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.
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.