Hermits United~ An RP of Pete's world awesomeness!

(Ah, the timeline was a bit further along when we started here, but then I suggested it be late September so we could do their wedding anniversary, and they got bumped back a couple months... lol.  I was hoping it wouldn't mess with anything too badly.)

John, who was halfway through stripping David, glanced back as Jackie ran in.  "Bathing is a heinous act of torture - didn't you know?" he replied sarcastically, though his frustration wasn't directed towards Jackie, just the situation in general.

He turned forward once more as Maggie voiced her complaint, and sighed.  "Well, either David bathes with you, or he has to wait for Mummy to finish with Matthew, and we'll have to put up with his noise in the meanwhile," he told her.  "Your choice."  Really, he'd rather get this over with as quickly as possible, but he had to admit he could understand why Maggie didn't want the little wailing terror in the tub with her.

(nah, I guess not. six months is the usual mark for unassisted sitting up, isn't it?)

"ooh, tony wasn't this bad," she commented, retreating quickly, unable to take the noise. Rose sighed. "you'd think tony was an angel the way she talks about him," she grouched, plugging and filling the sink, then stripping matthew down and starting to bathe him, grabbing the baby shampoo from the tub and putting a glob on top of her son's head where he couldn't yet reach.

maggie just gave a long-suffering sigh, knowing it would be easier to put up with the screeching now than have to endure more of it for the same result. she peeled herself out of her clothes a piece at a time, not quite fully coordinated, then dipped a toe in the water before climbing in and looking up at david, hoping maybe having sister bathe with him would help calm him down...

(I think so?  Sounds about right.  But you would probably know more than me.)

"Mm," John grunted in agreement, watching with a frown as Jackie left the room.  "I saw the relief on his face when he realized he wasn't the one getting bathed.  I'll bet he put up a fuss as a baby, too - probably still does..."  He paused, thinking, then added after a moment with a hint of an indignant tone, "In any case, she could've at least offered to help."

He smiled slightly as Maggie finally acquiesced, getting into the tub, and finished undressing David before sitting him in the tub next to his sister.  Watching closely to make sure the boy wasn't going to fall over, he then began bathing the two, a bit surprised as David seemed to calm a little, staring curiously up at Maggie.  "He seems to like being with you," he commented to his daughter, a bit amused.

"well, that's good," maggie commented, grinning and splashing a little to keep distracting her brother. "i wish it worked on matthew though, huh?"

matthew, in the sink, was still wailing angrily, barely bothered by the relaxing baby shampoo rose was washing him with. "why d'you lot hate water so much?" Rose demanded indignantly. "you act like we're cannibals, trying to boil you alive!"

John glanced briefly behind him to where Rose was washing Matthew, and smirked.  "Yeah, that would be nice, wouldn't it?" he agreed.

He gave a little giggle at Rose's words, glancing back again.  "I'm not sure even they know why they hate it so much," he commented amusedly.  "I just hope they grow out of it.  It's not going to be fun trying to forcibly dunk a 16-year-old in the bath!"

Rose nodded, eyes wide for emphasis. "that's the truth--you lot are forbidden to go through a grunge phase!"

"what's that, mummy?" maggie asked curiously as her father helped her wash. "what's a 'guh-run-ja faze'?"

(Lol)

John couldn't help but giggle again, both at Rose's words and Maggie's confusion over them.  "She means that the three of you aren't allowed to go through any periods where you refuse to bathe," he explained, pausing in his washing of David to shampoo Maggie's hair.  "'Grungy' is another word for 'dirty'."  Of course, there was a bit more to it than that, but it probably wasn't something a two-year-old would really understand.

"There is words that mean words?!" maggie asked in outrage. that was just not fair! adult talking was hard enough to learn!

Rose couldn't help but laugh at her daughter's outburst, rinsing off her little son and grabbing a towel to wrap him up in so he finally quieted. what remained was a shocking near-silence as David was only mildly fussing now, it seemed.

John laughed again, as well.  "You'll get the hang of it eventually, don't worry," he assured her, rinsing her hair and then finishing up with David.  A minute or two later, both were done, and John helped Maggie get out and wrap up in a towel before lifting David out of the water and wrapping him up, as well.  "Alright, torture over," he said with a slight sigh of relief, pulling the plug in the tub so the water could drain.  "Now let's see how long it will take you to get 'grungy' again," he then added in amusement, his eyes glimmering.

