Author's Notes: This is a somewhat cutesy chapter that takes a look on certain things that happen with everyone's kids. A bit of a needed filler chapter. It's about to pick back up again.
Disclaimer: These characters are property of NBC and their own creators; as is any piece of an episode needed for the chapter. I make no money from this. Any song lyrics used are also property of their own creator.
Hereafter And Forever
Part 13: The Little Ones
"Jack!" Mia called for Jack from her bed. Now being three years old she no longer slept in a crib, and instead had a small bed with a wooden headboard and heart designs etched into it. Her comforter was white with big green flowers on it, and it fit well with the rest of the bedroom.
When Jack didn't come, Mia crawled to the edge of the bed and peered over the side. It looked dark, so she climbed back up to her pillow, grabbing it and hugging it tightly.
"Jack!" She called again. "Help! It's gonna get me!"
The door squeaked open, and she looked up as Jack poked his head around the corner.
"Mia? What's going to get you?"
"Monsters!" She pointed to the far corner. Jack looked and could see the shape of a funny shadow.
He sighed, shaking his head, "Blueberry, did you have a bad dream?"
"Uh-huh."
"Now look…" Jack walked over to where Mia pointed, and pulled a jacket off from on top of a lamp. "See, no monster. Just stuff. You're safe." He smiled at her, "Feel better?"
"No." Mia said frowning.
"Well what else do you need?"
"Stay here." Mia patted her bed.
"Oh, Mia I don't think there's room enough for both of us in your bed. It's made for little people, like you."
"But…but…" she pouted her lips as if she was about to cry, "I want you to stay. I'll miss you."
"How about I just stay until you go to sleep, ok?"
"Ok." Mia scooted off of her bed to make room for Jack to sit down. She then ran around to the other side and climbed back up into his lap, hugging him tightly and nuzzling up to his neck. "I love you." She whispered.
Jack could help but smile as he looked down at her, "I love you too."
~~~~**~~~~
"Ben! Open the door!"
"No!"
The yell of his angry six year old son, and the thud of something being thrown against the door were the only responses Will got tonight. Apparently a movie on TV had caught Ben's interest, and he wasn't too happy when Will informed him he would not be allowed to stay up and watch it.
Ben's fit wouldn't have been too big of a problem, except it was not his own room that he had gone into.
Will sighed as he leaned his head against the door, "Benjamin!"
"I'm not afraid of you." Ben taunted.
"I wouldn't talk so big if I were you. Just you wait until your father gets home!" Will turned around with a terrified look in his eyes, "Oh my god, I'm my mother. Ben!"
"Go away!"
Vince was the disciplinarian, not Will. Will was glad he didn't have to be the bad guy most of the time. He figured Vince's police skills played some part in it. He was a lawyer, all he was good at was arguing. But arguments with a six year old wouldn't get you far.
"Ben, if you don't open this door right now, I'm gonna….I'm gonna…" Will felt rather pathetic, as he couldn't even think of something to threaten him with, "I'm gonna not let you go over to see Grandma all week."
"Good!" Ben retorted.
"Damn." Will muttered under his breath.
Even at six years old, Ben, like all the Trumans, was not that crazy about Marilyn.
Will walked away from the door, his hand in his hair as he paced the room and thought hard about who he could call. He took out his phone and looked at the screen….he thought about calling Grace for a few seconds, but then decided it against it.
He dialed Vince's pager number to see if he would pick up.
~~~~**~~~~
"Daddy?"
Leo looked up from his magazine to see Laila standing at the foot of their bed, a serious look on her face.
"Yes baby?"
"I have a question." Laila said.
"Ok, what's that?"
"Where do babies come from?"
"Um….well…" Leo looked over at Grace, "Why don't you ask your Mommy that?"
"You're the doctor."
Grace held back at laugh, "Yes sweetie, you are right. But mommies know more about where babies come from than doctors do. Mommies are experts."
"Oh. Ok." Laila crossed to the other side of the bed so she was standing in front of Grace, "Where do babies come from?"
"Babies come from Mommy's tummies." Grace answered, feeling rather proud of herself for not telling Laila some wild made up story.
"Oh!"
Laila was quiet for a moment. Grace hoped that would satisfy her curiosity and it would leave it at that. But it seemed she wouldn't get that lucky.
"How do the babies get there?"
"Oh…um…well…" Grace looked over at Leo for some help, but he simply shrugged and continued reading his magazine, "The Mommy and Daddy go to a special baby store, and…"
"Grace." Leo chimed it, "Tell her the truth."
"Well what am I supposed to say?"
Leo sighed and looked at Laila, "The babies get there by floating down a magical river…"
Grace smacked Leo in the arm, "A magical river? That's supposed to be the truth?"
