Chapter 49
New York to Austin

"I got him, I got him, just watch. Hey, Elliott… Elliott…" When the baby's eyes found him, whether for the sound or actual recognition of his own name no one could say for certain, Dylan twisted his face into his most comical expression. He was standing just behind the couch, where Riley was holding the boy. On either side of her sat Rosa and Sophie, while Chiara and Kayla were flanking the devoted mime. The whole group had been determined to see if any of them could trigger Elliott Friar's first genuine smile. So far – and they had been at it for almost an hour – they had all failed, one after the other, although Rosa insisted she had seen something like a smile when she had last tried.

"That is a fart," Maya casually noted, poking her head in to see the results.

"Might be more than that," Riley scrunched her nose as she stood and tested her estimation. "Definitely more than that…"

"Hang on a second," Maya told her, moving to poke her head out the door. Out on the lawn, the four Hart kids were facing off against the three Cassidys and their cousin Lucas, countering the heat of the summer day with the aid of an array of water guns. "Assistance!" Maya called out. At once, Wyatt dropped his water gun and made a dash for the porch, where his big sister dropped a towel over him. "Feet, feet," she instructed, and Wyatt sat down, wiping his feet dry. Soon, he was following her back into the house, where Elliott was retrieved and taken upstairs to get changed.

"All done?" Wyatt asked, when he had done all the steps he had gotten to learn in previous weeks. He might have been the one person who was ever happy to learn Elliott needed changing. By now, all Maya had to do was call out that she needed assistance and he would be reporting for duty… or another similar sounding noun almost too appropriate for the task, as his other sisters would giggle over.

"Yup, all better," Maya reported, stalling herself from saying anything along the lines of 'I don't know what I'll do without you,' in case it caused her little brother to feel in any way conflicted when his parents would arrive in Texas and he wouldn't be living here anymore. That day was coming faster than he thought… literally.

"I can go back now?"

"Go for it," Maya nodded before picking Elliott back up. "Remember what I told you?"

"I'm small, and I can use it to get them," Wyatt recalled her advice.

"Aim for the big one," Maya smirked, seeing the mischief rise in her brother before he took off to return to the battle. "Now, you," she looked to her little sprout, perched in her arms. "I know those goofs downstairs are trying to sway you, but don't feel like you need to perform, you keep some of that for me and your dad, okay?"

Maya would look at her little boy, her sprout, day after day… Now and then she would be looking at him and it would go and strike her, how he was starting to change, to grow. He was only two and a half months old, he was still very small, all things considered, but he wasn't as small as he'd been the day he'd been pulled from her, and that was as amazing as it had the ability to make her heart skip a beat. Just in the way she would hold him now, compared to those first days and weeks… He could hold his head up, not entirely, but still to some degree, and he would look at her, and at Lucas, and Pappy Joe, all those people he came across the most, but the three of them the most, and… he knew them. He was looking at her now, and it would just make her feel overwhelmed, in a good way.

"Alright," she breathed out, "Let's get back down there. They all came out here to see you, didn't they? I get it, I'd drive two hours to see you, too." Elliott reached out his little hand, prodding at her face, which made her laugh. "I'll take that as 'same,'" she nodded, kissing her son's cheek before heading back down to the living room.

While they had been upstairs, by the looks of it, her visiting friends had stepped out to watch the ongoing 'battle' happening between the Harts and the Cassidys out on the lawn.

"Alright, who's winning?" Maya asked as she joined them. Sophie turned to her with a smile and hands held out, and she happily handed the baby over. The future officer received the boy with glee sparking across her face and she forgot about the water fight at once, focused instead on the fair-haired babe.

"Well, your brother came barrelling out here like a hellion a second ago," Rosa declared, pointing over to where Wyatt was running around, practically roaring and splashing everyone that wasn't Sam, Cara, or Eliza. No one could catch him, and it might have been the funniest thing they'd seen all summer.

