Adult-FanFiction.org : Celebrity

All of the Above	By : jai Category: Individual Celebrities > Athlete/Sports Misc Views: 3262 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not know the people written about in this fanfiction. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
many thanks to the Betas who worked on the first parts of this fic. Unfortunately, the great computer crash of 2005 killed all my email so not only do I not remember their names, I have no idea who to contact.

**
January 10, 2017 Sydney, Australia

The return of the grandparents was cause for much celebration amongst the children, as the crafty little devils knew that they’d be getting presents. It was something that the Dads tried in vain to put a stop to but after a smack down delivered the grandmothers, they’d given up and kept their mouths shut as the t-shirts, stuff animals and other items appeared.

Over dinner, the Grands told stories about their trip. They’d started in Brisbane, traveled by train to Cairns and then went up a resort on the Great Barrier Reef for snorkeling and fishing. Next they’d flown to Darwin, caught the Ghan to Alice Springs then spent a couple of days in Ayers Rock and Uluru for camel and balloon rides. Broome was their next stop, with a side trip to Kununurra including a special tour of the Argyle Diamond Mine. They finished up by visiting Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne before returning to Sydney.

It should have been an exhausting trip but the parents didn’t seem tired at all as they sent around the photographs they’d taken, hardly leaving Michael any time to actually eat. On their way back to the hotel, the younger men walked in the back like always but the grandparents had taken control of the kids.

“I’m already dreading the slide show.” Ian said.

“Slide show? We’re going to do video!” Ken announced as he walked ahead of them carrying Garret. “What do you think of that, boyo?”

“Vido, Granda!”

“That’s my little sprout. Did you miss your Granda?”

“Uh huh. Daddies swam us and we see a big fishy.”

“You did? Was it big enough to eat you up?”

Garret squeaked when Ken bit his hand, then started giggling, “Granda, you have kitty whiskers!”

Ken rubbed his unshaven cheek across Garret’s arm, causing the little boy to laugh even more.

“You know, I wasn’t sure about all of our parents taking this trip together, and now that they’re back, well, am I wrong to be scared at how well they get along?” Grant asked as he strolled with his arm around Pieter’s waist.

“No, you are not. The mothers alone are rather frightening as a group. I wonder how many people they terrorized across the nation and what you and Ian will have to do to apologize.”

“Aw, that’s unkind, Pieter.” Michael said, walking hand in hand with Ian. “Our moms only terrorize us, generally. It sounds like they had a good time.”

“Yes, it does. I’m actually rather envious.” Ian admitted. “I can’t believe Dad went on the trip and had a good time; he never used to be such a traveler.”

“It’s hard to travel when you’re hurting, babe, but since his knee surgeries, he’s been pretty unstoppable.”

“And that’s thanks to you and Pieter. You convinced him to finally do it and got him back on his feet so fast he didn’t have a chance to regret it. Did you hear them talking about taking a safari if Chloe goes to Cape Town?”

“I did,” Grant said. “Uh, so should we talk to them about our house hunting efforts? The last they heard, we were still looking up the coast.”

“Huh.” Ian grunted. “I suppose we’d better. Are you sure about giving up on Brisbane? There are probably more properties we could look at there.”

Grant shrugged and shook his head. “Being in Sydney won’t be such a hardship, and if I want to visit Brisbane while I’m here, it’s a quick shot up the coast. As Mum and Dad are now used to zipping around the country, they’ll be able to come down easily enough.”

Callum, who had been happily walking along with Ryan, took a sudden U-turn and came straight to Ian. “Up Papa!”

Ian picked him up, and Callum immediately yawned and laid his head on Ian’s shoulder. “I tired.”

“You are? Did you have fun getting tired?”

“Yep, swimmies fun. Granny give me a Roo. Bed now?” Callum asked.

“Yes, we’re going to bed in just a few minutes. What jammies do you want to wear tonight?”

“Don’t know.” Callum said through another yawn. “Can seep wit Roo?”

“Can you sleep with your Roo? I suppose you can, but I sort of wanted to sleep with it because it’s so cute.”

“No! You seep wit Daddy, I get Roo.”

“Well, all right.”

Getting the two and under set into bed was always a nice time – for the most part they were all good sleepers although nap time could be a point of contention. Baths, jammies along with a final small snack of juice, water or milk with a couple of cubes of cheese were the first part of the routine. Then a final diaper check and story sent them off for a good night’s sleep. The three to five year olds got the same snack, followed by a quiet time listening to the story and then their baths and jammies. Another story or two was read, and then it was lights out. The routine took over ninety minutes, but through trial and error, the dads had discovered that a calm and gentle atmosphere went a long way in getting everyone into bed without much drama.

With the zoo trip in the offing for tomorrow, Michael, who stayed in their suite on kid-duty, opted to watch TV from bed for a while and he wasn’t surprised when Ian joined him a half hour later.

“How are the parents settling in to their rooms?”

