Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Just a "little" one shot for you.

Scott scowled as he sat on the bottom of the stairs, watching the door intently. He knew that it would only be a matter of moments before the door opened and his life would change dramatically. He might have only been four, but that didn't mean that he was any more prepared for things to change than John had been about taking his first steps. It was harder to say who had been more stunned between his baby brother and his parents when he had suddenly decided he had had enough of crawling and decided to walk.

But that was just the problem!

John was his baby brother, he didn't need another!

It had been fun going to the hospital and to watch everything happen around him, and it had been even better to see his parents. They looked tired but happy, and that was good enough for Scott. They had told him that he had another brother and showed him the tiny bundle. Scott had looked, then looked back up to his father with his arms outstretched. He wanted a hug more than he wanted a brother, but luckily his father had understood and picked him up. Then he had been told to be good boy and look after Johnny until his parents had come home and that had been good as well, because if there was one thing Scott loved doing, it was looking after his brother.

He had done just that and even helped his grandmother put his brother to bed, beaming with pride when she had told him that he had been a good boy. He knew that meant he had done what his parents wanted.

But that didn't mean they did what he wanted.

He didn't want another brother. John was okay, because he couldn't be an awesome big brother if he didn't have at least one younger than him. But despite his age, he remembered what it was like when they had first brought him home. All John had done was cry the whole time, and it made his mommy and daddy tired and then they were all grouchy even though they didn't mean to be. Then all their friends had come round. For the previous two years, they had come around to see him and tell him what a big boy he was becoming and how much he had grown. Then suddenly, they barely spared him a glance, maybe the occasional pat on the head. All of their attention had been on John and Scott had felt left out.

Yet it was okay, because he was a big brother so he could handle it.

But he didn't want that to happen again. He didn't need another brother and he didn't want to just be passed his crayons and told to occupy himself like a big boy. As much as he liked proving himself to the adults in his life, especially when it came to looking after John, he also liked it when his dad spent time with just him or his mom gave him cookies when she picked him up from school. He knew that wouldn't happen in the same way once they brought the baby home because she would have him in one hand and John in the other. It was only because the baby had looked up at him (or, at least, had appeared too) from his mom's arms when he had been held by his dad that Scott had admitted that they could keep that one rather than trying to find a better one.

It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the baby, just that Scott didn't want him.

Scott sighed in a melodramatic way, arms folded across the tops of his knees, wondering how long he was going to have to sit here. As if the thoughts had left his head and floated towards the object in question, the door began to open. His father walked in first, his arms full of belongings that Scott knew his mom had taken into the hospital with her. He had his back to Scott, not turning around as he held the door for his mom and Scott just about bit back another sigh. Had it started already?

For a moment, Scott forgot that he was planning to ignore the baby as his mom walked through the door and he automatically jumped to his feet. There was a blue blanket in her arms that seemed to shift ever so slightly as Scott watched and the young boy found there was a smile on his face before he caught himself and quickly shifted his expression back to a scowl before anyone saw. He knew that he was going to have to make a point in order for them to take the baby back, and any sign that he didn't mind the squirming bundle too much would undermine his case.

Luckily, by the time his father finally turned around, the scowl was back on Scott's face. He expected the man to immediately notice and ask him what was wrong, but all that happened was a hand rested comfortingly on his head for a moment before he headed through to the kitchen. Scott stared, dumbfounded. He turned his attention back to his mother, only to find that she had already moved through to the lounge. Scott moved to the door, one hand resting on the doorframe as he peered in, watching as she cradled and smiled down at the bundle.

That smile had always been for him. It was bad enough that he had to share it with John now, but surely it would lose its magic if it was now split three ways?

"Is Johnny in bed, kiddo?" Scott jumped at the murmur, seeing his dad was heading towards the lounge himself. Scott nodded, seeing his grandmother sitting in the chair opposite the sofa, leaning forward also smiling.

"I helped Gran'ma, Daddy. I got Johnny into bed."

"Good boy." And then, to Scott's horror, his dad moved into the lounge to sit next to his mother, moving the blanket back with one hand. He too was smiling down at the baby.

That also was his look.

Knowing that no one would notice, Scott moved away from the door and ran up the stairs as fast as he could. Despite his annoyance, he made sure that he was almost silent as he pushed open John's door. The nightlight was enough to allow him to creep into his brother's room and not fall over anything. He stopped by the bed, staring down at the figure in it. The covers were tucked right up under John's chin and a lock of hair fell across his brother's forehead. Scott held his breath, carefully reached out and pushed it out of the way, freezing when John snuffled slightly. Nothing happened apart from the toddler slipping his thumb into his mouth and Scott breathed easy again before slipping out.

He knew that he would be in trouble if they knew he had been in John's room while his brother was sleeping. But what else was he supposed to do? They weren't going to come up and check on him, not when they had the baby to deal with. It would have to be up to Scott to look after John. But now that he had done that, what was he supposed to do now?

