Topic: Emma

Dominic Granger

Date: 2018-08-20 14:23 EST
10th August, 2018

Leaving Elle when she was in labor was not the easiest thing to do. But Dom had promised not to make a big deal out it, and he had also promised to deliver Daisy personally to spend the next few hours with Zahan and Lila, under Ed's supervision, and to drop Donovan off with Gabi and George for the same reason. So in the end, he had to leave his wife whether he wanted to or not, making a supreme effort not to speed along the lanes of the Grove while he had his children on board.

But seeing as how Dom was always a nervous wreck whenever the word "childbirth" was mentioned, it seemed a good idea to Elle to give him some busy work. Once he was gone, she got on the phone to her posse, which consisted of Vicki and Piper, and asked one of them to get over to Wisteria Cottage asap, before she dropped the baby on the floor.

It was just as well he didn't know quite how close it was to the big moment, or Dom definitely would not have left, even for the half hour or so it would take to drop Daisy and Donnie off at their respective places of sanctuary. He didn't know that Vicki and Piper were both skidding to a halt outside his own house as he drew the car up in front of Beecham House, letting Daisy tell George everything that he needed to know in order to be in charge of Donovan for the night.

Elle didn't really want Dom to miss the baby's birth, and yet, maybe it was better this way. As she waddled out of the house to meet her friends at the door, she froze a moment in pain to wait for a contraction to pass. They were definitely getting stronger and closer together, and though she hadn't told Dom, her water had already broken an hour ago.

After a brief discussion, Piper took charge, ushering Elle back into the house and ordering Vicki to call Rebecca, the healer they kept on-call for the Grove. It didn't look like anyone was going to the hospital. By the time Piper had Elle back on the bed, Rebecca was already sprinting across the lawns from the big house ....thankfully unseen by Dom as he chuckled his way back into his own car with Daisy and was talked into taking the long way around the Grove to Ed's house.

By the time Elle got onto the bed, she was ready to push. She'd been through this twice before, after all, and knew what to expect - so long as nothing went wrong. How long she'd have to push was uncertain, but there was no doubt in her mind that the birth was imminent.

"Someone ....needs ....to call ....DOM!" she said, gritting her teeth between words and practically screaming her husband's name as the baby's head appeared with a shock of dark hair.

"All right, all right, keep your knickers on," was Vicki's response, wrenching herself away from the bed to pick up her phone and dial the number, pretty content in the knowledge that Elle was, at least, in good hands with Rebecca and Piper. She left the room to make the phone call, not wanting to assail Dom's eardrums with Elle's sturdy grasp of curses.

Across the Grove, Dom was smiling as he chatted with Ed briefly when his phone went off in his pocket. Pulling it to his ear without checking the ID, Ed then got to see his cousin turn white, then red, and then watch as panic spread over his face. Dom pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at it, aghast.

"I can't keep my knickers on when I'm about to ..." Elle broke off, shrieking in pain just in time for Dom to hear it on the other end of the phone. "Get this bloody baby out of me now!" she shouted at the midwife, not really caring at the moment what she said or who heard her.

That was audible even through the phone line. Dom's eyes flickered from the phone, to Ed, to Daisy, and back to the phone. A few years ago, before Donovan's birth, he would have been running home. Now, however ....

"Should I bring Daisy back with me?" he asked the device in his hand, not really connecting it with the fact that Vicki was on the other end.

Not only did Ed have a baby of his own, but he'd witnessed enough births and even helped with them to have a pretty good idea what was going on. "Why don't you leave Daisy here" Call when things are settled, and we'll bring her by," he suggested.

"Right. Yes. No, right, yes. Good idea." Dom cut the call without another word, ramming the phone back into his pocket. He patted Daisy absently on the top of her head. "I'll see you in a bit, sweetling."

"Is Mummy having the baby?" Daisy asked looking up at her new Daddy with wide eyes, though that much seemed obvious. It never occurred to Daisy that anything might go wrong or that anything might happen to her mother or her new little brother or sister. She was too excited and too innocent to think of anything but the prospect of meeting the newest addition to their family.

