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John is snoring in his sleep.
This usually happens when he's been working too long in ungodly hours until he's passed out the moment his body hits the soft mattress and pillows.
It is something Phillip had gotten used to after some time being dating and married together, but that doesn't mean he's not going to either tease and complain about it.
It also did not help with the fact that they now have an 11-month old baby girl to raise.
Ever since their baby had learnt how to walk, she immediately became quite clingy towards her parents and was able to toddle behind one of them like their own little duckling. But that clinginess became a problem at night when the baby somehow found a way to crawl herself out from her crib and onto their bed in the middle of the night without making a single sound.
Horangi had recommended they try to put a bed railing around their mattress while they're sleeping together. But it only made the baby fuss even more, and like her two parents, she's a stubborn and determined little girl that will get whatever she wants no matter the challenge until her parents relent.
And as much as they wanted to have their privacy in their bedroom again, Phillip couldn't have the heart to part their baby princess for one night alone after months caring for her with her crib in their bedroom.
They are currently against the wall at the opposite side of the bed, Phillip with his back on the pillow propped behind him for his back support while the baby is laying her head upon his lap hugging onto her favorite rabbit baby blanket tightly.
He is trying to put their widely-awake baby back to sleep, switching between gently patting on the baby's back and brushing her baby blonde hair with his thumb, something that his little princess adores so much that she would loaf up and snuggle closer like the baby bunny she is.
"Look at Dada bear, all tucked out from the whole day working too hard. Just came home from overseas and still he stubbornly wants to help train some recruits and do his paperwork," Phillip mutters tiredly, still patting the baby's back in tandem as he watches John sleep on and snore away without a care. "I really love your Dada, but then I wish he could just not snore and let his two darlings rest as well …"
He is so in tuned to his complaint mutterings he wasn't even aware that their daughter was still awake until out of the blue, she lifted her head up from his lap.
He watches their baby raise herself up and toddle towards her snoring father, her baby arms outstretched to balance herself from falling face first upon the nest of blankets. She then drops to her diapered bottom and crawls the last few steps until she reaches his pillow.
Once she gets closer to John's face, she raises a single tiny hand as high as a baby can go.
And slaps his cheek like an annoying alarm clock.
SMACK!
The sound is so loud and sharp it pierces through the silent air like a whip. And the unexpected act forcibly makes the man choke on his saliva that is drooling out from his lips, making John cough out loud before groaning in pain.
Aurora Lily Price-Graves, an 11-month old baby, just slapped Captain John Price on the face as if he's a mere mosquito in the air.
"Dada, ssh!" Says the baby with the same confidence John would have during a mission, before turning around and begin her toddler march back to her Papa's side in victory.
Phillip could only stare in surprised laughter, scoffing and reaching for their daughter to toddle back into his arms.
And all the while John was whining out loud, groaning and moaning in pain. His face scrunched at the surprise pain that woke him up from whatever dreamless sleep that he was having, his body curled up like a prawn under the soft blankets.
It is also humorously ironic that he's the one crying in the middle of the night instead of the baby.
"Oh Princess," Phillip chuckles, pulling the baby closer into a loving hug and lying down on the side, dragging the baby along with him. The smug little bunny she is, simply snuggles closer to his chest happily.
"Who did that?" John tiredly whines from his spot. He lifted his head up a little bit from the pillow to show a cheek with a reddening baby handprint on it.
But all he received is a laughing response from his husband across the bed. Still hugging their baby girl and kissing her face.
And the best part is that this is not the first time their baby has slapped him for snoring too loud in bed.
He hoped that the baby camera got all of that on record.
(And bless his heavenly stars, it did!)