"Daddy? Mommy?" Avery called softly, peeking her head into their bedroom. "Are you awake?"
"Hey, princess," Artie whispered, reaching over to grab his glasses. "I am. Shhh, Mommy's still sleeping…I think," he added, looking over his shoulder.
Avery tiptoed into their bedroom, climbing up and sitting on the seat of his wheelchair.
"Do you know what today is, Daddy?" she whispered, leaning forward and kissing him gently on the cheek.
"Saturday?" Artie whispered back, grinning at her.
"And my princess party!" Avery said, her voice leaving the range of whisper and entering something which could almost have been considered her normal inside voice. She quickly realized how loud she'd been, and clamped her hand over her mouth.
"Princess party?" Artie asked, glancing back again to see if Quinn was still sleeping. "What's that?"
Avery giggled. "Daddy," she said. "You know today is my princess party!"
"Oh, the PRINCESS party," Artie said, patting the mattress and gesturing for her to crawl under the covers beside him. "Right."
"Can we get up now?" Avery asked. "Can we wake Mommy?"
Artie glanced at the clock. 5:15. The party started at 1.
"Maybe we'd better let her sleep a little longer," he said. "I know you're pretty excited, but do you think you can go back to sleep for a bit if you cuddle with Daddy?"
Avery grinned. "I can try," she said. "If you can't sleep, Daddy, you can just cuddle me," she said, snuggling into his warm arms. "I love you, Daddy."
Artie smiled softly, taking off his glasses, and placing them back on the nightstand. "I love you too, princess."
By 12:40, Artie and Quinn had most of the party stuff in the room, and had started setting it up. Avery was almost overcome with excitement when she saw the princess decorations, and dresses, and all sorts of other things that were going to make her perfect princess party.
At the sound of someone at the door to the room, Avery turned, and saw her friend, Shannon, and her mother.
As Quinn chatted casually with the woman, Avery went up to Shannon, and took her over to look at some of the decorations on the walls.
"Hi Shannon," she said. "Thank you for coming to my party."
"Who is that?" Shannon asked Avery, pointing at Artie.
"That's my Daddy," she said, grinning at her friend.
"That's your dad? What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing," Avery responded, a confused look on her face.
"Well, why is he sitting in that chair?" the other girl asked, pointing again.
Avery looked over and smiled at Artie, before turning back. "Oh, he just can't walk," she said.
"Well then there IS something wrong with him," Shannon said.
Avery frowned. "No there isn't," she said. "He broke his back a long time ago, when he was little, but he's okay now…"
"No he isn't," the girl cut in. "If he was okay, he'd be able to walk," she said, turning and walking away from Avery, over to the rack of princess dresses along the wall.
Avery stood for a moment, biting her lip to keep it from trembling, as she looked over at Artie. Why was Shannon being so mean? She loved her Daddy, and there was nothing wrong with him.
She looked around the room, trying to decide if she should go try and talk to Shannon again, or if she should go closer to her parents. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a little girl with a head of bright red hair talking to her Daddy, and instantly realized who it was.
"Ariel!" she said, hurrying over to greet her friend, leaving her thoughts about what Shannon had said about Artie for later. "Hi!"
"Hi," Ariel said, smiling softly at her, her eyes sparking behind her glasses. "Thank you for inviting me, Avery."
"Thank you for coming to my party!" Avery said, reaching out and taking her friend's hand. "Come see the pretty dresses and princesses on the wall," she added, pointing over to the other side of the room.
Artie watched the two little girls head towards the dresses for a moment, before turning back to Ariel's father, who had introduced himself as Frank, and was now chatting with Quinn.
When Quinn had spotted the little girl and her father coming down the hall, she'd turned to him and said she assumed this was Ariel, because she didn't recognize her. He offered the little girl a warm greeting after she introduced herself, before Avery came running over to say hi and take her to see the party things.
To say that Artie, and Quinn, he later learned, was slightly shocked by the polite little girl was a bit of an understatement. Thoughts racing a mile a minute, he tried to figure out why Avery had never mentioned that her friend had braces on her legs, and also had a quite pronounced speech impediment. And then he realized…for Avery, someone having a disability wasn't something new, or weird, or strange. It was just part of who they were, and therefore, he figured, she probably didn't feel the need to mention it. Ariel was her friend, he thought, as he watched his daughter walk extra slow with her so that she could keep up without even giving it a second thought, and those things were just part of who she was. For Avery, the fact that Ariel had a disability was no different from the fact that she had red hair.
