51.

Hi :)

mention of a fictional shooting and use of swear words

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🎶🎶🎶

"Don't stop me now..."

"'Cause I'm having a good time."

"Don't stop me now..."

"Yes, I'm havin' a good time."

"I don't want to stop at all."

Hayes flung open the master bedroom door, scaring her two brothers half to death. "Please stop, for the love of God, my ears are bleeding."

"Hey, get out!"

"You're not allowed in the bros' room!"

"Sounds more like the girls' room!" Hayes laughed, which quickly turned into a mix of screaming laughter as Glen suddenly came charging at her. Glen snagged the back of her uniform shirt up near the collar before she could run very far, making her rebound back to him. She began coughing from the excitement as her arms waved around to catch her balance. But clumsy as always, their feet got tangled up as Glen accidently tripped her, the two of them collapsing to the ground in a heap of blonde hair. At least it was carpeted flooring to soften their fall.

Hayes tried crawling out from underneath Glen but she was laughing too hard to put any real muscular effort behind her movement.

Glen flopped over onto his back so now he laid flat on top of his sister, slowly crushing the breath out of her.

"Holy fucking shit, shut the fuck up!" Dakota yelled from his bedroom, all the way at the other side of the horseshoe hallway.

Grumpy pants.

They all ignored him.

"Get off," Hayes squirmed, feeling completely helpless and at Glen's disposal as he outweighed her by a lot.

"Nah, I'm quite comfortable," Glen laced his hands behind his head, stretching out his long legs as he had the nerve to use the back of her head for his pillow.

"Get off, get off, get off," Hayes repeated, kicking her shoes against the carpet in a tantrum.

Glen laughed, smirking at Francis when he finally sauntered out of their bedroom into the hall. He was tucking his school shirt into his beige pants, still rocking the disheveled look with his collar flipped upward like a vampire and shirt unbuttoned. "Dude, what took you so long?"

"I missed a freaking loop so I had to fix my belt all over again," Francis replied, crouching down at Hayes' head. "Hi Sissy, don't you seem to be in quite the pickle."

"Francis, help," Hayes begged, tilting her chin upward so he could see her pout.

"Why would I? You were just laughing at us, were you not?" He crossed his arms, keeping his balance on the balls of his feet.

Hayes burst out laughing again, thinking about her brothers full-out singing a duo together as they were getting ready for school. Their creativity for entertainment had skyrocketed in the less than 24 hours without any technology to distract them.

Before barging in, she had pushed the bedroom door open a slither to watch the concert.

It was priceless!

Such a shame that she couldn't record it since Austin hadn't returned their phones yet for the school day. What a missed golden opportunity for blackmail.

"You're still laughing!" Francis huffed then patted her head tauntingly before standing up. "You can kiss any help goodbye, little Sissy."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Hayes quickly apologized, hoping he'd think the tears of laughter were actually because she was sincerely sorry. No such luck though so she went back to plan A. "Get off of me, Glennard! You stupid oaf, I can't breathe."

"Ain't nobody can help you now," Francis teased, extending his arm out to high-five Glen.

"Yeah, Austin's in the shower. Who are you going to call for help?" Glen wiggled his non-existent bony butt around as Hayes grumbled some curse words under her breath. The boy did put his palms on the floor though to relieve his sister of most of the heavy pressure. He wasn't trying to kill her, he'd miss her too much.

"The fucking ghost busters. Now get the fuck off of her."

Suddenly Hayes could suck in a full breath of air as all the weight was rolled off of her. She was roughly pulled up by under her arm pits and returned to standing on her own two feet by Mr. Grumpy Pants himself. She spun around to face her life-saver.

"Thanks," Hayes gave Dakota a small smile of gratitude.

His face remained as a blank, pissed off slate except for a minor flicker in his eyes before it was gone. "Whatever," he grunted, already walking away from them. He disappeared from sight when he rounded the sharp corner, the echo of stomping down the stairs left in his wake.

Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

Hayes frowned, flinching when someone looped their heavy arm around her neck. A quick glance to the side proved it was Glen, with the girl automatically leaning into his familiar embrace. "Why's he being such a... such a..."

"Poop face?" Glen kindly filled in for her with a grin.

"Exactly." Hayes nodded, a scowl on her face as she crossed her arms, her shoulders defensively curling in. Her chest hurt, emotionally and physically. Dakota was punching a hole in her heart, the same one he sworn to protect from the evils of the world.

"Don't worry about him, Hayes," Francis said, sounding semi-serious for once. He came up on her other side, lightly smacking her arm with the back of his hand for her attention. "He's just in a moody mood. It's nothing you did."

Glen was not sold on that excuse. "He was fine yesterday playing cards with us, so what changed? Why did he turn into an asshole for no reason? What right does he have to do that?"

Dakota was switching moods between hot and cold faster than Hayes' normal emotional teenage saga and that was saying something. Maybe they should buy him a mood ring so the brothers would have a warning before engaging with their volatile sibling.

Francis shrugged, "That's Dakota for you."

"Soooo basically you don't know why either."

"No," Francis scoffed, "I do know."

Glen rolled his eyes. "Fine. But no need to bullshit us then, Francis. If you don't want to tell us, just say that."

Hayes shifted on her feet, feeling uneasy. Unlike her, Glen didn't care how blunt he could come across at times, which contributed to the vibe of confrontation that Hayes was picking up on. If he wanted to, Glen had no problems harassing someone until he got the answers he wanted. But if the reverse was happening and Glen was being questioned, the kid would shut down in a blink of an eye.

"It's just... you know how he can't sleep at night sometimes? Well those same demons have been messing with his head more than usual. That's all. He'll shake it off and be back to the regularly scheduled Dickota in no time."

It was more of an answer compared to what Emerson had given Hayes previously when she inquired about Dakota's odd talents. Who would have thought bowling was such a highly classified subject?

Hayes had confided in Glen about how Emerson basically stonewalled the girl when she curiously asked, and now the boy was intrigued. He just hadn't had time to ask Austin about it, like Emerson had suggested.

In the meantime though, Glen just couldn't get rid of the feeling that he and Hayes were the root cause of Dakota's current problem.

Glen felt Hayes put more of her weight against his side as she tried to shrink away from the conversation and realized he hadn't responded to Francis' diplomatic answer. He quickly replayed the words that went in one ear and out the other.

Shake it off, sure.

Working with that stupid-ass response that he didn't agree with, Glen changed the subject in order to keep Hayes from a downward spiral into a bunny hole, something she had a tendency to do and always backfired on her.

"Shake it off?" Glen randomly repeated again, the words holding somewhat of familiarity to him. His eyebrows rose towards his hairline as he widen his eyes comically.

Francis squinted, confused by Glen's sudden bright face before understanding what he was hinting at, evident by the upward tilt of his lips.

Glen slowly nodded, "You picking up what I'm putting down?"

"Yeah, I'm catching your drift, baby bro." Francis had a mischievous look, sending Hayes a wink.

Hayes absolutely did not like what trouble that was going to bring to her so she tried to sneak away, smoothly ducking out of Glen's hold. It didn't work all the way as Glen quickly noticed her attempted escape and trapped her in his embrace with both his arms now. His hands hung casually against her chest as her back was towards him.

