Ellie's POV
Nolan is doing homework, and I'm throwing in a load of laundry before I order the pizza. I have no idea what kinds of food these kids like, so I don't want to risk having something they won't eat. Most kids like pizza, so I figured it was the safest thing to do.
Nolan finishes one of his pages, and sighs.
"Dad, can I please just have a pass? I'm sorry."
"Nope," Taylor says as he checks over the homework page Nolan just did.
"I just hate being left out," Nolan says quietly.
Taylor looks up from the paper and looks at him hard. "And I hate being lied to."
"Please? I promise I will try really hard to stop lying."
"I'm glad you're going to try hard, kid. That will save your behind a lot of misery."
"So you will give me a pass?"
Taylor chuckles. "No. Keep asking me, and I'll add on another 30."
"How many am I getting?" Nolan asks darkly.
Taylor sighs. "Keep testing my patience, kid."
Nolan shakes his head. It was easier when he would just do whatever we said without arguing. A lot easier.
"What time are they getting here?" Taylor asks.
"No set time. I figured I'd have the pizzas here by 6. I don't want to rush them."
"Is Ethan going to get spanked now?" Nolan asks as he gets out more homework.
"No," Taylor says, shaking his head. "Not until they are officially adopted. They can't be spanked while being fostered."
"Some people have all the luck," he mutters under his breath.
Taylor sighs and stands up. He grabs Nolan and pulls him to standing. "Sorry, what?"
"Nothing"
Taylor nods. "I'm not sure where your attitude is coming from, but it had better stop. Why are you so mad?"
Nolan just looks at Taylor.
"Answer me now. What are you so mad about?"
He shakes his head and sniffs. "I just didn't like mom not being there today."
"Why?"
Nolan shrugs.
Taylor sighs and pulls him into a hug. "I'm sorry. But that is going to happen once in a while. Doesn't give you the right to lie or have an attitude."
"I'm sorry"
"I'm sorry too. I'm still spanking you before bed. Sit down and finish your homework. Right now."
"Yes sir," he says as he sits back down.
When the pizzas get here, I put them in the oven to keep them warm. Jake and his family come over about 15 minutes later.
As soon as he walks in, Jake gives me a small smile. I think it's going ok.
Ethan and Zoe walk in, and Sarah walks in last. Zoe is a cute little girl with black hair. Ethan's hair isn't quite as dark, it's more of a brown. It's almost Jake's color. They're both on the slimmer side, and both cute.
As soon as Ethan sees me, I know he recognizes me from school. I don't recognize him, though. I don't know most of the kids that go there. He doesn't say anything as he looks away quickly. He looks terrified.
"This is my sister, Ellie," Jake says gently.
"This is Taylor, her husband."
"Hey guys," I say with a soft smile.
"I hope you're hungry. I ordered way too much pizza. Can I get you guys a soda or something?"
They both just shake their heads.
Nolan comes down from his room then, and immediately Ethan has to do a double-take.
"Hey Ethan," Nolan says with his breezy smile.
"What are you doing here?" Ethan asks, shocked.
"I live here. Jake is my uncle."
"Seriously?" Ethan says with a little life in his voice.
Nolan smiles big and nods. "Yeah. This is gonna be sweet."
Ethan gets a serious look on his face. "You can't tell anyone I'm in foster care, Nolan," he says seriously...Sadly.
"I won't. I was adopted too."
"Really?!?" He asks, sounding a little relieved.
Nolan nods. "They're actually my aunt and uncle. My dad is their brother."
Ethan just nods.
"Let's eat, guys," I say, going over and kissing Jake's cheek.
Jake nods and squeezes my hand. "Zoe, you don't like soda, right?"
She shakes her head.
"Ok. What do you usually drink with pizza? I can run and get it if Ellie doesn't have it."
I inwardly smile. Something tells me Jake is going to be a freakin' pro.
"Just water"
I smirk. "It's your lucky day lady, I have lots of water."
She just looks at me.
Taylor chuckles and whispers in my ear. "I thought your joke was funny, baby girl."
I snort as I throw a napkin at him playfully.
"Ethan, what do you want? She has every soda imaginable here. My sister is a nut," Jake jokes.
"Dr. Pepper?"
Taylor nods. "Not only does this soda-addict have regular Dr. Pepper, she also has this weird cherry vanilla stuff that one of our boys drinks. Which one would you like?"
"Just regular Dr. Pepper," he says softly.
Taylor smiles as he hands him the can. "I like you already."
"So you wouldn't have liked him if he wanted the cherry vanilla?" Nolan snorts.
