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| What You're Doing to Me (cont.) | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 21 2011, 12:20:10 AM (741 Views) | |
| Briar Fix | Sep 24 2011, 04:53:05 PM Post #21 |
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Kelci; muggle
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Briar curled up against him the second he came back to bed and was asleep before she could even answer. ----- After four hours of being woken up every seven minutes, she was finding the contractions more annoying than painful. She'd finally given up on actually sleeping and flipped on the TV, watching the infomercials that took over late at night. She liked the noise. "Why would anybody need a pan that you can only use to meatloaf?" she wondered aloud, momentarily distracted from her frustration. It felt like it was taking forever and she already wanted to be done. And then two things happened almost simultaneously: she had another contraction, this time one that she couldn't distract herself from, and her water broke. "I want to go to the hospital now," she said the second she could talk again. She knew it wasn't time, but she was past the point where she could convince herself that everything was fine. She'd used up all of her patience and sanity by that point. |
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| Elliott Fix | Sep 24 2011, 05:04:57 PM Post #22 |
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*Kara; s:c | w:p
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Elliott was out of the bed and standing on the ground by her side to help her out before she'd even finished talking. "I like it when we agree on things," he told her cheekily as he offered her his hand. He had calmed down significantly in the past four hours. Unfortunately for Briar, he was also significantly more tired and that turned his snark up full force. |
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| Briar Fix | Sep 24 2011, 11:51:17 PM Post #23 |
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Kelci; muggle
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"Not helpful!," she shot back, refusing his hand and getting up on her own. She grabbed a different pair of sweatpants and went into the bathroom. Briar stood in front of the sink, staring at herself in the mirror. She expected to look different, somehow, but she didn't. She just looked tired. And maybe sort of scared. She came back out a minute later and stared at Elliott, her eyes wide. "What if this was a bad decision. I don't know what I'm doing. I've never even been a babysitter!" It was the first time she'd second-guessed herself since she found out she was pregnant. Having doubts right now wasn't exactly good timing. Edited by Briar Fix, Sep 24 2011, 11:52:52 PM.
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| Elliott Fix | Sep 25 2011, 04:53:21 AM Post #24 |
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*Kara; s:c | w:p
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"Seriously?" Elliott called after her before he could think better of it. He knew they were both frustrated and tired already and that was no good. Now was not the time for being short with each other. He sat down on the edge of the bed and ran his hands through his hair. He had managed to calm down earlier; he could do it again. Then Briar came out of the bathroom and it was blatantly clear that it was his turn to be the calm one and he'd better get there now. He was honestly surprised to hear that she'd never even been a babysitter. He'd been a babysitter, for goodness sake. He'd spent loads of time watching Portia's nieces and nephew. Chloe was five months at her youngest, so he'd done diapers and everything. Which were actually very, very easy, being a wizard. He stepped up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Darling," he started, "you're not in this alone. You've got both our parents and you've got me. I've even been a babysitter," he admitted with a smile. "And you've read the books, right?" Elliott had read the books. What else was he supposed to do without law briefs to work on? "Everything will be fine. You'll learn quick," he promised. "Now lets get in the car and go have this baby, alright?" He let go with one hand and moved his remaining hand down to the small of her back as he moved to stand beside her and started to lead her out of the house. |
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| Briar Fix | Sep 25 2011, 06:19:14 AM Post #25 |
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Kelci; muggle
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Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew he was right. Not that it made her feel much better at the moment. But she just nodded and let him lead her out. She grabbed her favorite hoody off the back of the couch, the one that had been washed so many times that it was thin and perfectly soft. She tugged it on, then leaned against the sofa, cursing loudly through another contraction. Briar straightened up a minute later, looking a little pale. "Ruby," she reminded him, picking up the conversation where he'd left it. The baby had been 'the baby' for the past nine months; she figured it might be a good idea to start getting used to her name now. She took her rain coat off the hook and put it on, pulling the hood up and then smiling at him shakily. "You're right, we can do this." ----------- 4:30 AM Once they'd gotten to the hospital, everything had happened much more quickly than she'd been expecting. And then she was holding her daughter without much recollection of how she'd even gotten to that point. Briar was exhausted, but she couldn't even imagine doing anything but staring at Ruby. She looked amazingly like Briar had as a baby; her fiery red hair was the only visible claim Kevin had to her, not that Kevin was even remotely on her mind anymore. "I love you," she remarked, a little hoarsely, for about the three-hundredth time that morning. Before, it had been substituted, somewhat angrily, for telling Elliott to go fuck himself every time he said something encouraging. But for the past ten minutes, even though she didn't look at him (because that would have meant looking away from the baby), she'd been feeling so overwhelmed with the idea of how much she loved them both that she might have exploded if she didn't say it at least once a minute. Briar counted her toes again (still ten) and smiled down at her, "She's so amazing." She stared at her daughter for another moment, then added, "I love you." Three-hundred and one. |
