"So, you hear that Penny kissed Skittery?" Crutchy said as he sat on the fire escape with Elise, taking in the early evening's cool breeze. "He's all worked up about it, tryin' ta figger out what to do with hisself." He laughed a little, shaking his head. "You think there's somethin' to it?"

"No." Elise sighed, rolling her eyes. "Well, maybe. She told me why she kissed him. She was adamant that it was to avoid something, but now that I think about it, maybe she's just kidding herself." She shrugged, laughing a little. "There are some real sparks between those two, aren't there?"

Crutchy just looked at her, her skin lovely in the red glow of the sunset, and smiled.

Weeks had passed since the infamous Skittery-Penny kiss, and still nothing had come of it. The girls lay in their beds, lounging late as it was their day off. Penny was relaying stories to her cousin of Skittery's antics the day before, going into ridiculous detail of the most mundane things.

"You looove him," Elise cooed, tossing a pillow at her best friend. As Penny fumbled for words of protest, Elise just laughed. "You do, and you cannot deny it, my dear."

Penny shook her head and got up, heading downstairs to join the boys gathered in the common room.

Elise had taken it upon herself to keep the lodging house in order – she found it necessary to clean up after all the boys, even making their beds on occasion. As she set about tidying up the dormitory, Crutchy came upstairs to see her silhouetted against the harsh light of the window.

Distinct features couldn't be made out, but her figure was one to be marveled, even now. She'd filled out wonderfully – her dress seemed a little tight as her chest had grown, and her stomach had just barely begun to poke out. It was beautiful.

Thankfully, she hadn't noticed him staring, but her turning to make another bed broke his trance. He took a few steps into the room.

"You're gonna hate me for sayin' this, Elise, but I gotta... motherhood really does suit you."

She straightened, turning around and smiling. "You startled me," she said with a laugh, then shrugged. "Thank you, though... I don't hate you for saying it." Her smile wavered a little bit, but she shook her head. "Really."

"I got somethin' for you." Crutchy made his way over to his trunk, glancing around the room to make sure no one saw. "You ain't allowed to laugh at me for keepin' this."

"Crutchy, why would I laugh at you?"

He pulled out a lumpy blue bundle, and handed it to her. "'Course, I dunno if this is the right color, but this was mine when I was a baby, an' I figgered you'd need it."

Elise looked over the bundle, untied it, and watched it unroll into a baby's blanket. Her eyes filled with tears as she spread it out on her bed, and she threw her arms around Crutchy's neck. He laid a hand on her back and laughed nervously.

"C'mon now, don't go to pieces on me or nothin'." Elise laughed and planted a big, wet kiss on his lips. She pulled away, shaking with a combination of sobs and laughter.

"Thank you so much, Crutchy."

A/N: Before I hear anything about the length of this chapter... I wanted it to be short and sweet. And that's what it was. Ridiculously short and cavity-inducing sweet. But if you look closely, you'll see that it's a pivotal moment in the relationship between Crutchy and Elise.

Next chapter (or maybe the one after that... I'll just keep you guessing!) you will see exactly WHY Penny had to "distract" Skittery. If you haven't figured it out already, anyway. Sooo enough with the spoilers.

I would like to extend a big warm mushy hug to my faithful reviewer. I reviewed one of her stories and she replied saying that she was a fan of mine and that my opinion meant something. I very nearly cried. I HAVE A FAN. Darling, you have no idea how much that means to me. -gives you Spot on a platter with a cherry on top- Yes, Spot. Maybe next time it'll be Racetrack. :)

So. Please R&R. I love reviews. -Layne