"No I want to help grandma" She hears Jacob say on the other side of her
"Well why don't we take a break from doing laundry and take this breakfast up to your daddy and see if he's awake" Annie says bending down to them
"Okay" They both say as they go back over to the kitchen counter as Annie walks behind them
"I'll get the tray" Annie says as she gets some juice out of the fridge as she looks at the two "and you can see if he's awake" She says as they take off up the stairs
Meanwhile upstairs Matt is facing away from the door half under the covers as Jenny and Jacob run through the door "Daddy are you awake" John says jumping on the bed as Jacob gets on the other side
"I am now" Matt says slowly as he rolls onto his back with a bewildered look on his face "What's going on are y'all okay" he says trying to wake up further
"I thought I told you to see if he was awake, not to wake him up" Annie says as she walks in the room seeing the look on Matt's face
"John did ask me if I was awake" Matt says as he rubs his eyes as he still lays on the pillow "as they jumped on the bed waking me up"
"We made you breakfast" Jacob says as Matt starts to sit up more as Annie sits the tray down in front
"Oh well it looks great" Matt says looking at the tray "What happened here?" He says holding up a piece of toast with a bite took out of it
"I got hungry" Jacob says looking up at Matt as Matt smiles and rubs his head
"Grandma helped too and Mommy before she left for work" John says as he looks up at Matt "She had a breakfast sandwich"
"Huh good to know" Matt says as he looks at her
As they continue to talk Sarah comes bursting back in the room frantic as she searchs around the room
"Hi Mommy" Jacob says as him and John look at Sarah
"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Matt says as he gives her a look as she continues to look around the room
"Hey babies" She says looking at Jacob and John "And yes I'm supposed to be but I forgot my"
"Oh that's down on the table in the living room" Annie says before Sarah can finish what she's saying
"Thanks mom" Sarah says as she runs back out of the room as she goes back down the stairs
"How do you do that grandma?" John says turning to look at Annie
"Yea that's what I would like to know" Matt says as he takes another bite of food
"It comes over time" Annie says looking at the three of them "I think it had kicked in by the time your daddy was about your age, and I've had plenty of practice"
"Jackson, would you just relax" Ruthie says as she stands outside of the back door of the house standing across from a guy with wavy blond hair
"I'm trying too" Jackson says as he looks back at her "Exacly what did you tell your family again" he says looking back at her
"I just told them I was coming home for the long weekend and that I was bringing a surprise" Ruthie says looking at him "don't worry their going to love you"
"And how do you know that" Jackson says as he looks at her
"Because I love you" Ruthie says as she leans in to give him a kiss as the back door opens and Sarah comes out
"Hey Sarah" Ruthie says excitedly as she is took off guard "this is my" she begins to say
"Hi Ruthie" Sarah says quickly giving her a hug "I'm late for work, we'll catch up tonight" she says before rushing across the yard
"Well if their all like that then I don't think I have to much to worry about" Jackson says as he looks back at her
"That was my sister-in-law Sarah, she's my brother Matt's wife and believe me she'll have just as many questions as the rest" Ruthie says as she looks at him "them and their three year old twins John and Jacob are staying with my parents right now while their closing on their house next door" she says looking at him "their both doctors, Sarah's a peditrician and Matt's an OB-GYN"
"Maybe they can give Madison some pointers for medical school" Jackson says as he looks at her "Is there anything else I should know before we go in"
"Well my sister Lucy and her husband Kevin live on the other side of my parents , Lucy is the associate pastor at my dad's church and Kevin's the chief of police" Ruthie says looking at him "And then they have two kids Savannah is six, and then Michael is two"
"Oh that makes me feel much more secure about meeting them, with one of them being a police officer" he says sarcastically to her "And that only two of your siblings, I should probably have a refresher on all of them"
"Well I did forget that mom said Mary and Carlos are coming over for dinner tonight too" Ruthie says looking at him "Mary's my oldest sister and she teachs and coachs the girls basketball team at the local high school and her husband Carlos works from home for an advertising company" she says looking at him "And then their kids are Charlie and twin girls Jessica and Emily, the girls are four and Charlie is seven"
"There's still three more isn't there" Jackson says as he smiles at her
"Yes, while I'm not sure if they'll be back for dinner tonight there's my brother Simon and as of three months ago my sister-in-law Rachel but they just now got around to going on a trip for their honeymoon" Ruthie says continuing to look at Jackson "Simon's in sales management for a company so he travels alot and Rachel is a writer" she says continuing "And then my youngest brothers are twins, Sam and David, and their in the 6th grade"
"Exactly how big are your brothers" Jackson says as Ruthie gives him a look
"Just take a deep breath" Ruthie says as she gets ready to open the door "It's going to be fine" she says as they enter the kitchen "I'll get us some juice before we find the others" she says as she opens the fridge as Jackson sits down at the table
As she is pouring the juice Savannah comes through the door "Aunt Ruthie where is Aunt Sarah at"
"She's at work" Ruthie says as she bends down
"Then where's Uncle Matt?" Savannah says as she seems to be in a panic
"He might still be asleep" Ruthie says continuing to look at Savannah "Mom said he came off an eighteen hour shift at midnight last night, is there anything I can help you with?"
