“Momma!”
Pam was startled from her art-induced reverie by the shriek of her young daughter Olivia as she came tearing into the garage, followed closely by the family’s labradoodle puppy, Boomer. Pam dropped the paintbrush and it clattered to the floor, sending droplets of violet paint across the tarp laid out beneath her. Pam looked annoyed momentarily, but it quickly melted away when Olivia jumped onto her lap with a huge grin on her face. Boomer barked at Pam’s feet, jumping up and putting his front paws on her lap. The Terrible Twosome were causing a ruckus as usual, and Pam knew if she didn’t get the situation under control quickly, she didn’t stand a chance against them.
“Livy, careful babe, you almost knocked over Mommy’s easel.” Pam shifted her weight on the stool and slipped her arms around her daughter’s waist to keep her from falling. Pam’s voice was not harsh with her daughter as she gently redirected her attention. “What’re you running from Boomer for?”
Olivia grinned devilishly, her green eyes twinkling. “Because of…” She reached into the front of her overalls and pulled out the pup’s favorite chew toy, causing him to bark incessantly once again as she purposely squeezed it and made it squeak. “…THIS!” Olivia waived the hamburger-shaped toy in Boomer’s face then flung it across the room, sending the puppy bounding after it. It hit the wall with a loud thwack, giving off one final squeak upon impact until Boomer sank his teeth into it and lay down right there to commence chewing.
“Oh dear…” Pam muttered under her breath. She knew that look very well, understood the mischief lurking behind those bright eyes and that smile. Olivia Jane Halpert was definitely her father’s daughter, no question about it. Today it may have been lovingly tormenting the dog, but who knew what tomorrow would bring; Pam was certain she would eventually be finding her art supplies encased in wiggling domes of Jell-O.
Before Pam could say anything else, Olivia was off her lap and lying on the floor beside Boomer, rubbing the soft fur behind his ears. She was whispering to him and though Pam could not make out what she was saying, she was sure it was something sweet; Olivia was smiling and dropping kisses on Boomer’s head. The puppy didn’t seem to mind Liv’s ministrations as he happily continued gnawing on the hamburger.
A soft cry from the baby monitor that Pam had propped up on the ledge of her easel distracted her before she could pick Olivia up from the messy floor. Liv heard it too and jumped to her feet, momentarily forgetting Boomer in order to rush as fast as her little legs could carry her toward the increasingly loud wails of her baby brother. Pam followed quickly behind, knowing if she didn’t get there first then Liv would practically be in the crib with Jackson, trying to soothe his cries.
“Olivia Jane, wait for Mommy!” Pam called, nearly being tripped up by Boomer, who also was suddenly caught up in the flurry of activity that had left him alone in Pam’s studio. He tore down the hall after Liv and Pam arrived in the nursery last, as usual. Olivia was at the crib, which was now painted beautiful shades of blue and green, much different than when Olivia had occupied it three and a half years earlier. Olivia’s face was pressed against the rails and one thin arm was snaked through, gently touching the crying infant’s soft hair.
“Hush widdle baby, hush widdle baby…” Liv sang, off-key but confidently none-the-less.
“Careful Liv, let Mommy pick Jack up.” Pam gently moved Olivia aside and picked her son up, cradling him against her and humming softly, swaying in place in an attempt to calm him. “Jackson, it’s okay, Mommy’s here…” She kissed his forehead softly and sat in the rocking chair, tucking in one of his baby blankets around him.
“Momma, when is Daddy coming home?” Olivia loved her little brother, but she grew bored of him quickly, especially when he occupied Pam’s attention. Liv knew her daddy would pay her all the attention she wanted, if only he were home from work.
Pam glanced at the clock on the wall, adorned with matching swirls of the dark shades that Jackson’s crib had been painted in. “He’ll be home in a few minutes. Why don’t you sit at the front window and watch for him?”
Olivia’s face broke into a grin. “YES! Come on, Boomer, we have to watch for Daddy!” She was off in a flash once again, thundering through the house with the dog at her heels.
