"Little Bat it is, then," Alex told the baby, laughing. "Or little Vampire, maybe? You're getting teeth, aren't you?" He was sure he'd have tooth prints in his thumb.
He reached for another jelly slug, then turned back to the baby. Contented babbling came from around his thumb, and he spent a few moments having a completely ridiculous conversation with this child.
"It's okay if things go to your head," he told it with a bit of a bounce on his knee. "You're too young to be too ambitious anyway."
He swallowed the last bit of slimy slug, then turned his head in Professor Prince's direction.
"Thanks. For this. Distraction, for whatever 'why' you came up with."