Quentin Guy Lawrence (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
breakthesilence) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
muserevival2015-06-27 10:12 pm
breakthesilence) wrote in muserevival2015-06-27 10:12 pm
Entry tags:
095.7. Misc/Random
"First crack of the lightning storm."
Of all nights for New York to have a storm, it had to be this one. There was a crack of thunder outside and a flash of lightning could be see through the curtains. Quentin hoped it wasn't some sort of sign that they shouldn't have made this decision. Deciding to foster a child who had been through traumatic times and left in the care of the authorities because his mother was thrown in prison on drug charges, and his father was long-dead from an overdose was huge. But it had been impossible to forget about the little boy once they were aware of him.
The foster process had been arduous and time-consuming, but once they suddenly had to collect him, it felt like no time had passed at all. Tanner was such a beautiful little kid, just over two years old, but he had been nothing but miserable since they picked him up. This was being thrown in the deep end, and there was no choice to sink or swim. It was only swim, because there was a little person who needed them to get their shit together because he couldn't take care of himself.
They had to make some snap decisions. They had been warned Tanner hadn't been sleeping much the past few nights for some reason. It wasn't like the toddler was at a loss of reasons why he wanted to be upset and couldn't sleep. In and out of different care homes, probably realising it was about to happen again. No wonder he hadn't been sleeping. Kevin and Quentin had, of course, hoped they could be the exception to the rule and maybe he would settle with them.
No such luck. It had been way too optimistic a mindset, but still one easy to come to when hoping beyond belief that you wouldn't automatically suck at your first attempt at taking care of a child for any length of time. But for both of them, getting this foster thing right was really goddamn important, and it had nothing to with either of them wanting children or a family, and everything to do with wanting to care for the little boy who desperately needed love.
It was in the wake of Quentin giving up his own baby son for adoption, but he knew now that Milo was in a better place with wonderful parents who could give him everything he needed. This with Tanner was a complete twist of fate, and Quentin just wanted to not fuck it up. One of the snap decisions he and Kevin made was somewhere in the later hours is the night that they might need to take shifts taking care of the little boy while he wasn't settling or, come morning, they would both be dead to the world and unable to focus. It was a learning curve. They needed to figure it out as they went.
Kevin was sleeping - or likely trying to, because Tanner's crying wasn't something that could be easily slept through - and it was Quentin's turn to take the reigns. It just so happened that shortly into his turn, Tanner cried himself into such a state, he ended up throwing up in his bed and all over himself. Quentin now had him sitting on the closed toilet in the bathroom and was carefully peeling him out of the vomit-soaked Buzz Lightyear footsie pyjamas that had matched the bedding they bought. Toy Story was the theme they settled on for the spare bedroom, after debating the other options of Finding Nemo, Cars, or Ninja Turtles.
Tanner was terrified of the storm and Quentin was pretty sure that had a lot to do with why he was getting himself so distressed, on top of already having two strangers take him home to a strange place. Quentin was sure he would be puking if he was in the little boy's shoes too. In scooping Tanner up out of the bed after he had been sick, Quentin made the executive decision to grab Kevin's iPad on the way past the living room into the main bathroom. Now they were in there, he had set the first Toy Story movie playing on the iPad sitting on the bathroom counter so Tanner could see it while he was sitting there in a sweaty, teary, pale mess.
"It's okay, buddy. I know you're feeling miserable. We'll get you all cleaned up and into a clean bed. It's gonna be okay, I promise you," he was murmuring softly to the little boy. His big blue eyes were still teary but he had stopped the completely distressed bawling that had been coming hard and fast when the storm first started. Quentin hiked up the sound on the iPad a little so it drowned out some of the sound of the storm. The little bit of dinner they had gotten into Tanner was lost now and Quentin dropped the soiled pyjamas onto the floor by the bathtub.
Tanner was stripped down to his diaper and as quickly as he could, Quentin sponged him off with a warm cloth making sure he mopped up all the mess. Tanner sat there switching between watching what Quentin was doing and looking at the movie playing on the screen just to the left. "Do you see Buzz there? Just like on your PJs. He's a pretty cool dude, isn't he?" he coaxed, pointing to the screen. Tanner was all flushed and Quentin was trying to feel his forehead to see if he had a fever, but it was hard to tell. He was far, far form an expert here and operating on sheer instinct.