“Fine. They’re on board for the zoo and the bridge walk; when I left Chloe was telling them all about the Bridge Climb, and Ryan, Cees and Fred looked intrigued.” Ian answered as he started undressing.

“And you couldn’t get out of there fast enough.” Michael said wryly, switching off the TV and getting comfortable so he could watch the show.

“I think I left burn marks on the rug, and Pieter was right behind me.” Ian took off his shoes and emptied his pockets. “What would you like to do tomorrow night?”

“Uh, I already made reservations for eight – hopefully, we’ll be able to get the kids in bed a little early.” Michael said as the shorts were kicked off then picked up and folded neatly.

“Oh. So where are we going?”

“Tetsuya’s.”

Ian’s fingers stopped on his shirt buttons. “Reservations are hard to get there.”

Michael smiled smugly. “I know. I called in August when we were booking our trip. They don’t normally take reservations that far in advance, but for once, being semi-famous paid off.”

“God, I love it when you spoil me.” Ian said with a grin. “I’m very tempted to go run for the laptop and see what’s on the menu.”

“That won’t help. The maitre d’ told me yesterday that Chef is crafting a special menu just for us – well, for you really. Especially the lime and ginger crème Brule.”

“Oh, that’s one of my favorite desserts there!” Ian said excitedly. “I’m very tempted to do a happy dance.”

Wiggling his eyebrows, Michael patted the mattress next to him. “I wouldn’t object if you wanted to do that over here, horizontally.”

“Ooh. So basically, you’re spoiling me so you get sex?”

“Yep. Is it working?”

“Let me take a quick shower, and we’ll find out, my love.”

&&

January 10, 2017 Sydney, Australia

Michael groaned when the alarm went off at six thirty. Usually he didn’t mind getting up, but he’d much rather stay in bed with Ian than -.

“Daddy!”

- change diapers. Oh well, it was a nice thought while it lasted. In the next room Marah, Xander and Nick were up and bouncing around in their cots, and Michael walked in just as Xander tried to make an escape. Callum and Garret were sharing the double bed and were also awake but not looking as desperate.

“Whoa there, cowboy. Where are you going?”

“I poo, Daddy.”

“I know.” Michael said, laying him on the bed and efficiently changing his diaper. Once everyone was freshened up, they wanted to play ‘Wake up Papa.” That worked for Michael since Ian needed to get up anyway, so he helped them onto the bed next door with an unsuspecting Ian and let them go.

With a combination of drool, kisses and pokes, Ian was now ready for his day and took the kids into the living area while Michael showered. They switched off ten minutes later, and while Ian was showering, Gail brought over the quads so she could shower, and Michael set out the first of the kids’ meals of the day: carrot sticks, orange slices and small bowls of Cheerios with or without milk. That along with sippy cups and bottles was all the kids needed for the next twenty minutes while they lounged around and really woke up.

When Ian and Gail returned, they started on getting the kids dressed, tidying up the area, making sure they had the day’s essentials in their packs. Chloe joined them at seven thirty, having already been up for a couple of hours and down to the hotel’s pool.

“Morning, Chloe.” Ian greeted her, handing over a bagel with cream cheese.

“Morning, Dads, morning kids and morning Gail. Thanks Pop. Where are we eating breakfast at?”

“Downstairs in one of the private rooms, we’re having a breakfast buffet so make sure you load up on protein and carbs.”

“I know, Pops.” Chloe answered, handing over a bite of her bagel to Marah. “Hey sis, how are you doing this morning?”

“Gozoo see roos.”

“Hey that’s right. You want help with your shoes?”

“Otay.”

At eight am sharp, they were out the door, and after making sure the van den Hoogenband-Hackett tribe were up and about, went down for their actual breakfast. The rest of the now increased group joined them shortly thereafter, and they made short work of the buffet.

Cleaning up the kids after breakfast took a little time and once Jack confirmed that he knew where to meet them at, they set off for the bridge via Cahill Walk. Due to the grandparents being along, they were using a combination of double and single umbrella strollers, which were much easier to maneuver and more flexible. This is a good thing when they all started off walking, and the Dads had to carry all the strollers until they were needed.

Koos and Chloe had the point with the grandparents and the kids behind followed by the Dads, then Gail and Sheila. Michael was surprised that they made it to the middle and posed for a picture or two before eight of the youngest ten gave up and wanted their strollers. Xander and Kian were the next to drop out followed by Garret and Callum, but Lenora managed to persevere to the end along with the Thorpe-Phelps quads.

Jack was waiting right where he’d said he’d be, and from there, it was a simple matter to load into the bus and drive east to the zoo arriving right at Ian’s estimated time of arrival: eleven fifteen. Michael got off the bus first and went over to the entrance for their tickets, finding only three or four small groups ahead of him.

The line moved quickly but not before Callum came over to ‘help’ him, Koos following along behind but going back to the group once he saw that Michael knew Callum was there.

