A few months later, Elijah is six months old and Emma is thirteen. Elijah has finally started to sleep through the night. It was around 7:30 in the morning when Karen heard Elijah squawking in the baby monitor. She went to go get him up and dressed for the day, but she heard someone walk into his room. "Hi sweet baby" She heard Emma say. Karen sat in her bed for a minute. "You are up bright and early this morning" Emma continued. Karen smiled at what she heard. She continued to get out of bed and turned the monitor off and quietly walked down the hall. She peeked into Elijah's room and Emma was changing his diaper. "Morning sweetheart" Karen said and walked into the room. "Morning Mama" Emma replied. "You're doing a pretty good job" Karen said and walked up behind her. "I learned from the best" Emma said and looked up at Karen. Karen walked over to his dresser and picked him out an outfit and brought it over to Emma. "Do you want to get him dressed or do you want me to?" Karen asked. "I can do it" Emma said and started getting Elijah dressed.
When Emma was done she picked Elijah up and started walking down the hall with Karen following. They walked down the stairs and Emma set Elijah down on the carpet in the living room. They are trying to work on crawling with him. Elijah rolled onto his tummy and was giggling at the faces Emma was making. He started flapping his arms and kicking his legs. He was sort of slithering his way closer to Emma. "Mama look!" Emma yelled toward the Kitchen. Karen looked up "He's sort of crawling" Emma said and giggled. "Yeah he is" Karen said with a huge smile on her face.
A few minutes later, Jimi came downstairs. "Good morning princess" Jimi said and leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Morning Daddy" Emma replied. "Good morning little man" Jimi said and kissed the top of his head as well. He made his way into the kitchen by his wife. "Good morning babe" Jimi said and kissed her. "Morning" Karen said and smiled. "Did you have any nightmares last night?" Jimi asked her quietly. "For once I didn't" Karen said. "That's good" Jimi said and smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Ever since Karen's stalker showed up, she has been having nightmares about him kidnapping her or having flashbacks of the whole thing. "It's finally going away" Karen whispered. "I'm glad" Jimi whispered back and kissed her cheek. Karen finished making Elijah's baby cereal. "Can you make Emma some breakfast?" Karen asked Jimi. "Sure, do you know what she wants?" Jimi asked. "She said she wanted eggs" Karen replied. "Eggs it is" Jimi said.
"Hey Em, can you bring Elijah in here and put him in his high chair please?" Karen asked. "Ok" Emma said and picked Elijah up and brought him into the kitchen and set him in his chair. "Could I try feeding him today?" Emma asked Karen as she brought over the bowl. "You can feed him until Dad is done making your eggs, then you need to eat" Karen said. "Ok" Emma said excitedly and Karen handed her the bowl. She scooped a little bit on the tiny spoon and fed it to him. Of course he moved his head so most of the cereal went all over his face. Emma scraped hit off his face with the spoon and fed it to him. A few minutes later Jimi finished her eggs. "Emma your eggs are done" Jimi said as he was serving them on a plate. "Ok" Emma said and handed the spoon over to Karen. Emma went over to the counter and sat down. Jimi put the plate in front of her. "Thanks Daddy" Emma said and started eating. "Do you want some orange juice?" Jimi asked her. "Sure" Emma said and Jimi poured her a glass. "Babe, what do you want for breakfast?" Jimi asked Karen. "I'm not really hungry" Karen said. "How about I make you a piece of toast?" Jimi suggested. "You should really eat something" Jimi said. "A piece of toast is fine" Karen said and scooped another spoonful into Elijah's mouth. "One piece of toast coming right up" Jimi said. He put the piece of bread in the toaster. The he walked over to the coffee pot and refilled his mug then walked over to Karen's and filled hers up as well. "Thank you" Karen said and smiled at him. "You're welcome" Jimi said and returned the smile. Karen's toast was done and Jimi walked over to the toaster and pulled it out and set it on a plate. He grabbed the butter and spread it on the toast. Then he walked over to Karen and set it down next to her. "Thanks babe" Karen said and fed Elijah another bite. Jimi kissed the top of her head. Karen finished feeding Elijah then started eating her toast. "I can get him cleaned up" Jimi said. "Thank you" Karen said with her mouth full. Jimi pulled out the tray and picked Elijah up. He walked him over to the sink and had him sit on the counter. He grabbed a clean washcloth and wiped his face down. Elijah thought it was hilarious every time Jimi put the washcloth over his face and pulled it away.
