Topic: Best Big Sister Ever

Victoria Granger

Date: 2014-04-13 17:27 EST
Sundays at the big house on Maple Grove were usually quiet, family days, but this particular Sunday was marked by the continual loud complaints of one very small person, demanding to know when she could see her mummy and the new baby she'd been promised. Even the efforts of Johnny Storm and his fire tricks couldn't distract her for long, though her father managed to keep Emily from alienating everyone who loved her with a trip into the gardens to pick some of Humphrey's most prized early blooms and make a little bouquet for her mother. But finally, and much to everyone's relief, the afternoon rolled around, and Emily was bundled into Jon's car with him, excited and worried and chattering ten to the dozen in her garbled attempts at speech.

There were times when Jon wished he could understand baby babble, and today was one of them. Though he was as patient as a saint with little Emily, it was times like these that tried his patience. Here it was, Rhy'Din, and no one had yet invented a machine that would translate a baby's babble into coherent speech. It wasn't that he didn't understand anything she said. She had a small vocabulary of words he and those around her had been teaching her, but it would be a few months yet before she could string those words together in any semblance of order that would make sense. She had been asking for Mama ever since she'd awoken, and Jon had done his best to distract her, promising she'd seen her mama and her baby brother soon.

The drive to the hospital was filled with garbled curiosity about the other baby seat in the back with her, as well as more repeated queries about Mama and baby, all of which were prefaced with "Dada love". Vicki had been particularly proud of teaching Emily that phrase, even if the fourteen month old didn't really understand what she was saying yet.

Jon was not always sure if Emily was asking if he loved her or telling him that she loved him, but either way, his heart always melted whenever he was with his little girl, no matter what babble came out of her mouth. Whether she could understand them or not, he and Vicki had made it a point to talk to their daughter and not ignore her, as so many adults tended to do, feeling their daughter needed to hear their voices and know that they loved her, whether or not she understood everything they said or not. He passed the time on the way to the hospital by singing silly songs to her and reaching over to tap her nose every now and then to make her giggle.

The one she always seemed to like best was the Sunshine song and that was the one he was singing as he carried her down the hall of the hospital to see her mother and meet her new baby brother. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine," he sang, smiling a greeting to the nurses and other parents as he passed. "You make my happy when skies are gray." He heard a few mumbled, "Isn't that Jon Granger?" as he passed by, but that only amused him further.

Tucked up in her father's arms, Emily cooed happily as he sang to her, not really paying much attention to the hospital around them as she endeavored to sing along with her favorite song, inserting the correct words albeit woefully too late to be in time with Jon. "Suns'ine ....haa-pee ....g'ay ..." Given the beating her little handful of flowers were getting, it would be a wonder if there were any blooms on the stems at all by the time they reached Vicki and Ben.

Whether there were blooms on the flowers or they were just bare stems by the time they reached Vicki's room didn't really matter. Emily was a far better gift than any bunch of flowers, no matter how lovely or lovingly put together. "We're here, Emsies," Jon said as they reached the room where Vicki and Ben had stayed the night. "Ready to meet your new baby brother?" he asked with a soft smile on his face.

The little blonde head nodded vigorously, one hand clinging to Jon's shoulder as Emily finally looked around. "Mama," was what came out of her mouth, though. The concept of the baby was still a little out of Emily's grasp. Her loud intonation, however, gave Vicki ample time to put Ben back in his bassinet before Jon brought their eldest into the room, wanting both hands free to cuddle her baby girl.

Jon smiled, knowing the little girl had missed her mother and rapping his knuckles on the door to announce their presence, though Vicki had probably already heard them by now, presuming she was awake. "Hello!" he called, as he pushed the door open. "I have a little girl here who's dying to see her mother!"

"Well, there's a Mummy here who's dying to see her little girl!" was the answer. Vicki was sat up on the bed, on top of the covers, dressed and presentable, if tired, a wide smile on her face for the sight of her husband and daughter as they walked in through the door. Ben was dozing in his bassinet, clean and newly fed, as ready for the visitor as he was ever going to get.

"Mama!" Emily's arms opened up happily on seeing her mother, the little body lunging forward and trusting one or the other of her parents to catch her before she hit the floor.

Thankfully, Jon knew his daughter well enough to know she'd make a lunge for her mother and so he indulged her a little by sweeping her through the air like she was flying right into her mother's arms. "Here she comes. It's Super Emily!" And down she went into Vicki's arms.

