Back from a long, complicated series of flights that had kept him away from home and his son for more than two weeks, Benjamin Blake quietly entered his house. He almost expected to hear the sound of laughter and to see Sarah chasing after Oscar in a lively game of tag. But that was before everything had changed. Before Sarah had discovered the easy way to sleeping all night and staying awake all day with the help of Dr. Feelgood. Now the house seemed empty and devoid of happiness. The only beam of joy was when Oscar was around. And it seemed that he was off at some play-date, or to the doctor.

Setting his rolling bag aside, he walked quietly through to the kitchen to fix himself a drink. A strong martini, dirty. It'd been a long, grueling schedule and Ben needed to find a way to relax before Oscar got home. Loosening his dark blue tie, he unfastened the top button of his stiffly starched work shirt. His dark blue jacket with its bright yellow patches was draped lazily over a chair. The martini went a long way to help him to relax and he helped himself to another. Mrs Finnegan is going to have a fit when she sees I've been drinking before supper. The thought made him snicker as he popped an olive into his glass and took a drink.

For once, he'd managed to avoid his housekeeper on his entrance to the house. Mrs Finnegan was on her inspection of the staff's personal rooms, picking over every detail of the way they cared for their personal space and preparing to raise hell over the slightest speck that was out of place. The new nanny had been with them for less than half an hour, and had already clashed with the woman over invasion of personal space. Charley had a feeling this was going to be a difficult place to live until she worked out how to get along with the old harridan. As it was, she'd finally managed to eject the biddy long enough to have a shower and change, determining that she would unpack later on tonight, after Oscar was in bed.

Freshly washed and changed, and feeling a bit more human in preparation for Oscar's return from his play-date, she made her way downstairs, purposing to investigate the kitchen and find a drink for herself. It would probably help to have a snack ready for Oscar when he got back, too - Mrs Finnegan had informed her that dinnertime was at six o'clock when Mr Blake was home. Humming to herself as she read over the manual once again, Charley paused at the bottom of the stairs, considering the layout before turning her feet in the most likely direction to find the kitchen.

With the help of the two martinis he'd just finished, Ben was feeling much more relaxed than when he'd entered the house. Purposely leaving the glass in the sink, he started for the foyer and the stairs that led to the bedrooms. He didn't get far, hearing footsteps on the stairs. The rhythm of the steps was too quick and even for Mrs. Finnegan and her arthritic hip that left her with a noted limp. Somebody's in the house! So much for relaxing! Opening a drawer, he lifted a marble rolling pin from within and clutched it like a club, over his head. And then he waited, hiding in the shadows.

Heedless of the marble rolling pin that awaited her, Charley paused again in the hallway, talking aloud to herself as she tried to work her way around the house. "Okay, so that was the dining room," she was saying as she turned toward the kitchen. "That's the laundry room ....so this must be ...?" Pushing the door, she peered inside, and grinned triumphantly. "Kitchen!"

Hearing that young woman's voice was what saved her from being brained by a very heavy rolling pin. Ben put it back into the drawer, having recognized the voice of the woman he'd interviewed less than a month prior. Stepping out of the shadows, so as to not frighten her, he folded his arms and leaned against the counter, waiting for her entrance. "Hello again, Miss Beekman," he greeted her with an air of quiet professionalism that left his voice sounding a bit cool. "I trust you had a safe trip?"

Despite his wish not to frighten her, Charley still jumped, startled by the appearance of her employer lurking in the kitchen. She laughed at her own reaction, laying a hand over her heart as her smile opened up. The elusive Mr Blake wasn't to blame for the way his housekeeper spoke about his son, after all. "Good afternoon, Mr Blake," she greeted him in turn, laying her wad of paper onto the counter. "I did, thank you. Wasn't expecting the long walk at the end of it, but I guess it was a good way to get acclimatized, right?"

"Walk?" Ben gained a puzzled look on his face. A car was supposed to have greeted her at the train station. He'd have to look into what had happened. "Right, right," he nodded, as he pushed out of his lean. "Are your accommodations suitable?" It bothered him that she'd had to walk so far, burdened down by her luggage. It was the middle of summer in Houston. She could have gotten heat stroke! "Mrs. Finnegan gave you her manual, I see."

