regency au } { of nap time and wandering toddlers

[impetere]

Cora: [so is reading Ben a story so he'll go down for his nap but may have accidentally fallen asleep herself ... in the middle of the story. Sorry Ben, newborns are rough on sleep schedules]

Ben: Mama? [and he will go to poke Cora to see if she will wake up]

Cora: [definitely very asleep, but mumbles as she's poked]

Ben: [well.... okay he's going to have to go find someone else to read him the rest of the story. So he will slide off the bed and go to toddle out into the castle to find daddy]

Laura: [and he'll come across his aunt instead] Ben, I thought you were going to take a nap?

Ben: Mama nap.

Laura: But you are not?

Ben: Didn't finish story.

Laura: I see. [and she will reach down to scoop him up so he doesn't get lost in the castle] Let's see if we can find your father.

Ben: [and he will giggle and cling to his aunt] Find dadda.

Laura: [and she will make her way through the hallways, poking her head in each of the rooms until she finds Stiles]

Stiles: [and he will be in their library where he has fallen asleep at his desk while trying to catch up on work]

Laura: [ah the joy of being new parents. Laura could wake him up, but instead she glances over to Ben] Did you bring your story with you, Ben?

Ben: [shakes his head] Mama has it.

Laura: Then let's go back and get it. I'll finish the story for you.

Ben: Okay!

Laura: [and off they go to gently retrieve the book from Cora and go curl up in one of the big comfy chairs and she'll start from the beginning since she doesn't know where Cora left off]

Ben: [and he will be happily curled up with his aunt, but interrupting her to make the animal noises]

Laura: [which she will happily let him do, and just keep reading until Ben is asleep]

Ben: [which he will do, a tiny curled up Stilinski sucking on his thumb]

Laura: [and she will take him off to his bed and tuck him in for his nap]

Ben: [and he will be down for the count]

Laura: [and she will just let all of them sleep as they are]

Cora: [and eventually Cora will wake up and panic when she can't find her son] Oh no. [and she'll make her way out into the hallways trying to find Ben]

Stiles: [and he has just roused himself and will be going to check on her when he enters the hallway]

Cora: Do you have Ben?

Stiles: No, I thought he was with you. [his eyes widen in alarm]

Cora: I fell asleep. When I woke up he was gone.

Stiles: He couldn't have gotten far.

Cora: [exhales slowly] Someone would have probably stopped him from leaving, we just have to figure out where they put him.

Stiles: Can you follow his scent? Perhaps that will show us where he has gone.

Cora: [oh right. she pauses, taking a deep breath to calm herself, and then searches out her son's scent, this being their area of the castle he's all over it, but the freshest one leads right back to his room, where he's still asleep?]

Ben: [sleeps like his daddy once he's actually out, so yup]

Cora: [and there's a sigh of relief as she sags against the doorframe]

Stiles: [and he will breathe a sigh of relief and come up behind her to rub her arm] He's okay

Cora: [sighs as she leans back into him] I can't believe I fell asleep.

Stiles: You have been tired, love. We have a newborn. Do not beat yourself up over this.

Cora: But I don't want him to feel like we're neglecting him.

Stiles: I don’t think he does.

Cora: I hope not. [but she'll back out slowly to let her son sleep and close the door to his room behind them]

Stiles: [and he will join her] If you're still tired, why don't you go back to rest. I can move my work to the sitting room so I can keep you from being disturbed.

Cora: No, Claudia will probably be up soon.

Stiles: Then I could sit with you while you feed her.

Cora: Are you sure? [that sounds like it might be awkward]

Stiles: I fell asleep on my desk so I think it's best I don't return there just yet.

Cora: Fair enough. [and she will take his hand to head back to their daughter's room]

Stiles: [and he will shift to sit on the couch, leaving room for Cora and Dina to join him]

Cora: [which she will, bringing a cloth with her as well to cover the baby while she feeds]

Stiles: [which she doesn't have to do while it's just them, but he won't tell Cora how to feed their child]

Cora: [look, it's something she's self conscious about, okay, because usually when her boobs are out in front of her husband it's a very different thing]

Stiles: [which is why he knows better than to say anything!]

