Val was feeling at peace. Her family was together, and the baby inside her was healthy and growing with her. She had really desired to spend some intimate time with Dan, but with the natural excitement of not only Bill coming home, but Donna joining him, no one got to bed before 11. And by that time, it was too late, as their alarms would be going off before they knew it.

Sure enough, everyone’s alarm went off. Soon, a group of groggy family members, and Donna, just stood around the kitchen, waiting for both the coffee and tea to brew. 

Val took the lead in asking how everyone was. ‘I’m good’ was the response from her family. She was going to start breakfast, but asked Dan if Matt was going to be eating with his family, or with theirs.

Her husband did not know the answer, for he had always assumed that Matt would be eating with his parents. But he decided to call Mrs Murdock to double check. 

Once he had Mrs Murdock on the phone, Dan apologized for the early call, he just wanted to make sure of where Matt was going to eat breakfast. His mom told him that he would eat there, and all he needed to do was just pick him up.

Dan said he understood and thanked her again, ending the call and letting everyone know what was going on. Dana seemed disappointed, but she seemed disappointed about not being able to be with Matt, no matter the occasion. 

But Val, along with Donna, made breakfast, as the stranger didn't want to be a burden, and wanted to help out when she could, doing whatever was needed. Val thanked her for the help, and said that they meant it when they told her to think of this house as her home. Donna gave the taller woman a hug, and said that back home, everyone was expected to pull their own weight. Val looked at her son, winked, and said that his girlfriend was wise beyond her years. Everyone laughed at that.

Breakfast hit the spot. Dan always loved her cooking, but he had to eat and run, as he needed to pick up Matt and bring him to the house before classes started at 8.

While Bill and Donna were in their rooms getting dressed, Val reminded Dana that Bill was in charge. Even though she was nearly two feet taller than him, he was still her big brother, and she always appreciated how he had looked after her when their parents went away. She told her mom that she understood. Then she went to her room to get dressed.

Once the dishes were done, and the counter given a quick wipe down, Val then went to her room to get dressed. She needed to talk to her boss, Bertha, about working from home, as Dan was correct in his assessment that both the office and her desk would quickly become too small for her. 

Just the thought of not seeing her friends from work made her feel sad. But with Dana now doing classes from home, along with Matt, it wouldn't be fair for Bill to keep an eye on her and do his classes too. So it would be for the best.

Dan arrived with Matt, and watched as his daughter fought the urge to hug her classmate in front of her parents. He looked up at Val, who had a sly smile across her face. Dan quickly set up both computers for Matt and Dana, then he was off to work. Val was off too, and reminded Dana to listen to Bill. But with her boyfriend there, she didn't really hear what her mom was saying.

Matt and Dana took their seats in a room off the hallway. Dan had quickly set it up so the two of them could do school work free of distractions. He looked up at her, and said that he guessed that they were going to do classes remotely. Dana laughed. The way he said it was classic deadpan comedy. All she could say was she wasn't sure. Both laughed at that.

While both Bill and Donna were in their rooms and getting dressed, they each got an email letting them know that Lexicon University’s remote servers were down, so all classes were cancelled. Bill immediately thought that maybe the computer servers should have gotten their own vaccine. He just laughed to himself. But, it meant that he and Donna could spend the day together. They could go out to lunch, maybe see a movie.

But then he remembered that Dana would be home, and his parents depended on him to keep an eye on her while they were out. He sighed. His day of impromptu plans had been replaced by a day of making sure everything was ok at the house.

He went to the room where Dana and Matt were doing their classes, and he made sure that both were doing ok. They gave him the thumbs up, and he told them that if they had any problems, they were to immediately come get him.

The one thing that always surprised and amazed Bill was how nice his little sister actually was. She never acted like a brat, and always listened to him when he was in charge while his parents were out. He had heard the horror stories from his friends, both male and female, about their younger siblings giving them so much attitude that they would have hired Frank Castle to teach them manners. But he was fortunate, and extremely grateful.

After leaving Dana and Matt, he went to Donna's room and knocked on her door. As soon as he heard her say come in, he opened the door, saw her sitting on the bed, and just smiled at her. She told him that she couldn't believe that the servers were down, but Bill said that it must have been the computer virus, as he mockingly coughed. This made her laugh.

