Author's Note: This is a small excerpt from a Chameron fanfic I wrote a few years ago. It's not perfect but if you guys like it, I'll continue writing and editing it! Don't forget to review! :)
The Chase's backyard was flooded with multiple kindergarteners running in every which direction. Cameron frantically scanned over the swell of kids for Gracie, her little birthday girl, all the while carrying the tray of hot dogs to Chase at the grill, narrowly missing tripping over a bouncy ball that rolled in her path. Her eyes finally settled on Gracie happily playing jump rope over by the tree house. She sighed content and handed Chase the tray.
"Hi honey." Chase turned to kiss her on the cheek.
"Hi," she breathed. "How's everything going over here?"
"Great. Wilson's making sure House is under control, Thirteen somehow got Foreman to do face painting and I," he said studiously flipping a hamburger, "am manning the grill like a champ."
Cameron chuckled at Chase's show of male bravado. "Okay honey when you're finished grilling hamburgers 'like a champ' you can cook up some of these hot dogs for the kids."
"On it." Chase watched Foreman struggle to paint a simple star on a girl's cheek. "How Foreman ever passed pre-k, I'll never know," he chuckled. Before Cameron could open her mouth to reply, a small set of arms wrapped around her leg.
"Mummy, when can I open my presents?" It was the unmistakable voice of Gracelyn Parker Chase. A hint of Chase's Australian accent had managed to crawl into some of Gracie's words. She had inherited her mother's delicate features mixed with her father's wavy golden hair and crystal blue eyes. Somewhere in the crowd was eight year old Simon, a spitting image of Chase.
"In a little while, you guys are gonna eat and then we can open presents." Gracie looked up at her mother, eyes growing wider begging to open the presents now. Cameron sighed, puppy eyes were her weakness. "How about," she said turning around and picking Gracie up, "I let you open one present early?"
"Okay!" Gracie wriggled out of Cameron's arm and scampered toward the pile of presents across the deck.
"Slow down there princess." Cameron caught Gracie. "I have a very special present for you inside."
The Chase's house was a nice size. The house opened with a hallway. Directly to the left was a kitchen that overlooked the backyard. There was plenty of counter space, cupboards, and room for a small table. In the opposite direction of the kitchen were a closet, guest bedroom, utility room, and a staircase leading upstairs. If going straight instead of left or right was a dining room and living room complete with a couch and TV. To the right of the living room was a den with a piano, pullout couch, and a bathroom. The living room also connected to a big backyard enclosed by a tall fence. In the yard were a tree house, garden space for Cameron, and plenty of space to run around.
Upstairs, was the master bedroom and bathroom, also known as mom and dad's room. There were also the two kids' rooms, an extra bathroom and a playroom. At the top of the stairs, was a window that opened up over the living room and dining room. Claire's room was buttercup yellow and Simon's room was blue
Curious, Gracie followed her through the deck's sliding glass doors into the house and to the living room. She sat down on the couch as Cameron handed her a pink gift bag. Gracie was practically bouncing up and down as she opened it. Buried under the sparkly pink and purple tissue paper was an equally sparkly pink gymnastics leotard.
Chase made his way into the living room, leaning against the doorway smiling as Gracie slowly uncovered what the leotard meant. "You're gonna let me do gymnastics?" she asked excitedly.
"We signed you up and everything." Gracie jumped up and hugged her mother and then her dad.
"Thank you!" She had been talking about doing gymnastics ever since Chase mistakenly let Gracie wonder through the local YMAC next to Backer's Gymnastics while he went to pick up his gym bag.
"Dad, we're hungry." Simon stood in the doorway with two of his friends from school.
Chase kissed Gracie on the top of her head. "Happy Birthday." He looked up at the boys. "Hot dogs coming right up."
Cameron lay in bed absent-mindedly stroking Gracie's hair as she slept soundly as she watched Barbie in the Nutcracker for the third time this week. She could have sworn she could recite every line in the movie and she knew very well that Gracie could too.
