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stargazing15 · 2 years ago

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Let's fight the dark clouds and let the sun shine

Bob x wife reader

Summary: Delivering little Lily had been hard, but Bob stood by you. He was great with her, she loved him, she made the cutest noises with him. With him, not with you. She did fall asleep in your arms at times, but she screamed a lot, at you, not at her daddy. And your husband hadn't looked at you like before giving birth, which made you doubt yourself even more. The baby blues were hitting you, hard.

Warnings: angsty, mentions of birth & C-section, postnatal depression, fluffy at the end

A/N: this is partly written from my perspective, let's say kinda been there (not everything from this fic happened irl, but the mind can take you to dark places). If you ever see someone struggling after giving birth, do not hesitate to reach out!

It was never going to happen to you. That said you were supposed to have a natural birth, not a C-section. But it was okay, as long as little Lily was healthy. That's what you and Bob kept in mind, as long as she was alright. And she was, she's oh so perfect. A little mixture of Bob and you.

He stood by you during the labor, holding your hand or kissing the top of head when contractions came through, whispering sweet nothings in your ear. You let him sleep during the night since your water had broken in the late evening and the labor progressed slowly, so at least one of you would be more alert the next day. 22 hours after your water broke, the verdict came, C-section, or Lily's health might get into trouble. This was the first time you felt you were failing as a mother. You couldn't deliver naturally like everyone else did.

The second time you felt like a failure was just a bit later, when the three of you were moved to your room. You couldn't pick up Lily from her bed. Bob had to pick her up, give her to you when needed to be fed, and did her first everythings, change her first diapers, give her her first bath. You weren't going to admit this to Bob, but it hurt deep down.

The first time getting out of the bed was a victory, a very painful one, but it was a start. Lily was getting an all clear two days later, and so were you. Time to go home.

But you were so scared. You still couldn't pick her up from her bed, in the household you couldn't do anything due to your abdominal muscles needing to heal after the C-section. And sweet Bob? He was taking care of everything, what would you do without him? He was your rockstar.

The first days at home were hard for the both of you, Lily was hungry every 2-3 hours and were still not able to get her out of bed. You felt guilty everytime you woke him to get her. The thing you hated the most of it was that he did it with a smile on his face and always saying "anything for my girls". You hated it because you could read it on his expression that he was tired too.

Those moments when you were feeding her were so precious to you, you were feeding your little girl, you were succeeding in something. But that was all you could give her, food and a little comfort sometimes. You felt so useless. Bob could hold her while walking around the house, show her around, slow dance around the house with her. All you could do was tag along and try to smile though the physical and emotional pain.

Within days friends and family came by to see the little sweetheart. Bob loved showing her off to everyone. But for you, a part of it found it nice getting distracted, but it was also pure torture. Sometimes you got looks for not being able to help out, you were the first one in both families not to give birth naturally, you tried to keep in mind that they didn't knew better, but it made you once again feel like a failure. And your family made clear you had always been a failure to them.

The next week you got cleared by your midwife to start picking up Lily yourself. That was a big victory. This meant you could let Bob sleep at night, so he could get himself ready to get back to work again. And that was you did, letting Bob sleep throughout the night, feeding Lily in the rocking chair in her room, sing her to sleep in her room. Showing him you could take care of her made you a little proud, despite you making your sleep deprivation worse by being this stubborn and not get the necessary sleep yourself. But hey, at least you were a good wife and mom now.

In general you were more enjoying the fact you could hold her on your own without needing any help. Finally a new victory. Things were moving to the right direction, you holding precious little Lily, your scar was healing and Bob was catching up sleep.

The next week you started pumping milk so Bob could give her a bottle too and seeing them both enjoy the moment, your heart melted once again, the two most precious human beings on this planet.

Of course Bob had noticed the dark circles under your eyes and had asked about taking over one of the night feedings so you could rest, but you being the stubborn you shrugged it off saying Bob needed his sleep for his job and you could sleep through the day. Which good mother and wife would let her working husband take night shifts feeding their baby or take care of the smaller household chores (as you were still not able to carry heavy weights)?

Since Bob went back to work, the daggers were coming over regularly to eat after training and cuddle with their favorite niece. Or at least that was what Bob said, everyone loved Payback's kids too.

You should be happy, but why couldn't you feel that way? Your husband was having his -and yours too- favorite people over, you were back to cooking, what you normally love, but you excused yourself to kitchen regularly during the evenings holding back tears, needing several minutes to compose yourself, not to break down in front of your friends. You could only watch how they were laughing together and holding Lily like it was most beautiful thing they had ever seen. And you saw the way Bob was looking at your friends holding your little girl, it was pure adoration and happiness, you didn't get that look when you were holding her. Or at least that was what your mind was making of it, because Bob loved the sight of you rocking her to sleep in chair in her room and many times accidentally falling asleep too.

The week Lily turned five weeks old, things went from bad to worse. Lily started to get agitated more when being with you, Bob was now back to work full time as Cyclone let Bob work shorter days the weeks before, after his short paternal leave ended. You broke down in tears everytime Bob's car left. Apart from that, your milk production turned into a water production. And you hated the sight of yourself in the mirror, the ugly scar on your lower abdomen, your belly still looking like you were three months pregnant because you couldn't start to work out yet. No wonder your husband hadn't t tried to touch you yet. It was all hitting you at once. There could only be one reason for all this: you were a failure as a mother and as a wife. Lily didn't need you anymore now she switched to formula, she hated your guts now and Bob would definitely be happy with someone else, someone who would take care of him, love him like he deserves, someone prettier than you.

