Baby Down {Marree//Jeran, Vy, & Brooklyn}

[Cameo {RIP Charlie}]

Vy Pryce

"We're going to have to lightly sedate your daughter if can't maintain her, Ma'am." A nurse gently warns Vy as she attempts to control flailing Brooklyn. She never does react well to the doctor-type. Guess Vy should of set a better example of that earlier in her youngster's life, she'll remember to share that bit of knowledge with Kyanite. Make sure these mistakes aren't made twice, because at this hour of the night it's not as easy to handle. She can't calm her little one as she usual can, and there's no energy to refrain her from squirming about. It's frustrating beyond belief, especially when she knows Ky may need her at any moment.

The nurses get the brunt end of Vy's attitude due to this. "Don't call me Ma'am." She mutters harshly even if they're only their to help. Right now she needs to get Brooklyn calm and checked on, before she's needed elsewhere. "Baby girl, relax. Look at me." She tries to draw the Rugrat's attention, and manages to pull those bright blue eyes over to her.

A forced smile is given in return to distract her further, and it even brings out a weak one across her own tiny lips. "See everything's okay, right?" Vy questions with an extremely calm voice, patiently waiting to see her head slowly nod up & down in agreement. "Kyky and Matthew already cleaned up your booboo, huh?" Another small nod. "Then we're just going to put on a prettier bandage, okay? Make sure they did a good job?" She goes for an agreement and uses the words that win over Brooklyn the best. It works for now.

"Otays." Brooklyn complies with a sniffle. A look is given to the nurse to approach while she still can, and she quickly obliges. Once she reaches for the bandage though, Brooklyn's mouth is aiming for her hand with a loud "No!" Her baby teeth sink into the poor Nurse's palm and she retrieves away instantly.

"Brooklyn." Vy has no energy to scold her as she only sighs heavily. Of course she keeps her arms delicately wrapped around her little one, to prevent any further attacks. "I'm sorry, she's never been good with nurses." She apologizes while Brooklyn presses her head against her chest, crying further as she accidentally includes her wounded forehead in the snuggle. "Careful baby." Vy gently moves her head to lay without leaning on her cut. "Okay a very light sedation. I don't want to miss Ky's birth." She finally accepts what needs to be done.

Fingers brush through Brooklyn's thin locks as Vy holds her tight. Then she allows her eyes to wander around the room, where they easily fall and lock on Jeran. How long has he been in here? Did he never leave her side, or is he coming in to check on them? She was so distracted with Brooklyn to even be sure. "Hey." She greets with a weak smile and heavy eyes. His company is always appreciated.

[*]

Jeran is more than worried about the little tike that he holds in his arms. His eyes going causally to the bandaid to the door and then to the floor as the waiting is starting to get to him. While at first, Brooklyn didn't want to settle down at all, excitment running rampant in her mind about the new baby being born. However, the more time that passed by and her mother didn't return with the baby in hand, Brooklyn grew restless then unsually tired as she complained about her boo-boo hurting. With a gentle hand he outstretched it for the little one to take and he offered his lap for her to rest on while they waited on the new baby to arrive.

"I sweepy, Jewen. I sweep." With a shake of his head, he tries to keep her awake, gently sitting her up so they can play a quiet game instead of counting fingers and seek and find with colors.

"Can't do that, Brooklyn. You got a bump on your head, we gotta wait for when the doctor can look before you can sleep. Let's wait a little longer to see if Baby Mira is born. You can't sleep until she's born, okay?" He tries to coax her into staying awake a little longer and sure enough, Vy's appearing and they are off to the doctor's care to see about her injury.

While he should have been waiting outside the door, he can't just simple let Vy take care of it alone, so he quietly slips in the door when Vy is tring to hold a screaming Brooklyn, but what could he do? What would Brooklyn be interested in enough to let the women do their job and take care of her injury while she's practically fighting them and just like that... she bit the nurse!

With a stiffled laugh, he clears his throat with a low hum and shakes his head as Vy finally submits to doing the sedation. With a nod of his head, he only watches as Vy says something about the birth of his sister's baby. As Brooklyn still squirms in her grasp, she's trying to calm the little one who, only moments ago rubbed her head against Vy's shirt, make the bandage fall off and just like that the redness seems to want to come to a head again.

Only when that occurs, does Vy look around and instantly spot him standing in the corner of the room.

"Hey, yourself." He says, grinning only enough to show that the corners of his lips are arched upward, giving her a little bit of comfort for what's going on. "So, what are they going to do..." He questions and as if it was goign to bother Brooklyn, he tries to think of something to divert her attention from what he was saying.

