54.

Warning: long-awaited, extra-long chapter below.

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Keep on Lovin' Me

Just Keep on Lovin' Me

~~~~

"Franny."

"Shut up."

"You cannot be serious, dude."

"Shut up."

Glen snickered, insistent in his pestering. "We're gonna be gone for not even 2 days. You're packing for like a week."

"I can't help it," Francis complained as he continued to rifle through his dresser, more specifically the t-shirt drawer. "I have to be prepared for all situations."

"You're being ridiculous," Glen stated, crawling onto his own bed and laying on his side to watch the Francis Show. It was quite entertaining in his opinion, especially because he was thinking of what situations Francis had to be prepare for.

Glen apparently wasn't in the creative mood. He came up with nothing. Other than his brother was being ridiculous.

Glen shared these thoughts aloud. "Ridiculous... redonkulous... if you look it up on google, there would be a picture of you."

He was debating whether to have Francis chuck a shirt in his direction as he hadn't bothered to put on anything besides gym shorts yet, having just gotten out of the shower a couple minutes ago.

"Screw you. I am not," Francis refuted, tossing yet another shirt over his shoulder in the direction of his bed.

"You're being so ridiculous that you have officially buried Hayes under all your clothes." Glen jabbed his pointer finger at said burial.

Francis' response got caught in his throat as he paused his version of packing. He glanced over his shoulder, a sheepish expression flitting across his face at the sight. Maybe he was going a little overboard.

He turned his head the other way, to where Glen had lazily kicked his all-ready-to-go duffle bag against the wooden leg of the bed, a smirk on his little brother's face.

"Sorry, Sissy," Francis begrudgingly shut the drawer. Glen was right, he had enough shirts, though Francis would never give Glen the satisfaction of gloating.

They both stared at the blob of t-shirts, waiting for their sister's witty response. As bad as it sounds, he actually kind of forgotten she was even in the room, as now that he thought about it, Hayes had been quiet for a while now. Which was odd, considering she had ice cream for dessert and hadn't had her second wind of energy yet.

She just sort of crashed for the evening.

"Uh, is Hayes alive?" Francis quirked an eyebrow, sharing a confused look with Glen. They confirmed she was laying there, their eyes darting to where her colorful, mismatched sock-covered feet were on display, peeking out beneath all the clothes.

Fran got lucky. It could have been worse. Hayes could have been laying underneath all his clean clothes while still in her dirty uniform jersey. But luckily Francis struck gold, as she was scrubbed clean of the sweat and grime from her basketball game that was earlier that Friday evening.

"Boy, I hope not..."

The brothers snapped their gazes to the open doorway, where Colton stood in the threshold, his arms crossed against his chest. A playful smirk lined his lips, something the siblings hadn't really seen the past week. Saying he had been acting a little stressed would be an understatement.

"... Because that would mean you're next, Francis." Colton finished his statement with a tilt of his chin.

"Did you just threaten me?" Francis spluttered, holding a hand to his chest. "Dear brother, that is not okay. Just wait until Austin hears about this."

Colton ignored the resident drama queen, stepping further into the boys' room without invitation. He made sure to walk to over to Francis, showing him some brotherly love by a mock punch to the gut followed by a kiss to the side of his head.

"Freaking bully," Francis grumbled under his breath, watching as Colton approached his bed.

"Proof of life, please, Sunshine," Colton requested, shoving some of the shirts aside in hopes of preventing death by shirt suffocation. He chuckled when he finally revealed his little sister, the girl apparently so exhausted she had fallen into a sleep-like trance.

It was that stage of sleep where your eyelids felt so heavy that they couldn't stay open without force.

He watched the slow rise and fall of her chest for a few seconds, just to make sure she was still breathing.

Colton wished he could be sleeping too, as per usual when Friday night finally rolled around. Even more so after a full day of school followed by two basketball games, one where he cheered on his little sister from the sidelines then the next where he coached his little brother from the bench.

At least he didn't have to wake up super early tomorrow for Saturday morning practice. He had given his boys team the weekend off so they could recover appropriately from the Friday game.

Colton was definitely flying a high of happiness as their older brother. It was an experience Colton thought he'd never get a chance to have. Now look, they were already about halfway through a very successful basketball season, both varsity teams dominating in their respective leagues.

The Powers siblings were a Power house.

KaPOW.

Colton softly smiled as he leaned over and gently brushed her unruly blonde hair out of her eyes, his knuckles skimming over her flushed cheek. "Sunshine, wouldn't you be more comfortable in your own bed?"

At no answer, he perched on the edge of the bed, grabbing one of her hands to hold on his lap, his thumb rubbing over the back of her hand. She looked serene, so innocent and nothing like the little troublesome mischief-maker who stubbornly negotiated with their eldest brother for ice cream so late at night.

The bargaining chip? She had to take a shower as soon as they got home from the boys' varsity game.

It was the simple things in life that made Austin happy and tonight happened to be Hayes not putting up a fight to take a shower.

Hayes moaned in exhaustion as she shifted in the bed, the blissfulness of sleep slipping more and more out of her grasp. She turned onto her side, snuggling closer to Colton's warm body, curling her legs up as she moved. Her forehead pressed against his clothed outer thigh, her fists clutching onto the hem of his shirt.

"I thought Austin came up already to tuck Hayes in," Colton pondered aloud his puzzlement, glancing to Francis and Glen for answers. He could have sworn he passed his older brother on the stairs, Cole descending the steps after his shower while Austin was walking up them. That was about 15 minutes ago.

The only reason Colton had come back upstairs was to check on Glen and Francis real quick. He sort of dropped a small bomb on the young siblings at dinner. It was a last minute decision on his part.

"He did," Francis tersely confirmed, scratching his head before returning to digging through the next drawer of his dresser. He needed shorts to match his shirts. Or should it be chinos since it might be chilly?

Porque no los dos?

Plus, can't forget a pair of sweatpants.

Los tres?

Oooh, back up. He also needed two sweatshirts in case Hayes steals one of his.

And... he was getting sidetracked again.

"So where is Austin?" Colton questioned. It was basically 11:30pm, which was very odd for Hayes to not be in bed by now, no matter that tomorrow was the weekend. Especially when they were all leaving in the morning.

Last Cole heard, departure was at 9:30am.

Francis shrugged. "Dunno. He gave Hayes a 10 minute warning then never came back."

"Huh," Colton propped one hand on the mattress and with his free hand, ran his fingers through Hayes' damp hair before resting his palm on her shoulder. He gave her shoulder a little squeeze to grab her attention. "Is your bag packed, Sunshine?"

