It is not easy to be crafty and winsome at the same time, and few accomplish it after the age of six. ~John W. Gardner and Francesca Gardner Reese

There was, of all things, a baby in David Rossi's house. When he'd had the house built, a baby was the last thing he'd ever pictured there. Yet, there was a baby there and he brought his five year old sister with him. To make matters infinitely worse, they were both spending the night.

He wasn't sure what Julie was thinking when she offered to watch her brother's children, while he and his wife spent the weekend at some bed and breakfast in Williamsburg. Sure, for the first night that Michael and Brynne were away from the baby, it made perfect sense to have it housed within a half hour drive, but did it have to be his house?

Not that he disliked babies or children, for that matter. He loved kids, had a couple of nieces and nephews of his own, but he never felt an overwhelming desire for "alone time" with any of them.

"Uncle Dave?" began a small voice, pulling him from his thoughts.

He looked down to find the source of the voice. Mariana Leigh DeVitto stood all of three feet tall. Her light brown hair hung in soft curls to her shoulders and her large brown eyes held all of the wonder that the eyes of a five year old could. She was cute enough to be on some Christmas toy advertisement. But, Rossi discovered, she had a dictatorial streak that rivaled Fidel Castro, especially when it involved playing with her Barbies.

"What's up, Mariana?"

"C'n we take Roscoe for a walk now?" she asked, batting those big brown eyes at him.

"I've got to check with Aunt Julie and see when dinner will be ready," he said, watching as the miniature brows furrowed. Damn, she reminded him of Julie when she did that.

"She's with Mikey," she dismissed, "He crapped his pants again."

"Mariana," he said, holding back the laugh that wanted to come out, "You shouldn't use language like that."

She shrugged, "That's what he did."

He couldn't argue with her logic, although he knew he should. "Well, let me see what's up with them and then we'll see about that walk, okay?"

"K," she said, picking up a book and settling herself on the leather sofa. "I'll wait here."

Shaking his head, Rossi walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the guest bedroom. He walked in to find Julie dressing three month old Michael, Jr. He stopped, just out of her line of site and watched as she talked to the baby, drawing a drooly smile from him. Michael, Jr, known as Mikey, had his father's brown hair and brown eyes. As Pete said, he looked like a "true DeVitto child". Mariana had too much of her mother's blonde, fair skinned look to be a "true DeVitto child", although, she was the apple of Pete's eye.

Julie was good with kids, something he'd known from the beginning. Despite her firm protestations that she didn't really want to have children, he'd always thought she'd make a great mother.

"Come on, Mikey," Julie cooed to the baby, "Let's go see what your sister's up to."

Mikey must have liked this idea, because he grinned and drooled more.

"We already know that your Uncle David had been watching us," she quipped, still in the cooing tone.

Rossi laughed, "And here I thought I was being stealthy."

"Is that a word?" she laughed, carrying the baby to him.

"Don't know, but it worked," he dismissed. "Mariana wants to take Roscoe for a walk."

"She's been wanting to do that since they got here."

"You think it's a good idea?" he asked, following her down the stairs.

"Yeah, just make sure she's dressed warm enough," she said, as she reached the bottom of the stairs, only to be greeted by Mariana and Roscoe.

"Aun' Julie!" Mariana began, hopping up and down. "Uncle Dave and me are gonna take Roscoe out, okay?"

"Just make sure the two of you are bundled up, it's getting cold outside," Julie said.

"I got my hat and mittens," Mariana seriously replied, then fixed Rossi with a pointed look, "Do you?"

"I don't need a hat and mittens," he dismissed.

Mariana folded her arms across her chest, "Uncle Dave, its cold. You'll get sick."

"Yeah, Uncle Dave," Julie snickered, carrying Mikey into the kitchen and sitting him in his high chair.

Rossi opened his mouth to shoot back a reply, but thought better of it. "How about I just put on a hat, okay?"

"You got one?" Mariana asked, studying him, doubt written on his features.

"Yes, I have several," he returned, smartly. He walked to the coat closet, with Mariana on his heels. Opening the door, he reached in for his well worn Yankees cap, but his motion was stopped by Mariana's voice.

"That's not a warm hat," she said, causing him to turn his head towards her. "This is a warm hat." She held up her knit hat. It was pink and sparkly and had a huge pompom on the top. "You got one of these?"

"No," he shook his head, "I don't."

"Let me see what you got," she said, standing on tip toe to see the hats on the top shelf.

"This hat is warm," he assured her, setting the Yankees cap on his head.

She shook her head, "I don't think so. How about that one?" She pointed up to the shelf, her finger sitting squarely on his fleece lined, camouflage hunting cap, complete with ear flaps. It was great for sitting in a duck blind on a cold morning, but not something to wear for a walk in the woods.