Cora: [sorry, Stiles, your wife still has delicate sensibilities]

Stiles: [and he loves her just the way she is, delicate sensibilities and all]

Cora: Have you heard from your father, with regards to when he and Jody will be arriving?

Stiles: Yes. It will probably be in about a week or two from now, depending on the weather and the roads.

Cora: [she nods, leaning back against the couch as she does] Good. Hopefully the weather will be kind to them.

Stiles: I hope so, since they will have a cart full of their belongings this time.

Cora: Has the space been made ready for them?

Stiles: Yes. Lord Parrish introduced purchased a farmer's home after the farmer passed away. The widow was going to return to her family home in another town, so he arranged for it to be there. My father plans to repay Lord Parrish upon his arrival.

Cora: Good. I'm glad they'll be closer.

Stiles: Same here. And we gain another set of babysitters.

Cora: We do. Which hopefully will lead to more sleep.

Stiles: By God, I hope so.

Cora: I don't remember being this tired when Ben was a baby.

Stiles: That was because we didn't have a toddler with Ben as an infant.

Cora: But we were watching other toddlers?

Stiles: That we returned to their parents. But we are the parents here.

Cora: [she makes a face] At least Ben seems to be self-sufficient enough to be able to find help.

Stiles: That or there is enough people in the manor that a toddler can't make it far without being caught.

Cora: That too.

Stiles: [goes to gently caress his wife's cheek] I'm sure your brother's children have done this to him and Elena on occasion.

Cora: Perhaps. [she pauses for a moment as Claudia finishes, making sure her mouth is clean before turning to hand her to Stiles] Can you ... ?

Stiles: Of course. [and he will hold Claudia up at his shoulder, nuzzling her head with his cheek as he rubs her back.]

Cora: [and she will clean up herself and adjust her clothes so that she's back to looking presentable again]

Stiles: [and once he gets a tiny baby burb, he will shift to give Cora room to cuddle up with him while holding against his chest] I forgot how tiny they start out as.

Cora: [and she will go to shift and settle next to him comfortably] They grow quickly though.

Stiles: They do. [smiles at Claudia, then looks at Cora] How are you faring today?

Cora: Other than being tired? I'm fine. [there's always a drain that comes once the post-birth hormones wear off and she goes back to her normal balance that takes some adjusting but at least she was prepared for it this time]

Stiles: [he will chuckle and gently wrap an arm around her to keep her close] Okay. I just wanted to make sure in case there was anything I could do.

Cora: [she shakes her head as she gets comfortable] Just ... the usual rollercoaster.

Stiles: That I was expecting. I went back into my journals to remember what I had written about life after Ben was born to remind me.

Cora: [snorts lightly] So you could prepare yourself for your wife?

Stiles: So I could remember things I did to make your recovery easier.

Cora: To be honest I don't really remember much of it. I was very tired then too.

Stiles: I did not either. In fact, some of my handwriting was very illegible, and I think I fell asleep on my journal at least twice midsentence.

Cora: [she laughs] Probably true.

Stiles: But I do remember that we made a good team, and we survived. Those are the points that matter.

Cora: We did. And I'm sure we will survive this one as well.

Stiles: With a bit more knowledge this go around. And we will survive any more that follow.

Cora: [shakes her head as she closes her eyes] I am too tired to think about more right now.

Stiles: That's fine. You rest. That part is up to God's plan anyway.

Cora: Mmmmm. [and she is trying not to sleep again, but her husband is very comfortable]

Stiles: [and Claudia is already asleep against him so nope, he will just be pinned there by his ladies.]

Cora: [sorry, Stiles. Feel free to call out if you need help]

Stiles: [no, because he will probably find a way to tuck Claudia between them and then drift off himself.]

Cora: [a big family sleep pile, minus Ben who will probably wake up and be wandering the manor again]

Ben: [totally. because daddy would be in the stables so he's going to find his way to the horsies]

Kate: [and let's just say Peter and Kate are visiting, which means he gets stopped at the door by his aunt] Where are you heading?

Ben: Horsey!

Kate: All by yourself?

Ben: Mama nap time.

Kate: Where's your father?

Ben: Horsey!

Kate: No, he isn't, Ben. I was just there.

