My Christmas Present ((Promise))

[Mackenzie Holden]

When she opened her eyes slowly, it took her a moment to remember where she was and it took her another moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness of Alex's room back at the Promise manor. Mack yawned slightly and stretched as little as she could so as not to wake her fiancée before turning and snuggling her face into his neck. He, in response, wrapped his arms around her just a little bit tighter and she smiled softly as she breathed in the familiar scent that she loved so much. They had arrived the night before and were greeted with the royal treatment; well, at least, to Mack it was. Whenever she and Dixie had returned home to her parents' before the divorce they got cold glares and turned backs, not the hugs that Mrs. Promise and Chrys gave her. She yawned again, fighting the fatigue that always followed after waking up in the morning, and looked up at Alex. Without thinking, she reached up and ran her fingers through his brown hair – fixing it so it fell semi-neat on his head and not sticking up like a porcupine. She loved the feel of his hair between her fingers, which was one of the reasons she ran them through it so often. She also loved the look he gave her when she did it. Mack smiled softly again and rested her head on his chest as she let her hand drop and her arm wrap around him again, cuddling close once more. She could literally spend all day in Alex's arms if she was allowed to, but she knew that soon enough they wouldn't be the only ones awake and Chrys would be bouncing into the room, talking about something that Mack really wouldn't pay any attention to and yet nod and smile at everything she said; laughing at every appropriate thing, shaking her head and frowning at others. It wasn't that Mack didn't like Chrys, she actually adored her fiancée's twin, but sometimes she just wanted to be with Alex. Read: all the time.

Mack lay in silence for a few moments, just listening to the house settle and the Griffins outside, before she let her eyes roll over to the digital clock that rested beside Alex's bed on his nightstand. It blinked 8:00 and Mack stifled a groan as she snuggled against Alex again. It was too early. Far too early for Mack's liking. She yawned and pulled the blankets up over both of their heads and then whined when their feet were sticking out, "You need a bigger blanket," she muttered as she sat up slightly to pull the blankets down over their feet and then collapsed back next to him. Only to have the blankets ride up again. Mack sighed and pulled her feet up underneath the blankets, sticking them between Alex's ankles, shivering in exaggeration and letting her teeth chatter. She looked up at him with an innocent smile although her teeth were chattering and then hid her face in his neck again because her nose was starting to get cold even though they were underneath the blankets. They lay there, quiet again, and Mack had to make sure she didn't drift off into sleep again. She yawned every now and then, breaking the silence, and the steady rise and fall of Alex's chest would have told her he was asleep if it wasn't for his hand playing with her hair and his lips brushing against the top of her head every now and then in a kiss. It was great that they were able to be like this even after all this time. Most couples lost the intimacy, and I don't mean the sexuality, in the relationship within two months. Mack had actually thought it might get that way early in the relationship, but it didn't and it had shocked her at first but she had grown to love it and now she couldn't see her life without the cuddling time she spent with Alex.

Then, at that precise moment, there cuddling time was in danger of being broken. There came the regular squeak of Chrys's bedroom door opening just down the hall and the footsteps of her barefeet against the floor. Mack whined slightly and buried her face in Alex's neck almost at the exact same time he kissed her forehead and got up from the bed, hurrying across the room to lock the door. Mack sat up in the bed and yawned, lifting her arms above her head in a stretch. Alex headed back to the bed and pulled her into his lap, allowing Mack to wrap the blankets around them as she buried her face in his neck again. She sat in silence before pulling back and looking at her ring on her left hand for what seemed like the billionth time since he had put it on her finger on November 5th. Mack looked back up at him and then leaned up and kissed him softly; like all their other kisses. This kiss was just as soft and tender and slow as the first one had been and each kiss that had followed after that. Their kisses were never missing anything, they were always full of emotion, always full of love and passion. She finally pulled back and ran her fingers through his brown hair again before whispering; "We can't keep her out forever, you know."

((G-moding approved of course.))