Elijah was all cleaned up and Jimi set him down in the living room with his toys. Emma finished up her eggs and brought her plate over to the sink. Then she went in the living room by Elijah. "Could I take Elijah for a stroller ride to the park?" Emma asked her parents. "Sure" Karen said. "The stroller is in the garage" Jimi said. "Make sure you take your phone with you" Karen said. "Don't worry I will" Emma said. Emma put on her shoes and Karen put on Elijah's. Then Emma picked up Elijah and carried him out to the garage and buckled him in the stroller. She opened the garage door and started walking down the street.
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Emma and Elijah reached the park. She parked the stroller and unbuckled him and picked him up. She carried him over to the toddler playground and sat down with him. He was playing with the toys and things. They played for about 45 minutes and then Emma picked him up and carried him over to the baby swings. She set him in there and started pushing him. Emma would make faces as Elijah would swing towards her and he would laugh. She was pushing him for a few minute until someone walked up to her. It was a boy who looked about 13 or 14. He had light brown hair and was wearing a pair of Nike black Nike basketball shorts with a plain white t-shit. "Hey" he said as he walked over to Emma. "Hi" Emma replied quietly and continued to push Elijah. "I'm Jake. What's your name?" he asked. "Emma" She replied. There was an awkward silence. "Who's this?" He asked referring to Elijah. "My little brother, Elijah" He said. "He's really cute" he said. "Yeah, he is" Emma said. "How old are you?" He asked her. "13, you?" she replied. "13, I turn 14 next month" He replied. "That's cool" Emma said. "What school do you go to?" He asked her. "I don't go to school. I mean, I kinda do, but I'm homeschooled. My parents are country singers and go on tour a lot and I like to go with so I get homeschooled so I can go" Emma said. "That's awesome" He said. "It is" Emma said and smiled at him. "What kind of stuff are you interested in?" Jake asked her. "I really like music. It's kind of a hobby" Emma said. "Do you play any instruments or anything like that?" he asked her. "I play piano and my dad is teaching me how to play guitar" she replied. "Since your parents are singers, do you sing?" He asked her. "Sort of. I've only ever sang in front of people once for a talent show for school" That's cool, but I thought you said you were homeschooled?" He responded. "Before my parents adopted me, I was going to Jackson Middle School and then when I started 7th grade I started homeschool" Emma said. "Oh, I see" He said and looked down. "So did you win your talent show?" He asked. "Yeah, I did actually" Emma said. "That's awesome!" He said.
Emma and Jake talked for a little while longer until her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw it was a text from her mom.
"Hey sweetie, we're going to go to Kimberly's for lunch so you should probably head home soon" Karen sent.
"Ok. We'll leave now" Emma replied.
"That was my mom. I guess we're going over to my aunt's house for lunch and she wants me to come home" Emma told Jake. "Oh, ok" Jake said. "You're pretty cool and I would love to hang out again. Can I have your number?" He asked her. "Um, sure, I guess" Emma said. "Give me your phone, I'll put it in. Here's mine" Jake said and they swapped phones. They finished and gave each other their phones back. "It was really nice to meet you" Emma said. "You too" Jake said. Emma picked Elijah up out of the swing and carried him over to the stroller and buckled him in. Then Jake and Emma went their separate ways.
