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It wasn't often that Jim, Jimmy and James admitted they they weren't exactly the same personality coming out, but when one of them admitted it, it was most likely James.
See, when it came down to it, they were separate personalities. They were all different parts of the same person, with clearly cut defining lines.
You couldn't get Jimmy to sit still for five minutes without him literally crawling all over furniture, and even cuddles with their sweet boy, usually involved squirming and whining while he shuffled against you like a puppy. He loved the cuddles, but he wasn't built for all this sitting still nonsense.
Jim liked hugging, but he wouldn't go into someone's personal space without being invited. As much as he acted like an asshole, he wasn't one. He also couldn't sit through a holo cartoon to save his life. He still liked them just fine, but he didn't have the patience for them.
James though… it's like all the personal space that Jimmy and Jim lacked, went straight to him. He would keep a polite distance from others, and though his nose gave a cute little wrinkle to it when his own was invaded, he was also the diplomat and knew how to take other people's cultures and need for touch into account before labeling an invader as friendly or not. He was the one with the common sense out of the three as well.
It's almost as if, all nervous energy is burnt out in other places, and when James is left, you have an actual composed human being. It was amazing to watch.
Sometimes, James didn’t surface when he logically should to take charge of a situation. Oh, nothing big, he was almost a constant now days with their academy days slowly coming to an end and the possibility of James getting his own ship soon, but sometimes, when things like this happened, he’d stay in the background, even though it would probably be more helpful if he was a little less… ornery.
Leonard hadn’t been informed that Jimmy had been admitted to the medical bay, probably because he had just gotten out of a routine appendix removal, but he didn’t actually know that Jimmy was there until he heard crying.
This wasn’t a child’s ‘I’m not getting my way’ cry, this was Jimmy’s soft, ‘nothing is okay right now and I need a hug’ cry. Leonard knew that cry very well actually, because Jimmy was nothing if not dramatic, and he tended to cry about a lot of things.
He stopped next to the room where he could hear the crying and pulled the chart off the wall, just to make sure, and sure enough, Jimmy had been admitted with an allergic reaction that was going to need at least an hour more to clear up. Which meant he was stuck in the medical bay for the next two hours.
Leonard sighed, reaching up a hand to rub at the bridge of his nose -though not annoyed, just tired- and opened up the door a crack so he could see in.
George was in the room with his youngest son, holding up a stuffed rabbit as he tried -and failed, don’t forget that part- to get Jimmy to stop crying, and for a moment, Leonard was struck by just how caring Jimmy’s parents were of him.
Even with age regression being so popular now days, biologica families rarely got in on it with their children or siblings. Seeing families that were willing to be a part of it with them, was both rare, and amazing.
“Come on Jimmy, look at the bunny, don’t you like the bunny?”
Jimmy sniffled. He looked like he was honestly trying to keep himself from crying but it just wasn’t working. He reached out for the bunny with shaking hands, and Leonard looked back to the patient PADD to see exactly what it was that he’d had a reaction to.
Blackberries, so that probably means he’s itchy and his head hurts and feels like too much pressure.
“Bunny, Daddy?” He sniffled again, petting down the soft fur of the little stuffed rabbit, and George moved so the boy could pick it up to cuddle.
“Yeah, Jimmy, bunny. He wants to make sure you get all better, isn’t that so nice of him?”
“Nice.”
The chart suggests that he can take a pressure reducing hypo in an hour when he’s no longer so sensitive. Leonard put the chart back and gently knocked on the door before pushing it open the rest of the way and coming in.
“Hi, Jimmy. I heard you had an owie.”
Jimmy nodded, still holding the stuffed bunny close to his chest with one hand, but reaching out to Leonard with his other. “You, you came see me, my Bones?”
Leonard came over and sat on the edge of Jimmy’s bed. George was on the other side, looking nervous, but also sort of used to this. Jimmy had so many allergies, this was probably a normal thing for them. He let Jimmy burrow into his side as well as he could, and put an arm around him, kissing him on his head.
“I came to make sure you were okay, darlin, can’t let my boy get hurt.”
“Feels ick.”
“I know.”
Jimmy was napping when George’s PADD got a message that he was needed elsewhere on the campus, so the man reluctantly left his baby boy with Doctor McCoy. He wasn’t fully sure what relationship the two of them had together, other than him frequenting their house to keep Jimmy company while him and Winona were away, and how Jimmy says that him and Professor Spock were dating, but so far he’s okay with what he sees.
Though, if Doctor McCoy hurts his baby boy, George won’t hesitate to completely ruin his life.
He couldn’t help but notice the way that Leonard was the only person so far that Jimmy had calmed down for, and though that stung a little, he understood. Sometimes you need someone other than Daddy to make things better, but Jimmy was perpetually a daddy’s boy and so it came as a low blow. “Will you be here with him when it’s time for him to go home?”
Leonard looked back down at his watch and nodded. “My shift ended before I found you two, I’ve been doing paperwork since. I’ll make sure he gets home safe.”
It sort of took a bit to force his next words out, but he needed to bite the bullet on this one. It wouldn’t do to feel bitter over the only other person who could make his baby smile and was friends with him as an adult as well. “You should probably take him back to your dorm. It’s closer, and our house is going to be empty for a while, so he’d be all alone there. He gets clingy after an allergic reaction.”
Leonard nodded, not fully sure what to say to that, though he could feel how important that was. “I’ll keep a close eye on him.”
George nodded. “Good.”
***
They didn’t end up going to Bones’s dorm room, mostly because lately Bones has been sleeping in Spock’s apartment since it was bigger, but still, it was closer than Jim’s house. After a quick stop in Leonard’s dorm to change his clothes and grab an overnight bag, Leonard lead Jimmy back out and towards the front of the campus where there were apartments.
