Baby-Sitters Club: It still gets me where I wanna go (part five)
Title - It still gets me where I wanna go, part five. (Hurricane)
Fandom - Baby-Sitters Club
Characters - Natalie Barrett. Various Pikes and Barretts.
Word count - 484
Rating - PG
Summary - Heeeeeeeere's Bill...
Author's note - Part five! Man, I post these to the fic journal ridiculously late. The last part'll be finished soonish, so I thought I better hop to it and finally update. Fun fact: The whole idea for this series came from my "gee, I wonder how I can use up the hurricane prompt?" musing. Fun fact #2: Unexpectedly, this has been the trickiest one to write. Set around chapter 19 of the original book, and some dialogue is from the source material. Thanks to ozqueen for her mad beta skillz!
Other parts in the series:
[ Tradition | Adult | Leisure | Situation | Hurricane | Morning ]
Today was meant to be a sandcastle contest. Cozily lounging indoors with coffee and a trashy book.
Today changed. Fast.
Today has become a high-intensity race. Getting to shelter before this hurricane really hits. (Because the thunderous rain, the shrieking gusts of wind shaking the car - this isn't actually it yet.)
"I can't see the street signs!"
To hell with the signs; she can barely see the street. She may as well be trying to drive along the bottom of the ocean. (Better get used to it. Maybe she will be soon. No stop it shut up we're going to be fine.)
"Just follow the van's tail lights." How does Dee stay so calm at times like this? Natalie's not sure if she wants to hug her or punch her.
The kids are crying, all three of her kids are crying and she has to let Dee and Stacey deal with it. She grinds her teeth, knows she'll just have to feel that guilt later. Once they're at this supposed shelter. Just follow John. Right, because that worked so damn well on the way here.
"This stinks," someone mutters. One of the triplets. (She bites her tongue, stops herself from adding a few expletives.)
Hands shaking, she slowly guides the car through a torrential downpour while Dee sings Rain Rain Go Away to Buddy and Marnie.
---
She staggers through the door, Marnie clinging to her like a wet monkey. Stacey is two steps behind, half-dragging Buddy and Suzi by their wrists. They're all gasping for breath after battling from the car - struggling uphill through wind that almost feels malevolent. They're surrounded by crowds of drenched people, crying children, puddles of water and muddy shoeprints.
"I feel right at home, don't you?" Dee murmurs in her ear. She can barely hear her over the roar of a bullhorn. "Bit quieter than I'm used to, though."
Other people are taking charge, and she's more than happy to let them. She gives Marnie a quick kiss on the forehead and wraps an arm around Buddy and Suzi, standing under a banner emblazoned with SEA CITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WISHES ITS STUDENTS A HAPPY AND SAFE SUMMER. The crowd is slowly calming down, and before long they're all actually listening to the man with the bullhorn.
"Mommy, my feet are wet," complains Suzi.
"I know, sweetie. So are mine."
---
Dinner: canned ham and canned lima beans. Lovely.
Every child in the room is high on novelty and adrenaline. But, at the very least, it's better than a room of petrified sobs. Or being flung into the ocean.
---
All night, she drifts in and out of sleep. Every half hour, she's wakened by the wind or the hard floor or the sudden urge to check on the kids.
She wakes up for good at 5:54, when Buddy rolls off his cot and lands on her stomach.
Fandom - Baby-Sitters Club
Characters - Natalie Barrett. Various Pikes and Barretts.
Word count - 484
Rating - PG
Summary - Heeeeeeeere's Bill...
Author's note - Part five! Man, I post these to the fic journal ridiculously late. The last part'll be finished soonish, so I thought I better hop to it and finally update. Fun fact: The whole idea for this series came from my "gee, I wonder how I can use up the hurricane prompt?" musing. Fun fact #2: Unexpectedly, this has been the trickiest one to write. Set around chapter 19 of the original book, and some dialogue is from the source material. Thanks to ozqueen for her mad beta skillz!
Other parts in the series:
[ Tradition | Adult | Leisure | Situation | Hurricane | Morning ]
Today was meant to be a sandcastle contest. Cozily lounging indoors with coffee and a trashy book.
Today changed. Fast.
Today has become a high-intensity race. Getting to shelter before this hurricane really hits. (Because the thunderous rain, the shrieking gusts of wind shaking the car - this isn't actually it yet.)
"I can't see the street signs!"
To hell with the signs; she can barely see the street. She may as well be trying to drive along the bottom of the ocean. (Better get used to it. Maybe she will be soon. No stop it shut up we're going to be fine.)
"Just follow the van's tail lights." How does Dee stay so calm at times like this? Natalie's not sure if she wants to hug her or punch her.
The kids are crying, all three of her kids are crying and she has to let Dee and Stacey deal with it. She grinds her teeth, knows she'll just have to feel that guilt later. Once they're at this supposed shelter. Just follow John. Right, because that worked so damn well on the way here.
"This stinks," someone mutters. One of the triplets. (She bites her tongue, stops herself from adding a few expletives.)
Hands shaking, she slowly guides the car through a torrential downpour while Dee sings Rain Rain Go Away to Buddy and Marnie.
---
She staggers through the door, Marnie clinging to her like a wet monkey. Stacey is two steps behind, half-dragging Buddy and Suzi by their wrists. They're all gasping for breath after battling from the car - struggling uphill through wind that almost feels malevolent. They're surrounded by crowds of drenched people, crying children, puddles of water and muddy shoeprints.
"I feel right at home, don't you?" Dee murmurs in her ear. She can barely hear her over the roar of a bullhorn. "Bit quieter than I'm used to, though."
Other people are taking charge, and she's more than happy to let them. She gives Marnie a quick kiss on the forehead and wraps an arm around Buddy and Suzi, standing under a banner emblazoned with SEA CITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WISHES ITS STUDENTS A HAPPY AND SAFE SUMMER. The crowd is slowly calming down, and before long they're all actually listening to the man with the bullhorn.
"Mommy, my feet are wet," complains Suzi.
"I know, sweetie. So are mine."
---
Dinner: canned ham and canned lima beans. Lovely.
Every child in the room is high on novelty and adrenaline. But, at the very least, it's better than a room of petrified sobs. Or being flung into the ocean.
---
All night, she drifts in and out of sleep. Every half hour, she's wakened by the wind or the hard floor or the sudden urge to check on the kids.
She wakes up for good at 5:54, when Buddy rolls off his cot and lands on her stomach.