When the entire gang made their way back to Pittsburg, Debbie made sure everyone came over every week for dinner. They all loved it because their lives were busy. It gave them a reason to stay in contact with each other while simultaneously relaxing at the same time and Debbie loved it because she hated how far spread her kids had managed to get for the few years where they had their own lives. It also gave her a reason to see all of her grandchildren, which she loved. That night Madeline, Brian and Justin's little girl, had wondered over to Debbie, who was sitting on the couch, cuddled close to Carl. Madeline pulled herself up and crawled into Debbie's lap, sleep evident in her face. Just as she comfortably rested her head against her grandmother's chest, Justin plopped himself down next to Debbie. He couldn't help but to laugh at the site of his daughter laying in Debbie's lap.
"You look happy, Maddie," he said as he affectionately rubbed a four-year-old Madeline's back. Madeline smiled sleepily at her father.
"Grammy's comfortable," she replied. Debbie, Carl and Justin all laughed, not expecting that answer. "What?" she asked. She then moved away from Debbie's body, looked down her grandmother's shirt. She then moved around on Debbie's lap so she was facing her father and leaned over so she could look down Justin's shirt before saying, "Her boobies are bigger then yours, Daddy. That's why," she said as she moved around again and relaxed back into Debbie's body. All three of them started laughing even harder, again not expecting that answer. Madeline sheepishly smiled when they laughed at the answer. When the laughter died down, Carl looked down at his wife with a shit eating grin, knowing he was about to embarrass her. They had a long running tradition of trying to out embarrass each other.
"I think she's going somewhere with that, Deb," he said. Without thinking, Debbie elbowed Carl in the gut while Justin covered his ears.
"I don't want to hear this," he said. Debbie just rolled her eyes at both Justin and Carl as she started to rub Madeline's back, taking up where Justin had left off.
"What are we going to do with these boys, Mads?" Debbie asked.
"Send them to Mars," Madeline replied sleepily, her eyes drooping from the heat radiating from her grandmother and the comfort she felt from Debbie rubbing her back.
"I think that's a good idea," Debbie said as she kissed Madeline's head affectionately. It was Justin's turn to roll her eyes.
"I think it's time to take her home," he said. "She looks like she's about to fall asleep."
"Why don't you keep her here for the night and you and Brian can have a night to yourselves," Debbie said. Justin looked at Debbie. He and Brian hadn't had a night to themselves in a while and he was seriously thinking about taking Debbie up on her offer.
"Is that okay?" Justin asked. Debbie just looked at him, her expression saying everything.
"I want Liv to stay too," Madeline said as she sleepily lifted her head up from Debbie's chest. Olivia, Ted and Blake's little girl, was close in age to Madeline and they were inseparable.
"She can stay if her Daddies let her, sweetheart," Debbie replied with a smile on her face.
"Thank you, Ma," Justin said. He leaned over, kissed her affectionately on the cheek and then stood up, gathering Brian and their stuff up to leave. They said their goodbyes and then left. Blake and Ted agreed to a night to themselves and also left close behind Brian and Kinney, followed by the rest of the family. All that was left was Debbie, Carl and the girls. Olivia had managed to pull herself up onto the couch and sit right in between her grandparents.
"I think it's time to get these two to bed," Carl said, his voice quiet. Debbie nodded her head and stood up, placing Madeline on her hip. Carl followed suit, also putting Olivia on his hip. When they made it up the stairs, they walked into Michael's old room and put both sleeping girls into the bed before tucking them in and making their way to the master bedroom.
"I know you were a little freaked out about how many people were apart of this family, but it's nice having so many grandkids, huh, Guppy?" Debbie asked Carl in the bedroom. She stood on her tippy toes and kissed him. Carl couldn't help but to laugh as he kissed his wife back because both granddaughters that were in Michael's room had him wrapped around their little fingers. They were his first grandchildren he had watched grow up from the minute they became apart of the Novotny clan. Sure he watched Gus, JR and Hunter grow up, but it wasn't quite the same because he became apart of the family after they had. He also had his son's grandkids, but he never saw them. Debbie smiled up at Carl as he nodded his head.
