"Fred..." Frances said with a puzzled look on her face.

"Yeah hon?"

"You said you haven't seen Barbara since you were a child...but you went back to Germany six years ago! Didn't you?"

"Yeah...I did. Saw Leonard and his family...but not Barbara."

"Yes...but Barbara said she lived there too!"

"Well, I did. That year, I married Daniel...He took me traveling different places for our first few years together...he's a businessman. We got back to Germany eventually and Leonard told me you moved to the States, Fred. New Jersey or somewhere like that."

"Moved to Pennsylvania first...then to Walnut Grove, Minnesota for a year...then to New Jersey, and then on to Iowa." Fred smiled.

"Walnut Grove!" Barbara exclaimed. "Well, isn't it a small world! So THAT's how they know you!"

"Yeah...How are the Ingalls doing?"

"Oh, they're just grand!...You know Mary's grown up and married. Laura, she's 17 now. She will be getting married soon, I believe in August, they said,...a nice young man named Almanzo Wilder is her fiance."

"Wow...hard to imagine little Laura that old already!"

"I know..."

"How's Carrie?...Gosh, last time I saw her she was about 4 years old,...maybe 5."

"I think she's 8 or 9 now, Fred. Maybe 10." Barbara said. "I'm not quite sure how old she is, exactly...She looks so young for her age!"

"Always was a cute little thing."

"Oh yes...and little Grace is about 4 now I'd say...Albert. He's 16. He wants to become a doctor someday, he said."

"Grace?...Albert?...Woah now, who are they?" Fred chuckled.

"They didn't tell you?...They adopted Albert Quinn, an orphan boy from Winoka."

"Okay...and who's this Grace?"

"Their youngest biological daughter."

"Well, how nice...Charles and Caroline had another baby." Fred smiled.

"Anybody else you want to know about?"

"I hate to ask...but how's Nellie?" Fred smirked.

"Nellie Oleson's doing wonderful! Met and married a young man named Percival Dalton! They've been married a few months now."

"Is she still the same old Nellie?"

"Same old Nellie?" Barbara questioned.

"She was horrible. A monster! Demon child!" Fred said...but then started to laugh.

"Nellie? I don't think so!" Barbara said, shaking her head. "Not Nellie."

"I bet marriage has mellowed her." Fred laughed. "That's good!"

They all heard the baby crying in the next room, and Fred stood up.

"No...I'll get him, honey." Frances said and sprinted into the next room. "Its all right, Freddy...Ma's here." Frances smiled. "Oh you're okay...Stop your crying now, you're fine!" He immediately stopped crying as soon as her heard her voice. She smiled and kneeled down at his cradle and watched him as he began to play with his feet. "Well, look at you!" Frances chuckled. "Are you having fun there, Freddy?" She picked him up and let him lay on his stomach on the floor to see what he would do. He was beginning to push himself up, yet only by his elbows, but he was still that happy, smiley baby as always!

"You're such a smiley boy!...Such a smiley boy!" Frances smiled and watched him as he flapped his hands on the floor and laughed and smiled. "Who's my boy?...Huh? Who's my boy?...Freddy's my boy." She smiled and got closer so she was face to face on the floor with him. Freddy's little, chubby hands grasped at her face and eventually tugged out a strand of hair from her bun.

"You little stinker..." She laughed..."You wanna play with my hair, do you?" Frances let her hair unroll so Freddy could feel the texture of it, but he wanted to do MORE than just feel it!

"Ow...don't pull Ma's hair now!" She chuckled, and uncurled his little hands from her pretty reddish-brown hair. "Let's go meet your Aunt Barbara..." Frances smiled, picked him up and took him into the kitchen.

"New look, honey?" Fred laughed, as he saw her wavy auburn hair, cascading half-way down her back and slightly deshevilled, all thanks to Freddy.

"Well, aren't you just soooooo funny!" Frances laughed. "Sure Fred...Want me to wear it like this more often?" She joked.

