The mouthwatering smell of juicy bacon filled the house as Meghan opened her eyes. Broad daylight greeted her. She didn't have to check her watch to know that she had slept in later than planned. Rolling onto her stomach, she reached out to grab her glasses before sitting up and slipping out of the bed, her feet sliding into her fluffy slippers as she stood up.

Voices could be heard out in the kitchen as Meghan pushed her bedroom door open, a yawn escaping from deep inside of her. She blinked tiredly and she shuffled down the small hallway to investigate the commotion in the kitchen. Carly and Gordon were together at the stove, making breakfast. Carly hadn't even brushed her hair or dressed out of her pajamas yet.

"Morning," Meghan greeted them.

"Morning, Nutmeg," Gordon said brightly, seemingly awake and enjoying his one-on-one time with their daughter.

Meghan looked down at her watch. At first glance, the time didn't bother her as she had no schedule today. Just spend some time with her children and their father. But then she did a double take and raised her wrist to her face to read the time properly through her glasses.

"Carly! Ryder! You're late for the last day of school!" Meghan exclaimed loudly, tripping over her feet as she raced to grab her bag and a hairbrush to brush Carly's tangled curls.

Gordon stared at her for a moment before looking down at Carly with a questioning expression. "You said there was no school until after Christmas."

Carly grinned sheepishly, taking a slow bite of her bacon. "I don't want to go."

"Carly, you're going," Meghan said, racing down the hall to the bedroom and opening the door. "Ryder-"

"I'm ready," her son interrupted, already in fresh clothes and with his backpack slung over his shoulder.

"I can take them if you need," Gordon offered once Meghan reentered the kitchen.

"No, that's okay. You stay here and relax."

"I don't want to go to school!" Carly complained.

"It's just one more day," Meghan told her. "Then you can spend as much time as you want with Dad."

"Yeah, so you better hurry and go or I'll make the gingerbread house without you, ladybug," Gordon told her, grinning.

Her eyes widened at the threat and she quickly dropped her bacon to skid down the wooden floor to her room to get ready just as Ryder emerged. He eyed Gordon for a moment before moving toward the front door. Meghan snatched Carly's partially eaten bacon up and took a bite. She avoided bumping her hip against the table as she moved after her son.

"Hey, bud," Gordon greeted Ryder slowly, smiling. "I missed you."

Ryder scoffed and rolled his eyes, opening the front door. Cold air rushed inside, eager to chase out the warmth. "That makes one of us."

"He's still upset with me?" Gordon asked Meghan once the door had been slammed shut.

Meghan sighed and pressed her palm to her forehead as she waited for Carly. "Yes. And his first year of high school hasn't been the greatest, so that adds to it all."

"I'll talk to him this evening," he assured her, walking around the counter to clear some dishes off of the table.

Before Meghan could respond, Carly came skipping back into the room. Her hair was nearly brushed of all tangles, and her new clothes were fit snuggly on her small frame. "I'm ready!"

"You brushed your teeth?" Meghan asked, receiving a nod in answer. "Alright, let's go."

❄⛄❄❄⛄❄

The handle of the shovel burned through Meghan's gloves as she scooped snow off of the driveway and tossed it into the yard. Gordon was doing the same on the other side of the driveway, his movements quicker and done more swiftly compared to Meghan's constant struggle to get the snow onto the shovel and lift it to toss. She exhaled deeply, a spiral of white cold air leaving her lips and fading into the evening light.

The bus would be dropping the kids off any minute now. Meghan kicked a clump of snow off of her boot before rubbing her hands together. The gloves were not doing much to keep the cold from biting her stiffened fingers. She glanced over at Gordon who continually worked to shovel the snow, showing no sign of the cold affecting him in any way. She began scooping again, thoughts of a warm fire driving her on.

That year, it would only be Meghan, her children, and Gordon for Christmas. The rest of the family was vacationing in Hawaii, but Meghan couldn't afford it. They weren't the most supportive family and agreed to go without her and the kids. That was another reason why Ryder was in a sullen mood. He wanted to stay in Hawaii over Christmas too.

"Almost done," Gordon announced, his eyes locking with hers. His cheeks and nose were tinged pink. Meghan knew she looked no different.