"More than suitable, thank you," Charley assured him, still smiling as she laid her hand over the manual. She wasn't entirely sure it would be good for him to see what was and wasn't written in there about his little boy. She glanced down at it as he mentioned the thick wad of paper. "Uh, yeah, she did," she chuckled. "I'm used to getting them, though. The theory is they help with the transition period."

Ben knew exactly what was in that manual, he'd helped to write it in the days and weeks before Oscar was born. They hadn't picked out a name as yet, so they went with "the child" and hadn't revised it when he'd come two weeks ahead of schedule. He smiled, a distant far away type of smile, at the memory. That smile disappeared as the not so pleasant memories of what had transpired since then flooded his mind. As much as he'd like to deny it, there was a part of him that was still in love with his wife. Ex-wife. And he missed the good times, bitterly. "You'll love Oscar. Everybody does."

"I'm looking forward to meeting him," Charley assured him, her smile still in place. She pretended not to have noticed his faraway smile, as well as the bitter expression that had followed it. It didn't take a genius to work out where his mind had gone. "Mrs Finnegan told me he's expected to be dropped back at around four, but since you're home, I would assume that I'm not needed this evening. Unless you prefer to have the nanny lurking."

Realizing what was going on between father and son, Charley slipped to the kitchen once again, rummaging in the fridge for what she'd spied while she was nosing around. Hummus, chilled cucumber sticks, and a cup of water should do the little guy until dinner. Hopefully Oscar liked hummus. If he didn't, she wasn't going to get off on a very good footing with the over-excited child.

"Very good!" Ben held out the small airplane and it was snatched away immediately. "Come on, big guy. Somebody you need to meet." He directed Oscar by putting his hand onto the top of the boy's head and steering him towards the kitchen.

Oscar held the airplane up as high as he could and made sputtering propeller noises as it zoomed up and down. "Who, Daddy' Who's here" Is it a baseball player" Is it Godzilla?" he looked up, his direct gaze as intense as his father's.

"No, no." Ben chuckled and came to a stop as they entered the kitchen. "Oscar, I'd like you to meet Charley. She's your new nanny. Charley, this is the Irrepressible Oscar Blake."

Oscar's mouth popped open in a perfect "o" when introduced and his blue eyes widened as he looked up and up at Charley. Instead of hiding shyly behind his father's legs, he marched straight up to her and tugged on her jeans. "Charley, I want to watch Squizzles." Very matter of factly.

Surprised to find that Oscar wasn't at all a quiet boy - and pleased, too; he should be fairly easy to befriend - Charley grinned as he tugged on her jeans, crouching down to meet him face to face. "Nice to meet you, Irrepressible Oscar Blake," she greeted him, holding out her hand to the little boy. Regardless of the instant demand, she was pretty good at teaching manners, mostly by dint of sheer patience. "I'm Charley. Gonna shake my hand like a gentleman?"

Happy to be eye to eye, Oscar stepped just a tiny bit back and laughed as he grabbed onto her fingers. Nobody had asked him to shake hands before. He didn't quite know what to do with those fingers, so he bowed his head and blew a raspberry to them, which elicited even more giggles. Crossing his arms over his chest, Ben lazily leaned against the door frame as he watched Charley and Oscar. It never ceased to amaze him how strong and vivacious his son was. It seemed that Charley had already made a good impression on the boy. The last nanny had only said hello before Oscar was running from the room with his arms waving and shouting at the top of his lungs.

Charley laughed at Oscar's enthusiasm, gently taking his hand to show him how it was done. "This is how a gentleman does it," she told him through her smile. "And you're gonna be a gentleman just like your dad, aren't you?" Secret weapon - compare the toddler to the parent he idolizes most. Dark eyes sparkling, she then turned Oscar's hand upward and blew a raspberry of her own right into the middle of his sticky palm, aware that Mr Blake was watching but equally aware that Oscar had to accept her on her terms. "And as to watching Squizzles ....I thought you wanted to spend some time with your daddy' Isn't that more fun than some silly old TV show" You could share your snack with him."

