... And Then There Were Three

**December 1st, 2015 1:00 p.m. Aleks’ POV**

Finally it was time to go home! Not that finally having Mikhaila wasn’t great but after 3 days I was ready to sleep in my own bed. I knew that Sid was gone on the West Coast Roadie and that I would be at home with new grandparents. I’d had a few of the girls visit while I was here but they never could stay too long due to having their own little ones to attend as well. I had a feeling that would change when I got home.

I had been asked if I wanted to leave in the morning or in the afternoon and I chose afternoon. I was glad I did. As I was watching the morning news on KDKA I heard that I was once again in the news. “Sidney Crosby and the Penguins Organization announced today, the long awaited birth by former Penguin Aleks Crosby has happened. According to the new dad both mom and baby are doing fine and while he hates to leave them, he will be going with the team as they play on the West Coast this week. Sidney also said that they will release the name and a picture of the newest Penguin when they have a good one. They also hope that the fans would respect the privacy the family needs to bond.”

I could have killed him. There was a knock on my door and then Michelle poked her head in. “Come on in Michelle. I take it Sam with out with the guys this time?”

She came in smiling. “Yes he is. I wanted to warn you about something.” I held up a hand.

“KDKA already told me that Sid told everyone that we’re now parents. Not who was here or a picture but that the wait was over.” I pointed to the TV which was now onto a different story and muted so we could talk.

Her smiled faltered. “Damn, I thought I might have gotten here before they broadcast. Sid was adamant that we let you pick when we release the name and any pictures. Do you have a newborn shoot scheduled or are you not going to do that?”

I giggled. “We already did a short session so we could get a few shots I wanted Sid in. We’ll have another one next week to do more. Mostly because I had Dana pull some new gloves from Sid’s shelf and a helmet so we could use them. They’ll go back after.” I picked up my phone to show her the adorable Spartan hat and diaper cover I found. “I couldn’t pass these up either.”

Michelle giggled back at me. “Those are adorable! I can’t wait to see the pictures.” I couldn’t wait either.

Just then there was another knock and in came both moms. “Morning sunshine!” Mine called as they came in. “Oh, hi Michelle. Is something wrong?” My mom, ever the worrier.

Michelle put her hands out. “No no not at all. I was coming by to let her know that we’ve released that the baby is here and found out that I’d been beaten to the punch. We were just talking newborn photo props.”

Both moms sat down with sighs of relief. “Oh good. I hope you’re nearly ready to go home Aleks, I know that Sid is going nuts waiting for you two.” Trina was anxious as well by the look of her as she spoke.

I chuckled. “We need our doctors to give us the ok and then we can leave. I told them I wanted an afternoon release in hopes that we could avoid the gawkers. I’ve seen a few from the window.”

Michelle sighed. “I can’t do anything about the gawkers, we did make sure to ask for them to respect your privacy, but you know how they can get.” Oh boy did I!

After some more small talk and a hungry baby, MIchelle took her leave. “Let me know when we can post all the wonderful stuff about her.” I waved and she left.

The three of us talked about what I wanted to do when we got home, but it boiled down to relax and start trying to figure Mikhaila out. I only wanted a few visitors in the next few days which they understood for sure. “You worry about that little girl and yourself, we’ll worry about the rest.”

There was a knock on the door and after yelling come in, in came Dr. Jewell, our pediatrician. “Morning how’s our little patient today?” I smiled and moved the bassinet closer to the bed so we could get to it easier.

“Better today. The Lactation Consultant came by on day 2 and helped us a lot. Showed us other positions that we both like better than the traditional cradle or cross cradle. She’s been able to eat for longer and with less problems.” I showed her by putting Mikki on me like she was feeding, in our favorite so far the laidback position. I was semi-upright and the baby lays on me facing the breast.

“Good, it’s good to have a position that you both like. How have you been feeding her at night, on your side?” I nodded and she smiled. “She does well with that one too?”

I laughed. “Oh yeah, I figured if I started using it from when we learned it she would figure out day and night maybe faster.” It hadn’t completely help yet but we were still working on it.

“That’s not a bad idea actually. It gives you both a clear definition of night and day. I’m going to upset her a little by checking her out.” I moved and Dr. Jewell put Mikki on the bed and unswaddled her. “I’m going to take a look in here and see how things are moving.” She opened the diaper and checked the insides. She then moved the hips through full rotation. Mikki did not like this, she was barely dressed and someone was moving her in ways she didn’t want to move.

