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masterjedilenawrites · 8 months

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The Batch Family: The Ninth of September

Part of my Bad Batch AU: "The Batch Family" [Collection Masterlist].

Word count: 990 | Batch ages: Multiple

Note: Since 9/9 obviously has to be the Batch boys' birthday, thought I'd take the opportunity to write a little something about it. It's been so long since I've written for this family, I miss them...

The Ninth of September | Celebrating the boys' birthdays through the years...

Their first birthday had been a spectacle. Beth had only had them for a few months at that time. She'd made it through the summer with them, working limited hours at her job in order to figure out a home routine, and thus sacrificing a lot just to ensure her new family got off to a decent start. But though there was still progress to be made for stability by the time September 9th rolled around, all of her family, friends, and apparently whoever else felt like it, still insisted on showing up, using the boys' birthday as a pretense for ogling her anomaly of a family.

Her mom hadn't yet gotten over her disapproval of the situation, pointing out every little mess in her home, and questioning every little decision Beth made for the boys. Her friends stood awkwardly about, treating her like she was a different person, like they'd never met her before and didn't know what to say. Her dad kept trying to slip her some cash, while the one set of grandparents she still had left were less subtle in their efforts to talk about her financial situation. And then there were plenty of faces she didn't recognize that had somehow wandered in, acting as if it was their business to be there, casting judgment and whispering comments under their breaths.

Thus, their second birthday was much more private.

Though the people in Beth's life had quieted down by then, she still chose to ignore any questions about planning a party and allowed herself to enjoy a birthday with her sons in peace. Well, in as much peace as five 2-year-old toddlers could manage. They ended up making a disaster of the kitchen as she tried using their help to make a cake. Flour on noses and batter on the walls, the whole bit. It was the most fun she'd ever had with them, the first time she gave herself permission to stop caring about being perfect. She would remember their unrestrained laughter and squeals of glee for years.

The next several birthdays were similarly private and energetic. She couldn't afford gifts and there never seemed to be enough friends for parties, so she made up for it with creative activities to make the day special. Crafts or games were the go-tos, with an occasional movie as they got older and could sit still longer.

Their ninth birthday was the "golden birthday," when their age matched the date, and that year she did splurge a bit and took them to see a soccer game in one of the bigger cities. That was the moment that started it all, the soccer obsession that would overtake their lives for the next several years. All she had wanted to do was distract them from the revelation they'd had earlier that year, about their birth parents and the fact that Echo's birthday was technically two weeks earlier and she'd pretended otherwise this whole time just to keep them from questioning the past until they were ready to understand it. And as a consequence she'd now have to deal with them being distracted by sports every day for the next decade. Oh well.

It wasn't until the were in the double-digits that she started inviting others again. She'd been back on good terms with her parents for a while but they had moved and visits simply weren't as convenient. But with the boys making more friends as they got older, she very well couldn't be that mom who deprived them of what everyone else had, and everyone else had birthday parties. Sure, the decorations were from the dollar store, and the only food she could offer was cheap pizza and a generic sheet cake from Costco, but young kids didn't care about such things. The fact they could say they had a party, and could be allowed to run around with their friends doing who-knew-what, that was enough.

Eventually, teenage angst got in the way, as it often did, so their fifteenth birthday was another tumultuous one. No one could agree on what do to celebrate. Wrecker and Echo wanted to keep things the same and just invite people over. Tech wanted to have more of an interesting outing, such as going to the newly opened cornfield maze. Hunter seemed embarrassed to want to do anything, and Crosshair was set on being contrary and arguing against any idea that was thrown out.

Beth had tried her hand at making a cake again, as a surprise, but ended up being so exhausted with their quarreling that she went to bed early for the night. The boys discovered the cake in the fridge later and felt awful, but not quite enough to snap out of their brooding, bickering personas just yet. No, those would continue to fester for a while longer.

But the nice, fun birthdays got back on track the following year, giving the Batch house a few more years of shared memories before they grew up too much. Eventually they graduated, started traveling, moving away, turning into adults with ambitions and futures. Birthdays wouldn't look quite the same after that.

All Beth could do was cherish the memories... and enjoy her flowers. She wasn't sure who started the tradition - she suspected Echo - but after the first year they had all been apart for their birthday in their twenties, they each started sending her flowers, every September 9th. Even though she hadn't been the one to give birth to any of them, they still felt she deserved some recognition for all the years she'd tried to give them a special day, even amidst any chaos or financial struggle or social awkwardness.

And toward each other, they'd acknowledge their shared day with nothing more than a simple Happy Birthday text in the group chat... Except Echo, who'd teasingly text back, Guess you guys forgot my birthday again...

