"Right! That's it! Everyone inside!!" Harry's voice startles me from my book. "And I swear if you wake your Mum we're packing up and heading home!" I can hear the exasperation in his words as they echo throughout the large villa and I feel slightly guilty that I've been hiding up here on our balcony reading for the last hour. I woke up feeling calm and relaxed and I had intended to head downstairs but then I spotted the poetry book and quickly got lost in the pages. Now leaving my husband to look after six kids alone seems kinda selfish but as I heave myself up out the sun lounger, I realise that soon six kids will just be our norm. Wow! A family of eight! That hasn't sunk in yet. Perhaps we should think of this holiday as practise and if the tone of my love's voice is any indication then things are not going well.

"H?" I yell out as I carefully head down the stairs.

"Jess!" I hear him yell before he comes rushing to the bottom of the stairs to meet me. 

"Hi!" I just mange to get the word out before he throws his arms around me in the tightest, warmest hug. 

His left hand moves to caress my cheek as his lips brush over the opposite ear, "I know you're trying to rest but I'm so glad you're awake. Our kids are trying to kill me baby, I swear it!" 

I can't help but giggle at his words and the way his voice tickles my ear. I breathe him in and squeeze him as close as I can. "Aww, my poor baby. What did they do?" I whisper and turn my head to place a kiss to his wrist since his hand is still cupping my cheek. 

"Anlon and Sammy are constantly bickering about who gets to sit beside Robi, who gets to carry her plate, there is so much peacocking going on here I'm surprised the garden isn't covered in feathers. And the other three are just insane, I swear they don't know what danger is. Dani just almost knocked Madi off the edge of the infinity pool, the only thing that saved her was her brother throwing himself at Dani which almost knocked the stuffing out of her." His voice is racing at one hundred miles an hour and his heart is thumping even faster. 

"But they are all okay, right?" 

"Mhmm..." He mumbles into my shoulder, placing warm kisses to my exposed skin. 

"Well, there you go. Everything's alright," I whisper. My left hand strokes his back while my right brushes through his soft hair and I smile as he hums quietly and struggles to make himself smaller so he can maneuver himself further into my embrace. 

His right hand moves to cup my cheek and his breath tickles as he turns his head towards me, peppering my jaw with soft, needy kisses. "Manage to sleep?" He croaks. "I wanna stay here for the rest of our holiday," he adds while nuzzling his head into my neck. 

"Daddy! Time fo nails?" Madison's bare feet slap against the tiled floor before she crashes into mine and Harry's legs, her little hand gripping my calf. 

"Oh shi - uh - I mean shoot! I forgot. I booked nail appointments for all of us, you up for it?" He asks and pulls away from me to scoop up our daughter who is fizzing with excitement. 

"I don't want to go to the nail place!" Anlon huffs and Daniella agrees. 

"I'm going. My manicure looks like poop!" Robin adds and I glance at Mac who has all his fingers splayed out, inspecting his lilac nail polish carefully. "I'm good. Can we go to the beach?" My son asks, and all hell breaks out, everyone is yelling and talking over the top of each other. 

"Hey! Can we all just calm down, yeah? Whoever wants to get their nails done can go with Dad and the rest of you I will take to the beach. Sound good?" The squabbling stops as our children split up, Robin and Madison move to Harry's side and Daniella, Mac and Anlon move to mine. Sammy is the only one who doesn't move, his eyes fix on the floor. "Sammy? Are you okay, sweetheart?" I ask. 

"He wants to get his nails done but his parents will flip," Robin sighs. 

"Oh!" I glance at Harry who shrugs. "Is that true?" I turn my attention back to Sammy who simply nods. I feel torn. Ordinarily I wouldn't go against another parents' wishes but the fact that there is a child in my care who doesn't feel free to be who they want to be really upsets me.  

"Well..." My husband draws out the word for so long I think he is having some sort of breakdown. "You're not gonna see them for two weeks, right?" His trademark dimply grin makes an appearance as the boy looks up from the floor. He has a point, Sammy was spending Christmas with us in Holmes Chapel. 

"But what if my parents find out?" He says as he shuffles his feet on the floor. 

"We won't tell!" Daniella grins and I smile as the rest of my children add their agreement. 

"Told you, it's safe here," Robin grins as she pulls him into the group heading for their manicures. 

"You're so lucky, Robi," he whispers as she hugs him tight. 

"I did the right thing there, didn't I?" Harry's voice whispers in my ear as his arms wrap around my bump. 

