You More Than Anything In The World

Benjamin's eyes snapped open as he observed his surroundings. His guard was up. However, he didn't discover anything out of the ordinary.

He was about to go back to bed when a loud wail pierced the air.

“Mommy!”

Arissa woke up instantly and scrambled out of bed. She didn't even realize she had to crawl over Benjamin to leave the bed.

She went in the direction of the wails immediately.

“Sweetheart, don't cry. I'm right here,” she coaxed patiently.

Afraid she'd stumble, Benjamin switched on the lights hurriedly.

Arissa spotted her daughter wailing her heart out on the ground and picked her up.

“What happened? Hush, Sweetheart.”

“Mommy...” Jesse burped pitifully and complained, “Mommy, I fell off the bed!”

Stunned, Arissa checked Jesse hastily to find if the latter was injured.

“Did you injure yourself? Show me!” she urged.

Jesse shook her head. “My butt hurts!” she sniffled.

Her small face was a mess of tears and snot was bubbling out of her nose.

Arissa wiped her tears off and unbuttoned her pajamas to check her body.

“Is she all right?” Benjamin came over to them.

Arissa stopped abruptly when she realized he was also there. She glanced at him before turning to look at the bed. Did he just sleep here?

“Mommy, my butt hurts!” Jesse whined as she touched her butt.

“Let me take a look.”

Arissa observed the sore spot and massaged it gently. “Don't cry. Let me put on some ointment for you!”

Feeling sorry, Benjamin offered, “I'll go see if there is any ointment around.”

He strode toward the living room to find the ointment.

The other five kids roused and rubbed their eyes sleepily.

Worried, they asked, “Mommy, what happened to Jesse?”

“Jesse's fine. You should go to bed. She fell off the bed, but she's fine,” Arissa assured them.

Oliver and Jasper were used to it, so they returned to bed and promptly fell asleep.

Zachary also did the same.

Jesse often fell off her bed, so this time, it didn't cause a huge ruckus.

Both Gavin and Tim gazed at Jesse worriedly, so Arissa explained the situation to them briefly.

“Sweethearts, you should sleep. Jesse's fine. The floor is covered with carpet, so she didn't hurt herself.”

“But Jesse is crying so sadly!” Gavin's brows scrunched up in worry.

Chuckling, Arissa patted Jesse's back and explained, “Perhaps she got shocked after falling off the bed suddenly. It's fine. Hurry, sleep now!”

Tim could barely hide his concern for Jesse.

“Don't cry, Jesse.”

Arissa brought Jesse over to them and said, “Look, Sweetheart. Your brothers are worried about you.”

Jesse sniffed loudly. Tears hung on her lashes, and her nose was red. She looked like a pitiful sight.

“Gavin, Tim, I'm fine. My butt hurts, though. You should sleep. I'm sorry for waking you up!” she said.

Both Gavin and Tim shook their heads profusely. “We're glad you're fine!”