“Daddy, this da zoo?”

“Yep, this is the zoo. We’re going to see a lot of animals today, like elephants and crocodiles.”

“Garafts?”

“Giraffes too.”

“What about ‘Roos?”

“I think so. Did you sleep good with your Roo last night?”

“Uh huh. He’s warm and fluzzy.”

“Fuzzy?”

“Dats what I say.”

“Right. Here, you want to come up so you can see the lady in the window?”

“Okay.”

Michael lifted the little boy up and onto his hip as the line moved, and the admissions person greeted him.

“How many sir?”

“Eighteen adults, five children and thirteen under four.”

“Are you booked in as a group?”

“No ma’am.

“All right, that will be seven hundred fifty three dollars please.”

Michael pulled out a credit card and slid it over while Callum pointed at a picture on the wall behind her.

“Daddy, are der tiggers here?”

“Yep. Oh, here’s a brochure. We’ll take a look at it when we get inside.”

“Okay.” Callum said, happily taking the brochure.

“Here you are gentlemen. The entry is to your left and enjoy your visit to Taronga Zoo.”

“Thank you.” Michael said.

“Thanks!”

Michael distributed the tickets, and once they were inside and off to the side, they applied a round of ‘Sun and Bug.’ Then Michael got the older kids in the group together for the day’s instructions.

“Is everyone excited about seeing the animals?”

“Yeah!”

“That’s great, but you know the animals are here for everyone to see, so does anyone remember what we didn’t do at the Aquarium?”

“Yell at the animals because it hurts their feelings.” Liam said promptly.

“Good memory. Lenora, who are your zoo buddies?

“Grootvader and Grootmoeder and Tristan!”

“Exactly right! Harry, how about you?” Michael asked, noticing Harry’s attention straying.

“Huh? Oh, Callie and I are gonna go with Granny Deb and Grandpa Ryan.”

“Robbie?”

“Garret and Grandpa Fred and Granny Jackie.”

“Jamey?”

“I get to go with Nana Meg and Granda.”

“And?”

“And Liam.”

“Good job. Declan and Kian are going with Nana Mags and Grampy Nev. Mr. Jack, Sheila and Gail will be going along with you for all the fun so if you lose a Grand, find one of them. Now, do you guys have your whistles?”

“Yep.”

“And when do we use our whistles? Liam?”

“When we get lost and can’t find a Daddy or a Grandy or the Nannies.”

“All right. Robbie, will you demonstrate how to blow the whistle if you get lost?”

Robbie nodded and pulled out the whistle hanging on a chain around his neck, blowing three short blasts followed by three long ones.

Michael gave him a shoulder squeeze, “That was awesome! Are you all going to be good for the Grands?”

“Yes!”

“Perfect. We’re going to have lunch at one thirty at the Food Market; that’s about two hours from now, but if you get hungry, all the Grands have snacks and drinks with them. Everyone ready to go?”

“Yes!”

The Dads waited for the grandparent group to start down the right hand path before taking the youngest seven on the path off to the left and the kangaroos.

“You know, taking the kids across the bridge before coming here was a good idea. They’re interested but a little too tired to want to run around.”

“Thank you, Pieter. I thought it was a stroke of genius myself.” Ian answered.

&&

Two hours later, Michael sat down with a groan and wiggled his toes, grateful that he’d worn a good pair of walking shoes. And here he’d thought being with the youngest kids would be the easier duty, but the imps had been excited about the animals and had handled the hilly terrain without stopping. Even now Beatrix, Nick and Xander were standing up against the railing right next to him exclaiming over the Sky Safari car gliding overhead.

“Here.” Ian said, returning to the table with a tray of drinks, Marah and Maribel trailing behind him, carrying straws and napkins and looking rather proud at having such important jobs. “Michael, the big lemonade is for you.”

“Thanks,” Michael said, reaching for the cup. “And let’s talk about this stroke of genius again.”

“Well, who would have expected them to recharge like that?” Ian shrugged easily, “Grant, want a beer?”

“Yes, please.” Grant said eagerly, reaching around a lapful of Sabrina. “What time is it?”

“Almost one thirty.” Ian answered as he handed out lemonade in child-friendly containers to the kids. “The rest of the group should be here shortly, and I dread to ask, but what shall we eat?”

“There’s pizza.” Pieter said as he returned with Isabeau. “The kids love it, and it’s probably the easiest.”

“True. So we’ll get our usual and add three more for the grandparents.”

Michael hauled himself up. “I’ll go put the order in. I have to use the bathroom anyway.”

“Wash your hands!” Pieter, Grant and Ian chorused automatically then laughed at each other.

“Well that confirms that we’re all programmed.” Michael said with a grin.

The pizza vendor was across the way, and Michael patiently stood in his second line of the day, rocking back and forth on his feet as he waited for the others to place their orders.

“Excuse me?” A feminine voice said from behind him.