~ ~ ~

The Batch Family Tag: @damerondala, @dangerousstrawberrypie, @pandora-the-halfling, @misogirl828, @darkangel4121, @sobstea, @rintheemolion, @dionysuskid21, @jesseeka, @hanbetired, @harleyevanstan, @imabeautifulbutterfly, @sarahtanmarvel, @itsagrimm, @lackofhonor, @error6gendernotfound, @theclonesdeservebetter, @hannahhearttcw, @kaijusplotch, @salaminus, @theroguesully, @reading02, @techie-bear, @not-a-big-slay, @nekotaetae, @the-mom-friend-dot-com, @pickle-rick-y, @flowered-bicycles, @droids-you-are-looking-for, @sleepycreativewriter

(Join my tag list here)

#star wars #the bad batch #the batch family #wrecker #crosshair #echo #hunter #tech #oc bethany batch #tbb au #modern kids #single mom #birthday #september 9 #clone force 99

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masterjedilenawrites · 1 year

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The Batch Family: The Sick Day

Part of my Bad Batch AU: "The Batch Family" [Collection Masterlist].

Word count: 2.4k | Batch ages: Child (11 y/o)

The Sick Day | Wrecker comes down with a cold, and one by one, the others follow

Beth liked to think she had this parenting thing down pat now. There was barely anything that phased her anymore. Sure, her days were unpredictable and busy and sometimes messy. But she still looked forward to waking up each morning to see what would happen. And she knew she could handle it.

But there was one thing she did dread, that made her seriously consider running away and never looking back.

Sick days.

She almost had a super power for detecting a sniffle that was more than just allergies. The hairs would stand up on the back of her neck, and she'd zero in across the entire house to the boy responsible, and with lightning speed she'd sweep him up and isolate him in her room with whatever medicine was appropriate. But no matter how fast she attacked, the rest of the boys would inevitably follow down into the sad illness stupor. And then finally it would overtake her, requiring a visit from her own mother to come and soothe the sickness away.

This winter season, Wrecker was the first.

The five were playing outside, as best they could in their many layers of jackets, scarves, and hats she'd insisted they wear. They waddled about on the dead grass almost comically as they tried to use their limited movement to enact some sort of pirate scene. Beth was perched on a chair next to the window, fiddling with a knitting project in her lap that seemed to be perpetually half-finished every year (though this would be the year she'd finally finish it, of course), and glancing nervously outside at the incoming rainclouds that littered the sky.

Her greatest worry was about the rain, expected to be quite heavy and lengthy this season. She wasn't sure she could handle another winter full of cooped-up energy from the boys, nor the mud that would inevitably be tracked in every day. She was already formulating plans of only allowing them to enter from the garage, perhaps keeping a box of towels and clothes out there for them to change into before coming fully inside....

But all thoughts of the rain snapped away as soon as she heard the cough.

Knitting needles were abandoned. Before she could even process where her feet where taking her, she was outside breaking up that pirate fight, slinging an arm around her biggest son.

"Hey!" Wrecker protested, mainly from confusion. Another little cough squeaked out. It was gravely, raspy. Much more than a little tickle in the throat. She would need to act fast.

"Inside," Beth stated, nodding at the others to file toward the house with her. "Playtime's over."

"But we were just about to maroon Blackbeard on the island!" Wrecker whined, with a chorus of supportive protests from the others.

"Inside! And don't touch each other... or your faces... or anything. I want you all washing your hands right away."

She was practically dragging Wrecker, unable to lift him as she once could when he was younger and smaller. Thankfully his feet were following along, even though his words said otherwise.

"Mooom, noooo, it's not faaaaair!"

Another cough.

"Cover your mouth, baby. I don't want anyone else getting sick...."

Even as she said it, she knew there was no hope. If one of them had caught something, then they'd all been exposed by now. Now it was only a matter of managing symptoms, boosting immune systems as best as possible, praying whatever it was would be mild or quick.

"Wait, I'm sick?"

Wrecker stopped protesting and let Beth guide him into her room. He put a hand up on his forehead and fingers along his neck pulse. The other boys were piling in at the opposite end of the hall, kicking off boots and still carrying on with whatever pirate-related debate they'd been trying to settle from earlier. Before Beth closed her bedroom door, she whistled for their attention.

"Here's the plan. Echo, you--"

"It's Captain Hook," the five of them said in almost perfect unison, including Wrecker beside her.

Beth swallowed an annoyed sigh. Maybe she could use their imaginations to her advantage. "Captain Hook... You and your pirate friends have been exposed to... uh, the Black Plague."

