A/N: I've been stuck in this idea of a chapter of Jim's best moments as a dad. He and Melinda have five children throughout my story of Their Little Family and they devote their lives to guiding their children to being the best they can be by each other's side. Usually, I try to do ages and such, but jump around so much that you can assume from other chapters ages or look for reference :) Enjoy xx Mariah
Jim opened his eyes to the sound of he and Melinda's screaming six-day-old daughter, Katherine Ann. Well, Katie or Katiebug too. His precious little darling, who just wouldn't stop crying.
He turned to see that his wife wasn't in bed with her but instead walking about the room with the baby in her arms. Melinda was rocking her slowly and calmly, trying to soothe their daughter in any way possible, despite that she probably still hadn't gotten to sleep since he last remembered being awake. That was around one in the morning, when she began feeding Katie.
He looked to see it was two.
Jim slowly sat up and moved out of bed, rubbing his eyes. "Here, let me try." He yawned and held his arms out.
Melinda looked up from where she'd tried to coax the pacifier into their baby's mouth. "Jim, you just fell asleep. I told you that I was fine staying up," she reassured him. "Katie's just being fussy because I had to unwrap her when I changed her. She's just mad at me and will settle eventually... I hope."
He smiled at her and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
She could forever make the best out of any situation. Even not sleeping for the last two days.
"She's stubborn already, just like her mother." He said as he eased the newborn out of her arms and slowly into his. "I'm gonna try and rock her to sleep in the nursery. You need to get some rest. I got almost an hour, okay?"
Melinda's eyes flitted back to the crying newborn, who was tossing and turning in her father's arms. "Alright," she whispered and looked up at him. "But only for a little bit. Will you wake me?"
He nodded slowly as he leaned down to kiss her lips briefly. There was not much time for them anymore, not that they didn't know this was coming. He loved her because of the screaming newborn in his arms.
"I'll wake you," he whispered. "Go to sleep, Melinda."
She saluted him as she walked toward the bed and he turned to walk into the hallway.
He walked into the nursery across the hall as Katie tossed and turned uncomfortably in his arms. "Oh, sweet sweet Katie are you cold?"
He most likely knew what was wrong. He'd read about it during his medical training. It was often found that newborns would crave the feeling of still being in the womb. That same warmth and comfort.
Jim sought out to find her baby blanket. A homemade blanket made of purple and pink yarn from his mother.
"Here, daddy is going to try and make you feel better." He whispered, wrapping the blanket snugly around her. She settled for a moment, snugly in his arms, but continued to cry. "Oh, what's wrong, sweet girl?" He ran his hand up and down his daughter's back as she looked at him with big watery eyes. "It's okay, baby. I know you don't feel good princess." He rocked her slowly as he sat down in the rocking chair, moving to settle her on his chest. "It's okay Katie, daddy's here. I know baby. I know."
He slowly rocked back and forth, rubbing her back slowly as he cradled her on his chest. He gave her a minute as he rocked her and then continued the same actions. Her crying slowly stopped when he started to hum a familiar song he would hear Melinda sing to her.
He wouldn't dare try to sing to her. That would be a disaster.
As the baby settled against him, almost turning her head to look up at him. He looked down at his daughter who was content for the moment, droopy watery eyes and all and placed a kiss on her head.
"See, I told you, daddy's here." He whispered softly.
Jim came jogging down the stairs once he saw it was almost six-thirty. He had just gotten out of the shower and dressed in his suit, taking a glance in the mirror to pat some aftershave and cologne on before he went down to find his wife and see how the kids were doing.
He knew that the play started at seven, Katie had only reminded him twenty-five times. That meant Ned's girlfriend should be here by now. Alyssa was good with kids and whenever Katie didn't babysit, Alyssa usually filled the role. She was the longest girlfriend he'd had in a while. Even if she was kind of moody sometimes, she was good with the kids and a cheap babysitter.
Jim and Melinda were going to see the Phantom of the Opera at the high school. It just so happened that Katie was chosen for the role of Meg Giry, Madame Giry's eldest daughter. He was excited because he knew how excited Katie was about the show. She'd been talking about every chance she could get for the last month.
Jim grabbed his shoes as he walked into the kitchen, seeing Melinda was pulling out chicken nuggets and fries from the oven while the babysitter, Alyssa (Ned's current girlfriend for however long) was coloring with Mackenzie.
"You know the usual drill, Alyssa." Melinda smiled at the twenty-year-old. "I'm really glad that you decided to sit tonight out. I know Ned will miss you."
The girl nodded, shrugging. "Yeah. Tell Katie I'm sorry I can't make it and to break a leg," Alyssa giggled happily, waving them off. "It's all in good time. You and Jim deserve a night out. Ned and I are young."
