[open - baby meeting!]

[just_another]

Dane has been home for exactly thirty-seven hours and a few minutes, give or take, when Joel looks at the clock on the wall as he paces the length of the library, the baby in his arms. He's been fussing today, more than he has yet, and he and Spencer have been taking turns walking with him around the house once they've established that he doesn't need to be changed and he isn't hungry. They've been given their space after the initial invasion, his parents choosing to stay at a hotel for the duration of their time here rather than taking over the house. As much as he loves having his parents here, as much as he's loved seeing them with their grandson, he's also extremely grateful for it.

Ellie, though, had called that afternoon and suggested Joel try flipping Dane over onto his stomach. She'd said something about colic, told him that holding the baby on his stomach might help, and since then Joel has been carrying a peaceful Dane around the house, his little cheek resting against Joel's wrist. He's fast asleep for the time being and Joel can't imagine putting him down. He's a warm, comforting weight on Joel's arm and although he's tired, although he knows there's still a lot of adjusting to be done, he's also never been this happy.

Spencer is napping. At least he hopes he is. Joel had all but forced him to go upstairs and lie down. They sleep when Dane sleeps, that's the way their lives are meant to go now, and now that Dane actually is sleeping, Joel is debating heading upstairs and joining Spencer. The thought of crawling into bed with his husband, settling Dane comfortably on his chest and just lying there for a little while is somehow even more appealing than actually getting to sleep.

If he sleeps, he's bound to miss something, and Joel doesn't want to miss a moment of this.

That's exactly what Spencer is thinking as he lies wide awake in their bedroom. He'd tried more than once to close his eyes and keep them shut, force himself into a sleep that just won't come, but for once he's not being kept awake because of the nightmares he fears might plague him; it's because he knows that just downstairs are the two people he loves more than anything else in this world.

It's only been a day and a half since they've been allowed to bring Dane home, since they'd been overly careful in placing their baby, their tiny, beautiful baby, into his car seat for the drive home while Erin and her husband tried to hide their laughter behind their hands as they'd watched.

"Definitely brand new parents," her husband had commented, and it hadn't been with any ill intent. Spencer had only smiled and shrugged, as if there was nothing that could be done about it and really, there can't be. He's a father now, he's partly responsible for someone's life for the rest of his own, and as daunting as that may be, Spencer has never been happier. The only comparison he could possibly make would be to the day he and Joel had gotten married, and it's with that thought that he finally gives up and rolls out of bed to join his family.

They'd texted friends earlier in the day to mention when a good time would be to drop by to meet the baby. It's getting to be just after noon now, and he's absolutely exhausted, but the promise of getting to see Dane again gives him a burst of happy adrenaline. He'd be happy to stay this way for the rest of his life, at home with just his husband and their child; but he supposes having company over wouldn't be so bad.

After all, there's something appealing about being able to say that today, he and Joel are going to be introducing their son.

[Time to meet the baby. Tag Joel or Spencer or BOTH, but just indicate in your tag what you'd prefer. If both, the order will be your pup, Joel, Spencer.]

Comments

[asharpertongue]

Lara had gotten the all clear to come over while she was out shopping for little Dane. She had an armful of babygrows and way more tiny booties than the baby would be able to use before he grew out of them. Levi was going to mock her mercilessly when he found out, but she didn't care.

Paying for the clothes, she dashed to her car and straight over to see Joel and Spencer and the baby.

It doesn't take long to get there and she's grinning as she approaches their house, knocking on the door quietly.

[just_another]

"We don't need anything, it's fine. We just wanted people to come meet him," Joel says, rocking Dane a little when he starts to fuss again. It doesn't take long before he's quiet, his eyes closed, his cheek against Joel's wrist. "We're all doing really well. Erin's gone home with her husband. She went into labour a little early, about three weeks, so they kept everyone in the hospital for a few days, but he's fine. He's a little on the small side, but he's all developed properly. Healthy as he can be."

That's really the only thing that had mattered. Erin had insisted he would be fine, it wasn't too early, but Joel had done all the reading and it wasn't until he'd heard Dane crying that he's been able to relax at all.

