A/N: Sorry for the filler chapter. My muse ran away with another woman or something.

"Averylin, hurry up sweetie."

"Me and Thomas are havin' trouble!" Avery hollered back. "Might need a moment."

"Colton will you go check on your sister?" Lindsay sighed, folding another beach towel.

"Sure. I bet this is going to be funny anyway. Come on, Ben."

The boys went upstairs, finding their sister in her bedroom with Thomas, who looked up at them, embarrassed. Avery was trying to put the poor dog into one of her old swimsuits.

"Thomas tuck your tail! Mama won't let me use scissors on this!"

"Sissy, what in tarnation are you doing?"

"Puttin' Thomas in a suit. So her can go to swimming lessons with me! If she looks like a girl child they will let her in. Her just can't plug her nose."

"Aves, that suit won't fool anyone. Thomas is too hairy."

"Hmm. Maybe I could shave her."

"I think she's been watching too many movies, Cole."

"Hey Aves, we didn't sign Thomas up for the class too. So they wouldn't know she's coming with you and that might not be good. Maybe we could leave her home this time and you can talk to your teacher to see if Thomas can come next time," Colton reasoned, knowing that Avery would forget about it soon anyway. "But we need to go or we'll be late."

Avery sighed and shook her head.

"Okay Coley. Help me get Thomas changed?"

He nodded and helped her with the dog, who seemed grateful to be out of the clothing and went to lay in her bed.

"What does happen at swimming lessons?" Avery asked as the sibling trio started down the stairs. "I gotta get water in mine eyes?"

"Nah, mama got you some goggles. Mostly you will just learn that the water is your friend and also how to blow bubbles. Then you will learn more the next time. But it won't be scary, I promise."

"And you boys will be there too?"

"Yeah, we're going to be swimming with the Messers in the other pool," Ben answered with a nod. "And then when your class is over you can come play with us. Mama said we could spend most of the day there. We can even eat lunch! And then afterwards we're going to go to the splash pad to see Teagan and Liam on account of we never see those kids much and they are part of our family too."

Avery nodded and skipped into the living room, hands behind her back.

"Hi mama. Do I look like a beauty in my new suit?"

"You sure do honey."

"When I learn to swim we will go to the ocean again, okay?"

"Alright."

"Mama, why is you so blue today?"

"I'm not blue sweetie. Just a little tired because of how hot it is outside. I didn't sleep so good last night."

"Oh. You can come sleep in my room tonight! It's not hot in there."

"I think daddy and I are going to sleep down here until we can get the air conditioner fixed."

"Hmm. It is most work to keep the house good huh mama?"

"Yes it is. Boys are you ready to go?"

"I sure am!" Ben said enthusiastically, pulling his goggles out from his face and then letting them snap back. "Ow, that smarts!"

Colton chuckled and grabbed one of the bags and Avery's hand, heading outside to the car while Ben followed behind, rubbing at his eyes. Lindsay made sure the house was locked then helped the kids into the car, buckling Avery in, cursing when the heat from the seatbelt burned her hand.

"Oh mama that was a bad, bad word."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"I never heared that from you a'fore."

"I won't say it again, baby."

"You need a time out."

"Hey, don't get carried away."

Avery chuckled and soon they were on the way to the pool, kids chattering happily despite the summer heat. The last few weeks had been hard as Adam had dealt with losing his mom, but things had been getting better in the last few days. He wasn't moping as much anymore and several times he'd outright laughed at the antics of the kids, who had been doing their best to "cheer his face" as Avery said. Lindsay was less worried about him than she had been but she'd worn herself out trying to get him to talk. She'd finally had to face the fact that he was just going to have to go at his own pace, whether she liked it or not.

"Hey Cole did you bring the dive sticks?"

"Yeah, I put them in the bag."

"Good. I want to see if I can get them in the deep end. It's my goal for this summer. Mama said we could spend lots of time at the pool on account of it's a cheap thrill and it means she can read a book in peace and quiet."

"I really want to jump off the high dive," Colton said with a nod. "I think I will make that my goal. It's just so far up there, I don't want to do a belly flop."

"Maybe you will have to practice more Cole, on the little dive. I can watch you and give you scores, like in the Olympics! What's your goal for the summer sissy?"

