ROCK A BYE BABY Chapter 11
Disclaimer: If I owned the horse they rode in on I wouldn't have anywhere to put it so I suppose it's fortunate that I don't own the boys or their creators.
A/N Shorter than normal I know but apart from time constraints this just seemed to want to come out mainly as a two scene chapter and the final length for it seemed natural. Next chapter will undoubtedly be longer. The idea for Bobby's price was triggered by a reader who said that she didn't want the cost to be monetary - hope this works for you. Oh and hope the romantic scene isn't too sickly sweet but I just can't do …y'know….tab A into slot B stuff :D
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The afternoon had gone reasonably well, considering. Unless, of course, one was to define 'well' by the amount of actual work accomplished, in which case it was an entirely different matter.
Chris had spent most of the rest of the day closeted in his office, muttering to himself after a meeting with Travis hadn't produced the desired result. His threat to shoot whoever had staged this torturous spectacle remained unvoiced when Travis proudly revealed that the 'marvellous public relations opportunity' had been Evie's idea. Even Chris wasn't stupid enough to threaten his bosses wife - besides she was a nice lady, and after the letdown he felt at Nettie's betrayal he held 'nice' as a worthy benchmark as far as loyalty was concerned. So, with the silent acknowledgement to himself that life was unfair, especially to blond ATF team leaders, excluding that full of himself gung-ho idiot that led Team 8, Chris shut himself away and muttered. And if a few requisitions for new office items had to be filled out next day it was the least that the ATF owed him. The rapid and violent slaughter of his computer mouse had been particularly therapeutic.
In the main office Vin and Ezra endured endless teasing, questions and congratulations from their friends…and a no holds barred 'talk' from Nathan which would have come across as a lot more professional if he hadn't of kept grinning and chuckling at their squirming and embarrassed blushes.
At the end of shift Buck and JD arrived home, Buck having been dissuaded from dragging Ezra and Vin out on a bar crawl to celebrate, to find a stranger on their doorstep. A stranger with an unruly mop of vivid ginger red hair, thick black rimmed glasses, wearing a suit that was the height of fashion…in 1975. Buck thought that he could be the poster boy for geeks worldwide and half expected the declaration of his status to appear in sickly green neon above his head. It could be none other than Bobby Pickles.
"Hey, Bobby, good to see you man." JD pumped the proffered hand enthusiastically; a greeting that was returned with equal fervour.
Robo-geek meets cyber-geek thought Buck with amusement. He had to admit that Ezra had been right that time when he had said that appearances could be deceptive. This guy certainly didn't look like a robotics genius; he looked more like the one of the rugrats from that cartoon that JD liked so much. But then to most people JD didn't look like a computer genius. Buck just hoped that the guy knew his stuff because he didn't want to have to confess their unfortunate little accident to Chris; he didn't think that the man could take much more in the way of shocks. "Bobby" JD nodded at Buck as he fished the door key out of his pocket "this is my ATF partner and roomie, Buck Wilmington.
"MR Wilmington" acknowledged Bobby as he instigated another handshake, "or may I call you Buck?"
Buck noted that while the greeting was just as effusive as the one he had bestowed on JD there was a shrewd and calculating look in the man's eyes. It wasn't the sort of look that got his danger signals flying, more the tingle of anticipation when Ezra was scheming.
"Sure can, nice to meet ya, reckon you're a lifesaver." Buck pushed aside his feelings and welcomed the man. No use borrowing trouble.
"Well it's certainly the oddest request I've had in a while. Of course there was the time that JD here wanted me to hook his computer up to a blo…"
"Come on in Bobby, don't just stand there!" JD grabbed his college friend by the shirt and practically hauled him over the threshold, a look of panic in his eyes. Despite Buck's rabid curiosity Bobby's first sight of the apartment did what it did to most people and rendered him speechless. By the time he had pulled his gaze away from the large portrait of a naked woman above the fireplace to the two juke boxes up against the far wall which was papered with a Hawaii style beach scene JD had taken his jacket, propelled him to an overstuffed armchair and plonked a baby in his arms.
Bobby's robot obsessed mind immediately kicked into gear. "Oh very nice! Very nice indeed." He turned the stiff and lifeless doll over and sought out the numbers stamped discreetly at the base of the neck. "Ah, a 224B…top of the range."
