MC: LaPonte

by L. Ann Marie

  Paul comes in with Steve's gun. "Watched the video, don't really need anything more. That was some impressive shooting. Two shots one hole. Thanks Knight." He smiles at Steve.

  Steve gives him a chin lift and walks out saying he has shit to do. We hear bikes pulling up. I look at Danny, "this is like the day that never ends and it's not even three." He chuckles.

  Tiny comes in with a Prospect following. "Got you some chaps, gloves and hats for under your helmets." He tells Jake. "Prospect will take your vehicle to the Club lot."

  "Thanks man, this is fuckin awesome." He says as Zack and Anita come in followed by my workers. He holds up the gear so Zack can see and gives Tiny his keys. Paul pulls Anita to my office.

  "Fuckin nice, thanks man." Zack says as he fist bumps Tiny.

  "Did the kids come in yet?" Tiny asks. Danny points to the conference room. "I got them Santa hats for the deliveries." He holds a bag up.

  "Nice. They sign, it might be easier to understand them." Danny tells him. He goes to meet the twins.

  Zack asks, "Everybody here really does sign?"

  "Yes, Ben set classes up so the club could learn to talk to one of our boys, he's deaf. Shocked the hell out of us when everyone showed for the classes. It's not your ordinary MC." I tell him.

  "I believe it, sure as hell not what I expected." Jake says. "With Knight around I'm not surprised. He's always doing the unexpected." He says with a smile.

  "My Brother hasn't changed much. You were on the team he was satellite for?" Ben asks.

  Jake looks at Zack, "Yeah, we had some shit jobs. Didn't really work with Knight. Most of our time together was traveling. We ran cleanup for him a few times but he's not a talker and we didn't get details just orders."

  "I think it would be good to stop there. The whole town is wired and Steve's head of Security. I don't want another fuckin threat of him killing me in my sleep. I was just wondering how long you've known him." Ben tells them.

  They crack up. "Wouldn't have said anymore but I don't want him killing me in my sleep either. He'd find us anywhere but we're sleeping at the club tonight. We met him when we were put on Baxter's team with the tenth. I think he'd been there two years already. We worked together for three."

  Me and Danny get up and check on the twins. They have their lists done and are coloring with Tiny. Patches brings me the lists. "I think Gameboys would be good for them. One of the boys left one in the truck and they played it. They never played one before. They read like Aaron. The clothes they're wearing are size six. I wrote it all down with the favorite colors, characters and shows. They never made a list so had to I ask them questions. They didn't ask for anything."

  "Good job Patches." I kiss his cheek. "I got this if you need to get moving."

  "I told them I'd bring them over to your house tomorrow. Doc said their mom will be out for a few days." He looks back at them. He doesn't want to leave them.

  "I'll call Doc. If he thinks she'll be out we can bring them over tonight. They can spend Christmas with us."

  He gives me the biggest smile. "I need to pick something up. I'll be over for the boys at five." He bends and kisses my cheek before running out. I just laugh.

  Paul walks in I hand him the list, he reads through it. "Wow this is great. Do you know anything about the mom?"

  "No I can give you Doc's number, you can ask him but Patches said she's going to be out for a few days." I tell him.

  Danny gives him Doc's number. "They'll be at our house for Christmas. If no one’s there have the guys call me, I'll have someone open the door for them. Tell them put the stuff in the laundry room with the door closed. We'll get it under the tree for them."

  "Will do. Merry Christmas!" The twins sign 'Merry Christmas' to him. "Fuck they're cute kids." He signs back, turns and walks out. Danny calls Doc, he tells him we should keep the kids with us.

  "Wow." I put my arm around him and walk to the kids. "We need to get the kids in the truck and get moving. I need to get Devan from Millie and get dinner going for everyone. Patches is picking the boys up at five."

  "I got Sam to make us sandwiches. A Prospect is delivering it over at four. Bob got us booster seats for them. They're old enough to sit on the seat but they're small and won't be able to see out the window." He tells me.

  "You are the best husband. If we were alone I'd lie on the table for you." I bite his ear lobe.

  "None of that here, I watch Oprah. That shit's not good for kids to hear." Tiny stage whispers cracking us up.

  "You're just jealous. It's not what she said, it's what you know is inferred. They don't get that. You need to be watching Mr. Roger's." Danny tells him.

