reach for the stars*

Theo rolled his eyes, then used the hand sanitizer to clean Dylan's hand himself. "Yes, that sounds exactly like something you would do, wonderwoman." Then they moved the babies into the stroller. He worried about her, being the one doing so much of the heavy lifting all the time; carrying both babies at the same time was virtually impossible for him if he wanted to move at the same time. Seeing Dylan doing all that did make him feel slightly guilty, but at least he could help with these reminders. "Oh, I'm pretty sure we have to explain it to the IRS, eventually," he chuckled, lowering his eyes. They hadn't talked about any of it yet, and it was eating a hole inside of him. "You're right, I definitely like the idea of finding ourselves the perfect dog that's bound to us by the threads of fate." He kissed her, preparing to move into where the dog adoption stands were. "I didn't see her either, but I don't see her all the often, she's always doing things with her siblings, you know." Theo tried to hide the face he made, like smelling something spoiled, and shook his head. "You've been pretty intimate with the Aksoy's too, haven't you?"

She couldn't help but laugh a bit at Theo's reaction to her comments, Dylan happily let him clean her hands though, thanking him as he helped her. "I promise to be better about it." She shared with a smile, knowing she should do a better job than she did, not wanting her children to grow up thinking that being strong was to do it all on your own until you couldn't mentally or physically take it anymore. Dylan grinned at the teasing remark even though there was some truth to it. Once the babies were in the stroller, she started taking off the carrier. "Well, how would you like to explain it to the IRS then? Yes tax accountant people, I want to spend the rest of my life with my best friend and we are living together and raising children together as life partners and now we're getting a dog together?" She offered the explanation grinning as he seemed to like her idea of kismet. Dylan returned his kiss happily, cupping his face in her hands as she gives him one more kiss before moving back to finish off the food. Offering Theo some of the food, she hesitated as he started with the remarks about Aslihan's siblings and she chewed slowly before her brows furrowed when he told her that she had been getting to know Asli's siblings. "My love, you are still her sibling too. But I've only met Safiye once and it was in the hardware store when I was gettin' things for our house. It was a pretty brief conversation. I thought I told you 'bout it." She scanned her mind, figuring that she must've gotten distracted pretty soon after she got home and forgot to tell him about the talk she'd had at Room Services. "Most of our talk was about her wantin' to get to know you, no one is leaving you, Theo. I love you and I'm not going anywhere."

Theo smiled at the sight of his sleeping babies, breathing against mommy's chest, "They look like nothing in the world could disturb them. When have you last felt this kind of peace?" He asked with a longing sigh and a smile. He couldn't remember the last time his mind wasn't overwhelming with all sorts of thoughts. Although the first time he held Leda could be the closest he ever got to it. "Well, let's give the stroller a chance. You can't go around carrying both of them all the time." He adjusted the baby carriage, getting things out of the way, so that they could move the babies. "It's not good for your back. They're getting bigger. Plus, I think they're tired enough they'll sleep through it." Disturbing their sleep cycle was the last thing he wanted to do, as a parent. Babies were demanding, and irritated, when things didn't go their way. "Oh, yes. We follow our very own concept of timelines." He laughed, although it sort of bothered him how most of that was his own bloody fault. He could've handled things differently. "Right? That's what I think too. Do you think we're getting a tiny pocket dog, or a pony-sized dog the kids can mount?" He amused himself with the thought. "Is that right? I haven't seen him around. That man needs my sister to say no to another cat, although we can't exactly trust her to do so."

"This taco is definitely givin' me inner peace right now." She teased with a grin and a wink in his direction. The babies did seem rather restful and Theo did make a very good point that it should be okay. "Alright, alright. Could you pass me the sanitizer wipes so I don't get taco juices on the twins?" Dylan shared with a soft laugh, not wanting her hands to be dirty for the transfer. "Thank you for caring about my back but together they're not even thirty pounds yet combined, I promise I'd let ya know if I was hurtin'...two hours later." She knew that Theo knew her far too well to be trying to act like she was someone she was not. And Dylan was very much the type of person to suffer until it was unbearable in order to keep others happy. She was aware of the ridiculousness of it, but it was just something she had a hard time dealing with. Smiling as he shared that they went by their own order of operations, she nodded in agreement. "And it's a timeline that we don't have to explain to anyone else." Which included the fact they still had no label for what they were to one another other than their sweet nicknames. She did call Theo her partner to people from time to time, but it wasn't something they'd actually talked on. "Hm, I'm thinkin we're gonna get whatever dog looks like the dog that will be part of our family. I just know that we'll have a feelin', don't you? I feel like that's definitely a romantic notion you'd hop on board with." Dylan grinned over to him, wishing right now she could lean over to kiss him, perhaps once the twins were back in their stroller. "Oh no, he said that if she was here, she'd be tryin' to buy a whole litter. I was wonderin' why I didn't see her. So, he's gotta be the strong one for today." She shared with a smile before finishing the last bite of the taco and holding out her hands for him to wipe them off with a wipe as she chewed.

