Cheaper by the dozen plus one - Book 1 & 2 (COMPLETED)

Chapter 14

When they got home their dad wasn't there and their mom had no luck finding Mark, until a few minutes later when Tom called saying to meet him and Mark in Midland.

Early the next morning the family drove to Midland to meet Mark and Tom at the train station. They arrived just in time, Mark shoved the shoes box that contains Beans body into Tom and ran off towards the rest of his family.

"I missed you sweetheart" Kate told him as they surrounded him.

"Do that again, and I'll have to pound you" Sarah told him smiling, "but I thought I was FedEx?" Mark asked confused.

"Your excentricity and vision problems are genetic trates that could contribute from any number of he Baker ancestors" Jessica explains to him.

"Yeah, without you we wouldn't be the 13 Bakers anymore. We would be like..... 12" Jake told him, "I figure everyone hated me like Sarah and Lorraine hates each other" Mark said.

"There are times that I want to kill Sarah, but I'll kill for her all the time" Lorraine explains with her arm around a smiling Sarah.

They all did a group hug with Mark in the center of it all, they all made there way back home to bury Beans. They held a small service for the frog in which Mark asked Skylar to recond it with the video camera.

A few days later the twins Nigel and Kyle sat on their parents bed help the mom with the pillows. "Where's dad?" Jessica asked entering the room with the other kids behind her, "he went to the game" Kate answered her.

"Why didn't he asked us to go?" Mike asked confused as they all took a seat on the bed.

"Because, he didn't want you to be there on the day he quits his job" She told them.

"He's quitting his job?" Kim asked in disbelief, Kate nods, "what would we have to do so he doesn't quit?" Jake asked curiously.

"I'll give up clarinet lessons" Henry says, "I'll totally go back to hand me downs" Lorraine said.

"I'll introduce him to Calvin" Skylar said with a smile and then everyone began to say what they are willing to give up.

"Ok ease up, everybody listen, dad's a big boy and he makes his own decisions and he's doing this because it's what he wants" Kate let them know.

"In that case I totally take back what I said about the hand me downs" Lorraine confessed.

"Yeah, I thought so, anybody else wants to take back their offer?" Kate asked smiling.

All the kids raised their hands including Skylar, "yeah, there we go, hmmm" Kate said laughing. They decided that even though Tom didn't want them at the game, they would go after the game, where they know he would he on the field reminiscing.

They stood behind him with a 'WE LOVE THE COACH' sign, it brought him to tears when he turned around and saw his family. They threw down the signs and ran to him giving him a big family group hug.

I guess you could say that when Tom and I left Midland we had a mess of theory on how to raise children. We still have a mess of children but no theory. Sure, 13 is still our number, it's the number of months my book was on the best seller list. It's the number of job offers Tom turned down before we found one close to home. And each day it's the number of times am thankful that there is such a thing as family.

The End Of Part One!