"You don't need to tell me that. She practiced on me for months." Capturing one of those tiny feet in her hand, she waves it gently back and forth. "Didn't you?"

There it is again. That flicker of what kind of looks like a smile, and on one hand Beth isn't going to just let herself think this week-old baby is flashing smiles at them already... but on the other hand, it's certainly a sweet idea.

She can't help thinking sometimes new parents are the biggest suckers in the world.

Leaning slightly against Spike, she steals a glance at him. "Maybe she'll practice on you for the next nine months."