LITTLE ITTY BITTY STEPS

Prompt Challenge Chapter

Prompt: One Small Step (China Beach)

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Emily grinned widely and laughed at the faces her son was currently making at her as he sat in the grass. He was absolutely goofy, the perfect counterpoint to his three older siblings. She watched him crawl over to the blanket where, after lunch, she'd spread out his toys, and pushed herself off the ground, shaking her head affectionately. Seth may be Aaron's biological child, but personality-wise, it was almost impossible to tell. Seth didn't have Aaron's intensity or his supreme concentration. Her little boy got easily distracted, unlike his father and siblings. At least as far as they could see now.

Seth plopped himself down on his rear. It was play day in the park and though they weren't as often as Emily often hoped, wished and dreamed, it was enough. They were a family. She smiled and made her way over to her son, sitting on the edge of the blanket to play with him. Aaron and Jack were busy teaching AJ and Kate how to throw and catch a ball, so she was on Seth duty. She didn't mind. With three young children she rarely got the chance to lavish attention on just one.

Today, however, it seemed like not only was Seth's notoriously short attention span kicking in, but, it seemed, so was his daddy worship. He didn't have a favourite parent, but there were days he only wanted Daddy and days he only wanted Mommy. It seemed like he'd had his fill of Mommy now, and it was time for Daddy. His little hand pointed towards Aaron. "Dada!"

"You're right, that's Daddy," Emily agreed.

He crawled over to her, pushing himself up. He could stand on his own without support and both she and Aaron, even Jack on occasion, were trying to help him learn to walk. With a hand on her shoulder and her steadying hand at his back, he started bouncing. "Dada, Dada, Dada, Dada."

She laughed again. It was nice to be out and carefree, separate from the craziness that was usually the FBI. Every once in a while, Emily found herself wishing this was the life she led, one where her children were her top priority, the most important things in her life. They were, there was no doubt about that, but unfortunately, they still often took second place to her job. It was less so now than when AJ was born, but there had still been at least a handful of times where she hadn't made it home to tuck her children in bed.

Still, neither she nor Aaron had missed important milestones in the lives of their children. Aaron had been there for AJ's first word, Emily for Kate's and both of them for Seth's. Aaron had been the one who taught Kate to walk and, much to both parents' surprise, it had been Jack that had been the one to see AJ's first steps. Emily and Aaron had both already booked off the morning of what was going to be AJ's first day at school in September. They were dedicated parents.

With careful manoeuvring and the experience of practice, Emily managed to get herself standing, holding both of Seth's hands as he started off towards the rest of his family. He'd been getting better at putting one foot in front of the other and Emily could tell he wasn't leaning on her as much as he had when he started. "Aaron," she called, keeping her eyes on Seth and the uneven ground in front of them.

He turned and Seth let out a happy little gurgle as his daddy held out his arms. "Hey buddy!"

Seth picked up his pace and Emily grinned as she swung him forward a few steps. Biting her lip and looking up at her husband, she had an idea. She stopped moving, and so did Seth, no more than three or four baby steps from Aaron. He saw the gleam in her eye and grinned widely, crouching down to Seth's level.

"Ready, buddy?" Aaron asked as Emily gently removed his hands from her grip, letting him go completely. He stood there, still a little wobbly on the uneven grass.

"Dada!"

"That's right, Seth, Daddy. Come on," Aaron coaxed, holding out his arms again. "Come to Daddy."

Seth's face screwed up and he swivelled his head to look back at her... promptly overbalancing himself and falling to his bum. Emily and Aaron both laughed, a technique they learned with their girls to stop crying and Emily righted him again. "Go on, sweetheart. Daddy's right there."

Slowly, both parents watched as their youngest put one foot in front of the other, seemingly testing the first couple of steps before he just went for it, tumbling headlong into Aaron's chest. But Aaron was too excited to really think much of it and tumbled over backwards with his littlest boy, tickling his sides.

"Good job!" Aaron exclaimed as Seth laughed heartily, squirming on his father's chest.

"What happened?" Jack asked, running up.

"Seth just took his first steps all by himself!" Emily replied, beaming at the little boy still laughing with his father.

"No way!" Jack exclaimed. Having been the one to 'teach' AJ, Jack had an entirely different view on a baby's first steps than most teenagers did.

"Yes way!" his father replied, finally letting up on tickling Seth. "All by himself!"

Seth pushed himself upright, aware of only the grins on his parents' faces and the happiness surrounding him. He bounced on his father's stomach. "Dada! Dada! Dada!"

"Daddy!"

"Jack!"

Two little girl voice called to their family.

"Seth just took his first steps!" Jack called back.

"So?" AJ responded, her hands going to her hips.

"God, she looks just like you when she does that," Aaron murmured to his wife, then crooked a finger so she bent down. "But you... You look hot when you're angry. She's just adorable."

Emily blushed as she leaned away again, slapping at his shoulder. Seth mirrored the movement happily, still chanting 'Dada'. Emily chuckled. "You're right, but we don't hit Daddy, okay?" she said, grasping his little wrist as he went to do it again. "No hitting."

"I want to play ball!" Kate called, catching both parents' attention again.

Emily dusted herself off and stood. "Well why don't I play with you?"

"You can't play ball, Mommy!" Kate replied.

Emily took that for what it was meant. Kate had no idea whether or not she could throw a ball, all Kate knew was that she wanted to play with her dad. Mommy wouldn't cut it this time.

"How about we all play?" Aaron suggested, allowing Emily to take Seth as he stood, then taking his son back and propping him against his hip. Kate and AJ didn't throw that hard, and he and Jack were pretty much taking turns catching the ball and throwing it back. He could play with Seth on his hip.

"My turn! My turn!" Kate yelled, jumping up and down with the ball in her hand.

Emily exchanged a look with her husband, still giddy. Playing catch with them all, watching her son take his first steps... Today was a good day.

As with the last time, I'll leave this here for a bit, then move it to where it should be in chronological order.