All characters that are from the TWILIGHT saga by Stephanie Meyer belong to Stephanie Meyer. All others belong to me. I do not receive profit for these stories except for the joyous enjoyment of reviews.
This story follows right after When I'm Gone: Third Installment to GONE Saga, so if you haven't read that one or the two before, please do.
The timeline of the story will coincide with Gabriel Michael Laskaris' growing up years, starting at Seth and Rosa's wedding day, April 12th and will progress from there.
AN: I know it's so soon after the last one but I will be working for the next three days then have two nights off before working three more days which means I wouldn't have time to type up a new chapter. No worries, though, 'cause I'll be writing during my work days and once I have my three days off, I'll be posting the next chapter...or two.
Gaby -love you darling! This chapter has an idea previously shared with you before...hope you like how it turns out.
Ses -I will always miss you.
Chelsea, Lette, Moani -thank you darlings. More reviews, please?
As always, enjoy as you read and remember to review!
Chapter Twenty-Four
Thanksgiving Day, 1:07PM
"They've all been down for their nap for thirty minutes. Gabriel always wakes up first –his snack is in the refrigerator and he'll be good at playing quietly. Zaky may or may not wake up before the twins but if the twins wake up first, you need to give them their snack as soon as possible or they'll start getting rowdy and wake Zaky up. Emmie always wakes up last and she'll be a little hard to control –also, don't give her anything but what I left on the blue bowls."
"Why," Rick's eyebrows lowered over his blue eyes as he ushered Leah across the living room towards the front door, Tyra asleep against his shoulder, his arm secure under her bottom.
"Processed sugar makes her really hyper," Leah shifted the last bag of groceries in her arm as she took the keys from the small table beside the front door, "So I make sure she doesn't get too many cookies or white bread or fruit juice. She can have chocolate milk, though."
"Okay," Rick held the door for her as she stepped out into the porch, smiling when she turned around, "Oh, Tyra's food is in the little yellow bowls –bananas, pureed squash and peas –she can have a rice cracker too –they're in a box in the pantry."
"Got it," Rick leaned down to kiss her forehead, "We'll see you at five."
Leah's face showed apprehension as she kissed the back of her baby's head before kissing Rick's mouth, "Are you sure you're going to be okay? Mom's offered to help Rose with dinner so I don't have to go –"
"Yes you do," Rick reached up to cup her face, smoothing his thumb over her cheek, "You need some time without the kids. Don't worry about us, we'll be fine. It's just four hours."
Leah bit her lip, wanting to point out how in four hours, Zaky could manage to empty out all the bottom cupboards despite the stupid child locks –she was starting to contemplate using actual locks with keys – Emmie could empty out all three toy chests while Alyx and Andrey clogged up the toilet with the roll of toilet paper –as for Gabriel…he could pretty much scream the house down when Emmie moved on from the toys to him, "Maybe I'll ask Seth to come –"
"No," Rick shook his head, running his fingers through her hair before squeezing the back of her neck, "We'll be fine."
Leah nodded as she shifted the paper bag up in her arms, giving him a smile before turning to head towards the car parked in the curb, the minivan they had bought a couple of months ago taking up the driveway.
"Oh! Alyx and Andrey have –"
"Stop worrying," Rick told her, pointing at the car as he felt Tyra moving in his arms, reaching up to rub her back, "If I have any questions, I'll call you. Now go."
Leah chuckled as she turned back around, placing the bag in the passenger seat then closing the door before making her way to the driver's side –she was going to tell him the twins had figured out how to climb out of their crib but she supposed he was going to have to find out on his own.
Rick watched as Leah drove down the road, closing the door as soon as she turned the corner and disappeared from sight.
Moving towards the armchair, he sat down and stretched out his legs, smiling as Tyra pushed herself away from him, her tiny fingers splayed over his chest as she stared at him with those big brown-green eyes of hers, "Did you have a nice nap, moro mou?"
She blinked a couple of times before laying against his chest, several seconds passing before she pushed herself up again, the two small bottom teeth she had showing as she gave him a smile.
"You have a beautiful smile, glikia," Rick moved her so she would have her back against his chest, reaching to tickle her socked feet, her giggles sweet as she kicked her pudgy legs, "Your mama bought you a new dress –today's your very first Thanksgiving day."
