#painless

Hiking her bag higher up on her shoulder, (Y/n) managed a tight-lipped smile and followed the older woman down the corridor on the right and over to a small office. The smile on her face morphed into a look of surprise when (Y/n)'s sight set on both the twins, not just one. Toby was waiting for her too.

"Hey boys, how we doing?" (Y/n) let her bag slide down to the floor before she knelt down in front of the pair of them.

The room they had been placed in was relatively small, much like a cleaning cupboard with a tiny desk squashed up beneath the window at the far end and two chairs against the wall on the left. Levi was sat with his head on his knees, groaning quietly while Toby was perched next to him with an arm around his shoulders.

For all their differences, the twins were close. They were identical in their features, their lean figures and tall height they inherited from Henry and his brothers. But Levi had his brown curls trimmed short whereas Toby liked to grow them longer, like Henry. And Toby had a lot of little white scars around his lips, in the corners of his eyes and littering his arms and hands from unintentionally biting and scratching himself as a toddler.

"Levi, baby, you okay?" (Y/n) smoothed her hands up and down his sides, trying to coax him to sit up and look at her and when he did, she took a sharp breath.

His nose was turning a dark shade of rouge and purple and there was dried blood smeared down his lips and chin and a wad of tissues crumpled up on his lap that looked more like a red hankie than white tissue paper.

Nobody said he'd had a nose bleed, if they did (Y/n) would have told them to sit with him and get him a cold compress because when Levi had a nosebleed, it could last for a while. All she got told was he'd had a fall and banged his head and they thought it was best if he went home early.

"You didn't mention the nosebleed," Her hands stayed on his sides but she didn't like the look she received when she turned her head to see Rachel.

"Does it matter?"

(Y/n) shook her head and took a deep breath before she looked back at her boys to see Toby smiling gently at her and Levi jotting his eyes from side to side like he was seeing spots.

"Do you feel alright, baby?"

"Yeah, I can see now and my head isn't splitting anymore."

"What did you do?"

"He tripped on someone's bag and smacked his head into the table, he blacked out for a few seconds then had the nosebleed." Toby started to swing his legs back and forth on the chair but he felt like shrinking when he watched his mum's eyes widen and her expression turned to stone. He could see her shaking with anger and her lips curl up with venom before she got up and when she stood in front of them, it made Toby feel like she was a warrior protecting them from a threat.

"I wasn't told he'd blacked out as well. The next time you call me regarding my kids, I expect the full story and to be fully informed or me and my husband will be down here having a meeting with your principal. I'm taking my boys home now."

She knew it had to be a bad fall for the school to suggest Levi go home early, they only did that regarding Toby because they didn't want to be liable for him becoming ill after a fall. But (Y/n) needed to know the full story, what if she couldn't come down soon enough and Levi passed out while he was waiting for her and Henry? What if the school hadn't decided to call her and he got worse? (Y/n) had a right to know what happened to her children.

She hooked her bag onto her shoulder before she wrapped her arms around Levi and helped him up, relieved when he seemed steady on his feet and he had a bit more colour to his cheeks now.

"Come on."

Both her hands rested on either twin's back and with a stern look, (Y/n) guided them out of the room and past reception. There was no way (Y/n) was letting Toby go back to class for another hour. She wasn't going back home to come back and pick him up in less than an hour, it wasn't worth it and it wouldn't be fair to make him stay when Levi was going home early.

Levi grinned and leaned his head on his mum's shoulder when he heard her mumble 'stupid woman' under her breath.

"Go mum, that was great."

"Are you sure you feel alright? I have a surprise for both of you, but only if you feel up to it." (Y/n) looped her arms around their shoulders and reeled them both into her sides.

"I'm okay, nosebleed stopped, just got a headache. What's the surprise?" Levi sniffed and swiped the back of his hand beneath his nose, but his eyes were full of intrigue as he stared up at (Y/n). Neither twin could imagine what kind of surprise she had in mind. It wasn't a special day, it was Friday, sure, but it wasn't anyone's birthday or a family holiday or a trip.

Usually a surprise was going out to see their grandparents or aunts and uncles or going out for a family meal. Sometimes they had the big surprises, but (Y/n) always kept those a tight-lipped secret. Like when their dad was filming away and they got a surprise trip to go visit him, none of them knew until (Y/n) packed their bags and said they were leaving right then and there. That had been a great surprise.

