The Crib

"Wake up Janie. It's time to meet your little brother." Jane rubbed her eyes a little confused as her father picked her up from her crib. She had some trouble waking up and yawned. "Mommy's at the hospital with your brand new brother and they're dying to meet you." Frank said and started dressing his little girl

Jane was silent and a little bit confused as her father dressed her in a dress. She didn't protest even though she didn't like that dress, she was too tired to argue. She yawned again and almost fell asleep.

Frank had rushed Angela to the hospital in the middle of the night so their neighbor Mrs. Sutler had come over and looked after Janie as she slept. Frank then came home as soon as Angela had given birth to a beautiful little boy, because he didn't want his daughter to be left out.

It was really early in the morning and it wa"s still dark as they drove off to the hospital.

"Papa. Janie sleepy. Nighttime." Jane said and closed her eyes in the back of the car.

"Yes honey. I'm sorry to wake you up so early, I just didn't want you to miss this moment. Don't you want to see your little brother?"

"Mine?"

"He's ours. Yours, mommy's and daddy's. You are now a big sister Jane."

"Jane is big."

"Yes you are sweetheart. And look, we're almost here. Don't fall asleep."

Jane was waking up properly and looked out the window, only to see the darkness on the streets. She was confused. What could be so important that she'd have to wake up early and wear a dress?

"Come on. It's time to meet your brother." Frank picked up his daughter and brought her into the hospital.

"Walk self papa." Jane squirmed off in her father's arms trying to get away. Wanting to walk on her own. Frank placed her on the floor but he didn't know she would run away from him. "Janie fast." She yelled, right before she tripped and fell on the floor, making Frank catch her.

"Oh no. Are you alright Janie?" Frank picked her up and pushed her hair out of her face." Jane sniffled and tears started filling her eyes. "Where does it hurt Jane?" Jane pointed at her knee and Frank noticed a red mark. "It's okay Jane."

"Janie is that you baby girl?" Angela called.

"Momma." Jane said and jumped from her father's arms and ran towards Angela's room. Frank couldn't stop her from running and finally jumping onto Angela's bed.

"Momma." Jane said with a smile on her face, hugging her mother. "Jane fall."

"You fell? Oh no. Are you alright." Angela asked but Jane nodded with a smile on her face. "Jane brave." Then she sneezed and all her hair covered up her face.

"Oh your hair is such a mess. Didn't your dad brush through it before you came."

"No." Jane said and started making herself comfortable in Angela's hospital bed.

"Are you ready to meet your brother?"

"No." Jane said and tucked herself in. "Jane sleepy."

"Oh come on Jane. You are now a big sister. Don't you want to meet your little brother?" Frank asked, picking the baby up from his bed next to Angela's. "Say hi to Frank jr. Jane."

"Fwankie?" Jane asked and opened up her eyes. "Bwah. He's gwoss." Jane frowned and moved as far away from him as she could.

"Jane. Don't say that about your little brother."

Jane just yawned and got comfortable in her mother's arms.

"Just wait Angela. Soon they'll become best friends." Frank said proudly, holding his first son.

When Jane woke up after two hours, all better, her mother was breastfeeding little Frankie.

"Jane milk too."

"No Jane, you're a big girl. You drink milk from bottles now."

Jane was not happy. Who was this prune that was drinking mommy's milk? Why did he get some but she didn't. This wasn't fair. Not fair at all. She stared at him angrily and then looked away.

"Do you want to hold him?" Angela asked.

"No fank you." Jane said, without looking at her mother. "Go home."

"You wanna go home?" Frank asked. "Well, mommy and Frankie need to rest so we can go home if you want.

"Momma go home too."

"Mommy can't go home just yet. She needs to stay with Frankie. But she and Frankie will come home in a couple of days."

Jane was really pissed off. That little prune was stealing her mother. Oh Jane was in a rival mode now. Nobody would steal her parents away from her. They were hers and only hers. She would show that prune who was the boss of the family.

"Daddy has a surprise for you at home." Frank said while putting Jane in her car seat.

At least her father still had his senses and seemed to love her more than that little raisin that was supposed to be her brother.

As Frank drove home with Jane she didn't make a sound, and she who was always singing or babbling in the back of the car when they were driving. Frank was a little worried that his girl might be jealous. But he was going to show her that she was still his number one daughter.

"Come on. I have a gift for my big girl." Frank held her and brought her inside. He took her into a room that she hadn't been into. He opened the door and Jane saw all her stuff neatly put away in shelves and boxes. There was a small closet that kept her clothes, the walls were painted light yellow and a brand new big girl bed was in the corner.

"Look darling. It's your new room. A place for just you. You can sleep and play in here all by yourself."

At first Jane seemed excited, but then she started feeling confused. She walked out of her new room and into her parents' bedroom. She looked at her crib and then she climbed into it.

"Jane where are you?" Her father called.

"Jane bed."

"No Jane, this is a baby bed, you now have your own big girl bed."

"Doh wannit." Jane said and tucked herself in, even though she wasn't tired at all.

Frank had been told that it was tough on some kids getting a sibling. He himself was an only child so he didn't know much about it. His wife was the youngest child in her family so she didn't have any experience either. Maybe everything was changing too fast for the little girl. She had a new room all for herself, but she had been used to sleep in her parents' bedroom and play in the living room. Things seemed to be changing way too fast.

"Okay sweetheart. You can sleep in here if you want. Just know that your new bed is waiting for you."

Jane smiled. She climbed out of her crib and hugged her dad. That new baby was not taking her dad away. She would fight like wolf to make sure that wouldn't happen.

The next day, when Frank and Jane went to visit Angela and Frank jr. at the hospital, Jane brought a bow and a brush so her mother could do her hair.

"Look momma, I bwot a bwush." Jane said, not looking at her brother but jumping into her mother's bed and handing her the brush and the bow.

"Aww sweetie. I'll do your hair." Jane sat quietly and was so calm even though it hurt when her mother brushed through her mess. "Look how pretty you are with your hair all tied up. You should let me do this every day." Jane smiled and nodded.

"Angela, I showed Jane her new room and her new bed, but she refused to play in it and sleep in her new bed. She climbed into her crib and refused to get out." Frank sounded worried.

"Maybe we're moving too fast." Angela said, patting her daughter's head.

"I know, but Frankie needs that crib. We can't afford to buy a new one."

"I know, but what can we do? Force Jane to sleep in a bed that she doesn't want? That's like showing her we don't love her. We just need to figure it out. Maybe we can borrow somebody else's crib for a while? There should be room for two cribs."

"But who can we borrow it from?" Frank asked.

"Nancy told me that Kelly was about to start sleeping in a bed. Maybe we can borrow theirs."

"Oh great. Like Carl isn't giving me enough trouble as it is, but to borrow a crib from him. That's like asking him to show us how much more money they have than us."

"I don't know honey. We have two kids, they only have one. Isn't that sort of like bragging by asking to borrow the crib?"

"Yeah, and telling him that his daughter is better than ours cause ours still sleeps in a crib."

"Honey. Seriously. It doesn't matter. We need a new crib for Frankie, Jane thinks we'll be replacing her if he gets her old crib. Just let her use it until she understands that she is still our number one girl.

"Fine. I'll drop by and ask him before we go home. " Frank said a little pissed.

"Not everything is a competition."

"Oh you sure know nothing about men." Frank said thinking about his annoying neighbor who was always trying to piss him off. "He started it."

"Can't you hear yourself? You sound like a child."

Frank knew he was being immature but he really hated Carl and how much better he always seemed to be doing than the Rizzoli's.