Clarke, Jess, & Quinn

Despite her best efforts to stay awake, Jess had fallen asleep on the couch, leaving Clarke - a man she considered unable to even keep a plant alive - the only one around to care for baby Quinn while Nadeem was out. But If Jess was awake, she would see that Clarke was taking to fatherhood pretty well, when he stayed sober. Sure, some nights he came home late, blackout drunk, and collapsed in bed, only to wake up with a pounding headache, a sick stomach, and often a complete inability to recall the night before. But those nights were getting few and far between as his mental state improved enough that sometimes, just sometimes he didn't need anything to dull the mental anguish.

Quinn was nearly a year old. He sat on a blanket, playing with some brightly-colored blocks. Clarke leaned back against the couch where Jess slept and chimed in with encouraging words for his son. "Yeah! You've got it!" He wasn’t quite sure what Quinn had accomplished, but he was proud nonetheless. "Y'know, your Uncle Nadeem is gonna be home soon. I think he went shopping? I dunno. But he'll be back!" The baby understood none of Clarke's words, but enjoyed his positive attitude, so he babbled some cheerful nonsense in response.

Jess stirred a bit, but was still sound asleep.

Nadeem & Nak

Nak had adjusted to the new family life supremely well, enjoying the additional attention and company. He'd also proved to be a doting guardian of Quinn, helping to keep an eye on the growing baby, and doing his part to 'protect' the youngster from any strange noises or unannounced visits from strangers, human or otherwise. On this day, the collie-mix was lounging at the foot of the couch, eyes on the baby while the father offered his own brand of doting. Nak's tail beat the ground a few times, recognizing the encouraging tone of voice Clarke used, even if he didn't understand the words any better than Quinn.

A distant rumble caught the hybrid's ears, drawing the sleek canine to his paws with an eager whine. There was no mistaking the sound of Nadeem's old thunder bug! Nak darted for the back door, tail wagging while an unsung howl clambered to be released. After a few anxious minutes of waiting, the door swung open and he bounced up to greet Nadeem as the man stepped through. "You were gone for so long! Everything was fine though, Jess is on the couch, and her mate's on the floor with the pup. He's doing pretty good, I think! Clark seems to think so anyway. Oh, I did hear a noise outside, I think it was a possum-"

"Yes, yes, I'm happy to see you too." Nadeem ruffled the fur between Nak's ears as the hybrid danced about, cataloging the events of the day. After setting a few grocery bags on the counter, the man poked his head into the living room, offering a smile to Clark and Quinn, "I see Quinn's up." His voice had dropped to a quieter note, seeing that Jess was still asleep on the couch, "I picked up a few sandwiches on the way back, if either of you are hungry."