"I think you look great however your hair is." Fred smiled. "You're just perfect."

Frances smirked. "No one's perfect, Fred...Bible even says, There is none righteous. No, not one...and For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Look them up." She chuckled.

"I have, hon...They're both in Romans." He smiled. "And you know what I meant."

Frances sat down at the table, with Freddy on her lap, who was holding his head up easily, but then he would just lean back against his mother's body. "Are you being lazy?" Frances laughed. "C'mon...I know you can sit up!"

"Well, isn't he just the cutest little thing!...What's his name?" Barbara smiled.

"Fred George Lay..." Frances smiled. "I call him Freddy."

"Such an adorable little fella!" Barbara smiled at him. "Is he talking yet?"

"Not much." Frances chuckled. "Just vowel sounds...He did say a few ba's the other day though." Her eyebrows furrowed, but then she smiled at him. "Didn'tcha?...Yeah." Frances smiled and placed a kiss on his small forehead.

"Awwww...He just thinks he's a little sheep..." Fred said.

"Oh how wonderful...My son,...the sheep-boy." She said sarcastically. To which they all laughed. With Freddy smiling, though of course not knowing what they were laughing at.

"He is just too precious!...May I hold him, please?"

"Of course!" Frances smiled and gave Freddy to Barbara.

"You're just too precious!" Barbara smiled at Freddy who beamed his adorable, little, baby smile up at her. "Aren't you?...You're so precious. Yes." Barbara started playing peek-a-boo and other baby games with him...and Freddy would smile and laughed his little heart out! He was having a good old time with his Aunt Barbara!

Two months later...

Supper had just been eaten at the Gruber household, and Mary Jane and Melania were clearing the table and doing the dishes together afterwards.

"Mary Jane..." Melania said, as she was washing a plate in the old washtub.

"Yes Ma?" Mary Jane picked up a rinsed plate and started to dry it.

"I've gotten a job...with the railroad company. Freight trains are what they manufature and run...You know that huge brick building a few blocks from here?"

"Yes Ma...Grandpa said it was a brewing company."

Melaina sighed. "Yes,...it was." She wasn't so thrilled that Mr. Gruber was teaching her daughter things of that sort. "But now its the H&W building."

"What does that stand for?"

"Just two men's last names...They're the founders of the company."

"Oh...okay."

"My shift there is well planned out...when you're in school, I'll be working there."

"What if school is cancelled? What happens then?"

"Your Grandpa and Grandma will be home to watch you while I'm gone...Don't worry! I'm not going to leave you all alone, sweetheart!" Melania laughed, hugging her daughter and kissed the top of her head.

"And Pa and Uncle John will be here too!...I don't need to worry about anything!" Mary Jane exclaimed.

"Exactly right!" Melania smiled.

"Have you told Grandma and Grandpa that you'll be working?"

"No...but I'll tell them soon."

"Tell us what, now?" Franziska said as she and her husband came into the room. Melania jumped as Franziska's voice startled her.

"Oh I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to scare you, Melania."

"Its all right."

"So, what did you want to tell us?" She asked. John and George Jr. came in from the barn, after putting the horses up.

"Well, uh...ummmm...I've gotten a job, everyone." Melania stammered. "Haas & Wissel freight company...I'm going to be one of their secrataries...I'll be working while Mary Jane is in school...until about 5 in the evening...I can be back before suppertime, so I can still help you in the kitchen, Franziska."

"It looks like your mind's made up...Its really what you want to do?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am...I think it would be good for me...I can use the money to buy a place for Mary Jane and I...That might take a few months, of course."

Franziska sighed. "Well, at least we'll have you in our home for a little while longer then..."

"I'll bring her over to visit as much as you want...You are her grandparents after all...And her uncle..." She smiled at them, and at John..."And her father." Melania lastly smiled at George Jr. He had a look on his face she was puzzled over and couldn't quite place. George Jr. didn't say a word, but walked out the door. He needed some time alone, so he went for a walk on this nice June evening.