"Ariel was so excited when Avery invited her," Frank said, snapping Artie out of his thoughts. "We've been hearing about her almost every day. About how they always play together and are partners in gym class, and about how Avery is the only person that's never said something mean to Ariel about her CP. It's rare to find kids that are as patient and accepting as Avery is," he went on. "I see now where she's learned those virtues," he added, smiling at Artie.
"She is a pretty neat kid," Artie said, glancing over at the girls, who were standing talking with Shannon. "We've heard about Ariel too," he said, looking to Quinn, who smiled.
"Avery was telling us how she usually picks Ariel to be her partner for gym," Quinn said casually, straitening a stack of napkins. "And how, sometimes, Ariel picks her before she even has a chance to."
Frank grinned, looking over at the little group of girls. "If I looked at the calendar, I could probably tell you the exact day those two met," he said. "It was the first day Ariel came home from school happy. And she's come home happy almost every day since."
Artie beamed with pride, wishing he could just scoop up his little girl and hug her, before deciding that probably wouldn't be the wisest move when she was with her friends.
"So, 4:00?" Frank asked.
Quinn nodded. "We'll be here," she said, as he thanked her, and walked out.
She glanced over at Artie, but he didn't see her…he was too busy watching the little girls interact.
Once Avery and Ariel had made it over to the dresses, and had started looking at them, Shannon walked up to them.
"What is she doing here?" she asked quietly, looking at Ariel.
"She's my friend," Avery said, confused by the fact that one of her so-called friends was asking her why one of her other friends was at HER birthday party.
Shannon turned to Ariel. "You walk funny," she said. "And you talk funny. There's something wrong with you, just like Avery's dad."
Avery just stared at her, as Shannon gave Ariel a final look, before walking over to the door, where several little girls had materialized in the couple of minutes since Ariel's father left.
"I don't think you walk funny or talk funny," Avery said, turning to Ariel, who looked slightly upset. "I don't know why she said those mean things."
"It's ok," Ariel said. "People are not very nice sometimes."
"But there is nothing wrong with you or with my Daddy," Avery said, before biting her lip.
Ariel reached out, and held her hand. "I know," she said. "She's just mean. Don't cry."
Avery rubbed her eyes. "I won't," she said. "My Daddy doesn't like it when I cry. It makes him sad."
She looked up, and saw Quinn waving at her to come over and greet all her guests.
While the party was for 10 girls, Quinn had only told Avery she could invite 8, because she knew that Ella was a given. She also knew that Avery might be focused on the girls in her class, and might not think of Ella right away, because she was in a different grade. The two girls were like cousins, and Quinn knew that she'd want her there.
Avery wished Ella had been able to make it, but when they had phoned to invite her, Aunty Rachel had said they were going to be out of town that weekend, unfortunately, but they could do something fun together another day to celebrate her birthday. Avery knew Ella wouldn't make fun of her Daddy, or of Ariel. She looked at the other girls, who were smiling and laughing. She had thought Shannon was her friend. What if the other girls were mean now, too? Suddenly she wasn't sure if she even wanted to have her party anymore.
Artie watched, as the group of little girls excitedly played dress up and got their nails painted by Quinn and one of the ladies from the party place. His gaze travelled very quickly to Avery, who was sitting off to the side, watching them.
"Hey, princess," he said, wheeling up to her. "What's up? Aren't you having fun?"
Avery turned, glancing up at her father. "I'm ok," she said, smiling at him.
"Are you sure?" he asked softly, turning a bit so that his back was to the party.
She nodded. "I just don't feel like being a princess right now," she said, looking down at the ground.
"Are you tired?" he asked, holding out his hand for her to take.
She nodded again. "But I'm ok, Daddy," she said, standing up. "Maybe I will go be a princess," she said. "Do you think there's a dress that matches my nails?" she asked, holding out her hands, revealing perfectly painted bright pink nails.
"I'm sure we can find one," he said, smiling at her. "Why don't we go have a look?"
While Quinn was busy painting Hannah's nails bright purple, she kept glancing over, to where Artie and Avery were sitting. She'd noticed Avery sitting off by herself, and was going to go say something to her, but Artie beat her to it.
She watched, as Avery's expression turned from slightly sad to happy again, and within a couple of minutes she was over at the rack of dresses, trying to find the one that was just right.
