A/N: I am seriously SO SORRY this has taken me so stinking long to write. I've been busy and I've had writers block.

"Hi mama. I Avery Grace!"

Lindsay snickered and opened her eyes, finding her messy-haired daughter standing next to the bed with her nightgown hanging so loosely around her that she'd managed to get one arm comfortably out of the collar.

"I know you're Averylin Grace. What are you doing up so early?"

"Birds was singin'," she explained, using the side table to climb up into the bed. "I wake up, come to see you!"

"Oh I see. Did you want to snuggle or did you want to wake me up to make you breakfast?"

"I snuggle mama an' daddy."

"Good, I was hoping you would say that."

Avery smiled and climbed under the blankets, giggling when Lindsay tickled her side.

"What we do today mama?"

"We're going to take the boys to school this morning and then daddy and I are taking you to the doctor."

"No!"

"No what honey?"

"No doctor!"

"Why not?"

"I dunno!"

"There's nothing scary about the doctor, Avery. He's just going to see how tall you are and how much you weigh to make sure you're growing right, and then if everything goes okay, you get a piece of candy."

"Oh, some candy? I do that."

"Then after the doctor we're going to pick Ben up from school and then daddy will go to work."

"Then?"

"Then it's naptime for you and Ben. After that we'll go and get Colton from school."

"Then?"

"Then you kids can play and I'll make dinner, and after a while daddy will be home from work and we can eat dinner and then it will be bedtime."

Avery nodded and yawned, pulling the blankets up over her head.

"I go sleep now, for a bit."

"Okay."

"Mama," Avery started, reaching up to trace her little hand over Lindsay's face. "Mama, I look you?"

"Yeah, I think you look like me a little. Daddy thinks you're my clone."

"I be like you mama. And smile."

"You want to be happy like me?"

"Oh yes so most. I fall love a good boy. I work. I laugh lots."

"Is that what you think I do?"

"Yes."

"Well then I hope that's the life you get to have baby."

"Mama, I grow up, be your baby?"

"You and Ben and Colton will always be my babies, no matter how old you get."

"Okay mama. I go sleep again."

"Alright honey."

Avery sighed gently and curled up into a ball, tugging on one of her curls as she slept. Suddenly she'd started talking a lot more, stopped screaming for no reason, and stopped crying over every perceived slight. It was almost as if overnight she'd grown up.

Adam sighed and rolled over, blinking a few times as he woke up. His hair stuck up in all directions and Lindsay smiled as he tried to become aware of what was going on.

"Ug, this weird kid again?" he croaked. "Doesn't she have the decency to not crawl in bed with us when she has a wet diaper?"

"No she doesn't."

"Maybe we should teach her that."

"Maybe we should also teach her not to come and get in our bed at five in the morning."

"That would be awesome too. You gettin' up now?"

"I don't know. I'm tired but I have a lot to do today."

"Like what?"

She began to list off things and she was only halfway through when he shook his head and held his hands up.

"Okay, okay, you've got a lot to do. But do you really have to can the fruit today?"

"Yeah. If I don't do it today the fruit will go bad and then we will have wasted a whole day of picking."

"Oh no, not an entire day of picking! There is no way we could sacrifice that for your sanity!"

She rolled her eyes and he leaned over to take her hand.

"Whatever I can do, leave it for me, okay? I'll clean the bathrooms."

"How about, I will clean the bathrooms and you can paint the new one."

"We'll see how far you get on the list."

She smiled at his negotiation and stood up from the bed, stretching a little while Adam watched her.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just like what I see."

"You always seem to."

She gave him a wink over her shoulder, then went downstairs to find Ben standing in the hallway with tears streaming down his face.

"Mama! I forgot!"

"What did you forget sweetie?"

"My math page! It was homework and I forgot to do it! And now my teacher is gonna be so mad at me and I will get in trouble and then you and daddy will be mad and now my tummy is so upset and I just-"

He let out a sob and ran into the bathroom, throwing up right before he made it to the toilet, which made him cry even harder.

"Ben, settle down, it's okay."

"Not it's not! I failed. I can't even throw up right!

Chuckling, she pulled him into her arms and ignored the mess on the floor for the moment.

