You, Me, and those three. [open]

[Charlie Parker]

6:00 alarm goes off, get ready for the day. 6:30 make breakfast for everyone. 6:45 Chuck gets up. 7:00 Melody gets up. 7:15 Jamie gets up. 7:30 breakfast. 7:45 leave the house. 8:00 drop boys off at school. 8:15 drop Melody off at daycare. 8:30 clock in. 3:00 clock out. 3:15 pick up boys from school. 3:30 pick up Melody from daycare. 4:00 babysitter arrives. 4:30 leave the house. 5:00 clock back in. Midnight, clock out. 12:30 get home, sleep for 5.5 hours. 6:00 repeat. Such was the schedule for an overworked policeman trying to raise three children on his own. Of course, he only worked half days on Saturdays and had Sundays off most of the time, but when you lived on five and a half hours of sleep per night, it could really take a toll on you, especially when you weren't even 30 yet and this was the life you lived.

There were days when Charlie had to wonder "what if?" What if he hadn't ever allowed himself to get involved with Hayley? Her drug and alcohol problems had been enough to nearly drive him insane, and when he finally broke things off with her, she just disappeared and left him with her son and their eight month old baby girl. What if he hadn't ever met Peyton? Losing her so soon after they had met had nearly killed him, and if it weren't for her making him promise to take care of her son after she died, who knows what he might have done? What if he had never gone to New York instead of just staying in Pinewood where most of the time all he did all day was issue tickets for illegal parking and occasionally arrest someone for drug use? There were so many what ifs in his life. But then when he really thought about it, he loved those three kids... even if Chuck did have excessive amount of energy, and Jamie was so incredibly closed off that he sometimes wondered if the kid was alright, and Melody was a lot of work at times, and to be honest, he really wouldn't trade any of them for the world.

Being that today was Saturday, he only had a half day of work. On this particular day, his babysitter was out of town, so he had bribed Anthony into taking the kids for the first half of the day for him. It was never all that difficult to guilt Anthony into doing things, and he didn't mind taking the kids all that much... he could always talk Chuck into doing things for him, like cleaning tack or cleaning stalls. Jamie, though, could never be talked into doing things. He was a very independent kid, and he was usually fine off by himself doing whatever he pleased. Melody was always easy, though she was a bit too young to do anything just yet, but she usually just followed Anthony around babbling on about this or that and always stayed out of the way of the horses. So he took them for the morning until noon when Charlie got off work, at which point he brought them down to the station and dropped them off with him.

After clocking out, he scooped Melody up and the four of them walked over to the park which was just a block away. It didn't take long for Jamie and chuck to scurry off to go play football, and Melody found a patch of flowers that she could pick, so that left Charlie to sit on a bench a short distance away, keeping his eye on the three of them. Anyone would have to be crazy to cause any trouble involving Charlie's kids. He was very protective of his family, and considering that he was a cop, he was completely capable of arresting someone if they tried anything... or he could just shoot them and call it good. The odds of anyone doing anything while a guy in the policeman's uniform was sitting right there were highly unlikely. This was just the kind of day that Charlie needed... one where he could relax and just not do anything. No one really knew what being a single parent was until they tried it, and Charlie was getting a crash course with three kids all at once.

[Emily Ward]

For a change, the sun streaming through the bedroom window woke Emily. She was a bit disoriented for a minute before realizing it was Saturday, her day off. Anthony was so generous to give her weekends off. But he knew that daycare for four kids was just not in the budget for the Ward family. And there they all were, in a pile of sheets and blankets and little, tousled mops of fair hair. Emily slipped out, trying not to wake any of her daughters. Abby's heavy eyelids raised slowly, revealing her beautiful blue eyes. They were her father's eyes and nearly every time Emily looked into them, she felt a hurt deep in her heart. It seemed to be getting fainter and fainter, but it was still there.. Good morning, Mama.

[/i] Abby whispered sliding off the bed. The five year old was careful not to wake her sleeping sisters. Abigail relished the rare glimpses of alone time she got with her mother. Nana, the family's huge Saint Bernard eyed them from the end of the bed, but stayed put. Nana went where the triplets went, Emily often wondered about the mammoth dog's strange attraction to the three babies. It seemed as though Nana was their guardian angel, she made it her purpose in life to care for and protect the triplets and Emily couldn't have asked for a better dog.

