The Newcomers

We all slept in a little longer than normal...I know we probably did because of our exhausting, yet fun day yesterday, but I don't know what Merida, Rayne, and Blondie's excuses were :P  I woke up around ten, my face smooshed into the top of the dresser.  My arms were crossed above my head, and so I peered up over my elbow to see Flynn.  He was already up and watching me with a loving gaze.  He was on his back, and as soon as he saw my head come up, that loving gaze turned impish almost immediately. 
"Morning, honey...sleep hard?" 
"Uh...yeah?"  I said, quirking a brow.  "Why?  Did you?" 
"I slept well, thank you..but I think you slept really, really well."  He chuckled when I still didn't get  it.  "Your chin.  Wipe it, please." 
Wipe my...chin?  Why did I -
I wiped cautiously at my chin, and my hand came back wet. 
"Oh my gosh!"  I gasped.  "Was I seriously drooling?  Oh gosh...I..ew.  Wow..um..." I glanced around, horrified, before I wiped my hand on the hem of my skirt.  "Sorry!" 
"No harm done to me," he laughed. 
"Yeah...well, that's really attractive..." I grumbled to myself, embarrassed.  How could I get so embarrassed about drool?  Apparently, I could.  I started to sit, but he caught my arm and pulled me close. 
"Oh, c'mon.  Everyone drools once in awhile.  Besides, you looked cute as all getout, sleeping so hard, drool or no drool." 
"You're just disgusting," I grumbled, rolling my eyes and sitting up, trying to decide if I should be disgusted or laugh. 
He gave me a wink before he sat and grabbed me into a kiss.  It surprised me, and when he pulled away, I gave him a wide-eyed stare for a few moments before saying, "After seeing someone drooling, I don't think my first reaction would be to kiss them..but that's just me." 
Laughing, he gave me a quick hug before I heard Hallie start to cry. 
"Uh-oh...duty calls!"  I grinned and crawled out from under the bench. 
I scooped her up, and surveyed the quietness surrounding us like a thick blanket. 
Everyone was still asleep.  Merida's curls were strewn all across her face, and Blondie was wrapped up in her hair.  Rayne was curled up on her side.  Jase and Alexis were sleeping hard, and Allie was even still asleep. 
"Wow," I whispered, and Flynn nodded.  I bounced Hallie in my arms until she quieted, and then we just sat quietly. 
Until Tangled Fan came bursting through the door and woke EVERYONE up by haphazardly tossing an oblong box onto her bed and then rushing back out, shutting the door relatively hard. 

"What in the-" Merida growled, jumping up. 
Blondie got up, too, but she was still wrapped up in her hair, so when she took a step, she stumbled towards the edge of the dresser.  Flynn ran over and grabbed her, unwrapping the hair from around her so she wouldn't fall.  And then there was Rayne.  Rayne slowly unfurled her legs, then peeled one eye open; then the next, then she yawned and sat up, almost as if she were a robot or something.  The girls came racing over to me, and Allie started crying. 

"What IS that box?"  Merida asked, boldly stepping to the edge of the dresser to peer down at it. She bobbled terribly as she leaned towards the edge, and I snagged her elbow to keep her from falling. 

The box gave a few muffled thumps, and jostled slightly.
What in the WORLD?! 
"What IS that?"  I gasped, shocked.  I backpedaled, dragging Merida backwards with me and hoping I didn't bowl any of the girls over. 
Merida pulled away from me.  I stumbled over my own hair, and rammed into Flynn by accident. 
"Oof!  Sorry, hon!"  I exclaimed, looking up at him.  His eyes were about as wide as mine probably were, and he only looked at me for a moment before he resumed staring at the box. 
"Rapunzel, I bet'cha I know why Tangled Fan's been on eBay so much!  C'mon, everyone." 
"Why?"  I pressed up against Flynn.  I admit, I was terrified of whatever had made that box move and make noise.  I didn't even want to know. 
"Quit bein' so lily-livered an' help me out!"  Merida told me, gesturing towards the bed. 
I clutched at Flynn's hand.  "M-maybe I should stay here and watch the..the girls?" 
"Naw.  Blondie!"  Merida called to Blondie, and she looked up at her.  "Watch the kiddos while we do this?"
"Sure, my arms are useless anyhow, cause they won't bend."  Blondie said. 
"Thanks.  Rayne, c'mon!"  Merida called. 
I tried to back up another step, my heart thundering, but I couldn't, and Flynn wouldn't budge.  Finally, Merida, giving a grumble under her breath, grabbed my arm and hauled us BOTH over to the edge. 
Flynn finally came to his senses by the time he and everyone else had descended the dresser.  He held his hands out to me.  "Jump, I'll catch you.  Then you won't have to crawl through the pillows." 
"N-n-no, t-that's fine," I stuttered out, and he nodded silently towards the boxes. 
"Come on...jump!"  he gave me that grin.  "I'm nervous too, if that helps any." 
"No, actually..it doesn't," I grumbled, but I did jump. 
He caught me, and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before setting me down.  Then he took me by the hand and half dragged me over to the box, where everyone else was gathered. 

The box was extremely well-taped, so we all grabbed a corner ot the tape and started ripping at it until we got it off enough that we could pull the flaps open. 
I squeezed my eyes shut when I helped yank the flaps up, and I must admit that I was terrified. 
I opened them again to see everyone ducking to see what was in the box. 

Merida reached in, and I saw a hand come out.  Rayne grabbed the other hand and they started pulling with all their might; so Flynn gestured towards the other side of the box, and I hurried over to help him.  I clasped a cold, plastic hand about the same size as mine, and with a grunt, I started pulling as hard as I could.  Praying I didn't yank the hand right out of the wrist joint, that is!
They were dolls, apparently.  And they were very well crammed into the box, surrounded by packing material. 
With one last yank, Merida and Rayne managed to pull the one doll out, and once she was out, the other one - the one we were pulling on - came out so quickly that we all almost fell down. 
Flynn let go of her hand and backpedaled a few steps, managing to catch himself, but I fell flat on my back.  The doll slid to a stop right on my lap. 
I sat up and pulled my legs out from under her. 
Another - no, TWO more Rapunzel dolls. 
"Whew.  Thank you sooooo much!"  the doll laying beside me exclaimed.  "Thank you to both of you!" 
I stood, holding a hand out to her.  She gladly accepted it, and I pulled her up onto her feet. 

The other one was already standing, and she immediately ran to the other one and gave her an excited hug.  The other one stayed stiff as a board. 
"Sis!  I'm sooo glad we're outta there!"  She exclaimed.

I walked over to Flynn, and he put an arm around me.
We watched as the  other girl gasped, pulled away from her sister, and dove back into the box. 
When she came back out, she held two brushes, a paintbrush, and...was that a chameleon?...in her hands. 
She handed the chameleon to her sister, and her sister lovingly allowed it to climb up onto her shoulder. 
She smiled, and then she opened her mouth.  And never shut it.
"I'm Rose, and my sister is Lacey.  Oh, and this is my chameleon, Pascal!  Who are all of you?  I'm sooo thankful to be out of that box! It was hard to breathe in there.  Oh, Lacey tends to be really quiet, so don't mind her."  Rose chattered. 
We all murmered our names and welcomes, and Rose gave us all a broad smile. 
Lacey hung back close to her sister, peering awkwardly at us. 
"So...where do we live at?  Like..you know...where we're displayed at?"  Rose asked. 
"Right over here."  Rayne said with a warm smile, leading the way. 
I hung back with Flynn, but Lacey hung back behind us. 
Flynn helped me up, and then I held a hand out to Lacey. 
She gave me a small smile, but wouldn't meet my eyes.  She accepted my help, and climbed up onto the dresser. 
"Wow, this is a great place!  Look at this, Lacey!" 

I turned to look at Rose, and saw she was on TOP of the bench. 
How had she gotten up there?  I stared at her, wide-eyed. 
Lacey shook her head, and Rose rolled her eyes. 
The girls were up by now, and so I walked over to pick Hallie up. 
Alexis saw Rose and Lacey and immediately clung to my skirt. 
I knelt beside her and pulled her up into my lap.  "It's alright, sweetheart.  They're nice."  I kissed her hair and she cuddled up against me, burying her face into me.  I sat there, Hallie in one arm and Alexis in the other, until Alexis felt confident enough to move. 
Jase was already playing with Blondie. 
Rose walked over to me, and Alexis hurried off to find Jase. 
"Oh, these three are yours?" 

I smiled and stood. "Yup...the redhead is Alexis, the brunette is Jase, and this little one is Hallie." 
"May I hold her?"  Rose asked, holding her hands out and giving me a smile. 
"Sure," I handed Hallie to her and she gave her a huge grin.

"They're all so adorable!"  She exclaimed.  She gave her a cuddle before handing her back to me. 
"So...this is where ALL of you stay?" 
"Yeah...it gets interesting once in awhile, but it's nice."  I explained. 
"Where can we sleep at?  I don't want to invade everyone else's sleep spots." 
I explained where we all slept at, and she nodded, looking around. 
"Well, I suppose I'll sleep on top of that bench there...it's pretty cool.  Lacey can find somewhere to sleep...she'll probably never climb up on top of it." 
"Ahh," I nodded. 
"How long have you been married to your husband - what's his name again?" 
"Flynn," I smiled.  "We've been for two months - we got married on July 4th." 
"Aw...cool!"  She grinned.  "He's lucky to have you.  You're so sweet - and pretty!" 
"Oh...I dunno."  I felt my face heat up. 
"I know," Flynn strode over and gave me a hug from behind. 

