A/N: Still don't own anything at all, just playing around which channel 5's characters! Warning: may contain CP in this chapter, not decided yet…
A/N 2: I am so sorry this took so long for an update, I've had it sitting here for a while but been too busy to upload it… Added some on the end to make up for this fact.
As he made his way round the store picking up various refreshments for the party that night alongside groceries, he was painfully aware of a few mothers and fathers with their children sneaking looks at his trolley full of crying children and saying to their children "That'll be you if you don't behave, stop carrying on…" amongst other things. A few parents give him approving looks while others looked affronted at the sight before them. Mac held his head high and ignored the looks, paying more attention to whether his kids were okay in the trolley he pushed.
Both boys were silent, aside from a few sniffles and tears and Mac could tell they were getting ready for a nap of some description. He leaned over and paused in his walking to ruffle both boys heads and murmur, "Hey guys, you're doing great. We're nearly done, just a little bit more and then we can go get some hot chocolates." The boys barely responded, aside from the slight brightening of their eyes glistening with tears. They arrived at the crisps and Mac picked up some Pom Bears for the boys and some Walkers sensations along with another nibbles before smiling at the kids. "Right, that's us. Now, because you've been so good for this bit of the trip, you can get a sweet. So, who wants a sweetie?" Both boys perked up almost immediately and Mac turned the trolley, leading them to the sweet aisle. "Okay, you can choose one each guys. I'm gonna let you out the trolley to choose, but if you so much as run off or disappear or anything, there'll be big trouble. Understood?" Both boys nodded and hurried to scramble out of Mac's arm when he released them from their captivity in their trolley.
He picked up a Mars Bar for himself, and stood waiting for over ten minutes as the boys deliberated over which sweet they wanted. Eventually, they decided on Magic Stars for Danny and Rolos for Don. "All ready?" Mac asked them? They nodded, clutching the sweets tightly. He nodded and took their free hands while pushing the trolley. They reached the check out and Mac started loading the trolley contents onto the conveyer belt in groups so that unpacking them would be easier back home. The boys stood quietly, itching to open their sweets but when they asked him, his answer was simple, "Nope." They persisted in asking and he shook his head, losing patience."No. You don't get to eat them until we leave the store. If you can't accept that then you can just go and put them back." Don nodded quietly and stood with the sweet in his hand, waiting for his dad's permission to open it.
Mac turned back towards the conveyer belt to load more shopping onto it when he heard a colossal screaming sound from his youngest as the packet of magic stars hit the floor. He turned round with eyebrows raised and looked at his son, who had a fully fledged pout on his face and his arms crossed, looking like thunder. "Daniel, pick them up. Now." He instructed calmly.
"NO! It's not FAIR!" He shrieked, stamping his feet. Mac sighed and tried again to deter his son from his tantrum.
"Daniel, if you don't pick it up right now, not only will you not get to have any sweets this week, but you'll also be getting a spanking and we won't be going to get any hot chocolates this afternoon. Now, think about it real hard, buddy." Mac patiently explained to his boy. Danny waited for all of about fifteen seconds before he stamped and threw himself to the ground in a major tantrum.
"No! It's not fair!" He screamed. "I want it NOW."
Mac grimaced. "Daniel James Taylor! Stop this tantrum, right now! "Danny ignored him valiantly. "Daniel, you have until the count of three to stop this and if you don't, you're gonna get a sore butt right here in this store. One…"
Danny continued to writhe on the floor in a full blown tantrum as Mac counted in his head. "Two…"
Nothing. Mac groaned inwardly. Stella would know how to avoid a fight… "Three… Okay buddy, that's it. C'mere."
Mac took a step towards his son, closing the distance between them, and then tucked Danny under his arm and applied twenty swats to his son's backside with enough force to give him a substantial sting. Danny was wailing and crying after the third smack, and by the end he was sobbing inconsolably. Mac scooped his little boy into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Hey, hey. Shhh, baby boy. It's over now. All over now. You just gotta calm down for me, okay? You don't take tantrums in shops over sweets, and you don't deliberately disobey me. Understand?"
