Chapter 96

Out of everyone in the house, Daniel was most likely the only one that had a great sleep during the night. He was all too eager to announce that he was now done and would like some breakfast as 9am was approaching and his belly was empty.

Still feeling tired, Richie got up from the bed and went to get him. Six hours of sleep after a concert was not enough especially on his day off where he could sleep in. Instead of going downstairs, he took Daniel back to their bedroom, laying him on the bed where he gladly cuddled with Sarah.

"Dan the man is awake." Richie said as he also got back into bed.
Sarah smiled at him. "Dan the man?"
"He is a little man." Richie pointed out, "and his name is Daniel."
"You've nicknamed our child."
He looked a tad confused. "Was I not supposed to?" He asked her.
Sarah shook her head as she answered. "No, I'm just bugging you. I just like his full name."
"Me too but I'm not calling him Daniel Isaac unless he's in trouble."
"It's a good name." Sarah reminded him. "They have perfect meanings for him."
"Yes, but full names are for trouble only. Besides, eventually someone would start calling him Dan or Danny or he might prefer that when he's older."
Sarah sighed. "I know."
"He's my little man." He reached out to pick Daniel up and cuddled him in his arms.
"How about my big man makes us breakfast?" Sarah teased.
Richie looked over at her again, "Maybe if you ask me nicely."
"Will you please make us breakfast." Sarah asked sweetly, reaching over to kiss him quickly.
He gladly returned the kiss before pulling back and yawning. "Sure."
Sarah frowned at that. "Are you still tired?"
"Yeah but I'll be fine once I get up."
"No." She shook her head quickly. "Go back to sleep, I'll take care of Dan the man."
"Are you sure?" He asked as he released his snuggly hold on Daniel.
She smiled at him and nodded, "yeah, I'm sure. Get some more sleep."

Sarah got up from the bed and dressed before picking Daniel up and heading out of the door. Ready to make breakfast for everyone with Daniel's help.

In the kitchen she let him down on the floor so she could move around and start making breakfast. She took the liberty of rummaging through the fridge and taking everything she needed out to start making some scrambled eggs with bacon and toast. As she started cooking, she decided to let her husband sleep and simply prepared breakfast for herself and Daniel. When Richie or Joan woke up, she could always make more.

After breakfast, she moved to the living room and showed Daniel where the toys were. Not nearly as many as he had at home but he didn't need more than what he had here. He was happy enough with the cars and toys he had. Sarah turned on the tv and relaxed back on the couch, watching him play.

She looked up when she heard footsteps on the stairs, judging by the noise, she knew it wasn't Richie. His big feet were noisier than that.

"Good morning." Sarah said when Joan joined them in the living room. "Daniel woke up so I took him downstairs to let him play while Richie sleeps."
"Oh," Joan said, "was he not feeling well?" her voice had a bit of concern.
"I don't think so, he didn't say anything."
Joan sat down in a chair and watched Daniel play too. "Okay, he tends to get sick after being on tour."

Sarah nodded, she did remember last time when he got back from London, right before Daniel was born and then March after that. Richie'd been sick both those times but she had not made the connection to touring being the cause of it.

"Did you have breakfast?" Joan asked.
"Yes, we did, I hope you don't mind." Sarah said. "I can make you some eggs too." She quickly offered.
Joan simply waved it off. "Don't worry about me."

Joan turned on the TV and searched for one of the morning shows she watched as Daniel played in front of the TV, happy with his toys.

"I got him a lovely birthday present, I also got a cake, I thought we could do a little celebration again."
"That'd be lovely." Sarah agreed.

Joan got up from her chair once they show ended. "I've got a lovely idea for Daniel to do." She said as she walked out of the living room and into the kitchen. A moment later she returned with a loaf of bread in it's bag. "How about we go feed some ducks in the backyard. They'll be hungry right around now anyway."
It wasn't an idea Sarah had expected but she gladly agreed. "I'm sure he'll love that." She said as she got up to pick Daniel up and take him to the hallway to put his shoes on, although she knew she would be carrying him.

They went outside through the sliding doors in the kitchen and walked down the deck onto the grass that was met by the river, some ducks swimming in the water, quacking about.

"Oh." Daniel pointed at them when he noticed the ducks and their noises.
With that Joan grabbed a piece of bread and tossed it onto the grass, not wanting to get too close to the water while they had Daniel with them.
When one of the ducks hopped onto the grass, Daniel let out an excited squeal, making Sarah happy for him.
Joan passed Sarah a slice of bread so she could help Daniel.
Once she had torn off a small piece, she handed the bread to Daniel who happily tossed it as far as he could, waiting to see what would happen.

It was excitement Richie liked to see when his family was together, he followed their path and joined them on the grass.

"We're feeding ducks?" He asked once he was close enough.
Excitedly Daniel turned around in Sarah's arms and reached out to him.
Richie gladly took him and reached in to kiss Sarah. "Good morning."