"Miss Kat? Mr. Jack? It's time to wake up. The others'll be here soon." Greta gently shook their shoulders to wake them up. "Miss Kat? Mr. Jack?"

"Hmmm? What?" As usual, Jack woke first. "Crutchie?" he asked in alarm as he came fully awake.

"He's fine and sleeping well," Greta assured him.

Jack disentangled himself from Kat and stood to check Crutchie's condition for himself. "He ain't hot no more," Jack observed, feeling Crutchie's forehead and arms.

"No," said Greta fondly. "He'll pull through without a problem. But we need to get you, Miss Kat, and the boys all up, fed, and dressed. The others'll be here soon."

Jack stretched. "What others?"

"Mr. Davey, Mr. Spot, Mr. Davey's parents and brother."

"Huh? How? What's goin' on? Why're they all comin' here?"

"When Mr. Davey found out what happened, he made all the arrangements. They'll be here at 4:00."

"What time is it now?"

"About 2:00. I've got lunch prepared and plenty to serve once the others get here."

"What others?" Kat asked sleepily.

Jack reached out and pulled Kat off the cot and into his arms. She was so cute to look at when she just woke up. He kissed the tip of her nose. "Seems Davey's decided to get his folks and Spot to come over here in a couple hours."

Kat yawned. "That was nice. How are the boys?"

"Still sleeping," Greta told her. "I woke you first. Figured you could get the boys up when you go upstairs and I'll tidy up in here and finish up lunch. It'll be ready in a few minutes, but don't rush. It's sandwiches and potato soup." She bustled out of the room.

"Greta, you're an angel. What ever would we do without you?" Kat called after her.

Greta popped her head back around the doorway. "Given the state this house was in when I moved in–and it was just the two of you?–I don't even what to think about it!"

Jack and Kat laughed as the housekeeper disappeared again.

Kat turned into her husband's embrace and kissed his chin. "It seems we've slept the day away like the lazy old souls we must be."

"We spent an entire night saving the life of one boy and adopting four others..."

"When you put it like that..." she kissed him.

He very thoroughly kissed her back.

"...I guess it was a busy night."

He hugged her. "Did we really do all that?" he asked in wonder.

"I do believe we did," she confirmed. "How's he doing?" She entwined her fingers with his and led him over to the bed.

"Sleeping, but no fever."

"That's great!" They watched over Crutchie for a few moments before Kat said, "I guess we really should get ourselves cleaned up."

"Yeah," Jack reluctantly agreed.

She tugged at him. "Come on," she urged. "He'll still be here when we come back."

"I suppose," he let himself be led out of the room.

"Look," she told him, eyes twinkling, "we'll even shut the door. That way the deeply sleeping boy with two broken legs can't escape in the thirty minutes it'll take us to get back down."

He wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her to him. "Now you's just bein' silly," he declared, his eyes reflecting her lighthearted spirits.

"Maybe," she said, tapping his chin, "but there really isn't any need to worry. He's on the mend. He'll be fine."

"Yeah. But I still worry 'bout him."

She pulled him to the stairs and they walked up, arm-in-arm. "I know. That's what family does. You just have to make sure you don't worry too much."

At the top of the stairs, he turned right to go to their room, but she stopped him. "Let's get the boys up first so we can all head down to lunch at about the same time."

He looked a little frightened.

"What's the matter?"

"You's gonna think I's crazy–"

She stopped him with a finger on his lips. "Just tell me," she encouraged softly.

He eyed the closed bedroom doors nervously. "Ummm...what if it was all a dream or somethin'? I mean, Crutchie's here, and they brung him, but what if the rest was a dream? Or maybe it wasn't but they woke up and changed their minds and now they's all gone?"

She smiled in understanding. "A dream come true, but maybe too good to be for real?"

He nodded.

She rested her arms against his chest and looked up at him. He clasped his hands at the small of her back and looked down at her.

