NOTE: Okay long and short of it. I�m doing this story for a friend who is giving me a nice present. AND, you guys know how much I love adding kids to the family.
SUMMARY: Heidi is the apple of her parents eye, and the thorn in her brothers side. She has the O�Connell family sense of adventure, and her own flare for life. What adventures lie ahead? Find out.
Daddy�s Girl
CHAPTER 1: The Cat is not a Doll
China lay in the dolly buggy wearing a dress, and a bonnet. Her orange and black striped tail wagged back, and forth, as if she was most displeased with her current situation, though she made no move to get away. The O�Connell�s second cat, a two year old orange, and black tabby, was used to being dressed in doll cloths, and knew better than to try and get away.
�All right baby, you have a nap, and when you wake up, Mummy will fix you a nice warm bottle of milk,� Heidi said as she put a blanket over her furry charge. The little girl had on a black straw hat, and bright red lipstick, that she wore on and around her lips. Her cheeks were pink with rouge she had borrowed from her mum�s vanity, and on her hands and arms she wore white gloves, which Evelyn had given to her to play dress up with. As she walked across the hard wood floor of her room, the heels of her little black dress shoes made a tapping sound. She walked into her bathroom, and picked up her hair brush, holding it to her ear and her mouth and began to talk to an imaginary friend, whom she called Rosie.
With the coast clear, China crawled out from beneath the blanket, then jumped out of the doll carriage, running for the door, despite having the dress and bonnet on. When she got out of the room she hissed at the approaching foot steps of Alex, who bent down and picked her up.
�Easy there, I�ll get this off you,� he said as he untied the bonnet from the distressed cat�s head. He managed to get the bonnet off of her before his sister came running out of her room, demanding that he give her baby back. �First of all, this is a cat, not a doll, and second of all you look like a clown,� he said as he continued to get the baby cloths off of the cat.
�I DO NOT,� she yelled, then lowered her head, and ran at him butting him at the top of his legs.
Alex had not been prepared for that, and fell back on his bottom, and howled as the cat�s claws dug into him, before she ran off, at last free from being a baby doll.
Heidi tried to run past her fallen brother, but he caught her in effort to give China a running chance.
�LET GO LET GO LET GO,� she screamed, when he pulled her to sit on his lap.
�Whats going on here?� came Rick�s stern voice, as he walked out of the room he and Evelyn had shared for the past 17 years. �Alex let your sister go,� he added.
When he did, Heidi got up and ran past her brother, likely in pursuit of her runaway baby.
�She was torturing China again, so I just gave the poor beast a running chance,� Alex defended as he let his father help him to his feet.
Rick sighed, he and Evelyn had talked to Heidi time and again about dressing the cat up as her own personal doll, and nothing they said seemed to get through. �Next time why don�t you come get me,� he suggested, then went to find his daughter, and have another talk with her.
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China had retreated under the couch at the far end of the parlor, and it was there she was safe from being once again caught by Heidi.
�Come on kitty kitty, I�ll only wrap you in a blanket this time,� she said as she squatted down in front of the tan sofa, peering at her cat. �If you come out I�ll give you a saucer of creme,� she tried.
�Heidi, we need to have a talk,� Rick said as he settled in his favorite leather chair.
�I have to get my baby first daddy, then we can talk,� she said, staying where she was.
Being a parent to two willful children had aged Rick, and also taught him how to be patient. �Your baby is what I�d like to talk about if you please my lady,� he said.
That got a giggle from her, then she stood, and walked over to her daddy, the straw hat half covering her blue eyes, which were just like those of her father�s.
Rick reached out and removed the hat, then lifted his daughter to sit on his lap, noticing the rouge and the lipstick. �China is a cat,� he said, as he took a handkerchief out of his pocket and began wiping the red lipstick from her lips.
�But she likes being a baby too,� his daughter pointed out.
�I don�t think she does baby, and one of these days she is going to bite or scratch you, and I don�t want to see that happen,� he said as he began to work on getting the rouge off of her face.
�China would never bite me daddy, she�s a sweet baby,� she countered.
�Maybe not, but please play with your dolls that your mum and I bought you, all right?� he asked. A sigh was the only response she gave him before she asked if they could go outside and practice riding, and for now Rick decided that was a good idea.
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Not long after his father and sister left to go riding, Megan arrived, and now she and Alex sat in his room talking, or rather, she was listening as her best friend complained.
�I swear, they think she is the most perfect angel in all the world. She could rob a bank and neither one of them would lay a hand on her,� he said as he paced his room.
Megan sat on his bed holding his bear. �Alex, I know she gets in trouble for stuff, like the time she broke your mum�s pearl necklace,� Megan reminded.
�Yeah, maybe once every three years,� he muttered as he plopped down beside her, and leaned to the side, resting his head on her lap, so that he was looking up at her. �You want a sister, I�ll sell her to you for cheap,� he said.