I laughed and pulled away from him, self-concious.  Rose grinned at our antics, and Lacey watched from a safe distance. 
That's basically how the day went. 
Rose stuck to my side, chattering nearly incessantly.  Lacey kept at a safe distance, and so did Alexis.  The rest of us just went about our normal routine - or about as normal as we could. 

By evening, I thought my ears were going to fall off, from hearing and replying to Rose's chatter. 
And I knew it was bugging Flynn that he couldn't be around me as much as he was used to...because we didn't really feel comfortable around the two new girls. 
Finally, when Rose had taken a quick breather from chatting, I hurried over to Flynn, who was sitting on the wicker chair. 
I leaned over the back and whispered.  "Hey...you wanna go for a little walk?" 
He gave me a relieved smile.  "Sure, baby." 
I concealed a smile and then I walked over to Merida.  "Mind if you watch the girls for us for a bit?" 
"I can't blame ye.  Sure, I can watch 'em."  She whispered the first part. 
"Thanks so much," I grinned and turned back to Flynn. 
We hurried off of the dresser, and as soon as we hit the floor, Flynn took me by the hands.  "I thought you would never ask." 
I laughed, but then he grabbed me into a passionate kiss. 
When he pulled away, I took a deep breath and willed my heart to stop thundering. 
"I've been holding that in all day."  He gave me a wink, and I rolled my eyes.
I put my arms around him, and he pulled me close in return.  "How're you holding up?  Rose really took a shine to you." 
"Yeah...she's very, ah...talkative."  I mumbled, pressing my face against his shoulder. 
He chuckled.  "That she is...that she is.  And Lacey's so shy." 
"Yeah.  Alexis is really shy about it, too...we'll have to make sure to give her plenty of one-on-one time, so she doesn't feel left out or anything. We've come so far already; we can't let her go now." 
He kissed my hair and then pulled away to cup my face in his hands. 
"Yup...we'll make sure to."  he gave me that grin and I gave him a smile in return.  "I love you." 
"Love you too," I told him, and he pulled me close once more. 
We stayed that way, in complete and utter, beautiful silence, until we finally decided to go back to the dresser, put the kids to bed, and go to bed ourselves. 

Well, it's going to be interesting to see how tomorrow goes!  Rose is surely the talkative one....and Lacey's a polar opposite!  Hopefully, Alexis will start feeling more comfortable..I hate seeing her so uncomfortable in her own home! 

Day Out With the Girls! (:

This morning, I woke up curled on my side.  My hair was EVERYWHERE.  I'd dreamed really weird last night, so I'd probably tossed and turned plenty.  I sat up, glanced down, and saw that some of my hair was twisted around me as well.  Oh boy.  I started to unwrap myself from my hair, and by the time I was done with that, Flynn was up.  I flopped onto my belly and told him good morning. 
He smiled, turning onto his back.  "Morning, gorgeous." 
"Oh, hush it.  My hair was a lot -" before I could finish my protest, he had pulled me into a gentle kiss. 
When he pulled away, he gazed at me and pushed the hair away from my face.  "I meant it, dear girl." 
I gave him a grin, and he gave me a peck on the forehead before I eventually put my head on his chest and cuddled close for a few minutes.  He held me in his arms, and I let my eyes go shut again, until an idea suddenly popped into my mind. 
I sat up, and he made some noise I suppose was meant to display disappointment. 
"Did you have any plans for today?"  I asked. 
"Uh..no," he quirked a brow and stared at me. 
"Why don't we take the girls for a day out today?  Let them play and get good and tuckered out," I explained. 
He nodded.  "That would be good.  We'll leave when they're up?" 
"Okay," I grinned and leaned down to give him a quick little kiss.  He pulled me close again and basically, we just waited for the kiddos to get up. 

Once the kiddos were all up, we headed out.
I carried Hallie and helped Alexis down to the floor, while Flynn carried Jase on his shoulders. 
When we were on the floor, we set Jase and Alexis down to go play.  Flynn took Hallie from me, and we followed the girls as they ran...and ran...and ran, until they were all out of breath and red-cheeked. 
They stopped long enough to catch their breath and convince us into a game of duck-duck-goose. 
When Hallie was asleep, we laid her down nearby and then the game was commenced. 
There's something just so funny about watching Flynn play with the two of those girls.  When one of the girls would choose him as 'goose', he would pretend to run really fast, but of course, he wasn't. 
One particular time when he was left without a seat, he chose me as 'goose'. 
"You're awful," I grumbled, laughing.  I ran, but being behind me, he grabbed me around the waist and gave me a  tickle before letting me go again.  I was giggling so hard that I had to stop, and he recklessly slid to a stop, nearly falling down, before he plopped down in my place in our little circle.
I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe, and the girls were just shrieking with laughter. 
I chose Jase as 'goose', and she took off running as fast as those tiny legs could run.  I let her win, and then chose Alexis.  When she ran WAY faster than Jase, she won as well.  So then I chose Flynn. 
He laughed and scrambled to get up and ran....I beat him.  :D 

We played with the girls, gave them rides on Maximus, and let them run wild all day long. 
Alexis was terrified of Max, but after plenty of Jase's convincing, she reluctantly allowed Flynn to toss her up into the saddle.  I led him forward as Flynn walked beside, just as he had done with Jase, and I carried Hallie in my other arm. 
After a couple seconds, I glanced back at  Alexis's face.  She had the biggest grin on her face. 
I smiled, and asked her how she was liking it. 
"It's awesome!  You're an awesome horse, Maximus!"  Alexis exclaimed, leaning forward to hug Maximus. 
And didn't that horse arch his neck and get the most pleased look on his face. 
We led her around for a few minutes, listening to her unusual babbling of how awesome Maximus was, and when Flynn scooped her out of the saddle, she reluctantly left his back.  She put her arms around Flynn's neck and gave him a bigggg hug, though, and he got a huge smile across his face. 
And then she came over and hugged my legs.  I laughed, leaning down to scoop her up so I could carry her in my other arm.  We went back to Jase and let Maximus go do his own thing. 
"Momma...can we watch Duck Dynasty?"  she asked as soon as we got back to her. 
I glanced up at Flynn, and he shrugged.  "I'll go see if the iPod is charged - I'll be back in a few."
"Thanks, Daddy!" she exclaimed.  "Can I come with you?" 
"Alright, I suppose you can," he chuckled when she jumped up and held her arms out to him.  "We'll be right back." 
"Okay," I said, and once they had left, I turned to Alexis. 
"How're you enjoying today?" I asked her, giving her a cuddle. 
"I'm really enjoying myself...it's been really fun!  Maximus is such  a good horse."  She gave me a grin. 
I returned her grin, and we sat down to wait. 
Flynn and Jase came back within twenty minutes....and then the laughing commenced.  =D

We went through an hour's worth of Duck Dynasty, and by then, it was dark and the girls were all getting a little cranky because they were all tired.  Soo we headed back, after Flynn put the iPod away. 

By the time we got back, I was about ready to fall over, I was so tired.  Everyone else was asleep, so we quietly crept around, putting the two older girls to bed.  I sat down with Hallie and tried to get her to go to sleep, while Flynn tucked a handkerchief around the girls - it was sort of chilly tonight. 
The next thing I remember, I was being laid on my back. 
I peeled my eyes open and took in a deep breath, looking up.  Flynn was hovering over me, and when he saw I was awake again, he brushed the hair from my face and smiled.  "Go back to sleep, hon." 
I made a noncommital noise, and sat to watch him when he left my side. 
He was bent over, retrieving the handkerchief from the one corner underneath the bench, and then he turned towards me, spreading it out. 
I had a hard time keeping my eyes open, but I still watched him.  I don't know why, though.  I just watched him.  xD  He gave me that grin as he spread the handkerchief over my legs.
"Lay down so I can-" he started to tell me, but I grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him into a goodnight kiss and broke him off. 
He returned it with a tender kiss of his own, putting a hand on the back of my head and the other arm around my back, lowering me down onto my back as he kissed me.  When he withdrew his lips from mine, as well as his arms, he stroked my hair and stared down at my face for a few moments, the most adorable smile on his face. 
"Now...shut those gorgeous, sleepy eyes of yours and go to sleep, honey.  I love you," he added with a wink that made my heart squeeze. 
I tried to mumble out a good night and an I love you in return, as I rolled onto my belly, but I'm not sure it came out as such; and I was out before I could even hear him ask what I'd just muttered.  :D

Today was so awesome..I'm really hoping that we make a habit of taking the girls out for play days...I think they liked it quite a bit as well!  (: 

Girl's day out...

Thursday morning, my back was still a little sore, but Merida and I went out anyway.  We headed out as soon as everyone else was up. 
"So..what'cha wanna do first?  The only thing I really planned on was shootin'.  If ye wanted to do that, a'course." 
"Sounds like fun," I agreed with a grin. 
We did that first - I don't know how long we swapped the bow and arrow back and forth, shooting and giggling. We mostly giggled at my failure to aim the arrow. :D

Merida was laughing so hard at the fact that I stank at shooting...

Um, yeah. 

