#bergen_county

"Nuthin'."

She ponders "At least you don't have four brothers."

Jaw-jut.

"I know, don't help. Look.. I know nothing I say or do is gonna make things like they were... but I can tell you it isn't necessarily gonna get worse"

Snort.

"Hey, who has more experience with siblings here? Sides, if it's a boy you get the best of both worlds."

"How?"

"You're gonna have you dad wrapped around your finger because even tomboys are 'daddy's little gir'. And.. if the other kid is a son? You're probably gonna be the smart one" Humor

"He's all excited about a boy. He wants a son."

"Makes sense, he gets both experiences. " SHe says "Also you get to be the boss. "

"Can't boss a baby."

"You're the youngest, right?"

"Yeah" She says "And I had to take a lot of orders, trust me"

"Yeah, so you don't remember. If there's a baby, everything is about the baby."

"Yeah, but the stuff I do remember is like I got TOLD where to go by EVERYBODY"

Harrumph.

she ponders "But I get you.. in the short term they're gonna be scrambled. Swamped"

"But come on, Sam. You're a born protector. That little kid may drive you crazy, but you know you're gonna look after her or him anyway. Cuz that's who you are. "

Shrug. "Probably."

"But I don't..." She stops, frowning - ashamed?

Lupe ..listens. Waiting

Then says "Whatever it is, thinking it isn't a crime. Saying it either"

"I don't want it."

"I don't want to share. I don't want some stupid baby."

She nods.

"You just got them. You been cheated of that your whole life. I don't blame you"

"Yeah, but it's not noble, is it?"

"Yeah, it's noble. Because you're not looking at it in total you missing it... you just said you'd probably rescue the little kid... protect him or her with your life ....

even though he or she is horning in and you resent her him already. That's honor... to do the right thing even when self interest conflicts. ESPECIALLY when it conflicts."

"No, that's just... I mean, it's a fuckin' baby. They're helpless."

"Yeah, but the point is you're not just 'ooo look at the baby' you're willing to die to protect the baby. Even when you don't want the baby around. That's knight level stuff, amiga. Which is handy as that is your title"

Grunt.

"Look at the bright side, you'll get to watch kid movies and claim your'e just babysitting. Chico used that excuse so he could get his Disney fix"

"Of course, you could always do what my cousin Liira did to her little sister"

"She didn't want a sister... and so when they did the ultra sound and found out it woudl definitely be a little girl. So she got her mom thinking about names... and was like 'Petra Isabella' would honor both great grandmas.. well, her mom didn't think it through... so Liira's Gonzalez little sister initials are 'P.I.G.' Anytime the brat sassed, Liira made oinking sounds and shut her up"

A snort - but a grin.

A grin back

"Look. I think it wont' be as bad as you think, but whatever happens, you know if you need someone to hang with to get away? I'm there... just like if I want to murder my brothers, I know you'd bring the shovel"

"You're a good friend."

"I am pretty awesome" Then a beat "Of course, I feel like I haven't been around as much. We need to fix that, hang more often again you know?"

"Agreed. We've had... stuff, right?"

"There's two horses now."

"What? Hey, you holding out on the important stuff there.. spill" All interest

"Oh! Let me tell you about Star!"

"Nice name... is she big like Stormwake?"

"No, she's smaller, sleeker - faster too."

"And OH, what a diva!"

"How come all your animals got tude?" Light tease

"I dunno. Not fair, is it?"

"Browndog is pretty mellow, but he's not mine, per se."