The last day at the beach started not with the kids waking their parents up, but with everyone sleeping in until almost nine in the morning. They all ate a slow breakfast, got dressed slowly, went down to the beach slowly. It was almost as if they were trying to make every last moment count, as if they all knew that they had very little time left to enjoy their escape from the real world.

The kids busied themselves with more sand castles and sculptures to add to the ones they'd been making all week. Avery dug little holes with her shovel, then waddled off to grab sea grass and stick it in the hole before covering it up. This must have been serious work because she didn't even look up when she was offered a snack or when the rest of the kids were begging to play in the ocean.

"Avery honey, want to go play in the water?" Lindsay asked, desperate to get out of the heat for a few minutes. "Everyone else is down there."

"No mama. I do."

"Don't you want to take a break for a few minutes? Come with mama."

Avery sighed and looked down at the half dug hole, then out at the ocean before nodding and taking Lindsay's hand. They walked down to the water's edge and Avery hesitated as the water rushed at her toes.

"Up mama!" she said near frantically.

"No baby, it's okay," Lindsay said, crouching down and pulling Avery into her arms. "It's just water."

"Cold."

"I know it's cold, but it feels nice."

Avery sucked in a deep breath as the last bits of a wave hit their toes and the foam gathered around her ankles.

"You see all that ocean out there?" Lindsay asked softly, the tone of her voice enrapturing Avery almost immediately. "That ocean wraps around the whole world. There's ocean everywhere and it never really ends. You know that the deepest part of the ocean is more mysterious than outer space? Someone told me that when I was little and I wanted to be a marine biologist for a long time so I could discover what was down there. I guess the mysteries I solve now aren't quite as happy, but maybe there are some things are better left to the imagination, you know?"

Avery nodded and looked out at the water with a smile. She didn't understand every word but she liked having this special moment with her mama.

"I hope some things in your life stay a mystery, baby. I don't want you to ever settle, okay? Keep asking questions and keep wondering, especially about the good things."

"Okay mama."

"I love you bigger than that ocean, Averylin Grace. So much bigger."

"Love mama," Avery replied, turning and planting a kiss on Lindsay's cheek. "Ocean."

"Yeah, that's the ocean."

"Fish?"

"Yeah, there's fish in the ocean. And whales and sharks and seahorses and starfish and jellyfish."

"Turtle?"

"Yeah, there's turtles in there too."

Avery nodded and crouched down, splashing her hands in the water and giggling.

"Mama, Avery, ocean!"

"Oh yes my dear. You are getting quite the vocabulary, aren't you?"

"Cabary," she repeated with a serious nod.

"Oh baby, you're too cute for your own good."

"Cute. Daddy?" she asked, pointing to where Adam and the boys were playing a little further down the beach.

"Okay, let's go see daddy. But I'm holding onto you because he's going to get the grand idea to throw me in the water. And no one wants that."

"Haha, mama."

"Your fake laugh is awesome. Don't ever get rid of it."

Avery smiled and clapped her hands as they walked through the surf to meet the rest of the family.

"Daddy! Ocean, fishies!" Avery hollered.

"I know! Are you excited?"

"Yeah!"

"Hey sissy, this also in the ocean," Ben said, showing her a handful of seaweed. "Austin say that crazy people eat it."

"Ew!" Avery shrieked, half laughing as Ben squeezed the clump of seaweed between his fingers.

"See how gross it is? C'mon sissy, I will show you what else I finded."

"No, Avery mama."

"Well if you want mama to hold you, then she can come too. I wanna show you the sandallos what I finded."

"Sand dollars?"

"No, they are shells, mama, not money."

"I know, but they're… never mind. Can you show them to me?"

"Yeah, c'mere. I got them over in my bucket. I got a few," he said, taking Lindsay's hand and leading her over to the bucket that was filled with sand, water, and several broken shells. "This is a broked sandallo. And this is a clam shell what Dunner finded. And this one is a bicep."

Lindsay couldn't contain her laughter as he held up the broken mussel shell for her to see.

"What is so funny mama? Did I call it the wrong thing?"

"It's um… honey, it's a mussel, not a bicep."

"But a bicep is a muscle! It's the muscle what daddy flexes when he say he got two tickets to the gun show!"

Laughter tears were streaming down her face and Avery reached up to wipe them away while Ben stood there with his hands on his hips.

"Why do you always laugh at what I say? I am just tryna be smarty like everyone else!"

"Honey, I'm not laughing at you, I promise. I just never realized those words were so similar. They're spelled different, honey."

"Well I can't read!" he huffed, dropping his arms at his side. "How was I supposed to know?"

"You weren't supposed to. Here, I'll show you," she said, crouching down to write both words in the sand.

"See this is the kind of mussel you're holding in your hand, and this is the kind of muscle that's in your body."

"Does that kind of mussel got the other kind of muscles?"

