(Haha oops, I forgot to press upload on the Wednesday! Here it is two days late :D)
Hello, it is Wednesday and I am back with a new chapter! This one I wrote back in 2019 and randomly remembered it, and how I also never uploaded it. So, after two long editing sessions, it's more in tune with my writing style nowadays and I actually really like it. It's really a sweet and simple one. I reckon I was itching to tackle some Justin and Katie moments and also wanting to show how her entering motherhood puts Justin on the path to wanting his own children in the next year or so. The premise of this is very basic! They are having a movie night sleepover together. But that isn't the only sleepover going on. And the other party ends up causing a lot of interruptions! I hope you enjoy :D
Disclaimer: I own the story and the OCs mentioned.
Justin and Katie flopped on opposite sofas in the Ketchum residence and, I joined the latter on hers and broke the distance between us with a scooting motion. I just had enough time to let a breeze contentedly escape my lips in contrast to their rather weary noises before the young woman next to me sat upright like a bolt of lightning. Electricity was electricity glinting in her eyes.
Justin caught on to it straight away and became her mirror image, propping himself up on his elbow. He grinned over at his best friend.
"What is it going to be tonight, then?" Justin asked in a way that took no effort or overthinking, pushing his locks out of his eyes that were just kissing against his shoulders, moving with curiosity as Katie darted over to the cabinet where all of her DVDs were stored. "It's going to have to be number three, isn't it? The sequel of the one we watched the other day."
He had laughed and shaken his head fondly when Katie put on a charade before hinting at the ones that he should know to choose from. I found myself peering too when she turned back around to face Justin, three fanned out in her hand. This caused Justin to sit further up and feel his mouth stretching wide all the more.
Both of them scrunched their noises up after this interaction occurred and then following that, Katie nodded her head in agreement, and her eyes squinted. I couldn't help but do this along with her. It was lucky Justin was such a prompt decision maker because - no offence to her– she found it a challenge at times!
When it came to the crunch, she had enough intuition and self believe to come to a decision. But with the little things? Well, she was glad that she had someone like Justin to help her out with that. And besides, the company was the most important thing, really.
With me on Katie's sofa with her and Justin on the opposite and her new-born daughter lounging on a rug – I believed that it was safe to say that the company was hard to beat.
After Justin decided the movie for Katie and went back to lounging on the family sofa as if he were by the beach, taking a cushion from the right-hand side and tucking it behind his back, Katie moved over to the television to actually put the entertainment on. It didn't take long. Just a few buttons to press and putting the disc in the slot. And then she moved back towards me.
She sat right with her hip brushing against mine and I couldn't stop my cheeks from feeling their own pulse. I always found their little friendly, quiet nights in a welcoming event to chaperone and the affection I got always made it more so that way!
Moments of comfortable silence passed while Katie's hand reached out to tickle under my chin and stroke my thumping cheeks while Justin occupied his fingers with running through his ever-growing locks and looking absentmindedly at the photographs hanging around the room.
There stopped being such a silence when the little sunshine haired baby on the floor began kicking her legs and cooing to herself and needless to say, then all eyes went in that direction like a winged creature to a flame. Katie and I's orbs softened as much as the infant's supple skin as we shared a look.
Yes, the company was truly the most important thing. And I found it hard to actually put into words regarding how much a surprise Katie and her twin brother, Ben, had been for Ash and Misty, and now little Alice was the exact same gift for Jayden and Katie.
Both of them had slid into youthful parenthood well from my point of view. It goes without saying that there were hiccups along the way after her arrival and sleepless nights and worries here and there. But in my heart that was bursting with pride, I knew, and I could see that they were doing a wonderful job.
Though their daughter was still very much in the infancy stage, she wasn't quite as delicate she had been during those first few days of life. Alice had started to coo to herself and drool and burble. She had discovered the joy of kicking her legs and looking all around the room. This was an exciting development in the eyes of Jayden and Katie, but it was a curious one for everybody else close to the baby. And being little Alice's uncle by blood and by decision also, it garnered Justin's attention a lot of the time to see how she had a new skill to show each time that he gazed upon her.
It was in the moment that she found her voice that Justin stopped playing with his hair. While Katie smiled to herself with a heart full of love for her daughter but picked up the remote to control the settings before their film started, Justin rolled off the sofa and sprawled on the floor next to the Alice.
I noticed how he still poked her lightly and gingerly, but his voice contrasted this. His tone elevated just for the little girl.