"Yeah," she agreed, looking over the mostly cleared driveway. "Up for hot cocoa after?"

"Of course."

She smiled and shoveled the last few needed piles before resting the shovel against the wall in the open garage. Once Gordon finished, he followed suit and they made their way into the house to warm up.

"I hope you're not planning on making that gingerbread house today," Meghan told him, recalling his mention of that that morning.

"No, I am still settling down," he replied. "We can do that some other time."

Meghan grinned as she began working to get a fire going. "You should never get a girl's hopes up."

"I am aware," Gordon said, his voice clipped. Meghan glanced at him in surprise and he sighed loudly, slipping his gloves off. "Sorry. It's just...since we divorced, I've been having these...realizations."

Meghan hummed in response, not too keen on the idea of having a heart-to-heart with him right now. She managed to coax the flame into a burning fire and sat back, welcoming the warmth it poured over her numb body. Gordon joined her on the couch, and they watched the flames dance to an invisible beat, reaching out to touch the surprisingly new-looking mantelpiece.

"You should get a better house," Gordon finally spoke, breaking the comfortable silence. "This one won't be able to support you and the kids."

"I don't believe you have a say in this matter," Meghan huffed. Why ruin the peaceful day and talk about that? "Not since after the divorce."

"Actually, I believe I do," he replied. "They are my children as much as they are yours, and I am concerned about their wellbeing. You need a bigger and newer house."

"Then buy one," Meghan snapped irritatedly. She didn't mean to sound so harsh. He was the father, yes. But he knew as well as she that she was not financially capable of getting a new house. Not right now.

Gordon didn't respond to her. She dubbed it smart. She did not want to fight. That was what caused the family to break in the first place, and it was December. The best month of the year, and a time to be merry. Or so she had been told.

"While we hover over the subject," Gordon finally spoke slowly, his voice holding a softer tone, "I think we need to cover the matter of sharing Carly and Ryder. We were not able to discuss it before I was deployed, but I think the subject should be addressed."

Meghan bit her lip. She knew that would happen. She would have to endure allowing her children to disappear for a questioning amount of time before seeing them again. Depending on where Gordon would even settle down, she had no clue of how long the weeks would be that she would have to give up being with Carly and Ryder. The thought made her anxious. They were her life. She couldn't imagine a couple of weeks with them, a couple weeks without, and that ongoing process of sharing.

"I plan to settle down here in Washington," Gordon said when she did not respond. "I was thinking maybe a month with them, and then a month without?"

Meghan immediately shook her head. "No, a month is way too long!"

"So, two weeks?" he asked, visibly relieved she was pitching in on the matter. Did he expect her to fight and want the kids to herself?

"That might do," she said. Her heart gave a painful ache. That would be hard for Carly and Ryder - having to go back and forth. She never wanted to place such a burden on their shoulders. Such a challenging childhood to finish growing up in. "I don't know how to tell them this. Ryder is upset with you as it is, and living with you half of the time might not do well."

"Or, it might fix things," Gordon pointed out earnestly, rubbing the small stubble hardly visible on his handsome face. "He can't be angry forever."

At that, Meghan sighed. With the genes and personalities that go back generations on her side of the family, Meghan worried for her son. Grudges were known to be held in her family. Her mother held a lifelong grudge against her brother when he ruined things between her first boyfriend; even after she married Meghan's father. Meghan's uncle had had the cold shoulder from her since before Meghan was born. Never had her mother shown affection toward her own brother.

"I guess we will fill out the paperwork and all that fun stuff after I settle down into a better home than the apartment I have," Gordon said, rubbing his knees.

"Yes." Meghan nodded in agreement and gave him a smile she tried to make genuine. A deep inhale shook her body. She must stay optimistic and lighthearted for the children.

"You're going to send us to live with him now?"

The two adults swiveled around at the new and unexpected voice. Carly and Ryder stood in the doorway with their backpacks slung over their shoulders. Carly was staring at them in confusion, but she was not the source of the voice.

Ryder gaped at them in hurt shock, his hand halfway through slipping the strap off of his shoulder. Meghan jumped to her feet and moved toward them, her heart pounding. How much did they hear? "Ryder-"

"I'm not going!" Ryder shouted, drowning out Meghan's reasonable tone. "You can't make me live with him too!"

