"WHAT?" she asked frustratedly into the phone.

"Nic!" Taylor's voice rang loud and clear over the phone. "Guess what!"

"What?" she repeated drowsily, hoping this was good.

"You'll never guess Nic, not in a million years," Taylor teased.

"Taylor, for goodness sakes," she said, "if you don't tell me right now then I'm going to get out of this bed, march over to your house, and beat the life out of you. WHAT?"

"Well it wouldn't do much good for you to do that," Taylor said. "I'm not at home."

"Where are you at then?" she asked curiously.

"At the hospital," Taylor said nonchalantly.

"What?" Nicole said, jumping out of bed. "What are you doing at the hospital?"

"It's great news Nic," Taylor reassured her.

"Great?" she asked. "What could be so great about being at the hospital."

"My new little sister Zoe," Taylor said excitedly.

"Taylor, you don't have a sister named.....," Nicole began. Then it hit her. "Ohmygosh! Your mom had the baby?" she squeaked.

"Yep," Taylor said. "About ten minutes ago. Her name's Zoe."

"Oh Taylor, that's awesome!" Nicole said. "Tell your parents congratulations for me. No, better than that. I'm coming to see you guys. Which hospital are you at?"

He told her and soon she was scurrying around her room getting dressed. When she was ready she grabbed her car keys, left Matt a note, and drove across town to the hospital. The nurse at the front desk told her which room they were in, and Nicole soon found it. She rushed through the door to find Mr. Hanson, Taylor and Zac crowded around the hospital bed. They didn't seem to notice that she had come in, and she just stood silently for a moment, taking in the sweet smell of the room and glancing at everyone. Taylor's profile was to her, his cheeks pink with excitement. Zac was on his other side, staring gleefully at the small bundle in his mother's arms. And Mr. and Mrs. Hanson looked like they were positively the happiest couple on earth at that moment.

"Hey Nic," Mr. Hanson said, turning toward her. She had no idea how he had noticed her standing there. He patted her shoulder and motioned for her to come closer. "Meet the newest member of our family, Zoe."

Nicole gazed happily at the sleeping baby in Mrs. Hanson's arms, wrapped in a soft, pink blanket. She tenderly touched the little girl's hand, which lazily curled around her finger. Nicole uttered an amazed gasp, and looked next at Mrs. Hanson.

"She's beautiful," Nicole said. "And perfect."

"She is," Taylor agreed.

"How did ya get in here Nic?" Zac asked. "They wouldn't even let Jess, Avie, or Mac in. Ike's with 'em."

"I told them I was your sister," Nicole said, smiling but not taking her eyes off of Zoe. "Good shot," Taylor said, slapping her hand. "We were just about to go get something to eat so Ike can come in here and see Zoe again. Wanna come?"

"Sure," Nicole said, taking a final glance at Zoe. She loved babies. "How long have you guys been here?"

"A couple hours," Taylor said, leading her down the hall. Before reaching the cafeteria they came to a small room that could be heard from down the block because of all the gleeful children's screams. "That's them," he said.

They walked in the room and sure enough, Jessie and Avie were pulling Ike's hair into pigtails while Mackie played with toy cars over his big brother's feet.

"I think that pink is a good color for you Ikey-poo," Jessie said, causing Nicole, Taylor, and Zac to burst into laughter. "What?" Jessie asked with an innocent grin. Isaac stood and modeled his beautiful pigtails.

"Well, is it my color?" he asked, picking up Nicole and twirling her around the room.

"Definitely," Nicole said teasingly, pulling at one of his tails.

"You can go see her now Ike," Zac said. "We're gonna take everyone else and get something to eat."

"There's a McDonalds across the street," Taylor said. "I figured we'd better go over there as opposed to chancing the cafeteria food here."

"Good idea," Nic said. "She waved at Ike as he hurried down the hall to hang out with his new sister, and she wondered whether or not she should have followed him. Giving into her roaring stomach, she followed the flock of Hansons to the elevator.

"And you're sure that you don't want us to stay here mom?" Isaac asked for, what seemed to Zac, like the millionth time in the past ten minutes. It was Friday morning, their mom was on the phone from the hospital, and Isaac was being the usual protective oldest brother. Ike's expression turned to one of relief as Zac visualised his mother telling Ike not to worry and to have a good time. "Thanks mom," Ike said happily. "Love you too. We'll see you next Friday. Bye." He hung up the phone quickly and grabbed his bags from the floor. "Well come on Zac! What are you waiting for?"

Zac would never understand his older brothers. So he sighed and giggled to himself as he grabbed his duffle and backpack too. Then he followed Ike out the door.

"This is going to be so cool," Zac said to no one in particular, but hoped that Ike would listen. "Ever since Chris Donnaly went snowboarding last year, I've wanted to try it."

"I know," Isaac replied. "Plus I get to spend a whole week with Nic. I think we've gotten kind of distant lately, so this trip's going to help us to catch up. Has Nic told you anything that might be bugging her Tay?" Isaac asked as he loaded his and Zac's things into the back of the van, where Taylor stood.

"Nah, she's fine," Taylor said, his cheeks reddening. "So you talked to mom again?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, he did," Zac piped up for his brother as he climbed into the backseat of the van. Taylor followed by sitting down in the middle seat. Ike soon stepped into the front seat and pulled the van out of the garage and onto the road. " 'Sup Tay?" Zac asked. "You've been all flustered and stuff this past week."

"I'm fine Zac," Taylor said, "I'm just excited about snowboarding."

"Oh, okay," Zac said. After a few agonizing moments of restlessness, he started up a three-part harmony of '10,000 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall' that lasted for the rest of the hour-long trip to Christen's school in Muskogee. They were on their way for the trip of a lifetime, whether they knew it or not.