Enjoy!
Thanks Willow Edmond and Calwitch for the reviews.
Chapter 16: Family Time for All!
It was a couple hours later, that everything went wrong.
Both the boys were play fighting and running around with Taylor.
Machelle knew they were just having fun but, trying to keep them all calm was another story.
All the adults were sitting outside just talking, when JJ came outside.
"Mommy, Jake is getting sick." JJ said coming outside. "Taylor brought him to the bathroom. She sent me to get you."
Machelle got up, and went to help him.
"Should I call George to come over?" Dean said coming into the house.
"Just call him and ask if, I can give him another baby aspirin." Machelle said, going into the bathroom and then coming out to the kitchen. "Jake says his head hurts. I think he has a headache. It says here, every four- six hours but, it's only been like three. Come on sweetheart lets go give you a bath, go with Daddy."
Roman carried him upstairs, and Machelle ran the bath. She put some lavender bath salts, in it to help relax Jake.
Dean came up stairs.
"George says, he is on his way over." Dean said. "With something better than Aspirin."
When George got there, he looked at Jake. He said Jake was okay but, he needed to rest.
The wound on his forehead was swollen a little. So, he told them to put an ice pack on his head and to just watch him.
If he was hard to wake up or was falling asleep, then to take him to the hospital.
He had brought over some Liquid Tylenol, that Vera had given him. He gave Jake a dose and left them the rest.
"Vera said the liquid medicine works better, than the pills. If he has a headache tomorrow, then take him to your pediatrician's office in the morning but, this should work." George said handing Machelle the bottle. "It seams to work faster on Katie, when she gets a headache."
"Thank you, I will buy some and give it back to you." Machelle said.
George nodded and Jake gave him a high five again, then he left.
Machelle, stayed upstairs until Jake was finished his bath.
When he was done, he got his PJ's on.
Machelle let him watch a movie, as long as they all promised to stay calm.
"Depending on Jake, we might not be going anywhere." Roman said.
"We, can take JJ if you want." Sherri said looking at Dean, who nodded. "I know Machelle, wants the boys to know our side of the family."
"I know she does. I would go but, Machelle can't drive. She can't fit behind the wheel anymore." Roman smiled. "We, will see what happens tonight."
Dean went into the house, when he saw Machelle in the kitchen.
"I'm so sorry, Machelle I should of-" Dean started but, Machelle interrupted.
"Dean stop, it wasn't your fault. You did, what anyone would of done." Machelle smiled and got a ice pack ready for Jake. "You tried to save him. It could of been worse, you both could of got hurt."
Dean nodded his head. He knew deep down, Machelle was right.
It was the middle of the night when, Machelle heard someone in the hallway.
She looked at the clock it was 2 AM.
She got out of bed, trying not to wake Roman.
When she got to the hallway Jake was there.
"What's the matter sweetheart. You feeling okay?" Machelle squatted down to his level.
Jake nodded.
"Mommy, I'm hungry. I feel much better." Jake said.
Machelle stood up with the help of the wall, and felt his forehead. Then grabbed his hand.
"Okay come on sweetheart, lets go make something for you." Machelle smiled. "We have to be really quiet though so, we don't wake Daddy or JJ."
Jake nodded and they went down stairs.
Machelle turned the kitchen light on.
"What should we make then?" Machelle smiled. "Something, that won't upset your tummy. Like chicken noodle soup?"
"No, mac and cheese." Jake said, almost in a whisper.
Machelle thought about it for a bit. She thought it sounded like a good thing. Now she knew her cravings were taking over and smiled.
She nodded and got a pot out of the cupboard, and put some water in it.
Jake went to the pantry, and got the box of Kraft dinner.
When the water boiled Machelle, put the pasta in. Then made the Kraft dinner.
"Mommy, Can I still go to Legoland?" Jake said. "I feel better, my head is not hurting anymore."
Machelle looked at his head. The swelling, had gone down and there was a slight bruise.
