Notes: As always, huge thank you to Mari and Sammy for the squeals and gibberish as you read. And for letting me take over Friday as well because …
Yes, REAL McRollers, I couldn't fit all the Joanie fun into one post, so Chapter 2 will be coming your way on Friday!
Thank you for all your excitement about their weekend together. I hope you enjoy it!
Special thanks to my nieces, the cutest girls in the world, who are luckily still too young to be embarrassed at my immortalizing their antics in fanfiction :-)
Hope you enjoy!
Weekend with Joanie (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
Chapter 1: Who's Your Favorite Princess?
Friday, April 14th
"Okay, peanut," Mary said to the almost-four-year-old whose arms were wrapped tightly around her neck. "I want you to be a good listener for Uncle Steve and Aunt Catherine, okay? Can you do that for Mama?"
Joan nodded, her head pressed against Mary's shoulder.
"You're gonna have so much fun," Aaron said from beside them, rubbing Joan's back. "You'll hardly even know we're gone."
She looked at him, unshed tears in her eyes at their imminent departure.
He leaned over and kissed her head. "I love you, pumpkin."
"I wuv you," she said quietly, unwrapping her arms from Mary's neck just long enough to hug him. But as soon as it seemed like Mary was going to pass her to Aaron, the little girl's arms went right back around her mother.
Mary looked over Joan's head at Steve and Catherine standing close by. "I'm sorry," she mouthed.
Catherine immediately shook her head, conveying their complete understanding.
"Okay, peanut, Mama and Aaron have to go now," Mary said. "We'll be back before you know it." She held Joan close, rocking her slightly, and kissed her head. "I love you so much. Can I have a kiss?"
Joan dutifully lifted her head to peck her mother on the lips. Mary stepped over to pass her to Catherine.
"Come here, honey," Catherine coaxed, holding her hands out.
After a momentary hesitation and an encouraging smile from Mary, Joan went into her aunt's arms.
"Have fun, peanut, be a good listener," Mary repeated, kissing her head once more. "We'll call you on the iPad as soon as we get to San Francisco, okay? I promise."
"We love you," Aaron said, dropping an arm around Mary's shoulder and smiling softly at Joan.
"Have a good time," Catherine said to them as she rubbed a comforting hand up and down Joan's back. "We'll talk to you later."
"Safe travels," Steve said.
"You guys have fun, too," Mary said, stepping to the door with Aaron. "Love you."
"Love you both," Catherine said.
"Love you, peanut," Mary said again.
Joan sniffed, reaching a hand in her mother's direction. "Wuv you, Mama."
"Bye," Aaron said as they finally made it out the door.
"Mama," Joan said, her eyes welling up again as the door closed behind them.
"Do you want to wave goodbye at the window?" Catherine asked.
Joan nodded emphatically and all three walked over to the large picture window so they could see Mary and Aaron getting into his car.
"See, there they go," Steve said.
"Mama! Aawon!" Joan called.
Though they couldn't hear her, both started to wave.
"Bye bye," Catherine prompted in a sing-song voice, waving back.
"Bye bye," Joan echoed half-heartedly, raising one hand.
Catherine glanced up at Steve, and he took the hint and began waving as well. "Bye," he said.
Joan looked at him and started to smile. She turned back to the window and waved more enthusiastically. "Bye bye!"
As the car backed out of the drive, Joan brought a small fist to her face, wiping at her eyes.
"They'll be back, Joanie," Steve said, placing a gentle hand on her back.
Catherine kissed her head, swaying with her. "And we are going to have so much fun this weekend, right? You and me and Uncle Steve …"
Joan looked between them. "We going to pway?"
"Yes, we are going to play all sorts of different things," Catherine said. "What do you want to do first?"
"Do you want to go outside?" Steve asked, eager to take her mind off Mary and Aaron's departure. "We can play on your swingset."
She nodded eagerly, wriggling to get down. "I go on da swide! You watch me cwimb up dere, Unca Steve! I can do it by mysewf!"
"Okay, let's go," he said, exchanging a relieved look with Catherine as Joan happily ran toward the sunroom. "Whew. Crisis averted."
She grinned, nudging him with her elbow. "What crisis? We got this."
"Yeah, we do," he agreed immediately, grinning back as they followed Joan out the door that led to the backyard.
"Look at you go, big girl!" Catherine exclaimed as she watched Joan crawling up the mini climbing-wall on the swingset with Steve standing close behind, his hands out and ready in case she slipped.
