One Saturday afternoon found a full house at the Perrette-McGee Estate, as all the daughters were home for the weekend. The two youngest, Samantha and Abby were still home as usual, serving sentence as regular residents of the parental penitentiary. Zoe and Lela now attending college, were out on parole and no longer lived at home, but had been popping in and out during the last week. Sarah the Weef, yet another daughter of the house and a fairly recent parolee, had returned home several weeks before, and was the reason for this family reunion.

Sarah was due anytime to make the world, especially the small one she shared with her family, a little more crowded and a lot more beautiful by giving it a new life: a boy named Landon. Actually, Landon was overdue to make his emergence and this was the reason Zoe and Lela had been hanging round the old haunt. Everyone was anxious for Landon to “finish cooking,” but no one more so than his mother Sarah. She was fat, miserable, tired and oh so … ready for opening night even if it came at three in the morning.

At the moment, Sarah was in her room resting as comfortable as anyone could with a watermelon in their belly. Her four sisters were scattered around the living room. Zoe and Lela were watching a movie they’d picked up from Blockbuster. Samantha, in character with most other fifteen year old girls, had ear and mouth joined to her cell phone. Abigail Catherine or Abby Cat as she was affectionately known was also in character for her age. Like most other princesses of the pigtail persuasion, she had to be exactly where her big sisters’ were. At the moment she was center of the floor, on her belly and debating on crayon colors for Cinderella’s ball gown.

The two wardens of this home for wayward girls were Leo and Piper, or commonly known by the inmates as: Mom and Dog. While Piper was the natural mother of Zoe, Sarah and Samantha, she was not for Lela and Abby. The last two daughters of the house had come through adoption, but Piper loved them as if they’d been hers from their first breath. Yes, she was the mother of only three out of the Fab Five, but she was loved as Mom by all five.

Leo was not the father of any of the girls, but since coming into their home and their lives three years ago, he had become respected and loved and a dad to all of them. Piper’s “pet” name for Leo was Dog and the kids picked up on it straight away calling him “Doggy Dad” or simply Dog. Now while it was true, this “Fine Nine” (We can’t forget Mittens and Percy the cats!”) had come together to form a family, there was no mistaking this lot for the Brady Brunch. Life at Perrette-McGee Castle was far more real and far more reminiscent of a combination of Roseanne, The Gilmore Girls and Survivor (especially at meal time).

Speaking of food, our happy couple was in the kitchen under the guise of starting dinner, but a quick look in said the chicken wasn’t the only thing heating up. Piper was at the stove trying to stay focused at the task at hand while Leo had slipped in behind her and was staying very focused on what was in his hands: his soul mate. Taking advantage of this rare moment of daughter-free fun, his lips gently found the back of her neck. A warm tickle … getting warmer by the second … ran down Piper’s back and all the way to her toes that threatened to curl. She turned round to gaze into the green eyes of the sexiest six feet of man she’d ever known. Being a proponent of equal rights, she felt what was good for the goose was good for her gorgeous gander and she stretched to plant her lips on his. This coupling could probably have lasted until they were serving “Extremely Blackened Chicken,” had there been no interruptions, but with five daughters … there are always interruptions.

“Mom!” came the long distance cry into the kitchen. The kiss and the moment were broken, much to the disappointment of both, but as Piper left to investigate, the wink and wiggle she left Leo with promised there was more to come.
Piper walked into the dining room and then looked up the stairs. “What do you need Weefy? I’m fixing dinner.”
Silenced followed for a few seconds and then she answered with a whine. “I need you Mom. Can you come upstairs for a minute? Pleeeeeeeze?”

Leo turned down the chicken and walked into the dining room as Piper started up the stairs. “What’s up with Sarah?”
Piper stopped at the landing and quipped dryly, “Hungry Hungry Hippo probably just needs to be rolled over or something.”

Leo chuckled and then baited his wife. “That wasn’t very nice. Have you no sympathy or compassion for your pregnant daughter?”

Piper’s blue eyes met his. She put one hand on her hip and the other waved in the direction of the living room. “I’ve been there and done this three times! Sympathy went out the door after Zoe. Compassion was lost after Sarah. By the time Samantha came round I graduated to cold heartless bitch.”

Leo winked and sent the bitch a kiss. It immediately warmed her cold heart and she sent him one back. A second cry of “Mom” from the Weef ended further flirting for Piper and she left her beloved to find out what all the shouting was about.

Thirty minutes later when Leo saw his wife coming down the steps with Sarah’s baby bag on her shoulder and Sarah slowly following, he was pretty sure what all the shouting had been about. The look and nod Piper gave him when she reached the landing only confirmed it. He didn’t need to hear the order. He immediately grabbed his car keys off the dining room table and headed to the garage to start the car. Landon was on the way.

“Girls,” Piper called as she helped Sarah navigate the last few steps.

Four heads turned and four sets of eyes went wide when they saw their mom holding their pregnant sister’s hand and their pregnant sister holding her belly.

Piper immediately confirmed their suspicions. “It’s time.”

