just_another | [open - baby meeting!]

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[open - baby meeting!]

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.]

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"Well, I'm his father," he says with a fond smile, looking down at Dane. The baby already has his hair, dark, distinctive curls. "So he's at least part witch. Erin, as far as we know, is human."

But they also haven't asked and he wonders if they should have. He doesn't care, he knows Spencer doesn't care. Human, witch or siren, whatever she is, she's helped to give them their family and for that that'll always be grateful to her. "But we never really asked," he admits.

"Either way," Joel answers as he sinks onto the couch with Dane still in his arms. He doesn't want to pressure anyone to hold the baby, certainly, and he knows he exactly wasn't good with children before his own. Charlotte had been different. She'd been small, but his mother had always be there to make sure he didn't mess up with her too badly. Dane is smaller than Charlotte had ever been, though, and he knows that's at least partly due to the fact that he was early and Charlotte had been nearly two weeks late, but it's still similar in a lot of way.

"I don't blame you for wanting to just look at him, he is awfully beautiful," he says. "But then again, I suppose Spencer and I might be a little bit biased." And he'll happily own that. He doesn't care. His son is the most beautiful thing he's ever seen besides his amazing husband.

When Joel opens the door, a big grin spreads across Les' face. He looks more than a little exhausted but still happy, and he is holding a perfectly wrapped blue bundle. Reaching out, he slaps Joel on the shoulder in a couple friendly pats. "Congrats, man. Bun's finally ready," he says stepping closer to take a look at the baby. Aside from seeing babies and children around town, Les has never actually met or seen one up close, and he's excited to see this one. Mainly because Joel was so excited about it, for all these months.

"Wow," he muses as he looks at Joel with his new child. "How are you doing by the way? With everything? It must be crazy. I hear babies are a challenge."

Edited 2015-06-29 19:01 (UTC)

"Witches aren't that bad." Bach counts in his head to see if he was missing someone. "There's always bitches involved of course, I think the chick with the fairy tale thing was a witch? But at least he won't grow scales or start singing whenever he's angry. Really, I'm just waiting for him to update his musical knowledge because the songs he's taught at kindie.. Ever heard a really angry version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?"

"He's going to be a beautiful man, then. Not dissing your husband, but you know how that lies, right? Did I ever see this Erin? How did - I guess this stuff is more interesting than I thought. Just tell me to shut up when I need to. You know I listen to you."

"Oh really, honestly it isn't.." Aoife doesn't have any more excuses, so she falls back on the most bland platitudes.

"How have you been, the all of you? It must take a lot of adjusting right now, doesn't it? Did everything go well during Erin's time at the hospital? There are so many things a baby needs, Joel. Even if I would have a clue about what was absolutely necessary and what simply frivolity, I wouldn't be able to make a decision on anything. Adorable of course, all of it."

She sits down on the edge of the couch, giving the both of them all the space they need or would need. Babies this young didn't move around yet, did they? "I haven't even seen the baby room!"

Essie didn't knock so much as she tapped the front door with her fingertips and sent a text to the inhabitants that simply read, do I have 2 huff n puff? 'cause that'll wake the baby, i'm sure. And a smiley face, so they knew she was joking, not that she thought for a moment either of the new Dads would ever think that was serious. But she didn't want to do anything to disturb that tiny little bundle of potential awesome she'd seen in the pictures. Between Joel and Spencer's happiness and her own lingering memories, she totally got it why people lost their marbles around babies.

Humming a lullaby, she waited patiently on the stoop for someone to let her in.

“Hi.” Lara said matching his low toe. “I brought things in exchange for admittance!” She whispered and held out a small forest of bags to Spencer before realising that of course he had his hands full and passing them to Joel instead. She hugged Joel hard seen as he was the one with freedom to do so and then stepped up next to Spencer to look down at the sweetie laying on his arm.

