"Alright, now this is going to be cold and you're going to feel like you need to use the bathroom, but try to fight the urge." Doctor Roberts instructed.
Stella rolled her eyes. Of all the days her Pediatrician got sick it had to be today.
"I've done this four times already." Stella informed her.
Mac sat beside her, and gave her a sharp look, letting her know to be nice to the newbie doctor. Danny and Lindsay sat on his lap, Lindsay playing with his tie and Danny looking up at Mac.
"But Mommy has five kids." He wondered.
"Mommy abducted Sheldon." Lindsay told him.
Mac looked at Stella, and she laughed, covering her mouth. Mac cracked a smile, noticing that Doctor Roberts was trying her best not to laugh as well.
"I think you mean adopted, Linds." Mac said.
"That's what I said. Abducted."
"Not abducted, that's with aliens and stuff. Adopted is what you wanna say… A-DOP-TED." Danny told her.
Mac smiled, hugging them close.
"Look at the screen, guys. You can see the baby that's growing in Mommy's stomach." Mac told them.
They looked up at the screen, and a huge smile broke out on Danny's face. He laughed, looking up at Mac.
"Look at it, Daddy! He's sucking his thumb!" He exclaimed.
"No, it's a she." Lindsay argued.
Danny stuck out his tongue at her and leaned back against Mac, burrowing his head into his chest and closing his eyes. Lindsay squirmed closer to Stella, resting her hand on her growing stomach.
"I'm gonna have a little sister, aren't I Mommy?" She said.
Stella smiled at her.
"We don't know yet, sweetheart. But I'll tell you what. If it's a girl, I'll let you help Daddy and I pick out a name, how's that?" She said.
"Really? Can I really help?" She asked excitedly.
"You sure can." Stella smiled at her.
Lindsay smiled and leaned forward to give her a kiss before sitting back in Mac's lap.
"If you'd like we could see whether or not you're having a girl or a boy." Doctor Roberts told them.
Stella looked at Mac, who shrugged.
"It's up to you Stella. I didn't think this was allowed, but if you want to know, go ahead." Mac teased.
"We're not supposed to do this, no but for you fine detectives I guess we could bend a few of the rules." She said.
Mac looked at Stella, and she smiled, reaching out and taking his hand in hers.
"Sure. Let's find out if it's a girl or a boy." Stella told the doctor.
They did some searching around with the ultrasound, and once they found out the sex of the baby, Lindsay smiled.
"I guess this means I can help pick out the name?" Lindsay said.
"You sure can. Why don't you get Aiden to help you write down a list of names when we get home?" Stella suggested.
"Okay." She agreed.
Danny was still resting against Mac's chest, looking as though he was a sleep, but Mac knew that he was far from it.
"I think Danny and I are going to wait outside while you finish up here. Lindsay, why don't you stay with Mommy, okay?" Mac said.
"Okay Daddy." Lindsay said.
Mac picked Danny up in his arms, going along with his pretend sleeping and dipped over to give Stella a kiss before leaving the room to go and wait in the waiting room. He sat down in one of the chairs, holding Danny's close to him.
"I know you're not asleep… what's bothering you Danny?" Mac whispered in his ear.
Danny moved around in his lap so that he could look at him, but be close enough that he didn't have to talk loudly.
"I don't want to be the youngest boy anymore…" Danny whispered.
"Why not?" Mac asked him.
"Because Donnie is always picking on me, and Sheldon is always trying to be smart around me…" Danny shrugged.
Mac wrapped his arms around Danny, and rested his chin on Danny's forehead.
"Your brothers sometimes don't realize how young you are. You shouldn't worry about it though." Mac tried to convince him.
"But I do, Daddy. I can't help it. Mommy says I'm becoming more and more like you every day… but when you and Mommy are home, you're playing with Don and Sheldon, and Mommy's playing with Lindsay or Aiden… you guys don't play with me. If I wasn't the youngest boy, maybe you'd pay more attention to me." Danny said, not looking up at his father.
Mac sighed. He knew what his son was saying was sort of true. Yes, he didn't play with him a lot, but he didn't really play with Sheldon or Don a lot, or either of his girls. Usually he was so tired that he just wanted to go to sleep.
"Danny, I know you think that we don't pay enough attention to you, but it's hard. Mommy and I have hard jobs, and we've got five kids with another one on the way… but Danny, you're my baby boy. You'll always be my baby boy." Mac ensured him.
