Andy tried to rub his eyes but that just made the stinging worse. He tripped over a stick and landed on the ground.
Dean groaned. Obviously, he needed to go get Andy. Thanks to the wind, he had already been blessed with a face full of skunk spray but he didn't get doused in it as Andy and Riot had. Riot was phased for a few seconds and then seemed to forget that he got sprayed. Dean told Andy he was coming and to stay calm. He got to him and picked him up like a surfboard. He tried getting Riot to follow him but the pup was busy gathering sticks. He did manage to grab him and put him under his other arm.
Andy dangled, watching the ground beneath him move as Dean walked. "I didn't know it was a skunk."
Dean scrunched his nose. "You do now." He wasn't the least bit angry with Andy, although he could thump Riot for chasing the thing down. He was frustrated though. Skunk spray lingered. It wasn't an easy fix. He had made it a full 23 years without being sprayed, although there had been a few close calls.
Sam was closest to the edge of the trees and heard Dean walking down the path. The smell hit him and he backed away. "Uh, Dean?"
Dean put Riot down. "Shut up, Sam."
Riot ran toward the other people with his tail wagging and tongue sticking out the side of his mouth.
Kate covered her mouth and nose with her shirt. She jumped on top of the table to avoid having Riot brush her.
April wanted to ask if Andy was okay but her pregnant state and the smell of skunk spray instantly turned her stomach.
Caleb was torn in two directions. He told Ian and April to get in the truck. April looked green and Ian would absolutely wrap himself around Riot, no matter how he smelled.
Everywhere that Riot went, people scattered.
Sam couldn't contain his laughter. He felt a rock hit him and rubbed his arm. "Don't throw stuff at me."
Dean put Andy on his feet. "If you say one word I will murder you."
Sam walked away. He had too many things to say. He knew Dean wouldn't murder him but he may get the idea to tackle him and Sam really didn't want to share the smell.
Karen lightly smacked Bobby's arm. "Don't laugh at them."
Bobby covered his mouth. "We should probably get something set up for them to wash that off."
Dean looked at Baby and then at Andy. He looked his own shirt and groaned. "Sam, I'm going to need you to drive her back." It pained him to say that he couldn't drive Baby but he wouldn't dare set foot in the car with the state that he was in.
Sam still thought it was hilarious and the day was made better by Dean giving up his keys.
Dean got Andy and Riot into the back of Caleb's truck. There was no way that anyone was allowing them anywhere else.
John was just as amused as Sam was but he was better at hiding it.
Pamela saw the twinkle in his eye and the twitch of his lip that threatened to turn into a smile.
Karen and Bobby stopped by the store to gather supplies to rid the boys of the skunk spray.
Sam drove Jess, Charlie, Taylor, and Kate back to Bobby's house. He did make sure to peel out of the spot that Dean had parked the car, just to piss him off.
Dean made a mental note that Sam hadn't had his ass kicked in a while. He'd have to fix that.
Riot and Andy had the same reaction to riding in the back of the truck. They found it fun and Dean had to keep a grip on both of them to keep them in the truck bed and not on the blacktop below.
John hauled a steel watering trough from behind Bobby's shop. He made sure to place it next to a ditch that ran away from Bobby's house. He started running water in it and scoffed when Pamela insisted that they get some warm water to add to it. "They just got out of the lake. They'll be fine."
"Stick your hand in that and tell me it isn't cold," Pamela said.
John did and shook his hand off before wiping it on his pants. "It is a little cold."
Taylor knew he could release electrical charges. He had even played around with creating flames. He put his hands in the water and managed to heat it up enough to take the bite out of the chill.
Pamela was endlessly amazed by Taylor and Kate. "You would be great to have around if the power went off."
Taylor let a few sparks of electricity jump from one hand to the other. "I'm a walking generator."
April felt terrible for avoiding Andy but she couldn't breathe without wanting to throw up. She was grateful that it happened after she had found a family and not when she was a single mother.
Dean got Riot out of the truck and held onto him while the preliminary soap and buckets of water were dumped over him. It would take several baths before the stink would be muted. He put him in the now soapy trough and helped Andy get soaped up and rinsed off. He lowered him into the tub with Riot and told Andy to scrub Riot with the brush they had on hand.