"Oh you guys... He's so gorgeous. How's Ellie doing? Does she need anything? Do you?" Lara knew she was rambling a little bit but she was excited and bursting with happiness for her friends. "I can call Les and get him to pick up anything you need or she needs. It's not a problem."

"Yeah," Joel says, shutting the door behind Les once he's inside and he knows Les is right. Having a baby makes everything different, it changes their entire lives, but he doesn't care. Not even a little bit. It will never matter how tired he gets or how much things have to change, because he's truly the luckiest man in the world to have Spencer and Dane with him now.

"I mean, I'm tired," he says. "Spencer and I are both pretty tired, but it's... it's really great, actually. It's only been a few days, maybe check back in a few weeks and see how exhausted I really am."

Joel has passed Dane off to Spencer by now, has gone into the kitchen to make the both of them a cup of tea and warm up some formula as Dane has started to fuss a little bit and he'd like to have it ready if he wakes up and really started to cry. It's been a few hours and it's definitely getting close to time to eat again.

He doesn't hear the sound at the door, but he does get the text and he grins when he sees it's from Essie. Turning the kettle on, he puts the bottle on the counter and heads for the door so he can let her in.

"Spencer, Essie is here," he calls, his voice soft, still taking care not to wake Dane.

Coop glances at Spencer, as if he needs permission from both dads before he actually does this, and he smiles when Spencer gives arches a brow and gives a slight nod. Things between them over the past few years had been, at best, kind of strained, mostly because of how close he'd been to Spencer's brother. They'd both suffered a loss, mourned in different ways, and sometimes Coop thinks he should have reached out more. He could have stopped by more often, here or at the library, it's what Dane would have wanted him to do; but instead, he'd let it go. He'd silenced any rumors of Spencer's involvement where he could, and Coop knows it hadn't been his responsibility to make sure he was okay every minute of the day, but it's nice to know that he still has a welcome place in this house.

He never would have thought Spencer Waters would end up with a life like this, not in a million years, and there's that small part of him that's envious but not enough to overwhelm the larger part that's so fucking happy for his two friends.

With a brightening smile, he turns back to Joel, stepping closer and holding his arms out so his friend can settle the newborn in his arms. It's not the first time he's held a baby, he's had more than a few clients bring their kids in when getting their pets checked, urging him to hold them while they weirdly snapped pictures, but this is different. This is a kid he's going to make sure is damn well taken care of even outside of his two fathers who'd sooner die than let anything happen to him. Dane is so ridiculously tiny in his arms and for a moment, Coop feels like he's forgotten how to speak, just letting himself gaze at how stupidly gorgeous the baby really is.

"He's going to be a heartbreaker, I can tell," he says, looking back up at Joel with a wink. "Just like his daddy. Daddies. Because now I have to have fantasies of shacking up with dads who are into monogamy and having perfect little families. Seriously, you guys are the worst."

"Ah, yes. I will check in. But hey if you get too tired and need an extra set of hands down at the shop, I'm all yours. You know how much I'd like to see into that secret back room of yours," Les says, clearly angling, but also meaning the offer of help because he considers Joel a friend.

Once they are inside, Les takes an even closer peek at the baby in Joel's arms. He is smaller than Les had imagined he'd be, but then again he has no good frame of reference. Dane is awake, staring up at Joel and Les, looking sleepy and soft. After accessing him properly, Les nods and gives Joel another pat on the shoulder. "Well done. I think this is the cutest baby I've ever seen," he declares with a smile.

"Dane, you are very cute. This is going to work to your advantage. Trust me," he says.

Edited 2015-06-30 14:34 (UTC)

"Witches aren't that bad," Joel echoes with faint amusement, not entirely sure what to make of that. Things have felt a little strained in town ever since the spell Nerium had cast and there are times now when he wonders if there are people out there who dislike him simply because he's a witch. It reminds him too much of what he'd left behind in Shediac.

And it scares him.

"Erin looks a lot like Spencer," he says, moving past it. "It's part of why we picked her. Blonde, high cheekbones, strong jaw. Hopefully he'll look like both of us and therefore a little bit like Spencer, too."