Your mind was a mess from the sleep deprivation and negative spiral you had put yourself on. So when your in-laws, who you loved, were over and taking Lily on a long walk, you packed a bag and left in a haze. She was in good care. Leaving a note for Bob.

You're better off without me

You'll be happier that way

Take care of Lily

Y/N

You don't know for how many hours you were sitting here, the place where Bob took you on your first date when moving here. You had been scrolling through pictures on your phone. Happier pictures. A different you. You weren't her anymore, you were a failure now. You didn't deserve Bob and Lily.

"Y/N! Honey! Sweetheart!" A voice was calling you, but too deep in your thoughts you weren't hearing it. Until it hugged you, tightly. The hug felt familiar, warm and lovingly. It was Bob crying his heart out. He looked like a mess, red eyes, the area around his eyes also red, damped glasses.

"Why would you ever think we could be better off without you? We need you. Lily needs her momma bear, I need my sweet pumpkin." Bob wasn't angry, he sounded sad, scared, the opposite of what you expected. "Talk to me." You had missed him terribly in the couple of hours you had left, because you still loved this sweet man so much, but your mind was still telling you he didn't need you anymore.

You took a deep breath to explain yourself "She hates me, she doesn't want to calm down anymore in my arms. I can't even produce milk anymore, like a good mum would. She only wants you, her face even lits up when it's you. I can't take care of the house. I hate myself. I still look like a whale, I am the ugliest woman on earth with the ugliest scar. I am a failure. Everyone sees it, that I'm a failure. I can't make you happy anymore. Lily ain't happy with me. It's better if you find a new mom for her. Someone who you can look at again." Bob started crying even harder at the harsh comments you said about yourself.

"Stop all that sweetheart, nothing you said is true. Oh my sweet girl, you have the baby blues hitting you hard. Lily is more fuzzy because she's still getting used to the formula. It's not your fault, nature sometimes has things planned differently. And I guess with her seeing me less she's probably reacting differently with me. You heard it from Payback, babies are the fuzziest with the person they feel most comfortable with." You were sobbing in your husband's chest while listening to his talking, why was he being nice to you? "I'm the one who's got to apologize, I, I should have noticed you struggling, I'm so sorry. And you're still my beautiful and lovely wife. And you're Lily's mommy, she loves you. I love you."

"But -"

"No buts, I love you, no one else. Except Lily of course, I love you both, a lot. I neglected you, you've been doing so much for me and Lily and I did nothing back. No, I just went back to work, not realizing how hard that was on you. When was the last time you slept longer than 3 hours?"

"Be-before giving birth to Lily."

"Oh sweetheart, I am so so sorry."

"Why do you still love me?"

"Because it's you, you're still that sweet girl I fell in love with, that I married, that is now the mother of our beautiful daughter."

"But I'm not, I'm not that girl anymore. She was pretty, I'm looking like this, I have a scar. It's ugly. And you know that because you won't touch me anymore."

"That's not true, you still my pretty pumpkin that bumped into me at the grocery store. I'm sorry for not showing you how I love you lately, I'm scared to hurt you, it's not that I didn't want to."

"You can just say you can't anymore," Bob stopped your rambling by kissing you, kissing you like before, like the time when you were pregnant and were horny as hell all the time. This was exactly what you needed, feeling butterflies again in your stomach. Realization hitting you what you had done influenced by the negative thoughts. "What have I done?"

"It's okay sweetheart, we're gonna take a new start with being new parents and us. We're going to take better care of each other, we promised.."

"... In good and bad days." You finished Bob's sentence while holding his pinky. "I'm so scared Bobby, so scared for not being enough."

"I know sweetheart, and you shouldn't be because you are, you are more than enough. For me and for Lily. And there will be other bad days, but we're gonna get through together."

"Forever."

"I love you Bobby, I'm sorry for doubting you."

"Let's get home sweetheart, Lily must have missed you."

"I missed her actually too, do you think that maybe we can get away one night, just to catch up a little bit of sleep and I don't know, I just missed you. Why does that actually sound selfish?"

"It's not, I think that that's a good idea, we'll talk things further out and I know some other things we can do." Bob gave a mischievous smile hinting to a much needed you-and-him-time.

Arriving home, you immediately took little Lily in your arms, this time she wasn't fuzzy, she was calm and happy, feeling your renewed energy too. You also apologized to your in-laws, who were very understanding.

"Honey, I know exactly what you're going through, I should have seen the signs. After I have birth to Bob's little sister I tried to run away too, but that little gentleman there, prevented that. I guess he felt it and kept me too busy to actually run away from my feelings. He's always been a charmer. You guys will get through this together." Her comments made you cry once again, but not because of unhappiness, you were relieved you felt understood. "We'll stay here, take shifts for feedings tonight and tomorrow is all about you two. Enjoy it, enjoy each other. Both of you deserve it. And Lily here, she will be a spoiled little brat by the time you two get back."

"I can imagine that, thank you ma."

Everyone taking a shift that night was exactly what you needed, you were still tired, one night of sleep did not fix it the exhaustion completely, but you felt energized for the first time in a while. As did Bob. And Lily, she wasn't fuzzy anymore. Sure she had her little moments, but she could be calmed very quickly and even started squealing. If this is how it's supposed to be, you were completely wrong earlier about everything.