"It's dad! He's in the car!" Toby clapped his hands when he saw (Y/n)'s car up ahead and immediately noticed the unmistakeable figure sitting in the passenger seat. Henry was home, he had been gone for the past three days doing a mixture of training and small shoots, they weren't expecting him home until Sunday night.

"Well, your dad's just a bonus, you'll find out the real surprise soon."

Both twins ran ahead of (Y/n) to reach the car and they wasted no time in ripping open the front door to see Henry. It was a small struggle for both of them to squeeze through and clamber part-way inside so they could launch themselves onto Henry and hug him.

"Hey! Did you miss me?" Henry coiled an arm around each of them, trying not to wheeze when Levi laid half over his lap to hug him and Toby leaned on his chest with his arms around his neck. He kissed the top of their heads when a round of 'yes!' and 'of course' got muttered into his skin like prayers.

"I had a nosebleed," Levi tilted his head up enough for Henry to move his hand and cup his chin, narrowing his eyes with a frown when he saw the streaked blood on his face and his battered nose that was certainly going to swell up soon.

"Jesus, Levi, what did you do? You're gonna have a black eye you know." Henry busied himself finding the pack of wipes in the glove box and cleaned the blood away. They couldn't go out with him looking like someone had boxed him in the face.

"Fell into the table, Mr James made everyone wait outside when he thought I passed out." As horrid as he felt at the time and how awful it had been when his vision went black and his head started to spin, it had been a whirlwind. He heard everyone get evacuated out into the hallway- everyone except Toby, and Mr James had tried to sit him up and nearly choked when Levi started to speak and his vision came back to him. He almost thought an ambulance might be coming to assess him.

"The receptionist didn't tell me that," (Y/n) muttered quietly when she climbed into the driver's seat and leaned across to kiss Henry's cheek.

"Mum was great, she told her off."

"I'll bet she did," Henry quipped a smirk and glanced across at his wife before he looked back at the boys. "Right, come on get in so we can go." He patted them on the back and nudged them carefully so they could climb out and he could shut the door.

They had already picked Birdie up from nursery on the way down so they could go straight to the surprise. Levi climbed into the middle and wedged himself next to Birdie's car seat before Toby climbed in next to him and they buckled in.

"Where are we going?"

"I told you, it's a surprise, you'll have to wait and see."

"Where are we?" Both boys spoke in union as they climbed out the car and waited patiently for Henry to unbuckle Birdie and hold her in his arms. He knew she was tired and it didn't seem worth it to try and put the strap backpack on her just to walk across the car park and head inside when he could just carry her.

"You'll see when we get inside, come on." Henry kissed Birdie's head and sat her on his hip, smiling when she curled up into his chest and tucked her face into the crook of his neck. She didn't care where they were, she was tired and about ready for a nap but he knew when they got inside, she would soon wake up. He held Toby's hand with his free one and they followed after (Y/n) and Levi who lead the way inside.

"Are we at a pub?" Levi leaned his head on (Y/n)'s arm when they walked through the doors. It looked like they were going out for dinner, maybe they were meeting up with family and that was the big reveal. Whatever it was, he could feel himself bubbling up with excitement at all the prospects of what they were doing and if they were meeting anyone.

Staying quiet, (Y/n) ruffled his short hair and pointed towards some doors at the back of the pub past the bar and the tables. They were coming out for dinner, but there was another reason why she had Henry had chosen to bring the kids here.

"Yes! A play area!"

Henry was quite relieved when they walked through and saw that no one else apart from the staff behind the bar were in the play area. It made things a lot easier when no one would be stood around gawking at them and no one could listen in on their conversations, especially around Toby.

The play area was a large indoor dome that had seating on the left and a large climbing area on the right. There was a ball pit, a lot of levels to climb up, some slides dotted around and foam wheels to climb through and robes to swing from and jump about in. And in the far corner, there was a softer play for toddlers like Birdie. It had a lot of foam shapes to climb on, a very small slide and ball pit and mats to crawl around on.

(Y/n) found a table near to the entrance of the play pen and sat down with all her boys following suit and Henry perched Birdie on his lap. She was tired but she was already starting to perk up when she looked around and realised what she could do here.