Danny nodded, molding himself into Mac.
"Maybe you'll play with me more now?" He asked quietly.
"I'll try baby. These next few months are going to be very hard. Work is getting tough, but I promise you this. If I don't play with you, I'll read you bed time stories every night." Mac told him.
Danny looked up at him, a twinkle in his eyes.
"Really? But you're working a lot." Danny said.
"I know, but I'm changing the way I work so I'll be home every night." Mac promised.
Danny hugged him tight, smiling brightly.
"Thanks, Daddy. I love you."
"I love you too, baby boy." Mac whispered into his hair.
*
They had picked up Don, Sheldon and Aiden at school on their way home from the Pediatricians office and were now walking up the stairs to their apartment.
"A new baby? That means we're gonna have to start actin' different… and we're gonna have ta give things up." Don told Sheldon with a sneer.
"Mommy says that I can help name the baby. But she says that you're gonna have to help me write down the names." Lindsay told Aiden.
Stella smiled at Mac, who was walking with Danny closely at his side. She turned back and caught Don before he fell up the stairs.
"Are you okay, Donnie?" She asked.
He nodded quickly, and clung to her. He had gotten a little scared when he had almost fallen, but he was okay now, just embarrassed.
"Don, when you said we have to give things up… do you mean things like, playing games with Dad?" Sheldon asked, ignoring the fact that he almost fell.
"Yeah. They're gonna be all about the new baby," Don turned and looked at Danny, "the youngest of us are gonna fade into nothin'."
Danny looked up at Mac, who smiled and picked him up, resting him on one hip. Danny smiled and wrapped his hands around Mac's neck.
"That's not gonna happen. I'm your baby boy." Danny said proudly.
Mac smiled. That was definitely true.
*
"Come on, Danny. Let's get ready for bed." Stella called.
"I don't want to go to bed." He pouted.
"Danny, please. It's time for bed." She pleaded.
Danny sat on the floor and crossed his arms over his chest. He shook his head no and closed his eyes. Stella sighed and went to get Mac, who promptly came into the room, and squatting down in front of Danny.
"C'mon, baby boy. Let's go read a story okay?" Mac asked.
Danny looked at him cautiously.
"What story are you going to read me?" He asked.
"Hmm… how about 'I am a Mole'?" Mac suggested.
"We read that one already… I want a newer one." Danny said.
Mac pretended to think, although he knew what story Danny wanted to read. It was his favorite story and they read it almost every second night.
"Why don't you go get the book you want to read, get changed into your PJ's and I'll be in when you're ready." Mac decided.
Danny nodded and went to do just that, giving his Mommy a kiss on the cheek on his way by her. Don and Sheldon were sitting on the floor playing a card game and when Danny walked by, Don couldn't resist but to say something to him.
"There goes the baby. He has to go to bed because he's too young to stay up with the big kids." He taunted.
Danny stopped and looked at him for only a second, anger on his face before he decided he knew what he was going to say. He raised his chin and started walking away.
"The baby gets to spend time with Daddy and he reads me bedtime stories every night. I might be the baby, but I'm Daddy's baby boy." Danny called over his shoulder.
Mac smiled, catching Stella's eye. She smiled at him and he knew she was very proud of Danny, not picking a fight with his oldest brother, but choosing to inform him how special he was and leave it at that. Mac got up and walked over to Stella, wrapping a hand around her waist and resting the other on her stomach.
"Why does he listen to you better than me?" Stella wondered.
"We're close, Stel. I had a talk with him that day when we were at the Pediatrician, and we cleared things out between the two of us." Mac told her.
Stella smiled, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"You'd better get in there before Danny thinks you're up to something." She told him, hugging him close.
Mac smiled into her hair, pressing small kisses on Stella's neck, wanting to just hold her close for the much longer.
"Daddy, I'm ready!" Danny called.
"Be right there, baby boy." Mac called back.
He smiled and Stella, giving her one last kiss before heading down the hall, pausing to ruffle a hand through Don's hair. Don looked up at him and smiled before continuing on in his game.
When Mac walked into the boys' bedroom, Danny was sitting on the bottom bunk, holding his book in his hand and smiling at his Daddy. Mac sat down beside him, swinging his legs up onto the bed and leaning back against the wall next to Danny.
Danny snuggled in close against Mac, pushing the book into his hands, waiting for him to start reading the book. Mac smiled down at him, then looking at the book.