Hayes' nose scrunched up, giving Colton the answer he honestly expected.

Nope.

"Come on, Kiddo," Colton sighed, sliding his hands under her armpits. He heaved her upright into a sitting position against the pillows, the rest of Francis' clothes sliding into a pile over her legs. He chuckled to himself as she stubbornly put no effort into helping him. His sister slouched forward against his chest, rubbing her forehead against the fabric of his shirt like she always did. "Why aren't you packed?"

Her answer was to reach up and wrap her arms around his neck, snuggling closer and taking all his warmth. She was totally using Colton's love for hugs against him.

Colton returned the loving embrace with an arm looped around her back, his other hand bracing her head against his chest. Then he glanced across the room to Glen for an actual answer. If anybody knew what was up with their sister, it was his kid brother.

"Stop looking at me," Glen grunted, turning onto his back to stare at the stupid ceiling.

Aha, there was the true response to how Glen felt about Colton's news. At the dinner table, Glen had kept quiet, focusing on eating his third slice of pizza then scramming. Francis had a pretty identical response.

"You're mad at me," Colton stated the obvious.

Francis snorted as he carelessly chucked a pair of pants over his shoulder, hitting Colton on the leg. It was unintentional but it did make Francis feel a tad bit better.

Colton maturely picked up the pants and moved them aside on the bed, his hand returning to Hayes' back which he was slowly scratching up and down. "Okay, I deserve that."

Two for two with angering his brothers.

Will Hayes make him three for three with the young bunch?

"I just don't understand why you're not coming," Francis shoved the drawer closed, a little harder than he meant to as the dresser shook with the force. "It's a family trip to see Emmy. Key word being family."

Colton shifted in his spot, pulling Hayes more sideways onto his lap so it was comfortable for both of them. "I told you, I need to catch up on my lesson plans and grading. This week has been pure chaos."

"Yeah, but Emerson wanted to see all of us." Francis crossed his arms with a frown. He mumbled, "First Baker and now you."

It was a lowball move on Francis' part, purely to make Colton feel guilty, as the teen was well aware of Baker's work schedule. Baker was never expected to make the trip.

"I talked to him, Fran. He understands," Colton said. "And thanksgiving break is only a couple weeks away and then he'll be here."

"He's just saying that, you know," Francis grumbled, moving towards his closet to retrieve his duffle bag. "I doubt he's happy. It won't be the same."

Colton's gaze softened in understanding. "No, it won't. But you all are still going to have a fun time. It's Sonny. You cannot not have a good time with him. Change can be good, Francis. Remember that."

"I know that." Francis huffed.

"I may not be there, but Glen and Hayes will. Dakota is still going, too."

Glen made a sound of dissent from his corner of the room.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Colton turned his attention to the peeved boy, his eyes flickering back down to Hayes momentarily when he felt her shoulders tense up.

"Your statement is wrong." Glen said matter-of-factually, flinging an arm over his eyes.

Colton furrowed his eyebrows, "Enlighten me then." He became even more puzzled when Glen mimed locking his lips and throwing away the key.

Alright, safe to say Glen was still pissed at him. His words did no comforting.

Also staying quiet, Francis walked over to his occupied bed full of siblings, empty bag in hand which he dropped on the carpeted floor. He stretched his arms out in front of him like an oval and leaned forward then back, pulling the pile of clothing closer to the edge where he was standing. The teen started scrutinizing his clothes by holding them up to his face to see.

Then he folded each of the clothing items, one at a time and creating a neat stack.

Then, he was going to have to go through the stack and actually decide what to pack and what to leave on his desk to put back away another day sometime in the future.

It was a process.

He was a chronic over-packer.

Accepting the grudges his little brothers were holding against him for the time being, Colton turned his attention back to his sister. He still had hope that he could get somewhere with her. But he now realized that subconsciously, his fingers had switched to tracing circular shapes along her back so Cole was hoping he hadn't accidentally soothed her back to sleep.

Then they'd get nowhere.

"Why don't we go get you packed, Sunshine, so you don't have to worry about it in the morning?"

Correction, one less thing that Austin had to worry about.

"No," Hayes mumbled, the word vibrating against his shirt. "I'm not going."

"What?"

"I'm staying with you," Hayes announced, pressing her face further into his chest.

"What?" Francis questioned in a high pitch like he was reliving puberty.

Colton grabbed Hayes' upper arms and forcefully held her back a couple inches so he could get an honest look at her face. The fleeting feeling of panic cleared from his face almost as soon as it came, remembering he was the adult here and no one agreed to this arrangement.

"Sunshine, you're not staying home with me." Colton stated firmly.

Hayes' sleepiness evaporated and an overwrought expression took over. "Yes I am. I am, Cole, you can't make me go."

"Hey, hey, hey," Colton swapped modes, immediately trying to calm her down before her panic went overboard. She bent her elbows in his grip and began roughly wiping her eyes with her knuckles. "What's wrong?"

"Oh my God," Francis groaned, throwing the shirt he was folding onto the bed in anger. "Next Glen is going to say he's not going either."

"Fran, shush."

"I'm not going," Glen's voice traveled over Colton's command.

Francis' grumblings got louder. "Are you fucking-"

"Francis, just be quiet for a second," Colton was also getting irritated. This wasn't going according to plan at all. "Glen, you're pissed at me, not him. Don't be a jerk to him."

Glen huffed as he rolled his eyes, "That was a joke, Franny." He turned over onto his stomach and tugged the pillow over his head, muffling out the rest of his statement.

Good. Night.

Francis quickly recovered from his disappointment and stalked over to Glen's bed, dropping like dead weight on top of his baby brother's back. Payback.

"I'm sensitive. Don't tease me." Francis sold his act with a sniffle.

Glen didn't buy it for a second. "You're such a baby."

With that tantrum handled and trusting that his two brothers won't hurt each other further than just word banter, Colton readjusted his grip on Hayes before standing up from the bed and making Hayes stand on her own two feet as well. It was a sure way to keep her awake so he could get to the bottom of this nonsense. Then he sat back down on the edge of the mattress, and gently clutched both her wrists, pulling her forward until she stood between his legs.

"Now, baby cakes," Colton wiggled her arms, trying to tease the young girl in meeting his eyes. Unfortunately, his voice turned into his teacher sternness without him realizing which discouraged the girl to want to answer. "Use your words and tell me what's wrong."

Sure enough, tears began to leak from her already red-rimmed eyes as she tried yanking her hands free from his man-hands but to no cigar.

Alright, new plan.

Instead, Colton brought her closer to his chest once again and embraced his little sister, brushing his fingers in her long free-flowing blonde locks of hair. He may have been a bit slower than usual tonight, but he was finally recognizing the signs of a true impending anxiety attack coming from her.

