Chapter 408: 1-3

I wasn't sure if we were heading to the good or the bad at this point, "You know I'm teaching the children here, and I taught back home but this is so much... it's different. When those students went home and I came home to our family that was it. Here... I'm interacting with my students... offering them more than just lessons." I smiled, "So... not the vacation you thought you were getting?" He barked a laughed, "No... but I'd be bored doing nothing anyhow, this is better." His sentiments followed by my son slurping away at his bottle. The next day Besides the obvious enhancements in my senses, there was one I hadn't quite expected, the abundance of energy that I had. The sunlight broke into the room, dancing against the wall, stretching I sat up, ready for the day on less than five hours of sleep. After a shower and shave, I dressed heading to get Livvy and Lena, my two girls, that I could already hear cooing in their cribs, "hi my little beauties," I looked down at them, hands in their mouths', drool on the side, and I'm rewarded with toothless smiles. Picking up Livvy first I went to change her diaper, tickling her little tummy, "You've gotten so big..." I cooed at her, unlike human babies, at nearly four months Livvy resembled a baby more near nine months, hitting all her milestones a bit earlier than Rusty and Lena. Something Jack had said was because of her shifting already. "Da - da - eh - da - da - ah - da," she cooed, her lips puckered, reaching behind her to grab at one of the baby powders, "no - no," I shook my head knowing she very well understood me. Her bottom lip shaking, before she could release any cries that matched her welled up eyes, I blew raspberries on her tummy. "Hi Uncle Russ..." Cody said from the door, his eyes only for Livvy, "You think you can carry her down?" I said dressing her in a nice little cotton dress knowing that after some times Livvy would just shift to her wolf to play with him. Handing her to him, I watched at she cooed, slobbering all over him, winding her chubby hands around his neck. "We get to eat and then we going to the beach today," he told her as he walked slowly out of the room. "Haa!" I gasped at Lena doing the same, before joining everyone down for breakfast; surprised that Angel wasn't already down here. Once the kids were in their high chairs I went about the kitchen helping Dana bring everything out, dying to ask her if Angel approached her as well about the name she preferred them using now. Just as I was going to however, Angel appeared, white cotton dress and blonde hair flowing down her back, "Morning," she murmured going to the babies kissing each on their head, "Morning Cassie," Thayer said and I watched as Angel ducked her head, sighing, I fell in line, "How did you sleep Cassie?" I said the name sounding off coming from me, and while I'm sure I smiled, I'm fairly certain it looked much more like a grimace. Her head snapped up, pale green eyes focused on mine, and her brows pushed together, a small frown on her lips. What I wouldn't do to be able to read her mind right now... she opened her mouth, only to close it again, shrugging and coming to help, carrying the toast to the table, then taking the pureed fruit for the babies to the table. "You excited to go to the beach?" her still childlike voice cooed to Lena, a nudge from Dana brought me back to task, but my mind turned her reaction to me using her name over and over again, analyzing each line caused by her obvious frown. That overanalyzing continued until we were packing the beach toys, blankets, all other supplies, cooler and tent - down to the when we left walking to the beach a little after eleven. As the road turned to sand, Livvy shifted in mom's arms whining to be set down, Cody following straight after her, the two running, tumbling over each other near the water, running back each time a wave curled up upon the sand. Howling happily as they played. Setting up, once we were all changed and mom said she'd watch the kids, I jogged out, diving in the cool water, enjoying the chill and slight nipping of my body, "Bro," Thayer called when I came up, bobbing next to me he glanced behind him. "What's with you?" I blinked in confusion not understanding, "You've been like - like a man in a stray jacket - dazed since this morning..." had I? Dipping down I took a moment under water, breaching the top, wiping the water from my face, "I don't know..." I looked back on shore, Angel in a stunningly one-piece swimsuit, Lena in her arms, rocking our daughter, a brilliant smile on her face. Thayer just chuckled, "You've got it bad..." I snorted not even going to deny just how 'bad' I've got it. "Why'd you call her Cassie?" Thayer went with just being blunt in that moment, something that was normal, Yeah why? Cirus echoed in my mind, despite already knowing since he was... in my mind... "I just - she smiled when you all did so I didn't want to be the one to go against what she wished..." Going onto his back to float, he made a thick snorting sound deep in his chest, "Yeah... she asked us to call her that, when you do it, it's almost like you're giving her bad news," surely he was exaggerating. Dipping under water I swam away from him, coming up filling my lungs, bobbing along noting Angel pointing out towards me, "Give her to mom and come for a swim!" I said knowing she loved the water. Submerging myself I waited under, going up again to see her swimming out towards me, hovering a foot or so away, "Hi," I murmured hating the distance and brought myself closer to her, until I was wrapping my arms around her smaller frame, her legs immediately wrapping around my torso, her arms around my neck.