"He's got to be running out of water," Dylan commented, just as his prediction came true. Rather than slow him down though, it only paused him briefly, as Sam swapped with him, likely recognizing the better odds if Wyatt remained active. He jogged over to where he would be able to reload, soon to be joined by Dora Cassidy as she needed to do the same.

"So it's just not going to end?" Chiara pondered.

"Not as long as they don't tap out," Riley shook her head.

As entertaining as it was to watch Lucas and his cousins get owned by three kids aged ten and under, Maya found it hard not to get distracted by what was going on over by the water hose, as her brother and Lucas' other cousin were both refilling. Sam was holding one of the empty water guns while Dora held the hose in place as she pushed strands of hair out of her face. If her brother thought he was being covert in how he kept sneaking glances at the girl standing across from him, he really had no idea. If Dora wasn't so focused on her task, she would definitely have caught his looks. It wasn't inappropriate or anything, just hard to watch without laughing just a bit. He was lucky everyone else was too preoccupied by the battle to even notice.

When they finished with both of the plastic guns, Dora appeared to thank Sam for his help, which involved her leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. It froze him to the spot for just a moment, long enough that his adversary reasserted herself and gave a shot of her reloaded water gun, splashing him before she took off at a run with a laugh like a ringing bell. Sam shook she surprise away and chased after her, regaining his position as she did, though if he hoped to retaliate he would have to be quicker about it, as she leapt away from his shots every time. Maya really wished she could have recorded the whole thing.

In time, the field of battle was reduced by half, as the Hart sisters and Cassidy brothers retreated to the house for water, and dryness, and relief from the heat thanks to the air conditioning. After this, Lucas bowed out, to take Wyatt back into the house before the four-year-old wore himself out. With only two left, Maya could just tell Sam was caught in something of a debate. Part of him wanted to concede victory, but then if he did that would Dora call him out on it? And if he beat her, would it really be any better?

The whole thing came to a draw in the end, as Dora realized she'd lost one of her bracelets and started to scan the grass at their feet. Sam wasn't about to take a win from a distracted opponent, so he abandoned the battle in favor of joining the search, It took a couple minutes, but finally Sam reached down and stood back up, brandishing a bracelet made of three shades of blue in lightening shades followed with white. He and Dora moved to meet, and he reattached the lost band around her wrist. She looked back up at him when he was done, and from where she stood in the shade of the porch, Maya swore that – given all of ten more seconds – it wouldn't have been Sam's cheek Dora would have kissed this time.

But then a car approached along the lane and, as it turned toward the house, rang its horn once and then once more. Sam and Dora both looked back in surprise, just as Maya did, along with the few who were still outside. Even though she knew who this had to be, it still took Maya a moment to confirm as she squinted to see the passengers. Meanwhile, Sam recognized them, too, and he turned to tell Dora before they both ran up toward the car. When it stopped, Abigail Hart climbed from the passenger seat, the better to hug her eldest son, water and sweat be damned.

"Mom!" Cara called out, as she had come to see what the horn was about. Now she was running to join her brother, too, diverting around when she spotted Kermit coming out of the driver's side. She just about leapt into his arms, and he caught her. They hadn't been apart all that long, all things considered, but it really didn't matter at this point. They had missed one another dearly.

"I thought you said they were coming tomorrow," Riley turned to Maya.

"It was easier to make sure they'd have the surprise that way," Maya shrugged, smiling as her brother and sister escorted their parents up toward the house along with Dora. Kermit was on the verge of reaching for his eldest daughter, a great big smile on his face, when Eliza came shooting out the door and into those open arms. She held on so tight, there would have been no releasing her. It had been so much longer since she'd seen her parents.

"Hey, there, Lizard," Kermit picked her up, held her tight. The tremor in his voice made Maya's throat seize up just a little, like all this time a small part of him had feared that something could happen between the day she and Wyatt had been sent off to Texas and today, when they would be reunited, that would make it so he'd never see his youngest daughter ever again. But now she was here, and he was embracing her.

