Hey all - this is the last chapter of this little mini-fic. I had to up the rating just a bit for uh... "adult themes". Nothing bad in the least though.
Surprisingly I really don't have much to say today. That NEVER happens...
Anyway, hope you like it and all that jazz :D
Enjoy!
"…The End."
Derek closed the book in his hands, glancing to the side at his wife and children. Fast asleep on a pillow situated in Angie's lap, her mother's fingers gently brushing through her hair, Nila Stiles did not so much as stir, apparently very worn out from her day.
Her twin Alex leaned sleepily against Derek's chest, fighting to stay awake but all the while probing the hole in his bottom row of teeth with his tongue. As soon as Derek finished the story they were reading he turned his blonde head up at his dad.
"Dad? Where's my tooth?" he asked loudly.
"Shh Alex – your sister is sleeping…" Derek whispered, a finger to his lips to signify quiet. He reached over to his nightstand and grabbed the tooth, placing it in his son's hand.
"Can we go put it under my pillow now?" he asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.
"Sure buddy…" Derek said, carefully sliding off the bed. He stood at the edge, sending a smile to Angie who was still curled up with Nila, looking like she was quite tired herself.
Alex stood up on the edge of the bed and Derek lifted him into his arms, carrying him slowly out of his and Angie's bedroom.
"Are you coming?" he asked Angie, turning around in the doorway to look at her.
"Yeah, I'm right behind you…" she whispered, sliding out from underneath her daughter's sleeping form.
Derek turned around and walked forward, hearing a tired whine come from Nila as Angie picked her up, disturbing her slumber.
"Alright Alex…" Derek said, pulling back the covers and gently placing his son into his bed. "Do you still have your tooth?"
"Yep!" he said with a smile, opening his tightly clenched fist and showing the tooth to his father.
Derek smiled, crossing his arms. "Alright – now, put it under your pillow so the tooth fairy can find it, ok?"
Alex turned his attention toward his pillow, grabbing the bright blue fabric and pulling up, his other tiny hand gently placing the tooth on the mattress. He paused for a minute, turning back to look at Derek.
"Like this?" he asked with a small smile. "Will she find it right here?"
"Yep, just like that…" Derek replied.
Alex gently lowered the pillow down until it was on top of the tooth, taking great caution in doing so.
"Okay bud…" Derek said, holding up the blankets as Alex wiggled his legs underneath. He gently pulled the blankets up, tucking in his son on either side of his small body. When situated Alex yawned softly, reaching his arms up into the air shortly after for a hug.
With a smile Derek leaned down and hugged his son, kissing his cheek.
"Remember – you've gotta be asleep or the tooth fairy won't visit… okay?" Derek said, walking over to the corner of the room and turning on Alex's race car nightlight.
Alex's bright green eyes were losing their sparkle quickly, hidden by the eyelids that were so close to shutting for the night.
"Are you sure I can't stay up and meet her?" he asked with a yawn, leaving Derek to chuckle.
"Nope, you gotta be asleep – and I'm not sure you would make it anyway…" he said to his son, the boy turning to the side and making himself more comfortable, clutching onto his light blue baby blanket.
"Goodnight Alex…" Derek said, finger next to the light switch.
"Goodnight Daddy… I love you." he said with another yawn.
Hearing that never failed to put a smile on Derek's face a mile wide. "Love you too bud – sleep good." he replied, flicking the light switch and closing the door halfway.
Once he walked out of the room, Derek paced a few feet to his left, now standing in the doorway to Nila's room. He smiled and leaned against the doorframe, hands in his pockets as he listened to her quiet breathing. She was fast asleep, curled up with her light purple blanket, brown hair fanned out all over her pillow. He allowed himself to linger momentarily at the sight, turning around and walking away from both of his children's rooms.
With a shudder, Derek walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a small brown lunch bag and a latex glove, his face wrenching in disgust as he walked back into his and Angie's office, seeing the unfortunate mouse that had met its death earlier that night. Biting his lip he pulled back the metal arm of the trap, slipping on his glove as he grabbed the mouse's tail and pulled up, shoving it quickly into the bag. He promptly removed the glove and threw it in the bag as well, resetting the trap before he left the office. In the kitchen he tossed the bag into a bigger garbage bag, tying it shut and walking it over to the side door, tossing it out into the garage to be taken care of later.