Michael turned to see two identical adult women, in their forties or fifties, behind him. “Oh, hi.”

“I’m sorry to disturb you, but I couldn’t help noticing,” The one on the left said, “That you’re with the group of kids over there. Are those identical quads?”

“Yes and the other three are non-identical triplets.” Michael said easily. If there was one group of people he didn’t mind talking about the kids with, it was other multiples.

“Good heavens! Are they all yours?” The one on the right asked.

“No, the triplets are mine and my husband’s, and the girls belong to our friends, but we have eleven other kids between us; another set of identical quads, another set of non-identical triplets, non-identical twins and two singles.”

“Oh, you brave man!” The one on the right said as the one on the left exclaimed – quietly- “Oh, you’re the Thorpe-Phelps and van den Hoogenbands!”

“Uh, right.”

The twins exchanged a look, and the one on the right smiled. “Sorry, dear, but you’ve all been a big topic in Twinsburg the last few years.”

“Okay.” Michael said slowly. “Twinsburg, in Ohio?”

“That’s the one. We’ve been there almost every year for the last twenty – we’ve even won the distance event three years in a row before the Albright twins from Perth started showing up. By the way, I’m Diane Templeton, and this is my sister, Daphne Stanford.”

“Nice to meet you; I’m Michael Phelps.” Michael said, shaking their hands and then noticing that he was next to order. “I’ve got to get our food taken care of but would you like to come over and meet the kids later? They haven’t met many other twins or multiples.”

“We’d be honored.” Daphne said, moving to the side.

Michael turned and ordered, after thinking about it for a second, four cheese, four pepperoni, two with mushrooms, three with all of the above plus olives and onions, and one ham and pineapple. The cost of fourteen large pies made him wince a bit, but he paid it and was told they’d be ready in a half hour.

He waved to Diane and Daphne and headed straight for the bathroom, returning a few minutes later to find them standing nearby with another identical set of twins, men this time. Across the eating area, he noticed that the Grandparents and other children had arrived in one piece, and the worrywart side of him breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hi.”

“Michael, these are our husbands Greg and Thomas. We met them at Twins Day.”

“Nice to meet you both.” Michael said, and his confusion must have been evident as Greg chuckled.

“The last names threw you, didn’t it? Thomas and I were adopted by different families at birth. We met for the first time when we were twenty. And yes, we’re from the good old USA. We moved here after marrying Diane and Daphne – we all met at Twins Day.”

“Oh. I guess you’re used to explaining that.”

“Yes, people always asked, so now we just tell them, and no more awkward questions. I have to congratulate you on mixing us up earlier. We spotted what must be your oldest boys, and we couldn’t figure out how the same child kept appearing with different people.” Thomas said, obviously amused that they’d been fooled.

“Sorry about that. Uh, the other kids just got here, and it’s going to take them a little while to settle down. Would you mind coming over in fifteen minutes or so?”

“Not at all, dear. In fact, we’ve not gotten our own lunch, so why don’t we all eat first? Much less confusion that way.”

“Thanks, it can be kind of a madhouse. See you then.” Michael said, heading back over to the family.

Callum spotted him first and zoomed over, “Daddy! I sees the garafts! I pats the roos!”

“You did? What else did you see?” Michael asked as he picked him up.

“Crocs and elipants and debils and g’rillas and emoos and tiggers! Daddy I sees the tiggers!”

“Wow! You saw lots and lots.”

“Uh huh. And de owlie flew over me!”

“He did? Was it scary?”

“Nope, was fun. Down, Daddy – I thursty!”

“I’ll bet.” Michael said, setting him down and watching him zoom off to the drinks before sitting down next to Ian. “Sounds like they were busy.”

“They certainly wore. Who were those ladies you were talking to?”

“Diane and Daphne. They’re Aussie twins married to American twins. They’re going to come over later to meet the kids, and we’re apparently a topic at Twins Day.”

“Twins Day in Ohio?”

“Yep. They seemed really nice; Greg and Thomas were adopted by different families.”

“Oh. That’s sad. They just volunteered this?”

“Yeah, like I said, they’re nice. And they’re identical. I think it’s a twin thing.”

“Ah. Well, the children will be intrigued. When will the pizzas be ready?”

“Fifteen more minutes.

“Good. Jackie said they ran out of the carrots sticks we sent with them.”

“All of them?”

“Yes. And half the dried fruit. They had a little wait before the bird show, and the kids were ‘staving’.”

&&

The pizzas disappeared with astonishing speed like most of the food set in front of the family although Margaret was quick to notice that Ian wasn’t eating much.

“Ian, are you feeling well? You’re nibbling.”

“Yes Mum, I’m fine. Michael’s taking me out to dinner tonight, and I’m trying to save room.”

“Where are you going?” Astrid asked from the other side of the table.

“Tetsuya’s.”

