Stan and Ford's culinary skills were about the same level, so it really depended on who was in the mood to cook since neither really mind doing it but at times it could feel more like a chore than an actual need to survive. Since Stan had picked up the mail that morning and was reading his newspaper, Ford brewed the coffee and decided to make eggs and bacon to go with it. Hephzie came in, having just finished a shower and was dressed for work, and sat next to Stan, peeking at an article inside the newspaper, but not really interested enough to ask to borrow the paper.

Without being asked to, Ford slid a mug of hot coffee over to his wife and she thanked him for the beverage before sweetening it. After finishing Stan's over-easy eggs and greasy bacon, he placed the plate in front of the newspaper that shielded his twin and then Ford asked, "Would you like your eggs over-easy, my dear?"

Hephzie glanced over at Stan's breakfast and smiled, the sight making her crave just that. "Sounds great, thanks!"

Ford got to work and asked, "Is Carson up yet?"

"Nearly." Hephzie answered. "I gave him his clothes, but he looked ready to fall asleep again."

Ford chuckled and said, "I suppose it's not the end of the world if he sleeps in today."

"No, it's not." Hephzie agreed with a little bit of laughter in her voice.

Soon the rhythmic plump of Carson's crutches and then his own two feet echoed from the hallway as he approached. When he came into view, he wore the clothes Hephzie had washed for him and left folded at the foot of his bed. Carson smiled at the three adults, and soon Everest was seen by the boy's side. It seemed like the dog had made it his personal mission to watch over their guest. "G'morning." Carson said to the room as he slowly sat at the table.

The grown-ups replied and Hephzie ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Do you like eggs, Carson?" Ford asked over his shoulder.

The boy nodded.

"Well, how do you like them?"

"Um…" The boy seemed unsure how to answer, like he was unaware that there was more than one way to make eggs. "I like scrambled eggs?"

"I'll have it ready soon, then. How about bacon?"

"No, thank you."

"You're welcome."

The kitchen was quiet for a moment as Carson petted Everest's head, with the dog lying his head on the boy's lap, and then Carson asked Hephzie, "Has m… has my sister been born yet?"

Hephzie gave a soft smile. "Not yet. They're gonna call me right before she's born, n' once… we've got everythang taken care of, ya can come n' see her."

"Is she really gonna be born today?" Carson asked excitedly.

Hephzie knew that it was a bad thing for the baby to be born so early, but it was too hard not to smile over the boy's excitement. "It looks like that way, sweetheart."

"Yay!" Carson cheered and punched the air. "I'm so excited! I'm gonna braid her hair and teach her about space and play with her and help take care of her!"

Ford chuckled and commented from the stove, "Well, I'm sure your help will be most appreciated."

"Mom said that it'd be my job to look after her." The blond boy paused for a moment, doing some deep thinking, and then he looked up at Hephzie and added, "Will she ever wake up? You said that sometimes people don't ever wake up. Will she wake up?"

Hephzie blinked and bit her lip. Stan lowered his paper enough to give her and the boy a sympathetic look. Ford focused on the breakfast he was cooking a little more intensely.

The doctor with dreadlocks put a kind hand on the boy's shoulder and braced herself for just about the hardest thing she ever had to do. "Um… no, honey. I… I'm afraid that your ma won't ever wake up. She'll be able to give birth to the baby, but that'll be the last thang she ever does."

Carson's face dropped devastatingly. "She… she won't ever wake up?"

Hephzie shook her head. "Never ever. I'm so sorry, Carson."

Carson shook his head a little and then let it hang. "She wasn't around much, anyway. I knew it would only be me and my sister." Tears came up and he added with his voice cracking like glass, "We'll be okay." Carson tried to act like an adult and stop crying, but the tears escaped his eyes and so he shut his eyes tightly, but that only made the tears leave his eyes heavier.

Hephzie hugged the boy around his shoulders. That didn't seem good enough, so Hephzie gently pulled Carson up into her lap and he then grabbed her gray button-up and cried. Stan put his newspaper down and patted the Carson's back. Stan suddenly had an urge to call his own mother and remind her that he still cared about her. Ford quickly plated the eggs and bacon, but left the plate by the stove. He then stood behind Hephzie's chair and squeezed one of Carson's shoulders gently. The boy just cried into Hephzie's chest and held her tightly, being immersed in love and compassion unlike anything he had ever been through before, but then again, he had never been through pain like this before.

"W-W-What'll happen to m-me n' m-m-my s-sister?" Carson sobbed into Hephzie's chest. "Wh-Where w-will w-we go?"