Oscar took a shine to her immediately. She made him smile and laugh, so she was good! His giggle was a high pitched squeal when she raspberried his palm and he danced from foot to foot, his dark hair bouncing with each step. When she began to speak to him, he calmed, and stood still. Her question brought a smile to his face and he giggled again. "Daddy watches Squizzles!" he announced proudly.

To which, Ben had the graciousness to blush and put his hand over his face with a quiet, "Oy!" He recovered then and pushed into the kitchen. "Charley's right, young man. Besides, I hear she's a good cook. Better than Mrs. F. So let's give it a go." He cocked a brow at Charley, letting her know that he approved already and was ready to back her up, if need be.

"You can watch Squizzles anytime," Charley countered, chuckling at the blush Oscar's little announcement had produced from his father. Her fingertips tickled into the little boy's belly, hoping to distract him from watching his TV show at all. "Why don't you and Daddy tell each other all about everything you've been doing since you last saw each other" I'll bet that's loads more fun."

"Eat first!" he bellowed out and then turned to run to his father. Ben dropped to one knee to intercept the boy and lift him into his arms. "I bet Patty gave you and Roland some candy," he said drily. Oscar was an active child, but he was simply hyper. Perhaps it was meeting somebody new" Ben couldn't rightly say. "Alright, little man. Let's get you buckled in for your snack." He smiled for Charley, then settled Oscar into the high chair, buckling him in before placing the tray before him. Her suggestion to discuss where he'd been and what he'd been doing since the last time they were together was considered. He'd never spoken about his travels, except to say that he flew in a really big airplane. Oscar sat surprisingly still as he was buckled in and the tray was placed. Lifting his hands, he looked around, surveying his surroundings from this higher vantage point, and patted his little hands on the tray. "Gummy bears. Patty give gummy bears, Daddy."

As Oscar was swept up and put in place, Charley dumped a teaspoon of hummus onto a plate with half a handful of thick cucumber sticks. It didn't look like much to adult eyes, but she knew kids. If it was something new to Oscar, he should be pretty interested, too. Sticking the plate to the tray of his high-chair with the attached sucker, she winked at the little man. "Gummy bears are cool. But I'll bet you got soda with them, didn't you?" Carbonated drinks and artificial coloring; the bane of any parent's life.

"Hello, Mrs. F." Ben grinned and rose when his former nanny walked into the room. "I came home a little early, just to shock you at my not being late," he teased her. He knew that she was crotchety at times, but there was an admiration in his eyes for the woman who had nearly raised him single-handedly. "Have you met Charley' I think she's going to fit in quite well here. Oscar already loves her."

The older woman chuckled at Ben's greeting for her, seeming not to notice that Oscar quieted as she entered. "I'm utterly flabbergasted by your refusal to be late this time," she assured her employer, though her expression hardened a little as Charley was mentioned. Her gaze wasn't forgiving as she looked at the new nanny. "Yes, Miss Beekman and I have met," she nodded perfunctorily. "I'm sure she will perform her duties to the best of her ability. I hope she isn't disturbing you?"

Charley bit the inside of her cheek to keep from responding to that; she heard the implied disapproval, but she was more concerned with how Oscar's demeanor had changed around the old woman. Sitting forward in her chair, she seized one of the cucumber sticks and zoomed it toward the little boy's mouth, only to snap it back and bite the end off with a grin for him. Anything to see him smile again, even around the formidable housekeeper.

"Oh no, not at all. She's not been disturbing me." Ben was quick to assuage her misconceptions. He'd not noticed the change in his son, at all. "We were having a snack with Oscar and he was telling us about his play-date." It sounded so silly now, coming from his mouth as Mrs. F looked on with that disapproving scowl. Oscar shook his head and put his hand up to steer the cucumber away. "Squizzles, pwease?" He held out his arms to Charley, wanting to be away from the negativity that invaded the kitchen.

"It sounds fascinating, dear." Mrs Finnegan was evidently aware of the change her presence had caused, and approved of it, moving to begin preparing dinner as she spoke with Ben. "How was your trip, Ben" And when are you going to bring that delightful Rose-Marie to visit us again?" Frowning a little, Charley took the hint from the little boy, moving herself to unhook him from the high chair. "I'll come back and tidy up," she promised, more to Mrs Finnegan than to Mr Blake, but either one of them could have answered her. "I think Oscar needs a little quiet time. Okay, little man?" She swung him up onto her hip, tucking him securely close as she set the plate and cup to one side to deal with later.

