DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Julianna, Jillian, JJ and Jack. All others belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal.
A/N: This features my OC Julianna and uses events in the previous series, Dealing with the Past. In this installment, Johnny's left with his children, alone for the firsts time. And, being Johnny, it's going to be entertaining! ~Kaiti.
Julianna Gage walked into the hospital and headed for her office. She was returning to work after a three month maternity leave. Her three-month old sons and nearly two-year-old daughter were at home with their dad, Johnny.
Julianna hung up her sweater and put on her lab coat. She exited her office and headed to the nurses station.
"Juli! Welcome back. How are those little boys," Dixie asked, hugging her friend.
"A handful already. Jack is the more mellow of the two. JJ is just like his father," Julianna said.
She pulled the pictures out of her pocket and proceeded to show everyone.
"Aw, Juli. They are too cute," Sally said. "Which is which?"
"They are identical aren't they. JJ is wearing the blue outfit and Jack is in the red one," Juli said.
"Precious," Sally said.
She thanked her friends and went to the see patients. As much as she loved being a mom, she enjoyed being a doctor and taking care of people.
She spent the shift busier than usual but, raising three kids certainly prepared her for the amount of work she was going to have to do.
Johnny waved as Julianna drove up the driveway toward work. She had asked him a million times before she left if he would need any help with the kids. He'd assured her he could handle it. She did it all the time when he had to work and she was home. How hard could it be?
Just after 7, Jillian woke demanding her breakfast. She'd been a little surprise to find mommy had gone to work, especially after having mommy home for the past three months.
Just as Johnny put her oatmeal in her bowl and fastened her into the seat, the boys awoke.
Johnny gave Jillian her oatmeal before rushing upstairs to get the boys.
He took Jack out first and changed his diaper and put on a clean sleeper.
He put Jack back in the crib and did the same thing to JJ. Once both were in clean diapers and a clean set of clothes, he carried his sons downstairs. He put them in the playpen and went to warm their bottles.
Just as he was getting Jack to feed him his bottle, Jillian decided to get fussy herself.
"Dada, me wet," Jillian said.
"I'll get you in a minute, sweet pea," Johnny said, sitting at the table and feeding Jack.
He handed Jill a few grapes from the bowl on the table. He hoped she would stay quiet until he got finished feeding the boys.
Jack finished his bottle and was already asleep. Johnny took Jack upstairs and laid him in the crib. He grabbed a clean diaper and dress for Jill. He went back down and warmed the second bottle. Getting Jill out of her seat, he laid her on the floor and changed her. He slipped the dress on her and sent her to the den.
"Daddy will play when he's done with your brother," Johnny said.
He picked up JJ and fed him his bottle. Twenty minutes later, Johnny was playing with his daughter in the den. He didn't know how long the boys normally napped for Julianna, but he hoped it was like they did when they were both home with them.
Satisfied that Jill was content, he went to the kitchen to clean up the mess.
He was drying the last dish and watching Jill color, her third activity in the last ten minutes, when the phone rang.
"Hello," he said.
"How's it going," Julianna asked.
"Boys are napping after their bottles and Jill is coloring," he said.
"Good. I'm glad the morning went well. Hopefully, lunch time will go as well," she said.
"What time are you coming home," Johnny asked. He was hoping to have dinner ready if she was coming home around five. He hoped that he and Juli could have some time alone when the kids went to bed.
"Should be home by five, unless something happens. Call me if there are any problems," Julianna said.
"I will. Love you," he said.
"Love you, too," Julianna said.
He hung up the phone and looked in the freezer. He found a pot roast and put it in the crock pot. He washed some potatoes and peeled some carrots. It wasn't what Julianna would have done, but he thought he did pretty good.
Just as he put the crock pot on the counter, the boys made their hungered cry.
He pulled the bottles out of the fridge and put them in the warm water that sat on the stove.
"Jilli-bean! Daddy's going to get your brothers," he said to his daughter who was now sitting at the table eating her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
He went upstairs, changed the boys and brought them down. He fed Jack his bottle and, once again, Jack fell asleep. Johnny put him upstairs in the crib, just as JJ started crying again.
Johnny picked up his namesake and gave him his bottle. Again, 20 minutes after he started, both boys were tucked back into their cribs. Julianna had said they were usually the most active in the afternoon and Johnny was going to put them in their swings when they woke up.