Tyra waved her arms before pushing a fist into her mouth, sucking on it as she tilted her head back to look up at him, her eyes twinkling as she let out a loud toot.
Rick wrinkled his nose at the smell, standing up as he cradled her in his arms, "You just had to wait for your mother to leave to do that, uh? You like seeing your bampá change your dirty diapers, don't you?"
Tyra giggled as he set her on the changing table by the window as soon as he went into their bedroom, reaching up to tug at the curtain as Rick took off her purple pants, his fingers tickling her round tummy and making her laugh.
"Don't pull on that, moro," he gently removed the fabric from her tiny fist, tucking it out of reach before going back to cleaning and changing her, laughing as she tried to roll over, "Not here, Tyra. If you fall, your mother will never leave you alone with me again. There, all done. How do you like the clean diaper?"
Tyra waved her arms as soon as he picked her up, grabbing his hair in both hands when he kissed her pudgy cheek, her giggles high as she pushed her small feet against his chest.
"Someone's in a good mood," Rick kissed her other cheek, buzzing her neck to make her laugh before lowering her onto his chest as he made his way back towards the living room, "Are you hungry, Tyra? Mama left you some bananas, squash and peas."
Tyra pulled at his hair before letting go, her fist going into her mouth as he walked into the kitchen and set her on her high chair, keeping a hand on her tummy as he strapped her in, her little hands patting the tray as soon as he clicked it into place.
Moving towards the fridge, he frowned as he saw the colored bowls –yellow, green, blue, red and orange.
"The yellow ones are yours, right," he asked over his shoulder as he took one of the small yellow bowls, snapping the cover back to encounter the pureed squash, "Yep, this one's yours."
Taking the other two yellow bowls –one with pureed peas and the other with diced bananas, he removed the lids and placed all three on Tyra's tray before moving towards the drawer to pull out one of the small plastic spoons.
Turning, he placed the spoon on the table to remove the bowls, most of its contents gone. Half the squash was dumped on the tray, the peas covered the front of her pink little shirt and dripping down to her lap and there were bananas all over the bottom half of her face, "Oh dear Zeus! One second, Tyra –I left you for one sec –is that banana on your ear?"
Tyra laughed as she kicked her legs, waving her arms as Rick set the bowls on the table, moving a chair to sit before her as he picked up the squash and the spoon, "I forgot to put a bib on you…guess it doesn't matter anymore, uh?"
Rick laughed at the face she made as he placed a spoonful of squash into her mouth, her little tongue pushing some of it out to dribble down onto her shirt, "Doesn't taste good, uh? Your mama wants you to eat it."
Tyra wrinkled her nose as he placed the spoon in her mouth, a sound at the kitchen entrance having Rick miss when she spit the spoonful out as well, "Hey, kyrio . How was your nap?"
Gabriel nodded as he rubbed a fist over his eye, moving around Tyra's high chair to sit in one of the chairs, "I'm hungry."
"Right," Rick set the spoon and bowl on the table, chuckling as Tyra smeared the squash across the tray with her little hands, "Okay, I've got blue bowls, red bowls, green and orange. Which ones are yours?"
"The red ones," Gabriel yawned as he reached up to scratch the back of his head, laughing at the sight of Tyra straining over the tray towards the yellow bowls, "Tyra doesn't like squash but she'll eat the peas."
"Really," Rick popped the lids open, placing the bowls at the table before moving to the cupboard to pull out one of the kiddy cups, "She dumped half of the peas on her lap."
"Did you put the bowls on her tray," Gabe asked as he picked a cheese cube from one of the bowls, pushing another one with chicken nuggets in it, "Can I put these in the microwave?"
"I'll do that," Rick placed the cup on the table before picking up the chicken nuggets, "Do you want chocolate milk or apple juice?"
"Chocolate milk," Gabe munched on a grape before taking an apple slice, "And I want ketchup for my nuggets, please."
Rick smiled as he set the time for two minutes, taking out the ketchup and chocolate milk as Tyra let out a high pitched screech, "Patience, agape. Let me just get your brother's nuggets and we can move on to what's left of the peas."
Returning with the warmed up nuggets, Rick sat on his chair and picked up the spoon, this time taking the bowl of peas, "There's only a couple of spoonfuls here…we can finish it all, right?"
Tyra kicked her feet, her nose wrinkling as he put the spoon in her mouth before a look of surprise crossed her face as she swallowed the pureed peas, Rick laughing as he gave her another spoonful, "You thought it was the squash, uh?"
