Chapter 10, Bonus, Questions for Taffy
It had been a few days since olaughlinhunter had left TCKing12 to ask Phil and Lil his questions, and he had gone off to give Mirium Pataki back her groceries, Nairobi-harper the bouquet of roses to help her feel better, and help Jesse Barrow Stories study for his precalculous exam. Olaughlinhunter was just taking a stroll in the park, on a warm, spring sunny day, when he spotted the toddlers in the distance, having some lunch. Over near where he saw the rugrats gathered, he spotted two women on a bench. One of them was Taffy, and next to her, was a blond who he didn't recognize. Curious, he decided to walk up and find out what was going on. As he got closer, he could hear Taffy and the blond talking, while the toddlers were finishing up their lunch.
"I'm so sorry you can't stay longer Sandy, but I'm so glad you could accompany me and the minis to the park today before you had to leave." Said Taffy, as she took the last bite of her sandwich.
"Oh that's ok, and these babies, are adorable!" Said Sandy with a smile.
"You mean you didn't mind helping me today, after the day we had of accidents and disasters at the park?" Taffy asked.
"Oh no, I was happy to get the splinter out of Chuckie's finger, rescue Kimi's Super Thing doll from up top the monkey bars, when she came down, forgetting she left it up there, and crying because it was missing, changing Dil's diaper seven times today, on account of him getting into a box of crayons, patching up Phil and Lil's booboos with several bandages, as a result of them climbing up some trees, and getting scraped by the bark, and then there was having to put some ice on Jesse's head, when he fell off the trampaleen, and hitting his head on the pavement, and let's not forget Zack, who threw up after growing sea sick on the tire swing after going on it way too soon after breakfast. Now all that's left to figure out, is why isn't Tommy eating his lunch. While everyone else ate all of their hotdogs we bought for them from the hotdog stand in the park, Tommy here took only one bite and put it back." Said Sandy, who glanced over at the toddlers, Phil and Lil covered in bandages, Chuckie, with a bandage on his finger, and Kimi, who was snuggling with Super Thing, then glancing over at Tommy, who was sitting there, his hotdog on the paper plate in front of him in the grass.
"Hmmm, I'm not sure what's bugging Tommy today." Taffy replied.
Just then, Zack got up from where he was sitting, reached into a cooler that Taffy and Sandy had brought with them to the park, and pulled out an individual container of yogurt.
"You want some yogurt Zack? Here, let me open that for you." Said Sandy, as she bent down at Zack's level, and opened the container, to reveal some banana baby food yogurt.
To Taffy and Sandy's surprise though, Zack didn't take a bite of the yogurt. Rather, he carried it over to where Tommy was seated on the ground, and handed it to him. No sooner had Tommy taken the yogurt from Zack, when he dug into it with delight, eating every last bite and smiling.
"Ok? Tommy didn't want his hotdog, but he wanted some yogurt. What's up with that?" Taffy asked, a bit confused.
"I think I know. I've gone through this back in Boston with Rosie, Hazel, Courtney, and Natalie. Tommy is teasing and his teeth are bothering him. I know when it's going on with Rosie, warm foods don't interest her in the least, but give her some yogurt, a popcickle, or some ice cream, and she's as happy as a clam!" Sandy said with a smile.
"Ah, so that's what this was all about. Your teeth were bothering you, huh Tommy?" Taffy asked, as Tommy smiled up at Taffy and nodded, taking another glob of yogurt out of the carton with his hand, and stuffing it into his mouth, sucking on his fingers, as they felt soothing on his teeth and gums.
At that moment, olaughlinhunter decided to approach the crew.
"Pardon me ladies, but I'm olaughlinhunter. I'm a huge fan of Rugrats, and I couldn't help but recognize that you, Taffy, were here, babysitting the minis!" Said olaughlinhunter, as he took a seat on the bench next to Taffy.
