36.

^^^me when I have to wake up in 4 hours 🙂

Warning: some austin-baker action below :) and Smiley boy

"Hey."

"Hey man, she asleep?"

"Yeah, finally." Austin sighed as he roughly rubbed one side of his face, patting his cheek to stay awake. He slowly sat down on the couch, the family room empty of all his siblings for once, not bothering to close the sliding door. He talked just above a whisper in noise level. "Can't believe I drugged my own sister."

"It was Benadryl," Baker reminded him, "and it was either that or the hospital."

Austin's grip on his phone tightened from frustration. It shouldn't have even gotten to that point. The immense guilt he felt still very present in his mind.

Did he really give his sister spiked Gatorade?

Thankfully it worked though, the itchy feeling stopped relatively quickly and she had been out like a light when he left the bedroom a few minutes ago.

"Austin? You still there?"

"Yeah, B, I'm here."

"You okay?"

No. "I'm fine."

"You know, when a girl says that they are fine, she really means-"

"Wow. Such a comedian," Austin said dryly. He could just picture the smirk on Baker's face. He let himself slouch further into the couch, his arm coming across his eyes as he yawned.

"Thank you, thank you. Our youngins had to get their sense of humor from somewhere."

Austin chuckled once or twice, appreciating Baker's intentional distraction. "Is that so?"

"What?" Baker asked, "You didn't think they got it from you, did you?" Baker snorted, "Hate to break it to you, but you're as funny as snot."

"Real mature, how old are you again?"

"Not as old as you."

"Screw you," Austin laughed for real this time, thinking how just that morning his sister had practically said the same thing. He beg your pardon, he was not old. "You're not some spring chicken either, mister twenty-eight."

"Fucking hell, don't remind me. My back hurts just thinking about it." Baker groaned, "When do we stop counting again?"

"Who's the lady now?" Austin teased him right back. Oh how the tables have turned. "I think the magic number is 29."

"Whatever," Baker grumbled in displeasure. Austin could hear some shuffling on his brother's end as the radio suddenly clicked on in the background. He wasn't able to make out what was being dispatched, nor did he have the brain compacity to care at the moment.

Austin would have been sleeping if Baker hadn't called him 5,000 times.

Okay, 3.

But still.

"Where are you?" Austin asked, his curiosity piquing just a little bit. Baker never had a boring night shift at work, making for some interesting stories. At least the ones he was willing to share with his siblings.

Everyone knew nothing good happened after midnight.

"Buc-Ee's," Baker responded, "Lindsay had to take a shit. Told him Chipotle was a bad idea but nooo, never fucking listens to me."

"Ahh," Austin acknowledged, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"Yeah," Baker started to say before the radio crackled to life again. Austin could hear Baker reply back in some professional shorthand code before letting out a frustrated moan. "Bitch-ass," he mumbled, holding the phone closer to his mouth so Austin heard loud and clear.

"What?" Austin asked, mildly entertained.

"Fucking neighbor dispute with a shank. Would be more exciting if this hasn't happened 10 times before."

Austin raised his eyebrows, "Sounds thrilling."

"Sounds like I want to gouge my own eyeballs out. Now where the fuck is brother bear? How long does it take to shit your brains out?"

"And we wonder where Dakota gets his sailor mouth from," Austin shook his head. It had always been a lost cause to stop Dakota's cursing, but it was a decent attempt. In all transparency, Baker was way worse than Dakota in that aspect, though he had managed to dial it down while around Hayes. Credit given where credit was due, he suppose. "Should I hang up?"

"No, you're good," Austin could hear Baker fumbling around with something, "Lindsay isn't back yet. And hey, I feel honored that Dakota chose me as his role model."

"Agree to disagree there," Austin laughed quietly to himself, before sitting up, more alert as a thought crossed his mind. He leaned forward, letting his one arm rest against his knee as the other hand held the phone to his ear. A heavy sigh left his lips, "Hey, Baker?"

"Hey, Austin," Baker instantly switched into serious mode, hearing his brother's tone.

"Are we doing the right thing?" Austin asked, picking at a loose thread on his gym shorts. He'd take any advice he could get right about now. "Should we still take the kids to the trial?"

He could hear Baker breathing into the phone as he took the time to lay out his thoughts. "I think," Baker started off slowly before being cut off by the sound of a car door slamming shut. The rest of Baker's response became muffled as he must have been waving the phone around. "It's about time you showed up, bastard. Sorry Austin. I got to go, I'll call you later, bro."

"Wassup, Austin!" Lindsay shouted in the background before the call ended.

Austin sighed and pressed the heel of his palms against his head. To go or not to go, that is the question.

He took in a deep breath before tilting his head back, working out the kinks in his neck. His gaze drifted to the family photo that hung in the wall, realizing how outdated it was.

