Taylor and Isaac sat down on the bench just a few feet from the swing set, where Madeline was happily pushing her cousin, Kaitlyn. "Madeline, put your coat on before you get sick," Taylor called over to his daughter.
"But Daddy," she protested. "I'm hot. That's why I had to take it off."
"Madeline, put your jacket on."
"But Daddy..."
"Madeline Hanson, I'm gonna count to three. If that jacket's not on, we're going home. 1... 2..."
She stopped pushing Kaitlyn and quickly put on her jacket. "Do I have to zipper it?"
"No."
Ike smiled. "You should have NEVER let Zac baby-sit her as much as he did. She spent WAY too much time with him, man."
"Well..." Taylor's lips formed a sly smile. "My options were limited. You were pretty busy, for starters."
"I was, wasn't I?" He started off into the distance.
"Yoo-hoo." Taylor waved a hand in front of his brother's face. "Ike, wake up."
"Huh? What?"
"You spaced out there for a minute. Where did you go?" When he didn't get a reply Taylor said, "I'm sorry."
Ike gave his younger brother a bewildered look. "What for?"
"That you're hurting," was the simple reply.
"I'm not... It's just..." The eldest Hanson sighed heavily. "Things are just... complicated... right now."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Becca and I... Well... Everything's... different. We fight more now, too. It's... It's not like it used to be. I feel like I'm in a marital limbo, or something. I just... I don't know."
"Well, I'm not an expert, but I think what the two of you need is a hotel room."
"While that will be fun, Tay, I think I need a suggestion that's going to do some long-term good, here."
"That was it. The two of you need time alone -- no daughter to interrupt, no business, no tax forms, no bills. You've both changed, and you need to get reacquainted."
"What do I do? Just walk up to her and introduce myself?" Ike's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Just listen to me, will you? I know what I'm talking about. I went through something similar when Laura came back."
"Yeah, but she was gone for years."
"Will you just listen to me, already? The point is, having Maddy changed her. Laura was different, her priorities changed. And it took me a while to not only realize that, but to get to know her all over again as well."
"I don't know how many times I can do this. I mean, how many chances do we get? That I married her is nothing short of a miracle."
Taylor looked at his older brother quizzingly. "Why do say that?"
"She told me she couldn't see me anymore."
"When!?!"
Ike smiled slightly at the alarm and concern in his brother's voice. "Sorry, Tay. Relax, it was years ago."
"Still, why would she say something like that?"
"Because we acted on our feelings when we shouldn't have." Ike shifted on the bench so his body was square with Taylor's. "I was seeing Alison at the time."
"Whoa..."
"So Becca said she couldn't see me anymore. Then fate, destiny, divine intervention, whatever you want to call it, brought her to Tulsa. We got a second chance. Nothing short of miracle..."
"See? You got through that. You'll get through this. Just... Do you bring her flowers anymore?"
"Huh?"
"What do you mean 'huh'? You heard me. Guess the answer is no, then." Taylor shook his head in disbelief. "I must be in the Twilight Zone, or something. You don't think to give your wife flowers anymore, and Zac's all choked up over a picture of him an AJ on his dresser."
"Zac?"
"Yes, he's gone soft. But don't change the subject. You got some things to sort through, here."
"I know, and I will as soon as-" Ike pulled the beeper out of his pants pocket. "Becca's paging me from Mom's house."
"Hope nothing's wrong," Taylor said, removing his cell phone from his inside jacket pocket, and handing it to his brother. "Here. Fix it, Ike," he said, standing up and walking towards the swing set.
"So, is he gonna drop Kaitlyn off here on his way back from the park?" Diana asked her daughter-in-law, who was hanging up the phone.
"Yup. Thank you for doing this, Mom. I really appreciate it. Ike and I, we both do."
"Oh, don't mention it, Sweetie. I'm just glad I could help out. Anytime the two of you want some time alone, Kaitlyn is always more than welcome to stay here. Walker and I love watching her."
Walker came into the kitchen through the sliding glass door. "Honey, our granddaughter is going to be spending the night here," his wife told him.
He smiled and asked, "which one?"
Becca smiled as well. "Kaitlyn."
"Ah... It's been a while since we've had a little one here. It'll be nice," he commented.
