Date: Sat, 3 Aug 2002 01:53:54 -0700 (PDT) From: "Griffin, LD" Subject: A Baby Story Chapter 7 A Baby Story (7/10) by: LD Griffin Disclaimer: COMPLETE FICTION. This has been completely concocted in the far-most corners of my mind. Pairing: JC/Justin Rating: G to some slight NC-17 Feedback: Please! This is a trial story, so I really need to know if you all like it or not. Sleepychick101@yahoo.com Author`s notes: First off, to Viv, because she asked me to write a family Jushua story. Secondly, all the products mentioned in this chapter are real baby toys, and are designed for a child of the age that Vivian is at this moment. All behavioral, developmental, and health encounters Josh and Justin have come across in this chapter are measured within the approximate range of most children. Also, the lullabies that are in this chapter are: The Rain Lady and The Trains to Dreamland by Lois Duncan and Robin Arquette. The song featured is "The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room" by Disney. Justin's POV: The day before your first birthday; my goodness I will never forget it. I thought your Daddy was going to have conniption. The entire family was coming to see you for the first time; up until then only Aunt Heather had been by. So, you know your Daddy, he had to have the house completely spotless. And then, there was the fact that you were growing. You'd managed to stand up, and had started to crawl, so the entire apartment was baby proof. I'll never forget though how you once again, managed to show us that you were definitely a baby by the books. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Justin, have you seen the vacuum cleaner?" Josh hollered up into the loft. "Um, the last time I saw it, it was in the mud room." Justin answered, lifting Vivian above his head. "Okay, thanks." Josh finished, turning to walk down the stairs. Justin smiled up at his beaming daughter. "Look you're soaring, whee, like an airplane." Justin flew Vivian back and forth, as she giggled in response. "Look at Papa's beautiful girl flying through the sky. Zoom, Zoom, Zoom." The radio played in the background. Changing songs, he pulled Vivian down near his chest and started to dance with her, jitterbugging. "In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room, in the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, room. All the birds sing words and the flowers croon, in the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room." Justin sang, emphasizing each syllable. Vivian giggled looking up at her Papa and then made a motion to be put down. Obliging, Justin lowered her to the floor and watched as she crawled over to her Sit and Pound Arcade. Sitting down and picking up the hammer, Vivian turned to Justin who was setting a picture of Josh down on their desk. "Dada." Vivian spoke, pointing to the picture of Josh. Justin stopped, turned around, and looked at her. "What did you say?" "Dada." "Josh, get up here. Vivian just said her first word." Justin yelled, rushing over to his daughter. Josh came running into the room as fast as he could, the duster he'd been using still in his hand. Vivian turned to look at Josh and pointed to him. "Dada." "Oh princess." Josh said, dropping the duster, going over to where Vivian sat on the floor, and picking her up into his arms. Vivian looked over her shoulder at Justin and smiled. Josh turned to look into Justin's eyes as Justin grabbed her little hand and held it in his. "Papa." Vivian said, smiling up at Justin. "That would be yours." Josh stated, leaning up slightly to light peck Justin on the lips. "Well, I guess we had nothing to worry about, she was just taking her own sweet time." Justin added, leaning down to press a gentle kiss on her forehead and move the hair out of her eyes. "Are you Daddy's and Papa's big girl?" Josh asked, bringing her around to look him in the face. Vivian reached and grabbed his nose in reaction, squeezing it tightly. "No, don't pull my nose, angel." Josh laughed, trying to break free. "You hold on as long as you want sweetie." Justin retorted, sticking his tongue out at Josh and kissing her head lightly. "Hey!" "You know I love you." Justin kissed Josh's shoulder and looked over at his daughter. "I love both of you." he finished, resting his head on Josh's shoulder and wrapping his arms around Josh's waist. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Goodnight princess." Justin said, turning to look in the nursery, before he closed the door behind him. Walking back towards the master bedroom, he started to unbutton his shirt. Opening the door, he found Josh lying under the covers reading a book, his glasses perched on the edge of his nose. "That took longer than usual." Josh casually began, flipping to the next page in the novel. "She wouldn't go to sleep. I feel that she'll be waking up tomorrow morning at 4 instead of 6." "Well, then we'll feed her at 4 and put her back to bed for another 3 hours." Justin finished removing his shirt and stripped out of his pants, throwing them on the back of a chair in the room. Yawning timidly, he climbed in bed, and laid his head on Josh's chest. "Are you ready for tomorrow?" Justin asked, turning to look up into Josh's face. "I think as ready as I'll ever be. I'm just nervous you know?" Josh answered, setting the book down on his lap and removing his glasses to gently squeeze the bridge of his nose between his forefingers. "Yeah, I know. We'll be fine, I promise. Are all the gifts wrapped?" "Yep. There in our closet on the top shelf." Josh answered, picking up the book again after placing his glasses back on. "Are those new frames?" Justin asked, sitting up a bit. "Yeah. Do you like them?" "Oh yes, very sexy." Justin answered, setting back down. "Thanks." Justin curled up even tighter against his husband's chest, placing a light kiss on it, and relaxing in the silence of the relaxing moment. "You realize her turning a year old means that I'm going to have to get back to work don't you?" Josh asked a bit later, turning slightly to rest his head on top of Justin's. "Yeah, I know. Whether you had to or not, I think it's definitely time." "I'm doing the Macy's parade this year, you know." "You are? Well, this holiday season will be one for Vivian to definitely remember. Or at least one for us to make sure to remember for her. I see many trips to Wolf Camera coming up." "Speaking of pictures, make sure to remind me to thank your mother tomorrow for the silver picture frame she sent me for my birthday; I forgot to ever tell her I got it." "I will." "We've entered the celebration season, starting with my birthday I guess in August." "Yep. We get to have all the `firsts' this year. Well, firsts for us as a family anyway. And on that note, I say we go to bed. Everyone will be here at 10." "I agree." Josh answered, turning to put his book on the nightstand, and switching the lights off. "Goodnight Justin." Josh said, kissing the top of his head. "Night baby." Justin mumbled. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A loud, sharp cry sounded through the baby monitor on the nightstand next to Josh's ear, awakening him and Justin with a start. Looking over at the clock, Josh groaned. "You were right, 4:07 am." "I'll get her. You got her last night." Justin stated, getting out of bed, and making his way to the nursery. Walking into the room, and turning on the light, Vivian's cries increased in volume. "You're up so early this morning sweetheart." Justin stated, teetering up to the crib, and lifting Vivian out into his arms. Vivian continued to cry in response. Sighing, Justin made his way into the kitchen. Grabbing a clean bottle from the rinse-rack, Justin held onto Vivian as he poured some new formula into it. Opening the microwave, Justin placed the bottle inside, turned the heat level to low, entered a number into the timer, and closed the door. The soft sound of the tray going around and around quieted Vivian down to soft whimpers. Hearing the ding, Justin quickly removed the bottle and tested it on his wrist. Seeing that it was the right temperature, he screwed a new clean nipple on, and handed it to Vivian. "There you go angel." Justin said, grabbing a clean dishtowel to throw on his shoulder, and making his way back into the nursery. Sitting down in the rocking chair, he moved Vivian to a more comfortable position against his body as she continued to drink. Seeing her remove the bottle from between her lips, he took it back and placed it on the floor, lifting her up against his shoulder afterwards. Gently rubbing circles into her upper back and patting even more softly, he waited for her to slowly begin the process of digestion. Hearing a few expulsions of gas, he pulled her back to face him. "There, there sweetie. All done. Now, it's time to try to get you back to sleep for a few more hours. You're going to have a long day today." Justin began, getting up and going over to the Dream Machine set on her dresser and pushing play on the tape deck. Soft lullabies fluttered out of the speakers, engulfing the room in harmonious melodies. Continuing to gently rub her back as he laid her down against his left shoulder, he began to pace, singing along with the tape. "Soft in the darkness the rain lady comes, twirling her hair with the tips of her thumbs. Hair that is sweet as a summer time dream, started with raindrops that sparkle and gleam. Hair that is gray as the mists of the sea, whirling and swirling, and tumbling free. Shush, shush, don't make a sound. Rest while the rain comes down. Soft in the darkness the rain lady stands, shaking her hair with her gentle white fans. Chipmunks, and rabbits, and ferrets, and moles, tiny wet field mice run into their holes. Sheep on the hillside and lambs on the plain, little wool blotters that soak up the rain. Shush, shush, don't make a sound. Rest while the rain comes down. Soft in the darkness the rain lady sings, a voice that is cool as the winds of the spring. Rain in the leaves makes a whispering sound, light as the silk of the rain lady's gown. Rain on the roof makes a patter like drums, soft in the darkness the rain lady comes. Shush, shush, don't make a sound. Rest while the rain comes