"I think you are safe to go today but, I want you to still be careful. That means no running around, okay?" Machelle smiled and kissed his forehead. "I don't know, if we are going to Legoland. Remember what Daddy said, we have to see what everyone else wants to do, Right? If we don't maybe we can go, just as a family. Maybe with Uncle Dean, Auntie Sherri and Taylor. That will be fun, right?"
"Yeah." Jake nodded. "Uncle Dean is cool, Just like Daddy."
Machelle smiled and put the Macaroni in the bowls. Then sat them on the coffee table and turned the TV on. She went back to kitchen, and poured some milk for both of them and turned the kitchen light off.
She sat down on the floor, with the help of the couch. Jake sat beside her.
"What are you guys doing up?" Roman said, coming into the living room.
He smiled, at the sight of the two sitting on the floor.
"We are having a picnic, Daddy." Jake said jumping up and ran and gave him a hug. "We are having Mac and cheese."
"I see that." Roman said and smiled. Then picked him up. "Is there anymore?"
Jake looked at Machelle, who nodded.
Roman went into the kitchen, and got some. He came back and sat down with them.
After they ate, Roman helped Machelle up and they sat on the couch.
Then watched TV, until Jake fell asleep. Then Roman brought him, up to his bed.
Then came back down and sat behind Machelle.
"The babies are active today." Roman said rubbing Machelle's stomach, when she leaned back on his chest. "You, still wanna walk around?"
"I don't know if I do." Machelle said. "Do you mind going with the boys? I would rather go to Miami. There is a couple shops, I want to look in."
"Nope, that is fine with me." Roman said. "Sherri said, they would look after the boys. But, I think both of the places sound great. I think it would be kinda fun, for the boys and I to go. Dean chatted with your Family, last night. We are going to GatorLand. We know one of the guys that works there."
"Okay, go spend some time with the boys." Machelle smiled and put her hands on his. "There won't be much time, for them to get some one on one time with you. Once, these two arrive. Jake said, he didn't care where you guys went. He just wanted to spend time with you, and Crazy Uncle Dean."
Machelle and Roman both laughed.
"I know, I hate being away from them. I am going to try to spend, some more time with them. What are you going to do, while we are gone?" Roman asked. "
"Sleep. Maybe watch some TV." Machelle smiled when Roman kissed her neck. "I promise I will rest, I really want to go to Miami."
"Okay, now it's time for you to go to sleep." Roman said and stood up, when Machelle moved forward. He held his hand out and helped her get up.
Machelle turned the TV off and Roman grabbed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher.
Then they went upstairs and went back to bed.
Around nine o' clock, the phone rang. Roman, Answered it. It was Dean saying that Aunt Margie had called them and they were almost ready.
Sika and Patty, were on their way to pick them up.
They would all, meet at Roman's place in an hour.
After the phone call, Roman got out of bed and went into the bathroom.
When he came back out he smiled. Machelle was cuddled up to her body pillow (nicknamed, BOB), and was fast asleep.
He didn't want to wake her so, he got dressed and went into the hallway. JJ was just coming out of the bathroom.
"Morning Daddy." JJ said rubbing his eyes.
"Morning bud, how did you sleep?" Roman smiled and messed his hair. "I see you had a good sleep, your hair is all messed up."
JJ smiled. Then Jake came out of his room hearing Roman and JJ.
"Come on boys, let's let Mommy sleep a little longer." Roman said, after Jake came out of the bathroom. "Mommy is going to stay home today but, she will come with us to Miami. Today, it's just us that are going with the others."
Roman was just pouring his coffee when Sherri, Dean and Taylor knocked at the door.
JJ ran to the door with Roman right behind him.
Dean walked over to Jake.
"Hey, bud you feel okay?" Dean said and picked him up.
"Yup, Mommy said I can't be running around." Jake smiled and hugged him. "Or I will be sick again."
All the adults laughed.
"Good for you Jake." Machelle said, coming into the kitchen.
"I hope, my kids listen to me as good as they listen to you" Dean said. "You feeling okay, Machelle? Roman said your not coming today."
"I'm fine, I'm just going to rest today." Machelle said. "There are a couple stores, I want to look at in Miami. So, I figured I would just rest today. What time do you guys have to be in Miami?"