They needed to fix that.

His eyes narrowed slightly as something didn't look quite right. Was that... a nerf bullet?

How even...?

"We're not going to the trial anymore?"

Austin startled at the sound of his youngest brother's voice, dropping his phone onto the carpet in surprise as his head whipped around to the entry way. "We need to get you a cat bell, Smiley. You and your sister are going to give me a heart attack one of these days." He bent over and grabbed his phone.

"We're undercover ninjas," Glen replied as he made his way to the couch where Austin sat, taking no time to jump on to the cushions and make himself at home. He stretched his legs out so his feet ended up on Austin's lap, a cheesy grin on his face.

"Apparently so," Austin said, scrutinizing his kid brother before pushing his feet off of him. "Aren't you suppose to be sleeping?"

"I could say the same thing to you," Glen countered, scooting around so his right leg now dangled off the edge of the couch and his left leg was bent at the knee. He stretched out an arm and grabbed one of the pillows to hug to his chest.

"Don't be smart, kid," Austin raised an eyebrow in challenge, "I'll give you a bed time."

Glen relented, holding up his hands in surrender, his grin only widening at their banter. It'd been a minute since he had some one-on-one time with his eldest brother.

Not that he was complaining, he spent a lot of quality time with Colton, beyond just basketball excursions, and Francis.

But he wasn't nearly as insane as Hayes was, voluntarily running at the stupidly early hour that those crazy people did.

That alone made him think that they belonged in the nut house, that's for sure.

And Glen was most certainly not crazy.

Austin shared the lopsided grin with his brother, the feeling of being refreshed instantaneous like always when he saw his siblings happy.

"How's your arm," Austin zeroed in on Glen's cast, squinting in an attempt to make out the sharpie writings.

"I've had worse," Glen shrugged, turning his arm this way and that as he tried to read the various signatures and sayings. He hoped that Abe and Theo kept it PG.

Those words did not have the reassuring effect on Austin that Glen probably meant for them to have.

"Yeah," Austin murmured. Safe to say, all the brothers were well aware that Glen had gone through something much, much worse than breaking a thumb before. "What does that say?" he questioned, not sure if he was reading it correctly.

"What?" Glen questioned, trying to follow Austin's gaze to the right words. He snickered, spotting Hayes' handwriting. "Oh this? #1 Butt face."

He read it so nonchalantly that Austin snorted.

Like, literally, snorted.

Geez, he was more tired than he thought.

"That girl," Austin pinched his nasal bridge as he shook his head. Oh, Sunshine.

Speaking of the little she-devil in disguise, Glen remembered what he had heard. "Austin, are we really not going to the trial anymore?"

Austin sighed, "You shouldn't be eavesdropping, Smiley."

"I wasn't," he weakly protested. He really wasn't.

Austin stared at the floor as he laced his fingers together, resting his arms on his thighs. "I don't have an answer for you."

"Is this about what happened tonight?" Glen questioned, "Are you even going to ask what we want?"

"Yes, it's exactly because of what happened tonight. Why does it matter? I thought you didn't even want to go, anyways," Austin turned his head to look at Glen.

"Well, initially yeah," Glen crossed his arms "But I did agree to go."

"Because of Hayes," Austin pointed out.

Okay, Austin did have a valid point there. Glen shrugged, "I owe her."

"So you don't want to go?"

"No," Glen frowned, "I do."

Austin stared at his little brother, trying to read his mind. "Why the change of heart?"

"You know," Glen shrugged again, "Closure." He mimed closing a book.

"Closure?" Austin repeated.

Glen nodded. "Yeah. I think, seeing the Bear one last time will be, umm, good for us. I mean, we did leave all of a sudden. I just want to know what he has to say. Is it weird that a part of me wants to say goodbye? Then I will never have to think of him again. It'll be like Voldemort, He who must not be named," Glen rambled, cracking a grin at the end.

"Alright," Austin finally answered, "If that's what you want, then we'll still go."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, Bud." Austin replied, running a hand through his hair before yawning. "Now I don't know about you but I'm beat."

Glen nodded, catching the contagious yawn bug as his cheeks suddenly became flush. "Austin?" he asked, yawning a second time.

"Hmm?"

"I really wasn't listening to your phone call." A sheepish appearance joined his reddened cheeks.

Austin's eyebrows furrowed in concern, "What's wrong?"

"Umm, well I sort of was sleeping when I saw something terrifying and it woke me up?" Glen was totally embarrassed, he was too old for this.

"You mean like a nightmare?"

"Well, yeah. And I usually go to Hayes but she's sleeping in your room so I thought maybe I could too? We did it that one time."

There was a look of surprise that flitted across Austin's face.

