A/N: Tim tells his children a story to try to get them to sleep. Almost everyone is present in this tale, but what's unusual about them, they are all birds living in a large tree with a bat.

Bird Song

Part 1

"Got you!" Ethan said as he hit his older sister from behind.

"Ah! No fair," Narissa said. "You're not supposed to sneak up behind."

"All's fair in a pillow fight," Caleb said. "OW! Aimee, you're supposed to use a pillow!"

"This is a pillow, it's from the couch."

"She's got you with that one," Caine said, and he was promptly hit across the face and knocked to the floor.

Tim watched his children from the doorframe. "All right kids, let's settle down."

"Where's Mom?" Aimee whined.

"Your mother is at the school getting everything ready for her first day. And I've got to go patrol. It's time to get some sleep."

"We're not sleepy," Ethan complained as he rubbed his eyes.

"I can see that," Tim smiled. "How about I read you a bedtime story." Tim went over to a bookcase and grabbed a thick book from one of the shelves. It was a collection of bedtime stories.

"We've read all those stories," Narissa said.

"How about you tell us one with you and Uncle Dick?" Aimee suggested.

"One of his Dream Weaver stories?" Tim questioned.

"Yeah," Five of his six children stated. Meis didn't say anything, but nodded his head as he sucked on a thumb.

"Okay," Tim said. "But you've got to go right to sleep once I'm done."

"Okay," they all said in unison.

Tim moved over to the old blue rocking chair and sat down and thought for a moment. "Okay, I have one. Once upon a time, there was a very large oak tree in the middle of a huge forest. Beyond the forest was a large house . . . "

"I bet it's the Manor," Caleb popped up.

"Shhh," Aimee said. "I want to hear about what's in the oak tree."

Tim waited for his children to settle down again before an argument ensued then started the introduction of the story again. "Now, in that oak tree lived several different kinds of birds, which they called The Life Tree. These birds were very special. To the human eye they looked the same as any other bird, but what was unique about them is that they all lived peacefully together in this tree. Robins, Blue Jays, Sparrows, each bird had something special about them, a marking that was seen only by the full moon."

"What kind of markings?" Caleb asked.

"You'll learn all about it," Tim paused in his narrative for just a moment. "See, this tree not only had nests in it, there was an old bird house as well. Now, no one knew who had placed it in there, but inside lived two birds."

"Who are the two birds?" Ethan asked.

"I know," said Caine. "I bet they're Mommy and Daddy!"

"You're half right," Tim stated.

"Half right?" Caleb questioned.

"He means that one of the birds has to be either Mommy or Daddy," Narissa said. "I bet It's Mommy."

"I bet it's Daddy," Aimee said. "Is it Daddy?"

"You're right Aimee, one of the birds is your Daddy," Tim confirmed.

"Then who's the other bird?" Caine asked.

"Unca, Dick," Meis suddenly said. The other children looked at their youngest brother. He rarely spoke. Some of Tim's children were starting to believe that Meis had no voice.

"Is it Uncle Dick?" Caleb asked. "So, the birds are brothers."

Tim gave a smile and a nod to his children.

"What are they doing in a bird house?" Narissa questioned. "I thought they were living in a nest."

"There is a reason they are living in the bird house, but if you let me tell you more of the story, we can learn that."

"Okay," the children stated, then settled down to listen once more.

"Now, on this day, the little fledging, who's name is Timoti, opened his eyes to see a circle of light. It was the opening to the outside. A patch of blue sky could also be seen. As the wind blew, a branch of the oak tree swayed across the opening. Now, Timoti longed to go outside, but then a large shape blocked his path . . . "

Continues with Part 2: Learning to Fly