"Is it hard? When your children leave the house? Kaitlyn is going to a day camp this summer. And while I'm looking forward to getting back to the office, I'm gonna miss her. It's gonna be harder than I thought..."
"It always is, especially with the first," Diana said, patting the back of Becca's hand.
"But this is what we ask for, right? Just some children we can send to college..." Walker chuckled.
"Yeah. Now I've got two under this roof, two more in Tulsa, two in New York, and one in LA."
"Speaking of LA, how is Avery?" Becca asked.
"Good. She loves it out there. Then again, she always did," Diana answered.
"She's thinking about med school," Walker added.
Diana glanced at the clock. "Becca! You better get going!"
"Mom, Dad, I can't thank you enough for this," she said, giving them each a kiss on the cheek. "I owe you one."
Diana grinned from ear to ear. "Just have an unbelievable night, and we'll call it even."
Rebecca heard the jingle of Isaac's keys, and opened the door before he could slip the key into the lock. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him passionately. When they pulled apart, Isaac smiled. "Wow! I like that greeting. I think I'm gonna go outside and come back in."
"Oh, no you don't." Becca grabbed his hand and pulled her husband inside. She shut the front door. "I've got the night all planned out, and there's no room for another greeting." She flashed her husband a sly smile.
"What has gotten into you? Not that I mind, or anything..." A grin played on the corners of Ike's lips.
"A mixture of things, on top of a lot of thinking on my part." Still holding his hand, Becca led her husband to the living room couch. The couple sat down. "I have a lot of say, Ike, so please, let me finish."
He gently nodded his head. "Okay."
Rebecca took a deep breath before she began. "Ike, I don't know WHAT has gotten into me lately. I've been a royal bitch, and I'm sorry. I don't want to fight with you. I HATE fighting with you. It leaves an awful taste in my mouth, and a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach." She swallowed. "Isaac, I love you."
He leaned in, and gently kissed her lips. "I love you, too, so much... I don't want to fight, either. And I'm sorry, too. I know I haven't exactly been myself lately." Ike brought his hand to Becca's head to stroke her hair, and noticed something. "You cut your hair."
"Yeah..." she said softly.
"I haven't seen it this short since the day I met you." He smiled. "You're just as beautiful now as you were then."
"If someone told me, then, that I'd be married to you now, I wouldn't have believed it. But I can't imagine loving anyone else."
"I was talking to Taylor today. I don't know why, but I told him how we almost didn't end up together. My heart broke all over again, just saying it." Isaac continued to run his fingers through his wife's hair. "But knowing you would be here when I got home..." His voice trailed off.
Rebecca brought her husband's hand from her hair to her lips, and kissed his palm. She placed his hand over her heart. "I've known you since I was 16, and you still have the power to make my heart race uncontrollably," she said softly. "When I was at your mother's, I saw the calendar. Today is..."
"...the day I asked you to marry me, six years ago."
Rebecca responded by kissing her husband passionately again. Isaac picked her up, and carried her up the stairs.
"Mommy! Can you pin my sash on me?" Madeline ran down the hallway from her bedroom towards her parents'.
Taylor stepped into the hall, tieing his tie. "She's feeding your sister. I'll pin it for you."
Madeline slipped on the sash, and handed him the safety pin. He knelt down and pinned it to her jumper. "There. All done."
"Thanks, Daddy." The young girl placed her arms around her father's neck, and kissed his cheek.
Taylor returned the kiss, and hugged his daughter as well. "You're welcome. You all set?"
"Yup. Just let me get my shoes on." Maddy raced back to her bedroom.
Laura stepped out into the hallway, softly closing the door behind her. "You and Maddy ready?"
Taylor nodded his head. "Just about. She asleep?" he asked, referring to his youngest daughter, Jenn.
"Yup." Laura slipped her arms around her husband's waist. "This brings back so many memories..."
"Are you gonna get all nostalgic on me?" His lips formed a crooked grin.
"I can't help it. You and Maddy remind me of when my dad and I went to Father-Daughter Dinners when I was a Brownie."
"So, these are fun, then?"