This time, she didn't make a face as she smacked her lips, swallowing the peas until Rick emptied the small bowl.
A noise at the kitchen entrance had him looking up, surprised to see his little hellions toddle into the kitchen, dragging a long eared stuffed rabbit between them, "How did you two get out of your crib?"
Alyx laughed, moving towards one of the chairs with Andrey moving to another, the poor rabbit's ears getting pulled between them. They both stopped when they couldn't go any further, looking over at each other as Alyx gave his ear a tug, "Mine."
"Mine," Andrey pulled at his ear, both of them looking in surprise when Rick took the rabbit from them, "How about you two sit for your snack and I'll give you the rabbit when you're done?"
They stared up at him for a few seconds before Alyx moved to the chair, grabbing on to the sides, his legs waving as he tried to climb up, laughing when Rick sat him on the chair, Andrey standing next to Gabe, his little hands clutching the side of the table, "Let's get you two in your chairs."
The little blue eyed boy looked over at his father, running under the table when he moved to get him, Alyx wiggling to lie on his stomach across the chair before scooting down and under the table to join Andrey.
Rick was about to get down on his knees to pull them out when Tyra let out a screech of pure frustration, rocking in her high chair as she stretched her arms to the table –poor baby was still hungry, "You know what? You can eat your snacks down there, okay?"
"'Kay," they said in unison, nodding as they turned to pull at Gabriel's feet but their older brother knew them too well –he had lifted his feet to cross his legs on the chair.
"Which ones are theirs," Rick asked as he set the bowl of bananas on Tyra's tray, hoping she would get as much into her mouth as she will onto her face.
"The green ones," Gabriel dunked his last nugget into the ketchup, leaning to the side to look under the table at Alyx and Andrey as they yanked at the legs of his chair, "Stop that."
"Here, you two," Rick pulled off the lids, glad to see none of what Leah had prepped for them was going to make a mess, "Eat all of it and leave your brother alone."
Alyx and Andrey gave him dimpled smiles before they dug into their bowl of grapes, their giggles loud as a high pitch cry sounded from down the hall.
Rick headed towards the hallway, looking over his shoulder, "Gabe, keep an eye on Tyra, okay?"
"Uh-hu," Gabe nodded as Rick disappeared for a few seconds, turning to watch as his baby sister took a fistful of banana chunks and squashed them against her mouth, some of it coming out from between her small fingers, "You need to open your mouth really big, Tyra. Like this."
Tyra watched Gabe before opening her own mouth as big as she could, closing it around her fingers and sucking at them before taking another chunk of banana from the bowl.
"Feel better," Rick asked Zaky as he walked into the kitchen, the sniffling boy in his arms, a small fist rubbing his eye as tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Mama," Zaky hiccuped as he looked around the kitchen, his bottom lip quivering when he didn't find her, "Mama?"
"We'll see mama in a couple of hours," Rick set him down in the high chair next to Tyra's before heading to the refrigerator as Tyra stretched out a small hand, offering Zaky a piece of her banana, "She left you some yummy snacks. Are you hungry?"
Zaky nodded, taking the offered banana from his sister and placing it in his mouth as Rick took the orange bowls and popped the lids open, placing them on his tray –Zaky was really good at feeding himself.
"All done," Gabe looked up at his father as he set his empty cup on the table, "Can I go play?"
"Just make sure not to wake your sister," Rick tousled his dark hair before Gabe climbed down from the chair, skirting around the high chairs and heading to the bedroom he shared with Zaky and the twins, "Are you still hungry, Tyra?"
His baby girl looked up at him, a slice of apple in her pudgy fist –Zaky always shared with her.
Rick laughed as she nodded, digging her bottom teeth into the apple slice as she sucked on it, her little feet kicking the air.
Taking the box of rice crackers from the pantry, he handed her one, taking the apple from her, knowing she might choke on it, "Have one of these."
"Me," Zaky held out a small hand, giving his father a big smile when he got a rice cracker as well.
"Cookie," Andrey and Alyx toddled out from under the table, yanking at his pant legs as they looked up at him –their vocabulary was getting quite extensive.
Giving each of them a cracker, he returned the box to the pantry as Emmie ran into the kitchen, her pigtails lopsided as she moved to climb onto one of the chairs, "Today's Thanksgiving! We're gonna have turkey."
