A/N: This was written for 'The Original Character Challenge' at the CCOAC forum. The OC that was assigned to me was Cora DeLancy - JJ's nanny. Though in this story I made her more of a sitter, than a nanny, because I wasn't really picturing JJ's Pennsylvanian family having a nanny. Anyway, be nice with me as my imagination wasn't really up for this story, and I struggled to make something of this.
On with the story...
- Mommy, please! Why can't I come with you? – The little blonde girl asked while pulling her mom's blue trousers. Her blue, upset eyes glaring at her mother's equal blue ones.
Angela Jareau sighed as she tried to calm herself before answering to her little daughter for the hundredth time. The thirty nine year old woman bent down and cupped her daughter's cheeks with her hands.
At the touch of her mothers big, soft and comforting hands the annoyed look on the little girl's eyes changed into a pleading one.
- Jennifer, you know I have to take your sister to the doctor, and you know we will have to wait for a long time while she's doing her medical examinations, and you know you hate waiting and get all impatient. So, you'll stay home and play with Cora. – She said whilst gesturing to the opened entrance door where a young ginger haired woman was standing with a small green bag on her hand.
Cora DeLancy was a twenty one year old college student that tried to make some extra money baby sitting. Her ginger hair and the small freckles around her nose and cheeks gave her a very British look, but she was actually born in Canada. Her british appearance was due to her father, a television journalist that travelled to Canada in hopes of getting a better job, and eventually found one… and a wife and daughter too.
Cora was a Law student at the Georgetown University, but right now, she just felt like an elephant scared of a little mouse.
The little Jennifer Jareau was staring at her over her mother's shoulder, her big cyan eyes piercing at her hazel ones.
- But mommy, I don't know her! What if she's mean to me like Cathy was? – The little girl whispered in her mother's ear.
The six year had started hating all kind of nannies and baby sitters since a two years back her mother hired a 19 year old girl named Cathy Jamison.
Cathy was meant to look out for Jennifer and her sister for the afternoon, but the only thing she did was to sit on the couch and watch TV while the two girls played around. Everything was going fine till the moment Jennifer decided she was hungry and asked Cathy to make them some food. After a couple "Yeah, I'll go in a minute." and "Wait!" every time both girls persisted on their request for food, Cathy snapped. She started yelling at the two little blonde girls. She went to the kitchen, grabbed some bread and bacon and placed it on top of the table, and sat Jennifer and her sister on the chairs, returning to her spot on the couch right after.
- I don't like bacon… - Jennifer said softly, already afraid to look up at Cathy.
If it wasn't for the Jareau's older son to arrive from school at that precise moment and open the door to the living room, Jennifer was sure Cathy would have slapped her.
- Jenny, sweetheart, she's not going to be mean. She has taken care of Nathan a few times, and his mom says he loves her. So, I guess you will too. – With a soft smile, she leaned over to the little girl's ear and whispered - And if anything happens you grab the house phone, call me, and I'll be here right away!
As Angela stood up she winked at her younger daughter. She grabbed her other daughter's hand and left, leaving a wary Jennifer staring at Cora with a frown.
"This can't be that hard, she looks lovely, she will be lovely", Cora thought whilst she moved away from the wall next to the entrance door, leaving her green bag near the wall and made her way to the center of the room, where Jennifer was standing.
- Hey there Jennifer. – She said while sitting down on the floor, in front of the little girl.
- Hi... – The six year old answered as she started drawing invisible circles on the floor with her foot, without ever looking up.
- Would you like to play with me?
The only answer she got was a small shrug.
- Okay, so maybe I'll play alone. – Cora said, and with that she got up from the floor and started wondering around the room, as if looking for something at every corner. This behaviour caught Jennifer's attention, and she couldn't restrain the urge to know what Cora was doing.
- What you looking for?
- Well, I want to play, I need something to play with. I'm looking for toys. – Cora said, stopping her journey around the room to look at the blonde girl.
Her answer caused Jennifer to start laughing, and now was her turn to wonder why she was laughing.
- We aren't allowed to leave toys spread around the house. You wouldn't find any in here, because I'm really tidy. – The girl answered with proud.
- Are you sure? – Cora asked. She had spotted something that maybe would get the blonde girl to be more comfortable around her.
