"Stop it! Daddy! Don won't stop hitting me!" Danny yelled, running into the living room.
"Don, stop hitting your brother." Mac sighed, rubbing his eyes.
"Dad, you're supposed to be playing Operation with me." Sheldon whined.
"Yes, baby I know, but you know your brothers… always getting into trouble." Mac told him.
Aiden walked up to him, her hands behind her back.
"Hi Dad." She smiled.
"Hello Aiden… what are you hiding?" He asked.
Aiden grinned and held up a clump of hair.
"I gave Lindsay a hair cut. She looks pretty now, like Mom, except with shorter hair." She told him.
Mac sighed, shaking his head. Stella said she was only going to the store for a few minutes… it seemed like she had been gone for hours!
"Sheldon, can you pause the game for a second? I have to go find your sister." Mac said.
"You can't pause this game, Dad… but I guess I'll wait until you get back." He nodded.
Mac got up off of the floor, and walked down the hall, looking for Lindsay, Aiden trailing behind him. Danny came running towards him, and hid behind him.
"Daddy, tell Don to stop it! I'm gonna have bruises and broken glasses!" Danny yelled, kicking wildly at Don around Mac's legs.
"Would everyone just stop bugging me!!!" Mac hollered.
Don stopped hitting Danny, Danny stopped kicking Don, Sheldon was peering down the hall and Aiden had dropped the clumps of hair she was holding in her hands. The whole house had fallen silent. 'Finally, some peace and quiet… but I shouldn't have said that.' Mac thought, shaking his head.
He looked at Don, who was looking up at him with wide eyes, tears brimming, threatening to fall over.
"Hey, Don I didn't mean it like that. I've had a really rough day, that's all." He tried to sooth.
Don shook his head, his lower lip quivering. When Mac went to comfort him, he ran away hollering,
"I want Mommy!!!"
Mac put his hands over his eyes, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. Danny tugged at his pants leg, biting his thumbnail.
"Daddy?" He whispered.
"What is it, Danny?"
"I'm sorry about bugging you…" He sniffed.
Mac looked at him, and saw he was close to tears too.
"Oh, not you too." He muttered.
Danny sucked in his lower lip, running towards the bedroom he shared with Sheldon and Don and slammed the door shut. Mac sighed and looked down the hall at Sheldon, who slowly backed around the corner, not looking at him. He turned around, and saw Aiden, standing, hands on her hips, Lindsay's hair surrounding her feet. She looked so much like her mother it was scary.
"You're being a meany, Dad. You should go and say sorry to Danny and Don." She said.
"I know… but right now I'm trying to find your sister. Where did you put her to cut her hair?" Mac asked.
"I put her in the bathroom. That's where Mum cuts your hair." She said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
They continued their way to the bathroom, where Lindsay sat on the counter by the sink, admiring her new haircut. There were chunks cut out of it, and it was sticking up in places, but thankfully, no bald spots. Mac sent up a silent prayer to his God of choice for that week.
"See? It doesn't look that bad, does it Daddy? I could cut your hair too if you want." Aiden said, sitting down on the floor.
"That's okay, Aiden. I don't need a haircut. Why don't you and Lindsay go and put the rest of her hair, the hair that you dropped into the garbage and then go play dolls or something. I've got to find Don." Mac said to her.
"Okay. C'mon, Lindsay let's clean up. Then we can play house." Aiden said.
Mac helped Lindsay down off of the counter, and watched them run off to do just that. He looked at himself in the mirror, the dark bags underneath his eyes clearly noticeable. Pulling a three-day shift then having to take care of five kids was not a good idea. He walked out of the bathroom, then across the hall to the boys' bedroom. He knocked twice and after getting a muffled "What?" He walked in.
Danny was lying on the bottom bunk, his blankets pulled up over his head. Mac sat down beside the form under the blankets and rested his hand on Danny's leg.
"I said what?" Danny sniffed.
"Danny, look at me." Mac said.
Danny slowly pulled the blankets down from over his head and looked at Mac with puffy red eyes. Mac felt his heart lunge in his chest.
"You yelled at us." Danny croaked.
"I'm sorry, Danny. I didn't mean to yell at you guys. Don and you were fighting, Sheldon wanted me to play a game with him and your sister cut mostly all of Lindsay's hair off." Mac sighed.
Danny nodded, and got out from underneath the blankets and sat on Mac's lap, wrapping Mac's hands around himself. Mac gave him a squeeze, kissing the top of his head.
"I'm sorry baby boy. I'll try not to yell at you guys anymore. But you've got to promise me that you're gonna try to get along with your older brothers, both Don and Sheldon, okay?" Mac said.
