Marie was other the moon when Logan had told her, her mother would be there in five hours. She immediately tried to set about making up bedrooms, and cooking up dinner for the crowd that was to come. Logan had other ideas however, and ended up resorting to picking her up and carrying her back up the stairs. He even tried good naturedly threatening her if she came out of their room again before her mother arrived - it didn't work.
Helen and Logan got the two main floor bedrooms ready for guests, Helen and Peter themselves were in one of the basement bedrooms, the other two were set up for the boys in one, and the new baby’s eventual room. The 'nursery' was a converted walk in wardrobe in the loft, so baby wasn't so far from mama while she was isty bitsy.
Logan eventually gave in to allow Marie to cook up a southern feast, in honour of her mother’s arrival, but only on the proviso that she accepted assistance, and she at the very least sat down when she could.
The boys, when not in bed, were confined to their play corner, or baby jail as Marie had nicknamed it, so they were out of everyone's way. The newbie was asleep in a Moses basket on the coffee table, for no reason other than Logan didn't want Marie rushing up and down the stairs to the loft every time she made a sound.
Lunch was done, and dinner preparation was well on its way, before Marie finally settled down long enough to feed the baby. She was tucked into the armchair with baby quietly suckling while Logan managed the boys, who both decided they must cuddle mama right at that moment. Eventually the boys were placated by being able to sit on daddy’s lap and watch the baby feed, gently touching her downy hair from time to time. Marie could tell she was going to be a little livewire, with the way she glared at her brothers whenever they got too close to her meal.
"She needs a name," Marie announced, "We can't introduce her without one."
Logan sent Liam to collect Marie's notebook, where she had set aside a page in the back for her shortlist. He got side-tracked halfway back, and ended up throwing the book in frustration when he got annoyed at being called back with it. While Marie tried to hide her mirth at his mini temper tantrum, Logan played the bad cop and made him come back and pick it up, he rewarded him by getting him to give mama a kiss to say sorry for throwing her book. Getting his cuddle with mama calmed the toddler down almost immediately before he went off to play again, this time happily.
"Alright, let's see what we've got," Logan announced, opening the notebook. "No... no... no, Marie we are not naming our kid eggs, milk, or flour," he told her, trying to sound serious despite the teasing twinkle in his eye.
Marie shook her head as she chuckled. "The other end of the book," she replied with a tolerant roll of her eyes, as Logan grinned and flipped the book over.
He glanced over the list, before pulling out the pen tucked into the spiral spine of the notebook. Crossing off names as he went down the list, he narrowed it a lot before he finally stopped, glancing from what was left of the list, to the baby, that was now lying still regarding him blandly with her big blue eyes.
"What have we got left to pick from?" Marie asked, trying to peek around the edge of the book.
"Caitlyn, Keaira, and it's corny as hell but Pixie is cute, maybe that can be her nickname, we can't really call her Thing 3 after all," Logan replied. He watched the baby as she continued to watch him, she reached out a chubby hand toward him and he responded by offering her a finger for her to grab hold of. Jean had tried to convince them, when the boys were born, that new babies didn't, or couldn't, smile. As he watched the tiny pink lips curve and expose shiny pink gums, he decided he still didn't believe that.
"What do you think kiddo, do you want us to call you Caitlyn? Or do you want us to call you Keaira? Hmm, what's it going to be?" he asked the little girl, who changed tack and decided to try to suckle on his fingers instead of squeezing them.
"Caitlyn goes better with the boy’s names I guess," Marie suggested.
"Yeah, but she's not one of her brother's," Logan added.
"You're leaning towards Keaira aren't you," Marie laughed, "What does it mean?" she asked, she couldn't remember off the top of her head and she still couldn't see the book.
"It means 'little dark haired one', which works, though so far all of our kids are dark haired so it's not much of a differentiation," Logan replied with a chuckle. "Keaira Marie... I like it, I think she likes it too, either that or she's about to fill her pants again," he said, earning another laugh from Marie.
"Sounds good to me, Keaira Marie Howlett it is. Now, should daddy go change your poopy butt so you can go back to sleep, huh?" Marie said, picking the tiny girl up to plant a kiss on her tiny button nose as Logan stood. After handing the baby over, she stood herself and stretched leisurely.
She was tired but still didn't feel like she could sleep, her dilemma was sorted when Liam wandered over with a pillow and a book, asking her to ‘wead it mama?’. She pulled the giant bean bag lounger out of the corner, closer to the fire, and the boys loaded it up with pillows and a furry throw, before all three of them piled on.
