Quickie:
xox-emily-xox - I have no idea where the ideas come from. It's kind of like my fingers type it out and do all the work, and then when all is said and done, I reread what has been written and edit it to make sure it's okay. Blame my fingers.
Diger - Have they really? I haven't been noticing. I don't read fanfiction as much as I write it. That's a shame though.
chase.and.cameron.4ever.93 - No, Cassie is NOT Cassidy. Cassie is a self-created character.
Mathildou - Changes? Sawyer? Are we talking about the same guy? Heheh. Kidding.
SassyLostie - Welcome back! I hope you had a good time on vacation. (Was wondering where you were.) P.S. - Don't be embarrassed that you called me Crazee. It's fine. I know I said you could call me that, but I meant the actual word CRAZY. Teehee. Sorry. I realize that could be confusing. And uh, yeah. Yeah that was directed at you. My jealousy sometimes takes on a life of it's own. No, I'm kidding. I honestly don't mind. The fact that I even get reviews is enough for me. But kickass for you to have that many! You must be better than me.
SO! Everyone loved the ending. Thank you, thank you. I'm glad to hear it, as always. Also, as you may have noticed, I'm spacing out the updates more than usual. Sorry if it's an inconvenience but I've got to do it. It's for the best, I promise. Just try to get used to it. Besides, there's always the off chance I might feel generous some days and give you a freebie chapter. :)
And now I know the question on everyone's mind is How's Sawyer going to cope with Aaron now? Well...you'll need to read to find out, now won't you? Enjoy it.
P.S. - Sorry it's so short. Didn't realize that until now.
Chapter 30
The next day, Sawyer was woken up early by Aaron shouting for his mother. He grabbed his pillow and stuffed it over his head, hoping Aaron would quiet down sometime soon so he could fall back to sleep. Unfortunately, the shouting did not stop, and soon woke Kate too. She rolled over onto her stomach shoving her face into her own pillow.
"What time is it?" she asked, lifting her head up groggily.
Sawyer glanced at the clock. "Seven thirty."
She let her head fall into the pillow again with a sigh.
Sawyer moaned. "How long are they gonna let him go on for?"
"Hopefully not too much longer," Kate sighed.
They both quieted, listening. Aaron had stopped and it was quiet again. Only a few minutes later, Aaron could be heard shouting loudly for Kate. Sawyer threw the pillow on the floor in exasperation.
"Don't they know how to shut their kid up!?"
"What time did you say it was?" Kate turned over on her side, apparently more awake than he was now.
"Half past seven. Why?"
She raised a hand to her head. "Their flight was at six."
"Oh that's just swell."
"I'll go get him," Kate said, sitting up and pushing her hair behind her ears.
"Better not be like this for all four days."
She stared at him as she walked out, silently agreeing. She walked into the guest room and there was Aaron in his portable crib, eyes shining.
"Kay!" he said loudly.
"Shh," she said, lifting him out of the crib. "Sawyer's sleeping."
"S'eeping?"
"Yes."
"Shh!" Aaron said, putting a finger to his lips.
"How about some breakfast? You like bananas?"
"Nana's!" he cried cheerfully, and loudly.
She heard a soft thud, guessing Sawyer had thrown the pillow at his door. Inwardly apologetic, she quietly crept down the stairs with Aaron.
"What's that!?" Aaron asked, suddenly clinging to Kate.
Kate looked over his shoulder and saw Mackenzie sitting on the couch, sleeping peacefully.
"That's Mackenzie. He's a cat."
"Kenzie?"
"Muh-kenzie."
"Kenzie," Aaron insisted.
"Fine," she smiled, setting him in his high chair. It'd been set up in the kitchen the night before, much to Sawyer's disliking.
"Where Kenzie go?"
"Mackenzie's still sleeping."
"Oh!" his eyes widened with realization. "Shh."
Kate had to laugh. He was more adorable than she would have imagined. She could get used to this.
Following Claire's instructions, Kate found a small bowl and poured the contents of the miniature box of Cheerios into it. She put the bowl on Aaron's tray and started to peel a banana. Aaron plucked a Cheerio from the bowl and stuffed it – along with his fingers – into his mouth. After a few minutes, he dumped the bowl onto the tray for easier access.
"Kay?" he said suddenly.
"Yes?"
"Juice!"