John wasn't as concerned with how cold the water was for Dean. "Your turn."
Dean looked at the empty bucket and then at John who was holding the water hose in his hand. "Aren't you going to fill those up?"
John shook his head. "You'll be fine."
Dean had his jeans on and hadn't intended to get soaked. He licked his lips. "I'll shower inside."
"Just strip. Your clothes stink." John said.
Dean scoffed indignantly. "I will not."
"Dean, jeans, shoes, shirt, off," John said.
Dean looked at him like he had a couple of extra heads. "Dad."
"Everyone went inside. I'll have Sam bring you some shorts. Strip." John said.
Dean slowly took his boots off. "You know what, I'll just get these two cleaned up and then I'll get clean."
John pinched the bridge of his nose.
Sam appeared from around a car. "Do you need anything?"
Dean threw a boot at him, hitting him square in the chest. "Go get me some other clothes."
Sam grimaced. That boot was ripe.
John sprayed Dean in the face with a mist of water. "Strip."
Andy was amused. He accidentally giggled and caught Dean's side eye.
"You, mister, do not get to laugh at this," Dean said in mock anger.
Andy cupped some bubbles in his hands and put them on top of Riot's head. "Riot is sorry, look at him."
Dean caught the shorts and t-shirt that Sam threw over the car. He took his jeans and t-shirt off and braced himself for the ice-cold water. He thought John was taking some sort of sick enjoyment from how long it took the water to shut off. He bounced on his toes. "Son of a bitch that is cold." He used a towel to wrap around himself and change into the clean shorts. "Are you done?"
John smiled. "For now."
Dean flared his nose and pressed his lips into a thin line. He shook his head and turned his attention back to Andy. He scrubbed Andy down and rinsed him off with the soapy water. He scrubbed him again and helped him out of the tub that he had been soaking in. He turned and saw John with a warm bucket of water. "Oh come on!"
John poured the bucket over Andy and helped him dry his face. He let Dean soap him again and then rinsed him again. "You should be good to go inside for a real bath now."
Caleb met him at the porch and wrapped him in a towel. He smelled better than he had earlier. "So, whose idea was it to get sprayed by the skunk?"
Dean gave Riot the same treatment and figured they'd have to wash the dog a few more times before he was smelling like roses.
John helped rinse Riot and provided lukewarm water to do so. He toweled Riot the best he could and released him to go get dirty again.
Dean was glad he had been wearing normal clothes because they did help protect him. He also wasn't right around the skunk and the majority of the stink came from carrying Riot and Andy back to the tables. He soaped up and expected a bucket of warm water to be dumped on him. He got a bucket of cold water instead. He cursed and jumped back. "Why did the dog get warm water and I don't?"
John chuckled. "Bobby said you can use his bathroom."
Dean ran around the side of the house, eager to be away from John and his buckets of cold water. He knocked on the backdoor and got escorted to the master bedroom's bathroom. He had never even been in Bobby's room. He realized Bobby had a shower but also one of those tubs with jets. He was a grown man and grown men typically didn't take baths, in his opinion. That thought pushed to the side he turned the water on as hot as it would go. He spotted a soap bottle that smelled decent. He poured some into the tub and stood back. He smiled to himself because his grown ass was about to enjoy not only a bath but a fancy one at that.
(Two days later)
Charlie spent long hours in Bobby's office or in front of a pile of books. To say she was fascinated would be an understatement. She had been in plenty of libraries but to an extent, most books that most libraries had, most other libraries also had. Those that lined Bobby's shelves had only been read by a select few. She was honored to be allowed to browse through them as she pleased. She did get the 'do not touch anything' speech but she was just keen on reading as many books as she could. The bunker was a mystical place, like Mnt. Olympus. As far as she knew, it was a mysterious place that only specific, privileged people had traveled to. She trusted them when they told her about the bunker but until she saw it with her own eyes, her head was filled with the mysteriousness of the place.
Sam and Jess ended their time in Sioux Falls on a bittersweet note. Sam did want to get back into classes but he really enjoyed being around his family. They were lively and it was never boring.
Jess liked the family too. She had no idea that Sam had been gifted Mary's ring. She just knew that everyone accepted her. Her own father was more accepting sans Martha than he had been before. He was just dry and bland and hard to talk to.
