Disclaimer: I do not own Static Shock or The Incredibles

Chapter Fourteen: Monster

Francis lay on the couch in the living room, thumbing through one of Virgil's old comic books. One leg was draped over the back of the couch, the other dangled to the carpet. Dash was lying on the adjacent couch in a similar position, although his legs didn't quite fill as much space. A nauseatingly bright cartoon was on the television, volume turned low so Francis could ignore it.

Violet walked into the room and 'harrumphed' at the sight. "Must you splay your legs like that? What are you, apes? Trying to assert your dominance?"

Francis snickered and let his leg drop back to the couch so his legs weren't quite so far apart.

"What'd she say?" Dash asked, his eyes were glazed over from following the cartoon.

Violet rolled her eyes and pushed her little brother's legs aside so she could sit down.

"Are Mom and Dad going out tonight?" Dash asked, craning his neck to get a better view of the now obstructed screen.

Violet leaned out of his way. "Yeah, any minute now." She sighed. "You just know they're going to put me in charge and that means I'm going to have to look after Jack-Jack all night and you know how fussy he gets when Mom leaves."

"Sucks to be you." Dash deadpanned.

Violet smacked his leg and crossed her arms in irritation. "You just wait 'till you get older, you won't think it's so funny then."

"Aw relax you guys." Francis muttered from behind his comic.

The two siblings were about to ignore the pyro and continue with their bickering when Bob and Helen walked into the room.

"Okay guys, we're off." Bob announced.

Helen had Jack-Jack on her hip. She cooed at him while Bob spoke.

"Lucius and Virgil will be back from their skiing trip tomorrow so it's just you four tonight." Bob explained. "I want this house in the same condition it is now when we get back."

"We'll be fine Dad." Violet rolled her eyes.

"I know. It's just something dads have to say." Bob smiled.

Helen lifted Jack-Jack into her arms. "Alright. Francis is in charge tonight. Dash, you better listen to him."

"Wait…what?" Francis gaped.

"Sweet!" Violet fist-pumped.

"You heard me." Helen smirked at the boy. She passed Jack-Jack into Francis' arms. "Jack-Jack needs to be fed and bathed before bed. Dash's bedtime is at ten. Have a good night."

"Wait."

The adults turned to leave, ignoring Francis' call.

"Wait! I'm not kidding!" Francis shouted. The garage door opened and closed. The car engine started. "I don't know how to do this!"

The car peeled out, leaving the four kids in the living room. Violet smiled broadly at Francis. "Have fun." She sauntered from the room.

Francis stared wide-eyed at Jack-Jack, who squirmed in his arms.

"You're holding him wrong." Dash said.

"Wha…then how…" Francis tried to adjust the wriggling baby to no avail. Jack-Jack almost slipped from his grasp altogether. Francis clutched the baby, afraid to drop him.

"I'm gonna go downstairs." Dash jetted off in a blur.

"Dash! Come back here!" Francis shouted after him. He got no response.

Francis and Jack-Jack stared at each other. The baby widened his eyes to saucer-like proportions and gurgled happily, fisting one hand in Francis' shirt.

Francis held the baby at arms-length. "Good baby, nice baby."

Jack-Jack babbled giddily before erupting into flames.

Francis jumped and yelped, almost dropping the baby. He'd never seen Jack-Jack's powers before. The outline of Jack-Jack's eyes looked up at Francis curiously. The teenager quirked an eyebrow, smirking down at the flaming bundle in his arms. "Nice try."

Jack-Jack clapped his hands together and suddenly his tiny body was made of metal, a very heavy metal. Again, Francis almost dropped the baby. The weight was unexpected. Francis lugged the metallic baby to the couch and sank down onto its cushions, wrapping both arms around Jack-Jack and holding him against his chest. The baby squirmed in protest, changing from metal back to fire and then into a tiny red demonic monster who pounded his captor's arms. Francis held firm. When Jack-Jack shot lasers from his eyes, Francis simply directed the baby's gaze away from himself. He'd cover up those holes in the drywall later.

After several minutes, Jack-Jack settled back into his normal self. He titled his head back to look up at Francis, his eyes welling with tears.

"Oh…no."

Jack-Jack gulped in one breath of air and wailed, loudly. Tears streamed down his chubby face. Francis got to his feet, holding Jack-Jack away from himself again. He knew how to handle Jack-Jack's powers, but crying? That was beyond him.