"Albert is looking after that part for me. We want to spend some time with the family." Dean said. "Maybe go for lunch. I know Lisa will be kinda pissed, we have to leave about seven tomorrow morning."
"I already told her." Sherri said. "She said that was okay with her. She said they are bringing breakfast and snacks. She also said something about us bringing the cards, for Canasta."
"What is that?" Dean asked.
"A card game" Machelle and Sherri said together and then laughed.
"Mom's friends taught Mom and Dad Canasta. We taught Aunt Margie's kids." Machelle said smiling. She went into a drawer and grabbed the Canasta cards. "Jennifer and Tracee, used to come to our place on spring break. We would play Canasta, from the time we got up to the time it was bedtime. Sherri and Jennifer used to cheat and Tracee and I never knew but, we had fun playing."
Sika, Patty and the rest of the family came.
Dean had called ahead and reserved a private tour.
They knew a lot of people in Florida so, it would all work out.
Their driver Albert, who drove the bus usually had agreed to drive them to Miami and to GatorLand. Even though, when the guys were on vacation so, was he. He was happy to do it because, he thought the guys and their families were really nice.
They were all having coffee and chatting, when Albert had showed up.
He left the bus at the front gate but, it wasn't that far to walk.
He had a coffee with them.
Machelle had packed extra clothes for the boys. She was going to pack some food but, Albert said he had grabbed some things.
"You are so good to us, Albert." Machelle smiled. "You sure, you don't need anything?"
"Nope, I got juice and snacks for everyone. I love Costco." Albert smiled. "I do it for the guys anyway. I think all we need is the coffee pods, for the machine. You have any, if not we can stop? Dean gets cranky if he doesn't have his snacks."
Machelle Laughed and went into the garage, Albert followed her.
He grabbed a box of coffee pods, from the top shelf.
"I too, love Costco." Machelle laughed.
"That's all we need then." Albert smiled. "I just forgot to grab the coffee."
They walked back into the house, and everyone was waiting for them.
Albert walked out front, and everyone else followed him. They all said goodbye to Machelle, and walked out the door.
"I'll call you when we get there okay?" Roman smiled and then kissed her. "Have a good rest."
"Make sure, Jake doesn't over due it and wears his hat." Machelle said. "I will, and have fun."
Once on the bus, they all sat down.
"Does anyone want breakfast before we go?" Albert asked. "We can stop if you guys want."
They all said they were good so, Albert started to go down the highway to Kissamee.
It wasn't a long trip only an hour and they were there. They had enough time to just chat.
Once they got to Gatorland, Albert parked the bus.
Dean got off and went to find his friend, Jason.
Dean, Roman and Jason had met at a wrestling event.
Jason, always asked them to come and visit. So, when Dean called he was excited.
The park was usually open to the public but, they were doing some cleaning of the ponds. So, it was great timing.
Jason met him at the gate.
"It's about time you guys came and visited me." Jason smiled. "I do have one request, though."
"What's that?" Dean smiled.
"I want a picture to hang in my office of you guys, Please." Jason said.
"We, can do you one better." Roman said coming up behind Dean. "I got 15 tickets to the show, in two weeks."
Jason smiled.
"I'm not taking your money though." Jason said, when Dean tried to give him money for admission. "I love wrestling and you giving us tickets, is payment."
"Nope, we insist." Dean said, and gave him the money and walked off. "Besides, I don't want you to think we are freeloading. You need to feed these guys, and we don't wanna end up Gator chow."
"Okay fine." Jason laughed. "So, lets get this tour started."
Jason started walking, and stopped beside A fence.
"Gatorland is a110-acre theme park slash wildlife preserve. It was founded by Owen Godwin, in 1949 and has been privately owned by his family since then." Jason said. "The park is known for buying and rescuing nuisance alligators from trappers, that would otherwise be killed for their meat and skin. The Breeding Marsh area right behind me, was used in the filming of the 1984 movie, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom."
Jason waited, for everyone to look at the alligators.