"I sure am, but right now, we need to get them all cleaned up, and I need to run my friend Sandy to the airport, take these little minis back to Stu and Didi's, and as soon as Zack's favorite TV show, Super Why has ended, provided we get back in time, it will be time, for these minis to go down for their nap." Said Taffy, as she and Sandy started to wipe up the rugrats with baby wipes, while olaughlinhunter offered to collect all of the trash, and dump it in a nearby garbage can.
"What about this hotdog Tommy hardly touched?" Olaughlinhunter asked, as he picked up the last paper plate, that had most of a hotdog left on it, with only one bite eaten out of it.
"Throw it away, chances are if Tommy's teeth are bothering him, he's not gonna want it later on either. Besides, it's been sitting out for a while, we don't need him getting food poisoning on top of teasing tooth pains." Said Taffy.
"Very well then." Olaughlinhunter replied, as he dumped all of the trash in the garbage can, and caught up with Taffy, Sandy and the rugrats, as they got all loaded up into Taffy's car, and drove off to the airport.
"So Sandy, where are you from?" Olaughlinhunter asked.
"Oh, I'm from Boston. I came while on my spring break to pay Taffy a visit, and we had lots of fun together! We've known one another since the first grade, and if it weren't for money problems and not being able to afford the rent once I hit middle school, forcing my folks and I to move away, chances are we'd still be in school together." Said Sandy with a sigh.
"Well, isn't it great that you and Taffy have been able to keep up with one another despite having to move away." Said olaughlinhunter.
"It sure is, I'm just sorry I have to go home now, but I'm sure my minis back home, like Rosie and her big sister Mary, Mary's friend Krystal and her dozens of siblings, and then there's Rosie's friends Hazel, Courtney, and Natalie, they'll all be happy to see me again. Not looking forward to having to babysit Reggie again, he's so much of a problem child, but I'll manage, just as I have so far, and maybe it will go smoother after having a break from that child, though seeing Taffy struggle with Angelica at times, helps me to know I'm not alone when it comes to babysitting problem children." Said Sandy, as Taffy rounded the corner into the airport parking lot.
"Hey Taffy, I got some questions for you too." Said olaughlinhunter.
"Can you wait till I drop Sandy off? We just arrived at the airport, and I wanna make sure I get Sandy to the correct terminal for her flight, since there's a bunch of them here." Said Taffy, as she pulled into a parking space.
"Sure thing. I'll even wait to talk with you until we get back to Stu and Didi's, and the kids are settled down for their nap." Said olaughlinhunter.
"Thanks! And if you don't mind, could you stay here and watch the minis while I run Sandy inside?" Taffy asked.
"Not at all." Olaughlinhunter replied, as Taffy and Sandy got out of the car, and Taffy got Sandy's luggage out of the trunk.
"It was nice to meet you olaughlinhunter." Said Sandy from outside the car.
"Nice to meet you too, and have a safe trip back to Boston." Olaughlinhunter replied, as Taffy and Sandy walked away from the car towards the entrance of the airport.
While Taffy was seeing to getting Sandy checked in, olaughlinhunter sat back in his seat, overhearing the conversation the Rugrats were having in the back seat.
"Sorry about your teeth Tommy." Said Chuckie.
"It's ok, thanks for getting me that yogurt Zack, it helped a lot." Said Tommy.
"You're welcome Tommy. That always helps me when my teeth are bothering me too." Zack replied.
No sooner had Zack finished saying that, when Taffy returned to the car, started it up, and they drove away from the airport, in the direction of Stu and Didi's house.
"So, did Sandy make it to her gate?" Olaughlinhunter asked.
"Well, I got her and her luggage checked in, and sent her on her way to security, but once at security, I couldn't go any further. She did have her ticket for Boston, so at this point, all I can hope is that she makes it on to the right plane, gets home, and I receive a text on my phone later, telling me she made it back, safe and sound." Said Taffy, as she continued to drive in the direction of Stu and Didi's house.
Once they had arrived at the Pickles, olaughlinhunter and Taffy got the kids unloaded from the car, and went inside, where Zack ran to the living room, picked up the TV remote off of the coffee table, and turned on the TV, happy to see that Super Why, his favorite TV show was just starting.