Ben: Horsey. [insistent]

Kate: [sighs, before reaching down to scoop him up so that he can go see for himself]

Ben: [and he will squeal because he's being held and he's going to bounce on her hip as they walk] Horsey Horsey.

Kate: [shakes her head and when they reach the stables, she'll open the door to show him] See? No father. Just horses.

Ben: Tour! [because there's Thor and he wants to see his daddy's horse now]

Kate: [and she will walk him over to Thor, as requested. She has regrets now that she's been snowed by a toddler]

Ben: Tour. Good Tour. [and he will lean over to pet the horse's nose]

Kate: [and Thor is a good horse and will take the little kid pets]

Ben: Cawet? [looks at Kate with Stilinski puppy eyes]

Kate: [look at him and shakes her head] I don't have any carrots.

Ben: No? [he looks at Thor] Abble?

Kate: No, I don't have that either.

Ben: [sniffles] No tweat for Tour.

Kate: I'm sorry kid, I didn't realize we were going to be staying.

Ben: [sniffles again, tears welling up]

Kate: Oh God. [and hoping for a werewolf in hearing range] Anyone with actual parenting skills out there?

Peter: [no, he's close enough to hear, but there are going to be a lot of little ones in the manor and she will need to learn to handle them a bit. He will rush in to rescue her if Ben gets to a full blown fit, but nope]

Ben: Tour needs a tweat. [tears welling up]

Kate: [you are a terrible husband, Peter. this is not helping] You know what, he already ate.

Ben: [sniffles loudly] Ate?

Kate: Yep. [and she'll start walking him out of the stables because out of sight out of mind right?] He had some oats and hay doesn't need a treat.

Ben: But Tour likes cawets.

Kate: Tell you what. When we find your dad, he can take you back to bring Thor a carrot later.

Ben: [sniffles and hugs into her neck] Okay. [but he's sad and she will feel the tears on her shirt]

Kate: [oh god, she reaches up and pats his back gently] Okay. [she hates everything about this]

Ben: [and nope, toddler meltdown is a go]

Kate: Okay, yeah, we're gonna go find your dad. [and back into the manor they go, someone save her]

Peter: [and he will come to intercept this time] Everything okay?

Kate: He was looking for Stiles and he insisted on seeing the horses, and it was fine at first, but then he wanted to feed the horse and I didn't have anything to feed the horse.

Peter: Here, give him to me.

Kate: [will happily hand him over as soon as it was requested]

Peter: [and he will bounce Ben, shushing him] Ben, we will go and give Thor a treat after he has his dinner, okay? He has to eat his dinner first, right?

Ben: [snuffs] like me?

Kate: Yes. Like you. [it's easier when she doesn't have to bear the weight of his tears]

Ben: Oh. [still snuggling into Peter]

Peter: [looks at Kate] We could go for a walk in the gardens while Thor eats. How about that?

Kate: [awkward pause for a moment before nodding] Sure.

Peter: [and it takes maybe five minutes before Ben wants to be put down and go chase a chipmunk through the garden]

Kate: [and Kate will actually relax a little more if Peter lets him do that]

Peter: You know, with the amount of children here, I thought you'd be used to them at this point.

Kate: Used to their existence, yes. But that doesn't necessarily translate to knowing how to deal with them on an emotional level.

Peter: It's not that much different then an adult. In fact, they are very straightforward in what they want, and easily distracted.

Kate: Well, my "come back later" approach clearly wasn't as well received as yours.

Peter: That's because I gave him something to do to distract him. [smiles]

Kate: [her eyes roll up a bit] Well, if you hadn't left me swinging for so long, we might have been able to avoid the whole scene entirely. [and yes, she knows what you did, he showed up way too fast for him to have not been close enough to hear earlier]

Peter: Mmhmm. Well, perhaps you should spend more time with the kids to develop these survival skills then.

Kate: I don't mind the older ones. [it's true, she's not bad with Malia, but for some reason older kids aren't as daunting]

Peter: Well, the older ones get to have their manners from the way they are treated as they are young.

Kate: I don't treat them badly!

Peter: I know you don't.

Kate: [that was the implication of that sentence, Peter] I'm just not Elena. I'm not naturally maternal.