Glen asked innocently, "Where are you going, HayHay?"

"Nowhere," Hayes mumbled submissively, her shoulders dropping again as she began to mope. She was dooooooomed.

"Good answer," Glen laughed, taking her response as encouragement, teasingly shaking her shoulders. "Don't sound so scared, HayHay. Francis can't even kill a fly." He snapped his fingers at their older brother. "Take it away, Franny!"

Would he ever!

It was Francis' time to shine.

Reaching out, he took both of Hayes' hands and stole her away from Glen. He made her spin around like a ballerina, crashing into his chest, which did earn him a breathy laugh. Opening his loud mouth, he began his song-and-dance performance, knowing the words by heart.

🎵"I stay out too late,

got nothing in my brain."🎵

Glen wasn't sure whether to be impressed or worried about his dear brother. One thing was for sure, Francis had been dreaming of this moment, gaining more giggles from Hayes as he playfully danced around with her.

And by dancing, Glen specifically meant that it consisted a lot of Francis shaking his booty to the beat while swinging Hayes' arms side to side and up and down.

Party animal over here.

But alas, all good things must end at some point.

🎵'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play

And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate

Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake🎵

With each emphasis on play, hate, and shake, Francis made sure to rub his hands all over his sister's hair, completely messing up Hayes' ponytail by making it frizzy. Totally an annoying older brother thing to do and it caused a great grievance.

"Don't you dare, Francis!" Hayes shouted to be heard over his tone-deaf singing. She wouldn't be caught dead complimenting the jerk now. She instinctually fought back against her stupid brother, getting him good in the ribs with her bony elbow so he had to shut up for a second to regain his breath. "I'll get you back for this."

Mark her words, Francesca.

Glen couldn't help himself, not caring that he was going to butcher the song. It was worth it in order to make fun of Francis.

"But I keep losing... Can't stop, won't stop fooling!"

"Glen, those aren't the next words, dude!" Francis groaned like he was in pain, flinging his head back in disappointment. The substituted words went right over his head. "How do you mess up the most basic part?"

"Sorry," Glen laughed, not bothered in the slightest nor sounding very sorry. He was just here to have fun. "This isn't really the music we listen to."

To be honest, the kids didn't listen to much music in general, besides the radio during the car rides to school and what not.

"It's the title of the song! That you even said! It's TAYLOR SWIFT! What are you even saying?"

"Oh, my bad," Glen snickered. He used Francis' momentary frustration to snatch back Hayes, the little girl not enjoying being used as a rag doll tugged between her brothers. She went to yell for Austin, but Glen was one step ahead of her and quickly covered her mouth with his hand. "Sheesh woman, let him shower in peace."

As if Austin couldn't hear all the chaotic screaming already. The eldest brother was simply ignoring them, going about his morning routine to get ready for work, because some times it had to be like that.

Until someone let out a blood-curling screech of pain and only then, would he find it necessary to step in. Otherwise, Colton or Dakota could handle it if need be. Parenting 101 from the nonexistent book that he didn't read.

Hayes shook her head wildly, purposefully trying to whack Glen in the face with what was left of her ponytail. Her head suddenly felt a lot heavier as her blonde hair cascaded freely over her shoulders. Then to cause further aggravation, Glen flipped her long hair over her face so she couldn't see.

T'was the creation of the Hayes, the hair monster.

"Seriously, Glen?" She huffed in aggravation, brushing the hair out of her eyes while turning around with a glare aimed directly at her unfavorite brother.

Glen smiled, holding up the black hairband that he plucked off the very edge of the dwindling ponytail that was no longer left. "That's my name, don't wear it out."

Hayes' fingers tensed into fists, a sure sign that she was on the verge of hitting something or someone. The gut-punch to Francis had been valid for self-defense, but this was in anger. So instead of striking out, she took the safer bet and removed herself from the provoking environment.

An act of growing maturity on the girl's part.

The girl sprinted down the hallway, leaving her shocked brothers in the dust. Her hair flowed like a lion's mane behind her as she ran down the stairs, way faster than her eldest brother would appreciate.

"Wait, Hayes, we were just playing!" Glen called after her before belatedly chasing her. "Slow down, will you?"

Hayes ignored his shouts, her legs moving faster with no destination in mind yet. She just was determined to not punch Glen, and that was taking all her willpower right now.

Reaching the ground floor, Hayes clipped tightly around the banister towards the right, heading in the direction of the family room. A plan quickly formed in her brain to escape into the backyard, hoping the fresh air would cool her increasingly impulsive nature. And if that simply didn't do the trick, then she would throw a tennis ball against the wall of the house. Francis shared the stress-relieving secret with her yesterday and there was no time like the present to see if it worked.

"Hayes, stop running!" Glen exclaimed in frustration. He missed by inches from grabbing her arm.

"Leave me alone!"

"Glen, Hayes, what's wrong? Why are we shouting?" A handsome man stood in the kitchen threshold, someone looking awfully similar to Colton. But that couldn't be, for the brother hadn't come home before the three youngest siblings went to bed last night.

Stranger danger.

Glen quickly skidded to a stop, thankful he wasn't wearing socks yet because otherwise he would have plowed into Hayes who had suddenly halted at the far end of the dinner table. Her cheeks were flushed from the adrenaline but her body language was telling a different story, like she had just seen a ghost. Her chest rose and fell rapidly with each breath, the rest of her muscles stiff as a board.

"The little dipshits were messing with her upstairs," Dakota's gruff voice explained from somewhere in the kitchen. So that's where he disappeared to.

Colton glanced back over his shoulder, "Was that what that noise was?" His selective hearing must have been working extremely well, a skill he picked up from teaching loud-mouthed fourth grade gremlins.

"The fucking screeching? Yeah, that would be Francesca singing."

Colton frowned as he turned around again to address his two youngest siblings. His gut was telling him that something else must have taken place in addition to the karaoke session. Something to get their little sister fired up unnecessarily on a Monday morning no less.

Glen was the first to recover at the sight of their older brother, who was already dressed in his professional teacher attire and ready to get his work week started.

Seems like everyone was up-and-at-'em this Monday morning.

"Hey Colton! When did you get home? We missed you yesterday! What were you doing? We played cards. I beat Francis in Slapjack and then got my ass whooped by Austin in Rummy. Francis got murdered every round, though. It was actually really funny because he was trying to win too. But then he quit after three games because he was a sour puss..."

"Smiley."

"Oh and then guess what! Wait, I'll just tell you-" Glen broke off into a coughing fit from talking too much too fast in excitement. That and he still had some remnant of yuckiness to get rid of from his chest cold.

"Smiley."

"Yeah?" Glen asked in a whispered breath as he rubbed his chest.

"I missed you too, buddy."

Glen's eyes gleamed with happiness. "You did?"

"Yes," Colton chuckled. At least one teen was excited to see him. Hayes was still acting like she saw a ghost, but at least she wasn't running through the house like an ax murderer was after her. "I got home late, after you already went upstairs to bed. Sorry I missed out on the fun."

"Well, feel grateful you missed dinner. We had Mexican and Francis had beans."

