Disclaimer: I don't own The Penderwicks, or any other references mentioned.

Author Note: Hey guys, long time no see! I'm still busy with other longer projects at the moment, but this one shot was kicking around in my head for a while so here it is! This is basically going to be a one shot collection that follows up after "Legacy." Can't say how often it'll be updated, but I plan to keep working on adding to this collection over time. Anyway hope you enjoy!

Penderwicks - Misadventures in Parenting

Comic-Con - (Skye's POV)

"So let me get this straight, you're going outside wearing that?"

Since this was Jeffrey we were talking about I guess it was a pretty dumb question but leave it to me to ask anyway.

"Of course, that's the whole point!" He said twisting in a circle trying to reach the zipper on the back of his ridiculous costume jumpsuit. I just stared at him for a few seconds, he kinda looked like a dog chasing his own tail, and I figured this scene could have went on endlessly if I didn't step in.

I sighed before reaching to stop him and finish zipping up the rest myself. "Okay look, I know you've been looking forward to this Comic-Con thing for a while now, but why exactly does a glorified shopping trip mean going in public in the most ridiculous pajamas I've ever seen?"

Jeffrey shook his head at me as if I'd just told him 2x2 equaled twenty. "Skye the whole point of it isn't the shopping, it's about the experience! About showing your love for fandom, and well just having fun!"

I just started at him for a few seconds as if I were trying to translate that. But then crossing my arms and tilting my head I finally said something. "Okay, assuming I understand any of that, what are you supposed to be?"

He cleared his throat before stepping back to strike a pose, and that's when it all started to look familiar. "Wait a minute, are you like one of those superhero alien guys from the Japanese B movies you like?"

He frowned a little at me. "Well I'm going to ignore that last part, but yes, yes I am. I am none other than…" Then reaching to pull a mask over his messy hair he put his hands on his sides and puffed out his chest proudly. "I am Ultraman!"

I just stood there staring until the awkwardness was so thick it almost bothered me. Or at least it would have if I hadn't started laughing my head off right then.

"Laugh all you want, but I bet Timothy and Astra would appreciate seeing their father as an even bigger hero than I usually am!"

"Oh this I've got to see…" I mumbled with a smile as I trailed behind him into the hallway. Stepping into their bedroom doorway he struck another pose. "Hailing from the land of light, it is I, Father Ultra!"

As expected Timothy looked up from the blocks he was stacking and stared wide eyed before he wobbled over to cling to Jeffrey's leg and beam up at him in wonder. "Ultrawan!" He babbled out excitedly. Timothy was turning out to be a mini Jeffrey a little more each day it seemed. Poor kid… Jeffrey bent over to pick him up and ruffle his hair. "Yep Tims, your old man in a real guardian of the whole galaxy!"

Now Jeffrey turned to me and even through the mask I had a feeling his face was smug. But I just gestured toward Astra who was still sitting on the floor, before I pulled off his mask. "You're pretty much traumatizing our daughter." I said with an air of 'I told you so' before I walked past him and went to console the look of bewilderment on Astra's face.

"It's just dad, kiddo." I said pulling her a little closer. "Being…" I turned back to look at Jeffrey before I smirked. "Being the way he usually is." Astra was frowning at him with bunched eyebrows before she finally looked up at me as if demanding some explanation. I just smiled down at her with a shrug. "Sorry, what can I say? He's been like that for as long as I've known him too."

"Oh come on Buttons, I'm still your favorite, aren't I?" Jeffrey said with a pouting face as he took a few steps closer to us and reached to tickle her chin.

'Buttons' had ended up being the nickname Jeffrey had coined for her. The reason still gave me gray hair to be honest. It had a lot to do with him falling asleep once during his turn to watch them, and Astra crawling off to dig into the sewing kit Mrs. Tifton had given me. The motive, or message behind that gift is a whole other story. But as it was, Astra could have ended up gagging to death on sewing supplies, or at least that's how I saw it. Jeffrey on the other hand only thought to point out her apparent artistic talent, since she arranged the loose buttons into a shape that sort of resembled a flower. I can honestly say I'd never been so mad at him in my whole life but… Well with him being Jeffrey somehow he managed to weasel his way back into my good graces. Go figure.