After her exam Dr. Jewell grinned. “She’s perfect and ready to go. Make your appointment for next week when you get home and we’ll see you then.” I relaxed and sighed. I hadn’t known I had been tense until now.

My mom chuckled. “If she doesn’t remember one of us will. It can be hard to remember everything all at once.” Ah the voice of remembrance. Soon after Christine was in to on check me before she signed our release.

We got home and I found a nest built on the couch in the great room and a purple tub of goodies in front of it. There was also the start of a heavenly smell coming from my kitchen.

As the door closed both dads came out of the kitchen. “There they are. Welcome home girls.” My dad came over and took my backpack from me. “Sit, relax. The moms finally got together and got a good gift for you three.” Three? I was confused for a second, then I remembered who was missing due to work.

I sat down and found that there was something also on the couch. Soon enough it was filled by Mikki as it was a Boppy newborn lounger. That would be awesome for when I couldn’t hold her but wanted her close. I started digging into the tub and found all of the medicines I might need for her first 6 months.

“Finally you’re home!” I jumped as Sid’s voice came out of seeming nowhere. He laughed and apologized. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He was lucky I didn’t flip him off. “What’s that?”

I smiled. “Moms finally got us our baby gift. So far I’ve seen the lounger Mikki is on and the meds we’ll need for her first 6 months.” I dug a little deeper and pulled out a bunch of Earth Mama Angel Baby stuff. “Oh wow, the girls swear by this stuff. Good for everyone and smells so good.” I then hit the Honest Company goodies. I looked up sternly. “Mom, you know you didn’t have to do this.”

“What’s that?” Sid said as I heard laughter.

“That’s Honest Company baby stuff. Scarlett and Estelle were raised in those, we love them! Delivers to your door, no more midnight diaper runs.” Flower loved that idea obviously.

Tanger scoffed. “Kallie already has several sizes stocked up and we’re not even halfway through yet. Alex loves it too, used them from when Kallie found them at Target until he gave up all of that for good.” Well if they were good enough for two of my favorite ladies…

Flower sighed. “The newborn size does not come with enough in a package so have backups.” Scarlett was growing and I could hear him being sad to be missing it.

My mom laughed. “Oh, she has more just hasn’t gotten there yet. Keep digging dear.” I found the caddy and giggled. Something I could put all the diaper stuff in! Then I found a simple tummy time mat, that was adorable.

That’s when I hit cloth, lots of cloth. As I dug through, I finally hit air and pulled it all out. Swaddles, sleep sacks, and sleep and play outfits. Sized from newborn to 9 months. “Mom! We _can_ clothe her.”

Trina sat next to me and patted my thigh. “Indulge us Aleks, she’s our first grandchild. We aren’t saying you can’t, we just couldn’t say no to how adorable these are.” I went through them and couldn’t disagree, they were adorable.

The doorbell rang and in came the other part of our family. “Oh good, you are opening gifts.” Nathalie came in with Alexa and Austin. “Austin set that box next to Aleks.”

He did so while I pulled out the diapers and wipes in the tub. There, in the bottom of the tub was a ear scan thermometer. I could have kissed them for this alone. More than once I had woken not feeling well and not been able to find the one we were supposed to have. “This alone is more than awesome.”

Mom leaned over the back of the couch and kissed my temple. Now Mikki decided that it was time to eat and began moving in that manner. I noticed and smiled. “Warning, hungry baby and a not modest mama.” I picked her up, maneuvered us into the position she liked and bared the boob of choice. Soon enough there was a latched on infant and I sighed.

Austin had chosen to have his back to me which amused me. The guys, on the other hand decided to tease him. “Come on Austin, she’s a hungry baby.” “Yeah what did you expect her to do, not feed her baby?”

I sighed and turned towards the camera. “Shut it you two. If he isn’t comfortable watching I’m more than ok letting him be comfortable however he can. The really important thing is that Mikki is getting what she needs.”

