Author note:

A small celebration for Father's Day (see notes at the end)

CH 12-Father's Day

Clay woke up slowly. He was about to get up and get going for the day when he remembered, today was Father's Day. His family had specifically told him that there was to be no work today. This was a day for him to just rest. He relaxed back into the pillows and tightened his arms around Emma's still sleeping form. She sniffed a little and wiggled her body more closely to his but didn't wake. He kissed her gently on the head and closed his eyes. He knew that he wouldn't go back to sleep, but he could lay there and enjoy holding his wife while he sorted through memories of Father's Days past in the early morning quiet.

Quinn was three months old for Clay's first Father's Day. They were still getting used to being parents, and because of his job, most of the work fell on Emma. He didn't expect much for Father's Day. In fact, he had told Emma that all he needed was a quiet day with his girls. Each time he held Quinn, each time he kissed her soft cheeks and saw her tiny hands and feet, he couldn't believe he had been so blessed. But, in typical Emma style, she had a surprise for him. As he sat down for breakfast, she placed a small gift next to his plate.

"Em, you didn't need to get me anything honey."

"I know. But Quinn & I wanted to do something special for you."

He unwrapped the package to reveal a frame with Quinn's little footprint and a poem below.

Daddy,

I'm not very big, I'm not very tall

I can't say your name, I can't talk at all

So, this little gift is my way to say

How very much I love you

And, Happy First Father's Day!

He wiped the tears from his eyes and reached for Emma. He pulled her onto his lap and buried his face in her hair.

"This is amazing Babe. I love this!"

"Well, Quinn helped too. We wanted you to know how much we appreciate you and what a great Father you are."

Clay smiled to himself as he recalled that moment so many years ago. He looked to his left and gazed at the small frame that was displayed prominently on his nightstand. Quinn's footprint was a little faded and the paper had started to yellow, but it was among his most prized possessions.

Goodness knows that he had missed his share of these precious days while he was deployed or on a spin up. He recalled a particular Father's Day when he was deployed, and the family sent him a special care package. Quinn had just completed Kindergarten and AJ was a busy 3 ½ year old.

He sat down on his cot and tore back the brown paper wrap on the outside of the package. The cardboard box was fairly large, and his curiosity was piqued as to what could be inside. He opened the flaps to find several envelopes and two smaller boxes wrapped in more festive paper. After sorting through the envelopes, he set aside the one addressed to "Daddy," and started with the one that said just "Clay" on the outside. Inside he found a beautiful card from Emma. She added her own sentiments to the preprinted words, calling out how much she loved and missed him, and how lucky she was to have him as the Father of her children. He shook his head, thinking he was truly the lucky one.

Next, he opened the card from AJ and Quinn. It was superhero themed and talked about how he was their hero. Quinn had printed her name in childish script and added some crooked hearts. Emma had obviously helped AJ to sign his name after Quinn's. She had also added a small note on the back of the card by way of explanation.

"The blue package is from AJ and the purple one is from Quinn. She insisted that her gift be from just her. She heard from a classmate that all Daddies get funny ties for Father's Day. I had to convince her that you don't wear ties for work. And that even when you dress up it's mostly your uniform. This was her next idea."

He opened AJ's gift first and saw it was T-shirt with a hand-made design. It had his small handprints in red and the writing was blue and the Bravo Team Insignia in black:

"Best Daddy Ever! Officially Certified SEAL of Approval. Love, AJ."

It was precious. The guys walked into the barracks and saw him holding it up. They made the appropriate comments and he beamed with pride.

Next was Quinn's present. Without even thinking, he tore open the paper and pulled out the contents of the small box and held it in the air. As the team started hooting with laughter, it dawned on him that his daughter had gotten him superhero underwear. As he gazed at the garment covered in the signature patriotic, round shield he knew he was in for it. The team immediately began calling him "Captain America," and the moniker stuck throughout their deployment.

Bringing his mind back to the present, he laughed softly at the memory and the knowledge that his daughter had loved her gift idea so much that he had amassed quite the collection over the years. Even now, on certain occasions, one of the guys would still tease him with the nickname.

Emma stretched and yawned next to him, finally waking up. She immediately reached up to pull his head down for a kiss.

"Ummm, good morning, Happy Father's Day." she rasped in her morning voice.

"Good morning. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Nope, not at all. Have you been awake long?"

"Not too long."

"I'm surprised you didn't get up. You don't usually lay in bed for too long."

"I've been doing some thinking."

"Thinking…about what?"

"Well, more remembering than thinking, I guess. Just remembering other Father's Days."