"Honey, why don't you go ahead and go back to bed for a little while. Just calm down. I'll help you with your math worksheet before school, okay?"

"You'd do that for me mama?"

"Of course I would. Rinse your mouth out and go get back in bed."

He obeyed her instructions and she cleaned up the small mess on the floor, chuckling a little because he was so dramatic about things, especially things that he'd watched Colton get upset about in the past.

Once the mess was cleaned up she went downstairs and started in on the laundry, moving one load into the dryer and another into the washer, after filling one basket with freshly cleaned laundry. Sometimes it felt like the day to day chores were never ending and no matter how much they all pitched in, nothing would ever be done. The boys took care of Qwerty almost all on their own, even being reliable enough to write dog food on the shopping list when it was needed. Avery had started picking up after herself, even if she did have to be reminded and redirected quite a bit, and that had given Adam and Lindsay a lot more time throughout the day to get other things done. It would have all worked perfectly if dishes and laundry didn't seem to breed overnight.

The sun was streaming through the kitchen window, giving the room a yellowy glow that reminded her so much of early mornings in the barn with her dad when she was a little girl. Sometimes she wished that her kids could know that kind of life, that making your own way, providing for your family beyond the monetary, and seizing every moment of daylight was the most rewarding way to live. Try as she might to teach them these things, she knew that it wouldn't be as meaningful unless or until they lived that life.

"Good mornin' mama."

"Hey Colton. What are you doing up?"

"Ben."

She chuckled at his answer as he rolled his eyes then walked across the kitchen to hug her.

"Could we watch Gilligan's Island together mama? We haven't done that in a long time."

She hesitated for a moment, looking at the dishes in the sink, thinking about the lunches she hadn't prepared for the kids last night, remembering the basket of laundry that needed to be put away. But then she looked down into his eyes, saw the smile of longing on his face and she knew there was no other possible answer.

"Sure buddy. Want to share a blanket?"

"Ooh, what this?" Avery asked, stretching to try and reach the thermometer that was attached to the wall.

"Baby, please stop touching things. Come sit with daddy and read your book."

Avery sighed and climbed off the stool, crossing the room to Adam. He smiled and lifted her into his lap, then opened the book they'd brought along.

"Quack, quack," Avery said, pointing at the picture on the page. "Two duck."

"And what's that?"

"I a big purple goose! Honk!"

"What are the ducks and the geese doing?"

"They find food and home. Not know where go."

"That's right. But who's this guy?"

"Him a duck man guy. He take them home. To food."

"And what do they say when they get their food?"

"Quack, quack, quack, quack, honk, honk, quack!" she giggled, clapping her hands with every word.

"Shall we read it backwards?"

Avery laughed and kicked her legs excitedly, for her favorite part of any book was always when Adam read it backwards. She bounced up and down in his lap as he read, chortling at the funnier backwards sentences and asking him to read it again. He would have too, if the doctor hadn't arrived at that moment, causing Avery to whimper and shrink back against her daddy. Her eyes grew large as she stared up at the doctor, who was going through her chart and confirming things with Lindsay.

"Good morning Avery," he said finally, crouching down to look her in the eye. "How are you today?"

"I'm two," she answered, her voice wavering. "An' a half."

"You are?"

"Um yes. Done now?"

"Well, it won't take long. Would it be alright if you stepped on this scale so we can see how big you are?"

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"I know. I chubby."

"How about if we measure how tall you are?"

"Hmm. Okay. We do that."

She took his hand and hopped off Adam's lap, walking across the small room to the scale that also had a height bar on it. She stood there patiently for a bit, watching intently as the doctor measured her and made some notes on his clipboard.

"I well?" she asked after a moment.

"Yes you are. You're just where you should be."

"Oh good. Now what?"

"Can I look at those pretty eyes of yours?"

"Okay!" she agreed happily, batting her eyelashes. "See them? They blue. Like daddy."

Adam and Lindsay shared an amused look while the doctor went about his examination, making sure that Avery was hitting all her developmental milestones. Partway through he promised her a piece of candy if she would draw a picture for him. It took some prying but she eventually agreed, and he took note of her fine motor skills and her hand-eye coordination. It took a while but they were finally finished and Avery was given a little certificate that she clutched proudly in her hands, announcing to the nurse as they left the building that she was normal.