Glen hurriedly continued on, "Or at least can I talk to you for a second, until, you know, I could at least stop thinking about it. I don't need to sleep in your room. I just, when I found Hayes in your bed, you weren't in your room so I came downstairs to find you and I heard you talking on the phone and here we are," he finished his spiel, his eyes gazed downward. "Sorry," Glen added in an after thought.

"Smiley."

"Yeah?" Glen pulled at the strings on the pillow, avoiding Austin's eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Glen scrunched his nose, "No, not really."

"Alrighty then," Austin stood up.

"Wait," Glen panicked, "Where are you going?" He clenched the pillow tighter at the thought of being left downstairs alone, with his thoughts.

Austin turned his head to look at Glen over his shoulder, a wrinkle in his forehead conveying his confusion, "To sleep. Come on, hopefully Hayes isn't sprawled out over the whole bed yet."

Glen took no time in scrambling off the couch, hurrying after his brother who patiently waited for him by the sliding door. Though, he seemed to be preoccupied by something.

"Hey, Bud, can you explain to me why there's a nerf bullet on the wall?"

"What?" Glen's head snapped up to attention, his gaze following Austin's index finger that pointed directly to the nerf bullet that blemished the photo. A smirk threatened to appear on Glen's face at the sight.

There used to be three bullets chilling up there.

"Wasn't me," Glen shrugged innocently.

————

Hayes was woken up by a gentle smack to the face.

What an oxymoron.

Out of instinct, Hayes' arm flung out, returning the gesture with her eyes closed. She could beat up Glen in her sleep. She was successful with hitting the intended target, hearing a moan of pain, "ow."

"Go away," Hayes mumbled, rolling over so her back faced her brother. It took more effort than usual as her body had a dull achy feeling.

"It's not your room," Glen's voice came out muffled as he shoved his face against the pillow, turning over like Hayes so they laid back to back as he tried to fall back asleep. He had to fight against his innate alarm clock but it was too early to be awake.

Plus who needs to wake up for school anyways? Not him.

A barely distinguishable reply came from Hayes sounding like "I was here first."

"Shush," Glen's arm blindly reached back, weakly smacking Hayes in the shoulder a couple times to make his point.

Now it was Hayes' turn to groan. All she wanted was to slip back into that blissful state of consciousness and Austin's bedroom provided that perfect darkness with his blackout curtains. Sleep was calling her name.

PPPFFFFFFFFTTTTTT

That was until someone farted.

He let it rip, too.

PFFFFTT

"Are you serious, Glen?" Hayes was disgusted. She tugged the comforter over her head, making sure to cover her nose before the room started to smell.

"What?"

"You farted!"

"Smelt it, dealt it," came his annoying response.

"Denied it, supplied it," Hayes retorted, her quick whit present as always even at the dawn of day as she rolled the rest of the way out of bed. Forget this, she had enough of him for the day.

And yes, the day just started.

Glen felt the rustling of the sheets as his sister got out of bed but when there was no resounding pitter patter to depict her leaving the room, he lazily flopped over to see what the hold up was.

"What are you doing?" He rubbed his eye with the palm of his hand, watching as she seemed to stare off into space.

"Nothing."

Slowly but surely, Hayes showed sign of life as she begun to wiggle her arms, one at a time. Then she shook out her legs, kind of like how someone does when their limbs fell asleep.

"Why you acting weird?"

"You're acting weird," Hayes mumbled before leaving the room. Glen stared at the doorway for a couple seconds longer before shaking his head and twisting onto his stomach. His arms settled under the pillow that he lay his head upon. She's totally the weird one.

Meanwhile, Hayes shuffled her feet along the carpet as she made her was across the hallway, slow as molasses. Her body felt like its been through the wringer.

Was this the part where she should say, 'you should see the other guy'?

She reached the hallway bathroom, the door open so she detoured inside. As much as Hayes wished she wasn't, her body was fully awake now. Which meant she really had to pee.

Hayes turned the light on, immediately cinching her eyes tight. Too bright, too bright.

Sitting on the toilet, Hayes took the time to examine the damage done to make her body hurt so much. She remembered falling a lot during the game, but not any more than usual. Came with the territory, she supposed, being as small as she was and as aggressive.

She held her arms out straight in front of her, twisting them this way and that to get a better angle. Some bruises decorated her upper arms, no surprise there. For a non-contact sport, a lot of elbows were thrown. Good news though, no more hives.

Pulling up her shorts, she bent over and scrutinized her legs. Not too bad, nothing out of the norm. No hives there either.

Beautiful.

Certainly nothing for her brothers to get riled up about, which was always good. They hated seeing bruises on her skin and the hives had put them in a frenzy.

She lifted her shirt, raising it until her lower ribs were exposed. Ah, the source of her discomfort, she could see the beginnings of a bruise starting to form. Must of been from when she was trampled.

Hayes dropped her shirt, shuffling over to the sink. She didn't want to replay that in her head. Living it once was enough.