[Alexander Promise R7]

Alex walked down a hallway; he could feel a smile on his lips as he moved calmly. The walls were lined with photos of people he recognized well; all family. The carpet was soft under his feet, and he looked down to find he was barefoot. It was a light tan color of carpet and as he walked on it he knew that under it was a warm colored wood flooring, wood flooring that was actually shown when the carpet stopped and you entered the kitchen. But Alex wasn’t going to the kitchen. He continued down the hallway, past an office, past a bathroom, to the end where there were two doors on either side of him. On his left he knew it was his room, and on his right was another bedroom. The door was closed and his hand moved to it slowly, turning the knob carefully so it didn’t make much noise. He pushed the door open just a crack and peeked into the room. He saw a bed, empty and made up nicely with light blue sheets. The bed was missing something though, or some things. Alex pushed the door open all the way and looked at the floor on his right. His eyes fell on a small play table, covered with plastic utensils and plates and cups. There were two chairs on either side of the table, but both were occupied. One was taken by a teddy bear whose fur was a dark brown and wore a blue bow tie, and the other was taken by a small child. The child, a girl, couldn’t have been older than five and her head was topped with light blonde hair that was cut to her chin and she was pretending to pour tea into a tea cup. She set it in front of her teddy bear and whispered to him. Alex felt his smile brighten and he moved to the floor, sitting down on it in front of the table. The little girl looked up at him, eyes wide, knowing she was supposed to be asleep, but Alex simply raised a finger to his lips, indicating that they had to be quiet. She beamed at him and reached for her tea cup and tea pot, pouring him a glass. Once she’d handed that to him she leaned over the table and whispered, “You don’t like biscuits do you, Daddy?”

Alex’s was pulled from his dream by the soft, warm feeling of Mack nuzzling her face into his neck. He was still groggy and so he simply wrapped his arms around her tighter, keeping her close to him. His room had the uncanny ability to be cold in the mornings and evenings and so having Mack’s face against his neck, her warm breath against it, was a nice feeling indeed. Promise knew he was in his own house, in his own bed because for one, Mack was with him, and for two, the bed he was on was comfortable. Those two things together could only mean he was home with his fiancé, because no matter how many times he asked the room of requirement – for that’s where they slept these days – for a soft bed, it never managed to give him one as nice as his bed at home. Alex’s eyes were still closed whenever he felt Mack run her fingers through his hair, and that managed to get him to open them and smile down at her lovingly. He always loved when she fixed his hair in the mornings, or anytime really. Her touch was wonderful, but when she was doing something so...so...wife like...like fixing his hair or straightening his tie, it just made his heart speed up and his breath catch. He loved the idea of Mackenzie Holden being his wife. Of her Being Mackenzie Promise. And soon she would be, they both knew it, even though they also knew they couldn’t get married until they were out of school. But then? They would be married as soon as possible. Alex was confident in the fact that neither of them could want anything more. Alex continued to smile down at his soon to be wife as she rested her head on his chest, leaving his neck cold again, and wrapped her arm around him. Shortly after Mack was messing with the blankets as she usually did when they were in his house, and he smiled brightly when she pulled it up and tucked her feet between his ankles. He looked down at her with a soft smile, still too groggy to formulate an argument to her complaint and then sighed happily as she buried her face back in his neck. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, and soon found himself running his fingers through her hair. As his mind cleared up and he began to feel more awake he would plant light kisses on the top of her head as they lay there in silence.

When Alex was fully awake he heard it, not the squeak, but the whine from Mack that meant she had heard the squeak. He smiled brightly and kissed her forehead, moving from the bed as she tried to hide again. As he stood from the bed and left the comfort of the covers he was hit with what felt like a wall of ice, his room really was freezing, and it being winter didn’t make it any better. He hurried to the door and locked it. Not only did he not want his twin disturbing him and his fiancé, but he also wouldn’t like to hear her go on about how the two of them needed to wear pajamas to bed. Alex quite liked the comfort of sleeping with Mack without pajamas. Before moving back to the bed he went to the fireplace that was in a corner of his room and grabbed a few logs from a stand nearby. He set them on the nearly dead embers, hoping that the wood would catch soon and his room would be heated up. Then he hurried back to his bed and his love, pulling her into his lap and letting her wrap the blankets around them tight. His arms wrapped around her as her face snuggled back into his neck and they sat there for a bit. Alex let a small smirk cross his lips when he saw the handle of his door wiggle slightly. It stopped, signaling that Chrys had gone off to the kitchen to find something to eat before attempting to barge in again later and by that time Mack had pulled back and was looking at the ring on her hand. Alex watched her in silence, noting every expression her face to be sure she was reacting good and then she looked up at him and kissed him. A happy sigh left him just before their lips met, and he kissed her back matching everything about the wonderful morning kiss. He let it go on for as long as he could, and then when Mack pulled away he smiled brightly at her. “Actually, we can. See, that’s why they put locks on doors, to keep twin sisters out of rooms.” He grinned and moved a hand to push Mack’s blonde hair behind her ear, smiling as he noted the length and the color that he’d seen before only a little while ago in a dream, and then moved his free hand to take Mack’s left hand; the one with the ring on it.

