61.

lol goal of March 1st. That didn't age well. Forgive me. Life has been crazy.

~~~

Countdown until Christmas: 28 days

The first Monday back to school after Thanksgiving break, or any time off including the weekend, was like pulling teeth to get the three teens to cooperate enough and send them on their way.

Which made sense because after that little tease of what freedom tasted like, who would want to return to prison that the government calls school?

No one, including teachers as the sample size of one in the Powers home had quickly revealed, was ready to go back for six straight hours of learning. It seemed all their attention spans had reduced to nothing, as students and teachers alike were more interested in chatting about their mini vacay and the 'Giving of Thanks' rather than diving back into the world of mathematics or Shakespeare.

In Colton's eyes, how was it even considered a 'break' when his kid siblings acted just like his 4th grade students?

Okay, that was mean. He meant that nicely and loved almost every second. Except, you know, when his little sister fell into the frigid pool waters on his watch.

Good times.

Poor Austin though, he had his work cut out for him.

If it was this difficult after not even a full week off, Austin could just imagine how difficult it was going to be after the new year came. Winter break was two whole weeks of vacation from school.

He already almost quite literally had to force Emerson out the front door earlier in the morning to send him on his way back to college. The brother decided to leave at 6am on Monday instead of on Sunday like originally planned, just so he could squeeze a couple more hours in with his siblings.

But with all the fanfare, the day turned out to be as anticlimactic as it typically was.

Everyone survived their first day back to school. Not only did Francis, Glen, and Hayes successfully manage to sit in a classroom all day, they also attended their respective sports practices afterwards.

They were thrown right back into the grind of all things sports without any warm up.

Oh, to be young again.

Not soon enough, 5pm finally arrived, signaling the end of practice. Student-athletes galore were released from their sports and escaped into their respective vehicles. No one was lingering today, the only thing on their minds was food and sleep.

In that order, too.

Out of the Powers family, Francis beat everyone back to Colton's car as his practice ended a couple minutes prior. But those couple minutes difference didn't mean the baseball team didn't work any less harder.

No siree. Francis would vehemently disagree with that.

The 17-year-old had his sweaty forehead pressed against the car doorframe, exhausted beyond belief, as he waited for his straggling siblings' arrival.

What slowpokes.

It didn't come as much of a surprise, his exhaustion. First day back at practice meant conditioning for all the sport teams that were currently active, whether in the depths of their playing season or simply training. It was a cursed ritual of the school.

Child abuse, really.

Multiple loud, dragging footsteps alerted him to having company. He knew who it was, probably the only people left as Colton had to clean up the basketball gym before he could leave.

They probably felt just the same as he did.

Totally pooped.

Except, well, Coach Colton, the  evil man that he was.

The older brother was his cheery self, considering he simply had to exert enough energy to blow a whistle.

"I'm dying," Francis moaned against the car, when he sensed his siblings were beside him. He had just enough energy to push himself up straight. "My legs don't work anymore."

"Retweet," Glen empathized, feeling just as worn out as his brother did. "Or my arms." Smiley wasn't one to complain too much, aloud at least. But even he lost count how many push-ups he had to do at practice.

"Noodle arms," Hayes quipped under her breath as she walked around the trunk of the car to the other side. She only had her backpack to worry about, as Cole was graciously carrying her sports bag for her.

Hayes' remark made Colton laugh as he was close enough to the girl to hear the shade thrown. She hadn't forgotten the joking insult that was once upon a time used against her.

What goes around comes around...

Harmless banter that wasn't worth intervening on.

"It wasn't even that bad," Colton defended his and his counterparts' coaching decisions, unlocking the car with the press of the key fob. The trunk popped open automatically so he could throw his bags in. "There's nothing to complain about. Nobody even puked. You know, back in my day..."

"NoBOdy puKed," Francis interrupted Cole as he blatantly mocked him. He opened the passenger door and flung his baseball bag onto the floor and then himself into the seat. He hadn't even bothered taking off his backpack, not that there was much in it besides maybe a folder, notebook, and a pen. He was a senior after all.

"Back in my day," Colton repeated in a louder voice as he ignored Francis, "Coach had us running nonstop until somebody puked. Then we'd get a minute break to recover and start again."

"Ew," Hayes commented, making a face.

She politely waited for Colton to re-unlock the car doors since Franny had pressed the lock button from the inside. Then the older brother opened the door for her like the gentleman that he was, so she then hopped into the backseat. He shut the door once she was settled with all her limbs inside.

Glen joined Hayes in the backseat of the car from the other side. His nose wrinkled when he got a whiff of her sweat, a similar look on his sister's face as she smelled his B.O.

Boys smelled so bad.

Disgusting.

Francis rolled his eyes. "Alright dinosaur. We get it. What a great coach you are. Glen is sooooo lucky."

"He is, isn't he," Colton agreed, getting into the front seat and starting the car. Before he buckled his seatbelt, Cole reached over the middle console and flicked Francis in the ear.

Fran scowled at his brother, briefly holding up his pinky finger in vengeance. He then quickly ducked away when Colton went to flick him in the head again.

"Okay, okay." Francis smartly gave up before he got crushed. Cole may be a hugger not a fighter, but that didn't mean the older brother didn't put the teen in his place when necessary.

"Yep, that's me. Such a lucky duck over here," Glen confirmed, his words dripping with sarcasm. He gained Cole's attention, meeting Colton's gaze in the rearview mirror. Glen sent his older brother a cheeky grin, nearly identical to the one that slowly appeared on Colton's face. Smiley's smile was contagious.

It was good to see the two brothers getting along again, any feeling of lingering tension almost completely evaporated. Sometimes it did take a screaming match before reconciliation could occur.

"I'm hungry," Hayes randomly said as she focused on buckling her seatbelt. Her feet kicked against her backpack that was shoved on the floor.

Nobody paid her any attention.

"All you had to do was go for a couple of runs over the break to stay active, maybe lift some weights, and you guys wouldn't be feeling this way," Colton said. He just couldn't help himself from a 'told you so' opportunity. "Not decide to be couch potatoes the whole week and sit on your asses."

Francis gasped then gasped again louder just because. "Colton. How dare you call us out like that. You need to go wash your mouth out with soap, Mister."

"A little birdie might tell Austin that you said a bad word," Glen added. "And also, I did CrossFit with Baker, so take that."

"I went for a run," Hayes said, which explained why she wasn't looking as worse for wear like her brothers. If she was being honest with herself, she attributed her smelliness to the probable lack of deodorant. She could never remember to use it in the morning. But that was besides the point.

The youngest Powers sibling had went on many fun runs over the break, in fact. She had a lot of endless energy to burn. Too much, in her older brothers' opinions. She recruited Austin, Emerson, and even Dakota when he was in a generous mood, to each go at least once with her on a run.

In retrospect, Cole didn't think the girl sat still for longer than a minute either, unless she was hanging with Austin or was forced to have downtime where she happily read her book with Chubba as company.

That made Colton play with the idea that maybe she had some sprinkling of ADHD in her, but then remembered that she had basically been fueled by chocolate the entire week, thanks to Emerson.

"Did you say something, Sissy?" Francis asked, looking over his shoulder at her in the backseat.

"No," Hayes grumbled, pointedly looking out her window to the passing trees. She was the forgotten child.

"I'm hungry," Glen spoke up, "Are we having spaghetti tonight?"

The little girl poked her tongue against her cheek, feeing a little cross. She said that already.

"Well today is Monday, so I'm going to go with yes," Colton replied.

