#tissues x pickle

[circusclowne]

CLOWNE. DRAW PICKLE X TISSUES, AND MY LIFE IS YOURS. /silly /nf

i think their ship name should be pisskle

[carl77fx]

Presenting! My love for object shows meets my love for Team StarKid musicals. Creating something between a show about existential questioning and dread (Inanimate Insanity) and a musical horror about a musical apocalypse (The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals).

Anyways! Have fun figuring out who plays who.

[confettishake2]

inanimate insanity doodles i made before i go 2 bed ^_^!! its currently 2:00 am and im tired as FAWK goodnight gang 💕💕💕

[sodatea2024]

It was time I posted my obligatory II fanchildren for those who haven’t seen them yet.

Milk Carton (Payjay) - Penny(Nickloon) - Painty Jr.(Lightbrush) - Wax Sealer (Silvercandle) - Rubber Ducky (Soapmic) - Red Envelope (Tissues x Yin-Yang) - Jalapeño (Pickle x Taco/Pickle x Knife) - Nakiri Knife (Pickle x Knife) - Blueprint (Fantube) - Moldy Cheese (Comedy Gold)

I have pleanty more kids but I was only able to post 10 images so here you go and I might post part 2 later

[knific]

Rarepair request but uh could you maybe do Pickle x Tissues I love them so much

he feels personally attacked but it's ok tissues made up for it later

[s1lv3rp4w3dc4t]

ii ships I don't even care about I just want to make fun names for them

nickel × cheesy: "grate deal" (knee slap) I swear I'm cooking here I literally don't care about them but. cheese pun and a play on a "great deal" which refers to nickel being a low sum of money and the great deal of patience you'd need to deal with both of them lol.

tissues × suitcase: "coldcase" imagine them as a detective/cop/forensic scientist duo solving a crime really badly. I'd pay money to watch that. i would.

marshmallow × mic: "sweet melody" idk it sounded nice and gives them a really soft vibe.

silver spoon × paintbrush × cabby: "silverpaintcab" I just wanted to try and spell my name out. we all know they'd kill each other within a week lol.

lightbulb × balloon: "lightloon" im a sucker for alliteration. you want to know how many suitcase ships I cut because this. also "lightheaded" or "airhead" or something because. duh.

microphone × pickle: "band equipment" because microphone and then pickles name shortened is pick like as in guitar pick. trust!!!!!!

trophy × oj: "first place" I think you get it.

test tube × microphone: "mic test" testmic shippers must not be very observant. mic test is right there and you go with it's invert.

clover × candle: "safetyspell" because clover's luck acts as a safety net for her and candle. is candle. alternatively this is life ring and candle.

tissues × mephone4: "snotcolate chip" I'd like to apologize to everyone forever.

[leqonsluv3r]

husband!leon kennedy

—re!4 husband leon x pregnant!wife!reader, a headcanon list

based on this one-shot request

masterlist taglist

an: decided to give you guys this hc list since you guys liked the oneshot so much, giving you guys a little peek of what happens after the oneshot. i’m finally moved and currently unpacking at my new place, i’ll be working on requests and opening them back up soon. hope you guys enjoy, pls reblog and like if you do <3

husband!leon who buys you all the food your body deserves. anything for his wife and his growing baby inside of you.

husband!leon who helps you plan and decorate the nursery for your child. he’s just happy he gets to be a dad, especially with you involved.

husband!leon who drives you to all of your doctors appointments, always having tears pool in his eyes whenever he sees your guys growing child on the ultrasound.

husband!leon who always lets you pick whatever you want for dinner, even if it’s not something he wants. as long as your happy and you get what you want.

husband!leon who massages your swollen feet after you complain how much they hurt. rubbing your calves and legs just to make sure your comfy. he wants what’s best for you.

husband!leon who rubs your belly when you both are laying in bed together, pressing kisses to it and talking to the unborn baby. he knows the baby can’t fully hear him yet but he’s too excited.

husband!leon who helps you pick out stuff for the baby to wear after you find out the gender. cute little onesies and footies, stuffed animals and whatever else your heart desires. only the best for his wife and his baby.

husband!leon who hangs up all the ultrasounds up on the fridge like a kid displaying artwork, he likes watching his baby grow. he’s still having a hard time believing he’s a father even if the evidence is right in front of him.

husband!leon who will go down on you because you can’t even touch yourself, making you moan and whimper. he knows the hormones make you more susceptible and more horny, he doesn’t mind one bit. knowing he’s the one that gets to ravish you when you’ve been pent up.

husband!leon who loves the fact that he can still fuck you like your not carrying his kid, practically crying on his cock as he pounds into you, rubbing your swollen tits and pressing kisses all over your body, caressing your belly. he knows you love it, giving each other what you want.

husband!leon who is the king of aftercare, especially when your pregnant. he helps you take a bath afterwards. giving you bubbles and even going so far as to getting in with you and massaging your back.

husband!leon who watches you struggle with the simple tasks you used to do before you were pregnant. if you need something from a shelf because it hurts for you to reach, he grabs it for you. if you can’t stop crying over the most simplest things, he hands you some tissues and holds your hand. he’s supporting you the whole way through this because you need it.

husband!leon who lets you lay on the couch on days your not feeling the best, letting you watch whatever your heart desires. even if it’s something he can’t even stand like the bachelorette or some bad reality tv show.

husband!leon who watches you open presents for the baby shower. your happy, opening little onesies and gifts from your guys friends and family. watching your mom cry happy tears when you open her gift; your stuffed bear from when you were a baby.

husband!leon who watches you hug your mom, stuffed bear still in your hand and tears pouring out of your eyes. he knows that you have been dealing with a lot going through this pregnancy and he’s just happy that your getting some joy out of it.

husband!leon who lets you have whatever weird craving your wanting. even if it’s pickles and frosting or peanut butter and graham crackers. he lets you have whatever you want, within reason, letting you have the cravings that make you and the baby happy.

husband!leon who when your doing the dishes, your water breaks. he doesn’t think first, he acts. he gets the bag that he’d packed and grabs you. he’s nervous but he’s doing his best to push his own nerves aside and get you and the baby to the hospital.

husband!leon who practically speeds down the interstate to get you to the hospital on time. weaving through a couple cars and speeding, all the while your hand is squeezing his in death grip as he just tells you to breathe through the contractions.

husband!leon who gets you to the hospital in one piece, your hand almost breaking his where he holds it. letting the nurse guide you into the delivery room to get you prepped for labor. your eyes are wide with pain and nerves, leon just keeps standing next to you, holding onto your hand and pressing kisses to your head the entire time.

husband!leon who watches as you push, push, and push over and over again. your doing so great and he’s so proud of you, being able to bring a life into this world, he’s never seen anything like it. he just rubs your back, the doctor kneeling in between your legs and helping the baby come out.

husband!leon who watches as the doctor tells you the babies almost here, your exhausted frame trying to push the baby out the rest of the way. he mumbles praises into your hair and ear, telling you that you can do it. you can push the baby out, you can get through this.

husband!leon who watches you do the final two pushes, the doctor helping the baby come out. leon hears the small cries before seeing the small baby being cradled in the doctors hands, his eyes watering at the sight. he looks over at you and sees how exhausted but happy you are, your eyes watering just like his.

husband!leon who watches as the nurse cleans and swaddles your guys baby, bringing it over to you. your eyes crying big tears. the baby looks just like the both of you combined, having your eyes and his cheeks. he sits gently next to you on the bed, rubbing your head. he admires you and your guys baby, how beautiful it is. how you did it, despite you thinking you couldn’t, he knew you could.

husband!leon who gets to hold the baby for the first time while you rest, talking to the baby in soft whispers, the babies only soft coos in response. “i’m your daddy, yeah…yeah, i’m your daddy…” he murmurs and watches as the baby wraps the tiny hand around his finger. “so cute…so cute…” he smiles as tears leak down his face.

husband!leon who days after you’ve healed from having the baby, you all three get to go home. leon goes from room to room with the baby, showing it its nursery and giving it a tour, even if his child isn’t going to remember this. he does it all the same.

husband!leon who changes his first diaper in the days following, who does it with pride. knowing that all his practice of learning the past nine months are going to use. he lets you rest and sleep whenever you have time in between feeding and bonding with the baby.

husband!leon who loves that he’s a husband and a father, he gets to watch his child grow. he gets to have that luxury and it wasn’t something he always thought was possible. and with you, it’s more achievable and he loves you even more for that if it’s even possible.

[sttoru]

ෆ tags. dad!toji x female reader. toji letting baby megumi try all kinds of new food !

it was a typical monday morning: you were making breakfast for your little family, flipping pancakes and eggs as you left toji to handle the task of helping megumi go through his routine. once your husband had finished, he walked into the kitchen with your little child in his arms (this time holding the boy somewhat properly).

once you turn your head towards the two, you noticed how megumi was eagerly suckling on toji’s index finger—a habit of your son to signal you that he yearned for his daily nutrients.

“megumi’s biting my finger off,” toji exaggerates, yawning before moving towards the fridge and opening the door. the sudden breeze of cold air hitting his skin makes him shudder.

you laugh and flip a pancake, revealing its golden brown colour on the back, “i stored ‘gumi’s food on the second shelf. a little in the back.”

megumi’s tiny arms were already reaching out for the familiar bowl, making grabby hands at it as if encouraging his dad to feed him his meal. toji’s eyes, however, were scanning the entire content of the fridge for something new, “y’know, maybe it’s time to learn how to eat somethin’ else, kid. your taste buds need’ta get used to other foods.”

according to his ‘brilliant’ logic, it’s best to get kids used to new foods at a young age so they won’t become picky eaters later on. thus, toji grabs the most random combination of whatever looks edible. the gathered items consisted of pickles, strawberries, mini-carrots, tomatoes and a single lemon.

toji quickly glances over at you, but your attention was totally focused on the breakfast you were preparing. your husband takes his chance, puts megumi in his high-chair and cuts up all the food he grabbed to biteable pieces for the baby, “alright, i’ll give ya the freedom of choosin’ something on y’r own. go on.”

toji places the various items on megumi’s small tray. the boy stares at the food and picks a piece of strawberry first since the red colour was the most appealing. megumi munches on it, hands as well as his lips getting a bit messy. he didn’t seem to dislike it as his little pouty lips continued to move and digest the fruit.