- Yes, I'm sure. – Jennifer answered, confidently, whilst crossing her arms in front of her chest and frowning again.
Cora pointed at a cabinet on the other side of the room. On one of the top shelves you could see a small yellow ball, with the size of an apple. The smiley face painted on it was facing them directly.
- Diogo! – The little girl screamed out, and ran towards the cabinet. But because of her height, she couldn't reach it.
She tried to jump two or three times, but eventually gave up, and turned to Cora, with pleading eyes.
- Can you take him out of there… Please?
Cora couldn't help the smile that spread on her face with the use of "him" addressed to a toy ball named Diogo. She took the ball from the shelf and, whilst kneeling down, handed it to a now over excited girl.
Unexpectedly, Jennifer hugged Cora tightly once she had Diogo in her small hand.
- Thank you, I thought I had lost him!
With that event breaking the ice, Jennifer and Cora started having fun playing and laughing around.
- Hey Jenny, what do you want to be when you grow up? – Cora asked, a few hours later, whilst they were eating some cookies and yoghurt.
The little Jennifer thought for a brief moment, and finally answered.
- I wanna be a journalist, like those on TV that interview people and tell the news from all around the world!
- Really? You know, my dad is a journalist!
- A real journalist? – Jennifer asked with wide eyes.
Cora nodded.
- I have an idea! I know a bit about journalists, why don't we turn you into one right now? – Cora asked, standing up and opening her arms for Jennifer to hop into the embrace.
- Yes! – She giggled excitedly whilst hooking her arms around Cora's neck and letting herself be taken by the ginger haired woman – But how are we going to do that?
- Well, we need some fancy clothes; does your mom have any? – Cora whispered, as if what they were going to do next was top secret.
Jennifer nodded. She had already understood Cora's idea, and although she was excited with it, she didn't know how her mom would react if she came home and her clothes were all over the house.
Cora spotted her worried eyes and decided to settle them.
- Don't worry, we will leave everything just like we found it.
They went to her parent's bedroom and opened the wardrobe. While JJ sat back on the bed, Cora's fingers started wondering through the dresses, skirts, shirts and trousers on the wardrobe.
Grabbing a grey skirt and a pink dress shirt, Cora turned around with a smile which was met by an equally big smile on the little girl's face.
She helped Jennifer dressing the huge clothes and tucked the shirt under the skirt so it wouldn't look so big. She got up on her feet and looked at the six year old and squinted.
- What? – The little Jennifer Jareau asked.
- There is something missing! You can't go on live camera like that, Miss! – Cora said as she rubbed her own chin with one hand. – You need some pretty shoes!
Cora turned back around to face the wardrobe and spotted a drawer on the bottom. As she expected, once she opened it, she found Angela Jareau's pairs of shoes. She took out a pair of grey pumps, with a heel of 2 or 3 centimeters.
- See if you can walk on these.
The blonde girl jumped of the bed where she had been jumping around, and ran towards Cora, who had placed the shoes in front of her.
Of course the pumps where extremely big for a six year old to wear. But Jennifer managed to walk on them, or better said, drag them around without falling.
- Let me tell you one thing Jennifer, you are a natural! – Cora said as she followed Jennifer through the living room and into her own room.
- What does that mean? – She asked curiously.
- It means that not everyone has the talent to walk and look good on formal clothes and heels. But you rock on them girl! – Cora said, raising her wide opened hand, asking for a high five that the little girl enthusiastically complemented.
Taking a disposable camera from a shelf on her toy's cabinet, Jennifer turned around and handed it to Cora.
- Can we take a picture together?
Sitting on the couch with Will and her son, Henry, on each side of her, flipping the pages of the old photo album, JJ couldn't help but smile when she saw the picture of a small blonde, blue eyed girl, wearing clothes that were way to big for her and shoes just as big, kissing the cheek of a smiling ginger haired young woman. She couldn't help to tell them the story of that day and how she started adoring that girl, and how everytime her mother needed someone to take care of her, she would ask straight away for her to call Cora.
- Well, you didn't turn out to be a journalist after all. – Will said as he placed his strong, comforting arm around her girlfriend's shoulders.
- No, I did not. But I still had to wear that kind of clothing during many years of my lived life. – JJ answered smiling.