"So Little Red Riding Hood goes into the house, and sees her Grandma in bed-"

"Little Red Riding Hood is an idiot," Rose says, crossing her arms.

I stop the story and look at Jack. He doesn't care. He's two. He's not supposed to care. He's just here for his own entertainment till I bore him to sleep. (And yes, my kids have the same names as the characters in Titanic. I know this, and I'm sorry. Aeryn was the one who started calling him Jack, and it was easier to go along with it than it was to explain why I would rather call him Robert. "You see, honey, there was this movie..." I won't tell anyone if you won't.)

"It's just a story, Rose," I tell her.

"And kids hear this," she continues. "You see an animal in a bed and think it's your grandma? It's stupid."

"You can't just take something for entertainment value, can you?"

"It's not entertaining."

Jack lays in bed, watching us. "I am trying to get your brother to sleep, you know," I say.

Rose shrugs and quiets down.

"So Red goes into the room and sees her the wolf dressed up as her grandma-"

"But she's too stupid to see it's a wolf," Rose interrupts.

I look back at her. She puts a hand over her mouth.

I start. Again. "Red says, 'Why, Grandma, what big eyes you have.' And the wolf says, 'the better to see you with, my dear.' And Red says, 'Why, Grandma, what big ears you have.' And the wolf-"

"I'm sorry!" Rose says, pulling her hand away from her mouth. "Did she not see her grandma before? Like, ever?"

I don't even know the answer. So I make it up. "She hadn't seen her since she was really little," I say.

"Okay, fine. Does her mom not love her then? You and mom never let me go anywhere without one of you. Even though I'm old enough," she says, raising her eyebrows.

"No, you're not. You're nine. And you don't even know what a wolf looks like. It could look just like Red's grandma," I remind her.

"No, it doesn't. You drew me a picture once."

The picture she's talking about was of a puppy dog. With big floppy ears and spots, and big cartoon eyes. She was about six when she saw that, so I drew something that definitely wouldn't scare her. Although if that's the picture she's thinking of, her whole "it's a wolf!" argument really does have merit. Not that it wouldn't ordinarily... You know what I mean.

"Story," I say. Jack is still wide awake, blue eyes staring up at me, waiting for me to go on. "And Red says, 'Why, Grandma, what big teeth you have.' And the wolf says, 'The better to eat you with.' And he jumps out of the bed-"

"Can a wolf talk?" Jack says.

"In this story he can," I tell him. She's got him starting now. "He jumps out of bed and starts chasing her all around the house. And just as he's about to eat her, the woodsman runs into the house and kills the wolf-"

Jack makes a face. "Yuck."

"And they all lived happily ever after," I sigh.

"Except for the wolf," Rose says. "And he was the smartest one. This isn't a kid's story, Dad."

Ordinarily I'm very glad Aeryn and I have such an inquisitive child, one who won't take everything she hears to heart. Right now, I have a headache. "End of story. Jack, sleep," I tell him.

"Okay," he says, like it's a big chore. At least I know he will go to sleep. Unlike a certain girl that will go unnamed...

I kiss him on the forehead, and Rose does the same, and we leave together. "Does it bother you that I'm there when you're telling Jack stories?" she asks me.

I shake my head, but I'm not surprised she asked me. I was a little annoyed, but I hope she didn't see that. "No."

"Okay, good. I like being there."

"Then why do you fight me on every point of the story?" I ask. "I didn't write it."

Rose shrugs. "I don't know. I know it's part of our culture and stuff, but there are some really bad ones. And I like spending the time with you."

I wasn't expecting that answer. I like that answer. "I like spending the time with you, too."

"And you're really funny when you get frustrated," she giggles. "Like when I called Obi-wan an idiot and this vein in your neck did this thing..."

I try not to roll my eyes, but it doesn't work. About a month ago I was trying to tell Jack about Star Wars. Every kid needs to know this story, I don't care how young they are. It ended with Jack falling asleep fifteen minutes into it while Rose and I argued about the story till she walked out and left. I thought she was just trying to annoy me, but if she's looking at it as bonding time, I'm more than willing to agree with her on that.

"You do love irritating me," I say with a smile.

Rose smiles brightly. "Uh huh." No one can accuse this girl of being dishonest. As we get to her quarters, she asks, "So what are you going to tell him tomorrow?"

I look at her, and slowly say, "You know what? I'm letting you do it tomorrow."

"Really?" she says, seeming genuinely excited. Then the smile disappears and she looks at me suspiciously. "This is payback, isn't it?"

"So young, so cynical," I say, and hug her before leaving. "Night, Rose."

"I'll be prepared!" she calls down the hall after me, and I can't help but smile.