Then started walking again. He stopped at the beginning of a bridge, where there was a building.
He walked up to the door, and held it open for everyone.
Once inside, he started to talk.
"This, is where our four white alligators live. They are also known as leucistic alligators. These are not albino animals, Leucistic means they have a little bit of pigmentation around the mouth and a little touch on the tail and they have piercing blue eyes. These four are all from the same clutch. They came to us, from Louisiana." Jason started. "Leucistic animals have rare genetic condition, that reduces the colour pigmentation in their skin. Out of the five million American alligator population, there are thought to be only 12 leucistic gators. They are just like alligators and they eat the same food. The biggest concern is that they never would have survived in the wild. They are like little beacons, saying to other predators 'Come eat me'."
"How long are these guys?" Lisa asked.
"These guys are about ten to eleven plus feet in length and vulnerable to many predators because their lack of skin pigmentation, deprives them of natural camouflage." Jason said. "Due to their condition, the alligators are housed in special enclosures to protect them from sunlight and the unwanted attention of other males. These guys are all males. So, we have to keep them separated from each other. They are also very sensitive to direct sunlight. So, we have to keep them in an environment where they get a tiny bit of sunlight during the day. They need to have a bit of Vitamin D but, that is supplemented in their diet when we feed them. We give them chicken, fish, red meat and vitamin supplements. They each have their own pool and a haul out area and wooden decking they crawl out and bask in the heat. They are separated because they would fight each other. Hopefully, we can bread them one day with females with the same genes. We also have two normal females who carry the gene for the leusitic offspring. Our hope is that with some candle light, soft music and maybe a little wine we are hoping to breed them in the near future."
"Can we touch them?" JJ asked.
"We could but, this guy is very mean and I wouldn't trust him. But, if you wait for just a little bit, we can go in where we have some babies. Then you can hold one." Jason smiled. "We are not far from the sand pit, where you can sit on one. Then we will go see the baby ones, Okay?"
JJ's eyes went really wide and then a smile appeared.
All the adults started laughing.
Jason and the others followed a path, going by a marsh.
"These guys are egrets." Jason said and stopped for a bit. "They come here all year round and lay eggs. Okay JJ, this is what you were asking about. You see that big Alligator over there in the sand?"
JJ nodded his head.
"You and I, are going to go sit on him." Jason smiled. "Garret is going to give you a show, and then after we will sit on him."
Jason led them to the stands and they all sat down.
"Step onto the sand at the world famous Gator Wrestlin' Arena and feel the power of one of the most feared creatures in the world." Garret started. "Eight to nine feet in length, 82 razor sharp teeth, and that is just one of the twelve alligators swimming around you! Don't try this at home folks, it takes a trained professional to pose these ornery critters!"
Garret did a whole show with the alligators.
He got them to open their mouths, and show off their teeth.
Then he showed them, how you could put a Gator to sleep.
He called JJ and Jake over, and Roman, took a picture and sent it off to Machelle.
Machelle had just finished putting the sheets in the dryer, when her phone beeped.
She smiled at the picture, of JJ and Jake sitting on the back of an alligator.
Then he sent another one of the boys, holding a baby alligator. With a note saying: 'Our new guard dog'
Machelle went into the kitchen. She cut some cheese and got some crackers out, and put them on a plate. Then went upstairs and turned on the TV.
After her snack, she curled up and fell asleep.
A couple hours later Machelle woke up, to Roman kissing her neck.
"You know I'm married and have a husband, that will kick your ass." Machelle said smiling. "He will be home soon."
"Really? He sounds like a really great guy, and Loves you very much." Roman smiled and kissed her lips, when she rolled over. "He's not home, you wanna-"
"Don't even finish that sentence." Machelle said and pulled him into another kiss. "Where are the boys?"
"They went back to Mom and Dad's." Roman said rubbing her stomach. "How was your day?"
"Was, okay." Machelle said putting one of her hands on his.
"Your lying Machelle, what happened?" Roman said.
"Nothing, happened." Machelle smiled. "That's why, it was just okay. How much fun can I have, doing laundry, with no one home and all the peace and quiet I want. Besides, I look like a beached whale."