Despite the fact this scenario had been practiced and drilled repeatedly over the last few weeks with everyone knowing their role or place, when it came show time … pandemonium broke out.

Piper and Sarah were quickly surrounded by four girls who only wanted to help, but were doing everything else but. Zoe tried to take the baby bag from Piper at the same time Samantha did. Lela was frantically searching for her car keys and shouting at Sarah to breathe. Abby Cat was pulling on her Mom’s sleeve and asking if she could tear up some bed sheets, having just seen that on the movie that her sisters had rented. Only Mittens and Percy had the good sense to hide.

Piper won the battle of the bag from her daughters and immediately regained order. “Girls! Everyone settle down!”
Four daughters became statues while the star of the show continued to hold her belly and groan. Piper voice was as cool as her blue eyes that made contact with the frantic four.

“I want everyone to breathe … not just Weef.”

Seeing cleansing breaths all around the room she started again. “Now … we’re going to do this just like we planned. Leo and I are taking Sarah to the hospital. Zoe and Samantha can follow in Zoe’s car and Lela you’ll stay here with Abby Cat and we’ll call you as soon as we know something.”

Piper knelt down to make eye contact at the Cat level. “And … Little Miss Talksalot… if you so much as tear a paper towel … let alone one of my bed sheets, the chicken won’t be the only thing getting barbecued around here. Do we understand each other?”

Abby frowned and nodded, but then grabbed her mother’s hand before she could turn away. “Momma, I wanna go too,” she whined.

“No … you’re staying with Lela.”

“But why, Momma?

Piper tried to maintain her patience. “Because … that’s the plan and I already told you that you weren’t going and we discussed why.”

“But … but I wanna see Landon.”

“You’ll see him later, Cat.” The tone in Piper’s voice sharpened, which was Abby’s warning that she’d about taxed her mother’s patience to the limit. Abby however, ignored it.

“But …Weef needs me, Momma. She said I can help by … by … bein imm … immo … immoral support didn’t you Weef?”
Zoe and Lela snickered, but Samantha seized the opportunity her little sister had left. “That’s emotional support you Dorkapotomus!”

Abby turned and shot daggers at her sister, “You’re a … a … dorga …poddy …mouth!”

“Samantha Kellen … Abigail Catherine! Enough, you two!”

Both girls froze in mid-fight. Piper turned to Samantha. Her voice was all about mean Momma. “Samantha, get what you’re taking with you and go with Zoe … while you still can.”

Samantha said nothing and immediately did as was told. Piper then turned to Abby Cat and softened her demeanor slightly. She motioned her over and the little one shuffled like she was heading for execution.

When she reached her mother she received a smile, not the axe. “Look honey, I know you want to go. I know you want to be there to see Landon and to help Sarah with him, but it’s just like I told you last night. There won’t be anything for you to do except sit around the Waiting Room. It could be hours and hours before Landon is born.”
Sarah groaned. “God … I hope not!”

“In fact … he might not even come out at all tonight.”

Sarah grimaced and shook her head. “Oh no Mom … he’s coming out alright. I don’t care if I have to reach in there and pull him out by his …”
“Sarah!” Piper barked and shot her a quick look that told her to keep it C for Cat rated.

“But … I’ll be good Momma.” Abby continued to push her mom and her luck.

Piper shook her head as her smiled faded. “No … no you won’t. I’ll tell you what you’ll be. You’ll be mad because they won’t let you in to see Sarah once she’s admitted. Then … you’ll get bored sitting in the Waiting Room. Then … you’ll get tired and then you’ll get cranky and then you’ll want to go home. Oh yeah … and somewhere in the middle of all that you’ll get hungry and want Zoe to take you to Suzi Q’s. And you know that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
Abby dropped her head in defeat and pushed out her lip. “I … I … just wanted to go, dat’s all.”

“Mom?” In a single sentence, the soft voice of a mouse named Lela undermined everything that Piper had just hoped to accomplish.

“I … I could take her in my car and watch her at the hospital.”

Could victory be seized from the jaws of defeat? The sparkle that returned to Abby’s blue eyes said she hoped so.
“Mom, there’s no school tomorrow so she doesn’t have to get up early. I promise I’ll keep her out of the way, and if she gets tired I’ll take her back home.”

The same begging look Piper had seen in Abby’s eyes moments ago was now coming from one of her older crumb snatchers this time. “It’s … just … well … I kind of want to go too, Mom … please … if it’s okay?”

“Yeah! I get to go!” Abby shouted. Without even waiting for confirmation, she ran to put her crayons and coloring book in her back pack.

Piper reached for her runaway daughter, “Hey!”, but she was gone in an auburn flash. “I didn’t say you could …” Her voice trailed off as she dropped her head.

“Why do I even bother?” She asked rhetorically with a heavy sigh as she stood up.

Sarah groaned as another pain hit. “Mom … I don’t care who goes just as long as I go, and I really want to go now. Please?”

Piper nodded and smiled both knowingly and lovingly at her daughter as she took her hand and helped her toward the kitchen.