Once all the little girls were appropriately attired in their princess gear, Quinn lined them up, taking several pictures. After that, they opened presents, and had cake.
Despite the fact that Avery was smiling and talking to her friends again, Quinn could tell that something was still bothering her. She appeared happy, but also withdrawn, and Quinn was starting to get concerned. She had noticed that Avery had tended to hover around Ariel for most of the day, and hadn't really spoken to some of the other girls at all. Which she thought was strange, because Avery was normally such a social, happy little girl.
"Are you ok, sweetie?" she asked her, as she bent down to pick up a stray napkin next to where she and Ariel were sitting, comparing nails.
"I'm ok," Avery said, smiling at her. "Thank you for my princess party."
Quinn grinned at her. "You're welcome," she said. "Are you having fun?"
Avery nodded. "How much longer do we have?" she asked, looking around the room.
"About half an hour," she said. "Then people's parents should start picking them up."
"Ok," Avery said, a look of relief so subtle that Quinn almost missed it, on her face.
Once the party had ended, and everyone had been picked up, Quinn and Artie finished loading the last of the party things into the back of the van. Once they'd finished, they got in, and headed for home.
Artie had just turned up their street, when he heard a small sniffle in the back seat. He glanced into the rear view mirror, and caught Avery out of the corner of it, rubbing her eyes.
"Are you ok back there, princess?" he asked, glancing over at Quinn, who had already turned around in her seat.
"I'm ok," Avery responded, her voice shaky. "I'm just tired."
Knowing full well that Avery didn't usually cry when she was tired, Artie tried again. "It's ok to say so if you aren't ok," he said. "What's the matter?"
At the question, Avery burst into tears, and Artie was relieved that they had just pulled into the driveway. Once they were stopped, Quinn hopped out of the van to open the door, and before Artie had finished transferring out of the driver's seat and back into his chair, a sobbing Avery was in his lap.
"Hey," he said, softly, wrapping his arms around her, stroking her hair. "It's ok. What's wrong?"
Avery continued to cry for a couple of minutes, while Quinn stood outside the fan, wondering if she should just climb up onto the ramp, and be with them, or if she should give them some space. Finally, Artie emerged from the van, Avery tightly clutching his neck.
Once they were on the ground, Quinn crouched down. "What's wrong, Avery?" she asked.
"I just want my Daddy," Avery said, burying her neck in Artie's neck, her tears beginning to flow again.
Artie and Quinn exchanged a concerned and slightly confused look, as he wrapped his arms around her again, and whispered into her ear.
She nodded in response to something Quinn couldn't hear, and the three of them headed into the house.
"I'm going to put her to bed for a bit," Artie said, wheeling down the hall to Avery's bedroom. Quinn was about to follow, before the phone rang, and she hurried off to answer it.
Once they were in Avery's room, Artie wheeled up to her bed, but the little girl just looked at him, shaking her head.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he tried again, gently, wiping away her tears with his hand, and wishing that he had a tissue.
"I don't want to be friends with Shannon anymore," Avery said, softly. "She's mean."
"Did she say something to you?" Artie asked, his lips twisting in concern.
Avery nodded. "She said…" she trailed off. "Daddy, it was so mean!" she went on, her eyes filling up with tears again.
"What did she say, princess?" he asked softly. "It's ok. You can tell me."
"She said that Ariel walks funny and talks funny, and that there's something wrong with her" Avery whispered. "And she said it to Ariel, and she looked sad. And Daddy, why did she say that? I don't think Ariel walks funny or talks funny. And there isn't anything wrong with her. It was so mean," she finished, tears running down her face.
"Hey," he said, softly, caressing her head as she cried into his shoulder. "Don't cry. It's ok."
"No it's not, Daddy, and she also said..." her words trailed off, as she started sobbing harder.
"What did she say?" he asked gently, wiping away her tears again, wishing there was something he could do to get her to stop crying. He almost wished Quinn would walk in, because maybe she could help console their daughter, before deciding that that might not be the best thing at that moment, as it had been clear that Avery only wanted him.
"She said there was something wrong with you, too," the little girl blurted out, before she started sobbing all over again.
Artie's stomach felt like it fell into his feet, as he sat there, gently whispering into her ear, trying to console her.
