Making it up as we go - (9 Parts)

[everest]

So, I'm back. This story has been neglected for a while, I'm so sorry for not posting more sooner. I've been busy with my Secret Santa fic. Hopefully you all like this next part though! It's low on the sneezes, and mostly just a sort of set-up for the things to come.

Also, excuse my stupidity at the end. I just couldn’t resist giving them embarrassing names, it was too amusing. Yeah... you’ll know what I mean soon enough.

Part four:

An hour. Allie sat there, petting the dog for an hour. I had no idea someone could be entertained for that long by a dog, let alone a four year old. It would almost be nice, if it weren’t for…

“H’ISSH! EISSHoo! Hu’ITSHoo!”

That. Yeah, it would almost be nice if it weren’t for the plaguing itch deep into my sinuses, causing me to sneeze repetitively. My eyes were itching now too… it reminded me of a mosquito bite, the more I tried to relieve the itch, the stronger it grew.

Allie was enjoying herself. She’d grin at me every time I sneezed, giggling in that way she did. And then she’d go back to rubbing her little hands all over the walking allergen.

So she was happy. And the dog seemed pretty damn pleased. I was miserable, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I had suggested several times to Allie that we do something other than we do something other than hang out with dander covered fur balls, though I phrased it a bit differently, but she wasn’t interested. I was beginning to suspect she had ulterior motives.

Damn that dog. It wasn’t enough that it was plotting against me on its own; it had to drag Allie in too.

And damn him for looking cute, wagging his little furry tail with his tongue lolled to the side. It was making it harder to hate him.

Then finally, finally, the phone rang, giving me a reason to walk away from the evil little thing. It was Chris, my best friend, calling to ask me where the hell I was. Right. It was me who had suggested that we’d practice even though we didn’t have school. But that was weeks ago- I’d forgotten. Irresponsible of me, the captain, but I had other things to think about. I eyed Allie and the dog.

Of course, I had to go to the practice. And I couldn’t leave Allie here. So, I’d bring her with me.

I rummaged through the bag Brandon gave me, pulling out a small coat, a hat, and some gloves. I also grabbed a throw blanket. It was around forty outside, even though it was still fall. Plenty warm enough for me to go without proper protection from the cold, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to send Brandon’s kid out without some precautions.

But, the dog didn’t have to come with us. I found myself grinning openly. The practice could be long, too. It was only about 9:30. I had to say, I was proud of the guys for getting up early. They must have been pissed at me for not being there right away.

I was getting out of the house. Away from the dog. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad day after all.

I kneeled down next to Allie, handing her the small coat.

“Do you like soccer?”

“Yeah! Daddy plays with me in the backyard!”

“Fantastic. Well, we’re going to go play soccer right now. Put your coat on.” She did as she was told, zipping it up with small fingers. “Good. Let’s go.”

Allie hesitated. “What about Sam?”

I rolled my eyes, turning away from her so she couldn’t see. “He’s going to stay here. Come on, we need to hurry.” She followed after me.

I grabbed the keys to Jayden’s car of the table in the kitchen. Though I had my license, I rarely ever got to drive his car. I tossed the keys up into the air, walking out into the driveway to see the shiny black car. It was expensive, but even though the professional team we played for wasn’t in the major league, the pay was definitely high enough for a few indulgences.