"You're alright," Colton murmured, "You're okay. Why are we crying?" He gently removed the pieces of her hair that were sticking to her wet cheeks, curling the strands behind her ear.

He ducked down and swiftly kissed her cheek he just freed. The action worked in his favor which Cole had planned, as his sister disliked kisses to her cheek. Hayes became distracted from being the blubbering little mess as she tried to clean her cheek on his shoulder.

Hayes' voice dropped low as she whined, "Colton, stop that."

"I'm sorry," Colton apologized, giving her scalp a little massage. "Now what's got you so panicked? I thought you were excited to see Emerson."

"I still am," Hayes mumbled, her lack of enthusiasm contradicting her statement. Her arms now freed, were crossed against her stomach as the girl inched closer to her big brother.

Colton sighed, the exhale of air making some of Hayes' fly-aways flutter. He didn't often get frustrated, but they were getting nowhere with this conversation.

His patience was being tested with his fatigue already noted. Cole knew it was probably time to call it quits. They would just figure it out in the morning.

But before that could happen, Smiley, being the good kid he was, finally decided to put aside his grudge and help Colton.

Nothing like a little inside scoop on what was going on with the enigma known as Sunshine.

Before that could happen though, Glen had to free himself from his own troubles, as he was stuck underneath the skinny weight of Sir Drama Queen, Francesca. "Dude, get off."

"Don't you love me?" Francis somehow managed to wrap his arms all the way around Glen's neck. The intent was for it to be a nice hug but it quickly turned into a choke hold.

"Operation: Sissy sandwich," Glen coughed out, smacking Francis' arm hard to release him. "Get the hell off of me."

The former were the magic words, indicating an urgent matter as Francis pushed himself off the bed with an unnecessary elbow to the middle of Glen's back. Okay, now he was done with payback.

That was a lesson to all. Don't mess with the Frannosaurus.

Now he had Sissy to cheer up.

Francis slid off the bed and practically galloped across the carpet, giving no warning before side-tackling Hayes onto his own bed. The bed creaked with the sudden added weight, but thankfully did not break.

Poor Hayes, always being treated like a ragdoll around here.

She yelped, more so from surprise than pain, from the attack. But she accepted the love forced upon her and snuggled into Francis' embrace. It meant the little girl could continue to ignore Colton's questioning and possibly go back to sleep.

And as annoying as Francesca was, calling her Sissy all the time, the girl absolutely enjoyed his attention. The teen was now her favorite brother at the moment.

Besides Glen, of course.

And Austin.

And Chubba.

Wait... did dogs count?

"What the hell, Francis?" Colton smacked the back of Fran's thigh hard. The teen had nearly kicked Colton with his careless action. "You have a brain. Try using it, man."

"All you need is love," was Francis' unconcerned response in song form. He still didn't exactly like Cole at the moment, so he went back to simply ignoring him.

"I'll show you love," Colton said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he stood up from the bed, smartly removing himself from close proximity of Francis' long legs. It was Francis who needed some sense knocked into him, not Cole. But as long as Hayes was no longer crying, Colton didn't care to do so at this time.

"I love you, you love me," Francis continued to playfully serenade his sister, his arms of steel not letting her escape. "We're a happy family."

Hayes was such a good sport, going with the flow of Francis' weirdness.

That left Colton in no-man's land, standing in the middle of the room for a moment. He began to feel someone's stare burning a hole into his back. After a few seconds of waiting to make sure Hayes' Sunshine mood was being restored, Cole finally turned around.

Glen tried to sneak another glance at Colton as the boy sat up properly, swinging his legs over so they hung off the bed. He busied himself by playing thumb wrestling by himself. "Sooooo, here's the deal."

Catching wind of Glen's mood change, Colton joined the kid on his bed now.

"What's the deal?" He inquired, ruffling his little brother's mop of blonde hair. When Glen leaned backward to escape the assault, Colton suddenly frowned.

And it wasn't because of Glen's denial of love.

No. It was because Cole was not impressed by the red marking around the front of kid's neck.

Only one explanation for that.

Really, Francis?

Ignorant to Colton's glower, Glen stared a hole into his hands, twisting his lips to the side. Without warning, he turned his body to face Colton directly, the words spilling out in one, very long, run-on sentence of a life time.

"Hayes is a homebody and doesn't want to leave the only place she has called home and now that you're staying home she really doesn't want to go on the trip because she's scared that if she goes then there might not be a home to come back to because she thinks something might happen to you if you don't come with us because we were all suppose to go visit Emerson."

Colton blinked, digesting all that. "Well, that... Huh."

Very articulate response from the teacher.

Glen swallowed forcefully before continuing, "I think..."

"Stop thinking, more breathing, kiddo." Colton quickly regrouped his thoughts and nudged his brother's upper arm with his knuckles.

Glen grimaced, his shoulders rising towards his shoulders. "I can't help it. It just builds and builds and then it comes out in word-vomit. Cole, it's just her being anxious. She'll be fine. She really wants to see Emerson. Don't worry, I can pack her stuff right now. It's not like it's hard, she only wears the same clothes everyday anyways."

"No, Glen, we can get her bag packed in the morning. Like you said, no big deal," Colton put a hand on Glen's knee to stop him from jumping up to his feet. "It is late, we should all just hit the hay. I bet you're exhausted. You played good tonight, I'm proud of you."

A cheeky smile appeared on Glen's face, his eyes shining bright with the compliment. "Who you fooling? I play fricking amazing every game."

Colton playfully shoved his brother's head to the side. "Don't get too cocky now, Smiley."

They shared a simple grin, meaningful words exchanged without a single sound as the grievances from the night mended.

No hard feelings.

Glen knew life was too short to stay pissed off at one's brother.

Only able to hold the eye contact for so long, Glen rolled his eyes, dropping his gaze as he lazily combed his messy, damp hair with his fingers.

Holding true to his nature, Colton couldn't help but pull Glen closer for a quick hug and pat on the back, Glen reciprocating the bro-hug.

Thou shall never go to bed angry.

"Alright, bedtime guys and girl," Colton pressed his hands on his thighs before standing up. He went back to Francis' bed to retrieve their little sister from the clutches of the teen. "Just finish packing in the morning, Fran. Have a fresh mind when you go through all these clothes then come get me and I'll check your bag."

Francis waved him off, cuddling into his remaining clothes on the bed.

Hayes didn't put up a fight either, as her fatigue had completely kicked in at this point. That's what happens after a busy week of school, a basketball game, and an emotional episode as the grande finale. But it was the only meltdown of the day, which Colton took responsibility for.