"Hey, stop. Please?" Francis walked around the room. Jack-Jack's face was turning red from his screaming. He waved his tiny fists in the air.

Francis was trying to stop himself from panicking. Was Jack-Jack breathing? Could babies cry themselves to death? Did he do something wrong? Was Bob going to kick his ass for this? Did he break Jack-Jack?

"Shhh, stop. Stop crying." Francis paced the room. He held Jack-Jack against his chest. The baby nuzzled his face into Francis' shoulder, still crying hysterically. Francis' shirt was drenched in seconds. Francis supported Jack-Jack with one arm and put his other hand against the baby's back like he had seen Helen do. He gently rubbed up and down Jack-Jack's back, trying to soothe the baby.

After a few minutes, Jack-Jack's cries had settled into a hiccupping whimper. His face was still buried in the crook of Francis' neck and he had a death grip on Francis' shirt.

Francis sighed in relief. One hurdle jumped. What was next?

That question was answered when an odor permeated the room. Francis almost gagged. "Oh my god."

He pried Jack-Jack off of him and put the baby down on the couch, waving the air in front of him. "Damn lil' Monster."

Jack-Jack put his fist in his mouth and began to suck happily. The stench got worse.

"Okay, come on." Francis lifted the baby gingerly, careful to hold the baby away from himself.

Violet had turned the music up as loud as it would go. That's why she didn't hear the knock on her door. Francis walked in anyway.

He held the baby out to her.

Violet withdrew one earbud and then the other. She wrinkled her nose when the smell hit her. "Oh, gross. Go change him."

"I don't know how." Francis actually looked a little frightened.

Violet smirked at him. "I'm sure you can figure it out."

Francis gaped at her. "But…please? I don't wanna mess up."

"You're a big boy." Violet said condescendingly.

Francis scowled. He stalked to the door. "Fine, I'll do it by myself." His voice wavered.

"Wait." Violet got up and followed Francis to the door. She put her hand on his shoulder. "I'll show you."

Francis grinned in thanks.

They walked to the nursery.

"Okay, so you take diaper, the baby powder, and the wipes." Violet pointed out each item laid out on the changing table. She put Jack-Jack down on the table and opened his diaper.

Francis recoiled. "Ew."

Violet nodded. "Yeah."

She quickly cleaned and changed Jack-Jack, tossing the dirty diaper into the garbage can. "Did you get that?"

Francis nodded. "Yeah. Still gross though."

"You get used to it." Violet lifted Jack-Jack into her arms and passed him off to Francis. "You might want to go wrangle Dash and give him something to eat before bed."

"Okay."

"And when you give Jack-Jack his bath make sure you use the tear-free shampoo. And only fill the tub a couple of inches."

Francis nodded at each suggestion. Jack-Jack squirmed in his grip.

Violet rolled her eyes. "You're holding him wrong." She manipulated Francis' arms so that Jack-Jack stopped wriggling and nestled into the older boy's hold.

"See?" Violet asked, beaming at Francis.

"Uh huh." Francis muttered, careful not to move. He wanted Jack-Jack to stay content.

"Dash!" Francis shouted. He walked from room to room looking for the little boy. He'd checked the pool, the weight room, the Loft, the command center, and every other room in the Sanctum's headquarters.

He finally found Dash in the gym. The kid had a rack of basketballs out and was crazily throwing them at both hoops, running after the rebounds and tossing them back up, whooping when he made a basket.

Francis stood in the doorway and laughed. Jack-Jack picked up the laughter and gurgled along with his babysitter.

Dash stopped what he was doing and waved at Francis. "Hi."

"Hey. Want something to eat?" Francis stepped onto the court.

"No." Dash resumed throwing balls at the backboard.

"Um. I think I have to give you dinner." Francis insisted.

Dash shrugged. "Not hungry."

"Oh c'mon. You're always hungry. Fast metabolism and all that." Francis had overheard Helen comment on Dash's inexhaustible appetite.

"I said I'm not hungry!" Dash shouted. "I want to play!"

"You can play after you eat." Francis reasoned.

"No." Dash said stubbornly.

Francis groaned. Babysitting sucked. A lot.

"I don't care, let's go." Francis stepped towards Dash. The younger boy reacted and dodged his grab. He stuck his tongue out at the teenager.

Francis kicked the gym door shut to trap Dash. "I'm not chasing you Shorty. I've got Jack-Jack."