"You're in luck boys, no one else is here yet. Me and your dad will grab some drinks, so shoes off and go have fun."

"Wh- I can go in too?"

(Y/n) could have cried at the look of pure confusion on Toby's face but when he reached out to grab Henry's hand, she felt her chest tightening. He had been in soft play areas like this before. He had played on climbing frames in other pubs as long as someone in the family was watching over him.

But recently he hadn't been to anywhere like this. At school he couldn't do athletics or go on the climbing frame and he couldn't play football or rounders for obvious reasons. He sat and watched Levi play and it made him jealous as well as bored and restless and argumentative and both parents understood completely. They knew he deserved some fun and to be able to let off some steam and feel like a kid instead of someone who needed extra care and attention.

"It's padded foam, bud, if you fall you aren't gonna break anything." Henry pointed over to make Toby look around.

Each surface was padded with foam and colourful plastic and there were rope walkways he could climb on if he was careful. He wouldn't break something unless he had a very bad harsh fall which was unlikely. As long as he was careful not to get friction burns on the slides and didn't go too fast and bang his head on any of the plastic around the tunnels, he would be fine to let loose here.

"I can go on everything?"

"Yep. The only catch is you just have to come back out every so often for a break. If Levi starts to get hot and sweaty, you both have a drink and a sit down so you don't overheat. Other than that, get going."

Toby couldn't sweat or flush therefore he couldn't regulate his temperature and if he exercised too much without a break he could overheat his system and get a fever. As long as he took a lot of rest every ten or twenty minutes, he would be fine because otherwise he would just keep playing and playing until he was so tired that he dropped.

They used Levi as a mirror, when he started to go red and sweat or get run down then Toby knew it was time for him to have a break as well.

No more needed to be said for the twins to kick off their shoes and scramble to get into the play area and run rampid.

"Do you wanna go play, Birdie?"

"You come with me daddy?" She was already fumbling to throw her red and blue shoes on the floor before she looked up at him with big doe eyes.

"Course I will,"

"Um, will you fit in there?" (Y/n) twisted around to look behind her at the toddler section. If he was going in there he would have to crouch down to get through the small gate and then he wouldn't be able to stand up in there. He might have to crawl on his knees and there was no way Henry would fit on the small platform that led over to the slide.

"Don't I always?" He was up and following Birdie with his tongue between his teeth and a catfish grin on his face that caused (Y/n) to flush. He knew that wasn't what she meant.

(Y/n) got up and got a tray of drinks from the bar, she knew the boys would want coke, Birdie would have a fruit shoot and Henry would have a beer since (Y/n) was driving today. When the drinks were all out on the table, (Y/n) kicked off her shoes and wandered over to the toddler section with a grin on her face.

Birdie was crawling along the small platform towards the slide and Henry had somehow managed to squeeze himself through into the ball pit at the bottom of the slide, waiting patiently to catch her. Grabbing her phone from her pocket, (Y/n) pressed record and watched Birdie squeal and go down the slide on her stomach. She was relieved she put a vest on the little girl this morning or she would have friction burn on her tummy.

"There's my babygirl!"

"Again, again!"

(Y/n) crawled over to the edge to be out the way when Birdie scrambled from the ballpit to go round and do it again.

"Mum, can you come in here?"

She tilted her head back to look up and saw Levi pressed up against the mesh wire edging, his purple nose poking through the square gap and a wide grin on his face. He was near the foam beams that rolled over so kids could climb under and over them like a car wash.

"Alright," She wasn't so sure it was a good idea but she found herself crawling out and trying to find the nearest entrance to the bigger play area. The last time she had gone into a big play centre with the boys she had been pregnant with Birdie and got braxton hicks in the ball pit. It wasn't fun to have to get Henry and his brother to squeeze in and hoist her up to help her out when she was stuck on her knees like she was praying.

She weaved around a pole and found a set of stairs to climb up but when she got close to Levi, he grinned cheekily before he bolted, expecting and hoping her to chase him.

He led her around a corner, through a deep red tunnel that (Y/n) had to scuffle through, thankful that it was wide enough for her but it certainly wouldn't hold Henry with his new workout regime. Then Levi grabbed a rope and swung across a small drop that had a safety net a few feet down in case any kids couldn't swing over.

