"Come on, Jax! Sometime today please!" Chloe glided across the ice while Jax sat on the bench putting on his skates.

"I'm coming, just give me a sec."

"I had forgotten how much fun this is!" Chloe exclaimed, passing Jax again.

Jax cautiously stepped out on the ice. He tripped but quickly regained his balance. Chloe laughed.

"I haven't done this is in a long time, give me a break," he said.

Chloe skated over to him and laced her arm around his. "Don't worry, I'll catch you if you fall," she teased.

"No, Jax!" Chloe skated along the ice as fast as she could, with Jax in pursuit after her.

Jax caught her along the side and grabbed her. "Ha ha! I caught you! Victory is mine!"

Chloe ducked and maneuvered herself out of Jax's grasp. "That's what you think!"

Chloe dashed away, and Jax, once again, chased her down. He chased her to the very edge of the ice. As Chloe attempted to turn around, Jax came upon her, and she fell, landing butt first into the snow with Jax falling on top of her.

Their faces were inches apart from each other. They were both breathing heavily, with their breath making icy puffs in the air.

They stared at each other intently.

"Chloe?"

"Yes, Jax?" she whispered.

"There's been something that I have wanted to do for a long time now."

"What's that?" Chloe held her breath.

Jax's hand moved over her face and he touched the ground. He grabbed a fistful of snow. "THIS!" Jax threw the snow into Chloe's face. Then he quickly got to his feet and ran away.

"HEY!" Chloe called after him. "I'm going to get you for that!"

"You have to catch me first!"

"I can't run in skates!"

"Well that's just too bad then!"

Chloe made a snowball and hurled it towards him, missing him by a couple of feet. Jax surprised Chloe when he ran back towards her, hammering her with a barrage of snowballs.

Chloe grabbed a handful of snow, ready for a counterattack.

And moments later, the two were having an all out snowball fight, just like they did when they were children.

Jax drove slowly down the icy road as evening gradually began to make its presence. Chloe sat in the passenger seat and continuously changed the radio station. When she didn't hear anything she liked, she turned it off.

They sat in silence for a few moments.

"I had a great afternoon," Jax said, referring to their day at the pond.

Chloe smiled back at him. "Me too."

They were silent again for a few minutes.

"Oh…shoot!" Chloe said after a while.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. I just remembered that I promised my mom I would stop by today. She has some leftover chicken that she is just begging me to take off her hands before it goes bad."

"We can stop over at your mom's house."

"Really?"

"Sure. It's not out of the way."

Chloe smiled. "Thanks, Jax."

Ten minutes later, Jax pulled into Valerie's driveway. A truck was already parked there.

"Ooo, looks like *Joshua* is here," Chloe said.

"Oh good, I finally get to meet this guy!"

Jax and Chloe got out of the car and headed for the house.

"Mom," Chloe called out as she opened the door and she and Jax walked in.

"Hi, sweetie," Valerie called from the other room.

Suddenly, a baby ran out into the living room and caught Jax and Chloe by surprise. She was a beautiful baby, wearing nothing but a little white shirt and a diaper. Valerie soon appeared chasing after her.

"Hi, sweetie. Hey, Jax."

"Mom, who is this adorable little baby?" Chloe asked as she scooped the baby up into her arms. Jax watched the baby with amusement.

"It's Kayla."

"*This* is Kayla? Oh my god! She has *grown*!"

"Who's Kayla? A friend's daughter?" Jax asked.

"This is Mrs. Johnson's little girl, the lady who lives down the street," Chloe said.

"I'm on babysitting duty tonight," Valerie explained. "Marcia asked me to watch her. Something suddenly came up and she needed a last minute sitter."

"She is *adorable*!" Chloe pressed her face against Kayla's chubby little cheek. "Yes you are. Yes you are. You so pretty!"

Jax laughed at Chloe's baby talk. Chloe looked at him and blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, I tend to do that when I see cute babies."

Chloe put the child down and she ran to Valerie on wobbly little legs to get her juice cup.

"How old is she?" Jax asked out of curiosity.

"Marcia said she just had her first birthday last week."

