Disclaimer: You know the drill. 'Mutant X' and all of it's characters = Not Mine. Lexi and Izzy Fox-Mulwray = Mine.
Author's Note: To Quadrantje – Not yet. I don't know if I have the heart to put another troublemaker in 'Mutant X'
Chapter 4.
Two days later.
Jesse's brow was furrowed as he concentrated on his task, as intent as a surgeon performing a particularly delicate procedure.
He held out an imperious hand to his 'nurse'.
"Baby wipe."
Lexi obligingly handed it over.
Ryan chuckled happily as his father cleaned him up, trying to touch the soiled diaper as little as possible.
"Powder." Jesse breathed a sigh of relief as he managed to fasten the clean diaper on his wriggling son. /Thank God that's over! /
Ryan's chubby features took on an expression of intense concentration.
Lexi wrinkled her delicate feral nose. "Eww! Ryan made another doodoo."
Jesse scowled at his son. "You did that deliberately, didn't you?"
The deceptively innocent looking infant just gurgled at him.
"Mommy?"
"What's up, honey?" Shalimar ruffled her younger daughter's hair. "You're looking very serious." She teased gently.
"Mommy, are you and Daddy going to have another baby?"
"We weren't thinking about having another baby, Izzy lizard." Shalimar answered honestly. "Not at the moment at any rate." She smiled at the little girl. "If you want a baby brother, you're going to have to make do with Ryan."
Izzy just scowled.
"What are you doing, Aunt Emma?"
Emma shifted the bag containing Ryan's toiletries onto one arm, balancing her son in the other. "It's Ryan's bath time, sweetie."
"Can I help?" Lexi hit her aunt with her most pleading expression. "Please?"
"Sure." Emma hurriedly thrust the bag into Lexi's eager hands.
In the two days of Ryan's life, Lexi had made herself indispensable as a childcare assistant. Jesse had said that if the little girl had been a few years older, he'd have hired her as a nanny.
Once she was home from school, Lexi tended to spend all of her time playing with her new little cousin and acting as Jesse and Emma's helper.
The adults were pretty sure that it was just a phase, that once the little girl had adjusted to the new arrival, she would quickly lose interest but in the mean time, the first time parents were taking full advantage of their small assistant.
An hour later.
"Lexi?" Izzy poked her head into the twins' playroom in search of her sister. "Do you want to play Hide and Seek? You can hide first." She added persuasively.
"Maybe later." Lexi's expression was one of fierce concentration as she glued more glitter to her masterpiece. "I'm busy now."
"What are you doing?"
"I'm making a picture to give to Ryan when he wakes up from his nap."
Izzy snorted in disgust. Lexi had already produced half a dozen similar gifts for the new arrival "Why bother? It's not like he can tell the difference."
"He can so!" Lexi flared up in defence of her new protégé. "Aunt Emma said he liked them, so there!" She stuck out her tongue.
Izzy rolled her eyes. "She was just making that up."
"Aunt Emma doesn't tell lies!" Lexi snarled, her eyes glowing feral yellow.
"I hate you!"
"I hate you more!"
A series of resounding crashes brought the five adult members of mutant X running to the playroom, convinced that someone was being murdered.
"Girls!" Shalimar was horrified to see her two daughters, normally best friends, brawling on the floor, Lexi yanking a handful of Izzy's hair and Izzy furiously scratching every part of Lexi that she could reach.
It was with some difficulty that Shalimar and Brennan were able to part their sparring daughters.
Shalimar pulled Lexi over to the table and sat down, restraining the small girl in her lap while Brennan scooped up a furious Izzy.
"What is going on here?" Brennan gave his daughters a stern look.
"She started it!" The twins chorused in unison.
"I don't care who started it." Brennan scolded. "It stops now. You two are not to fight, especially with each other."
"Why were you fighting?" Shalimar asked. Neither of the girls would meet her gaze. "Well?" She pressed.
"Nothing." Lexi muttered under her breath.
Shalimar raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Nothing? You were fighting like that over nothing?"
"Yes." Izzy set her chin firmly. "It was nothing."
Brennan met his wife's eyes before sighing in exasperation. "Well, whatever is going on, we expect you girls to work it out . . ."
"We were." Lexi protested.
". . .In a mature way." Brennan finished, glaring at her. "No more fighting."
"Fine." Lexi scowled. "Can I finish my picture now? She interrupted me."
"She has a name." Shalimar reproved gently. Lexi set her jaw firmly, clearly not willing to say another word. Shalimar sighed, knowing better than to push when her daughter was in that mood. "Go ahead with your picture, but behave yourself."
"Yes, Mommy." Lexi smiled sweetly at her mother, climbing off her lap and returning to her abandoned art project.
Izzy glared unhappily. "Uncle Jesse, will you play hide and seek with me?"
"Sure, kiddo." Jesse gave her a sympathetic smile. "Do you want me to count first?"
"Please." Izzy stalked out of the room, still angry with her twin. Uncle Jesse was okay but he took forever to find her. Lexi was much better at the game.
She blinked furiously, trying to get rid of the tears that were forming in her eyes.
If Lexi wanted to spend all of her time with a stupid baby, that was just fine with her.
She could have lots of fun without her.
TBC.