Soon enough the guys had to go and Nathalie had bullied Austin into finding out how tall my bed was. “Uh, I’d love to unwrap the box but…” Alexa jumped at the chance and ripped the paper off for me. Inside was Halo Swivel Bassinet. I was floored. I had planned on her sleeping in the Rock and Play but this was better. “Nathalie…”

“Don’t say you don’t deserve it because you do. We knew that you would have a lot of what you needed and decided to wait and see what you truly needed and fill that hole.” Austin came back in and picked up the box. “Alexa, help him then she can open what you two got this precious little girl.”

It turned out that Alexa and Austin had pooled their idea and gotten Mikki more Pens gear including her first jersey. That's when dad brought out the large box from Pat. Inside was a handwritten note. ‘I let my wife choose what would be good for you guys. I hope you all enjoy it. -Pat’

I giggled and began pulling things out. I found 4 sets of baby leg warmers, 2 sound spa items (1 that clipped onto the diaper bag), 2 bodysuits that made me giggle and 7 books (mostly geared towards Sid by the titles). I yawned and checked the time, it was nearly 4 which meant I could easily tag Pat on the West Coast. I then decided against it as Mikhaila decided it was time for a change.

The rest of the day was quiet except for having family around while Mikhaila and I figured out this living in the real world thing.

**December 7th, 2016**

Well, we were making it so far. Nestling was back up to birth weight, actually a tiny bit over, and having all of our parents nearby when I needed a hand had really helped. There was just one problem I was having, going stir crazy for not being able to exercise! So here I was walking around the neighborhood with Troy and our stroller full of growing baby.

Unlike seemingly everyone else I was grateful for the warmer than normal December so far. It gave me a chance to walk without the sidewalks being covered with snow and ice. “This doesn’t seem like December.” Dad said as we walked down Centennial Avenue towards West Drive.

“Nope, but it’s also a good thing. At least for me. I can get out of the house without going too far away and not be slipping on snow and ice.” I peered into the cocoon and saw that she was sound asleep. “Gets all of us fresh air and stops me from going too crazy.” Dad laughed at me.

Around the corner from West ran a chocolate lab, couldn’t be very old by the look of it either. We stopped, unsure as to where the dog was going, or if anyone was chasing it. Soon it was crystal clear that no one was chasing her and oh was she happy to see people!

She, as we could tell when she sat down next to the stroller, was wiggly but was doing her best to stay still. “Well hello there.” I said carefully holding out a hand for her to sniff. “Who are you?” I took a look at her collar and noticed a name and a phone number. “Cocoa. Good name.” Dad suppressed a chuckle. They hadn’t brought Sam with them this time, instead leaving her with a family friend. After stopping for a minute we continued our walk, with an additional fur person.

Walking up the driveway, Cocoa still followed us. “I’m gonna see if I can get the number so I can call her people. They at least need to know she’s out.”

We all came inside, including Cocoa and I let my mom take Mikhaila out of the stroller while I called the number on the collar. “Endless Mountain Labradors, this is Donna.”

“Hi Donna. I’m Aleks Crosby and I seem to have found one of your dogs.” I didn’t figure this was something she knew so I was straight forward with it.

“Um… I can see all of my dogs, who do you have there?”

“Cocoa, she’s a young chocolate lab who found myself and my father-in-law while we were out for a walk.” Mom by now had gotten Nestling out of her outside clothes and had laid her in her second favorite daytime spot, the Boppy Lounger. Cocoa, had watched with fascination as this quiet limp thing became a people! She had set her muzzle on the arm of our couch closest to Mikhaila and while her tail was going 100 mph her head did not move from where she placed it. I had to get a picture of how well behaved this dog was! I grabbed my phone and snapped a picture.

Donna had excused herself briefly and was just coming back on the line. “Cocoa, here she is. John Crane bought her, not long ago in fact. He’s on Woodland Drive in Sewickley.”

Ah, that’s why she didn’t seem out of breath! “Ah, that’s not far from me at all. This is the number she had on her collar so I don’t know how to get a hold of him. Cocoa joined us near the end of our walk and is right now trying very hard not to move so she won’t startle the baby. Her tail is going as fast as it can though.” Donna laughed and asked if I could take a picture so I shared the one I had taken moments ago with her private cell phone number.

“Oh how precious. Cocoa is a year and a half and as far as I know up to date on everything. How about this, I’ll call her dad and let him know where he can find her. Have you had dogs before?” I chuckled.