"George...honey..." Franziska said and followed her oldest child as he walked out the front door, and it was slammed in her face.

Big George put his hands on his wife's shoulders..."Let him think things through..."He whispered.

"What's the woman's problem?...We've opened up to her! We've let her stay here in our home! And she just wants to throw it all away?...She just wants to get out of here! Get away from us. So she doesn't need to listen to nobody! Don't have to be told what to do." George Jr. was talking to himself, and kicked a rock on the ground and it went flying. "That gal's fiesty! I know that!...Maybe she just has a problem with submitting to folks...Problem with authority. That's it." George Jr. looked up at the sky, the sun beginning to set. "Or maybe she just wants to get away from...me." He said to himself and sighed.

"Lord, I know I've strayed an aweful lot...Haven't talked to You in...a long while. Been doing what I wanted to do...Living my life the way I wanted...If ya can still hear me...I know...I never really confessed what we did. I knew You already knew...You know all...You see all. I admit it was wrong now...Sure didn't feel wrong! But it is...Lord, You know this black heart of mine! You know I want to make this right somehow...Its in Your hands. I know You'll take care of this..." And with that, George Jr. ended his prayer with an amen, and continued his walk.

That same night, Fred and Frances were at their home, having a late supper.

"I'm so sorry, Fred!...About not getting supper on the table soon enough!" She said, dishing up their plates and setting them on the table, alongside their coffee.

"Hey now, am I complaining?...Am I yelling at you?" Fred said.

"Well no...but I figure I should have supper ready at a certain time!...I've just been so busy lately!"

"I know...And according to me, I haven't been helping out like I should..."

"Oh no...Fred, you're fine! You come home from the factory in the afternoon,...and then you're outside, plowing the fields until suppertime!...You're always so tired! You deserve to rest! Its my fault!...I'm not..."

"Now stop that!...You're doing just fine! I think you're working too hard as it is...You need sometime to rest, yourself!...Let me take care of things tonight..." He smiled at her.

"Fred, its my job..."

"Just let me help you...I can watch over Freddy tonight while you're cleaning up the kitchen...C'mon Frances...I want to be a good husband." He smiled at her.

She leaned over from where she was sitting at the table and kissed him. "You already are...Don't you worry." Frances smiled.

"It just want to help you out."

"If you must!" Frances laughed. "Now, will my wonderful husband say a word of prayer for our meal?...Before I eat part of the table!" Frances laughed.

"You do need more fiber in your diet, hon." He chuckled.

"Oh, shut up and pray, Fred John!" Frances laughed.

"Will do...Franziska Katherine." Fred smiled and took her hand, and they bowed their heads as he prayed for their meal.

"Freddy's up...I'll get him." She said, getting up from her spot and went into her sitting room.

"Frances!"

"Don't worry!...I'm coming back!" Frances laughed, sticking her head in the doorway. And walked off and soon returned to the kitchen with the 6 month old in her arms. She sat down and placed Freddy on her lap and she began to eat her supper.

Frances litfed a spoonful of mashed sweet potatoes to her mouth...and Freddy kept eyeing it as it would pass from the plate to her mouth. He reached his little hand out and grabbed the spoon at one point.

"Freddy, no sir..." Frances chuckled. "You won't get this stuff for awhile, I think." She continued eating again, but he decided to grab at her spoon again.

"No sir!" She said with a stern, but kind, voice.

"Oh c'mon, Frances!...Give him a little bite! It won't hurt him!" Fred chuckled.

"Oh all right..." She smirked at him, and scooped up a little spoonful and fed it to Freddy.

"Is that yummy?" Frances smiled at him, waited for him to swallow his first bite and fed him another bite and scooped up the little bit that was sliding down his chin. Freddy made a face at the sweet potatoes...and started to cry and wouldn't take another spoonful of it.

