Addicted to You

Epilogue One: Mini Gremlins

;a/n: i describe Onyx as neurodivergent in this chapter. If I see any ableist comments, they will be deleted.

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JJ, Penelope, Emily, and even Derek entered the Parker-Reid household that never failed to emit absolute chaos. They had been tasked with the job of babysitting while Spencer and Att ran some errands. Like mentioned, as soon as they opened the door--pure chaos. Atticus was busy chasing after the twins--who had just entered their terrible two's stage while Spencer frantically tried to lay out everything the babysitting team would need with a one-year-old girl strapped to his chest. Discipline was usually Atti's job (because Spencer simply doesn't have the heart to tell them no), so she came back down the hall with one toddler on each hip and knelt down to be eye level.

"You guys know that mommy said no taking off down the halls, you're wearing socks without grippies it's dangerous, ok?", she signed every word as she spoke due to Onyx having one of his non-verbal days. It had taken him a little while longer than Octavia to say anything at all, they knew he knew the words but he just had a harder time expressing himself verbally. Some days were better where he was able to form sentences through adorable baby talk, and sometimes just a few simple words to get the message across, and occasionally no words at all, "Do you guys understand?"

This question led to mischievous giggles and a small 'Yes, Mama' from the little girl, and a quick nod from the boy before they sat down to play nicely together. The pair of semi-worn down parents approached the rest of the adults that were now in the home.

"Ok, Derek and Emily you're with Occie, and JJ you're with Onnie. As you can see, they've recently discovered the power of running and will do it any chance they get.", Spencer explained.

"And we know none of you know sign language which will be a little trickier with Onnie but Octavia is usually able to translate for him. Speaking of, be careful about texture with Onyx. In case he spills something on his shirt he refuses to wear anything polyester and with food, he's starting to be a lot more neutral but he hates having crumbs on him. But seriously be extra careful because non-verbal means he's more prone to meltdowns. Also, he's been tugging on Occie's hair recently because he doesn't understand that it hurts so, all you have to do is remind him that it's 'ouchie' and you know he doesn't mean it because he doesn't wanna hurt his sister."

"Oh--", Spencer lifted the younger girl from the baby carrier and handed her to Penelope, "Garcia, you get Jax. She's typically the more relaxed one, really the only time she cries is during prolonged diaper changes and when she wants a bottle. Other than that, she just wants to play with our little gremlins, you'll probably have to remind them that she can't use anything with small pieces. And, she's been starting to learn to talk more so make sure you encourage her. Similarly, the twins have been learning to read which means they'll probably want to read for all of you to show off their newly obtained skills.", he switched his tone to be more hushed, "Sometimes it's hard to understand them so even if you don't, just pretend you do."

(for those that follow my tumblr, you may know that Jax is now the name I use for myself. However, I wrote this long before I made this decision and couldn't find any other baby names I like lol.)

"Milk is in the fridge for Jax, all you have to do is put it in warm water to defrost it. Any of them can also have formula, doesn't matter. We usually try to put the gremlins down for a nap at the same time but they don't always. Jax goes down at 12:30 and we usually let her sleep for about an hour and then again at 4:00 and she sleeps for about two hours. Twins usually only stay asleep for 45 minutes. Naptimes are usually triggered for tantrums so try to distract them with something like binkies and stuffies. Onnie's favorite is his blue parrot and Occie's is her little Pooh-bear. Singing or humming also helps, for all of them but especially Onyx. He really likes 'You are my sunshine and 'When you wish upon a star'. Double O's are already very smart, so they'll figure out exactly how to push your buttons very quickly. What else?", she looked at Spencer.