"Oh, this isn't fair." (Y/n) placed her hands on her hips and took a deep breath but just as she was about to go for it, something caught her eye.

Henry.

He was stood at the bottom with Birdie on his shoulders, his hands on her sides and a wicked grin on his face waiting for her to jump across.

"Go on babe!"

"Go mummy." Birdie clapped her hands and the pair of them watched (Y/n) grab the middle rope, take a step back and then leap forward. It had been years since she had done anything like this but (Y/n) couldn't deny how good it felt to be playing with the kids instead of worrying about them all the time. Or fearing that she was being too strict on Toby and therefore limiting Levi as well to try and even things out or get them to play fair with each other.

She reached the other side without falling on her arse or landing on her knees but she did wobble into the side and push back off the net to regain momentum and balance.

When she got to Levi, she reached out and hit his bum, shouting 'you're it' before bypassing him and trying to make a break for it.

"Mum," Toby jumped down from the climbing levels he was on when he saw her skid round the corner next to him. He didn't realise she had decided to come in and play with them but it made him smile brightly all the same.

"Levi's it, start running baby." (Y/n) let him take her hand and guide her down a different direction and they hurried over a little rope bridge that wobbled left and right as they walked. "Can I get down that?" (Y/n) eyed the blue slide warily when Toby pointed at it with a smile.

It was a curved slide and then a straight drop down into the large ballpit at the bottom, it didn't bend too much so (Y/n) wouldn't get stuck around each corner, but the slide itself looked small.

"Yeah you will, dad wouldn't though, he's massive." He buffed out his shoulders and took a deep breath to try and imitate Henry but he was too skinny to pretend he had much muscle.

"It's called muscle, baby. Alright quick before I change my mind."

Toby sat down first and (Y/n) sat behind him, coiling her legs around him and giving them a push to get them down.

Levi wasn't far behind them, by the time they landed in the ball pit and tried to scramble out the way, he was shooting down like a bullet and wrapped his arms around (Y/n)'s waist, binding himself to her back with a laugh almost identical to Henry's.

"Boys, time to take a break, come grab a drink." Henry waited near the exit to the ball pit, drifting his eyes from the boys over to Birdie to check she was actually still sat down at the table where he left her five feet away. He knew what she was like, she would run off to try and find him in a blind panic if she couldn't see him. He reached his arm out when the boys clambered out and he patted their backs, holding onto Toby's shoulder when he stuck to his side like glue.

"Henry grab her!" (Y/n) tripped trying to reach the small oval gap in the mesh to get out but she frantically pointed over to the table at Birdie.

The four year old had both hands clasped around Henry's beer bottle that was dangerously close to her lips. If she tried to drink that she would make herself sick, the one time Levi had done that as a child he threw up at least three times from the taste and bubbles.

"Birdie no, no put it down!"

Henry let go of Toby and bolted back over to the table just as Birdie took a small gulp and his raised voice sent shivers down her spine. Her eyes bulged in their sockets and she coughed, spilling a bit of beer down her top as a lot of it dribbled past her lips. He never used his authorative voice with her, she wasn't used to hearing him be so loud and stern.

When he reached her he snatched the bottle back and held it high up so she couldn't try and prize it away from him and with his other arm he hooked it around her waist and picked her up, sitting her back on his hip.

"You can't drink that babygirl, you'll be sick, that's daddy's drink."

He swirled the glass a little to check how much she had but she barely had a full mouthful and some of it was dribbled down onto her top so he knew she would be fine.

His eyes narrowed and his lips pressed into a thin line when she started to whimper and reach her tiny hands out, whining to try and get it back even though he could tell by her expression that she hadn't liked the taste. She wanted it simply because Henry had it.

"Daddy…"

When he could see tears in her eyes, Henry tipped his head back and started to drink the beer, not stopping until he drained the full bottle in one go. He could feel the boys staring at him and Birdie reached her hands out and pawed at his neck and chest like a cat.

"Nope, all gone now babygirl, it's empty." He set the bottle back down on the table before he sat down with her on his lap and handed her the fruit shoot instead. Rolling his eyes when she huffed in disappointment. "Fine, I'll drink this too,"

"No daddy!" She almost screamed when Henry raised the small purple bottle to his lips and this time he let her snatch it back from him and start to guzzle the juice.

