*Will and RJ invite some of the kid's friends over for a sleepover! Thank you to BrianBadgerMay for helping me write this! Enjoy! Love • Bree 💜*

The Shepherd-Aguiar kids are hosting a sleepover for the first time. Benji, Theodore and Coralei have invited a few of Joey and Daniel's kids -- Maxwell, River and Eden.

The six kids were close in age or the same, but they all got along well with everyone.

The older Preda children are busy or at other friends' houses, and the youngest ones are too little to stay the night.

"Papi! Are they here yet?" Theodore asks, bouncing on his feet happily.

"Not yet! But soon!" RJ smiles, holding Luci on his hip.

"I'm too excited!" Theodore says with a grin.

"I know! But when Max, River and Eden get here, we can have dinner and you can all hang out later." RJ promises him.

"AAAAAA!" Oliver yells as he wobbles around as he holds some cars.

"Ba baaaa!" Arya yells back, wobbling around next to Oliver trying to take the cars.

"Are you two arguing with each other? Huh?" RJ asks the twins playfully.

*Coralei, Averie, Theodore, Luci, Arya, and Oliver's outfits*

"Is River here yet?" Averie yells happily as she and Coralei happily run over to RJ and Luci.

"Not yet! Max and Eden are coming over too!" RJ says, causing Coralei and Averie to smile and cheer.

"I'm sooo excited for the sleep over!" Averie says as she twirls around.

"Me too!" Coralei and Theodore both say in unison.

"Pa pi." Luci says softly to RJ, causing RJ to smile.

"Yes, baby girl?" RJ asks Luci as he smiles at her.

"Ba ba." Luci says, pointing at a bottle that's on the dry rack.

"You want some milk in your bottle? I'll get you some milk, baby." RJ says, kissing Luci's cheek and she smiles.

RJ makes Luci a bottle of milk while Luca and Harlow walk into the room.

*Harlow and Luca's outfits*

"Papi! Where's Daddy?" Luca asks RJ.

"Daddy is taking a shower!" RJ says as he hands Luci her bottle and Luci begins to drink it.

"Where's baby Henry?" Harlow asks RJ, looking for her baby brother.

"Baby Henry is in the bathroom with Daddy! He's probably in his swing sleeping." RJ explains to Harlow and Luca.

"Where's Nana?" Luca asks RJ.

RJ chuckles at Luca and Harlow's many questions.

"Nana is out to dinner with her friends, she'll be back later tonight." RJ answers happily.

"Ah. That's okay!" Harlow smiles.

"Do you guys want to help set the table and make dinner?" RJ asks the little kids, but also the older ones.

"No thanks, I'm gonna play cars with the babies!" Theodore says and starts to play with Arya and Oliver.

"I wanna help!" Harlow jumps up.

"Me too!" Luca grins.

"I'd like to help cook!" Averie says.

"Okay. Coralei, Luca, why don't you get the table ready, and Averie, Harlow and Benji can help cook?" RJ suggests.

The kids all cheer in agreement and they start setting up.

Luci watches her siblings curiously, and observes everything. She leans over to the sink to put the empty bottle in.

"Good job! You did it." RJ praises.

"Did it!" Luci repeats proudly.

RJ is very proud of the kids for wanting and knowing how to help out, even at such young ages.

Benji does some salad preparation which includes chopping, while his sisters follow RJ's instructions on making rice.

*Benji's outfit with black shorts*

Black beans have been cooking all day with some onions and spices, which makes the kitchen smell delicious.

RJ gives Luci to Benji to hold as he fries the meat -- masitas de puerco -- and plantains.

"It smells so good in here!" Averie says excitedly.

"It does! Can't wait to eat!" Benji says as he holds Luci and Luci hugs him.

"You are always hungry! Teenage life for ya!" RJ says playfully to Benji.

"I'm not a teen yet. I'm almost twelve." Benji says playfully back to RJ.

"Well, you are a preteen! Close enough!" RJ says, causing Averie, Luci and Harlow all laugh.

"Vrooom!" Theodore yells loudly.

"Beep!" Oliver squeals happily.

"Beeep beep!" Arya squeals happily back at her brothers.

"Ba ba ba." Luci says to Benji, causing Benji to smile.

"Yes, Luci. I know." Benji replies, glad that she lets him hold her, rather than just her parents all the time.

