"Be sure to help sissy out today," Ben reminded, grabbing his sleeping bag. "She's gettin' nervous about kindergarten."

"I know, Ben. I have been a big brother a time or two."

"It's just that you and sissy, you're not as close to each other as me and her are. I laugh at her jokes and play her stupid games because I love her but you don't do that."

"I don't have to if you always do it."

"Oh, I see. Well anyway, try to be good to her while I'm gone."

Colton rolled his eyes but nodded anyway. He had some plans for hanging out with his little sister but he was aware that this wasn't their norm. He loved Avery just as much as Ben did, but he didn't have as much in common with her. Lately he'd been regretting that, and he knew that with another sister on the way, it would be a good idea to spend some time with the one he already had.

"And if you don't get along, just give her some cheese. You know how she likes cheese."

"She's not a stranger, Ben."

"Yeah, that's true. I guess it's time for me to go. Have fun!"

He trotted out of the bedroom and downstairs, grabbing his shoes from the basket by the door.

"Oh, are you leavin' now Ben?"

"Yeah, daddy's gonna take me over there soon. You're gonna have fun with Cole I bet."

"Well yes, I am a very fun girl. An' Coley is okay."

"Just okay?"

"Yes. That guy is so serious. But I have a plan to play Hi-Ho-Cherry-o with him. That game always makes us laugh."

"Yep sissy, it sure does. You know this is gonna be my first sleepover with someone that's not our family. I hope no one draws a mustache on me when I fall asleep!"

"It is okay, Daniel will look out for you."

"That is true. Well have fun with Cole, okay?"

"I will Ben. Don't fret."

He rose to his feet and hugged her tightly.

"See ya later, sissy. C'mon daddy, let's go!"

He grabbed his stuff and ran outside to the car while Avery sighed and headed upstairs.

"Coley? Where are you?"

"Yahhh!" he hollered, jumping out from behind the closet door. "It's a stuffed animal fight!"

She laughed as he tossed a stuffed bear at her and she ran into her bedroom to gather ammunition.

"Thomas, Coley comed up with a great game," she said, sliding under her bed in search of some older toys. "Steer clear though, baby. I don't want you to get hit in the face and lose your other eye."

Thomas settled down on her bed and Avery scooted all her stuffed animals to the bedroom door.

"Ready Coley!" she shouted, poised to throw. "Come out, come out wherever you are!"

She didn't expect him to leap out of the bathroom and she didn't have time to dodge the flying stuffed pickle before it hit her in the stomach. She shrieked with laughter and threw a cat at him, hitting him in the shoulder as he rolled back into his room.

"Never announce yourself to your enemy," Colton warned. "It gives them the upper hand."

"Oh okay. Are you gonna come out and get me?" she asked, tiptoeing down the hall and around the corner to the base of the next set of stairs, armed with several choice animals. She heard him jump into her room then scramble around looking for her, and she pressed her face into the animals to keep from laughing.

"Oh Averylin! Only chickens hide!"

She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from hollering back and giving herself away.

"I see. You're just waiting for the right moment of attack. I can respect that."

Carefully, she stood up and headed up the stairs, slipping into the bathroom and hiding behind the shower curtain. She could hear him creeping up the stairs too and her heart started to race, even though it was just a game.

"I'll get you my pretty," he said, walking down the hallway to her hiding place. "And your little dog too!"

"Not Thomas!" she shouted, jumping out and throwing all of her ammunition at him before pushing past him and back down the stairs. She dove into her bedroom, scooping up her remaining stuffed animals and hiding in the closet.

"I'll find you, Aves. And when I do, you'd better be prepared!"

She reached over and pulled a blanket off the shelf, dropping it over herself and curling up into a ball so she looked like a mess on the floor. Colton peeked into the room and she glanced at him through the holes in the blanket, waiting until just the right time, when he'd gotten down on his stomach to check under her bed. She leapt from the closet and jumped on him, hitting him with the stuffed animals until they were both exhausted from laughter and she fell onto the floor beside him.

"That was fun, Coley. I really like that game."

"I thought you would. What do you want to do now?"

"Hmm. Wanna make cookies? Mama showed me how and now we are run out of them!"

"Okay," he agreed, jumping to his feet and holding his hand out for her. "What kind should we make?"

