{ZACHS POV...... PART TWO}

After convincing Maddi to let Ava come with me and grabbing Ava's car seat from Maddi. I strapped in all three kids into their seats and headed home. But realized we needed to grab something for dinner before we went anywhere else.

"Ava you like pizza?" I asked, looking in the back towards her quickly.

"Yes Mr. Zach," she replied.

"Ava hun, you don't have to always call me Mr. Zach. You can just call me Zach," I chuckled lightly, having to bite my tongue from telling her to call me 'daddy'. I don't think Maddi would appreciate it if I told her that.

"Ok," she replied smiling.

"What kind of pizza do you like?" I asked, expecting for her to answer with what Mari and Michael answer with.

"Ummmmmm," she replied tapping her chin, than her eyes lit up. "Thin crust, with white sauce not alfraido, but white. With spinach, bacon and feta cheese. Oh and mozzarella cheese on top. Please."

I was shocked with her answer, [i]'What in the world does Maddison have this girl eating? Oh god is she a vegetarian? No she couldn't be, she said bacon. God these are really things I should have asked, or Maddison should have told me'[/i] I thought.

"Are you a vegetarian Ava?" I asked.

"Uhhhh?" she replied, scrunching up her little nose thinking.

"Do you not eat meat?" I tried asking, hoping she would know what I meant.

"No I eat meat," she replied, now scrunching her eyebrows completely lost.

"Oh," I responded.

Even though I knew I shouldn't have I pulled out my cell phone and quickly dialed the kids and I's favorite pizza place. I didn't do pizza much for the kids, but when I did it was a special occasion. After the pizza joint answered I ended up ordering three pizzas, a cheese for Mari and Michael, a meat lovers for me, and of course Ava's pizza for her. After picking up the pizzas, we headed back to the house. Get the kids out and than grabbing the pizza, I hearded the kids in the house.

"Do you guys want to eat now or wait?" I asked.

"I'm taking Ava to play in my playroom," Mari answered, lightly tugging on Ava's arm.

I couldn't help watching as Ava looked around the house in awe. I mean her house with her mom and Ryan was a good size. But this house was huge, it was three stories, had six bedrooms, two playrooms, a den, a living room, two dining rooms, my office, and a game room. Most of the house was hard wood floors, except for the bedrooms and the den. It had high ceilings, so I guess it made the space in the house seem airy.

"So what do you want to do tonight bud?" I asked Michael, turning to look at him after the girls disappeared upstairs.

"I dunno," he replied with a shrug.

"Ok how about pizza and ice cream and than we'll watch a movie," I said.

"Yeah?" he asked, with more excitement than I've seen in the last few days.

"Yeah bud," I answered him.

Thirty minutes later I called the girls down for dinner, Mari pulled Ava down the stairs grumbling under her breath. I just shook my head at the girls and handed out pizza and cups of milk. We all sat around the table and I asked Mari and Michael about their days at school, even including Ava into the conversation. I could tell that it really made Ava happy to be included in our family discussion and it made me feel like this was even more my family. Alisha was never home for dinner time or if she was she never joined us, or joined our conversations. Ava at one point had asked if our dinners where like this every night and I told her pretty much. When I had asked her why, she had just said usually Ryan would sit in the living room and Maddi and her would eat together.

After dinner I served the girls bowls of ice cream and saved Michaels until it was just him and I together. The girls had finished their dessert rather quickly saying something about getting back upstairs to their "prince charmings" which at first worried me slightly until I realized there was no one else in the house. Getting Michaels ice cream, him and I went into the den and started watching a movie.

Michael ate half of his ice cream and than curled up into my side on the couch to watch the movie. About twenty minutes into the movie I realized that Michael had crashed. Sighing I gently laid him on the couch as I got up and grabbed the bowl and cups and carried them into the kitchen. I quickly cleaned up from dinner, putting the dishes in the dishwasher and wiping off the counters. After that I made my way up to the girls, knowing the Michael would be ok the couch for awhile by himself.
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Once I got upstairs and started walking down the hallway I could already hear the girls giggling and talking. I stopped just outside the door where they couldn't see me to listen to what they where saying.

"No..... No.... No leave those there. Those are for the mommy and daddy the King and Queen," Mari stated.

"Oh sorry," Ava replied.

"It's ok. We just have to find a King and Queen," Mari replied.

"Where do we find a King and Queen?" I heard Ava asked. I could only imagine her eyes going wide or looking confused.

"Well daddy usually is the King," Mari answered.