The brief lull in the tears was short-lived. Tanner's tears were welling up again and it was all the warning Quentin got before the little boy was being sick again. At least there had been a bit of warning and Quentin was holding his head over the sink and avoided another huge mess. This definitely wasn't what they had in mind for their first night with the little guy. It was a lot more happy families than this. It took a little bit of multi-tasking, but Quentin managed to get Tanner into some clean pyjamas and his bed changed without further incident. His head was spinning and he was on complete alert for whatever else the toddler might be about to throw at him to keep him on his toes.
The thing he didn't at all envisage was Tanner not wanting to be put down after that. A quick trip to the kitchen nursing the little boy in his arms, he got some apple juice for him in his sippy cup because he was worried he might dehydrate. As soon as he tried to put Tanner back into his bed, it was another trigger of more distressed sobbing. "Okay, okay, okay," Quentin said in a panic, gently tossling the little boy's hair, who definitely hadn't come with an instruction manual.
He didn't know if this would work, but he decided to take a stab in the dark and try lying down with Tanner in his freshly made bed. He was lying on his side up behind Tanner, who was cuddled in against him clutching the blue teddy bear they had given him when they picked him up. At least, until he let go of it and a little hand wrapped around Quentin's fingers. It was a tiny moment of unspoken connection, and he wasn't at all going to take it for granted. Was it really as simple as the child needing to be held and hugged? Quentin started to rub Tanner's belly through his pyjama top, trying to soothe him. "Is your tummy hurting, buddy?" he finally asked, wondering if he could get a bit more communication out of the little boy which had, up to now, only been staring at them or crying.
Tanner nodded and after a moment or two, there was a soft, tiny confirmation of, "... 'urts."
Quentin wasn't going to let his emotions get the better of him with this little breakthrough. The enormity of it wasn't lost on him, though. He reached behind him for the sippy cup with the juice and offered it to Tanner. "Have a little drink for me if you can, buddy." Tanner took the cup and had a drink, but it was handed back to Quetin after. "Good job," he praised the little boy and put the cup back.
He had no idea how long he was lying there with the toddler, just softly rubbing his tummy to try to kill two birds with one stone and comfort him, as well as help him realise he wasn't alone. Soon, it dawned on him that Tanner had settled right down and dozed off, the storm now well and truly passed into the distance. He still had hold of Quentin's hand, but he was out like a light. Quentin breathed a hint of a sigh of relief, but was scared to move in case he woke the little boy. So he didn't. He was still there cuddling the little boy when sleep soon claimed him also, and somewhere in the middle of this, he had wondered if he was maybe as terrible a father figure as he convinced himself he was.
Quentin Lawrence
Original Character
Of all nights for New York to have a storm, it had to be this one. There was a crack of thunder outside and a flash of lightning could be see through the curtains. Quentin hoped it wasn't some sort of sign that they shouldn't have made this decision. Deciding to foster a child who had been through traumatic times and left in the care of the authorities because his mother was thrown in prison on drug charges, and his father was long-dead from an overdose was huge. But it had been impossible to forget about the little boy once they were aware of him.
The foster process had been arduous and time-consuming, but once they suddenly had to collect him, it felt like no time had passed at all. Tanner was such a beautiful little kid, just over two years old, but he had been nothing but miserable since they picked him up. This was being thrown in the deep end, and there was no choice to sink or swim. It was only swim, because there was a little person who needed them to get their shit together because he couldn't take care of himself.
They had to make some snap decisions. They had been warned Tanner hadn't been sleeping much the past few nights for some reason. It wasn't like the toddler was at a loss of reasons why he wanted to be upset and couldn't sleep. In and out of different care homes, probably realising it was about to happen again. No wonder he hadn't been sleeping. Kevin and Quentin had, of course, hoped they could be the exception to the rule and maybe he would settle with them.
No such luck. It had been way too optimistic a mindset, but still one easy to come to when hoping beyond belief that you wouldn't automatically suck at your first attempt at taking care of a child for any length of time. But for both of them, getting this foster thing right was really goddamn important, and it had nothing to with either of them wanting children or a family, and everything to do with wanting to care for the little boy who desperately needed love.
It was in the wake of Quentin giving up his own baby son for adoption, but he knew now that Milo was in a better place with wonderful parents who could give him everything he needed. This with Tanner was a complete twist of fate, and Quentin just wanted to not fuck it up. One of the snap decisions he and Kevin made was somewhere in the later hours is the night that they might need to take shifts taking care of the little boy while he wasn't settling or, come morning, they would both be dead to the world and unable to focus. It was a learning curve. They needed to figure it out as they went.
