Aaron woke up to a sharp pain in his mouth. Aaron moaned a little bit, and Stalker woke up as he heard Aaron. "What's wrong buddy?" He asked putting his paw on Aaron's forehead to check his temperature.
"My mouth hurts." Aaron said rubbing his cheek.
"Just wait there. I'll be right back." Stalker said as he leapt out of the crib and walked out of the room.
Moments later, Stalker walked back in to the room carrying something in his mouth. He leapt back in to the crib and laid the object in front of Aaron. "Here, Sonia said that you might need this." Stalker told him motioning to the object.
Aaron picked it up and looked at it; it was a bright colored plastic ring. "What's this for?" Aaron asked holding up the ring in confusion.
"You're teething. This is a teething ring. It's designed to help you ease the pain by biting on it." Stalker told Aaron who reluctantly put the ring in his mouth. A look of relaxation came across Aaron's face as he chewed on the ring.
"All better?" Stalker asked smiling at his partner. Aaron nodded his head as he continued chewing on the ring. Stalker went back to sleep while Aaron chewed on the ring for a little while longer before he fell asleep. Aaron slept peacefully for the rest of the night.
When Aaron woke up, he found the teething ring lying next to him, and Geo looking down at him. Geo lifted Aaron from the crib and checked his diaper which was wet, changed it, and dressed him in a yellow t-shirt and a pair of faded, blue overalls. Geo carried Aaron in to the kitchen where Sonia was preparing breakfast and talking to Stalker who was sitting on the counter.
After Geo sat Aaron in the highchair, Sonia tied a bib around Aaron's neck and sat a bowl of oatmeal in front of Aaron. Aaron picked up the spoon that Sonia handed him, and he began eating or at least trying to; most of the food missed his mouth. Sonia wiped off Aaron's mouth and took the spoon from him which she handed to Geo. Geo fed Aaron the remaining oatmeal while Sonia was getting a bottle ready for Aaron. Aaron detested being fed by Geo; it wasn't because he didn't like Geo, which he did. It was because he was used to taking care of himself and he felt like he had to depend on others.
After Aaron finished his oatmeal and Geo cleaned him off, Sonia handed Aaron a bottle full of formula which Aaron had trouble holding, so Sonia held it up for him. "Stalker told me that you're teething." Sonia said smiling at Aaron who continued drinking the formula. After Aaron finished the bottle and Sonia burped him, she sat him on the floor with several toys scattered around him. Aaron moaned in pain a little bit, and Geo quickly came back with Aaron's teething ring.
In between time spent chewing on the ring, Aaron was stacking blocks on top of each other trying to make a tower. Aaron actually managed to stand up and take a few steps before falling back down as he gathered more blocks for his tower. Geo smiled as he watched Aaron play, and he decided to help Aaron as he started stacking the blocks with Aaron. Aaron saw the tower start to wobble, so he began orienting the blocks so that when they fell, they would fall on Geo. The tower was still stable, and Aaron was too short to keep stacking blocks, so he pulled a block from the bottom of the tower and watched the blocks fall on Geo. Aaron laughed as he watched Geo get bombarded with blocks.
Sonia walked in to the room and saw Aaron laughing; she took the opportunity to pick him up and check his diaper. It was clean and Sonia knew that Aaron probably had to use the bathroom, so she began pushing on his lower abdomen which caused his diaper to fill up. Aaron groaned when he felt the mess in his diaper. Sonia just carried him in to his room and laid him on the changing table where she got to work changing his diaper. To keep Aaron occupied, Sonia handed him his teething ring which he chewed on while Sonia finished taping the new diaper shut.
Sonia picked Aaron up in her arms and he yawned; Sonia decided that it would be a good time for Aaron to take a nap. Sonia laid Aaron in his crib and popped a pacifier in his mouth. She then proceeded to start singing him a lullaby which caused Aaron's already drooping eyelids to close. Sonia carefully exited the room making sure not to wake Aaron, but not before she glanced back at him and took a brief moment to watch him sleep.
"He's so cute and friendly. It's almost hard to believe that he was so mean and closed off from everyone else." Sonia thought to herself as she closed the door.