Puck: POV

I knocked on the door after ringing the bell and adjusted Beth in my arms. The front door opened. "Hey!"

Q smiled. "Hey, Puck. Hi, Beth!"

"Mommy!" Beth yelled.

I handed her over and Q put her on her hip. "How's was your time with Papa?"

"Good! Gram made cheese!"

"She means Mac and cheese." I told her. "That's what we ate for dinner last night."

"Ooh!" Q teased. "Was it good?"

Beth nodded. "Sissy didn't eat any and she threw up on Papa."

I scowled. She was right. I overfed Rae and she erupted like Mt. Spew.

Q giggled. "She got him good, huh?"

Beth nodded and giggled.

"What are you about to do?" Q asked me.

"Play basketball with Mike and Finn. You?" I shifted Rae to my other hand.

"Mercy and I were going to go for a walk. But not for another half hour."

Going for a walk? Boring. "Have fun. See you, Beth. I'll see you Friday."

"Bye, Papa." Beth shot forward to kiss me.

I kissed her back. "Bye, Q."

"See you, Puck." Q shut the door.

I walked back to my truck and buckled Rae in before going around the corner to Mama's.

I rang the bell and knocked. Mrs. G answered. "Hey, Mrs. G. How are you?"

"I am fine, señor Puck. How are you?" She smiled.

"I'm great. Where's Mama?"

"Señorita Mercy!" She yelled.

Mama showed up. "Hey, Noah! Hi, Rae! How's my baby?!" She took the car seat from me.

"Where's my kiss?" I demanded.

She smirked before kissing me. "Can I hold my child now or does my second one want to be held first?"

"Well I could go for that." I sniffed.

She laughed and hit me. "Go away, Noah!"

"Why can't I stay?"

"Mikey said he was playing basketball with you and Finn."

I shrugged. "You right. Alright, I'll see you later." I kissed her before stroking Rae's cheek and leaving.

I hopped in my truck and went to a park in Lima. I parked and got out to try to find my friends.

I found Mike shooting hoops by himself and tried to scare him. I ended up on my back in the dirt…

"Ow!"

He held out a hand. "Sorry. Don't sneak up on me."

"I see!" I grabbed his hand and he hauled me to my feet.

"That was amazing!" We turned to see Finn jogging over.

I frowned at him. "No, it wasn't!"

"Yes, it was! He was so fast!"

Mike shrugged. "Are we playing Horse or what?"

"Yeah." I grumbled. "Let's go."

So we started playing. It was a pretty easy game. We really weren't keeping score. We were more interested in talking. Mike talked about hanging out with Tina on school nights while Finn talked up how happy he was to have Rachel back.

I talked about yesterday. I spent Mother's Day with both Mama and Q with our kids. It was only two hours for some old movie they wanted to see but it got me away from Moms, who'd started complaining that I was abandoning her and taking her kids.

"Your mom really said that? I thought I was the only one!" Finn was shocked.

"Nope. She's trippin. I'm not abandoning her." I frowned as my shot missed.

Mike caught it. "Try having seven of your kids and all four of your grandkids leave. My mom has started crying every time we leave the room."

"What is wrong with them?" I wrinkled my nose. "Did they think we would live with them forever?"

"I hope not." He made his shot.

"I feel bad." Finn went after the ball. "I was the only one around for a long time and now Kurt and I are leaving. She's only going to have Burt and he doesn't always take her with him when he goes on business."

"Maybe she needs a dog?"

Finn laughed. "She'll make it wear clothes!"

He shook his head. "Shame."

I laughed. "You can't say Tina wouldn't do that."

He sighed and bowed his head. "She probably would. But Mercy would, too."

I grimaced. "You're right. She knits hats for that damn bird."

"Aww! You don't like Harmony?"

"Fuck you, that bird is a menace."

"Who taught you that word?"

"I know what a menace is!"

He chuckled.

"I looked it up in the dictionary and saw your face."

Finn laughed as he rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, anytime Mama and I tried to get close when I was living there, she'd go nuts. I couldn't touch her around that bird."

Finn snickered. "And you thought all girls loved you."

"Sympathy here!"

