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

rose snorked after a few more moments and rubbed her face, looking down after a second to see her tiny daughter between them. "aww..." she mumbled, sitting up as maggie yawned from her father's petting

John gave a small giggle at Rose's undignified snork, grinning as she woke up and glancing back down at Maggie, wondering how long it would take for her to wake up. Well, evidently, she already had been up - John presumed she'd come in to wake them and fallen back asleep on their bed in the process. He couldn't say he was unhappy about it, though.

maggie sleepily tried to fend off the hand as rose stood and stretched, needing to see if the boys were awake yet and fetch them for breakfast if so. maggie sleepily mumbled something about uncle looshun as she rubbed her eye and yawned again, even bigger.

An amused John reluctantly retracted his hand, as it was clearly disturbing her. He watched as Rose stood and headed out of the room to check the boys, then looked back to Maggie at her sleep mumblings, grinning and giggling quietly at the poor pronunciation; Lucian would be mortified. With a soft sigh, he reached forward again, this time resting his hand on her shoulder. "Sweetie, it's time to wake up," he murmured fondly, rubbing her shoulder gently.

"mmm...nuuuu daddy..." she whined, rubbing both eyes now as she sat upright. "what's breakfast? mummy's not cooking again, is she?" she asked with a distinct note of concern. 

"I heard that young lady," rose chuckled, coming back with matthew in her arms. "david's sleeping late. will you be able to make breakfast before you go to work?"

John's eyes brightened with amusement at her concern, and he giggled as Rose came back into the room. "I think I can manage that, yeah," he agreed, shifting fully upright and getting out of bed, scooping up Maggie afterward and giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Besides, I need to eat, too, and I'm not liable to remember once I get to work, so it's probably best I stay and eat here." He blushed a little in embarrassment, looking sheepish at his forgetfulness. "I'll also need to pack myself a lunch, and hope for all our sakes that I'm home in time for dinner..."

"and a water bottle," she told him, packing a sandwich and crisps for him while he worked on breakfast after getting the children to the living room to play until it was time to eat

"Yeah, and that," John mumbled in agreement, his cheeks turning just faintly pinker as he headed out of the bedroom, setting Maggie down so she could follow Rose to the living room before heading into the kitchen and setting up breakfast. After about 15-20 minutes, he started bringing plates and bowls to the table - oatmeal for the children, and eggs and pancakes for himself and Rose.

(Because those are the two things they always eat and Spot is very creative. xD)

maggie stopped in her tracks at the sight of the bowl of oatmeal on the table when it was time to eat. "more oatmeal? but daddy, we just ate it last night!" she whined, giving him big sad eyes. "please can I have some eggs like you? pleaaaaase?"

(*Siiiigh* I only gave her oatmeal because I thought that was her favorite and she would complain if I gave her pancakes and eggs. ;-; XD)

John stared blankly at Maggie for a moment at her complaint, the reasoning not registering for a moment, before it clicked at the same time as she said they'd just eaten it the night before. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and feeling guilty for having forgotten - oatmeal was usually Maggie's favorite. "Well... lessee. How about I give you some of my eggs and pancakes, and I'll eat your oatmeal. Would you like that better?"

*gasp* "pancakes too? ohh,  thank you thank you thank you!" she squealed, running over to hug his leg. she did usually like oatmeal quite a lot and loved having it for breakfast basically every day like clockwork, but she absolutely would not abide eating the same thing two meals in a row, no matter how delicious it might possibly be. the boys, on the other hand, really couldn't care less as long as they got fed something nutritious and filling. they were perfectly content to literally eat the exact same thing over and over again provided it tasted halfway decent.

(Lol boys why)

John, knowing all this, of course, felt even worse about his slip-up; he genuinely had forgotten they'd had to eat it for dinner the night before. Whether that be due to some lingering effects from the hangover, or just his usual denseness, he wasn't sure, but regardless, he was happy to trade her his breakfast, and smiled as she ran over to hug his leg. "No problem, sweetie - it's my bad. I forgot." Once he was able to detach her, he headed back into the kitchen and fetched another small plate, bringing it back and separating a good portion of his eggs and pancakes onto it for her, cutting the pancakes into bite-sized pieces and sliding it in front of her chair with another smile, trading it for the bowl of oatmeal. As he started in on his portion of breakfast, he looked over at the boys, who were, as per usual, making a mess as they ate. His eyes flickered with humor; they didn't seem to mind eating oatmeal again in the least. He wondered if they'd be so forgiving once they were Maggie's age...

(I wouldn't count on it, John. xD)

(yeah, I wouldn't either XD should we fast forward through these days to the next plot bit? I also might need reminded the details of what that was... X'D)

rose watched as everyone got settled and started eating. maggie had half her pancake gone before she noticed the goo on mummy's pancakes and wondered why she hadn't gotten any. the boys, meanwhile, were eating with their usual gusto and remarking to one another how their father had chosen to join them today with the gourmet food rather than whatever odd tosh he usually ate. about time he joined them eating this ambrosia called oatmeal...

(Yeah, maybe. X'D I think next was the alien invasion plot with Rose when she goes out for her spa day, as well as Lucian coming over while John's home with the kids and asking for romance advice. x'D I'll look over the details tomorrow.)