Dom nodded for a long moment. "She is," he told his eldest, crouching down to give her a hug. "But Vicki and Piper and Rebecca are with her, they'll make sure she's absolutely fine." He kissed his little girl's forehead affectionately. "I'll call as soon as we're quiet and settled, and you can come home then if you'd like to."

"Okay, Daddy!" she replied, trusting him implicitly. Somehow, she knew she wasn't supposed to be there when Mummy was giving birth, but she trusted they'd share the good news with her as soon as they could. "Can I tell Lila and Zay that the baby is coming?" she asked both or either of the men.

"Of course you can, sweetling," Dom promised her. "And I'm pretty sure Zay will let you cuddle Mila, too, if you ask nicely." Zahan's new baby sister was the dolly of choice for a lot of little girls on the Grove right now.

"Okay, Daddy! Love you!" she said, hugging Dom close before hurrying off to share the news with her cousins.

"You better get going," Ed urged, once Daisy was gone. "It sounds like all hell's broken loose there."

Dom gave him a wild-eyed shrug. "I think I might be due a slap," he agreed, patting his cousin's shoulder. "Thanks, Teddy. I'll call. Soon." This was called over his shoulder as he headed back to the car.

"Good luck!" Ed called back, with a worried smile. He had witnessed firsthand the good and bad things that could happen during childbirth, but there was no reason to think anything would go wrong.

All he got was a last wave before Dom was pulling away, heedless of driving safely as he sped back home. There was a little difficulty in parking - Vicki and Piper's parking had been haphazard, to say the least - but within another ten minutes, Dom was bursting in through his own front door and scrambling up the steps to the bedroom. "Elle" Baby, I'm here!"

Considering what he'd heard on the other end of the phone just a few short minutes before, the cottage was eerily quiet upon Dom's arrival. There was no panicked screaming of any kind, nor was there any sound of a baby crying. Only the sound of muted voices coming from the bedroom.

The quiet, if anything, only exacerbated Dom's panic.

"Elle?"

He staggered across the landing and pushed open the bedroom door, half-dreading what he was going to see. The door hit Vicki in the back, sending her pitching forward face-first into the baby basket she had just finished setting up.

Dominic Granger

Date: 2018-08-20 14:24 EST
"Bloody hell, Dom. You could at least knock!" his wife scolded, but it was a good-natured scolding, unlike the panic she'd felt just a short while ago. "Sorry, love," she apologized to Vicki. "You know how he is when we're having a baby." If he took a good look beyond Vicki and the baby basket, he'd find Elle propped up against a pile of pillows holding a small swaddled bundle in her arms.

Piper was laughing quietly in the far corner, wiping her hands dry after having finished tidying up. Rebecca was already gone, returning to her own practice via the big house, having laid on her hands and all but returned Elle to her former self.

Dom stared at his wife and her precious little bundle. "You ....I missed it?"

In the end, Elle's labor had been hard but fast, producing a baby with only a few hard pushes, rewarded with a small bundle with a head of dark hair and a scrunched up little face that was trying desperately to find her own fingers. "You only missed the hard part," Elle told him, smiling warmly at her husband, her eyes bright with joy, now that she was no longer in pain. "Come meet your daughter."

"Daughter?" Dom's panic softened into tender incredulity as he stumbled forward, pausing only to let Vicki drag his jacket off his shoulders before he folded onto the bed beside Elle. One arm wrapped about his wife's shoulders, ignoring the baby for a long moment to press his lips to her temple and hold her close. "I'm sorry I wasn't here," he whispered. "You're sure everything is all right?"

"Yes, daughter," she repeated, as he came closer. As eager as she was to show off the fruits of her labor, she was just as eager for his affection. "You worry too much. Everything's fine. I'm fine; she's fine. She has all her fingers and toes. I already counted, but you can count them again, if you want," she teased him, offering him a look at the newest addition to their family.

"Oh, I'm sure I will count them," he chuckled softly in answer, finally lowering his gaze to the scrunched up face in the blankets she held. "So will Daisy." He reached out with one finger to stroke the little one's clenched fist gently. "She's lovely, Elle. Almost as lovely as you."

