Who: Nina and Audrey When: Early March (When Merlin takes Ben to work for the day) Where: Audrey and Merlin’s Place What: A nice afternoon Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete
Nina was looking forward to spending an afternoon relaxing with Audrey, they were just going to chat, eat too many cookies and drink tea. Maybe with the odd film playing in the background. Merlin had taken Ben off for the day for father-son bonding to give Audrey a break so Nina had offered her company since she wasn’t working.
Bringing in the tray with tea and cookies on it she smiled as she sat, “So how does it feel now mum?” she grinned.
Audrey had been experimenting with decaffeinated teas and herbal infusions, trying to find something that would satisfy her tea urge but also not keep herself (and Ben) up until midnight. She’d been brewing some herbal “tea” in the kitchen, but while she waited she was sitting on the sofa with her feet up.
She moved them when Nina came in. “I don’t know. I’m exhausted all the time. I don’t really feel like me, you know?”
Nina had brought in Audrey’s tea, some of the blends were actually rather nice though she still loved her earl grey.
Nodding, Nina leaned back against the sofa. “You will feel a little out of sorts for a while, until you have more of a routine. It must have helped a little when Merlin went back to work, he’s there full time again right?”
“Yes, he’s back full time. Though, they’ve been amazing at Stark. They’re so flexible with his hours.” Audrey explained. “I can’t say how amazing it’s been, really. Even though I’m getting practically no sleep and it’s been… I don’t know, five days? Since I've had a shower.” She laughed at herself though. She wouldn’t change any of it for anything in the world.
“Miss Potts and Mr Stark seem to value him a lot” Nina said smiling, glad they did since it had helped Audrey and Merlin out a lot. “You’ll find a balance, I promise. You’re doing really well, and you know if you ever want a shower or a nap you can always ask me to watch Ben for a while”
“I don’t blame them.” Audrey said, beaming. “I mean, I value him, of course. But he’s a whiz with a computer and he can do magic. It’s like, the best combination ever for a workplace environment.” She couldn’t say enough about how proud she was of her husband.
“I might do that. Right now I just want some tea and cookies, and to relax. We’ve got a movie or something to watch?” Girl time. It felt nice to talk to another human being who spoke English.
Nina nodded, “Oh I know, both of those talents have helped me out before” she grinned. Merlin had fixed her laptop before and taken her to work via magic when she’d been running late.
“Well that we can do” she said, “We have a number of films to choose from” She moved from the sofa to grab the DVD’s she’d brought over.
Merlin was good at both of those things, so Audrey wasn’t surprised that he’d helped Nina out. He was a good guy, too. He was generous with his time and talent.
“Oh, good.” Audrey said, and accepted the stack of DVDs to flip through them. “Something funny? Something with some romance, too. Something where I won’t miss anything if I accidentally nod off.” She grinned, playfully.
"Funny is always a winner" Nina agreed, there were one or two Rom com's in there, a side effect of being in a new relationship she thought. "Don't worry if you do I'll probably join you" she'd done a few long shifts the previous week and still not caught up on sleep entirely.
“Let’s take full advantage of the baby-free time.” Audrey was still nervous about having Ben gone for so long. She had to pump, had to nurse, all those things, so that she wouldn’t stop lactating or something awful. (She was just being paranoid.)
“Put this one on.” Audrey said, handing a DVD case over to her friend, then leaned forward to pour the tea.
"You know he'll be perfectly fine with Merlin, he needs daddy time too" Nina said kindly. It was just as important for babies to bond with their dad's, at least in Nina's mind anyway.
"You got it" she said moving to do just that.
“I know. Just don’t let me sleep through pumping time.” She was still on a fairly strict schedule. Though so far she hadn’t had any serious problems with supply, which was good. And Ben was growing strong and healthy. Audrey settled back down against the sofa, holding her tea and cookies.
“I love Girl Scout Cookies. Don’t tell anyone I said that. But I can never recreate them properly.”
“You got it. I’ve set the alarm” Nina assured her waving her phone, being Audrey’s nurse came in handy for the both of them. Ben was growing well and in Nina’s opinion both his parents should be proud and congratulating themselves.
“Maybe they use a magical ingredient” Nina said, “Personally I think it’s crack or something”
"Thanks," Audrey knew she could count on Nina. It was great to have a health professional as a best friend not just because Nina was awesome, but because she helped Audrey stay healthy. "Oooh," Audrey said, perking up a little. "I bet they do have some sort of magical, addictive chemical in there." She grinned, settling back to munch on her cookies. "It wouldn't be that surprising in Orange County, would it?"
“Definitely not surprising and honestly, there are worse things to be addicted to” Nina agreed as she too munched on a crack cookie - which was definitely how she was going to be thinking about them from now on.
Audrey beamed. “I’ll take it.” The addiction was fine. It made her happy. And it wasn’t that bad if she kept it under control. The movie started and she set her mug aside to watch. Of course, she’d be asleep in ten minutes flat.
Nina would ensure they both kept the biscuit addiction under control. But she would be joining Audrey in the land of nod, there was no controlling that.