Disclaimers: I do not own PLL or the characters. I do own all OCs.
Spoilers: The Pink TuTu
Rating: T

Reply to reviews: (chapter 1)

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Momma Duck: Get ready! This is going to be a roller coaster of emotions.

Welcome to my followers and favoriter Momma Duck and pinkcraziness.

Notes: I officially have this whole story completed, so here is the first chapter. First up is Mason Rivers (6 months) and Scottie Montgomery-Hastings's (2 months) first fourth of July!

Taylor: 11 years old.
Natalie: 8 years old.
Rosie: 4 years old.
Mason: 6 months old.
Scottie: 2 months old.

"Time becomes more precious
when you have children."

4 years ago – Saturday, July 4th, 2015
Mason Rivers's & Scottie's first Fourth of July

*Rivers Residence*

"Auntie Hanna, Unle Caleb!" 4-year-old Rosie comes barreling through the front door, her moms, Spencer and Aria Montgomery-Hastings, following closely behind with their newborn son, who is about to be 2 months old. His name is Aaron Scott, nicknamed 'Scottie', after Byron's brother, Scott, who took his own life when he and Byron were kids.

Today is a doubly special day. Not only is it Scottie's first Fourth of July, but is also Hanna and Caleb's son, Mason Tobias Rivers's, as well. Mason is now 6 months old, and he is absolutely adored by his cousin, Rosie.

"Hey!" Caleb sweeps her up into her arms. "How are you?"

"Great! Guess what today is, Unle Caleb!"

Caleb rubs his imaginary beard as he looks thoughtful, asking, "Is today… PB&J Day at you Auntie Ali and Aunt Em's house."

"Noo!"

"No?! Well, is it… Play in the Snow and Build a Fort Day?"

"Unle Caleb! No! It's da ford of you lie! Wif da fireforks and hot dogs!"

Caleb throws his head back, laughing. Sometimes, Rosie's mispronunciations really get to him. He laughs so hard and loud that eventually, Hanna comes into the room. She finds her husband doubled over, trying to catch his breath, while Rosie is standing there with her hands on her hips, and a no nonsense look on her face.

"What is going on here?"

"Auntie Hanna, Unle Caleb doesn't know what day it is!"

Hanna gasps, turning to her husband, and mirroring Rosie's hands-on-her-hip stance. "Caleb Jordan Rivers! How you possibly not know what today is?"

"Well, I guessed all I could!" Caleb throws his hands up. "If it isn't PB&J Day or Play in the Snow and Build a Fort Day, then what day could it be?"

Rosie stomps her foot again, mimicking a miniature Alison Dilaurentis, as she says, "Unle Caleb! It's da ford of you lie! Wif da fireforks and hot dogs!"

This time, it is Hanna who practically dies of laughter. Rosie just huffs and walks away while Caleb stays and makes sure his wife does not literally die of laughter.

:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/

*Later*

"Dis is gonna be so much fun!" Rosie takes her cousin's hands, swinging them back and forth gently. "You're gonna lub the fireforks! Dere's gonna be little ones and big ones and spark-o-lee ones. Doesn't that sound fun, Masey?"

Mason giggles and claps his hands. He absolutely adores the attention he gets from his cousin. Mason has skipped right over being a "Daddy" or "Mommy's boy" and went straight to being a Cousin Rosie's boy.

"Can you say fireforks, Masey? Can you?" Rosie lays next to Mason as he plays with his toys. Being that he is 6 months old, Mason is already sitting up without assistance. Rosie shows him his toy blocks.

"Look, Masey, build a castle, like this! Wed block, blue block, gween, and brown, and yellow."

Mason squeals as he watches his cousin. He takes a block but instead of placing it on the "castle", he tries to put it in his mouth.

"No, Masey, don't do dat!" Rosie says as she falls over in a fit of giggles. "You're silly! Do dis! Put on here, and one here, and one here…" She guides his hand that is holding a blue block over to the stack and helps him gently place it on top. "Look at dat! You're a big boy! You did it!"

The two play for several more minutes before Mason starts getting fussy. This prompts Hanna to come into the room and announce it is lunchtime.

"Ooh, what are we havin', Auntie Hanna?"

"We are grilling hot dogs and hamburgers, with potato salad, chips, and Kool-Aid."

"Yes!" Rosie pumps her fist in the air. "All my fav'rits!"

