Hi there everyone,
I've been working on this fic for a little while now, intending to put it up sometime in the coming weeks. However, I couldn't resist posting it up today to get your opinions.
Please let me know what you think! :) Do you think it is better suited as a sweet little one shot or would you like to see a continuous story? I do have a plot in mind if you would like to see more, but equally I have so many other fics in mind... it just depends on your preference really.
I did intend to finish Meet The Freedman's first, but oh well. I will hopefully be posting the last chapter of that up today, and the epilogue sometime later on this week. Like I said, I couldn't resist posting this prematurely, especially since Private Practice is taking another break.
Disclaimer: I own absolutely NONE of Private Practice, it all belongs to Shonda Rhimes.
"Momma, I've decided," a young boy, with sandy blonde hair and green eyes, stated matter of factly- bustling through the front door with his father in toe.
"Oh have ya now?" His mother enquired, looking fondly into the eyes that mirrored her own. "On what exactly?"
The little lad jutted his chin up in the air ever so slightly, one of the many habits he had inherited from his mother. "I've decided I'm going to be a bus driver."
"A bus driver?" She responded, an amused smile creeping over her lips.
"Yep. A bus driver."
"You haven't heard half of it yet," the boy's father informed her with a chuckle, placing an alien themed backpack into it's designated spot in the hallway.
"Well what's the other half then?" She asked her son as she knelt down on the laminated floor, helping him to unzip his coat.
"Well, I want to give them my resume tomorrow."
At this she quirked an eyebrow, "How the heck d'ya know what a resume is?"
"Daddy told me that I need to make one to get a job."
"Cooper?" She asked, spinning her head around to face her husband.
"I wouldn't say that's exactly how I phrased it, Char," he stammered in mock disbelief. "Is it, Wyatt?"
"Yes it is," the boy protested, marking his statement with a single nod of the head.
"Oh c'mon man, I thought you had my back." Cooper joked, ruffling the boy's floppy hair.
"As great as it is that you want to be a bus driver," Charlotte began, "and I do think that it's very, very great. You're not old enough to make a resume, and despite that you're not even old enough to drive a bus yet."
"Who says?" The boy pouted, reluctant to let go of his new found life ambition.
"The law."
"And who makes the law?"
Charlotte rolled her eyes, "I'm not about to go lettin' you write a letter to the president, askin' him to change the law."
"Well..." the little lad paused for thought, "how else do I get my voice heard?"
Charlotte glanced momentarily at Cooper, who shook his head in amusement. "Where do you pick this stuff up from?"
Wyatt shrugged his shoulders in response.
"Look buddy, how about you be a bus driver when you grow up? That way, when you go to drive it, your feet can actually reach the pedals." Cooper reasoned, realising he and Charlotte were fighting a losing battle.
Their son pouted once more, his face darkening as he growled, "Fine."
"Eh, excuse me?" Charlotte chastised, "What should that have been?"
"Yes, sir." Wyatt said quickly, facing back towards his father, correcting himself in fear of being put in time-out.
"That's better," Charlotte said, satisfied. "Now, you gonna go say hello to your sisters or what?"
Wyatt ran into the living room as fast as his six year old legs would carry him, he had long since figured that running everywhere increased his chances of winning games of 'you're it' amongst friends. This habit despaired his parents, who panicked every time they took him outside or to a store, never able to let their eyes stray from him for a second.
Charlotte straightened herself up, hanging the shrugged off coat onto a peg underneath the staircase. Cooper lay a hand on her shoulder, bending down to give her a quick kiss on the head.
"That precociousness," he smiled, "is all you. I blame you entirely."
Charlotte gave a small laugh, laxly crossing her arms and tilting her head to the side. "He's somethin' alright, but nothin' wrong with a bit of spirit."
"A bit?" Cooper chuckled. "He's got it in spades."
"Yeah well, I was never going to give you boring kids," she quipped. "I dread the thought."
"Hmm," he replied, "god forbid one of them was actually quiet. I wouldn't know what to do with myself."
Seconds after that statement was made, both adults heard a crash, followed by protesting cries and squeals from little mouths in the living room.
"Speaking of which," Charlotte uttered, swiftly walking over the the chaos that was ensuing a few steps away.
"No, no, no, no, NO!" Cried a little girl, at four years of age. She placed her hands on her hips and pouted, exasperated by her older brother's misbehaviour.
"Don't make that noise," Wyatt protested. "You're being too loud!"
"Well, you're being stupid!"
"What's goin' on here?" Charlotte asked, her Southern accent thickening as she adopted her strictest tone.
"Daphne called me stupid!"
"Because he is stupid, and because he tipped over the whole box of crayons on purpose!"
"It wasn't on purpose!"
"Give me strength," Charlotte muttered, taking a deep breath. "Alright you," she began, her eyes looking pointedly at her daughter, "had no right to call your brother 'stupid'. I never want to hear you use that word again, or there'll be consequences, believe me young lady."
Daphne scowled, but nodded her head in agreement as she made her way over to her father, clutching his leg as she greeted him hello.
"And you," Charlotte stated, looking this time towards her son, "will pick all of those crayons up and put them back in the container, alright?"
"Yes ma'am." Wyatt mumbled, eyes narrowing as he searched for each one's location.
"Good," Charlotte finished, softening her tone. "Thank you."
"Well handled," Cooper complimented, giving her a small nod of the head.
"Where's Harper?" Charlotte squinted, addressing her daughter.
"Umm..." Daphne frowned, her blonde brows furrowing in confusion. "I can't remember."
Charlotte's eyes widened ever so slightly, looking up at Cooper. "She was here literally two minutes ago."
"Harper," Cooper called, walking around the room and through into the kitchen in search of his other daughter, the twin of which was still clutching at his right leg.
"Harper!" Daphne mimicked, proud to be assisting her father in his quest. Suddenly she burst into laughter, her white tights skidding slightly across the tiled floor. "Harper, you can't do that!"
The girl's twin sister sat on the kitchen floor, a small saucepan placed over her blonde ringlets and chocolate smeared across her mischievous face.
"What..." Cooper began, a bemused expression gracing his face, "are you doing?"
"Eating." Harper stated, her response muffled somewhat by a mouthful of chocolate.
"I can see that," he smirked. "But what's the saucepan for?"
"Armour." Harper grinned, raising a hand to knock the metal that crowed her head.
Cooper chuckled. "That makes total sense, baby girl, but I think you better stop before your mom sees what you're up to."
At this Cooper removed the chocolate from Harper's sticky hands, nudged the saucepan off her head and used a wet cloth to wipe the chocolate from her heart shaped face.
"You kids are crazy," he joked. "Your mom and I can't leave you alone for a second without you getting into some sort of trouble."
"We're not the craziest, Daddy." Daphne clarified, spinning around to see her purple dress twirl around her.
"You're little rogues!" He laughed, smoothing down Harper's hair. "Go on back in, your mom will be wondering what you're up to."
"Momma, I was being good." Harper grinned, rushing back into the living room she had abandoned minutes before.
"No she wasn't!" Daphne protested. "She was-"
"Don't tell tales, Daff," Cooper interrupted, amused by his daughter's 'goody two shoes' behaviour.
Charlotte was sat with Wyatt on the sofa, attempting to make a start on his reading homework for that night. A boisterous Harper jumped up beside them, scrambling to sit on her mother's lap.
Cooper stood hand in hand with Daphne, surveying his unique, batty little family. Smiling, he lifted his daughter onto his shoulders, looking forward to the inevitably eventful evening ahead.
A/N: So what did you think? Please review! :)