"Back when we put this up, you didn't even want to try. Now look at you," Steve continued, smiling proudly. "You're a pro."
"I do dis aww da time, Unca Steve," Joan said, just as her foot missed one of the steps and she lost her grip.
Steve was quick to steady her. "I got you." As she repositioned her hands and feet, he said, "Focus on what you're doing, Joanie."
"Ohh-kay," she said, drawing out the "o," and concentrated on the rest of her climb. Once she was standing on the top platform, she threw her hands up triumphantly. "I did it!"
"Great job, sweetie!" Catherine said, clapping.
"Now I swide down." She pointed to the base of the slide. "You catch me, Ann Caf."
"I'll catch you," she promised.
Joan sat carefully at the top and checked to make sure Catherine was where she wanted her. With a big smile, she pushed off and slid down, raising her hands in the air. "Wheee!"
"Got you," Catherine said, slowing her at the end. "Was that fun?"
"Yes! I do it again!" Jumping off, she ran back to the climbing wall.
"Okay, let's see you climb," Steve said, giving her an encouraging smile.
After several more trips up the wall and down the slide, Joan ran over to one of the two bright yellow swings. "I swing now," she said, carefully climbing on. "You push me, Unca Steve. Pwease?"
"All right," he said, moving behind her. "I'll push you."
She looked back, hanging on to the two chains, her eyes wide. "Not too high, okay?"
"Okay," he promised.
"Just a widdle high."
He shared a smile with Catherine who had taken out her phone to snap a few pictures. Grabbing the two chains, he drew the swing back a few feet and let it go.
"Eeeee!" Joan squealed, scissoring her legs happily.
"Pump your legs together," Steve said as he gently pushed her on the back.
"I know how," she insisted. "I kick wike dis." She pumped her legs forward and back.
"Ooh, you're not the only one kicking, Joan," Catherine said with a smile as she placed a hand on the side of her belly. "Niblet's getting some good ones in, too."
"Nibwet kicking?" Joan asked, confused. She stopped pumping her legs and cocked her head curiously even as Steve continued to push her.
"Yeah, remember, she's in my tummy, and sometimes she moves around and kicks." Catherine's eyes lit with a sudden idea. "Do you want to feel her?"
"I feew her?"
"Sure, come here."
Steve slowed the swing to a stop so Joan could slide to the ground. She ran over to Catherine and looked up expectantly.
"Here," Catherine said, taking her small hand. "Put your hand right here." She placed Joan's hand on her belly beneath her own and held it there. "Wait a second …" She smiled. "There. Did you feel that?"
Joan's eyes widened, and she brought her other hand up. "I feew! I feew!"
"That's Niblet," Catherine said, smiling broadly. "That's your cousin."
Joan bounced excitedly and looked at Steve who had joined them. "Unca Steve, I feew Nibwet kicking in dere!"
"I know," he said, smiling, his own hand joining theirs on Catherine's belly. "She's pretty strong, isn't she?"
"She so stwong," Joan said, her voice full of wonder.
"Just like you," he continued with a soft smile. "And in a couple years, you can show her how to climb that rock wall and go down the slide and how to swing."
"I show her how to do aww o' dem," Joan promised solemnly. "When she coming?"
"Not for a couple of months yet, remember?" Catherine said. "After your birthday. But she'll be a baby so she won't be able to climb and slide right away."
Joan nodded. "Wike my baby." Her eyes brightened excitedly. "I show you her! Come on, Ann Caf! Come on, Unca Steve! I show you!" She ran around them, reaching for the handle on the back door.
Catherine smiled up at Steve. "Guess it's baby dolls next."
He shook his head, smiling. "It was only a matter of time." With a final gentle press to where Niblet was currently kicking, he wrapped an arm around Catherine's shoulder and they followed Joan back into the house.
"Dis is my Nibwet," Joan said, setting her baby doll on the sofa between Steve and Catherine. "Mama buyed her at da stow fo' me. I pwactice. See?" She picked up the doll and held her, rocking her back and forth. "Be niiice to da baby." She looked up at them and smiled expectantly.
"That's great, honey," Catherine said.
"Shhhhh," Joan said quietly. "My Nibwet is sweeping. See?"
"Ohh," Catherine whispered, sharing a quick smile with Steve. "I'm sorry."
"You howd her, Unca Steve," Joan said, passing him the doll. She grinned at the small baby in his large hands. "She so widdle."