"I'm not gonna!" maggie insisted grumpily. she didn't want to get dressed yet and kept her arms crossed so he couldn't stick her shirt on over her head. Rose finished drying matthew off and put his diaper and shirt back on, leaving his hair up in a little spike on his head and making him laugh, grabbing his feet and sort of rolling up in a ball. David yawned...since he was calmer, the soothing shampoo actually worked for once and he started nodding off.

"Maggie..." John rumbled sternly, giving her The Look.  "Come on now.  You can't go running about without any clothes on!"  He glanced down to David, in his arms, and gave a sigh.  "Well... at least someone's finally behaving themselves, though you're the last one I would've expected it from..."  He shook his head lightly, finishing drying him off and then slipping his diaper and clothes back on.

the boy squirmed, fidgeted, and generally made it difficult to clothe him, as usual, but started nodding off again as soon as he was dressed. being a baby was hard work. 12 hours of sleep a night, plus naps, to fuel all the exploring and energetic activities.

under The Look, maggie finally gave up and let herself be clothed, even though she could dress herself just fine, thank you. Rose led the procession back out once they were ready to go, going to hug her mother goodbye and wave to pete and tony, who were watching the sports report on the news in fascination.

"I guess I spoke too soon," John muttered at David's squirming, glad when he started drifting off once more.

After everyone was clothed, he followed Rose back out of the bathroom, giving Jackie a one-armed hug, as well.  He shook his head, amused, as they glanced in on a very distracted Pete and Tony; he still didn't understand some humans' predilection for watching sports.  Even more confusing, he'd noticed that men seemed to enjoy it more often than women.  Why?  What was so interesting about watching other people kick a ball?  ...Was it something he was supposed to be interested in?  He shrugged to himself, not knowing.  But he also wasn't sure he wanted to know - it looked awful boring to him.

They stopped at the doorway, and Jackie opened the door for them.  "You'd better come back soon now, you hear?" she told them as they stepped onto the porch.

"Yes, Mum," John returned amusedly, his words half-joking and half-sincere.  Though they'd frequently butted heads in the earlier days, and still did on occasion, John had become quite fond of his mother-in-law - enough to refer to her as 'Mum' on occasion... even if he was just teasing her.  Well, mostly.  ...Well... maybe a bit less 'mostly' than he would lead her to believe.

Jackie gave him a light swack on the arm for his trouble, and he grinned at her.  "G'night," he told her.

"G'night!" she returned.  "Drive safe!"

(The 'Mum' thing was something I thought of months ago, and the idea of him calling her that in a fondly teasing sort of way amuses me. )

(It's definitely a thing that happens)

rose loaded her 2/3 of the charges in the car and waited for john to give her david, then waved to jackie and climbed into the car. they'd stayed long enough it was dark now, and she was a little surprised at that. but then, she supposed the sun had been up fairly early that morning, so it evened out. it was already a little after 7, and it would be time to start getting the children ready for bed once they got home, if they were going to get to bed by 8 or 8:30. it had been long enough since she'd been to work, rose was fairly uncertain of day or date, other than that it wasn't monday or friday. that's about all she could definitely say. she grinned at john calling her mum 'mum' too. it just seemed right to her, though somehow jackie never seemed to appreciate the sentiment. it was probably the teasing tone he used.

"right, let's get going. they'll be out before we pass the mailbox, I bet!"

(They forgot about dessert... Oh well.  xD)

John handed David to Rose, then headed around to the driver's side, waving as well before climbing in.  Once everyone was ready, he turned on the engine and pulled down the long gravel drive, grinning as Rose spoke.  "That seems likely," he agreed with a hint of a laugh, glancing up into the rear-view mirror at the three sleepy faces in the back seat.  David, he was sure, was already asleep.

By the time they got home, all three kids were definitely out cold.  Either he or Rose would have to wait outside while the other took one of the kids in and then came back for another, he thought, pulling into their own driveway and shutting off the engine.

(eh, they probably didn't need it, lol)

the children did not stir one bit when they stopped moving and the engine was shut off. Rose got out and started getting maggie out of the car, figuring since john had the keys he could go unlock the door for her. the pram and whatnot could stay for the time being, since they wouldn't be needed until friday at the earliest. after unbuckling the limp noodle of a toddler, Rose scooped her daughter up and cuddled her, laying her little head on her shoulder and putting her arm under the tot's bum with her other hand on her small back.

