Fear and Protection ~ Wendymypooh (MCAT kids~ Jason and Andi) Jason Tanner pressed his body against one corner of the living room wall in the Tanner residence, his blue eyes wide with growing fear as he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching the front door. He had awakened a few moments earlier to use the restroom and get something to drink. He finished in the bathroom, and decided that instead of water, he wanted a sip of milk. The young boy headed down the hallway toward the kitchen. No sooner had he reached the living room, than he had seen a shadow pass by one of the windows. Both his mom and dad were away on MCAT business overnight, and Max and Walter were asleep, as well as his younger sister Andi, and twin brothers Trey and Bren. It was up to him to find out who it was sneaking about their house, before he ran to the room Max and Walter shared when they had to stay overnight. A gasp escaped his lips as he realized that whoever the intruder was, they were on the front porch now. He was so focused on watching the front door; he didn't hear anyone sneak up behind him. A small hand reached out and touched his arm. "Boo!" Andi said gleefully, watching in delight as her older brother jumped nearly a foot. "That's not funny!" Jason exclaimed in a harsh whisper, his blue eyes flashing angrily at her. Andi bit her bottom lip and great big tears formed on her cheeks. "I sorry..." "Ssh...It’s alright...” Jason quickly said, grabbing her to him and holding her close as he turned her attention back onto the front door. The doorknob began to turn and he told Andi, "Run...go wake up Max and Walter." Andi did as she was told and scampered off while Jason continued to eye the door. His heart pounded in his chest as the door opened and he anxiously looked around for some kind of weapon to use to protect the people he loved. Just when he had decided to use one of the lamps as a weapon, his mother's recognizable figure entered the darkened room. With a cry of relief, Jason scampered across the living room. He threw himself at his mom and heard her and his dad let out surprised gasps. As his mom held him close, his dad quickly turned on a light and both glanced down at him with worried looks. Questions came next, just as Walter appeared in the hallway with a loaded weapon in his hand. "Looks like you've got things under control. I'm going to go to bed now." Walter said, turning around and heading back to bed, leaving a perplexed Vin and Kelli behind. Jason quickly told them about his waking up to go to the bathroom and wanting a drink, then hearing footsteps and seeing shadows and his wanting to protect the family. Vin and Kelli praised him for being brave, got him the sip of milk he wanted, and then tucked him back into bed, before going to bed themselves. The End |
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~Larabee~ Grace Addison & Cody Christopher ~Tanner~ Jason Cameron, Andria 'Andi' Nicole, Bren Jamison, Trey Mackenzie ~Dunne~ Lilah Rose & Daisy Jonetta |
~Wilmington~ Sarah Christina, Maria Inesa, Tannis Rose, Caleb Evan ~Jackson ~ Terrell Nathanial, Ronesha Jewel ~Sanchez~ Joanne Elise & Adam Josiah |
| MCAT Kids ~Slice of Life Series~ Written by M7 Muse Ladies |
| Drabbles by Wendymypooh Challenge ~ 7 colors and 7 numbers Jason and Vin Jason Tanner stood at the corral fence, counting how many foals were inside it, interacting with other foals, or nursing from their numbers. "One...two...three...” Jason continued counting in silence as he used his finger to point out each foal. "What are you doin' son?" Vin Tanner asked the boy as he walked up behind him. “Counting how many foals there are." Jason told him. "How many are there?" "Twenty-four. Seven black ones, six brown, five gray,four white, three paints, and two red." Jason told him proudly. The End |
| Christmas Pictures by Wendymypooh It was a Saturday afternoon a couple of weeks before Christmas and all of the Wild Bunch children, except for the three youngest, gathered together in the pony barn at Reins of Change. Cody Larabee, and Trey and Bren Tanner were down for their naps in the daycare center, under Sally Reeder’s watchful eyes. Most of the adults were out Christmas shopping, taking care of last minute holiday details, or enjoying some alone time together. Caitlyn Broderick and Willard Robard brought the Larabee 7 children down to the barn to see a couple of the new foals that the Reins’ mares had given birth to. The two adults left the children alone in the front part of the barn, while they handled a few business related issues in Caitlyn’s office. Jason Tanner and Caleb Wilmington thought it was the perfect time for them to make plans for Christmas presents for their parents with the other Larabee 7 kids. “Did y’all bring your money with you today?” Jason asked the other kids after they formed a circle together on the hay strewn wooden floor. “I’ve got Sarah, Maria, Tannis’ and mine,” Caleb said, pulling out a set of different colored socks and emptying their contents onto the wooden floor. “Here is mine, Andi’s, Bren’s and Trey’s.” Jason added the money he and Andi collected by doing chores around the Tanner household to the pile that Caleb started. They also added money for their two little brothers to the pile as well. “This is all the money Adam and I have,” Joanne said, emptying a coin purse full of dollars and change into the pile. The Dunne twins and Jackson children added their money into the pile, and then Jason and Caleb set to work counting all of it together. Soon they had a total. “We have