Alexis Castle tried to contain her big grin as she knocked on the door of the loft, but she couldn't. She loved taking care of her little sister Lily. Even after two months, thinking of her sweet little sister gave her a thrill. She was a beautiful baby, a perfect mix of her parents. It always made her happy when her dad or Kate would call and ask if she could watch Lily. They didn't know it, but she would joke to her boyfriend that she would happily pay her dad and stepmom for the opportunity to be with Lily. She'd wanted a little brother or sister since the day she'd found out that such things existed. It had taken awhile, but her dream had come true.
And spending time with Lily was a pleasure. Her dad would order her favorites from the local Chinese restaurant – the ones near her apartment just weren't as good as the ones close to the loft – and as soon as she had eaten, she'd take Lily out of her bassinet or crib, and just hold her. She'd whisper plans for the future as her sister slept. She'd describe the lunches they would do, how she and Dad would teach Lily to play laser tag, and how the two of them would gang up on the adults. (A little part of her brain would laugh at that since Alexis was an adult, but she would tell that part of her brain that she was a kid in that scenario.) She'd talk about they would go shopping together, how they would make breakfast for Dad on Father's Day, and how Mom would teach Lily how to beat Dad at Scrabble, since she was the first member of the family to do so. She told her how much fun Gram is, and how she was so lucky to have Grandpa Jim to spoil her.
The fact was Alexis felt almost guilty for the way her dad and Kate would thank her for watching Lily. It was never hard or a sacrifice to be with her. So since they were going out later than usual today, she had told her dad to skip buying the Chinese food today, she would eat dinner before watching Lily. And as soon as he opened the door, he asked her again if she didn't want some dinner. "No thanks, Dad. I ate at home before I left. Where's my baby sister?" She laughed at her dad's pout.
"You used to be happy to see me, now all you want is Lily!" But even as he said that, his pout turned to a grin. He loved how much his older daughter loved her little sister. He laughed as she rolled her eyes at him. "Kate's with her right now. She's been a little fussy today so Kate wanted an extra cuddle before we left." Alexis nodded as her dad went over the usual stuff. She hid her smile behind the apple she was eating.
"Father, I have your cell number and Kate's number too. I could call Gram or Jim or even Lanie if I needed help. But we all know your daughters are perfect and the two of us will be just fine," she replied and giggled at the look on his face. At the moment, Kate walked into the room, cuddling Lily. "Hey Kate," Alexis said in a soft voice as she walked over to take her sister from her stepmother's arms. "Dad said she's been a bit fussy today. Any special instructions?"
Kate handed her daughter off and just said, "I don't think so. She seems to have settled down. Do you mind rocking her a little before you put her in her bassinet? I think she just needs a little extra attention." Kate smiled as Alexis indicated that wouldn't be a problem. "Thanks so much, Bud. Lily's so lucky to have such a great big sister!" Rick had grabbed her jacket and helped her into it as she finished talking. They both kissed their daughters good bye and walked out the door.
Alexis smiled as she looked at Lily. Her eyes were opened and looking right at her big sister. "Hello, Lily bug. Did you miss me? We haven't seen each other since Sunday. I missed you, cutie." Alexis watched as Lily smiled. Okay, a two month old really didn't smile, but her sister did. She was advanced! She was still looking at Lily when Alexis noticed her eyes were filling with tears. Oh no, and now her little sister's mouth opened and she let out a cry.
Alexis started rocking her, but the tears continued to fall. Alexis started to talk to her – that had always worked before; after all, she was half Castle – but Lily just cried and cried. Alexis tried sitting down and rocking, but Lily just seemed to cry harder. The only thing that seemed to quiet her down was when Alexis walked with her. So she walked back and forth, rocking Lily as she did. After some time of walking and rocking, she decided to see if Lily would be okay if she sat down but Lily cried some more. Alexis got up and walked all over the loft, talking softly to her sister. She noticed the tears were slowing, and she just kept walking and talking. Maybe it was working.
When Lily stopped crying, Alexis rocked her some more, and when she looked down, Lily's eyes were closed. She thought she'd put her in her bassinet, and lowered her as slowly as possible. She let out a sigh of relief when Lily's eyes stayed closed. She stood there and watched her little chest go up and down as she breathed. She backed away and sat down on the couch, and started reading a magazine that was on the table.
That was how her dad and Kate found her when they returned a half an hour later. She told them all was well, she kissed and hugged them, they thanked her, and she left. As she rode down in the elevator, she decided that next time, she'd get the Chinese food!
A/N: Yes, another story that comes from real life. Seventeen years ago, I used to baby sit one of my nieces whenever her parents went to dinner or the movies. They'd get me Chinese food since they had a great restaurant nearby. I started feeling a bit guilty because my niece would sleep while I ate good food and watched TV. So one night when they needed me a little later, I ate at home first. And you guessed it, my niece had a rough night and I had to walk back and forth with her until she fell asleep. And when I left, I swore I'd get my Chinese the next time!