"Hey Cole. Cole. Wake up! It's me Ben!"

"I know it's you. Who else would it be?"

"I dunno. Could be like… Ronald McDonald."

"Ben why would Ronald McDonald be in our room?"

"Looking for fries," Ben replied with a shrug.

"Right. Why are you making me wake up? It's dark outside."

"I heared Mac making breakfast. I thought we could go downstairs and have some."

"I'm more tired than hungry but you can go. I'll stay here with Aves so if she wakes up she doesn't have a meltdown."

"Melt? I hope Mac melted cheese on something!"

Ben jumped out of the huge bed and ran downstairs into the kitchen, finding it empty.

"Wait just a minute here! I thinked I heared cookin'!" he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I was just starting the coffee and I went to get the paper," Mac explained as he came into the kitchen. "What are you doing up?"

"I was hungry."

Mac chuckled and Ben climbed up onto the counter, rubbing at his eyes.

"Mac? I really miss my mama and daddy. My greatest wish is for them to come home."

"They'll be home in a few more days."

"See, my brain knows that. But my heart doesn't. And it makes my eyes want to cry because I just… I want mama to kiss my cheeks and for daddy to give me a strong hug. And my heart just feels very fat and heavy and it needs to have a little cry. But that's not being a brave good boy like daddy asked me and Cole to be. So you see now I am makin' a tough choice about if I want to cry or be brave. I don't know what to choose."

Mac chuckled a little and stood in front of Ben, choosing his words carefully.

"You know what I think? I think that sometimes being brave means letting yourself cry. So if you want to cry buddy, you go for it."

"Oh Mac thank you so much! I am going to go in to the other room and sit in your big chair and cry and then I will come back and help you make breakfast, okay?"

"If that's what you want to do."

"It is. Then after that could we maybe call mama and daddy?" he asked, his chin quivering a little. "I just want to say to them that I love them so much."

"We'll call them a little later okay?"

"Okay. I'll be right back."

He headed into the other room just as Avery came down the stairs with her hair sticking up in every direction and her eyes red and puffy with sleep.

"Ben? What is doing?"

"I'm gonna cry. You can go and hang out with Mac."

She tilted her head to the side in question then wandered into the kitchen, grabbing onto Mac's leg without greeting.

"Good morning Avery. What can I do for you?"

"Want drink. I no potty in diaper. And snuggles please. Where Jo-Jo?"

"She's still sleeping. I don't know how you kids wake up so early. I might have to talk to your mama about this."

"Oh mama!" Avery hollered, bursting into tears, as if she had forgotten. "Avery want mama! Mama!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to remind you," Mac said, picking her up and holding her close while she cried. "Hey guess what?"

"No guess! Want mama!"

"Oh but if your mama comes back today you won't get to see the fun surprise."

"Su'pise?"

"Yeah. Do you want to know what the surprise is?"

"Yes."

"Today none of the kids have school so we're going to go to the children's museum and Isa and Sarah and Junior are all coming with us."

"Oh my! So fun! We go now?"

"Not yet. After breakfast."

"Yum breakfast. I have egg an' toast?"

"You sure can. Why don't you go check on Ben? He said he would help me."

"Okay!"

She wiggled down from his arms and ran into the living room, seeing that Ben had just finished his crying session and was wiping his eyes.

"Wow sissy. We really are a mess without mama and daddy aren't we? I think we are. But we got each other."

"Ben, you help Mac! Make food for Avery eat!"

"I will go help but you can't whine if it takes too long. That's what's called bein' a ungrateful guest."

"Oh. Okay Ben. I watch. And eat."

"That's what you always do anyway sissy."

"Did we really think this through when we decided to take all six kids to the museum?" Jo asked, her accent getting thicker as they tried to navigate around the throngs of people.

"Maybe not. I thought the kids would all fall in line when I asked them to. I didn't realize that they don't listen when they're excited."

"Too much to hope for. Avery don't touch please."

"But this is a hands-on place!" Isa reminded them. "We're supposed to touch. Go ahead Avery. Touch that other thing instead."

"Jo-Jo say no. I be good girl. Like Sarah."

Isa rolled her eyes and went back to the car racing display that she and Ben had been playing with. It was a lesson in gravity and kinetic energy, but they were much more interested in which car was going to win the race.

"Um Papaw, can you lift me up to see over there? That tornado machine. I gotta take a look."