twenty-five dollars and seventy-eight cents,” Caleb told the group. “Wow, that’s lots of money!” Andi crowed with delight, her blue eyes wide. The other children made other sounds of excitement as well when they heard the amount of money they collected. Jason shushed the group up so he could talk. “Now…that we know how much money we have, what are we going to get our folks?” “Hmm…good question,” Caleb placed his chin on his fist and considered the question Jason asked. The rest followed suit and silence settled over the group for a few moments before Maria spoke up, “Why don’t we have our pictures taken together?” “The folks would like that…but how are we going to arrange it?” Sarah asked. “We’ll need a big person to help us.” Caitlyn cleared her throat. She had finished talking to Willard, and returned to the front of the barn to gather the kids together to take them back to the main house, when she found them in such a state of concentration, and had not wanted to interfere. She had taken note of the neat stack of crinkled bills and change and realized the children were planning some sort of surprise for their parents. Her assumption was proven accurate a few moments later when Sarah voiced her concerns aloud. She waited until all the children turned their attention onto her, before saying, “Can I be of any help to you?” Jason stood up and walked over to her, his blue eyes serious. “You have to swear you won’t tell any of our folks what we are planning, including Uncle Ra and Aunt Barbara.” “I swear,” Caitlyn said solemnly. “Pinkie swear,” Jason held out his hand to Caitlyn, pinkie raised, and waited to see what she would do. Caitlyn’s lips twitched, but she forced back the smile, slipped her pinkie finger around Jason’s, and repeated her earlier vow. Then she allowed Jason to lead her over to the rest of the children. “Okay, we want to have our picture taken together so that we can give it to all of our folks for their Christmas present from us.” Caleb explained once Caitlyn and Jason sat down on a bale of hay. “This is how much money we’ve got. Is it enough?” He picked up the crinkled bills and the loose change and handed it to Caitlyn. She quickly counted it and then said with a smile, “Of course it is enough. Now, I will arrange to have a friend of mine who is a photographer come out here to Reins of Change. We can take the pictures here. I do think though, that I am going to need a little help in getting all of you together without making your folks suspicious. Would it be all right if I asked Max and Walter to help me?” Jason and Caleb glanced at each other and silently agreed that it would be all right for Caitlyn to let Max and Walter in on their plan. “Alright, but you have to make them pinkie swear not to tell anybody else.” “I’m sure they will have no problem doing that.” Caitlyn said. “Now, let’s head up to the house for some hot chocolate and cookies.” The children followed her out of the barn and back up to the big house. There was an edge of secrecy in all the Larabee 7 households over the next couple of weeks. All the children were filled with excited anticipation as the days leading up to Christmas dwindled down, and their parents found themselves looking forward to the holiday even more. Operation ‘Christmas Pictures’ had gone over smoothly, with none of the parents catching on to the children’s surprise. Caitlyn arranged to have all of the children come to Reins of Change again for a sleepover and it was then that the pictures were taken. She contributed some of her own money toward the Christmas gift she knew all the parents were going to be thrilled to receive, and had even bought matching outfits and cowboy hats for the children to wear. Besides making copies of the whole group together, she had instructed her photographer friend do family portraits as well. Max and Walter had contributed some of their own money to the surprise as well by buying ornate silver frames to hold all of the pictures, and carefully wrapped the items up for the kids to give on Christmas Eve when the Wild Bunch family gathered to exchange gifts. On the evening in question, all of the children were positively glowing at the thought of the surprise they were going to give their parents. All thoughts of opening their own brightly colored presents under the huge tree in the Larabee home were forgotten as Jason and Caleb received permission from their fathers to accompany Walter down to the Andrews’ residence to retrieve the brightly decorated baskets holding the presents for their parents, and beloved aunts and uncles. After everyone was in the living room, Jason and Caleb took the floor. “We know usually this evening’s gift giving starts out with one of our Dads or uncles handing things out, but tonight we want to be first to hand out presents,” Jason said. “The other kids, Jason, and I put our money together and with the help of Miss Cait, Max and Walter, we planned our own surprises for all of you,” Caleb continued. The two boys gestured for their siblings to join them on the floor, while all the other adults exchanged questioning looks with one another. Together the children handed out their packages to each set of parents, and to their Uncle Ezra and Aunt Barbara. “Now you can open them!” Sarah and Andi said together, once all the gifts were distributed. Tears filled the eyes of each of the adults at the beautiful gifts they received and a round of hugs and kisses passed through the room. The Wild Bunch children were delighted that their parents were thrilled with their Christmas surprise. The End. |