Juice? Kate wondered. Claire didn't say anything about juice. And the only juice that was in the fridge was Orange Juice. Could she give that to Aaron? Were babies allowed to have Orange Juice? Kate looked through the diaper bag on the counter to see if there was any indication or any juice. When she couldn't find anything, she looked through the fridge, frustrated. She didn't know what to give him. She looked for the list of numbers Claire had given her but quickly stopped herself. Claire was still on the plane. Her phone wouldn't be on.
"Kaay!" Aaron continued. "Juice!"
"What juice, Aaron?"
"Apple."
She turned around and leaned over the counter, thinking. They didn't have apple juice. And Claire hadn't left any. What was she supposed to do? As if on cue, Sawyer sauntered into the kitchen, the morning's newspaper under his arm. She looked up, hopeful.
"Sawyer?" He grunted. She hesitated before going on, "Do you think you could watch him for a – "
"No."
"But I need to run to the store."
"What for?"
"Well…Claire didn't leave any Apple Juice. And he said that's the juice he drinks."
"So? We got Orange Juice," he said, sitting down and opening the paper. "Or Milk even. Give him that."
She looked down embarrassedly. Milk. Why hadn't she thought of that? She sighed and nodded, getting the milk out from the fridge. Sawyer lowered the paper and watched her as she searched through the bag for a bottle.
"You all right, Freckles?"
"Yeah," she said quietly.
That's a no, he thought. He wondered what was wrong and continued to watch her as she fumbled with the top of Aaron's bottle. She was actually almost shaking, he realized. He got up to help her, seeing that she was having trouble getting the top off. He took it from her hands, and she let him and continued to stare at the counter.
"You gotta turn it the other way," he said, twisting the top off easily.
She nodded as he handed it back to her, looking up at him gratefully. She poured the milk, closed the bottle and handed it to Aaron. Luckily, he was content with that. After setting the plate of bananas in front of Aaron, she sat at the table with Sawyer – who went back to his paper - in silence. She didn't even know to give him milk. Even Sawyer knew and he knew as little about kids as Kate did. How could she not have known? And how was she going to manage a kid of her own if she didn't know the basics? Maybe she really wasn't cut out to be a mother.
"What're you thinkin' on so hard?" he interrupted her thoughts.
"Nothing," she said. "Just tired."
Kate leaned forward, but then instantly sat back again. She grimaced, seemingly in pain, and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked up at Sawyer, who was staring at her questioningly. She smiled sheepishly.
"They're sore."
His expression changed and even though he tried to remain nonchalant, she could have sworn he looked almost scared.
"That's…that's normal, right?"
She laughed. "Yes, it's normal."
He nodded. "Right."
Sawyer felt something soft against his leg. He looked under the table and saw Mackenzie rubbing up on his ankle. He got up and grabbed Mackenzie's food bowl to start to fill it. Kate watched, intrigued. She watched as Sawyer filled both bowls with food and water, and gave Mackenzie a pat on the head. Then, he proceeded back to his seat. She smiled.
"Making friends with Mackenzie?"
He scoffed. "I was just gettin' him away from me."
"Okay," she said with a laugh.
Sawyer was about to retort but Aaron had started to whine. Kate tried to ask him what was wrong but he only started to cry. She looked helplessly to Sawyer.
"Don't lookit me," he shook his head. "I don't want nothin' to do with it."
While Sawyer sat once more, desperately trying to read his paper, she lifted Aaron out from the highchair. She grimaced at the pungent odor that suddenly filled her nostrils. She glanced at Sawyer. He had put the paper down, yet again, and sighed.
"I think I've figured out the problem," she said.
"Yeah, I can smell."
She looked at Aaron, unhappily. Sawyer stared at her, wondering what she was waiting for. She noticed, and sighed.
"Well…I don't know how to change a diaper," she explained.
"Well, neither do I."
"Sawyer…please?"
"What the hell am I supposed to do? Hold him while you clean it?" He raised the paper again. "I ain't gettin' within a ten foot radius of him until that's done with."
She narrowed her eyes, and said in a repressed voice, "I need your help, James. I can't do this on my own."
"You could bring him here on your own, though, right?" he muttered.
"What?" she asked, even though she'd heard.
"Nothin'," he said, getting up.
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Grab the bag for me," she said, leading the way upstairs.