“okay, so ya like the strawberries. noted.” toji makes a mental note of the new discovery, already planning on buying boxes of strawberries for his son.

once megumi swallowed the piece, the curious boy goes on and picks another type of food. this time it was a yellow coloured piece—one which megumi had no knowledge about. toji did, however, and was already grinning.

the man crossed his arms while he looked down at his kid who was about to go through an unpleasant experience. that’s what builds character according to toji, so why would he intervene and stop megumi from eating a lemon? finding out on his own will teach him a very valuable lesson.

the second megumi’s tongue picks up on the extreme sour taste, his nose scrunches up, eyebrows furrowing along with a disgusted noise escaping the back of his throat, “blegh!”

toji bursts out laughing and points at megumi whose tiny fingers were trying to wipe the taste off his tongue, spitting and almost crying from the unfamiliar taste that entered his mouth. most parents would help their child out and give them water to rinse their mouth, however the scene was apparently way too hilarious to your husband for him to even think about rushing to aid megumi.

you turn to see what the commotion was about and spot your son almost in tears from whatever he ate. you frown and walk up to the high-chair, inspecting the squished piece of lemon in megumi’s hand.

“mannnn, that was the funniest stuff i’ve seen in a while.” toji snickers once he calms down, finally grabbing a tissue to wipe megumi’s drool and spit off.

“poor baby.” you watch the small child stare at his dad with a pouty expression on his little face like he was awaiting on an apology of some kind.

even toji can’t deny it: he did somewhat feel bad now. those big and watery eyes looking up at him made him soften in a fraction of a second. the dark-haired man dumps the used tissues in the nearby garbage can and then walks back to the high chair;

“aww, okay, ‘m sorry.” toji coos and lifts megumi up in his embrace, smothering the child with kisses all over his exposed shoulders before softly poking the fat of his cheeks, “can you forgive your daddy, kiddo?”

“da-da!” megumi happily giggles without knowing the meaning of toji’s words. all the kid desired at that instant was more of his dad’s attention and affection. especially after what occurred a moment ago.

megumi was guaranteed to get what he needed since toji was already preparing to tickle and kiss his adorable son all over as an apology.

you chuckle and go back to making breakfast—your ears filled with high-pitched squeals from your son as toji’s voice called out for a ‘tickle attack’.

at least all was well in the end.

[jsprnt]

your husband loves taking care of you, especially when you're 35 weeks pregnant.

virgil van dijk x pregnant!reader

original request: love your work, could you write a pregnant!reader and Virgil? X

A/N: thank you! this one was so fun to write <3

W/C: 1.640

you shift into another position, again. The soft couch and cushions doing wonders for your back, but still, you couldn’t sleep in your favorite position. Just flat on your stomach, your swollen baby bump not even allowing you to sleep well at night, or take a nap in the quiet hours before dinner time. you felt like you were about to pop, but you still had five weeks to go before your estimated due date.

you had the gender reveal party, which consisted of your and virgil’s closest family members and friends. you both were having a babygirl, the nursery was already cutely designed with a pretty crib and dresser. the baby shower your friends surprised you with was thrown already a couple weeks ago, and not to forget the sweet babymoon virgil and you had gone on. the pretty islands in greece had been a beautiful sights to share with your husband.

the sound of a car parking in the driveway has you halting for a moment. your eyes drift over to the clock on your living room wall. it was past five in the evening already, which meant your husband had returned from training.

you slowly, but carefully get up from your position on the couch, sitting up instead. compression socks alleviating some of the swelling of your legs and feet, your eyes dart to the gray coffee table, full of- everything you could need when being half-immobile. tissues, multiple empty cups, a plate of lazily cut up pickles, a half eaten box of cookies-

“there’s my beautiful wife!” you suddenly hear, swollen, drowsy eyes looking towards your surprisingly very enthusiastic husband. his hands seemingly full of familiar takeout bags as he closes the front door to your home.

virgil’s high energy, even after his intensive training, manages to put a small smile on your face. you hear him take his coat off and wash his hands. so, you stand up, walking- no waddling towards him in the kitchen.

“hi, missed you..” you mumble, feeling him wrap his arm around your back, softly rubbing up and down your sides. you sigh in delight, leaning against his tall and muscular frame, resting your head on his chest. soft sweater grazing your sensitive skin.

“me too, baby.” he mutters, kissing your forehead tenderly.

“I got your favorite takeout. you’re hungry, right?” he asks, thumb rubbing your hips.

your eyes light up, and you nod eagerly. your pregnancy cravings were all over the place. from wanting your usual takeout, to a weird obsession with pickles and chocolate, and the most difficult of all: an icy, crispy red bull. since it wasn’t pregnancy-safe, you definitely didn’t risk it, but your mouth just watered at the thought of taking a sip of the carbonated, sweet energy drink.

“then let’s eat some food. I’m starving...” he says, guiding you to the kitchen island. he’d switched out the bar stools, shortly after your second trimester had started, exchanging them for chairs with a backrest, just for your comfort and convenience.

you watch him grab the takeout, unpacking the dishes.

“you got me the vegetarian one right?” you ask, raising your brows. virgil turns, nodding as he transfers stir fry noodles into a dish and slides it in front of you.

ever since you got pregnant, you detested the smell of meat. virgil being the sweet man he is, did research with his own nutritionist to see how you could still get all the vitamins and nutrients you needed without having to eat meat.

“here baby, eat up.” he mutters, giving you a fork, before walking towards the fridge. he grabs two cans of sparkling iced tea, coming back to sit next to you as you both dig into your meal.

“how was training?” you mumble, chewing down your food, maybe a little too fast.

“good, we were in the gym the entire day- slow down baby, the food isn’t going anywhere..” he chuckles, reaching into the takeout bag and retrieving the napkins. wiping sauce off the corner of your mouth with one.

you both continue eating the delicious food, Virgil’s hand soothingly running down your back every now and then.

“I’m going to take a quick shower.” he says, cleaning off the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher.

“can I join? can’t get my hair wet though..”

“sure baby, let’s go.” he quickly says, helping you off the chair and into the bathroom.

“my legs have been killing me..” you mutter, watching virgil take your compression socks off. you were glad you didn’t need them on your hands, though your fingers had gotten pretty swollen. prompting virgil to gift you a chain you could hang your wedding ring on, to wear as a necklace instead.

you allow him to guide you into the shower, his hand settling on the small of your back in support. virgil chuckles deeply as he watches your makeup melt off with the touch of the streaming warm water. he made sure to put on your shower cap beforehand.

“you wore makeup? where did you go today?” he asks, allowing you to reach up and take off his hair tie, dark curls falling to the side of his face.

“went for brunch with the girls. it was so good..” you answer, allowing virgil to run the soapy washcloth down your body, making sure to clean you up nicely. paying extra attention to scrub your legs, since you couldn’t reach down, you needed his help more often than not.

grabbing a fresh towel, he wraps you in it. allowing you to walk out of the bathroom and sit on your bed. waiting for him wash himself.

that’s what you loved about him, he always put you first. whether it was you eating first, getting dressed, falling asleep, or anything at this point in your pregnancy.

you quickly grab your undergarments and loungewear, going back to sit on your bed. towel wrapped snuggly against your body, as you take off your shower cap and wipe the extra moisture on the towel.

you look up to see virgil walk out of the bathroom, towel hanging on his hips. you lean back, admiring him, a small smirk forming on your lips.

“what?” he asks, smirk clearly on his face too as he walks up to you.

“oh, nothing, just admiring what’s mine..”

“really? let me admire what’s mine too then..”

he cups your face as you look up, his wet hair falling in front of his face as a single drop of water drips down onto your cheek. a low chuckle leaving his lips as he swipes it away with his thumb.

he helps you get dressed before the two of you get too distracted, not forgetting to rub bio-oil and lotion on your bump and body. the both of you snuggling up together on the couch. your head laying on his broad chest, tatted arm wrapped around your back.

You pause for a moment, feeling your daughter kick against your uterus. you feel virgil’s hand running against your clothed bump, you place your own hand next to his. feeling her kick was still the most out of body experience to the both you. you could’ve sworn you felt the outlines of her little feet as she kicked like didn’t want you to rest tonight.

“active today, isn’t she?” your husband asks, kissing your temple.

“just like her daddy..” you raise your bows, grinning. the consequences of having an athlete as your partner.

“she’ll definitely be as beautiful as her mommy..” he responds, causing your grin to grow into a bright smile.

“what do you want to watch, hm?” he asks, looking down at you, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

“love is blind, the new episode is out.”

he chuckles, his chest vibrating against your cheek as you watch him turn the tv on with the remote.

in the beginning of your relationship he wasn’t too keen on watching shows or movies like that, but the second there was some drama unfolding, he immediately got hooked and it became a thing you both did to wind down after busy days.

“wait- can you grab snacks?” you ask, looking up from his chest. you knew he couldn’t say no to you, because he looked like he had melted at the sight of your face already.

“your cravings are really going off the rails, aren’t they?” he asks, placing a kiss on your lips before slowly getting up.

“don’t see the problem!” you exclaim, looking over to see him open the kitchen cabinets and grab a bag of crisps and salty popcorn, transferring it into bowls before walking back over to you.

“here you go, for my hungry monster..” he teases, prompting you to roll your eyes playfully.

you both start watching the hour long episode, empty bowls on your lap by the end of it. though, you both don’t move from your spot on the couch, virgil’s hand soothing on your slightly aching, lower back.