Astra put up a tough face and seemed like she was struggling to fight laughing at his tickling. The truth was she was turning out more like me each and every day. And as such I knew how hard it was to understand and/or tolerate Jeffrey most days. But just like me she...well she had a soft spot for her dad that he'd learned to exploit. Finally cracking and giving in she laughed and smiled up at him.

"Now see, all is forgiven, my littlest lady." He said with typical dramatic flair before he leaned to kiss her cheek, and then leaning up he tried to steal a kiss from me too. But I intercepted him with a poke to the forehead. "Wait a second, Ultraman, if you're really so set on staying in character then I don't think I'm your love interest."

Jeffrey frowned playfully. "Well that depends on which ultraman I am."

I shook my head. "Nope, I'm just your average civilian, and I'm pretty sure kissing me would ruin your public image."

He sighed before playfully poking Timothy's nose. "You see what a difficult woman your dear old mom can be?"

I smirked before walking past them. "I aim to please."

When it all turned out we spent at least an hour debating the issue of Jeffrey insisting that I go in character as someone too. Obviously it was all I could do just to be seen with Jeffrey dressed the way he was. But whether it was just his nagging persistent or that irritating soft spot, we finally ended up reaching a truce on me just wearing a lab coat over my normal clothes. I was supposed to be some crazy professor that created a monster from chemicals and lightning or something, but I just pretended I was a highly respected scientist. Which was mostly true anyway, right? Right. It was a stretch, but I could work with it. Timothy was more than happy to don the little monster costume Jeffrey had secretly bought for him, and Astra was smart enough to act like she was horrified of the one he'd gotten her. So in the end she was the only one who ended up looking normal.

But what could I say, she was turning out a little more stubborn each day…

Needless to say this day was going to turn out as anything but normal, which the car ride over basically proved...

"Ultrawan! Ultrawan!" Timothy shouted excitedly from his car-seat.

Jeffrey whipped around in his seat and beamed a ridiculous grin at him. "Here he comes from the sky!"

Wait what…? Now he was singing…? And the theme no less...

I tightened my hands a little more on the steering wheel as I cringed with a frown. But Jeffrey nor his all too similar offspring seemed to mind my less than team spirit.

"Ultrawan! Ultrawan!" Timothy chimed in preparing the next chorus.

"Watch our hero fly!" Now it was Jeffrey again, hitting a high note his voice wasn't even remotely equipped to reach. "In a super jet he comes from a billion miles away! From a distant planet land, comes our hero Ultraman!"

Granted I'd never paid that much attention the few times Jeffrey made me sit through the show, but I thought that was at least the end of the theme music.

"Ultrawan!" Timothy shouted again as he clapped his hands together sending his messy blonde hair bouncing around his face. I used to wonder sometimes what it would have been like to know Jeffrey as a little kid, but I didn't anymore. Nope, I think I'd figured it out.

Sighing I glanced over at Jeffrey before focusing on the road again. "You do realize you're corrupting our son, right?"

He smirked back at me. "Oh and I suppose that 'my first abacus' box I found in the closet just magically appeared there?"

I frowned and shifted a little in my seat. I was kinda hoping he wouldn't find that… "Are you saying you're not interested in our children's education?"

He smirked again. "Of course I am, that's why, my dearest Skye, I'm introducing them both to the arts of another land."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm not really sure Ultraman counts at the highest arts of the Japanese culture…"

Jeffrey just waved his hand at me as if dismissing my entire argument. "Besides I wouldn't worry," He turned to look back at Astra. "We have a mini Skye in our midst after all."

I smiled a little. He was kinda right about that I knew. Astra was turning out more and more like me. Or at least it seemed like it. Sometimes I got the feeling she was forming questions in her head when she stared out the window like she was doing now. She was at least quieter than her brother anyway. And that sorta reminded me of how different I was from my sisters. But I wasn't smug enough to not see Jeffrey in her too. And I didn't just mean her green eyes. She loved music. Well, art is general I guess. From that weird incident with the buttons to how she could draw just a little better than the typical scribbles babies her age should have been confined to. But I guess the part about her that reminded me the most of Jeffrey, was the way her eyes looked when she heard him play or she was trying to draw something.

