Notes: Thanks to Mari for switching days with me this week! And thanks to Mari and Sammy, as always, for your love and friendship.
Readers and REAL McRollers – Thank you for your wonderful comments on the wedding and the adoption finalization story! As always, your words are heartwarming and most appreciated.
ToZiKa, you shouldn't need tissues for this one ;-)
Hope you enjoy!
Cousin Time (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
The door to the guest room at Mary and Aaron's creaked open early Monday morning. Steve and Catherine both looked over to see a pajama-clad Joan tip-toeing into the room.
"Are you okay, honey?" Catherine asked quietly as she sat up, remembering Joan coming into their room crying the last time they'd stayed there.
"Is Baby Angie awake?" Joan whispered back, looking hopefully over at the bassinet.
Though disappointed that Angie wouldn't be sleeping in her room while in L.A., Joan was absolutely delighted when she learned that her new favorite person in the world would be sleeping in her old bassinet. She had showed it off proudly when they'd brought it to Steve and Catherine's hotel room last week, and was now even happier that it – with Angie in it, of course – was in her house for a couple days while her parents took a short honeymoon.
Catherine and Steve shared a look that was both amused and happy. Joan's Angie fascination and adoration hadn't abated over the last three months, and now that the excitement of the buildup to the wedding was over, she had refocused her attention on the baby.
Steve stood and came around the bed to her. "Well, let's take a look."
"Shh, Unca Steve," she reminded him with a finger to her lips. "She might be sweeping."
"Okay," he whispered, lifting her up since she wasn't quite tall enough to see over the top of the bassinet.
Joan let out an excited little squeal. "She's awake!"
Catherine joined them, smiling down at Angie who was indeed looking up at them. "Good morning, baby girl."
Angie smiled at the sound of her mother's voice and cooed happily as Catherine gently removed her from her sleepsack and lifted her up, kissing her head. Joan leaned over from Steve's arms, wanting to do the same, and he obliged, holding her close enough to reach and then planting his own good morning kiss on his daughter's head as well.
"Are you hungry, Angie?" Catherine asked. She looked over at Joan. "What about you, honey? Ready for some breakfast before it's time for school?"
Joan's brow furrowed. "I have schoo' today?"
"Yep, it's Monday," Steve said. "Remember, we talked about this last night? You were excited to show us your school."
Joan paused for a moment. "Can Baby Angie come to schoo' wif me?"
Catherine reached out and ran a hand over her hair. "We talked about this, too, honey. She's going to come with us to drop you off and pick you up, but she'll be napping most of the time you're at school."
Joan bit her lip, clearly thinking this over. "Then we can pway after schoo'?" she asked.
"Absolutely. You've gotta help Angie with her tummy time again."
Joan brightened visibly. "I wuv that tummy time!"
Steve grinned. "You were a big help. And you can help us read to her, too."
"Yay!" Joan cried. "I wuv weading!"
"I know you do," Catherine said, smiling. She bounced Angie gently as she started to fuss. "But first, let's eat. Angie's hungry. Do you want to help me feed her or do you want to help Uncle Steve get our breakfast ready?"
Joan didn't hesitate before replying, "I hewp you feed Baby Angie."
Steve snorted lightly. "I would never have guessed."
An hour later, all four were in Steve and Catherine's rented Suburban on their way to Joan's preschool for her usual half-day.
"Can you pway my music, Unca Steve?" Joan asked from her carseat in the second row.
"I've got one of your CDs," Catherine said, taking the case from her purse. "Your mom left a couple with us."
"Yay!" Joan said, clapping as Catherine put the disc in the player.
The first song began and Joan bounced happily, recognizing it.
"When you wake up in the morning at a quarter to one, and you want to have a little fun, you brush your teeth …"
"Bwush you' teef!" she called out and happily displayed her teeth, waggling a finger in front of them in place of a brush. "Ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch! You bwush you' teef! Ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch." She looked at the baby in her rear-facing carseat, leaning toward her. "See Baby Angie! Ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch."
Catherine grinned, looking back from the passenger seat. She imitated Joan after the next verse, pretending to brush her own teeth. "Ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch."
Joan beamed happily. "You do it, too, Unca Steve!" she said.
He glanced back briefly. "I've gotta drive, Joanie."
"Pweeeeeease," she entreated.
His eyes flicked over to Catherine as the song continued and at the next verse he waved a finger in the vague direction of his mouth, dutifully, if not enthusiastically, chanting, "Ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch."
Joan squealed happily and kept on "brushing her teeth" with the song.
Catherine grinned, rubbing his arm, and he smiled back, shaking his head.
"This what we've got to look forward to?" he asked, nodding toward the CD player in the dashboard.
"Oh yes," she replied. "I'm sure Mary will have lots of recommendations."
He chuckled, knowing his sister would relish the opportunity to give him CDs full of repetitive kids songs. "I bet she will."
"This is my wocker!" Joan cried as she happily skipped over to it. Sure enough, there was a picture of a smiling Joan on the half-size locker. She opened it and stowed her Ariel backpack inside.