John was busy eating and paying attention to the boys' conversation, giving a snort of amusement at their remarks, and didn't notice Maggie's pancake's lack of syrup (as well as the lack of syrup on his own remaining pancake) until she looked over at Rose. He sighed again and raised a hand to his forehead, getting to his feet. "Sorry, Maggie - I forgot your syrup; blimey, I'm just getting everything wrong this morning, aren't I?" He fetched the bottle from the kitchen and returned, drizzling some on Maggie's and then a little on his own.

after a few days, things finally calmed down at torchwood and Rose woke John with a kiss. "you're able to stay home, right? my spa day is today," she gently reminded him. "I can call mum if you need help, though, and you can call her if work calls you in, yeah?"

meanwhile, none of them knew they would soon have a visitor...

John was relieved when work finally calmed down quite a bit. The seemingly endless toil with the Krillitane probe had put a lot of stress on him, and he'd lamented the lack of time he'd been able to spend with Rose and the children. Now, finally, he was able to relax a little.

He was pleasantly awoken one morning to a kiss from Rose, giving a soft hum of affection at her touch and wrapping his arms around her. "No, no... Everything'll be fine," he affirmed quickly, suddenly slightly nervous at the thought of Jackie getting involved. "The crew knows I won't be coming in today - no problem there." After a moment, he gave a reluctant sigh. "Aaand if there's an emergency... I'll call your mum." Let's just hope there's not... for multiple reasons...

"right, yeah, make sure it is an emergency before you have to call her," rose chuckled, getting up and going to the closet. "right...what should I wear, any ideas?" she asked over her shoulder, sorting through her nicer but still comfy dresses and such. 

maggie wandered in with one little fist rubbing her eye and stopped to YAAAAAAAAAWN as big as her little body could without toppling over. she stumbled her way to john. "daddy, up!"

"Indeed," John agreed, giving a small, nervous giggle. As Rose got up, he sat up in bed, as well, pulling back the covers from his legs and moving to sit on the edge of the bed. "Well... I'd say choose something comfortable, of course," he replied, looking over his shoulder at her question. "I'm not really sure what goes on at these spas--" really, he had no idea whatsoever-- "but I wouldn't think it'd make much sense to be uncomfortable in favor of fashion. ...Then again, that never makes much sense to me..." He frowned at that notion, reaching to rub his chin thoughtfully, then turned to look as Maggie appeared in the doorway and gave an enormous yawn. "Aww, come here, love," he cooed with a grin, leaning over a little to scoop her into his lap. "Didja sleep well, sweetheart?"

maggie mumbled non-committally and hid her face in his chest. she definitely wasn't quite awake yet. 
"right, I just know I should be presentable. from what I've heard, the only time you're really wearing outside clothes is when you're coming in and leaving," she said as she shifted through the closet. "hmmm...blue, or red, dyou think?"

once she was clothed and barely out the door, the twins perked up at the sound of a sharp THUMP in the back garden. "what?" "who's that?" "what could it be?" they babbled to one another

John just grinned further, patting her back gently. He glanced back over to Rose questioningly as she spoke again, wondering what she'd be wearing once she was there. The thought that they would give her some strange human costume to put on crossed his mind and nearly caused him to snort in amusement, though he figured that wasn't likely to be what she meant.

Suddenly realizing she'd asked him a question, he jumped slightly. "Oh! Um... Well. You know what my choice would be," he said with a little giggle.

Once she had left, he'd just sat down on the living room floor with the kids when a thump from the back garden took him by surprise. "...Lucian?" he guessed, based on the lack of engine wheezing. He glanced to the boys, knowing someone should stay to supervise, but the back door was locked, and, of course, Rose had already left. He sighed, standing up. Surely they would be alright for just a few moments? "Be good. I'll be right back," he told the kids, giving them a stern look, before striding down the hall to open the door, wondering what Lucian could want.

before john could even reach the back door, there were three light taps. "I do hope he's home..." a voice mused to himself on the other side. 

Lucian had his hand raised to knock again, his hair combed back and a dapper turn of the century suit on, fidgeting with the ascot. "ah, there you are! I come seeking advice..."

John stopped short at the clothing Lucian was wearing, his eyes widening. It was very rare for his brother to wear anything other than robes, and he'd certainly never seen him wear something so... formal. "...Lucian?!" he exclaimed, stepping forward again to open the door. "Advice? What sort of advice?" He looked him up and down, though he hadn't put two and two together yet.

"er, well, you see...ah, may I come in?" he had hardly been able to step foot in the house when maggie was cheering from the living room. "uncle loo-shun! yay! cmere cmere!" 

he chuckled at the tot as they went back that direction. he tried again to explain. "well...I've been in a bit of...well, something of a relationship, of late. a romantic one. I know I don't seem the type to ever settle down, and I didn't believe I had it in myself, either. but there is someone, and, well...I wanted to ask about how you proposed to Rose..." he finally admitted. "I want to do something nice for her, perhaps a little grandiose, even...I thought she might find earth romantic, she speaks of it and her research so often..."

"Of course," John agreed, opening the door wider. He grinned as Maggie interrupted, peeking down the hallway, and walked with Lucian back towards the front of the house. "Yes... I know about your relationship with Mikra," he noted with a hint of laughter in his tone. "How long has it been since your last visit here? Well... too long, apparently. In any case, I'm more than willing to offer any advice I can, though really, Rose was much more proactive early on in our relationship than I was..." He frowned slightly, thinking about how closed-off he'd been just a few years ago. It was an uncomfortable memory, and he was glad Rose had been able to help him move past it.

"ooh, fifty years, at least," he agreed to john's statement that it had been too long since he'd visited. "well, suppose I could ask her...where is rose, as a matter of fact? I don't see her?" she was almost always around the children when he visited, though of course this was the first time he'd come entirely alone. he quickly gave up. it was more important to get the information he sought, rather than who the information was coming from...