I strapped Allie into the backseat, silently thanking Jayden for choosing a car with backseats, and sliding into the driver’s seat. Grinning, I turned the key, and the engine came to life.

~~~

Snatching a blanket I had grabbed for Allie out of the backseat of Jayden’s car, I walked out onto the field, little girl in tow.

“Hey!” I called out to my teammates. Coach Anderson wasn’t at the practice; apparently he had things to do this weekend. That left me, as the captain, to lead the practice. Which I was doing so well already, showing up late.

The player gathered around me, already warmed up. Good for them, I thought. I was freezing.

“This,” I gestured down to the toddler below me, “Is Allie. She’s gonna hang with us today.” Allie hung to my leg, just as she had done with her dad earlier. It pleased me, although it was a bit sudden. I’d only known the girl for a little over an hour. I guess Brandon knew what he was talking about when he said she’d warm up to me quickly.

Chris stepped forward, kneeling down and greeting Allie. He glanced up at me, face wanting more of an explanation.

“I’m watching her for a friend.” A few of the players nodded, understanding the situation a bit better. “Can I get a ball over here?” One of the guys tossed me a ball, and I smirked. Allie was giggling again, and if I had decent instincts, I knew why.

“Allie, what do you know about soccer?” I asked her.

“No hands!” She said. “Unless you’re the goalie, or it’s a throw in.” She giggled again, pointing to the player who had tossed me the ball. “You used your hands.” Well, that didn’t take long. The little girl was turning out to be far less shy than I had originally thought.

“You know, Allie’s right.” Chris jumped in. “This is soccer. We kick things, right?” He turned to Allie, who nodded.

I rolled the ball towards me, flicking it up. Tapping it with my foot, I juggled it back and forth between my legs, showing off in various ways. Allie was getting a kick out of it, watching my movements with a grin. “You’re just like daddy!” She exclaimed. “He does that too!”

“Does he now?” I said.“Form a circle.” I instructed, grinning. Still tapping the ball, I flicked it up to my knee, hitting it higher into the air and head butting it as it came down. “Ball control.” I stated simply. “Can’t win without it.” I tapped the ball to Chris, who kept it from hitting the ground with ease. He passed it to a freshman, who looked startled when the ball came towards him. He fumbled around, managing to keep the ball in the air for three touches before dropping it.

“Sorry” he mumbled, embarrassed.

“Don’t worry about it. Just keep working at it.” I sent the ball back into the air, hitting it to an upperclassman this time. “Elimination. You drop the ball, you’re out. Last two guys are captions for the scrimmage we’re going to do after this.”

A few players rolled their eyes. “Can’t we just skip it and make you and Chris captains? You know you guys will win.”

Chris, although only a Junior like myself, was the second best on the team. Not so hard to believe, with how much I forced him to play when we were kids.

“Nope. It’s called practice for a reason. We’ve got to do things the hard way. And, you never know. I could drop it.”

“Really?” The upperclassman I had given the ball to passed it back to me, and reflexively, I caught it, tapping the ball to keep it from dropping.

“Just give it a try, okay? It’s this or laps.” I rolled my eyes, smiling despite myself. Whatever they acted like, these guys were some of my closest friends.

We continued with my game, and one by one, my teammates were eliminated.

Sure enough, it was Chris and I who stayed the longest. We formed our teams, and I christened Allie with the duty of keeping score.

Half an hour later, I hadn’t warmed up all that much. Glancing at my teammates, who had been smart enough to wear undershirts, I cursed silently. I was in a hurry when Chris had called, and thinking more about Allie’s warmth than my own. Whatever, I’d survive.

A shudder ran through my body, and my cold nose twitched as I watched the ball.

Stifling a couple of sneezes into my wrist, I forced my attention onto the game.

“Goal!” I heard I high pitched shout from the bench. Allie. “1-3, the Puppy Dogs still in the lead!” I rolled my eyes at Allie’s name for my team. I had let her give both sides names, and of course I ended up being named after a dog. The other team didn’t exactly have a better fate when it came to ego-shattering names though. Chris’s group was being called the Pretty Princesses. I snickered, commending Allie for her four-year old creativity. The names would stick for the rest of the season.

