Title: Perfect Enough
Characters: Pete, Cady, Audrey, and Alec Townshend
Word Count: 1966
Rating: PG-13 [romance, love, sexual conversations]
Warnings/Spoilers/Summary: The Townshend family are at their flat in New York City, a few weeks prior to the Tommy premier. Pete suddenly realizes it's Valentine's Day and heads out with his daughter for a gift. Meanwhile, Cady bonds with their son while baking sugary confections. Holidays are more family affairs now, then romance.




February 1975, New York

Strolling the busy streets of Manhattan, bundled in a coat with his six-year-old daughter by his side, Pete made his way to a jewelry store. Had Audrey not said something earlier that day, he would have blown it completely. It just had not been on his radar, never mind the red and pink hearts decorating shops. He could not fail his wife now. Christmas had been all right, but he knew she would have to put up with a great deal that year, especially with the movie premiering in a few weeks. He needed to keep his wife happy so that they would be better suited for facing the press. That was not to say he did not want to make her happy for the sake of making her happy. It was just…bloody hell.

“Dad!” Audrey pulled on his sleeve, motioning to a glass-front store.

“Oh, right, yes,” he nodded, letting her pull him into the jewelry store.

Vaguely paying attention to the young girl, Pete wandered about, glancing in cases of jewelry. Everything, though claiming to be diamonds, looked cheap to him. He could not buy such things for Cady. She was worth more than the entire lot.

“Auddie,” he reached for her, “let’s try some place else.”

The little girl gasped and hurried towards a case with sparkling tiaras, “Look, Dad! Princess crowns!”

His hand folded over hers, “Come on, Audrey. We’re going somewhere else.”

“But I want a princess crown! Mum says I’m a princess!”

He rolled his eyes, hoping the salesperson did not head their direction, “I’ll get you one elsewhere. There isn’t anything in here for Mum.”

“Get Mum a crown!” she jumped up and down.

“Can I help you, sir?” a well-dressed salesperson approached the father and daughter.

“No, thank you,” he tugged Audrey to him. “We were just leaving.”

“The young miss seems to be rather excited about the tiaras. Would she like to try one on?”

“YES!” she exclaimed.

“No,” Pete interjected, tugging her towards the day. “Excuse us.”

“But Daddy!” she planted her feet, crossed her arms over her chest, and pouted.

“Audrey Rose Townshend, that is enough,” he stated sternly. “We are leaving. Now.”

Pulling his daughter out of the jewelry room, he brushed off the salesperson. His hand remained holding hers as he paused briefly, trying to decide which way to head. With no rhyme or reason, he tugged the girl down the street, in search of another jewelry store. Audrey slipped her hand from his and ran into a toy store, making Pete swear under his breath and rush after her. The shopping experience was going vastly different than he anticipated – and gave him greater appreciation for his wife as she handled the kids every day. He needed to find her the perfect gift.



Looking over the recipe, Cady frowned. Something was missing but she was not exactly sure what. Her finger traced the page as read through it again. Stepping back from her recipe, she glanced over at her son who sat at the table, coloring a heart cutout with crayons. He looked up at her and grinned – and then promptly bit off the end of his crayon.

“Alec!”

He crunched on the red crayon, “Not taste like cherry.”

She rolled her eyes, “Spit it out.”

His eyes held hers and he visibly swallowed. Shaking her head, Cady filled a glass of water and set it down in front of him. The boy picked up the glass and washed down his crayon. Grinning up at her, he reached for another crayon. Her fingers snatched it from his, her other hand covering the pile of crayons before he could grab another.

“No more,” she declared.

“But, Mum!”

“No.”

“But–”

“Come help me with the cupcakes,” she requested.

“OKAY!” he exclaimed and slipped out of his seat, hurrying over to the counter.

Scooping the crayons into his color bucket, she glanced over as he reached up for the mixing bowl. Her eyes widened as the four-year-old pulled on the bowl. In slow motion, the bowl tipped over the edge. She gasped as it slammed onto the tiled floor, spilling its contents all over her son. His eyes went wide, his mouth gaping open. She set down the box of crayons and rushed to his side, squatting near him. Her lips touched his forehead, stopping his cries before they began.

“Come on, silly goon,” she stood back up. “Let’s clean up this mess and start over. We need to get these baking before your dad and sister get back.”

Sliding the pan into the oven twenty minutes later, Cady kissed Alec and returned to the table to color with him. The boy chatted happily, telling her stories about whatever it was he drew and colored. Cady grinned as she drew beside him. He stopped his coloring for a moment and looked at her.

“I lub you, Mummy,” he declared, flashing her a bright smile.

“I love you too.”

“Daddy lubs you too,” he stated.

She smiled, “I know he does. I love Daddy too.”

Staring seriously at her, Alec asked, “I want a brother.”

Cady coughed, “Excuse me?”

“I want a baby brother. Will you get me one?”

She smiled crookedly, “I don’t think it’s that easy, Alec.”

“Why not?”

“It just isn’t,” she replied. “Besides, you have Chris. He’s like a baby brother.”

Alec sighed, “Just have sex with Dad, Mum.”

Amusement filled her eyes, “What do you know about sex, Alec?”

“It’s what a Mommy and a Daddy do privately to make babies.”

Remembering the conversation from a few weeks before, Cady nodded, “That’s right.”