When he walked into the kitchen Jim noticed that Mackenzie sat on a stool at the kitchen island, swinging her legs colored her picture of Ariel with concentration. The blonde gently played with her loose tooth as she did so, moving the tooth precariously back and forth with her tongue as she colored.
Melinda set the pan down on top of the stove and turned around to look at their youngest daughter, cringing as she watched her front move her tooth. "Kenz, doesn't that hurt?" She asked softly, wiping her hands on the dishtowel that hung from the oven handle.
"What mommy?" The little girl looked up from the picture.
She was coloring her picture carefully while staring at her mother. Mackenzie still continued to play with the tooth, pushing it back and forth with her tongue.
Melinda cringed. "Your tooth, doesn't that hurt baby?"
"Oh. No. It just feels funny," The five-year-old shrugged her shoulders before picking up where she left off with her coloring with Alyssa. Jim couldn't help but laugh. Mackenzie was always the bluntest with her words, for her age. He leaned down to kiss his daughter's cheek. "Daddy! When did you come down?"
"Not too long ago," he whispered. "It's nice to see you, little fish. Your drawing is beautiful."
Mackenzie smiled up at him, so excited when he said that. "Thank you, daddy!" She giggled and continued to play with her loose tooth.
Jim cringed much as his wife had. It didn't go unnoticed by Melinda. "She's been doing it since they came home from school. Gross, isn't it?" She came around the counter to wrap her arm around him. "I asked her if she wanted me to just pull it out..."
"No Mommy! That'll hurt!" Mackenzie interrupted.
Melinda rolled her eyes and looked up at her husband. "See?"
Jim nodded and got closer to Mackenzie, kneeling down to look at her. "Can daddy see inside your mouth?" He asked, looking at her intently.
The little blonde slowly nodded. "Just don't touch my tooth, daddy," Mackenzie warned.
Jim chuckled. "I won't, baby. I promise." He reassured her as he stroked his finger against her cheek. "I just want to see how loose your tooth is."
"Okay," Mackenzie whispered.
The little girl opened her mouth wide and Jim got a good look at the tooth that was dangling in the front of his daughter's mouth. He didn' even need to touch it to see that the tooth would fall out on its own soon.
Maybe even by the end of the night.
Jim smiled. He knew just what to do to hopefully convince Mackenzie to let them pull it out or even coax it out. "Huh, that is pretty loose, Mel. Maybe we shouldn't let Kenzie have chicken nuggets for dinner."
Melinda shrugged and the little girl gasped. "But daddy I love chicken nuggets!" The little girl added. "Plus, if I cut them with my fork I can go around my tooth!"
He laughed at her logic and kissed her head before going over to Melinda. He wrapped his arm around her waist. "Maybe if she has ice cream later with Alyssa then it will come out," he said to his wife as he kissed her head. "It's really loose. I don't know how it's still hanging in there."
Melinda sighed. "Maybe, but we should get going. Before we miss the beginning of the play. Delia is already there and saved our seats."
Jim smiled and leaned down to kiss Mackenzie. "Goodbye sweetheart. We'll call you to say goodnight during intermission." Jim whispered and walked toward the entryway. "Aaron, we're heading out bud!"
The eleven-year-old came down the stairs to say goodbye to his parents, giving them each a hug on their way out.
"I'm happy to have this night with you every week," Melinda smiled at him, squeezing his hand as they walked to the car.
"Me too," he said, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "We should stop to get flowers for Katie."
Melinda nodded in agreement, knowing it would make their oldest daughter's night and that she'd married the best man.
Jim tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he sat outside the high school. Old school rock played on the radio, almost keeping his mind off of the fact that his daughter was twenty minutes late. He usually didn't have to pick up Katie, she had her own car. But it was in the shop to get all of the fluids checked before winter.
He waited another ten minutes before he got worried. Katie was never late. He knew that she was busy and usually took fifteen minutes after the bell to come out, but thirty minutes was a lot of time.
Plus it was Friday and he knew Katie didn't have dance rehearsal or anything after school today. So what was taking her so long? He turned up the radio and grabbed for his phone, thumbing through the contacts.
He typed out a quick message to his daughter, in hopes of moving her even slightly along. But then he saw her. Or should he say them?
Katie was with a boy, someone who was taller than her and probably a senior like she was. He watched as they came walking down the steps, her arms full of books. The boy took a step in front of her and stopped them from walking. He couldn't see what the boy said because he was facing the other way, but Jim saw them kiss for a moment.
And God, when he was a senior and kissed a girl like that... Jim didn't want to think about that. He just watched from his position at the side of the road. He felt like he should maybe, drive around the block or something while simultaneously feeling like he needed to jump out and beat the crap out of the boy who had his hands on his precious, perfect daughter.
