A/N: For some odd reason, I feel compelled to apologize for the silliness lining this chapter through and through. Enjoy if at all possible.
Meeting Granddad
"He's gonna be so excited to meet you, Lor," Jennifer's faint Wisconsinite accent rang out to her daughter.
A tiny hand gripped a much larger finger as the other hand went towards an increasingly widening mouth.
"Nope," the mother lightly tweaked the little nose before her and intercepted the hand, "no fingers in our mouths."
The gurgling sound that accompanied a small upturn of her tiny mouth made Jennifer smile widely, pushing her high cheek bones all the higher.
"You heard your mother, Lor, you're just going to have to try to get those toes in there." Rodney grinned, obviously pleased with himself as Jennifer shot a warning glance at him. "So, how much longer until we land?"
The plane ride so far had been smooth and relaxing. The idea of no impending disasters, foreign diseases, or imminent attacks by the Wraith had calmed the small family enough to enjoy the flight that would save thirty hours driving time but enough was enough.
"I'd say another hour at least," his wife answered easily, brushing one of her fingers along Lorelei's cheek. If it could be helped, Jennifer never took her eyes off the small infant. There was something enchanting about being able to look down at her and think to herself, this is my little girl, I'm really a mother.
Rodney watched her loving gaze and reached across the closely joined seats to place a feathery kiss to her cheek.
She looked up with the beginnings of tears in her eyes and this time he tilted her chin up to properly kiss her, mumbling, "We should probably warn your dad your hormones are still acting up."
A quick huff signified she disagreed with his teasing.
"If your hormones are still acting up, does that mean you're still…" An eyebrow rose as he left the rest of the question hanging.
It only took one look at his suggestive face. "Enjoy your flight back."
After another hour and a half, Jennifer still hadn't relinquished her hold on the tiny bundle in her arms. Rodney couldn't say he minded because holding her while in transit still had yet to occur and carrying the bags for his two girls sounded much safer. It was on the car ride to her father's house that he began his usual routine when nervous. The sweat came first and a few fingers began drumming absently against the steering wheel as he gripped it tightly with others.
Jennifer noticed after checking the sleeping infant in the backseat and gave a small smile. "You've done this already, there's nothing to worry about, honey."
"I know, I know," he said more to himself than to her, "but your father can be really intimidating and I'm not sure that's all for show. I mean, does he always have that shotgun in the corner?" His voice got tight and he grimaced as he continued, "I'm pretty sure there's a revolver in the case next to it. With a silencer."
"Calm down, Rodney," she insisted, placing a hand on his shoulder and almost mumbling, "besides, you can't use a silencer on a revolver, much less on his old one."
"Ha! See? It is a revolver. He's going to shoot me, I know it."
Exasperation showed plainly on her face. "You're not going to get shot, Izzy."*
"Who's Izzy?" Rodney demanded with a tightening of his grip.
"From The Mummy Returns, you can't tell me you don't remember watching that with me." **
"I remember now, he was the one concerned with getting shot in the…" A glare stopped him cold and he hurried to rephrase his thoughts. "…behind." He paused again to regain his previous fire. "And if I recall, he was shot before the movie started. Trying to prove my point, darling?"
"Yes, but he wasn't shot in the end, and let's face it, you were already shot in that general vicinity. Requirement met."
"Oh ha ha. I doubt your father would play by such logic anyway. We haven't exactly seen him after telling him of your pregnancy. What if he wants to kill me for… oh my God, he's going to really kill me, isn't he?" Rodney pulled the car onto the last stretch of road before the house appeared on the right.
"Seriously, Rodney, calm down. I can guarantee you neither my father nor Lorelei would like to see you this high-strung. And he was at the wedding, remember?" Rodney gave a small nod as he came to a park in front of her old house. "If he wanted to kill you, he'd have done it already." She left him with a kiss on the cheek and another pat on the shoulder before getting out to return Little Lorelei to her arms once more.
