Maybe Baby

Try Not To Cry

Thank you to @breeoc97 for suggesting this fluffy chapter.

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Sophie was soon awake, and actually quite frightened by something that seemed much bigger than she was and made a lot of noise.

She cried out for Joe, who had gone to shower, and was now dressed as he hurried over to his daughter. "What's the matter? Are you hurt?" 

The toddler shook her head no and tried to find the proper words while staring out the window, where the sun was barely up. "Scary me."

"Something scared you? Hmm.. It's okay, I'm here now." Joe looked at the window and noticed how disruptive the weather sounded. "Oh, that's just the wind. It's loud sometimes." 

She seemed to calm down after that, her breath steady now that she was being held and shown the astonishing sunrise full of orange and blue color.

"Let's go cook some breakfast." 

---

"What do you want to make, Sophie?" Joe gave her the option of eggs or waffles.

Sophie still felt a little worked up by the environment and newness, also wasn't used to somebody talking to her this much, so she pointed at the egg carton.

"Scrambled eggs it is. We'll even put some cheese in." Joe decided and got out some vegan shredded cheese too. 

He let her mix and he poured it into the pan and showed her how to stir. "It's hot, so you have to be careful. Do you wanna try?" 

"Yeah. Do." Sophie took the spatula and did it just like Joe did. She spilled a bit and started to get upset, but he explained there was nothing to worry about.

Joe stood behind her and had a hand on the frying pan to make sure she didn't fall off the chair or make a mess, but gave her full control otherwise.

-

Joe toasted some bread while the eggs were cooling on the plates, and made himself a cup of coffee. 

Sophie looked at the drink in eagerness, not really knowing what it was but also not having the verbal skills to express her desire. "Me dwink?" 

"You'd like a drink? Well, this is coffee. You can't have this drink, but I'll get you something else. Thanks for asking." 

The girl just nodded and waited patiently. "Orange." She declared, still only using one or two word sentences at a time.

"Sure, you can have some orange juice." He hummed and poured a little bit into a cup, handing it to her. She thanked him and sipped it, slowly picking up on manners.

Her mother hadn't given her much time, though did take care of her, to make sure she was healthy, but didn't spend time teaching everything because she had to work from home.

Soon enough, all the food was prepared and still hot. The two of them sat down, Sophie on a stack of books since she wasn't big enough for the chair. 

Joe frowned at himself, "I need to get you a proper seat today. Be careful, okay?" 

"Okay. Ca'ful." Sophie repeated, eating the food hungrily and careful not to fall over. It resulted in a mess, but worked. The two of them finished breakfast.

---

"Hey, Mom, I have a favor to ask of you." Joe was on the phone now, making funny faces at Sophie which made her giggle.

"Yeah, what is it?" 

"I texted you about my daughter, right, so then I realized I don't have a seat for her at the table. She's tiny, and I'm worried she'll fall.."

"Right.. So you need me to get one." 

"No, yeah.. You figured that out fast. I'll pay for it, it's just.. She doesn't like stores because of the people and I don't want Sophie to get overwhelmed more, this is already new for her."

"I get it. I don't mind, honey. I'll do that now." 

"Thanks."  "You're welcome."

--

Twenty minutes passed and there was a knock. Joe answered it, leaving Sophie on the floor. He figured it was better to let her decide whether to see if she chose to follow.

"Hi! Thanks again for doing this." Joe smiled at his mother.

"Hello! It's nice to see you! I'm here for a few days but I can stay longer before going back if needed." She smiled in return.

Sophie looked up from her toys, staying where she was contently, unsure of this new person that had suddenly apeared. "Hi," she imitated Joe.

"Hello, sweetie. I'm your grandma." The lady took a few steps forward.

"No." Sophie stood up and walked backwards, not having the words to express that she didn't like strangers coming near her. Unfortunately, this led to her bumping into the wall with her head.

She teared up, trying her best not to get upset, but eventually cried.

Joe frowned, picking up the little girl once again, making sure she didn't get badly hurt. "Oh no, it's okay, baby. You don't have to be right next to grandma." 

"I'm so sorry." His mother looked apologetic, mostly towards Sophie.

"It's not your fault, it's fine. She'll get used to you soon." Joe assured her.

-

Sophie stayed in Joe's arms in comfort, then hesitantly reached over and put her small hand on the woman's shoulder, proving his words true. 

She smiled at the toddler's action, trying to show that she was friendly. 

"Enough, Daddy." Sophie pulled her wrist back to herself, deciding that was enough social interaction for one day.

"Oh, got it." He answered by walking over to the couch and putting the girl down carefully, but still in sight. Then Joe walked back to his mother, "I appreciate you bringing the highchair over, and hope to see you again with her sometime." 

"I know. But that's perfectly all right." She said goodbye and headed out.

-

Joe sighed softly and lay on the couch, feeling exhausted from the past day's events. Sophie responded by crawling all over him, trying to find a way to cheer him up.

"You are quite a handful, Soph. But I love you. You'll be all right. Just need time to adjust, huh?" 

"Yeah. Love." She agreed, looking bored at the surroundings. 

Joe understood her boredom and realised she didn't have more than a teddy bear. He'd have to fix that.

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The book won't be a drag (slow time passing is what I mean by that), but I do want to have enough time with Sophie as a small child, as it's important to her story.