"She looks a little like Daisy, but I see some of you in her, too," Elle said, turning her gaze back to the small bundle of joy in her arms. She wasn't sure she ever wanted to go through that again, but she was glad to have given him both a son and a daughter, not to mention Daisy, who couldn't love him more.

"She's beautiful," he murmured, barely noticing as Vicki and Piper quietly left the room with winks, waves, and smiles. All his attention was on the baby girl in his wife's arms. "Your big sister is going to adore you."

"Yes, she is, isn't she?" Elle murmured quietly, a soft smile on her face. Thankfully, she didn't feel as tired after giving birth this time around, as it hadn't taken too long, and it was still daylight. She wasn't too worried about Daisy's reaction to her new baby sister; she knew her daughter well enough to know that she was more likely to be excited than jealous. "You should call her. Give her the good news."

"She already knows, sort of," Dom admitted with a low chuckle, raising his head to kiss his wife tenderly once again. "I did promise to call her so Ed can bring her back as soon as we were ready for her. I think Gabi and George can keep Donnie overnight, though, don't you?"

"If they don't mind, that would probably be best. I'm not sure I have the energy for a toddler right now," she admitted. Whatever had possessed her to get pregnant again so soon after Donnie's birth' But she had no regrets. They'd work it all out somehow.

"We have plenty of help at hand," he reminded her gently. "Do you need anything?" As he asked, he reluctantly drew his hand away from their newborn daughter to dig into his pocket for his phone.

"Just something to eat, but there's no rush," she told him, looking content for the moment with their new daughter nestled in her arms. "Look, Dom ....She's trying to find her fingers," Elle said, with an adoring smile as she watched their daughter.

"I'll whip up something once I've made the call," he promised, laughing softly as he followed her gaze to the fumbling, grasping grope of tiny fingers on blanket and air. "She's adorable. You're adorable." A last kiss to Elle's hair, and he was raising the phone to his ear, waiting for Ed to pick up as he rose from the bed to avoid disturbing his girls too much.

Elle might have argued with that and insisted that he was the one who was adorable, but she didn't want to interrupt his phone call. Instead, she focused her attention on getting to know her new daughter better, memorizing every last detail of her.

Smiling as he watched Elle getting on with her maternal instincts, Dom moved toward the door, listening to the ringing in his ear. When it stopped, he was quick to speak. "Hey, Teddy ....yeah, it's all over. Want me to come and get her?"

Edward chuckled on the other end of the phone. "Are you going to tell us if it's a boy or a girl?" he asked, sounding amused at the mingled excitement and nervousness in his favorite cousin's voice.

"Guess," Dom answered, his grin audible in his voice. "You've got a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right first time." As he spoke, he let himself out of the bedroom, already turning over in his head what he was going to make for Elle to eat now she'd exerted herself unexpectedly.

"How am I supposed to know?" Edward replied with another chuckle. Elle had already had a girl and a boy, so it seemed things could go either way this time. At least, he knew it wasn't twins.

"You're the clever one," Dom teased him, heading down the stairs. "I'm about to make lunch here, though. How over-excited is my little flower over there?"

There was a short pause while Edward presumably peeked on Daisy before he replied. "She's okay. Lis is keeping her busy for now, but that will likely change when she finds out you've called." He paused a moment more, as if in thought. "What do you say I save you the trip and bring her over in an hour or so?"

"That would be very helpful," Dom agreed. "I need to call Gabi and wheedle her into keeping Donnie overnight, too." He chuckled, and gave in. "You might as well tell Daisy she should start choosing between those names I gave her a couple of days ago. Then she'll tell you if she's got a brother or a sister."

"If I tell her that, you're likely to hear them screaming in excitement from there!" Edward said, laughing. "You still want her to stay the night?" he asked.

"No, I think she'll probably want to stay here with us," Dom admitted thoughtfully. "If she does want to go back to you, I'll call again, okay?"

"Okay, she's more than welcome, but I have a feeling she's not going to want to be too far from home tonight. See you in an hour, okay?" Edward said, wondering if he should put ear plugs in before he shared the good news.