As she washed her hands, Hayes also noticed a minuscule bump on her head. Barely there, but when she skimmed a finger over it, she flinched from the tenderness. Ouchie.

That one she had the wall to thank for.

"Sunshine, you okay in there? I need to take a shower," knuckles rapped on the bathroom door. Recognizing Colton's voice tinged with something akin to panic, Hayes leaned over and pulled opened the door, barely sparing him a glance before looking back in the mirror.

How did he know it was her?

Colton stood in the doorway, blinking to make sure he truly saw Hayes. He didn't want a repeat of the previous night. She'd nearly given all of them a heart attack.

His head tilted to the side, confusion flashed in his eyes when Hayes didn't make any attempt to leave. After a moment, he gave a little sigh and went to stand next to her. Like a magnet, Hayes immediately molded herself to his side, her head not even reaching the height of his armpit.

"What'cha doing?" Colton asked, wrapping his arm around her so she leaned against his bare chest. She could feel the chest rise with each breath he took.

"I dunno," she murmured and she truly didn't.

"Well, you're doing something," Colton replied, pulling her closer as he pressed a chaste kiss to her head.

"Just thinking," she raised her left shoulder to her ear in a shrug. Thinking about why she felt so sluggish.

"Oh is that so?" Colton dropped a second kiss before releasing her. He stepped back a foot to open one of the cabinets under the sink. Bending over, he searched for his razor and shaving cream. "What'cha thinking about?"

"Stuff," Hayes' eyes were pinned to Colton's every move. She didn't want to blink and have him suddenly disappear. She didn't want to be alone.

He peeked up at her, humming "Girl of few words, I see."

Hayes didn't respond so he continued on his merry way. Remembering they used all the towels found in this bathroom last night, he smartly went to go find one before he forgot.

The sound of shuffling followed behind him to the hallway linen closet. He wasn't surprised when he turned around after grabbing a towel only to bump into Hayes. "Personal space there, kiddo."

"Sorry," was her automatic response though she made no move to give said space.

"What's going on with you," he murmured, putting a hand on her shoulder to direct her back towards the bathroom.

"I dunno."

Colton's brother-gut told him that Hayes wasn't going to leave his side, so he abruptly lifted her up by the armpits and sat her on the counter. She made herself as comfortable as one could and leaned her head against the medicine cabinet. Her arms wrapped around her legs in her classic rock-like position. All she was missing was one of her brothers' giant hoodies.

It was a good thing he didn't mind the company while he shaved.

Colton kept an eye on his sister, every few seconds side-glancing at her. She kept herself entertained by twiddling her fingers together, while her eyes were trained on him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Hayes replied, but her facial expression told him otherwise.

"Remember what we talked about last night?"

We, as in her, Austin and Colton.

Hayes nodded.

She remembered. After her bathroom stint and things calmed down, Austin and Colton sat with her and reassured her multiple times last night that she was safe.

How she and Glen were under Austin's care now; they lived in his house, followed his rules.

And if he said they could play basketball, then so be it.

Fuck their grandfather.

Alright, so that last bit of words were not actually spoken, but that's what the brothers were certainly thinking.

But Hayes couldn't shake this underlying feeling of... she didn't even know what to call it. But, she did know the feeling was suppressed when she was with her siblings. So, that meant only one thing to the girl.

An incessant tapping sound pulled Hayes back out of her thoughts. Once Colton was successful in grabbing her attention, he held the razor still while he kept her gaze. Neither looked away, no matter how much Hayes wanted to squirm away.

"Did you listen to a word I just said?"

Hayes' cheeks flushed, revealing her answer as she hadn't even noticed he had still been talking to her.

"That's what I thought," he chuckled, booping her nose much to her chagrin. As she pushed his hand away, Colton straightened up to his full height. "Alright, time for you to scram." His hands lifted her off the counter, returning her feet to the ground.

Hayes stared back at him, her pupils dilated as a surge of fight or flight hit her. "Wha- ?"

"I need to shower. Why don't you go eat breakfast or get changed for school?" Colton suggested, to which Hayes rapidly shook her head no.

Colton's gaze softened, whispering "What are you so afraid of?"

Hayes didn't reply but the answer screamed right back at him. Being alone.

"Come on, kiddo. I think Austin is waiting to make you some waffles." He put a guiding hand on her shoulder as he escorted her out of the bathroom, down the stairs, and into the kitchen.

His little sister remained attached to his hip the whole way.

At the sound of multiple footsteps, Austin lifted his gaze from his laptop just in time to watch Colton and Hayes appear. He didn't really expect to see her up this early so it took him off guard.

He at least thought the Benadryl would have knocked her out for a little bit longer.

