A/N: Will this and the bonus set be the last drabbles I do for this? Probably not.
Week 20 - UDC 10 - It's only laundry...
96. Cosmic
The sound of a car pulling up drew her attention away from her set of twins who were playing tag with each other on the front lawn, and Chelsea frowned at the sight of Pete and Nick, and then Alan, getting out. She looked at her watch, then shrugged. "What are you three doing here?"
"Pete wanted to show you something," Alan told her with a grin. "And Helen and Walt aren't home yet, so here we are." He frowned suddenly when Pete veered off to join the fun the twins were having, even in his JROTC uniform. "Pete!"
"Oh, let him," Nick said, smiling. "They'll wash, and he's gotten so few chances to just be a kid."
"True," Alan observed, then nudged Nick on the shoulder. "Go on."
"Me?"
"Yes, Nick. You. After all, it's only laundry."
97. Living
Chelsea smiled when Nick actually did join in, sweeping Maggie right off her feet with a 'got you!' and her daughter giggling madly while Nicky first chased Pete, and then Pete chased him. She leaned over to Alan when he got closer. "He wanted to show me something?"
Alan nodded. "He does, and I think it's because Nick is a good influence that he got one, finally." He glanced at her and noticed the frown. "There were fights, before."
She nodded, for a that made some sense out of context. "I look forward to him showing me, then."
98. Mindful
Later, after the twins had been worn out from play and settled in the playpen for naps, Pete finally handed her a small box with a grin. Chelsea opened it to find a medal that she didn't quite know the meaning of. "And this is for?"
"Good conduct," Pete explained, rocking on his heels again. "Norling said I'd been on my best behavior since the base tour, whatever that means." He glanced out the living room window, at the house across the street and bit his lip. "Chelsea?"
"Hmmm?" She looked at him and noticed his distraction. "Oh. Pete..."
"No, I needed to see it," he said finally, dragging Nick closer, and then both herself and Alan. The baby kicked right then and he looked up at her with a watery grin, which she returned. "Good reminder, not a bad one."
99. Luminous
Something about that made Nick tear up, that Pete was sharing this moment between them when it was so personal. That he was allowing it and wasn't shutting them out all over again. An arm was suddenly around his shoulders and it wasn't weird that Alan was pulling him in for a side hug. "Emotional safety, remember? Small steps, Nick."
"Right here, you know," Pete reminded them teasingly, and was it Nick's imagination, or was he really close to crying? "But... yeah."
"Take as many small steps as you want," Chelsea said, grabbing Pete's attention again.
100. Redeem
It should have startled him in the middle of homework it the Bradshaw's kitchen table, Jaime thought as he watched Pete close his school books, made Nick close his, and then looked at him pointedly. It should have, but it didn't. "What?"
"Be right back," Pete told them both, and disappeared into the back of the house.
Jaime frowned and almost laughed at the comical expression Bart wore as he joined them again at the table, having gone to the bathroom. He could see Walt and Helen in the living room, watching while knitting and reading the newspaper. "Is this a good or bad interruption?"
"We'll find out," Nick told him. "Sometimes, it's both."
Pete returned momentarily with an album and two envelopes of pictures in his arms, which he placed on the table. Then he stared down at them, his lower lip trembling and green eyes a sea of emotion. "I... didn't want to do this alone. Couldn't even think about sorting all of this out for a while, even. Not even sure I want to do it now, but..." He looked at each of them in turn, then toward the living room. "Can we do this, then get back to homework?"
"If that's what you want right now," Nick said as he stood and moved his chair a bit closer, then sat down again, motioning them to do the same. "Ma? Dad? We're having a moment."
"Sounds like it," Walt agreed as they joined them. "And yes, Pete. We can do this and get back to studying for finals."
Pete spent the next hour letting them all see into his childhood and explaining some things as best he remembered.