"She is," Steve agreed, holding the doll up to examine it. "You know Niblet is about this size right now."
Joan looked back at Catherine's belly. "Wight now?"
"Your doll's a little heavier, but she's about the same length."
"Can I see her?" Joan asked, reaching for the hem of Catherine's t-shirt.
Catherine laughed. "No, just my tummy under there," she said, lifting her shirt a little to show her. "Niblet is inside. Uncle Steve has just read a book about babies," she flashed a teasing grin at her husband, "make that memorized a book. That's why he knows how big she is," she explained, guessing what Joan might have been thinking.
"Ohhh," Joan said, nodding slowly, not quite understanding everything, but grabbing on to a word she knew well. Her face brightened. "I have books! You want to see dem?"
"We would love to see your books, but it's getting close to lunchtime," Catherine said. "How about we have a little something to eat and then we can read some books afterwards for your quiet time."
"I want cwackers an' cheese!" Joan announced happily.
"That's it?" Steve asked.
Joan grinned, nodding.
"How about crackers and cheese and yogurt?" Catherine suggested.
"Yes!" Joan cried excitedly. "Stwabewwy!" She looked at Steve. "What kine of gogut you want, Unca Steve?"
"I don't know," he said, standing and scooping her up into the air to her delighted squeals. "Let's go see what's in the fridge."
"Do you have to go potty first, Joan?" Catherine asked, also standing.
"No!" Joan cried, giggling and holding her arms out wide.
"You haven't gone since you got up this morning, why don't you go try?"
"Good idea," Steve said. "You wanna fly down the hall?"
"Yes! Yes!" Joan squealed.
"All right, let's go!"
Catherine smiled, watching the two disappear down the hallway before heading to the kitchen to get lunch ready.
"Still a slow eater, huh, Joanie?" Steve asked with an amused smile a half hour later as they were still sitting at the kitchen table.
"I poky," Joan said matter-of-factly as she dunked a round cracker in her yogurt container. It was clearly a description she'd heard often.
After finishing in the bathroom, Joan had directed Catherine to a seat at the table and then pushed her own chair right next to it before crawling into her booster. Steve had been relegated to a spot across from them where he watched Joan slowly eat the promised cheese, crackers, and yogurt in between bouts of random questions and comments. Would Niblet like cheese and crackers? Niblet was going to be her friend. Did they know that she had a big girl bed to sleep in now? Could they play on the swingset again after lunch? Her bed had a butterfly on it. What show were they going to watch later? If she finished all her yogurt could she have a treat? She liked chocolate. What were they going to eat for dinner? The dog walking outside the house wasn't as big as Cammie.
"You know I bet if you really focused on those last few bites of yogurt, you'd be done in a minute," Steve said.
Joan waved her spoon back and forth as she chanted, "Wess tawk, mow eat."
Steve's brow knit. " 'Less talk, more eat'?" he translated.
She grinned toothily. "Dat's wha' Aawon says."
"Well, I think Aaron may be onto something."
Catherine stood, picking up her long-empty plate and reaching across for Steve's. "Finish those last two bites," she said to Joan. "Then we can read for quiet time."
"Den we watch a show?" Joan asked.
"Tonight we'll watch a little bit of a show. After your bath."
Joan squinched up her face. "I have baf tonight?"
"That's what Mama said, because you didn't want to take one last night," Catherine told her as she put the plates in the dishwasher.
"Come on, Joanie, finish up," Steve said, a bit more insistence in his voice.
"I aww done," she said, pushing the spoon and yogurt container away. She looked at Catherine who had returned with a wet cloth. "Can I have a tweat, Ann Caf?"
"Just a little one," Catherine said, placing a small wrapped Dove chocolate in front of her. "We're having popcorn later as a special treat when we watch your show."
Joan bounced excitedly even as she tried to unwrap the candy. "Bobco'n!" She looked over her shoulder at Steve who had gone into the kitchen with her plate, finishing the final bite from her yogurt cup. "You wike bobco'n, Unca Steve?"
"Sure," he said.
"I wike bobco'n." She turned her attention back to the chocolate in her hand, finally managing to get the foil wrapper off. She scrunched it in her hand as she popped the candy into her mouth. "You wike bobco'n, Ann Caf?" she asked as she chewed.
"Keep that mouth closed, please," Catherine reminded her with a gentle smile. "Let me see your hands. Yes, I like popcorn, too," she said as she wiped Joan's hands clean with the wet cloth.