"Then you're familiar with them? You can fix him?" JD's voice held a desperate hope. For some reason once he had broken the dummy it had stopped being that to him and had become a real thing; not that he saw Junior as a baby but he was definitely more than a doll and the thought of having broken it kept translating in his head as killed. He admitted to himself, though never to Buck, that he wouldn't sleep well until the damage he had done was put right. He let out a too long held breath as, with a grin, Bobby replied,
"Familiar with it? Heck guys I helped to design it…well the prototype for it anyway. And it looks like they haven't strayed too far from my original specs" he added with a touch of professional pride.
"Then you can fix it?" Buck repeated JD's question and if Bobby detected the hint of urgency in the tone then he didn't comment but his reply would indicate that the normally laid back ladies man had been less than subtle.
"Oh I can fix him in a jiffy…for a price."
"Um…Bobby, you do realise that Government employees aren't the most generously paid people in the world don't you?"
Bobby didn't attempt to disguise his surprise at the room mates expectation. It seldom occurred to him to think in monetary terms; of course being a millionaire he didn't have to.
"Oh I don't want money!"
Buck and JD exchanged puzzled glances.
"Umm, we have no influence over parking tickets y'know" Buck was confused, it was a state he was getting used to.
"Then what exactly do you want Bobby?" JD knew that Bobby didn't have the same sort of thought processes as most people, which was sometimes a really fun thing…and sometimes…sometimes the joke was on him. But he never expected the reply he got.
"I want Buck's head."
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Ezra was nervous. He and Vin were finally alone…Just Vin, himself…and three squalling infants. Not that he minded. In fact he had been tempted to give one of them a prod because they were being too quiet…. Changing and feeding babies took a long time, even with the two of them to do the honours. And time, at the moment, was Ezra Standish's enemy. He had hoped that the addition of Alice to their infant ranks for the evening, Chris having finally earned their pity for his lousy day and awarded the night off, would keep them both occupied…together…yet separately.
Ezra mentally cursed himself for his cowardice as he sat himself, demurely, on the couch beside an amused, and far too relaxed, Vin. He knew that he was being silly; he was acting like a girl on her first proper date…oh the humiliation! Mother would be appalled. You would think after watching her ply her romantic arts on several step-fathers that getting up close and personal with the man you love beyond all reason would be as natural as breathing…not that the act of taking in and expelling air was feeling very natural at the moment he admitted to himself.
Vin was enchanted…and nervous as all hell. It was adorable that the normally sophisticated and socially adept man who had stolen his heart, a heart that he had thought no-one would ever want to hold, was acting like a blushing teenager. Yet he also realised that the privately insecure southern gentleman would run a mile and never look back if he felt that he was being judged, or even worse, laughed at. Vin reasoned that he would have to go slow. Quick kisses in the conference room was one thing but this was the real deal and he wanted this man beside him for the rest of their lives so scaring him off by being too eager was not an option. Then again there was a fine line between pushing too hard and giving the impression that you didn't care and Ezra was the type that would see the glass as half empty instead of half full, so….
Ezra tensed. He could swear that Vin had moved closer while his thoughts had drifted. But that was just what he wanted…so why was his heart doing a samba? It was obvious by the way his beloved was looking at him…rather like he had suddenly been transformed into a large peach pie…that his thoughts were along the same romantic lines, but what if he were disappointed? Some pies looked very tasty but were a bland disappointment when sampled, and he was a pie with very little experience…and damn, why did he keep thinking about food? It wasn't as though he were hungry…for food.
Encouraged by the fact that Ezra was still in the building Vin moved further until only a couple of inches were left between them. He gazed longingly into the haunting jade eyes, now darkened with desire and placed a tentative hand on the southerner's knee.
"Ez…"
"Cookies!" Ezra leapt to his feet like a startled rabbit. "I…I made cookies."
Vin sighed as Ezra dashed toward the kitchen. This could take longer than he'd thought. He smiled; it could take as long as it needed. He was a patient man and Ezra was worth the wait.
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"His head!" JD squeaked, looking at his old college friend with trepidation. You heard all the time about people…usually the quiet nerdy types…who became serial killers and kept trophies in their basements. Bobby seemed the type, suddenly, to possess a basement.
"What he said" added a bemused Buck just before a disturbing thought hit him. "Although…you are talking about the head on my shoulders because if it's my…."
