S'mores
—
She thinks maybe one s'more is enough, but Johnny's face is covered in gooey marshmallow and sticky chocolate. It's the cutest thing she's ever seen.
Victoria cranes her neck to see Katie deep and peacefully asleep in the playpen in the middle of the living room.
Johnny laughs at his own mess and she laughs a little herself.
Victoria needs Billy home for herself, the kids and for her own sanity. Victoria wants him to leave the storm of revenge, Adam and Victor behind. Focus on them, these two beautiful children they have and what they could have together in the future. Just the two of them because Delia is still remembered, still felt in this house but Victoria knows Delia wouldn't want her father this way. Even when hers provoke him.
Victoria's got seven senses. Five regular ones, and two separate ones that let her know when Billy or her father is about to do something incredibly ill-advised. Alarms continue to ring in her head and Victoria feels like a knot in her stomach, but she breathes. She breathes in, and then out. She wants to trust. She wants to believe. She wants to jump in with both feet to show her children that yes, trust is scary and optimism is dangerously fragile but worth it.
Johnny bites into another piece of his second s'more, crumbs of graham cracker falling around on the table like snow.
He turns to her, blue eyes hopeful and twinkling. "Mommy, 'mores tomorrow?"
His goals are so small. Johnny looks at her and it's as if he's asking if she can leap a wall with a single bound, or cure cancer because she's Super Mommy. Or, they could get puppy (because he has been asking in his own way for some time now). Or, something like that. She chuckles, using a tissue to clean off the marshmallow, graham cracker and chocolate from his mouth and cheeks.
"How about when we all go see Reed for Thanksgiving, you have s'mores with him? So, maybe Katherine can learn how they are from her two most amazing big brothers in the world," Victoria promises, with a brilliant smile of her own. Being with Billy, and all three of her children hits her like an arrow to the heart. She rests a hand on her cheek and it's clear and it looks like bath time. "I think that will be really fun, yeah?"
Johnny nods, "Yeah!"
Victoria liters his face with kisses and then drops another on his head.
"Okay, then, it's settled. I love you," she says, and then glances up when she hears wheels up the driveway, a car door slamming and footsteps before the familiar jingling of keys. "Daddy's home."
Billy comes home and Johnny runs to him. Every time.
As if sensing her father's presence, Katie wakes up with a small cry and Victoria takes her daughter in her arms. The alarms stop in her head stop even if it's for a little while. It's been s'mores, crayon Picassos, toy towers that go down as quickly as they are built up, naps with spreadsheets and phone calls with Newman department heads all day but this is her family.
Somewhere in the routine, Billy takes Katherine out of Victoria's arms to change and feed her while Johnny takes Victoria's hand and pulls her up the stairs to help him pick out pajamas.
It's between rocket ships or dinosaurs.
—
A/N: Just something quick that I wrote up because Victoria said Johnny had an affinity to s'mores. That inspired me and I wanted to just show the relationship between a mother and her son. And yes, Victoria is Johnny's mother. I may or may not have a sequel to this set to when Johnny has a child of his own, and Victoria is a grandmother. It may happen if there is time and inspiration.
Feedback would be awesome. Thank you! Forgive any typos. I'll do a thorough edit tomorrow.
-Erika