G III: Chapter 11

Charlie pulled his son out of his highchair.

"My boy, it's your birthday today. I'm not sure I'm ready for you to grow up. You won't need me anymore like you do now." He hugged Brian tight. "I want you to stay little forever!" Charlie smiled, "Then again the bigger you get, the more fun stuff you can do." Charlie continued to talk to his little man about getting bigger and the fun he would have.




In the other room, little Dylan was learning to walk. Isabel was a very good teacher, maybe it was because she had done it already - with more than one baby. Dylan was a quick learner and before you know it, he had walking down pat.

The rest of the family joined Charlie and Brian in the dining room for a quick lunch. Afterward the boys played in their own room for a while, until the cake was done baking.

Before anyone could blink, Brian was a big kid. He had grown so much so quickly, it seemed that everyone had missed it.

Daphne held little Brian as he blew out his candles, and as she set him on the floor to grow she wiped away a tear. Her little man was so big now, she couldn't cuddle him and carry him around anymore. She was going to miss that.

Everyone grabbed a piece of cake to celebrate Brian's big day. Since he was bigger now he could be more involved in random activities, and he seemed interested in art of many ways. His parents bought him an easel to put into his room, and his grandmother gave him a small starter kit for sculpting.

*Brian's new bedroom set*

The next day was Brian's first day of school. Daphne waved to him from her garden and wished him luck. She didn't take her eyes off of the bus until it was to far away to see. She hoped the older kids weren't to hard on 'the new guy' and Brian got along alright.

James came over for a visit later that afternoon, Charlie greeted him on the porch.

"Hey bro, how ya been?" Charlie asked, enthusiastically. He was happy to see James, it had been a while.

"Doing good. How about yourself? I hear you've been busy with a kid, yeah?" James said with a smile.

It wasn't until then that Charlie realized his brother hadn't met Brian yet, and had no clue about Dylan and his parents at all. He proceeded to tell him the cliff notes version.

"Daphne and I had a little boy, then only a few days later we found out Starr was pregnant with Cedric's baby. She left the day Dylan was born, and Cedric has been put in jail for a while, so he isn't here either. So over all I guess Daph and I have two boys. Isabel loves them both as if they were hers. Brian's pretty old now, Dylan is still a toddler but he has a birthday coming up tomorrow." Charlie explained, mostly in one breath.

While Charlie was talking, James held a very odd expression on his face, sort of like he was hearing more than what his brother actually said. Especially after Charlie mentioned that Starr left Cedric and Dylan. When his brother was done speaking, Jame opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated just one moment. In his pause, Brian came outside to see who had been at the door. Charlie introduced his son.

James came inside and talked to Isabel for a while. They all had lunch together. James picked up Dylan and gave him some cuddles. When it was time for him to go to work, James passed out hugs to the family and left.

During his ride, he wondered how he could tell his family what had happened in his life, now that he knew their story.

The next day Charlie was off work. He spent most of his time with Dylan, enjoying the toddler as much as he could. He read him stories and finished his lessons on speaking. Dylan had learned everything quickly, but he really was a quiet child. He preferred to signal for what he wanted, as opposed to speak.

Outside Brian watched his mother garden, he was already showing an interest in it. He loved all of Daphne's plants and really enjoyed watching her work.

Isabel called her family in to celebrate Dylan's birthday, his cake was ready.

Dylan giggled and pointed at his cake when he was brought to it. He was very excited to blow out his candles. Isabel helped him by holding up to it. He tired to puff enough air out of his lips, but his lungs weren't quite strong enough, so Isabel blew them out at the same time. Dylan giggled when the fire was gone, thinking he did it. He was so proud.

Isabel set him down to allow more room to grow.

When Dylan reached full child hood, everyone noticed how much he really resembled his father. He also seemed to take on some of Cedric's attitude. Dylan became a pretty hot-headed kid.


*Dylan's new room set*

Sunday was mostly spent studying, and spending time with family. The hot tub was used a lot by Isabel, Brian started painting, and Dylan read some books. Charlie and Daphne took care of the housework that needed to be done.

Charlie also thought about James. He wondered why James acted so odd when he was telling what happened with Dylan, Cedric and Starr. Maybe he already knew all of that?

Later in the evening the whole family went to central park. Isabel bought a new book to read, Daphne picked up seeds she found, the boys played chess, and Charlie was trying to make friends. When the sun started to set they all went to dinner at the Bistro. Their dinner was free. Sometimes it was great being famous. They stayed for dessert, then went home to bed.










The next morning was Dylan's first day at school. He was a little nervous, but would never show it. Brian could tell though, the two boys had become very close because they were close in age. Neither one remembered a time when the other wasn't there, and for all they knew they were brothers. The boys had been too young to understand any details of what was happening when it did.

Brian promised his little brother that he would be there for him on his first day, show him around school and introduce him to some friends he had made. The two of them spent most of the school day together.