"I'm hungry," Avery replied, rubbing her stomach. "Mama, could I get a snack?"

"Not before you swim honey. Why don't you tell your brothers what your goal for the summer is."

"I said to get a snack!"

"Aves if your goal is to get a snack then next summer your goal will be to lose weight."

"I'm fabulous how I are!" she shouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I know that Aves. You'd be pretty and smart no matter what. But you can't eat all the time. How about a swimming type goal?"

"Oh. I wanna swim by myself. With no help. That will be my goal."

"That's a good one sissy! I bet you could do it. Wanna know what else I want to do this summer? I want to read a whole chapter book, one what Cole read when he was my age."

"Ben when we get home, I'll find all my favorite books from back then, okay? It's a good thing that I write in them when I start and finish. I think daddy has read most of them to us before bed but maybe we'll find one that you don't know yet."

"Thanks Cole! What kind of other thing do you want to do this summer besides the diving?"

"I don't know. I want to learn something new or find a new hobby or something. I will have to think about it. Aves?"

"Daddy an' me decided I will ride my bike with no little tires!"

"You mean training wheels?"

"Yep those! Daddy's gonna teach me."

"That's good. Daddy teached me too sissy. Many years ago. Maybe next summer my goal will be to ride a unicycle. Think I could try that mama?"

"We'll have to wait and see, Ben."

"Okay. Hey we are almost at the pool! I can't wait to see Dunner. It's been three whole days."

"Wow, that's like a lifetime," Lindsay chuckled.

"Yep, feels like it. We really gotta figure out how to talk to each other telepathically. Sometimes I got so much to tell him when we have to save it up for a lot of days."

"How come you guys don't talk on the phone or Skype like me and Isa do?"

"We prefer the face-to-face approach."

Lindsay snickered and turned the radio up a little to mask it. No one ever knew the things that were going to come out of Ben's mouth but she was glad she was able to catch so much of it.

"We are here at the pool!" Avery shouted suddenly. "This is wonderful! This summer is so very most great."

Lindsay kept a careful eye on the boys splashing and swimming in the big pool, occasionally glancing over at the smaller pool where Avery was having her swimming lessons. She'd shrieked and cried and refused to dip even a toe into the pool until Lindsay had administered some tough love and walked away. Avery was content to blow bubbles with the other kids almost instantly. Most of the time she was good and reasonable but occasionally her theatrics were a little too much.

"Hey ma, I'm going off the high dive," Sarah shouted, giving Austin a wave as she ran past.

"No you're not, Sarah Claire."

"Why not?"

"Because I said no."

"Why did you say no?"

"Well, um…" Austin started, trying to riddle out exactly why she didn't want her daughter jumping off the high dive. Lindsay smiled, awaiting the explanation as well. Austin couldn't very well say it was dangerous; her kids all knew that danger had never stopped her before.

"Ma, hurry up. I'm going to chicken out if I have to wait too long."

"Alright, go ahead but be careful."

Sarah grinned and dashed off to the high dive, climbing the ladder quickly and standing at the edge of the board, looking cautiously down at the water.

"Hey guys, watch this!" she hollered before jumping off and into the water. Colton and Isa looked on jealously, somewhat scared, but clapped for her when she came back up and swam over to them.

"Did you see that?" she squealed. "My heart is pounding! That was so scary! I want to go again."

Climbing the ladder on the side of the pool, she rushed back to the diving board, then stopped halfway and came back to where Austin was sitting.

"Ma?"

"Yeah sweetie?"

"I don't want to tempt fate again. Tell me I can't go."

"Sarah, I don't want you to go up there again."

"Okay ma."

She skipped back to the pool, making her excuse to the other kids before tossing one of the diving sticks into the water for Ben.

"Thanks Sarah!" he grinned before diving deep to retrieve it.

"Do you guys want to play Marco Polo or something?" Isa asked, her long hair swishing in the water.

"How about that other game where you say a swear underwater and everyone has to guess which swear it was?" Junior suggested with a cheeky grin.

"I don't like that one," Isa sighed. "I swear better on dry land. Hey ma! Indy! What are some games us kids could play?"

