Edith and John (and his children)
AN: This is a few oneshots of Edith with John's children, through the years!
Meeting John's first child - 1911
John 17
Edith 2
"Hold him gently; that's it." John whispers, placing Edith's hands carefully under the baby's head, sliding a cushion under her arms to help her support the weight of the baby.
"My baba." Edith states, tilting her head up to look at John, wide smile covering her face, her brother chuckling softly in response.
"My baby." He corrects playfully, bopping his nose against hers to make her giggle, succeeding in eliciting a series of joyful laughs from his little sister.
"Share?" She asks, peering up at him through her long eyelashes, eyes slightly widened, lips pursed in a pout that John could not resist (and even at the mere age of 2 - nearly 3 - she knew that one flutter of her eyelashes, mixed with a pout, and she had him wrapped around her little finger. Completely.) Tommy had been tirelessly trying to drill the idea of sharing into his youngest two siblings, far too frequently finding them scrapping on the floor (he had John to thank for teaching them that) because one of them had refused to share something with the other - often something as trivial as the sharing of a crayon, of which there were several of each colour (Tommy made sure of this) in the box in front of them, ending up in screams and sobs, hair pulling and punch throwing on the kitchen floor. Ever since the lesson on sharing had occurred (one evening a few weeks prior after a particularly bad fight that ended in blood shed and a handful of Edith's hair on the floor) the littlest Shelby was diligently slipping the word into any conversation she could (not that she really had a good grasp on the concept of the term, nor how to use it appropriately, yet on occasion, such as now, it did the trick).
"Sure." John laughs, tucking his arm around her shoulders, his hand cupping the back of the baby's head. "This is William. Can you say William?"
"William." Edith repeats with a firm nod, nose scrunched as she studies the baby in her arms, tilting her head to the side as he shifts, yawning in his sleep. "William sleepy." She states, eyes glued on her nephew, watching for any further movements.
"He is." John agrees, lifting his head to smile over at Martha who was curled up in the armchair opposite them, watching the siblings with a gentle smile on her face. She could spend all of her days watching Edith and John if she could, the relationship they had was like no other she had seen. Absolutely, she saw the softest side of John on the daily, the minute he walked in the door his arms were around her, holding her close, loving on her, but him and Edith...they had a special bond. Since their father had walked out, despite Tommy being the sole guardian of the youngest Shelby's, John had stepped up into the role of father, in particular for Edith. He was gentle around his sister, nothing like the bold, loud young man he was out on the streets, he would never show that side around Edith, she brought out the best of him, grounded him, soothed him, as he did her. And so to sit and watch them, curled up together, holding her baby in their arms, Martha thought she could not be happier. Suddenly thrown out of her peaceful daydream by a piercing cry, Martha draws her attention back to the sofa ahead of her.
"Uh oh." Edith gasps, head snapping up to stare up at John who gives her a reassuring smile. "Baba sad."
"He's ok." John assures her, instantly calm (although his expression had been a mirror of Edith's the first time William had let out the ear piercing cry after Polly had left). "He's alright. He just needs his ma." Lifting the baby out of Edith's arms (his sister letting out an immediate squeak of protest, hands reaching out for her nephew, fists opening and closing towards John who ignores her) moving swiftly across the room to hand the baby to Martha, hovering by her side as she latches him on to her chest, smiling reassuringly up at John as the baby instantly settles. "See. All fine." John breathes out, turning back to his sister letting out a loud laugh at the state she was in. Lying half on, half off the sofa, Edith was wriggling around with one arm stuck inside the arm of her dress.
"Help!" She squeaks, frantically shaking her stuck arm as John doubles over in laughter, Martha reaching her foot out to kick him in the back of the calf, wordlessly telling him to stop and help his poor sister, now clinging onto the sofa cushion with her free hand to prevent sliding off. "Johnny!"
