Topic: First Look At Baby

Piper Granger

Date: 2014-10-13 05:33 EST
For someone who was usually so well organized, Piper had managed to wander straight into her second trimester without booking a scan. Of course, she couldn't be entirely blamed for that - between a Malamute, a Kneazle, and a wonderfully hyperactive half-Fae little girl, it was a wonder anything got done at all in this particular Granger household. Finally, however, she had organized it, and with Des on Lyneth duty - in other words, solely responsible for preventing the excited little girl from totaling the ultrasound suite - she'd made it to the clinic, where they were waiting to be called. Tucked between her parents, Lyneth was bouncing in her seat, one hand possessively on the burgeoning bump at her mother's waist, cheerfully informing the baby inside of everything that was going on in an embarrassingly loud voice.

As usual, Des was the epitome of calm and control in an otherwise hectic world. After all, this was a piece of cake for a man who had once been accustomed to the high-profile and highly stressful life of a big city prosecuting attorney. Even so, life in Rhy'Din was never boring, especially in the very lively household he shared with Piper, Lyneth, and their menagerie of pets and fairy-folk. If anyone back home had told him a few years ago that he'd be living this life, he'd have laughed in their faces, but the truth was Desmond was happier here than he'd ever been back in New York, and the two people sitting beside him were largely responsible for that happiness.

Despite his usual calm, Desmond couldn't help but share some of Lyneth's excitement at the prospect of getting a peek at the baby growing inside of Piper, her second child, but their first together. Though he wasn't Lyneth's biological father, he couldn't imagine loving her more if he was. He smiled an apology to the other patients in the waiting room and casually leaned toward the hyperactive little Fae girl to scold her gently. "Inside voice, Lyneth. We're not the only ones waiting."

"But the baby's more insider than we are, and it won't be able to hear me if I talks all little," Lyneth protested, patting Piper's belly affectionately. She turned and virtually bellowed at her mother's midriff. "Will you, baby' 'Cos you're all inside Mummy and there's all wet stuff, and you can't hear proper under water." Thankfully, the other expectant parents sat around them were relaxed enough to be indulgent of an over-excited child, but Piper still blushed as she shushed her daughter, exchanging an embarrassed smile with Des over Lyneth's head.

Des exchanged a patient and slightly amused smile with Piper, still leaning toward the little imp that was sat between them. "Lynnie, the baby can hear you just fine. People in the parking lot can hear you. Why don't you try getting really close to your Mum's tummy and whispering" The baby will hear you better that way." It was reverse logic of a sort, which sometimes worked and sometimes didn't, depending on Lyneth's mood.

This was given due consideration for what seemed to be an interminable couple of minutes before Lyneth frowned, conceding the logic in that. A moment later, Piper sighed as the little girl disappeared underneath her shirt, chuckling softly. Now no one could hear what Lyneth was saying, but there was a certain ticklish sensation of little lips and hot breath against her skin. She looked over at her husband with a resigned smirk on her full lips. "Is this an improvement?"

Des shrugged, mirroring the smirk on her face with one of his own. No matter how hard they tried, Lyneth always seemed to outwit them one way or another. "She isn't disturbing the other patients anymore," he pointed out quietly, wondering if any of them realized they were likely to end up with a Lyneth of their own before long. He tapped a finger against Lyneth's back to get her attention.

The little girl surfaced, smoothing her mother's shirt back down again before looking up at her father, wiping her hair out of her face. "Yes?" she asked, looking for all the world as though there was absolutely nothing wrong with her over-excited behavior.

"Why don't we play the Quiet Game?" he suggested. The Quiet Game was something all parents invented when they wanted to find a way to trick their children into sitting still and quietly for a while. "If you can sit quietly for the next, oh..." He glanced at his watch, hoping it wasn't going to be too much longer before Piper's name was called. "...ten minutes, you win!" This game involved a reward, of course, but the reward didn't come until later.

The look on Lyneth's face at his suggestion told him right away she knew what he was up to. She pouted, but since the reward for winning usually involved ice cream - chocolate ice cream - she subsided with a huffing sigh, kicking her feet back and forth beneath the chair like the most put upon child in the history of the world.

Piper had to stifle a laugh as she wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders, kissing the unruly curls. "It won't be for long, sweetie," she promised, grinning at Des. He'd just earned himself his own kind of reward, later on.

He grinned a little smugly back at his wife, rather proud of his achievement with Lyneth, though he knew it wouldn't last. Ten minutes of peace was a lot to ask of a small child, and he and Piper relished every minute of it, however long it lasted. "Just think about all the ice cream you get to eat later. Mmm, ice cream," Des told Lyneth quietly.