[louise_abasi]

"It's the least I could do." Was it? What a silly little sentence anyway. Shouldn't she offer to watch the baby, give them money for child friendly holidays, days to the spa? The three of them are so adorable and Louise has never felt more alien to a situation.

"Responsibility for someone else also means that you have the responsibility to stay in the best state possible so you can take care of that someone." She wags her finger at the both of them. "I'm telling this to the both of you, because if one will catch the other and become overly fatigued because of that ..there will be no end to it. Please accept that you will sometimes have to say no or give up before you reached the possible end. This is something I tell everyone, mostly because I don't know too many young parents to finetune my speeches to."

She smiles. "And I know I don't even have to offer extra help because I'm sure that you're swimming in it. Remember to accept that. Questions aren't flags of weaknesses. Anyway .." Yes, she's going to ask, no matter how painful it could be. "Maybe we can sit down so I can have a closer look at the beautiful boy?"

[just_another]

"Yeah, of course," Joel says with a grin when Davin asks if he can touch him. He knows this is right about the time he's supposed to offer to let Davin hold him, too, but it's coming, it really is, but Joel can't quite get the words out yet. And it has nothing to do with Davin and everything to do with the fact that Joel simply isn't ready to be not holding his son anymore. Even if Spencer wanted to take Dane right now, Joel thinks he might resist a little, beg for just a few minutes longer, because while he knows his life has changed over the past year and a bit, while he knows Spencer has filled it and given him so much more love than he's ever known before, while he knows he's allowed himself to open up to friends he never might have before, this is different. Dane feels different. It's like he's meant to be there, right in the crook of Joel's arm, but he also thinks the same thing is true for Spencer. Dane belongs there, too. He belongs with them.

"Do you want to come into the living room?" he asks. "You can hold him. He shouldn't be too fussy right now anyway." And if he is, they're both right here, and Davin can have the option of giving him right back, but Joel thinks it won't come to that. Dane seems content enough to sleep the afternoon away and he knows he and Spencer will regret not taking a nap themselves come this evening, but right now he doesn't care. He can't imagine sleeping and not getting to see any of this. It's far more important than a few hours of sleep will prove to be, he's sure of that.

[just_another]

"Hey," Joel says, smiling when he sees Mira. She comes into the room, comes closer to the baby and Joel can't help it, he's grinning proudly, as if he had much of anything at all to do with this besides just giving a sample to a doctor. He and Spencer had both done that so they had an equal chance of being the biological father, though it's already clear from Dane's dark and slightly curly hair what happened there. For about a month before he had been born, Joel had worried. If he was the father, would Spencer be upset? Or if Spencer was the father, would he feel like he had missed out on the chance? But now that the baby is here, now that they can both see and hold and kiss Dane, he realizes it had been a ridiculous worry. Whatever had happened biologically, this baby is theirs. They're both his fathers and they both love him and that's all that matters.

"Big name from what I've heard," he agrees. "I think he'll do alright, though." As long as he's happy. As long as he knows he's loved. That's the only thing Joel cares about and he shoots Spencer a tired, happy smile, knowing it's the only thing his husband cares about, too.

[bachjones]

"How's the milk thing going to work? Is she going to deliver or is it powder from now until he can eat? And is she in as the parent or are you guys never seeing her again? I know these things now, can you imagine that I would ever know about such things. Because I still don't, I only knew about how to prevent getting to the part that you have to know about measles and sugar free diets."

He follows them inside. "Damn, I never saw Isaac so small. You should have your cameras ready. I borrow one from time to time, because they just ..well, you know. Quicker than you can imagine."

[just_another]

There's something literally kicking their door and Joel doesn't know how he knows, but it has to be Coop. He finds himself grinning before the door is even opened and yes, it's Coop, his arms full of a giant box that he all but throws at Spencer before heading over for Joel. There's a second where Joel thinks Spencer might actually drop the box, but he manages to get a hold on it, then sets it down in the wall and Joel grins at his husband in relief. He would have hated to start this day by needing to rescue Spencer from under a giant box.

