#maddyxbastien

[orleans-jester]

It was Frankie’s first Easter, which meant that they had to make it special. She was sitting up with a little help from mom and dad which was something to celebrate on it’s own, but she wasn’t crawling yet so there wasn’t much in the way of a big easter egg hunt, the way that Agnes had as a little girl, where treats were strewn all over the property and all of the shelter kids would come over and hunt to their hearts content. But there was a felt bunny-basket that she could touch, feel the textures of, pose with because of course there were going to be pictures. Some new plushies inside which Maddy bought duplicates of and would leave at the Inn to be delivered to Chip’s family and Valerie’s family, never leaving them out of it. And a new bunny book to read, though it was more so the parents that would be reading it and Frankie sort of looking at the pictures. Still. It was Easter. And, of course, a little bodysuit and dress to wear for the big occasion.

It was something to dress up for. After prepping some of the food for their Dinner with Death, our Maddy would get dressed up and press kisses over her two loves before they would be headed for the Church Service. Given the fact that it wasn’t going to busy at all, fuck it, they were bringing Frankie. If she started to cry or get upset, who was going to be bothered? Friar Tuck? He should know what he was getting himself into.

She tried to pay attention. She really did. But her mind kept on reminding her of the year before. Those old ladies who had pinched Bastien’s cheeks. He was a gentleman and had let them, despite the fact that he didn’t like to be touched, especially not unexpectedly or by strangers. And he had made her the most beautiful little carousel. God, she loved that thing. It was more exquisite than any expensive little trinket that she had gotten over the years from her parents or her grandparents. It sat still on her bedstand. And she remembered his dream of making a carousel that they had started to talk about and - how so much had just been lost. She adjusted to it. But that didn’t mean that it didn’t still suck.

It still just felt a little out of touch.

Friar Tuck was a good addition though. So was Alan. Yes, he made her think about Lance a lot but he was great on his own too. The dynamic between these two was so opposite one another, that watching them interact in any capacity was like watching a sitcom or something. She would have brought the two men some snacks as well, since she didn’t know their own cooking abilities - could be anywhere from Thomas to Triton, she couldn’t guess - so she provided nonetheless. Sandwiches and carrot cake and of course banana bread, in a little easter basket of their own. No one should have to worry about food on Easter.

Dinner was approaching. Maybe not at the usual hour that people sat down to eat but the Belleroses were different. Everything was more intune with Bastien’s schedule, and Maddy’s cicadian rhythm grew to match his. Even without all of the onlookers anymore, she’d rather go out with him while he’s more comfortable.

Food in the oven. Prayer to Death  that it would be ready soon, if he would like to join them. Maybe he would show, maybe he would not, there wasn’t much of a choice but to wait and see. For now, she was giving Frankie her meal, one strap of her dress down her shoulder, and the bodice pulled down to try to make herself more available.

She remained calm. Not like when she had met Jasmine at Disney. She wasn’t fussing over her hair or what she looked like, or what their home must look like. The dancing pole and the bathroom just off to the side but not entirely enclosed, the second-hand furniture mixed with their Wal-Mart things, and whatever scavenged items had caught their fancy. It was clean, it was tidy, but it still had a lived in feel to it, and an oddness in the objects.

“Do you think he’d be offended if I asked about certain people?” She’d ask Bastien. There were some things dancing around in that brain of hers. “Not about the future but - how they went?”

[orleans-jester]

Maddy was looking at her phone, nibbling on her bottom lip and looking over towards her husband. She hummed for a  second, thinking something over and then called him over. “Hey Bastien - there’s something that we should talk about.”

She straightened herself up, putting her phone down and reached for him to join her.

[orleans-jester]

Spring had arrived in New Orleans. And for once, it wasn’t something that Maddy was particularly looking forward to. Oh yes, they could go on more beach walks and soon it would be warm enough to go for swims in the water again, and she wouldn’t have to wear a jacket when she went out but - Spring meant longer days, which meant a lot more discomfort for her husband in his day form. She loved him regardless of what he looked like, that was hardly even an issue, but she knew how uncomfortable it was for him. The hunchback wasn’t decoration, and neither was the way that his eyesight differed due to the uneveness and his poor mouth which couldn’t return kisses.

But it came, no matter how much they were enjoying the long nights. It came and there was still fun to be had. The Spring Street Fair was always attended, usually a family thing though they’d all go their separate ways when they got there. Not the Bellerose family of two, they were sticking together, which was something that she thought about as she got ready for event. There was still a bit of a chill, but she wore a cropped shirt regardless because one of her newest favorite things was Bastien touching her stomach. Sometimes she just put his hands on there as her own sort of security blanket. Then added on a butterfly chain for her own Maddy flair, a bit of fun..

