Nate watched them run across the playground, their cheeks pink in the brisk fall afternoon. Parker was chasing Alec, laughing like a little maniac, her blond hair falling out of her ponytail. Alec kept looking back at her, challenging her with his half-toothless grin, and Nate was a bit worried that he was going to collide with something or someone.

"Careful, Alec!" he called, fairly certain that even if the seven-year-old could hear him, he wouldn't listen.

Parker managed to grab the back of his jacket, and despite him being a full head taller, pull him down to the wood chips. They both landed with a thump, but they were still giggling so Nate relaxed, sitting back on the bench. Sophie kept telling him he needed to give them more autonomy, whatever that meant. Giving a six- and seven-year-old autonomy meant something got broken. Especially his six- and seven-year-olds.

Which was exactly why they were here. It was only the second day of the kids' week off for Thanksgiving and Sophie had nearly lost it when Alec and Parker had run through the kitchen, limbs flailing, and knocked over Eliot's huge bowl of flour he was using to make pie crust. The two youngest members of the Ford family were hastily banished, leaving Sophie and Eliot in pie-making peace.

And now they were at the park, causing harm to each other instead of the Thanksgiving pies. They were up from their fall, apparently unharmed, and heading for the slide now. He watched as they raced to the top and pushed each other out of the way trying to be the first one down. They came out at the bottom at nearly the same time and hit the ground running.

If only I could bottle that, Nate thought, amazed as usual at the amount of energy they could have. Then someone caught his eye. There were few people at the park, almost everyone was home getting ready for the holiday, but a man was lingering at the edges of the playground and he didn't seem to be watching any of the kids in particular. He was young, had a gray sweatshirt and looked about as normal as anyone. But he didn't sit well with Nate.

He got up from the bench and started subtly cruising the playground, staying near Alec and Parker, keeping one eye on the young man.

"Daddy!" Parker shouted, screeching to a halt in front of him. "Did you see?"

He looked down, smiling at her. "See what?"

"I did the monkey bars all by myself! Watch!" She ran off and he stole another glance at the man but he was gone. Nate scanned the playground for Alec, and when he didn't immediately spot him, his heart started hammering in his chest.

"Alec!" he called, striding around. "Alec!" He still didn't see him. He glanced back at Parker who was standing at the top of the monkey bars ladder with a confused look. "Stay right there," he ordered her, his voice harsh with fear.

He didn't see Alec anywhere, and there was no sign of the man either. He got his cell out of his pocket, seconds away from dialing the police when someone grabbed him from behind.

"Boo!"

He whirled and there was Alec, complete with all his boyish exuberance and breathless grin, laughing at the joke. "I was hiding, Dad!"

Nate grabbed him by the shoulders tightly, surges of anger and relief flooding through him in equal measure. "Alec, don't do that!" he cried. "Don't ever do that again!"

The grin dropped off the boy's face and he stared at Nate in shock, speechless for once in his young life.

"How many times have I told you to stay where I can see you?" Nate continued, his heart still beating painfully fast. "Something bad could happen if I can't find you!"

Alec's huge brown eyes were filling with tears and his bottom lip trembled. Parker ran over, a worried frown on her face.

"Listen, both of you," Nate said, glancing over to include her. "There are bad people in the world and I don't want you to ever get hurt, so you have to stay where I can see you, okay? No hiding from daddy at the park. Ever."

They both nodded, Alec's chest hitching with suppressed tears.

"Buddy, come here," Nate said, crouching down and drawing the boy into his shoulder and hugging him tightly. "It's okay, all right? I was just … well, you scared me. I thought something had happened to you."

Parker stepped forward, leaning against him and he wrapped one arm around her as well.

"Sorry, Dad," Alec mumbled wetly against his shoulder.

Nate rested his cheek against the little boy's hair. "It's okay, Alec. It's okay."

"Does Alec still get pie?" Parker asked sadly.

Nate pulled back a little, looking at her. "Yeah, he still gets pie. But none for you, Parker."

She stared at him, crestfallen, until he allowed a grin to steal across his face.

"You're kidding, Daddy!" she informed him.

He chuckled and gave them both another hug before standing up. "Yeah, I'm kidding. Are you going to show me how you can do the monkey bars, or what?"

She ran off for the monkey bars and Alec started to follow. "Hey, Alec." The little boy looked back. "Want to get some soda on the way home?"

His grin was back. "Orange?"

"You got it."


A/N: Happy Thanksgiving break if you're stateside! And happy Tuesday to the rest of you. :)