Chapter Three- Little You

"Hales, are you sure we should go? Ryan's only a couple weeks old, are you sure you can handle her and the rest of our boys?"

"I'll be fine, okay, go, or I might just keep you to do the housework," Haley smiled.

"Going."

"Good, bye," she kissed him, " and if you happen to loose one or two, its okay, we have extras here," she smiled.

"Okay, bye," he walked to the car. It was the annual camping trip between fathers and children four and up. Nathan was taking Nick, Nate, James, Kyle and Farley. Everyone in the neighborhood with children went, or any guy, to the camping site nearby. He met with Luke outside, Luke was taking Alyssa and Luke (his son).

"I can't believe she's old enough to go, and Brooke's actually letting me take her," Luke said, referring to Alyssa.

"Well, consider yourself lucky, say, he's your brother too, why doesn't he ride with you."

"Nick?"

"Yes, Nick."

"Sure, and how about Nate, too, they're all the same age, and I've already got Matt. Apparently Henry doesn't do the whole camping thing. Cassie and Ashley are going with Caleb's brood."

"Wow, well I guess technically they aren't his kids."

"I wonder what did make Vivian fall for him?"

"We all do, bro, we all do, now how about you get Nate and Nick while I strap down mine," Nathan said looking at them, he was left with three, James, Kyle and Farley. Farley would not be the problem. He's an innocent little bookworm. James and Kyle, they're a handful, mostly because they're twins and have that whole twin thing going on. They were fighting over something at the current moment.

"Hey, what are we fighting about?" Nathan said, hurrying over to them.

"He took my water bottle, that one's mine."

"It is not, it's mine, it says so right here," he said, pointing to some writing on the bottle. Farley looked suspiciously at them.

"Actually, that says neither of your names, but Coleman, the maker of the bottle," he smiled proudly.

"Uh, thanks dude, why don't you, uh, go get in the van. James, Kyle, you guys too, and I'll take the water bottle."

A couple of grumbled fines and one okay later all three of them were in the vehicle. Nathan got in the front and started it. They were off, to the camp site. Nathan drove the head, then Lucas was behind him, Caleb behind Lucas, then Mouth, and Jake bringing up the rear. All the guys with a bunch of kids in their car.

Haley was left home with the better of her children, Greg, Andy, David, Hayden and Ryan, and Ryan only a couple months old, sleeping a lot. Hayden, being but a year, slept a lot too. Andy and David love T.V., just put in a Disney movie and they're happy. Greg, well, he's happy going outside, swimming or playing ball, or running around, anything athletic. He was still pretty mad that he couldn't go, and was even worse when Nathan said no to him switching places with Farley. He was still pouting. Haley didn't care, he could sit on the couch and pout all he wanted, he still wouldn't go, plus he was being relatively quiet. This weekend gave Haley a chance to catch up on housework.

The campsite was maybe only a half hour away, so it didn't take long to get there. They were starting to pitch their tents when Nate walked over to Nathan, "Dad, where's Farley?" he asked just as quickly as Lucas walked over.

"Luke just asked me what happened to Alyssa, you two seen her?"

"No, Nate just said that Farley's gone missing, maybe they're together."

"Man, Brooke would kill me if I did anything to her daughter. She really didn't even want me to take her precious angel."

"What about Isabel?"

"Yea, Brooke won't look at it that way. Neither would I man, she's my girl, aren't you worried about Farley?"

"Naw, he's a smart kid, smarter than James and Kyle combined. All them books that kid reads, he'll be fine. He'll know which berries to eat, which way is north. I bet he stopped to look at some bug, or rock or something on the path."

"You think Alyssa's there with him?"

"Maybe, its possible-"

Jake came running over, "You guys seen Sara? Jenny was supposed to be watching her, but her Michelle and Tyler didn't do a very good job, they were talking the whole time."

"Daddy!" James came running over, "Kyle hit me on the head with a stick."

Nathan looked down at him then looked up, "Hold on, KYLE! Why did you hit James with a stick?"

"Cause he hit me with one first."

"James, is this true?"

"Yes, I hit him with a big stick. I found it on the ground."

