Fic: Family Time
Title: Family Time
Author: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Beta: Lindsay (rowofstars)
Rating: G
Genre: Family, Fluff, Romance
Word Count: 2,517
Characters/Pairings: Kari, Angela, Nathaniel, Haley, Chris (Kari/Chris)
A/N: Some Tyler family fluff this week.
"Hello, sweetheart," Angela says, smiling when Kari opens the door.
"Hi," Kari says, giving her mother-in-law a quick hug when she steps inside. "I know it's early, but thank you so much for coming."
"I'm glad you called," Angela replies, shrugging off her coat and laying it and her purse on the couch.
Kari smiles as they walk into the kitchen. "I kind of thought I could handle it on my own at first, and that I would call you if I was having trouble or something, but then I realized pretty quickly that it was really going to be just me and the babies all day while Chris was at work, and I'd probably be a wreck by the time he got home, so I figured I'd better call you."
"Well, I'm glad you did," Angela says again. "I don't have much to do most of the time, so spending the day with my daughter-in-law and grandbabies sounds pretty perfect to me."
The twins are buckled into sleepers in the kitchen, and Angela smiles when she sees them.
"They've gotten so big. It's been so long since Chris was a baby; I almost forgot how fast they grow."
"Isn't it crazy? And it's only been two weeks. I'm so used to seeing little newborns at the hospital, so watching these two grow is a little weird sometimes."
Kari bends to check on each baby, smiling as she looks at them, and then straightens to look at Angela.
"I fed them before Chris left for work, so they should be okay for a little while, but I wanted to wait until you got here before I ate. Do you want anything?"
Angela starts to offer to make Kari breakfast, but then figures that Kari may just want to have a small break from the babies, even if it's just the time it takes to make and eat breakfast.
"No, thank you, honey, I ate before I left the house. I'd love some coffee, though, if it's no trouble."
"Not at all," Kari says, moving to pour Angela a cup before she busies herself with making something to eat.
"So, how many differences have you noticed between them?" Angela asks, her eyes going back and forth between the twins.
"Besides the obvious?" Kari replies with a grin. "Nate's definitely quieter. He absolutely loves when Chris like, bundles him up in his arms and holds him against his chest. It's like... Nate likes to be snuggled, he likes to be inward, while Haley is more... open. She wants to look out at the world, while Nate just wants to be held. Nate's easier to get to sleep, too, while it's kind of like Haley just wants to have a few more minutes of one-on-one time with Chris or me."
Kari pauses a moment, focusing on making her food, and then the corner of her mouth rises.
"You can see that twin bond, though. They're reactive to each other - if one starts crying, so does the other, even if there's nothing wrong with the other. They hate being separated more than a few feet, more than the distance between their cribs, basically, and they both get cranky and fussy if they're in different rooms, but when we bring them back together, they calm right down. That's why I love those sleeper bassinet things they're in right now, I can have them with me wherever I am, and I can put them right next to each other."
Angela smiles. "When Chris was a baby, I had one of those basket things I could carry him around the house in. Bassinets were too expensive, and the basket was perfect."
Kari smiles too as she carries her plate over to the table. "What was Chris like as a baby?"
"A lot like Nate, I think. He wasn't usually too fussy, and was easy to get to sleep, but he was like Haley too, in that he liked to face the world and see what was going on."
"Not much has changed then," Kari replies, grinning as Angela laughs.
Over the course of the day, Angela helps Kari get used to taking care of the babies on her own, always ready to help, but only stepping in if Kari can't handle it herself.
"I definitely see more of Chris in Nate," Angela says when they're holding the babies after lunch, Nathaniel in her arms while Kari holds Haley. "And Haley looks like you. But Nate has your eyes, and I think Haley is going to end up with Chris's."
"Yeah, that's what Chris and I think too."
Angela looks at Nathaniel a moment longer, and then looks over at Kari, smiling at the pure love on her face.
"So, how do you like motherhood so far?"
