The Narwhal, or, Dylan Kelly's First Christmas
ooc: tm_northstar used with permission.
Pad pad pad.
It's just after ten, the night before Christmas, and a little girl in Spider-Man pyjamas is creeping down the stairs to do her heroic duty and fight off intruders - even if they happen to have a bright red nose, or a reassuringly bushy beard.
Jean-Paul Beaubier has neither of those, but he does at least have a Santa hat on as he kneels under the Kelly family tree, arranging the presents he's bought. The pointy ears probably help too.
"JP!"
Super-Soaker cast aside, Beth jumps on his back in what might be either a hug or some kind of Judo move.
"Oh no!" Jean-Paul manages out past the mad giggling the two of them are doing. "It's Spider-Man!" He rolls over onto his back, hands in the air. "I give up! I give up!"
Beth grins. "That doesn't look like a bike," she says, pointing at one of the presents, which has been judiciously wrapped with very much sticky tape, and more precisely resembles the shape of a narwhal.
JP looks over his shoulder. "Um. Well. Did you want a bike?"
"No... I've got one. But that's always what the kids get on TV. It looks more like a narwhal."
"You know what a narwhal is?"
Beth give him a patented 'duh!' look. "Dad goes sploosh. You know."
Jean-Paul readily admits that he does.
***
"Eeeee!"
"Bobby, he's going to poke himself in the eye with that thing," Nic comments from the desk where she's trying to clear away mounds of wrapping paper in a possibly futile attempt to re-discover the research paper she had been working on.
Her husband and daughter, meanwhile, are busy setting up their new Wii.
"No, that goes there. It's color-coded, Dad!" A sigh of pre-teen frustration.
Robert looks up. "He's fine. It's only a soft toy."
*Thump* goes the narwhal on the floor.
Sniffling noises come from the crib, as if a small boy is seconds away from erupting into earth-shaking wails.
"Beth, can you..." he dumps the rest of the wires into Beth's eager hands, and gets up to hand baby Dylan back his new favorite toy. "Hey there, kid."
Grabby hands. At six months, Dylan may have figured out what his fingers are for, but, as far as he's concerned, his father is simply a device for picking up stray toys.
In a matter of seconds, the Wii is making happy noises too. "Come here, Dad," Beth says in a tone usually adopted by schoolteachers the world over. "I'll show you how to use it."
Robert sits down on the floor, and gives in.
***
Dylan is happily giggling in his crib, limbs waving, the picture of a happy child utterly delighted with a day filled with lights, colors, and his new best friend the narwhal.
His parents are not quite so delighted to be up at 2am to witness this outburst of joy.
"He should be sleeping through the night by now," Nic says wearily.
Robert is busy wiping condensation from his glasses. "Who are we kidding? I haven't slept through the night since I was eight. He's probably just preparing himself for a life of stress, phonecalls at the crack of dawn, and screaming kids."
"Eeeee!" Dylan says, agreeably.
"Mm." Nic wonders whether to ask. "So, did you...?"
"I told him I'd be in touch when I'd made up my mind."
"He's already announced the rest of his cabinet."
"This is an entirely new position... no one's expecting it. And, I suspect, if I refuse there may not be a Secretary of Mutant Affairs. At least, not until another viable candidate appears." He smiles. "Viable candidate. I'm not sure that I'm a viable candidate."
Nic pats his arm. "You look very handsome in a suit."
"I'll be sure to mention that to Congress."
"Smmmibbleibble." Dylan says, solemnly, addressing the narwhal. The narwhal seems unimpressed.
"I'll decide before the New Year. We both need to know where we stand." Robert leans over and tickles Dylan's tummy. "We should go back to bed. He'll never go to sleep with us here."
"All right..." Nic yawns and stands up, reaching for the light switch.
"Sploosh!"
Robert freezes.
"Bobby?"
"...did he just...?"
The light comes back on, and two very puzzled adult faces look down at Dylan, who is busy hugging his narwhal.
Robert looks at Nic.
