Disclaimer: Mutant X and it's characters do not belong to me, but they're
on my Christmas list so *crosses fingers* here's hoping.
Author's Note: I'm so sorry that it has taken so long for me to update, I've been busy with schoolwork.
Words in / / = thoughts.
Chapter 7
Two days later.
/The calm before the storm./ Brennan reflected, watching the infant sitting next to him. /This can't last. She's being too good. She's plotting something./
The elemental's suspicions were not unjustified. The day before, Shalimar had been very quiet, lulling her guardians into a false sense of security, leading to foolishly look away. A few minutes later they had found her tracking bracelet on the floor where she had dropped it but it's owner was long gone.
A frantic search had lead to baby Shalimar being found sitting in the pond, splashing happily and singing to herself.
Adam had nearly had a heart attack.
Emma had fished out the dripping wet infant, who looked very pleased with herself and highly amused by the trouble she had caused, and carried her off to dry her.
Adam had spent a good half an hour berating himself for not thinking of baby-proofing the pond and had immediately placed a force field around the pond area and drained the water, in case Shalimar managed to get past the force-field.
When Jesse had pointed out that a year old infant was highly unlikely to manage to get past a force-field, Adam had grimly told him that if it were humanly possible, Shalimar would manage it.
Jesse and Emma were out running an errand for Adam, who was closeted in his lab and Brennan was stuck babysitting.
There had not been a peep out of his tiny charge since their colleagues had left and that was making Brennan uneasy.
Baby Shalimar sat next to him on the couch, playing with her toes - Brennan had given up on trying to get her to wear her shoes and socks - and smiling angelically at him whenever he glanced down at her.
/She's plotting my doom, I know it!/
* * *
Lunchtime arrived with no sign of Jesse or Emma.
/They've probably stopped off at the mall or something./ Brennan thought grumpily. /They know that I don't know how to feed a baby!/
Gingerly picking up baby Shalimar and holding her a little bit away from him, Brennan ran with her to the kitchen.
/Don't pee. Don't pee. Don't pee. Don't pee./
Fortunately, they reached the kitchen without incident.
Depositing Shalimar in her high chair and making sure that she was securely locked into it, Brennan opened the fridge, taking a quick inventory of the contents.
"Mashed carrots and parsnips. Pureed broccoli. Blended potato and cabbage. Ew." Brennan made a face as he took out several jars containing gloop of various sickly orange and green shades. He looked over at baby Shalimar. "Do babies actually like this stuff?"
"No."
He couldn't stop himself from smiling. Despite her limited vocabulary, Shalimar had a knack for hitting on exactly the right thing to say. He found that he couldn't help warming to her.
/I guess she is kind of cute./
"You don't want to eat this stuff, do you, Shal? He asked her, smiling slightly.
"No."
he lifted her out of the high chair and carried her over to the fridge, letting her examine it's contents.
"Okay, Shal, what do you want to eat?"
Baby Shalimar seemed to give the question careful consideration before pointing to the chocolate ice cream in the freezer compartment.
"Wan' dat!"
"Uh, are you sure, Shal?" Brennan asked doubtfully, remembering what had happened when Emma had let Shalimar have sugar. He shuddered at the memory. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather have something else?"
"Wan' dat!" she was nothing if not stubborn.
"Are you sure you wouldn't prefer some cereal?" He asked desperately. "Or look." He picked up one of Emma's strawberry yoghurts. "Look at the yummy yoghurt, Shal. It's much nicer than that nasty ice cream. You want the yoghurt, don't you?" he suggested coaxingly.
Shalimar shook her head obstinately. "No! Wan' dat!" She smiled up at Brennan, giving him the all-powerful puppy - or, in her case, kitty - eyes. "Pwease, Nan."
/Oh, come on, Shal, don't look at me like that!/ he pleaded silently. /I couldn't resist that look when you were an adult. I have no chance now!/
"Pwease, Nan." Baby Shalimar repeated, plumping her lower lip in an adorable pout.
/I can't win./
"Okay, Shal." He sighed, putting her back in her high chair and tying a bib around her neck. He took a bowl out of the cupboard and put a scoop of ice cream in it and handed it to her with a spoon. "Here you go, Shal. Enjoy."
"T'ank you, Nan." Shalimar grinned up at him before digging in.
/If you have any pity at all for me, Shal, you will finish that before Adam sees what I'm feeding you. He will kill me if he finds out./
Sighing, he filled a bottle with baby formula for Shalimar and made a sandwich and an expresso for himself.
/I need it!/
He pulled Shalimar's high chair over to the table so that he could keep an eye on her while he ate his own lunch.