"Pretty sure," Joel says in response to Coop's question. "He has a heart beat and everything." Which Joel listens to about a dozen times a day. It isn't even in response to any anxiety -- though he's had moment like that already and he's doing his best to try and shut them down before they begin -- it's simply that he wants to hear their son's heart beating. It beats so quickly, like a tiny butterfly beating its wings inside his chest and Joel knows that's completely normal, that newborns simply have a much quicker heart rate, but it had taken some getting used to all the same. And now it's simply the best sound Joel has ever heard. Maybe second only to his breathing.

"Do you want to hold him?" he asks. "He's pretty quiet right now, but we had a bit of a rough morning with him. Getting him like this is probably best for everyone." As long as he doesn't start to fuss again as soon as they make the transfer, Joel is pretty sure he'll just settle back into Coop's arms and fall asleep.

[just_another]

The knock is so quiet that Joel barely hears it at all. It's only because he's passing by on the way to the kitchen, Dane still sleeping against his forearm, that he realizes there's someone at the door and when he goes to answer, he break into a bright smile at the sight of Aoife on the porch.

"Hi," he says, holding the door open wider for her to come in. "I'm glad you came." And he really is. Whatever her reasons for not wanting to come, he doesn't understand them, and he doesn't want to have pushed her, but she's a friend and he would very much like for her to meet Dane.

[just_another]

Raleigh probably should have been called to come over earlier and Joel had entirely meant to, especially when Charlotte was here buzzing around, but it had just slipped his mind. He's not usually forgetful like that and he doesn't know if it's due to the fact that he's tired -- he feels like he hasn't quite caught up on sleep since the night Dane was born -- or if this is just something that happens to parents, they forget everything that isn't the baby, but either way he feels a little guilty about it.

But there's a knock at the door and Joel has only just settled onto the couch with Dane in his arms, so he looks up at Spencer with a sheepish sort of grin. They'll be trading off duties all day, he's sure of that, but right now he's the one with the sleeping baby on his arm and he's only just gotten comfortable, so he offers the cutest face he can possibly muster -- which he realizes probably isn't all that cute, he probably looks more like he's sick than anything -- and looks at Spencer sweetly.

"Can you get the door?" he asks. "I'm far too lazy to get back up again right now."

Honesty is key, he thinks. Honesty is the way to get what he wants, even though he's sure Spencer would open the door or do anything for him right now without a second of hesitation.

[just_another]

By this time, Joel has passed Dane off to Spencer and left the sleeping baby in his husband's arms instead. Of course, he hadn't been able to just walk away, because once Dane's cheek had been resting against Spencer's wrist, lying face down like he seemed to like best at the moment, Spencer's long fingered hand stroking down his tiny back, he hadn't been able to resist taking a picture. Or a dozen pictures. His phone is already holding more than double the number of photos it had the day before Dane was born and Joel is suddenly very pleased he got the one with the most storage.

Even so, he's going to have to start transferring these soon. And picking out the ones they'll want to print out and frame.

When he finds Caden on the porch, Joel smiles brightly and steps back to let him in, even as he take the huge amount of coffee being handed to him. "Thank god, you are a saviour," he says with a laugh, because it's true, they're certainly going to need all the caffeine they can get over the next several months until Dane is managing to sleep through the night.

[just_another]

Joel has passed Dane off to Spencer when he hears the knock and it takes him a moment to tear himself away from his husband and baby, but eventually he manages it. It's just that they look so sweet, Dane sleeping on Spencer's arm, his tiny lips pursed slightly. He had been eight when Charlotte was born and he remembers how small she'd been, how tiny and delicate, but it's different. She had been his sister and he had loved her blindly from the very first moment he met her, but this is just different.

"Hi," he says when he opens the door and finds Lara on the porch. "Come inside. I'm glad you came."

[just_another]

"It's amazing. Thank you," Joel says, echoing Spencer's sentiment. He knows there's going to come one day in particular, just one day when it seems like everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong and he knows that being able to come home and just have something to eat already prepared for them is probably going to save the day. Being able to eat a decent meal can sure a lot of ills, Joel has always believed that, but in a situation like this, a new baby, a business to run, a lot of things on their plate, he knows he wouldn't be doing as much cooking and this really is going to prove to be a life saver at some point. He just knows it.

