FIC- General Hospital (Spencer, TNG)
Title: How Do You Make A Family?
Rating: g
Word Count: 999
Summary: Cameron and Jake think that living in a castle is a game.
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Author's Note: Set in empressearwig's awesome GH: The Next Generation 'verse, from a five-year-old Spencer Cassadine's POV.
He is different than Cameron and Jake. This, he knows right away. They aren’t strangers, he’s known them all his life. But at family parties, he’s always played with his cousins Morgan and Kristina, always felt more comfortable with the older kids and the girls than playing baseball with the boys. He didn’t know how to play baseball anyways, his father played cricket and soccer with him and said he would learn polo when he was older.
Cameron and Jake run through Wyndemere, unafraid of disturbing the quiet or dirtying their clothes. They think living in a castle is a game.
Spencer has always thought it was a prison. A prison of manners and starched shirts and his father’s long list of Royal Do’s and Do Not’s.
He notices that his new stepmother laughs and runs with her boys, instead of lecturing them like his own father, and while Spencer had been told quite firmly that his new baby sister is not a toy, Cameron and Jake play with her just fine.
It is a warm summer day when Spencer is awarded a ‘treat’- he is allowed to take his lessons on the upper patio terrace rather than indoors today. Which actually sounds more like torture when he heard noise from below and saw Cameron and Jake running onto the lower terrace, followed by Elizabeth holding Audrey and they were all carrying art supplies.
“Okay boys, now remember, just because this is food coloring and not real paint, it doesn’t mean you have to try to get it in your mouth- or your brother’s,” but Elizabeth smiles instead of scolded. She always smiles.
“Spencer, are you paying attention?” Old Mr. Dendle says, pointing at the illustration in front of him.
Spencer sighs. “Sorry, Sir.”
Elizabeth looks up at the two of them and calls out, “Spencer! Would you like to come down and finger paint with us?”
He opens his mouth to answer, but Mr. Dendle does for him instead. “Mrs. Cassadine, Spencer is to take his morning history and reading lessons with me before going down to the barn for his riding lesson.”
And Spencer sighs again. His starched shirt is itchy and hot and he looks with envy at the cool, comfortable cargo shorts and tee shirts Cameron and Jake have on.
Elizabeth looks pointedly at Spencer’s tutor. “He’s five, Mr. Dendle. And it’s a beautiful summer day, I don’t think one morning will hurt.”
Mr. Dendle opens his mouth as if to protest, but then thinks better of disputing the new Mrs. Cassadine. She is no longer merely a nurse at General Hospital, after all.
Before he can change his mind, Spencer scrambles up from his seat and back into the house, to the downstairs patio. But as soon as he gets outside, he is discouraged again. He’d heard Elizabeth say that they would be using food coloring, but that would still surely get all over his clothes, and that would not be good. “Thank you, Elizabeth, but I don’t think I should,” he says sadly, tugging at the bottom of her shirt and speaking softly. He doesn’t want Cameron and Jake to hear as they never have any problems diving into the grass in the backyard. “I don’t think I should get my clothes dirty.”
Elizabeth nods down at the little boy. “I don’t think you should either, Spencer.” She looked over at her own two sons. “Boys? Strip down, we’re going to finger paint in our underwear. Housekeeping shouldn’t have to deal with any of your stains.” The boys strip off their clothes with whoops of glee, and once Spencer sees that they have no shyness between them, he quickly takes off his own shirt and trousers and lays it on the chair next to Elizabeth and goes to take his place with Cameron and Jake.
Spencer is concentrating so hard on making a yellow sun and a blue lake with green trees surrounding it that when he feels the wet slap across his stomach, he screams in surprise, and looks down at his chest to see the blob of blue goop Jake has thrown at him. Jake is giggling like a little madman and Spencer doesn’t know what to do with himself but then Cameron hucks a handful of green at his little brother and they both laugh. Spencer glances over at Elizabeth to see if she is going to yell at them, but she just waves her hand. She has seen this before and boys will be boys after all.
Spencer tentatively dips both hands into the jar of orange and throws two handfuls at the other boys, who retaliate back with laughter and smiles, and he realizes what he’s doing.
It’s a game.
They have the patio covered in a rainbow and Spencer’s voice is hoarse from yelling and laughing when he drops the handful of red he’s about to slap into Cameron’s hair when he hears his father.
“What is going on out here?”
Father’s eyebrows are knit together, the way he looks when he’s angry about something the staff has done, and Spencer freezes, not sure whether he is to explain that he’s skipping his lessons, that he’s naked, or that he’s covered in food coloring. He opens his mouth-
But then Father’s hair is dripping with red food coloring, slapped there by his stepmother. Father looks shocked for a moment, but then he glances back at his pretty new wife, smiling and giggling the same way her boys are, and she just laughs. “You can’t get me, I’m holding the baby.”
His father is still frozen for a moment, but then he does something that Spencer can’t recall seeing ever. He breaks out into wheezing, belly-splitting laughter. Cameron and Jake laugh too and resume their game and Father runs after all three of the boys, adding a whole new dimension to the game with his size and strength.
