July 31st 2022

Chapter 212
Our Dreams For Projects

There were many things for him and Maya to look to as ways in which they were compatible, things that had turned them from strangers to friends, to best friends, and lovers, husband and wife and parents together across the past two decades. One of 'the big ones' was easily their connections to their chosen careers. To both of them it had meant so much, to be a teacher, to be a veterinarian… They had both worked hard to accomplish these goals, and now that they had made it, what had once been a dream had become reality in every way. They'd wanted it, they'd believed they could do it, and now they were doing it. Maya had become the kind of teacher who'd inspired her and then some, and Lucas had followed his own vision, the one he'd carried since he was very little and making great promises to his grandmother. He would grow up and take care of animals, and he would do it right there, at Sullivan Stables, the place that she had built with his grandfather.

That was his thankfulness outside of home right there, so he knew just why Maya had brought up the school when he'd asked her. It wasn't even just that he was there, full time, for over two years already, it was everything that he had been doing, in those years and before then, too. The question forced him to consider it all just as Maya had done, as a whole and as parts, and as aware as he always was, this really made him think about everything in a different way.

He thought about the thing that he'd imagined way back when, and what the reality had become. When he was a kid, all he told himself was 'I'm going to be a vet, I'm going to take care of animals,' never minding the fact that it would be years upon years of study, and practice, long before he could call himself that. He'd gotten through all that hard work, made it to the other side, and once he'd gotten there, he'd found that it was about much more than taking care of horses. Sullivan Stables, it was… It felt like a living organism, and like any organism, it was a sum of parts, and it was constantly evolving, growing…

He had really been able to see it that way in the year before his residency, when they'd had Marianne and he'd chosen to just be at the ranch full time. That was the year when the archive had come together, the year when the idea for the ranch stories book had come into being… It still felt strange to imagine it had nearly been six years already, but then when had the passage of time not felt like that ever since… college, maybe, since they'd left home and struck out on their own. That was the moment when the future had become less of an eventuality and more of… every day of their life going forward.

That was sort of what the archive and the book had been for his place at the ranch. That was when he'd really started to make his mark on Sullivan Stables, not just being Simon and Marianne Sullivan's grandson but someone who intended to be part of this organism, to help it grow. And from that day on, it really hadn't just been about looking after the horses.

Even before he'd officially taken over the position vacated by Doctor Alvarez, and even before he had a substantial date ahead of him where the whole of the ranch would be in his hands, he'd done everything in his power to follow his instincts. When he passed through that arch and he saw that house growing nearer, he would feel like they were with him. Marianne the first, Jax… even Simon, who he'd never gotten to know. They would be with him, and his choices would be made, always, with them in mind. This had led him to start their first camp initiative, their summer camp, and that had led into the exchange campers, and the afterschool program… Just this year, it had led to the retreat being built, in his grandmother's memory and by his collaboration with Ella. It had been her idea, and she'd done it in the same spirit that he would have done it: she'd done it while considering what they might have done.

So, what Lucas was really thankful for, in all of this, was that he got to go out there every day and know that he was right where he needed to be, doing exactly what he should be doing, and all of it in memory and honor of his grandparents' legacy. If he could keep doing that, for as long as there was strength in his body to do it, then he would count himself thankful each year. Not to mention…

"Just for the record, I am so very thankful for you, for our girls, and our Lucky bean, here," Lucas told his wife, and Maya smiled as she nodded, looking down between them just as he did. She could still hide it, fall fashion working in her favor, but right here, her bump was very easy for them to notice, and it gave his heart a flutter to see it, every time. He placed his hand over it, letting this thankfulness pass on to this future child of theirs.

It was without any ceremony that the moment was interrupted by the appearance of Kacey, quietly climbing on to the foot of the bed, possibly still half asleep, and crawling up to seek a gap between her parents where she might burrow herself. It was a familiar occurrence, and of course they made space for her, the better for her to end up under the blankets with them and clinging to her mother.

"Hey, little cub, good morning," Maya cradled her head, leaned to kiss it. With her right there, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that the others would follow suit, but as Lucas looked over his shoulder, he saw no more small blondes wandering from their beds. He checked anyway, before heading to the bathroom. Lucy was in her own bed, snuggled up good. Remy looked just on the verge of tipping over the edge of hers, so he just very discreetly nudged her closer to the middle before heading down the hall.