Within minutes, Shalimar had polished off her ice cream, mercifully getting very little of it on her clothes. Brennan took her empty bowl over to the sink to rinse it off, wetting a cloth to clean her up.
"Yucky!"
He turned at the sound of her voice and his heart sank.
Baby Shalimar was holding his empty expresso cup, a dark brown stain around her mouth.
"Shalimar, tell me that you did not just do what I think you did!" He pleaded.
Shalimar just giggled.
/Great!/ Brennan thought, trying to restrain Shalimar, who was making a determined effort to escape the confines of her high chair. /Baby plus sugar plus caffeine. This can't be good./
* * *
Adam's concentration was disrupted by high-pitched giggles and the sound of rapid movement.
He stuck his head out of the lab to see Shalimar running across Sanctuary, falling every few steps before eventually giving up on the idea of walking and returning to the tried and true method of crawling.
Brennan was chasing after her, calling her name, his irritation only serving to make baby Shalimar laugh harder.
Taking pity on the younger man, Adam cut off Shalimar's path of escape, scooping her up in his arms.
"Hi, Ad!" Shalimar squealed as he caught her.
Brennan came up to them, slightly breathless. "Thanks, Adam."
Adam tried to hide his amusement, putting on a stern look. "What did you give her, Brennan? She's as high as a kite!"
Brennan turned slightly red and wouldn't meet his gaze. "Uh, she wanted ice cream for lunch, and she kind of helped herself to my expresso." He confessed, embarrassed.
Adam frowned at Shalimar. "Were you making trouble for Brennan?" He asked her, mock-seriously.
"Ess."
"Adam, you don't happen to have a sedative of some kind, do you?" Brennan asked desperately.
"You can't sedate a baby!" Adam was shocked at the idea.
"It's not for her." Brennan told him grimly.
"Oh."
"Seriously, Adam, you really have to hurry up with that cure. I'm not sure how much longer I can cope with her before I strangle her!"
Adam sighed. "I've got the antidote to the serum finished." He told the younger man gravely. "It's ready when we are."
"That's great!" Brennan cried enthusiastically, before looking at the downcast look on Adam's face.
/Why does he look so unhappy about it?/
TBC.
Once again, I'm really, really sorry that it took so long for me to update. I'll hopefully get the next - and probably last - chapter up soon. Thanks for all the reviews. It's nice to know that someone likes it.
Author's Note: I'm so sorry that it has taken so long for me to update, I've been busy with schoolwork.
Words in / / = thoughts.
Chapter 7
Two days later.
/The calm before the storm./ Brennan reflected, watching the infant sitting next to him. /This can't last. She's being too good. She's plotting something./
The elemental's suspicions were not unjustified. The day before, Shalimar had been very quiet, lulling her guardians into a false sense of security, leading to foolishly look away. A few minutes later they had found her tracking bracelet on the floor where she had dropped it but it's owner was long gone.
A frantic search had lead to baby Shalimar being found sitting in the pond, splashing happily and singing to herself.
Adam had nearly had a heart attack.
Emma had fished out the dripping wet infant, who looked very pleased with herself and highly amused by the trouble she had caused, and carried her off to dry her.
Adam had spent a good half an hour berating himself for not thinking of baby-proofing the pond and had immediately placed a force field around the pond area and drained the water, in case Shalimar managed to get past the force-field.
When Jesse had pointed out that a year old infant was highly unlikely to manage to get past a force-field, Adam had grimly told him that if it were humanly possible, Shalimar would manage it.
Jesse and Emma were out running an errand for Adam, who was closeted in his lab and Brennan was stuck babysitting.
There had not been a peep out of his tiny charge since their colleagues had left and that was making Brennan uneasy.
Baby Shalimar sat next to him on the couch, playing with her toes - Brennan had given up on trying to get her to wear her shoes and socks - and smiling angelically at him whenever he glanced down at her.
/She's plotting my doom, I know it!/
* * *
Lunchtime arrived with no sign of Jesse or Emma.
/They've probably stopped off at the mall or something./ Brennan thought grumpily. /They know that I don't know how to feed a baby!/
Gingerly picking up baby Shalimar and holding her a little bit away from him, Brennan ran with her to the kitchen.
/Don't pee. Don't pee. Don't pee. Don't pee./
Fortunately, they reached the kitchen without incident.
Depositing Shalimar in her high chair and making sure that she was securely locked into it, Brennan opened the fridge, taking a quick inventory of the contents.
"Mashed carrots and parsnips. Pureed broccoli. Blended potato and cabbage. Ew." Brennan made a face as he took out several jars containing gloop of various sickly orange and green shades. He looked over at baby Shalimar. "Do babies actually like this stuff?"
