Well, my Thursday was...Interesting....

The morning after we began fostering Alexis, I woke up at, like, 9.  I had slept sooo hard, but I still woke up with my first headache ever.  Bleagh.  I didn't tell anyone, though. 
Flynn said he'd gotten up with Hallie twice, but she was good other than that. 
When I stumbled out from under the bench in the morning, squinting with sleepiness, all havoc was being wreacked. 
Hallie was screaming, even ALLIE was fussing and....Jase was apparently having it out with Alexis.
Oh boy. 

Since Flynn and Merida had Hallie and Allie covered, I hurried over to the other two girls. 
"Girls, girls!  Knock it off!  What is going on?!"  I exclaimed, grabbing Jase's arm in one hand and Alexis' in the other and pulling them apart from one anothers' slapping hands. 
"She called Daddy names!"  Jase yelled reproachfully at Alexis. 
"Why did you call him names, Alexis?"  I turned to her and asked. 
"Because."  She glared reproachfully at me. 
Wow.  If looks could kill... 
"Because why?" 
"He's...I do that when I'm scared of someone, okay?" 
"I told you, you don't have to be scared of him!  He's not Ray!"  Jase yelled.
"Jase, honey...quiet down.  You don't have to scream to be heard over Hallie and Allie, even though it might seem like it.  Now, Alexis...why are you scared of him?"
"Ray put a good dose of fear into her once after she called him something because she was scared of him."  Jase said for her, and she wouldn't meet my eyes.
"Okay...but why did you start a fight with her?  Yesterday, you were so happy to see her..."
"Because she doesn't need to call Daddy names!" 
"Okay.  Now, Jase...you don't need to pick fights with your adopted siblings just because she says something you don't agree with, okay honey?  And Alexis, I can understand why you're scared, but name-calling doesn't help anything.  And your Daddy won't hurt you, I promise.  Alright, sweetie?"
"Sorry, Momma..." Jase looked sheepishly up at me. 
"It's alright.  Just don't be so quick to fight, okay?" 
She nodded and I left her go.  I let go of Alexis' arm as well, but she didn't twitch. 
"Lexi...mind if I call you Lexi?"
She shrugged, staring at the ground. 
"Are you upset at me now?" 
She shook her head silently. 
"What's wrong?"  I wasn't sure if I should pull her close into a hug or if I should leave well enough alone. 
"Was just...nothing." 
"Well, if you're thinking about it, it must not be nothing," I knelt beside her and wrapped my arms around her.  "You can trust me." 
"I've just been fostered by so many other couples that I can't help  but wonder how long I'll be here." 
My heart squeezed for this poor girl.  "Oh, honey...don't worry about that stuff." 
"But really.  I don't think I'll be here long, by the looks of things."
"What?"  I asked, completely confused.  What was she talking about?
"Babies screaming, I know just by looking at you that you're unsure about this yourself..add that together and you've got a recipe for returning me." 
Well, she was an old pro.  I could feel my headache worsening as we talked. 
"We'll see.  I'd like to keep you around, though, honey, really."  I gave her a hug and looked down into her cool, emotionless face.  It must have taken a lot to make a six-year-old doll to be like that. 
She walked away, and I stood with a deflated sigh. 
"What's the matter, hon?"  Flynn strode over, Hallie in his arms. 
"Nothing..."  I fibbed, looking away from him and down at Hallie.  "Want me to take Miss Screams-A-Lot?" 
"I can handle miss Hallie.  What I'd like to know is why you look so...like...I dunno." 
"Like a zombie?  Thanks.." I grumbled. "I'm fine."
"I'm not sure I believe that, but I'll let it slide.  What were those two fighting about?"
"Alexis apparently called you names, because she's afraid of you..and Jase flipped on her.  I broke it up." 
"I see."  he gave me another puzzled glance and then left. 

Annnd that's basically how the whole entire day went.  Hallie screamed.  And screamed.  And cried...and cried...and..well, you get the gist.  And because of Hallie, Allie cried plenty as well.  Merida was starting to get a little snippy with everyone else because of that.  Jase was still somewhat miffed at Alexis, and Alexis was..Alexis.  I tried plenty to include her, but if I was anywhere near my own husband, she wouldn't go anywhere near us.  Rayne convinced Merida and Blondie into a walk, so it was just Flynn and me against two screaming babies, one horribly shy girl, and another girl that was volatile as all getout.  My headache was raging by the time it was night. 

We all got the babies to go to sleep, the girls to simmer down and go to sleep, and we were heading for bed when Hallie started crying.  Aaaagain. 
"Get some sleep...I'll be back if I can get her to go to sleep."  I mumbled to Flynn as I turned on my heel and made my way back to Hallie. 
I scooped her up.  "Little girl...why on earth are you so upset?  I would love to know..."  I told her, giving her a cuddle and plopping down. 
She quieted down eventually, and I was able to lay her down and go to bed.  For however long THAT would last!
I stopped when I heard slight, muffled noises coming from Alexis and Jase's direction. 
I crept over and peered down at them. Alexis was wide awake, and I could see the tears in her eyes. 
I immediately scooped her up and gave her a concerned look.  "What's wrong?"
"I had a scary dream," she mumbled, as if she was embarrassed. 
"Oh, that's not good," I told her.  "You wanna elaborate?"
"I just...just dreamed that Ray was back.."  she whispered quietly. 
"Ahh...well, you don't have to worry about that happening.  He's not coming back."
"How do you know?" 
And that's how I ended up spilling my whole spiel about how he'd tried to take Hallie and Allie away from us, and what he'd done to me and so on and so forth.  When I was done, she immediately leaned into me and wrapped her tiny arms around me in a hug that made my heart squeeze. 
"You're brave, I guess...he never hurt me that bad.  And you aren't scared of boys after that." 
"I'm not very brave.  I was scared, too.  And if you give your Daddy a chance, you won't be scared, either.  He's really nice, trust me.  He might like to tease, but he's not mean by any stretch."
"I'll try...but it's hard."  She squinched her face up and looked at me. 
"I can understand.  Now...do we feel better?"  I asked her. 
"I dunno...I guess so.  I'm just scared." 
"Do you want to sleep with me tonight?"
A very firm NO came from that one.  "I'm fine." 
"Okay...well, you need to get to sleep, then, and so do I."  I told her, giving her one last cuddle and kissing her forehead.  She quietly went back to bed, and I headed back there myself. 

I was soooo worn out, and my head ached, and I couldn't sleep because of that.  I was in tears by one o clock in the morning, when I STILL hadn't gone to sleep.  I didn't want to wake Flynn, so I curled up at the other end under the bench, and cried to myself - I'm pretty good at silent crying if need be. 

I needed a good cry, and a good cry I intended to have.  But soon, I heard Flynn. 
"Hon? What's the matter?" 
"Hmm?  N-nothing."  I hated the fact that my voice cracked.  I looked up and saw he was sitting up beside me, peering at me with a concerned look on his face. 
"There's obviously something.  C'mere." 
"I'm telling you, it's-"
He reached to pull me into a hug, but I pushed away from him, knowing that if he would as much as touch me, I'd burst into tears.  Again. 
"You're going to tell me one way or another, girl."  he raised his eyebrows at me and stared me down.  He flopped down on his back, but he still stared at me. 
I crawled up to the other end under the bench and returned his pensive stare, but I lost, and I suddenly felt deflated.  "You're not gonna back down, are you."  my voice wobbled. 
He silently held an arm out from his side, and I took in a ragged breath as the tears got the better of me once again.  I curled up in a ball on my side, and he silently wrapped his arms tightly around me, holding me until I got control of my composure again.  "I-I'm..sorry I shoved you.  And you're right...I'm tired, run down, I wish I knew what was the matter with Hallie, a-and...and poor Alexis is so scared of Ray coming back that she had a nightmare tonight about him..and I wish she wasn't so scared...and I have a massive headache and I can't go to sleep because of it..." I glanced up at his eyes, which were filled with concern.  "You have really gorgeous brown eyes, you know...oh gosh, did I really say that?  I'm so dumb...I'm just...just too tired to even really THINK straight!"  I gulped out; embarrassed, upset, and just..ugh. 
He took a deep breath and stared at me a few moments before he replied.  "I'm sorry, hon.  I wish I knew what was up with Hallie, too.  But don't worry..Alexis will come around.  But why didn't you let me know you had a headache?  That's crummy." 
I shrugged.  "I didn't think I needed to...I mean, you wouldn't have been able to do anything about it anyway.  That and I felt kind of dumb being so grouched about it, when that's not even close to what you dealt with, with the migraines." 
"Yeah, but it's not dumb.  Headaches stink as well."  he held me close as I unfurled my legs and wormed in a bit closer to his side, putting my head on his chest.  "I'll get up with Hallie tonight."
"No..." I mumbled.  "I can-"
"You can go to sleep and get rested up.  Your headache will go away if you get a good night's rest."
"But you'll-"
"Be just fine.  I was fine today, and I will be fine tomorrow." 
I opened my mouth to protest, but I just sighed and thanked him. 
"Sure, hon.  Oh, and for the record?  You've got the most captivating green eyes." 
Seriously...he had to rub in my awkward in-the-brain, out-the-mouth moment?  "Knock it off."  I grumbled with a huff. 
"Oh, I'm just teasing, hon.  Actually..it's true, and I'm .not really TEASING, but..you know." 
Alrighty then.  "Yyyyyeah." 
"Okay, I'll let you get to sleep now...night," he planted a kiss in my hair and pulled me a bit closer with a sigh. I reached over to give him a one-armed hug and then I was FINALLY asleep. 

So that's where we're at now.  I really, really hope that Hallie starts going back to the sweet little baby she used to be...and I hope Alexis comes around.  I'm hoping that our little heart-to-heart tonight helped her to realize we're not out to get her or whatever, but we'll see.

Flynn here...Alexis

Hey everyone....wow, I haven't posted here in forever.  Sorry, guys! 

