Her hands ran down his chest, straightening his tie. "Maybe you should be an analyst."
He raised both eyebrows. "They're going to annoy the hell out of me about coming back."
"Just say no and leave it at that." Going back to the original topic, Carrie said, "you'd be a good NFL analyst. You know a lot about football, and you can break all these plays down so simply for Adam and I to understand."
"I don't know."
She fixed his collar. "You're ready."
He left their bedroom and to Adam's room, where he was getting ready for school. "I'll see you later buddy."
"Bye daddy!" Adam said, giving a him a hug. "Where you going?"
"I'm going for my interview with ESPN."
"You're going to be on ESPN!?"
"Yeah I am," he smiled. "Be good for mommy this afternoon."
"I will daddy! I promise!"
Harrison ruffled his hair before going to see his daughter. Slowly opening Emma's door, he saw she was still asleep. "See you later sweetie," he whispered, kissing her forehead gently.
Emma's little arms stretched up to his hands. "Dadda."
"Hey girly."
"Why you awake?"
"Daddy's got a interview today."
"I wanna come with!"
Harrison held her hands. "I'll see you later. Be good for mommy."
She sat up, wrapping her little arms around his neck. He hugged her back, kissing her cheek. "I'll play blocks with you when I get home. Okay?"
"Okay daddy!"
"Bye sweetie."
Emma waved at him as he left her room. Harrison went downstairs, finding Carrie eating a yogurt at the counter. Next to her sat a small cooler. She turned, seeing him come down the stairs. "I packed you Gatorade for the drive, and a sub for lunch."
"Did you-"
"I put on everything you like. Lettuce, tomato, olives, banana peppers, and pickles. Italian dressing's in a packet."
Harrison kissed her, tasting yogurt in that kiss. "Thanks sweetheart."
She stood, pushing him towards the door. "You're gonna be late."
"Carrie, I'll be fine."
"What time do you go on air?"
"12:30."
Carrie nodded. "I have my lunch and prep then so I should be able to watch most of it. It's exam day!"
"Is that supposed to be sarcastic?"
She went to the fridge. "Oh no, it's less for me to do today."
"Won't you have to grade all the exams?"
"That's nothing compared to making lesson plans, and creating worksheets."
Opening another yogurt, she said, "you better get going."
"I know."
He kissed her once again before opening the door. "I love you."
She leaned against the counter. "I know. Be careful."
"I'm always careful sweetheart."
Carrie laughed. "Get going."
Harrison left, running back in a few seconds later to grab the cooler he forgot. Starting his truck, he pulled out of the driveway.
•••
Harrison got out of his truck, heading into the studio. ESPN personnel immediately surrounded him, giving him touches of makeup and fixing his hair. Eventually he was led up to the NFL live studio and was introduced to hosts and analysts Trey Wingo, Tedy Bruschi, Jerome Bettis, Sarah Walsh, and Herm Edwards. All whom he would be appearing with.
"We're live in 30 minutes," he heard from behind him.
Sitting down on his temporary studio chair, he looked over the outline for today's episode of NFL Live. Most of it was predicting team records for the upcoming 2016-2017 season. The regular season was due to start this weekend, the second weekend in September.
His interview with Sarah and Jerome would follow towards the end of the episode. "We're live in 5! Sarah and Trey to studio 2!"
He watched as the two people he assumed were Sarah and Trey made their way to one of the sets. "Ford, Bettis, Edwards to studio 1!"
Harrison got up, following the other two over. "Take this," a man said from beside him. "Just a little script."
"Thanks."
"I'm Jerome Bettis."
He shook Jerome's hand. "Harrison Ford."
"Nice to meet you Harrison. Pretty much we're going to analyze team strategies, asking you some questions about defense. Not too much."
"Alright. Sounds good."
They stopped in front of a big screen, Jerome and him on one side, and the other man Harrison guessed was Herm Edwards on the other. A few minutes passed before it was their turn.