"Don't you need anything out of there?" Steve asked, shifting Angie's carrier to his other hand.
"My fowdew!" she gasped and took the backpack out again. She put it on the floor and unzipped it, pushing the babydoll she'd insisted on bringing to the side and taking out a green folder with her name on it. She pushed the backpack back in the locker and headed for her classroom. "Wet's go! Come see my woom!"
They followed her inside the room where other kids were getting settled.
"Miz Tianna!" Joan called, spotting one of her teachers.
"Good morning, Joan," the young woman greeted her with a warm smile. "How was the wedding?"
"We got mawwied! Wook at my neckwace!" She dropped her folder on a table so she could proudly display her necklace with the three intertwined hands.
Ms. Tianna knelt for a better look. "Ohh, that is beautiful."
Joan pointed to each part of the necklace. "This hand is fo' my mama, this hand is fo' my daddy, and this hand is fo' me! Ou' famiwy!"
"What a special necklace," her teacher said genuinely.
"I'm going to wear it evewy day," Joan said matter-of-factly.
"I think that's a wonderful idea." She smiled up at Catherine and Steve. "And who brought you to school today?"
Joan turned toward her aunt and uncle and smiled. "That's Unca Steve and Ann Caf. And that's Baby Angie!" She stepped closer to the carrier Steve held. "She's my cousin!"
"Oh, she is adorable," Tianna said.
"Thank you," Catherine said, smiling reflexively at the compliment.
"I've heard a lot about you all," Tianna said, standing and offering her hand for Steve and Catherine to shake. "I'm Ms. Tianna."
"Nice to meet you," Catherine said for both of them.
"They staying at my house because Mama and Daddy aw on a widdle twip," Joan explained. "We had a specia' famiwy day, then Mama and Daddy went away in the cawr and Baby Angie sweeped in my old baby bed!"
"She slept in your baby bed? How nice!" her teacher said. She smiled at Steve and Catherine. "How long are you staying?"
"Just till tomorrow," Catherine said.
"We'aw gonna have tummy time!" Joan announced with an excited jump.
"Tummy time?" Ms. Tianna grinned. "What fun!"
Catherine knelt and gave Joan a quick hug. "Have a good time at school, honey. We'll be back to pick you up in a couple hours."
"Aftew Baby Angie's nap?" Joan asked.
"That's right," Steve said, bending to kiss the top of her head.
Joan leaned over to kiss Angie in her carrier, beaming happily when Angie reached out toward her with her tiny hands.
"Bye, Baby Angie! See you wayter!"
She blew kisses as they headed for the door, and they smiled as they heard Joan suddenly squeal, "Sophia! Baby Angie was he'we!"
That afternoon after lunch, Joan helped Catherine spread a blanket out on the living room floor with several little toys. She was practically vibrating with excitement when Steve brought Angie in.
"Wight he'we, Unca Steve!" she said, pointing. "You can put Baby Angie wight on the bwanket. It's soooft."
"Perfect," he said with a quick smile at Catherine. He gently set Angie down on her tummy in the center of the blanket and Joan immediately stretched out on her own stomach in front of her.
"Hi, Baby Angie!"
Angie, now strong enough to hold her head and upper body up for longer stretches of time with only a little wobbling, smiled at the preschooler's cheery tone and happy face.
"She likes seeing you and hearing you talk to her," Catherine said, sitting on one side of them.
"See how she's smiling?" Steve added from the other side.
Joan grinned, reaching over and brushing a finger over Angie's cheek. Angie dropped back to the blanket but quickly pushed herself up again, her eyes once again finding Joan.
"Wike this, Baby Angie," Joan said and pushed her whole torso up.
Angie's gaze followed her and she tried to lift her head higher.
"Show her some of her toys," Catherine suggested. "We'll see if she reaches for any of them."
"He'we's you' keys, Baby Angie." Joan shook a ring of colorful plastic keys in front of the baby. She picked up a small stuffed animal. "And this is a pig. It's mine, but you can pway wif it."
"That's very nice of you, Joanie," Steve said.
Joan bounced it up and down in front of Angie. "The pig says 'Oink oink oink'!"
Angie's fingers flexed against the blanket, moving slowly forward. They brushed against the key ring a few times until finally she gripped it loosely.
"She got it!" Joan exclaimed.
"She did," Catherine said with a broad smile. "Good job, Angie!"
"That's my girl," Steve added.
"Can you tell her the colors of the keys?" Catherine asked.
Joan pointed to each as named them. "That's wed, that's bwue, that's yewwow, and that's gween!"
"Yes!" Catherine praised.
Angie let go of the keys, her hand finding its way to her mouth.
Joan's eyes widened as she looked back at Angie kicking. "She kicks he'w wegs so much!"
"Yep, she wants to crawl, she's just not quite strong enough yet."
"She will be soon," Steve said confidently.
"When?" Joan asked curiously.
"In a couple months," Catherine told her.
