"Are you sure you guys don't mind looking after the kids? We don't have to go…" Jess seems reluctant to leave the tiny Ben with us, having almost forgotten Garth and Jo already.
I'm kidding, of course.
"Go, Jess. Enjoy yourself. You deserve a break." I say with a smile; Dean is far too enamoured with the little boy to realise anyone else is still in the room.
"We owe you hugely for this, you know that right? I'll bake you pies when we get back." She smiles a little, seemingly knowing she'll miss the kids.
"Dean's already very grateful. Now trust us, and have fun."
She wraps me in a quick but solid hug, "of course. Have a good week, and thank you."
"It's our pleasure." She manages to get Dean out of his baby-induced stupor long enough to say goodbye, we wave to Sam and then we've got 3 kids suddenly.
"Congratulations. He's a boy." Dean grins at me. "Do you want to hold him?"
"Okay, but tell me if I'm doing it wrong – it's been a few years."
The light weight of Ben is surprisingly reassuring, if still terrifying. He seems complacent now, and I know we should be extremely grateful he seems to like us. It would be a loud week otherwise.
"Can I have him back?"
"Of course, Dean." I roll my eyes, and he was the one who wasn't keen on this.
"I want one."
"See if you're saying that tomorrow morning."
"Let me revel in my joy whilst I still can."
I mime zipping my mouth. "Hey, Garth, Jo; do you want me to show you your room? Do you need me to carry your bags, or are you guys strong enough? Let me know if you need some help, they look heavy."
When I come back, having left Garth and Jo to unpack a little (I've been told to trust them for the most part, but check on them fairly often… and not to let them choose what to eat, ever. They like to only choose things the other dislikes, regardless of whether they like the food or not), Dean is still cooing over Ben.
"You're going to spoil him."
"That's what uncles are for."
"He's only a couple of months old, you'll regret spoiling him this early."
"I think I can handle it for a week."
"What about me?"
He looks at me for a long second, then back to Ben. "You can stay with Gabe. Or we have keys to Sam's."
"You'd give up the only chance of help in looking after three kids just because you want to spoil a baby?"
"Yeah, sounds about right."
"I love you, too, Dean."
"I know you do."
okay, this was really difficult, because the only experience I have with kids anywhere younger than me is 12-13 year old autistic kids. Which isn't very close. So I kept it short. Forgive me...