Picnic

Mirandy

Part of the "Won't Leave You" 'verse.

Miranda chuckled as she watched Andrea run around with their children, and the new puppy. They were playing freeze tag, from the looks of it, and a few of the other children from the park had joined in the fun. Cassidy seemed to be it, laughing as she chased after Jasmine, the four and a half year old screeching and giggling as the sixteen-year-old let her get ahead, in favor of lunging for Owen.

Jayden babbled and kicked her legs a little, pulling her attention to the three-month-old baby in her arms, "Yes, my sweet girl, I'm right here." She smiled and tickled Jayden's belly a little with her finger tips, "Mommy's right here, sweet girl." Changing her hold on her daughter, she lifted Jayden up by her armpits, giving a bright smile and pressing kisses to her daughter's face.

"Hey, Mom, did you see where I set my thermos down?" Oliver's voice flittered down to her, and she looked up to see the sweaty eleven-year-old panting, with a smile on her face. He reached down and carefully lifted his baby sister into his arms, spinning around once before settling her safely on his hip, "I don't know where I put it." He continued, as he let Jayden play with his finger, making sure he pulled away before she could suck on it.

Standing from her seat, Miranda pressed a kiss to his forehead, and brushed back his shaggy bangs- he refused to cut them, as well as his brother… as they were having a competition to see who would get irritated first- with her fingers, "I put it in the cooler, before Charlie could start chewing on it. The infernal dog would have destroyed it."

Oliver laughed, "Oh please, Mom, you love Charlie! So he has a chewing problem, we've only had him for a month, and he's gotten better."

She scowled, "Say that to my Prada pumps. Patricia never chewed my shoes, not even when she was a puppy. Your Momma was about to throw a fit, might I remind you."

"Okay, so maybe a ruined pair of thousand dollar shoes was really bad, but he still prefers to curl up with his head in your lap than anyone else. Even Caroline, who's been training him to do tricks." Oliver gave her a cheeky smile before shifting his sister to his other side, bouncing a little, and laughing at her happy gurgling, "Hey, what do you think her first word is gonna be?"

Miranda smiled, "I don't know, it could well be anything."

"Yeah, like Jasmine's! She said Poo-poo!" He cackled, showing off his braces covered teeth with his open mouthed grin.

"That's because the four of you used all your time to prompt her to say that, without my knowledge, or Andrea's."

"Then maybe Jayden will say, 'Damn it! You snot noses, get down here and clean up this mess' since Momma says it all the time!"

Miranda fought the grin that was tugging on her lips, "My Angel, I assure you, I don't know why she ever started saying that, but it most certainly is the truth that she says it much too often."

"What was my first word?"

She smiled and reached for Jayden when she started to fuss a little too much in Oliver's arms. She rocked her a little as she spoke, "You said your brother's name. Owen had spilled his juice all down his front, and your Momma was taking him to get cleaned up. You started bawling and wailing, kicking and screaming in your high chair. You were staring down the hallway after him, and screamed out for him as best you could. I had to pick you up and follow after to the bathroom just to get you to calm down. After the first time you said his name, you hardly said anything else."

"Really?" He crinkled his nose.

Chuckling, Miranda nodded, "Indeed. No matter what strange names you call each other now, you were as thick as thieves when you were little, just as you are now."

"What was his first word?"

"Juice. For the first few weeks the J was hardly there, but it grew stronger the more he said it. Momma had given him a sipper cup of water, and he was not happy that it was water instead of juice. So, he made himself quite clear about what he wanted."

"Cool-"

"Hey! Cheese breath! Get your drink and come back!" Owen yelled from where he was frozen on the playing field.

Miranda rolled her eyes and moved to the cooler, shifting Jayden so she wouldn't fall when Miranda leaned over to open the lid and pull out Oliver's water thermos, "You two are the strangest little Angels."

Oliver pressed a kiss to her cheek, standing just on his toes to do so, then one to Jayden's cheek, before taking a drink, "You love us!"

"I most certainly do, now go on back to run around. We'll have lunch in a few minutes, when your Momma decides she's a little too out of breath, and calls the game to an end."

He smiled, handed the thermos back with a 'thank you' and turned around, calling out as he ran back into the game, "Hey juice brain! How did you get caught?"

Miranda sat back down after returning the thermos to the cooler, and shifted Jayden again, smiling as she ran her hands gently over pudgy little legs and watched her family play.

Recalling the nightmare she'd had two months prior, her heart swelled with love instead of worry. Her family loved her very much, and she loved them with her whole heart. Nothing was ever going to change that, or tear them apart.

"Yes, my sweet girl," she whispered down to her gurgling, bouncing baby in her lap, "we're a very loving family. Never perfect, but always full of love."

A/N: Yay, I got another up! I've got a whole bunch of things in progress, so hopefully I can get one or two more pieces up.

Reviews are loved and appreciated!

Thank you all for your dedication and patience. You're all wonderful!

All my love,

CBC