53.

Some days she is a warrior.

Some days she's a broken mess.

Most days, she's a bit of both.

But every day she's there.

Standing. Fighting. Trying.

~~

"The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout," Hayes sung to herself, trailing her fingers up and up along the faded green wall in the kitchen until she couldn't stretch on her tippy toes no more. She had the cutest lisp, as just four days ago, she lost her very first tooth.

Mommy accidentally popped her in the mouth too hard, loosening a bottom incisor. Once the pain and shock resided, Hayes became obsessed with wiggling the tooth with her tongue, wanting to be just like Glen and his toothless smile, and then the tooth just suddenly fell out.

And she didn't even cry.

Glen, wise beyond his years at the prime age of 7, was able to convince Hayes that the tooth fairy was on vacation and would be back to work the next, next, next day, buying enough time for himself to borrow money from mommy without mommy finding out.

Risky business, but he had finally done it that morning, as mommy was always gone all day on Saturday and grandpa didn't care what the babies did as long as they didn't bother him. But grandpa had gone out as well, taking him out of the equation.

The first time Hayes and Glen were left home alone all by themselves it was really scary with lots of creepy sounds and stormy weather, but it didn't take them long to realize it was their favorite thing ever. Except when they were hungry, like now and there wasn't food for them to eat.

They were only babies, they didn't know how to cook.

"Down came the rain, and washed the spider out," Hayes twirled her fingers together in disorganized entanglement then flung her hands to her sides. She giggled and began jumping and landing on both feet, traveling from one tile flooring to the next with a giant stomp. "Rain, rain, go away."

"Silly HayHay. That is not the song," Glen reminded her. Ever since Hayes learned the nursery song from Margot, her new friend at school, she had been singing it on repeat so she would never ever forget it. Glen only had to correct her a couple lot of times.

"Silly GiGi," Hayes copied him as she excitedly jumped across the small kitchen space all the way over to Glen who was digging through the fridge looking for anything for them to nibble on.

So far, he had found a half-full bag of the yucky green grapes. Not only were they too sour for his taste but they were also really squishy.

Glen reluctantly pulled the bag out of the fridge and held it in his hands, a despondent look on his face. His sister was more picky then he was, but maybe because she was super duper hungry, she would eat the grapes.

Cross his fingers and his toes.

"Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain," Hayes got back on track and made the final leap, not paying attention to how close she would land by Glen. He stepped down off the little riser in the fridge, right onto her little toes.

"Ouchie!" Hayes cried with the initial sting as Glen crashed into her, making her fall down onto her bony butt. Any chubbiness she may have had previously, was long gone with the new living arrangement.

Taken by surprise, the bag of grapes onto the floor dropped from Glen's hands, spilling all its contents onto the dirty floor. His jaw dropped open in panic as he watched some of the grapes roll away in different directions.

Hayes crab-scooted backwards away from Glen's big feet, sniffling as she moved. "Sorry, Glen."

"It's okie dokie. Sorry for step- " Glen was in the midst of his apology when he became distracted by noises coming from outside. His head snapped towards the kitchen window that showed the front yard, his eyes wide as saucers when he saw their mom walking up the path.

Not just their mom, but three of her friends, including the weird, twitchy friend dude.

Hayes wasn't paying attention to the intruders yet, as she was too busy crawling on the tile floor and picking up all the runaway grapes and collecting them in her little hands as fast as she could. She was very eager to help Glen clean up.

She perked up when she heard the sound of grownup laughter, clambering ungracefully to her feet. She still held onto the grapes, subconsciously squeezing her fingers into fists as she got her balance.

"Uh oh," Hayes looked up at Glen with a pitiful pout, feeling the sticky juice spill between her fingers. She lifted her hands up so he could see the mess, though his head wasn't facing her. He was still internally panicking about their mother. "Glenny, I sorry." She ruined dinner.

He didn't have time to answer her as instincts kicked in and he had to hurry to stand in front of her, just in time as the front door was unlocked and pushed open. He had to protect her as Hayes still didn't understand that mommy was mean. She just kept forgetting even though Glen kept telling her over and over again.

"My babies! Mommy is home!"

Glen cringed, backing up so Hayes' back hit the counter kind of roughly for the little girl. "Sorry," he whispered.

"Where are you?" Jane cheerfully sang, stepping further into the home. She was putting on a good performance for her guests, though only a matter of time until she slipped up. Glen did not trust her good mood. Glen did not trust any mood of their mother's. Glen did not trust her, period.

He only trusted his brothers. He so badly wanted to be with his brothers. But he could no longer talk about his brothers, not if he wanted to survive this new life. He had to forget them, for the greater good.

Just Glen and Hayes, taking on the world.

"There you are," Jane propped her hands on her hips, standing fierce before the two children with her fire-red hair and sleek black pumps. Her friends were no strangers as Glen recognized them from previous visits. He recognized them, but he had no clue what their names were, nor did he care. All he cared about was keeping Hayes away from Mr. Twitchy.

The two ladies and dude huddled around behind their mom, freaky happy smiles on their faces at the pleasant sight of cute children.