"Stop saying that, you look beautiful." Roman smiled and kissed her again. "Okay, just checking to see if you rested. We have an hour and a half, before we have to meet everyone. They decided on Charlies Steak House."
"Doesn't matter as long as it is food." Machelle said kissing him and got out of bed. "I'm starving. I didn't really eat a meal today, just snacked. How was your day, anyway?"
"You need to eat meals, babe. Snacking is okay at night but, remember what the doctor said. You are still not at the weight, your supposed to be at." Roman said and followed Machelle into the bathroom.
Machelle just rolled her eyes.
"I saw that, don't roll your eyes at me." Roman smiled.
Machelle turned around and smiled when Roman grabbed her in for a hug. Then kissed her.
"To answer your question, my day was awesome." Roman started. "Jake, kept saying he couldn't run cause Mommy would be mad. So, he held hands with anyone that was beside him, mostly Brittany. He forget a couple times but, then realized it and stopped. JJ was very good to. They held snakes and alligators and asked questions. Your Uncle Charlie, bought them stuffed gators and Jake named his after Charlie. They also got some t-shirts from Uncle John. Everett and Michelle got them some PJ's. Then we went and looked in, Brandon for souvenirs for John's granddaughter, Dylan.Maybe, we should plan a trip to Toronto. I wouldn't mind, meeting your other cousins. The boys, are going to Summer's tonight, after dinner. Summer and Vanessa and their four kids, are coming with us to Miami."
"I'm glad they had fun, with you. They really miss you, when your on the road. That will be good, Vanessa is the one who said to go to this shop in Miami. I guess, I need to plan a baby shower for her." Machelle said turning on the shower and stepping in. "I like the plan to go to Toronto, to see my cousins. I haven't seen them for ages. I wouldn't mind going to see Mom's Aunt Ellen, she would love to see us. That reminds me we need to go looking for the crib blankets, the boys had. I can't find any of their things, we had for them."
"They are in the guest house." Roman said, then grabbed the soap. "You didn't want them getting musty, when we bought the boys the new ones. I'll ask Seth to help me on Thursday and put the cribs up. He's got the hots for Tia."
"Shit, that is the only place I didn't check today. I knew that, Tia asked about him. He better be careful and not hurt her. I know what happened, the last time he had a girlfriend." Machelle said. "Sherri will kick his ass, if he does."
"I know she will." Roman said kissing her. "Sherri, already told Dean and he told Seth. I don't know what's going on there. Personally, I don't really care either."
Machelle nodded and turned off the shower.
Roman grabbed towels for both of them.
"We have to start looking into preschool, for the boys." Machelle said combing her wet hair. "I was talking with Summer and she said, Cross Creek is a good one just down the street. Do you think we could go maybe, while your off?"
"Yes, we can go. Summer's friend Sasha works there, that's why she suggested it. Summer sent all her kids there. That was before Sasha worked there." Roman said. "She was chatting with me about it, today."
"Why can't they just stay little?" Machelle said and went into her closet. "Just kidding. They have way to much energy, for me right now."
"I know babe, I know." Roman laughed and hugged her. "They will be fine."
"I know that. I just hope, they are ready to go to school." Machelle said, putting her head on his chest. "Okay they are ready but, I'm not ready to let go just yet."
Roman let her go, and she grabbed a dress and put it on.
"Your not going to be like Dean are you, saying they can't date until they are 30?" Roman said putting his shirt on.
"Nope, we got that covered." Machelle smiled, and turned around. So, Roman could tie her dress for her. "Sherri has already instilled in their brains, they have to keep their 'Junk in their Trunks'. So, we should be good and not be grandparents any time soon."
Roman laughed.
"I'm glad, I didn't have anything to drink when you said that. I agree, with you there though." Roman smiled. "Mom, thought it was cute when JJ told her that."
Machelle, went into the bathroom. She dried her hair, then put it up in a messy bun.
Then they went down stairs, and walked over to Dean and Sherri's and went to dinner.