Sybbie was holding tightly on to her father's hand. Today was a big day. Today was the day she was meeting her little brother for the first time.

Tom stopped in front of a door at the far end of the long hospital hallway and lowered himself to his knees to be at his daughter's eye level.

"Ok, Sweetie. Once we're inside, you need to keep calm and talk softly so you won't wake Michael up if he's asleep. And Mummy is quite tired so don't jump or cry or anything else. You can kiss her and hug her but calmly. Alright?"

The little girl nodded eagerly. She wanted to see her mum and meet her little brother. Satisfied that she had understood, Tom opened the door and they stepped inside.

"Morning, love," Tom said softly, almost reverently.

Sybil beamed at him and pushed herself up against the pillows.

"He's sleeping," she answered softly.

She then saw her daughter and gave a silent squeal. The little girl smiled widely then ran to her but stopped abruptly after a few steps, looked at her father with sorrowful eyes before walking slowly to the bed. Tom smiled at his daughter's attitude and winked at Sybil while he helped her up to the bed.

The little girl hugged her mother and put a sloppy kiss on her cheek before her attention was attracted by the crib on the other side of the bed. She fussed in her father's arms and Tom let her get down, taking the opportunity to kiss his wife properly.

Sybbie walked around the bed and went to the crib. She stood on her tiptoes to be able to see inside, then frowned. She turned to her parents, crossed her arms against her chest and pouted.

"What is it, love?" asked Tom.

He knew how Sybbie was eager to meet her brother and how she was probably disappointed that he was asleep so she couldn't hold him or kiss him.

"What is Mr. Rabbit doing in there?" she asked, pointing towards the crib.

Tom and Sybil looked at each other, taken aback by their daughter's question.

"I gave him to Michael so he wouldn't feel alone," answered Sybil.

Sybbie then looked at her father with a reproachful glare.

"I gave it to YOU to give to mummy so SHE wouldn't feel alone," she spat, clearly angry with the whole situation. "Not him." She added, turning slightly to glare at the baby.

"Oh, Sweetie, come here, " said Sybil, patting her bed as Tom didn't know how to react to his daughter's outburst, still overwhelmed by his new paternity. "Dad gave it to me, and it helped a lot. Thank you," she said, hugging her daughter and kissing her hair. "But then, I gave it to Michael so he can get use to your smell and have some comfort while he's alone in his crib for the first time. As a big sister, I'm sure you can understand that he was a little bit afraid of this new world."

Sybbie was listening to her mother adoringly and shyly nodded, overwhelmed at being called a big sister, because she knew that the title came with responsibilities. She stepped down off the bed again and went back to the crib to have another look.

"I guess he can have it, "she finally said, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm a big sister now. I don't need it anymore."

Forgetting all about what had made her previously angry, she turned her attention to her little brother sleeping peacefully. From the bed, her happy parents were watching her with a smile on their faces. Tom was sitting on the bed and was holding Sybil in his arms. They had been trying to persuade her to abandon Mr. Rabbit for months now, at least outside of bedtime, as they thought it was time at four years old. Tom leant and kissed her hair.

"Two problems solved all at once. Well Mrs. Branson, I'm impressed."

Sybil smiled back at him, simply happy to be reunited with her family at last.

the end