"We have none." Mike said.

"Jackasses." I took a shot. "How'd New York go?"

"What do you mean?" He caught the ball.

"This weekend when Mini Mama, Evans and Tina went up there."

"Oh! It went well. They painted all the walls. T said she was freaking out the whole time cuz Marcy painted the ceilings and T was convinced she'd fall."

"Marcy painted the ceilings herself?" Finn gaped. "Don't they use ladders for that?"

"Yeah but you know Marce lives life on the edge."

"She's brave as hell."

I snorted. "Mini Mama badass."

"Marcy's afraid of heights." Mike said.

We looked at him. "What?!"

"Marcy's afraid of heights." He repeated.

"Then how'd she get on a ladder?" Finn demanded.

"She doesn't believe in being ruled by fear. The more scared she is, the more she's going to do whatever she's scared of. Remember her taking the mountain again? She must have been terrified."

"That's why she wanted to go back up there?!" I was thrown.

"She doesn't like being afraid."

"But she could have died!"

"She would have died being brave." He shrugged.

"Wow!" Finn said with his whole mouth. "So she's really afraid of heights? How afraid? Like normal people or how you scare your sisters with animals?"

"Ever wonder why she looks down when she's walking? She's afraid of her own height." I noticed he ignored the dig about his being a bad brother.

"She is the bravest person I've ever met!"

"Probably."

I could see that. I kept saying she was badass. It was like they were just now understanding that. "Do you ever think of facing fears?"

"Me?" His brows lifted. "I'm not afraid of much."

"But you're afraid of something."

"Yeah, there's some stuff."

"Do you ever think of facing them head on?"

"I'm facing some of them now."

"Really?" Finn asked. "What are they?"

"I don't think so. What are you afraid of?"

Finn looked down. "Of not being good enough. My mom put all her hopes on me. She wants me to live a good life. So I'm trying to be happy. I'm afraid of letting her down. Of letting down Rachel and Quinn. They believe in me so much and I want to make sure I meet their expectations."

"I think you'll exceed their expectations. You're a good guy, Finn. You try. That's all that matters in this life."

He perked up. "Thanks, Mike."

"If anything, you'll shine against me." I lifted my shoulders.

"Don't say that, Puck."

"I'm serious. I was flying by the seat of my pants this year. I don't want to let my moms down. All she wants is for me to be more than my dad. I don't wanna disappoint Mama. I don't wanna let down my kids. Or Nic and Jake."

"I know you have a lot of people depending on you but you're doing great." Mike said. "You're such a great dad. You stepped up both times. That takes a real man. You're better than your dad. You can hang up the towel, you're done."

I grinned. I was a good dad. My old man was never there for us. I think about my kids all day every day. I'm there for them. "Thanks, Mike. With all these inspirational speeches, you're gonna be a good dad."

"Well I had good dads." He lifted his shoulders.

I shot the ball. "I think we're gonna be just fine."

MAP

Mercedes: POV

I looked around our New York apartment. It was beautiful! The painters did a great job. So did the builders. Everything we wanted, we got.

"What are you doing?"

I turned. "Marcy, look! Everything is so beautiful!"

"Are you really having a moment right now? We have work to do."

I scowled at her. "You can't take the magic out of this! This is our new life!"

She just stared at me baldly before sighing lightly. "Are you at least done? The movers want to know where exactly you want your piano."

Yes, we got our pianos. "Okay, here I come."

She left. Lucy walked in. "I'm having trouble."

"With what?"

"I had a plan in mind for Beth's room but now that I'm here, I'm changing my mind."

I threaded my arm through hers. "Well let's go look at it."

MAP

I frowned. "How about over there by that window?"

The movers picked up the frame and moved it over to the window I indicated.

I made a face. "Maybe this wall?"

"Mercy!" Marcy snapped.

"Okay! It can stay by the window!"

"Thank you, ma'am." A worker said as he and the other one dropped the frame. "We'll go get the box and mattresses."

"Thank you!" I called out. "I'm not really this difficult often!"

I caught Marcy rolling her eyes. "I should come up here a week before the big move and clean these places."

