A/N: Still not owning Miracle, the DVD still belongs to my brother.

Emador: Yeah, I have a beta! I have so much fun writing the mom.

Meadow567: They're Scottish, not Irish. McClanahan means "from or of Clanahan." I learned that in seventh grade math class. But anyway…yeah, Mrs. McClanahan wants Kathie to be like her little puppet or whatever. Well, I'm thinking about having Kathie develop a massive crush on Rizzo.

Klinoa: Yeah, Mrs. McClanahan is going to be the antagonist to an Ellie/OC relationship. Yeah, Robbie and Ellie are products of two things: their dad and their nanny. You'll meet both of them soon. I wanted Johnson to stand up to Kathie because he's quiet, but he seems like a really strong person.

Darkdestiny2000: Everyone loves the way they tore down Mrs. McClanahan's arguments. I'm happy about her adopting Heidi too. And maybe Jack will adopt her someday… Who knows?

Misha: Yet another person who hates Mrs. McClanahan, but she's going to cause trouble for a long time. Yeah, Ellie and Jack are going to start moving towards a romance very soon.

StarrShyne: Hey, I love your new story. I'm actually already working on chapter six.

Mac's POV

"You know, OC, I'm not going to stop you if you ask Ellie out," I told him after practice one day. It had been a week since the dinner at my parents' house and I was starting to detect a real chemistry between Ellie and OC. "I've seen the way you look at her."

OC smiled. "Are you serious? I really can ask your sister out and you won't kill me?" He sounded suspicious.

"Yeah, sure, you're good for her," I explained. "When she's with you, she smiles more. She needs someone to brighten up her life and you seem to do that. OC, just ask her out. What can it hurt?"

"Okay," he was still a little reluctant. "I guess I could take Ellie and Heidi out for dinner some evening this week."

"Nope, I'm babysitting Heidi," Rizzo announced. "Just tell me when and where and I'll be there."

"Oh no you don't," I told him. "Jennie wants to do some babysitting, so Ellie's going to let her take Heidi the next time she needs a sitter."

"Fine, be that way," Rizzo replied. "Don't let me baby-sit."

"I like my sister more," I told him.

"I don't know why," Rizzo said. "I'm prettier."

Everyone started laughing.

OC's POV

We were all laughing when Ellie knocked on the door. "Everybody decent?" she yelled.

"Define decent," Coxie yelled back.

"Put your pants on, Ralph," was her reply.

We all laughed as Coxie put his pants on and then Mac yelled, "We're decent!"

She walked in without Heidi. The absence of the baby was noticeable especially since she'd had Heidi during practice. Finally, Jimmy spoke up. "Where's the kid?"

"Doc's playing with her; he likes to play Grandpa every now and then."

"Oh, how cute," Mac sighed.

"Shut up, Robert," Ellie told her brother. "All right," she said to the rest of us. "Who needs a massage? I'm only doing five and it's first come, first serve."

"Me first!" Coxie yelled. He was little bit of a ladies' man and sometimes it seemed like he just wanted to get into Ellie's pants.

"OC wants one!" Pav yelled.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"OC needs to talk to you!" Suter yelled.

"Shut up," I muttered again. Apparently, I was being ignored.

"Just ask her," Rizzo told me quietly. "Or I'll do it for you and you won't like that."

"Fine, I'll talk to her," I replied. Then I spoke up. "Ellie, do you want to have dinner with me Friday night?"

"Jennie said she'd baby-sit!" Mac yelled.

Ellie blushed and hid her face in the nearest thing-Rizzo's chest. He awkwardly wrapped his arm around her and smiled. "Just answer the man, Ellie. He deserves an answer."

She whispered something, but Rizzo was the only one who heard her. "Speak up," Coxie yelled. "We all want to hear the answer."

"No," Rizzo said firmly. "Jack's the only one who needs to the hear the answer." He gently peeled Ellie off his chest and led her over to me. "You kids go outside and have your talk."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders; that was getting to be a familiar position these days. Then we went out into the hallway. As soon as we were out there, she smiled. "Yes," she whispered again. This time, though, it was into my chest and I was the only one who heard her.

"Then Friday night it is," I told her. "Mac said he'd get Jennie to baby-sit Heidi, so you and I can have a night out that's just the two of us."

She smiled that glamorous movie star smile up at me and I smiled back at her. Then I hugged her. "What does Robbie think of this?" she asked me abruptly. "What does he think of us?"

"He's okay with it, with us," I told her. "It was his idea for me to ask you out."

"What? Robbie actually told a guy he could ask me out? He's tried to kill every guy I've ever gone out with."

"He likes me," I told her. It was the truth, but it was more than that. Mac had once told me that ever since the day I beat him up at practice, he'd known he could trust me with his sister. You'll protect her from anything because once you get attached to something you'll do anything to fight for it, he told me. You'll fight to the death to defend someone you love.

She smiled. "He must if he told you to ask me out. Although, I must say he has good taste."

