Cute Grandpa Halt Randomness

Deep Conversations

Lorraine giggled as she played with her stuffed horse. Well, as Halt moved the stuffed horse in front of her. She gripped her feet and stuck her toes in her mouth.

"Oh, no, no..." Halt gently took his granddaughter's foot away from her face. "Yucky," he said.

The baby just giggled; she went back to sticking her feet in her mouth. Halt just rolled his eyes to heaven. He grabbed the horse again and went back to bouncing it in front of her. "Neigh, neigh!" he said. Normally, he wouldn't have acted this stupid, but Will and Alyss were on their three-year anniversary, and Pauline was trying to convince a ridiculous baron that he needed to let a group of immigrating Celts pass through his fief, as if that wasn't just an obvious thing to do to be a kind ruler. Thinking of it, Halt rolled his eyes again. The things they were called away for...

Lorraine, who was a year old at the time, was left in the care of Halt. So far, he was doing pretty well. The baby hadn't died, the house was still intact, and she'd only cried because she was tired or hungry. Speaking of...

Halt stood up, suddenly aware of the pangs of hunger barging into his stomach. He dropped the stuffed grey pony next to Lorraine, who momentarily forgot about her feet and reached out to grab it. Then the Ranger walked over to the cupboard and searched through it. After selecting the few ingredients he needed, he quickly threw a stew together and put it up to boil, along with a small pot of carrots. "Alright, little Ranger, let's feed you now." He turned around and almost died. She wasn't there. Lorraine wasn't there. He spun around, looking everywhere, and eventually stopped as he saw a little figure sitting by the doorway. He grinned and walked over, snatching Lorraine up in his arms.

She giggled.

Her grandfather grinned. "No one told me you could crawl yet."

"Babababa..." Then she giggled again.

"Babababa..." Halt mimicked and placed her in her highchair. He turned around and scooped some carrots out of the boiling water, mushing them up into a purée. Then he grabbed a spoon and tried to feed her. Tried is the key word. Most of the vegetables ended up on her clothes or chair, with some being splattered in Halt's face in the difficult process of feeding a curious baby. He sighed and eventually gave up, taking the stew and feeding himself. While he ate, Lorraine giggled and cooed, waiting for him to finish.

Eventually, he stood up. "Let's get you cleaned up, little Ranger."

"Gagabbahh..." was the reply.

Halt just grinned and shook his head. "You're very talkative today, aren't you?"

Lorraine giggled for what seemed like the millionth time, but Halt didn't mind. To him, there was no better sound. She reached for her stuffed pony and Halt bent down to get it for her. Once he had retrieved it, he placed it in Lorraine's chubby little fingers. After giggling once or twice, she said, "Tuggg...." She hugged the grey horse tightly. "Tuggg..."

Halt grinned. "That's right! That does look like Tug, Daddy's horse!"

"Tuggg... Dada..."

Halt hugged her, not caring if he smeared mashed-up carrots all over himself. "You're getting so big."

"Dada..." Halt's granddaughter hugged the plush horse again, smearing her food on its nose. Halt laughed and continued to walk to the washtub. He filled it with water and sat her in it. "Gabababa..." she said and splashed the water.

Halt quickly washed her up and sat her down on a chair in the living room, wrapped in a large towel. "Tuggg..." Lorraine whined. "TUGGG..."

Her grandfather retrieved her toy and handed it to her. "Here, little Ranger. Your own Ranger horse."

Lorraine giggled. "Abababa..."

Halt nodded. "I believe so, as well."

"Boodaba?"

"Yes, precisely."

The girl squealed with laughter, and Halt grinned. He had no idea what he said, but apparently, she liked it. She threw her pony across the room. "TUGGG!"

Halt's eyes widened. "Sorry, little Ranger, Tug's not here." He thought for a second. "Do you want to see my horse?"

Lorraine giggled. "Tuggg..."

Grandpa Halt hefted the chubby baby up (still wrapped in the towel), grunting as he did so. "You're getting really big."

"Babababaaa..." Lorraine giggled. "Tuggg... Dada..."  She hugged Halt around the neck.

Halt smiled. "Let's go." He lead her to the stable next to the cabin; Abelard nickered.

Lorraine squealed, reaching out to the horse. "TUGGGG!"

Her grandfather carried her closer to Abelard, and she grinned wider. Halt grinned in return. "You like him, little Ranger?"

"Gabbahfah."

"I agree completely."

The baby stretched out a chubby hand to stroke the horse; Halt took a half-step forward to help her, a smile still on his face as he watched her brown eyes flicker with curiosity. Lorraine looked at him. "Tug?"

"Abelard," the Ranger corrected, holding her tightly.

"Abb," his granddaughter clarified.

Halt grinned, his eyes twinkling with grandfatherly pride. "Close enough. Good job, little Ranger!"

She giggled and clapped her hands together. "Yay!"

He chuckled. "Yay, Lorraine!" Gorlog's beard, she was growing up fast. Halt watched as his little Ranger continued to pet Abelard, who was obviously enjoying the attention; the Ranger joined in, gently patting his horse's neck and mane while Lorraine played with Abe's ears. Abelard nickered softly. The baby yawned.

"Baffft..." she murmured quietly, dropping her hand and resting her head in the crook of Halt's neck, a soft, chubby cheek against his skin.

He smiled, tenderly smoothing her dark hair. "You tired, little Ranger?"

"No..." Lorraine answered with a yawn.

"I think you are." The Ranger began to walk back to the house, ignoring his granddaughter's half-asleep cries of "Abb... Abb...". He stepped into the cabin silently as the baby grew heavier. Halt walked to her crib and gently placed her down.

"Babiboo?"

Her grandfather smiled. "Yes. Sleep well, little Ranger."