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Jul 13, 2016

for snlogger

Title: The Whiskers Are Important

Rating: G

Warnings: Absolutely none! Unless adoption is a problem for you?

Word count: 3250

Summary: After over a year of waiting and filling out more paperwork than any couple should have to, Dan and Phil are finally bringing their daughter Rose home. Zach is more than excited to finally live with his new big sister and the internet is introduced to young Miss Howell-Lester.

Author’s Note! My friend betaed this for me, but I’m hesitant to put her name here just yet. ^_^ Just send out an undesignated thank you vibe to her. I’m really glad I got to participate in this and I hope you like it!

Today was a very busy day in the Howell-Lester household. Dan and Phil were running back and forth across the house making sure everything was absolutely spotless and that they had everything ready for the video they were filming that night while Zach paraded around with an armful of toys trying to decide which one - besides his beloved stuffed tiger, Binx - was the best and most worthy of showing off. He changed his mind repeatedly, tossing the toy to the floor for Dan or Phil to pick up, then changing his mind again and going back to his room to retrieve it. This started at about ten that morning, took a quick break for lunch, and then continued all the way until 4:37 when Dan looked up from the magazines he was meticulously arranging for the fourth time that day and squawked that they needed to get ready immediately.

Knowing that he would take longer getting ready, Dan told Phil to snatch up their rambunctious six year old and wrestle him into his nice clothes while he dressed and fixed his hair. Forty five minutes later Dan and Zach were both in their smart button downs, Dan in a light blazer and Zach in a bowtie spotted with cartoon dinosaurs, and less than twenty minutes later Phil emerged straightening his own tie while confirming the location of the restaurant. After a round of complements for everyone and double checking that they had the gift they had bought and that Binx was safely in Zach’s hand they all piled into their hatchback and started the drive.

All too soon (or maybe not soon enough?) Dan was pulling up to the valet table and handing the keys over to the smiling lady while Phil gently reminded Zach of the rules when they were at grown up restaurants. Dan and Phil linked hands with a smile and made their way to the hostess desk. “Reservations for Howell-Lester,” Phil said with a pleasant smile.

The hostess nodded and said, “Right this way. The other three members of your party are already seated.” Dan and Phil cast mildly panicked looks at each other as they followed her into the dining area. The dinner was supposed to start at six but they deliberately got there ten minutes early so they’d be there first. Zach didn’t seem to mind because as soon as their table was in view he darted ahead to greet the lady sat there.

“Hi, Miss Annabelle!” he beamed, clenching her skirt in his tiny fists. “Is Rose here? I want to talk to her!”

The adoption agent smiled down at him and said, “Of course she is! Mrs. Lani just took her to the restroom a few minutes ago, so she’ll be right back.” She turned her attention to Dan and Phil who were by this time standing awkwardly at the table. “Hello, have a seat. Like I said Mrs. Lani will be back with Rose in just a bit, but we can get a bit of the paperwork done ahead of time.”

“Thank you so much for meeting with us,” Phil said, pulling out a seat for both himself and Dan. “Terribly sorry about making you wait. Were you here long?”

“Don’t be silly!” Annabelle laughed, pushing her long blonde hair behind her ear. “You three are perfectly on time, Rose just refused to wait any longer before coming. She’s very eager to see you again.”

Dan’s face positively split open with his smile. “We’re pretty eager to see her again, as well.”

As if summoned by the very thought of her, Rose appeared at the end of the row of tables, and when she saw Dan, Phil and Zach she beamed and ran towards them, her blonde cloud of curls bouncing with every step. “You’re here!” she cried, throwing herself into Dan’s lap, arms and legs tight around his torso. “I thought you’d never get here. We’ve been waiting for hours.”

“Oh, we were not,” Lani laughed, sitting down to Annabelle’s right. “We’ve been here about ten minutes,” she assured Phil who looked like he swallowed a lemon at the thought of making them wait that long.

“Rose, we brought you a present!” Zach declared, absolutely done with being ignored. “Dad, show her,” he demanded, tugging at Phil’s pants leg.

At the mention of presents, Rose abruptly quit her koala impression and began tugging at Phil’s other leg in time with Zach. “I want a present!”

