The Love Life of Victor Frankenstein

Two Years Later

By the time Peter was two years old, he was already full of boundless energy and infinite curiosity; he would race around the house, examining whatever caught his fancy.

One morning, Peter was attempting to discover what was under the sofa when Victor pulled him out.

"Not so fast, little explorer." He chuckled.

"Awwww, no fair!" The little boy groaned.

Victor took Peter over to his mother, who was sitting at the kitchen table.

"There's my little prince." Elsa smiled, kissing her son's nose. "Peter, daddy and I will be gone for a little while. But don't worry; your grandma and grandpa will be taking care of you until we come back."

"Yay!" Peter cheered.

Then as if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Victor answered it and there were Edward and Susan standing in the doorway.

"There's my little grandson!" Susan exclaimed, taking Peter out of Victor's arms and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi, grandma! Hi, grandpa!" Peter cheered before Susan put him down.

"Thanks for coming over you guys." Victor said as Elsa got up from the table and met him at the door.

"Are you two absolutely sure you can do this?" Elsa asked.

"Of course." Edward said confidently. "Wouldn't have agreed to it if we couldn't. Piece of cake."

"Yes, dear." Susan added as she and Edward entered the house. "Go on, have fun. Everything will be fine."

"Okay, if you say so." Victor said as he grabbed his overcoat and put it on. "But remember, don't let him near any electrical sockets, don't let him open any cabinets he's not supposed to go near, and don't forget that if he gets fussy, just give him his special blanky and he'll calm right down."

"No problem. And have no fear; grandma and grandpa have everything under control." Edward replied with a nod.

"That's that settled then." Victor smiled. "We're off."

"One word of advice." Elsa added as she wrapped her scarf around her neck. "Don't take your eyes off of peter. Not for a moment."

"Can do." Edward saluted.

"Of course." Susan added.

Victor and Elsa each gave Peter a kiss before waving goodbye and heading out the door. As the door closed, Edward was feeling confident in his babysitting abilities.

"Like I said, this is going to be a piece of cake." He smirked. "Right, honey?"

"Yep. What do you think, Peter?" Susan asked.

Turning around, Susan realized Peter was gone.

"Oh dear. Where'd you go?" She looked around frantically.

"Over here!" Peter called, having climbed up onto the sofa. "Watch me jump!"

"No!" Edward yelped.

Peter began to jump and jump on the sofa's cushion until he slipped. Edward made to catch him, throwing his hands up, but Peter ending up landing on his stomach.

"Whee!" Peter giggled. "Fun!"

"Yeah, real fun..." Edward groaned.

Peter turned his attention to the kitchen, got up, and cried, "Hungry!"

"Hey, wait!" Edward called.

"Sweetie, hold on!" Susan added.

Peter climbed off of his grandfather and rushed into the kitchen. Suddenly, his eye was caught by a box up on top of the fridge; it was slightly ajar.

"Ooh, cookies..." He drooled. "Grandma get them?"

"Sorry honey, but you know the rules." Susan said. "No sweets before lunchtime."

Peter pouted before he got an idea.

"I get them." He announced as he made his way to the counter.

"Oh no you don't!" Edward said as he went to pick up the little boy.

Peter struggled to get free from his grandfather's grasp and eventually, he made his way onto the counter and walked over to where the fridge was standing... much to the fright of Susan. She tried to grab him again, but it was too late. Peter reached up to grab the box of cookies, only for the box to slip out of his tiny hands and cookies to fly all over the room and turning into nothing but crumbs when they made contact with the kitchen floor.

"Victor and Elsa are gonna kill us for this." Susan groaned.

"I sorry, grandpa and grandma." Peter said remorsefully.

"You should be." Edward said harshly. As the little boy shrank before his grandfather's anger, Edward softened. "But I oughta be, too. I thought this would be a breeze. Boy, was I wrong. I guess we're just a little out of practice; it's been over twenty years since we last did this sort of thing, after all. We couldn't keep up with you, and we couldn't even stop... all of this."

"We're so sorry, dear." Susan lamented. "We must be the worst babysitters ever."

"No." Peter shook his head. "Grandpa and grandma good babysitters."

"Thanks, sweetie." Susan smiled. "Hey, there's still some time before Elsa and Victor come back. We might be able to clean up this mess."

"I help?" Peter asked.

"Well..." Susan said, sounding unsure. In response, Peter gave her the puppy-dog eyes treatment. "Okay. You can help a little."

"Yay!" Peter cheered.

"Let's get to work." Edward smiled.

Together, they returned to the kitchen and started cleaning up. Edward and Susan did most of the work, but Peter was able to help by holding the dust pan. Eventually, the kitchen was returned to its original state.

"Great work, kiddo." Edward smiled.

Peter beamed.

"Now, let's get back to the front room before your mommy and daddy get back." Susan declared.

The trio dashed out of the kitchen and leapt onto the couch. A few moments later, the front door opened, and Victor and Elsa walked in.

"Mama!" Peter squealed, jumping off the couch and racing to meet them. "Dada!"

"Hey, kiddo!" Victor smiled, picking up his son. "We missed you too."

"Did you have fun with grandma and grandpa?" Elsa asked.

"Yeah!" Peter cheered. "Good babysitters!"

A yawn suddenly escaped his mouth.

"Tired..." He mumbled.

"Time for your nap, sweetheart." Elsa whispered.

Peter was taken upstairs and placed in his bed.

"Sleep tight, champ." Victor whispered.

As they left the room, Elsa turned to Susan and Edward as they were about to grab their coats from the coat rack by the door.

"I hope Peter wasn't too much trouble for you." She smiled.

"Oh, no." Edward fibbed. "He was a perfect little angel."

"Well in that case, maybe we should have you sit for us more often." Victor grinned. "What do you say?"

"Yeah, sure..." Susan gulped. "Now, if nobody minds, I think I'm going to go right home and take a hot bath."

"Me too." Edward added.

Edward and Susan dashed out the door. Victor and Elsa looked at each in bemusement, then shrugged as they closed the door. Back in his little bed, Peter enjoyed a calm, peaceful sleep, the fun he had with his grandma and grandpa still fresh in his mind.