Bob, you and Lily went for a walk, stopping by a cute little coffee place where you sat next to Bob while you were holding her in your arms. Bob had put his arm around you so you could rest against his shoulder. This was perfect, the three of you enjoying each other's company. Until you got interrupted by the waitress.

Finally, just you and Bob.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, I don't mean to be a creep, but I took a picture of you three, because you guys are so cute together." Both your and Bob's first reaction was 'what?' but when you saw the picture, you got it, the three of you snuggled up perfectly together. She exchanged the picture with you and it because immediately your and Bob's new background on your phones.

"As much as I love our baby girl, I'm delighted that it's just you and me. I love you pumpkin."

"Me too, I love you too Bobby. But I'm so incredibly scared. What if you grow tired of me, or find someone else more attractive? Or what if I fail at being a good mother?" Bob laid you on the king-size bed, he joined you on the bed laying opposite of you. He caressed your jaw sweetly, looking at you with his beautiful blue eyes.

"My sweet pumpkin, this brain of yours is going in overdrive again. I don't want someone else. I only want you, my sweet and adorable wife, my Mrs. Floyd. And baby, we're new parents, I'm scared too to do something wrong. But we'll figure things out. And if we're stuck we could always call Payback or his wife. He made me promise to bother him if we needed help. We will be okay. We will be great parents. Just think about earlier today, the little squeal she made when you were holding her."

"That was actually a very nice feeling." The memory made your heart warmer. What if Bob was right and you are actually great parents? All these raging hormones were making it hard to know what to think. And with Bob peppering sweet kisses all over your face, your brain started to malfunction, making all the negative thoughts disappear.

"Baby, it's time to let the dark clouds make place for the beautiful sunshine that you are."

"Bob, I love you."

"I love you too, so much. And I'm gonna show you how much."

Taglist: @mrsjaderogers , @bradleybeachbabe , @iamdannyday , @rhirhikingston

If you want to get tagged: here

#robert bob floyd #bob floyd #bob floyd imagine #bob floyd x reader #bob floyd x you #bob floyd fanfiction #bob floyd fanfic #top gun imagine #top gun: maverick #tgm #top gun fanfic #sweet Bob

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roosterforme · 1 year ago

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The sweet babes have been reunited. That was a rough one.

The Curveball Part 11 | Bob Floyd x OC

Summary: While Bob is away, Molly struggles with the silence around her. And Bob can't seem to sleep without her soft, sweet body curled up next to his. But when he mistakes someone else's interest in him for kindness, Bob could risk losing everything he loves.

Warnings: Angst, fluff, swears, pregnancy, smut, 18+

Length: 6500 words

Pairing: Robert "Bob" Floyd x Female OC (this story accompanies Batting Practice!)

Check my masterlist for more! The Curveball masterlist

Thank you to @mak-32 and @teacupsandtopgun for the beautiful banners!

Molly was ridiculous. Truly pitiful. She knew it. She could admit it. She was an adult who had lived on her own for many years, but she had become so attached to Bob, she could barely handle the silence of being alone now.

The silence when Bob was here? Well that silence was delightful. It meant he was reading a book or contemplating something. It meant she had asked him a question and he was still gathering his thoughts. But the silence without Bob was actually unbearable.

She found herself making excuses to visit her sister. Or even just call her. One night she called Bradley and pretended she was very interested in the Phillies score so she had someone to talk to about something. She was sure Bradley knew the real reason for her phone call, but bless his heart for talking to her for thirty minutes anyway.

The calls from Bob were so sporadic and sudden, she kept her phone on her at work. One time she had to sneak away to the supply closet to talk to him, but it had been worth it as she stood there surrounded by antiseptic wipes and sterile syringes.

"Mo," he sighed. "I can't stand this, Honey. I can't get any sleep without you next to me."

That call had been brief, but she made sure he knew she missed him and his particular brand of silence. And his cock.

Because that was the other thing. The pregnancy hormones were outrageous. The only two things she seemed to want to do were cry and orgasm. She found herself crying all the time. Like even in the middle of Costco when she saw a brand of cheese called Floyd Farms. But it was really hard to cum without Bob. She and her toys weren't as patient and sexy as he was.

On the Monday of her anatomy ultrasound appointment, Molly cried in the car on her way to the medical complex. And she was still crying when her sister arrived to join her for the appointment. "I'm sorry," Molly said, wiping her eyes. "I shouldn't have asked you to leave work early. I could have done this by myself."

But her sister wrapped her up in a tight hug. "Do you think I'm not excited to find out if I'm getting a niece or a nephew? Please, I'd choose this over work any day of the week!"

Molly nodded as her sister led her inside. She was used to this kind of medical setting, but it was always weird being the patient and not the nurse. So she held her arm out to have blood drawn even though she could have done a better job herself, and she sat quietly while the nurse explained things she already knew. And her sister was with her the whole time, holding her hand.

It's not like she wasn't grateful, because she was. But she whispered, "I miss Bob," when the ultrasound technician was washing her hands. Molly rubbed her hands along her round belly and looked at her sister. "I love you so much, but I wish Bob was here."

"I know," she replied with a small smile. "I wish I could swap places with him for the day. How hard could it be to navigate a Super Hornet and interpret radar imagining while trying not to barf?"

