"Give it back!"
"I just wanna look!"
"It's mine!"
"Just for a second!"
Even from all the way downstairs, Bass can hear the girls muffled, high pitched voices.
"I said give it to me!"
SMASH
The sound of breaking glass causes him to finally put his book down. He waits a beat, but hears nothing. He sighes as he takes off his reading glasses (don't tell Charlie he actually had them on) and walks slowly up the stairs to his daughters' room.
It's still completely silent up here, and he can't decide if it's because they're finally finished arguing or because they know that they're in trouble. Most likely both.
He opens the door to find them both standing in the middle of the room, heads down and hands clasped tightly in front of them. Taking in the scene around them, he notices the book clutched in Ella's hands, as well as the blue and purple vase shattered on the floor.
He waits. If fatherhood has taught him anything, it's that patience is everything. They all stand there for a few minutes before his youngest daughter finally gives in.
"I just wanted to see the book. It was an accident Daddy, I promise." Natalie's big blue eyes stare up at him with unshed tears brimming in them.
In his peripheral vision, on the side he's got left, he can see Ella roll her eyes. She may have her grandfather's dark hair, but her attitude is all Charlie.
Nattie's turning on the charm, and they all know it. They also all know, that Daddy can't resist those blue eyes and the girls use that to their advantage. All the time.
He sighs again, because he knows there's no way he's going to win here. He looks down at the broken glass on the floor and then at his daughters bare feet. He momentarily forgets that they're in trouble, and gestures for them to get off of the floor and hop up onto their beds.
Sidestepping the pile of glass he looks at his oldest. Her hair is curly, but dark and her eyes are crystal blue, just like his own. Charlie is constantly telling an irritated Ella that she looks just like her father. They have the same nose, mouth, and chin as well. But in his mind, she looks just like his mother, and Ella seems to like that comparison better. Apparently, eleven year old girls don't like being told they look like an old man.
Nattie on the other hand, is a carbon copy Charlie if he's ever seen one. Dark blond hair, big blue eyes, and even the little dimple in her cheek. She looks just like her mother, but her personality is the complete opposite. She's quiet and reserved, and even Rachel has admitted, on more than one occasion, that the seven year old reminds her of what Danny had been like as a child.
He sighs again, it feels like he does this a lot. "Why can't your sister look at the book?"
Ella merely raises an eyebrow at him. "Because it's my book."
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Anger never gets him anywhere, he's learned that if he wants to accomplish anything, he needs to keep calm. Easier said than done.
"It's not your book. It came out of Uncle Aaron's library, so technically it's his book." Just then, the three of them hear the front door open downstairs. "That'll be your mom coming home from the market. Maybe we should ask her if she thinks you should share the book. What do you think?" He stares knowingly at his daughters' faces as they look quickly at each other, then back at him, shaking their heads.
"Here. Take it." Ella tosses the book onto Nattie's bed, and she squeals in delight.
"Bass?" Charlie's voice calling out to him makes it's way up the stairs.
He cracks the door open. "In the girls' room." They can hear her boots coming up the stairs and he looks over at them still sitting on their beds. He points at the broken vase on the floor and shakes his head, mouthing 'not a word'. Both girls quickly agree as Charlie steps fully into the room.
"Hey, what's going on..." Her voice trials off as she notices the mess on the floor. "What happened to the vase?" She looks immediately at Ella, not because she's blaming her eldest, but because these things are usually her fault. But before she can start her interrogation, Bass interrupts.
"Actually, that was my fault." Charlie turns to look at him disapprovingly. "I was helping Nattie look for her book, so we moved the dresser, and the vase just fell off." It's a simple and logical explanation for the situation.
Charlie looks at the vase on the floor, then at the book in Nattie's hands. She shakes her head sadly. "Well you should have been more careful. Aaron gave us that right after Ella was born, it's been sitting next to her bed for eleven years." She gives her husband a stern glare. "Next time somebody looses something, don't ask Daddy to help you look for it." With one last glance around the room she heads back down the stairs, calling back to him, "I'm not cleaning that up Bass."
He smiles at his wife's retreating back, but is distracted by the sudden tugging on his pantleg. He looks down to find a tiny boy with thick blond curls, identical to his own, and big brown eyes, just like Miles'. He's shaking his little head at him. "You were bad Daddy, you made Mommy mad."
Scoffing at the four year old, he scoops him up and hugs him, kissing his head. "What else is new." That makes the girls giggle. "What are you two laughing about? I didn't make this mess, you two clean it up." He takes little Bruce with him out of the room while the girls whine and complain about having to clean up.
Down in the kitchen, he finds Charlie pulling salt and sugar out of bags, and putting them into cabinets. He watches her arms move and her hips sway. Even after all this time, he can't get enough of her. He sets little Brucie on the floor and goes to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck, just below her ear. She leans back into him as he pulls her earlobe between his teeth.
"You gonna tell me why you lied to me up there?" Bass freezes. Apparently, he forgot that he's a shity liar.
"I just didn't think it was worth getting into a big thing about." The truth. That always works best in these situations.
He presses his nose into her hair while she nods. "Were they fighting over the book?"
He huffs a laugh, Charlie's ability to know exactly what's going on never ceases to amaze him. "Yeah."
Ella chooses that moment to try and sneak into the kitchen to get the broom and dust pan from the corner. Charlie, without even turning her head, asks, "So what did we learn today Ella?"
Turning to look at her daughter, she sees the scathing look she throws at her father. "That Daddy's a bad liar."
Charlie snorts with laughter at the look of outrage on Bass' face. "Ok honey, what else?" She looks pointedly at Ella, who picks up the broom, hanging her head.
"That were supposed to share." She's practically growling, but when it comes to Ella, that's really the best your gonna get.
"Good, now go clean up your mess." Charlie turns her attention back to the groceries as Ella runs up the stairs. Bass resumes his prior assault on his wife's neck by biting softly just below her ear and then licking the sting away with his tongue.
"Bass, cut it out." She chuckling as she leans back farther into him.
"Doesn't seem like you want me to stop." His voice is a low whisper in her ear, sending heat coursing straight down to her core. She turns around in his arms and puts her hands flat on his chest.
"Sorry, but you lied to me. You've been a bad boy." She pushes him away but she's grinning mischievously up at him. He moves in, with the intention of grabbing her and throwing her up on the counter, but is interrupted by a tiny voice.
"Daddy's a bad boy!" He looks down by his feet to see Brucie glaring up at him with all of the anger a four year old can muster. Charlie erupts into a fit of laughter and goes back to her groceries, officially killing the moment.
He picks Brucie up and pokes him in the chest. "You and me are gonna have a serious conversation about the guy code." His big brown eyes are looking up at him with innocent curiosity. "Rule number one: You never, ever interrupt when Daddy when he's trying to get Mommy to-"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence or I swear, Mommy won't be doing anything, anytime soon." Bass turns around to smile at his wife, the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, and he can't help but walk back to give her a peck on the cheek and whisper in her ear.
"We'll see about that."
A/N Thank you to all of you for reading, and especially those of you who take the time to review. I love domestic Bass, something about him just makes me smile. And yes, I named him Bruce after Batman. I couldn't resist the temptation. :-)