"Are you dizzy?" she laughed at the poor baby. Somehow, his brother slept through the earthquake.

Maksim draped a sheet over her shoulders and hugged her from behind. With a kiss to her cheek, he said, "you should ask for sexual intercourse more often."

Raelynn rolled her eyes. "Look at him. He's so confused about the shaking."

"What was your father's name?"

Raelynn looked up at him. "Why do you ask? His name was Kanen. It was Native American name that means leader?"

"Why don't you name this little guy after your father?" Maksim suggested. He raised a hand and ran a finger across the baby's soft hair.

(a/n: shout out to all of you that suggested this)

"Maksim, that's..." her bottom lip trembled. The suggestion was so heart-warming. She loved that he remembered how important her dad was, and that he wanted to keep him in their life.

"What about sleeping beauty?" she sniffled and gestured to the second twin.

"That boy is not worried about anything. Not even all that shaking woke him. He will be a troublemaker. There is this Russian name, Kazimir, it means great destroyer."

Raelynn frowned. "But he's so cute. Look at his toes. The only thing he'll destroy is my face from all the smiling he makes me do."

Maksim chuckled. "He will grow into it. They will be towering over you soon." He reached for the baby in her arms and picked him up. "You can go clean up. I will look after Kanen."

"Will you be okay alone? No more earthquakes, okay?"

"You should be worried for me, not for them. Have you seen their eyes? They will be the death of me."

Raelynn took a quick shower. As the water poured over her, she stretched to enjoy the soreness in all the right places. When she came outside, she found Maksim leaning against the headboard, exploring his son as the little one did the same.

The moment was heart-warming.

"Maksim?"

"Yes?"

"Where did you put the plan B?"

He looked away from the baby and sheepishly asked. "Do you have to take it? I'll get a bigger place if you give me a third baby."

She stuck her tongue out and crawled into bed with him. "I can't. Not yet."

He leaned in to kiss her. "I put it by the flowers. Do you want me to get it?"

"No. I'll be back."

She slapped his hand away when he tugged at her towel and slipped off the bed. She found the little package, ripped it open, and popped the pill. When she got a glass of water, found herself hesitating to swallow.

She stared at the flowers.

While she was happy that Maksim wanted a future with her, they had to give the twins plenty of attention. They already missed enough of their development. Raelynn didn't feel mentally prepared to have more children, either.

She returned to their bedroom and talked with him until she fell asleep. Maksim was there when the babies woke them up, and he was there every day for the following two months. The babies were now rocking back and forth in preparation for crawling. Maksim was especially proud of them. He acted as if they were doing calculus as they rocked. He would fall on his hands and knees to rock along with them.

Raelynn no longer needed to play music for the babies, because their home was always flooded with laughter.

Maksim began to work temporarily. He would go to the office for four hours and then rush home to them. She didn't feel his absence, because he spent plenty of time with them.

"No no no, daddy's phone is not food."

She plucked the device from Kazimir's little hands before he got to taste Maksim's expensive phone. Before he began crying, she picked him up and showered him with kisses.

The phone began vibrating just as the baby shrieked with laughter and Kanen joined him.

"Mak! Your phone's ringing!"

He turned the corner and grabbed his phone. He looked at the caller ID, thanked her, and returned to his office.

She picked up the wallet that Kazimir somehow found and placed the twins in the crib. She looked for Maksim and found him in their bedroom.

"I need a break. Their smell is just... disgusting. And their shrieking? I fucking hate it. I wish the bastards hadn't been born."

Rage flooded her senses. All of this had been too good to be true.

Before she knew it, she threw the wallet at him and began swinging.

Maksim dropped his phone and turned to face her blows. "Hey! Stop this shit." It didn't take long for him to get her under control.

She squirmed and spat at him, but Maksim didn't let go.

"Fuck you. It's over. I'm done."

"What? What the hell is going on with you, woman?" He cupped the back of her head and searched her eyes frantically. It took a few seconds, but he made the connection. "Is it the phone call? No, sweetheart. I wasn't talking about the twins. Viktor locked down a couple of fucking thugs in a warehouse that I have to periodically check on. The smell like shit and squeal like rats from the torture."

Raelynn sagged in his arms. "Crap."

Maksim chuckled. "You crazy little thing. Damn, Rae. You pack a mean punch. We ought to put you in the front lines."

"I'm sorry," she mumbled as she reached to wipe the spit on his neck. "I just hated the thought of you pretending to love us and talking so hatefully about them. After all we've been through... it was just enraging."

He lowered himself to his knees and grabbed her hands. "Marry me."

Her eyes widened. She was speechless.

"What? If you want proof that I will not leave you, then that will be perfect."

She pulled her hands back. "Maksim, I don't want you to ask me because of pity. Marriage is a big commitment."

"Not bigger than a baby. And fuck, you gave me two."

"I don't know." She shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "The timing feels... off."

"I love you. A ring and a sheet of paper will not change this. They are only one of the many ways I will show you my loyalty."

She slowly kneeled in front of me. "I loved you first. Will you marry me?"

Maksim frowned. "Why can't you be a normal woman for one minute, Rae? I asked first. You can't counter my proposal with your own."

"Say yes, goddamn it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Can you afford my engagement ring?"

"No, but I have a rich Russian boyfriend that can get one for you."

He laughed and pulled her close. Before their lips connected, a baby's laughter made them pause.

"Goddamn it. They're up to something. I can sense it."

They rose and sought the twins.

"Kazimir! Leave his foot alone!"

"Troublemaker," Maksim said. "I told you."

Raelynn snorted. "He must have gotten it from you."