The little imp stuck her tongue out at him from under Piper's arm, though the rude little gesture was softened somewhat by the grin that followed. She knew how to play the Quiet Game well enough, and was ridiculously good at it when she applied herself to it. At least it meant that they would get a little peace for just a little while. And a little while was all they needed - around five minutes later, Piper's name was called, and the little family rose to slip into the radiography suite, silent little mischief maker and all.

Des had done all he could to prepare Lyneth for what was to come, warning her that she had to behave and listen to what the technician and doctor told them to do. He wasn't too worried, knowing much of Lyneth's behavior was merely for show. She was far more mature than she let on, reveling in the adoration that was showered upon her by the two people who loved her most in all the known universes.

The technician looked a little surprised when the little girl was led in between her parents, but to his credit, he didn't say a word against it. "Well, looks like I'm standing," was all he said, wheeling his higher stool around to the other side of the gurney with a wink for Lyneth. "Mrs Granger, I'm pretty sure you know what to do." Piper chuckled, easing herself up onto the gurney with a faint groan as Lyneth clambered her way up onto her own special stool, clinging to Des to keep from toppling off.

Piper Granger

Date: 2014-10-13 05:34 EST
Des claimed a chair and pulled it over closer to Piper and Lyneth, one arm around Lyneth's waist to make sure she didn't fall. He would have plopped her atop his lap if she hadn't beat him to the stool. Though Des had never actually been present for one of these scans before, he had a pretty good idea what to expect.

"Now, then ..." The technician seemed to be speaking mostly Lyneth's benefit as he explained what he was doing, though it was a little difficult to ignore the little girl leaning forward hopefully to watch everything that was being done.

Piper chuckled softly at the nearly identical looks of curious excitement on her husband and daughter's faces, bracing herself as the gel was spread over her belly. "Oh, good grief, that's cold!" she protested, unsurprised when Lyneth reached out to touch some of it.

"It is cold," the little girl agreed, rubbing the gel between her fingers before smearing it on Des' cheek, just because. "That's mean, putting cold stuff on my Mummy."

Des chuckled and swiped a hand across his face to wipe the gel from his cheek. "He has to, Lyneth. That's what makes the probe slide easier." He smiled, realizing she more than likely wouldn't understand what he was talking about. This wasn't magic - it was technology. "See that screen there?" he asked her, nodding his head at the monitor that above them that was tilted so that the little family would be able to see what the technician was seeing. "That's going to show us a picture of the baby growing inside your Mummy's belly."

"Can the baby see us?" the little girl asked, fascinated by all the equipment, and by how calm her mother was being. But then, Piper had been through all this before. It was the first time for Des and Lyneth. The technician grinned at her, flipping switches to adjust the probe before applying it gently to the curve of Piper's belly. As the picture distorted, Lyneth pulled a face. "That's not a baby."

"What have we discussed about patience?" Des prompted, knowing she was excited. He was just as excited himself; he was just a lot better at containing it. He looked to the technician with a question of his own. "Can you point things out as you see them?" he asked, unsure if the picture they saw on the monitor would look like much to their untrained eyes.

"Of course," the technician assured him with another grin, glancing down at Lyneth. "I haven't actually found the baby yet."

"What?" Lyneth looked skeptically back and forth, between her father, her mother, and the man looking for her baby sibling.

Piper laughed. "It's a very little probe, but it takes a picture of the whole of my womb, sweetie," she explained. "It can take a couple of minutes to find the baby, and then to find an angle that lets us see the baby properly."

"The baby isn't that big yet, Lynnie. He or she has a lot of growing to do," Des tried to explain as best he could. They'd discussed some of this at home already, but it was still a lot for a little girl who wasn't human to absorb.

"Can't the baby speeded it all up and get big like me?" Lyneth asked, more curious than demanding.

Piper snorted softly with laughter. "Even you couldn't do that before you were born," she told their daughter. "You were in here for nine months, growing just the way this baby is. Although I hope this baby doesn't decide to be born in the middle of the Marketplace." She tweaked Lyneth's nose, and the little girl giggled, cuddling into her father as her eyes turned to the screen just in time for the technician to point to a dark shape.

"There we are," he said cheerfully. "That's a knee. Just let me pull the view back a little, and we should ....There." He pointed once again, and though it was a little indistinct, there was the baby in Piper's womb, sucking its thumb.

Des smiled at the affection shared between mother and daughter, remembering the warning the Autumn Queen gave him regarding their newest addition to their family. He had to make sure Lyneth never felt left out or less loved, or it would spell disaster for all of them. It worried him a little, but he couldn't imagine ever loving another child more than he already loved her. He leaned closer, his head right beside Lyneth's as the two of them peered at the screen in front of them. Des tilted his head just a little to try and sort out what he was seeing. "Is the baby sucking its thumb?" He asked curiously.

