Stella was at work the day that Don and Danny decided that it would be fun to climb the tree in the backyard. Mac was sitting on the deck watching over Jess and Adam, while Lindsay and Aiden were playing in the sand box. Sheldon was sitting beside him, reading a book. He had been so engrossed in watching the young twins interact, that he hadn't noticed how high Danny had climbed… until he heard the crying.
Looking up, he saw Danny half way up the tall tree, arms wrapped tight around one of the high branches. Mac's heart rapped in his chest, and he got up, running over to where Don was standing on the ground, looking up.
"Daddy!" Danny cried.
""It's okay, baby boy. Hold on, I'm coming." He called.
He turned to Don.
"Keep an eye on your brother and sister for me while I get Danny. And when I get back the two of you are in so much trouble." He said.
Don nodded, and Mac started up the tree. He kept his eyes on Danny, and when he started getting closer, he could see he was shaking. Mac sighed. He had been okay when Danny and Don wanted to climb the tree, but told them not to go too high or they might get stuck… but Don could climb higher than Danny, and Danny wanted to show his older brother that he could climb the highest. They'd started a race, and by the time Danny realized that Don had played a trick on him, and had climbed down the tree instead of up, he was really high up. 'Better add fear of heights to his list of fears.' Mac thought.
"Danny, how're you doing?" He asked, still climbing.
"I'm scared! I'm gonna fall!" He cried.
"No you're not, baby boy. I'm almost there. Hang on a little longer sweetie."
Mac climbed further and found a spot to brace himself across from Danny. He reached his hands out and took Danny around the middle.
"I'm here baby, c'mere." He called.
Danny sniffed and let go of the tree, letting himself be drawn into Mac's arms. He wrapped his arms around Mac's neck and cried, still shaking with fear.
"Alright, we're going to climb back down the tree now, okay Danny?" Mac whispered.
"Okay Daddy… I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
"You bet your bippy you are." Mac said.
He climbed carefully down the tree, Danny holding onto him tightly. When they were finally on the ground, Mac wrapped his arms back around Danny's still shaking body and rocked him back and forth.
"Let's go inside kids, okay? Mom should be home soon." He said.
The kids went inside, and sat in front of the TV, waiting for their mom to come home.
"Donnie, come with me." Mac said.
Don sighed and trudged towards Mac, who was still holding Danny in his arms. They went and sat at the kitchen table. Don rested his head on his hands and waited for the speech to start.
"I didn't have a problem with you two climbing the tree, but I gave you two rules. What were they, boys?"
"Don't climb too high." Danny sniffed.
"And if one of us got out of the tree, we both had to get out of the tree." Don rolled his eyes.
"That's right. And you both broke my rules."
"That's not true! I didn't climb as high as Danny so I only broke one rule!" Don shouted.
"Don't shout at me, young man or you'll be going to be early tonight." He growled.
"I don't care! This is stupid! If Danny hadn't gotten scared neither of us would have got in trouble. This is bullshit!" Don yelled.
His eyes went wide as soon as the words left his lips, and he clapped his hands over his mouth. Mac could see the tears pricking at the corner of his eyes, and he sighed.
"Danny, why don't you go play okay? I have to talk to Don." Mac said quietly.
Danny nodded and slipped off of his lap, going into the playroom down the hall. Mac looked over at Don, who hadn't moved, eyes still on Mac. He motioned him over with his hand, and Don got up and went over to him. Mac lifted him up onto his lap and wrapped his arms around him.
"Where'd you hear that word, Donnie?" He asked gently.
"You said it once… I'm sorry." He sniffed.
"It's okay. I'm not going to punish you this time, but if I hear another word like that come out of your mouth, you're going to be grounded and I'll wash your mouth out with soap."
Don nodded, and looked up at Mac.
"So… am I grounded for climbing the tree?" He asked in a small voice.
"Not for climbing the tree, but for breaking a promise. You gave me your word you'd stick to my rules, and your word is everything." Mac said softly.
"Never break a promise." Don said.
"That's right. So, you're grounded for a week. No TV, no computer, no video games, and no tree climbing." Mac said.
"What about Danny! He has to get the same punishment as me!" Don argued.
"He will, trust me. Now, why don't you help me get some things ready for supper, so your mom won't be overwhelmed when she gets home?"
*
Supper was a handful, as usual. Trying to get seven kids to eat their food and not throw it at each other or on the floor was quite a task for two parents. By the time everyone had finished eating, the twins had gotten more food on them than in them, and Lindsay and Aiden had gotten into a small food fight.
As part of their punishment, Danny and Don were going to clean up the kitchen. Don was doing the dishes with Stella, and Danny was cleaning up the mess on the floor. Mac was sitting in the living room with Adam and Jess on his lap.
"Daddy." Mac said.
Adam looked at him, staring, and then he broke into a smile.
"Da-"
"Dee!" Jess exclaimed.
Mac chuckled. She was always finishing Adam's sentences for him, and vice versa. He had been trying to get the kids to call him Daddy for the past month, but this is as far as he'd gotten.
"That's close, guys. This time, Jess, let Adam try and say it okay angel? All right Adam. Who am I? What's my name?" He talked to them.
