Howdy! I'm back with another story. It's just a piece of utter fluffiness that stands in protest of everything that happened post the Shandy wedding. Hope you enjoy the read!
Oh, and thank you, escapewithstories, for being my trusted beta on this. :)
SUNSHINE
It was on a groan that Andy woke up that morning. Without bothering to open his eyes, he rolled over onto his side intent on snuggling up to Sharon and getting in a few more winks, but when he only found empty, cold bed sheets, his eyes flew open and he groaned again.
Crawling out of bed, he muttered, "That kid," then grabbed his robe on his way to go look for his wife and the child in question.
He was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes when his trek down the hall to their spare room was brought to an unexpected halt by a soft humming sound. It was coming from the living room, and it wasn't hard to guess who its source was, so on tiptoes, he redirected his feet in that direction, a small, knowing smirk already appearing on his face. His hunch was right, but as he stopped just inside the doorway of their living room, the sight that greeted him rendered him speechless. The scene in front of him was so heartwarming that all he managed was a quiet, content, touched sigh.
Slowly rocking back and forth in the chair they'd impulsively bought when they'd moved into this house, Sharon failed to notice him. Her attention lay solely with the little creature cradled in her arms, and if ever Andy wondered whether the rocking chair was a sound investment, his doubts were all but extinguished now. Not wanting to alert them to his presence, he leaned a shoulder against the doorway and simply marveled at the rare moment that was unraveling.
The song Sharon was humming seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Not that it mattered when there were plenty of other details to take in. Like the gentle sway of the rocking chair to the rhythm of Sharon's soft humming. Or the light smile on her face as she let the baby girl curl her tiny hand around her index finger. Or the low garbling or whiney noises the baby made whenever Sharon happened to tug her finger far away enough for the little one to have to strengthen her hold, lest the finger slipped completely away. Or the way Sharon's smile would widen, but the melody of her hum would not even hitch, when the baby did so.
It was a sight to behold, and a pleasant, absolutely delightful wave of emotion washed over him until it wrapped itself comfortably around his heart and settled there.
There were worse ways to start an early day, he decided.
That little baby girl was their youngest granddaughter. She was Emily's first child, Mia, and she had captured the hearts of the entire family. Even Rusty was besotted, although he futilely tried to hide it.
A couple of years ago, Sharon's daughter had finally settled down and gotten married. Not soon after, she had gotten pregnant, and much to Sharon's merriment, felt the desire to move back closer to her mother. The move had worked out perfectly with Andy and Sharon having retired around the same time, allowing them to lend the expecting parents a hand where needed to make the move as stress-free for Emily as possible. Since then, Andy had never seen a happier Sharon, and he was certain the only thing that could possibly add to her happiness was if Ricky, too, moved back closer to home.
Four months of constant parenting had taken its toll on Sharon's eldest, however. As absolutely taken with their daughter the new parents were, the sleepless nights they endured had started to show. More often than not, their conversations or visits started on heavy, exhausted sighs, and more than once Emily had crashed along with her daughter during her nap time despite having company over. As recent retirees, Sharon and Andy had plenty of free time on their hands now, so it was Andy's idea to use some of it and offer them a break. Sharon had been delighted at the prospect of having her granddaughter all to herself for a night, but convincing Emily that they were perfectly capable of taking care of an infant for a single night had been slightly more challenging. She didn't want to impose, they could handle this, they weren't nearly as exhausted as they looked. Those were just a few of Emily's excuses, but ultimately the mere notion of getting a full night's sleep and some time to themselves without a baby interrupting all the time did tip the scales in Sharon and Andy's favor, and finally both parents gave in.
The afternoon with their granddaughter was nothing short of joyous, and for every time that Andy had teased Sharon about being a typical, sappy grandmother, he had proven, to Sharon's endless amusement, that he was an even sappier grandfather. Simply put, the baby had them both wrapped around her little finger.
Their perfect bonding time, however, had quickly deteriorated during bed time, and only gotten worse over the course of the night. They had perhaps, ever so slightly (or perhaps very much, it depended on whom you asked), underestimated how attached the child was to her mother, and the beginnings of teething probably didn't help either. What they hoped would be a night of just a few short trips to the baby's makeshift crib, had turned into several at least one hour long bouts of walking and rocking and snuggling and feeding and generally just trying anything short of calling Emily that would settle the baby down.
