United
Can you do a mark watney x reader where the reader is his wife and he comes home and meets his 8 month son and she tells him that she named it after him! - @frootdollhouse
A/N - okay so it says you’ve deactivated but i thought id post this anyway, also from how long he was on mars the baby would be closer to a year and half to two years so i’ve altered the ages a bit, also the timeline may not be entirely accurate in matching up to the film/pregnancy but call it creative license
—
You didn’t know what to do. Your husband had left for Mars only two weeks ago and you just found out that were pregnant. He would still be in space when you gave birth, it wasn’t as if he could come back now even if he wanted to.
He was stressed enough going to live on another planet for a month nevermind having to deal with the thought of you pregnant at home.
You hadn’t been to the doctors yet, maybe the test with two glaring pink lines was wrong. Maybe.
—
Nope, you were pregnant. One month along.
Mark was in space.
It was still the first trimester, lots of stuff could go wrong. You could just keep it to yourself until you were absolutely sure everything would be fine.
—
By the time you were a few months along the Hermes was too far away for video calls. You didn’t want to send it in an email or a video. You wanted to see his face when you told him.
Your stomach was swelling with the small life growing inside you by now, you didn’t want to know the gender of the baby yet. It was going to be a surprise.
You couldn’t wait for their month stay to be over and on their way back so you could tell Mark.
—
He’s dead.
Your husband was dead.
Your baby’s father was dead.
Mark was dead and he was left on Mars to be covered in sand.
He didn’t ever find out you were pregnant.
—
If you thought you had been stressed before you didn’t know what this was. The doctor said that stress was bad for the baby but there was so much you hadn’t done.
The babys room wasn’t ready. Did you have enough clothes? What about diapers? What if you accidently drop it or poke its head?
You weren’t ready for this. Mark would have been an excellent father but you had to do this on your own and you would do the best you could.
—
After 54 hours of labour you were exhausted, the doctor placed a wriggling bundle in your arms with a soft smile. “It’s a boy.”
You had a huge smile on your face as you looked down at your baby, “Hello,” you whispered as he yawned and opened his eyes. This was the happiest you had been in months. He was the spitting image of his father.
“What are you gonna call him?” your mother asked.
“Mark. Mark Watney Jr.”
—
Having a newborn baby wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. You didn’t have time to sleep, eat or shower. Still you loved that baby with all your heart.
A knock on the door roused you from your half dozing state. You were sure you looked a mess but you didn’t care.
Behind the door was the same NASA official who had told you Mark was dead. Mitch Henderson. “Can I help you?”
“Might I come in?” he asked.
You nodded and allowed him past and into the livingroom. It was messy as hell but you didn’t care, you just cared about the little bundle that was fast asleep in the baby bouncy chair.
Mitch walked past and looked down at Mark Jr, a small smile on his face. “He looks just like his dad.”
You nodded, “He does,” you agreed.
“There’s something I need to tell you, you might want to take a seat,” he gestured to the sofa and you obediently sat down.
“What is it?”
“There’s no easy way to say this, but Mark’s alive.”
Your heart skipped a beat. “How- what- but you said-?”
Mitch sighed and ran a hand over his face, “Somehow he survived the storm and he’s still on the HAB on Mars. We’re trying to set up a way to communicate and let him know that we know he’s alive. I’ve just been to see his parents, Teddy Sanders is telling the public later today and I thought you should know first.”
You nodded, letting that information sink in, “But the crew is on their way back. How will he get home?”
“We’re working on it,” he assured you. While you were overjoyed that Mark was still alive a small part in the back of your mind reminded you of everything Mark had told you in the run up to the mission - you were no mathematician but you knew that he would run out of food sooner rather than later.
—
You felt bad but you had to put thoughts of Mark out of your mind, worrying wouldn’t help get him back and it certainly wouldn’t help you raise a baby. Mark Jr was growing by the day it seemed, his little baby smile was enough to make your day, you were aware of the progress of getting Mark back. The media was all over it, it seemed everywhere you looked there was an article or campaign for it. Thankfully, by some miracle, the media seemed unaware of you and Mark Jr which was how you would have liked it to be kept.
You knew about the launch to send him more food supplies, you knew about it’s failure and the outcome that meant for Mark. It seemed no matter what he was destined to die on Mars, you didn’t want to get your hopes up.
—
NASA had set up a way to communicate with Mars, which meant he got data dumps again. Mitch Henderson came round again and asked if you would like to send him something. You did, but you had no idea what to say. ‘Hey, Mark it’s your wife. Oh also, this is your seven month old baby,’ didn’t seem like it would cut it.
You ended up filming a short video and giving it to Mitch to send in the next data dump.
—
A message popped up on the computer and Mark clicked to open up the next data dump, there were the usual messages of people asking for pictures or quotes about what he was doing up there and how he felt, stuff from NASA, but one thing caught his attention.
From Y/N Watney
His heart skipped a beat, this was the first he had heard from you since he had arrived on the HAB all that time ago, eagerly he clicked on the video and waited for it to load up.
“Hi Mark,” you appeared on the screen and his face spread into a grin, “Long time no see,” you laughed awkwardly. “I’m not quite sure what to say honestly. A lot has happened since you’ve been gone. A lot.”
