So yeah, I'm back! This just popped into my head. A pretty harmless story but I hope you guys enjoy it. Please review so I know there are still HoD and Zade fans out there!
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Zoe pressed her lips slowly onto to the top of the sleeping baby's head, her soft silky black hairs releasing that sweet new-born scent that Zoe wished she could bottle up and keep forever. The baby never stirred as Zoe rocked her tiny body side to side paying attention to every tiny detail of the infant's small frame- her pink dress, the white cotton socks covering her rosy red skin and not forgetting the crème bow that sat gently atop her head. Zoe was in love.
"Hey Doc…"
Zoe was unresponsive, she was in a world of her own.
"Zoe…" a female voice said a little louder causing Zoe to look up "… I gotta feed her."
Zoe smiled as she reluctantly handed the sleeping baby into Annabeth's arms "Sorry, I just can't help myself. She's like a doll."
"You guys decided on a name yet?"
"I think we're gonna go with Lucy" George exclaimed proudly as AB smiled along in agreement.
"Lucy Tucker… has a nice ring to it."
"And were both of you conscious and sound of mind when picking this name?" Wade asked with a hint of irony in his voice, directing his stares at his wife who could only roll her eyes.
Geroge smiled "Yes, we were both aware of the name we were choosing."
Zoe rolled her eyes "I was exhausted okay? It was an honest mistake."
Wade smiled back in her direction, he loved to tease her over how their son accidentally earned his name, a result of confusion and sheer exhaustion on Zoe's part having completely forgotten she and Wade had decided to name their son Ryan, only for Zoe, in a state of exhaustion to space entirely on that rather important life decision and declare to AB that their son was going to be named something else entirely, unbeknown to Wade who discovered through an update on Dash's blog that their son was in fact not called Ryan.
Annabeth smiled as she lay back down on the bed and set her daughter up for a feed, Zoe looked on almost cooing as Wade and George watched from afar. Wade caught a look at George who was watching on in complete adoration of his wife and new-born daughter.
"Enjoy it Tucker, it doesn't last forever."
"What doesn't?" George queried, his eyes still fixed on his wife.
"This, this quiet. One day you got this bundle of joy, next minute they're laughin' at you as they pour apple juice down the back of the tv…" Wade said with a hint of distain, the incident still a tough one for him to take. George and Annabeth chuckled as Zoe rolled her eyes "No way will this little angel be anything other than perfect…" she cooed as she peered in at the baby who had now awoken for her lunch "… unlike our pack of feral cats."
George laughed as Wade nodded in agreement "Speakin' of, we should probably get goin'. We told Lavon we'd be back by 5…" Wade lifted himself off the dresser he had been leaning against as Zoe gave the baby one last kiss on the forehead and a kiss for Annabeth on her cheek "…I'll call over before work on Thursday when you guys get home but until then if you guys need anything, you know where we are."
"Knock knock..."
Zoe lifted her head to see Annabeth push open the door, a bunch of flowers in one hand and a blue gift bag in the other.
"Hey…" Zoe whispered as she sat herself up in the bed.
"I just saw Wade and Lavon headin' to the cafeteria so I thought here's my chance to get some one on one time…" AB said quietly as she made her way over to the hospital bed, gushing as the sleeping baby came in into sight. Zoe proudly displayed her new-born son to her friend who took a seat beside her on the hospital bed.
"Oh my gosh, Zoe…" AB cooed with tears in her eyes, peering in at the baby, his fair hair was hardly visible from a far but up close it was evident along with his sallow skin and two cheek dimples sitting either side of the green pacifier that was almost as wide as his face "…he has to be the most beautiful baby I have ever laid my eyes on. How are you feelin'?"
Zoe smiled, her mixture of hormones and lack of sleep were catching up on her big time "I'm exhausted, overwhelmed but happy, it's nothing like I thought it would be."
"Why's that?"
Zoe shrugged her shoulders as she stared down at her son "I didn't think it was possible to love him this much even though I just met him a few hours ago…" the tears rolled down her cheek "it sounds crazy I know but I just- I can't describe what I feel when I look at him…"
"Well he is precious…"
"He's perfect" Zoe whispered down into her sleeping son.