Mac smiled and picked Sarah up, putting her on his shoulders so she could see across the large room.

"I decided I would like to go over there. Can you take me?"

"Sure. Let's see if Colton and Junior want to go too."

"Colton Matthew and Daniel! Me and Papaw are going to that thing over there. Want to come?"

Both boys agreed and they headed off across the room while Jo kept an eye on the other three.

"Ben I think if you pull that thing back a little bit more, then your car will go farther."

"How far Isa?"

"All the way back. Far as it will go. Try it."

He obeyed her instructions then whooped with joy when his car beat the previous time.

"Thanks for the help Isa! That was fun! Wanna do somethin' else now?"

"Sure! What looks good?"

"Look at that pet place over there! You could be a real animal doctor!"

"How about I be the owner and you can be the doctor. And maybe Avery could be something too."

"I be somethin' too!" Avery agreed with excitement. "I play with big kids!"

Jo laughed and let her down to the floor and then followed the kids as they ran into the miniature veterinary clinic. Ben grabbed a stethoscope and immediately started taking care of a stuffed dog that Isa had picked out of the pile. Avery flitted about anxiously, as if the dog's life hung in the balance.

"Well I gots some good news! Your doggy will be as good as new! All he gots to do is eat his veggies! Now, I need to write you a bill for this so you can pay me. What is your doggy's name?"

"Jimi Hendrix."

Ben nodded and scribbled on the pad of paper, then handed it to Isa.

"You need to pay me eleventy dollars and fifty-two census."

Isa giggled and pretended to hand him money, then walked out of the clinic.

"Thanks doc!"

"You're welcome! Tell your friends!"

"My turn!" Avery hollered, bringing over a stuffed chicken. "Him sick."

"You need to be more specific, ma'am."

"Him sick!" she repeated with a shout.

"Not louder sissy. Tell me what his issue is!"

"Him don't make eggs. Need eggs for eatin'. Him broke."

"Oh dear. Does he cluck?"

"No. Moos."

"Sissy, chickens don't moo."

"Um… Isa?"

"Chickens cluck, Avery. But is this a boy?"

"Yep. Boy chicken."

"Then that means he's a rooster. And roosters don't lay eggs. He's cured!"

Avery squealed happily and hugged the chicken while she pranced around the room.

"Now that is what's called stealin' my thunder, Isa."

"I didn't mean to, Ben. I was just um… I was playing that I was your nurse! Yeah, I was helping you with your patient."

"Oh! In that case, you can steal my thunder any old time!"

"Could I be the doctor now? I would like a try."

"Sure! I will be the owner of this kitty! It's a girl kitty what's called Linda."

Isa snickered but turned it into a concerned cough.

"Well kitty Linda, what seems to be the trouble today?"

"She gots diarrhea," Ben reported somberly. "And she can only walk backwards."

"I have never seen a case like this! In fifteen hundred years of bein' an animal doctor. Let me talk with another doctor real quick."

She grabbed the toy phone off the wall and spoke into it quickly, nodding her head seriously before hanging up.

"Okay, I have a solution! First to make her um… tummy better she needs to drink some coffee because our ma's say that fixes everything. And then to get her walkin' straight we need to spin in backwards circles real fast and reverse the spin of the earth!"

They both started to spin quickly while Avery watched in fascination and clapped her hands louder the faster they went.

"Are we reversin' it yet Isa?"

"Just a few… more… turns…"

"I feel like I'm goin' back to the future!"

"One more spin and done! Kitty Linda should be walkin' all normal now."

Ben staggered over to the table and looked at the cat, deciding she was fine.

"Yep, you cured her Isa! Fantastic job! How much do I owe you?"

"Um, you could just say this one is on the house."

"Who's house?"

"Mine."

"Oh. Okay."

Isa chuckled and reached her hand out to ruffle his hair.

"You know what Ben? You're actually a pretty cool kid."

"Mama, you won't believe what Ben said at the dinner table tonight! Something that is so bad that he had to have a talk with Mac!"

"Are you tattling?" Lindsay asked, leaning back in the chair and yawning.

"No because he was already punished by not getting dessert."

"Okay then, what did he say?"

"Well first he said "Hey, how come this pizza don't got no sauce on it?" and then Mac told him it was Stromboli and it doesn't have sauce and then Ben said… well Ben said real loud "Well what the hell man?" and then Mac choked on his dinner and Jo was upset because she knows we don't use those words. So Mac had a talk with him and Ben said he only said that because Isa said it but Mac said it was not the time to get Isa in trouble."