"Do you need help? I'll come with you."

"I just need someone from each apartment to let me in."

"I was thinking about that. We have keys to our parents houses. Shouldn't we have keys to each other's houses? In case we get locked out or there's an emergency or so we don't have to get up to answer the door for each other."

"I wanted to give you guys keys but I don't know how Elle, Tana, Britt or RT feel about that. Part of me says who cares but it's their place, too."

"Right. I think we should talk it over."

"The sooner the better. Oh, hey! I just got a deal."

"On what?"

"Apple products."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They want to give us a deal on Macs, i-Pads and i-Phones. We even get accessories."

"Why'd they offer that?"

"I wanted a new computer and asked about a package deal."

"And they offered to sell you all three?"

"Yeah. Then I mentioned the others because Mal needs a new phone and I mentioned we were college students."

"Wow. That's great. I need a phone with more storage. I take so many pictures of Rae that I have none left."

"Then I'll tell everyone."

We turned when we heard the movers coming back. They brought in the box and mattresses. These men were strong. They brought them in the room, one by one but then stacked them to put them in the frame.

"Thank you. Can you get the chairs now?" I asked.

They nodded and left.

"Will you help me put this bed together?" I turned to Marcy, who moved forward.

"Where's your set?" She walked to the bed.

We brought up the sheets we were keeping at our houses until now so I had a few stacked in the closet. I went to get a deep purple one. They didn't have a wide variety. Just every color in two shades with about five patterns each.

I came back and put them on the bed.

She picked up the custom mattress pad and spread it out.

I took the other ends and we laid it out flat. "Do you want my help with your bed?"

"It'd go quicker." She unfolded the fitted sheet.

"Too bad Ellen still has school. She, T, Blaine and Sam can't put their rooms together how they want."

"Tina gave me a detailed drawing and Blaine asked me to make sure Kurt doesn't get carried away. Sam doesn't care."

We worked in silence for a while. After the fitted sheet was a standard sheet and the comforter. I knew it was May but they didn't have any thinner tops. I only hoped we wouldn't fry. "How is Sam? I haven't spoken with him in a week."

She shrugged. "He's okay. Having girl trouble."

"Girl trouble. He didn't tell me that. What's going on?" I set the pillow cases (four came to a set) at the top of the bed.

"He hasn't exactly known who to go after, after you. He had me last year but it wasn't like he was making a love connection. This year, he just chased after anyone who looked at him twice."

"Poor Sammy!"

"He just needs to be alone for a while."

"Yeah. Poor baby. He's too good to not have someone love him."

"He's lonely." She leaned over slightly before straightening.

"He'll be better with us."

She was quiet until… "I'm going to his prom."

My eyes widened. "Really?! Is that a good idea?"

"I offered."

That was one question answered. "That's nice of you."

"He's pathetic."

"Marce! How did Mal take it?"

"He was not happy."

"Is this really such a good idea after spring break?"

"Nothing's going to happen. I'm pretty sure."

"Marcy, what's going on? You've been acting weird for weeks. Not eating, being distant, quiet-er. Is something going on?"

"I'm just having a rough go of it." She blinked slowly. Then she looked at me. "I don't know. I know this is a good move but…"

"But what? Do you not want to move in anymore?" I whispered.

She made a discontented sound. "I don't know. I made such a fuss about moving here but part of me just wants to run off to Siberia."

"You're banned from Siberia."

She glared at me. "I know that."

I nodded. "What do you think it is? Are you feeling unprepared? Are you feeling scared?"

She didn't answer my questions. "The movers are coming back."

I waited for them to set up the chairs and go get the tables before rounding on her. "Well?"

She went to a window. "I feel trapped."

"Trapped?!"

"Kinda."

"Marcy, talk to me. What's going on? Why do you feel trapped?"

She crossed her arms. "I'm so selfish."

"Because you feel trapped?" I went to her and stood beside her.

"Because I want to run off. Because I want what I want, who cares about anyone else?"

"What do you want?"

"Remember when Mal and Ellen thought I was cheating on them?"

"Senior year? Yeah."

