Topic: Busy Bea

Victoria Granger

Date: 2018-08-20 14:29 EST
About a week after Jon and Mataya had met Bea at the orphanage, he arranged for a picnic at the Grove, so Vicki and the kids could meet the little girl and vice versa. An escort from the orphanage had accompanied her there, but had left her in Jon and Vicki's care for the afternoon, allowing them to get acquainted.

It was Jon who welcomed her first, taking her by the hand and bringing her over to meet his little family. "Everyone, this is Bea. She's going to be spending the afternoon with us. Bea, this is Vicki and Emily and Ben and the twins ..." He paused as Cosmo made himself known with a flick of his tail and a happy bark. "And Cosmo!" Jon added, with a chuckle.

Vicki smiled down at the shy girl clinging to Jon's hand. "Hello, Bea," she greeted the child. "Welcome to the Grove."

Bea blinked, tearing her gaze away from Cosmo's enthusiastic but obedient sit almost directly in front of her, to look up at the redheaded woman. "Hullo, Mrs. Granger. Thank you for inviting me."

Vicki's smile softened as she crouched down. "It's a pleasure, Bea. Isn't it a pleasure to meet Bea?" she added, looking at her elder children.

The twins were still toddlers, not truly aware of anything untoward in meeting a new child, but Emily and Ben did know that if they liked Bea, she might become part of their family.

"Hullo, Bea," Emily said, stepping forward to meet the older girl who she knew might become part of their family, if she and Ben and their parents liked her and if she liked them. "I'm Em'lee, n' this is Ben," she said, tugging her brother closer.

"Hullo." Bea offered this in a quieter tone, almost more shy of meeting the children than of the adults. "I-I like your dress. All busy bees and stuff. D'you like bees?"

"I like honey," Emily countered. "An' bees make honey. I wore this dress for you 'cause your name is Bea, like a honey bee," she pointed out with a smile. "Do you like honey?"

Bea shook her head, but there was a small smile playing on her face, in the playful glint in her eyes. "I haven't ever had honey," she told Emily, pulling her hand hesitantly out of Jon's grasp. "I had honey cakes, is that like the same thing?" It didn't seem to matter to her that Emily was about half her age; if she had something to say, it was worth hearing.

"Why'd they call 'em honey cakes, unless they was made of honey?" Emily asked, though she hardly expected an answer. "Wanna go play on the swings?" she asked next, pointing to a playground Humphrey had had built for the many children who called Maple Grove home.

Bea's eyes lit up hopefully, but she looked up at Jon first. "Can I?" she asked, blinking almost in shock as Ben's hand inserted itself into her free hand. The little boy might not be talkative, exactly, but he didn't need to talk to be friendly.

"Yes, of course. Don't go far though. We're going to have lunch soon," he said, looking to all three of the children. "Em, keep an eye on your brother. And Ben, listen to your big sister. We'll be right here watching," he said of himself and their mother.

"Yes, Papa!" Emily replied obediently, reaching for Bea's other hand. "Come on!"

With both the elder children tugging on her hands, it didn't take much for Bea to run along with them toward the swings, leaving Vicki and Jon alone with the twins, who were seriously discussing a ladybird they had found in their own version of twinspeak. Vicki's smile was a little sad. "I don't think I've ever met a child who hides behind manners like that before," she said softly.

"I don't think she's ever been able to just be a kid," Jon said, as he watched the children scamper away toward the playground. "It's sad, isn't it?" he asked, with a frown of his own.

"It is." Vicki sighed quietly, moving to sit down on the blanket they'd laid out. "She is lovely, Jon. I can see why she made such an impression on you."

"I wanted you and Emily to meet her. I think we could make her happy, Vic, but it's not just up to me. And we have to think of Emily and Ben and the twins, too," he said, as he settled himself on the blanket beside her.

"It's not a decision that can be made in a single afternoon, love," his wife reminded him gently, leaning her arm against his as she watched the familiar scene of her elder son and daughter arguing, this time over who got to push Bea on the swing. She couldn't help smiling at that. "But a few more afternoons like this might do it."

"No, of course not, but ..." Jon trailed off as she finished his thought. "I know we can't adopt every orphan in need of a home, but even adopting one is making a difference, isn't it?" he asked, but was he trying to convince her or himself"

"Jon ....I know how much this means to you," Vicki promised him. "But I'm not going to sign off on anything unless I am sure that Bea will be a good fit with us, as much for her sake as ours." She squeezed his hand gently. "Try not to get too far ahead of yourself, okay?"

Jon nodded and drew a deep breath. "I'll try," he said, knowing that if they weren't careful, this could turn into a disaster as easily as not. "One step at a time, I know."