Molly laughed, already feeling better as they got started. And when it was time to find out the sex of the baby, Molly's sister made the tech pause for a minute until she was sure she was getting a video on her phone.

"Okay, I'm ready," she said, giving a thumbs up, and then Molly smiled for the phone camera.

"Miss you, Bob. Or should I say, Daddy. Ready to find out if you're going to have a son or a daughter?"

Then she nodded to the tech who brought the images up on the monitor, and as soon as she said, "It's a boy," Molly felt like everything made perfect sense. She just lounged there on the table while her sister freaked out and nearly dropped her phone. But all Molly could picture was a tiny version of Bob with glasses, immaculate manners, and tidy hair. Yes, it made sense.

"Calm down, or I'll name him Everett!" she told her sister as a big smile broke out on her face. It felt nice for her to be the calm one right now as her sister cried into the camera, gushing about having a nephew.

But now it was almost midnight, and Molly was waiting up, expecting a call from Bob. She had promised him she'd email him as soon as she found out what they were having, but she held off, knowing this call was supposed to be happening. Just as she was dozing off on the couch with an opened bag of gummy bears on her chest, her phone started ringing.

It was a FaceTime call. "Bob?!" she practically screamed when she answered it. And then his handsome face was there, bathed in sunlight.

"Honey! Did you have your appointment today?" His eyes were eager, examining Molly's face as she smiled at him.

"Yes, I did, Cowboy Bob."

His eyes went slightly wider, and Molly could read the anticipation there. "Well?" he asked, pressing his lips together.

She didn't want to make him wait any longer. "We're having a boy."

His eyes welled with tears as he bumped his glasses up onto his forehead and wiped at his eyes. "A boy?" he asked softly. "Molly, really? A boy?"

"Were you hoping for a girl?" she asked with a grin. There was no way Bob would survive having a daughter like Molly, if that's what would have ended up happening.

"Not really," he replied, openly crying. "It didn't really matter. But now that I know it's a boy, I just-" He shook his head for a few seconds. "I just can't wait, Mo."

She popped a gummy bear into her mouth as her baby boy kicked her in the spleen. "How's your deployment, Daddy? I must say, it's a real treat getting to see your sexy face right now."

Bob smiled and adjusted his glasses, looking around at wherever he was standing. "It's boring. And I can't sleep at all. I've been up at night just thinking about you and our son. I miss sleeping with you. Wrapping my arms around you. I miss our bedroom. I know it's silly."

"It's not!" she insisted, sitting up a little straighter. "I miss the way you smell and your voice and the taste of your cum."

"Mo," he groaned in a warning tone.

"What?" she whined. "I do! And I miss the way you'd put your hands on my bump."

He looked at her reverently. "I love you. Both of you. But I need to go get ready to get up in the air, okay?"

Well now she felt like she was going to cry for sure. "You'll call me again soon?"

"The first moment I'm allowed to, I'll call you again, Mo."

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Bob was a week into his deployment when he gave up and left his bunk in the middle of the night. His roommate didn't snore, so sleeping shouldn't have been an issue, but without Molly's warmth next to him, it just wasn't happening. The lounge had decent coffee, and it was quiet. There was a shelf lined with books. He'd go there and see if it made him sleepy.

When he walked in wearing his gray sweatpants and an old gym shirt, he felt eyes on him right away. He turned to his left to see a woman around his age look up from her book to smile at him. "Hi," she whispered, and he knew she must have been talking to him. There was nobody else around.

"Hi." Bob returned her smile and went to investigate the bookshelf. Didn't they know he wasn't going to want to read about US naval history right now? He ran his fingers along all the spines until he found a well worn mystery novel. That might hit the spot.

So he settled down on the chair across from the woman, and when he opened the book, she said, "I read that one last week."

"Oh," he replied, glancing at the cover again before meeting her eyes. "Any good?"

She just shrugged and said, "Passable. But almost everything else in here is the history of the navy part seven thousand, or something equivalent."

Bob laughed and leaned across the table. "I'm Bob. Bob Floyd," he said, extending his hand.

"Annamarie Clarke. It's nice to meet you, Bob."

He nodded and had every intention of just opening the book on his lap, but when Annamarie asked him what he was doing awake at two in the morning ship time, he ended up setting the book aside. She was nice and soft spoken and kind of mousy. She was the type of woman he would have asked out before he met Molly. But right now she was just someone who was willing to talk to him, and maybe that was exactly what he needed.

"This is my first deployment in about a year," he told her after a few minutes of talking. "And I wasn't expecting it. Which is silly, I know. But... I have a lot going on at home."

"Sounds heavy," she replied with a soft smile. "Wanna talk about it?"

Bob leaned back in his chair and pictured Molly and her bump and her silver barbells and her smile. He wanted to tell Annamarie everything, because he knew it would feel good to talk about Molly and the baby. But it also felt too sacred in a way, so he just simply said, "Maybe another time." And then he cleared his throat and asked her why she was awake so late.

Her voice was oddly soothing to him as she told him about her home in Virginia. They compared the Pacific Fleet to the Atlantic Fleet. She made Bob laugh so many times, he lost count. He finally felt himself yawning, and he stood the same time she did.