Rick laughed as he took the blue bowls from the fridge, placing them in front of her after removing the lids, "That's right, we are. Your mama and Granma Sue are helping Aunt Rose make dinner."
"I get to play with Vivi," Emmie took a slice of apple and bit into it, "And Mou is coming for pie!"
Rick chuckled, leaning down to get the empty bowls from under the table as Andrey and Alyx toddled off to the living room, "Yes, he is. He's going to have turkey with his mama."
"I didn't go to school today," Emmie kicked her feet as she finished her apples, pushing the bowl back before taking a piece of cucumber from another, "'Cause it's a holiday. Teacher told us about the pi-grims and Indians."
"Pilgrims," Rick corrected her as he placed all the empty bowls in the sink, looking over at the clock –thirty minutes! Zeus, he still had two hours to go before getting them dressed and ready to go, "What did she tell you about them?"
"The Indians were here first," Emmie ate her cucumber slices, one at a time as Zaky finished with his snack, Tyra asleep in her chair, her small head leaning against the side, "In America. It's where we live."
"That's right," Rick took a washcloth and wiped Zaky's face before removing the tray and setting him on the floor, the little boy running into the living room to join his brothers, "Where in America did the pilgrims land?"
"On a rock," Emmie finished her last cucumber, pushing the bowl away before taking a piece of cheese from the third bowl, "In the other side of America."
Rick laughed as he gently wiped Tyra's face, doing his best not to wake her up but without success. Her brown-green eyes blinked open, staring up at him before she let out a cry, "It's called Plymouth Rock and that's not where they first landed although many people believe it is."
"Daddy," Emmie watched as Rick removed the tray from the chair, taking Tyra's dirty shirt and pants off her as soon as he unstrapped her, "Am I an Indian?"
"Native American," Rick picked Tyra up, her cries dying down to sniffles as she snuggled into his chest, "And yes, you are half Native American. Quileute, to be exact."
"Is Mou Indian," Emmie munched on her cheese as Daddy bounced Tyra to get her back to sleep.
"Native American," Rick kept his hand on Tyra's back to keep her warm as he sat down to smile into Emmie's eyes, "And yes, he's also Quileute."
"Teacher said everyone in La Push is Indian," Emmie finished her cheese, pushing her bowl back before looking at her father, "Can I have chocolate milk?"
"Yes," Rick stood up, taking a kiddy cup from the cupboard, placing it on the table before moving to the refrigerator, "La Push is an Indian Reservation for the Quileutes. Not everyone living here is Native American, though. There's your Aunt Rose –she's from Spain as are Vivi and Marc. And myself –I'm from Greece."
"Why are you living here, then, if you're not Indian," Emmie picked up her cup as soon as he filled half of it, taking a couple of swallows before setting it back on the table.
"For the last time, Emerie, it's Native American. Indians are people from India –they're a completely different cultural group. And I live here because it's where your mama lives. Your Aunt Rose lives here with your Uncle Seth because he's Quileute."
"Teacher says Indians, not Native Americans," Emmie looked up at him with quizzical eyes, giggling when he reached to tweak her nose, "Who's smarter, me or your teacher?"
"You."
"That's right," Rick leaned down to kiss her forehead, keeping a hand on Tyra's back and head to keep her in place, "Now finish your chocolate milk and go play with your brothers. I'm going to lay Tyra down then I'll help you get dressed for tonight."
"Mama bought me a new dress," Emmie said as she took another swallow of her chocolate milk, still having a few more swallows left in the cup.
"Yes, your mama told me," Rick moved towards the hallway, "It's hanging behind the closet door and your new shoes are on your dresser."
"And socks and underwear too," Emmie called out behind him, finishing her chocolate milk with haste, a bit of it spilling down her chin.
Setting the cup on the table, she wiped her arm over her chin before scrambling down from the chair and following after Rick, stopping at the bedroom door to watch as he placed Tyra –wearing a clean sleeper –in her crib, pressing a soft kiss against her forehead before covering her small legs with a blanket, "Daddy."
"Yes, Emmie," Rick straightened as he turned towards the bedroom, smiling as his little girl lifted her arms towards him, "Can you read me a book?"
"Sounds like fun," he moved across the floor, picking her up and making his way to her bedroom, "Do you have one you want to read today?"