“It’s a good thing we have enough space now,” She said, double checking that she had enough cash to give to the game agents. “-we’re going to need it for all of the prizes we’re going to win.”

[orleans-jester]

It started a couple of hours after the sun set. When Maddy and Bastien were both awake and were working on that train for Frankie beneath the Christmas tree. It felt like she had her husband back after those really rough couple of days. And they could work together, though his fingers were much better at being dexterous. At arranging the little details. She’d sit by and hand him the pieces that he asked for. The crib was set up and ready. Christmas was coming. The triplets had been delivered and in good health. If she ignored New Orleans, it felt like - like everything was alright in the world.

The pain. The wetness. The feeling that it was time. Frankie moving around in there. Somersaults, trying to be like her Papa Clopin in there. She got up, calmly, slowly. She was in a safe place. She had been doing a lot of reading. She was pretty sure that she had this. She could do it. “Bastien, baby,” She said, having made up her mind about one thing, reaching out for the corner of the bed as one of the painful contractions took her over, making her wince, close her eyes. “Frankie’s decided today is the day. Could you maybe ... roll me up something good?”

For the first time, she was actually asking Bastien for a joint. Not just to pass one, which she sometimes took before the days when she was trying to get pregnant, but not since. She’d done some research. Of course it wouldn’t fly in a hospital of any sort, but Midwives sometimes approved it for pain and anxiety purposes. Having no other sort of painkillers with her other than Tylenol, she was ready for something of the more herbal variety.

With wet legs and feet, she shuffled her way into the bathroom and turned on warm water for the tub. She was craving a bath for her muscles. A water birth might not be the worst thing in the world either. It would certainly prevent a mess from being made in the sheets. She added nothing into it, no bath salts or bath bombs, just pure water, and tied her hair up and out of the way. She felt remarkably calm for being a person with some anxiety issues, or at least, used to have anxiety issues. They still encroached on her mind sometimes but she’s felt a lot better as of late. A lot more grown up.

Taking care of Bastien on bad days, and preparing to take care of a baby. These things helped immensely. Gave her a purpose. Bastien took the best care of her, and she took the best care of him, and together, they were going to take the best care of Frankie.

Her hands went to her stomach and felt Frankie beneath. It had been an easy pregnancy. Shockingly easy. After remembering her mother’s horror stories about miscarriages and the like, she had thought that perhaps it wouldn’t be. But no. She had gained the appropriate amount of weight, she didn’t have strange pains, she didn’t have bleeding, Frankie wasn’t underweight or overweight, she was just right. And truth be told, there was the relief that she didn’t have her father’s curse. She wouldn’t have to be in pain the way that he was. She would have loved her daughter either way of course but - the absence of that brought them both a comfort.

“Daddy’s got the crib all set up for you,” She spoke, as the water filled in the tub. “It’s perfect. It’s just like the one back home. You’re going to love it.”

[orleans-jester]

After hearing that Seven had been the one to torture Declan before Chip had put the bullets in him, Maddy had assumed, had figured, that it was more so for Pierre than it had been for her. Which was fine. As long as her captor had been taken down, it didn’t matter why. She was glad it had been done by someone who could keep up the torment, that these two brilliant minds had come up with ways to destroy D in ways that no one else could. She didn’t feel bad about feeling good about that. But it did make her think about Pierre a lot. That’s why she had texted him. Just two sentences. Ignored the messages that he had sent back. But also noticed how not present that he was being now.

Ronno hadn’t posted anything on social media since coming back. Maddy thought he might change the name or make another accout, but there had been nothing yet. Figaro and Ellie had both mentioned him in passing, that he was back at school. Eating alone. They both thought it served him right. They weren’t going to extend any olive branches, neither of them knew him in the first place, not really. Iain - well, he wasn’t being as forthcoming with information, knowing it’s a sensitive topic and so whenever they spoke, it was all about the driving lessons he was enjoying and what his holidays with Petey had been like. It really had just been almost total silence.

Which was worrying, given that it was him. He’d always been a loud and proud kinda guy. If he’d gone back to that, finding a way to make it work inside of that new body, while still being himself beyond the interview, then she wouldn’t have to think about him as much. But the truth was - she was concerned. And she couldn’t shake it. She couldn’t take it. She was washing the dishes one evening, and it just bubbled up to the surface in a way she couldn’t help.

“I think we should go see him,” She said to Bastien, turning the water off. “I can’t - I can’t shake this feeling, no matter how hard I try, that we should.”

We. Because there was no way that she was ever going to think about going along. Her and Bastien were a unit. Anything Pierre, or Leo, had to say to her would be said in front of him. But if Bastien didn’t want to go - then, well, she wouldn’t. Plain and simple. No matter how much it felt like her stomach was a cauldron. No matter how taut the thread became. She’d keep ignoring it if he wanted to.

