A/N: So I was conned into returning to the traffic school for a children's festival thing and there were lots of men in suits who'd obviously come straight from work. What can I say? I was inspired :)
This is a sequel of sorts to my story Traffic School but you don't have to have read it. The title is from a kid's book I found in the library :) Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Traffic School 2 (Or, What Dads Can't Do)
Jackie stood with Andrew on her hip, surrounded by her other four children, and scanned the crowd. She smiled when she caught sight of a familiar figure dressed in a suit; she waved him over and tried not to look smug as he approached.
"You're just in time," she informed him after Michael greeted the children and gave her a peck on the cheek.
"In time for what?" he asked, distracted as Katrina tugged on his arm to point something out to him.
"Traffic school," she told him sweetly, still valiantly trying to keep a straight face.
That got his attention.
"Excuse me?"
"Traffic school," she repeated, losing the battle against her grin, "didn't I tell you? The kids can enter the traffic school for free as part of the fete; you're just in time for the session I booked them in for."
"You planned this didn't you?" Michael asked suspiciously.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Jackie replied innocently, handing over Andrew, "besides, it's not all of them, just Andrew and Ebony."
"Well what are you going to do?" Michael asked looking a little flummoxed as Jackie helped Ebony put on her helmet.
"Katie asked if she could go on the jumping castle and she needs to be supervised," Jackie replied smoothly, taking Ebony's hand.
"I can do that!" Michael insisted, making to hand Andrew back to Jackie.
"But Andrew and Ebony were looking forward to doing this with you," Jackie told him, Michael sent her a mock glare. "Jimmy and Nerys are going around on their own for a while and will be meeting us when it's time to go so you don't have to worry about them," she added.
"Fine," Michael said with an exaggerated sigh, "I'll see you later then."
"Thank you darling," Jackie said as she kissed him on the cheek before leading Katrina off to the jumping castle.
Michael watched her go for a few moments before turning back to Ebony and Andrew. "Well, let's get this show on the road," Michael said. Once Ebony was safely on her bike he helped Andrew mount his and then guided him into the traffic school with Ebony following behind.
At first, it wasn't as bad as he feared.
He'd heard Jackie's horror stories about the mayhem and the uncontrollable children, but with less children Michael found the experience rather pleasant. He did find it amusing that it was mostly fathers who were in the traffic school, all looking like they had come straight from work and been drafted.
The relative peace within the traffic school, however, did not last.
Michael would never be entirely sure what happened, but he was reasonably certain it all began when the firemen demonstrated the lights and siren on their fire truck. This had frightened one of the little girls who had then lost control of her bike and crashed into another small child.
The event, though upsetting, would have been fine were it not for the fact that the fathers were a little lax in their supervision and so several other small children (Andrew included) ended up being involved in the accident.
The tears that ensued seemed like they would never end.
Once Michael and the other fathers had rescued their child and ascertained what bumps and bruises had resulted they all settled down to solve the much more difficult problem: getting the children to stop crying.
Michael tried everything he could think of to get Andrew to calm down, but he only succeeded in making him cry harder and start calling for Jackie.
At the end of his tether, Michael called Ebony over (who was, like some of the other older children, completely oblivious and still riding around) and told her that their time was up and it was time to find Jackie.
Only to end up with two crying children as Ebony was ever-so-slightly tired and wanted to keep riding almost as much as Andrew wanted to find Jackie.
It was at this point that Michael began to have an inkling of what Jackie had had to go through five times with the kindergarten outing to traffic school and to appreciate why she was always so exhausted once she got home.
Michael could barely cope with two children; he now understood why Jackie had found it so difficult with five.
In the end he had left the traffic school carrying Andrew, towing Ebony's bike and dragging the disgruntled Ebony along behind him. This turned out to be the least of his problems as he then had to find Jackie, who had long since left the jumping castle with Katrina in order to go elsewhere.
When he eventually did find her she took one look at the crying Andrew, the sulking Ebony and his own petulant expression and burst out laughing.
"I fail to see what is so funny," Michael told her grimly.
Jackie suppressed her laughter with great difficulty as she plucked Andrew from Michael's arms. "You're right, it's really not that funny," Jackie agreed, still trying valiantly not to laugh as she soothed Andrew.
"I'm sorry, all right?" Michael said finally, "I am very sorry that I never appreciated just how hard taking the children to traffic school really is and I grovel at your feet in admiration of your abilities."
Jackie stifled a grin at his huffy tone and nodded, "I accept your admiration," she teased as Andrew finally quietened down.
"Of course, he wouldn't do that for me," Michael continued, still grumpy.
"Well, I'm his mummy," Jackie replied reasonably, "and mummies always know how to make things better don't they?" Jackie added, speaking more to Andrew than Michael as she did so.
Which was a good thing as it meant she missed the face that Michael pulled behind her back.
"Mummy? Can I go back to the traffic school now?" Ebony asked, wiping away a couple of stray tears with the back of her hand.
Jackie took one look at Michael's dark expression and shook her head, "I think that's enough traffic school for today, sweetie," she checked her watch, "besides, it's time we met Nerys and Jimmy."
"Next time I'm on jumping castle duty," Michael informed Jackie as they made their way over to the meeting point.
Jackie smiled, "Michael, next time there will be no traffic school."
"Good, there are some things Dads just can't do," Michael told her decisively.
Jackie's only response was to laugh.
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A/N: What can I say? I love it when Jackie's evil :D