(5.2 years)

The World According to Hope Ellis-Caffrey

Hope Ellis-Caffrey sat up in her room, reading a book – well as much as a five-year-old could read a book. She loved having books, handling them, lovingly turning their pages, gazing at the pictures, recognizing words and trying to make sense of them on the written page. Truth be told, she recognized a good number of words and she was smart as a whip, making it easy to take educated guesses at what was printed on the page.

Now that she had a baby brother, Hope was enjoying playing the role of big sister – able to do all the things a newborn baby couldn't possibly do. He was cute, that was for sure, but he could also be very annoying, especially when he cried, which he seemed to be doing an awful lot of since his arrival in the Caffrey home two weeks earlier.

He cried when he needed his diaper changed, he cried when he was hungry, he cried when he was tired, he cried when he needed to be cuddled – that was an awful lot of crying for such a little guy. Her dad had explained that that's how babies communicated but Hope was anxious for him to start talking so she wouldn't be awakened in the middle of the night by his incessant wailing.

As if on cue, she heard soft moans coming from the bedroom next door – a precursor to the familiar cries – and she cringed.

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Sara Ellis stood in the kitchen, hands in dirty dishwater, scrubbing the casserole dish from last night's dinner. Neal had tried to warn her that cheese would stick to that surface but she'd been too lazy to properly line the baking dish and now, she was paying the price while her husband was out, dutifully doing the grocery shopping.

The soft sound of Liam's moans wafted through the house and Sara wiped her brow and let out a long suffering sigh.

'Hope!' she called out from her spot in front of the sink.

She heard Hope's footfalls as she made her way to the top of the stairs.

'What?' Hope asked, over the increasingly loud sounds of her little brother's cries.

'Honey, can you give Liam his soother? It must have fallen out of his mouth' Sara asked.

Hope didn't answer but Sara heard her retreating towards the bedrooms as she waited for calm to return to the house, her attention now focussed on the offensive pot in her hands.

Why didn't she ever listen to Neal?

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Hope turned the corner into her baby brother's room and peeked into his crib, eyes searching for the soother which would hopefully provide relief from his insistent wails. She spotted it on the far side of the mattress and she struggled to reach for it through the crib's slats, her little face plastered against the side of the crib. Her fingers wiggled madly as she reached for the pale blue colored soother, without success.

There was a solution to every problem – or so her parents had reminded her on multiple occasions. She was going to have to be creative if she wanted to reach that little sucker and Hope was suddenly reminded of the little step stool in the bathroom which she used daily when she brushed her teeth and combed her hair. She disappeared for a moment, returning with the little pink stool and hoisting herself up onto it as she held on to the bars of the crib for support. The sudden movement seemed to catch baby Liam's attention and his eyes moved to her face, looming over his – although he continued to scream at the top of his lungs.

'What's going on up there?' Sara called from downstairs, impatience obvious in her voice.

'I've got it!' Hope yelled back as her fingertips finally located the soother.

She brought it to her face and examined it, remembering her dad telling her it only fit into the baby's mouth one way; if she put it in upside down, Liam would just spit it out. She struggled to place it in the baby's mouth as his head thrashed back and forth on the mattress, his cries intensifying as she finally managed to place the object between his lips with a sigh of relief.

'Why do you cry so much, Liam?' she asked as the baby's loud cries morphed into uneven sobs, Liam sucking madly on the soother between wavering breaths in an attempt to comfort himself.

'Talking works a lot better; that way you can tell people what you want instead of crying and everybody understands you' Hope explained.

'Is everything okay up there?' she heard from downstairs.

'Yes' she shouted back as she shook her head. Her mom was a 'yeller' – whenever she got tired or angry, she would rant and rave, unlike her dad who hardly ever raised his voice, no matter what the situation.

Her eyes returned to Liam's flushed face. 'Don't worry if Mommy yells sometimes. Daddy says she's just irritable...I'm not sure what that means but I think it has something to do with losing your temper. Daddy can always make her laugh though, so don't worry if she looks grumpy...when Daddy finishes with her she'll smile at you and hug you like nothing ever happened.'

Hope stared down at her brother who seemed to be fixated on her voice, his eyes still brimming with unshed tears.

'Mommy works for a 'surance' company and she has a very important job. She helps people find things that were stolen from them, like paintings and jewels. But she doesn't get to keep them, she has to give them back' Hope explained as Liam's breathing began to even out.

