Chapter 17 Lullaby
It's been about a week since Carlos first came down for breakfast and he had his Logan moment. He is still coming down for breakfast every day now and dinner, too. But other than that, no changes have occurred.
The guys can't help but feel disappointed at this. After seeing him make so much progress in the course of days, they had hoped this would continue. But unfortunately, it didn't. So now they just sit and have breakfast and dinner with Carlos, while he just looks at his food in silence.
After finishing another uncomfortable breakfast dinner, Kendall sighs as their young friend retreats up the stairs.
"God, I am so tired of this. Why can't he just talk to us now?" he whines.
"Kendall, you know it can't go as fast as we want it. We need to be patient." Logan assures him.
"yeah, but he already talked to you. Why can't he do the same with us?" Kendall asks. Mrs. Knight walks up to him and gently rubs his back.
"He'll come back to us eventually, honey. Just give him some time. He has already made so much progress we never thought he would, I'm sure we can wait a little while longer for him to open up further." She kisses the top of his head and he gives her a small smile.
"You're right, mom. I'm sorry, I just hoped he would do something, anything by now. Even during dinner he just looks at his hands the whole time."
"Sweetie. You really think he's only looking at his hands?" Mrs. Knight asks him with a baffled smile. He looks up with a frown. "That is so sweet. Honey, while you guys have small talk and laugh with each other, he listens and he does watch you. You just don't notice because you're busy having fun together, but he does pay attention. And sometimes, I think he smiles just a little."
The guys look at her with wide eyes.
"He does that?" Kendall asks her. She nods, making them all smile warmly.
"Wow. Thanks, mom. You really brightened up my day." Kendall tells her as he affectionately kisses her cheek.
"Don't thank me, just telling you what I saw." She waves them off.
"Hey, lets go play hockey." James suddenly announces. The others stare at him with raised eyebrows and an amused smile. "What?"
"We haven't played hockey in like forever." Kendall states.
"Yeah, I know. Which is why I suggested it." James explains. They still stare at him in disbelief. "What, what is it?"
"I just don't… Where is this coming from?" Logan asks.
"I don't know. I'm just in a good mood I guess. Maybe it's the way Carlos has been improving, you know. I'm just feeling more like myself again."
"Even without you're lucky comb?" Kendall teases. James rolls his eyes.
"No, I am still upset about that." They chuckle. "But I guess I'm not going to need good hair when I'm wearing a helmet." They shake their heads while they continue to chuckle. James playfully shoves his friends. "Oh, shut up."
"Hey. You think Carlos might go with us if we ask him?" Kendall suddenly suggests as they head for the stairs. The other two stop walking and look at him with incredulous looks. "I'm just thinking, maybe it'll bring him out of his shell more. I mean, he used to love hockey."
"Kendall, it took like two weeks to get him to come to eat with us. Inside the house. I really don't think he's going to want to come outside, even it is hockey." Logan reminds him.
"Yeah, I know. But I just thought, maybe it'll make him happy. We could even give him his skates to wear. He wouldn't have to play of course, but maybe just having those skates on will bring back memories of the good times, you know.." Kendall softly tells them as he looks at his feet.
"Kendall, I know what you want to do and I think it's a really nice thought. But I honestly don't think it's the time yet. Maybe later when he's less nervous to be around us. Sorry, buddy." Logan tells him and gently squeezes his shoulder.
"Yeah, it's uh… I'm sorry, it was a stupid idea… I just…" he mumbles.
"No, Kendall. It wasn't stupid at all. In fact, I think we should give him with skates anyway, even if we don't bring him with us. And maybe his roller blades, too." James suggests and hears Logan sigh beside him. "Just to see his reaction." He explains.
"Guys, I don't know about this. I mean, remember how he reacted towards the hockey stick Katie wanted to give him? Honestly, we don't know how he might react to this." Logan tells them.