John had already said his goodbyes to Jess and Sam a day before. He needed to get Pamela back to her house and felt like he and Sam were in good standing with each other.
Charlie swapped numbers with Jess so they could continue working on helping kids. She had gotten over her social anxiety and felt comfortable around most of them.
Jess hugged Kate. "Let me know when you want a break. We will have a girls' day."
Kate smiled. "Give me a week and I'll be I'll need that break."
Dean drove Sam and Jess back to the airport. He hated flying. He hated the idea of flying. Luckily, he had his own car and didn't need to fly. Sam could fly.
Back at Bobby's house, Taylor and Kate planned out their trip to the bunker.
Millie was unimpressed that they seemed to be leaving again and took up residence in Kate's bag.
Kate packed around Millie and made sure to give her extra love and attention. She wouldn't be leaving right away but she did want the trip to be comfortable. Karen was going to take them to Elsie's store later that day and Kate was excited to show Charlie what the store had.
Charlie was just happy to be included. She had created a dozen documents for their database and her algorithm was working beautifully. She had learned that Bobby wasn't nearly as gruff as he tried to act. She saw a glint of approval in the man's eye but kept her pride to herself. She was quite used to people being impressed by her skills but she often hid behind the computer screen. Those that she worked with, like Ash, knew her as CB and assumed she was a man. That was okay with her. As soon as people found out she was a frail, pale, 17-year-old girl, they got nosey.
Taylor was in a good groove. He felt like 14 was his year to get on his feet. He felt more sure of himself. He wasn't depressed. He knew for a fact that he would not be touching any type of drugs or alcohol. He didn't even get cursed on his birthday. This year was shaping up to be far better than the previous year. Although, he did gain a family. He did escape Craig and get rid of David. He found out that his real dad was an honorable man and met Jo and Ellen. Sometimes, it was easy to forget the good things when the bad things weighed him down so heavily.
Kate got Charlie's attention. Charlie had a brilliant mind. No one in the family was truly dull, even though Dean liked to pretend that he didn't know anything. Charlie, like Marty, could talk with Kate about abstract things like time and space.
Charlie had a good grasp of the concept although it was all theoretical and mathematical. Theories about time travel had been around for a while but to her knowledge, it was just theory. Knowing that Kate could bend time gave her a new way to look at things. If they could figure out exactly what was happening, they could dabble with time in a safe way.
Aside from time travel, Kate wanted to get on top of the freaks issue. It was a hot topic for Dean and Kate. Kate wanted to pull out all the stops to get answers to her questions. Dean, annoyingly, wanted her to not die in the process. Damn pseudo-parental concern about her wellbeing.
Charlie had been given as much information about the 'freaks' as Kate could remember. They sounded terrifying. If a doctor was trying to create a creature, it would typically take a long period of time to see changes. Genetics was not a Saturday afternoon undertaking. Pugs came from wolves. That change took centuries of cross-breeding and other factors. If Kate was right and the doctor had created several generations of a creature, he would have done so in a decade or less. That made the unthinkable even more unthinkable.
"We had some samples from one of the freaks," Kate explained. "We need more to continue research. I think we need a variety of samples from live subjects and cadavers. The person that identified vampires didn't have all of the fancy equipment that we have. These things are far more dangerous than a vampire. We need to take it more seriously than we have."
Charlie agreed. A world where the freaks multiplied and took over would be a world short-lived. She looked at such things the same way that she looked at algorithms and coding. Living organisms were a lot like computers. A change in an organism's coding could enhance or destroy the organism. She wondered how many test subjects that the doctor used before one of them survived. Was the freak a failed experiment or was it a success?
"Maybe we can go to the lab before you go back to Marie's house." Kate said.
"I would totally love that." Charlie said, brightly.
Bobby had listened to the conversation and narrowed his eyes. Either Charlie would be helpful for Kate or she would jump off the deep end with her. He was leaning toward helpful but Kate had a way of landing herself into the deepest pits of hot water that Bobby had ever encountered.
(April and Caleb)
April felt better in her second trimester than she had in the first. She was careful to maintain her blood sugar levels and rested when she was able. She had not done that with Ian. She was chasing after Andy, alone. She felt like she was being lazy with Lauren but she did also have two older kids to chase after this time. Andy stayed with her if she passed out. Ian would take the opportunity to wreak havoc if her eyes closed for too long. He was far more mischievous and climbed everything. She hoped that Lauren was easy so that she could still manage the boys.