"Bobco'n is bewy nummy," Joan told her once she had swallowed the chocolate.
"Yep," Catherine agreed, quickly wiping the little girl's face. She shook her head in amusement. "How did you get yogurt on your forehead?"
"I think it was during the description of the butterfly bed," Steve said as he rejoined them.
She grinned at him and then turned back to Joan. "Okay, go pick out a couple books to read in your room. We'll be there in a minute."
"I pick aww da good books!" Joan said, climbing down from her chair. She ran down the hallway toward her bedroom. "Come on!"
"Did you get enough to eat?" Steve asked, a hand going to Catherine's waist.
She smiled. "Yeah, I'm good." She quirked an eyebrow. "How you doing? Made it through a half a day with no princesses yet," she teased.
"Hey, I'm ready," he countered. "I recognized all three on her cup."
"Well, you had some very good tutors."
"The best," he agreed.
Previous Wednesday (April 12)
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Steve muttered to Catherine in the kitchen as he poured pretzels into a large bowl.
"They worked really hard," she reminded him quietly.
"I know, I know." He rubbed his head. "But it's … princesses."
"It's for Joan."
"Right," he sighed. "And the information will probably come in handy in a couple years," he added with a quick nod in Niblet's direction.
She grinned, running a hand over her ever-expanding belly. "Unless, of course, Niblet has absolutely no interest in Disney princesses and you end up knowing more about them than she does."
He snorted. "That's entirely possible. And Danny'd never let me hear the end of it."
"Uncle Steve, we're ready!" Grace called from the living room.
"Yep!" he replied before turning back to Catherine. "Wish me luck."
She smiled and drew him in for a brief kiss. "You're a good uncle."
He flashed a smile in return, albeit a slightly reluctant one.
Taking a deep breath, he picked up the bowl of pretzels and headed into the living room where Grace and Kaitlyn were waiting expectantly for him on the sofa.
"Come sit right here," Grace said, patting the spot between them. "We made a PowerPoint."
"And flashcards," Kaitlyn added, holding them up.
Steve stopped at the sight of Danny sitting in one of the chairs. "What are you still doing here? I thought you were just dropping the girls off."
His partner smirked. "Are you crazy?" He rubbed his hands together eagerly. "I wasn't gonna miss this."
Steve threw him an irritated look.
"Come on, Uncle Steve," Kaitlyn said, oblivious to the underlying exchange.
He stifled a groan and sat down between the girls.
"Now I talked to Mary this weekend," Grace began, sitting up nice and straight. "She said Joan's favorite princess changes pretty much every day, but usually alternates between Belle, Elsa, and Ariel." She counted off on her fingers with each name.
Steve's brow knit. "Elsa is the one with the …" He flicked his hand out in a rough imitation of a magical gesture. "Snow, right?"
Kaitlyn smiled proudly. "That's right! Good job, Uncle Steve."
Danny snorted, and Steve threw him another look.
"Thank you, Kaitlyn," he said pointedly.
"Okay," Grace continued, in full-teacher mode. "But she also picks Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel sometimes. And if you're going to playing Go Fish with Disney Princess cards, you probably should just know them all."
Danny nodded sagely, fighting a smile. "Sounds very logical to me."
"You know, I bet Catherine could use a hand with dinner," Steve suggested to him.
"No, I don't!" Catherine's response came from the kitchen.
Danny bark laughed, then settled back in his chair to get comfortable as Grace clicked the touchpad on the laptop to advance to the first slide of "Kaitlyn and Grace's Disney Princess Tutorial."
"The first princess is Snow White," she began, and Steve heaved a sigh, turning his full attention to the presentation.
"In fact," Steve continued, "I'm so ready, after Joanie's quiet time, I'm gonna suggest a game of Go Fish."
Catherine raised her eyebrows, thoroughly amused. "Is that right?"
"That's right," he said, folding his arms and nodding confidently. "So watch out, Lieutenant, you're going down."
"At Disney Princess Go Fish?"
"At Disney Princess Go Fish."
"You really want to be known as the Navy SEAL who won Disney Princess Go Fish?"
That gave him pause. He sucked in a breath through his teeth as thought it over.
"Yes," he said finally. "Totally worth it."
She grinned. "I love you."
He grinned back, leaning over to kiss her. "See if you're still saying that after my victory."
"Unca Steve, do you have Awowa?" Joan asked, using both hands to hold the oversized, pink cards.