"I love it," Kari replies sincerely. "Like, at the end of every day, I'm so exhausted, and the whole waking up every few hours is definitely not fun, but then I look at them, and I just fall in love all over again."
"And Chris?"
"Oh, he's the same way. He adores them. He's so cute with them, he loves holding them, and talking to them. He doesn't even mind changing them. He hated having to go back to work today; I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I've already texted him pictures like, three times so far." Angela laughs, and Kari grins. "The only thing he can't do yet is feed them, but I know he wants to, and hopefully soon we can start working on transitioning them to bottles."
"I always knew he'd be a good father," Angela murmurs. "He's always wanted to be a father, and a husband too. He's always loved being in relationships - he had his first real girlfriend when he was 15 - and he hates being alone. And the older he got, I could see that it was starting to affect him, that he hadn't settled down yet, that he hadn't found anybody to settle down with. I thought maybe his ex-girlfriend Claudia, he was head over heels for her, but then that ended, and he didn't date anybody for a long time, and then he met you, and the way he talked about you... he just lit up. I had never seen him like that with any of the other girls he dated. And I think I knew you were the one even before he did. And now you're married, and you have these beautiful babies, and it makes me really happy to see him so happy, and I want to thank you for giving him that. And I think I can safely say that he's done that for you as well?"
"He has," Kari replies. "Chris and I definitely... clicked right off, and everything moved so quickly between us, but it never felt rushed or awkward. It just felt right. Like we were getting to where we were supposed to be, but we started a bit late, so we were trying to catch up. Like using one of those moving walkways at the airport instead of just walking. And then when he asked me to marry him, it was like we had finally caught up. Like, standing on the beach in Carmel was exactly where we were meant to be on June 30, 2015. And he pulled out that ring, and it was the most perfect moment."
Angela sniffles, and shakes her head. "Hearing you talk about him like that just warms my heart. You've made my baby so happy, and you're so good for him, and he deserves you so much, and you deserve him, and Kari, honey, I just love you."
Kari laughs softly as Angela leans over to kiss the side of her head. "I love you too, Angela. I really lucked out in the mother-in-law department."
"That you did," Angela replies, and they both laugh.
When Chris gets home a few hours later, Kari's dozing on the couch, the twins in their sleepers right in front of her, and he can hear his mother in the kitchen.
Kari wakes up as he shuts the door, and looks up at him with sleepy eyes, making him smile.
"Hey, baby," he says, shrugging off his suit jacket as he steps around the couch to sit down beside her. "How was today?"
"Not bad with your mom here. She offered to make dinner, and I was so tired that I didn't put up much of a fight."
Chris grins, and then turns his attention to the twins. They're both awake, and Kari smiles as she looks at them too.
"They're more alert now that you're home. I think hearing our voices together woke them up a bit."
Chris grins again and leans forward to kiss Haley's forehead, and then Nathaniel's, murmuring, "Hello, my sweet girl," and "Hello, my sweet boy," to each of them.
"Daddy missed you," he adds, reaching into the bassinets to touch their little hands.
Kari smiles, rubbing her hand along his arm. "Go get changed, and then you'll have all night to spend with them."
Chris nods, and then looks over at Kari, lifting his hand to her hair as he kisses her softly.
"I missed you too."
She smiles again as she kisses him once more, and then gives him a gentle shove off the couch towards the bedroom.
When he emerges from the bedroom, the living room is empty, and he heads into the kitchen, where Kari is at the table, talking to Angela as she makes dinner.
"Hey, Mom," Chris says, moving to kiss her cheek before he snags a soda from the refrigerator.
"Nate's a little fussy," Kari says. "I think he might want a Daddy snuggle."
Chris smiles, and settles in the chair next to Kari, tugging Nathaniel's sleeper closer so he can lift him out.
"Hey, little man," he whispers, sitting back in his chair and holding Nathaniel against his chest. Chris's right arm curls under Nathaniel's bottom, holding him up, while his left hand rests gently on the back of Nathaniel's head, thumb lightly stroking his dark hair. "I missed turtle hugs too."
"Turtle hugs?" Kari echoes, amused.