With one boy tucked under each arm Marie started reading, watching Logan as she read when he came back downstairs several minutes later, with a sleepy swaddled baby. He rocked little Keaira gently for a while, until she was sleepy enough to settle straight in when he put her down in her basket. He then added more wood to the fire before he sat on the couch not too far away, watching as Marie read book after book, as both boys, and eventually she herself, fell asleep.
Helen and Peter returned from their walk an hour or so later, silently slipping inside when Logan gestured for quiet, and pointed toward the group on the bean bag. Helen pulled out her phone and snapped a photo to add to her collection of her 'grandbabies'. They fixed refreshments almost silently as those around them slumbered undisturbed.
The distant roar of a jet engine caught Logan's ear while he was fixing himself a coffee. Checking his watch, he confirmed it was most likely the X-Jet, they were about two minutes out if he was hearing right. He gently woke Marie who rushed upstairs to make herself more presentable, though he thought she looked perfectly fine in her warm flannel pj pants and tank top. Though the fleece leggings, woollen socks, and oversize woollen jumper she came back down wearing was just as comfortingly appealing.
He took the boys potty before he made sure their clothes were still clean and tidy, though Marie ignored him and made her own inspection before she was satisfied they would make a good first impression.
Her anxiety shot up as the jet touched down in their clearing, the boys rushed to the windows to loudly exclaim their awe at the sight, while Logan moved to Marie. He hugged her reassuringly, before helping her with her coat. The boys already had their boots on and were jumping up and down impatiently at the door by the time their parents were ready. Leaving Keaira asleep under Helen's watchful eye, the family made their way out to greet the new guests.
Logan scooped both boys up before they could scoot out the door, and gently explained to them that they needed to be on their best behaviour. He explained to them, in a way he hoped they understood, that mama's mommy had come to visit, and that mama hadn't seen her in a very long time so they had to let mama go first and say hello.
The boys didn't seem to care all that much about the visitors though, all they wanted was to 'wide da p'ane'. Logan laughed as he promised them a ride in the plane 'tomorrow', he had learned that trick early on, though he didn't think the boys would have forgotten about the big black plane by the following day.
Marie clung to his arm as they approached the jet, he could feel she was shaking, and her breathing was shallow, as if she were afraid the smallest movement would cause everything to blow away. She jumped when the gangplank of the jet began to lower, and he heard a sob, when Jean led a middle-aged woman to the cold hard ground.
With a smile and an encouraging nudge, Logan watched as Marie rushed forward, and her mother did also. They hugged each other, laughing and crying as they greeted each other. As they chattered animatedly about how good it was to see the other, Logan felt a little of his newly discovered apprehension fade a little. Marie's mother being back in the picture could mean trouble for him, he knew he was no prize catch as far as a southern mother would be concerned but he had already determined to try and win her over, if only so Marie would know he had tried at the very least.
As the women pulled away, and Marie made a move to introduce her men, Logan set both boys down on the ground, walking them over. They were an odd mix of simultaneously curious, and shy as they politely said hello. Both Marie and her mother bobbed down to their level while Marie again explained to them that this was her momma, who had come to meet then, and that she was their grandma.
Both boys looked confused before asking worriedly about 'grandma inside'. Marie smiled and explained to them that they had two grandmas, grandma Helen, and grandma Tricia. Here Tricia interrupted and told the boys they could call her meemaw, that way they could have a grandma and a meemaw. They seemed happy with that explanation though still a little standoffish, they both did give 'meemaw' a hug though, before running off to greet the more familiar 'Uncle Scott' and 'Aunty Jean'.
As the group watched the boys run off Marie turned her mother’s attention back to Logan, before she could introduce him Tricia spoke somewhat flatly. "You must be Logan, everyone spoke very highly of you at the school, you'll have to forgive me if I take a little longer to warm up to the man who got my sixteen-year-old daughter pregnant."
Logan bristled at the comment but his only reaction was a cutting comment, delivered in a surprisingly civil tone, about how if the fifteen-year-old hadn’t been chased out of her home he never would have gotten the opportunity.
Marie was shocked, initially by her mother’s reaction, and then by Logan's response, though admittedly her shock there was more at how restrained he had been. She was even more surprised when her mother cracked a grin, before she started laughing openly.
"Touché, Mr Howlett, touché," she said with a laugh, before sobering and continuing, "Thank you, for everything you have done for my daughter, but don't ever make me regret saying that - you think southern daddies are bad with their shotgun toting, they ain't got nothing on southern mommas."
Logan chuckled in response, before turning to Marie and informing her, "You know, I think I like your mother."
Marie laughed brightly in relief, tears in her eyes as she hugged first Logan and then her mother.
Logan kissed Marie's temple softly as he stepped away, urging her to go back inside before she got cold, and informing them that he would help Scott bring in their guests’ bags.
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