Glen was always weirded out that the adults always wanted to play with them. They also had a really twisted definition of the word 'play'. He got really good and creative at getting Hayes out of playtime. But sometimes he failed, and those were the nights that stuck with him.

Jane took another step forward, with the insane expectation that her children would actually greet her, possibly even with a hug. She was sorely disappointed, her eyes narrowing into a glare. A warning.

Too late of a warning, as Glen painfully watched their mom step right on top of a forgotten grape, squishing it to no return.

"Are you kidding me?!" Jane screeched very dramatically. She stormed forward and grabbed Glen by his upper arms, the grip tight enough to leave bruises in the morning. "If you make a mess, you clean it up. Do you understand?" She hissed, getting in his face and shaking him for good measure. She had remarkable resemble to the Devil.

Hayes whimpered from where she was hidden behind Glen's slightly larger frame. It was all her fault and Glen was in trouble because of her.

"Sorry, mommy," Glen said, wincing when her manicured fingernails dug into his fair skin.

"Better," Jane scowled, before her face morphed into something close to a smile once again. She had spotted her little girl from behind her brother. Jane hated how similar her youngest daughter looked like the boys, as opposed to Charlotte who was her perfect mini-me. But alas, Hayes was better than nothing. "Hi, my pretty princess."

"Hi Mommy," Hayes chirped, hoping her tears had gone away. Mommy hated when she cried. And Hayes hated when mommy told her to fix her face to look pretty. Glen didn't have to look pretty.

She had almost gotten away with the tear stains too, if it wasn't for the sticky hands that the little girl forgot about. Sticky hands that touched Jane's flawless skin.

Hayes bit her bottom lip really hard, her chin wobbling as she tried really hard not to cry after mommy smacked her cheek without a second thought. She leaned into Glen's body when her brother wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Jane remained in front of them giving the babies a death stare in rage until someone cleared their throat, reminding the woman that her friends were present.

Speaking of presents, one of the lady adults had a gift bag hanging from their hands, the bag decorated with Disney princesses and coated in glitter. Looked innocent enough, but the babies knew otherwise.

"Hi, Princess! Remember me?"

Hayes wrinkled her nose, snuggling closer to Glen when the adult friend stepped forward.

Wrong move.

Their mother grabbed Hayes by the collar of her shirt and yanked her away from Glen. "Where are your manners? Say. Hello."

Hayes made a poor effort, her greeting just a bunch of mumbling sounds.

Mommy scared her.

"Here you go, Princess." The adult held the bag for Hayes to take, which she very hesitantly did so, and only because her mother was breathing fire down her neck.

"Thank you," Hayes quietly spoke, hurrying back to Glen's side when their mom released her shirt. She placed the bag on the kitchen floor, with no intentions of opening the gift bag.

"Well, aren't you going to open it?"

Hayes glanced at Glen for his reassurance and possibly permission. She learned from him not to take things from strangers, including their own mother. Not that Jane was known for her gift-giving skills.

Jane sighed loudly when Hayes still hadn't wiggled a finger in anticipation of opening the gift. "This could take all night. Let's move to the couch. I am ready to relax after the stressful week I had."

Jane snatched the bag off the floor and marched off, leading the way to the living room with the click-clacking of her heels. Her friends obediently fell in line behind her, the gift-giver adult stealing a glance back at the unmoving babies before she walked away.

Hayes tugged on Glen's shirt. "Can we go to our room?"

"Gotta be quiet like ninjas," Glen whispered back in conspiracy, his escape plan for the two of them already forming.

"NOW!" their mother didn't give them a fighting chance.

Glen empathized with his sister's freight, lacing his fingers together with her tremoring, sticky ones. He took a deep breath in, filling up his lungs, before breathing it all out through his nose. He was the big brother, he can do this.

He gave her a tiny smile, in hopes of reassurance, though it didn't help either siblings feel better. They knew what was coming.

Glen took the first of many dreadful steps towards the party people, Hayes dragging her feet behind him.

"Come sit with me, Princess. Don't you want to see what I got you?" The grownup lady patted the couch, where she had been watching Jane and Co. sort out their party supplies on the coffee table.

When they realized that the babies weren't walking any closer than where they currently stood by their bedroom door, the gift bag magically appeared in front of Hayes.

An impatient hand went into the bag, digging past the tissue paper and pulling out a plastic princess tiara. One that could be picked up from the Dollar Tree store, complete with a couple pink gem stones. It looked just like the one the babies accidently broke a couple weeks ago when Hayes threw it at the wall in a temper tantrum fit of rage. When Mom found out, she was so mad at them. Glen was honestly surprised he and Hayes survived that night mostly unscathed.

It was all thanks to his quick speed and the sturdy lock on their bedroom door. Plus their mother was loopy in the head and couldn't balance on her feet for heck.

The new tiara landed on Hayes' blonde hair, which Hayes promptly shook her head wildly before knocking it off by her forearm.

"Every princess needs her crown," Jane's friends were persistent, and actually remained nice about it compared to Jane.

