Belladonna Le Faye

Going to the Zoo

Bella wakes up to the sounds of Aaron chasing Jack through the halls as Jack giggles and laughs. She pulls on a robe over her gown and opens her bedroom door.

Aaron is chasing a pantsless Jack up and down the halls. "Good morning, Jack, Aaron," she says.

"Good morning " they both respond slightly out of breathe. Bella scoops Jack up as he runs by her and hands him off to Aaron.

"Jack go put your pants on. Big boys wear pants even if they don't want to. And you're a big boy, right?"

"Yes," Jack says, calming down in his dad's arms.

"We're going to the zoo today with the rest of the team." Aaron says as he carries Jack back to his room.

"Kay," Bella calls as she disappears into her room. She goes to her closet and pulls out a green short sleeve blouse, a pair of jean capris and a black purse. Then she grabs a pair of white sandals. Before going back to her bedroom to get dressed. 

After getting dressed she sits down at her vanity and starts on her hair, only for Mitsy to come in and take over. So she puts some lip gloss on and waits for Mitsy to finish braiding her hair. When Mitsy leaves, Bella stands up and puts her phone, wallet, and some more lip gloss in her purse before leaving the room. 

She walks down to the kitchen to find Mitsy finishing some pancakes. "Mitsy, if you were cooking you didn't need to come do my hair."

"Dobby watched while I went and did your hair. I was very happy when Mr. Aaron asked me to cook this morning."

"Mitsy, if you want to cook more you could have just asked." Bella taps on her chin. "It would be great if you would handle breakfast during the week, then we wouldn't have to worry about it so much and could concentrate on just getting ready for the rest of the day. But, that only gives you more breakfast cooking time. Maybe we could take lunchs a couple times a week at least. That would help out the school elves in my case at least. I take it making sure Dobby and the rest of the the property elves eat isn't that entertaining."

"No, Miss. Bella, they want quick easy things to eat so that they can make sure they are doing their jobs as quickly and efficiently as possible while still making the place look good."

"Well, you're all really hard workers and the place does look amazing, but lunch and dinner are supposed to give them some time for them to enjoy themselves and relax. Stressing themselves out could eventually lead to problems. Start making things that take longer to eat for lunch at least so they actually have to sit down to eat it. Tell them I told them to if they complain."

"Yes, Miss. Bella," she says as Jack and Aaron join us.

"I'd ask what you just told her to do, but she seems happy about it so…," Aaron says before shrugging. "How about we eat up and then head to the garage, since we're going to the Nomaj zoo. JJ, Wil, and Henry are going to be riding with us, though we haven't actually agreed on who is driving."

Bella smiles, "well, then, sounds like we might not be going anywhere until that is solved." She finishes her pancakes and goes to brush her teeth. By the time she makes it back downstairs both Hotchners are waiting by the door for her.

"Hurry up, Bella," Jack hollers at her. She grabs her purse from the couch and they head out the door. Jack runs ahead wanting to get to the car faster.

"He may just exhaust himself before we even leave," Bella says.

"He may," Aaron agrees, "but then he'll just take a nap in the car. He loves going to the zoo, nomaj or magical."

Jack loops back to them. "Hurry up," he says before running on ahead again. 

"We may need one of those leashed backpacks for him." Bella says, "just so he doesn't get too far away from us at the zoo."

"I knew I forgot something. Dobby."

"Dobby is here."

"Can you please go get Jack's dinosaur bag please, the one with the leash in the side pocket." Dobby nods and snaps his fingers, Aaron is now holding the bag. "Thank you."

"You are welcome, sir." Dobby leaves and they keep walking to the garage.

It only takes them a few more minutes and Jack loops back to them one more time. JJ, Wil, and Henry aren't there yet so they go wait by Aaron's vehicle.

Aaron unlocks it and puts Jack's bag in between the two middle seats. He then makes sure both children's seats are ready for their respective child, while Bella entertains Jack with a little light show from her wand.

"They beat us here," Wil says walking into the garage, with Henry in his arms. Jack races over to him all excited and Henry starts smiling and making movements to get down. "Sorry, little guy, you can get down when we get to the zoo. Right now, we need to get you in your car seat."

"And Jack needs to get in his," Aaron says. Jack races to the car and climbs in as JJ walks in with a collapsible wagon and Henry's bag. Aaron helps her get them in the back of the car while Wil gets Henry in his car seat then climbs in the back. JJ joins him after pushing Bella to the passenger seat.

"I'll drive on the way back," Wil says.

"And Bella and I will sit back there," Aaron says, as he starts the car after getting buckled. He backs out of the garage and turns down the driveway.

Henry and Jack spend the ride to the zoo passing their color changing ball between them. JJ gets them to hide it under one of the seats when they go to park at the zoo. They climb out of the vehicle and Jack and Henry hold Bella's hands as Wil and Aaron set up the wagon. Then they both excitedly climb in.

Bella starts pulling them up to the gate, a smile on her face, hinting at her own excitement of going to the zoo. This would be her second trip to the zoo ever. Derek, Spencer, Penelope, David, and Blaise wave at them from next to the gate before they start to head toward them. 

"This is going to be awesome," Penelope says.