————

Countdown until Christmas: 24 days

Today marked December 1st on the calendar.

Some may know it as the beginning of the Hallmark: Countdown to Christmas. Best part of the year. Yet, a few others recognized it as the start of Colton's birthday month celebration.

The first thing Sunshine noticed as she jumped off the second step of the stairs and landed safely onto the tile floor of the foyer, was the colorful paper streamers that were taped to the top of Colton's bedroom doorframe. They hung down almost to the floor, shimmering in the moonlight.

She cocked her head to the side, not getting what the point was. Other than it looked fun to play with. She had the sudden urge to run back and forth through the streamers.

Later.

Definitely.

"What'cha doing there, Sunshine?" Austin appeared from the living room where he had been stretching his legs while waiting for his siblings to come downstairs. Austin kept his voice at a low whisper, to not wake up the rest of the household.

Siblings, plural, because Francis earned himself an early morning start for skipping one of his classes the day prior.

Hayes was so focused on the decorations that she didn't even startle from his appearance. She pointed to Cole's door. "What's that for?"

Austin's sharp blue eyes followed her finger to the offending object. He had clocked it this morning as soon as he had come downstairs, and ultimately decided to ignore it for the time being.

Maybe with the kids back home, that meant Cole would be a more willing participant in acknowledging his birthday from this year moving forward. It didn't seem like it was going that route, but that was for Cole to choose.

Keep on swimming.

"The boys must have done it for his birthday," Austin answered vaguely, walking over to her. He bent down and kissed the side of her head. "Did you see Fran upstairs?"

Hayes paused with her mouth open for a second, before three consecutive sneezes came from the little girl. She sniffed, and briskly wiped her nose with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

"Bless you," Austin's eyes crinkled in amusement at her morning sneezes.

"I don't think so." Hayes' forehead wrinkled as she answered. But she was undeterred, continuing to ponder the streamers. The subtle distraction technique didn't work on her.

"Francis is present." The teen huffed and puffed his way down the stairs, his arms crossed moodily. Careful, he might blow the whole house down. He was not a morning person at all. "But not willingly."

Nope, not today. Or any day to be honest.

He was really channeling his inner Oscar the Grouch right now.

Trash cannot.

Austin couldn't resist the smirk, happy to see his brother loathing the punishment. It meant it was working. It also meant, Austin found his go-to punishment for Francis for now. "Good morning, Francis James."

Go away, Big Bird.

"No." Fran barely had his eyes open as he walked past his two siblings to find his dusty running shoes, probably buried far, far deep into the shoe basket.

This was going to be fun.

"You ready to roll?" Austin tugged on the end of Hayes' ponytail, jolting her back to the present.

"Just need my sneakers." The girl went over to the shoe-bin, slipping beside Francis and began digging through the various shoes. She didn't look very hard as seconds later, she popped back up emptyhanded and looking confused. "Wait, his birthday? I thought it was... didn't Colton say he didn't like his birthday?"

Cookie Monster no understand without cookie in hand.

Francis turned his head and looked over at his shoulders to the harmless decorations before shrugging. Innocent until proven guilty. And technically, he didn't do anything.

That's what a younger sibling was for. Now that Franny had older sibling privileges, he was not about to let it go to waste.

A picture of Ernie from sesame street popped up in his mind as he thought of Smiley.

Francis covered his chuckle with a raspy cough. Too good, too good. He'd have to tell Emerson.

"He doesn't, Sunshine," Austin said calmly and slowly in contrast to her rapid speech. He eyed Francis suspiciously before reaching down and retrieved the sneakers she was looking for that were staring her right in the face. His brows narrowed when the movement caused a few hidden feathers to be lifted into the air from out of the bin.

Damn, just when he thought the feather fiasco was behind them, there was always more to be found. And that was after completely filling a garbage bag.

"I don't get it," Hayes admitted, taking one of her sneakers that Austin held out for her. She balanced on her left leg while shoving her right foot into the sneaker. Then she did the same with her opposite foot.

"You're correct. Colton doesn't like celebrating his birthday." He confirmed, adding pointedly, "And I'm not sure who put the streamers up. But if I was you, I would stay far, far away from it." It would certainly only lead to trouble... something Hayes did not need to be involved in.

Francis busied himself with turning off the house alarm, picturesque of innocence on his face. He would not take the bait his brother set. He was in enough trouble as it was, having no acceptable excuse for why he did not attend his 6th period class.

'Because he felt like it' did not fly with Austin. Which is exactly what Francis had said last night, landing him in the current predicament.

But to give the honest answer of how he was easily swayed by his senior teammates to help stack red solo cups pyramid style outside his baseball coach's office door as a prank probably wasn't any better. Plus, he already served that punishment during practice.

Sunshine made a non-committal sound as she knelt down to quickly double knot her laces. When she stood back up straight, she then briefly bent over at the waist to touch her toes, stretching her hamstrings real quick.

Francis unlocked the front door and pushed it open, heading outside. Might as well start running now since there was no way out of it.

Austin stopped Hayes from following the teen. "Are you going to be warm enough in that?" He  questioned with worry, scanning over her running attire. It was the same thing he did every morning since the cold weather decided to stay.

For some unbeknownst reason, the little girl refused wearing joggers or leggings no matter how many times he offered to buy her some. She was perfectly content with her running shorts and a borrowed hoodie, one that he recognized as his own this morning.

The hemline went way past her shorts to her knees and the sleeves fell miles longer than the end of her finger tips, but if that's what made her happy, then so be it.

"Yes, Austin," Sunshine replied, leaning into his side as a sign of affection. If she was cold, then she'd just run a little bit faster. Surely Francis would be up for a race. She had a decent chance of beating him.

Hurt his pride a bit, just like a little sister was meant to do.

Problem solved.

Austin rubbed her back for a moment before using the same hand to push back open the front door, exposing them to the winter environment.

"Okay, if you say so," Austin hummed, letting the girl duck under his arm to exit the house ahead of him before following behind.

"I say so," she confirmed, her confident sass entering the playing field.

Austin chuckled and turned around to lock the front door before doubling back to look at Hayes. Something had caught his eye under the porch light. "What's that on your shoe?"

He watched his little sister look down at her sneakers, a pair that were long overdue to be replaced but she wouldn't let him yet. The kids had this mindset where they couldn't and wouldn't ask for another pair of shoes until their current ones were absolutely unwearable, meaning the holes that formed by their socked toes were too large to function any longer.

Austin had given up that battle and simply decided to purchase them a new pair each for Christmas. No harm, no foul if Santa brought the gifts.

"What's what?" Hayes questioned, having to squint before pointing to a discolored circular spot at the front right near where a frayed hole was. "That grey spot?"

Her right shoe had a newly acquired stain.

"Uh huh."

Hayes sheepishly grinned as she lifted her head back up. "I think it's an ice cream stain."

"Really, Sunshine?" Austin huffed with a shake of his head.

She shrugged.

Happens.

Austin shoved the key into the front door, locking the door before heading to the porch steps and down onto the driveway.

Francis was already a good chunk away, a slow warmup jog powered by his giraffe-length legs. His outline from the streetlights placed him a couple neighboring houses up the road.

Not in a hurry to run off yet, Hayes happily skipped alongside her eldest brother, the brisk chill putting a pep in her step. "Austin, can I ask you a question?"

"Always," the eldest brother answered as always.

But Sunshine wouldn't meet his eyes, so he knew it was something she was unsure what his reaction would be. Which was a habit he was trying to break of hers, because he never wanted her to fear him.

