Colton sighed and opened his eyes slowly, blinking against the light that came in through the window. He stretched and looked over at his little brother, shaking his shoulder gently.

"Hey Ben, wake up."

"What Cole?" Ben asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Today is my birthday, Ben. I am five."

"Five?"

"Yep. Five years old today. Because it's my birthday. And now I am a whole hand," he said, holding up five fingers and grinning.

"Me?"

"You almost two. In a couple days. But you know what?"

"What?"

"Mama says that after I turn five, I could go to school. Kindergarten! I just gotta wait for Isa to turn five and then the summer and after that, I can go to school."

"I go school."

"No Ben. You too little. But I will learn stuff there and then teach you, okay?"

"Okay."

"Let's go get mama and daddy awake. Then we could have breakfast."

They rolled out of bed, hair sticking up and pajamas rumpled, and trotted into Adam and Lindsay's room, pushing the door open and climbing onto the bed.

"Good morning!" Colton shouted, crawling in between his parents as best he could.

"Morning," they responded in unison, knowing it was too early to be awake, but knowing that their sons would not go back to sleep.

"Hey, don't you have something else to say to me?"

Lindsay chuckled and wrapped her arms around him, kissing his cheeks over and over.

"Happy birthday, Colton."

"Do I look like I'm five yet?" he asked curiously.

"Well, maybe a little," Lindsay sighed, being once again reminded of how his hair was losing its curl and how he was using less and less improper words when he spoke.

"Good. I want to look five. And you know what I was thinkin' of?"

"What?"

"Well today I turn five. Also today is day five in December. Isn't that neato?"

"That is neato," Adam chuckled. "What do you want for your birthday breakfast?"

"I don't know. Ben, what do you want for my birthday breakfast?"

"Waffle! Banana!"

"Yeah, waffles with banana!"

"Okay, waffles it is."

Ben giggled and pushed on Colton, wanting to be snuggled up between their parents too.

"Mama my birthday means the day I was borned, right?"

"Yes."

"So that means that I have been borned for five years?"

"Yep, five whole years."

"Was I a cute baby? Did you love me right away when you saw me? Did I have a big head like Ben?"

"No Cole!" Ben said, clapping his hands down over his head and burying his face in the mattress.

"I'm sorry Ben. I'm not making fun. But you do got a big head, man."

"He doesn't have a big head," Adam defended. "It's just round."

"Oh. Well anyway, are you gonna answer my questions, mama?"

"Yes, you were a cute baby. And daddy and I both loved you right away, even before you were born."

"I was in the hospital for a lot of days, right?"

"Five days."

"Was there other babies in the hospital with me?"

"Yeah, there were a couple in there with you."

"How could you know that I was your baby? Didn't us kids get mixed up in there?"

"No, we knew you were ours."

"How?"

"Well I knew because you looked like daddy. You still look like daddy a lot."

"How did you know I was your son, daddy?"

"Because they told me you were. But also because when you were sleeping you made the same face that your mama makes. And when I held you the first time, I just knew."

"Did you know with Ben too?"

"Well it was different with Ben because he never had to go in a different room with other babies."

"Oh yeah, I remember. We was always your boys, huh?"

"Yep. Always."

"I'm glad we was. I don't want no other mama or daddy."

"Good, because we don't want you to be someone else's kid either. Come on Ben, let's go make breakfast."

Lindsay yawned and snuggled back down into the bed, smiling when Colton reached up to play with her hair.

"What do you want to do today?"

"I don't know. What are we gonna do?"

"Daddy and I thought we would let you decide. You can do anything you want today, within reason."

"Well," he started, tapping his chin. "I really love Ben you know."

"Yeah, I know."

"He's my best brother. But could I have a day with just you and daddy? Sometimes Ben makes us slow down when we have to change his diapers and when he has to take a nap. So I think that even though I love him, I would like to have you and daddy all to myself."

"We might be able to do that."

"I really love Ben though, mama. I really, really do."

"I know."

"Are you mad that I don't want him to be with us today?"

"No, I'm not. It's just like how sometimes no matter how much I love you boys, I just want to be alone with daddy."

"Yep, like that. I didn't know why you said that before, but now I know."

She smiled and brushed his hair back, her breath hitching when he smiled at her. He may have had her eyes, and he may have looked like Adam, but more and more she was seeing a little person emerge. He was someone new and she felt as if she couldn't get enough of him.

"Hey Colton?"

"Yeah, mama?"

"Even when you grow up, will you still be my little boy?"

He giggled at the question, one she asked them a lot, then shook his head.

"No, I will be your grown-up boy. But I will still hug you and kiss you and love you all the time, okay?"

"Okay."

"Could you and daddy take me ice-skating?"

"Ice-skating?"

"Yeah. You know what it is. Isa went with her uncle Louie and I wanna go too."

"Okay, but I have to warn you, I am a very bad ice-skater."

"You are?"