With a sigh he entered the house again, eyes shooting wide open when he remembered Angie's promise to him from earlier. Locking the door he broke out into a run, hurdling the couch on his way back to their bedroom. He skidded to a halt just before the door, allowing a moment to compose himself as he pushed the brown door open and peeked his head around the corner.
Derek chuckled softly as he walked in the door the rest of the way. He couldn't help it – the sight was positively adorable.
Dressed in his favorite slinky pink nighty, Angie was in bed waiting for him, just like she had promised. With a smile he gently walked into the room and climbed in bed next to her, pulling her sleeping form close to him and snuggling up against her. While he wasn't gone that long, apparently it was enough for an exhausted Angie to pass right out.
"Mmm.." she groaned gently, feeling him kiss her on the top of her shoulder, close to the base of her neck. "…What took so long?" she murmured quietly, still half asleep.
"Had to take care of that mouse…" he whispered, resting his chin on her shoulder, his cheek pressed against hers. "…and convince Alex not to wake up for the tooth fairy."
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Roughly at the same time his parents were talking about him, Alex's green eyes popped open in his bedroom. An idea in his head he slowly sat up, uncovering himself and tossing his blanket to the edge of his bed. His bare feet hit the ground as he slowly climbed out of bed, padding across the carpet to his bedroom door. Looking out to make sure that his mom and dad weren't around, he walked out quietly, making his way to the laundry room.
He was going to see the tooth fairy, whether he was awake when she came or not.
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"Hmm… he really wants to meet the tooth fairy, huh?" Angie asked with a small smirk and giggle. She took in a big breath and sat up, turning around to face Derek who sat up as well.
"What's up Ang…?" he asked quietly, watching as she tried to rub the sleep out of her face.
"Well…" she said, rolling him onto his back and straddling him with a smile. "…A promise is a promise…"
Derek felt a smile stretch across his lips as Angie bent forward and kissed him, her hands slipping underneath his t-shirt and running over his chest.
Though he was enjoying it immensely the smile faded from his face as Angie sat up, a giant yawn coming from her as she stretched and smiled at him lazily.
"You know what honey?" Derek said, grabbing each of Angie's hands in his. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, both of her eyes barely open. "Let's wait for another day… okay? You should get some sleep…"
At that statement he sat up, linking his arms around Angie's back, her tired body still straddling his lap.
" No Derek…" she protested, hugging around him. "I just need a minute… I'll be okay…"
She leaned her head forward, resting her cheek on his shoulder, arms still hugging around him. All he could do was laugh at the sight until he heard her breathing deepen, leading him to realize she had fallen asleep on his shoulder.
With a loving smile and a gentle touch, Derek rolled to the side with Angie still in his grasp, slowly lowering her down until she was resting on her pillow. He sat up and moved next to her, straightening out her legs and covering her with a blanket. With a reach of his arm he turned off the lamp on his nightstand, leaving the room in darkness.
Exhausted himself, Derek noticed how good it felt to crawl into bed, pulling their blankets over himself as well. Looking to the side he noticed that Angie's eyes were barely open, her lips puckered and waiting.
With a chuckle he leaned over and kissed her once on the lips, and once on the forehead.
"…Are you sure you want to wait?" she asked sleepily. "I mean… just, just give me a minute… I swear, I'm ready to go…"
Derek laughed, propping himself up on his elbow, turned towards her. "Yeah, you sure look like it…" he joked, watching the tiniest of smiles come from her. "Goodnight Ang…"
She had a mild look of protest on her face momentarily, but finally gave up and rolled over until she was snuggled in front of him, their bodies spooned together. Both sighed contently after they got comfortable, drifting off quickly toward sleep until…
"…did you remember to give Alex his tooth fairy money?" Angie asked quietly.
There was a small smile before Derek groaned unhappily, removing his arms from his wife and throwing back the blankets on the bed.
"How much should we give him?" he asked, laying in bed with a hand over his eyes.
"I don't know… a dollar?" Angie said, fluffing her pillow before she laid back down.
Derek sighed and rolled out of bed, grabbing his wallet from the top of his dresser.
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As quietly as possible, Derek tiptoed into his son's room, noticing that he was fast asleep, curled up on his side with his blanket clutched in his arms.