"Why?"

"Cause he wouldn't share his candy bar."

"So you hit him with a big stick?"

"Yes I did."

"Okay, you won't get in trouble if you can tell me where Farley is."

"Back on the path, he was interested in some stupid bug, I told him to come ,but him and his little girlfriends were looking at some rocks or something. Kyle told him it was stupid."

"Okay, don't hit your brother with a stick anymore," Nathan looked back to Luke and Jake, "James said he's back on the path, with the girls, looking at some rocks or bugs or something, let's go, Nate, you're in charge of James and Kyle, don't let them kill each other."

"Yea, Luke, can you keep an eye on Rachel, since I know Jenny won't."

"Sure thing Mr. Jagielski," Luke said, and the men went back down the path. He walked over to the place where the campfire would be and sat down and looked at the little girl. She was hanging with Linda, Mouth and Erica's daughter. That girl was bony and brainy.

Nate looked at his little brothers. Right now they were arguing over whose stick it was that hit them both in the head. Nate laughed at the thought of them both falling down with the stick.

Nathan, Luke, and Jake walked down the path in search of their three little kids. Farley had to be the brains behind the mission, Sara had to be the one keeping Alyssa there, or else she'd be back. Then they saw them. They were looking at a bug on a rock.

"FARLEY!" Nathan called, as soon as he saw him, and his head immediately jerked up. Nathan walked over to him and picked him up my the back of his shirt. "What are you thinking, stopping and not telling anyone to look at a bug on a rock."

"It's a red ant on a sedimentary."

"Farley, this isn't the time for that."

"Sorry daddy."

"You will be when I tell mommy what you did."

"NO! Don't tell mommy, she'll make me sit the whole day in my room. I don't like it in there, its squished. And there's nothing to do in there. Please daddy, no."

"We'll see, depends on your behavior for the rest of the trip, come on, you can help us set up the tents and cook dinner."

"Speaking of dinner, you brought my vitamins, right, I could get sick out here, germs and bugs and dirt and who knows what else everywhere."

"Farley, you won't get sick missing a couple days of your vitamins."

"You- you forgot them?"

"Yes, sorry."

"My temperature will rise, my immune system will crash, don't you care?"

"You're four, why do you care?"

"What if its something deadly, it'll be your fault, we have to go back."

"Yes, back to the campsite, let's go."

"No, back home, I need my vitamins, don't you want to me to be big and strong, like you?"

"Who told you that?"

"Mommy, she said if I take them every day I can be big and strong like you."

"Well, I'm sure missing a few days won't hurt."

"Yes it will!"

"Let's just go back to camp, please Farley, I'm sure it's more unhealthy standing in the middle of the woods than the campsite."

"No, I'm not moving," he firmly planted his feet on the ground and put his fists on his hips.

"Well, one thing about you being four and me, well older than that, is that I can to do this," he picked up Farley and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Hey, put me down, this can't be good for my internal apparatus. You're squishing me, I could fall, and did I mention I don't like heights?"

"Quit complaining. It's annoying. Do you do this to mommy?"

"Yes," he said innocently.

"And she lets you?"

"Mommy doesn't yell, she tells me to go to my room."

"How about I tell you to sit in the tent?"

"You yelled at me, do you know what that can do to my eardrums?"

"You are going to sit in the tent until you realize none of this stuff matters, okay, having fun with family and friends matters, not some brainy ideas you got from a book, at least not this weekend. I hate to say it, but be like James and Kyle."

"But they're…"

"I don't want to hear it," he walked into the campsite and put Farley, "Now, time out, in the tent, now, for at least an hour, think about what I said."

"But you never punish us, you're always at work."

"I'm here now and you're four, I'm your father, you do as I say."

"But what if you're wrong?"

"Then you have to live with it."

"Fine," he stomped into the tent, and Nathan walked over to Luke.

"I wonder how Haley deals with that kid, he's too smart for his own good."

"I heard you yelling."

"Kid's back talking, challenging what I say, and trying to make me feel guilty."

"Wonder who he takes after."

"I did not act like that."

"It's the makings of a little you," Luke smiled.