~
"Will I d-do that again?" She asked quietly as he grabbed a new wipe.
"Yes." He nodded, wiping down her forehead.
"A lot?" She questioned, swallowing thickly.
"Yes." He repeated. "What are you thinking?"
"W-whether to do it or not." She sniffle...
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☆*:.｡. o(▽)o .｡.:*☆
1995
In England, Warwickshire, Coventry, Jackie Black stood in the kitchen, stirring a pot of homemade bolognese sauce, bobbing her head to the radio that was sat in the corner of the room. She tugged her cardigan around her body a bit more as a draft swept through the window.
Martin Black entered the kitchen, holding a toddler on his hip. The man was holding out a book while the toddler had a large magnifying glass that she had to hold with two hands to support. Apparently, the toddler was rather enjoying a book about space.
Jackie shook her head with a smile at her husband and daughter as Martin started to read out a particularly long word and Nova tried to repeat it, struggling tremendously about the lengthy word that she eventually decided not to try, moving back onto the planets by turning back a few pages.
"She's three, Martin. What is she gonna learn about space?" Jackie asked with a small chuckle.
"Actually, she picked this out so don't blame me. She tried pick out IT and you're lucky I stopped her." Martin joked, ruffling Nova's hair, the toddler slapping his hands away.
"If you let her read that, I'd have to sell you online." Jackie stated, kissing her husbands cheek and then Nova's forehead.
"Jupi'er." Nova pointed excitedly at the planet in the book.
"Nearly, love. Jupiter." Martin repeated, emphasising the 't'.
"Ju-pi-er." Nova huffed sassily as she spelled out the word with pauses. "I-I'm r-righ'."
Since around one and half years old, Nova had had a stutter. It frustrated her greatly because she was very clever for her age but sometimes the words didn't come out the way she wanted them to. Martin and Jackie always told her not to worry about it. It wasn't a bad thing; nobody was perfect, they'd always say.
"Okay. I surrender." Martin smiled, placing Nova on the floor.
The young girl grinned cheekily at her parents before running from the kitchen as they chuckled. Nova climbed onto the settee, grabbing the tele remote and plopping down, trying to switch it over from some boring documentary.
Martin and Jackie came back into the room and saw her stubbornly trying to work it out but she always ended up on the same channel. Jackie smiled, sitting down next to her and taking the remote which the toddler reached for.
"What d'you want on?" Jackie questioned, already knowing the answer.
"Little M-M-Mermaid!" Nova cheered, sitting back on the settee, her legs crossed happily.
"Again?" Martin groaned jokingly and Nova blew a raspberry at him.
Jackie put the dvd in and Nova watching with a large grin as the film started. Halfway through the film, a knock sounded at the door and Nova groaned loudly, flipping down onto the settee as Jackie went to answer the door. Martin looked at his daughter amused.
"You're so dramatic for a three year old." He smiled.
"You're s-s-stinky anyw-way." Nova huffed, giggling as her dad gasped dramatically.
"Look who's here!" Jackie cheered, a false smile on her face as she led Sally, Lance and Logan into the living room.
Nova's face dropped at the sight of the older boy. She got off the settee she was on and jumped on the one Martin was sitting on and cured up next to him as Jackie sent her a small smile. It's not that Jackie didn't like the family, no, quite the contrary, Sally was one of her best friends but Logan and Nova didn't get along. It was more Nova; she couldn't stand him.
"Oh, you grow more and more every time I see you!" Sally gushed, pinching Nova's cheeks excitedly as she giggled, batting her hands away.
"Hello, Aunt-ty Sal." Nova smiled. "Unc-cle Lance."
"Hiya." Lance smiled as he sat down on the poof in the corner of the room. "How is everyone, then?"
"All good, all good." Jackie smiled at the man as Sally sat down next to her, Logan on her lap, the boy looking towards Nova who just glared at him.
"So, where are you two going tomorrow? Somewhere fancy, I'm guessing!" Sally grinned.
"You're g-g-going?" Nova asked quietly. "Where?"
"Just for some dinner, love. We'll be back to tuck you in." Martin promised and Nova smiled widely at him.
"And you're going to spend some time with us tomorrow while the boys are at their sleepover." Sally said, still smiling and Nova smiled back before her eyes narrowed on Logan.
"Mummy, can we turn this over? It's for girls." Logan pouted, pointing at the Tv where it was paused on Ariel dancing with Eric.
"No, sweetie, I think Nova's watching it." Sally replied kindly and Nova stuck her tongue out at Logan who started to cry crocodile tears. "What's wrong?"
"She's being mean to me!" Logan cried and Nova pulled a face of disbelief that made Martin laugh. "She's always horrible to me."
"I-I didn't d-do anything!" Nova protested.
"Oh, it's just Logan being dramatic. He'll grow out of it." Sally waved a hand, trying to calm down Logan who eventually gave up. "He's getting smart, you know, Jackie."
"Really?" Jackie asked with a smile, leaning against the arm of the settee, starting to listen to Sally.
"Yeah. He can count all the way to 20." Sally stated proudly and Logan grinned but Nova snorted, seemingly finding it amusing. Martin shushed her quietly with a small smile.
"What are you laughing at?" Logan scoffed, crossing his arms.
"20 isn't a l-l-lot." Nova shrugged. "C-can you name all the pl-l-lanets?"
"No but at least I can speak properly." Logan smirked and the black haired toddler frowned, looking up at her dad and then her mum, the two of them holding angry expressions.
"Logan! That's a horrible thing to say!" Lance exclaimed.
"I didn't do anything!" Logan shouted.
"C'mon, out." Lance shooed, picking him up and taking him out of the room to talk to the five year old.
"I am sorry, Nova." Sally apologised and Nova just nodded, snuggling back down into the settee.
"Here you go, love." Jackie smiled, pressing play on the Tv and Nova's mood lightened slightly.
Everything was almost perfect. She couldn't have asked for a better family. The small girl already had thought of her future. Being obsessed with space, she wondered if she would ever be one of the few lucky people to go to the moon or maybe a different planet. Maybe she could even be someone to land on a planet no one had landed on before.
