Happiness is…
TM # 177 - Who has made you smile recently?
“Oh my gosh! Daddy! You gotta see my room!” Valeria said as she grabbed her father’s arm and began to run down the hall. She soon realized that her father was at the other end of the room, panting, and his arm was the only thing that had followed her.
“DADDY! HURRY UP!”
Reed was tired. He had been chasing his daughter through the Baxter all morning, and at this point all he wanted to do was sit down and relax. Maybe play a board game? Good lord, how did his little girl wind up with all this energy? She was almost worse than Franklin was at this age, which said a lot. Weren’t girls genetically coded to be calmer than boys? He’d have to research that.
“DADDY!” her scream interrupted his train of thought, and he once again realized he needed to find his way over there. Maybe if he stretched the other arm to Val and then held onto her door, he could bounce himself over there. Of course, he could end up breaking the door in the process. Not that a broken door couldn’t be fixed, he just didn’t want to deal with that kind of pain. Or his daughter’s tears. He had a feeling she wouldn’t respond well to that sort of thing…
“DADDY! COME ON!” There was something eerily familiar with that tone of voice. No. There was no way she could ever have learned…
The little girl’s hands moved to her hips, and she shot her father a glare. “OH MY GOSH! HURRY UP!!”
Then it hit him. Valeria was just like her mother. The tone, the mannerisms, she must have learned all of that from Susan. “Relax Reed, at least she’s not taking after Johnny.” he told himself. After all, of all potential female role models, Susan was a very good choice. Even if she did run off and join a secret sect of renegade superheroes.
Frustrated, the little girl had run back. “Do I totally have to drag you?”
“Valeria,” he started, in hopes that she would agree “Daddy’s tired, can I have a brief intermission?”
“Nuh uh! Last place! Ok? ‘Sides, I totally don’t know what you just said! Come on!” and with that, she grabbed both arms and dragged him to her room. “Geez Daddy, you’re heavy!”
Well, at least this time she was keeping a pace that Reed could follow. He walked along with her, arms trailing several feet in front of him. There was no doubt about it, she was her mother’s daughter.
When Reed finally reached her room, Val’s smile was wider than he’d ever seen.
“See Daddy?! This is my room! See it’s pink! An’ full of ponies, an’ bunnies! New Mommy helped me get it all pretty! Isn’t it neat?”
Reed couldn’t help but smile. It was different than the one he remembered. It was bigger, and more personalized than before. Just by doing a quick scan, it had been easy to see where the girl’s interests lie. There were definitely lots of toys, stuffed animals, and many pictures of rabbits scattered across the walls. And over by her bed…
Reed stretched into the room, just to make sure he really saw what he thought he did. Sure enough, the device really was on her nightstand. Was this a sign that she really did have an interest in his beloved science?
“Val, did you take the Galvanometer out of my lab?”
“Galvathinie? What‘s that?”
Reed picked up the machine and stretched back to his daughter. “This.”
“Umm… yeah, but it was cool, an’ I liked it, an’ you totally weren’t using it, ‘cause like you weren’t here, and I totally missed you, an’ like Science makes peoples safe, an’ it’s neat, so that thingie keeps me safe. An’ an‘… I’m sorry Daddy.”
“Val, I wasn’t accusing you of any wrongdoings. I just wanted to be sure.” Eureka! She did! His smile had grown, more so than most people would ever actually believe. “You can keep it. Just next time, remember to ask first. This might have been very important when it came to an experiment.”
“YAY!” she exclaimed “OOOH! Can we go play in your lab?”
This was one of the best days Reed had had in a very long time. “Of course! I’ll show you a few experiments of mine, and maybe we can start one together?”
“OH MY GOSH! You’re the bestest Daddy ever!” she said as she hugged his legs.
He bent down and gave her a proper hug. He certainly didn’t believe he deserved that title right now, but maybe one day he would. “And you Valeria, are a wonderful daughter. I never dreamed I would be so lucky to have one as special and astonishing as you are.”
Valeria gave him a giant squeeze before letting go. “Last one to your lab’s a rotten egg!” she screamed. And in a flash, she was running down the halls yet again. Before she turned the corner, she screamed “COME ON DADDY! DON’T BE SMELLY LIKE UNCLE NAMOR!” . Of course, hearing his daughter refer to Namor as smelly, made him laugh. The rest of the day was nothing short of fantastic.
