A\N: I've been working really hard to improve my writing using different techniques, hopefully you can see changes in this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Spoilers: None
Warinings: None
Hope goes skiing Part One
Hope and Jessica were used to staying at childcare until around four o'clock when Joe picked them up. Some days, they stayed a bit later until their parents could pick them up. Knowing Hope and Jessica needed proper snowsuits for the weekend ski trip the family was going on, Joe checked in with Shane and Oliver to see if he could pick them up early and take them out shopping. Shane had been very grateful for her father in-law's help. After telling Joe he didn't need to buy the girls their outfits they settled on splitting the cost of them.
Putting in the code in the keypad Joe opened the doors to the childcare centre. It was just after nap time, so it was still relatively quiet although he saw some preschool age children getting into their winter gear to go and play outside. Joe knew those kids were only two or three years older than Hope. They seemed so much older though; They were talking in full sentences and were able to get ready almost all on their own.
Joe walked into Hope's toddler room and spotted her playing in the house centre. She couldn't see him yet and he was okay with that. He wanted to see how she played at childcare without knowing she was being watched. He subtly nodded at the educator playing with Hope and watched her play. She handed a teacher a baby doll and asked her to dress the baby. After the baby was dressed one of the older toddlers spotted Joe
"Hope's Grandpa here," The older toddler said as he went running towards Hope.
"Grandpa!" Hope forgot all about what she was doing and ran into her grandfather's arms. He took her and spun her around before settling her on his hip.
Joe saw the mess Hope had made and saw that the teacher started to clean up. He knew and agreed with her parents' rule she needed to clean up her toys before going home from childcare. "Hope, you go and clean up your toys and I'll go and get your things. Then we can go and get Jessica." Joe placed Hope on the floor, but Hope started to cry and pout.
"Oh Hope," A young teacher with curly brown hair knelt down next to the toddler, "Do you want to show Grandpa our tidy-up game?"
"A tidy-up game?" Joe pretended to be more interested than he was, "Have you turned tidying up into a game? Daddy will be very pleased."
"I do it!" Hope took her teacher's hand and happily walked back over to the area she had been playing in.
"Alright Hope, can you put the baby to bed?" The teacher asked and Hope gave the baby she was playing with a kiss and then back in the cradle.
"Now, find all of the green food and put them in the green food bin," The teacher instructed, and Hope began sorting out all of the different food until all of the green food was in the proper bin.
"Good girl." The teacher praised, "I think that's good for now. Why don't we go and get your Valentine's Day presents for Mommy, Daddy and Grandpa. We're all sad you'll miss our Valentine's Day party tomorrow but you're going to have fun skiing."
"Lode you Emma." Hope reached her arms up for her teacher to pick her up. Emma lifted her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek before handing her the Valentine's Day presents, she had made.
"Oh, you're Emma," Joe smiled and held out his hand for the teacher to take, "Hope talks about you all the time. I'm Hope's Grandfather," He adjusted Hope and reached for his wallet, "I can get I.D. out if you need it."
"That's alright," The teacher sitting at the snack table with some of the children spoke up, "I've seen you before with Hope's father. Now Hope, you be a good big girl this weekend and remember Baby Shark doesn't like skiing."
"I good." Hope repeated. She waved and blew a kiss to all of her friends and both her teachers as Joe collected the things that needed to come home in a bag. He placed the backpack on Hope's back and put her on the ground and took her hand.
"Up Grandpa!" Hope pouted as they walked out of the classroom.
"I'm sorry sweetie, I need to carry Jessica. You're a big girl, let's go to the baby room and get Jessica." Joe encouraged his granddaughter as he began walking down the hallway. When Hope still wasn't moving he said, "How about you carry all of the Valentine's Day presents you made. Do you want to hold them?"
"Heart!" Hope pointed up to the cards Joe was carrying "Pink paint."
"Yes, they're very pretty Hope," Joe told her, "Now, how are we going to go and get Jessica?"
"I do it," Hope ran to her younger sister's classroom and reached up and opened the door. "Oh no!" She exclaimed as a baby-gate was preventing her from entering the room, "Grandpa help!" Hope tried to figure out how to open the door. Meanwhile a very excited Jessica had crawled to the baby gate and was babbling happily.
"Here Hope," Joe opened the gate and Hope ran into the room and hugged Jessica. "Good baby," Hope sat down beside her sister and looked around at her old classroom and teachers, "Hi!" She waved to the teachers, "Jessica, go home."
"Yes, are you going to help Jessica get her backpack? I think she might have some gifts for everyone too?" One of Jessica's teachers looked at Hope.
"No, I play," Hope began playing with some toys.