"Sure. Thanks, Teddy. See you soon." Tucking the phone back into his pocket, Dom smiled to himself as he set about putting together sandwiches for his wife and himself, rather proud of the way he'd managed to pass word on to Daisy about having a baby sister before anyone else found out.

Dominic Granger

Date: 2018-08-20 14:24 EST
Just as Edward had predicted, shortly following their phone call, muffled shrieks of excitement carried on the wind for anyone whose hearing was sharp enough to catch it. Apparently, the girls had been told the news.

Dom laughed aloud at the sound of squealing. He didn't envy his cousin at all being that close to the eruption of excitement. A quick call to Gabi passed on the news and got himself told he was an idiot if he thought she was giving Donovan back before tomorrow, as well as congratulations, and soon after, he was headed back into the bedroom with his plate of sandwiches. "Did you hear that?"

"I'm pretty sure everyone at the Grove heard that," Elle replied with a grin. "I assume Daisy knows," she teased. While he'd been gone, she had made herself a little more comfortable on the bed, the newborn settled snugly beside her.

"Yeah, the screaming was Ed telling her," Dom assured her fondly, dragging the bed tray out from under his bedside table and setting it up for her. "How's the littlest princess?"

"Resting peacefully. Being born is hard work, you know," she remarked, though she was pretty sure she'd been the one who'd done most of the work. "Oh, what do you have there" That looks lovely," she said, as she looked over the sandwiches.

"BLTs," he told her rather proudly. "I figured you'd want something a bit lighter than my usual offerings." It wasn't that Dom couldn't cook - quite the reverse, in fact, but when it was his turn to cook, they tended to be presented with foods he had tried and liked from various different cultures on not only this planet, but several others he had visited as well.

"BLTs?" she echoed with a teasing grin. "How ordinary of you. I'm shocked." She adjusted her lean against the pillows before reaching over to pluck up half a sandwich and take a bite, groaning with pleasure at the taste of it.

"Well, your innards have been beaten up enough today," he chuckled, answering her tease with his own. "Ed's going to bring Daisy over in about half an hour. Still game for letting her choose the name?"

She nodded a reply, lifting a finger to indicate she had something to say, as she chewed and swallowed another bite of her sandwich. "Only if we have the final say," she said. She didn't think Daisy was likely to choose a bad name for her new baby sister, but she had no idea what her daughter might have in mind. "Otherwise, we might end up with a Rapunzel or Thumbelina."

He chuckled around his own mouthful. "I gave her a list a couple of days ago," he told her. "All approved names off the list we made, I promise. Nothing outlandish in there like Dilys or Dorothy."

Elle winced at the mention of those names. "Nothing that sounds like it should belong to a grandma," she said, though they had been over these rules already. "You know, I was expecting another boy," she said, with a wistful and affectionate glance at their slumbering daughter.

"Regrets?" he asked gently, wrapping his arm around her shoulders once again. He had none himself. Just having Elle and Daisy in his life was a blessing he had never looked for - to have added a son and another daughter to that was a wonder he would never stop being grateful for.

"Maybe about giving back your wallet," she said, with a teasing gleam in her eyes and a smile that was only for him. She leaned close to touch a tender kiss to his lips. "No regrets, Dom. I love our little family, and I love you."

He huffed with laughter, hugging her close into his side. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for the main event," he apologized again. "But I'm glad your posse answered the call for help so fast."

"She came a lot faster than I expected," she explained. "And you would have been a nervous wreck," she said, gently stroking her fingers against his face and smiling softly. "How can I be upset when you've given me so much?"

His smile softened as he leaned into her touch. "I still say I got the best of the bargain," he insisted. "I got a family, when I thought I was going to be alone for the rest of my life. And thanks to you and your apparently innocent forgetfulness when it comes to birth control, that family just keeps getting bigger."

"You'll never be alone again. I promise you that," she assured him softly, amused at his teasing, but making no comment on it for now. It hardly mattered if she'd honestly forgotten her birth control or not; he could hardly argue about that now that he had both a son and a daughter of his own.

