The alarm clock flashed 2:45am, bathing the sleeping couple in a soft green light.
Odette stirred, wriggling out of her fiancés warm arms when she heard a small cry.
'Sinbad ..' she whispered, gently poking him in the side to try and wake him, 'it's your turn ..'
'I'm asleep ..' he mumbled lazily as he turned away from her.
'Oh, really ..' she muttered to herself, a mischievous grin spreading across her face as she slowly moved towards the edge of the bed, 'then I apologise for waking you up so suddenly,' she said before swiftly kicking him out of bed.
'Hey! That hurt,' he pouted as he sat up and rubbed the arm that he had landed on.
'Don't be such a baby,' she teased as she crawled to the other side of the bed and stared down at him.
'You know it's freezing down here,' he muttered and shivered which only made her laugh.
'That's what you get for not wearing a shirt to bed,' she said, resting her head in her hands and sticking her tongue out at him. She glanced back at the baby monitor as the crying got louder, 'but while you're up, could you go check on the twins?'
He stared at her, unmoving, 'for me?' she asked with pleading eyes.
He sighed and stood up, reaching over to kiss the top of her head, 'for you ..' he whispered, hiding a smile before standing up straight and disappearing out the door.
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Odette rolled onto her back and stretched her arms above her head, smiling as she noticed the diamond ring on her finger glinting in the moonlight.
'I hope you don’t grow up to be anything like your mother, otherwise I'd feel sorry for any boys you date ..' she heard Sinbad laugh over the monitor, 'you know Melanie, just between us, I think I was tricked into proposing to her ..'
She rolled her eyes, stepping out of bed and grabbing her dressing gown, putting it on as she made her way to the babies room.
When she got there she leant against the door frame, smiling as she watched Sinbad hold Melanie, who was gurgling happily in his arms.
'Mamma!'
Odette walked into the room, reaching down to grab her two year old son who had already pulled himself up and was peeking over the edge of his crib.
'It looks like someone else is awake early,' she said as she picked him up, lovingly nuzzling her nose against his before cradling him in her arms.
'Hey, I forgot you were awake,' Sinbad said as he walked closer to her.
'Uh-huh, I guess you also forgot I could hear you in the other room,' she said, watching him grin as she nodded towards the baby monitor, 'you know Matthew, just between us,' she said jokingly, mimicking what he had said earlier, 'I hope you don't grow up to be anything like your father, otherwise you'll end up all alone ..'
'I'm not exactly alone, am I?' he interrupted, reaching down and gently kissing the engagement ring on her finger before looking back up at her with a smile.
'Let me finish,' she said, pretending to be annoyed as she took her hand back and pulled Matthew closer to her. She kept her eyes on Sinbad, a sly smile playing on her lips as she continued, 'unless, of course, you find that one girl who'll look past your many, many flaws and see the adorable idiot within, who she just can't resist and will love forever and ever until the day she dies.'
'Aww, I love you too,' he said, laughing softly as he looked down to see the pair sleeping soundly in their arms, 'it looks like someone enjoyed your little story.'
'I'm sure the story of your love life would put anyone to sleep,' she teased as they placed the twins back into their crib.
'Ouch, you can be so cruel when you want to be,' he said, pretending to be hurt as he followed her out into the hall.
She turned around to face him, placing a hand on his chest as she looked up at him with a seductive smile, 'I'm sure I can think of a few ways to make it up to you ..' she whispered and reached up to kiss him, but before their lips could meet she heard a small cry from inside the room.
'Maybe later?' he said, sighing lightly as he rested his forehead against hers.
'Maybe ..' she whispered with her eyes closed, standing there for a moment before slowly moving back into the room and sitting on the floor, dragging him along with her.
'Shhh, mummy and daddy are here,' Odette whispered soothingly as she watched her daughters head fall back onto the pillow again.
'Hey, look,' Sinbad whispered, nudging her shoulder lightly as he looked towards the window, 'it's snowing ..'
'Wow ..' she breathed, reaching out to gently entwine her fingers with his as she watched the flurry of snowflakes fall across the night sky, 'I have a feeling today is going to be perfect ..' she whispered as she leant her head against his shoulder.
'And how would that be different from any other day we've shared?' he asked and she smiled as he gently leant his head against hers.
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'Hello?' a male voice called out as the bedroom door was slowly pushed open.
'Shhh,' a woman whispered quickly, 'aww look at them, they must be exhausted ..'
'Nana,' a bright voice piped up.
'Good morning, sunshine,' she cooed as she picked up Melanie and tapped her nose lightly, 'did you and your brother keep mummy and daddy up all night?' she smiled as Melanie giggled almost triumphantly at her grandmother.
'Why don't we give your parents a bit of peace and quiet, huh?' the man said as he walked into the room, a blanket in his hand. The woman nodded and picked up Matthew.
'So, who wants breakfast?' she said as she walked out of the room.
The man chuckled to himself as he heard their excited squeals fade towards the kitchen.
He turned to the couple and smiled, shaking his head lightly when Odette moved in her sleep and snuggled closer to Sinbad. He gently covered them both with the blanket before reaching over and kissing his daughters forehead.
'Merry Christmas, sweetheart,' he said gently as he walked out of the room to join his wife and grandchildren in the kitchen, leaving the sleeping couple to themselves for a few hours.
