Ryan peeked into the nursery, checking to see that Sophie was still sleeping soundly; he smiled to himself while listening to her steady breathing. Content that she was safe, he headed back downstairs to his books. Midterms were coming up next week, and his exams were going to be hard; studying to be an architect was a lot of work. He loved it though; he loved challenging himself, and the fact that he was working so hard for something instilled him with a sense of quiet pride. This babysitting gig was perfect for him, too; he got away from the noisy dorms and Sophie's naps created the perfect time to study.

He sat down on the couch, pulling a heavy "History of Architecture" textbook into his lap. He was ready to skim the highlights when his cell phone rang. He looked at the ID and shook his head.

"Seth. I've talked to you three times today. What could you possibly have left to tell me?" Seth sounded affronted on the other end.

"Can't a guy just call another guy without having something to day?"

"No, man. He cannot," Ryan answered simply.

"Dude, I miss our Seth/Ryan time. Why isn't it next weekend already?" Seth whined into his cell phone. Ryan smiled to himself; next weekend, after his midterms were done, he was flying to Rhode Island to visit Seth at RISD. He hadn't been there yet, and was excited to see Seth in his new environment.

"Good question, man. I still have three midterms to get through, plus a paper and a lab rep-,"

"That sucks, Ryan, but back to me for a second." Ryan barely even blinked at this interruption, used to being cut off by Seth. "I have to "broaden my portfolio," according to my self-righteous advisor, keep my psycho roommate out of the room as much as possible, and my girlfriend is surrounded by Che-like characters while she's off saving the world," Seth complained. "College is complicated." Ryan let out a wry laugh.

"You're telling me." Ryan was once again interrupted, but this time by a loud crying coming from upstairs. "Oh, Seth, Sophie's awake. I've gotta go." Ryan hung up his phone, not even bothering to wait for Seth's response.

He entered the nursery, in all its pink glory. Looking down into the crib, he saw his little sister staring back up at him, her face red and splotchy from all her yelling.

"Hello, Trouble! Did you have a nice nap?" Sophie gurgled. "Are you hungry? I'll bet you are! Let's get you some supper. Up you go!" Ryan picked up the three-month-old, tucking her carefully into the crook of his arm. Carrying her downstairs, he put her in her high chair and started to prepare her bottle. Again, his cell phone rang. He didn't even bother to check the ID, "Seth…can't you wait five minutes?" A voice very unlike Seth's answered from the other line, seeming to come from far away.

"Ryan? It's Taylor." Ryan almost dropped the phone. This call was very much unexpected. He and Taylor had tried really hard for the first month they were apart, but they just weren't cut out for a long distance relationship. Taylor was enjoying her freedom in France, and Ryan was testing the waters of adulthood at Berkeley, and they had finally come to the conclusion that it was just best to put the relationship on the back burner for a little while. There had been a few awkward phone calls at first, but for the past two months, they hadn't really communicated except for the occasional e-mail.

"Hey, Taylor. What's going on?" Ryan asked, squeezing the phone between his ear and shoulder as he fed the baby.

"Nothing much. I just…wanted to talk to you."

"Oh, okay," he replied. There was a moment of awkward silence. Ryan knew that Taylor obviously needed something, because no one in their right mind would put up with this kind of phone call just to chat.

"Actually, I was hoping you could do me a favor," Taylor said from the other end of the line.

"Sure. What do you need?"