"So what do you think?" Chase's voice snapped her back to reality.
"Sorry what?"
"I asked if you wanted to help me pick the new curtain drapes you wanted to get for the dining room tomorrow, but if you're not-"
"No I'm fine. I'm just thinking…" Her eyes wondered down to a sleeping Gracie. "She's five Robert." Her voice shook a little. Robert sighed smiling and climbed into bed next to Cameron, careful not to disturb Gracie.
"Remember when we first showed Simon Gracie when she was born and he freaked out and thought she was an alien?"
Cameron scoffed. "Yes and it took us an entire week to convince him she wasn't. He gets that crazy imagination from you, you know."
"He did make a pretty logic argument." Cameron raised her eyebrows amused. "Okay as logic as a three year old could make."
She laughed lightly remembering Simon defiantly standing on the hospital room chair warning her that Gracie was an alien.
"She's still tiny," commented Chase looking at the small set of fingers that were tightly fisted in Cameron's hair and the other hand's thumb was in her mouth.
Cameron smiled. "Should we move her back to her own room?"
"Without watching the end of the movie, I don't know how it ends," he silent exclaimed sarcastically.
"Very funny." She shifted careful not to wake Gracie and gently pried Gracie's hand from her hair. "I'm going to lose all of my hair by the end of the year." She picked her up and carried her down the hall to her room. Gracie's room looked like it came out of a Babies' R US magazine with its Winnie the Pooh theme. She successfully placed Gracie down on her bed and tucked her in without waking her up. "Goodnight."
Both Chase and Cameron were heavy sleepers which came in handy when needing to sleep through the years loudest thunderstorm, but terribly inconvenient for the kids. It didn't matter how many times Simon and Gracie poked and prodded at them, they wouldn't budge. It wasn't until they ran and jumped on the bed that Chase and Cameron woke up. Cameron inhaled sharply as an elbow collided with her rib. Chase snuck a peak at the clock on the nightstand. It had just turned six o'clock.
"Dad wake up!" Chase looked at Simon. His hair stuck out in all directions with his bangs covering his baby green blue eyes.
He sat up and ruffled Simon's hair. "Hi kiddo." Cameron sat up and pulled Simon on to her lap. "You need a haircut."
"Next weekend," stated Simon.
Gracie crawled off the bed. "Daddy will you make pancakes?"
"How about in a little bit?" Gracie made a face. "But I'm hungry now."
"Come on, I'll get you some Cheerios now and then Dad can make pancakes for brunch later," compromised Cameron.
"Okay." She followed Cameron downstairs and into the kitchen. Gracie's 'Happy Birthday' banner was still strung across the doorway and opened presents were scattered over the kitchen table.
Cameron let out a heavy sigh as she gathered up the presents and moved them into the other room. She wasn't much of a morning person.
Gracie sat eagerly at the table waiting. Cameron set a bowl of Cheerios and a glass of apple juice in front of Gracie. "Thanks."
Simon dashed through the kitchen and out onto the deck, almost running through the screen in the process. "Whoa, what's the rush?" Chase followed.
"There's an eagle on the tree house," he explained.
"I want to see!" Gracie jumped up and rushed out to the deck. "Where is it?"
"Right there," whispered Simon pointing up to the tree house. Sure enough an eagle sat on the top of the tree house. "Mom look." Cameron came out onto the deck.
"Pretty cool. Would you like some Cheerios too or do you want to wait 'til pancakes?"
Simon looked up at Cameron threw a canopy of bangs. "I can wait." She brushed his bangs out of his face. "I'm sorry but you're getting a haircut today."
Simon sighed heavily. "Mom." He looked at Chase desperately. "Tell her I don't need a haircut."
"Sorry buddy but the reign of floppy golden hair is over." Simon frowned. "If it makes you feel any better your mom made me cut my hair too. If you ask me the ladies love the short hair."