He honked his horn when they got closer and shot a glare through the windshield. The boy's hands dropped from Katie's waist immediately as she stood there mortified. He had to remind himself to breathe while counting to ten before honking the horn again. He watched as his daughter looked at him with her jaw clenched before hugging the boy as she walked closer to the car. The boy was trailing behind her and heading toward the student lot.
He rolled down the passenger window before she could open the door. "Get in the car. Now." He muttered.
He'd promised himself he wouldn't be that father. Some of his ex-girlfriend's dad's had been those dads and he'd always promised himself he'd be the cool father. And then he saw that boy kiss and touch his daughter, all of those thoughts went out the window and all his anger rose to the top
Katie, sensing her father's anger, slid into the passenger seat and set her books on her lap. He rolled up the window as she did up her seatbelt, before tearing out of the school parking lot.
"What the hell dad?" She arched an eyebrow as she looked at him.
"What do you mean, what the hell? I should be asking you the same question." Jim said, stopping at a stoplight. "That boy had his hands all over you... Who is he?"
The seventeen-year-old crossed her arms over her chest and looked out the window. She was refusing to talk to him. Great.
God, she was just like her mother.
"Katherine Ann..." He pulled out as it turned green, taking a left turn just a few minutes away from their house. "I asked you a question..."
"I asked you one first," she stubbornly said back.
So this was how it was going to be. When had she become so closed off?
She used to tell him everything! When had she become a teenager? He felt like he'd blinked and she went from being a newborn, a tiny six-pound, chubby newborn to this sassy, secretive seventeen-year-old.
When had that happened and how did he make it stop?
He pulled the car into the driveway and hadn't even gotten the car in park before she threw open the door, grabbed her things, and slammed it closed.
Yep. Moody teenage daughters were awesome and had a feeling he was about to find out just how awesome. Jim took a moment to sit in the car and enjoy the quiet before he got out and walked toward the front door. He knew Katie'd had a few beats to get Melinda on her side by the time he got into the house. He dropped his work bag by the front door and shucked off his jacket.
He sighed, taking a moment's breather before going for what he assumed would be the lion's den.
Jim walked in just as Katie was starting to plead her case. He could see that she'd tossed her backpack down by her feet and set the three textbooks down on the counter. "Mom, I didn't do anything wrong! He HONKED the horn at us!" She groaned, slumping down onto the stool. "Can you believe that? It was so embarrassing!"
"I honked because you were thirty minutes late getting to the car! Plus, that boy had his hands and mouth all over you from where I was sitting." He walked over to his wife and pressed a kiss to her head going to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of beer. He twisted the top off and sagged against the appliance door. "You still haven't answered my question. Who is this boy?"
"This boy is Julian Brooks, a late transfer student from California," Melinda said, looking over her shoulder at Jim. "Katie has been tutoring him in Math and History to help him catch up." He could tell by the look on Melinda's face that Katie hadn't gotten to the kissing part of the story yet. Melinda turned back around gave their daughter a stare-down, just as Aaron and Mackenzie came skidding into the house.
The bus must've just dropped them off. He smiled and set his beer down as he made his way into the front entryway to hug them both.
"Mom, can I have a snack? Hey Dad." Jim smiled down at his thirteen-year-old son.
"Hey, squirt. Wanna play some Maden after I finish talking to your sister with your mom?" He ruffled his hair as he scooped Mackenzie up into his arms and gave her a quick kiss before she ran upstairs to her room.
Aaron reached for the cookie jar on the counter before Melinda could refuse. "Take two and go watch TV in the living room."
"Cool. Thanks, Dad!" Aaron grabbed two of the chocolate chip cookies from the jar before running out of the room to the living room.
Melinda sighed. "So what happened since you texted me at lunch?"
"Well he asked me out to the fall dance," she said. "We took a little after the bell with his last equation. I completely forgot to text dad. And on our way out he asked me to the dance and then kissed me after I said yes."
Jim groaned before turning his attention to their daughter. He should have just followed Aaron. "You couldn't have kissed him in the library? I don't know if I can let you go to the dance after that."
"I thought mom was getting me, until I saw you," Katie sighed and then walked up to him. "And that's not fair, dad!" She stomped her foot and looked at her father. "I really like him," she added quietly.
"Excuse me?" He looked over at Melinda, who shrugged.
"I really like him," she mumbled, looking down.
"Excuse me? I can't hear you!" He said and looked back at her.
"I LIKE HIM. Okay? There. I said it." She stomped her foot again.
"Do you go around letting every guy you like kiss you?" He grunted in frustration and went over to grabbed his beer again. He took a large swig, trying to calm himself down a little.
"Ew! Dad!" Katie covered her ears. "Daddy, we are NOT talking about this. Besides, Julian is the first person I have liked since Henry that is Ned..."
