Post by SA Dr. John Clark on May 7, 2013 17:41:12 GMT -5
Clark awoke at three AM the morning of the wedding to find his bride snoozing away on top of his carcass, a contented smile on her face and their arms wrapped around one another--things had become a lot more pleasant when Dr. Mallard had had the idea of using the kind of corset someone with a less-severe back injury might wear to keep him strapped to his back-plate, so they didn't have to deal with the equally awkward options of having his chest armor between them or him being functionally paraplegic as they did when they'd started living together--over that year, there had been a lot of changes and improvements, seeing the armored suit that held him together evolve from a temporary measure designed to keep him functional long enough to finish putting his affairs in order into something designed to let them approximate a normal life, including things like redesigning the carapace to use quick-release fittings he could operate himself instead of needing someone else to bolt him together. What a difference a year can make, the undead Fed thought to himself... A year, and the love of friends and family. And today, he hoped his beautiful bride would feel that love, as they made their state of matrimony official with the storybook wedding they'd had to defer while their son developed in her womb...
He had a sense that their little guy was going to need a diaper change and a bottle soon, and knowing young Miss Reid, she was going to be there to stir up her unique brand of trouble at the crack of dawn. BUT, for the moment there was a problem... as long as Paige was in blissful slumber, draped over him like she was imitating a blanket, he wasn't going anywhere, which any other time would be no problem at all--it actually was one of the best things about his life, having someone so trusting that she'd fall asleep in his arms even knowing what his record was... and the only time he'd been happier than when they were savoring the benefits of each other's affection had been when he held her in his arms as she gave birth to their little Clarklet.
But, at this moment, there was parenting business that'd need doing soon, and things to be done to prepare for their big day, and he couldn't see to what needed doing with her playing human-quilt on top of him. He locked lips with her, pulled her closer, and gently touched her mind with his own... Honey, we need to wake up--Aimee's going to be here in a few hours, and I need to get up and take care of Diaper Duty, he projected, sensing a little stir of her mind in response... then, she started to move a little, and he spoke. "Good morning, sleepyhead... feel like a little fun to get the blood flowing before we start our big day?"
Slowly, lazily. gently, they made love, careful to put as little strain on his damaged heart as possible while still reaching a satisfying conclusion; when they were done they rolled over together, their combined strength being needed to hold his ruined spine and bracing together through the process. "You just rest a little more, darling, I'll take care of the little guy and be back in a bit with breakfast," he said, planting a last parting kiss before he set to his chores, retrieving their little bundle of joy and a diaper from the nursery, changing him and disposing of the full bundle of UN-joy that came off. It's a dirty job, but SOMEBODY's gotta do it... if the one I love can handle all the kicking and the labor pains to bring my baby into the world, surely I can deal with this far less unpleasant chore so she doesn't have to. Didn't change the smell, though, so he sprayed a liberal amount of air-freshener over the diaper-disposal and the whole rest of the bathroom. Ahhh, MUCH better... he thought to himself, then soothingly whispered in their baby's ear. "My son, you have no idea how much easier life will get for all of us once you're potty-trained..."
He gently placed Clarklet next to Paige while he quickly threw a button-down and a pair of slacks on to cover up the rather conspicuous when exposed machinery around his lower body, then on the way downstairs, he swung over to Vanessa's room and knocked on her door. "I'll have breakfast up in a few minutes," he called when she acknowledged him.
Finally in the kitchen, he slid a pre-filled bottle of milk from the fridge into a pot of hot water to warm. "Watch close, little guy... someday we'll make breakfast for Mommy together, but for now I have to do the work for us both," he whispered into the infant's ear as he tucked him into a high-chair before firing up the stove with a skillet to fry up some extra-lean bacon he'd gotten from his favorite meat market. Once the bacon was ready, he blotted the grease off with paper towels, and started to make some quick and easy ham-and-cheese scrambled eggs; this morning, it happened that what he had readily grated was cheddar and provolone, and he quickly chopped and threw in a slice's worth of Muenster, and while the eggs cooked he chopped up a few Yukon Gold potatoes for home-fries.
Soon enough, he had three trays worth of breakfast assembled, each with its recipient's favorite toast (he preferred English muffins with raisins, sourdough, or whole-wheat for himself depending on mood), coffee (they had two coffeemakers, one for everyone else's and the other for the overcaffeinated toxic-waste-like swill he preferred) and juice (he preferred grapefruit) and it was time to start moving things around. Gently, he held his son to him with one arm, bottle between them, picked up Paige's tray with the other and carefully made his way back upstairs, finding her sitting up and waiting. "Bon appetit, sweetheart... I just need to leave Clarklet here with you a minute while I get V's and my own," he noted.
His bride's younger sister--who he doted on almost as much as his children, both biological and mechanical, and their mother--met him at the stairs when he came back up with hers, and he gave her a quick pep-talk before proceeding to settle in for his own morning meal. No sooner were they finished and he had the dishes in the dishwasher than he heard a knock on the door...