“Rabbit food.” Ken added with a grin, for the benefit of those that weren’t familiar with the city’s restaurants. “Very ritz. Ian took us there years ago for our anniversary, and I made him stop for proper food on the way home.”

“Dad, you did not! It’s a twelve course meal, and you said you liked it.”

“I did, but your mother wouldn’t let me eat all day, and I was ‘staving’ as the children say. For the money you spent, there should have been bigger portions.”

The arrival of the two sets of twins interrupted their conversation, luckily for Ian because he wasn’t going to win, and as he predicted, the kids were intrigued although Lenora looked a little put out by the attention the others were getting.

Chloe took the oldest van den Hoogenband by the hand and went several tables over. They then spent several minutes whispering together, heads close together. When they returned, Lenora was much happier and looked rather smug, but all Chloe would say was that it was a ‘Singleton Secret’ thing.

The kids were getting restless, although the grown ups appreciated the sit down, but it was time to get moving again. They said good bye to the Templetons and Stanfords, and after reorganizing the group and switching the oldest kids around amongst the grandparents, they were off again.

By four, the youngest kids had finally had enough, and although they weren’t supposed to meet the other group until five, the dads headed for their final meeting place; the picnic area across from the Elephant Rainforest. Once they found a shady spot and got the blanket spread, the seven youngest settled in for a late nap while their fathers rested.

“While we’re alone and the little ears are sleeping, can we talk about the properties we saw? We’ve had a couple of days to think about it.”

“Ian and I haven’t really discussed it; I think he’s been avoiding bringing it up.” Michael answered squeezing Ian’s hand. “But I think we all know what property would work the best for us – the apartment building in Maroubra.”

“Maroubra?” Ian said. “You didn’t seem that enthusiastic about it at first.”

“But I warmed up to it, and more importantly, I think it could be a great place when you’ve finished with it.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. Once again, Pieter was right, especially about the grandchildren thing. We’d need that kind of space now with just the grandparents. Also, I can’t imagine going through all this house hunting again. If we’re going to do this, let’s do it right the first time.”

“What about the money? Its way more money than we discussed spending, especially in light of the remodeling.” Ian asked.

“Yeah, I know, but I always worry about the money. We’ll probably spend way more than I’m really comfortable spending, but I freaked out over how much we spent on the other remodeling and look how that turned out. Just promise me that you won’t customize the place past the point that we couldn’t resell it later.”

Ian looked a bit flabbergasted, and shifted Xander on his lap. “I thought I’d have to talk you into this. I had all these arguments ready.”

“I’d still be willing to listen to them. Grant? Pieter? Are you agreed about Maroubra?”

“Yes, I’m agreeing, but I have a question. Let’s say we can’t get council approval for the changes we’d like to make? What do we do then?”

“Good question, Grant.” Ian said. “I have a couple of ideas – yes, I know – big surprise. First we eliminate the glass wall but try to get the atrium. That would still allow us to use the courtyard as an interior space and perhaps keep the pool. If we lose the battle for the atrium, the courtyard would still work as a play area but we’d have to be careful of the materials we use. In the worst case scenario, we do enough to make it safe and habitable as is – opening up the apartments into each other, fixing the railing problem and upgrading the building systems. I would love to make it a show place, but we can scale our plans to what the local council will let us do.”

“Pieter?” Grant asked, looking over at his spouse. “Your thoughts?”

“I’m agreeing too. I have the same concerns as Grant and Michael, but I think it’s the best deal for us. No, it is not on the ocean, but the building is closer to the beaches than our homes in Philadelphia are so we are better off in that respect. The location has good city access via highway, along with bus and train service so that’s a good situation too. There are shops and eateries within walking distance so we won’t be tied to our vehicles. Along with the two parks and one with playground nearby. I have two requests, however.”

“And those are?” Ian asked.

“That if we can do the big remodeling project, we put in one of those showers that you and Michael have in your house, so I don’t have to keep coming up with excuses to use it, and that the pool area include, not only a place the smaller children to play in the water, but also a waterfall of some sort. Well, I suppose that’s three requests, but two are related, and I’ve always wanted a waterfall.”

“I can do that. Uh, I guess we’re all assuming that I’ll be the one in charge of organizing the architect and the rest?”

“Organizing is what you do, Ian.” Pieter said.

“And you’re a control freak; it’s only natural that you do it.” Grant added.

Michael reached over to pinch Grant before saying, “But you’re also the best man for the job.”

“And none of you want to do it.”

Pieter smirked, “There is that, and I’m sure you’ll get plenty of input from us which will make the job even more fun!”

“Oh ha ha. And for that, my dear friend, you get to figure out how to tell the parents what we’re doing.” Ian smirked back, throwing in a semi-rude gesture for good measure.

“That should be easy enough; we’ll just show them one of your sketches and take them to the property. We’ll be spending our own money, so how can they really object?”