Leo had “Dances with Miss Kitty” warmed up and ready to go as he walked in from the garage. He expected to be greeted by his wife and a wobbly legged Weef. What he got was a speeding pig-tailed princess who blew past him like Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his way to the checkered flag. He hugged the wall as she passed by squealing, “I get to go! I get to go!”

He watched her backpack bounce through the door to the garage and then was passed yet again, this time by a flying Lela who flashed him a smile and left him with a, “See ya there, Dog.” A few seconds later, the intended party rounded the corner.

Piper saw the puzzled look on Leo’s face and immediately knew the cause. She quickly shot him a look and a warning. “Don’t ask … REALLY … just don’t ask.”

Leo, as smart as he was handsome, said nary a word as he helped Piper help Sarah to his car.

The journey to Saint Mary’s was made without incident or need of a police escort. Piper knew Sarah’s labor pains were legitimate when they passed by the Taco Bell without a single plea from her to make a run for the border via the drive through.

Sarah was admitted shortly after three p.m. Piper and Zoe stayed with the patient, while Leo and the other girls took their place in the Waiting Room. Rowan, the father, showed up shortly thereafter, as he had farther to go after receiving word at work, that it was time. He joined Piper and Zoe at Sarah’s side. Thirty minutes after Zoe followed Piper and Sarah to Maternity, she returned and Samantha took her place. Twenty minutes later Samantha returned and Leo went back. This “revolving bedside vigilance” continued for seven hours.

Everyone save for Abby took a turn at Sarah’s side. Rowan took a few breaks allowing an extra visitor back with the young mother to be, but Piper was the one constant at her daughter’s side. She left only once and that was to answer to a higher calling: Mother Nature.
Seven hours had come and gone as ten p.m. passed without a Landon in sight. The pains were coming closer together and with greater intensity. There was no doubt he was on the way, the only item in question was would he greet the world at the tail end of Saturday night or early Sunday morning?

Landon answered the last question shortly after eleven as he started his big push and so did the Weef. Piper, Zoe and a pale faced Rowan were on hand to witness the blessed event. It was the oldest miracle in the book and yet still beautiful every time it happens. At 11:22 pm, 6 pounds and 4 ounces of beautiful baby boy named Landon Robert Ferren made his emergence into the world. He was small but healthy and when Sarah held him in her arms, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. When Piper and Zoe reluctantly left, mother and son were in good condition, father however looked like he needed the bed more than the mother did.

A very tired but very happy and proud Piper made her way to the Waiting Room shortly before midnight and informed the others of the good news, or at least most of the others, as one had battled the Sandman and lost the good fight about two hours earlier. As both Piper and Zoe fielded questions about Sarah and Landon, Piper noted red curls and stocking feet protruding from a lump beneath Leo’s jacket which had been spread across two chairs.

Landon would be available for viewing through the nursery window shortly, and Sarah could take brief visitors in her room until the drugs and exhaustion would claim her. Lela and Samantha, well acquainted with their sister the Weef, opted to go to the nursery first and meet the new man in their lives. They were willing to wait to visit the Weef and offer her hugs, congratulations and a few sisterly barbs about the joys of childbirth.

Piper and Leo were alone, well for all practical purposes alone, as Abby Cat was only a little sleeping beauty beneath a cotton cloak.

“Coffee?” he offered as he led her to the seat next to her youngest.

Tired blue eyes begged as she eased into the chair. “Please … oh, please.”

Leo’s green eyes smiled at hers. Piper was an independent woman, she rarely asked him for anything, but even when it was something as small as a cup of hot coffee, it filled his heart with joy to be able to fill her cup with hot, black, and a touch of cream.

Piper watched him walk away. She hated to be separate from her beloved, but as his jeans hugged his tight bum, the sexy smile on her lips said how much she appreciated the view when he was leaving.

Taking the opportunity for a brief bit of quiet and rest, she stretched and kicked off her heels in the empty Waiting Room. A slight moan escaped her lips and thoughts of a warm bed and a place beside her hot husband danced in her tired mind. Sadly, sleep and bed were still hours away for her.

A nudge to her hip by a small footed “Sleepapotomus” drew her attention to Abby Cat and the only family member lucky enough to be in dreamland in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

Gently she pulled the coat back from her little one’s face to reveal that of a sticky faced half devil — half angel she’d grown to love. She played with a stray curl that had escaped the pigtail holder and wondered what her Cat was dreaming. The smile at her lips said it was a good dream. Everyone in the hospital would have known had it been a bad one.

A cup of hot coffee soon blocked her view. “Here you go, Babe.”

Piper took it with both hands and smiled gratefully at the delivery man who took his place at her side. She sipped the hot black goodness and prayed its heat and caffeine would do the trick.

“Ohhh … that’s so good,” she breathed as she savored the taste and the warmth now flowing through her body.
Leo, noting the chill bumps on Piper’s arms grabbed Lela’s jacket from the next chair, as his was currently in use, and draped it over the shoulders of his “always cold” beloved.

She snuggled in its warmth and against the strong shoulders of her handsome man. “Thanks,” she offered softly as she took another sip.

