Part 3
Julia was quietly making breakfast the next morning when the sound of feet pounding down the stairs caught her attention. Good Lord Almighty, it sounded like a herd of elephants coming down the stairs! She shushed her boys when they ran into the kitchen and over to the counter.
13-year-old Brian just rolled his eyes as he pulled down a bowl. "We're not that loud, Mom."
"Dad's sleepin' late, doofus," 12-year-old Eddie reminded him with an elbow shot to his ribs. "The resort's closed for the holidays."
Brian shrugged his shoulders and headed over to the kitchen table, plopping himself down into his usual chair and pouring a bowl of cereal. "C'mon, Friday, get here already," he muttered under his breath.
"Almost time to start countin' down the days 'til Christmas vacation!" Eddie chimed in. "I sooo can't wait."
Julia turned around to look at the boys when she realized she hadn't heard the voice of her youngest. "Okay, you two, where's your sister?" At five years old, little Maggie was the baby of the family. She was an inquisitive child by nature and for her to be absent and silent at the same time usually meant she was up to something.
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Michael stirred when he felt something brush across his cheek. He grumbled and turned his face away when Maria's voice murmured his name and his eyes opened to focus on his surroundings. "M'ria?" he croaked as he studied her features. Her green eyes were clear and smiling as she looked down at him, and he reached up to cup her cheek. No fever.
"Michael, we have little people company," she whispered, smiling.
He tipped his head back, staring up at the little blond-haired, blue-eyed girl staring down at him curiously. She held a stuffed polar bear tightly against her body and Michael blew out a breath to move the fringe of the offending stuffed animal's green and white snowflake scarf away from his face.
Maria rolled her aching shoulders and turned toward the little girl who didn't look the least bit afraid of her big, bad Spaceboy guard. She was about to say hello to her when a boy stepped into the room and she immediately saw the resemblance between the children.
"C'mon, Maggie, Mom says to come an' eat breakf…" Brian's eyes locked onto the stranger's as he sat up and the boy didn't lower his gaze as he crossed the room in a few quick strides. He reached down to clasp his sister's hand, giving her a gentle but insistent tug. "C'mon, y'know we don't talk to strangers."
Maria hid a smile when Michael smirked at the kid, recognizing it as a sign of respect for the boy watching over his little sister.
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Edward was still bleary-eyed as he stumbled into the kitchen earlier than he had anticipated. His plans for some alone time with Julia had been disrupted when he had woken and remembered that they had half a dozen unexpected guests sleeping in various rooms.
"You should've stayed in bed longer," Julia said, her eyes twinkling as she reached up the pinch his chin between her thumb and forefinger.
He grunted at her comment, ambling up behind her when the aroma of breakfast cooking finally registered. His favorite pancakes with sliced bananas and the cinnamon syrup she made just for him. He knew without looking she would have cereal out for the kids and eggs if they wanted them.
He glanced at his youngest boy when he heard the annoying sound of a spoon dragging across the bottom of a bowl.
"Mornin', Dad," Eddie greeted as he wiped milk off of his chin.
"I'll be right back," Julia said on her way out of the kitchen. She walked into the living room to find the kids, nudging her oldest when his staring contest with one of their guests bordered on being rude. "Breakfast is ready, kids. Brian, the bus will be here for you and Eddie any minute so the two of you need to get a move on. She turned to hurry back to the kitchen and bumped into her husband.
Edward followed her when she walked back to the stove to resume the last of the breakfast preparations. His arms came around her waist and he rested his chin on her shoulder as he pulled her close from behind, watching her flip the pancakes and put that last sizzle on the cooking sausage. He was contemplating the time and how much longer it would be before the kids left for school and how long before the tow truck arrived. He smiled when his wife turned in his arms with an all-knowing smile that had their 13-year-old making gagging noises as he entered the room with his sister trailing along behind him.
"Mom," Brian complained, "it's still a couple minutes before the bus gets here." Hadn't his parents figured out yet that stuff like this just totally grossed out everyone around them? Ungh, seeing his parents like this was just too much and sooo not right!
"And you're still not ready yet are you?" she asked with a smile.
"So, where'd all the new faces come from, Dad?"
"They got stranded last night when their vehicle broke down," Edward answered. He looked down when his daughter cleared her throat in an effort to be noticed. He smiled and crouched down so that he was at eye level and he reached out to tap his forefinger against the little black nose of her beloved stuffed toy. "How're you an' Miss Cindy Bear doin' this mornin'?" he asked with a smile.
Julia was finishing with breakfast and setting it out when she heard the first signs of movement from their guests.
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Michael rubbed his eyes as he looked around, glancing at the windows when he realized that the light in the room came from a lamp and not sunlight. He was surprised to see that it was still dark outside as he crawled out of the sleeping bag. Morning was one thing, he thought. This was still night time. Perfect for going out and checking on the van and then getting that tow arranged though. He leaned over and gently kissed Maria, fingertips brushing against her cheek as he pulled back. "You should go an' eat breakfast."
"Wait," Maria said as she grabbed a handful of his shirt to keep him close to her. "Where're you going?" She pointed to the window. "The sun isn't even up yet."
He pried her fingers from his shirt and got up to search for the pair of military surplus boots he had been wearing the night before. He was shrugging into his jacket when he stubbed his toe on the heel of one of the boots where it rested in front of the couch.
Maria bit her lips as she sat up, trying to keep from laughing at him when she saw the effort he was making to hold back the expletive that wanted so badly to escape.
