Notes: Thanks, as always, to Mari and Sammy for the fabulous feedback! And huge thanks to Mari again for bouncing ideas!

Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your awesome feedback! It is always appreciated.

Hope you enjoy!

Angie's Boo Boo (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)

"Hey, look, Daddy's home," Catherine said, pointing behind Angie to where Steve was coming out the backdoor onto the deck.

"Dada!" Angie dropped the ball she'd been throwing with Catherine and Cammie and ran to meet him.

Cammie reached him first and Steve bent to rub her head affectionately as Angie neared the deck.

"Da–" The word was cut off as she tripped and wiped out on the first stair.

"Angie." Steve was kneeling beside her in an instant, Catherine a second later. "Hey, hey, lemme see," he said, holding her arm as she turned toward them.

"Did she hit her head?" Catherine asked.

"I don't think so," Steve said, his eyes scanning their daughter. "She caught herself on her hands."

"Mama!" Angie cried, reaching for her knee where a scrape had started to bleed.

"Ohh, honey," Catherine said, gently stopping her from touching the small wound, her voice calm but sympathetic. "Ouch. You've got a little boo boo, huh?"

"Mama," Angie said again, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Boo boo."

"I know. You're okay, baby girl," Catherine said soothingly, running a hand over her hair.

Cammie nosed in between Steve and Catherine to lick Angie's face. Sniffling, Angie reached out to grip the fur at her neck for comfort.

Satisfied that the only injury was the scrape on her knee, Steve said, "Let's get you cleaned up, okay?" He gently lifted her into his arms and stood.

"Boo boo, Dada," Angie said again, her voice still wavering with her tears.

"I know," he said.

"Just a little boo boo," Catherine echoed as she and Cammie followed them into the house. "We're going to fix it all up."

They went into the downstairs bathroom and Steve set Angie on the counter right beside the sink. He quickly washed his hands as Catherine got the first aid kit out of the cabinet.

"All right, let's see," he said, eyeing the scrape. It was still bleeding a little so Catherine handed him a sterile gauze pad and he pressed it to Angie's knee.

"Do you want to help Daddy fix your boo boo?" Catherine asked.

Angie nodded and Catherine guided her little hand on top of Steve's.

"Press right there," she said. "Good job."

Steve smiled. After a moment, he lifted the gauze and nodded. "Okay, let's clean your knee and then we'll put a bandaid on and you'll be all set."

Catherine turned on the faucet and checked the temperature. "Here you go."

Steve gently moved Angie to the edge of the sink and guided her knee under the running water. She gasped a little at the initial sensation, but didn't cry out.

"Good girl," Catherine said, smiling reassuringly when she looked up, tears still pricking at the corners of her eyes.

After it was clean, Steve gently dried her knee with another gauze pad. "Okay, time for a bandaid."

"And because it was Daddy's turn on the shopping the last time we were running low, you have quite a few to choose from," Catherine said, flashing Steve a wry smile as she put three colorful bandaid boxes on the counter.

Angie wiped at her eyes, reaching for the closest box with her other hand.

"There were a lot of different kinds at the store," he defended. "I didn't know which one to get."

"Says the man who makes split second life-and-death decisions for a living," she countered with a teasing smile.

He chuckled. "I knew she'd like the train ones and the dog ones and, I mean, they had camo …"

She shook her head in amusement. "Well, we're definitely good on bandaids for the foreseeable future."

He shrugged. "It's fine. Not like they go bad or something."

"Easy to say now. Wait till we're out of regular bandaids and you've got Thomas the Tank Engine on your finger."

"Well, I'd probably pick the camo …" he said.

She laughed.

"Besides, the book said it's good to have choices," he said, nodding to Angie who was bouncing the box of Thomas & Friends bandaids on her leg while holding the Paw Patrol box in her other hand. "Takes their mind off the injury."

"Choo choo!" Angie said, as if proving his point.

"I think they probably meant choices from the box, not multiple boxes to choose from," Catherine quipped before turning her attention back to Angie. "Do you want a train bandaid, Angie? Or a doggie?"

"Choo choo!" Angie said again. "Twain!"

"Easy choice, I guess," Steve said, managing to get a bandaid out of the box while she ran it along the counter edge. He placed it over the scrape on her knee, smoothing down the edges.

Angie stopped playing to watch, hissing a little in pain.

"Does that still hurt a little, honey?" Catherine asked, running a hand over her hair.

Angie sniffed, reaching for her. She held onto the bandaid boxes when Catherine tried to take them, shaking her head with an emphatic "No!" so Catherine picked her up, bandaid boxes and all.

"Okay, keep your bandaids," Catherine said, kissing her head. "Let's go relax on the couch."

"I'll grab an ice pack," Steve said, and Catherine nodded as Angie snuggled against her.

He joined them in the living room a moment later, Angie in Catherine's lap and Cammie right at their feet. One box of bandaids had been discarded on the coffee table, and Angie held onto the other against her chest.

"Look, Daddy's got your boo boo bunny," Catherine said.

Angie looked over and smiled, reaching for the bunny-shaped ice pack that looked more like a stuffed animal than a piece of first aid equipment. Steve sat beside them and put the ice pack on her knee.

"Ohh!" Angie said, starting at the temperature even through the cloth.

Catherine chuckled warmly. "That's cold, remember? It'll make your knee feel better."

She looked up at them, relaxing upon seeing their reassuring smiles. She settled against Catherine again, running a fingertip along the soft bunny ear that was in reach.

Steve reached over and brushed the hair from her forehead. "That wasn't so bad, was it, Angie?"

"Mm," Catherine hummed, kissing her head. "Just a little boo boo. Maybe a bruise in the morning."

Angie leaned forward, pushing the bunny up. "Boo boo?" she said, and touched the bandaid.

"It's still there," Catherine said, coaxing her to lie back again.

Steve returned his hand to her knee, ensuring the ice pack stayed in place. "You know, you're gonna get lots of bumps and bruises in life."

Catherine's lip quirked in a half-smile. "Especially if you take after Daddy."

He flashed her a smile in return and looked back at Angie. "But all that matters is you get back up."

"That's right," Catherine agreed.

"You get back up and you keep going," Steve went on. "After you get your boo boos taken care of."

Catherine snorted, and he quirked an eyebrow in question.

"You're not exactly the poster child for seeking proper medical attention in a timely fashion," she said.

"I …" he began, then smiled in acknowledgement. "I've gotten better about that."

Her smile softened. "You have."

" 'Cause you know what …" he said, leaning down to kiss Angie's head and then pressing his lips to Catherine' temple. "I've got a lot to live for."

Hope you enjoyed!

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