TITLE: Boundaries
RATING: K
SUMMARY: He should have known better than to bet against Kate.
WARNINGS: Fluuuuuff!
XxX
It didn't take long for Rick to realise that he'd lost control of the situation. It took even less time for Kate to notice and point it out. A little too gleefully he thought, but even given the circumstances he was wise enough not to verbalise.
"I thought you said you knew what you were doing," she commented lightly, trying hard not to laugh at the baffled look on his face.
"I do," he protested.
"Really? Because it sure doesn't look like it."
He shook his head like he couldn't quite believe what had happened. "At least I thought I did. I don't know what went wrong."
"Oh, I've got fairly good idea." And then she couldn't help herself; she laughed. "I did warn you that this could happen."
He turned and with a wicked glint in his eyes said, "If you think it's so easy then you do it."
"Piece of cake," she retorted.
A part of him – a small part that he wasn't particularly proud of – hoped that she had the same trouble he did. But he should have known better than to bet against Kate. She handled it with the same professionalism she handled everything else, and in no time at all she had successfully finished diapering their son without further incident. She negligently passed him a towel to wipe his face, and as he watched his wife bend down to kiss the baby's forehead a serious case of the warm fuzzies settled over him.
"You did that deliberately," he gently accused the baby. "And I was the parent who was going to let you stay up all night and have ice cream for breakfast. Well, no more. It's early to bed and gruel for you."
"He's six weeks old," Kate objected. "I doubt that he can form intent at this age."
"He's smiling at me. You can't tell me that wasn't a deliberate action."
"Well," she pondered, "he is your son so that might actually be a possibility."
"Alexis never did that to me."
"Need I remind you that Alexis is a girl?"
"No, you don't need to remind me. But this baby is trouble."
"Mmmhmm. I'm sure he's going to take after you in that respect."
"I don't suppose we could get a refund?" Rick asked hopefully.
"Nope. He came with a 'no return' policy."
Rick picked up his son. "Then in that case, you're grounded until you're twenty."
The baby gurgled happily and smiled at him again, and the warm fuzzies got warmer and fuzzier. "Okay, you're not grounded. But your first solid food is going to be brussel sprouts."
"That'll teach him."
"He has to learn, Kate."
"What? That he can't pee on his fathers face without consequences?"
"Exactly. It's all about boundaries."
The baby scrunched up his face and squirmed. "Okay, okay," he soothed. "Maybe I was too harsh on you. You don't have to eat brussel sprouts."
"Pushover," Kate coughed.
Rick ignored her. "But you and I need to have a serious talk about your aim."
End