The goal had been the Pretty Princesses’, and I decided to put a bit more effort into the scrimmage. After all, I couldn’t just beat a Pretty Princess. The Puppy Dogs were going to smoke their pretty little skirts off.

Tbc. (Hopefully soon)

[obsessed]

Aww, Allie is adorable.

And his sneezes are pretty yum themselves.

[blackrose]

rotflmao oh my god, i love it!

[dumpling]

haha...I love Allie

Can't wait for the next part

[everest]

I feel like these last couple of parts I've posted haven't been all that great. I'm sorry about that, but I've been looking forward to writing the part after this one, so hopefully it will turn out better.

Part five:

The scrimmage went on for two hours. It was a bit strange, since most of the time scrimmages were shorter than official games, and this time it was the opposite. It wasn’t like we were going all out though, so our energy held out for longer.

When we finally finished up, I realized I had forgotten about something important. Food.

I had a little girl to feed, and, as I thought about it, an entire soccer team as well. I wasn’t taking them out to eat, that was for sure. So I was left with two options. Either send them all home and tell them to come back later, or bring them over to my house. I seemed inconvenient to just give them all an hour or so to rush home and it and then just come back, so I went with the latter.

“Hey, listen up!” I called out to my teammates, and they turned their heads towards me.

“I want you all to meet me at my place. Does anyone need a ride?” Most of the freshman raised their hands, as well as a lot of the sophomores, and one or two juniors. “Alright, find a teammate who can give you a ride. If you don’t know the way to my place, just follow my car.”

A few nods, and then the players started gathering their stuff.

“NgTCH!” I pitched forward suddenly. “ITCH’uh! Hu’ISSHuh!” The second two sneezes escaped my control. I dragged a fist under my nose, sniffling.

“Sammy isn’t here. How come you sneezed?” Allie asked suddenly. My attention was suddenly focused on her small body, bundled up in a coat on the bench.

“Not sure.” I answered honestly. I just had better not be getting sick. My weekend was going to be hard enough without a cold.

Back at the house, I ordered a few pizzas for the team. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me, and I bent down, getting level with Allie.

“You can eat pizza, can’t you?”

“Duh.” She responded. “I’m four years old. I’m not a baby.” She put a hand on her hip, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Of course. My bad, sorry. Is cheese okay?”

She nodded.

“Fantastic.” I headed into the living room, were most of the guys were seated, watching my TV. I motioned for Allie to follow me, sitting on the floor with my back against the couch. All the actual chairs were full, so the floor was my only option.

“Hu’ISSHoo! ESSHoo! Huh… Hi’EISHoo!” I sneezed, directing them into my elbow.

A few of the guys blessed me, and Chris asked if I was okay.

“I’m fine.” I responded automatically.

“It’s Sammy.” Allie chimed in, pointing to the chubby fur ball that had just entered the room unnoticed. “He makes David sneeze.”

Chris burst out laughing. “Why the hell do you have a dog in your house, David? Aren’t you allergic?”

I grimaced, uncomfortable with the conversation. “Yeah. But Jayden didn’t know, so now we own the thing.”

Chris raised an eyebrow. “Jayden didn’t know you were allergic to dogs?”

“It never came up.” I mumbled defensively.

“Always the same, David.” Chris said, prompting a few of the guys to laugh.

“Yeah, whate… eh’hih… Ah’ESSHuh! ISSHoo!”

By now the entire team was practicly in hystarics. “Damn dog.” I muttered, just as the door bell rang. Saved by the bell, I though dully. Standing up, I answered it, accepting the pizzas and paying the delivery guy. Setting the boxes on the coffee table, I grabbed a slice, sitting back down on my spot on the floor.

“You make a mess, you don’t play for three games.” I threatened, only half joking. I didn’t want this to turn into some stupid party.

“You have anything to drink, David?” One of the players asked suddenly.

Right, people had drinks with their food. I was so on top of things today. “Yeah, uh, I think there’s some coke in the fridge.” I informed him, not wanting to play host.

Some of them stood up, entering the kitchen to get their drinks.

“ISSHoo!” I sneezed again, muffling it into my elbow.

Chris was sitting on the couch directly above me, and he nudged his knee into my back lightly to get my attention. “You gonna be okay?” He asked, tone somewhat concerned.

“Yeah.” I stated. “Of course.”