"I'm Not Sleepy, by Robie H. Harris." Mac read.
Danny snuggled closer, smiling. This was his favorite book, and they both knew it.
*
When Mac finished reading the book, he closed it and left it next to the bed. He got up and moved Danny so he was lying comfortably on the bed. He pulled the blankets up around him and gave him a kiss, ruffling his hair and putting his glasses beside the bed in a case.
He left the room, but not before turning on the night-light, just in case he woke up during the night. He closed the door, and checked on Lindsay and Aiden, making sure they were both okay.
"He went to sleep okay?" Stella asked, sitting on the couch.
Mac nodded, sitting beside her.
"As always. He really likes that book, Stella. We read it all the time. I could probably read it to him without even having to look at the book once." Mac laughed gently.
"Hmm… he just remembers that you read it with so much enthusiasm." Stella said, resting her head on his shoulder.
Mac wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. It was quiet in the house, the only noises coming from the fridge and Don and Sheldon playing cards.
"I'm done, Don. I'm too tired for this." Sheldon said, getting up and stretching.
"Okay, Sheldon. Good night." Don said.
Sheldon went over to his parents and gave them each a kiss and hug before heading off towards the bedroom.
"Don't wake Danny," Mac told him before he left the living room.
Don got off the floor and went to sit beside Stella, resting his head on her stomach, listening to the baby. Stella ran her fingers through his hair, holding him close.
"Why are you having another baby?" He asked.
"You don't want another little sister?" Stella asked.
Don sat up and looked at her before sitting up and wringing his hands together.
"Not really…" Don said.
Mac laughed gently, and reached around Stella to tug on his sleeve.
"C'mere, Donnie." He said.
Don got up and walked around to the other side of the couch, sitting on Mac's lap and leaning against his chest.
"What's bothering you about this new baby, huh?" He asked, holding him close.
Don sniffed, not wanting to cry in front of his Mom… it tried not to do that a lot. Mac hugged him tighter, bending over to look at him.
"It's just that, every time you guys have another baby, I get pushed out of the way. I know I'm almost a teenager, but I still need you guys." He said, looking away.
Mac turned his head so he was looking at him.
"Hey, if you want us to do something with you, let us know. Your Mom's gonna be out of commission for a little while, and she'll probably be really tired, but when everyone else goes to bed, it'll be you and me time okay?" Mac said.
Don nodded, hopping off of his lap and giving him a kiss on the cheek. He turned to his Mom and did the same thing before straightening his shirt.
"One more thing?" He said.
"What's that, sweetheart?" Stella asked.
"Can my friend Anna come over on Friday?" He asked.
Mac raised his eyebrow.
"Anna? Is she your girlfriend?" He teased.
Don blushed but smiled, nodding slowly.
"I guess so. She kissed me in gym class and the guys say that now I have to treat her like a lady… they think it's the pits but it's not so bad." Don shrugged.
Mac smiled at him, squeezing his shoulder.
"Of course she can come over. You look tired, Donnie. Why don't you go lie down?" Mac suggested.
Don nodded and headed off to bed.
"Now it's just us again." Stella yawned.
"Yeah? Says the woman who's slowly falling asleep on the couch." Mac joked.
Stella sighed, closing her eyes and leaning back against his chest.
"I don't mind sleeping on the couch." She said.
"You're gonna wake up with a sore neck. C'mon, let's get you into bed." Mac said, pulling her to her feet.
On their way down the hall, they stopped to look in on their children, sleeping soundly at last. They were truly blest to have such an amazing family. They finally climbed into their own bed, ready to settle in for the night when the first roll of thunder shook the apartment. Mac looked at Stella, smiling gently.
"Wait for it." He whispered.
Sure enough, five pairs of feet could be heard making their way towards their bedroom, stopping at the door. Don pushed it open and the lightening brightened up the room so Stella and Mac could see their kids all clambered together in the doorframe.
"Dad?" Don called.
"Yeah, Donnie I know. C'mon, into the bed." He called, sitting up.
The kids ran towards them, Aiden and Lindsay wrapping themselves around Stella, Sheldon finding a comfortable spot between Aiden and Don, and Danny curling himself into Mac's side. The thunder rolled again, setting off a wave of tears from practically all the kids.
Mac smiled, soothing his children. It was times like these that he was glad that they had decided to buy the king-sized bed instead of the queen.
END