"Well, it wouldn't hurt to try, right?" James tells them and Kendall nods at once, while Logan still looks hesitant. "Come on, Logan. Where's your spirit?" James asks as he swats his friend's arm. Logan smiles a little.
"Alright, alright. I guess we can try." The other two friends pound fists with glee. Logan just smirks and shakes his head at the childlike sparkling eyes.
Moments later, the boys are dressed and getting their stuff together to go to the hockey rink.
"Come on, Kendall. I want to get there before others take the ice." James shouts from downstairs as Kendall rushes through his room.
"Hold on, man. I'm trying to find my jersey."
"Just grab another one. I don't want to share!" James shouts again. Kendall sighs and rolls his eyes.
"Where is it?" he says to himself as he tries to find his favorite hockey jersey. He has already gone through his entire closet and looked through all his stuff, but it seems to have disappeared.
"Kendall, come on!" Logan's voice now adds to James whining and Kendall groans.
"Alright, alright!" he grumbles to himself while he grabs an old jersey he never wears and heads downstairs.
"Finally." James huffs and Kendall shoots him a look. "Let's go."
"Wait." James groans and turns back to Kendall again, looking very annoyed and impatient. "We almost forgot these." He says as he pulls a pair of ice skates out of his bag.
"Oh, right. We should head upstairs and give them to him." James says, but Logan stops him.
"Uh, I don't think you have to." He says, while looking at something in the living room.
James follows his look and smiles as he sees a black helmet quickly ducking over the edge of the couch. He looks at Logan in disbelief.
"He was watching us." Logan says, his eyes still on the couch. Kendall looks at the skates in his hands and moves a little towards the couch.
"Uh, these are yours. I know you probably don't want to come with us to play some hockey. But I just wanted to give them back to you. You know, in case some day, hopefully, you'll remember how much you used to love ice hockey. And how good you were. Are. Well, you know what I mean. I uh, I'll just put them down here. So, if you want to see if they still fit or something, they're right here." Kendall explains as he carefully puts the skates down on the floor next to the dining table.
He walks back to the other guys and finds them smiling again. He looks back and catches Carlos curiously peering over the edge of the couch at the skates on the floor. He looks up and as soon as he meets the eyes of his friends, he quickly ducks down again.
Kendall smiles and shakes his head. "Come on. Let's go play some hockey." He tells his friends, who are both also smiling and chuckling in some shock as they head out the door.
As they head for the rink, they don't see the figure curiously peeking over the couch. He looks around once more, before actually getting up from the couch and slowly heading towards the skates. He hesitantly touches them and moves back when he hears a sound. He looks around again and when he finds no one, he carefully grabs the items and takes them away.
It's late in the afternoon and while the guys are still at the rink and Carlos has gone upstairs again, Katie and Mrs. Knight are downstairs watching TV. Well, Katie is watching TV, while Mrs. Knight is reading and sometimes zapping the channel when Katie again puts on the Crime Investigation Network.
Mrs. Knight sighs loudly when she changes it again.
"What?" Katie asks with exasperation. Her mother just shoots her a look. "Ugh, fine." She waves up her arms and changes back the channel to Fox Life. Her mother smiles in approval.
She goes back to reading, when the doorbell rings. Jennifer Knight shoots her daughter a questioning look, but she just shrugs in return.
Jennifer gets up and Katie doesn't hesitate to change the channel again. Jennifer wants to turn around to say something, but decides not to when the bell is rung even longer.
She hurries to the door and opens it with a smile. It fades slightly when she sees an unknown woman with a baby on her hip.
"Hi. I am so sorry to disturb you. I'm Melanie Bridges, I just moved in next door." She announces as she holds out her hand.
Jennifer frowns a little, but shakes it anyway. "Jennifer Knight. Uh, may I ask, what do you mean with next door, because this isn't really a neighborhood. I haven't really seen any houses nearby."
"Yeah, no, you're right. But I live in the closest house to this one and I saw this one as I was driving past it on my way home. And… god, I feel so embarrassed about this." She looks ashamed and Jennifer feels sympathy for the woman who bounces the baby on her hip. The baby shows signs of having been crying a lot and seems no more than four, maybe five months old.
