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By: Angela B
Note:::::: Did my betaing on this one, so beware!
Disclaimer: Not mine and never shall be
Note: For those who say Chris would never act like this…I can honestly say after watching my brother with his kids…daddies can act quite ‘young at heart’ with their kids. Part of the conversation was inspired by a conversation with my own niece...the silly part.
Note 2: Makes reference to Finding Nemo. I tried to phrase it so that even if you haven’t seen it you would get the gist.
WARNING::: Drabble and mush
(Moved to Blackraptor January 2010)
Chris added the flour mixture to the beaten butter and sugar and stirred heartily as the dough thickened. It had been one of those days that he probably wouldn’t remember ten years from now, but today it seemed quite memorable. The blond turned to look upon his son of two years and smiled at the sight. Vin was lying on the floor, right in the middle of the doorway. His upper torso in the kitchen, his fingers tracing the words as he sang along to the song on the CD. Chris had purchased the complete Disney CD collection of songs. The idea had turned out to be a two-fold gift. It gave Vin songs he could listen to without being monitored for adult language/ content and the collection set came with a book of all the songs. As the seven-year-old sang along, he read the words, helping to improve his reading. The lower half of his body stretched into the dining room. His calves bent up in the air; swaying back and forth to the music. Chris smiled at the memory of his son asking him how to program the player so he could skip all the “girlie” songs.
Chris turned back to the cookie dough he was making. The day had started out with Vin bouncing into his bedroom at the crack of dawn with a heart-stopping smile plastered on his face. After snuggling under the covers for a while, the youngster had claimed it was time to get up because the sun was up. Chris had turned over and read the clock, barely smothering a complaint when he read that it was only seven-thirty. In the days before Vin, Chris would have still been sleeping off the late night he’d have had with the guys. Now late nights meant staying up until eleven. Chris had sighed and rolled out of bed. During their time of tending the horses, the father had suggested they go into town and see a show and eat out. Vin had doubled his efforts to get done in record time.
They had gone to see Finding Nemo, a show that Chris surprisingly enjoyed. There had been a scene or two, mostly involving the sharks or the dark that had Vin scooting closer to him during the movie. Chris didn’t mind, he simply wrapped his arm around the young boy and hugged him. After the movie, the two had stopped off at Chick-Fil-A. Chris had learned that the place where they ate wasn’t nearly as important as whether or not it had a playground. Chris got a meal that didn’t involve a hamburger and Vin got his playground, the bonus being; the playground was built inside and therefore out of the hot sun in the summer and the cold in the winter.
On the drive home, Vin had suggested they made cookies when they got there; which, he assured Chris, would complete the day. So, after coming home, Chris had taken down the cookbook Sarah had always used when making Adam and him cookies and began going through the ingredients to make sure they had everything. He looked at cooking the same way he looked at an arms operation, everything had to be just so for the bust, or meal, to be a complete success. The first time Chris had used the cookbook had been difficult, but since it had been for Vin’s sake he had done it. Now, it wasn’t hard at all and in fact it helped him remember a lot of the good times he had shared with his wife and son. Stirring in the last ingredient before the chocolate chips, he looked back at his son and said with a laugh, “Hey, What happened to us making cookies?”
Vin looked up and caught Chris’ teasing smile and returned it as he hopped up off the floor. Stepping up to his dad, he looked up at his dad with hero eyes and said, “Sorry, dad.”
Chris kept the smile he wore as he shrugged off the apology letting Vin know it wasn’t necessary. “Okay, remember how many cups of chips are need?” Chris asked.
Vin nodded, “Three for the recipe and one more to make it better,” he answered as he began measuring out the chips into the batter.
Chris nodded and stood back as Vin dumped in the chips and then tried to stir the stiff mixture. Cooking, Chris had learned also helped Vin with his math.
After Vin was through, Chris handed him the small tablespoon and said, “Remember how you dip it up and place it on the cookie sheet?” the blond asked, knowing that Vin might need a refresher.
Vin nodded and began placing the dough on the extra big cookie sheet. After he was done, Vin stepped back and let Chris take the cookie sheet over to the oven. The seven-year-old wasn’t allowed near the hot appliances just yet. Chris had told him maybe in a couple of years, when he was taller and his arms were longer so he wouldn’t have to be so close to the heating elements and less likely to get burned. After putting the cookies into the oven to bake, Chris moved back to the sink to start the cleanup process. Vin stepped up beside him and picked up the dishtowel to dry the few items used in making the cookies. The songs changed and the next one that came on was from The Lion King. Chris began swinging his hips as the two began singing along about Hakuna Matata and not having any worries.
Both smiled at the thought. There had been a time in both of their lives when it felt as if neither of them had anything but worries and pain. Since finding one another though their worries and strife seemed to be less and more joy was found. As the two wiped down the counters the songs changed again and Chris wasn’t surprised at the song being played next. It was one of the few ‘girl’ songs Vin chose to listen too; Chris figured it had more to do with the theme and the words than anything.
Let’s Get Together was one of Vin’s favorites and though the boy never said the actual words, Chris suspected the song was Vin’s way of expressing his thoughts about their relationship. As Chris took the cookies out of the over and set the sheet on the stove so he could put the cookies onto the rack to cool, Vin came up and stood next to him. Chris picked up a napkin and dished two cookies onto it and pushed it toward his son. “Get us some milk out,” he ordered casually.
