Chapter Thirty-Seven

"Wolf!" Phoebe called as she bounded into the house, her hands clasped in front of her and her overalls caked in mud and grass. "Wolf! Come see what I caught!"

John leaned on a cane as he stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around his hips. "Oh God…" He limped into the mud room with his sister in toe. "If you get mud on my wife's floor, she will murder us both." He placed a mop bucket on the floor in front of her, laughing when she placed a little frog in the tub. "What the…" He bent forward, peering at the amphibian in the container. "Where did you find him?" He laughed, adjusting his towel so that it wouldn't fall down.

"In the pond behind the barn." She grinned, tucking Amelia's braid behind her shoulder as she came to show her find.

"I got a salamander!" She beamed, showing off her missing tooth. "His name's Mustard."

John cocked a brow at the girls, trying not to smile as he took in the pride on their faces. "And the frog's name is…"

"Pickle." Phoebe giggled, covering her eyes when she almost caught a glimpse of John as the towel moved. "Go put pants on!" She squealed, running into the main part of the house and tracking mud over John's carpet.

Claire groaned as she chased the girls around their bedroom, straightening her back when Samantha took a pullup from the boxes and pulled it over her head. "Johnathan!" She called, using her husband's full name to be sure to get his attention. "Johnathan! Come dress your children!" She sighed as Sid took his pants off for the sixth time in a row.

John hobbled into the nursery, chuckling when Claire glared at him and he saw the chaos in the room. "Alright, I'll take them." He took a seat on the rocking chair, placing the cane on the bookshelf and grabbing Maya's arm as she tried to make another pass around him. "Come on, Leotie. Let's get this dress on you so we can get to church." He wrestled his toddler into the blue dress and handed her off to Claire before he started on Samantha. "There's number two." He reached for Sid, his eyes narrowing when Sid scooted himself away.

"He's definitely yours." She smiled, taking the girls downstairs to give them breakfast. "Phoebe! Amelia! Church clothes, now!" She ordered in her best mom voice.

John pushed himself out of the chair, grunting as he put pressure on his cut up leg. "Come on Sid, put your pants on."

"No." Sid smiled, pushing himself up before he ran away from his father.

John sighed, reaching for Sid again. "Sid. Pants. Now."

"No."

"Sidney Thomas, put your pants on!"

"No!" Sid laughed, twisting away from his father to run into the closet.

"Sid! Put your fucking pants on!" John bit his lips as he realized what he'd said, his heart dropping when Sid was silent for a moment. "Sid?"

"Fuck!" Sid grinned, letting John open the closet door and pulling his pant's over his head. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" He giggled as John picked him up, too amused with the new word to fight him as he dressed him.

John swallowed as he set Sid on he and Claire's bed to finish dressing himself. "Don't you dare tell your mother I taught you that." He pulled his tie out of his dresser, tying it around his neck before he turned around to see that Sid had once again, wiggled out of his pants. "God damnit, Sidney." He grabbed his son again, and stuffed him into his trousers.

Claire raised a brow as John limped his way down the stairs, picking up a comb and brushing his hair back into place. "He's tough, huh?"

John nodded, setting Sid in his highchair and tying a bib around his neck. "I'm starting to understand why Jacob hit me so much." He kissed Claire's lips and placed a few cheerios on the tray before his son. "Not that I would ever do that. I'm just saying, that I can almost understand it."

"Fuck!" Sid shouted, stuffing his fingers into his mouth.

Claire pushed John back; shock clear on her face. "What did you teach him?"

"I may have slipped up a little." John smiled, popping a couple of Eggo Waffles into the toaster as Phoebe and Amelia poured two cups of milk and took their seats at the counter. "And apparently that is his new favorite word…"