"Daddy took me one time."

"When? I don't remember that."

"It was before you were born. It was the very first Christmas after we got married. We went ice-skating and I fell a lot so he got me some hot chocolate and then he rubbed my feet."

"Well I could get you some hot chocolate, but I will not rub your feet, okay?"

"Okay."

Ben was more than happy to be left with Austin and the kids for the afternoon and Lindsay could barely kiss him goodbye before he and Junior were off to cause trouble together. He would most probably not even know they were gone.

Colton was nearly jumping up and down with excitement as they rented their skates and sat down on the bench to put them on, and he could barely stop chattering about how much fun they were going to have.

"No babe, you're doing it wrong," Adam chuckled as Lindsay tried to lace the skate. Colton giggled and Lindsay shot him a look while Adam leaned over to lace the skate for her.

"Mama, you weren't jokin' 'bout this huh?"

"No I wasn't," she said as Adam helped her to her feet.

"Well… you don't gotta come. Me and daddy can go and you can watch us," he suggested, a little forlornly.

"Nope, I'm coming," she replied, crouching down to his eye level. "It's your birthday and we're going to have fun no matter how many times I fall on my butt."

He giggled and wrapped his arms around her neck.

"Thank you mama."

"You're welcome. Now daddy, help me up or we'll be here all day."

Adam pulled her to her feet and held onto one of her hands, while helping Colton along with the other.

"You guys ready?"

"Yep!"

"Okay, here we go."

They stepped onto the ice together, glad that it wasn't too crowded. Colton held onto the wall and found his footing fairly quickly, going slow so he could keep his balance. After a moment, he let go of Adam's hand and kept himself steady.

"Look, he's showin' you up, babe," Adam chuckled, twisting around and skating backwards so he could hold Lindsay's hands.

"I'm not even insulted by that. Colton, how do you do that?"

"It's just glidin' mama. Just smooth motions."

She looked down at him and raised her eyebrows, not sure where he had come up with that.

"Yeah, don't you know how to glide Linds?"

"You're not funny," she managed to get out before her legs went out from under her. She hit the ice rather gracefully and Colton let out a hoot of laughter.

"You okay mama?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Adam helped her up and held her close for a second, dropping a kiss onto her forehead before releasing his grip and moving back to just hold her hands. His lead was steady and she managed to gain a little confidence, and coach her legs to moving appropriately. Colton had let go of the wall and was slowly trucking along beside them, concentrating on what he was doing, but looking up occasionally to make a comment, or giggle when Lindsay fell. They made it around the rink twice before Lindsay forfeited and went to sit down. The bench was hard beneath her and her muscles ached in a way she hadn't felt since her short days in the rodeo. She unlaced her skates and traded them for her shoes, then looked over to watch Adam and Colton. They were skating faster than they had been with her and Adam was keeping a close eye on his son so he wouldn't fall. She was surprised how quickly Colton was catching on and she felt a surge of pride as he laughed and sped up to catch Adam. He stumbled a little but caught himself, and they went around the rink a few more times, waving at her every time they passed. She smiled and waved back, remembering five years ago, the first time she had seen them together and how small Colton had been in Adam's arms. They'd been buddies right from the start and her favorite moments in life had been watching them together. She loved how Adam listened to everything Colton said, as if it was the most important thing in the world, and how Colton looked at Adam like he was a superhero. She hoped it would always be this way.

"This is good hot chocolate," Colton reported, his tongue darting out to lick the whipped cream from his lips. "It has peppermints in it."

"Really? What a bonus!"

Colton giggled and grabbed a French fry, looking it over before he ate it.

"I like this lunch. We should eat here more."

"Would you get the same thing next time?"

"Yep, I would," he said, scooting across the booth and into Lindsay's lap. "How 'bout you, mama?"

"Yeah, maybe. Daddy's hamburger looks pretty good too though."

"What do you want to do now buddy?"

"Could we go get Ben and go home and open presents and have some cake? And maybe I could Skype too."

"Maybe so. Do you want to do anything else before we go home?"

"Nope. I miss Ben now."

"Okay, we'll go home. Do you want to watch a movie later?"

"Yeah! I will find one when we get home. Could I go play in that arcade for a minute?" he asked, looking over at the blacklights and neon signs.

"Yeah, sure. Here's some quarters. Go wild man."

Colton's eyes lit up at the four quarters in his hand and he stared at them for a second before jumping down from the booth and walking the few feet to the arcade.

"How are you doin' mama?" Adam asked, keeping an eye on his son.

"I'm okay."

"Feeling old and nostalgic?"

"Not as much as I thought I would be. I guess I'm still enjoying his growing up so much that I don't miss the baby stage right now."

"I can't believe it's been five years," he said, squeezing her hand.

"I know. I can't wait for the next five."

"And the next?"

"And the ones after that. And I'm glad I get to do this with you."

"Me too, babe."

