5 years later

a faint cry broke the still of the night. michael stirred, propping himself up on his elbow to peek around the dark bedroom. one of his arms was still thrown over the girl laying next to him; she remained sleeping peacefully, mouth open in a pout as she breathed in and out.

the crying grew louder and more urgent, causing sam to roll over onto her side and groan. she was facing michael now, one eye open to see if he was awake. when she saw that he was, she slapped his shoulder gently. "you go get 'er," sam mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.

michael nodded and pressed a gentle kiss to sam's forehead. he threw their shared duvet off of his legs and padded out of bed, jumping when his feet touched the cold hardware floor of their 2-bedroom apartment. robotically he drifted across the hall and into the nursery from which the crying was coming from.

he nudged open the door with a squeak, wincing at the intensity of baby girl bella's shrieks. "shhh, baby, shhh," michael tried to soothe her. he made grabby hands at the infant and gently cradled her in his arms, brushing her dirty blonde locks out of her eyes. she wriggled around in her father's hold, michael doing his best to calm the weary child. "shhh, shhh bella baby, shhh for daddy," the man murmured while walking in circles.

bella's wails didn't stop; she was crying so hard she started hiccuping. as soon as the squeaky sound left her throat, her blue eyes opened and she looked up at her father in wonder. her stomach jumped again and she giggled slightly. michael grinned to himself, rubbing his large hand over her protruding tummy through her onesie. "hey baby," he whispered to bella, leaving a kiss on her forehead. "do you need your diaper changed, hm? is that what's wrong?"

bella's stomach jumped again and this time she full out laughed. her legs kicked in delight at how silly the noise that was coming out of her sounded. michael laughed along with her, shifting his daughter to rest on his hip while he shuffled around the dark nursery. he flipped on bella's mickey mouse lamp to give him some light. bella held tightly onto her father's ripped up shirt, resting her head on his shoulder. michael bounced her up and down slightly in the hopes that she would go back to sleep soon.

once michael found what he had been looking for, he laid bella down on the changing table and unbuttoned her onesie, getting down to business. in a matter of minutes bella was wearing a fresh diaper and michael was rubbing some baby lotion inbetween his hands to warm it before he smoothed it over bella's already soft skin. he had heard somewhere that baby lotion makes babies go to sleep faster because the smell is so soothing; michael didn't know if it was true, but it was worth a shot.

baby girl bella sleepily fisted her hair as her daddy rubbed her tummy, the hiccups having died down minutes ago. michael hummed a lullaby into the night, looking at his 6 month old in awe. she had sam's eyes but michael's (natural) hair and his nose. she was also very tall for her age, something she definitely acquired from her father, seeing as sam had to look up at michael when she spoke. her little toenails were painted a lime green color after she pitched a fit over her mother painting her own toes. sam didn't want to do it because she was scared bella would get it all over the apartment, but michael painted them in secret, when sam was taking a nap. when sam woke up all she did was laugh at the sight of her husband blowing on his baby girl's toes while she giggled at the tickling feeling.

michael was an absolute softie when it came to his two girls, and he knew it too. all the boys called him whipped and he didn't see that as a bad thing. he would do absolutely anything for them. the boys laughed when they discovered that michael cried during the delivery of bella, but he later punched them for mocking him. michael was the first out of the four to settle down and have a child; calum still hadn't found anyone 'right' for him, though he had had a couple long term girlfriends in the past five years. luke and ashton had broke up long ago, after luke realized that he was bisexual rather than gay, and had met a girl that he really liked. luke started dating the girl a while after and ever since then they'd been together. luke had plans to propose to her soon, and both michael and sam were really happy for them. as for ashton, he was okay with their break up, saying that luke and his' relationship was a little weird since it started out as a series of hookups and everything seemed backwards. ashton wanted a traditional relationship, but he hadn't found anyone yet. he was happy living his life and going with the flow, popping in here and there to check up on everyone but mainly ghosting around.

michael was snapped out of his trance by bella's snores, her hand wrapped tightly around his finger. sighing with relief, michael tried to take his hand back so he could go and crawl into bed again, but bella whined at the absence. testing it, michael gave bella his finger and took it back multiple times only to realize that bella was not going to be happy unless she was with her daddy for the night. he felt giddy knowing that bella loved him, but he loved her more. "alright baby, come here..." michael whispered while picking her up and holding her to his chest, her head resting on his shoulder and arms resting his neck. michael rubbed her bare back and listened to her breathing as he padded back into the master bedroom, checking the clock to see that it was 6:58 in the morning. 

he didn't know how long he had been up, but michael knew that he was dead tired. he laid back down in bed carefully with bella laying on his chest, her squishy cheek flat against his torso, mouth open wide, and bum sticking up in the air. michael threw the covers over them, letting bella take his finger again, and drifted back to sleep with a smile on his lips.

5 more years later

bella was now 5 years of age. she sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast with her mommy and daddy, laughing at their lame dance moves. music was playing, probably a little too loud, but they didn't care. they didn't have to worry about any neighbors complaining about how obnoxious the clifford family was, or listening to the people above them have sex, or anyone banging on the floor from underneath with a broom stick because they were chasing bella around the house. they didn't have to worry about any of that because michael and sam had just bought their first home together -- their first real home, that's actually theirs, with multiple bathrooms and bedrooms and just space.

michael and sam swayed around to the music as bella ate her cheerios, gagging when her daddy kissed her mommy. michael whipped around to shoot bella a look, a playful glare, making his daughter giggle. sam rolled her eyes at their shenanigans and continued to make bella's peanut butter and jelly sandwich that she would eat for lunch later on at school. 

