Summary: Striker is, surprisingly, an expert in childcare from a young age.
"WAAAAAAAA!"
"Striker, can you check on Jemima for me!"
"Okay, ma!"
The nine-year-old impling immediately got up from the table and headed upstairs to his wailing baby sister's room. Once he made it to her crib, little Jemima looked up at her big brother tearfully reaching up to him with both hands as Striker picked her up.
"Hey there, Mima, what's a matter?" Sure enough, his nose caught an all-too familiar scent. "Bleh, sis, that stinks!"
Lucky for him, there was a little table his father had built explicitly for this particular job; it'd been there since he himself was a baby and both his parents showed him the ropes with his little brother and sisters before he'd turned five. Understandably, in the beginning, he'd gagged the first couple of times he had to do this but now, despite his age, he'd gotten the hang of it with almost no trouble. Keyword: almost; there were several 'accidents' in the past.
Nonetheless, Striker wasn't deterred as he proceeded to change Jemima's diaper. Once he'd disposed of the old nasty one, he cleaned her up and wrapped a fresh one around her. Jemima laughed and clapped her little hands when he was finished.
Striker couldn't help but chuckle, "Laugh all ya want, sis. One of these days yer gonna be doin' this."
He held her in the crook of his arms as he came downstairs and sat on the couch, Jemima snuggling into him. Clayton and Rose couldn't help but watch this little moment with their oldest and youngest children as a feeling of pride swelled over them.
"He's such a good big brother, isn't he?"
Clayton wrapped an around his wife, nodding. "He'll certainly thank us for this when he has a little one of his own."
The two then quietly went back to the kitchen to prepare for lunch.
"Here ya go, princess." Maria's cries diminished the minute Striker presented her bottle and she latched onto it at once.
Striker smiled warmly as his daughter drank her milk. If he was being honest, he never imagined himself doing this to anyone other than his siblings. But ever since Maria entered his life, he was glad to put those skills back to good use. She is, was, and always will be his number one priority and he didn't want it any other way.
The only downside was that neither his parents nor Serenity, sadly, would ever be able to share any other moment like this with him. He wished they could be here with them and yet, he had a feeling they were proud of him for taking such good care of their baby girl.
About a minute or so later, Maria shoved the bottle out of her mouth and Striker placed her over his shoulder gently patting her back until a little burp was heard followed by his daughter's giggles. He laughed a little as he brought her into an embrace and sat in the rocking chair. Maria cooed and snuggled into his chest, soothed by the sound of his heartbeat.
"You don't know how lucky I am to have you, baby doll." Striker whispered, gently running a finger through her hair. "Believe it or not, you weren't the first little one I've had to take care of, but it all comes naturally to me now as it did then." He chuckled in amusement thinking back on all those times.
Maria didn't really understand what he meant, all she cared about was daddy holding and rocking her as she yawned and fell asleep him his arms.