"Hope," Joe collected all of Jessica's things and then picked her up, "We're going to go to the store now and get you and your sister new skiing snowsuits. I have some snacks in the car. Can you please help clean-up?"
Hope placed the toys she was playing with away and walked out of the classroom with her grandfather, "Jessica say bye!" Jessica looked up at her sister as the teachers were all waving to her, "Jessica bad baby,"
"No Hope, Jessica is still learning how to wave good-bye, she is not a bad baby, that is not a nice thing to say. I don't want you saying that." Joe explained to Hope as he led her out of his car. Once he buckled both girls into their car seats, he handed them some squeezable pouch applesauce and then began to drive to the store.
As Shane and Oliver entered the house from work they were greeted by the happy sound of giggling. They followed the sound to the playroom where Hope and Jessica were playing. The room had designated storage space for certain toys but right now it looked more like a hurricane had run through it.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Hope dropped her toys and ran to greet her parents, Oliver lifted her up and spun her around in his arms, "Pink cards!" She pointed in the direction of the kitchen where she knew her, and her sister's Valentine's Day presents were.
"Yes, Hope and Jessica both have Valentine's Day presents for you two," Joe told his son and daughter in-law, "How about we clean-up first. Hope, do you want to show Mommy and Daddy the game you taught me?"
"No," Hope shook her head as she reached over to Shane, "Mommy me too," She pouted as Shane was tickling Jessica but not her. "My turn!" She started pushing Jessica, making her little sister cry.
"No Hope. You do not hit your younger sister. It is time to tidy up now. Help clean up your toys.' Oliver instructed her as he placed her back on the ground.
"No!" Hope screamed, it was almost dinner time, and she was getting a little tired as well.
Shane noticed she was reaching for a toy, possibly to throw, so she spoke to her daughter "I'm so excited to see your new game Hope?" Shane encouraged, "Can you teach me?"
"No!" Hope shook her head but as she saw her grandfather start to tidy-up, she raced to stop him, "No my toys!" She yanked a Baby Shark doll away from Joe with a frown.
"Hope these toys need to be cleaned up. Would you like to clean up your toys? Mommy and Daddy are going to love the game Miss Emma taught you."
"Okay," Hope agreed and looked around at all the toys in the room, "Jessica help." She pointed to her little sister who was still in Shane's arms.
"Jessica can learn the game with Mommy and Daddy," Joe got the Baby Shark bin out of one of the storage units, "Hope can you find all of the Baby Shark toys?"
"I can!" Hope went around the room and picked up all of the Baby Shark toys and put them in the bin, "I do it!" She cheered for herself when all of the toys were in the bin, "Grandpa red blocks," She handed Joe a red LEGO block.
"Good idea, we can find all of the red LEGO blocks first," He helped her sort through all of the various LEGO pieces.
"What an ingenious idea," Oliver smiled approvingly as he helped Hope sort through all of the LEGO blocks. "Hope you are becoming a very well-behaved young girl.
"I big girl," Hope smiled proudly at herself as she helped finish cleaning up.
The lobby of the ski resort was filled with people dressed for a day in the snow, some of them had their skis or snowboards already. As Shane walked down the hallway, she felt herself grip Hope's tiny hand a little tighter, afraid the adventurous nineteen-month-old would wander off and get lost.
Despite growing up in Denver Oliver didn't know how and didn't want to know how to ski. He said he was not athletic and spending time in the cold going fast down hills on skinny poles was not how he wished to spend his time. Shane, on the other hand, loved to ski and learned when she was five on one of the only family vacations, she didn't remember her parents fighting on. Despite the fact her parents' marriage was long over, Shane had always loved skiing. Since Oliver loved Shane, it didn't take him long to agree to a weekend family vacation to a ski resort a little outside of Denver.
Getting ready for the vacation Oliver and Shane discussed if nineteen-month Hope, who loved snow and could balance well in it, could learn how to ski. Shane was very happy to learn that the resort offered private parent involved ski lessons for children 18 months to- 3 years of age. Shane thought it would be a great opportunity for Hope to learn a new skill and was sure their daughter would love it. Oliver wondered if it was safe for her, after calling the resort and asking about the toddler ski lessons, he was somewhat reassured Hope would be taught by a qualified instructor who knew how best to teach toddlers.
Shane checked in with the guest relations desk and soon a young woman in a light purple jacket with an employee badge came out of a nearby door with a smile, "Hi. I'm Ashley. You must be Shane and this," She looked at Hope who was already dressed in a pink skiing snow suit, "Must be Hope."
"Hi Lee," Hope shook Ashley's hand like she'd been taught and then looked up at her mother and wondered what would happen next.
"Would you like to come with me, and we can get you some big girl ski's. Don't worry Mommy will be able to stay with you all the time."