~~~

Several sneezes, quite a few jokes, and one hour later, I stood up, turning of the TV. There were a few sounds of protest, but I ignored them.

“Lunch break’s over, guys. Time for practice.”

A round of groans coursed through the room.

“Yeah, yeah, you hate me. You’ll thank me when we win our next game.”

I waited for all of them to grab their things before heading out, a fluffy jacket wearing Allie in tow.

Back at the field, I realized that I had, once again, neglected to bring anything to keep myself warm. Really, I was just so incredibly on top of things.

Time dragged by, and soon enough it was 5:30 and I sent everyone home. It was a great practice; I was glad everyone held out for so long. But really, I was surprised at how tired I was. Normally I could handle this kind of training easily, but I found that the practice had left me sore and exhausted.

I decided not to dwell on it. The more you think about something, the worse it feels. The team was going to be practicing all weekend; I didn’t need to wallow in self-pity. There were plenty of more importing things that I could be focusing on.

After a hot shower, I felt better, though as soon as I left the spray of warm water I was cold again. Walking downstairs, I was pleased to see Allie on the couch were I left her. I had ordered an instant movie for her on Netflix, something about talking dogs. She seemed to be enjoying it.

The wall clock told me it was now six o’clock, and that meant I had to find a way to feed Allie again. Deciding to wait until the movie was over, I eased myself into a chair beside the couch, half watching the colorful characters on the screen. I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up with Allie in my lap, poking me.

She poked my nose, and suddenly an itch sprung forward. I turned my head as far away from the little girl as I could manage, sneezing into my shoulder.

“Hu’ISSHuh! EISHuh! Hi’EISHoo!” I sniffed deeply, trying to rid my nose of the sudden itch. “Ah’ISSHoo!” I sneezed again, the feeling backing down slightly. Turning my head back towards Allie, I wasn’t surprised to see her giggling.

I lifted her off of me, setting her on the floor with a look at the clock. 6:30, good. I wasn’t out for too long.

“You hungry?” I asked Allie, yawning, and she nodded. “Hmm. What does your daddy usually give you for dinner?”

“He makes spaghetti a lot.” She grinned. “I like spaghetti.” I noticed the word ‘spaghetti’ came out slightly jumbled from her lips, and I smiled. It was kind of cute.

“I don’t think we have any spaghetti.” I said as I looked through our cabinets. In fact, the only type of noodles I could find were part of a Kraft Macaroni and Cheese box. This, I thought, was surprising to find, but good all the same.

“You like Mac and Cheese?”

“Yeah.” Allie gave a pleased smile.

“Great.” I turned on the stove, wondering vaguely why there was Macaroni and Cheese in the house. There were a few more boxes in the cabinet, and I didn’t remember seeing any of them before. Jayden, I decided suddenly. He must have picked some stuff up.

Whatever the reason, I was glad to have found the boxes. A couple minutes later, dinner was prepared, and I let myself relax.

That was it; I’d gotten past the hard part. In a few hours, I’d put Allie to bed, and get some rest myself. No more obstacles.

Yeah, it would have been nice if that was the way the night played out.

Tbc, if you guys are still interested

[glowstick03]

I'm definitely still interested!!! I love this story and the first one, too...good update

[obsessed]

I'm very interested. C:

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Yup, I'm interested too. Still loving the story.

[dumpling]

I'm interested

I love this story

[Hawkeye]

I love this story! Great update!

[Sitruuna]

Still interested so keep going. (:

[AsylumFlower]

Of course I'm still interested! I adore this story....and you left on a cliffhanger! AAAAHH! More, please!

[everest]

BAM. It's aliiiive. So, although it's entirely likely a lot of you have forgoten about this story by now, I'm not done with it yet. The writing in this next part is crap, forgive me. I've got tons of excuses, but I'm not going to bother listing them, because I doubt it matters to you guys why it took me so long. But, for what it's worth, I'm sorry.

And, just so you guys know, David and Jayden's situation with their father is immensly complicated, far more so then is hinted at in this next part. I'm a terrible person for putting my characters through such torture, but hey. Who doesn't like to inflict a little torture on their playthings?