Vin, still singing along with the song quietly, moved to get the milk. Retrieving two glasses from the lowest shelve on the cupboard; Vin poured the milk from the half-gallon jug. Chris looked over to watch Vin pour the milk and could see the smile blossoming further onto his son’s face; their favorite lines were coming up. Vin walked back over to Chris and set the two glasses down as Chris finished dishing up the cookies. Together they started singing their lines at the top of their voice.
We’ll be havin’
twice the fun
And you can always
count on me
A gruesome
twosome we will be
Let’s get together
They finished up the song with a laugh. Vin got the next pan started. For the next half hour, the two spent their time in the kitchen baking, singing talking and cutting up. Vin eventually changed the CD when all his programmed songs had played. The first song he played was The Bare Necessities from The Jungle book. Not because he particularly liked the song, but he had found out that when the song played his dad went completely goofy and would dance around playing Babloo the bear. Vin cracked up every time he watched Chris danced around and pretended to play the blues on the trumpet, which was exactly why the blond did it. If it made the solemn and ever-so-serious little boy laugh with delight he had no problem being silly. At the end of the song, like always, Vin took off running through the house with a big, bad agent playing bear on four limbs chasing him. Eventually getting caught, Vin would be slung over the upright ‘bear’s’ shoulders and swung around until both would fall to the floor in hysterics. Vin, lying on top of the man who had pulled him from the nightmare he had been forced to endure, looked down into those green eyes and smiled. Life was pretty good now.
That night as Chris tucked his son into bed, he smiled down into the sparkling blue eyes. Today had been a good one and with hope there would be more of them in the future. Ruffling Vin’s hair, Chris leaned down to kiss the small forehead. Rising back up he instinctually went on the alert. Vin’s eyes had changed and the two had been together long enough for the blond to know the fun-loving little boy was gone and the serious one was back. Chris sat on the bed and waited for Vin to voice aloud what was on his mind with his line of questioning.
“Nemo’s dad sure traveled a long ways to find Nemo, huh?” Vin asked, finally looking up into Chris’ eyes.
“Yep,” Chris said, not knowing exactly where this was leading.
When Vin didn’t say anything, Chris continued with his own line of thought. “That’s what mom and dad’s do when they love their kids, the way Nemo’s dad loved him; you know? Parents, whether they’re of blood or of the heart, will do anything for their children,” Chris added. Vin and him had had several discussions about the different kinds of parents. Vin understood, while Chris wasn’t his blood father, he was a father of the heart.
“Nemo’s dad must have been scared,” Vin said quietly.
“Probably,” Chris answered keeping his answers short and open, so Vin could continue.
Looking up at his dad, Vin asked, “You think Nemo missed his mom, even if he never met her?”
Chris wondered at the change of direction the questioning was going, but had learned straightforwardness always worked best. “I image so,” he answered causally.
“My mom wasn’t afraid of anything,” the seven-year-old whispered.
Chris smiled softly as he subconsciously brushed Vin’s hair back away from his forehead. After two years, Vin was still hesitant to talk about his mother. Chris had learned the only way to make it safe for Vin to talk about his mother was to share details about Sarah and Adam with Vin. The widower had thought it would kill him to do so, but now found it helped a lot, like using Sara’s cookbooks. Equally quite, Chris said with a quirk of a smile, “Sarah wasn’t afraid of anything either. In fact she could become a real wompass cat if she needed to.”
“Nemo’s dad really loved him,” Vin said, getting back to the topic.
Chris nodded, but let the silence be, this was Vin’s time.
“Do all dads feel that way about their sons?” Vin asked finally, still not looking Chris in the eye.
A light bulb went on in the blond’s head. Now they were getting to source of the conversation. Taking he deep breath, he answered as honestly as he could. “Not all dads. But the good ones do. The ones that love their children the way I love you; do. Dad’s like Nemo’s and like me would do anything in the world to protect their children,” Chris said, deepening his voice and making direct eye contact with the child, so Vin would understand Chris was talking about him and not Adam. “And if they did disappear they would do whatever they had to; to get them back,” Chris finished.
Vin looked up into the green eyes with a slight mischievous smile on his face. “Would they travel around the world?” He asked with enough seriousness in his voice to let Chris know the topic was still serious, but taking a humorous tone.
“No matter where they were,’ Chris said, as he laid down next to his son on top of the covers and stretched out, enveloping his son into his arms.
Vin laid his head on his dad’s shoulders. “Would they go up against a shark?” he asked, this time the humor showing through.
“Without a doubt,” Chris said, breathing in the scent of soap and shampoo.
“Would they…dive out of an airplane,” Vin asked with a giggle, feeling the strong hands that meant safety stroke through his hair, making him feel sleeping.
“Sure would,” Chris said, the smile showing in his voice. Vin was playing around, the seriousness gone, and Chris was enjoying the small back and forth communication.
“Would they… eat worms?” Vin asked with a laugh.
“Ugh!” Chris chuckled as he used his other fingers to tickle little ribs next to him, enjoying the laugh that was brought out. “Yes, they would eat worms,” he said with disgust and a laugh to let Vin know he was playing along.
“Would they…throw themselves off a building? Vin asked, snuggling in closer to his dad.
“As long as I got a harness,” Chris said, settling back into the quiet comfort and running his fingers through the soft brown hair.
“Would you…be covered in hot sand?” Vin asked, through a yawn.
“I’d walk, run or be covered in hot sand for you,” Chris answered, giving into a yawn of his own.
“Would you…never leave,” Vin said, as he drifted off to sleep.
Chris answered solemnly, “Never in a million years.” Laying there holding his son, he quit fighting the tiredness and closed his eyes.
Next: Red Tape and Bows
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