Chapter 25: Behavioral Sleep Analysis

Summary: Jeff and Annie adjust to the new normal

The last few days had been a bit of a blur.

Jeff lay on their king-sized bed, grateful for the lush thread count and ability to stretch, his hand wrapped around Annie. They had been taking any opportunity they could to get some sleep. At times he had been up while she snoozed, doing his best to settle Sebastian. At other times, he guiltily passed out while she nursed.

He had been also feeling a little bad about neglecting Sophie. He thanked heaven that their family and friends had been helpful, coming by and playing with her and/or doing diaper duty. Well, his mom was the one attending to many of the diapers, but their friends were great about cuddling the kids. Shirley had even brought by several frozen meals and had made them lunch a couple times, a gift that Jeff couldn't even begin to thank her for, as her cooking was delicious and he hadn't had the energy to prepare anything. The Dean had even stopped over to meet the new addition and to spin Sophie around for a little while.

Ruffles had greeted them upon their arrival home from the hospital, her head cocked and ears straightened as she studied the new creature in her household. Jeff had picked her up and held her on his lap as Annie cradled the baby clad in his knitted cap, and Sophie stood by with intense interest of her own.

Sophie nodded approvingly at Ruffles' intense posture and proclaimed, "She likes the baby."

"Yes, munchkin, I'm sure she does."

"Can we play with him now? Please?" Her eyes grew ten times their size, and it was literally one of the most adorable things he had ever seen.

He managed, "Remember, he's very small and delicate. He needs to get a bit bigger before Ruffles can play with him. But you can hold him again if you want."

Sophie nodded her understanding but appeared to be a little put off by Jeff's explanation. She shuffled closer but clearly wasn't in the mood to hold Sebastian, so she watched as Ruffles sniffed around the baby's blanket.

Ruffles was pretty maternal in many ways, so they weren't that concerned she'd hurt him, but Jeff still made sure to keep a gentle hold on her. She nudged her nose against the baby's cheek, and Sebastian opened his eyes and stared at her, which elicited a flurry of giggles from Sophie.

"He likes Ruffles. She wake him up. Hi baby."

Sophe placed her cheeks on her hands and her elbows on the couch cushion so she could continue to watch. All the while she was smiling, and it just about killed Jeff with the cuteness. He exchanged warm grins with Annie and they continued in their exhausted and excited haze to watch the unfolding greeting.

Ruffles nudged again and then before Jeff could stop it, her little tongue emergened and she gave the baby a big slurp on his ear.

"Crap."

Jeff began to pull Ruffles back, but it was too late and Ruffles was in love. Her tail began to wag furiously and she whined, taking several more slurps before Jeff was able to move her away. He put her on the ground and she stood on her little legs and placed her paws near Sophie, still staring at the baby.

The whining continued, and the baby swatted in a very uncoordinated way but otherwise didn't seem fazed.

"Oooh, Ruffles you kissed him! He's our new baby brother, but he's delicate, so we have to WAIT."

Throughout the whole thing, Annie giggled, and Jeff wondered if she was concerned about dog spit on their germ-susceptible infant.

"Awwww, I can't take it."

"Annie, there's dog saliva fairly close to his mouth. Here, I'll go get a wet wipe, but we should probably figure out a way to disinfect him."

As he rose, she looked up at him with a bemused smile.

"What?"

"Nothing. Thank you for being such a good daddy."

"Eh."

"You're a GREAT daddy, Daddy."

"Thanks, munchkin." He patted Sophie on the head.

He allowed that memory to fall over him, and he smiled slightly as he continued to cuddle Annie in their bed. He was glad she was getting some rest, and he wanted to make sure she was as comfortable as possible after going through everything. So far, she had been walking around a bit, which amazed him, but most of her time was spent sitting and cradling the baby.

"Hi, Daddy. It's morning time."

He sighed as he turned around to see Sophie standing by the bed. He hadn't heard Ruffles so was a little bit surprised she was there.

He replied with full grogginess, "Morning, munchkin."

