AUTHOR'S NOTE: Since I'm talking about more than one night I'm putting a title to the following chapters.

*****

After the bell rang Craig, Spinner, and Jimmy headed over to Sammy's house. "Craig!" Gabriel said, as Jane was finishing put his jacket on. Craig picked him up.

"Spinner! Jimmy!" Gabriel said, looking at the other two.

"Yeah. We're going to have a guy's night," Craig said.

Jane handed him the duffle bag. "Here are his sleep clothes, his blanket, his sock monkey he never leaves behind, someone needs to get his playpen and the set up instructions are right here," she said, she handed it to Craig. "There's also his box of mac-and-cheese, but don't let it get too hot, and his favorite DVD if he gets cranky, just plug that in."

"I think we can handle it Ms. Thomas," Craig said. Jane looked at him. "Jane, sorry, still trying to get use to it."

"That's ok," she replied. "Make sure you give him a bath but watch out in case he gets water all over the floor."

"Ok," Craig said.

She handed Spinner a piece of paper. "This is my cell phone number at the hospital, just in case you need it."

"Don't you think you're a little old for me?" Spinner asked.

Jane glared at him. "What will your girlfriend say?" she asked.

"Good point. Just don't tell her."

Jane rolled her eyes. "I'm out of here," she said. She kissed Gabriel on the cheek. "Bye-bye, be good for Craig."

"'K," Gabriel said.

Jane left and Craig tried to balance everything. Jimmy picked up the playpen. "We ready now?" he asked.

"Yeah, once Spinner takes some of the weight off of me," Craig said.

Spinner reached over and picked up the diaper bag and the duffle bag. "Happy now?"

"Yeah," Craig replied.

Spinner opened the door and they walked out and over to Joey's.

*****

"Hey, Gabe," Joey said, as Craig took his jacket off and put it away.

"Hi Joey," Gabriel replied, walking toward him. Joey picked him up and carried him into the kitchen. "Angie, look who's here."

"Yay!" Angela replied.

"See, not much to this baby-sitting stuff," Craig said.

Jimmy looked at the playpen. "We have to set this up," he replied.

"Right," Craig said. He looked around the living room. "But where?"

Jimmy scrunched up his face. "Um, maybe in front of the TV in case we have to plug in his DVD," he said.

"That's a good idea," Craig replied.

Jimmy opened the box and the playpen slipped out all folded up. "Um, directions," he said.

Craig handed them to Spinner and he looked at it. "She gave us the directions in Spanish," he replied.

Craig looked over his shoulder and then turned the paper over. "There's the English version," he said. "That better?"

Joey and Caitlin stood in the kitchen. "I think you should go get the video camera," Caitlin said. "We'll call the tape 'Larry, Curly, and Moe try to put a playpen together'."

Joey nodded, laughing. He walked out of the room and came back with the camcorder and stood in the kitchen and taped them.

"Well, we have to hook that thing up with that thing," Spinner said.

"What thing?" Jimmy asked.

Spinner picked something up. "This thing, it goes with that thing over there."

"Let me see that," Jimmy said, grabbing the directions from his hand.

Joey tried not to laugh. "I have to show this to Sammy."

Caitlin put her hand over her mouth.

"No this thing goes with this," he said, holding something up.

"What is that?" Craig asked.

"It's supposed to be Fig. 1," Spinner said. "Fig.? Oh, figure!"

Craig shook his head. "I think the aerosol in the spray cheese can killed a few of his brain cells."

"Did not," Spinner said.

"Did, too," Craig replied. "Besides I watched Sammy put this thing together once." He started putting it together and pretty soon had it completed.

"I don't know," Spinner said. "It doesn't look right."

Craig looked at it. "It looks ok," he said. "Joey, what do you think?"

"I think I'm going to cry," Joey replied, trying not to laugh.

"Huh?" the boys asked.

Joey walked in. "Hey, Moe did it right!"

"What?" they asked.

Caitlin and Angela burst out laughing. Caitlin walked in wiping her eyes. "Oh my gosh," she said. "That was hilarious."

"Tell us the joke?" Spinner asked.

Joey snorted and shook his head. "Never mind, Spin."

"They didn't think we could put it together," Craig said.

"Oh," Spinner replied. "We showed you."

"I guess you did," Joey said. "Just wait until I show the girlfriend's the tape of you guys putting it together."

"What?" Jimmy asked.

Joey picked the camera up from behind something and held it up.

Craig and Spinner looked at each other and then looked at him. "Give it," Craig said.

They took off after Joey. Joey ran out of the house, they followed. "Run, Joey, Run!" Caitlin said. She laughed and sat down on the couch. Joey ran to through the front door and closed it and locked it quickly.

Craig and Spinner beat on the door. Joey handed Jimmy the camera and he ran to the back door and locked it.

"JOEY!" Craig exclaimed. "Open the door!"