"No I need a doctor" Savannah says looking at her "Mommy needs to make sure how much medicine to give Michael for his cold"
"Just read the back of the bottle" Ruthie says as she looks at Savannah "I think your mommy is just having her normal freak out because Michael is sick" she says as she continues looking at her "And if that's not the case then I'm sure you can call the pediactrics office and talk to Aunt Sarah"
"Okay thanks Aunt Ruthie" Savannah says giving her a hug "Who's this?" she says looking at Jackson
"Savannah this is my boyfriend Jackson" Ruthie says as she smiles at Savannah
"You are very cute Savannah" Jackson says as he smiles at her "Your Aunt Ruthie talks about you and your brother and cousins all the time"
"Is this the suprise?" Savannah says as she looks at Jackson and then back at Ruthie
"Yes it is but can you keep this a secert between you and me for right now" Ruthie says as she continues to bend down to Savannah
"Yep I'm good at keeping secrets" Savannah says looking at her "I better get back to mommy"
"Okay I'll see you later kiddo" She says as she kisses Savannah on the head before she runs back out the door
"That probably brought us at least half an hour" Ruthie says as Savannah runs back out the door
"What you don't think she can keep a secret?" Jackson says as he looks at Ruthie
"You have a six year old sister what do you think?" Ruthie says as they walk over to the bottom of the stairs
"Yea a half hour sounds about right" Jackson says nodding his head agreeing with her
"Oh and one more thing before we go up there" Ruthie says before the climb the stairs "It's just a little thing,
my family is well meaning but their crazy"
"Ruthie, I have six brothers and sisters and my dad's a prodisent minister too" Jackson says looking at her "I'm sure mine's crazier"
"We'll see" Ruthie says as they start to head up the stairs "I don't know where everyone is" she says as the reach the top of the stairs
"I can get it by myself" John says running out into the hallway with an empty glass as he turns to see Ruthie and Jackson "Aunt Ruthie!" he says excitedly as she burst down he hall into Ruthies opened arms
"Hi Munchkin" Ruthie says as she picks him up in a hug as she gives him a kiss on the cheek "What can you get on your own?"
"Daddy wanted some more juice" John says looking at Ruthie "But I'm a big boy and I can get it"
"You sure are" Ruthie says as she smiles at John "you've grown since I saw you at Christmas, where's your daddy at?"
"He's in his and mommy's room with Grandma and Jacob" John says as he looks at her "Hello" he says as she gives Jackson a look
"I'm guessing your John or Jacob" Jackson says as he looks at her "I'm your Aunt Ruthie's boyfriend"
"I'm John" John says as he continues to look at him "I need to get daddy's juice" he says as Ruthie sets him back down "Just try not to spill it everywhere" she says as they walk on toward Sarah and Matt's room
"Well the little one's seem nice" Jackson says as he looks at her
"You haven't met the adults yet" Ruthie says looking at him "come on let's get started" she says as she pulls him down the hall behind her
"So what is this suprise anyway" Matt says as Jacob is sitting on his lap eating a piece of toast
"I don't know she just said she had a suprise for this weekend" Annie says as she looks at him
"Well I wonder what she is going to think of our surprise" Matt says as he gives her a look
"Are you talking about the baby again?" Jacob says as he looks at them as Matt and Annie give him a look
"Don't say that to Aunt Ruthie till mommy gets home tonight" Matt says as he looks at him "When were all together, it's been a mircle that we've been able to keep it a secert since everyone else knows it"
"Well I personaly don't care what her surprise is" Annie says looking at her "I just can't wait to see her, she's been studying abroad in england for the past three months"
"So here's where the party is at" Ruthie says as she pokes her head into the doorway
"Ah welcome home" Annie says grinning as she goes over and gives Ruthie a hug as Matt gets up as he sits Jacob on the floor who takes off to Ruthie
"Hey Aunt Ruthie" Jacob as he runs up to her as he hugs her leg
"Hello" Ruthie says smiling at him "Have you and your brother been good while I was away, I already ran into John in the hallway"
"Are they ever good" Matt says as he walks over to give Ruthie a hug "good to have you back little sis" he says before hearing his cell phone go off as he goes to answer it
"So what is your suprise?" Jacob says looking up at her
"Come on in" Ruthie says looking back out the door as Jackson comes through the door "this is my boyfriend Jackson" she says looking at her mom and with a nervous grin as Annie looks at her and Matt looks up from his phone call
"I have to go to the hospital" Matt says as he hangs up the phone "Another doctor called in, I have to fill in" Matt says as he grabs some clothes out of the closet "Don't worry there will be questions when I get home" he says looking at Ruthie and Jackson as he heads out of the room
"How did she meet him?" Lucy says later that night as her and Rachel come back in from setting the dining room table as Kevin and Simon are helping Annie finish dinner "She's been in England for the past three months"
"Apperently he was part of the study abroad program with her" Annie says looking at her "His family lives about half an hour from here"
"How does this look?" Sarah comes down the stairs as she turns around in a circle