Chuckling and setting up Mason in his highchair, Hanna says, "Why don't you go see if Uncle Caleb and Auntie Em need help setting the tables outside?"

"Okay!"

Hanna watches as Rosie runs out of the kitchen and out to the patio. She can hear the 4-year-old chatting with her husband and best friends. Turning back to Mason, she tickles his side, getting her favorite sound of him – baby giggles.

"I can't wait until you are older, Mas. You and Scottie and Rosie will have so much next year, and the year after that. And I hope you have fun tonight." She gets a squeal in response and begins "having" a conversation with him. "Yes, that's right, Big Boy! You are going to lots of pretty colors in the fireworks."

Squeal

"Blue ones and red ones, and purple. And maybe even so cool shapes."

"Ahh!"

"Yep. Even sparklers! And confetti poppers, and some fun little toys."

"Buhbuhbuhmmmmm…"

"There is probably going to be some little racecars that make some color smoke, and snappers that you throw on the ground…"

Hanna continues to feed Mason his dinner, knowing that there is nothing he will like that they are going to be eating. He can play in the pac-'n-play while Scottie sleeps next to him while the grownups are eating.

Soon, the hot dogs and hamburgers are finished. Everyone grabs a plate and sits at the picnic tables in the backyard. Rosie chats with her soon-to-cousins, 8-year-old Natalie and 11-year-old Taylor. They are a sister/brother pair that Emily and Alison are fostering and are also in the process of officially adopting them.

:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/

*Late in the afternoon*

"Tay! Nat! Can I do sparklers wif you, pease?"

"Sure, Rosie," Taylor hands her one. Then he takes the lighter and instructs, "You have to do as I say, ok, Rosie? That way you are safe while playing with it."

"Yes, sir!"

"Okay… First, you hold it like this, away from you face. Then I will light it."

He does Natalie's next.

"There, see? Hold it away, and then wave it around to write with the smoke."

Taylor demonstrates by writing T-a-y.

Rosie and Natalie have fun with them. They use nearly all of the sparklers before they are reminded to wait until it is actually dark out for the rest. So, they go over for the confetti poppers and snappers. Taylor even shows them how to do them with their fingers instead of just throwing them on the ground.

Meanwhile, across the yard, Spencer and Aria watch their daughter. Then, they glance over to the pac-'n-play where their son, 2-month-old Scottie, is taking his nap.

"Can you believe it has already been two months? He is growing so fast."

Spencer wraps her arms around Aria's waist and leans her chin on the shorter girl's shoulder.

"No. I honestly can't. It seems as if it was only yesterday that you and I were looking down at the little boy we made. Soon, he will be crawling and saying his first word…" She sighs wistfully. "Then, they will be graduating college and our hair will be grey and we will be watching our great-grandchildren grow up, and–"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Aria tries to reel in the laughing as she pulls away and spins around. "Okay, Babe, slow down there… I think having a 2-month-old and 4-year-old means it will be a loong time before they are graduating college and we have great-grandchildren."

"But look at them!" Spencer gestures wildly to both the pac-'n-play a few feet away, and to their daughter, who is still across the yard playing with confetti poppers with Taylor and Natalie. "This is Rosie's last year of preschool. One year from now, we will be back-to-school shopping for Kindergarten class school supplies."

"I know, Babe. But it is only July. And she did only turn 4 last month; she is still practically a baby. I mean, she uses pullups during sleepovers, and sometimes during the day. She sleeps with a nightlight, and is a strict bedtime routine, and even the slightest adjustment throws her off. She can't get dressed properly alone, we have to watch her during baths…"

"My point is," And now she is serious, because underneath the playfulness and the normal over exaggeration, Spencer is truly worried about Rosalie and Aaron growing up too quickly. She is worried that working the hours she does, being away from home, away from Rosie and Scottie and Aria…

She is worried that she will turn into her parents, working all hours, never home for dinner, birthdays, or milestones that only occur once in a child's lifetime…

"My point is, Spence, that you are not turning into your parents. You are home for the important moments. You are home to say good morning and "have a good day" to Rosie. And you are going to be there for moments like firsts with Scottie, dinner with us more than one night a week…"

Aria trials off here, letting it sink in and eventually, Spencer nods.