"Yes," he says, stepping back and moving toward the living room. "Of course. You can hold him if you like. He seems to be pretty happy to just keep sleeping right now, which is a good thing. He was quite fussy earlier in the day." And now he's not. Simply because Ellie had called and suggested Joel try turning him over. It's one more reason he wishes Spencer's mom could be here, too. Parents are filled with advice on how to take care of new babies and most of it turns out to be the sort of things that he never would have thought of and yet turn out to be the most important. He really wishes Vera could be here, too, to be calling Spencer and offering him solutions for the little problems.

[just_another]

They're not quite the questions Joel expects, but he supposes he shouldn't be too terribly surprised. It's not like he knows many people in Siren Cove who have used a surrogate. "No, she'll bring some for us when we see her," he answers. "And we are seeing her again. She won't be Dane's mother, not in that sense. She's not going to be involved in parenting by any means, she has her own sons to worry about, but I think Spencer and I have decided to make sure Dane is aware she exists as soon as he can understand."

He's going to have questions, after all. It doesn't take much for a child to realize two men can't have a baby together, and Joel wants him to know right from the start exactly what the situation is. And at least part of why he knows they'll keep in touch with Erin is that he's already fairly certain he and Spencer are going to want another baby and she's the best possible surrogate they could have hoped for.

He laughs then and shrugs. "My phone already has a Dane folder with well over two hundred pictures. I'm going to have to start picking the best and deleting the rest."

[aoife_coombs]

"You're home", she whispers. "The both of you. The three of you, probably. Of course. Because .."
"Hello."

The baby was right there and if this would be any other situation with any other parent, Aoife could hide behind giggles and let someone other do the oohing and aahing. But Joel was always the one that managed to break down all the constructs she managed to keep upright around people. "Congratulations on your -" Is that even something you say, congratulations with your child? "I didn't know what to get you so I just got a gift voucher." She waves it. "If you want. For all of you, of course."

[bachjones]

"She's got kids of her own? Did you guys pay for he- nah, no, that's probably not a topic for first meetings with babies? Or even ever between us? Let's not talk about that. It's probably private stuff."

Bach's trying to remember where they talked about when there weren't children around. Did they even ever talk about something? Couldn't he talk plainly with anyone besides Hana, that being sign language? This was getting more pathetic quick.
"Give him to me, won't you? Let me hear him. Is he - he's completely human, can I ask that? I never did stuff like this before. Meeting babies."

[lesparker]

Les is at home when his phone beeps with Joel's text message. He is expecting it to be Raleigh or probably even Corry letting him know she was home from working over at the Waterhouse, but when he sees that it's Joel telling people that the baby is home, he gets a huge grin on his face. It takes him awhile to head over to Joel and Spencer's house. He has to discard the potion he's working on and take a shower so he doesn't meet Baby Dane covered in green gunk from his spell.

A couple hours later he rings the bell once and waits for someone to answer.

[doublethepain]

Spencer listens to Lou's friendly bit of lecturing with a fond smile, nodding along in all the right places as if all of this is brand new, as if he and Joel haven't already discussed that they have to help each other realize when they're at the end of their ropes. Caring for their baby is never going to be too much work for either of them, they've both wanted this for what seems like so long now that the mere idea that either of them could truly tire of being fathers is laughable, but Spencer knows there will be hard days ahead.

There will be times that one or both of them feel exhausted to the point that they can barely move from being woken up by the baby's crying in the middle of the night or Dane being too fussy to get to sleep, like he'd been earlier in the day until Ellie had suggested turning him over. But therein lies the solution, he thinks, they have help and there's no chance at all that either of them would be too proud to take it. Having Ellie and Brian, even Erin, around to give them advice has been a tremendous help, and Spencer will take as much of it as he can get because he wants the very best for Dane. He wants to make sure that everything they do is going to be the right thing, the right decision that leads to their son knowing just how loved he truly is.