�Why don�t we find other things to talk about,� she said before her lips made contact with his. When she pulled away his eyes were closed, and she giggled. �Why do you close your eyes when I kiss you?� she asked.
Alex opened his eyes. �So I can memorize what it feels like,� came his soft reply. He sat up, then fell back bringing her to lie next to him. �I need a vacation,� he said, turning to face her.
�Aren�t they going away for the weekend?� Megan asked as she snuggled closer to him.
�Yeah, but it doesn�t count, because Heidi isn�t going with them, and they will likely get Aunt Maggie to stay here, which is worse,� he said as he ran his left hand through her long red hair.
�You could come to my house,� Megan said as she lifted her head to peer into his eyes.
�Is your dad going out of town?� The last time they had done that, her father had caught them kissing, and had threatened to cut his tongue off if he ever did that again.
�Yep, so I�ll have that whole house all to my self,� she said as she kissed him again.
Before they could get too into their kissing and cuddling, they were interrupted by Heidi�s �Oooo Yucky,� and for the moment their making out would have to wait.
�You have till three to get out,� Alex said as he sat up eyeing the imp that posed as his seven year old sister. �ONE,� he started.
Heidi stood with her hands on her hips not one bit phased by his apparent threat. �You�re going to get cooties if you keep kissing my brother,� she said to Megan.
To that, Megan burst out laughing, and held Alex back as he lunged forward, ready to chase after his sister, who ran away screaming.
Once she was gone, Alex groaned. �I�ll give her to you,� he said as he fell back onto his bed.
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After a long day at the museum, Evelyn was ready to go home, have a nice quiet dinner with her family, and then a nice quiet evening in bed with her husband. She only worked at the museum twice a week, and was on call anytime they had a problem. The rest of her time she spent as mother and wife, and was satisfied with that.
As she stepped into the house, she heard her daughters sorrowful cries, and dropped her purse at the door, running through the hall to the parlor where Rick was hugging her, as she continued to cry. �What happened?� she asked as she ran to them.
�China bit her,� he said, causing her to cry even louder.
Evie kissed the back of Heidi�s head and rubbed her back.
�I on... only wanted to hold her,� Heidi mumbled against Rick�s chest.
Knowing her daughter�s latest game of trying to dress China up in doll cloths, she guessed that there was more to it than that, but right now she wanted a look at where the cat had bitten her. �Will you let mummy see where you got bitten my love,� she asked.
After a moment, Heidi lifted her head from Rick�s chest and held out her left hand. Her middle two fingers had two bite marks on them, which had drawn just a little blood, but Evelyn not wanting to risk infection, coaxed Heidi from Rick�s arms, and carried her upstairs to their bathroom settling her on the white wicker stool, which sat next to their bathtub.
�No not the stingy stuff,� she said as she drew her hand under her arm, when Evelyn pulled the iodine out of the cabinet.
�Heidi, we need to disinfect your fingers so they won�t get worse, so we won�t have to go see Dr. Fitzgibbens,� Evelyn said as she got some gauze and saturated it with the iodine.
�I want daddy to hold me,� she said through a yawn, and as if by magic he appeared. Heidi pressed her face against his chest, and cried when Evie put the iodine on her fingers, though her tears were not real ones. Once it was all over, and she had received hugs and kisses from both parents, she skipped out of their room, as if it had never happened.
�And whose idea was it to have another one?� Rick asked as he helped Evelyn put the medicine and the gauze away.
�Oh Rick, she isn�t that bad,� Evelyn said as she turned finding a mischievous look in his eyes. �And if she is, then she gets it from you.� She turned to walk out and yelped when he grasped her around her waist and pulled her back against his chest.
�Something in mind Mr. O�Connell?� she asked as he began to kiss the back of her neck.
�Mmm, I was just thinking that we haven�t made love in the bathtub in a while,� he said as his lips continued their path from her neck to her ear, then he pulled away and shut his eyes when they heard Heidi screaming about something. �Don�t forget where we left off,� he said as he began to leave.
�Why don�t you let me take care of this,� Evelyn asked, switching from Museum assistant to mum mode. They shared another kiss, then Evelyn left to see what the screaming was about.
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Much later, after dinner had been eaten, and Heidi had taken her bath, and was put to bed, the house was quiet. In their room, Evelyn rested her head against her husbands bare chest, content to lay in his arms, after making love.
�What was it you were going to tell me before we got carried away?� Evelyn asked as she kissed his chest.
�Mmm, oh, Maggie phoned, and said she has come down with the flu, so she won�t be able to come here to watch Heidi,� he said, not worried about that too much.
�Maybe Alex can watch her,� Evie said as she lifted her head away from her husbands chest.
Rick chuckled. �Are you sure about that, we may have one less child when we return,� he said as he lifted his head to kiss her lips.
�I think he needs time with her, and we can ask Jonathan to keep an eye on them,� Evelyn added.
�So who gets to tell him?� Rick asked, then groaned as she crawled on top of him, and for the moment their children were the last thought either of them had, as they once again began to make love.
MORE SOON R&R