The Moon and a Blanket of Stars
This is a one shot of an idea I had where Stevie and her dad dance together at her wedding.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but their memories.
Stevie looked beautiful beyond words. Her white dress flowed from a lace top into a skirt dotted with flowers along the waistline. Her hair hung down her back with little white flowers pinned in it. She was stunning and rightfully so, it was her wedding reception and she was now married to the love of her life, Jareth. It was hard to believe that she was married, she couldn't imagine how the next part of her life would play out, but through it all, she would have Jareth at her side.
Stevie made her way onto the dancefloor for the father-daughter dance. Her dad met her on the polished floor, tears brimming in his eyes. Stevie rarely saw her dad cry, but she knew that these were tears of joy and sadness. Just a mere few hours ago her dad gave his eldest child away to the man the would love and protect her for the rest of her life.
The father and daughter met in the middle of the dance floor. They wrapped their arms around each other in a hug and swayed to the music. As they swayed to the music drifting across the floor they each reflected on the last 22 years of their lives.
The cries came loud and clear through the baby monitor. It didn't take a genius to figure out that one-year-old Stephanie McCord was awake. "I'll get her." Elizabeth made to get up but a hand gently grabbed her forearm. "It's okay. I'll get her. You have that early meeting with Conrad tomorrow." Henry sat up rubbing his eyes as he swung his feet over the side of the bed. As he stood up he glanced at his wife who was had fallen asleep again. He stood there for a moment, watching the rhythmic rise and fall of her breathing. Another cry came through the monitor, and he turned and silently crept out of the room.
Henry walked down the hall and stopped in front of his daughter's room. The light from the hallway emanated a soft glow against the light purple walls. He walked over to where his baby girl in her crib against the far wall. As he picked her up he noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks. "Why are you crying baby girl?" he went through the checklist. Her diaper was clean, she was fed a couple of hours before, she didn't have a fever. He was taking his brains, but he couldn't think of anything that might be upsetting his little girl. He took a look at Stevie and saw the distress written across her face. Henry knew exactly what she needed, and looking out the window he knew exactly how to do that.
He changed Stevie into sweatpants and a sweatshirt. He put little socks on her little feet. He put her back in her crib and went across the hall to his room where he grabbed a sweatshirt. Henry went back into his daughter's bedroom and picked her up from the crib just as new tears were glistening at the corners of her eyes. He used his thumb to wipe away the old tears as he carried Stevie out of her room, down the hall, and down the stairs. He stopped briefly to grab a few of the blankets draped over the back of the couch. He then continued out the back door.
Henry glanced up at the sky. It was a clear July night and the stars were shining down from where they hung in the sky, nestled beside the bright moon. He walked into the middle of the backyard. Stevie in one arm, still looking upset. The blankets in his other arm. He laid the biggest blanket down on the soft grass and with Stevie in his arm her laid down on top of the blanket. Stevie's cries became less urgent. Henry had found what she needed. All she needed was someone to hold her and make her feel safe, away from the darkness of her room. As they lay there gazing up at the stars Henry started to point out different constellations.
As Henry lay with his daughter in his arm her pointed out the different formations of stars, blanketing the darkness in little beads of light. "Over there is the big dipper" he pointed to the cluster of stars just beyond where is finger ended. Stevie was now silent, gazing at the sky, curiosity and wonder spread across her eyes. She nestled her head closer into the crook of her dad's arm as he moved his finger to another cluster of stars.
"No matter how scary things get" Henry whispered to his baby girl. "The stars and the moon are always there to protect you." He lay there gazing into the vastness of the sky as the soft breathing of Stevie matched the twinkling of the stars. He glanced down at his now sleeping daughter, hoping that the stars would protect her from all the struggles of the world. Henry pulled a blanket over Stevie and hugged her closer to him as she drifted to sleep under the blanket of stars.
Henry pulled back from his daughter to look in her eyes, there he saw the girl that no matter what happened, would always have the stars in the night sky.
Stevie looked at her dad. She couldn't remember a time in her life when she didn't have her dad supporting her and encouraging her to chase her dreams. Stevie knew both her mom and dad loved her more than she would ever know, but she also knew her dad held a special place for her in his heart. She was his favorite, and some of her favorite memories with her dad reminded her of that special place she held in his heart.
