1 year later

Chanyeol was up way before the sun since he wanted to make sure everything was perfectly prepared. Before waking the kids up, he settled in the living room to tune and strum his guitar. 

He knew Baekhyun always loved to hear him play and Chanyeol would be more than happy to play a song for him on his birthday. 

On that day, Baekhyun turned 26 years old. He and Baekhyun had been married for 3 years, Mina would be approaching her 8th birthday soon, and Jaxon had turned 2.

After taking the time to relax and play, Chanyeol felt it was time to wake Mina. The birthday breakfast had been her idea anyway. 

"Wake up, honey." Chanyeol murmured as he shook his sleeping daughter awake. 

She opened her eyes slowly and hesitant before remembering it was her mother's birthday. After remembering, she quickly climbed out of bed and hurried to the kitchen. 

As if sensing something fun was about to happen without him, Jaxon began to whimper through the baby monitor. 

Chanyeol went to his room next, lifting the toddler from the crib. 

"Daddy!" Jaxon giggled, extremely happy to be in Chanyeol's arms. Jaxon loved both his parents but had a special bond with Chanyeol. It was no surprise Jaxon's first word was dada.

Chanyeol was proud to be loved so much by his children even if it would be a long time before they truly understood the sacrifices he and Baekhyun made for them and all that Chanyeol had been through battling depression while trying to be a good father.

Just having Jaxon hug him tightly and lovingly was enough to show him he was doing his job as a parent. 

Chanyeol quickly changed Jaxon's dirty diaper before carrying him into the kitchen where Mina had been waiting for a while. She was impatiently waiting to get started. 

They got to work on Baekhyun's birthday breakfast, completing it right as the sun came up. For Baekhyun's birthday, Chanyeol just wanted him to relax as much as he could.

Having multiple kids was no easy task for them. Especially with a son like Jaxon. He was the complete opposite of Mina in regards to personality. He was such a sweet, cooperative boy when he wanted to be but had approached the terrible twos and could be a blatant mischievous troublemaker when he wanted to.

Luckily for Chanyeol, Jaxon was currently behaving properly and there was no glint of mischief in the toddler's eyes. Chanyeol hoped trouble could be avoided for the duration of Baekhyun's birthday. 

Jaxon watched his sister and father put the finishing touches on breakfast. The toddler cocked his head to the side, his dark hair almost falling over one eye.

"Mommy's breakfast?"

Chanyeol nodded as he situated the breakfast on a tray. "Yep. This breakfast is all for mommy."

Mina picked up the birthday card she'd made for Baekhyun and per her father's request, grabbed a hold of Jaxon's hand.

The three of them made their way up to the master bedroom. Baekhyun was fast asleep under the comforter, his still dyed ginger hair partly visible.

Chanyeol nodded for Mina to wake him up. She did and he groaned before sitting up.

"Happy birthday!" They said. Baekhyun didn't smile in response, choosing to run out of bed and into the bathroom instead.

Chanyeol set the tray of food on the bed, suddenly worried when the sounds of Baekhyun being sick could be heard.

Mina also looked upset. The last time her mother was sick was when he was pregnant with Jaxon. 

"Is mommy pregnant again?"

Chanyeol's eyes widened and he accidentally let a swear word slip out of his mouth. He instantly regretted his slip. Especially when Jaxon repeated the word "" a couple times.

He and Baekhyun would have to deal with Jaxon's newly learned word later. At that moment, Chanyeol was more concerned with what Mina said. There was no way Baekhyun was pregnant. He and Baekhyun had been extremely safe with condoms and birth control.

"Watch your brother for a second and stay here." Chanyeol said. He went into the bathroom after his husband. 

Chanyeol didn't want to bring up a serious pregnancy discussion while Baekhyun was throwing up. So he rubbed his back and waited until he was done.

Baekhyun was in the midst of brushing his teeth when Chanyeol said, "You're not pregnant, are you?"

Baekhyun's eyes widened and he shook his head. He spit out the toothpaste before speaking, "I can't be. I think I'm just sick."

For confirmation, Chanyeol pressed a cool hand to Baekhyun's forehead to find it was warm.

"Can we just rule out pregnancy right away?"

Baekhyun nodded and retrieved a pregnancy test from underneath the sink. They had a couple stashed there just in case they needed one on a short notice.

Baekhyun took the test and waited with Chanyeol. He was almost sure he wasn't pregnant but still let out a sigh of relief when it came back negative. 

It wasn't that he didn't want any more kids but he was currently at a busy time in his life. He was finishing up school and deciding exactly what he wanted to do after. 

Opening his own private counseling/psychology business was in the front of his mind. And he just didn't want to have to put his plans on hold again. He had delayed them enough when they first had Mina. 

"No more babies?" Chanyeol asked. Baekhyun shook his head.

"Not for a while."

Baekhyun figured he just had the stomach flu or food poisoning or whatever else. It to be sick on his birthday. 

When he was sure he wasn't going to throw up again, he left the bathroom with Chanyeol on his heels.

Mina and Jaxon had become impatient waiting for their parents and had decided to dig into Baekhyun's breakfast without him.

Mina sat on Baekhyun's side of the bed, devouring the once neatly displayed waffles. Jaxon sat on the other side, the tray in between both of them, and hungrily ate the bacon. 

When he finished the bacon, the cup of orange juice on the tray looked very enticing to him. He reached out with his little hands and tried to drink it. The cup was too heavy for him to hold properly and slipped from his hands moments later. The juice wasted all over Chanyeol's side of the bed.

Jaxon giggled at the orange stain forming on the bed. "." He said and looked up at his parents with amusement in his eyes. His mother, on the other hand, was not amused. 

