A\N: Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and reviewing this story. It means a lot to me.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything expect the children, they're figments of my imagination.

Spoilers: None

Warinings: None

Chapter 39

Oliver arrived back from the hospital later that night. Lucas had split his head open when his fall from the top of the monkey bars caused him to smashed the back of his head agansit the wooden structure. He had been taken to the hospital in an ambulance, Oliver had accompanied Luas in the ambulance to the hospital promising Shane he'd keep her updated. While at the hospital Lucas had needed fifteen stitches in his head. The doctors were keeping him overnight for observation and Oliver had a very hard time leaving Lucas at the hospital alone as he was scared. Oliver had tried his best to explain that he couldn't stay past visiting hours because of the new hospital rules in the pandemic. Luckily a nurse had offered to stay and play checkers with Lucas for a while until he calmed down. That had given Oliver time to give Lucas one las hug goodbye and leave.

Oliver walked quietly into the house and saw the lights were mostly out on the first floor. It was the children's bedtime, but Oliver suspected Julia and Matthew would not want to go to sleep. They had both been very upset when they'd seen their brother bleeding from his head. Hearing soft voices coming from his and Shane's room he entered. Shane was holding Elizabeth in her arms and Matthew and Julia were in their pajamas and snuggled beside her on either side. Both Julia and Matthew were half asleep.

Oliver walked into the bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed. He looked at Julia and Matthew, "Lucas is going to be okay. Did Mommy tell you he needed some stiches in his head, and he is going to have a bandage on his hear for a while. The doctors just want to make sure his healthy before he comes back home. I should be able to pick him up tomorrow morning."

"He was bleeding a lot," Matthew said quietly, "I didn't like it."

"It is hard to see people we love hurt and in pain. How about we go and pray for Matthew and his doctors before I tuck you and Julia into bed? I think that will make us all feel better." Oliver stood up and lifted Julia into his arms and watched Matthew walk around from the other side of the bed.

"Daddy, God is looking after Lucas too, just like his doctors?" Julia looked up at her father.

"Yes, he is," Oliver confirmed. "God is watching over us all the time. He loves you your sister. and your brothers."

"God made everything special and he's watching Lucas," Matthew added as he walked around from the other side of the bed, "We watched a Veggietales video about God loving always protecting us."

"That's right," Oliver nodded his head, "Now say goodnight to Mommy and Elizabeth." He gently put Julia down on the ground and let her say goodnight before picking her up again and then walking with Matthew out of ed bedroom.

Once Oliver had gotten Matthew and Julia tucked in, he returned to his and Shane's bedroom. He noticed Elizabeth asleep in her cradle, so he very quietly got changed into pajamas and joined Shane in bed.

Shane shook her head and began to softly cry as she leaned into Oliver, "I'm never going to be able to get that image of Lucas lying on the ground with his head bleeding out of my head. It all looked so bad. Julia and Matthew just kept crying after you left. I found a Veggietales clip that helped them understand a little bit. After that we just watched Disney Plus for the rest of the day and I ordered a pizza for dinner.

"I think you handled everything perfectly Shane," Oliver kissed the side of her head, "As for Lucas you would have been proud of him my Love," Oliver gently whipped sway her tears with his thumb, "When the doctors told him he was going to need stiches he said he was going to be brave like you were when Elizabeth was born."

Despite her tears Shane laughed, "He must have gotten that from you or Joe. What did the doctors say?"

"He just smiled and told Matthew he was sure you were very brave and would be so proud of him. Once he was settled in his room, he didn't want me to leave but I tried to explain things to him the best way I could. I left him with a kind nurse who was playing checkers with him and talking to him. I believe he will be alright there until the morning. I know he is scared but I am more comfortable with him being at the hospital in case he does need more medical care."

"I agree," Shane nodded her head, "We better get some sleep before Elizabeth wakes up again," Shane turned off the lamp on her bedside table and snuggled into Oliver's arms. Soon both of them were asleep.

As it become evident that the pandemic was not going to end before summer, and the stay at home orders continued Shane and Oliver decided to have a pool built. After doing some cost compassions with different companies they chose the company that had the best price along with the best service record. Shane and Oliver talked over the phone with the company and made decisions like where the pool was going to go and how deep the water was. The company that installed the pool also installed pool fences and gates which Shane and Oliver also agreed to have installed.

In the middle of June, the pool company started to build the pool. On the first day when they arrived Matthew, Lucas and Julia stood on the other side of the front lawn and eagerly watched all of the building equipment being unloaded from the truck.

Due to social distancing rules Shane, Oliver and the kids could not be out in the backyard when the builders were working. This posed to be a bit of a hardship as the children got tired of playing just in the front yard. However, Oliver got them busy making shopping lists of things they wanted for the pool the day before the pool was to be completed. Olive had found pictures in magazines Julia could cut out and paste onto paper. Although that was also an option for Matthew and Lucas Oliver encouraged them to print out the words of what they wanted using the 'word list' he had provided them which had the words of some items Oliver thought Lucas and Matthew would want.