In another time, he would have thought she was sweet. He would have been a stuttering, blushing mess in her presence. She would have either laughed at him or thought he was adorable. He might have asked her to hang out again. But he had Molly now, and there was no going back from that. He didn't blush and stutter like he used to, especially not around another woman. The only one who could bring that out in him was his girlfriend when she was whispering in his ear about something she wanted to do to him. She was the only sweet thing he wanted in his life.

So he told Annamarie goodnight as they paused in the doorway together, and he intended for that to be it.

But she squeezed his hand gently and said, "Maybe I'll see you again, Bob." And then he turned one way down the hallway, and she turned the other.

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Molly was trying to straighten up the condo on her day off, but the smell of the bleach cleaner in the bathroom was making her gag. She hadn't been eating well, and this morning she hadn't eaten at all. Making food after her shift at the hospital was way too much work. If she didn't have time to stop at her sister and Bradley's place, then she just munched on whatever snacks she could find.

When her phone vibrated in the pocket of her sweatpants, she was sitting on the floor outside the bathroom trying to force herself to go back in there. "Shit," she gasped when she saw that Bob's mom was calling her.

She cleared her throat and answered with a simple, "Hi!" Then she felt like an idiot until she heard the friendly voice on the other end of the call.

"Molly! Are you home, sweetheart?"

"Yes!" she answered, still too chipper for her liking. She cleared her throat again. "Just trying to clean the bathroom and make lunch."

"Well don't. Rachel and I are about to head to the city to see you. I'm sure you must be exhausted after work every day, and I made dozens of meals that can go in the freezer so you don't have to make lunch, okay?"

"Okay," Molly said before pressing her lips together to keep from crying. She was being mommed. She missed being mommed. She loved it when her sister mommed her, but this was just as good.

"And don't open any cleaning supplies. I'll do that when I get there."

Now a tear really did leak down her cheek. "Too late. It's making me nauseous."

"We're in the car now. Crack open a window in a different room, and we'll see you soon."

Three hours later, Molly was eating a homemade meal while Rachel talked a mile a minute. The condo was spotlessly clean, and Bob's mom was taking the trash out to the dumpster.

"I want to say thank you again, but I'm afraid I'll start crying," Molly whispered when Rachel took her empty plate to the dishwasher.

"Nah, you already thanked us a dozen times. My mom wants to help. I mean, so do I. It's hard when Bob is deployed, but it must be miserable for you. Being pregnant on top of everything."

Molly nodded and twisted her fingers together, trying to keep her voice calm. "I miss him so much, it physically hurts. Like sometimes it's hard to breathe. And it's too quiet here without him."

Rachel smiled sympathetically. "Bob doesn't make much noise though."

Molly licked her lips and closed her eyes. "He's quiet. So when he decides to talk about something, it's always worth listening to. And he's been the sweetest man in the world, especially since I told him I was pregnant."

Rachel kind of shrugged. "Listen, I know this isn't the 1800s, but are you and Bob going to get married?"

Molly's eyes went wide. "I-" She slammed her mouth shut, unsure about what she wanted to say here.

But Rachel continued on, undeterred. "It's just that, Bob seems like the type who'd want that. And I'm not trying to call him a prude or anything, but he's pretty conservative when it comes to his personal life. I just thought he would have taken you to the store to get a ring the same day." She seemed to rethink what she had just said. "I'm sorry, I'm overstepping. I'm just surprised you're not married to my baby brother right now."

Molly kept thinking about it. There were times when Bob promised her forever where she really thought about marrying him. She already knew he'd be so good at being a husband, but marriage seemed like something else Molly would probably just fail at over time. But that wildflower meadow filled her mind again. Bob holding their son surrounded by daisies, poppies and violets. Bob sneezing but insisting he was fine. Okay, yes. She wanted it.

But then Bob's mom walked back in, and Molly started to wonder why Bob hadn't asked her to pick out a ring by now. Maybe his family was wrong, and he wasn't completely sold on her. Sure, she'd told him she didn't want to get married yet, but now she was surprised he hadn't insisted that's what he wanted to do. And he hadn't brought it up again.

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"So where do you live, Bob? I know you're stationed out of Top Gun. Do you live in Coronado?" Annamarie asked, playing with the loose ends of her hair. It was the second night Bob had ventured to the lounge, and she was there again. He tried to fall asleep for the past few nights without leaving his bed, and he'd been mostly successful, but he'd finished his book and came to pick a new one. He was surprised to see her when he walked in, and he wondered if she had been here every night.

"How well do you know San Diego?" he asked, thinking about his condo. Thinking about all of Molly's stuff everywhere in their condo. "I live in Hillcrest."

"I know it well enough," she replied with a soft smile, leaning a little closer to him. "And Top Gun is just impressive. You must have some amazing credentials under your belt."

He shrugged. "I'm just a weapons systems officer," he muttered. "I'm actually a little out of my wheelhouse, because the pilot I'm used to flying with isn't here. It's been a bit of an adjustment. And I'm missing my place back in Hillcrest. A lot. I'm still having such a hard time sleeping here."

She trailed her fingers down along her neck and asked, "What's your place like?"

"Oh, I have a condo. I bought it two years ago. It felt huge at first, but my girlfriend moved in a few months ago. Now I might have to sell it."

Her expression fell and her shoulders sagged. "You have a girlfriend?" she asked, her tone flat as she pouted. But her pout didn't light him up inside the way Molly's did. It didn't really phase him at all.

"Yeah. Molly. She's something else," he said with a laugh. "We're going to have a son. He's due in March."