[Mackenzie Holden]

Mack managed a small smile at what Alex had said about locks being made to stop twins from entering your room. She didn't smile a small smile because it wasn't a funny remark, and normally she would have made a witty comment right back at him. She smiled a small smile because she had other matters pressing on her mind. She bit her lip and rested her head on Alex's shoulder, keeping her eyes off him as she looked at the wall, clinging close to him. Her eyes closed slightly and she let her mind wander back to her dream that she had been having only moments before. People had dreams like that all the time, but Mack shouldn't be. Her stomach churned as the images flooded into her mind once more and she linked her fingers with Alex's;

Mack stood in a field of green grass. It was bright and sunny and there was a soft breeze. The breeze was so soft it blew the blades of grass one way and then slowly blew them in the opposite direction. Off in the distance beneath a purely blue sky without a cloud in sight stood a big weeping willow tree. Its green leaves hung low and brushed against the greener grass, swaying with the soft breeze as did the blades. Everything seemed to be in rhythm, even Mack's heart beat with the breeze. She tore her gaze away from the tree to look down at herself. She wore a simple white dress, she was certain it wasn't a wedding dress, it was just a white sundress. Her blonde hair was at her shoulders again and she was barefoot. When she looked back up at the tree, there was a figure underneath it, standing and looking in her direction. Mack tilted her head and made her way over to the tree, walking slowly – still in rhythm with the breeze. Finally, she reached the shade of the willow tree and could see who the figure was. Alex stood, smiling at her, and when she was in arm's reach, he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her tight. Mack smiled and rested her head against his before looking up at the tree as she heard a giggle, "Daddy! Catch me! Catch me, Daddy!" Mack felt confusion wash over her as Alex kissed the side of her head and then turned and held open his arms to the small girl in the tree, "Jump, Princess, I'll catch you." The little girl jumped into his arms and giggled as she wrapped her little arms around his neck. Brown hair blended with brown hair and blue eyes stared at Mack with a smile, "Mummy, did you see? Did you see, Mummy? I flew!" It took Mack a moment to realise the little girl was talking to her and it took her another moment to smile softly and smooth the little girl's brown hair with her hand, tears in her eyes; "I saw, Baby Girl." And then the dream faded to white.

Mack opened her eyes and breathed in deeply before looking up at Alex who was now looking at her, quite concerned. She sat up slightly and then stood from his lap, reaching to pull his robe on over her shoulders and tie it around her waist. As her arms folded across her chest, Mack looked down at her bare feet – briefly imagining green grass beneath them before looking back up at Alex. He was looking worried by now, and Mack felt guilty for being so disconnected. She licked her lips slightly, and not in the way she normally did when she was looking at Alex, and then she moved to sit down beside him – her hands shaking terribly, "I…I have something to tell you," she bit her lip and looked down at her trembling hands. She clenched her fists, drew in a deep breath, and then looked over at him again; "I don't…don't want you to, like, think I'm confessing to some terrible sin or something – 'cos I'm not… well kind of, if you think of what I'm about to tell you as a sin, then I am; but it's not like I've killed someone, or like I'm cheating on you or have cheated on you or anything. Because I wouldn't ever do anything like that! I love you, and that's… that's why I think I should tell you this…" Mack reached over and took his hand, shaking still as she continued speaking; "Although, technically it wasn't something I could keep from you forever…" she looked at him and then sighed, "I'm confusing you, aren't I?" he didn't even need to answer the question, she could see it on his face. Mack linked their fingers again and slid her thumb on his, staring at him for a moment before taking another deep breath and saying it…

"I'm two weeks pregnant." There. The words were out. She couldn't take them back. There wasn't going to be any "psych!" following it, no "April Fool's!" nothing of the sort. It was just what it was. She was two weeks pregnant - and she was scared out of her mind. She had been waiting for the right opportunity to tell him and it had never seemed to appear, but the dream had been some sort of sign for Mack and she wanted to tell him – she needed to tell him. She blinked a couple of times and then said, in a softer tone as she moved her free hand to stroke Alex's cheek, "Alex…I need….I need to know you're going to be here for me, through this, that we're going to work it all out. That I'm not way in over my head with….with wanting to keep this baby. Alex….we're going to be parents….you're going to be a dad…and I'm going to be a mum and…we're going to have a beautiful baby…" Mack's eyes welled with tears before she dropped her hand to take his other and hold it tight.