  "So my little friends are we ready to go. We're going to be Santa's helpers tonight and deliver presents to good boys and girls. Do you think you can help?" They jump up and down yelling. Tiny cracks up.

  I get Ally's coat while Danny gets Alex's on him. We get the kids in the truck and he goes to pick up the boys. I go back into the office for my coat and to let my people leave for the day. Len is on call, I have him set a message that we're full and can be reached for emergency only. Everyone leaves with Merry Christmas' and hugs. Anita is going to the Community Center so I'll see her in a little while.

  I pick up my boy from Millie with a see you later and head home. I'm excited to see how the boys react to Ally and Alex.

  I pull in and Ben is sitting in the driveway, he brings me the custody papers and tells me he'll see me later. He doesn’t look happy. I kiss his cheek and wonder about the frown.

  I get us in and feed my little man. Tiny shows up and burps Devan. Danny and the boys come in with Jessie and Little Ben holding Ally and Alex's hands. I crack up. Danny takes Devan and Tiny gets the kids to sit at the table. I get Devan back and finish feeding him. Ally comes over wanting to know what this is all about. I smile telling her I'm feeding him. She looks under the blanket and Tiny swears. Danny cracks up. The boys hold their hands out. I think my house is officially crazy. Little Ben comes over and tells Ally the baby hides to eat because girls don't show that to boys until they're married. I can't help but laugh. He takes her back to the table. A Prospect comes in with Steve, Jess and Elizabeth. They tell me Tracy and Nancy are on their way. Little Ben and Jessie give Elizabeth a kiss and tell her they love her. They are just too cute.

  Holy crap! "We need a bigger table." I tell Danny as I'm handing Devan over.

  He looks at Steve, "we could build one." Steve laughs. He takes the bottle Jess is holding and feeds Elizabeth. Tiny gets sandwiches on plates for the kids. I get drinks. Jess gets napkins for the kids then plates for Steve and Danny.

  Nancy and Tracy come in with Patches following. Tracy gets chips on all the plates. I laugh, "As a group we make awesome parents." They laugh with me. "I can't even imagine that woman that has eight with six the same age."

  "She's nuts." Tracy says. Something seems off her voice is flat. I look at her. She busies herself with a sandwich. I look at Jess. She's watching her too.

  I sign to Ally and Alex, 'Jess is Little Ben's mom and Steve is his dad. The baby Steve has is his sister Elizabeth.' They watch Steve feed Elizabeth. I tell them, 'Tracy is Jessie's mom.' They ask 'where is his dad?' I ask Tracy she signs 'the club.' I explain what that means then let them finish eating. Something is going on. I look at Jess. She shakes her head.

  Patches comes back in grabbing a sandwich and drink. "Did you get what you needed done Patches?" I ask. He smiles around a bite and nods.

  Danny slaps his back. "You did good today Patches. Do you have experience with Down's?"

  "No but I had a friend who's little brother was handicapped. He just took a little more time than everyone else. He was a wicked good kid. Always smiling." He smiles remembering.

  I squeezes his arm, "you're a good man Patches. You're going to be a great dad someday." He smiles down at me then lifts his chin. I just smile. Darren catches my attention asking if Alex is sleeping in their room. I look at Danny. He shrugs. I ask Alex
and Ally what they think. Ally tells me she 'can't sleep with the boys she has to sleep in the girl's room.' I nod looking at Danny again. "I think I'm going to take care of that while you do your deliveries."

  "I can stay and help." He says but I wave him off.

  "It won't take long; I'll just change the sheets and comforter. I'll be at the Community Center by the time you get back." He nods.

  Alex asks to see the Christmas tree. He signs 'we can't have one.' I want to cry. Who doesn't have a tree? Danny takes him and Ally to see the tree, Darren follows. They are making happy noises so I go look. Darren runs up the stairs. Danny watches smiling. Alex pulls on Danny's pocket. 'You like me and Ally?'

  Danny smiles and bends to him. He says and signs, “I like you a lot. You're very special and we're glad you get to spend Christmas with us.” I go to them. “I'm so excited to see what Santa brings you.” I smile. Alex looks at Ally. 'Santa doesn't get us toys cause we're retarded.' Danny sucks in a breath. Little Ben comes over and holds Alex's hand. 'People always have something broke' just cause it's broke doesn't mean it's no good, just different. Uncle Danny has a broke eye and Darren has broke ears. We still love them and they help us be strong. You can help us be strong for you.'

