spamalot } { of first steps and potential puppies

[impetere]

Ben: [is hanging out on the edge of the coffee table, toy in hand, banging it against the edge. He's gotten pretty good at standing as of late, but he has yet to actually walk]

Dina: [is doing her homework while kneeling on the floor, leaning over the other side of the table. She's totally watching her brother. Totally]

Ben: [bang bang bang whoops. the toy springs out of his hands and falls to the floor, rolling away towards the other side of the room, far from the table itself]

Dina: [looks up at the absence of noise, and then sighs and gets up to get the toy so he doesn't start crying]

Ben: [well, he wasn't going to. he does make a noise of protest, before just starting to tottle away from the table, tentatively putting one foot in front of the other as he goes in search of his toy]

Dina: [stops, watching him a moment before looking into the kitchen] Mom?

Cora: [is in the middle of cooking dinner and doesn't look up right away] Yeah, Dina?

Dina: Ben's walking.

Cora: [whirls around in surprise] What?

Dina: See? [points at him]

Ben: [and sure enough, there he is, tottling towards his goal]

Cora: [her face lights up, before she shouts towards the stairs and going to grab her phone] Stiles! [and then she glances back to her daughter] Dina, grab the toy.

Dina: Okay. [and she goes to get it, taking a few steps away from ben] Here Ben. Come get the toy...

Stiles: [is upstairs working when he hears his name. He slides off the bed and goes to the top of the stairs] Yes dear?

Ben: [watches as she takes it, confused, before adjusting course and turning to follow his sister]

Cora: Ben's walking.

Stiles: [and he will jog down the stairs, stopping to watch as his son moves, not wanting to distract him]

Ben: [totally moving after Dina as Cora records him on her phone putting one foot in front of the other with his hands outstretched to try and take it from her]

Dina: [grins and keeps moving, holding out the toy as she walks backwards towards Cora]

Ben: [step step step and eventually he leans a liiiiiiittle too far that has him teetering forward to drop to his knees and then he crawls after her with a grin]

Dina: [laughs and leans down to give him his toy] Good Ben. [and pets his head like a puppy]

Cora: [laughs as she stops as well, before going to sit down so that he could crawl into his mom's lap] Look at you, walking like a big boy.

Stiles: [comes up behind them both, ruffling Dina's head and giving her a kiss] Once again, you succeed at brother training.

Cora: [lifts a giggling Ben onto her hip as she starts to get to her feet] And now I gotta go finish dinner. You wanna help or are you going to drop that in the sauce again.

Stiles: Be careful. I'm not fond of giraffe in my dinner.

Dina: [wrinkles her nose] Me either.

Cora: Mmm-hmmm. [glances to Stiles] You want to take him while I finish up then?

Ben: [just making baby noises that are probably supposed to be giraffe noises]

Stiles: Sure. Dina and I can keep trying to teach him to speak next.

Dina: I have homework to do. You can train him. You're the daddy.

Cora: [laughs as she hands Ben off to Stiles] Good luck. We're out of baby treats.

Ben: [grins and waves his arms, hi daddy]

Stiles: Alright, kiddo, looks like it's you and me.

Dina: Can I do my homework in the kitchen, mommy?

Cora: Sure, sweetie.

Ben: [babbling noises as he taps his giraffe against his dad's face]

Stiles: Hey, hey no, I'm not a table. [leans his head back and goes to put Ben on his feet] Come on, son. Let's try that walking again.

Ben: [feels his feet hit the floor as he bounces a bit glancing up at his dad like "what are we doing"]

Stiles: Alright, Benny, show me where to go. Walkies.

Ben: [just looks back at the giraffe in his hand and shakes it up and down, staying on his feet but not really moving]

Stiles: [thinks, and then takes the giraffe and tosses it a few feet away] Fetch.

Ben: [there's a small noise of protest before he will do as expected, starting to tottle towards the giraffe]

Stiles: Good Benny. [and he will follow after] Hey Cora, we should send that video to your mom.

Cora: [glances back to where the phone is resting on the counter] Hey, Dina, want to send that video to Grandma? I've got my hands full here.

Dina: Ok. [and she will take the phone, and start texting grandma Hale] Hi grandma its Dina how are you I miss you.