Part six:

I put Allie to bed at eight, completely exhausted. That stupid dog wouldn’t leave me alone- everywhere I went it followed me. Giving up, I collapsed onto the couch with a sigh. A few minutes later I was beginning to drift off, when something sent a burst of adrenaline through my veins, obliterating any chance of sleep.

Allie was crying. No, that wasn’t an accurate description. She was wailing, shrieking. Within seconds I was upstairs, flying into Jayden’s room where I had set her up for bed.

Looking around the room furtively, I saw nothing that could have harmed her.

“DAAADYYYY!” She screamed suddenly. “I want my daddyyyy!” She broke into sobs.

My heart felt as though it had stopped. I wanted to do something to fix it; I wanted to make her feel better. But what could I do? Brandon was with Jayden, at their training camp.

She was facing away from me, curled up on Jayden’s bed. I wondered if she even knew if I was in the room.

I walked to the other side of the bed slowly, swallowing hard as I saw her tear stained face.

“I want my daddy.” She told me quietly, still crying.

I sat down on the bed next to her, stroking her hair.

“I know.” I told her, my words soft.

“I miss him.”

“I know.”

I sat next to her as her crying began to slow. After a little while, a newly calmed down Allie looked up at me. The girl’s ability to bounce back was incredible, and I was thankful for that.

“How come you don’t live with your Mommy and Daddy?”

My body froze suddenly. It wasn’t something I thought about, not if I could help it. Jayden and I never talked about it either. It had been years, but still… it was too hard.

“My mom got sick a while ago. She went away.” I did my best to say it in a way that would be suitable for her young age.

“My mommy got sick too. I don’t remember, but daddy said that she went away when I was really little.”

I just nodded, afraid that if I spoke I might let some of what I was feeling loose.

“What about your daddy? Did he get sick?” She questioned.

“No.” I said, my tone suddenly harsh.

“Then where is he?” Allie continued, unaware of my discomfort.

“After my mom went away, He got really angry. He wasn’t himself. He’d…” I stopped. No, she didn’t need to hear this. I didn’t need to hear this. It was easier to just force it out of my mind, pretend it never happened.

But it happened. It was always there, in the back of my mind, refusing to let me forget. Every day I managed, because I just buried it. It was easier that way. Jayden and I didn’t speak of it, ever.

“He’d what?” Allie said suddenly, snapping me out of it. It was shocking me how I was opening up to a four year old.

“He’d… he just had a hard time with it all. He left the house a couple months after my mom.”

Allie looked up at me suddenly. “But that isn’t fair.” She stated, as if demanding an explanation.

“You’re right. It isn’t.” I said, forcing my tone into a happier one. “But you have your daddy, and he won’t ever leave you. You’re lucky to have someone like him.”

Allie grinned. “And you have Jayden!”

“Yeah,” I said, surprised. Funny how the four year old knew exactly what to say. “I guess I do.”

“Don’t you miss him?”

“I do.” I told her. “But I know he’s coming back, just like your daddy. And,” I said suddenly, remembering something. “Tomorrow morning you can talk to him. On my computer.”

Allie tilted her head, looking confused.

“Magic.” I said, getting off the bed and wiggling my fingers. She giggled. I started to walk out of the room, but a small voice stopped me.

“David?”

“Yeah?” I said, turning around.

“Can you… sleep in here tonight?” Her eyes grew big, giving way to an expression that I instantly pitied Brandon for having to deal with. It was impossible to say no to that face.

“Sure.” I responded. “I’ll be right back.” I gathered a blanket and a pillow from my room, stopping in the bathroom to pop out my contacts. I hated them, but they beat my glasses, which were just a pain. My vision wasn’t that bad, but it was bad enough to annoy me. I liked my eyes to be sharp, especially on the field.

Walking back into Jayden’s room, I set myself up on the floor next to Allie. I had changed into sweatpants, because I sure as hell wasn’t sleeping nude with a four year old in the room and boxers didn’t seem much better.