It had been an exhausting night, and they had all properly fallen asleep only a couple of hours ago, which was nowhere near enough rest for any of them, but now, as Andy watched the two, their night's struggle seemed all but forgotten. There was only one fact that mattered. He adored those two gorgeous human beings in that rocking chair more than words could describe. If he happened to lose a little sleep because of one of them, it was definitely worth it if it also meant being graced with as blissful moments such as this one.
His ears pricked suddenly when Sharon's melodious hum turned into softly sung words, and if it was possible, he fell in love with her all over again.
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…"
Goosebumps erupted all over his skin and a pleasant shiver ran up and down his spine, but his heart nearly jumped out of his chest at the squeaky little maybe-giggle the baby let out.
It interrupted Sharon, and she laughed. "Oh, yes," Andy grinned at her low besotted baby voice, "you are." She extricated her finger from Mia's grasp and tapped the baby's nose, making her scrunch it up a little, then even though she was barely past three lines of the song earlier, started it from the beginning. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine," another quiet laugh interrupted her when her granddaughter latched onto her finger again, trying to stuff it into her mouth, but she went on, "you make me happy when skies are grey…"
Andy couldn't keep away anymore. He quietly walked over to them. The few nanoseconds it took for Sharon's voice to carry over to him was a completely made up kind of torture for him, but he told himself that was why he absolutely had to get closer to her. If possible he would bottle the sound, and open it only when he couldn't hear the soothing notes straight from its source, and, oh, he dreaded ever not being able to hear it straight from the source.
That little miracle in Sharon's arms called out to him as well. He wondered how it was possible for someone so little, to have such a gigantic hold over him. She had stolen his heart in a way entirely too different from the way her grandmother had. It filled him with warmth all the same though, and caused his chest to tighten in the most sweetest of ways. Although not entirely the same, he thought it felt rather a lot like his love for his children, all consuming to the point where he would do absolutely anything for them. The feeling manifested itself in a restless sensation in his hands, he was almost literally itching to reach out to that little girl, pick her up, snuggle her impossibly close to him, and hope that her innocent mind, and even more innocent heart, would somehow gather how very deeply he had grown to love her in just the four short months of her existence, and that he found it hard to name even a single thing he thought was more precious than her. And that was saying something, considering the love of his life was the one holding her.
When he reached the chair, Sharon again didn't notice him. She was far too preoccupied with the baby to take note of much of anything, but then the baby made out Andy hovering behind them above Sharon's head. She started kicking her legs up, her eyes went wide and she let go of Sharon's finger so she could wave her little, chubby hands around.
Even as he grinned at the baby's excited reaction, Andy wanted to curse himself for causing Sharon's song to end.
Surprised and still oblivious to Andy's presence, Sharon bent her head down to the baby and gently ran her fingers over her tummy. "What has you so excited all of a sudden?" She pecked the tip of her nose. "My singing can't be that good." She chuckled, but her tone was slightly self-deprecating.
Finally, Andy braced his hands against the back of the chair, careful not to move it, and leaned down. "I think it's perfect," he mumbled into Sharon's ear.
"Oh, my God!" Sharon startled, a hand instinctively going to clutch her chest before she remembered she had a baby in her lap and she quickly dropped it back to the girl's diapered bottom. When she finally turned her head, she let out, scoldingly, "Andy!"
He laughed, and repeated mockingly, "Sharon!" When she glared at him, he quickly added, genuinely, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." In apology, he dropped a kiss to her hair, then looked up at Mia. "I see someone's up again."
Sharon shook her head, begrudgingly accepting the apology, then turned back to her granddaughter on a sigh. "Yes, she is." She stilled the baby's still excitedly kicking feet. "I didn't want to wake you, but," her tone deteriorated into the one reserved just for babies, "she is in a much better mood than she's been all night," she kissed the little feet, "isn't that right?"
"Yeah," he rounded the chair and crouched down to kiss the baby good morning, too, "well, I'd be in a great mood, too, if you sang to me like that." He addressed the baby now, who was even more excited now that he was so much closer, and started reaching her hands out to his face. "You know," it was Sharon's turn to smile at his baby tone, "she never sings to me. She just yells, and glares," his tone took a baby grumbling dip, and Sharon took a playful slap at his shoulder, causing him to add, "and smacks at me all the time."
He grinned when Sharon rolled her eyes, and couldn't resist picking up the little one when she made a giggling noise as if she actually understood what her grandparents were bickering about.
"Be careful," Sharon warned, only reluctantly letting Mia out of her hold, "she just ate."