"I think so," I whisper back. "I hate that his home is somewhere he has to hide who he is." I lean my body back into my loved one's secure hold.   

"Me too," He continues with his hushed tones as the kids go back to playing in the other room. His hands move to grip my shoulders and he turns me to face him. "Do you think we should encourage him to be more honest with his parents? I mean he can't hide at ours forever, right?" 

"I don't know, Harry. Ideally yes but in a month we are gonnabe gone and then what? If his parents kick off or worse throw him out, he'll have nowhere to go. It's sad but maybe it's best for now that he says nothing?" I sigh. 

"They wouldn't, would they? He's just a child, he's their child. How could they throw out their own child?" He gasps, his fingers sinking deeper into the flesh on my hips. 

"I hope they wouldn't but you never know so maybe we can start encouraging him when tour is over, yeah? Then he has a safety net if it doesn't go well." 

"Baby?" He says softly, his right hand moving to cup my cheek. I tilt my head and find my eyes tearing up as I look into his misty green ones. "I love you so much. I wish everybody could have somebody like you in their lives. You're so kind and loving and it makes me go all gooey inside." He grins, dimple popping. 

"Ditto. Your big wide open heart is one of my most favourite things about you." I return his grin and I get lost in his wonderful stare. 

-----

"Get pink Daddy!" Madi yells as she bounces on her toes. Her eyes fix on the row of pink nail polishes. "Dat one. Wot's it cawled?" Her little finger points to a baby pink shimmery polish which I scoop off the shelf and smile when I read the name. 

"It's called Princesses Rules. Perfect for my little princess, right?" I can't help but grin as I pick her up. 

"YES!" She yells in my ear. "And Daddy! You need pincess nails too!" Her arms hug gently around my shoulders and I feel myself finally start to relax. Travelling with six kids is definitely exhausting. 

"You want me to match you?" I ask as I press a kiss to her chubby cheek and let out a little chuckle as her blonde wavy hair tickles my nose. 

"You need to get this, Harry!" Sammy says as he rushes up beside me, thrusting a bottle of bright blue nail polish at me. 

"Music is my muse? That's clever," I smile but my muse was a 5ft nothing woman called Jessi. 

"Don't encourage him," Robi says as she rolls her eyes. "He's gonna say something disgusting like Mum is his muse." 

"Well she is," I grin. 

"NO!" Madi grips my cheek and pulls my head back to look at her. "Pincess nails like me!" She pokes herself in the chest to emphasize her point. 

"Okay!" I chuckle, sweeping back her hair from her face. "How about I paint one nail in blue?" I bargain, trying to appease both children. I didn't want to make Sammy feel like I didn't value his suggestion. 

"O-kay, jus' one." She says wagging her little finger at me. 

"I'm getting this one!" Robi says as she waves a bottle of neon purple polish. "Macaroni will love it and its name is positive vibes only which is so cute." 

"Mine is called my favourite gal pal. Like you." He grins at my eldest daughter while clutching a bottle of dark blue nail polish. As he sits down at the table, his leg starts to bounce on the floor, his body emanating the same excited energy as my three-year-old and I feel incredibly lucky that I can provide him a space where he feels free to be himself.  

----- 

"Mum! Are you okay?" Mac asks as I clutch the railing on the boat so tight my knuckles have turned white. It seems the twins were not enjoying this little excursion at all. I should have expected it to be honest, but the kids were so excited when they spotted the leaflet for the glass-bottomed boat I couldn't refuse them. 

"I'll be okay. Just feeling a little queasy." I force a smile to try to stop him worrying but he's not buying it. 

"Oh, hang on!" He announces before disappearing for a second. "Spotted them on the way in," he smiles and hands me a sick bag. "Just incase," he shrugs and sits himself down beside me. 

"Thank you. My little superstar!" I grin, wrapping my arm around his shoulders and hugging him tight. 

"You okay, Mum?" Daniella asks as she leaps onto my lap and throws her arms around me. 

"Yes. I'm feeling a little better." I chuckle as Anlon adds his arms to the mix. 

"You know, you look really pretty today. I like it when you leave your hair natural. It looks like mine and Madi's," my daughter says as she smiles up at me. 

"Wild hair for my wild girls," I chuckle. My fingers carefully comb through her wet hair and she swings her legs happily, just like she used to when she was Madison's age. 

"Okay guys, the fish are here!" The guy running the tour announces and all three little people rush off to see. I push myself up off the seat and follow behind them, wobbling slightly with the motion of the boat. What a fool I was for thinking this was a good idea in my pregnant state but my little ones are happy so it'll all be worth it. I grab my camera to capture these precious moments to share with Harry later. 

