Stevie had to hurry to finish the last little bit of work she had before going to get her daughter. She was running late, and she bit her lip, practically sprinting to her car. She drove a little faster than the speed limit, not wanting to make her daughter wait anymore. Traffic was hell and as she waited for a light, she answered a call from her friend, asking about the class. She didn't mean to be short but she didn't want to let her daughter down. She answered her questions, knowing she had every right to be curious. It was her class after all. She sighed, looking at the clock again and again.

Finally, she parked, looking around to see where Callie could be. She didn't see her anywhere. Another sigh, looking at her clock, her watch...nothing. She decided to call her, balancing the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she cleaned up the things that spilled out of her bag on the drive over.

"Cal, pick up. I'm outside." Stevie dropped the phone and huffed, ending the call. "Dammit..."

She sat back, closing her eyes. She was exhausted. Today hadn't gone to plan at all. It was one crisis after another, she helped other teachers, she had to go hunt for supplies...what a mess!

Without her realizing it, an hour had passed. She looked around again and there was still no one around. It was a ghost town. Her phone buzzed in the passenger's seat. She picked it up quickly, hoping it was Callie.

"Hey," She said quickly.

"Hey," Lindsey said. "Where are you, it's almost five o'clock."

"I know, I was waiting for Callie, and I must have fallen asleep."

"She just text me saying she went home with Lexi. I told her that was fine because I thought she ran it past you first."

"She most definitely did not," Stevie said, sitting up a little straighter.

"That's strange. She's usually so good about those things."

"I know..." Stevie but her lip. "I will see you soon then. I'm sorry I didn't come home in time, I just—"

"I know, it's alright. I was worried about you, that's all."

"You're sweet."

"I told you before it's my job to worry about you. I love you."

"I love you too." Stevie smiled, smoothing her belly. "What do you want for dinner? I can run by the store."

"I ordered three pizzas hoping it would be enough for them. It seems to have done the trick so far. There's some left over if you want it."

"That's fine then."

"Okay, and if you get hungry later, we can always make something just for the two of us."

"That sounds nice. I'll see you in a little bit."

"See you soon. Drive safe."

"I will." She waited a beat then hung up, tossing her phone in her purse and starting the car.

She couldn't help but be a little angry Callie didn't keep up her end of her promise. She said she would call if anything changed. She gripped the steering wheel, biting her lip. She could feel the trouble coming already. No...Callie was a good girl. Maybe she just forgot, she told herself. Her phone rang again and she thought about not answering it. She was tired of talking to people and wanted peace but who else would be calling her right now? Maybe, Lindsey again? She dug through her purse, eyes on the road, feeling for the vibrating mobile. She finally grabbed it and looked down briefly to see who it was.

'Calliope' She picked it up, balancing her phone between her ear and shoulder again. "Hello"

"Hi, mom. Dad seemed mad. Did I do something?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were going home with Lexi? I've been waiting for you."

"I'm sorry...I texted you asking if it was okay and when you didn't show up, I thought you forgot to hit send again."

Stevie's features relaxed from realization. "You messaged me?"

"Yeah, you told me to and I did. I promise. I messaged you at..." Calliope put her phone on speaker and pressed the home button to look at the recent messages in her text thread with her mother. "At 2:15 I messaged you saying I might get a ride from Lexi's mom. 2:30 I asked if it was okay if I spent the night. 2:35 I said 'Lexi's mom will bring me home NBD'."

"What's that mean?"

"No big deal."

"Oh" Stevie said.

"You didn't message me back so I told dad where I was going and attached Lexi's mom's phone number so you wouldn't freak out."

"I'm sorry, I didn't see your messages."

"It's okay. Are you mad at me? Do you want me to ask Lexi's mom to bring me home?"

"No, baby, stay there. You did the right thing. I hope you have fun with your friend. Next time, instead of texting me, will you call me too. I just want to make sure this doesn't happen again."

"Sure! You promise this is okay?"

"Yes, it's perfectly fine. See you soon, baby girl."

"See you, mom. Love you."

"Love you too." Callie hung up and Stevie pulled into the driveway.

She gathered up her tote bag, purse and travel mug and made her way inside the house. Lindsey jumped into action immediately, getting off the couch to help her unload.

"Talk to Callie?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was my fault. I didn't check my text messages."

"Oh, I see."

"Now I feel like a jerk." Stevie said, hugging her loving husband. He kissed the top of her head.

"You're not a jerk. You were worried."

"Unnecessarily," she said, her voice muffled by his shirt.

He chuckled. "That's not true. You're a mama. You worry about your babies."

"Speaking of babies, how are Dylan and Iris? Did they behave?"

"Of course they did. Dylan's music is loud but that's rock and roll, babe and Iris had fun with everyone. It was so cute, Steph, she wants to be big like the boys."

Stevie smiled, pulling back to look at him. "Are they still here?"

"Playing video games upstairs and eating chips."

Stevie shook her head. "Great..." She was unenthused and he laughed.

"Since we are on the subject of babies, how are these?" He rubbed the sides of her belly.

"I'm glad the older ones didn't run you ragged because the littlest ones have."

"A lot of energy."

"I swear, they steal it from me. I'm so tired."

"Take a nap."

"No, no, I'd rather spend time with you. I missed you."

"I missed you too. Iris is napping in her room."

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh." He pulled her close. "We can have a little one on one."

"Not with the boys here. Maybe later."

"You're killing me, Steph."

"I will make it up to you. I promise."

"You better," he said, playfully scolding her and she laughed. She walked through the living room to the kitchen to grab a slice of pizza, throwing her seductive reply over her shoulder.

"Don't I always?"