Take 2, Times 2? Book 1

part 10 The work is done

I left her there holding the bottle and wondering what she was going to do. I really hoped that everything would be ok, but you never really know what might happen. I don't even know. This future was made definitely the moment those two started hanging out together. I guess, only time will tell.
______________________________________________

Samantha's POV

He handed me the baby bottle, one that was meant for big kids or adults. I felt like a little kid holding this thing, something that I haven't held in my hands since I was a kid myself. I had about 2 hours here, just me and Max. He is my little brother, and I was just making sure that he got enough to eat, but why does this feel so weird? Is it because he is a teen and not a baby or toddler? Is it because I just don't understand him and what he has gone through? Or could it be that I'm jealous that he could find a different way to deal with all the stresses? A more innocent way. A nondestructive way to deal with all the craziness of the world. He was right when he said that I throw a temper tantrum when I'm stressed out, but how can I fix that? How can I be more like him? Not the baby bottles and stuff, but something.

I decided to get up and see if I could get him to drink his bottle before Jack got back. I thought that I could at least help Max that way. So, I got up and went into the bedroom. Max was still sucking on that pacifier of his. I had to admit, he did look like a cute kid when he was sleeping, holding on to his teddy bear, sucking on his pacifier. He looked like he didn't have a care in the world for once.

I walked up to the bed, but as I did, he started to twitch a little. I thought that he must have started to dream about something. I reached down and moved some hair away from his eyes and that's when the pacifier dropped out of his mouth. Then he started to mumble something I couldn't understand at first. It went from mumbling to whimpering, then back to real quiet talking. And that's when I could understand what he was saying. His dream, it was about his mother.

He kept saying "Peas mommy, no go, pease no go" and then he would whimper again.

I didn't know what to do. Or even if I should do anything. I've never been a parent, a mom, much less how to deal with this, but I couldn't just let him suffer this way. My first thought was to wake him up, so he wasn't stuck in this bad dream, but I think I read somewhere that you don't wake somebody from a bad dream or it could be worse. Or was that a sleep walker? I couldn't remember. So, I did the next thing that I could think of.

I sat on the side of his bed and cuddled with him. I kept saying "It's ok, I'm here now. It's going to be ok" while I was holding him and trying to reassure him that everything was going to be ok. He started to calm down and relax. I decided to see if he would take the bottle, because, in my mind at least, I thought it would relax him and maybe put him back to a dreamless sleep. And for the most part I was right. He did take the bottle and he did look relaxed, but what I didn't know at the time, was that he was fully awake by the end of the bottle. I was petting his hair, rubbing his back, and trying to comfort him with my words the whole time he was drinking the bottle. And he had his eyes closed and was just drinking his bottle. When he started to suck air from the bottle, I grabbed the pacifier and was about to swoop them when he said, "Thank you."

Those two little words caught me so off guard I almost fell off the bed. I stared down at him as he opened his eyes to look at me. But all I could do was smile and say, "you're welcome".

He yawned and brought up his fist to cover his mouth. Even that looked cute to me for some reason. And that is when I thought that he would look even cuter with his pacifier in his mouth. So, that's what I did. I put it in his mouth and said "For now that stays there." He looked a little shocked, but after a moment he nodded his head. I then asked "Are you ready to get up?" He nodded his head again and was about to get up, but my next question made him turn red.