"Sunshine is requesting some waffles, kind sir." Colton informed his brother in a goofy manner. The two exchanged quick glances, a whole conversation taking place in a second before Austin's eyes returned to their sister.

"It'll be my pleasure. Is chocolate chip okay with you, young lady?" Austin asked as he stood up and made his way around the table. He embraced Hayes, tugging her into his chest so Colton was freed. "Good morning, baby," He murmured with a kiss to the crown of her head.

He smiled when he felt the tiniest of nods against his stomach followed by a quiet, "Yes, please."

"Excellent," he hummed, with one more kiss to her messy hair, "Take a seat, it'll only take a moment." But that request seemed to go in one ear and out the other as Hayes stuck by his side, following him to the freezer and then the toaster oven.

Damn.

Three steps forward. One step back.

Again.

————

"Why's he so jittery?" Hayes whispered to Glen, her companion in the back seat.

The kids had just been picked up by Colton, who was assigned to carpool duty on this lovely Friday afternoon. Kids, plural, because although Hayes was confident enough to return to basketball right away, she was not so swayed about being by herself. God forbid, something happened and none of her brothers were there to help her. Hence, Glen had been the designated brother to attend her practices, which worked out well considering he couldn't physically practice yet. Five more weeks of the blasted cast.

But it wasn't Colton whom Hayes was talking about, but her other brother who occupied the passenger seat.

Frannosaurus rex.

When Hayes saw that as his contact name in Glen's phone, she couldn't let it go. It was even better than Dakota's term of endearment for his younger brother.

Normally, Austin would be the one to pick up Hayes from the Friday after school basketball practice, but he had an errand to run. Fortunately, the kids didn't question it, not really putting much thought into Colton's appearance. Mainly because of Francis. He was acting weird.

Apparently, Hayes' attempt at whispering wasn't really a whisper as Colton glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

"Didn't you look at the calendar?" Glen leaned closer to her. Hayes shook her head no, often forgetting about the master calendar that was posted in the kitchen. "SAT scores come out today."

Hayes' facial expression morphed into one of understanding. Oops, she should have remembered that, considering Francis had been freaking out about it the past few days. He had took the test a couple weeks prior, one last time, to see if he could bump his score just the tiniest bit to achieve the highest scholarship bracket.

While he already received a scholarship to play baseball at the very same college that Emerson attended, it wasn't full coverage. Therefore Francis wanted to do his best to get as much scholarship money as possible, anything to lessen the burden on Austin.

Not that Austin would ever complain about spending his money on his siblings, but Francis did feel that responsibility.

Somewhat.

It was a work in progress.

Nevertheless, Austin was proud of his little brother, watching him grow up before his very eyes.

Which is why the kids were now watching Francis have a minor freak out in the car. His leg never stopped bouncing for longer than a second. When they stopped at a red light, the whole car shook with the movement.

Francis had accompanied Colton for the drive because scores were set to be released right at 6pm which was the time that Hayes' practice ended, and Francis most definitely didn't want to open the results when he was home by himself.

Not even a little bit.

A couple minutes of driving later, Colton turned into the familiar plaza parking lot, finding an open spot and smoothly parking the car. He was also on dinner duty, responsible for picking up the Friday night pizza pies from their regular joint.

"Anyone want to come in with me?" He glanced at his three siblings.

"Sure," Glen replied, unbuckling his seatbelt and hopping out of the car. He certainly didn't have an ulterior motive of sneaking some french fries before his siblings. Nope, not him.

Glen shut the door behind him, leaving Hayes and Francis to their own devices.

Hayes scooted around in her seat, unable to sit still for longer than a second, before unbuckling her own seatbelt and perching on the edge of the seat. She rested her elbows on top of the passenger seat, her head settling next to Francis'.

"I don't know why you're so nervous," her eyes trained on his knee, "you're the only person I know who knows what 'nugatory' means."

She thought he would just ignore her when he didn't respond right away. But her patience paid off.

"I know what you're doing," Francis said, slouching down in his chair and crossing his arms. "And Cole is the dictionary king," Francis added with a grumble. Colton knew all the words, which made sense considering he was a teacher.

"I'm not doing anything," Hayes replied, pursing her lips at his stubbornness.

Like brother, like sister.

"Stop it, Hayes."

She faltered at the sound of her own name, not used to hearing it come from Francis. She was his Sissy.

Hayes grit her teeth, determined now to make Francis his happy self. "What's 'pampero' mean again?"

Francis huffed but didn't answer.

"Oh, oh, what about 'avgolemono'?" Hayes totally butchered the pronunciation, but she was rewarded with a dry chuckle from her brother.

Hayes grinned, proud of herself for cheering Francis up, as she tried to remember all the ridiculous words she'd heard her brother studying. He was right though, Colton was definitely a walking dictionary.

He deserved 'Brother of the Month' award, for helping Francis prepare for the test.