"Which is why it's just us and the kids today," she added with a gentler smile. "Humphrey can wait for another day." She wrapped an arm about his waist, kissing his cheek before nodding toward the swings. "She's a peacemaker, anyway."

And sure enough, Bea seemed to have made peace between ben and Emily. The older girl was lying on the ground, pushing two swings with her feet, much to the amusement of her little companions.

Jon smiled as he looked over at the children, who seemed to have hit it off, but it was really too early to see if it would last. "Now, that's not something I would have thought of," he said, chuckling a little at Bea's inventiveness. What worried him most was Emily, not Ben or the twins. Emily was used to being the eldest, and he wasn't sure what she'd think of giving that spot up to someone else.

Victoria Granger

Date: 2018-08-20 14:29 EST
"It's a start," Vicki murmured, resting her head on his shoulder. "And if it were just us, I would already have decided, love. Just so you know."

"It's going to be up to Emily, I think," he said, one arm going around Vicki to hold her close. There was no lack of affection between them or their children; they both made sure of that.

"I think you're probably right," she agreed, raising her head briefly to look over at the twins. "Chris, we do not eat bugs." As the younger of the twins obediently spat out the spider he'd been tasting, Vicki's attention returned to the playground and the elder children. "Ben will go along with anything Emmy decides is the right thing to do."

Jon smirked at Vicki's scolding of the younger of the twins, amused and appalled at the same time. "Those two are gonna be trouble," he said, glad they were still too young to wander off on their own just yet. At least, Bea was old enough that she wouldn't need the same kind of care that the younger children did, and she might even be of help. "I'm not sure how Emily will feel about not being the oldest," he said, turning his attention back to the conversation at hand, but keeping one eye on the twins,

"I think it all depends on how well she takes to Bea," Vicki answered thoughtfully. "She will probably have a few wobbles, if we end up going through with this, but the benefits of having a big sister will outweigh the prestige of being the oldest, I think."

"Maybe, but what about Bea?" he asked, just as thoughtfully. "I mean, I don't want her to think we just want to adopt her so she can be a built-in babysitter," he said. He'd said as much to Mataya, too, as it was something that was worrying him.

"So we'll spend some time with her ourselves, just us," Vicki said, still feeling her way through this as much as he was. "It's as much her decision as ours."

"That's a good idea," he said. "We all have to be in agreement." If they weren't - if any of them was unhappy about the possibility of adopting Bea, they'd have to figure out why and rethink their plans.

"Exactly. But this is a good start, Jon." She tilted her head to look at him, smiling with as much encouragement as she could muster. "A very good start."

"I'm glad you think so," Jon said, smiling back at her before leaning close to brush a kiss against her lips. It wasn't unusual for him to show his love and affection for her in public, but such affection was often accompanied by giggles from their children. Just as it was now, Emily and Ben giggling from the playground at their parents' smooching.

Smiling into his kiss, Vicki drew back to stick her tongue out at the giggling pair, surprised but glad to see that Bea then joined in the giggles. "I think we're being mocked by our children again, you know."

"They won't find it so funny if I tickle them," Jon said, loudly enough so that the children could hear him and take his threat seriously, even if it wasn't much of a threat. In fact, it would probably only make them laugh harder.

Of the three, only Bea hesitated, responding more to the tone than the words ....but when it became clear that the threat wasn't meant to upset or intimidate, her smile returned. As Vicki watched, she tapped Emily and Ben on the shoulders, bending to whisper something to them.

"Great, we made a conspiracy," Vicki murmured through her own grin.

"Good for them, bad for us," Jon said, though he was mirroring her grin. "And they outnumber us," he pointed out further. He wasn't sure what the trio was planning, but he had a feeling he was going to find out before long.

"We've been outnumbered for years, we can handle this," she said confidently. By chance, she glanced up, and let loose with a squeal as Ben suddenly pounced on her, knocking her backwards onto the blanket with a child's war-cry to get his tickles in first. And the girls" Well, Jon was undefended now.

Jon had just started laughing at Ben's attack on Vicki, when he was attacked himself. Emily was clearly not shy or afraid of her father, and didn't think twice about tackling him and tickling him before he had a chance to tickle her. He caught her in his arms, laughing as he fell onto his back with her atop him, careful not to fall on the twins.

Bea stood nearby, giggling as Vicki and Jon were attacked by their own children, the adults cackling with laughter along with the kids. It wasn't long before the twins joined in, Jon being their choice of target purely because he was bigger and there was more of him to tickle. Which meant that Vicki had an opening, and Vicki didn't think twice. With Ben pinned under one arm, she sat up and snagged Bea, pulling the little girl down onto her lap to hand out a few tickles herself. And the sound of little Bea's laughter, unrestrained, was a real privilege to hear.

