10/23 Issue: Hungover Helper

[Svartfreja]

Timelined for the morning of Sunday April 16.


<Chris> Chris had gotten woken up early to a call from the delivery company and the crew he'd hired to help him build the new fort he was making for the kids. "Uuugh... too early." Chris groaned as he got up to go make coffee so that he could live and Greer wouldn't eat him alive.

<Chris> The delivery crew would be there in about an hour and he'd have to tell them where to put everything and sign for it. It was going to be a huge project but if he was lucky it would only take about a week. Then he could start on the next project for the kids.

<Chris> Bobby had sparked an idea in his head and he wasn't going to stop until it was done. "I'll be back with coffee once it's done love." He gave Greer a kiss on the cheek and headed down in his robe.

<Greer> Greer smiled and rolled over, curling up again and snuggling into the pillows trying to purr herself back to sleep. She really hoped the kids would hear Chris wandering around and pester him. The phone for sure woke them up.

<Chris> Chris got to the coffee machine by the time he heard the pitter patter of little feet. "Uuuugh couldn't they sleep in?" He grabbed a few bowls and poured out cereal and some milk for them. "Cereal's on the table. Don't bother mommy please."

<Thomas> Thomas had been practising his Chewbacca and showed his dad as he plonked his butt on a chair to eat his cereal.

<Astrid> Astrid went to hug her daddy around his knees rather than climb up to eat her cereal.

<Chris> "Gettin' there buddy. We'll watch all the movies this weekend so you can get some practice." Chris gave the little girl a smile and reached down to pick her up. "It's breakfast time hun. You gotta sit in your seat while Daddy gets his and mommy's nectar of life ready." He kissed her forehead before setting her down in the chair.

<Astrid> "Nectar smells funny." Astrid picked up her spoon and embarked on her breakfast.

<Chris> "It will smell a lot better when you get older hun." Chris got two mugs out for Greer and him, as the coffee finished. "You two finish up your cereal while I go help mommy come back to life." He laughed at his own bad joke. "You're going to have to play in the playroom today. Dad's got a project in the backyard that'll be dangerous."

<Thomas> Thomas perked up, "Project?"

<Astrid> "I'll help, daddy!"

<Chris> "Nope, this is a big person project. You'll have to stay out of our way or you could get hurt." He gave them both a pat on the head before pouring the coffee and doctoring both up to how each other liked it. "If you're good and stay out of our way, you'll have a really fun surprise." Chris made his way back to the master bedroom with the coffee. "I have wake up juice."

<Greer> Greer's nose twitched and turned toward the smell of coffee before the rest of her was even fully awake, "Not enough in the world..." She shuffled to sit up enough then held out her hands for the coffee.

<Chris> "Kiss then coffee?" He smirked and leaned in for a kiss.

<Greer> She pouted at the witholding of coffee but obliged with the kiss. "Where are the kids?"

<Chris> Chris handed over the coffee. "Eating breakfest." He sipped at his cup and sat on the edge of the bed. "Think I should call a babysitter to keep an eye on them while I work?"

<Greer> "I can watch them for a while...." She stretched and yawned, "But maybe..."

<Chris> "I'll give one a call when I hear from the crew that's heading over. They said they're supposed to be here around 11." Chris leaned over and kissed Greer on the cheek.

<Greer> "What time is it now?" She rubbed at her eyes and took a sip of her coffee.

<Chris> Chris looked over at the clock. "Half past seven. The delivery guys must be early risers like the kids."

<Greer> "I hate them..." she grumbled, "I'm going to need a shower... and a lot more coffee."

<Chris> "Shall I lock the door or am I in charge of the kids since I woke you up so early?" He gave Greer a playful smirk and expected a smack.

<Greer> She narrowed her eyes, "Watch them. God only knows what they'll get into unsupervised."

<Chris> "Nothing too bad. Most things are too high for them to reach. Thank god for high counters." He laughed a little. "I'll keep an eye on them. Plus the trucks should be here soon."

<Greer> ".... Thomas is a cat. No ammount of height will stop him. I'm just glad Astrid can't fly... yet."

<Chris> Chris groaned. "We're going to have to start locking everything with a pad lock aren't we?" He got up carefully, with coffee in hand. "I'll bring you more coffee once the kids have settled down?"