"I didn't but I wanted to. There were other people that caught my attention and I wanted to be with them. But I had this- weight around my neck. Them. I couldn't spend time with who I wanted and do what I wanted."

I looked at her.

"I think that's why I went to Sam over spring break. I was looking for an excuse to break up. So I could be free again. To have sex with someone else. It's why I kept pawing at him. So I wouldn't think about my actions."

I touched her arm and she moved to the chairs and sat in one. I sat next to her on the arm of the chair. "It's okay to feel like you want to spread your wings. We're young and in love. It's exhilarating but we don't have the freedom to do what other people do. We can't flit from bed to bed, living wild."

She linked her fingers and bowed her head.

"And we have children. We're bound to these men forever. That's heady stuff. Especially when they want things from you because you gave birth to their children."

"It makes me wish I didn't get pregnant so I could leave whenever I want. Sometimes I wish I never stayed after Christmas sophomore year."

"Do you hate your life that much?"

"Sometimes. It's not any one thing. I hate having to keep to a schedule and take medicine and see a therapist and pay attention to them and talk about feelings and go on dates and be considerate. It's too much sometimes."

"Have you talked to Dr. Jackson?"

"Yeah right."

"Marcy, you should talk to him. He can only try to help you. How long have you been feeling like this?"

"Since Christmas but it's really kicked in high gear since I got the email about the building being done."

I took her ice cold hand. "I'm here for you. You remember you told me no feeling was wrong? That I was going through emotions and to just let myself feel them? I'm going to tell you the same."

"I think my hormones are under control by now. The twins are nearly two."

"Maybe they're not? Your hormones that is. And if they are, it could be your sickness. You have depression. It'll hit you at different times. You know that." I licked my lips and shook her hand. "What makes you happy?"

She shrugged.

"Come on, Marcy. It's me. What makes you happy?"

"Happiness is an arbitrary abstract idea."

"Let's pretend you're not a robot. What makes you happy?"

She took her hand from me and stood up. "I'll be back."

"Where are you going?"

"To see if Mal'll put the twins on the phone."

I smiled. I knew she loved those kids. She can put up all the road blocks she wants but she's a good mother. "Tell them Tia says hi."

She walked out.

The movers came in with the tables. I told them where to put them and asked them to bring up the lamps. When they were gone, I reached for my phone. I should call Noah and have him put Rae on.

I know she can't talk yet but she makes noises, especially when you sang to her. "Hey, Noah. Let me speak to Rae."

MAP

Puck: POV

I gripped the dashboard. "Just follow through!"

Jake hit the steering wheel. "I'm trying!"

"Try harder!" I knew after that pregnancy scare, Jake needed my help. I'd tried to be there for him all year but he obviously needed more. So I thought up trying to teach him stuff our old man never taught me.

At the moment, I was teaching him to drive.

"You're not helping!" He yelled.

"Take your foot off the break!"

"But we'll crash!"

"Trust yourself! You can always put it back! Now go up!"

He moved his leg and the truck rolled forward. His leg jumped.

"You can hit the gas, you know." I deadpanned.

"No! No, this is the right speed."

My head dropped. I sighed heavily. "You cannot drive 5mph. You'll get pulled over."

He risked a look at me before facing forward and shaking his head. "Nu uhn!"

"Why are you so scared?"

"I'm not scared!"

"You're completely scared."

He frowned and gripped the wheel harder. "Fine. You want fast, I'll give you fast."

I opened my mouth but he floored it. We ran right into a pole. This was embarrassing. We were in a parking lot away from any other cars and he hits the only thing out here? "Good try."

"I don't think I'm any good at this."

"You'll get better."

His shoulders dropped. "What am I even doing here? Why are you teaching me this?"

"Every man should know how to drive."

"I'll kill you if you ever tell anyone this but I'm not a man."

"How can you kill me? You can't even drive."

He glared at me.

"Alright. Alright. You're on your way to being a man. I'm gon help you."

"What's the point? You're going to be gone in a couple weeks. I'll never see you again."

I frowned. "You really think that?"

He hitched a shoulder.