Jane ripped the tiara out of her friend's hand and her other hand grabbed Hayes, nearly dragging the girl to the couch. "You are pissing me off," she hissed. "Princesses do not act this way." She shoved the tiara back on the little girl's head.

"I don't wanna, mommy," Hayes' whimpers returned. She turned her head, trying to find Glen for his help. Only he was being dragged along as well by one of mommy's friends, as Jane was determined to have bonding time with her babies. Jane would not look like a fool who can't control her own children.

Glen found Hayes' hand once he was pushed onto the couch, not giving up in trying to protect her. She tried to hide by crawling behind his back, but didn't succeed, getting restrained in her own spot on the cushions. Hayes' strength was no match for the adults.

Jane was overtly annoyed at this point, and in her frustration she grabbed the first needle she saw, already set with the good stuff. The sooner she did this, the sooner the brats would go to bed until tomorrow afternoon if she was lucky. Out of sight and definitely out of her mind.

"No!" Hayes began bucking her hips and trying to yank her arms free from the unrelenting hold, Glen fighting for his freedom too but having no luck. "I don't wanna! I don't wanna! Glen!"

"I do it, mom!" Glen yelled, "let her go!" He couldn't say much more as a hand sealed over his mouth, preventing any sounds from escaping. "mmmpppfffhhhh"

"Grandpa! I want Grandpa!" Hayes was wailing so loudly, it was a miracle that the neighbors didn't hear. Then again, the housing community wasn't the youngest bunch of population and half the time their hearing aids weren't turned on.

But if grandpa came home, he'd get rid of Jane's friends and maybe even kick Jane out for the night. He may have a few loose screws on his own, but he was better than their mother.

All hope was lost as Jane got her way, her evilness only spurring on her friends as not a single one of them thought about how wrong this was. They were eager to share their ways with the next generation.

The sobs turned silent after a couple minutes, the babies becoming comatose as the drugs flowed through their veins directly to their hearts.

"Now, there. Isn't that better." Jane's voice turned sugary sweet, as she gently brushed her fingers through Glen's and Hayes' tangled blonde hair. "My handsome little boy and pretty princess. Mommy loves you."

"Damn. See, that's why I come over here." One of Jane's friends commented as she shot the poison in her own vein.

"Why's that?" Jane mindlessly questioned, too busy running her fingers gently over her babies' sweaty faces, starting with their soft eyebrows, then eyelashes and lips, mesmerized by how angelic they looked. She could say they were twins and no one would be the wiser.

"Free birth control." Cackles filled the room as Jane rolled her eyes. She was nine kids too late for that.

The four adults enjoyed themselves that night without another care in the world, with no regrets at how two sets of bright blue eyes got a little dimmer the next time they blinked opened.

And most importantly, the itsy bitsy spider never went up the spout again.

————

Cold toes pressed against Austin's warm leg for a second before the sensation was gone.

It was a common occurrence when his little sister had a restless sleep, from being curled up in a ball to her limbs somehow ending up sprawled out over the entire bed. Her favorite position seemed to be a knee pressed uncomfortably into his lower back.

Since her socks always managed to disappear throughout the night, he had adapted to the frigid shock of her toes and it didn't disturb him as much anymore but every so often it jolted him awake.

Like now.

"What are you doing?" He mumbled, his mind in a battle between consciousness and sleep. The weight on the bed shifted more than if someone was just turning over, making Austin even more curious. He lifted his head that felt like a 10 pound weight, turning over so his other cheek now lay on the pillow.

It was definitely too early for even him to be awake right now. And that was saying something for the early bird.

What time even...

All thoughts of the clock flew out the window as Hayes broke through his mental inquisition with the tiniest of sniffles.

At the same time, his blurry vision of black dots finally decided to clear up for him to see properly. It helped that the moon provided some natural light, giving him more than just shadows to work with. "You okay, babe?" His voice was laced with concern.

The little girl had pushed herself into a sitting position, hunkered over in her classic rock-like formation against the pillows. Her sweatshirt was stretched over her legs, elbows on her knees, with her forehead resting in the heels of her hands. She had the hood pulled up, with some of her blonde messy hair peeking out.

How she was wearing a sweatshirt when it was toasty warm underneath the comforter was beyond him.

Focus, Austin.

"Sweetheart, what happened?" Austin reached over and ran his knuckles over the sliver of her shin he could see. "Bad dream?"

That was his first guess and his usual go-to, as Colton had told him what had taken place that evening. He would of been more surprised about the reaction to 'Princess' if it hadn't happened once before. Austin's mind instantly jumped to the court house, when Baker had unknowingly done the same mistake.

The eldest brothers had wishfully contributed it to a fluke and didn't further question it considering the high emotions with the Bear, but now there was a pattern revealing itself.

And he couldn't just ignore it.

Good God, Austin hated the position it put him in. He hated each time new information of the kids' tortuous childhood came to light. He hated how sometimes the kids didn't even realize how wrong what they've been through really was. Most of all, Austin hated how he wasn't there to save them.