A few moments of quiet passed, the pair was just happy to be with each other and words were not needed. It was Piper who eventually broke the silence as her head raised from Leo’s shoulder.
“So … you ready to go meet Landon?”

“Sure”

Piper’s tired eyes found their sparkle again. “Now I have to warn you Babe. He’s so … beautiful! In my non-biased opinion, the most beautiful baby boy ever.”

A smile turned at Leo’s lips and he raised a single eyebrow. “Really? Non-biased opinion? Really?”

Piper giggled, guilty as charged, as she stood up and pulled her husband toward the nursery. “Well … just wait until you see him. You’ll know I’m telling the truth.”

Leo took his eyes off Piper and turned them toward their sleeping little girl. “I think I’m going to have to wait … at least until one of the girls comes back to watch Cat. We can’t just leave her here alone.”

Piper grinned and flashed a devilish smile. “We could … in fact, if were gone long enough maybe someone will think she’s abandoned and take her home.”

Leo knew his wife was just playing. It was sort of a running family joke about how she’d take the first good offer for any of her girls. Truth be … she loved them as much as any parent could and woe be it to anyone who would ever try to take them from her or harm a single hair on her girls’ beautiful heads.

That established, Leo couldn’t resist the chance to play the kill joy. “She’s a smart girl. She’d just give them her name, phone number and address.”

“Damn … I knew we shouldn’t have insisted on an education for her. Why, oh why did I ever send her to school?”
Leo hit his line without hesitation. “So you wouldn’t be stuck with her all day at the house.”

The smile in Piper’s eyes told Leo he’d got in a good one and the game continued as Piper eased back into her seat.
“Maybe she’d stay… if they’d make her a better offer? You know … the world’s largest variety of crayons, a pony, and all the pizza she could eat?”

Leo shook his head as he took his seat. “Forty eight hours … seventy two the max … they’d be bringing her back to the hospital or the closest children’s home.”

Piper nodded, “Yeah … that’s about the length of the honeymoon period for parents. By Monday or Tuesday they would realize they’d brought home a pig-tailed she devil.”

Leo chuckled. “Well … she’s a little old for the baby on the doorstep routine, but maybe the convent would take her. I think the Catholic Church pretty much has to accept any abandoned child don’t they?”

Piper shook her head. “I wouldn’t do it to the nuns, at least without sending them a young priest and an old one.”
The reference to the Exorcist made them both laugh as Piper reached toward Abby and began lightly feeling the top of her head.

“What are you doing?” Leo had to ask.

Piper deadpanned her line. “Searching for the little horns that hold up the halo she wears while she sleeps.”
Piper smiled lovingly at her little one. “I guess they all have halos when they sleep don’t they?”

Fond memories flooded back to her of the many nights her girls were spooned together on the living room floor or crowded into a single big bed, quite often hers.

Leo noted the beauty of two of the girls who owned his heart, but couldn’t resist the opportunity to spoil the moment. “Yeah … she’s a little angel when she’s in ‘captivity’, but the scary thing to think about, is that with each minute she sleeps … she’s storing up more energy to wreak havoc when she awakes.”

Piper pulled her hand back and slowly shook her head as she meet Leo’s smile. “I didn’t think anyone could say anything depressing to me on a day like this … at least not until now. Thanks a lot Babe.”

Leo said, ‘you’re welcome.’ with a soft kiss and then made everything better by pulling Piper in for a cuddle. She savored the warmth and the security she always felt in his arms and could have easily drifted off had she let herself, but sleep wasn’t an option just yet.

“So …” she was almost afraid to ask, “How long has she been sleeping and how much trouble has she been?”
“Umm …” Leo looked up at the clock. “She’s been asleep since a little after ten I think, and as for trouble,” he rolled his eyes before answering. “Pretty much the usual.”

Piper raised her head from his shoulder to make eye contact. “Okay … I’ll probably be sorry I asked … but fill me in.”
Leo gathered his thoughts for a moment, trying to place the sequence of events in their proper order.
“Wait!” Piper interrupted. “Allow me.”

Piper opened the palm of her left hand and began counting them off a finger at a time. “Okay … despite the fact she knew she couldn’t go back to see Sarah, when she was told she couldn’t go, she probably got mad anyway.”

Piper hesitated, giving Leo a chance to confirm or deny. His smile and nod said she’d got off to a good start.
“And … despite Lela’s best efforts to keep her occupied, she was probably complaining she was bored in less than two hours after arriving.”

Piper received another nod and a continued smile.

“Within three hours she probably wanted something to eat and drink. I bet she hit Zoe up to take her to Suzi Q’s.”
“Zoe wouldn’t take her, so we had ranch flavored chips and shared a Coke from the vending machines down the hall.”
Piper counted off another finger and gazed up at the clock. “By eight she’d been here five hours … colored half a dozen pictures, played some games with the girls and probably exhausted everyone’s patience, especially yours. Yeah … she was probably starting to get tired and pretty cranky by then. I might have suggested a little nap, but I doubt she’d gone for it.”