“Alright, alright!” Phil laughed reaching down to the floor to grab the metallic blue gift bag sitting there. “This is a gift from all three of us.”

Heedless of his words, Rose ripped away the white tissue paper and squealed when she saw what was inside. She pulled out the stuffed giraffe and beamed at Phil. “Thank you so so so so so much! I love him!”

“You did say that giraffes were your favorite animal,” Dan smiled. She turned around to show her wide smile to him before returning to her place in his lap, which Zach took as a cue to climb into Phil’s lap. “We’re really glad you like him,” Dan said softly, squeezing her in a tight hug while she giggled. “We have some more stuff for you at the house that we’ll give you tonight.”

Rose pulled away from his embrace to look at him with wide eyes. “You mean I’m going home with you guys? Really?”

“Yeah, really!” Dan laughed. “For good, too! You’re going to come live with me and Phil and Zach!”

Rose screeched her delight and buried her face in Dan’s chest, mumbling about how this was the “Best Day Ever.” Dan hugged her even tighter and said with tears sparkling in his eyes, “This is the best day ever.”

There was a soft throat clearing and Dan looked up to see the waiter smiling apologetically down at him. “Drinks, sir?”

“Oh, um.” Dan cleared his throat of the emotions choking him up and continued, “Just water for me, thanks. What do you want, Rose.”

“I want apple juice,” she announced, the words muffled since she refused to lift her head.

“Alright, a water for you and a fizzy apple juice for her,” the waiter confirmed, scribbling on his little pad. “I’ll have those right out and you can order when you’re ready.”

“Alright, Rose, what do you think you want for dinner?” Dan asked, carefully maneuvering his arms around her to open the menu. “What looks good?”

Rose cast a glance at the menu before tossing her head and scoffing, “I’m eight. Eight year olds don’t eat off the kid’s menu.”

“Six year olds do!” Zach proclaimed happily from where he and Phil were deciding on food. “Dad, I want the tiny hamburgers!”

Rose’s eyes widened at the thought of hamburgers that were smaller than they were supposed to be and said, “Well, maybe this time it will be okay to eat kid food.”

_______________

An hour and a half later the dinner party was coming to a close as Phil finished signing his name in all the correct blanks while Dan called and paid for the check and Zach and Rose talked together like old friends.

“Well, I think that about wraps everything up,” Lani smiled, snapping her folder shut. “Annabelle went out to get Rose’s bag so we can meet her outside.”

“Oh, that’s another thing we got!” Phil said suddenly. “We have a suitcase for everything in the car so I’ll go get that real quick!” He stood up, kissed Zach and Rose on the head and Dan on the cheek before darting away.

“Nerd,” Dan muttered fondly under his breath. Lani chuckled and stood, gesturing for Dan to follow suit. He did, setting Rose on her feet and grabbing both Zach and Rose’s hands. “Let’s go, shall we?”

They made their way to the street where Phil and Annabelle were talking, a large black bag of Rose’s things clutched tightly in Phil’s hand. When they joined together Phil smiled and took Rose’s hand in his empty one. “Valet said he’d be back in just a bit.”

“I’m not in any kind of hurry,” Dan shrugged.

“Unfortunately, we are,” Annabelle said apologetically. “We really need to get back to the office and file everything before nine.”

Dan nodded understandingly. “Well, we won’t keep you any longer. Thank you so much for all of your help. We’ll see you in two weeks for the first check in?”

“Thank you for dinner,” Lani countered. “And, yes, we will see you in two weeks. We’ll call that Monday to set up a specific time.” She knelt down to the ground and opened her arms for Rose who quickly accepted the hug. “Goodbye, Rose. We’ll see you soon, I promise. Be a good girl for Dan and Phil, okay?”

Rose nodded. “I promise. I’ve never had dads before, only a mom so this will be lots of fun.”

Lani laughed and stood back up. “I’m sure it will be.” She smiled at Dan and Phil again before saying, “Alright, Annabelle, time to go.”

“Bye everyone!” she said with a wave, following a few steps behind the older woman.

“Bye Miss Annabelle!” Rose shouted after her.

A few moments later the valet arrived with their car. “Here you are, sir,” he smiled, handing over the keys, and when Dan gave him his tip he added, “Thank you very much. I hope you enjoyed your meal.”