She was wearing new blue Frozen pajamas and holding a wand he had never seen before, her face gleeful.

"I magic you." She tapped him on the shoulder and seemed very smugly pleased.

"Oh, wow."

"Can I come up?"

As usual, he was helpless to say no to the Disney eyes, and he reached over and assisted her onto the bed, placing her between him and Annie. He whispered at her to be quiet as her mother was still asleep, and she nodded her understanding as she cuddled into his side.

"Where's Ruffles?"

"Grandma took her for a walk."

He had spied a daybed in Sophie's room when they had arrived home from the hospital, and it occurred to him that he didn't remember buying it. His mother has shooed off his question, and he had dropped it, now quite aware that she was in fact sleeping there. Hank the dog was also around, doing his best to blindly figure out the layout of the increasingly crowded apartment and not bump too much into Ruffles. He shrugged it off, not really caring about much else at present other than keeping his children and wife alive and happy.

Unfortunately, Sebastian didn't seem that happy a lot of the time, as he cried a lot in a way that Jeff wasn't used to in the limited time he had spent with infants. It was an almost raspy sound, bordering on howling, which always seemed to elicit Ruffles' concern, as she would come rushing in and trot around while whining, which tended not to help the situation. The cacophony was starting to get to him.

The only way to really soothe Sebastian seemed to be by throwing him at Annie's breast, but that wasn't always possible, and he had spent a lot of time thus far walking him around and rocking him, looking for any way to get him to quiet. Poor Sophie had been wearing bright pink earmuffs and muttering to herself before slamming her bedroom door.

With a loving squeeze, he whispered, "Hey munchkin, I know it's been really loud around here lately, and I'm sorry. Your brother will settle down soon, but he's still getting used to not being in Mama's tummy. So, thank you for being patient and for waiting."

She smiled a little and scooted even closer to him, the wand tapping his shoulder. He could smell her breath, and for some reason that odor never really grossed him out.

She pushed her nose against his and pronounced, "I wanna play with you today."

"Sure, I think we could arrange that. You wanna go to the park later?"

"Yes, and I want to see Elsa and Anna again."

He inwardly cringed, but figured the kid was putting up with enough lately. He nudged her nose back and said, "Absolutely."

"I love you, Daddy. Thank you."

"Love you too, munchkin."

"Sweetie?"

Annie's murmur elicited a grin from Sophie, and she promptly turned away from him to face her mother.

"Hi, Mama. It's morning time. Daddy says we can see Elsa and Anna today. You come too, okay?"

Annie sleepily sighed, "Oh, I don't think I can leave Sebastian, sweetie. He needs me right now, but I hope you have fun with Daddy."

"I need you, Mama."

He could practically hear Annie's heart break.

She began petting Sophie's currently unruly mop and said, "I'm so sorry I haven't been spending that much time with you. Why don't we make some cookies together this Friday after school?"

He lifted his head and gave her a pointed look as he asked, "Do you think you'll really be up to making cookies this weekend?"

She bit her lip and then replied, "Yes, I think I can rally. What do you think, Sophie?"

"I wanna make cookies with you, and then you can hold me."

"Oh, sweetie, I'll hold you right now." Annie's voice cracked, and it was almost too much for both of them.

She scooted up and pulled Sophie on her lap. While doing so, she leaned over to take a peek at Sebastian in the bassinet by her side of the bed.

Jeff cleared his throat and said, "I just checked on him a few minutes ago. He's out."

"Good."

With a sardonic tone, he remarked, "Well, he was just up less than two hours ago."

She smiled weakly over at him before giving Sophie a kiss and then a reassuring squeeze.

"I miss you so much, Mama. I don't wanna go to school today." Sophie placed her thumb in her mouth and let her wand fall to her side.

Picking up the wand and giving it a twirl, Jeff piped in, "Well, you don't have to go to school. We're gonna see Elsa and Anna, right? Why wait for after school? Let's go this afternoon."

He leaned over and caught the side of Sophie's smile. He felt Annie's.

