Sarah and Conner somehow ending up having to take care of a baby (maybe they have to care for a baby in the hospital? Maybe someone left one or both of them custody of a baby? They find an abandoned baby and care for it etc)
Hi! Thanks so much for this prompt. You already know this, but for everyone else reading: this prompt really got away from me! Oops. Please don't expect them all to be this long! Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy it and it loosely follows the Interlude: What If in my Voight Family Values series.
Sarah couldn’t put the baby down. The little girl that was born today, just after a four-car pileup had thrown an expecting mother into labor. The little girl was born at just thirty-five weeks. The little girl that she helped Natalie deliver. The little girl was now alone in the world because her mother had passed away in the ICU just moments ago because she had lost too much blood.
Really, she blamed the two rugrats taking up residence in her stomach right now and had been for the last five months. They were the size of cucumbers now. She always had a soft heart but being pregnant had just made it ten times worse. (It would be five, but she and Connor were having twins so it was doubled.) Sighing, she eased herself down into a chair gingerly all while of course, keeping hold of the baby in her arms.
That’s how Connor found her. Large warm hands rested on her shoulders and squeezed. Then she felt the scrape of his beard as his lips pressed against her forehead.
“Nat told me what happened,” he whispered softly while his hand drifted to her swollen stomach. Her stomach had seemingly popped overnight a few weeks ago. There was no denying she was pregnant now whereas before she looked like she had just gained a little more weight. (And she was even bigger than normal at five months thanks to having twins.) “She said you seemed pretty attached to the baby you two delivered. And I’m guessing this is her because the nurses say you’ve been here for almost two hours now. And the only time they’ve seen you put her down is when Dr. Grant came to check on her.”
She didn’t deny his words. She couldn’t. Because it was true, the curly-haired brunette was attached. Even though it had only been a few hours since she was born.
“I just-” her voice broke and Sarah hated it. She didn’t used to be this emotional, but the two rugrats in her stomach liked to put her emotions and bladder into overdrive. “I used to think kids weren’t in the cards for me because I didn’t think I had a maternal bone in my body. I don’t even remember my biological mother. But here I am, pregnant with two children already on the way and I can’t put down this child.”
Her head tilted up and she peered up into Connor’s tender blue eyes. He rubbed the tears out of hers. “Tell me, baby.”
“She’s by herself. No one in this world anymore. DCFS says she’s okay to be discharged but it’s too late to place her tonight so they’re going to keep her here for the night.” Her voice was soft as the baby in her arms yawned and stretched one of her arms. She was blissfully unaware of what was going on in her world right now. It made Sarah wonder if she was ever that unaware and when she became aware. How would that shape this little girl when she became aware?
Her…Connor (God, she was having the man’s children, and had practically all but moved in with him since she was released from the hospital five months ago. And she was still struggling with what to call him) hummed, pressing another kiss to her forehead.
“She won't be by herself because we’re taking her home tonight.”
“What?” Sarah looked back up from the baby to Connor sharply.
“We’re taking her home. After Natalie let me know what happened and said that you seemed pretty reluctant to let the baby go. I went and talked to Madeline. It took a little convincing and Ms. Goodwin definitely helped out a bit, but Madeline agreed for a few nights. Then we can discuss the options to foster and adopt further later.”
“Connor, we already have two babies on the way we can’t-”
“We can,” Connor interrupted gently. One of his hands found her stomach once more while the other one tucked the already swaddled blanket more securely around the baby. “After I talked to Madeline, I called Claire and had her get one of the car seats from the nursery and drive my SUV up from the apartment. She seemed a little too eager to drive my Porsche home by the way.”
Sarah tried and failed to hide her smile. Connor grinned back softly as he continued, “I installed the car seat, Madeline signed off on it. And I talked to Will about helping me install another crib this weekend and while we’re at the store, we can pick up another car seat. Till then we can use one of the bassinets set up in our room and get another one later and our families have made sure we have the essentials already.”
Sarah chuckled because it was true. Despite everything bleak happening with Justin’s death and her being shot, both of their families were so happy when they told them they were expecting. The pregnancy was actually a blessing in disguise in those early months of grief, when Sarah just wanted to stop everything. But she couldn’t because it wasn’t just her anymore. There were now two babies depending on her. So she couldn’t just not eat because she didn’t feel like it. Or it made her get out of bed because of her doctor appointments.
Claire, Erin, and Olive had started buying bottles, blankets, and even diapers after they told them. They would’ve started buying clothes too but Sarah had talked them out of it because she was nowhere near term at only five months, despite what her stomach looked like.