Once Avery's tears had lessened, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "Daddy, it was so awful," she said. "Shannon said there was something wrong with you, and I said no, then she asked why you were sitting in your chair, and I said that you broke your back a long time ago, but you're ok now, and then she said you're not, or you would be able to walk. Why did she say those mean things? And why did she say those mean things to Ariel?" she asked.
"Maybe she just doesn't know about people like me, or people like Ariel," he said, quietly, wishing he could unleash the rage that was building up inside him on the little girl that had made his baby cry like that, before realizing that probably wasn't appropriate.
"What do you mean?" Avery asked.
"Well," he said, trying to figure out how to word what he was about to say. "Maybe she doesn't understand about people who are…different," he said, wracking his brain, trying to think in terms a six year old would understand. "You know how Ariel has to wear braces on her legs?" he asked.
Avery nodded.
"That's because she has something called cerebral palsy," he said. "Which has caused her to have some problems with walking," he went on, choosing not to mention the little girl's speech impediment for the moment. "It's made it so that she has a bit of a disability. Like I have a disability. And maybe Shannon just doesn't know about that."
"I don't understand," Avery said, nestling into his chest. "What does that mean?"
"It's like…you know how I have to use a wheelchair, because I broke my back when I was little, so I can't walk anymore?" he asked her, hoping that, if he put it in the terms she had used, she would understand.
She nodded.
"And Ariel's is a bit different," he went on. "Because she had some problems when she was being born," he said, wishing he'd worded that slightly differently. "So she was born with her disability. She has always had those differences. And Daddy didn't start having problems until after I broke my back."
"But you and Ariel don't have problems, Daddy," she said, looking into his eyes. "You just have your chair, and Ariel has to wear those things on her legs, and they make her walk slow sometimes. That's not problems."
"They're just differences," he said gently. "But you know what?"
"What?" Avery asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Our differences are what make us special," he said. "Everybody has something different, and that's what makes everybody special."
"Am I special, Daddy?" she asked softly, twirling her hair around her finger.
Artie nodded, choking down the lump he suddenly found in his throat. "You're the most special ever, princess," he said softly, holding her close.
"Daddy," she said quietly, after a moment. "When Shannon said those mean things, Ariel almost wanted to cry. Did kids say mean things to you when you were little?"
He thought for a moment, before deciding it was best to be truthful. "Sometimes they did," he said.
"Did they make you cry?" she whispered, looking into his face.
"Sometimes," he whispered back. "But it's ok," he added, as her tears began to flow freely once more.
She shook her head. "No it's not, Daddy. It just makes me more sad," she said softly, throwing her arms around his neck.
"Shhhh," he said, gently rubbing her back. "It's ok, princess. Don't cry. And don't be sad about that…it was a long time ago. Everything is perfect now, because I have you and Mommy."
She nodded, sniffling, rubbing her face on his already saturated shirt.
They sat for a few minutes, while he continued gently rubbing her back, before she sat up a bit.
"I think it would be a good idea if you had a little nap," he said. "I know it's early, but what do you think?"
"I don't want to have a nap," she said. "I want to stay with you. Are you sad now, Daddy?"
Artie nodded. "I'm sad because you're sad, princess," he said. "But I really think a nap would be a good idea…maybe for both of us. I could stay here with you," he went on, holding her hand as she climbed carefully off his lap. "And we could both have a little nap, together?"
She nodded, before looking over his shoulder and spotting Quinn in the doorway.
"Daddy and I are going to have a nap, Mommy," she said. "Is that ok? Do you want to come too?"
Quinn shook her head, smiling softly at the two. She noticed Avery's tear-streaked face and swollen red eyes, and she also noticed the way Artie's lips were twisted tightly to the side, the way they often were when he was deep in thought, or trying not to show that he was agitated. She made a mental note to ask him about it later that evening, when they were alone. Something must have happened at the birthday party, and she definitely needed to know what it was.
"You two lie down for a bit," she said. "And I'll get started on dinner. How does that sound?"
"Are you sure?" Artie asked. "Because we could just have a big family nap in our bed," he went on. "If you'd prefer that."
Quinn grinned. "Any other day I might take you up on that," she said, a sparkle in her eye. "But for now, I'd better finish putting away the party stuff, and get started on dinner. Rain check?" she asked, nodding over to Avery, who was already half asleep in the bed.
He nodded, forcing a grin back. "Rain check," he said, as he lined up his chair to transfer to her bed. "Thanks, Q."
