Title: Mother
Genre: Drama/Humor
Rating:
A/N: Set presumably in the aftermath of 410, so 501? Definitely spoilers. Ruth discovers her maternal feelings.
DISCLAIMER: Don't own it, never will.
Mother:
You may have thought Ruth could do anything. She could hack into the most heavily guarded institutions in the country, she could fabricate convincing lies to save countless lives, hell, she even had the nerve to steal office equipment without clearing it with Harry!
But she could not sit and watch a friend's child for more than 30 minutes. Babysitting was never one of her favorite things to do. Yet, as she watched the small child in front of her, staring back at her with adorable brown eyes (a spitting image of his father) she considered the fact that maybe the night wouldn't be so terrible after all.
They had all taken turns volunteering to watch Wes while Adam was recovering in the hospital. Ruth had signed up last, being the one who was probably least experienced with kids. She heard from Zaf and Jo that Wes was a good boy, and that they had a good time with him, but she highly doubted that he'd enjoy her company very much.
Zaf and Jo were young and vibrant while she was drifting towards her late thirties and her idea of fun was sitting in her favorite armchair with a good book and a good cup of coffee.
The evening had been awkward to start with, she arrived at the Carter household to find Jo waiting for her at the door, little Wes standing shyly behind her. Jo had left pretty quickly with a quick kiss on the cheek to Wes, and a good luck wink to Ruth, which frightened her rather than comforted her.
"Hello, my name's Ruth." She had said firmly with an outstretched hand to greet the boy.
He smiled and replied " I'm Wesley," before running back into the house, ignoring her hand which hung in the air for a goodfive seconds before dropping to her side. She followed him and stepped into the hallway. There were still pictures of Fiona on the walls, she made herself look straight ahead as if she wore a horse's blinders.
Wes was in the sitting room jumping on the couch, resembling a wild chimp in the jungle, and she put her handbag down on the coffee table. She took off her coat and hung it on the antique coat stand in the corner of the ornately decorated room.
"Did you want anything to eat Wes?" Ruth checked what she had in her purse and found only some Hershey's kisses. She figured that she would at least make sure he didn't starve to death under her care. "I have kisses." Wes shrugged and stopped jumping.
"Mommy doesn't like it when I eat sugar. She says it causes hy-per-acti-vity." She smiled when he struggled with the big word. "Mommy's gone now though. I dunno if she stills means it." The child just sat down on the couch and stared at his feet.
Ruth wanted to take him into her arms and comfort him, but that would probably cause more harm than good, so she handed him a kiss instead. Wesley's eyes lit up at the sight of candy and the thought of his missing mother was pushed to the back of his mind.
He opened the candy and popped it into his mouth, savoring the rich chocolatey taste.
"May I have another one?"
Giving Wes candy had been a horrible mistake. He had gone so hyper that the only way Ruth could keep him under control was to pinch the sensitive spot at the back of his neck, so he would stop moving.
Ruth had been debating whether or not to call for help for the past two hours, and she decided that she definitely could use some help.
As she held Wes in her death grip with her left hand, she picked up her phone and dialed Harry's home number. He was the only person she felt that would be able to reign Wes in, and well– who could blame her for wanting to see him?
The phone rang about three times before he picked up.
"Yes?" He sounded tired, he probably just got home.
"Harry? It's Ruth! Would you mind coming over right now?" The desperation in her voice was alarmingly obvious.
"Ruth? What's wrong, are you alright?" His voice was concerned and slightly panicky.
"I'm with Wes right now and I'm having some problems, would you be so kind as to help me?" She pleaded. Wes had just wriggled out of her grip and ran down the hall, tiny feet pounding on the wooden floor as he ran. Ruth cringed as he screamed rambunctiously as any hyper child would, then she sat on the couch waiting for his reply.
"Of course..." He heard Wes's scream on the other end and imagined Ruth trying desperately to calm him down. It made him smile.
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. You're at Adam and Fi– ," Harry stopped himself and continued, "You're at Adam's?"
Ruth replied affirmatively and agreed to see him in fifteen minutes.
She followed Wes's path into his father's bedroom where he was pulling out every drawer he could possibly find. The drawer's contents spilled out everywhere, and an unladylike curse flew out of Ruth's mouth when she stepped on something sharp.
Wes's eyes went wide and he screamed delightedly, "OH, YOU SAID A BAD WORD!"
Ruth sighed exasperated, and tried to negotiate, "Wes, it's time for bed, come on–,"
Wes just screamed again and ran away from her outstretched arms. "I'm not tired! I'm not tired! I'm not TIRED!" Wes darted past the door, leaping over the scattered items littering the floor of his father's room.
Ruth could not help but be grateful that the cavalry was on its way.
TBC...
A/N: This is based on my own problems with my little bro. LOL! And I'm thinking of putting "The Letter" on hiatus because I don't have any inspiration for it as of now.