His fingers traced tenderly against her cheek for a long moment. "You're my greatest blessing," he told her, sincere and soft in the stillness around them. "I will never stop protecting you. I love you, Belle."

It wasn't her name, but it was his name for her, and she had never corrected him for saying it. She only smiled, a little tired from labor, but happy and content. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me," she told him, just as sincerely. They had both loved and lost before, but together, they'd healed the grief of the past and found love again with each other.

His smile answered hers, leaning close to touch that smile to her lips for a long moment. After losing Gwen, he had never thought he would ever be blessed with love or a family of his own, yet here he was - a husband, a father, more in love with this incredible woman every day than he had been the day before. His kiss brushed the tip of her nose as he drew back, glancing at the window as the sound of a car pulling up made itself known. "Should I go and catch her before she barrels up here shrieking?"

There were no words to tell him how much she adored him or how thankful she was to have him in her life. She knew how lucky she was and not a day went by when she didn't thank her lucky stars to have met him. Elle wrinkled her nose at him as he kissed it, smiling in amusement at that gesture of affection and at his question.

"That would probably be best, unless you want her to wake the baby," she said, reaching out to playfully tweak his nose in return.

"I will return anon then, fair lady, with the minuscule mistress of the house," he informed her cheerfully, catching her hand. He pressed a kiss to her palm, and rose to his feet, snagging the empty plate as he left to jog down the steps and open the front door.

She couldn't help but giggle at his antics, sighing softly as he took his leave. "I shall endeavor to patiently await your return, my prince," she said, wiggling her fingers at him before he left. He was only going to fetch Daisy, after all. Once he was gone, she settled her head on the pillow, one arm wrapped protectively around her precious bundle, smiling contentedly, as her eyes drifted closed, almost by their own accord.

Leaving the plate on the kitchen table, Dom returned to the door in time to field Daisy before she could rush up the stairs and disturb her mother and the baby with her excitement.

"Shoes off, hands washed," he declared with a grin. "Or I'll give you a huge kiss wearing your mom's lipstick and it'll never come off!"

Old enough to know when she was being teased, Daisy rolled her eyes at her father. "Don't be silly, Daddy! Lipstick washes off." She pouted a little as she glanced past him, eager to meet her new baby sister, but knowing there was no arguing with him. "Is everything okay?" she asked worriedly, as she pulled her shoes off and dropped them in a pile near the door.

Dominic Granger

Date: 2018-08-20 14:24 EST
"Everything's absolutely fine, sweetling," he promised her affectionately. "Your mom's very tired, and the baby's dozing right now, but if you're calm and quiet, you can go up and see them as soon as your hands are washed." He stroked her hair gently as she went by him, raising his eyes to his cousin. "So, did the deafness wear off yet?"

"Okay, Daddy!" Daisy replied, scurrying off to wash her hands. She never seemed to tire of calling him that, and hopefully he never tired of hearing it. She had wanted a father for a long time, and as far as she was concerned, she couldn't have found a better father than him.

Near the door, Edward chuckled. "What's that, cousin" I can't hear you," he teased, turning his head and cupping an ear as if he was having trouble hearing.

Dom laughed, pausing a moment to smile fondly at Daisy's back before returning his eyes to Ed. He was never going to tire of being her Daddy. "Want me to start signing?" he asked his cousin in amusement.

"No, thanks. I can read lips," Edward replied, breaking into a grin. "I'm not staying. I just wanted to say hello and congratulate you," he said, offering his cousin a hand. "It looks like I've got some catching up to do." At least, in the baby-making department.

Dom's smile was warm as he shook Ed's hand. "Be happy with what you have," he advised. "You're not in a competition. And besides, you have three gorgeous ladies to fill your days - what?s not to love about that?"

"Oh, I'm not complaining," Edward said, as he shook his cousin's hand. "You have three gorgeous ladies of your own now, and one handsome lad. I'm happy for you, Dom. Truly, I am."

"I'm happy, Ed." Dom's laugh was a little incredulous. "Who would have thought that was something I'd be saying a few years ago' Thank you." He tugged on his cousin's hand, pulling him into a rough embrace. "Now go back to your girls, and I'll text you what name we decide on if and when it happens."