"Do you think that maybe now that Glen and I are here, that maybe Colton will want to celebrate his birthday again?" When she finally lifted her head up, bravely waiting to hear his answer, Austin caught the sadness portrayed in her blue eyes.

He knew the little girl wasn't informed of why Colton was the way he was about his birthday, but she pretty much hit the head on the target.

"I cannot answer that, baby," he hated to admit. "Only Cole can speak to that. But no matter what, it's not a reflection on how he feels about you, okay? He loves you so much."

She'd heard those words before.

And it wasn't that she didn't believe them either, but at the end of the day, figuratively speaking, Colton was leaving them behind for his new coaching job. And to the youngest Powers sibling, that didn't seem like love to her.

But she didn't like to think about that.

"Hurry up, slowpokes!" Francis shouted over his shoulder, eager to get this dreadful torture done with.

Hayes took advantage of the distraction and picked up her speed to chase after Franny. Austin took the hint and let the topic go for now, matching her pace as they ran through the winding roads.

It didn't take them long to catch up to the teen.

The three siblings settled into the silence of the early morning, the darkness soon to give way to the beautiful sunrise as it did every morning. His favorite time of the day, one he had forever claimed as his own bout of sereneness but could no longer picture it without his little girl by his side.

And unless Francis got himself another punishment, safe to say the teenager would not be making another appearance for their morning stroll.

It wasn't until they reached the neighborhood park with the lake in the middle, the midway mark of their run, that Sunshine decided to finally respond to Austin.

It wasn't like she spent this whole time mulling it over until she conquered her anxiety to voice her thoughts aloud.

Or maybe it was exactly that.

"Well, we can't not celebrate his birthday," Hayes stated, using the sleeves of the sweatshirt to wipe her runny nose some more. The cold weather gave her endless boogies.

Francis' gaze flicked to his sister and almost gave himself away, though quickly bit his tongue to silence his response. He'd dutifully fill her in later on the lowdown.

"We can't force someone, either," Austin kindly reminded her and therefore also Francis. "He has his reasons, and we have to respect that."

"Yes we can," Franny mumbled under his breath. If there was a will, there was a way.

Hayes agreed. It didn't matter what anyone said, as the little girl had her mind already made up. Colton deserved a day that was all about him.

And she just had a brilliant idea.

"Is it because of Charlotte?" Refocused, Hayes pushed her luck, wincing as her sister's name left her mouth.

Francis nearly stumbled as his eyes darted back to Hayes. He forgot how ballsy his Sissy could be sometimes. It was impressive, until he was on the wrong end of it.

Seconds past with no reply from anyone.

Her older brother slowed to a walk then stopped completely, Francis and Hayes doing the same when they realized he was no longer by their sides. Francis remained at a safe distance whereas she hesitantly retreated to where he halted, her nerves kicking up a notch. How could she not feel like she did wrong and upset him?

Regret was written all over her.

"Hayes," Austin urged her to look at him, his index finger nudging up her chin. "You never have to be afraid to mention Charlotte. If you want to talk about her, I will be more than happy to do so with you. But I'm suggesting that you let this birthday thing go. I'll tell the same thing to everyone else. If Colton changes his mind, he will tell us."

"Yeah, but-"

"Let it go, Hayes."

That was the second time he said her name.

He meant serious business.

Hayes looked over her shoulder and caught Fran's eye, but he quickly spun back around, tapping his foot anxiously as he minded his thoughts for now.

So the girl submissively backed down from her questioning, deciding to remain silent the rest of the run. But all the while her mind kept spinning.

It wasn't until the trio had returned home, did Francis dare show a sign of solidarity with his sister. He sent her a wink full of mischief as he slid on past her, disappearing up the stairs on a mission to wake up Smiley, no doubt.

Got to complain to someone about the torturous run he just endured. Usually Sonny was his go-to for this but his college brother was probably already up getting ready for his own morning baseball conditioning.

Sort of takes the fun out of it when the victim is already awake.

Alone, Hayes circled aimlessly around in the foyer for a moment, before deciding to kick her shoes off via stepping on the back of her heels. She watched as a light came on in the kitchen then heard the sound of the sink running as Austin rinsed his face with water.

A look of determination sparked in her blue eyes, the seriousness of her thoughts heightened by her messy blonde fly-away hairs on top of her head. The perfect contrast that made up a good chunk of who Sunshine was.

Austin may have nipped her attempts in the bud, but he wasn't her only lead. Now all she had to do was infiltrate her brothers' secret birthday planning squad that Francis was most definitely the ringleader of.

It would work out in her favor. If any of this went wayward, her brothers would take the fall for their stupidity in trying to celebrate Colton's birthday.

Definitely a foolproof plan.

She did have one thing to contribute though, and that involved an ice cream cake.

Any day was a great reason to have some cake. Just ask her.

————

Countdown until Christmas: 22 days

Glen was stretched out on the fancy couch in the living room, his head resting on a soft pillow that someone stole from Colton's room the other day and never was returned. The same Colton who by the way still had his doorframe decorated by the shimmering streamers.

Win.

A long-lasting, eye-crinkling yawn came from Smiley. The boy was tired.

Physically... mentally... and one could probably make a case for emotionally, too.

Drained empty.

It had been a long, long Saturday that started promptly at 8am for basketball practice. Coach Colton had his team working hard as the upcoming week had three tough games scheduled. It would fare well for them to win all three, and put them in a good position for post-season competition play. The end goal was the state championship.

Then when he and Cole had arrived home just beyond noon, they were immediately recruited... mandated... to join the work haul and help with decorating the home for the holidays. What would normally be an easy task, was taxing on the boy's already exhausted body.

No timeout for lunch either.

Not when everyone had an assigned job to do in order to get the home prepared for Christmas.

Austin and Dakota were hanging up the icicle lights on the gutters above the garage. The eldest brother didn't trust his other siblings to be capable of not falling off the roof.

Which, fair.

Francis was in charge of setting up the inflatables on the lawn which Smiley was dragged into assisting with. The newest inflatable of the group was, as Francis had wished for, the Christmas-hat-wearing poop emoji. It was actually pretty cute in person.

Colton was given the better deal - or not - and was sent inside to help Hayes with the Christmas lights for the massive tree that took up space in the family room. How she ended up unsupervised in the first place was a mystery in itself.

After double checking that all the strings of the billion little lights had working lightbulbs, Sunshine  had the bright idea to try to rope every single one onto the mac daddy of a Christmas tree all by herself. But the girl soon realized it wasn't going too well so she put her efforts to decorating her Charlie Brown Christmas tree instead with as many lights as possible instead.

Not such a brilliant idea.

Poor little tree, the remaining pathetic branches started to droop even more from the added weight.

Also, hello.

A fire hazard if there ever was one.

Colton handled that situation smoothly, putting his conflict resolution teaching skills to good use. He gave himself bonus points because it all was done surprisingly without causing any tears.

Win for Cole.

Smiley lasted about an hour outside helping Francis and lending an extra hand to his two brothers on the roof before finally tapping out. He scoured the kitchen for a handful of freshly-made chocolate chip cookies courtesy of his sister then found himself sitting down on the couch for a second. He just needed a moment to himself to regroup.

Who knew Christmas was so exhausting.

He probably should go upstairs and shower off all the workout grime but Smiley couldn't force himself to get up.

Seconds turned into minutes and soon another hour went by as he had accidently fallen asleep.

At some point during his snooze, his partner-in-crime had joined him in the living room.

