Julie
"Okay, now you two be good for Auntie Jessi," Julie said to the twins. "She's going to look after you for while mommy goes out."
Both of them were decidedly more interested in playing with their toys.
"Okay, that was productive," Julie shook her head.
Today Julie was going to pick up the computer she had ordered that was going to ber her webserver. The computer game she had been working on was almost done, and she was rather excited about it all.
Jessica
Jess grinned at her niece and nephew. Well, at least there was one benefit to Zac being such a horndog: she got lots of nieces and nephews. She thought over her course of action. It wasn't quite time for food yet, so she plopped down on the floor and started playing with Tom's blocks, stacking them and knocking them down.
Julie
"I hope they won't be any trouble," Julie said. "Well, see you later."
And Julie departed.
Meanwhilst Tom decided to follow Jessica's example and knock some blocks down too. Including the blocks that B'Elanna was happily stacking.
B'Elanna stared wide-eyed at the blocks as they fell down. Her bottom lip quivered. But, but, but she was playing!
Jessica
"Tom, that wasn't very nice. You leave B'E's blocks alone. Here B'E, we can put it back together." Jessi helped Be' to reconstruct her tower.
B'Elanna and Tom
B'Elanna was all smiles again and put another block on the stack. Tom immediately pushed it down again and giggled. B'Elanna whimpered and put another block on. And Tom knocked that one down too, gleefully. B'Elanna's eyes welled up with tears.
Jessica
"Tom, you're going to get a time out," Jess warned him, and then had an idea. SHe used her atom manipulation to lift B'E's tower up and spin it around, doing a little block-dance in the air.
B'Elanna and Tom
B'Elanna waved her arms up in their air, then looked at Jessica.
"Up," she said.
Tom meanwhilst, was feeling a little put out that he couldn't knock down the block, and so plonked down on the floor and started stacking some more to knock down.
Jessica
Jessi scooped up her niece and help her face to block with the spinning block-mobile.
"Danna dance?" Jessi asked, and spun around slowly with B'E on her hip. one of her brothers' songs popped into her head.
"Feels just like we're dancin' in the wind, feeling just alright, when we're dancing in the wind, we can dance all night, we can dance all night," Jessi sang softly, bouncing B'E lightly.
B'Elanna and Tom
B'Elanna smiled broadly.
Tom completely ignored them and knocked down his stack of blocks. He giggled.
Jessica
Jessi remembered Isabel's favourite trick, and pulled a Hanson cd out of her bag. She held it to B'E's ear and using her atom manipulation, she made the music appear.
"Do you know who sings this?" she asked her niece as 'Lucy' played.
B'Elanna and Tom
B'Elanna stared wide-eyed at the CD.
Tom stood, now bored with blocks, and toddled over to the toy box awkwardly. He fell down a couple of times, but soon got up again.
Jessica
"That's your Daddy singing," Jessi said, grinning. "Okay Tommy-Tom, B'Elanna-Banana. Supper time!"
B'Elanna and Tom
Tom pulled out the first toy he could get his little fingers around. He squeezed it and it squeaked.
B'Elanna reached out and grabbed Jessica's hair.
Jessica
"Ow," Jessi yelped. "Okay. Food time." She reached down and scooped Tom up, holding one twin on each hip. "What sxhould we have for tea?" she asked in a posh British accent.
B'Elanna and Tom
Tom wriggled around, trying to get out of his Auntie's hold. B'Elanna tugged at her hair.
"Down!" Tom said.
Jessica
"Nope." Jessi said as they walked into the kitchen She placed Tom in a highchair and strapped him in. "Now you can be down," she said. She placed B'E in a highchair as well. "Hmm, what shall we eat today?" she said, perusing the shelves.
B'Elanna and Tom
Tom wriggled in his high chair and tried to slip out of it. B'Elanna gurgled happily.
Jessica
Jess grinned and turned on the stove, deciding to scramble some eggs. Good source of protein, and a good finger food for toddlers.
"Stay still, Tommy-tom. Isn't your Tommy-Tummy getting rumbly?"
B'Elanna and Tom
Tom continued trying to get out of his high chair and started crying in anguish. B'Elanna looked at her twin, wondering if she should join in crying too.
Jessica
Jessi took a deep breath and used her atom manipulation to float some spoons in front of the twins, trying to keep them occupied while she made them their supper. "This feels like a scene from the Matrix," she said out loud to herself. "Just remember, there is no spoon."
B'Elanna and Tom
B'Elanna finally decided that if Tom was crying than she should too.
And naturally, B'Elanna's sobs inticed Tom to start crying even more.
Jessica
Jessi hurried to get the eggs fried up, and then placed a small plate of scrambled eggs on each high chair table, grabbing a couple of scoops for herself.
"Here you go, isn't that better? Let me get your cups." SHe poured some apple juice into two sippy-cups, and placed those on the trays as well.
"Tea is served," she declared to her niece and nephew.
B'Elanna and Tom
B'Elanna sniffed and reached out for the juice.
Tom stubbornly refused to pay any attention and continued to try and wriggle his way underneath the tray and out of the high chair.
Jessica
Jessi took a sigh of frustration "Please eat, you too. Look, they're really yummy! She tilted her head back and dropped agg into her mouth.
B'Elanna and Tom
Tom paid her no attention. Just a little further and he would be free!
B'Elanna reached over and curled her fingers around a piece of egg.
Jessica
Jessi grabbed Tom's shoulders and lifted him back up so that he was sitting upright, and double checked the seat buckle, making sure it went securly between his legs and over his shoulders.
"Oh no you don't, Tommy-Tom. Not on my watch."
