I'm back! Sorry about that guys. I was on a mini-vacation (1 week up North) ;) Spent sometime with the family, swam, baked, read a book every day…(I finished 5) and thought of story ideas.

I've come to my decision. The one-shots for this story, are not going to be in order. I apologize to the people who wish it were, but it is easier for me to write them out of order. I WILL however. Give you the name and age of the Goldsworthy Gang. (Pretty clever name eh?) and I promise that I won't be skipping from the children being like 3 years old to being 15.
With that said. I hope you enjoy this chapter. (: Leave a review.

Clare: 26

Eli: 27

Jane: 3

Michael

The imaginary friends I had as a kid dropped me because their friends thought I didn't exist

~Unknown

Eli-

"No silly! Dogs don't drive cars!" he heard a tiny voice giggle, as he walked down the hall. Curiously, he poked his head into the playroom only to find his little girl all alone.

"Janie-Bean, who are you talking to?" he called, getting more confused as the moments passed. Jane sat on a round rug, that covered the majority of the wooden floor in the room. Almost as if she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar just before dinner, the little girl's giggles stopped.

Jane-

She sat on the floor in her playroom, surrounded by toys. Michael sat next to her, telling an outrageous story about the time a dog named Sampson drove his car to the movies. He had offered Michael a ride, but Michael had politely refused. By the end of the story, Jane couldn't contain her laughter.

"Michael! Dogs don't drive cars!" she told her friend, who was laughing right along with her. He always told her of the most wonderful things. Car driving dogs, Ice-Cream Mountain, the mermaid he'd found in her mommy's bathtub. The list went on and on. She'd been so caught up with laughing, that she hadn't noticed her Daddy watching her.

Eli-

"Jane." He repeated himself for a second time, watching as the little girl turned around to greet him.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed, her green eyes immediately lighting up with excitement. Her father had been gone all day long. Working as usual.

"How was work?" she mumbled into his waist, as she hugged him as tight as her little body would allow.

"Work was fine sweet pea, but what I want to know was who you were talking to." He raised an eyebrow, crouching down so that he would be level with his daughter.

"I'm playing with Michael, like I always do," was her reply.

When he didn't respond, she grew worried.

"Daddy? Did I do something wrong?"

"No sweetie, nothing at all. Where is Michael? Can I meet him?"

"Sure Daddy! He's still here. His mommy hasn't called him for dinner yet." Her voice filled with excitement as she took his large hand into her tiny one, and led him into the room.

Jane-

"Michael this is my Daddy," she gestured to Eli, as she entered the room. Michael who had been sitting on the floor, moved towards the window seat.

"Nice to meet you Michael," Eli greeted empty space. Jane covered her mouth, in an attempt to hide her snickers.

"Daddy. Michael is over there. By the window. Can't ya see him?"

"Of course sweet heart!" Her daddy replied.

"Daddy. You don't have to lie to me, it's okay that you can't see him, Michael is shy."

Later on….at feeding time…aka(for you normal people)dinner time…

No POV-

"Jane? Is Michael staying for dinner? Clare called up the stairs, as she set 4 plates on the kitchen table.

"What are we having?" the little girl called back down.

"Mac N' Cheese!"

"Yes! That's our favorite!"

Clare couldn't help but smile, as she spooned a smaller portion onto the 4th plate. Eli who sat on a bar stool at the counter, looked up from the mail he'd been sorting through.

"You knew about it?" he questioned.

"If you mean Michael then yes. I knew about him," she replied, pouring 2 glasses of chocolate milk she set those on the table as well.

"How come I didn't?" her husband wondered, Jane told him everything. When he got home from work she would tell him about everything from the moment she woke up, to the moment he set foot through the door. Never had she mentioned Michael.

"Maybe she was afraid you'd be mad." Clare suggested, to which Eli's jaw dropped.

"I mean, you're always telling her-"

"No boys until she's married," he finished, with a groan.

"Right. So maybe she just didn't want to make you upset. "

"I guess,"

Sitting down to the meal..

"Daddy! No!" wailed Jane, as her father almost fell out of his seat.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he exclaimed erratically.

"You're sitting on MICHAEL!"

Later at bedtime….

"And thank you God for Mommy, and Daddy, and Michael, and Grandma Cece, and Grandpa Bullfrog," Jane's eyelids dropped further and further down with each name. Gently sliding the quilt up and around her, Eli pecked her on the forehead, muttered an "I Love You" and turned off the light. Just before he shut the door, he heard a tiny voice mutter sleepily.

"Michael you're hogging all the blankets,"

Being the overbearing father he was, he burst into the room and flicked on the light. Jane sat up straight, rubbing her eyes.

"Daddy? What are you doing?"

"Where's Michael sleeping?" her father questioned through gritted teeth. Imaginary or not this boy would not be sleeping in the same bed as his daughter.

"Next to me," she replied confused still.

Without another word, Eli took the blue blanket that was folded on the end of her bed, and a throw pillow. Setting them on the floor, he pointed at the empty space next to Jane.

"Michael. You're sleeping on the floor from now, until the day you marry Jane."

"No exceptions." He added to Jane, who sat up giggling yet again.

Jane-

"Goodnight Michael, I love you." She murmured sleepily.

"Love you too Janie. You're the prettiest girl in the world,"

So what'd ya think? Good? Bad? For those who didn't understand this at all…Michael was Jane's imaginary friend. (: Let me know what you though in a review?

Love always,

Bumblebee93