Ben tapped his feet quickly on the floor as he awaited his turn for show and tell. It was his favorite part of preschool and even though he'd never found anything really good to show the kids, he loved to tell them stories. Right now one of the boys was talking about the new skates he'd gotten for Christmas and while Ben was really interested in it, he had half his mind on the story he was about to tell.

"Okay, thank you Kyle. Who wants to go next? How about Ben?"

He nodded happily and shot out of his seat, running to the front of the room and standing there proudly with his hands behind his back.

"The other day me and my best buddy Dunner went on what is called a guy date!"

"You went on a date with a boy?" one of the kids asked, confused.

"Yep! It's not a romantical date, just two buddies hangin' out! His daddy taked us to this place what's called Hooters. He taked us there to make our mamas mad. And it worked. But the milkshakes were pretty good. But today I want to tell you about Dunner. He is my most best friend. We've been friends since forever because we are the same age, and our mamas is best friends too. Dunner and me like to play together and tell each other our secrets. Sometimes I think that no one in this world really understands me much, but then I remember that I got my best friend Dunner! Here is some pictures of him that we taked last time he came over to my house."

He pulled one of Adam's old wallets from the waistband of his jeans and opened it, letting the plastic picture holder tumble out. Almost every picture was of Junior.

"I don't just got pictures of him in my wallet, there's pictures of my family too. But mostly of him because he is my closest friend. We made a promise to be best friends our whole lives, except we think that sometime when we're sixteen we will have a fight, probably about a girl. But we will become friends again after. The moron of this story is, keep your friends close and your best friends closer. The end!"

He skipped back to his seat happily and sat down, putting the pictures back in his wallet.

"Hey Ben," came a whisper from the boy next to him.

"Yeah Wyatt?"

"You're the weirdest kid I ever meeted."

"Why?" he asked, not wanting to dispute the fact, but wondering why he was being called out right now.

"Because you go on dates with a boy. You can't go on dates. You're only four!"

"It wasn't a romantical date and I'm five now!"

"How did you pay for it?"

"His daddy did! That's what I said."

"Well you're weird anyway."

"So what? Least people will 'member me. That's what my mama says. Our whole family is weird, so there! Every last one of us. Especially my sissy."

"Dunner isn't even a real name. Your friend is probably fake. No one would be friends with you. I don't believe you."

"I never said Dunner is a real name. That's just what I call him because I always called him that. And he always called me Binyin, what's not a real name but I am a real kid. His real name if you gotta know is Daniel Dominic Messer Jr. He is five and he like sports and his dad is Danny and his ma is Austin and he gots two sisters and a dog what's called Elvis! He's a real boy!"

"You can't have a friend, you're too bizzaro!"

"I do got a best friend you mean kid! And you will never have such a best friend like I do because you are not kind. And for that reason I feel sad for you."

"Whatever Ben. I always knowed there was something wrong with you. Ever since that time you cutted your own hair. I knew you were whack."

"So what if I'm wacky? I like bein' me and the people what love me the mostest like me too, just the way I are. So put that in your juice and drink it."

He turned back around, crossing his arms over his chest and trying to listen what his teacher was saying. He felt a little angry, but he also felt very good about the situation because he'd handled it so well. Everyone would be very proud of him.

"So Colton what was your high point of the day?" Adam asked as they all sat together to eat a late dinner.

"My high point was that I got all the words right on my spelling test. Even the words I wasn't sure of, I thought hard and remembered them pretty good. Sarah also did good on it and she was the only first grader that got only one wrong."

"What was your low point?"

"Um… I didn't really have one actually. Well maybe the low point was that we started something new in math and I had a hard time doin' it."

"Do you want me and mama to help you with it?"

"Maybe you can look at my homework and tell me if it's right. I did my best."

"Well your best is good enough for me."