Talia: [smiles as she texts back] Hi, Dina, I'm fine. I miss you too.

Dina: Mom wants me to send you a video. Ben was walking. [attachment - video]

Talia: [and then she grins as she watches the video, sharing it with Thomas as well] That's great! He's getting so big.

Dina: He's not a puppy, but he's ok.

Talia: You know, I'm sure your mother wouldn't mind having an actual puppy.

Dina: I do want one. He can sleep in bed with me.

Talia: Maybe you should ask.

Dina: [thinks, and then looks up] Mommy, can I have a puppy?

Cora: [blinks, before glancing over to Stiles and raising her eyebrows at him] I don't know. It's something we'd have to talk about with your dad and Lydia and Jordan.

Dina: I would take care of him and feed him and take him for walks.

Stiles: We will talk.

Cora: We'll talk about it at dinner.

Dina: But it's not a no?

Cora: Nope. Not a no.

Dina: [text] They didn't say no.

Talia: See? Let me know when they decide.

Dina: Yes. Love you grandma.

Talia: Love you too, sweetheart.

Dina: [grins and puts the phone back down and goes back to doing her homework]

Cora: [shakes her head. she's going to have to have words with her mother, not that she minds]

Stiles: [blinks] I think it's daddy diaper duty. We'll be right back.

Cora: [smirks a bit, waiting until Stiles is out of earshot] Let me guess - the puppy was Grandma's idea?

Dina: No, I asked. She said you wouldn't mind if I asked.

Cora: Okay, good. I wasn't sure if she was getting all meddle-y.

Dina: Nope. I want a puppy.

Cora: Good. Because I like puppies too.

Dina: Me too. And I promise I will take good care of him.

Cora: I know you will.

Dina: Do you think Aunt Lydia and Uncle Parrish will say no?

Cora: I don't think Lydia will - she had a dog when we were in high school. I don't know about Jordan, though.

Dina: I will flash my princess eyes at him.

Cora: Good plan.

Dina: Do you think Daddy will say yes?

Cora: I ... I don't know.

Dina: Should I flash my princess eyes at him too?

Cora: I just don't think your dad has ever had a pet before.

Dina: He had a snake when he was a kid. He told me he used to feed it mice. [wrinkles his nose] Daddy was a weird kid.

Cora: [laughs] Yes, he was.

Dina: I'm way more normal than him.

Cora: Weirdness isn't a bad thing.

Dina: I know. Weird people can be fun.

Cora: Yes. And it's not wrong for you to embrace your weirdness.

Dina: But I'm not weird.

Cora: We're all a little weird.

Dina: I'm the normal person in a weird family.

Cora: [she laughs] That so?

Dina: Yup.

Cora: Well, let's see how long you hang on to that normalcy.

Dina: [grins] Okay.

Cora: Better go see what's keeping your dad. It's time for dinner.

Dina: Do you want me to go?

Cora: [she nods] And knock on Aunt Lydia's door too. Jordan should be home soon.

Dina: [and she will go off to get Aunt Lydia first because it's Aunt Lydia. And she will be good and knocked on her door] Aunt Lyd-ee-ah!

Lydia: [looks up from her work] Yes, Dina?

Dina: Dinner time!

Lydia: Okay, I'll be down in a second.

Dina: Okay. [and there will be thunder on the steps as she runs down one set and back over to find her Dad and Ben. Stiles is changing his shirt while Ben is sitting on the bed] Daddy, you okay?

Stiles: Yeah, just had a little problem with a fire hose.

Ben: [giggling and clapping from his place on the bed]

Dina: Why are you playing with a fire hose? You were supposed to be changing Ben's diaper.

Stiles: [rubs at his eyes] It's just an expression, honey. Come on, let's go eat dinner.

Ben: [And wheeeeee as he gets picked up again to go downstairs for dinner]

Parrish: [and five minutes late, in comes the deputy looking exhausted]

Lydia: [glances up with a sympathetic look] Long day?

Parrish: Yeah. Not all that fun either.

Lydia: I'm sorry. Hungry?

Parrish: Not really. I think I'm just going to take a long shower. But save me a plate?

Lydia: Yeah, sure.