"It's too warm," he protested, taking his coat from the closet. "That's for when it snows."

"It might snow," she said, not giving an inch. "I think you should wear it."

"Mariana," he began, but she cut him off.

"If you catch a cold, Aun' Julie's gonna be mad."

Shaking his head, he removed the Yankees cap and reached for his hunting cap. After putting it on, he looked down to find Mariana's approving smile. "How's that?"

"Good," she agreed, "Where's my coat?"

He helped Mariana into her pink parka, and then helped her with her hat and gloves. After pulling on his coat, he called Roscoe, who came charging to the foyer.

"Does he need a leash?" Mariana asked, as Rossi opened the door.

He shook his head, "He's trained not to run away…"

"You guys leaving?" Julie's voice began, causing them both to turn.

"We got our hats and gloves," Mariana proudly said.

"I can see that," Julie replied, holding back a laugh. "You might wanna put those ear flaps down, Uncle Dave. Don't want your ears getting cold."

Fixing her with a smart look, he opened the front door, "Come on, guys, let's go for our walk."

One of the most obvious results of having a baby around the house is to turn two good people into complete idiots who probably wouldn't have been much worse than mere imbeciles without it. ~Georges Courteline

It was only 9:30, but David Rossi was exhausted. He would never admit it to Julie, but while she spent her day tending to the needs of four month old Mikey, Mariana ran him ragged. He wondered what in the hell Julie's brother was thinking having children. The man was nearly 47 years old and he had an infant.

"Is she asleep?" Julie asked, watching as he walked into the bedroom.

He nodded, "I had to read her book twice, but she finally went to sleep."

"What did you read her?"

"Goodnight Moon?" he asked, watching as Julie smiled,

"That's her favorite."

He shrugged, sitting on the bed next to her. She was holding Mikey on her lap as he happily gummed his fist.

"Does that fist taste good, Kid?" he asked, causing Mikey's eyes to lock onto his.

"I'm guessing it does," she mused, then, excitedly, "Oh, wanna see something cool?"

"Sure…"

"Watch this," she lay the baby down on the bed, stomach down. Leaning over him, she softly called his name, "Mikey…show Uncle David how you roll over."

Rossi raised a brow, watching as the baby slowly but surely worked his way into a roll.

"There he goes…" Julie grinned, watching as the baby rolled over onto his back and, spotting her, grinned one of his drooly grins. "That's my boy!" she said, scooping him up into her arms.

"You're loving this aren't you?" he asked, watching as she settled the baby into her arm.

"It's fun to babysit," she responded, picking up his bottle from the night stand, "Didn't you enjoy Mariana today?"

He laughed, "She wore me out. I don't know how your brother does it."

"He did kinda wait a while to do the kid thing," she agreed, watching as the baby drank from his bottle. "Of course, he waited a while to do the marriage thing, too. My parents were starting to wonder if he was gay."

"He was just waiting for the right time," Rossi offered.

"Yeah, or something like that," she softly laughed, being careful not to disturb Mikey who'd started to fall asleep. "Once we get him down, we've got about six hours before he wakes up again."

Rossi looked at the clock radio on the nightstand. It read 9:45. Adding six hours to that, he winced, "3:45? Can't he stretch it a couple of hours?"

"He may, he didn't nap this afternoon, and he was too over stimulated."

"Let's try to push it to 5:30, okay, Kid?" he asked, gently stroking the baby's dark hair. "Cut your Aunt and Uncle a little bit of a break."

"If he stretches it til 5:30, you can get him when you get up," she teased. "Should I put the monitor on your side of the bed?"

"Monitor? What monitor?"

"The baby monitor," she nodded at the white plastic receiver on her night stand. It resembled a walkie talkie. "Didn't you notice the base unit sitting between the bed and the porta crib?"

"What the hell? You mean you bugged the kids' room?" he laughed.

"Year, sorta," she allowed. "This way, we'll hear them if anything goes on."

"Great, baby surveillance," he shook his head. "How did our parents get along without this shit?"

"My mother had bionic ears," Julie sniffed, "Still does. I swear she could hear a fly landing on a pillow from three rooms away. Me, on the other hand? The damn thing could land on my head and I wouldn't hear it."

"That's all the hearing damage caused by blasting Motley Crue during your teenage years."

"What?" she quipped, causing him to roll his eyes. "Ooh, I think he's asleep."

Rossi looked down at the baby. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and rhythmic. "Looks like it to me."

"Let's see if I can get him to bed…" she said, slowly getting up. "Hopefully, I'll be right back."

He watched her walk out of the room, then got up and changed into his pajamas, finishing just as she walked into the room.

