Goren walked into the bathroom and looked his little girl directly in the eye, trying not to choke on the cloud of white powder that coated everything in the small room. "What are you doing in here?" he asked with a cough.

She was standing on the counter next to the basin. Her hair was white, and so was most of the bathroom. "I needed powder."

"For what?"

"So I can be pretty."

He lifted her from the counter and set her on the floor. "Go get the broom, please."

"Okay, Daddy."

While she was gone, Eames came into the room. "Whoa, what happened in here?"

"Hurricane Maggie and a bottle of baby powder."

"Where's the little hurricane now?"

"Getting the broom."

"Why did she get into the powder?"

"So she can be pretty."

She sighed, careful not to take too deep a breath. "You want to field this one since I got the band-aid one?

Last week, she had covered her brother in band-aids, in case he got an owie. She wanted to protect him and band-aids always made owies better. "Sure. It's my turn."

She leaned up and kissed him, grateful that he was willing to bear his share of the parenting burden as well as its rewards. Nearly an hour later, after helping Maggie clean the bathroom and giving her a bath, he carried her to her room and sat down on her bed with her, glad to finally be able to do both without any pain. "Why powder?"

"Babies wear powder and babies are pretty."

"Do you think you aren't?"

"No. I know I'm pretty. You al'ays tell me I am."

"Then what did you need the powder for?"

"Can't I be prettier?"

His mind went blank for a moment and he had no idea what to tell her. Finally, he took a deep breath which made him cough, though he was glad that, too, was no longer painful. "There's no need for you to be any prettier, baby. You are just perfect exactly the way you are."

"You think so, Daddy?"

"I know so."

Slowly she nodded. "Okay. I'll just be pretty 'nuff."

"Pretty enough suits me just fine. But I do need you to do something for me."

"What?"

"The next time you get the urge to dump a bottle of powder on your head or coat your brother in baby oil--" That had been fun to clean up. "--Please ask."

She gave it a moment's thought. "Okay, Daddy. I'll ask."

"Are you ready to go to visit Gramma?"

"Yes. I jus' gotta put on my dress."

He kissed her forehead. "Get dressed then. I need to change."

She suddenly jumped into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck in her version of a bear hug. He folded his arms around her and held her until she was ready to be released. "Thank you, mouse. I needed that."

"I know," she said with an innocent smile.

"How'd you know?"

"You al'ays need a hug, and I'll al'ays give you one."

He nodded. "That sounds like a good idea to me." He gave her a kiss. "Now get dressed."

He headed into the bedroom he shared with Alex. She had been so glad to come home and be back in their apartment again. He was simply glad to be home, and home, to him, was any place his family was. After taking another quick shower and getting halfway dressed, he was looking through the closet for a shirt when Alex came into the room. She slid her arms around his waist, lightly caressing his bare skin. He caught his breath and turned, pulling her against him and backing into the closet. She laughed. "What are you doing?"

He leaned over and softly kissed her. "Kissing my wife in the bedroom closet."

"Why the closet?"

"Why not? Is the baby ready?"

"Yes, and so is Maggie. She's sitting by the door trying to make the baby smile again."

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then."

"What about you?"

"I was already dressed once, until the white tornado hit."

"Did you talk to her?"

"Of course. And she's good until the next idea strikes her."

"You have to admit, her reasons are sound."

"That doesn't make the clean-up any easier."

"I look forward to seeing what she's going to come up with next."

"That's good because it's your turn to deal with her."

"Unless I convince you to do it for me."

"No way. It's your turn."

She kissed him. "We'll see."

Brushing her lips past his again, she teased him with her tongue. "Not fair," he whispered.

"All's fair in love and child-rearing."

"That gives you the edge."

"And I am proud to admit that." She lightly tickled him. "Get dressed, Goren. We don't want your mother to worry."

He sighed softly. "No, we don't want that."

She stepped out of the closet and saw Maggie standing by the door. "What was you doin' inna closet, Mommy?"

"Just helping Daddy pick out his shirt."

"Oh. Are we goin' yet?"

"As soon as Daddy gets done dressing."

"Why are you bein' slow, Daddy?"

He looked around the dresser at her as he buttoned his shirt. "I was already dressed once, missy. Somebody got powder all over my clothes."

She giggled. "I did that."

"Yes, you did."

He pulled a tie off the rack and slid it under his collar, then grabbed a jacket. "Okay, mouse. Let's go."

"Yay!" She ran down the hall, chattering happily to her little brother about their upcoming visit to Gramma's.

Goren grabbed his wife's arm and pulled her to him before she got to the door. He moved his face closer to hers. "I will find a way to even my odds," he whispered. Softly, he let his lips caress hers, applying more pressure as he deepened the kiss. Stepping back from her, he let his fingers trail down her face, along her neck and her collarbone. He struggled with himself for a moment before he was finally able to step away. "We'd better get going," he murmured.

She paused for a moment before turning to follow him. Damn if he didn't find a way...but she was not going to let him know that.

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Maggie chatted happily with Tommy all the way to Carmel Ridge, announcing every smile he gave her..and there were a lot of them. The baby very obviously loved his big sister and she had a knack for getting him excited, which amused her father and made her mother groan. Bobby had resumed his weekly visits after getting out of the hospital. Both Alex and Maggie had gone with him; Frances was once again doing well. But she wanted to see her grandson. Now that he was three months old and the winter flu season was just about over, they were ready to make the introductions.

Eames pulled into a parking space and turned off the engine. They climbed out of the car and got the children out. Goren settled his son into the crook of his left arm, holding Maggie's hand with his right. On her other side, Maggie held her mother's hand. Swinging her arms, she skipped between them. Once they got onto the right wing, she released their hands and ran ahead to say hello to Sylvia.

"Hi, Sivia!"

"Well, hello there, Maggie. How are you today?"

"I'm good. Is Gramma havin' a good day?"

"Yes, she is. Do you have a surprise for her?"

Maggie nodded vigorously. "We bringed my baby today!"

"You did? That's exciting!"

"He's happy, too. Gramma's never seed him before."

Sylvia looked up as Alex and Bobby approached, smiling at them. "Okay, Maggie," she said. "Introduce me to your baby."

She helped Maggie climb up onto her desk, where the little girl stood and placed her hand on her brother's head. "This is Tommy, my baby. Tommy, this is Sivia. She helps take care-a Gramma."

Sylvia took the baby's hand and gently jiggled it. "Hello, there, little man." He rewarded her with a smile and she laughed. "He's a happy little guy."

Eames nodded. "He almost never cries. He's a very good baby."

"That's 'cause I take care-a him!" Maggie volunteered.

Eames hugged her. "That's right, Maggie."

She jumped into her mother's arms. "Let's go see Gramma! She misses me. C'mon, Daddy! Gramma wants to see Tommy, too."

He grinned at Sylvia and followed his wife and daughter down the hall to his mother's room.