"I have better taste," I told her. "So, Friday night, I'll pick you up at six."

"I'll try to remember to be at my apartment."

"You'd better be because I'm cooking up a surprise for you."

"You?" she gasped. "Cooking? I'm scared."

"I don't get any respect from the ladies." I rolled my eyes. "Maybe I'll go ask Heidi if she wants to go out with me instead."

She leaned against me. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh yes I would," I replied with a smile. "Although you're more talkative, so I might have to go with you."

She smiled sweetly. "That's a smart boy. Heidi may be cuter than me but I'm a heck of a lot more fun."

I smiled. "Well, we'll see about that."

Ellie's POV

Jack and I went to get Heidi from Doc. Doc and Craig Patrick were standing outside Herb's office, but Craig was holding Heidi now. He was tickling her and she just kept smiling. Jack laughed. "She's three and a half months old and she's already manipulating men to her will."

"No, no," Doc said. "This was our idea."

"Sure, sure, sure," I told him. "Just give me back the baby and no one gets hurt."

"But we're having fun," Craig protested. "She's such a sweet baby."

"But she's my baby," I said. "And I want my baby back."

"Fine," Craig said. "Here you go."

I took Heidi in my arms and held her close. "Thank you. Jack, would you like to walk me to my car?"

"With pleasure," he replied.

As we walked out to my car, I was so happy. Jack O'Callahan had asked me out, finally. I'd liked him since I first laid eyes on him even though I knew Rob would object. Jack was a sweetheart under that tough guy exterior. Jack and I had started spending time around each other and we just seemed to click together. He also adored Heidi and was a great surrogate father to her.

"So, what should I wear on Friday night?" I asked him as we walked.

"Something casual," he replied. "We're not going anywhere fancy."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm not telling."

"Please, Jack?" I begged pitifully.

"Nope, it's a surprise."

"I don't like surprises."

Jack wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Darling, you're going to have to learn that surprises can be fun especially when I'm around. My surprises will always be good ones."

I smiled up at him as we reached my car. "I'll keep that in mind."

I was putting Heidi in her carseat when Jack spoke up. "I just remembered something. I was talking to my mom last week and she said she'd be willing to send you Annie's old baby clothes for Heidi if you're interested."

I stood up so fast I hit my head on the car. "Damn it!" I muttered, clutching the back of my head. "Are you serious?"

He nodded. "Do you want some ice for your head?"

"Yeah, that'd be good; it hurts like the devil."

"Will it feel better if I kiss it?"

I smiled. "You can try it."

He moved my hand and kissed the top of my head. "Now, I'll go get you some ice for that head of yours and see if Rob can drive you home. You're not driving until we know if you have a concussion or not."

"Yes, Daddy." I realized as I said this that I was shaking.

Jack must have noticed this too because he took Heidi out of her carseat and wrapped his arm around me. "Come on, sweetie," he said. "Let's get you inside."

I leaned against him and let him support me as we went inside. "Doc!" Jack started yelling as soon as we were inside the doors of the arena. "Doc, come here! Ellie hit her head."

At the sound of those words, Robbie and Rizzo came running. "What happened?" Robbie asked as he saw me leaning against Jack.

"She was putting Heidi in her carseat and I said something to her. She stood up really fast and hit her head on the car roof," Jack explained as he handed Heidi off to Rizzo. "I brought her in to get ice for her head, and she's shaking like mad."

Robbie nodded. "Doc's in Herb's office. Rizzo, watch Heidi. OC, let's get Ellie to Doc."

OC picked me up like I was Heidi's age and followed Robbie to Herb's office. Robbie knocked on the door. "Herb," he yelled. "We need to see Doc. Ellie hit her head on the car."

Doc Nagobads came out of Herb's office and rushed to OC. His first question was "Where did she hit her head?" This was closely followed by "How did she hit her head?"

"She was putting Heidi in her carseat and I was talking to her," Jack answered. "I said something that shocked her and she stood up really fast. Then she hit the back of her head on the car roof."

As Jack explained everything to Doc, my thoughts were about how comfortable it was to have him hold me like this. His arms were strong and he was warm; he smelled clean, too. He had that nice masculine just showered smell. I leaned closer to him and he held me tight. I could spend the rest of my life with a guy like this.

"Ellie," Doc said when Jack was done talking. "Ellie, I need you to follow my finger with your eyes." I did so. He nodded. "Ellie, recite the alphabet for me."

"A-B-C-D-E-G-no, wait, F-G-H-I…" I didn't make any more slip-ups like the thing with F and G. Now, I'm a physical therapist, so I've had some training in stuff like this and I knew that was bad. If you mess up the alphabet, they have to check more stuff and eventually, you probably end up in the hospital.

"Now, let me look at your head," Doc instructed.

I lifted up my head and he began examining it. He was probing and poking around the back of my head. He was grunting as he went. "Is she going to be all right?" Robbie asked.