"I don't know. Did anyone bring a beach ball?"

"We did but it has a hole in it."

"Guess you're just going to have to be creative."

Grumbling, the kids began to discuss what to play while Avery came sauntering over, her towel thrown over her shoulder.

"Hello mama."

"Hey baby. How was your lesson?"

"Most hard. The other kids could not float like me," she reported with a sigh, climbing onto Lindsay's chair with her. "Is it time to eat?"

"Not just yet honey. Do you want to play with the big kids?"

"No, it is rough in there," she answered, watching as Sarah sneakily body-checked Isa into the pool, much to the delight of the boys. "I will snuggle with you."

"I won't argue."

"Hey Austin?"

"Yes Avery?"

"Can Sarah and me have a sleepover?"

"Tonight? Maybe. I'll think about it."

"Okay."

"Why don't you come over here and snuggle with me?"

"Well Austin, my mama is the best for snugglin'," she explained. "See how nice I fit like this? And she smells most lovely. Mama snuggles are most best because her holds my little hand, see? And sometimes she plays with my fluffy hair. I like it right here."

"Okay then. Maybe later?"

"Oh of course! You smell pretty too Austin!"

"Thanks honey."

"You're welcome!"

She pulled her towel over her head and settled down for a little snooze while Junior pulled himself out of the pool.

"Ma, my band-aid is comin' off," he said, pointing to one of the many that littered his arms and legs. "Could ya rip it so it don't fall off in there and gross people out?"

"Why didn't you just do it?"

"It's a job for a ma!"

"Oh Dan-yo, I will do it," Avery sighed, sitting up and leaning over to grasp the band-aid. "Do not cry, this will be fast. One, two, three!"

She yanked the band-aid off then made a face and dropped it on the ground.

"Thanks baby Aves."

"I am not a baby, Dan-yo. Ben gets hisself a knuckle sandwich if he call me baby. Only mama can call me baby."

"Sorry, it slipped out. I know you're not a baby, Aves. You're just kinda precious is all."

"Oh. I could deal with that."

He gave her a crooked smile then ran back to the pool while she sighed.

"What a boy."

Lindsay and Austin stifled their laughter while Avery continued to shake her head and mutter to herself.

"What are you sayin' over there Avery?"

"I's just thinkin' 'bout how Dan-yo is a gross boy but also he is cute like a prince charming. How come boys could be both?"

"Oh Averylin, you will spend your whole life trying to answer that question."

"My whole life mama? Aw man! I will just ask daddy. He is a boy. He will know."

"You'll have to ask really nicely to get him to tell you."

"I will make my sweet face and blink my pretty eyes a lot. He will tell me then."

"Alright baby."

"Adam? Are you coming to bed tonight or are you going to stay up?" Lindsay asked, finding him sitting at the computer. She yawned and leaned against the doorway, squinting her eyes at the light from the screen.

"I'll be up in a bit."

"What are you doing?"

"Just some research. Come on, let's go to bed."

She frowned at his evasive answer but took his offered hand anyway, following him upstairs, stopping for a moment to check on the kids. Ben had insisted on wearing his goggles to bed and Lindsay carefully slipped them off, rubbing his face where there were marks. He sighed and reached up for her hand, giving it a squeeze before rolling over. She moved over to check on Colton, pulling the book out of his hand and putting it on the table next to the bed before kissing him softly.

Avery was sprawled out in the middle of her bed in just her underwear, snoring in a deep bass while the dog slept undisturbed next to her. Adam pulled a light blanket over her, brushing her tangled hair back from her face and kissing her cheek while she sighed and slid her thumb into her mouth. He removed it with a gentle tug and she whined, then pulled one of her stuffed animals closer. He stood there for a moment just looking at her, holding her hand and wishing his baby girl wouldn't grow up quite so fast.

"Adam, are you coming upstairs?"

He nodded and followed her, shedding most of his clothes and tossing them in the hamper before climbing into bed.

"You want to tell me what you were doing down there?" she asked in a soft voice once they were settled.

"Going over our wills."

"Adam."

"It's important. We haven't updated them since Avery was a baby. We need to do that. We need to have things in order."

"I know."

"We need to move forward with this adoption thing too."

