Notes: Hugs to Mari and Sammy. Love you both!

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Hope you enjoy!


Probably Not Candyland (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)

"And Grandma said we're going to make different animals out of our handprints and it'll be like we have our own zoo!" DJ said excitedly as he set his small suitcase by the door for an overnight stay at the Rollins' condo.

"We going to da zoo," Angie said, carrying one end of her suitcase down the stairs while Steve held the other, a compromise so she wouldn't fall trying to carry it herself.

"Not to the zoo, we're going to make our own zoo," DJ explained. "With crafts."

"Yay cwafts!" Angie said. "I like cwafts."

"I think Grandma knows that," Catherine said with a smile, bending to kiss her head as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Steve set his end on the ground and Angie pulled the suitcase over next to DJ's. "What we eating at Gwandma's?" she asked.

"Grandpa's making hamburgers on the grill!" DJ told her.

"Yummy! I like pickles and musta'd," she replied.

Catherine laughed. "The last time we had hamburgers I think yours was more pickles and mustard than anything else."

Angie nodded as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"And Grandma said she bought the special unicorn ice cream!" DJ continued.

Angie gasped. "With da spawkles?"

"Yeah! And she said she got a new book for us to read, but it's going to be a surprise."

Angie clasped her hands together excitedly.

Steve laughed. "At least something is. It sounds like the rest of the evening is all planned out."

"With a lot of fun activities," Catherine said, running a hand over DJ's head as he nodded eagerly.

Angie suddenly looked concerned.

"What is it, Angie?" Steve asked, noticing her expression immediately.

"What you an' Mommy doin' tonight?"

"What do you mean?" Catherine asked. "While you and DJ are at Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma Ang's?"

Angie nodded, DJ now looking similarly concerned.

Steve's gaze flew to Catherine's, his eyes widening, knowing exactly what they planned to do while the kids were at their grandparents.

"Oh, don't worry about us," Catherine assured them. "We'll be fine."

"But we're going to do lots of fun activities with Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma Ang," DJ said, echoing her earlier words. "And you and Daddy won't get to do them."

"That's sweet of you to worry, but I promise we'll be fine. Mommy and Daddy have their own special things they like to do together." She winced even as she said it, fully expecting the response which came immediately.

"What t'ings?" Angie asked.

Steve shut his eyes and swallowed hard, his face flushing slightly.

"You playing Can'yland?" Angie continued, her mind going to her and DJ's current favorite game.

"No, probably not Candyland," Catherine said, shooting a quick, amused glance at Steve.

"What time are we supposed to drop them off?" Steve asked hurriedly, checking his watch.

"You could play Twister," DJ suggested.

"Now there's an idea," Catherine said, now enjoying Steve's clear discomfort.

"What you going to eat?" Angie asked. "You have hambu'gews too?"

"I saw the pancake mix on the island," DJ said, looking toward the kitchen. "Are you going to make pancakes?"

Steve groaned, inwardly cursing his idea to get some of the ingredients out early.

Angie gasped. "Wif spwinkles?"

Catherine fought a smile. "No, no sprinkles for us."

"You know what?" Steve said, picking up both suitcases. "I bet Grandpa's ready to get those burgers on the grill."

Catherine chuckled, taking pity on him. "And those handprint animals aren't going to make themselves," she said. "Don't worry about us. We'll be fine. Are you ready to go?"

DJ nodded, but Angie shook her head.

"Wait, I get somet'ing fo' you!" she said, starting up the stairs.

"DJ, do you want to say goodbye to Cammie while we're waiting for your sister?" Catherine suggested. "And Pumpkin if you can find her."

"She's in Angie's room," DJ said. "I said goodbye to her when I was upstairs." He knelt by Cammie and hugged her around her neck. "Bye, Cammie. You can play with Mommy and Daddy so they won't be bored or lonely, okay?"

Catherine looked over at Steve, smiling at the sweet exchange, and saw him relax as well.

Angie appeared on the stairs again, this time carrying her stuffed bunny rabbit.

"You have my bunny," she told him as she made her way downstairs. "He make you happy when we go to Gwandma's."

"Ohh, that's sweet, baby girl, thank you," Catherine said, accepting the offered toy.

"Not your aardvark?" Steve asked with a teasing smile, having regained his equilibrium from earlier.

Angie looked at her suitcase in his hand where she knew her beloved aardvark was stored for their sleepover. She shook her head. "No, she go wif me to Gwandma's."

He chuckled. "Of course."

"Bye, Cammie!" Angie said, going over to the dog and snuggling into her fur.

DJ stepped back to give his sister room and spotted something else on the island in the kitchen.

"Why is the chocolate sauce out too?" he asked innocently. "Are you going to have that on your pancakes instead?"

"I think we're ready to go," Steve said, the flush returning instantly to his cheeks and neck. He maneuvered the door open while holding both suitcases. "Let's not keep Grandma and Grandpa waiting, huh?"


"Mm, that last pancake may have been one too many," Catherine murmured, running a finger along the length of Steve's arm where it rested on the edge of the soaking tub.

He pressed his lips to the spot where her neck met her shoulder even as he ran his other hand along her stomach under the water. "I'll help you work it off."

