Star

"Baby…I really don't see anything," Sam sighed.

"Keep looking!" Freddie urged her. "I swear I saw one this morning."

Sam rolled her eyes as she looked back down at her husband's head. "Seriously…you don't have any gray hairs."

"You're positive?" Freddie asked.

"Positive," Sam nodded, sitting back down next to him and putting her arms around him. "Why would you think you're getting gray hairs already? You're not even forty yet."

"We have four kids though, Sam," Freddie chuckled. "That's kind of a lot of stress."

"Yeah, that's true," Sam agreed. She leaned up and kissed him. "Well, when you do actually get gray hair, don't worry. I'll think you're just as attractive as you are now."

"You think I'm attractive, huh?" Freddie smirked.

"No, Freddie, I've been married to you for twelve years and I think you're absolutely hideous," Sam scoffed. "Obviously I think you're attractive, you nub!"

"Aw," Freddie chuckled. "Well I think you're very attractive yourself, baby."

He leaned down and kissed her, lacing his arms around her body. "Very, very, attractive."

"That's gross," came a voice behind them, and the couple broke apart and saw their seven-year old daughter coming downstairs with a toy catalogue.

"There's nothing gross about your dad and me kissing, Ash," Sam smirked. "We love each other. One day when you find someone you love as much as me and daddy love each other, you'll understand."

"Really?" Ashton said.

"Yeah, but don't rush it," Freddie said, picking up his daughter and sitting her on his lap. "Remember; you and your sister aren't allowed to date until you're twenty-six."

"I don't want to date," Ashton cringed. "Boys are disgusting!"

"Music to my ears," Freddie said happily.

"Enjoy it while it lasts," Sam chuckled.

"So what's up, Ash?" Freddie asked. "Is that the toy store catalogue?"

"Yeah," Ashton nodded. "Look at this doll house! It's awesome! It's three-stories, with real working lights and a balcony."

"Whoa, it's also a hundred bucks," Freddie frowned. "Since when are doll houses this expensive?"

"Can I get it?" Ashton asked. "My Bambie dolls would love it! Please?"

She looked up at Freddie, batting her eyelashes sweetly.

"Well…" Freddie said slowly. "Um, maybe-maybe we-"

"Okay, let me do this," Sam said, shaking her head at her husband's weakness. "Ashton…sweetie, I know this looks like a cool dollhouse and all, but we're not going to just go out and buy you a toy that costs a hundred bucks! You just had your birthday and Christmas isn't for a long time, so…no I'm sorry, but you can't get it."

"But-Daddy?" Ashton said, turning back to her father. "Daddy, please?"

Freddie sighed. "Ash, mommy's right. The answer is no. We can't justify buying you something like this just for the heck of it. It's fiscally irresponsible."

"Huh?" Ashton frowned.

"Never mind," Freddie said quickly.

"Well…what if I use my own money to buy the dollhouse?" Ashton suggested thoughtfully. "Could I buy it then?"

"Well…yeah, if you wanted to spend your own money on it, then sure," Sam said. "But honey, I hate to break it to you but I don't think you have quite enough in your piggy bank. I'd say you've got about five bucks in there. Tops."

"Can I get a job?" Ashton asked.

"I don't think there are too many places hiring second graders," Freddie chuckled.

"Oh…" Ashton sighed. "Hey! I know! I can have a lemonade stand! Can I do that?"

Sam and Freddie exchanged looks.

"Well…I guess that's a good idea," Sam said slowly. "But Ashton, I don't want you expecting to make a hundred bucks from one lemonade stand."

"Yeah," Freddie agreed. "Now maybe if you have several lemonade stands, in about six months you can have enough saved, but-"

"I have to get started!" Ashton said excitedly, jumping off Freddie's lap. "I have to make signs and we have to make the lemonade! Clarissa says Aunt Carly makes the best lemonade; can I call her and ask for her recipe?"

"I wouldn't," Sam said.

"This is gonna be so much fun!" Ashton beamed. "I can't wait to get my dollhouse!"

"Poor kid's gonna be so disappointed when she only makes a couple bucks at this thing," Sam sighed as Ashton ran upstairs.

"I know," Freddie said. "But I guess this will teach her the value of the dollar and how to save up for something she really wants."

"Yeah, so long as you don't cave and buy her the dollhouse," Sam smirked.

"Why would you assume I'd do that?" Freddie said, rolling his eyes.

"Please, all the twins have to do is say 'please, daddy' and you do whatever they want," Sam said. "They have you wrapped around their fingers."

"I said no to Emma last week at the candy store!" Freddie defended. "She wanted to buy this two-pound bag of chocolate clusters but I put my foot down and said no!"

"Uh-huh…" Sam nodded. "And then she gave you a hug and showed you her sad face and you bought her the five pound bag instead."

"Come on, she looked heartbroken!" Freddie defended. "She loves chocolate!"

"Right," Sam chuckled. "But just promise me, you won't buy Ashton the dollhouse."

