Guarding the Fairy Princess

November 15, 2017:

Emery's encounter with the demon bear prompts him to call the two people on his emergency contact list, one of whom happens to be Jessica Jones. The detective finds herself in the role of unlikely babysitter.

New York City

Where do you go to buy a custard?

Characters

NPCs: Kennis Papsworth (emitted by Emery)

Mentions: Emery Papsworth, Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson, Danny Rand

Mood Music: [*\# None.]


Fade In…

Five Year Old Problems. Kennis was super excited because Nimi (The Nanny) said she was going out on a date, which meant Daddy would be with her tonight and they were going to make hot chocolate and work on plans for Christmas socks or hats and watch movies and do so many other magical things. Nimi left hours ago, Daddy said he was going to go make sure she didn't get eaten by ogres on the way…so she got stuck with the old lady from the condo nextdoor who went into Emery's 'Nono Drink' cabinet and passed out after drinking a whole bottle of grown up juice.

UGH, She can't Even. That leaves the dark haired little girl of mixed heritage settled on one of the easy chairs in the living room, dressed in her pink nightgown and matching pink sleep bonnet…with a sketch pad and her pencil box, working on a very unflattering sketch of Miss Furgenmeiss for evidence. She adds extra drool and eyes the clock again. Sighing.

*

Jessica Jones could probably relate on some level, though there's no sign of that as the dark haired woman raps thrice on the door. She scans up and down the street, alert for signs of trouble. For a wonder, her car is parked reasonably close. And if she's not really comfortable being back in New York City yet, at least this place isn't too near her stomping grounds. At least she spent the morning going through books and old records, a kind of soothing ritual that's almost as good as a drink, in peace and quiet and solitude, with a puzzle to work on, as she was.

But she's also touched beyond measure that she would be one of the people Emery would call to secure the safety of the most precious little person in his life, and of all the people Jessica Jones can more than handle being around right now, Kennis certainly tops the list.

*

A knock on the door! That might be Daddy! Or it might be a Monster. Nobody knows. But Kennis pauses in mid scribble to eye the door and then she looks back to the couch where her babysitter is sleeping and she sighs. A few scoots and a scramble later, she is pushing the little button that shows whoever is outside on the mini-TV beside the door. She sees Lady Sir Jesca! It could however…be a witch in disguise.

She makes her way into the kitchen for a moment and then returns back to the door with a silver soup ladle and pushes the button again. "Whassa Password?"

*

"The carriage has come to take you to the ball, kiddo," Lady Sir Jesca says solemnly.

When she's let in, she peers at the sleeping babysitter and her eyes widen in slight horror. Sure, Kennis is pretty collected for a midget, and she supposes the woman wouldn't be much help in a fight, but all the same, the sight twists her lips into an expression of judgey disgust.

It evaporates, though, for Kennis. She watches the girl's reactions in the face of this emergency protocol, watches for signs of fear, distress, worry, anything she might have to soothe away after the fact. She doesn't smile— she's having trouble with that particular expression lately— but her face nevertheless gentles, smooths over for the child's sake. "You wanna wake up your sleepy guardian there, get your things?" She doesn't even bother pitching her voice low in consideration of that sleep. Shit on a shingle, man. The woman deserves to be jolted awake.

*

Several bolts and locks can be heard and the security system is disarmed before the door swings open and Kennis looks up at the woman with wide eyes. That is the magic phrase and Daddy told her if somebody tells her this it means that the evil fairies might be onto them. She hugs that soup ladle to her chest and pushes the door closed after Jessica. "You bets comein. My Da not here to make tea…"

Well, she could ask Miss Furrbidegibt over there to make tea, so as not to be rude but. There's hardly any time for that. "Nimi went on a date." That's the only reason she is putting up with that lump on the couch. She eyes the old woman with all the disgust she can, nose wrinkling. But she does head to her room to find her things, letting out a scream that would impress a banshee, pausing at the doorway to make sure she is heard.

The babysitter sits up and looks around groggily, holding her head and grumbling in German.