"You're going to love what you see and hear in this film, little one. I have to say that the soundtrack is one of my personal favourites." He told her and after you could see Alice take a couple of moments to wonder where the voice was coming from and her ocean blue orbs wandered curiously around the room, they soon locked onto the face of her uncle hovering directly over her. "I'm going to make you my little musical minion for sure." His dimple flashed at the baby.
Katie found herself commenting without hesitation after she put the remote down as the film titles started up. She resumed back to stroking my head.
"She already is that." She spoke. Although her hand was occupied with me, most of her attention was captured by the way that her best friend had started to playfully grab the little baby's fists and dance them around. "Between you and Jayden, that little girl is a cultivated music taste prodigy and a muse for a lot of artworks." After Justin looked over at Katie in return and scrunched his face up in amusement, Katie softened all the more, her hand resting on the top of my head. "She's the luckiest thing ever."
I enjoyed the affection very much when, following her words, Katie went back to properly giving my fur a good rub. But, to tell you the truth, I also took special note of the way that her voice whispered at the last sentence that she uttered. She had uttered it with ease and the lingering smile she elicited from Justin was even more natural.
But I for one recognised that her words ran deeper than their ease.
Like it was when many pregnancies occurred unexpectedly as well as in the parent's youth, it was uncertain how people were going to react - let alone if other people were going to be there for the baby. But luckily for both Jayden and Katie, they were not from just any family. Along with them all navigating their way through similar things in life, they all had a gaggle of people who would be there to support the child as well as the parents.
Parenthood could be a lonely task even if you tackled it as a couple. But as I looked over at Justin as he continued sitting with Alice for the first few minutes that the film started, I had a new bubble of what could only be described as respect growing for him in the pit of my stomach.
In a way it was the best thing ever that he wasn't as parental and baby-doting as some people. Truthfully, he often didn't know what she needed or how best to nurture her, but he knew how to do this for both Katie and Jayden too. It may have been a little thing, but it was the most comforting thing in the world for Katie to have a movie night in with her best friend while Jayden could relax with his own buddies.
It was a small thing. But it was a small thing that would make the young parents better for themselves, each other, and their daughter. And it would be a bit of practice for Justin when he went on to have children of his own. Not that he realised.
"Oh Alice, you're going to love this film so much." Justin reaffirmed to the little girl and Katie actually looked away from the television screen and over to him as he gave her daughter a final gentle squeeze before he intended to move away from her to lounge back on the sofa, leaving her kicking her feet against the soft material of the rug. "You just wait for the scene where-"
Leaving us with surprise in our hearts rather than just mere contentment, Justin was interrupted, and he was interrupted by quite the peculiar noise indeed. The noise caused quite the sound in our eardrums, and it was sudden, but it wasn't from the baby kicking on the floor. In fact, she evidently heard it as well from the way that her wondrous blue orbs widened.
From the other room next to where we were relaxing in the Ketchum household living room, a sudden cacophony of shrieks and giggles could be heard! After just a couple of seconds, I was struck with the realisation of what it was and Katie was too but from the way that Justin so amusingly and animatedly glanced between us with dismay in his eyes, it was evident that he had forgotten.
Luckily, Katie was there to remind him, straightening her spine and a scrunching motion of her nose decorating her explanation.
"Sounds like Rey and her sleepover crew are having a good time." She encouraged me to cuddle closer to her middle but Justin's expression like a blank piece of paper told her that she needed to say more. "I did warn you that Rey was having a few friends over for a sleepover tonight! Did you forget?" Katie's naturally soft face began to alter into showing a bit of a smirk. "That's why I wanted to make sure that you definitely wanted to have our movie time this evening."
Justin answered with promptness.
"In all honesty I just remember you inviting me over and that's all that's important to me." After his bewildered expression lingered for a couple more seconds, he soon shook it off and perched back on the sofa again while Katie couldn't help but feel her pale cheeks growing rosy at the sincerity of his fast words. "I did forget. But it's okay. They sound like they're having fun! I wonder what's got them so excited?"
After I had tilted my head towards Justin and then little Alice who set an adorable hiccup free, he had soon shrugged his shoulders closer to his ears and a deeper dimple on his cheek revealed itself.
Katie let a moment of silence pass as she momentarily grew distracted by what was on the television screen but after the scene she was watching came and went, she looked over at Justin starting to sprawl out on the sofa in between glancing at the screen and round the corner where the noise was coming from.