"Well that took a lot longer than I thought it would," Adam said, starting the car and backing out of the parking lot."

"Yeah, but this doctor is a lot more thorough than the doctor we had for the boys."

"That's true. I guess sometimes-"

"OH NO!"

They both looked in the back seat where Avery was sitting with tears running down her face.

"What's the matter baby?"

"Mama… doctor forgot my candy!"

She continued to cry forlornly, not throwing a fit but displaying all her emotions quite nicely anyway.

"Hey Tink, what if we get you an ice-cream cone? Will that ease the pain?"

"Okay," she agreed wiping her eyes. "I so sad."

"The doctor just made a mistake, honey. He didn't mean to."

"Avery know that. Still sad."

"Okay sweetie. You just go ahead and let yourself be sad."

Her chin touched to her chest and she sighed a few times while they drove, only perking up a little when they reached the ice-cream parlor. Normally this small store produced skipping and shouting from all three kids, but today Avery could not be bothered with such joy. Today she just took their hands and walked into the building reservedly, scuffing her foot against the floor while they ordered for her. They handed her the strawberry ice cream cone and she gave a little smile, looking it over before trying it out.

"This stuff okay. We go home."

She managed to eat halfway through the treat before they even got to the car, and once she was strapped in, her eyelids grew heavy. Adam and Lindsay didn't notice that she'd fallen asleep until they were almost all the way home, and she already had ice cream melted all over her clothes.

"Well."

"Yeah."

"I gotta go to work."

"Adam, if I wake her up to give her a bath, she's going to be so upset for the rest of the day."

"Yeah, but you wanted to be a mom."

She snickered and smacked his shoulder as he pulled into the driveway and Avery let out an "I-don't-want-to-wake-up-yet" whimper.

"If I take her upstairs will you hose out her carseat?"

"Sure, but what's she going to sit in when you go to get Ben from school?"

"I'll throw some towels in there, she won't mind."

"Okay then."

"Sometimes we suck at parenting."

"Our attention spans leave a lot to be desired."

They managed to get Avery out of the car without waking her up and Lindsay carried her upstairs carefully, as to not transfer too much of the ice cream mess onto herself.

"Mama, I icky."

"I know. Want to take a bath?"

"Please. My shirt off."

They went into the bathroom and Lindsay started the water, chuckling as Avery tried to get her messy shirt off.

"Mama help. I icky."

Lindsay reached over and helped her and soon Avery was happily in the tub, playing with some toys and humming to herself.

"Babe, I'm going to head to work," Adam said, walking into the room and dropping a kiss to Avery's head. "Need anything from the store on the way back?"

"I'll let you know if I think of anything. Be safe."

"I will. I love you."

"I love you too."

He kissed her gently then left the room while Avery giggled.

"What's so funny?"

"Mama, that so sweet. You an' daddy."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes. So most."

"But mama, I don't understand! Why do me and Dunner gotta take a nap?"

"Because it's nap time," she answered simply, turning out the bedroom light.

"My ma never makes me take naps after school," Junior added. "And she might be mad if you maked me."

"I don't think so, guy. You boys need to rest, okay?"

"I'm all rested up!" Ben argued, jumping out of bed. "So I could just not take a nap, okay?"

She looked down at their little faces and felt her resolve crumble.

"Okay, you don't have to take a nap, but you are going to have to be quiet while I get some things done, okay?"

"We can do that Aunt Lin! Me and Binyin play this game at school called the quiet game because our teacher used to have to remind us to be quiet. So now we're real good at bein' quiety."

"Yep mama, that's the truth."

"It's the truth that you two got in trouble for being too loud in class?"

The boys looked at each other and Junior gulped, having never been in trouble with Lindsay before.

"Well you see mama, that's only the first half of the story. The second part, and the mostest importantest part is that me and Dunner can be quiet. So you see that is the moral of this story what we telled to you."

"Yeah Aunt Lin. What Binyin said."

She chuckled and shook her head, seeing so much of their fathers in them that it was almost unbelievable.

