“She’s fine.”
“Gimme!” Ollie made grabby hands, and Ben laughed again as he passed her over. Lily immediately spit up all over Ollie. “Not one word, big brother.”
“I’m not saying a thing,” Ben replied.
He made himself a cracker with some sausage and cheese on it before popping it into his mouth. Ollie tugged the burp cloth off Ben’s shoulder as he cuddled his daughter and continued to pat her back.
“I slept for over two hours,” Ollie said. “Two whole, glorious hours, Ben.”
“I know. We had quite the adventure while you were gone. Nyx is in love with Lily, by the way.”
“Awww, Nyx! I didn’t know she’d be here. She’s on my official babysitter list.”
“You have an official list?”
Ollie arched a brow. “Of course, I have an official list. What kind of father do you think I am?”
“The kind who would never use a babysitter because he can’t let his babies out of his sight.” Ben made another cracker and held it out to Ollie.
Ollie huffed but didn’t argue. He took the cracker, though.
“I will let them out of my sight. You know, one day. I let you keep her, didn’t I? So there. Ha!”
“Does that mean I’m on the official list?”
“Yep. You’re three or four, depending on how you count.”
“Now this I have to hear.”
Ollie grinned. “Gimme another cracker.”
“Gimme back my niece, and I’ll think about it.”
Ollie nuzzled Lily’s hair and smiled. “Okay.”
Ben made several more crackers before Ollie passed Lily back to him.
“Explain this babysitting system,” Ben said as he put the bottle against Lily’s lips again.
“Oh, right. Well, Dad and Papa are one and possibly two, depending on how you count. Then Nana. Then you. But don’t tell Grammy and Pop-pop.”
“Fair enough,” Ben said. “I’m honored to rank so high. By the way, I want you to give Lily a few more breaks during her bottle. After every ounce or so, stop and let her burp. If she’s still getting gassy, we’ll burp her more frequently. There are also some drops we can add to her bottle to help reduce the gas from the formula, but let’s hold off on those until we see if she does better by slowing down.”
“Yeah, she guzzles,” Ollie said, his eyes never leaving his daughter. “Liam is more of a slow and steady baby. She’s off to the races.”
“Just like her Baba,” Ben teased.
Ollie grinned. “Can you believe I have babies?”
“I can.”
“Yeah,” Ollie laughed and sank down onto the floor next to Ben’s chair. He ate another cracker and a few blueberries while Ben continued to feed Lily.
Ollie waited until Ben’s defenses were down, and he had a squirming Lily against his chest, before beginning his interrogation. Ben should have known his brother wouldn’t let him avoid the Koios conversation.
“How’d it go with Koios?”
“Fine,” Ben answered.