“you okay?” he asks, your own hand resting on his bicep.

“back hurts a bit, baby’s getting heavy..” you mutter.

“I’m know, sorry love. do you need anything?” he asks, kissing your temple and rubbing your back more thoroughly. he had a tendency to ask what you wanted or needed, just to make sure he didn’t miss anything.

“just- can I ask you something?” you begin, holding back a grin. he’d done enough to make you feel comfortable already.

“yeah?”

“would you mind if I broke your fingers during delivery?” you chuckle, having a laugh. knowing he would probably let you squeeze the absolute life out of his hands.

“of course, during delivery you can squeeze and cuss me out all you want..” he smiles, brushing his thumb against your baby bump.

you did cuss him out, but breaking his fingers, almost…

[ozzgin]

Greetings! How you doing today/tonight?

This is not a request or anything

Hopefully you're doing fine, cuz I'm not, I have a shitty cold rn and I just finished 5 tissue roll papers in just a few hours

Anyway this ain't about me, just wanted to see how you were doing since I've been a bit inactive with tumblr with the past few days

Have a great day/night :3

-🎧anon

Aww, sorry to hear that. We’re definitely entering cold/flu season. Mid-October I’ve gotten ill with some virus, no idea what it was, but I had no other symptoms other than terribly swollen sinuses. Which, in turn, pressed on my tooth nerves, so I had massive tooth pain for days. Never dealt with anything like that before and it sounds downright ridiculous, turns out it’s an actual thing. Start taking immunity supplements and avoid visibly sick people!

I know you said it’s not a request, but I couldn’t help the thought of “How would the Baki characters take care of you?” So I did write some short headcanons after all. For you and anyone else currently bedridden. :)

Baki Characters x Sick! Reader

Featuring Baki and Jack Hanma, Kaiou Retsu, Katsumi Orochi and Pickle. And a reader that’s battling a cold!

Baki Hanma

There are two stages of Baki’s involvement. Once you’re not answering his calls he will be at your front door, worried and considering ways to break in. That’s when he hears the muffled coughing and sneezing through the walls and figures it out: You’re sick. He’ll return with a bag of supplies and offer to stay at your place until you feel better. His help consists of quick Google searches, because he’s never had anyone doting on him and consequently has no idea how to care for someone in such situations.

Second and final stage is him getting sick from you. You’ll wake up in the middle of the night to see him trying to hold back his cough, at first denying his poor health until you touch his forehead and it’s burning. The bad news is that you’re both bedridden. Baki is beyond embarrassed, attempting to justify himself and explaining it has never happened before. Eventually one of his or your friends will show up and pay the occasional visit to play nurse. At least you’re not suffering alone. You’re not sure if it’s an actual saying, but you’re tempted to believe colds go away faster in good company.

Jack Hanma

You don’t want to interfere with Jack’s routine, so once you wake up with the familiar sore muscles, you decide to quietly recover from home. Jack notices your absence and while he does not want to be nonchalant and potentially impose on your personal troubles, he can’t help the curiosity. In fact, he spends the whole training time wondering why you’ve skipped your usual visits. So when you hear a knock on the door you don’t think twice about opening it. Probably your food delivery. Only when you notice Jack’s massive frame blocking any outside view, you gasp in surprise.

“Oh. You seem to be ill.” Is all he states before turning on his heels and leaving. You stand there baffled and eventually return to your warm bed. Just as you cozy up, there’s another knock and you groan, throwing the blankets off of you. This better be the hot soup you ordered. Except it’s Jack again, holding not only your delivery, but also multiple other bags with groceries peeking out. “Y-you’re back?” You mumble. “Well, can’t do much empty handed. Here’s your order, but I got some extra things to help with your cold”, he states as he invites himself in.

Kaiou Retsu

You know Retsu will be worried about you, so you try your best to mask the symptoms over the phone. “That’s a stuffed nose. Are you sick?” He immediately points out. Uh oh. You fumble with some excuses and he promptly hangs up. Have you upset him? You’re starting to feel bad. He’s never dropped out of a conversation like this before. You try to call back several times until you’re distracted by the sound of your doorbell. You’re not in the mood for visitors. You continue your attempts to reach Retsu as you approach the door and open it. “I suspected as much.” Your head snaps up hearing the familiar voice.

Before you can say anything, you’re casually lifted up and brought to your bed. As if he’s been doing it his entire life, the Kenpo master tucks you in and pulls out an apron from his bag. “I’ll check what ingredients you already have in your pantry and go buy the rest. Before that, I’ll make you a tea. Any preferences?” You open your mouth to speak, but he’s already walking away, describing the best choice of drink for the common cold. Really, the best thing you can do right now is to rest and leave everything else to him.

Katsumi Orochi

Usually, Katsumi will avoid using the spare key you’ve given him. On the other hand, he was supposed to pick you up for your regular date night and you haven’t answered his persistent knocking, so you leave him little choice. He quietly apologizes for the intrusion as he unlocks the door and tiptoes his way in. The lights are off and he’s becoming increasingly anxious, almost sprinting to your bedroom. He stops in his tracks once he sees you buried under the blankets, passed out and sweaty from an obvious cold.

Ah. Well, that makes sense. He smiles to himself and gently pats your forehead to make sure it’s nothing serious, then sneaks out of the room. You wake up hours later, groggy and sore. It suddenly occurs to you that you’ve slept through your date and jolt up, nearly collapsing in the process. You erratically search for your phone and call Katsumi to apologize. Simultaneously you hear his ringtone nearby, so you limp outside, confused. As you reach the kitchen, a pleasant smell invades your nostrils. Katsumi turns to look at you. “You’re awake! I made something to help with your cold. I’ll bring it to your bed, so you can go back and rest. We can’t skip our romantic dinner.” He chuckles after the last statement.

Pickle

Pickle has been ill at least once in his life, so he can quickly guess that your coughing and runny nose is not something that’s supposed to happen on the regular. Although, if he’s honest, he has no idea what he should do. He’d deal with his sickness by just sleeping it out, or downright ignoring it. Seeing you like this, however, fills him with an overwhelming desire to help you. He does love you, after all. Witnessing your suffering isn’t something he does with ease.

He manages to gesture the situation to Baki, who follows him back to your place and proceeds to do the first aid he’d sporadically learned over the years. A rather clumsy attempt, but it’s better than nothing. Once Pickle has observed the steps, he swiftly shoos the young boy away. All he needed was a little bit of demonstration, some brief instruction on the modern ways. Everything else will be done by him. It’s only proper that the actual care is performed by your partner. You’re a little afraid of the potential outcome to this experiment. Especially once you hear the loud rattles coming from the kitchen. Don’t worry, it’s all made with love.

*My partner has insisted that I include Yuujirou Hanma just to say that he’d tenderly piss on you. I compromised on a footnote.

[ask-campkids-ii]

Welcome To The Meeple Insanity Camp!

Welp… the kids have been begging me to make an account for like 3 hours now so might as well ig :/ -Mephone4

For a small introduction, The Meeple Insanity Camp —or MIcamp for short (it’s pronounced like me-camp)— is an overnight camp for kids grades 3-8 to learn different skills to help them in the wilderness, learn about tech, and socialize and have fun with their peers. Not everyone came though :( -Mepad

