"All done mama!"

"Okay, you can get down from the table."

"Ben!" Avery shouted, sliding off of her chair. "I done! We play!"

"Sissy, I'm in the middle of somethin' else! You taked too long!"

Grunting in anger, Avery ran upstairs and a fight ensued, which Lindsay tuned out because she was way too tired for such things. Adam had just taken Colton to school and headed to work, and she had just enough time to clean up breakfast before it would be time to take Ben to school. And she still had to get dressed.

"No sissy! Stop that!"

"Mine! MINE!"

Stuffing all the dishes in the sink, Lindsay stomped up the stairs and found the kids locked in a life or death battle over an old broken Frisbee. She took it away from both of them and sent them to their rooms, despite their arguments, and shut both of their doors, then took the Frisbee upstairs and put it in the closet, where it would sit until they learned to share.

She changed her clothes quickly and ran a brush through her hair before going back downstairs.

"Okay, you two can come out of your rooms now."

The doors opened and the kids rushed towards each other, hugging tightly with tears streaming down their face.

"I sorry! I love Ben!"

"I'm sorry too sissy! I love you so much!"

"Oh Ben, we play now?"

"Well until I have to go to school. Do I have to go to school now?"

"Yeah, it's time to leave."

Avery threw her head back and wailed as loudly as she could, gigantic tears dribbling down her cheeks.

"Sissy, it's okay! It's okay I will be home soon."

"You're going to Junior's after school," Lindsay reminded him gently.

"Oh. Oh no, sissy is gonna be so sad!"

"Avery," Lindsay started, crouching down in front of the baby and wiping her eyes. "I know you're sad about not playing with Ben, but you get to have me all to yourself for the rest of the day."

"Avery an' mama?"

"Yes baby."

"You play I want?"

"Yes, whatever you want."

The tears were long forgotten and Avery smiled, nodding her head and letting her pigtails bounce.

"Avery an' mama play so most!"

"As soon as we get home, but for right now we need to hustle Ben to school."

"Shopping?"

"Nope, I promised you we would play this morning, so we'll go grocery shopping after your nap this afternoon."

"Wow sissy, that's pretty special! Mama always does the shoppin' in the morning!"

"Yep. Let's go!"

Avery led the way down the stairs, jumping off the last one and clapping her hands as if it was a new feat that she'd never done before.

"Mama, I have show an' tell today. Know what I am talkin' about?"

"I can only imagine," Lindsay chuckled, helping the kids into their coats.

"Today I'm gonna talk about Qwerty and how we are teaching him tricks. And teacher said that one day at the end of the year we are havin' a animal day and we can bring our pets! Would it be okay to bring Qwerty?"

"We'll have to wait and see, okay?"

"Okay mama. Now sissy, hold my hand while we walk to the car so you don't run out in the street, okay?"

"Okay Ben."

"This tea," Avery explained, waving her hand grandly over the small table in her room. "This sugar. This crumpets. And this milk!"

"Wow, I've never been to such a fancy tea party before," Lindsay chuckled. "And you're such a good hostess too."

"Yes. Drink tea please. It hot."

"Oh I'll be careful."

Avery nodded importantly, then made a whooshing noise as she pretended to pour milk into her own cup of tea.

"So, how you are Miss Windsay?" she asked, folding her hands in her lap.

"Oh, I'm very well, thank you for asking. How are you Miss Avery?"

"Well, I grand. Tea good?"

"Yes, it's very good. Is it a special recipe?"

"Oh yes. Secret. Shh."

"So who are all these other people you've invited?" Lindsay asked, gesturing to the dolls that sat around the table.

"This Lola," Avery started, pointing around the circle. "This Honey. An' this… um… oh! Redda-Heada! Mama's baby doll!"

"That's right, she was mine when I was little. And she has red hair just like you. Are you very good friends with all of these dolls?"

"Oh yes. We play. Most tea?"

"Oh thank you sweetie, I would love more."

Avery made a whooshing sound again, then stood up from the table and excused herself. Snickering, Lindsay peeked around the corner and saw that Avery went into the bathroom. She rummaged around for a few minutes, then came toddling back, a small jar of nail polish in her hand.

"Mama, you do this? My toes?"

"Sure. Why don't you go sit on your bed so I can see them better."

Avery jogged to her bed and climbed up, letting her feet dangle over the side, while Lindsay sat on the floor in front of her.

"Wow, what a beautiful color you've picked, Avery."

