Hey thanks for such a positive response to this story. I wrote this fairly quickly so I'm going to post it now! If anyone wants to suggest a situation for our poor boys to brave then I will be very thankful and it will extend this story a lot further. I apologise for using English terminology in this but I am unsure of the American slang and dialect. Just in case, a buggy is like a pram but for older children and nappies are what I believe you call diapers or something like that.
The next morning Mike found himself awakened by the hungry whimpering of a young child. He lay in bed confused until his memories realigned themselves with his thought process and senses. Quickly he threw back his covers and darted towards the noise. Micky glared at him with woe begotten eyes before renewing his cries. Hastily Mike grabbed him but not before Davy and Peter woke up. Mike scooped up the still bleary Davy and motioned to Peter to follow him. Peter nodded and slipped out of bed, wobbling his way towards them before grabbing Mike's pyjama leg and using it to balance himself. Slowly they walked out of the room and towards the stairs where Peter sat down and slowly bumped down on his bottom. Mike soon settled the two younger boys on the floor of the kitchen and gave them a few pillows from Davy and Peter's room but pulled a chair out for Peter to perch on. Then he turned to the fridge and after pulling out some yogurts he found the rest empty. Groaning he sniffed the yogurt suspiciously but it smelt fine. He tentatively tried a small finger of it and smiled when it tasted normal. He didn't want to go feeding baby's soured dairy products. He handed Peter a spoon first and showed him how to eat the yogurt. Peter copied Mike earnestly occasionally missing his mouth and smearing the food around his face. Mike patted him on the head before putting some yogurt into a bowl and headed over to Micky and Davy.
"Right you guys. Food!" He sat cross-legged in front of them and scooped up a small spoon of yogurt.
"Who's first?"
"Ho. Wo wo wo!" Micky babbled reaching towards the spoon. Mike chuckled and moved the spoon to Micky who opened his mouth in anticipation. He swallowed and quickly eyed up the second spoon but Mike shook his head and tempted Davy to eat. Micky looked crest fallen but instantly cheered up when a second spoonful came his way. They continued with the alternated feeding until Peter called out from the table to say he was done.
"Feensd"
Mike placed the bowl on the floor and moved to clean up Peter and the chair, table and immediate floor. Once Peter was clean he turned back to Davy and Micky to find the bowl upturned and a triumphant Micky sucking his yogurt covered hands. He rushed over and grabbed Micky's sticky wrists and wiped them clean ignoring his vocal protests.
"Micky that was very naughty" he told the boy but Micky just ignored him. Mike managed to scrape enough yogurt out of the bowl to finish feeding the youngsters before Peter came wandering over. He seemed surer of where to put his feet but still collapsed into Mike's outstretched arms.
"We need to get you dressed young man" Mike stated taking in the yogurt stained red shirt. He told Peter to stay put and hurried back upstairs to grab a new set of clothing. He returned as quickly as possible, he hated leaving them alone too long, and holding up two shirts and a pair of shorts.
"Which shirt babe purple or blue?" Peter studied them carefully and pointed to the blue shirt
"Blue" Mike's eyebrows rose. That was the first true word Peter had spoken aside from the childish babbling. He kneeled down and held out the shirt
"Blue?" Peter nodded excitedly
"Blue!"
"Alright then" he quickly removed the red shirt and pulled the new shirt over Peters head.
"Where's Peter gone?" He asked smirking. Peters head popped through the neck of the shirt and Mike acted relieved
"Ahh there he is!" Peter giggled and Micky and Davy stopped their exploration of the cushions to watch the little game.
Once Peter was dressed in clothing that fitted him it dawned on Mike that he was going to have to stock up on baby food, toys, clothes and other necessities. However to do that he would have to take the guys with him but he had no means to do so. He wondered if his neighbours would have anything that would help him, after all they all liked him and he did stand up for them when they were kicked out of their houses so they all owed him one.
Several phone calls later Mike had acquired a double buggy and baby sling. The old lady that had offered the sling had insisted on coming round to show him how to use it.
"After all we don't want you to damage your sister's children!" She had arranged the sling over his shoulder and rested the edge next to his hip like a sash before slipping a startled Davy into it. She showed him how to shift Davy so he was sat with his legs either side of his hip. Almost instantly Davy rested his tiny head on Mike's chest and gripped his shirt letting out a contented sigh. Strangely please with the results he thanked the old lady and began to prepare for the outing. Fortunately Peter seemed quite content to sit strapped in the buggy and kick his legs whilst watching Mike force a reluctant Micky into the adjoining seat. To say Micky didn't like the buggy was an understatement, Micky simply hated it. He screamed and forced his body to go ridged as Mike gently tried to put his arms through the straps. Finally Micky was secured into the seat but not before swiftly kicking Mike in the knee. Stepping back to survey his work Mike had to admit, he wouldn't want to be sat in the buggy. The straps crossed over the shoulder and created a cross across the child's stomach before splitting and clicking together next to the hips. Micky scowled and glared a hole in Mike's head. Mike stuck his tongue out in retaliation making Peter laugh before taking the buggy and manoeuvring it out of the door.