Eh, it doesn’t matter! We’re gonna have plenty of fun without them! >:D -Mephone4s

~~~~~

Heya guys! I’m the creator of this au @answithvanzz! Here with more stuff about the blog and au

TW for:

swearing, character death (totally not spoilers), bug imagery, hallucinations (warnings will be added to every post that needs ‘em, these are not all of the warnings)

SUUUUPER short explanation:

My Campkids revolves around the s1-2 contestants as children in the summer between grades 3-8 to grades 4-9 going to summer camp, keep in mind that some of the kids will be ooc, I’m not the best at writing characters (plus they will be different in the au and are based around my hcs)

Where’s the s3 cast?

they do exist in the au, but none of the iii joiners attend MIcamp, and the ones that play a bigger role in the au are just staff

Ships?

prolly not with the kids, even if there were ships between the kids, it would only be between the middle schoolers (like maybe payjay, since they’re both 8th graders in the au)

however Lifering x Tk is canon in the au

Rules for asks:

Nothin’ much, just don’t be weird please ^^

also please don’t expect your questions to be answered immediately, I can only answer when I’m online, and can only make the little arts when I have my ipad

Up for asks: (it’s a long list)

Staff:

Mephone4

Mephone4s

Mepad

Tea Kettle

Lifering

Floory

Campers:

Apple (gr 4-5)

Balloon (gr 4-5)

Baseball (gr 5-6)

Knife (gr 6-7)

Lightbulb (gr 7-8)

Marshmallow (gr 4-5)

Nickel (gr 5-6)

Paintbrush (gr 8-9)

Cheesy (gr 5-6)

Cherries (gr 3-4)

Fan (gr 7-8)

Microphone (gr 6-7)

Soap (gr 5-6)

Suitcase (gr 4-5)

Test Tube (gr 8-9)

Tissues (gr 3-4)

Trophy (gr 6-7)

Yin-Yang (gr 3-4)

Bomb (gr 8-9)

OJ (gr 8-9)

Paper (gr 8-9)

Pepper (gr 7-8)

Pickle (gr 6-7)

Salt (gr 7-8)

Taco (gr 6-7)

[mochi-owos]

Meeting genshin men at your local grocery store?!

Childe, Itto, Kaeya, Alhaitham, Ayato x Reader

To be honest, the job itself wasn’t too bad. Pretty normal actually. Aside from the few weirdos that have been walking in lately..

Inspired by @abyssruler’s 7/11 Diaries! (One again written in the depths of night, so I apologize for the errors and tbh it’s kinda bad 😰)

Childe:

You could do this! Self belief! Stay awake! Your shift was almost done, 2am on the clock and two more hours to go. Everything was pretty mundane, occasionally mopping the floor, checking the stock, handling the (basically unused) register— all mundane with the lack of people. But today a real odd ball walked in: ginger hair, roughed clothing, tussled hair, and oh- the massive nose bleed dripping down onto his clothes.

He walks through the store so calmly - it’s almost startlingly - he strolls through the isles putting random items, then walks up to the counter. He grins, "Well hello there, I didn’t know such a pretty thing would be working at a time like this." He says, all while blood is still dripping down his nose.

You blink once, you blink twice, you take the basket and start scanning, "It’s too early in the morning for this.." You mumble, tired eyes fumbling with the unreasonably items. The prices of each individual item would send you into cardiac arrest, but all in all? Fucking nuts. How does he even have money? Have you seen the economics state of the world?

Your words only make him laugh, as you look up at him your gaze fuses on his bloody nose, "You’re bleeding."

"I know." He smiles.

"O," You blink slowly once more. "Want a tissues or something?”

He raises a brow, "Ha! You’re pretty funny, you know! Most workers get scared!" He laughs, watching intently as you pack away his items handing them to him.

You look him in the eyes, "I don’t get paid enough."

From that day since he’d often come to the store chatting with you, all while buying odd products. At this point you were starting to think it’s all to speak with you, I mean— Instant rice and pickles? You raised a brow, almost like a mind reader he spoke,

"My friend dropped his phone in the toilet so we’re doing the rice method, and the pickles is for me, nice snack."

Isn’t the rice method supposed to be bad? “Why don’t you just go to a repair shop?"

"Hes quirky like that."

"Just leave."

At some point you started seeing him outside the shop, he also goes to the same university as you. Which did make sense seeing at though he looked your age, but what surprised you the most is that he’s pretty well know. So now you started to wonder how you hadn’t heard about him. Maybe it’s because you have no friends— that’s a problem. You’ll need some of those.. you guess. Now that you think about it, you never got his name. How odd.

Itto:

It was very much valid for you to assume that the man before you was drunk. He was awfully loud (so much so you could hear him from five blocks down), he talked funny, and so did he act the same.

As you tiredly rub your eyes you to try shake yourself awake, there was still so much time until work was over. And with the shouting going on outside it was actually quite easy, most would be worried of a murder being what’s taking place outside but it was awfully normal for such screams, also the sound of drunk laughter easily disproves the thought of murder. A man -easily 7ft tall, White hair, super buff, his hair oddly whisked - trudges in, panic written all over his face. "WHERE IS YOUR RICE?" He asked anxiously.

"Excuse me?"

"I NEED RICE FOR MY PHONE." He jumped around in place, you point him towards the section and he runs off, few of his friends snicker while some look worried.

You wait around at the counter, it takes him a few minutes to gather what he needs, next time he comeback he has at least four small bags of rice and bandages. As you ring him up you hear the man speak with his friends,

"Do you think it’ll work?" One of his friends ask.

"I think so! I got the premium rice, and I think the bandages will work too!" He smiles.

"For.. your phone?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing.." his friends mumble, stifling a laugh.

You simply shake your head at such idiocy, but then again you can understand, repair shops are unbelievably expensive and half the time it gets even more broken. But your action seems to have caught the man’s attention, gawking he turns to his friends, “THEYRE SO HOT.”

From that day forward he constantly visited the shop, goofing around in the store in attempts to get your number.

"So, you like jazz?" He has this odd smirk on his face, almost as if that was his attempt to finesse you.

"Yes."

"Ah. You were supposed to say no."

"Sorry?"

Soon, Itto (his name, he had written it on a piece of paper and whilst paying for his newest purchase slipped it in) started being able to spot you on campus, following you around like a lost puppy. Perhaps you’ll slip in your number next time you give him change.. perhaps.

Kaeya:

To Kaeya you were hot, really fucking hot. Though you were kinda invisible that added to your charm, that or he just had a thing for total losers, he couldn’t tell. And for the most part you weren’t entire invisible, often seeing your name on the first board after grades come out, or even seeing you enrolled in competitions, or he’d see you studying in the library - looking so adorable- writing away at your notes. He thought you were utterly ethereal, and the need to get to know you was insatiable. His friends quite literally needing to hold him down from running up to you and scaring you away. So come to find out lovely ol’ you works at one of his favourite convince place he already had a plan brewing.

You drearily watch the clock, your body feeling as if it's numb. Your hands lazily drawing circles on the counter, starting to regret the fact you decided to work the graveyard shift. The ringing of the store bell waking you from your hazziness, a man dressed nicely came in: blue hair, blue eyes (odd combo, to be completely honest), dressed in what looked like ballroom clothing, his expression of.. smugness? Unyielding.

As you wait to ring him up you take out your phone and start scrolling through it, but soon you here light steps approaching placing your phone back in your pocket and take the items and start scanning. All as you do so the man watches you intently, and little too much.

”Can I help you with something, Sir?"

He raises a brow, "Sir? You don't think I'm that old, do you?!" He cried.

"No, Sir. I'm required to do this."

"So you think I look nice?"

"Sure."

"Would you go out with me?" Was that really his attempt at rizzing you up?

"Please just take your items and leave, Sir." (I'm saving you the embarrassment -and myjob-)

He couldn't stand it, no, he was determined-- he will rizz you up. You have to give him a chance! And so whenever you had a free moment you would see him walk up to you, it’s not that you minded his unbreaking tenacity, it was quite admirable actually.

"Hey!" He ran up to you, waving his hand. He stops in front of you weaving, "Trying to run away from me?"

"No. I’m hungry."

"Ah! The allow me to do the pleasure and buy you lunch."

"If you have money, sure.”

You were oh so happy, free food truly did taste the best. So while he got to know you you got full - and happy - tummy. Maybe you’ll actually let him take you out.

Al Haitham:

See, typically you were fine with customers, but this time you were utterly enthralled by this.. this asshole with a stick up his ass. You’d love to hop over the counter and give him a wack, but you refrain from doing so— he looked rich, and he was buff, you most definitely could not take him in a fight.

"It’s 14.55."

"I’m aware."

"I am in a rush, please let me pay already."

"Im sorry, Sir. I’m required to ring this all up."

"But I already told you, it’s 14.55." His eyes looked a bit agitated, his arms crossed.

"Sir, I am just doing my job."

"K."

To be honest, you didn’t really know what was coming out of his mouth after that, nor did you care, you simply nod, most of the “conversation” you looked at his.. uh, breast(s) pocket. You’d never see him again, what’s the harm?

You were wrong, so undeniably, unbelievably, wrong. Exactly 5 hours later you’d see him at the gym, staring at you, approaching you- wait, approaching you?? You look around the room, what do you do? How do you seem like you’re busy? Pull out you pho-?!

"Hey."

"Hello..? Do you need something?"

"Do you need help?"

"No."

"I’m helping you anyway."

"O."

And workout buddies you came to be, often meeting him during your workout sessions. You never really needed his help, but with his insistence you agreed. Sometimes even studying together.

"Are you stupid?"

"I think so, I’ve been talking with my doctor lately and-"

"I didn’t mean it literally."

"Ah."

With exams coming up you’ve been seeing each other a lot more, and the study areas have been a lot more.. romantic? Close, cool mood lighting, cold- sometimes even his own house. But then again, maybe it’s just you.

Ayato:

This was absolutely fucking nuts. This guy was decked out— SO BAD. The Ayato Kamisato, one of the richest bachelors was before you, you couldn’t help but be a bad bit taken back. But regardless you tried your best to scan all his odd items.

For a hot bachelor his grocery items were really weird, and so fucking expensive you felt your heart clench.. you’ll need a break after this, maybe even a smoke (you’ve never smoked in your life and if you were to you were pretty sure you’d have an asthma attack).