"No, it's fine. Are you okay?" She asks with genuine concern. The woman looks very tired, but manages a small smile.
"Yeah, I just. I'm sorry…" She says and stops herself. "It's just… I just got called in to work and I tried to say no, but my boss threatened to fire me if I didn't come in and I can't find a babysitter and this I the only house even remotely in the area and I just though… oh god, this is so stupid. You know, what? I just heard what I'm saying and this was a bad idea. I'm sorry for taking up your time." She almost leaves, but Jennifer stops her.
"No, it's okay. You're here to ask if we want to babysit, right?" She asks with a warm smile.
"I… yes, I am. I'm sorry, you don't even know me and I'm sure you think I'm totally insane…"
"I'd love to." Jennifer tells her and the woman stares at her in surprise.
"You would?"
"Yes, I may not know you, but I'm a mother myself and believe me, I know what it's like." She smiles understandingly. The mother starts to cry a little, before pulling Jennifer in a gentle hug.
"Oh, thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me." She sniffles and Jennifer just keeps smiling.
"It's my pleasure." Melanie hands her the baby and Jennifer sends the little one a small smile. "her name's Lucy. She's four months old. I'll be working until about eight, so you won't have to watch her for long."
"Tell you what. If everything goes well, why don't you let her stay here for the night and you ick her up in the morning." The woman looks confused. "You really look like you could use a good night sleep." Jennifer offers. The woman smiles.
"Oh my god, I really do. Oh wow, I just feel like crying again. I just… wow. I really owe you so much right now. I can't even…"
"It's okay, really. Now you just go to work and we'll make sure she has the best time." Jennifer says as she makes the baby smile.
"Alright. Thank you so much, Jennifer, right?" Jennifer nods. "Okay, mommy has to go now, sweetie. But I'll pick you up tomorrow morning. Oh, it feels so weird saying that. I have hardly spent one hour away from her. But I really do need some sleep. Don't worry, tomorrow I'll have a new babysitter, a permanent one, I hope."
"It's fine. Now go." The woman kisses her daughter in the forehead another time before giving Jennifer the baby's bag with all her stuff and explaining what she needs. Jennifer just nods at all the instructions and takes the bag and the mother's card with her phone number. As the woman finally leaves, Jennifer closes the door and puts the bag down before heading back to Katie.
The girl looks up for a moment and back at the TV. Then, she mutes the TV and looks at her mom and the baby on her hip in shock.
"Uh, mom. Please tell me you did not seriously just offer to watch a baby for a whole night." She asks in disbelief.
"Oh come on. Just look at her. This will be fun." Jennifer says as she makes a goofy face at the baby. Katie just watches her in disgust.
"Mom, babies cry, remember? You haven't taken care of a baby for 14 years." She reminds her mom, but she just keeps smiling like she doesn't even hear her daughter. "Are you even listening?" Her mom makes funny noises and chuckles as the baby giggles slightly. "Unbelievable." She throws her hands up and walks away just as the baby starts to cry loudly.
"Aw, what's the matter?" Is all she can hear as her mother tries to soothe the little girl.
Two hours later…
"Mom, why won't she stop crying?" Katie yells with her hands over her ears as the baby's earth shattering wail have taken over the house.
Jennifer walks through the house, bouncing the baby on her hip as she tries to make soothing noises. She already looks exhausted as she walks around.
"I don't know, Katie. I've already tried everything." Jennifer tells her and lets out a deep breath. "I'm sorry, this is just, really frustrating." She says as she bounces the baby again.
When the front door opens and the boys come waltzing through, Jennifer lets out a relieved sigh.
"What's going on here?" Kendall asks.
"Is that a baby?" Logan asks, pointing at the baby in confusion.
"Why are you holding a baby?" James suddenly asks as well. Jennifer rolls her eyes and in one moment she hands Kendall the baby.