Jimmy has never slept over at Spock’s apartment before, but Spock and Leonard have babysat him there before, and he likes it. It’s new to Jimmy, so that means there are places to explore, and Spock was amazing and always made Jimmy feel warm and safe and cuddly. Jimmy was excited to get to sleepover tonight.
Jimmy didn’t have any classes before noon tomorrow, but it was still a work night for Leonard and Spock, so they were going to have to split their time between watching the little and doing paperwork, but that’s okay. A quiet night in sounded almost blissful to Leonard. He hasn’t had one of those in a while.
When they got there, Spock was ordering dinner for them. Not that he couldn’t cook himself, but he knew that Leonard was likely tired from a long shift, and he had something else in mind for Jimmy that was going to need some attention right now.
See, one of the things that had previously confused him at the beginning of helping Leonard watch Jimmy, was a lack of childish toys and props.
It’s not that Jimmy didn’t use pacifiers or teddy bears, he did, but to be honest, that’s usually where his use of props ended. Spock had read that ageplayers can sometimes rely heavily on props such as bottles and diapers -which, Jimmy had outright refused, because diapers are on his no go list- while age regressors are almost entirely mentally regressed without much reliance on physical things to keep them going.
Spock thought that it might be interesting to see if Jimmy would like those sorts of things though, even if only when they were all alone together. Leonard had messaged them before he’d left the medical bay with Jimmy, telling him that Jimmy still felt fragile and a little overworked right now, that he would probably be low energy and not too playful tonight.
Spock thinks that tonight is the perfect night to see if this might help Jimmy relax more.
Jimmy seemed a little tired, but happily accepted being passed off to Spock when he got through the door, mainly because Spock always carried him when Jimmy needed the cuddles, and cuddles were important right now. He needed them to survive.
He curled up into Spock’s neck, listening to the quiet words going between Spock and Bones, but not really comprehending them. He wasn’t sleepy, but his body was icky tired and he just needed the cuddles and love. Holding onto Spock always made his mind feel warm inside, and he wasn’t sure why, but he loved it. Spock said he thinks Jimmy has a high PSI rating, but they haven’t gotten it tested yet.
He felt something nudge his arm, and accepted the stuffed bunny back into his arms with a happy little sigh. Daddy had brought it with him from his office when he heard that Jimmy was being admitted to the medical bay. Daddy always knew how to help him, but Jimmy feels a little bad that he couldn’t stop crying until Bones got there. He didn’t want Daddy thinking that he wasn’t needed. He was very much needed still.
He feels a little sad that he’s not with Daddy right now, mainly because he feels like he could use cuddles, and maybe stealing Daddy’s big sweaters can help too? Yeah, maybe.
Spock was rubbing his back though, and now they’re walking to the guest room where Jimmy was going to sleep tonight, and Jimmy really hoped Spock isn’t putting him down for a nap, because it’s only two in the afternoon, and Jimmy can make it till bedtime he thinks maybe. But Spock is rubbing his back still, and he’s having a hard time keeping his eyes open, and maybe he should close them for a little bit? To help? It’ll help.
Jimmy was surprised, because when he opened his eyes again, it wasn’t as bright in the room anymore. He was on his back on the bed, and he had something soft and fleecy on his body, and he was sucking on a paci that felt nice in his mouth, but he doesn’t remember how it got there, and his bunny was cuddled up against his chest and he doesn’t remember how he got here.
He sat up on the bed with a groan, squirming in place for a second as he snuggled the bunny. He was comfortable, but there wasn’t anyone here to snuggle with him on the bed? How rude?
He got up from the bed, and the warm fleecy feeling went with him, so he looked down, and found himself wearing soft footie pajamas, and the blanket that Spock must have put over him before, was abandoned in a corner of the bed. He sucked on the paci in his mouth, moving it around to get a proper feel of it, and started for the door that was cracked open so he could go out to the living room.
Spock was working on something -probably science, because he’s a nerd- and Bones was still doing paperwork.
That’s not okay. Their baby is here now, they need to pay attention to him , please and thank you.
Spock heard him first, and looked up from his PADD, before holding his arms out for the little to come and snuggle into him for an after-nap cuddle. He needed that, so he happily burrowed into Spock’s arms, taking the cuddles that were rightfully his.
Leonard put his work aside and moved so he could snuggle Jimmy with Spock. “How did my little boy sleep, then?”
Jimmy politely took out his pacifier so he could answer. “Wasn’t, wasn’t sleeping, Bones. Rested my eyes a little.” He stuffed the pacifier right back in, looking happy and still sleepy.
Leonard rolled his eyes. “Of course not, why would you need to sleep? You just rested your eyes for about, oh, three hours. That’s logical.”
Jimmy nodded into Spock’s neck. He was glad Bones agreed with him, because it was very logical. “I, I likes my new footie jammies, thank you.”
They had stars and planets on them, and there was writing on the back declaring him a ‘baby alien’ and Spock had almost grinned when he had found them, they were terribly cute. “Your preferences have been noted, pi’veh.”
Jimmy didn’t speak any Vulcan, but he knew what that meant, because Spock’s mind was always very firm and clear. He snuggled further in, trying to convince himself that he didn’t need a nap now.
“Hungry?”
He nodded. “I has, I has a sandwich, please?”
Bones nodded, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek before getting up. “Of course.”
Jimmy rather thought that this was the life. He could happily live with Leonard and Spock forever from now on. Well, he might miss his mommy and daddy, but they can visit he thinks. If they had a ship for them all to live on, it would be perfect. Nothing better than exploring the stars with the people he loves the most in life.
Also, cuddles, because cuddles are amazing.