"Did you have a nightmare, Sunshine?"

Hayes shook her head no as she refused to lift her head up and look at him.

Austin didn't really believe that, the skeptical look on his face proof.

"Do you feel sick? Like you have to throw up?"

Another head shake in denial.

"Does your stomach hurt?"

He got somewhat of a true response that time, as Hayes curled further into herself. Like most of her siblings, when she was anxious or overtly worrying, all those thoughts gave her belly pains.

Austin slid his hand down her leg and gently cupped her thin ankle with his fingers, his thumb brushing over the back of her Achilles tendon. The simple motion providing warmth to her cold skin.

"Do you want a hug?"

Hayes returned to her very effective head shake.

"Something on your mind that you want to talk about?"

Answer: head shake.

"Do you love me?"

Answer: head shake.

Austin gasped. "Are you just saying no to everything I ask?"

The corner of his lips flitted upward in amusement when she once again negated his assumption but with an added giggle.

He counted that as a success.

Silly girl.

A child's mind in a teen's body. A reminder that his little girl had grown up so fast in many ways but yet remained the innocent angel she was.

"Do you love me?" Austin asked again, his fingers slipping under the hem of the sweatshirt to tickle the back of her knee.

Her leg immediately shot out like a rocket, nearly nailing Austin in the eye if it wasn't for his quick catlike reflexes to flinch backwards.

Not deterred, she wasn't off the hook as he stretched his arm out and began tickling the bottom of her foot.

Hayes squealed as she tried to kick her brother away. With her knees still somewhat caught under her hoodie, all the motion caused her to tumble off balance. She fell sideways onto Austin's shoulder. Taking advantage of the new position, she pressed her hands on his upper back, hurrying to sit on his back so he couldn't attack her again.

Her plan didn't work, her slim weight no match for her eldest brother. Austin chuckled, easily rolling onto his side, causing Hayes to slide back onto the spacious bed unharmed. The hood fell off her head, revealing her frizzy blonde strands of hair.

He flopped over onto his back with a groan before sitting up in bed. What better time to be awake than right now, he suppose. Though three hours later would have been a whole lot more convenient.

Two words: Coffee.

With one hand, he rubbed the sleepiness out of his eye, the other hand covering his mouth as he yawned, his jaw clicking with the action. That got Hayes yawning, which was good in a sense. Proof she wasn't a psychopath.

Austin affectionately scratched the back of her head before pulling her closer to his side. With his right hand, he brushed the hair off her sweaty forehead before planting a kiss near her hairline. "I love you, Sunshine," he murmured. "Any chance of going back to sleep?"

Hayes wrinkled her nose, pretending to give his question the due diligence of thought before shaking her head. The girl leaned further into his warm embrace, not-so-subtly using his t-shirt to wipe the tear stains off her cheeks. She didn't know when she had even cried, but the sticky residue didn't lie.

"I thought so," Austin hummed. He pressed another kiss to her head before lightly patting her cheek. "Come on," he encouraged, taking back his arm from around her shoulders. He got off the bed, letting Hayes collapse into the spot he had just abandoned, bouncing a little on the mattress.

Her blue eyes went wide as she immediately became anxious at being left behind. She for sure thought her eldest brother saw right through her attempts of okayness. "Where are you going?"

Austin opened his bedroom door but kept his hand on the doorknob. "We're going. Now, come on, Sunshine." He nodded his head in the direction of the dark hallway while holding out his empty hand for her to grab.

"But where" Hayes asked, hesitatingly getting off the bed. First, she scooted her butt to the edge of the bed and then swung her legs off. Once her tippy toes touched the floor, she stood up and darted across the floor to Austin.

Austin squeezed her hand before leading the way, using his memory to guide them without banging into the wall or tripping over things. But since only he and Dakota had their bedrooms on this side of the second floor, they didn't have anything to worry about.

The same couldn't be said for the other hallway of the horseshoe design that lined the youngins' bedrooms. It was a minefield of shoes, clothes, and random gadgets that eventually Austin was going to throw into garbage bags if they didn't clean up.

Speaking of youngins, one appeared at the top of the staircase, lazily scratching his mop of blonde bedhead, the urge for sleep still blatant in his eyes. But something had awakened him and he had to investigate.

Austin had a knowing smile on his face, having been a bit curious on when his boy was going to show up. Without fail, when one kid was having a tough moment, the other was not too far behind to give comfort. Honestly, he was surprised Glen didn't just bunk in bed with them in the first place. Austin hadn't been able to convince Hayes to return to her own bed after hanging up the phone with Emerson.

"What- what's going on?" Glen stuttered, his hand dropping to his side with a dull sound. He pinched his eyes close before blinking open again.

Nope, everyone was still standing there.

Not sleep walking.

"Nothing, Buddy. We just couldn't sleep," Austin explained, ruffling Glen's hair. Hayes inched closer to Austin's side, swaying his arm in between their bodies. "You should go back to bed before you become a zombie in the morning."

"Where are you going?" Glen asked after his long-lasting yawn. Whatever Austin said had went in one ear and out the other.