"I don't know," Hephzie said honestly and gently lifted the boy's head up to look him in the eye by tucking a finger under his chin and lifting upward. "But I promise that whatever happens, you'll have your sister with ya through thick n' thin. Family sticks together."

"Cross your heart?" Carson requested.

Hephzie gave a watery smile and crossed her heart and then put up a hand of surrender. "Cross my heart."

Carson took in a few deep breaths and rested his head by Hephzie's heart. "O-Okay." He smiled at hearing the rhythm of Hephzie's vital organ. It felt nice. He smiled a little and nuzzled his face against her warm body.

Hephzie squeezed the boy tightly and smiled at being able to comfort him. She had told the truth; she would do everything in her power to make sure he and his sister were together. Ford gently squeezed Carson's shoulder and smiled at the scene before him. Carson peeked an eye open and freed a hand to grab one of Ford's. Once again, the polydactyl author waited for the boy to comment or ask about his extra finger, but he didn't; he only held Ford's hand for comfort. Ford smiled and squeezed Carson's little hand. Stan patted Carson's back and smiled while he watched his twin and his sister-in-law comfort the boy. He'd have to have a word with these two when he got the chance.

The phone rang, and all four heads turned to it. Hephzie carefully sat Carson back down in his seat and went to answer it. Ford sat Carson's breakfast in front of him and then poured the child a glass of orange juice.

"Hephzibah Pines speakin'. Are ya sure? No, I get it, I'm just checkin'. Okay, okay, I'll be there as soon as I can. Don't wait for me. I'll be there. Ya can count on me. See ya soon." Hephzie hung up and hurried back into the kitchen. She gulped down some coffee and said, "I have to go."

"I wanna come!" Carson said.

"No." Hephzie said firmly, but then elaborated more calmly as her husband handed her a plate of bacon and eggs and she forced herself to shove some hot eggs into her mouth while standing, "It take a lon' time 'or a baby t'b'born. I need y' t'stay here, but once she's born I'll call n' y'all c'come 'ee 'er."

"I'll be more than happy to drive him over there and stay as long as he'd like." Ford said as he cooked his own breakfast.

Hephzie drained her mug of coffee, crammed a bit more egg into her mouth, and struggled to say, "Th'nk y', hun. I gott'er go."

The doctor ran out of the kitchen, slipped on her jacket, checked that it held her wallet and keys, ran back into the kitchen, kissed Ford's lips goodbye, grabbed some bacon, and ran out the door. The motorcycle could be heard roaring like a lion and then getting quieter until it was gone.

While the men ate, Ford thought to himself of what Carson should do while at the house. From the sounds of it he was used to entertaining himself, but Ford wanted to do better than leave Carson alone and he couldn't go out and play with his broken leg. While Carson would probably be happy curled up on the couch and watching TV, Ford had a better idea. After breakfast, he went upstairs to the attic and later came back with a box full of children's books. He found Carson still at the kitchen table and said, "Here, buddy. I found some of my old books from when I was a boy. You can read them if you'd like."

Carson eyes widened and he plunged his hand into the box. "Wow, thank you, Ford! I love stories!"

Ford smiled and then moved to do the dishes since he cooked. Carson found a book full of colorful characters and opened it.

Stan closed and rolled up his newspaper, then stood up and declared, "Well, I'm gonna go play fetch with Lazy-Bones over here." He jabbed a thumb over at the Saint Bernard dog that was lying underneath the table, waiting for food to be dropped, and then Stan went into the living room to grab a ball. Once Everest heard that little squeak, he ran to Stan and followed him out the door to play.

Ford was washing the dishes, his baby-blue sleeves rolled up to his elbows, when he caught Carson out from the corner of his eye. The boy wasn't necessarily reading, but looking at the pictures of the book disappointingly. Ford had assumed the boy could read, but he was only four-years-old. When Ford was that young he could recall reading, but that was thanks to the fact that Shermie had taught his little brothers to read as soon as he could and Ford had a high IQ. Stan might have known his alphabet by then, but he surely couldn't read. And who would have taught Carson to read? Ford then recalled that Carson had said that he loved "stories" not "books" or "to read".

Ford stopped washing dishes, leaving the mugs and silverware to soak in soapy water, and he joined Carson at the table. "Carson, do you know what that says?" He asked and pointed to the title of the book Carson was looking at, admiring the dragon at the cover of the book.

The boy shook his head, not looking up at the man due to his shame.

"Would you like to know what it says?"

Carson nodded, still not meeting Ford's eyes.

"It says, 'My Mother's Dragon'." Ford hesitated, his first instinct being to teach the boy how to read, but he had a better idea. "Would you like me to read it to you?"