"I don't know…" she had a brief pause to push her hair from her eyes and after she stroked the black tip of my ear also, Katie added more words as she felt the lingering gaze of Justin. She mirrored his grin from before. "What got me so excited at that age?"
And Justin needed no moment of hesitation. In some ways, it was almost magical how he could convey things with his face and his eyes without saying anything – much like his father. But, unluckily for Katie, it could mean that this trait could also lead to great teasing for her!
She always knew exactly what he was saying with this expressive face of his.
"Okay, fine, I guess I found my interests young and have always stuck with them." Katie tried to respond with mock curtness but the treasured bond that she had with him made it next to impossible! Besides, she knew that he could relate. The way that he chuckled to himself showed this, but he listened as Katie continued. "I doubt that their movie choice is a patch on ours though. Not that they can hear theirs past all their own giggling!"
I tittered myself and then copied Justin by craning my neck at the same time as him. However, he was soon distracted by Katie urging him to look back at the screen so she could tell him some fact about what they were watching. While that was going on, I remained listening to the antics from the other room – or trying to!
They were very, very loud indeed. But it couldn't be an irritating sort of noise, at least not for me. The guests for the sleepover and Rey seemed as though they were having a fantastic time and lots of whoops and cheers and laughter and shrieks echoed through the house. It felt like it wasn't long at all since Katie was that age, so this was just yet another reminder of how quickly time was passing, I embraced it.
Though as anyone did, I looked back at all of my memories fondly, I still enjoyed every stage of life as it came to meet me.
And then in that moment, as the girly giggles and chatter grew louder from the other room, the little girl in the room with us decided that she wanted a piece of excitement. Catching us all off guard, the genes from her Uncle Ben and Granddad Ash took over and she started kicking her legs as if she had become a windmill!
And yet, almost as quickly as she did that, it all got a bit too exciting for her.
Little Alice stopped mid flail and her alluring eyes went very wide. She hiccupped. Both Justin and Katie looked over to her like I had been doing. Katie was the one who knew what was going to happen next. But it happened too quickly to be stopped.
Alice hiccupped a second time and then a milky liquid tumbled out of her lips and trickled down and onto her lightning bolt patterned sleepsuit. It was very upsetting to her! She only had to let out a single cry before I didn't hesitate to move away from Katie, and she too rushed her daughter's aid.
Katie picked Alice up and cradled her head. While the infant wailed, Justin sat up also and clapped his eyelashes together. It was Katie to offer soothing words. The new mother remained calm in contrast to her daughter's upset.
"Oh dear! Oh dear, oh dear. It's alright, this movie can get a bit exciting for your Uncle Justin as well." Katie soothed her daughter reassuringly and planted a kiss to the top of her feathery head, but she couldn't resist a slight teasing dig towards her best friend either! He just let out a simple hey! but then went back to observing the film, knowing that Katie could handle her own. She could. "I'm just going to take this one off to change. I won't be a minute. You can keep watching without me."
And with that, Katie disproved any old doubts that she may have once had regarding her capabilities as a young mother, and she prepared to head out of the door to do exactly what she said.
Nevertheless, Justin still sat up once again and made sure that she really didn't want him to pause the film. That was the least that he could do for her after she cleaned up the baby mess all by herself!
But she turned him down and Katie airily headed off. Justin just nodded, looking back over his shoulder as she went before settling back down. Then it was just us. It was just us boys. I curled back on the sofa and waited for Katie, listening to what was occurring on the television and in the other room as well.
Though Justin had only just nestled down against the sofa he was lounging on just seconds before, he then decided that it was time for a snack, so he leaned towards the tray that Katie had previously prepared. Kindly, he held up the bowl of popcorn in my direction and straight away, I uncurled myself to join him where he was sitting. He placed the bowl between us and then turned back towards the selection.
With quick decision making that would make any Pokémon trainer proud, his single ring adorned hand reached for the glass of milk that Katie had poured for him and him alone. He leaned back against the sofa cushions after he had a clasp on it and from the way that his orbs were flickering between that and the bowl of popcorn, while I was taking pieces out and chewing on them, I knew that he was thinking of mixing them together. But fortunately, he decided against it since he was a guest. Even if he was a very comfortable guest!
Justin made himself all the more at home, watching the film and sharing popcorn with me and drinking his glass of milk in between. He had done that for a couple more minutes into another scene of the film before we were not alone in the room again. But Katie had not returned, no. Instead, it was her sister who entered the room. Youngest sister. It was Rey.