Hayes shrugged as Austin answered on their behalf, "Downstairs. Do you want to come?"

The answer was obvious even before Glen started walking, the boy leading the pack down the staircase with Hayes as the caboose. Glen reached the ground floor first, stumbling around the foyer when he remembered he didn't quite know where Austin or Hayes were going.

"This way," Austin stepped off the last step, looping his arm around his brother's neck to guide him into the dining room. No lights were on downstairs either, so once again, the eldest brother relied on his night vision to walk a path unharmed.

Amazing enough, neither the siblings nor the dinner chairs received a scratch to them.

Austin tugged them along into the pitch black family room, this time actually turning on a source of light but at a dimmed level. He left the kids by the sliding panel so he could dig through the miscellaneous storage chest for some thick blankets.

The man had a plan.

"You gucci, HayHay?" Glen dropped his forehead onto Hayes' shoulder for use as a pillow, yawning again while they waited.

"Peachy, Glen," Hayes replied, her shoulder rising to her ear when Glen's hair tickled her neck. He rubbed his forehead against her sweatshirt-clad shoulder, yawning for the third time, loudly by her ear. His eyes began to close and if he wasn't careful, the boy may succumb to sleep without even knowing.

"How bad?" he asked in a whisper, ignoring her lie. She had made no attempt to push him away by elbow to his gut, nor, and most importantly, she hadn't called him Glennard.

He had grown to love that un-affectionate name.

Hayes wrapped her arms around herself in a hugging embrace, her lips twisting to the side. Bad, bad.

The little girl tracked Austin's movement with her eyes, observing him walk over to the couch to grab another blanket. He made an additional stop at the other end of the couch, where the tv remote had been left, and turned off the muted television. On the coffee table was Dakota's laptop that had also been left behind. If she was more awake, she'd have wondered where Dakota was.

But alas, her attention was focused back to Austin as he walked back over to the double trouble duo, three blankets in his arms. He tucked two under his arm for a moment, taking the third one and unfolding it so one edge brushed along the floor.

"Here you go, Smiley," Austin draped the blanket like a cape over his little brother's shoulders that was only covered by a measly t-shirt. Well, so was Austin but he ran at a warmer body temp.

"Thank you?" Glen stood up straighter and grabbed two of the corners before the blanket slipped off, pulling it tight around him.

"You're welcome," Austin chuckled at his confusion, giving Hayes her own blanket as well. He stacked the other blanket atop of her shoulders too, so then his arms were free to embrace his kids in a side-hug.

"Now what?" Glen tilted his head to look up at his eldest brother.

"Now," Austin squeezed their shoulders, "we go outside." He lifted his arms up and slipped past the two kids, strolling through the house to the front door. "Keep up, slow pokes" He called back to them, as they stood there in mirrored confusion.

Where did he get his energy from all of a sudden?

Glen furrowed his eyebrows, meeting the same expression on Hayes' face. "Outside?" he mouthed, to which Hayes shrugged. Glen copied her shrug before both kids shuffled after their brother.

If you can't beat crazy, join them.

Sleep deprivation apparently made their brother cuckoo but who were they to judge.

They met Austin at the front door which he was waiting until their arrival to pull open the door and face the winter weather. He must of shut the security alarm off already as they took their sweet time gathering together, because there was only a single beep notifying of an open door.

It was a blessing to everyone's ears, as they knew how loud and blaring the alarm could get, god forbid they forgot to disarm the alarm first. It was a really, really loud, screeching sound that raises one's blood pressure as they frantically press in the code to shut it off.

Not fun.

Glen bravely walked outside first, immediately regretting it when his bare feet met the cold wood slabs. The porch light illuminated the area, providing Glen a spotlight as he started doing a little tappy tap dance to warm his toes up. Seemed like Austin had forgotten the tiny detail of socks in this master plan of his.

The eldest brother quickly realized this, chuckling at the sight as he encouraged the boy to sit down in the middle rocking chair. Austin followed in tow, sitting down in the chair next to him. He leaned forward, relieving Hayes of one of the blankets, and wrapped it around himself.

She patiently waited for him to settle before making herself comfortable on his lap. The little girl already knew she needed the extra body heat to keep her warm.

"Soooo, now what?" One minute of silence was all Glen could handle. As he spoke, he shifted around in his chair, tucking his lanky legs against his chest in order to protect his skin from the cold. It was pretty chilly considering he'd been a Florida boy for the past several years.

Winter was almost like a foreign concept for the kids.

Summer year round with a week of Christmas 'brrrrr' was more their speed.

"Now," Austin built up the suspense for a few seconds, rubbing his hands over Hayes' arms underneath the blanket. "We sit."

Glen must have interpreted his instruction to mean 'we sleep' instead as with one final yawn, he slipped back into the land of unconsciousness.

Impressive.

Austin was also impressed at how the simple change of scenery from the bedroom to the fresh outdoors already began to loosen the muscles in Hayes' shoulders, evident to him from how she now slouched comfortably against his chest.