“I did … and she didn’t.”

“One of the girl’s could have taken her outside for a bit … although there’s nothing much for her to do there either.”
“Lela did and they were back in less than fifteen.”

“So how many times did Samantha set her off? I can’t believe those two could get along for nearly eight hours without incident.”

Leo held up a single finger. “Only once that I’m aware of … something about how Cat couldn’t be an aunt and had to be an uncle because Landon was a boy.”

Piper giggled and shook her head. “I explained that to Cat already. I guess she didn’t pay attention. Now … I’m almost afraid to ask … but … how did she get even with Sam, because I know … she got even?”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Well … it can’t be proven, but Sam’s cell phone was missing for almost forty five minutes before it turned up miraculously in her purse. Cat swears she didn’t know anything about it.”

“Of course not,” Piper chuckled.

According to her fingers she was batting a thousand. “So how did you finally get her to lie down or did she just crash?”

“I’m not really sure on that one. The last time I went back to see you and Sarah, she was playing a board game with Zoe. When I came back she was curled up asleep and shivering on the chairs, so I put my jacket over her. Another cold body … like mother … like daughter.”

Piper shook her head as she pulled the coat up around Cat’s neck. “You know I told her didn’t you? I told her this is exactly what would happen but she doesn’t listen any better than the rest.”

Leo smiled sympathetically as his hand found hers. “I know, Babe. I know.”

A few more minutes of quiet passed as the pair waited to be relieved. Leo broke the silence by a question from deep left field.

“You ever have any regrets? You know … regrets about adopting the girls. Lela was almost grown when you brought her in but Cat’s become a long term commitment and we’d made plans for when Sam graduated.”

“Regrets?” Piper gently tickled one of Abby’s toes until it wiggled back under the jacket. “Only one or two …” She paused for effect. “Like every fifteen minutes since I was crazy enough to sign the papers.”

She turned and offered Leo one of her playful smiles, but the look on his face said he was serious and so was Piper’s considered reply.

“You’re right. We did have plans. I was just as anxious, if not more so, to head to Arizona or Florida the day after we dropped Samantha off at her freshman dormitory. I couldn’t wait to get to warm weather and a little place all our own where the only ‘whine’ in the house was a Chardonnay and I didn’t have to share you with anyone. And … you’d also be right if you said that the last thing in the world I wanted was one more crumb snatcher, especially yet another girl! I’m so over the color pink, Disney Princesses and first periods. No … I can honestly say I didn’t want Abby …”
Piper’s voice and face softened as she returned her gaze to her daughter’s sleeping form. “At least until I met her … and then I guess my plans … our plans that is … got postponed.”

Piper turned back toward Leo and raised her right hand solemnly. “But I promise you … I never intended to adopt her. I … I was just going to help out a friend. Five days … that was all I said. Five days!” She repeated.

Memories from two years ago came flooding back for both of them. Abby had been brought into their lives through a mutual friend at work. Deb was a hard working woman with a heart of gold and a love for children that knew no bounds. Despite poor health and meager finances, she’d raised her own children, her brothers and a large number of foster kids, especially the special need ones that were hard to place.

Abby was one of those “lost kids from Misfit Island” that Deb took when no one else would. Her misfit was a physical deformity that left her gender in doubt, in doubt to most everyone save for Abby who stated with no hesitation she was a girl despite the confusion between her legs.

She’d ended up in Deb’s care when the local children’s home … overflowing with children didn’t really have the space to set up a private room for a child who physically seemed to straddle the gender fence. A friend in the office made a call to Deb and she opened her door and her heart a little wider.

Deb shared Abby’s story with her during one of their after closing hour chats one night and it really touched Piper’s heart. When Piper came over for a visit and met Abby … her heart was captured. The little bundle of chatter and curls took to her instantly and was at her side or on her hip for the entire visit.

When she came home that night and told Leo all about her, he had a feeling, men’s intuition if you like, that this little one was special to his soul mate. It was when she asked him a few weeks later how he felt about having her over for five days that he knew a future tax deduction could be in the offing.

“Five days!” She continued to swear as Piper retold the events they both knew by heart. “I only intended to keep her for five days. I … I just wanted to give Deb a break. She was so tired, and bless her heart … she’s got a never ending supply of love when it comes to kids, but she was almost out of energy and money. I just wanted to help out a little … that’s all.”

Leo smiled sympathetically. “I know Babe. It was only going to be five days, but … five became ten and ten … twenty and then well … the next thing we’re doing is signing papers and turning the den into a princess palace.”
Piper nodded and guilt … guilt about making her beloved wait for their warm weather love shack … put a sad frown on her face. “I’m sorry … I guess I just let my heart get the better of me … and our plans.”

Leo pulled her in close. “It’s okay, Babe. Your heart … among the many other attributes you possess …” his hand gently caressed her hip and bum, letting her know what two others were, “is why I love you and why we go together so well. You’re the soft one and I’m … well … I’m the tough one … especially when it comes to the girls.”