Peter: That doesn't mean you can't learn to deal with kids. It's like learning a weapon, or an instrument. Takes time, exposure, and practice.

Kate: I'll work on it. [it's just complicated for her]

Peter: Until then, I will come to your rescue faster.

Kate: Thank you.

Ben: [and he will come running back to them, holding up a flower to Kate. Totally still has dirt and roots attached to it.] Fwower!

Kate: [see, a little dirt she doesn't mind. she reaches down to take it from him because that's why he's showing her, right?] Yes, thank you.

Ben: [smiles and holds his hands to be picked up as well]

Kate: [hesitates, before doing as requested for that too. it's basically just a "please like me child" kind of situation]

Ben: [and he will hug her and lean into her, resting his head on her shoulder.]

Kate: [and she'll just ... pat his back gently] Where are Stiles and Cora anyway?

Peter: Up in their sitting room. [tilts his head a moment] Sleeping.

Kate: Ah. Because he was determined to make it to the stables all on his own when I stopped him.

Peter: Well, this would be the time that Stiles would be down here checking on Thor and feeding him.

Kate: Ahh. So it wasn't just trying to sneak away when the parents aren't looking.

Peter: Probably not. He was probably looking for his father after leaving his room.

Kate: That's what I thought. Then we got sidetracked by the horse.

Peter: Well, let us take him back up to his parents.

Kate: [nods and goes to follow his lead]

Stiles: [and he will just be waking up as Peter knocks on the door] Yes?

Kate: We found something that belongs to you.

Stiles: [it takes a moment, and then he sighs and nudged Cora to shift so he can stand up, carefully cradling Claudia as he does so] I take it my son went wandering?

Kate: He was looking for you and thought you were in the stables.

Cora: [blinks and will sit up slowly, rubbing her eyes]

Stiles: [and he will open the door, gently rocking the infant as he looks at the Hales and his toddler son in Kate's arms] Thank you for retrieving him.

Kate: My pleasure. [and she will try to start to put Ben down so he can go back to his parents]

Ben: [and his face totally lit up seeing his parents, and when he is put down he is going to run right for Cora since she is alone on the couch and obviously needs her son] Mama!

Cora: [sighs and smiles as she scoops him up] Hello, sweetheart.

Ben: Mama you took nap.

Stiles: [to Kate and Peter] Thank you again.

Kate: No problem. [and she will lead Peter off to do other things so they could have some family time]

Cora: Yes, I was very tired. I'm sorry I didn't get to finish our story though.

Ben: Aunt Laura did!

Cora: [ah ha. so that's who put him down for a nap] That's good, I'm glad.

Stiles: You do know you're not supposed to wander around the manor alone, Ben.

Ben: [cuddles into Cora more]

Cora: He's right, Ben. You could have gotten hurt. [you're not getting out of this one that easily]

Ben: I wanted you. [sniffle]

Stiles: Yes, I know, but then you ask a nurse to bring you to us. You don't just go on your own. You could have gotten lost. Or hurt.

Cora: I know you found Aunt Kate and Uncle Peter, but you're too small to look for us on your own, alright? If you had gotten hurt, I would have been very sad. [and you don't want to make your mother sad, do you Ben?]

Ben: I sowwy.

Stiles: [sighs] Okay, I forgive you, but do not do it again.

Cora: [leans in and kisses the top of his head softly] We just want you to be safe. That's all.

Ben: I’m sowwy [and he is going to hide his face in Cora's shirt and cry]

Cora: [sighs and just holds him close, trying to soothe him. discipline is hard.]

Stiles: [shakes his head] We should get him a cow bell.

Cora: [and that earns him a look] We are not getting him a cowbell.

Stiles: A little bracelet of tiny bells?

Cora: He will play with them day and night and we will never have any peace.

Stiles: [and he will just sigh because child, really]

Cora: [you know he will! Cora reaches up and brushes her thumb against his face gently to wipe away some of the tears] But he will listen to us now, won't you Ben?

Ben: Uh huh.

Cora: Good boy. [and there's another kiss to the top of his head as she picks him up and shifts to get to her feet] Let's go wash your face and you'll feel better.

Stiles: I'll go put Claudia in her bassinet while you do that.