Danny nodded through his tears, his shoulders shaking violently from the extent of his sobs. "Sorrrrry!" He wailed.
"Hey! Calm down, come on… It's all okay now, I forgive you, kid. That's it… Shhh..." He soothed Danny then turned back to the checkout to pay for his shopping. He tried to put down Danny when he went to pay, but the youngster wouldn't let go of him and clung to his leg while he paid and placed bags into the trolley. Both Don and Danny were fidgety and clingy, and Mac put the sweets in the bag last, being sure to avoid them seeing the sweets before they left the store. He led them out to the car and loaded all the bags into the car from the trolley, placing the sweets and juice in the front seat before turning to take the trolley back with a quiet instruction to both boys to stay where they were. As he left to take the trolley back to it's place at the front of the store, he was aware of Danny bursting into tears once again and he shook his head, hurrying to return the trolley and get back to his baby. When he returned, Danny was kneeling on the ground, hitting the pavement and wailing desperately.
"Hey, hey! Shh, baby! You're okay, I'm back… I'm here. Calm down, sweetheart! Come on, Danny…" Mac picked his son up and held him close, rocking him and petting his hair calmly. The wind was blowing and Mac pulled his arms tighter around his son's small body. "Hey, you okay, Don?" He asked his eldest gently, noting how quiet Don was. Don nodded, rather subdued.
"Hey, Dad?" He asked quietly. Mac turned to him with raised eyebrows, concern written on his face. "Can we really not get hot chocolate anymore?" He asked his dad sadly, his blue eyes wide.
"I'm afraid not, buddy. Danny kinda ruined that for you. I tell you what though, how about I make you a nice big mug of hot chocolate when we get home once I put your brother down for a nap. I'll even give you one of those special hot chocolates since we didn't get to go out for drinks. How does that sound?"
Don looked at his father very seriously as he considered his offer, before he beamed and nodded enthusiastically. "I guess that might be okay." He answered very seriously.
"Okay, buddy. Thanks for letting me make it up to you." Mac smiled fondly at his son and tousled his son's hair softly. "Right, buddy, into the car with you. We'd best get home. Come on…" he opened the door and his son climbed into their SUV and then, adjusting Danny to rest on his left hip, helped Don buckle his seatbelt once he was safely in his booster seat before shutting the door and carrying Danny to the other side. Danny's tears had reduced to sniffles here and there. "That's better, Danny. I'm gonna put you in the car now so that I can drive us home, okay?" Danny shook his head, tears returning to his eyes.
"No, daddy. I want you…" He whined.
"I know you do, buddy. But I'll be right her with you, I'm just gonna be in the front of the car and you'll be in the back and you'll still be able to talk to me and everything. I promise, buddy. Okay?"
Danny didn't say anything, instead more tears made silent tracks down his face and he bit his lip quietly. Mac opened the door and put his son into the car, buckling him in and then closing the door and making his way to the driver's side. He turned the engine on and then put some Disney music to try and improve the mood of his children and started the drive home. Don happily sat with his gameboy humming along to the music but Danny cried the whole way home. Mac became aware of a kicking on the passenger side seat, and looked at his son in the rear view mirror, eyebrows raised. "Daniel, that's enough of that buddy. You'll damage the seats if you keep it up." When his son continued to kick the seats, still crying, Mac sighed and cleared his throat.
"Daniel!" He warned. "Stop that right now."
Danny looked at his Dad in confusion and his foot stilled instantly, tears big in his eyes. And then the floods came and he began to wail and sob in earnest. "I'm sorrrryyy, Dadddyyy…" He wailed, completely inconsolable.
"Danny, you need to calm down, buddy. It's not that big a deal." Mac looked back at his son in the rear view mirror, but the boy didn't notice him through his haze of tears. Mac was beginning to feel quite worried about how tired his son was and hoped the ten minute journey passed quickly, aware that it would probably seem like a marathon trek at this rate.