Jim's eyes widened, just as Melinda grimaced. "Jim," Melinda said in a warning tone. "Julian is a nice boy. He's not like Henry."
"Exactly Katiebug, Henry hurt you. I think you're too young to have another boyfriend." He stated, not inviting any further comment. "Even if Julian is a nice kid."
Yep, he'd crossed into that dad territory. He was going to have to get over it eventually.
"Jim..." Melinda tried again. "Maybe you should give him a chance."
He turned his attention to her. He stared at her for a good long minute, she said with her eyes everything he was afraid of. They shouldn't be those parents. Katie was responsible and they should trust her to go out with Julian.
Jim didn't want to do that. He wanted to lock her up forever and keep her safe. Even if this boy was supposed to be nice. Henry was supposed to be nice too and look at what he'd done.
"No," he shook his head turning his attention back to his teenage daughter. "No. You're too young for another boyfriend."
"But mom and I were talking about it last week and she said she thought he was nice! Why can't you give him a chance?" She reiterated her mother's statements.
Melinda bit her lip to keep from laughing but it wasn't working. The glare that Jim sent her way sobered pretty quickly. "Do you WANT to be grounded, Katie?"
"For what, having a boyfriend? Letting a boy kiss me? There wasn't any tongue dad if that makes you feel better!" She mocked and grabbed her books. "I'll go to my room if that makes you feel better. Then maybe mom can talk some sense into you."
"Katherine Ann, you are treading on thin ice," Melinda snapped. "I'll call you down for dinner."
Katie groaned. "Please try and talk to him. I really want to go to a movie with him tonight," she said before she stomped up the stairs.
Jim turned around to look at her. "How long did you know about this? And now she wants to go to a movie too?"
Melinda bit her lip. "I...I knew she liked him. I didn't know how serious it was until now."
Jim turned his attention back to his beer and finished it. "When did she become a grown woman?" He groaned.
Melinda laughed and walked toward her husband, wrapping her arms around him. "I know. It's freaking me out too," she sighed. "But we'll get through it." Jim sighed and fisted his hair, pulling at the greying hair on his temples. Melinda stood up on her tiptoes and went to rub his back. She circled her arms around his waist and leaned her head to kiss the part of his chest she could reach and looked up at him. "Honey, just calm down," she whispered.
His eyes were trained on the ceiling before he looked down at her and sighed. "I've become my worst nightmare," he whispered. "A complete mix of both of my dad and all of my exes dads. I just...Mel, you didn't see them... I watch him swoop in and-"
"I know this is hard, Jim, but she's almost an adult. She's seventeen." She explained slowly, slowly rubbing soothing circles into his skin, trying to calm him. "She's a good girl and we should trust her more."
"When did she get so old, babe? When did she get to be seventeen?" He sighed, shaking his head. "When did she even start liking boys, no less wanting to have another boyfriend?"
Melinda sighed as she ran her thumb over her husband's chest. "I know, it feels like just yesterday I was pregnant with her and now we have three kids." She chuckled. "But we have to let her make her own mistakes and learn from them just like we did. And the boyfriend thing? I think that's a stretch on your part. Last time we talked about it they hadn't really, decided what they wanted..." She explained.
He groaned as he leaned down and kissed her head. "I do trust her. I just don't trust him... when I was a seventeen all I thought about was getting laid."
"It could be worse," she nudged his side softly. "It could be Ned Banks."
Jim groaned. "Yeah, it could be worse." He kissed her head. "I guess we should tell her she can go..."
"I heard you," Katie stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame staring at her parents. "Thank you, dad."
"Yeah," he waved. "I just want to meet him before you go."
"Okay, that works." She shrugged. "And you can sleep easy...I have no interest in getting with Ned. Well not really, anyways."
Jim tried to laugh but looked at Melinda, who shrugged. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.
"I don't know, Katie's very cryptic these days," Melinda laughed, waving him off. "And Jim?" He turned to look at her. "Stop thinking about it."
Jim came home from a usual day at the hospital to find the house quiet. Which was unusual. He may only have two of his children still at home with him, but that didn't mean the other three didn't come by. Katie was by every morning to pick up the girls on her way to school, just a part of the usual morning routine now that Melinda took care of their granddaughter Willow during the day at her store.
"Melinda, honey, are you downstairs?" He called out as he slid his jacket off and pulled his shoes off next.
"Mom's upstairs in the bath. A headache or whatever, she only said not to bother it's urgent." Lana said, sounding a lot older than thirteen at that moment as she pulled her pizza out of the oven.
"Did you make that pizza?" He asked, setting his briefcase by the stairs before he went into the kitchen.
"It's easy, dad," Lana said setting it on the counter. "I know it's not homemade, but it should still be good. I added extra cheese."
He laughed as he sat down on one of the stools by the island. "I see that. Can I have some? Where's Ems?"