As you may know by my wife's recent posts, Tangled Fan asked us if we'd adopt another girl, named Alexis...who is around Jase's age.  You may also know that Hallie has been crying and screaming lately.  A. LOT.  I wish my wife would allow me to get up with her once in awhile - it wouldn't kill me.  Even if I do end up with migraines, and Tangled Fan had said I was cured anyway.  But no...she about ran herself into the ground this week, staying up with her.  I'd offered several times to get up with her, but she wouldn't let me.  Regardless..
Tuesday night, she was really fussy...again. 
We went to bed at seven, because we knew it would be an early start tomorrow morning, but Hallie started crying an hour later. 
"I'll-"
"No, hon.  You get some sleep, and I'll quiet her down."
"But you need-"
"Huh-uh."  She shook her head and then left to get Hallie.
I did go back to sleep for awhile, but around one in the morning, I woke up and reached to pull my wife close to me...but my arm hit the top of the dresser, instead of her side.  I peeled my eyes open and felt around, but she wasn't in 'bed'. 
I stumbled out from under the bench and then stopped, blinking.  When I could halfways see in the darkness, I saw her.  She was laying on her side, curled in a ball with Hallie up against her.  Both were sleeping so soundly, I considered just leaving them there.  But when I saw how close to the edge of the dresser they were, I figured I'd best move them. 
I picked Hallie up and took her to sleep with Jase and Allie, praying she'd stay asleep the rest of  the night.  When I made sure she was going to stay asleep, I turned back to my wife.  I carefully scooped her up, hoping to not wake her up, either.
I set her on her back and pulled the handkerchief blanket up over her, looking down at her sleeping face.  I risked touching my lips to her forehead, and then laid down on my back, sighing and shutting my eyes. 
For a second, anyhow. 
Suddenly, I felt my shirt collar being pulled, and then my wife grabbed me into a kiss.  So much for being asleep.  My eyes flew open in surprise, but then I shut them again and enjoyed the kiss until she pulled away. 
"Did I wake you?"  I whispered when she pulled away.  She situated herself on her belly, propping herself up on her elbows. 
She shrugged, so while I waited for an answer, I pulled the handkerchief back up and then spread my arm out to invite her to curl up beside me. 
She quickly accepted, and my heart squeezed when she put her small hand on my chest and rested her head beside it.  And then she gave me a smile to boot. 
Trying to find something to say, I asked her if she was ready to meet Alexis. 
"I guess - anxious, but ready."  she told me, and I gave her shoulders a squeeze before telling her that she needed to get to sleep, adding that hopefully, Hallie would sleep the rest of the night. 
"That's for sure."  she told me, giving a little sigh and snuggling in a bit closer.  "Love you." 
A broad smile crossed my face when she said that, and my heart squeezed before I told her I loved her as well.  I reached to kiss her hair and within a few minutes, I was back in Sleep-Land. 

The next morning came a bit too soon.  My wife was still asleep, so I watched her blissful face for a couple minutes before I figured she needed to wake up 
"Wa-a-a-a-ake up, darling.  Rapunzel...wake up.  Rapunzel...hon.  Rapunzel...Rapunnnnzelll...dear, wake up....We need to get moving...wake up, Rapunzel....Rapunzel.  Ra-"
"I'm up, I'm up already!"  she fairly grumbled, peeling her eyes open. 
Okay...so maybe I overdid my annoying act a bit much.  "Good morning to you, too, my little sunshine."  I told her sarcastically, and she laughed. 
"Sorry."  she finally lifted her head off of my chest to look at me.  I grinned at her drowsy expression, and a smile teased her lips.  "What time's it?" 
"Tangled Fan will be back in..." I trailed off as I thought about the time.  "Probably a half an hour."
"Half an hour?!"  she moaned and let her head drop dramatically onto my chest.  "Can't we just stay here...and go back to sleep...while Hallie's actually not screaming?"
 Boy, didn't THAT sound like a good idea.  I chuckled, though.  "Tempting as it sounds, we need to get moving." 
She sighed, and started to push herself up and sit.   I impulsively snaked my hand out, grabbed her arm, and when she turned to give me a confused look, I took her chin in my other hand and pulled her close to kiss her. 
When I parted my lips from hers, she gave me a dazzled smile, so I gave her a grin back. 
Her face started growing red, and she looked down before leaving to brush her hair out. 

So I stayed under the bench with my eyes shut, thinking about my wife.
Suddenly, though, I heard her say, "Watch this."  to someone..so I figured I'd just keep my eyes shut.  If she was going to try sneaking up on me, she'd get a good surprise - how could I pass that up?!! 
I felt her finger trail lightly across my cheek, and I resisted twitching. 
Then, I heard her draw in a breath, inches away from my face. 
Perfect opportunity. 
My eyes flashed open, I grabbed her arms, and I yelled "Boo!" at the same time.  Who says men can't multitask?  They can multitask when it comes to teasing, anyway. 
She screamed, doing a weird yanking away/slapping at my hands dance, and then smacked her head off of the bench. 
That was classic. 
I started laughing, and sat up.  I could hear Merida laughing her head off as well. 
She rubbed at her head and looked in my direction.  I couldn't keep from laughing.  I pressed my lips together, but that didn't help.  My wife wandered over towards me, and I figured I'd give her a quick kiss to show I didn't exactlyyyy mean to laugh at her expense.  She came in close to me, and I was just about to kiss her, when she planted a hand on my chest and shoved me down onto my back. 
"Hey, no fair!"  I laughed.  She giggled at me and shook her head. 
Merida finally stopped laughing, and Rapunzel stuck around.  She held a hand out to me, grinning, and I cautiously took her hand, expecting her to either be nice and help me up, or pick at me and do something un-helpful.  She decided to be helpful. 

A little while later, we were standing in front of a certain little girl by the name of Alexis. 
She had curly red hair and greenish-blue eyes, and her appearance reminded me loosely of Merida. 
She was shy, and terrified of me. 
She was also formerly adopted by Ray and HB.
After some quiet discussion, we decided we'd try fostering her.  I was a bit unsure that she'd ever learn to trust me - I mean, she'd totally flip if I'd as much as look at her cross-eyed.  But I wouldn't give up on a chance to show her I wasn't going to hurt her, either. 

So that's how we ended up about an hour later, back on our dresser and trying to get acquainted with Alexis. 
We found out that Jase and Alexis had been adopted at the same time by HB and Ray.  We also found out (sorry about the off-the-wall random moment) found out Merida is REALLY as bad a singer as she said she was! 
The majority of the day went pretty well. 
Jase, on several occassions, tried to get Alexis, or "Lexi", to warm up to me - all of which failed.  The shy little girl kept close on my wife's lap, beside Hallie. 
Speaking of Hallie, she was very good all day long.  She only really cried once or so.  Anyway...
The day went by pretty quickly.  All too soon, we were heading to bed ourselves, after we put the babies to bed. 
We gave Jase hugs, kisses, and exchanged I love yous with her, and then I watched as my wife reached to pull Alexis into a hug.  She gave her a kiss on her cheek, but Alexis remained blank-faced and unaffected by Rapunzel's tenderness. 
I reached to give Alexis a hug and kiss goodnight, but she grabbed onto Rapunzel's neck so tightly I thought she'd choke her.  She buried her face in Rapunzel's shoulder. 
"Good night, Alexis.  Love you,"
Her little head jerked up from my wife's shoulder, and she gave me a silent, wide-eyed stare until Rapunzel set her down and Jase hauled her over to where they'd sleep. 

When we went to bed, Rapunzel promptly flopped down on her back and heaved a huge sigh.  I laid down beside her and she turned her head to look at me.  "Was this a good idea?"
For a few seconds, I wondered what in the world she was talking about.  But then I remembered - gee, how could I forget?  "She just needs time.  She's just scared, shy, and no wonder; if Ray had her.  I'll get her to warm up to me, I'm sure." 
"You're right.  And that's true as well..you're good at getting people to warm up to you!" 
She flopped onto her belly and gave me a smile, propping herself up on her elbows. 
"She just needs time...it IS a lot different from when we started fostering Jase, though.  Anyway...we should probably get some rest."
She nodded, and I met her eyes for a moment before I reached to kiss her. 
And then Hallie started to cry. 
We froze, and then she pulled away with a sheepish glance towards me.  "Night, honey...I'll be back whenever I can be back."  With a sigh, she left. 
I tried to go to sleep, but I couldn't, so I just listened for her to come back to 'bed'. 
Pretty soon - I was surprised that she'd gotten her quieted down so quickly - she came back in, curled up nearby, and she must've thought I was asleep. 
I turned onto my side and whispered in her ear, asking if Hallie had gone to sleep. 
She rolled onto her belly and propped herself up.  "Yup...for now.  The big girls are asleep, too."  (Jase & Alexis). 
"That's good..." I told her, studying her pretty face. 
"I didn't wake-"
"No, you didn't."  I told her. "C'mere."  I held a hand out to her, and she quirked a brow and gave me a 'what in the world' look, but she took it.  I reached up and pulled her into a kiss.  When I started to pull away, she gave me a sweet kiss back.  It ended all too soon and so I brushed the hair from her face, giving her a grin even though I'm sure she couldn't see. 
I told her good night, and that I would get up with Hallie through the night, so she could get some rest. 
"Thanks, hon...but I can get up with her.  No big"- she paused to muffle a yawn-"no big deal."
  Really?  "Tangled Fan said I was supposedly cured of migraines....why not put it to the test?  Then you don't have to obsess about me getting eight hours of sleep, and I can be a Daddy to Hallie and if either of the other girls gets up through the night.  And you don't have to run yourself down.  It's a win-win-win!"
She laughed through her nose and sat up, looking at me. 
"I'd prefer not to put it to the test, though.  I don't want to risk you-"
At that, I sat up and pulled her into a kiss to break off her sentence. 
She shook her head.  "I don't want to risk you getting-"
I broke her off again, with a mischievous grin.  "Do I have to do it again?" 
"Oh, shush up!"  she said, unable to hide the silly grin on her face and the fact that she was holding back a laugh.  "I'm...being serious here."
I leaned close to whisper in her ear.  "Then why do you have that goofy grin on your face, if you're being Miss Serious?" 
She almost burst out laughing, but caught herself and just snorted. 
"Oh, why do I even bother...!" she groaned at me as she let herself fall facefirst onto the dresser. 
I laughed through my nose at her and rubbed her back for a few seconds before I flopped down as well. 
"Night, hon.  Love you so much."  At least, that's what I thought she said.  It was kind of hard to hear her when her face was pressed into the dresser top. 
But regardless.  "Love you too, dear girl."  I mumbled before I went to sleep. 

Meeting Alexis

Hey everyone...sorry I haven't posted in awhile.  Hallie's STILL been fussy off and on, but we've been managing...barely ;)  The good part is that I can listen to my hubby sing quietly to her.  I'm serious, she'll quiet down if you sing to her!  It's weird, but hey...get to hear my hubby's awesome voice a lot!  (: Anyway...
Last night, Hallie was particularly fussy.  We had set a time that we would go to meet the girl, Alexis, and it just happened to be early tomorrow morning.  Of course. 
We all went to bed around 7, and Hallie was sleeping peacefully.   We covered up the kids with a small doll blanket Tangled Fan had given us, and then Flynn and I used one of the two handkerchiefs Tangled Fan had given us as well...the nights were beginning to cool off.
I was optimistic and excited for a good night's sleep.  For about an hour. 
When she started wailing, I got up with her, telling Flynn to get plenty of sleep. 
I got her up and wandered around for awhile, quieted her down, and then laid her back down.  The second she left my arms, she started huffing and her face crumpled. 
I scooped her back up and she quieted. 
"Sweetie pie...you need to go to sleep, baby."  I whispered to her and she grinned.  "I dunno why you think you need to be with Momma or Daddy every second, but that's okay too.  Will you sleep for me if I take you back to snooze with me and Daddy?" 
She started to whimper again.  Well, there's the answer to THAT question. 
"Okay, okay.  We won't go to bed with Daddy."  I whispered, humming quietly to her for a few seconds.  She stopped, and after awhile, her eyes closed.  I tried to lay her back down...but nope. 
So I sat with her and held her until I don't know when. 