"Awe, we gotta watch this show again?" Kimi asked, annoyed, as she wasn't a huge fan of Super Why, neither was Tommy.
"Yes, please? I really like it." Zack replied.
"Oh, ok then. You did help my teeth to feels better, so you can watch Super Why." Said Tommy.
"I got an idea. After Super Why, Taffy said you guys needed to take your nap. How about I help the rest of you get ready to take your nap while Zack watches Super Why, then, as soon as it is over, we'll get him ready to take his nap, and this way, everybody is happy." Suggested olaughlinhunter.
"That's a great idea! Come on guys." Said Tommy, as everybody except for Dil, ran off to the bathroom to use the potty, while Taffy scooped up Dil, and got him changed into some fresh diapers.
While this was all going on, olaughlinhunter headed upstairs, where he pulled out a stack of pillows and baby blankets out of a lennon closet, carried them back downstairs, and made little beds for everybody in the playpen at the back of the living room. He made sure to lay out eight pillows and eight blankets, as he needed a bed for Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Kimi, Zack, Jesse and Dil. No sooner had he finished laying out the beds for the toddlers, when Taffy brought Dil back into the living room, with Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Kimi and Jesse all following behind her.
The seven toddlers were placed down on to their little beds on the floor, as olaughlinhunter found stuffed animals for them to curl up to go to sleep with. Tommy curled up with Reptar, Chuckie curled up with WahWah, Kimi curled up with Super Sing, Dil curled up with Goober, Phil and Lil curled up with two giant stuffed caterpillars they had recently won at a carnival that Taffy and Sandy had taken them to a couple of days ago at the mall, Jesse curled up with a Captain Squash doll that Bobby had given him for Christmas, and Frosty was lying on Zack's little bed, waiting for Zack to come snuggle with him just as soon as Super Why was over.
As soon as Super Why finished, Taffy changed Zack into a fresh diaper, and lay him down on his little bed in the playpen, where he curled up with Frosty. Once everyone had their stuffed animals, pillow and blanket, they all closed their eyes, yawned, and went to sleep, tired out from their energetic morning they had had at the park.
"Have a nice nap minis." Whispered Taffy, as she blew them a kiss and she and olaughlinhunter went into the kitchen, so as to not disturb the toddlers napping.
They sat down at the kitchen table, at which time, olaughlinhunter decided it would be the perfect time, to ask Taffy his questions.
"So, olaughlinhunter, thank you for helping me to put the minis down for a nap." Said Taffy.
"You're welcome." Olaughlinhunter replied.
"So, earlier in the car, you said you had some questions for me." Said Taffy.
"I sure do. My first question for you is, how was it like turning back into a baby in a dream in the fanfic Miniature Taffy?" Olaughlinhunter asked.
"Oh, you must be referring to the dream I had on that night before I met the minis the following day at my recital. Well, to put it simply, it was incredible! I had forgotten what it was like, so being reminded about what it was like to be a baby again, was not only a peaceful thought, as I was quite nervous about the upcoming recital, but seeing I'd be meeting some small toddlers, being taken back to my life as a toddler, helped me to better understand them, and I believe it's thanks to having that dream, that I've been such an excellent babysitter to the minis! Not to mention, I love children, and being reminded of how my mom use to call me a mini when I was little, gave me my nickname for the kids!" Replied Taffy with a grin.
"That's great! So, my next question for you is, how is it working with Sherry Berry?" Olaughlinhunter asked.
"Oh my gosh, working with Sherry Berry is awesome! Not only did I enjoy her music as a child, and found her to be a huge inspiration, but actually getting to work with her in person, is just great! It's thanks to her that she's been able to hook me up with several people who might be able to get me a record deal, not to mention, in August, my band and I will be touring the entire country, with our first concert opening up for the tour, taking place at National Stadium in Washington D.C. after the big baseball game, the Nationals against the Braves! Even more exciting, I've invited all of the minis and their families, to accompany me on that trip, and King Peter Albany of the Confederacy, as well as the Generics, Carmichaels, Pickles, Finsters, Devilles, Wehrenbergs and Barrows, have all agreed to come! It's also gonna be Tommy's third birthday around the time we take that trip, so I'll get to see Tommy turn three, before my tour really takes off! Having the minis there for the start of my first tour is not only special because they're like my best friends when I'm not hanging with my band, having gigs and stuff, but next to Sherry Berry, they're like, my inspiration! But performing with Sherry Berry is lots of fun, and thanks to her, I'm really gonna get to go places, as my music career continues to move forward!" Replied Taffy excitedly.
