Try as I might, I simply cannot seem to awaken my muse. So this is my attempt at a Fall Break relaxing weekend writing session. I'm hunkered down with a bottle of water, a box of Cheez-its ®, a little bit of French Dark Chocolate, and some Without a Trace.
And here we are, almost Thanksgiving and still haven't posted this chapter. Sorry for the delay.
--
Mac chuckled as he watched the interaction between Fina and Micah. He had found out in the first couple of minutes of listening to Fina talk exactly what the stipulations were for her being at the lab. So instead of playing side-by-side, like they usually did at the lab, they were making faces at each other through the glass of their respective parents' offices. Then Micah grabbed the phone and dialed, and Fina answered. Mac let them talk for a while before catching her eye. The guilty look on her face was priceless. She moved slowly to put the phone back in the cradle. It was not a moment too soon either, as the elevator doors opened up to reveal Danny and Stella. Each looked exhausted, but smiled brightly as hey greeted their children. Danny tenderly brushed hair out of Fina's face and inspected her chin. He handed her the smoothie he was carrying and then pulled a book from his pocket. He settled her in on the couch and began to read to her.
"If you had told me seven years ago that I'd see Danny Messer reading The Princess Bride to his six year-old, I would have laughed you out of town," Mac turned to find his heavily pregnant wife standing behind him, hands on her lower back. He leaned over and kissed her.
"How are you two today?" he asked her.
"We're doing fine, love," Peyton replied, rubbing at her back, "Just tired of being in the house so I thought we'd come see Daddy. So, what are Fina and Micah doing here?"
Mac explained the situation as best he could but had to stop midway through when Peyton announced that her water had broken.
--
Danny and Lindsay sat next to Flack and Stella in the principal's office at the elementary school.
"Mr. and Mrs. Messer, Mr. and Mrs. Flack, I hope you understand that discussing the actions of one student in the presence of another's parents is highly unusual," the tall woman leaned forward and met each parent's gaze.
"Trust me," Lindsay said, "We realize that and we thank you for accommodating our schedules. I speak for all of us when I say that there isn't much we haven't already shared about or children and with as close as we are, anything would be shared anyway." The principal nodded.
"Well, I can say that your children are by far the youngest kids I've had to suspend to date. I would like to hear their side of the story."
Danny took it upon himself to be the one to tell the tale, having heard it straight from Fina's mouth. As he finished his re-telling, the principal nodded, considering. She turned to Stella and Flack.
"It seems to me like your son was not the problem here. In all of the versions of this story he's never thrown a punch, just taken one. I feel comfortable that his suspension is punishment enough if not too harsh." Stella nodded gratefully.
"As for Serafina," she continued, "from everything I've heard, she's the one responsible for starting the fight." She held up her hand to stop Danny's protest. "She's also a very bright, happy, responsible student who has never been a discipline problem before. I was very surprised when she was brought to the office."
"According to my little girl, that boy has a long standing history of bullying other students," Danny said, immediately coming to his daughter's defense.
"Mr. Messer, we have been monitoring his behavior closely and he has never been physically combative before the incident with your daughter."
"Fina is a good kid," Danny insisted, "She's only six years old. She's had a very serious conversation about this with both myself and her godfather and she understands that what she did was very wrong. Can we just consider the suspension and the lectures enough?"
The principal considered this. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, before running both hands over her face. This had been a very long week and it was beginning to wear on her. Therese really adored little Giovanni Messer who was always willing to lend a hand with the younger children in the after-school program and she had enjoyed getting to know his younger sister as well. Their father was right, they were good kids, she'd never seen them fighting with each other, let alone any of the other kids. They respected authority and responded well to rebuke, answering with only a simple "Yes, ma'am" or "No, sir". She could only imagine the toll two lectures had taken on little Fina, even delivered in the gentle manner she knew Danny Messer would have taken with his precious daughter.
"Considering that she has no history of outbursts like this, and since I feel that the main issue has been handled at home, I will allow Fina to return to school on Monday." Both Danny and Lindsay thanked her profusely, then stood to leave.
"Will I see you all at the school fundraiser next week?" the principal asked.
"Most of us," Lindsay answered, "Depends who's on shift"
--
That night was Lindsay's night with the older kids and Danny's turn to wrestle the three littlest girls into bed. Aiden was the easiest, she always sat quietly through her bath and snuggled under her covers willingly. Alexis was the kind of child who would jump out of the bathtub with shampoo in her hair and run around the house in her birthday suit. She was in rare form tonight, with an encore performance in her pajamas. Little Anna was the worst of all. Her status as the lowest Messer on the totem pole had created a firecracker. She was a screamer with the lung capacity of an opera singer. She would also buck and kick to the point that Danny had nearly dropped her several times and Lindsay actually had once. She'd only fallen a few feet onto Fina's bed, but it had scared both mother and daughter. Tonight, however, she had been worn out by the babysitter, so she was almost asleep in the bathtub. Danny smiled as he rocked her gently before laying her back down.
Danny paused in the living room doorway and his heart nearly skipped a beat. His beautiful wife sat on the couch, their daughter's head in her lap and their son seated at her feet. Their latest family chapter book was open on her lap, and she was reading softly, making the characters come alive by differentiating the character's voices, adding accents when needed. He stood in the doorway until she finished and the kids trudged wearily up the stairs toward their respective rooms. He kissed the top of Fina's head and hugged Gio as they walked past. Then he pulled Lindsay into his arms and let her rest against him for a long moment.
"You're on call tonight, right?" she asked. Danny nodded.
"Then let's get you to bed too, Daddy," she whispered. They changed into pajamas and were asleep a few minutes later.
--
"Dan," Lindsay groaned, shaking her husband awake. He rolled over and grabbed his phone.
"Messer" he yawned. Lindsay shoved him.
"It's Alexis, not Central," she said, "She just got sick and she needs another bath." Lindsay pushed Danny out of bed. He landed with a thump and groaned before getting up and tucking his wife into bed. He wandered into his twin girls' room and found Alexis had already almost fallen asleep again. He picked up the two year-old and took her to the bathroom, where she continued to doze, even as he stripped off her soiled clothes. He put her in Anna's bath seat after running warm water into the tub.
"Daddy?" he heard Fina's voice from across the hall. He bit back a swear word as he realized that the light from the open bathroom door was shining into Fina's face.
"Go back to sleep, Angel," he whispered loudly.
"It hurts, Daddy," she whispered back. Danny sighed.
"Can you hold on while I get Alexis cleaned up?" he asked. Fina responded in the affirmative.
By the time Danny had Alexis bathed, in fresh pajamas and under clean sheets, Fina had fallen back to sleep. Still, he fetched her pain medication and a glass of water from the kitchen and padded into her room. He stood for a minute to watch her sleep. Her expression wasn't as angelic or peaceful as it usually was. Instead, her frown and furrowed brow took Danny back to their time as hostages. She'd always looked like that when she fell asleep after one of her times alone with their kidnappers, like she had her guard up. He knelt down next to her bed and rubbed a gentle hand over her back. She drowsily swallowed her medicine then rolled over and was asleep again in minutes. Danny placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
"I love you, Fina Mac," he whispered.
--
So, very late in coming, a little disjointed, but I like it. Let me know what you think. Also,, I'm considering writing an alternate version of the timeline of Welcome Home, Marine, let me know what you think of that idea.