"Oh, Mom, we came for the chicken."

"Right, I'm glad you reminded me. It's in the kitchen." Valerie picked the baby up and Jax and Chloe followed her.

Joshua was in the kitchen wiping his hands with a washcloth. He had various sorts of tools scattered on the counter.

"Hi, Joshua," Chloe said.

"Hey, Chloe," Joshua said with a smile. "How are ya?"

"I'm good. Joshua, this is my friend, Jax."

"Hi, Jax," Joshua said as the men shook hands.

"Hey. Nice to meet you."

"Josh, honey, did you fix the leaky sink?" Valerie said with a hopeful expression on her face as she propped the baby against her hip.

"Yeah, Val. It was no problem. Works just fine now."

Jax and Chloe smiled at each other. They were already at the stage where they were referring to each other as "Josh" and "Val." And "honey".

"Thank you so much! I did not want to have to call a plumber! Isn't this guy great? He's like my own personal handyman." Valerie put her hand on Joshua's shoulder and Chloe's grin grew wider.

After a while of chitchatting, Josh said he had better get going. He wanted to get home before it got too dark outside. Joshua grabbed his toolbox and Valerie walked with him outside.

Jax and Chloe sat on the couch as Kayla stood between them, leaning against Jax's knees.

"I think she likes you," Chloe said.

"She is a cute kid."

"Babies are so amazing. I want one."

Kayla walked around the coffee table and stood in the middle of the room.

"She looks too little to be walking," Jax said.

"Well she looks a bit unsteady on her legs, so I'm guessing she just started walking recently.

Kayla lost her balance and fell on the floor.

"See, what did I tell ya?" Chloe said. "And look at her, she's getting right back up like nothing happened. That's so cute."

All of a sudden, Jax and Chloe heard a loud scream from outside.

"That sounded like Joshua!" Chloe said. Chloe picked up the baby and she and Jax headed to the door.

Outside, Joshua was laying on the bottom of the steps. He was holding on to his foot as his tools from his toolbox laid scattered in the snow. Valerie was trying to help him up.

"Oh god, what happened?" Chloe asked.

"I slipped on the ice, I'm just fine," Joshua said.

"No, you are not fine! You said your hurt your ankle!" Valerie insisted.

Jax walked down the steps to help Joshua to his feet. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"Really, I'm just fine. It's only my ank-oh!"

"Josh, are you okay?" Valerie asked.

"Okay, maybe I did hurt my ankle a bit."

"A bit? You can't even stand on it!" Valerie said.

"Well that is only because it is still sore. It'll be okay in a little while."

"Josh, I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Valerie, I don't need to go to the hospital."

"It could be sprained, or broken!"

"No it's not. It's just sore and bruised."

"How are you going to drive with that bad ankle?"

"I can drive, Val, I just…ow! I'll just have to be careful."

"I don't think you should drive, Joshua," Jax said. "The roads are terribly icy."

"I think you should listen to them, Joshua," Chloe said. "That ankle looks pretty bad and you don't want that to get worse."

Joshua finally gave in. "Alright. Fine. I guess I should do something about it. It does hurt really badly."

"Okay, Josh, let me help you to the car and I'll come back for Kay…oh, shoot! What am I thinking? I don't have Kayla's car seat! I can't bring her with me!"

"Mom, Jax and I can watch her," Chloe offered.

"Yeah, Valerie. We could do that," Jax said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Mom. You go take Joshua to the hospital. Jax and I will stay here with the baby until you get back."

"Alright. Thank you so much, kids! Oh, Kayla's diaper bag is in the living room. Everything she needs is in that bag. Marcia left some emergency numbers in there too. Oh, and will you feed the cat for me?"

"No problem, Mom."

"I'm so sorry for all of this," Joshua apologized.

"Josh, don't you go apologizing! This is not your fault. You slipped on my porch steps, remember?"

Valerie and Jax helped Joshua into her car and Valerie took him to GH.

When Jax got back to the house, Chloe was already inside playing with the baby. He stood in the doorway and watched her for a while. Kayla was sitting in her lap and Chloe was holding one of her toys in front of her.