"You look pretty mommy" John says as him and Jacob turn around from where they are sitting at the kitchen table with Eric
"Yea really pretty" Jacob adds as they look at her
"Well thank you, but does it cover up my bump some" she says as Mary and Carlos come into the kitchen with Charlie, Jessica and Emily running in front of them
"Your five months pregent" Mary says overhearing her "I think it's going to be hard to hide your bump at this point"
"Well if Matt was here I wouldn't even be having to hide it" Sarah says looking at her "The plan was to tell her as soon as I got home"
"Come on" Lucy says walking over to Sarah "I'll see if I can help you find something" she says as they head back up the stairs
David comes running down the stairs followed by Sam "We finally got our papers done" he says as he walks over to the fridge
"The beast of a paper" Sam says as he sits down at the table with the boys and Eric
"So who is this guy with Ruthie?" David walking back over to his mom
"What guy?" Mary says as she also walks over to her mom
"You know what I'm tired of explaining all of this, Ruthie will explain everything" Annie says looking at them
"Not sure what's going on with Ruthie, but something smells great" Carlos says as he walks over to join them
"I made chili and corn bread for dinner, one of Ruthie's faviortes" Annie says as she smiles at him "And it is almost ready if someone wants to go spread the word"
Later everyone is sitting at the table as they are firing questions at Jackson, as Jackson begins to answer a question Matt comes running into the dining room wearing scrubs as he takes a seat between Sarah and Jacob "Sorry it took me so long" he says looking at them "I got ready to leave and then a woman came in and I had to do an emergency c-section" he says as Sarah puts a bowl of chili in front of him as he takes a bite of it
"Well as I was saying my parents are Don and Cathrine, and my dad has been the minister at a small community church in our neighborhood for most of my life" Jackson says as he continues once everythings settled back down "And I'm the second oldest of seven kids"
"Wow, same as us so your used to a big family" Eric says as he looks at him
"yes sir" Jackson says as he looks at him "It doesn't get much crazier then my family"
"Are we taking bets on that" Simon says as everyone else at the table turns to look at him as he takes a bite of chili
"My oldest sister Madison is 24 and in medical school wanting to be a neurologist, then i'm next at 21, Anna is 17, Daniel is 12, Michelle is 9, Erica is 6 and my youngest sister Claire is 3"
"I can't even imagine having five sisters, I thought three was bad" Simon says as Mary, Lucy and Ruthie all look at him
"Your just full of comments tonight aren't you" Rachel says as she turns to look at him
"You tell him Rachel" Mary says turning to Rachel who is sitting beside her as Simon looks at Matt who looks up from his bowl
"I'm not helping you to dig any kind of hole, I'm starving" Matt says looking at him before going back to eating some more food
"Well the way I look at it" Jackson says looking at them "Madison is out of the house now, so one down and four to go"
"Maybe you are one of us" Matt says as he looks at him as Sarah gives him a look
"dig, dig, dig" Sarah says to him before turning back around to look at Jackson "So what medical school does your sister go to?"
"She goes to Columbia in New York" Jackson says looking at her before taking another bite of food
"That's where Matt and I went to medical school" Sarah says looking at him while Matt eats some more "She's going to have fun with some of the professors, there was the one that made Matt cry buckets trying to study for the class"
"I wasn't crying because of the professor, it was allergy season" Matt says as he looks at her
"Yea except for the fact that you don't have allergies" Sarah says looking over at him "Come to think of it we went to school with someone who was studying to be a neurologist, I think he was on rotations with us"
"Oh yea I think I remember that guy, he made my stress level look like nothing" Matt says as he looks at her and then at Jackson
"That sounds about right" Jackson says looking at them "She actually just began her rotations a couple days ago, I don't think she's to crazy over the doctor that she's under"
"It isn't" Matt says before he looks up at Sarah
"Who is the doctor that's heading her rotations?" Sarah says looking back at Jackson
"I think she said his name was " Jackson says as Matt and Sarah both look back down at their chili "I take it that you know him"
"Yea him and Matt didn't hit it off so well" Sarah says as she looks at Matt "Well that's putting it lightly"
"This has been great but we better get going" Ruthie says as she looks at her watch before looking at Jackson
"Oh wow, yea I didn't know it was getting this late, just got into talking and" he says as they get up from the table "I'm sorry but I have to get home, I promised Claire I would read her bedtime story to her tonight now that I'm home" he says as they are walking out of the dining room "Dinner was delicious and Reverand Camdan, and it was great meeting all of you"
"Wait what about our surprise?" John says as he looks at Matt
"Yea about our little sister" Jacob says as he sits on the other side of Sarah and Matt look at each other before looking at the boys
"What are you talking about?" Ruthie says as she looks at everybody at the table