Rey played with her scrunchie at the top of her head before making a beeline for him, leaning against the arm of the sofa near where he was as she greeted him.
"Hiya Justin." She greeted and although she naturally took a couple of moments to focus on his face, her wide blue orbs the hue of the depths of the ocean not moving, she soon stopped doing that so when he greeted her back with a simple hey. "I've got friends over too! We've got a movie on and snacks as well!"
She couldn't quite put her finger on him a lot of the time and the feeling was mutual, but she soon hadn't been able to stop herself from her giddy mouth stretching wide, high ponytail bobbing as she told informed him.
After his simple albeit friendly greeting towards the young girl, Justin couldn't restrain himself much longer. He took the popcorn out of the bowl one bit at a time and dipped it into his glass of milk before eating it. He was in the middle of doing so when the Rey talking to him. Before he even had a chance to respond with any interest towards her observation.
She blurted out past peering curiously at him and his unusual popcorn fondue snack for his movie night!
"Where's Sammy? Didn't he want to join you for a movie tonight?" she interrogated innocently enough but my head still tilted all over again at the way that her gaze seemed to soften yet grow rigid all in one. Justin felt similarly but he politely finished chewing his own piece of popcorn before opening his mouth to speak. "Can we call him later on? My friends like him…"
Rey got words in there before he could again!
Justin abruptly swallowed his mouthful, but I don't think that it was intentional. Though he heard the words ringing in his ears that Rey didn't utter – those words being my friends like him more than you – Justin decided that he had better be speedy with his next words. Or he would never get a chance to converse.
He sat up properly and first of all offered Rey the bowl of popcorn. Right away she shook her head, letting him know without words that her and her friends had some of their own.
"Sammy had to have an early night tonight 'cos he's going on set early tomorrow. Me and Katie will just end up exciting him and then he'll never get to sleep!" Justin painted the picture of his long-term boyfriend and while I shook my head fondly in between mouthfuls of popcorn, Justin hoped that these words would answer both of Rey's questions. "I'm sorry, Rey, okay? Maybe next time, yeah?"
Her eyes had glossed over at the very beginning that a rejection had occurred, and this only continued as it became obvious that her wish would not be granted. Though the eight-year-old girl's bottom lip stuck out and her high ponytail seemed to droop, she soon nodded her head carefully and allowed Justin's hand to pat the top of her head. Katie then entered the room once again at that moment in time, carrying a much cleaner and contented baby Alice close to her chest.
When she saw her frowning little sister by her best friend's side, despite the fact that she found it sweet that he was touching the top of her head and offering her popcorn a second time, she couldn't help but make sure everything was okay. Justin was okay, not Rey!
As she sat back down on the sofa, she gave her little sister a comical look, keeping a hold of her daughter rather than putting her back down on the floor.
"Are you giving my best friend the third degree again? We're just watching a movie together, Rey. And you should be doing that with your friends too." Katie asked in a humor glittered way but given her age, Rey took it to heart, and her eyes threatened to puddle like a rainy day. Her bottom lip stuck further out that time, but it was Justin to correct the situation. "Oh, yeah, it's a shame that Sammy isn't here. But we get him way too excited." Katie's motherly nature as she explained was transferred from towards her daughter and towards her youngest sister instead. "I'm sure you can phone him soon. I don't blame your friends for liking him better than Justin."
And naturally upon hearing this, now that he had stopped explaining to Katie what he and Rey had been talking about, he did let out quite the offended yelp!
Rey must have believed that proper hurt existed behind the sound that he made because she stopped squeezing against the side of her biggest sister and stroking the foot of baby Alice and came back to see Justin, accepting popcorn off him that time.
I liked the way that though Rey had thought the words about her little friends liking Justin's boyfriend over him, she didn't dream of saying them. And I liked all the more how she made sure Justin was okay after Katie jokingly announced words she had held back.
Rey was such a conscientious little thing. Justin let her take the bowl of popcorn back to her friends with her and after he himself promised that he'd get Sammy on the phone to her sometime very soon indeed, she knew that it was okay to head off once again.
She was content that no heart's had been scratched!
Katie normally shared these gently intuitive traits as her little sister, but in that moment, she seemed to have no remorse for her teasing towards her best friend and she continued giggling to herself, holding baby Alice close to her and trying to send her off to sleep after her ordeal while I clambered back onto the sofa with her.
Justin pretended to not look at her for a good few moments after what she had said but soon enough, he couldn't keep that charade up for much longer. He held the nearly finished glass of milk in his hands and after raising it to his lips to drain it for good, he couldn't help but glance over at Katie, giving her a knowing look before uttering in a much more telling tone of voice.
