Though he didn't really have any experience with looking after a baby, Louis was relieved to find that it didn't seem all that different from taking care of his hamster. Of course, babies did involve changing diapers instead of changing bedding, but otherwise it was the same basic principle of making sure they were fed, happy, and safe.
Although it did turn out that the whole bedtime routine was a lot more complicated. Gibbs usually just burrowed under a pile of wood shavings and sawdust and then didn't come out again until he wanted to be fed. But even if it was getting late for a baby to still be up, Oscar didn't seem to want to go to bed. He was starting to see what Dr. Venkman had been talking about.
"I hope nothing's wrong with the little guy." Louis finally voiced his concerns out loud as he stopped pacing the floor to walk over to Janine, all while bouncing Oscar gently in his arms in an attempt to get the fussing to quiet down. The baby hadn't actually started crying yet, but looked as if he might start soon. "Do you think everything's okay? He looks tired but he won't go to sleep."
Janine stood up to help him check, and Oscar continued making unhappy noises while she felt for a fever. After a moment, she stated, "He feels normal. I don't think he's sick."
That was a relief, at least. But he still wanted to figure out something he could do, so he started running through a mental checklist of everything he'd learned you were supposed to do when looking after something. Oscar had already happily eaten the can of strained peas that had been left in the fridge, so he probably wasn't hungry. He was still clean since the last time his diaper had been changed, so that wasn't it either. What other sort of stuff did he have to worry about with his hamster?
Well, there was the fact that you were supposed to make sure they had things to bite on to help with their teeth. Louis knew that he wasn't an expert on babies, but he wondered if Oscar was at the age when he would be teething.
"Maybe he needs something to chew on." He suggested. He glanced down at the table, and then decided to tear a piece of crust off the pizza they'd been eating. It seemed to do the trick, because the fussing quieted down almost immediately after Oscar began gnawing on it with the beginnings of a few teeth.
Louis was finding that he was glad they hadn't been able to have a more regular sort of date. He'd always really liked the idea of having a family, but he'd never realized how much he actually enjoyed this sort of thing until he got a chance to try it. Even if it was his first time, it felt surprisingly natural to be sitting around with Janine and taking care of a baby together. He wondered if…
Well, he supposed it was still much to early to be thinking about that sort of thing. But it would be a nice thought to revisit later on.
A few more minutes of pacing the floor and a quick bedtime story later, and Oscar finally seemed ready to be put down for the night. He didn't quite manage to get through the whole story, but he was pretty sure he covered all of the important parts.
"You're very good with children." Janine noted as he came back into the living room.
"Thanks, I practiced on my hamster."
It occurred to him that they'd spent most of the night until then focused on looking after Oscar. He liked babysitting, but he also liked the idea of getting to relax and talk to each other. Though he suddenly found himself feeling the opposite of relaxed when he glanced over, and something about the way Janine was playing with the bauble she'd picked up made his heart beat faster.
"So, you live alone?"
He tried to tell himself to calm down, and just focus on talking to her. They talked all the time, it was fine. Sure, it hadn't been on a date before, but… never mind, just say something.
"I used to have a roommate, but my mom moved to Florida."
He was sure things seemed to be going fine. They were just having a conversation, like they had every day since he'd met her. Why did he feel like he had a million butterflies swooping around in his stomach? This date thing was actually something people did for fun? This was not fun! This was stressful!
"Why don't you come over here and sit with me?"
He glanced over to see Janine patting the spot next to her on the couch, and was relieved that she didn't seem to have noticed how nervous he felt, or at least didn't seem to mind.
"Okay."
It was going fine. He was sure it was going fine. He had to just stay calm, and figure out what to do next.
"So, you wanna play Boggle, or Super Mario Brothers?"
"You know…" She paused, waiting to make sure he looked up to meet her eyes. "I think motherhood's a very natural instinct."
He supposed maybe he hadn't been the only one who started thinking about that sort of thing. Maybe babysitting was just something that couldn't help but put it on your mind.
"I'd like a child myself. Would you?"
As he found her leg hooked over his, Louis was starting to feel very, very confused as he tried to make sense of the sort of attention she was giving him. But even so, he got the sense that she was talking about more than just dreams for the future.
"T-tonight?"
She reached out, running a hand along his ear, and…
Hey, this date thing was fun.
As the evening went on, Louis was sure that without a doubt, this was the greatest night of his entire life. Okay, so he hadn't exactly counted on Dana coming back earlier than expected, but things turned out alright. Janine still didn't want to leave, and he couldn't begin to describe how happy he was that she still wanted to spend more time with him. At the moment, he wasn't sure how he'd ever lived before she was in his life.
Even once they wound up sitting around watching a movie, he felt that things had never been better. Watching a black-and-white rerun was much better when you had someone real and full of color in your arms. But even as he tried to settle in and enjoy the moment, there was one question that kept running through his mind. And if he was going to ask, he knew it would have to be before Dana finished checking on Oscar and came back out again.
"Janine…" He almost didn't want to say anything at all. Everything seemed so perfect right now. But it was something he really wanted to know, and he couldn't relax until he did. He knew he would feel crushed if the answer was no, but he still had to know. "A-are you and I… you know, are we…?"
The few moments of waiting for a response had him feeling more nervous than he'd ever felt around her before. And you couldn't exactly hide things like a catch in your breath or the way you were fidgeting nervously when someone was nestled in your arms and leaning back against your chest. He almost started to lean away a little, but she gently took his wrists and pulled him even closer around her.
"Yes, Louis." She let out a contented sigh, one that she could feel matched his own. "Yes."
Now the night was definitely perfect. There was a time when he might have found it hard to believe her and kept worrying anyway. But he was fully planning on listening to the advice he'd gotten, and he wasn't going to let himself ruin it now that he had a good thing going. An amazing thing going. He was positive that nothing that could make this night go wrong.
It soon turned out he maybe should have known better than to think that sort of thing.
He was sure he was getting more used to ghosts, even the ones besides Slimer. And he was really trying to do better at not panicking at the sight of them. But when he caught the glare of glowing red eyes and nearly hit his head against the window behind him, he was suddenly dealing with a lot of horrible memories swirling up again. Memories of the time that red glow had come from the face of a snarling demon, all while glass pressed against his back and blocked his escape. It was like a sort of taunt, reminding him just how small and helpless he really was. And even if he had the first clue what to do, he couldn't manage to do anything but stand there frozen and gape as some sort of spirit made off with the defenseless little kid.
He… he had to… but he couldn't… he couldn't… those eyes…
Even after it left, he could barely manage to think straight. He was trying so hard to be calm enough to figure something out, but he could hardly focus on anything but the horrible feelings of panicked dread as Dana scooped up her coat and ran out towards the museum. He felt like he was fighting between two desperate desires, one to know exactly what he needed to do and run out to do it, and the other to curl up in the corner and give in to the panic clawing at his mind.
Janine looked almost as scared and confused as he felt, but standing next to her helped a little to center him. Finally, he knew one thing for certain, and it was that something had to be done soon. And as frantic as he was to do something to help, he couldn't trust himself to be the one to do it.
"We gotta find the guys."