"Sounds like a lot of excitement."

"Yeah it was. What did you and daddy do today at the beach?"

"We went for a drive and visited a lighthouse and bought some chocolate."

"I wish I could have been there. I miss you guys."

"We miss you too. Can we have a mama and Colton day when we get back? I'd really like to hang out with my favorite first-born."

"Okay! I'll start thinking of things to do right now! I'll write them down so I don't forget."

"I'll think of things too and then we'll compile our lists and do something that we both thought of."

"That's a real good plan mama. I'm gonna go get started! Here's Ben!"

There was a quiet shuffling noise and Ben came on the phone with a sigh.

"Well I suppose you heared about my disappointin' behavior of before."

"I did, but it seems that Mac took care of it, so we don't need to discuss it now. How was the rest of your day?"

"It was fun mama. We played and played and played with the Messers and then we had to take naps but that was okay. And then we ate dinner and Mac had to leave to do his job so now it's just us kids and Jo-Jo and also Ellie came over. We're going to watch a movie and then have bedtime. And if you talk to sissy could you relay the message to her that she kicks too much in her sleep and it hurts me?"

"I'll do my best baby."

"Know what happened at the museum today? Well Mac and Jo-Jo losted sissy! She was just gone! And I was very upset and I said to them "How could you lose sissy? Her is huge!" and then we finded her. She was hidin' behind some kid because she thinked it was funny. Then Mac had to hold her for the rest of the time, on account of he didn't want her runnin' off no more. She didn't like that of course, but she haved her chance."

"She's probably learned her lesson then."

"I miss you and daddy so, so, so, so much. I really need to hug you real hard. And then I will do a deep breath because of the fact that I like the way you smell like a pretty flower in the sunshine."

"That's what I smell like?"

"Yep! It's a smell what comforts me when I'm distressed."

She laughed and shook her head at his antics, wishing she could wrap her arms around him and hold on for three or four days.

"I love you Ben Ry."

"I love you too mama! Our movie is startin' soon because the popcorn is ready. I will go snuggle with Jo-Jo and you be good over there at the beach okay?"

"I'll be good sweetie."

"Okay bye mama!"

The phone clicked off and she giggled to herself, missing the kids so much that it hurt, but grateful that they were having so much fun.

"Hey, you almost ready to go?" Adam asked as he came out onto the deck.

"Yeah."

"Talking to the kids?"

"I miss them a little."

"Come on, let's go dancing and get your mind off of it."

He pulled her up from the chair and wrapped his arms around her while she sighed.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Not much longer and we'll be back with the kids again."

"I know."

"Until then let's enjoy ourselves okay?"

"Alright. Now where is this honky-tonk you speak of and what possessed you to want to take me there?"

He gave her a little grin and took her back inside, sliding her jean jacket around her shoulders.

"Because dancing makes you happy."

"You don't like it."

"I like watching you and I am grateful when you let me dance with you because everyone else in the whole place is really jealous of me."

"He uses flattery! It's highly successful!"

"You make me laugh."

"I do my best."

They left the room and made their way down to the car where Adam fought with the GPS and Lindsay laughed at him.

"Shut up."

"It's funny! You spend your days solving crime using very high tech devices, but you still can't get a GPS to give you the proper directions."

He glared at her and they were finally on their way across town to a place he had found online that boasted an authentic country feel. He was certain that it wouldn't feel real to her but as long as the music was loud and there were boots on a hardwood floor, she would be happy.

"You never told me you were in a band. How did I go so many years without knowing this?"

Lindsay just laughed and shook her head, wondering why the old memory had never surfaced in all their years together.

"I think I repressed the memory. No one wants to admit that they were the keyboardist in a cover band back in the late 90's."

"Okay, how did this come to be? How did you find yourself doing Joni Mitchell covers?"

She laughed again and rolled her eyes, realizing now that there was a reason she had never brought this up.

"There was this guy at my high school who was trying to do a benefit to raise money for the local hospital. He wanted to make it a dinner and a talent show, and at the last minute a few of us formed a band to help him out. We called ourselves "Since Tuesday" because we'd only been around since Tuesday."

"And how long were you together?"

"Probably about three months. We never played anywhere but at that benefit, then we just tinkered around in my friends' garage during the summer. It wasn't really anything to put on my resume."

