The Monroe Legacy - G.2. Chapter 14 - Fireside Fairytale

Violet was not the perfect baby but Hallie and Cai didn't care, she was the centre of their universe. She wouldn't sleep at night so they became essentially nocturnal, Cai writing with the door open while Hallie rested and Hallie painting in the nursery, loving to hear the soft snuffling sounds her baby made in her crib.

After a few months things settled down a little, Belle had sent an antique music box from Switzerland for her baby niece and it seemed to have a magical effect on stubborn little Violet! As soon as it was wound she would calm and slip into sleep and her exhausted parents finally managed to rejoin the world of the living!

The extended family had all met the new arrival and when she was old enough she would have a ready made posse with her cousins; Christopher was a year older whilst Georgia's Carter and Lola's third child, Reggie, were less than six months older. Luna had appointed herself godmother and would spend hours watching her tiny charge, dressing her in crazy outfits and dancing her round the room to loud music when she thought nobody was around!

By the time Violet's birthday rolled around the little family had settled in to a happy routine; Cai wrote in the mornings, Hallie painted or sculpted in the afternoon and they spent the evenings together, doting on their daughter and once she was asleep spending hours in bed, making up for all the lost years they could have been loving each other.

They celebrated Violet's birthday quietly, just them and Luna who insisted on coming and then took a thousand pictures whilst appearing in none! Violet was growing in to a stunning child, she'd inherited her grandmas blonde hair and her daddy's green eyes but she looked like her mother. 

As soon as Hallie set her down she crawled quickly to her peg box and started dropping in shapes! Luna laughed,

'Looks like there's finally a genius in the house besides me' she dodged as Hallie threw a friendly slap at her and went to play with her little buddy.

Cai and Hallie had decided against a big party to save money for their upcoming wedding which they'd finally set a date for! Hallie had been re-reading her mothers diary and was enamoured with the romance of her parents' informal, snowy ceremony.

Cai didn't care as long as Hallie would finally be his so they settled on a simple ceremony at home on Christmas Eve. With a few months to go they had everything organised and spent their days helping Violet learn to walk and talk.  She was a fast learner except when it came to the potty.

It took Hallie a month to even get her to stay sat on it and even then she wouldn't actually use it. When she wanted to be, Violet was impossible and grumpy to boot! Eventually Cai convinced her that the potty was a magic chair that granted wishes, and since she mainly wished for candy it was easy to keep up the ruse until she was used to it.

As the snow began to fall Hallie started to feel butterflies about the wedding. Her dress was hanging in a bag in the spare room and her perfect groom slept beside her every night. Belle flew in two days before the wedding with a surprise of her own, she was marrying her guitarist! 

The family was once again together in Appaloosa.

The night before the ceremony Hallie and Cai went to bed in separate bedrooms in line with the old tradition. As midnight passed and Hallie lay tossing and turning she heard a thump outside and then Cai shuffled in hopping from the toe he had just stumped and cussing at the dressed he'd collided with. The reason soon became obvious, he was blindfolded!

'I couldn't sleep without you there Hal!' He moaned, slipping under the covers and tucking her against his chest, 'but I didn't want to see the dress and jinx it.'

'You're an idiot' Hallie laughed, snuggling in his embrace and finally feeling sleep approaching, 'but you're my idiot'.

The wedding went off without a hitch, Hallie and Cai were married at midday in front of the fireplace where they'd first dared to imagine a life together. Cai had to cough away tears when he first saw Hallie descend the stair in her vintage lace dress and Belle, drunk on a mystery cocktail that Georgia had made, changed in to her swimsuit for the duration of the party!

The crowning moment though was as the cousins all clamoured around little Violet who was loving the attention. She watched Coralie and Zander joking together with inquisitive green eyes before marching over to her mother and tugging her dress.

When Hallie looked down the little girl crossed her arms, a habit she had picked up from Luna, and said clearly,

'Vi can have brudder now?'

The party erupted into laughter as the precocious toddler repeated her statement until her dad scooped her up and tickled her into fits of laughter.

As Cai and Hallie tucked her in that night before heading off on their honeymoon weekend Cai nuzzled Hallie's neck and murmured,

'That's not a bad idea actually'.

Hallie smiled, her heart full of love for the man beside her and the little girl before her before turning to kiss her husband.

'One brother coming right up, Mr Monroe'.

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Can Hallie and Cai deliver Violet's request?

Read the next chapter now - Chapter 15 - Expect the Unexpected