Title: Spiderman Action Figure
Author: coffeeplease
Rating: PG
Category: General, AU
Spoiler Info: Everything up to A Good Day is game, although I think there's not a spoiler to be seen.
Disclaimer: WB, NBC, John Wells, Aaron Sorkin... owners. I just lease and try not to stain the carpet. Lawsuits don't look good on me.
E-mail address for feedback: permission: Sure, just tell me first
Notes: This is the same universe as "Grocery Store", "Race Car" et al. A big, big leap into the future.
"Daddy!"
Josh had just gotten to sleep. More accurately, he had just shut one eye and then the other and had thrown an arm loosely around his wife's waist. Some nights that was as close to sleep as he got; other nights he was comatose as soon as his head hit the pillow.
"Mommy! Daddy!"
He sat up on the second yell. Beside him, Donna stirred awake as well. She sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Do you want to get that or should I?"
"He yelled for me first." Josh climbed out of bed, slightly chilled in just his boxer shorts. Donna flopped back down on the pillows, quickly falling back asleep. She was exhausted recently, and not without good reason. They hadn't realized that children would require hours far more strenuous than the White House. They had both ignored the advice of many well-meaning politician parents, like Toby and Andi, who warned them. They had laughed that it couldn't be any more exhausting then twenty-hour days during MS hearings.
They had been so wrong. Joyously wrong, happily wrong, but wrong nonetheless.
Josh padded quietly through the house until he came to his son's room. The light was on and the door was ajar. He pushed it open and saw Noah sitting in the middle of the floor with his Bristle Blocks and Spiderman action figure. A Spiderman action figure missing one arm, it looked like.
"He was jumping off the building and his arm fell off," Noah explained tearily.
"Buddy, its past your bedtime." Josh folded his arms and tried not to fall asleep still standing.
"But Daddy, you have to fix Spiderman. You have to!" Noah's voice wobbled and definitely rose a few decibels at the end.
"Shhh.. you'll wake up Mommy and Claudia."
At the mention of his sister, Noah scowled. He had been doing that a lot recently, scowling like his father and pouting like his mother. Usually whenever someone held Claudia, cooed over Claudia or mentioned Claudia. Josh didn't need any parenting book to tell him what was going on, but he didn't think he had the energy to fix sibling rivalry at twelve-thirty at night.
"Put his arm back together, Daddy!" Noah began to bang the tiny arm back into the socket, tears falling out of his eyes.
"Noah Josiah.." Josh began sternly, only to be interrupted by the sound of Claudia's cries from the next room. He listened for a moment. Hunger, definitely hunger. He could also hear Donna get up from bed, the floorboards creaking as she went to tend to their daughter.
He stifled many curses. "I'll fix his arm, but you've got to get back in bed."
"I'm not tired."
Josh groaned inwardly. Maybe it was time to ax Noah's afternoon nap, seeing that this was the fourth night in a row he had been up past nine. "Get in bed and I'll fix Spiderman's arm." Didn't he have about ten Spiderman action figures?
Noah pondered this for a moment, sniffled and then stood up and climbed into his big boy bed. Josh sat down on the bed and Noah handed him the broken toy. Quickly, Josh popped the plastic arm back into the socket. "See, good as new. He'll be able to jump off all kinds of tall buildings tomorrow."
He gave his son a quick kiss to the forehead and reached to turn off the teddy bear lamp on the night stand.
"Daddy, don't turn it off."
"Noah, you won't be able to sleep if the light's on."
"Not tired."
Of course not. Josh ran through his options in his head. He was supposed to be firm on bedtimes and Noah's bedtime was about five hours ago. Noah had been asleep at nine; Donna had checked on both the kids. "How long have you been awake, buddy?"
"I dunno. I opened the door and it was all dark in our house."
About twenty minutes, just enough time so he was wide awake now. Josh couldn't say the same. His eyelids felt heavier and heavier.
"The dark's scary."
Josh's eyes snapped open. "There's nothing to be scared of, Noah. Everything's just the same as it is during the day, its just dark."
"I don't like it."
"I understand, buddy." Josh began to slowly rub Noah's back, trying to get him to nod off. "But you have your night light..." A Spiderman night light, naturally. "... and Mommy and I are just down the hall."
"Can I sleep with you and Mommy tonight?"
