Author's Note: I own nothing. If you sue me, you'll be very disappointed.
"Okay, Lilly, are we ready? Are we going to go to the playground this morning?" Jane's voice was light and bouncy, giving her young daughter a light kiss on top of her dark curls. Lilly's eyes were bright as she babbled in response, bouncing in her mother's arms.
Jane rummaged through the bag, trying to make sure she had everything ready. Nearly a year in to this motherhood thing, she still felt like it was nearly impossible to leave the house without forgetting something. "Cheerios, jacket, wipes, water, diapers, Sophie, oh, Lilly, fine" Lilly had started to squirm in her arms, twisting around, trying to grab at everything. "Go find something else to play with." She placed the baby on the ground, ignoring Lilly's initial fussiness. Sure enough, something else quickly caught Lilly's attention, and she crawled away, soon forgetting the fact she wasn't being held.
Jane finished ruffling through the bag, feeling hopeful that she had actually remembered everything this time. "Oh well, we're not going to far, right Lilly Bell? Ready to go?" She glanced over to where Lilly was currently gnawing on a book. "I'll take that as a yes."
She pulled out the stroller, placing the diaper bag in the bottom before grabbing Lilly. It had gotten to be a fight any time Lilly had to stay still – in the stroller, the car seat, her crib, or even sitting in their laps. Since she had started crawling, she had been so full of energy, with a constant need to be mobile. Once they actually started walking down the street, Lilly usually calmed down, but until then, the little girl screamed like a banshee, leading to embarrassing looks and confrontations from their neighbors. As soon as Jane picked Lilly up, the fussing started – Lilly knew what was coming, and was not looking forward to it. "Don't worry, girlie, I'm not about to strap you in just yet," Jane said, gently rubbing her daughter's back. There were some battles Jane wasn't willing to fight this morning. "We'll wait until we get outside."
Jane pushed the stroller with one hand, carrying Lilly in the other. In the hallway, she saw their neighbors, the Santagelos. Rebecca, who babysat for Lilly occasionally, smiled when she saw them, and immediately reached out to help carry the little girl. Lilly was delighted to see her friend, giggling with happiness the entire elevator ride. By the time they reached the lobby, Jane was able to strap Lilly into the stroller with barely a fuss at all. "Say bye bye to Rebecca, Lilly," Jane encouraged. Lilly smiled, dutifully showing off her new skill – a flappy wave that nonetheless had all the adults squealing with delight.
The park wasn't that far, usually only about a ten minute walk, but today Jane lingered, walking slowly, enjoying the weather. Fall had finally come to New York, and after a sweltering hot summer, the cool breeze was a relief. Even the air smelled different, although Kurt never failed to tease her whenever she brought this up. The leaves had not yet to begin to change colors, although a few had started falling. Jane had never lost the delight of crunching through leaves that piled up along the curb, and she couldn't help but be excited as she imagined having leaf fights with Lilly in a few weeks. While most people seemed to prefer spring, and the new life it brought forth after the long winter, Jane had long ago decided she liked the fall the best.
They walked along in silence, with occasional remarks from Jane, pointing out an unusual sight or sound, and then responding babbles from Lilly. Kurt was always talking with Lilly, providing a near constant stream of consciousness as their day progressed. The man, who was usually so reticent, even with Jane, came alive with their daughter. He never failed to entertain her with silly voices and songs he made up on the spot. Jane had a nagging worry that this made their daughter love him more, but every time she mentioned this fear, Kurt nipped it in the bud, reminding her of the thousand ways Lilly showed how much she loved Jane.
Soon enough they were at the park. It was a small, neighborhood park, just big enough for a playground and a small grassy area for kids to run around in. But that was all they really needed, and besides, they liked the fact that there was nothing interesting about it. Tourists tended to stay away, and it was mostly used by the locals, the neighbors they'd come to know and trust over the past few years.
Jane chose a spot on the grass, right inside the entrance. Kurt had said he would try to meet them there if he finished his paperwork early enough, and although it wasn't a large park, Jane figured she'd make it easy for him to find them.
For while, Jane just let Lilly crawl around and explore; she squealed with delight as the grass tickled her arms and legs. Jane had to quickly step in a few times, whenever Lilly got too curious and tried to taste a leaf of piece of trash she found on the ground, but for the most part, she let her daughter explore freely. She narrated along, naming the things that Lilly was looking at, but even then, that slowly faded off, as Jane just watched, thrilled to let her daughter just be.
Lilly slowly started losing interest in the grass, and Jane decided it was time to go back to their spot. She laid out a small blanket, placing a few of Lilly's favorite toys on it, hoping to keep her still for a few minutes at least. Jane lay down on her stomach, resting on her forearms so she was nearly eye level with Lilly. She couldn't help but smile as she watched her daughter chew on the rubber giraffe. Still, nearly a year later, and she was in disbelief that they had made this amazing little girl. It seemed like just yesterday they were staring at that pregnancy test, scared to believe it could even be true. But now here she was, proving every day what a miracle life really was. "I love you," she said dreamily, reaching out and gently rubbing her daughter's face.
"Mama," Lilly's quiet babble just made Jane's heart swell even more. They still weren't convinced that Lilly actually knew what she was saying when she said "mama" and "dada," but at times like this, there wasn't a doubt in Jane's mind. Lilly flashed a quick smile, holding out the slobbery giraffe she had been chewing on to show her mom.