“Okay, Mr. Man-with-a-Plan, what about clothes?” In response to her question, he held up a full tote of what seemed like fabric.
“Nat had Helen bring all of Owen’s old baby clothes for right now. And I grabbed a can of formula until we decide if we want to try donor milk or not. Or if you even want to try breastfeeding after we have the twins.
Sarah couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of her mouth, “You really are serious, aren’t you? You want us to take her home, when we already have two on the way.”
“Sarah, obviously we can’t do this with every child that comes through the hospital. But you already said you can’t put her down. So I’m telling you, you don’t have to. We can take her home with us.”
Connor made it sound so easy; he always had a way of doing that. When her mind was running a mile a minute, he knew exactly what to say to calm her down. But still…
“You know that if we take her home tonight, we’ll get attached.”
“Seems to me like you’re already attached,” Connor pressed one last kiss to her forehead. Then he crouched down and gathered the baby into his arms. She hadn’t been able to give the baby to anyone. But she let the little girl slide easily into her lover’s arms. The small bundled-up blanket looked so small in his arms.
Cooing quietly to the baby, Connor slid the baby into a removable car seat and strapped her in. Then he turned and looked at her expectantly. “Are you ready to go?”
“I want you to remember this conversation when in five months our lives are very hectic with not one, not two, but three babies.” She said, gathering her stuff that April had brought her hours ago when it became clear she wasn’t coming back to the ED.
Sarah went to stand, but found it difficult to get to her feet. The brunette imagined how a turtle felt as she shuffled her feet, trying to get levage with her swollen stomach.
“Connor, I can’t get up.” She admitted, “My stomach is messing with my sense of gravity.”
“Mommy’s so silly isn’t she?” He cooed to the baby quietly, before he turned toward her.
Mommy. She was a mom and she hadn’t even given birth yet. Her heart stuttered in her chest.
Her lover was smart enough to try and hide his grin, but it didn’t quite work as he walked the few steps towards her.
“You just had to show off and get me pregnant with twins didn’t you?” She snarked, without any real heat to her words. Connor grinned, helping her up before he kissed her.
When he pulled away, he murmured against her lips, “Now come on, baby, we both know you’re the overachiever in this relationship.”
He patted her protruding stomach gently. According to the books and her doctors both, it’d be another few weeks before either baby started kicking. Especially with this being her first pregnancy. But that didn’t stop Connor from patting or tapping her stomach with a certain gentleness to try and make one of the twins respond in kind.
Wrapping the borrowed coat from him around her frame, his hand sat against the small of her back as he propelled her forward. Then her lover turned back to grab the car seat with the baby in it.
He grabbed her hand with his free one, “Let’s go home.”
“Let’s go home.” She echoed. Her, him, their twins, and now their little girl.
Things Henry x Alex do that remind me of TK x Carlos from 911 Lone Star.
1. Pushing their partner head away lovingly
2. Clinging to their arm like a married couple (well in TK and Carlos case they're indeed married to each other lol)
3. Running into their lover arms in a moment of distress
4. The forehead touch then maneuvered into a full kiss on the lips movement. (Seriously this impressed me that Carlos' movement is just so similar with Alex.)
5. Comforting and Hugging their lover tightly in their arms on the stairs.
Ushijima: I carry a picture of my rival Oikawa to always fill me with vengeance.
Tendō: I guess that makes sense.
Ushijima: I take it with me wherever I go and I sleep with it on the other pillow by my face.
Tendō: ...
Ushijima doesn’t seem to get annoyed or angry with Oikawa. Iwaizumi doesn’t understand this; in fact, he doesn’t really understand how their relationship works at all (it’s just so - so - so weird!).
Until he’s visiting them one time and Oikawa gets upset and goes into a tailspin, throwing a ridiculous, annoying tantrum.
Instead of engaging in the usual way, such as with rational counter-arguments (a fruitless, frustrating activity, as Iwaizumi well knows), or even hitting him on the back of the head with a volleyball (which is what Iwaziumi would have done), Ushijima wraps his arms around Oikawa,picks him up, spins him around three times in quick succession, and then, when Oikawa is still dizzily sputtering, kisses him.
Oikawa melts into his arms, and Iwaizumi hastily exits stage left.
(When he returns twenty minutes later, after a refreshing walk, it is to find them still standing in the same place, Ushijima’s arm tight around Oikawa’s back, Oikawa leaning close into him, the two of them carefully talking out the issue together).
