The blonde shook her head at the antics of the grown woman in front of her. “Is there anything else I need to know?” Sam eyed aunt and niece alike as both tried hard not to look at her. “Out with it. I’m going to find out sooner or later.”

“Well…” Brooke cleared her throat. “She took the rest of the roll and took off with it down the hall. There’s…there’s paper all along the hallway and the stairs.”

“You had to buy the double rolls, didn’t you?” Sam looked her directly in the eye.

“Hey, you were the one that pointed them out. You’re the shopper here. You said that it was a better buy.”

Sam quirked a little disgusted smile and sighed. “Well, remind me that cost versus bulk is not always a good thing when we have kids, okay?” Sam handed off the tot to her aunt, then turned back to the counter.

Brooke nodded in agreement, “Yeah, and no potty songs, too.”

The young woman turned around to look at her lover, questioning the reason. “And why would that be, Hon?”

“Sam, I can write songs with the best of them but after seventeen verses of pertinent lyrics to the melody of Twinkle, Twinkle there’s only so much a person can do.”

Sam wiped her mouth with the napkin, then offered Brooke a proposition, “How about if you clean up the dishes, I’ll put Julie down for her nap?”

“Okay,” Brooke grabbed at the offer before Sam could have a chance to rethink it. “Then I’ll have a little time to look some things up on the internet…” the woman cleared her throat, “…for that…ah…new project I’ll be undertaking.”

“Sounds like a deal to me.” Sam looked over at Julie.

“But I no wanta nap,” the tyke protested.

“Come on, Sweetie,” Sam got up from her chair and held her hand out to Julie. “Let’s go and just close our eyes for a few minutes.” She heard the sound of the doggie door as Mario stuck his head into the house. “Look, even Mario will join us.” Sam turned to the dog, “Come on, Boy.”

The dog looked to his mistress as Sam patted her hand against her leg, then scooted reluctantly across the room and under Sam’s chair at the table. Learning his lesson once already, the dog laid down facing the baby and waited.

Julie crawled down from her chair and held onto Sam’s hand as they made their way toward the hall. “Doggie…?”

Sam looked back at the cowering husky watching them as they walked away. “Come on, Mario. I’ll protect you, you big chicken. We’re all in this together.”

The dog hesitated for a second then slowly rose and walked slightly behind and opposite the tot on Sam’s other side, letting Sam’s pace set his own.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Sam saw the strewn toilet paper streaming down the railing and stretching down the stairs. “We’re going to have to get you to decorate for the next party, Julie. You seem to have a lot of experience with streamers.” Sam laughed as she wound around the staircase viewing the carnage of the double roll.

Halfway up to the second floor, Julie stopped and cried out, “Teddy. I need Teddy.”

Seeing that there was no way around it, Sam leaned over the railing and called out to Brooke, “Hey Hon, can you send Teddy up when you’re done with the dishes?”

“No problem, Sam. One Teddy coming right up, as soon as I wipe off the counter.”

Within minutes, Sam had Julie in bed with her shoes off. After a little urging, even Mario curled up on the bed. “Look we can lay down and all take a nap on this big bed.” Sam petted the dog, as she watched the little girl latch onto her favorite blanket and settle into the fluffy, white comforter on Brooke’s bed.

“Hey, Darlin’,” Brooke stuck her head in the doorway, “I got the bear and poured Julie’s leftover juice in this cup.” Brooke lifted the cup as if she were giving a toast. “I thought she might like to drink it when she wakes up.” Brooke entered the room and moved to Sam’s side as she admired the bodies on the huge bed.

“Thanks, Dear.” Sam took the cup and set it down on the nightstand. “I’ve got it covered. You can have a few minutes to yourself, if you’d like.”

“You sure?” Brooke asked tentatively. “I can stay here with you.” The tall woman leaned down to kiss Sam as Julie cuddled up to the blonde woman’s body.

“Nope,” Sam whispered. “It’s a piece of cake. Even the dog will sleep.”

“Okay, but call me if you need me. I love you.”

Sam smiled and returned the kiss. “I think I’ll just sit in that rocker and grab five minutes myself, once she falls asleep. Love you, too.”

After Brooke left, the blonde remained on the bed just long enough to assure that Julie was asleep, then silently she crept off and settled into the rocker in the corner of the room. The steady rocking soon had the young woman on the verge of sleep when the tiny little voice asked its question.

“Sam? Is da baby gonna nap, too?”

“Huh…Oh, the baby…” Sam pulled herself back from the threshold of sleep. “Yeah, the baby will sleep too. Now, put your head down and we’ll all sleep together.”

There was another moment or two of silence then the next question was asked. “How does da baby know when to sleep?”

Sam opened one eye and checked on the tot, then seeing her still lying on the bed, the blonde answered. “When I’m real quiet, the baby knows to sleep. So let’s be real quiet now.” Sam brought her finger to her lips and whispered, “Shhhh…” She watched as Julie mimicked her, then grabbed on to her Teddy and laid her head down on Mario. Satisfied that all would be well, Sam closed her own eyes and quickly dozed off.

Lulled into the world of dreams, Sam easily relaxed and let images of Brooke and their someday family come floating through her mind. It was funny seeing the stages of their life that was yet to come with the nameless faces and loving hearts waiting to happen. As one dream ended, another began.

“ARF!”

Mario’s surprised bark and the sound of a squeaking mattress startled Sam. Opening her eyes, the young woman saw Julie chewing on the husky’s ear while she still hung onto her teddy bear. “JULIE, no.”