She about died laughing when I accidentally shot that one off. 

After that, we had a good, long chat about the girls and just stuff in general, too; after we were done shooting. 
"Y'wanna find  that horse Maximus for me?  I'll get his buckin' issue fixed."  Merida asked randomly. 
Okay...
"N-no...I don't think we should," I shook my head. 
"Angus  used to have the same problem.  He just needs a rider to hang on and show 'im he ain't gonna get a break from ridin' just cause he bucked ya off." 
"I just don't want you to get hurt." I shrugged my shoulders up to my ears.  She couldn't get hurt, especially since her legs were bad enough as it is. 
"Oh, phooey.  It'll be nothin'!"  Merida grabbed my arm and started to walk. 
"Fine," I grumbled. "But I'm not happy about it!"  I pulled away from her and led her to  Maximus. 


He was where we'd left him yesterday. 
Merida strode over to him boldly, letting him sniff her hand. 
"Yer a nice lookin' horse, but I hear ye've got some buckin' issues," Merida told him, and he looked away. 

I giggled, staying somewhat away, and Merida hopped aboard. 
She rode him around and around, at all paces.  Finally, he did throw a super-hard buck, and I gasped.  Merida fell forwards, but stayed in the saddle. 
"Don't ye be doin' that now.... I'm tellin' ye, ye won't get the better of me!"  I heard her yell at him as he went into another buck. 
Oh boy.  A willful horse and a willful, stubborn rider?  Who would win first - the million dollar question, if you ask me. 
"Be -ooh!  Be careful!"  I called as he bucked some more. 
"He ain't gettin' away with it!"  Merida yelled back to me, and then she reached her hand down and pulled one of his reins to her hip joint, holding it there until he stopped moving. 
"Good boy.  Now, git goin'," she told him with a nudge. 
He moved off, and as soon as he began bucking, she'd stop him.  He had to turn in small circles until he stopped, though, so he hated that. Within about a half an hour, he was behaving perfectly.
Merida hopped off of him, giving him a pat. 
"Well, ye got yerself a willful horse, there,"
"I..see that," I laughed.  "And a willful friend." 
"Got that right.  Ye can't let anyone - including horses - take advantage of ye." 
"You've got a point there," I told her. 
"Well, ye gonna ride?"  Merida asked.  "I wanna see if my handiwork worked." 
My heart started to pound.  What if I fell again? 
"W-well..."
"Get on 'im, lass!"  Merida exclaimed.  "If ye fall, Flynn can chew me out." 
She gave me a shove towards him, and I climbed aboard. 

He was a perfect angel for me. We walked, trotted, cantered...everything, and he was just perfect. I felt like I was flying! It was pretty fun to ride, when you weren't getting bucked off at every turn!

After a good while, I finally stopped him and climbed off.
"You're awesome!" I exclaimed, patting him vigorously. "Wait'll Flynn hears how good you were! Oh, and Merida - you're awesome, too! I can't believe that that's all it took!"
"Lil' bit of work never hurt anybody...Mister Max here probably had someone timid that rode 'im, so when he'd buck, they'd get scared, get off, and he'd be done working. Bad habits get started that way."
"Ahhh," I nodded in agreement.  I guess that did make sense. 

As we continued in our day, a weird feeling kept growing inside my stomach.  Maybe it was because I'd been gone away from Flynn AND the kids for all day?  I'd never been away from my entire family for the whole day  - usually it was Flynn and I. 
"Ye feelin' alright?" Merida finally asked me after awhile. 
"Yeah...It just feels so weird being away from Flynn and the girls," I confessed. 
"Same here - it feels really, really weird to be away from Allie.  But let's enjoy our free time while we can!" 
"For sure," I agreed, laughing.

Sometime around nine, Merida piped up about the fact that Tangled Fan had been on her laptop a LOT lately. 
"Well, yeah...since her guinea pigs got sick, she's been trying to find reasons why and vets that take guinea pigs in the area.  I've looked on her history page," I admitted. "That, Blogger, some social media thing, and something called Pinterest?  Oh, and eBay." 
"eBay, y'say?  Great."  Merida grumbled. 
"What?" 
"If she's on there a lot, she's usually plannin' on sellin' somethin', usually us." 
I gasped.  "But...who?"
"Could be anyone.  I just hope she remembers that our kids aren't up for grabs on that website." 
I was horrified.  What if she forgot that we'd adopted the girls?  What if she even sold Flynn or me on there? 
"Don't worry, she'll not sell any of the kids without answerin' to me!"  Merida said. 
"And me," I said, my heartbeat quickening as I worried.  But my place was NOT threatening a full-size human - human vs a little, foot-tall plastic doll?  Hah.  "We better head back..it's going to be too dark to even see." 
"Yup," Merida said, and we hurried back to the dresser. 
It was quarter-till-ten when we got to the dresser.  Everyone else was asleep, and I felt a twinge of sadness - I had hardly gotten to see the girls today, and the same with my hubby. 
I crept under the bench, trying not to wake him, curled up on my side, and went to sleep despite my worries. 

For a little bit, anyway. 

I ended up having an awful nightmare that Flynn and all of the girls had been sold on eBay, and shipped out before anything had sunken in with Tangled Fan; and I'd just woken up to find them all gone. 

I sat up abruptly, clammy-skinned and breathing heavily, my heart pounding. 

"What's the matter?"  I whirled to look, and Flynn was awake, staring at me. 
"N-nothing," I managed, drawing my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them tightly. 
"Must be something, since you started gasping out 'no, can't be!  no, no no!' in your sleep." 
"Sorry," I said. 
"No worries.  But tell me, please?" 
I sighed, and he sat up.  "Fine."  I spilled the whole thing out to him.  I figured I'd probably had a nightmare like that because of what Merida and I had discussed earlier, so I threw that in as well.   
"Oh, honey, don't worry about stuff like that."  His face held an expression of concern, and then he drew me up onto his lap. 

My heart still thundered, and I buried my face in his shirt, hugging him as tightly as  I possibly could.  He did just about the same to me, resting his chin on top of my head and rocking from side to side.
"We're not going anywhere, baby.  Don't worry yourself so much that you end up with nightmares about it, okay?  There's no use worrying over the uncontrollable, anyway.  Here, look at me," he took my chin and drew my face up to look at him. 
"What?" I asked, still trying to keep the scared tears from coming, after the nightmare. 
"Nothing's gonna  happen, okay?  So don't get upset and don't cry," he told me, brushing the hair away from my face. 
I nodded, swallowing and trying to stop being so upset. 
He reached down to give me the world's most tender kiss, and I leaned into him, returning it when he started to pull away.  When our lips finally parted, he stared down at me, blinking sleepily. 
"You need to get to sleep, and I'm just being silly," I told him, starting to get off of his lap. 
"No, you're not being silly.  And I'm staying up with you as long  as you need me to."  he told me, touching my cheek with his hand and dabbing my lips with a quick little kiss.  Amazing how just that made a tingle zing up my spine, despite myself. 
I pulled his hand off of my cheek and held it, and he gave it a reassuring squeeze. 
I got off of his lap, and he flopped down on his back. I took in a deep breath, trying to calm myself, but then he gave my hand a gentle tug, pulling me down beside him. He wrapped me up really tightly in his arms and I allowed him to draw me close to his side, which he did, adding a kiss in the hair before I rested my head on his chest, letting his heartbeat and the sweet nothings he was whispering soothe my nerves until I was able to go back to sleep. 

2 month anni (:

On the 4th of September, I woke up a little early.  Hallie had been pretty good yesterday, which was amazing.  Alexis was FINALLY starting to slowwwwly warm up to us, although she'd just told us, upon asking, that she wanted to think for a few days about being adopted by us.  Things were looking up! (: 
I woke up on my side.  I smiled and turned my head to look at Flynn...what I saw was his feet. 
His...feet?  Okay...
I sat up quickly and saw I must've thrashed around in my sleep last night enough to have flipped myself to the other end of the bench. 
I looked at Flynn's sleeping face, and a weird feeling washed over me.  I felt like I needed to be close to him, for whatever reason.  Velcro Rapunzel, maybe, as he'd call it?  I dunno.  But regardless, I laid down on my side behind Flynn and carefully set an arm around him, breathing in the smell of his shirt.  I did this for a few minutes, but then he woke up.  I felt his hand on my arm, and then he turned to give me a smile. 
"Well, good morning, darling." He gave me a smile.  "What's up with you?" 
I shrugged and sat up, shoving the hair from my face so I could look at him.  I drew my knees to my chest and shrugged again, a little embarrassed to explain that I felt, basically, clingy today.
"I-I dunno.  It's stupid...but I feel...needy today, I guess.  I feel like I need to be close to you or something, I don't know.  It's dumb...Just - never mind." 
His face slowly created another smile as he sat up too.  "That's fine.  I get that way sometimes, too.  And it's not that hard to fix!" 
I quirked a brow, until he leaned forward and pulled me close into a warm, loving hug that made my spine feel tingly. 
I put my arms around him too, and unfurled my legs until I could lean a little closer into him.  We just sat there for a few moments, and I enjoyed his strong embrace.  But all good things must come to an end, and he slowly pulled away, bumping his forehead with mine and laying down on his back.  I flopped down on my side beside him, and he pulled me super snug and tight into his side.  I put one of my hands on his chest and propped my chin on his chest as well, staring into his brown eyes. 
My hubby, bless his heart, tolerated my oddness.  He gave me a smile and then he pulled me close into a kiss that made my head spin. 
When that was over, I gave him a wide-eyed look, to which he rubbed his thumb on my cheek. 
"I-ah....w-well..." I mumbled, trying to regroup my thoughts.  "Love you."  I finally spit out. 
He gave a quiet laugh.  "Love you too, honey." 
I grinned and shut my eyes, leaving my head on his chest.  Until a thought occured to me.
Hallie was silent. 
Hallie.  Was silent. 
I quickly pulled away from his arms and propped myself up on my elbow to look at him.  "Did you get up any with Hallie last night?" 
He shook his head.  "I slept like a rock.  Did you?"
"No..."
He got a mildly concerned expression on his face, and my feelings inside matched it.
I sat up, turned to face the other direction, and flung myself onto my side, leaning out to look at the babies, who always slept near the bench anymore. 
I leaned really far, and my arm was shaking, so I could likely faceplant hard any second, but I still made sure Hallie was sleeping safe and sound. 
She was.  Her tiny little chest rose and fell rhythmically.  She had just slept through the night, which was a surprise anymore. 
Then, I felt an arm snake out around my waist. 
"Hey, you're gonna smack your face off that dresser pretty soon here...you keep bobbing around."  He pulled me into his front, and held me close.  "Hallie's okay?" 
"She must have just slept the night..she seems fine.  I don't want to wake her up to check on her." 
"Okay."  His shoulders must've drooped an inch in relief, because I felt his arm grow heavier all of a sudden.  He planted a kiss on my cheek and I snuggled a bit closer, curling up into a ball. 
I was allowing my eyes to drift back shut when I heard tiny footsteps. 
Alexis appeared just outside of the bench. 
I jumped all over and quickly pulled away from Flynn, my face blazing red.  I don't know why I was embarrassed, but I was. 
"Hey, honey...why're you up so early?" 
"I wanted to talk."  She looked down, but then she tipped her chin up and stared at me.
"Okay," I resituated myself to sit up against the bench leg, and she came over.  I pulled her onto my lap and gave her a kiss on the forehead.  "What's your topic?"
"I...I want to stay with you guys.  Last night, I decided that you guys were the best family I've ever had, and you've stuck it out with me the longest.  And I like you." 
I smiled at her, feeling as if the weight of the world had gone off of my shoulders...about that topic, anyway.  "Oh, honey...I'm so glad you feel that way.  You know we both love you very much, right?  We'll let Tangled Fan know as soon as we can!" 
"Okay."  Her lips hinted at a small smile,  which I had honestly seen hardly anything close come from her. 
She rested her head up against me and I cuddled her close, turning to give Flynn an astonished smile.  He grinned, and he looked like he wanted to join in and create a group hug, but didn't; knowing she'd not take too kindly to that situation. 

But then she did something even more surprising.  "I love you...Momma."
First time she'd said that.  First time she'd called me her mother.  I was soaring. 
"Love you too, baby girl."  I gave her another extra-tight cuddle, but then she wormed away from me. 
Had I overdone it? 
Nope.  The girl was full of surprises. 
She took a deep breath and walked the few steps over to Flynn, standing to say it.  "And I love you, Dad." 
His face lit into the most adorable, surprised, and loving smile known to mankind.  He said he loved her too, and then, I think almost by accident, he pulled her into a bear hug. 
When he reluctantly let her go, I watched her face.  Flynn did the same thing. 
She looked up at him and gave him a smile. 
An honest to goodness smile. 
"I'm going back to bed."  she said, givng her eyes a rub. 
"Okay, sweetie." 
When she'd left, Flynn slowly turned towards me, wide-eyed.  I matched his expression and grabbed his hand. 
"I think the wall she's built around herself is finally falling, brick by small bri-"
He grabbed me into an excited hug before I could even finish my sentence.  When he released me, I laughed. 
"Excited just a  bit?" 
"I'm just so....so glad she's finally beginning to realize we won't hurt her...that poor child."
"I know...I'm really happy too.  I've been waiting so long for this to happen-"
"Two weeks.."
"Two and a half." 
"Fine, two and a half."
"But anyway...two and a half weeks for her to warm up just the slightest bit...and now it's happening!"  I squeaked at the last one, and he grinned. 
"Yup," he stared lovingly at me and I squirmed.
"I suppose we should get up..."
"Rapunzel.  Alexis just went back to bed because it was too early for even THEM!  Lay back and chill for awhile.  Enjoy that peace and quiet." 
I chuckled, nodding, and flopped backwards. 
He laid down as well, turned on his side to look at me, so I turned to face him. 
"You ready for a day out?" 
It took a second to register that today was our 2-month anniversary.  I will admit that.  xD  When it clicked in my mind, I nodded with a grin.  "Happy 2-month anni, honey."
He gave me a big smile, stroking my hair.  "Happy anniversary to you too, my precious girl."
My stomach fluttered in an explosion of butterflies, and I impulsively grabbed him into a kiss.  He reached over and pulled me close to him, and the kiss intensified before I finally pulled away.  When I did, he gave me a peck on the nose and a smile, but he didn't loosen his arm around me.
"So, you like being called 'my precious girl'?"  He joked, and I giggled quietly.   
I wormed away from him and rolled onto my back, staring up at the underside of the bench.  I randomly thought about how badly I wished I could dress up a bit for him for our anniversary outings - or even simply change my dress! 
"Hey," he said quietly, reaching to push the hair from my face.  "What's the matter?  All of a sudden, you just..."
"Oh, it's nothing."  I knew he'd give me the same old lecture if I told him. 
"Honey, in my experience, when you say something's nothing, it's usually something.  I won't laugh or anything, you know that." 
"I just wish I could dress up a bit for you once in awhile...I mean, you're always making up these great outings, a-and what have I done to thank you or return the favor?  Nothing.  And it's just...ugh.  See, I told you it was stupid."  I didn't meet his eyes during all of this until I was done. 
"Baby, I don't care what you look like.  You should know that by now.  You don't have to dress up or anything.  And you have returned the favor, time and time again.  First of all, you've stuck with me for the past two months, and sure we kind of got off on a rocky, hundred-mile-an-hour ride from being engaged to married with four foster kids in less than a week.  You've loved me when I don't deserve it - such as on Monday - and you're just there; and you've got a heart of gold.  That, precious girl, is what counts."  His eyebrows furrowed as he studied my face.  I was almost in tears over that one. 
"I-I...." my voice cracked, and I wasn't sure what to say anyway.  My lips blubbed uselessly as I tried to make words come out.  Until he leaned over and gave me a sweet, passionate kiss.  I closed my eyes and enjoyed every second until he slowly pulled away and smiled at me.  I was more than just slightly dazzled, and I stared silently at him until I could think up something to say. 
"O-oh, gosh...now I've really forgotten what I wanted to say," I joked, and he chuckled. 
"Good.  Just don't forget what I told you," he gave me that grin of his, and my heart fluttered.  But then that grin turned into his mischievous grin. 
And then he reached to tickle my side.  
With a slightly louder-than-expected gasp, I elbowed him until he removed his tickling fingers. 
"You're a brat," I laughed quietly, turning to my side away from him as if I was mad at him. 
"Oh, but you wouldn't love me any other way, would you?" 
"Hmph."  I tried to sound mad, but it failed....bigly.  He laughed through his nose and pulled me close to him, kissing my hair and wrapping his arm around my waist.
And then I heard Hallie whimper.
Flynn, who had been pulling me a tad closer, froze.  I held my breath.
And then she was quiet again.
I loosed my breath and shot a fist in the air.  "Yes!"  I exclaimed quietly, and then Flynn flat-out laughed. "Shh!"  I exclaimed, sitting to clap a hand over his mouth.
 Merida ducked her head under the bench.  "What is all the laughin' about?!  Or do I even want to know?" 
I turned to look at her, still keeping my hand pressed over his mouth.  If I left him speak now, I'd regret it.  "I, um..well, see, I was listening for Hallie to cry, because I heard her whimper, and when she quieted down again, I shot my fist in the air and was like, 'YES!'..and he found that highly amusing for whatever reason.  We didn't wake you, did we?" 
"Naw, I was up anyhow.  I was just wonderin' what all the laughin' was over."  She quirked a brow when Flynn tried to speak through my hand. 
I left him mumble for a few seconds, but then I felt my hand get wet.  He licked my hand.  He legit licked the palm of my hand. 
"Oh my gosh, you are sick!  I can't-ugh!"  I squealed, yanking my hand off of his mouth and shoving his chest hard enough to knock him backwards, before I wiped my hand off on his shirt.  "I can't believe you." 
Merida was chortling, giving me a gleeful grin.  Flynn was laughing. 
"I can't believe the both of you!"  I grumped, trying to sound disgusted - I didn't have to try too hard - and wiped my hand a couple more times and shook my head. 
"What I was trying to...say...whilst I was so r-rudely...restrained...is that I was wondering if you, Merida...Merida!  If you would watch the kids while we have a day out.  It's our two-month anniversary."  He said between gales of laughter and attempts to get Merida to pay attention. 
Merida allowed her chuckles to subside before she answered.  "Sure...I can watch 'em."
"Not sure I want to go with you today, you sick creature," I grumbled, looking at my hand. 
"Oh, come on..." he laughed, sitting up and grabbing me into a one-armed hug before I could move away from him. 
"That was pretty disgusting there, pal...but it was hilarious."  Merida said, still grinning.
"Says you, she who does not have a wet hand," I laughed. 
She left, and Flynn turned to me. 
"Sorry."  He told me, but I could see that dirty little grin he had on his face.
"No way are you sorry, I see the smirk on your fa-"
He broke me off.  "Okay...it was pretty funny.  Now...since she's up, do you want to just get up and get moving?"
"Sure," I said, pulling away from his arm and crawling out from under the bench. 
I rummaged around, found the ribbons and flowers that Tangled Fan had used in my hair once, got my brush, and got to work.  I might not have any other dresses to wear, but I have a lot of hair, and I could dress that hair up like it was in the movie, when Rapunzel gets to see the kingdom.  Annnd so I did! 
When I was done, Flynn was waiting for me. 
He gave me a huge grin, we said goodbye to the girls, and then we were off. 