  Alex looks at Danny, 'we can be strong.' Danny hugs him. Ally throws herself at me. I hug her tight. She lets me go, 'Santa will bring us toys here in your house.' I laugh, I say and sign 'of course.' She puts her arms around Alex and Danny. The kids come in and watch. Little Ben tells them they never got presents from Santa before. They watch while Darren comes down the stairs with two presents. He hands one to Alex and one to Ally. They make noises jumping up and down. Everyone is in here watching them. They ask Darren if they can open them. He smiles and signs 'yes', then looks at Danny. 'They need your strong dad. No one gave them strong before.' I have tears in my eyes. Fuckin kids.

  They tear through the paper Alex jumps up and down yelling something I don't get. All the adults are laughing. "What does he have?"

  Jessie comes over to me, "the present he got for Victor. Star Wars Legos." I am so freakin proud of him. I sign 'thank you' to him then Darren. Ally holds up a stuffed bear screeching something that makes everyone laugh. They both run and hug Darren. Arron and Victor hug him too. Aaron signs 'it's just like the one I had, Ally needs it more.' Darren nods and hugs him tight. Jessie tells Aaron he's using his strong already.

  Tiny says, "fuckin kids." They all put their hands out laughing. Patches tells us the boys have to get ready. He tells them to meet him at the sink so he can get them clean. Once everyone's clean he tells them it's time to start delivering. I bend to Ally, 'you can bring your bear with you and leave it in the truck while you deliver.' She hugs me nodding. These are very huggy kids. Danny lifts Alex up and has him put his Legos up on a shelf so they stay safe. The boys help them with coats, hats and gloves. Tiny got them all Santa hats. I laugh as all the adults just watch. I start cleaning the kitchen. Danny kisses me promising to see me at the party then piles out with Patches.

  "How are you going to handle all these kids Kate?" Tracy asks. Something is happening here her voice is odd. Steve and Tiny look at her.

  "Just like we did. They help handle each other. I think I'm just supposed to supervise and love them." I tell her.

  "Nothin wrong with that, it's more than a lot gets." Steve says as he clears the trash off the counter.

  "Fuckin right there Brother, too many kids don't get that much. Let's get the fuck out of here before we need fuckin tampons." He says putting the chips in the cabinet. Everyone laughs as they walk out. Tiny and his friggin tampons.

  "That was only forty five minutes. Holy cow!" Nancy says with a smile. "It feels like Christmas!"

  We all laugh, "It does doesn't it?" Jess says, I agree. Tracy is quiet.

  “I need to get the sheets changed for Ally, stay as long as you'd like." Nancy offers to help if Jess will take Tracy to the Center. Smart girl our Nancy. Jess nods at Nancy and gets Elizabeth bundled up. Nancy grabs Devan's seat and follows me upstairs.

  Walking in the room I laugh, "This is how I'm able to do it. You were already here."

  She smiles. "Tiny called me earlier; he told me about you being stuck with a dead guy and freaked out workers."

  I look around, they got everything a little girl might need, even a little plastic vanity set with a brush and hair ties set on top. "Thank you. I have the absolute best friends." I go to the closet to get the purple sheets and blankets and see dresses and sweaters hung up. "My friggin friends are the best." I tell no one.

  "Ben tried to get Tracy to take the kids; he thought this would be too much for you. She didn't think she could do it so he asked that everyone give a little more time to help. Tiny said you didn't even hesitate, you agreed as soon as he asked." She says pulling the sheets off the bed and folding them.

  "I couldn't have if Danny didn't agree. We both lived in care, that's no place for kids to be raised, certainly not special needs kids." I say wondering if that's what's going on with Tracy. "Should I say something to Tracy? Not everyone is a little crazy like us and willing to take more kids." I get the sheets on and take the folded ones to the closet.

  "I'm not sure that's the only thing going on. If it were me, I would just leave it alone." She says helping me get the comforter on.

  "I'll leave it alone." I tell her as I'm opening drawers looking for pj's for my little miss. I find a pair of feety princess pj's. "These are so freakin cute." I smile at her putting them on the bed. "I need to get the boys set up before I leave." I say picking Devan up and carrying him to the boys’ room. I crack up walking in. Little Ben's old bed is in the room pj's already set on it. "Looks like Patches set them up already. He usually does if he's here at dinner time."

  "Prospects brought the bed in while we got Ally's stuff put up." Nancy tells me.