Jane said it was natural to expect her to have artistic skill considering the family she came from. I wasn't so sure one way or the other, but something about that look seemed sorta like...well like passion I guess. Or as much artistic passion as a sixteen month old could manage anyway. And it definitely wasn't a subject I could wrap my head around, but if I related it to stars or math than I kinda got it.

Timothy wasn't 100% Jeffrey either though. As ironic as it seemed, he was my most faithful partner when it came to watching the stars. He was loud, loved to be the goofy center of attention and knew how to act cute to try and get his way. Not so unlike Jeffrey… But most of the one on one time we'd spent together was with my telescope. I had to admit I still had a lot of doubts about how great a mom I was turning out to be. But the feeling I got on those nights where I'd point out stars and distinct galactic bands until he fell asleep in my lap… Well it was turning me soft in ways I didn't really like to admit, at least not out loud anyway. And when it was all said and done, the ironic truth was, my own family was as strange and filled with differences as the one I'd grown up in. Though I can't say I really would have had it any other way.

When we finally got there, I was a little surprised to see just how big a venue this comic-con thing was. Well that and the fact that Jeffrey was one of the least ridiculous looking costumes there.

And that...was really saying something….

Jeffrey's inner child, which I always struggled to keep in check, was now completely running wild. I was holding Astra and lagging back cautiously, while Jeffrey and Timothy darted from one booth to another. For someone who loved the thought of possible space exploration, I couldn't help but feel like I'd already landed on another planet…

"Pika." I heard Astra suddenly say as she pointed toward something in one of the boothes.

"You wanna see this over here?" I asked as I hesitantly stepped closer.

"Want pika." She said again as she stretched and pointed toward a plush toy.

I raised an eyebrow before shrugging and turning toward the guy keeping the booth. "Uh, how much for the...um yellow mouse thing?"

The guy smirked at me, and it kinda seemed like he wanted to laugh. "The pikachu?"

I glanced back at the toy before nodding. "Uh yeah I guess so…"

"Pika!" Astra said a little louder now.

The guy smiled at her. "Looks like your little girl knows, don't you sweetheart?"

Astra wasn't usually that great with strangers but she smiled at the guy and I almost thought she was even getting into the spirit of the event that Jeffrey had been rambling on about. I wasn't really sure what a "pikachu" was or how on earth Astra had known what it was when I hadn't, but after docking a twenty Astra was happily clutching a plush toy almost as big as she was.

By now I'd pretty much lost Jeffrey in the crowd but I did manage to find another familiar face.

"Jane…?" I mumbled in shock as I saw her behind a both and busy signing book covers. She was dressed in a get up I didn't even recognize, but that wasn't really a surprise honestly. Poor David was behind her struggling to lift more book up on the counter. He also was dressed as something completely unrecognizable…

When the line broke she looked up at me and grinned. "Skye!" Standing she leaned to kiss Astra's forehead. "And my little adorable niece! I didn't expect to see you here." She took a step back and looked me over. "And in cosplay too, I'm impressed! Though I'm not really sure who you're supposed to be."

I frowned feeling a little embarrassed even though I was just wearing a lab coat. "Dr. Beta...I think Jeffrey said…"

She nodded. "Sounds interesting. Well I bet you can't guess who I am?!"

She was right about that at least. And my silence tipped her off to that fact.

"Sabrina Star of course!" She leaned in to whisper. "This is from one of my old classics: "Sabrina Star rescues the Prince of Atlantis."

I just stared at her for a second or two before I glanced over at David who was rubbing the back of his neck and grinning awkwardly. "So…" I said pointing at him. "I take it you're that prince?"

"Yes, that's right..." He mumbled back with a blush.

I sighed. I knew they said love was all you needed, and that it could bring world peace and everything, but any force that could make a man wear that in public had to be at least a little dangerous.

Jane looped her arm in his and pulled him a little closer. "Isn't he the handsomest? I'm just glad he's my prince."

Just like old times it hadn't been five whole minutes and Jane had already said something that made me cringe. Figures.

"So where is your prince, Skye?" She asked with a wink.

I coughed into my hand. "I think I came with the savoir of the galaxy or something actually…"

She clasped her hands together. "Oh I can't wait to see Jeffrey's costume, where is he?"