"Well it's closer to the truth than yours. A baby store?"
"Are you fighting?" Laila asked.
"No!" Grace and Leo both yelled.
~~~~**~~~~
"Jackie?" Karen propped open Mia's door and looked in, "Honey, what are you doing?"
"I'm scared." Mia said burying her face in Jack's shoulder.
Jack sighed as he petted her hair, "Mia got scared, I told her I would stay until she fell asleep."
"Oh but honey…I'm all alone…in our bedroom." Karen cleared her throat loudly.
"Stay here!" Mia piped up.
"Mia, I don't think there's room."
"Yes there is."
"Come on, Kare." It was Jack this time that patted the empty space of bed. Karen sighed and walked over, scooting in next to Jack.
"Yay, now we're a family!" Mia said.
"When I did start living in a Lifetime movie?" Karen muttered.
Jack said nothing, and simply leaned over and kissed her.
~~~~**~~~~
The front door opened, and Will leaned around the corner from the TV to see Vince walking in.
"It's about time." Will said.
"Sorry, we had to grill somebody about a robbery. Turns out he didn't do it, but anyway…" Vince turned around and looked over to their shut bedroom door, "He still in there?"
"Yes."
"Maybe he fell asleep by now."
"Still, it's locked, how do we get in?" Will asked.
Vince grinned, "I could kick the door down."
"Um…no." Will got up from the couch and walked around to the bedroom door.
"Aw come on! I never get to do that! Not after that one time where I accidentally kicked my sergeant in the head."
"Shhh." Will put a finger to his lips to signal Vince to be quiet. "Ben, can we come in now?"
"No!" came Ben's snarky remark.
"You! Open this door right now, young man!" Will turned around, biting his bottom lip, "Vince, you do it, I'm starting to really scare myself."
"Ok, ok, step aside…geeze."
"Ben, you better come on out of there or else." Vince said, in a less than threatening tone.
"Or else what?"
"Or else, your Dad and I will go into your room and sleep in your bed."
"So?"
"And, we'll listen to your radio and play the music really loud."
"So?"
"And…we'll move things around so that it's all in different places."
There was a slight silence, then the door opened and Ben marched out, his eyebrows furrowed. He marched past Will and Vince and into his own bedroom. Turning before he slammed the door to say, "You win this time."
Will looked at Vince a bit astounded, "How did you do that? I was screaming at him for hours and he wouldn't budge."
"I remembered you told me when you were a kid your Mom used to go into your room and rearrange things to punish you. I figured you share DNA with him, maybe it would work."
"Hey. My idiosyncrasies pay off!" Will smiled.
~~~~**~~~~
After finally reaching a decision with Leo, Grace turned back to her daughter.
"Ok Laila, here's the real truth. Babies come from…"
"Why can't people breathe underwater?" Laila asked, cutting off Grace.
"What? Sweetie I thought you wanted to know where babies come from?"
"Yeah, but well I figured maybe I would rather be surprised."
"That's good." Leo said, "You want to be surprised. Wait until you're 30 and be really surprised."
Grace could only look at Leo with a blank expression, while he returned to his magazine and Laila went happily skipping out of the room.
~~~~**~~~~
The next morning, Rosario answered the door early in the morning to find Grace standing in the hall, her sketchbook and fabric samples in her hand.
"Morning Rosario. Is Karen up?"
"I haven't seen her yet this morning. But I'll call her, she should be getting up anyway. Lazy bitch." Rosario walked to the foot of the stairway and shouted upward, "Miss Karen! Mister Jack! You have company!"
Mia appeared at the top of the stairs, still in her pajamas, a finger to her lips, "Shush! Jack and Karen are sleeping!" She screamed loudly.
Grace doubted they were sleeping anymore.
"But Mia, I need to talk to Karen." Grace said, coming up the stairs. "Where is she?"
"This way." Mia motioned for Grace to follow her.
Grace couldn't help but smile at the little girl. With her blue eyes like Jack, and her dark hair like Karen, one would never guess she was in reality Jack's granddaughter, and no kin to Karen at all. And the way she walked through the house like she owned the place brought a particular smirk to Grace's lips.
Mia stopped at her bedroom door, "In there."
Grace stepped past her and pushed the door open, reaching around to flip on the light. Grace smiled at the sight before her. Jack and Karen together on Mia's bed, blankets all askew. Karen with her arms draped across Jack's chest and snuggled up close to him, while he snored softly.
"But Mia, where did you sleep?" Grace asked her.
"In the big bed. I had it all to myself."
Grace smiled, "Smart girl." She held out her hand for a high-five and Mia slapped her palm.