"I'm gonna call for a tow and go wait for it out by the van," he gritted out through clenched teeth.
Maria sighed and pulled her feet up to tuck them under the blanket. She knew the only time he stopped pushing himself was if it was affecting her. "Michael, at least eat breakfast first."
"Maria…"
"Michael…"
They both fell silent for a moment, simply looking at each other and seeing the reflection of stubbornness looking back at them.
"C'mon, I've seen you wolf down a meal in ten minutes flat," she cajoled.
He shook his head and sat down to pull his boots on. "I'll eat after this's taken care of." He looked up from lacing them up when she suddenly stood and started moving around the room. "Maria, what're you doin'?"
"Lookin' for my jacket and shoes. You know how this works. If you won't eat, I won't eat. I'm going with you."
He scowled. "This isn't up for discussion."
Kyle rolled over in his sleeping bag on the couch, groaning as he peered over the edge to look at them. "Would you just give it up already, Guerin? The rest of us would like to snooze a little longer." He rubbed a hand over his face as he added, "Besides, it's not like that sardine can is goin' anywhere."
Max woke up and wished he could go right back to sleep when he heard the conversation going on around him. "Did someone say somethin' 'bout pancakes?" he asked groggily.
Michael was on the verge of replying to Max's obvious attempt at redirecting them when their host walked into the room. His mouth snapped shut and he shifted to position himself between Maria and the other man.
"The tow will be here in about an hour, and breakfast is ready."
His gaze studied the older man, gauging his tone and checking his demeanor. For a moment he was thrown back in time to another warm, comfortable home and another man who had been there to help him, and he nodded in response. "Thank you, sir."
Edward just smirked. "Don't thank me yet. My Julia's been cookin' all mornin' like it's Christmas Day. If we don't get in there an' eat it while it's hot…"
Maria stood up and smiled at the man. "Thank you, we'll be right there." She waited until Edward had left them alone before she reached for Michael's shirt, taking hold of it and pulling him to his feet.
He knew when he had lost but that didn't mean he had to be graceful about it, he thought as he kicked Max's leg when they passed him. He leaned over and let his palm rest on the foot of Kyle's sleeping bag for a moment and within seconds Kyle was fighting with the zipper and cursing under his breath. He finally freed himself and rolled off of the couch, landing on Max.
Max grunted at the unexpected weight and he shoved Kyle off of him. "What are you doin'?"
"Mornin' to you too, El Presidente."
They both looked up in time to see Michael being pulled in the direction of the savory smell of breakfast cooking and their own stomachs began to grumble.
"When's the last time you remember wakin' up nice an' warm with that smell in the air?" Max wondered aloud.
"You wanna do somethin' about the alien itching powder voodoo El Capitan just infested my bag with?" Kyle asked as he scratched his arms.
Max chuckled and handled Kyle's request before getting up and straightening up after himself.
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Liz stretched languorously, enjoying the rarity of waking up in an actual bed. Okay, it was technically a futon, but why argue semantics? It was warm and comfortable, the scent of what was sure to be a mouth-watering breakfast wafted through the air, and for a moment everything felt normal. The only thing missing was her husband hogging the bed and the covers. She smiled at that thought and opened her eyes when she heard a disgusted groan coming from less than a foot away.
Isabel was lying next to her with a disgruntled look on her face. "Sharing a bed with you is bad enough… do not share any of the thoughts you were just having about my brother."
"Since when do we share on that level?" Liz countered.
The two girls exchanged a look before answering at the same time: "Never." They laughed quietly as Isabel got up and raised her arms over her head to stretch before going to investigate the bathroom situation. She had fallen asleep the night before while Liz had taken advantage of the shower and now she desperately wanted a hot shower.
Liz took a few minutes to make herself presentable before quietly opening the door and stepping out into the hall. When Julia had come by to let them know breakfast would be ready soon she had said the guys were still asleep. She glanced into the living room and was disappointed to see that Max was already up and presumably with the others in the kitchen.
She glanced up when two boys, maybe teenagers, ran to the front door, pushing and shoving each other while trying to pull it open. It was impossible to tell which of them won and she shivered when a blast of cold air swept over her before the door slammed shut. A look out through the window revealed a school bus waiting in the dark at the end of the driveway and she wondered what time it was. She went looking for Max, following her nose and the sound of voices until she reached the kitchen doorway. She paused there, her gaze passing over Kyle, Maria, Michael and the couple who had graciously taken them in. She smiled at the little blonde-haired girl clutching some sort of white stuffed animal with one hand and eating with the other while talking.
Her gaze shifted to her husband, watching him as he focused so intently on the little girl and the way she interacted with her parents. It wasn't the first time she had seen him like this and it sent her thoughts drifting to last Christmas and another child that had captured his attention in such an all-consuming way.
For a moment she was back in the Crashdown, sitting around a table with her friends talking about volunteering while Michael tossed out acerbic comments about the holiday, doing his best to get a rise out of Isabel. She could almost feel that sense of discomfort that had washed over her when Samuel had walked up to their table and called Max 'Daddy' after staring at him for a while. He had become convinced that his son was trying to contact him through Samuel, seeing signs in everything he did. The way Max had involved himself in the family's life for several days after that had concerned her and she had worried about his obsession with the little boy.
Her heart sank as she watched her husband, wondering if he was aware that he was staring at the little girl. How long would it be before their hosts noticed it and that uncomfortable moment settled over the table?