Kate's not your ordinary girl in anyway. Well, the Mercers were never ordinary either.
Well, for a while, it'll probably just be little events leading up to her teen years, where I have plans galore! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: No own.
Good Enough
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Kate woke up early one morning the next week excitedly. She'd never really known when her birthday was, so she simply selected a day when she was younger to celebrate her birthday. Now, it was that day: January 21st. Kate officially declared herself 8 today. That fact particularly excited her; this meant that she was Jack's age and no longer a little kid. If she was lucky, maybe she could convince them to go play some hockey. She leaped out of bed and got ready in record time before running downstairs. Bobby sat in the family room. "Whoa – Midge, what's the rush? You've got a whole hour until you get up for school," he laughed a little.
Kate went into the room. "I'm excited!"
Bobby leaned forward on the couch. "Is that so? What for?"
"It's my birthday," she said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"You're eight?" he asked incredulously. "Are you sure today's your birthday, Midget?"
Kate nodded vigorously. "Pretty sure…" It took a minute for what he'd said to register with her brain. "Wait – why do you ask?" Kate flopped down on the couch next to him.
"Well, when Angel came here, he thought that it was his birthday on one day of a year, but it wasn't." Bobby looked at her seriously.
"Really? How'd you know?"
"Ma looked it up on his birth certificate when she adopted him." He gave her a small clap on the shoulder. "How about we ask Ma?" Kate nodded again, very dismayed. It wasn't her birthday? This had been her birthday for as long as she could remember. Evelyn was already cooking, as usual when one has a brood of five, four being of the male persuasion. She smiled at her eldest and youngest.
"Good morning you two. Katie, what are you doing up this early?" Evelyn sat a towel on the counter after drying her hands thoroughly.
"Well, Kate here and I were wondering when her birthday is," Bobby said coolly, a hand on one of Kate's shoulders.
"Why do you ask?" Evelyn kneeled down to Kate's level.
"Because today's my birthday…I think…" Kate stared at the ground, moving her foot around in a circular motion.
"Honey, you're birthday is in late September," Evelyn said calmly. "September 19th." Kate's face fell entirely. She was already eight for about three months? This was no fun. "I'm sorry sweetie. I know that it's common for foster children to forget their birthdays when they aren't celebrated. I promise you, when it comes your birthday, we're going to have a double celebration for your birthday and the one before."
"Really?" Kate asked, a bit of hoping filling her voice.
"Absolutely." Evelyn ran her hair over Kate's hair. "Bobby, how about you two go and watch some television until breakfast is ready?"
"Sure thing Ma." Bobby picked Kate up and hoisted her onto his shoulders. "Come on Midget, let's see what's on television." Kate giggled a little as she would have to duck down when they came to a doorway. Bobby dropped her a short distance onto the couch. Kate laughed happily as she bounced back up from the spring of the piece of furniture. Bobby sat down next to her, flipping through the channels. Soon, Jeremiah came down.
"Bobby, what are you doing down here? Tickling Kate to death?" he asked sleepily. Kate giggled a little.
"Just go back to sleep Jerry," Bobby told him without looking up from the television. Jeremiah swore under his breath as he headed back upstairs. Eventually, Bobby settled on a program that he could stand and was appropriate for Kate.
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It was near mid-February. When Kate got up that morning, she was a little late, judging from the smell of food and the sound of male conversation wafting up the stairs. Kate wandered down, still in her pajamas, and silently slid into her seat at the table, beginning to put food on her plate. The boys were laughing at something one had said. After they stopped, Angel looked at Kate. "So Sleepyhead, who's going to be your Valentine?" he asked, taking a mouthful of cereal after.
"A what?" Kate looked at him curiously before eating a bite of bacon.
"Your Valentine," Jack confirmed, eating.
"Jackie, chew with your mouth closed," Evelyn warned him.
"In two days, there's a holiday where you give someone you like romantically a flower or candy or something…" Angel started.
"Or a card or you can ask them to be your Valentine," Jeremiah finished.
"What's a romantically?" Kate inquired curiously.