"Mrs, F," Ben sighed and shook his head. "It's only been six months. Rose-Marie was..." He shook his head, how could he possibly explain a one night stand and huge mistake" "Never mind. I'll be in the living room, watching the Squizzles with my son," he announced to her, just to piss her off. She'd lit the fire, now she could burn. He turned and nearly collided with Charley and Oscar as he stalked out of the room. Oscar squeezed his arms around Charley's neck as he was lifted, and sucked on his lower lip when Daddy got angry with Mrs. F. Lifting his chin, he looked up at Charley. She seemed to be the only nice person in the house and he hoped that Mrs. F wouldn't make her sad, too.

With Ben out of the room, Mrs Finnegan turned the full force of her scowl onto Charley, heedless of frightening the little boy tucked in the nanny's arms. "I expressly informed you to keep the child out of his way," she snapped at Charley in irritation. "You are not to converse with Mr Blake without prior invitation, as his schedule permits, do you understand?" Charley, despite her brand new status in the house, wasn't going to put up with this, however. Rubbing one hand up and down Oscar's back to reassure him, she met Mrs Finnegan's scowl head on. "I've been hired, Mrs Finnegan, to care for Mr Blake's son to the best of my ability," she pointed out as calmly as she could. "That includes encouraging him to spend time with his father. I'm not going to be intimidated by some old has-been who still thinks that smacking a child is acceptable. Yes, I read the manual," she added, as the older woman opened her mouth. "It's discipline, not bullying. I'll do my job, and I'll do it well, and Mr Blake is the one who has the authority to dismiss me. Not you."

And just as quickly, she lifted her smile back for Oscar. "Now ....Squizzles, did you say?" Her fingers tickled against his belly as she walked out of the kitchen, leaving Mrs Finnegan fuming with shocked anger. "I have no idea where the T.V. is. I'll bet a big boy like you could show me."

Oscar very nearly climbed onto Charley's shoulder and he squeezed his eyes shut to hide from the fury from Mrs. F. Charley's hand felt good on his back and he whimpered softly against her neck as Charley gave back to Mrs. F. He didn't know what all of that was about, but their faces and voices were scary. It was only when they'd left the kitchen and it was quiet again that he dared to peek one eye open and look up at her. "No spanking. It hurts." He blinked both eyes opened and pointed in the direction of the living room. "Pwease, no spank."

Charley met that gaze with confident sincerity, her heart aching for the fact that this tiny boy felt the need to ask her to her face not to spank him. "No, Oscar, no spanking," she promised him. "I will never spank you, I promise." She hugged him as she turned in the direction he had indicated, pressing a gentle kiss to his hair. "I'm sorry if I scared you. Sometimes adults need to talk straight to each other and it isn't very nice. But I shouldn't have done it in front of you. So I'm sorry. Forgive me?" Guiding his face up until he could see her, she then proceeded to produce the most ridiculous fish-face pout imaginable, lower lip flapping as she crossed her eyes. "Please, oh, please, Mr Oscar, I won't ever be able to eat chocolate again if you don't smile at me!"

Oscar was sitting up, on his father's stomach. He was sucking his thumb and watching the television intently. Ben had nodded off, the long hours in the cock pit catching up to him. He stirred when Charley took up residence in the arm chair. He smiled tiredly and scoot up the couch until he was sitting up. None of this moving about had distracted Oscar from the singing, dancing and prat falls that the actors in brightly colored costumes performed. "Hey," Ben smiled, scooting Oscar off of his lap to sit beside him. "I didn't mean to fall asleep," he offered as an apology to Charley.

She shook her head with a smile. Cardinal rule - never criticize your boss. "It's okay," she assured Mr Blake quietly, her tone of voice perfectly pitched so as not to disturb Oscar in his watching. "He's happy, that's all that counts, right?" Propping her head on her hand, she studied her employer for a long moment. "Mr Blake, is there anything in particular that you want me to do with Oscar" The manual isn't very child-specific."