Herm started. "Herm Edwards here with two Hall of Famers, the Bus, and Harrison Ford. With the regular season beginning on Sunday, we're going to check out a few potential Super Bowl contenders."
He touched the screen, as the Atlanta Falcons logo appeared. "Jerome, what do you think about the Falcons' chances this year?"
"Well Matt Ryan tore it up last year. I think he's going to have a better season with more passing yards and better ball control. I know Matt Ryan and he's spent all offseason working on his ball control. He's got MVP potential."
Herm touched the screen again, the Dallas Cowboys logo appearing. "Harrison, what do you think about the Cowboys?"
"Even with the injury to Tony Romo, the Cowboys still have a good chance with Dak Prescott. Dak came off a great senior year as well as Ezekiel Elliot. Zeke is going to have a great rookie year. Last season, the Cowboys had gaps in their secondary, but they brought in a few guys and Jason Garret will definitely have them in top shape."
They analyzed a few more teams before his interview. He was led to another set with Jerome and Sarah. There was a shout before Sarah said, "welcome back, I'm here with Jerome Bettis and a special guest Harrison Ford."
"Harrison, there've been rumors of you rejoining the Cowboys roster for the 2017-2018 season. Are you?"
He sat up in his chair. "I'm aware of the rumors Sarah, but I have no plans of playing NFL football again."
She nodded. "Why not?"
"Being away so much, I missed a lot back home. My wife raised our kids while I was away while earning her doctorate degree. Now she's working as a full time post secondary education teacher and our lives are about to get busier with another kid on the way. I guess, I don't really have time for it."
"You're expecting another child? Congratulations!"
"Thank you."
"Now, how do you think rookie quarterback Dak Prescott and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliot will fit in with the Cowboys offense?"
"They'll fit in great. I know Dak's going to fit in well. Jason Garret's a great coach, and he'll have some good advice coming from Tony Romo."
"Alright thank you Harrison, now..." he answered a few more questions before the show ended.
•••
Harrison got home around 7:30 to see Carrie on the living room floor, laying with double the kids. As he approached, he saw Adam's best friend Ben and his little sister Emily. They were all sprawled out across the living room, watching Star Wars Rebels. "Carrie!"
She rolled over, Adam and Ben falling back onto the floor as their backrest moved. "How'd it go?" She asked, getting up.
"Good," he answered, kissing her forehead. "When did we pick up two more kids?" He whispered.
"Pam and Terry went out to dinner. They asked me if I could watch them for a few hours. I didn't have much to do and Adam really wanted to have Ben over. They'll be gone soon."
Harrison nodded, heading into the kitchen as she followed. "Did they ask you?"
"Yes."
"What'd you say?"
"I said you've been really busy lately, which you have, and that we were expecting another kid."
"You told them I was pregnant!? We haven't even told the kids yet!"
"Shh, relax. We'll tell the kids later tonight."
Carrie ran her fingers through her hair. "I just wanted to be able to tell them if they were getting a brother or sister or possibly both."
"Sweetheart it'll be fine."
•••
A half hour later, Harrison and Carrie sat the kids down for a little talk. They watched as Adam whispered to Emma, "mommy and daddy look serious."
"Adam we are."
Harrison sat down and Carrie followed. "Remember when we told you, you were getting a little sister?"
"Yeah daddy, I was happy."
"Well soon you and Emma will have a little brother or sister."
"Sister!" Emma said.
"What's that mean?"
"Mommy's pregnant," Carrie said. "Remember when Emma was a little tiny baby?"
"Yeah mommy."
"Soon mommy's going to have another baby."
Adam smiled. "It a boy or a girl?"
"We don't know yet," Harrison answered.
"And we want you two to help with names for the baby," Carrie added.
"I'll come up with a good one mommy!" He thought for a second. "Luke for a boy and Molly for a girl mommy!"
Carrie looked at Harrison. "I like Molly."
"Hot dog!" Emma shouted and they both laughed.
Ruffling her hair, Harrison said, "I don't think we're naming the new baby hot dog sweetie."
"Ketchup!"
They all laughed.