#pip just laughs at him knowing that he's secretly super happy and a little prideful

[princepipper]

Is Gabe a good dad? The story you posted ends when Abby is still just a baby so I wanted to ask if she and Gabe are close when she gets older.

Heh. Well, not to spoil too much since I want to write some fics set in the future, but overall I would answer that yes, he and Abby have a good relationship and he's a pretty good dad!!

I posted some headcanons on my personal Twitter with thoughts about how Abby is literally a perfect mix of her parents when it comes to looks and personality. Like Gabe, Abby has a very wide and toothy grin, and she can be a little bit insensitive to other people, even enjoying the act of provoking her peers (she seems to be entertained by arguments and drama)... She also isn't very bothered by things like scary movies or graphic/gory content. Mind you, Pip isn't either, the entire household rather enjoys the horror genre and Abby will likely grow up to analyze and laugh at such films instead of being nervous or disturbed.

Abby is a troublemaker. Gabe had a streak of rebellion when he was young, somewhat due to his strict upbringing- Pip and Gabe aren't very strict parents but they DO try to raise Abby to be polite. Unfortunately she is very hyperactive and even more curious, so she tends to wind up in situations where she needs scolding... I have a collection of drabbles in the works that contain her asking random questions during her childhood, some of which give her parents quite a headache.

The last things I'll mention is the subject of Gabe's mental illness, and whether or not anything like that passed onto Abby genetically. To be honest I have not 100% decided if I want to play with that idea, because as interesting as it could be to have something like that as a conflict or plot device, I really hate to think of Abby in such a rough situation!

So, for the sake of ambiguity, I will say that if she ever did show troubling symptoms, Gabriel would be the first one to not only notice, but do what his parents failed to, and help her right away. There's a line in my posted fic, The Wheel Of Life, from Gabe's dad- when Gabe is talking to him on the phone and saying he's scared that Abby will end up like him, and his dad says, "Who better than you to help her find her way?"

I know it's funny to quote my own writing but like, honestly, after everything Gabe went through and how much he changed and bettered himself, he's the best person to help guide his kid through that kind of thing. It really speaks to how important he is to Abby, and how crucial it is that he be present as a father. She needs him, and truly, he needs her (and Pip) too.

I joked once that if Abigail DID show any weird signs, he'd probably have a heart attack and be packing her in the car to go to the hospital at 11pm on a Sunday because "We are NOT taking chances on this," and Pip would have to settle him down, convince him that their daughter would not self-destruct in the span of one night, haha.

So! Gabe might have had a bit of a hard time adjusting to fatherhood, but he does his best and there's no strain in his and Abby's relationship, nothing like the way he was with his parents. He actually rather likes the experience of watching Abigail grow, always interested to see just how similar she is to both him and Pip, and also often amused by her mischievous side.

ALSO:

Abby's first word is literally 'Dad', so even from that long ago, the two of them were more or less two peas in a pod.