"Down, Dada," Jillian said.
Johnny took his daughter out of the seat and she ran to the den to play with her toys.
"Jill, you know it's time for your nap. Mommy said lunch, then nap time," Johnny said to his daughter.
Jill looked up at him, her big brown eyes pleading with him to let her play. "Peez, Dada," she said.
"Don't do that, Jilli-bean. Let's get your blanket and you can go and lie in your room and take your nap," Johnny said.
He picked up his pouting daughter and headed for her room.
He put her under the covers on her bed and handed her the stuffed tiger that had become her favorite. It had been a gift from Roy and Joanne shortly after Jill had come to LA.
He left the door open a crack and went downstairs for a cup of coffee. He was already tired and didn't know how Julianna did this everyday when he wasn't home. He ate a quick lunch and went to the laundry room, intent on starting the mountain of laundry that accumulated when you had little children.
He'd just started sorting when the boys woke up.
He rushed upstairs, peeking in on Jill and finding her asleep.
"OK guys, daddy's going to put you in your swing for a few minutes while I finish these chores for mama," Johnny said, taking his son and heading downstairs.
He put the boys in their swings and turned the TV on. Julianna said they liked the noise in the afternoon. He rushed back to load the washer and returned to the boys.
"Well guys, I don't think you're hungry just yet, so how about you play on the floor for a while. Mommy was big about getting you on your bellies," Johnny said.
He took the boys out of their swings and put them on the floor.
When he took them out of the swings and put them on the floor. He suddenly realized the outfits were both blue with red fire engines. He wasn't sure which twin was which. He'd put them in identical outfits and, without the different color trim, Johnny wasn't a hundred percent sure which twin Jack and which was JJ.
"This isn't good," he said. He picked up the phone and called Roy.
"Hey, man. I have a problem," Johnny said.
"What's wrong," Roy asked.
"I can't tell which one is which. I accidentally put them in identical outfits," Johnny said.
Roy started laughing. "It's not funny! I don't know which son is which," Johnny said, panicking.
"What do you want me to do," Roy asked.
"Maybe you can help me figure it out," Johnny said.
Roy sighed. "OK, but if you can't tell them apart and you're their father, what makes you think I can," Roy asked.
"I don't know, but I need help," he said.
"Why don't you call, Juli? She'll tell you which one is which," Roy said.
"And admit to my wife that I can't tell our sons apart? She understood for the first few days but they are three months old now, don't you think I should know? They're exactly the same," Johnny said.
"Identical twins, Junior," Roy said.
"Oh, shut up and get over here," Johnny said.
He hung up the phone hoping his partner could come and help him figure out how to tell the boys apart.
The boys were the same weight and height, so that didn't help Johnny. He was standing in the den when Roy arrived ten minutes later.
"Don't you usually dress them differently," Roy asked.
"Yeah, but Jack was wet when he woke up after the first nap and JJ was wet after their second nap and I grabbed the identical outfit without realizing it," Johnny said.
"Well, do you remember which one you had in your right hand," Roy asked.
"Yeah, but they got put in the swings and then on the floor. I can't remember," Johnny said, his desperation showing.
"Well, how about their tempers? Either one act like Jack," Roy asked.
"They're starting to get hungry and they both act the same. I don't know what to do," Johnny said.
"Well, how about we feed them and see if we can tell them apart," Roy said.
Johnny went into the kitchen to warm up the bottles, running his hand through his hair like he usually did when he was confused.
Roy chuckled at his friend. This was definitely something only Johnny could have happen to him.
He picked up one twin and Johnny took the other. Roy helped feed the boys their bottles.
When they were asleep again, Johnny told Roy to follow him upstairs.
"You put him in the one marked Jack. I'll try to figure out who's who when they wake up," Johnny said.
The two men went downstairs.
"What about birthmarks? Did Juli mention any in their baby books," Roy asked.
"I don't know," Johnny said, going into the den and pulling the baby books off the shelf.
He opened the books, searching for something to tell him how to tell them apart.
"Nothing," Johnny said. "Man, this is horrible. Juli's never going to trust me with the kids ever again," Johnny said, sitting on the couch and putting his head in his hands.
"What are you talking about? It's not like you left them at the grocery store or something," Roy said.
"I can't tell my own sons apart. What father can't tell their children apart," Johnny asked.