Also thankfully, the peal of giggles didn't wake up the sleeping baby boy as Vicki claimed the Super Emily for a long cuddle and lots of kisses, exclaiming over her battered bunch of flowers with as much joy as she would have done anything Emily presented her with. It didn't take long for the giggling to die down, the big sister wrapped up in her mother's arms as two pairs of blue eyes turned to Jon with almost identical smiles. "And how is Daddy today?" Vicki asked warmly. "Did he get any sleep, or did this little monster keep him up all night?" She tickled Emily as she spoke, and the little girl laughed once again, despite her vehement denial of being a terror for her father overnight.

"She missed you," Jon admitted, with a small shrug that explained how things had gone since he'd left the hospital the night before. All things considered, they'd gone pretty well, though at one point, he'd given in and taken Emily to bed with him, both of them a little bit lonely without Vicki there to take care of them. "Daddy's scrambled eggs made things all better though," he told her, taking a seat on the bed beside them. He was anxious to look in on his son, but Emily needed this time with both her parents, too. "How about you? Get some sleep?" he asked, brushing a strand of hair back from her forehead.

Victoria Granger

Date: 2014-04-13 17:28 EST
"Some." Vicki smiled back at Jon lovingly over Emily's head. The weariness on her face was testament to a night with too little sleep for her liking. She glanced down at their daughter. "Your little brother is just like you," she informed Emily warmly. "He doesn't like Mummy's boobs as much as bottles." As an uncomprehending smile spread across Emily's face, Vicki chuckled, meeting Jon's gaze again. "He lost the ability to latch on at around two and failed again at five, so it looks like I'm back to pumping once my milk comes in."

"Sorry, Vic," Jon said, with a frown, feeling bad for her, though there was a bright side to the situation - he'd be able to take some feedings so she could get some rest. In his opinion, it was better than having a baby who refused the bottle. "Maybe he'll come around," he suggested, though there was no way or predicting whether he would or not. "Daddy likes Mummy's boobs, anyway," Jon said, brushing a kiss against Vicki's lips, glad that Emily didn't quite comprehend adult speech yet.

She laughed, returning his kiss affectionately. She didn't mind pumping that much; as he'd thought, it meant she didn't have to spend the next four months with a baby permanently attached to her breast. "I'm very glad to hear that," she assured him through her grin, dropping her chin to kiss Emily's hair as the little girl sighed sleepily and cuddled in again. She knew Jon must be itching to hold Ben again, but they had time. "How's Humph?" she asked. "Did he get any sleep?"

He might have proven that point by copping a feel if Emily hadn't been present, but he'd wait until Vicki was feeling up to it. How many weeks did they have to wait again? Six" Eight' Jon chuffed at his wife's question. "Humphrey can sleep through anything. I swear the man sleeps like a log. He'd sleep through World War Three, if there was one." He took a harder look at her, seeing the weariness in her and promising himself to make sure she got some rest when they got home. "I let Liv make most of the phone calls, so I could spend time with Em. Humphrey is dying to meet his namesake."

"I'm sure he is, but there's someone else who gets to meet him first," Vicki chuckled softly, stroking Emily's hair as they talked over the toddler's head. "I wonder if she wants to, what do you think, Daddy' Should Ben give Emily her present, or a cuddle, first?"

"So long as he doesn't give her a poopy diaper," Jon replied with a grin. He thought Benjamin was a far better present than anything else money could buy their daughter, but it might take her a few years to realize that. "What do you say, Ems" Would you like to meet your baby brother now?" he asked, reaching over to tickle her chin.

Given how small Emily was, bribery was their only option when it came to convincing her to accept her little brother, but with any luck, the two would grow up close because of the small gap between them. Caroline and Richmond had recommended the bribery angle - little Jack had attempted to sit on his own new baby sister, Tessa's, head several times deliberately before they'd given in and resorted to bribing him into liking her. Emily looked up at her father with guileless eyes, her mouth full of the flowers she'd brought for her mother. "Baby?"

"Oh, Emily!" Jon sighed. "Those aren't for eating, baby girl." He reached over to fish the flowers out of her mouth, unsure if they were would make her sick or not. "Yes, baby," he told her. "Your baby brother, Benjamin." He knew she more than likely wouldn't understand for a little while yet, but it didn't matter.

She giggled at the feeling of Jon's fingers in her mouth, deliberately licking him until he had a very wet hand indeed, while Vicki snickered into her hair. "Still putting everything in your mouth, hmm?" she murmured to the little girl fondly, gently removing what was left of the little bouquet from the sticky hand. "Do you want to see the baby?" She pointed to the bassinet, lifting Emily up onto her feet so she could look down at her little brother.

