“Why do we suffer these long days?” A.J. groaned, as the Boys all boarded their bus. “I mean, why don’t they ever just give us a break?”

“Because we’ll never be good enough if we don’t rehearse,” Kevin answered, climbing aboard the bus after the soft-hearted tattooed rebel.

“You call that rehearsing?” Brian said, as him and Nick bounded up the bus steps. “I’d call that slave driving! I mean, c’mon! Seven hours of practice? It’s unheard of!”

“Not anymore it’s not,” Howie commented, as he took a seat in the kitchen area at their small table. “Apparently, they’ve always known about it, and don’t call it slave driving.”

Nick mumbled incoherently then, causing everyone but Brian to look at him strange.

“Yeah, I hear yah, Frack,” Brian nodded. “We can go nap in our bunks. C’mon.”

Frick ‘n’ Frack headed off to the bunk area, both climbing into the same one, so they could whisper complaints to one another, without being heard.

A.J. smirked. “Yanno, sometimes, I wonder ‘bout those two.”

Kevin raised his eyebrows. “Really? Well, sometimes I wonder about you.”

“Me? Why me?” A.J. demanded.

Kevin just smiled. “No reason.”

A.J. flipped the older man off, then headed to the back of the bus to see if he could find Marcus and his sister.

Marcus sat on the couch, watching television, with Tesia curled up in his lap sucking her thumb. They’d had quite the day together.

“How was she?” A.J. asked, as he stood there eyeing them both critically.

“Good for the most part,” Marcus answered. “Though, she kept insisting on trying to drink the stuff in the bottles under the sink.”

“The cleaners or….?” A.J. trailed off.

“Both,” Marcus answered. “I finally removed her from the area and stuck safety locks on the lower cupboards.”

Tesia looked up at her brother through teary eyes. She’d only wanted a drink, and those were the only things she could reach. She would’ve asked, but she wanted to be a big girl and do it all by herself.

A.J. sighed and sat down next to them on the couch. “C’mere T.”

Tesia cautiously crawled over into his lap, not sure whether or not he was now upset with her too.

“Did you have fun with, Marcus, Hunny?”

“Uh-huhs,” Tesia replied softly. “Buts I’s gots a ‘pank.”

“You should’ve listened then, Baby,” A.J. told her, smoothing some hair back out of her eyes. “Marcus knows what’s good for you. He only wants to keep you safe.”

“O’tay…” Tesia whispered. “I’s be goods, J. Pwomise.”

“There’s my Baby T.,” A.J. smiled, kissing her forehead. “She’s a sweet, good little thing, isn’t she?”

“Uh-huhs,” Tesia nodded. “Goods ‘nough fer da park!”

“You went to the park, huh?”

Tesia nodded again like crazy. “Uh-huhs. We’s play on da swings, an’ da slide, an’ da monkey bars!”

A.J. chuckled softly. “You like the monkey bars, don’t you?”

Tesia giggled some, as she nodded once more. “You goes too, next times?”

“I’ll try, Hunny,” A.J. assured her. “But J.’s pretty busy these days.”

“That what’s Marcus saids,” Tesia sighed, looking down at their laps. She only wanted to play with her brother, as she loved him so much!

A.J. rubbed her back as he spoke. “Kevin’s in the kitchen, Hunny. Are you gonna go say hello?”

Tesia’s head snapped up, her eyes shining with excitement. “Kevy?”

“Yes, Kevy,” A.J. smiled. “Go on and find him.”

Tesia gave her brother a quick kiss, then scrambled down off his lap and went running off to find her beloved Kevy. “KEVY!!! KEVY!!!”

“SHH!” Brian and Nick both hissed from their bunk. They were trying to sleep, and her shrieking wasn’t helping any.

Tesia turned and looked up at the closed curtain. “Shh!” She said back, finger to her lips. “I’s a callin’, Kevy.”

A.J. smirked at Marcus as he heard Kevin and Howie laugh, and Frick ‘n’ Frack groan.

“Smart kid,” Marcus commented.

“I’ll say,” A.J. replied, trying to stifle a laugh.

Tesia continued her search for Kevin, squealing as he scooped her up and swung her high – though, he was careful not to hit her head on the bus ceiling.

“There’s my Princess!” Kevin beamed, bringing her back down only to cover her face in kisses.

Tesia giggled and squirmed, as his kisses tickled; missing once more, just what it was he always called her. “Ickles! Ickles! Kevy!”

Kevin finally stopped and sat back down at the kitchen table they had. “How was your day, Hunny?”

“Goods,” Tesia smiled. “We goes da park an’ pways!”

“That sounds like fun,” Kevin told her.

“Uh-huhs! It funs!” Tesia agreed whole-heartedly.

“Are you hungry?” Kevin asked, as he heard her stomach growl.

Tesia shook her head no. “Nuh-uhs. I’s hads cookies. Shh…”

“Who gave you the cookies?”

“I’s gaves me da cookies, Silly,” Tesia grinned. “Dey yummy.”

“So, you had cookies, huh?” A.J. repeated, as he’d come to stand in the doorway. “And just how many did you have, Little Miss?”

Tesia’s eyes went round, as she turned to look at her brother. “Dis many,” she lied, holding up three fingers.

“Really,” A.J. said, going to where they kept the cookies. “Oreos, right?”

Tesia nodded quietly.

A.J. searched for the bag of Oreos he knew they’d had, frowning when he found it on the floor full of crumbs. They hadn’t even opened it yet, and here it was, completely empty except for what was too small to eat.