&&

January 11, 2017 Maroubra, NSW, Australia

“Sheila, Gail and Koos are in charge until we get back. You’ll have to stay on the bus, but we’ll be back in a few minutes, and then we’re going to the beach. Okay?”

“Why can’t we come?”

Ian leaned down to Robbie’s level. “Because it’s dangerous for children in there right now. We’re just going to go in and show the grandparents the building – it’s not going to be fun at all.”

“Oh.”

Ian left the bus to join the other Dads and the Grands at the entry while Ned unlocked the gate. He waited until everyone had entered before setting the alarm on his wristwatch for ten minutes – the maximum time he estimated the kids’ patience would last – and caught up to where their parents were stopped in the middle of the open area.

“Well, boys, it’s big. Damn big.” Neville said.

“Ian, will you really be able to turn this into that sketch you showed us?” Margaret asked.

“We hope so, Mum. All depends on if our offer is accepted, if we can find the right architect and craftsmen and if the council approves.”

“That’s a lot of ifs, son.” Fred said, and then clapped Ian on the back. “But if anyone can do it, it will be you four boys.”

“Uh, gee thanks Dad.” Michael said.

“Which wall would have the pool?” Astrid asked, looking down at the copy of Ian’s sketch.

Pieter pointed north. “This wall, Mother.”

Astrid reoriented herself and looked back down. “I see. Three lanes? Have you measured?”

“It’s eighty three meters more or less on the long sides. Our measurements aren’t exact, but we think they’re close.” Ian explained.

Cees walked over to that wall and looked up. “It will be a very dramatic space. Perhaps you should consider raising the pool four or five feet. It would save on excavation costs, and you’d be able to restrict access more easily.”

“But then they’d lose the view of the pool from this level.” Ryan pointed out.

“They could always have a glass wall on a section of the pool. That would help with checking strokes, and it would be even more dramatic.” Neville commented. “This waterfall idea is interesting, Ian, but I hope you’re going to put a mosaic behind it. Maggie, remember that show we saw with glass mosaic tile?”

“Oh, those were beautiful. You’ll have to use those somewhere, Ian.

“And a slide, can you imagine how much fun a one of those tube slides would be coming down from the second floor?” Debbie said from the other side.

“Why stop on the second floor?” Ryan asked. “They have four after all.”

Pieter bumped his shoulder into Ian’s. “See, I told you it would be easy.”

“But you forgot to mention how easy it would be for them to spend our money.” Ian said under his breath.

“I’ve never been into full disclosure. It takes all the fun out of life.”

&&

January 13, 2017 Sydney International Airport

Joanne Smithers took a deep breath and approached the group of adults and children occupying a corner of the first class lounge. She’d been a flight attendant for several years and had dealt with celebrities before, but this group made her nervous. As the first class attendant on their flight to Los Angeles, she wanted the trip to go smoothly for everyone, but if she couldn’t keep her silly fan girl feelings under control, this could be a disaster.

“Sirs?”

Oh dear, it would figure that the one she most wanted not to talk to would be the one to answer. “Hi. What’s up?”

“Hello, Mr. Phelps. Your section of the plane is ready, and you may start boarding if you’d like.” Whew! She said a whole sentence and didn’t sound like an idiot.

“Oh great. Did we miss the boarding call?”

“No, sir. We thought you might want to go on early, with the children and all. They’re actually still cleaning the back.”

“Thanks, that’s nice of you. We’ll be there in a few minutes. Through Door 3A and down the corridor, right?”

Joanne felt her heart thump at the sight of Michael Phelps’ grin but managed to keep her cool. “Yes, sir.”

She hurried to the door and met her coworker, Michelle Danvers, in the corridor.

“Hi Joanne, are those first class passengers coming? Why are we boarding them early again? I hope there isn’t someone in a wheel chair; I don’t care what the company says, but those bathrooms are not handicap accessible.”

“Didn’t you look at the manifest? It’s Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett and their families.” Joanne said, well used to how Michelle ran on.

“Oh great, celebrities! I hope they’re at least halfway human.” Michelle complained, and then stopped. “Wait. Isn’t Ian Thorpe married to that swimmer you used to have a crush on? What’s his name?” Michelle reached for the manifest, and Joanne put it behind her back.

“That was a long time ago, Michelle; I’m not a teenager anymore. There are eighteen kids in the party, so we’d better make sure we have the kid-vids loaded.

The door opened before Michelle could say anything more, and Joanne breathed a sigh of relief.

&&

Despite Michelle’s muttered words prior to take off, it was a quiet flight. The children were not only well-behaved but cute as the dickens, and unlike some youngsters they’d flown with before, didn’t treat the flight staff as servants. Neither did their fathers nor did the other adults in their party.

They were an hour out of LA and not only were she and Michelle ahead of schedule, they’d had time to help out with a service problem in the business class.

“All right, I’ll admit that this hasn’t been the flight of terror that I thought it was going to be.” Michelle said as she cleaned out the coffee machine. “So far anyway.”