"Oh! And something else I remembered. This isn't a high point or a low point of my day, it's just somethin' that happened. My teacher said that we're gonna have this 'sembly later this month about safety and she asked me and Sarah if we wanted to share anything with the other kids because I told her about how us kids took that special class on safety during the summer. And me and Sarah said maybe and we asked Isa at recess so now us three are going to maybe help with the 'sembly later. And my teacher said she would call you tomorrow to make sure it was okay. Would that be okay?"

"I think that's a great idea buddy," Adam said with a nod. "What do you think you guys will talk about?"

"We said that the most important thing is to teach kids how to get away if someone tries to take them. Remember all those things we learned? We can teach the kids those things. Sometimes it's scary to think about getting taked, but you have to know what to do in a crisis. That's what we learned. Is that a good idea mama?"

"Yeah, I think so. Maybe you guys can practice a few times before you do it."

"Yep, that's the plan. Now it's Ben's turn to talk. What was your high point Ben?"

"Well," Ben started, bored with the talk about Colton's day. "My high point was actually three of them. Firstest that I got to do show and tell today, secondest that me and sissy had really a lot of fun playing with her kitchen today, and thirdest that I got picked on for my very first time!"

"You got picked on?"

"Yep! I handled it quite well."

"That was your high point? That you got picked on?" Adam asked in disbelief.

"Yep! Because it means I am a more grown up kid now. Plus how I dealed with the whole thing. You'd been so proud of me, daddy. I telled that kid that he was mean and I didn't yell or call bad names or nothin'. It was a good day. And the low point of my day was when my teacher let us do paintin' and I spilled my paint on my shoes, but that's actually a good one because now my shoes is so colorful! I didn't got no low points today!"

He stabbed at the chicken on his plate and picked up the whole piece on his fork, gnawing on it like it was a piece of candy.

"Well… Avery, how was your day?"

"Shh. Eatin' chicken."

"I s'pose that was sissy's high point!" Ben said with a grin. Colton started to laugh and snorted milk out of his nose.

"Oh boy, that's never happened here before! Nice shot Cole!"

Lindsay sighed and cleaned up the mess, then made Colton blow his nose a few times before they could all continue with their dinner in a normal fashion.

Once everyone was done and the dishes were in the washer, the kids were shuttled upstairs to put on their pajamas. It was a lot later than they normally ate dinner but the kids didn't protest not being able to play before having to go to bed. They were all tired and in good spirits as they were bathed and tucked in.

"Well hon, you ready for bed too?" Lindsay asked with a yawn, turning off the hall light.

"I've got that book to finish. Mind if I have the light on?"

"No, that's fine."

She followed him upstairs and they both changed their clothes, then crawled into bed. She could tell something was on his mind, but he didn't say anything just turned his lamp on and opened his book. They were both quiet for a while before he cleared his throat. She looked at him hopefully but he just went back to reading. Figuring he was just content to be in his own world, she rolled over and closed her eyes.

"Hey babe?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm thinkin' that we should pull Ben out of school."

"What in the world are you talking about?" she asked, totally bewildered.

"He got picked on."

"Oh Adam, it's not a big deal. He said it's okay. It's the first time, it's not like he's being harassed."

"Don't tell me it's not a big deal, Lindsay. Our kid just got picked on today. It is a big deal. Especially to him."

"Adam, he sounded like he was fine."

"That doesn't mean he is."

"You really think he lied about that?"

"He was covering."

"Adam he's okay. I'm glad you're concerned about him, but he's just fine."

"Look, I don't want him to hate school forever because of one kid, I don't want him to feel like he's not safe there, I don't want him to start to believe what kids say about him."

"What do they say?"

"That he's weird."

"Adam, Ben is weird!"

"I know. I don't want him to stop being weird or being himself just because of what some mean kid says."

"I think our kid has a little more sense of self than you're giving him credit for."

"Linds, you don't know what it's like to get picked on, no matter how confident you are in yourself."

She sighed and sat up, raking her hands through her hair.

"It's no reason to pull him out of preschool, Adam. Maybe if every kid in class was picking on him, maybe if he came home everyday in tears, but it was one time and it didn't bother him. No kid of mine is going to quit or run away from something so small."

