bad idea

[Arden Patricks]

"Hm...." I bite my lip softly. "You know I can always watch the girls for you, now I'm back. And Justin," I add belatedly, forgetting for a moment that he's got another kid.

[Riley Pearson]

"I can't even tell you how nice that sounds." I said with a soft chuckle, smiling a little bit to her. "You're sure you wouldn't mind?"

[Arden Patricks]

"Well... certainly not the girls," I shrug. "I think you know how I am with babies, but... I don't mind that either."

[Riley Pearson]

I smiled and pulled her into a hug, "Thank you so much." I said as I hugged her, hoping she didn't mind that all of sudden I was hugging her. "You need anything, I don't care what it is, I'll do it."

[Arden Patricks]

I laugh a little bit in surprise, patting him on the shoulder before pulling away quickly, biting my lip and dropping my eyes to the counter. I really do wish he wouldn't hug me; it just makes it harder.
"You really need a break then, don't you?" I ask half-teasingly, hoping to distract from my reaction.

[Riley Pearson]

I laughed a little nodded, catching how she reacted, but trying not to think much of it. She never really liked the whole hugging thing, so I didn't really see anything too out of ordinary. Then again, I could sort of see why it'd be weird for her. I had somehow completely forgotten about all the weirdness from months ago.
Actually, I wasn't even sure what I felt for her anymore. If she was just a friend now, or something else? I really didn't know and now I was sort of wondering what she was thinking about all of this.
"I really do." I said shaking my head a little bit, with a faint smile. "I can't even think of the last time I took a break."

[Arden Patricks]

"Hm...." I grimace slightly. "Well, for heaven's sake take one then."

[Riley Pearson]

"The sad thing is that I'll probably forget to." I admitted with a faint chuckle, shaking my head slightly as I walked over to the sink and dumped out my tea when I realised that it was basically cold. "Actually this's sort of a break for me. Talking to someone who's not a baby or a ten year old."

[Arden Patricks]

"Happy to be of help then." I smile slightly, turning around to face him with my hands resting behind me on the counter as he dumps his tea. "I think I remember the feeling...." From back when I actually saw my nieces and nephew too often instead of too little.

[Riley Pearson]

I smiled back to her as I set my mug in the sink and leaned against the counter again before pushing myself up on it and sitting on it instead. "It's weird isn't it? When you actually get to have a normal conversation and you're not just trying convince kids to eat vegetables?" I asked with a faint chuckle.

[Arden Patricks]

"Yeah...." I laugh slightly, leaning back against the counter more and crossing my arms again. "You find yourself treating the other adults kind of like kids as well, have you noticed that? I don't think you have just now, but it does happen sometimes."

[Riley Pearson]

I laughed a little and nodded. "Yeah.. I've done that a couple times.. It is pretty funny." I said smiling a little bit with another slight nod. "But I think it might annoy whoever you're talking to just a bit."

[Arden Patricks]

"Probably," I agree, tilting my head in a shrug. "I don't know. Everyone I know is also either a parent or aunt or something, so I think they tend to understand."

[Riley Pearson]

I nodded a little bit, "Yeah, I guess they should understand then." I said thoughtfully with a small nod. "Except my sister." I added, chuckling faintly, "She just gets annoyed."

[Fitzy Patricks]

"Well, she's not a parent, right?" I shrug slightly. "Have her spend a lot of time with them or something... then she probably will."

[Riley Pearson]

"No, but she's their aunt and she sees them a lot." I said with a small shrug. "Yeah, I should do that.. She isn't a big fan of taking care of babies though." I smiled

[Fitzy Patricks]

"And I can't say I blame her...." I laugh slightly. "They still make me nervous, even if the older ones don't anymore."

[Riley Pearson]

I laughed a little, smiling. "What's so nervewrecking about them?" I asked her curiously. I didn't really have a big issue with them.. then again, I was around the little guy nearly all day, everday.

[Fitzy Patricks]

"I don't know...." I shrug slightly, shaking my head. "Something about the way they can't even talk... or communicate very well at all, I guess," I amend, remembering that I never had a problem with Isobel even though she didn't speak. For a moment I'm distracted with wondering if that's changed yet, but then I shake my head again. "I don't know.

[Riley Pearson]

I shrug a little bit, "I can see how that's sort of nervewrecking.." I said as I thought about it. "I guess I just got used it.. I dunno, eventually you just know what they want. Or soemthing.. I can't really describe it."

[Fitzy Patricks]

"So a mild psychic connection then?" I ask, eying him from the corner of my eye. "I guess I've never spent quite that much time with one of them."

[Riley Pearson]

I laughed a little and shook my head. "I'm not sure if it's that." I said with a small smile to her. "It's just sort of like a pattern.. They wake up, you feed them.. you burp them.. you change them.. they cry.. repeat." I said with a small chuckle.

[Fitzy Patricks]

I laugh again at that, shaking my head. "Well... yes. So maybe they're just less fun."

[Riley Pearson]

I laughed a little and nodded. "Yeah... probably are a bit less fun."

[Fitzy Patricks]

"Mm...." I nod... and then can't think of anything else to say on this topic.

[Riley Pearson]

"Right.." I said nodding faintly, hopping off the counter and leaning against it now instead of sitting. ".. Well, back to old times.. thought the conversation was too good to last." I added with a soft chuckle.

[Fitzy Patricks]

I laugh slightly again, taking a second to figure out what he means by that before I remember that we've always had these little pauses and lapses... and always paid far too much attention to them. "Aye... but I guess good things never do last." I shrug slightly.

[Riley Pearson]

I nodded a little bit, letting what she said have a bit more meaning in my mind that was probably intended. All it made me do was think about Riyann and that whole situation and I wasn't positive, but I was pretty sure that it was probably showing on my face that I was thinking about. That sad, sort of blank expression that you usually try and not show. ".. Yeah.. guess not." I said quietly, shaking my head a little and snapping out of it a bit, smiling faintly over to her a moment later.

[Fitzy Patricks]

I bite my lip again,for the first time in several minutes. Wrong choice of words, perhaps.
Resisting the urge to touch his shoulder or something, I decide to move over to the table and sit down, folding my arms across it and hunching forward slightly. I look up just in time to see his attempt at a smile, and smile faintly back.

[Riley Pearson]

Now this was all I was thinking about again and it was really starting to bother me. I couldn't make the wrong choice about this. I was pretty sure that once I say anything remotely close to 'I don't know if this is working' that Riyann's gonna flip and I won't get a word in edge wise. Not to mention that from what Riyann's told me, she's still completely in love with me. And the last thing I want to do is hurt her.
Maybe I just need to give this whole thing time and see if I change my mind again. Then again, who knows the next time I'm going to see her will be. She's been gone for nearly two weeks now and it doesn't really seem like she's planning on coming back.
I smiled faintly back to Arden again as I stood there, probably slightly more dazed than I was, but stll sort of fine.
Arden didn't need to hear any of that, so well, I stayed quiet and just kept my mouth shut.