Falcon & Jaguar - Babysitting

Doe turned her soft blue eyes on Andrew and I.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked. "Because we can call a sitter or -"

Andrew waved a hand at her to usher her out the door after Jared. "We'll be fine. Now go, you need a night out."

"Okay, okay," she conceded, stepping out onto the front porch. "Sparrow will be back from her concert late, maybe after midnight or so, and Kelly -"

Andrew promptly shut the door in her face and locked it.

I swung my head around to stare at him, my mouth hanging open in surprise.

"What?" he shrugged. "You know she wasn't going to leave without a fight. I just cut the fight down by a few minutes."

I shut my mouth as it tipped upwards in a smile. I nodded. "You're right."

A giggle from the living room made both of us turn. I trailed after Andrew into the living area where Kelly was sitting on her blanket, a stuffed rabbit in her hand, while she watched the Wiggles. I checked my watch.

"It's almost time to get her ready for bed."

Andrew took a seat on the sofa and leaned back. "We'll let her finish the video and then get her ready."

I sat down next to him and then pulled my feet up with me. "Won't that get her to bed late?"

"A half hour isn't going to kill her."

I turned my gaze to where Kelly sat, her eyes transfixed by the grown men dancing on the screen. Her blond curls were pulled into pigtails and tied with pink ribbons that matched her pink dress. There was a stain from her dinner on the edge of it. That would need to be spot treated before it was washed. She was only two years old but she looked so much like Doe already that it was uncanny. Her size, though, betrayed Jared's genes. She was tall for her age. And the shockingly green eyes weren't Doe's, they were definitely Jared's.

"What are you thinking about?" Andrew asked, stretching his arms across the back of the sofa.

"Her dress."

"What about it?"

I shrugged. "It needs to be spot treated."

His fingertips touched my neck and shoulders. They stroked back and forth for a few moments. I looked over at him. Andrew seemed like he was going to say something, but he didn't. He just turned his gaze back towards the television. I leaned into him and his arm slipped around my shoulders. Neither of us spoke again until the Wiggles was over.

"I'll bathe the little tot," Andrew told me, standing up.

"I'll help."

"You don't have to."

I stood up and moved to pick up Kelly. "Ready for a bath?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "No baff!"

Andrew stepped up to her and sniffed. "You need a bath," he told her. "You are stinky!"

She gave Andrew a sour look. "No stinky!"

"Yes stinky," he said. Andrew scooped her out of my arms and swung her in a high circle before settling her on his hip.

She squealed in delight. " 'Gain!"

"One more and then a bath," he told her.

She pouted.

"Okay, fine..." he started to put her down.

"Pwease!" she squeaked. "Uncle! Pwease!"

His face broke into a grin as he dipped her suddenly and then whipped her upward, swinging her around a couple more times before setting her back on his hip. She giggled profusely.

"Bath time!" he told her.

She continued to giggle as Andrew carried her down the hall. I trailed behind them, watching her little blond head bob and her small hand reach for Andrew's hair. He was good with her.

Andrew set Kelly on the ground as he turned on the water in the bathtub. She reached for her dress and tried to pull it over her head, but it got stuck. She stumbled backwards a bit and then fell onto her butt. I smiled and hurried forward to help her out of the dress. A couple minutes later I lifted her and set her easily into the tub which had been filled with warm water and bubbles.

She giggled as she scooped up some bubbles and flung them at me. Luckily I saw them coming. I slid sideways. Andrew grunted as water droplets sprayed across the knees of his jeans and bubbles clung to his jeans and bare feet.

"Kelly!" he scolded playfully.

She squealed and did it again. He laughed and grabbed a cup from the sink. Andrew scooped up a cup of water and dumped it on top of her head, soaking her blond curls and sticking them to her forehead. She sputtered a moment before retaliating with a splash directed for Andrew. I stepped backwards to avoid the water and watched them play.

The sudden slamming of the front door made me jump.

"What was that?" Andrew asked, shooting to his feet.

Heavy footsteps came down the hall and as they passed the door to the bathroom, we saw a very upset looking Sparrow. Her eyes were staring intently at the floor as she stomped past the bathroom with a frown deeper than the Grand Canyon on her face. Andrew and I exchanged glances.

"Is she okay?" he wondered.

I shrugged. "Want to go see?"

He shook his head quickly. "She's your sister."