"Okay boys, let's go downstairs and you can watch a movie. But don't tell Avery that I let you skip a nap, okay?"

They both nodded vigorously and followed her downstairs where they picked a movie and climbed up onto the couch together, their arms slung around each others shoulders. Ever since school had started, they'd been even more inseparable than normal, often discussing things in low tones that no one else could hear. She was sure it was just another part of their friendship, they possibly felt like with all the new friends they were making, they needed to hold onto each other more. She knew the feeling well, having been through it at various points in her life; when everything was changing there was a desperate need to hold onto the things that had never failed.

Leaving them to their own devices, she went into the kitchen to continue canning the fruit. Everything was peeled and mashed with sugar which had been easy enough with the kids running around, but boiling water and pectin together and getting it just to the right temperature and mixing it with the fruit at just the right time meant that she couldn't have distractions. She worked for quite a while, measuring and watching the water until it boiled just right, then mixing it with the fruit and letting it cool just a little.

"Hey Aunt Lin, what'cha doin' with that stuff? You makin' sketti? I love sketti."
"No, I'm making strawberry jam."

"You work for Smuckers?"

She laughed and shook her head while he rocked back and forth on his heels, his arms crossed over his chest.

"So Aunt Lin," he started conversationally. "What's been goin' on?"

"Not very much. What's going on with you?"

"Same old stuff. I was wondering something."

"What were you wondering?"

"Would it be a possibility for me and Binyin to have a snack?"

"What kind of snack were you thinking of honey?"

"Somethin' that tastes good that we could share. Something that's my favorite."

"Well what's your favorite?"

"Anything you make Aunt Lin."

"You look just like your daddy, do you know that?"

"My ma says I use the charms that he passed to me."

"She's definitely right about that one."

He smiled and leaned against the counter, watching her intently for a moment before speaking again.

"So how 'bout that snack, huh?"

She chuckled and shook her head, leaning over to kiss the top of his head.

"Aunt Lin, how come you're always kissin' us kids?"

"Because you're pretty darn tootin' adorable. Where's your partner in crime?"

"You mean Binyin? He goed outside to do a duty."

"A duty?"

"Somethin' we learned about in school. He's giving money to poor people."

"What?"

"Oh come on, I will show you."

She followed him out onto the front porch and found Ben standing on the curb, dropping something into the sewer grate and concentrating heavily.

"Benjamin, what are you doing?"

He turned around and she spied an old coffee can in his arms, the same one Adam used to collect loose change.

"I'm givin' money to the poor peoples!" he answered, dropping another quarter into the drain. "They will think it's raining nickels!"

"What are you talking about?" Lindsay asked, pulling him away from the road.

"In school we learned about money. And then later we learned about sharing with people what got less than we do. So then I thought to myself "Hey Ben, you got a lot of stuffs what you can share!" so I goed upstairs and got daddy's money. I throwed it down the drain, for that goes to the under the ground, and that's where the poor people live, on account of that's where the train tracks are!"

She stared at him bewildered for a moment before he looked down into the coffee can and sighed.

"We don't need all this money. It's heavy."

Partially amused but mostly touched she smiled and pulled him into her arms, kissing his cheeks and holding him close for just a moment so he would know that she loved him.

"Sweetie, I'm very happy that you want to share and I'm very happy that you're grateful for all you have."

"I am not like the kids what lived in a boxcar, even if one of them was named Ben."

"I know."

"On third thought, maybe I should not be sharing daddy's money. But you see, I don't got none of my own."

"Why don't you let me and daddy worry about that? You just keep wanting to share and daddy and I will help you."

"Okay. Can I throw more money down the drain?"

"Not right now. It will get lost in the sewer. Let's go inside and you boys can finish your movie and then we'll come up with a plan for how to share stuff with the people that don't have a lot."

"That's a good plan mama. Hey Dunner! We're gonna do somethin' for the poor people! Wanna help?"

"Yeah! I got a lot of things too!"

They raced into the house and Lindsay stared down at the abandoned coffee can in her hands, knowing that Ben would give away every last thing he owned just to make someone happy. Maybe they were getting the hang of this parenting thing after all.