"Bye Mommy," Hope waved to Shane as she took Ashely's hand.
"No, no Hope, Ashely means I can stay. Mommy wants to go skiing with you," Shane took Hope's other hand as they all began to walk. She was glad Hope was a very friendly little girl but she didn't like how willing Hope was sometimes to go with people she didn't know.
"So, Hope, what's your favourite colour?" Ashely asked as she led Hope back through the door she came out of.
"Purple." Hope replied happily.
"She likes pink, purple and yellow. However, if something yellow isn't Baby Shark related, she may not." Shane laughed as Asley led them to an equipment rental area. Ashely excused herself and then came back with a few item options. After explaining Hope's ski boots needed to be an exact fit and her helmet needed to be snug. Hope tried on a few pairs of ski boots before finding some pink ones, she got a purple helmet and blue skis.
"Now Hope," Ashley clipped the tip of her skits together and then stood up and put a backpack on her, "This is a special backpack called a teaching harness back-pack, "As you ski I'll be able to hold into the ends of the harness to help you and guide you."
"I ready!" Hope moved too quickly and slipped in her ski booths but stood back up again.
Shane and Ashley took turns getting their ski boots, skis and helmets on and then they made their way outside to the snow.
Ashley told Hope to try and take a few steps in the skis, Hope took one step and fell but cried when Shane tried to help her up. "No! I do!" Hope frowned as she struggled to get away from her mother.
"Hope, we need to listen to Ashely. She wants to teach you all about skiing. Why don't you try walking again." Shane didn't want this lesson to turn into a battle with Hope's ever-growing independence.
"I do," Hope took three steps and then pointed to one of the larger ski hills, "Mommy fun!"
"Maybe when you're a little older you can go down that hill," Ashley encouraged Hope as she slowly led her skis from the harness attached to the backpack she was wearing, "Do you want to let Mommy take some pictures of you skiing?" She mentioned, as Shane had asked as they were getting ready if it would be okay if she took pictures.
"Daddy see?" Hope asked Shane. "Daddy come?" She pouted, "I want Daddy."
"Daddy, Jessica and Grandpa are going to come to see some of your lesson." Shane reminded her, "Daddy can't ski so he's going to look after Jessica; Grandpa is going to come skiing with you. Mommy wants to go skiing on some of the bigger hills. We can show Daddy the pictures and videos later," Shane got out her phone and took a few pictures and videos before putting her phone back in her skiing fanny pack.
As the lesson was nearing the end Hope saw Oliver, Joe and Jessica and got so excited she fell over. "Daddy! Daddy!" She yelled as Ashley helped her up. "I good," She took four steps in her skis proudly showing her father what she had learnt.
"Very good Hope. You have accomplished a lot in one lesson. I can see you were a good girl and listened to your ski instructor."
"A-lee," Hope smiled.
"Oliver this is Ashley, she's been teaching Hope how to ski. Ashley, this is my husband, Oliver; and that is Hope's little sister Jessica with Hope's Grandfather," Shane motioned to where Joe was playing with Jessica in the snow.
"Hello," Oliver shook the woman's hand, "Thank you for taking the time to teach young children how to ski."
"Oh, you're very welcome, Hope is a sweetheart, she listen's so well and she's very eager to learn. Hope, you'll be skiing on your own in no time," Ashely smiled, "I love how you and your sister have matching snowsuits," She complimented.
"Thank you," Shane smiled. The previous days Joe had picked up Hope and Jessica up early from childcare and took them shopping for skiing outfits. He found two matching one-piece snowsuits that were meant for being outside for long periods of time. When Shane saw them, she was reminded of when she used to dress up like Alex. Alex always complained she didn't want her younger sister to dress like her in any way. She hoped that Alex was proud of her now.
Hope and Jessica sat on their parents' hotel room bed with toys as they watched Shane get ready for her and Oliver's valentine's day date. Hope watched Shane put on her make-up and got down off the bed and attempted to climb on Shane's lap to get it.
"Hope pwetty," She got a hold of some of the lipstick, but Shane took it away.
"You don't need make-up to be beautiful," Shane told her daughter, "Mommy just wants to look extra nice for Daddy tonight. How about you Jessica give Grandpa a make-over with your wash-off markers. Do you want to do that?"
"No," Hope shook her head, "No mine!" She ran back to the bed to save Baby Shark from Jessica's mouth, "Bad Baby!" She took her toy back, making Jessica cry.
"I know you love Baby Shark Hope, but Jessica is a baby, you need to be gentle with her." Shane stopped putting on make-up and picked up her daughter to soothe her.