"Catch me and I'll eat dinner." Dash dared smugly.

"No. Your parents said I'm in charge and that means you've got to do what I say and I say we're going to eat dinner." Francis ordered.

Dash sulked but obeyed, following Francis out of the gym and up to the main level. He slid into a chair at the kitchen table with a frown and glared at Francis.

"Stop." Francis said. "I thought we were pals?"

Dash jerked his head up in alarm. "We are pals!"

"Then stop making me feel like a jerk for making you eat dinner." Francis put Jack-Jack in his high-chair.

"Okay." Dash said glumly. "I only wanted to play."

"We can play after." Francis promised. He searched the cupboards for something he could make. "How do you feel about cereal?"

"For dinner?" Dash wrinkled his nose.

"I'll take that as a no then." Francis continued looking. He had no idea how to cook anything beyond toast or something with microwave instructions on the back. In the freezer Francis found a box of frozen pizza. He held it up for Dash to see. The younger boy nodded his approval.

Good." Francis popped the pizza in the microwave and found a jar of Jack-Jack's baby food. He emptied the contents into a little plastic bowl and placed it and a spoon onto the high-chair tray.

Jack-Jack pounded the tray with his hands, eagerly awaiting his dinner.

"You have to feed him." Dash pointed out.

Francis rolled his eyes but sat down next to the baby and held the mush-loaded spoon out to him. Jack-Jack gummed the food down and smiled. Francis repeated the action and found himself smiling at the baby's antics.

"You're making funny faces like my mom." Dash laughed.

"I am not." Francis promptly stopped smiling.

"Dash nodded. "Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

Am not."

"Are too too too too!" Dash giggled.

"Whatever. I'm not having this argument with you." Francis dropped the empty bowl and spoon into the sink. The oven dinged.

"Pizza!" Dash shouted excitedly.

"Oh so now you want dinner?" Francis asked, reaching into the oven.

"Yeah…wait! You need the oven mitt!" Dash yelled in warning.

Francis smirked and pulled the pizza out, not burned, not even grimacing at the blistering heat. "Pyrotech, remember?"

"Oh yeah."

Francis got Dash to watch a movie quietly in the living room with the lights off. Hopefully that would put him to sleep. Or at least sleepy. That kid had way too much energy. It was exhausting trying to keep up with him.

In the meantime, Francis had to give Jack-Jack a bath and put him to bed.

He didn't go to Violet for help. He hadn't seen her since she'd helped change Jack-Jack's diaper. Francis wanted to do this on his own.

"Okay, Monster. Sit there." Francis sat Jack-Jack down on the bath mat. The baby played happily with the frayed edge while Francis turned the water on.

He only let it fill a couple of inches, as Violet had suggested. It was warm, not hot. Francis thought hot water might not be good for a baby.

Francis took Jack-Jack's clothes off and plopped the baby into the tub. Jack-Jack almost fell over and Francis put his hand on the baby's back to keep him upright. Jack-Jack splashed in the water and laughed.

Francis smiled again. The kid was cute.

He found the no-tear shampoo made for babies and squirted some into his palm. Jack-Jack grabbed Francis' wrist to see what he had. Francis pulled away and rubbed the shampoo onto Jack-Jack's head, frothing it up. Jack-Jack played with the white suds streaming down his face into the water.

Francis rinsed the shampoo out of Jack-Jack's hair and spiked it into its normal hairstyle. Francis then drained the water from the tub and bundled Jack-Jack into a fluffy towel.

By the time Francis got Jack-Jack to the nursery, the baby was half-asleep. It was easy to manipulate his limbs into his onesie pajamas. Francis took Jack-Jack and returned to the living room to check on Dash.

The little boy was asleep in his dad's chair, curled into a ball. The movie was only half over. It was some cartoon about a baby elephant finding his way home or something sappy like that.

Francis settled on the couch, Jack-Jack in his arms. It wasn't even that late but Francis was exhausted. He never wanted to be left in charge again. Taking care of kids is hard work. "Let's be quiet Monster." He closed his eyes, only for a second. Just to rest.

"Bob, be quiet. You're going to wake the kids." Helen scolded as they walked into the house.

"Sorry." Bob said, although he still had one of his hands dangerously low on his wife's hip.

Helen flashed him a smile and opened the door, stepping into their house. All the lights were off and it was quiet.

