Episode Twenty: MacGregor Chronicles

Night time was the best time. Jane could watch my family sleep when she could not. They were all so peaceful and she knew that they were well and safe. Will snored softly while Jane sat and looked at him. She knew all of his imperfections and loved each one. His six foot two inch, two hundred fifty pound frame was her comfort. She always felt small and safe in his arms. For a woman Jane had always had fairly large hands, although not disproportionate to the rest of her body, yet somewhat delicate in their own way. Even so her hands were dwarfed by his thick meaty paws, her hands were enveloped by his when ever he held her hand. It was the same with the rest of her, Jane was tall, 5 feet 8 inches, but loved standing with bare feet in front of her husband so that she could look up at him when they kissed, or bury her face in his chest when they hugged. They had complete trust and pure love holding them.

When she could not sleep, Jane would go into her children's bedrooms to check on them. Grace's dark curly hair was ever arrayed about her pillow, as though she was waiting for her picture to be taken. She was just like her daddy, dark and beautiful, charming and sweet. Her sister, Lucy was more like Jane, only with her fathers eyes. Lucy liked to keep her hair short because she didn't like having to get it done every morning, she had places to go, things to see. Lucy's short straight blond hair was reminiscent of her mother when she was young, as was her personality. Lucy was a butterfly, dreamy and impulsive. Not much scared little Lucy, but Jane understood her perfectly.

As for the boys, they were everything that anyone could ever expect from a boy. Clayton and Gaius looked and acted as differently as Grace and Lucy. Grace and Clayton seemed as if they could be identical twins rather than fraternal, as was the case with Lucy and Gaius. The older two looked and seemed to take after their father, where their counter parts, almost four years younger were much like Jane. The eight year olds were dark and charming and the four year olds were more other worldly and always busy with some adventure. All of them were the best of friends, rarely was any one left out. They were either a team of four, or two teams of two. They mixed and matched as they saw fit. Grace and Clayton loved helping take care of their younger twin siblings, and Lucy and Gaius looked up to their older twin siblings.

Fighting was allowed, but only verbal fights. Jane had learned a lot about problem solving when she fought with her brother and sister as a child. The only difference was that Jane was able to be there to monitor her children's fights and discussions. Yelling and screaming was allowed to a small extent, but after a few minuted, Jane or Will would step in to tell them to "fight nice." This meant lower your voice, listen to what the other person is saying, wait your turn, and come to a compromise. If they couldn't figure it out on their own, they knew that they could ask for help from mom or dad. If the intent in asking for help was to get the other person in to trouble, both or all parties would be in trouble.

At night the fighting would stop, but then so did the laughing and the giggles. Adventures were placed on pause, stories were set aside, and all was quiet. She could hear them all breathing, slow and steady. Every so often someone would say something inaudible then be silent again. Her sound sleepers rarely responded to her kisses on their foreheads and the whisper of, "I love you." Then Jane would go back to her bed, kiss Will's forehead, and whisper "I love you," to him too. She knew that even if he did respond somehow that he wouldn't remember it anyway. No matter how much Jane loved her babies, her husband was her favorite and that would never change.