Sometime through the night, I woke up to feel two arms gently scooping me up.  I couldn't even open my eyes, I was so tired.  I didn't hear Hallie, but I could tell she wasn't in my arms anymore.  So by process of elimination, Flynn had likely woken up, realized I was still out here, found me asleep, taken Hallie and lain her down with Allie and Jase...and so now he was taking me back to bed.  I started to open my mouth in protest, but instead, I just buried my head in the crook of his neck. 
I felt myself being lowered onto my back and then the handkerchief being carefully spread across me.  His lips touched my forehead in a careful kiss, and then  I heard him flop down beside me, loosing a tired sigh, and I randomly thought about how lucky I was to be married to him.  So in one deft movement, I rolled over and pulled him into a kiss.  When I pulled away, I managed to peel my eyes open again - but just barely.  I could hardly see through the darkness, anyway. 
"Did I wake you?"  he whispered. 
I shrugged, propping myself up on my elbows.  His eyes flicked down and he reached to pull the handkerchief back up, and then he spread his arm away from him. 
I accepted the silent offer and rolled over to face him, cuddling up as close as I could get.  I rested my head and my hand on his chest and rolled my eyes up towards him, giving him a smile. 
"Ya ready to go meet Alexis later?"  he whispered, apparently not ready to go back to sleep.
Well...I was really nervous, but at the same time, I felt ready.  "I guess...anxious, but ready."  I finally said, and he put his arm around my shoulders and hugged me tight. 
"You should get to sleep, sweetie, and so should I...we'll see what the morning brings and hopefully, Hallie will sleep through the night."
"That's for sure...love you."
I could hear his smile when he answered me.  "Love you too." 
He plopped a kiss in my hair and I was out like a light. 

This morning, I woke up hearing my name being repeated an annoying amount of times. 
"Waaaake up, darling...Rapunzel...wake up...Rapunzel....hon....Rapunzel..."  and so on and so forth. 
"I'm up, I'm up, already..." I grumbled, working at peeling my eyes open. 
"Good morning to you, too, my little sunshine."  Flynn said sarcastically, and despite myself, I laughed. 
"Sorry."  I chuckled and lifted my head to look at him.  He gave me that grin, and my heart squeezed.  "What time's it?" 
"Tangled Fan will be back in...probably a half an hour." 
"Half an hour?"  I moaned and let my head flop back down dramatically onto his chest.  "Can't we just stay here..and go back to sleep....while Hallie's actually not screaming?" 
He chuckled.  "Tempting as it sounds, we need to get moving." 
I sighed reluctantly.  I felt like a zombie or something...I mean, I'd been getting about six hours of sleep per night, interrupted periodically by Hallie. Flynn could always get up with her, too, but I didn't want him getting migraines.  Anyway...I'm rambling.  "I suppose you're right." 
I started to sit up, but he suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me close to give me a gentle kiss.  When he pulled away, I gave him a grin, my heart fluttering. 
He matched it and then I looked down, my face slightly warm.  "I need to go braid my hair, I suppose...don't want to scare the poor girl." 
"You won't," he laughed. 

After I'd brushed and braided my hair, I went back to peek under the bench.  Everyone else was up, but Flynn wasn't out there.  I bent to look in on him. 
Was he seriously sleeping?!  Looked like it to me. 
So of course, how could I pass this opportunity up? 
I started to creep in, but Merida stopped me. 
"What are ye doin'?"  she whispered.
"Watch this."  I nodded towards him, and a sneaky grin lit up her face. 
She stood back, and I crept towards him.  I carefully trailed my finger down his cheek in an attempt to simulate something crawling across it, but when that didn't work, I leaned down to say 'boo'. 
Just as my lips were forming the word, I quickly found out he was NOT sleeping. 
He yelled 'boo' and grabbed my arms at the same time.  I screamed and yanked away in surprise, smacking my head off of the bench. 
Laughing, he sat up.  I heard Merida cackling in the background, and I glanced around to look at her.  She was bent over, and her face was about as red as her hair, from laughing.  I absently rubbed at my throbbing head,  then glanced over at my husband. He tried to press his lips together and stop laughing, but he took one look at me and started to shake all over, until he finally gave into the laughter.
I rolled my eyes and went over to him.  He must've thought he could kiss me after doing that, but I had a little surprise up my sleeve.  When he reached up to pull me into a kiss, I leaned in towards him as if to accept the kiss..but then I gave him a shove on the chest, pushing him back down. 
"Hey, no fair!"  he said, laughing, and I finally started to giggle.  By now, Merida had tears streaking her cheeks. 
I was nice and stuck around to help him up.  When he was up and we were out from under the bench, he kissed my forehead.  "You alright?"
"Never better."  I chuckled.  "It only hurt for a couple minutes." 
He snorted, trying to suppress more laughter. 

After that, Tangled Fan came in and after we said bye to Jase and Hallie, we were off.  Before we left, though, she presented us with a nice little blanket for the babies...great!  Anyway, that was a lil off topic.. :D  Anyway. 

When we got to where we were going, she plopped us down near Alexis, and then stood back and waited.


I glanced at Flynn, swallowing hard.  Alexis glanced at us with a scared expression on her face. 
"She's shy," Tangled Fan told us.
I nodded silently and then walked slowly towards her, not sure of what to do or say.
"Hey, Alexis..." I finally managed, crouching down by her. 
This was so different from when we met Jase.  Jase had practically thrown herself at us, babbling a hundred miles per hour. 
"Hi."  she glanced at me, eyebrows furrowed. 
"Did Tangled Fan tell you we were going to come see you?"
She nodded.  "I-I'm glad to meet you." 

I gave her a smile and scooped her up, standing.  "Do you want to tell us something about yourself?" 
"I'm six.  I need a new home, I've been tossed around a lot.  The last couple that had me were really mean.  And I want a little sister." 
"That's good...we have two little girls already - one's right around your age, so you can play together," I told her, and a spark of interest finally glimmered in her eyes. 
Until Flynn made a move to scoop her up out of my arms.  She gasped and clung frantically to my neck, and started breathing heavily. 
"It's alright...he's really nice.  Why are you so scared of him, sweetie?"  I asked her. 
She stared warily at Flynn until he backed off a few steps.  "The last couple that had me was really mean and the guy was especially." 
I thought furiously.  Had she been with Ray and HB before?  "Ray and HB?"  I asked her. 
She nodded. 
"Oh, I'm so sorry.  You don't ever have to worry about him being mean to you."
She squirmed to be put down, and I walked over to Flynn. 
He pulled me close to his side and whispered in my ear. "Well...are we gonna foster her?"
I reached up onto my tiptoes and whispered back. "I dunno..she's just so scared. But I'm sure if we show her we're not like Ray and HB - yeah. They had her for awhile too. Anyway, I'm sure she'll come around."
"Okay. Then let's do it," he said, giving me a quick peck on the cheek before turning me to face Tangled Fan.

After about a half an hour, we were back home with Alexis.
She clung to me like nobody's business. I had to work her arms from around my neck before I could set her down on top of the dresser.
I introduced her to everyone, and she promptly went over to Jase.
"Jase?" she asked, peering at her.
Jase's face brightened, and she grabbed her into a hug. "Lexi!"
"You know Alexis, Jase?" I asked, smiling at their big grins.
"Yeah! We were both.." Jase's smile vanished. "We were both with HB and Ray at the same time."
"Ooh," I nodded understandingly.
Jase parted from Alexis and bounced over to Flynn, who had just sat down. She plopped herself down on his lap and gave him a cute little grin that even made ME smile!
"C'mon, Lexi! Daddy's awesome. He won't hurt you."
"That's okay...I'll stay with her," she said, backing up against my legs. I scooped up Hallie and put a hand behind Alexis' head.
"It's alright, honey. He won't hurt you, you know that, right?"
She shrugged, and I just left it at that. I couldn't really blame her for being so flighty, though, if she'd been with Ray and HB.
"How was miss Hallie today?" I turned towards Merida and sat down, pulling Alexis onto my lap as well.
"She was pretty good...she cried a little bit but when she heard my gosh-awful raspy singing voice, she decided she'd quiet down just so she wouldn't have to hear me anymore!" she laughed.
"Oh, I'm sure it's not that bad." I chuckled.
So she decided to give us a quick little serenade.
I was wrong.
"O-oh," I said, wide-eyed.
"Wow." Flynn said, and I glanced over. He wore the same expression as I probably did.
"Told ya!" She laughed and scooped up Allie.

We spent the day getting acquainted with Alexis, and the day flew by.
In the blink of an eye, we were getting the babies ready for bed.
When the babies were sleeping soundly and covered all up, we turned towards the 'big girls'. Jase gave both of us enthusiastic hugs and kisses goodnight, and exchanging I love yous, but Alexis hung back. Finally, I pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek, telling her good night. She just stayed like a board - stiff.
Flynn went to give her a hug, and she grabbed onto my neck and buried her face into my shoulder.
So he just told her. "Good night, Alexis...love you."
She glanced up towards him, wide-eyed. Had she ever heard someone tell her they loved her? Surely...
I set her down, and Jase took her by the hand and fairly dragged her over to their new designated 'bed'.
I checked one last time that Hallie was asleep, and then we headed to bed ourselves.
"Was this a good idea?" I whispered when we got to bed, turning my head to look at him.
"She just needs time. She's just scared, shy, and no wonder, if Ray had her. I'll get her to warm up to me, I'm sure."
"You're right. And that's true as well...you're good at getting people to warm up to you!" I gave him a smile and rolled over onto my belly so I wouldn't get a crick in my neck. I propped myself up on my elbows and looked down at his face, slightly mesmerized by his deep brown eyes.
"She just needs time..it is a lot different from when we started fostering Jase, though. Anyway...we should probably get some rest."
I nodded, and he finally met my eyes before reaching to slowly pull my chin down towards him. Our lips just started to meet for a sweet, goodnight kiss...when...you guessed it. Hallie decided she wasn't sleepy anymore!
We both froze, and I looked sideways as I listened. When she didn't quiet down after a few seconds, I pulled away with an apologetic glance towards him.
"Night, honey. I'll be back whenever I can be back." I sighed and left to see what was up with Hallie. As was the new normal.