Never too far away from her best friend especially when she had the gut feeling that something was off with Glen. So she wiggled her tiny tush into the space on the opposite end of the couch by his socked feet, a book in her hands to keep herself occupied.

That, and Colton had kindly moved her small tree into the living room so she could continue to admire the beauty of it. Then he had disappeared upstairs to take a shower, leaving his little sister to her own devices. This only happened after he gave her firm orders to not plug the tree lights into the electrical outlet.

He also set a mental reminder to find their fire extinguisher and keep it out where it was accessible.

"There you kids are," a deep, familiar voice traveled through the archway into the living room. "What are you doing hiding in here?" Footsteps padded their way into the open space, stopping when there was no response to the greeting.

The edges of Baker's lips fell downward into a frown as he scoped out the scene. Right away, seeing Glen taking a mid-day nap sent red flags off in his head. The boy didn't nap unless he was feeling really shitty. Like when he was getting those headaches or when he had been sick for like a solid week.

His eyes flitted between his baby siblings, his sister too engaged with whatever she was reading to pay her favorite older brother any attention. Her chin was tucked to her chest, shoulders rounded over as she sat with her legs tucked under her, book resting on top of her thighs.

Humph. How rude.

The older brother made his way closer to the couch. He laid a caring hand on Glen's forehead, touching his sweaty skin. He flipped his hand over, using both sides to see if he was running a fever. Not feeling any warmth, he smoothed down some of his brother's wild blonde hair before sidestepping over to where Hayes was curled up.

"Sunshine is in her own little world, huh?"  Baker teased, speaking low as to not disturb Smiley.

"Hold on." Hayes mumbled. She had heard her brother in the background since the moment he walked in, but she was at the good part.

No distractions.

He could wait just one more page.

Which naturally would lead into one more chapter.

Baker crouched down, fitting himself between the coffee table and the couch, his hands resting on the edge of the couch. "What's going on, Sunshine?"

Hayes poked her tongue out, fixated on the words of the page she was trying to finish. "Waaaaait."

Her brother was apparently impatient today, as his large hand suddenly covered up the page. "Sunshine, look at me for a sec."

She glanced up as she tried to slide the book out from under his grip. "Just wait, I'm almost done." Hayes whined.

"No, seriously Hayes." Baker wouldn't relent. He suddenly felt a snap in his self-control. The need to make sure Glen was okay right now and was sure she would have the answers he was looking for.

"What?" She snapped at him, the flicker of irritation shining through. But then she flinched back against the couch cushion, instantly chastised with a spark of fear running through her blood at the look in Baker's eyes.

Fierceness over his kids.

Except one of his kids was on the wrong end of his protectiveness right now.

He didn't even realize he let the emotion get the best of him until his little sister reacted that way. He took a deep breath, pinching his eyes closed so whatever was being reflected in his gaze was stopped. Reopening his eyes, he tried to soften his approach before making his sister even more scared. "You can keep reading in a second, okay? But this is important. Is Glen not feeling good?"

Hayes wrinkled her nose, quickly turning her head to the right to appraise her sleeping brother. She turned back to Baker, her face not giving anything away. "No, he's fine."

"Really? He wasn't complaining of anything? No headache or anything?" Baker kept pushing.

The girl shook her head, still wary but also staring longingly at the book her older brother held hostage. That was her priority then she could escape the room.

She gave the answer she thought he wanted. "No. Maybe he had a headache, I don't know."

She did know. But not because Glennard told her. Their sibling connection ran deep beyond words. So did trust, and she wasn't about to go spilling his feelings about how overwhelmed the kid was. How they went from 0 to 100 real quick with this Christmas thing and his mind couldn't keep up.

Baker exhaled and returned the book to her hands. Sunshine was not going to let him in their bubble. "Okay, but if something was wrong, you'd tell me, right?"

Hayes shrugged, done with the conversation as she eagerly opened the book back to where she left off. "Sure."

It wasn't as reassuring as Baker wanted but what could he do.

The older brother remained crouched for an extra beat before standing back up, knees cracking with the effort. He ran his hand over her messy hair, cupping the side of her cheek as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

The sign of affection made Hayes pause, and she tilted her head back to look up at her brother. It couldn't be helped. She loved all the little ways her brothers showed their love for her.

And each time they did so, continued to surprise her. As if a tiny part of her still was waiting for the rejection to be shoved in her face.

He mirrored the small smile that subconsciously appeared on her face, before he quickly booped her nose with his finger.

Hayes laughed as she flopped back against the couch backrest. Whatever irritation she previously held was long gone.

Her eyebrows suddenly furrowed in confusion as she realized that Baker wasn't suppose to be standing in front of her right now. She thought he was working today.

But just as she was about to open her mouth and ask the very question, she felt a kick to her thigh. Hayes winced at the sharp pain. "Ow."

She followed the suspect foot up to Glen's face, which was marred by a frown. His eyes were squeezed shut, apparently still in deep sleep. His leg twitched again, followed by a course of whimpers escaping his mouth.

The boy had fallen victim to a nightmare, as incomprehensible mumbles were heard. He sounded distressed. "no... no."

Baker jumped into action, squatting down again as he lightly shook his little brother's leg. "Wake up, Smiley. You're okay." He patted the boy's knee, jostling him awake. "Come on, Smiley."

Thankfully that worked.

Dazed and confused, but now somewhat alert, Glen blinked a few times before pulling himself into a sitting position. His eyes were large, as they danced all over the living room before latching onto Baker.

His anchor.

"Hey, buddy," Baker's calming voice was helpful in orienting his brother. He took advantage of the open middle seat on the couch now that Glen had drawn his legs up to his chest in a defensive position. "Everything's alright. It looked like you were having a nightmare."

Glen blinked once, twice more before slowly loosening his limbs. The boy had no recollection of what he was just dreaming about. His voice was groggy and somewhat slurred. "Baker? What are you doing here?"

Hayes shifted on her cushion, sitting sideways crisscross applesauce to face her brothers. She rubbed her right leg, the ghost of pain pretty much gone.

"I swapped my day shift for tonight so I figured I'd come hang out over here before then," Baker replied, watching as his baby brother clumsily moved around so his head now fell against Baker's shoulder.

The older brother felt his heart warm at the trust his littlest brother showed.

"Okay," Glen mumbled, settled once more against his brother's warm side. He was already succumbing back to sleep, feeling secure under his brother's arm.

"Okay," Baker echoed.

From the other side, the older brother felt the gaze of his little sister on the side of his face. That preceded a sudden weighted addition against his left arm. Glancing downward, he watched Sunshine quietly snuggle up against him.

Two snuggle bugs.

Baker pulled his arm free then snuck his arm behind her back so his palm could grasp her thigh. He tugged her closer, the purpose to readjust her position so it was more comfortable for the both of him. All the while the little girl continued to keep her nose toward the book and read.

He hadn't recognized the cover page from her recent bookstore trip, so someone must have bought her another one.

"Where'd you get that book from?" Baker couldn't help himself. "Austin buy it?"

"Sh." Sunshine snipped.

"Was it Cole?" Baker tried another guess.

"Shh."

Baker gasped. "It was Dakota, wasn't it? That son of a gun. Always trying to one up us."

"Shhhhhh." Hayes twisted around and practically smacked her hand over his mouth, rendering him quiet.

Her older brother inhaled quickly, the sound escaping around her fingertips. He dug his index finger against her ticklish side, forcing Hayes to work extra hard to not smile. But she lost, the sunshine smile blossoming over her face.