Nestled securely in his mother’s arms, Jackson slowly opened his eyes and stared up at Pam. She rocked back and forth in the chair as he wrapped his tiny fingers around her index finger. Pam marveled at the differences between Jackson and his big sister. Just as she was now as a four year old, Olivia had been a noisy baby. A good baby, but a noisemaker – always cooing and babbling, then talking and singing. She’d been on the move from the time she’d learned to roll over, but Jackson was different. He was much quieter, unless he was unhappy – then he was a wailer. But for the most part, Jackson James Halpert was content to observe whatever happened to be going on around him. In his three short months in the household Jack had certainly seen a lot, mostly thanks to the Olivia and Boomer Show.
A loud crash from the living room startled Pam, though she was relieved that it was not followed by any crying from Liv. That was a good sign. Pam got to her feet, Jackson wide-awake now, and made her way to the living room to see what was going on.
“Momma, don’ get mad, I can es’plain…” Olivia sat on the living room floor, surrounded by piles of DVDs. The three-shelf bookcase was face down beside her and Boomer was nowhere to be seen.
“I’m sure you can, Liv. And I’m sure it’s a great story,” Pam replied, not at all surprised. “Were you climbing again?”
Olivia grinned sheepishly. “Yeah…But Boomer made me! He was chasin’ me!”
“Well what did you do, steal one of his toys again?” Pam grabbed the baby sling that was lying over the back of the recliner and maneuvered it around her shoulder until it was secure, then swiftly slipped Jackson into it so her hands were free to help Olivia pick up the mess.
Olivia nodded and began stacking the various movies that were strewn about. Pam still had a protective arm holding Jackson as she reached down and lifted the small bookcase back to its upright position. She sat down crossed legged on the floor beside Liv and taking the stacks she was creating, putting them back on the shelves in no particular order. The process was a slow one; it seemed as though every other movie was Olivia’s ‘favorite movie!’ and she wanted to watch it that very moment.
They sat there together for several minutes, looking over the numerous movies they’d collected since Olivia’s birth. Neither heard the front door open at first until Boomer started barking excitedly. Olivia tossed aside a copy of ‘Lilo and Stitch’ and jumped to her feet.
“Daddy!” Liv shrieked, flinging herself into Jim’s arms mere seconds after he’d dropped his coat and briefcase in the chair. “Look what Boomer did!” She pointed to the mess on the floor as Boomer sat at Jim’s feet, wagging his tail.
“Hmmm, he’s pretty talented I guess, huh?” Jim tossed Liv onto his shoulder as if she were a sack of potatoes and began tickling her feet with one hand as the other remained securely around her waist. She wiggled and shrieked and did her best to escape his grasp, but it was no use.
“Momma! Heeeeelp!” Liv pleaded, out of breath from the combination of laughing and squealing. Her arms were outstretched in Pam’s direction, but Mom remained out of reach.
“I don’t know kiddo, I think you’re on your own.” Pam winked at Jim, who let up for a moment.
“So, Boomer made that mess?” Jim removed Liv from his shoulder and held her out in front of him. “Because I’m pretty sure that you might just be fibbing a little bit.”
“Well, I might have helped him…” Olivia finally wriggled out of Jim’s hold and dropped herself to the floor, where she resumed helping Pam put them back on the shelves. Jim followed and sat down beside his wife, putting a hand on her back and leaning in to kiss Pam’s cheek.
“And how was your day?” Jim asked as he pulled away, put took a peek at Jackson who was still snugly fit into the baby sling, sucking on his fist and taking in everything going on around him. “Hey Little Man, you taking care of Mom and Sister today?”
“No!” Olivia piped up before Pam even had a chance to respond to her husband’s question. “All he did was cry and sleep! When is Ja’son gonna be fun?” She put her hands on her hips and stuck out her bottom lip in a pout.
Jim did his best to stifle a laugh, pulling Liv onto his lap. “Well, Mommy and I think he’s pretty fun. But it’ll still be a little while before he can do any of the things you want him to do. Just wait though, as soon as Jack starts crawling, you’re going to wish he was still this tiny.”
“Why? Is he gonna be naughty?” Liv’s eyes widened; this was not a possibility she had considered.