Caleb had enlisted Andy's help with setting up Lauren's room. He had no doubt that Lauren would not see the inside of her room until she was at least a few months old. He knew April would want her right by their bed. Honestly, he would want that too. He caught himself watching Andy and Ian sleep at times. He'd wait to see their chest rise and fall and then he would be able to go to bed as well. He couldn't imagine that the habit would be any better by the time that Lauren arrived.
Andy didn't think that Lauren needed pink walls. If they painted the walls pink and she wore all the outfits that his mom picked out, they'd easily lose her in the room. What if she didn't even like pink? He decided on pale yellow. He even got to help paint. Riot wanted to help but Andy and Caleb agreed that puppies and paint were a recipe for disaster. He had enough baths in just a few days to last him an entire year. He certainly didn't want an extra bath if he got paint all over him.
(The kids)
The shopping trip to Elsie's store was fruitful. Charlie walked away with a duffle worth of clothes and shoes. She was set for the foreseeable future.
"We will go to the lab tomorrow and then go to the bunker." Kate said.
Charlie was thrilled. So many cool things were on the books. She'd get to see the 'bat cave' and the lab. She'd get to go back to Marie's and work on a dress to wear to the renaissance faire. She noticed that things moved quickly with Kate's family. A lot could happen in a week. She was happy to be along for the ride.
Dean was changing baby's oil when he got a phone call. By the end of the conversation, he was dizzy and felt sick to his stomach. Maybe he was a little dramatic but after the year or two they had had, he was leary.
When Kate and Charlie got back to the house, Dean told Kate to have a seat on the couch. Kate thought Dean looked worried. "Dean?"
Dean held his hand up. He cleared his throat. "Bobby, you'll need to be in here for this."
Bobby joined them in the living room. "Go ahead."
Dean paced a few steps. "Kate, I'm going to tell you something and I need you to remain calm. It is about Hannah."
Kate's face fell. "What?"
Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath. "They are moving."
Kate deeply furrowed her brows. "Why is that a bad thing?"
Dean grimaced. "They are moving here, to Sioux Falls."
Kate was off the couch and jumping up and down before she found her voice. "That is awesome!"
Dean shook his head.
"Dean, why are you acting like that?" Kate asked.
Dean put his hands on his hips. "Hannah, the one that helped you hide your master plan from us. Hannah, who helped you contact Hellen. Hannah, who isn't part of my fan club."
Kate wiggled happily. "So?"
"You two do not always make the best choices when you are around each other." Dean said.
Kate scoffed. "That was literally one time. Have we hatched any more plans? No." She screamed into a pillow and took a deep breath. "I'm going to call her!"
Bobby snorted. "You buried the lead there."
Dean shot him a look. "You don't think they will wind up coming up with some kind of plan?"
Bobby shrugged. "Keep an eye on them."
Dean rubbed his face. "No. That'll be your job. I need a drink."
Charlie was quiet through the exchange. She didn't quite understand. She did ask Bobby if Hannah was a bad person when Dean left.
Bobby chuckled. "No. She helped Kate hide the plan to save her dad's soul. Kate nearly died. Hannah is not a bad person but she is not going to stop Kate if Kate decides to do something foolish."
Dean sipped the whiskey in his glass. "If one jumps off the cliff, the other is not far behind."
"Weren't you previously concerned that I would do such a thing?" Charlie asked.
"No. You'd tell someone if she was doing something crazy. Wouldn't you? You'd tell us if she was trying to do something crazy." Dean said.
Charlie tilted her head.
Dean narrowed his eyes. "She needs a voice of reason. She ignores mine. I'm telling you to let us know if she heads to the cliff."
"Of course, I'd let you know," Charlie said.
Dean shook his head. "Kids. Damn kids."
(The next day)
John drove back toward Sioux Falls. He needed to go on a hunt but he also needed a weapon that Bobby had. The bunker was also on his way so he'd stop by when the kids did.
Caleb was concerned about April. She swore she was fine but she wobbled when she got up that morning. Her hands were shaky and she said her head hurt. Snacks didn't seem to help either. "Babe, we need to get you checked out."
