Original: Trick-or-Treat (The Turners, Gus) PG
Title: Trick-or-Treat
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: John, Kerry, Abby and Gus, as well as some other OCs
Rating: PG-ish
Summary: g_efimovich told me: "John Adams..Abigail Adams...two vodka stingers and a lost key..GO!". And I did. Anyway: it's the first time Abby's going trick-or-treating.
Warning: fluffy MUSH! Backstory for this story was plotted before I'd ever heard of NaNo, but that never really went anywhere. Now, Steve wants to play in the sandbox.
Disclaimer: For the second time, I can say that EVERYTHING about this one is MINE, ALL MINE. Mwahaha!! Thanks to characteraday for helping me flush out some of the characters along the way.
Originally posted: June 27, 2009
"My mother has too much free time," John called from the bedroom. A moment later, Kerry came around the corner, carrying Abby.
"I don't think Daddy likes his tights," she told the toddler before looking up to John with a smile. The look he was giving her wasn't very loving.
He moved over to the dresser and turned toward the bed. "She bought me a wig!" He flung the fake hair around and frowned, sitting on the bed with a huff. "What about you, Abs of Steel? You wanna wear the wig?" he asked with a goofy grin and pulled the wig onto the one-year-old's head. He pulled her hat onto his own head and she reached for it, but her small hand only made it to his cheek.
"You ready to go trick-or-treatin', squirt?" John raised an eyebrow and leaned over, lifting up one of Abby's booted feet. "I don't think these are historically accurate," he told her with a serious face. Abby, of course, just stared at him. "Kids today," he said with a sigh, "no respect for the past," he finished teasingly and picked her up.
Abby laughed and, now closer to her hat, reached up. John leaned his head down so she could pull it free - it wasn't much more than a square of cloth and some elastic anyway - and they both turned toward Kerry. "Daddy should put his hair on," she nodded, giving Abby a kiss.
"I put the tights on, what more do you want?"
"You gave your mother free reign," Kerry started to argue, pulling the wig off her daughter's head and pressing it to John's chest.
"I didn't think she was gonna go full-on George Washington," he stated, following her out of the bedroom.
"That would include a horse," Kerry said with a smile, not turning as they moved down the hallway, "and you really can't ride a horse."
"I'll give you a horse to ride," he muttered and kissed the side of Abby's head. Kerry stopped near the front door and grabbed the small bucket that Abby had picked at the store and held it out.
"You gonna be good?" she asked, looking at Abby, but talking to John.
"Say 'No, Mommy. We're gonna go TP the principal's car'," John teased. Kerry stuck her tongue out at him and reached up to push the collar of Abby's dress down.
"You want to take a jacket?" she asked. John was rolling his eyes before she even finished the sentence.
"Honey, it's eighty-five degrees out there," he said.
"You're right," Kerry nodded. She turned back to the door and pulled it open. "Okay," she waved them out, "go, please, before I completely freak out and-" John stepped right next to her and shifted Abby slightly.
"Kerry," he said, waiting for her to look at him, "you're gonna be fine, she's gonna be fine. It's gonna be fine." She sighed and nodded.
"If I can't deal with her going trick-or-treating, how am I going to let her go to college?" John laughed and gave her a wide grin as he leaned over to kiss her.
"You have to let her go to Kindergarten first." Kerry groaned and ran a thumb over Abby's cheek.
"You have fun, kiddo."
"Te'eat," Abby stated, holding up the bucket.
"That's right," John nodded, "let's go get some candy!"
~*~
John and Abby moved through the crowd at Barnie's, heading for the bar. Gus looked up from the rack of glasses and moved to the end of the bar. "I feel like I should give you a stamp or somethin'," he shrugged.
"What?" John asked then shook his head. Why was everyone mentioning stamps? As Abby buried her head into his shoulder, John smiled and looked from her back to Gus.
"Hey, gorgeous," Gus said with a wink.
"We brought you a present," John announced, holding the bucket up for Abby. "Now you don't want to give it to him?" he asked, giving her a slight grin. Abby finally reached into the bag and pulled out a King Size Snickers.
"What do you have there?" Gus asked with a raised eyebrow. Abby pushed off John's chest and held the candy bar out for Gus. "For me?" he asked and he smiled when she nodded. "Thank you," he said and stuck it into his shirt pocket. "You gonna stick around for a while?" he asked, pointing to the crowd. John looked at Abby and pursed his lips.