"At least that little Rey wasn't giving me the third degree. She seems to be much fonder of me now!" Justin announced as he reached forward to put his empty glass back on the coffee table and he had resumed locking his eyes on the television screen, so he didn't see the look that Katie gave him that time. I did! Justin leaned back against the arm of the sofa and gestured with his hands, preparing to address something on the screen. "Did you see that? He completely just-"
And Justin was interrupted for the second time that evening.
It had completely slipped my mind also when I first sat down with Justin and Katie and Alice too that Rey was having a little gathering of her own with her friends. But in addition to this, it had slipped my mind how much of a novelty that it was going to be for a bunch of little people to have big boys and girls in the room directly next to them.
It only occurred to me when a second person entered that that was potentially going to become a reoccurring theme that night. Interrupting Justin's words, Rey's energetic and charismatic best friend bounced into the room, making a beeline for Justin.
She tugged at his arm and lulled against the sofa from behind, not bothering to beat around the bush.
"You're not playing any music tonight. Will you start playing music tonight?" Maxi interrogated with even more directness than her best friend which caused Justin's eyes to widen as much as discs. He fought hard for his eyes to not wander to where of course he had bought his guitar in its case, and it was lulling against the wall. Maxi hurried him up, pushing her own long locks onto one of his shoulders. "Have you written anything new?"
Though it caused Katie's own eyes to become saucers at Justin being bombarded by questions from another eight-year-old child, while she continued patting her little daughter's back, she didn't help him out with answers. Justin tried to hide the surprise off his expression and while he instinctively looked at the television screen when a particular scene came on, he soon answered the child.
She didn't really seem to like answers – she only liked asking more questions.
"What's it like being on the TV? Do you have to wear make-up?" she wondered, and I had an inward smirk when it was this that finally prompted Justin to answer. I glanced over at Katie from sharing the seat with her and I could sense that she was having a similar reaction.
Perhaps she should have prepared him more when she invited him to sleep over!
"Yes, I have to wear make-up. Otherwise, I look like him." Justin took a moment to pause and point at the television and it was obvious from the girl's expression that she was rather horrified by the mythical sea creature that she was seeing on the screen! After shaking that off and managing to laugh at the humour, Justin continued, showing he knew some of the tricks of the trade when it came to children. "I'll look like him too if I eat too much of these as well. So, why don't you head off and share these with the others?"
I thought that Maxine was going to give Justin a look of contempt after she was offered the bowl of jelly sweets – she was a smart and savvy child and knew when she was being ushered away. But it was that moment that proved that chocolates and candy were treasure to children, no matter how mature they believed themselves to be!
After gasping and not hesitating to take the bowl off him, the other eight-year-old girl scurried away.
Almost as soon as she left, both Justin and Katie shared a look. Katie's eyes spoke of a subtle apology for how the evening was going. Meanwhile in Justin's gaze only a look of disbelief was to be shown. But it was light-hearted disbelief, nevertheless.
Justin graced his best friend with his dimple, and he reassured her that it was perfectly okay, and the interruptions were nothing compared to spending time with her.
He showed this only further moving away from his sofa and coming to join Katie on hers, sitting with the top of his leg brushing against hers and his arm moving to rest on the back of that sofa instead. Katie instinctively moved closer to him like he was a magnet pulling her in and rested her cheek against his shoulder while holding her daughter close to her as well.
Even though I was on the sofa with them also, I knew that Justin's arm was about to move from the back of the sofa and wrap around Katie instead. I didn't mind it. But it was in that moment that – you've guessed it – another interruption happened!
It really was a novelty that there were bigger kids in the other room. It really was a novelty that Justin was in the other room. To even his half-siblings!
Katie attempted to mask her expression when Justin moved away from her immediately as his half-brother came rocketing into the room, sugar all around his mouth from evidently indulging in the jelly sweets that he had bartered off to Maxine.
"Jinn! Look at you go!" Justin spoke to his youngest brother and perched on the edge of the sofa to playfully grab him while he prepared to run up and down and up and down – almost bashing into the coffee table. Justin's half-sister had also entered behind Jinn and from the way that she scowled and then decided to sidle up to Katie, it was obvious that she was displeased with being blanked, even if it was unintentionally. Justin sighed and corrected that situation as well. "I can see you too, Jorgie. What's going on?"