"No."
He couldn't stop himself from smiling. Despite her limited vocabulary, Shalimar had a knack for hitting on exactly the right thing to say. He found that he couldn't help warming to her.
/I guess she is kind of cute./
"You don't want to eat this stuff, do you, Shal? He asked her, smiling slightly.
"No."
he lifted her out of the high chair and carried her over to the fridge, letting her examine it's contents.
"Okay, Shal, what do you want to eat?"
Baby Shalimar seemed to give the question careful consideration before pointing to the chocolate ice cream in the freezer compartment.
"Wan' dat!"
"Uh, are you sure, Shal?" Brennan asked doubtfully, remembering what had happened when Emma had let Shalimar have sugar. He shuddered at the memory. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather have something else?"
"Wan' dat!" she was nothing if not stubborn.
"Are you sure you wouldn't prefer some cereal?" He asked desperately. "Or look." He picked up one of Emma's strawberry yoghurts. "Look at the yummy yoghurt, Shal. It's much nicer than that nasty ice cream. You want the yoghurt, don't you?" he suggested coaxingly.
Shalimar shook her head obstinately. "No! Wan' dat!" She smiled up at Brennan, giving him the all-powerful puppy - or, in her case, kitty - eyes. "Pwease, Nan."
/Oh, come on, Shal, don't look at me like that!/ he pleaded silently. /I couldn't resist that look when you were an adult. I have no chance now!/
"Pwease, Nan." Baby Shalimar repeated, plumping her lower lip in an adorable pout.
/I can't win./
"Okay, Shal." He sighed, putting her back in her high chair and tying a bib around her neck. He took a bowl out of the cupboard and put a scoop of ice cream in it and handed it to her with a spoon. "Here you go, Shal. Enjoy."
"T'ank you, Nan." Shalimar grinned up at him before digging in.
/If you have any pity at all for me, Shal, you will finish that before Adam sees what I'm feeding you. He will kill me if he finds out./
Sighing, he filled a bottle with baby formula for Shalimar and made a sandwich and an expresso for himself.
/I need it!/
He pulled Shalimar's high chair over to the table so that he could keep an eye on her while he ate his own lunch.
Within minutes, Shalimar had polished off her ice cream, mercifully getting very little of it on her clothes. Brennan took her empty bowl over to the sink to rinse it off, wetting a cloth to clean her up.
"Yucky!"
He turned at the sound of her voice and his heart sank.
Baby Shalimar was holding his empty expresso cup, a dark brown stain around her mouth.
"Shalimar, tell me that you did not just do what I think you did!" He pleaded.
Shalimar just giggled.
/Great!/ Brennan thought, trying to restrain Shalimar, who was making a determined effort to escape the confines of her high chair. /Baby plus sugar plus caffeine. This can't be good./
* * *
Adam's concentration was disrupted by high-pitched giggles and the sound of rapid movement.
He stuck his head out of the lab to see Shalimar running across Sanctuary, falling every few steps before eventually giving up on the idea of walking and returning to the tried and true method of crawling.
Brennan was chasing after her, calling her name, his irritation only serving to make baby Shalimar laugh harder.
Taking pity on the younger man, Adam cut off Shalimar's path of escape, scooping her up in his arms.
"Hi, Ad!" Shalimar squealed as he caught her.
Brennan came up to them, slightly breathless. "Thanks, Adam."
Adam tried to hide his amusement, putting on a stern look. "What did you give her, Brennan? She's as high as a kite!"
Brennan turned slightly red and wouldn't meet his gaze. "Uh, she wanted ice cream for lunch, and she kind of helped herself to my expresso." He confessed, embarrassed.
Adam frowned at Shalimar. "Were you making trouble for Brennan?" He asked her, mock-seriously.
"Ess."
"Adam, you don't happen to have a sedative of some kind, do you?" Brennan asked desperately.
"You can't sedate a baby!" Adam was shocked at the idea.
"It's not for her." Brennan told him grimly.
"Oh."
"Seriously, Adam, you really have to hurry up with that cure. I'm not sure how much longer I can cope with her before I strangle her!"
Adam sighed. "I've got the antidote to the serum finished." He told the younger man gravely. "It's ready when we are."
"That's great!" Brennan cried enthusiastically, before looking at the downcast look on Adam's face.
/Why does he look so unhappy about it?/
TBC.
Once again, I'm really, really sorry that it took so long for me to update. I'll hopefully get the next - and probably last - chapter up soon. Thanks for all the reviews. It's nice to know that someone likes it.