Was that historically accurate to the time of pirates? She wasn't sure, and Tech didn't correct her, so the detail was good enough.

"They're not all my friends," said Echo. He motioned to Hunter. "Blackbeard tried to betray me."

"It's called myoo-tin-eeeer," said Hunter proudly, looking to Tech briefly to confirm that was the right word to use.

"Whatever. Listen. The Black Plague is killing off crews from all the different pirate ships. You have to protect yourselves quickly or you'll be next. Understood?"

They nodded their heads.

"Okay. So, Captain Hook, I need you to wash your hands in the kitchen sink with warm water and lots of soap. Sing that yo-ho pirate song at least two times. When you're done, go to the couch and stay there until further instruction. And then Tech..."

"Smee," they harmonized.

"...Smee, then it'll be your turn. Kitchen sink. Warm water, lots of soap, pirate song twice. Sit in the dining room until I come back."

"What about me and Old Wooden Leg?" Hunter slung an arm around Crosshair, who immediately recoiled and balled up his fists.

"I told you, that's a dumb name and I'm not using it!"

"Stop touching each other!" Beth called after them, but the arguments were already ramping up faster than she could quell them. Wrecker somehow squeezed past her back into the hallway.

"It's better than mine, Poopdeck Pete!"

Echo and Hunter joined in his snickers over the silly name.

"I told you," Crosshair didn't pay them attention. "I'm Davy Jones."

"You can't be Davy Jones," Tech tried explaining. "He's dead. That's why he has a locker in the ocean. It's where all the dead people go."

Beth stormed down the hall, grabbing whatever boy she could reach first and starting to pull them into different directions so they were at least several feet apart. She shushed them as she did, so eventually the bickering petered out.

"Listen," she emphasized as best she could, turning in a circle to look each in the eye as she spoke. "I'm trying to stop you all from spreading germs here. Remember the last time you were sick? Not fun, right?"

They all shook their heads. Wrecker fittingly coughed again.

"Okay. So we're going to make sure it's not that bad again. Captain Hook: wash in the kitchen, sit in the living room. Smee: wash in the kitchen, sit in the dining room. Uh, Blackbeard?"

Hunter raised his hand.

"Bathroom, then your bedroom. Davy Jones: bathroom, then Wrecker and Tech's room."

Crosshair started to whine. "But their room is so dirty...."

"I'll clean it later, just stay put. Wash really good, don't touch anything else. And if anyone else starts coughing, cover your mouths for goodness sake."

"What about me?" Wrecker grinned at her.

"Poopdeck Pete, you're coming with me."

* * *

She'd really need to institute some sort of fire-drill system with these boys, Beth thought as she furiously scrubbed at Wrecker's body in the tub. He made many noises in complaint - shrieks, whimpers, giggles for the ticklish spots, and of course, lots of coughing - but Beth hardly noticed. In her head, she was already mapping out a few plans that she could get them all to memorize for future situations. A plan for sick days, a plan if one of them got injured and needed to go to the hospital, a plan for actual fires.... She could come up with cool codenames, so as soon as she said it, they would all know exactly where they should go and what to do. No more wasted time in hallways trying to crowd control.

"Ow! Moooom!" Wrecker let out a particularly loud screech as Beth tried getting the sponge into the grooves of his ear. She finally snapped out of her reverie.

"Sorry baby." She let the sponge fall into the soapy water, which was looking a bit murky now, giving her satisfaction that she hadn't been overreacting at his need for a good scrub. "Here, I'll let you finish, okay? Wash your legs and feet, then you can rinse off. I'll get some clean clothes and check on the others real quick."

She was really quick. It's like her body was moving on auto-pilot, handling as many things at once before going back to her room. Time was the enemy and she was not going to let it win. Turning on the heater, of which she was usually so conservative in using, while running down the hall. Throwing an armful of clean pajamas into the laundry room dryer to get them nice and toasty. Checking to make sure the other four boys had followed her instructions for their hand-washing and room assignments. Breaking into her Costco reserve of tissues, ensuring there was a box in each room. Digging out the spare air mattress for Tech to use in the dining room. Even getting some broth into a big pot to start cooking on the stove. Within the time it took Wrecker to finish his scrub and get out of the tub, Beth had returned with all the important tasks completed.

"This towel is really soft," said Wrecker. He snuggled into the folds of the fluffy white bath towel as he dried off. Beth chuckled as she set his pajamas on the counter, fresh from the dryer.

"Would you rather have that one instead of the Hulk?" she teased, referring to an inside joke they now had, based on what Beth dubbed as The Great Beach Towel Fiasco of Christmas '22.