She's asking a lot of questions and he doesn't know if she's nervous or uncertain, but when she mentions the nursery, he nods toward the stairs. They kept the upper floor off limits during the shower, but now that Aoife is the only person visiting, he sees no harm in taking her upstairs and showing her what he and Spencer have done with the room.

"Do you want to see it?" he asks. "I can show you. I'm pretty proud of the work we've done."

"While we definitely don't need anything, I do sort of like the idea of having Les run errands for us," Joel admits with a mischievous grin. It's rather strange, his relationship with Les, a person besides Spencer with whom he actually feels quite comfortable with making jokes. It's hard not to be comfortable around him, though, and Joel quite appreciates that.

"We should send him for things we don't need, then tell him he got it wrong and send him back," he suggests before looking down at Dane. "I know. He's perfect, isn't he?"

"He already has us and half the town wrapped around his finger," Joel says with a grin and he knows everyone is going to be saying how beautiful is, how perfect, how adorable, but he can't help but feel a burst of pride anyway. It isn't as if he'd done anything besides give a sample, but Dane does look like him already and he's oddly pleased by the dark curls.

He's also just as excited to know the next baby they have will be Spencer through and through.

"You better not teach him how to use his cuteness against us, though," he adds with a smile. "He already has magic."

Joel laughs at that, settling Dane into Coop's arms and looking rather pleased with himself when the baby blinks his eyes open and looks around sleepily before he seems to go right back to sleep. Looking back at his life, at all the things he's been through, this isn't something he ever would have imagined for himself. A baby with a man he loves, Coop having become one of his best friend, cradling the tiny baby with dark curls in his arms. It's just proof of what his mother always said to him, that he had no idea where life might take him, that he couldn't count himself out of the race so soon.

He's sure she probably loves that she's been proven so right. And he's sure she also loves not having to worry about him quite so much any longer.

"I can't say I'm sorry," he says with another soft laugh and he glances down to hide that his eyes are a little watery. "Not when he's the best thing I've ever done and before you say it, I know my part in the process was fairly limited." But he's still a part of Joel. He still has his hair and down the road, he's going to have his magic, too.

"Don't tell Spencer I'm already thinking about it, but I kind of can't wait to see what the next one will look like," he admits. There's no sense pretending it's not something they want, he already knows they're on the same page. "Any baby who looks like Spencer is going to kill me."

"Hah." He nods. "I get that, that's smart thinking. I have no clue about Isaac's mother, my mother just called her a demanding brownie bitch. At least that second part is showing clear enough and I'll be fine with the rest never appearing."

"Dane's going to look like Spencer because he's going to grow up with him around, Joel. Doesn't matter if Spencer is going to be the only blond tall guy around, Dane will be visibly his. Manners, speech, everything. Don't worry about that. If you were worrying about that."

"That will be nice. If you want to. I can imagine that you want to take any rest when and where you can."
From time to time Aoife steals a look at the baby, still unsure about how to feel about it. She has a parent friend now. This child was so very consciously chosen for. Someone had carried him so she could give him to Joel and Spencer. Was he given? Or had there been payment?

"Are you - Dane is Spencer's brother, right? That's where his name comes from? Baby Dane, I mean. It's sweetly done."

Joel's grin is so big and proud, and Mira beams back at him, coming closer to get a better look at their tiny son. He's going to look a lot like Joel, she can already tell, but she's already searching for Spencer's features, even as she knows that's impossible if she's right about where Dane got his hair from and it's not some secret background in Erin's family. It's just by default, as though he must be the combination of his parents, and she's pretty sure everyone will try to do it.

She glances back up at Spencer, relieved to see him smiling and not too uncomfortable with the way the conversation's gone. There are people in town who knew the whole Waters clan better, but she also practically lived in the library, and her love for Spencer and the emotions this stirs about his family is a little different than the way she latches on to people like Davin and Raleigh.