He leaned back in his chair, raising a brow at his little girl when she snuggled down into his chest and torso, drinking her juice like she was still a baby nursing a bottle. And when he cast his eyes over at the boys, they were looking around the play area with smiles, clearly plotting what they were going to do next.

It always set something off in Henry's chest when he looked at the differences between his boys. Levi was flushed red which mingled with his slowly bruising nose, but his cheeks were a good shade of pink, sweat was glistening on his forehead and his chest was rising and falling rapidly. Toby was just panting lightly, he wasn't sweating, he wasn't flushed and the hairs on his arms weren't moving to release heat. He could spike a fever at any moment and they wouldn't know at all.

He gave no outward signs that he might be ill and that upset Henry, it was why he and (Y/n) were so careful with him, they had to be. Toby's condition was rare, there were less than a thousand recorded cases of CIPA and half of those were adults who developed it, not people who were born with it. Some kids died from this condition with undiagnosed illnesses or burns gone bad or infections.

And it always occurred to Henry as strange that Levi didn't get the same condition. They were identical twins, they shared the same DNA yet there was just one little thing different in Toby's DNA that set him apart and gave him this condition. It was like a fatal flaw he couldn't help nor get rid of.

Henry remembered when they were expecting the twins and (Y/n) was worried about telling them apart. She thought if they were identical they would get them mixed up, she fretted about finding ways to know which infant was which until they got older. It didn't take long for Toby's condition to be discovered and from that moment onwards, there was no way of getting them mixed up.

"Mum, will you go on that slide with us?" Toby pointed up to the black slide looming high at the back of the play area. It was the tallest one with a long slope and a quick curve just before the bottom.

"Uh, I don't think so baby. But your dad might fit on that one," (Y/n) glanced across at Henry and watched him furrow his brow and look between the kids and the slide they were pointing at.

"I think I'd have to lie down to fit in that slide, boys." The slides were supposed to be big enough for adults to go down them with their kids, but Henry was over six foot tall and he was broad, it might be a bit of a squeeze. But when he looked at the boys, he didn't know how to say no. "I suppose I can give it a try, let's pray I don't get stuck."

"Yes!"

"Me and Birdie will get a video for you." (Y/n) got to her feet and held her hand out for her little girl who clung to her with a broad smile.

The boys went one way with Henry stooped over behind them and (Y/n) guided Birdie round the side and towards the back where the crash mat was stuck down at the bottom of the slide. She stood far enough back so the boys wouldn't knock her over and Birdie stood at the side, holding onto the large rim of the slide and peered over, waiting impatiently for the boys to come down so she could surprise them.

It took a few minutes before the girls finally heard the excited screeches and yells from the boys thundering down the slide and (Y/n) crouched down with her phone out in front of her.

But she rolled her lips together tightly to stop herself from laughing when they all came down.

Toby was first, bumping onto the crash mat like a stone skipping on water before he rolled onto his side in fits of laughter. Half a second behind him with his legs still around Toby's hips, Levi came shooting out holding his head and cradling his nose to stop the dizziness and in case he spurted another nosebleed out of nowhere.

And a few seconds behind them, Henry's legs came into view.

"Oh fuck,"

(Y/n) cut the video before she laughed or got scolded and knelt down along with the boys as all three of them peered up into the slide. Henry almost made it out, they could see his feet and his trousers before his hands banged down on the plastic slide causing a thunderous noise to vibrate through. He wasn't exactly stuck, but he didn't quite get to the end of the slide either. He was left shuffling out of the tube with a flushed face and raised brows, just daring any of them to laugh.

"Are you stuck daddy?" Birdie chirped happily as she leaned around the slide and slowly crawled into the end.

"No I am not stuck," He gruffed but his face softened when his girl crawled across and took his hand before she started toddling back out the slide, pulling him with her as if she had the strength and momentum to actually drag him out all by herself. "Thank you princess," His voice mellowed and he rolled onto his knees so he could stand up and he smiled when Birdie took his hand again and stood by his side.

"Sweetheart, I did-"

"Don't you dare," Henry pointed his finger at (Y/n) and she held her hands up, swallowing her laugh as she nodded. Telling him I told you so was only going to make him feel embarrassed.