  "I guess I'm done here. You guys are the best. Let's go party!"

  She laughs taking Devan downstairs. I grab a bottle and check his bag as she gets him changed. We bundle my boy up and walk out to the garage. Two police cars pull up. I look at Nancy. "They have Christmas presents for Ally and Alex. I'm just going to show them where to drop them if you can get little man in for me." She agrees, I show them and ask them to lock up when they're done.

  "Finally." I sigh as we're on our way.

  The seniors are so freakin cute. I can see why Jess loves being around them. They have no filter and never make excuses. We sit laughing while we wait on the kids. Anita has Elizabeth and Jess has Devan. I thank Jess for helping get things set up for me. She waves me away. "I just made phone calls. Everyone pitched in to get it done." She smiles. "Merry Christmas Kate. You used to dream about a house full of kids. Looks like Santa came early."

  "I freakin love you guys." I tell them with tears in my eyes.

  The kids show at seven. A barely controlled chaos ensues. Santa's helper, played by Ben, makes it at eight handing each kid two presents. The guys on delivery show as the first gifts are handed out. They watch with smiles as the kids go wild and the seniors keep everyone entertained. Jake and Zack fit right in helping put stuff together and opening difficult packaging. I snag Patches thanking him for helping with the kids. He hugs me telling me I'm the best mom he's ever had. Of course I cry. Danny holds me making me laugh with stories of the kids delivering. I love my family. It looks like most of the MC showed up to help tonight. I'm so proud of everyone. Everyone helps with clean up and we have the kids bundled up by nine. I hug Jake and Zack wishing them a Merry Christmas and a good time at the Club.

  Before I can climb in the truck Ben stands in front of me and Danny. "You're very special people taking on more special needs kids. Thank you for what you're doing here."

  Danny answers for both of us. "We couldn't do it if it weren't for you and the Brotherhood. Thanks for doing your part so were able to take them." Ben hugs Danny then me. "Merry Christmas Brother." Danny slaps his back. We finally head home with Patches following. The kids are loud a
nd happy all the way home. Jess is right this is exactly what I used to wish for.

  Patches helps Danny get the boys washed and ready for bed. I show Ally to her room and help her get ready. We all meet downstairs and sit in the living room telling each other our favorite part of the day. Darren tells us about the little girl that got a bike; he was so proud of Victor because he helped her on it and made sure she didn't fall. Aaron liked riding with Patches singing Christmas songs. Victor liked Darren giving presents to Ally and Alex. Ally liked me helping her get ready for bed. Alex liked feeling special enough to get presents and helping give them. Danny liked how proud he was of all the kids because they were so good, never complaining and did special little things for everyone they delivered to. Patches likes right now, everyone showing how much they love each other. My favorite was Patches telling me I was the best mom. Right as I say it I'm tackled by everyone agreeing with him. Danny and Patches pull the kids off while laughing, both kissing my cheek and agreeing too.

  Patches reads The Night Before Christmas while I feed a hungry Devan. All but Darren are asleep by the time he finishes. Darren asks if his mom can see him. Patches signs 'yes, I bet she is smiling at how strong you got and what a good big brother you are.' Darren hugs him then me. I tell him I love him and I'm so proud of him for knowing to give the presents to Ally and Alex sharing his strong with them. He worries that he doesn't have presents for his brothers. I sign and say, "You already gave them their presents. Didn't you see them thank you for giving the Legos and Bear to Ally and Alex?" He signs 'yes.'

  "Sometimes the best presents you can give someone is lifting someone else up. It doesn't have to be a thing that they get. The feelings last way longer. You gave your brothers the memory that no one else could." Patches signs and says.

  Danny tells Patches that's one of the best lessons he could ever teach the boys and he's proud of him. Darren smiles big. Patches laughs and signs, ‘see. That felt good didn't it.' Darren jumps on him making a laughing noise. Danny carries Aaron up, Patches gets Victor. Darren sits with me telling me his day was wicked cool. Danny and Patches come down for Ally and Alex. Danny tells Darren to wait because they have something important to do. He sits by me waiting. I lean over and kiss his head thanking him for being a great kid. Patches comes down with a baby monitor. He tells me it's from the boys’ room. Danny has one too from Ally's room; I smile because it's purple. Darren goes with Danny for milk and cookies. Patches goes to the spare room, really his room when he stays over, to wrap a couple of gifts.