"Girls," Oliver stepped into the room with a smile, "Grandpa has a surprise for you, let's go and see what it is. Mommy needs to finish getting ready." Oliver took Jessica into his arms and led Hope out into the main area of the condo style hotel room. There, set up was a brand new small white table with a new tea set already set up for play. Along with the toy accessories were real cookies and cupcakes that had been ordered and prepared to be milk free.
"Tea time!" Hope grinned happily as she ran over to the table and grabbed the tea pot, delighted as it started talking to her. The teacup asked her to 'please pour the tea' so Hope began pouring the tea. "Hot," she said as she heard the pouring sound of tea coming out of the pot.
Some of the older toddler girls in her childcare class loved to play pretend and cook meals. One of the things they often did was pretend to make coffee or tea. Hope always played with them and tried to copy what they did. After making tea at home Shane and Oliver agreed a tea set would be the perfect valentine's day gift.
Jessica babbled happily as Oliver put her in one of the small chairs at the table. She reached for a pretend cookie and giggled as the toy said 'cookie' as she picked it up.
"No!" Hope reacted, "To hot." She began blowing on the toy inspiring Jessica to do the same thing, "Now all ready," Hope declared, and Jessica put the toy in her mouth and frowned and then cried.
`That was a pretend play cookie sweetheart, here you can have a little bit of a real cookie." Joe broke off a little bit from one of the real cookies and gave it to his Granddaughter.
Jessica smiled and then ate the real cookie her Grandfather had given her happily,
"Hope, Jessica, can you say thank you for your present?" Oliver looked at the young girls who were still busy playing and exploring the new toy, "Remember it is very polite to use manners."
"Thank you," Hope was old enough to understand a little about manners and being nice, she knew she needed to say 'please' to get things and 'sorry' when she hurt someone. Being thankful was a concept that was harder to grasp.
As they were seated at the fancy restaurant attached to the ski resort Shane looked at her watch. "We double checked with the hotel to make sure they know about Hope's allergies, right? The girls should be eating from room service right now. I know Joe can give Hope her epi-pen but if she has another attack-" Shane started to cry, "Maybe I'll call Joe just to make sure," She reached for her phone.
Oliver reached over the table for his wife's hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. "I am worried about Hope and Jessica as well. We did however contact the ski resort's management a few weeks before the trip. They are very well informed about Hope's milk allergy."
"I know," Shane took a deep breath, "I just need to let myself have a good time. It's Valentine's Day and we've both been so busy recently we haven't had any time to go on those weekly date nights we talked about. Remember, talking about that when we were engaged?"
"Yes," Oliver confirmed, "It does seem like we are much busier now than we anticipated we would be. Although I do have aspirations of obtaining that goal in the future, I do not think either of us is even a little bit dismayed about why we are so busy."
"No," Shane shook her head, "I love Hope and Jessica and our jobs. I can't even imagine our life if we hadn't decided to adopt Hope. That little girl drives me crazy sometimes but she's so smart and I know the future looks very bright for her."
"According to your mother you were just as active as a toddler. I am not quite sure though if the world is ready for another Shane. I doubt very much if either of us will be able to handle her teenage years."
"Well thankfully Hope has you to level her off a little. She loves books and Sunday School, and she has much better manners and stability than I did at nineteen months old. I'm sure we're in for a ride but I don't anticipate it being as much as I put my mother through. The thing I am most worried about is when we have to tell Hope she's adopted. She'll start asking more and more questions as she gets older and one day, we won't be able to hide the truth anymore. We're going to need lots of help for that discussion."
Just before mid-night Shane and Oliver returned to their room; Oliver stopped to talk to his father before Joe went across the hall to his room, and Shane went to check on the girls. Shane crept into the girl's bedroom. With Hope's Baby Shark Ocean inspired night light illuminating the room she could see fairly well. Hope was clutching Baby Shark with both hands as she slept on her stomach, her bum in the air. Pink Blanket was wrapped around her as well as warmer blankets. Jessica was asleep beside her older sister in the rented crib, sucking on her soother and clutching her teddy bear.
Late the next morning Oliver was slowly pacing in the living area of the hotel room. He did not want to worry Hope or Jessica who were playing with their toys, but he was beginning to get very worried. Shane and his father had left earlier in the morning to ski on some of the tougher hills. Shane had promised to be back in time for Hope's final ski-lesson of the weekend trip, the lesson was in twenty minutes. Oliver was relieved as he heard the door open but was startled to see just his father, he was even more put off by the state his father was in, he looked like he had just run a marathon, "
Dad.." Oliver looked at his father trying to forum the words to say what he was thinking. He felt as though his brain was in a heavy fog, he couldn't find the words to speak.
"Son, there was an accident on the ski course…"
TBC