((Contains a brief reference to adult situations.))
Jon emerged from the nursery, quietly closing the door behind him and tiptoeing back toward the bedroom he shared with Vicki. He was feeling utterly content these days in his role as husband and father, and though he was unable to remember it, this was the whole reason he'd returned to Rhy'Din a few years ago to begin with. Without consciously realizing it, he had achieved his deepest desires and it was all because of Vicki.
Behind him, Cosmo trailed at his heels, following his master wherever he went, satisfied that their puppy had been put safely to bed. Jon sighed as he stepped through the door into the master bedroom and closed it behind him. Thankfully, the baby monitor kept them informed of what their baby daughter was up to at all times. It had been hard moving her from their room to the nursery, and Jon had resisted for some time, until Vicki had reminded him that she couldn't remain in their bedroom forever.
"She's asleep," he informed his wife as he rejoined her.
"Bri'yan," was his wife's indistinct response to this information, offered through her toothbrush as she lounged in the door to the bathroom. Bedtime was often Jon's job, though neither of them had really scheduled it as such. Their time was equally shared between their jobs, each other, and Emily, and there had been no upsets since Vicki had gone back to work. The prospect of having another little one in so short a time, though daunting, was not looking half so terrifying as it had done a couple of months ago. At 18 weeks, Vicki had a very definite bump again, but this time there had been no morning sickness to speak of, and thus, a distinct lack of complaining from the redhead. She grinned at Jon around her toothbrush, and turned to bend over the sink, spitting and washing her mouth out.
Jon chuckled at the indistinct response from his wife. Though he knew her pretty well, there were still times when something got lost in translation between them, him being a Rhy'Din native who'd spent a good part of his life shuffling between L.A. and New York, and her a native of England. He went about his own usual evening routine, turning down the bed and dimming the lights before tugging the t-shirt from his torso and tossing it onto a chair. "Gesundheit," he replied with a smirk, his way of telling her he had no idea what she'd just said to him.
Laughing, she wiped her mouth dry, flicking off the bathroom light as she made her way back into the bedroom. "I said, brilliant," she translated herself for him, sticking her tongue out on the way past. "Bathroom's all yours, loveaduck." Patting his rear end, she flashed him another cheeky wink, and began rummaging for her hair brush, preparing to begin the nightly torture - for Jon, at least - of ripping through all the tangles in her wavy mane before bed.
"Next time, just give me a thumbs up," he remarked back at her. "Don't stick out your tongue, unless you intend to use it," he added with a teasing grin as he passed her on his way to the bathroom. Some might think their domesticated life boring, full of scheduled and routines, but after the first few months of parenthood, they'd fallen into a routine fairly easily, helping each other out and swapping chores as was necessary. "So, what do you want to do about your dad" Is he coming here for the holidays or are we going there?"
"You know full well I have every intention of using it when you least expect it," Vicki quipped back to him, finally locating her brush and moving to thump down on the bed as she began the process of dragging the bristles through her hair from the location where she had the best view of Jon's rear end while he went about his evening ablutions. "Oh God, I don't know," she admitted when he mentioned her father. "If we go to Cornwall, we won't be able to stay long because of the wedding. If he comes here, we get the joy of the Humphrey/Maria bitch fest starting up all over again." As charming as Humphrey could be, he had taken against Vicki's stepmother for a comment she had made about the way Vicki handled Emily during a family dinner a few months before, and since then, it had been in everyone's best interests to keep the warring parties separate.
"Do we want to stay long?" he countered, leaning close to inspect his teeth for some odd reason, vain man that he was, before grabbing his toothbrush and squeezing out a ribbon of toothpaste. He thought it only fair that they spend equal time in Cornwall and Rhy'Din for the holidays, allowing Vicki's father to see his daughter and grand-daughter, but it was almost always an impossible task to split their time up evenly. "I wish they'd just make peace and be done with it," Jon grumbled, detesting family drama with a passion.
"Well, we already promised Christmas Day to Humph and Lena, and since it's your birthday as well, we're sticking to that," Vicki told him affectionately, wincing as she found a particularly stubborn tangle to wrestle with. "And we're having dinner with Des, Piper, and Dru on Boxing Day. What if we visit Cornwall the week before Christmas" We can stay a few days, then, and still be back for the party on Christmas Eve."
"Once Season's Greetings closes, I'm off until February," he said, agreeing that should allow time for a visit before the holidays and the weddings that were due to take place at the end of the month. "I think I can get away for a week or so then. Can you?" he asked, quietly a moment so that he could brush his teeth while his wife replied.
"Are you joking?" she laughed. "All I have to do is rub the bump and mention my dad, and 'Taya tries to give me months off at a time. I think being pregnant is making her brain wobbly." Not that she minded; it was fun being the voice of experience. Vicki wasn't going to forget the shopping trip for underwear in a hurry - she had a feeling 'Taya might actually have bought enough undies to wear a different set every day until she gave birth and still not have worn them all.
No reply came from the bathroom for a long moment as Jon was busy fastidiously scrubbing his teeth, rinsing, and spitting. Once that was done, he came up for air, shoving his fingers through his hair in a failed attempt to tame the curls before rejoining her in the bedroom. "Rub the bump and make a wish," he teased, thumping down beside her and doing just that, reaching over to rub a hand very familiarly against the swell of her stomach that was their second child.