Stella was watching from the doorway, smiling. She and Don and Danny had finished cleaning up, and had sent both boys to their rooms for quiet time. She had checked in on Lindsay, Aiden and Sheldon, who were sitting and watching Finding Nemo.
"Come on, Adam. Say my name."
Adam smiled and giggled, pointing at Mac.
"Dada!" He said.
Mac's face broke into a grin and he gave Adam a kiss on the cheek.
"That's right. I'm Dada." Mac said.
Adam looked over at Jess, still pointing at Mac.
"Dada," he said, and then pointed to her, "Poo!" He laughed.
"That's not nice, Adam. You're sister is not poo." Mac frowned.
Stella grinned and went to sit beside Mac, giving him a kiss.
"Finally got him to say Dada, did you?"
"Yup. Unfortunately, he keeps on calling Jessica poo…" He muttered.
Stella smiled, and opened her hands to Adam, who threw himself forward into her arms. She held him against her and pointed at Jess.
"Jessica. That's Jess. Can you say Jess?" She asked.
Adam looked very confused, looking between Stella, Mac and Jess, before settling on sneezing and yelling "poo!" at Jess.
Stella laughed gently.
"We've got to break him of that habit sooner or later." Stella said.
"Of course we do… any easier way of saying Jess?" Mac asked.
Stella thought, shrugging when she couldn't think of anything. Mac opened his mouth to suggest something, when Adam interrupted him.
"Ess!" Adam cried.
Mac looked down at Adam.
"Ess?" He asked.
Adam grinned at him.
"Dada, Ess, Mama." He said, pointing to each of them.
Stella nodded.
"Okay then. Well, I guess that works." She said.
Mac smiled.
"Hopefully, he'll grow out of calling her that…" Mac said.
Stella laughed, smiling brightly. She leaned her head on Mac's shoulder, letting Adam play with the necklace she was wearing. She could feel Jess's fingers playing with her hair, and Mac's hand snaking its way around her waist.
"We should get them to bed soon." She yawned.
"Yeah… in a few more minutes." Mac promised.
*
"Good night, my loves." Mac said, kissing both Jess and Adam before Stella took them into their room to get them ready for bed.
He stood in the middle of the hall in a daze until he felt someone tugging on his pant leg.
"Daddy?"
Mac looked down at Lindsay, who put her arms up to him. He smiled and picked her up, sitting her on one hip.
"What's on your mind, sweetie?" He asked.
"Aiden and I were just talking about babies… I have two questions. Are you and Mommy going to have more, and where do they come from."
Mac could feel his face blushing slightly, and he cleared his throat.
"Mommy and I aren't going to have any more babies… we've got our hands full with you kids. As for where they come from… I don't suppose you'd believe that a huge bird comes and drops them off?"
"Nope, not unless the bird is inside Mommy's tummy. I know the baby is in Mommy's tummy, but how does it get there?" She asked.
Mac sighed.
"That's a Mommy question. Next girls day you can ask her, how about that?"
Lindsay nodded, resting her head on his shoulder.
"You tired?" He asked.
"Just a little. Are you tired?" She asked.
"Just a little." He grinned at her.
Lindsay sighed and Mac walked her back to her and Aiden's room, where Aiden was busy getting her bed things ready.
"Hi Dad." She said.
"Hi Aiden. Almost ready for bed, sweetheart?" He asked.
"Yup. I just gotta brush my teeth." She said, leaving the room.
Mac smiled, and brought Lindsay over to her bed, letting her go. She smiled up at him, and he helped her under the covers, kissing her forehead. Aiden came back in the room and got into her bed, waiting for Mac to come over and kiss her goodnight as well.
Mac sat on the edge of her bed.
"Teeth all clean now?"
"Yup. Good night, Dad."
"Good night, Aiden." He said.
He gave her a kiss as well, and shut the door behind him when he left. He ran into Stella in the hall, and he smirked. Her hair was messy, and she had a line of drool trailing down one side of her shirt, and a trail of puke down the other.
"Adam threw up on me… I think he might be getting sick." Stella said.
"There's some Baby medicine in the bathroom. Might as well give him a little to settle his stomach." Mac suggested.
Stella nodded and walked by him. Mac smiled and continued his rounds. By the time he made it to Danny's room, one would think the young boy would have fallen asleep. He was far from it, however.
Mac found him in his bed, reading his favorite book. Mac couldn't suppress the smile that came to his face. Danny had finally figured out how to read, and would read anything and everything to anyone he could.
"Hey baby boy, are you ready for bed?"
"I'm not tired, Daddy. Can't I just read for a little longer?" Danny asked.
Mac sat beside him on the bed.
"I guess you can. Do you want to read it to me?"
Danny smiled up at him.
"Okay, but you have to promise you won't fall asleep." Danny said.
"I promise, baby. I'll stay awake."
Danny grinned and started to read. Stella came to the door just in time to see Danny finish the book, and pull the covers up and around Mac, giving him a good night kiss on the cheek and settling down beside him. She smiled and sighed. She was the luckiest woman on the face of the earth and she knew it.
END