-----

Daniella pushes open the door with enough force to bring the house down and I feel myself flinch. 

"Careful Dani!" Mac sighs before she yells back, "it was an accident!" 

"Shh... it's fine. Go drop the towels by the back door," I instruct as I close the door carefully. I can't help but notice how quiet it is. Maybe Harry has taken the kids to the beach? 

I walk into the living room and quickly discover why it's so quiet when I spot my husband asleep on the sofa with our three-year-old sprawled out across his chest. I feel a little pang of jealousy because that's exactly where I wanna be. 

"Who are you talking too?" Robin says while nudging Sammy's arm. Her friend seems awfully invested in his phone. 

"Luka," he says with a shrug of his shoulder but I can't fail to notice the slight pink tinge to his cheeks. 

"Luka? My cousin Luka?! Is he trying to embarrass me?" Robin squeals while grabbing for the phone. 

"Hey! Robi! Get off! We're just talking!" He snaps, pushing himself up off the sofa and stomping out of the room. 

"Sammy?!" She yells as she chases after him. 

"Hmm... who's yelling?" My husband's voice grumbles. I smile as I look down at him, his right hand presses softly to Madison's back and his eyes are still firmly closed. 

"Nobody. Sleep, sweetie," I whisper. My fingers trace softly along his cheek as I make my way into the kitchen. 

"Love you, baby." His words smush themselves together in his sleepy state but they make my heart happy none the less. 

"Love you too," I whisper even although I'm sure he has fallen back asleep. 

-----

"Mmm... fuck me! Jess!" Harry breathes as he slides inside me. The feeling of satisfaction as he fills me up is a little overwhelming. Like when you've been craving something delicious all day and when you finally get it it doesn't disappoint. My knees sink into the mattress as he grips my hips while he thrusts into me from behind. 

"Harder please?" I beg, clenching against him as his hand caresses my spine. I wish that I could see his glorious face but this is one of the few positions which is still comfortable in my current state. I let out a loud moan as he pushes even deeper. Harder and faster. My teeth grind together as I fight to stay quiet. 

"God, you feel so good," he whispers. His hands needily grabbing at the skin on my back, the sound of our bodies slapping together fills the room until the sound of a little voice makes us both freeze. 

"Mummy! Daddy!" Madison yells and I panic as I hear the door handle twist. "Why'sa door no open?" 

"Shh... maybe she'll go back to bed if she thinks we're asleep?" Harry whispers as he clamps his hand over my mouth. 

"Mummy? Daddy?" The question in her voice tugs at my heart strings. "I had a scawy dweam. Pease wake up?" She starts to sob as she knocks on the door. 

"Shit," my husband groans as he shifts behind me, climbing off of the bed. 

"I'm coming sweetheart, you'll be okay," I soothe as I pull on my nightshirt. 

"Not quite," Harry teases as he heads into the bathroom. 

"Mummy!" She yells. Her body squeezing through the door as soon as I've opened it a crack. I scoop her up as she starts to cry about being lost and not being able to find us. 

"It's okay. We're here." I hug her tightly and place a kiss to her head. 

"Where Daddy?" Her head snaps up as she scans the room for him. 

"He's just in the bathroom, he'll be here in a second." 

"Pomiss?" 

"I promise. Let's get you back to bed, yeah?" I say while I carry her along the hallway. 

"You stay with me? Pease?" Her little fingers' grip tightly to my shoulder. 

"Always," I grin. I place her down in the double bed she had all to herself while we were on holiday and I climb in beside her. 

"Hey, there are my girls!" Harry grins from the doorway. 

"Daddy!" She clambers up in the bed and rushes towards him. "I couldn't find you." 

"Well, here I am silly. Right beside you!" He picks her up and places a kiss to her forehead. 

"I wuv you," she says as she snuggles her head into his shoulder. 

"Love you too, angel. Are we having a sleepover with Mummy?" He grins as he playfully drops her on the bed causing a loud giggle to burst from her lips. 

"Yes pease? And lots of hugs for Madi and lil brudder and sisser." She grins as she hugs herself to my bump, a happy little giggle leaves her lips as they start kicking. "He-wo babies, iwuv you." 

I sigh happily as Harry shuffles his body in beside us; it seems like his arms have stretched to twice their normal size as he somehow manages to hug me, Madison and my growing bump. 

"I love you," I whisper, feeling like I'm surrounded in a warm blanket of love and warmth. This holiday is exactly what I needed.