"Maybe not but it's still interesting to me."

"You're easily amused."

"I must be because I think you are absolutely hilarious."

"You're a punk."

He smiled and spun her out and back to him again, humming a little tune. The country themed club they'd gone to had closed almost an hour ago, but they were still dancing in the parking lot because there was no reason for them not to. He held her in his arms every day, often for hours, but there was something different and special about this, and he couldn't bear to let go. She didn't seem to want any space either.

He slid his fingers through her belt loops to pull her even closer, and she rested against him with a sigh, memories tumbling through her head, bringing tears to her eyes and she thought of how lucky she was.

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

"You know that fake fireplace in the room?"

"Yeah."

"We should go try it out."

"That's what you want?"

"Yep."

"Alright, let's go."

"Thanks for takin' me dancing."

"Anytime, love."

They walked back to the car and he held the door open for her, then leaned in to buckle her seatbelt and kiss her softly.

"All safe in there?"

"All safe."

He smiled and closed her door, then walked around to his side of the car, getting in carefully, grinning when she reached her hand out for his, even before he had started the car. As they drove through town it seemed that everyone had gone to bed long ago, and that they were the only ones in the world. He briefly considered taking her down to the beach again, but she had requested the fireplace, and the beach could wait.

"Do we have any candy left from earlier?" she asked as they walked to their room.

"I think there's some saltwater taffy left."

"Mm, perfect. I'm going to go change."

He grabbed her waist and kissed her gently before she went into the other room, then walked over to the fireplace and turned it on. It sprung to life, crackling semi-realistically and putting off a fair amount of heat for something that was fake.

"Ooh, that looks pretty."

He smiled and turned to look at her, seeing the baggy sweats and her combed through hair.

"So do you."

"Stop."

He smiled and toed his shoes off then sat down on the couch and pulled her down with him.

"Tell me something."

"What?"

"Anything."

She thought for a few moments, chewing on her lip before she thought of something.

"Spiral staircases freak me out."

"Why?"

"I don't know, they just do. Always have."

"Do you think you're going to fall?"

"No. I just always feel like they're haunted or something. Don't laugh."

"I'm not laughing. I think it's interesting, that's all."

"Your turn."

He tapped his chin in thought and gave a few long sighs until she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Okay fine. After my parents split up, my mom didn't have a lot of money. She had to go back to work and for the first year she worked two full time jobs and occasionally a third. I hardly ever got to see her and I spent a lot of time alone or with the neighbor kids. But once a month she would save up some money and she would take me to the cheap theater in town and let me get popcorn and a slushie and we'd watch the last show of the night so I could stay up late. I always knew she didn't really have the money for stuff like that, but she saved up so we could spend some time together. Just for those few hours once a month, neither of us worried about anything. I think that tradition is what kept me on the straight and narrow as I grew up. She may have made some mistakes when I was younger, and it may still hurt to think about those, but that extra time and effort she took later helped to ease a lot of that hurt."

"You know that your mom loves you, right?"

"Yeah, I know. I didn't understand it as much until we became parents, but now I realize it. Sometimes I watch you with the boys, how they light up when they see you and how they always let you hug them in front of people. You're their queen, you really are. And I realize that my mom was that to me too. No matter what was happening, even in the bad times and even when I did feel betrayed by her, she was still the one person that I knew would never leave me. I felt safe with her, even when I wasn't safe, I think I believed that she could fix everything. I don't know, it's complicated because of my father but the longer I'm a parent the more I remember the good things that happened when I was growing up."

"You're a good man," she said softly, pushing his hair back from his face. "I'm constantly amazed by all that you've gone through and the person you are and I'm so proud that our kids are turning out to be like you."

"I do my best."

"I know you do."

"Linds when we were dating and engaged, were you ever worried that I might make the same mistakes my father did?"

"Never."

"Not once?"

"Nope. I have trusted you completely from the beginning and I know that you loved me way too much to do that."

"I do love you too much. You are the most amazing woman I've ever known and I am so lucky to have you."

Tears sprung to her eyes and she leaned up to kiss him, grabbing his shirt to pull him closer.

"I can't get enough of you," she whispered after a moment. "I just want you with me all the time."

"Let's quit our jobs and cash in our investments and take the kids and find a place to live off the land together."

"That's a good idea for next Tuesday, but what about right now?"

"I've got something in mind."