"You think this is small? His self-esteem and confidence are that little of an issue to you?"

"I never said that. I just don't think either of those things are in danger. We don't have a weak child."

"So I was a weak child, is that what you're saying?"

"Adam where in the world are you even coming from right now? I'm not taking our kid out of school because you're still insecure about the way other kids treated you when you were younger. He was proud of how he handled himself and I would rather encourage him to keep doing the same than teach him to run away from the situation. Yes, I'll keep an eye on it and I will talk to his teacher too, but we can't do something so drastic over what may have been a two minute conversation. I'm sorry, but I won't raise my kids that way."

"Your kids? They're mine too."

"Adam-"

"Lindsay, I am not going to sit here and let our son get picked on. I don't want him to feel like we did nothing about it, like we didn't care."

"Do you think he's stupid or something? He knows we care. If he had a problem and if his feelings were really hurt then he would have said something. Don't you trust him to do that?"

"I do but I don't want him to be scared or think that we see him as a baby."

"Then why would you pull him out of school? What do you think that tells him?"

"You don't understand, okay? You never got picked on as a kid, you don't know what it feels like."

"Come off it already! I'm sorry that happened to you. I know it hurt you, but other than this wonderful moment we're having right now, I don't think you're really worse for the wear. Don't tell me that I can't make a decision for my kid because I didn't live the life you lived. That's not fair."

"What, are you going to hold it against me because it's making me think differently about this than you are?"

"No. Are we just going to fight in circles all night long?"

"No we're not," he said, standing from the bed and grabbing his pillow.

"What are you doing?"

"Sleeping downstairs."

"Adam Ross, you have got to be kidding me right now."

He didn't say anything, afraid he was gong to start yelling and telling her how he really felt, so he decided to just keep walking. She called him back once, but he didn't turn and she sighed angrily, punching her fist into his remaining pillow. She hated when he didn't just say things right out. At least he wasn't lying or pretending that there wasn't more, she knew he needed time to sort things out, but it still bugged her that for some reason he couldn't be in the same room with her while he figured that out. She slid down in the bed and pulled the blanket up to her chin, figuring their disagreement would be over by morning. He would come upstairs and crawl into bed with her and they would talk it all over, just like they always did, and it would be one disagreement behind them.

"Cupcake, you gonna pack up that evidence so we can go or what?" Danny asked, hefting his box into the back of the SUV.

"I'm comin', I just didn't want to break these wine glasses that were put on the bottom of the box," Adam grumbled, walking across the sidewalk.

"Geez, what's your problem?"

"Nothing, just a bad mood. Let's just go."

They got in the car quietly and Danny began to drive, sneaking glances over at his friend. He'd never seen Adam so angry before, his jaw clenched and his hands tight.

"What's going on with you?"

"It's nothing."

"Right."

"Lindsay and I had a fight."

"You mean you didn't kiss her before you left for work?" Danny half laughed.

"No, I mean a real fight. We've never had one that bad before."

"What happened?"

Adam quickly explained the argument, leaving out the parts that he'd come to realize were stupid on his part. He was still mad at her, but it was less about what they'd said and more about the way he felt like she thought of him.

"So do you think Ben can't handle it or do you think you can't?"

Danny had hit the crux of the matter with one simple question and Adam cast him a sidelong glare before admitting it was valid.

"I think he can, I just don't think he should have to."

"And what about you?"

"Not about me."

"I think it's a lot about you. I don't think it has anything to do with Lindsay and I don't think it has anything to do with Ben. I think it has to do with the fact that you don't feel like an adequate father because your sons are far braver than you think you ever were."

The silence sat between them as Adam tried to accept that truth and Danny tried to say something else to make it not sting so much.

"Look, no good father ever feels like a good father. We feel like there's more we can give our kids. But sometimes showing them our weakness is much better than hiding it and showcasing our strengths."

"Maybe."

"Look, I know your childhood wasn't that great, even after your dad was gone. That doesn't mean you're any less of a person. Your boys will always look up to you, no matter what you went through."

