m'lady [Mingus Reedus // Chandler Riggs FanFic]

babysitting

"So you know where the diapers are and if you need anything just call me up, I'll have my phone on loud and-"

"Mom, I can handle looking after the baby for a day. Have a bit of faith," I said, chuckling slightly, bouncing Oskar in my arms. Oskar was almost four months now and this was the first time my role as free babysitter was being utilised.

"Thank you for doing this baby," Mom said, hugging me and kissing me on the forehead. "And you be good for your big sister," she continued, taking her two index fingers and tickled Oskar with them.

"See ya kids," Norm yell from the door. "Let's go m'lady, the motorbike awaits."

"Hey, that's Chandler's thing," I said, realising it had been so long since he called me that. I sighed slightly. He's been distant lately. I wonder what he's doing today.

Mom and Dad shut the door behind them and, as if on cue, Oskar began to cry. I attempted hushing him, bouncing him, and feeding him but he wouldn't stop. After ten minutes past I couldn't handle much more. I grabbed my cell phone and called Chandler.

"Hi," we said simultaneously as soon as Chandler picked up.

"How you been?" we asked, again, at the same time.

"Is that Oz I can hear?" Chandler asked.

"Yes, I need your help, please."

"I'm kinda glad it's Oskar, I thought Asther was fighting with Grey's cat again. I'll be right over."

Within seconds, Chandler was in the living room and approaching the two of us. I handed Oskar to him and he held him close to his chest. He stopped crying, of course, and Chandler placed him on his front on a mat.

"It's funny, you have the same effect on me," I said after a short spell of silence. He opened his arms and I lay my head on his chest and he wrapped his arms round my waist. "I missed you."

"I was with my dad," he said, pulling us apart. I sat down next to the baby on his mat. "I'm getting some work experience is all. I'm sorry I've been a bit..."

"Distant?"

"Yeah, distant. Gee, come to think of it, I haven't really seen you since Ming left."

Mingus has gone home to Helena for a bit and also to a camp that he attends every summer. We're not sure when he'll be back, however, we do know that he will be back.

"Yeah, about two weeks ago."

"How about we do something nice today then? It's a lovely day out." he said, briskly trying to move the subject on. "How about we go swimming when Norman and Melissa get back?"

"They won't be back until around 8pm."

Chandler turned to the clock above the television. It was 1:30pm.

"It's no big deal," he said, cracking his knuckles awkwardly. He looked around the room a little before taking a seat on the couch.

"You don't have to stay with me, Chandler. Go out and enjoy your day. Call up Colin, or maybe even Sam."

He shuffled in his seat at the sound of Sam's name, or so I thought.

"I- I want to spend time with you, though," he mumbled bashfully. "Oh, I know! Let's go to the park and have a picnic. Yeah, let's do that."

"With the baby?"

"Of course with the baby. But you two need to get out of those jammies."

I looked down at Mingus' oversized shirt I had borrowed and my black sports shorts. I placed Oskar in his Moses' basket quickly got dressed into a navy dress with white spots and a pair of loafers and grabbed the diaper bag from Oskar's nursery and filled it with diapers and wipes and all the other things I'd need. I walked into the kitchen to find that Chandler was gone. I began to make the bottles up and ran over between to check of Oskar. He wasn't there.

"Oh my God," I said, staring into the bassinet. The front door was lying wide open. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," I repeated, bursting into Chandler's house.

"Chandler, I've lost the baby, he's not in the-"

I looked into Chandler's kitchen and he had Oskar in a replica of Carl's t-shirt from S1, a pair of shorts, and sandals, and in a car seat.

"Chill, m'lady, Osk and I are making some sandwiches," he said, holding a slice of bread in his palm and a knife in the other. I walked over to car seat and ran my hand along Oskar's face. "If you get a bag for him ready and the stroller frame and the car seat holder we should be just about ready to go."

"When did you get so paternal?" I asked. He shrugged with a smirk and ordered me to go.

-

Chandler drove us to the park in town and we walked and we talked. We walked for so long we ended up at the nearest park - 2.5 miles.

"All I'm saying is I prefer Captain America," I said, drinking from a bottle of water.

"And all I'm saying is Iron Man can, and will, kick Captain America's ass," Chandler replied, pushing the stroller.

"We'll see," I mumbled. "My legs are getting tired, we should stop and grab a bite."

Chandler stopped at the grass and, after he lay down a tartan rug, we sat down on the river bank, Oskar between my legs.

"I can't believe summer is almost over," he said, handing me a sandwich. "It barely even started."

"Norm's thinking about putting Ming and I through school again," I said, unwrapping the sandwich. "I'm not doing much on set and homeschooling is so boring."

"He told me," he replied. I hate that. When you tell someone something and they don't even pretend they don't know to help the conversation continue. "Maybe my school."

"Maybe," I said, trying to keep Oskar from wriggling.

"Here," he laughed, holding him in his arms. "You want juice?"

"Sure," I replied, as he handed me Capri sun. I laughed slightly at his choice in beverage but drank it nonetheless. We sat in a comfortable silence for a while before he struck up conversation again.

"Can you see this for us?"

"See what?"

"Sunday afternoon picnics after a long stroll with maybe even a kid of our own?"

"Chandler, we're 16. Well, you're 16. I'm only 15."

"Yeah, I know but it doesn't hurt to wonder."

There was a silence again, a little less comfortable. He placed Oskar back in the stroller.

"Well... do you?"

"I mean, I think about a future with you, I just forgot to include marriage and kids and a house in the thoughts."

"Do you want those things?" he asked, shuffling closer to me.

"I think so. I want those things no matter who I end up with."

"Do you want them with me, though?" he asked, looking right at me. It was cliché, but as I looked into his eyes I could think of looking at any others in the same way. I couldn't imagine Norman giving me away to anyone but him. I couldn't imagine arguing over the colour of the walls in our bedroom with. I couldn't imagine producing offsprings that were anything but 1/2 (Chandler) Riggs. I couldn't imagine a future in which everyday was not consumed by Chandler Riggs.

"I think I do."

"Why don't we?"

"Again, the age thing."

"Right, and that's not going away anytime soon," he said, looking rather frustrated.

"Chandler," I laughed slightly as he was plotting out a future. "Let's just live in the now. We have a whole life together ahead of us."

"I like the now," he said, shuffling closer to me. We looked out onto the river and the sun began to creep down under the building and he looked at me as though the sky was not a thousand different shades and that it would look that way again. He lifted my hand and played it as though he was a child that did not have to worry about day turning into night. He pressed his lips against mine as if he would never see another morn. I kissed back and made him believe.