Age 546, Month 10, Planet Sadala, Universe 7
Peparia held her son Vegeta as she floated in the middle of the room, rocking the boy to sleep. He looked like any nobleman Saiyan baby boy, except for his hair; his hair spiked upward and came together at a point at the top, a widow's peak coming down his brown and stopping just above his eyebrows. Like Celes, he had come out screaming, proof of his immense strength.
Unfortunately, he was doing just that right now; Vegeta was exhausted, but didn't want to go to sleep, and his mother was doing everything she could think of to calm him. He'd been fed, he was wearing a clean diaper, he'd been burped was all ready for bed. He just didn't want to go to sleep right now.
Peparia sighed. She wasn't going back to the Full Moon Patrol any time soon; the next full moon was still two months away, so she had plenty of time to get Vegeta's sleep patterns in place in time before she headed back to work.
Peparia continued to rock her screaming baby, glad that she'd finally finished the transfer of power over to her cousin. And Bokcho was definitely a better head of household than Tarble ever had been. He was already in talks with several of the houses on how to better the relationship between their house and the others that Tarble had damaged. Both Rutin and Tarble were right; he was far better in medical school than he was in politics. Peparia had seen his grades while she was still head of household, and she was impressed.
Vegeta appeared to calm down for a moment, but he only stopped to take a breath. Peparia just shook her head and started flying around the room, holding Vegeta tight against her body. This worked great to calm down her, her brother, her cousin, and even Celes due to the fact that all their mothers had been fighters up to the point of their birth, so they were used to high-speed flight.
As Peparia increased her speed ever so slightly, Vegeta's cries began to decrease in volume. She shook her head, frustrated that it took this to calm down her son. Not because this is what it took, no. She was frustrated because it took her an hour to remember this. Yes, 20 years had passed since the last time she dealt with a fussy baby, but this wasn't the first time Vegeta had done this. It wasn't a nightly occurrence, no, but it shouldn't have taken her that long.
Eventually, Vegeta's cries had calmed completely, and he had finally dozed off, but not before throwing up on Peparia's shoulder. She sighed as she placed her son in his crib and pulled his blanket over his body. She bent down and kissed her son on the head, then headed out the door and turned off the light.
After closing the door, Peparia slumped against the wall, and slid down to the floor. She had forgotten how hard that first year was when having a new child. Things definitely got easier, but the first year one of the hardest times for a parent. And even though she was still in her prime, Peparia was definitely feeling her age compared to with Celes.
It was about this time when Rutin showed up. He had just been at a meeting with the Full Moon Patrol and was unable be there to help putting their son to bed. He reached down and put out his hand for his mate and helped her to her feet.
"Rough night?" Rutin said sympathetically.
"You have no idea," Peparia said, he shoulders slumped from exhaustion, her temples pounding.
"Let me guess; he screamed himself to sleep again," Rutin said, smiling sympathetically.
"Good guess," Peparia said, rolling her eyes. "And it's ALWAYS when you're gone for whatever reason."
"Guess he misses his daddy," Rutin said jokingly.
Peparia chuckled sadly. "He probably does find your voice soothing. I know I do."
Rutin blushed as he took his mate's hand. "Come on, let's get you to bed. I'll take care of Vegeta if and when he wakes up."