"Oh, anything stand out," she asked.

"They have all been special, Em. I just know that I'm so damn lucky to have you and the kids."

"We're the lucky ones honey."

Emma kissed him once more and went to make him their traditional Father's Day breakfast of French Toast and bacon.

Clay took a quick shower and arrived at the table before either of his children. Emma sat the food on the table as he poured their juice and coffee.

"Want me to call the kids down honey?"

"I guess. They're probably both tired. I think AJ mowed 5 lawns yesterday and Quinn has baby-sat almost every night this week."

"Yep. They've been working really hard," she replied.

"I know that Quinn wants the money to spend on Summer Vacation with Grace & her family. She's hardly talked about anything else since we told her she could go. I guess I just didn't realize that AJ wanted that new gaming system so badly. It good to see them working hard for what they want."

"Mmhmmm." Emma replay was non-committal.

She proceeded to call up the stairs to inform the kids breakfast was on the table and their Dad was waiting on them. In just a couple minutes, the two tumbled down the stairs looking bleary-eyed. Quinn walked straight to Clay and wrapped her arms around him.

"Happy Father's Day, Daddy."

He returned her embrace and kissed her cheek.

"Thanks baby."

AJ was a little more circumspect. He was at an age where he was questioning public displays of his feelings. Clay had no such reservations and reached out to pull the boy to him and held him. Once he felt his Father's strong arm around him, AJ returned his hug.

"Yea, Dad. Happy Father's Day."

"Thank you, son. Why don't we all sit down and eat."

Everyone dug in and the food disappeared quickly. It was their tradition that the kids gave Clay his presents after breakfast, but he noticed neither of them had brought a package to the table. He didn't really care if they got him anything or not, just spending the day with his family was enough, but he was curious.

Emma started to clear the dishes. He noticed the glances passing between brother and sister, finally Quinn spoke up.

"Daddy, we don't have an actual present for you this year."

"That's fine honey. I don't need a gift to…"

She interrupted him mid-sentence.

"What I meant to say is that we did something for you instead."

"Okay…"

He waited for her to continue.

"Well…it's not really for you. It's more like we did something for someone else…"

Clay was now thoroughly confused.

"Just tell me honey."

"You know AJ and I have been working to earn some extra money, right?" Clay nodded his assent. "We pooled our money together and made a donation to Folds of Honor* in your name."

AJ jumped in. "We know how lucky we are to have you. We also know that a lot of kids whose Dad's have served aren't so lucky. Their Fathers were killed defending our country, like you do. So, we, we thought that we could help support them, since they don't have a Dad to celebrate with today."

"I hope that's okay Daddy. Sorry we don't have a real gift for you," Quinn added.

Clay couldn't speak. There was no way he could get any words past the lump in his throat. He was so proud of his children. He and Emma had always taught them about the sacrifices that people in the military made. And, of course, there were personally familiar with the dangers of the job and with what the families of service members gave up too. They had taken this lesson to heart and gave of their time and efforts to support it.

Emma stepped over and laid her hand on his shoulder and he looked up at her. She was smiling with pride as well.

"Did you know about this?"

"Yes. They told me their plans."

He tried to collect himself to express his gratitude and deep love for them.

"I am so proud of both of you. There really isn't a better gift you could have given me today. Truly, this is the best Father's Day present I could ever think of. Thank you."

Clay stood up and held his arms out to both of them. He held them for a moment and kissed each on the head, before releasing his hold. Quinn beamed visibly at his praise, whereas AJ sat quietly, but his eyes were shining with pleasure at his Father's words.

"Well now, what should we do today," he asked them.

"I think that's up to you Dad. It's your day," Quinn responded.

"Okay then… I'd kind of like to go fishing down at the pier. We can eat at that fun little restaurant and make a day of it. What do you say?"

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement with the plan.

Emma cut in, "That sounds great honey. We can go from there over to Dad's. Remember, we're supposed to have dinner with him tonight."

He kissed her quickly before responding.

"I remember. We have that set of BBQ tools to give him."

With that, the kids left to go shower. He helped Emma put the dishes into the dishwasher and finish cleaning up the kitchen. Before she could leave to go get ready for their day, he wrapped her in his arms and spoke quietly in between several nibbling kisses.

"Those are some great kids you're raising Mrs. Spenser."

"Thank you. But I can't take all the credit," she paused to return his affections. "They have a wonderful Father."

*Folds of Honor is a great organization that provides scholarships to the families of fallen & disabled service members.

-The footprint and poem from Emma and Quinn is exactly what we did for my husband's first Father's Day. :)-