You Clicked Your Heels and Wished for Me

"Andy, you promised." John said. He was trying his best to shove me back into the hotel room, but I wasn't moving. I was practically clawing at the carpet to keep from going back in there.

"You set me up!" I shouted. Wren and Kennedy were long gone-- going to see the Shins play downtown-- and John was going out on a date with my roommate. I currently hated him. "You're such a--"

"Baby in the room!" John smirked, pointing to my nephew, who was laying on a blanket on the ground. MTV was flashing on the TV, which caused me to send a narrow-eyed glare at John for his awful supervision. "He's enjoying a little Cribs, all right? There's nothing wrong with that!"

"He's going to turn up just like you." I shook my head. "I can't believe you're doing this to me."

"So he'll be a stone cold fox like his Uncle John. I fail to see a problem there." He gave me a smirk and pinched my cheeks.

I had to keep myself from punching him, only to turn around and find my ex-boyfriend looking me in the eyes. I'd never been so nervous. "Um, excuse me while I crawl out the fire escape..." I said, ducking away from John's arms, and trying to slide past Garrett.

"I told Andy in the elevator about my little plan." John said, wiggling his eyebrows at the two of us. Garrett shifted where he stood, looking like he was going to make a run for it too. I was half-way out the window when a pair of hands grabbed my tiny waist, and carried me, kicking and screaming, back to the living room.

Garrett set me down, and went to sit down on the top of the couch. Did he seriously just touch me?

"We've had a break through." I nodded, placing my hands on my hips. Garrett rolled his eyes. "John thinks we're babysitting together. I think he needs to be castrated because his scrawny ass deserves it."

John shrugged. "I'm a genius, guys!" He said, "You need to reconnect, so you're playing mom and dad til someone gets back! Tah dah!" He held out his hands in a fancy little pose and waited for our reaction.

Garrett glared at him. By the time I picked up my shoe to throw at John, he slammed the door behind him, only to wake up the baby. Chase began screaming at the top of his lungs in a matter of seconds.

"Damnit, Cornelius." Garrett muttered, getting on his knees. He lifted Chase into his arms, and the baby immediately stopped crying. "He's just like you, you know."

I sat down next to him, cross legged on the rug, and tucked my hair behind my ears. "Thank God he's not one-hundred percent his parent's child, then, eh? He's gotta have some chance in life."

Garrett snorted with laughter. "Because he's totally not going to get beat up in school. The poor thing doesn't need you as an influence." He propped the baby up so it was standing on Garrett's legs; Chase giggled. "Dude--"

"What's coming out of his hole?" My eyes went wide. "Urpage! Duck and cover!" I stumbled to the kitchen table to find his burp rag, and tossed to Garrett.

"We're terrible at this." Garrett muttered, waiting for the baby to keep down his carrot-mush.

"Rewind!" I said, holding one finger in the air. "We're a 'we' now?"

"Um--uh...No." He said slowly. "Definitely not."

I grinned to myself, lifting the baby into arms, and taking him to the kitchen sink to wash his face off. "Uh-huh, okay, Garrett." I smirked. "Pretend you don't like seeing me again."

"If I'm being honest, I didn't think I'd have to." He said, leaning on the refrigerator. "I thought I was done dealing with you."

"You want me gone, then?"

"You don't make things easy."

"You're no picnic either, Garrett." I snorted, setting the baby down on the counter. I kept one hand on him, so his round little blobous figure didn't roll to the floor. I grabbed a clean towel, and wiped the water from his inflated cheeks. "God, what are they feeding this kid?"

"He could probably swallow Pat whole." He muse. "I feel terrible for making fun of our godchild."

"Kid's fat as hell." I mumbled as I handed him to Garrett. "He likes you, though."

"Well, with his godmother half way across the country, he's got to have somebody cool in his life." He sighed. I looked up at him. His small smile faltered. "I did miss you, you know."

"I know the feeling." I said, keeping my eyes on my nephew, and as far away as possibe from Garrett.

How could I look him in the eye when I could barely look at myself in the mirror?