*Disclaimer* Still don't own anything but this storyline.

Simon was not amused.

"What is that thing?" the young boy asked as his face scrunched in confusion as he took in the scene before him.

Sitting just a few feet away from the boy was a young, distinguished looking woman, hair slightly dishevelled, but otherwise well groomed to the extent of having become a glaring contrast to the sterility of the surrounding hospital room with its insistent beeps and hums from the hospital equipment steadily monitoring those in their care. In the woman's arms lay a small white bundle which wailed incessantly as the woman, now slightly harried in her movements, tried to ease its cries.

"We have already explained this to you Simon," Mrs. Tam replied, annoyance creeping into her voice as she began to feel overwhelmed with the reality of having two little ones in her care. "This is your baby sister, whom your Father and I have named River. She will be living with us from now on."

Simon crinkled his nose at the bundle "I want a quieter one. Can we exchange her for a different one?"

Mrs. Tam sighed "I realise this will be an adjustment for you Simon, but, we Tam's are known for our ability to rise above such challenges. I know you will live up to this legacy. Besides, while I realise she is, well, she is a lively little thing. I know you will be surprised one day to look back and witness just how attached you have become to her."

Simon straightened up and took another glance at the baby still whimpering loudly "I doubt it very much. Does she come with a volume control?"

"Simon Tam!" Mr. Tam, having entered the room and observed the interactions before him, firmly admonished his young son. "That is quite enough. You have expressed your opinion admirably but now is the time to shape up and say a proper hello to your sister." Mr. Tam led his son closer to his mother's bedside. "Like it or not, River is a part of our family and your sister for better or for worse." Mr. Tam exhaled in exasperation, tired after his wife's long labour and on edge, lest anyone had seen his son's inability to grasp his new duty as older brother.

Slowly, Simon leaned forward and took his first good look at the bundle laying in his mother's arms. Seeing the wrinkled blob that was supposedly his sister before him, Simon frowned quickly before correcting his expression to a more neutral gaze. Adults actually thought these things were cute? Perhaps people lost their ability to judge appearances properly as they aged? Either way, adults were definitely confusing.

While Simon was thinking through this process, he was surprised to realise that the incessant wailing had stopped, a pleasant silence now filling the room in its place. Even more surprising, the blob was now looking in his generally direction and blinking furiously, while his parents looked on in quiet approval.

Sister, right, why couldn't his parents have left well enough alone?