Work Text:
"Honey," You could hear Caleb's voice approaching the bedroom.
You placed your finger to your lips to tell your children to keep quiet and pretend to be asleep. You watched as they tried their best to hold in their fit of giggles.
"Have you seen the kids? I woke them up minutes ago, and they have to wash—" when his head popped in the doorway, he saw the sight of you and the kids on the bed pretending to be asleep. He paused, made eye contact with you and sighed.
He still donned a few layers of his Fleet uniform, which meant he just arrived this morning and didn't even have the chance to change or rest. The tiredness in his eyes was unmistakable.
“Come on, kiddos, you’re going to be late—”
The kids pretended to snore loudly.
"So everyone's ignoring Dada, huh? A cuddle pile without me, really?" He joked and slowly approached the bed.
They let out a playful shriek.
"No cow-nels allowed!" The little girl declared as she flung a small pillow at him.
"Yeah, we only love Mama. You can't join us, Dada." The boy nuzzled closer into you.
"Oof. Tough crowd, what'd I do?"
You playfully stuck your tongue out at him as he sighed in defeat. He looked like he didn't even know what he did wrong, so you helped fill in the blanks.
"Colonel, your offenses are the following: waking up your co-pilots ten minutes earlier than usual, making them cranky, not greeting them good morning or giving them kisses, and worst of all—making Mama worry all night because you didn't update her on your whereabouts."
And that was when everything seemed to click for him. He proceeded to crawl onto the bed despite the protests and the tiny kicks from his "co-pilots." He hovered over them and raised his arms in surrender.
"Okay, okay, Dada admits to all his wrongdoings. Has the council decided on my sentence or should I do this..."
He dipped forward and peppered all three of your faces with kisses. The room erupted with a fit of giggles.
"Am I forgiven now? Am I allowed to join the cuddle pile?"
"No! You didn't even say the magic word yet!" Your son exclaimed.
He paused to pretend to think for a bit. "Is it fighter jet? Hmmm....Apple soda? What about Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis? No?"
"Dada!"
"I'm kidding. Dada's sorry, okay." He shifts and lies carefully next to your cuddle pile. "I had an emergency mission that took longer than I thought it would, plus the cell signal was really bad. Anyway, before I knew it, it was already morning, and I hurried myself home." He reached over and rubbed his thumb across your cheek. "I hope the council will forgive me for this."
You could sense the tiredness and remorse in his voice.
"Dada, no more going to work, please," your daughter pleaded with her puppy dog eyes that mirrored those of her father’s.
Caleb looked so taken aback that he could only give a sad smile and kiss her temple. "Dada can't promise that, sweetheart."
And just like that, you were reminded of a past version of yourself who hated seeing Caleb go. There was always that feeling of each parting being the last. But now there's a different kind of pang that it's you and the kids that send him off for every mission.
"But, I made a promise to your Mama that I'll be the first person you guys will see when you wake up, and the last person you see before you go to bed. And I also promised to come home safely.”
He undid a few buttons on his shirt and showed off the necklace that you gave him many years ago. Without realizing it, he was already fidgeting with the pendant as he talked.
"Anyway, Dada must've brought his tiredness home and forgot to leave it in his aircraft. I'm sorry you didn't have a good start to your day, my loves. Can we start all over again?"
"Hmmm...I don't know…I'll have a meeting with Mama," the boy declared and pretended to have a huddle with the group. You mumbled and whispered in gibberish throughout the whole "huddle."
"Okay, we'll close our eyes, Dada! You have to say good morning and kiss and hug Mama too!" He declared.
"Affirmative, captain!"
As the kids pretended to fall back asleep, he mouthed an "I'm sorry" to you, and you blew him a kiss in response.
He started "waking them up" by giving them each a kiss on the forehead. "Wakey, wakey, my co-pilots. The sun is up, the weather is clear, and we are going to get ready for school—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the two of them shot up and tackled their father, attacking him with their hugs and kisses.
"Don't forget Mama!" You said before you joined in.
—
You promptly left the bedroom to make a few calls to your kids’ school and the Hunters Association, requesting a day off due to a “family emergency.”
When you returned, the kids were latched onto their dad, who was telling them (made-up) stories about his Deepspace encounters with exaggerated sound effects and all.
You cleared your throat to get their attention. “As the head of the council, I’ve further decided on Dada’s real sentence…Caleb, you are hereby sentenced to spending the whole day at home with us, and you must let us take care of you.”
Caleb tried to act all resigned and miserable while the kids jumped on the bed and cheered. The boy softly pushed him to make him lie down, while the girl laid a blanket across his torso to cover him. He tried to protest by getting up, only to be pushed back down and dogpiled by the two.
While they were busy, you slipped away into the kitchen to make them breakfast.
—
After breakfast and “caring” for Dada (reading dinosaur books, having a pretend spa date, and watching cartoons), the kids wore themselves out and fell asleep on your bed. The two of you lay down next to them as you also felt the tiredness slowly kicking in.
"Honey?" Caleb called out as quietly as he could. "Are the kids genuinely upset with me leaving for work more often? If things were different, I would…" he trailed off.
You softly shook your head. “They’re not. Do you know how often I hear them tell their friends how cool their Dada is?”
He let out a soft chuckle.
“They’re just not used to seeing you this tired and disoriented, and I don’t think they ever want to see that bad Colonel again.”
You cradle his face with your hands and kiss him on the forehead. "You can't pour from an empty cup, Caleb. You need to rest, too. And you see how much they love taking care of you? They’re only mirroring the kind of care you’ve given them."
He smiled and gazed tenderly at the two children nestled between you two. "And I love taking care of all of you.”