In the room…Kennis has slid on a pair of pink rainboots and a pink knitcap, carefully balancing a tiara on the hat. She has an emergency backpack, large and black with pink ribbon wrapped around a handle. It also rolls. But she's opening it up and attempting to shove a few more teddy bears into the bag.

*

This banshee scream bemuses Jessica, but she has followed Kennis because for all she knows, someone is in this house. She is relieved to see the girl has her teddybears.

She looks over at the old woman. "Emery asked me to pick her up, I'm a friend of the family," she explains. Just in case. But she isn't going to wait around too long. This isn't a secure location.

As far as those goes, she has some options. But she'd have to call Zatanna for one, to avoid making a situation where the girl gets turned into a mollusk. Alias sure as fuck won't do, even if she were on speaking terms with her own office right now. But thankfully, there is a solution…Danny Rand's place is certainly secure enough, and Emery called him too.

In the meantime, though: "You hungry?"

Given the time, she's gotta imagine the kid is starving.

*

Kennis sighs and adds the soup ladle to her backpack before sitting on it so she can work on zipping it closed. Which involves bouncing and wiggle and struggling. She leaves a rather large black teddy bear out of the bag though.

The Old Woman grumbles something in German and takes another two bottles of Gin with her from the liquour cabinet before yelling out something about 'little brat' and 'not what she signed up for'.

Then the little girl looks up to Jessica solemnly, her bottom lip trembling. "Miss Fuzzbucket let Da's soup turn black. I eated crackers." She taps a finger against her bottom lip. "Da will cook us supper, just call him." She nods to reassure Jessica before tugging a chocolate brown coat off her bed and struggling into it.

*

Jess, as it happens, speaks a little German.

"Küss meinen arsch, miststück."

Insulting the kid doesn't go over well with her. And that is what she picked up, mostly, from her 'cultural exchange' in Berlin and Bradenburg months ago. All the curse words. And how to order food.

But she holds out her hand for Kennis. "Your Da's a bit delayed. We're gonna have a slumber party, kiddo. He's okay though. He's just working. So! You like burgers, pizza, tacos…we'll go anywhere you want."

Because she may not be a domestic goddess or a child care genius, but she knows kids need to be fed. And this seems like step one in getting Kennis happy and healthy and in good shape. Crackers, her ass.

*

Kennis consider what's being said, tucking her teddybear under her arm and grabbing a hold of her backpack/suitcase to drag it along with her as she looks up to Jessica trustingly as she takes her hand. "Hmm, I like Chips." She declares. Which are the same as fries but she hasn't gotten used to the American term yet. "And custard." Because of course those two things go together.

The child does pause for a moment because food costs money so, she squirms a bit to take her hand back and she tugs at the hidden snaps that are in her teddy bear's back, rummaging around before she pulls out a fat wad of dollar bills. 10s, 20s, and 100s and she offers it to Jessica. "Da said this is for mergency if he is not here."

*

"Ahhhh…"

Jess shakes her head as she shuts the door to Mrs. Fussbudget's apartment.

"You keep that. It's my treat. You might need it for other things later."

She's not taking money entrusted to this kid. No way, no how. It takes her a minute to remember chips are fries, but she leads Kennis down to the car. She eyes her car dubiously. Does Kennis need a car seat or a booster seat at 5? She actually stops and Googles it. It's a grey area. But definitely the back seat, so that's what she opens up for the girl. "C'mon, in and buckle up, there's a good burger joint about 15 minutes from here where you can eat lots of chips. You can also have a milkshake. They have a bunch of flavors."

She again watches the street, pretty much everything, an angry PI guard dog who has no patience for bullshit today. Not from anyone who thinks they are threatening this kid for any fucking reason. "And then we'll go see Mr. Danny."

*

Kennis is ever so compliant, the money is shoved back into Blackberry the Bear and she yawns with a small nod. "Chips and Milkshake, thank you Please." She clambers into the backseat and waits to see if Jessica will get her bag before she folds her hands on top of Blackberry who rests across her lap and kicks her feet a little bit. "Thank you Lady Sir Jesca Jones."

*

She gets the bag, of course she does, and tucks it on the floorboards. Kennis' thanks tug just a little bit of warmth from her mouth. It quirks, just slightly. "You're very welcome."

