"Noah it's time to get up" Madison banged on her sons door for the third time that morning. The first day of school had come up faster than they expected and Madison was a bust tornado. Unlike the summer of eggs or pancakes for breakfast now they were back to cereal. She had however prepared a nice lunch the night before for each kid to take with them.

She then headed towards the girls room and checked inside but frowned when she noticed they were gone. She glanced around the hallway but couldn't see them anywhere. She rushed down stairs and sighed when she saw them at the kitchen table. She raised a curious eyebrow towards Brandon who was leaning against the counter drinking coffee.

"French toast?" she asked grabbing the girls a few raspberries to throw on top. She got out a cup of orange juice for each other them and then sat at the table.

"I do know how to cook missy" Brandon said pushing himself off the counter "the lunch boxes are in their bags and I'll go get Noah". He walked towards the stairs and called behind him "the girls wanted you to do their hair".

Madison was amazed – there was no other way to say it. For the last seven years – even fourteen considering Alex never did anything – she would always have to get the kids ready on her own. Every morning she would rush and struggle along the way just to get herself and the kids out the door in time. She would barely have time to get dressed before having to rush out the door to school.

She stood behind the girls and started to quickly braid Emma's hair. She tied it with a blue ribbon that matched the little girls dress. She then pulled Ella's hair into a ponytail and added a pink bow. "You girls sure you're okay with going to a new school?"

Emma and Ella both nodded as they nibbled on their toast. "You know mommy wont be there this year" she said "and aunt Brooklyn wont be your teacher".

"We know mommy" Emma said "but we will have each other".

Ella nodded in agreement "yes we will".

Madison was a little disappointed that her daughters weren't going to miss her at all. She knew it was a good sign that her daughters were becoming independent but she felt like maybe she was losing her babies.

Noah came bolting down the stairs wearing jeans and a t-shirt. His hair was damp and shaggy over his eyes. "I'm going to be late" he mumbled grabbing a glass of juice "why didn't you wake me earlier?"

"I tried to, but you were out to the world" Madison said grabbing him a serving of Brandon's toast "but you still have a half hour before we drive you" she pointed out.

Noah shook his head "I don't need a drive". When his mother looked at him confused he went on to explain, "Anna and I are going to walk together until it gets too cold. Then I'll need a drive". He grabbed his bag and tossed it over his shoulder "hey can I have some money for lunch?"

"What?" Madison asked confused "but I made you lunch last night".

But Brandon took a twenty out of his wallet and handed it over to his son "that's for the week. If you run out then you need to have a packed lunch on day" he said "we can see about that every week in your grades are good and you're in class on time".

Madison watched Brandon stunned, she wasn't used to him going against her and she wasn't expecting him to disagree with her about this. Noah was her son, it should have been her choice if he would buy his lunch – but... then again Noah in Brandon's mind was also his son.

"Say hi to Anna for us okay?" Brandon said. Noah nodded to them and left the house. His parents watched as he headed down the pathway to an awaiting Anna. His face brightened in a smile and he took hold of her hand.

Madison glanced over at Bandon and noticed he was still in jeans and a t-shirt, very unlike his usual dress pants, button up shirt and tie. If he didn't get dressed now he would be late to work.

"Brandon don't you have to go get ready?" Madison said taking the girls plates from them to wash "go wash your hands girls".

"Actually" Brandon said pouring himself a second cup of coffee "I decided to take the day off". He smiled at Maddie over the rim of his mug "I had a feeling you would go a little stir crazy today with the kids gone and your first day without working. I thought it might be best if I stayed home and kept you busy".

Madison thought about it for a moment and smiled "that might be nice, maybe we can go out and do something".

"I already have something planed" Brandon said glancing over her shoulders "okay girls lets get going," he said stepping away. He and Madison both worked together to get the girls ready. They got them into their shoes and with an extra sweater incase they got chilly. "You might need a sweater too, just in case," Brandon advised her. She looked at him curiously but grabbed one nonetheless.

Brandon then drove the girls to their new school. It was a lot large then their old one, and it was certainly bettered kept. Madison got out and held Ella's hand as Brandon took Emma's. Together as a family they wondered though the hallways until they located room three.

"You girls be good for the teacher," Madison said kneeling down to their height. "And have fun girls. I am sure you'll make lots of new friends". She gave both of them a hug and kiss on the head, followed by a hug from their dad. Btu neither girl even looked over their shoulder as they excitedly entered their new classroom.

"They grow up so fast," Brandon mumbled as he and she left the hallways.

"They do" Madison agreed, "They used to be my little girls. And now look at them. They're all grown up and barely need me".

"They will always need you" Brandon said opening the car door for her. "But that is why I wanted to talk about having another baby. Like I said the girls are grown enough now that they wont need your full attention. We can focus on raising another baby".

Madison hadn't really heard what he was saying. In fact she was too focused on something in the distance. Near the end of the parking lot was a silver Mazda 3 with the outline of a man sitting inside it. Usually Madison wouldn't pay any attention to it but she had noticed a similar car parked across the street from their house that morning. She tried to shake away the thought; she must just be paranoid from the text messages she's been getting. She had gotten another one last night threating to tell Brandon everything. Since she was so lost in her thoughts she hadn't really heard what Brandon had said, as a result she responded with a nod of her head and a "yeah that sounds great".

Brandon's eyes lit up happily "that sounds amazing". He smirked a little to himself as he drove them home.

"Home?" Madison asked confused "I thought we were going on a date".

"We are on a date" Brandon climbed out of the car and quickly went to open her door "we just aren't going anywhere for it". He smiled softly and lifted her into his arms bridal style.