Shall we have a cup of tea, my dear? Emily asked as they entered the apartments tiny kitchen. Mmm. Yes, please[/i] Abby nodded decidedly while hoisting herself up onto a kitchen chair, straightening her too-small, pink nightie. Goodness Abs, if you keep growing like you are I'm going to need a bigger horse Emily joked about her (plenty large enough) Arabian mare, Dahlia. No mama, Dahl is perfect for me![/i] Abby insisted. I was just joking, love Emily chuckled as she patted Abby's head, placing a cup of tea on the table in front of her Careful, it's hot she cautioned. Sitting down across from her daughter, Emily smiled. Abigail was amazing. She was Emily's best friend and her rock. She only wished she could do more for her little angel. She knew Abby has been through so much in her short five years. She'd seen too much anger and violence, and far too many bad times and tears. But she'd never once showed any fear. Emily joked that Abby took care of her instead of the other way around, but it was true.. So, how was your first week of school? Emily asked. It was good. I liked it[/i] Abby answered, staring down at her cup of tea. Emily knew she missed her old friends. She really hated pulling her out halfway through her first year of real school, but she couldn't pass up this opportunity. But she was finding that she really liked it here in Pinewood. It was going to be their home now, for good.

Don't worry, love. I promise you we will be here for a long time. You'll make lots of new friends Emily said with a warm smile. Abby nodded and smiled back. Hey, how about we go get some ice cream today? We'll go to the park, sound like a plan? Emily winked. Ok, Mama. Abby nodded. I'll go get dressed. And with that she skipped out of the kitchen. Emily chuckled and after checking that her younger daughters were still fast asleep, she fled to the bathroom for a nice hot shower. The steamy water pounded on her aching back as she shampooed her long red hair. It was these rare times, when she was all alone, that she thought of him. Her naked butt wiggled to the tune of her favorite cheesy rock tune as she lathered her body in fruity smelling pink bubbles. She hummed along absentmindedly, twisting a finger around her wet hair. All of a sudden two large rough hands slid up her slender waist, pulling her back against his chest Babe! she squealed, her laughter ringing out in the small bathroom. What are you doing in here? she giggled, which turned into a sigh as he bent his head to kiss her neck. Her breathing thickened in the steamy shower, the music blared as she threw her head back and her eyelids fell, giving in to the blissful feelings... Emily jumped as the cold water snapped her back to reality. She grumbled something about the stupid apartment as she stepped out into the hazy bathroom. She should have remembered that you cant have more than 15 minutes of hot water in this building. Emily wiped the mirror and sighed at the tired face staring back at her I look so.. old.. She mumbled to herself as she began to put some make up on..

Satisfied with her face, and a little less satisfied with her hair, which seemed to always hang in waves no matter what she did, Em exited the bathroom. She walked into her bedroom to find Abby had the three triplets up and was working on getting them dressed. Olivia, the oldest of the triplets was fully dressed in a pink polka-dot dress and a head band with a bow. Hazel, the youngest, was trying to pull on her own sock, and struggling. And Paisley, Emily's 'wild child' was arguing with her big sister I dont wanna wear the white socks! I want pink ones! Emily smiled Hey Pais, She said, scooping up the unruly three year old. These socks are white with pink flowers on them, see? she showed Paisley the socks and the little girl considered the fact. Fine. But can I have pink ice cream?[/i] she challenged. Sure you can Emily said with a smile. Yay! Ice cream! Hazel and Olivia applauded in unison. Ok! Everyone in to brush your teeth and then we'll go! Emily called out as she herded her kids into the bathroom.

After a small disaster at the ice cream parlour involving a spilled ice cream cone and some tears, the Ward family made it to the park. Hazel and Paisley were walking hand in hand, Emily had a hold of Olivia's tiny fingers and Abby, who insisted on walking Nana, was having a job of holding on to the dogs pink leash. Yes, it was a whole family of girl's, the estrogen was suffocating at times, but Emily only expected that to get worse over the next 20 years. It was a beautiful, unseasonably warm day and Emily was glad she deicided to sunscreen both the kids and herself before she left the house. You see, red hair and fair skin + sun + crispy. Up ahead Emily saw two boys tossing a football back and forth, she was just about to reach up a grab onto Nana's leash but it was too late. The 150lb Saint Bernard was off and running, dragging Abby behind her who was running for all she was worth Nana![/i] Abby shouted at the dog. Emily shook her head and took Paisley's hand, making her way over to where the gigantic dog had stolen the football and presently had the entire thing in her huge mouth. I'm sorry boys She said brightly, her English accent thick She loves footballs.. Nana, drop it The dog spat out the ball, which was absolutely covered in thick slobber. Oh dear, Emily bit her lip and reached into her diaper bag, pulling out a small towel. She did the best she could do with cleaning it up when she saw an extremely attractive man walking towards her.. Oh dear she mumbled again as she dropped the ball.. Picking it up and handing it to the younger boy Here you are. She turned to whom she now realized was the boys father So sorry about that, sir She said, a bit flustered.[/size]
[/blockquote]

