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pareidoliaonthemove · 1 year ago

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Lee Taylor's First Time Babysitting

Lucille Tracy was still not convinced. “Jeff, are you sure about this?”

Jeff smiled reassuringly. “Very. We’ve got to leave town for the day – a very long, very boring day – so you can get the next lot of scans for the baby. Mom has her hands full looking after Pa, and your parents couldn’t get away from the Ranch. We can’t take Scott, he’s too young, and, um …”

“Hyperactive?” Lucy raised an eyebrow.

“Excitable,” Jeff decided, “to be spend the day in the hospital with us. Lee was visiting anyway, and he is Scott’s godfather …”

“Who requires every bit as much adult supervision as the two year old we’re asking him to supervise.”

Jeff frowned. “That’s not fair, Luce. Lee …”

She sighed. “I know.” She met his gaze. “It’s only one day, right? And as he keeps reminding us, the Space Agency trusts him with their multi-billion dollar equipment, so we can trust him with Scott?”

Jeff kissed her on the forehead. “Exactly right, on both counts.”

Lee Taylor was miffed.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to look after his two-year-old godson, and it wasn’t that he wanted to look after his two-year-old godson – kids had never been his thing; but his best friend’s wife was giving the impression that she didn’t trust Lee with the boy.

For goodness sakes, the Space Agency trusted him with multi-billion dollar it, didn’t they? (Not on your own, they don’t, a traitorous little voice whispered. Lee resolutely ignored it.)

Jeff trusted him with his life, surely his wife could trust him with their son?

Captain Lee Taylor was a fully trained astronaut, with five moon missions, and one Mars landing under his belt. Captain Lee Taylor could handle a two-year-old boy. No problems. Easy peasy, light and breezy!

Captain Lee Taylor was a fully trained astronaut, with five moon missions and one Mars landing under his belt. Captain Lee Taylor was not qualified to deal with a two-year-old boy. I’m an astronaut, get me out of here!

It had started off well enough, wave bye-bye to Jeff and Lucy, watch as the boy climbed the tree in the backyard – “Are you allowed to climb that tree?” “I am if you say I am, Uncle Lee.” (He wasn’t too sure about that decision, he had a feeling Lucy wouldn’t allow it, but the kid was fine.)

A snack, reading a book about airplanes, that morphed into a storytelling session about Jeff flying in his plane, bright blue eyes stared up adoringly as he listened to stories of his Daddy’s adventures. (And, maybe, he shouldn’t have been quite so honest about Jeff’s time in combat? But the kid loved it.)

But it had fallen apart after that. Inspired by the stories, Lee had been roped into an energetic game of ‘fighter pilot’, where Lee was the “boogie” to the boy’s Jeff. Lee had to ‘fly’ and try to avoid the little boy chasing him. At the shrill shriek of “Direct hit!” Lee had to fall down, before he was allowed up to play the part of another “boogie”. After three hours, Lee was exhausted.

And the kid was hungry. So Lee found the (premade? Lee could handle making sandwiches, for heavens sake!) sandwiches in the fringe, and poured juice into a large glass. The biggest he could find, don’t want the boy to get dehydrated. That the large heavy glass tumbler wasn’t suitable for little hands was a retroactive thought, after it smashed on the ground. But that was okay, just a broken glass and spilled juice. No blood, no foul. Lee found another – plastic – tumbler and replenished the boy’s drink, before cleaning up the mess.

Lee had a thought that kids should sleep after eating, need time to let the food settle, right? But he was having none of it, wanting instead to return to playing ‘fighter pilot’. Lee couldn’t face another round of that, so he compromised with some tv time. Managing to find an old kids movie he remembered that should meet the boy’s approval, they both settled on the lounge, as onscreen Dusty Crophopper chased his dream of flying around the world.

Only for Lee to wake abruptly some time later alerted by some weird sixth sense, just in time to catch the boy as he launched off the top of the bookcase – and how the sam hill had he got up there? A frantic examination proved the kid was fine, albeit disappointed by his failure to ‘fly’. So Lee took him out to the tyre swing so he could ‘fly’ there.

It was an unknowable time later, growing dark and Lee’s back and arms were burning with exertion when Jeff and Lucy arrived home, take away Chinese in hand, only to laugh at Lee’s exhaustion, and the kid’s excitement.