Josh sighed inwardly. Saying yes would mean an easy night: Noah would climb in between him and Donna and fall immediately asleep. However, he knew Noah would easily take ten miles from the inch given to him. He was in that stage. He would demand to sleep with Josh and Donna every night or he wouldn't fall asleep. It was like negotiating with the toughest, most conservative Republican senator. Except senators usually weren't wearing Spiderman pajamas.
"No, kiddo."
"Daddy! I won't be able to sleep!"
Josh felt his temper rising and took two deep breaths and counted to ten. "Noah, that's enough. You're old enough to sleep in your own bed at night. You've already slept with Mommy and I once this week. It's almost one in the morning. Go to sleep!" Josh stood up.
"Daddy! Don't go yet, please!" Noah gave a Donna-worthy pout and his brown eyes were crying, yet again. Josh began to get the feeling, judging from the amount of tears, that Noah wasn't just overtired and cranky. He immediately felt guilty for speaking harshly. "Buddy, what is it?"
Sniffle. "Just don't." Sob. "Want you." Big sniffle. "To go."
"What's wrong, Noah?" Josh sat back down on the bed and took his son into his arms.
Noah buried his face into Josh's neck, something he hadn't done much since he was two. Gently, Josh rocked to and fro, rubbing Noah's back, listening to him cry. He was also listening to the soft creaks of the rocking chair in the next room, where Donna was probably nursing Claudia Joan. "What's the matter, baby?"
Pulling away, Noah scrunched up his face to his father. "You love Claudia more than you love me."
Now Josh felt tears spring to his eyes. Damn it. It was inevitable, though. He and Donna had known it was coming. From the day they brought Claudia home, Noah had been that much more irritable. Leo had told them that Noah had called her "that dumb baby" during the welcome home party. For awhile, he had taken to regression, sucking his thumb again, trying to steal back all the baby toys that had been handed down to his younger sister. They had done everything the books had suggested. Tried to include Noah in taking care of the baby. Blocked out time everyday for just the three of them.
But Noah had said the words and Josh felt tinges of failure. He knew he shouldn't and that this would take care of himself, with enough time and love. Right now, though, he couldn't help that his son's accusation was breaking his heart.
A thought crossed his mind: had Joanie said the same about him?
"Oh, Noah, that's not true at all. Not at all. Mommy and I love you very, very, very much."
"More than Claudia?" Noah sniffled.
He kissed his son's forehead. "We love you and Claudia exactly the same amount."
"But its not fair! I was here first."
Josh sighed deeply. "I know its hard. It was just you, me and Mommy and now there's another person. But don't ever think that Mommy and I love Claudia more or that we don't have time for you now."
"It feels like you don't."
"Well, I do." Josh stated firmly. "And you know what, Noah?"
"What?"
"Someday," Josh smoothed out the craziness that was his son's hair and laid him back on the bed. "Someday, I think you're going to like having a sister."
"I will?"
"Maybe not anytime soon." Josh gave his son a grin. "But someday you will. Trust me on this, buddy."
"I don't think so." Noah yawned. His eyes drooped, much like his father's had earlier. Josh's grin grew wider. He would sleep, finally. Tomorrow, Josh and Donna could talk about what to do to make Noah feel better, but tonight he would sleep.
"Night, buddy. Love you." He kissed his son again and turned off the lamp. Noah's breathing had evened out.
He turned around to see Donna at the door. She smiled at him in the darkness, then turned and walked towards their bedroom. Josh left Noah's door ajar and followed her down the hall.
"She was hungry?"
"Hungry and starting to teeth." Donna flopped back in bed as soon as they reached their room. She pulled off the sweater she was wearing and threw it to the floor. She used to be the neat one, Josh thought ruefully. He climbed into bed and she scooted closer to him. They relaxed into each other's arms.
"Tomorrow, you and I need to have a conversation about our eldest child," Josh said sleepily.
"Mmm," Donna hummed and nuzzled Josh's shoulder. "We should probably stop nap time."
"Well, that and..." Josh rubbed his foot with hers, playing a bit of light footsie at one in the morning. He felt like he was about to pass out. "He said that we loved Claudia more than him."
"Oh, jeez," Donna hugged her husband harder. "Well, we'll talk to him tomorrow."
"He might just be playing us for another Spiderman action figure."
"He has thirty of them..." Donna's voice trailed off as he feel asleep.
Josh was already asleep. Neither of them woke up until twenty minutes later, when Noah crawled in between them.