"Hey, hey, relax. Come 'ere." He soothes, laughter still lacing his voice as he rushes to catch Edith as she lets out a final shriek, sliding from the seat and into her brother's waiting arms. "What on earth are you doing, eh?" He asks rhetorically, clucking his tongue at the state she had gotten herself in to, unbuttoning the back of her dress and sliding her arm back into the right place, rebuttoning the outfit and lifting her back onto the sofa, remaining at eye level with her, trying to hold in his laughter as she pouts down at him. "What were you doing?"
"Me help!" She exclaims, throwing her hand out towards Martha who lets out a burst of laughter, catching on quicker than John about the meaning behind Edith's statement.
"What?" John asks, bewildered, glancing back at his wife who had her head thrown back in laughter. "What!"
"She wants to help!" Martha squeals, wiping a tear from her eye. "She wants to feed William too!"
"Wha-"
"Edith baba." Edith babbles, pointing her finger over at William, moving to pull down the collar of her dress, just as she had seen Martha do moments before. "I help!"
"Oh no." John mutters, shaking his head as her statement sinks in. "No, Edith. Only Martha can do that. William needs his Ma. Yeah? Only Martha. Not Edith." As the realisation of his reply sinks in, John's face pales as Edith's drops, lips pursing into a pout (the sad one he hated, this time, rather than the playful one from earlier). "No...no, no, no. No tears!"
"I help!" Edith wails, throwing her tiny body backwards on the sofa, John glancing back at Martha in shock, his wide eyes meeting hers, silently pleading her for help. "Edith baba!"
"Uh, no. Nope, come on. No more." John stutters, pulling his sister off the sofa and into his arms, the toddler laying limp across his body. John always tended to panic when Edith began to cry, often quickly passing her off to whichever older sibling was around. He had found, in the past few days of being a father, that he could cope rather well when his son began to cry, he could figure out quite quickly what he needed, with the solution usually being food, a change or comfort; however, with his sister, now a toddler and able to use her words to better explain her feelings (not that she usually did, she often found herself scooped up into someone's arms and rocked until her fit of tears subsided), John tended to panic, he had no clue what set her off a lot of times, and no clue how to stop the tears (other than passing her off to someone else). "Uh...Martha..."
"What do you expect me to do?" She laughs in reply, motioning to the feeding back in her arms.
"Help me!" John exclaims frantically, still trying to maintain a careful grip on Edith who was still floppy in his arms, back fully bent over the arm that he had secured around her waist. "Mar!"
"Oh John!" Martha chuckles, shaking her head at the panic in his eyes. "Bring her here." Scooping his sobbing sister up into his arms, John attempts to hold her to his chest, rising from the floor and moving over to Martha who holds her free hand up, resting it gently on Edith's back.
"Now look," John states firmly, pulling Edith upright again, his sister stopping her wails abruptly at the tone of his voice, the one he rarely ever used with her. "You gotta stop." He continues, pointing his finger in her face as she sniffs, glancing helplessly over to Martha and then back to John, tears still streaming down her face. "Martha can't hold you too if you're fussin'. You gonna fuss?" At Edith's shake of her head, John drops the young girl to the sofa, holding onto her as she wobbles into Martha's open arm, immediately pressing her face against the older girl's chest.
"I've got you." Martha coos softly, scooping her arm under Edith's bottom to bring her to sit beside her on the sofa, resting against her side. "See? William is happy. He's eating. Is Edith happy?" Nodding her head, Edith slides her thumb into her mouth, eyes settling on her nephew again as Martha whispers softly to her, John dropping down to sit on the floor beside the sofa, head in his hands.