"Brooklyn, are you going to be a big sister to Mira? You know... Mira is about to go through a lot of stuff to become your little sister and she's going to be treated by the doctors. Will you let the nurse take care of your boo-boo so we can hurry and go meet Mira? Do you want to show Mira how much of a big girl you are? Show Mira there's nothing to be scared of?" He wonders if his words will help her at all, but ever so slowly he walks over to the toddler. "Do you want to wear my badge? You gotta be a big girl and not bite them again, okay?"

592

[Cameo {RIP Charlie}]

Easily Brooklyn's attention is taken by the new familiar face her mother has spotted. The sounds of their voices draws her curiosity immediately, and she's looking up from Vy's shirt. "Jewan." She sniffles for as if he might save her from all these horrible people trying to poke at her. For some reason her mom's letting them, and that's not very much appreciated. There's a question from him over what they were going to do, which her innocent mind takes as he's objecting. Then he's distracting her with the reminder of Mira, and how she has to act like a big girl for the new addition.

It's comforting to have Jeran by Vy's side, and even more so when he gets her Rugrat to quit squirming for a minute. The Rascal stares off into his words, while she's actually given the chance to collect herself. Why does her daughter have to be so stubborn? But somehow a nod of approval comes from that tiny head, and it seems like she's agreeing not to bite. "Okay, lets be a big girl for Mira." Vy sighs and gestures for the nurse to try again without the light sedation.

She ventures over with hesitation, observing the toddler with a warming smile before approaching further. "We're just going to have a little look-see." Is promised as she brings a clothe up to Brooklyn's forehead. "See, not to bad." Blood is gently dabbed away to reveal that it shouldn't be too deep, just a bit painful for such a youngster. "This might sting just a little." She warns, and sure enough Brooklyn's out of control again once the disinfected touches her forehead. Immediately the nurse is jumping away as soon as teeth come aiming for her, but luckily she doesn't get caught a second time.

"Brooklyn...please babygirl. It's okay." Vy tries to soothe, except this round Brooklyn has no interest in cooperating. It feels horrible to restrain her little one, making her arms shake uncontrollably. All she wants to do is comfort her and make it all go away, but how? Her eyes go back over to Jeran with desperation. She needs him to be his comforting self, at least towards Brooklyn.

"It doesn't look like she needs stitches, but we still need to clean it up and make sure." The nurse informs with an unfortunate tone. Sounds like she's just as unhappy as the two Blondes. "Would be silly to use sedation though."

"I need your help, Jeran." Vy actually admits, starring into his eyes with another weak grin. Pretty sure she's never used those words before, but clearly he's good at bringing out the firsts.

[*]

Jeran is watching as the little blonde actually agrees to be a good girl and not to bite again when the nurse comes nearer to her. With curious eyes, he watches to see if she'll actually follow through with what he promised as she automatically started to react to the medicated cloth being pressed against her forehead. Once again, she's whimpering in pain and trying to get out of Vy's grasp, but at least this time she didn't bite the lady, try as she might. With a gentle shake of his head, he's walking over closer to her and Vy.

"Brooklyn, what did I say? No more trying to bit, okay? I guess I have to keep my badge to myself." He flashes the badge and then puts it back into his pocket as he bends down to look the little girl in her eyes. "Do you want me to hold you while they fix up your boo-boo?"

While he knows that Vy won't give up her spot as her mother and hand the child over, he still offers to give the little girl a choice. Just as it seems, the nurse declares that stitches aren't needed but they still need to clean it up anyways.

"Hey Brooklyn, look at me." He puts on a little bit of a deeper voice to get her attention and puts his finger under her chin in order to get her to look at him. "Look at me, Brooklyn. They gotta clean your boo-boo, okay? Nothing else. Alright? Put some stuff to make it feel better and a new bandaid on it. Will you let them do it or do you want me to do it?" He offers the kid and turns to the nurse.

"Can I see the antiseptic wipe? Let me give it a try?" He asks her and she looks at him with a differential grin an finally just shakes her head and passes them over. "Thanks."

The look on Brooklyn's face is enough to tell him that he's made a wrong choice, but she's trying to hide into Vy's chest and arms as if to get away from him. "Hey. No. Brooklyn, listen... you wanna help me fix your boo-boo? If it hurts you take it away, okay? I will be gentle, okay? Unc-y Jeren will be easy, okay? If it hurts, just tell me 'no'."

He attempts to let the child see the peice of cloth in his hand before slowly bringing it up to her forehead. "You going to help me fix your head?"

