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The last thing Rain expected when he got home was to find Jude and Aura sleeping in the fort they had managed to build.

He was a little tipsy, but nearly sober by then. At first, he was surprised not to see Jude in the living room, but then he stepped into the bedroom and saw a giant, glowing fort. When he peeked inside, he saw Jude and Aura asleep, nestled among a pile of plush toys, their foreheads almost touching.

At first, it made him sad. Whether he wanted to or not, it reminded him of Caroline, and how she should have been the one in Jude's place. He should have been coming home to them like this every day. He shouldn't have needed to find a stranger to look after Aura.

But then he smiled, because the sight was worth it. It was only the second time Jude was babysitting, and already, he was changing the way Aura interacted. As soon as he redecorated her room, she started talking to him more—asking him to lie down in her princess bed or showing him the new toys he'd bought and how they worked. Now she had even managed to fall asleep next to someone she barely knew, something he never would have expected from her before.

He gently woke Jude and told him to go get some proper sleep. Then, without waking her, he carried his little princess out of the fort and tucked her into her bed.

Afterwards, he washed up, scrubbing off the smell of alcohol, and went to bed. As always, he left the left side of the bed, Caroline's side, empty—just in case Aura decided to come find him during the night.

But the truth was, she never did. If she woke up in the middle of the night, she'd crawl out of bed, find Rain, and tell him about a bad dream or that she needed to go to the bathroom. But she always wanted to go back to her own bed. Rain would stay with her until she fell asleep again and then return to his empty bed.

The next morning, Rain was the first one up, unsurprisingly. By six o'clock, he was making coffee and starting breakfast. Aura was a heavy sleeper, and since she was two, she either woke up around the same time as him or later.

Today was no different. At 6:30, Rain peeked into her room. She was stirring in bed but awake. "Good morning," he greeted, walking over. As he pulled the blanket off her, Aura took the opportunity to escape. For a split second, Rain's heart leapt, thinking she was about to run to Jude in the guest room, but instead, she darted into the fort. A moment later, her face peeked out. "Where's Jude?"

He chuckled. "Jude's sleeping. And probably will be for a while."

And that's when a genius idea struck him. Kneeling in front of the fort's entrance, he said, "What if we surprise him when he wakes up? We could make him dinosaur pancakes."

That was all it took to get Aura excited about helping with breakfast. She loved dinosaur pancakes, and even more, she loved the idea of making them for Jude.

Rain cherished moments like this to bond with Aura, though it seemed she had a wall up between them that he couldn't quite breach. And he wasn't creative enough to keep coming up with moments like this.

But today was different. They laughed, splattered batter on each other, and Rain let Aura pour batter into the dinosaur molds, even though it caused a mess. For a little while, it was as if there were no distance between them—like they were a perfect, two-person family without a flaw.

Jude woke up a little after seven. Rain didn't notice when he entered the kitchen; he was too busy trying to stop Aura from pressing her chocolate-covered hands onto his shirt. Jude's broad grin finally caught his attention, but not in time to save his shirt. "Got you!" Aura squealed triumphantly.

"Good morning," Jude said, amused. Aura finally noticed him.

Luckily, she was on a child-safe step stool, unable to climb down on her own. Otherwise, she would have likely charged at Jude, covering him in chocolate too. Instead, she bounced in place, gleefully announcing that they had dinosaur pancakes for him.

"For me?" Jude asked, looking to Rain for confirmation as if asking permission to stay for breakfast.

"Yes, for you," Rain confirmed. "And if you refuse, Aura might not forgive you. It was her idea."

"It wasn't!" Aura protested.

"But it was," Rain teased. He didn't want Jude to know the idea had been his. He didn't know why.

Jude sat on a barstool across the counter, his expression still amused. "Well, in that case, I wouldn't dare refuse."

At first, he just watched as they finished the last pancakes. But when he saw Aura making a mess with the chocolate spread, he stood and asked Rain for a knife, joining in to help her.

A few minutes later, they were all sitting at the table. Aura sat at the head, insisting she had both Jude and Rain on either side of her. They enjoyed their dinosaur pancakes while Aura asked Jude every ten seconds if he liked them.

After breakfast, Rain quickly loaded the dishwasher while Jude packed up his things with Aura's "help," which involved three toy ponies. As Jude was about to leave, he paused. "Can I ask you something?" he said.

"Sure."

"You mentioned your work before... I have this class on investing. We have to do a final project and some tasks. Do you think you could tell me more about it?"

"Oh, are you interested in investing?" Rain asked. Jude nodded briefly. "Do you already invest?"

"No."

"Why not? Over breakfast, you said you're a broke student. Why not start?"

"I don't feel ready yet," Jude admitted.

Rain smiled. That answer didn't surprise him. He'd felt the same way, and if circumstances hadn't forced his hand, he might still not be investing. "I could help you with that. I might need you to watch Aura again in a couple of weeks. If you came over early, we could go over it. I could show you how to start. Bring your class stuff too."

Jude looked hesitant. "I don't really have the capital right now."

"You don't need much. It's a slower start, but safer. Here's an idea: what if we use the money I'd pay you for babysitting? If it doesn't work out, we can stop. But I'll guide you through it. Who knows, maybe you won't even need my help with your class."

After a moment of consideration, Jude nodded. "I'll trust you're not trying to scam me out of my money."

Rain laughed. "You'll see. You won't have to babysit kids or pets for side jobs anymore, and you'll thank me."

"But I like babysitting Aura," Jude muttered as he turned to leave. He said his goodbyes to Rain and called out a final farewell to Aura before heading out.

Aura was glued to the TV, watching her must-see Saturday morning show, so she didn't get up to see Jude off. Rain grabbed his laptop, sat beside her, and started working so she wouldn't feel alone.

"What if we went to the playground this afternoon?" he suggested.

"Shh," she hushed him without looking away from the screen. Rain chuckled. She definitely got that from Caroline.

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dinosaur pancakes made the intro!!!