"You're right, of course, you are right. I just… I just worry, ya'know? But you are right. I am home, and I believe Rosie knows I love her, and I will continue to try my best to be home for dinner and bedtime and the in-betweens of spending one-on-one time with Rosie and Scottie. But I–… I feel like we may not have much time with them. And I don't know why but… It feels like we should pause today, freeze us here in time, and spend every second with Rosie…"

Aria's furrows her eyebrows as she watches Spencer. She is confused as to what is going on. Sure, Spence has been worried about them "growing up too fast" before, but to feel like they need to freeze time and spend every second with their daughter? Not both their daughter and son, but just their daughter?

It is new and odd.

"I don't know how to explain it, Ar. I just feel like we may not have as much time with her as we think…"

Aria has no how to respond so instead, she simply wraps her arms around Spencer's waist, and leans her head on her chest, and the two just stand there, watching as the sun sets lower into the sky, sending rays of pinks and purples, through the clouds, while Hanna and Caleb go around lighting their Tiki Torches.

:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/

*That night – 10 minutes til "Fireforks" time*

"Okay, okay, okay!" Hanna comes running outside with a flashlight. "It's all-most ty-mm!"

She singsongs it making Natalie giggle at her adoptive aunt's silliness.

This year, they have opted to stay home and do "fireforks" in their backyard, because they are unsure how Mason will react, though they are sure it will be a sensory overload for the 6-month-old's little ears and body. And also, Scottie is barely six weeks old, so there is way they will subject him to a live fireworks show.

"Mamma, Mommy! Come on! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Rosalie does a little dance, somewhere between a bunny hop and skipping for a game of hopscotch.

"We're coming, Sweetheart. Go and pick out a spot on the blankets, ok? You can take your camera and snacks."

"Okay!"

Rosie gets her sippy cup of apple juice, her bowl of Goldfish, and her camera that is made specifically for little kids, being waterproof and drop proof. They do small fireworks first. Little Smokebombs, etc., and work their way up to the bigger ones. Just as expected, things start going south, big time.

"Look, Masey!" Rosie points from where she is lying flat on her back, taking pictures with her pink camera. "See? Dose colors are blue an' lellow an' purble!"

BOOM!

…

WAAH!

And there it is…

"Masey?!" Rosie is up and over to the blanket a couple of feet from her. "Masey, whatsda matter?"

Hanna picks him, shushing him and trying to calm him down. Someone radios over to Toby and Caleb, telling them not to light anymore fireworks. They are over in a clearing through the woods behind the house because they did not feel that it was safe for them to do any of the bigger ones in the backyard.

Ezra goes to trade places with Caleb so he can go inside with his son and wife.

"Mamma!"

Rosie starts getting teary, as well, not liking the fact that her baby cousin was so upset.

"Oh, Sweetie, come here. It's ok. Masey was just startled, that's all." Spencer scoops her up as Aria turns on a lantern so they can see with having to turn the big backyard patio light on. "He is still a baby, and sometimes loud noises like fireworks scare babies. He just needs some more time to get used to how they sound."

"Okay…" She sniffles. "But I don't wanna do dis no more."

Spencer shares a look with Aria, who does a half nod/half shrug. They decide to convene with Emily, Alison, and Natalie and Taylor, who all agree…

Fireworks are finished for the night, and they can try again tomorrow or later in the week. Afterall, it is Summer, and who says that fireworks can only be set off on July Fourth? Taylor and Natalie help pick up the blankets, while Alison gathers the snacks and drinks, and Emily sets the foldable lawn chairs on the back porch.

Aria lets Taylor radio over to Toby and Ezra. The kids think it is so cool they have actual real-life Walkie-Talkies to take to each other on.

They all head inside. Scottie gets a bottle and is put to bed. Mason is calmed down and has a bottle, as well, along with a snack. The kids get heated up hot dogs and chips, then go down to the basement for some fun. It is only just after 8:30, so they, except for Rosie, have a while before it is officially bedtime.

And that…

That right there is how Mason Rivers's and Scottie Montgomery-Hastings's first Fourth of July ends.

So, there it is! I tried to get some time with Mason, but he is only 6 months, so it was hard to really have any interaction with him. I did do some with him and Rosie, because she absolutely adores him. And that ending is usually how fireworks go when it involves two babies and a highly empathetic 4-year-old.

Also, Spencer said some things… She has a feeling that something may be wrong but… Will she listen to it? Or will she and Aria brush it off as a "normal" mom worry?

Please review and let me know what you thought! :)

Next up: Rosie's last first day of preschool.
Then: Mason's first word!