Title: Happily Ever After
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon.
Part 43
"Hey Tara," Alex said walking Christopher into the kitchen, "Mom told me to tell you, Chris has the sniffles and he needs to nap with a package of tissues."
"Got it," Tara said smiling. She always found the fact that Anya sent directions a bit amusing seeing as how she had seven children.
"Is Jesse ready?" Alex asked.
"I don't know, you can run up and check if you want to," Tara said stirring the contents of a pot on the stove.
"Thanks," Alex said hurrying out of the kitchen in search of his best friend.
Tara smiled contentedly and continued stirring absent mindedly as she let her thoughts drift to her family. Their house was like Grand Central Station in the morning, with kids being dropped off, and everyone rushing around to get everything done before school started. She never dreamed she'd have a house filled with so much love.
"We don't want any trouble, we just want our oatmeal," Willow said coming up behind Tara and placing her finger on her back as if it were a gun. Much to the amusement of Rupert, Mitchell, and Soleil who had followed her in and were trying to stifle their giggles.
"Well, you'll only get your oatmeal from me if you pay the price of 'one please and one kiss'," Tara smiled as she turned around.
"I think we can handle that, right guys?" Willow said turning to the three giggling children. One by one they each came up giving Tara her 'please and kiss' before taking their breakfast to the kitchen table and sitting down.
"Where's Rhiannon?" Tara asked.
"She's not having a good morning," Willow said scooping out some oatmeal for herself, "Very cranky. She's refusing to get out of her bed, so I left her there for a few minutes to calm down, but I'm going back up to get her now," Willow said placing her bowl of oatmeal on the counter, and turning to head out of the kitchen.
"I'll go up and see what I can do," Tara said stopping her wife and leaving the kitchen.
"I need peaches for my oatmeal," Rupert stated, waiting patiently at the table. "What do you want Mitchell?"
"Since when did I become a waitress and this house a restaurant?" Willow asked looking at her oldest son. "If you want peaches you can get them from the refridgerator."
"Can I get my own marshmellow fluff?" Soleil asked excitedly.
"No, baby, you can't get your own yet, maybe next year," Willow said reaching up onto a shelf and pulling down the fluff.
"No fair," Soleil said crossing her arms across her chest angrily and pouting.
"What do you want Christopher?" Willow asked ignoring Soleil's protest.
"Brown sugar please," he said smiling at Willow.
"Where did he come from?" Mitchell asked pointing to Christopher.
"That's our cousin Chris, he lives across the street with Aunt Anya, and Uncle Xander, and that's Alex, his brother," Rupert explained, deciding to introduce the elder Harris as the same time since he and Jesse had just come downstairs. "Chris stays here all day while his mom and dad work," he continued. "Do you know what you want on your oatmeal yet?"
"I guess I'll try brown sugar," Mitchell finally decided.
"Good choice squirt," Jesse chimed in as she retrieved the milk from the kitchen table and put it on the island so she and Alex could have some to drink.
"Are Summer and Harris ready?" Willow asked.
"I think Harris is still doing Summer's homework," Jesse said grabbing a pop tart.
"What?" Willow asked, a look of concern fell over her face.
"I'm kidding," Jesse emphasized, tossing a pop tart to Alex and grabbing her back pack. "Bye, Mom," Jesse said as she and Alex headed out.
"Who's driving us to school today?" Soleil questioned.
"I am," Willow said. "I have to enroll Mitchell in your school."
"What does enroll mean?" Soleil asked.
"It means that he's gonna go to your school now," Willow said figuring that was the simplest way to explain it, even if it wasn't the exact definition of enroll.
"Is he going to be in kindergarten with me?" Soleil asked.
"No, sweetie, Mitchell is going to be in second grade."
"You're in second grade? Are you smart?" Soleil asked.
"Yes," Mitchell said smiling.
"So is everyone in our house," Soleil said, "except Summer, she's stupid."
"Shut up," Summer said smacking Soleil on the back of the head. She and Harris had chosen that moment to enter the kitchen.
"Summer Anne don't hit your sister," Willow scolded.
"She started it," Summer reasoned.
"She's five," Harris said hugging her little sister. "What's your excuse?"
"You can shut up too," Summer continued.
"Grow up," Harris said, rolling her eyes at her sister.
"Girls..." Willow said before being cut off by Buffy who had arrived with Katey and Michael.
"Okay, kid swap," Buffy said ushering in her two kids. "Be good at school today," she said kissing them both, "okay girls, let's go."
"Bye, Mom," Harris said kissing Willow.
"Later," Summer said breezing out the door.
"Tara," Willow shouted up the stairs, "we're leaving."
"Okay, hold on, we're coming," Tara called down.
"Jackets on," Willow noted.
"What about pants?" Soleil asked.
"Where are your pants?" Willow asked. "You had pants on when we came downstairs."
"I spilt my juice," Soleil frowned holding up the wet pants.
