instant family

s e v e n

*friday*

stella's mood has improved immensely since being here. it's like she feels her parent's presence and she's back to being her normal self after only a day of being here. i wish i had thought of it sooner.

i was up early this morning giving stella a bath then taking a quick shower myself while nate watched her. i dressed her in a light purple dress with butterflies and socks to match. i was dressed in black jeans with a grey blouse tucked in front and black flats covered my feet. i fed stella the baby version of oatmeal with some strawberries and bananas and she ate without a problem. afterwards i set her in the living room floor to play with her toys.

i walk into the kitchen to clean up the few dishes i dirtied while feeding her to see nate standing at the sink already washing them. "i was going to do those." i say to him, throwing away the baby food package.

"it's alright, i know how to clean too." he gives me a soft smile which i return thankfully. i'm glad he's not just laying around like i half expected him to do. he's clad in blue jeans, black sneakers and a white button up shirt covers his tattoos. he had a couple tattoos when we were together, he always talked about getting more and i think they suit him quite well honestly. i've noticed that he has many on his arms but he's done it in a way that doesn't look cheap or trashy. they're fitting. he's also usually not one to dress up, seeing him in a suit at the funeral was a first for me. a button up is usually about as formal as it gets with him- at least that's how it was before.

half an hour later the doorbell rings. "i'll get it!" nate calls through the house as i finish up with changing stella's diaper.

i hear the door open and muffled voices from down the hall. after getting her diaper on and pulling some white pants over her legs, i pick her up and walk out to the living room. the blonde haired woman turns to me with a performed smile on her face. "you must be vanessa, i'm lydia. nice to meet you."

i smile back and shake her hand politely. "nice meeting you, too."

"hello miss stella." she coos at the baby i hold in my arms and stella stares at her blankly. "so, she turns her attention to nate and i. "first i'm going to take a look around the house to make sure everything is appropriate for the baby such ad proper baby proofing and such. then i'm going to give stella a quick assessment to make sure she's healthy which by the looks of it she seems pretty healthy to me, and lastly i'm just going to want to have a quick chat with you two to get an idea of your relationship and see how you're doing raising a child together."

the last part of that sentence makes me nervous. the truth is there is no relationship between us, we try to avoid each other as much as possible but of course we can't let her know that. we'll have to put on some sort of act that we're perfectly happy. this ought to be fun.

"feel free to go about your business while i take a look around." lydia says as she pulls a clipboard and a pen out of the bag draped on her shoulder. i sit down on the couch with stella standing in front of me, her tiny hands gripping onto my index fingers. she's able to stand in her own, she can crawl like a pro but she's not to the point of walking yet. krista and brendan were working with her on it before the accident.

i watch her make her way around the living room, then to the kitchen and through the dining room, occasionally writing things down on her clipboard before heading down the hall. nate sits on the recliner on the opposite side of the living room. he seems deep in thought, his eyes glued to the black tv screen. stella starts bouncing while holding onto me, making tiny babbling sounds. her big eyes stare up at me, i smile down at her. "what is it?" i ask her quietly. "you're in a good mood today, aren't you?" her chubby legs continue to bounce and she smiles widely showing her two tiny teeth.

"DA!" she exclaims excitedly then proceeds to make a motor sound with her lips.

i chuckle amusedly at her. she lets go of my fingers and gets down on her hands and knees, crawling around aimlessly for a moment before eventually deciding to go to nate. his face lights up when he notices her using his pants leg to stand herself up. "hey there, shorty." he grins and picks her up with ease, setting her on his lap facing him. the way he interacts with her is unlike anything i had ever seen from him. he was always a party boy. you'd either find him smoking or drinking, hanging out with his friends at the skate park or on the basketball court. of course i was there right along with him, smoking, drinking, partying. it's what the four of us did, that's who we were together; a big group of partying kids. after the breakup krista, brendan and i all eventually grew out of it- we grew up. the last i heard he was still the same.

lydia emerges from the hallway and stands between us. "everything looks good." her eyes look over the paper then between us two. "if you'll just hold onto her while i check her temperature and some vitals." she speaks to nate, taking a thermometer out of her bag.

the assessment goes without a hitch and it's now our turn. nate moves over to the couch i'm sitting on, taking the far seat so he can set stella between us allowing lydia to have the recliner. she sits up straight, clipboard in her lap, pen in her hand ready to write. "vanessa mcavoy and nate maloley, correct?" she asks.

"correct." i tell her as nate nods with a "yes."

"as i understand it, you two were staying at your own homes and you were going to trade off every weekend. what made you decide to move in here together?"

"it was more convenient first and foremost. we thought it would be easier on us and stella if we didn't have to meet up every week to switch." nate starts off.

"stella wasn't adjusting well to the situation. she was constantly crying and there wasn't anything we could do to get her to stop. a bath would work temporarily but half an hour later she was back at it." i add.

she nods and writes some things down on her clipboard before directing her attention back up at us. "are you two in any sort of relationship other than being just stella's godparents?"

i'm quick to deny. "no. there's nothing like that going on here." i assure her.

"my apologies, it's something i'm required to ask. now, you know that we will be doing weekly check ups for the next month and we'll come by a couple times for the next two months until stella turns one. if there's any address changes before our next visit be sure to contact us immediately."

i nod. "of course."

"i think that's everything." she says as she gathers her things and stands up.

nate takes stella into his arms as we both stand from the couch. i lead lydia to the front door and we shake both shake her hand before she walks out the door but turns to face us once more. "i'll call you sometime in the middle of next week to set up a time with you for our next visit." as we agree she turns back on her heel and walks out to her blue sedan.

seconds after i shut the front door nate clears his throat and i shift my eyes up to him.

"i've got to go to work, if i miss anymore i won't have a job so do you think you'll be fine watching stella for a few hours?" he says in a snippy tone which takes me a bit by surprise. he's been nothing but quiet and gentle since the beginning of this, i don't understand why he has an attitude all of a sudden.

"yeah, go. we'll be fine." i reach and take her out of his arms and carry her into the kitchen without another glance his way.

i should have known that wouldn't last long.