April fanned herself. "I'm okay."
Caleb called John to ask him a few questions and was glad that he was on his way back. He could stop by and look at April before going to Bobby's house.
April chose to rest while she could. Caleb was supposed to go to work and Ian was already keyed up for the day. It felt like, the more tired she was, the more hyper Ian was. She waved Caleb off. "Go ahead to work."
Caleb was not about to leave her. "I'll call and tell them what is going on."
"If I need to see a doctor, someone else can take me. It is okay." April said.
Ian, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, was set for mischief. He went to the door and turned the doorknob. He gasped when the door opened.
Caleb quickly shut the door and pulled him back. "You cannot open the door."
Ian protested and opened it again as soon as Caleb turned his back.
Caleb used the chain at the top to make sure that Ian could not open the door. That was going to be a pain in the ass to deal with. He could fall down the steps or walk into the road but he could also break salt lines. While he didn't require Andy to watch Ian often, he did ask him to help a little that morning.
Andy took Ian with him to the backyard to throw sticks for Riot. That worked for a little while until Ian wanted to throw the sticks at him. Little brothers could be really annoying at times.
John stopped by their house and knocked on the door. He heard the chain slide and stepped back from the door.
Caleb let John in. He put the chain back on the door and turned to April.
John asked April a battery of questions and checked her pulse and profusion on her hands and feet. "Your blood pressure may be low."
April groaned. That meant the doctor for sure. She wanted Lauren to be healthy. She just felt like she was failing because her body fought her so much.
John looked outside and then returned to Caleb's side. "You take her. I'll take the boys to Bobby's."
"Are you sure? I can drop them off." Caleb said.
"Worry about April. I've got them." John said.
Caleb rubbed his hands together. "I'll get their stuff for you."
Andy managed to get Ian and Riot back inside. He was looking for one of his shoes. He somehow always managed to lose one of them.
Ian went back to the door and tried to open it. He looked up at the chain and sat down on the floor to let the door know how he felt.
John flicked his eyes from Ian to April.
April had a hand over her eyes. "He figured out that he could open the door."
John didn't have as much patience with the screaming. He was thankful that Ian gave up and wandered away to find something else to do.
Andy grabbed his styrofoam airplane and put it in his bag. It was new and he wanted to see how far it would go.
Caleb walked outside with John and put Ian's car seat in John's truck. He got Ian buckled in and walked around to load Riot into the truck. He heard a click and walked back around. "Seatbelt on."
Ian kicked his feet and arched his back. Being contained was not on his list of things he liked to do.
Andy handed him a toy car and distracted him so that he wouldn't unbuckle his straps again.
Caleb shut Andy's door and thanked John again.
John drove away. Karen could watch the boys but John could transport them. He didn't think his nerves could handle the tantrums that Ian had been throwing.
Dean had taken Charlie and Kate to the lab. He offered to take Taylor but Taylor chose to stay home. Lucky Taylor.
Andy ran off to play with Riot as soon as the truck stopped. John took Ian inside with him. He intended to work on a plan for his hunt with Bobby. He didn't want to assume he knew what he was up against. He had a good idea but wanted to be prepared for any of the three things that the creature could be.
Bobby poured coffee for John and placed a stack of papers on the table.
That stack looked interesting to Ian so he tried to grab some of the papers. Karen moved him back. She narrowly avoided a tantrum by offering him a snack. Food was usually the way to Ian's heart.
Andy ran into the house with Riot behind him. He stopped in front of John. "I need my bag. It has my plane in it."
John was in the middle of reading something. "I'll get it in a little bit."
Andy sighed and left the kitchen. He did try opening the truck but it was locked. He could keep himself busy with other things.
John underlined part of the paper he was reading. "This is exactly what those newspapers are saying."
Bobby told John to walk with him to his study. He typed in a few keywords into Charlie's database and two articles popped up. "Sounds like a dragon."
John rubbed his chin. "Sounds like it but I don't think a dragon would be able to get in and out of houses like that."
"No," Bobby said. He pulled a book from his shelf. He only knew of a few creatures that produced fire. "Surely it isn't a Pheonix."
John was more stumped than he had been before he asked for assistance. He had been certain that he had the creature figured out but the details were hazy.