"Sure. Emma is at violin practice until seven," she said and began to cut the pizza into triangles. "I think Mack's bringing her home."
"Oh, it looks like your mom has everything covered so she can take her bath then." He said, taking a piece.
She nodded and took a bite of her slice of pizza.
Usually, he could never get Lana to stop talking when they were alone. He wondered if something had happened at school today. "How's your day been, Lan?" He asked.
She glanced up at him and swallowed. "It was fine," she shrugged.
Fine.
Wasn't that code for something? He couldn't remember what he'd used to say to Katie or Mackenzie when they said they were fine. Usually, Melinda asked those questions.
"Anything fun?" He asked, again, hoping she'd give him a better answer than that. He took a bit of his own pizza, giving her time to answer. He wasn't that worried.
Lana just wasn't the talkative type in front of the whole family, but whenever he was one on one with her she was always talking about something.
"Not really, it's just school dad." She laughed, taking another bite of pizza.
"What about gymnastics? How was practice?" He asked, finishing his slice and grabbing another.
"Good, I landed a backflip on the beam." She said, divulging a little.
"Oh, yeah? That's awesome, kiddo!" He held his hand up for a high-five, but Lana didn't quite have the enthusiasm he did as she clapped her hand against his. "Okay, now I know something's up, Lana. What happened today?"
"Nothing bad, dad" she sighed. "I just don't want to tell you." Now that he'd definitely heard before from one of his daughters before. Was it Katie? Or had it been Mack? Lana grabbed the third slice of pizza as she bit into her second one, walking past him and into the living room. "And please don't follow me."
He definitely was going to follow her now that she'd said that. He heard the tv flick on and the channel switch, suddenly the sound of a baseball game
Jim came around the corner and the floor squeaked. Lana sighed.
"I just came in to watch the game," he said, catching her gaze. He plopped down next to her. She was the only one of his girls who actually liked a sport he did. Well, Katie enjoyed football because of Ned being on the team in high school, but that was as far as that went. Mackenzie was a swimmer, but Lana loved baseball.
She'd gone to every one of Aaron's games in high school and college because she was too little to say no for most of it, and had caught the love for the game.
Jim had been thrilled. With Aaron out of the house and with his own family now, he had Lana to watch games with and take to games when he had time.
"Alright," she whispered and tossed the last of her second piece in her mouth. There was a moment of silence as they both watch the game before she spoke again. "Did Mackenzie tell you?"
Jim didn't know what to think. Had Mackenzie told him what?
He looked over at his daughter to find her staring him down.
"Dad, did Mackenzie tell you?" She asked.
"Tell me what?" He finally said.
He could see the look of panic in her eyes. He'd seen the same look on her mother's face too many times to count. It was like she was trying to tell if he was telling her the truth.
Why did she think he wasn't telling her the truth? What was bothering her so much that she couldn't tell him?
"Look," he said softly, startling her by talking first. "I don't know what you're so worried about Lana, and I don't know what you think Mackenzie may have told me, but if you ever need to tell me something... just know that I love you and I will not jump to conclusions. I will listen to you and be here no matter what."
Lana slowly took all of that in and looked away.
Had he gone too far?
"I'm sorry I've been acting weird," she whispered. "It's just... I feel uncomfortable around you all of a sudden." She looked over at him with tear-filled eyes. "And I don't want to keep secrets."
He grabbed the remote and paused the game, scooting toward her. He didn't know if she wanted him to hug her or not, so he just settled for being close to her. Lana didn't move away.
"Hey, you can tell me," he said softly.
"Are you gonna tell mom?" She asked softly, her eyes fidgeting up to look into his again.
"Not unless I have to," he said, smiling at her as he squeezed her hand. "What's up?"
"Um," she sniffled. "My friends at school, Skye and Jamie, they've been telling me about their crushes, you know? And lots of girls in my grade have boyfriends… but I don't want one." She looked up at him slowly.
His face broke out into a grin. Usually, the girls went to Melinda about this stuff, but this was the best thing he'd ever heard.
Lana didn't want to have a boyfriend like the rest of her friends? Whew… that was gonna save him so headaches for however long she thought this.
"That's perfectly fine, Lan. It's been a dream of mine that you'd never ever want to have a boyfriend," he laughed, squeezing her hand.
Lana laughed with him. "Yeah, I bet it is." She smiled at him. "But it's not just that dad. It's because I think I might like girls and not boys. But I don't know, maybe I don't. I just… I have been so afraid to tell you this and I kind of told Mackenzie, so when you were asking all these questions I thought she might have told you and mom."
Jim didn't know what to say to that. He definitely had not seen that one coming. But instead of panicking, like he'd thought he would, he softened and wrapped his arms around his daughter. She didn't react to it at first, but after a minute, she hugged him back.
