The ship docked around 10 a.m. Taylor and AJ couldn't wait to see the twins(and those other guys too.:). They piled their things into the Expedition and drove towards Denise's place. Once there, Taylor practically jumped out of the window and ran up to the front door.
Denise opened the door, hugged Taylor and let her in. AJ came up soon after, "How were they mom?"
"Perfect..I think they knew you two needed this weekend..how was the cruise?"
AJ smiled, "It was really relaxing.."
Taylor swung Nicholas up and hugged him. Chris wrapped his arms around her legs, but when he saw his father come in, he held up his arms. AJ picked Chris up and hugged him tightly, then they switched. (author's note: that sounds so funny..*l* sorry..)
"Oh yeah, Kev called about an hour ago. About some big meeting about the new tour. He wanted me to tell you once you all got in.," Denise said.
"Okay..we can run over to his place then, that okay Taylor?"
She nodded, "Yeah, thats fine."
"Cool..mom, we'll see you later."
Denise smiled and hugged AJ and Chris, "Alrighty then.."
Taylor hugged her, "Thank you so much for watching them.."
"Not a problem. Bye Nicky!"
Nicholas waved his little hand and laughed. Taylor gathered the twins' things and went out to the car. AJ was putting Chris in his carseat while talking on his cell at the same time. "I know Kev..yes, we're coming right now..no, no..everything's fine..AHH! I hate this friggen' car seat!"
Taylor laughed and waved him away. He got into the car and started it up. Taylor finished buckling the boys into their car seats and got into the passenger seat. "Kev..we're on our way now..no, I still can't work the car seat. Tell Rok to shut up! No, yes..uh huh.."
Taylor took the phone from his ear and told him to drive. "Hi Kev."
"Hey Taylor..what happened to AJ?"
"You were frustrating him and he was swerving all over the road..so, whats up?"
"Nothing really..we're just goin' on tour a little earlier than expected.."
"How early?"
"Two months from..Wednesday.."
"Nu uh."
"Yeah..hey, Nick wants to talk to you, do you mind?"
"Nope, put him on."
"K, see you all in a few."
"Bye Kev."
Nick was heard a second later, "Hey Taylor..how was the cruise?"
"It was good..how was your weekend?"
"It was cool..me and Jayde went out on the boat."
"Really? Sounds cool."
"It was..how's the boys?"
"Just fine..they're in the back right now.."
"Cool.."
"Okay, AJ is telling me to get off..we're almost there so we'll see you in a few."
"K..bye."
"Bye Nicky."
She pressed 'end' and handed the cell phone back to AJ. AJ turned onto Kevin's street and drove down to his house. "I still can't get over how big his house is.," Taylor said as she got Nicholas out of his car seat.
AJ got Chris out, "Yeah..I know.."
"I love his house though.."
"What? You don't like ours?"
"No..I do..his just doesn't have..I don't know..umm..okay..I don't know.."
AJ laughed, "Forgot?"
"Yep."
AJ reached forward and rang the doorbell. It swung open a second later to reveal Maria. Maria hugged Taylor, "How are you girl? Its been forever!"
"I know! I'm good, how are you?"
"Just fine..come on in you all.."
They followed Maria into the large living room where everyone was seated at. Everyone gushed over the twins, who loved the attention, the girls began to gossip(as always!), and the guys made smalltalk. Alicia got up, "Let's head out back so we can talk and the guys can talk about the tour.."
The other girls agreed and followed her out into the spacious backyard. Jayde held Chris, who was squirming to get down, while Maria had Nicholas. They put them in the grass and let them crawl around. Taylor hugged Jane, "Thank you so much for the cruise tickets..it was great!"
"I'm glad you two enjoyed it. Me and Bri figured you all needed it more than we did. We can always take another one sometime.."
"So, was it romantic?," Alicia asked.
"It was in some ways..we got all dressed up and went to a big dinner thing the first night. The second day the boat docked at this little island and we spent all day at the beach. That night there was a buffet in the dining hall, it was nice. But..we kinda didn't get to eat there.."
"How come? Or do we want to know!"
Taylor laughed, "Shut up! Anyways, this woman goes up to AJ while I was up getting some food, she asks for an autograph and was pretty much flirting with him.."
"Was he flirting back?"
"No..she said something about him keeping her from being lonely and he said something about how he was married, had two kids and that I was up getting food. I came back just then in time to hear her say something but then she stopped..I told her to continue and say what she had to say.."
"what'd she say?"