"You deserve to be happy," Edward told him, patting his back as he gave him a brotherly hug in return. After all, Dom was the closest thing he had to a brother. "Just don't name her something silly, like, oh, say, Dominique," he teased, grinning.

"Good gods, I hope Elle doesn't win the fight on that one," Dom groaned. "The last thing any little girl deserves is to actually be named after me!"

"Dom and Domi," Edward remarked with a chuckle. He gave his cousin's arm an affectionate squeeze. "Call me later when you get a chance and let me know when you're ready for visitors. I have a feeling the girls are going to want a peek sooner rather than later."

"Probably tomorrow afternoon, but you might have to fight Vicki and Piper for first dibs," Dom warned, ignoring the tease about having a daughter with a matching name to his. "Maybe you should just let Emily, Lyneth, and Zahan duke it out between them."

"I'm afraid Lyneth might win that fight. I hear she cheats," Edward said, with a good-natured grin. "Just remember to sleep and eat, and call if you need any help. Daisy is welcome anytime," he reminded his cousin before exiting, just in time for Daisy to come bouncing back in.

She held her hands aloft for Dom's inspection. "All clean! Can I see the baby now please?"

"Thanks, Ed. Take care!" Waving his cousin off, Dom closed the front door and looked down at Daisy, bending close to inspect her hands with teasing intensity. "Hmm, yup, those look like very clean hands to me," he agreed, jerking his head toward the stairs. "Remember, calm and quiet. And you get to name her, so long as your mom likes what you choose."

"Oh! Me?" she asked, eyes wide. They'd discussed names and had narrowed it down to three, but she didn't realize he was going to let her choose between them, so long as her mother agreed.

"Why not you?" he countered with a smile, moving to walk with her up to the next level of their cottage. "She's as much your baby sister as she is our daughter."

"Names are important," she said matter-of-factly, sounding far older than her years. "Do you like your name?" she asked curiously, as she climbed the stairs to the second story.

"Yeah, I do," he told her easily. "But I had to grow into my name. Dominic is a very grown up name, but I could get Dom out of it, and that fitted me when I was little."

"Do you think Daisy will still fit me when I'm grown?" she asked. As much as she liked her name, she wondered if it was too childish for an adult. She had few options though, as there were no other versions of her name that she knew of.

"Yes, I think it will," Dom assured her. "I know a lady called Daisy who has two children, and her name still fits her. I think you will always be a beautiful Daisy, because you have such a beautiful spirit inside you."

"What does that mean, beautiful spirit?" she asked, trying to tiptoe as quietly as she could up the stairs, keeping her voice low in case the baby was sleeping. It was only because of Dom that she hadn't dashed up the stairs, screeching with excitement.

"It means that the person you are, in your heart and soul, is kind and gentle and compassionate, and you will always be that person," he explained affectionately, one hand on the door to the bedroom.

"What's compashnit mean?" she asked, blinking up at him, her hand atop his on the doorknob as she awaited his answer. There was trust in her eyes, as well as curiosity and love.

"Compassion is when you can look at people who are struggling and want to help them and understand them," Dom told her, though this was a very simplified version. She was only seven, after all. "It's a wonderful thing to be able to do."

"Oh, you mean to care about people," she said, understanding at last. "Like you care about Mummy and me and Donnie and the baby and Uncle Humphrey and all your cousins. Like that?" she asked, curiously, eager to learn a new word.

"Yeah, in a way," Dom managed, "but it's mostly when you care for strangers, people you don't know. It's compassion when you help someone just because they need help, not because you know them." He smiled down at her. "Like when you sat at lunch with that girl who was all alone. That's compassion, sweetling, and I am so proud of you for having it."

She scrunched her nose up at him, just like her mother had a little while ago, before nodding her head. "I think I understand. Can we see the baby now, Daddy?" she asked, eager to meet her new baby sister.

"Yes, we can." Grinning down at her, he raised his other hand to knock gently, warning Elle that they were there, and pushed open the door, ushering Daisy into the bedroom ahead of him.

