A/N Happy NFL playoffs! This will be posting a bit late since the parents are coming to do the family b-day celebrations. Three of us within a week! And I have to thank you all for the love on FB and Twitter for my birthday on Friday! It meant a lot to me, and I appreciate it. You guys always make me feel loved!

So, we had all the road teams win last week, for the first time ever. This is a weird year. Injuries are definitely hurting the teams this year, so anything can happen. I was at dinner during the Pats/KC, frantically checking the phone for updates. Every year, we do this dinner during the playoffs. It's torture for me, but the food gets me through the pain of not having football for a few hours.

I was going to post yesterday but the parents arrived extra early. Anyway, two favorites took the win. We shall see what happens today. Pitt is so beat up I don't see it but they were the hottest team a couple of weeks ago. I have no idea what Sea will do, ever. I know the GB/Ari game was exciting as hell. Sorry GB fans, but they had magic too. I love football! Enjoy today's games!

A lot of you requested a look at little AJ's first time throwing the ball. I had it written, so I'm glad I could fulfill the request. I adore this outtake, and hopefully you all will as well. Enjoy! Have a great week, and I'll see you next for the championship rounds! Happy footballin!

GB Outtake AJ

"Throw it long," Sammy called, taking off as fast as he could.

I laughed, dodging Colin and his son, Christopher, before letting the ball fly. Sammy easily blew past Jasper in coverage and flew into the end zone-well, the makeshift version anyway. We were having a family picnic in the park, one last big hurrah before school and the football season started and shit got too hectic.

"Losing your step, man," I told Jasper when he finally got back. Sammy had jogged past his ass and joined me a few minutes before.

"Some of us aren't getting paid millions to keep in shape." He patted his still-flat belly. "I'm part of the working class now. I don't run."

I snickered. "Coach would kick your ass if he saw that loafing shit."

"Nah. He's old now. Couldn't catch me if he tried."

I shook my head. "Get back out there and prove it. I'm gonna bring out your inner-athlete yet."

Jasper smirked. "Sorry. My inner-pig wants to come out and have some more of my wife's awesome potato salad. You stay out here and work, though. You could use it."

I chucked the ball into his retreating ass, making him yelp.

He grabbed the ball. "Now I'm holding it hostage. You've got to eat at least two burgers before you can play again."

"I'm pretty sure that's the opposite of good health practices. Have you learned nothing about letting food settle before you get active again?"

He laughed and tossed the ball, catching it as he walked backwards. "Sure, I've heard of it, but that only applies to us mere mortals. Professional athletes should be ready to go at all times, even on a full stomach."

I rolled my eyes but trotted after him. Food sounded good. And my team had deserted me anyway. Sammy already had a hot dog in his big trap, and the plates of food in front of Colin and Christopher made me worry there'd be nothing left.

"Did you save any for me? Dam-rn," I corrected, remembering that the audience had young ears.

"I saved you some, Daddy."

I grinned over at my girl. "Thank you, Dani. That's why you're my favorite daughter in the world."

She laughed when I gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. "I'm your only daughter, Daddy."

"But still my favorite. How's the food?"

She lifted a forkful of macaroni salad toward me, and I ate it. It was awesome.

"Really good."

"You've got that right, Dani. Are you having fun?"

"Yeah. A few of us are going to the playground when we get done."

I eyed the playground. There were quite a few kids over there. "Okay, but stay where we can see you. And take Christopher." Christopher may not be Colin's biological son, but he sure took after him. The kid was big. Give him a few years, and he might be on the o-line as well.

Dani rolled her eyes. "Fine, Daddy."

Christ, the kid was twelve but already had those teenage reactions to shit. God help me when the hormones hit her. Or had they already? Fuck. I didn't want to know. That was Reed Girl's domain.

"Good." I ruffled her hair because I knew it drove her nuts.

Sure enough, she shrieked and started patting at it. She was such a girl sometimes. But, thankfully, only sometimes. She could throw down with the boys whenever she wanted.

"When you're done with that, come back to the team. I need your speed. You can totally burn Jasper on the long ball."

Dani shrugged, but not before I saw the little smile on her face. "Okay."

I headed toward the grill, stopping to see what Ethan was up to. He and Julian had their heads buried over his tablet. I wondered briefly if they were looking at girls but blew out a laugh when I saw that it was some music app. You could get my son outside, but you couldn't get him away from his music. I was pretty sure he heard it in his sleep.

"Having a good time, boys?"

"Yeah, Dad," he responded absently.

"Sure, Uncle Edward." Julian grinned at me. He was the spitting image of his father. Hopefully he wouldn't take after him in school. I wouldn't have to worry about it, though. Ethan had planned on going to Julliard since he was six and found out about it. Julian didn't have a musical bone in his body, but he liked hanging with my son.

"The girls and Christopher are going to play on the playground in a few, if you want to join them."

Ethan just grunted and fiddled with the program. I figured he'd keep his nose stuck in his music. Reed Girl said that as long as he wasn't anti-social, which he wasn't, then we should indulge in his interests. I got it, though I wished he'd get out there occasionally and play sports with the rest of us.