Dinner was a quiet affair, as Jeff and Lucy – mainly Lucy – interrogated them on their day. Jeff quietly amused and Lucy exasperated as the story of broken glass came out, and horrified at the ‘bookcase incident’. Lee had been hoping that they could keep that to themselves.

And yes, he had been conned. The tree was strictly off limits.

Lee hoped to make a quiet escape to his guest room, but the kid wasn’t having any of that. Apparently the little monster had decided that since he was spending the day with him, that was the whole day. 24 hours.

Lee wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but somehow he ended up agreeing to sleep on a camp bed in the kids room. The operative word was ‘sleep’, right? The boy would sleep. Lee sure would. Somehow exploring new worlds was less exhausting than babysitting one two-year-old.

Jeff smirked as Lee was dragged up to the kids room, for a round of bedtime stories, and “G’night, Uncle Lee.”

Lee glared as Jeff smirked at him as he checked they were both safely tucked up in bed, before turning off the light.

Lee was going to get his best friend for this.

Small sharp fingers clamped onto his eyelid and pulled, painfully, forcibly, opening his left eye, and startling Lee into wakefulness.

Bright blue eyes peered into Lee’s sole open one. “Is you awake, my Uncle Lee?”

“I am now,” he grumbled, feeling his back complain about the camp bed he had slept – too briefly – on last night.

The little boy clapped happily, before grabbing his upper arm and trying to pull him upright. “Up!”

Lee resisted. “Too early, kid. Go back to bed.”

His best friend’s son bounced – bounced! – onto the bed and then onto his chest, driving all the air from his body. “The sun’s awake, so we’re awake. It’s time to play, so let’s all go Outside today!” He sang gleefully, bouncing in time to the tune.

Lee managed to catch him in the air, and rolling half over, deposited the boy on the floor beside the bed. He stared at the little boy, who was practically vibrating in excitement.

“You like this every day?” Lee demanded.

The boy bounced on his toes. “Yep!”

Lee swore under his breath. No wonder Jeff and Lucy were so darn tired. He eyed the blue-eyed menace in front of him. “Alright,” he muttered. “But we gotta let your Mom and Dad sleep, okay?”

He bounced again. “Okay!”

Lee dragged his protesting body out of the camp bed. Every morning. Darned if he knew why Jeff and Lucy wanted another one after this.

Jeff Tracy woke when the sun managed to find the exact right spot to shine through the gap in the curtains, and hit his face.

He lay still half asleep in bed, and wrestled with the fact that something felt wrong.

Very wrong.

The house was silent, he couldn’t hear anything except Lucy snuffling – not snoring. Never snoring. His wife DID NOTsnore! (He had learned that fact the hard way.) So there was no break in, and Scott …

Scott.

Scott, who hadn’t let his parents sleep past sunrise pretty much since the day he was born. Scott, the solar-activated ball of hyper-energy that should have bounced his parents awake the second the sun’s first rays hit the horizon. Scott, who should have been nyrooom-ing his thundering way up and down the hall and stairs.

The house was silent.

The house was still.

Scott!

Jeff was awake in a flood of adrenaline, launching himself off the bed towards the door, and running towards his son’s room.

The bed was unmade, and Scott was gone.

In a blind panic, Jeff rushed toward the bed, and ended up sprawled across the floor.

He turned, and sagged with relief. He had tripped over a discarded blanket, kicked aside from the bed camp bed that had been made up for Lee after Scott had insisted that ‘Uncle Lee’ have a sleepover with him.

Jeff took a moment to calm his breathing and heartbeat. Lee. Scott waking would have woken Lee; and Lee, knowing how tired he and Lucy were, had taken the boy off to play so they could sleep.

Thank god for Lee.

He had just about regained his composure when Lucy rounded the door. “Jeff?” She was still groggy from sleep, having been woken by his mad dash for the door. “What is it?”

Jeff got up from the floor. “I woke up,” he admitted, sheepishly. “And I panicked when I realised how late it was.”

“Huh?”

Jeff huffed, “Fine. I’m not used to being able to sleep so late. I freaked when I realised Scott hadn’t woken us, and I couldn’t hear him. Scott must have woke Lee first, and Lee took him out to play so we could sleep.”

