Out of Order: Child's Play (1/1)
Out of Order Series: Child’s Play (1/1)
(Part 2 of the Out of Order Series - Takes place directly after Adventures in Babysitting)
Author: Amy
Pairing: Orlando and Sean are both in this but it is *not* a pairing fic.
Warning: Fluff - pure unadulterated 4 Year Old Orli Fluff.
Disclaimer: Never Happened
Summary: Sean meets the mother.
Adventures in Babysitting -- If you haven't read this one yet do so first or this will not make a whole lot of sense
Other Parts of the Out of Order Series
Author’s Note: Bet your surprised to see another part of this so soon, frankly I am too but it’s the thing that was speaking to me and so I went with it… *shrug* This takes place directly after Adventures in Babysitting so Orlando is 4 and Sean is 21.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The sound of a car door slamming forced Sean from the restful sleep he’d been enjoying. He opened his eyes just enough to glare in the general direction of the open window across the room that had allowed the sound to disrupt him. Then he frowned as he was on the couch in the living room and wondered for a moment just how he’d gotten there. He shifted his position, his frown deepening when he discovered he could barely move his right leg because there was some sort of weight pushing down on it. He glanced down at the leg and his frown vanished.
The mop of dark, curly hair covered the side of the face that was not pressed into his pant leg. The blue blanket was clutched tightly to a chest and a thumb was stuck in a mouth. Orlando was fast asleep and didn’t look like he’d be ready to wake from his nap anytime soon. Sean shifted again trying to get the feeling back into his leg. He glanced over at the clock on the wall and saw that they’d both been asleep for about an hour. He yawned and was about to go back to sleep when he remembered that neither Lorraine or Samantha had told him when Mrs. Bloom was supposed to get home and the car door that had woken him had sounded like it might be coming from the direction of their house.
Deciding it would probably be a good idea to check and see if the boy’s mother was home he set about extricated his leg. After a few failed attempts he managed to get the leg loose without waking Orlando, he rearranged the boy so that he was now comfortably lying on the couch he crossed to the window and peered outside into the sunny afternoon.
There was a car on the road in front of the house next door one that Sean immediately recognized as belonging to Orlando’s mother. It occurred to him that she probably expected to find her daughter and son at home waiting for her and may be concerned as to where they were, especially her son. He’d have to let her know immediately before she got too worried.
Problem was he didn’t know if they had the Bloom’s phone number. He assumed that Lorraine probably did but he wasn’t about to go into the disaster area she called a room to try and hunt it down it would take too long and he could only imagine the hours he’d have to spend listening to her howls of protest at him invading her personal space. If his mum had it then it was probably just as big a lost cause because his mum had a tendency to write numbers down without also writing down who they belonged too. They had stacks of phone numbers on the desk that only she could place with their owner.
With a sigh he turned and crossed back to the couch and stared down at Orlando in confusion. His experience in dealing with four years olds was exactly zero prior to a few hours ago. He knew he couldn’t leave the boy here while he went next door to tell his mother where he was. Even he was smart enough to know that one didn’t leave a four year old alone no matter how short a time or distance. So he was going to have to take the child home but he was a little at a loss as to how to do it.
With an annoyed grunt at his own incompetence he leaned over and as gently as he could lifted Orlando up into his arms. It took a bit of shifting and shuffling as his arms flailed about in order to not drop Orlando but he finally managed to get the boy settled in what he hoped was a comfortable fashion against his chest. A curly head resting against his chest, one small arm wrapped around his shoulder the other still clutched the blue blanket while a chubby thumb never left the comfort of the boy’s mouth. With a final pause and stumble he managed to grab the stuffed horse and a second later they were heading out the door.
It only took a few minutes of careful maneuvering before he ended up on his neighbor’s doorstep. He lifted his free hand to knock and then hesitated. He didn’t know how Orlando’s mother was going to react to seeing her son in the arms of someone who was practically a stranger to her. He hoped he wasn’t going to be getting Samantha into trouble but he didn’t want the boy’s mother to worry. The door opened a few seconds later and Sonia Bloom stood in the door a look of surprise on her face at the sight in front of her.
“I brought Orlando home, ma’am,” he said politely.
“I can see that,” she said, amusement clear in her voice.
“There was some emergency with one of the girl’s friends…boy trouble or some such…and they left him with me…”
“I know,” she said interrupt him with an easy smile. “Samantha called me to let me know where Orlando was when she realized I’d probably be getting home before her. I was just getting ready to come over and pick him up.”
“Oh,” Sean said glad that she wasn’t worried, he shifted slightly unsure of what was supposed to happen next.
“Here…” she said holding out her arms. “Let me take him.”
Sean watched with slight amazement as Sonia took Orlando from him with a grace that can only come from years of practice. She had Orlando settled comfortably in her arms in a heartbeat. Orlando’s murmured slightly at begin jostled his eyes fluttering open and his face lit up at the sight of him mum.
“Mama!” he said in a sleepy voice.