Austin let five minutes tick by before breaking the peacefulness that the early hours brought. Not even the birds were awake yet. With the rocking chair slowly swaying by means of his legs, he ran the risk of rocking Hayes to sleep.

His chin rested atop of her head, his arms hanging over her shoulders to her belly. She had the blanket snuggly wrapped around her.

Austin cleared his throat as he stared off towards the street. It was nights like this that made him wish they lived in a rural area, with acres surrounding them. Then at least, they'd be able to see the billions of stars light up the darkness.

But the brightest star was already with him.

"You know, in the summer the yard would be lit up with fireflies."

"Fireflies?" Hayes softly echoed in question, craning her head back a little to catch a glimpse of his face. That was not a bug that Floridians were familiar with.

"Uh huh. They are these little lightening bugs. When Fran and Sonny were just a few years younger, like your ages now, they would catch them in jars every night."

"And then what do you do with them?"

"Well, the bugs wouldn't last very long. Maybe two days max and then they'd die off. But, the boys would use them as night lights."

Hayes was intrigued. "Woah, do you think we can do that too?"

"Of course," Austin's lips curved upward, "There are tons of memories we have yet to make. And catching fireflies is certainly is on the list."

"There's a list?" she whispered in disbelief.

"Mhmm. Indeed, there is." Austin lifted his hand up to wipe her frozen cheeks free of her pesky fly-away hairs. "There are places to visit, things to do."

"Like visit the cows," Hayes stated with her blue eyes twinkling. No mistaking the mischievous sparkle there.

"I have not forgotten about the cows," Austin chuckled, poking her side. Hayes tucked her elbows against her sides, protecting the vulnerable areas from more attacks.

"Can we get a pet cow?"

"Absolutely not." Austin did not entertain that idea for even a second.

"I shall name her Milkshake."

"We're not getting a pet cow."

"That's okay. I'll take a dog instead."

Austin snorted at that set-up. "You're killing me, smalls."

"You're losing it, talls. My name is Sunshine." Hayes couldn't finish the response without giggling.

Austin squeezed her tight. "Smarty pants."

"Smarty pants with a dog." She sent him a million dollar smile.

Austin tapped her nose with his pointer finger. "Nope."

Hayes kept quiet, though the grin remained as she settled back against his chest.

"Austin?"

He hummed in response, pressing a kiss on her head.

"I had a nightmare," admitted Hayes softly.

"I know, baby." Austin murmured. "Wanna talk about it?"

Hayes went quiet again, shifting so she was sitting more sideways on his lap. She perched her feet on the edge of the rocker, her bent knees leaning towards the right and then the left as she swayed them back and forth.

She was feeling nervous.

The front door creaked open, providing just the distraction Hayes was looking for. She was becoming a procrastination queen.

"It's fucking cold outside. The hell is wrong with you people?"

The chair that Austin and Hayes occupied began rocking back and forth again, courtesy of the eldest brother. The little girl hadn't even realized when the soothing motion had stopped in the first place.

Both Hayes and Austin turned to look over their shoulders as Dakota joined them outside. His eyebrows rose in question as he glanced at Glen, the boy was so passed out that no noise would wake up.

"And here I thought you were sleeping in your room." Austin commented.

Dakota scoffed, "Isn't that wishful thinking."

"One could dream," Austin chuckled at Dakota's poor sleeping habits. "You gonna sit or just keep standing there?"

Dakota rolled his eyes as he took a seat in the rocking chair on the other side of the sleeping Glen. Kota was the only one truly dressed for the frigid occasion, with a sweatshirt and sweatpants and socks. His hood was pulled over his head, providing warmth to his ears.

"Fucking freezing," Dakota repeated gruffly, folding his arms against his chest.

"Good. It's only November. The odds of it snowing are higher then come December."

Hayes completely forgot about the grudge against Dakota as her eyes lit up. "It snows here?"

"Sometimes. We get a good couple days worth of snow most years" said Austin.

"I've never seen snow before," Hayes exclaimed in whispered excitement.

Austin and Dakota exchanged glances of amusement and grief.

"Soon enough, babe." Austin sandwiched one of her hands in both of his. He brought her hand up to his mouth and blew hot air on her numb fingers. "We can build a snowman and make snow angels. Fran will want to do a snowball fight."

Dakota snickered. "Remember last year when Francis cried?"

"Because you pelted him in the face? Yes." Austin's voice dripped with disapproval.

Hayes bit her lip so she wouldn't laugh. Poor Francis, always taking the brunt of things for having been the youngest. Now he shared the role of being picked on with Glen.

"Good times," Dakota recalled with a smirk.

"Can we get a Christmas tree, too?"

All heads turned to Smiley who had woken up from the sibling banter. He didn't sleep like a dead man after all, or it was the selective hearing at play.

The boy stretched his arms upward as he yawned and then smacked his lips. That was a good cat nap.

"And Christmas cookies?" Hayes added on.

The kids' excitement over what was deemed holiday tradition for the family brought a bit of a damper over the brothers' Christmas spirit. Only for a moment though, as the kids' enthusiasm of what they looked forward to was palpable.

