The Slide
"What's the matter, Chuckie?" Chas said, hurrying over as his son screamed and cried, clinging to the ladder that led up to the slide. He carefully pulled the 2 year old off the ladder so that the other kids could climb it and knelt down, gently stroking his son's hair until he calmed; he still sniffed and whimpered but he wasn't howling like he'd gotten his legs cut off. "Aw buddy, are you still having problems with the slide?"
The other day Chas had taken Chuckie to a play place only for the boy to accidently climb up a very tall slide and get scared, breaking down sobbing and wetting himself as the bigger kids had picked on him. Chas had hoped it would be a one time thing but it was clear that Chuckie had been traumatized by the experience.
"Alright, little guy, it's fine," Chas said, thinking about what Dr. Jasper would suggest. The shrink had been meeting with Chuckie and Chas once a week to help them both deal with their issues after Melinda's death; while Chuckie couldn't actually talk to the doctor he could listen and Dr. Jasper would explain things to Chuckie to help him out. Chas was always there because Dr. Jasper believed that babies could pick up on their parents' emotions, same as with others-
He blinked.
"Huh… that might work," he said before looking at Chuckie. "The slide is nothing to be scared of. Let me show you!" He walked over to Tommy, who was playing in the sandbox… or had been until Chuckie had panicked. "Tommy, would you like to help Chuckie?" The baby looked at Chas' outstretched hand before smiling and taking it.
Chas carried Tommy over to the slide and waited for it to clear before he lifted Tommy onto it, keeping a firm hold on him as he helped him go down. Tommy giggled and laughed and Chas did it several times before bringing him down to Chuckie.
"See? Tommy's fine!" The baby let loose a string of baby talk to Chuckie who looked a bit unsure. Chas repeated the process with first Phil and then Lil, showing Chuckie several times it was okay. "Now… your turn." Chuckie shivered but Chas lifted him up, always keeping one hand on his tummy and the other on his back. "I won't let go," he promised before helping Chuckie slide down. The little boy blinked and smiled slightly and Chas repeated the process several times, slowly loosening his grip each time; still there but not as much. Then he let Chuckie climb by himself while Chas waited for him to reach the top. Then he backed away…
Soon Chuckie forgot all about needing his dad and just giggled as he went back to loving the slide, Tommy and the twins cheering him on.