"Looks like it," the technician nodded, careful to keep the image as steady as possible for the benefit of the little family, who were all fixated on the screen together.

Lyneth leaned her hands against Piper's thigh, trying to get a better look. "And that baby is really the baby in Mummy?" she asked, a little disbelieving as she looked between Piper's belly and the picture on the screen.

"How far along?" Des asked, just as curious as Lyneth regarding the tiny life growing inside his wife. He was curious as to whether it was a boy or a girl, but wasn't sure if Piper wanted to know. He reached for Piper's hand, his other arm wrapped around the little Fae girl who was his adoptive daughter.

"Well, going by size ..." There was a pause as the technician worked it out. Piper's fingers crept into Des' grasp, holding on fondly. She remembered the scans for Lyneth being frightening affairs, when she had been all alone and not entirely sure about what was going to happen. This time, despite the looming concern over what might happen if the Autumn Queen's warning had been truthful, this was a happy little affair, more excited than frightful. "I'd say about 16 weeks," the technician said finally, glancing at them with raised brows. "Did you want to know the sex?"

So, the baby was right on track as far as growth was concerned, or so it seemed. That was comforting, at least. Des glanced at Piper, brows arching upwards at the technician's question. "Do we?" he asked, wondering what she thought about that. He was curious to know whether they were having a daughter or a son, but wasn't really hoping for one over the other.

Piper Granger

Date: 2014-10-13 05:35 EST
Piper met his gaze, undecided in herself. She hadn't known with Lyneth, but that thought brought her around to an alternative way of making the decision. She smiled gently at Des, warning him with her eyes before reaching out to touch Lyneth's cheek affectionately. "What do you think, Lynnie?" she asked softly. "Do you want to know if you're expecting a little brother or a little sister?"

Lyneth's turquoise eyes grew round with the sudden responsibility of making such a decision, lifting to Des. "Can I?"

Des smiled, as Piper practically read his mind. It had occurred to him to ask Lyneth, as well, but before he could do so, he needed to know what Piper wanted. Des turned that warm, affectionate smile on Lyneth as she looked to him for approval, and he nodded his head. "Mmhmm. If the baby is far along enough to tell," he added that small warning, in hopes they wouldn't disappoint her.

This put the technician in the firing line once again, and Piper laughed at the slightly cornered look on the man's face as he looked at first the parents and then the little girl. "Well, this is a pretty high frequency bit of kit, so I should be able to make a very good guess," he offered.

Lyneth sat back down with a thump, clearly thinking over the offer very seriously. "And, and it will always be right?" she asked in a solemn tone.

Des smiled over at Piper, a little amused at how seriously the little girl was taking all this. He said nothing, however, allowing the technician to answer Lyneth's questions. He didn't even warn her that knowing whether the baby would be a boy or a girl would take away the element of surprise. This was a decision that she had to make for herself.

"Well, I can't say I'll be absolutely right," the technician told the little girl, aware that the parents were leaving the decision to the big sister as they smiled at each other. "But I haven't been wrong yet, if that helps."

Lyneth nodded thoughtfully, frowning as she made her decision. "I want to know," she said finally, looking to her parents for approval of her choice. "Is it okay to know?"

Piper's smile warmed as she met the little girl's eyes. "I don't mind knowing, sweetheart," she assured Lyneth. "If Daddy doesn't want to know, he can go and stand outside for a minute."

"Oh, no!" Desmond exclaimed with a chuckle. "We're all in this together. If you two know, then I want to know, too!" There was no way he was being left out of this little secret, and letting the two of them lord it over him for the next six five months or so.

The two women in his life giggled, and their expressions were so similar for that brief moment that the technician actually blinked, casting a sympathetic look in Des' direction. He couldn't imagine being a part of a family, two thirds of which seemed to be made for mischief.

"Yes, please, mister wandy cold gel man, tell us what it is," Lyneth announced then, climbing down off her stool and into Des' lap, her face lit up with anticipation.

"All right then," the technician chuckled, turning his attention to the screen once again. He studied the image for a long moment, and smirked faintly. "I can say with about eighty percent certainty that you, little miss, are going to have a baby brother."