“Absolutely. My sister has a yellow lab that stayed in Nova Scotia this time. Sam does come for visits often so we do know how to care for Cocoa until her dad can get here.” I got up from my crouch slowly and found the potty spray we used the first time Sam had come. “Cocoa, potty?”

Oh did that get her moving towards me quick. I took her outside and sprayed the area as it had been cleaned but not used since and let Cocoa do her thing. Donna and I stayed on the line until she found the right phone number and I gave her the address.

It was almost 7 before the doorbell finally rang. Dad got it as I was finishing up feeding Mikhaila. “I hear you have my dog.” A gruff voice said as I burped the baby.

Dad nodded and waved the man in. “I’m sorry she’s been such a nuisance. I have no idea how she got out of her kennel.” He was looking for Cocoa as he carefully came in.

I laughed. “She hasn’t been a problem at all. She’s been a very good girl during her visit.” She had been too, pawing at the door to go out, not getting on the furniture even though she desperately wanted to and most importantly to me not licking Mikhaila.

Both moms were in the kitchen cleaning up from dinner but both dads were out with me now. Mine leaned over and kissed Mikhaila’s head. “She has been very good. She is welcome anytime.” Dad played up his Russian accent but I wasn’t sure why at first.

Then the indoor toy we’d found in the dog toy bin came tumbling in, along with Cocoa on it’s heels. I couldn’t suppress my giggle at watching her try not to even bump the couch as she went skidding around it after the toy. She grabbed it and sat up wagging her tail so happy she had gotten the toy.

“Cocoa come!” Suddenly there was a huge change in Cocoa, gone was the happy go lucky pup who was with people. In her place was a scared young dog who knew the tone of her master’s voice wasn’t a good one. She dropped the toy quickly and it hit my ankle. I looked over at my dad who did not look happy. “You good for nothing dog get over here!” Cocoa slunk low to the ground towards her master.

When she got close enough he swung at her head, missing by a fraction of an inch. That riled my inner mama bear. She hadn’t done anything wrong, at least nothing to warrant a beating! “Hey come on! You don’t have to hit her!” I said sharply.

It wasn’t the same man who looked at me. This one was cruel, I could tell by his eyes. “It’s my dog, I’ll do what I please with it. Maybe if your man beat you, you’d know your place too.” That threw 2 outraged fathers in front of me, how dare he say anyone deserved to get beaten!

Instead of getting physical, like I was itching to, I spoke. “No one deserves to be beaten into submission, least of all her! She’s given the baby a very wide berth never even jumping on anyone when we were holding her.” Trina was standing over Nestling now, ready to move with her if need be.

“About time something stuck with this stupid mutt!” He grabbed her collar and started for the door. Cocoa was hunkered down as if this was normal. Frozen in terror.

“Oh my god how dare you!” Everyone turned and there, with my phone in hand was my mother. Donna was on FaceTime and had seen enough apparently.

John stopped and dropped Cocoa. “She’s my dog, I paid for her. I’ll do what I want with her.” Cocoa hadn’t moved from his feet after her dropped her.

Donna was outraged. “That is highly intelligent and motivated young dog who has been trained to fear. Mrs. Malakhov I’ve seen enough. The way you and everyone there have treated Cocoa gave me an idea to get you up here with our next litter but I have a better one. John Crane do you accept the idea that dog’s go to those who they love?” He grunted and nodded. “Aleks Crosby do you accept the same?” I was surprised but nodded. “Good, Mr. Crosby would you bring Cocoa to Mrs. Malakhov’s feet please. Whomever calls her between the two I named, whomever she goes to will be her family. The other will walk away.”

“Wait a minute here I paid $400 for this mutt.” Mr. Crane growled out. My dad stepped closer to me.

“If she comes to me, then you’ll get the money back. All I want in return is what she came with from Endless Mountain.” I had _no_ problem giving him what he thought he was due and then calling the cops on animal cruelty.

Donna agreed and we were set up equally across the room from mom and Cocoa. I didn’t even have a toy in my hand. “Ready, go.” Donna said angrily from the phone. I patted my hands on the floor while I heard threats coming from my opponent.

Slowly Cocoa uncurled and looked between us. Sunk as close to the floor as she could be she began to belly crawl towards us. “Come on Cocoa, that’s a good girl.” I said in a warm and loving tone as the dog moved. I wasn’t listening to what Mr. Crane was saying, his tone said it all. If I were a dog I knew who I would go to and it wouldn’t be the angry man.