"It purple."

"Yes it is. Do you want to do your fingers too?"

"No. They pink."

"Oh that's right. So what would you like to do for the rest of the day?"

"Um, I do mama's hair. Get Ben. Eat lunch. Cuddle nap."

"I think that sounds like the perfect day. All done! What do you think?"

"They so beau'ful. Thank."

"You're welcome. Can I have a kiss?"

Giggling, Avery leaned down and kissed her, then hugged her tightly.

"Avery love mama so."

"I love you too sweetie."

"Avery do hair now."

Lindsay turned around and Avery set to work, humming to herself and basically just picking up sections of hair and dropping it, or twisting it around her finger then letting it go. She kept at it for quite a while, even getting up to find a brush just to make it "most pretty."

Lindsay's eyelids were getting heavy with help from the gentle touches and she yawned, trying to stay awake.

"Mama, 'lax. Shh."

"I can't fall asleep right now honey. We need to go get Ben pretty soon."

"Oh."

"But next time I need to fall asleep I might just have you brush my hair."

"Feel nice," Avery agreed, clucking her tongue.

Lindsay's head had just become much too heavy to hold up when her phone rang, startling her out of the nice doze she'd been about to have.

"Hello?"

"Lindsay, it's Jo. Where are you honey?"

"I'm at home with Avery."

"Okay. I don't want you to panic."

"What's wrong?"

"Adam and Mac were on the way to the lab from a scene and they got into a minor accident."

"How minor?"

"Well…"

"Jo, are they okay?"

"They're fine. A little banged up and sore. The other car hit on the passenger side, so Adam's worse off. He's got a lot of bruising and… you might want to just come down to the hospital."

"Are you sure he's okay?"

"He's going to be fine sweetie."

"Okay… I'm going to… I'll get the boys and I'll be right there."

"Linds, don't panic. He's just fine."

"Are they discharging him?"

"Not just yet."

"Then he's not fine."

She turned the phone off and picked Avery up, unaware that she had even gotten to her feet.

"Mama what?"

"We need to go get the boys."

"Why?"

"Because. Daddy's hurt."

"No! Daddy not hurt!"

"He's going to be okay."

Avery whimpered and held on tight as they made their way out the door.

"They're just making sure his breathing is okay," Jo said, meeting Lindsay as she stepped off the elevator. "His seatbelt really caught and they've ruled out lap belt injuries, but they've just finished up the X-Rays to check for cracked ribs."

"Where is he?"

"The room at the end of the hall."

"Kids, stay with Jo please."

"Mama! Avery want daddy!"

"I know you do sweetie and you'll see him in a minute," Lindsay assured, handing her daughter over. "Be good, I'll be right back."

"Come on kids, I'll show you the vending machine," Jo said, adjusting Avery on her hip and holding her hand out for Ben and Colton. Their voices faded as Lindsay walked down the hall, gently opening the door at the end.

"Babe, I'm fine," Adam said upon seeing the look on her face. "I'm just sore and kind of beat up."

She didn't say anything, just crossed the room to him, sitting down on the bed holding back tears as she kissed him.

"Lindsay, I'm okay," he said, pressing his forehead to hers. "I promise. Why are you laughing?"

"Just… when does it end?"

A wry grin cracked across his face as she leaned down to gently hug him.

"Oh Adam."

"I know babe."

"I'm just glad you're okay."

"I'm fine. They're going to let me leave as soon as the films are back. You look a little pale honey."

"Yeah, well I wasn't exactly expecting this. I thought we could settle down for a little while, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. Where are the kids?"

"Jo has them out in the waiting room. Ben's upset that he's not going to Juniors."

"He can still go. We'll drop him off on the way home."

"Are you sure?"

"Linds, it's not a big deal. I'm fine I swear."

"Listen to him, he's right," the doctor announced, coming in the door with X-Rays in his hand. He put the films up on the light board and showed them that everything was fine, and the bruising would go away in a few weeks.

"You're free to go, unless you'd like a script for some pain management."

"Nah, it's not so bad."

"Alright. I'll send the nurse back in with your discharge forms."

"See babe, alls well that ends well," Adam said brightly, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "I didn't even have to put on one of those cheap gowns."

"You think you're being funny," she sighed, playing with his hands. "But you're not."

"Are you going to be grumpy for the rest of the day? Because if you are, I might request they keep me here."