"Alright," I conceded. "I'll be back."

There was a splash as I left the bathroom and I imagined Kelly and Andrew were back at it again. I knocked softly on Sparrow's door, but there was no answer. I knocked a little louder.

"Sparrow?"

She didn't answer. I checked my watch. It was barely past nine o'clock. Her concert didn't start until nine-thirty, so what was she doing back?

Knowing that if I knocked again, she wasn't going to answer, I turned the knob and stepped inside, closing the door behind me. Sparrow was on her bed, fully clothed, curled into a ball. Her arms were wrapped around a rather large stuffed turtle.

"Sparrow?" I murmured sitting down in her desk chair across from her.

She didn't give any indication that she heard me, but her eyes were pink and puffy, and she was sniffling.

"Allison, what's wrong?"

Her bleary eyes met mine. "I don't want to live here anymore. Can I go home with you and Andrew?"

I wished I could say yes, but I knew I couldn't. Not with the life that Andrew and I lived. We were gone at all hours of the day and night and exposed to things that I didn't want my younger sister exposed to. There was no way I could agree.

"What's going on?" I pressed. "You loved it here just yesterday. What's changed your mind already?"

"Please?"

"Allison -"

"Nevermind!" She turned over and took a shuddering breath. "It's not like you wanted me anyway."

How wrong she was. I wanted to address the last statement, but I knew better. I knew this behavior. It was my own behavior when I was growing up and something was bothering me. I also knew how to get through it.

"Allison, I know something's wrong and you can tell me what it is and I can help you work through it or I can leave you here and let you rot."

Her sniffling suddenly stopped. It had worked. I wasn't going to play her game. For a long moment, neither of us spoke.

"Fine." I stood up to leave but Allison was suddenly sitting up too, her arms still wrapped around her turtle.

"Katie's a bitch."

Well okay. I sat back down. "Why?"

Sparrow sniffed and swallowed hard. "I told her I liked John! I obsessed over him! She knows that! So what does she do!? She kissed him! And now they're going out!"

Tears ran down her face again as she dissolved into sobs. Oh boy. I sighed.

"All this happened tonight?"

"No!" she snapped, suddenly catching my eyes. Her bloodshot eyes were narrow. I could see the anger in them. "This happened last week. Last week! And she didn't even tell me! She told me John was coming tonight, so I got dressed up and I thought she invited him for me, and then he shows up and - and -"

Allison sank sideways, back into her fetal position, her face pressed into the soft back of the turtle.

"I hate her!" she screamed, voice muffled by the pillow.

Well this certainly wasn't something I had experience in. Any issue I had had in middle school and high school I had settled with my fists. Which was probably a factor that had led me to where I was now.

"What am I gonna do?" she moaned.

"Punch her?" I muttered.

I slapped my hand over my mouth, suddenly realizing I had voiced my thoughts out loud. Allison pushed herself up onto her elbow. Her gaze was something I couldn't read. I feared for a moment that she thought I wasn't serious and was going to go into full-out teenage pout mode. After another moment her lips tipped upwards and she laughed. Loudly. She laughed and laughed and after several minutes, was finally able to pull herself together.

"You were serious?" she gasped, tears of laughter running down her face.

I shrugged. "That's what I would have done."

She dissolved into laughter again.

I stood up and took a seat on the edge of her purple quilt. "Look," I admitted. "I never had problems like that in school. I was known for getting into fights, so I didn't really have many girlfriends. Or boyfriends for that matter."

Allison sat up next to me.

I looked at her. "I can't tell you what to do. I can tell you that punching her will get you nowhere however. So Ido not recommend doing that. But maybe you should talk to her."

"I don't want to. I don't think she would anyway." Allison averted her gaze. "When I found out I called her a 'brainless back-stabbing bitch' before storming out and walking home."

This time I laughed.

"What?" she asked. "It's true."

"Well you get points for alliteration and creativity."

"Thanks."

We lapsed into silence.

"Everyone's going to hate me now."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because everyone likes Katie. And I'm the new girl. They're all going to side with her. Besides, she's probably poisoned everyone against me anyway..."

"I don't think that's true."

Allison didn't answer. She just sat silently before jumping suddenly. She reached into her back pocket where her cell phone was located. A confused look crossed her face before she answered it.

"Hello?"

Silence.

"Really?" Her voice sounded slightly hopeful.

Silence.