Jim thought he was something of an expert on stubbornness. Or even Melinda. But his son was clearly in his own league that far surpassed his own limits. His bright blue eyes stared back at him with an expression that was a mixture of challenge and calculation. He knew off-the-bat his son was thinking of how to get out of this.
"Aaron," he said simply with a nod of his head.
"Daddy," the boy answered back with confidence.
"Do you know why you are sitting here with me?" Aaron looked around for a moment in confusion before shaking his head. "No idea?" He questioned coolly, waiting for him to slowly crack under the pressure.
"Maybe because you like the kitchen?" The boy asked before a huge smile broke on his face as a thought came to him. "Are you waiting for mommy to come through the door?"
He tried to tame his own smile from forming and couldn't help but think his son was good. Too good. His innocence and ability to be so aloof and calm under tight circumstances was something he clearly took from Melinda.
"Actually I spoke to mommy on the phone not too long ago. She told me something very interesting." He began to stare at him so he could possibly bring some more fire to his interrogation.
The problem was that his son could play the game too when he copied his movements and squinted his eyes at him, blowing on the hair in his face as he rested his elbows on the kitchen counter. He was sitting in a stool across from him. "You did?"
"Mmhmm, she told me that you asked for something today." He said slowly. "Wanna tell me yourself?"
Aaron scrunched her eyebrows in thought and even pulled his lips to the side. "I told mommy that I wanted a big hug and lots of kisses when she came home." The boy giggled.
"Is that all you asked for?" He asked.
"Uh…I think so…" the boy stammered. "Is mommy coming home soon?"
"She should be here any minute with your sister." He answered quickly, knowing that the boy was trying to evade the questions as his little plan was unraveling. It wouldn't be enough to break him down but it was a start. "Mommy told me that you called her and asked for one of Katie's cookies."
A surge of triumph coursed through him at the widening of his son's eyes as he could practically hear the wheels turning in his head if he listened closely.
"I did?" the boy asked and even had the nerve to actually frown in confusion.
"You did," he nodded with a smile which gave him the courage to continue his case. "Mommy said that she bought a special batch just for Katie's big spelling bee win and even had the baker put pretty flowers on them. She told you to wait and ask your sister didn't she?"
The little boy didn't answer at first. The wheels couldn't be any louder at that moment.
His six-year-old couldn't even look at him. "I dunno." The boy whispered.
Damn it.
"Oh, you don't know?" He asked. "How about when she told you to have some of the other cookies from the jar."
"The cookie jar?" The boy gulped.
"The cookie jar," he confirmed. Looking over his head he saw the evidence in question. The intricately painted jar that Melinda had brought home from her store over a decade prior, was right in his view on the counter. He pointed to the side of him. "That cookie jar."
The boy turned his head and Jim had to fight the urge to roll his eyes and laugh at the same time. Aaron knew very well what jar he was referring to and where it always remained.
Yet, as her mother's son, he had a natural flair for the dramatic. Perhaps that fault was his own and not Melinda's. According to his mother, at least.
"The same cookie jar I told you not to go in until you had lunch, remember?" He said.
Turning his head back, Jim could see his son's indifferent mask slowly ebbing away. They were finally getting somewhere.
"Yeah," the boy whispered.
There it was.
The change in his voice as he went many octaves lower, and the switching up of his pronunciation of words. Big boy Aaron was slowly hiding behind his toddler self. The voice he knew would get him anything he wanted and then some.
Melinda was willingly blind to it. He was her baby boy.
Then again, Jim would be a liar to say that he wasn't victim to Aaron's pouts and sullen eyes at times.
"Come here, bud," he said softly, watching as Aaron slowly took his time sliding off of the stool and dragging his little feet towards where he stood on the opposite side of the island, looking at him. He smirked and bent his body down to look at him. Aaron immediately pressed his little hands his shoulder as he looked up at him before he grabbed hold of him and pulled him into his arms. "Alright, how many cookies did you have?"
His shoulders moved to shrug at first but his fingers fell one by one until he held up three. "Three cookies, daddy." He muttered
"Three cookies?!" He mockingly gasped, receiving pouted lips and a nod of the head. "Did those cookies include the ones I gave you after lunch?" Aaron waited a moment, furrowed his eyebrows, and then nodded his head. "So that makes it five cookies, right?"
Aaron nodded once more.
When the sound of the front door opening pulled their attention away, Aaron looked at him with pleading eyes. He knew it was most likely because he wanted to rush and greet Melinda, but also because he wanted to gain her support in his defense.
While his son might have had him wrapped around his finger, Melinda was absolutely coiled on both hands. The moment she saw him with sad blue eyes and pouting lips, his wife would be putty in his hands. Ready to bend over and fix anything that was wrong just as he would with almost anything for him.