"Quick, upstairs before Momma comes down."
"You two still have your pants on right?" Willow asked Mitchell and Rupert and the two boys laughed.
"New pants," Soleil said holding them up.
"Please put them on," Willow smiled.
"Is it like this every morning?" Mitchell asked putting on one of Rupert's old jackets that Tara had given him earlier.
"No usually it's much worse," Rupert said nonchalantly as he grabbed his back pack.
"Bye Momma," Soleil said giving Tara a hug. Tara had finally come down carrying a teary Rhiannon, who sat on the floor right where Tara put her down.
"Bye Sweetie," Tara said kissing her. "Okay, I see two boys trying to leave without a hug and a kiss." Rupert and Mitchell walked over and hugged Tara, and she gave them both a kiss on the head. "Have a good day, and stay out of trouble."
"My kiss," Willow said leaning forward.
"Yes, Ma'am," Tara said kissing her wife tenderly.
"Bye, baby girl, Mommy loves you," Willow said kneeling down and kissing Rhiannon before she left.
"Now you," Tara said looking at Rhiannon who still sat pouting on the floor. "Will you come over to the table and have breakfast with me so we can start working on some of your worksheets?"
"No," Rhiannon pouted.
"Momma doesn't think this is funny," Tara said kneeling in front of her daughter, "come sit down at the table and eat your oatmeal."
"I don't wanna," Rhiannon said, her eyes starting to well up with tears.
"Do you want something else for breakfast?" Tara asked willing to compromise.
"Pop tart."
"Okay, sit at the table and you can have a pop tart for breakfast," Tara said going over to the cabinet.
"I want to do numbers today," Rhiannon said kneeling in her chair.
"We're doing some numbers today, but we're going to do some letters too," Tara reasoned as she handed her the pop tart.
"I don't want to do letters," Rhiannon said picking at her pop tart.
"Tara, I'm finished," Christopher said drinking the last of his juice.
"Okay, sweetie, put your dishes in the sink and then you can start your worksheets. I put them on the island," Tara said watching as Christopher climbed up onto a stool and looked over both piles carefully before selecting the one with his name. She couldn't help but smile proudly.
"I want to do them too," Rhiannon insisted.
"Finish your pop tart first," Tara frowned.
"Momma I don't want it," Rhiannon whined.
"Does your tummy hurt, sweetie?" Tara asked.
"No."
"Is there something wrong?" Tara said as she put her hand to Rhiannon's forehead to see if she had a fever.
"No, I just don't want it," Rhiannon said tearing up again. It had been three days of absolute misery with her. Buffy said she had even been whiny and difficult at her house Saturday night.
"How about you finish your pop tart and then we can play a game before starting the worksheets," Tara suggested, smiling brightly at her daughter hoping to give her some extra incentive to finish breakfast.
"No, I don't wanna play," Rhiannon said crying.
"Well, then you'll have to sit at the table until you finish your breakfast while Christopher and I work on his worksheets," Tara said turning her attention to Christopher. As she worked with Chris, she kept a watchful eye on Rhiannon, waiting for Willow to return from enrolling Mitchell at school. The whole time Rhiannon sat with her back to Tara at the kitchen table sulking, and picking at her pop tart, but not actually eating any more of it. It broke Tara's heart to not pick up her baby girl and comfort her, but she didn't want to feed into the charade if that's what it was.
"I'm home," Willow said coming into the kitchen, noting fresh tears on Rhiannon's face and Tara's look of frustration. "Is something wrong?" Willow asked walking over to where her daughter sat.
"I don't want this," Rhiannon said crying, and showing her Mommy the half eaten pop tart.
"Will, come over here," Tara said crossing to the other side of the kitchen followed by her wife.
"Um, crying child over there," Willow said confused as to why Tara was seemingly ignoring Rhiannon.
"I know, I think there's something really wrong with her. She's not eating like normal, she's always fussy, and she doesn't want to play either. Can you watch Christopher while I take her to the doctor?"
"You think this is a doctor thing?" Willow asked concerned.
"I don't know, but I want to be sure," Tara said, completely distracted as she looked across the room at Rhiannon with a world of concern in her eyes.
"I have a better idea," Willow said walking away. "Christopher put your coat on and grab your bag, you're gonna go spend some time with Grammy Joyce today."
"Me too?" Rhiannon asked.
"NO, Sweetie, you're gonna come with Mommy and I," Tara smiled, helping Rhiannon into her jacket.
"Is it gonna be fun?" She asked.
"Mabye," Willow said not wanting to lie to her daughter, but knowing if she said the word doctor a tantrum would ensue and who knows, maybe the doctor would be fun.
"This is the doctor," Rhiannon realized out loud as she entered the office with her Mommies. "I want to go home."
"Sweetie," Tara said stilling the struggling child with her hands while Willow talked to the receptionist. "Look at Momma," Tara said kneeling down and getting her attention. "You're not here to get a shot."
"I'm not?"