"I won't," Freddie sighed. "This is the perfect opportunity for her to learn about hard work and savings. I'm not gonna screw up this teachable moment."

"Good," Sam said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Unbelievable," Freddie said as him, Sam and Ashton came back into the house the next afternoon, Ashton holding a large stack of cash. "She made a hundred and fifty dollars in one afternoon from on lemonade stand!"

"Yeah, that's got to be a record," Sam said. "How'd you manage that, Ash?"

"I'm cute," Ashton shrugged, not taking her eyes off of her wad of money. "Did I make enough for my dollhouse?"

"Um, yeah you did," Freddie chuckled. "More than enough."

"Yes!" Ashton cheered. "Then we have to get over to Toy Barn before they close!"

"Well don't you want to wait until tomorrow?" Sam asked. "You just spent three hours in the heat selling lemonade."

"Plus the kitchen's a mess from all the pitchers and ingredients," Freddie said. "We need to clean that up. And Tyler's taking a nap, Emma's not feeling well, Jason has a social studies project that-"

"Oh…just take her," Sam sighed, seeing the disappointed look on her daughter's face. "I'll deal with everything here."

"You sure?" Freddie asked.

"Yeah," Sam smiled. "I mean she did earn the money all by herself. We should let her get her toy right away."

"Thanks, mommy!" Ashton said, hugging Sam. "Come on, daddy!"

…..

"So this is it," Sam said later that night as her and Freddie watched Ashton play with her dollhouse, which was taller than she was. "The hundred dollar dollhouse."

"It was the last one in the whole store, too," Freddie said. "Good thing we did wind up going right away, otherwise they'd have been sold out. The manager said they won't be getting another shipment in for three weeks."

"I still can't believe she made a hundred and fifty bucks in one afternoon," Sam said. "Maybe we should let her have a lemonade stand every weekend. We can afford to go on a cruise or something this summer."

"She's gonna be a real businesswoman when she gets older," Freddie said proudly. "Did you see the way she persuaded those joggers to buy six cups each?"

"I know," Sam chuckled. "That's my girl."

"This is the best dollhouse ever!" Ashton said happily. "I can't wait until Emma's not sick anymore so she can play with me. And Clarissa's gonna love it too when she sees it!"

"We're glad you like it, sweetie," Freddie said. "And see? Doesn't it feel good to buy something you really want with money that you earned rather than just having mommy and daddy buy it for you?"

"Feels the same," Ashton shrugged. "But look! I'm having a dinner party with my dolls! They're being real spiscated."

"Sophisticated, honey," Freddie corrected her. "And yes, they are. But you know what? It's past your bedtime. So why don't you put your dolls to bed in their fancy new bedrooms and then go up to yours so we can tuck you in."

"Alright," Ashton agreed. "I'm gonna wake up extra early so I can play with my dollhouse again tomorrow. This is the best toy ever!"

…..

"Emma puked again," Sam announced two hours later as she collapsed onto the couch next to Freddie.

"Is she okay?" Freddie asked.

"Yeah, she fell right back to sleep and left me to clean up the mess," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "It's the flu; Clarissa had it last week, remember? She probably got it from her. Means Ash is gonna get it soon too."

"Nah, she might be too excited about that dollhouse to get sick," Freddie chuckled. "I've read in my Healthy Habits Quarterly that positivity boasts the immune system."

"Healthy Habits Quarterly?" Sam frowned.

"My mom got me a subscription, remember?"

"Oh right," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "Well, all I know is that I'm exhausted. I've dealt with puke, tantrums and last-minute homework assignments."

"So basically just another day for you?" Freddie smirked.

"Basically," Sam nodded. "I'm starting to see why you're worried about getting gray hairs."

"Go to bed and get some rest, baby," Freddie told her. "I'll be up in a little bit. I just need to send a few emails."

"Night," Sam yawned, giving him a quick peck.

For the next half-hour, Freddie worked diligently on his laptop before finally shutting it and letting out a long yawn.

"Man, it's already almost midnight," Freddie said, looking at his watch. "I am beat."

He yawned again as he got to his feet and shuffled towards the stairs. As he was walking, though, he suddenly tripped on the corner of the rug and started to stumble. He tried to regain his footing, but it was no use; he tumbled down to the ground, his body colliding with the back of Ashton's dollhouse.

There was a loud cracking noise and Freddie looked over in horror as he saw the large, gaping hole right in the middle of the dollhouse wall.

"No!" Freddie moaned, scrambling to his feet. "No, no, no! Oh man, I-I broke it! Oh my God…Ashton's gonna hate me! Oh…Okay, okay don't panic, don't panic, don't…I'm panicking!"

He turned and raced upstairs and bolted into his bedroom, where Sam was already fast asleep.

"Sam!" he whispered urgently, gently shaking his wife's shoulder. "Sam, wake up! It's an emergency!"

"Huh? What? What's wrong?" Sam sputtered, her eyes slowly opening. "Who's hurt?"