It was a silly sight to anyone who didn't know them well, but to those who did, it was just another day in the life of Jon and Vicki's little family, filled with love and laughter, and today, shared with a little girl who had known so little of it in her own life. Before long, they were all gasping for air from laughing so hard, whether they were the one doing the tickling or the one being tickled.

Jon was the first to give up, raising a hand to call for a time out. "I quit! You win!"

The cheer that went up was bright and happy, laughing easing away into breathless grins. And Bea found herself wrapped in Vicki's arms, in Vicki's lap, with Ben's arms wrapped around her as well. Vicki grinned over at Jon and his armful of children, unaware of the surprised awe on the little girl's face as she realized where she was ....and how comfortable it was to be there.

Jon grinned back. So far, things were going even better than planned, but it was too early to tell if they would continue. Still, he was hopeful. Little Bea needed a loving home, and the Grangers had more than enough love to offer her ....so long as the children that were already theirs didn't object. "What do you say we have a little lunch now and go out for ice cream later?" he asked, knowing he was unlikely to hear any objections to that, at least.

There was no objection to that plan from the smaller children, but Bea hesitated. "Mr. Kieran said I can't go anywhere 'less he knows about it first," she offered in a defeated tone.

Vicki smiled, squeezing her gently. "Well, then, we'll just have to tell Mr. Kieran we'd like to take you for ice cream, won't we?"

Victoria Granger

Date: 2018-08-20 14:30 EST
"Even Mr. Kieran can't object to that!" Jon added. "And if he does, we'll just take him, too!" he told her. "You're not allergic, are you?" he asked, with a concerned expression suddenly. No one had mentioned anything like that to them. "That would be horrible, being allergic to ice cream."

Bea looked mystified. "What's 'lergic?" she asked.

Vicki bit down on a laugh. "I'm pretty sure you're not allergic to anything," she said quickly, letting the little girl slide off her lap at the first sign she wanted to - the space was quickly filled by Ben and Cosmo, anyway. "They would have told us if you were."

"People can be 'lergic to ice cream?" Emily asked with a wide-eyed expression on her face, which denoted her youthful disbelief. "What do they eat instead?" she asked, curiously.

"Oh, I'm sure they have special ice cream for people who are allergic," Jon replied, with a shrug of his shoulder as Chris squirmed away to chase after an ant that was crawling nearby.

"No bugs!" Vicki wasn't even looking at him, and she knew what her youngest son was up to. Maddie, his twin, erupted in giggles, clapping her pudgy hands happily as Vicki smiled at the little group. "If people are allergic to ice cream, it means they're allergic to milk and anything that has milk in it," she explained. "It won't kill them, but it will make them very, very ill."

Emily gasped out loud at the thought of that. "But if they're 'lergic to milk, then they can't have pudding or hot choklit either! That sucks!" she said, obviously having picked that word up from someone that wasn't a parental figure.

"That ....what, Emily?" Vicki asked, raising her brows but not her voice. She and Jon had discovered that pointing out missteps in a calm tone was far more effective with their little brood than making a big fuss.

Bea glanced between them, and hurriedly whispered a correction in Emily's ear.

Emily frowned, realizing her mistake, though she'd heard Fliss and Company use the word often enough without repercussions. She leaned closer to Bea and then nodded her understanding. "Stinks. That stinks, Mama. Can we go play on the swings again?" she asked, quickly changing the subject. It didn't look like lunch was quite ready yet, and she wanted to go ask Bea why "sucks" was a bad word.

"Better," Vicki assured her eldest with a smile, stroking her hair out of her face. "Go on, go and play. We'll yell when it's lunchtime."

"Thanks, Mama!" Emily said, smooching her mother's face before snagging Bea's hand again to drag her new playmate off toward the swings.

"Well, that was interesting," Jon said from beside Vicki, where he was keeping an eye on the terrible twosome that was their twins.

It took a second for Ben to realise the girls had run off without him, but he was quick to follow, and quicker to catch up. Vicki leaned back on her hands, considering the twins for a moment. "No one prompted her to rescue Emily from her own mistake there."

"No, and she managed to figure out how to make them both happy on the swings," he pointed out. "I think she'd be good for them. Here's the thing though ....What about her needs?" he mused aloud, as he turned to watch Ben catch up to the girls. "I mean, she's just a kid herself, you know?"