Sam struggled to get out of the rocker as the slow motioned scene before her unfolded. She watched as the tot chopped down one more time on the scared dog’s ear. Springing up to get away, Mario quickly circled the baby and came up on her other side. Lunging at the animal Julie giggled wildly, spurred on by the fast moving feet and whipping tail as the dog spun around, knocking the cup off the nightstand. The splattering liquid came to rest on the comforter of the bed and on to Teddy in Julie’s hand. Julie quickly tossed Teddy aside and reached for the dog, causing the animal to change directions abruptly and scamper right through the stained area, spreading it even more across the white fabric.

Sam made it to the bed just in time to catch the tyke as she dove from the mattress after the frightened dog. Bringing the child up in her arms, Sam cuddled her to her chest as Julie let out a loud cry, her hands outstretched, reaching for the dog.

“Ah…Julie,” Sam held the child tightly and tried to comfort her. “Doggie’s ears aren’t for chewing on.”

The child turned her attention from the doorway where the dog had scooted out, to the bear in the middle of the bed. “Teddy.”

Sam took the teddy and handed it to Julie, “There you go.” She looked over at the clock on the nightstand and sighed. “Well, ten minutes was better than nothing.” Gazing down at the growing stain on the comforter, Sam mumbled under her breath, “You had to give her grape juice didn’t you, Brooke. Maybe if I throw this in right away, the stain won’t set.” She turned her face toward the tot, “Hey Munchkin, how about we go do some laundry?”

The child giggled and laughed, nodding her head as Sam stripped the soiled linen off the bed, then headed down the hall toward the stairs.

“What’s the matter, Babe?” Brooke called out from her office on the second floor as Sam tried to sneak past it.

Startled at being caught, Sam moved into the doorway so that they could be seen. “We…ah…we thought that your spread needed to be cleaned.” The blonde wrinkled her nose up and let out a nervous laugh, “You know, baby slobber and all.” Sam winked at Brooke then asked, “What are you doing…playing games on the computer?”

Brooke turned the screen a little more in her direction. “Okay, thanks, Sam. I’m…ah…I’m just playing on the Internet. You know, looking at stuff.”

“Oh, ah…if you see Mario, you might want to check out his ears for holes.”

“Holes?”

“Yeah, he…ah…well, Julie…ah…” Sam shrugged, “…yeah, holes.”

Brooke blinked as she looked first to Sam and then to her niece. “Do I even want to know?”

“No. Later Babe,” Sam waved and started back down the hallway.

“Thanks, Darlin’.” Brooke called out a little puzzled. “I’ll keep an eye out for him.”

Pushing open the door to the laundry, Sam carried her precious cargo inside the small room where she promptly reached over to the dial on the washer, setting it to the correct settings and water temperatures for the white comforter.

“Okay Sweetie,” Sam set the child down on the dryer as she waited for the washer to fill, while she selected her cleaning elements from the shelf above. “We’ve got some laundry to do. Do you help your Mommy with the washing, Julie?” Sam watched as the tot shook her head. “No. Well, I guess I get to give you your first lesson then.” Sam smiled, then touched the child on her nose with a finger. “You just watch me and you’ll know all about getting your things nice and clean.”

Big brown eyes watched Sam’s every move as she selected the liquid soap and poured some directly on the stained comforter, rubbing it into the fabric with her two hands after she put the open bottle on the dryer next to Julie.

“See how we work the soap into a lather, Julie?” Sam smiled sweetly as she maneuvered the king-sized comforter into the top loading washer. You had to give her grape juice, didn’t you Brooke? She picked up the bottle and poured on some more soap. “Hmm…I’ll have to remind Brooke that she needs more. This one only has a few more washings left.”

“Good juice, Sam.” The child nodded then giggled as she watched the woman intently. “Me like jape.”

“Wait until you’re older, I can almost assure you that after your first child rearing experience that you won’t like grape juice any more.” Sam reached for the stain spray now and went to work on the comforter once more. “Your Auntie Brooke is going to have a bird if she sees this,” Sam muttered under her breath. The blonde looked over to the youngster and smiled at the cute image Julie was presenting with her teddy clutched so tightly in her hand. “You love that teddy, don’t you?”

“Yeah…me wuv Teddy.” The tot scrunched the bear into her neck and then kissed it on the head.

“Well, just remember, juice is good for you when it goes in your stomach, not on the things you love.” Sam pushed the comforter all the way into the washer then turned to clean her hands in the laundry tub. “I’m not so sure that it’s going to be any good for that comforter, though.”

Julie pulled her teddy away from her body and looked at it. There on the legs were dark purple splatters of juice. Looking over to Sam and then to the detergent next to her, the tot imitated what she had just seen being done. Tipping over the bottle of detergent, she held her teddy over the opening of the washer and let the soap pour out onto his leg. Tiny little hands gently massaged the bear until white foam appeared and the teddy slipped out of the child’s slippery hands. Julie picked up the bottle of soap and righted it, then reached down into the opening to retrieve her beloved bear just as Sam turned around.

“Hey, we can’t play in that water, Julie.” Sam held onto the tot and closed the lid to the washer. “You might fall in and then what would we tell your mommy?” Sam wiped Julie’s suds-filled hands with the same towel she had just used. “There, all dry now.” Sam winked at the child then continued, “You were such a good girl, sitting there watching me.”

“I good girl,” the child repeated and clapped her hands.

“You deserve a treat for that. Let’s go see what we can find.” Sam hoisted the child off the top of the dryer and placed her down on the floor.

“Julie big girl. Julie did laundry.” The tot took off out the door and headed for the stairs.

Sam shook her head and laughed, “God, where do they get the energy?”

“Hey Hon,” Sam poked her head into Brooke’s office. “Julie was such a good girl with helping me do the laundry…” Sam saw the hurried movements of her lover as she quickly grabbed the mouse and minimized the site she was looking at. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”