"That's wonderful! And I wish you all the best of luck on your big international tour in the upcoming summer and fall!" Said olaughlinhunter.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Taffy replied.
"Now, my next question for you Taffy is, if you ever did make an appearance in All Grown Up, what would you have been doing?" Olaughlinhunter asked.
"Hmmm, what would I have been doing in All Grown Up? Well, seeing I'd be a lot older at that point, I would have most likely gotten married and started a family at that point, but still be going strong with my music career. Chances are since Susie has dreams of becoming a famous singer someday at that time in her life, I might have helped Susie reach her goals, perhaps helped her produce a record at that time or something. I certainly would have stopped her from getting mixed up with that con artist in, "Susie Sings the Blues," as I would have offered her a gig with my band, and a chance to be on our next album, to get noticed, and because I know Susie personally, I would have not asked for a thousand dollars like that chick did. Yes had I been there, I think I would have saved Alisa's money to buy a house, and might have been able to convince Susie's parents that she had some real talent, giving Susie even more confidence in reaching her goal and passion in life." Said Taffy.
"Why am I not surprised you would have come to Susie's rescue on that whole thing, seeing that I bet ya, knowing how much you and Susie have in common musically, you two would make a great team. Anyway, enough on that, let me get to my last and final question. Since I'm doing my first Rugrats fanfic where I turn Dr. Lipschitz into a baby, how would you like turning back into a baby now for real for a little bit?" Olaughlinhunter asked.
"Oh my gosh, to be a mini again? That, would be, well, a dream come true! I mean I love being able to watch the minis and take care of them, but to actually be a mini myself and get to know them from a toddler's point of view? That would be just, fascinating! Oh, but can my friend Sandy from Boston, along with the minis she babysits like Rosie, Hazel, Courtney, Natalie, Mary and Krystal, all join in the fun too, making Sandy a mini like me too? Then, we can all have fun together, me as a mini with my minis, and Sandy as a mini, with her minis?" Taffy asked, getting all excited and out of control at this idea that olaughlinhunter has come up with.
"Hmmm, I might be able to arrange for that to happen in my next story. Yep that's right, you and Sandy turn into babies, and join up with Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Zack, Jesse, Kimi, Dil, Susie, Angelica, Reggie, Rosie, Hazel, Mary, Krystal, Courtney and Natalie, on some big adventure! Not sure what will take place, but I'm sure I'll figure something out, once I get going on it." Olaughlinhunter replied.
"Cool!" Taffy replied with a smile, just as they heard the front door open.
A minute later, Stu and Didi tip towed into the kitchen.
"Stu! Didi! You're back early!" Said Taffy, upon seeing them enter the kitchen.
"Yeah, we're back from our shopping trip. No luck finding the piece of furniture we were looking for." Said Didi disappointingly.
"What were you looking for?" Olaughlinhunter asked.
"A chest with drawers on it to put our printer on in the upstairs office study." Stu replied.
"I don't believe we've seen you around here before." Said Didi, as she took a seat at the kitchen table.
"Oh, I'm olaughlinhunter. It's finally nice to meet the parents of Tommy and Dil Pickles, and the aunt and uncle of Angelica, and Taffy, thank you for answering all of my questions!" Said olaughlinhunter.
"No problem. Well, since you two are back early. Let me just say that we had quite an interesting day at the park." Said Taffy, as she stood up from her seat at the table, and Stu took a seat at the table across from Didi.
"Well, what happened?" Didi asked.
Taffy went on to explain of the injuries and such that took place at the park with the various toddlers, and how as a result of his teeth bothering him, Tommy refused to eat his lunch, but ate all of his yogurt for dessert.