"Is your mommy usually the Queen?" Ava asked, in a somewhat sadden tone.

"No my mommy isn't a very good Queen," Mari replied.

"My mommy would make a good Queen," Ava said quickly.

[i]'Yes she would. You have no idea what a perfect Queen she would be'[/i] I thought. Dragging myself out of my thoughts I decided to make my presence known instead of just listening to them. I made my way to the doorway and leaned against the frame with my arms crossed across my chest.
I couldn't help the smile that formed on my face looking at my daughters in Mari's playroom. It was a regular sized bedroom but it was painted in pink and purple and green. With forests and castles painted on the walls. In one corner there was a huge fort type castle thing, that you could climb up in and stand on. There was tons and tons of princess dresses and tiaras and feather boa's. There were dolls and barbie dolls and stuffed animals all over. Than in one corner there was also her cheer leading customs that Alisha had insisted she get, but Mari hardly ever played with those. In the middle of the room was the princess table with the princess tea set.

"Yes than daddy would be King, your mommy would be Queen, we would be the pretty princesses, and Michael could be the stinky prince." Mari stated with a giggle.

I had to swallow the large lump in my throat at that image.

"Hi daddy," Mari said excitedly.

"Hey girls, having fun?" I asked, smiling at them both.

"Yes we're princesses," Mari answered.

"Yes you are," I responded, looking at them both sitting there in their princess costumes.

"Would you like to join us for tea kind sir?" Mari asked, causing both Mari and Ava to giggle.

"I would love some," I answered, walking over and sitting in the too small pink plastic princess chair. While Ava poured me my fake tea.

I sat there drinking my tea and eating my crumpet, that Mari had snuck on my plate for me with the girls. They both seemed to quickly finished theirs, while I took my time. While they got up and rushed around grabbing items. They came over and put a play robe around my shoulders and placed the crown on my head, even though it was crooked. And for some reason I also ended up with feather boa's around my neck.

We have were having such fun playing and laughing that I had forgotten the storm that was going on in the outside world. Until a loud crash of thunder hit and a bright flash of light caused the lights to flicker off for a minute. Both Ava and Mari squealed and ran over to me, hugging me tightly.
I barely heard a crash downstairs.

"DADDY," I heard Michael cry.

"Up here Michael," I hollered back.

I could hear the sound of his feet crossing the living room floor and than coming up the stairs.

"Dad?...... Daddy?" Michael called again.

"In Mari's playroom Michael," I answered him back, loud enough so he could hear me.

Just as he came in the room the lights came back on. I looked at all three kids and realized how exhausted Michael looked. The girls were looking pretty sleepy too. I told the girls to clean up the playroom, while I took Michael and gave him a bath after I got his pjs. After Michael's bath I realized I had forgotten to have Maddison bring Ava some clothes. Grabbing a spare set of Mari's pjs, I gave Ava a bath and than Mari. After baths and getting all three of them settled in their beds for the night, I read a story to them. Kissing their foreheads after the story and telling them sweet dreams. I headed back downstairs locking up and turning off lights.

I decided I was actually sleep in my own bedroom tonight, something I hadn't done in months. I got changed into a pair of sweatpants and took off my shirt. Shutting off the light in the room, I pulled back the covers and laid down. Thinking over the day and than thinking of having Ava here and how tonight had went.

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I found myself still laying here wide awake three hours later staring at the bedroom ceiling, listening to the storm going on outside. Although the rain seemed to have slowed down by now. I laid there with a hand on my bare chest, I had thrown the covers off hours ago. I don't know why I couldn't sleep. It might have been the fact I was sleeping in, or trying to sleep in a bed that Alisha slept in. Or maybe it was from the humidity of the storm, it was kind of hot in the room.

Just as I sat up in the bed I heard the sound of a door shutting outside. Scrunching my eyebrows together, I slowly got out of bed and went over to the window. I could see another vehicle sitting in the driveway, but couldn't see who's it was. I noticed a person stumbling towards the front door. I hurried downstairs trying to get to the door before whoever the person was woke up the kids. I just prayed it wasn't Alisha trying to start stuff.

I had just made it to the bottom of the stair case as the person started banging on the front door. I walked over and turned off the alarm and unlocked the door. Quickly opening the door, only to have a soaking wet, sobbing Maddison fall into my arms. I quickly pulled her into the house and shut and locked the door behind us.

"I-I-I d-didn't have a-anywhere e-else t-to g-g-go," Maddi choked out on a sob, clutching at my arms tightly and sobbing into my bare chest.