When we had made our way to the floor, Flynn stepped away from me. 
"Give me a twirl," he smiled and gestured. 
"Why?"  I furrowed my brows. 
"Because," he chuckled, and I rolled my eyes, but I did give a twirl. 
That failed hugely. 
Remember how I always say I'm not graceful?   Un-graceful people should NOT EVER twirl.  Ever. 
I twirled, and I twisted my back the wrong way.  But then, on top of that, I got one leg tangled around the other.  I stumbled into Flynn, who was standing right by me, and then he staggered backwards. I kept going, and I tried to catch myself, but I couldn't.  Tangled Fan's floor was actually clean of clutter, so there was nothing I could grab onto.  Except for Flynn, and he was stumbling as bad as I was by now!
So finally, I went down right on top of Flynn with an oof and a thump. 
I caught myself before I smacked my head off of his, luckily. 
He gave me a surprised and slightly stunned expression, and I probably matched it. 
"A-are you alright?"  I finally managed. 
He chuckled, staring at me. "Yep...you?" 
"Well, yeah...I mean, I landed on something slightly softer than the hard floor...and you didn't," I laughed. 
"Remind me to not ask you to twirl.  Ever.  But what I wanted to say is that you are gorgeous, and I love your hair that way."  He gave me a warm smile, and cupped my cheek in his hand.
"Oh...well, um...thanks," I realized I was still on top of him, and I sat abruptly. 
He sat up too, and I realized I was still across his legs.  I scrambled awkwardly in an attempt to get up, but he took my hand in his - with such gentleness that I was surprised; he wasn't just keeping ahold of me so I couldn't go - and I stopped to look at him a few seconds before I slowly stood, squeezing his hand and not letting go of it.  He stood as well, and then swept me up close to him and into a tender kiss. 
When he pulled away, he bumped his forehead with mine and I stared up at his brown eyes, which were giving me a loving gaze.  I grinned as the butterflies started up, and kissed his cheek.  He tried to conceal the pleased grin, but it came anyway, and he pulled me a bit closer for a hug.  When we pulled apart, he took my hand in his again and gave me a sweet smile. 
"So...what're we planning on doing?"
"Well...you know how awhile back, when Jase rode Maximus, how you wanted to as well?  It slipped my mind until the other day...so why don't we go ride?" 
I gasped.  He was actually going to do this?  Awesome!  "Really?" 
He chuckled, nodding.  I squeaked with excitement and grabbed him into a quick, excited hug, before I left him lead me to where Maximus was at. 
"Let me ride him first, so he won't buck you off or anything," Flynn told me when I raced over to him excitedly. 
"Oh, he's fine...he was as sweet as pie with Jase," I told him.  "That was just a one-time thing, I think." 
"I just-" 
Maximus nuzzled my hand with his plastic nose, and I giggled.  "He'll be fine, Flynn...if I fall, you can say 'I told you so'." 
Flynn gave me an uncomfortable glance, but he finally sighed and nodded.  "Alright...but just don't get hurt, okay hon?" 
"Okay," I laughed, and Flynn gave me a boost up into the saddle. 

When I was situated, he let go of the reins reluctantly and rested a hand on my leg.  "You sure?"
"Positive," I grinned as I clucked Maximus on. 
He was perfect.  I walked, trotted, and cantered him.  He was acting absolutely perfect, until we went near the guinea pig cage on the floor. 
The guinea pigs in the cage both ran over to the cage side and started squeaking.  Max shied before loosing a round of violent bucks.  I gasped and clung to his mane, wrapping my legs around his barrel.
Mistake. 
He squealed, pinning his ears, and crowhopped in disapproval.  I glanced up just in time to see him almost ram into a bin, and he swerved.  I wasn't ready for it, and I flew off, landing right on my back. 
It knocked the breath out of me and I couldn't even get myself to move.
Flynn was at my side in a moment.  "Are you alright?"  He frantically studied my face. 
Well, it's kind of hard to speak when the breath's been knocked right out of you.  Finally, I managed to squeak.  "Y-yeah, I'm alright.  Just"-I coughed, and cleared my throat before continuing -"Just a bit stunned, and need to catch my breath." 
"I knew I should've gone on him first, or led you, or something...oh gosh,  I just need to listen to my gut instinct...you end up getting-"
"Flynn.  It's fine.  I'm fine" - we'll not mention my aching back quite yet - "Don't beat yourself up about it.  If anything, it's the guinea pigs' faults," I joked. 
"I know, but-"
I stuck my hand out.  "Help me up, please?" 
"Oh.  Sure."  He helped me up, and I gave him a smile. 
"Thanks.  See?  I'm walking, talking, breathing...I am fine."
"What about your back?  You landed hard on it." 
Crumbs.  I couldn't lie..."It does hurt, I'll be honest.  But I'm fine." 
"Let's go back-"
"Flynn, I am-"
He started to pick me up. 
"FLYNN!"  I yelped.  "Put.  Me.  Down.  Now!  And no, we're NOT going back home.  I'm fine.  If I feel like I need a break, I'll let you know.  Okay?  Quit obsessing, please." 
He stared down at me, and got a calculating expression on his face. 
Finally, he nodded and set me down. 
"Fine...but you're positive?" 
"I am positive, dear." 
"Okay."  He trailed his hand down my arm tenderly, and then he grasped my hand, pulling it up to kiss it. 
"I don't think you should ride him, though..." I joked.  "Sorry."
"Oh, I wasn't planning on riding anyhow.  I just wanted to before you, to try and work the sillies out of him.  I still don't trust that creature," he said, staring at me. 
"What?"  I asked, referring to his stare. 
He didn't answer me, he just simply took a stride towards me and pulled me close. 
I could hear his heart pounding, he was holding me so close. 
"W-wh..." I trailed off, and he tightened his arms around me. 
Well...either he'd answer me, or I'd eventually stop breathing from his tight grip.  Whichever came first?  I wasn't sure.

His heartbeat eventually slowed, and only then did he allow me to pull away.  He put his hands on my shoulders and swallowed.  "It just scared me, is all."
"Everything scares you," I chuckled, but I could see in his face that he had indeed been terrified. 
"Everything that includes you or the girls," he corrected. 
I nodded, silently scolding myself for chuckling at his obvious concern.  "Sorry."  I gave him a small, sheepish smile and glanced around, trying to think of something to get his mind off of me falling. 
"Why don't we sit up on the window?"  I suggested, nodding towards the window. 
He wet his lips and nodded, letting go of me.  I took his hand and led the way to the window, thankful for a distraction. 
We hopped up onto the windowsill and I sat down in the one corner, trying to very discreetly rub at my back. 
He saw me, though. 
He quirked a brow, but he sat and didn't say anything. 
Phew. 
Dodged a bullet on that one. 

We sat and watched the outdoors for a good long while.  We just sat in silence and enjoyed one another's presence, which was nice. 
After a good while, though, Flynn got restless.  He stood, and asked how my back was. 
It was pretty sore, but I was fine.  I told him so, and he didn't look very relieved. 
We left the windowsill, and walked around for awhile, just about general whatever, until Tangled Fan came hurrying in.  Great -I could ask her about Alexis! 
"Tangled Fan!  Wait up a sec," I exclaimed, waving my arms so she would see us. 
She stopped abruptly, and bent to look at us.  "Yes?" 
I glanced at Flynn and he gave me a  confused look, but then it clicked.  He gave me a smile and a nod before grasping my hand. 
"Can we adopt Alexis?  I think we're ready." 
She smiled and nodded.  "Awesome!  For sure...I'll just make a note to not toss her up into a box or anything." 
"That'd probabbbly be best," I laughed, even though I was mildly horrified. 
She left, and I turned to Flynn. 
"Well...we just added another to our family."  He gave me a crooked grin and I couldn't help the tingle that went up my spine. 
"I'm just so glad she's warming up to us!"  I continued walking, and he hurried to catch up with me. 
"I almost passed out when she as much as LOOKED at me this morning." 
"I know..I could see it in your face," I grinned as I remembered his expression. 