Helen went to check on Jack-Jack but his room was empty. So was Dash's.

"Bob?" Helen whisper-called.

"Helen, you've got to see this." Bob whisper-called back from the living room.

Helen walked into the living room and put a hand over her mouth to stop an 'aw' from escaping. Dash was curled up on Bob's chair with an angelic look on his face. Francis was asleep on the couch with Jack-Jack nestled against his side, one arm draped protectively over the baby.

Helen held her hands up and mimed taking a picture. Bob took the hint and found a camera in the kitchen. He handed the camera to Helen who quickly took a photo in the light of the TV screen.

"I think they wore him out. Let him sleep." Bob said softly. Helen nodded.

She took Jack-Jack off the couch. The arm Francis had had around the baby fell to his side to fill the space.

Bob picked Dash up and the two parents took their children to bed, leaving Francis asleep on the couch.

Francis awoke the next morning when he realized he hadn't been shaken awake at some godforsaken hour to train. Francis sat up slowly, surveying the room with sleepy confusion. There was light streaming through the window. It had to be ten o'clock, maybe even later.

"Hey sleepy head." Helen walked into the room from the kitchen, stirring her coffee.

"Hey." Francis rubbed his face and ran a hand through his hair. He stifled a yawn. "What time is it?"

"Quarter past ten." Helen said. "You looked pretty tired last night. Bob and I decided you could have the day off."

"Really?" Francis asked.

Helen nodded. "Dash says you were a great babysitter." She stooped over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for doing such a good job."

Francis blushed. "No problem."

"We were going to go shopping in a little for gifts and whatnot, if you'd like to come." Helen said.

"Uh, sure. I guess." Francis rubbed his eyes. "I'll go get dressed."

Francis shuffled through the mall after the very happy and spirited Parr family. The mall was decorated for Christmas, tinsel and mistletoe everywhere. They had already paid a visit to Santa's Village for the obligatory photo of Jack-Jack on Santa's lap.

Helen and Violet were doing most of the shopping while Bob and Dash ate as much food from the food court as they could while holding the women's bags. Francis got saddled holding Jack-Jack, which he hoped wouldn't become a regular thing. He was not going to be the live-in babysitter. Just, no.

Helen and Violet disappeared into a jewelry store. Bob followed to try and figure out what to get Helen for Christmas. Francis waited on a bench with Dash and Jack-Jack.

Since Dicker and the NSA had decided to pay his expenses while he was living with the Parrs, Francis got a monthly allowance. It wasn't a lot, but at least it was something. Today Francis had splurged on some posters for his room, which was still pretty bare, and a couple of DVDs. The rest of the family was busy finding gifts for one another and various friends.

Francis was trying to stop Jack-Jack from going into mini-monster mode because Dash wasn't sharing his ice cream when he heard his name being called.

"Francis!"

He looked up and saw Frieda waving at him. Francis smiled.

Frieda hurried over, several bags on her arms. "Hi! I didn't expect to see you here."

"Ditto. This is Metroville, what are you doing way out here?" Francis slid over to make room for Frieda on the bench. She dropped down next to him.

"I'm visiting relatives. Every year we have a big Hannukah party at my cousin's house. I realized I forgot to get presents for my grandparents so I had to hurry over here before sundown." Frieda explained. She looked over at Dash and then cooed at Jack-Jack sitting on Francis' lap. "Who are these little guys?"

"Who're you calling little?" Dash demanded to know, insulted at being grouped in with his little brother.

"Chill Shorty." Francis said. "That's Dash and this is Jack-Jack. They're Violet's brothers."

"Oh. That's nice. Is she around?" Frieda asked.

"Somewhere. Doing girly stuff." Francis said with a smile.

Frieda laughed. "Shopping can be fun for guys too." She nudged one of his bags with her foot. "I see you've been busy."

"Well yeah." Francis admitted. "But it's all manly stuff."

"Of course it is."

"Hey Dad!" Dash jumped off the bench and ran to his father who had just exited the store.

Bob swooped Dash into his arms and spun him around once, much to Dash's delight. Bob looked over at the bench and quirked an eyebrow at Francis, nodding at Frieda. Francis gave him a shooing motion.

Bob got the hint and led Dash into a sporting goods store.

Frieda had missed the entire exchange because she was playing with Jack-Jack. When Francis turned back to her Frieda looked up and shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Um, listen. At the Hannukah party, my cousins always invite some of their friends to come and I end up spending the whole night alone. Would you like to come to keep me company?"