Piper’s eyes went wide as her frown faded and was replaced by a look of disbelief. She answered him with a laugh. “You? The tough one? Especially with the girls? Oh my God … what were you smoking while I was in there with the Weef?”

Leo had gambled he’d get this response when he threw out the bait and Piper did not disappoint as she bit hard. Not wanting to give up the game too easy, he continued to play it straight.

“I don’t know what you mean. You know I’m tough with the girls … especially Abby Cat.”

Piper’s mouth went wide. She shook her head and laughed. “Oh you will so burn for that lie.”

She turned away and then gently took Cat’s exposed hand in hers. She pointed at the little one’s pinky finger. “You see that? You’ve been wrapped around this from the first day I brought her home. You’ve been there so long I should probably have your mail forwarded there.”

“That’s not true!” Leo tried badly to deny what they both knew was true.

Piper’s eyes narrowed as she moved in for the kill. “Do I need to cite examples? You know I can … and I’m not afraid to use her first birthday with us or her first Christmas … Mr. Spendalot … or if you really wanna go there, I can bring up her first sleepover at Zoe’s and who slept with his cell phone stuck in his ear in case she wanted to come home in the middle of the night. Shall I go on, or can we stop the fight?”

Leo threw up his hands and waved the white flag. “Okay … okay … but … you never really answered my question? Do you have any regrets?”

She answered it with one of her own. “Do you?”

He looked over at the sleeping girl who had entered his life and his heart just a few short years ago. How many hours had he sat at this very same hospital while the surgeon did the delicate work of removing the withered appendage that lied about her true gender? How many times had he carried her off to bed after she fell asleep on the landing and Piper had said to just leave her there? How many times had her happiness put a smile on his face or her pain made him wish he could make it all better for her? How many times had her endless chatter made him almost wish to be struck deaf, and yet he continued to smile and listen without a whimper?

He didn’t know the numbers, because like years spent … it didn’t really matter. Yes … it was true she hadn’t started out this life as his, but that was irrelevant. Up until three years ago, he hadn’t been husband to Piper or dad to her daughters, either.

Then a door had opened for him and he became another loved and wanted member of the family. Two years ago, that door had opened again; this time just wide enough to let a little girl into the family and into all their hearts. What did matter was … that she was his daughter … she was as much a part of this family as he was … as any of them were, and after two years of having her call him “Doggy Dad,” he couldn’t imagine her belonging to anyone else. The answer was too easy.

“No, I don’t have any regrets.” His answer was delivered with as much certainty as the “Yes” he had given when asked if he would take Piper to be his wife.

“Ditto,” was Piper’s one word but heartfelt reply to what had turned out to be a very long question.
“But,” she added after a long pause. “I am disappointed.”
“In Cat?”

“No … not Cat,” she sighed sadly. “I’m disappointed in me. I guess … I guess I just have to face the fact that I’m a bad parent.”

Leo squeezed her hand. His voice was full with sympathy. “A bad parent? Really? Why would you ever think something like that?”

“Well … with my first three girls I blamed all their weirdness on their father ‘Chunk’. With Lela… I got her so late that I told myself it was her natural parent’s fault, but with Cat … well … I’ve had her since she was really little and look how rotten she’s turned out. I guess I just finally have to accept the blame.”

A smile turned at Leo’s lips. He didn’t know how Piper could deliver such lines without cracking one herself. She deserved an Academy Award for that performance. Doing his best to match her professionalism, he adlibbed a line or two as best he could, “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Babe. You shouldn’t take all the blame for being a lousy parent.”
Piper’s eyes sparkled as her smile returned. “You’re right honey. What was I was thinking? We’re married! We share everything which means half the blame is yours. Wow! I’m not the only bad parent, we’re both bad parents. Now I feel lots better.”

Leo groaned, “I wish I did,” and then both had nose snorting laughs at the joke on themselves.

When the laughter died, silence and snuggles followed for another ten minutes before impatience finally set in. Once it became obvious the girls were lingering either at Sarah’s room or most likely at the nursery window, their parents were left with no choice but to send out a search party. “You want me to go break things up?” Leo offered
Piper weighed his offer and the comfort she was feeling snuggled against her love. “No,” she reluctantly left her warm spot. “I’ll go light the fire. Remember, I’m the mean one.” She added a quick wink to let him know it was only a gentle tease if not the absolute truth.

Piper reluctantly released Leo’s hand and turned to head down the hallway. She stopped two steps into her tracks. “You know Cat’s going to want to see Landon before we go home, and if she wakes up at home later today and finds she’s missed her chance … we won’t hear the end of it until we bring her back out.”

“Good point … so … what do you want to do?”

Piper paused at the entrance to the hallway. “Why don’t you get her up … or at least see if you can raise some level of consciousness and then bring her back to the nursery. She’s allowed back there with an adult, and then I can show both of you my handsome little hunk of man.”

Leo nodded, then winked, with a smile as a chaser. Piper returned it before she walked off. Leo risked severe neck strain to catch a glimpse of her heading down the tiled floor. Just like his soul mate, he hated for her to leave, but he loved to watch her walk away.