“Go back to sleep, luv,” she whispered pressing a kiss to the top of his curly head. She turned her attention back to Sean. “Thank you so much for looking after him on such short notice. I know he can be a bit of a handful.”
“He was no trouble at all, really,” Sean hurriedly reassured her. “He stared at me for a little bit and then fell asleep.”
Sonia laughed and nodded. “That sounds like Orlando. Just be thankful he’s so shy or he would have tried to talk your ear off.”
Orlando who’d been drifting off to sleep was woken by his mother’s laughter. He opened his eyes and regarded Sean with them. Sean was once again struck by the depth he saw in them. His grandmum would surely label this boy an old soul. After a moment Orlando leaned up and whispered something in his mothers ear and then promptly fell back to sleep again.
“You must have made a good impression he asked me if you could come over and play sometime. He normally doesn’t take to strangers that quickly,” she said with a smile.
Sean didn’t really understand the rush of pride that cropped up at that comment; he didn’t even feel the urge to wonder about it, just smiled in response. His next question was out of his mouth before he even had a chance to think about it. “If you ever need someone to look after him…I mean…” he stumbled as he realized how what he was saying could be taken. “I don’t have much experience and I can understand if you think it’s strange or…”
“Sean…” she said interrupting him with a grin. “Are you sure you mean that offer or are you just being polite?”
“What no…I mean it…” he said even though he was still a little surprised by the offer himself.
“Finding a babysitter can be hard, he’s so painfully shy and leery of strangers and since he seems to like you…I’ll probably take you up on that offer from time to time to give Samantha a break.”
“Okay…then…” he said once again at a loss now that he’d signed himself up for the role of baby sitter. “Just let me know…I…I’ll probably start picking up hours from my Da but that’ll be pretty flexible.”
“I’ll let your mum know when I can use you,” she reassured him. “Thank you, Sean.”
“Talk to you later then,” he reached out and brushed a hand against Orlando’s curly head. “I’ll see you soon, Orli.”
Orlando answered with a small grunt which caused Sean to snort back a peal of laughter. Sonia arched her brow knowingly and then turned and entered the house with a final wave at Sean before closing the door. Sean turned and started the short walk back to his house. He wasn’t exactly sure what he’d just gotten himself into but that didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. Sure he’d have to deal with the reaction of his parents, of Lorraine and of his friends to the news that he’d just agreed to play babysitter.
But Sean had a feeling that he wasn’t going to regret this decision in the slightest.
* * *
Author's Note #2: Up next will be a return to the Ghost Ship time period to deal some more with Orlando's injury.
(Part 2 of the Out of Order Series - Takes place directly after Adventures in Babysitting)
Author: Amy
Pairing: Orlando and Sean are both in this but it is *not* a pairing fic.
Warning: Fluff - pure unadulterated 4 Year Old Orli Fluff.
Disclaimer: Never Happened
Summary: Sean meets the mother.
Adventures in Babysitting -- If you haven't read this one yet do so first or this will not make a whole lot of sense
Other Parts of the Out of Order Series
Author’s Note: Bet your surprised to see another part of this so soon, frankly I am too but it’s the thing that was speaking to me and so I went with it… *shrug* This takes place directly after Adventures in Babysitting so Orlando is 4 and Sean is 21.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The sound of a car door slamming forced Sean from the restful sleep he’d been enjoying. He opened his eyes just enough to glare in the general direction of the open window across the room that had allowed the sound to disrupt him. Then he frowned as he was on the couch in the living room and wondered for a moment just how he’d gotten there. He shifted his position, his frown deepening when he discovered he could barely move his right leg because there was some sort of weight pushing down on it. He glanced down at the leg and his frown vanished.
The mop of dark, curly hair covered the side of the face that was not pressed into his pant leg. The blue blanket was clutched tightly to a chest and a thumb was stuck in a mouth. Orlando was fast asleep and didn’t look like he’d be ready to wake from his nap anytime soon. Sean shifted again trying to get the feeling back into his leg. He glanced over at the clock on the wall and saw that they’d both been asleep for about an hour. He yawned and was about to go back to sleep when he remembered that neither Lorraine or Samantha had told him when Mrs. Bloom was supposed to get home and the car door that had woken him had sounded like it might be coming from the direction of their house.
Deciding it would probably be a good idea to check and see if the boy’s mother was home he set about extricated his leg. After a few failed attempts he managed to get the leg loose without waking Orlando, he rearranged the boy so that he was now comfortably lying on the couch he crossed to the window and peered outside into the sunny afternoon.
There was a car on the road in front of the house next door one that Sean immediately recognized as belonging to Orlando’s mother. It occurred to him that she probably expected to find her daughter and son at home waiting for her and may be concerned as to where they were, especially her son. He’d have to let her know immediately before she got too worried.