Baker licked her palm, making her instantly squeal and pull her hand away. She dramatically began wiping her hand roughly on the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

Now it was Baker shushing the little girl. "Smiley is sleeping," he teasingly reprimanded, not making it any easier for her to quiet down as he continued tickling her. "I knew it was Kota. What a cheater. Buying your love like that."

Hayes' giggling softened to mutable laughter, her shoulders still shaking as he wrapped his arm back around her and forced her to lay against him. He pressed another gentle kiss to her messy hair, breathing in her residual shampoo smell from the last time she washed her hair.

Now he needed to make a trip to Barnes and Noble to make some book purchases of his own for Sunshine, half as an apology for losing his cool and the other half because he wanted to keep spoiling the hell out of her. He'd buy books for Glen and Francis too but the two knuckleheads probably wouldn't be as appreciative.

Now both kids were cozy, curled up with their older brother which meant basically piling on top of him, to which Baker had no qualms about. Even if Glen did smell pretty rotten at the moment.

Not worse than a men's locker room though. Baker could handle it.

A momentary sadness enveloped him as he thought of the last time he was in this exact position, only instead of teenagers, the kids were little tater tots.

Snug as a bug in a rug.

Baker allowed himself to sit in the past for another second before blinking it away. The only thing left to do was for the man himself to prop his feet up on the coffee table, getting comfy himself. And before another minute passed, he was asleep.

Oh, what a relief this is.

————

Countdown until Christmas: 14 days

"This isn't fair."

Glen snickered, "What do you mean? You're the girl."

Hayes huffed quietly, so the two adults with them wouldn't hear her disgruntlement. "So? Why does that mean I have to wear a dress? You guys should have to wear one too. Then it would be fair."

"Now Sissy," Francis butted in between his siblings, throwing his lanky arms around both babies, "While we all know I would look amazing in a dress," Glen snorted loudly, "it wouldn't be fair to the rest of the world to force them to see G-Man's ugly hairy legs."

"You're such an asshole," Glen chortled. Then in unspoken unison, both babies ducked under Francis' arms and pushed him forward. Fran went stumbling a couple steps until he could catch his balance.

Francis spun around on his heels, walking backwards so he could mock glare at the double-trouble siblings. So because he wasn't paying attention to where he was going, he smacked into Baker and Peyton who had conveniently stopped walking, accidently stepping on their feet.

"Pay attention, Franny," Baker chided, pushing the teen's head down. Dressed casually in jeans and a sweatshirt for the occasion, the older brother was enjoying his reign of being in charge for the day.

"My bad," Francis apologized with a grin, his hands held up in the air as he ducked away. He ran his fingers through his short haircut as he forced back his spot tucked between his sissy and little brother.

It was mid-morning on this lovely Sunday of December. The mall had just begun to wake up as shoppers got their Christmas gift hunting done. Early bird gets the worm, and avoids the major crowds. That was Baker's plan at least.

The married couple had taken the youngest three siblings for the day, freeing up Austin to knock some of the items off his own Christmas to-do list. It was hard to wrap gifts when a certain little girl was constantly glued to his side.

Of course, Colton and Dakota were invited to join them as well but both brothers declined. Colton had made brunch plans with his girlfriend already where as Kota simply said 'fuck no'.

Their loss.

Today, Baker had one item on their to-do list, which although sounded easy, wasn't going to be such.

Hayes hated wearing dresses.

Like despised.

And that's exactly what they had to find. He was on the hunt for a Christmas dress to be more specific.

Thus, Baker was going to have to pull out all bargaining chips to convince his little sister to not only try on the clothing, but to also then wear said dress to the Christmas Eve mass.

Yes. This was 100% going to require a bribe. Good thing Colton and Austin weren't here to reprimand him. Peyton's job was to make sure his persuasion techniques didn't get out of hand. Which meant no live animals would be accompanying them home... besides Francis.

Ha.

But it was all worth it. The first Christmas with all the siblings together after too many years apart was worth every bit of ice cream this was probably going to cost the older brother. He also heard she accepted cash bribes as well. And chocolate chip cookies, preferably the size of her face.

What could he say?

Totally worth it.

He could already imagine the reactions of his brothers. Austin would be speechless. Dakota, too and even Colton. If he was feeling really lucky, he'd bet Austin may even shed a tear or two. Emerson would simply squeeze his Junior namesake to death in one of his hugs.

They were all about memories and making those special moments. Well, this one was sure to be marked in all their minds.

9 Christmases have come and gone.

And every year, the same aging photograph found its place on the fireplace mantle in Austin's home. Sure they took pictures every year, but it wasn't the same without two gaping holes present.

Baker was hoping to recreate that photo with his siblings. All the brothers would wear black dress pants and the very tacky, always very itchy, red Christmas sweaters.

And their little sister would wear the plaid red and black overall dress paired with a white long-sleeve undershirt. Something so adorable as a baby, that could also be a similar style fitting for the young lady she matured into.

Not impossible.

Baker was up for the challenge.

Fuck.

Pulling from the back of his mind, his guilty conscious stopped him in his tracks.

All the siblings minus one.

He didn't know why it was suddenly hitting him in this very inconvenient time, but it was. Not that Charlotte ever actually spent the holidays with them in many years. Still though.

The older brother pretended to survey their unthreatened surroundings as he gave his back to his siblings, blinking away whatever emotions evaded his face. Peyton's hand slipped into his, lacing their fingers together as she gave his palm a squeeze. His free hand gripped the back of his neck for a second, before he straightened himself out.

"Alright, listen up troops," Baker cleared his throat as he clapped his hands, turning around again. His eyes landed on the little girl who slowly was inching her way backwards to hide behind Francis. "We will not be leaving this mall any less than victorious. Comprende?"

"Aye, aye captain," Francis saluted.

"Good luck with that," Glen coughed. Not to be negative or anything, but he didn't think this was going to end the way Baker wanted.

Peyton hid her smile behind her other hand. She also wasn't sure they were going to succeed. Hayes' stubborn streak just didn't magically appear in her genes. Peyton was well-versed in each of the brothers' stubbornness.

Bottom line, if Hayes didn't want a dress, no one was going to be able to force her.

"What's that?" Baker pretended he didn't hear Smiley. "You don't want to have ice cream with Hayes and I afterwards? Okay, your loss."

Glen playfully rolled his eyes before pushing Francis out of the way so he talk to Hayes. He brought his hand up to cup his sister's ear, whispering something.

Baker hoped it was encouraging... voice of reason.

That sort of thing.

"Just say the word, I'll tell him no." Glen promised. No doubt that he would, too. He had her back, always.

Hayes took a second and thought about it before shaking her head. She wasn't a baby.

"You sure?" Glen muttered, his eyebrows rising with disbelief.

It was just a stupid dress. And if it was this important to Baker...

"I'll just wear it " his best friend, HayHay, reluctantly accepted her fate with a grumble.

Glennard stared at her, his eyes squinting as he looked for any signs of something that may trouble him.

"Alrighty," The boy finally conceded, taking a small step back. Then a grin lifted the side of his mouth. "Go get em', tiger." He said with mock gusto, punching her arm.

Instantly, Hayes cocked her arm, fingers making a fist, and punched him right back. No wasted time in retaliation.

"Wrong!" Baker barked, startling all of them as he jumped in a second too slow. Old man. "No, no, no. Now why you guys have to do that?"

Smiley laughed freely as Baker pulled him aside by the shoulder, forcing some space between the troublemakers like a ref.

