She's worried that you may feel jealous

As the crying continues upstairs, you're a little worried by her concerned expression. She seems unable to act, glancing from you to the stairs.

"What's wrong, dear?" Greg asks, putting down his spoon. "Do you want me to grab Hannah?"

Melanie blinks, then reassures you both with a smile. "Yes dear, that would be great... I'll handle her later. I just want to spend time with our son now that he's back."

Greg looks a little perplexed, probably since he figures you aren't going anywhere. Shrugging, he wipes his hands with a napkin and leaves the table to grab his daughter from the crib.

Meanwhile, you look at Melanie strangely. Is she hesitating because of you? "Uh...you really don't need to worry about me... You should attend to your daughter, right?" you suggest.

Melanie shakes her head in disagreement and leans across the table to grab your hands, holding them tightly.

"I know, sweetie, but you're more important to me right now. After you finish your plate, I'll feed you more, and then your baby sister later. It's probably time that I start weaning her anyway, right?"

You gulp down your food hard, surprised by her admission. While you welcome the maternal attention, and her matter-of-fact tone does arouse you a little, you don't think that setting their real daughter as a second priority to you is very fair.

Just as you're about to correct her line of thinking, Greg returns with Hannah in his arms. The daughter's cries turn into a soft whimper as Greg rocks her in his arms with a fatherly smile.

"I have some bottled breastmilk that she can drink in the fridge," Melanie says.

Greg looks at her with raised eyebrows. "So, you've finally decided to wean her?"

Melanie nods, and then turns her gaze back towards you with a warm smile. "After all, I'm going to be breastfeeding my sweet boy, who's finally come home... We need to make up for lost time."

For the first time, you grow a little embarrassed by your new mother's gaze, which disrupts your plan to normalize her behavior. Your real mother never acted like this before... Heck, it would be weird for any mother to act this way towards their grown-up son. While it does sound a little over-the-top, the amount of emotion that Melanie exudes makes it feel... Well, real.

For now, you leave Melanie's behavior and reaction to you intact. You have to admit that it feels pretty nice, and her sweet tone to you fills you with more naughty thoughts than it should. Hannah isn't being neglected, and the only thing she'll be missing out on is her mother's amazing breasts. While it doesn't seem quite fair, six months seems a reasonable enough age to wean a baby, right?

As the moment of discomfort passes, you quickly finish your plate and head for the stairs, beckoning for your mother to follow. Greg gives a little wave and stays behind, feeding his daughter with the bottle.