X

X

Thank god his mom was there. Really, he didn't know what they'd do without her. Between taking Ruffles and Hank for walks, getting Sophie ready for outings or school, and attending to wet or extremely and disturbing oddly-poopy diapers, she was amazing.

"Here, just hold this over there."

"This is insanely convoluted." He sighed and gave his mom an exasperated look as he made sure Sebastian's anatomy was in the correct position as he attempted to pull the diaper up. It was a lesson in coordination, and it was something that he had always taken for granted with Sophie. He had been learning over the past few days that changing a baby boy's diaper was a bit more of a process, his mother explaining the main way it could go wrong.

He shuddered at the thought.

"You're doing great, dear. But here, let me just help you." She grabbed the other side of the diaper and then pulled it into the clip, as he deftly removed his hand

"I don't understand why we aren't using the regular ones like we did with the munchkin."

"He could get diaper rash. Really, the cloth ones are best for right now, but we can see how he does."

"It's a crazy mess is what it is."

He closed his eyes in frustration, the memories of all the strange poop coming back. He had never seen anything like it, and the fact that both is mother and Annie had reassured him it was normal in newborns, he was still unnerved.

God, he didn't know what he was doing. He had missed out on so much with Sophie. The fact that he hadn't met her until she was eight weeks old was taking on more significance for him, and even then he knew that he hadn't been that involved in her care until she was about ten-twelve months.

He had a lot to learn. He opened up his eyes and smiled slightly, attempting to refocus on his son.

His son. The precious creature who was now staring up at him, his dark likely blue eyes in complete bewilderment and his tufts of sandy matted baby hair. The poor kid didn't know he wasn't in capable fatherly hands.

His mother cooed, "You're doing really well with him. It takes a little bit to get the hang of things, but you'll be a pro at this in a few days."

"You think?" He continued to smile down at the baby and then found himself leaning in closer to his sweet face. He placed a kiss on his forehead, and Sebastian swatted his little hand to the side, which Jeff was fairly certain was just a reflex or something but he made the decision to treat it as a greeting.

"You're pretty cute, squirt."

His mom began rubbing her hand over his hunched back, and he found it to be oddly soothing, even though he was a full grown man.

There was a soft knock at the open bedroom door.

"Hey, Jeff, Mrs. Winger, I hope you don't mind, but Annie let us in."

They turned to see Thanos standing in the doorway with a mischievous grin, his arms now folded as he regarded the sight of Jeff, his mom, and the baby. Jeff motioned him over and accepted a hug which involved some serious patting of what he assumed was paternal reassurance. As they moved out of the embrae, Thanos turned and shook Dorie's hand, but she then rolled her eyes and hugged him.

"Oh, that's nice, ma'am."

"It's Dorie, and it's good to see you, Thanos. Did you bring your family too?"

"Yes, ma'am….Dorie, everyone's in the living room with Annie and Sophie. We came over to meet this new little guy, but we're not gonna stay too long. I know how crazy it gets." He glanced over at Jeff and gave him a questioning look.

Jeff shrugged and then indicated sheepishly with his head down at Sebastian, who was still strapped securely on the changing table.

Dorie excused herself, and Thanos moved closer and regarded the baby with a decisive nod.

"He looks good."

"Thanks, he's a handful already. Don't let his small size fool you." Jeff unbuckled him and then gently placed his hands underneath and lifted him, making sure to support his neck and head. He was surprised he wasn't freaking out more about that whole issue, but so far he had found picking up his son to feel fairly natural, which was at least something he could count on during this crazy time.

Sebastian began to whimper and in general seemed suddenly grumpy.

He walked over to the bed and sat down, now cradling Sebastian in his arm. Thanos plopped down next to him and handed him the baby blanket.

"You gotta make sure he's not too cold."

"Crap, does he look cold? I know he's not supposed to get overheated either, but…"

Thanos sighed and placed the blanket over the baby's legs and said, "You're still figuring him out, but don't worry, he'll let you know. And sometimes they like to be swaddled a litte, but sometimes they don't. Dino was a swaddler, but Maria like feels all constricted and makes a big fuss."

