A/N: For the purpose of this story, let's say Lily was born at the beginning of April.
April 17, 2017
Kate could not believe she was having this conversation with Rick. "Rick, she's ten days old. She cannot eat a single piece of candy!" But it wasn't making a difference with her husband; he just loved the Easter Star Wars bucket (especially since it featured Princess Leia and he thought that was perfect for their daughter) and he wanted to fill it with candy for Lily.
"But Kate, it's her first Easter! We have to acknowledge it in some way!" And then her husband turned the puppy dog eyes on her. Her first thought was she was in trouble if Lily made that same face at her someday. Damn, she was tired, she just wanted to get home and crash on the couch. She had wanted to get out for a little while, so she had agreed to this trip to the local drugstore, not realizing that they would still have Easter stuff available.
They had had a quiet Easter with the family yesterday. Rick had cooked, everyone had ooh'd and aah'd over Lily, and Kate sat on the couch all day. But they needed a few things, and Rick had cajoled her into this walk down the block and here she was, trying to reason with her husband. And then she just knew it would be easier to let him buy the bucket and some candy, and then they could go home. Rick had Lily in the baby sling and she was still sleeping, but Kate knew that could change very quickly. "Fine. Buy Lily the Star Wars bucket and some candy. And then let's go home, okay?"
Rick's face lit up as soon as the words were out of her mouth, and he quickly put the bucket in the shopping cart and then he added a bag of jelly beans, some Reese's peanut butter cups dressed up in pastel foil "because they're Lily's favorite" – that made her roll her eyes a bit, since they were Rick's favorite - some chocolate eggs and the biggest chocolate bunny they had. She had to laugh at his glee over finding the bunny – he was "Officer Bunny" – and Rick declared it was fate.
They were soon out of the store and home, and after washing her hands and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, she took Lily from Rick and sat on the couch. Lily was now awake and was starting to make her "I'm hungry, Mom" noises. Kate fed her while Rick started to arrange the candy in the bucket. Kate held back her smile as she watched. She remembered how he had insisted on filling a trick or treat bucket for "the baby" back in October, and how he asked her to bake cookies for their little girl to leave for Santa at Christmas time. So she really shouldn't be surprised at the fact that he wanted to buy their ten day old daughter some Easter candy.
When it was time to burp Lily, Rick came over with the burp cloth arranged on his shoulder and the filled bucket in his hand. Kate tried to hide her grin, but she knew Rick saw it as he placed the bucket on the table. He kissed the crown of her head as he reached to take Lily from her arms. The two of them had this sort of stuff down – their partnership was already carrying over to parenting. Rick rubbed Lily's back gently as he murmured nonsense words to her. Lily rewarded her father with a lovely burp, and Rick praised her efforts. "Nice job, sweetheart! And Happy Day after Easter, otherwise known as half price Easter candy day!"
Kate laughed out loud at that. And since the candy was close by, she really couldn't resist one or two little treats. She reached into the candy haul and took out a chocolate egg, unwrapped the purple foil and popped it into her mouth. She let the chocolate treat melt on her tongue and smiled. Rick grinned at the blissful expression on her face, and then said, "You know, Kate, she is going to taste some of the candy. After all, you are breast feeding!"
She gave him a glare for that one, and a swat on the bicep. But she couldn't stay mad at him for long, especially when he was holding their daughter. Fatherhood looked so good on him.
A/N #2: I know this is a little early for Easter, but I'm going out of town, so I wasn't sure when I would be able to post it. This is a story idea I had last year but I didn't get it finished. I was going through my folders and found it and decided to finish it. Happy Easter (a little early) to those that celebrate!