She inhaled and arched her neck to the side, allowing him more room. Her fingers reached his on the edge of the tub and she intertwined them before bringing them down to join his other hand on her abdomen. Leaving his hands to explore at will, she lifted her own to reach back and thread her fingers through his hair.

"You're gettin' suds in my hair," he said against her skin.

"That's what the shower's for," she replied, twisting her torso and guiding his head to hers for a heated kiss. After only a moment, she started chuckling against his lips.

"What?" he asked in between kisses.

"I don't think this is what the kids meant when they suggested we play Twister."

He groaned, dropping his head to her shoulder. "Catherine."

"I'm sorry," she said, still laughing. "But your face."

"Don't say it."

"Adorable."

He shook his head, forehead still against her shoulder.

"And you're the one who put the pancake mix and the chocolate sauce out before the kids left," she pointed out.

He sighed, lifting his head and looking toward the ceiling. "Yeah, I learned my lesson there. Our kids are too observant for their own good."

"For your own good, you mean," she countered with a smile, glancing back as she rested against him.

He acknowledged the point, allowing himself a little chuckle about the situation at last. "I guess it's no surprise they are."

"No surprise at all," she agreed, threading her fingers through his where they lay against her abdomen and knowing he was actually quite proud of how observant both their children were.

"Also no surprise they'd be curious about what we were going to do while they were gone," he continued.

"No. And it was sweet that they were worried we'd be bored and lonely without them."

He smiled, and she felt him nod against her head. "I wonder why now. It's not like it's their first sleepover away from us."

She shrugged. "Not sure. Probably just that Angie's getting older now so realizes the house doesn't freeze when she's not here, and she and DJ often feed off each other's emotions and ideas."

He smiled at that. "True."

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes until he felt her run her hand along his leg beneath the water. One of his eyebrows quirked expectantly and he heard the change in her voice when she next spoke.

"Now, I think someone promised to help me work off that last pancake."

"Mmhmm," he agreed, using one hand to turn her face towards his. "And I didn't mean by playing Twister."


Catherine's brow furrowed as she stood beside the phone and read the text on her phone. "Hey, Steve, the kids want to FaceTime before bed," she said as she typed a question back.

He stepped out of the bathroom, towel around his waist. "Everything okay?" he asked. They didn't normally ask to call or FaceTime when they were only staying over for the night.

Catherine read her mother's reply and relayed it to him. "Mom says yes, they just want to check on us." She glanced up with an amused smile.

He chuckled. "Of course they do." He went over to the dresser and pulled on a pair of boxers and a t-shirt.

Catherine put on a tank and shorts, also from the dresser as neither had planned to get dressed after their bath. She climbed on the bed and made the call as he moved to join her.

"Oh wait!" she said suddenly to him as the call was connecting. "Go get the bunny so Angie knows we have it."

He detoured to the dresser where they'd put the stuffed animal before making their pancakes and returned to the bed with it.

"Hi, Mommy!" Angie's voice came over the line as the screen filled with her, DJ, and Elizabeth.

"Hi!" DJ echoed.

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said. "They were pretty insistent we check on you."

"It's fine," Catherine assured her, smiling at the kids. "Have you been having fun with Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma Ang?"

"Yes!" DJ said as Angie nodded emphatically.

"How were the hamburgers?" Steve asked.

"Dey so yummy!" Angie replied. "I ate all da pickles!"

"She did," DJ confirmed. "Grandma had to put pickles on her shopping list so she can get some more."

Steve and Catherine chuckled.

"Did you do your special things?" DJ asked.

Steve's chuckle turned into a groan and he ran a hand over his face.

"Mmhm," Catherine replied noncommittally.

"You got da bunny!" Angie said excitedly, spotting the stuffed animal's ear.

Steve smiled, relieved at the change in subject, and held it up. "We do. Thank you for leaving him with us."

Angie noticed Catherine's wet hair and asked, "You take a baf, Mommy? I's not baf night."

"Hey, where are the handprint animals you were going to make?" Catherine said, dodging the question as Steve closed his eyes momentarily at Elizabeth's knowing smile.

After a quick show and tell of the animals they had made, they managed to say their good nights and I love yous without any more curious questions.

Catherine ended the call and put her phone on her nightstand along with Angie's stuffed bunny as Steve slid down the bed with a groan, rubbing his face with both hands.

"We may have to play a game of Candyland just so we have something to tell 'em tomorrow," he said.

She chuckled as she turned back to him. "I'd prefer Twister," she said and reached over to tug on his shoulder, pulling him to her and capturing his mouth with hers. He quickly matched her kiss for kiss, and guided her beneath him. She slid her hands down his torso to the bottom of his shirt and he sat up to remove it.

He paused at a sight in his periphery and she frowned. "What?" she asked.

Wordlessly he leaned over and turned the stuffed bunny around so it was facing away from them.

She barked a laugh, incredulous. "Oh my god, Steve."

"Not a word," he muttered, and resumed kissing her. He slid a hand under her tank top but paused, feeling her barely suppressed mirth. Sighing, he raised his head and nodded in resignation. "Go ahead."

"Adorable."


Hope you enjoyed!

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