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| Elliott Fix | Sep 25 2011, 03:44:04 PM Post #26 |
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*Kara; s:c | w:p
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Elliott's hair was standing up every which way; there was no avoiding it. He'd already been in the 'needs a haircut' stage and he'd been running his fingers through it all night. His eyes were blood shot and red-rimmed from lack of sleep and because he may or may not have cried a few minutes ago. He was in a chair beside Briar's hospital bed, but what he was doing in it couldn't really be described as 'sitting'. He was slouched over, completely bent in half, and his head was resting on Briar's leg just above her knee. His face was turned so we could see both of them. "She's beautiful. You both are," he turned his face and kissed Briar's knee, then sat up. He felt, at this point, he was probably safe from any further abuse, and he traded sitting in the chair for sitting up closer to them on the edge of the bed. He brought his right hand to Briar's cheek and stroked it with his thumb. "I love you," he told her. Then he looked down at the tiny baby in Briar's arms. He brought his left hand down to her and lifted her tiny fist with his index finger. Her little fingers reflexively curled around him and he smiled down at her. "I love you, too, Ruby-girl." |
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| Briar Fix | Sep 25 2011, 05:49:22 PM Post #27 |
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Kelci; muggle
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Briar laughed softly at the compliment, knowing that it was definitely not true at that moment. Her braid had loosened at some point and the strands of hair that had been freed stuck to her forehead and neck. She was beyond exhausted, she was tired in her bones. But Ruby really was gorgeous. Briar reached down and stroked her cheek with the back of her finger when she tried to open her eyes. The gentle knock on the door that came a few minutes later made her hold the baby a little closer. She looked up at Elliott. "Kevin," she guessed, sounding only half as overwhelmed as she actually felt. She knew it wouldn't be fair to ask him to stay away during the first few hours of his daughter's life, not when he'd be missing so much else in the future. It wouldn't be fair, but she just wanted to be alone with Elliott and Ruby. "You don't have to stay," she said quietly. She wanted him to be there, but Kevin and Elliott had never gotten along as far as she could tell. She didn't want to stress Elliott out unnecessarily, especially when he'd gotten so little sleep. |
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| Elliott Fix | Sep 27 2011, 09:44:02 PM Post #28 |
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*Kara; s:c | w:p
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Elliott shook his head. "It isn't." Kevin had first arrived in a very inconvenient moment of screaming and the doctor and the pulse oximeter alarm. Elliott had practically tackled him and taken him out of the room so fast Briar hadn't even realized he'd been there. That was two hours ago. As if to prove his point, then door opened and admitted a young nurse. "Sorry," she apologized softly, and quickly darted in and picked up her stethoscope from the counter. "I told Kevin I would go get him when we were ready," he explained, not taking his eyes off Ruby. She was tiny and perfect. He'd sort of felt vaguely unimportant through most of Briar's pregnancy, and he'd been fine with that. The baby was Kevin's biologically, and he and Briar weren't married yet. He'd been fine letting Briar put Kevin first. And he thought he'd be okay with it today. But he wasn't. He'd been there for all the hard parts. Right now, looking down at Ruby, he didn't care what anyone else said or thought: she was his, too. He tore his eyes away from Ruby and looked at Briar. "Can I hold her?" |
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| Briar Fix | Sep 28 2011, 07:15:44 PM Post #29 |
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Kelci; muggle
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"Elliott...." Briar looked up at him, feeling conflicted. Kevin was supposed to be the first one to hold the baby. And when Elliott had first suggested that, Briar had completely agreed. But now she didn't feel the same way. No, Ruby wasn't technically his daughter, but Elliott was the one who had been with her through everything. He was the one who'd had to survive her mood swings and the cravings that kept her up at night. He was the one who'd gone with her to all the appointments and painted the nursery and kept her sane. This was why they'd made the plan weeks earlier, before they were so emotionally charged, because now it didn't matter. She looked down at Ruby for a second, "Elliott." She nodded in response, offering him the baby carefully. "She might not share your DNA, but-" she looked back up at him, "You're the only other person who's loved her as long as I have. I think that makes you more of a father than blood can alone." |
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| Elliott Fix | Sep 29 2011, 03:23:27 AM Post #30 |
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*Kara; s:c | w:p
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"Yeah," he managed to choke out in agreement, his voice hoarse. He was paralyzed by the tiny life in his arms. He brushed his fingers lightly over her feather-fine hair and marveled at its softness. Everything about her put him in a state of awe. He brought his finger back to her fist and smiled as she held on once more. |
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| Briar Fix | Oct 14 2011, 05:08:24 PM Post #31 |
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Kelci; muggle
