Danny squinted at the hand he'd been using to get the cows ready. Then over to the orange tinted bucket. A warm water with a little iodine mixture for cleaning off dirt and such before the milkers were put on.

Step one: Grab from the clean towel bucket, soak towel in iodine mixture.

(Well, dish washrags really, but apparently they used to use throwaway paper towels before the washable washrags and so...habit)

Two: Head over to cow and swipe the udder clean.

(Danny refused to think teat or tit, the specific area under he was cleaning off because that just made him feel way too weird)

Three: Toss it into the dirty towel bucket to be thrown in the washer after milking.

Ta-dah. Cow ready to have a milker placed on, which Danny had yet to be invited to try.

He was fine with that. Elizabeth kept reminding Matt to get them on faster when he changed them. As apparently it let too much air in? Danny felt way better about dealing with the cows, but in how a few got 'dancy feet' when he got them ready, he'd hold off on the milkers quite yet. He'd probably let in too much air figuring it out and he was still a little awkward around the cows. Danny was simply glad enough in being more helpful than his first time out in the barn.

And that Hissy McGee was in the milk room, not the barn and anywhere near him.

He turned his hand around, squinting and becoming surer.

"My hand is orange."

"Oh! Yeah." Katie nodded. "That's why Mom and Elizabeth and I wear a glove. To avoid an 'Oompa Loompa' hand. The boys don't bother."

She paused in plucking out more from the clean towel bucket to drop into the iodine mixture, a face of surprise. "You want one?"

Why did Danny suddenly feel like he needed to protect an invisible masculinity at how the kid said that?

"Uh, maybe?"

There was a snort and two hands shoved into the smaller bucket. Squatting there, Jon purposely slid his gaze up at Danny.

"Don't be a girl."

"Hey!"

"Shows off what you do."

"No one wants orange hands!"

"Maybe little girls don't! I'm a man!"

"You're nine!"

"Older than you!"

"That doesn't make you better!"

Danny stared. Taken aback at the sudden fight between the younger kids, who normally teamed up and were always playing together. Should they...do something?

He looked over to Elizabeth and Matt who appeared not at all affected and kept moving milkers, ignoring the pair screeching one of the Oompa Loompa songs at each other.

"The huge orange container of soap in the old bathroom is industrial. It'll get rid of most the iodine."

"Ah, okay. Um, is this...normal?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Hey! Danny hasn't seen the haymow! Take him up to toss some hay down!"

Jon and Katie brightened, and grabbed him to drag him out of the alleyway and past the milk room, pointing up at the gaping square hole.

"Watch where I put my feet and hands to get up. Katie, wait. I gotta go first to give you a hand up."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hurry up, Jon! Danny's gotta see the rope!"

Halfway up, Jon glanced down.

"I guess it's fine if you wear a glove." The kid granted him magnanimously. "After all, you are a town kid."

"Uh. Thank you?"

What the-

Danny stared at the kids clambering upwards.

How the hell did that sound more insulting than Katie's surprise at a boy wanting a glove?