I scooped her up and wandered around a bit. Hallie quieted down pretty quickly, but I held her to make sure she fell asleep and stayed asleep. I checked to make sure Jase and Alexis were still sleeping soundly, and they were. Then I just hummed until she seemed like she was going to sleep for awhile.
I laid her carefully down under their new blanket and kept a hand on her arm until I knew she was still asleep. Then, I quietly crept back to bed, for however long that would be!
I curled up on my side, away from Flynn, and was just allowing my eyes to go shut when he turned and whispered in my ear. "She asleep?"
I rolled onto my stomach and propped myself up. "Yup...for now. The 'big girls' are asleep, too."
"That's good..." he said, and I could feel him studying my face in the darkness.
I hoped I hadn't woken him up. "I didn't wake-"
"No, you didn't. C'mere." He held a hand up, and I quirked a brow.
What on earth? I took it, though, and he set it back down beside him. That was all fine and everything, but that was going to be uncomfortable as-
Then, he pulled me into a kiss that was somehow gentle and passionate at the same time. How did he even do that? My heart pounded, and I shut my eyes, enjoying every last second of it before I returned it. When I pulled away, I once more propped myself up to look at him. He let go of my hand and reached to brush the hair from my face. I could see his sweet grin through the darkness, and my heart squeezed. I wanted to kiss him again, but I didn't want to seem weird. I'd already kissed him once just a few seconds ago, anyway. So I just bit my lip and gave him a smile back.
"Good night, my sweet, dear girl. Get recharged - I know the past week or so has been pretty rough and sleepless for you, so I'll get up with Hallie tonight."
How could I not just melt at THAT - an endearment AND a wonderfully awesome offer... that I knew I'd have to turn down anyway because of his migraines??
"Thanks, hon, but I can get up with her. No big-" I broke off to yawn, covering my mouth. "No big deal."
"Tangled Fan said I was supposedly cured of migraines. Why not put it to the test? Then you don't have to obsess about me getting eight hours of sleep, and I can be a Daddy to Hallie and if either of the other girls gets up through the night. And you don't have to run yourself down. It's a win-win..win!"
I laughed through my nose, sitting up to look at him as I pulled the handkerchief up to cover my legs. "I'd prefer not to put it to the test, though. I don't want to risk you-"
He broke me off by sitting up abruptly and pulling me into another kiss.
When he pulled away, I shook my head. "I don't want to risk you getting-"
"Do I have to do it again?" he gave me a mischievous grin.
"Oh, shush up." I told him. "I'm...being serious here." I had to conceal a laugh, though.
"Then why do you have that goofy grin on your face, if you're being Miss Serious?" he leaned close to whisper that in my ear, and I snorted, catching my laugh just in time.
"Oh, why do I even bother..." I groaned, flopping and doing a faceplant.
He laughed through his nose, and I felt him rub his hand on my back for a few seconds before he must've laid down as well.
"Night, hon. Love you so much."
If he answered, I didn't notice, because I was out like a light.

 

Flynn here...Revenge of Ray

The next morning, Rapunzel was up before I was, for a change.  She was propped up on her elbows, her chin resting on her cheek.  The first thing I saw was her pretty face, and I smiled at her.
When she said good morning, I said, "Good morning, gorgeous."
Instead of rolling her eyes in the classic, sarcastic-Rapunzel style, she leaned over to bump her forehead with mine.  I realized how far she was leaning around the same time I realized her arm must not hurt as bad, if she was leaning like that on her right arm.  I smiled with gladness when I thought of that, and pulled her onto her side and close to me.  She gasped, her eyes going wide with surprise, but then she laughed through her nose.  And then she reached back to shove me.  Yup, she was feeling better.
"Hey!"  I said quietly.
"What?"  She twisted to look over her shoulder, blinking her wide eyes at me.
I chuckled, propping myself up on one elbow.  I brushed my lips with hers, and brushed some hair from her face.  She gave me a cute little grin and then she turned towards Hallie, to watch her.  I could see red creeping up her neck and even her ears, and then she scooted away from me a bit.  To tease, I pulled her close to me again.
"Hey, I did that on purpose!"  she giggled quietly, before pushing herself up to sit near my legs.
I suddenly wondered how she was feeling.
As she was disentangling her legs from the makeshift blanket, I watched her with some concern.
"How're you feeling this morning, hon?"
She glanced back at me before stretching her right leg out and staring at it.  "My arm doesn't hurt nearly as bad.  My leg doesn't seem to be as sore, either.  And my head's still fine."
I gave her a relieved smile.  She stared at me, and I wondered why she was wadding up the blanket in her hands.  And then I caught the sly smile lighting her face.
She threw the wadded up blanket at my face.
"Hey!"  I yelped quietly.
When I pulled the blanket from my face, I saw she was clear out of the shelf already.
I took one bounding leap, and was out of the shelf.  She giggled and started to jog away.
"Hey, slow down.  Don't push yourself!"  I said, concerned about her leg. I didn't want her to get hurt because we were fooling around.
She took a few more strides, but then she stopped.
I started towards her, but then, out of absolutely NOWHERE, (okay, so maybe he'd come from behind a box nearby), Ray jumped out and grabbed her from behind.
She shrieked.  He turned around, and I locked eyes with Rapunzel.  I could feel my hands go cold, and my eyes grew wide with horror.
"Get the babies, and I'll let her go."  Ray spat out at me.
"Flynn, look out!"  Rapunzel yelled, and I followed her gaze.  HB was trying to pull a fast one and slip beind me!
I grabbed her by the arm and she yelled, trying to slap me.  Thinking fast, I looked in the tiny garbage can sitting near us.  I reached and found a handful of binder's twine, in short strips.  Perfect.
I forced HB down to the floor and tied her arms together, and then her ankles.
My wife screamed at me to get over there as soon as I could, and I hurried through tying triple-knots on HB's ties.
When I turned, I saw Ray was towering over Rapunzel, but his hands held her neck.  Her face was turning red.  I dove for them, and tackled Ray away from her.  She rolled away, coughing violently.
When I was sure Ray was tied the same way as HB was, I took one huge step towards Rapunzel, dropping to sit anxiously beside her.
"Are you okay?"
She was gripping at her waist, coughing and shaking.  She held one hand up, took in a few ragged breaths, and then nodded.  "I..think so..."
I relaxed, and pushed the hair from her face.  She stared at me, and I realized how close she'd come to being killed...again.
"You almost-"
She touched my cheek.  "I didn't, so don't think it."
I took her hand away from my face and gave it a kiss.  Then I started to get worried as to why she wasn't sitting up yet.
"You're sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm sure.  Just give me a few seconds to get my bearings."
"Take all the time you need, hon."
I hovered over her, studying her face in anxiousness.
Finally, she pushed herself upright.  I was so relieved that I kind of just thrust myself at her and kissed her.  She leaned back quickly and caught herself on her hands.  When I pulled back, I grabbed her up into a hug.
After we drew away from one another, she chuckled.  I scooped her up and stood, planning to carry her to the shelf.
"Flynn, put me down...I can walk back.  I'm okay, I promise."  She told me, sounding slightly irritated.
I lifted my shoulders a bit into a shrug.  "I can carry you back, too.  It's just a few feet."
She started to roll her eyes, but then she put her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek.  My face turned mildly red.
When I turned the corner to go into the bookshelf, I came nose-to-nose with Merida's arrow.
"Hold your fire," Rapunzel told her, and Merida lowered her bow.  She stared at us, wide-eyed.  Then Rapunzel said my name.
I looked at her face in confusion, totally forgetting about the fact that I had her in my arms.  Then  I looked down and realized she was.
My face turned flaming hot and I slowly let her legs down.  She wormed away from me.
"Ray?"  Merida asked, tossing an un-shaken glance down at HB.
"Yup."  I said.
"Where's he?"
"Over there," I said, gesturing.
She peered out, and then looked back at us.  "Great!  Now what happens when Tangled Fan sees this?"
"I dunno."  I shrugged.

Jase came running.  "Momma!"  She dove for Rapunzel, and she caught her up into a hug.  I stood behind my wife and bent over her shoulder to give Jase a kiss on the head.  I was going to kiss Rapunzel on the cheek, too, but then Jase wanted held.
"Daddy, are Ray and HB gone for good?"
"I suppose.  We'll have to see.  I hope so, though!"
"Me, too."  she gave a definite nod.
I was surprised that the babies were still asleep, what with all the ruckus going on over Ray and HB.
I stepped into the bookshelf and peered down at them.
Then, I went back over to Rapunzel, with Jase still in my arms.  "You need to sit for awhile.  You don't want your leg to get worse again."
"Oh, I'm fine."  She told me.
"You should listen to Daddy.  He just wants to make sure you don't get hurt!"  Jase said.
She chuckled.  "You do have a point, baby girl.  You usually do - you're pretty smart!"
She beamed, and then told her to listen to me.
I put a careful hand on Rapunzel's side, careful not to touch her where Ray had grabbed her - she'd said her sides were sore.  "Yeah, listen to me."
She gave me a shove, giggling, and then did as I requested.
Merida plopped down beside her as soon as she sat down.  "So, did you take anyone down?"
"Ray.  He grabbed me, so I headbutted him until he fell down, and then I pinned him down.  Before Flynn could tie him up, though, he grabbed me  into a chokehold.  I'm pretty sore around my waist from him digging his hand into my waist, but other than that, I'm okay.  Flynn took HB down."
"Whew...see, if you woulda had my bow and arrow with ye, it coulda been a lot easier!"
She laughed.  "You're bad - but you do have a point."
I walked over, seizing an opportunity to tease.  I stood behind her, bending to kiss her hair.  "Merida, you should have seen her taking him down.  She had ME scared!"
"I bet.  You don't mess with that girl, and you'd better remember it, too."  Merida kidded.
"Yeah, don't worry about that!  I'm pretty sure bashing her head up against someone else's face repeatedly didn't help anything about her knock-out from the other day, though."
She turned her face up at me.  "What else could I have done, though?"
No clue...so I shrugged.
After awhile, Merida got up to do something, and accidentally elbowed Rapunzel.
She sucked in a breath, and I saw the color wash from her face.
"Should I check your waist?  So nothing's, like, wrong or anything?  No gaping rips to the plastic or whatever?"
I stepped towards her, and her eyes grew wide with horror.  "Flynn, don't you dare.  Don't.  You.  Dare!  I'm fine, just a tad bit sore.  No, you will NOT be checking my waist.  You do realize I have a DRESS on, and not a shirt I could just pull up a little bit.  And you realize how embarrassing that would be?!"
I paused to study her from head to toe.  My face grew really hot, once more.
"I'm fine, I promise.  I feel almost like I'm a little bruised, if dolls can have bruising; and my back's starting to ache from being wrenched around and everything..but that's all, hon."
I kissed her hair again and offered to rub her back.
She laughed.  "No.  I'm fine, like I said.  But thanks for the offer."
"Want me to brush your hair or something?  Rebraid it, maybe?"
"It's fine.  But you know what you can do?  You can help me up so I can go get Hallie."
I shook my head, starting to turn to get Hallie myself.
She hollered at me.   "Flynn, my backside is going numb.  I am NOT sitting here one more minute!"
I almost burst into laughter.  I bit my lip and offered my hand out to her.  She took it and stood, thanking me.
I shot Merida a glance and her cackling only got worse.  I was waiting for her to buckle over, she was laughing so hard.  Good grief!  If she didn't stop, I'd start laughing...and I didn't want to laugh.  Even though it WAS pretty funny...