Andy ran around for a while before going back inside. There was a breeze that he just knew could carry his airplane. "Can I have my airplane now?"
"I will get it once I'm finished with this," John said. He heard an impatient sigh from Andy. "I will get it after I'm done with this part."
Andy's shoulders slumped. "Okay." He didn't see why John couldn't just unlock the truck. It would just take a few seconds. He walked back to the office doorway and started to ask if he could take John's keys to unlock the truck but got a stern look from John. He decided to get a drink instead.
Karen smiled at Andy. She told him to sit down and she'd pour him a drink. She spun around as Ian pulled the silverware drawer out of the cabinet. She quickly grabbed the heavy drawer and made sure that Ian was okay. She put the ones that had touched the floor into the sink and got the drawer back on its tracks. She poured Andy a drink and gave it to him. She didn't see Ian and had to go look for him.
Andy sipped his drink. He was bored. He wanted his plane. He saw papers sprawled across the table and then saw John's keys. John didn't say not to take the keys. He was busy. Andy could get his plane and John wouldn't have to stop what he was doing. He licked his lips and swiped the keys. He walked back through the house and went outside. John's truck was really tall and hard to unlock. It didn't have a button like his dad's truck did. He did manage to get the door open and took a big step to get his foot on the running board. He held onto the door and pulled himself up. Then, he grabbed the steering wheel. Sitting in the front seat made him realize the truck really was tall. He felt like he was on top of the world. He stood in the seat and reached over the back to grab his backpack. He touched it with his fingertips and pushed himself a little further with his feet so that he could grab the loop ontop of his backpack. He got it and pushed himself back. He almost dropped it so he had to jump a little. He pulled the heavy backpack over the seat and fell back into the floor of the passenger seat. He heard the gravel crunching and looked up at the window. Oh crap, the truck was moving.
Taylor saw the truck move but didn't see John. He didn't see anyone. He cringed because the truck was on a slight incline. It didn't roll far until the left headlight made contact with another scrap car. He ran over and swung the door open. He saw that the truck was in neutral and hopped in so that he could hit the break and return the truck to park. He blinked. "Andy?"
Andy sat up. His eyes were as wide as saucers and his breath hitched. He dove over Taylor and ran to the front of the truck. His eyes started to water and he pulled Taylor to him. "Can you fix it?"
Taylor didn't think a ton of damage had been done but he couldn't fix a shattered headlight. He could fix the minor dents though. "What happened?"
Andy hiccuped. "I wanted my plane and opened the door and I think I fell and then the truck moved."
Taylor checked Andy over to make sure he hadn't been injured. He had a pink elbow and a little scrape on his head.
Andy looked back at the truck. "Please fix it. John's gonna be mad at me."
Taylor made eye contact with John over Andy's head. He gently turned Andy around to face John and almost fell back when Any jumped back in panic.
"What happened here?" John asked, arms crossed.
Andy shook his head and pulled on Taylor's hand.
"Andrew, explain why my truck is not where I parked it." John said.
Andy sniffled. "You were busy so I was just gonna get my airplane. I fell and accidentally moved the truck."
John looked at Taylor for confirmation. "I told you that I would get it."
"I just didn't want to bother you." Andy tried.
"So you took my keys without permission and got into my truck after I told you to wait." John said.
Taylor kind of felt bad for Andy.
Andy tried to step behind Taylor. "You didn't say not to take them and I was gonna put them back. I'm sorry your truck got hurt."
John looked at the damage. "I'm not angry about the headlight."
Andy looked up at him through doe eyes.
"I'm angry about you taking my keys and getting into my truck in the first place. The truck could have hit other things."
Andy's face turned red. "I'm really sorry."
John didn't think Andy was trying to drive the truck but he sure was being sneaky.
Andy didn't like the look on John's face. He side stepped toward the house. "I'll go sit in time out until my dad and mom get here."
John snapped his fingers and pointed to the spot in front of him.
Andy shook his head.
Taylor backed away and John didn't stop him.
John grabbed Andy and stepped back to the truck, using the wheel to elevate one leg.
Andy threw his hands back. "I didn't mean to!"
John moved his hands and started raining down swats. He paused once he got Andy's attention. "You don't steal from me or anyone else. You do not get into a vehicle without permission. I have weapons in my truck. The truck could have run over Riot or a person." He started spanking again and had to pop Andy's leg. "If you keep doing that you're going to wind up on your head."