Emily
Triplets
Abby and Nana

[Charlie Parker]

It felt like right now was the first time in ages that Charlie hadn't actually had something to do. Even when he wasn't working there were always things to be done. There were ballet recitals, football games, any number of things to do around the house, doctors appointments, riding lessons... and God knows Sebastian usually required his assistance for something at least once a week. It seemed like any time anything mildly interesting went down, someone always called Charlie to request his involvement. He supposed that was the price he paid for being the "hometown cop" who everybody had known for forever. People trusted him to do the right thing and keep people out of harm's way. Whether it was some stupid bar fight that they didn't really want authorities involved in or Sebastian needing someone to stop him from killing people who did stupid things that would get someone hurt, it seemed like he never really had an actual day off. He was in high demand these days.

He never minded when Seb or Chey or Anthony needed things... they were different. He had known the three of them for pretty much forever, and God knows he probably owed all of them a lot... especially Anthony and Chey. He and Seb had caused the two of them so much grief in their younger years. From Charlie giving poor Chey a heart attack by causing some fight that Seb just had to jump into, to he and Seb calling Anthony at 3 a.m to come pick them up because they were too wasted to even remember what their car looked like, let alone drive one. In just a few short years he had wracked up his debt to his friends so high that he would probably spend his entire life attempting to pay it back... which was pretti difficult now that he had three children hanging off of him at all times, and no wife or even girlfriend to offer assistance.

He had finally decided he might as well relax because nothing was going to happen when a very large dog was suddenly interrupting Chuck and Jamie's game of football. He really wasn't all that concerned. Even though this particular dog was quite a bit larger than the German Shepherd which was probably sitting on the front porch waiting avidly for Chuck to get home, Charlie wasn't concerned at all about it hurting the kids. Chuck had always loved dogs... Jamie didn't particularly care for them but it wasn't like he was afraid of them or anything like that. Besides... it was a Saint Bernard, those dogs were renowned for their children skills... and tended to just be really huge balls of fluff that could look and sound intimidating if you weren't aware of their friendly natures.

When he saw the woman walking towards them, though, his interest was piqued. It wasn't because he was worried that she was going to do something... she had four kids hanging off of her as it was, and unless she had just happened to steal four girls who looked exactly like her, he was fairly sure that meant that she was just as harmless as the large dog which had stolen Chuck's football. It was more because... well, lets face it, he was a single 26 year old male... of course he would be interested when an attractive woman was within the vicinity. He stayed where he was for a moment or two, debating whether he should go introduce himself or not. Charlie was by no means "shy" but he also had a family to think about. He really didn't even have time for a relationship... of even a fling for that matter... but what could it hurt? Besides, she was probably married anyway with that many children, all of which were obviously hers. He at least had the excuse that only one of the three was actually his own flesh and blood... the other two were adopted.

Nevertheless, it couldn't possibly hurt to just go talk to her, could it? He might as well. Having come to that conclusion, he stood up from where he was and walked over in their direction, making sure to keep an eye on Melody still while she sat in the midst of the bluebells and hummed to herself. As he neared and the woman handed the football back to Chuck who took it without thinking twice about the amount of drool that had just been on it, he could see the disgusted look on Jamie's face, and he had a feeling that Jamie would have nothing to do with the football until it had been thoroughly sanitized. Jamie was an odd kid, and very finicky about things like that. He was a rather "proper" child and didn't like getting filthy... quite the opposite of Chuck who would like nothing more than to play football in knee deep mud.

Oh don't worry about it, Charlie said with a smile when she turned and hastily apologized for her dog's disruption of his kids, He doesn't seem to mind. He added, glancing in the direction of Chuck who was already off and running again, dodging imaginary defensive players, since Jamie was no longer a willing participant in the football game. I'm Charlie He said looking back to her and offering her his hand. He got called sir enough when he was on the job, there was no need for it when he wasn't working... though considering he was still in uniform, it wasn't too far a reach for people to assume he was still working. After all, if you were to see Pinewood's most renowned policeman in uniform in the park, you would probably be on your best behavior too.