"Girls are gross," stated Simon matter-of-factly. Cameron patted Simon on the shoulder reassuringly. "You'll survive."
"Girls aren't gross Simon," growled Gracie. Cameron picked up Gracie. "You're fine," she said walking back into the kitchen. She placed her back in her chair. "Mommy girls aren't gross."
Cameron smiled slightly at Gracie's stubbornness. "I know Gracie, he just said that because he doesn't want to get a haircut."
"Well he looks like a girl with that hair anyways," she said raising her voice loud enough so that Simon could hear her.
"Hey, Cheerios, eat." She said moving Gracie's bowl closer to her. Gracie turned to her Cheerios.
Cameron took the spare moment to get changed for the day. She slipped on a pair of jean shorts and black tank top. "Good choice."
She turned around to see Chase standing in the doorway admiring the view. He crossed the room and came up behind Cameron wrapping his arms around her waist. "Robert."
"What?"
"For starters, the kids are downstairs, I just changed and you need to take a shower."
"Care to take a shower baby?" he asked innocently.
Cameron swiveled around in his arms and kissed him. "Go take a shower." She ran her hands through his hair and went downstairs.
The glass of apple juice was spilled across the table, a splash of Cheerios and milk dotted the floor and Simon and Gracie were still arguing over whether or not girls were gross.
"Hey, you two knock it off." She picked up the glass and put it in the sink.
"She started it," mumbled Simon. Cameron gave him a stern look. "Go get changed." Simon brushed pass Gracie and went upstairs. Gracie brought her bowl over to Cameron by the sink. "Thank you."
Simon wriggled anxiously in his chair waiting for the barber to be finished with his current client. "Relax," soothed Chase.
"I'm not nervous Dad; I just don't want to do it."
"I'll make you a deal. If you get this haircut, we can have a boys' afternoon, no girls." Simon smiled. "It's a deal."
It was close to three o'clock when Chase and Simon came back home. Gracie sat happily on the living room floor playing with the new set of ponies she had received for her birthday while Cameron sat at the computer working.
"We're home!"
"In the living room!"
"Go show Mum your new haircut," said Chase taking off his baseball hat and placed it on Simon's head. Simon excitedly kicked off his shoes and went into the living room.
"Hi Mum." He sat on her lap.
"Hi kiddo. How was your day?"
"Good. Wanna see my hair?"
"Of course." She took off his hat. A small shriek escaped her lips. True it was cut short like she had asked for but down the middle of his head was an unmistakable Mohawk. Along the sides were a few faint simple designs. Gracie's head shoot up to see what Cameron was fussing over. "Wow, cool!"
Cameron lifted Simon off her lap and got up. "Robert Michael Chase!" She stormed into the kitchen. He put down the newspaper he was reading.
"What?" he asked innocently. "What?" mocked Cameron. "Would you like to explain your son's hair?"
"He got his hair cut, what's the big deal?"
"Big deal? What's the big deal? The big deal is that our son has a Mohawk!"
"You wanted him to get a haircut; he got a haircut he liked," he chuckled. Cameron raised her eyebrows and tapped her foot impatiently.
"Relax Allison, it's a haircut."
Cameron sighed exasperated rolling her eyes. "Tomorrow you are going back and getting it fixed."
"Aw come on he looks cute with it, plus he likes it."
"He also likes soda, should we let him drink the whole bottle?" asked Cameron sarcastically. The phone rang. She moved to answer the phone. "He's not keeping it," she firmly stated before answering it. "Hello?"
Chase smiled shaking his head and went into the living room. "Mum didn't like it?" asked Simon.
"No, she just needs some time to get use to it. You're looking pretty cool." He gave Simon a high five. "Awesome. Can we go to the skate park so I can show off my new hair?"
"Yeah, put your shoes on and we can go. Gracie, do you wanna come?"
"My ponies don't like the skate park," stated Gracie matter-of-factly.
Chase chuckled at his daughter's factual perception of the world, something she definitely got from his wife. And with that the two boys were off.