Carson smiled up at him from the corner of his eyes. "Yes, please."

Ford chuckled and gathered the box of old books. "Come on, let's go into the living room."

Carson nodded and slowly followed, walking with his broken right leg and two crutches. Ford led the way and sat on the couch, setting the box of books by his feet. He then patted the spot next to him on the couch and Carson slowly sat down. He leaned against Ford's chest, admiring how soft, warm, and comfortable he was, and he smiled when Ford opened My Mother's Dragon.

"Alright, let's gets started. 'One cold, rainy day, when my mother was a little girl, she met an old calico cat in an alleyway. The cat was very drippy and uncomfortable, so my mother said "Would you like to come home with me?"'" Carson giggled, for Ford had done a high-pitched voice for the mother's young voice, and so Ford was encouraged to do voices from now on. "'This surprised the cat. He had never met anyone who cared about old alley cats. So he said, "I'd be very much obliged if I could sit by a fire, and maybe have some warm milk." "I'm sure my father would give you some milk and let you rest by the fire." My mother had said.'"

Carson smiled at Ford's scratchy voice for the cat and the high-pitched voice for the mother, and snuggled closer to the narrator and listened to his story.

Meanwhile, Stan had completely forgotten that it had stormed last night and paid dearly for it. Oh, well. Everest was due for a bath, anyway. The Saint Bernard ran and splashed in the mud and got Stan a little muddy when he put his front paws up on his chest or when he made Stan fall back on his behind and into the wet grass. Stan laughed when licked by the dog and threw the ball as hard as he could. Eventually he decided that Everest could use a bath and then a nap, so he brought them in about half-an-hour after playing and quieted down when he heard his brother's voice.

While walking to the bathroom for Everest's bath, he saw Ford and Carson on the couch, enjoying one of Ford's old books. Stan smiled and shook his head as he walked on. He locked himself in the bathroom with Everest and gently commanded,

"Sit." Everest sat and stayed. Stan bent down and took off the dog's red collar. "I don't know what's wrong with your Ma and Pa, Everest. You're a good boy, but they need a kid of their own, ya know? They'd make great parents, so how come my only nephew is Shermie's boy?" Stan sat the collar by the sink and waved a hand to the tub. Everest obeyed and hopped in. The conartist turned the faucet on, turned on the shower-head, and unhooked it to use the shower like a hose and spray the dog until he was all wet. "I dunno, at first I thought they were waiting until Ford figured out his Weirdness theory or whatever, but it's done and over with. Bill's gone and Ford's book is being published right now, so what are they waiting for? Do they seriously think they won't make great parents? Cuz they're wrong."

Stan let the shower-head dangle so he could grab the bottle of dog-shampoo from under the sink. While Everest licked up the tape water, Stan squirted the soap on Everest's back and started to lather it into his thick fur. It was April so thank God Everest was done shedding, but he still had a good chunk of fur to wash out and now bugs were getting caught in his coat, like beetles, lady bugs, and other stuff, but the Pines were careful to give Everest plenty of baths to make sure he didn't get fleas or anything. Good thing Everest loved baths. In fact, he had a bad habit of falling asleep due to being so comfortable, so Stan had to make this bath quick since Everest's eyes were getting droopy from playing so rough and now getting a nice warm bath.

"Whatever. I get it, not everyone is in a rush to repopulate. If I didn't know Hephzie better I'd say she was sick of babies from work and didn't want to come home to one, but I do know her better and she'd love to have one of her own." Stan said and let his mind imagine a little baby being greeted by a tired but happy Hephzie, taking a bundle from Ford and hugging it gently. "Maybe Ford's worried he won't make a good dad, which is stupid cuz he'd make an awesome dad. Whatever. If those two can handle you and a one-eyed demon, they can handle their own kid." Stan started to work to slowly rinse Everest off and scratched him by the ears. "Good boy, Everest. Good boy."

Damp but mostly dry, Everest trotted out of the bathroom a few minutes later, happy and clean, and then sat on Carson's other side on the couch. Ford was still reading and Carson liked this story. Stan changed out of his muddy clothes and into new ones, slipping on shorts and a red Hawaiian shirt. He was getting a soda when the phone rang.

"I'll get it." He called so Ford could keep reading, but he paused and he and Carson listened. "Stan Pines. Hey, sis. So? Hey, that's great! Okay. Okay, got it. We'll be right over. Bye." Stan stepped up to the doorway and Ford closed the book. Stan gave a grin and crossed his arms over his chest. "Who wants to meet their new sister?"