He watched you briefly disappear from the screen and come back holding a baby, “This is your son.” His heart stopped. He had a son. He was on Mars and you and his son were on Earth.
“I found out I was pregnant just after you’d left for Mars. I was waiting for the first trimester to go smoothly before I told anyone, which it did, I didn’t want to tell you over a video,” you chuckled humorlessly, “I wanted to see your reaction, so I was planning to wait until you were close enough to skype again. Obviously that didn’t happen, which is why you’re only just finding out now. HIs name’s Mark, I named him after you. Though this was when I thought you were dead,” you joked a little.
“Anyway. I don’t know what much else to say. I love you, Mark, and I hope you make it home.”
The video shut off leaving Mark stunned. He had a son. If he thought he had incentive to get home before it had doubled now. He was going to make it and he was going to get back to you and Mark Jr.
—
You were sat in front of the television, they were broadcasting the rescue worldwide. The hermes had gone back for Mark and now it was the moment that decided whether or not he would make it home. There would be a 12 minute delay. Nothing could be done from Earth, it all came down to the crew.
You and Mark had been able to send messages to one another, he told you about the ‘modifications’ he would have to make to the MAV. You had little hope it would work, but you knew that Mark would find a way to save himself - he always did.
You listened with a bated breath, Mark Jr by your side also silent, listening to the crew get ready one by one.
“Watney?”
“Go.”
You sobbed a laugh, it was the first time you had heard his voice in over a year. The whole experience was a tense one, apparently there were some issues with the comms when bunch of static sounded over the speakers. The Hermes was too far from Mark, who was suggesting to punch a hole in his suit. The rest of the crew were close friends of yours - if you knew them like you thought you did then you knew they were considering some crazy plan that they didn’t want to be overheard.
The static cut off, “Housten please be advised we are going to blow up part of the Hermes.” Yup, crazy plan. Frickin’ astronauts.
“I have visual on the MAV,” Lewis’s voice sounded. You stopped breathing. This was it.
“312 meters.”
“DId you say 312? Great, I’ll wave at you guys as I go by.” You couldn’t help the small laugh, you still weren’t used to hearing his voice again even if he was being sarcastic about his own demise.
“I can’t get to you Mark, you’re too far.” You gulped, you knew you shouldn’t have gotten your hopes up.
“6 meters.”
You heard sounds of a struggle and you were on the edge of your seat, you had no idea what was happening up there.
“Housten this is Hermes actual. We got him. Watney is secure. Houston, six crew safely aboard.”
You cried with joy, tears running freely down your face and a wide smile and you laughed. He was safe, he was alive, he was coming home. Mark Jr gurgled and you scooped him up off the sofa and spun him round making him giggle, “He’s coming home. Your daddy’s coming home.”
—
This would be the first skype call you would have with Mark, you were anxiously bouncing in your seat as you waited for it to connect. Mark appeared on screen and you smiled wide and he grinned back, “Hey, you,” you greeted.
“You have no idea how good it is to see you,” he smiled.
“I think I have some idea.”
“Mark’s down for a nap right now,” you told him and he nodded.
“That’s fine, let him sleep.” You could see that he was skinnier than when he left, he didn’t look as bad as the photos you had seen of him when he first came aboard the Hermes but you knew there was a lot of recovery ahead. A diet or potatoes for well over a year and minimum calorie intake would have certainly took its toll on him. “I can’t wait to get back and see you for real again.”
“Me neither.”
—
The Ares crew was landing today, you were at NASA with the other families. Vogels wife and all his children were there as well as Martinez’s wife and their young son who was about four years old now. You had Mark Jr stepped to your chest as you eagerly awaited the decent. You were stood with Mark’s parents, who had been a great help with Mark Jr while you went back to work teaching at the university.
As they landed everyone rushed out to greet them, officials and doctors at the head of the crowd as the families trailed behind. There was a flash of cameras as the crew emerged, stepping on Earth for the first time in around two years.
Paramedics stepped forward to assess the crew for any damage, particularly Mark but he just pushed past them and through the small crew until his eyes landed on you. A wide grin spread across your face at the sight of him and you stepped forward to meet him in the middle as you hugged him tightly, careful not to crush Mark Jr too much.
Mark pulled back and crashed his lips into your, you were sure you were crying and were vaguely aware of the flashes of photos being taken but you didn’t care. You pulled away with wide smiles, “This is Mark Jr,” your son squirmed in his seat and you lifted him out and let Mark pick him up.
“Hello there,” Mark smiled, fascinated as his son moved in his arms happily looking around at all the new faces and excitement of the crowd.
Mark Jr wriggled and reached out to grab at Mark’s face, pressing his baby hand against Mark’s cheek and giggling. “Hi,” he said shyly, one of the few words he could now say and understand. Mark grinned and laughed in delight and happy tears filled your eyes as you watched them. Your family was together, finally united at last.
***
A/N- okay so I think the timing is kind of messed up a bit and I have no clue what babies are supposed to be able to do at what age but I hope you guys like it! Requests are closed ♡