Steve paused, his brow furrowing as he sorted through the very recent file of Disney Princess information in his head.
After an hour of quiet time reading books in her room, first with Steve and Catherine, and then on her own, Joan had been ready for a new activity and, true to his word, Steve had suggested Go Fish.
"Aurora … Aurora … that's … Sleeping Beauty?" He glanced at Catherine who pressed her lips tightly together, unable to completely hide her smile.
Joan, on the other hand, nodded eagerly, beaming. "Sweeping Beauty! You have her?"
He scanned the cards in his hand. "Nope. Go Fish."
She reached for a card in the pile on the floor between them and looked at it. Not seeing Aurora, she groaned. "Come on!"
Steve and Catherine laughed, both surprised at her reaction.
"Where'd you get that?" Catherine asked.
"Gotta be Mary," Steve said.
She smiled teasingly. "Another branch of competitive McGarretts."
"Pot, kettle, Rollins," he countered, nodding at the pairs of cards arranged in front of her.
She grinned. "Niblet doesn't stand much of a chance, does she?"
"Of being uncompetitive? I guess we'll see, but I know how I'd bet."
She chuckled and turned her attention back to the game. "Joan, why are you picking up so many cards? You only have to take one when you go fish."
Joan grinned up at them. "I wike dese cawds," she said, at least ten new ones now in her lap. She picked them up one by one, placing them in front of her. "I wike Jasmine and Awowa and Tiana and Awiel …" She continued listing the princesses from her cards.
"Does this mean our game is over?" Catherine asked.
"Oh, come on," Steve protested.
"Steve." Catherine laughed at his reaction, so like Joan's.
"I have pwincess dwess!" Joan said suddenly, jumping up. "I wear it now!"
"Wear it now …?" Steve started, confused. "You're already dressed."
"I wear it!" Joan repeated as she ran to her bedroom.
Catherine chuckled, starting to straighten up the cards.
"Hey, hey, hey, we can finish …" Steve said, motioning with the cards still in his hand.
She clucked her tongue. "Steve …"
"Ann Caf!" A muffled voice came from the direction of Joan's room. "Ann Caf!"
"I'm coming, honey!" she called back, pushing herself up from the floor.
"Ann Caf! Hewp me!"
Catherine stepped into Joan's room to see the little girl with her pants off and her shirt stuck over her head, one arm out and one arm straight up.
"Uh oh," Catherine said. "What happened here?"
"I stuck."
Catherine smiled. "I see that. Here, let me help." She gently worked the shirt up and off, static causing Joan's blond hair to stick out in several directions.
She giggled, pushing the hair out of her face. "Dat's cwazy."
"That was pretty crazy," Catherine agreed, laughing as well. "Now what dress did you want to put on?"
Joan ran to her closet and pointed, jumping in place. "Dat one! I can't weach!" She looked at Catherine. "Can you get it fo' me?"
"What's that magic word?"
"Pwease?"
"Of course." She took a shiny pink dress off its hanger. "This one?"
Joan nodded eagerly, raising her arms in the air.
"Okay, here we go." Catherine helped her get the dress over her head.
Joan tugged it the rest of the way down and smoothed her hands over the skirt. "It's so sooooft. You want to feew it, Ann Caf?"
"Oh, it's very soft and smooth," Catherine said, touching the material. "That's a beautiful dress."
"Gamma Sue gibe to me."
"Well, that was very nice of her."
Joan nodded. "I sayed t'ank you and gibe her biiiig hug," she said, smiling proudly.
"Let's go show Uncle Steve your dress."
Joan hitched up her skirt and ran out of the room, yelling, "Unca Steve! Look at my dwess!"
"Hey, look at you," he said when she appeared in the living room. He laughed as she twirled.
"Aaron's mom got it for her," Catherine said, standing in the doorway.
"Dis is Awowa's bink dwess. She have bink dwess and bwue dwess."
"I actually knew that," he said.
Catherine chuckled.
"Awowa is you favowite?" Joan asked.
"I wouldn't say that," Steve said.
"Who's you favowite?"
"If I had to pick …" He glanced up at Catherine who raised a curious eyebrow. "I'd say Merida."
Joan cocked her head. "Mewida?"
"From Brave," Catherine said.
Joan's smile split wide. "Mewida! The beaws!"
"Bears?" Steve asked as Joan once again took off running. She stopped at every room, reaching up to pull the doors shut.
Steve and Catherine followed curiously.