His gaze wondered you curiously, has you handed him his groceries he smiled, leaving a.. 100$ TIP?? WHAT THE FUCK. WHERE DOES HE GET THIS MONEY? I THOUGHT WE WERE IN A RESCISSION. WHAT. Your eyes were massive, looking back up at him, "Uhm, Sir. I think you misplaced this bill.." as much as you wanted to keep it, you had morals (sadly), holding yourself to high principle.

"Oh, that was no mistake. I appreciate the fact someone like you is working at such an hour. Have a lovely morning." He waved and left.. someone like me? Is that an insult? Does he think I’m poor?

As you pondered what he meant you started seeing him more, and more. Always leaving a massive tip, does god.. love me? Your reactions always brining a smile to his face, and conversations with you always left him with a swelling in his chest, you were awfully funny.

"Here, a tip."

"Am I.. in more debt?" You tilt your head, "Do you want something from me?" Your eyes widen, "Is this perhaps your way of buying me? Is that what rich people do..? That’s what’s I heard.." mumbling the last part you look into the floor, bringing your hand up to fumble with your lip- in deep concentration.

He was so weird, people said he was cool. From what you can tell all he is a weirdo. Who tips this much? Who buys this much weird stuff? Isn’t he rich? Why doesn't he just get someone to get him groceries? Why does he look at you weird? Honestly, if he kept giving you this much money you might as well become his sugar baby (not that you would mind).

[nicohischierz]

our summer: nico hischier x player! reader 

quinn didn’t say anything as he and nico drove to his parents house. he had messaged his mother on the way that he had a guest on the way. 

when he arrived ellen gave nico a small smile before directing him towards the guest room she made up for him. “you guys will figure this out,” ellen told the boy, squeezing his hands. 

that night, nico researched the best ob/gyn in new jersey and asked some of the team for their recommendations.

nico spent the whole night talking to erik about how to prepare for a babies arrival. when asked if you were pregnant nico declined.

his response was “we just want to prepare ourselves for the future”

no one really believed him but they knew you’d tell them when the time was right.

nico wasn’t mad. no he was excited to be a father but he was disappointed in himself for not noticing how you felt back in switzerland.

because if he did then maybe you’d be cuddled into him and discussing baby names instead of sleeping on two different beds in two different places.

when quinn came back home you were in the kitchen, a jar of pickles open in front of you. “where did you go?” you asked, taking a bite of the sour vegetable. 

quinn thought about possibly lying to you but he decided against it. “nico stopped by,”

you faltered, almost droppping the pickle. but instead you just smiled at quinn and nodded. “i dropped him off at my mothers, you can talk to him tomorrow,” quinn offered.

“the coffee shop, at 10:30,” you mumbled before heading off to your room.

nico was at the coffee shop before you arrived. he pulled out a chair and made sure you had everything.

“i’m sorry,” he started.

“i’m sorry that i made you feel like you had to leave and do this one your own. i should’ve payed more attention to you, my mum told me you weren’t acting like yourself but i thought it was because of the contract,”

nico leaned across and grabbed your hands, enclosing them in his.

you didn’t say much.

you just stared at him.

“i want to keep it,” you managed to get out.

“jack said i can stay with him and luke. nico, i’m not going to force you into taking care of the baby if you don’t want to but i want this,” you rambled.

nick squeezed your hands.

“i want to do this with you. if there was anyone in the world that i was going to start a family with, i’d want it to be you,” he answered.

that evening, nico moved his bags into your room and quinn and jack’s lake house. the three brothers gave nico a lecture on how to act.

when the two of you were getting ready to go to bed, you called your coach and told him you were pregnant. he congratulated you and then informed the two of you that you’d have to go speak to hr about what the plan was.

the next people to find out were alex turcotte, trevor zegras and cole caufield as they arrived at the lake house soon after you and nico. to your surprise, ty smith showed up at the door and you broke down.

the group all looked towards a frightened ty and then to a laughing jack. nico also tried smothering a laugh but it didn’t work.

“i’m sorry, it’s the hormones,” you excused yourself to grab a tissue.

alex caught onto it first. despite your attempts to hide alex managed to make out the little bump you had growing.

“no way!” he exclaimed, running over and giving you a hug.

the other three just looked at you and alex in confusion. it wasn’t until alex asked to put his hand on your stomach did they understand the situation.

“you’re pregnant?”

“you two are going to be parents!”

“congratulations!”

they all exclaimed clambering to give you a hug. you welcomed all of them, holding onto ty a bit longer than the others.

“listen right now you guys and the organisation are the only people who know. so please, i am begging you not to say anything until i announce it,” you pleaded.

they all nodded.

trevor kept staring between your stomach and your ankles. “did you know your ankles swell up,” he blurted.

[oscconfessions]

I don't like: ComedyGold (Trophy x Cheesy) MicroKnife (Microphone x Knife) Picrophone (or whatever it's called ((Pickle x Microphone)) TissYang (Tissues x YinYang) Anything involving Tissues (burn at the stake please)

.

[ereardon]

My Girl [Chapter 18][Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC]

Summary: Jake Seresin could be the answer to all of your dating woes. He’s the full package: steady job, mature, dependable, attractive to a fault. The polar opposite of every guy your age and he’s everything you’ve ever wanted in a partner. But there’s one roadblock: he’s a single father to four-year-old Ellie. Jake is looking for a level of commitment you’re not quite sure you’re ready to give, and he’s not willing to bring someone into his daughter’s life who isn’t there for the long haul. And even if you are stepmom material, is Jake ready to let someone back in his life while still mourning the recent loss of his late wife? 

Pairing: Jake “Hangman” Seresin x OC [Lawyer Natalie West]

WC: 7K

Warning: Age gap, cursing, pregnancy, childbirth, mention of vomit

Series masterlist here

Please fill out this form here to join my tag list

Three Years Later

“Mrs. Seresin?” 

You turned with a smile on your face. “Yes?” 

“Doctor will see you now.” 

You nodded and pushed yourself up out of the chair. At thirty seven weeks pregnant, that alone was a feat. “Come on peanut,” you said to Ellie. 

She looked up with a grin and closed her book. Ellie loved joining your ultrasound appointments, especially when, like today, Jake couldn’t make it. 

In the room, you laid down on the table and pulled your shirt up, bunching it under your bra. The doctor sat down on her beige rolling stool and gave Ellie a smile. “How you doing, Ellie?” he asked. “How’s school?” 

“Good!” she said cheerily, eyes trained on the screen. Dr. Mason grabbed the abdominal wand and pressed it against your basketball-sized bump. 

“Alright, let’s see here,” he murmured, scooting in closer. “Baby’s measuring great, around eight pounds. That’s a healthy little man in there,” he said and you smiled. Ellie stood up and came to stand next to the bed, her eyes zeroed in on the baby on the monitor. “How are you feeling? Any Braxton Hicks?” 

You shook your head. “Not really. Can’t sleep at all and my heartburn makes me want to burn buildings down but other than that I’m alright.” 

He laughed. “Heard that before.” 

“Do you think I’ll make it to my due date on the ninth?” you asked quietly. 

“Well,” Dr. Mason said, “babies tend to come when they want. But I don’t see anything that would make me concerned for an early delivery.” He pulled the wand off of your belly and wiped at the leftover gel with a tissue. “That said, take it easy. And if you have any sudden symptoms like increased heart rate while stationary, or if you feel light headed, I need you to call my office, OK?” 

Ellie’s hand came out and grabbed yours and you squeezed it reassuringly. “Don’t worry, peanut,” you said softly. “Your little brother and I are going to be just fine.” 

***

“Dr. Mason said everything is good,” you murmured, running your fingers along your expanded belly.

“That’s great to hear honey.” Jake’s voice was a little crackly on the phone.

“Any more info on when you’ll be home?” you asked. 

“Still nothing,” Jake said quietly, “but I’m hoping next week. Can you two hold on that long for me?”

The baby kicked and you rubbed the skin over that spot. “We’re doing our best.” 

“How’s Ellie?” he asked. 

“She’s good. Phoenix took her to a movie this afternoon and she and Bob made dinner together which was really sweet.” 

Jake sighed. “I miss her. And you.” He paused. “All three of you.” 

You smiled. “We miss you, too.” 

There was a beeping in the distance from Jake’s end. “Sweetheart, I gotta run. I love you, I'll try to call you when I can, OK?” 

“I love you too,” you whispered. “Be safe for me.” 

“Always am, honey. Goodnight.” And then the line clicked and he was gone. You sighed, leaning back against the bed, waiting a few moments to psych yourself up enough to get out of bed and go downstairs for a snack. 

In the kitchen, you started to pull out an assortment of foods from the fridge — pickles, leftover pasta, an orange — placing them all on the dark granite counter. As you went to close the fridge door, you jumped. “Shit!” 

Bob stood behind the door in a pair of pajama bottoms and a long sleeve shirt, his hair slightly askew. “Sorry!” he said, hands in the air. 

You let out a breath and leaned one hand against the counter. “It’s fine, just didn’t expect you.” 

“I heard a noise, wanted to check and make sure you were OK.” 

Jake had asked Bob to stay with you and Ellie while he was on his three-week deployment. He had put in a formal request to defer the mission, but it was declined and he reluctantly went, pressing a kiss to your forehead in the doorway the morning he left, with tears in his eyes. He was terrified to miss a single moment of your pregnancy. You had told him it was fine, you would be fine. But the truth was, you were terrified, too. You didn’t have to tell him that, however. He didn’t need that added stress. You had simply told him that you loved him, and you would see him soon. 

You smiled and opened the pickle jar, digging out a fork and stabbing one. 

“I’m fine,” you murmured. “But thanks for checking.” 

Bob nodded. He turned to leave, but you stopped him. 

“Bob?” 

“Yeah?” 

You stepped forward and pulled him into a hug the best you could with the belly. His hands wrapped around you carefully, like you were going to break. That’s how all of the daggers treated you, even Rooster. Hugging you while you were pregnant was like holding fine China. “Thank you,” you whispered against his shoulder. “For staying. For everything.” You pulled away and wiped at your eyes. “We couldn’t have done it without you.” 

Bob smiled. “It’s no problem, Natalie.” 