"Jake, I might be moving a state or two away but I'm still your big brother. I'm always gon be here for you. Just call me anytime and I'll be there. I'll be back for visits and I definitely want you to visit me. I take care of my own and you're mine. Remember that."

He was quiet for a while. "How do I back up?"

MAP

Mercedes: POV

"You ready?"

I nodded. "Yes!"

"Uncover your eyes."

I moved my hands and gasped. "Marce, this is perfect!"

She hitched a shoulder. "I know I was being secretive but I just wanted it perfect."

I spun around slowly and took in the library. The walls were a sandpaper hue with grey swirls. They had framed inspirational posters and sconces on them.

Bookcases lined every wall except a space that sat a printer. One of the ones that's really big and does a bunch of stuff like at offices. In between the bookcases were filing cabinets.

In the middle of the room were six desks. They were big Mahogany desks painted different colors. Two were red, one was pink, one was purple and one was silver. It was actually silver. I don't know how she pulled that off. The last one was a light tan color.

The desks had screens up to separate them from each other even though they were pushed up together. The screens were white with black detailing. In front of the desks were chairs. They were black with grey cushions and long arms. The best part was they were on wheels.

I went to the nearest desk (a red one) and ran my fingers over the surface. It was a huge desk. I wondered why she had them custom built (I knew she did). So I decided to ask her. "Why are they so big?"

She smiled and came forward. "For this." She went to the side and lifted up a board. It slid out straight then she turned it and it lay flat. It made the desk have more surface space.

"I love it!" I gasped. It was so cute!

I inspected the desks further and noticed there were four drawers on each side with black knobs and locks on each one. The drawers were different sizes and there was one running across the top.

I tried opening a drawer but it wouldn't budge. Oh well. "Where's the key?"

"Everyone will get their keys later." She went to the wall and flipped a switch. The lights came on. "What do you think of the sconces?"

"Very Victorian."

"Ours are gothic." She turned the lights off and it was dim again.

I went to a window and looked out the blinds. "Are you putting curtains up to these?"

"No. I wanted shades but they didn't have any that fit these windows." She frowned cutely.

"Well I love it!" I tried a filing cabinet next and it, too was locked. "Really, Marce?!"

"You'll get a key for that, too."

I turned around. "I love these floors. Pure wood but not creaky."

"Nah. That'd drive me bananas."

"Me too!"

She chuckled. "Where's Lucy and Rachel? We should show them before I track down Tana and Britt."

"Last I saw, they were having differences of opinions on the dining room."

She turned to leave but I stopped her.

"Why's there six desks?"

She stopped. "The future is like a fog. You can stare into it all you want but you won't know what's in it until you go through it."

I hated her being a poet sometimes… What did that even mean?! "So you can't tell me?"

"You're so pretty." She floated out.

"Are you calling me stupid?!" She really left! "Hey! I'm talking to you! Marcy!"

MAP

Puck: POV

"This is stupid."

I peeked at him. "This is one more thing you need to learn."

"I'd rather go back out driving."

"Don't worry. We will. Right after we fix your leaky sink."

Jake scowled. "I don't even have any facial hair!"

"You'll get it sooner or later."

He grumbled before spraying shaving cream into his hand. He glared at it before painting his face. "What now?"

I grabbed a razor. "You turn it and go against the grain. Soft, sure strokes."

He picked up a razor and watched me as I did it. Then he tried. He jerked and threw it in the sink. "Ow! I cut myself!"

"You'll do that a lot in the beginning."

He frowned. "I don't want to do this."

"Stop being a baby." I continued shaving.

I knew he was cursing me in his head but he picked the razor back up and tried again. He grinned. "I did it!"

I nodded slowly. "Keep going."

He did a patch then watched me as I rinsed the razor off. He copied me then kept going.

We made it through our whole faces (he only cut himself a few more times) then wiped the excess cream off with towels.

I grabbed a clear bottle with blue liquid. I set in on the counter. "Here."

"What's that? Mouthwash?"

"No. It's aftershave."

He narrowed his eyes like I was lying to him.

"Pour a bit in your palms then slap it on your face." I poured a little into my palm and rubbed my hands together before slapping my face.

He copied me even as I opened my mouth to warn him. He started screaming.