They arrived home just under ten minutes later, and Danny had cried the whole way home. Mac parked outside their Brooklyn home and quickly got out helping Don out the car, and then going straight to the other side to get his youngest son to try and quell the tears that his son was still persistently crying. "Hey buddy, come on now. You really do need to calm down." He lifted Danny out of the car, locking the doors behind them and led both children into their house.
"Donny, why don't you go watch some tv? I'll be through in a little bit, okay? I just need to get the shopping sorted and a couple of other things." Don nodded and ran to the living room to watch some cartoons. Mac, meanwhile, turned in the other direction, heading towards the stairs as he cradled Danny in his arms, rocking him gently.
"Hey, come on, Danny. It's okay, I got you. What's going on to have you so upset, kiddo?"
Danny didn't answer, but instead buried his face further into his father's shoulder, wrapping his arms around the man's broad shoulders. Mac sighed and hugged the boy closer to him, murmuring sweet nothings to him and hushing him gently. After a few more minutes of this as Mac carried Danny towards his room, Mac broke the silence quietly. "Okay, that's it buddy. You're going to bed for a while, you're clearly exhausted. Let's get you in bed…"
Mac quickly helped his son change into pyjamas and grabbing Danny's "Blankey" and teddy bear from his bed. He wrapped the blanket round his son, and then handed him the teddy bear and then, still carrying him, and went to get his son a dummy to soothe him further. When he was a toddler, a dummy had always been the thing to calm Danny down, even beyond his parents soothing him. It was a tried and tested theory for the kid, and Mac had never deterred from using it when necessary. He took the pacifier out of a box in his room and then carried the blanket bundle containing his son back to Danny's room, before placing it in his son's mouth. Automatically, Mac could see a difference, and he continued to rock his son, soothing him quietly, and then began to hum a lullaby to his son that he'd sung when both Don and Danny were babies and was relieved when Danny's crying began to tapered off to sniffles. He smiled at his son's calmer and sleepier aura as his son snuggled further into his shoulder, but kept singing the soft lullaby quietly. After a further five minutes, Danny was sound asleep, and Mac sighed gently, looking at his son with love clear in his eyes. He carried his son over to his bed and pulled back the cover, placing Danny on the bed and pulling the covers up. He brushed back his son's hair and placed a kiss on his forehead before leaving the room and quietly shutting the door behind him.
Mac collected the shopping from the car and collected the dog from the boot, then brought it all back to their home, unloading things into the appropriate cupboards and then got the bag of sweets from the store and placed them on the counter. He refilled the dog's Food and Water bowls and then went back through to Don. "Hey bud, sorry about that. You okay?" Don nodded happily. Mac went over to join his son on the couch. "Good. So, what ya watching?"
"Peter Pan…"
"Wow, can I join you? I was thinking after that you might be willing to help me make some cookies and things for this evening while I made you that promised hot chocolate?"
"YEAH! Can we do it now?" Don was practically bouncing in his seat.
Mac smiled fondly, "I dunno buddy, I thought you might want to finish the movie now?"
"Oh, that's okay, daddy… It can wait, I guess…" Don said, a serious look plastered on his face that failed to hide his twitching foot or the way he was practically bouncing in his place on the couch.
Mac laughed and nodded. "Well, if you're really sure… Let's do it then."
He scooped Don up of the couch and swung him round in the air, eliciting high pitched squeals and giggles from the child. "No! Daddy, stop! Daddy, I can't breathe! Daaaaaad!" Don couldn't speak past the giggles and Mac smiled at his son's obvious delight.
"Okay, okay! I guess I'll stop. For now…" He winked at his son and carried him to the kitchen before he placed him on his feet. "Right, chief baker! I'll get your ingredients and then we'll just have to make lots of cakey goodness… Are you up for the challenge?"
"Yes! Hurry uuuup!" Mac smirked and got out the necessary ingredients and together they began to make cookies, mince pies and Christmas cup cakes. The sounds of laughter could be heard throughout the house, and the scents of Christmas wafted up through the smoke leaving the house by way of the chimney. Mac's heart swelled watching his charming son baking away and laughing and smiling as they spent time together, and hoped his youngest son would wake up in better spirits later so he could join in the festivities.