<Greer> "I'll probably be in the shower by then," she gave him a soft smile, "Go play with them for a while if you're going to be working all day. You can shower when I'm dressed and fed. I'll come tag you out."

[Time Passes]

<Chris> Chris was outside showing the guys where to put all the different stacks of wood and steel as the big trucks pulled up. The men started setting out giant sheets of plywood so they could drive the trucks into the back yard. "Stay on the path I showed you guys please. I'll throw a bonus in if you keep the lawn as intact as possible."

<Chris> The guys started calling back and forth to each other and making sure the trucks were moving slow and steady towards the back yard. The engines causing a good amount of noise.

<Carol> The sound of the engines and the beeping of reversing trucks dragged Carol out of her alcohol induced sleep. She opened her eyes a crack and groaned at the light as she shut them again quickly. What the fuck was that noise?

<Chris> "Yeah that load goes over by the tree. Don't hit the branches." He called over to the guy in the forklift. "Thanks!"

<Carol> Tree? That noise was getting closer... also that voice was familiar. She risked opening her eyes again, a little more carefully this time and rolled onto her back to take in her surroundings. Where the hell was she?

<Chris> "Shit! Shit! Shit! Careful that's falling!" Chris made sure to stomp as he ran to build up power so he could catch a stack of wood from hitting a guy.

<Carol> Was she outside? She took in the wooden walls and ceiling, random kid pictures stuck all over, a bit of a branch.... Oh. She was in a tree house. She sat up and peeked out of the window. Well, at least it wasn't some stranger's tree house....

<Chris> "Someone either give me a few punches or help me out. I can't hold this forever." Chris yelled at a few of the guys as the one that almost got hit crawled out.

<Carol> Carol's eyes found Chris. She could stay in the treehouse and hide until she could escape... oooor go help. Damn her internal programming. She removed her inhibitor (which helped a lot with the hangover) and jumped down from the treehouse, going to take the weight from Chris.

<Chris> "What the hell?! Carol, what are you doing here?" He let her help him right the stack and set it down." He smelled the booze pretty quickly.

<Carol> "Really? That's your first thought?" She rolled her eyes, dusting her hands off on her jeans before running one of them through her hair.

<Chris> "Well when the mother of your child shows up smelling like booze." He sighed. "Thanks Carol."

<Carol> "Why don't you say that a bit louder? I don't think your neighbours heard..." She turned to walk away from the stack of wood and out of the way of the delivery guys.

<Chris> Chris made sure the guy was okay before going to see what Carol was even doing there. "I'm guessing you need some coffee?"

<Carol> "Coffee would be great..." She put her hands in her pockets and leaned against the fence behind her. "Also if you could not tell Greer I apparently slept in your tree house, that'll be super."

<Chris> "It won't take me telling her for her to know. Super nose remember?" He sighed and went in to get a cup of coffee for Carol.

<Greer> Greer was already in the kitchen, getting some snacks for the troops, so the coffee pot was already hard at work. She looked up from chopping tomatoes when Chris came inside, "Coffee's on... I made extra in case the delivery guys wanted some..."

<Chris> Chris sighed a little. "We've got a different guest. You're not allowed to try and kill her." He got his big travel mug and poured it in for himself and then got a cup for Carol.

<Greer> Her eyes narrowed and she took a deeper inhale, easily picking up the scent of Carol... and the smell of alcohol. "What is she doing here?"

<Chris> "Apparently she passed out in the treehouse. I'm gonna go up there and make sure it's clean later." Chris sighed. "She needs to get some damn help with all this."

<Greer> "I know. I've been saying this for years." She went back to chopping things, "Is she drunk right now?"

<Chris> "I'm guessing she's sobering up. I didn't see the inhibitor." He leaned in and kissed Greer's shoulder. "Did I ever tell you how happy I was that you took me back?"

<Greer> "Not nearly as often as you should," she leaned into him a little and turned her head to nuzzle his cheek. "She's not coming in the house."

<Chris> "No, she's not." He kissed her cheek. "Especially not after waking up in the treehouse I'm sure quite hungover."

<Greer> "And I'm not telling the kids she's here because they'll want to see her..." she finished with the tomatoes and spread them out between the sandwiches. "But... if she wants to help you with your construction project and you're okay with it and she can do it sober then I'll allow it."