"Your turn to calm it down. Good luck, I'm taking a shower." She announces and heads out of the room. Kendall looks from the baby to his retreating mom with confusion. He looks at his friends, but they just shrug.
He as well tries to bounce her, but again, no luck. The baby just keeps crying. James has tried as well, holding toys in front of her. Logan has tried to make funny faces, but nothing is working. Katie has put on some earmuffs, but even they don't work as she holds her hands over them to try and drown out the noise.
"When is she going to stop?" Just as she shouts this, the baby finally starts to calm down. Kendall looks down and sees Logan is holding a bottle for her.
"Please don't tell me that was it. She was just hungry?" Kendall exclaims in annoyance, but as quiet as possible.
"No, dude. Mom tried that in the beginning, she wouldn't take it. I guess she's been screaming for so long, now she did get hungry." Katie exclaims in anger as she finally pulls off the earmuffs.
"God, I thought she'd never stop." Jennifer suddenly exclaims as she comes back down and takes the baby back from Kendall's arms. "Thanks, honey."
"Yeah, you're welcome." Kendall says with a somewhat questioning glance as his mother doesn't even acknowledge anyone else in the room.
"hey, Kendall." Logan calls out from the dining area. Kendall looks up and heads over to his friends.
"What? What is it?" He asks them as they stare at the ground.
"Dude, the skates are gone." James tells him with a smile. He looks down himself and finds the skates indeed to be gone.
"You think he actually took them?" he asks his friends, but has a smile on his own face.
His friends shrug, but all three share some happiness.
"Hey mom, should we order some.." Kendall shouts.
"Shh!" She whispers to them, making all three friends stop dead in their tracks. They look and see the baby now actually sleeping in her arms.
"What the? But she was just drinking from her bottle. How is she already asleep?" Logan whispers.
"I guess al that crying really tired her out." Jennifer tells him as she rocks the baby in her arms. "I'm going to lie her down on my bed. Why don't you boys order some pizza." She offers as she quietly heads up the stairs.
When she comes back down, the boys are sitting on the couch watching TV already. "Pizza will be here in 20 minutes." James tells her.
She nods and puts an old baby monitor on a side table next to the couch.
"Where did you get that?" Kendall asks her as they all look at it.
"I actually found it in some old boxes with baby stuff from you and Katie. I wasn't even sure I kept these; I was just looking for Katie's blanket. But I found these instead. It's good, now we can make sure she's alright." He nods and they turn their attention to the TV again.
An hour later, five very stuffed figures sit on the couch with empty pizza boxes on the table.
They groan as all of them have eaten way too much. But Katie can't help but stare at the still unopened box left.
"Katie, I'm sure he's just not that hungry." Mrs. Knight assures her daughter as she catches her glancing at the stairs again. Katie just sighs.
"But he's been eating with us for a whole week now. Why would he stay upstairs again?" She asks and her mother softly rubs a hand over back.
"He'll be okay. I'm sure he has his reasons. Maybe today is just not a good day for him." She says softly as she brushes a stranded hair out of her daughter's face. Katie just nods solemnly.
"I can't believe the same baby that was nearly shattering all of our ear drums earlier is now so quiet." James announces and as soon as the worlds leave his mouth, a familiar sound is heard.
"James…" Kendall whines.
"What? Oh, like I started it." He exclaims, crossing his arms over his chest.
As the soft wail slowly builds up to the same shattering cry, everyone groans.
"Oh come on… Doesn't she get the concept of needing 8 hours of sleep?" James exclaims and the others raise their eyebrows and shake their heads.
Jennifer sighs. "Oh, I can't do this again. Why did I agree to do this?" She says as she puts a pillow over her head.
"Okay, who's going to calm her down now?" Katie asks, standing up on the couch.
"James, I say it's your turn." Kendall states.
"What? Me? Why me? I don't know anything about kids. I think Logan should go." James explains.
"Why should I go?" he asks.
