"Finally," Nate said, sinking down on the couch next to Sophie.
"All in bed?" she asked with a small smile, getting comfortable against his side.
He sighed. "In bed. Probably won't be asleep for hours."
"Alec would be if you hadn't let him have that soda right before bed," she said, nudging him gently.
"What was I thinking?" he groaned. "But Parker is too excited to sleep with or without soda and Eliot is too busy thinking up a way to get out of going tomorrow."
She shook her head. "That boy. How bad can the fourth grade be? He's very bright when he sets his mind to it."
"He gets his aversion to authority from you, you know," he said, his hand tightening on her shoulder to let her know he was mostly kidding.
She sat up a little, feigning shock. "Me? I think he gets it from you, Mr. Ford."
Nate raised his eyebrows, thinking of their independent first child. He was the only one of their children he and Sophie shared DNA with. He had been their miracle after years of trying to have children. And even though he'd come pre-mature by emergency c-section, he'd held onto life with the kind of tenacity that made him the boy he was now. Intensely stubborn, but fiercely protective of his family.
"Momma?"
Nate and Sophie looked to the hallway towards the small voice. Five-year-old Parker stood there, her blond hair in unruly tangles as usual, Blues Clues characters cavorting on her pajamas.
"What are you doing out of bed, love?" Sophie asked quietly.
"I can't sleep," she said, bouncing a little, her customary grin spreading across her face. "Can I stay up 'til it's time to go to school?"
Sophie chuckled and patted her lap. Parker took a running leap at them and Nate realized with a disturbing pang that she was getting too big to do that. "School won't start for a long time, sweetheart," Sophie said, brushing hair out of the little girl's face as she snuggled down between them.
"But I wanna be ready!" she said, trembling with excitement.
Nate shared an amused glance with his wife. "Ready for what, Parker? What are you so excited about?"
Parker grinned up at him and shrugged. "Alec likes school so I do too! He says there's toys and recess and they have snacks! Do you think school is gonna have Lucky Charms?"
Nate smiled back at her. She was so different from the little girl they'd adopted just two years ago. When Parker had first come to them from an abusive home, she wouldn't let anyone near her and refused to speak, screaming if Nate or Sophie tried to even come near her. And then one night they'd found her curled up in four-year-old Alec's bed, their heads bent close as they exchanged whispers and giggles. It had taken time but she'd come out of her shell and they'd gotten to know the delightful, spunky kid she was. Now if they could only break her of her habit of stealing things from the house and stashing them in her room. They were both fairly certain that at some point she was going to come home with something from her Kindergarten classroom and they'd have some explaining to do.
"Probably not Lucky Charms," Sophie told her. "But lots of other delicious things, I'm sure."
"Mommy, Alec and Eliot get to come with me, right?" she said, some of her excitement suddenly waning.
"Not in your same class, honey. But they'll walk you in and come get you when school is over. And Mommy and Daddy will walk in with you, too," Sophie assured her gently.
"And pick me up?" Parker asked quietly.
Nate dropped a kiss to the top of her head. "We'll be there. Pinky promise." He held out his finger and Parker looped hers with his, squeezing tightly.
"Are you sure school isn't gonna have Lucky Charms?"
Sophie laughed. "Come on, silly. I'll read you one more story and then you need to go to sleep, all right?" She stood, holding out her hand, and Parker bounced up to kiss Nate's cheek before grabbing her mom's hand and heading to her bedroom.
Nate tilted his head back against the couch and closed his eyes, feeling the effects of a long day of making sure the kids were ready for their first day of school.
"Dangit, Alec!"
The sudden shout and accompanying thud had him on his feet and down the hall in a matter of moments toward the boys' bedroom. He flipped on the hall light and opened their door, trying to prepare himself for whatever was on the other side.
Eliot was glaring at angrily at Alec, apparently trying to disentangle Alec's remote control helicopter blades from his hair. Alex popped the controller behind his back, staring wide-eyed at Nate. "Eliot said he was gonna punch me!" he blurted.
"Shut up! Dad, look! He got his stupid helicopter stuck in my hair," Eliot protested, wincing in pain as it refused to come free.
"But Dad! It's not my fault, he -"
Nate stepped forward. "Okay, okay. Both of you just … don't move while I get this out of Eliot's hair."
"If he has to cut it, you're dead," Eliot told Alec, his voice trembling with the injustice of it.
"Hey," Nate said, unwinding the long strands from the rotor. "That's not how we talk to family, Eliot. And Alec, what on earth were you doing flying your helicopter around after bedtime?"
The six-year-old had the good grace to look abashed. "I was trying to program a new flight pattern," he mumbled.
Sometimes Nate wished Alec wasn't quite such a genuis. He'd been like that ever since he was tiny. They'd adopted him when he was only four months old and even at that age he'd been endlessly fascinated with anything that lit up. At the tender age of three he'd dismantled the microwave, and, not long after, Nate's laptop. He was still working on the putting things back together part. "You both need to be sleeping. Big day tomorrow remember?" he reminded them, finally pulling the helicopter free. "No permanent damage, buddy," he said, patting Eliot's head.
The little boy shrugged him off, reaching up to touch his hair and make sure for himself. "You're still in trouble, Alec," he muttered, crossing his arms.
"I want you both to apologize to each other," Nate said. "And I'll be keeping this helicopter for the rest of the week."
"But I didn't do anything!"
"Dad, no! I need it!"
"Apologize," Nate said, his voice dropping dangerously low.
With heavy sighs and shuffling feet the boys muttered their apologies. Nate watched them
sulk for a minute before setting the toy on Alec's dresser and crouching down next to them. "Hey guys, I need you in top form tomorrow, okay? You've both been to school before but Parker hasn't and she needs to know her brothers are there for her."
He had their attention. They would do anything for their little sister.
"To be there for Parker, you have to be there for each other. I need to know that you can work together to keep Parker safe. I need to be able to trust you."
Both of them swelled a little, just as Nate thought they might. "You can trust me," Alec said, his dark eyes solemn.
"I won't let anything happen to Parker, Dad," Eliot said. Then he glanced sideways at his brother. "Or Alec."
Nate smiled at them. "That's what I wanted to hear. Now get in bed." He stood and grabbed them both in a quick hug, which Eliot protested. "Tomorrow's gonna be great, guys. Good night," he said, closing the door.
Sophie met him in the hallway, coming out of Parker's room. "Everything all right?"
"I think so. Just a little snafu involving a helicopter and Eliot's hair," he said, unable to keep the amused smile from his face.
Sophie covered her own smile with her hand. "Oh dear. Poor Eliot." She slid her arm around his waist as he put his arm across her shoulders and they headed to their own bedroom. "They'll all be fine tomorrow, right?"
He kissed her temple. "Of course they will. As long as they have each other, they're gonna do great."
A/N: Apparently, I wrote a Leverage fic. This just spilled out of my brain today, but is anyone up for more of this little AU? I might make it a series of one-shots, so if there's anything you want to see, let me know! And thanks for reading! :)