425

[Cameo {RIP Charlie}]

"No, mommy." Well at least he managed to grab Brooklyn's attention, lessening her struggle against Vy if only a tad. What she wouldn't give to only hold her daughter's hand while someone she loved grasped her from fighting But at least Jeran's there, negotiating with Brooklyn, as the older Blonde has no energy to. Even bringing out the stern tone she's unable to grasp at a time like this. How is he pulling together when he's had just as long of a day? Either way she couldn't be more grateful to have him here. His ability to gently pull those precious blue-eyes, and speak to the toddler as a father would. It has Vy biting on her inner cheek.

Then an offer springs up and widens those very baby eyes. Jeran suggests that he can clean Brooklyn's wound, and she couldn't agree more. Instantly that tiny head is bopping up & down, while her bottom lip stays curled up. "You do it." Her whimper voice breaks out with her nod, before she buries her face back in her mommy's chest. The torture wipes get called for by him, and the looks on the nurse's face looks to say 'good luck', but she passes them along.

Prior to another move, soothing words come forth for Brooklyn. There's a promise that she can help, and pull it away if it hurts too much. It'll only be gentle. The sight of the wipe catches the little one's focus, pulling her head off of her mommy as she follows it drawing closer to Jeran. He's never lied to her in the past, not that she can remember, but she does recall a lot of time playing. He's even saying she can help, "Yes." She states as if it was obvious, bringing her tiny fingers up to his hand to make sure he doesn't start before her say-so.

"It be gentle." The Rugrat mimics since all the adults have been saying that. She guides his hand to press the wipe against her forehead, and recalls immediately. "Ouch, Jewan." But then she only giggles, using a little more care as she pulls his hand back. It's not a Stranger prodding at her forehead, which simply makes it a lot less scary for her.

A chuckle even escapes from Vy, relieved that they found a solution to Brooklyn's small problem. What would she do without him? "Thank you." She finally finds her voice as she watches the two dab at the wound. If only she had her with him...

[*]

"You going to help me fix your head?"

He holds his hand still in front of Brooklyn, as those tear filled eyes stare straight into him and then onto the small white cloth that holds nothing but an antiseptic solution on it, almost instantly going to give her a bit of pain the moment the liquid touches her head, but it's just something that he's going to have to try to do. He needs to go check on his sister as soon as possible but he was also needed here with Vy and Brooklyn just as much. There is only one of him, but right now, his main focus is on the little girl in front of him, depending on him to make her injury to feel better and to take away the trouble from the nurse if it works.

Those tiny curls bob up and down as she declares she will help and as her tiny little hand touches his, he can sense that this is going to work. Least to get excited for it to be working, he keeps that stern face as he gives Brooklyn his undivided attention and with her movement toward her forhead with the wipe, it's instant when the sting is onset.

"Ouch, Jewan." Immediately, his lips come close to her forehead trying to cool off the wound from the antiseptic wipe and then glance down to the little girl after three blows and gives her another look.

"Try again?" He asks. Just like that, she's pulling his hand to her forehead and with gentle strokes, tries to get some of the dried blood around the edges to see where and how deep the cut really is. "I have good news, Brooklyn. It won't need anything more than a couple more wipes to get the blood all gone, then some cream to make it feel better. Do you want a bandaid too? We can let you pick a color?" He asks her, as he gently dabs away at the sides and only once does he get to the center and again, her hand pulls his away and his lips are there to cool the sting until she's ready to let him treat her wound again.

The nurse behind him scoffs. "Well, I'll be. Ever thought about doing some child healing, Mr... umm..."

"Jeran Ruze. Peacekeeper Ruze," he states and finishes with Brooklyn and then brings the nurse over to look at her head. "She's only looking. She won't touch, Brooklyn." He turns his attention back to the woman. "Just some antibiotic ointment. Let the child pick a bandaid? Does it need anything more?"

"Nope. I think you did good enough, Peacekeeper Ruze." Her stature suddenly becomes a bit rigid as she hands over the ointment and watches him with a renound finness as he moves the creme down to Brooklyns level.

"Okay. This stuff is going to be cold. Won't hurt. No sting. It's just cold, okay? Want to help me put it on your cut? Then we'll be done and we can go see Kya and see if Mira has came to see us yet." He questions her again and very slowly, with the help of her hand to guide his, he puts the cold medicine on her forhead and the moment it's done and the bandage is put on, he's placing his hand on her cheek, then roughing up her hair.

"Good job, Brooklyn. I'm proud of you. I'm going to let your mom finish. I'll see you in a few minutes?" He tells the little girl and then turns to Vy with a grin. "I'll step outside until you are finished, is that alright?" He asks, already feeling like he's out of place now that the problem has been dealt with.