So far, it is the best day of Spencer’s life.
Rating: g
Word Count: 999
Summary: Cameron and Jake think that living in a castle is a game.
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Author's Note: Set in empressearwig's awesome GH: The Next Generation 'verse, from a five-year-old Spencer Cassadine's POV.
He is different than Cameron and Jake. This, he knows right away. They aren’t strangers, he’s known them all his life. But at family parties, he’s always played with his cousins Morgan and Kristina, always felt more comfortable with the older kids and the girls than playing baseball with the boys. He didn’t know how to play baseball anyways, his father played cricket and soccer with him and said he would learn polo when he was older.
Cameron and Jake run through Wyndemere, unafraid of disturbing the quiet or dirtying their clothes. They think living in a castle is a game.
Spencer has always thought it was a prison. A prison of manners and starched shirts and his father’s long list of Royal Do’s and Do Not’s.
He notices that his new stepmother laughs and runs with her boys, instead of lecturing them like his own father, and while Spencer had been told quite firmly that his new baby sister is not a toy, Cameron and Jake play with her just fine.
It is a warm summer day when Spencer is awarded a ‘treat’- he is allowed to take his lessons on the upper patio terrace rather than indoors today. Which actually sounds more like torture when he heard noise from below and saw Cameron and Jake running onto the lower terrace, followed by Elizabeth holding Audrey and they were all carrying art supplies.
“Okay boys, now remember, just because this is food coloring and not real paint, it doesn’t mean you have to try to get it in your mouth- or your brother’s,” but Elizabeth smiles instead of scolded. She always smiles.
“Spencer, are you paying attention?” Old Mr. Dendle says, pointing at the illustration in front of him.
Spencer sighs. “Sorry, Sir.”
Elizabeth looks up at the two of them and calls out, “Spencer! Would you like to come down and finger paint with us?”
He opens his mouth to answer, but Mr. Dendle does for him instead. “Mrs. Cassadine, Spencer is to take his morning history and reading lessons with me before going down to the barn for his riding lesson.”
And Spencer sighs again. His starched shirt is itchy and hot and he looks with envy at the cool, comfortable cargo shorts and tee shirts Cameron and Jake have on.
Elizabeth looks pointedly at Spencer’s tutor. “He’s five, Mr. Dendle. And it’s a beautiful summer day, I don’t think one morning will hurt.”
Mr. Dendle opens his mouth as if to protest, but then thinks better of disputing the new Mrs. Cassadine. She is no longer merely a nurse at General Hospital, after all.
Before he can change his mind, Spencer scrambles up from his seat and back into the house, to the downstairs patio. But as soon as he gets outside, he is discouraged again. He’d heard Elizabeth say that they would be using food coloring, but that would still surely get all over his clothes, and that would not be good. “Thank you, Elizabeth, but I don’t think I should,” he says sadly, tugging at the bottom of her shirt and speaking softly. He doesn’t want Cameron and Jake to hear as they never have any problems diving into the grass in the backyard. “I don’t think I should get my clothes dirty.”
Elizabeth nods down at the little boy. “I don’t think you should either, Spencer.” She looked over at her own two sons. “Boys? Strip down, we’re going to finger paint in our underwear. Housekeeping shouldn’t have to deal with any of your stains.” The boys strip off their clothes with whoops of glee, and once Spencer sees that they have no shyness between them, he quickly takes off his own shirt and trousers and lays it on the chair next to Elizabeth and goes to take his place with Cameron and Jake.
Spencer is concentrating so hard on making a yellow sun and a blue lake with green trees surrounding it that when he feels the wet slap across his stomach, he screams in surprise, and looks down at his chest to see the blob of blue goop Jake has thrown at him. Jake is giggling like a little madman and Spencer doesn’t know what to do with himself but then Cameron hucks a handful of green at his little brother and they both laugh. Spencer glances over at Elizabeth to see if she is going to yell at them, but she just waves her hand. She has seen this before and boys will be boys after all.
Spencer tentatively dips both hands into the jar of orange and throws two handfuls at the other boys, who retaliate back with laughter and smiles, and he realizes what he’s doing.
It’s a game.
They have the patio covered in a rainbow and Spencer’s voice is hoarse from yelling and laughing when he drops the handful of red he’s about to slap into Cameron’s hair when he hears his father.
“What is going on out here?”
Father’s eyebrows are knit together, the way he looks when he’s angry about something the staff has done, and Spencer freezes, not sure whether he is to explain that he’s skipping his lessons, that he’s naked, or that he’s covered in food coloring. He opens his mouth-
But then Father’s hair is dripping with red food coloring, slapped there by his stepmother. Father looks shocked for a moment, but then he glances back at his pretty new wife, smiling and giggling the same way her boys are, and she just laughs. “You can’t get me, I’m holding the baby.”
His father is still frozen for a moment, but then he does something that Spencer can’t recall seeing ever. He breaks out into wheezing, belly-splitting laughter. Cameron and Jake laugh too and resume their game and Father runs after all three of the boys, adding a whole new dimension to the game with his size and strength.
So far, it is the best day of Spencer’s life.