Luci adores being held by RJ at the moment, since Will can't pick her up right now but is starting to understand that people have things to do and someone else can instead.

Just as RJ sets the food on serving plates, the front doorbell rings.

"I'm gonna get it!" Theodore says as he runs to the front door, checking who it is, before opening it.

"Hello! Thank you for inviting us over!" Maxwell says happily to Theodore.

"You're welcome!" Theodore says proudly, as Will comes up behind him with Henry in his arms.

"Hello! Come inside!" Will greets.

"Hi! We're just dropping them off, then we'll go!" Daniel explains, mainly to Theodore, while holding Caspian.

"Come on, Eden! Come on, Riv!" Joey says as he holds a happy Emersyn.

Henry is wide awake in Will's arms, observing everyone the best he can at just a few weeks old.

*Henry's outfit with matching pants*

"Hey! Welcome! Where's the rest of the crew?" Will asks Joey and Daniel.

"Ash, the triplets and Koa are at the pet store with Maria, Haven and Luna! They are picking up supplies for our new foster pups!" Joey explains as Emersyn babbles.

"And Aspen and Everett are out with friends!" Daniel says with a grin.

Daniel, Caspian, Maxwell, Eden, River, Joey and Emersyn all walk into the house, greeted by Dobby, Astrid and Sammy.

*Maxwell, River, Eden, Caspian and Emersyn's outfits*

"You three smell our zoo of animals? Huh?" Daniel says playfully to the dogs.

"Look at this cutie! He is so alert." Joey says as he smiles at Henry.

"He just woke up and I just fed him. He's such a great baby. We are very lucky." Will says as he rubs Henry's back.

"Baa!" Emersyn says, pointing at Henry.

"Yeah! You see baby Henry?" Joey says as Emersyn smiles.

Maxwell, River and Eden all walk into the house more and are greeted by Theodore, Benji, Luci, Luca, Averie, Coralei, Harlow, Arya and Oliver.

"I'm so happy to be here!" River says to his friends, flapping his hands.

"We're happy you're here!" Averie says back, just as eagerly.

"You even have doggies!" Eden notices, petting Astrid.

"We do! Not as many as you guys, right?" Coralei asks with a giggle.

"Nope! Sometimes we have over ten!" Maxwell giggles.

Luci stays with Benji, a little bit worried about the new people. "Be be be!" She asks to be over by the couch, pointing as well.

"Okay, let's go over here, where it's quieter." Benji says with empathy, completely listening. He sets her down gently.

Luci visibly is still a bit on edge, but slightly calmer.

Arya and Oliver immediately show Eden their toy cars, wanting to play while they wait for dinner.

Luca asks RJ to pick him up, and he does, which makes the toddler smile.

"¿Podemos cenar ahora? (Can we have dinner now?)" Luca asks dramatically.

"Comeremos en unos minutos (We'll eat in a few minutes.)" RJ says and gives Luca a kiss on the forehead.

"I didn't know he spoke so clearly now?" Joey says softly, interested.

"Luca has been speaking Spanish a lot more, as you can see. I think he finds it easier sometimes." Will mentions.

"The triplets and Koa know sign language very well! It's amazing!" Joey says with a grin.

"Aww, do you see the doggie, Caspie? That's Dobby!" Daniel says as Caspian smiles.

"We have some fosters coming in soon!" Joey says as Emersyn giggles.

"I would be too attached to do that!" RJ says and Will nods.

"We do too but we know we can't keep everyone. We love to do this as a family." Daniel explains and Joey nods.

"It's teaching the kids valuable skills and they all love to help." Joey says.

Benji and Maxwell walk over to the playroom and sit, talking about video games and girls.

"Are they talking about girls in there? Oh brother." RJ says playfully.

"Preteens for ya!" Daniel says as Joey laughs.

"Max is officially Aria's boyfriend after friend zoning each other for a year." Joeys says playfully.

"Benji and Kinley have been talking more. They have always been friends but these past two months they have been closer." Will explains.

"Ooh, interesting." Daniel smiles.

"Now they've got us talking about girls." Joey laughs, as he looks at the time on his phone. "We should get going. It's been good to catch up, though. Max, Riv, Edie! Behave, all right?"

"Yeah, be on your best behavior and call us if you need to." Daniel calls out.

"Okay, bye, Daddy and Papa!" River and Eden say as they look at their parents.