[Alexander Promise R7]

It was very unlike Mack to give such a half hearted smile at one of Alex’s jokes. Normally even the bad jokes got a smile out of her, though she’d pick on him for making such a bad joke. That was the first thing that worried Alex. He wasn’t sure if maybe he had in some way said the wrong thing in the midst of making his joke, and so as Mack laid her head back on his shoulder he stared at the wall and reanalyzed every word he’d said in the last five minutes to see if he’d done something wrong. He couldn’t find anything however and so he just frowned and wrapped his arms around her tighter, thinking that maybe she had just woke up not feeling well or something. He was sure that she’d be ok in a little while, or she’d at least talk to him. When Mack didn’t move, nor speak for a long while Alex began to worry even more and his eyes moved down to look at her, waiting for something to happen that would explain to him what was wrong. The only thing that happened however, was that Mack pulled away and then stood, grabbing his robe off the end of the bed and wrapping it around her. That too bothered him, for normally they didn’t bother with clothes or things until they were both getting up and getting dressed to leave his room. Neither of them had ever had any reason to cover themselves up in front of the other, but Mack putting on the robe caused Alex to subconsciously pull the blankets up around him a bit more, nervously. Alex’s chest hurt, it was like a rope was tied around his heart and the other end around Mack, and when she got too far away his heart felt like it was being tugged out of his chest. He wanted her back in his arms, but when she did return to the bed it wasn’t into his arms. She sat down next to him and Alex looked at her, his heart pounding now in anxiety, and it only quickened when Mack said she had something to tell him.

He couldn’t find anything to say, throughout her entire speech. All he could do was stare at her with wide eyes, waiting for the worst. He had no idea what was coming but it didn’t sound good. Not until near the end when she told him that it wasn’t anything terrible. He calmed down a bit but he still knew there was something the matter, something big bothering her. When Mack asked if he was confused he nodded slightly and then smiled lightly when she took his hand. He needed that, to feel her touch. He was looking down at their hands when she said it, but his head immediately snapped up to look at her. His jaw dropped slightly, but not in the way it did when something bad happened, just the way it did when he couldn’t find anything to say. Pregnant? Mack....was pregnant? And with his child...that was obvious, she hadn’t been with anyone else, and Lord knows she’d been with him enough. Alex couldn’t find anything to say as Mack continued, his mind was running in circles. He heard words come out of her mouth; parents, dad, mum, baby. Finally it all clicked; all of her words met up in some stopping place in his mind and they all made sense, and instead of the usual reaction a girl gets from her boyfriend who just got her pregnant, a grin slowly spread across Alexander Promise’s face. Without a bit of hesitation his hands let go of hers and his arms shot to pull her to him, holding her tight to him and kissing the side of her head repetitively. All he could manage yet was to whisper against the side of her head as he breathed in her scent. “Oh honey...my perfect love...Mackenzie darling...” He let his lips linger beside her ear for a moment before finally pulling back and smiling at her brightly. He moved to gently wipe the tears from her eyes that had made their way out and he shook his head slowly, taking a deep breath. “Oh sweetheart...” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “wow...Honey I promise...I promise I’m not going anywhere.” He stroked her cheek gently and then took her hand, lifting it up and pointing to the engagement ring she wore on her finger. “See this? There aren’t any breaks. It’s a solid bit of metal it is.” Alex grinned and then looked from the ring up into Mack’s eyes. “Do you think a baby could break that ring honey? Because I don’t think so.” He linked their fingers and stared at her for a few minutes. “We’re going to be parents. Together.”

Then suddenly his free hand flew in excitement as if it would slam into her stomach, but he caught himself and slowed down the motion, gently sliding his hand into the robe Mack was wearing and onto her stomach. His fingers brushed over her skin lightly for a while and then he looked back up at her again. “We’re having a baby? Really?” He smiled for a while and looked back at her stomach before moving his hand to undo the robe and push it aside so he could actually see her stomach, and then suddenly his eyes got wide and he looked up at Mack. “Oh God...your sister is going to kill me...”