Baekhyun's mouth dropped open in shock before closing. Then he glared angrily at Chanyeol who smiled sheepishly. 

"When did our son learn that word?"

"A few minutes ago when I thought you were pregnant."

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and ordered Chanyeol to go pick up Jaxon and clean his mess. 

Baekhyun was sick, his bed was soiled, and his toddler was swearing. What a great start to his birthday.

**

As the day progressed, so did Baekhyun's sickness. He had nausea and a headache. Not to mention, he couldn't seem to stop coughing. 

Despite his sickness, he sat up in bed and managed to make a grocery list for Chanyeol who was undoubtedly in charge of the house and kids.

"Here you go." He handed it over to Chanyeol when he was done and reached for a tissue to blow his nose.

Chanyeol leaned down and kissed his bedridden husband's forehead. "I'm sorry you don't feel good. Especially on your birthday."

Baekhyun smiled although he hated being stuck in bed. "It's no big deal. I have a great husband to wait on me hand and foot."

It was still a bit disheartening to have to text his friends and say he couldn't hang out because he was sick. But all their happy birthday texts made him feel a bit better. 

Chanyeol smiled. "I'll be back soon, call me if you need anything."

"Okay."

Chanyeol left the bedroom with the list in his back pocket. Grocery shopping was usually something Baekhyun did with Jaxon while his younger husband was at work but Chanyeol would do everything Baekhyun couldn't do until he got better. 

He found Mina and Jaxon in Mina's room. She was making him play with her toys and he didn't seem to mind. He found her dolls quite perplexing. 

"Come on. We're going to the store now." He said to both kids.

Mina looked up. "Can I stay here with mommy?"

Chanyeol shook his head. "Mommy's sick. He can't watch you."

"I can take care of him, daddy." To prove her statement, she stood up and went over to her toy chest. She pulled out her new toy doctor's kit. "See?"

Chanyeol smiled. "Alright. Go ask if he doesn't mind you staying."

She beamed and hurried out of the room with her doctor kit in hand. Chanyeol and Jaxon were left behind and the latter stood up on his little legs to follow his sister. 

Chanyeol held him back. "No, you and I are going to the store together."

He looked up with tear filled eyes. "I want mommy."

Chanyeol smiled in understanding before picking his son up. Baekhyun especially didn't want Jaxon to get sick since he was so young and neither did Chanyeol. They were partly being kept separated because of that. Jaxon didn't like the separation.

"Mommy is sick right now but we can get him birthday treats at the store."

Jaxon's eyes lit up then. He definitely understood the meaning of treats.

"Cupcakes?"

Chanyeol nodded. "Sure. And we can get him a nice card. I'll even let you pick it out."

That was good enough for Jaxon. 

With his son in his arms, Chanyeol stopped by the master bedroom once more. He chuckled at the sight of Mina next to Baekhyun in bed, listening to his heart with her fake stethoscope. 

"I see you're in good hands. Jaxon and I are going now."

Baekhyun smiled and blew his son a kiss. "Jaxon, be good for daddy. Okay?"

The toddler nodded, happy to see his mommy, before Chanyeol grabbed his keys and carried him out to the car. 

He double checked to see if he had the grocery list and if Jaxon had extra diapers and a couple of toys. Once everything was accounted for, he buckled Jaxon into his car seat and got into the driver's seat himself.

He pulled out of the driveway and heard Jaxon laughing in the backseat. He glanced in the rearview mirror to find his son playing with his favorite action figure. 

Chanyeol hoped Jaxon would continue to be on his best behavior. Especially at the store. But the happy atmosphere diminished a few minutes later when Jaxon's toy fell on the floor and he couldn't reach it.

After reaching down as far as his car seat would allow him and failing to retrieve the beloved toy, he erupted into screams of protest. 

"Daddy! I want my toy!" He whined, hoping Chanyeol could get the toy for him. It wasn't a good idea to try and reach for a toy and drive at the same time. So Chanyeol wasn't of any help.

"When we get to the store I'll get it." Chanyeol tried to reassure his son. But Jaxon only cried harder. 

Chanyeol sighed. Mina had never been as loud and troublesome as her brother at that age. Chanyeol had wished for a boy and a little troublesome being was exactly what he got.

In the midst of Jaxon's screams, Chanyeol's phone rang. It wasn't a good time to answer, seeing as there was loud noise in the background, but when he saw who was calling, he knew he had to.

"Hey, is everything going well?" Chanyeol wondered. 

"Yeah, it's right on schedule." The guy on the other end paused and listened, "Why is Jaxon screaming?"

"Because he's a little demon." Chanyeol teased and his friend on the other end laughed. 

"I can't wait to see him."

"I can't wait to see you. You'll definitely be the best birthday present."

"I can't argue with that. I gotta go. The plane's about to board."

"Bye." They hung up. Although Baekhyun was sick, he would surely feel better before the day was over. Chanyeol was sure of it.

It was no surprise Jaxon cried the entire way to the store. After Chanyeol parked and climbed out, he was able to give his son his action figure back.

Jaxon played with it for all of one second before tossing it back on the ground angrily. 

"You always love giving mommy and daddy a hard time. Don't you?" Chanyeol teased as he picked his son up. If a day went by and Jaxon didn't do something to make his parents want to pull their hair out, something would be seriously amiss. 

Satisfied for the moment, Jaxon wrapped his arms around Chanyeol's neck and relaxed in his arms. 

He carried his son all the way into the store before attempting to put him in the designated kid's seat of the grocery cart. Jaxon refused to put his legs where they were supposed to go and Chanyeol couldn't get him to sit down. 

"No!" He