The older boys laughed. "The person you want to marry, Katie," Jeremiah told her. "Or someone you'd want to kiss, like in 'Music Man'."
"Yuck," Kate wrinkled her nose. "I don't wanna kiss anyone in my class," she added definitively.
Bobby laughed. "You sure Kate? No one you'd want to give something to or maybe sneak a little peck on the cheek?"
"Bobby Mercer," Evelyn scolded him.
Kate stuck her tongue out at the same time in disgust. "Ma, I don't think you have to worry about that," Angel pointed towards Kate, with her tongue still out.
"What are your guys' plans for Valentine's Day?" Evelyn asked the group.
"I'm going on a date with Camille," Jeremiah jumped in first.
"Sofi and I are going to watch a movie at her place," Angel supplied.
"I'm not going anywhere," Bobby replied in a bored tone.
"Who are Camille and Sofi?" Kate asked, stirring the food around on her plate a little.
"Camille is Jerry'sgirlfriend," Bobby said teasingly. "And Sofi…well, I dunno if you'd call her Angel's girlfriend…"
"Why?" she questioned.
"It's more of an on again, off again thing," Angel told her calmly.
"Yeah, more like when one of them wants it," Bobby laughed.
"All right, you all finish getting ready for school," Evelyn instructed, beginning to pick up empty plates.
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"Katie, are you ready to go?" Evelyn asked, pulling her jacket on at the bottom of the stairs. Kate came down.
"For school?" she asked, sitting on the floor and grabbing her shoes.
"You have a doctor's appointment today," Evelyn smiled at her. "There was a problem at work, so Bobby's going to have to take you after dropping off the others at school. You'll be okay with him, won't you?" Kate nodded, yanking her shoes on. "Bobby, Jeremiah, Angel, Jack, hurry up! You're going to be late!"
Bobby came in from the kitchen area and teased his mother, "Aw, Ma, I graduated a long time ago."
Evelyn gave him a small, not funny smile. "You know what I mean."
"I'm just kidding Ma," Bobby smiled mischievously as he put his shoes on. The rest of the boys came down, put their shoes on, grabbed their backpacks and all headed out to Bobby's car. First was the high school, then the primary and middle school. Bobby had Kate sit in the front seat once the car had been unloaded of the rest of their brothers. Kate wasn't exactly fond of doctors; she hadn't gone to one in years. They would always ask questions about her scars, a very delicate subject. Well, at least Bobby would be there. The waiting room was cold and the chairs were hard. She kept squirming around in the uncomfortable seat. Bobby would chuckle occasionally when he'd catch sight of her wriggling. "Midge, why don't you go play with the toys?" Bobby gestured to the pile of toys next to a few younger kids. Kate looked at him like he was crazy and shook her head vigorously.
"Katherine Mercer?" a nurse called from an arch to a doorway. The two got up and followed her. The nurse took Kate's height, weight, and blood pressure before taking her and Bobby to a room. Kate attempted to hop up on the table that was a bit taller than her, but failed. There wasn't a step stool either. Bobby laughed as she kept jumping before helping her up. Kate swung her legs back and forth as they waited. It seemed like forever before the doctor came in.
"Katherine, I'm Dr. Morgan," he shook her hand, smiling. Dr. Morgan glanced at Bobby for a moment. "Are you her father?"
Bobby let out a small laugh. "I'm her brother, Bobby."
Dr. Morgan smiled again. "I'm so sorry. So," he looked at the chart, "everything looks pretty good, but we're going to take some blood and run a few tests just to make sure…" The doctor sat the chart down on and went for a syringe. Kate's eyes went wide with panic as she looked at Bobby. He got up and went over to her.
"Hey, Midge, this is nothing," Bobby told her calmly. "Trust me, you're gonna see worse playing hockey." He held out his hand for Kate to squeeze when they drew the blood. Kate looked at it and shook her head. Bobby was a little shocked at first, but just watched. If she wanted to be tough like her brothers, this was the place to start. She was even brave enough to watch them put the needle in, take the blood, and take the needle out. "Good job Midget," Bobby congratulated her as they bandaged up the small hole.
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