Ever so slowly Cocoa seemed to finally get that she could choose who to go to. She looked carefully between the two of us calling her and made her decision. She ran into my arms and was nothing but wiggles and tongue for a little bit as she bathe my face in kisses. “There’s my good girl Cocoa.”

I heard a roar of protest and then a thud of someone being pushed into the wall. “You don’t go near my daughter.” Troy ground out as he had a very angry Mr. Crane pinned to the wall.

It seemed to sink into Mr. Crane that force was not going to get him what he wanted. He stopped fighting dad and ground out. “Then I want my damned money!” Trina touched my shoulder and held out my bag. I quickly wrote out a check to Mr. Crane and put in the memo ‘to keep Cocoa from a cruel home’.

Both dads followed him back to his house to get Cocoa’s things, or at least what she came with from Endless Mountain. This left all us girls at home with a very happy Donna. “Don’t you worry about him getting another puppy, I’ll put the word out about him as soon as I’m off with you all.”

I picked up Mikhaila and coaxed Cocoa into coming close. “Come here Cocoa. There’s a good girl. Want to meet your sister?” I put her nose into the blanket we had around Mikki. Cocoa was afraid at first but she quickly began sniffing her all over and even licking one of her feet that had escaped the swaddle. Mikhaila jumped at the tongue on her foot but didn’t squeak at all.

Soon enough the dads were back with paperwork and a hedgehog toy. We showed Donna the paperwork and she agreed that it was what she had sent with Cocoa. “I think that toy might be like one she liked to play with here too. A comfort item. If she doesn’t like it then don’t push it. Be sure to get her to a vet as soon as you can just to check her out after everything she’s been through.”

We said goodbye to Donna and began making plans to find a vet the next day. That’s when I heard Flower over the monitors. “When did you get a dog?!”

Cocoa barked at the sound, especially since there was no one new there to meet which made me laugh. “Um… we just rescued her from an abusive owner.” I said as I waved to the camera.

Sid sighed heavily. “A new baby and a new dog. Are you sure?”

I scoffed. “Cocoa is a great girl. Very smart and very willing to please as well. Although there are I’m sure some bad habits her former owner and abuser got into her that we will have to get out of her.” It then hit me. “We have toys and that kind of thing but not food and water bowls, not to mention a vet.” New mommy brain had hit again.

Sid giggled. “I’m sure you can find what else she needs. Did she do ok with going potty?” It was clear he was watching.

“Oh she did fine with that, even let us know she needed to go out. Hasn’t gone near Nestling until I brought them together.” Cocoa was now laying at my feet.

Flower came back and was laughing. “Vero says she will call you later with our vet’s number. They are a great office and love animals.” I promised to send Sid a picture of our girls and he said goodnight to us quickly.

I went and put Mikhaila in the Halo bassinet so she could sleep undisturbed then came back with my laptop. In my email was a message from EML welcoming me to the family and saying that due to my newly adopted status we would be getting some things in the mail that they used for their dogs. Donna also added a note giving me all the names of the food and vitamins they used to double check with our own vet.

Speaking of, the landline rang and I was soon speaking to Dr. Blake from Wexford Animal Hospital. Apparently Vero had done better than calling me and called them directly. We talked about how Cocoa met us and the behaviours I had seen her exhibit with us and her now former owner. He made an appointment to swing by the house in about 20 minutes so he could get a look at Cocoa and our home.

When he got here, it was clear from his first interaction with Cocoa that he was the vet for us. It was clear he loved animals and understood the stresses that we were going through. By talking to him and showing him the email from EML we were able to find a good high quality grain free food for Cocoa that would be good for Sam too. I did show Dr. Blake what toys we had already and he was happy with those and only suggested a few items to round out the collection. I told him we had a wireless fence already thanks to Sam and it kept the animal away from the driveway completely. I showed him our dog potty area in the nook between the laundry and deck and he seemed impressed. “All this for a dog that only visits originally.”

“The entire family takes having a furry member seriously. It also means our friends can bring over their furkids and know that they won’t ruin the yard. We’ve been thinking about an electronic dog door as well but placement is our biggest hurdle there.” I was throwing a ball for Cocoa as we talked, I should have been napping but this was as important.