"We're a little far from home," he offered, glancing around the room.
"They're gettin' ready to vote on the costumes, here in about five minutes." John looked down to Abby and smiled.
"You think Mommy'll get mad if we stay for ten minutes?" As Abby stared at him, John smiled again and nodded.
"Drink?" George asked. John shook his head and nodded to Abby.
"You thirsty, Abs?"
"Joos?" John smiled.
"Orange? Cranberry?"
"Caber," she whispered. John gave her a kiss and nodded to Gus.
"One cranberry juice, please. And a straw," he added. Gus nodded and moved back toward the glasses. He returned a moment later with a sippy cup. John raised an eyebrow as he took the cup from Gus and gave it a good look.
"Do I even want to know?" he asked. Gus laughed and waved them toward one of the open tables along the wall. John gave the cup to Abby and passed the bucket over the bar. "Can you get that away from me before I eat all of it?" Gus nodded and set it, and the candy bar, next to the register.
"Turner!" John heard. Turning, he spotted a tableful of guys he knew from the gym. They all gave him a look as he stopped at the table and he waved them off.
"Guys, how ya doin'?"
"Not bad."
"You lose your kite?"
"Grab a chair."
"Funny," he nodded across the table and set Abby in his lap.
"We've got wings comin', so I hope you're hungry." John shook his head.
"Thanks, but we're just here to watch this costume thing and then we're heading home," he told them with a shrug.
"You enter?" John laughed and helped Abby put her cup on the table.
"No, just stopped in to say hi to Gus." A second later, one of the waitresses brought a tray with about seven orders of wings. "Geez, you going straight to the gym after this?" he asked with a surprised laugh. Abby started to squirm and John tightened his hold.
"No, Abs, you wouldn't like those," he told her. He could smell the spices from where he was sitting well enough. She was still trying to reach, of course. "You hungry?"
"We've got plenty, John, she can have one." John laughed and leaned back, catching the attention one of the waitress he knew.
"Hey, John," Margo smiled, "and look at you, Abby," she smiled. "Nice tights," she teased him. John's nod turned to a headshake and he pointed to the stack of wings.
"Can we get a small chips and a water?"
"Sure," Margo nodded. "More juice?" John picked up the cup and shook his head.
"We're good," he said as the waitress who brought the wings called for everyone's attention.
~*~
John turned the corner and saw the porch light was still on. He didn't really know what time it was, but there weren't many kids left scouring the neighborhood, so it must be late. "There's home," he said in a near-whisper, having talked to her the entire way home. She was asleep before Barnie's was out of sight and he'd wrapped her up in his coat.
Shifting her as moved up the walk, John cursed silently, realizing he didn't have his keys. Where were his keys? He had one foot on the porch when the door opened and Kerry gave him a look. Before she could say anything, he held up a hand and gave her a look.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly as her arms went around him. "I lost track of time." It took a second, but Kerry finally got a whiff of him and she reared back.
"What in the-" she asked, waving him into the house. Once John and Abby were inside, Kerry locked the front door and flipped the light off, then moved down the hallway to Abby's room. John was untying her boots and whispering for her to go back to sleep as Kerry moved over to the dresser and grabbed Abby's sleep shirt.
"We were two streets over," John started, picking Abby up so that Kerry could unzip her dress, "and, when the door opened, Abs reached into her bucket and pulled out a piece of candy. She handed it to the woman at the door." Kerry bit back a laugh. "For the rest of the street, I rang the bell and she handed out a piece of candy." John looked up and shook his head.
"Our kid does not get the concept of Halloween, at all." Kerry smiled and raised an eyebrow.
"And why do you smell like lifesavers and vodka?" John cleared his throat and laid Abby back against the pillow.
"Four streets over, the red brick with the blue door," John said. Kerry nodded. "The lady living there was handing out candy bars. King size, like," John said, stepping around the bed and pulling Kerry toward the door, "the size of my arm." He threw a quick glance over his shoulder and pulled the door half-way shut behind them.
"Abs wanted to give it to Gus," he said and threw his hands up. "If I'm lyin', you can shove every nail on aisle two in my eye." Dropping his hands, John pulled at the shirt and untucked it as they headed down the hall to their room. "So, we popped down to Barnie's and they were having a party and a few guys from the gym were there. We sat down for a few minutes to watch the costume contest," he said, pulling the shirt off and passing it to Kerry.