"Maybe. I'll call you back." Yep, she definitely sounded better.

Allison hung up the phone and tucked a lock of dark hair behind her ear.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Melissa. She left Katie's house after Katie started telling everyone that I was - well, it doesn't matter. But she wants to know if I want to get ice cream with her."

I smiled. "See? Not everyone hates you. And more importantly, not everyone likes Katie."

Allison nodded.

"You can go," I told her. "And if it's okay with her mom and you want to invite her to stay that night, that's okay too."

Allison sprang to her feet. "Really?"

I nodded.

"Thank you!"

She wrapped me in a tight hug and then pulled me to my feet and pushed me towards the door.

"I have to call her back and change! Thank you!"

Before I knew what had happened, I was standing in the hallway with Allison's door shut behind me. That had gone much better than I could have ever planned. I shook my head and padded back to the bathroom. The first thing I noticed was my wet sock from stepping onto the bathroom floor. I glanced down at the pools of water on the ground and then back up at where Andrew was holding Kelly who was wrapped in a plush white towel. His shirt was soaked and his jeans weren't much drier.

"What happened?" I chuckled.

Andrew looked at Kelly as she looked at him. They pointed at each other.

"Nice," I answered. I stepped forward and took Kelly from Andrew's arms.

"I'm going to get you ready for bed while Uncle Andrew cleans up the water on the floor," I told her, shooting Andrew a sly look.

He frowned playfully.

"What pajamas do you want to wear tonight?"

"Horsey!" she answered as we entered her bedroom.

"A girl after my own heart," I answered, setting her on the floor so I could get to her pajamas.

An hour later, Kelly was asleep in her room, Melissa and her mother had picked up Sparrow to go get ice cream, and Andrew was changed into a pair of sweats and a dry t-shirt.

"Bathroom's dry," Andrew murmured, stepping up behind me.

I smiled as I set the wash cycle for Kelly's dress. I shut the washer door as Andrew's hands slid around my hips and turned me to face him.

"So what was wrong with Allison?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and he leaned down to place a quick kiss on my lips.

"Boy trouble. Friend drama. Typical teenage backstabber-y."

He raised his eyebrows. "How'd you get her composed so fast?"

"I might have, you know, actually told her my real opinion on accident."

"On accident?" Andrew was skeptical.

"Totally on accident. It slipped out."

"What did?"

I pulled away from him and headed for the living room. "I might have suggested punching the backstabbing friend."

"You didn't!"

"It was an accident!"

Andrew's arms swung around my waist and he tugged me against his chest. He was grinning. "That's what you did at that age didn't you?"

I shrugged.

His smile dimmed. "At least you punched people for a good reason. I didn't have such honorable reasons most of the time."

"Well I told her it was a bad idea."

"And she was okay with that?"

I shook my head. "Are you kidding me? No, her friend Melissa called. They're out with Melissa's mom getting ice cream and gossiping I imagine. That's what perked her up so much."

He had stopped listening. The glint in his eyes caused a familiar flutter in my chest.

"So," he answered, ignoring my previous statement, "what you're saying is that Kelly's asleep, Doe and Jared are out 'til late, and Sparrow's gone too? Meaning we're alone right now?"

I smiled at his insinuation.

"That's what I thought."

Andrew pressed a soft kiss to my lips. I returned it. I felt him smile as we backed up into the sofa and collapsed into it, limbs tangled. His kisses grew deeper, and so did mine, as his arms tightened around me and mine found their way around him. My hands slid under the edge of his t-shirt as he pulled his lips from mine and pressed them against my neck. Goosebumps raced down my arms and I felt his stomach tighten. My hands slid higher as his kisses trailed farther down my neck. He was shifting under me to get his shirt off when the front door opened and Allison's head peeked around the corner. We both freed our hands quickly.

"Get a room."

Andrew and I smiled guiltily as Melissa's blond head appeared too.

"You owe me five bucks," she said, looking at Allison.

Allison rolled her eyes. "It was a dumb bet. Like we both didn't know that they'd be making out when we got home."

"Too bad."

Melissa grinned at us and then both Allison and Melissa disappeared down the hall, Melissa's overnight bag tossed over Allison's shoulder. I had just gotten my heart started back at a regular pace when Andrew spoke.

"That's why I'm not having kids."

I laughed in agreement and then kissed him again, effectively wiping the interruption from both of our minds.