"That's not terrifying or anything."

"I think you really have to make a decision here though. Do you really want to pull Ben out of school, knowing how much he loves it and how good it's been for him?"

"No, I guess not."

"Then I guess I'm gonna agree with Montana on this one."

"Yeah, I figured everyone and their mom might."

"You're not wrong, you're just not right."

"Well great."

Danny chuckled and shook his head a little, having often felt the same way, like no matter what he did, he wasn't as good as his kids deserved. It never came down to him not being good as much as it was about the kids being better than he could have ever imagined, and with him loving them more than he'd ever thought possible.

"Hey look, if it will make you feel better, tonight at dinner, I'll tell Lindsay I'm on your side. How's that?"

Adam gave a short laugh and shook his head.

"That would be great but it might land me in even more hot water."

"Sometimes you just can't win huh?"

"Yeah. I guess it's not a very common thing though; it's not like we fight all the time."

"You let her have her way?"

"No, we just usually talk it out. I started a conversation when she was tired and had a headache and I hadn't really thought it through yet. I should have waited a little bit I guess."

"Well live and learn, cupcake."

"Yeah. Hey what do you think our wives talk to each other about for hours on end?"

"Us."

"That's scary."

"Okay time for your bedtime story," Adam announced, directing the kids into the boys bedroom.

"Sissy, you gonna cuddle with me, your big brother Ben?"

"Uh, with Coley," she decided with a nod, climbing into Colton's bed.

"You don't wanna cuddle with me?" Ben asked, his voice quavering.

She shook her head and yawned, unaware of the angst she was putting her brother through.

"But you always cuddle with me durin' stories!" he said, bursting into tears. "Why don't you want to tonight?"

She looked at him confused, then looked up at Colton for some kind of advice.

"I have no idea why he's carryin' on like this."

"Hey Ben, buddy, take a deep breath."

"But daddy! I like how sissy feels chubby in my arms! I like to hug her!"

"I know you love your sister, but tonight she wants to lay in Colton's bed. It doesn't mean she doesn't love you."

"Sissy, you love me?"

"Yes. Coley blankets."

"You just like Cole's blankets better?"

"Yep. Today."

"Oh. So your betrayal's got nothin' to do with me?"

"Nope!"

"I could deal with that. Read the story daddy."

Adam rolled his eyes and sat down on the floor, reading them the last chapter of their book. Ben had a million questions about why it had ended that way, what happened to the characters next and if there would be a movie about it later.

"Ben, maybe you could just enjoy the story how it is," Colton suggested with a shrug. "That's how the writer telled it after all."

"Yeah, I s'pose. What did you think sissy?"

"Like," she answered with a smile and a yawn. "Daddy, Avery sleep here?"

"No, you're going to sleep in your own room."

"Hey daddy how come sissy gets her own room and me and Cole gots to share with each other?"

"Because she's the only girl and that's just how it works," Adam answered, leaning down to pick his daughter up, then fix Colton's blankets. "I'll see you boys in the morning."

"Love you daddy."

"Love you too. Goodnight."

He took Avery into her room and tucked her into the bed making sure to put pillows on either side of her because he was still afraid she was going to roll off the mattress in the middle of the night.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah sweetheart?"

"Stay with Avery?"

"Sure, I'll stay in here for a while."

She smiled and he stretched out next to her, brushing her hair back from her face. She reached up and grabbed his hand and examined it closely, running her little finger over the lines and creases and sucking on her bottom lip thoughtfully.

"Um daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"This owwie?" she asked, pointing to the callus on his hand.

"Yeah, it's just from working and stuff."

"And stuff," she whispered, blinking hard to stay awake. Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"Love Avery? Ben? Coley? Mama?"

"Yes, I love all of you very, very much."

"Avery most," she decided with a nod.

"Sure honey."