"Well if that doesn't inspire confidence…" he trailed off, stepping onto the side of the road. Rodney picked up their bags and glanced toward the house he wasn't too keen on revisiting. Panic overloaded his system when he swore he saw movement up on the roof. Oh God, it's a sniper. "Hey, Jen, wait up! Don't go in without me."
"Daddy!" Jennifer offered her father a tight one-armed hug as he strode through the door, making sure to keep Lorelei close to her other side.
Rodney stepped up to Jennifer's left and gave Lorelei a lasting glance, almost voicing his thoughts aloud. Promise me right now, it's gonna be you and me against this crazy man and your biased mom.
A quick gurgle of sound came from the three-month-old and he couldn't help thinking she had agreed. The first pact of our lives and she agrees instantly. This parenting is a piece of cake.
The tall, burly man in the doorway stepped back from his daughter and immediately looked past Rodney to take a peek at the tiny child in her arms. "She sure is beautiful, Jenny, all the more so when held by her mother."
A natural beam appeared in her lips and eyes as they flashed down to her daughter once more. "Daddy, I'd like to introduce you to Lorelei, your granddaughter." Jennifer presented the bundle of blankets enclosing her own daughter to her father. It was with the utmost care that he took hold of her.
"It's nice to finally meet you, little one." Her tiny face scrunched up in response to the deep and strange voice: eyes narrowing in distress and her mouth widening to let out a wail. The new grandfather offered his finger to her wobbling chin. The tiny stroking easily confused the infant into forgetting she had just lost her mother's touch. "She's just like you, Jen. Has your eyes, Rod, but definitely her mother's nose and calm personality."
"Well, she's just getting up from a small nap so wait a few minutes on that last judgment." Laughter rang through Jennifer's voice as she side-stepped her capable father and led the path for Rodney into the house.
"It's good to see you again, sir." Going in without at least greeting Mr. Keller seemed a bit risky even to Rodney.
The grandfather didn't even look up as he passed by Rodney and into the house, only offering him, "Just call me Dad. And glad you could make it."
The bag Rodney had been gripping fiercely to keep from dropping nearly fell the remaining foot to the ground when he heard him. He renewed his grip and mentally shook off the incredulous look on his face before entering the house. Just don't question it.
"You set up all the equipment already, Dad?" Jennifer's voice flowed throughout the house making it hard to tell what room she was in. "You could have waited until we were here to help out."
"Not a chance, Jenny. My granddaughter shouldn't have to wait one minute to explore her temporary home.
"If by explore you mean firmly sit or lie about and look all around her, then sure. Not one minute is being wasted." The sound of sensible flats on the hard floor of the kitchen preceded her entrance into the padded living room. "The house still looks great, Dad, especially the patio."
"Had that redone last summer with a bunch of the guys. Couldn't have loose nails and uneven boards when the little one started crawling." He walked to the corner where the kitchen and living room met and offered the pre-crawler in question back to his daughter. "I want to show you the carrier and crib."
Rodney, still relatively in the foyer, first watched as Jennifer was led upstairs and then set the bags down at the side of the staircase. The house really wasn't as bad as he remembered it. Maybe he had given it an unfair first impression because it was pretty inviting after all.
"Dad, you didn't." Jennifer's voice drifted once again from out of sight.
"Yup, I dragged it up from the basement and gave it a new varnish. Figured, someday, maybe it could happen. So I saved it." Mr. Keller's voice joined in, carrying from the top of the stairs.
Curious now, Rodney headed upstairs as well. He stepped through the first doorway on the left just in time to see Jennifer place their little girl in her old crib. Like many recent moments, it pushed a carefree smile to his lips. This was his family. Even the crazy man that tore up his own patio because of a few loose nails, or was it screws?
*A reference from The Mummy Returns, not owned by me. In the second movie of the trilogy, Izzy, the transportation expert, gripes about getting shot in the *** last time he had helped the main character.
** A continued idea from another story of mine, Fluffy Clouds.