down." Vivian lifted her head up at Justin, opening her eyes wide. "You must go to sleep, princess." Justin walked over to the light switch and dimmed the lighting. Vivian closed her eyes again, and settled, curling her head up under Justin's chin as Justin began singing along to the next lullaby. "The first train bound for dreamland, is revving up to go. See the sleepy passengers standing in a row. Some of them are tall and thin, some of them are..." Justin stopped, looking down at his now snoozing daughter. Tip-toeing over to the crib and cautiously laying her down inside, he pulled the covers up past her tummy, and pressed his lips gently to her tiny head. Turning on his heels, he left the room, and quietly re-entered his bedroom, slipping under the covers once more and nodding off to sleep for a couple more hours. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The streams of sunlight pouring in through the window cascaded over the two sleeping forms in the king-size bed, waking them up to the world. Yawning, Josh looked over at the clock and scratched his nose. "Justin, baby, it's 8:15. We need to get up." Josh began, turning back over and gently shaking his snoozing husband. "Okay." Justin responded, rubbing his eyes and scratching his bare stomach. Josh sat up and climbed out of bed and walked into the bathroom. Yawning, Justin kicked his feet over the side and stood up making his way in there as well. "Heather's bringing the cake right?" Justin asked, stepping out of his boxers, throwing them into the hamper. and stepping into the shower. "Yeah, vanilla cake with butter-cream icing. It's my mom's recipe and was always my favorite growing up." Josh answered, removing his briefs, tossing them into the bin, and following Justin in. "Sounds good." Justin turned on the two-headed shower, adjusting the temperature dial to 98°. Picking up the bar of soap, he began to lather his chest up, running the suds on his arms and around his neck. Handing the bar of soap to Josh, he smiled. "I must say, seeing you naked in the morning changes my whole mood for the day." "I didn't know my body was such a thrill." "You know you're gorgeous." Justin laughed, rolling his neck back as Josh soaped up his lower back. "That's no comparison to you. I don't know how you do it, go to work everyday in that stressful office of yours and still have so few gray hairs. Though, you have more lately it seems." Josh snickered, handing the soap back to Justin and turning around so he could lather up his back. "Go ahead, laugh all you want. You're getting a bit grayer too." "We have a little, ticking time bomb living in our house now. Every day we grow older with her." Josh said, taking back the soap bar and sudsing up his chest and arms. "Tick tock, tick tock. You're aging old man, one more year and you're over the hill. But me, I`m still young and studly." Justin teased. "OLD MAN? This "old man" as you say has got plenty of life left in him, and if I recall, left you completely worn out the other night, when I could have gone for one more homer." "You're right. You're not old yet, just maturing." Justin joked, kissing Josh lightly on the lips before pulling back and grinning ear to ear. "Get outta here!" Josh chuckled. Justin turned around and spanked Josh's butt on his way out of the shower. Crossing back into their room and over to the closet, he pulled out a fresh pair of underwear and slipped them on. Grabbing a pair of jeans and a polo shirt, he walked out of the room and into the kitchen. Hearing Josh come down out of the master bedroom, he leaned out into the hall. "What should I get ready for her? We're going to be feeding her lunch soon, so I don't see any reason to give her a full meal." "Get one of her containers of applesauce out. She can have that." Josh answered, opening the nursery door and stepping inside. "Okay." Josh walked over to the crib and gently placed his hand on Vivian's stomach, tickling her lightly and gently rubbing. Vivian opened her eyes to look up at her Daddy. "Good morning princess. Guess what today it is!" Vivian gurgled, sucking her right thumb slowly into her mouth. "It's your first birthday. Happy birthday angel." Vivian reached up towards her Daddy as Josh picked her up and carried her out of the room into the kitchen. Setting her carefully down in the high chair, Josh turned away and left the room as Justin walked up with the applesauce. "Yum, yum, yum. Open the hanger for the plane." Justin stated, zooming the airplane spoon around her mouth until she opened up and ate the applesauce out of it. Justin repeated the process until half of the jar was empty, then resealed the lid and placed the rest of the jar into the refrigerator. "Come on sweetheart, let's go get you changed for your big day." Justin walked into the nursery and set Vivian down on the changing table. Strapping her in so she didn't roll off, he turned and grabbed the party dress Josh had set out the night before and a clean diaper. Quickly removing her jumpsuit, he changed her diaper and slipped the dress over her head. Picking up the hairbrush from her dresser, he