Before she could even try and speak again, Ryder had shoved past her and barreled into his and Carly's bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

Meghan exchanged a glance with Gordon before approaching the door and trying the handle. It was locked.

"Ryder, please," she pleaded. "Open the door! We'll talk about it."

Gordon came up from behind and leaned against the frame, a slight frown on his lips as he pitched in and knocked on the door. Carly was standing to the side, a nervous look etched onto her face as she tried to unravel what was going on. "Ryder, open up now or your mother and I are going to take the door down and confiscate it until you earn it back."

Meghan shot him a startled look. He had been gone so long that she wasn't quite used to having the discipline he carried around anymore. Meghan had never been big on discipline for fear it would push her children away, so even after the divorce, she didn't take up using it much.

Gordon's words seemed to work, for there was a rusty click before the door swung open. Ryder threw himself back onto his bed, burrowing his face deep into the pillow so that it was hidden. Meghan and Gordon stepped into the room. Carly moved to enter too, but Meghan spoke quickly. "Carly, honey, we need to talk with Ryder right now. Can you go play outside for a bit?"

The ten-year-old gave them a disapproving frown, but understood the importance of the situation and nodded her head, the red curls bouncing as she turned and skulked back out into the kitchen. Meghan listened as the front door opened and shut before closing the bedroom door and sitting on the edge of Ryder's bed. He made no acknowledgment to their presence.

"Don't you think it will be unfair to your father to only see you when he visits?" she began, gently rubbing her son's back. "He loves you and Carly just as much and would love to have you over at his place too."

"Yeah, well, you don't even give us the choice," Ryder said, his voice muffled in the pillow. "What if I don't want to go to his house?"

"You have a say in this," Gordon said, standing at the foot of the bed, "but, overall, you will probably be going back and forth between our homes."

Ryder bolted up, his face mirroring pure anger as he sent an awful glare his father's way. "So you expect us to pack up every two weeks just to move to another house for that same length of time? You expect me to do that for the next four years of my life? You expect Carly to do that for eight - if not more - years of her life? It isn't fair!"

"Divorces aren't easy," Meghan told him, guilt eating away at her heart over the whole situation. It really wasn't fair to them. But she pushed forward, saying, "Especially for the kids if it is a situation like this. But neither of us have completely disappeared on you and your sister, nor have we said we want nothing to do with you. You should be happy that the both of us still want you in our lives, at least. Some divorces end with the children never seeing one - if not both - parents again."

Ryder shook his head, his blue eyes finding the window. Gordon's blue eyes. "I just want to stay with you, Mom."

Meghan's heart gave an aching throb at the desperate plea hidden in the subtle tone of her son's voice.

"If I can ask; why are you still upset with me?" Gordon asked, sitting on the floor and looking at Ryder sadly.

Ryder scowled, the hateful expression once again marring his handsome features. Meghan wished he wouldn't look so miserable. "You ended the marriage! You're the one that brought it up and finalized it. You weren't there the next month as Mom cried herself to sleep each night! She tried to stay strong, but I saw that she was hurting! You hurt her a lot, and now you expect me to just forgive you?"

Meghan blinked in surprise. She did not know that Ryder had heard her endless crying and seen her misery. She thought it had been carefully covered. She shifted on the mattress as Gordon studied him closely.

"I don't expect anything," he finally spoke. "Nothing except that you oblige to whatever happens. You don't have to forgive me. You don't even have to love me. But you need to cooperate, if not for my sake, then for your mother's. This is hard on all of us, alright? Your sister included."

Meghan watched small tears well up in Ryder's eyes, but he quickly blinked them away. The matching eyes of the two people before her held each other's gaze before Ryder finally looked down, his shoulders sagging. "Fine. But I will only do this for Carly. Carly and Mom. Not you, Gordon."

Meghan inhaled sharply. The use of Gordon's first name coming from the fourteen-year-old's lips did not sit well with her. She may not be huge on discipline and violence, but she wouldn't permit her son calling his father that. "Ryder, please do not-"

"It's fine," Gordon interrupted, his eyes still watching Ryder who avoided looking at him. "He can call me Gordon, Meghan. It isn't going to change the fact that I am still his father first and foremost."