"Yeah, I was thinking about it today, his little body like, scrunches up when I do this, and it's like he's a turtle retreating into his shell."
Kari laughs as she nods. "Makes sense."
"Kari, honey, grab my phone," Angela says from in front of the stove. "I want a picture of that."
Kari laughs again as she stands to retrieve Angela's phone from her purse, and snaps a couple of pictures of Chris and Nathaniel.
A couple of minutes later, Kari stands again to help Angela pour what she's cooking into a casserole dish.
"What're you making, Mom?" Chris asks, frowning curiously.
"That chicken and broccoli and rice casserole you like."
"Oh, man," Chris murmurs. "I'm coming home to the best things today. Just wait until you guys are older," he says, looking first at Nathaniel, and then Haley. "You're gonna love your grandma's cooking."
Kari's looking at him with raised eyebrows when he looks up, and he gives her a look.
"And they're gonna love their mommy's cooking too. You're both great cooks, okay, heaven to me is a table loaded down with both of your cooking."
Kari snorts as Angela grins, and almost as if on cue, Haley starts to cry, followed shortly by Nathaniel.
"Feeding time for the monkeys," Kari murmurs, moving to lift Haley from her bassinet as Chris stands carefully, Nathaniel still in his arms. They head into the twins' room, where Chris helps Kari get situated so she can feed the babies, and once she assures him that she's okay, he heads back out to the kitchen to help Angela clean up.
"Did you have a good day?" she asks, watching as he takes care of the dishes in the sink.
"Yeah, it wasn't bad. I mean, it was work. But I missed the twins, and I missed Kari. I couldn't have lunch with Eli, since he's still out helping Han with Rachel, but I had lunch with David, so he got to listen to me babble on about the babies."
"I'm sure he didn't mind," Angela says with a knowing smile. "I know how much he loves babies."
"Yeah," Chris replies, smiling too. "He loved seeing all the pictures I took over the past couple of weeks, and he showed me a few of Rachel that he had. So many babies; he's kind of over the moon right now."
Angela laughs, and then Kari's voice suddenly sounds.
"Baby, can you come help me for a second?"
Chris quickly wipes his hands off on the dishtowel, and then hurries from the room, returning a moment later with a slight smile.
"She couldn't reach the footrest."
Angela laughs again, and watches as Chris resumes washing the dishes.
"You're a good man, Chris," she says after a beat, sliding her arm around his waist. "I'm really proud of you."
"Thanks, Mom," he replies, turning his head to kiss the side of hers.
Angela stays through dinner, and helps clean up once more before she leaves, kissing Chris, Kari, and the twins before Chris walks her out to her car.
When he comes back inside, he joins Kari on the couch. The twins are still awake, but fairly calm, and Kari curls against Chris's side as he slides his arm around her.
"So, Mom's gonna come every day this week?" Chris asks.
"Yeah. I decided that I did need the help, but mostly she's just gonna help me get used to handling things on my own."
"That'll be good. You know what she's really gonna love, though, playing nanny when you have to go back to work."
Kari laughs. "Oh, no doubt."
They spend a little while watching TV until the twins are asleep, and then Kari stands.
"I'm gonna shower, and then try to get some sleep while they're sleeping, if you don't mind. I think we can time it so that they'll wake up right before you go to bed, and you can help me with the feeding and diaper changing before you go to sleep."
Chris nods, smiling as he reaches for Kari's hand to pull her down for a kiss.
"Love you," he murmurs, squeezing her fingers.
"Love you too," she replies, smiling back before she heads into the bedroom.
Chris turns off the TV and retrieves some files from his bag, content to work for a little bit until the twins wake up again.
Before long, however, he's asleep, his head tipped back against the couch cushions, and when Kari comes out after her shower to get a glass of water, it's all she can do not to laugh when she sees him.
Stepping quietly over to the couch, she eases the file from his lap and sets it aside as she kisses his forehead. She checks on the twins, and then heads into the kitchen for her water, carrying it into the bedroom and carefully closing the door behind her.