AB smiled with pride and joy at her friend "sound like a mom to me."
Zoe sniffed away the tears "Wanda told me the hormones got worse after giving birth but I had no idea they would be this bad, just before you came in here Wade asked me if I wanted pie or cherry pie from the cafeteria and I couldn't decide…" her voice rapidly turning high and tight as she relived the moment "… and I just couldn't decide because I love them both so much!"
"Ok Zoe, its ok don't cry" AB trying her best to sooth her friend who was clearly exhausted both physically and emotionally, rubbing her back calmingly "knowin' Wade he'll bring you back both!"
Zoe laughed at her own hysteria through the tears "Look at me, I've gone and turned into a mental patient."
"You're not a mental patient, you're tired. Let me take the baby and let you rest up for a bit."
Zoe did not argue with that, she lifted the baby up towards AB who gladly accepted the sleeping baby into her arms.
"Any closer to picking a name?" AB asked as Zoe lowered herself under the bed covers. Before her head even hit the pillow, her eyes were closing, the exhaustion had finally caught up with her "mmm..." she mumbled "… Jamie. His name is Jamie."
….
Zoe looked over at Wade who was firmly focused on the road "they look happy, don't they?"
Wade smiled "yeah, they do…" he came to a stop as they approached a stop sign giving him a chance to look at his wife "…doesn't seem that long ago it was us."
"It wasn't really."
"Time flies…"
"When you're sleep deprived..." Zoe quipped as Wade smiled in agreement.
They didn't speak much on the drive home from Mobile, it wasn't often these days that they got a full car ride without crying, arguments or shoes being thrown, sometimes in their direction, so when the opportunity arose to drive child-free to the hospital in Mobile to visit George and AB alone they jumped at the chance. Zoe rested her head back as the fresh June air billowed through the car, the summer heat hadn't hit just yet although all weather reports were pointing towards the worst heatwave in 30 years. Wade also took in the tranquillity of the drive home, taking the back roads, he stole glances of his wife who dozed peacefully in the passenger seat, they often joked about how exhausted they were but both knew they wouldn't change the last 4 years of their lives for anything in the world, their lives were hectic and some days they were lucky to spend 30 minutes alone without being interrupted by a demanding child but both were happier than they've ever been.
As Wade pulled into the plantation he slowed the car right down, almost to a complete stop, and pressed down on the car horn consecutively as both him and Zoe waited in anticipation. It took less than 30 seconds for the bare foot fair-haired boy to emerge from behind the bushes and dart across Lavon's freshly mowed lawn. The little boy ran at speed, his denim cut-off jeans the only piece of clothing he donned, his long fringe flopping just above his eyes as sprinted barefoot towards his father's car.
"Can I drive?!" he screeched before he even reached the car door, Wade gladly obliged to his young son as he let him open the door and scramble up into his lap. The little boy's eyes lit up as he placed both his hands on the steering wheel bursting with excitement waiting for his dad to put the car in drive. He bounced around with sheer elation but also with an element of concentration as Wade guided him down the plantation driveway going no more than 20mph and let him turn the wheel all the way to left, to park the car just outside Lavon's kitchen door. The drive took no more than 2 minutes but to Zoe and Wade's young son it was a road trip- and he was in charge. Zoe, although anxious, displayed a smile from ear to ear as she listened to her son's infectious laugh, completely engrossed in his task of driving his father's car.
"J, where have all your clothes gone?" Zoe questioned as Wade turned the key in the ignition much to the disappointment of their son.
"Mmmm I dunno…" the boy said coyly, brushing away his mother's questioning by pulling something out of his pocket "… look what I got…" he exclaimed, showing the one dollar to his dad.
Wade yanked the dollar bill out of his son's hand, acting as if he had a hundred dollars in his possession "where did you get that from?"
"Grandpa Earl gave it to me…" he replied, jumping from the car, his bare feet hitting the stone gravel with no reaction.
Wade and Zoe looked at each other as they too got out of the car "When did you see Grandpa Earl?"
"Today with Lemon when we were gettin' lunch."
"I hope you said thank you" Zoe asked as she opened the kitchen door.
"Uh huh…" her son responded as he bounded into the kitchen and made a beeline straight for Lemon who stood at the counter "… can I have more?"