"I can show he'wr!" Joan said, pushing herself onto her hands and knees and crawling around the room. "Wike this, Baby Angie!"
"You're a great teacher, Joanie," Steve told her. "Angie's gonna love having her big cousin to learn from."
"I can teach he'wr wots of things," Joan said seriously, returning to the blanket.
"And she's so lucky to have you," Catherine said, leaning over and kissing her head.
After dinner, they got ready for a short walk before Angie's bedtime.
"Do you want to ride your bike?" Catherine asked Joan. "Or ride in your wagon?"
Joan looked up from putting on her shoes. "What's Baby Angie going to do?"
Catherine smiled. "Angie has a little carrier Uncle Steve is going to wear."
"Like this, Joanie," Steve said as he approached with Angie in the wearable baby carrier against his chest.
Joan gasped, jumping up and running over. "She fits wight in there!" She reached up and touched one of the baby's legs coming out of the bottom of the carrier. "Wike he'wr own widdle seat!"
"That's right," Steve said.
"I want to do that, too!" Joan cried.
"You're a big girl, Joan," Catherine said. "You don't need to ride in a baby carrier."
"No, fo' my baby!" Joan said and ran down the hall to her bedroom, returning a moment later with her baby doll. She held the doll against her chest and pointed at the carrier. "Do you have anothaw one?" she asked hopefully.
"Oh, honey, I'm sorry," Catherine said. "We just have one for Angie."
Joan's shoulders drooped.
"But maybe …" Catherine continued thoughtfully.
Steve smiled. "I know that look, Joanie. Aunt Cath's gonna make it happen."
"Come with me," Catherine said, leading Joan back down the hall.
"Your mommy has a plan, Angie," he said to the baby. "Just you wait."
The two reappeared a minute later.
"Wook, Unca Steve!" Joan cried excitedly. "I've got my baby wike you!"
Steve grinned. Catherine had wrapped a sheet around Joan's torso and tied it to keep the baby doll against her chest and her hands free.
"I knew Aunt Cath had a plan," he said, flashing her a smile.
Joan grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the door. "Come on, wet's go!"
He laughed at her exuberance, looking back at Catherine who picked up a small bag and slung it over her shoulder. "I guess we're going," he said.
"Right behind you," she said, smiling broadly.
Joan's bedtime arrived not long after Angie went to sleep. After changing into her pajamas, brushing her teeth with her special "training" toothpaste, and reading a book with both Steve and Catherine, she lay in her bed, snuggling under the covers with her babydoll.
"I wish Baby Angie could sweep in he'we wif me," she said wistfully.
Catherine, sitting on the edge of the bed, patted her leg. "I know, honey."
"But she's too widdle," Joan said with a sigh, having heard the reason many times.
"She is," Steve said, standing beside the bed. "But she likes sleeping in your old bassinet."
"Thank you again for letting her borrow it," Catherine added.
Joan smiled happily at that. "You could take it home wif you so she can sweep in it aw the time," she offered.
Catherine smiled. "That's very nice of you. But she has her own bassinet at home, remember?"
Joan's eyes lit up. "It's puwple!"
Steve grinned. "That's right. But she can sleep in your old bassinet when we come visit, until she needs a bigger bed."
Joan snuggled deeper into the covers, smiling contentedly at that thought. "I hope you come visit wots of times, Unca Steve."
He smiled, bending down to brush her hair back and kiss her brow. "We will, Joanie."
"But wemember to aw-ways bwing Baby Angie wif you," she told him seriously.
He chuckled as he straightened. "I won't forget."
"You wemember, too, Ann Caf," Joan said, looking at her.
"I will," Catherine said, smiling as she leaned over to kiss her good night. "Sleep well, sweetheart. We'll see you in the morning."
"Night night," she said quietly, her eyelids starting to droop. "I wuv you."
Steve smiled. "We love you, too, Joanie."
Once her eyes had closed, they turned out the light and quietly left the room, closing the door most of the way. They peeked in on Angie who was sleeping peacefully before settling on the living room sofa together.
"I'm glad we got to stay a couple extra days so Joan could spend more time with Angie," Catherine said, curling into Steve's side.
He wrapped an arm around her. "Angie's so comfortable with her. It's gonna be so great to watch them grow even closer."
She nodded, then smiled. "And we may want to warn Mary and Aaron."
He looked at her and raised a questioning eyebrow.
"I have a feeling they're going to face the most baby-pressure from their own daughter."
He chuckled, tucking her in closer and leaning his head back against the sofa. "You are probably right about that."
Hope you enjoyed!
Find all our stories (in chronological order!) on our website: marirealmcroll dot wixsite dot com backslash real-mcroll
Or in the McRoll in the REAL World community here on fanfiction dot net
Find us on Tumblr: mcrollintherealworld dot tumblr dot com
You can still join our mailing list by emailing us realmcroll at yahoo dot com with Add me, please! in the subject line.
And find Mari on Twitter asking your opinions on all things McRoll in the REAL World! at Mari21763 and add #REALMcRoller