Moving to the far side of the bed in order to have Alex's back to him, Derek surveyed the boy carefully once more, trying to make sure he was fast asleep.
"Like he would've been able to stay awake..." he thought briefly with a smile.
Exhaling, Derek carefully leaned forward and placed his hand on the mattress, sliding it forward and under Alex's pillow, looking for the tooth.
…until a snap was heard, and cold metal encased Derek's fingers…
"..aaAAHHHH!"
Derek immediately dropped the tooth and the dollar, ripping his hand out from underneath the pillow case. Surveying it as best he could without his glasses, he could see what looked like a mousetrap, which was now securely tightened on his hand.
"OW…! OW, OW!" he yelled, trying as best he could to get it off.
"Daddy!" Alex exclaimed, clutching onto his blanket with fear. In the other room Derek could hear Nila crying, calling out for Angie.
Derek tried his best to fumble with the trap, but so many things were happening at one time he found himself unable to concentrate through all of them.
"Hang on guys, its okay… I've gotta find Mommy…" he cried out, still in blinding pain from the trap. "ANGIE!"
When no response was heard, Derek bolted out the door of his son's room, finding his wife quickly as he literally ran into her, both of them crashing heads and falling to the floor.
"Derek? What are you DOING?" she groaned, holding her head.
"Get it off! Get it OFF!" he cried painfully, holding up his hand for her to see.
"Oh my GOD!" she exclaimed, grabbing his arm and pulling it towards her. "Okay, don't move…"
Derek bit his lip hard, trying to hold still as Angie hooked her fingers underneath the metal bar and pulled backward, finally releasing the trap off of him. By this time both their heads were throbbing in addition to Derek's hand, and both Alex and Nila were crying, having been startled by Derek's massive outburst.
"What on earth are you doing with a mousetrap?" Angie asked, helping him to his feet.
"Mommy?" Nila cried out.
"Dad?" Alex asked, his voice shaky.
"Mommy and Daddy will be right there you two…" Angie said, hearing the twins calm considerably upon the sound of her voice. "Daddy just hurt himself and mommy has to fix it."
"Stay there…" Angie instructed, leaving Derek seated on the floor of the hallway right outside the kids bedrooms. She walked into the kitchen and opened the freezer, grabbing an ice pack and wrapping it in a towel.
"Here, hold this on your hand…" she said, helping him to his feet. He surveyed the damage, noting that even though he didn't happen to be wearing glasses, there was a very noticeable purple line across four of his fingers. Derek winced as Angie held the pack against the injury, the pain quickly dulling as the ice took its effect.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her free hand holding her head where they had collided.
"It kills and now I have a headache… but yes, I'm okay. Is your head alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine… I'll be right back…" Angie said, walking into Nila's room. Derek heard her tuck their daughter back in and give her a kiss goodnight, closing the door halfway again.
"Where did that trap come from?" Angie asked, pulling the pack from Derek's hand and taking a look at his fingers.
"It was under Alex's pillow…" he groaned, the pain still radiating through his hand.
Angie sighed. "Do you want to deal with him or should I?"
"I'll come, but you can do the talking…" Derek said, replacing the ice on his hand.
Derek and Angie walked into Alex's room to see him sitting up, knees pulled into his chest, crying and holding his blanket close to him.
"Are you okay sweetie?" Angie asked, walking over and sitting next to him on his bed. He immediately threw himself into her lap, hugging around her waist.
"Did I hurt Daddy?" Alex asked, face still buried in Angie's shoulder.
"Tell us what you did, Alex." Angie said, rubbing the boy's back.
"I… I wanted, to m-meet the tooth fairy! So I used those things that you use to catch mouses when they ome!" he cried, voice shaking.
"Alex, you know what we told you about playing with those traps. They're very dangerous – having that under your pillow, you could've really hurt yourself." Angie scolded lightly. "Thankfully you didn't get hurt, but Daddy really did. His hand is very hurt now."
"I-I know, mommy…" he cried, looking back at Derek, more notably at his hand.
"What do you say to Daddy?" Angie asked, still rocking him back and forth.
Alex looked up at Derek's face with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry I hurted you Daddy!"