"I don't know. We will have to check with mama for what we got."

They went downstairs and into the kitchen, pulling open cupboards to look for ingredients.

"What are you two doing?"

"Makin' cookies, mama! Where is them chocolate chips?"

"We used them all up last time, sweetie."

"Oh no. Well what will we put in it?"

"There's peanut butter and I think I have some M&M's."

"Those will be great. How about raisins? You got any of that?"

"Ew, raisins are so gross, Aves."

"Why?"

"They are just shriveled up grapes."

"They are? Oh ew! No we shall not be having that in our cookies."

Colton nodded in agreement at Lindsay made sure they had everything they needed before turning on the oven to preheat and leaving the room.

"Now Coley, what do you know 'bout making cookies?"

He laughed and shook his head.

"Mostly, I just know about eating them."

"Oh this will be great. I will teach it all to you. One of the first things we need is this flour. It is a important part because without it, the cookie would crumble."

"How much do we need?"

"You read it off that paper."

He read the directions through and made sure Avery was putting the right amounts into the bowl, but mostly let her take charge.

"Now for your job. It is time to stir. An' I cannot do it for I am too short an' not strong. So you will do it."

He nodded and took the spoon from her, spending several minutes trying to mix everything up while Avery puttered around looking in the cabinets until she found cookie sheets.

"Oh, fabulous!" she remarked, producing the hand mixer from a low drawer. "You can use this!"

Glancing down into the dough that was almost mixed, he smirked and plugged the mixer into the wall.

"Actually, you can do it."

She giggled and climbed up to sit on the counter and took the mixer from him, hitting the power button before she knew what she was doing. Dough splattered everywhere and she screamed, dropping the mixer to the counter and jumping to the floor. Colton burst into laughter and stopped the mixer, then grabbed a towel to start cleaning up.

"That scared me very close to death, Coley," she said gravely as he leaned over to wipe her face. "I think you had better do it."

"Okay. Why don't you decide what we're going to put in it?"

She nodded and gathered the marshmallows and chocolate candies, pouring them into the dough when he was ready.

"Now, we must make a decision. Mama says that you can do cookies like regular or you can make them more like a cake an' cut them into pieces later. Which would you like?"

"Maybe we can do both. Half the dough one way and half the other way. What do you think?"

"Good idea Coley. I am so glad we are doing this."

"Hey kids, how's it going?" Adam asked, walking into the living room to sit on the couch.

"Coley's teachin' me Mario Kart on a higher level! He telled me it's the one game you and mama play lots. How come you never played it with me?"

"You have shown zero interest in video games, Tink, up until recently."

"Well I did not know that you could drop bananas for people to run over! This is my kinda game!"

"She's beat me in three races," Colton said with a grin. "I don't think it's even beginner's luck, daddy. And this one is much harder than the one we taught her on a while ago."

"Wah-hoo!" Avery shouted, pumping her fist in the air and dancing in a circle. "I won, I won, I am number one! Hey, I made a rhyme! Ben would like that one, someone remember it for me."

"I'll remember it, Aves. How about you play daddy now?"

"Okay! C'mon daddy an' play me. I like to be the monkey."

"That's who your mama picks too," he laughed, taking the controller from Colton. "I, on the other hand, prefer to be one of the good guys."

"Daddy, you cannot be the princess! You're a boy!"

"Hey, Princess Peach handles really well. And if a boy wants to be a princess, that's totally fine."

"Okay then daddy. I shall make you a dress."

Colton burst into to laughter and Adam shot him a glare before starting the race.

"Hey Avery you can't leave traps for daddy! I'm your main man!"

"Nuh-uh! Coley an' Ben is! You can be my third main man."

"Third?"

"Yep! That is better than number five. That is what Danny is! Sometimes when Daniel sneaks me candy, he is number four but other times it is Mac."

"Well I'm gonna be number one in something soon when you eat my dust!"

He sped his kart past her and she grunted in frustration, maneuvering in and out of other racers and obstacles until she was right on his tail.

"Watch yourself daddy. I'm gonna get myself a red shell. You don't have no idea what is coming for you."

"Oh no, the trash talk is genetic," Lindsay laughed, joining Colton on the couch. "Hey buddy."

"Hey. Aves is really good at this game."