"Oh yeah, he'd still be swell. I'd just be questioning his taste buds."
Nolan chuckles as he grabs a Pepsi out for himself.
Normally with pizza, we eat in the living room. I'm going to have us eat at the table tonight. There's a lot of us, and I don't want to make these kids more uncomfortable.
We sit down and start eating, and Zoe hasn't said a word. I look over and see Ethan grab her hand under the table, and hold her hand as they eat. That warms my heart, and I immediately like Ethan. That's what Luke would have done for Emma.
I asked Luke, Emma, and Shay to find somewhere else to be tonight. They went to Megan's to eat. We're trying to be gradual about this. This family is a lot.
"So you're the nurse at school?" Ethan asks after a few minutes.
I nod. "Yeah. I don't recognize you, though. Have you ever been in my office?"
He simply shakes his head.
After dinner, Nolan takes Zoe and Ethan to his room. Once they are in his room, Jake lets out a breath.
"How's it going?" I ask as I give him a hug.
Sarah and Jake shrug. "I think it's ok. They're scared, but we figured they would be. I think having Nolan here will help." Jake says.
Taylor nods. "I think it will be good for Nolan too. He feels left out that the teens are all older than him."
Nolan and the kids come downstairs about half an hour later, and the boys, and Jake and Taylor, play on the switch. Zoe just sits and watches.
Sarah goes over to her and sits down. "Ellie has the best junk food. Wanna raid her pantry?"
Zoe just looks at her and shrugs.
Sarah smiles and reaches out her hand. Zoe hesitates, and then takes it shyly. Together they go in and get some cookies I had in there. Sarah is going to be a natural too. I'm pumped to watch this family flourish.
Another twenty minutes or so later, Jake puts his controller down. "I think we're going to get out of here. I'm sure this has been a long day for them."
I just nod. "You guys are always welcome here. As long as Jake and Sarah give the ok, you come over whenever you want. Even if it's just to raid the soda and junk food."
Ethan gives me a small smile, and Zoe gives me a blank stare.
They get up and start walking out. As they're about to leave, Ethan turns to Nolan again. "Promise you won't say anything?"
"I promise"
"You're not lying?"
Nolan just shakes his head. "I get in big trouble when I lie. I promise I won't say anything."
Ethan nods and they walk out silently.
We watch them walk inside their house, and then Taylor shuts the door.
He looks at Nolan hard for a minute. Nolan stares back, saying nothing.
"I have a feeling I'm going to regret this....I will give you a free pass this time. If you lie to me again, you will get double the spanking. Am I understood?"
Nolan goes over and hugs Taylor tight. "Thank you dad. I understand."
Taylor kisses his head. "You better keep your promise and keep your mouth shut. He's depending on you."
Nolan pulls away and looks at Taylor hard. "I will never say anything. I promise I'm not lying."
Taylor nods. "K. You're going to bed early, but that's the extent of your punishment. You better stop your lying."
"Yes sir," he grins as he comes over and kisses me, and then goes to bed.
Once he's in his room, I look at Taylor. "You're become a softie in your old age, Chief."
Taylor raises his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me... He lied, and you gave him a pass.....SOFTIE."
Taylor cracks his neck, and then gets a look in his eye. A look I immediately don't like.
"Ellie Jane, I'm not a softie," he says as he picks me up and walks over to the couch. I squeal as I try to get loose. He puts me over his lap and delivers a sharp smack to my butt.
"Ouch" I giggle
He smacks me a second time, and I'm actually starting to feel burning.
Nolan comes out of his room, and sees me getting smacked for the third time.
"What are you doing?" Nolan asks.
Taylor keeps a firm grip on me. "Mom called me a softie for not spanking you, so I'm spanking her instead."
I can't see Nolan, but I can hear him. "Stop. Give it to me instead," he says, completely serious.
"What?" Taylor asks, totally shocked.
"Don't hurt her," he says, sounding like he could cry.
Taylor immediately lets me go and takes me off of his lap.
"Buddy, I was kidding. She was laughing. I promise I would never actually hurt her. I tease her like that a lot."
I look at Nolan, and his face is pained. I go over to him and give him a hug. "It's true, baby. He was just kidding. He's never hit me before."
Nolan just nods, his face coming back to normal.
Taylor pulls him into a hug and kisses him. "Thank you for loving your mom so much. You don't know what it means to me."
Nolan says nothing.
"I promise I was just kidding," Taylor whispers.
Nolan nods, and goes back up to his room.
We just look at each other. "We still have a long way to go with him, don't we?" Taylor asks sadly.
"Yeah"