A Gallagher Girls & The Listen Series Promptober

Pumpkin Carving

Haven't read Gallagher Girls or The Listen Series? Please do not continue if you wish to avoid spoilers.

As always, please don't hesitate to reach out. Comments, feedback and any interaction are appreciated and loved!

Cammie Goode POV / Timeline: Sometime after the last book in the Gallagher Girls series, "United We Spy", and before the Listen Series begins. I would say the kiddos are about four (Mags) and six (Matt).

Oct. 9th | Pumpkin Carving

The exhaustion after coming home from an op will never be something she'll get used to she thinks.

She rests her head against the cold window as the familiar sights of home start to flash past the car.

Home. The kids. Her heart swells thinking about them and how much they've both probably grown in just a week, but she closes her eyes thinking about how tired she is and how she already knew exactly how tonight was going to go.

It was always the same, their coming home riling both of them up, neither wanting to sleep, then eventually falling asleep at an hour far past their bedtimes. But would this cause them to sleep in? Of course not, they're both still up at 6am with too much energy, attached to their hips even when she's trying to do something that is typically done alone, like peeing.

Morgan will start to get terribly cranky and throw a tantrum when a nap is suggested. Yelling about how she was a big kid like Matt and Matt doesn't take naps so she doesn't have to.

She sighs, opening her eyes to see Zach's bleary, exhausted ones glancing at her as his hands tighten on the wheel and he sighs too. She asks,"Thinking the same thing as me?"

He groans, "That our house probably looks like a tornado hit it because Jonas and Liz alone with Alice, Mags, and Matt? Or about how much of a buttface Morgan is going to be about going to bed tonight? Or how Alice will only rile her up more and the pair of them will rope Matt into whatever they're doing?"

She groans, "I forgot about Alice and the riling up. Mags is never gonna sleep tonight," she presses her palms to her cheeks, "I was thinking about the 6am wake up call and Maggie refusing to take a nap tomorrow."

Zach's turn to groan and it's quiet for a minute until he whispers, "We could just...not go home tonight? We could call and say the office needs us to stay?"

They look at each other, silently debating the very enticing plan, but they both have the same look on their faces and sigh in unison. They have to go home to their babies. While time with them these days was chaotic and exhausting, it was precious. They needed to be home for as many memories as they could.

He removes a hand from the wheel and grabs hers, holding it over the console and she squeezes it, "Buttface?"

He laughs, a quiet and tired laugh, "Mag's new favorite word before we left. I almost called the guys we were fighting that."

She laughs and they finally pull into their townhome, every light in the place on.

Zach grimaces but starts to smile as he says, "There's no place like home."

She rolls her eyes at him but can't help the small grin on her face as they walk hand in hand up to the front door.

When she hears the laughter and running footsteps on the other side of the door, any negative thoughts vanish completely, the exhaustion an afterthought. It's the greatest sound in the world and she can't get the key out and into the lock fast enough.

That is, until they push open the door. She thinks about closing it back up and running away before the kids see them.

The first thing she sees is Jonas and Liz, both dead asleep, draped over the couch, with what appears to be marker tattoos all over their arms.

Next is Alice, also dead asleep but in a chair in the kitchen, a marker with no cap clutched tightly in her fist, dangerously close to her eyebrow, while her drool spills out onto the counter.

The counter that has three giant pumpkins, all the spoons they own, and orange guts and seeds everywhere. It's on the counter, it's on the chairs, it's on the floor, and it's most definitely in the hair of her children.

Who are both running around the center kitchen island laughing and trying to hide as Ellie Sutton chases them with a pair of those pumpkin sugar cookies in front of her eyes.

"Must. Eat. Pumpkins," she booms in a playful tone.

Maggie squeals as Ellie catches her around the waist and Matt holds up a spoon, "We're not pumpkins!"

"Are you sure?" She sniffs Morgan dramatically, eliciting more giggles, "You smell like pumpkins," she pokes Matt's orange goo covered cheek, "You look like pumpkins."

Matt grins but stands up straighter, "Release my sister, pumpkin eater!"

Ellie laughs a fake evil laugh, "Oh, I'm not the pumpkin eater! I'm only the deliverer, "she points dramatically to her and Zach, " They're the pumpkin eaters!"

Matt turns and his face splits into the widest grin and drops his spoon, "Mom! Dad!"

He races towards them and slams into her legs, his arms wrapping around her waist and she bends down to hug him tightly, pumpkin guts and all.

She runs her hand through his sticky hair, and he clings to her, "I missed you."

Maggie wiggles around in Ellie's hands and she's on the ground and racing towards them too, "Daddy!"

He's already down with arms open as she jumps into them and he spins her around and kisses the top of her head, and then her nose and he wrinkles his, "Good gravy troublemaker, did you climb inside your pumpkin?"

She giggles and he kisses the top of Matt's head who's still clinging to her, but he holds out his hand for Zach who takes it and squeezes it.

She watches Ellie start to clean up over the top of Matt's head, "El, don't do that, we got it."

Ellie laughs, "You two look like you're going to fall over from exhaustion. It was my mess, and besides, " she grins, "I think a couple of pumpkins need to take some baths."

The kids start groaning and protesting and Zach notices the cookie in Maggie's hand, and points to it, "For me?"

She frowns and holds it away and pushes her face into his personal space and he tries not to grin when she says, "No. For mommy."

She smiles at her as she stands and kisses her cheek, "Thank you sweetie."

Zach throws her over his shoulder, "Now you're definitely getting a bath!"

Cammie looks down and Matt has already disappeared and she sighs, it was going to be a long night.