"Thanks, Sissy," Francis turned in his seat so he could look at her.

"For what? I didn't do anything," Hayes sat back in her chair, satisfied.

————

The Friday evening quickly turned to Friday night, the eve of Hayes' 14th birthday. The brothers took advantage of the cool night, opting to set up the firepit, the first of what would be many over the winter season.

It was a good night, Francis was over the moon with his SAT score. He couldn't wait to share the news with his eldest brother as he hadn't returned from his errand yet.

Some errand it was turning out to be.

Even Baker and Peyton were present, having joined the siblings for pizza.

But there was one other person missing, that being their little sister.

Hayes was upstairs hiding in her room as she licked her wounds, along with Chubba, the dog, up there to keep her company. Earlier in the night she had gotten uncharacteristically snappy and snarky, which earned her Baker's punishment of 13 burpees in the backyard. It wasn't all her fault, as Baker saw with his own eyes how Francis and Glen were goading her. But, she certainly instigated it by bickering with Glen and a little discipline never hurt anyone.

But she wasn't exactly a happy camper about it.

This was also the first time over the whole week that she wasn't with any one of the brothers, basically glued to their side even more so than her Velcro nature, so they figured she'd be back down soon enough.

They weren't worried.

Her persistent attachment had reached the extremes at times when the brothers had to physically pass her along to one another, but that was mostly in the early mornings when she had just woken up or late at night when she was basically falling asleep on her feet. Otherwise, Hayes had no major problems at school and the whole practice issue was solved by having Glen chaperoning.

What could only be written off as just another week in the life of the Powers' siblings.

Hayes only managed 27 minutes of sitting in self-pity before she dragged herself out of bed and back down the stairs. Since her room was facing the backyard, she could hear her brothers having what sounded like the time of their lives.

FOMO.

So, up she got, with Chubba following along right behind her. She loved that dog.

Stepping down from the last step, Hayes had a shiver rake through her. Dang it, she forgot a sweatshirt.

Her toes curled in, sucking up the warmth from her socks as Hayes debated climbing all the way back up stairs... or checking out Colton's closet.

Easy answer.

Hayes nudged Colton's bedroom door open with her pointer finger, reaching in and flicking the light switch up before entering. If she wasn't so cold, she would have spent more time snooping around like the little sister she was. But instead, she made a straight path to his closet, her eyes skimming the options before blindly picking one.

It wasn't like her brothers would wear uncomfortable sweatshirts.

Indispicable.

"Chubba," Hayes hissed as she pulled the sweatshirt over her head, the hem draping down to her knees. What a pretty dress. Leaving the hood up so the newfound warmth couldn't escape, she tugged on the strings as she watched the dog jump onto Colton's bed.

Welp, with the amount of shedding the golden retriever did, Colton was bound to know that someone had come into his room anyways.

The dog returned her stern look with his infamous one, his tongue flopping out of his mouth as he happily panted. Hayes grinned, the dog could do no wrong in her eyes.

"Come on, boy," Hayes patted her thigh as she exited the room, plunging the room back into darkness.

She swung her arms, amused at how long the sleeves were, her fingers no where to be seen. If she swirled her arms fast enough, the sleeves turned into nunchucks.

Watch out brothers, she was a force to be reckoned with.

Hayes zigzagged her way through the house, the chairs haphazardly placed back around the dinner table. She stepped down into the family room, proceeding to the back door that led into their fenced backyard.

She opened the door, allowing Chubba to escape into the outside before following behind him. Hayes let the sound of her brothers' laughter guide her way. There they were, scattered around the glowing fire pit in various fold out chairs, accumulated from over the years.

The ground was cold, but thankfully not wet, as she crossed the brick patio in her socks.

Chubba reached the brothers first, causing their heads to turn in her direction before she even made a noise. Their laughter died down as they waited for her to join them.

"It's about time you came outside, Sunshine," Baker said, a smile on his lips at how cute his little sister looked. He hoped she held no grudge against him for the burpees.

Only time would tell though, because Hayes was working hard to maintain her grim look.

"Aye, is that mine?" Hands grabbed her waist as she walked by, pulling her onto their lap.

"Maybe," Hayes replied, trying to pry his fingers off of her, "Let me go." She bit down on her lip, refusing to give up the gig.

"Only if you say you love me," Colton bargained, his fingers suddenly digging into her sides.

She was toast.

As much as she wanted to keep up the hard front, Hayes couldn't resist the tickling as she easily dissolved into laughter.

"I don't even know you," she managed to retort.

"Is that so?" The tickling was amped up, if that was even possible.

"Colton," Hayes was in tears from laughing so hard. "You're gonna make me pee."

"Sounds like someone is in repudiation," Francis said, from where he sat next to Glen and Peyton across the firepit.