Danny nodded, letting Mac rock him back and forth. Aiden poked her head into the room.
"Mum's home." She whispered.
Mac nodded his thanks, and rubbed his hand down Danny's arm.
"C'mon, sport. Let's go help Mum with the groceries." Mac said.
Danny got off of his lap and let Mac get up.
"Daddy?" Danny called.
"Yes, sweetheart?" Mac said.
"Can I have a piggyback ride?" He asked.
Mac smiled, and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"C'mon, let's go." Mac said.
Danny smiled and wrapped his arms around his Daddy's neck and let himself be carried down to meet Stella at the front door. When they got there Stella met them with a smile, Don hiding behind her legs.
"Hey, took you long enough." Mac said, leaning in for a kiss.
"Mmm. You have no idea… what's wrong with Don?" She asked quietly.
"Daddy yelled at us and Don didn't like it." Danny whispered, his head being right next to Mac's and Stella's.
"Oh he did, did he? And what about you? You were good while I was gone?" Stella asked.
"Yup!" Danny smiled.
"Give me a kiss, and help with the groceries." Stella asked.
Danny gave her a quick kiss on the lips, and then let himself be lowered back onto the floor, grabbing up a light brown bag and carrying it into the kitchen. Aiden took another one, Sheldon took one, and Stella took the last one.
"Talk to him." Stella whispered.
Don held onto Stella's top, and when she started to walk away, he tried to go with her.
"Mommy!" He cried.
"Go see your father. You two need to talk, okay?" Stella told him.
She left him standing there, facing his father, hands playing with the hem of his t-shirt.
"C'mon, Don. Let's sit on the couch and talk about this." Mac said.
He followed his dad into the living room, and they sat down.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you guys, Don. I expect more from you though. Picking a fight with your little brother? Don, you've got to realize that you're seven years older than him, and stronger than him too. You've got to be looking out for him." Mac instructed.
"I know, but he was in my stuff. I told him I didn't want him to touch my puzzle and he lost three of the pieces on me!" Don whined.
Mac put his arm over his son's shoulder, squeezing gently.
"Danny loves you, Don. He wants to be a lot like you, and he wants to be around you as much as he can. You've got to be patient with him." Mac told him.
Don sighed, leaning against Mac.
"I know… sorry I made you angry." Don whispered.
"You didn't make me angry, I was just upset that you couldn't get along for a few minutes while your mother was out." Mac told him.
"If you guys are done, I'd love some help getting supper ready." Stella said, poking her head in.
Mac smiled at her, and pulled Don into a tighter hug.
"So, we're good?" Mac asked.
"Yeah, Dad. We're good now." Don smiled.
*
"Good night Sheldon." Mac said, tucking him into the bed across from the bunk bed Danny and Don were lying in.
"G'night Dad." Sheldon smiled, turning onto his side.
Mac moved to the other side of the room, climbing up the ladder to look in on Don.
"Hey. Sleep tight big guy." Mac smiled.
"Good night, Dad. I love you." He said.
"I love you too."
Mac got down and checked in on Danny, who was already sound asleep. He smiled to himself and pressed a kiss into his hair. Danny shifted and rolled onto his side, a smile etched onto his face.
Mac walked out of the room, meeting Stella in the hall, he smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her gently.
"You check in on the boys, I'll say good night to the girls and I'll meet you in the bedroom?" Mac suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Stella smiled, kissing him again before going to say good night to her boys.
Mac watched her go, and then went in to check on his girls. He sat down on Aiden's bed, running a hand through her now short hair.
"Why did she cut my hair too? It's not fair." She pouted.
Mac smiled.
"You cut Lindsay's hair, so your mom thought it was only fair to cut yours too. Besides, I think you look cute." He told her.
"Thanks, Dad." She smiled, wrapping her arms around her Dad's neck, giving him a squeeze.
"Good night, Dad. See you in the morning."
"Good night, sweetie."
When he went to check on Lindsay, she was humming some tune, and waiting for him.
"Hi Daddy." She smiled.
"Hello, Lindsay. You're all ready for bed?" He asked.
"Yup. Are you gonna make pancakes for breakfast tomorrow?" She asked.
"I can if you'd like some."
"Yes please. G'night, Daddy I love you." She smiled, closing her eyes.
"I love you too, baby." He tucked her in and closed the door behind him.
They met in their bedroom, as planned and they got into bed, rolling towards each other.
"Aiden's angry that you cut her hair off." Mac said.
"Sheldon says you owe him a game of Operation." Stella smiled.
Mac laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"I can't believe we have five kids… life couldn't get any better." Mac sighed, resting his head on top of hers.
"It could…" Stella said.
"Oh?"
"I'm pregnant."
END