Author: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Beta: Lindsay (rowofstars)
Rating: G
Genre: Family, Fluff, Romance
Word Count: 2,517
Characters/Pairings: Kari, Angela, Nathaniel, Haley, Chris (Kari/Chris)
A/N: Some Tyler family fluff this week.
"Hello, sweetheart," Angela says, smiling when Kari opens the door.
"Hi," Kari says, giving her mother-in-law a quick hug when she steps inside. "I know it's early, but thank you so much for coming."
"I'm glad you called," Angela replies, shrugging off her coat and laying it and her purse on the couch.
Kari smiles as they walk into the kitchen. "I kind of thought I could handle it on my own at first, and that I would call you if I was having trouble or something, but then I realized pretty quickly that it was really going to be just me and the babies all day while Chris was at work, and I'd probably be a wreck by the time he got home, so I figured I'd better call you."
"Well, I'm glad you did," Angela says again. "I don't have much to do most of the time, so spending the day with my daughter-in-law and grandbabies sounds pretty perfect to me."
The twins are buckled into sleepers in the kitchen, and Angela smiles when she sees them.
"They've gotten so big. It's been so long since Chris was a baby; I almost forgot how fast they grow."
"Isn't it crazy? And it's only been two weeks. I'm so used to seeing little newborns at the hospital, so watching these two grow is a little weird sometimes."
Kari bends to check on each baby, smiling as she looks at them, and then straightens to look at Angela.
"I fed them before Chris left for work, so they should be okay for a little while, but I wanted to wait until you got here before I ate. Do you want anything?"
Angela starts to offer to make Kari breakfast, but then figures that Kari may just want to have a small break from the babies, even if it's just the time it takes to make and eat breakfast.
"No, thank you, honey, I ate before I left the house. I'd love some coffee, though, if it's no trouble."
"Not at all," Kari says, moving to pour Angela a cup before she busies herself with making something to eat.
"So, how many differences have you noticed between them?" Angela asks, her eyes going back and forth between the twins.
"Besides the obvious?" Kari replies with a grin. "Nate's definitely quieter. He absolutely loves when Chris like, bundles him up in his arms and holds him against his chest. It's like... Nate likes to be snuggled, he likes to be inward, while Haley is more... open. She wants to look out at the world, while Nate just wants to be held. Nate's easier to get to sleep, too, while it's kind of like Haley just wants to have a few more minutes of one-on-one time with Chris or me."
Kari pauses a moment, focusing on making her food, and then the corner of her mouth rises.
"You can see that twin bond, though. They're reactive to each other - if one starts crying, so does the other, even if there's nothing wrong with the other. They hate being separated more than a few feet, more than the distance between their cribs, basically, and they both get cranky and fussy if they're in different rooms, but when we bring them back together, they calm right down. That's why I love those sleeper bassinet things they're in right now, I can have them with me wherever I am, and I can put them right next to each other."
Angela smiles. "When Chris was a baby, I had one of those basket things I could carry him around the house in. Bassinets were too expensive, and the basket was perfect."
Kari smiles too as she carries her plate over to the table. "What was Chris like as a baby?"
"A lot like Nate, I think. He wasn't usually too fussy, and was easy to get to sleep, but he was like Haley too, in that he liked to face the world and see what was going on."
"Not much has changed then," Kari replies, grinning as Angela laughs.
Over the course of the day, Angela helps Kari get used to taking care of the babies on her own, always ready to help, but only stepping in if Kari can't handle it herself.
"I definitely see more of Chris in Nate," Angela says when they're holding the babies after lunch, Nathaniel in her arms while Kari holds Haley. "And Haley looks like you. But Nate has your eyes, and I think Haley is going to end up with Chris's."
"Yeah, that's what Chris and I think too."
Angela looks at Nathaniel a moment longer, and then looks over at Kari, smiling at the pure love on her face.
"So, how do you like motherhood so far?"
"I love it," Kari replies sincerely. "Like, at the end of every day, I'm so exhausted, and the whole waking up every few hours is definitely not fun, but then I look at them, and I just fall in love all over again."