"I think we need to see where she slots in, to be honest," Vicki said, though she was no expert. "We can make time for her, but maybe introducing her to a friend nearer her own age would help."

"Like who?" Jon asked, doing a mental tally of all the kids at Maple Grove. Most of them were younger than Lyneth, but there were a few who were older. "How old is Daisy?" he asked, unsure of her exact age, though she seemed about nine-ish to him.

"Daisy is about to turn nine," Vicki said thoughtfully. "But nine is closer to ten than thirteen is, which is how old Lila and Zahan are pushing."

"Hm, what about Johnny and Liv's kids" Or Steve and Lucy's" Don't they have a 'tween or two?" he asked. There was a time when the Grove was lacking children, but that had changed drastically in the last few years.

"Well, Daisy's birthday is in just a couple of weeks," Vicki said, still in that thoughtful tone. "Martin's ten, Lianne will be nine in December. I think Alexei's nine, too, and Maria's only a year younger than him. We have a good crop of pre-teens."

"Hmm, so maybe we should set up a play date sometime between Daisy and Bea," Jon suggested. Did they even call them play dates at that age" He wasn't sure. "I doubt they'd mind us taking her for a few hours with the new baby and all."

"Oh, I'm sure they wouldn't mind." Vicki grinned, still remembering the look on Jon's face when she had all but thrown their babies into his lap and peeled out of the big house the moment Elle had called her.

"We should probably pop by and visit anyway," he added, seeing as how he had yet to meet the newest addition to the Granger brood. "I bet Dom is ecstatic," he said with a smile, knowing his cousin well enough to know that much.

Vicki laughed, reaching out to pull Maddie back onto the blanket as the little girl made a bid for freedom onto the grass. "I think he's a little overwhelmed, to be honest," she admitted. "He never expected to have even one more child once he adopted Daisy, and now he has three to love."

"Overwhelmed but happy. I've never seen him so happy," Jon said of his cousin. Of course, he had no memory of their childhood together, but he did know Dom had been sad for a long time before he'd met Elle.

"He's planning on teaching Daisy how to cook, fair warning." Vicki chuckled, rolling Maddie over on the blanket to tickle her tummy briefly just to hear the little girl laugh. "Mind you, that's something else she could bond with Bea over."

Victoria Granger

Date: 2018-08-20 14:30 EST
"That's true," Jon said thoughtfully, a small frown on his face. "You realize the more we have her here, the more attached she's going to become. I don't want to break her heart, Vic," he confessed, though he knew it would take more than one afternoon to decide.

"So maybe we don't have her here too much," she said. "Maybe you and me go to join her for lunch somewhere, maybe we take her and Daisy to the aquarium or something. Little moments - not so much she gets deeply attached, but a taste of what being part of our family will be like."

"Is that for our benefit or for hers?" he asked, though it was probably for both. If they were going to adopt Bea and make her part of their family, they had to be sure everyone, including Bea, would be happy with that notion.

"It takes time," Vicki mused. "And there's a ten-week fostering period, just to make sure it is the right decision, before anyone signs any legal papers."

Jon sighed. "So much red tape," he murmured, though he knew it was for the good of the child. "Did Johnny and Liv have to go through all when they adopted Fliss?" he wondered aloud.

"No, it was fast-tracked for them because of her special circumstances," Vicki reminded him, pushing herself to sit up and open the picnic basket at last. "Fire child and a fire adult who could help her" Definitely fast-tracked."

"Do you think Bea has any ....special abilities?" he asked, looking over at the trio who were currently taking turns going down the slide. He didn't really know much about her background yet, other than the fact that she'd been one of Rhy'Din's street orphans before she'd ended up at the orphanage. As far as they knew, she was human, but even humans sometimes had special traits and abilities that weren't always obvious.

"If she does, they're the kind that only show up when she hits puberty," Vicki shrugged. "And if she's ours and that happens, she'll be in a better place to handle it."

"True," he agreed, though he doubted she possessed abilities anywhere close to those of the Storm and Rogers' kids. "So, I guess we'll see how the rest of the day goes and see if she wants to have another visit," he said. And see if their own kids are interested in her visiting again.

"That's the plan." Vicki tossed him a smile. "Go and wrangle the kiddies, it's food time." As she spoke, she was unpacking the basket - simple picnic food, but in all probability, this was going to be the first simple picnic Bea had ever been on.

"Yes, ma'am," Jon replied, smooching her cheek, just because. He scooped up one twin in each arm before setting off to wrangle the rest of the kids for lunch. They'd come a long way since that first date at the theater some seven years earlier. Saying yes to that first date was without a doubt the best thing Jon had ever done.