"I have no idea if Sophie liked to be swaddled."

"I think this little guy might. May I?" Thanos accepted grabbed the blanket and placed it on the bed, smoothing out the wrinkles.

Jeff was grateful that he had people in his life who knew things. He had seen Annie do something like this a few times, but he hadn't been wanting to bother her too much and had made due on his own, and his mother had been running around and attending to the dogs and Sophie, so he hadn't really asked.

He took the opportunity for Thanos to show him, and as the swaddle was complete, Sebastian's closed his eyes in contentment, and Jeff knew all was right in the moment.

"Thanos, you're amazing. Thank you."

"He just wants to be cuddled."

Jeff figured that was probably a safe bet, being that it was his son and all. He had taken thirty years to rediscover he was a cuddler, but he didn't want his son to ever doubt that.

As he held the baby close in his newfound cocoon, he remarked, "I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm still trying to figure out how to change a baby boy. I mean I've done it occasionally with my cousin's kid, but this guy's so tiny and squirmy, and it's a bit more complicated than I thought."

Thanos chuckled and said, "Oh, yeah, I remember those days. One time Dino got me in the face."

"Fuck."

Thanos continued, gazing up all wistfully, completely glossing over the fact that he had just divulged something so gross. He sighed, "I was worried about what to do with a girl, but Maria's been pretty easy in comparison. She's a little more chill than Dino ever was. It's nuts how things can be so different."

"I can't believe I have to now worry about being peed on, and not by a furry creature. My life is insane."

"Cheer up, Jeff. Maybe the next one will be a girl."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. But little boys are a blast. We're so happy for you guys."

X

X

There was a lot they had to consider with having a newborn in the apartment, from the change in routine, to diapers, to soothing. It was a series of quick decisions often made with sleep deprivation, but they were handling it.

One significant decision that Jeff had thought they had made turned out to be more complicated than he thought. On day six, Annie had pulled him into a hug as they laid side by side on their bed and began to cry. He held her, kissing her head in an attempt to be comforting, figuring that she was likely feeling just like he was but only even more hormonal due to having given birth and almost constantly nursing.

She finally settle and then sniffed, leaning back slightly so she could regard him through red-rimmed eyes.

"What can I do, Annie?" He let his thumb caress her cheek, and he tried to think through what would make things better. He had already brought up the nursing issue and told her they could switch to formula so she could rest, but she had swatted him and adamantly told him she'd push through it and said it would get better.

"I think I made a mistake."

"We can't take him back now."

The resulting glare almost made him feel that things were somewhat normal. He half-thought he might be an ass if she were starting to suffer from postnatal depression or something, but so far he didn't really think that was the case. But he was on the lookout for it, and he knew Britta was as well.

"Jeff, I'm trying to be serious."

"Sorry. My attempt at levity. I love the little squirt, but he's insanely loud. I can't wait until he's one of those little sit 'em up chubby cute baby-people. And hopefully sleeps for longer stretches of time."

She smiled slightly at this, and he knew he had her. She placed a quick kiss on his lips and then wiped away a remnant of a tear before she clarified, "I've been talking to my mom, and she's been making some good points. I really want Sebastian to have an easier time than I did."

"Hm?"

"I want him to fit in."

X

X

They had a bris. Sebastian was eight days old, which seemed insanely small to Jeff, but he was told this was standard Jewish procedure. Once they had told Rachel of their decision, she had whipped into planning mode and arranged everything with the rabbi. Nancy, Ryan, Rachel, and Dorie stood with them as the rabbi conducted the ceremony in a synagogue, and their other loved ones hovered nearby, most of them bewildered by such a ritual but trying to remain supportive. Annie requested that Anthony be the one to hold Sebastian, a role traditionally served for the grandfather.

They tried their best not to focus on Britta's absence.

Jeff was a bit lost during the various rituals and prayers, but he figured that was okay. He winced once the circumcision was conducted, but he trusted all would be fine since his mother had let someone do this to him when he was a baby. He was willing to do whatever he needed to do to make Annie happy, and she seemed to be thrilled, her tears now happy ones, as the rabbi finished the rite.

