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fandomweekly2024-01-19 02:38 pm
badly_knitted) wrote in fandomweekly2024-01-19 02:38 pm
Entry tags:
[#206] Big Sister (Torchwood)
Theme Prompt: #206 – Siblings
Title: Big Sister
Fandom: Torchwood.
Rating/Warnings: PG / None
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1000
Summary: Meriel waited a long time to be a big sister, and although having them around hasn’t always been fun, she loves her brother and sisters.
Meriel had been an only child for the first seven and a half years of her life, and while she’d loved having her parents’ all to herself, that hadn’t kept her from asking her daddies why she didn’t have any brothers or sisters the way most of her friends did.
They’d explained that as she was their first, they’d wanted time to enjoy being daddies and watching her grow up without having to share her.
“But you share me with each other, and with all my aunties and uncles, and with Nosy,” she’d pointed out, but they’d assured her that was different. It wasn’t until the twins came along that she finally realised what they’d really meant was that they hadn’t wanted her to have to share THEM with a noisy, smelly baby that demanded most of their attention.
Still, even when the twins were little and seemed to spend most of their time taking turns to sleep so that at least one of them was usually crying, Meriel was thrilled to be a big sister, and helped with her new siblings as much as her parents would allow.
It wasn’t wonderful all the time, the babies didn’t do much at first, apart from crying, and needing to be fed and changed umpteen times a day, but it was fun watching them grow and learn new things. The worst part in those first few months was having to share Nosy, who had spent every night with her from the moment she was born. Once the twins came along, Nosy took to staying with Meriel until she fell asleep, then it would slither up to the nursery to watch over the babies, waking her daddies whenever the little ones needed anything.
Everything got a lot better once Gareth and Jenna were a few months old. Nosy grew them a Flufflet each so they’d both have a playmate to grow up with, and Nosy itself could give Meriel its undivided attention, at least some of the time.
The twins were getting more interesting by then too, and Meriel started trying to teach them things. She talked to them, read them her favourite stories from when she was little, and sang them lullabies, but she still spent most of her time with Nosy, playing games, or with her parents, while Nosy and the Flufflets kept an eye on babies.
Sharing was hard though, and sometimes Meriel got cross because her daddies were busy with the twins when she wanted something and told her she’d have to wait a bit. It made her glad she’d been an only child for so long, because even as babies, the twins had to share everything except their Flufflets. She used to have days when she had her Daddy, her Taddy, and Nosy, all to herself. The twins never got that. One might have Daddy, while the other had Taddy, and Nosy went back and forth between them, but they never had all three at the same time. She felt a little sorry for them, but she supposed they couldn’t miss something they’d never had.
The older the twins got, the more fun Meriel could have with them, and the more mischief they could get into. She loved them, but she had to be careful not to let them get into her bedroom, because they’d make a mess, and break things. Maybe they didn’t really mean to, sometimes it was hard to be sure, but it was best not to give them the opportunity. They could be little monsters at times.
To Meriel’s disappointment, neither her sister nor her brother was interested in playing with dolls, or dressing up in pretty things, but there were other things she enjoyed that they liked too, playing with Lego, and colouring, and digging in the garden, so that was okay.
Then, when the twins were five and Meriel was twelve, her daddies had another baby, and this time Nosy made sure to grow a Flufflet right away, so Rhosyn had Daisy with her day and night, right from the start. That worked out much better, and with only one baby to care for, Daddy and Taddy managed to find plenty of time for each of their children, even while still taking turns going to work.
While Jenna was a tomboy who hated wearing dresses, Rosie turned out to be more like Meriel. Her favourite colour was pink, and she got to wear all the pretty things Meriel had worn when she was little. Even though Meriel was a teenager by then, she still found time to play with her brother and sisters. She loved them all, and if Rosie was her favourite, she kept that to herself.
When Meriel was seventeen and the twins were ten, she found Jenna sitting alone on the swings one afternoon, not swinging, just kicking at the ground with one foot. Wandering over, she sat on the other swing, enjoying the warm sunshine.
“What’re you doing out here all alone?”
“Nothing, just sitting.”
“How come?”
“Because I want to.” Jenna didn’t look up.
“Okay, what’s wrong?”
“Why would anything be wrong?”
“Because this isn’t like you. I’ve known you since you were a baby, and you never just sit doing nothing. You’re like Taddy, you always have to be busy. Come on, Jen, I’m your big sister; you know you can’t hide anything from me. Talk to me. Maybe I can help.”
Jenna sighed. “A boy at school’s being mean to me. He says I don’t look like a girl, that no boy will ever want to go out with me. He says I’m ugly.”