Kevin was sleeping - or likely trying to, because Tanner's crying wasn't something that could be easily slept through - and it was Quentin's turn to take the reigns. It just so happened that shortly into his turn, Tanner cried himself into such a state, he ended up throwing up in his bed and all over himself. Quentin now had him sitting on the closed toilet in the bathroom and was carefully peeling him out of the vomit-soaked Buzz Lightyear footsie pyjamas that had matched the bedding they bought. Toy Story was the theme they settled on for the spare bedroom, after debating the other options of Finding Nemo, Cars, or Ninja Turtles.
Tanner was terrified of the storm and Quentin was pretty sure that had a lot to do with why he was getting himself so distressed, on top of already having two strangers take him home to a strange place. Quentin was sure he would be puking if he was in the little boy's shoes too. In scooping Tanner up out of the bed after he had been sick, Quentin made the executive decision to grab Kevin's iPad on the way past the living room into the main bathroom. Now they were in there, he had set the first Toy Story movie playing on the iPad sitting on the bathroom counter so Tanner could see it while he was sitting there in a sweaty, teary, pale mess.
"It's okay, buddy. I know you're feeling miserable. We'll get you all cleaned up and into a clean bed. It's gonna be okay, I promise you," he was murmuring softly to the little boy. His big blue eyes were still teary but he had stopped the completely distressed bawling that had been coming hard and fast when the storm first started. Quentin hiked up the sound on the iPad a little so it drowned out some of the sound of the storm. The little bit of dinner they had gotten into Tanner was lost now and Quentin dropped the soiled pyjamas onto the floor by the bathtub.
Tanner was stripped down to his diaper and as quickly as he could, Quentin sponged him off with a warm cloth making sure he mopped up all the mess. Tanner sat there switching between watching what Quentin was doing and looking at the movie playing on the screen just to the left. "Do you see Buzz there? Just like on your PJs. He's a pretty cool dude, isn't he?" he coaxed, pointing to the screen. Tanner was all flushed and Quentin was trying to feel his forehead to see if he had a fever, but it was hard to tell. He was far, far form an expert here and operating on sheer instinct.
The brief lull in the tears was short-lived. Tanner's tears were welling up again and it was all the warning Quentin got before the little boy was being sick again. At least there had been a bit of warning and Quentin was holding his head over the sink and avoided another huge mess. This definitely wasn't what they had in mind for their first night with the little guy. It was a lot more happy families than this. It took a little bit of multi-tasking, but Quentin managed to get Tanner into some clean pyjamas and his bed changed without further incident. His head was spinning and he was on complete alert for whatever else the toddler might be about to throw at him to keep him on his toes.
The thing he didn't at all envisage was Tanner not wanting to be put down after that. A quick trip to the kitchen nursing the little boy in his arms, he got some apple juice for him in his sippy cup because he was worried he might dehydrate. As soon as he tried to put Tanner back into his bed, it was another trigger of more distressed sobbing. "Okay, okay, okay," Quentin said in a panic, gently tossling the little boy's hair, who definitely hadn't come with an instruction manual.
He didn't know if this would work, but he decided to take a stab in the dark and try lying down with Tanner in his freshly made bed. He was lying on his side up behind Tanner, who was cuddled in against him clutching the blue teddy bear they had given him when they picked him up. At least, until he let go of it and a little hand wrapped around Quentin's fingers. It was a tiny moment of unspoken connection, and he wasn't at all going to take it for granted. Was it really as simple as the child needing to be held and hugged? Quentin started to rub Tanner's belly through his pyjama top, trying to soothe him. "Is your tummy hurting, buddy?" he finally asked, wondering if he could get a bit more communication out of the little boy which had, up to now, only been staring at them or crying.
Tanner nodded and after a moment or two, there was a soft, tiny confirmation of, "... 'urts."
Quentin wasn't going to let his emotions get the better of him with this little breakthrough. The enormity of it wasn't lost on him, though. He reached behind him for the sippy cup with the juice and offered it to Tanner. "Have a little drink for me if you can, buddy." Tanner took the cup and had a drink, but it was handed back to Quetin after. "Good job," he praised the little boy and put the cup back.
He had no idea how long he was lying there with the toddler, just softly rubbing his tummy to try to kill two birds with one stone and comfort him, as well as help him realise he wasn't alone. Soon, it dawned on him that Tanner had settled right down and dozed off, the storm now well and truly passed into the distance. He still had hold of Quentin's hand, but he was out like a light. Quentin breathed a hint of a sigh of relief, but was scared to move in case he woke the little boy. So he didn't. He was still there cuddling the little boy when sleep soon claimed him also, and somewhere in the middle of this, he had wondered if he was maybe as terrible a father figure as he convinced himself he was.
Original Character