"What are you doing, hon?" Catherine asked.
"I cwose aww da doors so da beaws don't come in."
"Why would the bears come in?" Steve asked.
"Dey want to come in," Joan insisted, closing another door.
"What do they want?"
Joan looked back at them, her lips twisting as she thought. "Dey want toast," she said finally.
"Toast?" Catherine asked, a small laugh escaping. "The bears want toast?"
Joan closed the bathroom door and nodded seriously. "Yeah."
Steve rubbed a hand over his mouth to hide his smile. "What are you gonna do after you close all the doors?"
"I make dem toast."
"Of course," he said, his eyes catching Catherine's.
"Then what will happen?" Catherine asked, fighting a grin.
Joan closed the door to Mary and Aaron's bedroom. "Den dey be my fwiends," she answered as if it were obvious.
Steve finally broke, a wide smile on his face, chuckling warmly. "I guess no one ever thought to give the bears toast." His expression sobered. "But you know, Joanie, if you ever saw a real bear–"
"Steve," Catherine stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"What? I don't want her to–"
"Let's save the bear-talk till she's a little older." She turned to Joan and held a hand out. "How about we make some toast right now for a snack? Half for you and half for the bears."
"Yay!" Joan cried, jumping over to her and taking her hand. "You have some toast, too, Unca Steve?"
"Sure, Joanie," he said, smiling. "Can't give it all to the bears."
After a small snack of toast with peanut butter and honey, they convinced Joan to put her leggings and t-shirt back on so they could go for a walk around the neighborhood before dinner. She insisted on riding her little bike with its pink training wheels, waiting dutifully for Catherine to snap her helmet in place before climbing on.
She stopped every few feet or so to talk, either to a neighbor if one was out, happily introducing her "Unca Steve and Ann Caf and Nibwet" to any who had not met them, or to Steve and Catherine when there were no neighbors. She got particularly excited at the sight of the dogs she called her "fwiends," and always got off her bike to pet them. Her special favorite was Ladybug, a very friendly sheltie mix, who sat serenely and let Joan pet her for five minutes.
"It's gonna take us an hour to go half a block," Steve noted, though his smile showed he didn't mind at all.
Catherine smiled, squeezing his arm as she leaned against his side.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I'm good."
"When are you due, dear?" Mrs. Goodman, Ladybug's owner, asked.
Catherine ran a hand over her belly and smiled. "End of June."
"Getting a little practice in with that bundle of love?" she asked, nodding to Joan who was chatting away to Ladybug.
They all smiled at the sight.
"We've had her for a few hours here and there when they've come for a visit," Catherine said, "but this is the first full weekend."
"A whole different ballgame," Mrs. Goodman said, nodding her understanding.
"Wadybug kissed me!" Joan squealed happily, rubbing her cheek.
"What do you think, honey?" Catherine asked. "Should we start heading back home? It's almost dinner time. Uncle Steve's gonna make some chicken patties for us."
Joan jumped up excitedly. "I wike chicken paddies!"
"Yeah, your mom said that was one of the only things you like right now," Steve said with a wry smile.
"Say goodbye to Mrs. Goodman and Ladybug," Catherine said.
"Bye bye, Wadybug," Joan said, running her hand over the patient dog's back. She ran over to Catherine and grabbed her hand. Waving to Mrs. Goodman, she said, "Bye bye! We going to eat chicken paddies!"
"Mmm," the older woman said, smiling. "You enjoy. Have fun with your aunt and uncle. Happy Easter!"
"Happy Easter," Steve and Catherine returned before she headed back inside with Ladybug.
Steve turned Joan's bike in the direction of the house. "Here you go, Joanie."
She shook her head. "I don't wanna wide it anymore, Unca Steve. I a widdle ti'ed o' widing. I wawk wif Ann Caf."
Catherine grinned back at him as Joan started to tug her down the sidewalk.
He sighed, scratching the side of his head, and picked up the bike. "I probably should've seen this coming."
While Steve made dinner, Joan and Catherine made pictures with her Disney Princess stamp set. As slow as lunch seemed to go, dinner took even longer, but Joan was finally finished with Mary and Aaron Skyped in on the iPad.
Joan excitedly told them everything they had done that day, helped along by prompts from Catherine and Steve when she couldn't remember details. Though one detail she had no trouble remembering was that Uncle Steve's favorite princess was "Mewida," which got an amused, "Of course you'd pick the one with the weapons," from Mary.