Madison locked her arms around his next and smiled softly "well what are we doing then?"

He unlocked the front door and continued to carry her out to the backyard. "This" he said. The backyard had Christmas lights hanging from tree to tree in beautiful elegant rows. Soft and slow music played in the background.

He slowly lowered Madison to the floor and smiled softly at herself "what do you think?"

"I think it's lovely" it wasn't over the top but it was still elegant and sweet. She turned around to look at everything and when she turned back Brandon was holding flowers out to her.

Madison beamed and took them from him "lilacs" she gave them a sniff "my favorite" she said softly.

Brandon bowed to her and held his hand out for her to take "may I have this dance?"

She placed the flowers gently on the patio table and gave a little curtsy "of course". She took hold of Brandon's hand and then placed her other one on his shoulder. Brandon wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close to his chest. Slowly the couple started to dance in time with the music.

They waltz as if they were the wind. Soft elegant footsteps sounded throughout the air and the music sailed past them. Heartbeats pounded and there were small gasps of breath.

Brandon took control over the dance. He guided her with a gentle control, pushing and pulling her in the right directions. Madison followed his every lead, almost as if she knew the steps before he even made them.

The couple danced in silence, just enjoying each other's company for what felt like ages before Brandon slowly stepped away from her. He gave one final bow, with a large smile plastered on his face.

"How would you like to go for a soak in the hot tub?" he whispered in her ear. The backyard had a small screened in porch that sheltered them in the hot tub. It was designed so that even in winter a bather could enjoy it.

"But I don't have a bathing suit" she whispered softly.

Brandon smirked a little and winked "you wont need one". He excused himself to go inside for something. Madison bit her lip and slowly stripped herself of her clothes. She climbed into the hot tub and let the warm water washer over her body. She let out a deep sigh of happiness and relief as the water massaged into her back.

"Somebody seems comfortable" Brandon teased as he came back holding a bottle of wine and two glasses. He poured them each a drink before he took his own clothes off and slid in next to her. He moved closer to her body and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "How's the date so far" he whispered into her ear. He leaned in closer and gave her ear a small teasing nibble.

"Pretty good I say" Madison smiled up and him. "So why don't you tell me about your work. How is it going?"

"It is going okay" Brandon sighed "we have a high production of book sales but..." he trailed off.

Madison looked at him curiously "but what? If sales are good isn't that a good sign?"

"It is but we don't get a lot of notice in the papers or other news out lit" Brandon grumbled a little "the sales are great but the only time anyone ever sees out company is when one of the books gets on the best sellers list".

"Have you ever considered doing some charity work?" Madison asked. A million ideas just flooded into her head. "And I don't just mean donating money somewhere, I mean your company running a charity".

Brandon chuckled "well yeah that would be nice. The news loves a good story like helping the less fortunate, but I am dry for any ideas".

"Well you can do a share a book foundation or even one of those mobile libraries" Madison said sitting up a little excitedly "there are so many underprivileged children in the school system and many schools without an well stocked library".

Brandon chuckled a little more and reached over to soothingly stroke her hair "those both sound like very good ideas but how can we make that work?" he was actually very impressed by her ideas.

"Well you have children's book authors too right? So pick one book that maybe isn't so amazing that you would want to get a profit from it, but one with a new author that might want to get their name out there. Then you can pick ten schools within Toronto and supply every grade one, two and three student with the new book". Her voice started to go higher and higher as her excitement grew.

"That could work. It would get our name out there and benefit the kids," he thought for a moment "it'll even help us to be notice as a children book company and not just for young adults. It'll be a win, win".

"What about the mobile library? You can have one person through the school day drive to different schools or retirement homes that don't have a large library. That way they can borrow or buy books from your publishing company" Madison suggests.

"I like that idea but I think for now I would like to start off first with the children's book one" Brandon said with a soft smile "I really like your idea".

"You could call it share a book' Madison suggests.

Brandon nodded and ran his hand through her hair "you are a very intelligent woman" he whispered leaning in towards her. "But I must admit when you and I got into this hot tub I wasn't expecting us to do much talking".

"Oh?" Madison's eyes twinkled "what were you expecting we would do?"

He moved his hand to her cheek and slowly tugged her face towards his. "This" he whispered before their lips pressed together. Their mouths locked together, fighting for dominance. Their mouths pushed and pulled against each other as if they were back on the dance floor. Brandon slipped his tongue into her mouth and their tongues fought against each other.

Madison turned her body towards his and she crawled into his lap, her legs resting on either side of him. Brandon slowly moved his hands down her back until they grasped her butt. He gave it a firm squeeze, which earned him a moan from Madison. When Madison tried to pull away from him but before she could get free he stood and lifted her into his arms.

With her giggles in the air he carried her towards the bedroom - it was here that had several magical moments of pure bliss. Madison couldn't remember the last time she felt this pleasantly content with her life.

Madison turned on her side and snuggled into his chest happily. Their sweaty and warm bodies were pressed together as the air was filled with soft pants. Both of them were struggling to bring in air. She reached over and slowly started to draw little hearts over his chest. She listened as his heart pounded against her ear.

Over the last two months she had slowly started to fall in love with the sound of his heart beating. At night she would listen to it in order to help soothe her thoughts and put her to sleep.

Brandon grabbed onto her hand and lifted it to his mouth. He pressed his lips gently against her palm in a soft kiss. Smiling down at her he whispered "Madison Haywood, I love you with all my heart".

Madison glanced up at him and smiled, her whole heart warmed at the idea of his love. She reached over and laid her hand gently on his cheek and started to move her thumb in small circles. "I love you with all my heart".