He made his way to her, and looking into her eyes, gave her a proper good morning kiss. But he found himself surprised by the firmness of her hug. He knew that she was growing taller, but feeling her hug, he could sense that she was much stronger than when he first met her.

But after their kisses, she just held him tightly, whispering in his ear that if he wasn't in her life, she didn't know how she would be able to deal with what was happening to her. Bill told her that he would always be there for her, no matter what. He loved her, with all his heart. 

His reward for those words was an even tighter hug, which caused him to lose his breath. But he didn't want to interrupt Donna's happy mood.

Once Dan left for work, Val quickly followed. She suddenly felt a mixture of apprehension and sadness. She was sure Bertha would be ok with her request, but as she was the boss, assumptions couldn’t be made.

But she also thought about her three co-workers, her three friends. Tiffany and Jeff were an adorable couple. And Val had always acted as the older sister in the office, especially when the young girl had questions about her feelings for Jeff. She always tried to be honest when talking about the pitfalls of relationships, but she also stressed that the good definitely outweighed any negatives. It all came down to how committed both were to the relationship.

And she thought about Jeff, and how his eyes were lit up like a kid on Christmas morning when he found out what Dan had done with the house. He would ask her about it , which she thought was cute. But when she thought about it, with her new size, he did look as cute as a little boy to her. But he was the second nicest man she had ever met, after Dan, of course.

Once Val parked her vehicle, she took a deep breath, and entered the building. She had to duck down so she didn’t hit her head as she walked through the door. 

Once in her office, she made her way to her desk. She was early. With no one else in the room, Val quietly got to work on a pile that was sitting on top. About 10 minutes later, Bertha came in. Val stood up to give her boss a hug. 

Bertha was 6’3” and north of 200 lbs, but next to Val, she looked like a 5 year old girl. It had taken some time to get used to the fact that Val had become taller than her, but she never acted jealous or envious. She just accepted what was happening.

Val asked Bertha if they could talk. They moved into a room off to the side, where Val explained the situation, and was wondering if she could work from home. 

Bertha was quiet for a moment, as she was thinking about what Val could work on from home. She had it. The court would email her the final dispositions of those appearing for a session, and Val could enter the info in the State Court system server. 

Bertha told Val that she would need to be completely alone in a secure room, and would need an encryption program to protect against malware. But her boss had no problems otherwise, and Val bent down and hugged her 6’3” friend.

By the time both women exited the room, Tiffany and Jeff had arrived. News broke that it would be Val’s last day in the office. She bent down and hugged the little couple in front of her, as the tears flowed all around.

Then the jokes started. It was Jeff, and it brightened the mood in the office. Soon, tears were replaced by smiles, and Val promised that she would definitely have them over one Friday night for dinner. 

Everyone looked forward to the day, but soon it was time to focus on work. Val efficiently went through the files, arranging them in order of appearance date. Lunch time came and went, and soon it was time to leave, with final hugs for everyone.

Valerie had a little tear in her eye when driving home. She knew that she would miss her three co-workers. They had become a very important part of her life. She made a promise to herself that she would have them over one night.

Her mood improved once she walked in the door to the house. Everyone was home. Her family was together, and it helped take away the sadness she felt. 

Dan had a cup of tea ready for her, and told her to sit on the sofa, and he would rub her feet. Kicking off her shoes, she sat, and put her very large feet on his lap, and felt his small hands do their magic. 

Valerie was tempted to just pick him up and place him on her lap, but then remembered that Donna and Matt were there, so she thought she would thank him after everyone went to bed.

The relaxed mood in the house was very pleasant, until Val realized it was after 5:30, and she had no idea what to do for dinner. And so, everyone made their way to the kitchen. 

Val and Dana decided that they would handle dinner, and told everyone to relax. So that left, Donna, Bill, Dan and Matt with nothing to do but talk. 

Dan asked Donna if she was comfortable enough with the house. He knew that if she wasn't, it could affect her school work, and more importantly, her relationship with Bill.

The young girl smiled and said that the house was perfect, and that she felt at home, looking at Bill as she spoke. The conversation went on for some time, as mother and daughter debated the meal.

Soon, Val came over holding a menu and sheepishly asked if pizza would be alright.