"No, you're just getting a check up," Tara reasoned with her.
"She's going to take us in right now," Willow said rejoining her wife and daughter.
"How'd you manage that?" Tara asked as the nurse led them back to the exam room.
"Are you kidding me? With seven kids, we're her best patients," Willow said smiling.
"If you could just strip her down to her under clothes, the doctor will be in soon," the nurse said exiting the room.
"Okay, Sweetie, let's get this stuff off," Tara said starting with her shoes and socks. Things went smoothly until Tara tried to remove her sweatshirt.
"No, Momma, I want to wear it, I'm cold," Rhiannon protested.
"The doctor needs you to take it off so she can listen to your heart," Tara persuaded.
"No."
"Rhiannon, let Momma take the sweatshirt off," Willow said firmly.
"No."
"Good Morning," Dr. Stevens said entering the exam room, smiling brightly.
"Hi doctor," Willow said smiling weakly.
"What seems to be the problem?" Dr. Stevens asked as Tara still struggled to remove Rhiannon's sweatshirt.
"Well as you can see, she's a bit fussy," Willow said looking over at Rhiannon who was starting to tear up again, as Tara finally got the sweatshirt off, "and she hasn't been eating much, or wanting to play."
"Has she complained of any pain?" Dr. Stevens asked moving over to Rhiannon and listening to her heart.
"No, we've asked her several times if anything was wrong and she always says no," Tara frowned holding onto her daughters hand for comfort.
"Are you sure nothing hurts?" Dr. Stevens asked Rhiannon as she looked down at the little girl, but Rhiannon didn't answer her. "Are you being shy today?" Dr. Stevens asked smiling. This was nothing new for the doctor, Rhiannon rarely said anything to her when she came for her check ups. "Okay, can you open your mouth big and wide for me, and say Ahhh?"
"Ahhh," Rhiannon cooperated.
"Everything in there looks good," she said smiling brightly. "Now why don't we take a look at your eyes," Dr. Stevens said shining the small light into Rhiannon's eyes. "And everything looks good there. We'll check your ears next."
"No," Rhiannon protested, as she turned and buried her heand into Tara's chest, clinging to her Momma for dear life.
"Sweetie, Dr. Stevens needs to check them," Tara said trying to coax her daughter's head from her chest. "It doesn't hurt, look Mommy will get her ears checked." Rhiannon slowly turned herself around in Tara's lap and watched as Dr. Stevens looked into Willow's ears with the scope.
"See it didn't hurt Mommy."
"Nope, it didn't hurt one bit," Willow said smiling in an attempt to look more convincing. "I will get a lollipop for that, right?"
"Can I check your ears now?" Dr. Stevens asked, ignoring Willow's question. Rhiannon nodded tentatively and Tara felt her little hand tighten around her fingers as the doctor prepared to look into her ears.
As soon as the doctor placed the scope into her ear, Rhiannon buried her face in Tara's chest and began crying, clinging to her Momma for dear life. "Is everything okay?" Tara asked, looking up at the doctor while trying to comfort Rhiannon.
"I think I found the problem," Dr. Stevens said as she quickly peeked into Rhiannon's other ear. "Rhiannon has an ear infection in both ears, and they look to be quite bad. I'm sure it's been painful, which would explain the crankiness, and loss of appetite. I'm prescribing some antiboitic ear drops, it should clear up in a week, but bring her back in then so I can check and be sure," Dr. Stevens said writing the prescription. "I'll give her some children's tylenol for the pain. You might want to continue that for the next few days, depending on how much pain she's in."
"Baby, why didn't you tell us your ears hurt when we asked if everything was okay?" Willow asked. It broke her heart to think about how much pain her little girl had been in the past few days. Rhiannon just shrugged her shoulders. "Thank you, Dr. Stevens," Willow said taking the prescription as Tara got Rhiannon dressed.
"Sweetie, you've got to tell us when things hurt, okay?" Tara kissed her daughter's forehead softly as she fastened her into the car seat.
"Okay, Momma," she said trying to unwrap the lollipop the doctor gave her.
"You can have this at home," Tara said taking it from her and looking pointedly at Willow who already had hers in her mouth.
"Right, it's not safe to eat these in a car," Willow said handing hers to Tara, who had gotten in the passenger seat.
"Is Mommy in trouble?" Rhiannon asked giggling.
"Not this time," Tara said smiling at Rhiannon, then turning back to her wife, "but maybe later."
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~Spencer~
"Love is like a roller coaster: When it's good you don't want to get off, and when it isn't, you can't wait to throw up."
by xita » Thu Feb 13, 2003 2:24 pm 
I knew they'd take him in 
I'm glad Rupert will have another boy to play with. W/T are such beautiful people. Now, they don't have to have another child. 
But another of their own??
at: 3/13/03 8:25:20 pm
. It’s moments like that and many others that make me love this story more and more
.
and 
's family next.
Can't wait to see what happens next.