Childish

70

Ten years later.

"Mommy, hurry up." I kicked my feet out in front of me as I waited impatiently. Mommy always took her time coming around to my side of the car to let me out of the car seat. I couldn't do it myself so I had to wait, no matter how long she took.

She sighed as she opened my door. "You can wait a few more seconds. He'll still be there. He won't leave without us."

A whine escaped my lips. "I'm tired of waiting. I've been waiting all day."

"Lyla, relax. I don't know where this impatience came from."

I huffed as she got me out of the car. If I could walk, I would've run straight inside and gotten there long before we were going to be now.

I hated not being able to walk.

We headed inside and down the halls. Mommy was nice and patient enough to say hi to the random people we passed along the way but I could have cared less. My mind was set and focused on one thing.

Mommy pushed the door open without knocking. Between her and Monica, they were the only two allowed to enter without needing permission first. As we entered, daddy lifted his head and looked at the two of us. Lines along his forehead indicated how tired he was. He had been hard at work for a long time and it was really wearing on him.

"Hi, daddy."

He dropped the pen in his hand and pushed himself back from his desk. "Hey, baby. How was school?"

I grinned and reached out for him. Mommy let go of me so daddy could take me in his arms. He sat me down in his lap with my back up against his desk. "It was okay. I built a really big tower with the blocks."

"Did you?"

I nodded. "I wanna build it at home with my blocks."

"We have to go see aunt Monica first and then we can go home and play."

Thank goodness. The faster I got out of there, the better. "Okay."

He folded up the papers on his desk into a neat pile and put his pen on top. Over the years, he became tidier and kept his spaces clean from clutter. That didn't mean the house didn't have toys lying all over the floor, though.

There wasn't too much that had changed over the past ten years. Mommy and daddy were still working at the lab. Daddy was trying to figure out a formula to help me walk and grow once again. He didn't seem any closer than he had been ten years prior but at least he was trying. Mommy now had her own office and talked to people over the phone most of the day. When I wasn't at school, I was in her office. She had a play area set up for me and Cooper to keep us busy while she worked. Cooper had grown and was now busier than he'd ever been. He ran laps around me, always looking for something to get into. He had an imagination that ran wild. It often left mommy and daddy struggling to keep up with him. I, on the other hand, wasn't running around or being difficult. For the most part, at least. I couldn't walk yet so I spent all my time on the floor. I'd gotten good at crawling and using things to pull me up if needed. My legs weren't very reliable so my height was always an issue for me. I didn't mind it so much but it did bother me when Cooper learned to walk and I was still crawling on the floor.

Daddy shut and locked his office door behind us and we headed for the exam rooms. Once a month, I had to get a check-up. There was no saying I would continue to stay a baby but after ten years, we sort of knew it was my fate. I didn't mind it. Being taken care of and allowed to play whenever I wanted wasn't the worst thing. The independence was something I did miss, though.

But I knew they were trying. Between daddy, aunt Monica, and uncle Ty, they were all trying their hardest to figure out how to get me to grow again. Sometimes, it led to long nights and daddy coming home exhausted. But he never stopped, even when I told him and mommy that it was okay if they did.

"There's my girl!" Aunt Monica smiled at me as we entered the room. She wore a white lab coat over the pink dress she had on. She was always dressed in the prettiest clothes.

I reached out for her and she stepped up to lift me out of daddy's arms. She held me on her hip as she looked down at me.

"You must be growing. You feel heavier than the last time I saw you."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't think so. Maybe you're thinking of Jax or Nolan."

Monica and Ty got married less than a month after Monica got back on her feet. She buckled down on walking and took to it like it was the easiest thing she'd ever tried. She pushed herself to make it happen and watching her walk down the aisle at her wedding was the icing on the top of the cake. They had Nolan less than a year after the wedding. He was just two years younger than Cooper. Then she had Jax two years after that. The boys were inseparable from one another. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the time with Monica when the boys were around each other. She always made sure to keep me company when I couldn't play with the big kids.

She sat me down on the padded table and lifted her stethoscope from her pocket. "How have you been feeling lately? No weird symptoms that we should be concerned about?"

I shook my head.

She pressed the cold metal to my back. Even through my t-shirt, I still jumped at the feeling. "Sorry, sweetie. Have there been any changes in your appetite since I last saw you?"

Daddy laughed. "She loves to eat. Almost too much for someone her size."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Maybe that's your cue to feed me more."

Monica looked over at him. "Have you been giving her two bottles a day like I asked?"

"We're trying," Mommy said. "She just doesn't like them."

"There are some days that she doesn't want a second bottle, especially in the evening." Daddy chimed in.

"It's gross." I whined.

"It's good for you, Lyla. You need it to be a healthy baby." Monica reminded me.

I rolled my eyes. She was so gushy ever since she had her kids. She was always being overprotective over all of us kids and it drove me nuts. But I knew she only had good intentions.

"You're good to go, sweetie. Keep giving her those vitamins and make sure she drinks two bottles of formula a day."

Daddy nodded. "Alright. Thanks, Mon."

She nodded. "Of course. You know I don't mind. It gives me a chance to see Lyla. You know I won't pass that up."

He walked over to us and lifted me off the table. "Are you sure you're okay keeping Cooper for a few hours? I don't mind swinging by to pick him up."

Monica waved him off. "Don't worry about it. The boys love having him over to play."

"They play with him every day at school."

She shrugged. "They're always asking me when he's coming over. Don't you want a quiet evening with just Lyla?"

He looked over at me. "It's never quiet with Lyla."

I giggled. It was hard for me to be a bad kid when I wasn't strong and I couldn't stand up. There wasn't a whole lot I could do without those two things. Most of the time, the trouble that I caused came from my mouth.

"If you need us, just call us. There are extra diapers in Cooper's bag if he should need them."

"You say that as if I've never watched kids before. I have my own, you know."

"He's starting to sound like mommy."

He raised his eyebrows. "No, I'm not. I'm just reminding her."

"That does sound like me."

He sighed. "Let's go. Before I get ridiculed even more."

Mommy patted his shoulder. "We only do it because we love you."

---

Hey, guys! Surprise! Did anyone see the time jump coming? I certainly didn't. I really wanted to fast-forward the time a little so I could show Lyla's life as she gets used to being a baby completely. Everyone's been waiting for this moment and I can't say I blame you. Let me know what you think about this chapter!