A/N: I know, it's been forever. I've had a writer's block with this story, especially with the whole timing thing. Christmas is soon for Riley, but just ended for us. That wasn't how I planned it. Anyway, hope everyone will still enjoy. I own nothing . . . except Riley. :D

"You don't have any kids of your own, do you?"

Callie looked over at the child sitting next to her, his eyes holding the same skepticism that his question had. She shook her head from side to side, "How could you tell."

"Well," he shifted on the couch, then shrugged lightly, as if it were nothing, "You're not a very good babysitter." She probably would have knocked him out had he not been four, and so utterly adorable. Callie didn't take criticism very well, not matter how constructive it happened to be.

"And . . . ," his tiny voice caught her attention once again, "you're messy. You have spit-up on your shirt," he pointed a single finger just above her left breast, "and macaroni in your hair."

She ran a hand through her disheveled hair to find a clump of macaroni, cold and sticky, resistant to coming out. It had be quite the rough day.

x

Mark and her barely exchanged two words when he left and she walked in. Apparently, Riley knew where to find everything. If not, his cell phone was on.

For twenty dollars an hour, it was going to be an easy job. Teddy would what? Eat, sleep, and get changed. The twins were probably easy enough. And Riley was a piece of cake.

The first hour and a half went fairly well. Then, as she was playing with Georgia (or was it Ella?) and Riley on the living room floor with a game that seemed to have no purpose whatsoever, she smelt something that could only be identified as one of two things: baby poop or a sewer. She assumed that it wasn't a sewer, which meant that it was time to change baby Teddy's diaper.

Joy.

First, Callie plugged her nose with small pieces of a cotton ball. Then slowly, at arms' length, she opened the diaper. The smelly, brown baby poop had managed to leak through the diaper and spread up Teddy's back. It would be a waste of time to try and use wipes, she decided, so she would through him in the bath and wash him down quickly. Not too hard, right?

Sure.

The phone was ringing, so Callie wrapped the baby in a towel, which started the screaming. Apparently, he didn't think that he was finished playing. But that was only the beginning.

As she stepped out of the bathroom, she saw that there was a trail of white dust leading from the bedroom to the living room. Following the tiny footsteps that pattered through the powder, she found Ella (or maybe Georgia?) dancing around the living room with an open bottle of baby powder, which was flying around everywhere. Her twin sister was sitting amid the dust, wiping it over her arms as if it were sunblock.

Riley sat on the couch watching a cartoon, oblivious to the turmoil around him.

Picking the phone off of the arm of the couch, she answered without checking the caller identification.

"You've won a trip for two to the Caribbean. In order to receive your prize, di-" she hung up. If only it were true.

Swooping in to snatch the baby powder, she successfully caused another one of the children to start crying at the top of their lungs. When she turned around, she saw that Georgia (or Ella?) was now eating the "sunblock".

"Georgia, that stuff is bad for you. Stop eating it, sweetie," she tried her calm, motherly tone, but it was barely heard above the two screaming kids.

Or so she thought.

Georgia, who was evidently not Georgia, stood up with her fists clenched, and at the top of her lungs began to yell, "My name is not Georgia! My name is not Georgia! My name is not Georgia! My name is not Georgia! My name is not Georgia! My name is not Georgia!" She continued for two minutes straight. Callie got the point. The one eating powder was Ella. The one throwing powder was Georgia. It only needed to be said once.

And it was all downhill from there.

x

Now, Callie sat on the couch with Riley, who had spent most of his day in that exact spot. Meredith had dropped by to pick up the girls and Teddy a half hour earlier. Her surprise at seeing Callie was dulled by her children's joy in seeing her.

It had definitely not been worth twenty dollars an hour.

The house that surrounded them looked as if it had been hit by a tornado. Or a hurricane. Or a tsunami. Or all of them put together and multiplied in force by ten.

The innocent little blond Sloan shook his head and simply stated, "I don't think you should babysit us again."

"Neither do I," she agreed.

"I like you. But Ella and Georgia and Teddy don't, I think. Actually, I think they really don't like you."

Callie shook her head from one side to the other, exhaustion written all over her face, "I don't think they like me either."

Somehow, someway, she could manage to build bones. She could operate a clinic in the middle of Africa with next to no resources. She could up and leave for three years, return, and still have her job. She was freaking Wonder Woman. Yet she couldn't handle twins and a baby for a day. Because, really, Riley hadn't caused an ounce of trouble all day.

x

It was past eleven o'clock when Mark opened the door to his apartment. The first thing that he noticed was that it smelt overwhelmingly like baby powder. The second thing that he noticed, almost immediately, was the mess. White dust coated half of the flat surfaces in the house. Kraft Dinner was spread across the table and floor. Toys everywhere. And, on the couch, both sleeping soundly, Callie and Riley.

God, he really was the stupidest man in the world for not fighting harder for her. Rather than asking for one night, he should have asked for a lifetime.

He watched them sleeping for a minute before stepping in and scooping Riley up to bring him to his own bed. Callie stirred, rubbed her eyes, and sat up. Taking in her surroundings, her expression suddenly changed. She'd fallen asleep before cleaning the house. "Oh my God! Mark, I am so sorry. I promise you, I will clean everything up."

Shaking his head, Mark whispered, "Don't worry about it. Grab a shower. I'll take care of it."

"Are you sure?" A shower sounded nice.

"I'm positive. We'll talk when you get out."

She flashed him a half grin. God, he was a lifesaver.

The water began running while Mark took his son to bed. As he was changing the boy into pajamas, he came to with a smile on his lips, "I had to babysit Callie today."

"You did, eh, little man?"

He bobbed his little blond head, his blue eyes widening, "Yup. And she burned the macaroni. Two times!"

Mark laughed. All in all, it seemed to have been a good day for everyone.

A/N: Review, please? Sloane will be making her appearance in a very near chapter. :)