'Mommy's really pretty; she has lots of makeup and high heel shoes and sometimes she'll let me put on some of her lipstick... but don't ever take her stuff without asking...' Hope warned, thinking back to a few incidents when she wished she'd had an older sibling to warn her about the wrath of Sara Ellis.

'Once, I borrowed a pair of her high heel shoes to wear with my princess dress and I broked the heel off' she said, pausing for dramatic effect. 'Mommy was really mad but Daddy fixed it with his magic hands. That's what Mommy says when Daddy is hugging her or tickling her – she says he has magic hands. I'm not sure why she says that but... when he tickles her, it makes her laugh and she can't stay mad at him.'

Hope stared down at the baby, her armpits firmly pressed against the edge of the crib in a most awkward and uncomfortable way and she decided, on a whim, that she'd be more comfy if she just climbed in to join her brother on the cozy mattress. Hope was very agile – her dad said she'd gotten that from him – and she propped her leg up onto the ledge of the bed frame and threw her other leg over the top, careful not to step on her newborn brother as she let herself fall, sitting by his feet, her back pressed up against the foot of the crib.

'That's better' she said as she opened her legs to accommodate Liam's tiny feet.

She dropped her voice to a mere whisper, as if confiding some deep, dark secret. 'You know...you can get almost anything you want from Daddy, you just need to look at him until he flinches, so just keep staring at him and if you smile, that helps too' she advised as Liam's breathing began to return to normal and his eyes moved around the room.

Hope's mind wandered, thinking of her dad, her hero...he could do no wrong in her eyes.

'Daddy has a new job as a 'thenticator'. I'm not sure exactly what it is but he comes home all excited and he tells Mommy about these treasures he gets to play with at work all day. It makes him happy.'

Hope began to play with Liam's little legs, gently pumping them up and down as he began to relax at all the attention he was getting.

'Mommy and Daddy kiss a lot and they're always giggling; Uncle Mozzie always tells them to get a room - whatever that means - but you'll get used to it. Oh, and don't ever go into their bedroom when the door is closed. They wrestle in there and they play games like piggy back and sometimes when it's quiet in the house, I can hear Mommy making strange noises and she keeps saying Daddy's name over and over and over again and Daddy sounds like he's lifting something really heavy... anyway, just stay out of there when that's happening.'

Hope got a faraway look in her eyes and she grabbed Liam's tiny feet and tickled them as he squirmed. 'Afterwards, Mommy is always in a good mood so whatever games they play in there... it works.'

Her mind seemed to wander once again. 'Sometimes they argue, but don't get scared. Mommy yells a lot and Daddy usually just listens and says things like 'Aww, come on Sara...' and tries to hug her. Sometimes, she starts to laugh and hugs him back and other times, she just whines and says 'Neeeaaal!'. That's Daddy's name, Neal Caffrey and you and me are 'Ellis-Caffrey' because that's Mommy and Daddy's names put together.'

'Oh, and if you're in the car with Mommy, don't ever say anything about the way she drives because she'll get mad at you. Once, she hit another car when she was backing out of the driveway and Daddy just rolled his eyes and she got really mad at him just for that...Daddy says that sometimes she's really just mad at herself.'

'Guess what Liam?' she said, half expecting an answer as Liam continued to gurgle. 'Uncle Mozzie is coming over for dinner tonight. He's your godfather, that means he's supposed to take care of you and give you anything you want. He's got a million different houses and we're not allowed to visit any of them. One time, Daddy took me to one of them and uncle Mozzie got mad at him and said it wasn't a 'safe' house if everyone knew about it.'

Hope paused, puzzled; she'd never quite figured out what that meant.

'Uncle Mozzie comes over here to eat all the time; he says Daddy has a better wine collection than he does... Sometimes, he plays with me and my dolls but he tries to pretend he's not having fun... but I can tell he is. His face lights up like a little girl and his voice gets all excited and he starts to talk a lot.'

Liam sputtered and the soother popped out of his mouth and onto the mattress as he made a whining sound at the loss of it. Hope reached lazily for it and placed it back unceremoniously between his lips as he resumed sucking.

'Grandma June is your godmother. You're lucky! She's rich and she lives in a big house in M'nhatin. She has servants and everything... I used to live in her house when I was little. Daddy showed me my old bedroom; it has a huge mural that he painted and there's a terrace outside where you can sit. Mommy says we moved here so I could have a big backyard to play in.'

Hope's eyes wandered to the window, the sun streaming in as she stifled a yawn.

