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Four Years Later
Claudia made her way down the hall, ambling as fast as she could. She was beginning to regret picking a large house as she finally rounded the last hallway. In the living room she could hear the cheerful voices of her friends and little Conor.
"Aunt Claudia!" The little blonde ball of energy hurled himself out of his father's arms and barreled towards Claudia. Anna scooped him up before he reached her, thwarting his plans to smother her in kisses.
"Baby, Mama told you not to jump on Aunt Claudia like that. She's going to have a baby of her own soon and we don't want to hurt her. You're getting too big for her to toss you about. Go back to Uncle Shane and Daddy." Anna set down her son, then made her way to hug Claudia.
"How are you feeling?" Anna asked.
"Very pregnant." Claudia said laughing. She saw a movement out of the corner of her eye. Mark was coming into the house as he slowly shut the door behind him, smiling at Claudia. She then looked to Bryan as he picked up his son.
The day that Conor Michael Reilly McFadden was born had been the shining moment in the lives of both Anna and Bryan. Surrounded by her family and friends, it was no small effort to remain awake after 15 hours of labor, but she held court like a queen. Everyone had been so excited and anxious. This was the first heir to the next generation. And after everyone left, Anna found the energy to cry as she watched her husband surrender to tears holding their newborn son in his arms. Bryan had accomplished amazing feats in his music career with awards and record breaking performances but his accomplishment in creating this innocent new life made the other things pale next to his son. Bryan had always found difficulty in leaving Anna for work, but with Conor it was near impossible. Settling for phone calls and wallet photos in no way compared to being with them in person. Bryan was the portrait of fatherhood as he gently rocked his now sleepy son. Claudia sat watching Bryan as he talked to Shane, knowing that Shane would feel the same with their child, that leaving them would be just as difficult.
"How much have you done?" Anna asked as she stood next to Claudia rubbing her arm.
"Not much, I'm afraid. I am so tired and there is just so much to do." Claudia said looking at Anna, "Most days I don't think we will get it all done before the baby comes."
"We will get it done, sweetheart." Shane said as he walked over and kissed Claudia. "That's why everyone else is here. Don't worry."
"You aren't letting her lift anything heavy, are you?" Anna asked as she gave Shane one of her looks. Shane knew what that look meant. After 4 years of friendship, Shane had discovered the meaning of ALL Anna's looks. Bryan didn't even know all of them, but Shane knew.
"You know what the doctor said. She should be taking it easy." Mark quietly chimed in.
"If she is lifting anything heavy, I don't know about it. Claud does have a mind of her own." Shane said as he put his hand on Mark's shoulder. "She's doing fine, mate. I am not letting her do anything that she shouldn't" Shane kissed Claudia again and made his way down the hall to the kitchen. He was the perfect host as he prepared drinks for the guests.
"Where's Kian?" Claudia asked as she smiled at Mark. She appreciated the way he still protected her and cared for her.
"He had to drop Kori at the airport." Bryan said finally putting Conor down. He immediately went to Anna. She picked Conor up tenderly, as only a mother could. Conor had Bryan's blonde hair and blue eyes but he had Anna's personality. He was a strong 2 year old and already had his own opinions.
"I think her plane left at 6 tonight." Mark said as he began looking in the boxes that were on the floor.
Kori was on her way back to London. She worked for Virgin Records in London as a vocal instructor for new talent. When she first started with the company, she was based out of New York but as her relationship with Kian developed and they got closer, she moved to London. Claudia liked the fact that Kori was closer, London was only a two hour flight from Dublin. Bryan and Anna lived in Duleek, abut an hour outside Dublin. Mark lived in Sligo near his family and Nicky and Georgina were living in Dublin. When Shane and Claudia first looked for a house, she told Shane she wanted to be as close to Anna and Mark as she could, it made the move from the States easier, to be near the people she loved. Shane was very understanding and found the perfect house on the east side of County Sligo, he was close enough to his family and close enough to Claudia's friends to make them both happy. Thank goodness their friends were here now to help them unpack the house, otherwise it would never be done!