Of all the people she could have been around tonight, Kennis was probably the one she needed to be around, in a supreme twist of fate. Innocent, sweet. Someone worth fighting for. Someone that reminds her why she is doing all this shit at all.

She gets in the front scene, driving with her habitual safeness, glad she got sobered up hours ago. "Now tonight," she says, "I will have to step out. So once I'm sure Mr. Danny knows how to properly treat a princess, I'll be gone a few hours. And then I'll come back, and if you like, I will read you a story."

Because the other thing on her agenda tonight? Interrogating a corpse. Not exactly 5-year old material. And it's the kind of thing she can't reschedule. Jessica Jones, juggler.

*

"We have to get Milkshakes and Chips for Da's Master Puppy too." Kennis declares. Because that is who Danny is. Master Puppy. There is a hint of concern that flickers across her brow because she's still not sure of Danny is an Adult Puppy or a Kid Puppy, because Da takes care of him too but she just kicks her feet a bit and nods, hugging her bear to her chest. She just stares out of the window when Jessica says she'll come back. Nimi said that and so did Daddy but they are not here. So eh just nods slowly and sighs softly. "Okay Lady Sir Jesca. I like stories." A long pause. Because…priorities. "But first Chips!"

*

The place Jessica takes her to is not fast food. The place where she takes her— chuffing soft laughter over 'Da's Master Puppy,— is an old school diner tucked away on the edge of Hell's Kitchen. A place where cooks keep the griddle crazy hot, where you can watch them make your burger over the counter. "Wanna sit at the counter?" she asks Kennis, pointing to the corner of it so she'll still be able to keep an eye on the room, while tucking Kennis into a safe spot. "Or do you want a booth?" She points to the one at the back, where she can tuck Kennis into a safe spot, and see most of the room. She's no spy when it comes to these things (a thought which produces a pang of loss in her brain), but she's learned a trick or two.

She also texts Danny. It occurs to him he has people who can hire people to go get the car out of impound, and the less Jess has to deal with cops, the better.

*

This is more like it. Kennis eyes the counter and then looks to the door, a level of calculation that is far more detailed than most little girls her age. Then she makes her way towards the booth in the back, stomping along in her rainboots, with that teddy bear tucked under an arm. Then she is fascinated, sitting on her knees to watch what's going on at the counter.

*

Jessica snags a kid's menu and is close behind, then realizes…"Hey Kiddo? Are you old enough to read the menu yet?" How the Hell would she know? She's not really sure what the milestones are. It's been a long time since Phillip was alive.

A thought that produces another pang, even as the waitress waves to let them know she'll be over in a second. Jess scans the room again, but all seems to be well. She already knows what she wants from here, she orders the same thing every time she comes: the double cheeseburger with a bunch of fries, and the vanilla malt. Which may be close enough to custard for government work? She's not really sure who might serve custard in New York City, or even if Kennis means the same thing by custard that she thinks of when she thinks of custard.

*

The five year old is now tilting her head to the side and asks the most important question of the moment. "If cows not pink why is burgers pink before they is cooked?" The question about the menu gets a nod and a smile. "I know all my alphabets." She announces proudly before getting off her knees to sit back down on her bum, bouncing a bit. She might be able to read, but the menus still usually go over her head. "This many chips please." She holds on her hands about headwidth apart. "And vill milkshake please."

*

"You want some chicken strips with the chips? Or a hamburger or a hot dog?" Jessica suggests. She's got to have more than fries, after all. But she'll obligingly let the girl get more or less what she wants, and will get it all ordered with her typical brisk efficiency.

She supposes she's not doing too good on the vegetable end of things, but then again, she's sure Emery gets enough of those into the kid eventually, on balance. Ketchup is made of tomatoes, that's got to count somewhere right?

But then she considers the issue of cows, and just answers very frankly. "They're not pink on the outside, but they're pink on the inside, and that's the part of the cow that becomes a hamburger." She tries to be as age appropriate as possible, but she's not much of one for sugar coating, or making cutesy made-up explanations of stuff.

*

The little girl does eventually concede/agree to get a hamburger. Because they never make chicken strips in the shape of actual chickens and it would be rude to eat hot dogs before going to visit Master Puppy.