But -- the whole thing just makes her unspeakably happy. The two of them, finally happy together with a (totally objectively) perfect baby make her think that maybe futures like this are possible for anyone. Even really awkward geeks who fumble their way through socializing and make puns about planets. And who live in this crazy place.

"He'll be amazing," she declares, softly, and touches his tiny hand gently with her thumb, amazed at how little it is. "The only thing you'll have to worry about with this little boy is him growing up with a giant ego from so many people fawning over him."

"You probably wouldn't have to announce his presence, though," she remarks, and laughs a little at Spencer's grin.

"Sometimes, anyway." She'd barely been three when Etta was born -- but even then she'd been very solemnly determined to take the best care of her sister. It's never really worn off, that love of kids. "Ugh, you guys."

"So are you two getting any sleep with this little guy?"

"I don't think I will need to teach this little guy anything."

It is quite obvious that Dane already has Joel in a tough position, but it's cute the way he looks so happy. Les can't help but smile at them both. "Magic..." he says, reaching out to clasp Dane's tiny hand into his, wondering what magic is possessed there. Just the thought alone puts an even bigger smile on his face. "It'll be cool watching him learn," he decides.

"I wasn't really," Joel answers, shaking his head. "I'm not worried about much right now, to be honest. He's here and he's healthy and Spencer and I are happy." And that's more than enough. None of this is the life he ever imagined he would have, but here he is and everything has more than worked out. Somehow. There will be days when he finds things to worry about, when he's terrified that everything he's doing is wrong, but as it stands right now, he's the happiest he's ever been and that's all that matters.

"No, come on upstairs, I'll show you," he says, getting to his feet again, holding Dane gently against his chest. He's still sleeping peacefully, his tiny back rising and falling with every breath he takes. He's proud of the nursery, he likes the tree bookshelf they've built, the entire enchanted forest sort of theme they'd decided on, it pairs nicely with the stars and moon mobile Davin made for the baby.

He loves the nursery.

"Yeah," he says as he leads Aoife toward the stairs. "We named him after Spencer's brother. If he'd turned out to be a girl, he was going to be Rose."

"I probably could be getting more than I am," he admits, looking down at Dane again and then over at Spencer. "I might have a tendency to just stay awake and make sure everything is okay for as long as I can." Which he knows it's ridiculous and he knows he needs sleep, but he's always been a bit of an insomniac and he's rarely gotten more than four or five hours of sleep a night for most of his adult life. It's been easier to get to sleep since moving into the house with Spencer, but even now he tends to wake up in the middle of the night.

Soon enough he doesn't imagine that'll be much of a problem. Soon enough he's going to be so exhausted from the baby keeping them awake that he thinks he'll sleep whenever he has a chance.

"It's just hard to sleep when he's so cute," he says, grinning down at the baby again as he heads over to Spencer and presses a kiss to his cheek. "Right? We can blame that instead of his crying." Because he's still cute even when he's crying. None of that has worn off yet. He doesn't think it ever will. No matter how exhausted he is, no matter how stressed, Dane is always going to be perfect.

Aoife doesn't know a Rose. Should she know a Rose? Was there a dead woman called Rose in the Spencer Waters story? "That is a lovely name", she smiles. "I had a flower name period, but no-one wanted to name me Daffodil." That wasn't too selfish to share, was it?

Maybe she should have started with an excuse that could get her to leave soon. Dane makes her think about things she doesn't want to think about, but blaming a baby for your own mind going haywire was incredibly weak. "Nursery, that's the word."

"Like a little family."

Like the family Bach could probably never get to happen because he was so fucking out of tune with the rest of the world that he might be a deaf alien that communicated through his farts. So much for the usefulness of hearing other people when - this was getting far too dramatic. He shouldn't have come, it was all way too domestic and happy for him.

"You're not going to let him go, are you?"

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[open - baby meeting!]

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Both? If it's not an imposition?

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