"Uh-hu," she nodded, getting down from his lap as soon as he sat on the rocking chair, returning with a picture book, "This one's from the library –Mou got it for me 'cause I'm too little to have a library card. They said to him I could get one when I'm five."
"They told him," Rick smiled as she climbed up onto his lap, taking the book from her, "Well, this is a good book to read today."
Emmie nodded, leaning against his chest, "It's about the boat that came here from the other side of the world."
"Ship," Rick pressed a kiss against her head, giving her a smile when she looked up at him, "It came from England and was named the Mayflower."
"Ships have names," Emmie asked as he opened the book, sticking her finger into her mouth as he flipped the first few pages to the beginning of the story.
"Yes," Rick kissed her cheek, Emmie giggling as she rubbed her bare feet against his jeans, "Let's start the book, yes?"
Emmie nodded, occasionally stopping Rick to point at a picture or word, Rick explaining before he continued. Halfway through the book, he heard a scuffle coming from the living room, realizing he'd left his seven year old in charge of the twins and Zak…not a good thing, considering the twins could pretty much run roughshod over most anyone.
"Emmie, we'll have to finish this book later, okay?"
Emmie nodded as Rick set the book aside, keeping her in his arms as he stood up.
It took him a good twenty minutes to get the twins to stop jumping on the couch, Zaky sitting in the middle of the living room floor stacking his blocks as Gabriel played with a couple of airplanes.
Emmie sat down to play with Zaky as Rick played with the twins, hoping to tire them out so they'll be easier to get dressed in…he still had another hour to go!
Rick was certain he was going to collapse, unable to comprehend how Leah could handle all of their children all day long and still have the energy to make his meals and keep his clothes clean.
After another half hour of playtime, he decided to start getting them ready, realizing that with the twins still full of energy, he was going to need the extra time.
Soon, Zaky was dressed in black slacks, a brown button down shirt tucked into the waistband, his little black shoes shiny as Rick combed his hair while he stood still.
After him, he helped Gabriel button up his shirt, his seven year old able to take care of the rest on his own.
Emmie didn't make it easy, wiggling and moving as he put on her dress, a pretty yellow dress with a white sash, frilly socks and black Mary Jane shoes, her hair falling in curls around her face after he pulled a comb through it a few times.
Tucking the fine soft hair behind her ears, he took the daisy barrettes from the small basket where Leah kept all of Emmie's hair accessories, making sure they were even.
Kissing her forehead, he moved on to the twins, grabbing Andrey as the little boy tried to evade him.
It took him a good while to get both twins dressed, the sound of Tyra babbling coming down the hall having him check his watch –now, he didn't have enough time!
Alyx giggled as he squirmed, making it difficult for Rick to comb his hair. After another minute of failed attempts, he finally tossed the comb on the dresser, "Okay, you want to be untidy, fine."
Alyx laughed, reaching up to squeeze Rick's nose before running out of the room in search of his brother.
Shaking his head, he headed to his bedroom, smiling at the sight of his baby on her tummy, arching her back before flopping onto the crib mattress then pushing up to look at him.
"Hey, baby," Rick picked her up, turning around to place her in the middle of the large bed, "Let's get you dressed, yes?"
She giggled as he removed her sleeper, pulling on her yellow dress, the sash a dark brown that matched the crinoline under the skirt, her frilly socks and shiny shoes white, "Well, don't you look beautiful? Let's get your hair combed."
Tyra smiled as he settled her on his arm, picking up a baby comb and arranging her sandy blond hair before taking a brown headband with a large sunflower that he made sure to position above her right ear.
Taking her pink coat from the closet, he headed into the living room, another thirty minutes passing before he got the four little ones into their car seats, Gabriel and Emmie climbing into their booster seats as soon as he opened the side door to the minivan.
"Okay, kids," Rick climbed behind the driver's seat, feeling a bit victorious that he was only going to be five minutes late, "Everyone ready?"
Emmie's little voice piped up, "I need to go pee."
Rick groaned as he let his head fall onto the steering wheel –so much for just five minutes late.
December 5th, 2:51PM
The sledgehammer swung in a big arc, burying into the dry wall, a fine cloud of white dust billowing.
Pulling it out of the wall, Embry swung it again, making the hole bigger –this was the last wall he needed to knock down before he started evening out the floor.
Swinging the hammer again, he let out a heavy breath, looking over his shoulder at the sound of a knock outside the open front door, "Come in."