But then Dakota's mild amusement faltered again as he remembered the reason he came outside in the first place. There was something he needed to do.

"Okay, okay, don't get crazy." Austin settled them back down before their rising voices woke up not only Colton, who's bedroom was on the other side of the front door, but the rest of the cul-de-sac homes.

Hayes suddenly giggled but then suddenly clamped her mouth shut. She certainly got Austin's attention by the secrecy. Here was a hint - it involved Chubba and reindeer antlers.

"What?" He questioned suspiciously, nudging her chin with his finger.

But someone spoke before she could reply to his prying.

"Hayes?"

The girl snapped her head to Dakota, her shoulders rising as she subconsciously tried to press closer against Austin's chest. She needed her protector to make her feel protected, her mind returning to the evening's messy affair.

The very source of her nightmare.

Dakota slipped his hand in his hood, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. "Umm, Hayes?" Idiot, he already said this. "Fuck," he grumbled in frustration. Why was this so difficult?

"Yes?" Hayes hugged Austin's arm to her chest, partially hiding her face. She could feel Glen's eyes on her as he acted like he was watching a ping pong match.

Dakota clear his throat, way out of his comfort zone. "I didn't know." He glanced upward, above Hayes' face so she assumed he was making eye contact with Austin. "I swear, I didn't know. I'm an asshole, but fuck, I would never..."

Hayes mumbled in agreement, "You didn't know."

And really, he still didn't know exactly why the typically endearing word caused the exact opposite of a reaction that one would assume for a little girl.

Dakota straightened up his back, his hands forming fists that rested on his thighs. His eyes glanced back down to his sister. "Hayes?"

Hayes was really starting to dislike hearing her name in question form. She had no clue what would follow coming out of Dakota's mouth.

The sister watched her brother overthink and end up not saying anything. His eyes flickered back upward to Austin in a loss of what to do.

That led to Austin taking over, his hands once again finding hers. He relied on his calming presence to keep her from tucking tail as he went with the direct approach. "Sunshine, what was your nightmare about?"

Hayes' frantic gaze searched out Glen's wise eyes. He reassured her that he wouldn't speak a lick without her approval.

Her lips felt mighty dry in this moment. Usually, Austin let her off the hook about sharing, never pushing her if she didn't want to talk. Which, spoiler, she never wanted to talk.

But Hayes trusted Austin, and maybe it was about time she showed him that.

She laced her fingers with his, her tight grip revealing her fear of even thinking about it. "Mommy called me... that word and I don't like it."

She also didn't like how she stammered, as if she had no control. She absolutely didn't like how the evil woman still could put fear in her when the little girl hadn't been in her presence in years. Not to mention, she was long dead.

Her voice hardened. "I am not a princess. I am not. So don't call me that."

Austin nuzzled his nose in her hair, so proud of his little sister for sharing even the littlest bit. "Okay, baby. Never again, I promise."

"What did Jane do?" Dakota had the balls to ask. Yes, he was regretful as it was his fault to begin with that she had a nightmare. But, his hatred for that woman was on another level. He needed another source for his anger instead of being angry at himself for his mistakes.

Hayes glanced at him, before quickly averting her eyes to Glen. She had enough now. It was up to him if he wanted to continue.

Glen simply tapped his inner elbow twice, all the explanation he thought was needed for now.

Dakota covered his face with his hands, letting out a groan. He fucking hated that woman.

————

"Geronimo!"

"Hayes, for crying out loud. I told you not to do that!"

The little girl stood at the top of the staircase, watching her laundry hamper full of dirty clothes, most of which were her brothers' clothes she accumulated throughout the week, tumble down the stairs until it made landfall.

She bit her knuckle, trying to muffle the sound of her laughter, only sobering up once a pair of sneakers walked into her periphery. Hayes reluctantly raised her gaze, meeting the unamused expression on her eldest brother's face.

Unamused was putting it lightly.

Here he was, on a Thursday night after a long day of work and then making sure dinner was in fair order as Baker and Peyton should arrive any time now for their weekly Thursday family affair, trying to get everyone's laundry done so they have clothes for the weekend trip to Emerson's as well as getting ahead for the upcoming week and yet, the little girl was pushing his buttons by ignoring such a simple rule as not to throw objects down the stairs.

Breathe.

But then she'd give him that beautiful sunshine smile and all the stress of his grown-up life vanished for moment. He'd do anything for that little girl and his brothers, especially his boy whom he'd bet a dollar that was upstairs scheming right along with his sister.

A do-or-die pack like no tomorrow.

"But I made sure there was no one standing there."

"Hayes."

"It was Glen's idea!" Which would have been more believable if she didn't laugh as she was trying to feed him that excuse.

"Hayes."

Oops. Third warning.

"Okay, sorry, sorry, sorry!" The little girl exclaimed, bounding down the steps and being the daredevil that she liked to be, jumped over the mess of clothes on the floor and into Austin's arms. Nothing like seeing the girl flying in the air to get his heart pumping. Though it made him feel special that she trusted him to catch her with no warning whatsoever.