Derek smirked. "It's okay bud, I forgive you…" he said, walking forward and sitting on the other edge of the bed. "But, this is why when your mom or I say something, you need to listen to us. When you don't listen is when you get into trouble."
"I know Daddy… I'm sorry…" he said again, still curled up next to Angie.
"I think…" Angie started, brushing Alex's hair away from his forehead. "That you should go and give Daddy a hug and a kiss so he feels better…"
Alex hesitantly moved from Angie's grasp and walked over to Derek, plopping into his lap and hugging around his neck. He then leaned back and planted a tiny kiss on Derek's cheek, reaching his hand up to wipe his cheeks.
"Its okay… everything is okay, alright?" Derek reassured, rubbing Alex's arm to comfort him.
The three sat in silence momentarily, before Alex sat up and looked at Derek.
"Daddy, can I ask a question?"
"Sure. What's up?"
"I put that there to catch the tooth fairy. Why did I catch you?" he asked, inquisitive eyes turned up at his father.
Derek stalled, his eyes wide. He looked up at Angie who had the same expression he did.
"Well, Alex… uh, see.. what happened, is…"
"The tooth fairy was sick today, so she called us and asked us to hold onto your tooth for her." Angie finished, smiling as she saw the look of relief on Derek's face.
"But – do I still get money for it?" he asked, hearing both his parents chuckle.
"What did you do with the money the tooth fairy gave you for Alex's tooth, Daddy?" Angie asked, watching as Derek shrugged.
"I have no idea. It went flying when I got trapped. Should be around here somewhere…" he said, watching Angie bend over the back side of the bed and grab the dollar off of the floor. They both watched as Alex's eyes lit up, his tiny hand reaching out and taking it from his mother. He looked it over and then jumped to the floor, running over to his windowsill where he promptly stuck it in the top of his piggy bank and ran back, hopping into bed.
"Alright, now it's REALLY time for bed…" Angie said, covering him up and handing him his blanket.
"So, what did you learn today?" Derek asked, looking at his son.
"Not to touch the mouse traps, ever." he replied with a serious tone.
"Good boy… get some sleep now, okay?" Derek said, leaning forward and giving Alex a hug and kiss goodnight.
"Goodnight Mommy, night Daddy…"
"Goodnight Alex." they replied in unison, stepping out of the room and closing the door halfway.
Angie checked in on Nila as Derek walked back to their bedroom, popping a Tylenol on the way.
Shortly after he laid down she collapsed into bed with him.
"Uggh…" he groaned, removing the ice pack and throwing it onto his nightstand. "Everything hurts…" he whined, listening to Angie giggle.
"We sure have some smart kids, you know that?" she said, placing Alex's tooth on her nightstand for the time being.
"Yeah – I'm amazed he thought of something like that…" Derek added, hand still over his face. "Is your head okay?"
"Yep – doesn't even hurt anymore…" she replied, moving closer to him.
"Must be nice…" he muttered, slipping his glasses on and surveying his hand. It was a bit swollen but not bad, the most prominent marking being that of where the bar had clamped down on him.
"My poor baby…" Angie said, rolling towards Derek and kissing his cheek.
"Eh, I'm alright Ang – just tired and sore now…" he replied, sliding his good arm around her shoulders and pulling her into him. She picked up her head and rested her chin on his chest, staring at him eye to eye.
"Well, I happen to know just the thing to make you feel better…" she said, the provocative smile she gave him from earlier resurfacing as she rose to her knees and pulled off her nightie, leaving him stunned. Leaning forward with a grin a mile wide she kissed him, finally making good on her promise from earlier.
"Are you going to be okay to do this with your hand hurting?" she asked, face buried in his neck as she kissed it repeatedly.
Derek smiled for a minute, realizing that she knew exactly how to make the pain go away.
"Hand…? What hand…?" he asked with a smile.
"Hand? What Hand?"
Oh Derek, you're so witty...
My grandparents have these like, industrial strength mouse traps out in their garage. They're really for rats more than mice, so they're bigger and stronger. Makes sense, right? Well one year one of my uncles got drunk and bet my other uncle it wouldn't hurt to stick his hand there. Wow, I've never heard someone scream like taht before. To be honest, it was hilarious.
Anyway, I'm going to bed now. And MoonCat and ITB, you lose - Derek totally got some :D