"Oh," she said, nodding slightly. "That's great, congratulations."

"I think the reason I can't sleep is because I miss her so much," Bob said quietly, looking at his hands. "She's a spitfire. Honestly, she's a bit of a handful. But I'm just so used to her now. Even though she's wild." Bob closed his mouth. He'd lost himself there thinking about her.

Annamarie was quiet for a few seconds before she asked, "You trust her?"

"Yes," Bob said right away as he met her eyes. He did. He trusted Molly. Even though she said she didn't want to get married to him. Even though sometimes she shied away from the topic of forever.

"Even though she's wild?" she asked, echoing his words with an edge of sarcasm.

He thought about how Molly's face lit up when she saw him. And the way she'd call his name through a crowd of people, seemingly delighted to be with him. Bob was sure she was only wild for him now.

Annamarie must have mistaken his silence for hesitation. "Do you think you'll ask her to marry you?" she asked, leaning closer across the small table.

Bob would have asked already, but Molly had shut that idea down cold. "I don't know that she'd say yes."

She touched his hand again. "Then maybe she's not the one for you."

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Molly thought she was doing alright. She was having a pretty good day. Nothing to be concerned about over here. Nope. She wasn't missing Bob to the point of devastation. Not at all. Just a completely normal day where she went to work and came home only to get changed and hear a knock on the door while she was on the verge of tears.

"Coming!" she called out, stretching her back where she was starting to feel really sore. If she could just stop thinking about Bob all the time, then maybe the ache would go away.

As she reached for the knob, she hoped it was Phoenix. She'd been stopping over randomly, but she usually texted first. But when she saw a kid who couldn't have been older than eighteen standing there holding a bouquet of gas station flowers, she erupted into tears.

"Uh, are you Molly?" he asked, holding the flowers out and looking a little concerned.

"Yes," she said, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands.

"Then these are for you. From some guy named Bob."

She held them in her hands like they were the most delicate and beautiful things in the world. "How did he do this?" she marvelled, taking in the sight of each bloom through her tears.

The kid shrugged. "He gave me a hundred bucks a few weeks ago to make sure I brought them here today." And then he walked away, leaving Molly to kick the door closed before reading the card that was tucked between two stems.

Molly,

It's been exactly six months since the first time I told you I love you. And I have loved you every day since then. I can't be there in person, but I wanted to make sure you knew I was thinking about you. I'll get you more gas station flowers as soon as I get home. I love you so much.

Bob

She went to the bedroom and threw some random things in a tote bag. Then she made sure everything was turned off before she locked the door behind her. Molly's hands were shaking as she drove through familiar neighborhoods until she pulled up in front of her sister's house. It was late now, and she was sure Ev would be in bed. So she texted and called her sister's phone. When she got no response, and she knew she couldn't stand the isolating silence for one more minute, she got out of the car and let herself in the front door.

Her hands were shaking, and she realized she had been holding the flowers continuously since that kid gave them to her. She looked around the dimly lit living room, and a second later, everything was illuminated. Bradley was standing at the top of the steps in his boxer shorts, holding a baseball bat like he was a power hitter.

"I'm sorry. It's just me," she said pitifully. He looked even more relieved and even more annoyed as he lowered the bat. Molly supposed it was a nice sentiment about her brother-in-law that he was ready to take someone's head off before he'd let anything happen to his family.

He grunted and turned back to the bedroom, and Molly could hear him say, "Your sister's here." A minute later, Molly was enveloped in a mom hug.

"I can't," Molly whispered. "I can't stay there alone another night. I hate being away from Bob. You know what he did? He got the guy from the gas station to deliver the flowers to me today, because it's the six month anniversary of the first time he said he loved me."

"Oh, Molly," her sister whispered, kissing her forehead.

"He set this shit up before he left!" she wailed. "I don't even know what he's doing today, because I haven't talked to him in a week. A week! And now I interrupted you having sex, and I can tell Bradley's mad at me."

"He's not mad at you, Molly. He just thought you were a burglar or something."

"I'm sorry," she moaned, holding the flowers tight as her sister rested a hand on her belly.

"Stop apologizing. You can stay with us until Bob gets back."

Molly tried to shake her head, but she was led upstairs. She wasn't exactly sure what her sister and Bradley said to each other, but a moment later, Bradley kissed her on the forehead before he went down the hallway alone.

"Come on," her sister coaxed, and Molly climbed into bed with her. "You've been alone for too long. It's not good for you."

Molly dozed off to the sound of her sister's voice and soft breathing, clutching one gas station flower as she fell into the best sleep she'd had since Bob left.

---------------------------------

Bob was anxious to FaceTime with Molly. It had been two weeks since he heard her voice. Now it was a few days after Halloween, and he managed to log into his email for long enough that he saw a photo of her with her sister, Bradley, and Everett, standing in front of an enormous inflatable pumpkin. They looked like they were dressed as a ragtag baseball team. He scrolled down in his email to find more photos of Molly.

It appeared that she was no longer staying at the condo, which had him really concerned. But then he saw a photo of how big her baby bump had gotten. And then there was a photo of her and Everett wearing 3-D glasses and making faces. And then there was a photo of Molly completely naked and pleasuring herself.

Bob nearly dropped his phone on the metal grating of the midship deck. She was going to be the death of him. If he didn't die from lack of sleep, he would die falling overboard after his phone. Either way, it would be mostly her fault, because he couldn't stop thinking about her. His body was aching for her hands to touch him. When the wind blew, it felt like her fingers in his hair, and for a second his heart leapt.