The glare she gave him was not one he ever wanted to see again so he toned down the smile and took her concerns seriously for a moment.

"Lindsay, look at me. Sitting there thinking about what could have happened is not going to make you feel any better, but it will try my patience. I know you love me and I know this kind of thing really freaks you out, but today, nothing really bad happened. You need to remember that."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. We'll go home and I'll kick your butt at Mario Kart and all of this will just be a distant memory."

"Did they give you some pain killers already? Because you're delusional if you think you can beat me at Mario Kart."

"You know, we've never let the kids play it with us."

"I don't know if I'm disappointed in us for not sharing the wealth, or if I kind of like that it's just ours."

He shrugged, then sucked in a breath of pain, then moaned at the pain the breathing had caused him.

"Okay so I'm not Superman. Sorry to disappoint you."

"Superman's not what I call you," she teased, her voice dropping low and her eyelashes batting against her cheeks. His eyes bulged out and his face turned red while she kept up the sultry expression as long as she could.

"You know I call you-"

"Stop!"

She giggled and rested her head on his shoulder, running her fingers lightly over the back of his hand.

"I'd never say it out loud. At least not in public."

"I never knew you were like this when I met you," he whispered as the blush receded from his face. "Never would have guessed."

"Well, you almost just died. I can't help being like this."

"I didn't almost die Linds."

"In my head you did," she whispered gently. "Don't do that again, hmm?"

"I'll do my best."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"We're kind of corny," she commented with a grimace.

"Yeah, but together, so…"

"When the rest of the world turns their backs on us, we'll have each other?"

"So romantic."

Avery stood in the kitchen with her hands on her hips, surveying the cupboards and drawers for a moment before grabbing her step-stool and pushing it up against the sink. Reaching as far as she could, she turned the water on and let it dribble over her hands, then turned it off again and wiped her hands on her shirt. With a little sigh she climbed down from the stool and started opening drawers, using them as stairs to climb onto the counter. Daddy was very tired and mama was helping him, so it was up to her to make dinner. It couldn't be that hard, especially since the boys were at the Messers for the night. Certainly she could cook dinner. Opening a cupboard she found what she was looking for, and grabbed the box of spaghetti noodles and the jar of sauce. She set them on the counter next to her and stared at them for a while, not sure what to do next. She knew the noodles went into the sauce, but she wasn't sure how. Curious, she slammed the box down on top of the jar.

"Avery, what are you doing in there?"

"Make dinner mama. You sit!"

There was laughter from the other room and Avery frowned as Lindsay came in to help.

"Well I guess we can do this together."

"No. Avery do."

"Sweetie, you can't use the stove and the pots are going to be too heavy for you. Why don't you just help me-"

"No! I care of daddy."

She climbed off the counter and walked purposefully into the other room, climbing up on the couch next to Adam.

"Oh daddy," she murmured, running a chubby hand over his face. "Make you better."

"I'm okay, Tink. Just a little tired."

"You hurt," she decided, tipping her head to the side and gently touching the cuts on the back of his hand from the glass.

"It's alright sweetie."

"Daddy most brave," she whispered, leaning against his arm. "So most."

He smiled and pulled her into his lap, hugging her tightly and kissing her cheeks.

"You're so much like your mama."

"Yes. Like mama. An' like Au'tin."

"Yeah, some of your weird ways are a lot like Austin."

"I weird?" she questioned.

"Yes, you are very weird."

"I weird!" she shouted happily, clapping her hands. "Mama, I weird!"

"Yeah, I knew that the first moment I saw you."

Avery threw her head back and laughed hysterically until her face was red and she was drooling out the side of her mouth.

"Oh mama funny," she wheezed after a while, catching her breath.

"I think you're the funny one, baby," Adam chuckled as she leaned against his chest and sighed.

"I do best," she answered, using a mangled version of the phrase she'd heard Colton say so often.

"I know you do. Did you know you're my favorite daughter?"

She giggled and nodded her head, then squeezed his arm.

"Daddy strong."

"I'm not that strong."

"Daddy hero."

Her voice was so firm that he didn't argue just smiled and enjoyed the fact that she was still young enough to think he made the sun rise in the morning.

"Daddy hungry? Mama cookin'," she said after a moment. "Owwies better?"

"Yeah my owwies are getting better. I could probably eat soon."

She gave a short nod and patted his stomach, then her own.

"My belly," she said after a moment. "It big."

"You're a growing girl. And it's not that big anyway. It's just because you're short."

