"Lauren!" Freddie called up the stairs for the third time that morning. "Lauren, let's go! School starts in thirty minutes and you need to get out of bed or you'll be late!"

"Okay already!" his fifteen-year old daughter yelled back done. "I'm up! You can stop screaming up the stairs like a crazy person now!"
Freddie shook his head as he headed back into the kitchen. "Guess everybody was right about teenagers being horrible," he sighed.

"Daddy!"

Freddie smiled as his other daughter, two-year old Heather, ran into the kitchen. Her blonde curls bounced around her shoulders and her brown eyes sparkled with pure delight just at the sight of her father.

"Hey there, Heather," Freddie said, scooping the toddler up in his arms and kissing the top of her head. "At least someone seems to like their daddy this morning."

Heather kissed the tip of his nose. "Love daddy!"

"Dude, how loud do you think you can be?" Freddie's wife of five years yawned as she came into the kitchen behind Heather.

As Sam walked into the kitchen, Freddie took in her presence as he did every morning. Even though she was wearing old sweatpants and a jacket, he didn't think it was possible for her to get any more beautiful.

Ten years ago, Freddie would've never believed that this would be his life. Back then, if he thought about how things would be at this moment, he would've figured he'd still be with his now ex-wife, Sarah. He wouldn't have even thought him and Sam would be acquaintances, much less husband and wife. He would've never imagined getting the chance to have a second child either; Sarah had been hesitant about even having one.

As different as everything was, however, Freddie couldn't be happier with the changes. Everyday in the five years him and Sam had been married, he woke up feeling like the luckiest man on Earth and wondered what he could've possibly done to wind up with such a great family.

"Sorry," Freddie said, giving his wife a kiss as she stepped over to him. "But trying to get Lauren out of bed in the mornings is so difficult lately. I need to leave to drop her off at school in ten minutes or I'm gonna miss my meeting."
Freddie, after denying countless promotions and offers, still remained a stay-at-home father, choosing to work from home developing different types of software. He did, however, need to go into the office from time-to-time, and today happened to be one of those days."

"Well she's up, I saw her heading into the bathroom on my way down here," Sam told him, taking Heather from her husband. "Alright, Heather, what do you want for breakfast?"
"Juice!" the two-year replied happily.

"Well we'll add some cereal on the side of that juice," Sam said, heading to the fridge. "Oh, Freddie? What time's your meeting done today?"

"It's a long one," Freddie said. "I think I'm gonna be stuck in there until five. Why?"

"I dunno, I was thinking it might be nice for us all to go out to dinner," Sam shrugged. "I have an easy day down at the theatre so I figured why not?"

Sam had officially left the dance school she had been working at when she first moved to Texas. She had landed a job as a head choreographer downtown at the performing arts theatre where she got the opportunity to work with professionals.

"Sounds good to me," Freddie agreed as Lauren walked into the kitchen.

Her long, red hair hung down almost to her waist and she was wearing a pair of tight jeans and a shirt that clearly showed her bellybutton.

"See, I'm ready," Lauren said. "With time to spare."

"Yeah, a whole four minutes," Freddie said, rolling his eyes. "And you're gonna use some of that four minutes to go upstairs and find a different shirt."
"What?" Lauren moaned. "But dad, what's wrong with this one?"

"I can see your entire stomach!"

"It's like two inches," Lauren pointed out. "Besides, everybody wears shirts like this, dad."

"I don't care what everybody else wears," Freddie said. "I care what-"

"Hey, it's pretty cold outside today," Sam said, cutting him. "Lauren was probably planning on wearing a jacket over the shirt all day anyway, right, Laure?"

"Um, yeah, I was," Lauren said quickly.

"See? So no one will even see the shirt," Sam said to Freddie.

"Well…okay," Freddie conceded. "I guess if you wear a jacket, Lauren, you don't have to change."
"Thanks, daddy," Lauren said, her voice instantly going back to its sweet tone that made Freddie cave every time.

"We still need to get going," Freddie told her, handing her a banana. "I'm running late. Sam's gonna pick you up from school."
"Sweet," Lauren grinned at Sam.

"You feeling up for some Mexican food tonight?" Sam asked the teen. "We're going out for dinner."

"Yeah, totally," Lauren nodded. "I could go for some tacos. Oh, dad? I sort of need ten bucks. My class is taking a field trip to the planetarium next week and the permission forms and money are due today."
"Really? The planetarium?" Freddie smiled. "I love it there! I heard they have a new exhibit about Neptune."

"I know, I can't wait," Lauren said. She had certainly picked up her father's love of academics. All her life she had been the top of her class and she always genuinely seemed to enjoy learning.

"Well my wallet's in my car, I'll give you the money in there," Freddie said, shrugging into his jacket. "Alright, let's go."
"Can I drive?" Lauren asked her father.

"What? No!" Freddie said.

"Daddy, I'm fifteen!" Lauren said, exasperated. "I'm supposed to be getting practice driving so next year when I'm sixteen I can drive myself!"

"I told you, I'll teach you to drive," Freddie said. "As soon as you can show me you know all the rules of the road, can recite the meanings of all the road signs and learn the basics of car maintenance."

"So basically in another ten years?" Lauren said, crossing her arms.

"Ha, ha," Freddie said.

He leaned down and gave Sam a kiss and then kissed Heather. "Bye, guys. I'm waiting in the car, Lauren," Freddie said firmly. "You have two minutes to get out there or you'll be walking to school."

Lauren waited until Freddie had headed out to his car before turning to her stepmother.

"Sam?" she said slowly. "Do you think you can please talk to my dad about this whole driving thing? I'm practically the only kid in my grade who has never driven a car!"
"Come on," Sam said, grabbing a napkin and wiping food from the corner of Heather's mouth. "You can't be the only one."
"I am!" Lauren insisted. "And if he has his way he's never gonna let me! You heard him!"

"Lauren," Sam sighed. "Your dad just wants to make sure you're absolutely ready to drive before you get behind the wheel. It's only because he cares about you and doesn't want you to get hurt out on the road."
"I know," Lauren said. "But don't you think he's being just a tad bit unreasonable?"
"Well…" Sam sighed. "I guess maybe…okay. I'll talk to your dad about this whole driving thing tonight."
"Yes!" Lauren cheered, throwing her arms around Sam. "Thank you, Sam! You're the best!"

"Mommy best!" Heather smiled proudly.

"I'll see you after school today," Lauren said, quickly taking a last swig of orange juice. "Bye, Sam. Bye, Heather!"