The Naturals | O.S

Teddy Bear

KATHLEEN

The sunlight gently streaming in through the window coaxes me awake. I stretch precariously against the soft mattress, raising an arm to rest above my head.

I loll my head to the side to find Dean already perched on his elbow, staring at me. The golden light plays across his face, framing his dark eyes with an indescribable delicacy. A gentle smile touches his lips, and I smile in return.

"How long have you been awake?" I ask groggily, rolling onto my side.

"Not long." His response is quiet, and his gaze flicks down to the pillow between us. "Masyn is still asleep."

I look down at the small baby, his hands still wrapped tightly in a swaddle. His little nose scrunches vaguely, but besides that he seems content in his slumber.

"Are babies supposed to sleep this long?" Dean asks now. "He didn't wake up even once last night."

"I'm sure if Sloane were here she'd say something about them getting sixteen an hours a day, and that it's nothing to worry about. Besides," I murmur. "He must be really happy to be in a warm bedroom rather that the front porch of a strangers house."

"Touché."

I crane my neck to catch a look at the bedside alarm clock. A red 10:19 flashes at me in a taunt. "What time was Sloane supposed to get in this morning?"

"Around 9:30," Dean replies.

At that precise moment I catch a faint creaking, and I let my mind slip from my conscious body to pinpoint the noise. Every excess sound drowns out from my ears, leaving me in a vacuum sealed tunnel that guides me down the stairs.

A warmth touches my face, and I slam back into the present, the bright room almost jarring. Dean grazes a finger across my temple, brushing my hair out of my face.

"Is Sloane home?"

"Yep," I sigh. "And she's headed for the coffee pot."

A small grunt rises from the space between us, and Dean and I both look to see Masyn struggling against his blanket.

"He knows," Dean jokes, and I giggle lightly, sitting up in bed.

"What do you say we go visit a friend, hm?" I ask the baby, untucking his arms from his bindings. He makes a high pitched grunt, stretching out on the pillow. His eyes flicker open, revealing a pair of hazel iris', alert and curious.

I gather the bundle in my arms, and together Dean and I meander our way to the kitchen.

When we reach the bottom of the stairs Sloane turns halfway around, smiling around a blueberry danish. "Kathy!" She greets. "You wouldn't believe the flight I had. There was this couple seated in row 'F' that broke up with two hours left in the trip. The woman switched seats with a man in row A, and ended up planning a date with the guy next to her. They're going out on Tuesday."

"That sounds like quite the show," I laugh.

"It was. It actually reminded me of this cool trick Celine showed me in the bedroom—" she turns around now, facing me from across the kitchen island, when her eyes land on the child in my arms. "What's that?"