It was Mr Peabody's turn to watch Eleanor tonight. Sherman was having study time over at Penny's house, and Jane was planning on auditioning for a certain dance troupe that night. It was going to be the first time in awhile that a baby was placed in Peabody's care, and to be honest, it made him feel old. Maybe it was just a simple logical reaction to how the first child he cared for was Sherman (who was ten now) and he could remember those times quite easily and fondly. Or maybe it was because he really was old, in which case he did not want to think about it.
But approaching the child alone proved to be more of a hassle than what he first anticipated. With so much for them to do, where were they going to begin?
Right now, Eleanor was sitting on the couch in the living room, having propped herself up there unmanned, she looked at the ceiling with great interest. Mr Peabody observed her as the eighteen month old started to babble to herself, possibly interacting with an invisible playmate. It had been awhile, but Peabody couldn't quite recall Sherman's imagination being that active at eighteen months. The kids were two separate beings though, so any conclusions based on how Sherman viewed the world would be, in fact, inconclusive from the way Eleanor viewed the world.
But it gave Mr Peabody an idea.
"Eleanor, come for a walk with me." Mr Peabody proposed.
Almost immediately, Eleanor shot straight up (or maybe it was due to hearing her name and the promise of adventure that the voice that called her held) and looked at Peabody with a smile. With an expert skill of maneuvering, Eleanor succeeded in getting down from the sofa unharmed and waddled over to Peabody. She took the incentive to curl her fingers around one of his and looked up at him with a look that was ready for action. For a moment, you could unmistakably see Jane in her daughter.
With a smile, Mr Peabody led Eleanor to th elevator and they arrived at a floor abandoned by its owners. The old dog held the key to the apartment after convincing the actual apartment owner for it. Today he was going to start rebuilding it and Eleanor was going to be the cornerstone.
It was still going to take time, but this would prove to be a good bonding time between the two. Then maybe -one the side if there was time- Mr Peabody would dabble in another project that would require both Eleanor and Sherman. But that was set for another time, today was the day he began working on something he would call The Imagination Room. It wouldn't be as complex as the WABAC, he was never going to make anything as complex as that again. But it was going to be just as grand because it was inspired by something great; his children.