A/N: Well this is just something that popped into my head while admiring my new niece, Peyton. This is probably a one-shot deal but I'll just have to see what my reviewers think! You guys rock, R&R!
Unexpected Surprises
Mrs. Lovett had just finished cleaning the shop and was leaning in a stretch when it started to rain heavily outside her shop. She sighed, another dismal storm over dismal Fleet Street. Then as she walked over to shut the cracked windows, she spotted something by the door.
Out of curiosity, she opened the door to her shop to find a little basket on the stoop. She peered through the dense rain at it for a moment before picking up the basket and bringing it inside. She set it carefully down by the fireplace and discovered there was a letter on top of the pink blankets. Mrs. Lovett opened the card and read aloud to herself:
Dear whom it may concern,
Please take care of my baby girl for I am unable to care for her myself. I trust that she will find a loving home and may not be sent to a workhouse. Please, I love my daughter; treat her with love as well.
Signed, a caring mother
"What's that Mrs. Lovett?" a deep voice asked her from behind.
She jumped and whirled around to see Sweeney Todd looking at her suspiciously.
"Oh Mr. T, I didn't hear you come in!" Mrs. Lovett said, stepping in front of the basket, hoping to hide it from his view.
"What were you saying just then?" he prodded, taking a step forward.
Mrs. Lovett felt her heart speed up nervously, "Oh nothing, just talking to myself."
Sweeney eyed her as if she were madder than him, "What have you got there, then?"
"Got where? Oh…nothing, nothing at all," she said, searching for an excuse, "What did you want then, love?"
Before Mrs. Lovett could protest, Sweeney pushed her aside to see what she was hiding. He looked at the basket with a blank stare and stayed unbearably silent. Soon Mrs. Lovett couldn't take it anymore.
"Mr. T, don't be angry- I"
"Where did it come from?" he asked.
"It-It was on the front stoop and well, I couldn't leave the little thing out there in the freezing rain."
Sweeney turned to walk away, his face expressionless. He reached the door and Mrs. Lovett called out to him: "You're not angry?"
"Why should I be? You're the one that's going to take care of the bloody thing by yourself, not me", he replied coldly.
"But"-
He had already slammed the door and hurried back up the stairs to his barber shop. Mrs. Lovett let out a heavy sigh and knelt down to the basket. She uncovered the blankets to reveal the baby's face. She couldn't help but "awe" at the sight. An angelic looking baby was sleeping; brown curls on the top of her head that curved down to frame her round face perfectly. She had blush in her cheeks despite the cold, bringing light to the seemingly dark world around her.
Mrs. Lovett had always had a soft spot in her heart for babies and children and this was no exception. She was so pretty that she looked like a porcelain doll sleeping so peacefully, surrounded by pink blankets. She couldn't resist the urge to pick her up and cradle her. This brought instant warmth to her heart and she looked down at the baby girl lovingly.
"Never mind what Mr. T says, love, I'll take good care of you", she cooed to the child.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Mrs. Lovett was preparing herself to go to the market for baby supplies. The rain had stopped and for once, the morning sun was shining brightly through her bedroom window. She smoothed out the last wrinkles in her dress when a thought occurred to her.
What about the baby? I can't manage her and an arm load of groceries at the same time. My only choice is…
"Mr. T?" she asked herself out loud, "But how could he watch her?" He practiced loathing towards anything that moved. Ah well, that was her only choice, maybe they'd even bond.
Mrs. Lovett "fixed" her wild reddish brown curls in the mirror before heading towards the door. She hiked up her dress and proceeded to climb the stairs to the barber shop, watching her feet so she didn't trip over her long skirt.
"AHH!" she cried out as she nearly collided with Sweeney himself.
"I'm so sorry Mr. Todd", she apologized, "Must watch where I'm headed."
Sweeney grunted with a nod and tried to get around her but she held fast.
"What are you doing, Mrs. Lovett?" he asked in exasperation.
"I, well I have a favor to ask of you, love", she began.
He looked down at her, wondering what she could possibly want him to do.
"Y' see I'm on me way to the store for baby supplies and groceries, and such so I was wonderin'…do you think you could stay around and watch her?"
Mr. Todd stared down at her like she had a lobster crawling out of her nose.
She forced a smile as he kept staring at her.
"No", he said and turned around, heading back to his shop.
"Mr. T! Please, it won't be for long!" She insisted, putting her hand on his shoulder.