"Trust me, Tay. You'll have a ball. Of course, it's changed a bit since I was in the Girl Scouts. Instead of the fathers and daughters volunteering to perform something, all the troops sang or danced for the fathers. But still, you'll have fun."
"I'm just happy I get to do it."
"Me, too," Laura said softly. She gently kissed Taylor's lips.
"Mommy? Daddy?" Madeline stood in the doorway to her room at the end of the hall. Her shoes were on her feet, and a petrified look was on her face. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Laura's voice was soft and filled with concern.
"My tummy. It feels all... weird."
Taylor walked up to Maddy and made himself eye level with her. "It's okay, Princess. You're nervous, but that's natural."
"It is?"
"Yup. Everyone gets nervous. I do all the time."
"You mean, like, when you, Uncle Ike, and Uncle Zac tour?"
"That's exactly what I mean. And they get nervous, too."
"Are you nervous now?"
"Actually, yes, I am... a little." It was true, even if he was just acknowledging the fluttering in his stomach for the first time. Taylor was nervous, though for reasons different from his daughter's. "You gonna be okay?" he asked, rubbing Maddy's back.
She nodded her head yes, and took her father's hand.
"Ready to go?" he asked with an encouraging smile.
"Yeah. Can I say goodnight to Jenn, first?"
"Of course."
Maddy carefully opened the door to her sister's room, and tip-toed in.
Laura walked up to her husband. "You really ARE nervous, aren't you?" she asked, straightening his tie.
"Well... yeah. I've never done anything like this before. We were on tour during the last Father-Daughter Dinner. I just want everything to be perfect tonight for Maddy." Taylor wiped his sweaty palms on his slacks.
"As long as you're there, everything WILL be perfect," Laura reassured him, placing a gentle kiss on his full lips for good measure.
"I hope you're right."
"I KNOW I'm right. Now relax already, will ya? If you act all nervous, you're gonna make Maddy nervous."
Taylor took three deep breaths.
"Feel better?"
"A little bit... yeah."
Laura smiled. "Good."
"I'm ready to go now." Madeline stepped into the hall, pulling the door to her baby sister's bedroom shut behind her. The three went down the stairs, father and daughter hand-in-hand. Just as Taylor was about to open the front door, Maddy stopped him. "Wait! We need to take the video camera. We should tape our number for Aunt Jess, since she helped us with it before she went to New York."
"We can do that." Taylor quickly got the video camera from the computer room, and returned with the bag slung over his shoulder.
Laura opened the front door for her husband and daughter. "Have fun, guys." She gave Maddy a hug and a kiss. She kissed Taylor's cheek, and gave his free hand a reassuring squeeze.
"We will. See you later, Mommy. Love you!"
A thunderous applause rose from the fathers and daughters sitting in the cafeteria of Tulsa High, where the dinner was being held. A short, plump woman with greying hair and glasses approached the microphone.
"That's the leader of my troop," Maddy whispered to Taylor.
"Wasn't that just splendid? Thank you John and Jackie Schaeffer." Maddy's troop leader began clapping, an indication that she wanted the audience to clap as well. "Up next is a member of MY troop." The woman beamed. "Performing a selection from the musical, 'Annie,' here is Madeline and Taylor Hanson."
Father and daughter rose, and walked towards the space cleared in the front of the cafeteria. He handed the gentleman sitting at the table in the corner of the room a cassette tape. It was a recording Ike made of Taylor playing the piano music he and Maddy were going to sing to. Taylor and Maddy took their place in the center of the floor, and waited. He squeezed his daughter's hand, and they both took a few, deep breaths.
The music began to play, and Taylor started to sing. "Together at last..."
"Together forever..." Maddy joined in.
"We're tieing a knot..."
"They never can sever..."
"I don't need sunshine, now, to turn my skies to blue..."
"I don't need anything but you..." they sang together.
It only took the opening line for Taylor to feel at ease. Madeline concentrated on the moves her Aunt Jess taught her, her father's voice, and ignoring the video camera Jackie's father was holding.
"Yesterday was plain awful..." She began to sing the bridge.
"You can say that again..."
"Yesterday was plain awful..."
"But that's..."
"Not now..."
"That's then..." they sang together.
"You used to need work to fill every hour..." Maddy started the final verse.
