A/N: Sorry for the filler chapter. There's going to be a time jump soon because I am having the hardest time with this story.

The day began with howling winds and dark skies. Adam hoped it wasn't a sign of things to come, but he couldn't very well change the plans for the day now. The kids would be fine at home. What kind of antics could they get up to in a day anyway? They'd been left alone enough, they know what they could and couldn't do, but he was afraid that with their Messer counterparts thrown into the mix, things could get a little crazy.

"It is a wonderful blustery day," Avery commented as she came into the kitchen, Thomas following behind her. "It's great for staying inside and being cozy."

"It sure is," Adam chuckled, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "You look cute today."

"Oh daddy, I am always cute. But I suppose you mean my outfit. Yes I picked it out. I was inspired by mama, but also Austin. They both dress real stylish."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, most. I think they could be in magazines."

He suppressed a grin and nodded, passing her a bowl of oatmeal.

"Oh thank you daddy! How did you know what I wanted today?"

"I read your mind, duh!"

"You are so very, very silly."

"I do it for you babe."

She laughed and dropped a spoonful of oatmeal on the floor for Thomas, who eagerly lapped it up and wagged her tail in silent request for more.

"No baby, you know it is one bite of people food, and then you must eat your own chow."

"You're such a good doggy-mama, Tink."

"Thank you daddy! I try. Thomas is a very good girl. She makes it easy."

"I bet."

She nodded and hummed softly to herself while Adam pulled leftovers out of the fridge and used them to pack a lunch for himself and one for Lindsay. Avery watched him work, grinning a little when he was done.

"What?"

"Daddy, do you think mama would want to use my old lunch box? It has glitter on it."

"I bet she'd love that."

"I will go retrieve it from my closet. Oh, and can I leave you both a love note in your lunch, like how you done for me?"

"Sure sweetie. While you're up there would you wake up the boys?"

"Gladly!"

She trooped off upstairs and Adam took a moment to laugh to himself before Lindsay came down, running her hand through her hair.

"Hey," she greeted, going for the mug of coffee that was still steaming on the counter. "Ooh, you're pretty."

"I prefer handsome."

"Talking to the coffee, but I guess you're not too bad."

"Ouch."

She smiled and detoured towards him, sliding her arms around his waist.

"I guess you and coffee are both good at waking me up in the morning," she whispered, eyes falling darker with the statement.

"Maybe so, but coffee can't put you to sleep at night the way I can."

"Well done."

Their kiss was interrupted by the arrival of their disheveled sons, who came into the kitchen looking groggy and unimpressed by the display of affection.

"When is everyone coming over?" Ben yawned, walking over to Lindsay to hug her. "You smell nice mama."

"Thanks buddy. They should be over in a little bit. Do you think you kids can be good for an entire day unsupervised?"

"Yes," Colton answered quickly, being in charge now old hat. "But what do you think?"

"I think that you know the number for 911 so I'm not too worried."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Any chance you cooked some bacon, dad?"

"Sorry son."

"That's okay. Could I at least have coffee?"

Lindsay wrinkled her nose as Adam poured their son a cup and handed it to him with no cream or sugar. They told him he could have it as long as he had it plain, thinking that would deter him. Unfortunately their son was one of the rare individuals who was a fan of black coffee, and he drank it every chance he got.

"I found it!" Avery announced, holding her old lunchbox high over her head. "Now you can use it mama!"

Ben burst into laughter and Avery glared at him quickly before handing the lunchbox over.

"You really want mama to carry that into work sissy? Did you forget she's an adult?"

"Daddy says all 'dults gotta get in touch with their childish side! And this is just the thing to bring childish-ness to mama today."

"What if she gets made fun of?"

"Then she will knock them flat!" Avery answered, yanking open the junk drawer and pulling out the paper and a pen so she could write her aforementioned love notes.

"Averylin, you crack me up."

"You say that all the time mama. Go over there so you can't see what I am messaging to you."

Lindsay snickered and joined Adam at the counter, leaning over to kiss him.

"Ever think our kids are too wired?"

"Wired as in hooked into the interwebs and technology or wired like hyper?"

"Both, duh."

"Yes, they are. And I am so proud."

"Me too."

The front door slammed open and Daniel barreled through, tripping over the doormat and slamming into the wall.

"Dang," he panted, adjusting his shirt.

"Daniel, you must be more careful," Avery admonished, shaking her head. "You are a vital part of this family, you don't need to die from running into the house."

"Yeah, okay Aves. Ben! I have to tell you something!"

He grabbed his friend by the arm and pulled him into the other room while Isa and Sarah came into the house, taking their shoes off by the door.

"So, you really trust all six of us kids together?" Isa started, pulling up a stool and smirking at the notes Avery was writing.