Hayes sidled up to her older brothers' side, sliding her hand into Baker's, his longer fingers immediately curling around her palm.

"You better not go telling Austin about this." Baker warned his three siblings, "I don't need his wrath upon me."

The young girl tugged on his hand, her face angled upward to speak to him.

Oooh, Baker so knew it was going to be a smartass remark coming out of her mouth before she even spoke.

"Didn't you tell me to always punch him back?" Hayes asked in that innocent tone of hers. The one that totally said she had her brother wrapped around her finger and she knew it.

God damn.

Peyton laughed, very much entertained. She was also in agreement to that statement... to an extent but still. There had to be some boundaries to it. "Goodness, Baker."

"What? You disagree? I want her to protect herself." Baker wrapped his little sister up in a hug, muffling her response that would only get the older brother in more trouble. "But, let's not repeat that again. Who wants ice cream after this?"

He wasn't subtle about changing the subject.

And it was also noted how he didn't deny her words.

"I do, Bakey-boy!" Francis' ability to stand still was dissipating in front of their eyes. He bounced from side to side on the balls of his feet, leaping forward to pat his older brother on the shoulder. "Plus the newest COD that just came out last weekend."

Baker rolled his eyes at the teen with an exasperated sigh. What he did to buy his sibling's silence. "Fine."

The older brother felt his hand being tugged on again, and ducked his chin to look at his sweet ball of Sunshine. "I know you want ice cream."

With Baker preoccupied, Peyton took the opportunity to slide Francis her credit card. She spoiled her sibling-in-laws just the same.

"Yes," Hayes nodded with twinkling eyes, "But also, Baker?"

"What's up?" He squeezed her hand in encouragement to keep her talking.

Her gaze turned very unsure all of a sudden, the previous evidence of mischief disappearing in a snap of a finger. "Can we just stay for two hours?"

Two hours was more manageable than the possibility of all day.

Hayes could humor him with dress-hunting for two hours. That equaled about four scoops of ice cream in her mind.

But any more time spent in the mall than that was too much, especially for the homebody and crowd aversion girl that she was. Too much socialization for Glen, too.

That was about the time when Francis usually got really, really bored of whatever activity was going on and started causing havoc on purpose.

Two hours it would be then.

"Of course, Sunshine," Baker easily agreed. "Good idea. Should we get started then?"

Hayes glanced around at the nearby department stores, most of it a blur. The kids weren't well-versed with trendy stores. With no other reasons to keep postponing the inevitable, she reluctantly nodded.

"Excellent. I say we hit Macy's first since its right here. Everyone good?" Baker suggested to which Peyton confirmed was the perfect idea.

The group started to walk in the direction of their first destination, a trio created with Peyton, Baker, and Sunshine who had yet to let go of her brother's hand.

They strolled ahead, leaving the two hooligan teenagers to follow right behind. Francis nudged Glen's shoulder to catch his attention before pointing in a random direction. "Hey, what's that?"

When Glen turned his head to look, Francis snorted. "Ha, made you look."

The younger teen rolled his eyes and sped up a little to perhaps avoid being seen with his brother.

No good that did as Francis galloped right up next to him with his long legs.

Again, Francis tapped the kid on the shoulder, this time pointing to a different store window display. "Dude, look! It's a chicken!"

"What." Glen exhaled heavily through his nose before humoring Fran and looking. His lips twitched in mild surprise.

Indeed, a statue of a chicken.

Chicken wing, chicken wing

Hot dog and baloney

Chicken and macaroni

Chilling with my homies

————

Countdown until Christmas: 12 days

Glen let his head drop a hard landing onto his textbook, taking a play out of Francis' book for drama queens.

"You okay, kiddo?" Colton asked, glancing up from his laptop. The two were situated diagonally across from each other at the kitchen table, their work spread out covering every last inch of wood.

It was only Tuesday evening, meaning the three high schoolers still had four exams left before the semester was over.

In the blunt words of the students at Sacred Heart Catholic school, welcome to hell week.

Absolute torture.

"No." Glen groaned, banging his head against his textbook one more time before straightening up in his chair to rant. "Nothing about this is okay. It's absolutely fricking insane, actually."

There was mirth in Colton's eyes. "Why is that?"

Glen narrowed his eyes at his brother. "Seriously? You think taking 7 tests that cover every-fricking-thing we ever learned this semester is perfectly 'okay'? In one week? What is wrong with you?" He rubbed his hands over his face, slightly muffling his next words. "I'm gonna shoot myself."

Although the words were said purely out of frustration and not intent, Colton paid attention. He slid his laptop back a couple inches and laced his hands together on the table in front of him.

"I'd rather you didn't say that." Cole studied Smiley, "What can I do to help you right now?"

"Take my tests for me." Glen immediately shot back.

"Well, I can't do that." Colton chuckled, making Glen groan some more.

The boy slouched down in his chair, his right hand picking up his pen that he had abandoned and twiddled with it. "In my old school, they had this rule that if you had A's in your classes for both quarters, you could exempt them and get an A for the semester."

"Really?" Colton was surprised.

Glen nodded, "Yeah. You only could choose three classes, but still. That's better than this shit."

His older brother dipped his chin in acknowledgment. He would have to agree with that.

"You shouldn't be saying shit, Smiley Green Giant. It's not a pretty look on you."

Both brothers turned their heads to the family room, as Emerson came wandering over. Sonny-go-lucky was already on winter break, as his college exams were the week prior. He had left soon after his last exam and didn't look back.

Three whole weeks of nothing but family quality time and a personalized baseball workout regimen to follow, courtesy of his college coach.

"Don't distract him," Colton warned Emerson. There was a reason the brother had been banished to the family room by himself. Sonny hadn't minded at first, he said he would entertain himself with the video games. But, turns out, it wasn't quite so fun when there was no one else to play with.

He was bored.

Sonny stopped at Glen's chair and looked over his shoulder. "What the fuck is avocado's number?"

A laugh came from Glen. "Avogadro's number," he corrected.

"Yeah, that." Emerson did not have a future in chemistry and he was perfectly okay with that.

"I don't know," Glen shrugged hopelessly, tapping his pen against his textbook. He really just wanted to fling the pen against the wall, but he withheld.

"Smiley," Cole frowned. "When is your chemistry test?"

The boy's eyes flickered to his brother, who apparently was in teacher mode now. "Tomorrow. And I was kidding." Unlike Sonny, Glen could possibly be a budding chemist. But then again, Glen was acing all his subjects.

A natural scholar.

"Colton," their little sister whined, appearing around the corner from the living room.

"Hayes, no."

She dragged her socked feet all the way to where Colton was sitting at the table, and dropped her forehead onto his shoulder. "But it's so boring. I hate studying."

The girl was unable to stay focused for longer than twenty minutes at a time, if that. It had been a constant battle all weekend prior. The only reprieve came during the kids' outing on Sunday with Baker. The struggle had since has continued into the present.

Ultimately, what ended up happening was that one of the brothers basically had to sit with her to make sure she was actually focusing on her studies and not distracted by anything. They ended up taking shifts shared between Austin, Colton, and Dakota.

Emerson was initially in the rotation too, but once Austin figured out he was bribing her with Hershey chocolates for each page she read, he was removed.

But this evening, Colton was trying to give Hayes a chance to regain her independence and had her sitting in the living room. The Charlie Brown Christmas tree even had the lights lit up as an incentive.

Ideally, it was so that Cole himself had an opportunity to focus on prepping his own lesson plans for his 4th graders.