"Oh, no thank you, you can have it," Jane laughed, pushing the giraffe back to Lilly.
"Sissy!" a familiar voice rang out. Jane turned towards the voice, smiling at the little boy running over to them. He was looking more and more like his father every day, she noticed. His shaggy brown hair framed his face, with his piercing blue eyes that mirrored Lilly's. She knew he was tall for his age – when they had last picked him up from preschool, he was at least a few inches taller than the rest of his class. She stood up, ready to greet him, but he brushed right past, Lilly getting all his attention.
"Owen, say hello to Jane!" Allie called out, only now making her way through the entrance.
"Hi Jane," Owen said, barely looking up from his little sister.
Jane laughed, reaching down to ruffle his hair. "Hi, kiddo."
Lilly loved her big brother, excitedly screaming "O-o! O-o!" and waving her arms around. From the moment they had first met, there was a bond between the two of them that no one had quite expected, but it warmed their hearts to see the two playing together.
Allie soon enough arrived, trying to catch her breath. "He wanted to run the entire way here. He doesn't understand that I can't do that anymore." She gently rubbed her swollen belly, "I swear, I get winded now just walking to the bathroom."
Jane laughed, giving Allie a gentle hug. "Can't be much longer now, right? A few more weeks?" she asked, empathetically. She remembered what those last weeks were like with Lilly, and she knew how miserable Allie must be feeling right about now.
"Three. God, was the ninth month always this long? You can come out any time now, girl."
"I know," Jane said gently, "With her, by this time I felt like I was carrying around a bowling ball."
"It never seemed this bad with Owen. I can't sleep, I'm peeing all the time, and the heartburn…I mean, I remember this feeling, but feels like a lifetime ago."
"Well, that's because you didn't have to chase after a preschooler at the same time." Jane gave a halfhearted smile, knowing that was of little comfort to Allie.
They both glanced over to Owen, who was lying next to Lilly. He had been saying nonsense words, tickling her, anything trying to get Lilly to laugh. As if on cue, the little girl's laughter rang out, causing Owen to laugh with delight also.
"Is she walking yet?" Allie asked. The last time she'd seen the baby was a little over a week ago, and it had looked like she would take off running at any moment.
"Not yet, so close though. She'll stand all day, cruise around, but we haven't found the right motivation to get her to take that first step." Jane flashed back to just this morning. Kurt had gotten her out of the crib, and when he put her down, she'd stood there, in the middle of her room, for over a minute, before dropping down and crawling to the kitchen for breakfast.
"Well, she's not even one yet. Owen walked closer to 14 months…"
"Where's daddy?" Owen looked up, finally noticing everyone wasn't there. He glanced around the park before his eyes settled on Jane.
"He had to go into work, just for a little bit. But he was planning on meeting us here in just a little bit – and he'll be so excited that you're here also!" Jane reached into the stroller for her phone, "I'll just let him know – "
"No, don't do that," Allie gently brushed Jane's hand away. "I don't want to make him feel like he needs to rush. We didn't even know you guys would be here – we just needed to get out of the house." Jane looked hesitant, her hand still gripping her phone. "If he gets here, let it be a surprise. I know he hates missing time with Owen, I don't want to make him feel guiltier than he already does because he has to work."
"Allie, you know he'd be over here in a heartbeat, no matter what he's working on."
"Exactly. Let him finish – that way when he's done, he's actually done. Besides, we'll still be doing the normal drop off tomorrow, and you guys will be getting lots of Owen time soon, right, buddy?" she called out, gently rubbing her stomach.
"Yeah!" Owen's face brightened into a smile. "Mom said that I get to come to your place when baby Ellie comes!"
"I know buddy, we can't wait!" Jane smiled at Owen, and then turned to Allie, "And you know he's always welcome… No matter what. Even on days like this, if you just need a break, that's fine."
"Look Jane," Owen called out. While the parents were talking, he had stood up, gently holding Lilly's hands, walking her around the grass.
"Be careful, Owen," Allie called out.
"Oh he's fine," Jane brushed off Allie's concern. She loved watching Owen playing with his little sister. Sure every once in a while he could be a little rough, but for the most part, he was so gentle and caring with her, showering her with kisses and praise every chance he got. It had been hard, finding a rhythm to this extended family thing, especially with all the chances in the past few years. Between Lilly's birth, Allie's new husband and new baby, it seemed things were in a constant state of flux. But it had all been worth it, seeing the way the two acted with each other.
The two kids' laughter rang out as they made their way across the field, giggling at things the grownups could only imagine.
Jane let out a small gasp as Owen let go of Lilly's hands. Lilly stood still for a moment, gaining her balance on her still slightly wobbly legs. "Come on Lilly, let's go," Owen called out, waving his hand for her to follow. And as if in slow motion, Jane watched as her daughter took her first step, toddling after her big brother.
Realized now that people may hate me for making Kurt miss his daughter's first steps. But to me, they aren't a big deal. I've seen so many first steps (and lied about most of them), so that now, they basically mean nothing. But bonding siblings – that always gets me. Hence this story.
I am in no way worried about the Allie baby storyline, and trust that MG has something amazing planned for it, and it won't actively interfere with Jane and Kurt's future.
I know most of you probably dismissed this the second you saw Allie listed as a character, but if you actually read it, I'd love to hear what you think. Reviews are always appreciated.