"I really don't know honey."

"Oh," he said looking down at the shell. "That's fascinatin'. And confusin'. Hey daddy! Mama teached me 'bout mussels what might got muscles! And look at my sandallo!"

"That's really cool about the mussels and muscles, buddy. That other one is called a sand dollar though."

"Why does everyone keep sayin' that?" he shouted, throwing his arms in the air in frustration. "I'm gonna go stand over here, alone with my sandallo!"

He stomped off across the beach and Junior ran to catch up with him.

"Hey Binyin! Binyin! Wait for me! I believe in sandallos!"

"Geez, even on vacation not everything is perfect," Austin chuckled, watching as the boys sat down in the sand.

"Ben is just dramatic," Adam replied, shaking his head. "Gets it from his mama."

"I'm gonna go over there alone and pout," Lindsay teased, setting Avery down in the sand.

Adam took that split second chance and grabbed his wife, swinging her into his arms and running into the water where he dumped her right into a wave. The kids screamed with laughter while Austin gave Danny the "don't you get any ideas" look.

"Adam Ross you dad-blamed skeesick!" Lindsay hollered, coming up from the water. "You had better watch your back."

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do?"

"Why would I tell you that?"

"You don't have a plan! Mwahaha!"

She glared at him as he walked away and considered jumping on him and pulling him back into the water. That would be predictable though, and that was not her style. Not her style at all. She was going to wait until the opportune time to launch her attack.

"And you're sure the kids aren't going to wake up just as the murderer slices his victim's throat?" Danny asked setting a bowl of popcorn down on the coffee table. "Scar them for life?"

"The kids are out for the count and we don't have to be parents for about two hours."

"Well good. Now are you girls going to be screaming during this movie or can we mock it?"

"Give it like fifteen minutes and then we'll decide," Lindsay suggested, settling into the couch and pulling a throw blanket over her legs while Adam finally got the DVD player to work.

"Who watches scary movies in the middle of the afternoon?" he asked, sitting down by Lindsay who moved further down the couch. "Hey, what's that for?"

"You threw me in the drink," she said, giving him a frown.

"But… you didn't drown!"

She kept glaring at him until he sighed and looked away, ashamed.

"Hey wait a second!" Austin hollered. "You accused me and Lindsay of screaming during a scary movie!"

"Well it was a valid question," Danny defended, holding his hands up.

"I'm not sitting by you either. Linds, scoot over, you're the only one in this room that will never betray me."

"Yeah, we gotta stick together."

"Just wait until the movie gets scary and you two want your husbands back."

"Danny, do you really think there exists a movie on earth that would scare me or Austin enough that we would need our husbands to hold our hands?"

"That's what you said right before Paranormal Activity, Montana."

"Yeah, and who screamed at the end? You did."

"You two were screaming through the whole thing."

"Well when she's sitting on that swing and she's just staring, that's frickin' creepy!"

"Yeah, and it doesn't help when the two of you start grabbing us at moments like that," Austin added with a glare.

"But it sure was fun, wasn't it Cupcake?"

"Yeah it was."

"Okay you two, shut up, the movie's starting."

It wasn't the best scary movie in the world and they did more laughing and pointing out plot holes than actually watching the movie.

"Woman if he tells you he wants your blood all over him just let him know you'll be on your period next week!"

"She could avoid this whole mess by grossing him out."

"And why, why would she go looking for the guy? Anyone in their right mind would sit in the corner with a blunt object to whack him in the cojones until the police showed up."

"I'd go looking for him."

"I said anyone in their right mind, Aust."

"Oh that."

"And what about this friend she's got? I mean, I'm not saying she's a prostitute, but in order to buy that skirt, she'd have to be a prostitute."

"You can't get into the curtained off section of the department store if you don't have your streetwalkers card."

"She looks like she hopped out of a Julia Roberts/Richard Gere rom-com."

"All that's missing is blue lipstick and crimped hair."

"And a wad of bubble gum."

"And cheap cigarettes."

"And John Hughes."

"You two are terrible to watch movies with," Adam complained, shaking his head.

"Shut up!" they both replied, tossing pillows at him.

"Lindsay. You did not just chuck a pillow at me."

"It was Austin's idea! She told me, telepathically!"

"You realize it's war now, right?"

"Okay."

The movie reached its predictable end just as the kids started to wake up and filter into the room. They were all coming out of sleep, had rosy cheeks and bleary eyes and looked much too cute for their own good.

"What are we going to do the rest of the day?" Colton asked, yawning even though he had been the one to most loudly protest a few hours of quiet time.

"We're all going out to dinner in a few hours, but we didn't have much of a plan besides that."

"Could we play a game?" Isa suggested. "Like hide and seek? Me and Colt found some awesome places to hide. You will never find us. Right Colt?"

"Right. Can we play?"

