Jack awoke to the sunshine peeking around the perimeter of the curtains; the baby nestled in the crook of his arm was still sleeping peacefully. He couldn't hide the smile that crept up his lips at the sight. Jack brushed the lightest kiss to the infant's temple, taking in that new baby smell.
Content to stay there as long as needed, Jack relaxed back into his pillow and closed his eyes to wait out the little one who was still snoozing lightly. The enticing smell of bacon cooking pulled Jack away from his catnap and the baby shortly thereafter.
"Hey there, little buddy." Jack's voice was soft and sweet. He twirled his fingers into the child's sparse curls that were pressed to his forehead from sleep; he responded by crossing his squishy bow legs and then stretching all of his limbs out with a gigantic yawn. "Me too, man." Jack stood with an equally emphatic yawn, joints popping and cracking with every slight movement.
"Let's go see what the big kids are up to. Uncle Bozer probably made you some pancakes." He pondered for a moment as he picked the baby up, "uncle?" He questioned out loud, "maybe brother. Let's let him decide."
He pulled Johnny to his chest and hooked his arm around his back. "Is that...sweat?" Jack's forearm was wet. He swapped arms and took a whiff. "Nope. Not sweat. Eew." Holding the child under the armpits with both hands he pulled him away to examine the soaked front of the onesie that had transferred pee to his own shirt and smirked, "Guess I should have checked first. Oh well." Jack resigned and pulled him back into his chest to join the rest of his family.
When they finally emerged from the guest room, everyone was up and surprisingly chipper, nursing giant mugs of coffee. Even Riley had pulled herself out of her nest on the couch and greeted Jack with a mug of his own that he took in his free hand and savored the aroma.
"Trade?" She asked, reaching her hands out for the infant. Jack shook his head and revealed the matching wet spots on their shirts. "Ok, I'll look for another onesie." She turned on her heel and went for the diaper bag. He shuffled to the couch to meet Riley for a diaper change.
"There's no more clothes." She explained after rummaging through the bag. "And we're really low on diapers."
"I guess we'll have to go shopping after breakfast." Bozer was excited. "But we can't take him shopping naked. We'll have to wash and dry the wet clothes from today or yesterday."
"I think I can help with that," Mac chimed in as he walked toward where Jack was changing a diaper on the couch. Mac picked up the plastic bag housing the previous day's soiled clothes and the wet one from overnight dangling from Jack's fingers before he disappeared into the bathroom.
Jack used a wipe to freshen up the baby where he'd leaked and pulled off his own shirt to do the same. "Mac!" He hollered. Mac poked his head out of the bathroom and expertly caught the wet t-shirt Jack lobbed at him unexpectedly.
Riley returned to the couch with a plate and an already warmed bottle; she sat cross-legged in the corner of the sofa and held her arms out to summon the child. He crawled toward her with a toothless grin and grabbed the bottle before planting himself in her lap.
Jack watched them with an approving and proud grin. Riley couldn't help but smile back, she was enjoying this babysitting gig. The still pink scarring all over Jack's abdomen caught her eye and she had to divert them without being obvious. The memories of that ordeal came rushing back to her and made her stomach turn.
Riley tried to hide her intentions with a sugary sweet suggestion, "Jack, why don't you go grab a plate and put on some clothes before the kid gets any wrong ideas about breastfeeding." She cringed at her own words, but at least Jack wouldn't suspect her discomfort had anything to do with his scars. As he left she became fixated on the half dollar sized burn scar from the cattle prod, nauseated from hearing his screams replaying in her head.
Jack returned in what most people wouldn't consider a shirt, more like a holey rag with a couple of seams up the sides. "Hey, it passed the sniff test." was his response to criticism, "I'm gonna take a shower and change before we leave anyway."
He sauntered to the couch with a waffle on a plate, topped with 4 slices of bacon, and several lines of maple syrup. As soon as he plopped onto the opposite corner of the couch from Riley, he folded the waffle in half like a taco to eat it.
Riley commented as she tried to coax the half empty bottle from the baby, "I know Mac uses silverware for everything but eating food, but iyou can/i still eat with the silverware."
"Don't need to." Jack said with a mouth full of bacon waffle taco, "I got hands." He took another bite and nodded toward the plate she had on the coffee table, assuming the dry waffle was for the kid.
With the baby distracted by Jack's food muffled voice, Riley took the bottle and placed it out of sight on the floor. She tore a quarter off of the waffle and showed it to Johnny, hoping he'd eat it. He wasn't interested in the quick bread and refused to take it from her. She waved it back and forth under her nose, "look, it's yummy. Why won't you eat it?" Riley kept trying to hand it to him, but he wanted no part of it.
