Only Time Will Tell

The slight disgruntled murmurs coming from the baby chair that sat near her feet dragged Janey's attention away from the somewhat heated discussion Mikki was having on the phone with her mother. Looking down with a smile at Elijah, Janey lent forward a little so that she could take hold of him. 

"What's the matter little man?" she questioned softly, scrunching her nose slightly as a distinct smell greeted her. "Ah, I get what the matter is," she added, standing carefully to fetch the changing mat.

Placing Elijah gently down on the mat, Janey grabbed the diaper bag and set about the task at hand, preparing herself for what ever delights were in store for her.

"Hey kiddo, I thought we had a deal going on here. These are the kind of diapers you save for your Uncle Brian later on," she stated jovially, grinning as Elijah gurgled away happily.

"I heard that!"

Janey simply laughed without looking up at Brian and Jason who had just walked back into the house after loading up the car with everything they would need for a day and night of looking after Elijah. The guys had returned from tour the day before, and Brian had made the suggestion that Mikki and Jason would probably welcome some time to themselves, and offered for him and Janey to babysit. Janey had decided there and then to agree and ensure that he didn't back out at the last minute. Although something told her that Brian was looking forward to it a lot more than he would ever care to admit. 

"You guys really don't have to do this," Jason told them. 

"Yes we do," Brian answered. "We all get time alone when we get back off the road, and you and Mikki need that too."

Jason sat down on the couch, taking his son from Janey as she finished redressing him. He cast a glance towards the kitchen where Mikki's raised voice could still be heard.

"I can't believe they're still at it," he mumbled. "Her mom's fighting a losing battle because there's no way Mikki is ever going to give in to what she wants."

Janey sighed, knowing that Jason was right. Mikki's parents had never agreed with the choices she had made throughout her life, including the decision to turn her back on the religious upbringing she had had as a child. Ever since she and Mikki had become friends, all Janey had ever known was for Mikki's parents to constantly criticize and berate everything she ever did. Janey had found it something of a shock compared to the relationship she had always had with her mother, and the encouragement Madeline had always given her to follow her heart and her dreams. 

Of course, Mikki's relationship with Jason had done nothing to build any bridges between her and her parents. They constantly raved on about how he wasn't good enough for her, that he would never be able to provide for her properly with the kind of job he had and lifestyle he led, and when Mikki had announced she was pregnant, it had caused the rift between them to widen even further. When Elijah had been born, Mikki's mother had decided to visit. But after two days of having to endure her either taking constant verbal swipes at Jason, or blatantly ignoring his existence, Mikki had sent her back East, telling her that until she could learn to accept that this was her life, then she needn't bother coming back. 

"What's about this time?" Brian questioned, snaking a tattooed arm around Janey's shoulders and pulling her into him. 

"Her mom called a couple of weeks back wanting to know when we were planning on having Elijah baptised, and all Mikki told her was that we hadn't made any decisions about that yet. We spoke about it, and both knew that because neither of us are religious so to speak that it wouldn't seem right, but maybe there was some kind of alternative we could do instead, a kind of compromise." Jason explained.

"Is there?" Brian asked.

"Yeah, they do something called a naming ceremony. Totally non religious, just an officiant over-seeing the proceedings, and instead of godparents, we can choose guardians for Elijah. It just sounded ideal."

"I'm guessing her mom doesn't think so though," Brian stated.

"Damn right she doesn't."

Mikki walked into the room and sat next to Jason, her eyes closed as she rested her head on the back of the couch, a sigh of frustration escaping her lips.

"You know that there are places where you can take your car and trade it in for a new one," she began quietly. "Well someone needs to start one of those up for mothers, and when I trade mine in, I want yours!" she added, looking up and pointing at Janey.

"So what's her objections?" Janey enquired.

Letting out another sigh, Mikki went on to explain that her mother didn't view the ceremony as one of standing and that she would not be attending, that it was Jason's bad influence that was allowing Mikki to come up with such a ridiculous suggestion, and that she was angry that not one single member of Mikki's family had been considered as a guardian for Elijah, and that she was disappointed that those they had chosen were nothing but unsuitable role models.

"But if she's not going to come, then surely who you've chosen is neither here nor there," Brian pointed out. 

"There's no reason or logic behind the way my mother's mind works," Mikki answered. "Anyway, whilst we're on the subject of this little shindig we're going to have to introduce yet another slice of Berry insanity into the world, there's something JB and I want to ask you both."

Janey glanced up at Brian, who shook his head, no more aware of what they were going to be asked than she was. 

"We want to ask if you would consider being two of Elijah's guardians," Jason put to them. "We're going to ask Jimmy and Leana to be the other two, because let's face it, every kid needs a little bit of crazy in their life, and you guys were the only other two we considered asking."

Looking back up at Brian, Janey smiled as she saw the stunned expression her husband wore.

"Seriously?" Brian questioned. "I mean, Janey and Jimmy I completely understand, but me? That's something I never expected."

"Well if you don't think you can handle the responsibility...." Mikki trailed off.