"Whoo boy, big brain energy over there," Baker teased, making the brothers laugh at Francis. Feeling the high from his SAT score, he'd been tossing out words like that all night long, leading to the brothers hyping him up and jesting with him at the same time.

Brotherly love.

With Colton distracted, it gave Hayes a reprieve from the tickling. She successfully removed herself from his grip, briefly standing up only to sit back down again, this time so her back rested comfortably against his chest and her legs loosely straddling his.

Colton rewrapped his arms around her, so she was snuggled in his warm embrace.

"Shut up," Francis said, unable to stop his cheeks from reddening.

"Speaking of," Dakota snickered, "remember when Francesca got an A on some stupid assignment and he came home crying?"

"What?" Glen smirked, raising his eyebrows at Francis.

"Oh yeah!" Colton said, his chuckle vibrating through Hayes' back, "he was so upset because Dakota got an F on his test and he didn't."

"Isn't that opposite...?" Hayes trailed off as her brothers broke off into hearty laughter. She frowned as she looked around for someone to explain.

She was confuzzled.

"Mine made the fridge and everything," Dakota bragged, a shit-eating grin on his face as he continued to torment Francis.

"Why must we bring that up," Francis groaned, "You guys lied to me."

"Not our fault you were so gullible," Baker replied.

"Be nice," Peyton lightly slapped her husband on the shoulder. Baker trapped her hand in both of his, leaving a kiss on her knuckles.

"I'm the definition of nice, babe," Baker huffed, puffing out his chest.

Peyton laughed turning Baker's grin into a pout, "Whatever you say, honey."

"I still don't get it," Hayes pinched Colton's arm.

"Me neither," Glen piped in.

"Dakota and I," Colton chuckled at the great memory, "convinced Fran that an F was for fantastic and an A was awful."

Laughter made its rounds again.

"Austin let you put your test on the fridge?" Glen questioned Dakota.

"Not exactly," Baker answered for the group, "Austin was pissed. But, even he couldn't deny Dakota was a genius."

"Thank you, thank you," Dakota took a mock bow from his seat. "Fuck the haters."

Sensing the kids' confusion, Colton elaborated for their behalf, "Kota got every single question wrong."

"Actually," Dakota held up a finger, "I purposely crossed out the right answers." His brothers nodded in agreement, he did do that. "But don't you fucking dare follow in my footsteps," he narrowed his eyes at Glen, specifically, who simply smiled a cheesy grin in return.

"Yeah, yeah," Glen brushed off the warning.

"Well, what about the time that Dakota decided to piss on a tree in front of a restaurant." Francis tried to put the ragging attention back onto his brother.

"Is it a crime for needing to take a leak?" Dakota questioned.

"um yes," Baker barked out a laugh, "public indecency."

"Fuck off, I was like 6."

"Pretty sure I was 6." Francis called him on his bluff, which meant Dakota was 12.

Dakota rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Anyways, it's not like you were any better, Baker."

"The hell I wasn't," Baker held his hand to his chest in outrage. "I was a good boy."

"Oh, yeah, like you don't remember when you turned the home into a fucking nudist colony?"

Peyton spit out the drink she unfortunately took a sip of, as the other brothers died in laughter. Hayes' mouth dropped open in legitimate shock.

"You did what?" Peyton sputtered in disbelief.

"It wasn't as bad as it sounds and it was not my fault," Baker defended.

"Sure," Colton ragged, "Not like you were in charge or nothing."

"How does this even happen?" Glen wondered.

Francis nudged Glen, "you were there."

"I was?"

"Hayes, too." Colton added, making Hayes' eyebrows rise in surprise.

"really?" Her bright blue eyes found Francis' who nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, yeah, I was babysitting all you little pests, for like a week or whatever," Baker explained, amusement in his voice as he remembered those days way back when. "But it was your fault, Cole," Baker passed the blame along.

Colton briefly held his hands up before snuggling Hayes again. "I plead the fifth."

"What happened?" Hayes wanted all the details, especially because she was supposedly involved, too. It sucked not being able to remember.

"Well, someone, Colton," Baker coughed, "had the great idea to work on potty training another little someone," Hayes giggled when Baker directed a mock glare her way, "by letting her run around the house naked."

"It was a great idea," Colton defended, "you're just mad you didn't think of it first."

"Soooo," Baker continued, ignoring Colton's comment, "you guys all of a sudden decided that clothes were the devil and wanted to run naked and free as well for the whole time pretty much. And I mean, absolutely naked. Penises everywhere."

"What's that shitty song?" Dakota snickered before singing, "something something something in your birthday suit."

"I mean, you can't blame us. Shirts are uncomfy," Francis stated.

Next, Glen shrugged, "can't blame me. I don't even remember it."

"so blame Sonny," Francis concluded with a nod.