"Yeah, I suppose so," he said as Debbie turned around and changed into one of Carl's shirts. She had long stopped wearing pajamas to bed. All she wore now was Carl's shirts, which looked like a dress on her because of the height difference. Carl watched on as he also changed into his pajamas. "How is it you make those look better then I do?" he asked as he crawled into bed, Debbie following close behind. Debbie rolled her eyes and curled up next to Carl. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close before planting a soft, affectionate kiss on her head. "I love you, Red," he said softly. Debbie had long stopped wearing her red wig, but the nickname stuck from when she would wear it.
"I love you too," she said as nuzzled Carl's chest. The day was finally starting to catch up with her and she fell asleep within a few minutes, Carl following close behind.
Two hours passed before Debbie was woken up by the weight of two little bodies climbing up on the bed. Olivia crawled in between Carl and Debbie, much like she had done earlier that night, and Madeline made her way to Debbie's side of the bed before cuddling into her body. Debbie moved around on the bed so she was resting against the headboard. "What's the matter, you two?" she sleepily asked her granddaughters, who had scrambled next to Debbie's body when she was sitting up right.
"We heard a noise," Olivia replied. Madeline nodded her head in agreement.
"It was loud, Grammy," Madeline added. Both girls looked tired and were struggling to keep their eyes open. "Can you make sure there's no monsters?" she asked. Debbie smiled to herself. She missed when Michael was young and would come to her in the middle of the night when there was a loud noise, so it was nice having a bit of a flashback.
"Can Guppy check?" Olivia asked. All the grandchildren, and their parents, felt safer knowing that Carl was a former cop. Debbie softly laughed.
"Lets get Guppy up to check," Debbie said. All three women started to poke and prod Carl until he groaned, letting them know he was awake. He flipped over on the bed and looked at all three women.
"What's going on?" he asked. "Is there some girl pact that meets at two in the morning that I didn't know about?" Both four-year-old girls giggled sleepily as Debbie smiled at the sound of their laughter.
"We heard a noise in the room, Guppy," Olivia repeated for her grandfather.
"Yeah, we want you to check to make sure there are no monsters," Madeline added. Carl feigned terror at the thought of a monster being in Michael's old room.
"Well, we should go and make sure there aren't any monsters, shouldn't we?" he asked.
"I want to stay with Grammy while you go and check," Olivia said. Madeline, again, nodded her head in agreement. Carl laughed.
"Okay, I'll go and make sure there's no monsters," he said as he rolled out of bed and walked into Michael's room. He waited for a few minutes and then walked back into the room. "No monsters," he said to two girls who were still fighting sleep.
"It was probably just the house making noises," Debbie added. Both girls nodded their heads to what their grandparents were saying. "You two ready to go back to bed?" she asked. Both Olivia and Madeline's eyes flew open in fear. Even though they had listened to what Debbie and Carl said, they were still afraid that a monster might be hiding somewhere.
"Why don't you two sleep with us for the night?" Carl offered as he crawled into bed. He too remembered when his kids were little and they heard noises in the middle of the night. He didn't mind having two little bodies sleeping next to him. Granted, he was a heavy sleeper and didn't notice when they would toss around in their sleep. But Debbie, in all honesty, didn't mind either. Both girls nodded their heads in agreement enthusiastically. Olivia, without thinking twice, moved around in the bed and cuddled right into Carl's body. Debbie watched on and softly laughed before kissing her husband goodnight. Carl smiled and kissed Debbie back as she moved around in bed so she was lying down again, Madeline mirroring Olivia's actions. Debbie kissed Madeline's head affectionately when she heard Olivia say, quietly, "I love you, Guppy."
"I love you too, Ollie," Carl replied. Debbie couldn't help but to grin widely. When Carl looked over at her, he sheepishly grinned. Without saying anything, Debbie leaned over and kissed him again.
"I love you, Guppy," she echoed.
"I love you too, Grammy."