Wiping his arm across his forehead, he rested the heavy hammer on the stripped floor between his feet, "Hey ma. What are you doing here?"
"Came to bring you lunch," she held up a brown paper bag and a large thermos, "Breakfast was two hours ago so I'm sure you're getting hungry."
"Thanks ma," he took the bag and thermos from her, moving to sit on a turned over crate, "I'm almost done knocking down that last wall. Hopefully I can start evening the floor before I ripped out the counters and appliances."
"It's kind of cold, Embry," she tugged at the collar of her brown coat as she moved farther into the room, skirting over power tools and debris, "I don't want you getting sick."
"Ma," Embry opened the thermos, taking a deep swallow of cold lemonade before setting it on the dust covered floor and opening the brown bag, "I don't feel the cold and I haven't been sick in years –sheesh, ma. Did you double load this hoagie?"
"I've been feeding you for twenty-seven years –I'm well aware of your appetite," she gave him a teasing smile that grew as he bit into his hoagie, a small moan sounding as he nodded in obvious pleasure, "I've been in the mood to cook today so...I was thinking maybe you can come over for a nice dinner –bring someone special."
"Special," Embry raised an eyebrow as he swallowed, picking up the thermos as he gave her a small smile, "Special how?"
"A special girl."
"Sheesh, ma," Embry pulled back the napkin wrapped around his sausage and pepper hoagie, "There's a whole lot of special girls."
"A girl that's special to you," she reached out to touch the dry wall, running a finger along the jagged edge of the hole, "There is someone, right? A girl?"
Embry chuckled as he finished chewing the food in his mouth, "Are you trying to ask if I'm gay?"
He couldn't hold back the laughter at the blush under his mother's beautiful reddish tanned skin, her dark brown eyes twinkling as she threw a small piece of dry wall at him, "Can you fault me for thinking that? You've never had a girlfriend, Embry."
"I didn't find the girl before."
"And now," she gave him a hopeful look, sliding her hands into her pockets –the gutted house was cold despite the doors and windows being closed, "Have you found the right girl?"
"Mhm," Embry quirked his mouth, studying his half eaten hoagie before taking another big bite, a couple of minutes passing by before he swallowed, "Hard to say but I do have a special girl to bring to your dinner."
"Tonight," she gave him a big smile, the excitement on her face making him chuckle, "What's her favorite meal?"
Embry finished the hoagie, wiping his mouth and fingers with the napkin before tossing it into the brown bag then picking up the thermos, "Spaghetti. With meatballs and lots of Parmesan cheese."
"Okay," she nodded, shivering slightly as she took the brown bag from him, "I can make some garlic bread and a nice salad to go with it."
"She doesn't like garlic bread," Embry stood up, screwing the lid on the empty thermos and handing it to his mother, "She prefers French fries…and chocolate milk."
His mother stopped a couple of feet away from the door, turning to look at him, "How young is she?"
"She's special, ma," Embry moved around the tools to pick up his sledgehammer, "You want me to bring a special girl and that's who I'm going to bring, okay?"
5:49PM
"She's making spaghetti?" Emmie wiggled out of her car seat, giggling as Embry pulled her out of the backseat of his car, taking the small pink duffel bag –Rick and Leah had agreed to a sleepover –from the seat, "Yes, she is. With meatballs and French fries."
"I like French fries," she wrapped her small arms around his neck, her purple coat puffing under her chin, "Can we play Candy Land after dinner?"
"Yep," he opened the front door, placing the duffel bag on the armchair, "And we can watch a movie."
"Can we see Black Beauty?"
He chuckled, about to set her down to remove her coat when his mother walked into the living room, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel, "Hey ma. Is dinner ready?"
"Uh," she stared into wide blue eyes, watching as the little girl ducked her head to hide her face into Embry's neck, "Yes…yes it is."
"You remember my mom, right Princess," Embry asked, nudging her chin to get her out of hiding, "She made your favorite meal."
Emmie nodded before looking over at Embry's mother, "Thank you."
Despite her surprise at who her son had brought for dinner, she couldn't help her heart melting at the shy little smile she gave her, "I also made chocolate cake…do you like chocolate cake?"
Emmie gave a vigorous nod, her smile growing as her eyes danced, "Does it have frosting?"
"I was about to frost the cake," she gave her a smile, "Want to help me?"