Cora: [pauses for a moment] When you're feeling better, can we talk to you about something? Nothing huge so don't stress out about it.

Dina: I want to get a puppy! [and she will kneel on her chair and flash her brightest smile at him]

Parrish: [confused] A puppy?

Cora: Only if everyone is okay with it, but she's getting to that age where it might be good for some responsibility.

Stiles: Plus if Ben keeps walking, she won't be able to walk him and pet him anymore.

Lydia: So really this is more about getting her to treat her brother like a person?

Stiles: Kinda.

Dina: But he does tricks!

Cora: But this is only going to happen if all of the adults are fine with having a dog around.

Parrish: Well, I guess it comes down to what kind of dog.

Dina: Bob!

Cora: Bob was my sister-in-law's Rottweiler. If we're getting one as a puppy, they should be fairly gentle.

Stiles: Bob was a good dog. I don't have a problem with that.

Parrish: Could always talk to sheriff about getting a K9 unit.

Cora: Would that mean he belongs more to the department than he does to us?

Parrish: No, usually the dog's partner is also it's master.

Cora: Well, we'll see. I think we'd want it to be Dina's dog.

Dina: I could be a K9 cop in training!

Cora: [she laughs] Maybe. We'll have to talk to your grandpa.

Stiles: Grandpa will love that, let's be real.

Cora: Probably, yes.

Parrish: Totally. So, can I go shower then?

Cora: Yes, go ahead.

Parrish: [and he will wave and pick up his gun belt again and head upstairs to their room]

Lydia: [and they will have a nice dinner before she will make her way upstairs with his plate]

Parrish: [and he will be sitting on the bed, shirt off. He's just freshly bandaged a knife wound on his stomach when she walks in] It's not that bad...

Lydia: [she makes a face at him because that's still not something she likes to see] Not that bad?

Parrish: It's healing. I was stopping for gas at the same time there was a robbery and things got a bit...stabby.

Lydia: [sighs as she makes her way closer] You really need to stop throwing yourself in front of sharp, pointy objects.

Parrish: In my defense, I didn't know he had one.

Lydia: I figured. [hands him the plate] You should eat something.

Parrish: [he will take the plate, grateful] I knew if I sat at the table, I'd have a hard time sitting and I didn't want them worrying.

Lydia: [nods] I understand.

Parrish: So how was your day?

Lydia: Uneventful. Just getting ready to start up classes again.

Parrish: You need to get more excitement in your day to day routine.

Lydia: I'll settle for just going back to work.

Parrish: [chuckles and eats a bit]

Lydia: [moves to sit next to him with a sigh] I've never actually had a big dog.

Parrish: They're just like smaller dogs. They just take up more room and weigh more.

Lydia: [she nods] I know. But my dog when I was growing up was a Pomeranian. I named him Prada.

Parrish: Did you carry her around in your handbag?

Lydia: Him and no. He didn't have the patience for it, and I wasn't one of those kinds of girls.

Parrish: I was going to say I'd have to worry if you were. [grins] I can imagine you with a Pomeranian though.

Lydia: He was a good dog. I had to put him down not long after I started college.

Parrish: I'm sorry.

Lydia: He had a good long life. It was his time.

Parrish: Well, you could always convince Dina to get a smaller dog. She probably doesn't know about all the different types.

Lydia: [shakes her head] It's her dog. She should get the kind she wants. It'll make it easier to bond that way.

Parrish: Well, knowing them they will take her to the pound, end up playing with half the dogs and then have to convince her she can only have one.

Lydia: [she laughs] Honestly, it's the only way to pick a dog.

Parrish: Should I be ready for a puffball of our own one day?

Lydia: Maybe. If we get to that point. [it might be a nice substitute for children]

Parrish: [the if makes him pause in his chewing a moment, and then he nods] Okay.

Lydia: [she glances back to him for a moment, because she heard that pause] A lot can happen between now and then. And I don't just mean between us. [she's in it. she's been in it for a while. but it's hard to focus on the longevity of their relationship when she knows how dangerous Beacon Hills is and her boyfriend keeps getting shot and stabbed]

Parrish: Yeah, I know. [but he's going to focus on his food a bit]

Lydia: [and she will sigh, before leaning back against the bed and stare up at the ceiling]

Parrish: [and he will finish his plate] I'm going to take this downstairs.