'Grandma June always gives me ice cream when we visit and she lets me play her piano – but Daddy always says to be careful cause it's a 'hare-loom' – I'm not sure what that is...'

Liam's silence seemed to egg her on; she still had so much to tell him.

'My godparents are Uncle Peter and Auntie Elizabeth. Uncle Peter is Daddy's best friend and he's always telling him what to do – but Daddy just pretends to listen and then he does what he wants. He says what Uncle Peter doesn't know won't hurt him... They used to work together at the 'SPI' or something... Uncle Peter is big and strong and he has a gun because he's some sort of a policeman but I've never seen it. Daddy says guns are bad and we shouldn't have them in the house...'

'Auntie Elizabeth makes the best macaroni and cheese but you're too little to have any. Sorry...' she said, her voice teasing. 'You'll just have to wait until you get some teeth but I can have some annny time I want!'

Liam didn't seem bothered by this latest declaration and he kept gurgling as Hope continued to talk.

'Uncle Peter comes to get me all the time on Saturdays and he takes me places like the library or the museum or to the park and he lets me hold Satchmo's leash. Satchmo is my best friend... except for Olivia Mason. She's my 'people' best friend and Satchmo is my 'dog' best friend. When you get to be big like me, you'll go to school and learn all kinds of things and you'll have lost of friends too. But that won't be for a long, long time, 'cause you're so little.'

Hope slid up the mattress and laid her head next to Liam's as she began to rub his tummy, watching as his eyes fluttered shut at her gentle touch.

'You're little but Mommy says I was even littler than you when I was born. I was this tiny' she said as she motioned with her hands.

'But now, look how big I am' she declared proudly.

'Daddy's making asparagus quiche for dinner. I hate asparagus... so I just smiled at him and stared and now, he's going to make a different kind just for me. Daddy makes really good food but Mommy can only make toast and sometimes Kraft Dinner when Daddy has to work late. Mommy's really good at reading stories though, and sometimes, she'll lie down with me on my bed and we'll fall asleep together. She smells good and she cuddles me in her arms and when I wake up, she'd gone but my pillow still smells like her.'

Hope was having trouble keeping her eyes open. The only sound in the room was Liam's regular breathing now that he'd fallen asleep and she turned to place an arm around him, snuggling up close and placing a kiss on his cheek before grabbing for the baby blanket to cover them both.

'You'll see... I'll tell you everything you need to know' she whispered in his ear. 'Mommy and Daddy are the bestest parents... but I don't think we should tell them that.'

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'Hey' Neal called out as he stepped into the house, arms loaded up with grocery bags.

Sara looked up from the sink where she was still struggling with the dirty casserole and she rolled her eyes at him as he put everything down on the nearby counter.

'You're not still working on that thing, are you?' he asked as he reached into one of the bags, producing a pot scrubber and walking over to where a wilted Sara stood, looking none too pleased. He laced his arms around her waist, pressing her up against the counter with his body as he reached around and began scrubbing the pot while his lips moved to her neck.

'Neeaal!' she whined, almost immediately letting out a forced giggle as he tickled her neck. It had been a mere two weeks since Liam's arrival and she was still sore and tired – sex was out of the question although Neal hoped they would be resuming their regular extracurricular activities before too long.

His hands worked diligently at scrubbing the pot as his lips began to roam and Sara's bad mood seemed to slowly dissipate.

'I have to admit, this is a lot more fun with you here' she murmured as he pressed up against her.

'First of all...' he said, between kisses. '...you have to let it soak for awhile.'

'Oh yeah?' Sara answered, her mind wandering to Liam who had been quiet for the past few minutes.

'Yeah...' Neal answered lewdly, his hands moving to cradle her hips.

He gave her just enough wiggle room so she could turn around and face him and he wasted no time in placing a lingering kiss on her lips - a kiss which left nothing to the imagination.

She touched his face and gave him a sad smile. 'The kids are upstairs...' she said as she pulled away.

'Awww' Neal whined, disappointed that, once again, he was going to be left high and dry.

'I need to go check on Liam. He was crying a little while ago' Sara said, pulling out of his grasp and heading for the stairs with Neal following close behind.

The house was eerily quiet and they made their way into Liam's room to check on him although they were unprepared for the sight of their two offspring, curled up together under Liam's tiny baby blanket, both of them blissfully asleep.

They stood, arms wound around each other as they took in the sight, Hope's long legs curled up into the small space, her arms cradling the newborn baby.

'She's going to be a great big sister' Sara said as Neal grinned in response.

La fin