"Long as you and Colton don't tape your legs together again," Adam joked, leaning over to kiss the top of her head.

"I think we learned our lesson, thank you very much. But ma did say to ask if your home owners insurance covers acts of hullaballoo."

"Nah, it won't be that bad. Unless… Averylin, what do you have planned for the day?"

"Most fun things! Us kids are going to the park and the store, like usual. And I think a nap is in order, I stayed up late last night. It was almost nine when I finally hit the sack! Why do you ask daddy?"

"Just checking. You tend to get into trouble when we're gone."

"Oh daddy, just because I flowed over the sink does not mean I get into trouble always."

"Alright. Well if you kids are all set, I think we're going to get out of here. Avery, remember that Colton and Isa are in charge today."

"Yes I know. You should remind Ben too."

"I will."

"Then that is good. You may leave."

He snorted and shook his head.

"Yes, your highness."

The six of them lay on the living room floor, staring up at the ceiling and groaning every few minutes. They'd taken a trip to the store as usual, but with all of them pooling their monetary resources, the candy haul had been much higher than normal, as had their enthusiasm for eating it. In addition to the candy, they'd purchased a cornucopia of "fancy food" which they planned to make for dinner, but had not yet started to prepare.

"I want to throw up," Avery started, licking her lips. "But I also want to keep all the goodness inside myself. What does that mean?"

"It means you're a fatty," Ben laughed, rolling over onto his stomach. "But not really, that's just funny. I shouldn'ta rolled over."

"I think that I will swear off candy for a month," Isa noted, playing with the ends of her hair.

"Me too," Colton replied, having only eaten a few pieces anyway. He wasn't much for sweets to begin with, so the king sized candy bar and half bag of sour gummy worms had done a number on him.

"We should start dinner," Sarah piped up. "The parents should be home in a few hours."

"I don't even want to think about eating."

"Daniel, that has to be the first time you've ever said that in your life."

"Probably. But we should get up and start the food anyway."

They all struggled up from the floor and went into the kitchen, pulling the food out of the fridge and arranging things on the counter by what cooked at the same temperature and what took the longest time to cook.

"I can make salad when it gets time," Avery offered. "Mama showed me how and I just need someone else to cut the carrots, I can do all the rest."

"If you have a cheese grater, we could do the carrots on that instead of slicing them," Sarah suggested, preheating the oven. "It's easier and then you can do it all yourself."

"That would be great! Thanks for the idea."

They all milled around getting things ready, each of them taking up a job to get dinner on the table. It had always been easy for the six of them to work together and get along, and as they got older and the gaps in their ages seemed to lessen, they managed to do a lot of things with very little discussion.

Colton moved across the room and turned some music on then grabbed Avery away from the counter to dance with her. She laughed and spun along with him, loving when he did things like this. The rest of the kids not wanting to be left out, hurriedly grabbed partners, dancing through the loud music and stormy weather outside. They took a small break to put the first round of food into the oven and change the music, but soon they were all twirling around again, laughing loudly when Ben tried very unsuccessfully to break dance.

"You're going to hurt yourself," Sarah warned, tutting disapprovingly at his form. "Here, let me show you."

"You know how to break dance?"

"What do you think all I ever do is ballet? I have to be a well rounded dancer, Is."

They moved into the living room and Sarah began to explain the move, demonstrating slowly a few times, and coaching Ben through his first attempt. He was clumsy and what he was doing didn't look anything like a dance move, but he was determined to do it as well as Sarah did.

He was just getting it down when there was a large flash of lightning and the power went out suddenly, leaving them all in the semi-darkness and quiet for a split second before Avery screamed.

"The food!" she hollered, running into the kitchen.

"The crab cakes!" Ben shouted, running after her. "They're not gonna cook!"

He tossed a hand towel over his shoulder for some inexplicable reason and was reaching for the oven door when Sarah told him to stop.

"The oven will stay warm for a while, the food will still cook. Just don't open anything."

"Here we are trying to make a fancy dinner, and fate intervenes," he sighed. "Now what?"

"Guess we just listen to the storm," Colton shrugged. "Or we could all read."

"Seriously Colt? Geez."

"What else are we going to do with minimal light, and no internet? We can't go outside either."

"Why don't we build a fire to start with and then we'll figure something out."

"You guys do that," Avery said, jumping up from the floor. "I must take Thomas out to do her business."

"Be careful Aves. Don't go off the porch and just let her go real quick and come back in, okay?"

"Yes I will. Alright alright Thomas, I will let you out!"

She ran to the back door and opened it for the dog while the rest of the kids gathered around the fireplace, wondering just how to use it. Colton was sure that something had to be opened, but it wasn't until he found a lever with a handwritten tag on it that he figured it out.

Open this when you start a fire, or you will never live it down.