Colton instantly made a face of repulsion. "Sorry, buddy. I'm glad to see you survived the night."

"Oh, don't fool yourself. I slept in Hayes' room," Glen glanced at his sister who still hadn't moved.

"That's good. Speaking of Fran, where is he? We'll leave in 15 minutes for school."

"He's upstairs," Glen replied, before taking a short gasp. "Wait, I didn't finish telling you about yesterday! Guess what, Cole!"

"What?" Colton smiled, folding his arms as he leaned his hip against the corner of the wall. Glen's enthusiasm was palpable, that's just who he was.

"I took my permit test yesterday and I passed it! Hold on, I'll show you!" Glen got moving, slipping past Colton into the kitchen. The kid had printed out the piece of paper certificate proving that he had passed and proudly hung it on the fridge, right next to Francis' math test.

With Glen preoccupied, Colton turned his attention back to his little sister. She was a sight for sore eyes,  all squared away in her cute school uniform that she despised. But her hair was looking something awfully special.

To backtrack for a moment, Colton was in fact very surprised to see both kids pretty much dressed and ready to go so early. That whole no technology break Austin implemented definitely sped up their morning routine as there was no electronic distractions to mindlessly waste their time.

"What happened to your hair there, Sunshine?" Colton couldn't help but ask. He made sure to hide any hint of a smile from his lips, knowing how sensitive his sister could be.

Anger flushed through Hayes once again, the same intensity as before, when she was upstairs with Double Trouble. "Francis freaking messed it up!"

"Okay, no need to yell. It's not the end of the world," Colton pushed off the wall, standing up straight as he fixed his tie. "Why don't you go get your hairbrush-"

Hayes interrupted him, unable to control her outburst. "I can't! Austin is in the bathroom and my brush is in there."

I see, I see.

Glen quietly reentered the dinning room, looking a little sheepish as he had took part in the shenanigans. He was just as guilty of the crime that Francis had been accused of.

"Thanks a lot, Glennard," Hayes hissed at him. "Now I look like a slob because of you."

She had made sure to brush her hair and put extra effort into a nice ponytail that morning, for no real reason other than she felt like it, yet her brothers just had to ruin it.

Glen's hand that was clutching the paper he was so proud of started to tighten subconsciously, crinkling the paper edges slightly before Colton rescued it from him. The older brother straightened out the certificate against his chest and then put it on the dinner table to keep it out of harms way and collecting any more wrinkles.

"Why don't you go finish getting dressed for school," Colton told the boy, putting his hand on the kid's shoulder. "You can tell me all about your permit in the car, alright?"

Glen followed Colton's gaze down to his bare feet, noticing that he was still missing his socks and shoes. He wiggled his toes on the cold, hard tile as he chewed on his inner cheek. On the one hand, Colton gave him an out from staying in Hayes' wrath. On the other side of things, he couldn't just abandon her like that.

Hoorah. Leave no Hayes behind.

But when Glen looked past Colton's frame to glance at Hayes again, only to catch daggers from her, he slowly nodded. Maybe she needed space from him for a minute. But only a minute, then he'd be back.

Glen took the hairband off his wrist and passed it to Colton. "Sorry, Hayes. We didn't mean to make you mad."

Colton squeezed Glen's shoulder, encouraging him to head upstairs. With one last grim look, the boy turned around and left.

Glen just liked to push her buttons sometimes, since he could do that now that they were in a home of love instead of fear.

But he was remorseful, as was Francis, both knowing they took the fun a bit too far with their sister. She was a tough cookie while being as delicate as a flower at the same time, making it a challenge for her immature brothers to know when the line had been crossed at times.

The confusing joys of being a girl.

Back in the dining room, Hayes remained a breathing statue at the far end of the dinner table, out of Colton's arm width as she awaited for him to figure out his genius plan on what his next steps were.

Though, the need to make a clean escape into the backyard was fading away the longer she remained in her older brother's presence. Colton wasn't even doing anything, but his calm persona was working its charm.

All she could think about now was how her hair was all knotty; simply a lost cause as she just knew it was going to hurt if she tried to fix it with her fingers. She wasn't good at doing her hair which is why she always put it back into a ponytail in the first place. Hayes valued functionality and ease over fanciness any day of the week.

"Come here, kiddo. Let's see what we have to work with." Decided on a plan, Colton pulled out a chair from the dinner table, fixing it around so Hayes would be able to stand in front of him.

"It's just one giant hairball." Hayes tugged harshly on random pieces of her hair. "Might as well just cut it all off now."

"No," Colton disagreed, sitting down. "That's a little dramatic, don't you think. Come over here and let me take a look."

Hayes's feet began to walk on his command before movement from the kitchen caught her eye. The little girl stopped and watched as Dakota emerged; he couldn't resist investigating what was going on. He just always had to be in the know, so then he could figure out how to add fuel to the fire.

She immediately scowled at the sight of him, not over his poop behavior from yesterday or minutes prior upstairs.

It was Dakota's turn to stop walking when he caught a glimpse of her unhappy look. He retreated back two paces so he could lean his back against the kitchen counter rather than joining them at the table. A downcast look appeared on his face as he crossed his arms against his chest, wisely choosing to keep watch from afar.

The brother knew he deserved that scowl but had no plans of rectifying her frustrations towards him yet. He wasn't ready to explain or talk about it with her or anyone. Probably would never be ready, to be honest.

But he knew Austin and Baker would only let his pissy behavior go like this for so long before they smacked some sense into him.

Not literally, of course.

'Do no harm to siblings' coming in clutch.

With Dakota pulled back out of the way, Hayes hesitantly took the rest of the small steps forward to where Colton waited, until finally she stood at the tips of his nice dress shoes. For half a second, she debated stomping on his feet but ultimately decided against it. Cole was going to help her out, after all, so she didn't want him tugging on her hair in spite.

Colton reached his arm out and gently clasped her left wrist, bringing her towards him another couple inches to where she stood between his legs. He forced her to turn so her back was to him and he could now have access to her crazy hairdo.

"Ah, it's not that bad," Colton soothed. "You did a good job brushing it." Starting at the bottom, his fingers began gently detangling her hair. "How about I braid it for you?" He offered.

Hayes wrinkled her nose as she turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. "You know how to braid?"

"What? You think only Austin was in charge of doing your hair as a baby? We all have some skill with braiding. Just maybe not Baker, so don't ask him," Colton said with a chuckle. "This is an easy fix, Sunshine. Trust me."

Trust him.

Hayes wasn't sure what she thought of Colton right now, having not spoken to him since Saturday night.

Nevertheless, she obeyed, giving Colton freedom to fix her hair.

"You know who's really good at braiding hair is Peyton. I'm sure she'd love to teach you if you ask," Colton gently added.

Duly noted.

And shoved to the back of her mind where she probably would never think about it again.

Thundering footsteps were heard rocketing down the staircase before Glen rejoined the brother and sister in the dining room, his brown school shoes and a pair of Francis' funky shark socks in his hands.

"I'm back!" Glen exclaimed, using his leg to kick out a chair before plopping down on it. He dropped his shoes on the floor and propped his right ankle onto his left knee to be able to put his sock on.

Sock. Shoe. Sock. Shoe.