"Hey, you're the smart one, I'm sure you'll think of a way to calm her down." James replies.
"That doesn't make any sense." Logan tells him.
"Makes sense to me." Kendall agrees and James grins.
"What? Oh, for gods sake. Fine, I'll go." Logan announces as he starts towards the stairs. But before he can climb one step, a small sound interrupts everyone. They stare at the baby monitor in confusion and Logan steps back into the room.
The baby's cries suddenly start to go softer.
"Is that humming?" Logan asks as they strain their ears to hear the sound. As the baby's cries die down they recognize indeed a strange humming sound.
"What is that?" Kendall asks and Jennifer ups the volume on the monitor. As she does, the sound becomes a whole lot clearer.
"Oh my god…" James exclaims and they all sit back as the listen. "That's Carlos…" He says in awe. The others sit and listen in slight shock as Carlos hums a soft melody to the baby.
"You know, it sounds so familiar…" Kendall whispers with a small smile.
"yeah, it really does." Logan says in agreement.
"Oh my god, guys…" Katie suddenly exclaims. They look at her in confusion. "That's your song. That's Worldwide!" She says with a big smile.
They exchange looks and listen again. Sure enough they can now recognize the soft tunes of their song Worlwide.
"I can't believe this…" Logan whispers. "he's humming our song…" He says, not able to stop tears from springing into his eyes.
"Guys, listen…" Kendall suddenly says, shushing his friend immediately. They all sit to listen again and suddenly their mouths fall open in shock.
"Oh I never…never…" A soft voice starts to sound through the speaker. "Soon we'll be together… Paris, London, Tokyo, It's just one thing that I gotta do… Hello, tuck you in every night on the phone… Hello, tuck you in every night on the phone… And I can hardly take another goodbye… Baby, won't be long… You're the one that I'm waiting on… Hello, tuck you in every night on the phone, yeah… Girl, I'll be thinking about you worldwide, worldwide, worldwide… Girl, I'll be thinking about you worldwide, worldwide, worldwide…Girl, I'll be thinking about you"
They can't help but let tears fall down their faces as they listen to the soft singing of their friend. Even though he's only doing it because he thinks the others can't hear him, they never thought it would happen. Right now, this is the most beautiful moment that has ever happened.
"Whoa, wherever the wind blows me…You're still the one and only girl on my mind…" Then everything slowly gets quiet. Logan is the first to sniffle out loud. When Mrs. Knight sees it, she is quick to pull him into a hug. He just smiles and cries along with her. Even Katie cries softly, but laughs through her tears. Kendall wipes his eyes, while James looks away from them.
"James, it's okay. We're all crying." He whispers.
"I'm not crying. I've got something in my eye." He exclaims. Kendall chuckles.
"Oh, come here, pretty boy." He says playfully before pulling the tall brown-haired man into his arms and hugging him tightly as he cries.
"I just can't believe it. He was actually singing." Logan says as the others nod with a smile of their own and sniffling to follow it.
They all sit there in awe and quietly watch some more TV, until it's time to head for bed. They head upstairs and as they say their goodnights, Mrs. Knight heads to her room as they head to theirs.
As she opens her door, the sight she is met with brings back the tears all together. Katie has noticed she stopped in the doorway and quickly comes up behind her. She gasps and quickly gets her brothers.
Pretty soon they all stand in the doorway as they watch the little girl peacefully sleeping on the chest of her loving sound asleep, protector, Carlos.
A/N Aww, so my favorite chapter so far. Maybe even a little too soon with the singing. But I loved it so much, I couldn't wait.
Bet you didn't think that would happen, did you? Now what will happen next, hm… I'll leave that up to you ;)
I hope you liked that Thank you for all the support on this story. I love writing this story still, just because I love coming up with fluffy Carlos moments. He's so loveable
And it's all I've got to with until a new episode comes out. When is that happening, anyway? Taking so long…
Anyway, thank you all so much again, I appreciate every single review
So until next time, Love, Baxxie