“Well, don’t listen to him. That boy obviously needs glasses, because you’re beautiful. You wear what feels comfortable, and you keep your hair short because that’s how you like it. There’s nothing wrong with being who you are; everyone’s different, and one day you’ll meet someone who loves you exactly the way you are.”
“You really think so?”
“I know so.”
The End
They’d explained that as she was their first, they’d wanted time to enjoy being daddies and watching her grow up without having to share her.
“But you share me with each other, and with all my aunties and uncles, and with Nosy,” she’d pointed out, but they’d assured her that was different. It wasn’t until the twins came along that she finally realised what they’d really meant was that they hadn’t wanted her to have to share THEM with a noisy, smelly baby that demanded most of their attention.
Still, even when the twins were little and seemed to spend most of their time taking turns to sleep so that at least one of them was usually crying, Meriel was thrilled to be a big sister, and helped with her new siblings as much as her parents would allow.
It wasn’t wonderful all the time, the babies didn’t do much at first, apart from crying, and needing to be fed and changed umpteen times a day, but it was fun watching them grow and learn new things. The worst part in those first few months was having to share Nosy, who had spent every night with her from the moment she was born. Once the twins came along, Nosy took to staying with Meriel until she fell asleep, then it would slither up to the nursery to watch over the babies, waking her daddies whenever the little ones needed anything.
Everything got a lot better once Gareth and Jenna were a few months old. Nosy grew them a Flufflet each so they’d both have a playmate to grow up with, and Nosy itself could give Meriel its undivided attention, at least some of the time.
The twins were getting more interesting by then too, and Meriel started trying to teach them things. She talked to them, read them her favourite stories from when she was little, and sang them lullabies, but she still spent most of her time with Nosy, playing games, or with her parents, while Nosy and the Flufflets kept an eye on babies.
Sharing was hard though, and sometimes Meriel got cross because her daddies were busy with the twins when she wanted something and told her she’d have to wait a bit. It made her glad she’d been an only child for so long, because even as babies, the twins had to share everything except their Flufflets. She used to have days when she had her Daddy, her Taddy, and Nosy, all to herself. The twins never got that. One might have Daddy, while the other had Taddy, and Nosy went back and forth between them, but they never had all three at the same time. She felt a little sorry for them, but she supposed they couldn’t miss something they’d never had.
The older the twins got, the more fun Meriel could have with them, and the more mischief they could get into. She loved them, but she had to be careful not to let them get into her bedroom, because they’d make a mess, and break things. Maybe they didn’t really mean to, sometimes it was hard to be sure, but it was best not to give them the opportunity. They could be little monsters at times.
To Meriel’s disappointment, neither her sister nor her brother was interested in playing with dolls, or dressing up in pretty things, but there were other things she enjoyed that they liked too, playing with Lego, and colouring, and digging in the garden, so that was okay.
Then, when the twins were five and Meriel was twelve, her daddies had another baby, and this time Nosy made sure to grow a Flufflet right away, so Rhosyn had Daisy with her day and night, right from the start. That worked out much better, and with only one baby to care for, Daddy and Taddy managed to find plenty of time for each of their children, even while still taking turns going to work.
While Jenna was a tomboy who hated wearing dresses, Rosie turned out to be more like Meriel. Her favourite colour was pink, and she got to wear all the pretty things Meriel had worn when she was little. Even though Meriel was a teenager by then, she still found time to play with her brother and sisters. She loved them all, and if Rosie was her favourite, she kept that to herself.
When Meriel was seventeen and the twins were ten, she found Jenna sitting alone on the swings one afternoon, not swinging, just kicking at the ground with one foot. Wandering over, she sat on the other swing, enjoying the warm sunshine.
“What’re you doing out here all alone?”
“Nothing, just sitting.”
“How come?”
“Because I want to.” Jenna didn’t look up.
“Okay, what’s wrong?”
“Why would anything be wrong?”
“Because this isn’t like you. I’ve known you since you were a baby, and you never just sit doing nothing. You’re like Taddy, you always have to be busy. Come on, Jen, I’m your big sister; you know you can’t hide anything from me. Talk to me. Maybe I can help.”
Jenna sighed. “A boy at school’s being mean to me. He says I don’t look like a girl, that no boy will ever want to go out with me. He says I’m ugly.”
“Well, don’t listen to him. That boy obviously needs glasses, because you’re beautiful. You wear what feels comfortable, and you keep your hair short because that’s how you like it. There’s nothing wrong with being who you are; everyone’s different, and one day you’ll meet someone who loves you exactly the way you are.”
“You really think so?”
“I know so.”
The End
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