[Mackenzie Holden]

Mack sat on the bed, her hand still holding Alex's, and she let the silence swallow her whole. He hadn't said anything, but he was staring at her. He was staring at her with his mouth open - in a sense that showed he was most definitely shocked. Mack watched him intensely, her eyes filled with tears. It had been a huge shock to her, too. After all they had been safe - the birth control just mustn't have worked. She hadn't gone to a doctor yet, to make sure she was one hundred percent positively pregnant, but she just knew that she was. There was no denying it. Mack bit her lip as she looked at Alex, waiting for him to say it couldn't be his and all those other nasty things boys said when they found out they had just gotten their girlfriend pregnant - but when he finally did move and speak, nothing nasty or mean came from his lips. He had reached out and pulled her tight to him, holding her close as he whispered all the pet names she had heard him use over the months they had been together. She suddenly felt herself relax, her limbs which had been stiff and locked up as she spoke of everything to do with the pregnancy just melted away and she leaned to Alex easily. When he pulled away and wiped at her tears, Mack smiled softly and listened. He spoke of the ring she wore and how a baby couldn't break it and so there was nothing to be worried about, and all Mack could do was smile at him like a love sick fool. It wasn't that she was, it was just that she had honestly had a huge fear that Alex would seriously tell her he didn't want her to be a part of his life any more. It wasn't because that's the type of person Alex was, it was because that was the type of person Mack was used to having in her life. She leaned over and kissed his cheek when he linked their fingers and said they would do this together - and it was then that her fears completely vanished. It was only reasonable for her to be afraid of abandonment, especially since that was what Mack had been nearly all of her life - but she knew at the same time it was really ridiculous considering Alex would never abandon her for any reason, big or small. She just knew it.

Mack squeezed his hand just as his free hand moved at such a quick speed that Mack found her eyes growing wide. She opened her mouth to stop him, but he caught himself and slowed his hand - setting it gently on her stomach inside her robe. She smiled lovingly at him and then nodded when he asked if they were really having a baby, "Yeah... I haven't gone to the doctor yet, but I just know it... I can feel it." She reached over and stroked his cheek gently, "You can come with me, if you want... I mean, you don't have to... I completely understand... I don't think I would want to go." She grinned and then brushed her thumb over his lips lightly as he undid the robe and pushed it aside. They were silent for a moment and then he looked up, his eyes wide, and said the number one thing Mack was not worried about. A laugh tumbled from her lips and she kissed the side of his head, "Dixie will live. Besides, it's not like we're going to be living on the streets or whatever. You are inheriting this land and I've got money from my singing. We'll be fine. I mean, she won't be happy about it at first, don't get me wrong or anything - but after awhile she will be, and it's just going to take her some getting used to." Mack smiled and laid back on the bed, looking up at him as she lifted her hand to rub his arm gently; just a simple gesture. It was one of those moments where she couldn't not touch him for even a minute. She needed to have physical contact with him at all times. Even if it was just holding his hand, rubbing his arm, or her fingertips on his skin - something simple...she needed it. It had become quite the necessity. Mack smiled up at her fiancee and tried to get her stomach to stop churning. The worst part was over, she kept telling herself - but there was surely a lot of things to come along the way. Anything after this, though, she was certain she and Alex could overcome it. After all, they were definitely in this together now.

There was more silence and then Mack sighed, "It's really not my sister I'm worried about, honey." She bit her lip, barely noticing she had used a pet name - Mack just wasn't a pet name type of girl, but Alex was a pet name type of guy. She had loved how often he used pet names with her but she had hardly ever returned the favour. Except now she just had. "It's your parents and Chrys that I'm worried about. I mean, I know they aren't going to like kill me or anything, but still... it's more nerve racking than Dixie. I'm also rather worried about school - although not so much, it's an easy fix... I'll drop out. It's not like I need this or anything, I'm not going into a magical career. So, that's fixable...quite. It's your schooling that I'm worried about. I don't want you to drop out, but... I have this huge feeling that you're going to argue with me up and down and right and left about it." She sent him a pointed look that said she had him pegged and then she pulled him back down to lie beside her, "I don't want you to jeopardise your schooling for me, at all."