Jeff and Annie both recited a blessing, and it was over.

Everyone else then chanted, "Just as this child has entered into the covenant, so may he enter into Torah, the marriage canopy, and into good deeds."

Almost immediately after the bris, Rachel made a bee line for the caterer she had hired and began to usher everyone into some sort of reception area. Jeff sighed and regarded their son, who was now in Annie's arm and had quieted his cries.

He reached down and tapped his little nose and said, "I hope he's not in a lot of pain."

"We numbed it a bit. He'll be fine and he'll heal up really quickly." She smiled at him in an attempt at reassurance, which he was desperate to have.

"So he's a Jewish baby now."

She nodded adamantly and then glanced over at Sophie, who was approaching while holding her bear. She was dressed in one of her finest dresses and she looked up with accusatory eyes through ringlets to pronounce, "I don't know why you hurt him."

"Well, crap."

"Jeff."

He ended up being kind of a coward and let Annie explain the situation to her, and he shuffled off past the food, his body guiding him somewhere, he wasn't sure where. He had been feeling almost dizzy, but he assumed it was because of what he had just witnessed, of what they had done to the little guy.

He felt somewhat guilty.

Troy's slap on the back jarred him, and he turned to see a platter full of lox and a bagel almost in his face.

"This stuff is so good. You want some?"

"No, um, thanks. I think I just need some air."

As usual, Troy ignored this and merely nodded, as if he was agreeing with his internal thoughts. He then sighed and said, "That was a really strange thing to do, but I support you guys." He then furrowed his brow and added, "Then again, I find it kind of strange how he now has to get married. He seems a little young. I don't understand religions, not even my own."

Jeff stared at him for what felt like three full minutes, but then he did make the decision to actually say something.

"Why on earth would you think he now has to get married? That's ridiculous, Troy. I think you misunderstood something."

Troy shrugged and said, "I dunno man. I distinctly understood we all had to chant he's supposed to go into the marriage canopy. I think you're the one who doesn't understand, Jeff."

"That doesn't mean marriage, Troy."

"What does it mean then?"

"I have no idea."

Troy once again gestured toward a bagel, and Jeff shook his head. He then excused himself and made his way toward the door.

Once outside, he took a deep breath, which seemed to help.

"So, is the sado-masochistic ritual over with?"

He startled at Britta's words and then slowly turned to see her standing with crossed arms and dried tears on her cheeks. She appeared to be a combination of furious and hurt.

"I can't deal with this right now. You've made your opinion known, but I respect Annie's decision. This is part of her heritage, and then by extension, Sebastian's as well."

Britta shook her head and gave him dagger eyes.

He added, "I don't really care what you think."

"Annie cared. And then she didn't. What the hell?"

He groaned and then spied a delicious looking bench and sat down, barely feeling Britta join him. He closed his eyes and leaned back, feeling the cold winter air on him and then realizing he had forgot to put on his coat.

Britta handed him her mittens, and he pushed them back, but then she gestured at her pockets, where she was putting her hands, and he smiled slightly and accepted. He covered his hands and then felt guilty once again.

"I'm sorry if we confused you. If it helps, I have about as much emotional whiplash as you do."

"You could have talked her out of it."

"I didn't want to. I didn't really care about it one way or the other. My whole mission in life is to make Annie happy."

At this admission, Britta pursed her lips, and he knew he was being analyzed. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but then shut it.

He said sardonically, "Pray tell me my issues."

"I think you already know what they are. I'm sure your therapist has pointed them out."

"She has, but you never miss an opportunity to chime in."

Shoving her hands even deeper into her coat pockets, she hunched forward slightly and shivered, staring at her boots.

"I was told in psych school that I probably shouldn't go around analyzing my friends."

"No kidding."

"But you and Annie suck."

"Britta, look, he's fine. He won't remember any of it. Just like I don't remember it either. I have plenty of issues, but I never had any issues from that."

"Yeah? You don't remember it at all?"

"He's a week old."