"No, you're not," Austin called her out, giving her waist a squeeze with his arm that wrapped securely around her. "If you were sorry, you wouldn't be giving me a heart attack and you wouldn't do exactly the opposite of what I say."

If he was trying to be strict, he was sorely failing as Hayes laughed right in his face. Oh, the audacity.

"Love you mucho, Austin," Hayes spontaneously whispered, nuzzling her nose against his neck.

"I love you," Austin returned, kissing her temple, "But you're not getting out of doing laundry, little Miss."

Hayes groaned dramatically, tightening her grip around his neck as she kicked her feet in the air. She hated helping with the laundry.

"The life of the party is here, partying may commence!" Baker's unmistakable presence was announced as he and Peyton walked in through the garage door. "I'll take Sunshine, thank you very much." He smoothly stole his little sister straight out of Austin's grasp, holding her in a bridal carry.

"Still not getting out of laundry duty," Austin informed his sister as he bent down and straightened up the hamper. He picked up her clothes that had spilt out, adding them back into the pile of dirty clothes.

Baker winked at Hayes before taking several large steps to cross into the dining room. "Sorry AJ, we can't hear you."

Austin rolled his eyes, letting his siblings escape for now. "I thought you trained him better than that," Austin joked with Peyton, dragging the hamper past her and into the laundry room.

He had already poured in the detergent so he began sorting through his sister's clothes. The eldest brother wasn't OCD about separating colors, but he did try to keep the darks and whites and towels in separate loads when possible.

Alright, a teensy bit OCD.

But wasn't everyone?

Peyton laughed, "Laundry is still a work-in-progress."

"Some things just never change," Austin shook his head at his brother's antics.

"Anything I can help with?" Peyton offered, hovering in the foyer. Whenever she had the chance, she always tried to lighten the work haul that Austin had to do.

"Check the timer on the oven?"

"On it," Peyton gave him a thumbs up when he glanced in her direction.

"You're the best."

Peyton hesitated for a second, before walking closer to the laundry room and Austin instead of going to the kitchen. She leaned against the doorway, waiting for Austin to finish loading the washer machine.

"Just say it."

Peyton craned her neck around to check for any siblings nearby before lightly clearing her throat. "Baker told me."

Austin nodded, indicating for her to continue.

"How is she doing?"

The lid of the washer closed with a clang. "It's like nothing happened," Austin answered, pressing the buttons on the machine to get the settings he desired. He twisted the knob to the correct timer and pushed the button to start. "Like always."

Peyton crossed her arms. "May I say something?"

"Okay," Austin stood up straight, giving his sister-in-law his undivided attention.

"Have you thought about therapy for her and Glen?"

Austin stiffened, folding his arms against his chest. He couldn't help but feel defensive when his parenting techniques were questioned. "I have," he stated.

"It might be a good idea," Peyton said softly.

Austin ran his hand through his hair, remembering exactly what happened when he first tossed around the idea after the kids' arrival to the home. Glen, in no certain words, told him to shove it and Hayes flat out hid from him.

"They aren't ready for it."

Nor, did he think Glen and Hayes would ever be ready for it. But he promised himself to reassess in six months, which was still three months away.

"Okay," Peyton agreed with him, as she knew Austin had the kids' best interest at heart. "I'll go check on the food then. It's probably almost ready. I can smell the goodness from here." She shifted her weight to her back foot as she went to turn around, but hesitated again.

Austin chuckled, "Why are you acting like your walking on glass today?" He may be extremely tired and feeling a little grumpy but he didn't think he looked unapproachable.

Peyton wore a faint smile as she sheepishly shrugged. "I just wanted to say thanks."

Austin furrowed his eyebrows. "For what?"

"For keeping an eye on Baker this week. I may be his wife, but you are his other half. And, without you, I don't know how these past couple of days would have gone, considering he spent every waking hour here." Peyton wiped her eye, her vulnerability seeping into her voice.

Austin immediately abandoned the laundry and stepped forward, giving Peyton a reassuring hug. He put his hands firmly on her shoulders. "He's my brother. I'd do anything for him. Just like how you're my sister, and I'd do anything for you."

"I'm grateful."

"That's what family is for." Austin squeezed her shoulders. "One day at a time, remember that."

"Incoming!"

Austin recognize that mischievous voice without a second of a doubt. Standing a safe distance away from the landing zone, Austin and Peyton simply watched the laundry basket rolling down the stairs, creating a dull thud when it made contact with the tile floor.

"Excuse me for a moment," Austin said to Peyton, walking around her to yell at his little brother. Did he know his rascal kids or what?

"Glen! You just earned yourself extra clean-up duty after dinner tonight with your sister! I'm sure she will be so happy to hear!"

As soon as the consequence slipped past his lips, Austin regretted them. For he knew the kids would be twisting the tedious assignment into their version of wholesome fun. He could already imagine the dish soap bubbles floating all over the kitchen.

Glen's snickers provided no contrary to his belief.

"Okay!"

~~~~