When he was out of the bathroom again, he peered into the green room. Marianne was just barely waking up, and she waved a sleepy hand when she saw him. For her part, Mackenzie was maybe the most awake human in this house, sitting up in her crib. She squealed happily when she saw her father and reached out both hands toward him. Come and get me, please?

"Very thankful for you, too, Macaw," he whispered as he picked her up and kissed her cheek.

"Did the parade start yet?" Marianne mumbled, rubbing at her eyes with a fist.

"No, you're good," Lucas promised her. "Breakfast first, then getting dressed, then the parade will be on, okay?"

"Okay," she climbed out of bed and walked up to him, leaning to his side, the one opposite where he held the baby, so he could put one arm around her even as she reached up and touched Mackenzie's foot, making the – currently – littlest Friar look down at her with a happy smile.

"Kacey's with your mom right now," Lucas reported as they left the room. "The others are still asleep, or they were, last I saw." At this, Marianne moved ahead, looked into the master bedroom with a wave before taking a turn into the nursery. Lucas' statement of 'last I saw' had been accurate. It was a known phenomenon at this point that, with enough of them awake and moving about, the others would never be far behind. So, by the time he got to look in there, it was Marianne, Lucy, and Remy, all bundled in the kit's bed, eagerly aware of the upcoming parade.

"Baby Mack!" Kacey pointed when she saw Lucas come up with her. She didn't move an inch away from her mother because she was comfortable there, but she still wanted to touch Mackenzie, which she got to do once Lucas sat on the bed with her. She took hold of her little sister's hand, which worked out very well for Mackenzie, too.

"Somehow I still have to remind myself that she's not going to become a big sister, but this one is," Lucas pointed out, in French, as he nodded from Kacey to Mackenzie. Maya smiled and nodded. Oh, yeah, she was right there with him on that one. How was their Tiny supposed to be someone's big anything?

"What?" Kacey looked at him, perplexed by the use of the other language. Sure, she was still learning to speak, but she understood a lot better than she could speak, and sometimes her parents and others would talk in words that she didn't understand at all. But if she said 'what?' then sometimes they would explain things, she knew that.

"That's the secret Mommy-Daddy code," Maya told her with a smirk, which did not exactly make Kacey feel any better, but her response after this was almost a shrug, like she decided she cared much more about the fact that she was here, with her parents, and her little sister.

"I think I need to add 'mornings' to the thankful list," Lucas stated, and on this Maya was right there with him. Mornings, their girls swarming in, this way and that.

"Well, if we have mornings, then nights are pretty good, too, aren't they? Bath time, and PJs, and stories… songs… How ever many it takes before you stay asleep in bed," she stated, peering close into Kacey's eyes, which made her laugh.

It was inevitable, what with the four of them here on this bed, that the three currently across the hall would find their way over if they didn't get up before. Of course, today, they needed to get things moving, couldn't just sit around for ages. Breakfast needed to happen, and then everyone had to get dressed… then there'd be the parade…

"Is Emma coming down?" Maya asked, as their own 'parade' down the stairs crossed paths with Eliza as she climbed down from the second floor. Noise from below suggested that Ella was already in the kitchen with Tori, both of them getting things started together. "Never heard you guys come in last night."

"Uh, she's not here actually," Eliza told her older sister.

"Oh?" Maya blinked. This was a first, as far as she was aware. The only nights Emma hadn't spent here had been because she was off visiting family out of state. Had she met someone?

"School things, ran late, so she decided to crash at a friend's place. She'll be back in a bit," Eliza explained.

"She's going to miss the parade!" Marianne gasped.

"It's okay," Eliza smiled at her. "She can watch it later." Marianne wasn't too sure about that, but what was she supposed to do? So, they continued down the stairs.

"Good morning!" Tori chirped when she saw them come along. Morning greetings, hugs, and kisses were a winding and lengthy affair with how many of them there were and how many of those were little girls who all wanted to make sure they'd gotten to everyone, but they got through it; they'd had practice.

"Can I turn on the TV over there?" Marianne asked before she could get on her chair.

"You're not going to miss it, pumpkin, you gotta sit down and eat, alright? And slowly. No chipmunk cheeks," Maya gave an example, making Marianne, Tori, and the triplets laugh. "I promise you won't miss it." Well, that was good enough for them, wasn't it? Anyway, right now they could smell the potatoes, and that had a way of blocking out most other things.

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners