Are You Going Soft On Me? (Griff)

[thegwaine]

Gwaine, after stealing a chunk of bread from the kitchens, quickly desended the stairs before Brynn’s mother could catch him, and start beating him with a wooden spoon for ruining her cooking. Really, if she didn’t want him to steal the food then she shouldn’t make it so well. But that was her mistake, and Gwaine wasn’t ever going to suggest that to her, as then there’d be no point in stealing it and he’d probably starve. He shook his head, right he needed to focus. He had in fact only been passing through the kitchens on his way up to the guest chambers, as he had some unfinished business there with one of his close friends. He paused on the corridor, satisfied that Meghan was not chasing him to enact some sort of vengeance on him, and he finished the bread in peace. Really, they were given such small portions of food compared to the feasts that Gwaine had spotted Merlin taking in for Arthur on a daily basis. True, he was the king, but there was nothing wrong with sharing every once in a while was there? He shook his head again, realising how distracted his thoughts were once again becoming. This wasn’t about food, he was here to visit Griff, and his new family. That was why he had said no to the ales offered to him last night. The last thing Gwaine wanted was to face children with a hangover; it just didn’t seem like a pleasant scenario.

The other night he had come across Griff quite by chance, but he was now glad he had been there for his friend at such a time. After all, it could have gone one way or the other, but Gwaine had been thrilled to learn that the mother and children were fine. Brynn had told him everything when she too had left the room with her mother, and he had just decided to leave and go to bed. It had been the middle of the night after all, and Gwaine had needed his rest. Plus, his part had been played, and he had supposed Caitrin would hardly have liked him intruding on the family moment or so to speak.

So here he was, a few days after he had been sat out on the corridor with Griff, trying to reassure him that he would make a good father, and that he needed to remember to breathe. He was quite curious to see how Griff had adapted to the role of a real father, and of course he couldn’t wait to see the children. Gwaine didn’t have any experience really with babies, but it was different when they were a friends wasn’t it? He supposed it would be the same when Arthur and Gwen finally had a baby, but for now Gwaine was only bothered about Griff and his family. Gwaine felt quite proud of himself. He hadn’t come empty handed of course and he’d actually put some thought into what to bring. Gwaine had a bag in one of his hands, which was for Griff and something for his family as well. He felt a little cliché and almost nervous about giving presents for such an occasion. He wasn’t usually one for tradition or things like that. Well, Griff had better appreciate it anyway. Finally reaching his friends guest chambers, he went to knock on the door and stopped himself. What if he woke the children up? Hmm. But he couldn’t just stand out here looking ridiculous could he? Thinking on his feet, he knocked lightly, and opened the door a little, but not so much that he could see inside properly, “Room for one more?”

Tags: Griff Aubert
Timeline: A few days after Room for an Aubert or Two
Location: Caitrin and Griff’s guest chambers in Camelot Castle
Time of Day: Morning[/color][/size]

[Griff Aubert]

Griff stared down at Arthur. What on earth was he supposed to do? Esmae was being helpful, Esmae was asleep. Arthur, however, was too busy crying. And Griff was freaking out. Crying babies wanted something, yes? But how on earth was he supposed to know what Arthur wanted? He bent down slightly, and with narrowed eyes sniffed. Oh good, he didn’t want changing. Oh but what if he wanted feeding? Caitrin had gone off somewhere which was a ridiculous thing to do because Griff had no clue whatsoever what to do, and if Arthur was hungry, what was Griff supposed to do? “Come on Arthur...” He scratched his neck. This was already going so well. This is why, this is exactly why he’d told Caitrin on several occasions that he shouldn’t be left alone with the children. Something was bound to happen and he didn’t know what to do. He tried prodding his son, and while it didn’t upset him any further, it certainly didn’t improve the child’s mood. Bloody Caitrin.

He heard a knock on the door and for a split second hoped it was Caitrin, here to save the day, but common sense quickly reminded him that she wouldn’t knock. The day was not saved at all. He turned around, just as Gwaine poked his head around the door. For some reason, he instantly felt better, despite knowing full well that Gwaine was probably worse with babies than he was, but Gwaine had a fairly good record at making things alright again. It was only because of his friend that he was in this situation so it was only fair that he appeared when Griff was about to have another crisis. “Yes!” He replied a little over enthusiastically, picked up his still crying son and near enough threw him at Gwaine. “Meet my son. Make him stop crying now.”

[thegwaine]

Gwaine was slightly surprised it was only Griff in the room when he poked his head around the door. Then again, no doubt his wife probably wanted some time alone, or just to sleep, or something. Gwaine had no idea, he had always got on well with Caitrin, but he was sure that she would be hormonal and tired, so just conversing with Griff would probably be preferred. Then again, his friend looked quite flustered, and Gwaine smiled to himself. Fatherhood was clearly already taking its toll on his friend. This was why Gwaine was quite content to not start a family just yet. Gwaine winced a little at the sound of the crying baby. He could never understand why they cried so much, but that was all babies seemed to do. Then they turned into children, and they just talked you to death. Mentioning that now to Griff probably wouldn’t help though. “Nice to see you too Griff.” Gwaine smirked and winked at his friend. He didn’t look any less panicked than when Gwaine had pushed him into the room the other night.

Strange to think that he had been that small once. Biting his lip, Gwaine put those thoughts aside, and peered past Griff into the crib where there was another tiny, sleeping baby. Well, Griff certainly had his work cut out for him. “I’m not a wet nurse you know.” Gwaine snorted and set his bag down on the bed, he could give out his gifts once this was sorted out. Now, Gwaine had been trained in the art of combat since he had been able to walk, he had learnt how to ride, joust and many other things throughout his life. Yet no one had ever really told him how to stop a baby from crying. Perhaps because everyone assumed, given his lifestyle, that he would never settle down or have the opportunity for a family in the first place.

“What’s he called?” Gwaine asked, looking curiously down at the red faced boy, and wondering what was wrong with him. Frowning, he tried to remember some of his experience of nursing mothers, then realised he had very little. He had seen women with babies though, and that might prove useful here; somehow. He wasn’t going to ask where Caitrin was, as his friend was already flustered and he didn’t want to make it worse. Running through a list of things which sounded plausible in his head, Gwaine looked down at the little baby, “The women I’ve been in the company of say babies cry when they want something, or if they’re too cold or something.” He hadn’t really been paying attention, “You could always try that rocking thing that mothers are always doing.” This was going to look so masculine; if Gwaine weren’t more irritated by the baby’s cries. He shrugged a little at Griff, "It's worth a try."

[Griff Aubert]

Normally, Griff would have had something to say to Gwaine’s comment, but he was far too preoccupied with Arthur. He had some bloody good lungs on him, that much was certain, and it seemed he was determined to make good use of them. One day, Griff would probably be proud of his son’s lung capacity; there would be some sort of use for it. Today was not that day. Today it was just causing Griff stress and a headache and Gwaine wasn’t helping. He was perfectly aware that Gwaine wasn’t a wet nurse, just as he was perfectly aware that he should not be relied upon to keep a newborn baby alive, let alone two. “Just...do something.” He said, the desperation thick in his voice. He’d been convinced he wasn’t going to be any good at this, Caitrin’s absence just proved it.

Ah yes. Griff had forgotten that Gwaine didn’t know what Arthur’s name was. Well, this was going to be an interesting conversation. No doubt the knight would have something to say about Griff’s first born son being named after someone else – and not someone Griff was particularly close to either. If the child’s name was Lucan or Corneous that would be one thing. But no, he was named after the king who just so happened to be a friend of his wife’s and therefore an obvious choice of namesake. Griff hadn’t been particularly fond of the idea at the time, but they had decided that they would name one child each and Arthur was Caitrin’s choice. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the name, on the contrary, Arthur suited his son, it was just annoying that he was named after someone who wasn’t him.

“He’s erm,” Griff paused. This really shouldn’t be embarrassing. It was just a name, a name like any other, but he was certain that Gwaine would have something to say about it, especially as he knew Arthur Pendragon far better than Griff. “He’s called Arthur.” His face screwed up slightly as he said it. This conversation was not going to be fun...

Fortunately, Griff hadn’t been expecting fantastic parenting advice from his friend; otherwise he would have been sorely disappointed. Griff knew why Arthur was crying, well, alright, he didn’t know exactly why but he knew everything Gwaine had just said. He gave the older man a quick glare before turning his attention back to the child in his arms. “I’m not a complete idiot. I’m just...rather incompetent.”

[thegwaine]

Gwaine had no idea what Griff wanted him to do, except to stand here and make unhelpful remarks, quite in-keeping with how he usually approached these situations. He just shrugged towards his friend, why on earth would he think that he would know what to do with a crying baby? His interest was in women and ale, not children. That wasn’t to say that he didn’t enjoy the company of children, but he had never thought to settle and have his own children at least. Gwaine was trying to think of something that would stop the young Aubert from crying. This was going so well wasn’t it? Gwaine was sure he had been reassuring Griff that all this would be a breeze when he had been outside the birthing room with him that night. He didn’t answer Griff, instead he just remained in thought for once; actually thinking about what might be wrong, and how he could help. He hoped that Griff appreciated all this thought he was getting, well, it was his son who would receive the aid, but still.

He was more than a little surprised at the choice of a name, but then again, he wasn’t sure why he was. It was normal for noble families to name their children after kings, and their kin; it had been tradition in his kingdom. Gwaine grinned at his friend, “You missed out on a trick.” He looked down at Griff’s son, and carried on a smug kind of grin, “Gwaine would have suited him far better.” He remembered the conversation that he and Griff had had when they had been outside the birthing room, so he supposed that Griff’s wife had got her own way with not naming their son Griff. Personally, Gwaine couldn’t see her problem, but that was just him. Arthur suited the little boy, and it was an honour to be named after the King, and if he had given his blessings as well, which he had heard that he had, then there was nothing more to bother about was there? Gwaine was sure Griff would have many more sons, and perhaps his wife’s stubbornness would lessen a little the next time round. “Didn’t win then, about the name?” He asked, with a knowing look on his face; wives could be tricky business, which was the exact reason he did not possess one.

The baby was still crying, and it was starting to give Gwaine a headache; worse, he supposed if Arthur continued to cry he would wake his sister up. That was all they needed. They were grown men, could they not handle two babes in arms? “Give him here, let me try.” Gwaine fully recognised he was in no way fit to hold any child, but he was going to try anyway, “Can’t hurt, I promise I won’t drop him, I just want to try something.”