"I have waited to do this from the day you offered to take the kids," Abigail decided to wait her turn with Eliza by going around and hugging her stepdaughter.

"It was nothing, they're family," Maya insisted, hugging her back. "Also, they've been a big help."

Going by the fact that he hadn't followed his sisters, she could just guess that Wyatt remained unaware of the surprise arrival and was instead trailing along after whoever currently held His Nephew. As the group walked into the house, she found this person to be Dylan, who was back to his tricks in trying to get Elliott to laugh. Wyatt was giving it his best shot, too, which seemed to involve a lot of face squishing and tongue pulling. Maya cleared her throat, and they both looked up.

Wyatt's eyes turned to saucers. At once, he ran for his parents, where he was briefly torn as to who he might jump on first. Kermit pulled him up into a hug, showing some of that emotion again. He may have failed with Maya in the beginning, but he had grown into a better father with the years. Wyatt… That was his baby, his youngest. He had only ever seen him at his best.

There was a lot of talking back and forth for a while, as the kids remained confused by the early arrival, and what it meant for the move. At the same time, the sight of their parents was like a compulsion, pulling from them one story after another, things they had been dying to tell their mother and father about. They had sort of been hoarding these, the last week or so, on the basis that they would soon get to tell everything face to face, and that was always better than through a screen.

The last of their belongings, the kids would learn, were set to arrive in two days. Kermit and Abigail would spend those nights at a hotel. This left the four Harts presently staying with their big sister with a choice. They could stay here until moving day, or they could go to the hotel, too. It was a strange choice to make but, seeing as they would be near enough as to see Maya every day no matter what, they chose the hotel. They would soon enough be joined by Elizabeth Hart, who had gone out to visit her daughter and granddaughters in Tucson on the last stretch of this move.

"My turn now?" Maya smiled when her father finally approached her, no more interruption to their reunion. Kermit held her face in his hands for a moment, observing her, before hugging her as she returned the gesture. It wasn't so long ago that she wouldn't have dreamed of this, but now… Now she was so happy to see him.

"As much as you want," Kermit told her, and there was that tremor again. When they pulled back, she met his eye, a silent question extended. Is everything alright? Are you alright? He gave her a nod. All was well; he was just emotional.

At this moment, Lucas had approached them, after retrieving the baby from his uncle's arms. Kermit and Abigail had not seen Elliott since just a few days after he'd been born, not in person at least. All the photos and videos in the world could not substitute seeing him again in the flesh, especially as he was passed into his grandfather's arms.

"Hey, little man," Kermit beamed. Elliott almost didn't look sure for a second, but he settled soon enough. "He reminds me so much of you…" Kermit looked back to Maya, his emotions thrown for a loop once more, to be with all his children once again, and his grandson on top of everything.

What had started off as a visit from their Houston friends had turned into something more, now that Kermit and Abigail had joined them. By the end of the night, only Sam and Cara had put the pieces together as to why they had made the cake for their parents the night before, when they hadn't been expected for an extra day. Of course, there had to be a cake for them, too, as there had been with the arrival of the older Hart siblings, and it had been all of them working on it this time. It had amused the freshly landed couple a great deal.

Eventually, the group out of Houston had to go on their way, with a long drive ahead of them. Emmett Sr. had previously come to gather Junior, Dora, and Alex. With the kids getting sleepy from their water war, the newly instated Austin Harts would not hang around much longer either. They would take off for their hotel, which meant leaving the house, packing a suitcase with the essentials. As they had all gone up the stairs, Wyatt had spearheaded a mission to get his mother and father to add their leaves to the wall tree.

"It's late, bud, they can do it another day," Maya assured him.

"But it's important," Wyatt insisted. "For the stories."

"The stories?" Abigail inquired with a smile. Lucas explained how he would sit with Elliott every morning and pick a person from the tree to tell a story about.