“Alright, Rose, we’ve got another present for you,” Dan announced, opening the boot and pulling out a small black and green suitcase with a tiny stuffed animal sized harness on the front. “We didn’t wrap this one though.”

“I picked out the color!” Zach boasted, puffing his tiny chest out. “I have one just like it but mine’s yellow.”

“I like green,” Rose beamed, stuffing her giraffe into its harness. When she was done she unzipped the suitcase and motioned for Phil to dump her stuff in it.

“Wouldn’t you rather fold them up so they stay nice?” Phil suggested. When she adamantly declined he shrugged and did as she said, silently telling himself to take care of it when they got home. “Alrighty, into the car we go!” Rose nodded happily and climbed into her booster seat and let Phil buckle he in while Dan strapped Zach into his carseat.

They drove home, Phil and Rose swapping animal facts (Rose’s getting more and more fantastical and probably made up) and pulled into their driveway, letting the two kids out to race for the front door.

“Okay, Rose,” Phil said, sitting her suitcase down. “You know how Dan and I make videos, right? Miss Annabelle showed you some before.” When she confirmed he continued, “Well, Dan and I wanted to do a video with you and Zach tonight, would you be okay with that?” Rose’s eyes lit up and suddenly Phil knew they had a little diva on their hands. “Yes! I wanna be in all your videos!”

“Well, maybe not all our videos,” Dan laughed, “but you can definitely be in lots of them.”

“Zach, are you in the videos?” Rose demanded.

Zach shook his head with a small smile. “Zach gets nervous around cameras,” Phil explained, “but he said he wanted to make this one with you.”

“Yeah!” Zach agreed. “Dad and Daddy have a video with me on my first night and I want to be in your first night video! I want to tell everyone about my new big sister!”

Rose beamed at him and threw her arms around his neck. “You’re the best little brother ever.”

Zach squeezed back while Dan put everything he had into not bursting into tears. “Okay, you two,” he choked out. ‘“Let’s get started on that video, yeah?”

Both children nodded eagerly before climbing on the couch where Phil had the camera set up. “Dad, are we gonna do whiskers?” Zach demanded.

Phil cocked a brow at him. “Well, I don’t know. Do you think we should do whiskers?”

“Yeah!” Zach nodded. “Rose, do you wanna do whiskers?”

Rose just tilted her head to the side. “What whiskers?”

“Well,” Phil explained, “every year Zach, Dan and I do a very special video and we always draw cat whiskers on our noses. Does that sound like something you’d want to do?”

Rose’s bright blue eyes lit up and she nodded quickly, all of her hair flopping with the movement while Zach cheered. “I’ll get the markers!” he offered, darting towards his room before anyone had time to protest. With the speed only a six year old can muster he returned with two black washable markers clutched in his fist. “I’m gonna do Dad’s and you can do Daddy’s okay?”

Rose grinned and nodded, taking the offered marker. When she turned on Dan with it uncapped he laughed and quickly said, “How about we wait until we start filming?” Rose pouted but agreed. “Alright, now Phil and I are going to start the video and then you two can hop up okay?”

They both nodded and hopped onto the ground while Dan and Phil took their places on the couch. They both said their introductions and Dan continued with, “So, Zach, Phil and I went to a very special dinner tonight with a very special person.”

“Yeah,” Phil chimed in. “As you all know we’ve been working on adding a new member to our little family and we’re more than happy to announce that she’s here! Zach, Rose, why don’t you both hop up here?”

Without further ado Zach clambered into Phil’s lap and Rose Dan’s where they both waved frantically at the camera. “Rose, why don’t you introduce yourself?” Dan prompted.

“No!” she refused, crossing her arms. “I wanna do the whiskers first!”

“Yeah!” Zach chimed in. “Whiskers are the most important part!”

Dan and Phil both shared a look, knowing that this video would be incredibly easy to edit seeing as neither one of them could bare to cut out bits of the kids talking as per usual. “Too right you are!” Phil laughed. “Begin the whiskering!”

With shaky hands (although Zach’s were admittedly shakier than Rose’s) two sets of whiskers were drawn. “Now it’s our turn!” Phil laughed, tickling Zach’s sides and taking his marker while he giggled madly. Rose promptly handed hers over to avoid the same fate, but continued to snicker at Zach’s misfortune. Moments later Dan and Phil were done and the whiskered family beamed at the camera.