Roy was about to say something when Johnny heard Jill upstairs. He went up and found her in the nursery.
"Jill, come downstairs and see uncle Roy," Johnny said.
"Dada, wrong crib," Jill said.
Johnny stared at his daughter. "Wrong crib," he questioned.
"Wrong baby," Jill said.
Roy, who came upstairs behind Johnny said, "Wrong crib? Wrong baby? Jill, did Daddy put the wrong brother in the wrong crib?"
Jill nodded.
Johnny stared at his friend and his daughter. "How does she know," Johnny asked.
Roy shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe she's just saying that. You should wait and have Julianna tell you when she gets home. Have them in their swings and let her pick them up and say which is which. That way you don't have to admit you don't know," Roy said.
Johnny nodded.
He picked up Jill and took her downstairs. She asked Uncle Roy to play with her and Johnny laughed when Roy got on the floor and Jillian proceeded to put all her stuffed animals on Roy's lap.
Thirty minutes later, Roy left, promising to come by for dinner over the weekend.
Johnny and Jill started picking up her toys when the boys awoke.
Jill followed her daddy upstairs and slipped into her parent's bedroom. She went into the bathroom and found the shampoo on the floor. She also found mommy's lipstick.
Jillian proceeded to squirt shampoo on everything. She put some in the sink, in the toilet, on the floor and in the trashcan. She then used mommy's lipstick to write on the cabinets, herself and the wall.
"Jill," Johnny called.
Jill toddled back to her father who laughed when he saw her, not knowing the destruction she had caused in his bathroom.
He wiped her face with a cloth and she followed downstairs.
Johnny put the boys in the play pen and fixed up their bottles.
"Me want chocy milk," Jill said.
"You want chocolate milk," Johnny asked and Jillian nodded.
He took her sippy cup out of the fridge and put the chocolate syrup in it.
He left the syrup on the table, not thinking and fed one twin.
He put him back in the playpen and fed the other. He hated not knowing which one was which and it was seriously driving him crazy. When the babies were fed, he put them in the playpen and cleaned up the kitchen. He went to the laundry room and put the clothes in the dryer and a new load in the washer.
Jill climbed out of her seat and grabbed the chocolate syrup. She went to her brothers and squirted the syrup on the babies. "Chocy milk brudders," she said in her little way.
Johnny came out of the laundry room to find his daughter squirting chocolate in her hair.
"Jillian Ruby! What are you doing," he asked.
"Chocy bath," she said, smiling at him.
"Upstairs. You need a bath," he said. He looked in the playpen and was shocked to see the boys were lying in chocolate syrup.
"Jillian did you put that on your brothers," he asked.
Jillian shook her head no. "Don't lie to me, Jillian," Johnny said.
Jillian took off upstairs and Johnny picked up the boys. The chocolate making a mess all over the kitchen and himself.
He took the three into the guest bathroom and stripped the babies down to their diapers. He helped Jillian take off her dress and diaper and put her in the tub. He managed to get all the chocolate off of her before taking her out and drying her off.
"You, young lady, are going to sit in your room while I clean up your brothers," Johnny said.
He put a clean dress on Jillian and went back to the boys. He put the baby tubs in the big tub and gave each a bath. A bath they didn't like. Johnny was taken by surprise when not one, but both of his son's peed in his face while he was bathing them.
Wrapped in towels, Johnny carried the now angry boys to their room. He put them on the changing table and carefully grabbed outfits for them.
That's when he saw it. One boy had a mole just on the inside of his thigh. He put a yellow outfit on that one and a blue one on the other.
He took them back downstairs to their swings. As he was taking the sheet off the playpen, the phone rang.
"Hello," he said.
"I'll be home in about an hour. One case to finish and then Kel told me to go home. It started crazy, but it's leveled out now," Julianna said.
"That's great, babe. Did you know one of the boys has a mole on his thigh, just like mine," Johnny asked.
"Yeah. I think we picked the right one to name after you. JJ's got it in the same place as you," she said.
Johnny breathed a sigh of relief. He finally figured out how to tell the boys apart.
"We'll I'm sure everyone will be glad to see you when you get home. I know I've missed you," Johnny said.
"I've missed you, too. I'll see you in a bit," Julianna said.
Johnny, relieved to now know how to tell the boys apart went back to find his son's snoozing in their swings. He went up to Jillian's room and found his daughter playing with the dollhouse Roy and Joanne had given her for her birthday.