Andy didn't care if he landed on his head. John's spankings freaking hurt and he wanted that one to stop.
John got a better grip on him. "You are old enough to know better."
Andy twisted. "I didn't mean to!"
John sighed. "I know you didn't mean to move the truck. That is a risk though."
Andy pushed against John's leg and kicked his foot when the spanking renewed. He felt bad about taking the keys and everything. He knew it was wrong when he did it. He would have preferred to sit in time out. His dad was going to be so mad but he would have preferred a spanking from his dad over one from John. He dropped his head. "I'm sorry."
John gave him a few more hard swats and walked around to the tailgate. He placed Andy on the open tailgate and gave him a moment to compose himself.
Andy slid to the edge, intending to get down because the bumpy truck bed did not agree with his newly scorched backside.
John put him back. "Look at me."
Andy wiped his eyes and looked at John. "I really am sorry."
John patted his back. "Next time I tell you to wait, you're going to wait."
Andy nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Just because your dad isn't here doesn't mean you get to ignore people," John said.
Andy nodded again. "I won't steal keys or anything. I won't open cars. I definitely won't wreck 'em."
John brushed his hair away from his eyes. He pulled him into a hug. "Be more careful. Your mom and dad would be pretty sad if you got hurt."
Andy hiccuped. "I'll be careful."
John let him down. "Where are my keys?"
Andy said they were in the front seat.
They weren't.
Andy blinked in horror. "You think they fell out?"
John called Taylor from the shop. "Can you help him find my keys?"
Taylor gave Andy a sympathetic smile. "Yes, sir."
John rubbed his face and went back inside. He'd worry about replacing the headlight when he didn't feel like his head was going to explode.
Ian was grumpy and wanted to go outside. None of the adults were available to go outside at that moment so the door was locked after Karen told Taylor why it was locked. She stepped around Ian and went back to the bread dough she had been working on.
John was becoming annoyed with the frequent meltdowns. The least thing caused Ian to scream.
Karen carried cups of coffee into Bobby's office and handed each man a cup.
Ian followed Karen back into the kitchen. He tried to open the back door but it had been locked too. He twisted the doorknob and found the lock. He unlocked it and opened the door, only to have it shut again.
John put his coffee down and walked to the kitchen. He saw Karen holding the door with her elbow, unable to move Ian because her hands were covered. John pulled Ian back.
Karen sighed. "He figured out the lock."
Ian pulled away from John and tried to go back to the door. He went limp and slumped to the floor, trying to break free from John's grip.
John counted to ten in his head. He got kicked in the arm and opened his eyes. He picked Ian up and swatted him firmly across his diaper.
Ian was stunned and stuck his lower lip out.
John shook his head. "No doors."
Ian looked at the door and tried to continue his tantrum but a second swat stopped him.
John had swatted him hard enough for him to feel it but still appropriate for his size. Sam threw tantrums but never like Ian had. He was a couple of weeks away from two and already a terror. If they didn't get his attitude in check, he'd be worse by three. Most kids could be squirely at times but Ian had abilities that were only dampened by the charm on his ankle. To John, that meant that bratty behavior had a heavier consequence in the long run.
Ian looked back at the door and then to John.
John held up his hand.
Ian held his hands up and twisted them, signing that he was 'all done.'
John put him down. He found a few toy cars and placed them in one corner. "Play. No doors."
Ian eyed him for a moment but decided to play with his cars.
Karen hadn't expected John to step in but was in over her head for a minute.
Andy knocked on the door. He held John's keys out when the door opened. He gave them to John. "I'm very sorry again. Taylor thinks I can help fix it."
John nodded. "Listen to Taylor."
Andy nodded dramatically. "Yes sir."
John returned to his coffee. He expected Bobby to make a comment about being too harsh on both kids.
Bobby just put his book down and sipped his coffee.
As though their dadhad sensed that the boys were creating chaos, John got a call from Caleb. He answered and took a deep breath.
"Her blood pressure was low. They are going to monitor her for a bit." Caleb said.
"Well, that is good that she went in." John said.
"How are the boys?" Caleb asked.
John pinched the bridge of his nose. "You and I should talk."
