*Thank-you all for the reviews on the last chapter. They were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much!
*I own no one except for Alex, the kids, Tony and Ashley.
The following Friday Dave wanted to spend some time with his sons. The kids were out of school for the day because of the Memorial Day holiday that Monday. Dave was taking Ben to the mall to get his ear pierced and then they were going to see the Yankees game that night at Yankee Stadium. Ben and Josiah were both big Yankee fans and they both loved baseball so Dave wanted to take them to a game. This was going to be Ben's 5th Yankees game but Josiah's first. Dave was excited for Josiah. While he was spending the day with the boys Alex and the girls were going to stay at home for the day. Alex was hoping for Chelsea to keep the younger girls occupied while she did some major spring cleaning that needed to be done and Lindsey offered to help her out. Alex also wanted to start to clean out one of the guest rooms so that her and Dave could start buying baby furniture and getting it together for the nursery. Alex also had winter clothes that she needed to put away for the summer and get out some summer clothes for the kids since it was starting to warm up. That was the only thing she missed about living in Louisiana she never really had to put summer clothes away or actually have winter clothes because it was usually a warm climate. Alex was sitting in the living room with the kids' summer clothes from the previous year going through what would fit and what wouldn't fit them. Jordyn was sitting on the floor watching Dora The Explorer as Dave came downstairs with Ben and Josiah. All three of them were dressed in their Yankees jerseys and Dave walked into the living room to say, "All right, Alex, we're getting ready to go. We're hitting the mall first and then going to the game. We'll be back later."
"All right," she said looking at Jordyn's old clothes.
"So you're just going to sit there and not say bye to me?" he asked with a smile.
"Well, no," she said with a smile as she got up and walked over to him. "Bye, Baby," she said as she kissed his lips quickly.
"Bye," he said. "So you're cleaning today?"
"Yeah," she answered.
"Nesting all ready?"
"No. I just like a little organization around here," she said as Jordyn skipped over to them in her Yankees cheerleader outfit.
"Where are you going, Daddy?"
"We're going to the mall so Ben can get his ear pierced and then we're going to watch the Yankees play."
"I want to see the Yankees," she said.
"Maybe next time," said Dave, "I want to hang out with the boys today."
"That's not fair, Daddy," she said crossing her arms. "I like the Yankees too. I have a Yankees dress on," she said showing him the dress.
"I know, Jordyn but today it's the boys' turn to be with me. Next time. I promise."
"Okay, Daddy. Can you get me something?"
"We'll see," he said with a smile.
"Okay. Bye, Daddy," she said as she skipped back over to sit down and watch Dora.
"She loves that show doesn't she?" asked Dave as he looked at her.
"She does," said Alex. "It's better than Yo Gabba Gabba."
"No. Yo Gabba Gabba was better," he said looking at Alex with a smile. "And look at you. Wearing a Yankees Jersey too."
"Well, I guess you could say after all these years you brought me to the dark side and made me a Yankees fan," she said with a smile.
"Good," he said, "The Red Sox were a sucky team anyway. I still hold out hope you'll become a Giants fan."
"Never going to happen. I will never turn my back on my boys. The Steelers are a MUCH better team. Giants suck."
"All right I will admit the last few seasons they have been really sucky but this coming season is going to be their year. I'm telling you."
"Okay," said Alex, "Whatever makes you sleep at night."
"Shut up," he said with a smile. "Well, I guess we better go so we can get everything done in time. Are you watching the game?"
"Yep," said Alex. "As long as I have a chance of seeing my three favorite guys you better believe it."
"All right. Bye," he said as he kissed her lips one last time before heading out with the boys. He put Josiah in his booster seat and secretively allowed Ben to sit up front. "Don't tell your mom I'm letting you sit up front," he said.
"I won't," said Ben with a smile. "I never do."
"Okay," said Dave, "because she would have my head especially knowing you weren't in your booster seat either. And after everything that happened a few years ago with her and Chelsea in the car she would really kill me."
"So if you know it will make her mad why do you let me do it?" asked Ben as Dave pulled out of the driveway.
"I don't know," he said. "Don't you want to sit up front?"
"I do but if it makes Mom mad then I don't know. She's got a bad temper."
"Yeah, she does," said Dave with a smile as he ran his hand over Ben's head. "So you're serious about this whole ear piercing thing?"
"Yes, Dad. I want my ear pierced. I'm doing it for Teagan. I know she is going to love it. And I think it's cool. You have yours done."
"Yeah. I got my ears pierced to impress a girl too.. She broke up with me. I got a tattoo to match my girlfriend's and she broke up with me. Although your mom's name is still tattooed on my rib cage and she's still there so I guess that's a good thing."
