Growing up Hammond
Two Months Old
Disclaimer: I do not own Political Animals nor am I affiliated with them in any way.
Note: In this first chapter TJ is called 'Thomas', 'Tommy', and 'TJ' cause I wasn't sure when they would've started calling him that or who would've been the one to call him that first.
Elaine awoke with a start and lied in the dark for a moment, trying to determine what woke her. Her question was answered when a sharp cry pierced the air from the other side of the room. Elaine glanced over at her husband who continued to snore awake and rolled out of bed. She crossed the room and walked over to one of the cots.
"Shhh, shush now," she said gently, lifting Douglas into her arms. She rocked the two month old gently, smiling as he stopped crying and stared up at her with wide, wet eyes.
"What's the matter sweetheart?" she said quietly and he whimpered slightly. She glanced down into the other cot and was greeted by another pair of wide eyes staring back at her as her other son laid there quietly.
"You're awake too?" she cooed as Thomas waved his arms, "Did your brother wake you?" She sank down into the rocked chair between the two cots. Holding Douglas tightly as he fed, she used her other hand to trace circles on Tommy's stomach to keep him calm.
"You hungry too?" she asked and he gurgled happily. She smiled and looked down at Douglas, lifting him gently so he rested against her shoulder. She began patting his back gently just as Bud sat up in bed.
"Everything alright Sugar?" he asked.
"Yeah, everything's fine," she replied, "Douglas was hungry. I just need to change him and then feed Tommy."
"You take care of TJ," Bud said, getting out of bed, "I'll take Dougie." He lifted his son out of her arms and she picked Tommy up out of his basket. Elaine fed and changed him and then sat next to her husband on their bed. Bud was gently rocking Douglas as the child blinked sleepily up at his parents. Elaine looked down at TJ and saw his eyes sliding closed as he turned slightly and snuggled closer to her.
"It's been two months and it's still hard to believe they're real," Elaine said gently.
"You'll still be saying that when they're thirty," Bud said and she smiled.
"Probably," Elaine nodded, "Except then it will probably be because they did something stupid and I can't believe they're related to us." Bud chuckled quietly as they continued to stare down at their two sleeping sons.
"Come on," he said, "We both need to get some sleep and God knows these two'll be up bright and early." They stood and placed the boys in their cots before climbing into their own bed. Bud wrapped his arms around his wife as the pair drifted off to sleep, both wondering what their lives would be like when the boys were thirty.
Alright, so I had wanted to do something when the boys were really young for a while and this is what happened. I'm going to be doing a series of one shots at various ages and stages in Douglas and TJ's lives.
If you have any prompts for things you'd like to see just let me know! Thanks for reading!