There was a moment of quite serious thought before Emily pointed as well, demanding of Jon, "Baby."

Jon sighed, once again christened with someone's saliva. If it wasn't Cosmo, then it was Emily these days. He wiped his wet hand on his jeans and moved to his feet to join them beside the bassinet at his daughter's request. That was as good as a yes to him. "Is he awake?" he asked Vicki, lowering his voice as he peered into the baby's bed.

"Sort of," Vicki shrugged. "He just ate, so he's doing the dozing thing, rather than actually sleeping. Otherwise he probably would have screamed his head off at the noise we made when Emily came in." She grinned at the toddler standing next to her, receiving a grin in return before the little blue eyes turned back to Jon and the promised baby. "He shouldn't mind being jostled too much."

"He's got a set of lungs on him. We may need to get the bedroom soundproofed," Jon remarked dryly, but not seriously as he reached into the bassinet to scoop the little bundle into his arms. "Hello, there, little man. Giving your mother a hard time already, are you?" he asked his baby son before settling himself back on the bed so that Emily could take a peek.

"What, again?" Vicki laughed cheerfully, keeping hold of Emily as Jon brought Ben out of the bassinet and over to the bed so the toddler could get her first look at her little brother.

The newborn was inspected minutely from a distance, Emily's arms going possessively around Vicki's neck as she considered the new offering. Then she presented her opinion with a pointing finger. "Red," she informed her parents. "T'mato."

"No, I mean seriously soundproofed!" he chuckled, convinced that Humphrey heard everything, though he'd never said so. Jon laughed as Emily sized up her little brother in two simple words, hoping the nickname didn't stick. "No, silly. His name is Ben." Jon repeated the name again, enunciating slowly and as clearly as possible, letting her see the word form on his lips.

This was given due consideration, tasted, and given back to Jon in a vaguely recognizable form. "Bun," Emily repeated, leaning a little bit further away from Vicki to wiggle her finger over her little brother's nose. "Bun?"

Vicki smiled, inching a little bit closer with the toddler in her firm grasp. "Close," she assured the little girl.

Victoria Granger

Date: 2014-04-13 17:28 EST
"Close enough," Jon agreed, proud of both his daughter and son. The newborn squirmed a little and searched for his own fingers, mewling a mild complaint, but not breaking into a full-blown squawl.

"Doll," Emily then went with, and again, that was pretty close. Ben did sort of look like her baby doll back home.

Vicki smiled encouragingly. "Yes, he is like your doll," she agreed in a warm tone. "But he is a real baby, and we have to be very careful with him. Would you like to cuddle Ben with Daddy?"

This one didn't seem to require as much thought before a firm nod was given. "Cuddle Dada love."

"She's putting words together," Jon observed, more to himself than for Vicki's benefit. He adjusted the hold he had on his son so that he could hold him in one arm, freeing one leg and arm for Emily. "Come meet your little brother, Em," he told his young daughter, extending an arm to welcome her into his embrace.

"Slowly, slowly, catchy monkey," Vicki grinned back in answer to Jon's observation, releasing her hold on Emily when he was ready for her. The toddler managed, somehow, to stay upright as she wobbled over the bed to where her daddy was sitting, thumping down onto his free thigh and leaning right over her new baby brother with vaguely suspicious eyes.

One arm went around Emily's waist to keep her balanced on his thigh, while he cradled Benjamin in his other arm. "Let him grab hold of your finger, Em," Jon suggested, knowing the infant's instinct would be to close a fist around anything that found its way to his hand.

Vicki had to work hard to keep the smirk off her face at the less than impressed look on Emily's, even when Jon gave the little girl instructions. One little finger was extended cautiously toward the baby ....and passed straight over his hand in favor of poking the newborn in the nose. Not gently, either.

Jon sighed, unable to pull her hand away and counting on Vicki to make sure Emily didn't poke her brother too hard, since he already had his hands full. "Em, no! He's not a toy. He's a person, just like you. Just a very tiny person."

The "no" could have gotten a bad result if Jon hadn't been so quick to compare his daughter to his son while Vicki caught the offending hand. Emily looked up at her father, apparently refusing to believe that she had ever looked like Ben, who was now fussing a bit. Well, who wouldn't fuss after being woken up with a nose poke" "Baby," she pointed out, frowning down at her brother thoughtfully.

"Yes, Emily, he's a real baby, just like you were one year ago," Vicki assured her warmly. "And he's very small, and he can't look after himself yet, but I know you're going to be the best big sister ever, aren't you?"

