It didn't happen very often when Melanie, Lindsey and Michael couldn't look after Jenny Rebecca. With three parents, it usually happened that someone could watch her, but all three of them had work related things they had to deal with. The only person all three of them could agree on to watch her was Debbie, so Michael dropped her off at his childhood home and left the two of them, knowing full well that J.R. was in good hands.
Jenny Rebecca had just woken up when Emmett walked into the house, so he picked up the baby as he made his way further into the house. She had woken up from the TV that was blaring too loud. Not recognizing the man who had picked her up, J.R. started screaming. Emmett tried everything he could to quiet her, but he just couldn't seem to do it. Debbie, hearing the blood curdling screams, walked out of the kitchen.
"Let me see her," Debbie said when she realized that Emmett was trying to quiet Jenny Rebecca down. Emmett quickly obliged when she took the baby from him. She managed to quiet her down in a matter of minutes.
"How is it that you can make the baby hush and I can't?" Emmett asked. Debbie couldn't help but to softly laugh at Emmett's question. If anyone were to ask her that, it would be Emmett.
"It's nothing you did wrong, sweetheart," she said as she softly rubbed Emmett's arm. "It's a mother's touch." Debbie moved J.R. from where she was lying on her chest so she was cradling the infant, J.R.'s body slightly turned towards her body. Sleep was still evident in the baby's face, so Debbie started to slowly rock her. J.R. softly nudged Debbie's chest as Emmett watched from where he was standing, a soft smile evident on his face. So much love radiated from Debbie. He enjoyed watching her with her grandchild.
Emmett walked closer to Debbie and stopped when he was standing right behind her, peering down at the baby in her arms. He loved kids, but he never had a knack with them, so he was always impressed when he watched other people with them, especially Debbie. He always saw her as this very maternal figure, so it was always fun watching her with smaller kids. Debbie looked up at Emmett and softly smiled at him.
"Do you want to hold her, sweetheart?" she asked. Emmett put his hands up in defeat as he shook his head.
"It didn't work out last time," he said. "Besides, she's happy with her grandma." Debbie laughed as she looked down at the sleeping infant in her arms.
"She's sleeping now," Debbie said when she looked back up at Emmett. "She won't even know you're holding her." Emmett looked back down at J.R., who was asleep, like Debbie had said. He thought it over. He figured he might as well hold her while she was unconscious, so he could at least say he held her.
"Okay," he said, a bit reluctantly. Debbie turned around, stood on her tippy toes, as Emmett was nearly a foot taller than her, and passed the sleeping girl over to him. He cautiously took the baby into his arms and held her like Debbie had, cradling her so her body was softly turned towards his. He was happy that they had managed to transfer her without waking her up. He started to walk around the room, softly bouncing her to keep her sleeping. Eventually he sat down on the couch, Debbie making her way back to the kitchen so the food she was making didn't burn. A few minutes passed in silence as both adults did what they were doing. When Debbie walked back into the living room, she leaned up against the door frame and smiled to herself, watching Emmett with the baby. She then walked over to the couch and sat down next to him.
"It's not too hard, huh?" she asked as she leaned closer to Emmett and looked at her sleeping granddaughter. Emmett looked up from the baby and smiled down at Debbie as she pulled her legs onto the couch and leaned into the man sitting next to her. They had spent plenty nights watching movies, Debbie using Emmett has a human pillow, so this wasn't an unusual scene for the two of them, except for the appearance of Jenny Rebecca.
"You want her back?" Emmett asked as he watched Debbie peer at the sleeping Jenny Rebecca in his arms. "I've had my fair share of anxiety for the next month," he added as he softly laughed. Debbie also laughed as she took J.R. from Emmett's arms. She moved around on the couch so her back was leaning against Emmett's body and her legs were outstretched on the empty couch. She moved Jenny Rebecca so she was lying against her chest, still asleep. Emmett moved his arm so it was draped around Debbie's shoulders, making their position more comfortable for both adults. Debbie rested her head against Emmett's shoulder.
"What are we watching tonight?" Emmett asked as he looked at the TV.
"I'm not sure, I think it's a Judy Garland marathon tonight," Debbie replied as she looked at TV as well. Debbie started to rub J.R.'s back as Emmett took another look at grandmother and granddaughter.
"This all seems so normal," he said as he laughed. "I'm sure we look like a happy family," he added.
"Yeah, Vic and I did this most nights when Michael was this age," Debbie said as she laughed. "Does it make you want one?" she asked. "Because I do love having grandchildren." She considered all of Michael's her kids, so their offsprings were like her grandchildren.
"Me?" Emmett asked. "Kids?" He hadn't even found the right guy to settle down, let alone think about kids. "I don't even have a steady yet."
"It's okay, baby," Debbie said as she moved her head from where it was placed in the crook of Emmett's shoulder so she was looking up at him. "It'll happen in time," she added. Emmett just smiled at the woman next to him that had become the mother figure he had always wanted as a child. She took him in when he first became friends with Michael like it was meant to be and he appreciated every minute of it. Both of them then looked back at the TV and the rest of the night was spent like any other night, watching a bunch of classic movies.