He set down his crayon, his serious demeanor remaining, “How does that work, Mum?”

“What do you mean, Alec?”

“How does a baby get into a Mum?”

Pausing for a moment to figure out how to explain it to him, Cady replied, “A baby is created inside a mum.”

“How?”

“A daddy puts his penis in a mum’s vagina during sex. And they make a baby inside her.”

“All the time?”

“No,” she responded cautiously. “Sometimes two adults have sex for pleasure, not to make babies.”

“Oh,” he paused. “You should have sex with Dad to make a baby.”

“We’ll see about that,” Cady glanced up at the timer. “Our cupcakes are just about done. Don’t they smell yummy?”

“Can I have one now!?” he asked excitedly.

Shaking her head, her eyes went to her son, “Let’s get them out of the oven to cool. Maybe if you’re really good, I’ll let you have one when we frost them.”

“Yay!” he jumped off his chair. “I lub cupcakes!”



Sitting with Pete’s arm draped around her shoulders, Cady watched the children play their own form of Candyland. She snuggled closer to her husband, her fingers idly reaching up to touch the glittering blue diamond necklace about her throat. It amused her that Pete returned home with not only the necklace but also a small tiara for their daughter. She said nothing about it, did not even ask if the girl’s diamonds were real or not. If Pete felt it okay to crown her princess, Cady was fine with it as well.

“I win!” Alec declared, throwing his blue piece up in the air.

“NUH!” Audrey refuted. “I’m the winner! I’m the princess!”

“I don’t care! I got to the end first!”

“Because you cheated,” her eyes narrowed.

“Now, children,” Pete pulled away from Cady and shifted to the edge of the sofa, “I think it’s bedtime.”

“But Daaaaaad,” they both whined.

“You got to stay up an extra hour to play the game again,” he pointed out. “Let’s pick it up and brush our teeth.”

With a groan, the two young children put their game away with Pete’s assistance. Both headed to the bathroom a few minutes later, reassuring their parents they did not need help brushing their teeth or putting their pajamas on. Smiling, Cady shook her head and headed into the kitchen to fill water glasses for the two young children. Armed with glasses, she joined Pete as he headed down the hallway to the children’s bathroom.

“Mum and Dad are going to have sex,” Alec stated matter-of-factly as he stepped out of the bathroom with his sister.

Pete froze in the hallway, not sure at all how to respond to what he just heard.

“How do you know?” Audrey asked, her blue eyes looking up to their parents.

“I asked Mum for a baby brother,” he declared smugly, flashing a smile at Cady.

“But I don’t want another one!” his older sister complained.

Cady held out the glasses for the two of them, “Now children, that is something for Mum and Dad to decide. Maybe we think our family is perfect just the way it is.”

“You’re not going to have sex?” Alec asked, accepting the glass and gulping it.

“Alec, not so quickly. You’ll have to pee in an hour,” she warned. “Now into bed, both of you.”

“Are you and Dad going to have sex?” he questioned, turning to head into his room with Cady behind him.

“I don’t know, Alec,” she responded, plucked his glass from his hands and placed it on his nightstand. “In bed now.”

He pulled back his blanket and crawled into his small bed, “I really want a baby brother.”

Cady leaned down and kissed his forehead, “Good night, Alec. Sweet dreams.”

“G’night, Mum.”

As she turned off his light, she heard him ask the sex question again. Shaking her head, she closed the door, figuring Pete would avoid the question by avoiding saying good night to his son. The adults’ eyes met; Cady trying to ascertain her husband’s thoughts. With a bit of a grimace, he stepped forward and opened the door to Alec’s room. Leaning in, he wished his son good night, ignored the sex question, and ducked back out. Shaking her head, Cady crossed the hall to say good night to Audrey before returning to her husband’s side.

“Coming to bed with me, Mr. Townshend?” she asked, softly kissing him.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” he muttered, though his arms folded around her.

“And why not?”

“Our son expects us to make a baby.”

Rubbing her nose with his, she grinned, “He doesn’t know I’m on birth control, Pete. He doesn’t even know what birth control is.”

“But he knows what sex is.”

“So?”

“I just don’t think I can perform knowing that.”

Cady rolled her eyes and pulled away from him, “You had no problems last night.”

He watched her head down the hallway, her hips swaying seductively, “But I didn’t know he knew last night.”

Stopping in the doorway of their bedroom, Cady turned around, “Relax, Pete.”

He sighed, hanging his head, “I just can’t, Cady. I can’t.”

“Stop thinking about it and just come to bed with me. We don’t have to have sex,” she teased.

“Cady…”

Her hands dropped down and she turned back to the bedroom, “Suit yourself. I’ll just have to have sex with myself then.”

Groaning, Pete hurried down the hallway and quickly closed the bedroom door, turning the lock on the doorknob. Though he was not the least bit aroused, still fighting the very thought that their son knew and expected them to fuck that night, Pete was not about to leave his wife alone that night, not on Valentine’s Day. Perhaps, Cady would be satisfied with cuddling. As his eyes went to his wife, she tossed her bra at him and climbed into the bed completely nude. He sighed, wishing his body would react to her nudity. He just couldn’t with the thought of his son knowing.

“Come to bed, Pete. And hold me. No pressure,” she stated softly. “Just hold me. That is enough.”