"Well, that would explain why he wasn't all that hungry this morning at breakfast. My poor little guy." Said Didi.
"Oh I wouldn't worry about it Didi, I'm sure after his nap, he'll be feeling better. I'd give him something soft for dinner, like maybe some soup or bread." Suggested Taffy.
"You know, Lipchitz does suggest to give youngsters soft foods during the teasing phases, looks like I'll need to put Tommy on a soft diet, as if I'm not mistaken, his mollers are coming in, and according to Lipchitz, those can be the most painful in a young child to come in." Said Didi.
"Well, since you two made it back early, I'm gonna head out early, and run a few Aarons before I have my rehearsal with the band this evening, oh and tell Zack's aunt that he did get to watch Super Why, so if she never got the DVR programmed to record it while she was out today from her home, to not worry about it, as she was so worried when she showed up with Zack at the park, that she forgot to program the DVR to record Super Why for him this afternoon." Said Taffy.
"No worries, we'll tell her. Good luck with your rehearsal, and thanks again for watching the kids." Said Stu.
"Not a problem. Olaughlinhunter, need a lift anywhere?" Taffy asked, as she turned to leave the kitchen.
"Actually, since I walked to the park at around lunch time, and we're a bit further away from my house, mind dropping me off at my house on your way to run your Aarons?" Olaughlinhunter asked.
"I'd be happy to!" Taffy replied, as she and olaughlinhunter walked out of Stu and Didi's home, got into her car, and she drove him home.
While driving there, they listened to a CD that Taffy and Sherry Berry recently created, featuring several songs performed by Taffy and the Salt Waters, featuring Sherry Berry on guitar and vocals on a few selective tracks.
"Wow! This music is awesome!" Olaughlinhunter replied, as he was grooving along with the CD in Taffy's car, unaware that they were now sitting in his driveway.
"Glad you like it! It's available for purchase on CD Baby, iTunes, and Amazon if interested." Said Taffy.
"Well, I see we're at my house. Thanks so much, it's so great to get to know you a lot better." Said olaughlinhunter as he stepped out of Taffy's car into the driveway.
"No, thank you for helping me with the minis this afternoon. I'll admit, while I love sitting for them, sometimes watching six to eight toddlers or more, can be quite a handful, so sometimes, it's nice to have an extra set of hands to help out. Especially with what all that went down today." Said Taffy.
"I bet! Well, you take care, and hopefully, we'll meet again sometime!" Said olaughlinhunter, as he walked away from Taffy's car, towards the door of his house.
"You too!" Taffy called from her car, as she backed out of olaughlinhunter's driveway, and headed off to run her Aarons.
Once olaughlinhunter saw Taffy drive off, he headed inside, closed the door behind him, and got on to his computer, where he went and did a little bit of online shopping, pricing Taffy's CD at the different places she said it was available for purchase, trying to decide which venue to buy it from, as after hearing it in her car, he just had to get a copy of his own!
And this, ends this bonus installment. Remember that if you want to see this story continue, keep asking questions to the various Rugrats characters, OC's, and so on, either in reviews or PM's, and I'll be happy to update and provide their answers!
Author's Note: Just as a reminder, as far as OC's that appeared in this chapter, Sandy, Rosie, Mary and Krystal are owned by Nairobi-harper, Hazel is owned by AsToldByHazelNut, Jesse is owned by Jesse Barrow Stories, Courtney is owned by Tropical Blue Jay, Natalie is owned by Emma Pickles, and I own Zack and Reggie. And as for the idea to have Tommy's teeth bothering him, only wanting to eat yogurt, not being interested in eating the hotdogs at the park, was inspired by the fact that last night at my family's Memorial Day celebration, my nephew Zack in real life, was also experiencing some teeth pain, being more interested in cold foods like ice cream and yogurt, or soft foods like the bread that was served, but not all that up for checking out the shrimp my mom cooked, on account that it was his first time having shrimp, seeing that at 19-months-old, he's finally old enough to eat that.