Settling onto the floor, I fell asleep easier than I expected. That whole evening I was exhausted, and I guess not even the early hour and the hard floor could win against my tiredness.

~~~

“ISsHuh! Ah’ISSHuh! Hi’gSSHoo!” The sneezes jerked me out of my sleep. “Ih’EisSHuh! ESSHoo! Hu’PSHuh!” I brought up a hand as the sneezes kept going. “Ugh.” I sniffled thickly as I took in my surroundings.

I was on the floor. That explained the painful stiffness I was feeling. And… I was on Jayden’s floor. Jayden’s room.

Suddenly the memory of last night came back to me. I sat up quickly, looking up at Jayden’s bed.

Allie was sitting cross-legged on top of the covers, staring at me. If I hadn’t of been sitting, I was certain I would have jumped a foot in the air.

I was about to say something when another sneeze interrupted me. It was wet, just like the ones before it. I was a bit unnerved; my allergy sneezes were never wet. Not to mention I couldn’t see the dog anywhere in the room.

That, combined with the sharp pain in my throat and dull ache of my head led me to believe one thing: I had the worst luck in the history of this world. Sick? No. I could not be sick. I’d been sick only a couple weeks ago… and it hadn’t ended well. I’d managed to infect Jayden, sprain my ankle, and give myself a concussion in only a few days.

This… whatever… would just have to disappear. I couldn’t deal with it right now. Ripping my eyes off Allie to look at the clock, I remembered I was supposed to Skype with Jayden and Brandon this morning. Quickly showering, I towel-dried my hair.

My eyes were too irritated to put my contacts in, so I reluctantly located my glasses. The headache made going without not an option.

A few minutes later, I was sitting with Allie in my lap, face to face with people who were miles away.

[TheCakeIsAlive]

oooh, yay, update! *didn't forget about the story*

Poor David. But I really love the interaction between him and Allie.

[obsessed]

Aww, poor thing. <3

I just wanna snuggle with him.

[dumpling]

Wooo an update

Poor David is getting sick again :wub:

[sneezychick93]

Oh my goodness, I melt everytime read about David sick!! LOVE it! Update soon please!

[justalittlemusic]

Ok so I just found this recently and I loooooveee it and the original one too

I hope you update again!!!

[Ace]

This is GENIUS, my friend, pure genius. Moooooaaaarrr!!!

[Emily]

OH GOOD LORD, I CHANGED MY MIND.

won't you continue this one over the summer instead of starting a new one?

all this stress on David is WONDERFUL so terribly pitiful. but really, it's awesome!

edited to say that I think I actually love David more than I love Nate.

[VividBubbles!]

Wow. I AGREE WITH EMILY!!! You need need need need need to continue this. And, David with glasses? SO ADORABLE! C'mon woman, you cannot leave me like this! I'm gonna die of suspense!!! Update this soon!

BYE!

[sneezychick93]

I got so excited when I saw this bumped up again!! I LOVE this story so so much!!! Would really LOVE TO SEE MORE

[Emily]

you know you like a story when you always come back to it.

dude, you haven't been very active lately but I'll always be your reader!

...and back to reading LOL

[everest]

Oh my God, thank you all sooo much. I seriously can't believe that anyone would still be interested in one of my stories after so long. Seriously, that really means a lot.

I think it's about time I updated, hmm? I've been such a lurker lately, and I need to snap myself out of it. This next installment hasn't been proofread thoroughly and has hardly been edited, but I've taken so much time off that I think I need to just post it as is. And then, hopefully, new ideas will flow, and that will lead to more writing.

In case any of you are interested, by the way, I'm currently working on quite a few things, including the very first stages of some potential new stories (One of them involving David and Jayden!) as well as the continuation of some other stuff, such as True Eyes and, of course, this story.

