So this is a little one shot I wrote, when I realised it was Sophie's birthday I was inspired to write this. It would probably make more sense if you read 'How We Got Here' and 'Sophie' first but it can be read as a standalone piece as well. This is sugary sweet, pure fluff (no apologies as usually my stuff is a bit darker). I know there are some of you the may be waiting on the next chapter of AtBP, I assure you, it is coming, I'm currently laptop less as they try to fix my hard drive and get all my files (including all my story notes and the next chapter of AtBP off it) So please keep your fingers crossed for me. Hope you enjoy this, and Happy Birthday Sophie :)
Tom tried to be quiet as he walked in the front door. He felt his way up the stairs carefully so he didn't have to turn on any lights, Sam was a notoriously light sleeper and with them on opposite shift patterns they were forever waking each other up in the middle of much needed sleep. He squinted down at the soft green glow of his watch and saw that it was just after 6am. Tom bit his lip as he accidentally stepped on the only floorboard in the entire hallway that squeaked. Cursing under his breath he shook his head as he made his way towards their bedroom.
It was only when he actually looked down the hall that he saw the light coming from under Sophie's door. Their daughter, like Sam was a notoriously light sleeper and despite being almost one, she'd never slept through the night. They had tried everything from trying to get her into a routine, to lavender bubble bath, every tip and trick that Sam had seen in those mother and baby magazines she would swear blind she had never read. But Sophie was inquisitive and bouncy and just wanted to take in as much of the world around her as she could. And as Tom knew from his turns on the 'night shift' that that included waking three or four times a night.
Despite this, both he and Sam had adjusted to the lack of sleep, the constant tiredness that came with being new parents and the task of having someone who depended on them for everything. Of course there had been arguments and bad days and worse nights, they weren't perfect, but then they had never pretended to be. They just did the best they could, and for the overwhelming majority of the time they were happy. Blissfully happy and that was enough. Tom smiled to himself when he thought back to just under a year ago, not long after Sophie had been born. Sam had caught him in the nursery singing to Sophie. In that moment they'd both acknowledged how much of a blessing Sophie had been. An absolute surprise, but an absolute blessing. And now a year later, Tom still couldn't believe his luck.
The door to Sophie's room was ajar and he crept up to it, peeking through the tiny gap. Sam was sitting on the floor, her hair up in that adorably messy bun he loved so much. Little Sophie was sat a few feet in front of her, enthralled in the play Sam was putting on with the teddy bears she held in her hands. Tom felt his heart swell at the scene in front of him. Oh how he wished that everyone who had doubted Sam's maternal ability could see this.
"You can come in doctor Kent I know you're there," Sam called, a hint of sarcasm lacing her voice, "daddy's so silly, thinking he can sneak up on us," she said and Sophie giggled in reply.
His reverie broken, Tom rubbed his sleepy eyes and walked into the room. He bent down to kiss Sam, who recoiled in mock horror as she smelt the coffee on his breath.
"How much coffee have you had?" she asked, screwing her nose up.
"Not nearly enough," he quipped, "and you're one to talk," Tom said crouching down to whisper in her ear, "morning breath,"
"Oi," Sam exclaimed, playfully swatting Tom's shoulder, "I haven't had a chance to brush my teeth since your daughter decided to wake me up at 5am,"
Tom bent down to pick up his daughter who was reaching to him with outstretched arms and a wide grin, "that's my girl, keeping mummy on her toes," he said as he held Sophie and played a short game of 'planes'. The dizzying action elicited a gleeful round of giggles from Sophie and a beaming smile from Sam.
"The one and only time I've done that she threw up on me," Sam pouted.
"That's because you can't drive a plane like me," he grinned, "mummy can barely park the car, no wonder she can't do planes," he said in a silly voice to Sophie.
"Ma, ma," she babbled, turning in Tom's arms to face Sam, grinning as Sam made a silly face at her.
Tom kissed the top of Sophie's head before putting her back on the floor. Sophie immediately crawled over to her favourite toy, a hideous stuffed horse that Fletch had given her when she was born. So attached to this horse was Sophie that Sam had only managed to wash it once and they did their best to ignore the fact it was covered in drool and dried Weetabix.
"So," Tom said sitting on the floor behind Sam. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she leaned into him, letting her head fall onto his chest, "another 5am wake up call?"
"and at 1 and 3. She settled pretty quickly the other two times. This morning I think she was just bored, she was fine as soon as I got her out of the cot," Sam replied, turning slightly so she was snuggled up against Tom. "I missed you,"
"I missed you too," he replied, pressing a soft kiss to Sam's head, "we got slammed last night, it was practically non-stop,"
"You should go and get some sleep," Sam said, "I'm not on until four,"
"Mmm, I'll just stay here a while longer," Tom replied. He sighed contentedly and Sam settled back into his arms. He lived for moments like this. The simple moments when it was just the three of them, "how's party planning?" he asked with a slight smirk. Sophie's first birthday party had, upon Robyn, Fletch and Louise getting wind of it had turned from a simple affair into a monstrous event with handmade invitations and bunting.
