Left Behind

Chapter 4

Jesse fluttered her eyes as she could hear the sounds of a crying baby. She sat up, groaning a bit as she did. Jesse rubbed her eyes and walked up to Stanley's crib. The eight month old child woke up, crying for some reason.

"Shhhh! It's alright..." Jesse said calmly.

She reached in and picked up the baby. She held him and rocked him gently. Stanley managed to calm down slowly. His cries died down, and he managed to go back to sleep.

Jesse let out a yawn, but she smiled after she did so. She gingerly put Stanley back in his crib. The infant was snoring now, so now that he was back to sleep, Jesse climbed back in her bed and began to doze back to sleep herself.

Months had passed since Stella's suicide, leaving Stanley orphaned and at the request that he'd be under Jesse's care. And even though it wasn't easy raising a baby, Jesse wouldn't have it another way.

She loved the child, and she had Radar and Lukas to help her. The intern would either babysit Stanley or fill in for her "hero in residence" duties, and Lukas moved into the temple to act as a father figure to Stanley.

Jesse was happy to look after Stanley, though it still was hard for her on an emotional level. Every time she looked at the infant, she was reminded of Romeo and Stella, and how she failed to save them both. She failed to save Romeo from the Terminal Space, and she failed to save Stella from her grief and despair.

But even if Stanley was a painful reminder of the friends she lost, Jesse didn't want to leave the baby or shut him out of her life. She loved him, and she didn't want to fail Romeo or Stella again. She would keep her promise and do her best to look after Stanley.

Finally feeling relaxed and at ease, Jesse entered a dreamless slumber.

When morning arrived, Jesse woke up and realized how quiet it was. She got up and checked on the crib. It was empty. She panicked for a minute, worried about where Stanley was.

The raven-haired girl quickly rushed out of her room, but just as she was about to bolt downstairs, she nearly ran into Lukas. And to her relief, the blonde was holding Stanley in his arms.

"Whoa! Jesse!?" said Lukas.

"Sorry! I saw the crib empty and I was worried for a second," said Jesse.

"It's alright. I got up and went to check on you and Stanley. He started to wake up, so I figured I'd take him and feed him so that you could sleep in. My guess is that he woke you up again, right?" said Lukas.

"Yeah..." Jesse said, smiling nervously.

Lukas was silent for a minute. He lightly blushed and said, "You sure... you don't want me to share a room with you?"

Jesse blushed.

"I-I didn't mean anything like that! I meant I-I could move my bed in y-your room so that I can help with S-Stanley if he wakes up!" Lukas stuttered.

"I-It's fine, Lukas. I can handle Stanley," said Jesse.

"You sure? I don't mind taking over a night or two a week for you," said Lukas.

"I'm okay with it, Lukas!" said Jesse.

She realized that she was raising her voice. Jesse took a deep breath and exhaled, calming down a bit.

"I'm sorry for raising my voice, Lukas," she said.

"It's fine. I understand if you're tired or stressed out," said Lukas.