“Not naughty,” Pam explained. “But sometimes he might get into your toys, and you can’t get mad, he doesn’t know any better.”
Olivia was quiet for a few seconds, contemplating what this might mean to the existence of her markers, crayons, and Barbie dolls. “I guess Jack can play with my toys, but only when I say.”
“That sounds acceptable to me. As soon as Jack learns to talk, I’m sure he’ll agree.” It was Jim’s turn to wink at Pam, who laughed softly. Having come from a family with siblings, Jim knew there was no way that arrangement would last. He stood up as the last as the DVDs were finally in their home and helped Pam to her feet. Jim picked up Liv again and carried her on his hip into the kitchen. “So, what should we do about dinner, kiddo?”
“Spasketti!” Olivia shouted. “Momma already made the noodles, you jus’ have to make the ham-buger do the ‘ssssss’ noises.” For whatever reason, Liv was always fascinated by the sound of anything frying. It was her favorite part of helping cook dinner and she was always disappointed when their meal didn’t include something that went ‘ssssss’ when it was being prepared. Olivia pointed to the stove where sure enough, a large pot was filled with water and spaghetti noodles, just barely beginning to boil. The hamburger was in the pan, ready to be made into something edible.
Pam grabbed a spatula from the drawer and began stirring the hamburger meat, Jackson beginning to wiggle around more and more.
“Jim, can you take him? He’s going to get fussy soon if he doesn’t get out of here.” Pam turned to Jim and lifted Jack from the sling, removing it altogether when their son was in Jim’s arms.
“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!” Olivia was tugging at Jim’s paint leg the moment his attention was diverted to Jack. Boomer was barking again and Pam was doing all she could to keep from shouting above the noise.
“Liv, I’m right here, you don’t need to shout,” Jim told her, cradling Jackson carefully in one arm while taking the requisite cans of tomato soup from the cupboard for the meat sauce. “Can you do me a favor kiddo?” Asking for her help was the quickest way to get Olivia to stop begging for attention.
“Yes, Daddy,” she replied solemnly, letting go of his pant leg and awaiting instructions.
“I need you to get me the ketchup and mustard from the refrigerator, do you think you can do that for me?” Jim moved to the cupboard and grabbed the container of white sugar, setting it next to the stove, where Pam was busy stirring the meat into the soup.
“Uh huh!” Olivia gave the fridge door a hard tugged and staggered back as it swing open. She grabbed the bottles of condiments her father had requested and presented them proudly to him. “Here, Daddy! I got ‘dem for you!”
“Thank you Livy.” Jim tousled her hair and she beamed up at him as she closed the fridge door that was lovingly decorated with family photos and the artwork Olivia created at preschool. She loved spending time with Pam in the studio and did her best to emulate her momma’s work at school.
“Wha’ else do you need?” Olivia stood on her tip-toes and stared into the pan as the contents were mixed together and quickly began resembling the spaghetti that Liv loved so much. It was her favorite meal and one that they had once a week.
“I bet if you ask, Daddy will get the plates and you can carry them to the table,” Pam told her, adding the last of the ingredients and continuing to stir the sauce. She peered into the large pot where the noodles were boiling and bubbling, and turned down the heat so they wouldn’t stick to the bottom.
“Hey Daddy, can I have ‘da plates pweese?” she asked. Jim was a step ahead of her already, and two large plates and one small plate were already sitting on the counter. Olivia grinned again.
“One at a time though hon, we don’t want to drop them,” Jim reminded her. Though she wasn’t quite four yet, Olivia was being taught the value of helping around the house and doing the things her parents asked of her. She could be a pistol sometimes and didn’t always want to listen, but she was still eager to be important and help with the tasks she viewed as ‘grown-up’ – things Jack couldn’t do.
“I know, Daddy.” One at a time, Olivia took the plates from the stack. Jim followed her into the dining room and cleared away the table cloth to make way for her to do her ‘job’. Afterwards, Jim went back into the kitchen and set out three glasses, three spoons, and three forks. With Liv occupied for a few minutes, Jim slipped an arm around Pam’s waist to give her a more proper hello. Jack waived his tiny arms, fists balled tightly, as Jim pulled Pam to him and hugged her.