"I think she likes you, too," Jax said and joined them on the couch.

"Jax, isn't she the most cutest, most adorable baby you have ever seen?"

"Mmm-hmm," Jax agreed.

Kayla wriggled out of Chloe's lap and walked around the room. She stood in the middle of the floor and pointed to a picture on the wall. "Osh ma de may wa, osh ma de may wa."

Jax and Chloe laughed.

"What did she say?" Jax asked.

"I have no idea!"

"Osh ma de may wa."

"I think she is trying to tell us something but she doesn't quite know what the words are!" Chloe said. Chloe walked over to the baby and picked her up. "What are you trying to say? You want to look at that picture, is that it?"

Chloe took the picture off the wall and gave Kayla a closer look. She ran her tiny little fingers over the frame.

"This is actually a picture of me and Jax at our high school graduation. Can you believe that? I know, we look a lot different now!" she said to the baby.

"Hey, let me see," Jax said and walked over to get a closer look. "Yep, there's us with our green caps and gowns." Jax laughed.

"And you have that silly string all over you!" Chloe teased. She put the picture back on the wall. "That was such a great day."

"Yeah. It's funny how that feels just like yesterday though."

"I know, it does. Hey, if you're hungry, I could go make that chicken for us."

"Ooo, you're going to cook for me again?" Jax grinned.

"Yes dear. Now you take the baby and I'll go cook dinner for us," Chloe said with a laugh and handed him the baby.

Jax smiled as Chloe went to the kitchen, humming some song that was in her head. He wondered if she had any idea how beautiful she was.

Jax and Chloe sat at the table with Kayla in Chloe's lap. Jax finished up his food as he watched Chloe feed the baby.

"You sure know a lot about babies," Jax said.

"Well you know how I did a lot of babysitting in high school."

"I don't know anything about kids."

"That is not true, Jasper Jacks! You must know something about kids because you're great with them."

"I am?"

"Oh, how easily you forget. Don't your remember? We coached that little elementary soccer team in high school."

Jax laughed. "Oh yeah. The PC Panthers. They were cute."

"The kids *loved* you, Jax. You were great with them. I think you'll make a wonderful father someday."

"And you'll make a great mother someday."

Chloe blushed. "You think so?"

Jax smiled. "I know so."

Jax sat with Kayla on his lap and amused her with one of her toys.

"Okay," Chloe said, walking into the room. "The kitchen is clean, the cat has been fed, and now, the living room." Chloe sat on the floor and began to pick up Kayla's toys.

As Jax played with the child, he suddenly noticed a foul odor wafting through the air.

"Uh, Chloe?"

Chloe looked up from the floor. "Mmm-hmm?"

"I think she uh, she did something in her diaper."

Chloe got up from the floor and walked over to them. She felt Kayla's diaper. "Oh yeah, she did. The diapers and wipes are in the bag." Chloe pointed to the bag on the couch and went back to picking up Kayla's toys.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Why do I have to change her diaper?" Jax asked.

"Because I'm cleaning up the living room and you are the one who is playing with her."

"Chloe, there is no way I am changing a stinky diaper!"

"Jax, just change the diaper! It's no big deal."

"If it's no big deal than why don't you do it?"

"Jax, just do it."

"But, Chloe, I don't know how! I never changed a diaper before!"

"Well, Jax, there is a first time for everything!" Chloe laughed.

Jax sighed and laid Kayla down on the carpet. He reached for the sticky tabs on the diaper and started to undo them.

"Whoa! What are you doing?" Chloe demanded.

"I'm changing her diaper."

"On the carpet?"

"Am I supposed to do it on the couch?" Jax asked, confused.

"Jax, you forgot the mat!"

"Huh?"

"Okay, fine, you win, step aside!" Chloe said. "I think it might be a biohazard if I let you change this one. I am going to show you how to properly change a diaper and you are going to change the next one."

"Okay, that sounds fair," Jax said, relieved.

"Alright, Jax, first of all, you forgot the most important thing. Do you have any idea what that is?"

"The mat?"

"Well, yes, that is important too, but what else did you forget?"

"I uh, I don't know." Jax laughed.

