Kitty Forman held her granddaughter close as they each waved at the car pulling out of the driveway. Eric and Donna were spending their first night away from their little girl to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. Kitty was more than willing to babysit Katie, and even more excited to be taking care of her overnight. It had been so long since she had taken care of a little one like this and it was something she missed terribly.

"Wave to Daddy and Mommy." She spoke to the little girl as she held her hand up and encouraged her to wave. Katie was still half asleep from the car ride to her grandparents' house and need a little extra encouragement to wave goodbye to her parents.

As soon as the car was out of sight, Kitty began walking towards the sliding glass door. The toddler laid her head against grandma's shoulder and sighed. Katie was a sleeper and clearly was not finished with her nap.

In a soft voice Kitty said "Let's go inside and find your Grandpa Red. Oh, he's going to be so happy to see you."

Together they walked through the sliding glass door into the kitchen and continued through the swinging door into the living room where they found Red dosing in his green chair.

"Well, aren't you two peas in a pod." She said with her trademark giggle.

At the sound of his wife's laugh, Red stirred from his slumber.

He wiped his eyes and spoke. "When did the kid get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago. Eric and Donna just left. Would you mind taking her for a bit while I grab her things and get her room ready?"

Kitty had a crib set up in Eric's old room and was so happy to be able to finally use it.

"Come here, sweetheart." Red reached out for his granddaughter. Kitty leaned down toward her husband's outstretched arms and Katie went to him easily. The young girl had spent enough time with her grandparents and was quite comfortable with both of them. She quickly snuggled into Red's chest and began to nod off again.

Kitty swiped her hand through the baby's hair. "Okay, I'll be right back. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Red let out a gruff sigh. "Kitty, I have done this before."

"I know. I know. It has been a few years though." She said as she gave her husband a wink.

He gave her a sarcastic smile. "We'll be fine."

Kitty smiled back at him and began to walk back towards the swinging door.

As soon as Kitty was out of earshot, Red whispered to his granddaughter. "Your grandma worries too much."

Within a few moments of lying on her grandpa's chest, Katie appeared to be out cold. Red decided to take advantage of the moment and rest his eyes too.

Kitty walked back through the living room with Katie's bag and began the walk up the stairs. She smiled down at her husband and granddaughter and made a mental note to take a picture when she returned downstairs.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Red, honey! You and Katie need to wake up. We will never get her to sleep tonight if you two snooze all evening…"

As Kitty rounded the base of the stairs, she noticed her husband was asleep in the chair, but Katie was nowhere to be seen. Red began to stir slightly to the sound of Kitty's bellowing, but had yet to fully wake.

"Red! Where is Katie?"

Red quickly opened his eyes and felt around his chest. When there was no sign of his granddaughter, he was instantly pulled from sleep and sat up in his chair quite alarmed.

In a panicked voice he responded. "I don't know…last I remember she was right here."

Anxiously Kitty responded, "Eric mentioned before they left the driveway that she was becoming more mobile. I'll check the kitchen."

"Damn it!" Red swore, frustrated with himself.

Kitty headed through the swinging door and Red went the opposite direction towards the den.

"Katie! Katie!" Kitty screamed.

The sound of his wife frantically calling out for their granddaughter made Red sick. He should have never fallen asleep.

He was almost through then den into the dining room when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

Katie was curled up on a stack of throw blankets that Kitty had placed behind the chair in the den. Next to her was an assortment of books that were all strung about. She had obviously been playing with them before she fell asleep.

Red felt his heartbeat slow down as he yelled in the direction of his wife. "It's okay, Kitty. I found her." Red then leaned against the doorway and took a deep breath.

He was amazed that even with the ruckus her grandparents were making; the girl was still asleep and content. He continued to peer down at the sweet girl as Kitty ran into the den from the dining room.

"Oh, thank God!" Kitty exclaimed as she barreled through the doorway. Her hands went from her head to over her chest. "That scared me." She spoke again with an awkward chuckle. "How on earth did she end up back there in the first place?"

"I have no idea. She reminds me of Eric though. If I remember right…we used to always find him asleep in strange places too." Red stated with a chuckle.

"Oh yeah…like that time we found him asleep in the flower bed in the backyard?"

Red rolled his eyes. "I forgot about that one. I was actually thinking about when we were at Ma's that one time…you remember?" Kitty shrugged her shoulders and Red continued. "You and Laurie were helping Ma in the kitchen and I was supposed to be watching Eric. I got a little too into the Packer's game and Eric disappeared in the meantime. We eventually found him asleep under the bed in the back bedroom."

"Oh…that's right. I remember." Kitty let out one of her famous laughs. "You don't have the best track record, do you?"

Red was just about to respond with a smart ass comment of his own when the couple noticed a pair of green eyes staring up at them.

"Hi sweetheart…did you have a nice nap?" Kitty squeezed behind the chair and bent down to pick the girl up. Katie let out a squeal in the process. Kitty gave her a kiss on the temple and spoke to her in a soft voice. "You scared your grandpa and me…you have to stay where we can see you…" she said as she walked back towards Red.

Red tickled the girl's foot with his hand and she let out a giggle and reached out towards her grandpa in response. Red took her into his arms and held her close. Kitty couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she watched them together.

Katie laid her head on her grandpa's shoulder as he spoke to his wife. "You know…it feels like yesterday…" Red paused and Kitty gave her husband a questioning look that encouraged him to continue. "…that we were holding our kids this way." He finished while looking at Katie.

Kitty let out a smile and her eyes began to get misty with unshed tears. Getting her husband to talk about his feelings was something that rarely happened. It was obvious that the fear he felt from losing his grandbaby for a few minutes was causing him to be reflective. Kitty didn't want the moment to end.

"It's like we blinked and thirty years went by." Kitty chuckled

Red reached out for his wife's hand and looked into her eyes. "I wouldn't change a single thing."

Kitty smiled "Neither would I, honey."

The End