Elijah understood that gut feeling all too well, briefly thinking back on the day where he visited the local shelter and wound up with Oliver and Eve. When he woke up that morning he wouldn’t have predicted that he’d be taking home a cat, much less two, but he knew as soon as he stepped into the room where all the kittens had been that he wouldn’t have left without them. Despite his initial apprehension, they were the perfect fit for him — he couldn’t deny it. Even if the situation was vastly different for Dylan, he hoped that her gut feeling would pull through for her family just as it did for him all those years ago. “I’m sure Theo’s mind will change pretty fast once you guys find that fit,” he said. “Besides, sounds like you’ve got some pretty good reasons for getting a pup — can’t imagine either of you’d be able to walk away, once you see the one you like.” If he were any weaker, hell, he’d probably be persuaded. The idea of Rhiannon growing up alongside a dog was a sweet one, and it didn’t help that Aslihan had flooded his inbox with videos of animals with babies from time to time. However, he remained strong, smiling in appreciation as Dylan said she’d try not to make the prospect too tempting with their own future dog. “Thank you, thank you. I appreciate that more than you know,” he joked. “Uh — no, though. No allergies. I mean, we’re still unsure with Rhia, we still need to figure out how to get her tested now that she’s old enough, but as far as we know everyone’s fine. Why do you ask?”

Dylan couldn't agree more with Eli's thoughts, feeling like Theo's hesitance would last only a few moments until they started looking at the dogs here. "Oh yeah we've talked about it at lengths already, and I have honestly been thinkin' about gettin' a dog honestly since I moved here. And we talked what our dreams looked like and of course animals were included in that, mainly a dog 'cause Theo vetoed chickens." She shared with a soft laugh at her admission to her practical brother-in-law at this point. It would make her happy if she was family with Elijah if she thought about it and for some reason her mind decided to wander to that right now as they were standing together. "Yeah, they do say sometimes it depends on whether or not you were in contact with pets durin' pregnancy whether the babies would be allergic when exposed. But I don't know how true that is. That's another thing we need to figure out, though of course the twins are not old enough yet for that." They still had a few more months considering Rhia was quite a bit older than them. Though of course the older the kids got, the less that age difference would seem. "Oh just askin' to make sure you guys would be okay to come over when we get the pup!" She would hate to know that it would be more difficult for everyone to come to Dylan and Theo's and depending on the type of dog they got that the dog may shed everywhere, but thankfully that wouldn't be an issue for them.

As she and James reached the line for the coffee stall, the professor took a quick glance around to just take in the somewhat busy market as a gentle wind blew that made the trees sway. As she recounted how her partner felt, he could only imagine yet again what kind of fear that must have been like. To think that the person you loved was casually rolled into the operating room one moment and then facing the possibility of losing them the next would cripple with anxiety anyone.

Dylan couldn't help but laugh a bit at the description that James gave Theo and shook her head. "No he definitely does not usually have the best self control, but I think he knew in that moment I was scared and knew that we couldn't be both scared and just was lettin' me be the one who was scared. When I was away though, he was a mess apparently. I just wasn't there to see it but thankfully we had a lot of support." She didn't want to make it out to seem like Theo was this certain type of man, and it felt odd to say to James that she thought he would enjoy his company quite a bit if they met. "It was yeah, for both of us. For a lil bit there it was just him and Leda." Dylan shared, remembering being rolled back into the room to see the gorgeous man she was madly in love with with their daughter cuddled to his chest.

Roman truthfully didn’t think the name was that shocking, but then he supposed that perhaps there were places that considered it odd, and wondered if such a community would have a cow (perhaps literally) at hearing Roman Vincent Daniels. Or Ophelia Frida Daniels, if he brought his sister along on this hypothetical journey. It was different in England, the smaller the town, to the tiniest villages tucked away into the countryside, a lot more eccentric and obscure the names got. Probably because it’d be the only thing to do in those parts, making up dumb names for your spawn. “Sure, definitely.” He commented off-handedly, brain more stuck on the ‘dreams of being a rockstar’ thing. “Seems like your dad lucked out though, it’s not what it’s cracked up to be.” The endless touring, sleeping on top of each other in cramped buses and budget hotels — until they had proved to management that they were, in fact, worth splurging on the nicer chains — and producers trying to control the creative side, to make it sound more mainstream, make more money. The paparazzi and the fans and everyone acting like they knew you when they didn’t. In comparison to the simple life of a farmer. Hard work, long hours, all of that the same. But no one to bother you for miles, just the animals. Or crops. “I think music is  the best place to step out of your comfort zone, can’t get hurt, just mildly annoyed at a sound you don’t like.”

