Oh no. Oh crap no. No no no no no!

Linda cursed profusely in her hand as she pushed her sobs in the stroller. How could it do this to her? Why did it do this to her? She usually could feel it, there were usually signs! But she was feeling it all right, which was why she had to get home. Why didn't she bring Danny along?

All the way home, her boys cried. Sean cried because he was tired and hungry, and probably needed a change. Jack cried because they didn't get to see the goats, like Linda had promised, and he was making it abundantly clear he was mad about it.

She had half a mind to spank him, and maybe it'd come down to that, but right now, she just needed to get home.

An agonizing half hour passed of crying children. At the end of the drive, she was just about crying too. She slammed her car door shut as she got Jack, then Sean, out of their car seats. She slammed both their doors, and practically stomped up to the house. She handed the kids to their Dad as soon as she walked in, and went straight up to their bedroom.

Danny had no idea what had happened, but he could deal with that later. Right now, he had to get his sons quiet and calmed down... and maybe even get them to take a nap, so he could look after his wife.

After Jack was calmed down, Danny got him to nap. Sean was changed and had had his bottle, and was now sleeping peacefully. The Dad blew out a breath of relief before heading to the room he shared with his wife.

He found her curled on top of the covers, the sides of it wrapped around her. She had clearly been crying, and he wasn't sure if she was still crying. He kneeled in front of the bed, "What's wrong?"

Linda blinked a few times, her lip wobbling. Gosh, she felt pathetic. "I got my period, and it's bad. It's really bad. I didn't have anything with me, and I couldn't just leave Jack and Sean alone while I fixed it. So I had to rush them home. Jack was throwing a hissy fit because he didn't get to see the stupid goats. And Sean started to cry because Jack was crying. And it was so embarrassing, and I hurt so damn much."

Danny nodded along, showing that he was listening. He stroked her hair the whole time she ranted. "Okay. I'll get you the heat pad, and ice water. Do you want chocolate or anything to snack on?"

She shook her head no.

"I'll be back. And I'll keep an eye on the kids. And figure out dinner."

"You can't cook."

"I'm perfectly capable of putting food on the table." He kissed her nose, "don't worry."

He left and grabbed the heat pad from the closet, then plugged it in for her. He'd have to come back and unplug it if she fell asleep, but that was no big deal. Then he filled a thermos with the coldest ice water and delivered it to her.

"Here you go, baby. Take a nap- I can hold down the fort for a while."

She smiled, "you're the greatest. I love you."

"I love you more," he pushed her hair behind her ear.

"I love you most." She made a kissing sound, signaling him to lean in for a proper kiss.

Once he got his kiss, he perked in on the boys. Both were sleeping soundly, so he went downstairs to figure out dinner.

Sean ate breast milk, so he was taken care of. Jack was pretty picky, but he'd always eat chicken nuggets. Linda probably wouldn't eat much, because she never did on her period. (She could eat like a pig the days leading up to it, but she hardly ate anything on her period). And Danny would eat anything and everything.

That was the easy part. The hard part would be actually cooking the meal. They didn't have enough ingredients for the pastas he knew how to make; they didn't have steak or frozen burgers or even hot dogs.

"Man, we gotta go shopping."

So he picked up the phone, and waited for the person on the other end to answer. "Hello, China King? Do you deliver to Staten Island? You do? Great!"

Just as he suspected, Linda didn't eat much. He'd even go as far to say she didn't eat at all— he didn't count four fork-fills of rice as eating. He, Jack, and Sean, however, ate their dinners.

Afterwards, things were quiet. Jack threw a little fit when Danny said they couldn't play the loud game Jack had wanted. The hissy fit earned him a good spanking and an earlier bedtime. Sean was pretty calm, except for one crying episode, before his own bedtime.

Once both boys were tucked safety in their respective beds, Danny suggested Linda go lie down too. "I'll get things cleaned up down here, and then I'll be up."

"Okay," she responded.

He noted how slow and painful her walk looked. If he could take her pain, he would- he really would. He didn't know what he could do for her. Her periods were supposed to be better now, now that she had two kids. But they weren't. They weren't anything like her periods before kids, but if she was still in pain just sitting still...

Danny sighed as she started to pick up the toys scattered about. He felt kind of weird asking his Mom about what to do, and he felt even weirder asking his Dad. He'd just have to ask Linda in a day or two, when the cramps and the raging hormones calmed down.

He took the stairs two at a time, checked on the kids, and then on his wife. He pushed her hair away- even when she pulled it back to sleep, it still fell in her face.

That's because she moves so much, Danny smiled. "Are you awake?"

"Yes."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"... Stay with me. And refill my water please."

He left her with a kiss, quickly refilled her water, and got comfortable beneath the covers with her. "Try to relax until Sean wakes up screaming bloody murder."

She laughed (and he chalked it up to a win), "you really are the best. I'm glad I married you."

"Well that works out well, because I'm glad I married you too."