Author's Note: Special thanks to MegManning, KeiraCassidy, BrittanyLS, Sparky She-Demon, Adelled, Guest, and pandorabox82 for the reviews. Norah may sound a bit old in this considering she's just shy of three, but I'm basing her in part on one of the kids that I used to baby-sit who held almost adult like conversations by the time he was two.
Easy Like Sunday Morning
Marshall woke up early the last day of Mary's time off. After a few minutes, he determined that he wasn't going to go back to sleep. Unwilling to risk waking Owen up too early, Marshall tiptoed out of the room, deciding to make breakfast for the whole house after a short stop in the bathroom.
He had just left the bathroom when a small noise coming from the girls' room delayed his trip to the kitchen. Marshall stopped outside the door to listen. It was clear after a few minutes that one of the girls was awake and that no one else was. Carefully, Marshall crept into the room. He took a quick glance at Norah's bed and saw that she was curled under her blanket, only the top of her blond hair showing. He turned his attention to the crib and saw Teagan staring at him with her big, dark eyes.
"Hi. Good morning," Marshall cooed, softly, approaching Teagan slowly. She hid her face hind her teddy bear. "Okay, okay. You don't have to come with me if you don't want to."
Teagan peaked her head up. Gradually, she raised her arms to him. Thrilled as this was the first time Teagan had willing reached out to him, Marshall picked her up. "How would you like to help me make breakfast?"
"Yeah!" Teagan whispered, excitedly.
He patted her bottom. "After we change your diaper!"
Teagan shook her head, but allowed him to change her without a fuss, ensuring that Norah remained asleep. Marshall took her downstairs to the kitchen, keeping her on his hip as he pulled out the ingredients for pancakes, eggs, bacon, and toast for breakfast. He sat her up on the counter to help him pour in the ingredients for the pancakes into a bowl. Teagan stuck her tongue out in concentration as Marshall guided her through cracking the eggs.
"What are you doing?"
Marshall turned to find Norah standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. He had to stop himself from laughing. "I'm making breakfast."
She tapped her foot and pointed to Teagan. "What are you doing with my baby sister?"
"She's helping me cook," Marshall replied, winking at Teagan who giggled, "and she's doing a really good job at it, too."
"Does my mommy know she's helping you?" Norah demanded.
Marshall shook his head. "No, but that's because she's still sleeping. I thought it would be a nice surprise for her and for your grandma for them to wake up to breakfast already made."
Norah frowned, thinking it over. "Oh. Okay."
"Do you want to help, too?" Marshall asked, his eyebrows raised.
"Grandma never lets me help!" Norah exclaimed. She scrambled across the kitchen and onto the chair that Marshall pulled out for her.
He handed Norah a spoon. "You stir the pancake mix while Teagan and I put in some chocolate chips."
"Mr. Marshall?" Norah asked after a few minutes.
"You can just call me 'Marshall'," he replied, tapping her nose.
Norah scrunched up her face, causing Marshall to chuckle. "Grandma says it's not polite to call adults by their first names."
Marshall nodded. "Normally, that's true, but I'm giving you permission to call me 'Marshall'."
"Marshall," Norah continued, "are you a dad?"
"Well, kind of," he told her. "I mean, technically Owen's my nephew, but I'm raising him as if he's my own." Norah blinked, thinking this over. Marshall continued, "Like your mom and Teagan."
Norah nodded. "Oh." She paused. "Teagan doesn't have a daddy."
Marshall glanced at the younger girl who looked expectantly at her big sister at the mention of her name. "Not exactly, no."
"I have a daddy," Norah announced.
"I know."
Norah sighed. "I don't think he likes me very much."
Marshall started, not anticipating that sentence. "Why- why do you think that?"
"Because I never see him." Norah frowned. "He has a new family. Grandma told Mommy that's why he doesn't come here anymore, but, I think he doesn't like me much."
"No." Marshall turned to face her fully, keeping Teagan between the two of them. He framed her face with his hands. "Your daddy likes you; he loves you. Grown-ups don't always know that they're hurting kids. I bet if you talk to your mom-"
Norah shook her head, violently. "No!"
He tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Why not?"
"Because Mommy's sad a lot. I don't want to make her sadder."
"Oh, Bug," Marshall breathed out. "It's not your job to make your mommy happy or unhappy. But it is her job to help you when you need help. So, if you're worried that your daddy doesn't see you enough, you should talk to your mommy. That's what mommys are for." Norah grinned as he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Now, get stirring those pancakes. Do you know that I make shapes with pancakes?"
Norah's eyes grew wide. "What kind of shapes?"
Marshall grinned. "Well, I can do Mickey Mouse and I can do cats, bears, hearts, and octopi, and I can do letters."
"Can you make shapes for breakfast? Please?" Norah begged.
"Peas!" Teagan repeated. He wasn't sure if she knew what she was asking for or if she was simply caught up in Norah's excitement.
Eyes twinkling, Marshall nodded. "Sure."
Norah raised her arms in triumph. "Yay!"
"What's going on in here?" Mary asked, entering the kitchen. Though she appeared calm, her heart was racing after waking up and finding her children's beds empty.
"Marshall's making us shape pancakes!" Norah explained, furiously mixing the pancake mix.
Mary raised an eyebrow in his direction. "If I recall correctly, Marshall made some delicious pancakes."
Blushing, Marshall tipped his head at her. "You should know; you ate them enough."
"What are you doing?" Owen asked, unknowingly echoing Norah's words from earlier.
"We're making breakfast," Marshall told him. "Do you want to help?"
Owen studied them for a bit before shaking his head. Marshall felt his stomach sink a bit. Unperturbed, Mary swung Owen into her arms.
"He can't help you cook because Owen and I are going to set the table and get the juice, right, Owen?" Surprised, Owen nodded wordlessly. Mary winked at Marshall. "We'll leave the cooking to you ladies."
"Mommy says she's not a lady," Norah whispered conspiratorially to Marshall, "but she wears make-up."
Mary guffawed. "Ask Marshall to tell you about the time that he wore make-up and a dress and sang on stage."
Owen and Norah both turned to Marshall and shouted, "What?"
"Really, Mare? Do you want to get into a conversation about who wore what for work?" He laughed when she glared at him.
"I thought you were supposed to be my friend," Mary muttered, handing Owen one plate at a time to put on the kitchen table.
Marshall's eyes flicked to her green ones with an intensity that nearly stopped her in her tracks. "Best friend, Mary."
Mary felt as though all the air left her lungs, though she could still breathe. "Right."
"Eggs, Marsh," Teagan said, interrupting the moment by tugging on his arm.
"Eggs, yeah," Marshall replied, slowly. He couldn't remember the last time that he felt such a deep connection to anyone as he did in that few seconds. He shook his head and grinned at the toddler. "Let's make some breakfast."