"Please!" Zoe exclaimed, in her ongoing attempt to get her rambunctious son to use the manners she taught him. The little boy scrunched his nose, looking up at Lemon "please can I have more?". Lemon obliged and poured the contents of the blender into the blue plastic cup causing Zoe to roll her eyes.
"Are you kidding me? How come whenever I make smoothies you refuse to drink them?" Zoe quizzed her son who laughed, thinking carefully about how he would respond to his mother "mmm 'cause Lemon makes nicer ones…" he said with a cheeky grin in his mother's direction.
Zoe rolled her eyes as Wade smirked "yeah yeah, get out of here…" she quipped as he disappeared behind the kitchen counter and down the hallway.
"Every freaking time!" she exclaimed as Wade smiled once more.
"What can I say Doctor Hart, your children see me as a culinary delight." Lemon quipped.
Wade pulled two bottles of water from the refrigerator, handing one to his wife who gladly accepted, the rise in temperature more noticeable once they had left the air-conditioned safety of Mobile Hospital.
"Everything go ok?" Zoe asked, taking a gulp of the ice-cold water.
Lemon nodded her head "all three children are accounted for, minus their clothes of course. We had ice-cream after lunch…"
Before Wade or Zoe had the opportunity to ask, they heard a noise from down the hall and not soon after a blonde-haired toddler came bursting into the kitchen only a diaper covering his rear-end, he was similar looking to his older brother, his hair was slightly blonder and was pushed back off his forehead allowing his crystal blue eyes to really stand out. Not even a moment later there was another thundering noise as an identical toddler raced into the kitchen, also in his diaper but could be distinguished from his twin brother by the fresh cut just above his eyebrow. Their older brother came along soon after and then followed by an exhausted looking Lavon who held a handful of dirty clothes in his hand. He dumped the clothes on the counter beside Wade before throwing himself down on the kitchen stool, letting out an exasperated sigh.
Zoe didn't know which child to attend to first, whether it was her oldest child who did his best to draw her attention to the cut above his baby brother's eyebrow, to her son who had the cut above his eyebrow or to her other son who pulled at her handbag assuming she had brought back some sort of confectionary for them.
Lemon and Lavon looked at each other, they had grown accustomed to the noise but it still took them by surprise the endless amount of energy that all 3 boys had. Lavon in particular was exhausted, he openly admitted that an NFL career was easier than chasing after the almost 2-year-old boys who had earned the nicknames Hurricane and Tornado, aptly given to them upon declaration that both boys had different styles but both delivered the same amount of damage as a hurricane and a tornado respectively. Their older brother was no angel either, he was energetic, sharp-minded and was even more charming than his father, with the ability to smile his way out of any situation. He had an answer for everything but most importantly he had his uncle Lavon and aunt Lemon wrapped around his little finger and Wade and Zoe were quickly realising that his younger brothers were following suit.
"Momma, can I sleep here tonight?"
Zoe shook her head, as she lifted one son into her arm "Not tonight Jamie, maybe on the weekend. Go say goodbye to Lemon and Lavon."
The young boy dropped his head in disappointment, making his way over to Lemon who greeted him with a kiss on the forehead. He looked up at her with a look of love for the woman who has been labelled as his second mother, someone who he knew from day one he loved just as much as his own mother. He then scurried over to Lavon, his best friend aside from his dad, who pulled him in for a hug "bye Lavon, see you in the mornin'".
Lavon held him tight, the little boy who transformed all their lives just over 4 years ago, no matter how loud or messy he was Lavon just couldn't resist falling in love with him all over again. He loved him like a son, he loved all 3 of them like sons.
Jamie hopped back down from his godfather's lap and towards his father's direction who handed him a pair sandals to put on. Lavon drew his attention back up to Wade and Zoe who each held a child in their hands whilst gathering up the mountain of belongings that came with each child.
"Bye Jackson, bye Dylan..." Lavon called out after them causing the two boys to turn their heads, each responding with an excited wave and a high-pitched scream as their parents pulled them out the door.
Lavon let out a sigh once the Hart-Kinsella crew had left his kitchen, it was chaos but he wouldn't have it any other way.
…..
So yea, let me know what you think! Thanks 😊