Sam loved being a big brother. It was quite a change from being the baby of the family, to know having responsibility in watching out for one.

"Look at what I've got, Chrissie" he beamed.

The eight-year-old was laying down beside his little sister, who was propped up on her unsteady arms, as she rested on her tummy. Sam grinned as he watched her reaction to the rattle in his hand. Chrissie tried to reach out for the strange and noisy object, however her attempt failed. Sam caught her before she hit the soft mat. The baby gave a small gurgle of annoyance, as she kicked her small legs out like a frog learning to swim.

"Don't be mad, Chrissie," reassured Sam. "You just need to practice more."

He then gave the toy to the four-month old baby, who waved it around. Chrissie cooed in wonder as she began whacking the rattle onto the soft mat, before accidentally hitting her unsuspecting brother's hand. A strange zap sparked inside of Sam, like a random electric shock.

"Ow!" yelped Sam.

The surprise reaction startled the baby, who began to fuss almost instantly. Sensing his sister's distress, Sam carefully picked her up. Chrissie was getting heavier, and it was getting trickier to keep her upright. Sam didn't like being little and scrawny, as he would often get teased for it.

"It's okay, Chrissie," he comforted. "You didn't mean to."

At that moment, Mary quickly rushed into the lounge from the kitchen. She held a ladle in her right hand, as she was in the middle of making tomato rice soup.

"What's wrong?" she asked, as she wandered over to her young children.

Chrissie was now in her mother's arms, cooing away contentedly.

"She hit my hand by accident," explained Sam, as he waved the ladle around. "I stopped her from crying when I picked her up."

"Well, just don't hit yourself with that ladle," smirked Mary. "Anyway, lunch is almost ready. Then I want you back to bed. You told me you were too sick to go to school."

Sam lowered his head, as he scuffed his feet on the carpet. The ladle fell by his side.

"I am," he insisted, as Chrissie gurgled in the background. "My tummy hurts and everything."

Mary nodded, unconvinced: "Uh huh, so it's not because you wanted to play with Chrissie all day then?" she queried.

The little boy gazed up at his mother. Chrissie smiled, as drool dribbled down her chin.

"N-No," replied the eight-year-old, who began to stumble on his words, a tell-tale sign that he was lying. "I really feel sick."

Chrissie let out a small squeak, as she chewed on her newly discovered fingers. It appeared she was just as unconvinced as Mary. Their mother raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"So, I didn't see you and Dean tamper with the thermometer this morning then?" she pressed, an amused smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Sam's eyes shifted, another way of telling that he was lying.

"Dean was showing me something he learned from Tommy," he lied, unpersuasively. "He said you can change the temperature by putting the thermo thing under hot water. It was for science stuff."

Mary shook her head at her young son, before guiding him into the kitchen.

"You're a terrible liar, Sammy," she remarked, as she placed Chrissie into her high chair. "You're Dad is the same."

Sam pouted, as he slumped against his arms on the kitchen table. His eyes caught sight of Chrissie mumbling to herself, as she examined her own hands. It brought a smile to his face.

"Okay," admitted the little boy. "Dean said if I changed the thermo thingy you would let me stay home. He said he's done it before, and he's never been caught."

He then bit his lip. Dean would be impressed that he had been snitched on. Mary sighed wearily, before returning to the table with a bowl of soup. She placed it in front of her son, before ruffling his hair.

"Why would you tell me a lie like that, Sammy?" asked Mary, as she then began to feed Chrissie mashed banana. "It's not those bullies again, is it?"

Sam took several sips of soup, before finding the courage to look at his mother.

"No," he responded, truthfully. "I just don't want to miss stuff."

Mary was confused. "Miss out on what?" she questioned.

Chrissie smacked her lips, as Mary spooned more puree fruit into her mouth. Sam watched his sister reach out for the spoon. Mary's eyes softened, as she could read her son like a book.

"Sweetie, you're not going to miss anything," she responded. "Don't worry, you'll see Chrissie get bigger and learn new things. You'll get to help her too. Just like Dean helped you."

Chrissie cooed, as if adding her own opinion into the matter, even though she couldn't even speak yet.

"See, your sister agrees with me" Mary added.

Sam smiled back.

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