"He's down for the count," she announced.

"Good," he said, pulling her into his arms, "My turn…"

"Your turn for what?" she laughed, as he kissed her neck.

"My turn for your attention."

"Aw, you're jealous," she teased.

"Not jealous, just not used to sharing you with another male," he returned, with a smart smile.

"I wouldn't talk," she counted, "I spent all day watching another female wrap you around her little finger."

"She did no such thing," he protested, as she slipped from his arms.

"Oh really? Okay, Mr. G-man, will you wear your hunting cap any time I ask?"

"Wise ass."

She tried to stifle a yawn, but was unsuccessful. "I know what you mean about being tired."

He watched her as she turned down the comforter and got into bed. Before settling back onto the pillows, she switched on the monitor.

"You gonna stand there all night or are you gonna join me?"

Without a word, he slipped into bed next to her, pulling her back into his arms. "You're good with them."

She smiled, "They're good kids."

He shook his head, "That may be, but not everyone is good with children."

"You do okay," she allowed, "Well, with Mariana, at least. I notice you haven't once tried to hold Mikey."

"Babies aren't really my thing," he admitted. "Once they walk and talk, I'm okay."

"That's fine," she smiled at him, "You kept her out of my hair all day, so I could focus on the baby. I don't think I could've handled them both by myself."

"She's not a bad kid. Inquisitive as all hell and kinda bossy, but she is cute."

"And she's got you wrapped around her finger," Julie teased.

"You are the only one who has me wrapped around her finger," he countered, with a kiss.

"I'm sharing that title with my God daughter," she laughed, then tired to hold back another yawn.

He followed with a yawn of his own, "Okay, so much for that night of romance."

"We can have a night of cuddling," she offered, settling so that her head rested on his chest.

They lay in comfortable silence and he felt himself start to doze off. The sound of her voice pulled him from the twilight of sleep. "You still awake, Mr. G-man?"

"Yeah," he said, forcing his eyes open and trying to force himself alert.

"You were falling asleep," she said, her voice taking on a guilty tone, "I'm sorry…go back to sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

He thought about protesting, but his eyelids were too heavy and sleep was too attractive. Before he could answer, he was fast asleep.

"Regret is an odd emotion because it comes only upon reflection. Regret lacks immediacy, and so its power seldom influences events when it could do some good."

William O'Rourke

"So," Rossi began, standing in the doorway to Julie's office. "I thought we could go to Dante's for dinner."

"If you want," she absently said, staring at her computer monitor. "I don't much feel like working on this draft anyway."

She'd been quiet since Mike and Brynne had picked up the kids that morning. A fact he'd pointed out to her, on the ride back to Georgetown. She dismissed it, saying that she was tired and had a lot to do once she got home, but he knew it was more than that.

She stood and walked over to him, "Let me put on some make up and grab my shoes and we can go." She pecked his cheek as she walked past him, then made her way down the hall.

He followed her into the bedroom, watching as she slipped on her shoes. "You're following me," she said, turning around. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, why do you ask?"

She shrugged, "You've been looking at me funny all day."

"I am a bit concerned," he admitted, sitting on the side of the bed.

"About?"

"You," he took her hand and pulled her onto his lap. "You've been quiet since the kids left."

He waited for her to repeat her previous response about being tired, but instead, she said, "I guess I miss them."

He digested this response for a moment.

"Don't freak. I'm not saying I want to go out and have a baby," she quickly said, "I'm saying I miss them. That's all."

"Are you sure that's all it is?"

"Yes," she said, slipping her arms around him.

"I want you to be honest with me, Sweetheart," he softly said.

"I'm always honest with you," she returned.

"If you want children…"

"David, I'm 43 years old…"

"That's not too old for children, Julie," he protested. He watched as her brows furrowed, she was clearly displeased with something he'd said.

"So, what? You're going to tell me that if I want to have children, we'll have children?"

"I don't want to keep that from you."

"Listen to me," she firmly said. "I adore Mariana and Mikey and I love the time I spend with them. Sure, it was fun to play Mommy and Daddy this weekend, but would I want to do that full time? No. See, I love the life we have. I love the way we can do what we want, when we want. I love the freedom we have…" she gave him a sexy smile, "We don't have to watch what we do or say and we can have sex whenever and where ever we want in the house, without fear of a child waking up or walking in."

He allowed a laugh at her last comment.

"If we'd have met ten years ago, things might have been different," she allowed. "I might be trying to talk you into starting a family, but not now."

"If you change your mind…"

"I won't," she said, softly kissing him, "Thank you for offering. Now, you promised me dinner at Dante's."

"That I did," he agreed.

"Good, let's go…"