It was obvious who had been making all the noise in the other room when, in that moment, after being asked that simple question, both Jorgie and Johnny erupted into excitement and they jumped up and down, rambling about things like sweeties and popcorn and a movie about a circus and pyjamas and glitter. Yet again, both Justin and Katie's eyes searched for each other before I was invited into it also.
Katie usually was happy to go along with their antics (especially when it led to a stony expression from Justin!) but she was a mother now.
She gently but firmly explained that she was trying to get Alice to settle down and before Jorgie could blink those large meadow eyes of hers and try to assist her, Justin moved his bottom properly off the edge of the shared sofa and sat down on the ground. He encouraged his little brother and sister to each of his sides. He held them both equally, brushing their locks from their faces. He also hoped that Jorgie wouldn't look at the screen and get a fright from the character he had mentioned to Maxi!
"You're a lucky boy, aren't you, Jinn? Being the only boy in the girl's sleepover." Justin uttered as he held his little brother closer to his side, already anticipating that he would start jumping up and down with excitement. Justin gave him an understanding smile but then he made his voice go quieter, almost in a secretive and whispery tone. The children's ears pricked up. "But it's important that things stay nice and quiet in here for Alice, yeah? So, why don't you two head off now? And maybe I'll be in later to say goodnight to the both of you."
I watched as Johnny Jinn's legs seemed to fizz and quiver as they resisted jumping while his biggest brother held him and I watched also as after Justin leaned to rest his head against his head, he did the same to Jorgie. And it was this that made her understand.
Along with being six years old at that point, she understood that when Justin grew firm about Katie or anything to do with Katie then his wishes should probably be granted.
Jorgie and Johnny stayed in their eldest sibling's hold for a couple more seconds of the movie but then after that was done, Jorgie reached her hand out to her younger brother and her own motherly side took over, leading him away.
That wasn't until after Justin had slipped him the bowl of chocolate stars though – I saw it!
All Katie seemed to see was the way that Justin had taken control of his siblings even more than a captain commandeering the wheel of a new ship. He was being rather paternal. I knew that I was right about these observations and what she was thinking from the way that she shook her head subtly to herself and experienced a twinkle in her eye but didn't know what to say when Justin turned his head and caught on and questioned her about her gaze.
She just wordlessly gestured for him to sit back on the sofa with her and naturally, he complied. And with the same ease, as soon as her dimpled cheek touched his shoulder and rested there while her daughter drifted off to sleep in her arms, another interruption occurred!
You barely would have noticed it at first, for it was Rey's meek little friend who entered the room. I knew when I saw her in the hallway earlier that day that she was going to be the one to make the least noise! She was a sweet little thing with the darkest hair and the darkest eyes. She had the loveliest hair.
It was obvious that it was that that was a problem to her when she came in sniffing, her eyes wide. For some reason, even she sidled up to Justin.
"Are… Are you Rey's Dad?" Sophie asked timidly and both her hands moved to clench into fists and rubbed her eyes. Perhaps she was tired already. Maybe she was just very shy. But these words prompted an extroverted reaction from the also shy Katie! She burst into laughter, covering her mouth with her hand before she realised that she may wake baby Alice.
Justin gave his best friend an appalled glare but quickly answered the young girl, giving her a shake of the head.
"No! No, I'm not Rey's dad." he tried his best to keep his voice the level it was meant to remain, but the sheer horror of that simple question caused his voice to come out louder and shakier. After the small child seemed to gulp and take a step back, his eyes were then the pair to widened with worry in case he had frightened her.
So, like he often did, Justin turned to his best friend for help.
Katie shook her head amusedly when she felt his gaze lingering on her and after checking that her daughter was firmly in dreamland which she was, she gestured for Justin to take her before she slid down on the carpet, level to the little girl after her arms were empty.
I was closer to Katie and therefore closer to the child so saw the tangle in her hair as clearly as she did. Luckily, Sophie recognised her. She recovered from her interaction with Justin.
"You're… You're Rey's big sister. Can you help me please?" she blinked her wide and drying eyes. "I normally have my hair brushed in the evening, but I don't think I did it right all by myself!" the sweet child explained with a similarly wide-eyed expression to that of the one that Justin had possessed.
Katie laughter sounded like a song, and she nodded her head understandingly.
With baby Alice content in her Uncle Justin's arms and him playfully humming his favourite rock songs to her while she slept, the usual caring side of Katie's beat her uncertain one. She didn't hesitate to tell the little girl that she would definitely help her out and so, minutes later, Katie had Rey's other friend on her lap, and she was brushing her hair, getting the troublesome tangle out of it. And perhaps strangely, it was that second of the evening that caused me to smile more contentedly than ever.