softly combed her dark, black hair. Tossing the dirty clothes in the hamper, he picked Vivian back up into his arms and walked out of the room and into the dining room, where Josh was finishing setting up the table. Pictures of Vivian were set out in a circle around the center, an arrangement of balloons in the middle. The gifts were set out on the buffet table behind, along with the serving utensils. "Looks wonderful. We have enough chairs don't we?" Justin questioned, shifting Vivian's weight to his left side. "Not everyone can fit at the table, but I've set up enough chairs around the room so that everyone can fit in here. And all we're having is cake." Suddenly, the buzzer sounded through the house. "That must be my mom and Paul. They were getting in a bit earlier." Justin stated, going into the front hallway to let them in. Pressing the button that unlocked the door and opening the top door, he returned to helping Josh set up, moving the high chair into the dining room. "Hi, we're here." Lynn Harless shouted into the apartment. "Mom!" Justin said, walking back into the foyer, with Vivian still attached to his shoulder. "Justin! Oh look at you, and oh, she's even more beautiful in person." Lynn screeched coming up to hug her son and look down at the child in his arms. "Thanks, you want to hold her?" Justin asked. "Yes, I'd love to." Lynn answered, taking Vivian into her arms. Vivian looked up at her and started to tear up. "No, don't do that. I'm your Grandma." Justin walked over to his step-father. "Hi Paul, how have you been?" "Just great, and you all?" Paul asked, shaking Justin's right hand and then bringing him in for a hug. "We're doing great." "She's gorgeous Justin, absolutely beautiful." Paul added, looking over at his wife cradling their granddaughter. "Thank you very much." Justin responded, then eyed the suitcases sitting beside the door. "You all are going to be staying in the guest-room which is upstairs in the loft. Let me just get the..." Justin began, then heard the buzz sound again. Walking back over to the intercom and pressing, the "talk" button, he coughed. "Hello?" "Hi Justin, it's Heather. I've got the whole Chasez clan with me." "Hey Heather. Come on up." Justin finished, letting them in. "Josh, that was your sister. I'm taking Paul up to show them their bedroom. My mom's got Vivian." "Okay baby." Josh answered, walking out into the foyer from the kitchen as Justin grabbed the suitcases and led Paul down the hall. "Hi Lynn." Josh greeted. "Joshua! Dear, how are you?" Lynn asked, coming up and hugging him before she handed him his daughter back. "I'm fine, and yourself?" "Delightful." "Hello, darling brother." Heather started, walking into the foyer. "Heather!" Josh answered, coming up and giving her a hug with one hand. "There's my son! And look my granddaughter also." Karen Chasez said, walking into the room and kissing Josh on the forehead, with Roy, Tyler, and Kathy behind her. "Hi Mom." Josh said, walking over and kissing her on the cheek. "Look at her, you were right Heather, she's stunning." Karen said, picking Vivian up into her arms. "Hey big bro." Tyler said, coming over and hugging Josh now that his arms were free. "Tyler! Kathy! How are you two?" Josh answered, hugging Tyler back and then going over and hugging his sister-in-law. "We're fine, glad we could finally get out here to see our niece." Kathy responded, pulling back. "She's gorgeous Josh. She's acts just like you and Justin." Roy commented, from where he stood looking down at Vivian over Karen's shoulder. "Thanks. Come in everybody. Let's sit down. We're just waiting on the Timberlakes. They should be here any minute." "Josh, where do you want the cake and the gifts?" Heather asked, a pink box between her hands and a shopping bag attached to her wrist. "In the dining room." "Okay." Justin walked back into the room with Paul behind him. "Hey everyone." "Justin, good to see you." Roy said, coming up and shaking his hand. "Good to see you too, sir." "Justin, honey, you look great. How's work going?" Karen asked, coming up and hugging him after passing Vivian back to Josh. "Work's going great. We're getting everything settled in and all..." Josh took Vivian and set her down on the ground in front of Tyler's feet. Vivian started to crawl around on the floor, looking up at the new people that sat around her. Sticking her now slightly quivering lip out, she begin to softly cry. "No, no, no. No tears." Kathy said, picking Vivian up into her lap. Vivian looked up at the strange woman and began to wail. Josh walked over and picked her back up, placing her against his shoulder once more. "I guess she doesn't like you sweetheart." Tyler kidded, rubbing Kathy's thigh. "No, it's not that. She's just not used to this many people wanting to hold her and touch her. So far, the only people to really have held her are Justin, myself, Heather, and our baby-sitter Sarah." The buzz sounded through the apartment for the third and final time. Walking over to the door, Josh pressed the talk button. "Hey, it's us." Jonathon stated. "Hey Jon! Come on up." Josh