Nic looks at Robert.
Dylan giggles.
Pad pad pad.
It's just after ten, the night before Christmas, and a little girl in Spider-Man pyjamas is creeping down the stairs to do her heroic duty and fight off intruders - even if they happen to have a bright red nose, or a reassuringly bushy beard.
Jean-Paul Beaubier has neither of those, but he does at least have a Santa hat on as he kneels under the Kelly family tree, arranging the presents he's bought. The pointy ears probably help too.
"JP!"
Super-Soaker cast aside, Beth jumps on his back in what might be either a hug or some kind of Judo move.
"Oh no!" Jean-Paul manages out past the mad giggling the two of them are doing. "It's Spider-Man!" He rolls over onto his back, hands in the air. "I give up! I give up!"
Beth grins. "That doesn't look like a bike," she says, pointing at one of the presents, which has been judiciously wrapped with very much sticky tape, and more precisely resembles the shape of a narwhal.
JP looks over his shoulder. "Um. Well. Did you want a bike?"
"No... I've got one. But that's always what the kids get on TV. It looks more like a narwhal."
"You know what a narwhal is?"
Beth give him a patented 'duh!' look. "Dad goes sploosh. You know."
Jean-Paul readily admits that he does.
***
"Eeeee!"
"Bobby, he's going to poke himself in the eye with that thing," Nic comments from the desk where she's trying to clear away mounds of wrapping paper in a possibly futile attempt to re-discover the research paper she had been working on.
Her husband and daughter, meanwhile, are busy setting up their new Wii.
"No, that goes there. It's color-coded, Dad!" A sigh of pre-teen frustration.
Robert looks up. "He's fine. It's only a soft toy."
*Thump* goes the narwhal on the floor.
Sniffling noises come from the crib, as if a small boy is seconds away from erupting into earth-shaking wails.
"Beth, can you..." he dumps the rest of the wires into Beth's eager hands, and gets up to hand baby Dylan back his new favorite toy. "Hey there, kid."
Grabby hands. At six months, Dylan may have figured out what his fingers are for, but, as far as he's concerned, his father is simply a device for picking up stray toys.
In a matter of seconds, the Wii is making happy noises too. "Come here, Dad," Beth says in a tone usually adopted by schoolteachers the world over. "I'll show you how to use it."
Robert sits down on the floor, and gives in.
***
Dylan is happily giggling in his crib, limbs waving, the picture of a happy child utterly delighted with a day filled with lights, colors, and his new best friend the narwhal.
His parents are not quite so delighted to be up at 2am to witness this outburst of joy.
"He should be sleeping through the night by now," Nic says wearily.
Robert is busy wiping condensation from his glasses. "Who are we kidding? I haven't slept through the night since I was eight. He's probably just preparing himself for a life of stress, phonecalls at the crack of dawn, and screaming kids."
"Eeeee!" Dylan says, agreeably.
"Mm." Nic wonders whether to ask. "So, did you...?"
"I told him I'd be in touch when I'd made up my mind."
"He's already announced the rest of his cabinet."
"This is an entirely new position... no one's expecting it. And, I suspect, if I refuse there may not be a Secretary of Mutant Affairs. At least, not until another viable candidate appears." He smiles. "Viable candidate. I'm not sure that I'm a viable candidate."
Nic pats his arm. "You look very handsome in a suit."
"I'll be sure to mention that to Congress."
"Smmmibbleibble." Dylan says, solemnly, addressing the narwhal. The narwhal seems unimpressed.
"I'll decide before the New Year. We both need to know where we stand." Robert leans over and tickles Dylan's tummy. "We should go back to bed. He'll never go to sleep with us here."
"All right..." Nic yawns and stands up, reaching for the light switch.
"Sploosh!"
Robert freezes.
"Bobby?"
"...did he just...?"
The light comes back on, and two very puzzled adult faces look down at Dylan, who is busy hugging his narwhal.
Robert looks at Nic.
Nic looks at Robert.
Dylan giggles.