Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. Any other character is a figment of my imagination and any similarities to real persons is merely a coincidence

This story is definitely AU. The characters have the same physical appearance as in J.E.'s books; however I have changed ages of some characters. This is a Babe HEA and Cupcake fans may not be happy as Joe is now dead and so are Frank and Helen Plum. They were killed off in the original story. References may be made to any of the books in the series so if you haven't read them all, you may want to wait to read this. That said...

Chapter 9: Rafael's First Tooth

Rafael's POV:

Damn! What the hell is that in my mouth! Ow! It Hurts! MOMMA! MOMMA! Suddenly momma comes rushing into my room still in her jammies. She quickly picks me up and cuddles me close. I snuggle into her thinking, 'It hurts momma!' I feel her gently probing and the love she gives off makes the hurting diminish slightly. She walks us out to the kitchen and runs cold water over a clean cloth before gently pressing it on my gums. 'Oh momma that feels good. I don't like that pain!'

I feel her talking to me in my head, 'Its okay Rafael. Momma's here and I'll make it better. Shh baby, momma's got you now.'

I lay against her as she rummages in the refrigerator and pulls out a ring. She slides that between the cloth and puts it in my mouth. Oh, that's nice and cool, but not too cold and it sure does feel better than that pain. Momma carries me back into my room and sits down in the rocking chair. She rocks us back and forth as she holds the cold cloth to my mouth. Pretty soon I start to get sleepy and close my eyes. For a while I can forget the pain in my mouth because the cold momma put there makes it not hurt so bad.

Stephanie's POV:

When I heard Rafael yelling for me and I knew he was in pain, I couldn't get to him fast enough. Hearing his cries of pain was like getting my heart rip to shreds. I quickly picked him up and slipped inside so I could see what was causing my baby so much pain. When I realized it was his gums that were hurting, I knew what the problem was. Rafael was cutting his first tooth. I'd bought some firm rubber teething rings a few weeks ago and put them in the fridge. I pulled one out and slipped it between the folded cloth I had just used to massage his gums. I carried him into the nursery and sat holding him and rocking as I held the cool teething ring in his mouth. Once I was sure he was sleeping, I laid him down and ran back to shower and dress. I wanted to do some research before he woke up again.

I booted up my lap top and googled teething. I ran down the information and decided I was on the right track. I had massaged Rafael's gums with the cool cloth before placing the firm rubber teether between the folds of the cloth and holding that to his mouth. I was glad I had gone with my first instinct and not placed the teethers in the freezer though because contact with extreme cold can be harmful. I made note of the other tips the site offered and had just finished when I heard Rafael stirring. I went in and noticed he was just opening his eyes and he didn't look happy. The pain must be coming back. I lifted him and quickly bathed him and got him dressed in blue sweats. I put socks on his feet but skipped the shoes. I wanted him to be as comfortable as possible.

Once I had him dressed I carried him out to the kitchen. Ranger was just coming in. He took one look at me and enfolded us in his arms. "What's the matter Babe?"

"Rafael woke up in pain this morning. I'm pretty sure he's cutting a tooth."

Ranger rubbed Rafael's back and talked soothingly to him. I rested my head against Ranger's chest. We were still standing there a few minutes later when Ella walked in. She looked surprised to see us. Considering she was usually gone before we were ready for breakfast, I understood her surprise. I turned and grimaced. "Rafael seems to be cutting is first tooth."

"Oh dear. Is there anything special I can do?"

"We just need to make sure there is a supply of teething rings in the fridge. Also, it seems that chilled hard food like carrots or cucumbers can help but they have to be peeled and we need to watch out that he doesn't get pieces in his mouth because he might choke on them. We can try Tylenol or motrin but no teething medicines that have benzocaine because that has been associated with a rare but serious condition that reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood called methemoglobinemia. We also need to make sure he stays dry when he drools, so maybe we should have a supply of clean wash cloths in every room."

Ella nodded, "Should I fill some bottles to get cool?"

I nodded, "That's a good idea, but we need to use water because prolonged contact with sugar from juice, milk, or formula can cause tooth decay."

I tried to put Rafael in his highchair, but he was clingy and didn't want to let go. I felt bad because there wasn't going to be much I could do to stop the pain from occurring each time he cut a tooth, all I could do was the best I could to relieve his symptoms. Needless to say, I sat down with Rafael in my lap. Ranger brought me over a syringe with Tylenol in it and I told Rafael that this would help so the pain wasn't so bad. He let me empty the medicine in his mouth and swallowed it. I moved my shirt so he could nurse. His mouth must really be hurting because he only made a small attempt to nurse. I found I was having a hard time eating as well because I hated that he was in pain.

It took 5 days for the tooth to break through, and another 2 days before Rafael was back to his old self. I had gone in to pick him up to get him ready for the day, and there he was sitting in his crib. When he saw me he smiled, showing off his 2 new teeth on his bottom gum in the front. I returned his smile and lifted him into my arms.

Rafael's POV:

I felt miserable. My mouth hurt so bad. Momma did as much as she could to help with the pain, but it didn't take it all away. I had a hard time eating anything. I liked the hard carrots and cucumbers momma and Ella kept in the fridge for me. They were pretty tasty. I liked it when momma massaged my gums and when she'd hold the teething ring to my mouth so I could chew on it. She was forever wiping my chin to keep it dry. The medicine helped a little, but it also made me sleepy and I didn't like sleeping all the time.

I couldn't believe it when the pain let up after the teeth broke through. There was still a little pain, but it was lots better. Then this morning, no pain. When momma came in my room, I was sitting in my bed and I smiled. 'How do you like my new teeth momma?'

She smiled at me and lifted me into her arms. She gave me a bath and got me dressed. Jeans, light blue sweatshirt, socks and sneakers. No more slouching around in sweats and no shoes huh? Momma carried me into the kitchen and buckled me into my highchair. She went and opened a jar of cereal for me and brought it over. I scarfed it down I was so hungry. I hadn't been eating so good the past week because of the pain. In no time the cereal was gone and I was looking at momma like, 'What did you do with my food?' Momma wiped my face and let me nurse.

Dad was surprised when he came in and I was already done. Momma sat me back in my chair so I could visit with them while they ate. Man that food sure looked good. Gee, is there drool on my chin here momma? I watched as momma got a bite of her pancakes onto her fork and put it in her mouth. She moaned and I rolled my eyes. You're killin' me here momma. I'm still starving! Just then she turns and looks at me and smiles. She cuts a small piece of pancake and gets it on her fork before lifting it to my mouth. I open up and OH! YUM! That is some righteous food there. Man that stuff tastes good. How about another bite momma? Yes! She's cutting it, scooping it up, and…SCORE! YUM! Damn that's good shit!

I look up and see momma looking at me with her eyebrow raised, oops! Sorry momma. I'll keep a lid on the language. Momma smiled and I grinned at her before turning to dad. When momma gave me another bite, dad gave her a pained look. Huh? What's up with the look dad? Then dad just shakes his head and says, "Try not to give him too much sugar will you Babe."

Momma smiles and I can't help laughing. What is this aversion to sugar dad has?