"Hey! I can handle anything! Hell yeah, I'm in! I'm gonna show Jimmy just who the best damn uncle is around here now!" Brian announced with a smirk.

Janey shook her head and looked over at Mikki.

"He's gonna be unbearable now. I may just take your son and leave the even bigger child here for you to take care of."

"Oh hush, you know you wouldn't be able to cope without me," Brian informed her with a smirk.

"Whatever makes you sleep at night B," Janey murmured, wondering if JB and Mikki knew just what they had done.

Later that evening, Janey stood in the kitchen waiting for Elijah's bottle to warm through, whilst Brian was upstairs getting him ready for bed after his bath. To anyone else, today would have probably been an eye opener for them , revealing to them a side to Brian that they would have never thought they would see. Janey on the other hand had always known it was there. If there was any doubt in anyone's mind that Brian was ready to be a father, then today would have been the one day where he would have proved those doubters wrong. Everything that he had done with Elijah had just appeared to be second nature to him. Watching the two of them together had been an experience that Janey had loved, making the yearning inside of her for them to have a family of their own even stronger.

Checking the temperature of the milk on her arm, satisfied that it wasn't too hot, Janey made her way upstairs. Nearing their bedroom, she grinned to herself as she heard Brian talking.

"Even when we have munchkins of our own, your Aunt Janey and I will always be there for you, cos you're our special little dude. See, you're the first one to be born into this crazy family, and we all love you very much. I'll always be around if you need a break from your dad and your Uncle Rev, cos I know there's gonna be days when they're gonna drive you out of your mind, so whenever you need a moment of sanity, Aunt Janey and I will always welcome you with open arms. Okay, we're not completely sane, even if Aunt Janey likes to pretend she is, but she married me, so that has to make her more than a little warped, but you get the picture. So no matter what the future holds, always know that you will always have us."

Staying out of sight, Janey leant against the wall and continued to listen in.

"Being with you today has made me realize even more just how much I can't wait for the day Aunt Janey tells me that we're gonna have a new edition to the family. Ever since we were kids, I've always known that she was the one for me, and that one day we would have a whole brood of mini Janey and Brian's running around. Only we hit a little snag along the way cos nature decided to take our fate in it's hands and delay things a little. And it breaks my heart every day knowing that I was the one that suggested we start a family, that I was the one that had to convince her the time was right...and now she wants it as bad as I do, and it's just not happening. I know Aunt Janey is going to be the most amazing mom there ever is, and I just wish there was more I could do to make it happen quicker."

Janey knew she had to stop listening, before she ended up saying something and letting slip that she had been eavesdropping. She had always suspected that Brian wished there was something more he could do, his eyes always gave him away. There would be times when she would catch him looking at her, and the longing to make everything right was so apparent in those deep brown pools of his. Hearing him actually admit it just confirmed in Janey that she wanted the appointment at the clinic to go well the next day, so that they could finally make a start on their dreams becoming a reality.

Taking a few steps away from the door, Janey composed herself.

"Dinner's ready!" she called out as she strolled into the room. "Everything okay?" she added.

Brian glanced up from where he lay on the bed propped up on his elbow next to Elijah, who didn't seem to want to take his eyes off of Brian.

"Yeah, we're just having a dude to dude talk, aren't we kiddo?" he answered, looking back down at the baby with a grin.

Brian carefully scooped Elijah into his arms and sat round so that he leaned against the headboard of the bed, thanking Janey as she handed him the bottle.

"I'll leave you boys to it then," Janey murmured, turning to leave the room.

"How about you stay," Brian suggested, patting the spot on the bed next to him. 

Janey carefully got onto the bed, seating herself next to Brian. Lifting the bottle to Elijah's lips, and satisfied that he was feeding okay, Brian placed a gentle kiss in Janey's hair before resting his head on hers. They sat in silence, happy to just watch the content infant that was nestled in Brian's colorful arms, listening to the appreciative noises that he made as he drank from the bottle.

"I meant what I said," Brian murmured, not letting his gaze slip away from Elijah. "That I wish there was more that I could do."

"Oh," was all Janey could think of in reply, as she let the realization that Brian knew she had been listening sink in.

"I've been watching you today with this little dude, and it just brought home even more how damn perfect our lives are gonna be when it finally happens for us, and how I would give anything to make that happen tomorrow if it were possible," Brian continued, his tone still soft and velvety.

Janey sighed, nestling herself further into the comforting toned bulk of her husband.

"B, we've only been having to deal with this for a couple of months, there are couples out there who go year after year trying to start a family with no luck, imagine how they must feel."

"I know, and believe me, I'm fully prepared to accept that that may well be us. But I'd bet my very last dime on each of their husbands feeling the same way I do. Time means nothing when it comes to the woman you love, you just wanna do whatever it takes to make her happy."

Unsure of how to even answer, Janey simply nodded, allowing Brian's words to seep in so that she could digest them. She knew Brian could have his moments where he made the most simplest things sound like poetry, yet they were occuring more often of late, and it suddenly made Janey understand just how blessed she was to have him by her side.