"Don't put it on your cuts." I winced.

He whimpered. "Now you tell me!"

"My bad. But now you know how to shave."

He stuck his lip out. "When are we going driving again?"

"After the sink. Come on." I moved away from the sink and picked up Rae. She and Beth were on the floor (not on a blanket; don't tell their mothers) in the hallway so I could keep an eye on them while I prepared Jake.

Beth climbed to her feet and picked up her toys. "Going, Papa?"

"Yeah, we're going to Tio Jake's house." Mama told me Tio meant uncle.

She smiled up at me. "Yay."

"Go grab your coat." I picked up Rae's lamb. "Come on, Jake."

He followed me downstairs after Beth. "My mom doesn't know that I'm not in school."

I turned around to glare at him. "You told me you had half a day!"

He turned to Beth, who had her jacket. "Wanna race to the car?"

"Stop skippin school! You'll never graduate!"

"You did." He grumbled.

"Yeah, cuz I had a pint sized diva on my butt making sure I was in school!"

"Marley does ride me about missing school so much. She's convinced it's cuz of her."

"And you told her?"

"Of course it's not. I'm just not interested in school."

"Well get interested. Come on."

"You're not taking me to school, are you? It's almost over."

I glared. "No. I'm taking you home so you can learn how to fix a leaky sink."

He grinned in relief. "Thanks."

I pointed to the door. "Out."

He picked up Beth and walked out.

I went behind him and locked the door. I put Rae in her car seat then Beth in hers. "You gotta ride in the back."

"No sweat!" He jumped up into the bed of the truck and sat against the window.

"Move your big head. I need to see out the rearview." I hopped in the truck and started it up before driving to his house. It wasn't far from ours.

He took us inside.

"Can I stick them in front of the TV?" I remembered to grab Rae's blanket from the car.

"Sure." He picked up the remote and switched on the set. "What do they like to watch?"

"Rae likes anything with music and Beth likes those bigheaded kids."

He stared at me. "Bigheaded kids?"

"They do stuff all the time." I helped Beth climb on the couch. "They have a spaceship and one's black, one's Asian and the brother and sister are white."

His look didn't change.

"It's Little something. They show art and play classical music." I set Rae right next to Beth and cornered her with her blanket.

He pursed his lips. "How about you go through the guide?"

I snatched the remote from him. "I don't like you."

"Phantom kids shows." He looked away.

I flipped through the channels until I found it. It was called Little Einsteins. "See?"

"Oh."

I threw the remote on the couch before giving Beth her duck and Rae her lamb. "Will you be alright in here?"

Beth nodded.

I could see she didn't care about me. Not while this show was on. I faced Jake. "The toolbox is in the truck."

"Okay. It's the sink in the kitchen."

I went to get the toolbox and came back inside.

As soon as he saw it, he burst out laughing.

"Shut up! These are my mom's tools!"

He wiped away tears. "Why don't you have your own?"

"I'll get my own someday." I grumbled. "Now take me to the kitchen."

He kept snickering but he took his stupid self in the kitchen.

I followed him and set the box on the table. "This will be a nice surprise for your mom."

"I hope so. She's been stressed at the restaurant lately." His mom was a waitress.

"Well you can do this for her and she'll be stressless at home." I opened the doors under the sink.

"What do we do first?"

I turned back and saw him playing with a pink tool. "See where the leak is coming from. Which pipe."

He nodded. "How do we do that?"

"You gotta get under there."

His eyes shot to mine. "Who gotta get where?"

"You gotta get under there."

"Nope!"

"How are you going to fix it if you don't get under there?"

"Can't you do it?"

"No. You're doing it. Get under there."

"I like this shirt!" He whined.

"Take it off."

"I don't like you like that."

"I'm close to kicking your butt." I was losing patience.

He scowled. "Fine!" He ripped off the shirt and sat on the floor before scooting under the sink.

"What do you see?"

"A lot of rust!"

I chuckled. "What else?"

"Um… there's this knob."

"What else?"

"Just a bunch of pipes."

"Is there any water coming out?"

"Yeah. It's hitting me in the face."