"Yeah, honestly I never could envision him as bein' too big into a rockstar lifestyle. Or at least what I know of what rockstar lifestyle looks like. He was definitely a bit too shy, but he did have a great voice." Dylan remembered it always being a treat when they had gotten him to sing for them. When he had a bit of moonshine in him it was a bit easier to get him to belt out for them. She smiled softly, thinking how it was nice to be able to think about the man in these moments, not that she didn't think about him every day. It definitely went over her head though that the man was being self-referential in his comment. Or that they perhaps had a person they both knew but that they knew from different periods in their life. But it was possibly better she didn't know any of that. The conversation between them felt light and easy as she smiled over at him and his very good point. "Yeah, that's very true. I do like bein' introduced to new artists in both art and music, my friend introduced me to Noah Kahan the other day and wow...that man is talented!" She chuckled a bit at his comment about being slightly perturbed by some music. "Yeah? Should I ask ya what artists or songs fall under that category for ya?"

Theo made his way to the food; he couldn't make his mind between the tacos and the sandwich, so he bought both. They'd take it back home and eat it for dinner if they didn't manage to eat it. As Theo carried the food on his lap back to where Dylan had found a spot to feed the twins, he couldn't help but feel a strange kind of nervous taking over his body. He'd never had a pet himself. They travelled far too much, and had too much to worry about already. Then he was too irresponsible. But he'd always wanted a pet, he'd just never had any space for it. But now... Well, he was finding out his boundaries were far more stretchable than he'd thought possible. That he was capable, too, of managing a full life. "There we go." He said, parking next to Dylan. "I didn't know what to bring so-- Are they asleep?" Theo took a quick look at the babies. "I was thinking about the dog and-- it's funny. Pepole usually get dogs before babies, right?" He chuckled, "Do you think we're capable of raising a puppy, Westwick? They can be more challenging than twins, I hear..."

After feeding the twins and a little enlightening chat with Elijah, she headed back to the nice little corner she'd found placing the cover over the twins, realizing that they were asleep now and she was nervous to move them to the stroller without possibly waking them up in the process and not being able to get them back to nap. She smiled at Theo when he appeared with food, she lifted up the little blanket for Theo to see for himself that they were indeed napping. "Yeah, but I think I'm gonna have to keep them in the carrier 'cause I'm worried that they'll wake up if we put 'em in the stroller." Dylan confessed as she looked at what all he brought back. Everything looked delicious even if it was a bit mismatched. She grabbed up one of the tacos and started eating as she listened to Theo's comment. "Well, my precious, people usually get dogs before babies, because they plan to have a family and see a dog as a first step. And we already made a family that we'd be welcomin' our new dog into." She pointed out to him with a soft laugh of her own. Considering Dylan and Theo expressed romantic interest in one another six-ish months into already being pregnant with his children made it a little more difficult to go about that way. "Of course I think we're capable! Now who is out here sayin' that 'cause I'd love to give them a chance with the twins for thirty minutes and see what they think." Dylan had confidence in the two of them and when talking with Eli, she realized just how much she was settled on the idea of getting a dog today. "Did ya know that Eli is here? I saw him after I fed Leda and Sander. I think he's tryin' to practice self-control in not gettin' another cat." She shared with a soft chuckle before taking another bite of taco, shutting her eyes in food bliss for the moment.

"I haven't thought of a theme, yet, though I certainly should start. If eight months has flown by this quickly, only imagine what a year is going to do." Dilan laughed softly, "I will have to talk with Jacob, see what he might have on his mind for it." At least she wouldn't have to plan it entirely alone with her co-parent and then - and then there was Erol, whom she knew would help her with anything that she needed. "I can't believe how quickly time has flown by," she shook her head with the thought. Dilan still remembered the tears that rolled down her cheeks when she found out she was pregnant, as she hadn't planned for it to happen. "That still sounds so wonderful though, I am excited to see it all come together for you both." And she meant it, to see Dylan so happy with Theo, with the twins, it made the brunette's heart full. @dylan-westwick