“She been giving you a lot of trouble today?” he murmured into her hair as Pam briefly closed her eyes, resting against Jim’s shoulder. Olivia continued her chore, taking each utensil one at a time, barely even aware that her parents were discussing her.
“No more than usual I guess,” Pam replied, watching their little girl with her pig tails bouncing on her shoulders. Her overalls were still streaked with dirt from earlier in the afternoon when she’d decided to dig around in the flower beds before the rain had come, and Liv had paint in her hair from an art project gone awry. “She’s just so stubborn, Jim. And she’s getting sneakier. It’s not so bad now when she’s in pre-school and only goes every other day for the morning, but when she goes to Kindergarten I am so terrified that she’s going to glue someone to their chair or let the class pet loose in the room.”
“Well, I guess we’ll just cross that bridge when we come to it.” Jim eyed Olivia, moving on to the glasses at last and setting them beside each plate, along with a napkin. Without being asked, she went into the living room and began dragging the mall rocker they used to keep Jackson in while they ate, since he wasn’t yet big or strong enough to hold himself up in a high chair. “I don’t think her behavior is any worse than any other kiddo her age. My nieces and nephews all went through their ‘naughty’ phases, and I’m sure that having Jack around isn’t easy on her; she had our undivided attention for over three years. We knew that having a new baby was going to be an adjustment for everyone.”
“I know, it was just a long day. I was literally chasing after her from one thing to another for a good three hours. I finally got her down for a nap around 3:15 but she didn’t sleep more than an hour. I don’t know if it’s just the weather making her all crazy today or what.” Pam glanced out the window as the rain continued coming down in sheets. “Liv got to play outside maybe fifteen minutes before it just started coming down and she’s been cooped up ever since.”
“Tomorrow will be better. Sunshine all day. Liv will be able to run herself ragged and she’ll fall asleep before dinner.” Jim leaned over the stove to glance at the meat and sauce that had started bubbling, and he turned it down as Jack started gurgling and wiggling in his arm again.
“True. And she always does better when she’s had school in the morning; that structure is good for her.” Pam took the pot of noodles and placed the lid on it, then tipped it over the sink and began emptying the water. Jim grabbed the spatula and once more stirred the hamburger and sauce.
“Right. See Beasly, you’ve got it all figured out.” Jim winked at her and turned his attention to Jackson once again as Pam smiled to herself. Even after all these years she loved it when Jim called ‘Beesly’; it was his nickname for her, always had been, always would be. She was more than content officially being a ‘Halpert’, but the use of her former name conjured up memories of jellybeans and pranks. She dumped the noodles into a bowl and carried them into the dining room as Jim conversed with their son.
“Little Man, you’re not going to cause as much trouble as your sister, are you?”
Jackson looked back up at Jim with his wide blue eyes, waving his arms at him and nearly punching himself in the nose. He cooed in response to his father’s soothing voice and Jim grinned. He loved both of his children dearly and would so anything for them, there was no question about it. But something about holding Jackson and knowing he was his son…it was a feeling Jim just could not explain.
Pam entered the kitchen just as a loud crash sounded once again from the living room. She and Jim exchanged a glance and looked in to see Olivia on the floor, surrounded by the movies that had just recently been put away. The bookshelf found itself in the familiar position of being facedown beside her. Liv grinned up at them, looking unapologetic with an arm around Boomer.
“Of course, Liv, of course.” Pam reached down and pulled Olivia to her feet. Leaving the movies for the time being, Pam carried Liv under her arm against her hip into the dining room, the little girl giggling the entire way. Joined by Jim and Jackson with Boomer trailing lazily behind, they finally sat down together to enjoy their dinner as a family.
The mess could wait.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: I do not own The Office. I'm a poor grad student, please don't sue me!
Chapter End Notes:
BigTuna, once again, deserves lots of credit for beta-ing this for me and for listening to my ramblings! Hopefully you like this one as much as my first, let me know if it's something I should continue or not!