"Jillian, you want to come downstairs now," Johnny asked.
Jillian nodded her head and followed her father. Johnny picked up his daughter and sat on the couch.
"Jill, you don't put chocolate syrup on yourself or your brothers. It goes in your milk. Now, I don't think we're going to have chocolate milk again until tomorrow," Johnny said to his daughter.
He sat Jill down and she went to play with her toys.
Johnny checked on dinner and got plates out and set the table.
He peeked into the den and found the boys were awake and beginning to get fussy. He took the bottles out of the fridge and started warming them. He picked JJ out of the swing and gave him his bottle. He took him upstairs to sleep and took Jack.
Once again, Jack fell asleep just like his brother and Johnny put him to sleep in his crib.
He realized he'd spilled milk on his shirt and went into the bedroom to change. He went to the bathroom and found the mess Jillian had made.
"Jillian Ruby Gage! What am I going to do with you," he said out loud.
Just as he was about to start cleaning the mess, he heard the door open. He went to the top of the stairs, expecting to see his wife, but found his little girl walking out of the house. Johnny nearly jumped down the stairs and was out the door before Jillian could climb down the porch. "You're going to give us gray hair, Jilli-bean," Johnny said.
He put her upstairs with him and had her help clean up her mess in the bathroom.
He didn't see how Julianna could handle all that went on during the day. He was beginning to think fighting a brush fire with a garden hose was easier than watching his three children.
He and Jillian cleaned the bathroom and headed back downstairs. He put her in her seat and took the roast, potatoes and carrots out of the crock pot and put them on the table.
He heard Julianna's car door slam and went to the door to great her.
"Hey, babe," he said, kissing her.
"How are you," she said, returning the kiss.
"Boys are sleeping and Jill's ready for dinner," he said.
"Wow! You look like you survived the day," she said.
Julianna ran upstairs to change while Johnny dished up the dinner. The three sat down and had dinner together.
When Julianna was cleaning the dishes, she heard the boys wake up.
She headed upstairs to get the boys.
"I see daddy managed to keep you guys fed and dry. How about mommy feed you," she said, taking the boys out of their cribs and feeding them.
Being three-month-olds, they still slept most of the time and Julianna was waiting for the day when they were awake most of the day. She knew she'd have less time than she did now. She watched her little boys fall asleep after nursing and she changed their diapers and put them back in their cribs. She covered them with blankets and headed back down to put Jillian to bed.
She was surprised to find Johnny putting Jill in her pajamas. "No bath," she asked.
"She had one earlier this afternoon. She got a little messy playing," Johnny said.
"Chocy, mama," she said.
Julianna looked at her husband and he shrugged his shoulders. Julianna kissed Jillian good night and went back downstairs.
"Don't tell mommy about the chocolate, Jilli-bean. She'll never let me watch you again," Johnny said. He kissed his daughter and tucked her in with her stuffed animal.
Johnny headed back downstairs. He was eager to get his hands on his wife. He was missing her something fierce and all he wanted to do was be alone with her.
He found her putting the dishes in the cabinet. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her and started kissing her neck. Julianna sat the dish on the counter and turned to face her husband.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi," he said, his voice husky.
Their lips met in a kiss and Julianna put her fingers in Johnny's hair. As he started kissing a trail down her neck, she pulled her hand back.
She gently pushed him away. "Not that I'm complaining, but do you want to explain why you have chocolate syrup in your hair," Julianna asked.
At the same time, they both said, "Jill,"
"How did you know," Johnny asked his wife.
"Johnny, she is your daughter. She's just like you. And she gets caught and tries to smile her way out of it. If JJ or Jack is just like you, we're in trouble. Did she escape from her seat today," she asked.
"From the seat. Gave the boys a chocolate bath. Poured it all over herself. Managed to unlock the side door and get outside. Took my shampoo and dumped it all over the bathroom. Found your lipstick and wrote on everything, including herself. I don't know how you do it, honey," Johnny said.
"Must be a mommy thing," she said.
Johnny grinned at her and kissed her. She pulled away again and said, "You do realize this is how we got the three in the first place."
Johnny just grinned and pulled his wife up the stairs. Julianna grinned behind him. "But it's fun," Johnny said as he entered the bedroom.
Julianna shook her head and shut the bedroom door.