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Misha fluffed the pillows around Danni and did the same for Trini who was on the other side of the bed. "Okay..you girls ready for your ice cream?"

"Yahhhh yeah!" Danni said clearly excited at getting a ice cream sundae for dinner.

"Okay..no jumping around Danni, you're hurt..I'll be back in a few minutes."

Misha had given Danni and Trini a bath, being very careful not to get her stitches wet and bundled both girls in their pajamas, her mothering instincts on overload.

Danni wasn't complaining, it was sorta nice to be fussed over. "Danni..mommy is mad at your daddy, we gotta convince her not ta be mad at him."

Danni looked over at Trini. "Why is she mad at him?"

Trini sighed. "Cuz he bought the skateboard and cuz he is tha grown up..so she prolly thinks its his fault..like he wasn't watchin' us good or somethin'."

Danni nodded. "Well it was my own fault...I'll fix it..cuz..I really want Miss Misha ta be my mommy..she is way good at it and that's not goin ta happen if she is mad at daddy huh?"

Trini nodded in agreement."See I told ya callin' him daddy would be better."

Danni laughed. "Yeah well long as he acts right..but he messes up its jerk face again."

Trini and Danni giggled. "Danni you is goin ta get in trouble if you keep callin' him that."

Danni smiled. "He ain't so bad sometimes."

"What are you two giggling about?" Misha asked as she walked in the room carrying a big tray with the biggest ice cream sundaes on it , that Danni had ever seen. "Whoaaaa those look goood!"

Misha smiled and set the tray on the bed between the girls, so each could get to their sundaes, she saw Danni wince, when she moved her arm. "You okay honey?"

Danni nodded. "It just hurts some when I move it, but it feels a little better."

Misha sat down and watched the girls dig into the ice cream. Danni finally stopped after a minute. "Umm Miss Misha..don't be mad at daddy kay..he told me to stay where he could see me and I sneaked off and I threw a fit for the skateboard." She said thinking a little white lie wouldn't hurt anything.

Trini looked up. "Umm and I should have said something to and I didn't ..so it was kinda my fault too..don't be mad at Mister Mark."

Misha smiled, it was kinda sweet the way they were taking up for Mark, and she was thrilled to see Danni calling him daddy instead of jerk face. "I'm not really mad, its just scared me when I seen you was hurt and I was kind of upset he didn't call...but I'm not mad..so stop worrying, okay?"

Both girls smiled. "okay." they both said and wasted no time digging into the sweet treat in front of them.


Mark walked in the front hallway and looked around, he expected Misha to be here waiting to lay into him about the skateboard, on second thought , he knew it probably hadn't been a good idea, or maybe he should have just watched her better on it, she was only six after all.

Mark headed into the kitchen with the medicine and found Misha there fixing dinner, she looked up and smiled. "I'm just fixing you and I a meatball sub, the girls ate a sundae as big as they are, there's no way their going to eat."

Mark nodded. "umm yeah thats fine...I'm going to run this medicine up there and give her a dose..the doc said three times a day till its gone."

Misha nodded and turned to look at him. "Sorry if I was snappy with you, it just scared me , seeing her hurt and I was a little peeved, you didn't call me."

Mark nodded. "I know..I thought better of the skateboard after I bought it..well at least I should have kept a better eye on em..but I leaned my lesson, never turn your back on em for two seconds, and I probably should have called you, but you was at the doctor's with Lexi and I figured it was just kinda pointless to worry you till I knew how bad it was."

Misha nodded. "Okay..and yeah the skateboard is fine, I was just being over protective..I'll just stay on top of her when she plays on it..just from now on call if one of them gets hurt okay?"

Mark smiled. "Deal..I'm glad you're not pissed...I was damn near scared ta death today, her getting hurt and all, took ten years off me."

Misha nodded. "Scary huh..I know...Trini fell down the porch stairs when she was two, busted her chin open..I was so scared, she had to have stitches and she was just a baby, she screamed and screamed, it just broke my heart..I was so helpless."

Mark sighed. "Thats it exactly..helpless..I hate feeling like that."

Misha smiled. "Well you're doing something right daddy..now do you know how to dose the medicine to her?"

Mark grinned. "Yep..I had the pharmacist show me and it has a syringe with it, that shows the right amount."

"Okay get to it daddy..I'll have a cold beer and dinner waiting for you." Misha said.

Mark smiled and started out of the room, there was something about Misha that just made him grin and he wasn't a grinner by any stretch of the imagination, he wondered what it was about her that made him feel this way.


Mark found the girls curled in bed watching The Little mermaid. They both smiled when he walked in. "Hey Mister Mark." Trini said.

Mark smiled. "Hey Kiddo..I heard you two pigged out on ice cream." Mark sat down on the edge of the bed.

Danni grinned. "Uhhh huhhh..Miss Misha fixed us this big ole sundae..it was good."

Mark brushed the loose hair out of Danni's face. "Wow..maybe she'll fix me one."

Trini grinned. "She will , she ain't mad, she said so..she'll fix you one."

Mark chuckled. "Okay..we'll I'll ask her then, after I have dinner..Danni you ready to take your medicine?"

Danni frowned . "Is it yucky?"