"And Chris?"
"Oh, he's the same way. He adores them. He's so cute with them, he loves holding them, and talking to them. He doesn't even mind changing them. He hated having to go back to work today; I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I've already texted him pictures like, three times so far." Angela laughs, and Kari grins. "The only thing he can't do yet is feed them, but I know he wants to, and hopefully soon we can start working on transitioning them to bottles."
"I always knew he'd be a good father," Angela murmurs. "He's always wanted to be a father, and a husband too. He's always loved being in relationships - he had his first real girlfriend when he was 15 - and he hates being alone. And the older he got, I could see that it was starting to affect him, that he hadn't settled down yet, that he hadn't found anybody to settle down with. I thought maybe his ex-girlfriend Claudia, he was head over heels for her, but then that ended, and he didn't date anybody for a long time, and then he met you, and the way he talked about you... he just lit up. I had never seen him like that with any of the other girls he dated. And I think I knew you were the one even before he did. And now you're married, and you have these beautiful babies, and it makes me really happy to see him so happy, and I want to thank you for giving him that. And I think I can safely say that he's done that for you as well?"
"He has," Kari replies. "Chris and I definitely... clicked right off, and everything moved so quickly between us, but it never felt rushed or awkward. It just felt right. Like we were getting to where we were supposed to be, but we started a bit late, so we were trying to catch up. Like using one of those moving walkways at the airport instead of just walking. And then when he asked me to marry him, it was like we had finally caught up. Like, standing on the beach in Carmel was exactly where we were meant to be on June 30, 2015. And he pulled out that ring, and it was the most perfect moment."
Angela sniffles, and shakes her head. "Hearing you talk about him like that just warms my heart. You've made my baby so happy, and you're so good for him, and he deserves you so much, and you deserve him, and Kari, honey, I just love you."
Kari laughs softly as Angela leans over to kiss the side of her head. "I love you too, Angela. I really lucked out in the mother-in-law department."
"That you did," Angela replies, and they both laugh.
When Chris gets home a few hours later, Kari's dozing on the couch, the twins in their sleepers right in front of her, and he can hear his mother in the kitchen.
Kari wakes up as he shuts the door, and looks up at him with sleepy eyes, making him smile.
"Hey, baby," he says, shrugging off his suit jacket as he steps around the couch to sit down beside her. "How was today?"
"Not bad with your mom here. She offered to make dinner, and I was so tired that I didn't put up much of a fight."
Chris grins, and then turns his attention to the twins. They're both awake, and Kari smiles as she looks at them too.
"They're more alert now that you're home. I think hearing our voices together woke them up a bit."
Chris grins again and leans forward to kiss Haley's forehead, and then Nathaniel's, murmuring, "Hello, my sweet girl," and "Hello, my sweet boy," to each of them.
"Daddy missed you," he adds, reaching into the bassinets to touch their little hands.
Kari smiles, rubbing her hand along his arm. "Go get changed, and then you'll have all night to spend with them."
Chris nods, and then looks over at Kari, lifting his hand to her hair as he kisses her softly.
"I missed you too."
She smiles again as she kisses him once more, and then gives him a gentle shove off the couch towards the bedroom.
When he emerges from the bedroom, the living room is empty, and he heads into the kitchen, where Kari is at the table, talking to Angela as she makes dinner.
"Hey, Mom," Chris says, moving to kiss her cheek before he snags a soda from the refrigerator.
"Nate's a little fussy," Kari says. "I think he might want a Daddy snuggle."
Chris smiles, and settles in the chair next to Kari, tugging Nathaniel's sleeper closer so he can lift him out.
"Hey, little man," he whispers, sitting back in his chair and holding Nathaniel against his chest. Chris's right arm curls under Nathaniel's bottom, holding him up, while his left hand rests gently on the back of Nathaniel's head, thumb lightly stroking his dark hair. "I missed turtle hugs too."
"Turtle hugs?" Kari echoes, amused.