Wrecker tried to laugh but ended up coughing instead. "Momma, am I really getting sick?"

"Afraid so," she said as she she helped him into his warm clothes. "Don't worry, we'll make sure it's not too bad this time."

"Does this mean I get to sleep in here with you?"

Beth nodded and his face instantly lit up.

"Can we watch a movie?"

"Sure. What should we watch?"

While Wrecker mulled it over, Beth was already counting through various devices in her head, to see if she'd have enough for the other boys to be able to watch something, too. Being split up into different rooms would surely cause some shenanigans if she didn't get ahead of it with enough activities.

"The Avengers!" Wrecker finally exclaimed before falling into another fit of coughs.

"Shh, baby, take it easy." Beth pulled him to her and rubbed a soothing hand over his back until the coughs subsided. "You sure you want to watch superheroes? Not pirates?"

"Yeah. The pirate game was lame. Tech just talked the whole time and Hunter didn't let me have a cannon."

Beth guided him over to her bed and got him settled in under the blankets. She briefly thought back to when they'd first moved into this house, how difficult it had been to get them to sleep in their own rooms for the first time. Many a night she'd been awoken to a boy or two sneaking in to snuggle next to her. It was sweet at first, but soon she desperately needed her alone time and had to make a hard and fast rule. Momma's room: off limits.

Unless someone was sick, of course.

* * *

It was late, probably close to midnight. Wrecker was nestled against her side, his eyelids heavy but still clinging on to consciousness as the end of their now third movie played out. He was warm, but the thermometer kept spitting out a normal reading, so it was likely just their combined heat from snuggling under so many blankets. So far he'd only complained of a cough and headache.

She'd gotten the others tucked into their respective places a few hours prior. Echo on the couch. Tech on the air mattress with a blanket fort he'd insisted on building around it. Crosshair in his own bed while Hunter had volunteered to take the other bedroom instead. They'd all been fed a some chicken noodle soup and orange juice. Vitamins had been passed around and a combination of air purifiers and humidifiers set up in the rooms. If she was lucky, Beth wouldn't have to deal with any severe symptoms from them and could just help Wrecker's cold pass.

But no sooner did she have that very thought than her bedroom door cracked open to reveal a not-so-good looking Tech peeking through.

"Mom," he whispered. "My throat hurts."

She wanted to sink into the mattress, so deep that she could never be found. Maybe if she hid long enough, it would all blow over and she wouldn't have to deal with any of it.

"I'll be there in a minute, dear. Just lay back down."

She made to get out of bed but Wrecker clung to her.

"Don't leave me...."

"Wreck, I've got to help your brother real quick."

Tech did not end up leaving, but instead came further into the room with little whines as he held his throat. Echo was behind him.

"Tech, Mom said we had to stay in our rooms."

The door was wide open now. She could hear a cough from down the hall, and as she tried to pry herself from Wrecker's hold, Crosshair shuffled in coughing, and Hunter followed right behind with concern.

Beth gave up. She huffed and fell back against her stack of pillows. Even she could feel her sinuses starting to swell up. They were all sick now. There was nothing left to fight.

"Come on." She lifted up the edge of the blanket and motioned for them all to join. One by one they piled into her bed, some next to her, some on the other side of Wrecker.

Credits were rolling on a long forgotten movie as the six of them all huddled together, commiserating in their shared predicament; ill, or just becoming so, but quietly cherishing the unexpected moment of being so close together, just as they once used to. Beth had already accepted the inevitable, but still had one concern left on her mind. But it was almost as if her beloved sons could read her mind, or sense her apprehension, as the comfort came soon after.

"Don't worry, Mom, we'll make sure you don't get sick, either."

"Yeah, we'll help you feel better, too."

"It's okay, Momma...."

They'd be alright, she was sure of it. They'd get through these sick days just like they got through everything else.... together.

* * *

The Batch Family Tag List: @damerondala, @dangerousstrawberrypie, @pandora-the-halfling, @misogirl828, @darkangel4121, @sobstea, @rintheemolion, @dionysuskid21, @jesseeka, @hanbetired, @harleyevanstan, @imabeautifulbutterfly, @sarahtanmarvel, @itsagrimm, @lackofhonor, @error6gendernotfound, @theclonesdeservebetter, @hannahhearttcw, @Techie-bear, @kaijusplotch, @salaminus, @theroguesully, @reading02

#star wars #the bad batch #the batch family #wrecker #crosshair #echo #hunter #tech #oc bethany batch #tbb au #modern kids #single mom #sick day #winter cold

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