What a time to be alive.

"Good night, little brothers."

Grunts of acknowledgement were received back.

Geez. Teens.

With a guiding hand around Hayes' shoulders, Colton helped the little girl find her respective bedroom next door. The door was wide open, her bedside lamp on, illuminating the bedroom. Cole must not have paid attention at all when he walked by before.

"Ahhh, so this is where he wandered off to," Colton mumbled under his breath when he spotted the eldest brother sleeping atop of the comforter on Hayes' bed, one arm covering his eyes. He looked relaxed, his legs stretched out with his ankles crossed.

Cole couldn't help but chuckle at the sunshine squishable Austin was holding hostage against his chest. The grin remained as he escorted Hayes to her side of the bed, lifting the edge of the comforter up so she could crawl under.

Colton presumed that Austin had fallen asleep while waiting for his little girl to get ready for bed. Who could blame him? He looked worn out at their post-game pizza dinner.

Their brother was an old man.

"Good night, Sunshine," Colton whispered, letting Hayes snuggle comfortably against Austin's form before leaning over and kissing her head. "I'll see you in the morning. I love you."

Hayes sleepily blinked at her brother, a small smile gracing Cole. "Love you, Colton."

Colton spent an extra second watching over his two siblings, the oldest and the youngest of the family, before flicking the lamp switch off and encompassing the room in darkness. He quietly made his way out of the room without stepping on anything left behind on the floor and closed the bedroom door behind him with a soft click.

Guilt swirled around him, even more so than what Francis and Glen laid on him. Colton hadn't been totally forthcoming about his weekend plans with any of his siblings, though he hadn't lied either. He needed the time and space to himself, as he had somewhat of a big decision to make about his future.

His mind hadn't stopped buzzing since the prior weekend's events.

Colton rubbed his face before stalking down the hallway and down the stairs to his bedroom for the night.

His chest hurt.

————

"Move, move, move, move..."

Hayes was crouched over so her head didn't hit the roof, impatiently tapping her foot while waiting for Glennard to evacuate the car so she could also climb out. She had the collar of her hoodie pulled up over her nose, as it was definitely a gas-mask activated scenario.

What happened, one may ask?

Francis farted.

And Hayes had to suffer through it from the back row. It wasn't fair, her brothers were able to put down their windows, whereas she just had to hold her breath.

Not fair, she say!

"It doesn't even smell that bad," Francis argued, annoyingly tugging on Hayes' ponytail, not in any hurry to get out of the car. In fact, he seemed to get more comfortable in his seat if even possible, manspreading as he slouched down.

As if the 'that bad' should make it acceptable. Dumb brother. What societal rules did he live by?

The girl sent Francis a harsh glare before turning back around.

"Go already," Hayes whined, pushing on Glen's shoulder, trying to get him to move quicker but he was in his own little world.

She didn't have the patience to notice.

Hayes continued poking him over and over again until she took matters into her own hands and climbed over the middle console like a mad woman. She plopped into the front passenger seat, encroaching on Dakota's personal bubble as he exited the car.

"Thanks, Dakota. My most favoritest brother ever," Hayes said loudly as she jumped out the open door, skipping along her brother's treks for several steps until stopping. Hands on her hips, she gulped in several deep breaths of the fresh air.

Ah, the sweet, sweet feeling of uncompromised nature.

"I was going, Hayes, jeez louise," Glen finally responded, shaking his head as he nonchalantly got out. Or so he tried to appear casually, but Austin's sharp eyes picked up otherwise.

Nothing ever snuck by him.

Most of the time.

In this case, the eldest brother did not fail to notice how the teen had progressively quieted during the two hour car-ride, and now he was hesitating with getting out of the car. Not to mention, Glen had glanced up at the sky at least three times in this quick span since the car had been parked.

Which they hadn't been parked for longer than two minutes max.

Austin's kid-radar was buzzing.

He kept a cautious eye on the other three siblings whom were on the other side of the car as he patiently waited for Glen to get his bearings. When his brother got close enough, Austin gripped his shoulder before draping his arm around the boy's neck.

Austin silently watched Glen take a glimpse at him, then his eyes flitted to the sky before back to him then to the ground. The boy was looking a bit sheepish now that he knew he was caught.

"Looks a bit cloudy," Glen commented, folding his arms against his chest. He reluctantly got his feet walking beside Austin before the eldest brother dragged him, the two heading in the direction of the baseball stadium to hopefully catch up with Francis before he did something stupider than just continuing to get on Hayes' nerves. "Is it suppose to, you know, rain?"

Austin's eyebrows furrowed, "I'm not sure, Bud. Are you okay?" He racked his brain for any hints of Glen ever being fazed by rain.

Rain, of all things.

It didn't add up.

He pulled back on Glen's shoulder, forcing him to a stop as Austin circled around to face him front on.

Austin pushed his sunglasses up so they rested on top of his head, preventing his blonde hair from blowing into his face. He scrutinized his little brother, trying to see past the façade.

It had to be more than just the rain, because they've been caught in the rain before and Glen was fine.

And wasn't it just the other day when the teens had gotten caught in the rain coming home from their sports practices and Hayes convinced the two knuckleheads to jump around in the rain with her?

That had been harmless with no consequence in Glen's mood.

Therefore, Austin deduced it had to be something more...

Was it the thunder?

To his knowledge, Glen never said anything before. Hayes had the loud noise aversion, not him. Unless he was just better at hiding it. They obviously would go inside if it decided to rain, barring that one time, so maybe he just never had to worry about it.

But now that they were outside with the potential threat of downpour...

"Who, me? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Glen said unconvincingly, "Just don't want the rain to ruin the trip, you know?" He chuckled awkwardly, dropping his gaze to his shoes.

-ish.

He was fine-ish.

A big -ish.

More -ish than fine.

But Smiley would handle it, just like he always did, hiding his panic until he could sneak away into the shadows. He wasn't about to let his silly, little fear rain on their parade.

Austin curled his hand around the back of Glen's neck, urging the boy to look up at him. "At any point you want to head to the hotel, just let me know."

Like now?

But instead of saying that, Glen puffed his cheeks then blew out the hot air. "Okay."

"Come on," Austin nodded his head in the direction they were to go, looping his arm back around Glen's neck and pulling him alongside him again.

The eldest brother looked both ways for any cars coming before crossing the street to the sidewalk. He let his arm drop back to his side once they stepped onto the pavement. Both brothers had the same idea as they shoved their hands into their sweatshirt kangaroo pouch, a bit of wind creating a chill in the air.