"She told me that AJ could do some much better with someone like her than with a fat cow like me."
"No way!"
"She said that?! What a bitch!"
"Seriously!"
Taylor smiled, "Truthfully..that hurt my feelings. I think AJ knew that. Anyways, I told her I wasn't hungry anymore and dumped my food on her.."
Jayde's jaw dropped, "You didn't!"
"I did..and that felt sooo good too!"
"I bet she was a little shocked!"
Taylor laughed, "The look on her face was priceless!"
"So what happened then?"
"I walked out and I guess AJ followed a second later. That did..hurt my feelings, you know? And I started crying, which..I hate doing, anyways, he comforted me and all that stuff and we ordered room service."
"How cute!"
Taylor smiled, "He made me laugh..so I guess it was a good thing."
Jane looked shocked, "I can't believe that woman said that to your face though! How cruel!"
"I know! I was feeling insecure already!"
"How come? Girl, you look great!," Alicia said.
Maria nodded, "Yeah, you look awesome."
"I know I haven't lost ALL the weight I put on during my pregnancy but most of its gone. I just..sometimes feel insecure..you all know how it was during like the teen years or whatever.."
They all nodded. "Yeah..I guess I would feel insecure a bit too..but she still had no right..," Maria said.
"I agree..AJ got a little pissed off too.."
"I bet!"
They laughed and continued to talk. "Taylor?," Maria asked.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think you and AJ will have any more kids?"
She shrugged, "I don't know..I don't think so right now. Especially if they're going to leave on tour in two months, I'd like to wait till the twins are a little older..they're a handful."
Jayde laughed as she picked up Nicholas off the ground, "I know! We've been out here for like an hour and its hard to keep him from getting in the flowers! How do you do it?"
"I don't know..you have to have ALOT of patience. I've noticed that AJ isn't as..tempermental as he used to be..he's much more patient, knowing that Chris or Nicky don't know any better.."
"Thats good..so parenthood teaches patience?," Maria asked.
"Yep..sometimes I just want to scream..but then I look at them or at AJ when he plays with them..and it makes all the stress disappear.."
"I think that deserves a collective 'awww'!," Alicia said.
"Funny.," Taylor said playfully pushing her.
"I thought it was.."
Nicholas pulled himself up beside the bench and looked up at Taylor. She picked him up and set him on her lap. Chris was busy pulling grass and throwing it. "Nicholas seems more..I don't know, content and relaxed..," Jane said.
"He is..he's more quieter and seems more shy around people. Chris just eats up the attention. He's the most like AJ..I guess Nicholas is like me in some ways.."
"They're both so cute though! I bought the Rolling Stone you all were in, those pictures were soo cute!," Maria said.
Jayde nodded, "Yeah, it was a really good spread and interview.."
Taylor nodded in agreement, "Yeah..I was happy with the way it turned out.."
"How do you tell them apart?," Jane asked picking up Chris.
Taylor looked down at Nicholas and then over at Chris. "You know..I never really thought about it..I just do.."
"Did you or AJ ever get them confused?"
"When we first got them home, I kept their hospital bracelets on. AJ, being the genius he is, cut them off. But then we found out that Chris has a birthmark on his back and Nicky doesn't."
Taylor reached over and pulled up Chris's shirt just a bit to reveal a tiny, maybe dime sized, birthmark. "So, just like that?"
"Yeah..plus, right from the beginning, they had their personality differences. Nicholas likes quiet things, Chris likes loud things. Nicholas is bound to sleep more than Chris. All that stuff.."
Jane held up Chris, "Yeah..he looks more like AJ..but then again..so does Nicky.."
The girls laughed. "Duh Jane! They're twins!"
"I know..but..I don't know!"
They walked back into the house to get something to drink. AJ walked in and wrapped his arms around Taylor's waist. "Were you women talkin' bout us men?," He asked.
Taylor rolled her eyes playfully, "Nope."
"Oh. Hey Nicky!"
Nicholas laughed and held his arms out to AJ. AJ took him from Jayde. Taylor took a coke from Alicia and popped it open. She let AJ take a drink of it. Chris held out his arms to AJ and he switched around so he could hold both boys. He took them back towards the living room. "He is so good with them..," Maria said.
Taylor nodded, "I know..he loves them so much.."
"He loves you too..you can tell by the way he looks at you..," Alicia said.
Taylor looked down at her coke can, "I love him too..more than words can say.."
"Awww..that is so sweet!"
Taylor laughed, "You all are so awful!"
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