Francis leaped at the opportunity. "Sure. Sounds cool."

Frieda smiled. "No it doesn't, but thanks. I'll text an address and time, okay?"

"Yeah." Francis nodded.

Frieda got up and gathered her bags. "Well, I'll see you later then."

"See you later." Francis confirmed. He unashamedly watched her walk away.

Francis awkwardly stood off to the side while Frieda's family said the blessings and lit the menorah. When they were done, they placed the menorah in the window so passerby could see it and resumed the party.

Frieda walked up to him with a plateful of latkes. Francis had never tried them before and timidly bit into one when she offered him one. To his delight, they were amazing. He had to stop himself from consuming the entire plate.

Frieda laughed and daintily ate a latke herself. "Good, aren't they?"

"Yeah." Francis said. "That was cool, by the way. Those prayers. I didn't know they were in another language."

Frieda smiled. "Thanks. It takes a couple of years at Hebrew school to learn them but once you do, you never forget."

Francis smiled back. "So when do you go back to Dakota?"

"Two days. We're just here for the weekend. My dad has to work."

"Oh." Francis said.

Frieda frowned. "What?"

"I just wanted to hang out with you some more." Francis said.

Frieda smiled. "That's so sweet."

They smiled at each other for a couple of minutes before one of Frieda's aunts marched up and demanded to be introduced to Francis. Before long, all of Frieda's relatives were shaking Francis' hand or kissing him on the cheek, telling him how handsome he was and how glad they were that he was here. Frieda's bubbie almost burst into tears when he told her he liked her latkes.

Frieda finally took pity on him and pulled him away from her overbearing relatives. They found themselves outside on the stoop. Her cousin lived in the upscale downtown area of Metroville. Most apartment buildings on the block were decorated nicely and the area was well lit. It was nothing like Francis' old neighborhood.

Francis leant against the handrail and looked up at the sky. It had started to snow while they were inside. Light fluffy flakes drifted down around them. Francis opened his mouth to try and catch a snowflake on his tongue.

Frieda giggled at him before jumping down the steps and twirling around in the snow. Francis watched her and thought she looked beautiful in the glow of the streetlights with the snow falling and her scarf whipping around her.

Frieda stopped and looked up at him. "Thank you for coming tonight. This year has actually been pretty fun." Her breath puffed into a cloud in front of her.

"No problem." Francis said. "Better than sitting at home babysitting."

"You were sweet with that baby." Frieda said, playing with the tassels on her scarf. "It was very cute."

"Hey, I am not cute." Francis scoffed.

"Yes you are." Frieda argued.

"You're cute." Francis retorted.

Frieda blushed.

Francis walked down the steps and approached Frieda. "It's true you know. You are cute."

Frieda's blush deepened but she smiled. "Thank you."

They were very close now. Their noses were almost touching. Francis reached up and ran the back of his hand over Frieda's cheek. She was cold. She leaned into him, putting her hands on his shoulders. "You're hot." She murmured.

Francis smirked. He didn't know if she was referring to his body heat or his looks, but either way she was right.

Francis closed the gap between them and kissed her. It was a light, sweet kiss. Testing the waters. Francis pulled back. He wanted to see what Frieda would do next. He didn't want to push her.

Frieda had a curious look in her eye. She glanced up at Francis and put a hand on the back of his neck, pulling his head down to kiss him again. The snow swirled around them and melted when they touched Francis' skin.

Author's Note:

Oh the fluff. The fluffy fluff that is fluff. Tis so fluffy. IT'S SO FLUFFY I'M GONNA DIE! You may have noticed I did not update on Tuesday as per usual. Or you may not have. I don't know how closely you're following this story. The thing is, the instant I got home from college, I stopped writing. I managed to get this out at least and not too late. Word of warning. From here on out, updates may be sporadic. Just so you know. I get lazy when I'm not doing anything, which is when you would think I would write more, but I guess not. Since you haven't heard from me in a while, guess what? I cried at Toy Story 3. And so did my Dad. Best movie of the summer.

BTW, I know he's probably too old to play a high schooler nowadays, but I would love if Channing Tatum could play Francis in a Static Shock movie. I was thinking about it because Coach Carter was on today. He would be so perfect.

That is all.

PLEASE REVIEW!

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