“Seriously,” you said, brushing away the hormonal tears. “Not sure how I got so lucky, but I did.”

“It’s what you do for family,” Bob said quietly and you almost broke down into tears again. 

But you stifled them back and gave him a grin. 

“Goodnight, Nat,” he said softly, turning toward the door. 

“Night, Bob.” 

You leaned over the kitchen counter, eating your midnight snacks. Once the pregnancy was confirmed, you and Jake had tearfully sold his old house, upgrading to a larger one with enough room for Ellie and the baby and a spare few bedrooms for when the daggers inevitably fell asleep on your couch. You missed the wrap-around porch and the memories from the old house, but Jake had slid his arms around your waist, rested his chin on your head as you watched the movers pack up the last boxes and murmured into your ear, “We’ll make new memories, baby. Any place I’m with you is home.” 

***

It started in the middle of the night. One minute you were asleep, the next you were sitting straight up in bed, a shooting pain rippling across your midsection. 

“Fuck,” you muttered to yourself, leaning over and grabbing your phone to check the time. 2:05 a.m. You leaned back against the pillows, waiting for another pain to strike. Fifteen minutes later, you felt the rippling pain again. 

Hauling yourself out of bed, you slid on a robe and eased the door open, wandering down the long hallway to the very last door and knocking gently before pushing it open. 

“Bob?” you whispered. 

The aviator jolted awake, sitting up and reaching for his glasses instantly. When he spotted you in the doorway, frazzled, he stood up immediately and crossed the room. “Natalie? What’s wrong?” 

You grimaced. “I think I’m having contractions.” 

“Shit,” he muttered, running a hand down his face. “Are you sure?” 

You nodded. “I’ve never done this before, but yeah, I think so.” 

“OK.” Bob jiggled his leg for a second. “I’m going to call the Admiral, see if he can get word to Jake’s squad and get him released. You go get your bags packed and wake up Ellie.” 

“We shouldn’t leave until they’re like five or six minutes apart,” you said. “That’s what the books tell you.” 

“Got it. In that case, you get your bag packed, leave it in your room, I’ll bring it downstairs. See if you can go relax and I’ll come check on you once I’m off the phone, will let you know what they say.” 

“Let’s let Ellie sleep,” you said softly. “We can wake her when it’s time to go.” 

Bob nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good.” 

He turned to grab his phone and your voice stopped him. “Bob?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I’m scared.” 

Bob pulled you into a hug, his large hands warm on your back. “I know. You got this, mama.” 

The sun peeked its head over the horizon as you groaned, tossing your head back against the couch. Bob was frantically running around the house in his socked feet, trying desperately not to wake Ellie as he gathered your bags and loaded them into his truck, packing snacks in the kitchen, trying repeatedly to get in touch with Jake’s squadron. 

You bit back a moan as another contraction ripped through your side, eyes scrunched, when you felt the couch jiggle next to you. 

“Mama?” Ellie’s tiny voice pulled you out of your haze and you opened your eyes. 

Ellie sat in her red pajamas on the couch cushion, her feet tucked up beneath her, worry across her face. “Hey peanut,” you murmured. 

“Is the baby coming?” 

You nodded. “Yeah, he is.” 

Her mouth formed a little “O” shape. “What should I do?” 

You and Jake had talked extensively about what to do to prepare for the baby. He had been so excited, mapping different routes to the hospital depending on the time of day. Jake had his overnight hospital bag packed since your sixth month, just waiting near the door. He and Bradley had set up the nursery and had gone to the store to stock it with everything you might need: diapers, rash cream, a white noise machine. 

Meanwhile, you and Jake had initiated several conversations with Ellie about what it would be like to welcome a baby into the house. You had read book after book about how to add another sibling into a household, and what to do to make sure Ellie felt important despite all of the attention a newborn would undoubtedly take. 

What you hadn’t done was explain to her what was going to happen when you went into labor. 

You reached out a hand and brushed her hair back softly. 

“Have Uncle Bobby help you get a sleepover bag ready,” you said. “One change of clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, underwear. And then some stuff to occupy your time like some books or a game or your iPad.” Her eyes lit up. You and Jake only let Ellie have thirty minutes of iPad time a night in the living room after dinner. “Make sure you bring the charging cord, OK? It’s cold outside, so pack a jacket.” 

She nodded and stood up from the couch. As you leaned back against the cushions, Ellie paused in the doorway. “I’m excited,” she said and you gave her a tired smile. 

“Me too, El.” 

Ellie skipped off upstairs and you looked down at your phone. No new messages. You slid your thumb over the home page and pulled up Cassie’s contact. 

“Cass?” 

“Nat?” She yawned. “What is it? It’s like six in the morning.” 

“I’m in labor.” 

“You’re WHAT?” Cassie’s voice was so loud you had to pull the phone away from your ear with a grimace. 

“I’m in labor,” you repeated. “And Jake is still on his mission and we haven’t been able to get in touch with him.” 

“Oh, sweetie,” she said, her voice a lower, more normal register now. “Honey, we’ll be right there, OK. Brad! Brad! Get the fuck up, we gotta go home.” 

“Cass,” you whispered into the phone. You could hear Bradley in the background zipping up suitcases. They were in Santa Barbara for the weekend and you felt guilty they were rushing home, but you needed Cassie. You needed all of them.

You needed Jake. 

“I’m fucking terrified,” you admitted. 

“I know you are,” she said. “Cross your legs and keep that little boy in there. We’re leaving now, it’s a five hour drive. Bradley!” She shouted. “You’re gonna get us there in four, right baby?” 

You heard Bradley’s deep voice on the other end. “Anything for Nat and my little nephew in there.” 

You smiled. “I love you guys,” you said. 

“We love you, too,” Cassie replied. “Tell Bob to call me with updates, OK? We’ll see you soon, Smalls.” 

“Bye, Cass.” 

***

Three hours later, the contractions were officially five minutes apart and you called for Bob who helped you into the passenger seat of his truck, Ellie packed up in the back with the bags. 

Bob dropped the two of you off at the front door and swung around for a parking spot. The nurses settled you into a L&D room, and you sent up a silent prayer that it was a private room. 

“What did the doctors say?” Bob demanded as he stepped through the door, carrying Ellie’s pink duffle bag and your green Goyard tote stuffed with distraction material: books, a bluetooth speaker, a mini chess board, a cooling towel. 

You shook your head. “Haven’t seen anyone yet, they’re just getting me prepped.” 

The nurse managing your monitors smiled. “You must be Dad.” 

Ellie laughed from where she sat on the couch in the corner. You smiled while Bob flushed with embarrassment at the mix up. “No, this is my friend, Bob. My husband is on deployment, we’re trying to get in touch with his squadron.” 

The nurse touched your arm gently, looking at you with soft eyes. “Ok, dear, let’s get you hooked up.”

It didn’t matter how many books you had read or the number of birth classes you went to, nothing could prepare you for birth. Not the discomfort of the IV, or the sweeping nausea that caused you to grab the bucket that Bob held out and vomit until you felt weak. 

Nothing could have prepared you for the sinking feeling that with every minute that passed you were more and more sure Jake wasn’t going to make it home to see his son being born. 

You had just shut your eyes, Bob and Ellie had gone down to the hospital cafeteria to get something to eat for lunch, when you heard a knock on the door. 

“Nat?” 

Your eyes flew open. Cassie stood in the doorway, eyes wide. “Cass.” 

She was on the bed next to you in an instant, her arms wrapped around your shoulders, and you felt salty warm tears rolling down your cheeks, landing at your lips. You didn’t even realize when you had started crying. 

Cassie pulled away and wiped at your face. “We made it.” 

You laughed. “You’re probably too early. Doctor said I’m only four centimeters dilated.” 

“How much is that?” Bradley grinned as he entered the doorway, carrying a vase of flowers. He leaned down and kissed your cheek and then proceeded to make a home for the flowers on the table next to the couch. 

You rolled your eyes. “The size of a walnut.” 

“Jesus, what kind of small ass head is this kid going to have?” Bradley teased and you laughed while Cassie threw him an annoyed look. 

“Brad!” 

“Cass!” he mocked and you laughed again. They were perfect together. 

“Uncle Rooster!” Ellie launched herself into Bradley’s arms and even though she was eight-years-old now and definitely not as light as she once was he caught her in midair perfectly, spinning her in a circle before pulling her in tightly and planting her back on the ground. 

“Hey honey,” he said softly. “How’s my favorite girl doing?” 

“We had pancakes for lunch!” 

You gave Bob a look and he simply shrugged. “Weird day, Nat. Can’t the kid have breakfast for lunch?” 

“Anything goes today I guess,” you sighed. 

“Have you heard from the squad?” Bradley asked. 

Bob shook his head. “Talked to Mav, but that’s it.” 

“Let’s try them again,” Bradley said, walking over to Bob and clapping his hand on the aviator’s shoulder. “We’ll be right back.” 

The two men exited the room and Ellie picked up her book, curling back up on the couch. Cassie dragged a chair next to the bed and plopped down. 

“Sorry to interrupt your weekend,” you said with a frown.

“Shut up,” Cassie said. “You know there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” 

“Because hospital cafeteria food is so much better than the food at the Ritz.” 

She rolled her eyes. “How bad is it?” 

You shrugged. “Not pleasant, I’ll give you that. I already puked twice. Poor Bob had to hold the bucket for me.” 

Cassie grimaced. She hated vomit. “Thank God I got here when I did. Would have hated to see that.” 

You snuck a peek over at Ellie before turning your gaze back to Cassie. “What if he doesn’t make it, Cass?” You paused. “I don’t think I can do it alone.”

She grabbed your hand, the one that didn’t have the IV, and squeezed. “He’s gonna make it, babe. Jake would never miss this.” 

“What if they don’t get to him in time or he’s flying and doesn’t even get the call?” You were starting to panic. 

“Shh,” Cassie said, sitting up and brushing the hair off of your face. “Take a deep breath. If, by some horrible terrible worst last case scenario, Jake doesn’t get here, you won’t be alone. You have me and Ellie and Brad and Bob. And we fucking love you, Smalls.” She smiled down at you. “And we love that little bug in there, so just know you’re not alone, babe. You have a room full of people who love you. You can do this.”

“I needed that,” you sighed. “Thank you.” 

Bradley and Bob burst back into the room. 