B'Elanna and Tom
Tom make some noise that must be the not-quite-one-year-old equivalent of "I don't wanna be here anymore! I wanna play more games! Let me go you big bully!"
B'Elanna attempted to put the egg in her mouth, missed completely and ending up dropping the egg. She stared down at it.
Jessica
"Do you need some help, or can you feed yourselves?" Jessi asked the twins, trying not to laugh at the expression on B'E's face.
Tom and B'Elanna
B'Elanna stared at the egg a little longer, then looked over at Jessica.
Tom promptly knocked over his glass of juice.
Jessica
Jessi bent down and picked up the cup, setting it back on Tom's tray. She speared a piece of egg off B'E's plate with a fork.
"ALl right, here comes the airplane into the hangar. Open wide," she made little circles with the egg before pushing it toward's B'E's mouth.
B'Elanna and Tom
B'Elanna giggled and opened her mouth.
Tom, however, was still utterly determined not to be there, and in a fit of baby frustration, went into stealth mode.
Jessica
Jessi looked over at Tom, and did a double take.
"Tommy? Where are you?" n SHe looked around, panicked, and set down the fork after B'E took her bite. "Tom? Tom? WHERE ARE YOU?" SHe looked around the kitchen, terrified, and then paused for a moment, silently trying to think. She placed a hand above where Tom had been, and felt the top of his head.
"Don't do that, Tommy. You gave me a heart attack!" She had to laugh at herself. "Come on, Tommy, eat your supper, Then we can go play."
B'Elanna and Tom
B'Elanna gave Jessica a pathetic look as if to say "What about me? I'm still hungry and want you to feed me!" and made a little noise to go with it.
Meanwhilst Tom's sheer stubborness in not eating and wanted to get down and play was so strong... that his atom manipulation kicked in and he somehow managed to fall out of the high chair slowly enough to get him to the floor unharmed. As he was still in stealth mode, it was easy for him to crawl out of the room and back towards his toys.
Jessica
Jessica fed her niece, giving her the eggs bite by bite before she looked over to Tom again. She still couldn't see him SHe reached out to feel him, and couldn't find him. She thought about where he might have gone. She took B'E out of her high chair and rested her niece on her hip, and set out looking for Tom. SHe thought she heard him about halfway down the hall.
"Tommy? Tom? Is that you?" She felt down around for him, and scooped him up. It was funny to see her holding a child who could barely be seen. "All right. Let's play. Obviously you're not hungry. But we can go play now." She carried them back to where the toys were, and set them down on the floor, making sure to close the door to avoid any more escapes.
B'Elanna and Tom
Now happy, Tom went out of Stealth mode and started playing with his toys. B'Elanna yawned and rested her head on Jessica's shoulder.
Jessica
"I think somebody needs a nap," Jessi declared. She changed B'E into her nightgown and set her in her crib. "Sleepy time for a sleepy girl. ANd how about you, Tommy, are you sleepy yet?"
B'Elanna and Tom
B'Elanna yawned again, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Tom decided that now he was feeling hungry, and promptly started wailing about his empty tummy.
Jessica
Jess carried Tom back down to the kitchen and sat him back in his high chair, buckling the buckles. The eggs were now cold, but still good finger food for toddlers.
"Come on, open the hanger for the plane to get in," Jessi said, twirling the fork around in little circles.
Tom
Tom solomnly opened his mouth for the eggs to come in.
Jessica
Jess slowly fed her nephew until the eggs were all gone, and then washed up.
"I can't wait to tell your Mommy that you used your atom manipulation today," she said, kissing his forehead as she picked him up to make the long walk from the kitchen to Julie's room. . . again.
Tom
Tom yawned and started falling asleep on the way back to his crib.
Jessica
Jessi laid Tom in his crib and watched her niece and nephew sleeping. They were just so beautiful. She couldn't believe that her dorky brother had anything to do with creating these perfect creatures-- even if Tom did happen to be a touch of a trouble-maker.
"You're just like your Daddy, aren't you?" Jessi said, grinning at him, as she watched them enter REM sleep. She sat in the rocking chair, lightly plucking the strings of an acoustic guitar as she watched them sleep, waiting for Julie to get back.
Julie
Julie opened up the door and stepped inside. She had the computer equipment dropped off at the apartment she was going to be moving into with Bobby later.
"Hey, I'm back," she said, smiling at Jessica. "How were they?"
Jessica
"Tom decided to be stealthy and give me a couple heart attacks. Oh! ANd he used his atom manipulation today. B'E was a perfect angel, though." She told her friend.
Julie
"He used his atom manipulation?" Julie asked, wide-eyed. "Wow! Dude that's so co- oh drat... now they have more ways of getting up to mischeif. I blame Zac. Why'd he have to insist on being an alien?"
She grinned cheekily.
"I should create a Zac-monster in my game. And he can - ooh now I'm inspired... but no... maybe I'll make it a furture update... Hmm..."
Jessica
Jess giggled. "It's not like we CHOSE to be aliens. Mom & Dad never actually consulted us. But anyways, I had him all strapped into his high chair, and he really didn't want to be there, so he weant into Stealth mode, and he wanted to get out so badly that he just slipped right through the chair."
Julie
"Slipped right through the chair? The high chair?" Julie asked wide eyed. "He wasn't hurt was he?"
Julie trotted over and peered anxiously into his crib.
Jessica
"Nope. When aliens do that, we slow down the rate of falling, so it's as if he floated down to the floor." Jess answered, reassuring the nervous mother.
Julie
"Oh good," Julie replied, relieved.
She looked up from Tom and back to Jessica.
"So all was good then?"
Jessica
"All is good," Jessi said, bidding her farewells.