Kennis listens rather intently to the explanation given by Jessica regard the cow issue before nodding slowly. "I guess outside is too hairy." A hand comes up to adjust the tiara resting on top of her knit cap. "So, Lady Sir Jesca. Da says you are a detective. Is Sherlock behaved at tea?"

*

Jessica 's lips quirk into a smirk. Is that a Kennis-knows-it's-pretend-question or a real-question? She decides she doesn't know, and decides just to tread the fence on that count. "Dunno," she says. "He lives in London, after all. Never met the guy. Probably not."

She leans forward conspiratorially. "Most detectives misbehave dreadfully at tea. And I hear, through the Detective grapevine," and BBC, "that Sherlock misbehaves most of all. At tea and elsewhere."

More than Jess herself?

Jury's out. But this is not a comparison she's going to draw.

*

Kennis's short life on this earth has been one filled with Emery trying to hide her from the true horrors he's had to face, and give her a fantasy based outlet for the few horrors and traumas she herself has to occasionally witness. Her question about Sherlock is probably rooted in him being the only famous detective she really knows about. "Ahh. I used to live London." Then she also leans forward and ends up giggling, covering her mouth with her hand and shaking a bit with trying to keep her giggles at bay.

A shake of her head before she gasps for air and tsks, waggling her finger at Jessica before she announces. "I gonna be Queen of all Fairies when I grow up, and a Solic-Solicitic." She frowns. "So-Li-cee-ter. And then sue all the bad people who try to kill daddy." UK version of a Lawyer. "So, I has to learn more words and read alot. Mebbe I'll be detective on Satdays."

*

She's so precious, and knowing that fantasy helps her cope— it would help any kid— is why Jessica is so careful about not bursting bubbles. Like announcing Sherlock isn't real, for example.

"Did you like London?"

And then the girl's career aspirations, which make Jessica lower her head for just a moment to hide the moment where she sucks her lips in to avoid laughing or smiling. Either at the thought of being Queen of all Faeries, or suing a bunch of hit men for civil damages, or whatever else.

When she's got herself under control she says, "A Solicitor has to use a lot of the same skills as a detective. She has to be able to ask really good questions, be open to learning new things, be as observant as possible. And a lot of Solicitors do work with detectives. Sometimes they even hire them. And I go to my friend Matt, who is also a Solicitor, when the mysteries I'm trying to solve need the advice he gives, so I can protect my clients and also me, because I sure don't want to get sued by angry Faerie Queens."

Granted, given Jessica's life? Getting sued by a friggin' faerie queen is not outside the realm of possibilities. But if one does, she is sure as heck calling Nelson and Murdock. Even if they aren't licensed in Elfland. Matt and Foggy could probably get up to speed quick, anyway.

*

The question about London makes Kennis fall silent and look thoughtful, idly picking at the bow around her teddy's neck before she gives a tiny nod and a sigh. "I live there my whooooole life." Because five years is an eternity when you are five…years old. "All my teddies, all my dolls, my bed, all my toys, my school…" She gestures with a hand in a 'I can't even' gesture. "No school, like 4 monts. I say, Daddy, when I can go back to school? And he go 'Merican Kids not learning latin like you, wait til we get a house." She gives Jessica a look. "How we get a house when bad fairies always coming to get us? How I be a solicitor if I never go school?" She throws her hands up.

But she is quickly distracted by career advice and she hmms softly. "When I am Queen, I will hire you too." She promises. "You has pretty hair and Da says you could turn him into origami."

*

Poor kiddo. Wait till we get a house might just be a school district thing. Kennis is really only old enough for Kindergarten anyway.

By now the food arrives, and Jessica squirts a liberal amount of ketchup into her basket before sliding that over, considering this question of school.

At last she says, "You know, you don't have to be in class to learn. Library will still be open after we eat. We'll swing by there and you can pick up whatever you want. And that'll tide you over until it's time. I don't think your Dad will do anything to jeopardize your ability to become a Solicitor, kiddo. And I think you can trust him to find you a house, too. If he says he will, he will. You just gotta be patient, is all. Eventually the bad fairies will tire of the— " She quickly sips her shake before she can say 'bullshit' and amends it to, "these attacks."

