( closed ) I'm painting my room in the colourful way

[winscenario]

who: Jim Kirk & Lucy Mills
what: babysitting adventures, part one
when: now-ish
where: Victor and Lucy's place
warnings: none expected!


[ Since Victor had told him that Lucy had suggested Jim could look after her sometimes when the doctor was working, he had sort of been waiting to be asked, sooner or later. Victor would eventually get an incompatible shift and Jim figured that, while he would have a lot of options, like Jefferson for instance, at some point he'd ask Jim to step in and stay with Lucy for the night.

He just thought it would come with a little more warning, more time to prepare himself. Instead he got a sudden call from the doctor, asking Jim if he could come over right away. One of the doctors at the hospital had had an emergency and couldn't make it to their night shift, and Victor, being the on-call doctor, had been asked to come in and cover for them.

Still, despite it coming as a surprise, Jim didn't hesitate a single moment. He got ready and made his way to Victor's place as quickly as possible, so he could get to the hospital immediately. It didn't leave much room for greetings and goodbyes, and they only shared a quick kiss before Victor was rushing out the door.

He watched the door close behind Victor, then he made his way to the living room, where Lucy was sitting on the couch. He didn't know how she felt about all this, the suddenness of it anyway, so he tried to tread carefully at first. ]

So... have you had dinner yet?

[ If not... well, delivery food was happening because Jim couldn't cook worth a damn. ]

Comments

[winscenario]

[ She was a kid, but she wasn't stupid. Actually, if anything, she seemed to know and understand a lot more than most kids her age. Reminded him of himself a little, actually. He was just a lot less well-behaved and a lot more... ticking time bomb. But anyway. ]

Well, it's the truth. I'm not just saying that.

[ He also would never tell her it wasn't any of her business. All things considered, it sort of was, wasn't it? She was an intrinsic part of Victor's life now. Granted, there were questions he wouldn't answer, but then he doubted an eight-year-old would ask them anyway.

He looked up when someone rang the bell, and promptly got to his feet. He stopped and gestured to the coffee table. ]

Oh. Let's just... sit on the floor and eat there, how's that? We can turn on the TV while we're eating. Anyway— I'll be right back.

[ With that he went off to accept their order, paying the delivery guy and coming back to the living room with the pizza box, a smaller bag with a dose of garlic bread, and their drinks. He set it all down on the coffee table, then sat down on the floor crosslegged. ]

[thestoriesarereal]

[There was a nod of her head. The 'truth' could be up for interpretation. one person's truth may not be the same for another, but Lucy is placing faith and trust in Jim. He wanted to be with Victor, and Victor wanted to be with him. Lucy wasn't going to stand in the way of that.

Besides...Jim was growing on her. Not like a weed, but more like...a nice plant--like an orchid.]

I believe you.

[She watched him get up to go to the door and came back with their food. The coffee table was fine!]

This works. Did they include napkins and paper plates? [Because if not, she knew where to find them...and actually, she'll grab a few extra napkins. No point in creating a mess if they could prevent it. The smell of garlic bread and pizza tickled her nose, so she was quick to go to the kitchen and came back with a handful of extra napkins.

She sat down next to Jim, eating her pizza and turned on the television.]

There really isn't much on, but I'm good with anything. If there's a documentary, I'll watch that with Papa.

[winscenario]

[ Kinda hard to fudge the truth when it came to a direct question like that, though. Jim would either mean it, or be making it up, and honestly, he couldn't see the upside to lying to Victor about his intentions. He certainly wouldn't be bothering to try and get close to Lucy if all he wanted from Victor was a fun time with no strings attached. ]

Both, yes. [ Settling in comfortably, he opened the wrapper with the garlic bread, handing one of the pieces over to her on a napkin and a paper plate. ]

Pick whatever you want. You can choose a movie too, if you prefer. Mm... [ He hummed around a bite of bread, nodding slowly. ] This is really good.

[thestoriesarereal]

[Lucy took the garlic bread on the paper plate. The scent of it tickled her nose and her stomach rumbled again. She blew on the hot piece of bread before biting into it and immediately wanted another piece.]

This is amazing. Good call on adding it.

[She would've thought pizza was fine on its own, but this garlic bread! Maybe they could try to make it...her and Jim. Something else for them to do together. A little bit more bonding time. The food was there and now they needed something to watch.]

Okay, uh...let's see here... [She reached for the remote, careful of the garlic bread on her plate and started to flip through one menu after another. There were animated movies and other kids things, but she didn't want to put Jim through that. There was one movie that caught her eye.]

How's this? It's the making of Mary Poppins.

[A docu-drama, but it looked interesting!]

We need to get Papa to watch it, he make question the dancing penguins, but it's a great movie.

[winscenario]

[ Jim smiled, tipping his head down a little. ] Thanks. Didn't feel right without some garlic bread.

[ The pizza smelled great, though, that was a little distracting. He ate his portion of the bread quickly, pouring himself some juice and taking a sip while he waited for her to finish too. ]

Oh— funny coincidence. Sure, that works for me.

[ He handed her some napkins so she could wipe her hands once she finished her bread, then he opened the pizza box. The scent of the melted cheese and the toppings wafted up in the air and Jim let out a happy little hum, reaching for the packets of red pepper and parmesan that had been sent along with their order. ]

Alright, choose your slice. [ Once she did, he opened the crushed red pepper and sprinkled just a hint on top of the slice. Going back to her remark, he added— ] Victor's a scientist. They like questioning stuff all the time. I know a lot of scientists so I know what that's like.