Anyway.  The day dragged on.  Rayne and Blondie came down, realizing the whole situation.  That was interesting, but Rayne asked for forgiveness. My wife was a better doll than I was, that's for sure.  I would have told her off, but she simply nodded.
After that, they invited us to go back up to the top shelf.  I'd miss the bottom shelf, personally! Rapunzel and Merida both felt the same.  It was a lot roomier down there, and easier to get to the floor.  But I told them we'd wait till Rapunzel's leg was completely better.  Oh, and Tangled Fan came in and took care of HB and Ray.

Rapunzel went to bed early.  I was concerned about that, cause she NEVER went to bed early, but I didn't want to harp at her about it.
I thought she was asleep when I went to bed at 10.  I flopped down on my back, under the covers, and was asleep within moments.

However, when I woke up sometime through the night, she wasn't there.  I sat up and looked around, finally spotting her at the edge of the shelf.  I figured that I better go check on her.
I crept over behind her.  "What's the matter?"  I asked.
"Can't sleep," she whispered, tipping her head up and back to look at me.
Then, she did something that surprised me.  Instead of reprimanding me for not being in bed sleeping, she patted the floor beside her, smiling at me.
I returned the smile and sat beside her, putting a careful arm around her shoulders.
"Why can't my sweet wife sleep tonight?"  I asked.
She chuckled quietly at my sentence.  "Back's bothering me.  My leg's not too bad, and my waist isn't as terribly sore, but now my back hurts."  She paused.  "It'll probably ease up by tomorrow or the day after, though."
"I see.  Maybe Tangled Fan should take a look at you?"  I said, concerned.  As much as I hated the thought of her having to stay away, I wouldn't put selfish desire over my wife's health.
"No!  I'll be fine.  Please, don't." She grabbed both of my hands into hers desperately, before I could even think of standing up.
I looked at her face.  "But if it gets worse, you ARE going to be checked out.  And that's a fact."
She rolled her eyes.  "Okay, fine.  I guess..."
I leaned towards her and gave her a kiss, which she returned.  When we pulled apart, she touched her forehead up against mine.  "Now...get to bed.  I'll come back later, I suppose."
I shook my head.  "I could still stay up for a good while,"
She shook her head back at me.  "I don't want you to get a migraine!"  she hissed.
"I won't.  So don't you worry your pretty little mind, dear girl."  I grinned at her, but we were close enough that I doubt she noticed.
She sighed.  "Nothing's gonna make you go back to bed, right?"
"Yup."
She laughed through her nose and shook her head in mock exasperation.  "You're awful."
"Yup."  I said, hoping to get a laugh out of her; and I did.
She leaned up against me, putting a hand on top of mine and lacing her fingers with mine.  Amazing how just that made my heart feel funny.
After a while of silence, I finally spoke up.  "So..the day after tomorrow's our month-and-a-half anniversary.  Do you think you'll be up to doing anything, or...?"
"Of course!"  She exclaimed...and then she got a mischievous look about her.  "If you'll LET me do anything, that is!"
I chuckled.  "We'll see."
"And how do you think going back to the top of the bookshelf will go over?  I know I am pretty reluctant to go back.  It's nice having a small bit of privacy, as well as being able to get out easier."
I nodded.  "Same here."
We sat quietly for a few moments, and then she spoke up.  "I suppose we should probably get to bed..especially you."
I stood and offered a hand to her, which she accepted.  We minced back to our corner, trying not to wake anyone.
She promptly flopped down on the bed and rolled over onto her side, and I did the same.  She loosed an exhausted sigh, and I reached to put an arm around her waist, as was how I'd gotten used to doing.  (I'm a doll of habit.)
But as soon as my hand touched her side, I jerked it back.  "Sorry!"  I whispered, hoping I hadn't touched her where she was sore.
"I'm not made out of glass, hon," she whispered to me, before she reached behind and pulled my arm back over her.  I laughed quietly, relieved I hadn't hurt her.
"Love you," I leaned over to whisper in her ear.
"I love you too, hon."  She whispered in return, and I smiled to myself.

Ray Again

The following morning, two days after the 'incident', I woke up feeling MUCH better than I had been feeling.  And I was also faceplanted into the makeshift bed.
I propped myself up on my elbows, still laying on my belly.  I was extremely happy to find that it didn't hurt much to use my  arm.  I looked to see that my hubby was still fast asleep, and then I looked on the other side to see that Hallie was still sleeping peacefully.  Flynn's arm was laying across my back.  And then I noticed he was...snoring.  Yup.  Much softer and funnier than Merida's loud snoring that could be compared to a chainsaw :D
I laid there for awhile, watching Hallie.
When I heard Flynn stirring, I turned to look at him.  He woke up and looked up at my face, a smile spreading on his.
"Morning," I whispered quietly.
He returned the greeting and I leaned over to bump my forehead with his.  I had to lean pretty far, and he took that to his advantage.  He tightened his arm around my back and I ended up flopping over onto my side and right up against him.
I gasped in surprise and then laughed through my nose.  I reached behind me and gave him a shove.
"Hey," he said quietly.
I twisted around to peer at him over my shoulder.
"What?" I said, blinking in what I hoped looked like innocence.
He chuckled to himself and touched his lips with mine for a second or two, and then he brushed a few stray hairs away from my face.  I grinned at him and then turned back to watching Hallie.  I felt embarrassed as to how close I was to Flynn, and I scooted away a bit.  After a minute or two, though, he pulled me close again.
"Hey...I did that on purpose," I giggled quietly, and then I sat up.
I realized how I was wrapped like a mummy in the 'blanket'.  I started disentangling my legs, and Flynn asked me how I was feeling today.
I looked back at him and saw the sudden look of concern cross his face.  I stretched my leg out and looked at it.  "My arm doesn't hurt nearly as bad.  My leg doesn't seem to be as sore, either.  And my head's still fine."
A relieved smile brightened his face.  I stared at him as I slowly wadded up the 'blanket'.  I gave him a sly smile right before I threw the wadded up blanket at him.
"Hey!" he exclaimed - still quietly.  I stood and walked out of the shelf, excited at the fact that I didn't stumble once - my leg still hurt, but it didn't randomly go out from under me.  Flynn bounded out of the shelf after me, and I tried a jog.
"Hey, slow down," he called quietly.  "Don't push yourself!"
I thought about doing something childish, such as sticking my tongue out at him, but then I realized he wasn't saying that just so he could catch me - he was concerned about me hurting my leg again; and he did have a point.
I stopped and let myself get caught, not turning to see as he grabbed me up from behind.  But it didn't feel right.  When I looked up, I screamed.  Ray.
He held me tightly by the waist - so tight I thought he'd cut me in half.  He turned, and I saw Flynn's face.  It was milky white and he looked terrified.
"Get the babies, and I'll let her go."
From the corner of my eye, I saw HB.  I knew she was planning on slipping past Flynn.
"Flynn, look out!" I yelled, and he turned to see her.  He grabbed her by the arm and I watched as he started to bind her arms and legs with a piece of baler twine that was in the nearby garbage can.
Ray started backing away, and I starting wrestling in an attempt to get away.
I started to yell, but he tried to clap a hand over my mouth.  I bit it, hard; and when he jerked away, he tightened his grip on my waist.  It was unbearable.  I threw myself backwards and headbutted him.  He yelled, and I cracked my head up against his again.  With that, he fell backwards.  Flynn was still busy trying to contain HB.  When he fell backwards, he loosened his grip on my waist just a bit.  I jerked free and rolled away from him.  Before he could get up, I leaned across him and pressed his arms down with as much strength I could muster; which took just about everything out of me.  He started to wrench away from me, but I managed to keep a hold of him.
"Flynn!  When you get done, get over here, quick!" I yelled.  Ray finally managed to wrench his arms from me.  He flipped so I was the one on the ground - which made me wrench my back- and actually grabbed my neck in a tight chokehold.  I tried to loose a scream.  Flynn was at my side in an instant, and I fell away from him as Flynn started to bind him with twine.
I rolled away from him, and then laid on my back, coughing and gripping my waist, which was sore from his horribly tight grip and the fact that he'd dug his hand into me every time I squirmed.
As soon as his arms and legs were tied, Flynn stepped away from him and dropped down beside me.
"Are you okay?"
I held up a hand as I stopped coughing and took in a few ragged breaths, and then I nodded.  "I think so."
I saw his shoulders droop with relief.  He pushed the hair away from my face and I stared up at him, trying to calm my panicked heart and my breathing.
"You almost..."
I reached up and touched his face. "I didn't, so don't think it."
He  took my hand from his face and planted a kiss on it.  He looked concerned that I was still lying on my back.
"You're sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm sure; just give me a few seconds to get my bearings."
He nodded and told me to take all the time I needed.  Still, my hubby stared down at me with anxiousness written across his face.  I could almost see it spelled out in big, capital letters across his forehead.  After I started breathing normally and wasn't coughing anymore, I planted my hands on the floor and pushed myself into a sitting position.  As soon as I sat up, Flynn yanked me into a relieved kiss and then after that a hug; almost knocking me back down with his sudden force.  When he pulled away, I chuckled; my heart squeezing.
And then he scooped me up into his arms and stood up.
"Flynn, put me down.  I can walk back.  I'm okay, I promise."
He shrugged slightly and said, "I can carry you back, too.  It's just a few feet."
I started to protest, but I figured that if he seriously wanted to carry me to the bookshelf, I would let him. To try to show gratitude, I put my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, enjoying the shade of red that he turned.  When we got back to the shelf, Merida was waiting for us on the inside, bow and arrow poised to shoot.
"Hold your fire."  I told her.  Flynn froze.  Merida lowered her bow and stared at us, wide-eyed.  Flynn made no move to put me down. "Flynn?"
He looked at my face.  Then he looked down and must have remembered I was in his arms.  His face turning crimson, he carefully let my legs go.  He still gripped me around my shoulders, but I managed to worm away from him.
"Ray?"  She glanced down at HB, who was bound beside us.
"Yup."
"Where is he?"
"Over there."
Flynn gestured, and she stepped around us to see for herself.
"Great!  Now what happens when Tangled Fan sees this?"
"I dunno."
We all laughed at that one.
Jase came running from a corner in the bookshelf.  "Momma!"  She yelped as she dove for me.  I caught her up into a hug, and she pressed her face into my shoulder.  Flynn came over behind me and reached down to plop a kiss on Jase's head.  She looked up and giggled at him before stretching her arms out to him.  He pulled her up over my shoulder and stood with her in his arms.
"Daddy, are Ray and HB gone for good?"
"I suppose.  We'll have to see.  I hope so, though."
"Me too!"  she said with a definite nod.
Merida laughed at her sureness.  I walked over and peered down at the babies, who were still sleeping soundly.
"I can't believe they're still asleep, through all that ruckus."  Merida said.
Flynn came over with Jase.  "You need to sit for awhile.  You don't want your leg to get worse again."
"Oh, I'm fine."  I told him.
"You should listen to Daddy...he just wants to make sure you don't get hurt!"  Jase said, with a very serious look on her face.
I chuckled.  "You do have a point, baby girl.  You usually do - you're pretty smart!"
She beamed at my compliment.  "Now, listen to Daddy."
Flynn put a gentle hand on my side, careful to not touch me where I was sore from this morning's takedown.  "Yeah, listen to me."
I gave him a playful shove and then did as I was told.
Merida plopped down beside me.  "So, did you take anyone down?"
"Ray.  He grabbed me, so I headbutted him until he fell down, and then I pinned him down.  Before Flynn could tie him up, though, he grabbed me into a chokehold.  I'm pretty sore around my waist from him digging his hand into my waist, but other than that, I'm okay.  Flynn took HB down."
"Whew.  See, if you woulda had my bow and arrow with ye, it coulda been a lot easier!"
I laughed.  "You're bad.  But you do have a point."
Flynn came over and leaned down to kiss my hair.  "Merida, you should have seen her taking him down.  She had ME scared!"
"I bet.  You don't mess with that girl, and you'd better remember it, too!"  Merida joshed.
"Yeah, don't worry about that!  I'm pretty sure bashing her head up against someone else's face repeatedly didn't help anything about her knockout from the other day, though."
"What else could I have done, though?"  I asked, looking up at him.
He shrugged.
When Merida accidentally elbowed me, getting up to do something, I suppressed a gasp.  I was pretty sure that if I'd look, my sides were probably still pretty red.  It wouldn't have been so bad if Ray's plastic hands wouldn't have had rough edges, like he hadn't been correctly molded or something.
As I was thinking that, Flynn got a concerned look across his face.  "Should I check your waist?  So nothing's, like, wrong or anything - no gaping rips in the plastic or whatever?"
He stepped towards me, and my eyes grew wide.  "Flynn, don't you dare.  Don't.  You.  Dare.  I'm fine, just a tad bit sore.  No, you will not be checking my waist.  You do realize I have a DRESS on,  and not just a shirt I could pull up a little bit.  And you also realize how embarrassing that would be?"
He studied me for a few moments, and then his face grew very, very hot red.  I mean, yeah; we were married, so it wouldn't necessarily be inappropriate or something, but that wasn't something I wanted to do.  At ALL.
"I'm fine, I promise.  I feel almost like I'm a little bruised, if dolls can have bruising, and my back's starting to ache from being wrenched around and everything...but that's all, hon."
He bent to kiss my hair.  "Need me to rub your back or something?"
I laughed.  "No.  I'm fine, like I said.  But thanks for the offer."
"Want me to-"
I realized he was trying to be nice and help me out.  But really.  Back rubs?  Brushing my hair, which was what he'd just offered?  Rebraiding my hair?  I'm pretty sure I can take care of myself, even if I am a little achy!
"It's fine.  But you know what you can do?  You could help me up so I can go get Hallie."
He shook his head and started to go get Hallie himself, but I hollered at him, "Flynn, my backside is going numb.  I am NOT sitting one more minute!"
He turned towards me, trying to suppress a smile and a laugh.  Merida wasn't that good at self-control.  She was laughing herself silly.
Flynn came back around and offered his hand to me. I didn't really need help up, but I figured it would make him feel better to have me ask for help, or something.  I don't know.  Anyway, I went over to Hallie, scooped her up, and talked quietly to her.  Flynn followed me every step I went, like a puppy.  It was kind of sweet of him to be so concerned, but good grief!  It's not like I was made of glass, and would shatter the first time I stumbled or something!
Regardless.