A chill ran through her as he tensed up under her touch. She was used to his coldness by now but this one felt even more frigid than usual. She let go of him quickly and he turned around.
She knew by the pained expression on his face that this was the biggest favor she could ask of him.
"Why not just put her in the work house?" he asked.
"Mr. T, I can't just put her in the work house! They're terrible to children at that place! It would tear my heart in two!" she exclaimed.
"Good", he said, "maybe then you could sympathize."
She looked up at him with pleading eyes, her hands clasped in front of her.
"Oh Mr. Todd, I know how much you have lost but please, you don't have to be bitter to a child."
He stared off into space as he contemplated his options.
"At least come see her, then you can make up your mind," Mrs. Lovett said, pulling him down the stairs by his hand.
He grunted in protest but didn't pull away. She pulled him all the way into the shop and into the living room where the baby slept by the fire. She pulled back the covers and pushed Sweeney forward to see her. He looked down at the baby, his arms dropping helplessly at his sides. He stared at her for a long while, his mouth slightly agape.
Memories rushed through his head of Johanna, his baby girl. His heart ached as he looked at the baby, thinking of happier times. Then a thought flashed through his head, how badly his wife had been wronged, how badly Johanna had been wronged. She was growing up with the heartless, lustful Judge Turpin. It made Sweeney cringe. A child needs love, not a cold wretch looking over her, locking her away. Suddenly, a tenderness seeped into his dark heart. What was he but cold to this baby? Why should she be wronged as well?
Suddenly, he was snapped out of his thoughts by the bell over the door jingling as Mrs. Lovett walked out and left him with the baby. He turned around to stare at the door, a growl escaping his throat. She had tricked him into staying there. Sweeney had half the mind to chase her down but the cooing of the baby behind him called his attention. The baby kicked her legs playfully and pushed off her blanket. Without thinking, Sweeney bent down and covered her back up. She looked up at him making a giggling sound and smiling a broad toothless smile. Sweeney could feel his face getting warm, was he about to smile too? He cracked only a brief, small smile and then sat down on the settee to watch her from there.
Sweeney looked down at her, twiddling his thumbs awkwardly. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all. And as if she were hearing his thoughts, she started to work up a cry. Hoping it would pass soon, he kept staring at her. But the screaming only increased in volume and his eyes widened in panic. Looking around, seemingly expecting help from anything around him, he reluctantly picked the baby up.
"Um, it's alright, its okay", he tried his best to soothe, "Don't cry now."
He bounced up and down, holding her against his chest. He continued to shush her and patted her on the back. The barber felt confused and frantic, having not held a baby in his arms for fifteen years. Perhaps he needed to relax, not hold his arms so stiffly. He tried to loosen up and rocked back and forth, finding it harder to do than he thought. Finally, he collapsed onto the settee, the baby cradled in his arms.
"I- I don't know what to do", he confessed to the infant.
As if a switch had been flicked, the baby quieted down and peered up at him. Sweeney looked down, shocked that it could change moods so quickly. Then he noticed the baby was reaching up at him for something.
"What? What is it?" he asked her, leaning down closer.
She grabbed onto a strand of his black hair and pulled.
"OW!" he exclaimed, jerking his head back in surprise. Then seeing her lip start to quiver he shook his head, "No, no, no! Please, continue!"
The baby yanked on his hair till his head was sore and he was starting to get agitated, when the baby finally yawned. He pulled back at her and noticed that she was beginning to get sleepy, and hungry by the way she was smacking her lips.
"I don't have food," he said, "You must wait till that bloody mother of yours gets back."
On cue, Mrs. Lovett walked in briskly and sat her groceries down. She stretched, and then peeked in the living room where Sweeney sat with the baby still in his arms. She gasped as she saw him smile, just slightly, but it was still a smile. The sight brought so much joy to her heart that she could just bust. She let her thoughts wander into imagining that this was their baby and they lived in a lovely cottage by the sea.
"Mrs. Lovett… Mrs. Lovett!"
"Hmm, what?" she asked, awakening from her daydream.
Mr. Todd was in front of her, "She's hungry I suppose", he said and handed the baby over to her.
He hurried over to the door in an attempt to leave but Mrs. Lovett caught him with a question.
"What should we call her?" she asked.
"Call her?" he repeated, "Mrs. Lovett, you'll get too attached if you name something."
With that, he strode out the door, leaving her with the baby.
"Too late", she whispered to herself as she spotted a smile on Sweeney Todd's face through the window.
THE END!
So, tell me what you think!