[Alexander Promise R7]

Once his hand was on her stomach, Alex couldn’t help but laugh at the reaction she’d had to his action. Then again, he couldn’t blame her, if someone randomly moved to thrust their hand against his stomach he wouldn’t be too happy about it either. Luckily Alex had quite a bit of common sense, or at least, enough to tell him not to know the air out of his pregnant wife. He left his hand on her stomach as she spoke and then smiled and shook his head. “Of course I’ll go to the doctor with you. It’s our baby.” Alex was strong in the belief that he and Mack were a team. From the moment he had first asked her to be his girlfriend they were a team, and now they were even more so. Not only were they engaged, but they had been together in a sexual way, and to do that was to bond yourself with another person. Alex wasn’t religious but if there was one religious belief he agreed with it was the fact that a man and a woman were linked together when they partook in sexual actions and that that was something to be saved for the person you wanted to spend the rest of your life with. Now obviously Alex wasn’t of the belief that you needed to wait until after marriage, but he was of the belief that you had better plan on marrying the person that you give yourself to. And Alex had given himself to Mack; body, mind, heart, and soul. And he believed with all his heart that she had done the same for him. The two of them were meant to work as one. They were a team, a partnership, a unit. Alex had grown up being told by both the women in his life exactly what a woman wanted in a relationship, and therefore he knew exactly what to give to Mack, and he did. He gave her an equal partnership. Alex knew that Mack had been scared of what he would say whenever she told him she was pregnant, what girl wouldn’t be afraid to tell her boyfriend that. But that was the difference now; Alex and Mack weren’t just dating, they were engaged. And the moment Alex put that ring on Mack finger he promised her forever, no matter what happened. The fact that now there was a baby involved didn’t change that at all unless it made their partnership even stronger. They had worked together to bring the baby into the world, and therefore they needed to work together to make the world as wonderful as they could for their baby. Their baby. Their very own baby.

The thought of a baby spurred in Alex’s mind the conversation he had had with Dixie a while back when he and Mack and first started getting serious. A conversation in which Dixie had advised him to be careful not to have any accidents. Well that might not have been exactly how she said it, but that’s how it had clicked in Alex’s mind. But now, after he had confessed to Mack his fear and she had reassured him that Dixie would get over it, Alex couldn’t help but think that there was no reason for her to. Mack and Alex hadn’t brought and accident into the world, they’d brought a child. Something that they would love, and care for, and provide for, and completely dedicate themselves to. Sure, there was the fact that being parents right out of school and right into the real world wasn’t something that was going to be easy, but neither of them ever planned on giving, so Alex didn’t see why there would be any sort of issue. “Yes, but while she’s getting used to it she’ll probably be rather bitter towards me.” Alex chuckled lightly but he let them move past the subject. Mack laid down on the bed and Alex looked over, running his eyes over her body, from her head to her feet and then back up to her stomach, where his eyes lingered. He believed it, but it was hard to grasp, that inside of Mack there was a child, or at least the beginnings of one. And not just any child but his child, his very own baby. A perfect, wonderful, marvelous, fragile baby. It then hit Alex just how completely fragile the baby was, and therefore how Mack was, and he frowned. Well he frowned at least until Mack called him honey, because then he smiled over at her lovingly. Mack never called him honey, in fact Mack never used pet names of any sort. Alex used them all the time, and he loved them, and when Mack would call him by one he would get a familiar feeling in his chest, the same kind of feeling he got every time she kissed him. She pulled him down to lay with her and his hand moved easily to rest on her stomach in a protective manner.

“Mackenzie honey, there’s no reason to worry about my family. At first they might flip out a bit, but when they really get down to thinking about it the only difficult thing is being parents. It’s not like money will be tight for us. They’ll just be worried about how young we are. But Chrys is going to go crazy with excitement, and my mother is going to just have a spree shopping with you for baby things.” Alex smiled brightly and slid his thumb over her skin as he spoke. He sat up slightly on his elbow, his head resting on his hand, laying on his side so he could face her while he listened to her talk about her being worried about school. There was no way he could fight her on her dropping out, because Mack truly didn’t need to stay in school. She was perfectly well set up for her life, and the two of them together would have quite the comfortable one. If anything Mack was staying in school to stay with him. Sure there were little things she would miss out on if she left school, but overall she’d be ok. Alex as well, had no reason to stay in school, but he knew before she even said it that she’d argue with him about it. “Mackenzie darling, come on. You and I both know I won’t be ‘jeopardizing my schooling’. Neither of us really needs to even be there. You’re set with your music; I’m set with the griffins. WE don’t have any worries. On the contrary, if I stay at school I’ll be ‘jeopardizing’ my chance to be with my pregnant wife, and my newborn child.” He looked at her serious, because he was quite serious about the subject. There was no way he wanted to miss out on that.