After awhile, I heard scrabbling around.  I hurried out of the bookshelf, Flynn scrambling to keep up with me, and then I looked up.
Rayne and Blondie.  Oh, yay...especially since Tangled Fan still hadn't come into her room, so Ray and HB were still bound on the floor.
I gave Merida a 'help me' look, and she came outside of the bookshelf as well.  She saw Blondie and her face darkened.
Blondie took one glance at Ray, and shrieked, before turning on me.
"What have you done to him?  Oh my gosh-"  She stomped towards me and Hallie.  I got mad, but before I could say anything, Flynn and Merida laid into her.
"Your 'boyfriend' was in cahoots with HB!  Like Rapunzel said!  And-"
"Ray tried to kidnap the babies, like Rapunzel thought!-"
"He took her and tried to make off with her, probably going to hole her up somewhere till she relented and gave up the babies.  He dragged her off up on top of THOSE boxes, those ones right there!  And then he lost his balance, dropped her, and she fell.  To the floor.  She was knocked out.  And-"
"And he came back today!  I was gonna meet 'im at the entrance with my bow and arrow, but she took him down."
"HB was going to sneak in around us while we were fighting off Ray.  So don't you tell me they weren't in on it together!  Your boyfriend almost killed my wife, TWICE now, in the past few days! Like fun he's the most loving, wonderful doll ever!"
Rayne's eyes were wide with shock and horror.  "You told me..."
"I told you what he told me, Rayne!"  Blondie cried.  "He...lied to me!"
"And you thought I was the liar.  Me and Merida both."  I managed.
"Rapunzel, I am so, so sorry, dear.  Do you forgive us?"  Rayne came over and hugged me despite the fact that I held Hallie.
Forgiveness of calling someone a liar and then making us leave our own shelf...it takes longer than just a few seconds.  But I didn't want to be mean or anything, so I simply nodded.
Blondie still stared at me.  "I'm sorry I was so mean to you.  You even tried to apologize, didn't you?"
"Yes.  I did.  And you just blew me off,"
"Sorry...I guess love is blind, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is."  I tried to keep my sarcasm from interfering.
"Come back up to the top shelf.  So this is why you've been down here lately?"
My heart grew heavy.  I'd grown to like this lower shelf!  It was less crowded, and we didn't have to climb to get down to the floor.
"She needs a few days until she can climb that far up."  Flynn looked down at me, and I saw the same reluctance in his eyes as well.
The two of them nodded, and then they went back up to the top shelf.
"I don't want to go back up there, actually.  I've been enjoyin' the peace and the fact that I don't have to climb to get down to the floor."  Merida said when they were gone.
I nodded.  "And it's not so crowded."
"Maybe we can just live down here anyway!"  Merida said, sounding a little excited.
"I doubt Tangled Fan would go for that..." I sighed.  "It would be really nice, though."
She nodded.

And that's basically how the day went.  Tangled Fan came in around two PM, and we explained why there were two dolls lying on the floor, bound in baler twine.  She said she'd put both of them back up in the attic.  After that, we basically just sat around.  We played a few games with Jase, I tended to Hallie as necessary, and tried to keep Flynn's worrying down to a minimum.  I'd never realized how much of a worrywart my hubby was when it came to injuries to someone in his family!

By the time evening trudged around, my back was hurting so bad that I just wanted to go to bed, but I didn't want to worry Flynn.  Eventually, though, I just went to bed and didn't care.
I curled up under the 'blanket' and rolled over onto my side.  My back still hurt.  Other side.  Still hurt.  On my back.  REALLY hurt.  On my belly.  Stretched my back and so that hurt, too!  Eventually, I huffed and gave the blankets a small kick with disgust, before I just curled up on my side and tried to go to sleep anyway.
Flynn came to bed sometime later.  He didn't bother me, except to crawl under the covers and flop down on his back.  I STILL hadn't gone to sleep.

After a good while of not sleeping, I finally just gave up for awhile.  I quietly stood up so Flynn wouldn't wake up, and then just sat on the edge of the shelf.
After a little bit, Flynn came over behind me.  "What's the matter?"
"Can't sleep," I whispered, looking up at him through the darkness.
He nodded.  I knew he needed to get back to bed, but I also knew he wouldn't go until we talked.  So, I just patted the floor beside me and smiled at him.  He gave a mildly surprised smile, and obliged.  He put an arm around my shoulders, really gently.
"Why can't my sweet wife sleep tonight?"  he asked, and I chuckled quietly at him.
"Back's bothering me.  My leg's not too bad, and my waist isn't as terribly sore, but now my back hurts.  It'll probably ease up by tomorrow or the day after, though."  I added.
"I see.  Maybe Tangled Fan should take a look at you?"  He sounded uneasy.
"No!  I'll be fine!  Please, don't."  I grabbed his hands before he could stand up.
He looked over at me.  "But if it gets worse, you ARE going to be checked out.  And that's a fact."
I rolled my eyes at him.  "Okay, fine...I guess."
He reached over to give me a gentle kiss, which I returned.
When our lips parted, I touched my forehead to his.  "Now...get to bed.  I'll come back later, I suppose."
He shook his head.  "I could still stay up for a good while."
I shook MY head.  "I don't want you to get a migraine!"
"I won't...so don't you worry your pretty little mind, dear girl."
I sighed.  "Nothing's gonna make you go back to bed, right?"
"Yup."
I laughed through my nose and shook my head.  "You're awful."
"Yup."
I knew he was trying to cheer me up a bit, so I played along and laughed quietly. We talked for a little while, just about general stuff.  Eventually, I got so tired I said we both needed to get to bed.  Especially him.  He stood and offered a hand to me, which I accepted.  I curled up on my side and sighed, too tired to really care about my back hurting.  Flynn started to put an arm around me, but as soon as his hand grazed my side, he pulled it back and muttered a "Sorry!"
I'd told him that my waist didn't hurt nearly as much...but apparently, he was still worried about hurting me.
"I'm not made out of glass, hon," I whispered jokingly, as I reached behind me until I found his hand.  I draped his arm across my side and he laughed quietly before leaning over and whispering an I love you into my ear.  I returned it, and after awhile, I finally drifted off to sleep.  

Bored And Achy...!

I know, I know.  The first thing that probably came into your mind when you read the title of this post was most likely "Oh great, it's gonna be a post about her complaining about being bored and her various aches.  Yay, NOT."
I promise, I won't turn this into a super-mega-boring, complaining-the-day-away post.  I promise.  ;)  Oh...and I haven't forgotten about the month in review.  I PROMISE I will get back to writing with Flynn once Ray's caught - so we don't have to spend every spare second watching the babies.  So anyway, let's get onto the actual post!