"Speaking of Emerson," Colton shook with laughter before even getting to the good part, "remember when..."

And that was how the rest of the night went, the brothers poking fun at each other through their childhood stories, which ironically provided the comfort and love necessary to lull Hayes into deep sleep.

————

It was approaching nearly midnight, when the peaceful silence was broken by the sound of two cars beeping, indicating they were locked.

Francis perked up from his slouched position, his phone dropping onto his lap as he glanced around. Him and Glen had been clan battling on FunRun, the other brothers and Peyton conversing quietly amongst themselves.

Hayes didn't even flinch, as she was still passed out, securely cuddled on Colton's lap.

Like he'd ever let her fall.

But Francis, he recognized those beeps immediately, as each car their brother had had a distinct sound.

Austin was home!

Finally.

"Where are you going?" he caught all of his older brothers' attention as he suddenly stood up. But Francis didn't reply as he was in a hurry, hobbling over Glen's outstretched legs before making a beeline to the back door.

"Fran?" Baker questioned after him, just as the door from the house was pushed open.

Someone was just as eager to rejoin the party.

"Hey fam!"

"Sonny!" The two besties reunited with each other, Francis dramatically jumping onto Emerson. Not expecting the weight, Emerson lost his balance, causing the two to topple to the hard ground.

"Really, guys?" Austin asked, sidestepping the duo on the floor as he strolled out. He was faced with the inquiring looks from his brothers as he approached. Crossing paths with Glen who headed over to greet Emerson, Austin intercepted him. He kissed his head before ruffling Glen's hair, then continued to say hello to his other siblings. Austin kissed Hayes' covered head and patted Colton's shoulder before lowering himself into one of the now open seats.

"Welcome home," Baker greeted enthusiastically, spreading his arm out and waving it around. His other arm was wrapped around Peyton who migrated to his lap when the temperature continued to dip. The couple had been waiting for Austin to show up before returning to their own house, not because Baker didn't trust his younger siblings, but because of his sense of responsibility of being the older sibling.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Dakota asked, his arms crossed in a stern posture, "Don't you have any idea what time it is?"

Austin suppressed his smile at Dakota's concern masked behind his rough nature, "Sorry, the flat tire took way longer than I thought."

Baker and Colton accepted his answer with no problem as they were both kept well-informed by Austin as to what was happening.

"What flat tire?"

Dakota, along with Francis, Glen, and Hayes, were kept in the dark about the eminent surprise. The surprise being Emerson, if it wasn't obvious.

"Well, that's our cue," Baker squeezed Peyton's shoulder before lovingly pushing her off his lap. They were sitting on a low-riding beach chair, so it wasn't much of a fall. He stood up and stretched, all the while ignoring Peyton's darkened gaze.

"Asshole," she huffed, making Baker look down to where she sat. "You get the couch tonight."

"Oy! Why you on the floor, babe?" He asked, a smirk playing on his lips as he bent down and gripped her arm. "Here, let me help you." Baker easily pulled her to her feet, embracing her so she couldn't attack him, and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips.

"Still an asshole," Peyton stated, laying a solid punch to his gut so he'd release her.

"But I'm your asshole," he returned with a smile.

Peyton playfully rolled her eyes, "Unfortunately."

While Baker stood in appalment at what his own wife said, Peyton made her rounds, saying goodnight to all her brother-in-laws. She smiled endearingly at Hayes and Glen, to which the latter returned with a lopsided grin and small wave.

Progress!

By this point, Emerson and Francis had rejoined the group as well when Emerson suddenly gasped. "Oh no we missed it! It's 12:03."

"Keep your voice down," Austin warned, "The neighborhood is sleeping."

"But we have to sing happy birthday to Sunshine!" Emerson frowned when all his older brothers shook their heads in unison.

"Let the girl sleep," Colton said, moving his arms as if he was shielding their sister from a potential attack.

"Patience, Sonny boy. You'll be able to sing in a couple hours," Austin reassured, clapping a hand on Emerson's shoulder.

"Fine," Emerson gave in, knowing he was better off listening to Austin. His eldest brother did just spend several hours helping him. Otherwise, he'd still be stranded on the highway with a flat tire.

Emerson was the errand.

"Good choice," Austin squeezed his shoulder.

"Happy birthday, baby," Baker whispered, sealing his words with a kiss on Hayes' forehead. Standing up, he laced his fingers with Peyton's and saluted his brothers with a "good night."

"Night Bakey-oof," Francis gripped his stomach from Baker's jab.

"And back on the couch you go."

~~~~~

Sup! Lookie here - A pre-thanksgiving chapter, you're very welcome. I beat my own deadline 🥳

I'll try to get one more chapter posted before I go into study mode once again until mid December but no promises. Going home for some family mingling plus still have to study so we shall see.

P.S. 32 days until Christmassssssssssss