Who: Mary Ellen and the babies What: babysitting Where: the Rogers' cottage When: Sunday afternoon Rating: probably low Open to anyone with access to the cottage or who wants to visit
There wasn't much Mary Ellen could do to thank Peggy for helping her and her dad and for Steve and Bucky for letting her and Stevie take over their home. But she'd been determined to do something. That something ended up being babysitting. As soon as Charlie had been dropped off she'd put out the offer and didn't let them say no. She'd watched and taken care of enough kids, super and not, over the years and there was enough help she could call if anything got out of hand. It helped too that she'd grown up with Stevie and Charlie and knew exactly the sort of things that would keep them occupied and happy without too much collateral damage.
So she was bouncing around the living room, Currently, Stevie sprawled out on a giant roll of butcher paper, laying on his belly, surrounded by crayons, coloring his way along the roll. Every now and then he'd turn to her and excitedly explain what he drew and she'd kneel down, tell him how beautiful it was, maybe add a little doodle of her own. Charlie, on the other hand, she had set up on the couch, with a fort made of big cardboard blocks and little dinosaurs he could knock off the top of the wall with a bunch of soft little balls she'd found in Stevie's room. She'd have to stop and reset the dinos every few minutes but the giggles he made when they fell made her not mind. All the while she held Mouse on her hip, singing her "Hey Jude" quietly while the baby gnaw on some frozen orange slices Mary had wrapped in some cheese cloth. She was getting orange juice all over her shoulders but Sarah wasn't crying so she made the sacrifice.
She had to admit, it was kind of fun, even if keeping up with them could be a little tough now and then.