Smiley, the psychopath.

Hayes eyed Glen suspiciously but remained silent as Colton worked his magic on her hair. Her hands laced together in front of her stomach to keep her fingers from tremoring, all the while feeling like an awkward pelican just standing there.

Glen said not another peep, Colton didn't attempt to speak either, and Dakota vanished back into the kitchen for more food after observing for a scrutinizing minute.

There was a particularly stubborn knot that made Hayes wince. "Ouch, Cole."

"Sorry," Colton muttered, keeping focused on not letting the blonde hair slip through his fingers.

Glen finished tying his shoe before sitting up. His knee bounced nervously as he tried really hard to keep quiet. Really hard, damnit.

"So, where were you yesterday?" Glen blurted out.

Colton's eyes flicked to his brother, his fingers pausing for just a second. "Oh, I just went out with some of the guys."

"That's fun. With your teacher nerd friends? What did you guys do?" Glen remained persistent. "Wait, did you go paintballing?"

Colton shook his head. "No, we did not. And hey, my friends who also happen to be teachers are not nerds. Don't be rude. But that's not who I was with."

Glen grinned. "Yeah, stupid question. Teachers don't go paintballing. And it would have been mean if you went without us." Glen jokingly huffed, his fingers now tapping up a storm against his thigh. "Wait, you were here when Fran and I asked Austin, right? He said maybe we could do it over Thanksgiving break so imma hold that to him. Did you know that, Hayes?" Glen asked his sister.

The little girl shook her head no.

"Hey now Sunshine, don't move or I'll have to restart," Colton warned, nudging her in the side with his knee.

"Oopsies," Hayes mumbled, her shoulders tensing back up.

Colton tickled her in the same spot on the side by her hipbone, trying to get her to relax again. At the sound of her little squeal, he focused all his attention back on the task in front of him. He was working on a simple three-strand braid with the limited time, but next time, he'd show off his talents with a French braid.

Glen didn't give up. He tapped his index finger against his chin now. "Wait, I know. Did you go golfing? Because that wouldn't be as mean as going paintballing without us. Golf is hella boring, and totally something that teachers probably do."

"Why, because we're boring?" Colton asked sarcastically.

Glen shrugged with a cheeky grin, "You said it, not me."

Hayes' mask of uninterest fully cracked as she snorted. Any second now Colton would probably remind them how cool he was.

Code for Loser.

"By the way, Fran is taking a poop but he's ready whenever you are." Glen informed Colton, just remembering that tidbit of information.

Hayes could not not laugh at her sudden potty thoughts. "Francis is taking a crap in the crapper."

"Taking a shit in the shitter," Glen snickered, his twinkling eyes meeting Hayes' bright blue ones. They shared a smile, all forgiven between the two of them in a blink of an eye.

"Real nice," Colton's lips flitted upward as he halfheartedly scolded their inappropriate language. He nimbly wrapped the black hairband three times at the end of Hayes' now-finished braid before dropping her neatly-done hairdo against her back. Hands free, the brother reached forward and wrapped his ape-length muscular arms loosely around her waist, holding his breath until Hayes initiated further contact by leaning backwards into his embrace.

Colton didn't fight fair with his hugs. The little girl was never able to resist snuggles.

"Colton," Glen garnered his siblings' attention again, this time sounding like a much less confident version of Smiley. "You weren't staying away because of us, were you?"

Million dollar question that Hayes didn't have the guts to ask.

She ducked her head down, pulling her hair over one shoulder so her fingers could fumble with the end of her braid and the many split ends. She knew that if Mama Deja was here, she'd encourage the girl to let her trim a couple inches off to keep her blonde hair healthy.

"Not intentionally, no," Colton finally answered with the selective truth. He sighed, resting his chin on top of Hayes' head as he looked at Glen. A sadness came over Glen's face at his answer so he explained some more. "And I wasn't with my teacher friends. Some of my old college teammates were in town for a quick trip so I was hanging out with them."

"Your old college teammates?" Glen's eyebrows rose with excitement. "As in they played basketball in college? That's so freaking dope!"

Colton hummed in acknowledgement, ignoring the bit of guilt as he knowingly left out what else he did on Sunday. The brother felt his little sister shift in his embrace, a telltale sign that she had something to say but would never actually voice it.

He put his hands on her waist, forcing her to twist sideways so he could catch her facial expression. Sometimes she read like an open book, other times, not so much.

Hayes was biting her bottom lip, evidently not feeling the same sentiment as Glen did about his 'dope' day.

Before Colton could persuade his sister with a cookie for her thoughts, several loud, powerful knocks came banging on the front door. It took him by surprise and definitely put fear into Glen and Hayes.

The little girl recoiled, practically diving into Colton's chest for safety, with goosebumps immediately covering her arms and legs. He could feel her actually trembling from the sudden intrusion.

"Not again," Glen mumbled, his face severely paling in color. The last time someone knocked on the door like that, it was the police looking for the Bear. "Shit. Shit. Shit. We can't do this again."

Hearing Glen's mutterings, Hayes tried to get even closer in Colton's embrace, gripping onto his dress shirt best she could, her fingers slipping between the buttons to his undershirt as a whimper slipped through her lips.

"Shhhh," Colton rubbed her arm, trying to slow her racing heart. He pressed a kiss to her temple before checking on Glen. Cole readjusted his position so he now sat on the edge of his seat, his arm sliding down to around Hayes' waist to keep her secured to him. With his other arm, he was able to put a firm hand on Glen's now frantic bouncing knee. "Don't jump the gun, Glen. You're not going anywhere."

"Who the fuck is that?" Dakota questioned, stalking back into the dining room. He glanced at Colton for answers, but the brother had not much of a guess either.

"I don't know," Colton replied, turning his head over his shoulder to get a glimpse of the foyer, following Dakota with his eyes as he marched by. "We're not expecting anyone that I know of."

Dakota took the initiative to go answer the front door as Colton had his hands full with the blonde babies. His lips twisted into an annoyed scowl, already nastily cursing out in his head whoever dared to knock on their door.

Doesn't the world know they have two heavily traumatized babies living in this house who could be triggered by anything?

Assholes.

"Is someone here?" Francis curiously called out as he skipped down the staircase, being a nosey-body. The teen was fully dressed for school now, his backpack casually slung over his right shoulder. "Who wishes to be blessed with our presence?"

"Obviously," Dakota grumbled, looking through the peep hole. He instantly recognized the visitor, quickly undoing the locks on the door before pulling it open. "What the fuck, Baker?"

"Sorry, I thought I forgot my keys at home because I was called into work late last night or this morning, I guess, my brain is foggy, and I wasn't really thinking when I left and I didn't want to go home first and grab them and then miss someone being here." Baker ran a hand through his unkempt hair as he seemed to need to catch his breath. His heart was pumping on overdrive, same with his lungs.

In his left hand were his car keys with the familiar SpongeBob key on the keyring that unlocked the front door to the very same home he was currently standing at.

Baker was losing his mind it seemed.

Dakota took two steps back, letting Baker actually enter the house before shutting the door behind him.