After the call, which had thankfully ended without any tears, Catherine announced it was time for Joan's bath so she could watch a little television before going to bed.
Catherine sat on the edge of the bathtub, gently rinsing Joan's hair with a cup of water.
"Eyes closed," she reminded her before she poured again, placing a hand at Joan's hairline as well to block the water, then running it back over her hair to remove the last of the suds. "There we go, all the shampoo is gone."
Joan blinked her eyes open and smiled. "Watch me, Ann Caf, I can be wike Awiel." She lay back in the shallow water, keeping her face up, but letting her hair flow behind her. Swaying her head back and forth, she grinned. "See? I have mewmaid haiya."
Catherine laughed. "Mermaid hair, I see. Is the mermaid ready for her washcloth?"
Joan sat up, taking the soapy washcloth and rubbing it on her skin. "I can do it mysewf, see?"
"You can. You're such a big girl now."
"I awmost fo-wa."
Catherine smiled. "I know. You're growing up so fast."
"I go to pweschoo' when I fo-wa."
"Do you think you'll like preschool?"
Joan nodded.
"Keep washing," Catherine told her.
"At pweschoo', I can pway wif my fwiends and have a teacha'," Joan said, washing her chest.
"That's right, you'll have a teacher. And you can learn and play and get ready for kindergarten."
"And have a backback!"
Catherine laughed. "A backpack?"
Joan nodded. "Wike da biiiig kids." She held the washcloth out. "I aww cwean."
"All clean? I don't think so." She smiled, taking the cloth. "Arms up."
Joan dutifully raised her arms so Catherine could clean them, then she ran the cloth over her back. She rinsed her clean and checked her hair again after the "mermaid" dip in the sudsy water.
"You bants aww wet, Ann Caf."
Catherine sat back, draping the washcloth on the soap dish. "They are kinda wet," she agreed. "Maybe I'll put my pajamas on after this, too."
Joan grinned. "You have pwincess jammas?"
"No princess pajamas for me. But I can't wait to see yours. How about five more minutes to play, and then out? We still have your show and our popcorn treat."
"Bobco'n!" Joan squealed, slapping the water with both hands in her excitement and sending more water in Catherine's direction.
Catherine chuckled, shaking her head. "Definitely gonna have to change after this."
"Sowwy, Ann Caf," Joan said, genuinely contrite.
"It's okay, sweetie, I know it was an accident. Are you ready to get out, or do you want to play for a few more minutes?"
"I get owt," Joan said, holding her hands up. "We have bobco'n!"
Catherine took her hands and pulled her into a standing position. "Okay, let me get your towel." She stood, reaching for the pink hooded towel hanging on the back of the door. She dried Joan a little before helping her step over the rim of the tub and letting her dry herself the rest of the way.
"I cowd, Ann Caf," Joan said, wrapping the towel around herself and shivering a little.
"I know. Are you dry?" She rubbed the towel over Joan's arms and legs. "Okay, Uncle Steve can help you with your pajamas while I clean up in here and change my pants." She opened the door. "Steve?"
"Yeah," he called back from the kitchen, putting the last of the dishes from dinner away after washing them.
"Joan's ready for her pajamas."
"Okay."
"Go on, honey, hurry so you can get warm," Catherine urged, nudging her out the door.
Joan ran the short distance to her bedroom and Steve joined her a moment later.
"How was your bath?" he asked.
"I cowd, Unca Steve. I need my jammas on."
"Okay, where are they?" he asked, looking around the room.
Joan went to one of the decorative cloth storage bins and dug around until she found the nightgown she wanted. Predictably, it had three princesses on the front.
"I need undies, too, Unca Steve," she told him.
"Okay, I think you probably know where things are better than I do."
She pulled another bin out and searched for a pair of underwear that she liked. Once she found it, she carefully laid them and the nightgown out on the floor. Wiping her towel off, she sat down and pulled the pink, polka-dotted undies onto her legs, then stood to pull them all the way up. She raised her arms and said, "You hewp me wid my jammas?"
"Yeah, wouldn't want you to get stuck again," he said with a little smile, scooping the nightgown off the floor and helping her pull it down her arms and over her head.
She grinned up at him. "Now I can bwush my teef!"
"Well, we're gonna have some popcorn, remember? So you can brush your teeth after that."
Her little brow furrowed at that. "No, I bwush my teef after baf."
"I … but you don't want to brush your teeth and then eat something," he tried to reason. "You'll just have to brush them again."