Dominic Granger

Date: 2018-08-20 14:25 EST
What they saw when they stepped inside was both mother and daughter resting together peacefully on the bed, snuggled closely together. "Shh," Daisy whispered, laying a finger against her lips as they stepped closer. "They're sleeping!"

"Well, they've had a busy day," Dom whispered back, closing the door behind them so it wouldn't fall back with a bang. "You can go closer, sweetling, Mommy won't mind."

Elle cracked open an eyelid to peek at her husband and daughter, a soft smile on her face. "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm awake," she said, though she had been dozing. "Come meet your baby sister," she told her quietly.

Daisy reached for Dom's hand as she stepped closer to peer down at her new sister. "She's so small," she whispered in awe.

"Until this morning, she was in Mommy's tummy," Dom reminded her gently, letting the little girl take his hand as they moved to the bed. He crouched down beside her, one arm leaning on the bed as he watched his daughters looking at each other. "What do you think, sweetling" Should we keep her?"

Daisy smiled, reaching out a finger to touch her little sister's cheek. "Of course we should, Daddy! We can't get rid of her. She's ours."

Elle smiled as she watched the two of them get acquainted and reached out to draw Dom closer, too. "You remember what it was like when Donnie was born?" she asked her daughter.

Daisy nodded. "He was really small and he cried a lot and slept a lot and you had to take care of him a lot, until he was bigger."

"We know better what we're doing this time around," Dom assured both of them. "It'll be easier." That was probably optimism talking, given that Donnie was still just a toddler, but he was right about one thing - they did know what to expect this time around.

Daisy seemed to think this over a moment before looking up at Dom and then at her mother. "Can I help?" she asked, looking hopeful.

"Of course you can," Dom was quick to answer. "There are lots of things you can do, not just with the baby, but with Donnie, too. And maybe, if you want to, you can start cooking with me, too."

"Really' Can I?" she asked, wide-eyed with wonder again. Though she had helped before in small ways, this was the first time he was suggesting she help him cook.

"Absolutely!" Now he knew how long breastfeeding actually took, Dom was quite prepared to whisk both children into the kitchen and cook with them so Elle would be able to feed the baby in peace at least once a day.

"Can we make s'ketti?" she asked, as it was one of her favorite meals. What kid didn't love slurping up pasta covered in tomato sauce"

"If you two are going to talk meal-planning, I'm going to take a nap," Elle warned, cheerfully.

"At least once a month, yes," Dom agreed with a grin. "But we can't just keep calling her 'the baby', can we?" He caught Elle's eye, chuckling at her warning.

"Sorry, Mummy," Daisy said, turning her attention back to her mother and new baby sister. "Daddy said I can name her," she said, tentatively looking to Elle, as if for permission. "Is that okay?"

Elle reached out to take her daughter's hand, a soft smile on her face. "What name did you have in mind?" she asked, as Daisy looked back at the baby, her expression thoughtful.

"What about Emma" She looks like an Emma."

Dom's grin widened behind Daisy, his eyes catching Elle's in warm approval as much as amusement. Daisy had gone straight for the name he had inserted into the initital list of D-names, with the argument that the E's in the family shouldn't be overwhelmed too much. "What does Mommy think?"

"Emma?" Elle echoed, looking from one to the other and then to the tiny bundle resting peacefully beside her. "Are you sure?" she asked. After all, Emma didn't start with a D.

Daisy nodded her head enthusiastically. "Daddy and I decided we have enough D names and that the baby should have an E name, like you." She paused a moment to frown worriedly. "Don't you like it?"

"Oh, yes, darling. I love it, but what does Daddy think?" Elle asked, looking to Dom.

"Oh, I think every family should have a Jane Austen heroine in it," Dom answered with a smile, touching his cheek to Daisy's shoulder. "I think it's lovely. And it suits her, too."

"Hmm, should we name our next one Darcy then?" Elle teased, though she was not really thinking about another child so soon after having birthed this one. In fact, at that moment, she was quite content with their family just the way it was.

"Planning on more, are we, Mommy?" Dom asked with a grin, chuckling gently. "If we do get there and it's a boy, I'm going to bat for Fitzwilliam."