"Are you high?" Dakota asked, his eyebrows rising slightly in intrigue, scanning the brother from head to toe. The older brother was dressed in sneakers, a pair of gym shorts, and a sweaty T-shirt that was way darker than the original light heather gray it was suppose to be.

"What? No," Baker shook his head, though his crazed behavior was contradicting that answer. He wasn't lying although the adrenaline rush that was soaring through him was making him feel like it. At least, what he thought it might feel like to do drugs because Baker never dabbled with that. His mind was nonstop racing and he needed it to stop or else he was going to go berserk. "No, I'm not high. What- why would you even ask that?"

Dakota didn't reply as he snatched the set of keys out of Baker's hand with no resistance from the brother. The last thing they needed was for Baker to get in the driver's seat of a car right now when he was so scatterbrained, obviously traumatized from something that probably happened at work.

Baker didn't advance much further than the middle of the foyer, standing aimlessly as his arms dangled by his sides with his siblings beginning to gather around. His fingers rubbed together creating a whispering sound.

The five of them just stared at Baker, extremely confused, somewhat concerned, and a little frightened by his sudden appearance.

Nobody really knew what to say at the moment.

The older brother's eyes darted all over the home, taking in each sibling as if he hadn't seen them in ages. He glanced at each of their faces, looking for even the slightest difference from how he last saw them. Emotionally shocked by him, yes, but physically, they were okay.

They were okay.

Baker exhaled loudly, feeling like he could breathe again.

"What happened, Baker? Are you hurt?" Colton broke the silence as he stood up from his chair to approach, practically dragging Hayes along with him as she remained glued to his side.

Glen let out his own half a breath of relief at the sight of Baker, though his body didn't fully relax as his senses were still on alert. The younger brother shuffled right behind Colton's feet, a ghost of a hand holding onto the back of Hayes' shirt. He used his older brother's large frame for his own protection and could yank Hayes behind him if need be.

Baker ran his hands roughly over his face as his energy came crashing down. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm here. I just needed to make sure that everyone was okay."

"Baker, are you okay?" Francis asked the billion dollar question. He took that last remaining step onto the tile floor, sliding his backpack to the floor against the railing before hesitating, unsure how to proceed. Baker looked freaked out which in return was making Francis feel freaked out. Francis could count on one hand how many times he'd seen Baker like this.

That number being twice.

The first time was when it became officially real that Glen and Hayes had vanished into thin air. The second, when Dakota's life was hanging in the balance during a real dark time.

But what Francis failed to know was that usually no one but Austin was around to witness these sort of episodes. These episodes meaning a break down that occurred from the result of Baker's job. Thankfully the episodes were more rare than not. This one just happened to be extra bad.

After losing Glen and Hayes, the two eldest brothers tried to protect and spare their younger siblings from having to experience any more of the ugliness that went on in life. Even Colton, the third oldest brother, wasn't aware of the extent of Baker's inner turmoil at times.

Baker strolled forward, taking Francis by surprise when he enveloped the teen into a tight hug. His right hand found the back of Francis' head, his fingers brushing against his short blonde hair above his neck. "I love you, Fran, so much. Don't ever forget that."

"You're scaring me," Francis mumbled, resting his chin against Baker's collar bone. The younger brother returned the gesture just as firm, embracing his older brother. "Love you, too. You know that."

"Baker? What are you doing here?" Austin, their saving grace, finally arrived. He had hastily dried off in his bedroom, pulling on a pair of gym shorts, but no spare shirt could be found in the rush, as he hurried to see what the ruckus was.

The frantic knocking on the door was on the same playing field as the blood-curling scream, especially when they didn't expect any visitors.

At the sound of Austin's voice, Baker reluctantly broke the hug, pressing his hand against Francis' cheek for a moment. Francis frowned, his blue eyes reflecting the worry for his older brother, so much so that Baker had to turn his head away, his hand dropping back to his side.

The eldest brother put a hand on Francis' shoulder as he came up behind him, silently alerting the brother of his presence. Francis moved out of the way, allowing Austin to take his place at Baker's side.

Baker briefly met Austin's gaze before pinching his eyes shut, this time keeping the heels of his hands pressed against his face. He heaved a deep sigh, welcoming the comfort that washed over him now that Austin was here. The man could handle anything the wicked universe threw at him.

And sometimes even Baker needed his older brother to keep him from walking off a cliff.

"Are you hurt?" Austin's gaze flitted all over Baker, looking for any physical injuries. Finding none that his eyes could see, he directed Baker into the living room by a hand on his shoulder. Guiding him to the couch, Austin pushed on his shoulder to have him sit on the couch. "Here, sit down. Francis, grab him some water please."

Their siblings filed in behind them into the living room, keeping their distance from the eldest two brothers, as all were sort of still stunned. Francis swarmed back in within seconds, a cold bottle of water in his hand that he passed over to Austin.

"Does Peyton know you're here?" Austin asked straight to the point, perching on the edge of the couch next to his distraught brother. He didn't think she did, if Baker's distressed behavior told him anything. He probably had a one-track mind to get straight to their home as soon as possible.

Whatever happened had fucked his mind up in a way that not many circumstances could. It had to of been absolutely horrific, for the brother to have been called in during the dead of night and return like this. Baker wasn't scheduled to work until this afternoon, which Austin hoped, for his brother's sanity, was no longer the case.

"No," Baker groaned, dragging his hands down his face before dropping them to his lap. "Fuck. I need to call her so she knows I'm fine. Otherwise she's just going to worry and it will stress her out." He stuck his hand into his pockets before realizing he must have left his cell phone in the car.

"Take it easy, Baker. I'll call her," Colton said, already pulling her contact up on his phone. He gently shook his arm free from Hayes, who immediately pounced to Glen's side. The boy wrapped his arm around her back, tucking her under his wing.

The phone was already dialing before Colton could excuse himself from the room. When the call connected, he spoke calmly, immediately reassuring his sister-in-law on the other end of the line, "Baker is okay, Peyton. He's at our house..."

Baker nodded in appreciation as his eyes skimmed the room, searching again for his youngest two brothers where they hovered in the entrance way with Hayes, Dakota brooding beside them. He couldn't help it, staring at Francis and Glen. His kid brothers, only a few years older than the two selfless boys he couldn't save. Just 24 hours earlier, who he imagined were freely horsing around without a care in the world, just like his brothers were.

His mind kept replaying it over and over. How they failed, how they weren't able to protect those innocent children. Two lives taken before they even had a chance for life.

It shouldn't have been that way.

Baker's fingers formed into fists. It should not have ended that way. "This job is fucking kill me," he choked out. "I can't do it anymore, AJ."

Austin could hear the affliction in his voice. He turned his head to the threshold, spotting the watchful faces of their siblings. "Hey, do you have all your things together for school?" Austin asked to distract them. He didn't think they needed to observe their older brother crumble in front of their eyes.

But the teens couldn't take their eyes off their older brother, ignoring their eldest brother's question.

Austin whistled sharply, successfully getting their attention that time. "Where are your backpacks?"

Glen blinked, answering first. "Umm, upstairs." He thought about it before nodding, solidifying his answer. Yes, their backpacks were upstairs. But not Francis', his bag was next to the staircase.

Still no-one made a move, their brains apparently malfunctioning.