Unfortunately, Jim was able to spill the deeds to Melinda on how he pulled a good trick by getting her to say yes to cookies when he was already told no by Jim. She had laughed even though they both weren't too fond of him getting his way so sneakily but eventually he couldn't help but chuckle when Melinda said that his tactical methods were all him and less her than he liked to think.
He found that slightly hard to believe given the fact that she was the one with the silver tongue and could flip any situation with a few words.
"Go on," he set him down and the boy scampered off down the hall.
"Daddy!" He could hear him screaming in delight. Melinda's own voice was followed by his laughter as he was sure she had him swinging in his arms.
His assumptions were correct. When they walked into the kitchen, he was perched up in her arms with one hand around him and the other holding her coffee cup. Katie must've gone right upstairs.
"Hi honey!" she said with a grin, placing the cup down and moving to greet him with a kiss by leaning up on her tiptoes as much as she could with Aaron still in her arms.
The touch of her lips was soft against his own and tasted faintly of cinnamon and milk, from her coffee. All too soon she was pulling away to stand on her flat feet, much to his dismay. He missed her and with a ten-year-old, a six-year-old, ghosts, and their own issues, it was hard getting any alone time especially if when Aaron was home from school with the flu today.
He was feeling better though.
Aaron released a huff and giggled at his mother's hair blanketing his entire face as he held it up against his face. He smiled while Melinda laughed in his attempt to look up at her before finding his eyes again.
"How was your day, honey?" she asked with concerned eyes. "He wasn't too much today, right?"
"My day was good, but someone in here had an even better one," he teased, nudging his chin downward to where Aaron was too busy playing in her hair. He may have been good at playing coy but his ears were intently waiting for someone to bring up the elephant in the room.
"Is that so?" Melinda said, giving him a wink and turning his eyes to where their son was back to pouting and distracting himself with her hair.
"I did a bad thing…" he whispered and her mouth fell open.
He could only shake his head as round two was starting.
"What did you do, sweetpea?" she asked, using one of her many nicknames for him.
"I lied to daddy…." he spoke in the softest of voices.
"You lied to daddy?" She feigned outrage, glancing at him before back at their son. "That wasn't very nice. What did you lie about?"
"Cookies," he sighed.
"Cookies?!" she gaped and the little boy nodded.
"You didn't lie bud, you just didn't listen to daddy when you didn't get your way and went to mommy instead," he said, moving to stand beside them and brushing his hand through his hair.
"I'm sorry," Aaron said, leaning into his side.
"I know you are," he told him softly and found Melinda looking at him. "But no dessert tonight at dinner. You've had enough for the whole week."
"But, but, mommy?" Aaron suddenly was acting his age, and not using his toddler words to gain bonus points.
"I don't know sweetpea, you had a lot of cookies today," Melinda whispered.
"I only had…" he took a moment to count on his fingers all the cookies he managed to get away with until six…no…five fingers went up. "Five cookies."
Melinda whistled with a shake of her head. "That's a lot of cookies," she turned to him then. "What do you say, daddy? I think it's up to you after taking care of him…. do we let the cookie bandit off the hook this time?"
Aaron's eyes turned to saucers as he looked between him and his mother. "I don't know, Mel, he had quite her fill today. Anymore might upset his stomach."
"No, it won't!" Aaron said, shaking his head vigorously. "I won't be upset."
They laughed at that and Melinda kissed his cheek. "I know you won't be upset but your tummy will be," she playfully growled and moved to tickle his sides, making him shriek with laughter.
"My tummy is happy. See?" He poked a finger at his belly to prove her point.
"I see," Melinda chuckled. "Well, your son has a point, Jim."
He eyed his wife and her subtle attempt to imply that Jim was more him than her at this moment. "He does," he replied wistfully.
Melinda released a heavy sigh before setting him down. "It's up to daddy, kiddo." His eyes found Melinda's filled with warmth that he returned equally. Their secret message to play along before giving in to their cookie monster.
"I don't know," he said, playing along and shaking his head as Aaron's hands reached up to clasp his own.
"Please daddy!" He begged with wide eyes. "I'll be a good boy again I promise! I'll even help with the dishes."
"Aww come on, listen to him honey," Melinda grinned, winking at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "He's gonna help you do the dishes!"
"Yeah, listen to me, honey!" Aaron's high pitched voice squealed.
They both turned to look down at Aaron with wide eyes and open mouths. There was a long pause as they both took in the situation.
For the first time in his four years of life, he actually referred to him as honey. And for all things, some damn sugar cookies?
Apparently Melinda overcame her surprise and was fighting to suppress her laughter before inevitably failing. Her boisterous laughter filled the room as she bent down to scoop up Aaron into his arms.