623

[Cameo {RIP Charlie}]

When the pain intensifies from the wipe, and Brooklyn's immediately pulling his hand away, cold air gets blown onto her bubbling cut by Jeran. It's the perfect distraction that has the sting easing off. A heavy sigh even comes from Vy, relieved to not have the struggle in her arms anymore. Not sure how much more she would of been able to handle before insisting that Jeran takes her, but luckily they've come up with a compromise that works for everyone. "Uh huh." Brooklyn even agrees to bringing the wipe back to her forehead every time she yanks it away. With this control in her tiny hands, the pain doesn't seem to be as bad.

It's informed by Doctor Jeran that nothing more then a few more wipes at her forehead, some ointment, and a bandage is all that's needed. To no surprise that evokes a large grin from Brooklyn. Guess she's not going to protest. All of those hours in the waiting room must of really paid off; she truly trust and looks up to him. That alone pulls a smile to Vy's face as well, though the lack of strained energy does help to.

She unable to stop staring at the two solve this problem that was such a hassle minutes ago. Apparently they're not only catching her eyes though. The nurse is quick to admire Jeran's ability, and her tone sets Vy off like nothing else. That warming feeling is replaced with a sting of her own. Even if he's hardly averting his attention from Brooklyn, the idea of cute nurse flirting with him is enough. She keeps silent though as she listens to them talk. "Nope. I think you did good enough, Peacekeeper Ruze." Thank god the little one's in here.

Least he doesn't even respond and begins comforting Brooklyn for the next part. It brings a coy smile back to Vy's lips, she was the one that went on a date with him only hours earlier. Sort of silly to feel jealous, though she can't control the way her heart twists at times. For right now it's in a pleasant way again.

"You don't have to go." Vy attempts to play off when Jeran suggests waiting outside. His composure appears slightly awkward now that everything's said and done, and the Rugrat's good again. "Matthew's in there for her, and last I saw she was trying to rest before Mira gets here." It is the only reason to why he'd need to leave; and as selfish as it may be to ask him to stay, she can't help it. Ky has her love with her, and Vy wants her's.

"No go, Jewan." Even Brooklyn tries to convince him to stay.

The nurse returns for a few last checks. Sort of funny how it seems like Brooklyn doesn't like her as much as her mommy doesn't. Good girl. Still she lets her takes her temperature, and check her eyes. "All looks well. Bring her back if she's sleeping more then usual, or if she has a lack of appetite." Is informed before the lady's finally off to probably struggle with another tiny Rascal. Pretty sure she gives a look to Vy's man prior to finally existing. Couldn't be happier to see her gone.

Is tonight ever going to end? At least Jeran was able to make part of it go by faster. Once Vy's upon her feat, she travels closer to him to give him a much rewarded hug. The Tyke even joins in on the embrace, as she sits on one of her hips. "Thank you." The older Blonde grins with a yawn. There's no explaining how grateful she is to have him.

[*]

"You don't have to go." She tries to tell the dark haired boy as he starts to inch his way away from the two blondes. The way her voice calls out to him, in that needing way, has him stopping in his step and it's even more shown by the innocent words of that little two year old who don't want him to go either. Truth be told, he was only leaving because of the fact that he no longer felt needed. Who knew that he would be wanted?

"Okay. I'll stay. Just for you Brooklyn." He teases them both by leaning on the wall, his foot arching upward to give himself something to prop up against. The nurse enters the room again, and goes over to the little curly blond in order to check her over. Priority to make sure that she isn't suffering from a sever head injury or concussion. As it looks, she's cleared enough to go home and as the nurse turns to look at him, she flashes him a genuine smile - one that he doesn't react to at all. His eyes only dart back over to the little girl in Vy's arms and the then upward to look at Vy's tired eyes.

"We will." He states the moment the nurse walks out and as the door is shut, Jeran walks over to them and puts his arms out. "Come on, little buddy. Lets give you mom some rest. Come walk with Jeran for a while. Afterall, we need to go check on Kya and see how Mira is doing. Think she's ready to meet us?"

He wonders as the little girl puts her hand to her mouth, the index finger right on the corner of her mouth in a thoughtful process.

"Alright. Alright. Come on you little rascal. Lets get out away from these nurses, okay? If we stay, they might want to touch your boo-boo again. Ready to go?" He asks before Vy stands up and walks over to him and embraces him in a hug. A verbal 'thank you' is given as Jeran gives her a quick smile and a quick kiss on her forhead before looking to the little one. This time he's keeping his arms out for Brooklyn to take and just like that, she's arching her body away from Vy and getting into Jeran's strong arms as he holds her by his one arm. He lets her feet dangle over the top of his arm as he puts his arm around the back of his girlfriend and leads her out of the room and into the hallway.