Mac emerged from the bathroom with a small laundry basket of wet baby clothes. "Mac," Riley called, "you're the baby snack meiser, see if you can get him to try the waffle." He put down the basket next to the couch and took the waffle quarter from Riley.
From a squatted position eye level with the baby, Mac said, "I know it doesn't have bacon like Jack's does, but it's still good, I promise." He flashed a trustworthy grin, but the kid was only half convinced and still didn't reach for it. Mac tore another quarter off the waffle on the plate and shoved the entire piece into his own mouth and grinned through stuffed cheeks. Johnny laughed and took the piece Mac had offered. "Baby 3 - Adults 1" Mac stated after swallowing his mouthful and continued with his basket to the back deck.
Jack finished the last of his waffle as the baby attempted to gum his own piece. He looked to Jack for approval and Jack satisfyingly licked the syrup off his fingers as he rose to return his plate to the kitchen. Riley turned the infant back to face her and offer him the bottle to wash down the piece he managed to dissolve in his mouth. "Please don't learn from those Neanderthals. I'll teach you to be a civilized human"
On the back deck, Mac wrung out the baby clothes between dry towels and hung them in the sun to dry the rest of the way. Once Mac returned indoors, Jack was finishing up the breakfast dishes to clear out the sink to give the baby a bath.
"Mac, you still have that baby shampoo you keep in your luggage?" Jack hollered from across the room.
Mac blushed and sighed, "It's in my locker at work." He explained and continued to his room.
"Well do you have ianother/?" Jack yelled louder for Mac to hear him through the house.
There was a reluctant pause, "Yes. I'll get it."
Jack stood behind Riley and made eye contact with the baby who was drinking from his bottle, tipping it and his head back to try to get more milk faster. Sensing his frustration, Jack told him, "Maybe we'll get you a sippy cup later today, little dude."
He dropped the bottle and raised his arms, making grabby hands at Jack who couldn't help but beam as he picked the child up. Riley followed them into the kitchen.
Jack removed the already wet diaper and sat the naked baby on the countertop next to the sink, blocking the ledge with his own body so the little one didn't take a header to the floor. The sink was filled with water, and Jack dipped his elbow into it to check the temperature. "Perfect." He proudly announced to no one in particular.
As Mac entered the kitchen with the baby shampoo and a small washcloth, Jack gently lowered the little one into the sink, letting him adjust to the water before letting him go. He wrung out the washcloth and used it to dampen Johnny's hair.
Riley cooed and handed him a teething ring she'd found in the diaper bag. He gladly accepted. Jack reached for the shampoo pumper and Riley stopped him insisting, "I'll do it. I love the way this smells." She gently washed his hair and shoulders with the foamy soap before lathering up the washcloth to wash his bottom. "Jack, you're barely wearing what was at one point considered a shirt, can you stand him up so I can wash the rest?"
After cleaning and rinsing the babe, they noticed there were only dish towels in the kitchen. Jack went to the linen closet to fetch a small bath towel. Angered by Jack's retreat, the child let out an angry squelch. Riley handed the washcloth to him to appease him. He bunched it in both fists and proceeded to squeal happily as he repeatedly smashed the surface of the water with all his might.
Jack laughed at the sight of his friends' soaked. clothes. "Baby 4 - Adults 1." He paused, "maybe I should get half credit on that one, I was prepared for the splashes."
"Oh come on," Riley wiped the water off her chin with a nearby dish towel, "you'd be wearing a real shirt if you hadn't gotten pee all over the other one. And pee is much worse than water. Hell, we should lose another point just for that."
"Nah." Jack shook his head and handed Mac the towel, "that's for him. I'm headed for the showers." He turned on his heel and disappeared into Mac's bathroom.
Jack returned from the bathroom fully dressed and refreshed. "Y'all ready to go shopping?" He clapped his hands together and rubbed them back and forth with anticipation. No one paid him any attention.
Mac popped his head up from behind the coffee table like a prairie dog. "Hey!" And ducked back out of sight. He crawled quickly behind the side of the couch and popped up again, "Hey!" Each time he hid, Riley bounced the child on her knee while making verbal galloping sounds. When she stopped, Mac would pop up in a different spot and the child squealed with delight every time.
Jack was so proud watching such beautiful sibling interactions. When Bozer approached him with a comprehensive shopping list obtained from his new Mommy Board, Jack put his finger to his lips in a shushing motion and pointed silently to the three that were playing.
Bozer beamed with pride as well and patted Jack on the back. Jack laid his hand heavily on Bozer's shoulder and gave it a fond squeeze. They watched in awe until they were noticed.
The crew of five prepared for their next adventure: A Target Run