"Aimee," he acknowledged as he let their guest and wedding planner in. "We just finished breakfast, but if you'd like I could throw some toast and scrambled eggs together to start your day in just a couple minutes. Bacon's already up if you'd like some, and there should be a couple oranges left. Regular and chocolate milk, and orange, apple, cranberry and grapefruit juices in the fridge, so help yourself... I'd offer coffee, but I think the girls already killed the pot I had on, and I doubt you'd like the stuff I brew for myself much." Somehow, by mistake, her brother had accidentally grabbed Clark's coffeepot at the office, and one swig of the stuff had had the elder Reid doing a scary impression of an Adderal high...
He had a sense that their little guy was going to need a diaper change and a bottle soon, and knowing young Miss Reid, she was going to be there to stir up her unique brand of trouble at the crack of dawn. BUT, for the moment there was a problem... as long as Paige was in blissful slumber, draped over him like she was imitating a blanket, he wasn't going anywhere, which any other time would be no problem at all--it actually was one of the best things about his life, having someone so trusting that she'd fall asleep in his arms even knowing what his record was... and the only time he'd been happier than when they were savoring the benefits of each other's affection had been when he held her in his arms as she gave birth to their little Clarklet.
But, at this moment, there was parenting business that'd need doing soon, and things to be done to prepare for their big day, and he couldn't see to what needed doing with her playing human-quilt on top of him. He locked lips with her, pulled her closer, and gently touched her mind with his own... Honey, we need to wake up--Aimee's going to be here in a few hours, and I need to get up and take care of Diaper Duty, he projected, sensing a little stir of her mind in response... then, she started to move a little, and he spoke. "Good morning, sleepyhead... feel like a little fun to get the blood flowing before we start our big day?"
Slowly, lazily. gently, they made love, careful to put as little strain on his damaged heart as possible while still reaching a satisfying conclusion; when they were done they rolled over together, their combined strength being needed to hold his ruined spine and bracing together through the process. "You just rest a little more, darling, I'll take care of the little guy and be back in a bit with breakfast," he said, planting a last parting kiss before he set to his chores, retrieving their little bundle of joy and a diaper from the nursery, changing him and disposing of the full bundle of UN-joy that came off. It's a dirty job, but SOMEBODY's gotta do it... if the one I love can handle all the kicking and the labor pains to bring my baby into the world, surely I can deal with this far less unpleasant chore so she doesn't have to. Didn't change the smell, though, so he sprayed a liberal amount of air-freshener over the diaper-disposal and the whole rest of the bathroom. Ahhh, MUCH better... he thought to himself, then soothingly whispered in their baby's ear. "My son, you have no idea how much easier life will get for all of us once you're potty-trained..."
He gently placed Clarklet next to Paige while he quickly threw a button-down and a pair of slacks on to cover up the rather conspicuous when exposed machinery around his lower body, then on the way downstairs, he swung over to Vanessa's room and knocked on her door. "I'll have breakfast up in a few minutes," he called when she acknowledged him.
Finally in the kitchen, he slid a pre-filled bottle of milk from the fridge into a pot of hot water to warm. "Watch close, little guy... someday we'll make breakfast for Mommy together, but for now I have to do the work for us both," he whispered into the infant's ear as he tucked him into a high-chair before firing up the stove with a skillet to fry up some extra-lean bacon he'd gotten from his favorite meat market. Once the bacon was ready, he blotted the grease off with paper towels, and started to make some quick and easy ham-and-cheese scrambled eggs; this morning, it happened that what he had readily grated was cheddar and provolone, and he quickly chopped and threw in a slice's worth of Muenster, and while the eggs cooked he chopped up a few Yukon Gold potatoes for home-fries.
Soon enough, he had three trays worth of breakfast assembled, each with its recipient's favorite toast (he preferred English muffins with raisins, sourdough, or whole-wheat for himself depending on mood), coffee (they had two coffeemakers, one for everyone else's and the other for the overcaffeinated toxic-waste-like swill he preferred) and juice (he preferred grapefruit) and it was time to start moving things around. Gently, he held his son to him with one arm, bottle between them, picked up Paige's tray with the other and carefully made his way back upstairs, finding her sitting up and waiting. "Bon appetit, sweetheart... I just need to leave Clarklet here with you a minute while I get V's and my own," he noted.
His bride's younger sister--who he doted on almost as much as his children, both biological and mechanical, and their mother--met him at the stairs when he came back up with hers, and he gave her a quick pep-talk before proceeding to settle in for his own morning meal. No sooner were they finished and he had the dishes in the dishwasher than he heard a knock on the door...
"Aimee," he acknowledged as he let their guest and wedding planner in. "We just finished breakfast, but if you'd like I could throw some toast and scrambled eggs together to start your day in just a couple minutes. Bacon's already up if you'd like some, and there should be a couple oranges left. Regular and chocolate milk, and orange, apple, cranberry and grapefruit juices in the fridge, so help yourself... I'd offer coffee, but I think the girls already killed the pot I had on, and I doubt you'd like the stuff I brew for myself much." Somehow, by mistake, her brother had accidentally grabbed Clark's coffeepot at the office, and one swig of the stuff had had the elder Reid doing a scary impression of an Adderal high...