"Yeah, I was thinking about it today, his little body like, scrunches up when I do this, and it's like he's a turtle retreating into his shell."
Kari laughs as she nods. "Makes sense."
"Kari, honey, grab my phone," Angela says from in front of the stove. "I want a picture of that."
Kari laughs again as she stands to retrieve Angela's phone from her purse, and snaps a couple of pictures of Chris and Nathaniel.
A couple of minutes later, Kari stands again to help Angela pour what she's cooking into a casserole dish.
"What're you making, Mom?" Chris asks, frowning curiously.
"That chicken and broccoli and rice casserole you like."
"Oh, man," Chris murmurs. "I'm coming home to the best things today. Just wait until you guys are older," he says, looking first at Nathaniel, and then Haley. "You're gonna love your grandma's cooking."
Kari's looking at him with raised eyebrows when he looks up, and he gives her a look.
"And they're gonna love their mommy's cooking too. You're both great cooks, okay, heaven to me is a table loaded down with both of your cooking."
Kari snorts as Angela grins, and almost as if on cue, Haley starts to cry, followed shortly by Nathaniel.
"Feeding time for the monkeys," Kari murmurs, moving to lift Haley from her bassinet as Chris stands carefully, Nathaniel still in his arms. They head into the twins' room, where Chris helps Kari get situated so she can feed the babies, and once she assures him that she's okay, he heads back out to the kitchen to help Angela clean up.
"Did you have a good day?" she asks, watching as he takes care of the dishes in the sink.
"Yeah, it wasn't bad. I mean, it was work. But I missed the twins, and I missed Kari. I couldn't have lunch with Eli, since he's still out helping Han with Rachel, but I had lunch with David, so he got to listen to me babble on about the babies."
"I'm sure he didn't mind," Angela says with a knowing smile. "I know how much he loves babies."
"Yeah," Chris replies, smiling too. "He loved seeing all the pictures I took over the past couple of weeks, and he showed me a few of Rachel that he had. So many babies; he's kind of over the moon right now."
Angela laughs, and then Kari's voice suddenly sounds.
"Baby, can you come help me for a second?"
Chris quickly wipes his hands off on the dishtowel, and then hurries from the room, returning a moment later with a slight smile.
"She couldn't reach the footrest."
Angela laughs again, and watches as Chris resumes washing the dishes.
"You're a good man, Chris," she says after a beat, sliding her arm around his waist. "I'm really proud of you."
"Thanks, Mom," he replies, turning his head to kiss the side of hers.
Angela stays through dinner, and helps clean up once more before she leaves, kissing Chris, Kari, and the twins before Chris walks her out to her car.
When he comes back inside, he joins Kari on the couch. The twins are still awake, but fairly calm, and Kari curls against Chris's side as he slides his arm around her.
"So, Mom's gonna come every day this week?" Chris asks.
"Yeah. I decided that I did need the help, but mostly she's just gonna help me get used to handling things on my own."
"That'll be good. You know what she's really gonna love, though, playing nanny when you have to go back to work."
Kari laughs. "Oh, no doubt."
They spend a little while watching TV until the twins are asleep, and then Kari stands.
"I'm gonna shower, and then try to get some sleep while they're sleeping, if you don't mind. I think we can time it so that they'll wake up right before you go to bed, and you can help me with the feeding and diaper changing before you go to sleep."
Chris nods, smiling as he reaches for Kari's hand to pull her down for a kiss.
"Love you," he murmurs, squeezing her fingers.
"Love you too," she replies, smiling back before she heads into the bedroom.
Chris turns off the TV and retrieves some files from his bag, content to work for a little bit until the twins wake up again.
Before long, however, he's asleep, his head tipped back against the couch cushions, and when Kari comes out after her shower to get a glass of water, it's all she can do not to laugh when she sees him.
Stepping quietly over to the couch, she eases the file from his lap and sets it aside as she kisses his forehead. She checks on the twins, and then heads into the kitchen for her water, carrying it into the bedroom and carefully closing the door behind her.