A few weeks later

Sue smiled as she heard her son giggling from the other room, where he was playing with Ben. She was in the kitchen cutting up an apple for his snack.

"Oh no you didn't!" Ben shouted playfully as he chased Franklin into the room, scooping him up and tickling him with one large finger.

"Don't rough him up too much," Sue teased.

"Can't promise anything, Susie. This is payback."

"For what?"

Franklin started to laugh hysterically. Ben chuckled a bit as he set the kid down and turned his back to Sue so that she could see her son's handywork. A piece of paper had been scribbled on with crayon and taped to Ben's back, no doubt copying Johnny's recent prank of taping a kick me sign back there.

Sue laughed. "Come here and I'll take it off of you."

"I swear, he's takin' on some of your kid brother's worst attributes," Ben said as she removed the paper.

"Yea, the two of them have kind of hit it off lately, haven't they?" Sue said with amusement as she watched Ben place Franklin in his high chair and hand him the cut-up apple. "You know, it wasn't until recently that I noticed just how much he reminds me of Johnny when he was little. He'd be almost identical if he didn't have Reed's nose. Let's just hope this doesn't mean he'll cause as much trouble."

"Well, at least Johnny's getting that cast off today," Ben said. "He's probably made plans for every night for the next month. I heard him planning on going to a party tonight. And you know I'm glad he can't try that wounded hero act anymore, not that it worked longer than five minutes around here."

Sue shook her head in amusement. "Trust me, he can't wait to get back on his feet either."

"Speaking of Flame-brain, ain't he and Reed s'posed to be back soon?" Ben wondered. "Where are they?"

"They're right here." Johnny and Reed walked into the kitched, Johnny removing his sunglasses and jacket.

"Daddy! Uncle Johnny!" Franklin cried excitedly.

Reed ruffled his son's hair and kissed his wife's cheek. Johnny took the seat next to Franklin. "Hey kiddo."

"Reed you wouldn't believe what your son did to me today," Ben said, trying his best to sound disapproving.

"What?" Reed asked curiously.

Sue held out the piece of paper to him. "It's a new one for the baby books. 'Baby's First Kick Me Sign.'"

Johnny laughed loudly. "That's my nephew!" He gave the giggling toddler a high five.

"You're teaching him bad things, Johnny," Sue said, though it hardly sounded stern.

"He's just having a little fun."

"Speaking of fun, I bet you have some good plans for tonight, huh?" Sue asked.

"Read in the newspaper about this new night club," Johnny said as he took a bite out of a piece of apple Franklin had handed him. "Figured I'd check it out." He got up and walked over to the fridge, opening the door to look for something good.

"Ben, do you have any plans tonight?" Sue asked. "Reed and I were thinking about going out to dinner and a movie."

"Well, I was gonna go over to Alicia's, but she could come here if you need someone to watch Franklin," Ben said.

Johnny raised an eyebrow from behind the fridge door as he grabbed the milk carton, shaking it to make sure there wasn't much left. He shut the door and began to walk back to his seat, limping ever-so-slightly. "You know, my ankle's kind of hurting." He sat down and opened the milk carton. "Maybe I should stay in tonight. And that way Ben could just go over to Alicia's."

Sue looked at him with disbelief. "You'd rather stay in than go to a club your first night out of the cast?"

Johnny shrugged. "Partying can wait one more night." He put the carton to his lips and took a sip.

Sue, Reed, and Ben all exchanged shocked glances. Reed gave Sue a quick nod, telling her to accept it while the offer was still good. "Looks like Uncle Johnny's going to watch you again tonight," Sue told Franklin.

"Yay!" Franklin said, clapping his hand.

"Thank you Johnny," Reed said.

Johnny shrugged again. Sue smiled as Ben and Reed made their way to Reed's lab. She walked over to her little brother's seat and put her arms around him from behind, leaning her head against his. "Thanks, you big softy," she teased.

"It's no big deal. I just don't want to put too much strain on my ankle before it's ready, you know."

Sue laughed and let go of him. "Uh-huh. You're a pretty good uncle, you know that?"

Johnny hid his smile as he took another sip from the milk carton. Once Sue had walked out of the room he turned to Franklin, who had finished his snack. "Kick me sign, huh?" he chuckled. "Classic." He picked up his nephew and tossed him into the air, causing him to laugh. "Kid, I love you."

I may write a possible third chapter taking place shortly after Valeria is born. Tell me what you think!