Vecchio Morning
Author: Lys at lystykds@aol.com
Rated: G, Humor
Spoilers: The Phoenix Rising Series

Vecchio Morning

4 A.M.

Peace, the silence of it filled the second story of the Vecchio/Fraser family home as Ray Vecchio snuggled more deeply into his soft, thick pillow. The smile that crossed his sleeping features was one of pure enjoyment. Ray's hands cradled the pillow closely to his head as soft shadows slanted on the walls of the home as the nights shadows tried vainly to hold off the dim light of early morning.

Ray rolled over and let the pillow ease from his ears but quickly rolled over pulling the pillow closely against his ears again when he heard the thin wail of an infant crying from the first floor nursery. He rolled over again and released the pillow a bit. No, the sound was still there. There was no getting around it. The sound would soon wake the entire household. Ray reluctantly pushed back the bed covers and slowly let his legs slide over to the edge of the bed where he finally let them roll off the bed entirely. He heard another thin wail from below stairs and let his hips and torso follow his legs letting the weight pull him upright.

With bleary and unfocused eyes, Ray slid his feet into his slippers, grabbed his robe off the chair by his bed and rose to tie the robe around his middle before shuffling over to his bedroom door. He stuck his head out into the door and listened. He heard the crying again and leaned back against his door with a heartfelt sigh. "Why is this my life?" He grabbed at the belt of his robe and tightened it.

Ray made his way down the hall and down the stairs, moving with sleepy, sluggish movements. He trod the wood floor of the downstairs hall until he stood outside the nursery door. Without knocking, Ray let himself inside the nursery and stood blearily watching his brother-in-law, Benton Fraser, sitting in one of the room's two rocking chair's frantically rocking one basinet with his foot while holding and rocking an infant gently wrapped in a receiving blanket. Ben's hair was skewed every which way and sticking up in patches and his eyes were red rimmed as he sat rocking and singing in a very hoarse voice to the infant held gently in his arms.

With a soft grin on his face, Ray walked over to the gently swinging basinet and leaned over and picked up the sleeping bundle that Ben had been rocking with the aid of his foot. As soon as Ray's large hands touched the small wailing infant silence filled the room. Ray calmly moved over to the companion rocking chair next to Ben and slowly seated himself. He raised the baby and placed the tiny head at his shoulder and braced the babe there with a free hand.

Ben looked down at the baby that still made a small hiccupping sound and looked with envy over at this friend and brother-in-law. He rose slowly and slid his stockinged feet smoothly across the rug until he could lay his own precious bundle on Ray's free shoulder. He stood back to appreciate the beautifully quiet picture the trio made in the rocking chair. He tiptoed back to his own rocking chair and sank rather thankfully into the soft cushion of the chair bottom. He grinned rather goofily and settled his weary head back against the high back of the rocking chair.

In the bedroom next the nursery, Francesca rolled over and snuggled into the blankets and pillows with a huge grin on her face. "Silence! Oh, blessed silence." She mumbled a bit and with a deep yawn fell deeply asleep.

The silence in the house drew Diefenbaker to the nursery door. He nudged it open with a shoulder and looked inside. One look at the sleeping babies and the wolf hybrid backed quickly out the door and made a quick exit to the kitchen where he plopped down and covered his ears again with his paws.

Ben watched the disappearance of his animal companion with a distasteful eye. "Coward." He whispered the word and turned his head towards his sleeping children as they lay comforted in his brother-in-law's arms.

Upstairs in the homes family bedroom, Ma Vecchio rose and dressed quietly. She'd heard the crying and the sounds of Ray's door opening and closing. She made her way downstairs as she did every morning. But, as she did every morning now that the twins were in residence, she stopped at the nursery door and pushed it open slightly. She peaked in and grinned when she saw her son holding the babe's. She let the door close softly as she noticed her son-in-law closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep while he watched the babies resting quietly in Ray's arms. She smiled and headed down the hall to the kitchen where she prepared a big breakfast as she did and had every morning she'd lived in the huge house.