The morning after my attempt to take down Ray, I woke up super late, again.  I cleared my throat and blinked a few times before I rolled onto my back.  Flynn, who must've been nearby, was at my side in an instant.
So that was how the day was going to be like, eh?  He's going to be a mother hen, I thought grumpily.
"Hey hon," he smiled as he bent over me and pushed hair away from my face.
"Morning," I smiled up at him and sat up.  Too quickly.  My head started spinning and I felt like I was going to pass out.  I squeezed my eyes shut and sucked in a breath when I felt a wave of nausea crash over me.
"Are you okay?" his voice cracked.
I didn't answer him until I trusted my mouth to open without gagging or choking or anything.  Finally, I nodded.  "I'm okay."
"Sure?"
I opened my eyes to see him peering down at me, forehead wrinkled in concern.  "I'm sure.  Your face makes everything better!" I added jokingly.
He chuckled.  "Don't think you'll distract me from the topic at hand."
I went to stand up, despite the sudden, searing pain in my leg, as well as the aching sensation in my arm.
"How do you feel?"
I shrugged.  "I'm fine, like I said."
"I can see in your eyes that that is a lie," he raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"Fine."  I huffed.  "My leg hurts like nobody's business, and my arm hurts a bit too.  My neck feels better, though."
He nodded.  "Your head?"
"Cloudy, but I'm still walking, talking, and breathing, so I guess it's fine too."
My hubby shook his head in exasperation at that last sentence before he gently cupped his hands around my face and bent to kiss me.
I remembered that I needed to make sure he got his necessary hours of sleep.  I pulled away from him and said, "How long did you sleep?  Truth, now..."
"Seven and a half hours."  He said crisply.
I laughed hard enough that I accidentally stumbled forward and bumped into Flynn's chest.  He took that to his advantage and hugged me.
"Rapunzel and Flynn, sittin' in a tree-"
I jerked away from him and turned to see Merida laughing.
"Oh, knock it off," I laughed, stepping away from him with my cheeks heating up.
I glanced up at Flynn, and his face was red too.  He looked down at me and I saw a sly smile creeping up.
Oh boy.
"See, Rapunzel?  I'm telling you, she's a bad influence on the kids."
"I am NOT!"  She yelped, disgruntled.
"Hmm..yeah, you might be right!"  I tapped my lips with my finger and pretended to study Merida's face intently.
"You're both terrible.  Both of you!"  She giggled before turning to Jase.  "Tell your parents they don't have to be so mean."
Jase looked up at her and then walked over to me and Flynn.  She held her arms up to Flynn, and he scooped her up.  "Sorry, Aunt Merida...I told you not to pick on them though."
The three of us laughed in surprise.
"Then I guess I won't take you out all day, and to ride Maximus like I was planning on doing today, if you feel that way..." Merida quirked a brow and pretended to walk away.
"No!  I'm sorry.  I side with you!" She squirmed frantically and Flynn set her down so she could run over to Merida.
"Huh?"  I laughed at her silly antics, but then thought about what she said.  Merida was taking her on a ride?  Today?
"She talked it over with me this morning.  I told her she could if she really wanted to, even though I'd prefer to take her myself.  Jase has been wanting to so bad, you know," Flynn explained when I turned towards him questioningly.
"We could take her, why not?"  Hallie woke up, and so I hobbled over to pick her up.
"Um, maybe because you need to rest."
"I'm fine," I protested.
"No, you need to rest!  If you don't cooperate, I'll tell Tangled Fan."
I rolled my eyes.  "I'm fine.  I want to see Jase ride Maximus for the first time.  Today.  I'm perfectly fine - I don't have a headache or anything suggesting I have any underlying issues with my being knocked unconscious, and I can walk.  My arm isn't too bad, and I don't use it to walk, anyway!  Please?"
He shook his head.  "Tangled Fan told me to keep an eye on you.  A promise is a promise, and I'm not about to break it.  I'm also not about to knowingly let you not rest, and potentially harm your health!"
"But I'm fine!"
"Also, Ray's still out there.  We need to keep a close eye on the babies, still."
"I know you're just saying that to add to the reasons why you think I should stay home.  But fine.  I'll stay home, but if you think I'm just gonna sit around all day, you've got another thing coming, mister!"  I tipped my chin up and stared at him, Hallie on one hip and my other hand on the other.
He grinned and bent to kiss me again whilst my face was upturned.  "We'll see about that."
Good grief.  He'd already kissed me twice this morning, just since I'd woken up less than an hour ago.  What, was he still that shaken up/thankful I was okay this morning?  It was a little embarrassing, to be honest...Or maybe I was just grouchy today.
By then, Merida was taking off with Jase, waving as she went.  I waved and called a 'see you later' to the both of them.

When we were alone, Flynn took Allie.  He sat down, and I sat facing him.
"So what happened yesterday?  Why didn't you try to subdue Ray?"  I asked him.
"When you took off running, I...well...pretty soon after you left, Merida came running by with the babies.  I grabbed her by the arm and helped her hide, and I told her to keep track of Jase.  I started to come for you, but I saw Ray making off with you for the old shelving unit.  I was trying to think of a way to ambush him, but I couldn't.  I was about a yard away when I saw you start to fall.  I made a run for it, but you hit the ground before I was close enough to c-catch you.  You landed on your side.  Hard.  You cracked your head off the floor even harder.  I thought for sure you were..." he trailed off, cleared his throat, and continued.  "Anyway, when I got to you, Ray was nowhere to be seen.  I was more concerned about you than where he was, anyway.  I threw you over my shoulder and ran to find Tangled Fan - she'd already been on her way back anyway, hearing your screams.  And that's basically it."
I nodded slowly.  "I see."  I was looking down at Hallie, but then I glanced up at Flynn.  My hubby had a horrible, pained look on his face and he looked like he wanted to say more.  I knew if I just waited quietly, he'd burst forth with the rest of it.  And he did.
"Dear girl, don't you ever do that again.  Ever.  If you think you're going to be in danger, do NOT go ahead and put yourself in harm's way.  Good grief, you could've broken.  You could have been broken beyond repair.  You could've..."  He trailed off and sniffled. He stopped, looking down at Allie, who had started to nap.  He jumped up and laid her down on our 'bed', and then he took Hallie, who was starting to sleep as well.  He started to pace back and forth.
"Flynn.  Flynn, sweetie."  I tried to get his attention.  I know I must have scared him really badly yesterday, and I felt bad.  "Flynn.  Flynn!"  As he paced past me, I reached up and grabbed him by the hand.  He tried to pull away from me, but I grabbed him with BOTH hands and stood up.  "Husband, I subdued an angry Ray yesterday, and shoved him in the corner.  I think I can take you."
He whirled to look at me.  I thought he'd mouth off at me or something, but no.   His whole face was crumpling up as he slowly lost his composure.
I grabbed him into a hug and he leaned down to press his head against my shoulder as he started sobbing.  I'd never seen him so shaken.  It was all I could do to keep from crying myself, he was so upset.
"I don't know what I would have done without you.  I-I saw you lying there, unconscious, and I thought y-you were...gone....you know?  I almost died right then and there.  I can't believe I didn't make it to catch you.  If I would've-"
I propped my chin on his head.  "But everything's fine.  You couldn't have possibly ran a yard within five seconds.  You did all you could do, and I'm okay anyway."  I soothed him, even though the lump in my throat made things kind of hard.
His shoulders heaved.  "You could have...you could have been killed!  All I could think of was how much you meant - you MEAN - to me, how Jase would take things, of all the t-t-things I didn't get to tell you...of..."
I sobbed.  "You're going to make ME cry now!"  I joked, trying desperately to not lose it.
He pulled me in to him and I felt a zing of love and compassion go up my spine.  He was falling apart here, but he still felt obligated to comfort ME.  I licked my lips and gathered my thoughts and feelings and reined them all in.  Before I could say anything, though, Flynn started again.  "I love you.  I love you so much.  You mean the world to me and then some.  I can't live without you, I don't think I could have.  You...you're the most beautiful and sweet and..." he continued to sob out compliments and thoughts about me.  By the time he was done, I was dissolved into tears as well.  I rubbed his back with one of my hands and tried to contain my tears - I felt like a drama queen, the past few days, because I'd been so emotional!  Ugh.  Suddenly, he pulled away from me.
"I need to knock it off.  I'm not some sissy little girl who cries over everything."
He tried to continue pacing, but I held onto him with all my strength, despite my arm that hurt every time I used it.
"You need to let it out.  Even men have to cry some, and it's not criminal."  I stared up at him and studied his face.  His chin was still wobbling.  I reached up with my good arm and touched his cheek.
He shook his head slowly, and then he literally lifted me off my feet and gave me a kiss that I swear must have contained all his emotions.  It made my head swim and I was surprised at how just a kiss could convey so much.  I also hoped to goodness that Merida and Jase didn't walk in right about now - I was embarrassed when he as much as hugged me around them, let alone kissing!  So many thoughts were running through my head, and when he started to pull away, I kissed him back, hoping to show him that all those compliments he'd given me were felt mutually - in other words, I felt the same about him.  I finally pulled away, but he still held me up.  I stared at him a few seconds and realized he was more lost in my eyes than he was concerned with where my feet were.
"As much as I'd like to enjoy this...could you please put me down?"  I chuckled despite myself, and he must have just noticed he still held me up.
"Oh.  Right."  he set me down carefully, but then he pulled me into a tight hug.  I felt that he was comforting himself as much as me, so I didn't protest.  Eventually, he calmed down and he slowly released me.  I cleared my throat and smiled up at him.  "Feel better about things?"
He shrugged and I kept my gaze locked on his.  "I still feel like this is all my fault."
"Well, don't, because it isn't!"  I said, moving away from him.  He took me by the hand and sat down.
"Sit."
I started to protest, but he gently tugged at my arm and pulled me down to sit beside him.  I cuddled against him and we just sat....for a few minutes, anyway; until Allie woke up, and then Hallie got wakened up by Allie.

For the majority of the day, Flynn made sure I stayed sitting down.  Jase stayed out with Merida all day long.  To his credit, though, after awhile and when the babies were napping once more, he eventually relented and allowed me to stand outside of the bookshelf for a little bit, watching Jase ride Maximus.  Even then, he watched over me like a hawk.  What, did he expect me to stumble a step and shatter into a million zillion pieces?  Or was Ray what had him concerned?  Would Ray seriously just snatch me up because he felt like it?  He was after the babies, not me!
To Flynn's concerned goading, I went back inside all too soon.  Regardless, I was kind about it and thanked him for allowing me at least a little while of watching.  A small smile played across his lips, and I wished he'd give me that goofy grin of his.  I knew he was still beating himself up about yesterday, and he needed to stop.  I tried to get him to lighten up, but as soon as he'd look at me longer than a few seconds, I saw the same worrisome cloud come across his features.  I felt really bad.