"NO!" Bobby paled at the implication. He sighed; robots were so much easier to communicate with. Humans had the annoying habit of thinking for themselves. But what Buck was thinking! "Sorry, I didn't make myself clear" Bobby's contrition relieved Buck's…and 'little Buck's' worries but JD's jury was still out on the serial killer option until Bobby clarified his aims.
"I design robots for many different applications, from surgical 'hands' to movie monsters. While some are purely functional others sell better with a 'personality'. The look is part of the package and I have a contract for a mechanical head to meet and greet attendees at a prestigious medical conference, and give a little lecture about the use of robotics in their profession. As soon as I saw you Buck I knew that I had found my design's human look. So what do you say Buck…do you fancy being immortalized?"
JD groaned at the light of enthusiasm that filled his room mate's blue eyes. They would never hear the end of this one!
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Vin sat with a cookie…double chocolate chip…his third…in his hand as he seductively nibbled gently around the edge, pausing to savour every chip that landed on his tongue. It was one of the toughest missions he had ever had since part of him wanted to devour the whole plate of home made delights because they were just so damn good…while the other part of him, the one that didn't include his stomach, wanted to throw the plate across the room…throw the chef down on the couch and devour something far sweeter than chocolate. But he stuck to his plan, and it looked like it might be working because it certainly wasn't his table manners that had Ezra's eyes fixated on his mouth…those self same normally pale jade orbs now almost black with what he hoped was desire were busy doing a little visual devouring of their own.
Vin slowly finished the cookie and took a sip of the imported beer that he had to admit wasn't too bad at all. He reached out a hand toward his Ezra and shook his head in the negative as Ezra moved to hand him another cookie. He smiled reassuringly as Ezra gulped audibly and put the plate down on the coffee table.
"T…The babies…" Another shake of the head stopped Ezra in mid sentence.
"They're fine."
"Cooki…"
"I'm fine."
Ezra pointed to the beer.
"Another…"
"It's fine."
Vin captured the indicating hand and kissed the smooth palm.
"We're fine Ezra, and we don't have to do anything that you're uncomfortable with. We don't have to do anything at all…I love ya Ez. I can wait till you're ready….a'course if'n you keep force feeding me cookies I might get so fat that you don't want me anymore."
Ezra finally relaxed under the ministrations of Vin's thumb caressing his palm and the lack of pressure. "Mah love, I would still want you if you were as big as a house - though Ah don't think that there are enough cookies in all the world to fill out that scrawny frame."
Vin gave him a look of mock outrage.
"Who you calling scrawny short stuff!? A man could think that you don't find him incredibly attractive and sexy."
Ezra dared to place his hand on Vin's chest, just over his heart.
"Oh but I do find you incredibly sexy…and I like scrawny…it has a distinct aesthetic beauty that cannot be rivalled by mere bulk."
"Do tell" Vin murmured as he lost himself in the darkened green pools, and Ezra wondered just when he stopped caring that there was now no space between them at all and, saw it, in fact, as a very good idea.
"Indeed" he whispered as Vin's lips, still dotted with sugar crystals that made them sparkle, came inexorably closer.
And, for once, as though by some mystical mutual consent, all three babies remained quiet and slept peacefully in their cribs.
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JD watched with a mixture of exasperation and fascination as Buck and Bobby 'bonded' over pizza and Elvis. He waited until after they had heard junior's cry return at full force and Bobby had left with a cheery wave, informing that the contract would be in the mail before he stuck the pin of realism into Buck's hot air balloon - emphasis on the hot air, JD grumbled to himself. He was not jealous that Bobby thought Buck's head better than his…he really wasn't. He just seemed to have mislaid his good mood that was all. He soon found it again though as a fact occurred to him.
"Hey Buck"
"Yeah kid?" Buck beamed whilst examining his…seemingly very profitable…features in the hall mirror.
"You do know that the casting process for the latex mould is gonna take ages don't you?"
"That's okay kid…perfection can't be rushed" he turned his head to view his profile and missed JD's wince.
"And you do know that they have to put straws up your nose so that you can breathe don't you?" In truth JD didn't have much of an idea how these things were done but he'd seen a programme when he was younger about Madame Tussaud's wax museum.
Buck paused at that but soon regained his equilibrium and changed profile - looking good whichever way, he thought with an expression that one would never dare to call smug. An expression that quickly dropped away to be replaced by one of horror as JD added nonchalantly.
"Oh, and they'll have to shave off your moustache of course."
TBC
A/N Hope that amused a little. Poor Buck :D