We walked for awhile, but once darkness crept up on us, we headed back. 
Everything and everyone was quiet, but they were up. 
"Merida!  How were the girls?" I walked over to her and asked.
"They were all good...weren't ye?"  She asked, and Jase and Alexis nodded.  We watched Jase hurry over to Flynn, and I reached to pick Alexis up.  "And Hallie was just a pleasant little girl, like she used to be." 
"Awesome," I exclaimed. 
The two babies were already sleeping, so I didn't bother Hallie. 
"And how did y'two enjoy yer day out?"  She gave me a smirk. 
"It was great, thanks so much for watching the kiddos for us!  I fell off of Maximus, but other than that, it went well.  We also ran into Tangled Fan, and Alexis...you're officially adopted now." 
She gave me a big grin and hug, and then squirmed to get down.  I let her go, and Merida gave me a quick, one-armed hug. 
"So how bad did yer hubby flip when ye fell?" 
"He managed to keep it to a minimum, after I told him to stop obsessing." 
She laughed and rolled her eyes. 
"Hey...you up for a girl's day out tomorrow?"  Merida asked. 
"Well..I dunno.  Flynn, what-"
"Go for it.  I can handle all the kids," he told me.

We sat up and talked for awhile, planning, but then we all went to bed. 
By the time we got to bed, my back was aching like nobody's business.  I sprawled out on my back, trying to stretch it out.  Flynn flopped down beside me and watched me as I writhed around in odd attempts to relieve the soreness. 
"Your back still hurt, baby?"  I glanced up at his concerned expression. 
I considered doing a quick little white lie, but I didn't.  "Yeah, it hurts." 
"Should I-"
Should he go get Tangled Fan? What was his first thought?  Mine was NO.  And so I said so. 
"I was going to ask if you wanted me to rub your back." 
"Oh.  No, it's-" I broke off as he did so anyway.  "Well..that does make it feel pretty good." 
He chuckled to himself and continued for a few minutes, until I suppose his hands got tired.  When he was done, I turned to my side and pulled him into a quick kiss. 
"Thanks,"
"Anytime..I'll do anything to please my girl," he joked, giving me a wink. 
I rolled my eyes and then they crossed as he gave me a peck on the nose.  I grinned and then flopped onto my back, trying to find a comfortable spot.
"Thanks for letting me go with Merida on a girl's day out tomorrow," I told him. 
"Excited?" 
"Kind of..." I smiled. 
"Just stay safe." 
Gosh...well, I do suppose one of the last times we'd gone on a girl's day out, I'd ended up hurting my arm, so he did have a point.  "I will," I laughed, and then he leaned over so we could share a sweet goodnight kiss.  When he started to pull away, I leaned into him and kissed him back, and when I pulled away, he gave me a big smile.  He told me good night and I returned it, and then I was out. 

Flynn here...so I kinda messed up bigly.

Hey everyone...sorry the blog's been silent since I don't know when. 
Hallie has been doing her best to wear us all out, and has therefore been dubbed Miss Screams A Lot.  Which she does.  Scream.  A LOT. 
Anyway...by Monday, we were all pretty frazzled.  And try as I might, Alexis still wasn't budging on warming up to me. 
I'd hardly gotten any sleep Sunday night, and I know Rapunzel hadn't gotten much either, because Hallie cried almost nonstop all night long.  So Monday, I was a little short. 

But we went through our normal activities.  Try to socialize with Alexis, talk and play with Jase, calm Hallie down, shout to be heard over her cries. 

By evening,  I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. 
When my wife approached me with the idea of going on a walk and talk, I refused. 
That's fine, right? 
She continued to offer that we wouldn't have to walk in order to talk.  Normally, I'd chuckle at that...but not today. 
"Not right now, okay...can't it wait for later?" 
"It's important." 
"We'll talk tomorrow or some time when I can actually-" Hallie started to cry louder, and I raised my voice.  "-hear myself think." 
"But it's-"
What under the blue sky would be so important right now??  "No, okay?  Can't you catch a hint?!"  I snapped. 
"Do you want to go take a nap?  You sound like you need a nap.  Big time.  I can watch Hall-"
Good grief.  I was on the verge of a headache, and she was randomly telling me to do stuff? 
"No.  I am fine.  Just l-" I broke off before I could finish my sentence - Just leave me alone, okay?  - because I figured it wasn't worth the effort. 
I stood from the wicker chair to go pick up Hallie, since my wife obviously wasn't interested in picking her up...and she jumped in front of me. 
"What's wrong?"  I caught a glimpse of her concerned expression before I silently shoved past her to get to Hallie.  If she couldn't figure it out on her own, I didn't feel the need to spell it out for her. 
When I turned back around, Hallie in tow, she was not waiting for me as I had expected. 

I hate to admit that I felt slightly relieved that she wasn't going to keep after me about it.

Finally, Hallie quieted down and went to sleep. 
When I laid her down, I turned to give Rapunzel a victorious expression despite my tiredness, and I finally realized she wasn't on the dresser anymore. 
It dawned on me how I had sounded two hours earlier, and I gasped. 
"Merida..have you seen Rapunzel?" 
She shrugged and I got a horrible sinking feeling in my stomach. 
"Aw, no."  I breathed, my heart pounding out of my chest.  "Watch the kids, please?"
"Sure," she quirked a brow, but I didn't stay to explain. 
I leaped off of the dresser and half ran, half jumped, and half tumbled off of the bed.  I couldn't see her anywhere. 
Theories rolled in my mind, tumbling over one another, combining into all the same horrible scenario:  What if she was gone? 
What if she'd fallen off of the dresser?  What if she'd ran away because of my rotten attitude?  What if something had happened and Tangled Fan had taken her away?  What if she ran away and I would never find her again and she'd hate me if I would find her?  What if....what if. 
All feelings of tiredness vanished and I could hardly feel the worried tears streaking my face. 
Finally, I heard sobs. 
I raced towards them, and soon found my wife.
Her face was covered with trembling hands, and by the looks of things, she'd been crying a good while.
I gasped and I ran towards her.  I wanted to grab her up, spin her around, and kiss her in relief, but I took one look at her and knew that would NOT be happening. 
So I simply apologized.  Repeatedly. 
She wouldn't even look at me, and when she did, she gave me a cold stare, precisely saying that she never acted in the manner that I had, even when she was tired. 
I reached to touch her cheek out of habit, and she jerked vehemently away from my hand.  I froze with surprise, but then let my hand drop. 
"I know, honey...I truly am so sorry, and I feel horrible about it..." I told her, frantically searching her face, praying she'd forgive me.  I tried to catch her eyes, but she looked down and refused to look at me.  I tried hugging her, and it was like hugging a frozen brick - hard, unforgiving, and emotionless.
Boy, had I done it this time. 
I finally cleared my throat and gently cupped her chin in my hand, but I didn't make any move to pull her face up to look at me.  She loosed a huge, shuddering sigh that stabbed at my heart - what had she done to deserve how upset she obviously was?  That's right.  She'd married me.  Why did I have to be such a...dimwit?  Idiot?  Insert name here...be creative, readers. 
But then she finally took those beautiful eyes of hers and looked up at me. 
"W-wil you forgive me?  I'm so-" I started to apologize, but she broke me off. 
"I know.  You've told me - what, three-four times already?"  Her pink lips jerked in a second-long, small smile. 
"And I'd say it again.  I'm sorry."  I locked my eyes on hers, and it dawned on me how lucky I was to have her.  "And I love you so, so much."  I knew if I tried to kiss her, it would be too soon and she'd likely be mad or think I was trying to make her forgive me quicker or whatever....when all I wanted was to comfort her and to let her know I meant the words I said.  After a couple of minutes, I realized I was still staring at her, her face in my hands.  I released her face and averted my eyes from hers.  "Um - anyway -you wanted to talk?" 
She gave a small shrug, her face going cold once more and she slid down the side of the dresser to pull her legs up to her chin and wrap her arms around herself. 
I considered pulling her close and just sitting there with her, but I didn't want to move too fast.  So I just watched her with concern until she finally spilled it all. 
"I want to get the adoption rolling for Alexis so we don't wait till it's too late like we did the last time.  But I asked Alexis, and she said she didn't even CARE!  How exactly do I know what she'd prefer?  I don't want to make her live anywhere she doesn't want to live...but it's not like I don't want her as part of the family, either!  What do you think we should do with her?  And do you feel comfortable enough to go forward with an adoption?  But what if she doesn't like us, yet she tells us she wants to be adopted by us, anyway?  But I'm just...afraid we'll adopt her and she won't be happy here, or...I dunno." 
I had to think awhile on that one.  Basically, I felt like an idiot for thinking this wasn't important.  And I did think that Alexis needed to have a say in the adoption as well, and that we should talk to her.  So I told her all of that. 
When we were done talking, she sniffled, rubbed at her nose, and I watched her every move.  Finally, I asked if she minded if I put an arm around her. 
She shook her head, and I gave her a gentle kiss in the hair.  She shut her eyes and gave another shuddery sigh, laying her head on my shoulder. 
"I'm sorry baby...so, so sorry."  I whispered, willing my voice not to crack as I realized how deeply my words had cut.  I rested my cheek on top of her head.
"I know."  She mumbled, and then we sat in total silence. 
The silence was pretty nice, though.  No screaming, nothing.  Just peace and quiet. 