Lucy stared, still uncomprehending, then shook her head. “Coffee. I need coffee. I can’t logic without coffee.”

Jeff grinned. “I’ll put the kettle on.”

He went downstairs, as Lucy went to take care of ‘the necessities’. And glanced as he filled the kettle, looked out the window.

The backyard was deserted.

Come to that, he couldn’t hear anything from outside, either. Scott wasn’t by nature quiet, and Lee, well, his lack of volume control was yet another side effect of that disastrous training exercise.

Jeff frowned as went to check the front yard. It too was deserted, but Lee’s rental car was missing.

Okay, so Lee had taken Scott somewhere to play so he wouldn’t disturb them. Nothing to worry about. Jeff spent the next ten minutes looking for a note explaining where they had gone.

Nothing.

No note. No car. No Lee. No Scott.

Lucy wandered down the stairs, and was a little put out to find the coffee unmade. She sighed as Jeff explained the situation. “Jeff, did you think to call Lee? You know, let him know the coast is clear to come back?”

Jeff grimaced guiltily, and went to the phone. He dialled from memory, and was rewarded by the sound of an obnoxious ringtone. It was some god-awful pop song that ‘celebrated’ the first manned landing on Mars, and Jeff hated it, so naturally Lee had chosen it as the ringtone for Jeff’s numbers.

Lucy picked up Lee’s phone and rejected the call, silencing the offending ring tone. They both stared at the device. “Trust Lee to forget his phone,” Lucy said, but her voice was worried.

“Yeah, just like him.” Jeff bit his lip. “Luce, I’ll take the car, and go find them. I’ll bring breakfast home, yeah? From the bakery? You give them a call, and tell them I’ll collect it when I’ve found Lee, they might even know where they are.”

“Lee pays,” Lucy said. “Payback for scaring us silly.”

Jeff grinned. “Fine. Lee pays.”

He was halfway down the road when Lucy called. “I’ve placed the order, but they haven’t seen them.”

Jeff grinned. “That just means that Lee hasn’t spoiled Scott’s appetite.” He considered. “I’ll swing past the airfield first, maybe Lee took Scott to see the planes?”

Lucy chuckled nervously. “Sounds about right. You let me know the second you find them.”

“Of course. Though they’ll probably turn up at home before I find them, so make sure you let me know.”

Twenty minutes later Jeff did a slow patrol around the airfield, looking for Lee’s car parked outside the perimeter to watch the student pilots taking off and landing. Nothing. So he went into the complex, and parked outside the hangar where his family stored their aircraft.

Lee had flown in from Houston, where he still lived. Maybe he had taken Scott to look at his plane? Jeff tried not to think about the fact that Lee’s car wasn’t visible.

The hangar was deserted, and the three planes were all safely stowed. So Lee hadn’t taken Scott for a flight.

As Jeff exited the airfield, having carefully checked the interiors of the three planes, just in case, his phone rang, with the generic ringtone. Mouth dry, Jeff answered.

“Jeff, it’s Sheriff Reichs. I’ve just been in The BakeHouse, I understand you’ve misplaced that friend of yours, and your son?”

Jeff grimaced. He should’ve known better. That he’d ‘lost’ Scott would be all over town. He quickly explained the situation, careful to emphasise that he had no concern for Scott’s wellbeing.

Sheriff Reichs chuckled. “Well, I’ll keep an eye out for you, and you make sure you let me know when you find ‘em.” The older man was reassuring. “This’ll make one hell of a good story for the boy’s twenty-first.”

Jeff promised to call him second thing – Lucy remained firmly first in line – and thanked the sheriff for his help. A couple of the smaller playgrounds and parks were on Jeff’s way, and he slowed to drive past, carefully scanning them for signs of his son and friend.

Nothing.

It was only when he got to the large park in the centre of town that he found the first sign of his quarry. Lee’s rental car was parked, haphazardly across two spaces, by the corner that was on the direct route from their house.

Jeff parked more carefully next to his friend’s car, and as he got out the Sheriff’s cruiser pulled into the slot on the other side.

Reichs got out of his car, and eyed Lee’s rental, before turning to Jeff. “Well, I sure hope he parks a space rocket better than he parks a car.”