"You kids can play, but us parents need to clean this house up and start packing so we can leave early in the morning."

"But don't you want to play with us?" Junior asked as Sarah stood up from the couch and went to look out the window. "We're fun kids!"

"Yep, we are," Ben said with a nod. "We are awesome!"

"Maybe if we can get everything done fast, we'll play with you."

"What time do we gotta leave in the mornin'?"

"Right after breakfast. If you kids could sleep in the car, that would be the best thing ever."

"We will try to be sleepy, uncle Dum! Maybe all us kids will stay up all night!"

"Great, now look what you did, Adam!"

He shrugged as Avery slid out of his arms and joined Sarah by the window.

"Sayuh? Sad?"

Sarah gave a little nod as she sniffled. Avery frowned and started to cry as she patted Sarah's back. This only made Sarah burst into tears while Avery started to cry even harder.

"Hey girls, what's wrong?" Danny asked as he moved over to them.

"I don't wanna leave the beach!" Sarah sniffled. "I don't want to go away from here!"

"Oh kiddo, I'm sorry. But vacations have to end."

"I know."

"Avery, what's the matter with you?"

"Sayuh!" she wailed. "Sayuh sad!"

"Hey, it's okay, Mimo."

She scrubbed at her eyes and turned to look at Sarah thoughtfully.

"Side. Sayuh Avery go."

"We can't go to the beach by ourselves, Averylin. We need a grownup or a lifeguard."

"Oh. Sad."

"Maybe if we are really, really, really good one of the grownups will take us down to the beach just one more time. Can you be really, really, really good, Averylin?"

"Avery good," she said with a nod, taking Sarah's hand. "Nanny, ocean?"

"Maybe in a little while, girls. Just be patient."

"Come on, we'll go make our bed all pretty and clean up the toothbrushes from the bathroom counter. That will help the grownups do their cleaning. After that I will show you how to dance like the ballerinas do."

"Oh! Okay! Sayuh dance."

"Well I picked out my handsome clothes," Ben announced as he came into the kitchen, wearing a button down shirt and khakis and sporting a lopsided bowtie. It was the outfit he'd picked out when they told him and Colton to pack one nice thing to go out to a fancy dinner. No nice outfit was complete without his bowtie.

"Do I look sportin'?" he asked, sticking his thumbs into his suspenders and pulling them out before snapping them back. "Ow! My boy boobs!"

"Ben, you are so weird," Adam chuckled, walking over to fix his son's bowtie. "But you look very nice. Mama will be happy."

"You look good too, daddy! What are we gonna eat tonight?"

"Seafood. You want to try some squid or something?"

"Sure. But do we have to eat the Little Mermaid? Or King Triton?"

"What?"

"Cole said that seafood is food what comes from the sea. Like fish. And I don't wanna eat Disney cartoons. They'd taste like crayons."

"How… never mind. We won't eat any cartoons, okay?"

"Okay. Are we almost ready to go?"

"Yeah, you were the last one to get dressed. Everyone's outside getting ready to leave."

"Okay, let's go!"

Ben took Adam's hand and they left the house, joining everyone else on the sidewalk.

"Hey daddy can I ride on your shoulders like Dunner's ridin' on Danny's? I would really like that."

"Alright here we go. Blastoff!"

Ben laughed as he was placed on his dad's shoulders.

"Hey mama, I can see the top of your head!"

"I bet you can."

"Dunner, we're so high up here!"

"I know! Hey lookit, I can see how my daddy's goin' bald!"

"Hey!" Danny hollered. "I ain't goin' bald!"

Austin choked on a laugh while Lindsay outright guffawed.

"Shut up you two."

"Daddy, we don't say shut up," Sarah reminded him as she stepped over a crack in the sidewalk. "We ask the person to please not talk like that."

"Maybe that's the rules for school, but in this family, we say shut up."

Sarah giggled and continued to skip down the street to the restaurant. It was kind of a risky thing to go out to eat with six kids at a restaurant that was a little less than family friendly, but the kids had promised to be on their best behavior, and they couldn't leave a beach vacation without having fresh seafood.

They were seated fairly quickly, and menus were thrust upon them, almost as if the server resented such a large party and so many kids. Food was decided upon and the order was placed, and the kids were all very excited to be served water with slices of lemon in it.

"Hey Dunner," Ben said quietly, being sure he wasn't going to disturb the other guests. "I wanna tell you 'bout this movie that we seen the other day. It was a movie what gots cowboys in it. Now there was this one cowboy what was called Quiet Burp. And that confused me lots because my burps is always noisy."

"That's weird, Binyin. Why would they name a cowboy after that? How would you be knowed for burpin' quiet? No one would hear it! How would they even know he burped?"

"That's what I been thinkin'. That's why I asked you 'cuz no one else knowed what I been sayin' about."

