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[shadowchaser.livejournal.com]

Who: Amy, Jalen, the Kelloggs (And a dead-to-the-world dog snoozing in front of the stove)
What: The men are building a crib, run away!
Where: The Kellogg's apartment, Heatherfield
When: Monday, October 12th
Status: Complete



Amy dunked her cookie into her milk, listening to the soothing patter of the rain against the windows. Her gran was sitting across from her at the kitchen table, rearranging some of the cookies on the plate between them. It had been raining for two days; first a violent storm, followed by almost continuous showers. The women had gone shopping during a lull, returning with a crib and a few stuffed animals for Eli. Jalen and Tim were in Amy's room, attempting to put the bed together. She'd volunteered her help (She was used to doing stuff like this, after all), but her granddad had waved her off with a smile, telling her that she was doing enough work as it was.

Done with her fiddling, Addy simply relaxed and watched her granddaughter. It was so good to have her and Jalen here, safe and happy. And with a baby on the way! Addy couldn't have been happier. Several pieces of wood suddenly clattered to the floor on the other side of the wall, and she sighed. Well, maybe if the men weren't making such a ruckus building that crib...

Amy caught her expression and grinned. "You wait, I'll have to do it myself. One of them'll end up losing a finger or something."

"Heaven forbid, sweetheart. I've barely managed to survive sixty years of marriage, what with your grandfather carrying on about the state of the world. A missing limb would be the end of me."

Amy laughed, settling herself more comfortably. "He's not that bad."

The old woman waved a finger at her in a gesture of admonishment. "Now, you weren't around when he was young. Timothy Kellogg was the finest catch a girl could make, and I was lucky to get him, but could he go on when things didn't suit him...though I've managed to calm him down a bit."

"Kinda like Jalen sometimes." Amy glanced toward the bedroom. She could just see her husband around the half-open door, staring at the directions with a confused expression.

"Everything okay in there?"

Jalen's response was short and to the point. He whapped himself in the face with the booklet before reaching over to shut the door. Amy cackled softly to herself before shifting her attention back.

"I hope we'll be as happy as you guys."

"It takes some work, no doubt about that, but if the two of you love each other..." Addy trailed off, smiling knowingly.

With a happy sigh, Amy began picking the chocolate chips out of the remainder of her cookie. They were promptly dropped into her glass. Chocolate milk, yum.

"Yeah, no problem there. It's like...I've never felt like this about anybody before. I mean, I had this one boyfriend ages ago that I thought I was in love with, but Jalen...it's so much deeper than that. I can't really explain it."

"Then don't try, dear heart. Sometimes the best things in life are meant to be mysteries."


* * *


Tim held up a spring, looked it over, then frowned at it. "This doesn't look anythin' like that picture. Are we sure they packed the right parts?"

Jalen squinted at the small print, then made a sound of disgust as he dropped the booklet. "The numbers are the same. Can't we just-" He gestured to the scattering of parts in front of them. Tossing the whole mess out the window was beginning to appeal to him.

"When I was young," Tim announced, setting the piece down, "People needed a crib, they damn well built their own. None of these newfangled bits of metal and instructions in Swahili or some such."

Jalen suppressed a laugh, eyeing the frame they'd propped against the wall. "Some things shouldn't change," He commented instead, reaching out to touch the dark wood. His fingers brushed over the curves of the spindles. So different from the cradle he'd crafted for Lucan, that had later been passed on to his brothers.

"Somethin' on your mind, boy?"

Jalen let his hand fall, shaking his head. "Just memories. Nothing very important now."

"Ha!" Tim reached out, clapping his grandson-in-law on the shoulder. "All memories are important. They can hurt, true, but they can keep you company, and they can also keep you from makin' a fool out of yourself the same way twice. If you're payin' attention, that is."


* * *


Amy remained at the table, absently drawing on the wood with her finger while her gran washed the dishes. She'd filled the other woman in on the current state of affairs - at least, what little she knew - but she'd skipped over anything to do with Josiah and Calum. For one, even thinking about Calum still gave her shivers; the rest had to do with the fact that her grandparents were in their eighties. They'd done remarkably well dealing with everything else she'd thrown at them, but she hadn't even told them the whole story about Jalen, for Pete's sake. She didn't want to give them heart attacks. But...maybe she wasn't giving them enough credit.

"Gran-"

She was interrupted by a thud from the bedroom, followed by her granddad's voice raised in pain.

"Damn son of a fuggergibbon-"

"Oh! Tim!" Startled, Addy nearly dropped a glass into the sink. Amy was torn between laughing or rushing off to make sure he was okay. She waited until her gran had flown off, then followed her. A few moments later she was greeted by the sight of her granddad sucking on his thumb while Jalen held the hammer.

I almost don't want to ask.

"Jalen, please tell me you didn't whack granddad with that."

Tim pulled his thumb free and inspected it, wincing. "Nah, it wasn't the boy's fault. He picked it up after the fact." He got to his feet, trying to brush off his wife as she fussed over him. Giggling, Amy stepped aside so they could get some ice, then took a seat on the foot of her bed.

"We're gonna be like them someday, you know."

Jalen regarded her with all the innocence he could muster.

"You mean we aren't already?"

"Cute. Why'd you guys even use the hammer? Doesn't the box say, 'No tools required'?"

He scowled. "Trust me, they lied. So, I take it you've been waiting for this moment?"

"Oh sure, with breathless anticipation."

Jalen smirked at her. "I thought that was reserved for other activities."

"...Shut up and give me the instructions."