Chloe patted him on the shoulder. "You forgot to get a fresh diaper and the wipes."

"Oh, oh yeah. I was going to do that."

"Sure." Chloe reached into the diaper bag and pulled out a new diaper and the baby wipes. Then, she pulled out the mat. "Okay, the very first thing you need to do is get your supplies out. You need the mat so you can have something to change her on. You don't want to change her directly on the floor, that's gross. Then, you need to get out your diapers and your wipes. Are you with me so far?"

"Don't you need baby powder too?"

"No, not unless you want this kid to get a raging case of diaper rash. Now, we place the baby on the mat and proceed to take off the diaper. Notice that it has these little sticky tabs on it." Chloe showed Jax how to remove the diaper.

Jax grimaced when he saw what was inside. "How can a kid that small do something that big?"

"Trust me, Jax, I've seen worse diapers than this one. Alright, since I have the lovely job of changing her, you get to be the one to dispose of this." Chloe smirked as she handed him the messy diaper.

Jax held the diaper with the tips of his fingers. "Do I have to?"

Chloe looked at him and smiled. "Please, Jax?" she asked sweetly.

"Alright."

When Jax returned, Chloe demonstrated the proper way to clean the baby and to put on a fresh diaper. "And that's how you change a diaper. See, not hard at all. Now remember, the next one is yours!"

Jax smiled. "That's fine. I'm willing to bet that the next one won't be a stinky one!" Jax laughed.

After everything was picked up, Chloe said Kayla looked tired, so they decided to read her a book in hopes of calming her down so that she could fall asleep. Jax selected a book from her bag and he and Chloe cuddled with the baby on the couch. Jax read the book, using different voices for the characters, which made Chloe laugh, and Kayla seemed amused as well.

Chloe slowly opened her eyes. She blinked, not remembering when she fell asleep. She smiled when she realized she was resting against Jax's shoulder. Jax was fast asleep with Kayla in his arms. Chloe wished she had a camera.

Chloe glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost eleven. Her mother was still not home yet. She hoped she would make it home soon.

Just then, Chloe saw headlights in the window followed by the sound of a car door. Chloe got up, being careful not to wake Jax or Kayla, and opened the front door.

It was Mrs. Johnson.

"Mrs. Johnson, hello," Chloe said softly

"Hello, Chloe. It's good to see you again. How are you?"

"I'm good. Come in. My mother had to take her boyfriend to the hospital, a sprained ankle or something, so me and my friend have been watching Kayla for you."

Mrs. Johnson looked over to the couch and saw her daughter sleeping in Jax's arms. "Oh, that is adorable," she said with a smile.

"I know," Chloe said, smiling.

"Was she any trouble?"

"Oh no, not at all. She was an angel."

"I really appreciate you watching her. My oldest, he is away on a class skiing trip and my other daughter is at a friend's house. My husband is out of town and of course, this is the one night that my boss makes me take a client out to dinner, so things have really been hectic for me today! And I'm really sorry I'm so late. With the roads and all it took much longer than I had anticipated." Mrs. Johnson reached into her purse and took out some money. "Here, I hope this is enough, especially that you had to watch her on such short notice." She handed Chloe the money.

"Oh, this is fine. Really, it was no problem watching her. We had fun playing with Kayla."

Mrs. Johnson smiled. "Gives you and your boyfriend practice for later, huh?" she whispered.

Chloe thought about correcting her, but then she decided against it. It wouldn't really hurt if she thought they were boyfriend and girlfriend. It certainly wouldn't be the first time someone assumed that.

"I'll just uh, I'll just get your daughter," Chloe said.

Chloe walked over to Jax and whispered for him to wake up. Jax woke up and felt a flush of embarrassment when he realized that he had an audience. Chloe gently took Kayla into her arms and handed the sleeping baby over to her mama. Mrs. Johnson gathered Kayla's things and thanked the two for watching her again.

"Bye, Kayla," Chloe said softly to the sleeping baby as she rested her head on Mrs. Johnson's shoulder. She really hoped that one day, she would be a mother, and she had the perfect daddy in mind.

To be continued…