"Okay, bud. I'm going to eat. Do you want anything?"

"No, thanks."

I started to walk away, but Ethan called me. "Dad."

"Yeah?" I asked, turning around.

"That was a really good pass you threw to Uncle Sammy."

I smiled. He might appear to be in his own world, but he usually knew what was going on. "Thanks, bud. If you want to join us later, you can."

He laughed. "Maybe."

We both knew athletics weren't where his talents lay. But he could still have fun if he let loose with us. "Just think about it."

"Okay." His eyes were already back on his iPad.

I chuckled and headed toward the grill, hooking up with a burger and hot dog, along with the potato and macaroni salads. Jasper was right about one thing; Shorty made a mean potato salad. I went to the picnic bench, where Reed Girl sat with Emily, Kim, Sarah, Shorty, and the guys.

My wife smiled at me as I sat next to her. "Looking good, Champ."

"Midseason form already!" Sammy said with a grin.

"Thanks, man."

"Oh, I was talking about me. You could use some work."

I toyed with tossing some potato salad at him, but with kids and dogs scattered around, it probably wasn't a good idea. A full-fledged food fight would be fun, but I'd get my ass handed to me by my wife.

"You looked amazing to me," she murmured.

Oh yeah? Hell, yeah. The look in Reed Girl's eyes let me know that I was going to get very lucky later. Awesome. I'd be sure to wear all the kids out so they'd go to sleep quickly.

"As do you, Reed Girl." I gave her a smacking kiss, laughing when I felt a little hand pulling on my shirt.

"No kisses, Daddy!"

I pulled away from my wife, grinning down at my littlest perched on her lap. He was my spitting image, right down to the crazy hair. "Daddy likes kisses, AJ. Now it's your turn for one."

"No!" he yelled, but I already had him in my arms. He wiggled and giggled as I lifted his shirt and blew loud raspberries on his belly.

"Lots of kisses, just for you, little man."

I plopped him on my lap, holding him while I wolfed down my burger. "What have you been doing?"

"Playin with Fifi."

I snickered at his nickname for Jasper's daughter, Fiona. Shorty growled and Jasper muttered about his daughter not being a dog, but hell, that's what they got for naming her Fiona. You had to think of that shit when naming your kid. I'd fought the good fight with Reed Girl for both boys, wanting Joseph Montana Cullen in the worst way, despite her objections over them having to live up to such a name. We'd compromised and given Adam the middle name Joseph, which I secretly extended to Adam Joseph Montana Cullen in my mind. Nobody had to know.

"Well, that's fun. Did you guys have a good time?" I gave him an orange slice to chew on.

"Yes, but I wanna play with you."

"Yeah? Okay, little man, we'll let you play. What position?"

He shot me a look over his shoulder. "Quarterback, Daddy."

I swear I could hear an implied "duh" in his tone.

"Taking my job already, AJ? I'm not that old."

"Yes, old daddy."

"From the mouths of babes," Sammy said, laughing when I shot him a furtive finger after making sure the kids wouldn't see.

"You're older than I am, man. And receivers tend to break down a lot earlier than quarterbacks do."

Sammy shot me a wink. "That's not what AJ says. He's ready to take your place, right?"

"Right!"

I chuckled and set AJ on his feet. "This I have to see. Go get your ball, little man."

He zipped off to get the little Nerf ball we'd picked up last night. The thing hadn't left his side since we got it. He even slept with it in his bed.

"Think you can take him?" Reed Girl asked, her eyes twinkling. "He was born on a football Sunday, after all. It's his destiny."

I laughed at the memory. AJ was the only one of my kids born during the season, and of course he'd had to come on a Sunday. At least we'd been at home. I'd been ready to leave midgame once word came down that Reed Girl was in labor, but she'd ordered me via text to stay and win. She'd claimed she had plenty of time. Yeah, so much for that. I'd arrived at the hospital literally five minutes before AJ had.

"Well, he's got a little seasoning to do before he takes my job. He's only three."

"But he's an advanced three. And he has Cullen genes. He should be ready to go in a few years," Brady joked.

"I have Cullen genes, too, dummy." Having kids meant having to censor myself around my fucking asshole teammates far too often. It was the one thing I disliked about parenthood. Well, that and poopy diapers. But I was done with those for now, thankfully.

"Yeah, but yours are old and tired. His are fresh and new. Makes a difference."

"Et tu, Jasper? Does nobody think I still have it? I'm only thirty-three, right in my prime."

"I think you still have it." Reed Girl planted a kiss on my cheek. "And you'll have it later, too."

She added a nibble to my ear that made my eyes cross. Holy fuck, the woman was potent.

"Darn right I will," I whispered back before giving her a much hotter kiss than I normally would in the middle of the park with eyes all around.

"They're ready to make the next Cullen quarterback," Shorty announced, making everybody laugh.

I smirked as Reed Girl shook her head. We were thinking about trying again soon, now that AJ was out of diapers and such. I wanted at least one more. Kids were a blast, most of the time.

"Daddy, it's time to play. No kisses!"