Des chuckled at the way Lyneth addressed the technician, offering an apologetic smile the man's way, as he scooped her up into his lap. All three of them seemed to wait in eager anticipation, while the technician studied the image on the screen a long moment. Desmond practically held his breath, on the seat of his chair, barely able to repress his excitement, whether it be a boy or a girl. He wasn't really sure if he had any preference. Lyneth had charmed her way into his heart, but like most men, he was secretly hoping for a son. He breathed a sigh of relief, a huge grin breaking across his face, as the technician made his announcement, though he was not 100 percent sure. A perfect pair then - a girl and a boy to fill their lives with love and laughter. "What do you think of that, Lynnie?"

"I'm going to have a baby brother?" Most small girls would have preferred a sister, purely for the dress-up opportunities, but it seemed as though the prospect of a little brother was enough to render Lyneth virtually speechless. She beamed happily, cuddled into her father's arms, kicking her feet with unexpressed delight.

Piper's smile softened, glad to see how pleased their daughter was with the prospect, even as the technician began the process of printing out the pictures for them. "And I think you're going to be a wonderful big sister," she told the little girl, reaching for a paper towel to wipe her belly dry. "Better than Auntie Harper. She pushed me out of a window when I was two."

Des winced at Piper's remark, hoping she wasn't giving Lyneth any ideas. "Definitely no chocolate ice cream if someone does that," he remarked quietly. He'd never had a brother or sister, though it could be argued that Jason was as close to a brother as one could get. "You are going to be an awesome big sister," Des agreed, tweaking Lyneth's nose playfully before setting her on her feet, so he could help Piper clean herself up. He felt like he was on Cloud Nine, and not for the first time, couldn't understand how he'd managed to get so lucky. His father might have been a dick, but in a way, he had the man to thank for giving him a reason to visit Rhy'Din. Without him, he might never have met Piper or Lyneth, and in all truth, he might even be dead by now.

"And we get to have girl's days and Daddy will have to take the boy away, and I can have Daddy days and you will have to look after the baby!" Lyneth declared, her excitement returning with the limitless possibilities ahead of her.

Piper laughed as Des helped her back onto her feet, settling her shirt back into place. "I'm going to need a shower when we get home," she admitted quietly to her husband. "I feel sticky."

"Girls days?" Des echoed with a laugh. "You mean, you aren't going to try and put me in a dress and a wig and make me come along?" he teased as very carefully helped Piper to her feet. "Before or after i-c-e-c-r-e-a-m?" he asked her quietly, spelling it out.

Blue eyes flickered down to where Lyneth was earnestly shaking the technician's hand and thanking him, the way they had been teaching her to, and Piper stifled a small laugh. "After," she conceded. "She's earned an outing today." She grinned at Des, rubbing a hand over the little swell at her waist. "We're having a boy," she said quietly. "How do you feel about that, Daddy?"

Seeing that Lyneth was otherwise momentarily occupied with the technician, he slid his arms around her waist and leaned close to brush a kiss against her lips, albeit briefly. "Still waiting for someone to pinch me and wake me up," he told her quietly, something of a private joke between them.

Piper Granger

Date: 2014-10-13 05:38 EST
"Not happening," Piper murmured back to him with a smirk. "You're under permanent sedation, Mr. Granger." She kissed him tenderly, one hand gently smoothing his lapel as Lyneth nudged her way in between them, planting a loud wet kiss on the bump.

"Hello, baby brother! You're a boy, and that means you have a winkie like Daddy!"

Des smiled softly, charmed by his wife's obvious affection, before they were interrupted by a certain little imp of a girl instigating her way in between them. He couldn't help but laugh out loud at Lyneth's remark, rolling his eyes at their daughter's far too candid exclamation. "And on that note, I think it's time for us to go." He glanced to the technician and offered the man a hand. "Thanks so much for your time."

"It's always a pleasure," the technician assured him, handing over the envelope containing the pictures he had taken during the scan. "Congratulations."

Behind Des, Piper managed to unpick Lyneth from her belly, crouching to heave the little girl up and onto her hip for a warm hug and a soft whisper that made those big eyes light up excitedly. "Daddy, come on! My baby brother's gonna buy me ice cream!"

He shook the technician's hand before taking the envelope of pictures from him that he had a feeling were going to be closely examined by Lyneth again and again over the next few days. Laughing, he turned to collect wife and daughter, tucking the envelope into his jacket for safekeeping. "Such a bossy big sister you are already!" he teased, tickling her sides before plucking her away from Piper so she didn't have to carry two children at the same time.

"Nuh-uh!" Lyneth insisted, tucking her arms around Des' neck as he settled her in his arms. One hand waved to the technician as they left the room, Piper trailing along behind him grinning all the while. "I'm gonna be the bestest big sister ever!"

