Big Brother Matthew
Sarah McGee stood by the doorway of her nephew's room and found him lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Matthew's room is that of an average eight year old; dirty clothes lying on the floor, toys upon his shelves and a picture frame with a photo of him, Tim and Ziva on his bedside table. "Hey there Matt."
He lifted his head to see who it is, "Hi Aunt Sarah."
"Can I come in?"
"Sure."
"So what are you doing?" Sarah asked.
"Nothing, just thinking," Matthew said and then laid back down placing one arm behind his head, using it as a pillow.
"Thinking about what?"
"Things," Matthew said simply.
"Things like the new baby?" She asked her nephew.
"Yeah," Matthew said.
Sarah took notice of Matthew's tone, "You don't sound too happy. Don't you like the new baby?"
"No, I do," He said, "I like the new baby."
"Are you upset that instead of a baby brother, you have a baby sister?"
He shook his head, "No, I like my new sister."
Sarah sat on top of his bed, "Then what's wrong?"
Matthew sat up, "Well to tell you the truth Aunt Sarah, I don't think my sister likes me."
"What would you think something like that Matthew?" Sarah asked.
"Whenever I get close to her, she cries," He said. "Even when she's sleeping and I get close, she cries. It's like she knows I'm there."
"She a baby, crying is her way of communicating," Sarah explained to Matthew.
"But she cries more often when I'm around," Matthew said. He looks down towards his floor, "What do I have to do to make her like me?"
Sarah placed her hand on his back and rubbed up and down, "She does like you Mattie. She even loves you, just give her time."
Matthew looked at his aunt, "Are you sure about that Aunt Sarah?"
Sarah gave Matthew a smile, "Trust me, even though they don't show it, all little sisters love their older brothers."
Matthew smiled back and hugged her, "Thanks Aunt Sarah."
She hugged him back and planted a kiss on his forehead, "No problem Mattie."
Later That Night
Matthew made his way back to his bedroom after using the bathroom. As he passed his sister's nursery, he heard noises coming from inside. He stood outside the room, contemplating wheatear or not to go inside, knowing his sister will cry whenever he's near. He hears the noises again and decides to go inside and investigate.
Matthew enters what used to be his parents' guestroom and walks toward his sister's crib. He finds her staring at the mobile their dad set up for her, 'She must want it to start up again.'
He looks back to his sister and sees her staring at him now, "Hi there."
Just like Matthew, his sister has inherited features from both of their parents. But unlike her brother, she has Tim's skin color and Ziva's brown eyes.
Matthew continued to watch his sister, "Umm…" He couldn't think what to say. As he watched his sister, she watched him.
He cleared his throat, "I don't think I had the chance to properly introduce myself; my name is Matthew, I'm your big brother."
His sister let out a little yawn.
"You already met our mom and dad," Matthew continued, "as well as Grandpa Ducky, Grandpa Gibbs, Uncle Tony, Aunt Abby and their kids Emily and Michael."
"I don't know why I'm even doing this, you're not going remember this, you don't even understand me, but here goes," He took a deep breath, "I promise to be the best big brother in the history of big brothers." Matthew stuck his hand in his sister's crib and softly caressed her cheek, "I love you…..Talia."
"She loves you too."
Matthew turned around and saw his dad standing by the door. "What are you doing in here Abba?" 'I got to learn when people are sneaking up on me.'
Tim walked towards his children, "I overheard you on the monitor."
Matthew looked back into the crib and noticed the baby monitor at the far corner. "So you heard everything I said."
Tim nodded, "I did." He stood next to his son, looking at his baby girl.
"Where's mom?" Matthew asked.
"She's sleeping. She's had a long day," Tim said to Matthew. He reached his hand in the crib and placed the blanket over Talia, "You're a very lucky girl Tali; you have a brother who is willing to bend over backwards for you."
Matthew nodded, "Yeah I will."
"Alright, you can start being a big brother tomorrow and well into the future. But for now, go straight to bed," Tim said to his son.
"Okay, Good night Abba," Matthew said and looked back to his sister, "Good night Tali."
"Good night Matt," Tim said as he watched him walk back to his own bedroom.
Matthew settled back into his bed. The worries of today were gone from his head, thanks to his aunt's words and his dad's confidence in him.
As he began to drift off to sleep, he remembered the last words his dad said to him, 'Into the future.'
'The future?' Matthew thought. 'I wonder what that will be like.'
FIN