"You sure you didn't let her win?"

"Mama, I don't even let Ben win when he cries."

She chuckled and pulled him into her arms, kissing the top of his head.

"Oh buddy, you're the greatest big brother."

"I don't know about the greatest."

"You are, Colton. It's a big job. Especially when you've got two weirdos like Ben and Averylin."

"That's true."

"And it's going to get harder."

"If Rebecca comes home."

"If?"

"I heard you and daddy talking about it the other night."

"Well what… what exactly did you hear?" she asked, dropping her voice.

"You were talking about an adoption ban and about her never coming here. I looked it up on the computer, adoption ban. I read about it. Do you think that we'll have to wait longer?"

"We still don't know for sure, but daddy and I will let you know when we know."

"Okay. Are you worried?"

"I'm a little less worried now than I was when we found out. We've talked to a lot of other families who are going through the same thing and that helps a lot. And when I get worried, I can tell daddy."

"Well that's good. I'm a little worried."

"We're going to do our best."

"I know."

They fell into silence and Colton pulled her arms tighter around him. Most of the time he felt too old for this but sometimes there was no shame in snuggling with his mama, especially for a little bit to make her feel better.

"Hey buddy, you know that you don't have to always take care of everyone, right?"

"I know. We've talked about that."

"Okay. I just don't want you to get overwhelmed again."

"I won't."

"I beat daddy, I beat daddy!" Avery whooped.

"You beat the video game king, I bow at the feet of the master."

Avery giggled while Adam fell prostrate before her.

"Oh daddy you are so very weird."

"Hey, what am I doing? You haven't proved your prowess against mama yet."

"Well I guess we had better play, mama huh?'

"I don't know, I'm not really in the mood, but can we take a raincheck?"

"Okay. Coley, now is it time to make a fort?" she asked, rushing to the couch and tugging on his hand.

"Not yet. If we make it too soon we won't have a place to play upstairs. And it might fall down."

"Okay," she sighed, climbing up to sit next to him. "I sure wish Ben was here. It feels strange without him."

"Yeah it does."

"I bet he's having a lot of fun though."

"Well, is it dinner time yet?"

"I guess we could do that. You want to make your own pizza?"

"Oh yes! C'mon Coley, we can make matching happy faces! An' have our cookies for dessert."

"Sounds great Aves."

They ran into the kitchen and Lindsay stretched out across the couch, pulling a pillow under her head. She was glad for the distraction of the kids because going this long without hearing anything definite about Rebecca was really wearing on her. They'd heard a lot of different things, but so far, nothing that said they were going to get to see their daughter any time soon.

She didn't sleep much at night, her mind flooded with images of their little girl laying in a crib alone, day in and day out. Sometimes she couldn't eat because she knew Rebecca wasn't being fed good meals every day. It was hard to be comfortable, hard to be happy, hard to think of much else but the little girl with fine blonde hair who had to self-soothe on the rare occasion that she was awake.

"Babe, you want to join us?"

She sat up and nodding, following him into the kitchen while hiding her bit of frustration that Adam was so optimistic that things would work out, that he wasn't spending his days in worry. She didn't know how he could just not think about it and maybe there was a little jealousy involved too. She wanted to be able to put it away for a while and focus on the kids that were already at home, but every time she did, she felt guilty that she wasn't thinking about Rebecca. She had a feeling it was going to be like this for a long time.

"Mama, come over by me," Avery prompted with a grin. "See the happy face pizza I am making. He gots a broccoli beard. Do you like broccoli on your pizza? I do."

"I don't love it on my pizza but it's not too bad."

"Daddy said he will make chicken if we want it but we already gots pepperoni so we don't need chicken do we?"

"I don't think so."

"Cool beans."

Lindsay chuckled and kissed Avery's cheek.

"You're adorable."

"Yeah, I know. You are too, mama. Now Coley, while these cook, can you come help me put my school stuff nicely in my bag?"

"Yeah, sure."

They finished making their dinners then headed for the stairs while Adam threw the pizzas in the oven and came to stand next to Lindsay.

"You alright babe?"

"Yep, I'm good."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. You want the rest of this pepperoni?"

He frowned a little but nodded. It was time for him to tread carefully, and he couldn't remember how to do that.