Jon had a feeling this first meeting could decide how Emily felt about the little rival for her parents' affections for a few years to come and badly wanted it to go well. He didn't want Emily to have any reason to feel jealous or left out, nor did he want her to think she was more or less loved than Benjamin. Both children were loved equally, as far as he was concerned, and both required love and affection, though one was slightly more helpless than the other at the moment. "He won't stay little forever. Someday you're going to be best friends," he promised, hoping he was right. Though he didn't remember it, he knew he and Lena had been close growing up, and he wanted the same for his children.

Listening to both her parents, Emily gave this new information considerable thought and seemed to come to a decision. "Cuddle," she said then, and for a moment, Vicki wasn't sure if she was asking for a cuddle, or asking to cuddle Ben. That query was solved when Emily slid down from Jon's knee to settle herself between his legs and held out her arms toward her baby brother, clearly expecting him to be handed to her.

"Oh, this is going to need a photograph," Vicki murmured, reaching for the camera on the table.

It wasn't that Jon didn't trust Emily with her little brother, but at a little over a year old, she was barely much more than a baby herself. He shot a glance at Vicki, wondering how he was going to manage it, before turning back to his daughter, whose expression somehow reminded him of her mother. "Okay, but you have to let me help you," he told her as he shifted the tiny bundle in his arms so that Emily could wrap her arms around him, too.

With Ben safely in Jon's grasp, but now resting Emily's legs, the little girl was able to curl her arms around her baby brother and give him his first big sister cuddle. And amazingly, the fussing that had begun when she'd poked his nose faded.

Vicki stared, frozen in the act of raising the camera to her eye, as unexpected tears made her vision a little bit hazy. "Oh, good lord," she murmured, looking at Jon. "You three are going to make me cry!"

Jon smiled at his wife over the heads of his two children. "Are you sure it isn't hormones?" he teased, knowing his wife wasn't much of a crier. In fact, unlike most women, she cried so infrequently, he could count on one hand the times she'd cried in his presence - at least, as an adult. He couldn't deny that it was what was sometimes described as a Kodak moment, his own heart warming at the sight of big sister giving her little brother his first cuddle. Jon turned his attention back to Emily, knowing she understood a lot more of what they said than one might give her credit for. "He's gonna need his big sister's help, Emily. Think you can do that for him?"

As Vicki pulled herself together and took far too many pictures of Emily and Ben's first cuddle together, the toddler looked up at her father with a big smile - proudly managing to show off a few of those pesky new teeth of hers - and nodded. "Cuddle Bun," she assured him, and leaned forward, laying her cheek on the soft blanket that covered the newborn's stomach. One tiny groping hand grabbed a handful of her hair, but hopefully they'd be able to make him let go before he pulled.

Victoria Granger

Date: 2014-04-13 17:30 EST
Jon's smile widened as Emily made friends with her little brother, knowing it wouldn't always be this easy, but it was a good foundation to build on. He reached over to untangle the tiny hand from Emily's hair as he balanced the baby in the crook of his arm. He knew Vicki well enough to know she was going to be borrowing from Emily to call him Cuddle Bun before long, but he didn't really mind the teasing. Everything he had ever wanted was right there in that room. Life just didn't get any better than this, and he thought his heart might burst from so much happiness. He found himself sniffling back a few tears as he leaned close to gather his daughter to him and hold her close. "Love you, Emmykins," he whispered softly.

"Emmykins and Cuddlebuns," Vicki smirked as she finally put the camera down, rescuing Ben from the father/daughter hug so Jon could embrace his little girl properly. "What next, do you think" Daddywumpus?" She chuckled as Emily wriggled around to do her very best impression of throttling Jon with her affectionate hug, settling Ben in the crook of her own arm with just a glance to be sure he was settled. The joys of already having a child - absent-minded baby-holding.

Once Vicki scooped Ben up from his father's arm, Jon swept Emily up into his arms and onto his lap and dabbed at an errant tear on his cheek. "I think maybe it's time to give Emily her present. What do you think, Mummymums?"

"Well, I think Ben wants to give the best big sister in the world ever the present he brought for her," the redhead agreed, balancing the baby in question in one arm as the other slid beneath her pillows and pulled out a slim package wrapped in bright pink paper.

"What do you say, Emily' Would you like your present?" he asked his daughter as he held her on his lap. As far as Jon was concerned, baby Ben was present enough, but he wasn't a toddler, and they both wanted Emily to remember this day as being a happy one, where she felt as special as the new addition to their family.