[orleans-jester]

Maddy had three modes these days. Tired was the first one, but that was also her favorite. That’s when she’d tug in her husband and cuddle him, kiss him, sleep against him while putting on movies or when he was smoking, her head turned into his shirt so that she wouldn’t inhale any of it. Restless, which was the most common, where she’d walk around the vast space that they had only renovated a part of, feeling the urge to do something but also remaining calm because Victor wasn’t going to be back for a few days, and she didn’t want to stress herself into labor while he was gone. Or had to pee. That one happened a lot, usually in the middle of the first two. She was going from waking up to that restless feeling when she noticed how many text messages that she had. “Baby?” She asked Bastien, sitting up as best as her stomach would allow. More of a leaning position against the pillows. “Did you get some weird text messages too, asking if you were still alive?” It was all very confusing.

[orleans-jester]

Seventeen Weeks.

According to the Pregnancy App that Maddy had on her phone, their little babyBug was roughly the size of a folded up pair of sunglasses which was fascinating. Almost halfway through - and she found herself really loving the feeling of being pregnant. Being extra spoiled by Bastien definitely added to that, the way that he’d keep his eyes and his hands on that belly to keep anything from happening to it. Sure, she felt a little more itchy than normal, her skin being sensitive, but that just meant that she got to lay back and ask her very handsome hubby to rub some lotion on her, which got her even more in the mood and that baby would have all of the soft rocking motions it would need to keep it calm.

They were headed to Sherwood to see Victor Frankenstein. For things like this, where heavy equipment was involved, it was easier to go there rather than have him come here and have to move it all. It was time to find out the sex of their Babybug. No surprises. No big gender reveal parties. Maddy was eager to know, not that it would make much of a difference in the decor or how they were going to raise the little one. But she was hoping for a girl with Bastien’s eyes and hair. Bastien would make a wonderful dad either  way but the idea of seeing him with a little female him, another Laverne-type? That warmed her heart to the core.

“Have you thought of anymore names?” Maddy asked Bastien as they started the long drive. Seat back, buckled in, a fuzzy cover on the seatbelt to keep it from feeling harsh against her growing belly. “I remember Chip is going with a T theme so we should stay away from those, just in case.”

[orleans-jester]

The app on her phone told her that her period was coming, which was odd. Maddy had not felt any of the usual symptoms. Not the cramp feeling. Her skin was clear, no little bouts of acne that could sometimes pop up now that she had stopped taking the birth control pills.

Her breasts were a little tender, as they often times got to be around the time but that could also be because she had worn another cute little bralette the night before and Bastien had loved it ... a lot. A couple of days late, that wasn’t such a big deal. She tried not to read too much into it like she had for the flu which had made her stomach go topsy turvy. It happened sometimes. She eyed those tests but - not yet. Let’s just wait a few days. Let the anticipation build.

And then when it had been a week - well, she pulled a Juno. She drank a lot of orange juice - not Sunny D, that stuff had way too much sugar and kept her up half of the night, she didn’t have the same sugar high tolerance as some people - and she took two different tests while her bladder was full. One had the pink lines and one just straight out had the words Pregnant and Not Pregnant. Caps back on, wash her hands thoroughly because boy, those things can get messy if you’re  not accustomed to them, and wait. The results - that would change everything, starting with the breakfast that she was going to make for Bastien. He was still snoozing away in their large bed, having a good long rest after their romp. It was still so cute to her how he managed to fall asleep so quickly and so soundly after while she laid there, nibbling on her lip, doing a replay in her head of ‘the highlight reel’. If the results were negative, it would be a rather normal breakfast. Set the table and all. But if it was positive....

Her phone vibrated in her hand. Time was up. Moment of truth. She took out the first test.

Two pink lines.

Her hand went over her mouth as she started to bounce up and down on her feet. And then reminded herself to relax. Relax, relax, there’s always a chance it could just be a fluke. Best stop in to Victor to be sure and get a blood test if the second one showed any doubts. But it didn’t. Right there, in clear lettering was ‘Pregnant’.

That happy feeling that felt like a geyser overtook her again. She might as well have drunk the Sunny D, or some Kool-Aid with all of the sugar that was in it rather than orange juice with it’s more natural sugar. This called for something special. This called for breakfast in bed. This called for one of their special meals. Omelettes. Eggs being stirred, adding in whatever she had left in their fridge like some spinach, some tomato, cucumber, avocado, onion, cheese. She crisped up some bacon, and poured him some juice as well. And after carefully making sure that they were clean and the results were still clear, she put the tests on the tray and went to serve her husband.

“Breakfast in bed, baby,” She said, brushing his hair back out of his face with her fingers, setting them all up so they could be beside one another, each one of them with a tray of their own. “It’s a .. it’s a big day.”