Max POV
After my snuggle-fest with Fang was done, I went upstairs to check on the kids with their new toys. It turns out that they were also pooped from the early morning rise, and were all fast asleep on top of their new goodies. Except for Evan.

"You're still up?" I said, messing up his hair.

"Yeah. I want to give Juay her present today."

"Yeah but you've got to be tired. Take a quick nap, I'll wake you up later and take you over there."

"Hmmm, I'm not sleepy."

Something was wrong with my son. He wasn't as happy as he usually was this morning.

"Ev, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." He shook his head and gave me a fake smile, then kept playing with the zipper of his new hoodie that Fang got him. I plopped down on the couch then picked him up and sat him on my lap. Yeah, as old as he his, I can still pick him up pretty easily. He was still my baby.

"Don't lie to me. Talk to me." He twisted his mouth, then sighed.

"Well, it's just that Christmas gets more and more boring every year; for me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I used to get all the big presents and everyone would wait for me to open my present and I could hug everybody at once, and I'd get all this really cool stuff and then me, you and Dad would sit on the couch and watch a movie or something, and-"

"Wait, you me and Dad? You mean before the twins, and Aiden and Shy?" He nodded.

I think I know what this is about. Evan is started to miss the attention.

"Oh, Ev..."

"I know, I'm too big to be jealous of attention but I just miss when everyone still loved me as much as they did. Like, I know they love me, but they love the Twins and Shy more, and Aiden is just...I don't know. It just feels like every Christmas I get less and less attention. And I miss it."

"Well you know we only don't cater to you like we do with the younger kids because they need it. You can do pretty much anything you want now, they need a little help. Which is why they get more attention. But the love is still there, Evan, you know that."

"Yeah, I just..." He shrugged, sliding a hand through his hair.

"I know you miss when it was just the three of us and we would have our little relaxing moments together. Or when we'd go out flying together. I know."

"And you don't kiss me as much anymore..."

"Huh?"

"You used to kiss me like, every time you saw me. You don't do it anymore."

"I figured you wouldn't want me to!"

"Well of course don't do it front of Juay, but I like when you kiss my head or my cheek mess up my hair like you just did."

"Why?"

"Because it reminds me that I'm still your kid. And you loved me before you loved any of the other kids."

"I sure did." For extra emphasis, I took his face in my hands and kissed him all over, smothering him with my motherly love. I can't help but understand how he feels. He wants to go back to when he was the only one who would be kissed like this. When the love didn't have to be shared.

"Okay! I get it! You can stop now," he laughed.

"I'm sorry." I said and kissed his cheek again.

"It's fine."

"What do you want me to do so you won't feel like this anymore? And no, I can't make your brother and sisters and Shy disappear."

That, I most definitely could not do, but he was my son, my first born, and I would do whatever I could to make him happy. He shouldn't be feeling this way.

"I don't know. Like I said, kisses are good. And...if we could like, spend more time together-"

"Like when I go grocery shopping and out with Missy and stuff?"

"Yeah, that would be cool."

"Alright, Buddy. I guess with all the chaos that's been going on lately, I've forgotten to be everyone's mom. Well, you, the twins and Aiden. There has to be enough of me to spread around. And a little extra for you, my first born."

He smiled, then gave me a hug without looking at me. He was probably blushing and didn't want me to see under all of that emo hair. I kissed the top of his head, and said,

"Do you want to go over Juay's house later or now?"

"Later. I'm sleepy now."

I laughed. I knew he was sleepy! I can spot Sleepy Eyes anywhere. I knew Evan like the back of my hand. Just like how I knew Fang.

"Alright. Well, do you wanna sleep in our bed? I know you used to love being in there..."

"Yeah!"

"Okay, go ahead. I'll wake you up later."

"Okay. Thanks a lot, Mom...I love you."

"I love you too, Evy." I said in a cooing voice, like I was talking to baby Evan again. He rolled his eyes and walked across the hall to me and Fang's bedroom. He closed the door. I shook my head wondering how in the world I ended up with a such a great kid, and three others to match.

(emosewA elbisivnI eniL!)

Fang POV

Max was taking Evan to Julianna's house so they could trade presents, so I stayed put with the kids and let them run around in the backyard and play in the snow for a while. I was seated on the deck drinking coffee as I watched them, wishing Max was here with me. Maybe I could throw her in the snow again...

"Hey Daddy!" Jamie yelled.

"Huh?"

"We found a mousie!"

Oh, jeez...

I'm pretty sure finding a mouse outside in the dead of winter is not a good thing. And they definitely shouldn't be playing with it for Christ's sake...

"Don't touch it," I yelled. And got up to inspect the "mousie" they had found, and make sure it didn't have any mousie friends that could sneak into the house.

"Where is it?"

"It's right here! Isn't he cute?" Charlotte exclaimed. They had the little thing wrapped in Aiden's hat, which he was never, ever, going wear ever again.

"Yeah, he's adorable." I said sarcastically.

"Can we take him inside and keep him warm?"

"I don't think that's a great idea guys."

"Why not, Dad?" Aiden pouted. I'm not gonna get into my issues with him calling me Dad right now...

"Because mice can have all kinds of diseases that can get you sick. You don't wanna get sick, do you?"

"No, but I heard Auntie Nudge saying that you eated a mouse once when you guys were camping out!"

"I've eaten lots of mice, but that doesn't mean I think it's a good idea to play with one."

"Huh?"

"When I ate those mice, I cooked them first so all the germs would die. So it wouldn't make me sick when I ate it."

"What's a germ?"

I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity. Of course they didn't know any of this crap.

"Never mind. Point is, you're not bringing that thing in the house, girls."

"But Daaaaaaaaaaaaddy, he's cold! He needs to sit by the fire and eat cheese! We have cheese, right? And mousies eat cheese! Pweeeeeeeeeease?"

"Jamie-"

"Maybe we could have Evan blow it up!" Aiden suggested. The twins looked at him with wide eyes. I think my face gave off a disgusted look. I was pretty mortified right now.

"NO WE CAN'T BLOW HIM UP AIDEN! ARE YOU NUTTY? WHY DO YOU WANT TO KILL HIM?" They screamed. Simultaneously.

"Well, all the mousies at home were given to the Erasers for dinner and stuff."

"What are you talking about, dude?" Charlotte yelled in her squeaky voice.

"Umm, Aiden, you're not there anymore. And that's a very very bad way to treat any animal. Whatever you saw there—all of it- was wrong and bad, okay? Just forget whatever you saw there."

"But-"

"No buts. We don't bring up that place anymore, okay?"

"Okay." He pouted, ashamed for being scolded. He had to learn some kind of way, didn't he?

"Now, ladies, you're not bringing that mouse in the house."

"Haha! Daddy made a rhyme!"

"Yeah Daddy do another one!"

"I can't. Look, just put it down, okay? Let's go back in."

"Noooooooooo!"

I sighed. You couldn't tell these girls anything! Just like Max...

"Guys-"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" They screamed, just as a large Eagle swooped down between them and grabbed the mouse with it's talons, along with Aiden's hat, then flew away back up into the sky. That solved that problem.

"NOOOOO! What's he gonna do with a mousie? He's a birdie!"

"He's gonna eat it." I said flatly. They looked at me with horrified expressions. I almost wanted to laugh.

"Why?"

"It's the Circle of Life."

"Wuhh?"

"You guys need to watch the Lion King. Come on. Let's go watch it."

I shuffled all of the kids and their weirded out expressions back into the house so that they could learn that basically everything in life dies. Thankfully, the mouse was long gone up in the mountains somewhere with the Eagle so that the girls couldn't beg me to keep him anymore.

That was easy.