"First of all," she began, "I understand your concern, but I don't think you have anything to worry about. Second, if, for some strange reason, they decide not to stay, you'll be disappointed, naturally, but you won't love them any less."

He nodded.

"Thirdly..." she stood, took his hand, and reached for the first doorknob. She twisted it, pushed the door open, and–

Jack heaved a tremendous sigh of relief at the sight of Race and Albert sprawled out on their respective beds.

Kat's attention remained focused on Jack, at his expression of absolute joy mingled with relief. She beamed, then stood on tiptoe and kissed the corner of his eye, where a tiny tear had formed. "See?" she whispered. "You cry when you're happy, too."

He touched his eye in wonder as she danced away to awaken the boys.

"Wooo-eee, Jack," Race declared. "I hopes you meant it 'bout us stayin' 'cause there ain't no way I can sleep on no lumpy mattress at The Lodge after that!" He pointed at the bed as he stood and stretched. "That there is surely a slice of heaven!"

"You've slept here a number of times already, and probably in that same bed," Kat pointed out with a grin.

"Yeah, but it weren't never knowin' I was gonna be there the next night in a row," Race stated.

"That makes a difference?"

"Yeah. It does."

Kat giggled.

"Do I smell lunch?" Albert asked, rubbing at his eyes.

Jack roared with laughter. "You guys is crazy!" he declared. "Yeah, you's stayin' and yeah, lunch is ready, so get yourselves cleaned up best you can. Davey's got company comin' in a couple hours to talk about Crutchie."

"How's he doin'?" Race asked.

"He's fine. He woke up for a bit this mornin', but he's sleepin' hard now."

"That's good, ain't it?"

"Doc seems to think so, so I guess it is. Hurry up. Greta's got lunch ready."

"Don't hafta tell me twice," Albert declared, hustling around Jack and down the hall to the bathroom, Race on his heels.

Jack chuckled and went to the second bedroom where Kat had already awakened Specs and Romeo, who was chattering a mile a minute at Kat as they tidied the two beds.

Specs ambled over to stand next to Jack. "Sometimes things said in the dead of night sound different once the sun's up–"

Jack cut him off with a glare. "Don't you dare leave me," he warned in steely tones.

They silently sized each other up for a long moment, then Specs spit in his palm and held it out to Jack. "Brothers?"

Jack spit in his palm and clasped Specs' hand in his own. "For life," he vowed, and cuffed Specs on the shoulder. In answer to the questions now brimming in Specs' eyes, he said, "We'll work out the details later. Right now, Davey's on the way with his family and Spot, so we needs to get cleaned up and eat before they get here."

Specs nodded and headed down the hall toward the bathroom. "Albert, hurry up in there!" he bellowed.

Jack grinned. It was just like old times at The Lodge.

"Jack?"

Jack looked down at Romeo, who spit in his hand and held it out. "I can be your brother, too, and stay here permanent?"

Jack spit-shook Romeo's hand and pulled him in for a hug. "You got it, kid. Now, do what your mother said and get ready for company."

"Alright!" he ran down the hall, squeezed between the older boys who were arguing about who would use the bathroom next, and shut the door in their faces.

"Romeo!" came the triple shout of protest.

Kat sidled up to stand next to Jack. She hugged his arm. "Feel better?"

"Yeah," he pulled his arm from her embrace and wrapped it around her instead and guided her to their room. "When should we tell them 'bout the other bathroom?" he asked, chuckling.

"Let's let them find it on their own," she suggested.

"OK," he agreed, closing their door behind them and leaning back against it. He pulled her closer for a long and thoroughly passionate kiss. When they finally broke the kiss, she rested against him to catch her breath. She smiled when she felt the rumbles of laughter in his chest beneath her ear. "We got us a very interestin' situation, Mrs. Kelly."

"What's that?"

"If my brothers are your sons, that means I's married to my mother–"

She laughed at the hilarious notion.

"–and, somehow, that don't bother me the least little bit."

Her laughter stopped as his lips claimed hers.

They were late for lunch.