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She relaxed into the pillows piled up behind her and watched Elliott for a while. It had only taken a few seconds for her to forget about Kevin again. If Elliott had been easy to love before, seeing him holding the baby made Briar absolutely sure she had made the right decision. "Does it feel like you thought it would?" she asked, smiling softly. |
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| Elliott Fix | Oct 17 2011, 01:53:21 AM Post #32 |
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*Kara; s:c | w:p
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Elliott shook his head slowly. "No," he said, still smiling down at Ruby. "It feels... I don't..." he tried, but he couldn't find the words. "I've never felt like this before," he said softly. He felt overwhelmed, but in a good way. He was overcome with feeling. His chest was tight, his cheeks hurt from smiling, his eyes were still wet from crying. He felt everything and it was indescribably good. He looked at Briar and the feeling somehow managed to increase. "Will you marry me?" |
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| Briar Fix | Oct 17 2011, 04:16:59 PM Post #33 |
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Kelci; muggle
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"What, right now?" Briar stared up at him, sounding about half as bewildered as she felt. She was exhausted and her emotions were already everywhere. She knew she wanted to say yes, but at the moment, it was a little difficult for her to think about the future. |
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| Elliott Fix | Oct 17 2011, 05:21:05 PM Post #34 |
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*Kara; s:c | w:p
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Elliott had never intended on asking Briar to marry him like this. But in that moment, he knew beyond any doubt that he wanted to be with her, and with Ruby, for the the rest of his life. It was obvious by her reaction that she was too overwhelmed to be thinking about anything else right now. He should have thought about that more. He actually had thought about it more- he'd known exactly how he was going to ask her, and it wasn't supposed to be like that. But in that moment his patience broke and he asked her anyway. "Forget it," he told her as his smile started to fall and his happiness was replaced with regret. He looked back at Ruby and his smile came back full force. She was perfect and he was happy. He leaned down and kissed her tiny forehead. "Love you," he told her softly. He sat back up and carefully passed Ruby back to Briar. He didn't pull away once Briar had Ruby. Instead, he leaned in further and pressed a lingering kiss to Briar's forehead. "I'll go get Kevin now," he told her as he pulled away, looking into her eyes to make sure she was ready. His regret came back full force, then. The tightness in his chest no longer felt like his heart was so full it might burst. Now it felt like everything pressing down on him was too much to handle. It felt like suffocation. He wished he hadn't given Ruby back so soon. She made him feel like he could do anything. |
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| Briar Fix | Oct 18 2011, 04:55:52 AM Post #35 |
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Kelci; muggle
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Forgetting it was exactly what she was afraid of. She didn't want to have to compartmentalize her emotions, but she couldn't possibly feel more than she was already. Briar cradled Ruby close when he handed her back; she wasn't ready for Kevin. She looked up at him, "Wait ... Elliott, will you promise to ask again when I'll remember you did?" She shifted the baby to one arm and reached up to cup his cheek. "It's just that we only get so many life-altering moments and I want to make sure I can appreciate them all." |
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| Elliott Fix | Oct 18 2011, 05:59:38 AM Post #36 |
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*Kara; s:c | w:p
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He closed his eyes for a brief moment when her hand touched his cheek. He was craving some sort of affirmation and it seemed like this was all he would get. He opened his eyes and smiled weakly at her. He turned his face and kissed her palm when she finished talking, then turned back to look at her. "No, I'm not going to ask again," he answered her. He definitely would have eventually if she would have just dropped it like he asked, but she didn't. She had been the one that wanted to get married before Ruby was even born. He couldn't understand why she hesitated now. All their life-altering moments had basically happened all at once before, back in February. It only seemed fitting now that it happened again. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black ring box. He always had it with him. He was too afraid to leave it anywhere. He covered her hand with his free one and then gently took it away from his face. He turned it, palm up, and placed the box in on it with his other hand. "I already chose my moment. You can pick the next one." He leaned in and kissed her softly. "I love you." |
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| Briar Fix | Oct 18 2011, 11:18:10 PM Post #37 |
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Kelci; muggle
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She closed her fingers around the box, her heart sinking. He didn't understand, then. She could have kept trying to explain, but neither of them had slept and Elliott was usually irritable when he was tired. She didn't want their first hours as a family to be spent fighting. She wasn't going to say another word about it; it would only provoke him, and that would only provoke her. Briar kept her eyes shut when he pulled away from the kiss, "I love you, too." After a few seconds, she looked back down at Ruby and she felt like she was going to explode again. She sighed softly, but she sounded happy. "I really do. I didn't even know I could be happier than I already was, but I am." She looked back at Elliott and shrugged, "Maybe it's time for Kevin to see her." |
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