Stevie was nervous. There was no doubting that. She sat at the kitchen table, glancing between the clock on the wall and her phone. Her dad could not get home fast enough. Stevie thought back to the week before when she approached her parents about getting a tattoo. She was 17 and had been thinking about it for the past year. When she posed the question her mom had firmly said no. Her dad, on the other hand, sat there for a minute and said "okay." Stevie was surprised, but not ungrateful. Normally it was her mom who let her do these kinds of things like getting a double piercing. Later that day her dad said he would take her next week when he got home from work. Now Stevie anxiously waited to hear her dad's car tires on the driveway.
The sound of tires screeching on the gravel brought her out of the memory. She glanced out the window and saw her dad stepping out of his car. She ran to the back door and pulled on her coat and shoes. Stevie raced out to the car, almost tripping over their family dog on the way. She excitedly jumped into the passenger seat of the car before her dad could get out of the car to go inside. "We're doing this right now? Can't we go after I've had a chance to be home?" Henry asked. Stevie just shook her head, nerves getting the best of her. "You know that mom is not onboard with this, and she's going to be fuming when she finds out" her dad added. Stevie didn't care. She wanted to do this and wanted to feel the independence of making her own choices. She was going to college in a year and was ready to start making more decisions.
Her dad sighed knowing it was a lost cause to try and reason with her. Out of the many qualities that Stevie had inherited from her mom, her stubbornness was definitely one of them. Henry reluctantly put the car in gear and backed out of the driveway. Stevie could feel the nerves mixing with the bubbling excitement.
When they pulled up to the tattoo parlor Stevie held back in the car. She wasn't second-guessing getting a tattoo, she was remembering why she was doing it. She got out of the car and walked through the door with her dad, the little bell above the door ringing as they entered.
After waiting just a few minutes a tattoo artist called her name and Stevie followed her into a room down the hall. Stevie sat down across from the tattoo artist. The artist introduced herself, she said her name was Amelia. Stevie looked at her, her hair was dark blue and purple, she had a kind smile that made Stevie feel excited and safe. There were a few tattoo on her forearms. Nothing to crazy, just a few flowers, but nonetheless they were beautiful.
"Hi Stevie, what would design would you like?" Amelia asked as she got her tools ready. Stevie reached into her pocket and retrieved a piece of paper. On the paper was a simple drawing, a crescent moon with little stars around it. It was in all black. On the way over her dad had asked what she was getting and she told him she was debating between a few designs. Truth be told she had known all along what she wanted to get. From the time she was a baby, her dad had always told her she was protected by the moon and a blanket of stars. She wanted to hold that close to her wherever she went in life.
"This is beautiful. Do you want it in black ink?" Amelia asked. Stevie nodded her head, the nerves starting to outweigh the excitement. She held out her forearm as Amelia cleaned her wrist. The cold of the wipe made raised goosebumps on her arms. As Amelia picked up her pen Stevie looked away. She was scared but wasn't about to back down. Amelia saw the worry written across her face. She put down her tool and looked Stevie in the eyes. She told her to breathe in and then out, taking big, slow breaths. Stevie tried it and once Amelia saw she was more relaxed she picked up the pen again and began tattooing the design unto the inside of Stevie's wrist.
It hurt, she wasn't gonna lie about that. The ink burned and made her want to pull her arm protective into her chest. But she didn't because if there was one thing Stephanie McCord wasn't, she wasn't a quitter. If she put her mind to something she was going to follow through, and this was no exception. After about fifteen minutes Amelia said she was done and she could go. Stevie looked down at her wrist. The area around the fresh ink was red and tender, but the moon and stars shown boldly amidst the red. Just seeing her blanket of stars on her arm made her feel protected from all of the dangers of the world.
She walked out of the room and back to where her dad was waiting. He stood up and she approached. "What did you decide on?" Henry asked. Stevie held out her arm to show him. Stevie looked up and saw a smile spread across his face, "A moon and a blanket of stars to protect you" he said. There were a few tears glistening in his eyes, but Stevie didn't care. She was proud of what she had done and proud of what it represented.
After they paid they walked out of the tattoo parlor, her dad's arm draped protectively around her shoulders. Even though she was grown up, she would always be his little girl. His little girl who would always be protected by the moon and a blanket of stars.
As the music faded out Stevie and Henry pulled out of their hug. There were tears in both of their eyes, memories written across their faces. Neither knew what the other one was remembering, but both knew the other one was thinking into the next 22 years of their lives. The future where many more memories would be made. Many more years where Stevie would still need her dad to guide her and Henry would need her to teach him, protected under the moon and a blanket of stars.