Sooner or later, whatever is chasing Emery Papsworth will have to be resolved, after all. Or at least, she hopes so.

She does however, look a bit pleased at this latter bit. Forget her hair…"Your Dad says that, does he?"

*

"If I stay home, Nimi and Daddy teaches me my learning." Kennis amends with a sigh, kicking a foot and still pouting a bit. "But they are growups, they do not always can play." It is probably easy to guess, she's not had much time around other kids since the move to the states. Safety concerns, moving all the time. But then there is food! Chips.

She is considering this basket conflagration and starts to work on making sure there is space between her chips and her hamburger, even as she is chomping down on a fry with a happy wiggle. There are some words Jessica uses like jeopardize that are open to interpretation but the girl gets the point, a hint of hope at the idea of the bad faeries finally backing off and she offers a smile before getting a knife and fork…brandishing them before she stabs her fork into her hamburger and then stabs her knife into the thing again and begins to tug and saw. "Mmhm. Da would make a very ugly crane, so please no do that one." She pauses in demolishing that hamburger to chomp down on another fry. "Da is a knight, so he can't be good knight with a long neck."

*

The darkling detective has very little solution to Kennis' problem of playmates, really. That one she just sits on thoughtfully.

As for using big words, well.

The kid is learning Latin. Jess figures she'll be able to tease the meaning out with context clues, at any rate. And, just as she doesn't do too much sugar coating, she also doesn't do any dumbing down. She may avoid certain swear words and topics, but at the same time, she's just going to treat Kennis like she'd treat any other person, which means she uses the precise words she'd use with anybody else.

"I'd never do that to him anyway," she says warmly. "Besides. I'm terrible at origami. I tried to make one of those paper jumpy frogs once? All I ended up with was a lot of crumpled paper and a whole boatload of despair."

She watches the girl eat, but she's content at least some of the lettuce will get into her mouth. And the tomato. Are pickles a vegetable? They have to be, they're cucumbers aren't they? So cucumbers too. Three vegetables for the child. An adulting win for Jess-as-babysitter. Or…something.

*

The small child takes time sometimes to analyze what Jess is saying but…she has grown up with people like her now soulless Nanny and her Father, so for her figuring stuff out is a way of life and she's obviously enjoying herself, occasionally kicking her feet. At one point, she lifts the top of the bun off of her her hamburger to start scraping off the toppings. Its alot of work but she wraps a bunch of fries, in a piece of lettuce and balances half her tomato on it before devouring the newly invented wrap with finesse. Cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, she has to remove her milkshake from the table to hold it with both hands abit lower and take a long sip.

Someone has been teaching her etiquette however, because she uses her napkin regularly to clean her fingers and her mouth. She is giggling again though at the origami topic, wrinkling her nose and taking another long sip of her milkshake, starting to nod off in mid-action like most small children do. Eyes sliding closed and popping back open as her head nods.

*

Aaaand that's a sleepy Kennis. Jessica reaches over to gently pry the milkshake loose from her hands, and pulls out cash to pay for the meal. "Come on," she murmurs. "Let's get you to Mr. Danny's so you can settle in."

She scoops the sleepy child up, settling her on her shoulder rather instinctively so that she can lay her head on the detective's leather-clad shoulders, supporting her with an arm beneath and a hand on her back. Anyone who saw her right now— anyone who knows her— might well have a hard time reconciling the way she gently navigates with this kid through the restaurant and out to the car and the stomping, swearing, grouchy demeanor she so often presents to the world.

Or maybe not. Plenty of people keep accusing her of being a marshmallow, after all.

Either way, she gets the girl buckled in, takes off her jacket to fix it under her head, and settles in for the drive back to Danny Rand's Fortress of All The Security Money Can Buy, so that the Iron Labradoodle may take a shift. If he's responsible enough. Ye gods, if he's responsible enough.

Jess will grill him. At length. And badger him and hound him and everything else just to make sure he knows what to do, or some reasonable approximation thereof. Probably more than necessary…

But that's just the way it goes, when one guards fairy princesses.

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