He was lovesick. That had to be it. He never thought this was a real ailment before, but even his heart seemed to be beating to the rhythm of her name. He could picture her when he closed his eyes. He simply missed her to the point of sickness.

And the baby. Bob missed cradling her belly in his hands until he felt a kick. He missed the way Molly would walk around talking to the unborn child about her day at work, as if it was an adult. He missed the ultrasound photos that he's put in chronological order on the refrigerator. He thought up baby names all day long. He had two countdowns going: one to the day he could see Molly again, and one to the due date in March.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his back. "There you are." He turned to see Annamarie looking him up and down. "You look nice in your flight suit."

Bob swallowed hard. He nearly forgot he was about to fly a mission. He wondered briefly if Annamarie had come out here to find him. "Thanks," he murmured, suddenly sick to his stomach over the thought of how many times Annamarie had touched him. It was innocuous. She knew about Molly and the baby. And Bob was just Bob. Nothing special. She'd provided him some comfort late at night when he was too lonely to go to sleep. That was all.

But, sometimes she looked at him like she wanted to keep touching him. And he should have said something by now, but it would have been embarrassing. He was misreading the cues. He was just overly sensitive without Molly here to accept all of his love and feelings.

He loaded into the Super Hornet and got to work. This is why he was here. This is what he was good at. This mission should exhaust his brain enough for him to fall asleep.

But when he landed back on deck as the sun was setting, he knew he didn't stand a chance. His mind drifted, wondering where his girlfriend was. Wondering if the baby was okay. He was only fooling himself when he thought he'd be able to sleep. So he finished reading another book from the lounge and decided to return it. There were only a handful of nights left now. He'd make this his last visit to the lounge.

When he walked in, it was just Annamarie as usual. He was going to put the book away and tell her goodnight. He was going to tell her he didn't want her to touch him, and he was going to say goodnight. But then she met him halfway, and her hands were warm on his chest through his undershirt. And her lips met his, somehow soothing him and making everything worse at the same time.

Bob jumped back instantly. "No," he gasped. "No. I was supposed to tell you not to touch me. Why did you do that?"

She took a step closer to him as he wiped at his lips with his fingertips. "I think there's definitely something here," she whispered, gesturing between their bodies. "Right?"

"No," he gasped again, ready to cry now. He looked down at the gray sweatpants Molly got for him and his undershirt which was a little stretched out from her wearing it over the bump last month. "You're going to ruin everything."

Now Annamarie rolled her eyes. "Why did you keep coming here to see me if you didn't want to take this back to one of our bunks?"

Bob was going to throw up. This sort of thing had never happened to him, and he wasn't even remotely prepared for it. "That's the farthest thing from my mind, Annamarie. You must know by now that I'm absolutely dying to get back home to my Molly and the baby. I'm lonely for them."

"It was worth a try," she whispered bitterly. "You're sweet. You're too good for her."

As she walked out of the lounge, Bob cradled his face in his hands. What was he going to do? If Molly wouldn't hear him out and accept his apology, what the hell was he supposed to do?

---------------------------

Molly got into, well, a lot of bad habits while she stayed with her sister and Bradley. She ate all the Halloween candy. She accidentally got Everett asking for a pet. She didn't clean up after she did arts and crafts with her nephew. But perhaps the worst habit was the fact that she would sneak across the hallway and slide into Ev's bed for about a half hour each night after Bradley and her sister went to their room.

"Hi, Aunt Molly," Ev whispered, lifting up the covers so she could climb in next to him. "Uncle Bob comes back tomorrow. Are you excited?"

She kissed his cheek and squeezed him as tight as she could with her belly in the way. "Ev, I'm so excited! I can't wait! I can't wait!" She was trying to be quiet, but she was overjoyed. The only contact she had with him in the last ten days was an eight paragraph email gushing about how much he loved her and wanted to be with her forever. She received it last night and read it so many times, it felt like she was floating on a cloud.

"I missed Uncle Bob, too," Everett said. "I'm happy he'll be back in time to come to my adoption day."

God, this kid was so excited to be officially related to Bradley, it was almost comical. "At least someone thinks he's cool," she muttered. But she didn't mean it. Bradley had welcomed her here as much as her sister had. In his own way. Even his teasing had nothing behind it anymore. She had worn him down. He not only loved her now, he also liked her.

"Ev? Do you think I'll be a good mom?" she asked softly, holding her breath for his answer. Kids were so honest, there was a chance this might hurt.

"You already are," he said through a yawn.

She rubbed her belly and asked, "What do you mean?"

Ev snuggled in a little more against her. "You always take care of me and love me. You like, do the same stuff my mom does, but actually in a funner way. And you were there before my dad got here. You already do all the mom stuff."

Molly cried herself to sleep in a twin bed with her nephew, but her heart was full. And the next morning, she was up and ready to go before anyone else.

"What the hell is happening?" Bradley asked when he walked into the kitchen to see Molly making breakfast. "Is this the Twilight Zone?"

She rolled her eyes. "If it was the Twilight Zone, I wouldn't tell you it was. And besides, everything would be in black and white."

"You're so annoying," he said, patting her on the head as he went to pour some coffee. "You're finally leaving today, right? Back to being Bob's problem instead of mine?"