"finish your cereal, sweetie, you don't want to be late." sam reminded, waving a peanut butter covered knife around. 

"woah, babe, chill. don't wanna stab anyone." michael teased, kissing her temple as he walked past her and down the hallway, into the bathroom so he could adjust his tie. bella came bounding in there minutes later, brushing her teeth while michael pulled faces in the mirror from behind her.

"you ready, bells?" michael asked, handing bella her coat since it was a little chilly. "are you excited for your first day?"

bella bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, her light up shoes flickering. "yeah!" a big grin painted her face. michael squatted on the ground so he was her height and puffed his cheeks up, his way of asking for a kiss. bella rolled her eyes -- something she learned from sam -- and kissed both of her father's cheeks. 

"come here, don't i get any love?" sam asked. "after all, i just made you the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich ever!" 

bella laughed at how silly her parents were. she ran up to her mom and threw her arms around sam's legs, propping her chin up so sam could lean down and press a kiss to her forehead. sam's hand brushed bella's blonde locks out of her eyes and circled around to hold her chin. "you have a good day today, bells. if you have any problems, call us, okay? you know our number, right?"

bella smiled and recited the number perfectly. michael's heart swelled. his daughter was just so smart. "alright, baby, it's time to get going." michael spoke up, not really sure which of his babies he was addressing, but they really had to go. he kissed sam sweetly and took bella's hand, guiding her outside of their new home and safely buckling her in her booster seat. 

the two drove to bella's school with the radio down low. bella would point out things she saw outside and michael would do his best to respond and act interested so he wouldn't hurt her feelings, but really he was trying to contain his own. when they pulled into a parking spot at her school, michael swallowed the lump in his throat and discreetly wiped away the tears that pricked at his eyes. he held bella's hand tightly as they entered the elementary school, following all the signs that directed his 5 year old to her classroom.

they stopped outside the door, michael squatting down again to look into bella's eyes. he pulled her into a bone crushing hug and kissed both of her cheeks, not a word being exchanged as they nodded to one another and hooked pinkies. "i love you, daddy. i'll see you later." bella said with a confident smile, adjusting the strap of her bookbag. 

michael ruffled her hair. "love you too, sweetheart. see you." he mumbled, fearing that if he said anything else he'd start crying. he didn't think dropping your kid off at school for the first time would be this hard. 

michael drove back home in silence, fighting back the tears. he just couldn't believe his little baby was all grown up now. as soon as he stepped through the door to their home he called for sam and held her tightly in his arms. "i don't ever wanna do that again," he chuckled weakly into her hair, dropping a kiss on the top of her head while she rubbed up and down his back.

"i thought you wanted, like, twenty kids?" sam joked, pulling away to slap his chest. she kissed his lips quickly and intertwined their fingers, looking up at her husband lovingly. 

"yeah, i want another, but you're taking them to school." argued michael, smiling brightly down at sam and slanting his mouth over hers again. michael pulled away and went back to the bathroom to untie his tie -- he only wore it to make a good first impression on bella's teacher, but he didn't even meet them, so it was a waste. 

something in the trash can caught michael's eyes. "sam, babe, can you come here?" he hollered. 

"yeah?" she called back, poking her head past the bathroom door. "what is it?"

"what's this?" michael asked, holding up a purple box. a smile was sneaking its way onto his face. 

"you know what that is, michael, i had to take one five years ago."

"i know, but i wanna hear you say it." he chuckled, wrapping sam up in his arms. 

"it's a pregnancy test, michael."

"did you take it?"

"mmhmm."

"what did it say?"

"i don't know, i was waiting until you got home to check it." sam explained, gnawing on her bottom lip. sam felt nervous. she had had a kid before, obviously she knew what being pregnant was like, but the thought that she might have to care for not one kid, but two -- three, if michael was being considered -- was just a little bit nerve-wracking. being a stay at home mom was already hectic enough, trying to balance online classes to get her degree and maybe being pregnant again made her want to puke. (as if she didn't do that enough already.)

michael twisted his fingers into sam's, a reassuring gesture. "where is it?" sam nodded towards the sink, where a white stick sat. "has it been five minutes?"

"i took it literally as soon as you left, so yes, it's been five minutes." sam laughed wearily, squeezing michael's hand. 

michael hooked his arm over his wife's shoulder and kissed her temple. "you ready?" he whispered near her ear, preparing himself for either result. sam nodded, her eyes trained on the test. michael grabbed the clean end with his free hand, looked up at both of them in the mirror, and that's when he knew they were going to be okay no matter what. sam was his rock. she was his best friend. they were solid, and having bella just brought them closer. bella was all they needed, but michael wouldn't object to having another little baby to love with all his heart. 

"do it," sam mumbled, her eyes growing hot with tears. "do it, michael."

michael flipped the test over quick. he had his eyes squeezed shut, unable to see the result. "is it good?" (michael didn't really know what his definition of good was in this situation.)

"michael," sam said breathlessly, choking out a laugh and grabbing onto his shoulders. "michael, i'm pregnant."

a/n; the end!!! i don't know how many of you still have this story in your library but i hope this was a good second part of the epilogue :) i hope you enjoyed reading this book because i really enjoyed writing it!