<Chris> "She'd probably speed things up a bit but I don't know. It wouldn't be hard for the kids to notice and she knows she's not allowed to see them after she's had one of her benders." Chris pressed his head against her back. "I thought today was going to be a good day."

<Greer> "She can help while they're at school. It's doable..." she wiped her hands on a cloth then turned to wrap her arms around him, "She knows the rules."

<Chris> Chris gave her a kiss. "I don't deserve you." If his hands weren't full he would have pulled her into a hug.

<Greer> "Yes you do. You have earned my awesomeness or I wouldn't be here." She pressed a kiss to his cheek, "Go and caffeinate the hungover alien." She turned back to the sandwiches. "I'll make her something too I suppose..."

<Chris> "I'll come back in a minute to get the coffee for the guys." He kissed her quickly, just to steal another, before heading to take Carol her coffee. She could be jealous of his giant mug.

<Carol> Carol was making herself useful helping to offload some of the stuff because she didn't need a forklift.

<Chris> "They already put you to work huh?" Chris started towards Carol with a mug of coffee.

<Carol> She gave a shrug, "I offered. Better than just standing around..." She set the latest load down and eyed the coffee, "That for me?"

<Chris> "Careful it might be poisoned. Greer was suspiciously nice about you being here." Chris handed it over.

<Carol> "That's okay, I'm mostly immune to toxins...." She took the coffee and inhaled the scent, "Before you ask... I have no idea what time it was when I got here... or why I'm even here."

<Chris> "And before you ask, you know the rules. You go out drinking, you don't get to see the kids." He sighed. "Greer did say you could stick around and help with the project though. "And maybe if you lay off the booze and stay to get it built I'll talk her in to letting you break it in with them."

<Carol> She nodded, "Yeah, I didn't think I'd be allowed to see them... Like I said... I don't know why I'm here... I guess I just... had a rough week..." she sighed and took long drink from her mug.

<Chris> "Want to know the project? Might cheer you up." Chris sipped at his giant tumbler.

<Carol> "Sure... that'll help if I'm gonna help you put it together..." She bumped him with her shoulder.

<Chris> "Death Star!" Chris gave her an evil grin. "I'm turning them to the dark side. I decided that cookies were worth it."

<Carol> She stared at him for a long moment, "You're building a Death Star?" That was so... "Awesome! I'll totally help with that."

<Chris> "Yeah, Thomas has been practicing his shyriiwook." Chris laughed a little. "Designed a little fort for them. Should take about a week to build."

<Carol> She laughed, "Can't wait to hear that. I hope you realise he's gonna want to dress up authentically." She took another drink from her mug. She was nearly out of coffee. Sad.

<Chris> "Don't even put that idea out there..." He sighed. "Chewie pajama pants have already been ordered."

<Carol> "I don't have to. I already pointed out that Chewie is naked a hundred percent of the time."

<Chris> "Don't make me ban you from the Death Star." Chris gave her a stern look before laughing. "He already knows no pants, no playtime."

<Carol> Carol laughed, "I love that that's a rule." She finished off her coffee, "Also I kinda pointed out that Lego people live in houses made of their own flesh. So, you're welcome."

<Chris> "Do I need to send you to parenting classes?" He shook his head trying not to laugh.

<Carol> "Pfft, I'm awesome. They love when I visit."

<Chris> Chris sighed and shook his head. "Let's just get this all unloaded so when the guys get here to work it'll be ready."

<Carol> "Can I have more coffee first?" She held out her empty mug to him.

<Chris> "I guess. Sheesh, making me do all the work." Chris took her mug and headed inside to get her more coffee.

<Carol> "If you got me a bigger mug you wouldn't have this problem!" Carol called after him before turning to unload some of the supplies.

<Chris> "Nope, you have to be jealous of mine." Chris held up his tumbler and took a long drink from it, not moving while he did. Fuck that's hot!

<Carol> Carol knew he was probably burning his mouth to make a point. She had to admire that level of dedication.

<Chris> Chris made his way into the house as his tongue healed from the hot coffee. "Ooh sammiches too." He grinned as he remembered how awesome Greer was. "Thanks hun." Fuck now how was he going to carry all this outside.

<Carol> Carol worked on keeping the supplies in groups of like with like then helped the guys with the trucks pack up when everything was finally on the lawn. At least they were glad she was here.