"If Robyn puts one more idea on that stupid Pintrest board I will not be held accountable for my actions," Sam said sarcastically, "I've pretty much left it up to them so don't blame me when you see a piñata and 6 different flavours of buttercream to decorate your own cupcake,"
Tom laughed. He knew deep down that Sam wasn't really annoyed; she just wasn't one for bells and whistles. But he knew it meant the world to her that their friends in the ED loved Sophie so much that they wanted to plan the perfect party for her.
"It'll be fun, besides, we'll celebrate earlier, just the three of us. We'll go somewhere special like…the zoo," he exclaimed. Tom loved the zoo.
"Tom she's one,"
"You've seen how much she loves that horse," he joked and he felt Sam shudder in his arms, "she's a true animal lover, we'll get her started young,"
"We'll see" Sam said, in a voice which told Tom that maybe, with a lot of begging it just might happen.
"Look," Sam said softly, pointing to Sophie. She was pulling herself up using the bars on the cot, standing for a few seconds before falling on to her bottom. Every time it happened she giggled and got up and tried again.
"She'll be walking soon," Tom mused, and he couldn't hide the hint of sadness in his voice.
"What is it?" Sam asked, raising her head off Tom's chest slightly so she could look at him.
"Nothing, it's silly," he said, shaking his head.
"I don't care if it's silly Tom Kent, talk to me," Sam insisted.
"I'll probably miss it," he sighed.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, narrowing her eyes at him in concern.
"I missed her first smile, when she sat up for the first time, her first word," he sighed again. With him going back to work full time only 2 weeks after Sophie had been born he'd missed a lot of firsts. Of course he'd be proud and delighted to come home and hear Sam excitedly tell him what Sophie had achieved that day. But it always pained him that he never seemed to be around for those milestones.
"Oh Tom," Sam sighed, sitting up properly and turning so she could face him, "I'm sorry,"
"It's alright, it just, I want to be around for some of them you know," he explained.
"Why don't we switch the shifts up again, that way you'll be around more in the daytime?" Sam offered.
"Maybe," Tom said, nodding his head, "are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure, we do this equally Tom, we said that at the beginning," Sam reassured him, before placing a gentle kiss on his lips.
"You can take the first boyfriend," she said, and he felt her smirk against his lips before she kissed him again.
"What boyfriend? She's not dating until she's 30," Tom replied.
"You did have a first," Sam mused, "remember that week I had to go and stay with mum, and Sophie cut her first tooth," she looked up at him slyly and bit her lip. All she had gotten that week was facetime calls from an exhausted Tom and a grizzly Sophie who was only happy when she was eating a tube of bonjela.
"How could I forget that wonderful experience," Tom joked, rolling his eyes.
"Hey I got the next 5," Sam retorted, punching him playfully in the side.
"Speaking of teeth, did you rearrange that dentist…" Tom started but drifted off, seemingly staring at something over Sam's shoulder.
"What?" she asked as she saw a huge grin spread across Tom's face.
"Look, look," he said excitedly, and Sam twisted awkwardly just in time to see Sophie let go of the cot bars. Both Sam and Tom held their breath as she wobbled, then tentatively lifted one foot. Sam grabbed Tom's hand, crushing it in a manner not much different than she had done when she was in labour as Sophie took one, two, three steps before falling backwards on to the floor.
"She did it!" Sam exclaimed, turning to Tom with an excited grin on her face to find he had a matching one.
"She walked!"
"Aren't you a clever girl?" Sam practically squealed.
Somewhat confused by the commotion and noise her parents were making Sophie burst into a fit of giggles and clapped her hands in the adorably uncoordinated way only a one year old can.
"Yeah that's my little nugget," Tom said proudly, making a show of clapping his hands too, "such a clever girl,"
Sam reached over to scoop Sophie up in her arms, the child seemed to be unfussed by her most recent achievement and she squirmed as Tom and Sam showered her with hugs and kissed and cooed their praise. Tom surreptitiously reached up to swipe a tear away from his eye and Sam pretended not to notice. She knew if she said anything he would swear until the cows came home that he'd just had something in his eye.
As Sophie finally gave up trying to escape her excited parents' embrace she climbed from Sam's arms to Tom's and snuggled on his chest. As Sam snuggled into the other side of his chest Tom let out a contented sigh. Every time he thought he couldn't love his little family any more, something happened to prove him wrong. Every now and then he pinched himself to make sure that it was all real.
"Marry me," Tom said quietly. The two words he had been contemplating for months finally falling from his lips.
"What?" Sam asked, sitting up in surprise. She wasn't sure if she'd heard him right.
"Samantha Louise Nicholls will you marry me?" Tom asked, his voice bolder this time, "I mean, I know I'm supposed to get down on one knee but when have we ever done anything traditionally?"
Sam blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes and as she opened her mouth to speak her words got caught behind the lump in her throat. So she nodded, wildly, leaning in and giving Tom his answer in a kiss.
"Yes," Sam whispered when she finally found her voice.
"Yes?" Tom grinned.
"Yes you stupid fool," Sam laughed, burying her head back down on to Tom's shoulder.
"Yeah yeah" Sophie mimicked, causing both Sam and Tom to dissolve into a fit of laughter.
"That's the first time she's said that you know," Sam said, grinning at Tom.
"Seems like I'm getting my share of milestone after all," Tom smiled, pulling both of his girls in tighter for another hug.
I haven't written for Casualty for ages, and I miss it! Stay tuned for more of the Sophie series, and AtBP. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please leave a review :)