"You didn't?" Kerry asked as John kicked off his shoes and shimmied out of his pants and stockings.
"Enter? No," he said with a smile. "Take third anyway? Yeah." She waved for him to pass the rest of the costume over and she headed for the hamper while John moved into the bathroom and turned on the shower. "There were only five people dressed up by the time they got around to the judging." Kerry leaned against the door jamb and stared at the shower curtain.
"First and second went to two college girls, and there was a kid in Superman pajamas having dinner with his folks. We let him have the prize," John finished telling her from the other side of the shower curtain. "I got Abby some chips, because the guys were trying to give her wings-" John's head popped out from behind the shower curtain. "Why is one of her cups at the bar?"
Kerry opened her mouth and shut it again. John narrowed his eyes and pulled back into the shower. "Anyway, next thing I know, a round of shots comes up and-" John stared at the tile for a moment and then shook his head. "Idiots counted Abs, and none of them would drink a second one."
"So you had to take it," Kerry offered.
"Well, couldn't let it go to waste..." John mumbled and ran a hand through his short hair before turning off the water. Pulling the curtain back, John pointed to Kerry and stepped out of the tub. "Little tip for ya: minty vodka and nuclear wings,” John said, shaking his head, "do not mix."
"I'll try and remember that," Kerry nodded as John grabbed a towel. Kerry moved back into the bedroom to get ready for bed and was joined a minute later by John, who went straight for the dresser and pulled out a pair of boxers.
"So," John said, watching Kerry pull her shirt over her head. He moved over to her side and pulled her into a hug. "Abby's cup?" Kerry tried to hold back a smile and turned away, but John wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
"We might... sometimes... go down in the mornings and help Gus with the books. And," Kerry said as she turned in his arms and smiled, "it's easier than remembering to bring one with us."
"So you won't bring her to the lumberyard-" John said with a frown.
"There's a lot of things that could hurt her. I'm not ready for her to be running wild through the rebar." John smirked and pressed his lips to her neck.
"But a regular bar is fine?"
___________________________
Just in case it wasn't clear, John was dressed as John Adams kinda and Abby was Abigail kinda. Hence the stamp joke.
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: John, Kerry, Abby and Gus, as well as some other OCs
Rating: PG-ish
Summary: g_efimovich told me: "John Adams..Abigail Adams...two vodka stingers and a lost key..GO!". And I did. Anyway: it's the first time Abby's going trick-or-treating.
Warning: fluffy MUSH! Backstory for this story was plotted before I'd ever heard of NaNo, but that never really went anywhere. Now, Steve wants to play in the sandbox.
Disclaimer: For the second time, I can say that EVERYTHING about this one is MINE, ALL MINE. Mwahaha!! Thanks to characteraday for helping me flush out some of the characters along the way.
Originally posted: June 27, 2009
"My mother has too much free time," John called from the bedroom. A moment later, Kerry came around the corner, carrying Abby.
"I don't think Daddy likes his tights," she told the toddler before looking up to John with a smile. The look he was giving her wasn't very loving.
He moved over to the dresser and turned toward the bed. "She bought me a wig!" He flung the fake hair around and frowned, sitting on the bed with a huff. "What about you, Abs of Steel? You wanna wear the wig?" he asked with a goofy grin and pulled the wig onto the one-year-old's head. He pulled her hat onto his own head and she reached for it, but her small hand only made it to his cheek.
"You ready to go trick-or-treatin', squirt?" John raised an eyebrow and leaned over, lifting up one of Abby's booted feet. "I don't think these are historically accurate," he told her with a serious face. Abby, of course, just stared at him. "Kids today," he said with a sigh, "no respect for the past," he finished teasingly and picked her up.
Abby laughed and, now closer to her hat, reached up. John leaned his head down so she could pull it free - it wasn't much more than a square of cloth and some elastic anyway - and they both turned toward Kerry. "Daddy should put his hair on," she nodded, giving Abby a kiss.
"I put the tights on, what more do you want?"
"You gave your mother free reign," Kerry started to argue, pulling the wig off her daughter's head and pressing it to John's chest.
"I didn't think she was gonna go full-on George Washington," he stated, following her out of the bedroom.
"That would include a horse," Kerry said with a smile, not turning as they moved down the hallway, "and you really can't ride a horse."