"And she has your name tattooed on her rib cage too," said Ben. "I can't wait to get a tattoo next."
"When you're 18, Buddy," said Dave with a smile.
"Why can't I get one when I'm 13?"
"Because your sister will have a fit," said Dave, "because we told her she had to wait till she was 18."
"Who? Chelsea?"
"Yeah," said Dave.
"Oh," he said. "She gets everything she wants anyway."
"No she doesn't," said Dave. "Okay maybe she does but you all do."
"I guess," he said, "can we get another dog?"
"Absolutely not," said Dave, "are you crazy? You have a baby brother or sister coming in December. We don't need another dog. Snoopy is good enough."
"Fine but if I have another little sister can I make her pretend to be a dog."
"As long as you don't make her eat dog food or drink from the toilet you can do whatever you want."
"Daddy," said Josiah. "I don't want baby."
"Well, it's happening buddy. And we can only hope it's another boy or we will be outnumbered by girls."
"I do want a brother," said Ben. "I'm tired of sisters."
"I bet you are," said Dave as they continued driving to the mall. When he arrived at the mall he pulled into the parking lot at the nearest entrance to the piercing place so they could get in and get out. He got the boys out of the car and they headed inside. Dave and the boys walked through the mall with a purpose as they finally approached the piercing place. Dave let Ben look around at the earrings as he waited for the lady working to acknowledge him. "See any that you like, Buddy?" he asked as he still waited. She wasn't really doing anything except talking on her cell phone. Dave was growing impatient.
"I want diamond ones like you. I want them to be blinged out," he said.
"All right," said Dave with a smile. "That's my boy. Excuse me," he finally said to the lady.
"I will be right with you," she said before she went back to talking on her cell phone.
"Excuse me," said Dave again. "I have stuff to do today so if you could get off your phone to pierce my son's ear we will gladly be on our way shortly."
She gave him a look of disgust and said something into the phone before she hung it up. "How can I help you?"
He looked at her name tag and saw her name was Ashley and said, "Ashley, my son would like to get his ear pierced. Can you do that for him? Or would you like us to go somewhere else?"
"I can do that," she said. "Do you have any earring that you would like?" she asked looking at Dave. She was looking at him strangely as if she knew him from somewhere and then when Ben came over to the counter she knew exactly who he was and who Ben was. Since Ben looked just like his mother it wasn't hard to tell he was Alex's son. The one everyone in New York always claimed was Ron's son but really wasn't. No one really knew for sure. Alex said that the test results said he was Dave's son but people still doubted her. Ashley was one of those people.
"I want that one right there," said Ben as he pointed to a diamond earring just like his dad's.
"Are you sure, Buddy?" asked Dave as he got down on his level.
"I'm sure, Dad," he said. "I want to be just like you."
"Okay," said Dave. "That's the one we want then."
"All right," she said as she got it out of the case. "I just need you to fill this paper out giving us permission to pierce his ear," she said giving Dave a piece of paper.
Dave read over it, signed it and then gave it back to her. "There you go but you know you could do a better job at giving service. I mean it's been horrible since we came."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Bautista," she said. "Please forgive me." She was being sarcastic before she said, "All right. Come have a seat on this chair."
"Okay," said Ben as he made his way over to the chair and climbed up in it.
"So how is Alex doing?" asked Ashley as she put the earring into the gun.
"Um. She's fine," said Dave. "How do you know her?"
"Trust me, Dave, your wife and me go WAY back," she said with a smile. "How's Tony doing?"
"I guess he's good. Why all the questions?"
"I was just wondering. I heard he's out of jail now. How's his life going?"
"Can you please just pierce his ear?" asked Dave. He wasn't sure how to act with this woman. He had no idea who she was but she seemed to know a lot about his life. He wasn't sure if she really knew Alex or if she was just an over obsessed fan that pretended she knew Alex. If she was it wasn't the first time it happened. It happened a lot more than people thought. Alex as like a target for having a bunch of friends she never even knew existed so that people could get in good with Dave. It took Dave to fall for that trick one time before he was more weary of what was going on. Dave and Alex had a lot of fans that were obsessed with them. Dave especially and there had been times Alex had received death threats from some of them. It was just another price they paid for Dave's fame.
"Sure," she said as she took the gun and put it to his ear. "1-2-3" and clip his ear was pierced.
"Ow," he said. "That hurt but how do I look, Dad?" he asked.
Dave looked at it as Ashley put the gun away and added up the cost. "It looks pimp," he said. "You're rockin' it."
"Thanks," said Ben with a smile. "Is Mom going to like it?"
"She's going to love it," said Dave with a smile. "It looks good on you," he said. "And it is definitely bling."