"Have you three finished your lists?" Oliver cleaned off his hands as he was finished cleaning the kitchen after lunch. He walked over to the kitchen table and looked at what the children had been working on. "When you are finished with your lists, we can go over them and decide what we really need. Then we will make a shopping list and go shopping for all of the things we have decided to buy." Oliver explained.

"Matthew and Me want these," Lucas held up a picture of inflatable Star Wars spaceship floaties.

"Lucas the correct term is Matthew and I," Oliver told him, "Can you please repeat the statement back to me with the correct grammar."

"Matthew and I want these," Lucas spoke again using the correct grammar, "I wrote Star Wars on my list," Lucas held up his shipping list for his father. "We all want diving toys and an inflatable basketball net and pool noodles."

"Daddy I want these," Julia held up her list of cut out pictures, "I want mermaid flippers like Ariel. There wasn't a picture."

Oliver looked at the pictures Julia had cut out not surprisingly most of them consisted of pink and sparkly pool toys and baby pool floaties. One of the items that made him laugh was a rock-climbing wall that attached to the pool.

"Julia we will get you some mermaid flippers and an infant floatie for Elizabeth. I do not think you are old enough for the rock-climbing wall. This looks quite dangerous."

"Daddy it's not," Julia informed him.

"I am sorry Julia the answer is no. Now that we've reviewed your lists, we can make a shopping list to take to the store with us. We need some pool storage containers to keep all of the toys in," Oliver started writing out the list. Like the climbing wall there were a few items Oliver told the children they did not need but overall, he was impressed at how well they did. Just as they were getting ready to leave to go shopping Shane walked down the stairs carrying three-month-old Elizabeth.

"My baby!" Julia dashed away from Oliver who was helping her apply sunscreen and ran up to her mother, "Elizabeth I have to go shopping now. I'll be back later, then we can play." She looked up at her little sister and smiled, "Don't do anything cute when I'm gone," She repeated the phrase she often heard Shane use and then went off again to have her sunscreen put on.

"I'm sure Elizabeth will do plenty of cute things when you come back from shopping," Shane told Julia, "Remember she can play on the playmat now, "She smiles when you play with her."

"I know, I'm a good big sister," Julia rubbed in sunscreen on her arms and legs, "It's because I'm all growned up and in Kindergarten,"

"You're not grown up," Matthew told her, "You have to be a Mommy, Daddy or a Teacher to be grown up," He explained.

"Oh, well I'm almost growned up," Julia corrected her statement, "I want to be a teacher and a Mommy when I'm growned up." She put her Ariel hat on. "Mommy can Elizabeth come shopping too?" She asked.

"No!" Lucas and Matthew objected at the same time.

"It is better if Elizabeth stays here with your mother. She is you young to wear a face mask and we do not want her getting sick," Oliver explained to Julia, "I know you want to stay here with Elizabeth but you need to come and help pick out your new pool toys" Oliver knew Julia's next question would be if she could stay home.

"Okay Daddy. I don't that Elizabeth to get sick," Julia agreed.

The day after the swimming pool ah been installed Matthew, Lucas and Julia got changed into their bathing suits after briefest, got their life jackets and sunscreen on and then ran excitedly outside a and pressed their faces up to the fence and looked at the pool. The swimming pool was a large rectangle shape with a shallow end and a deep end. Around outside of the pool was marble that had lounge chairs set up and the bin with the children's swimming toys.

"Now do you three remember the rules for the pool?" Oliver asked before he unlocked the gate to let the children in.

"No running around the pool, no pushing people into the pool, life jackets on at all times, listen to Mommy and Daddy," Matthew recited the rules.

"Very good," Oliver praised as he unlocked the gate and the children walked excitedly in. The twins wanted help blowing up their new floaties and Julia wanted her Ariel flipper on.

"Mommy, Mommy, look at the pool," Julia ran up to Shane as she entree the pool area carrying the baby monitor and placed it on the bale next to one of the longue chairs. She had just put Elizabet down for a nap and luckily the baby monitors worked outside.

"I know we have a pool now," Shane smiled at her daughter's excitement she saw the Ariel flipper in her hands, "Now you can swim like a real mermaid. Do you want me to help you pit your flippers on?"

"Yes please," Julia nodded her head and then went back to one of the new pool toy storage bins. She got out her new goggles, "I need these too," She walked back to her mother. Shane helped Julia put the flipper on helped her ger into the pool. She smiled as she watched Julia and twins play in the pool. She slipped off her shoes and sat down on the edge of the water with her feet dipped in.

"Mommy come swimming!" Lucas swam over to her, "Daddy is swimming."

Shane looked over to where Oliver was setting up the new inflatable basketball net in the shallow end of the pool. He had blown it up using a pump but was now helping Matthew find the best place to put it, "I'll come swimming later sweetheart. After Elizabeth has her nap and I feed her she can come out here for a bit in her playpen and lay in the shade. If she's not to fussy I'll swim with you. I can't wait to see you shoot some baskets. I think Daddy almost has the net set up."

"Okay Mommy," Lucas swam back to where Lucas was playing with the basketball net.

TBC

A\N: I hope you liked this chapter. Up next there will be a five year time jump for the last batch of chapters.