Apparently his dad had made a bad decision at some point in the past. Chuckling, he pushed the lever over where it should go, then pulled the grate aside.

"Ben, could you go out on the porch and get some wood? And then I need paper from the recycling, and the lighter from the-"

"Thomas got away!" Avery shrieked, running into the room and pushing her hair out of her eyes. "There was a loud thunder and she taked off!"

"She's just scared, she'll come home."

"Why do our animals always get out?" she cried, wiping her tears away. "I need to go out there and call her back. She is probably so scared without her mama."

She ran back outside and soon, even over the sound of the storm, they could hear her calling for the dog.

"This is going to be a long afternoon," Colton muttered as everyone brought back the supplies he requested.

"It's cold out there," Daniel said, mostly to himself. "I should bring her a jacket."

He went to the hooks by the door and grabbed his jacket off, then followed Avery outside, dropping it around her shoulders and sitting down on the porch.

"Daniel, will you help me call her?"

"Sure. Which way did she go?"

"Down the driveway and 'cross the road. She didn't even stop to look both ways!"

Daniel bit back a chuckle and took a deep breath, calling out for the dog and feeling ridiculous, but knowing he'd do almost anything for Avery. They both hollered for several minutes before sinking back on the steps, Avery wiping her nose on the sleeve of the jacket.

"What am I to do without my baby?"

"Aw, she'll come back Aves. She won't find a better home anywhere than with you, I promise."

Bursting into fresh tears, she leaned into him and he patted her back clumsily.

"It'll be okay Aves. C'mon, let's go inside."

"No Daniel," she sniffled. "I must hold vigil until she comes back. If I go inside and she comes home, she will think I forgotted about her. No, I will stay here."

"But it's storming."

"That is alright. I am brave."

He lifted his eyebrows but left her on the porch to wait.

The power had been restored and the storm had passed just as darkness fell, but Thomas was nowhere in sight. The later it became the harder Avery cried, laying on her bed and wailing into her pillow, softly calling out for the dog, wracked with a grief that she had never known. Lindsay sat next to her and stroked her hair back, knowing that her little girl just needed to cry it out and fall asleep, and they could go looking in the morning.

"Oh mama," she wept, lifting her head. "There is an ache in my chest that I never did know before. I would never, ever wish someone to feel this."

"I know baby."

"I don't know where she is, if she is warm and safe or scared. I don't know if she will get hurt or die from a car hitting her. What if she wants me and I am not there? She must be so upset to not be at home!"

Lindsay bit back her own tears at Avery's distress. Though the situation was different, she could relate heavily to the feelings. Colton being gone so many years ago had been the most terrifying experience of her life, and she knew that Avery was feeling some of the same things, to the best of her ability.

"I know this is hard, Avery."

"But?"

"But nothing. I know that this is one of the worst things that's ever happened to you and you're scared and you don't know what to do."

"She's counting on me to be her mama and keep her safe and take care of her. Which I cannot do if she is not here!"

It was just a dog, but Avery loved Thomas with her whole heart, and there was no reason to downplay those emotions. What she was feeling was real and heavy and Lindsay found herself lost for words, instead laying down with her daughter and hugging her tightly.

"I wish I knew how to make this better, Averylin. I'm so sorry that she's not here, but I don't think we should be giving up. We have to hope that she'll find her way home."

"I know what agony feels like now," Avery confided, wiping her red eyes. "I only ever felt worse when Becca was not coming home."

"But that turned out alright, didn't it? It took a long time, but then we found out that she was doing so well."

"Yes, I suppose."

"Honey, Thomas has her microchip and if anyone finds her, they can take her to the vet and scan that microchip and get her home."

"Yes, that is true. Oh how I miss her. I should have taken her out on her leash. I should have known she was afraid, not just having to do her business. Oh mama, I made such a big mistake."

"Every parent makes mistakes."

"Nu-uh. Not you an' daddy. I am the worstest-"

"Averylin, that's not true. You are not the worst. You are the best dog owner I have ever known. And daddy and I have both made lots of mistakes. I'm glad you don't think we have, but the truth is that we don't always know what we're doing."

"Well that feels a little better. But it doesn't bring Thomas back to me."

"No it doesn't."

"What should I do?"

"Right now all you can do is get some rest and be ready to go looking for her in the morning."

"Will you stay with me mama? I don't want to be alone."

"Of course, baby."

They snuggled up together and Ben backed slowly away from the door where he'd been listening, heading into his bedroom and sitting down on the side of Colton's bed.

"Sissy's really bad off," he started. "And as her brothers, we can't let this go on."

Colton nodded, grabbing his iPod off the nightstand and sending a quick text to Isa.

We're going to look for Thomas at the park after everyone falls asleep. You guys in?

It took a few moments for a reply, probably because she had to confer with the other two, but she finally responded in the affirmative.