"I know," said Ben as he looked at it before getting off the chair.
"34.99," said Ashley.
"All right," said Dave, "Thank-you," he said paying her the money.
She rang him up and gave him his change before saying, "have a good day. And when you see Tony tell him Ashley said what's up."
"I'd rather not," said Dave as he grabbed the ear cleaning stuff and hurried away from the counter. As they walked away he looked back at the girl one more time to see she pulled out her cell phone and began talking again. She smiled at him and waved sending chills up Dave's spine. There was just something about her he didn't like and he wasn't sure why. He shrugged it off and headed for the exit so they could head to Yankee Stadium.
When they arrived at the stadium Dave got the boys out of the car and held onto their hands tightly as they made their way through the crowd. It was a fairly big crowd since the Yankees were playing the Philadelphia Phillies and Dave was beginning to think this wasn't the best day to bring the boys out to the game. When they got to the gate he gave the tickets and headed into the stadium. He took the boys to the souvenir stand so that the could each get something. Ben got a foam finger while Josiah got a Yankees hat. Dave knew he couldn't' go home with out something for Jordyn, Kaylee or Chelsea so he bought them each a Yankees bear and then they headed to their seats. They had pretty decent seats and the boys were excited as they could see the field in front of them. The vender came by and Dave got them each a hot dog to eat during the game. Dave said to Josiah, " Siah, it wouldn't be a game without a hotdog. You gotta have a hot dog at a baseball game."
"And peanuts," said Ben.
"Well, yeah but we're not going to get peanuts today because Josiah is allergic to them."
"Oh yeah," said Ben. "I forgot."
"It's okay," said Dave, "as long as you didn't give him a peanut to eat."
"What happens if he eats a peanut?"
"He could die," said Dave. "He's severely allergic to them."
"Oh," said Ben as he took a bite of his hot dog. "I love coming to baseball games with you."
"I'm glad," said Dave. "I like when you come with me."
"This is fun, Daddy," said Josiah.
"It didn't even start yet," said Dave as he sat Josiah down on his lap. "Just wait until the game gets started."
"Okay," he said eating his hot dog.
The players came out onto the field and the game began as they played the National Anthem. It was a pretty good game. The two teams remained tied at 5 for most of the game before the Phillies got ahead by 2 and were still in the lead by 2 by the time the 9th inning came into play. It was the Yankees chance to come back and win the game but Dave was growing doubtful as the first player up to bat was hitting foul balls. A foul ball just happened to fly into Dave's and the boys' direction. Dave wanted to protect Josiah from being hit with the ball and he figured Ben would protect himself but he didn't. Instead he took out his glove and hoped to catch the ball as it came his way. As the ball flew his way he wanted more than anything to catch but before he got the chance the foul ball hit him in the eye and then bounced down into his glove. "Ben, are you all right?" asked Dave.
"Yeah, Dad," he said holding a hand over his eye. "I caught the ball. LOOK!" he was so excited.
"I see but it hit you in the eye. Are you okay?"
"Yes, Dad," he said.
"Okay," said Dave as he looked at Ben's eye. It was already starting to swell and he knew he was going to be in a lot trouble with Alex. "Your mom is going to kill me," he said shaking his head as he looked at his eye. "Really kill me."
Meanwhile Alex and the girls were at home watching the game and they had shown Ben getting hit in the eye with the ball. Alex said immediately, "I am going to kill your father. He made sure Siah was safe but just let Ben go."
"That looked like it hurt," said Chelsea.
"I'm sure it did hurt," said Alex as she shook her head. They continued watching the game and sadly enough the Yankees didn't make a come back. They ended up losing the game. Usually Dave would have been upset but he was more upset with himself for allowing Ben to get hit in the eye with a ball. It was good that Ben caught but it wasn't so good that he got hit in the eye. The poor kid's eye was going to be black and blue it was already starting to bruise.
As the fans were leaving the stands Dave and the boys were waiting behind for the crowd to die down before they left. They were sitting there just over looking the field when the manager of the Yankees came up to ask if Ben was okay and Dave told him he was. He didn't cry or anything in fact he was more excited over catching the ball than upset about getting hit in the eye with it. "Well, do you want an autograph or something?" he asked.
"Sure," said Ben with a smile.
"Who's your favorite player?"
"Derek Jeter," said Ben with a smile. "He's my favorite."
"Okay," said the manager. "Wait here and I will be right back."
"Okay," said Ben as they waited. Shortly after the manager came out with Derek Jeter. "DAD! LOOK IT'S DEREK JETER!" Ben was full of excitement.
"I see, Buddy," said Dave with a smile. "What's up."
"Hey, Batista," he said.
