled away.

"Well I kept leftovers because I knew you would be. Let's go get you some food and then we can do whatever you want." I smiled at her.

"Okay." She beamed up at us, back to her normal self.

"I'll meet you downstairs." I said and she jumped off the bed, dashing down to the kitchen.

I turned to Ashton both of us letting out a sigh.

"I'm talking to the school tomorrow. Those kids can't get away with what they said to her." Ashton said, his voice determined.

"Do it." I replied. "I never knew five year olds could be so mean."

"Me either." He sighed.

"Now let's go make our little girl feel better." I patted his hand and we both stood up, heading downstairs to heat up Gracie's dinner.

After she had eaten she requested that we all play tea party with her (including Ender and Brooklyn).

That night when Ashton and I tucked her into bed, I made sure to give her extra love, kissing her cheeks and forehead.

The next morning when we arrived at the school, Gracie seemed a bit nervous. Ashton went straight to the front office to complain about the situation from yesterday while I took Gracie to her classroom. 

She held on tightly to my hand and when we reached her classroom she turned around to look at me.

"I don't feel good." She said.

"You don't feel good?" I asked her.

She shook her head.

"Well what's wrong?" I played along, knowing she just didn't want to go inside.

"My tummy hurts." She nodded.

"Ah." I said and crouched down in front of her. "Now does your tummy hurt because you're sick, or does it hurt because you don't want to go to class?"

She looked down at the ground, tapping the toe of her foot against the tile floors.

"I know that you don't want go in there because they might be mean to you, but it's going to be okay. Daddy is going to talk to the school about it okay? Don't worry." I brushed a soothing hand down her face.

"Okay Mommy." She nodded.

"Good girl. Now go to class and me and Daddy will come get you after school."

She came forward to hug me and I kissed her cheek.

"I love you."

"I love you too." She said and then let go, reluctantly going inside her class.

Then I went to go meet Ashton by the front office.

"What did they say?" I asked him, taking the car seat that contained Brooklyn from him.

"That they would talk to those kids today."

"Good." I replied.

We got back home and continued on our daily routine of taking care of Brooklyn. We had just finished lunch when the house phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered it.

"Yes, I need to speak to Carter Chase please." A mans voice said.

"This is she."

"Miss Chase, my name is John Whitaker, I'm the principal at Haven Harbour Academy."

"Oh, what can I do for you?" I asked, confused to as why the principal of Ender and Gracie's school was calling.

"Your brother Ender Chase got into a fight, we need you to come down here to meet with him and I about this matter."

"Oh my God. Yeah, I'll be there as soon as I can." I said.

"Thank you Miss Chase." Mr. Whitaker said and then hung up.

"What happened?" Ashton asked as I ran over to put my shoes on.

"Ender got in a fight." I said as I yanked my converse on.

"What? Why?" He sat up.

"I don't know, but we need to go." I said and went to grab my cellphone, dialling Ari's number.

I told her the situation and asked if she could watch Brooklyn for a little bit while Ashton and I went to handle the situation at the school.

Ari was over in about ten minutes.

"He'll probably just sleep but if he wakes up the bottles are in the kitchen and diapers are under the changing table." I told her as Ashton grabbed his wallet and keys.

"I've got him, go on." Ari waved us away and Ashton and I practically ran up the docks to the car.

Ten minutes later we were pulling up in front of the school, rushing inside to the front office.

When Mrs. Betty saw me coming she quickly stood up and opened the door to the back offices.

We hurried through the halls until we arrived at the principals office, barging into the room.

"I'm assuming you're Miss Chase." A tall man with salt and pepper hair, a grey suit and red tie, stood up to shake my hand.

"Yes." I answered, looking over at Ender who was sitting in a chair off to the side.

"And you are?" Mr. Whitaker shook Ashton's hand.

"I'm Carters fiancé; Ashton Irwin." Ashton said.

"Well then, the both of you can take a seat."  He gestured to the chairs in front of his desk and we sat down.

"You said Ender was in a fight?" I asked him.

"Ender, why don't you tell your sister what you told me?" Mr. Whitaker said to Ender and Ender looked up at me, his eyes sad, scared, and hurt.

"I was in the cafeteria for lunch and I saw these kids being mean to Gracie at her table. They were taking her food and eating it and so I walked over there to tell them to stop but Danny's big brother Jamie came over telling me to stop yelling at his brother. So I told him to tell his brother to stop stealing Gracie's food and he pushed me so I pushed him back. I didn't mean to get in a fight Car, I really didn't. I'm so sorry."

By the end his eyes were watering.

"It's okay, End." I gave him a small smile then turned to Mr. Whitaker.

"So where is the kid that pushed him, the Jamie boy? Why isn't he in here?" I asked.

"Well Jamie says that Ender is the one who pushed him first. I'm at a cross roads here Ms. Chase, it's Ender's word against Jamie's word."

"What about the other kids at the table, didn't you ask them?" Ashton asked this time.

"We did, but they gave us conflicting stories as well."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" I asked him.

"Well this is Ender's first time offence, where as Jamie has been sent to my office for fighting before, but still."

"Gracie came home crying about the kids bullying her yesterday, and I complained to the office today about it. I don't find it hard to believe that they were picking on her again. Why don't you ask Gracie what happened?" Ashton spoke up.

"She's five, you want me to take the word of a five year old?" Mr. Whitaker asked.

"Has she given you any reason not to? She's new here, she doesn't have any friends, she doesn't have anything to lose." Ashton shrugged and Mr. Whitaker nodded.

"What is her classroom?" He asked us.

"302." I answered.

He pressed a few buttons on his phone. "Yes Bethany, can you go to room 302 and bring me Gracie..." He looked up for her last name.

"Irwin." I answered.