"Now?"

"Yes. International adoption is getting dicey. We're going to be too old soon. Some countries are closing down their programs. I know domestic is still an option but we need to get on the ball either way."

"Okay."

"We need to figure out which agency to go through and we need to get ready for a home study."

"Adam, I know. But we can't do that right this minute. You're dealing with a lot of things right now and I think you need to put some things off to the side for a while."

"You're probably right."

"Of course I'm right babe. That's why you married me."

"Among other things."

He smiled and kissed her forehead and she reached for his hand, giving it a squeeze.

"Are you alright honey?"

"I'm fine Linds."

"You never talk to me about things. I don't know what you're thinking anymore."

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be like that."

"Well?"

"I'm alright. I miss my mom and I wish that I had more time with her, but I don't think there was anything left unsaid. I know that she and I were fine and I don't regret anything. It's okay."

"You know you can talk to me if it's ever not okay."

"I know. I'm just not used to letting you take care of me."

"Hey, if I can wash your dirty clothes then I can surely listen to you."

"You're wonderful, you know that?"

"You tell me a lot."

He gave her a smile and reached over to turn the light out then leaned down to kiss her, finding himself suddenly desperate to touch and hold her. It took her by surprise but she went with it, pulling him closer and letting him slide over her.

"You know, we haven't done this in a while," she noted after a moment.

"Yeah. Life and all that."

"Hmm. We should probably not let that happen again huh?"

"Yeah sure. Let's not let that happen again. But don't pause the process right now by trying to have a discussion?"

The grin he flashed her was enough to let her know that he was teasing.

It was just a few minutes later when the bedroom door flew open, forcing them to both stop what they were doing and look to see who had interrupted them.

"Hello folks," Avery greeted, hand thrown in the air. "I am here."

"What are you here for?"

"Because," she answered, shuffling her feet in the doorway while Adam peeled himself off of his wife.

"Averylin, why are you wearing your swimsuit?" Lindsay asked, eyes adjusting to the light from the hallway.

"Why not?" Avery shot back, her hands on her hips.

"Honey, you don't have to wear your underwear underneath it."

"I wanted to!" she defended. "A'sides, it looks like I got cute rufflies on the sides now!"

Adam burst into laughter and fell back against the bed, covering his mouth as to not embarrass Avery, who had wandered over to the mirror and was admiring her outfit.

"Sweetheart, it's bedtime right now."

"Oh, it is?"

"It's still dark out. Why don't you go back to bed for a while?"

"Oh. Well could I go swimming now?"

"Not now. Maybe tomorrow I'll turn on the sprinkler for you."

"Alright! So you say it is bedtime now?"

"Yes honey."

"Hmm. Okay. I could go sleep on the floor of my brothers?"

"Sure honey."

"Okay. Sayonara."

She wandered out of the room while her parents laughed together for a few minutes before another one of their children came to join them.

"I figured out what I want to do for the rest of the summer," Colton announced. "Mama would it be okay if I took over the garden? I think I want to be responsible for it. Could I?"

"Probably. We'll talk about it in the morning though, okay?"

"Alright. I just had to ask right away before I forgot. I'll go back to bed now."

"Hey Colton?"

"Yeah?"

"Is Ben still asleep?"

"Yeah, he's snoring a little."

"Okay, thanks."

"Why did you ask daddy?"

"Just making sure that we don't get another visitor."

"What?"

"You'll understand later in life buddy."

"Alright then."

He left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"So um… totally not in the mood anymore," Lindsay confessed, running her fingers through her hair. "I wish I was, don't get me wrong."

"Are you kidding me right now?"

"No."

"That's it, we're going away for a weekend. Or making the kids to go bed with bells around their necks so we know when they're hopping out of bed to tell us one last thing."

"I owe you one."

"You owe me two."

"Okay, I'll owe you two. Either way I'm glad I married you."

"You'd better be."

"Don't look at me like that, you're making me change my mind again!"

He just chuckled and rolled towards her, waggling his eyebrows.

"What's this face do for you?"

"Just makes me laugh."

"I guess I'm glad I married you too."

"I'll wake you up early, babe. Goodnight."

"I have the patience of a saint."