"My son is a big fan of yours," said Dave.
"I heard. Hey, Mini Batista. What's your name?"
"Ben," he said.
"Well, Ben, are you okay? How does your eye feel?"
"I'm fine," he said.
"As long as you're okay. So how old are you, Ben?"
"6," he said.
"So you're in kindergarten or first grade?"
"Kindergarten," he said.
"Cool. Do you play baseball?"
"I'm going to in the summer," said Ben with a big smile.
"So I heard you would like my autograph?" he asked with a smile.
"Yes, Please," said Ben as he handed the ball to him to sign.
"I think you deserve it after taking that ball like a champ." He said as he signed the ball for him. "Here you go, Champ," he said giving it back to him. "Will I see you out here playing for the Yankees one day or are you going to be like your dad and wrestle?"
"I want to play football for the Giants or I'll be a Yankees player."
"Sounds like a plan for me," he said. "And what's your name little guy?" he asked Josiah.
"Josiah," he said.
"Would you like me to sign your hat for you?" Josiah was acting shy so he just nodded his head. "All right," he said as Dave handed him Josiah's hat. "You're a quiet guy aren't you?"
"Yes he is," said Dave. "I don't know where he gets it. I'm not quiet and his mom isn't quiet."
"I guess he chose to be the quiet one," he said with a smile as he signed the hat before giving it back to him.
"Thank-you," said Dave.
"No problem," he said. "You guys have a good day. And I'll see you later, Champ."
"Bye," said Ben as Derek Jeter walked away. It was an exciting moment for Ben. He liked Derek Jeter more than his own dad when it came to sports. He was a hardcore Jeter fan and Dave was happy for him. He finally got to meet his favorite player. Dave finally took the kids out of the stands and headed to the car.
When they got home Ben ran into the house and went straight to his mom. "MOM! Look! I met Derek Jeter! He signed my ball!"
"Oh my God!" yelled Chelsea as she jumped off the couch and ran over to her little brother. "You met Derek Jeter?"
"Yes I did," he said showing her the ball, "and it's all mine."
"I am so jealous," said Chelsea.
"Be jealous," said Ben. "Ha ha."
"Don't tease," said Alex as Dave made his way into the living room. "And look at your eye, Ben. Let's get some meat on it."
"No use for that," said Dave, "it's already swollen and black and blue."
"I guess," said Alex.
"And look, Mom, I got my ear pierced," he said showing her his earring.
"Cute. It looks just like your dad's earring," she said with a smile.
"I'm sorry," said Dave. "I didn't mean for him to get hit in the eye with the ball."
"It's okay," said Alex, "but stuff happens. He'll just have a shiner for a couple days."
"I guess so," said Dave.
"So how'd the ear piercing go?"
"The lady that did it was so rude. She talked on her phone while we waited about 5-10 minutes. Then she was just giving attitude. She asked me how you were doing. I don't know. There was just something about her. I didn't like her at all."
"Oh," said Alex as she wrapped her arms around Dave's waist. "What was her name?"
"And she told me to tell Tony what's up. I'm not going to but she told me to. I don't know," he said wrapping his arms around Alex.
"What is her name?" asked Alex.
"Ashley," said Dave.
"ASHLEY?" asked Alex removing herself from Dave. "I have to call Athena and Tony!"
"What? Why?" asked Dave.
"Nothing," said Alex. "I just need to talk to Tony about something."
"Um all right," he said. He had no idea what was going on but the name Ashley freaked Alex out and she said she needed to talk to Tony. Dave knew whatever it was it couldn't have been good and he was starting to wonder if he was going to need to move his family out of New York.
*A/N: Another sweet chapter where Dave got to spend time with his sons. Ben got his ear pierced just like his dad and got the same earring as him. The girl at the piercing counter was pretty rude.. Ashley... she claims to know Alex and Tony but then again they've had over obsessed fans that have lied about being friends with Alex.. but yet she doubted that Dave is the father of Ben so she might know Alex.. It's still amazing that after 6 years people still doubt that DAve is Ben's father.. although Dave never saw the test results. He just went by Alex's word because shortly after she passed out and had a miscarriage You just never know I guess.. but I doubt Alex would lie. .. Dave did good taking the boys to the baseball game and they had a good time even though Ben got hit in the eye with the ball. He took it like a champ and he even got an autograph ball out of the deal so it's all good. YOu gotta love Ben rubbing it in Chelsea's face about meeting Derek JEter especially after he talked about how Chelsea gets everything she wants not this time apparently. And then Dave told Alex about Ashley.. Alex freaked out big time so.. she obviously knows her. So what did you think? Please review. And thank-you for taking the time to read.