"But it's what we do," she stated definitively.
"How's it going in here?" Catherine asked from the doorway, having donned dry cotton pants.
"We're having a small breakdown in logic and I think we're gonna be brushing our teeth twice tonight," Steve said.
"I bwush my teef after baf, Ann Caf."
"But we're going to have popcorn, remember?"
"Already tried," Steve said.
"We definitely need to brush your hair," Catherine said. "We don't want it to get tangled when you sleep, do we?"
Joan shook her head frantically. "I hate tangas, it huwts."
"I know. So come on, let's brush your hair."
Joan followed her back to the bathroom and stood on a little stool facing the mirror while Catherine sprayed detangler in her wet hair and gently brushed it out.
"You bwush niiice, Ann Caf," she said, meeting her eyes in the mirror.
Catherine smiled. "I'm trying."
"You awmost done?"
"Almost."
After a few more strokes, Catherine set down the brush. "Okay, all set."
"Now I bwush my teef."
Catherine sighed, shaking her head. "Okay, brush your teeth."
Steve chuckled, leaning against the doorframe.
Joan handed Catherine the My Little Pony bottle of toothpaste.
"You sqweeze it fo' me?" She held her pink toothbrush out. "Just a widdle."
Catherine squeezed a small amount onto the brush and Joan put it in her mouth, chewing on the bristles.
Steve's brow knit as he watched. "That's not real toothpaste, is it?"
"It's sbecial," Joan said around her toothbrush.
"Training toothpaste," Catherine explained. "Mary said she still swallows too much. Here, let me see." She took the handle and gently brushed Joan's teeth. "Okay, spit."
Joan spit in the sink and reached for her little dixie cup, filling it with water from the tap and taking a drink. She looked up at Steve and gave him a toothy grin.
"Now we have bobco'n?"
A half an hour later, Joan was tucked into bed. She had snuggled up with Catherine on the sofa, Steve on her other side, and they'd shared a small bowl of popcorn and watched about fifteen minutes of an episode of Sofia the First that was saved on the DVR.
It had taken a little convincing, but Catherine had managed to get her to brush her teeth again before going potty. Then both Steve and Catherine each read her a book in bed.
Her eyelids drooping, Joan accepted good night kisses and had her eyes closed even before Steve turned the light off and closed the door partway.
While Steve made a quick call to Danny in the kitchen to check on the details of case the team had just wrapped, Catherine settled back on the sofa to relax after the exhausting day. She scrolled through the DVR listings and decided on an episode of Planet Earth II that either Mary or Aaron had recorded, turning the volume down so she could just hear the narrator's words.
When Steve returned a few minutes later, Catherine had tears in her eyes.
"What?" he asked, immediately concerned.
"These spider monkeys," she said. "Here, come watch this." She waved him over as she rewound the scene. "This little spider monkey in Guatemala snuck away from her father to climb way up in the canopy," she explained as he sat down beside her, draping an arm over her shoulders and tucking her against his side, all the while listening intently. "She's only a couple months old and it's so high up, she wouldn't survive a fall." She pressed play on the remote, and they watched as the little monkey climbed over thinner and thinner branches until she lost her grip and started to fall. She was able to grab onto a branch with her tail, but couldn't reach another branch to pull herself to safety.
They listened to her frantic cries as she swung helplessly until another monkey appeared.
"Father, however, was watching," the narrator David Attenborough's rich, calm voice assured them.
On the screen, the father spider monkey used his body as a bridge so that his daughter could climb onto him. She wrapped her arms, legs, and tail tightly around him in obvious relief and complete trust.
Catherine curled her hand around Steve's and placed them on their daughter growing within her.
"I know you'll always be watching to keep her safe," she said. "Just like you were with Joan on the rock wall."
He kissed her temple. "We both will."
She nodded. "Yes, we will. And I also know that whether our daughter loves princesses or monster trucks … or both," she laughed, blinking away her tears, "or anything else in between … I know that you will love her totally and completely for who she is."
"I will," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "Always."
Hope you enjoyed!
Stay tuned for Chapter 2 on Friday!
Notes: Thanks to sue2556 for the princess tutorial idea with Grace. I hope you don't mind I invited Kaitlyn along. We may see a little more of that scene in the second chapter. :-)
And do yourself a favor and Google the Planet Earth II spider monkey scene if you haven't seen it. It's one of those most touching things I've ever seen.
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