"You know that starts while your little brother is still in Mummy's tummy," Des said, as he led out of the examination room and back out into the waiting room so they could depart. Thankfully, Piper was past the sickness of the first three months, but there was still a long way to go, and he knew there were days when she was too tired to chase after a small child, especially one as precocious as Lyneth.

The look he got from his daughter was almost offended. "I am," she insisted, though there was a fair chance she didn't actually understand what he meant by all that. "Knip's doing his doo-doos outside ever since Mummy said she was having a baby and doo-doos are dangerous, and that was all me, because he was really snippy about it!"

"I know, and that's awesome. I'm so proud of you both! But as the baby gets bigger, Mummy is going to get more tired, so we're both going to need your help, even before your little brother is born," he told her, as they picked their way through the waiting room to the door. He wasn't planning on giving her any difficult chores to do or anything. He was only preparing her for what was to come.

"Is Mummy going to get sick?"

Piper blinked, startled by the suddenly worried eyes that looked at her from Des' shoulder. She shook her head with a smile. "No, sweetheart, I won't get sick," she promised. "But Daddy's right. I am going to get tired more easily, and I will get bigger. You might even have to help pull me out of bed sometimes, I'll be so big! But that doesn't mean I won't be able to do thing. I just won't be able to do some things for a little while."

Lyneth nodded, hugging Des' neck affectionately. "So what?m I gonna have to do, Daddy?"

"Nothing, sweetheart." Des assured her as he pushed open the door for Piper and waited for her to exit in front of him. "Just keeping doing what you're doing, but there might be times when Mummy is too tired to play or needs you to be quiet so she can rest."

"Does that mean Mummy won't be able to make my birthday cake?" There was a certain amount of mournful upset in this worried query - for some reason, Lyneth's birthday cake was the one bit of baking she refused to allow anyone but Piper to attempt.

Piper chuckled softly, pausing outside to unhook Loki's leash from the railings and call for Knip; they hadn't been able to leave the house without the Kneazle and the Malamute coming with them today.

"Oh, I think she'll be able to handle that, but we might have to change our routine a little bit and who does what chores. Don't worry though! I'm sure everything will be just fine, and you're gonna be the bestest big sister ever," he told her, emphasizing it with a smack of lips against her cheek, while Piper wrangled the pets.

"We can sit down and decide who does what when I start struggling a bit, loves," Piper told them both, deeply grateful that she had trained Loki to walk on the leash so well. The big Malamute padded along beside her, the Kneazle on his other side. No doubt the little family made for an interesting sight, but they were happy together. "For now, I think we should celebrate knowing that Daddy won't be the only one in the house with a winkie!"

"Agreed," replied Des. He wasn't too worried about Lyneth, and knew everything would work itself out one way or another, so long as they continued to love her the way they always had. "And there's no better way to celebrate than ice cream!" he added with a grin.

"Choklit ice cream!" Lyneth crowed cheerfully in agreement, little fingers reaching out to hold the end of his nose as he carried her along.

Piper laughed, bringing up the rear with their beautifully well-behaved pets in hand. "But not too much, or you won't eat your dinner tonight," she warned, blue eyes sparkling teasingly as Lyneth gulped, all three of them fully aware of what happened when the little girl ate too much ice cream.

"Is there any other kind?" Des asked, his voice sounding a little nasal since Lyneth was pinching his nostrils closed. He turned a goofy look at her, crossing his eyes and sticking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, just for fun.

The little girl giggled, releasing his nose to throw her arms around her father's neck and kiss him soundly on the cheek. "You is the bestest Daddy ever!"

Des beamed a grin back at her, sliding a gaze over at Piper, heart soaring with feelings of happiness and love for this little family who'd accepted him with open arms and welcomed him into their lives. "And you is the bestest daughter ever!" he echoed. "And Mummy is the bestest Mummy ever!" he added.

"Well, of course she is," Lyneth responded before Piper could do more than open her mouth. "She had me, and she found you, and she married you, and she maded you my daddy, and now she's having a baby like I begged and begged for and it's all brilliant!"

"We are the bestest family ever!" Des declared enthusiastically, letting anyone around them overhear what he was saying without modesty or restraint. And in his opinion, it was true. There were plenty of happy families on Rhy'Din, some of whom were related to him by blood, but none such as this little family of his, which in another six months was going to expand by one person.

In that moment, the darkening cloud looming on their horizon was obscured by their own personal little sun. Yes, in a few months' time, they might face a challenge none of them had faced before, but that was months away yet. Right now, they had plenty to celebrate and little to worry them, exactly as things should be. And it had all happened in the space of just two years. Who knew what the next few decades would bring them"

((Always fun to play Lyneth with her parents! What do you think, will she really be the bestest big sister ever" I do!))