And, if I can, I just want to thank you guys again for your interest in these characters. They are my absolute favorites. I created them in the very beginning of my time on the forum, and I played with earlier versions before I even found this forum. That isn't to say that I've perfected them- not even close. I still shudder when I think about some of my earlier writings including these guys, and I even don't like quite a bit of my newer writing. I have a long way to go, but I also have so much more to tell you about these characters. So although I will probably continue to get lazy and have long periods of absence, don't expect to stop hearing about these guys anytime soon.

Thank you all for your continuous support, and for reminding me that I need to get back to work. Finally, here's the next part!

Part Seven:

“So, how’s the camp?” I asked, after Allie had gotten over the excitement of seeing her daddy on my laptop screen. (Daddy, daddyyy! You’re on TV!)

“It’s good.” Jayden said. “We’ve actually been learning a few new ways to train, and they seem to be working pretty well. Everyone here is already improving.”

My face must have shown my slight jealousy, because then Jayden said,

“I’ll have to show you when I get home. Most of it is stuff we can do on our own.”

I smiled. “That’s great.”

“And with you?” Brandon asked me. “How’re things going?” He directed his attention to Allie. “Do you like David?”

“Yeah! He took me to soccer practice yesterday.” Allie spoke up, grinning.

“He did? Did he make you wear your coat?” Brandon asked, somewhat worriedly.

“He did.” I said, nodding. “And her gloves and I brought some extra blankets for her. I th… think she was wa… warm enough… hih!... hu’ETSCH’uu!” I held Allie in place, which was currently on my lap, so she could be seen by my webcam, with one hand, while I twisted my back and leaned as far away from her as I could, covering my mouth with my spare hand. “hu’ISSH’uu!”

I lifted Allie up off my lap as I rose from the chair, setting her back down were I was previously sitting.

“What are you-“ Brandon started to ask, as I moved out of frame and as far away from the computer as I could before…

“hu’ECSH! Uh’TSHuu! huEISSH! Ugh…” As I sniffed, I could hear Jayden talking to Allie. I realized that they could probably still hear me. Great.

“Has he been doing that a lot?” Jayden asked her.

“Yeah.” She giggled. “All day yesterday, even at practice, when we were away from Sam. And a whole lot today.”

“Really.” Jayden said, and I got back just in time to see his eyes narrow ever so slightly.

As I resumed my position, Jayden addressed me.

“What about you David? Did you stay warm at practice?”

I glared at him. “I was fine, yeah.” And then I turned my attention to Brandon. “I’ll probably take her to practice again today. Is that all right?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Just don’t forget to dress warm.”

“Yeah, I’ll bring the blankets for her again.”

“Actually, I meant both of you. It’s freezing out there.”

I nodded, somewhat embarrassed. “All right.”

Jayden still seemed to be studying me. “What?” I asked him.

“You feeling all right?”

How did he… I decided to brush that aside. “Yeah, why?”

“You’re wearing your glasses. You only do that when you’re sick, or really tired.” Even through the computer, he found a way to stare me down.

“Or when there’s a fluffy little allergen running about the house, making my eyes itch.” I countered.

Jayden made a thoughtful sound. “Or maybe a combination of the three…” He murmured.

Brandon, thank god, chose this moment to jump in. “Yeah, Jayden was telling me about how he brought home a dog, not even knowing his little brother was allergic to it.” He laughed.

“Yeah, well, that’s actually more my fault,” I mumbled, right before Allie spoke.

“Do you want to see Sammie, daddy? He’s sooo cuuute.”

“I bet.” Brandon said.

“He’s right here!” Allie pointed downward, and sure enough, the little devil had snuck in without me noticing. No wonder my nose was itching like mad. “Lift him up, David!”

“Why don’t I just move the camera so they can see?” I practically pleaded with her. Her face told me she wasn’t having it. Jayden just looked downright amused.

So, I lifted the damn dog into my lap with Allie.

“See daddy?” Allie said, laughing as Sam started to lick her face.

I let them talk as I scrubbed my nose, trying to get the itch to die down. I wanted to rub my eyes as well, but I knew that I had Sam dander all over them and that would be a bad idea. I could feel them watering, though. It was torture.