“Tesia Lenore,” A.J. said firmly, turning to look at her, holding up the empty bag. “Just how many did you eat?”

Tesia’s lower lip trembled, as she couldn’t remember the last time her brother had used both her names. “I’s was hungwy.”

“Then you tell somebody and they’ll get you something to eat!” A.J. exclaimed, none too happy with her at the moment. “What is with you today, Tesia?”

Tesia started to cry, as she buried her face into Kevin’s chest. She’d wanted to show she was a big girl and could do things herself, but all it got her was trouble.

“I’s big girl!” Tesia cried. “I’s gets fer self!”

“Well, this big girl is lucky I don’t slap her bottom for lying to me,” A.J. told her. “You don’t lie to me, Tesia! You could get sick from eating all those cookies!”

“Alex,” Howie began, “calm down. You’re scaring her!”

“I - ” A.J. trailed off, when he saw Kevin glare at him and noticed Tesia trying to hide into Kevin for protection. He felt like such a heel. He was yelling at her, just because he was tired from practice. “I give up.”

They watched as he turned and walked back into the living area on the bus. His shoulders were sagged and his head low, which showed just how he felt.

“I’ll go talk to him,” Howie offered, as Kevin nodded his agreement. He ruffled Tesia’s hair as he went by and gave her a warm smile. “It’ll be okay, Sweetie. Alex is just grouchy, is all.”

Tesia hiccupped in response, causing both Kevin and Howie’s hearts to break. She was such a fragile little thing at times – especially when she was in trouble.

“Alex,” Howie said, as he sat next to his best friend on the couch. “What was all that about? Didn’t you ever eat a whole bag of cookies?”

A.J. sighed, running his hand over his face. “I don’t care about the cookies, Howie,” he told him. “I just don’t like that she lied to me. Me! Her brother! The one she tells everything too!”

“She’s only four,” Howie reminded him. “She doesn’t know everything. She’s trying to be a big girl and not ask us for so much, because she wants you to feel proud. But instead, all she’s getting is trouble because she doesn’t understand that she still needs to ask for help.”

“I can’t believe I yelled at her,” A.J. stated quietly. “I’m not even all that mad. I was just gonna talk to her about it. But, I snapped. God, I snapped at her all because I’m tired. We really need a vacation.”

Howie smiled softly. “I’ll agree with you on the vacation bit, though I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”

“Yanno, its times like now that I kinda want to quit,” A.J. admitted. “I know I keep saying it, but I can’t stand taking my frustration out on Tesia. She’s just a baby, D. And yet, I keep snapping at her. I don’t want to keep snapping at my Baby T. It kills me to know I’m the one who made her cry.”

“She’ll be fine, Alex,” Howie assured him. “By the end of the week, she won’t even remember it. She’ll be too busy having fun and tackling you to care. She’s just a little girl, and all she wants is to spend some time with you. I know how busy we are, but if you need extra time with her, I’ll gladly stall things or cover for you, or whatever it is you need me to do. She needs you more than anybody.”

A.J. smiled at his friend. “Thanks, D. I appreciate that.”

“Hey, what else am I good for?” Howie teased.

“Noogies,” A.J. smirked, moving to go for Howie’s hair.

“Hey! Not the hair! Not the hair!” Howie cried, batting A.J.’s hands away.

“Hey…” Kevin drawled. “Are we interrupting something?”

“Just tryin’ to give, D. a noogie,” A.J. shrugged. He eyed Tesia in the older man’s arms. “I’m sorry, Hunny. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“J. no yells at Esia,” Tesia told him. “Scary.”

A.J. stood to take her from Kevin. “I promise, T. I won’t yell anymore, unless you’ve been really naughty, okay?”

“O’tay…” Tesia sniffled. “I’s be goods, J. Pwomise. No mores cookies.”

A.J. chuckled. “No, no more cookies for today. Your tummy doesn’t hurt, does it?”

Tesia shook her head. “Nuh-uhs. It hungwy fer pasghetti.”

“Pasghetti, huh?” A.J. smiled.

“Uh-huhs,” Tesia nodded. “Wan’ pasghetti, J. Pwease?”

“Yanno, that sounds like a good idea, T.,” A.J. told her, turning to eye his friends. “You guys wanna go to Pizza Hut or something for some pasghetti?”

“Sure,” Kevin agreed. “I love pasghetti.”

“Me too,” Howie piped up. “I’ll go tell the bus driver.”

“J.?” Tesia began, as Howie left to go tell the bus driver. “We gets chocowate too?”

“Maybe a little bit of chocolate,” A.J. answered. “But not too much. We don’t want you to get a tummy ache.”

“Tummy no aches,” Tesia smiled, patting her stomach. “Its jus’ hungwy.”

A.J. laughed, as Kevin chuckled. “Yes, we know that it’s hungry, Hunny.”

“Your tummy hungwy, J.?”

“Yes, very hungry, Baby,” A.J. smiled. “It’s hungry for your tummy.”

“My tummy?” Tesia repeated.

“Yes, your tummy,” A.J. nodded, lifting her up and away from him some, as he began to playfully eat her stomach.

Tesia shrieked with laughter, as she squirmed about. “Ahahahaha!!!”

A.J. laughed as well, as he kept pretending to eat her stomach. He knew she loved this game best, and it was kind of his favourite as well. Especially, since he really didn’t have to do much just to hear her laugh.

Kevin shook his head at the two, as he left to go check on Frick ‘n’ Frack, who were snoring rather loudly in the bunk they were momentarily sharing.