Muse: Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic
Fandom: Fantastic Four (Marvel Comics)
Words: 870
“Oh my gosh! Daddy! You gotta see my room!” Valeria said as she grabbed her father’s arm and began to run down the hall. She soon realized that her father was at the other end of the room, panting, and his arm was the only thing that had followed her.
“DADDY! HURRY UP!”
Reed was tired. He had been chasing his daughter through the Baxter all morning, and at this point all he wanted to do was sit down and relax. Maybe play a board game? Good lord, how did his little girl wind up with all this energy? She was almost worse than Franklin was at this age, which said a lot. Weren’t girls genetically coded to be calmer than boys? He’d have to research that.
“DADDY!” her scream interrupted his train of thought, and he once again realized he needed to find his way over there. Maybe if he stretched the other arm to Val and then held onto her door, he could bounce himself over there. Of course, he could end up breaking the door in the process. Not that a broken door couldn’t be fixed, he just didn’t want to deal with that kind of pain. Or his daughter’s tears. He had a feeling she wouldn’t respond well to that sort of thing…
“DADDY! COME ON!” There was something eerily familiar with that tone of voice. No. There was no way she could ever have learned…
The little girl’s hands moved to her hips, and she shot her father a glare. “OH MY GOSH! HURRY UP!!”
Then it hit him. Valeria was just like her mother. The tone, the mannerisms, she must have learned all of that from Susan. “Relax Reed, at least she’s not taking after Johnny.” he told himself. After all, of all potential female role models, Susan was a very good choice. Even if she did run off and join a secret sect of renegade superheroes.
Frustrated, the little girl had run back. “Do I totally have to drag you?”
“Valeria,” he started, in hopes that she would agree “Daddy’s tired, can I have a brief intermission?”
“Nuh uh! Last place! Ok? ‘Sides, I totally don’t know what you just said! Come on!” and with that, she grabbed both arms and dragged him to her room. “Geez Daddy, you’re heavy!”
Well, at least this time she was keeping a pace that Reed could follow. He walked along with her, arms trailing several feet in front of him. There was no doubt about it, she was her mother’s daughter.
When Reed finally reached her room, Val’s smile was wider than he’d ever seen.
“See Daddy?! This is my room! See it’s pink! An’ full of ponies, an’ bunnies! New Mommy helped me get it all pretty! Isn’t it neat?”
Reed couldn’t help but smile. It was different than the one he remembered. It was bigger, and more personalized than before. Just by doing a quick scan, it had been easy to see where the girl’s interests lie. There were definitely lots of toys, stuffed animals, and many pictures of rabbits scattered across the walls. And over by her bed…
Reed stretched into the room, just to make sure he really saw what he thought he did. Sure enough, the device really was on her nightstand. Was this a sign that she really did have an interest in his beloved science?
“Val, did you take the Galvanometer out of my lab?”
“Galvathinie? What‘s that?”
Reed picked up the machine and stretched back to his daughter. “This.”
“Umm… yeah, but it was cool, an’ I liked it, an’ you totally weren’t using it, ‘cause like you weren’t here, and I totally missed you, an’ like Science makes peoples safe, an’ it’s neat, so that thingie keeps me safe. An’ an‘… I’m sorry Daddy.”
“Val, I wasn’t accusing you of any wrongdoings. I just wanted to be sure.” Eureka! She did! His smile had grown, more so than most people would ever actually believe. “You can keep it. Just next time, remember to ask first. This might have been very important when it came to an experiment.”
“YAY!” she exclaimed “OOOH! Can we go play in your lab?”
This was one of the best days Reed had had in a very long time. “Of course! I’ll show you a few experiments of mine, and maybe we can start one together?”
“OH MY GOSH! You’re the bestest Daddy ever!” she said as she hugged his legs.
He bent down and gave her a proper hug. He certainly didn’t believe he deserved that title right now, but maybe one day he would. “And you Valeria, are a wonderful daughter. I never dreamed I would be so lucky to have one as special and astonishing as you are.”
Valeria gave him a giant squeeze before letting go. “Last one to your lab’s a rotten egg!” she screamed. And in a flash, she was running down the halls yet again. Before she turned the corner, she screamed “COME ON DADDY! DON’T BE SMELLY LIKE UNCLE NAMOR!” . Of course, hearing his daughter refer to Namor as smelly, made him laugh. The rest of the day was nothing short of fantastic.
Muse: Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic
Fandom: Fantastic Four (Marvel Comics)
Words: 870