All except Dakota's, as the longer he stared at Baker, his intelligent, cool blue eyes began to hardened until suddenly, he turned on his foot and left the room, pulling Francis along with him. "Let's go." He grunted.

Dakota would kill for his brother, bringing the shovel to bury the body with no hesitation. But he wisely understood this was a situation he couldn't handle mentally and that it was the better decision to step out. His tendency to carry his siblings' burdens onto his own shoulders was his downfall and he couldn't be that selfish person right now. Not when Baker needed Austin's help. So Kota removed himself from the equation.

In return to Francis being dragged out, the teen latched onto Glen's arm who then gripped Hayes' shirt. Hayes gasped in surprise as the kids stumbled along one after another out of the living room.

Hayes put her brakes on about halfway up the staircase, causing the four of them to disperse. The little girl turned around and crept back down the stairs to the fourth step and put her listening ears to the test. She absolutely was going to snoop on her brothers' conversation.

A bit of deja-vu hit her, though she quickly blocked out the memory on how that turned out.

This time it was Glen who loyally stuck with her, sitting on the step right above her. His anxious foot-tapping at play as he half-heartedly tried to convince Hayes not to do it in a hushed voice.

Francis followed Dakota all the way upstairs, his now free hand pulling at his uniform shirt, the fabric feeling somewhat damp from Baker's sweat. His brain hyper-focused on that, giving him a welcomed distraction as he now had to go change his school shirt to be able to function for the rest of the day.

And Dakota... he did whatever the fuck Dakota decided to do, walking into Hayes' room on the search for something.

In the living room, Austin waited for it to stop sounding like elephants were on the stairs, coolly observing Baker in the meantime. When he deemed it silent, the room filled with whispered words shared between the two brothers. Austin spoke first, calmly asking, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Baker immediately responded with a shake of his head, followed a few beats later by a weak, "Yes."

Austin waited, knowing Baker had to move at his own speed to open up. It was a family trait.

Baker routinely debriefed with his SWAT team after each call, but nothing beat talking it through with his brother when the events shook him up. Though it hadn't been as bad as this in a long while.

"Have you looked at your phone today? Seen the news?" Baker asked, his voice muffled by his hand. He was more than certain there were probably already news reports floating ideas around about what took place. "Do the kids have their phones back?"

"No, no one has been on their phones." Austin replied. "What happened?"

"A fucking nightmare, that's what happened. Truly a fucking nightmare," Baker moaned. "and I can't fucking unsee it."

Hayes had her forehead pressed against the wall, her eyes closed shut at hearing the torment in Baker's voice. She didn't even have to look at Glen to know their eyes mirrored the same haunted memory.

The two of them knew what it was like to live in hell and they were not about to abandon ship when their brother needed help. Even if their hearts were threatening to burst out of their chests from nerves.

Hayes, especially, was being her stubborn little self and nothing would persuade her from trying to do something. Baker had helped her and now she was determined to do the same in her own Sunshine way. She just had to figure out what that meant, as staying hidden behind the wall was not going to do diddly squat.

She turned her head a little so her ear was closer to the wall.

Austin had continued to keep quiet, giving Baker all the time he needed.

"Where do I even start? The whole thing was a fucking shit show," he muttered, his hands coming up to scratch his scalp in frustration.

"Wherever you want," Austin replied, resting his elbows on his knees as he hunched over.

Baker took purposeful slow, deep breaths to counteract the speed at which his heart was beating, as he replayed the call in his head.

"All we got was that dispatch had a possible hostage situation at a house. And you know that's the worst fucking type of call to get because there could be children possibly in that home. But you just don't really know. There's no way to know what's going on inside those walls until you're fucking inside yourself." Baker stared blankly at the ground. "On the way over, we found out it was a kid with a gun."

Austin had a feeling that was the case. Nothing affected Baker so much as when there were children involved. He'd always been sensitive to those, as he tended to subconsciously find a resemblance to his siblings somehow. But even then, he was a complete professional during the call, and afterwards.

Usually his only tell sign of being affected was spending more time at their home than usual, sometimes even sleeping over for a night or two. But right now, Baker was way out in left field, probably because of having Smiley and Sunshine back home. His fear of losing them again overpowered his rational coping mechanism.

Baker cleared his throat, glancing over to Austin to see him looking back at him. "We finally get there, SWAT I mean... We pull up and everyone's just standing there, hiding. Fucking protocol told them to hide behind cars like fucking chickens when there were kids inside being held at gunpoint by their brother." Baker smack the couch in anger. "I mean come on! Fucking pussys, all of them. Don't just fucking do nothing."

Baker exhaled. "We should of fucking breached from the beginning. But they kept us back. Command kept us from entering when we could have done something."

That's what was destroying him. Baker's team was ready to strike the moment they got out of the vehicles. That was what SWAT trained for. But no, the order wasn't granted until after the first shot, but it was too late. The killer had gained his confidence, the proceeding shots coming one right after the other.

Two brothers dead at the hands of the oldest. It was hard to tell their actual ages when the faces were blown to smithereens.

But Baker just knew.

"We were told afterwards that the 18-year-old had plans to shoot up his school today only his brothers somehow found out about it. They told their parents who called 911. Saved a children's massacre but they all got bullets in the head in return."

A whole family wiped out at the hands of their own son.

A whole school full of innocent children untouched.

Baker didn't want to know what school was the target, leaving the conference room before the classified information was shared with his team. God only knows what would have happened if Sacred Heart Catholic School was named. Fucking all hell would have broken loose inside of him.

Glen chose that exact moment to have a cough attack, right in Hayes' ear.

"Glennard," Hayes hissed, blindly smacking his knee to shush him.

"I can't help it," he defended himself, punching her in the shoulder.

Hayes was about to hit him back before belatedly realizing that the living room became too silent.

Heck.

"Come here, kids," Austin called for them. He didn't sound mad or annoyed, probably because he expected at least one of the teens to eavesdrop. Hard to have privacy in a house full of siblings. He wasn't worried about what they heard either, because odds are, nothing Baker revealed would have truly settled in their minds yet. It was tonight that he had to prepare himself to deal with the aftermath.

Busted.

Hayes wrinkled her nose at Glen, blaming him from blowing their cover. In return, Glen harshly jabbed her in the side with his shoe, nearly pushing her airborne off the stairs completely. But she caught herself, sending Glennard another glare before she got moving, safely descending the stairs to the tile floor.

She cautiously peeked her head around the corner, checking out the living room scene first instead of just rushing in.

Spying his little sister's blonde hair, Austin encouraged her to come near. It evidently didn't take much to convince his little girl as Hayes darted across the living room to her brothers. She ignored Austin's outstretched hand, choosing to wiggle her butt right into the small space on the couch that was left between the two men.

Glen chose to stay by the wall, still feeling anxious with his arms folded over his chest and scuffing his brown shoe against the floor. The tables were turned as it was Glen's turn to not be the brave one. The boy didn't think he could make a positive impact as much as Hayes was able. He was only well versed in helping Hayes; what did he know about comforting his older brother?

Baker felt the tiniest shift of weight on the couch cushion and a leg touching his own, but he didn't have the strength to lift his head from where he was bent over in a tripod position. His hands were covering his face, hiding the rampant emotion.