[thestoriesarereal]

No, it wouldn't have. The same with spaghetti, those are the two times where garlic bread is mandatory.

[Because it goes well together, especially with pasta sauce and fresh meatballs. Maybe that was something the three of them could make together: an Italian dinner complete with home made sauce, garlic bread, and meatballs. It's an idea that Lucy could pitch to Victor later...after seeing how tonight went.]

Great! If I can't read the books, then this will do.

[For now anyway. Lucy gave a 'thank you' for the napkins, quickly wiping down her hands and pausing when the scent of melted cheese and pizza filled her nose. Oh yes, that smelled delicious and looking at the pie, it was going to be a glorious pizza. She picked a medium slice, making sure the slice, the cheese and fallen toppings made it to her plate.]

It's in their nature to question things, it's why they got into science to begin with. Science or math, or other things. [Because being a scientist could mean they covered a wide variety of things and not just...science.

The movie starts to play and within half an hour of it Lucy already is getting teary eyed over the author's dad. She misses her own, but she has her Papa...that's more than what a lot of kids have.]

...I get the feeling something bad will happen to him. [The dad that is.]

[winscenario]

Or any good pasta. Italian goes great with garlic bread.

[ To be fair, Jim was a bit biased. Garlic bread was delicious. Add cheese to it... he honestly wouldn't mind eating just that for a meal. A rather poor meal, granted, but anyway. He liked indulging sometimes, no harm done to anyone. ]

I'll try to find the books for you, anyway.

[ She liked books, and frankly so did Jim. A lot, actually. There was a magic and charm to them that often couldn't be translated into film. ]

I'm not going to spoil you.

[ But he wouldn't lie either, because her feeling was right. Nothing good was going to happen involving the man, so he fell quiet instead, reaching for another slice himself, sprinkling it with parmesan rather than pepper. ]

[thestoriesarereal]

That is true, and sometimes you just wanna have garlic bread on its own. Especially when it's all warm and toasty.

[Because then, it's heaven. The bread and butter melt in your mouth, and the garlic tastes so good.]

We could try to find them in the library. I wouldn't mind.

[Something else for them to do together, another activity for them to do and spend more time together. It was happening organically. Nothing felt forced, and Lucy wanted to find those books to read more about Mary Poppins.]

Mmm...[Lucy fell quiet, no longer into her pizza, more captured by the film. Watching how Mrs. Travers grew up, how her childhood influenced her stories. When the scenes shifted to the father figure, Lucy found herself missing her dad more and when the father actually passed, she grabbed a napkin to dry her eyes a little. She wished she had Victor with him, missing him a lot too.

Abruptly, she got up from her seat.]

Don't pause it!

[She called out over her shoulder as she ran to her room to grab her stuffed toy, a dog that's a doctor and named Dr. Whale. A present that Victor got her, one she hugs and falls asleep to when she misses him. She came back into the living room with him and sat down next to Jim to keep watching.]

[winscenario]

Yeah, let's look for them together sometime.

[ Actually he would much rather actually buy them and gift them to her, so he'd try a few bookstores first and see if he got lucky. He definitely wouldn't mind making a day out of it, maybe go out for cake somewhere, and then surprise her by actually buying her the books if and when they found them at a shop.

He glanced a little at her out of the corner of his eye but said nothing to her reaching for the napkin. Before he could think about offering some comfort, though, she got up out of the blue and sprinted towards her room, coming back a moment later hugging her plush toy. Finishing his slice, he tipped his head curiously at her. ]

Who's that you got there?

[thestoriesarereal]

Yeah, we can.

[Something for both of them to do, and if Jim ever gave her books as a present, she would cherish them. If she had her father's book, she would hold it close to her, go to bed with it and dream of the family she missed so much. But, she was just as happy to go looking for the books in the library. There wasn't much she needed to be happy.

As for her friend...]

Dr. Whale. Papa gave it to me to hug whenever I miss him... [There was a slight pause.]..It's childish but...it helps.

[Yes, an 8 year old recognizing when she was being childish, but she was mature for her age. She went through a lot that most kids didn't. Watching the scenes of Traver's father dying, it made her miss her fathers--Henry and Victor. Death wasn't something a child should think about, but it was an inevitability. It would happen one day, even if she didn't want it to. So she hugged her stuffed toy through the rest of the movie.

She snuck in another slice of pizza, but by the time the movie was over it was time for bed and a story. In her arms was her dog stuffed toy, climbing into Jim's lap as he read her the story on the couch. Eventually, Lucy fell asleep, holding onto her stuffed toy and to Jim as well. If he moved, or tried to pull her away, she would only hold onto him tighter, afraid of letting him go.]

[winscenario]

Well, you're a kid. I think you're allowed to be childish.

[ Even adults should be, sometimes. Jim doesn't really have a toy plush, but in all honesty, if Victor got him one... yeah, he'd definitely keep it forever. Childish or not. ]

Alright, you finish your pizza, [ He tipped his head as he wiped his mouth, then got to his feet. ] And I'll go grab us that pie for dessert. Be right back.

[ With that he wanders off towards the kitchen so he can get the pie. Yummy, and the perfect way to wrap up their dinner. ]