Meeting Esme's first baby - 1920
Edith 12
Knocking softly on the front door of her older brother's house, Edith shuffles nervously on the front step; why she was nervous, she didn't know. Maybe it was that she hadn't spent much time with Esme, and didn't know what to expect when her brother opened the door, perhaps it was the fact that she was older know, and knew more about where babies came from, and how they came about. She had made it abundantly clear to Polly that she would not be partaking in the birth of any of her future nieces or nephews, managing to escape from Ada's son's birth by hiding behind Thomas, who was happy to hide her on this occasion (she had been shocked too!), and now Esme's first child had been born just days earlier, she had taken refuge at Charlie's yard with Curly, persuading him to accompany her out on a ride as soon as she had heard the phone ring, slipping silently past Polly to avoid being dragged along to John's house to assist with the birth. Nevertheless, Edith was not one to shy away from actually meeting a newborn baby, so long as it was a significant amount of time after their birth. And so here she stood, a fairly limp bunch of flowers in hand, waiting for her brother to answer the door. When the door finally swings inwards, Edith cringes at the sight of her beloved big brother, who in all honesty, looked absolutely shattered; the poor sod.
"Congratulations Johnny!" She exclaims, not too loudly, she knew the correct etiquette to follow, following the birth of a baby. Giving her a tired smile in reply, John holds his arms open for Edith who steps into them, wrapping him in a tight hug. "Boy of girl?" She asks against his chest, smiling widely when John replies with a soft 'girl'. "Called?" She prompts, pulling back to smile up at her brother who responds with another smile of his own.
"Annie Jo."
"Annie Jo." Edith repeats gently, testing the name out. "I love it."
"Gonna come meet her?" John asks rhetorically, resting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her into the house, pushing the door shut behind him. "Those for Esme?" He asks, motioning down at the flowers in Edith's hand, smiling at her nod. "That was kind of you."
"Pol used to bring flowers for Martha. Seemed like the right thing to do." His sister replies, a soft blush creeping onto her cheeks at John's loving gaze.
"You pay for 'em yourself?" Edith nods in reply, ducking her head at John's click of his tongue. "You didn't need to do that, Edie."
"I wanted to." Edith states simply, peering up at her brother. "Seemed like the right thing to do." She repeats, John dropping his head to press a kiss to the crown of her head.
"That was real nice of you, Edith." He replies, pulling her closer under his arm. "Esme'll appreciate them." Smiling softly, the pair glance towards the closed door in front of them, suddenly realising they had been stood outside talking softly for longer than planned. Leading the way in, John flashes Esme a smile, dropping down onto the bed beside her, resting his heavy head on the headboard.
"Congratulations Esme." Edith whispers, holding the bunch of flowers out to her sister in law who smiles warmly up at Edith, taking them appreciatively, bringing them to her nose and breathing in the fresh scent.
"Thank you, Edith. They're lovely." Esme replies softly, placing them flowers onto the side table. "You wanna hold your niece?"
"Please." Edith replies enthusiastically with a nod, moving across the room to lift the desk chair, placing it beside the bed and accepting the baby into her arms. "She looks so much like Katie." John hums in reply, having said the same thing to Esme when Annie had been born, the baby a spitting image of her older sister when she had been born. Glancing up briefly, Edith smiles softly at the sight in front of her, Esme letting out a long yawn, John with his head still resting against the headboard, trying to fight sleep. "Do you want me to take her for a bit? Just downstairs. You can both try and get some sleep? I know how to look after a baby, I've had lots of practise?" John's eyes fly open at Edith's question, Esme tilting her head to silently ask John what he thought.
"I've just fed her." She replies weakly, shrugging at her husband who nods, lifting his head to smile in John's direction.
"I trust you." He tells his sister, who smiles at his statement. "You wouldn't mind?"
"Course not!" Edith replies, grin widening. "Can I take the basket downstairs?"
"I'll do it for you." John replies, now that his sister had suggested taking the baby off their hands for a little while, he was eager to get them out of the room, and get some well needed sleep. Pressing a kiss to Esme's temple, John rises from the bed, lifting the baby's basket into his arms, leading the way out of the room. Bending down towards Esme, Edith lets the new mother press a kiss to her baby's forehead, gathering up a spare blanket before she leaves, following her brother out of the room. "I've just set it on the table. You can put it wherever you want." John tells his sister, meeting her at the bottom of the stairs, reaching out to run his finger across the newborn's cheek. "You sure you don't mind?"