"I'll give you a horse to ride," he muttered and kissed the side of Abby's head. Kerry stopped near the front door and grabbed the small bucket that Abby had picked at the store and held it out.
"You gonna be good?" she asked, looking at Abby, but talking to John.
"Say 'No, Mommy. We're gonna go TP the principal's car'," John teased. Kerry stuck her tongue out at him and reached up to push the collar of Abby's dress down.
"You want to take a jacket?" she asked. John was rolling his eyes before she even finished the sentence.
"Honey, it's eighty-five degrees out there," he said.
"You're right," Kerry nodded. She turned back to the door and pulled it open. "Okay," she waved them out, "go, please, before I completely freak out and-" John stepped right next to her and shifted Abby slightly.
"Kerry," he said, waiting for her to look at him, "you're gonna be fine, she's gonna be fine. It's gonna be fine." She sighed and nodded.
"If I can't deal with her going trick-or-treating, how am I going to let her go to college?" John laughed and gave her a wide grin as he leaned over to kiss her.
"You have to let her go to Kindergarten first." Kerry groaned and ran a thumb over Abby's cheek.
"You have fun, kiddo."
"Te'eat," Abby stated, holding up the bucket.
"That's right," John nodded, "let's go get some candy!"
~*~
John and Abby moved through the crowd at Barnie's, heading for the bar. Gus looked up from the rack of glasses and moved to the end of the bar. "I feel like I should give you a stamp or somethin'," he shrugged.
"What?" John asked then shook his head. Why was everyone mentioning stamps? As Abby buried her head into his shoulder, John smiled and looked from her back to Gus.
"Hey, gorgeous," Gus said with a wink.
"We brought you a present," John announced, holding the bucket up for Abby. "Now you don't want to give it to him?" he asked, giving her a slight grin. Abby finally reached into the bag and pulled out a King Size Snickers.
"What do you have there?" Gus asked with a raised eyebrow. Abby pushed off John's chest and held the candy bar out for Gus. "For me?" he asked and he smiled when she nodded. "Thank you," he said and stuck it into his shirt pocket. "You gonna stick around for a while?" he asked, pointing to the crowd. John looked at Abby and pursed his lips.
"We're a little far from home," he offered, glancing around the room.
"They're gettin' ready to vote on the costumes, here in about five minutes." John looked down to Abby and smiled.
"You think Mommy'll get mad if we stay for ten minutes?" As Abby stared at him, John smiled again and nodded.
"Drink?" George asked. John shook his head and nodded to Abby.
"You thirsty, Abs?"
"Joos?" John smiled.
"Orange? Cranberry?"
"Caber," she whispered. John gave her a kiss and nodded to Gus.
"One cranberry juice, please. And a straw," he added. Gus nodded and moved back toward the glasses. He returned a moment later with a sippy cup. John raised an eyebrow as he took the cup from Gus and gave it a good look.
"Do I even want to know?" he asked. Gus laughed and waved them toward one of the open tables along the wall. John gave the cup to Abby and passed the bucket over the bar. "Can you get that away from me before I eat all of it?" Gus nodded and set it, and the candy bar, next to the register.
"Turner!" John heard. Turning, he spotted a tableful of guys he knew from the gym. They all gave him a look as he stopped at the table and he waved them off.
"Guys, how ya doin'?"
"Not bad."
"You lose your kite?"
"Grab a chair."
"Funny," he nodded across the table and set Abby in his lap.
"We've got wings comin', so I hope you're hungry." John shook his head.
"Thanks, but we're just here to watch this costume thing and then we're heading home," he told them with a shrug.
"You enter?" John laughed and helped Abby put her cup on the table.
"No, just stopped in to say hi to Gus." A second later, one of the waitresses brought a tray with about seven orders of wings. "Geez, you going straight to the gym after this?" he asked with a surprised laugh. Abby started to squirm and John tightened his hold.
"No, Abs, you wouldn't like those," he told her. He could smell the spices from where he was sitting well enough. She was still trying to reach, of course. "You hungry?"
"We've got plenty, John, she can have one." John laughed and leaned back, catching the attention one of the waitress he knew.
"Hey, John," Margo smiled, "and look at you, Abby," she smiled. "Nice tights," she teased him. John's nod turned to a headshake and he pointed to the stack of wings.
"Can we get a small chips and a water?"
