Eva

When we got to the park Parker and Keagan ran to play in the sandbox. Mom found an empty bench under a big shady tree. She sat down and I plopped myself on the seat right next to her.

"Aren't you going to go play?" She asked me surprised that I wasn't already in the sandbox with the boys. I just shook my head and cuddled next to her. I wrapped my arm around her big belly, though it only reached her belly button. I did want to play but I wanted to be next to her more. I wanted her to remember she was my mom, not my step-mom. I almost didn't want the baby to come, I wanted to be her baby still. Sure, now I share her with Parker, but Parker was like me too, she wasn't his first mom. She combed her fingers through my hair the way she usually did at bedtime and I relaxed into her.

"I love you Mommy." I said as I rubbed her belly.

"I love you too sweetheart."

"Will you still love me when the baby comes?" I asked, I needed to know so I could prepare myself. She pushed me off of her so I was looking at her and she looked at me funny, like she was shocked.

"Of course I will. How could I ever stop loving you?" Her words relieved me.

"Well, Banner said after the baby is born you won't love me anymore and you'll make me take care of the baby all day! I don't want you to stop loving me." My unsure words left my mouth in a whisper. She pulled me into a tight hug.

"Sweetheart, I love you and a new baby isn't going to take away any of that love. I'm just going to share my love with one more person. Banner probably feels like his step mom doesn't love him as much ever since his baby sister was born, but she does. Babies are just a lot of work." She assured me. She pushed my hair away from my face and gave me a kiss. "Is that all you were worried about?" She questioned. I just nodded my head. She smiled. "Do you want to go play now?" I nodded and ran to the sunny playground.

I looked for Parker and Keagan, but they weren't in the sandbox anymore. I crossed the playground over to the jungle gyms. I started to climb when I felt a light tapping on my shoulders. I quickly turned around to find Banner. He was standing cockily with his hands on his hips and his face was turned towards the sky.

"Do you need someone to play with?" He asked trying to act like the superhero he was modeling. He had on a blue cape over his regular clothes.

"Sure. I can't find Parker." He got a devilish smile on his face.

"I know where Parker is but I'm not gonna tell you. Come here." He grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs of the play castle. He pulled me up to the top, next to the biggest slide, where he let go of my hand. "Alright, you stay here and I'm going to come save you." With that he slid down the slide.

"Who's going to be the bad guy?" I yelled down to him. He looked up from the ground.

"Aaron. He's been the bad guy all day." He yelled back up with a laugh and disappeared. Him and Aaron were best friends, they had a lot of play dates. I looked out onto the playground to search for Banner or Aaron. After a few minutes I started to get really bored. I almost left my "tower" when I heard screaming. I looked back down on the playground and saw someone in a mask, most likely Aaron, chasing Banner.

"I'll rescue you!" Banner yelled as he passed the slide. It was quiet for a few more minutes and then Banner appeared in the top castle with me. He put his finger on his mouth and pulled me down the stairs.

"Where are we going?" I asked quietly, so Aaron couldn't hear if he was near. He pointed to the other side of the play set.

"We have to get there without that villain, Sneaky Greek, getting us. It'll be hard but I think I can get you there." He whispered. We climbed into a short tunnel and he stuck his head out a tiny bit, searching for Sneaky Greek. "Coast clear. Lets go!" He helped me out of the tunnel and we ran across the bridge. We almost got to the other side when Aaron saw us and started chasing us.

"You can run, but you can't hide!" A muffled yell came out of his Halloween mask as he quickly approached us.

"C'mon, we gotta run! We can make it!" Banner encouraged. We ran to escape him but he was quickly gaining on us. We pushed harder, running through tunnels and climbing the stairs to the smaller tower. He stopped and pushed me to the top. I smiled vainly at Aaron.

"I would have won if I would have had someone else on my team." He complained. I sat down in the shade of the small castle and Banner sat next to me, we were both tired from our exciting run. Aaron was on his way to come sit with us but I heard Keagan yell for him and he disappeared down the steps.

"How's your mom?" I knew what he was implying, somehow every time I was with him the subject of the new baby came up in one way or another.

"She said she loves me and she's not going to stop just because the baby." I said in a know it all tone, his face fell a little.

"Oh." He sounded disappointed. Then I remembered what she had said about his mom.

"She said your mom still loves you too," He looked at me confusedly, "and that babies are just hard and she just needs help." He pondered this for a few seconds.

"I don't know." I could hear the disbelief in his voice.

"Does she still tell you she loves you?" I asked. He nodded.

"I guess she does." I smiled.

"You see, she still loves you." I was glad I talked to my mom. Ever since Banner told me all those things I had been worried about it. I hoped Banner would know his mom loved him too.

AN: The document manager isn't working so I put this into another document. Sorry if it's weird. Thanks for reading!! Please Review.