"Har, har, har," she said, flipping some pancakes that looked slightly inedible. "You should be thanking me right now. How many times did I take Everett out so you could fuck my sister?" she asked, glaring at him. "Hmm?"

"Yeah," he conceded with a grin. "That was pretty nice of you."

"I'll send you my Amazon wish list. My birthday is in a few weeks."

He shook his head and walked away, but not even the turd-in-law could dampen her mood. Her body was thrumming, just knowing she'd have Bob's cock in her before the end of the day. And the baby was kicking like he knew he'd get to hear his dad again soon.

But being back on the dock again later that morning made her more anxious than she anticipated. She could remember the sick feeling inside when she said goodbye to Bob. She needed to touch him right now. He would take all of the icky feelings away. And then he'd make her feel so good.

She was wearing a little dress that showed off her bump. Her makeup looked perfect. She'd switched the silver barbells for the ones with the glasses charms. The plan was to take Bob home, suck his dick as many times as he wanted, fuck him in their bed, and then take him to her sister's for dinner. The perfect day. She was about to have the perfect day.

But then she saw him. And oh, he looked terrible. Suddenly that eight paragraph email was pressing down on her like a weight. Like a warning. Like an ending instead of a beginning.

"Bob?" she called out, shuffling forward to meet him. He didn't look happy. Why wasn't he happy? There was a woman glaring at Molly from the other side of the ramp like she wanted to physically hurt her. And Bob looked upset. "Bob?"

"Molly," he sighed, his face looking devastated. But she needed him, so she cautiously wrapped her arms around his neck. "Mo, Honey." His face was buried against her neck, and finally she felt whole again.

"We missed you so much," she whispered, kissing his jaw and raking her fingers through his hair. "Bobby, I love you."

He was crying.

"What's wrong?" she asked, pulling away from him and holding his face in her hands. His pretty greenish-blue eyes met hers, and she waited for him to speak. Because this was the silence she could deal with. She could probably deal with anything now that he was here.

"Molly, I love you more than anything," he said, letting his big hand rest softly on her bump. "I don't want anything or anyone besides the three of us." His voice was shaking as he cried.

"You're scaring me, Bob. What is going on?" she demanded, brushing his hair back from his forehead.

"A woman kissed me a few days ago."

Molly gasped as her stomach lurched. "Who? Why?"

"Another officer," he said miserably, and Molly knew she was going to be sick. "I couldn't sleep at all, because I missed you so much. She was kind to me. Or that's what I thought. All I did was talk about you and the baby. I didn't think I was encouraging her."

Molly squeezed her eyes shut tight as tears leaked out. That's why the woman was glaring at her. "Are you leaving me?"

"Mo!" he gasped so loudly that her eyes snapped open. His hands were on her back, pulling her closer until there was no room between them. "Never! I told you I want forever. I want forever!"

"I don't understand," she said. He was acting like he didn't want to let her go, like he was afraid she was the one who was going to run away.

He kissed her forehead over and over before he said, "She was making me uncomfortable after a while. I was getting ready to tell her. And then she kissed me. And it meant nothing to me, Molly. Nothing. I just want you."

"Did you kiss her back?" she asked, needing to know.

"Of course not," he swore.

"And it was just one kiss?"

"It only lasted a second," he said. "Then I reminded her that I'm in love with you."

Molly sighed deeply. "She made you feel uncomfortable?"

"Not at first. But later on, yes. Nothing like this has ever happened to me. Women don't do this kind of thing to guys like me."

"Guys like you?" she asked softly. "You mean perfect men? Bob, you're exactly the kind of guy this sort of thing happens to, because you're the kind of guy every girl wants."

He was breathing deeply, pressing more kisses to her forehead. "Molly. Can you forgive me? Please tell me you can forgive me for not saying something to her sooner. Or I won't be able to live with myself."

She examined his face. He looked distraught and sick. The dark circles under his eyes let her know he was telling the truth about not getting enough sleep. He was holding onto her so tight, it almost hurt. But it was so obvious that he was telling her the truth. It was plain to see that this was eating him up inside.

"I can forgive you."

Molly ran her fingers along his cheeks, wiping away his tears and kissing his lips softly. He chased her for another kiss and another. Bob devoured her and made her feel whole again. "I can't lose you. Ever," he whispered against her lips. "You're the love of my life."

"Bob," she gasped before kissing him silly. She kind of hoped that the other woman was watching, but she kind of didn't care at all. She didn't belong here with them. She didn't belong where Molly was.

"You know, I think maybe the gray sweatpants were too powerful," Molly mused as she wrapped her arms around him. "You really have no idea how attractive you are, do you?"

Bob just shrugged. "It doesn't matter. There's only you."

She kissed him as she wrapped her hands around his biceps. He was husband material. She knew that. She'd known it all along. "That's very flattering, Coach Cute Glasses."

"It's the truth." His lips found hers again, and Molly let herself enjoy the feel of him. But then he said, "Molly, it might help if I was wearing a wedding band in the future."

"Oh," she gasped. It was like he could read her mind. But she wasn't fully prepared for another overwhelming conversation right now, so she laced her fingers with his and led him to her car.

"Will you let me spend the rest of the day showing you how much I missed you, Honey?"

"You better."

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Baby boy Floyd! The next chapter may be the last one! Thanks to @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls and everyone who bugged me to make Molly and Bob a thing