"Sure," Margo nodded. "More juice?" John picked up the cup and shook his head.
"We're good," he said as the waitress who brought the wings called for everyone's attention.
~*~
John turned the corner and saw the porch light was still on. He didn't really know what time it was, but there weren't many kids left scouring the neighborhood, so it must be late. "There's home," he said in a near-whisper, having talked to her the entire way home. She was asleep before Barnie's was out of sight and he'd wrapped her up in his coat.
Shifting her as moved up the walk, John cursed silently, realizing he didn't have his keys. Where were his keys? He had one foot on the porch when the door opened and Kerry gave him a look. Before she could say anything, he held up a hand and gave her a look.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly as her arms went around him. "I lost track of time." It took a second, but Kerry finally got a whiff of him and she reared back.
"What in the-" she asked, waving him into the house. Once John and Abby were inside, Kerry locked the front door and flipped the light off, then moved down the hallway to Abby's room. John was untying her boots and whispering for her to go back to sleep as Kerry moved over to the dresser and grabbed Abby's sleep shirt.
"We were two streets over," John started, picking Abby up so that Kerry could unzip her dress, "and, when the door opened, Abs reached into her bucket and pulled out a piece of candy. She handed it to the woman at the door." Kerry bit back a laugh. "For the rest of the street, I rang the bell and she handed out a piece of candy." John looked up and shook his head.
"Our kid does not get the concept of Halloween, at all." Kerry smiled and raised an eyebrow.
"And why do you smell like lifesavers and vodka?" John cleared his throat and laid Abby back against the pillow.
"Four streets over, the red brick with the blue door," John said. Kerry nodded. "The lady living there was handing out candy bars. King size, like," John said, stepping around the bed and pulling Kerry toward the door, "the size of my arm." He threw a quick glance over his shoulder and pulled the door half-way shut behind them.
"Abs wanted to give it to Gus," he said and threw his hands up. "If I'm lyin', you can shove every nail on aisle two in my eye." Dropping his hands, John pulled at the shirt and untucked it as they headed down the hall to their room. "So, we popped down to Barnie's and they were having a party and a few guys from the gym were there. We sat down for a few minutes to watch the costume contest," he said, pulling the shirt off and passing it to Kerry.
"You didn't?" Kerry asked as John kicked off his shoes and shimmied out of his pants and stockings.
"Enter? No," he said with a smile. "Take third anyway? Yeah." She waved for him to pass the rest of the costume over and she headed for the hamper while John moved into the bathroom and turned on the shower. "There were only five people dressed up by the time they got around to the judging." Kerry leaned against the door jamb and stared at the shower curtain.
"First and second went to two college girls, and there was a kid in Superman pajamas having dinner with his folks. We let him have the prize," John finished telling her from the other side of the shower curtain. "I got Abby some chips, because the guys were trying to give her wings-" John's head popped out from behind the shower curtain. "Why is one of her cups at the bar?"
Kerry opened her mouth and shut it again. John narrowed his eyes and pulled back into the shower. "Anyway, next thing I know, a round of shots comes up and-" John stared at the tile for a moment and then shook his head. "Idiots counted Abs, and none of them would drink a second one."
"So you had to take it," Kerry offered.
"Well, couldn't let it go to waste..." John mumbled and ran a hand through his short hair before turning off the water. Pulling the curtain back, John pointed to Kerry and stepped out of the tub. "Little tip for ya: minty vodka and nuclear wings,” John said, shaking his head, "do not mix."
"I'll try and remember that," Kerry nodded as John grabbed a towel. Kerry moved back into the bedroom to get ready for bed and was joined a minute later by John, who went straight for the dresser and pulled out a pair of boxers.
"So," John said, watching Kerry pull her shirt over her head. He moved over to her side and pulled her into a hug. "Abby's cup?" Kerry tried to hold back a smile and turned away, but John wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
"We might... sometimes... go down in the mornings and help Gus with the books. And," Kerry said as she turned in his arms and smiled, "it's easier than remembering to bring one with us."
"So you won't bring her to the lumberyard-" John said with a frown.
"There's a lot of things that could hurt her. I'm not ready for her to be running wild through the rebar." John smirked and pressed his lips to her neck.
"But a regular bar is fine?"
___________________________
Just in case it wasn't clear, John was dressed as John Adams kinda and Abby was Abigail kinda. Hence the stamp joke.