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Eddie sat up with a jolt when a loud crash woke him up from a dead sleep, followed seconds late by Clara crying. He was up on his feet and halfway to the bedroom door before he realized that Buck wasn't in bed next to him, and when the crying stopped almost immediately he figured Buck must be out there with Clara. He paused for a second to let his heart slow down to a normal speed but still went out to check on them, because it was almost an hour before they had to be up for the day.When he got out into the hallway he could hear soft music and voices coming from the kitchen so he headed in that direction, then stood at the threshold for a minute to take in the scene in front of him.Buck was in the middle of the kitchen holding Clara in his arms as he swayed to the music. Her face was pressed into his chest, and he was rubbing her back and talking softly to her but Eddie couldn't quite make out what he was saying. Christopher was at the counter, intently focused on pouring orange juice into the cups in front of him without spilling. Between them a large mixing bowl was overturned on the floor, with pink goop surrounding it, dripping down the counter, and splattered over the fridge and stove, the apparent source of the clatter and crying. Eddie's heart felt like it was expanding against his ribs with the sudden surge of emotion he felt for these three, and if he had to wipe a tear from his eye who was going to judge him? He quietly walked up behind Buck and slid his arms around his waist, hooking his chin over Buck's shoulder and pressing a kiss to his jaw. Buck hummed happily and leaned back and they swayed together.“She okay?” Eddie spoke softly, not wanting to disturb the moment.“Yeah, just scared herself when she tipped over the bowl.”“Mm. What's going on out here?”“Supposed to be breakfast in bed. And you should probably get back there if you don't want Christopher to yell at you.” They were speaking quietly enough, and Christopher was so focused on his task that he still hadn't noticed Eddie.“But you're out here,” he protested, laying a trail of kisses across the top of Buck's shoulder.“Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you. If you're gonna stay out here make yourself useful and hold our daughter so I can clean this up.” Buck spun around in Eddie's arms and gave him a kiss then plunked Clara in said arms.Her big blue eyes--that were so like Buck's it made him melt every time--looked up at him and she smiled. “Papi!”Christopher finally looked up at that, betrayal on his face. “Daaaad! Go back to bed. You're ruining the surprise.”Buck leveled Eddie with an ‘I told you so’ look as he bent down to start cleaning up the spilled batter. “Good morning to you too, kid,” Eddie said, walking over and ruffling Christopher's hair. “You guys helping dad with breakfast?”“Hewp,” Clara said proudly, reaching for the orange juice container on the counter, and Eddie swerved so it was out of her reach. Instead he grabbed the sippy cup that Christopher had just filled, screwed the lid on and handed it to her.Christopher pouted. “Clara's just making a mess.”“Somebody's grumpy this morning.”“That's my fault. I probably shouldn't have gotten them up so early.” Buck went over to the counter and poured some coffee into a mug and handed it to Eddie. “Why don't you take her back to bed so Christopher and I can finish up here.”“Yeah, go,” Christopher agreed pushing Eddie towards their room.“Okay, alright, I'm going.” He started to walk away but stopped at the entrance to the kitchen again to watch as Buck set Christopher to mixing a new batch of pancake mix. Eddie could have watched the two of them all day, but then Clara made a grab for his coffee so he decided it was best to let his boys do their thing and he would get out of their way as instructed.He and Clara spent the next half hour or so hanging out in bed, counting, singing the alphabet, and naming random body parts as one does with a toddler. They were in the middle of a tickle fight when Buck and Christopher came in, Buck holding a tray of food. “Happy Valentine's day, babe,” Buck said, laying the tray on the bed before helping Christopher up onto it.“Happy Valentine's day daddy! I love you.” Christopher was grinning, obviously in a better mood now.The tray was loaded with vaguely heart shaped pink pancakes topped with whipped cream and strawberries, some cut up fruit, and a plate heaping with bacon. “This is amazing. I love you all so much.”Buck leaned in and kissed Eddie. “I love you too. I figured just because Bobby couldn't give us the evening off didn't mean we couldn't celebrate.”“You know I love those grand romantic dates you like to plan.”“I know. I'm sorry I couldn't do that today but I promise I'll make it up to you.”“You didn't let me finish. You know I love those dates, but honestly? I like this better.” “Really?”“Really.” He knew there was probably a big mess waiting for them in the kitchen, and they were definitely going to have to wash the sheets by the time they were done eating. But Christopher was giving Clara pieces of fruit, naming each one for her as he handed it to her, and Buck was smiling at him like he hung the moon and Eddie truly felt like the luckiest guy on the planet.