The other two were also unavailable. Dakota was having 'me time', working out in the garage and Austin was on his way home from the office, soon to arrive anytime now for dinner.

Ideally.

Meaning, it wasn't exactly working out.

Part of the problem was that all sports practices had been canceled for exam week so the students had no excuse not to study. So because of that, all of Sunshine's excess energy was not taken care of. She was hyper as hyper could be.

An energizer bunny as Dakota liked to nicely tease her.

This was the fourth time Sunshine had left her study spot in the living room. Hungry... boredom... boredom again... and again.

Colton was tired.

"That's life, Sunshine," Though his words were stern, Colton couldn't resist the hug she was asking for, even knowing it was part of her procrastination technique. "Are you done with math yet?"

"I hate math," she replied, rubbing her cheek against the soft fabric of his t-shirt.

"Me too," Emerson agreed, ever so empathetic.

"Hayes..."

"Yes, I finished," Hayes gave a real honest answer.

Colton gave her waist a squeeze of affection. "Good job, kiddo."

"Now may I have a break?" She asked politely, her bottom lip forming a pout. The little girl was turning on the puppy dog act.

Colton purposefully avoided her gaze, so her eyes flitted all over the room on the hunt for attention. Her eyes fell onto her brother's laptop screen. "That doesn't look like school work, mister."

Emerson immediately skipped around the table so he could also snoop on Colton's computer. He recognized what was on the screen. "No way. Is that Supersize Me?" He exclaimed, a wide open smile on his face.

The sudden loudness of his voice made the kids flinch, which everyone noticed.

"Oops, my bad. But Cole, is it Supersize Me?" Sonny helped himself to the laptop, moving the mouse around on the screen and pressed play. The opening scene of the documentary began.

"A Pizza Hut, A Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut."

Sonny nodded his head to the nostalgic tune. "Hell yeah, I loved that shit."

Colton knocked Emerson's hand out of the way and paused the clip. "Dude, go away. Better yet, go find Francis. He's suppose to be in the office den studying which he is not."

Emerson snorted. "Good one. Pretty sure he's taking a nap upstairs."

Colton rolled his eyes in annoyance, but otherwise his frustration did not come out. He was instead distracted by the sound of the garage door shutting.

Predictably, Hayes broke free from Cole's hug and ran to the foyer.

"Austin, Austin, Austin," the little girl greeted her eldest brother, leaping into his awaiting arms. Her skinny arms snaked around his neck with her legs wrapped around his waist just as one of his arms supported her under the butt. Austin had expected this, as she had done the same the night before. "Welcome home!"

Austin nuzzled his smiling face against her hair, pressing a kiss near her temple. "Hello, Sunshine."

Glen pushed his chair back and hopped up, following Emerson over to their eldest brother, the two joining in on a family hug.

"Hey guys," Austin said to Sonny and Smiley. "How was school?" He directed that to his kids.

They both groaned.

"That good, huh?"

While this was happening, Colton began clearing up his workspace at the table. He gently closed his laptop, shuffling all his papers atop of the lid into a nice and neat pile to carry.

"On that note," Cole announced, holding his items in one arm and tucked his chair under the table. "I'm going into my room for a bit." He walked over to the group hug and patted Austin on the shoulder. "Tag, you're it."

Austin chuckled as his eyes scrutinized his brother. Before he pull Cole into the conversation, the loud sound of a door banging into the wall caught all the siblings off guard.

"Fuck." Came grumbling from the laundry room. "Every fucking time." The voice got louder. "Helloooo, I'm fucking starving. When's -oh." Dakota stopped yelling when he realized everyone he was potentially addressing was currently standing right in front of him in the foyer. Staring at him.

Awkward.

"Sorry, we didn't make any food for you." Emerson deadpanned and gave a faux apologetic shrug.

"Fuck off, Emerson." Dakota replied with a roll of his eyes and grumpy scowl, "I wasn't even asking you. I'm asking Colton."

"So that's how you're really going to speak to me?" Cole's eyebrows rose, in the mood to challenge his younger, volatile brother to give him respect.

Austin was right on the money, having thought Colton was acting a bit testy.

Austin pressed his lips together, maintaining his Switzerland silence as he let his brothers figure this out.

Instead, the eldest brother tried to put his little sister back down onto the floor, but she stubbornly tightened her grip around him.

Fine.

Austin kept his arm loosely under her butt for support as he walked into the other room to the den. He wanted to put his backpack that he carried for work away before it accidentally got damaged.

He could feel her breaths against his neck as she had her cheek pressed against his shoulder. He brought his other hand up and rubbed her back.

When he retraced his steps back to the foyer, Colton and Dakota were still in a stare-off with Emerson as their spectator.

"Either settle this now, or go find something else to do," Austin finally intervened, readjusting Hayes in his arms. She turned her head to stick her tongue out at her three brothers who were still standing there.

Glen was notably missing, as he retreated back to the kitchen table. He wasn't one for confrontation, just like his sister.

"Sonny, go find Francis and tell him to set the table, please." Austin requested.

He was ignored.

Colton shifted in his stance, his arms now crossed so his laptop and papers were pressed against his chest. Waiting.

"For fuck's sake. Fine." Dakota growled. "I wasn't cursing at you, I was cursing with you. Happy?"

Cole rolled his eyes and let his brother off the hook. As close to an apology as he was going to get. "I was just looking for please. It wouldn't kill you to have manners, Kota." He then walked the few steps to his bedroom and went inside, shutting the door nicely behind him.

"Still didn't tell me how much longer," Kota grumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

"Dumbass," Emerson felt the need to say.

Austin shook his head and also walked away, this time going to the kitchen. He figured someone should actually check on the dinner and it was very apparent that Colton declared himself 'off the clock' for the night. He called over his shoulder,  "Will someone please go find Francis?"

"I will," Emerson and Glen declared at the same time, a new challenge set and accepted by both brothers.

Glen abandoned his schoolwork on the table and dashed off after Sonny who had the advantage of already being by the staircase.

"And stop running!" Austin shouted after them, the duo creating what sounded like a thunderous herd of elephants stampeding upstairs. "Why do I even bother?" The eldest brother sighed. He pulled out a chair at the breakfast nook with his free hand. "Alright, off you get, Sunshine."

This time, Hayes relented. Austin bent over as she unhooked her arms and legs, plopping down onto the seat.

Leaving her be, Austin washed his hands at the sink before checking the oven. The timer read seven minutes left.

Perfect.

The chicken smelt delicious. His stomach growled in appreciation.

"So how was school, Sunshine?"

"Boring," Hayes replied, her elbow on the table so she could prop her chin up on her palm.

Austin hummed. "And how'd your tests go today?"

She made a face. "They were fine."

"Did you get all your studying done this afternoon?"

"Yep." Hayes replied.

The one-sided conversation was a bit irritating, something the younger siblings all took turns in doing.

Austin drummed his fingers on the counter as he looked at his little sister. "You really have to take it easy on Colton. He's tired too from working all day."

The girl frowned. Confused. "Me? What did I do?"

"You know what," Austin replied vaguely. He huffed in annoyance when he heard the door leading to the garage slam shut once again. The whole house shook as an effect.

"Okaaay, that's not my fault!" Kota shouted from the laundry room. He grumbled his way into the kitchen, unpleasant as ever as he passed by Austin to get to the fridge for a drink. "The door fucking slams with the wind." He explained unnecessarily.

"Sure Dakota," Austin brushed him off. He was still looking directly at his little girl who was coincidently finding the seat cushion very interesting. Her fingers plucked at the random loose strings. Austin let the silence fill the room, ignoring Dakota's questioning glance bouncing between them.