"It's all set. We'll just pretend we're going to bed and we'll sneak out later."

"I don't know, Cole. Won't we get in trouble?"

"No one gave up when I was gone."

That was all the information Ben needed, and he nodded, sliding into his own bed.

"Wake me up when it's time to go."

"Aves had better appreciate this," Daniel sighed, rubbing his face where a wet tree branch had hit him. "I could be in bed right now."

"Are you kidding? Aves will be so happy she'll cry over all of us."

"That is, if we ever find Thomas," Ben piped up, scanning his flashlight over the park.

"This is why our family doesn't have small animals," Isa started, checking under a bush. "If you guys constantly lose your animals, think about how bad it would be with us."

"We'd be checking the park every night."

"Shh, I heard rustling!" Sarah announced, stooping down and walking quietly across the ground. "Thomas!"

"Are you guys sure Thomas would be here?" Isa whispered, holding onto Colton's hand to steady herself over the wet terrain.

"Not entirely, but there's a pretty good chance. Thomas loves this place."

They continued to hunt around the outskirts of the neighborhood park, calling for the dog and checking under bushes and near trees. It was muddy and wet but Sarah was the only one of them bothered by things like that, and she was more than happy to ignore the discomfort to try and help her best friend.

"Maybe we should call it a night and start looking again in the morning," Ben suggested after they'd made their way around the park twice. "It's late and we're going to be in huge trouble if we get caught. And sissy would be real upset about that too."

They all conferred for a moment before deciding that Ben was right, and heading home. They cut across the playground because it was faster, but still called occasionally for Thomas.

"Wait!" Sarah said, as she had many times already. "I heard a bark this time."

"Aw Sarah come on," Daniel sighed. "You keep crying bark and this time I don't believe you."

"Shh! Thomas! Thomas, come out."

She was rewarded with a happy, yet muddy dog stumbling out of the shelter of the play structure and running for her with a happy bark. She caught the dog in her arms, giggling as Thomas licked her cheek.

"Hold on tight to her Sarah," Colton laughed, reaching over hook the leash to the collar. "Who knows when she could run off again."

Sarah nodded and the five of them trooped back down the block, almost silently making their way inside.

Two minutes later, Adam and Lindsay were woken up to the sound of hysterical screaming. Being mostly asleep, they couldn't decode the scream other than knowing it was loud, and they ran downstairs, Adam nearly falling down the last few steps.

Upon entering Avery's room, they found their daughter sitting in the middle of her bed, weeping with joy and holding onto Thomas, who had managed to get mud all over the bed.

"How…" Adam trailed off, staring at the sight before him.

"The kids bringed her!" Avery explained, wiping her face and streaking mud over her nose. "They went and found my baby!"

The last word was shouted with glee, and the adults turned around to find the rest of the kids, all cowering in the corner with their hands over their ears and sheepish smiles on their faces.

"You kids went out after dark without permission?"

"Well, if we had asked to go out after dark, y'all would have said no," Isa reasoned. "And then Avery wouldn't be reunited with her baby."

Adam snickered and received a slap to his chest from Lindsay, who was just as amused but managed to hide it a lot better.

"Alright, I guess we'd better escort you ragamuffins home. Sarah Claire, how did you get so muddy?"

"Doing my family duty," Sarah shrugged, looking down at her shirt with a grin. "It's worth it, even if Averylin is pretty loud and dramatic."

Avery continued to sniffle and hug the dog, unaware that they were all staring at her.

"Oh Thomas, don't ever run away again! You promise? Good. I promise to never let you out when you are scared, and if you really gotta do your business, I will use the leash. We will not make this mistake or be apart as long as we both shall live."

"Did she just marry her dog?" Daniel stage-whispered, snorting.

"They even shook on it," Ben laughed, burying his face in Lindsay's shoulder, as to not upset his little sister.

"Okay kids, I'll take you home," Adam offered, running his hands through his hair tiredly. "Avery, say thank you."

Avery leapt off the bed and ran to the kids, squeezing all of them tightly while the last of her happy tears dribbled down her cheeks.

"Thank you, thank you so very most for bringing my Thomas home to me. You are heroes."

"You're welcome Averylin," Sarah giggled, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you to Sarah. This is such a happy ending."

"I'm glad."

Adam ushered the Messer kids out of the house while Lindsay ordered the boys back to bed and surveyed the damage Thomas had done.

"I think someone needs a bath."

"Yes she does. With bubbles, mama. She needs to be pampered, poor baby."

"Okay, but as soon as she's clean and dry you're going back to bed."

"Yes mama. I am most glad our family is whole again. I feel as if I could burst into a wonderful song."

"I know the feeling well, baby girl."

"I never knew what happily ever after meant before. And now I do. It is grand."