Piper passed Lela and Samantha as she rounded the corner to the nursery window. Just as she had surmised, the two girls had been spellbound by their too cute nephew. They were heading off to see Sarah and tell her that she made beautiful baby boys. Piper left the girls with orders not to tarry too long in Sarah’s room, as while they all needed rest; no one needed it more so than Sarah.

Piper soon found herself at the picture window that gave clear view to the recent additions to the world’s population. She wouldn’t have needed the words “Landon Ferren” written on the slate at the end of his bed to be able to single him out. She’d know that beautiful boy anywhere. She immediately went into a hypnotic trance as she watched him wiggle and smile. She could have stayed there alone for hours, but only ten minutes passed before footfalls on the tile broke her concentration.

She turned to find her handsome husband and sleepy daughter heading her way. Abby, who appeared to be just barely above sleep walking, had Leo’s hand and was struggling in her gait. Once she saw Piper, she seemed to lift from her zombie state, and awoke with a smile and steadier legs.

Within a few yards of her momma, she couldn’t wait the walk and ran to her. Piper knelt down and caught her. Sleep was still in Cat’s eyes, but she was awake enough to appreciate her first glimpse of her new nephew.

Piper placed Abby on the bench in front of the window and proudly pointed out the latest addition to the clan. Leo and Abby stared at the new life as Piper stood ready to answer any questions they might have. Leo was quiet, but the look on his face said pride, love and relief. Relief that Landon was healthy, and relief at finally having another man around to offset the estrogen overload he daily drowned in.

After a few quiet moments, he excused himself to go see Sarah and promised to meet his two girls in the Waiting Room when they were finally done with their “oohing and awing”.

Piper was a bit surprised that her chatty child had so very little to say, attributing some of that to her half waken state and the rest to being overwhelmed by the miracle before her, she prompted her for a response.
“So … Miss Cat … what do you think of your nephew?”

Abby puzzled for a moment … turning her head one way and then another before sighing heavily. “Momma are you sure dat’s Landon?”

“What?” Piper never knew what to expect when she asked her youngest a question, but this time the Cat really knocked her for six.

“Well … of course I’m sure that’s Landon! I was there when he was born … remember? Now why on Earth would you ask such a question?”

Abby innocently shrugged her shoulders. “Well … I dunno. He sure don’t look very much like Weef and he don’t look like Rowan so … I thoughted maybe they gived us the wrong baby, dat’s all?”

Piper suppressed a giggle and placed a reassuring hand on her doubting daughter’s shoulder. “Trust me Cat … that’s our Landon and I can see a little of his parents in him.”

Cat nodded and then pressed her face to the window trying to give Landon a second chance with a longer second look. “Yeah Momma … I can too.”

Piper knew that was a lie, but at least she was trying.

“Momma he’s awful small ain’t he?”

“Well yes … yes he is … all babies are small, but Landon is very small. He only weighs 6 pounds and 4 ounces.”
“Did Sarah think he was small too?” came another innocent question.

Piper held her tongue and the truth that to Sarah, Landon head felt like the Hindenburg passing between her thighs. She left her daughter with a half truth they both could live with. “Yes honey … Sarah knows he’s a small baby.”
“Momma was Doggy Dad ever that small?”

Piper smiled imagining her beautiful man as a beautiful baby. “When he was just a puppy.”

“Wow!,” came the voice of disbelief as she tried to imagine the gentle giant she loved being barely more than a handful. That thought seemed to leave her speechless, and nearly a minute passed before Abby Cat broke the silence.
“Mom can I go see Sarah now since she’s done having Landon?”

Piper shook her head. “You already know the answer to that question Cat.”

Abby sighed, “Can I hold Landon yet?”

“No … not yet.”

Piper’s first two no’s did not deter the determined child.

“Can I feed him?”

Piper smiled. “No … Sarah is taking care of that.”

“Can I change him?”

“No … the nurses are taking care of that for now.”

“Can I give him a bath?”

“He really hasn’t had time to get dirty yet.”

“Can I push him round in a stroller and take him to the park?”

“Not for quite awhile yet.”

Abby Cat thought for a moment and smiled hopefully. “Can I sing him to sleep?”

Piper loved her girls and supported them in their interests. Both Abby Cat and Samantha loved to sing and while they certainly lacked nothing in effort and heart, they lacked everything in talent and tone. Piper smiled at her daughter and gave her one of those gentle little white lies that are a mother’s prerogative.

“Yes Cat … you can sing him to sleep, but see … he’s already sleeping now, so why don’t we save your song until we get Landon home.”

“Okay,” she said with a half smile.

Another thirty seconds of silence passed and then came the line Piper knew she’d hear sooner or later. “Momma I’m bored, and there’s nothing for me to do.”

It took all her self control to keep the words, “I tried to tell you that last night” from escaping her lips.
“Can we take Landon and Weefy and go home now?”

“No …” Piper found patience only reserved for a parent. “Landon and Sarah have to stay here for a day or two; however, we can go home in a little while and get some sleep … some beautiful … peaceful … sleep.”

