"Chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, mango... ooh bubblegum!" Elise gasps, and Nova giggles at her big sister.

"You can't have all those flavours, you can pick two at the most," Nathan laughs, parking the car finally. It's so busy with it being a Saturday, so finding a parking space was more than difficult.

"I'm getting strawberry," Addie says and I smile back at her; it's her favourite flavour of absolutely everything.

"What flavour ice cream are you getting, Iris?" Elise asks me.

"Mint choc-chip, of course," It's my all-time favourite, but in response, I get noises of disgust.

"You're just like daddy!" Addie then points out.

I look over at Nathan with a smile, "So, I'm not the only freak in the car apparently."

"It's my favourite," he chuckles, turning around to the girls, "However none of my cheeky daughters agree."

"It tastes of toothpaste, daddy," Addie shakes her head with her tongue out.

"I agree," Elise says.

"Well, isn't it good that neither of you is eating it and we are," Nathan says before he opens his door, "Now, let's go, girls, ice cream and the park are waiting for us."

He opens Addie's door, helping her unbuckle so she can get out before going around Nova's side, all in the same time it takes for me to get out of the car. I'm eleven weeks pregnant, God help me for when I'm further along.

I walk around the car to Addie who's waiting patiently near her open door while Elise climbs out, and they take my hands without having to ask, keeping hold as we walk to the ice cream parlour across the road with Nathan behind pushing Nova in her stroller.

Nathan orders a vanilla scoop in a tub for Nova, mint choc chip for himself, and Addie orders strawberry independently, which just left me and Elise to choose.

"I'll have bubblegum please," she finally picks a flavour.

Feeling quite nauseated as per usual, I decide to go with a safe option by choosing vanilla like Nova, not because I want to, but because I feel like I need to if I don't want to be sick when we get to the park.

Nathan taps his card to pay and with our ice creams in hand, we leave and make our way down to the park, a very short walk from here. We take a seat on the nearest bench to the park, myself on the furthest end with Addie next to me, Elise in the middle, Nova between her and Nathan on the other end.

"Iris, you didn't get the same as daddy?" Addie questions with a serious frown.

"Why get the same flavour when I can just steal daddy's and I can have mine as well?" I propose a very good point to disguise the truth.

"So you're whole plan is to steal from me, huh?" Nathan chuckles.

"You caught me," I play along.

I have yet to have any of my ice cream, nervous for how my body is going to react to it, especially in front of the girls, with no way to hide it by running to a bathroom. The smell of it doesn't make me nauseous though, so I take that as a green light and go ahead, and I close my eyes at the flavour; yes, vanilla is plain, but it's so good.

"So, girls, you know how daddy's not been working?" Nathan starts, and both older girls nod, Nova swinging her legs focusing on her little spoon, "Well, it's time for me to go back, I'll be working again starting next week."

"Next week?" Elise frowns, disappointment set, "I really liked you being home."

"I know, baby, but we've had a great summer and I'm still going to be home, it's just like before," he reminds her of their old routine which I'm not familiar with just yet.

"Is Iris leaving too?" Addie asks.

"No, she's not, she'll be staying at home with you guys and auntie Laura," he tells them.

"I'm going to miss you," Elise says.

"You'll still see me, baby; remember how auntie Laura would watch a movie with you and put you girls to bed, then in the morning I'd be there? It's just the same and that will only be a couple times a week," he speaks to his daughters like adults and I find it so admiring.

"Not when you go on the airplane," Addie says with a smile, ice cream around her mouth. She's still only four so she doesn't understand as much as Elise does about this situation, but she still knows a lot.

"Airplane?" Nova looks up at him.

"One full day when those days happen, you won't notice I'm gone, you'll have Iris, Laura and grammy," he says, and I can tell he feels a lot of guilt for leaving.

"Yeah, girls, we can bake, watch Disney movies, play and by the time we've done all that, it'll be bedtime and daddy will be greeting you with kisses and hugs by the time you wake up," I join in on helping because Elise really does look quite defeated about it.

Her smile creeps onto her face though once I mentioned baking, "Brownies again?"

"Yeah, of course, and cakes, cookies, anything you want," I list off.

"Okay," Elise nods.

"So, you're okay with it?" Nathan double-checks.

"I'm going to miss you, but we have Iris and auntie Laura," she says.

"You do, and each other," he points out.

"Can we go play soon?" Addie asks, not really bothered at all about this conversation.

"Finish your ice cream and you can play for as long as you want, honey," he tells her.

So they do, Addie and Elise finish their ice creams in a quick few minutes, leaving us to go play on the slide and climbing frame. Nova sits content between Nathan and me, creating a mess on her clothes, but happy and that's all that matters.

"Is being a father terrifying?" I question, feeling nervous myself watching the girls play by themselves.

"I'm petrified every single day, Iris, they genuinely terrify me," he laughs, looking down at Nova, "But it's so worth it and I can't let the fear rule me, they need to grow and learn mistakes, but God, is it hard letting them. If I could shadow their every move until the day I die, I would."

"I know what you mean," I say, slipping my spare hand on my belly, "Are you excited for next week?"