Problem was he didn’t know if they had the Bloom’s phone number. He assumed that Lorraine probably did but he wasn’t about to go into the disaster area she called a room to try and hunt it down it would take too long and he could only imagine the hours he’d have to spend listening to her howls of protest at him invading her personal space. If his mum had it then it was probably just as big a lost cause because his mum had a tendency to write numbers down without also writing down who they belonged too. They had stacks of phone numbers on the desk that only she could place with their owner.
With a sigh he turned and crossed back to the couch and stared down at Orlando in confusion. His experience in dealing with four years olds was exactly zero prior to a few hours ago. He knew he couldn’t leave the boy here while he went next door to tell his mother where he was. Even he was smart enough to know that one didn’t leave a four year old alone no matter how short a time or distance. So he was going to have to take the child home but he was a little at a loss as to how to do it.
With an annoyed grunt at his own incompetence he leaned over and as gently as he could lifted Orlando up into his arms. It took a bit of shifting and shuffling as his arms flailed about in order to not drop Orlando but he finally managed to get the boy settled in what he hoped was a comfortable fashion against his chest. A curly head resting against his chest, one small arm wrapped around his shoulder the other still clutched the blue blanket while a chubby thumb never left the comfort of the boy’s mouth. With a final pause and stumble he managed to grab the stuffed horse and a second later they were heading out the door.
It only took a few minutes of careful maneuvering before he ended up on his neighbor’s doorstep. He lifted his free hand to knock and then hesitated. He didn’t know how Orlando’s mother was going to react to seeing her son in the arms of someone who was practically a stranger to her. He hoped he wasn’t going to be getting Samantha into trouble but he didn’t want the boy’s mother to worry. The door opened a few seconds later and Sonia Bloom stood in the door a look of surprise on her face at the sight in front of her.
“I brought Orlando home, ma’am,” he said politely.
“I can see that,” she said, amusement clear in her voice.
“There was some emergency with one of the girl’s friends…boy trouble or some such…and they left him with me…”
“I know,” she said interrupt him with an easy smile. “Samantha called me to let me know where Orlando was when she realized I’d probably be getting home before her. I was just getting ready to come over and pick him up.”
“Oh,” Sean said glad that she wasn’t worried, he shifted slightly unsure of what was supposed to happen next.
“Here…” she said holding out her arms. “Let me take him.”
Sean watched with slight amazement as Sonia took Orlando from him with a grace that can only come from years of practice. She had Orlando settled comfortably in her arms in a heartbeat. Orlando’s murmured slightly at begin jostled his eyes fluttering open and his face lit up at the sight of him mum.
“Mama!” he said in a sleepy voice.
“Go back to sleep, luv,” she whispered pressing a kiss to the top of his curly head. She turned her attention back to Sean. “Thank you so much for looking after him on such short notice. I know he can be a bit of a handful.”
“He was no trouble at all, really,” Sean hurriedly reassured her. “He stared at me for a little bit and then fell asleep.”
Sonia laughed and nodded. “That sounds like Orlando. Just be thankful he’s so shy or he would have tried to talk your ear off.”
Orlando who’d been drifting off to sleep was woken by his mother’s laughter. He opened his eyes and regarded Sean with them. Sean was once again struck by the depth he saw in them. His grandmum would surely label this boy an old soul. After a moment Orlando leaned up and whispered something in his mothers ear and then promptly fell back to sleep again.
“You must have made a good impression he asked me if you could come over and play sometime. He normally doesn’t take to strangers that quickly,” she said with a smile.
Sean didn’t really understand the rush of pride that cropped up at that comment; he didn’t even feel the urge to wonder about it, just smiled in response. His next question was out of his mouth before he even had a chance to think about it. “If you ever need someone to look after him…I mean…” he stumbled as he realized how what he was saying could be taken. “I don’t have much experience and I can understand if you think it’s strange or…”
“Sean…” she said interrupting him with a grin. “Are you sure you mean that offer or are you just being polite?”
“What no…I mean it…” he said even though he was still a little surprised by the offer himself.
“Finding a babysitter can be hard, he’s so painfully shy and leery of strangers and since he seems to like you…I’ll probably take you up on that offer from time to time to give Samantha a break.”
“Okay…then…” he said once again at a loss now that he’d signed himself up for the role of baby sitter. “Just let me know…I…I’ll probably start picking up hours from my Da but that’ll be pretty flexible.”
“I’ll let your mum know when I can use you,” she reassured him. “Thank you, Sean.”
“Talk to you later then,” he reached out and brushed a hand against Orlando’s curly head. “I’ll see you soon, Orli.”
Orlando answered with a small grunt which caused Sean to snort back a peal of laughter. Sonia arched her brow knowingly and then turned and entered the house with a final wave at Sean before closing the door. Sean turned and started the short walk back to his house. He wasn’t exactly sure what he’d just gotten himself into but that didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. Sure he’d have to deal with the reaction of his parents, of Lorraine and of his friends to the news that he’d just agreed to play babysitter.
But Sean had a feeling that he wasn’t going to regret this decision in the slightest.
* * *
Author's Note #2: Up next will be a return to the Ghost Ship time period to deal some more with Orlando's injury.