The magic word "present" was all that was really necessary. Emily was already reaching for the bright package, shaking it hopefully before beginning the unenviable task of ripping the paper off. Vicki grinned over at Jon, knowing this was going to be as much a surprise for him as it was for Emily. A lot of thought had gone into what was, essentially, a bribe.

An awful lot of sparkly confetti fell out to decorate the bed sheets before Emily got her hands on the contents - one little packet of brightly colored butterflies for her hair, just like the ones Lyneth habitually wore and Emily habitually stole from her hair when they visited together. And one beautifully decorated certificate that bore a very special message from her little brother - My big sister is the best big sister in the world. And because she is the best big sister in the world, I promise that every Sunday Emily gets to decide what she wants to do and who she wants to do it with. I will not complain, because she is my favorite big sister and she deserves it.

Jon had to chuckle a little when he read the certificate. He'd known about the hair decorations, but not so much about the certificate and was as surprised as Emily to see what it said. "It's a present from Ben," he told his young daughter, going along with the ruse and wondering what Ben - and Emily, for that matter - might think when they were old enough to know their parents had duped them. Jon read what the certificate said to Emily, unsure whether she'd understand much of it just yet, though she would certainly benefit from it in the months to come.

To be fair, Emily was more impressed with the hair butterflies than the certificate, but Vicki had expected that. The point of the certificate was to make sure that Emily got time with one or both parents that belonged completely to her at least once a week, and there were plenty of people on hand to take Ben for a few hours so that could be accomplished. The fact that, to Emily, it was all Ben's idea was the main bribe. The toddler beamed, and without needing to be told, crawled across the bed to plant a kiss on her baby brother's blanket.

"Good girl, Emily," Vicki praised her with a smile. "You are, without a doubt, the best big sister ever."

Jon beamed a smile as he watched his little girl plant an affectionate kiss on her baby brother's blanket. He was sure there would be moments of jealousy ahead, but with any luck - and a lot of nurturing - he and Vicki would raise two children who were equally secure and sure of their parents' love and affection and grew up to be friends and not rivals. "Ben is very lucky to have a big sister like you," Jon added, hoping they weren't laying it on too thick for the little girl.

At fourteen months, thankfully there was no such thing as too thick. "And even better," Vicki added, "Ben is bringing me home tonight!" Okay, so maybe that was a little too much, given the bemused expression on Emily's face, but the excitement couldn't be denied. Only one bedtime ruined by the arrival of the new baby - that was pretty good going.

And maybe it wasn't really Ben who was bringing Vicki home so much as it was Jon, but he didn't bother to point that out, letting Vicki give Ben as much credit as possible. He knew Emily had missed her mother, even though Vicki had only been away for a day or so, and though there were plenty of people ready and willing to help care for the little girl, no one would ever be able to take Vicki's place. "If you're a very good girl, maybe we'll let you stay up a little later tonight after we get Ben tucked into bed," Jon said, offering just a teensy bit more bribery. Besides, it would be nice if Emily slept in a little later in the morning, allowing them all that much more sleep.

The toddler nodded solemnly, evidently not really following the promises and conversation, but aware that she would have both her parents at home in just a few hours. As she crawled around and cuddled under Vicki's arm again - necessitating a hasty hand off of the baby to Jon - the little girl appeared to come to some kind of decision. "Emmy cuddle Bun Hump'y," was announced, and though to most people that would sound like a string of unrelated words, to her parents it was as clear as day.

Jon tucked the baby boy into the crook of his arm, and slung the other around both his girls to pull them close into a hug that included the three people he loved most. "Emmy will have lots of time to cuddle Ben when we get home." He leaned over and brushed a kiss against the top of her head, followed by a touch of lips to Vicki's. At that moment, he felt like his life was complete, and he couldn't imagine ever feeling any happier than this.

Vicki smiled, more than happy to be bundled up by her little family. They had come a long way to get here - through vampires, insane movie publicity, eloping, a ghoul, unexpected siblings of the adult and royal variety - but here they were, fulfilling the promise Jon had made to her when she was just seven years old. Right here, right now, despite the tiredness and the aches, she felt like a princess, and together with her prince and their two heart-meltingly adorable children, she somehow knew it was only going to get better. There'd be bumps along the way, no doubt a drama or two to keep things interesting, but they'd made it, together. Now all they had to do was prevent minor sibling murder for the next few months, and everything would be perfect.

((And so begins the terror of having a newborn and a fourteen month old living in close proximity with one another! Muahahahahaaaaa! Also ....thanks to the awesome partner who makes all this evil possible!))