Claudia showed Anna around the house and they talked about which picture would go where and which furniture fit each room. Shane, Mark and Bryan finished moving the boxes into the different rooms, taking breaks to talk about the new album on which they would start in six weeks.
The work was soon interrupted by Kian running into the house yelling for everyone. It startled the girls at first, but after realizing it was Kian, they just laughed. Kian always had to make a grand entrance.
"I did it!" He yelled as he ran down the hallway almost knocking into Bryan and Shane, who were lifting one of the chairs in the living room.
"Kian, watch it!" shouted Bryan as he dropped the chair.
"Bryan, ya deutz! I spent a lot of money of that chair." Shane yelled as he checked out the damage.
"Who cares about the damage, he just dropped it on my foot, now my dancing will never be the same." Mark said laughing as he rubbed his sore foot.
"No worry mate, there's not much to lose there. Only joking." Kian said as he pat Mark on the back. "I'm sorry lads. But I just had to tell you. Where are the girls?" Kian asked as he walked down the hallway looking for the Claudia and Anna. "Claud, Anna, I have to tell you something. Hurry!" He yelled. Conor came running out of the room where he was resting and attacked Kian. He swung him up into his arms as they waited for everyone else to congregate. Kian stood in the middle of room, beaming as he waited until everyone gathered.
"All right, tell us what you did. We have plenty more unpacking." Shane said as he helped Claudia sit down in the chair they just placed.
"What is it? Did Kori get off ok? I meant to call her before she left for London, but I didn't get around to it, my memory is so bad these days." Claudia said.
"That's what I did." Kian said quickly.
"What's what you did?" asked Anna.
"I'm getting there. Picture this. We are standing in front of the reader boards to see if her flight is on time. Then all of the sudden everything on the board goes blank." Kian said, talking with his hands and shifting Conor to his other hip.
"Why? Was the power out?" Bryan took Conor from Kian's arms.
"No, the power wasn't out. So, Kori is just standing there thinking that something is wrong..."
"Was her plane late because of the power outtage?" Anna interrupted Kian.
"No, the power wasn't out and her plane wasn't late. So anyway, we are standing there looking at the board and..."
"That happened to me one time when I was flying from Idaho to Ireland. Remember that Shane, I was really freaked when the power went..."
"That power didn't go out, Claudia! The plane was not late! Just listen to me." Kian yelled. "The reader board came back on and it read, 'Will you marry me?'" The group stood quiet as Kian waited for their response.
"Who was behind the reader board asking the question?" asked Bryan.
"I was asking the question." Kian said impatiently. He couldn't believe that his friends were not getting the significance of what just happened.
"But who were..." Bryan said and then paused as a grin spread across his face.
"You asked Kori to marry you?" asked Claudia as she stood up.
"Finally! I knew you were the smart one, Claud." Kian said laughing.
"What did she say?" asked Shane.
"What do you think she said? How could anyone turn down this face?" Kian said.
"I can't believe it. You and Kori finally did it." Anna said as she hugged Kian. "It's about flippin' time."
"Congratulations, mate." Bryan said as they embraced.
"Looks like Feehily is the only one left to tie the knot." Shane said laughing as he also hugged Kian.
"That won't happen until he finds the perfect girl." Bryan said hitting Mark on the back as he began asking Kian for the details about the events of the proposal. Anna chimed in occasionally to ask about setting a date, where the wedding would be and that the girls would have to go shopping in London to get the wedding dress. Claudia sat quietly as she listened to the excitement but her eyes wandered to Mark. She felt so sad for him now, he was the last one. Mark stood silent listening to his friends talk about the wedding plans when he saw Claudia staring at him. There were no words between them but Claudia knew what he was thinking. Mark had found comfort in the fact that Kian and Kori would never commit. He had hopes that he would be the next one to fall in love and get married. But that hope was now extinguished. Mark was still alone and Claudia wanted nothing more than to comfort him. She wanted to hold him but she remained in her chair, listening to the group talk while thinking about Mark in the far distance of her mind. He deserved the same happiness that she found with Shane, he deserved the same love and commitment that she had come to find in her life. After all, she owed her happiness to Mark in the first place...
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