Meghan bit her lip, not necessarily agreeing. She didn't like hearing Ryder say his father's first name. Especially with the hate he added to it. It mad Gordon seem like a vile man through his eyes.

"Mom!" Carly's clear voice chipped the silence with its panic and urgency from outside the window. "You need to see this! There is a baby deer out here!"

The three of them looked up, eyebrows furrowed. Meghan was the first out the door, with Gordon trailing behind and Ryder holding up the rear. Carly was already at the front door as they slipped on their shoes and coats. Excitement glistened in her eyes as she grabbed Meghan's arm. "Right there!"

They looked down to where she was pointing. The fawn bleated softly, its frail body cast against the snow beside the porch steps. Red tainted the snow beside it, the color coming from the bleeding leg it had sprawled in front of it. Its spotted fur did nothing to block the cold as it shivered softly.

"Oh, my gosh," Meghan whispered, approaching it slowly.

"Can we keep it?" Carly asked.

"Are we going to help it?" Ryder questioned.

Meghan crouched beside the baby, her hand slowly coming to stroke the thin fur on its back. It eyed her warily. As her hand made contact with it, it immediately tried to bolt away, jumping onto its unstable legs and taking off into a sprint. It only got a couple of panicked steps forward before it collapsed again, its face planting into the snow.

"Woah!" Carly said. "It's fast!"

"It's scared," Gordon said, moving forward slowly as Meghan stepped forward again. "We should call somebody."

"Like the vet," Carly told them. "Or animal rescue or something."

"WASART," Ryder told her.

"What does that mean?"

"Washington State Animal Response Team."

"Quiet," Meghan said, once again approaching the frightened fawn. "We can take it to help, yes."

"No, can't we keep it? We can-" Carly began. Ryder hushed her by clamping a hand over her mouth, to which she swung her hand up to slap his face.

The fawn watched Meghan approach again. By the way it was positioned, it looked ready to try and bolt for the second time. Meghan noticed the thin collar around its neck. "It looks like someone owns it."

Gordon was right beside her, and this time as she reached out, she did it quickly, her hands tightening slightly around its body as she grabbed it. It flailed out and tried to flee, but she kept it in place, being as gentle as possible. Its hoofs flung snow as it squirmed, bleating in anguish. "Gordon! Grab it."

Gordon scooped the fawn up and held it against him, taking care with the injured leg. Meghan flipped the gold plait attached to the collar around to read the words.

VIXEN
hometown: center, NP
property of SC
11/16/13

She stared at the collar. It was one of the weirdest collars she had ever seen, and the words made no sense. Vixen must be his name, and she guessed that 11/16/13 meant November 16, 2013 -- which was that year -- but the rest didn't mean anything to her.

The kids move forward to get a better look at the deer. Carly looked at the collar and smiled. "His name is Vixen! We can keep him, can't we?"

"He isn't even ours," Gordon said, also reading the plait. "It says he is the property of SC."

"What's that?" Ryder asked.

"I don't know."

"Well, while we figure it out, we can still keep him, right?" Carly asked hopefully. She was clearly not going to drop the question.

"I don't know, Carly," Meghan sighed. "Let's just take him inside for now while we figure this out."

Carly seemed happy with the offer and stroked the baby's fur as he flailed around once more in Gordon's grip. Blood coated his leg, some of it dripping off of the small hoof. Meghan followed behind them as they entered the house and quickly closed the door behind her. Confusion was spiraling inside of her, matching the speed of the swirling snow outside.

Who owned the fawn? Where did they get him? Why did they have him? And why did he turn up bleeding on their lawn?

❄️⛄️❄️

Chapter two is up, with thorough editing done. Still good? If you catch errors and mistakes, don't be shy to point them out. I won't get upset. :)

Also, this chapter is actually chapters two and three from my old draft combined! In the previous draft, there were 38 chapters, but combining some to make chapters longer in this draft should narrow that number down a bit.

Question: Do you think it is appropriate for Ryder to act the way he is?

Bonus Question: What is a fawn doing at their house? :O