Three Explorers and a Baby. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: None belong to me, except Aaron.

AN: Wow, thanks to all of you who reviewed…the title was actually supposed to be three explorers and a baby but it must have chopped it off oh well. Here we go! Oh and this story has a little something to do with Marguerite's past, or at least the way I think it could be…

please read and review.

Sorry if I spelt Marguerite's last name incorrectly.

~*

By the time they reached the tree house the baby was sobbing and rubbing clenched fists into his eyes.

"Doesn't that baby ever shut up?" John demanded.

Marguerite glared at him, switching the baby to the other hip, "babies don't just shut up John, they usually cry for a reason, there usually trying to tell you something," Marguerite lifted the baby up and sniffed, grimacing, "and this boy needs a change." She marched over to the table and pushed the contents all to one side, she put the baby down.

"No!" John exclaimed, "no way are you changing that baby where we eat."

"Fine," Marguerite said exasperated, she settled the baby down on the floor. "Is this all right Roxton? Or too close to where you may be walking?" She asked sarcastically.

"You're funny," John retorted.

Marguerite reached into the bag and pulled out a diaper and a glass bottle of baby powder, "could someone maybe help me please?" She asked.

"What do I need to do?" John asked, abandoning his weapon on the table.

"Hold this for a second," Marguerite said holding out a clean diaper.

She undress the baby who was kicking and gurgling happily. He played with his toes as Marguerite unpinned his diaper and grabbed the clean one from John. She stationed the clean diaper under the soiled diaper, "boys sometimes have a tendency to spray," John stared down at the baby, "watch and learn Marguerite said, she whipped off the dirty diaper and closed the clean one quickly. She held out the dirty diaper, "take this."

John shook his head.

Marguerite's eyes flashed with danger, "John just take the damn diaper!" She yelled and John obliged holding the diaper away from his face with his thumb and fore finger.

Marguerite sprinkled on the baby powder then closed the diaper, "oh that's a good baby, aren't you a sweetheart," she pinned the diaper closed. The baby sat up by himself and reached out latching onto a lock of Marguerite's hair he pulled on it sharply, she pried his hands away from her hair, "aren't you cute." She smiled at the baby, then looked over to John, "I'd like to know what you were like as a child, probably were a terror," she mumbled as she stuffed the baby powder back into the bag.

John didn't reply but looked down when he realized he was still holding the diaper, "what do I do with this?"

Veronica grabbed the garbage, "here."

"Somebody is going to have to wash all the dirty diapers later," she elucidated.

"Could we put it outside? It smells awful," John queried standing up wiping his hands on his blue button up shirt.

"Maybe it could help to keep the raptors and apemen away," Ned cracked.

Veronica reached into the bag and pulled out a pair of navy blue pants, there was a short sleeved shirt with silver buttons up the front to match, "lets put him in this," she said grinning. She dropped onto his knee's and dressed the baby quickly.

"Start a bottle of formula," Marguerite dictated, "do what it says on the bottle."

The baby sat looking around, then he pushed himself up to his feet.

"Whoa!" Marguerite cried out as he teetered over to John.

"Ha! Ha!" The baby cried out, reaching his hands up.

"What?" John asked, bending over until his face was level with the babies, "what do you want?"

"Ha, ha," the baby explained reaching out he snatched the hat right off of John's head and stuck the brim into his mouth.

"Give that back," John said snatching back his hat right out of the babies mouth, the baby plopped onto his backside and began to wail.

"John!" Ned shouted.

"What?" John asked.

"He wasn't doing any harm to it," Ned said taking John's hat right out of his hands, he handed it back to the baby who stopped crying immediately and chomped down on the brim contentedly.

"Malone!" John yelled in protest.

"He's so cute," Ned said.

"Hey baby!" Veronica called, "sweetheart over here!" She was holding a bottle of his formula. The baby stood up, discarding John's hat and tottered over to where Veronica was standing, she handed him his formula and scooped him up into her arms, "hiyah cutie," she said kissing his hair.

Challenger who had been sitting silently at the table the whole time spoke up, "I do not believe that sweetheart, baby or cutie are expectable names for a child," the others turned to listen to what he had to say, "a name needs to be strong, needs to have character, like George!"

Marguerite began to laugh.

"How about John?" John asked.

"What about Ned?" Ned spoke up.

"What about Aaron," Marguerite asked.

Everyone was silent for a moment, "I think that's a fine name," Challenger said finally smiling widely. Marguerite looked over at the baby who was cooing and playing with Veronica's hair, she smiled remembering.

~*

"Mama, mama, mama! Mama!" Aaron shouted banging a wooden spoon on the table, he turned his large blues eyes onto Marguerite.

"Oh goodness no, I'm not your mother," Aaron tottered over to Marguerite and flung his arms around her legs.