Hayes glanced nervously at Austin, wordlessly asking for permission.

Austin faintly smiled. He nodded, speaking in his warm tone of voice. "You can hug him, Sunshine."

But Baker didn't give his sister a chance to act as he silently looped his muscular arm around her waist and pulled her sideways onto his lap. The girl reached up in an attempt to wrap her arms around his neck, but settled for hugging his arm to herself instead, lacing her fingers together as she rested her head against his sweaty shirt. It didn't bother her in the slightest.

Baker tilted his head, resting his cheek on top of her head. His free hand found her braid, twirling the end bit around his fingers. It was then that he happened to glance toward the doorway, meeting Glen's apprehensive expression.

"Come here, Smiley," Baker dropped the braid and patted the arm rest for Glen to sit on. It made him feel less of the internal madness when his siblings were by him. They calmed him in the same manner that Hayes relied on her brothers to soothe her spiraling.

Glen tapped his fingers on his upper arm, thinking about it before striding over. He perched hesitantly on the edge of the arm rest, leaning into Baker's side when the older brother tossed his arm over his shoulders.

With his baby siblings in his arms, he exhaled loudly again, causing some of Hayes' fly-aways to whisk in the air. Confusing clarity roamed his mind.

"I can't do this anymore," Baker abruptly announced, lifting his head back up as he mused. "But I can't leave my team; Lindsey and the guys. We're all fucking screwed in the head from this shit but if we don't stay and do this sick job, then who would do it then?"

If not there, then where?

If not now, then when?

If not this, then what else can I defend?

If not me... then who?

"What the fuck am I suppose to do?" Baker's voice cracked.

He didn't realize he was shedding tears until Hayes sat up straight in his lap, twisting her torso around until she was facing him more directly. Her petite hands flattened against his scruffy cheeks, swiping away the droplets as her eyes drilled into his own. The little girl was looking for something through the windows of his soul and he wasn't sure what she'd find.

Emptiness, maybe.

Or a bundle of angst, frustration, rage, sadness, and fearfulness all morphed together.

"You are a good person, Baker," Hayes firmly declared.

Baker's lips formed a wavering lopsided grin. "Thanks, babe," he murmured.

"I mean it!" Hayes insisted, pressing her hands against his cheeks making his lips puff out a bit like a fish.

Baker covered one of her hands with his warm one. "I know."

Hayes wasn't satisfied, as Baker could tell by the twist of her lips. She tugged her hands free from Baker's clasp and scampered off of his lap. "Be right back. Do not move!" She ran out of the room, taking the longer path to get to the kitchen.

"You ought to fucking listen to her," Dakota grumbled, revealing where he had been standing by the half-bathroom for a moment. In each of his hands were the babies' backpacks, their brown bag lunches already stored in them and their cell phones in the front pockets. That's what took him so long. Austin changed up his hiding spot for the electronics since last night.

"They're both right," Austin added, "You are a good person. What you sacrifice to keep your family safe, to keep the community safe... it takes a special person to do that. And that's you, Baker. You made a difference in the lives of so many families today and they may never know it."

"It's not just about me though," Baker swallowed harshly, "It's about you guys. My family. I'm nothing without all of you."

Austin shifted over on the couch, gripping the back of Baker's neck. His fingers curled around the brother's straggly hair as he forced him to look up. Austin had the patience of a saint and hands down the best listener, giving his siblings the safe space to rant whatever was on their minds before sharing any thoughts. To add on to that, he also had endless words of wisdom and encouragement.

"I hear you," Austin replied earnestly, and as family, he would support his brother's decision no matter what he chose to do. "I don't know how you do the things you do, but Baker, you do it. And your phenomenal at it. And I see how it breaks you down. That shows how much you fucking care, Baker, and not everyone can say that. But that's what makes you you. And if you think it's gotten too much, then I'm with you."

"Be fucking selfish for once," Dakota chimed in. "You can't say you're doing what's best for this family if you don't take care of yourself too."

Austin pressed his lips together at Dakota's words, tracking the brother as he walked over to a chair and dropped the backpacks onto it. He didn't necessarily disagree with Dakota's wisdom, it just wasn't how he would have put it.

Austin sighed, turning his head back to Baker. "You don't have to decide anything right this second, Baker. But just hear this- you shouldn't quit on a shit day. At least wait until tomorrow to decide. We support you no matter what, but who knows. If you're made to wait, you might change your mind, whatever it may be."

As Baker silently reflected on those words, Colton ducked back into the room. "I talked to Peyton," Colton informed, hitting his phone lightly against the palm of his hand. "and Lindsey..."

Baker squinted his eyes at his partner's name. "Lindsey?"

"Yeah. He stalked your phone location and saw you were here. He was worried and wanted to check on you. He tried calling you, Austin, but you ignored him and he's greatly offended, by the way."

"He's a good man," Baker mumbled. In a burst of energy, he suddenly pulled Glen off the armrest so he was sprawled on top of his and Austin's laps on the couch.

"Baker!" Glen exclaimed, taken off guard when Baker began digging his fingers into the kid's very ticklish sides. The brother stopped his attack almost as soon as he started, with Glen's bright laughter filling the room as he tumbled right off Baker's lap onto the hard floor. "What the hell," Glen's face was flushed.

"You okay, Bud?" Austin asked, making sure his boy didn't bang his head on the ground.

"I'm fine," Glen huffed, more embarrassed than anything about how easily Baker was able to man-handle him. A knock to the boy's ego.

Baker simply smirked, helping the kid back up to his feet. Although Glen didn't understand what the hell just happened, he instinctually returned the grin.

His baby brother, so full of spirit and so full of life.

"Found it!" Hayes came running back into the living room, much to Austin's displeasure. Francis walked in behind her, as the little girl ended up in his bedroom during her search, having not found what she was looking for in the kitchen's junk drawer. She knew she could count on Francis to have a miscellaneous collection of crap on his desk.

"Hayes, no running," Austin rebuked, frowning at the new addition she held in her hands. What the hell does she need a sharpie marker for?

Their little sister booted Glen out of the way as she stood in front of Baker, her knees knocking into his. She uncapped the sharpie with her teeth and then took Baker's left hand into her own.

"What are you doing?" Baker asked curiously. But let's be real, he'd let her do whatever it was regardless.

Hayes shushed him as she concentrated on drawing the very important thing on the back of Baker's hand with the sharpie.

When she was done, she held the sharpie in the air as she admired her handiwork. The girl had drawn the shape of a heart right in the middle. Satisfied, she took the cap out of her mouth and recapped the sharpie, only to have Baker take the marker out of her hands.

How rude.

Now it was Hayes' turn to watch with scrutinizing eyes as Baker took her petite hand and did the exact same design. He dipped his head down, blowing on the back of her hand to make the ink dry faster.

"Hayes, you remember that?" Colton asked the question they were all thinking. He had caught sight of the design on Baker's hand.

"Remember what?" Hayes naively asked as she tilted her head to the side, admiring Baker's art from a different angle. Yep, looked like a heart.