"I hope that Kya's doing alright. I hadn't really got to check on her since we got here. Matthew better be taking good care of her. If he isn't, he's going to feel my wrath." He declares, as he keeps Brooklyn occupied in his arms and turns her around to sit against his chest as she lays her head down on his shoulder and lets off a yawn.

"Don't tell me your sleepy, Brooklyn. We still have hours to go before Mira gets here... I think. You going to stay awake the whole time." He asks as she nods her head.

"I wanna meet Miwa. I wanna hold her. Momma can I hold Miwa?" She questions as another yawn escapes her and suddenly she wraps her one arm around Jeran's neck and nestles herself against him and halfway down the hallway, there comes a tiny sound of snoring, but ever so lightly.

"Well... that was exciting enough for her to just pass out like that. Does she do that often?" He asks, but remembers when the first time they met, she fell asleep in a random place in the gym that early morning. "This kid is funny." He states and looks to Vy. "You should get some sleep while Brooklyn is sleeping. I'm sure that Ky isn't ready to have Mira just yet."

658

[Cameo {RIP Charlie}]

Eyebrows arch upward on Vy's features as she listens to Jeran claim he's only staying for Brooklyn. Is that so? Well lucky for him, she's one of the few females Vy can never get jealous over. If anything she hopes he loves her Tyke as much as her. "What do you say baby girl?" Vy questions with a light kiss on top of her head.

"Tanks Jewan." Brooklyn says as if on cue, but with a large grin nonetheless. She even behaves herself as the nurse does a few final checkups. Both of the Blondes stare at her the entire time, up to the point that she pauses for a glance at Jeran, and until the door's shutting behind her. It's as if the room becomes a whole lot lighter. What can be said? Neither of them appreciate the medical type. Not unless it's Jeran fixing things up. And like the gentlemen he is, he didn't even give her the time of day either. He simply answered her, and then turned his focus to the two he knows. Looks like Vy truly has nothing to worry about, because that chick was cute.

There's an offer from him to take Brooklyn, and Vy couldn't be more happier to pass her over. There's nothing she loves more in the Panem then her daughter, but it's been a long night. "Yes, Mira ready to play." The Toddler squeals as they travel across the room to him, her imagination and hopes getting the best of her. How is she not as exhausted as her mother? It's a nice relief to hand her to the other one Vy loves tremendously.

"We better goes." Brooklyn nods while her two-year-old lisp intertwines with her words. She's not afraid of the nurses coming back, she just doesn't want to take any chances. Supportive arms lead both the Blondes out of the room.

Thoughts return back to Kyanite and Matthew, and the new arrival that's on her way. "Matthew hasn't left her side, don't worry." Vy reassures Jeran's hopes for his sister. For once everything's going well. "It seems like Ky's helped him change into a man." She grins with a quick glance to her own man. "Well for the most part. I'm sure Mira will handle the rest." Though it's probably certain Matt will never lose his charm entirely.

Suddenly Jeran's focus is back to Brooklyn, and he's attempting to keep her awake. It reminds Vy of one of those nights where she couldn't get her to sleep, and he got her into slumber by telling her she could stay up. Worked great then. "Once Mira's not too sleepy, sure." Vy plays along with a yawn of her own. Two minutes later Brooklyn's out like a light. "I think you lost your night owl buddy." She teases, stuffing her hands in her pocket to resist the urge of being closer to him and the sleeping toddler. It'd make this moment perfect, but it's a dangerous move being two peacekeepers.

"Yeah, she hasn't changed a bit." Vy replies to his comment over Brooklyn's way of falling asleep. Most nights are quite easy, making the others horrid. Surprised he doesn't remember, though he hasn't forgotten about how silly that Rascal can be. "I know." She sighs out her frustration of not being able to be near him while in public. Now she's regretting ever joining the academy.

He suggests that she should also get some sleep while she still can. Where though? She doesn't want to rest her eyes until she's at home, and hopefully next to him, no matter how heavy they may feel. "I'll pass. I don't have my strong man to fall asleep on." She can't help but wink as she jokes about how Brooklyn's taken the only comfortable spot. "Plus I don't want to risk missing anything. I think Ky wants my support since I've apparently been through it." More humor since she sometimes feels as awkward as Jeran did after Brooklyn was treated for. But she wouldn't dare leave her Kyanite'ss side longer then she has to, and now her Little One is taken care of. Time to return to the duties of a best friend.