Dylan grinned now very interested in knowing once it came time what exactly the theme would be when Dilan and Jacob put their minds together. It was such a modern family dynamic that Dilan had and knowing that her close friend, Erol, was involved in the dynamic she was curious to know what exactly his role would be in this too. She also partially wondered whether or not Jacob and Erol had met and spoken and were on good terms. Dylan figured she could as her friend that next time she spoke with him. It wasn't like she was going to ask Dilan, not wanting to make the other woman uncomfortable with all the questioning of her relationships. "Yeah it's all just really exciting and honestly just so...I guess also a bit like this just can't be real life." She shared truthfully as she moved both the twins to do a little more tummy time. "Like how did I get to be so lucky to have these two and get to be with Theo all in one year?" Obviously the answers were clear to both those questions, but still it was a lot for her to process.

Thalia nodded as she looked over Alpine Lake. That was better. The peaceful colors and pleasant scenery could work. "Yes, their cards would be appreciated." Her sister would appreciate the contribution to the university. Or it would be put in storage somewhere but it was the thought that counts. "Are you an artist? Or an enthusiast?" Thalia asked, tucking the cards into her bag. Art never came naturally to her. She could design an advertising campaign or send out a request for her employees to promote a certain item. That was simple. But creating something from nothing seemed extremely difficult.

Dylan gave a nod at the confirmation and moved to grab up both of their cards for the woman. Letting out a small laugh at the question, she knew it wasn't actually all that amusing, it was a perfectly normal question, but Dylan always found it funny when people assumed she was an artist. "No, I'm definitely an enthusiast. But, I'm also the art curator of the gallery." She shared with a soft smile before grabbing her own card to hand over to the other. "I also help with sellin' the art in our collections and I have made some more connections in Colorado and have some New York as well if you're interested in gettin' art from other galleries too." Dylan had only a few repeat clients that she helped pick out art for their own collections, they were people she met in New York, she hadn't really had the chance to find anyone interested in more than purchasing one or two paintings from the gallery rather than looking at other galleries.

"Yeah I definitely have heard of Bobbie being used for any gender. But no, my parents went with Dylan. Even that was a bit shockin' for my small Southern town." She shared with a small chuckle remembering her parents telling her about the reactions they got when they announced their baby girl's name. Their own parents finding it a bit odd. Dylan was grateful her mom didn't have the same reaction when she announced the names of her and Theo's twins. She gave him an appreciative smile at the compliment, it wasn't like her choices were anything all that obscure or wild and were pretty popular opinions. "Oh nice! Ah yeah, I definitely listen to them as well, my dad had an impressive record collection and definitely if ya just took him for who he was as a farmer, people wouldn't think that he secretly wanted to be a rockstar when he was younger." Dylan shared with a fond smile before nodding at his other choices. Of the bands he named, she did know the Ramones and The Strokes. The other one not so much. "Yeah I do like Mumford & Sons and The Avett Brothers who y'know are contemporary. Oh and Kacey Musgraves I like the music I've heard from her. But yeah, I don't get to listen to a whole lot of new music unless someone gives me somethin' to listen to. I have a bit of a music comfort zone, y'know?"

James let out a hearty laugh and shook his head at her words. "Dylan, I think it's quite impossible to talk bad about your mama," he said. He slapped his knees as he glanced around and nodded his head at her suggestion. "That actually sounds wonderful. Come on, my treat."

"Damn right it is!" Dylan exclaimed with a soft laugh as she was very glad to know he thought so too. Not that it meant more, but obviously at some point, she'd thought about the idea of James meeting her parents, at the time it was plural. There was twinge in her chest at that reminder and felt like opening an old wound back up. Not that she would ever fully heal from that type of grief. It was his little slap to his knees that brought her back to reality as she looked back up at him as she nodded and followed him to grab warm beverages.

“Oh, forget Facetime — she’d probably be half way here to meet them all on the first ring.” Elijah grinned, the light teasing at Aslihan’s expense holding a tremendous amount of truth; he knew that she couldn’t resist the opportunity to add another furry friend to their already chaotic home, slowly trying to convince him over time that they had more than enough space to make a zoo out of the property in Claret Park. He was left to be the reasonable one on that front, the realistic one, forced to say no thanks to the laundry list of responsibilities that would make a new animal a totally bad idea. He could only imagine her triumphant expression had she known that he was struggling with that right about now.