After a good while, though, she gave yet another sigh and I pulled my head up off of hers. 
I stared down at her, carefully pushing her hair from her face.  When I was done with that, I took her chin in my hand and pulled it up so she would look me in the eye. 
"Forgive me?"  I asked cautiously. 
"Yes, Flynn.  I forgave you awhile ago.  If I hadn't, we wouldn't be sitting here and talking,"
Well, true.  "True..." I chuckled.  "Shall we go back up to face the music?"
"Face the screaming, you mean.  It's - getting dark?"  She finally looked around and realized it was getting dark. 
I told her she'd been gone for a couple of hours before I'd even gone to look for her. 
She gave me a wide-eyed stare and then jumped up, offering a hand out to me. 
She must've really forgiven me, then, if she had just offered her hand to me.  I tried to suppress a relieved smile and then I accepted it. 

When we got back to the dresser, everyone was asleep.  Even Hallie.  Wow.  We must've been gone for a good long while for THAT to have happened!
Rapunzel groaned when she realized we wouldn't get to talk with Alexis tonight. 
"Tomorrow's another day."  I reassured her.  "I just hope Hallie sleeps through the night!"
"Isn't THAT for sure..." she said, and I went to go under our bench; she made a quick pitstop - to brush her hair out, probably. 

Whilst I waited for her, I thought about how much she really meant to me.  And how quickly I could lose her - how I could've lost her today, just because I had been a thoughtless jerk!  The more I thought of that, the more I felt like I needed to have her close to me tonight...Velcro Flynn?  You bet.  Even if it was sixty some degrees and muggy out, even in this early September night.   

After several minutes, she came back and sprawled all over the place.  She flopped a leg down hard across both of mine, and I couldn't help but chuckle at her tossing herself down onto the dresser. 
She took it the wrong way, looking down and seeing her leg across mine.  She jerked away and then rolled to look at me, half-sitting. 
"Sorry!"  She whispered, wide-eyed. 
"That's fine," I mirrored her position and looking at her.  "Too warm?"
"Yep." 
I nodded, studying her pretty face for a few seconds before I reached to put a hand on her face and pull her close into a kiss, slippig my hand down on her chin the whole time. 
When I finally pulled away, she gave me a shaky smile.
"W-what happened about being so tired and everything?"  she randomly asked. 
I half-teased.  "You happened."  I said, grinning at her.  Her face turned a lovely shade of pink through the darkness, and she rolled her eyes at me. 
I decided to give her another kiss - yeah, I know...I'm a nutcase.
But before I could touch her, she turned her face away.  "You just kissed me, what - five seconds ago?" 
I made a silly excuse.  "Well...we haven't kissed all day long..." I attempted a puppy-dog pout and she shoved my chest, grinning. 
"If you hadn't have been so snippy, I would've given you a few." 
I immediately felt bad all over again.  "Yeah, I know..I'm s-"
She pressed a finger to my lips. 
"If you say that ONE MORE TIME..."
How could I resist that?  "Sorry."  I mumbled around her finger before I kissed it.  She pulled it away from me and gave me her classic head-shaking eye roll.  "But really, one more kiss never killed anybody...."
She laughed quietly.  "You truly are pathetic, you know?"
Yes.  I did know.  I knew perfectly well.  But it was making her laugh, and that's all I cared about. 
"Yes, I know." 
She quirked a brow, and then the next thing I knew, she was kissing me.  I sharply inhaled through my nose in surprise, and then I lost my balance on my one arm and fell over backwards. 
It was a slightly dramatic, teasing kiss, but it also held a hint of sweetness in it as well. I was just a little embarrassed that I was flat on my back, though.  But then I decided I should enjoy it - even if it WAS kind of meant to tease me...so I put an arm around her tiny waist and held her close, and then I wondered if she could feel my heart pounding.  This heart-pounding was substantially better than the heart-pounding I experienced when I realized she was gone earlier today.  I fully enjoyed this heart-pounding.  :D
She finally pulled her lips away, then dove in for another peck, and I fully intended to kiss her back at that one, but she pulled away too fast. 
My wife stared down at my face, a goofy look on her face.  I didn't need to even fake the broad smile that crossed my face, but I couldn't think of anything to say, so  I rubbed my hand on her back for a few seconds before she sat up, chuckling at me.
"Surprised much?"  I could see the mischievous glint in her eye. 
"Oh, but it's a good surprised..." I told her. 
"It would be awkward if getting a kiss from your spouse wasn't a good surprise."  she countered with a cute, quiet laugh.
Well, thank goodness.  She wasn't still angry with me.  "All anger has washed away, I see....see?  Kissing is good for you."   
"Says you!"  she rolled her eyes and scooted away to flop down on her back, tossing her arms up over her head. 
"Yup...says me."  I told her before finally sweeping over to kiss her. 
She sat up suddenly while I was kissing her, so I pulled away until I could sit up as well, and then I pulled her back into another kiss, hoping I could convey that I really was sorry and that I really did love her as much as I said I did.  Her hands shook as she reached to wrap her thin arm around me, and I finally pulled her close with one arm.  Despite the warmth of the environment outside, and the mugginess, I needed to have her close to me.  I don't know why, but I just felt like I needed to.  I put another hand on the back of her head, and she leaned a little closer to me. 
Eventually, much as I hated to, I ended the kiss and bumped my forehead up against hers for a moment.  Then, I picked my head up enough to see her face, which was the most sweet color of red.  I don't think anyone could have ever worn it better :D.
 She also wore a stunned, wide-eyed and yet dreamy expression. 
"What?"  I asked her, chuckling. 
"Huh?  Oh.  Uhmmm.."
I grinned for a second at her fumbling, before I went straightfaced and tossed her line back at her.  "Surprised much?" 
"Oh, but it's a good surprised."  She laughed through her nose and threw it right back at me. 
How could one possibly love anyone so much it hurts?  Feeling love wasn't supposed to hurt.  Or drive you crazy.  Woops. 
I leaned close to her face and whispered an I love you and told her that I'd never realized how much she'd meant to me until now. 
"I love you too, honey."  She whispered and then she pulled away from my arms and laid down on her back.  I did the same and felt around until I found one of her hands, holding it until I went to sleep. 

Adoption Questions

Hey everyone...hope you all enjoy your Labor Day! 
Hallie is still crying plenty, and we've both been getting up a lot through the night with her.  I think we're both starting to get pretty worn down from it, but what else could we do?  We can't let her lay there and cry.  Anyway..on top of all of this, Alexis STILL has not warmed up to anyone yet. 
So Monday was interesting, once more.  All day, I'd considered whether I should ask Tangled Fan about adopting Alexis, or if Alexis even liked it here!  I wished I knew.  So finally, I pulled Merida aside and asked her what her opinion was. 
"What do you think we should do about Alexis?  I mean, I love that poor little girl, but at the same time, she's...I dunno.  She doesn't seem to like it here.  I want to officially adopt her soon, so nothing happens like the last time we fostered...but I don't want to make her live somewhere she doesn't want to live at.  Who knows, maybe she'd prefer to live in a box up in the attic, which is where she'd be at." 
"I think that ye should maybe try talkin' to her, and see if she'll open up to ye a bit and let'cha know what she wants.  Then ya have to deal with yer husband over there...not sure who'd be easier to ask." 
"Flynn." I laughed.  "Alexis is just so horribly shy.  But thanks...that is a good idea.  I suppose I should go talk with her?" 
"Good luck..." Merida glanced towards Hallie, who had started to cry, and then looked back over to me.  "Someday, we'll go on a girl's day out.  Someday soon, I hope!" 
"I hope that someday soon, miss Hallie will be back to her old self!  But yes, that sounds like an excellent plan." 
I gave her a smile and made my way towards Alexis. 

"Hey, sweetie.  Mind if I talk to you about something?"
"No," she glanced up at me. 
I sat down beside her and pulled her up into my lap so I could give her a cuddle.  "This is an important question, and I want to let you know that we love you very much.  Ah...I wanted to let Tangled Fan know that we'd make the adoption official, but I wanted to ask you first.  Do you like it here?  I want what's best for you, naturally, but I don't want you to...to feel uncomfortable living with us, if you don't like it here." 
She thought for a few minutes before turning her head up to me.  "It doesn't matter.  I've gone  back to live in the box in the attic before, and I've lived under piles of junk in Tangled Fan's closet before, too.  So I can do that as well as I can live here." 
Oookay...
"So it...doesn't even matter to you?"  I asked. 
She shrugged and shook her head silently. 
"Okay.  Well, I'll talk with Daddy.  Thank you for your input." 
She gave me a silent nod and I let her scoot off of my lap to resume whatever she'd been doing. 
I went over to Jase and asked her what she thought. 
"I'd love to have her as a sis, Momma.  We might have our spats and stuff, but I like her.  Sorry about the other day..." she gave me an adorably embarrassed smile. 
"That's fine.  Thank you!  I'm gonna go talk with Daddy now." 
"Okay," she gave me another smile and I left. 