The campus was pretty empty thus far, which was expected for a Saturday morning with no home football game scheduled. The students were most likely still in bed, recovering from their Friday night parties so they could go out again for the Saturday night rager.

Austin may have been a few years removed from the college scene, but he still remembered his time. Just because alcohol wasn't in his system, didn't mean he bypassed parties. He went to a few his freshman and sophomore years, back before he was fighting for legal guardianship of Dakota, Emerson and Francis.

Plus, his relationship with Emerson was tightknit, so Austin was kept up to speed with all the happenings in the young adult world.

Francis' hearty laughter hit Austin's ears, breaking up the brothers' comfortable silence. "Wait, Sissy, I have one more!"

"Stop it. No more, Francis." Hayes fake groaned, though she couldn't help the giggles from Francis' ridiculous jokes. She dodged her teen brother, scurrying to Dakota's other side. The girl used Kota's world-renowned grumpiness to keep Francis at bay, meaning a safe 3 feet away from her.

"What do you call a ghost fart?"

Dakota rolled his eyes, already done with Francis' antics for the weekend. It was the fourth moronic joke he told, and none had been remotely funny and all had something to do with farts. "Aghast."

"I'm not asking you, Dicky P." Francis placed his hands on his hips. "And that's wrong and not even funny and makes no sense. Sissy, what's your guess?"

"Just answer so he'll shut the fuck up," Dakota stated, tilting his head to the side to look at his sister.

Hayes shrugged, a grin playing on her lips. "Beats me. What?"

"A spirit bomb," Francis revealed, snickering like no tomorrow as Austin and Glen finally met up with them.

"And that's enough of that," Austin put an end to Dakota's suffering, working hard to remain a neutral face even though Hayes' giggling was contagious. It was pointless though because the crinkles around his eyes told the truth about his amusement.

"Thank fuck," Dakota scoffed.

Hayes gave Austin a sweet smile, abandoning Dakota to stand by Austin. She looped her arm with her eldest brother's, practically hugging his arm to her sweatshirt-layered chest.

How easily she managed to wiggle her way in between her protectors was a pure gift.

As if to emphasis Austin's point, with her right arm, she sneakily slid her hand around Glen's arm. Giving a good yank on his arm, the kid stumbled over so he now stood next to her.

Much better.

Like a flick of a switch, how easily she slipped back into the shy little girl with no confidence, hiding between her brothers for comfort.

Well, this was certainly not ideal.

The question was, was there going to be an anxiety attack accompanying this shyness? Austin wasn't too sure after being informed about last night's mini meltdown.

But contrary to Cole's reservations, this morning had gone smoothly. Hayes packed her overnight bag with no problems.

Always a puzzle, that Sunshine.

Austin pulled his arm out of Hayes' grip, instead lacing their fingers together, giving her frozen fingers a gentle squeeze. He was multitasking in comforting her as he sent a warning look to Francis.

The siblings were standing by the metal gates, the only thing separating the family from reuniting with Emerson.

Fortunately for them, one of the gates was propped open by an orange cone for anyone to enter.

Definitely a security breach, but nobody evidently cared.

What was the worse that could happen?

Someone steal all the baseballs?

Oh nooooo.

"Francis, may I remind you to make good choices," Austin said.

"Aye, aye captain." Francis saluted with an easygoing grin to accompany it.

Austin set his mark on Dakota next, making Kota roll his eyes before Austin even spoke.  "Limit the swearing and try not to complain, please."

"Fuck that."

Classic.

Hayes and Glen patiently waited for their turn, already staring at Austin as he turned to address them. He had to think for a second as the kids were not much of concern for acting up in public, only on special occasions. They were still super cognizant of their surroundings and the amount of attention they received.

"And you two... no punching each other."

"You got it, dude," Hayes replied with Glen giving a little smirk of his own.

Austin was happy to see Glen loosening back up a bit. Hopefully the relaxed mood lasted for at least until they had the chance to return to a solid roof over their heads.

With all that said and done and impatience building, Francis took initiative as line leader, pulling the gate wide open so they could walk on through.

Now that they were in the ballpark, they could see some baseball players scattered on the field through the chain-link fence and some heading in their direction with their equipment bags on their shoulders, done practicing for the day.

But Emerson, the man of the weekend, wasn't easily sighted.

Energetic as ever, Francis was practically floating as he led the way on the path behind the bleachers. He was in his element, greeting the dispersing players in passing. Considering he's been basically part of the team too since Emerson was a freshman for the college, Francis knew most of them and were friends.

It was a good reminder for Austin to see, as soon he will be dealing with the transition of Francis leaving the home for college. It was going to be just a teensy bit easier on the eldest brother, knowing he already formed a second family here.

But it sure will be different without the teen running around the house.

He didn't like thinking about it.

Austin was distracted from his depressing emotions by the sound of leather hitting aluminum. It echoed throughout the stadium indicating batting practice was still going on. A quick glance at his phone showed the time was approaching 11:15am so Austin figured the end was near.

The siblings were suppose to arrive closer to 11:30 or even noon as to not disrupt Emerson's practice, but Francis woke everyone up ahead of schedule and pushed them out the door. The teen wanted to waste no time with being reunited with his bestie. He literally could not contain his excitement. The countdown to Sunday departure was already ticking!

Fran had to make the most of every second.

Coming round the corner of the metal bleachers, where once upon a time the siblings had sat and watched Emerson in a fall game, the field appeared in front of them with nothing blocking their view.

Francis was several steps ahead of them by now, with Dakota in the middle of the pack and Austin at the end. The kids had subconsciously slowed their pace drastically so Austin met their speed.

Austin glanced down for the fourth time when Hayes bumped into him again. It wasn't too unusual as the girl was normally incapable of walking in a straight line, period.

But he saw the worry lines on her forehead, which should not have been there.

The eldest brother halted once again, this time to address his other kid. Since his fingers were still interlocked with his sister, he caused a domino effect with Glen also being pulled to a stop. The boy was still glued to his sister's side.

"What are you so nervous about?" Austin lifted their connected hands up over her head so she was tucked against his side and his arm slung around her shoulders. "Huh? It's just Sonny boy."

His eyes flickered between his youngest siblings, catching them both shrug one after another and then again and again as they became engaged in a shoulder shrug battle.

Seriously? Only them.

"Guys."

"I'm not nervous," Hayes quietly defended, shifting her weight on her feet as she tried to scoot closer into his side.

Oh, she was so nervous.

That was a dead giveaway.

The little girl was saved from further interrogation when a whistle was blown from somewhere on the baseball diamond, only several yards away. "Bats down! Powers, your family is here! Everyone else, go home and get your school work done."