"Hey lookit what I got!" Colton hollered, running back over to them with a stuffed racecar.

"Hey, how did you get that?"

"I used that claw machine! I saw this in there and I just clawed it and it came out! I'm gonna give it to Ben 'cuz he won't get no presents today and I don't want him to be sad."

"That's really nice of you buddy."

"I know. I'm a nice boy. Can we leave now?"

"Yeah, let me pay the bill and we'll go."

"Happy birthday Colt!" Isa shouted, running across the room and nearly knocking him over with a hug.

"Thanks Is. I went ice skating and mama fell a lot, and then we went to eat lunch. Did you have fun today?"

"Me and Sarah was just playin' games," she shrugged. "I wanted you to come over with Ben."

"Well I was busy. Where's Sarah?"

"She's reading on the couch. Come on."

They skipped into the other room and Colton hopped onto the couch, wrapping his arms around Sarah.

"Hi Colton," she said with a smile. "I'm readin' a book."

"I know. Is it good?"

"Yeah, it's okay," she said, tossing the Dr. Suess book onto the table. "I don't know what all the letters mean though."

"Me neither. But me and Isa will learn that when we go to school."

"Yeah."

He chuckled and kissed her cheek before climbing off the couch.

"I gotta go now. We're gonna open presents and stuff."

"Okay."

"Mama says we're gonna have family dinner in a couple days and we'll have cake for all us boys birthdays. So we will play then."

The girls both nodded and he smiled, putting his hands into his pockets.

"I really love you girls."

"I love you too Colt."

"Yeah, I love you too, too."

They both hugged him and he went back to the front door where Adam and Lindsay were getting ready to leave. Ben was grumpy and crying against Adam's shoulder, not wanting to leave just yet.

"Bye Austin!"

"Hey wait a minute buddy. You're not going to leave until I get to smooch you."

"Aw man!" he shouted as Austin pulled him into her arms and kissed his cheek.

"Happy birthday, little man," she said, linking her pinkie with his. "I love you."

"I love you too, Austin. Thank you for takin' care of Ben so I could go with mama and daddy."

"You're welcome. I'll see you later."

"Bye!"

"Ben, I'm givin' you this car because I don't want you to be sad that you don't get to have presents," Colton explained, handing the car over to Ben, who grabbed it and smiled.

"Car!"

"Yep. It's just for you Ben. Do you say thank you?"

Ben nodded happily and squeezed the car.

"Mama! See?"

"I see. Can you say thank you?"

"Sanks Cole."

"You're welcome, Ben. Can we open presents now mama?"

"Yeah we can. Go ahead and sit down while I get them out of their hiding place."

The boys climbed onto the couch and Colton put his arm around Ben.

"What do you want for your birthday Ben?"

"Play."

"Okay. I will play with you for your birthday. Maybe daddy too."

"Maybe daddy too what?" Adam asked suspiciously.

"We will all play on Ben's birthday."

"Oh, yeah, we can do that."

"Ooh, presents!" Colton squealed, jumping off the couch. "Can I open it?"

"Yep, go for it," Lindsay coached. He ripped into the paper and squealed when he saw what it was.

"A marble track, a marble track! You remembered what I wanted!"

"Do you like it?"

"Yes! Can we make it now?"

"It's kind of late to do it tonight, but we can get it out in the morning. And you know what else?"

"What?"

"It glows in the dark."

"Oh man, this is so cool! I will play with this for years and years! Right Ben?"

"Yeah!"

They sat and looked and the box, Colton explaining what was inside and how it worked until they were both yawning.

"I think it's time for bed."

"Oh but mama, we didn't watch a movie yet! Daddy said we could."

"Well… how about if you go get in your jammies and we'll all lay on the pull out and watch a movie."

"That is a compromise I could live with," Colton decided, taking Ben's hand. "C'mon, let's get ready."

"Okay Cole."

They were back in a few minutes in their matching Star Wars pajamas, and they climbed up onto the makeshift bed and fluffed their pillows as if they had done this hundreds of times. Adam put the movie in and they all snuggled down under the old quilt as the animated story started to play. Ben's thumb immediately went into his mouth and he climbed into Adam's lap, sighing a few times before he fell asleep. He hardly ever fought the sleep anymore, especially if someone was there to hold him. Colton stretched out with his head on Lindsay's lap, then reached over to hold her hand. She knew the days were coming when he would reject cuddling with her in favor of falling asleep on his own. She knew that someday he would beg her not to kiss him in front of his friends, or in private either. She knew that someday he would have his own life in his own world, and she wouldn't be his only source of home and safety. She desired all those things for him, but she also dreaded the day when every shred of his little boyness was gone. She so often wanted to pause time, but mostly she just wished it would slow a little bit. She looked down at him, the way his long eyelashes rested on his cheeks, how his fingers curled around hers, how gently he breathed on the cusp of sleep. No matter how big he got or how old he got, he would still be her son and they would always love each other.