"He is NOT liking the sweet potatoes!" Frances laughed.

"Try giving him some of your sauerkraut...Maybe he'll like that."

"It needs to be cooled down and mashed up a little more." She said, and did so and waited for it to cool down.

"Well, I'll be darned!...He likes it!" Fred exclaimed as Frances was feeding him the sauerkraut. "Good boy!...Taking a liking to German food!...That's my boy!" He laughed.

"I guess I'll be making a lot more German food than usual from now on!" Frances smiled, and ate a bite of her slice of ham. Freddy was eyeing that as well.

"Oh, no sir!...This you're not getting!...This is mine." Frances said.

Big crocodile tears flooded Freddy's eyes and he began to cry again.

"Now stop that! You're fine!...You'll just have to settle for the sauerkraut."

"Wouldn't want him to choke." Fred said.

"Exactly."

"Here, I'll take him." He said, reaching for him, and Frances placed Freddy into Fred's arms.

"Snicklefritz!...Hey Snicky!" Fred smiled at Freddy, who was no longer crying and had calmed down.

"Was Aufruf gerade unser Sohn?" Frances asked him in German. She said with laughter in her voice. In English, it meant, "What did you just call our son?"

"Snicklefritz...Pennsylvania Dialekt...Seine eine Form der Zärtlichkeit, Honig..." He spoke in German back to her. They only did this when they were alone. Frances thought it was a little impolite to speak it in public, and it was also a special thing between them...What Fred said in German, in English it meant, "Snicklefritz...Pennsylvania dialect...Its a form of endearment, honey..."

"Snicklefritz bedeutet ein Rowdy Kind, Fred...Wer, in Mischeif wird. Nun, wir weiß nicht, ob er Rowdy ist, aber wenn er so etwas wie sein Vater, er alle Boy sein, werde wenn er älter!" Frances said and began to laugh...in English it meant, "Snicklefritz means a rowdy child, Fred...One who gets into mischeif. Now, we don't know if he's rowdy, but if he's ANYTHING like his father, he'll be all boy when he gets older!"

"He needs a new nickname. Can't be called Freddy for the rest of his life!"

"Fred, he's only 6 months old!" She chuckled..."Besides, I like calling him Freddy. Its my nickname for him." Frances smiled.

"Well, then Snicklefritz will be MY nickname for him!" He laughed.

"How about Fritz instead?" Frances said. "I like the sound of that better."

"Okay, Fritz then...But I still get to call him Snicklefritz."

Frances laughed. "You and only you, honey...You can call him Snicklefritz."

A/N: H&W was a trucking company. The building and sign is still there, but is no longer in use. I believe they store some of the Swiss Valley milk trucks there now...Anyway, I had to change it for my story to a railroad freight company, because I don't think they had freight trucks back then in the 1800's! lol. But still, its the same idea, they ship freight across Iowa and the neighboring States...Here is an article about the REAL H&W company...H & W MOTOR EXPRESS Company. Urban J. Haas and Cyril Wissel founded H & W Motor Express on September 26, 1927. The company was a one-truck operation running between Dubuque and Chicago. At the time of Haas' death in 1961, the company with 280 employees was a $3 million business operating in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and with connections from coast-to-coast and Canada. With the leadership of Wissel and later Urban "Skip" Haas, the company grew through the 1970s and 1980s. At one time, the company had 543 employees and 900 trucks. H & W regularly ran freight to Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Omaha, Kansas City, and St. Louis with stops all over Iowa. The building used formerly by the Dubuque Brewing and Malting Company became the H & W Building.

The H&W Company may be a reaccuring thing in my story, so keep your eyes peeled! Watch for it! lol.

Fred George Lay's nicknames were actually Freddy and Fritz. I believe Fritz means Fred in German anyway, so I think that's why they called him Fritz.

Fred never saw either of his siblings in person. They kept in touch through letters and sent pictures...Both Barbara and Leonard lived out their days in Germany, I believe.