In the 45 minutes that Dr. Blake was in our home I never once felt like I had to defend anything I had done. He actually commended me for sticking up for Cocoa in fact. “Some people shouldn’t have fur kids.”

He did recommend getting a slow feeder bowl for Cocoa. “For tonight I would suggest just putting a ball on top to make her work to find it all.” When I asked about a raised bowl set he frowned. “Those can cause bloat which they supposedly want to prevent. I’d suggest just putting them on the floor under a good mat.”

We talked about how best to care for her from teeth to tail and I figured out that I wouldn’t have to go out and shop for most of it, I could get it while being a good mom to Mikhaila as well. “She might be a lot of work on top of a new baby, but the two of them will bond quickly which will make her a beloved family member.”

The Dads took stock of what we already had and Dr. Blake’s suggestions and headed for Petco. They came back with food, treats, a good storage container for both and a collar. Then I noticed the flea and tick collar in the bottom of the bag. Oh did Cocoa love the food. We just used the bowls we had gotten for Sam but I knew I wanted to get some just for Cocoa. The food was stored in the rolling box and then they started putting the treats still in their bags in the top.

After Mikki’s dream feed I lay in bed and let everything wash over me. In a bit over a week I went from no kids to two, one with fur and one without. I sent a text to Sid letting him know that we were officially a 4 member family and got back that I should have Cocoa in the photos with Mikki.

Sid called soon after, as it wasn’t very late on the West Coast and his game wasn’t until tomorrow. “So what food are we going with?” I told him down to the color of the bag and I could hear him grin. “So she’ll only have black and gold on game day right?”

“That’s fine. I’d love for her collar and such to stand out against her chocolatey fur.” I could hear him looking for something on his laptop. “What are you looking for?”

“The best teal collar for our newest kid. This way we can’t forget what food to get her cause it will match. Do you mind if I go ahead and go shopping for her?” I could hear tabs being made.

“No, I don’t mind. She isn’t sleeping on the bed but we might want to find something for her for the floor and maybe a blanket for really cold nights.” Quickly we hung up the phone and went to Skype. He shared his screen and showed me what he had planned. “That’s nice. We’re going to need a couple of those, for here and the lakehouse.”

“Already the plan, or at least starting a folder with what I’ve gotten her so if we need it at the lakehouse I can find it easily. She’s going to need a carrier too. I’ll look for all of this stuff and have it shipped to the house.” I could hear him getting excited to have Cocoa.

“Don’t forget that she’ll need reflective items for safety. The dads got her a collar for now but I really want a reflective one for her permanent one.” That got us talking about pet doors and visiting furry friends. In the end Sid said he’d look into this stuff and when he got home we could talk about what he found before we made plans for sure.

“For now bells on the door we want her to use will work. I’ll let you get some sleep and get the things I’ve found on the way to the house.” We said our goodbyes and I went to sleep.

**Dec. 10th 2015 3:30 am**

Mikki was up and therefore so was I. I had gotten her days and nights right with how we fed. Right now it was clearly night time so we were laying on the bed enjoying a hungry cuddle. Cocoa, who had gotten over her fear of the baby, was laying in her spot near the nook. I kind of heard the garage door open and knew Sid was finally back. Unfortunately for him, Cocoa also heard it and went to investigate.

Mikki was almost back asleep so I changed her and settled her back in the bassinet as I heard Sid trying not to wake anyone. I padded out and clapped my hands once. Cocoa turned and came over to me. “No, you didn’t wake me. Our nestling was hungry.” I sa on the couch and had Sid sit next to me. “Cocoa, come.” She did and Sid held out a hand. He did know how to introduce himself to dogs.

In short order Cocoa was happy that he belonged here and padded back to her spot. We followed and cuddled on our bed. “So, how are our kids really?” He asked as I slid back towards sleep.

“They’re wonderful. Dr. Blake is a great vet and Cocoa is a loving young dog. Nestling is growing well and the picture proofs should be in my inbox soon. In three days Cocoa has learned that if Mikhaila starts crying she has to come get me. She also has been waiting to get into the boxes that have shown up. I thought you could do that with her, show her that you are not like her old owner.” I cuddled closer to my well traveled husband.

He yawned. “Sounds great. After practice I’ll do that.” Soon the house was quiet, the family was all home and safe.