Mark shook his head. "No..its cherry favored, so I think its okay." He said taking the antibiotic out and using the little syringe to draw out the required amount.

Danni looked at it skeptically. "I dunno know..most medicine tastes nasty."

"Its fine..I promise." He said holding the measured syringe up for her.

Danni looked at it. "Thats for babies..I ain't no baby..I need a spoon."

Mark sighed. "I'll get a spoon next time okay, promise."

Danni made a face, but she opened her mouth and let Mark give her the medicine.

"That wasn't so bad huh?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Naw it tasted okay.

Mark patted her leg. "Good girl..Trini you going to stay up here with Danni, its a little early for bed?"

Trini nodded. "Yep..just in case she needs something..and we're watching the little mermaid."

Mark smiled. "Okay..I'm going to have dinner, we'll be up to check on you before bed, if you need anything..just come get us."

Trini and Danni nodded and watched Mark leave. "Okay so whats the plan now?" Danni asked.

Trini sighed. "I'm thinkin'"


Mark found Misha feeding the baby in the dining room. "Sit down and eat ."

Mark nodded and sat down next to the baby smiling as she made a mess of eating her green beans and sweet potatoes. "Good huh?"

Lexi smacked her little hand down in the bowl splattering green beans everywhere, Mark and Misha both laughed. "Messy little monster." Mark said chuckling as Misha wiped her hand off.

"The girls okay?"

Mark nodded. "Watching their movie, their fine, she took her medicine without too much of a fuss."

They spent the rest of dinner talking about school starting next week. Mark was happy that Danni seemed to be coming around. "You know I guess you was right about Danni, she seems so much better, maybe I was being to hard on her."

Misha smiled as she got up and lifted Lexi from her highchair. "She just needs her daddy that's all."

Mark smiled, maybe it was as simple as that.

"I'm going to give Lexi a bath and play with her a little in her room..i got her some new blocks today and this little baby gym , with lots of stuff for her to play with, come join us, when you get through, if you want to?"

Mark nodded. "Sure..I'll be up in a bit."

Mark watched her carry the baby from the room. If anyone had told him a month ago, he found the prospect of playing with a baby fun, he would have told them they were nuts, but things seemed to be changing fast around here.


Danni and Trini peeked in the nursery, watching Mark and Misha laughing and playing with the giggling baby. "They sure look like a mommy and daddy huh, they look happy." Trini whispered.

Danni nodded. "Uhhh huhh..c'mon."

Trini followed Danni in. "We came for night kisses." She announced.

Mark and Misha looked at her in surprise, Danni wasn't the type to ask for a kiss or a hug or anything else like that.

"Sure, c'mere." Misha said holding out her arms.

Danni smiled and let Misha pull her in her lap. Trini stood there looking at Mark. Mark took the hint and lifted the girl in his lap. Trini giggled and cuddled closer and they both laughed as the baby pulled herself up to lay her head on Trini's leg. "You sleepy Lexi?"

The baby just babbled and Mark nodded. "I think its about bedtime for Lexi."

Danni smiled. "Okay us too I guess..Umm okay..Miss Misha I need a kiss and then you have to kiss Trini."

Misha smiled and kissed Danni on the cheek and then leaned over kissing Trini. "Okay there we go." Misha said.

Danni looked at her daddy. "Your turn daddy..a kiss for Trini and then one for me."

Mark smiled at his daughter, she seemed so different lately. "Okay." he kissed Trini's cheek and then leaned over kissing Danni. "Okay off to bed , we'll come tuck you in , in just a minute."

Danni shook her head. "Ya gotta kiss the baby, both of you."

Trini grinned, she thought she knew what Danni was up to. Mark and Misha just smiled thinking Danni was just being a little silly, they both took turns kissing the baby. "Alright..I think everybody got a good night kiss." Mark said.

Danni shook her head. "Nuhhh uhhhhhh..you gotta give Miss Misha a kiss..I mean everybody has ta have one..its a rule..right Trini?"

Trini grinned and nodded. "Uhhh huhhh thats a rule."

Misha turned red and was about to protest, but Mark spoke first. "Well if its a rule..I don't see how we can get around it..do you Misha?" He asked his eyes twinkling with repressed laughter.
"umm ." Was all she was able to get out.

"Yeah that's what I thought, okay then..since its a rule." he leaned over pressing his lips gently to Misha's soft cheek, letting his lips linger, loving her sharp intake of breath, she was affected as he was by the simple kiss. God she smelled good, he thought.

Misha wanted to turn her cheek and catch his lips with hers and the thought caused her face to heat and turn red, finally after what seemed like eternity Mark pulled back. "Ya know Squirt." He said tugging playfully at Danni's braid. "That's a pretty good rule, glad you knew about it."

Danni just grinned. "Uhhh huuhhh..C'mon Trini."

The two girls skipped giggling from the room, high fiving each other as soon as they got outside the door. "It worked."

Both girls grinned and ran down to Danni's room.

Mark kissed the baby before Misha took her to put her in her crib. "I'll go put on the water for the tea, see you in a few." he said and left the room.

Misha let out a breath, how in the heck was she supposed to go have tea with the man after that, she was going to seriously burst into flames if he kissed her again.