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Part 4 - Bedtime Fun

About half an hour later, Daniel started yawning; he'd had a long day. Jack noticed this and thought with relief that he could put Daniel to bed. That shouldn't be too hard, he thought. "Okay, kid, time for bed."

"Okay," Daniel agreed. He went to his bedroom, got his pyjamas and toothbrush, and then went back out into the hallway where Jack was just stepping out of the kitchen.

"Where ya going?" Jack asked.

"Mommy always gave me a bath before bedtime," Daniel explained, heading into the bathroom and waiting patiently for Jack to follow.

A bath? That was going to take ages! "How `bout we skip the bath tonight?" Jack suggested as he went into the bathroom, not wanting the hassle of having to run the bath and then supervise. He knew he would have to eventually do it but he wanted to put it off as long as possible.

"But I always have a bath. It's very `portant to keep clean," Daniel told him, his face serious. "I used to get lots dirty."

"I bet you did." Jack looked down at the little kid who was gazing up at him expectantly. He wasn't sure how Daniel would react if he said `no' but was it worth possibly provoking tears or a tantrum, which would end up being more hassle than the bath? "Alright, okay, you can have a bath," Jack gave in. "But only a quick one." Maybe there would still be time to catch the end of the hockey game.

Daniel nodded; he could do quick.

Jack set the water running and then helped Daniel to get undressed, tackling the tricky buttons on the jeans. When the water was about eight inches deep, Jack turned the taps off and lifted Daniel up, ready to put him in.

"Wait!" Daniel squealed, wriggling in Jack's grip. "You have to check the water first."

"Oh." That was probably a good idea, Jack realised, putting Daniel down. He put his hand into the water - it was very warm but not intolerably so.

"No, no, no," Daniel said authoritatively. "Mommy always checked it with her elbow. She said she had a special ther-om-e-ter in there."

Therometer...? oh, thermometer, Jack translated the word. "Right." He pushed up his right sleeve and put his elbow in the water. "Yeow!" That had been hotter than he had been expecting. He vaguely remembered reading something about the skin on the elbow being a more accurate gauge of temperature, which meant that the bath was a little too hot. As Daniel giggled at his reaction, Jack put some more cold water in, occasionally testing it until it seemed just right.

Jack lifted Daniel into the bath, then retrieved some soap and a washcloth for the kid to use. "Here you go - get clean."

"Okay." Daniel took the soap and giggled as it slipped out of his hand. "Uh-oh." He used two hands to try and catch the soap but as it continued to slip out of his hands, he kept giggling, thinking it was a huge joke. He chased it around the bath, splashing and having heaps of fun.

Jack frowned impatiently at the kid, certain that Daniel was doing it on purpose. "Daniel," he said sternly.

"I can't catch it," Daniel told him, trying unsuccessfully to pick the soap up. "It won't stay still."

Deciding it would be quicker if he did it himself, Jack reached in and caught the soap. Then he handed it to Daniel and instructed him to hold on tightly.

"Yes, Jack." Daniel used both his hands to hold it and then quickly rubbed it over his body. When he was finished, he held the soap out for Jack to take. After his brother took it, Daniel used the washcloth to get rid of all the soap on his body, then rinsed it out and scrubbed his face just like his mother always did.

"And behind your ears," Jack instructed, remembering what his mother always told him.

Daniel happily obeyed, then handed over the washcloth when Jack held out his hand to take it. "Can I have a long bath tomorrow?"

"We'll see," Jack said non-committally. He had taken the day off tomorrow to help Daniel settle in, and had planned to have a poker night with the guys. What would they think of him if he had to give Daniel a bath in the middle of it?

He lifted Daniel out of the bath - at arm's length so that he didn't get wet - and put the kid on the bathmat. Then he reached for the towel and wrapped it around Daniel's shoulders.

Daniel looked at Jack in confusion. "Aren't you going to help me?" Whenever he tried to dry himself, there was always bits that he missed because some towels - like this one - were too big for him to handle properly.

Jack sighed as he realised just how reliant Daniel was going to be on him; this was already way more than he had bargained for. He briskly rubbed Daniel dry and then helped the kid to get dressed in the blue pyjamas with pyramids on them. "Okay, what next?" He figured he ought to find out the nightly ritual to save time.

"Toilet, then teeth," Daniel informed him. He raised his arms, waiting for Jack to lift him up again.

Jack did so, this time sitting Daniel on the seat. Then, when Daniel was finished, he put the kid on the bench next to the basin and assisted him with the teeth-cleaning which apparently consisted at the end of filling one's mouth up with as much water as possible and then spitting it all out at once; Jack reckoned that Daniel looked like a chipmunk with the puffed-out cheeks.

Finally, Jack took Daniel into the bedroom, looking forward to having a peaceful few hours before he himself went to bed. He helped Daniel get into the single bed, teddy bear beside him, removed the kid's glasses and put them on the nearby table, and then tucked him in. "Goodnight, kid."

"Jack!" the call came before he had even taken two steps.

"What now?" Jack turned and looked at Daniel from the doorway.

"Can you read me a story?" Daniel asked. He could read the books he had but he loved being read to as well; there was something very comforting about it.

A story? Jack checked his watch; the hockey game was well and truly over, so he wasn't in any rush. "I suppose so. Any one in particular?" He picked up the books that Daniel had brought with him.

"Androcles and the Lion," Daniel stated, surprising Jack with his pronunciation of the name.

Jack found the book on the bottom of the pile. "Androcles and the Lion, it is then." He sat down on the edge of the bed and Daniel scooted over to curl up beside him. When they were both settled, Jack started reading, Daniel silently mouthing the words along with him.

Five pages later, Daniel was sound asleep.

Easing himself carefully off the bed, Jack looked down at the sleeping child. Daniel was curled up on his left side, thumb firmly in his mouth and right arm possessively holding the teddy. Cute, Jack thought, then shook his head; he wasn't going to get attached to Daniel. He didn't know the first thing about raising a kid - much better to send him to someone who did. Therefore, he wasn't going to let himself get too attached to his little brother.

Despite that, Jack went out to the garage and quickly knocked together a box for Daniel to stand on in the bathroom. When he went back inside with the box, Jack switched on the light in the hallway so that Daniel wouldn't get lost in the dark if he got up during the night, and then put the box in the bathroom in case the kid needed it.

That done, Jack checked in on Daniel, who hadn't moved, and then he went back to the living room to finish off the pizza and hopefully watch some uninterrupted television - and find out what the final score had been for the hockey game.

tbc...