"What do you mean?" he rubbed the sleep from the face and scratched his furry jaw. "You do what you were hired to do, nanny stuff." Ben truly had no idea what all nannies did except to change diapers, feed the kids, bathe them, dress them and put them to bed. "I mean, he does have a private tutor and play dates, so I'm a little confused?" His brows furrowed as he tried to puzzle out what she might mean.

Oscar looked up at his father. The older Blake smiled down at his son and ruffled his dark hair. The music came back on, attention diverted back to the television and Ben's attention went back to Charley.

Oh lordy. Grateful for the lull giving her a moment to assemble her thoughts, Charley smiled as Oscar settled down once again, attempting to work out a way to explain herself. "Well, most parents have an idea of what field they'd like their child to go into, or a particular skill they'd like their son or daughter to learn," she said quietly. "And usually the nanny is asked to encouraged it. A tutor is all very well, but Oscar's two. He might learn his letters sooner, but you can't speed up the maturing process through learning. It's gotta happen naturally. So ....if there's anything you'd like him to learn, or a particular place you'd rather he didn't go, you need to tell me."

"I see," he murmured and the wheels were spinning behind his eyes. "I've never thought of what I'd want him to be, I always thought he'd figure that out for himself and we'd encourage that. I would like him to do three things, though. One is music; if he can learn an instrument, to dance, sing, something along those lines. Two is a martial art of some sort. It'll keep him active and teach him control. The last thing is to learn a foreign language, preferably French or Spanish as they're the more commonly spoken languages. Other than that, he's his own person and if he hasn't figured out what he wants to do by the time he's ten, we'll revisit."

Oscar took the opportunity when Ben paused for a breath to interject, "I fly, like Daddy!"

Charley chuckled at Oscar's interjection. "You wait, little man - I can see fire trucks in your future," she warned laughingly, pointing out to both father and son that today's obsession would be forgotten tomorrow. Her eyes rose to Mr Blake once again. "I hope you don't mind me making a suggestion, in that case. Change the tutor for a musical instructor, someone who makes learning music fun, or even a group of kids his own age. I can start teaching him French and Spanish, if necessary, and we can work on his letters easily enough. He shouldn't start a martial art until he's at least six - he could do himself some serious damage if he tries to learn something so complex so soon."

Ben shook his head, indicating he didn't mind her opinion at all. She was, after all, the child expert. "Are you sure you want to take on teaching as well as caring" He's a very active little boy," Ben pointed out with a gleam of pride in his eyes. "And we've got him enrolled in a martial arts school that only takes two students a year, and the waiting list is four years long. We did that just before the divorce." He hadn't used that word so casually before and it had him reflecting on why he did so now. It was a few moments before he spoke again. "So, it's play dates and a trip to Gymboree every few weeks."

"Well, caring is teaching, especially with a young child," Charley tried to explain, her voice gentle even as she laughed a little. "The early years are when a child learns basic human interactions, when they learn their manners, and start to learn what they like and what they don't like. There are plenty of ways to make learning fun for a child, so that they don't look at it as a chore."

Ben sat back, impressed by Charley's knowledge of something he knew so very little about. She made sense and he was glad that he'd hired her. The fact that she's not bad to look at had nothing to do with it, right" He smirked at that thought. "Well, I'll leave that in your capable hands. If you need me to do anything different, just let me know. Just don't expect me to not spoil him a little. I don't get to see him nearly often enough."

"You're his father, you don't need to spoil him," she pointed out softly. "Look at him. He's over the moon that you're here and you have time to spend with him." She huffed a quiet laugh. "Anyone would think that even when you're home, that doesn't happen." It was a slightly sneaky way of finding out just what why Mrs Finnegan was so mad at her for letting Oscar see his own father.

Ben looked down at Oscar, just as Oscar turned to look up at him. The two shared a smile, and then as if to give Charley's advice a boost, Oscar jumped up to hug his father's neck. The move came as a shock to Ben, but he quickly recovered and hugged his son tightly. "He has a schedule, to keep his life as normal as possible, so he doesn't rely on me too much. Makes it easier for him when I'm gone," he explained quietly as he cradled his son's head to his shoulder. Easier for Oscar, maybe, definitely not easier for Ben. "That's why I came home early. I was hoping to spend some of his play time with him."