Elle winced. "Over my dead body," she murmured at the idea of calling their son such a ridiculously old-fashioned name, though he probably felt the same about Darcy.

Daisy giggled at her father's suggestion. "That's a silly name."

"That's his name!" Dom protested laughingly. "Mr. Darcy's first name is Fitzwilliam! Look it up, I swear I'm not talking out of my backside on this one."

"Which is exactly why everyone calls him Darcy instead," Elle pointed out.

"Mummy, can I hold the baby?" Daisy asked, interrupting her parents' debate about Mr. Darcy's name.

"Um ..." Elle murmured, looking to Dom.

"Sure, if you're very careful," Dom answered, promising Elle with just his eyes that he would not let any harm come to little Emma. "Remember how we did it with Donnie when he was still tiny' You always on a bed or on the couch so you didn't get tired holding him?"

Daisy nodded her headed, as she scooted up onto the bed beside her mother. "I 'member." She cradled her arms the way she had when she'd held her baby brother and the way she'd seen her mother and others hold babies, especially small ones. "Like this, right?"

Dominic Granger

Date: 2018-08-20 14:25 EST
"Yup, just like that." Dom nodded, glancing up at Elle. "May I pick up the littlest literary heroine for a sec while her big sister gets up there and comfortable next to you?"

Elle rolled her eyes and chuckled at her husband's insistence on comparing their daughter to one of Jane Austen's heroines. "Yes, you may," she said, arranging herself on the pillows and then arranging Daisy beside her. "Careful of her head, darling. Remember?"

Daisy nodded seriously. "Yes, Mummy. I 'member," she said, looking expectantly to her father.

Smiling, Dom rose to his feet, gently scooping Emma up into the crook of his arm as Daisy scrambled up to get comfortable beside Elle. Then, just as gently, he lowered Emma onto Daisy's lap, making sure the baby's head was cradled in the crook of her big sister's arm. "There now, you're an expert."

Baby Emma scrunched her face a moment, as though she was annoyed at having her sleep disturbed, but once she was settled in her big sister's arms, she quieted again, resting peacefully for now. "She's so tiny," Daisy whispered, having forgotten how small her brother had been when he was born. "Was I that small once?"

"Mmhm," Elle replied, affectionately combing her fingers through Daisy's dark hair. "You were just about her size."

"But babies grow so fast," Dom said quietly, easing himself down to sandwich Daisy between himself and Elle on the bed. His long arm reached around behind them both to keep contact with the first girls of his heart. "It's only been, what, two years since Donnie was this tiny, and he's huge now compared with Emma."

"Do you think she'll like me?" Daisy asked, as she gazed down at her baby sister in her arms. Though most children wouldn't think to ask such a question, this seemed important to her. She adored her little brother, but he was a boy. What would it be like to have a little sister"

"Oh, sweetling, she'll love you," Dom promised her, absolutely sure of that. "You're her big sister. There's a bond between sisters that I can't even come close to, because I'm a boy. Doesn't mean my sisters don't love me, it just means that their relationship with each other is so different to their relationship with me. While Donnie's out defending her honor and your honor, you two are going to be sharing make up tips and advice about friends."

"Did you hear that, Emma?" Daisy said, leaning close and lowering her voice to a whisper. "We're going to be best friends. Just like Zay and Lila," she said, though that was probably not quite true. Zahan and Lila were cousins who were close in age, while Daisy and Emma were sisters, but farther apart in age. Still, Daisy seemed determined.

Dom smiled, raising his head to meet Elle's eyes. They weren't worried about Donnie meeting the new baby - their boy would revel in the fact that he was the only boy. He was already fiercely protective of his big sister, there was no reason to think he wouldn't be the same way about his little sister.

Elle met Dom's gaze, a soft smile on her face. Though weary and sore from childbirth, she couldn't have been more happy than she was in that moment. The only thing that was missing was their son, but he would rejoin them soon enough, and their family would be complete. For three people who, just a few years ago, had not had security, safety, or consistency in their lives ....they weren't doing too bad at all.