"I really hate it when people make decisions for kids. Adults don't respect them, but kids know what they need and what they want. But no one ever listens."

"Why do I get the feeling we're not talking about my son?"

She went eerily quiet, and they both sat for awhile as she kicked the cold ground with her boot. He was starting to shiver but somehow felt he shouldn't leave. This was Britta, his dear frustrating friend, and she clearly needed something.

He finally managed, "Hey, I've been meaning to try this new thing lately."

"What?"

"Tell people how I feel about them. I've been too sleep deprived to really get around to it after the squirt was born, so here goes.

"Jeff, I don't…."

-"Listen, I love you. You're an awesome friend, and you've always been there for me, and Annie, and the munchkin. I want you to be there for the squirt too."

She began to blush furiously, and turned away slightly, but he knew she was listening.

He went on, "He's gonna love you too. And you know, I was thinking about that time you delivered Shirley's kid on the middle of the school floor, and how you asked if I thought you'd be a good mom and I kinda blew you off. I'm sorry. For what it's worth, I think you'd be a pretty amazing mom. You have a lot of love to give, and you do an incredible job trying to take Sophie's perspective. She can't get enough of you."

She slowly turned to face him, her eyes registering something he couldn't comprehend. She was normally pretty transparent which was part of her charm, but this time he just couldn't get a read on her.

She said, "That's one of the nicest things anyone's ever said to me."

"You're welcome. It's all true."

"But I don't have to be a mom in order to make a difference in this world."

"Crap, of course not. And that's not what I meant. You don't have to be a mom, I know. I just wanted to let you to know that I think you could, if you wanted to. Or if you don't want to, that's cool too."

"But maybe I do want to be a mom."

He almost gasped, but he knew that would be kind of stupid in this moment. Her pounding fist to his shoulder indicated, however, that she was better at reading him than he thought.

"You dumbass, you just said that to me and now you diss me."

"I'm not. I was just surprised."

"Well, I've been giving it a lot of thought, and maybe I surprised me too, but it makes sense."

"Maybe it does."

They once again sat awkwardly, and Jeff was wondering when he could go back inside to his family and the warmth. He finally said, "Let's go inside. Ian's here, you know, showing his support."

"Oh, he knows I'm here. I just told him I wasn't going in."

"Right."

"But I probably should. I need to talk to him, if I'm serious about this mom thing."

"You know what, maybe now's not the time to address it. Let's just shower the squirt with attention and have a bunch of food, and you two can have a lovely and likey very comfortable conversation later."

"I need to break up with him."

X

X

Once they were home, Jeff wrapped Sophie into a blanket and rolled her around on the floor for a few giggly minutes while Annie and his mom attended to Sebastian. It was only when Annie emerged and asked for Sophie to help her put the baby down for a nap did Jeff approach his mom and urge her to sit down with him on the sofa.

As she acquiesced, he said, "So, um, the daybed?"

"Yes, dear?"

"When did that get here?"

"While you were in the hospital. I couldn't imagine sleeping on the couch all this time, and Buzz and I felt this was sensible, me being here. But don't worry, I'm not moving in." She winked at him and seemed bemused.

Running his hand through his hair he said, "I'm so damn grateful you're here. I don't care if you have moved in."

She appeared touched by this, and she placed her hand over her heart. "Well, that's very nice, dear, but Buzz asked me to move in with him, and I think we're going to try to find our own place, to start over. But I do hope it's alright if we live closeby."

He wasn't all that surprised if he were honest. He nodded his understanding and smirked, and she tapped his shoulder with her index finger and gave him a reproachful look.

"I'd love that, actually. You're an awesome grandma. What would I do without you consoling my neglected daughter and rescuing me from massive amounts of poop?"

The dogs were by now almost up in their faces, and they both chuckled and then stood, taking out the leashes. With nonverbal understanding, they both moved toward the door and threw back on their coats and shoes.

As they got into the hallway, Jeff remarked, "But you're going to have a longer commute then, right? I don't like the idea of you doing that much driving."

"I'm only nineteen years older than you are, dear. I'm perfectly capable of driving long distances."