At around seven, Merida and Jase finally tromped in.  Jase was giggling, and she ran over and jumped into Flynn's lap.  He chuckled and she promptly began narrating her day out with 'Aunt' Merida.  I handed Allie over to Merida and told her that she was good all day long.
We chatted, but after awhile, I got so tired I could hardly hold my eyes open.  I must have fallen asleep with Hallie in my arms because I didn't wake up for a long while.
When I did wake up, it was from a nightmare.  (Yes, us dolls can dream).
I had been dreaming that Ray was attacking us, had gotten the babies and was going after me now.  I flew upright, panting, and looked around frantically.  Fear gripped my heart.  As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I realized I was in 'bed'. Under the covers.  Hallie was nearby on one side.  Flynn was on the other, and both were sleeping.  My breathing slowly calmed down, and I pushed the hair from my face with a final huff.  As I relaxed and slumped against the bookshelf wall, I noticed Flynn stirring.  In his sleep, he rolled over and reached towards me.  When his arm landed across my legs, his eyes flew open. He sat up quickly and looked around.  When he saw I was right beside him, still, he also slumped against the wall.
"You scared me!" he chuckled quietly.
"Sorry!" I whispered.
"Why're you up at this hour anyway?" through the darkness, I could feel him studying my face.
"I...couldn't sleep," I admitted.
"Lemme guess.  Nightmare?  You were tossing and turning a lot," he explained.
I nodded quietly.  "That's pretty stupid, right?  'Flynn, I had a bad dream...'."  I mocked myself.
He shook his head and then he reached over and rubbed his thumb on my cheek with such gentleness that a tingle shot up my spine.  I allowed a slow smile to grow on my face.  Then, I stifled a yawn.
"You ought to get back to sleep," Flynn told me.  "You're safe, and I'll be right here."
I nodded and then I curled up on my side, snuggling under the covers again.  Flynn did the same, and then he trailed his hand down my arm until he found my hand. He linked his fingers with mine for a few minutes, and then he wrapped his arm around my waist, whispering an 'I love you' in my ear.  I breathed a reply as I wriggled just a tad bit closer.  I don't know if he heard my reply, because he sounded as if he had fallen right back asleep within seconds.  I sighed, feeling more secure now, and went back to sleep too.

Ray & Blondie part 2 continued

The next time I woke, I was on Tangled Fan's bed, cocooned in towels, and Flynn was pacing back and forth anxiously.

I sat up slowly, grimacing at the ache of my arm and neck.  "F-Flynn?"  I heard how faint and gravelly my voice was, and I cleared my throat.

When he heard me, he wheeled around, looked at me, and then was at my side in one step.  He threw himself down beside me and anxiously looked at my face.  I noticed his red eyes and his tear streaked cheeks.  "Sweetheart?  You're okay?"

"My arm and my neck hurt, but I...I guess so.  What happened, exactly?  Where's Jase?  Hallie?" As my mind cleared, my eyes widened.  "Merida and Allie?"

"You fell when Ray dropped you when he was dragging you off.  You were knocked unconscious a-and y-you've been that way for several hours.  Jase is with Merida and Hallie and Allie; they're no worse for wear."  He stared at me for a moment before managing to gently grab me into a hug that I thought might last forever.  "I-I am so, so sorry.  If I would've been there and caught you before you fell..."

"Don't worry, hon.  I'm alright.  You did fine."

He touched my face a moment before he hesitantly reached over for a gentle kiss. He acted like he was afraid to touch me at first, but then the kiss became fervent.  When he finally pulled away, he brushed the hair from my face and stared at me lovingly.  "I'm so glad you're okay, baby."

I gave him a small smile and put my hand on his shoulder, squeezing it.

"Now, can we go back to Jase and Hallie?  Jase still hasn't gotten to ride Max-"

"You are going home and you are resting, dear girl.  Jase can ride another day.  Besides, Tangled Fan needs to check you over before you leave."

My heart squeezed when he called me 'dear girl'.  He rested a hand on my lap, on top of the towel, and I saw he was on the verge of tears, his chin wobbling.  I reached over, pulled his face towards me, and kissed him, and he stroked my hair as I did.  He bumped his forehead with mine when we pulled apart, and pushed the hair from my eyes.  "I didn't tell you this yet today and I'm glad I get the chance to now.  I love you.  I-I don't know what I'd do if you'd-"

I smiled at him and cut him off.  "Love you too.  Oh, no - what time is it?"

"Don't worry about it."

"You need to get to sleep!"  I exclaimed, jumping up.  "Oh, ow..ow!"  I hopped on one foot as I realized how bad my other leg hurt.  I kicked at the towel until I got unwrapped from it and told him to lay down there.  He stood, instead, and when I stumbled backwards - it was super hard to balance on that bed, let alone on one foot! - he grabbed me and held me close until I regained balance again.

"Don't worry about it.  I'm fine.  One day won't kill me, but thanks for the offer, sweetie," he kissed my forehead and then laid me back down on the towel, carefully covering me up with it again.  "You're gonna have plenty of trouble resting, aren't you?"

I nodded.  "I suppose I will.  But I'm NOT going to rest until you go to sleep!"

"I've still got an adrenaline rush going, so I can't go to sleep.  I promise that I'll go to sleep when I can, okay?"

I sighed, suddenly feeling drained again.  "Okay."  I yawned and rolled over onto my side so I could study his face without craning my sore neck.  With a sigh from him as well, he plopped down beside me and rested a hand on my shoulder.  After a few moments, though, he spoke up again.  "Do you want me to unbraid your hair or something?  It might be more comfortable."

I shrugged with indifference, but he jumped up and got to work anyway.  Within minutes, my hair was loose.  When he sat back down by me, he clasped his hands tightly together on his lap and stared down at me.  I put a hand on both of his, and a small grin teased his lips.

After awhile, Tangled Fan bustled through the door.  "Awake again, are we?  How's the arm, leg, and neck?"

"They're okay," I said, but Flynn shook his head at me.  "Fine.  My neck hurts, my arm's kind of sore, and when I tried to stand up on my leg, I almost fell down."

"I see..." she picked me up and poked, prodded, and all other sorts of stuff.  "You need to rest a few days.  You should be okay then.  I'd prefer to keep you elsewhere to make sure you rest-"

"No."  I shook my head vigorously, but then gasped at the pain in my neck.  "I'm going home with my husband, to my girls."

"Maybe you should..." he trailed off.

"No, Flynn!  You just got back from that migraine thing.  You can't keep the kids all by yourself for goodness knows how long - especially with Hallie if she's fussy through the night!  You'll end up with migraines again!  I want to be with you and the girls.  And I have to take care of you, too - make sure you don't end up with another migraine!"  I protested.

"He shouldn't get migraines anymore - has he been having them?"

"No, but she's been harping at me constantly to ensure that I get at least seven or eight hours of sleep."  Flynn said, glancing at me.

"Good girl," she told me with a laugh.

"But I'm STILL going home.  Tonight."  I stared at her.

"Honey, if it means you get better quicker..."

"Nope."

"Oh, come on."

"No!"  I exclaimed again, standing up.  "See?  I can stand just fine.  So I'm good to go."

Okay, fine.  I WAS holding most of my weight on my other foot, but I was standing, anyway...

"You can, I suppose.  But you make sure to get plenty of rest, and you make sure she behaves herself!"  Tangled Fan chuckled to herself and then hurried back out.

I looked at Flynn and Flynn looked at me.  He got a mischievous grin.  "That means I can hound at you like you hound at me!"

"For a few days."  I laughed.  "Now, let's get back home."

He nodded, and came over to me.  He held me against his side super-tight, and allowed me to lean on him to walk across the bed.  When we got to the point where we had to jump down onto a box, though, he bent and lifted my legs up to carry me.

"Oh, no; you can't make that jump like that!" I yelped in alarm.  "Put me down."

He knew he couldn't make the jump.  He set me down and stared at me with a calculating look on his face.  After a minute, he jumped down and held his arms out.

"Slide down.  I'll catch you."

I trusted he'd catch me, so I slipped down off the edge.  He caught me around the waist and set me down as if I were a piece of frail glass.

"Thanks," I said.  Then I stared down at the NEXT jump down that we had to take, which was almost two feet off the floor. That would take us down to the floor, so at least it would be the last jump.

Flynn did the same method there, only he almost fell down when he caught me - he had to back up several steps and stumbled a few of them, before he got his balance and set me down again.

We walked back to the shelf, me leaning on Flynn as needed, and noticed Merida was back on the bottom shelf with the kids.  Thank goodness - I had been worrying as to how I would limp up to the top shelf!

We stepped inside, and Merida jumped up and grabbed me into a hug...before grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me.  "Oh my gosh you're okay!  I can't believe ye did that - you do that again and I'll kill ye!"  All in one breath.

I chuckled, but stumbled a step when she released me suddenly.  Flynn grabbed my non-sore arm.  When he realized I had my balance back, he slid his hand down my arm to link his fingers with mine.

And then Jase saw us.  She came blazing over and threw herself at me.  "Momma!  I was so scared, you ran off after Ray and I yelled and yelled at you but you didn't listen!  Why did you?"

"Because 'Aunt' Merida and the babies were in danger.  Wouldn't you have done the same?"  I know that was a silly question to ask a five-year-old modeled doll.

"I guess so."  She spotted Flynn and flung her arms out at him.  He chuckled, disentangled his fingers from mine, and took Jase.

My leg was getting really achy by now, so I went and sat down, taking Hallie into my arms.  She gave me that adorable little smile and cooed when she saw my face.  I grinned at her and talked quiet baby-talk to her for awhile, enjoying her grins and newly-found giggles.

Flynn took Jase with him to find some of Tangled Fan's old clothes, and when he came back within about 10 minutes, he carefully tended to making a bed, probably because of my soreness.  He left another piece of fabric on top, I guess for a blanket.  Which I was pleased about - despite the month of August, tonight was chilly!  Either that or it was just me.

I wanted to stay up, but after awhile, though, I was so tired I had to go to bed.  Flynn was still up, listening to a chattering Jase like a champ.  I walked over to him, bent down, and hugged him from behind.

"I'm going to bed.  Don't stay up too awful long, okay?"  I whispered in his ear so as not to disturb the conversation.  He put a hand on my arm and squeezed it, nodding.  I gave him a peck on the cheek, said goodnight to Jase, and then went back to our corner.  I curled up on my side and pulled the makeshift blanket up to my chin; and I was out within minutes.

I was curled all up into a ball, fast asleep, when I felt an arm slide gently around my waist.  I woke up and went stock-still, not knowing what had become of Ray after I'd fallen.  My heart thundered in fear.  When I heard the owner of that arm get more comfortable underneath the blanket with a tired sigh, relief washed over me.  It was Flynn. I  let my breath out and put a hand on the arm that was around my waist, smiling and turning my head around to look at him as I stretched my legs, which were all balled up.

"Did I wake you?" he whispered, immediately looking remorseful through the darkness.

"It's fine, hon," I smiled at him to show that there were no hard feelings.

"Okay," he whispered, leaning over to give me a slow and tender kiss goodnight.

Satisfied and feeling a lot safer now that he was right beside me, I sighed, curled back up, and allowed myself to drift off to sleep.