said, unlocking the downstairs door. "Hello all." Randall stated, strolling into the entryway. "Dad, how was your trip?" Justin said, breaking away from Karen, and walking over to hug him. "Tiring, as normal." Randall laughed, handing Justin a suitcase. "Hi Lisa." Josh started, coming up and hugging her one armed. "Josh, my dear, it is so nice to see you." Lisa answered, kissing him on the cheek. "Dad, Jon, help me take your bags to the master bedroom. That's where you all are staying. "This must be my granddaughter." Lisa said, taking Vivian into her arms and smiling down at the child. Vivian's lower lip began to quiver again, ever so gently. "Dada." she said, reaching back for Josh. Lisa kissed her forehead and gave her back to her Daddy. "Once Justin gets back, we'll go unwrap the presents and have the cake." Josh announced to the room. Justin walked back in with Jonathon and Randall on his heels. "Let's open gifts." The crowd of people muddled its way into the dining room. Everyone sat down at the table except for Josh and Justin who stood behind Vivian and Steven, who sat in the chair next to the buffet table. Vivian looked up at her parents. "Dada. Papa." she said, pointing to their faces. Everyone cooed over here, as Josh set her first present down before her. "Here sweetie, this is from your Aunt Heather. Go ahead open it." Vivian started to slowly tear apart the paper, peeling it off inch by inch as she went until she finally got to the present. Justin picked it up and looked at it, while Vivian played with some of her paper scraps. "Look, it's a My First Barney, Vivian." Vivian looked at the toy, and continued to play with the paper, opening her mouth and chewing on some of it. "No, no, no. Don't chew on the paper. Thanks Heather, she'll love it." Josh beamed, putting the My First Barney back on the buffet table and placing another gift down in front of Vivian. Vivian slowly began to unwrap this second one, tearing at the paper with both hands. Justin helped her the rest of the way off, while Josh picked up the paper and threw it in the trash bag. "Oh, look Vivi, it's a busy box from your Uncle Tyler and Aunt Kathy." Justin stated, showing his daughter the present she'd unwrapped. Vivian stuck out her tongue and sat back in her chair, sucking on her thumb lightly. Josh sat another slightly larger box down and Vivian didn't touch it. Looking back up at her father, her lip began to quiver. "I think she's hungry. So, why don't we move on to the cake and finish the rest of the presents later?" Josh asked. "Sounds good to me. I`m starving." Steven chirped in from the corner, rubbing his stomach. Justin turned back around to the buffet table where Heather had sat the cake. Placing the big number 1 candle on it and lighting it, he began to sing, the rest joining him as he set the cake down before Vivian. "Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Vivian, happy birthday to you." Leaning over, Justin helped her blow out the candle as Josh took a picture of it with his candle. "Great job sweetie, great job!" Josh stated, coming up to kiss her temple lightly. "Who wants cake?" Justin asked, setting the cake down on the table and picking up the paper plates and cutter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Thanks everybody for coming." Josh said, as he opened the door for his family. "We had a wonderful time. I want pictures of Vivian with all that icing on her for Christmas okay?" Karen asked, as she hugged her son goodbye. "Okay, bye mom." "Bye Josh." "Goodnight son." Roy added, waving. "Bye Dad." "Great seeing you and Justin again Josh. You all need to come down and visit us sometime." Kathy stated, hugging him close. "We will do that soon." Josh replied, hugging her close. "Bye Josh, thanks for inviting us." Tyler added, smiling as he went out the door. "Bye Ty," Josh answered, laughing. "Great party Josh, thanks for having us and including us." "No thank you for letting Mom, Dad, Tyler, and Kathy stay with you. We couldn't have fit them all here. And Justin and I wouldn`t have even considered celebrating Vivian`s first birthday without all you all here." "No problem. See you tomorrow at the airport." Heather finished, walking out the door. "Bye." Josh closed the door behind them. Josh turned down the hall and walked into the nursery. "Everybody get off okay?" Justin asked, softly. "Yep, they said we'll see them tomorrow. Everyone`s going to the airport at the same time, and I told Heather we`d come and see everybody off." "Sounds good. Today was a success." Justin commented, continuing to rock Vivian back and forth, trying to lull her to sleep. "Yeah, it was. You're parents and siblings got everything they need?" "Yeah, I told them to knock if they needed anything. I got them settled in while you said goodbye to your folks." Justin replied, whispering, as he got up and put the now snoozing Vivian in her crib. Josh came up beside Justin, wrapping his arm around him, and pecked him on the lips. "Happy birthday, angel. We love you." Josh whispered, holding Justin tight as he pulled the covers up. ~~LD Griffin~~