Abby Cat watched Landon for a bit longer and then her attention turned to other matters at hand. “Momma do you know where Zoe is?”

“No … she might be with Sarah or she may have gone home.”

Cat’s eyes went wide. “She can’t go home wiff out me! I won and she promised! She promised!”

Piper gave her suddenly flustered child a puzzled stare. “What are you talking about Cat? What did you win and what did she promise?”

Piper didn’t get her answer, as Abby spied Lela walking their way and jumped off the bench. Her feet hit the tile running and she was off to meet her. Lela knelt down and caught her. Piper couldn’t hear the conversation, but she could see that Cat was doing most of the talking and Lela the listening. Lela evidently agreed with whatever Cat was pitching, as she took her by the hand and led her back toward the Waiting Room.

Seconds later Zoe rounded a corner from the opposite direction and headed toward the window to join her mother. The two women spent a good ten minutes praising Landon, before Piper remembered Abby’s last words.

“Hey Z … Cat’s looking for you. Something about she won and you promised?”

Zoe sighed. “Oh yeah … I’m taking her home with me tonight, and on the way we have to stop at Suzi Q’s and get her a milk shake and chili cheese fries.”

Piper put a hand to her daughter’s forehead and teased. “No … you don’t have a fever … so you’re not delirious and I know you didn’t volunteer … so ... how in the world did you end up on this suicide mission?”

Zoe squirmed like she had when she was Abby’s age. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I lost playing a game with her in the Waiting Room?”

Piper cringed as she was pretty sure where this was going but needed confirmation. “What game?”

Zoe provided it. “Chutes and Ladders. They had it among the kid’s games and I was just trying to keep her from being bored.”

Piper giggled. “I’m sure you did that. So … how many times did she beat you?”

Zoe’s face dropped. “Every.”

“You know I’ve warned you about playing that game with her … she never loses.”

Zoe immediately went on the defensive. “Nobody’s that good or that lucky. Mom I think she cheats!”

“I’m sure she does,” Piper teased her poor defeated daughter. “So how much are you into her for?”

“Just a night at my place and dinner at Suzi Q’s. She wanted to go double or nothing for a day at the park, but I decided to cut my losses.”

“Smart girl,” Piper consoled Zoe as she put an arm around her shoulder.

Ten minutes later everyone was in the Waiting Room. Lela was taking Samantha home. Abby Cat the hustler was riding with Zoe, and Piper and Leo would ride home alone in “Dances with Miss Kitty”.

Abby Cat was wide awake now, and going on a Coke high she got by sharing another one with her Doggy Dad. She bounced around the room stating the obvious while everyone was getting their jackets and possessions together.

“Zoe is an Aunt … and Lela is an Aunt … and Samantha is an Aunt and Me is an Aunt and …” She stopped when she got to her mom and her dad and then smiled big.

“And now dat Landon is done cooking you get to be gr …”

Fortunately for Cat’s continued good health, Samantha was within in arms distance and quickly capped a hand over her little sister’s perpetual motion mouth. She picked up the squirming sibling and smiled at her parents. “I’m going to walk Zoe and Cat out to the car. See ya at home. Byeeeeee…”

Abby continued to struggle but Sam had a firm hold on her while Zoe pushed the elevator button and tried to keep from laughing. Once the elevator came and the doors closed behind them, Samantha removed her hand from Abby’s mouth and set her on the floor.

Cat glared up at her bigger sister. “Samantha … how come we can’t say the G word to Momma for?”
Samantha looked at Zoe who offered no help. Finally she just shrugged her shoulders. “Honestly, I don’t know. I guess when you’re forty and your daughter has a baby you’ll understand, okay?”

Abby Cat just added this to the growing list of things people were always telling her she’d understand when she got older before she turned her attentions to things she did understand: chili cheese fries and strawberry milkshakes.
Lela caught the next elevator down, leaving Mom and Dog alone once again. Leo offered his beloved an arm. “You ready to go home Babe?”

Piper took the arm and the suggestion and turned toward the elevators. They hadn’t got more than a few steps when she stopped and looked up at her beloved. She pushed out her lip and batted big blue eyes. “Can we go see Landon just one more time? Pleeeeze …”

Leo smiled. His wife was as bad or as good … as the daughters who had a little finger with his name on it. He never had a chance. Without a word of complaint, he led his love back toward the nursery.

When they passed the hallway leading to Sarah’s room, Piper stopped again and her eyes flashed mischief. “Hey … I just thought of something. Why don’t we go tell the Weef that we counted Landon’s toes and he has six on one foot? Considering she’s still half out of it from the drugs, she’ll probably believe us and freak out? What do you think?”
Leo said nothing and then placed his hand on Piper’s head and began weeding through her hair.

Piper pulled back in surprise. “What are you doing?”

Now the mischief was in Leo’s eyes. “Just checking for the little horns that hold up your halo.”

Piper said nothing. She knew for once, Leo had gotten the last word in. She simply took his hand, silently admitting defeat, and continued their journey to see the most beautiful baby boy ever.

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