"Should I get myself into trouble here and ask whether you mean the scan or work?" he says with a mischievous grin on his face and I roll my eyes in response, "I'm really looking forward to seeing them again; they'll be much bigger than last. And we get to tell the girls finally, but only if you're ready to."

"I'm more than ready to, just not ready for the questions about us," I admit.

"Oh, so you admit there is an us now," he laughs.

"Shush, you," I push at his shoulder and he smiles over at me, "I think I'd be lying to myself as well as you if I said there wasn't, but it's too complicated to explain to anyone else, especially the girls."

"So, we lie?" he asks, proposing an idea.

"You want us to fake date for your kids, Nath?" I laugh, and he shrugs, nodding. "Wouldn't that complicate things?"

"More complicated than explaining to my children how we're having a baby but we're not actually together?" he has a very true point.

"Should we be worried about Nova tattling?" I joke.

"She can barely form a real sentence, nevermind repeat something we've said and that's if she was actually listening," he leans down and presses a kiss on her head.

"I'm excited for them to know, but God, I'm not ready to get bigger," I complain, "My hips were not built to bear children."

"You don't mind having to bake with Elise, do you? If you're in pain, tell her and she'll understand," he says, and I shake my head.

"I can't wait for you to go to work, so we can."

"Wow, is that how it is now, Rhodes?"

"I love your kids more than you, Fields, you'll just have to cope with it," I don't realise what I've said until he looks at me with a smile growing, "Shut up, you know what I meant."

"You just-"

"No, I didn't," I cut him off, slapping his shoulder.

"So, is violence your love language?" he teases.

"Oh, if you're going to grill me about this, can I at least have some of your ice cream?"

"First backtracking on your love confession and now stealing from me, I've been truly violated," he huffs, handing me his cone and I smile, licking the top of it, immediately glad I asked.

"It wasn't a love confession," I lick it again, "There's a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone; if I were to say I liked you, it'd be a bit underwhelming, would it not?"

"That's true, yes," he nods.

"So, it's not a love confession, not yet anyway," I quickly add the latter and he smiles, very happy.

"You can have the ice cream if you'd like?" he offers, and I shake my head, having one last bit before handing it to him. "What made you change your mind?"

"Chocolate is a massive trigger for my sickness I've found and I was feeling nauseous, so I kept it safe, but I was finding vanilla quite boring," I admit.

Nova finally perks up, putting her tub to the side and holding her sticky hands out, whining, "Dirty, daddy."

"I'll wipe them," I offer, getting up and going into the baby bag hanging on her stroller. I take a few out and wipe her mouth and hands, making sure she's clean, and she claps them together once they are.

"Thank you," he urges her to say, and she repeats it in a whisper, holding her hand out for me to take.

"I'll go take her to the swings," I say in a lingering tone, hoping it's okay.

"I'll meet you over there," he nods with a smile.

Nova holds my hand the entire way, but when we get to the kid swings, one is broken and the other is being used by another toddler. I use my initiative and I pick Nova up, sitting down on the adult swings with her in my lap, and she lets out joyful squeals as I swing us.

"You like that?" I chuckle, pushing a little higher and she screams with laughter, holding onto me tight.

"You sound like you're having fun," Nathan pushes the stroller to the side before sitting on the swing next to us.

"Oh, she's loving life," I laugh, holding her tight as we swing again, which causes another fit of laughter.

"I don't know how many times I can say this, but Iris, you were born to be a mom, you're going to be amazing," he tells me and I look down at Nova with a smile, not knowing what to say.

"I think you're right," I look over at him, "I love this, I've never loved anything so much. I thought I had found my passion in life, but even putting out Elise's cereal and Addie's porridge, I just... love it."

"You're turning into a parental figure I never asked of for them," he comments and I shrink back because it's true, I just hadn't realised it. "I don't mean that in a bad way before you think I do; I never ask anything of you, but you do things because you want to and they want you to as well, and I trust you with these girls, with our babies and that's why I'm not saying that in a bad way. You're not crossing boundaries, you and them are comfortable and it's all I've ever wanted."

"Is it not too soon?" I whisper, suddenly feeling very overwhelmed, "I don't ever want to replace Lucy for them and I won't, and I also-"

"You don't have to explain, I know," he says, and then smiles, "I know you wouldn't, you're not like that."

"I think it's differently paced because of our situation," I add and he nods, agreeing that it is, "If I wasn't pregnant and homeless, I wouldn't have even met them yet."

"You wouldn't have," he agrees, "And Iris, you're not homeless anymore, you have us."

That I'm starting more to believe, it's been a month of living with them, I'm getting more comfortable, and it really is starting to feel like home; not that I've ever felt such a feeling.

Addie and Elise come running over to the swings, and Addie giggles, falling into Nathan's open arms, "Daddy, will you push me on the swings?"

"If you ask nicely, yes," he laughs.

"Will you please push me on the swings, daddy? Pretty please?" she pushes her bottom lip out, really selling it.

Nathan looks at me, bewildered before getting up for Addie to use his swing, while Elise is pushing herself with a smile bright on her face.

There's nothing better than a swing in the park on a Saturday afternoon in the company of family.

~~~~~

Bit of a filler one for you, hope it's not too repetitive, but sometimes conversations need to take place more than once <3