He follows Lou and his family into the living room, trailing just behind Joel as his thoughts linger on Ellie. Spencer had said it to Joel the day after Dane had been born, that he wishes his mother could be here to see their son, and his husband had agreed with a gentle, reassuring squeeze of his hand. The nice thing is that he's come to gain so many good friends who will be here later to meet the baby and though nobody could ever take the place of his mother and brother, Spencer is more grateful for them than he could ever say.

"Take him, Lou," he says, lowering himself carefully on to the couch next to Joel and watching with an amused twitch of the corners of his lips. "I think we've reached that possible end you mentioned so you really have no choice but to hold him until we've recharged."

[doublethepain]

Spencer can't help it, his eyes water when Mira and Joel both agree that Dane has a big name to grow into, simply because of how true it is. His brother had done so much for him, had been one of the greatest men Spencer has ever known, and his presence is always sorely missed but in the past few days, especially so. He can scarcely imagine their son at age twenty-five, but Spencer imagines that when does grow up, Dane will be just as caring and eager to protect those he loves as his uncle was. As Joel is. As his fathers will be for him.

"He'll be just fine," Spencer says softly, smiling down at the baby before taking in a deep breath and blinking back the tears that thankfully haven't fallen. He has so many wonderful memories of his brother, but he thinks of the memories he'll make with Joel and their son and the sheer emotional impact is so overwhelming. He swallows hard to get rid of the lump in his throat and lets out a soft, sheepish laugh. "His uncle would certainly be proud right now. Though I'm not sure it would have been as easy to get the baby to sleep just by turning him over if my brother was still here."

He looks to Joel then Mira, his smile widening. "At least you know how to keep your voice down."

[doublethepain]

Spencer doesn't move from his spot on the couch except to crane his neck to see who Joel has greeted at the door. He grins when he sees it's Lara, pleased that she'd found the time to stop by because he hasn't seen her in what seems like ages now. The town isn't that large, they've said hello here and there as they'd passed each other, but he's glad to have her here to meet the baby. She's always been good to him, supportive all along of his relationship with Joel, and Spencer will always be grateful for that. He'll always wish the best for her.

"Lara!" he greets with an exaggerated whisper, offering her a quick wave before shifting just in time to keep the baby from waking in his arms. It'd been difficult to get Dane to close his eyes today, but he's been sleeping soundly since Ellie's advice to turn him over, even after Joel had transferred him into Spencer's arms.

Of course, now that his gaze has shifted back to his son, Spencer has gone back to being certain that he'll never be able to tear his eyes away from him again. Every now and then for his husband, perhaps, he reasons, that's a fair enough negotiation.

[doublethepain]

Spencer is admittedly just the slightest bit worried that he might fall asleep the second he lowers himself onto the couch, which is exactly what he was supposed to have been trying to do before the knock on their door; but it's always been practically impossible to sleep without his husband by his side anyway so the fact that he hadn't been able to accomplish getting a nap in when Joel and Dane had been downstairs comes as absolutely no surprise to him.

Before following them into the living room, Spencer grabs a bottle of formula they'd prepared earlier along with a nursing blanket that'd been left on the dining room table in case the baby wakes up while they're all fawning over him. As soon as he joins Joel and Davin, just looking at the baby takes his breath away, as if being away from him for all of five seconds has made him forget just how perfect Dane really is. He's wearing the dinosaur newborn onesie Charlotte had bought for him, though it's a little big since he'd been born so early, but Spencer knows for a fact that he's never seen a more beautiful face than his son's. Perfection exists, that's what he'd thought the second he and Joel had held Dane in their arms for the first time, and he doesn't imagine he'll ever stop thinking it.

"Don't worry, I don't think he'll wake up if you hold him," Spencer tells Davin, gesturing at the bottle and blanket he's set down on the living room table. "These are just reinforcements."

