Chapter 5
Ward dodged a flying spoon as once again Phil threw it at his head. He was sat in his high-chair eating cereal. Or rather not eating cereal and just throwing his spoon at Ward. It appeared to be part of a game and Ward couldn’t help but smile as it was making the little boy smile and giggle. It wasn’t hurting him to play along with him and it was making him happy. He never thought he could make his boss smile simply by dodging a flying spoon. But then again he never expected him to be turned into a baby. He still found it very strange.
“No more Phil.” He instructed the giggling boy as he once again handed the spoon back to him.
This time he wasn’t going to turn his back on him. He had been trying to prepare breakfast for everyone else while Skye got them dressed but that wasn’t going well. He would just have to wait till everyone was downstairs. By the noise that was being made it wouldn’t be long before they were down here. As he watched he saw Phil lean to one side and drop the spoon on the floor. Grinning he pointed at the spoon while looking at Ward.
“Daddy!” Exclaimed Phil.
‘Wait what? Daddy? DADDY?
Did he just call me daddy? I’m not his daddy. I can’t have my boss calling me daddy. I could never be a daddy. Help.’
While he was having a small breakdown the rest of the group had come downstairs. They had found him staring at Phil, while Phil was still giggling at pointing at the spoon. Skye bent down and picked up the spoon for Phil and got the others sat down. Looking at Ward she saw he had completely frozen. When he didn’t reply to her she gave the kids their breakfast before turning back to him.
“Grant?”
When he still didn’t reply she gently touched his face. Focusing in on her she could see the wild panic in his eyes.
“He called me Daddy.” He muttered.
That explained the look of shock. It was strange enough seeing the team members as children, but to have them call you daddy she could understand the shock.
“Well you are. You’re mummy, he’s daddy,” came the voice of Jemma from where she sat eating cereal. Glancing over at them she saw both Leo and Mel nodding in agreement.
“Do you not want us to call you that?” Questioned Leo, his bottom lips trembling as he looked at her.
“No if you want to call us that sweetie then it is fine. It just took us by surprise that’s all,” reassured Skye.
“We do,” said May.
“Ok then. Let’s just keep eating breakfast then.”
She grabbed Ward’s hand and led him to sit down. She could tell he was still in shock, but she would deal with it once the children had finished. Beside, he probably needed to work his way through his thoughts on his own.
Once the kids had finished their breakfast she sent them off to play so she could talk to Ward without them overhearing. Removing Phil from his high chair she sat him on her knee as she began to clean his face. Phil was quite happy playing with Skye’s bracelets, so it was the perfect time to talk to him. Touching his hand she waited for him to speak.
“It just took me by surprise. Why would they want to call me dad?”
“Because you’re a good person and you’re looking after them.”
“What if I mess it up? What if I mess them up?”
“How could you? You won’t hurt them, you are trying to stop them being hurt. You care about them, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then that is all that matters. Neither of us are experts at this. All we can do is look after them and keep them happy.”
He looked at her for a long moment before leaning in and placing a kiss on her cheek.
“Thank you.”
“Anytime Grant. I’m scared as well, but if we stick together we will get through this.”
“Daddy!” Squealed Phil, breaking the moment.
“I think we have a favourite,” grinned Skye.
Laughing, Ward reached for Phil and gently began tossing him in the air.
“Of course we do. I’m the one that keeps feeding this monster.”
Skye watched as he continued playing with the little boy, making him chortle in delight. She knew he was only worried because of his childhood. But really he had nothing to worry about. He was good with the kids. It was sweet to watch.
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They had decided to take them all to the park. It got the kids out of the house for a bit and let them run off some of the energy they had. While they were doing that the adults could have a break, while still keeping an eye on them. They sat with Phil on the swings while the others ran off to play. Mel and Jemma went to play on the slide and climbing frame while Fitz went to play in the sandpit.
He was carefully crafting an intricate castle in the sand when a boot suddenly broke it. Looking up at an older boy Fitz objected.
“Hey. I made that.”
“So? Where are all your friends loser?”
“Why does it matter?”
“I bet you don’t have any friends. I mean who would want to be friends with you? You’re a loser with no friends.”
“I have friends.”
“Where are they then?”
“Behind you,” came a familiar voice to Fitz.
“Mel!”
“Leave him alone.”
“Or what?”
Mel didn’t bother replying; instead she hit the bully straight in the chest sending him falling into the sand. The bully quickly stood up again and charged at her. She simply stepped to one side grabbing his arm when he got near her and flipped him onto the ground. Leaving the bully spitting out sand she motioned to Leo.
“Come and play with us.”
“I didn’t think you liked me.”
“We like you even though you’re a boy, Leo,” answered Jemma. “Now come and play.”
Skye glanced at Ward as she watched the trio playing on the slide.
“You saw that right?”
“You mean where May flipped the other kid. Yeah, I did.”
“Glad it wasn’t just me. Should we do something about it?”
“What can we do? Anyway, the kid deserved it. He tried to attack her.”
“You sound a bit proud there Ward.”
“Just a little bit. At least we don’t have to worry about them getting bullied.”
“True. Also they are all friends now.”
“Yeah. Why do I get the feeling that is going to be a bad thing for us?”
“Because they will probably gang up on us and cause mischief. You thought before was hard.”
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