"I broke Ashton's dollhouse!" Freddie said. "I-I fell and I-"

"I'm sorry," Sam said, slowly sitting up. "I must've misheard you, because I know you did not just wake me up for-"

"Sam, come on!" Freddie moaned. "I wrecked our daughter's brand-new dollhouse that she just bought with her own money! That is an emergency."

Sam glared at him for a moment before finally pushing back her covers and getting to her feet. "Fine. Let me see."

He led her back downstairs where the damaged dollhouse was still sitting.

"Whoa," Sam said, examining it. "You really did break it. Nice going, Fredpus."

"What am I gonna do?" Freddie groaned. "Ashton's gonna be up in like, six hours, all ready to play with this thing."

"I dunno," Sam said. "Maybe-Maybe she won't notice."

Freddie gave her a look.

"Well…Oh!" Sam said. "All you have to do is wake up really early in the morning, drive back to Toy Barn, pick up another dollhouse and-"

"I can't!" Freddie said. "Remember? This was the last one there!"

"So go to another toy store!"

"They're all sold out!" Freddie exclaimed. "The Toy Barn manager said that this was the hottest toy of the season. Face it…there's nothing I can do. This dollhouse is permanently ruined."

"Huh…" Sam said, still staring at the toy. "I guess this qualifies as a life lesson too. Work hard to finally get what you want only to have it crushed right away. I'd say that's pretty accurate of life."
"Sam! My daughter is about to hate my guts!" Freddie snapped. "I could do without the sarcasm, thank you!"

"Baby, Ashton's not gonna hate your guts," Sam said, squeezing his shoulder. "Yeah, she's gonna be bummed, but she'll get over it…probably."

Freddie shook his head. "No. I'm not doing this to my little girl. She worked for this dollhouse, and she's going to keep this dollhouse. I'm gonna fix it."

"How?" Sam frowned.

"We have some wood glue in the garage," Freddie said. "I can just glue the pieces back together and-and we've got to have some paint around this place somewhere."

"Dude, no offense, but this doesn't exactly seem like something you can do," Sam said. "You've never been Mr. Fix-It. Maybe there's some place we can bring the dollhouse. They have toy repair shops."

"I know, but then Ashton will find out," Freddie sighed. "I told you, I don't want her to hate me."

"And I told you, she's not gonna-"

"Sam, I can fix my daughter's toy," Freddie said firmly, turning back to the destroyed product.

Sam opened her mouth to argue but then decided against it. "Okay," she finally said. "Well…do you need help?"

"Nah," Freddie mumbled. "You have to take Emma to the doctors in the morning. Go get some sleep."

"Okay," Sam nodded, giving him a quick kiss. "Good luck."

"Emma, if you have a stomach virus, you can't eat bacon!" Sam said the next morning as she got breakfast ready for the family.

"But I love bacon," Emma mumbled, clutching her stomach.

"I know," Sam said gently. "Hopefully the doctor will give you some medicine today to make your tummy feel better and you can get back to eating real food instead of just toast and soup."

"Yeah, and she can stop waking everybody up with her gagging," Jason cringed.

"Jason…" Sam said, rolling her eyes as she slid a plate in front of Tyler, who was so excited that he knocked down his cup of orange juice.

"Mommy, Tyler spilled his juice," Ashton announced, putting her own plate in the sink.

"Yes…I'm aware," Sam said through gritted teeth as the toddler simply continued to eat his breakfast.

"Well, I'm gonna go play with my dollhouse now!" Ashton said happily.

"Oh, wait, Ash!" Sam said quickly. "Before you go out there-"

But Ashton had already headed out of the kitchen and into the living room.

"Dang it," Sam muttered under her breath as she ran after her. "Ashton! Look, honey, I know that your dollhouse is-oh my God."

She stared at the dollhouse, which was now in perfect condition. She couldn't even tell that six hours ago it had been in pieces.

"What, mommy?" Ashton asked, picking up her dolls.

"Um…nothing," Sam said, still in shock. "Um, I'll be right back."

She ran upstairs to her and Freddie's bedroom, where her husband was sitting on their bed, looking exhausted and wincing as he examined his hands.

"Baby…oh my God!" Sam said. "You fixed it!"

"Yeah, and I got about fifteen splinters from that wood," Freddie mumbled.

"How long did that take you?" Sam asked.

"I finished ten minutes before you guys came down for breakfast," Freddie yawned.

"So you didn't sleep?"

"Eh, I'll stop for coffee on my way to work," Freddie shrugged.

Sam smiled as she sat down next to Freddie. "I think you should take the day off," Sam said, putting her arms around him. "You deserve it, baby. I can't believe you stayed up all night doing that for Ashton."

"Of course I did," Freddie said. "You saw how much she loved that dollhouse."

Sam leaned up and kissed him. "You," she said. "Are the world's best dad. You know, that, right?"

"I do have that coffee mug the kids gave me for Father's Day," Freddie chuckled.

"Seriously," Sam said. "Our kids…Our kids are so lucky to have you."