Lydia: [nods] I'll be here.

Parrish: [and he's going to wander downstairs quietly, hoping no one is around at this point...]

Cora: [not a whole lot of people, because Stiles is upstairs working again and Dina is watching TV, but Cora is hanging out in the kitchen and trying to coax Ben to sleep]

Parrish: Hey, sorry didn't mean to interrupt. Just bringing my plate down.

Cora: [she shakes her head] No, it's okay. He's almost asleep anyway.

Parrish: So what was the final decision? [he nodded his head towards Dina]

Cora: We're gonna head to the local rescue this weekend and see if there's any dogs that she clicks with.

Parrish: I think Lydia would be more comfortable with a small dog. She hasn't really had experience with big dogs from what I gather.

Cora: [she nods] We'll see. I think we're aiming for medium, to be honest. More hounds and terriers.

Parrish: Well, good luck.

Cora: We'll see. And if anything, she wants a puppy, so the dog will start small.

Parrish: True.

Cora: [she nods as she continues to rock Ben in her arms, watching him for a moment before:] Everything okay?

Parrish: Yeah, totally. [not. so failed that bluff role]

Cora: [and she's just going to keep watching him expectantly, waiting for him to crack]

Parrish: [sighs] Just a long day.

Cora: [nods a bit] Anything you want to talk about?

Parrish: [looks up the stairs a moment, then shakes his head] Not right now.

Cora: Okay. Well, if you feel like it later, I'll be up grading papers for a while.

Parrish: I'll think about it.

Cora: Okay. [and since Ben is basically out cold against her shoulder] I better get him upstairs.

Parrish: [reaches over to pet his head gently] Night kiddo.

Cora: [smiles as Ben sniffles at the touch, before she leaves the kitchen to head upstairs]

Parrish: [and he will go over and talk with Dina a bit about puppies as she's watching the animal channel, and then go back upstairs]

Lydia: [and she's gone back to work on her thesis, typing away at her laptop and she looks up when he comes in] Hey.

Parrish: Hey. Working on your thesis?

Lydia: [she looks up and nods] Yeah. Making some progress.

Parrish: Good. I don't want to disturb you so I may go downstairs and watch TV for a bit.

Lydia: [she considers, before shrugging] Okay. I don't mind if you stay.

Parrish: Not really feeling up to playing on my computer tonight.

Lydia: [she nods] Okay. Let me know if there's anything good.

Parrish: I will. [and he will go back downstairs with his phone, sitting on the loveseat and watching TV with Dina silently]

Cora: [and eventually Dina will go to bed, but Cora's still curled up in one of the armchairs, grading chemistry tests]

Parrish: [after a while] Cora, what would you have done if Stiles told you he didn't want to have any more kids when you two started dating again?

Cora: [she glances up at him for a moment, and considers for a moment] Well ... honestly, I love Dina. And being with Stiles is more important to me than the potential children I could have with someone else. I'm not saying it wouldn't suck, but ... Stiles was always it for me. I could live with it.

Parrish: What if... what if when he came back, he never wanted to talk about the future between you. If he was too afraid to think of anything more than a few months ahead.

Cora: [she smiles softly] He was, for a while. A lot of things were really ... tentative at first.

Parrish: How did he get more focused on the future?

Cora: Time. The more distance he got from the divorce, the better things got.

Parrish: What if it's something he couldn't distance himself from?

Cora: Then I think we have to stop speaking in metaphors, because I don't think how I helped Stiles is going to help you and Lydia.

Parrish: [sighs deeply] I love her, Cora, I do... but she just doesn't seem to want to think about a future. And I am happy... but I want more and anytime I try to test the waters it's like I can't even find the edge

Cora: Probably because every time she tries to start considering her future, the rug gets pulled out from under her. Not just with you, but with her life as a rule.

Parrish: I get that, but at the same time... I just want to know there's a future beyond this.

Cora: I don't think she intends to leave you. Lydia also used to be the girl with a very clear plan in mind. She was going to marry well, win a Field's medal ... she had goals and priorities and then she started finding dead people and had psychopath alphas stalking her.