I sat there, sniffling, while Brandon told Allie about the ice cream place that was just across the street from their hotel, and the playground that was just down the road.

“I’ll have to take you here sometime.” He promised, just as I reached my limit.

“Hold on to Sam.” I instructed Allie as I lifted the two of them from me once more, in order to make my escape.

This time, I walked toward the kitchen, barely making it before I had to stop and sneeze.

“huUSSSH’! Ha’ESSSHih, ETSCH’uu! Ugh…” I sniffed desperately. “ihh… hu’USH! Hu’aSSHuu! heh…”

Through the fit, I could hear the phone ringing. Really? Now? I started to get it, but was interrupted by the sudden urge to sneeze. By the time I was done, the ringing had stopped.

“David?” Allie’s voice startled me from behind.

“ITSsh’uh!” I sneezed once before turning around.

Sniffling to try and make my voice sound normal, I asked her: “Yeah, Allie?” She was frowning; she looked worried. About me. Of course. Damn dog, making me upset the four year old.

“Jayden said to tell you to answer the phone.”

“What?” I managed, before coughing hoarsely into my fist. But then sure enough, the phone started ringing again. “Oh.” I sniffled, holding back a sneeze.

“Jaydehd?” I answered the phone. Damn him for having an “n” in his name.

“David? Are you okay?”

I wanted to tell him yes, but I was interrupted. “uh’ESSH! ETSCH’uu!” I sneezed, holding the phone away from me. “Ugh. Uhmb, yeah, I’b cohbpletely fahdtasdtic.”

“What… never mind. Can you even breath?”

“Dohd’t worry about it.”

“Blow your nose.”

I did, though it didn’t do much. “So… why’d you call, Jayded?”

“You had us worried for a minute there. Did you get any allergy meds yet?”

“Ndo. Ugh, wait a secohd.” I set the phone down, blowing my nose again, as thoroughly as I could. “Sorry. I haven’t really had the time.”

“There we go.” Jayden said, in response to my finally understandable voice. “Well, find the time. And I think, lucky for you, we still have some cold medicine left. Take some of that too. Just read the lable, and don’t O.D.”

“I’m not si-“

“Save it. Now splash your face with water a few times, it’ll make your eyes feel better. Then come back to the computer. I’ll see you in a sec.” Jayden hung up.

I decided to at least follow his advice about the face-splashing, and he was right, it did feel better. Blowing my nose a final time, I felt composed enough to return to the room.

“Where’s Sam?” I asked Allie, as I settled in again.

“I put him away.” She said sadly.

“Where?”

She pointed to the laundry room.

“You didn’t have to do that.” I told her.

“I told her to.” Brandon said.

Allie nodded. “Daddy says that’s what we do when people are feeling bad. We take care of them.”

I felt my face flush, feeling oddly touched. This little girl. “I appreciate that, but I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me. You can let Sam out, I’ll be okay.”

“Really?” She asked.

“Really.”

Allie grinned, hugging me before hopping down off the chair and running to let Sam out of his prison.

“I’ll sneeze regardless of where he is in the house.” I told Jayden and Brandon.

“You’re doing a great job with Allie. Just don’t forget to take care of yourself as well.” Brandon told me as his daughter returned. “All right, sweetie, We have to go now.”

Allie frowned. “No!”

“We have to. I’ll talk to you later, I promise.”

Allie leaned back against me, dejected. “Okay. Bye, daddy.”

Jayden said nothing, only continued to frown at me.

“Well… I’ll see you guys later, then.” I ended the call.

“Why don’t I make you some breakfast before we have to leave for my practice?” I asked Allie. This seemed to brighten her up.

“I’m sorry Sam makes you sneeze.” She told me.

“Yeah, me too.”

“Do you really hate him?”

The question took me by surprise. “No,” I told her. “No, I don’t hate him. Sam makes people happy, so he’s welcome in my family.” I found myself thinking about my father for the second time that weekend. Frustrated, I pushed the thought of him away.

This girl, I thought. This little girl.

-----

I intend to update fairly soon. Please, hold me too that.

[VividBubbles!]

ADORABLE!!! More soon I hope!

BYE!