"I understand ya, Binyin. That's what best buddies is for."

"Hey Dunner if you gots a cowboy name, what you think it would be?"

"Hmm, I dunno. Maybe it would be somethin' about how I am good at sports and things. Maybe it would be Michael Jordan. And I think the Binyin the Cowboy would be a good name for you."

"Yeah. What about you, Cole?"

"Well my name is a cowboy name, and that's why mama said she and daddy picked it out. I don't need another name, but if I did, it would be John Wayne. Isa would be Calamity Jane."

"Could I be Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl?" Sarah asked, her eyes lighting up. "I so like her."

"Sure! Now what about sissy?"

"Her could be Mrs. Eats a lot. Because she haved three biscuits already," Junior suggested.

"She could be the lady what is fat and makes the people drinks in the bar," Ben added. "When she serves Kool-Aid in the glasses for them. And that's where all the gunfights happen. And someone always shoots a glass of Kool-Aid. Sissy would have to clean it all up. You like that idea sissy?"

Avery grinned and nodded her head, reaching for another biscuit.

"No, you've eaten enough for now. Wait until your dinner comes," Adam said, putting the bowl out of her reach. She was about to throw a fit, but after stern looks from the rest of the kids, she nodded her head and folded her hands in her lap.

"Avery wait."

"That's a good girl."

"Mama, Avery good!" she whispered happily.

"Yes, you are."

She smiled and sat back in her chair, patting her belly absentmindedly while the rest of the kids continued their make believe story.

"You know, we might be able to do this more often," Lindsay commented imagining family dinners with a lot less cooking.

"Don't jinx it Linds," Austin chuckled, holding out her pinkie for their childish jinx-back handshake. Lindsay rolled her eyes but complied while Adam and Danny shook their heads.

"Danny, I don't know what we're going to do with them."

"Me neither. I figure it might be better to just let them be as they are. Changin' them might throw off that whole time/space thing."

"The backfire on that would be astronomical."

"I'm glad you two understand," Lindsay said, leaning against Adam's shoulder.

"Babe, we do a lot of time understandin'. I think we both deserve something like a special award for that."

"I think you'd better look at what you've got before you ask for something more."

"Noted," he chuckled, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

In the distance a storm rumbles over the ocean, thunder, lightning and rain. It comes on a strong wind, one that picks up sand and blows mightily through the sea grass. The sun is setting to the west while the storm chases it from the east and for one moment they meet, dark fierce clouds competing with the pinks and reds and purples of the daylight. They crash together as if serendipitous, a beautiful collision of opposites.

Inside a fire crackles. Windows are half open and the lights are off and where the firelight does not reach, there is no illumination. Music plays and children dance happily around the room, the last few minutes before they will be tucked in carefully to bed. Little girls in summery white nightgowns twirl around squealing until their father lifts them both into his strong arms, dancing them around in a slow circle. Two little brown eyed boys grab their daddy's legs and he picks them up too, swaying slowly to the music. One more little boy is scooped up by his mother who kisses his cheeks and buries her nose in his hair, clinging to the love of her life. One sleepy baby lays against her mama's shoulder, entranced by the firelight, safe in the arms of the one who loves her the most.

It's a special moment for this family that chose each other, as they all wind down from the day and band together against the raging nature just outside these four walls. There is a desperate beauty in the room, an everlasting perfection and one that will always be remembered as the one night before the storm. Their voices, good or bad, young or not so young, knowing the words or humming along, all swim together in the air, meeting the music.

Sing til you mean it
And love til you feel it
Cos' I still believe in your heart
Don't let the waves push and pull you away
Now you're free and it sets you apart
Now you're free and it sets you apart

Children are getting increasingly tired and their daddies help them into bed, tucking them all in beneath warm blankets, kissing them goodnight, promising a goodness in tomorrow.

Mamas sink down onto the couch together, quietly discussing the happiness of the day and the perfection of these last moments, vowing that it will never change. They sit together and watch the storm roll in, sharing an old wool blanket and whispering about years gone by, inside jokes that are still funny, secrets they've never shared.

The storm hits land with force, wind blowing in every direction, rain beating down on everything while thunder and lightning crash overhead. The waves just keep rolling in, over and over, as consistent as they've been since the beginning of time. Darkness takes over the sky and while it is so violent in nature it is almost like the most comfortable of embraces, powerful and constant.

They sit for a long while without saying anything, their minds on the same track. How far they've all come, as individuals and together. The horrors and struggles of the past and how they were somehow intricately designed to put them all together. It's more than luck and more than fate because it is so full of simple, bright and wonderful goodness that it can't just be happenstance or the order of the universe. Everything that happened is made dull and powerless in the light of the present. They have come so far to get so far, to some place few feet will ever trod.

They're free now and it sets them apart.

A/N: I'm with Sarah. I HATE to leave the beach.