Parrish: And now she won't even think about getting a dog.

Cora: [her brow furrows] Is that what she said?

Parrish: She said 'if we get to that point'.

Cora: That's not necessarily a bad thing, is it?

Parrish: And then "a lot can happen between now and then and I don't just mean between us."

Cora: Okay. Given that we do leave in Beacon Hills, that's not an invalid concern. Especially considering you do seem to get hurt on the job a lot. [she could smell the blood and the sulfur when you came in Jordan] But I also think that isn't the denial you think it is.

Parrish: Yeah, I get hurt. But from what I've been told, there's only a few ways I can die. She worries too much about me. I just want to feel that there's a direction we're heading.

Cora: Yeah, but throwing yourself head first into danger all the time isn't helping reassure her that you actually care about your own well-being in terms of her. You do realize that at the beginning of your relationship she already thought you died once. The way you handle things tends to leave her bracing for the worst. And yeah, I know that's part of your job, but if you want a stronger commitment from her, maybe you should show that you're willing to consider her feelings about stuff too.

Parrish: I do consider it! But I can't control what the sheriff sends me on as calls. I try to control the situations, but it's not always possible. And I'm sorry, but if someone is in trouble and it's me verses them as to who's taking the bullet - I'm the one who can heal from it. I'm not going to let people get hurt because I'm playing it safe.

Cora: No, I understand that. I do. [sighs because she's not explaining this right] But if she's worried about your well-being, that means she does want a future with you. Otherwise she wouldn't care.

Parrish: I care and worry about people all the time. Doesn't mean I want to marry them.

Cora: Well, Lydia isn't wired the same way.

Parrish: Yeah, I've noticed.

Cora: She doesn't really have a lot of people who get her. And she's not the type to bide her time waiting for something better.

Parrish: I get that too. I just don't know if her idea of the future and mine are the same.

Cora: Then why don't you ask her?

Parrish: Because I don't think I'm going to like the answer.

Cora: Then isn't it better to know now before things get worse?

Parrish: I promised her I wouldn't hurt her again.

Cora: See, that's the thing. Dragging things out when you both want different things isn't going to save you or her any pain.

Parrish: [he just sighs and leans back against the arm of the couch more] Maybe

Cora: For what it's worth, I don't think you're on different paths, here.

Parrish: It just feels like we are.

Cora: How do you know if you haven't talked to her about it?

Parrish: My gut.

Cora: Well, I think your gut is wrong.

Parrish: That so?

Cora: But you're never going to know for sure unless you actually talk to her.

Parrish: You've said that a few times now.

Cora: [she nods] I know Lydia, but I can't read her mind.

Parrish: Probably a good idea no one can.

Cora: [nods her agreement]

Parrish: I'll figure out how to bring it up.

Cora: Good. Anything else you wanna talk about?

Parrish: Not really.

Cora: [she nods] Okay. [and she'll go back to grading papers]

Parrish: [and he is going to drift off a bit right there]

Cora: [and when she's finished she'll gather her paperwork and go to wake him up gently]

Parrish: [stirs and looks up at her] Wha?

Cora: You fell asleep. It's late, you should go to bed.

Parrish: Oh. [yawns and stretches] Yeah. I'll head up. Night.

Cora: Night. [and she'll head up to put her own nerd to bed, who is probably already sleeping]

Stiles: [yup, with Ben. Snoring]

Cora: [and Ben goes into his bed before she goes to wake up her husband with a kiss]

Stiles: [mmmm] Ben, you kiss just like your mommy.

Cora: [she laughs] Not quite.

Stiles: [opens his eyes] Good, because that would be very awkward.

Cora: Yes, it would.

Stiles: [wakes up a bit more, and then looks around because] Oh god where's the baby?

Cora: [she laughs again] I put him to bed.

Stiles: Oh, good plan.

Cora: I thought so. You should get ready for bed.

Stiles: I'm already in bed.

Cora: All comfy already?

Stiles: Uh huh. Just cold. My werewolf heater is not in bed yet.

Cora: Gimme a minute, and I'll join you.

Stiles: Okay. [but let's face it, he's going to probably be asleep again by the time she gets there.]