"Yeah, I know, but still."

She patted him almost condescendingly on his arm and said, "Let's not talk about my job right now, let's just focus on taking these two for a stroll and then I'd like to run some neighborhood ideas past you. Annie tells me you two might rent a bigger place in the spring, and well if I sell my place then since you bought it for me originally, why I don't see why you should be able to use some of the proceeds to put down a downpayment on a mortgage. You don't need to continue to rent, and then you and Annie can get someplace nice and stay there."

His heart almost skipped a beat, and he stared down at her incredulously.

"Mom, no. That's money I gave to you."

"And now I'm giving some of it back to you. You're a good son, and you've looked out for me, but now you and your family need it. And Buzz owns his home, so really if we both sell, we'll be fine."

"But you should keep anything else and use it for retirement, Mom. Invest it."

"I am investing it. I'm investing it in you."

He tried not to cry, but he was only partially successful. She seemed slightly taken aback but then hugged him.

He sniffled, "I'm sorry. I just haven't been sleeping. I'm so tired."

"Jeffrey, it's okay."

"I'm so damn tired, Mom."

"Everything will be better. You'll see."

"I need to sleep. Mommy."

It occurred to him as she patted his back that he might be acting a bit ridiculous, but he didn't care.

It then also occurred to him that his mom had spent the past eight days with them, eight days away from her home in Denver, and eight days away from work.

"Mom, how did you get away from your job?"

She tensed and then looked up at him, for he had lifted out of the embrace and was regarding her with suspicion. She smiled tightly and said, "Oh, let's just talk about that later."

"No, let's talk about it now."

"I have plenty of vacation."

"If that's all it was, you would have said that first."

Visibly frustrated with herself, she sighed with exasperation and said, "Fine, Jeffrey, I gave my notice. I knew I was needed here."

"Mom!"

"It's fine, dear. Once I saw that sweet baby I knew what I had to do. And Buzz has been bugging me forever to move here, and you're absolutely right that I would hate that commute. Plus it would give me less time with my grandbabies. And with you."

He stared down at her and was almost speechless. Almost.

"Mom, I'm really surprised you'd chuck your job, your house money, and then move in with Buzz. And this is not a knock on him, because frankly I think he's a good if strange guy, but that puts you in a vulnerable position, financially. Even with retirement savings, you weren't planning to retire for like ten years."

"Oh, I already have something else lined up."

Well that about floored him. He nodded with appreciation, feeling the weight begin to lift from his chest. His mom was resourceful, and now he was finding this whole thing was more in character for her. Of course she wouldn't be so stupid as to quit her job without a plan. But the speed in which she had located a new position was confusing, especially at her age.

"That's great. Where?"

"Oh, we can just talk about that later. Really, Jeffrey, we are being most inconsiderate in allowing these puppies to not go do their business. Let's go."

"Fine."

They began to mosey down the hall. Dorie sped up as they neared the Dean's door, and it opened to reveal the Dean standing in a fluffy blue apron and holding a spatula.

"Why I thought I heard you guys! Jeffrey, Dorie, it's so good to see both of you!"

"Yes, Craig, we'll see you a little later, as we have to get these fur babies outside before we get back to our other babies." Dorie smiled tightly and yanked on Hank's collar, as the dog had stopped to lick the Dean's shoes.

"Craig?" Jeff squinted, unaware his mom and the Dean were on a first name basis. But he supposed a lot of things had been happening while he had been busy. His mom had been spending a lot of time there, and she likely had been chatting with the Dean.

With a brig grin, the Dean said, "Yes! Isn't it wonderful? Me and Dorie, your sweet mother, why she is just a lifesaver!"

"Come on, Jeffrey, let's just take them out…"

"Wait….hell no."

"Why Jeffrey, why do you look so sad? You know I needed a new assistant, and why everyone besides Annie was just terrible! But then your mother swooped in and saved me! I know you need her for the winter break, but come spring she'll be helping me spruce up Greendale!"

"Jeffrey?"

"I need a nap."