“You don’t think they’re nice kids?”

“Well, they’re cute and all, but they’re still kids. I’ll bet its killing you to see him so happy though. Did your little crush extend to the marriage and kiddies fantasy?”

Joanne shook her head as she dealt with the breakfast china, “Oh stop it. I’ve told you already that that was years ago, back when we were both teenagers. And I personally know that you would have a heart attack if Ashton Kutcher was flying with us, and he’s sort of gross now so knock it off. At least, Michael looks like he’s still in shape.”

Laughing Michelle gave the machine a last wipe. “Gee, what does it say about us that my teenage crush is now three hundred pounds and yours is gay? Oh! Hi, Mr. Thorpe. Is there anything I can get you?”

“Would you happen to have any more apple juice? And a towel?” Ian asked, holding up a small damp shirt. “We had a small accident.”

“You should have called us, Mr. Thorpe.” Joanna said, unfreezing and reaching into the fridge for the juice. “We can take care of that.”

“Oh it’s okay. We travel with damp wash clothes and spare shirts, but now Nick is a bit damp, and I can’t find our emergency towel.” Ian smiled charmingly, and Joanne could certainly see how he’d captured Michael’s heart.

Michelle sprang over and pulled a towel down. “There you are, sir. Would you like a plastic bag for the shirt?”

“Thanks, Michelle. And thank you, Joanne.” Ian took the items and vanished, leaving Michelle and Joanne to look at each other.

“Oh my god, Joanne! Do you think he heard us? Isn’t he a stockholder? I’m going to lose my job!” Michelle said, in a total panic.

“Calm down and lower your voice. Even if he did hear us, we didn’t say anything he’d take much objection to.” Joanne said, trying to control her own panic. “Let’s get back to work and just finish the flight, okay?”

“But I said he was gay!”

“Michelle! I’m sure he already knows he is. Come on. We’ve still got things we have to get done.”

Somehow, they pulled themselves together, and they both breathed a sigh of relief when the wheels touched down. The Thorpe-Phelps and Hackett-van den Hoogenbands, who had taken up all of first class, left the plane in a slow and orderly fashion, most of the kids half asleep.

Joanne and Michelle thought they were out of the weeds as they said goodbye to their passengers only to have Ian, carrying one of the kids and bringing up the rear, stop in front of them.

“Lovely flight, ladies and for the record – yes, we know we’re gay, Ashton Kutcher is kind of gross, I am a stockholder, but I’m not mad, and Michael is still in great shape. I can’t blame you for having a crush on him; I’m quite fond of him myself.”

With a sly grin and wink, Ian disappeared up the corridor leaving Michelle and Joanne to look at each other.

“Oh wow, Joanne. Why didn’t you have a crush on that one?”

“Michelle!”

&&

January 13, 2017 Philadelphia, PA

The weather was quite a shock after the beaches and heat of Australia, but they’d cleverly arranged to have their house sitters, alias Miles and Anna Foreman, bring along all their cold weather gear.

“Daddy, it’s snowing.”

“I know, Harry. That’s why we want you to put on your coat, gloves and boots please.” Michael said as he helped Nick and Marah put on their things. Miles and Anna had volunteered to take care of their luggage so they could get the kids dressed, but so far, the kids were much too interested in the flurries outside to be very cooperative. Well, to be fair, the kids were going a bit stir crazy from being cooped in planes for almost a full day so Michael didn’t blame them.

“Can we go sleddin’?”

“Not tonight but it’s supposed to snow even more tomorrow so we’ll take the tubes out, okay?”

“Okay.”

Due to the vehicle restrictions, Miles and Anna had had to load the bus and drive around so once the kids were ready, Pieter went out to flag them down. It took several minutes to get everyone on board, buckle down the kids, do a quick head count and get into their own seats, Miles was able to drive off without drawing a warning so that was a sort of victory.

No one spoke much during their short trip, letting Miles concentrate on his driving without distractions. The roads were a little slushy, and the snow was falling steadily, but Miles handled it well.

The port cochere was one of the new additions to the house, and was particularly handy in bad weather. The same could be said of their big mudroom, and while the dads unloaded the luggage, the other adults were taking care of getting the kids out of their gear. Anna had mentioned that she’d made a big pot of soup so Michael had extra incentive to get the bags out before the kids ate it all.

They sorted out the luggage by household and even carried the Hackett-van den Hoogenband portion next door. Miles had taken care of turning their heat up so Grant and Pieter left their bags in the dining room to deal with later, and they turned to hauling the Thorpe-Phelps bags in before finally taking off their outerwear and get some food.

Four steaming bowls of vegetable soup were set in front of them, with big wedges of fresh bread on the side, and Michael sighed as he took his first spoonful.

“Anna, this soup is wonderful.” Ian said, and Michael could only nod his agreement.

“Thanks Ian. Eat up; I used your extra large crock pot so there’s plenty for everyone.”