"Where is it coming from? Above the knob or under it?"

"Under it."

I went to the toolbox and grabbed a wrench. I brought it to him and kicked his side lightly. "Here."

He scooted out a little to take it. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"It's called a wrench and you're going to tighten that knob."

He gave me an ugly look. "I don't know how."

"Easy. Righty tighty, lefty loosy. So get."

He ducked back under the sink and I could hear him grunting. "It's not working!"

"Put some muscle on it."

He grunted louder. "It's not working! Would you-?! It's turning!"

"See? I knew you could do it."

"It's really going!" He gave a shout a second later.

"What's going on?!" I straightened from leaning against the sink.

I could hear water and he was moving a lot. "Help! It won't stop! I'ma drown!"

"Get out!"

He shimmied out and popped up, wiping his face. "I can't stop it!"

I took my shirt off and climbed under the sink. First off, he broke a rusted piece of pipe. I put it back on but it wouldn't hold long. That meant I had to go buy another part. I made sure it was as safe as I could get it.

"Did you get it?!"

I came up and climbed to my feet, wiping my own face. "I gotta go to the hardware store. That piece is too rusted. Probably why it was leaking."

"Alright."

I grabbed my shirt and pulled it on. "Make sure you keep an eye on them."

"On who?"

"Beth and Rae. Beth disappears fast and Rae's trying to crawl. She likes to throw herself off of stuff."

He looked horrified. "You're not leaving me here with them!"

"I can move faster on my own. I'll be right back." I went to the front room and kissed my kids. "I'll be right back. Be good for Tio Jake."

"Bye, Papa." It must have been a commercial on cuz Beth actually paid attention to me.

I waved and left.

"Hurry back!" Jake yelled as I got in my truck.

I rolled my eyes. He acts like I left him with wolves.

MAP

He didn't look happy when he opened the door. "You were gone for twenty seven minutes."

"You did alright." I pushed past him. I stopped when I saw the room. "Or not. What happened?"

"Well Beth said she was hungry so I got her candy-"

I jumped. "You fed my baby candy?!"

"Yeah. All kids like candy."

"Her mother will kill me!" I ran to Beth and checked her over but she didn't seem to be in trouble. Just upset. "Are you okay, Beth?"

"She didn't eat the candy."

I damn near died with relief. "Her mom's family doesn't eat candy! Q is serious about her not having any!"

"Well I didn't know what to give her! She didn't want it no way. So I got her some leftovers from the fridge-"

"What?! She can't eat everything yet!"

"It was just meatloaf and mashed potatoes!"

"Did you at least mash it up?"

"She didn't eat any meat. She didn't even eat any potatoes. She couldn't hold a fork."

"She's three! She uses baby forks!"

"I didn't know that!"

"Why was she crying?"

"Because Rae leaned into the plate and tried to eat her food-"

"Are you serious?!" I could have fucking died. I checked over Rae but she only looked upset, too. "She can't eat solid food!"

"I don't know anything about kids! You didn't tell me anything!"

I sighed heavily. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I was a little busy breaking up their fight! They started throwing food all over and then started crying! I just got all the food I could see up!"

I ran my hands over my face. "Their moms are gon kill me!"

"My mom is gon kill me!" He waved his arms. "Her carpet smells like Monday dinner!"

"Well I blame you." I snatched up the diaper bag and went through it looking for food. I found a little tray meal for Beth and a jar of applesauce for Rae. "I'll fix the pipe later. I gotta feed them."

He threw himself in a chair. "I should have stayed in school."

"You should've." I opened the meal for Beth and let her feed herself then unscrewed the jar for Rae. I grabbed a plastic spoon and began feeding her.

"Do they like that baby food?" He asked after it'd been quiet a while.

"Yes." I wiped Rae's chin with a drop cloth.

"Why?"

"It's made for them."

"Can I try?"

"You wanna eat baby food?" My eyes moved.

"No, I meant feed them."

"If you want. Beth can feed herself mostly. As long as she can pick it up."

He moved over to us and sat behind Beth. He picked up a pea. "Here you go."

She stared at him.

"Here."

She still stared.

"She won't take it."