"Yes," Emmie exclaimed, wiggling as Embry set her on her feet, barely able to stand still long enough for him to remove her coat, taking the hand Embry's mother offered her.
Tossing the purple jacket over the pink duffel bag, he moved across the living room to lean against the kitchen archway, watching as his mother and Emmie –sitting on the counter with a wooden spoon in one hand –worked together to spread vanilla frosting over the round chocolate cake, his mother laughing as Emmie chattered about school, her brothers, Einstein, the tree house behind their house, playing dollies with Vivi.
He had never before heard his mother laugh so much –as he knew it would happen she was officially wrapped around his Princess' tiny fingers.
Their dinner was lively, plenty of laughter as Emmie shared story after story, asking questions and responding to Embry's answers, their back and forth having his mother laughing until she had tears running down her face.
After a rowdy game of Candy Land, his mother retired to her room while he popped some popcorn, Emmie sitting on the counter watching him as she kept him laughing.
Halfway through the movie, she let out a loud yawn, her little body snuggled into Embry's side. Looking down at her, he smiled as she fought to keep her eyes open.
"Let's get you to bed, yeah," Embry whispered as he turned the movie off, lifting her into his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist as she laid her head on his shoulder.
Putting on her footie pajamas didn't take much time, her giggles as he helped her brush her teeth keeping him smiling.
Drying her face, he tossed her over his shoulder, her giggles high as he moved to the bedroom that had been his, pulling back the bed covers to help her climb in, "Did you have fun, Princess?"
"Lots," Emmie wiggled down into the blankets, hugging Mou-bear as soon as Embry pulled him out of the duffel bag, "Your mama is very nice."
"Yes, she is," Embry moved to sit on the floor by the head of the bed, his arm across her as he stroked her hair, watching her pretty blue eyes blinking with the struggle of staying awake, "I love her very much."
"Mou."
He smiled as her rosebud mouth opened wide in a yawn, "Yes, Princess."
"Where's your Daddy?"
Embry sucked in a breath, his hand hesitating for a split second before he continued stroking her soft hair, "He left when I was a little boy."
"He didn't come back," she asked with surprise, her own loving upbringing making it difficult for her to understand why a father would walk away from his child, "Not ever?"
Embry shook his head, his thumb stroking over her cheek, "No."
Emmie scrambled out from under the covers, moving off the bed to stand on his lap as she hugged his neck, her hair soft against his jaw, "You can borrow my Daddy."
Embry smiled as he hugged her, pressing a kiss against her forehead, "Thank you Princess."
"I'll tell him tomorrow that he'll be your Daddy too, okay?"
"Okay," he blinked back the sudden need to cry as he helped her back under the covers, "Thank you for sharing your Daddy with me."
She yawned again, hugging Mou-bear as Embry tucked the bed covers around her, "Will you tell me a story of Princess Emerie and her best friend Mou?"
"Those are the only ones I know," he leaned forward to press a kiss on her cheek, "Close your eyes and I'll tell you a story of when Princess Emerie saved Mou."
"How?"
"Well, one day, Mou went into the forest alone."
Emmie forced her eyes open, giggling when Embry wrinkled his nose at her, "Why?"
"He was looking for a special gift to give to Princess Emerie –it was a beautiful flower that held the sun and rainbow and raindrops in its petals."
Emerie gasped as her eyes opened wide, "It's a beautiful flower!"
"The most beautiful one of all," he reached to gently close her eyes, tapping a finger against her turned up nose, "And he wanted to give it to Princess Emerie but he got lost."
"Was he scared?"
"He was very scared –he didn't think anyone would come looking for him."
Emmie opened her eyes as she reached to grasp two of his fingers, pulling his hand to tuck it under her chin, "Princess Emerie will come looking for him –she'll save him."
Embry smiled as he stroked his thumb over the knuckles of her small hand, "She always does. She finds him deep in the forest when the sun is starting to fall asleep –"
"Is he crying?"
"He didn't think he would get to see Princess Emerie again," Embry smiled as she let out another yawn, "But when he saw her come to save him…he was so happy."
He watched her, seconds ticking into minutes as her soft breathing deepened, her small hand relaxing around his fingers but he didn't move, simply laying his head on his arms, closing his eyes as his breathing naturally synchronized with hers, the soft pitter-patter of her heart lulling him to a peaceful sleep.