Cora: [nods] and she will take Ben and have him sit on the sink next to the basin of water, and go find a cloth so that she can clean his face]

Ben: [and he's trying to stop crying but he's sad because dad was upset]

Cora: [oh, kiddo. she gives him a sympathetic look as she wipes at his cheeks with the cool cloth] Your father just worries about you, Ben. He loves you very much. He's not angry.

Ben: I sowwy.

Cora: I know, love. I'm sorry we weren't paying more attention.

Stiles: We will not stop spending time with you, son. You just need to be patient.

Ben: [nods]

Cora: And if you can't find us, Aunt Elena's room is right next door. I'm sure she'd be happy to let you play with the girls while you wait.

Stiles: And you know your cousins will love to have you play with them.

Ben: Okay.

Cora: Someone has to be the prince after all.

Ben: I play the monster. [and he makes a monster face] RWAR!

Cora: [and she recoils a bit, a hand over her heart] What a scary monster.

Stiles: [chuckles at that] Very scary monster.

Cora: [and she'll wring out the cloth and scoop Ben up again] I'm sure you're just what they need for their game.

Ben: Can I go now?

Cora: Yes. [sets him down gently on his feet] Go play.

Ben: [and he will go run off to find his cousins]

Cora: [and she will sigh, before moving to sit on the couch again]

Stiles: I may spend some time with your brother to see how he learned to balance his time with the kids so that I don't make the same mistakes.

Cora: I think that would be good.

Stiles: But he will be okay. I'm sure of this.

Cora: I know he will. We're just trying to find balance.

Stiles: We will get there. It's not going to come overnight.

Cora: No. And he's growing up very quickly.

Stiles: Yes, he is.

Cora: [she has complicated feelings about that, and will just sit there very quietly]

Stiles: [which he will notice and go to sit next to her] Cora? What's on your mind?

Cora: [she shrugs] I both want him to grow up so I can worry less, and want him to stay young at the same time.

Stiles: [reaches over to take her hand and lift it to his lips to kiss it] No matter how old he gets, he will always be your baby boy.

Cora: I know.

Stiles: You just don't like watching the time move this fast either, do you?

Cora: [she shakes her head] Not at all. It seemed like it would be so much longer when it was someone else's child.

Stiles: It felt like it was much longer when it was your siblings children.

Cora: Now it's going too fast.

Stiles: I wish I knew how to slow time down, love. I just know we should just cherish what we have.

Cora: I intend to.

Stiles: And since right now we have a moment of silence... [he will lean in to kiss her]

Cora: [smiles softly into the kiss] I hope you're not expecting too much of this moment.

Stiles: No, I just want you to know I love you and cherish you.

Cora: I love you too.

Stiles: That's all I wanted. [but he will kiss her again]

Cora: [and she will kiss him back, staying there until they're interrupted]

Stiles: [which will probably come from a tiny baby crying because her butt is cold and squishy]

Cora: [sighs and she will get up to attend to the little crying baby]

Dina: [help me someoneeeeee]

Cora: [she's got you! it won't take long before she's clean, changed and dry and then being coaxed back to calm again]

Dina: [oh it's the mommy person. okay. it's okay Hi mommy.]

Cora: [Hi baby. she's got you]

Dina: [and she is going to try and grab at her shirt]

Cora: [and she'll let her, moving back to the couch again]

Dina: [and her fingers will grasp and ungrasp, trying to get used to moving]

Stiles: Hello, little one.

Cora: She's figuring things out, slowly but surely.

Dina: [and she will look over at the daddy person but she doesn't know you yet so she's going to wrinkle her face a bit]

Cora: She doesn't see that well yet.

Stiles: She also spent a lot of time inside of you. Your heartbeat and voice she recognizes. Not so much mine.

Cora: She'll get used to it. Just give her time.

Stiles: Contrary to our earlier observation, we do have all the time in the world.

Cora: Do we?

Stiles: I like to believe so.

Cora: Sometimes I wonder if we really do.

Stiles: We're given as much time as the good Lord believes we need.

Cora: I think I'll always find myself wanting more.

Stiles: I'm sure we both will, but I have faith that it will be the right amount.

Cora: I hope so.