"Mamaaaaaaaaaaaa!" He yelled Marguerite reached down and picked him up.

"Baa baa baa baa baa," Aaron babbled grabbing and squeezing Marguerite's nose, "Marguite Mama!" He shouted with a wide grin on his face. He dropped his head down suddenly, right against Marguerites chest.

"Oomph!" Marguerite grunted and John attempted to hide a smirk, she shot him an icy glare, "oh do laugh it up Roxton," she said tightly as Aaron nestled against her chest.

She walked over to Veronica who was busily cleaning her daggers, Marguerite held open her arms, Aaron's legs were wrapped tightly around her waist and his tiny hands gripped her shoulders in an iron grip.

"Oh dear Marguerite, I'd say the boys a little…attached," John cracked. Veronica snorted, Ned began to laugh over his note book and Challenger chuckled at the table.

Marguerite stormed over to where John was sitting cleaning out his gun and she grabbed the hat off his head and handed it over to Aaron.

"Ha, ha, ha," Aaron said waving the hat around above his head.

Marguerite made her way back over to where she was preparing dinner, the fruit was cut up neatly and roots and baby formula were boiling on the stove. She was making a salad, supporting Aaron's back with one hand and tossing the salad with the others, mixing together the edible fruits and flowers that Veronica and Ned had gathered that afternoon.

She plopped Aaron down in his makeshift highchair, which was the chair that had once belonged to Summerlee and they had placed three large books on the seat and had tied a slab of wood across the arms with strips of leather. Marguerite put down the plates and stood with her hands on her hips, quite proud of her creation.

"Dinner's ready!" She shouted.

Everyone leisurely made their way to the table and sat down, surveying the feast before them, the salad actually looked appetizing and the roots had a smell to them that was not at all nauseating.

"Well, well, look at that," Challenger observed digging into his salad, "Marguerite 'little miss homemaker'," he said forking some root into his mouth.

Aaron was sucking on a bottle until Ned – who finished his meal quite rapidly was done and turned to face him. He grabbed a few fruits and mashed them into a paste on his plate. The bottle dropped out of Aaron's mouth and he held out his hands, "Na, Na!" He said opening his mouth as Ned spooned the mashed fruit into Aaron's mouth.

"How old is he do you figure?" Veronica asked as Ned fed Aaron more fruit.

"Well, since he's already weaned of his mothers milk…I'd say he's around thirteen or fourteen months," Challenger estimated looking at Aaron, "poor chap," he said taking a drink of water.

"Good thing we found him when we did, who knows who – or what could have found him," Veronica said .

"Na Na! Ma na, babab buuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh," Aaron said, blowing with his lips closed.

"Careful Malone!" John yelled but it was too late Aaron stuck his hands in Ned's plate that was resting on the highchair and smothered Ned's cheeks with the massed fruit.

"Na Na fun!" Aaron yelled clapping his hands and giggling with glee. "Malo Malo!" Aaron chanted sucking the fruit from his finger tips.

~*

"Marguerite," John inquired as Marguerite pulled her sopping clothes from the soapy bucket where she was doing the washing.

"What?" She snapped squeezing the water out of a long beige skirt she flung it over the clothes line.

"Aaron's crying," John explained.

Marguerite shrugged, "so do something about it."

"What?"

"Feed him, smell him to see if he needs his diaper changed, put him to bed, hold him, whatever John, it's really not all that difficult." Marguerite washed three of her corsets before John replied.

"Well what do you expect me to do?"

Marguerite growled deeply in her throat, "figure it out Roxton."

John folded his arms, "you don't actually believe that we will be keeping the child do you Marguerite?" He reached out and fingered one of her lacy corsets, she smacked his hand away.

"Why not? Where else would he be going?"

John shrugged again, "what if the mother comes looking for him?"

"Mother? She's dead."

John shook his head, "we don't know that for sure; there's no proof that that woman in the airplane was his mother Marguerite."

"Even if she had survived the crash and somehow escaped do you honestly believe she'd make it out here long before the apemen or cannibals got hold of her?"

"You sound pretty convinced there Ms. Krux," John said his voice deep and even.

Marguerite dropped her blouse into the water and turned to face John, "if you are trying to imply something why don't you stop dancing around the bush and come out with it."

John shook his head, he was wearing his hat which was dotted with drool marks from Aaron, "I'm not trying to imply anything. I'm simply saying your pretty convinced the mother is dead when she very certainly may be very much alive."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to finish my laundry before sunset."

John hesitated for a moment then turned, shouldering his weapon.

Another AN: These are the names that Aaron speak, who they are:

Marguite: Marguerite

Na Na: Ned

Malo: Malone

John: John

Onica: Veronica

Challenger: Challenger

I did this because as we know sometimes kids have troubles pronouncing words or names, so this was just to make it more realistic.