"Not at all." Edith replies quickly. "We'll be alright, won't we Annie Jo?" Dropping her head, Edith rubs her nose gently across the baby's cheek, pressing a light kiss to the soft skin. "Go get some sleep." Pressing up on her tiptoes, Edith kisses John's cheek gently, nodding her head in the direction of the stairs, John not needing anymore prompting to take the stairs two at a time to get back to his wife. "Looks like it's just you and me." Edith whispers, swaying the sleepy baby in her arms, smiling as her niece's eyes begin to droop, falling into a deep slumber, resting against her aunt's chest, lulled by the gentle pounding of her heart. Once the baby was finally out for the count, snoring gently against Edith's chest, she lays her carefully into the basket, tucking the blanket around her. She peers silently down at her niece for a few minutes, committing her tiny features to memory, running her fingers gently over her face, the baby not stirring in her deep sleep. When Edith steps back finally, she looks up to glance around the kitchen she was stood in, deciding to do some cleaning up for the exhausted couple upstairs; she didn't mind the task, she knew that when the time came to it, John would do the same for her.
Season four - 1925
Edith 18
"Auntie Edith!" Teddy calls, bolting out of the house with John ambling behind him, hands shoved deep in his pockets. Crouching down to Teddy's level, Edith barely even flinches as her nephew barrels into her arms, throwing his own around her neck with a shriek as she shoots back upright, spinning him in quick, tight circles.
"Hello you!" She exclaims, coming to a stop and leaning down to give Teddy a loving Eskimo kiss, her arms still tightly wrapped around the child's little body, his pudgy legs tucked around her waist. "I've missed you!"
"Miss you!" Teddy coos, tucking his head into her neck with a contented sigh.
"How's my favourite Teddy bear, eh?" Edith asks, brushing Teddy's hair back from his forehead, Teddy giggling in reply as his aunt presses a lingering kiss to his forehead, breathing in his scent. She loved John's kids, truly she did, she'd practically helped Martha and Polly raise them when John had been away; yes they were wild, all the Shelby children were up until a certain age (and even after, depending on who you asked), and of course she loved all of her nieces and nephews, but John's bunch, they held a special place in her heart.
"I'm good!" Throwing his arms around Edith's neck again, Teddy presses his body flat against hers making her laugh.
"Alright, alright! I can't breathe!" She teases, digging her fingers into the boy's side, making him flail about in hysterics. Shifting her nephew on her hip, she runs a hand over the back of his head as he settles again, catching his breath, his eyes finally falling on the tall boy lingering behind Edith. "Remember Bonnie?" She whispers to Teddy who nods hesitantly, arms coming to curl around Edith's neck again, pressing his body into her side. "Can you say hello?"
"Hello." Teddy repeats, lifting his hand in a wave, the other curled tightly in Edith's cardigan.
"Hello, Teddy." Bonnie replies, stepping closer and bending down to the young boy's height. "Nice to see you again." Nodding against his aunt's neck, he peers up at her, eyes wide and pleading, silently telling her 'I've said hello, why's he still here?'
"Where's your brothers and sister then? Hmm?" Edith asks, more to her brother than her nephew, turning to John who opens his arm out towards her.
"Out in the fields. They'll be back soon. They'll get hungry." He replies, tucking his arm around Edith's shoulder and pulling her in for a side hug. "How you doin', eh?"
"Good." Edith responds, pressing up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek. "Thanks for having us."
"Of course." Turning to his sister's boyfriend, John visibly straightens, instinctively deepening his voice. "Bonnie. How are you?" Edith giggles, rolling her eyes at her brother who looks down at her with a confused expression. "What? Why you laughin'?"