Four bowls later, Michael was finally warm again and pushed his bowl aside. “Thanks Anna. That really hit the spot.”

“You’re welcome, Michael.”

Grant pushed his third bowl away and discreetly burped into his napkin. “Thank you, Anna. That soup was just what I needed. I’d love to stay, but the kids are past their bedtime, and we’d better get home. Pieter?”

“Yes, we’d better.”

Michael stood up and picked up Sabrina. “We’ll give you a hand so you don’t have to make two trips.”

In the mudroom, they pulled on their own coats and then got the kids wrapped up, each of them carrying two children as Sheila and Koos led the way. Michael and Ian didn’t stick around beyond setting their burdens down, returning to their own house and getting their kids in bed. They decided to skip the baths and just wipe the kids down with washcloths before putting them into their jammies.

The triplets were asleep before their parents could finish changing their diapers so getting them into their sleepers was slightly challenging but nothing Michael and Ian hadn’t done before. Michael made sure to turn up the intercom in the room before they went down to the boys’ room in new addition off the back of the house. The big room was a little chilly still so Ian turned up the heat as they joined Gail.

The quads and twins were a little more awake but not by much. One story was all they needed, and Michael and Ian gave them goodnight kisses before saying good night to Gail.

“Thanks, Gail.” Michael said, “I know it wasn’t much of a vacation for you, but we couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You’re welcome, guys, and while I had a great time, I think I’m going to sleep for the next three days.”

“You’ve earned it.” Ian replied as she disappeared down the hallway and into her suite.

Michael looked longingly at their bedroom door before following Ian downstairs. Margaret and Ken had already disappeared into their apartment, but Chloe still in the kitchen with Miles and Anna, helping them clean up.

“Guys, we can do this.” Michael offered. “You cooked after all.”

“And we didn’t just spend a day in an airplane. Sit down.” Anna ordered.

“Yes ma’am!” Michael replied, taking a seat on one of the stools, Ian right beside him.

“I’m surprised you two are still awake.” Miles said.

“So am I.” Ian said, yawning. “Oh my. It was a fantastic trip, but I’m glad to be home. Chloe, why aren’t you on the phone?”

“They’re all at a movie. I’ll catch up with them tomorrow.” Chloe said with an easy shrug. “At least, I have the weekend to finish up my assignments. I think I’m going to go to my room though. Night Dads, night Miles, night Anna.”

Ian and Michael got kissed as she went out of the room and Michael made sure to remind her not to stay up all night watching her shows on TV.

After an hour of chatting with Miles and Anna, Michael finally admitted defeat and stood up. “Guys, I’ve got to go to bed, or I’m going to fall asleep right here.”

“And none of us want to carry you upstairs either.” Ian said as he also stood. “Good night Anna and Miles. We’ll see you in the morning.”

While Michael wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed, with or without undressing, but he knew if he didn’t shower tonight, he’d wake up feeling worse. Their bathroom, another part of their remodel, was a sybarite’s dream, but right now, Michael didn’t really notice. He threw his clothes into the hamper, purposefully not thinking about the massive amounts of laundry he’d have to do tomorrow, and turned on all eight shower heads. The water was instantly at the right temperature, and Ian joined him a minute later.

“Where’d you go?”

“Forgot to turn on the boys’ intercom.”

“Oh. Thanks. God, I’m tired.”

“I know, but we’ll feel better tomorrow.”

“Yeah.”

&&

Michael fell into bed and pulled the sheets, coverlet and comforter up, shivering slightly. Ian, on the other side of the bed, held his hand out and stopped Michael’s attempt to cuddle up.

“You can stay right there.”

“But Ian, I’m cold.”

“I know, and I love you but not until your feet have warmed up. The electric blanket’s on, and it will just be a minute or five.”

“So your love’s conditional?”

“Yes, when it comes down to you trying to freeze me. I promised to love and honor you; I didn’t promise to be a foot warmer and suck that lip in. It won’t work. God, no, not the eyes!” Ian pulled his pillow over his face.

“You love my eyes.” Michael said, moving closer.

“I don’t for three more minutes.”

“And you love my feet. They’re even all nice and clean. Just the way they were when you were sucking on them three days ago.”

“That was then, this is now. Take your toe tempting ways onto your side of the bed, you tease.”

“I’m not a tease.”

Ian pulled the pillow down, “Oh, yes, you are. I see right through this, you know. This is all a futile attempt to use me to warm your feet.”

Michael just put a pathetic face on and fluttered his eyelashes.

“Oh damn. All right, but you’d better remember your socks from now on, or you will be sleeping on the couch.”

Michael zoomed across the mattress before Ian finished speaking and wrapped himself around his spouse. He did make an effort to keep his feet away, but Ian was so warm. “I love you, Ian.”

“I love you too, you ice-footed freak.”

“Aw, you’re such a sweet talker.”
- 3
- 4
- 5
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

All of the Above