Flynn was sitting on the wicker chair when I came over to him. 
"Hey, hon," I stood behind the wicker chair so I could lean over it and give him a kiss on the cheek.  "Want to go for a walk?" 
"Not right now, exactly.." was his reply. 
"Well...could we at least go somewhere else to talk?  We don't have to walk in order to talk." 
If anything, that dumb joke would make him chuckle, right? 
Wrong. 
"Not right now, okay...can't it wait for later?"  I could hear the edge in his voice sharpening as we spoke.  I knew he was probably tired out, but so was I, and I didn't act short with anyone.  Had I? 
"It's important." 
"We'll talk tomorrow or some time when I can actually-" Hallie started to cry more, and he raised his voice.  "-hear myself think." 
"But it's-"
"No, okay?  Can't you catch a hint?" 
I sucked in a deep breath in surprise at his snippy comment, and then I felt the sting of tears pricking my eyes.   But before I went all in the defensive about it, I made an attempt to be nice to him. 
"Do you want to go take a nap?  You sound like you need a nap.  Big time.  I can watch Halli-"
"No.  I am fine.  Just l-"
Just leave me alone?  Was that what he'd been about to say, before he broke off? 
He stood, and I tried to stop him and ask him what the matter was, but he just brushed past me to go get Hallie. 
I stared at him for  a few seconds, but then the tears started to get the better of me.  I fled off of the dresser, and off of Tangled Fan's bed.  I couldn't let Alexis see me cry.  I couldn't let anyone see me cry.

Once I was on the floor, I ran to the side of the dresser that was closest to the door to the room. 
I leaned up against the dresser and finally loosed a sob.  Within minutes, my whole body was shaking from tears.  Tears, and anger.  That had been completely uncalled for.  Why had he been so snippy at me?  I mean, really!  I never get that bad when I'm tired.  Do I?  I try not to, anyway...
I covered my face with my hands and sobbed for I don't know how long...until I heard rapid footsteps coming my way.
I went silent, and waited for the footsteps to get closer. They did. Fear took over my whole body, and I spread my fingers apart so I could peer out of them.
Flynn. 
With a gasp, he ran towards me. I dropped my hands from my face and grumbled, "Oh. It's you."
His face was filled with remorse and worry, but I wouldn't let him get to me. I turned my head away and refused to look at him.

"Oh, honey..I am so, so sorry. I didn't...I shouldn't have said any of that...It's no excuse that I'm tired. I should've never treated you that way, and I am so sorry, baby. Once Hallie had quieted down and I'd gotten her to take a nap, I realized what I'd said and that you weren't up on the dresser anymore. And that's when I started searching for you. I am so, so, so sorry...I love you so much and I never should have acted that way and I'm sorry." His voice was choked up, and he put his hands on my shoulders. From the corner of my eye, I could see his face was tear streaked.
"I never act that way when I am tired." I finally met his eyes to give him a stare, and I said it with as much cold precision as I could muster.
His forehead wrinkled, and he put a tender hand on my cheek. I turned quickly away from it, and his hand froze in midair for a few seconds before he let it drop.  He took in a ragged breath.
"I know, honey...I truly am so sorry, and I feel horrible about it." his brown eyes searched my face, but I looked down. He tried to pull me close into a hug, but I stayed stiff as a board and unrelenting.
He cleared his throat, and took my chin in his hand. I took in a deep, shuddery breath and I finally met his eyes. They were so full of sorrow and remorse that I fought for my own composure.
"W-will you forgive me? I'm so-"
"I know. You've told me...what, three, four times already?" I allowed my lips to twitch in a quick, small smile.
He took his other hand to brush the hair from my face and then cupped my face in both of his hands.
"And I'd say it again. I'm sorry. And I love you so, so much." he held my eyes in a gaze that I couldn't pull away from. After a few minutes of silence, he suddenly released his gaze and my face.
"Um...anyway..you wanted to talk?"
I shrugged, sliding down the side of the dresser to sit, pulling my knees up to my chin and wrapping my arms around my legs.
He sat down beside me and watched me until I finally spilled it.
I told him everything about my conversation with Alexis, and about why I wanted to get a move on with the adoption. "But I'm just...afraid we'll adopt her and she won't be happy here, or..I dunno." I finally finished, burying my head in my knees.
He was silent for so long that I glanced up to make sure he was still there. "I think...I think we should talk with Alexis and try to see what she really wants, and then we can talk to Tangled Fan from there on out. I'm fine with adopting her, and I'd like to add her to our family, but I feel the same way as you do. And I'm sorry I didn't find this important enough to talk about."
"You didn't know what I was going to talk about. But yeah, we could talk with Alexis. Although I'd doubt if she'd even open up and say anything...but we might be surprised." I said, my upset-ness finally washing away. 

I sniffled and rubbed at my nose, deciding I shouldn't need to cry anymore, and he stared at me.
"Mind if I-" he pantomined putting an arm around me, and I silently nodded.
He did so, and then kissed my hair. I squeezed my eyes shut and released a shuddery sigh. I rested my head on his shoulder and he laid his head on top of mine. "I'm sorry, baby...so, so sorry." He whispered, and I mumbled that I knew.
We just sat there for a while, and I didn't know about him, but I was enjoying the peace and quiet.
Eventually, though, I opened my eyes and gave another tired, reluctant sigh. He lifted his head and looked at me, smoothing my hair gently from my face before he trailed his hand down my face to my chin, pulling it up so I would look him in the eye.
"Forgive me?"
"Yes, Flynn; I forgave you awhile ago. If I hadn't, we wouldn't be sitting here and talking." I told him.
"True," he chuckled quietly. "Shall we go back up to face the music?"
"Face the screaming, you mean. It's...getting dark?"
"Yeah. You'd been gone for probably a good couple of hours until I finally found you."
"I really was?" I gave him a wide-eyed stare and jumped up. "Oh, gosh...!"
I offered a hand to him, and he accepted it, trying to suppress a broad smile, and even after he'd used it to stand, he didn't let go of it.
We hurried back to the dresser, but everyone else was already in bed.
"Guess we won't be talking with Alexis tonight..." I groaned.
"Tomorrow's another day..I just hope Hallie sleeps through the night."
"Isn't that for sure." I replied. He released my hand and went to bed, but I went to brush my hair out first.
When I finally did crawl under the bench, I sprawled my legs out. It was humid tonight...last burst of hot weather before fall, I suppose.
When Flynn chuckled to himself, I looked down and realized one of my legs was tossed across his. Horrified, I jerked it off and rolled over onto my side, propping myself up and looking at him. "Sorry!"
"That's fine,"  His eyes trailed down all my hair. "Too warm?"
"Yep," I said.
He nodded and studied my face for a few moments before he reached over to pull me into a warm, gentle kiss, keeping my chin in his hand. My heart skipped along quickly to the tenderness of it, and when he pulled away, I gave him a smile, realizing my hands were shaky.
Good grief...My hands. Were shaky. And I've only been married to this guy...what, two months this Thursday?! Gosh.
"What happened about being so tired and everything?" I asked, scrambling for something to distract myself.
"You happened," he gave me his classic grin. Well, that'd be an excellent help for the shaking hands.
I rolled my eyes and when he started to lean close again, I turned away. "You just kissed me, what? Five seconds ago?"
"Well...we haven't kissed all day long..." He gave me his best puppy-dog face, and I gave his chest a playful shove.
"If you hadn't have been so snippy, I would've given you a few."
His face changed from playful and teasing to remorse in seconds. "Yeah, I know..I'm s-"
I put a finger to his lips. "If you say that one more time..."
"Sorry," he muttered through my finger, and then gave my finger a kiss. I withdrew it from his face and rolled my eyes, shaking my head at him. "But really...one more kiss never killed anybody..."
I laughed. "You truly are pathetic, you know?"
"Yes, I know."
I quirked a brow, thinking about how to tease back. Finally, I just suddenly leaned forward and thrust myself at him in a kiss. He breathed in sharply and toppled onto his back, but I stuck with him, giving him a slightly overdramatic kiss. He draped an arm around me and held me close, and when I pulled away, I dove in to give him a second, quick little peck before I pulled back to see his expression. I could see in the darkness how red his cheeks were, but he gave me a gleeful smile, rubbing my back a few seconds before I pulled away to sit back up, chuckling at his loss for words.
"Surprised much?"
"Oh, but it's a good surprised." His smile had yet to fade as he scooted back upright.
"It would be awkward if getting a kiss from your spouse wasn't a good surprise." I laughed quietly. "All anger has washed away, I see. See, kissing is good for you."
"Says you," I rolled my eyes, flopping down onto my back and crossing my arms up over my head.
"Yup. Says me." He leaned over and gave me another large smile before he bent to give me a sweet, passionate kiss. If my hands were shaky before..! I sat up, and he pulled away long enough to sit up himself before continuing.  I hesitantly reached to wrap one of my arms around him, and he pulled me close with one arm, and the other hand he put on the back of my head. My heart was speeding like a freight train by the time he finally parted his lips reluctantly from mine, bumping his forehead up against mine. He pulled his head up to look at me, but he didn't move his arms an inch, and I just stared up at his eyes. I wasn't sure what to make out of a kiss that was that passionate and yet so...I dunno. 
"What?" He finally asked, chuckling at me.
"Huh?" I asked, snapping out of my thoughts. "Oh. Uhhmmm..." I made a few helpless jerks with my mouth, trying to make words come out,and a grin spread across his face.
"Surprised much?" He said, straightfaced, before resuming his grin.
"Oh, but it's a good surprised." I laughed through my nose. "No, really."
Flynn leaned close to me again and whispered. "I love you, my precious wife. I never knew how much you mean to me now until I couldn't find you earlier today."
Aha. So that's why he was so lovey-dovey tonight. He'd thought he'd lost me. But nonetheless, I returned an I love you and then I pulled away from his arms to lay down.
He did as well, finding and holding my hand loosely before he gave a satisfied exhale and was asleep. And as for me? I was out cold in a few minutes.