She snickered at the very accurate description of the series of events that would happen. It was hard to imagine at that point it would be pretty much impossible to say no to getting another pet. Dylan grinned at the response Eli gave Leda, her other hand was still rubbing at the material where Lysander's back was, feeling him squirm less and less, she was almost certain that he'd already gone to sleep. Dylan was very excited honestly even if today wasn't the day they got a new dog, it was set in motion in her mind. "Well okay, so Theo still says we're lookin', but I say if we find the perfect fit today, why not? But I do think we'll find a perfect fit today, just got a gut feelin' about it." She admitted with a soft smile before nodding at his presumptions of what they wanted for a canine companion. "Yes we definitely want a dog that will be good with the kids. I don't think we're lookin' necessarily at whether how old the dog is, but just want to give them a good home and for them to love the twins and for the twins to grow up with a furry friend." Dylan shared as she felt certain that they could find a dog that fit that description here. "Oh don't worry, I'm sure the groupchat will be full of adorable photos. We'll try not to make it so temptin' for Asli though to want to get a dog too. Unless are any of you allergic?" She hadn't known whether or not any of them were, but hoped that they weren't so that they wouldn't have to take allergy medicine any time that they came over.

"I am," she nodded her head to Dylan's question, "I'm certain Leila already has several gifts made for her by now," she laughed with the thought. She had been talking it over with her sister already in regards to getting a birthday party planned. She knew that it was unlikely her daughter would have an recollection of the event, but Dilan knew that it was important to celebrate regardless. "It does feel like a bit of both," she laughed once more, knowing exactly how Dylan felt in regards to the twins being sixteen weeks. "That would be amazing," she told Dylan, "how is that going for you both?" @dylan-westwick

Dylan chuckled, she definitely would not be surprised if that was the case, what with Leila having such a keen imagination and wanting all great things for her niece. Just as Dylan wanted great things for her nieces as well. "Any themes in mind or just gonna be a good ole fashioned birthday party?" Knowing that Dilan was an event planner, she wondered if she would put those skills to use in planning Selvi's party, she knew that some people did go a bit more extravagant in their planning process. To be fair, the baby shower she and Theo had put on had been quite elaborate in that way. She wondered what ideas he may have up his sleeve for their first birthday. "Yeah, I"m sure it feels that way for you too, though gosh I just can't believe that it's been almost a year ago now that you were very much pregnant!" She voiced her disbelief with a shake of her head, her eyes turning towards the lake to see if they'd started the races yet. Before back to Dilan when she asked about how the house building was going. "Ah, we really have only been in the talking phase. I think we want to have a good idea of what we want the plot to look like and agree about that before we start goin' to an architect with our ideas." She shared as she scooped up the twins from tummy time, seeing Theo out on the water, she tried to get his attention by waving with their little hands quickly before getting them back in their carriers.

Going out with the babies was a whole affair. Going to yoga with the babies had been an adventure. And now they had an idea. "I mean, we're just looking, right? It's insanity to get a pup with newborns, isn't it?" He squinted, looking around the place at all the furballs and giggling children and people with forever companions... "Anything you want, my darling." He said, nodding. "I'll feed mommy while mommy feeds you," he told Leda, who seemed like a demanding boss as Dylan held her. He gently pulled her tiny chubby, grabby hand from Dylan's skin. "There's no need for aggression. Be good." He said the last sentence in Greek, watching Leda blink cluelessly at him. He really wanted the children to be able to speak greek, so he was trying to use their early childhood language aquiring window. "What do you feel like eating? Greasy or healthy?"

Dylan bit her lower lip at his very good point, but she also very much wanted to say that no they were for certain getting a dog today. "Well I guess we'll see? See if any of the dogs here are y'know what we are hopin' for and if they'd be a good fit for our family." She offered as she moved put on the twin carrier while Theo was distracting Leda, her little hand gripping onto his now. Dylan was still on a mission to learn Greek as well so that way she could help in Theo's bilingual goal. She smiled at the statement and then moving her into the other arm so she could get the other strap on her shoulder before plopping Leda into one of the carriers. Before moving to scoop up Lysander from the stroller as he had been a little less fussy but now he was clearly just as hungry as his sister. "It's okay Sander, it's okay." Carefully putting him into the carrier next to his sister she let out a small sigh that the first step was over. "Whatever has the shortest line honestly, you can choose for me, y'know I like most things." Dylan wasn't too picky but definitely was hungry enough that whatever was quickest would be good to her. She moved to give Theo a kiss before grabbing the diaper bag. "Thank you my love. I'll be right back, and who knows maybe by the time I get back they'll already be snoozin'." It was very wishful thinking on her behalf and for both their sakes, but she also was just happy to be here in general and the excitement of the idea of them possibly getting a dog today felt like they were already making their forever home ten times better.