"We will! Bye!" Maxwell says in response, then goes back to talking to. Benji.

"Baa beee!" Caspian and Emersyn babble goodbye when they leave.

Once Joey, Daniel and their twins drive away, Will lets the kids talk for a minute before asking them to wash up for dinner.

"Dinner smells amazing! I love this kind of food!" Maxwell comments.

"Me too! I especially love the maduros." Benji says happily.

"We like those!" River declares.

River, Coralei, Averie, Theodore, Eden, Harlow and Luca all run over to the door to go outside.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes! I'll call you guys when it's done!" RJ says to the kids.

"Okay!" River, Coralei, Averie, Theodore, Eden, Harlow and Luca all say in unison with big smiles.

"Hi, babe. You feeling okay?" RJ asks Will, knowing Will looks tired.

"I'm feeling a little sore but I'm okay." Will says to RJ.

"Do you want me to take Henry? I can hold him for a while." RJ says as Will nods, handing Henry to RJ.

"Thank you, baby." Will says softly to RJ.

"You're welcome." RJ says as he kisses Will before kissing Henry. 

"Da da!" Luci says as he crawls over to Will before standing up.

"Hi, Luci! Hi, baby. Look at you standing! Good girl!" Will says, cheering Luci on.

Luci claps for herself before losing balance a bit and sitting down. But inspired by the encouragement, she gets back up.

"She's getting good at that." Benji says and coos at his sister.

"She is! Really has been practicing more and more." Will agrees.

RJ bounces Henry lightly in his arms, humming a little. The baby just stares, but is listening somewhat.

Arya and Oliver are now going all over the house, Benji following them so they don't get hurt or anything.

"He's a great big brother." RJ says softly.

"I know. He loves all his siblings." Will smiles.

Luci decides to try walking some more, holding onto the edge of the couch for support.

"You're doing that so well! Yes, you are!" RJ cheers for Luci now. She beams at him and continues.

After a few more minutes, dinner is finally ready!

"Will, can you tell the kids to come in?" RJ asks Will and Will nods with a cheeky grin.

Will and Luci walk over to the sliding glass door and open it.

"Hey guys! It's time for dinner!" Will says as Luci squeals happily.

Benji and Maxwell leave the play room and help RJ with Arya and Oliver.

River, Coralei, Averie, Theodore, Eden, Harlow and Luca all run to the sliding glass door and come inside.

"Wash your hands, everyone!" Will says as he holds Luci's hands, helping her walk along to the dining room that wasn't far away.

Luci feels more confident when holding hands to walk, doing quite well at it.

All the children except Luci and Henry go wash their little hands,  Benji and Maxwell helping the twins reach the sinks.

RJ smiles at the older boys helping, knowing it's a good habit for Oliver and Arya to start, even that young of an age, because it's all about example.

"¡Papi! Me lavé las manos ahora! (I washed my hands now!)" Luca yells as he runs to RJ, bumping into him gently.

"¡Muy bien! Que buen chico! (Very good! What a good boy!)" RJ says back to Luca as he lifts Oliver up and into his highchair.

Everyone soon is eager to sit down, very hungry for dinner at this point as they start serving food and talking.

Will and RJ help the kids fill their plates with as much food each child wanted.

All of the kids being to happily eat, enjoying the meal which is a rarity to get all children to enjoy!

Arya and Oliver happily eat with their hands, something that's very common for one year olds.

"Do you wanna try it, Luci? Hmm? If not, that's okay!" RJ says as he kisses Luci.

Luci has been making great strides at feeding therapy, eating different textures of food and different kinds of foods.

Luci looks at the food and nods.

"It might be a little spicy for her but she can try it! If not, I have some of her food made." Will says as he begins to feed Henry his bottle.

"It shouldn't be too spicy. And, besides the meat, they're not difficult textures." RJ puts some black beans, rice and maduros in a bowl, the plantains cut into small pieces in a bowl and starts to help feed her.

Luci happily eats the maduros and black beans, enjoying the tastes. She tries a bit of the rice and doesn't eat much of it, preferring the other foods.

"Good job trying it, baby!" Will smiles.

It does help that the kids were raised in California, so even River, Eden and Maxwell have been taught to recognize the flavours of another culture's cuisine and maybe even like it.

"Papi! Les!" Arya says with a handful of black beans in her grasp.