Apparently Emerson was a loud mouth about his siblings visiting this weekend.

"Yes, Coach," chorused the guys who were still hanging around. They knew not to mess around with school, otherwise they'd spend practice in study hall rather than on the field.

Coach was not going to let his players waste this opportunity for a college education. He knew sports would only take them so far in life.

"Come on, that's our cue," Austin's voice was full of encouragement. He could already make out Emerson's voice as the brother greeted Francis and Dakota.

Looking like a deer in headlights, Hayes put the brakes on her feet and refused to start walking. Glen was no different, though his fear was rooted to the rain, as his eyes kept darting to the cloudy sky.

And now Austin had no idea what to do.

It was just Emerson. He was more harmless than Francis and that was saying something.

"Hey! What the hell are you guys doing all the way over there?" Emerson would have ran to them but baseball cleats on concrete did not mix well.

Wipe out on aisle 4.

No, thank you.

Three sets of blue eyes depicting various emotions landed on the blonde giant hustling over as a speed walker, right in their direction.

"Sunny junior!" Emerson exclaimed, not giving Hayes a chance to become invisible before he swooped her up for a hug like she weighed nothing.

He cheerily pulled Glen into the group hug, completely ignoring the stiff posture the boy was hinting at. "Holy crap, Smiley Green Giant. When did you get so fricking tall, my dude."

A genuine laugh from the boy accompanied by Sunshine giggles made Austin breathe a sigh of relief. He didn't know what the hell had triggered his kids, but hey, you know what?

A win was a win.

They got through the moment, ready for the next.

That's all he could ask for.

Just keep swimming.

Just keep swimming.

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.

————

"Hayes, keep your hand up! You wanna catch the ball with your glove, not your face, remember?"

That was always an ominous thing to hear.

"Yeah, don't pull an Emerson!" Francis joked, sprinting away from said brother when Sonny turned his sights on him.

Austin couldn't bear to tear his gaze away while at the same time it was painful to watch. God forbid, Hayes got hurt.

Basketball, he could handle that.

Baseball or softball, he didn't see that in her future. Hayes needed to be far away from a tiny missile and a metal weapon.

From the 3rd base sidelines, Austin could feel his heart beating overtime as he took in the view of three of his siblings playing on the field.

They were enjoying spending time with each other.

Making lasting memories.

Bonding.

To keep himself from going over there and breaking up their fun, he grasped onto the padded railing that he had been leaning on, the railing serving its purpose to protect the dugout.

And protect it did, as a couple of Hayes' throws went a bit wild in his direction.

Drew, further known as Emerson's roommate and honorary member of the Powers family, chuckled at Austin's on-edge stance.

"Shut it," Austin advised, his fingers digging into the padding. There was no heat behind his words since the brother knew how silly he probably looked.

Drew actually laughed this time, holding his hands up in surrender. "Didn't say a word, man."

The two of them were suddenly blinded by a quick flash of light. Once the black dots disappeared, Dakota was on the receiving end of two scowls.

Unbothered, Dakota simply smirked as he lowered his camera down and reviewed the photo.

Austin just had one question. "Why?"

"Why not?" Dakota returned. "Gotta document the moment your hair turned gray."

Austin bit his tongue before a sarcastic comment came out, instead relishing in Glen's low laughter from behind him.

Unlike Hayes who had quickly become enraptured by her older brothers, the boy was the opposite and didn't venture far from Austin's side.

Smiley was perfectly content with chilling out in the dugout, taking advantage of the shelter-like feel it provided. Not to mention, it was the prime spot to watch his brothers and sister play around.

"Why don't you go toss the ball with them?" Austin suggested to Dakota, crossing his arms.

"Fuck no, I'm not getting pegged in the balls. Hayes can't throw for shit." Dakota wasn't wrong.

Emerson and Francis had it in their minds to teach their sister the fun sport that was baseball. And it was blatantly obvious the girl had never played the sport a day in her life.

It started with Sunshine putting the baseball glove on the wrong hand. But that was quickly squared away once she understood that if she threw with her right hand, then she must catch the ball with her left hand.

Her hand-eye coordination was beautiful, which came as no surprise with her athleticism. She also had incredible throwing strength.

But her aim was just absolutely horrific.

The girl had Francis and Emerson jumping all over the place trying to catch the baseball she threw.

Poor Emerson didn't realize he was going to get a second workout in.

So that lasted about 10 minutes until Fran and Emerson wisely decided to move on to the next stage.

Batting practice.

Austin wasn't so sure about how wise that decision truly was.

Hayes stood off to the side at home-plate, twirling the bat around as she half-assed watched Emerson model how to hit the baseball.

"Here, put this on first."

A baseball helmet was suddenly plopped on top of Hayes' head. It was a very smart move on Francis' part, considering the girl held a baseball bat in her hands.

There was always a chance she could smack herself in the head with it by accident.

She was being easily distracted, amazed by how large everything felt from being on the field compared to the stands. Like a whole new ball game. It was surreal.

Once Francis jogged off so he could be the pitcher, Hayes carelessly swung the bat side to side in front of her legs. Thankfully no one was close enough to her to be hit by the aluminum bat themselves, but that didn't protect Hayes from her own graces.

"Ooh, ouch!" Hayes hissed, the bat dinging against her left knee. She immediately dropped the bat to the ground by her feet and rubbed the reddening spot to rid the sting. She continued mumbling, "Ouchie ouch."

"What happened?" Before Austin could jump in, Emerson spun around to face her, covering the distance is milliseconds. He squatted down, examining her knee. "I told you not to do that," He pressed on her knee in several spots. "And that would be why."

"Sorry, Sonny," Hayes said, wincing when he hit the sensitive spot that was probably going to bruise overnight.

"Why are you apologizing to me?" Emerson lightly patted the side of her knee before standing up to his fullest height. "You should be saying that to yourself."

"Maybe I did," Hayes scrunched her nose at her brother as he bent down again to pick up the offending agent. She mocked his voice, "Sunny Jr, she is number one."

Emerson did a double take, unsure if his ears were deceiving him. "Since when do you watch Sponge Bob?"

Hayes pointed towards the pitcher's mound where Francis was warming up his throwing arm with stretches. She stage-whispered, "He's obsessed. He makes me and Glen watch it with him."

"Obsessed?" Emerson laughed, raising his voice to purposefully get Fran's attention and whoever else was listening.

Too bad Austin was too busy being badgered by Dakota, Glen, and Drew to hear. Three against one was a challenge to overcome.

Francis had to jog back over, too curious as to what the hold up was. "Who's obsessed about what?"