Everybody had ups and downs in their lives and most of the time, people beat them and came out of them stronger than ever before. Katie was no different. Once upon a time, she had been wide eyed and timid like that little girl. Granted, she could still be that way but in that moment in time she was a mother. Katie was a mother and a friend and a daughter and so much more. She was also a great companion to me. I had known her even before she was Alice's age. And it was in that instant that I knew that I loved her more so than ever.
When I curled up on the sofa and looked over at Justin and saw him leaning back against the sofa cushions with baby Alice slumped sweetly against his chest – and I saw him watching his best friend being the woman that she had become – I knew that he felt the same way.
I had the urge to go and uncurl from my position and go and sit with him – for we were in the same boat. But the last interruption of the evening happened instead. Though they had all been welcome, that last one was particularly so. It was Misty. She was clad in her pyjamas, but she was still very much awake and spritely, and she had a smile on her face. She had her hands on her hips and she spoke to all when she entered.
"Well… I do not know who gave them extra treats in there, but they are all being as crazy as a box of I don't know what!" Misty announced and I gave her a grin straight away. Though her eyes darted around the room, I knew that it was all light-hearted. I sensed Justin tense just a little bit, but he let that go. He thought they were crazy anyway and he was right! "It seems like you guys really are having fun in here as well. Hairdressers time?"
Misty's frame in her pyjamas had softened when she saw what was going on and the way that since Katie had got the tangles out of the little girl's hair, she was giving her a special little hairstyle.
Her mother held her hand over her thumping heart.
Katie just nodded her head, and I was close to holding my own paw to my chest at the resemblance to her father when she stuck her tongue out of her lips in concentration as she continued what she was doing.
While the little girl's legs kicked, flattered, as she continued sitting on the older girl's lap, Justin answered for them all. He elevated his spine to address Misty, giving her that grin of his that made him appear around Rey's age, still with Alice lulling on his chest.
"Yep. I'm next." He humoured her and Misty chuckled in an instant. Then Justin's hands softly went to baby Alice's sunny wisps while she snoozed. "Then it's her turn. I'm thinking a mohawk. What do you reckon?"
"I reckon she's far too sleepy for that." Misty answered promptly but softly and after dropping her hand from her heart and on the way touching me on the top of her head, she came to observe the little girl sleeping peacefully on her Uncle Justin's chest. She moved past all her own thoughts about witnessing her best friend do that with Katie what felt like just yesterday and looked at her daughter, offering to her while she finished off the little girl's do. "Shall I take Alice up to bed so you and Justin can finish your film? Me and your dad will just be upstairs watching something of our own. We can mind her for tonight."
Justin politely smiled, glancing between both the mother and the daughter. The moment was interrupted by Katie finishing the hairstyle on the little girl and her shy self surprisingly feeling the urge to show off a delighted twirl.
After everybody complimented her look, she didn't hesitate to blush happily and rush off to show the other members of the sleepover gang. I couldn't help but feel like Katie would soon have a queue of little ones wanting their hair done!
But for the time being, she just answered her mother. She smiled at her with gratitude beaming out her heart and blossoming on her face, coming to stand up and squeeze her hand, then joining her in watching Justin with her and Jayden's daughter.
"That would be lovely. We haven't really had many moments together with those crazies in the other room! But I'll go and tuck her in myself first. I love these moments so much." She whispered with truth in her eyes and Justin didn't need to be told a second time. He caught on to Katie's words and he sat up all ready, prepared to transfer baby Alice into her mother's arms.
Katie took hold of her, and she held her close to her chest, managing not to wake her. She touched her cheek and then prepared to head off upstairs with her. That was not until after she had reached her hand out and touched Justin on the cheek also, touching just above where his dimple lay.
Needless to say, it increased in size along with his smile when he felt the innocent touch. And then Katie was off. And it was just Justin, Misty, and me.
Justin shared his lingering smile with Misty, and he leaned back all over again, taking a bowl of candy strips with him and starting to eat them. Misty shot him a bit of a look of I know it was you who fed the children more candy but because that he knew it was definitely playful, Justin grinned and laughed in between putting one in his mouth.
Misty soon copied him. She ran a hand through her hair and then lightly touched the button of her pyjamas before she spoke to him, looking down at him with reflection in her eyes. They reflected amusement too.