"Sí, frijoles! (Yes, beans!)" RJ says to her with a grin.

"The food is so yummy!" Eden says to Will and RJ.

"Thank you!" Will says to Eden.

-

Everyone finishes their food, and clean up. The kids get into their pajamas, and they start playing with toys and talking again.

"Hey! We have the same pajamas!" Averie says to Eden with a laugh.

"That's funny!" Eden laughs.

"I wike your pajamas, Teddy!" River says with a smile.

"Thank you!" Theodore says to River as he jumps around.

RJ is feeding Henry his last bottle before bed time while Will is getting Oliver, Arya and Luci in their pajamas and ready for bed.

"You are growing so much, Henry!" RJ says to the sleepy baby, who just looks up at him silently.

"Put your arms through! There you go!" Will helps Oliver, zipping up the footie pajamas, then doing the same for Arya.

Luci is wearing two-piece pajamas, because she doesn't like the feeling of typical baby pajamas, and Will gets her dressed before brushing all three kids' teeth.

"I like your pajamas too, River!" Benji tells the boy, who is wearing Minecraft pajamas.

"Thanks!" River answers after a second.

Luca is running around, somehow still full of energy. RJ asks him if he wants a story - to calm down - and Luca nods.

"Pick a book and come here, please. I've just finished giving Henry his bottle, so he can listen too." RJ explains.

"Okay!" Luca decides on a book in Spanish, then sits down next to him as he listens quietly as RJ holds the book with one hand and reads it.

Coralei, River, Averie, Theodore, Eden and Harlow all begin to make their makeshift beds in the living room to have a fun sleep over!

Benji and Maxwell are in Benji's bedroom because they want to play video games.

Will begins to tell Coralei, River, Averie, Theodore, Eden and Harlow all goodnight, giving his kids kisses.

"I don't want all of you to stay up late, okay?" Will says to Coralei, River, Averie, Theodore, Eden and Harlow.

"Okay, Mister Will!" River and Eden both say in unison.

"Okay, Daddy!" Coralei, Averie, Theodore and Harlow both say in unison with big smiles.

Will hums and leaves the living room, going into his and RJ's bedroom, where RJ is with Luca and Henry still. He smiles as he sees the cute moment.

"That was a long book." RJ chuckles, closing the book. "It also took longer because Luca is at the age where he points out every feeling and thing happening in the story."

"Aww. Do you like that book, Luccy?" Will asks, and Luca nods with a grin.

River, Averie and Theodore begin talking about exciting things that have happened lately, also about school.

Harlow and Eden play with their baby dolls happily and somewhat quietly, Harlow talking about how her baby will be a race car driver when it's older.

Luca then yawns, telling Will and RJ he is ready for bed. RJ carefully places a sleeping Henry in his bassinet which is on Will's side of the bed.

Every night, Will and RJ switch where the bassinet is based on who's doing night duty. Last night was RJ and tonight is Will.

Will and RJ take Luca to his bed room and tuck him in with Luca instantly falling asleep.

Will and RJ then check on the twins, who were put the bed a little earlier in the night. Both toddlers are both fast asleep and each are starfished in their cribs.

Will and RJ then go back into their bedroom and hear Luci fussing. She was sleeping but now she's not.

"Did you wake up, baby? Are you okay?" RJ asks Luci as he bends down to Luci's little bed.

Will and RJ have a bedroom set up and ready for Luci but due to her sleep issues due to her cerebral palsy she has been with them in their bedroom.

"Oh, you're having muscles spasms. Let me help, baby. It's okay." Will says as he begins to massage Luci's legs.

"I don't think we gave her her muscle medicine." RJ says to Will.

"Nope, we didn't. Ugh." Will says feeling like a horrible parent.

"It's okay, once she gets it in her she'll settle. Let me get it ready." RJ says as he walks over to where Luci's medicine is.

Will sighs, wishing he could help his baby more. He knows the medicine helps, but he still feels bad when it takes a while to work.

Luci whines slightly, but starts to calm down when Will reassures her gently and keeps massaging her legs.

RJ gets the medicine and gives it to Luci, trying to also make sure she's all right.

The toddler soon relaxes, listening intently to her parents' voices. She's used to medicine so doesn't fight it much, also understanding that it can help her feel better.

After half an hour, Luci finally falls asleep and so do RJ and Will, a bit exhausted from the day.

to be continued