"Gracie Irwin." He finished his sentence. "Okay thank you."

"Is Gracie your daughter?" He asked us.

"Yes." Ashton nodded. "We formally adopted her a while back.

"So you said she was getting picked on?"

"Yes, some of the kids in her class were calling her ugly and a liar, and pulling her hair. She was really upset about it." I said.

"And you talked to the school today?"

"I did. They said they would be talking to the kids about it." Ashton crossed his arms.

Mr. Whitaker nodded.

"I'm sorry to hear about that. I'll make sure that gets taken care of."

"Thank you." Ashton said.

A few moments later the door to the office opened and Bethany, Mr. Whitakers assistant, walked in with Gracie, tears streaming down her rosy cheeks.

She was scared.

Her bottom lip was poked out and trembling, and my heart broke for her.

This was her first time in the principals office and she thought she was in trouble.

When she saw me and Ashton she immediately ran over to us, throwing herself in my arms.

"Mommy!" She sobbed into my neck and I hugged her little frame.

"Hey you're okay." I tried to calm her down.

She continued to break down in my hold, and I looked to Ashton who looked heart broken for her.

"Sweetie, you're okay. You're not in trouble." Ashton placed a hand on her back.

"I'm not in trouble?" She looked up, her eyes wet.

"No baby, we just need to talk to you, that's it." Ashton assured her.

He reached up to wipe away a few of her tears and gave her a little smile.

Gracie turned around in my arms so that she was sitting in my lap and turned her attention to Mr. Whitaker.

"Are you the principal?" She asked him and he nodded at her with a smile.

"I am. It's nice to meet you Gracie."

"You don't look scary." She commented and he laughed.

"Well I hope not."

He folded his hands across the desk and leaned forward.

"Gracie, can you tell me what happened at lunch today?" He asked her and she nodded.

"Jake and Danny took my lunch box and ate my cupcake and threw my sandwich, and when I told them to stop they didn't listen." She said and my heart sank.

I had put that cupcake in her lunch box to surprise her, hoping it would make her happy.

"Ender came over to tell them to stop and this big kid yelled at him and pushed him." She said and Mr. Whitaker nodded.

"Did Ender push him back?" He asked her and she nodded.

"He was trying to help me." Gracie said. "Is he in trouble?"

"No he's not in trouble." Mr. Whitaker shook his head. "I believe you Gracie."

He then looked up to me and Ashton.

"I will take care of Jaime and the other kids who were picking on Gracie. Ender is not in trouble and is free to go home, so is Gracie. I'm sorry about this whole situation."

"Thank you for listening to her." I said and shook his hand.

"Of course, I hope we meet again with a more positive situation."

"Thank you again." Ashton shook his hand and we stood up, Gracie reaching up for Ashton to hold her.

Ender joined us and we left the office. Gracie needed to get her back pack and I went into her classroom with her, getting her things from her cubby hole and saying goodbye to her teacher and then leaving.

When we got home, Ari gushed over how perfect Brooklyn was and we thanked her before she left.

"Can you two come here for a moment?" I asked Ender and Gracie, both of them going to sit on the sofa.

I sat on the coffee table in front of them, Ashton joining me.

"I just wanted to say that I'm proud of you both for today. Gracie, for standing up for yourself, and Ender, for sticking up for Gracie." I spoke and Gracie smiled softly.

"You both should be proud of yourselves." Ashton said and I took his hand.

"I agree. But if we ever get called to the office again, there's going to be consequences." I warned them.

They both nodded in understanding.

Ender stood up to leave when Gracie stopped.

"Ender wait!" She called and latched herself into him, giving him a hug. "Thank you for helping me."

"Anytime Gracie." Ender hugged her back and a smile came to my face as I watched the exchange.

Ashton put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his side.

"We have the best kids in the world." He said into my hair.

"I agree." I smiled up at him and he pressed a little kiss to my nose.

That night after we had put Brooklyn to bed, Ashton and I both crawled under the sheets, snuggling into each other.

"I could go for another one of those spa days. I've never felt so relaxed in my life." I spoke.

"Oh yeah?" Ashton chuckled.

"Mhmm." I hummed.

"Well I could give you a massage." Ashton suggested and I smiled.

"That would be nice."

"Here, come on."

He sat up in the bed and I followed him.

"Okay, lay on your stomach." He instructed me and I did as he said and then felt him put a leg on each side of my hips, straddling me.

I felt the ends of my shirt being raised up and I raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?" I laughed.

"Taking off your shirt. If I'm going to give you a massage I'm going to do it properly." He said.

"Alright." I replied and helped him remove my shirt, laying back down and feeling his warm hands on my back.

I let out a sigh of relaxation as he began to move his hands up and down my back, kneading the skin beneath his fingers.

His hands felt amazing as they worked the muscles beneath them, my body melting under his touch.

"This feel okay?" He asked me as he moved his hands to my shoulders.

"It feels perfect." I answered, completely at peace.

A few moments later I felt a warm, soft pair of lips at my neck. He began to kiss the skin there, my body now getting excited.

"Are you giving me a massage or trying to seduce me?" I laughed lightly.

"Both." He answered, continuing his assault on my neck. "Aren't I allowed to make my beautiful fiancé feel good?"

"You are." I smiled, enjoying the feeling of his lips.

After a few minutes I turned over and brought his lips down to mine for a proper kiss.

"Are you thinking what i'm thinking?" I smirked at him.

"I think I am." He grinned, the two of us giggling as he slipped off his shirt, flinging it across the room so it draped over the lampshade.

But I didn't care, because it was moments like this with Ashton that showed me he and I were on the right track, and being in love with him was the greatest thing that ever happened to me.

--

Sorry it took so long but here's another update!

I'll have the next part up soon!

Much love xx-m