"I needed to feel that feeling of power..."
Father and daughter finished the song together. "Now every other need has disappeared from view... I don't need anything but you..."
The front door opened, and Laura jumped off the couch to greet her husband and daughter. Taylor came in through the door, carrying a sleeping Madeline. "How'd it go?" whispered Laura, taking the bag containing the video camera from him.
"Good," Taylor whispered back. "Let me just put her to bed, and I'll tell you all about it."
He carried his daughter up the stairs to her bedroom. He sat her down on the bed, changed her into her pajamas, and tucked her in. Taylor kissed Madeline's forehead, and watched her sleep for a few moments before standing up. When he got to the doorway, he turned around and continued to watch the young girl sleep.
Laura came up beside her husband, and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Taylor? What is it?" she asked, whispering.
He wrapped his arms around his wife's waist, tightly, with misty eyes. "Thank you, Laura, so much... for bringing Madeline into my life."
"Quit pacing!" Zac told his girlfriend, who was pacing outside the courtroom door. The two were waiting for the doors to open so the trial could begin, and AJ's pacing was making Zac more nervous than he already was.
"I'm sorry. It's just..."
"I know. You're nervous. I am, too." He stood beside AJ and slipped an arm around her waist in an effort to both stop her pacing and comfort her. He ran his hand up and down her back. "Please, relax. You haven't been sleeping, and..."
She looked at Zac with a mixture of horror and surprise. She didn't want him to know that between the suit and the latest development with Rick, she wasn't sleeping much, if at all.
"Don't look so surprised, Amanda Jean. You think I don't know you spend most of the night tossing and turning? You think I don't know when you're not lying beside me?" He moved so he was facing her, taking her hands in his. "Amanda, please, don't shut me out. I want you to lean on me. I want to be your pillar of strength."
Everything that had been building up since the suit came out in soft sobs. She collapsed into his arms, and buried her face in his chest. "Zac, I'm so... scared."
"I know you are, Sweetie. I know you are." He tightened the embrace.
She sniffed. "And now, this whole thing with Rick... I mean... those two guys could be here, right now..." There was no denying the fear in her voice.
"Amanda Jean, look at me." Zac's voice was stern, but there was no mistaking the love in it, either. His eyes locked with hers. "Nobody, NOBODY, is going to hurt you. They'll have to get through me, first. Understand? You're safe, I promise you."
AJ nodded her head in an unsure manner. "All... alright."
"Have a little faith, Hon."
"I'm trying, Zac. Really, I am. But everything is just so out of control, out of my hands. I HATE this feeling!"
"I know you do," he said in a calm, soothing voice. "I know you do."
"I had always been a firm believer in free will, but I'm leaning more towards fate, now."
Zac sighed heavily and began to stroke Amanda's hair. "I hate what this whole thing has done to you. I know it's scary, but you can't let it take your fire from you. Where's the headstrong, fearless woman I fell in love with?"
AJ shrugged.
"She's still in there. I know it. Amanda Jean, you've got to fight this. Hold on. Don't let them get to you. Don't let them win."
"I'll... I'll try."
"And I'm with you, every step of the way. You won't go through this alone."
Despite the fear and doubt she still felt, AJ managed a weak smile. "Thank you, Zac."
"Marcetti!" Rick shouted above the din. He waved his arms and headed towards Amanda and Zac.
"Anderson!" She slapped his arm as soon as he was within reach. "Where the hell were you? You didn't answer any of my beeps, and I've been worried sick. Did you know--"
"I'm sorry I didn't get back to you, Marcetti. And yes, I know. Those two assholes are out on parole."
"I was afraid they'd come after you."
"Do you think they'd break parole?"
"Do you think they care? They swore they'd get you."
"But they didn't."
"This time. Be careful, Anderson."
"I will. Promise." He turned to Zac. "How are you two holding up?"
"Hanging in there. Doing the best we can," was the response.
"Hey," AJ interjected. "You never answered my question. Where the hell were you?"
"You should know better than to ask," Rick told her.
She rolled her eyes. "Anderson, I'm in no mood..."
He held the door to the courtroom open for Zac and AJ. "Well, if you MUST know, I was saving your ass, Marcetti."