She gave him a smile then snuggled into his arms and closed her eyes. He watched as she fell into sleep, her breathing evening out and her nose twitching a little. She was so sweet when she slept, it was hard to reconcile her to the crazy lunatic of a child that usually ran around the house all day long. He realized that he hadn't had a chance to really just exist in her presence very much lately and he laid there for a long time, looking closely at her face, memorizing rhythm of her breathing and the way her eyes fluttered back and forth. He'd have to make sure to have these quiet moments with her in the future too.

The next thing he knew there was a warm hand on his shoulder as a blanket was placed over him. He opened his eyes and found Lindsay standing over the bed, having just gotten home from work. He couldn't quite read the expression on her face, but he was sure their argument from the night before was still skimming the surface of her heart.

"You just get home?"

She nodded and tucked Avery's stuffed animals closer around her.

"You still mad at me?"

"Nope, I'm fine. I'm going to bed."

He tried to read her tone of voice but his mind was hazy and she was being as neutral as she could, making it much more difficult for him to decide what his best course of action was going to be.

"I'm coming with you."

"You don't have to," she tossed over her shoulder as she walked out of the room.

If that didn't make it obvious how she was going to play this, then nothing did. He sighed and stood up carefully, making sure he didn't wake Avery up, then followed Lindsay upstairs.

"So you are still mad."

"No I'm not. I told you I wasn't," she replied lightly, unbuttoning her shirt and tossing it into a laundry basket.

"Well fine then I guess we don't need to talk about it."

"No I guess we don't."

She finished changing her clothes and climbed into bed, moving as far away from the middle as she could without being obvious about it.

"Lindsay."

"Hmm?"

"Don't go to bed mad."

"I told you I wasn't mad. What else do you want from me?"

He sighed and shook his head, figuring another night on the couch might do them both some good. He was about to grab his pillow when he changed his mind.

"You know what Linds? I'm not going to dance around this all night and make it worse. Yeah, I was being stupid and I should have thought things through a little more, but neither one of us ended up being fair about the whole thing either. I'm sorry I got mad at you and I'm sorry I slept on the couch. I'm willing to talk about this now if you are."

She just lay there quietly and for a moment he worried that she was going to keep ignoring him. Then he stepped closer and peeked at her, seeing that she had tiny tears trailing down her face.

"I hate when you're mad at me."

"I'm not a fan of you being mad at me either Linds."

They regarded each other for a long moment and he reached out to brush her tears away.

"What you said last night really bothered me. You made it sound like I was less of a person because of what happened to me."

"Adam, you know I don't think that."

"I know. But that didn't stop me from feeling that."

"I'm sorry honey. I just don't want to teach our kids to run away from things. It's okay to step back if something is too painful, but don't run at the first sign of discomfort."

"I get that babe. I really do. I just worry about him. I don't want him to pretend he's okay if he's not."

"Ben doesn't pretend anything. That kid wears his heart on his sleeve and then tells people about it to make sure they understood."

Adam gave her a half smile before sitting down next to her.

"I'm sorry that went how it did last night. I should have thought about it more before I said it and I should have waited until you were feeling better."

"And maybe you should have slept up here?"

"Yeah, that too."

"Next time I'll listen to what you're trying to tell me instead of just what you're saying. I wasn't being very patient with you and I should have been."

"I think we need to talk about Ben still, but that can wait until morning when we're both a little more clear headed."

"I think that's a good idea."

"I'm really sorry babe."

"I'm sorry too. We've been arguing a lot recently. Any idea why?"

He shook his head as she rolled over to face him, her eyebrows quirking in question.

"I don't know. Maybe we need to escape the house for a while and see if we can figure that out."

"Maybe."

He ran his finger down her arm then pulled her closer to him, feeling like everything was okay again the second he wrapped himself around her. He'd slept horribly on the couch the night before and he was sure she hadn't done so well up here alone either.

"Tomorrow we'll make everything okay again," he promised, dropping a kiss to the part in her hair.

"We always do."

"I love you Linds."

"I love you too."

"Thanks for going to bat for the kids, even when I don't agree."

"Thank you for doing the same."

No matter the words that could pass between them, or the misunderstandings they might have, in the end they were still on the same page and they would always be there together.