[doublethepain]

"You couldn't have offered me the baby instead?" Spencer teases, already pushing himself to his feet and planting a firm kiss to Joel's cheek, followed by a much softer one to the top of Dane's head. He doesn't expect a legitimate answer, mostly because he already knows what it is and besides, if their positions had been reversed, there'd ben no way Spencer would be willing to give up the weight of their baby in his arms in favor of seeing who's behind the door.

This is his life now, he thinks, glancing over his shoulder for another glimpse of his husband and son before he reaches the main hallway. This is what life is going to be like, falling in love over and over again with this gift, this baby who's made him happier than he ever thought possible in just a few days' time. He never would have imagined that things could get better after Joel, after marrying him and promising to spend the rest of their lives together, but this... This isn't something he could have understood until it'd happened and now, everything is different. Everything feels perfect.

When he sees Raleigh behind the door, all Spencer can do is beam for a moment before making room for her to come inside. "I'm glad you made it over," he says, keeping his voice low, and he knows there's not a chance Raleigh would have declined the chance to meet the baby, but his words are genuine all the same. "He's been fussy all morning, but Joel finally got him to sleep. It's actually such a good time to meet him, and they're in the living room. Follow me."

[doublethepain]

Normally, Spencer puts up a bit of a playful fuss when Joel takes an inordinate amount of pictures of him. It wouldn't be the first time, and Spencer is certainly guilty of it himself--though he'd challenge anyone with eyes to take one look at his husband and tell him that sixteen pictures of Joel in a new cardigan isn't necessary--but he puts up no fight now. He'd told Joel once that the reason he takes so many photos now is because he hadn't taken enough of or with his mother and brother when they'd been alive. The chance at preserving memory had been lost, and he refuses to make that same mistake again with the two people he loves most in the world.

As it turns out, there's no need to be worried, not when both their phones are already flooded with photos of their newborn, and Spencer keeps having to stop himself from posting them on Instgram one after another because he doesn't want to be that person. He doesn't want to be the parent who is blind to the rest of the world now that his baby has been born. Granted, that's exactly what he's become, not that he has any shame in it now that it's happened, but it's also why he's sprinkled in the occasional photo of landscape or the dog or some delicious-looking meal between the ones of his husband and their child.

"Who's a savior?" he asks, though the question is answered almost immediately when Caden enters the room. Spencer glances at the box of coffee and can't help the laugh that escapes him as he gives a grateful inclination of his head. "Okay, yes, you're absolutely a savior. Know that we will think of you every time we're woken up at two in the morning on Inventory Day at the store."

[louise_abasi]

"Are you being cheeky, Spencer? That you're not in need of another fairy godmother doesn't mean you have leeway to roll your eyes at me while I'm still in the room." She winks at him before exhaling, looking at the baby, looking at Joel.

"That wasn't ..completely what I was asking and I'm fine with just looking from a small distance." Louise never held her child, hadn't touched a baby since. There isn't an exact correlation between the two, most of the parents she knows are out of the diaper stage but - but it still makes her feel like something will begin or end if she'll accept the child. Even the tattoo with her name seems to smart a little in the space on her ribs. Maybe it always will, maybe there will always the question of what would be, but that doesn't mean she has to cut short every new experience reminding her of it. Something about endings and listening to your own advice.

"Not that I wouldn't like holding the little one either. Babies smell and feel like nothing else you can hold and keep."

[just_another]

The ringing of the bell wakes Dane and for a second Joel freezes, staring down at their tiny son. He stirs in Joel's arms, blinking sleepily for a moment, then yawns and stretches out one little arm, waving his fist. When he seems like he isn't about to cry, Joel gets up from where he's sitting on the couch and shoots Spencer a grin as he heads for the door. The baby might be awake now, but he's still relatively quiet and for that Joel is grateful.

"Hi," he says when he opens the door and finds Les on the porch. Stepping back, he pushes the door wider and says, "Come in."

[just_another]

"Thank you," he says and he doesn't want to decline the gift, he knows it's Aoife's way of being here when she might otherwise feel awkward, but she's given them so much already. The entire trip to New York had been exactly what they had needed, it had been exactly what Spencer needed and there's no way for him to be able to thank her enough for that.

"Come in," he says. "Come and meet him."