Finally, Hayes got the hint. Her blue eyes staring right back at him, hiding behind her eyelashes.

Austin leaned his lower back against the countertop, his hands perched on the edge behind him. His face softened. "All we want is for you to do well in school, Sunshine. I know it's not very fun having to study for your exams. Trust me, we've all been there. And if you're having trouble, you need to tell me so I can help."

Hayes scrunched up her nose and pulled her socked feet onto the chair, wrapping her arms around her knees. "I don't like school. It's boring."

"You don't have to like it," Austin said, "but school isn't an option. You have to do it. And part of that responsibility is doing your homework and studying for tests."

She scowled at the reminder.

"So when Colton asks you to go study, you need to listen to him. That's non-negotiable."

"I do listen to him," Hayes stated, her voice rising as her scowl began to turn in to a pout. It was starting to sound like a reprimand from her eldest brother.

She was sensitive.

Austin pushed off the counter and helped himself to the seat next to Hayes. He situated the chair so his legs stretched past the little girl's seat on either side. He sighed. "I know, baby. I know you listen. But Colton is tired and while you and your brothers are his first priority, he still has his own work to do. Just like you guys. So it makes it difficult on him when you don't do what you're told."

"I do do what he tells me!" Hayes argued defensively.

Dakota snickered.

Immature.

He cut himself off at Austin's warning glare.

"Hayes-"

"I do!" she insisted. "He told me to study in the living room and I did. I finished all my work."

"Okay, okay," Austin leaned forward, resting his hand on her foot. It wasn't worth getting her more upset right now. Right before dinner was poor planning on his part, but it needed to be said. Cole looked like he was being run into the ground, and his texts painted the same picture.

Austin decided to let the conversation go, to revisit it another time. "I hear you. I'm sorry for thinking otherwise." He gently squeezed her toes. "Maybe we could just work on listening the first time he asks you to do something."

"I listen to Cole." Hayes' voice quieted but she remained adamant. She laid her cheek atop her knee. Hidden from view, her blue eyes glistened, filled with unwanted tears.

The eldest brother immediately picked up on the lilt of her voice. Indication of impending tears.

Aw shitters.

It was a punch to the gut knowing he made her upset. Austin hated it. But it was his responsibility to have the tough conversations whenever the need arose.

He glanced over her shoulder to Dakota, who was unashamedly watching the two while he drank a water bottle.

"Can you go tell them to stop messing around up there?" Austin directed the question to Kota and in reference to the three knuckleheads upstairs. It sounded like a wrestling match was taking place with all the stomping going on above their heads.

Dakota raised his now empty bottle up in the air before putting it on the counter, tossing the bottle cap beside it. He replied with an uncharacteristic easygoing "Why the fuck not."

Dakota left the kitchen and as he approached the stairs, he yelled. "Yo, Austin said to stop fucking around and get down here or he'll beat your ass." A moment of silence as he rethought his words. Then he upped his speed, taking the stairs two at a time, his voice fading out of Austin's hearing. "Wait, Glen, that was a joke."

"Seriously Kota," Austin muttered under his breath, rubbing his forehead in irritation. He dropped his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. "You okay, Sunshine?"

She shook her head no, keeping her head down, forehead pressed against her knee.

"Okay," Austin murmured. "I'm sorry for upsetting you."

The little girl curled up tighter, if possible, keeping quiet. She was working really, really hard to control her emotions. She was maturing each day in this regard.

Austin recognized this and so he sat just as silently, giving her the space as well as his comforting presence of being there.

He didn't dare make a move to touch her and pull her into a hug, as much as he wanted to. The brothers learned the hard way that when she got like this, the affection would have to begin from the girl.

The timer above the oven blinked; three minutes left.

Hayes took a stuttering breath. She mumbled, "I always listen but no one ever listens to me."

"What was that?" Austin reached his hand out before letting it drop back onto his thigh.

"Nobody listens to me," Hayes' voice wobbled, on the verge of turning to crying. She took another big breath, exhaling slowly. Calming herself.

Progress.

Austin tilted his head a little to the side. "I listen to you, Sunshine."

She shook her head, her ponytail swaying behind her. "No, you don't. Because you never ask why. You think I hate studying but you never ask why. Colton doesn't and you don't."

Austin blinked, blindsided with the accusation. She was obviously trying to tell him something but he didn't know what. She could have been pulling from all different conversations they've had. And now he was drawing a blank.

Deciding he had waited long enough, Austin bit the bullet and tugged her left hand into his grasp. He sandwiched her hand between the palms of his and brought it up to his mouth. He kissed her cold fingers, his affection hopefully showing his apology for making her feel any sort of poor way.

She didn't pull away from him, which was a good sign.

Austin asked, "Why don't you like studying, Hayes?"

It took another second to find the courage for the little girl to look her brother in the eye. But she ducked her head almost immediately after, choosing to stare at her tiny hand enveloped in his as she spoke.

"You make me study by myself and that makes me feel all alone. I don't like it. I don't like being by myself... I don't want to be alone."

It felt good to finally admit something that was slowly dampening her spirits.

She rambled on, "I always do everything with Glen but now he doesn't study with me. It's suppose to be me and Glen. But he wants to study with Colton and nobody wants to study with me." Another big breath. "I'm not stupid, you know. School is easy. It's just really boring. And you think I need a babysitter but I don't. I can do it all by myself. It's just so..." her strong emotional wall cracked, a couple tears ran down her face that she roughly wiped away with the back of her right hand.

Lonely.

She just misses having a buddy. She misses their routine of school, homework and then basketball. She misses the Rayon family.

A harsh ear-grating, beeping tone went off, signaling the oven timer was done. 00:00 blinked in neon green atop the stove.

Two hands cupped under her flushed cheeks, forcing the little girl to face her eldest brother.

His beautiful little girl, who was practically like velcro to his side whenever she could, said she felt lonely.

And he believed her.

He had made her feel that way. He hadn't taken into account something as simple as the kids' prior studying habits; hadn't thought about how it would make them feel when he pushed upon them his ways. He didn't question how easily they ceded to his rules.

And it had taken her this long, months, to finally voice how she was feeling.

He blinked his eyes, trying to rein in his own emotions. "You, my sweet girl, are never alone. And I am so sorry that I made you feel that way. That any of us made you feel that way."

Her feet slid off the chair, onto the floor. Her bottom lip beginning to quiver. And then she was embraced in his arms, snuggled into his chest in a hug she craved always from her eldest brother.

Hayes' chest was aching with all her pent-up affliction. The loneliness was just the start. She never truly moved on past the obvious. Why didn't she get to stay with her brothers? Why did their mom have take her and Glen?

It wasn't fair.

It was not fair.

She hated her. Really, really, really hated the woman.

"We will figure this out, okay?" He kissed her temple. "Let's do something to get through these last two days of school and then we'll make some changes that will work for you. We'll have a plan for the new year."

Loneliness was a dangerous feeling.

"Woah, is someone having a group hug without me?" Francis was the first to barge into the kitchen, the brothers having heard the timer go off from upstairs.

Emerson came in behind him, "We already did, loser."

The teen nicely slammed into the loving embrace without invitation. "What?" he exclaimed. "That's absolute blasphemy. I thought you guys loved me."

Austin ignored the theatrics and said, "Francis, what perfect timing. Go set the table for dinner, please."

"Damn," Fran muttered.

~~~~

:)