Presently Mike pushed his charges into a baby shop and stopped in awe. The whole shop was drowning in baby grows, toys, food, nappies, anything a child could ever need or want. Slowly he walked forward towards the sale area. A young woman in a light blue uniform trotted over to him to offer her assistance.
"Blue blue blue blue!" Peter giggled catching sight of her uniform. She smiled at him before turning to Mike
"Can I help you sir? It looks like you have your hands full!" Mike grinned and shifted Davy I to her line of view.
"Not just two" he said shoulders shaking with silent laughter at her shock expression.
"Gosh. Are all three yours?" She inquired tentatively clearly taken a back.
"Naw their my sister's. You see she's had a...problem so I offered to look after them for a while" he slipped into the lie easily after all his phone calls. "This here is Davy then Peter is the blond an' Mr sulky is Micky" she laughed before rummaging in her pocket and producing two lollipops.
"Is he allowed?" She enquired nodding to Micky who was sniffing grumpily. Mike nodded and watched her offer Peter and Micky the sweets. Peter accepted and his bashfully hid behind his hands. Micky however suddenly brightened and began sucking the sweet, eyes sparkling.
"That should keep him happy for a while" she observed brushing off Mike's thanks. "If you need anything don't hesitate to ask me" Mike watched her go before turning to the clothing racks next to him. Luckily when this shop said sale it meant sale! He chose out several different outfits for the boys and was pleased to find that the clothes only totalled to $3.50. Feeling more optimistic he pushed the buggy towards the food department and collected several tins of chocolate puddings and pureed meals as well as necessities like nappies and baby lotion. As he was searching for toys suitable for the babies he was ambushed by three young ladies who insisted on cooing over Davy who just gurgled and batted round Brown eyes at them. The commotion seemed to attract more young women to the aisle to coo over Peter and Micky as well. Mike attempted to fight his way out of the crowd but kept getting stuck behind other shoppers. Eventually he got rid of the admirers only to find that Micky had somehow swiped a small stuffed animal from a shelf and was clutching it protectively. Mike tried to untangle him from it but Micky latched onto it even tighter and his lower lip began to tremble. Sighing Mike checked the price tag and nearly fainted. $7 for a stuffed toy! Frantically he tried to find a way to separate the stubborn boy from the toy and ended up plucking a cheaper toy tiger off a shelf and holding it out to Micky who just watched it curiously. Mike made the toy growl and nuzzle micky's face. Gasping in surprise Micky loosened his grip on the expensive toy allowing Mike to pull it out of his grasp and switch the toys around. Thankfully Micky hardly noticed and Mike was able to shove the toy back on a shelf before heading to the checkout. Paying Mike noticed Micky yawning and felt Davy leaning heavily into his side breathing softly. Quietly he pushed them home with the bags of shopping hanging from the handles of the buggy. Quietly he pulled the buggy back into the pad and found all three babies were fast asleep. Smiling softly he unpacked the bags and lifted Davy out of the sling and collected Micky from the buggy and took them upstairs to the big room. Gently he lay them on a bed and tucked the pillows round them to stop them rolling off the bed before heading back down to fetch Peter who shifted in Mike's arms so his chin was resting on Mike's shoulder. When all three were tucked into their beds Mike began sorting out the clothes. A pair of dungarees and an orange tee shirt for Micky along with various colourful baby grows; a pair of soft red Jeans and a blue shirt with cars on for Peter and a long baby grow with dinosaurs on for Davy. The other clothes he sorted into even piles before leaving the bedroom to put the food in the fridge. Now that the boys were asleep Mike settled onto the sofa and thought about the situation. Everything was going well but would his friends ever return to their original age? And if not how would Mike go to work? He would have to get a baby sitter whilst he busked and found little jobs round the city... he shook his head to clear the negative thoughts. All he had to do was find an antidote to whatever his friend had been injected with and give it to them before their saved money ran out. Mike allowed himself a smug smile as he thought of the emergency money he had been storing away in secret just in case. All seven hundred dollars of it. Yes they would be just fine!
exams will be keeping me away from this for about two weeks but fell free to review and help me by giving me ideas I can mull over in between revision.
