Some like to sleep, We like to play

A few days later Mikey comes to stay for a few days. When he shows up he kneels down and Riley and Bandit run at him as fast as their little legs will go before jumping on him knocking him to the ground. They lay on the floor a giggling pile and I scold lightly "Guys not so rough."
I'm happy Mikey is here because I know he will be able to cheer Gerard up. Once he pulls himself off the floor Bandit and Riley take one hand each and drag him toward their room yelling over one another trying to tell Mikey what they want to show him. When they come back out Mikey has Bandit on his shoulders and Riley wrapped around his leg. I can't help but laugh at the sight and when Mikey winces because of how Bandit is pulling his hair I once again say "Bandit not so rough baby." She giggles, lightly smacking Mikey on the head and he gets the hint and puts her down. Once her feet hit the floor she takes off running at Gerard, climbing into his lap and burying her face in his shirt. I watch them, smiling at how much of a daddys girl she is.

Later that night I put the kids to bed and Mikey and Gerard are in the living room having a few beers and talking while watching tv. After Bandit and Riley are asleep I go back into the living room and kiss Gerard on the cheek telling him I'm going to bed too. I walk into the bedroom not at all tired but wanting to give Gerard some time alone with his brother. I read a book for a little while before I hear a scared little scream that turns into full blown crying. I jump out of bed and rush into the kids room seeing Riley sitting up in his bed in the light from the nightlight. I walk over and pick him up holding him to my chest as he bunches the front of my shirt up in his little fists and buries his face in my neck continuing to cry. I rub his back and say "Shh Ry it's ok baby mommys here I've got you." I look over and Bandit is still sleeping. I roll my eyes fondly as that girl could sleep through anything. I make my way out of the room carrying Riley when I run into Gerard coming in from the living room. "Is he ok?" He asks looking concerned and reaching out to stroke the back of Riley's head. "Yeah I think he's had a bad dream that's all. Go have fun with Mikes, we'll be alright." He nods before leaning around Riley to kiss me before turning around and going back to the living room.
Once we're in our bedroom I climb into bed and ease Riley off my chest gently wiping his red cheeks and shushing him again. "You're ok baby boy mommys got you" I say quietly as his cries stop and he hiccups a few times. "Mommy" he chokes out and then yawns wide so I pull him to lay on my chest and gently stroke his hair until he falls asleep again. I feel myself drifting off and I tighten my grip on Riley before I let sleep take me under.
I'm woken by Gerard climbing into bed and Riley is gone. I sit up and Gerard says "I put him back to his own bed babe. He's fine now plus he was stealing all the cuddles" he jokes and I smile before laying down and cuddling into Gerard's side letting myself fall asleep again.

The next morning Riley comes in and crawls in bed with us laying on my chest and reaching out to wrap his fist around a few of Gerard's fingers. Gerard slides over and wraps his arms around us and we lay there cuddling for a few minutes until Gerard pulls away grabbing Riley and laying him on his back between us before gently tickling his tummy. Riley kicks his legs out and squeals before giggling and I am happy to see a smile on his little face after the night he's had. Gerard pulls up Riley's shirt and blows raspberries on his stomach and this causes Riley to shriek and smack Gerard lightly on the head yelling "No daddy" inbetween giggles. Once Gerard lets him go he rolls over and crawls back over to me flopping down on my chest saying "Hewp mommy." I smile over at Gerard before digging my fingers softly into Riley's sides tickling him again before pulling him into a cuddle. "Where's Bandit Ry?" Gerard asks and Riley says "Wit Unk Mikes."
When we get out of bed Riley is really clingy and doesn't want to walk so I settle him on my hip and make my way into the living room with Gerard. When we get there Bandjt has crawled into bed with Mikey on the pull out couch. She's poking his face as he nibbles at her fingers while she giggles and when she sees us in the doorway she squeals and dives under the blankets.

The day after Mikey goes home Gerard brings up the idea of moving back to Jersey. We discuss it over dinner and he suggests we go back as nothing is really panning out for us here anymore and we would be close to our families again. He and Mikey had also been tossing around the idea of starting a band while he was here and I know all the people they know are also in Jersey.
After thinking about it for a few days I walk into the living room after putting Bandjt and Riley down for their nap and climb into Gerard's lap cuddling into his chest before saying "Ok let's do it. Lets go back to Jersey." Gerard's arms wrap around me tightly and he smiles wide as he says "Thank you baby. I love you so much" before sealing his lips to mine. After a minute he slides out from under me, pressing me into the couch while climbing over me and we end up making out like we were teenagers again.

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