It was 8 am when you woke up, Kris’s arm gaving been wrapped around your waist when you first stirred, the weight of it warm and solid, like always. You slipped out of bed, careful not to wake him. But as soon as you left, you saw the twitch of his fingers as they reached for you, even in sleep.

You silently walk to the bedroom’s bathroom, tied your hair back loosely as you leaned over the sink, and started your skincare. Behind you, the bedroom was still quiet. Or so you thought…

While waiting for your moisturizer to set before you start doing all of these different masks, you heard the door creak open softly. Then the unmistakable shuffle of tiny feet. Slow. A little wobbly. Something dragging along the ground.

You peeked through the cracked bathroom door.

There he was. Joseph. Named after Kris’s cousin that had passed away only a few months before you had gotten pregnant.

Kris’s Doberman, Prince, was next to him. He was never far away from the one year-old boy, always making sure he was okay. A personal bodyguard for the little one, just like Kris had taught him to be. Joseph had his pacifier in his mouth, his tiny arms hugging his stuffed elephant tight to his chest as the other was dragging his favorite blanket across the floor behind him. His strangely-long hair for a one year old was a mess of soft curls, and he was wearing that old pajama set with the stars on it that were starting to get a bit too short.

You smiled. “Hey, bubba… What are you doing up so early?” you whispered, walking up to him and running a hand through his tangled hair.

He just blinked at you, smiling behind his pacifier as he heard your voice. He was never really talkative in the morning. Then, without a word, he turned toward the bed.

You watched as he walked up to the edge of the bed, dropped his blanket, which Prince for some reason began to sniff, and started climbing up the way only a determined toddler could. Clumsy knees, little huffs of effort. Prince stayed behind him, sniffing him and the blanket , as if wondering what he was trying to do, and realizing the blanket was the same scent as him.

Kris stirred slightly, causing Jospeh to look up at him with wide, curious, and slightly proud eyes. As Kris calms back down and continues to sleep, Jospeh was immediately disappointed, huffing and grunting as he continued to climb up the bed.

You could see Kris’ hand twitch again, reaching for you on instinct.