"That's your dad's favorite way to play," Colin said, getting a smack from his wife. "What? It's true."

It definitely was, but sadly I had to wait to score in that game.

"Okay, little man. Show me what you've got." I put my plate in the trash and took his hand, leading him to a little more open space where he hopefully wouldn't bean any innocent bystanders.

I put his little fingers on the top of the ball, over the bumps that stood in for laces. "You put your fingers just like this, pull your arm back, and push it forward. Let your fingers help guide it, okay? Like this." I put my hand over his, helped him pull the ball back, and we let it go. He laughed and clapped when it went about two yards.

"Good one! Think you can throw it to Daddy, just like that?"

"Yes!"

I smiled at how fucking cute he was, bouncing on his little feet in excitement.

"Okay. Daddy's going to be right here." I crouched down about three feet away from him, figuring that the ball would travel a bit less without me helping him throw it. "Do you think you can get it to me?"

"Yes, Daddy."

I watched, smiling hugely as he put his fingers over the laces just like I'd shown him. His little face was completely serious as he made sure he had it right. He even bit his lip like his mother.

"You've got it, buddy. Now pull your arm back and throw it here." I held my hands up, ready to dive whichever way I needed to make sure that he completed his first ever pass.

AJ cocked his arm, rather perfectly if I did say so myself, and stepped into the throw, which I hadn't even shown him yet, before letting the ball fly. And fly it fucking did. It was nearly over my head before I reached out and managed to snag it before it sailed past me. If I hadn't caught it, it would have gone at least five yards, maybe more.

"Holy shit" slipped out, before I could stop myself. But I totally wasn't alone. The exclamations coming from the picnic table were an echo of mine.

Reed Girl was jumping up and down, and I was thrilled to see that she had her phone in hand. We had video of it, and I couldn't fucking wait to forward that shit to everyone, especially Emmett, my dad, and Charlie. They were going to shit bricks.

"Did you see that?" I demanded, scooping my son up and putting him on my shoulders. "You're the champion, AJ."

"I win! I win!" he yelled, bouncing up and down. I held his legs as I carried him back to the table.

"Did you see Mommy? I throwed it!"

"You throwed it so good, baby! You're a great quarterback, just like Daddy."

"Like Daddy!" He patted my head and made me laugh.

"Just like Daddy, little man. You've got a cannon for an arm."

"Cannon arm? Iron Man?"

I laughed. Iron Man was his favorite Avenger. "Sort of, little man. Only, your weapon is a football."

I turned to my wife. "You recorded that, right?"

"Recorded and already texted it to the family. Emmett's going to die."

Damn right he was. I crouched down so AJ could slide down my back.

"You did great, AJ! You want to throw some more?"

"Yes! To everyone! I want a team!"

"We'll get you a team, buddy. You want your sister to play?"

He shook his head. "I throw to Sammy like you."

Sammy hopped up with a grin. "I'm a pro at catching Cullen passes. Let's see that arm of yours, AJ. Go easy on me, though. I need these hands for the season. Your dad's weak passes won't injure me, but you might."

AJ giggled. "I no hurt you! But catch it."

Everybody laughed as Sammy pretended to look frightened. "Such pressure! Don't hurt me if I miss. I promise to do better next time."

AJ just laughed again and cocked his arm back, letting the ball fly. Sammy plucked it out of the air and ran, yelling, "Touchdown!"

"Your first touchdown, baby!" Reed Girl cheered, her phone recording that moment for posterity as well.

"Touchdown like Daddy!" he yelled before he did a little booty shake.

I laughed as I scooped him up. "Quarterbacks don't do touchdown dances, buddy. But I'll allow it because you're cute."

"I dance, Daddy."

"Okay, you can dance, buddy."

I put him down as Sammy over called the children who wanted to play and started making teams. AJ was the quarterback of one, and Dani wanted to be the other.

I slipped my arm around Reed Girl, smiling when Ethan came over to play with his little brother.

"I'll be your receiver, AJ."

"Okay! I throw to you, Ethan."

"The next generation of Cullen athletes," Reed Girl said with a smile. "They're so cute."

"They are that. Better have your phone at the ready, baby. I'm going to be bringing the pass rush against our kids. They need to learn to elude the blitz early."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Just save some energy for me later."

"Count on it." I kissed her, ready to head over to join the teams, when she stopped me with a laugh.

"Emmett says he's sending a scholarship offer for fifteen years from now."

I laughed with her but damned if I wasn't thrilled at the idea of another Cullen quarterbacking at FSU in a decade and a half. Time would tell if he had the drive and desire. God knew he'd have the talent-he was a Cullen. He cocked that golden arm of his back and let the ball fly, cackling with glee when his brother caught it.

I watched both my boys celebrate as Dani ran up and wrapped her arms around them. They were my legacy, and on the field or off, they were going to excel, and I was going to be right there to celebrate with them.

I ran over and tackled all three of them, rolling so they fell on me instead of the other way around.

"Got you!"

"No, Daddy, we got you," Dani corrected me, sitting on my chest and raising her arms in triumph. AJ and Ethan climbed aboard and did the same.

"You do, kid. You all do."