"You've got a lot more patience these days, ya know, Justin? You've had all of those kiddies bothering you and you haven't seemed to mind at all." Misty commented and while Justin just shrugged, I finally decided to sidle on his concave stomach and make a cradle for myself there. His hand broke the distance with the top of my head. "I mean it." Misty continued. "It's lovely to see. Soon enough you'll be just like your dad and hosting the best kiddie sleepovers ever!"
Justin missed a beat. His nose scrunched up as he thought about it. The deeper thought crossed his mind. He supposed that since the arrival of Alice, he had got a lot more patient (though it was hardly lacking anyway) and without realising it he had started to get the inclination in his stomach that maybe a child of his own could be possible in the future.
But then, Justin being Justin, he thought about the funny side. He remembered how much his father enjoyed the younger days and all of their friends! He finally scrunched his nose up a second time and laughed, crossing his legs as he sat down with me.
"I think I'll stick to sleepovers with your daughter for now. I'm much better at entertaining her." He told Misty and with that, Misty just chuckled at his words and lightly said goodnight to him, giving him a squeeze on the shoulder and a kiss upon his dimple on the way.
When Misty gave me a cheek tickle and a squeeze, I thought about following her but then I didn't move a muscle.
I came to the realisation that it didn't matter where she went, or Katie went, or anybody went. I would always be there for them. I would always support them. And I would always have their best interests at heart. And sometimes, I would share the same moments with them – even if I weren't there at all. I guess that was what love really was. And I was lucky to find it over and over in my lifetime.
I was certain that Katie was treasuring every single moment of putting her daughter down in her cot, just like I still treasured each and every moment with the Ketchum children and their family and friends no matter how much time passed. Because time really did pass quickly. Seconds passed in the blink of an eye. That was why they were to be treasured.
That was why they should never be wasted and wished that they were of a different time. It was always the here and now that mattered. And when Katie came back down the stairs from tucking baby Alice in bed, she too was reminded how each and every moment was important.
So along with me as I too watched, she understood that the present moment was irreplaceable. Because it also showed you just how surprising and endearing things could be!
When Katie came down the stairs and joined me loitering, she found that Justin had left the living room completely and taken his guitar with him. It wasn't so he could head into Rey's sleepover room and get Sammy on the phone and grant her wish. It wasn't to perform with Maxine and tell her more of his television appearances. It wasn't to reaffirm to the shy little girl that her hairstyle was wonderful. It wasn't even to tuck his siblings in.
It was simply to be himself and do what came naturally to him – something that hadn't always been the case, but the present moment made it appreciated.
For in the present moment Justin had his guitar out and he was playing a tune and stopping and starting it and all around him, children were laughing and giggling and shrieking and playing musical statues. The expressions on their faces said everything. The expression on Justin's face said everything. The expression on Katie's face said everything also. But what was in her heart said far more.
Her thump thumped for him. Her heart thumped with love for her best friend. Not for what he had done for her but for what he continued to do for other people. And the way that he continued pushing forward and growing and turning more into himself than ever before. She had found herself a good friend. She had found herself the greatest companion. She had found herself a true love. And the love that he would have for her, Jayden and Alice would always be true. As well as their love for him.
Family was family. It was ever-growing. It was ever challenging. But it was ever perfect. In the most imperfect way.
Though that evening there and then was pretty damn perfect. In spite all the interruptions!
The End.
There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :) I'm very passionate about the friendship of Justin and Katie, as you well know, and that's been evident over the years of how often I revisit their dynamic, whether they are just friends or slipping into more than that! It's also interesting to tackle Justin's feelings surrounding fatherhood. Perhaps I should take a deeper dive into it at some point. We know that Katie having a baby softens him dramatically - so much so that during the summer in the next year that this story takes place, he ends up fostering two children with Sammy. Sometimes I wonder if his hesitance for fatherhood is more than insecurity of being able to match how good of a father he believes his father, James, is. I think part of him still feels like that closeted, confused teenager he once was - and back then he told himself he would never be able to have children so that notion is hard for him to break. That's sad! You know how much I love that character. I'm glad that, thanks to Katie and so many people, he gets to experience having children of his own. No doubt will they end up having sleepovers with Katie's children, thus continuing all these kinds of tales! :D Well, that was a bit of a ramble, wasn't it? :P Thanks again for reading and, because I am only updating this story twice this month, I will be back again on the 14th and then the 28th with the other story I upload. See you shortly! :)
Amy signing out!