(No... I should think not... xD)

As Rose got out and started to unbuckle Maggie from her carseat, John headed up to the front porch, fishing his keys from his pocket and managing to find the lock; it was quite dark, as they hadn't planned on being out so late and so hadn't turned the porchlight on.  Opening the door, he stepped just inside and flipped on the porchlight as well as the light just inside the doorway, before stepping out again, holding the door for Rose and smiling fondly at their sleeping daughter.  As Rose neared, he reached out a hand and gently stroked Maggie's hair, his eyes gleaming with affection.  She was still so small... and yet, somehow, she was so big already.  Every day she grew a little more, and not just in size.  John didn't think he could possibly be any prouder of her.  Of any of them.

(watching a video on sexual dimorphism in pokemon games...what is my life coming to? XD)

Rose smiled softly as she paused for a moment for john, then continued onward, laying maggie in her toddler bed, just taking off her jacket and shoes and socks. she headed back out for the boys, grabbing matthew first because he was closer, kissing his fuzzy head on the way into the house again. "they're so precious..." she whispered to him, smiling softly

(Oh my gosh xD  That sounds... oddly interesting, though... lol)

John waited on the porch as Rose tucked Maggie in, following her when she came back outside and carefully unbuckling David from his carseat.  Then, after locking the car with a quiet chirp, he followed his wife into the house, heading with her toward the nursery, David resting on his chest with his head under John's chin.  He glanced to Rose at the sound of her voice, his eyes half-lidded with contentment.  "Yeah...  They definitely are that..." he murmured back, looking first at Matthew and then down to David with a smile.

(Eating dinner (far too late xD), will be poofy.)

(it kind of is ? especially since I play pokemon GO, and all the differences are in there too XD)

"we're probably gonna think we hate them when they wake us up at the crack of dawn, though," she commented with a little smirk, laying her little son in the crib gently and kissing his head again, gently rubbing his tiny back.

(That's neat xD  I always like when they add that kind of detail into games.  Makes it more interesting somehow.  That and skin variants.  Because aLL THE VARIANTS.  xD)

John gave a soft laugh at that.  "Probably," he agreed, laying David in the crib next to his brother and leaning in to kiss both on the forehead.  He stared down at them affectionately for a few more moments before moving over to Maggie and kissing her gently as well.  Finally, he moved back over to Rose, snuggling up against her and leaning down to kiss her on the cheek, looping his arm around her affectionately.

(like torchic? the flaming chicken pokemon? the male and female are almost exactly identical...except the male has a little freckle looking spot on his bum XD)

Rose gave a soft hum of contentment and love, very much enjoying the moment of being in her husband's arms before a yawn of her own ruined the moment. "c'mon, let's go watch some telly or something before bed...unless you're tired too."

(Lol, that's amusing xD)

"I can probably keep myself awake for a bit longer," John agreed amusedly, taking Rose's hand and leading her out toward the living room.  He grabbed the remote and plopped himself down on the couch, only to gain a thoughtful frown before he could turn on the telly.  "Rose…" he began after a moment.  "Do you think there's something… unusual… about the way I'm so involved with the children?"

(I think this'll probably be my last post for the night.  It's nearly time to start getting ready for bed, and my eyes are aching.  >.<  Nighty-night, Ladybug!  Enjoy your Pokemon videos! xD)

(man, I zoned out hard last night! I didn't even go to sleep until I went to bed, I was just super out of it :/)

"unusual?" she asked, confused where this was coming from. "how d'you mean? you're just a great dad, that's nothing to be worried about!" she snuggled a little into his side, tempted to take the remote away from him and turn the telly on, but she could tell he needed to talk.

(Oh, wow xD)

John glanced down at her as she snuggled against him, smiling a little and shifting to put his arm around her.  "Oh, I'm not worried about it," he assured her, noting her obvious confusion.  "It's just that… the other mums at the park earlier seemed very impressed by the fact that I was playing with Maggie, and I'm not sure I understand why."  He was far from concerned - to the contrary, he was greatly warmed by the notion that he was a good dad - he was just a bit confused as to why that seemed to be so noteworthy.