"I think so," Doc answered in his thickly accented voice. "She may have a concussion, but nothing else. In case there is a concussion, you will want to keep her awake for the next twelve hours to prevent bleeding in the brain."

"So, like OC and I should go over to her apartment and keep her awake?" Robbie asked.

"That would be a good idea," Doc replied. "But you don't want too many people around. That would not be good."

"It'll just be OC and me; we might let Rizzo come over, but that would be it."

"Okay, Robbie," Doc told him. "You take good care of your sister."

Rob's POV

OC and I took Ellie back to the lobby where Rizzo was talking to Heidi. "Aren't you just the cutest little thing in the world?" He was using that "cute little baby" voice with her and she was just smiling at him.

"Rizzo!" I called to him. "We're going to keep Ellie company tonight. Doc said she might have a concussion, so we need to keep her awake tonight. We're going to watch TV, talk to my gorgeous sister, and eat all her food."

"And we're going to take care of Heidi," Ellie added from her perch in OC's arms. I wasn't exactly comfortable with her in that position, but she'd hurt her head and she needed to stay off her feet. Plus, she was with OC and he made her happy. I wasn't sure why, but my old archenemy was made my sister happy. They were cute together and he adored Heidi.

"Sounds like a fun party," Rizzo replied. "Am I invited?"

"Yep," Ellie told him. "We need a babysitter in case these two lose their heads."

Rizzo laughed as OC said, "I fully intend to keep my head firmly attached to my neck. Girls like Ellie don't like guys who let their heads fly off at a moment's notice."

"That's for sure," Ellie replied, leaning her head against his shoulder.

I shook my head. "Well, I'll drive if Ellie will give me her keys. Let's get going."

We spent the entire night in Ellie's living room. Rizzo made spaghetti and meatballs with Ellie's help while OC and I played with Heidi. "Did you know your sister's talking about adopting Heidi?" OC asked me as he ticked the baby's feet.

I nodded. "She's talked to me about it a little. She also talked to our dad some. He's a lawyer and he knows what she needs to do. Apparently, she has to sue Julie for custody or something like that first. Then she has to prove that she can provide a better home for Heidi than Julie can. It could be a long and tedious process, but Dad has a friend who will try to speed it up."

"How? They won't do anything illegal, will they?"

"No, at least, I don't think they will. The judge who will probably hear the case is Julie's uncle and he knows his niece very well. He's already told Dad that proving that Ellie is a better mother than Julie is won't be very difficult."

"I've never met the woman and I don't think she's a good mother. What kind of mother abandons her baby? What kind of mother keeps living with an alcoholic even when it puts her daughter's safety at risk?" OC was still playing with Heidi, but his attention was focused on our conversation.

"I don't know," I told him. "What kind of mother leaves her children to be raised by her cook and their governess because they interfere with her social life? What kind of mother forces her daughters into beauty pageants and drinks herself under the table the night her oldest daughter is crowned Miss Teen Minnesota?"

"That's what your mother was like?"

"That's what our mother still is like," Ellie said as she walked into the room. "She still drinks like a fish and smokes like a chimney. I broke my leg when I tripped over one of her empty vodka bottles and fell down the stairs shortly before the Miss Teen America pageant. You know who took me to the hospital?"

"It wasn't Mother," I said. "She was too drunk. The only kid she's ever really sober around is Kathie. Mom has this insane desire to please Kathie, which is really funny because Kathie has this insane desire to please Mom."

"Who did take Ellie to the hospital?" OC asked.

"Our governess, Fiona," I told him. "Fiona and our cook, Maria, pretty much raised us."

"Mom was too busy smoking, drinking, and playing cards to even notice us," Ellie added. "Fiona was more my mother than my real mother ever was." (I was watching The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood last weekend. That's where Mrs. McClanahan came from except the moms in that movie are actually nice people; they just smoke, play cards, and drink Bloody Marys by the gallon.)

"I'm amazed she had time to have five children," OC remarked.

"So am I," Ellie replied. "But Robbie and I are twins, so that helped speed things up. I think she scheduled in time with Daddy so they could have children like everyone else at the country club."

I smiled and OC shook his head. "You two have dirty minds."

Ellie shrugged. "Dirty mind, warm bed."

I smacked her. "Would you mind growing up?"

"Not at all."

OC's POV

The next morning, we were all worn out except for Heidi. She'd had a full night's sleep. We'd watched TV, played cards, talked, and inhaled coffee. Mercifully, Doc had persuaded Herb to give us all a day off. Ellie seemed to still be alive, so after breakfast, we all crashed. Ellie went to her bedroom, I got the couch, Robbie got the bed in Julie's old room, and Rizzo claimed the floor. It was Wednesday morning and I needed to start planning my date with Ellie. But that could wait until after I got some sleep.

A/N: Please review! The date will be the next chapter. Updates will become few and far between now because I'm directing a performance of Oklahoma at my school for the next three months.