Ray soon became totally relaxed himself and his own eyes closed a little as two warm bundles lay warm and secure in his crossed arms.

The alarm going off in Ben and Francesca's bedroom woke Ben just as he had been about to enter a deep sleep. Ben jumped up, snagging one of his feet in the chair runner as he tried to gain momentum for a short run to the nursery door. He nearly tripped on the small rug Francesca had placed under the matching basinets. He rushed out the door and down the short distance of the hall between the nursery and his bedroom. At the door to the bedroom, he stopped collected himself and cautiously but quickly entered the room and tiptoed over to the nightstand where the alarm clock was busily declaring that it was time to get up. With a soft touch of the fingers he squelched the sound and leaned over to glance at his sleeping wife's face. He was rewarded with the sight of her dozing in what appeared to be a deep slumber after being up until midnight with the babies. He cautiously backed up and left the room to close the door with a heartfelt sigh.

Francesca smiled and rolled over, pulling the blankets warmly about her shoulders. She was no dummy; she planned to take full advantage of a morning's extended snooze.

Ben returned to the nursery and retrieved first one sleeping baby then the other from Ray's arms without wakening his brother-in-law. Then Ben settled himself back into his own rocking chair and put his head back against the chair back fully intending to enjoy a few minutes sleep.

Rosa Vecchio made her way to the nursery to announce coffee and breakfast but upon seeing her two sleeping boys she went in and covered each man with a blanket and before leaving the room she switched on the baby monitor. She returned to her kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee and made a thankful comment about Maria and Tony and their children being out of the house for the weekend.

Finally, the house was quiet again.

Several hours later.

Francesca rolled over as the sun began to stream in the bedroom window. Thankful that today was Saturday she stretched and the thought filled her head that she couldn't believe that Ben had forgotten that the alarm clock wasn't needed on Saturdays to get their little family rolling for the day.

With a hop and a skip and a jump, Chase Fraser exited his room on the second floor and merrily made his way to the staircase. In the month since his siblings had joined the household he'd been wakened every morning by loud the squalling of newborn babies. This morning he felt great and the silence was wonderful. He hopped down the steps counting them as he went and skidded off the bottom step with a little bounce. He ran down the hall and listened with his ear to his parent's door. Then he raced over the nursery door and opened it quickly startling his father and uncle awake in their rocking chairs. Ben looked in the basinet closest to him and jumped up startled. Ray took a quick look into the baby bed closet to him. Both men blinked.

Ben rushed towards the door being careful not to knock his little boy over and raced from the room followed closely by Ray. Ben rushed towards the kitchen where he heard little cooing noises.

Both men stop dead in their tracks at the site of two little, bouncy baby carriers planted on the kitchen table with Rosa seated in front of them with a baby washcloth in her hands as she had clearly been cleaning their little faces up.

Francesca rolled over as the sun began to stream in the bedroom window. Thankful that today was Saturday she stretched and the thought filled her head that she can't believe that Ben forgot that it was Saturday and that he wouldn't need the alarm clock to get their little family rolling for the day.

Francesca pulled her robe around her and cinched the belt tight at the waist happy to have some sort of a thin form back. She wandered down the hall in slippered feet running her hands through an unruly mop of curls and walked around the two solid, male forms in the kitchen doorway.

"Morning Ma, thanks for letting me sleep." She made her way to the back of Rosa's chair and planted a warm kiss on her mother's hair.

Chase rushed around his mother's slowly moving form and pulled out a chair to sit down beside his grandmother. He grinned and put his elbows up on the table to get a better look at his new siblings. He turned and grinned up at his father.

Ray Vecchio closed his eyes and turned slowly around and made his way back through the downstairs hall and up the stairs. He opened and closed his door, removed his robe and fell back into bed. When the morning sunlight hit his face as he settled onto his pillow, he merely pulled the covers up over his head and muttered, "Sleep..."