"Hold it up to her mouth." I rolled my eyes.

He held it up to her lips and she opened her mouth. He shot it inside and she started chewing. She chewed for a few seconds before opening her mouth again.

He grabbed another pea and put it in her mouth. "This is easy. Let me try with her."

"This is a bit harder." I told him.

"How hard can it be?"

I smirked. I wanted to see this. "Okay."

We switched spots and he scooped some applesauce up.

"That's too much."

"It's only a little."

"It's too much. Just fill it halfway."

He huffed before dumping the load and refilling the spoon halfway. He held it up to her mouth. "Here you go."

Rae smiled at him before slapping the spoon out of his hand.

His jaw dropped. "She hit me!"

I kept my laughter to myself. "She didn't hit you."

"She slapped that spoon outta my hand!"

"Just try again."

He picked up the spoon.

"Hey! Don't use that spoon! It's been on the floor!" I stopped him from dipping it back into the applesauce.

"For like two seconds!"

"Mama would kill me, bring me back then kill me again if I let you feed Rae with a dirty spoon!"

He slammed the spoon on the table. "Where's another spoon?"

I looked through the bag and found a yellow one. "Here. Mama them don't like germs."

"A little dirt never hurt nobody." He frowned as he used it to scoop up more applesauce.

"These girls do not care."

He made a face as he put the spoon by Rae's mouth. She waved her hands again but he was able to catch the spoon this time. "She's getting it all over my mom's couch!"

"I told you it was hard."

He sulked.

Beth leaned forward and took the spoon from him. She put it by Rae's mouth. "Eat, Sissy."

Rae opened her mouth and Beth stuck the spoon in.

Jake stared. "She got her to eat."

"She seems to understand her." I shrugged.

Jake took the spoon back and tried again. "Will you please eat?"

Rae opened her mouth.

He stuck the spoon inside. "Thank you."

Keys jiggled in the door. Jake's mom, Vivian walked in. "Jake? What are you doing? Why does it smell like meatloaf and apples?"

"Hi." I waved.

"Hello, Noah." She shut the door behind her.

"Hey, Mom." Jake looked between her and Rae. "The baby's letting me feed her."

"Oh?"

"It's a little hard."

She nodded before frowning. "Why are you home so early?"

He stilled. "Puck got me from school."

"Oh. That was nice of him. Did you come by to spend time with Jake, Noah?"

"In a way." I lifted a shoulder. "He said you had a leaky sink so I'm showing him how to fix it."

"Really? He told me you're teaching him how to drive."

"He taught me how to shave." Jake grinned.

"Hmm."

I didn't know if that was good or not. "I can finish feeding Rae later. Let me show you how to reattach this pipe."

"I can feed her." His mom volunteered. "What are their names?"

"This is Beth and this is Rae." I put a hand on their heads when I said their names.

She took Jake's place. "Nice to meet you, Beth."

"Nice you too." Beth said politely.

"Aww! She's got great manners."

"Her mom's bad about that." I told her.

"They look like you."

"You don't have to say that. They look like their moms."

"Right. Jake told me they have different mothers. What is Rae short for?"

"Raven."

"I still think they look like you."

"Thanks." I stood up. "Come on, Jake. That pipe's not gonna fix itself."

He pinched the kids' cheeks. "Alright, I'm coming."

I went into the kitchen but peeked around the corner. It's not that I don't trust her but my kids didn't take to everybody. Beth was quiet and Rae would scream if the wrong person got too close.

But his mom was feeding Rae with no trouble and I could hear Beth talking to her. She was telling her she knew how to "feed Sissy".

"This is a funky thing."

I turned to Jake, who held the piece of pipe up to his face. "It goes under the knob."

"What's it called?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you know?"

I glared at him. "I never looked it up and no one ever told me."

"Then how do you know how to fix it?"

"My moms showed me."

"Your mom showed you? How'd she learn?"

"Her dad knew about stuff and he taught her some stuff when she was growing up."

"My grandpa didn't teach my mom anything."

My grandfather was awesome. I said as much. "He died a few years ago."

"I'm sorry."

I shrugged. "Only the good die young."