"I cute. Sarah say."

"Daddy says so too."

"I cute. Mama beau'ful. Daddy beau'ful?"

"No, daddies are handsome."

"Daddy han'some."

"Thank you honey."

"Thirsty? I get water."

"I could really use some water right about now. That would be great."

She smiled and slid off of his lap, galloping into the kitchen with a big grin on her face.

"Mama, cup please. Daddy water."

Lindsay handed her a cup and watched with amusement as Avery opened the fridge and turned the faucet on the filtered water container inside. Her face was set in deep concentration as she filled it almost to the brim.

"There," she said, mostly to herself. "I give daddy."

She left the fridge door opened and went into the other room, sloshing water out of the cup as she swiveled her hips to make herself look more grown up.

"Here daddy. Drink up."

He smiled and took a drink of the water while she watched him carefully.

"This is the best water I've ever had, Tink."

She gave a short nod of satisfaction, then went into the kitchen, intent on setting the table. She could get used to this taking care of daddy thing.

"Okay, are you comfortable?" Lindsay asked, nervously fluffing the pillows on her side of the bed one more time as if it mattered.

"Yes, I'm fine. Ten more minutes and the pain pills with kick in and all your obsessive worrying will just fade away as I fall asleep."

"I can't help that I love you," she defended, leaning down to kiss him.

"I wouldn't ask you to try. Thanks for taking care of me."

"Thanks for bein' alive for me to take care of."

"Absolutely."

"I'm going to go wrangle Avery into bed and call Austin to make sure Colton did his homework and then I'll come to bed. And you will be completely crashed out by then huh?"

"I'm feeling the pull already."

"I love you Adam. Goodnight."

"Goodnight sweetie."

She leaned down and kissed him once more, then stood from the bed and went downstairs. Avery was sitting on the couch in her pajamas, a photo album open across her lap.

"Hi mama. Lookin' pictures."

"Can I look with you for a little bit?"

"Oh yes."

Lindsay sat down and smiled at the old pictures on the page.

"This mama an' daddy," Avery explained.

"Yep. Austin took that picture on New Year's Eve."

"Where Avery?"

"Oh, daddy and I weren't even married yet. We had no idea we would ever have an Avery."

"Coley and Ben?"

"Nope, we didn't know about them either. We were just falling in love."

"Oh. What this?"

"That is a long story," she chuckled looking at the strip of pictures from a photo booth.

"Tell."

"Well one time me and daddy and Austin and Danny decided to drive out to Coney Island after a very long, sad day at work. We were all very tired and cranky and Austin made us all climb into this photo booth and make faces and get our pictures taken to make us feel better. And it worked. See, by this last picture we're all laughing. Of course that could be because we were all about to fall out of the booth because there wasn't enough room for all of us in it."

"I like," she whispered with a nod. "Now this one?"

"Your daddy took this picture one day when I fell asleep on him. He wanted to prove to me that I looked cute when I was sleeping."

"Rascal daddy."

"You are correct my dear."

"An' this?"

"Daddy got a new phone and insisted that we break in the camera on it. That's why most of these are blurry."

"Oh! Mama princess!" Avery squealed, turning the page.

"Yeah I did fee like a princess that day."

"What doing?"

"That was the day daddy and I got married."

"Oh. I see. Mama love daddy so. Smile much."

"It was one of the happiest days of my life."

Avery nodded and continued to look at the pictures intently, as if she was memorizing every inch of them.

"Mama daddy kissin'!"

"Yep."

"Kiss lots. Avery kiss?"

"Someday I hope you fall in love with someone that loves you as much as daddy loves me. And when you do, I hope that you get to kiss them all you want, just like me and daddy."

"Oh."

"I hope you never settle for someone that doesn't love you that much honey. I hope that daddy and I can teach you better than that."

"Time night-night?"

"Yeah, let's go get you tucked in."

They went upstairs and Avery took a few minutes to arrange her stuffed animals and crawl into bed, but no sooner had her head hit the pillow than her eyes closed and she fell into sleep. Lindsay should have gone back downstairs to clean up and call Austin but she just didn't feel like it, so she went upstairs instead and crawled into bed beside Adam, watching him breathe while he slept. Tears flowed down her cheeks at the thought that someday would be the last day she would ever be with him, that one day he might be gone. And despite how fine he claimed he was, that day could have been today, and she was nowhere near ready to let him go.