Colton's eyes flickered amongst the older group before speaking gently, "We used to draw hearts on your hands and Glen's and Fran's and Sonny's back when you guys were in diapers."

"Really?" Hayes sounded surprised, a wrinkle appearing on her forehead. All that came to mind was her and Glen drawing silly faces on their feet back when they lived with the Bear. Is that where the kids carried the idea from?

Austin remained oddly quiet, nostalgic almost, watching as Baker sneakily grabbed Glen's hand, drawing a heart for the boy.

It wasn't until Baker laughed loudly, that Glen took notice of what he did. Baker winked, "Here's the tattoo you said you wanted."

"Ha ha, not funny." That scored a chuckle from everyone as Glen playfully rolled his eyes, his line of sight ending on Austin. "You did this with us?" Glen wasn't sure if his vague memories were actually real or not.

It all stemmed from when Austin was suppose to attend his first semester of college. The youngest four were in an uproar over him leaving the home and at the very last second before he walked out the door, Austin grabbed a pen and drew a heart on each of their hands.

When you miss me, all you have to do is look down at this heart and you'll know that I love you.

Austin had good intention, but then it became a battle to get them to clean their hands for the following couple of days because they were scared that it would wash Austin's love away. That is how it turned into a family routine; Baker and Colton became responsible for drawing hearts on everyone's hands in the morning before going to school. Even Dakota was a part of it, though he made sure Hayes scribbled his heart on the inner part of his wrist so no one could see.

Austin nodded in response to Glen's question, obediently holding his hand out for Hayes to doodle on when she turned to him, the sharpie back in her clutches. Then it was Colton's turn and then Francis, saving Dakota for last.

"Here," Francis chucked the two t-shirts he had carried downstairs for Austin and Baker onto the couch, freeing up his hand. The brothers voiced their grateful thanks for his consideration though only Austin slid his on. Baker was in desperate need of a shower so he didn't see the point in wasting a shirt.

"Tadaaa," Hayes grinned when she was finished with Francis. As retribution for him messing up her hair, she added a teensy detail on his, writing a little message just underneath the heart.

#2 Butt Face

"Thanks, Sissy," Francis said drily. To add insult to injury, she blew a raspberry at his face before setting off on her last target.

"Come on now, Hayes. That's not nice." Colton chided. "Your teachers won't find that funny."

"Oh shit, I forgot about school." Austin's jaw dropped. He got to his feet, instantly going about to round up the teens.

"Don't worry. I already called the front office and told them we were going to be a couple minutes late," Colton said, patting Austin on the back.

Thank God someone was on their A game.

"See, I knew I kept you around for a reason," Austin joked, returning the bro-hug. "Always one step ahead of me."

While that was happening, Hayes appeared next to Dakota. Unlike his normally averse behavior to any sort of affection, he presented no resistance, automatically offering his hand. He knew he had no choice in the matter with Baker around to kick his ass.

Sharpie poised to draw, Hayes just stared at his hand strangely, feeling like something was wrong. Dakota looked at her weirdly, about to pull his hand away when she decided to flip his hand over so his palm was up.

Her blue eyes instantly flickered to his, before looking back at his wrist. Her index finger lightly traced the small tattoo that was on the inner portion of his left wrist. Just where she used to draw it, only Hayes had no recollection of that.

A heart.

Very tiny, but there.

How had she never noticed this before? The girl scratched her original idea of drawing a heart on his hand as there was no need when he already had an everlasting symbol of love painted on him for life.

Hayes knew Dakota's love language was words of affirmation, but that didn't stop her from surprising him with a hug.

It took him a second but then Dakota completed the hug, wrapping his arms around her.

In the background, they could hear Austin rattling off stuff to get the teens and Colton off to school sooner rather than later. "Shoes and socks, teeth brushed, lunch is in your backpacks. Thank you, Dakota. Where are your gym bags? Sunshine, time to go. Here's your backpack, Smiley. Don't forget to wear your glasses. Hayes, come on, babe. Have a good day, Francis James. Make good choices, I don't need more emails from teachers. Go hurry and grab money from my wallet for lunch. Hayes."

Oops.

Macho hands planted on her shoulders, telling her that time was officially up.

"Fine," Hayes droned, allowing Austin to confiscate the sharpie as he led her away. She quickly waved to Dakota before turning around and taking her backpack from Austin. The eldest brother marched her straight to the front door so she wouldn't happen to get lost along the way.

"Wait, I forgot something!" Hayes spun back around, zipping past Austin to go back into the living room. Her backpack smacked against her back as she ran right up to Baker, having no shame in invading his personal bubble. Bringing her face real close to her brother's, the little girl softly rubbed her nose against his.

Baker blinked back a fresh batch of tears as he was caught off guard by the overwhelming emotion. Like brother, like sister.

"Momo kissy," Hayes clambered onto her older brother's lap, pulling on his shorts to help her climb up.

Baker put his controller down next to him and quickly snuggled his baby sister to his chest, not irked in the slightest at the interruption to his video game. "Eskimo?"

Hayes nodded like a bobble head, the smile on her face so wide, "Momo!"

Baker chuckled as Hayes' chubby fingers found his cheeks. He tilted his head down for her to reach. The little girl's eyes lit up in adoration as she bopped her nose against the tip of his nose before rubbing back and forth. The baby of the family loved her eskimo kisses, bothering each of her brothers many times a day for their love and affection. Glen still did it too, but Francis was starting to grow out of it at the prime age of seven.

He was a big boy now.

"Thank you, Sunshine," Baker pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose making her giggle. "I love you very much."

Her purpose of postponing the departure for school now fulfilled, Hayes went to pull away but Baker was quick to hold her still with hands on her cheeks now. He pressed a firm but gentle kiss to the girl's forehead before crushing her to his sweaty t-shirt-clad chest. Baker didn't know what sparked her to do that, but he'd treasure that moment.

"Ew, oh my llama, you smell," Hayes kindly informed her brother, collapsing into giggles when Baker started tickling her mercilessly.

"And now so do you," Baker teased his little sister, chuckling at her dramatic showing of sniffing her uniform top. Hayes did grimace slightly when an interesting smell hit her nose but she shrugged anyways, dropping her shirt.

Oh well.

"Nu uh," Austin immediately caught on. "If you think it smells, go change your shirt."

Hayes shot him a cheeky smile, "Sorry, gonna be late for school!" She darted out of the living room and out the front door that Colton was patiently holding open for her. As Francis and Glen battled it out for the passenger seat, the girl hopped into the back row, making sure to lock her door so which ever loser brother joined her in the back had to walk around the car to the other side instead of making her scoot over.

It'd do them good to remember that their little sister could hold a grudge.

Austin and Baker migrated out onto the front porch with Dakota tagging along in the shadows. Austin leaned his weight against the porch railing as Baker kept his arms crossed, the two standing side by side.

"Do you have to go back to work today?" Austin asked without looking at him.

Baker shook his head. "Administration leave for three days."

Austin read between the lines as both men silently watched Colton's car drive away until it became a speck in the distance. They were already counting down the hours until their siblings returned back home that evening, praying to Jesus that one of their worst nightmares would never come true.

You may have brought the dark

But together we will shine the light.

~~~~~~

In memory.