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Emma and Elijah arrived back home. Emma parked the stroller in the garage and unbuckled Elijah and picked him up. She carried him inside and set him down in his bouncer. "How was the park?" Karen asked. "It was good. I met a guy there. He was super nice" Emma said. "How old was he?" Karen asked concerned. "He's 13, gonna be 14 next month" Emma said. "Oh, so it was someone your age" Karen said with a sigh of relief. "So...Was he cute? What is his name? I wanna hear all about it" Karen said excitedly. "First of all, where's dad?" Emma asked. "He just went upstairs to take a shower so you're good" Karen said. "Ok" Emma said excitedly. "His name is Jake and he is really cute. I was pushing Elijah in the swing when he walked over to me. He said hey and I said hi back. Then we introduced ourselves and started talking. Then before we left he gave me his number" Emma said with a huge smile on her face. "Do you think you are going to talk to him again?" Karen asked. "I don't know. I hope so" Emma said.
Jimi came down the stairs and saw Karen and Emma sitting on the couch. "What are you ladies talking about?" Jimi asked. "Nothing" They said at the same time. "Ok, whatever" Jimi said and chuckled. "Are you guys ready to go?" Jimi asked. "Yep, we've been ready. We were just waiting for you" Karen said and gave him a sassy smile. "Ok" Jimi said sarcastically. Jimi walked over to Elijah and picked him up out of his bouncer and then Karen and Emma followed him out to the car. Jimi got Elijah all buckled and then got in the driver's seat and drove to Kimberly's.
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They arrived at Kimberly's and everyone got out of the car. Jimi unbuckled Elijah from his car seat and Karen grabbed the diaper bag and they all walked into the house. Daisy greeted everyone at the door. "Uncle Jimi, can Emma and baby lijah play in the playroom with me?" Daisy asked. "Sure Dais" Jimi said and handed Elijah over to Emma. Emma carried Elijah and followed Daisy to the playroom. Jimi and Schlap sat down in the living room and watched the football game that was on and Karen followed Kimberly into the kitchen to finish making lunch.
"I haven't seen you in like a whole week. How are things going" Kimberly said. "Everything is great. Elijah almost crawled today" Karen said with a smile. "That's great" Kimberly said excitedly. "He kinda slithered across the floor. It was pretty funny" Karen said and the girls giggled. There was a period of silence. "How are your nightmares?" Kimberly asked quietly. Karen didn't make any eye contact with Kimberly. "I didn't have any last night. I just really hope they're gone" Karen replied quietly. Kimberly stopped what she was doing and walked over to Karen and gave her a hug. Karen started to tear up a bit. After they let go of each other, Karen wiped away the tears before they fell down their cheeks. "Why don't we change the subject" Karen said and wiped away another stray tear. "Ok" Kimberly said. There was another period of silence. "So, Emma took Elijah to the park this morning and she met a boy" Karen said. Kimberly smiled. "Was he cute?" Kimberly asked. "She said he was" Karen said. "They talked for a while and he gave her his phone number" Karen said. "Emma's got her first boyfriend" Kimberly said with a giggle. "I wouldn't say boyfriend, they just met" Karen said with a giggle. "Our little girl is growing up" Karen added. "Soon she will be dating" Kimberly said. "I know, and Jimi is not going to like it very much" Karen said and her and Kimberly laughed. "He'll have to get over it" Kimberly said and giggled.
Jimi and Schlap walked into the kitchen. "Who's going to have to get over what?" Jimi asked. "Nothing" Karen and Kimberly said. "That's what you said this morning when you and Emma were talking. I feel like there is something you are not telling me" Jimi said to Karen with his eyebrows raised. Karen laughed. "Emma met a boy at the park and he gave her his number" Karen said. "He did what?" Jimi asked. "You heard me" Karen said and giggled. "She's too young to date" Jimi stated. "Babe, she just met him" Karen said and Jimi gave her a look that made Karen laugh. "Alright, lunch is ready" Kimberly said. "I'll go get the kids" Karen said and walked to the play room.
Karen picked up Elijah "Lunch is ready" Karen said. "Ok" Emma and Daisy said. The kids followed Karen to the dining room. Karen put Elijah in his high chair and put some softer food on the tray for him to eat. Everyone sat down at the table and started eating.