I do not own Rocket Power, for the umpteenth time! D'OH!!!!!!!!!!!
Chapter 11: As Long As There Are Stars In The Sky

I had picked up Reggie and Jesse the following day of Jesse's birth and we had just gotten adjusted. It was tough for the first couple of weeks with an infant in the house, between being wakened up in the middle of the night and changing diapers, but we were growing accustomed to it. We were pretty tired, but we knew that it would be alright. I took about a week off of work to help take care of Jesse, but Reggie said that she could take care of Jesse after that, since she worked at home.

About a week after Jesse was born, our friends stopped by to visit. They all had announcements to make, in addition to the fact that Sam and Sherry hadn't seen Jesse yet because they had been busy. When they came, everybody sat down on the couch while Reggie fixed up a bottle for Jesse.

"Lars, he looks like you," Sherry said, cradling Vanessa in her arms. "He has a lot of your features."

"If he looks like his Uncle Twister, he'll be REALLY handsome," Twister quipped.

"If he looks like his Uncle Twister, he'll get his ass kicked," Otto joked back as Twister jokingly shoved him.

"So what are you guys here for, to rag on each other or to talk to me?" I teasingly asked as I saw Otto take Clio's hand in his own. Reggie then came out from the kitchen, cradling Jesse and feeding him a bottle. She sat down next to me as I tickled my son's toes. Jesse pulled his foot back and looked at me with his big hazel eyes, while sucking on his bottle. He then smiled at me and pointed his little finger.

"Vanessa said her first word yesterday," Sam announced as Sherry handed Vanessa to him. "Guess what it was."

"Shoobie?" Twister asked as Otto and I cracked up. He looked over at us with a confused face. "What?"

"She said 'Sophie'," Sam replied as Sophie heard her name and trotted up to Sam. Sam patted her forehead as Vanessa reached over to her.

"Sophie," she said simply as she put her little hand on the dog's forehead. I smiled, thinking of the day that Jesse would say his first word, and how much joy it would bring to Reggie and me. After a few minutes of talking about it, Otto said that he had an announcement as he clutched Clio's hand.

"Clio and I," he began, looking at Clio lovingly, "are getting married." I felt my spine shoot up with joy as we all congratulated them. They didn't have everything arranged yet, but Otto said that after he saw Reggie give birth to Jesse, he wanted to have with Clio what I have with Reg, so he proposed the next day. "And Twist," Otto continued, "since Clio and I are going to buy a house and get another dog named Ollie, you get Chance."

"I have to marry the dog?" Twister asked, confused. Otto shot him a look as if to say, 'How stupid can one man possibly be?', but then he broke with laughter.

"No, dude, you get to keep Chance," said Otto as Clio leaned her head on Otto's shoulder.

"Now, you better take better care of her than you did with your puppy," Sammy said jokingly as Vanessa grabbed at his glasses.

"I had a puppy?" asked Twister. The usual response. "I think I now how to take care of Chance," he continued.

"Are you sure?" asked Otto as Twister nodded his head. "Because I don't want to get any phone calls asking what to do next."

"I think I know what to do, O-man," Twister replied just before Reggie burped Jesse, since he was done with his bottle. She handed him to me, and he tugged lightly on my hair, then curled up and began to go to sleep.

"I'm gonna go put him down for a nap," I said as I got up and carried Jesse to his room. I stopped for a second and looked at the mural that Twister had painted, then put Jesse down in his crib. For a few minutes, I just stood there looking at him. He looked so peaceful just sleeping there in his crib, and I began to smile. I couldn't believe that he came from Reggie and me; that his life was in our hands. We would watch him grow from this sleeping infant to an adult, right before our very eyes. It wouldn't be an easy task, but it was one I was willing to take. All the love I head inside for my wife and son was so much, that if I truly knew the extent of it, it would kill me. I leaned over as I stroked Jesse's back gently, proud of the life I had created with whom I once thought was my worst enemy. I knew then that as long as there were stars in the sky, nothing could destroy the love for my family and the joy of being a father.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*THE END~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Thank you to all who reviewed! Wow, I can't believe this story is over now! Well, all I can say is that it was fun and rock on witch bad self! (Hahahaha!!!) Later................................................................much!