Emerson turned his sights on Fran. "You, apparently. Have you been watching SpongeBob without me?" He hissed, betrayal written on his face.

"No!" Francis exclaimed, his jaw dropping at the accusation. He pursed his lips, following Emerson's gaze to one little girl who snorted. "Don't be spreading lies, Sissy!"

Now Hayes looked offended.

Before she could respond, Francis butted in again with an explanation. "Emmy, listen to this. You know how Glen was watching with us last time you were home?"

"Uh huh," Emerson crossed his arms, shifting his weight onto his right leg.

"Well, get this." He nudged Emerson with the glove he was holding. "Glen never seen the show before..."

"What-? He said he had."

"He lied," Francis swatted at the air. "Anyway, so of course, I take my duty as his older brother very seriously, and I had to educate him..."

"Aha. You did watch without me!"

"No, you nincompoop. We had to start all the way from the beginning. I'm trying to catch him up to where we're at." Francis hastily explained.

"Hayes said you made her watch it, too." Emerson pointed out the lack of her name being used.

"Well, yeah. We compromised." Francis shrugged a shoulder.

"No, we didn't," Hayes denied. "You made me. You took away Family Feud and held me hostage!"

"I didn't hear you complaining when I got you all that ice cream."

He got her there, and Fran knew it by the winning smirk on his face.

Hayes stuck her tongue out at him.

"Wait, wait wait," Emerson shook his head in confuzzlement. "I thought ya'll were grounded from tv or whatever."

Francis and Hayes both shushed him real fast, with Fran taking it one step further and leaping into Emerson's personal space. His hand slapped against Sonny's mouth, instantly quieting him. The surprise attack made Emerson drop the bat from his hand.

Emerson counteracted his move by maneuvering his leg around Francis', somehow managing to get him off balance. Unfortunately, both brothers went toppling to the ground, but thankfully neither landed on the bat as it had rolled away.

That would have really hurt.

"That doesn't look like baseball to me!" Austin called out from the dugout before breaking out in what seemed to be an intense whisper-fight with Dakota. Glen and Drew were no innocent bystanders, both of them laughing up a storm.

Hayes pointed at the hot mess of brothers. "They started it."

Suddenly, Drew came jogging over, sent as the peacekeeper or instigator, which truly was one and the same. He stuck his hand out, helping Francis and then Emerson up as the brothers continued to poke fun at each other.

"Come on, Hayes, I'll teach you how to hit." Drew winked at the girl, knowing her brothers would instantly shut that down.

They wanted to be the ones to teach her how to play America's greatest pastime.

"Get it line, buckaroo." Francis brushed the clay off his sweatshirt and gym shorts before picking up the baseball that had fallen to the ground. He tossed the baseball that he was holding in the air. He caught it easily before pointing his finger back at Hayes in a playful 'watching you' warning. Jogging back to the mound, he called out, "Let's see what you got, Sissy."

Hayes glanced at Emerson, swaying from her heels to tippy toes as she waited for the next move. He grinned and handed the abandoned baseball bat back to the girl. He swept his arm out towards home plate. "It's all you, Sunshine."

With a little hoppity skip in her step, shaking off the little ping of pain of her knee, she lined up at the plate. Then she looked back at Emerson again, for instruction on what to do next.

"Sunshine," Emerson sighed, shaking his head. The sporty headband he was wearing kept his mid-length blonde hair from flying everywhere. "I literally just showed you what to do."

As he was huffing and puffing in pretend exasperation, Hayes was silently laughing to herself and got into a batting position that felt natural to her. She could figure it out, it's not like she's never seen a game of baseball before.

Just not many. And she hadn't "played" since elementary school p.e. class if that even counted.

Feet shoulder width apart. Knees bent. She wasn't exactly confident in how to correctly hold the bat, but she placed her hands towards the bottom with a good grip. The little girl cocked the bat backwards over her right shoulder.

Then in a look of intimidation, she narrowed her eyebrows at Francis.

Looking fierce.

Hayes was ready.

Emerson walked in a circle around Hayes, scrutinizing her posture. She only required one minor correction of her hands on the bat before he knocked his knuckles on her helmet, signaling his approval. He then took several large steps off to the side to lower his chances of getting hit by either a stray baseball or a wild bat.

Drew was the brave soul, volunteering to be the catcher. More power to him.

"Alright Hayes, eyes on the ball." Emerson coached. "You got this, Junior."

Hayes nodded seriously, giving her hips a little wiggle to stay loose. She watched Francis turn to his side and hold the glove close to his chest, the baseball hidden from sight. Then in one smooth motion, Francis threw the ball in a straight line towards home plate.

Hey batter batter,

hey batter batter swing.

The little girl gave her best effort, swinging the bat across her body, continuing the follow-through until it reached her opposite shoulder.

But she was a second too late, hitting air as the baseball was safely caught behind her in Drew's glove.

Hayes frowned, giving a huff of dissatisfaction. She didn't know what to expect but it certainly wasn't that.

Dang, that was fast.

"That's alright, Junior," Emerson clapped his hands together. "Just keep your eyes on the ball. You got this!"

She watched the baseball soar back to Francis, courtesy of  Drew, before retaking her batting stance, the bat held over her shoulder.

Another throw.

Another strike.

One mystified little girl. This was a lot harder than she thought.

Hayes let the bat drag on the ground as she kicked some dirt with her sneaker. She glanced over towards the dugout where her other brothers were, hoping for anything, really.

Words of encouragement... a thumbs up... a punch in the nose... Whichever.

Hayes grimaced. She shouldn't joke about that. She still felt immensely guilty even though Glen never brought it up again.

Thinking about Glen, the boy had joined Austin and Dakota at the railing with single a purpose in mind - to assist Dakota with ragging on Francis.

The game of baseball was 10% physical and 90% mental.

"We want a pitcher, not a fucking belly itcher!" They heckled loudly, ignoring Austin's half-hearted attempts at telling them to quiet down.

Naturally, Dakota slipped in the curse word.

Francis held up his hand in a little wave, before showing them the bird.

Hayes wrinkled her nose at the gesture. That wasn't very nice of him.

"This one has your name on it," ignoring the brothers, Drew spoke to the girl, showing Hayes the baseball in his hand before he threw it back to Francis. He gave Hayes a wink which made her grin a smidge.

Third time's a charm.

Except this time, she didn't even attempt to swing the bat at the baseball. Hayes simply watched the ball fly by her waist, smacking into the catcher's glove.

From the dugout after seeing that at-bat, Austin put his hands together in prayer-like steeple. He mumbled under his breath, "Please don't be like bowling. Please don't be like bowling."