Jon emerged from the nursery, quietly closing the door behind him and tiptoeing back toward the bedroom he shared with Vicki. He was feeling utterly content these days in his role as husband and father, and though he was unable to remember it, this was the whole reason he'd returned to Rhy'Din a few years ago to begin with. Without consciously realizing it, he had achieved his deepest desires and it was all because of Vicki.
Behind him, Cosmo trailed at his heels, following his master wherever he went, satisfied that their puppy had been put safely to bed. Jon sighed as he stepped through the door into the master bedroom and closed it behind him. Thankfully, the baby monitor kept them informed of what their baby daughter was up to at all times. It had been hard moving her from their room to the nursery, and Jon had resisted for some time, until Vicki had reminded him that she couldn't remain in their bedroom forever.
"She's asleep," he informed his wife as he rejoined her.
"Bri'yan," was his wife's indistinct response to this information, offered through her toothbrush as she lounged in the door to the bathroom. Bedtime was often Jon's job, though neither of them had really scheduled it as such. Their time was equally shared between their jobs, each other, and Emily, and there had been no upsets since Vicki had gone back to work. The prospect of having another little one in so short a time, though daunting, was not looking half so terrifying as it had done a couple of months ago. At 18 weeks, Vicki had a very definite bump again, but this time there had been no morning sickness to speak of, and thus, a distinct lack of complaining from the redhead. She grinned at Jon around her toothbrush, and turned to bend over the sink, spitting and washing her mouth out.
Jon chuckled at the indistinct response from his wife. Though he knew her pretty well, there were still times when something got lost in translation between them, him being a Rhy'Din native who'd spent a good part of his life shuffling between L.A. and New York, and her a native of England. He went about his own usual evening routine, turning down the bed and dimming the lights before tugging the t-shirt from his torso and tossing it onto a chair. "Gesundheit," he replied with a smirk, his way of telling her he had no idea what she'd just said to him.
Laughing, she wiped her mouth dry, flicking off the bathroom light as she made her way back into the bedroom. "I said, brilliant," she translated herself for him, sticking her tongue out on the way past. "Bathroom's all yours, loveaduck." Patting his rear end, she flashed him another cheeky wink, and began rummaging for her hair brush, preparing to begin the nightly torture - for Jon, at least - of ripping through all the tangles in her wavy mane before bed.
"Next time, just give me a thumbs up," he remarked back at her. "Don't stick out your tongue, unless you intend to use it," he added with a teasing grin as he passed her on his way to the bathroom. Some might think their domesticated life boring, full of scheduled and routines, but after the first few months of parenthood, they'd fallen into a routine fairly easily, helping each other out and swapping chores as was necessary. "So, what do you want to do about your dad" Is he coming here for the holidays or are we going there?"
"You know full well I have every intention of using it when you least expect it," Vicki quipped back to him, finally locating her brush and moving to thump down on the bed as she began the process of dragging the bristles through her hair from the location where she had the best view of Jon's rear end while he went about his evening ablutions. "Oh God, I don't know," she admitted when he mentioned her father. "If we go to Cornwall, we won't be able to stay long because of the wedding. If he comes here, we get the joy of the Humphrey/Maria bitch fest starting up all over again." As charming as Humphrey could be, he had taken against Vicki's stepmother for a comment she had made about the way Vicki handled Emily during a family dinner a few months before, and since then, it had been in everyone's best interests to keep the warring parties separate.
"Do we want to stay long?" he countered, leaning close to inspect his teeth for some odd reason, vain man that he was, before grabbing his toothbrush and squeezing out a ribbon of toothpaste. He thought it only fair that they spend equal time in Cornwall and Rhy'Din for the holidays, allowing Vicki's father to see his daughter and grand-daughter, but it was almost always an impossible task to split their time up evenly. "I wish they'd just make peace and be done with it," Jon grumbled, detesting family drama with a passion.
"Well, we already promised Christmas Day to Humph and Lena, and since it's your birthday as well, we're sticking to that," Vicki told him affectionately, wincing as she found a particularly stubborn tangle to wrestle with. "And we're having dinner with Des, Piper, and Dru on Boxing Day. What if we visit Cornwall the week before Christmas" We can stay a few days, then, and still be back for the party on Christmas Eve."
"Once Season's Greetings closes, I'm off until February," he said, agreeing that should allow time for a visit before the holidays and the weddings that were due to take place at the end of the month. "I think I can get away for a week or so then. Can you?" he asked, quietly a moment so that he could brush his teeth while his wife replied.
"Are you joking?" she laughed. "All I have to do is rub the bump and mention my dad, and 'Taya tries to give me months off at a time. I think being pregnant is making her brain wobbly." Not that she minded; it was fun being the voice of experience. Vicki wasn't going to forget the shopping trip for underwear in a hurry - she had a feeling 'Taya might actually have bought enough undies to wear a different set every day until she gave birth and still not have worn them all.
No reply came from the bathroom for a long moment as Jon was busy fastidiously scrubbing his teeth, rinsing, and spitting. Once that was done, he came up for air, shoving his fingers through his hair in a failed attempt to tame the curls before rejoining her in the bedroom. "Rub the bump and make a wish," he teased, thumping down beside her and doing just that, reaching over to rub a hand very familiarly against the swell of her stomach that was their second child.