Noticing that Artie still had the same expression on his face when they got up as he did when they'd gone to lie down, Quinn decided not to press the issue. She knew he'd tell her what had happened while she'd been on the phone with her mother eventually, and she really didn't want to upset him further.
As they climbed into bed that night, she rested her head gently on his shoulder, as he wrapped his arm around her, holding her close.
Artie had been debating telling Quinn what Avery had said, and had decided that he needed a bit more time to process all of it, first. He was just about asleep, when he heard small footsteps enter the room.
"Avery?" he whispered, looking over towards the door, barely able to make out her pink nightie-clad form standing beside the dresser. "What's wrong? Are you ok?"
"Can I sleep with you and Mommy?" she whispered, tiptoeing over to the bed. "I had a bad dream, and I just want to sleep with you today."
"Okay," Artie said, without hesitation. "Quinn," he whispered. "Still awake?"
"Mmmm," Quinn said, rolling over. "Hey, sweetie," she said, once she realized Avery was on the bottom of the bed. "Come here," she said, moving over to create a space for their daughter in between them. "Are you ok?"
"I had a bad dream," Avery whispered, snuggling in between them. "Did I wake you up?"
"No," Quinn said, gently smoothing Avery's soft hair. "You didn't."
"I love you, Mommy," Avery said, leaning over to kiss her mother on the cheek. "And you too, Daddy," she said, draping herself gently across his chest, and giving him a soft kiss. "Daddy, can I sleep like this?" she asked.
It wasn't the most comfortable position in the world for Artie, but he nodded. "Of course you can," he said, as Quinn arranged the covers to make sure everyone was nice and warm.
"Ok," Avery said. "Daddy, when you have to move your legs, you can just move me," she said, sleepily.
"Ok, princess," he said quietly. "I'll do that if I need to."
Within a few minutes, Quinn and Avery's soft snores filled the room. Artie, on the other hand, was wide awake, staring at the ceiling.
He couldn't believe that such a young child had said those things to Avery. But, then…he knew how young children were, and after thinking about it for a few minutes, he wasn't surprised anymore.
He had always wondered when something like that would come up, but he'd hoped Avery would be a little older, and better able to understand the explanation given by either himself, or Quinn.
He tried to push the thoughts out of his mind, but they continued to swirl around, before finally coming to the front of the line. What if what Shannon had said to Avery made her look at him differently? What if it made her look at Ariel differently?
He knew that Avery wouldn't feel differently about either of them, because she loved her Daddy, and Ariel was her really good friend, but still…he didn't want those thoughts in her mind. He didn't think a six year old should have to think about those things, and he didn't want her to think about things he knew would just make her sad.
He silently cursed the fact that he was paralyzed, because he knew that, if he wasn't, Avery would never have had to deal with something like what had happened at her party. He almost felt like it was his fault that she hadn't had fun, even though he knew that was slightly ridiculous. But, he reasoned, if he could walk, that would have meant that that rude little girl would never have said those things to Avery. And it would also have meant that he would have been able to give his family another child, or children, if that was what they decided on, without having to seek medical help and watch the expression on Quinn's face when the procedures failed. He didn't know how many more times he could see that, and he hoped that the last one they had done, would stick.
As he looked down at Avery's small head, rising and falling gently each time he took a breath, the anger welling up inside of him subsided. He glanced over at Quinn, noticing that her hand was wrapped gently around Avery's, and smiled softly.
He'd told Avery earlier that people's differences made them special, and decided that he should have worded it differently. For him, the fact that he had a disability (or difference, as he'd described it to Avery) wasn't what made him special…that was mostly just a nuisance. What made Artie special, in his mind, was that he had the best family anyone could ever ask for.
He really wished that he could provide for them the way he thought he should be able to, and the fact that he couldn't broke his heart.
He glanced over at the clock, squinting to read the large numbers. 1:58. It was going to be a long night.
A/N: I know…longest chapter ever. So long, in fact, that I wrote part of it on Thursday night, and the rest on Friday…and I NEVER do that. Usually, if I sit down to write…I write until I'm done.
I was going to dedicate this chapter to Megan, before I read it over again, and realized that we probably wrote 90% of this together, so…this chapter is a collaboration with Megan (aka GLEEful Heart).
But that doesn't mean it's not dedicated to you too, yo! ;)
I hope everyone enjoyed! The next chapter is mostly planned out in my mind, so it should be up in the next few days.
And it probably won't be much shorter than this one is.