“There’s a reason the Space Agency insists we’re chauffeured everywhere on their watch.” Jeff almost managed to keep a straight face.

“Is that why they’re talkin’ ‘bout bringin’ back ocean landin’s?”

Jeff laughed.

Reichs chuckled. There was a delighted shriek from deeper in the park. “Higher, Uncle Lee! Higher!”

A broad grin spread across the Sheriff’s face. “Sounds like you’ve found what you’re lookin’ for, Jeff. I’ll not hold you up.”

Jeff thanked him again, backing away towards the shrieks of delight, and as soon as he was able, turned and hurried – not run, he was not running – to the source of the noise.

Just before he broke the treeline that screened the large, well-equipped playground, Jeff forced himself to stop. There, on the high swings – that Scott was most definitely not allowed on – was his son, his best friend pushing the boy ever higher.

He pulled out his phone, and took a minute’s video, before sending it to Lucy.

The response came as a text message: Thank God. Bring them home. I’m hungry.

He snorted and put the phone away, stepping out of the concealing treeline and starting towards the swingset.

“Daddy!” Scott had spotted him, and before anybody could react, the boy launched himself forward off the swing at its zenith. Lee’s strangled yell as the boy fell to the ground. Landed a good six feet from the edge of the swing’s reach…

… and immediately ran towards his father, cannonballing into Jeff with a force that knocked him over, and would have knocked the air out of him, had there been any left in his body.

Jeff grabbed him in a massive hug, as Lee sprinted up to them, spluttering what could have been words.

Scott hugged Jeff back, just as tightly, although for different reasons. “Did you see me, Daddy? I was flying!”

Jeff pulled back a little. “Yeah, I saw you buddy. And it’s a good thing your Mom didn’t. What have you been told about jumping off the swings?”

The little boy deflated. “Don’t.” Blue eyes pleaded. “But I was flying. Just like you. And Uncle Lee.”

Jeff groaned. “Scott Lee Tracy, your Uncle Lee and I have all sorts of safety gear to keep us from getting hurt.”

And just like that, Scott perked up. “Ok, Daddy. I bring my helmet. It’s keeps me from getting hurt.”

Jeff swallowed. He was in real trouble this time. “We’ll ask your Mom,” was all he could say.

Lee fidgeted, “What’re you doing here, Jeff? Luce kick you out?”

Jeff glared at him. “Would it kill you to leave a note?”

Lee winced, guiltily. “You could’a called me. Save the trip.”

Jeff reached into his pocket, and pulled out Lee’s phone. “Didn’t work so well.”

Lee deflated. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.”

“But you got to sleep in, right?”

Jeff sighed. “Yeah. But next time, leave a damn note. It took years off my life.”

Lee winced again. “Lucy’s mad at me, isn’t she?”

“The Sheriff was looking for you both.” Lee paled. “And you’re buying breakfast.”

“Uncle Lee and I had beek-fast!” Scott chirped. “Uncle Lee brought me don’t’s an’ a milkshake.”

Jeff stared at his friend. “Doughnuts and milkshake, for breakfast?!”

Lee went even paler. “Where’d Lucy order from, anyway? You get him home, and I’ll bring breakfast.”

Jeff glared. “You’d better. I am not explaining this to his mother on my own.”

Lee grabbed his phone and ran, yelling over his shoulder, “Message me the address!”

Jeff looked down at Scott, “Come on, kiddo.” He swung the delighted boy onto his shoulders. “We’d better go after him before he gets lost.”

Scott shrieked with delight, and pulling violently on Jeff’s hair, kicked him in the chest with his heels. “Faster, Daddy! Faster!”

Jeff broke into a trot after his best friend. Please, God, let the next one be quieter.

Notes:

Ask, and ye shall receive! (Although not always this quickly!) By popular demand, this is the story of Scott’s first adventure with ‘Uncle Lee’.

@janetm74, @onereyofstarlight, and @womble1, this one’s for you!

The standard disclaimers, I do not own Thunderbirds, either the Original Series, the Movies (both Supermarionation and Live Action), or the Thunderbirds Are Go Series. (Although I do own copies on DVD.)

I do not do this for money, but for my own (in)sanity and entertainment.

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds 2015 #fanfiction #my fanfiction #lee taylor #scott tracy #lucille tracy #babysitting

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