"You get all gruff and protective when you speak to Bonnie." She teases, bumping her hip against John's.
"What's that mean?"
"Your voice deepens and you stand up taller. Like you're trying to intimidate him. The big brother in you comes out. It's funny!"
"Well, do I? Intimidate you?" John asks, turning back to Bonnie who glances between the pair awkwardly.
"I'm not sure what the right answer is here..." Bonnie teases, flashing Edith a smile who laughs, reaching a hand out towards him.
"Just smile and keep moving." She replies playfully, pulling him towards John's house.
By the time the other five Shelby children had arrived home from playing in the fields, the table had been set, and dinner was just about ready to be served.
"They can bloody smell it a mile off, I swear." John grumbles as the kids tumble through the door, greeting their aunt with whoops and hollers, flying into her arms as she quickly shoos them off in the direction of the bathroom.
Taking a seat at the table, with Bonnie on one side, Teddy on the other (her nephew had insisted adamantly, having not left her side since she had arrived, and she didn't have the heart to refuse him anything), Edith watches as her nieces and nephews slowly make their way into the room, finding seats and dropping into them. Turning to Bonnie, Edith reaches out to run a hand through his hair, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
"You're in for a real treat," she teases, Bonnie laughing in response, glancing around at the children filling up the table. "Lets just hope this meal doesn't end in a food fight!" Out of the corner of her eye, Edith catches a child falling off a chair and to the floor, followed by a frightened whimper. Pushing up in her seat to glance over at the heap on the floor, she sighs under her breath, rising to stand. "Oi!" She calls, catching the oldest of her nephews pinning his brother to the floor. "William, get off of your brother, right now." She scolds, moving around the table to pull the older boy off his brother, throwing him a withering look as she lifts the smaller boy into her arms, depositing Benjamin carefully into his seat. "And you, be careful. Eh? No more jumping off your chair and taunting your brother, you're asking for trouble." Pushing her nose against her nephews, she winks as he giggles in her face, reaching out to run a hand over William's hair as she rises. "Be kind, eh? You two are gonna be brothers for life, you need each other, you gotta look after each other. Yes?"
"Sounds like you're speaking from experience." John teases as he enters the room, plates of food balanced carefully in his hands. Pressing a kiss to Edith's forehead as he stops beside her, she waits until he had placed the food on the table before wrapping her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. "Alright, alright, enough." John exclaims, playfully pushing his sister away. "Go and sit down, yeah?"
"Hey! What did I just say about being kind?" She chides, furrowing her brows as he pushes her towards her chair on the other side of the table. "This, children, is not being kind to your siblings! Don't copy your father!" Edith exclaims, pushing back against her brother, the children laughing at the two older Shelbys.
"You see what you're getting yourself into, Bonnie?" John calls, pulling his sister, who lets out a squeak of shock, into a head lock, ruffling his fist against her hair. "She's a nightmare this one!"
"Johnny!" Edith whines, pushing out of her brother's grip. "You've ruined my hair!" Letting out a loud laugh, John pushes Edith towards Bonnie once more, the younger sibling pouting down at her boyfriend who smiles sympathetically up at her. "Did you see that?" She calls across the table to her nieces and nephews who were still giggling. "We gotta get him back." She whispers conspiratorially, lifting Teddy into her arms and tiptoeing back around to the other side of the table. "Sneak attack, got it?" Bending down beside the children, she gathers them close, whispering their plan of attack before taking Annie by the hand, ushering the children to follow her out of the room (Bonnie deciding to see what she had planned, following along at a distance). When they reach the kitchen, Edith stops her small group, holding her finger up to her lips to silence their giggles. "On three." She whispers, raising her hand. "One...two...three!" On three, the seven of them run at John, piling on top of him and pulling him to the ground, Esme and Bonnie watching in hysterics as the pin him to the floor, attacking him with tickles.