Wait.

Think positive.

"Please hit the ball. Please hit the ball."

Glen, the supportive best brother ever, had higher hopes for his sister than that. He created a megaphone with his hands. "Hit it out of the park, Hayes!"

Dakota snorted at the likelihood of that, though he got his camera ready for the money shot, just in case.

Just as supportive in his own way.

From the sidelines, Austin, Dakota, and Glen eagerly looked on as Emerson was hyping Hayes up with the encouragement. The girl was nodding along to whatever he was saying, though her mind was having a more interesting battle with herself.

"What are you doing?" Emerson's eyebrows furrowed when Hayes held the bat out for him to take.

"Hold it, please," she politely requested, jerking her hand forward some more.

Once he relieved her of that equipment, she then took the helmet off her head and held it out for him to hold as well.

Emerson sounded uncertain, as it looked a lot like she was giving up. "Are you done already?"

"No," Hayes shook her head, her messy hair flying everywhere with the breeze. She then began to take off the hoodie she was wearing, struggling a second when she got lost in all the excess fabric. It was one of her brothers' hoodies, of course.

After a couple more seconds she was finally freed, revealing the crewneck sweatshirt she had been wearing underneath, snatched from a different brother's closet.

The little girl wasn't built for this Christmas-like weather. She had been a bit chilly this morning and needed the layering.

Okay, now she was ready to play ball.

She wiggled her arms, liking the more agile feel without the extra burden of a heavy sweatshirt to weigh her down. Glen helpfully jogged over and took the sweatshirt off her hands, before dipping back into the dugout safe haven.

Once again, the helmet was plopped on her head, Hayes adjusting it slightly so she could actually see.

Emerson handed her the bat back before extending his knuckles for a dog pound. "Make Franny pay, Sunshine. Put him in his place before he gets a big head."

Hayes nodded sharply, meeting his fist bump.

She got this.

Hayes walked back to the home plate, stepped into the batter's box, and lined her feet up properly. She lightly tapped the bat against her sneakers, like she'd seen her brothers do before.  Don't ask her why they do it.

When the girl finally looked towards center field, a taunting grin was on her face.

That had trouble written all over it.

She was determined and nothing was going to stop her now. The wider the grin, the more hell-bent she became on succeeding.

Hayes cocked back the baseball bat over her shoulder, her eyes locked on Francis.

She telepathically asked for exactly what she wanted. Send the ball straight down the center at a slow speed, please and thank you.

Which is exactly what Francis has been doing, but this time, she was more readier for it.

Lucky pitch number 4.

Here goes nothing.

Keeping her eyes open, which was solid advice from Sonny, Hayes tracked the baseball from the second it left Francis' hand.

It was coming closer... closer...

Now!

Hayes' breath hitched as she pivoted on her back foot while beginning to twist her hips, her arms swinging the bat forward with powerful momentum. She drove the bat all the way through the pitch, ending up wrapped around her backside just like Emerson taught her.

What perfection.

In that moment, there was no sweeter noise than the sound of leather hitting metal creating a reverberating ping throughout the stadium.

The wind was working in her favor, carrying the baseball into the shallow left outfield, where the ball landed on the grass and then rolled for several feet before coming to a stop.

"Fuck yeah, Hayes!"

Holy cows, she did it.

"Atta girl, Powers!" Drew applauded his opponent, shaking out his legs from squatting.

That was actually super cool.

"Run, Hayes, run!"

It was Glen's shout that jolted her from being so mesmerized by the fact that she actually hit the baseball.

Oh, shoot.

That's her!

Hayes dropped the baseball bat like it was hot, and dashed down the line towards first base.

Until then, Francis had just been standing on the mound, staring dumbfounded at where the ball ended up. But he spun back around at his brothers' hollers and caught a glimpse of Hayes sprinting by.

Shit, that's him!

Francis took off running to recover the ball, eager to scoop it up as quickly as possible. He couldn't let his Sissy show him up too badly with her agile speediness.

He channeled his inner gazelle. Speed racer activated.

Having nothing to lose, Hayes rounded the corner of first base, after stepping on the bag, and was quick-moving to second base. Thank God for adrenaline because running 90 feet was no joke.

In through the nose, out through the mouth.

Her ponytail whipped around behind her, the wind almost causing the hair to whack her in the eye. Hayes brushed the strands out of her face, suddenly skidding to a stop when she saw Francis running full speed at her. The little girl squealed as she pivoted and took off back to first base.

It quickly turned into a game of tag.

"Not so fast," Drew appeared, blocking her path. He held up the baseball tauntingly in his glove, as Francis had underhand tossed it to him.

Dang rabbit, she forgot he was on Francis' team.

Putting on the brakes once again, Hayes quickly swiveled back around, going with her original plan to second base. She liked Drew, but she was much more comfortable with challenging Francis.

The two guys began basically playing hot potato with the baseball, with Hayes caught in the pickle. Smiles all around, Hayes couldn't stop laughing as she began doing a chaotic zig zag pattern to get away from her brother. She was not about to lose.

By this point, she was running way out of the base path but nobody cared.

All Austin cared about was Hayes not getting hurt.

The baseball was thrown back to Drew whom promptly chucked it right back at Francis, except the ball soared a bit high requiring Fran to jump to catch it.

Seizing her opportunity as she saw his feet leave the ground, Hayes made to duck under his outstretched arm to reach second base.

As luck would have it, she stumbled over his left foot, sending her sprawling onto her hands and knees. In a desperate attempt to beat her brother at his own game, she used her very last burst of energy to clamber back to her feet. Hayes took that one last step in order to successfully reach the bag before falling again, this time remaining on the base.

Not an ounce of strength remained.

Just milliseconds after, a glove gently smacked her lower back for the tag out.

The distinctive sound of cleats pounding on clay announced Emerson's presence, Dakota not to far behind, snapping pictures on his fancy camera.

Kota figured the Worry Wart would appreciate seeing evidence of Hayes' happiness

Sonny self-anointed himself as umpire, the anticipation building amongst the siblings and Drew as he squinted his eyes, analyzing the situation with his mental replay.

The siblings and Drew were rather silent except for their heavy breathing to get the oxygen back in their lungs from all the running.

"Anytime now," Dakota grumbled under his breath. He had the camera up by his face, so no one saw the accompanying eye roll.

Emerson stood up a bit straighter, giving everyone a glance. He then crossed his arms parallel to the ground before dramatically swiping both arms out to the sides.

"SAFE!"

~~~~

Next chapter coming this weekend!!!!