Gabriel giggled with Angela on the couch.

"Please, let us in!" Spinner said. "Jimmy, open the door!"

But Jimmy was doubled over and he fell on the couch next to Angela and Gabriel.

Joey, Caitlin, and Jimmy were laughing too hard but stopped when they heard a thud upstairs. Joey looked up and walked upstairs.

Craig was in Joey's bedroom trying to pull Spinner through the window. "What are you doing in here?" Joey asked. Spinner slipped and Craig grasped him tighter. Joey had the camera.

"Turn that off," Spinner said. Craig pulled him up and through the window and Spinner fell onto the floor.

"I don't know I got to admit that this thing will be pretty hilarious," Craig said.

Spinner looked up at him. "You're dating Sammy, I'm dating Paige, she's never going to let me live this down!"

"Good point. I'm the lucky one aren't I."

"Actually, I don't think I'll show the girlfriends the tape," Joey said, as they walked downstairs.

"Thanks," Spinner replied.

"I'll give it to Snake and he'll play it at school."

"JOEY!" Craig and Spinner snapped.

"Or Caitlin could put it on TV for everyone to see."

Craig and Spinner looked at each other. "We're going to lose anyway," Craig said. "We might as well give in."

"No fair!" Joey said.

Jimmy shook his head. "How pathetic did we look?" he asked.

"Very," Caitlin said.

"I believe you," he replied.

*****

After Gabriel's supper of macaroni-and-cheese throwing some at Craig, Spinner, and Jimmy and putting some noodles places other than his mouth, Craig decided to give him a bath.

"Ok," he said. He picked him up. "It's bath time."

Spinner dumped out the baby shampoo and soap onto the couch. "Sammy packed everything didn't she?" he asked.

"Yep," Craig said. "This is her first night without Gabe."

Spinner shrugged.

Craig carried him upstairs and ran the water and undressed him. He made sure the water was right but he looked up and saw Gabriel running out into the hall. Spinner carried him back into the bathroom and put him in the water. Jimmy close behind. "I wouldn't run around like that," he told Gabriel.

"He's a baby," Craig said.

Gabriel splashed them. As Craig tried to bathe him Gabriel splashed him. By the time Craig got Gabriel out of the tub, he was soaked and his t-shirt was clinging to him tightly. He changed Gabriel and Joey walked in with the camera. "I thought you were giving him a bath. Not the other way around," he said.

"Joey, get the camera out of here," Craig said.

"Angie and I are going to run Caitlin home," Joey replied, putting the camera down.

"Ok." Craig pulled his shirt off and pulled on a cleaner, dryer one.

Joey turned and walked out of the room. "Don't burn the house down," he said.

"We won't!" Spinner said.

"It's you, I'm worried the most about."

Craig looked at Gabriel. "Did you really have to give me a bath?" he asked.

Gabriel nodded.

Craig shook his head. "No, you didn't."

"Yeah."

"No."

Craig picked him up and carried him downstairs.

*****

Gabriel started getting cranky and Craig looked at the guys. "What do we do?" he asked.

"The DVD?" Spinner said.

"Yeah!" Jimmy replied. He looked through the duffle bag. He looked up at them. "Sammy packed everything but the DVD."

"But Jane said it was in there."

"Jane didn't double check," Jimmy said, holding the bag upside down and dumping things onto the floor.

"Maybe he's just tired," Spinner said. "We'll have to get him to bed."

"That playpen doesn't look safe," Jimmy replied.

"Well, it's his bed for tonight."

Spinner picked Gabriel up and put him in the playpen. Gabriel started crying. Craig put his sock monkey into the playpen with him and Gabriel tossed it and cried louder.

Jimmy looked at him. "What are we going to do?" he asked.

"I-I don't know," Craig said.

"He's your girlfriend's son."

"Sammy!" he said. "I'll just call Sammy and see what I'm supposed to do."

He picked up the phone and dialed Sammy's cell phone. It rang a couple of times. "Sorry, I'm not home right now/I'm walking into spider webs/So leave a message/And I'll call you back/A likely story, but leave a message/And I'll call you back," No Doubt sang in his ear.

Craig hung up the phone. "She's not answering," he said.

"They're probably doing something girly," Spinner said.

"Ellie and Sammy are there, I don't think so," Jimmy replied.

Craig shrugged. Then it hit him. "I have it," he replied. He took off out of the room and up to his bedroom and searched for the demo CD his band had made of a couple of their songs. He ran downstairs and put the CD into the CD player and turned it on. Gabriel stopped screaming.

"We came in handy," he said.

"Yes!" Spinner replied.

Craig pushed the repeat CD button and then he, Jimmy, and Spinner collapsed onto the couch.

"You ready to be a dad now?" Spinner asked.

Craig laughed. "Of course, this was easy," he said. But he really wasn't sure now.