“We have an update,” Bradley said. Your fingers locked onto Cassie’s. “We spoke to Admiral Simpson and they were able to get a call onto Jake’s ship. He knows you’re in labor and they’re making plans to lift him out as soon as possible.”

“Thank God,” you muttered. 

Another contraction started to build in your midsection and you groaned, leaning forward. Bob immediately reached for the bucket and Cassie’s eyes widened into saucers, pushing back in her chair. You grimaced, a small moan leaving your body, and once it was done you leaned back, waving away the empty bucket. 

“I’m fine,” you panted. 

Bradley stood in the door, frozen. 

You laughed a little at him. “Bradley, what did you expect?” 

He shook his head. “I don’t know, didn’t really think about it too carefully if I’m being honest.” 

“How about you and Cass take Elle home for a bit?” you asked. “It’s gonna be a while. Maybe watch some TV, take a nap, come back in a few hours? I’ll call you if anything changes.” 

They nodded and you turned to Bob. 

“Honey?” you said softly. “You should go, too.” 

He shook his head, glasses slipping down his nose slightly. “I’m not leaving you alone.” 

“I’ll be fine,” you assured him. “I’m asking too much of you to be here the whole time.”

Bob looked exhausted. You could see it in the bags under his eyes, the frazzled way he kept running his fingers through his hair. But you also knew he wouldn’t leave you there by yourself.

Bradley clapped his hand on Bob’s shoulder. “How about this? Floyd, you go home with the ladies. Take a nap, take a shower, make some dinner. I will stay with Mrs. Seresin over here.” He winked at you. “How’s that sound?” 

Relief flooded your body. Cassie reached over and kissed Bradley and Bob acquiesced, grabbing his car keys from the side table. Ellie approached the bed and laid one hand on your belly. You reached over and stroked her hair. “Bye, sweetie, go have fun with Aunt Cassie and Uncle Bobby.” 

She nodded and followed Cassie out the door. Bob shot you one final look and you smiled at him reassuringly. 

Bradley settled into the chair that Cassie had pushed away a few minutes earlier. 

“Just you and me, Smalls,” he said. Bradley had adopted the nickname Cassie had for you. 

“You didn’t have to stay,” you murmured. 

“Jake would kick my ass if I left his girl alone giving birth,” Bradley said. His warm eyes locked on yours. “He’ll make it, Nat. I promise.” 

“He’ll never forgive himself if he doesn’t make it back in time,” you whispered. “I know him. It’ll tear him apart.” 

Bradley shook his head. “He’ll make it.” 

You nodded before another contraction started and your face scrunched up in pain, fingers tightly gripping the white hospital bed sheets. 

“What do I do?” he whispered, panicked. 

“Give me your hand,” you groaned and Bradley stood up, inching toward the bed and you reached out, taking his enormous hand into yours, bearing down until you heard him choke back a muffled yelp. 

When it was done, you let go, panting, and Bradley shook out his hand. “Fuck, you should enter arm wrestling contests, Smalls,” he chuckled. 

“Sorry.” Your voice wobbled and Bradley caught it immediately.

“Hey.” Bradley wrapped his arms around you from behind, his lips pressing a small kiss onto your temple. You started to cry, softly, as Bradley held you in his arms. “You’re doing so good, Nat. You’re a fucking superstar.” 

You sagged in Bradley’s arms. He was the best replacement for Jake that you could think of, but he wasn’t the real thing. Once your tears dried, Bradley pulled away and sat back down on the chair. 

“If he couldn’t be here for this part,” Bradley said softly. “I’m really glad I get to be.” 

Bradley leaned down and took your hand, pressing a kiss to the back and you giggled. “Don’t make me cry again, please.” 

He shook his head. “Never.” 

***

The sun was setting by the time Cassie, Ellie and Bob returned. You had progressed to seven centimeters. Bradley had quickly stepped into the partner role, rubbing your shoulders, whispering positive affirmations in your ear through the contractions. 

“How you doing, babe?” Cassie asked. 

“I’m fine,” Bradley replied and she shot him a look. “I meant Nat.” 

You and Bob laughed. Bradley grinned sheepishly. 

“I’m fine, guys,” you said. “Hey, El, how are you?” You patted the bed and she slid onto it next to you, one hand on the bump. You looked up. “Do you guys mind leaving us alone for a minute?” 

They nodded and left the room. You stroked Ellie’s hair softly. 

“Ellie,” you said quietly. She looked up at you. “I just want you to know that your daddy and I love you very much. I know it’s going to be a big transition to have a little brother, but nothing is going to change in terms of how much we love you. Does that make sense?” 

She nodded. “I know.” 

“We’re still going to do all of our own special things,” you whispered with a smile. “Getting our nails done and going to the beach to eat ice cream. That’s all you and me, kid.” 

Ellie’s hand flattened against your stomach. “What are you going to name him?”

You and Jake hadn’t been able to settle on a name. It had been a long debate over the last nine months. “What name do you like?” 

She thought about it for a minute. “I like Henry.” 

You paused and looked down at her. It was perfect. “I like Henry, too,” you said and Ellie beamed. “Let’s ask your dad when he gets here, OK? But if he’s OK with it, so am I.” 

“When’s daddy getting here?” 

You shook your head, arm tightening around her middle. “I don’t know, baby. I wish I knew.” 

“I hope he gets here soon.” 

“Me too,” you said. “Or else your Uncle Bobby is coming into the delivery room with me and that might scare him too much.” 

“Can I come in?” Ellie asked. 

“I don’t think you want that, honey,” you laughed. “Wait until you have a baby, if you want one. I think it’s something you only need to experience, not view.” 

She nodded. “OK.” 

Just then, another contraction hit and you winced. The monitor started to beep. Ellie quickly unfurled herself from the bed and stood up. 

“Should I get Aunt Cassie?” 

You nodded. “Yes, please, honey.” 

Ellie tossed open the door and ran out into the hall. You clutched your stomach and grimaced, a few tears sliding down your cheek. You hadn’t wanted to do this alone, without Jake. 

The day you found out you were pregnant, you simply sat on the bathroom floor and cried. 

It was such a different experience from the time you had taken the pregnancy test in law school. Back then, you had been terrified it would be positive. You knew Sam was wrong for you. You knew your life would be uprooted. You wanted more for your child than the life you were willing to give them at that age. 

This time, it was different. You had Jake and Ellie and a life. You and Jake had talked about having kids, but in a casual way. Despite Ellie’s pleas to Santa for a little brother, the two of you had taken a lax approach to adding to your family. 

That’s why the two pink lines were such a shock. 

You couldn’t even stand when Jake knocked on the bathroom door and found you crumpled on the ground, back against the white wood cabinets. 

“Nat?” He rushed to where you were, took in the dampness of your cheeks. “Honey, what is it? What’s wrong?” 

You looked up at him. “I’m pregnant.” 

Jake’s jaw dropped. In a second, he was crouched in front of you, pulling you into his arms. “Oh my God, Nat,” he whispered against your hair. 

He pulled back, his green eyes on yours. 

“Are you happy?” he whispered. 

“Of course!” you said and Jake let out a sigh of relief, pulling you against him once more. 

“We’re having a baby,” he murmured, one hand stroking your back. “I love you so much.” 

***

The contractions were getting stronger. Bob’s hands rubbed circles against your back as you leaned forward with a grunt. 

“Where is he?” you cried, leaning back with a sob, your eyes filled with tears. It had been five hours since Bradley had spoken with Admiral Simpson. You had expected Jake to be there by now. 

“He’s on his way, Nat,” Bob whispered softly, taking a wet washcloth and pressing it to your temple. “I’m sure of it.” 

“I need Jake,” you sobbed, eyes screwed shut. Bradley and Cassie had taken Ellie out on a walk. She didn’t need to see this part of the labor. “I can’t do this without him.” 

“You’re doing great,” Bob said softly in your ear but you heard the pain in his voice. What he was trying so desperately to hide: he was afraid Jake wouldn’t make it, too. 

“I can’t!” you wailed. “I can’t do it without him.” 

“Nat, you have to,” Bob insisted, squeezing your hand. You looked at him through the tears. “You have to do this, whether he gets here or not. You’re strong, you can do it.” 

You leaned back, the contraction finally ebbing, and shook your head softly against the pillow. “Bobby, I can’t.” 

He leaned forward, his blue eyes glued to yours when the door opened. You both looked up eagerly, only to see the doctor. 

“How we doing, Natalie?” she asked sweetly and you let out a rough chuckle. 

“Awful, thanks Doc.” 

She laughed. “I know, but we have to ask. Alright, let’s check how things are going.”

Bob stayed near your head as the doctor sat down near your feet and checked your cervix. “You're eight centimeters,” she said. “Doing really nicely, Natalie. It’s going to happen soon, now. Could be half an hour, could be two hours. I’ll come back to check on you in thirty minutes but the nurse will be in around fifteen minutes from now.” She stopped and patted your hand. “You’re doing great.” 

Once the nurse was out of the room, you leaned back and dissolved into tears. Bob held your hand in his, stroking it gently with his thumb. 

“Do you want me to get Cassie?” he whispered. 

You shook your head. “No. Please don’t leave me.” 

Bob squeezed your fingers. “I promise.” 

The door swung open again and you turned, expecting the nurse. 

A full sob left your lips as you locked eyes with Jake. 

Jake rushed to the bed, wrapping his arms around you, kissing your head repeatedly like he was trying to convince himself you were real. “Baby, honey, I’m so sorry. Nat, I’m so sorry. I got here as fast as I could.” 

He pulled away, tears streaking down his face. Your fingers reached out to lace around his arm and you pulled him back closer, his lips locked on yours. 

“I love you,” he murmured, one hand reaching out to stroke your belly. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner.” 

“You’re here now,” you said, shaking your head. “That’s what matters.” 

Jake looked down at you, wiping his eyes. Then he looked across the bed at Bob. “Bob,” he said, walking around the edge of the bed and pulling the other man into a tight hug. You watched as Jake shook as he teared up in the embrace and when they pulled apart you thought you saw tears in Bob’s eyes as well. “Thank you, for everything,” he said softly. “It’s more than I should have ever asked.” 

Bob shook his head and looked at you. “You don’t have to thank me.” 

You sat up and Bob approached the bed. You pulled him into a hug the best that you could, your fingers soft against the back of his head. “Thank you, Bobby,” you whispered.

“Of course,” he said softly, squeezing your hand as he backed away from the bed. Jake gave him a pat on the back as he rounded the bed, headed out the door. “I’ll let Cass, Brad and Ellie know you’re here.” 