I shrugged. "No idea, I was hoping you'd seen him. Not that you'd recognize him in what he's wearing…"

Right on cue, and before Jane could say anything back an announcement said that the cosplay contest was about to begin, and that anybody that wanted to see it should get to their seats. I wasn't really interested in seeing what other strange get ups might be paraded on stage, but I liked the idea of sitting down and laying low until I could spot Jeffrey. So telling Jane bye I slipped back into the crowd and found a seat in the back row. What came next was a fashion show of oddness like I'd never seen before. Part of me was laughing my head off inside at least. The woman next to me must have been a super fan of everything ever made, because each time a new costume paraded on stage she'd lean over to me and comment on how lifelike or either shoddy it was.

Mostly I didn't know one way or the other so I just nodded and hoped she start talking to the person on the other side of her. Needless to say after twenty minutes of this routine I was considering taking my chances finding Jeffrey by wandering around through the crowd. But I never got the chance because the next person to take the stage was none other than Ultraman. For a split second I hoped it was just another Ultraman, any one but mine. But the truth was, even with a mask Jeffrey's lanky frame was easy to identify, and the toddler accompanying him as a mini monster didn't hurt either.

"Oh how cute!" The woman said digging an elbow into my side. "He must be a daddy! Look how adorable that baby Red King is!"

Everything the lady was saying would have sounded like gibberish to me anyway, but now it was doubly so. I was too busy sinking as low as possible in my seat. And when Jeffrey cued the music and the theme started to play, I knew it was only going to get a lot worse from here…

"Ultrawan! Ultrawan!" Timothy chimed in at the top of his lungs.

Jeffrey struck a pose and followed up with his less than stellar singing voice. "Here he comes from the sky!"

I was cringing through the whole thing, with the only consolation being that no one beside Jane and David knew we were related. Or at least that was until Astra looked up at me from between the ears of her pikachu plush thing. "That daddy…?" She asked seeming confused.

I wanted to shake my head and lie to the poor kid about the truth of it all, but I couldn't so I just froze up. Meanwhile the woman next to us must have been listening in because she turned to me with happy shock on her face. "Oh is that your husband!?"

At that question my whole life basically flashed before my eyes. I think I saw the eleven year old me shaking her head. No doubt about it, love was the most dangerous thing on earth…

But what could I say…? Nodding slowly I started toward the floor. "Uh yeah…"

She put a hand over her mouth. "Then you must be Dr. Beta!"

I nodded hesitantly again. The truth was if I could have disappeared I would have. Right. There. Right. Then. But all I could do was it there and half heartedly clap as the rest of the audience broke out into applause. When all was said and done, the father/son alien/monster duo took first prize and won about a certificate for about a hundred bucks worth of free stuff. Which meant I'd have to hang around for his shopping spree. But was was worst was his sudden fame. It seemed like all eyes were on Ultraman now…

So when he came bounding up to me and pulled off his mask intent on a celebratory kiss, I knew I basically had two options. Pepper spray my own husband in hopes most people would just think he was an overly forward nut, or let him, and risk public humiliation. Well beside the effect it would have on our relationship I couldn't exactly mace their father right in front of the kids. Well that and the small detail that I didn't actually carry pepper spray or mace, as I preferred to just deck someone if it ever came to that. So needless to say as Jeffrey pulled back and reached to hug me and Astra afterward, I just went for all that great humiliation.

"We won! How amazing is that!" Jeffrey said with about as much excitement as his toddler son was exuding. I forced the most convincing smile on my face I could. "You sure did…"

He smirked at me and poked my nose playfully. "And here you thought I was just going to embarrass you."

I sighed before pulling my red face into a playful grin. "No more than usual I guess. But hey Ultraman," I said pulling back so I could jab him in the shoulder. "You really owe me big time now."

He gave an overly dramatic bow. "And I shall repay you, my lady, with a million more years full of days just as amazing as this one."

I sighed before smiling at him and then Timothy and Astra. "That...is exactly what I'm afraid of..."

This was partly inspired by the over the top Japanese TV show my older brother is a crazy fan of, and often tries to get me into. Along with my own recent trip to Comic-Con. I'm more of the super nerd fan type like Jeffrey or Jane so it was funny seeing how the other side (Skye) views the crazy goings on. ;D Anyway do feel free to leave me a review, and follow if you'd like, because like I said I will be adding to this over time. You know me, I just couldn't stay away from these awesome people for long!