"Where do you get off, huh?" She asked him in between chuckling and nuzzling her nose into his cheek, causing their son to giggle. "That's my honey!"
Aaron shook his head with a fit full of giggles. "Nun uh, Daddy is my honey now."
"Says who, you're the cookie bandit?" She questioned with a giggle and raised brow before she began to tickle him.
"Daddy help me!" Aaron gasped, giggling out of control.
Their boy whiningly laughed, reaching for his father as he was thrown upside-down in her arms. Melinda tickled him some more as he stood there, fighting the urge to laugh at being fought over by his wife and their child and the fact that their son had easily turned the odds in his favor.
He opened the cookie jar to find an assortment of professionally frosted cookies that Melinda had gotten for Katie and the homemade ones they had leftover too. He picked up two cookies and crossed over to them with their wild antics. Melinda held him upright when she saw him, their hair tousled about, and faces flushed with identical wide grins.
He extended a cookie to both of them. "For both of my honeys," he grinned.
Jim awoke to an empty bed. He'd worked a double shift the night before and blinked to see the clock read noon. Why was it so quiet in the house on a Saturday morning? Sitting up, he looked around to see if there were any traces of his wife but found nothing. Their bedroom door was ajar, so slowly getting out of bed he went to it and walked out into the hallway.
He could see that Emma's nursery room door was open. Quietly heading down the hallway, he passed by each of her kids' rooms. Aaron's closed-door was first, and he knocked lightly before he peeked his torso and head in. He was fast asleep still. He was exhausted as he had just returned from an away basketball game the night before. Not to mention, he was in the middle of his senior year.
Next was Mackenzie, the twelve-year-old wasn't in her room and the sound of clamoring of pans in the kitchen made him think his wife might be down there with her. The third was Lana, who was asleep in her toddler bed, looking so grown up for only being four years old. God, she had to stop growing so quickly. It was just yesterday that Katie was this small.
He heard the sound of quiet giggling as he reached the doorway of the nursery. Peeking inside, his heart leaped at the sight.
Emma was perched on Melinda's lap as she rocked them in the chair. It was all of their children's favorite chair and they never cried if they were rocked on it. The baby rested her heads on Melinda's chest, light and dark hair contrasting beautifully against his wife's top.
"I can't believe that she's one," he found himself saying out loud.
Melinda looked up and grinned. "Good morning, sweetheart."
"It's almost one," he responded.
"Oh, sorry." She laughed, looking down at Emma that was beginning to snooze in her lap. "Emma's been up on and off all night. I think our birthday girl has the flu."
Walking over to her, Jim sat down on the floor in front of the duo. Emma, their daughter, peeked out at him from underneath her long, dark lashes and was suddenly scrambling off of her mother. She reached for Jim and he gathered her into his arms easily, smelling spring in her tuft of blonde hair.
"Happy birthday, Emmabear," he whispered into her ear.
"Da…" came the soft, delighted sound from their daughter's lips.
Melinda looked at their daughter, giving her a playful pout. "I guess we know who the favorite is!"
"Little darling," he said as he looked at the girl, who was staring up at him with his own beautiful blue eyes. "How does it feel to be one year older?"
Emma smiled up at him, a small tooth emerging from her young gums and adding to the array of baby teeth. They had the hardest time when she had begun teething.
"Goo…" The little girl replied.
"I think that she is going to talk soon," Melinda told her husband, pressing a kiss to his head. "I can see her trying to form actual words. The books all say it is because she has bigger siblings and hears all of our conversations. She's picking up on them easier."
"Well, I will never be surprised by how smart our children are. Each of them is smart in their own ways," he replied. "You look kind of lonely sitting in that chair," he said looking up at her. "Why don't you join us on the carpet?"
Emma's suddenly drowsy eyes looked up to Melinda. "Mama?"
Melinda was already sliding down from the chair onto the floor. "Wait— is there someone else here or is Mackenzie trying to cook?" He asked, remembering what he'd heard downstairs.
"Katie and Ned and grandkids here, she's making breakfast with Mack." She explained and leaned her head on his shoulder. Emma immediately reached for her mother who easily engulfed the little girl in her arms.
Together, they all laid back to enjoy the bit of quietness this morning brought them. "It's amazing," he said quietly. "I swear that we were just in this house alone and you were on the brink of having Katie. Now, here we are—and it's Emma's first birthday."
"Crazy how time passes," Melinda replied before turning to him. "Keep blinking and it will be her graduation in no time."
"I don't want to blink—not yet," he told her as he patted her head, who slept on her chest. "Right now, I just want to stay in this moment with you and our fifth little one." He reached for her hand with his free one. "Will you allow it?"
She adjusted Emma, who was snuggled into the crook of her arm now before leaning forward to kiss him tenderly. "I'll always allow it."