“Thanks, Bob,” Jake said softly. He returned back to his spot at your side, hands traveling all over your body: your hair, your arms, rubbing your back, one hand resting on your belly, gold wedding band catching and glinting with the overhead fluorescent light. Jake sighed. “Thank God I didn't miss it. It’s all a blur, baby. One second I was on the ship and then they called me in and said you were in labor and they were lifting me out and I blacked out. I just remember running to my cabin to pack my bag and then running through the hospital doors.” He looked down at his green flight suit. “I’m a little underdressed for the birth of our son.” 

You chuckled, just as another contraction started to rip through your abdomen. You hunched forward with a grunt, and Jake placed his hands on your shoulders, whispering to you. 

“You got this, honey. You’re so strong. Take a deep breath, baby.” 

A small tear slipped out of your eye as you leaned back against Jake. He was so solid. You could do this now. “It hurts, Jake,” you moaned. 

“I know it does, baby,” he said and you could see the pain in his eyes. How much it hurt him to watch you in agony. He rubbed your belly gently. “I’m so sorry.” 

You shook your head, the contraction dying down. “It’s OK, you’re here now.” 

The door swung open and a nurse sauntered in, eyes trained on Jake. “Oh,” she said. “You must be Dad, then.” 

You nodded. “This is my husband, Jake.” 

She gave him a long look and then smiled at you. “Now I see why you wanted him around. Although the guy who was in here earlier was cute, too.” 

You laughed through the pain. She lifted the sheet and peered between your legs before looking back up at you. 

“Alright, Natalie. Are you ready to have a baby?” 

You glanced at Jake. His eyes were glued on you. You smiled. “Let’s do it.” 

***

They didn’t call it the ring of fire for nothing. 

You had your legs pulled back, fingers tight beneath your knees. You dropped back against the pillows, sweating, and turned your head to the side to look at Jake. He wiped at your forehead with a towel and smiled. 

“You’re doing great, baby,” he whispered. “I’m so proud of you.” 

You shook your head. “One, Jacob. We’re having ONE baby. This is it, sir.” 

The nurses and your OB laughed near your feet and Jake grinned, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “One is plenty, sweetheart.” 

Another pain slammed into your side and you hunched forward with a yelp. 

“Alright, Natalie,” your doctor said, her head just barely visible past your belly. “It’s time to push. Dad, you’re going to want to see this. He’s crowning.” 

Jake let go of your thigh and moved down, his eyes wide. He looked up at you with a massive smile. “I see him!” 

“Great,” you gritted. “Can you tell him it’s fucking checkout time?” 

Jake laughed as you bore down with a scream, a truly guttural yell, and there was so much pressure you thought you were going to break in two until you saw Jake’s face light up. 

“That’s the head,” the doctor said. “Take a breath and then give me another push, Natalie. Ten seconds.” 

Jake scrambled back to his place near you, his hands on your leg, and you sobbed, shifting forward, giving it your all. “That’s my girl,” he whispered into your temple. “You got this, baby.” 

And then there was relief. And a cry. 

You looked down as the doctor held up a squirming baby. 

Your son. 

He opened his mouth wide in a shrill cry and you started to cry as the doctor lifted him into the air, placing him on your chest. You looked up at Jake as he cut the umbilical cord. 

“Henry,” you said softly and Jake looked at you with tears in his eyes. 

“Henry?” 

You nodded, stroking his tiny arm with your finger. “Ellie and I decided before you got here. Hope that’s OK.” 

Jake smiled. “It’s perfect.” He leaned over and pressed his lips to yours. “I love you.” 

You were so caught up with the tiny, wiggling, perfect baby in your arms that you forgot to respond for a moment. 

“Hi Henry,” Jake whispered softly. “Your mama and I are so happy to finally meet you.” 

You broke down in tears, cradling Henry to your chest, Jake’s arm wrapped around you, the three of you with your heads pressed together. When you pulled back, you reached out a finger and wiped at Henry’s cheek gently. “Hi honey,” you murmured. “It’s mama.” You looked up at Jake with a smile. “Thanks for waiting for everyone to get here to start the show, little man.” Jake chuckled softly next to you, one hand rubbing circles on your back, the other resting gently on Henry. 

“We love you so much, sweetheart,” you murmured to the now quiet baby on your chest. 

You closed your eyes for a split second. And when you opened them again, you watched the way Jake was gazing at his son. You wanted to memorize that look for the rest of your life. Keep it in the back of your mind forever. You’d never get enough of it. 

Jake smiled at you once he caught you staring. “You did so good, pumpkin,” he said, lips pressed to yours. “I’m so proud of my girl.” 

***

The doctor and nurses took Henry away to get him cleared up, and Jake helped you get changed and cleaned up. 

“I’m going to go get Ellie,” Jake said as you sat with Henry asleep in your arms.

A few minutes later, the door eased open and you looked up. Ellie’s hand was slotted into Jake’s, and he led her to the bed slowly. 

“Ellie, meet your brother Henry.” 

Her eyes flashed brightly and she looked at you. “Henry?” 

You nodded. “I think it fits, don’t you?” 

Ellie stepped closer to the bed. You nudged the baby in her direction. 

“You can touch him gently,” you said and she reached out a small hand, stroking his tiny one. Henry squirmed and Ellie pulled away. “It’s OK,” you said softly. “You’re doing great, honey.” 

She nodded and reached back out, slowly petting Henry’s head. “He’s so small,” she said quietly. 

You and Jake chuckled. “Yeah, he is,” Jake said. “You were this small once, too, peanut.” 

“What’s his middle name?” Ellie asked. 

You looked up at Jake. “Well, your dad and I hadn’t actually discussed it, but I like Jacob.” 

“Like daddy?” 

You nodded. “Exactly.” 

“I like it,” Ellie said, her eyes glued on Henry. She slid one finger over his hand and he grabbed it reflexively and she giggled. “He has my finger!” 

Jake put his hands on Ellie’s shoulders. “You ready to be a big sister, El?” 

She smiled up at him. “I love him already.” 

“Us too, baby,” Jake whispered, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. 

The three of you stared at Henry for a little while longer, Ellie’s tiny laugh filling the room as she shook hands with her baby brother. 

“OK, kid,” Jake said softly. “Let’s go get your aunt and uncles, OK? Let them meet their new nephew.” 

Ellie grinned and headed for the door. 

“Be right back, sweetheart.” 

And then it was just you and Henry, again. He looked like Jake, as much as a baby could look like anything. You knew he would grow up and charm everyone. You wanted him to grow up to be the kind of man his father was. To be the kind of person you had fallen so hard and fast for. 

You couldn’t wait to watch everything he would do and all that he would become. 

“Knock knock.” Cassie slid the door open slowly, her eyes wide. Bradley and Bob followed on her heels, along with Jake and Ellie, everyone filing into the room in a single line. Cassie wrapped one arm around your shoulder, leaning down and brushing a finger over Henry’s face. “Well, aren't you handsome?” 

“This is Henry Jacob Seresin,” you said with a smile. “Henry, meet your Auntie Cassie, your Uncle Bradley and Your Uncle Bobby.” 

They were all crowded around the bed. Looking up, your heart swelled as you watched these people who had become such an integral part of your life gaze down at the newborn in your arms. 

“Can I?” Cassie asked and you nodded, carefully transferring Henry into her arms. She cooed at him softly, sitting on the edge of the bed. “He’s perfect,” she whispered. “You guys did good.” 

“It was all Nat,” Jake said. “She’s a superhero.” 

You leaned back against the pillows. “When it’s your turn, Cass, get the epidural. I don’t care what anyone says.” 

She laughed gently. “Never a doubt in my mind, sweetheart.” Across the edge of the bed, you caught Bradley with tears in his eyes. Cassie must have noticed it too, because her face morphed. “Brad, honey?” 

He sniffled and pushed the tears away. “You’re a natural.” 

Cassie grinned. “Do you want to hold him?” 

Bradley shook his head. “Later. I’m enjoying the view a little too much right now.” 

“Ew,” Ellie said and Jake laughed. 

To your left, you felt Bob’s hand come down on your shoulder, his fingers squeezing you briefly. “How are you?” he asked quietly. 

“I’m good,” you whispered. “Thank you, Robert.” You paused. “Do you want to hold your godson?” 

He looked down at you with surprise and then over to Jake who nodded. “Godson?” 

“If you’ll accept,” you said. 

Bob nodded feverishly. “Of course. Yes.” 

Jake chuckled, approaching Cassie and carefully lifting Henry out of her arms. You watched as Jake seamlessly crossed the room with his newborn son in his arms, smiling down at the baby, before gently laying him in Bob’s outstretched hands. Jake helped him cradle Henry’s head, the rest of his body resting carefully in his long, strong arms. 

Bob gazed down at Henry with a mystified look that you recognized all too well. It was the way you sometimes caught Jake looking at Ellie. It was unfiltered adoration. Genuine and absolute happiness. 

***

Bradley and Cassie had gone back to their house after you finally shooed them away, taking Bob with them. They promised to return first thing in the morning with breakfast. 

Jake had taught Ellie how to hold Henry as the two sat on the couch across the room. She treated him like a porcelain doll, and you thought you might never get tired of watching the way she gazed at him. Or the way Jake looked at the both of them. 

It was late, and you had barely slept for going on twenty-four hours. But somehow, the adrenaline coursing through your veins made you forget that fact. 

So when Jake and Ellie fell asleep on the couch, Ellie curled into her father’s chest, one of his large hands wrapped around her back, holding her close, you couldn’t help but stare at them. How perfect they looked. 

And when Henry began to fuss where he sat in your arms, you shushed him quietly, rocking him gently until he was lulled back to sleep. 

It almost terrified you, how much you loved the three of them. More than you had realized was even possible. 

Holding your newborn son in your arms, watching your husband and daughter — you had officially adopted Ellie the day after the wedding — sleeping peacefully across the room, you felt truly whole for the first time in your life. 

You closed your eyes and thanked God it wasn't just a dream.

THE END 

A/N: This is the end, folks! Thank you so much for reading this series, I have absolutely adored writing it. I'm definitely happy to revisit Jake, Natalie, Ellie and Henry's lives in the future for drabbles down the road! xx

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[burgycreeper405-blog]

Rank 5 best ii ships

well sh1t

uhh

1. Metallic Salad (Knife x Mic x Pickle x Mp4)

2. Limegold Jokes (Trophy x Cheesy x Tissues)

3. Polyam Grand Slams (Baseball x Suitcase x Nickel x Balloon)

4. Hotel Trio (OJ x Paper x Soap)

and uuhhhhmmmm

5. i dunno Poly brightlights (Lightbulb x Paintbrush x Test Tube x Fan) i guess

had a bit of a hard time thinking of 5 lmao