"First thing tomorrow, okay?" Maya told her little brother. "It's better if there's light," she told him, so he agreed, if slightly reluctant on the effort. "You can still show it to them," Maya suggested, a peace offering of a compromise. Wyatt's face lit up and he grasped his mother's hand, waving for his father to follow, too.

As they went in and had a look, Maya and Lucas had gone across the hall to help the others pack. Even though they had known this would be the day, and even though they had suspected that, after weeks apart, there would be no question where the four of them would choose to go, somewhere in the middle of their packing, it suddenly became real. Sam, Cara, Eliza, Wyatt, their temporary roomies, were going away. Even though it had always been temporary, and even though it had been in many ways more work than they should have had to handle, what with an infant to look after, their infant, the first one… Even though there had been all of that, as the time came for them to say goodbye, to send them on their way back with their parents, Maya and Lucas felt sad. They would miss having the four of them in the house every morning and every night.

The closer they came to leaving with their parents, the other four looked like they were getting on to that same line of thinking, too. Cara and Eliza both looked like they were on the verge of tears, even though they literally would see each other again the next day, which did not help in keeping their big sister with a dry face either.

"They'll be fine," Sam told Maya and Lucas, his way of saying 'I'll take care of them.' Maya responded to this by embracing him, and Sam returned the gesture.

"Anytime you want to come over, or talk, about anything, you know where I am," Maya told him.

"I know," Sam told her.

"Really, anything," she pulled back to meet his eye, tossing in a wink. Now he knew what she was going on about, and as weird as it might have sounded, she would hold on to that brief look of panic on his face that came along whenever anyone alluded to his raging crush on Dora Cassidy.

As was to be expected, Wyatt was the hardest case when it came to leaving. After they'd been upstairs to look at the tree, and to look in on the sleeping Elliott at the same time, the four-year-old Hart boy suddenly became hesitant at the thought of leaving his sister and Lucas. Who would help with Elliott when he had to get changed?

"We'll be alright," Lucas promised. "I can be her assistant now," he nodded to Maya. "Even if I won't be as good as you." Maya shook her head at this before nodding and pointing to Wyatt, confirming that he was indeed the better assistant. It would only do so much, but it at least got the boy to say good night and go with the others. Maya and Lucas watched them drive off, the car quickly disappearing into the night.

"Does it feel more quiet to you?" Maya wondered as they went back inside. "I know it's late, and even if Pappy Joe wasn't spending the night at your parents' almost everyone would already be in bed, but… it's like I can feel it. There's only you and me and Elliott right now…"

"And the dogs," Lucas chimed in.

"And them, yes," Maya smiled. "But that's it. Don't you feel it?" For a moment, neither of them spoke or made a sound.

"I kind of do, yeah," he finally decided.

"Do you know what this means?" she asked. He turned to her, looking like he had an idea but didn't dare speak it. She resisted the urge to mess around with him and instead got to the point. "Three weeks," she whispered, a new smile blooming on her face. Now he knew what she'd meant.

"Three weeks," he repeated. He locked his arms around her waist, almost as though they were about to start dancing, the way a pair of newlyweds might do. They were getting married in three weeks. With her siblings gone, those following weeks were just going to melt away. Not only did they have to see to the finishing touches for the wedding, but he was also starting school two weeks from now. It almost felt impossible that they had already arrived to this point in time, and yet…

"To the day," Maya nodded, her own arms around his neck. They might have started to sway just a bit. "Last time we danced like this, there was sort of…"

"Something between us?" he filled in. She chuckled.

"Well there isn't anymore, is there?" she asked, coming just a bit closer. It made him adjust his hold, too.

"Give him time, his timing is impeccable," Lucas looked up to the ceiling, listened. Maya did the same. After a few seconds of nothing, they looked back to each other. "Call that a blessing?" Two seconds later, they heard Elliott's cries and moved for the stairs.

"Call that comedic timing," Maya declared.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you next week! - mooners