Scott stood at the top of the stairs, biting his lip as one hand twisted in the bottom of his top. He wanted to go down, wrap himself around his dad's legs until he was lifted onto the man's lap and given a hug until he fell asleep. But as the sound of a high cry filtered out through the lounge and up the stairs, Scott knew he wouldn't be allowed tonight. The low murmur of voices indicated that someone was moving across the lounge and suddenly, Scott didn't want to be there.

He scrambled back from the top of the stairs and scurried into his own room, throwing himself into bed and yanking the covers up. He wasn't a moment too soon as he heard footsteps come up the stairs and then John's door opening again. It meant that John hadn't been forgotten about, but that did nothing to soothe Scott. When his own door was opened, he quickly shut his eyes.

"Scotty?" It was his mom, and her hand was running through his hair. Scott sniffed, burying himself deeper.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?"

"You don't need me! John's big brother now, you don't need me!" Scott tried to be big like they had always wanted him to. But when the covers were pulled down and he was looking into his mother's caring face, he could only burst into tears and throw his arms around her neck.

"I don't wanna be forgotted about 'gain," he spluttered, his emotions making his words stumble over themselves. He lost himself to the feeling of being held in his mother's arms, eventually even forgetting what he was crying about. He didn't realise that he had been so busy running around helping his grandmother that he had utterly exhausted himself. Eventually, the emotions took their toll and he didn't even have the chance to explain before he had fallen asleep, half in the bed and half being held by his mother. The last thought in his mind before he drifted off was that despite now being split three ways, her touch hadn't lost any of its power just yet.

-x-

It was dark when Scott awoke, and he was warm and comfortable. Even before he had opened his eyes he knew that he had been tucked into bed properly. For a moment, Scott contemplated simply snuggling back down and letting himself drift off to sleep. He was certainly peaceful enough too.

But then he heard it. It must have been the noise that had drawn him from his rest in the first place as the cries of a new infant filled his room. Scott sighed in the way his father did when John didn't want to go in the bath and slipped from his bed, his feet finding his slippers even in the dark. Once he was up, he pulled on a jumper that had been left in his room, realising by the way it fell practically to the floor that it was his father's. Somehow, that gave him the willpower to carry on with his journey and he slipped from the room.

Once on the landing, he paused again. He could see there was a light on downstairs and if he strained his ears over the cries, he could make out the murmur of voices. No doubt his parents were down there getting whatever they needed to stop the baby from crying. But they had left the baby up here, right where he could wake Scott up. Wondering if it was part of some sort of plan, Scott followed the noise and found himself in his parents' room. There was a lamp on, providing just enough light for Scott to see by as he padded across the room.

Resting on a small stand was a basket. Scott was only just tall enough to be able to peer in, but he felt his previous scowl appear when he saw the small bundle inside, his face red from where he was crying.

"Shh, baby," Scott muttered, annoyed. The last thing he expected was for the baby to actually do as he was told. The cries stopped and the tiny face screwed up in confusion. Scott blinked.

"You waked me up, no more crying, baby." He mumbled and was rewarded with another noise. It wasn't a cry though, it was more like a gurgle. Almost a noise of satisfaction if Scott was honest and he knew that his scowl was fading despite his best efforts to mimic the look he knew his father could carry off at times.

"Mommy and Daddy have to go sleep too, 'kay? So no more crying." He was rewarded with another gurgle, and Scott took a step towards the door. Instantly, the gurgle turned back into cries.

"Stop it, baby. I'm coming back, just gonna help you sleep." Scott scurried from the room, but the baby didn't do as he was told this time. He didn't stop crying until Scott had made it back, a well-loved book clutched under one arm. Telling the infant to be quiet again, Scott sat down, opened the pages and let his fingers follow the words. He liked to pretend that he was reading it, but he was actually just saying the first thing that came into his head. Still, his mommy and daddy both opened the book and said words and Scott always fell asleep. Maybe it would work for the baby as well?

To his utter astonishment, it did. He had no idea if the baby was asleep or not, but he had stopped crying. The quiet was enough for Scott to quickly lose his place on the page and begin to drift back off to sleep where he was, despite the fact that that was curled up on the floor in his mom and dad's room. The next thing he knew, there were strong arms holding him close and Scott sleepily wrapped his own arms around his dad's neck as he was carried back to bed without opening his eyes.

"Are you looking out for the baby already, little man?" Scott shook his head even as he yawned.

"No, Daddy. Helping Virgie go to sleep."

Scott was asleep again before he even made it to his own room. It meant that he didn't see the smile on his father's face as he was again tucked back into bed and the covers lovingly pulled up around him. He didn't realise that he had just used the baby's name for the first time, or that there had been fondness in his tone.

But Scott did realise that perhaps his baby brother wasn't so bad after all and maybe he would let his parents keep him. As long as he promised not to cry all the time like that. Besides, John would need a big brother simply to show him how to be a big brother. As Scott fell asleep for the final time that night, he supposed that having two little brothers wasn't so bad after all.