“Will you introduce yourself now that we’ve all got marker on our faces?” Dan asked.

Rose nodded and proudly stated, “My name is Alondra Rose Harris Howell-Lester, and I’m eight years old, and I like giraffes.”

“Anything else?”

“No, I’m done.”

“Well, there you have it guys, video’s over. See you all next time,” Dan sassed, making a movement to get up and turn off the camera.

“No!” Rose squealed, clinging to his neck. “I wanna keep going!”

“How about we answer some questions?” Phil suggested and Zach nodded quietly in agreement.

“Well, we don’t have any questions from the audience so I guess we’ll just make some up,” Dan said. “Alright, Rose, are you ready? What is your favorite dessert?”

“Brownies!”

“Favorite movie!”

Rose paused for a moment to think her answer over, chewing her bottom lip in concentration. “Uhh… Lion King!”

“I like Princess and the Frog,” Zach said shyly before hiding his face in Phil’s chest.

“Those are both great movies,” Phil smiled, adjusting Zach so he was more stable. “I think my favorite is always going to be Big Hero Six.”

“Phil you can’t keep milking that one line cameo forever,” Dan laughed. “Although, honestly same.”

Rose whipped her head around to look up at Dan in awe. “You were in amovie?”

“Me and Phil just said a couple lines in the UK version.”

“Can we please watch it?”

“Tomorrow,” Dan promised. “It’s already pretty late as is.”

“Okay,” Rose pouted, crossing her arms. However she was quickly distracted by Phil asking her about her favorite color.

They continued asking one another increasingly silly questions, Zach chiming in every now and then before retreating back into his shell, until the little ones started yawning. Dan glanced at a wall clock and his eyes widened comically before announcing that it was almost ten o’clock and that it was well past bedtime. Rose kicked up a bit of a fuss about wanting to stay up but when Phil pointed out that Zach was already half asleep and that they’d have to continue filming without him, she conceded that maybe it was a good idea to wrap everything up and go to bed. The four of them all said their goodbyes with varying levels of sleepiness and Dan and Phil both stood with their kid in their arms.

“Good night, Zach,” Rose yawned, reaching out a hand to softly pat him on the cheek. He blinked at her and smiled, bringing his own hand up to pat hers. They were taken to the bathroom where the marker was carefully scrubbed off their little noses and told to brush their teeth before being carried to their rooms where they were changed into their pjs and put in bed. Dan carefully tucked Rose’s blankets around her and kissed her forehead before standing and heading towards the door to kiss Zach good night as well. “Daddy?” Rose said softly in the semi dark. “Can you go get Dad?”

Dan smiled, heart full to the bursting that she had decided so quickly to accept them as her fathers. “Yeah, he’ll be right in. Do you want me to stay until he’s here?”

Rose nodded. “I got something important to tell you.”

As if on cue, Phil appeared in the doorway. “Zach’s waiting for you in his room,” he told Dan.

“Rose has something important she wants to tell us.”

Phil immediately turned his attention to his daughter and smiled, “What do you got for us?”

Rose fiddled with her blankets for a moment before jumping out of bed and running to them, wrapping her arms around their thighs. “Thank you for taking me home,” she whispered. “I love you.”

Phil was struck absolutely speechless by this declaration but Dan dropped to his knees and pulled her into a tight hug and said, “Thank you for coming with us. We love you more than you’ll ever know.” He then yanked on Phil’s pant leg which kicked him into action and he fell to the ground as well and brought both of them into his arms.

They stayed like that for a moment, all hugging each other tightly, until a small voice sounded from the doorway. “Daddy?”

Dan looked up to see Zach standing there with Binx in one hand and sleepily rubbing at his eye with the other. “Hey, buddy, I was just about to come see you.”

“You know, how about we all sleep in the grown up bed?” Phil suggested, knowing that there was no way he’d want to be separated from any part of his family tonight. “Does that sound fun?” Zach and Rose both cheered while Dan nodded his agreement. Then with Zach in Dan’s arms and Rose in Phil’s they all made their way to Dan and Phil’s room where they piled into the king size bed in the middle of the room, and there they stayed all tangled up together for the rest of the night.

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