<Chris> Chris put both sandwiches on one plate and managed to take it, Carol's coffee and his coffee out to her. "I need more arms."

<Carol> Carol looked over at him, "Don't you have a tray?" She wiped her hands on her jeans to go and relieve him of one of the cups of coffee.

<Chris> "Probably somewhere. Greer's smart I'm sure she bought one." Chris let her take her cup of coffee. "I'm assuming one sandwich is yours."

<Carol> "Are you sure I'm not supposed to just watch you eat them both?" She raised an eyebrow, but picked up one of the sandwiches anyway and pulled up a 'seat' mid-air.

<Chris> "Nah Greer's not that evil." Chris sat in one of his wood chairs. "Thanks for the help."

<Carol> "No problem... I should probably go home and shower before I help any more though..." She balanced her coffee on her knee so she could use both hands for her sandwich and make less of a mess.

<Chris> "Probably would be a good idea." He took a bite of his sandwich.

<Carol> "Do you want me to come back today? Or should I wait until tomorrow when the kids aren't here?" As much as it pained her to ask, the rules were the rules.

<Chris> "Tomorrow will probably be better. I'll talk to Greer about you maybe staying for dinner. Ya can't do stuff like this anymore though. It makes it hard for me to be the nice guy." Chris sighed.

<Carol> "It's not like I was sober when I decided to come here last night..." she pointed out, "I've had a tough week... you know seeing them makes me feel better...."

<Chris> "I know you weren't Carol. But that's one of the problems, you don't tend to think when you get drunk. I'm sorry you've had a tough week. At least you'll be able to blow off some steam working and see them later huh?"

<Carol> She nodded, "Yeah... and this construction project won't be plagued by BAMFs so that'll help..." Maybe a week away from the school would go some way to making her feel better. "It's more the nightmares than anything else... they're back with a vengeance..."

<Chris> "What's?" He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry Carol.... I wish I could help. Maybe... maybe you should go see a therapist? Get some actual help?"

<Carol> "I'm not talking to some SHIELD therapist about this. I don't care what weird shit they've seen they don't need those images in their head." She shook her own head, taking a bite of her sandwich and swallowing before she continued, "But... I have started talking to someone about it..."

<Chris> "Isn't Jessica a therapist now?" Chris offered as he put the sandwich down on his plate so he could take a sip of coffee.

<Carol> "Yeah she is... but she's not who I'm talking to about this... Broo is her brother. I'm not doing that to her either."

<Chris> Chris frowned. "Well... I hope you find someone that can help you out Carol. If you need some kid time, just let me know and we'll figure it out."

<Carol> "I think just talking about it'll help... maybe... We'll see... I just hope it doesn't make it worse..."

<Chris> "It might get worse before it gets better Carol." Chris gave her a little frown. "I mean I didn't just get better after what happened to me."

<Carol> "I know..." she dusted the breadcrumbs off her hands and picked up her coffee, "I'm not expecting it to get better over night.... I just... I used to talk about everything with Steven... I don't have him anymore so I just keep everything to myself..."

<Chris> "I know Carol." Chris sipped at his coffee. "Just keep pushing forward. It'll get better."

<Carol> "I hope so..." She leaned to give Chris a hug, "Speaking of recovering.... how are you after your flight from President Pantsless?"

<Chris> Chris hugged her back carefully. "That did not happen. Nope, not at all. I was asleep on the couch all night."

<Carol> She laughed, "Okay, sure. And I kept my pants on all night." She gave him a kiss on the cheek before letting go. "So I guess I should fuck off now, huh?"

<Chris> "I wouldn't know I was never there. I also didn't land in a dumpster when you launched me." Chris laughed a little. "I mean head home and shower, I wouldn't say fuck off."

<Carol> "Greer would," she pointed out, finishing off her coffee. "Thanks for breakfast..." She gave him a pat on the shoulder, "I'll come by tomorrow after nine..."

<Chris> "I mean when you've got something this awesome," Chris motioned to himself, "you gotta protect it." He laughed.

<Carol> For that, Chris got a shove, "Okay, Cassanova... see you tomorrow..." she lifted into the air and headed for home.

<Chris> "Hey I know that she's outta my league. Let me have my fantasies." Chris stuck his tongue out at her. "I'll see ya tomorrow."

[Esynthia]

Cute, guys