He put her down onto his shoulder, and giving into at least one of his earlier desires, snuggled her close to him. When he took a breath, he wanted to groan in delight. God, he loved how babies smelled. It had been too long since last his own kids smelled so heavenly. "You're my sunshine, too, you know," he told her softly, and when Sharon's lips instantly curved into an affectionate smile, he eyed her with a lopsided smile of his own, adding, "and your grandma."
Sharon got to her feet and joined Andy at his side. In a silent thank you, she kissed his cheek he acknowledged with a quick grin, then peeked around his back to get a look at the baby. She had gone completely limp, closed her eyes and rested her cheek against his shoulder. She could have melted at the sight, but instead asked, only half-jokingly, "Should I be jealous?" She couldn't resist tracing her fingertips gingerly over the light, thin hair on the baby's head. "She never gets this excited to see me."
Andy was far too proud over the very true fact to try to ease her worries. "Yes, yes, you should," he nodded vigorously, swaying back and forth and rubbing the baby's back, "I'm her favorite, and you're just gonna have to learn to live with it." To prove his point, he turned his back to Sharon, as if to keep the baby all to himself, but all that did was give Sharon an unobscured view of her, and an opportunity to place a kiss on her forehead.
She then returned to his side, and wrapped an arm around him. Her tone was deceptively sweet, almost saccharine. "Enjoy it while it lasts, honey," she squeezed his hip playfully, "she'll be all mine the moment she starts understanding all the nonsense coming out of your mouth."
"Hey," Andy said a tad loudly, moving out of Sharon's hold, then quickly added, "sorry," when the baby wiggled and made a disagreeing grunt. "I thought you liked my nonsense," he told Sharon in exaggerated hurt.
Sharon pursed her lips, debating whether to give in or tease him a little more. She was, unfortunately, ever so slightly, truly jealous over the special bond her granddaughter and husband so quickly developed, and the latter idea won out. She found herself shrugging, as she said, her nose forcedly high and mighty, "I merely tolerate it."
Andy narrowed his eyes at her, then tilted his head to the baby's ear. "Your grandma's mean!" he mumbled to her in a hurt, whiny, but conspiratorial tone, and his heart soared yet again, when the baby wiggled and snuggled even more into him, her tiny hands fisting his T-Shirt. "See, she agrees," he told the grandmother in question.
Sharon very nearly burst out laughing. He had no clue just how utterly adorable he looked like that, with his hands wrapped protectively around the baby and his faux offended expression, and to top it all of, his still sleep tousled hair. She had seen him in grandfather mode with Nicole's children, and once handling a baby, too, so this side of him wasn't entirely new to her, but the gentleness and near infatuation with which he so completely loved Mia took her breath away, and if possible, she loved him all the more for it.
Before that love could overwhelm her and cause her to blurt out something that would make him even smugger than he already was, in half-hearted exasperation, she finally said, "You are such a grandpa."
"Oh, yeah?" He took a couple of steps towards her, his lip curled into a smug grin. "Like you're any better." He looked pointedly at the hand she'd reached out to brush lovingly against the baby girl's back.
She finally laughed, a light, bubbly, airy kind of laugh that was a sound Andy loved maybe even more than her earlier discovered singing voice. Yes, she was such a grandma, too. "Can you blame me?" she asked, dropping her hand only to gently squeeze their granddaughter's foot instead.
He smiled. "No, I really can't. She's too precious." He kissed the side of the baby's head, and took a deep breath, for a moment savoring the distinct baby scent with closed eyes. "I can't wait for the kids to pop out more of these."
"Pop out," Sharon repeated, promptly snort-laughing. "Oh, God," she added in a thin, amused voice, her head flopping down to stifle her giggles behind the palm of her hand.
The baby wiggled against Andy again, trying to lift her head, eyes wide and curious about the unexpected and strange noise. He turned her around so she could see her giggling grandmother, then on a smirk intended for Sharon, told her, "Look, look," he shrugged his shoulder as if to point at Sharon with her, "she's laughing at you, kiddo, can you believe it?"
Even as she continued to laugh, Sharon swatted at him. "Oh, no," she walked toward the baby, then gently clasped her cheeks when she was graced with a gummy smile, "I just adore you, little one." She poked Andy in the ribs for good measure, and added with an exaggeration that was rather true, "More than anything in the whole wide world."
Andy let out a sarcastic, and very confident, "Aha…"
His mere voice had the baby drop her head back onto his shoulder, and he laughed, turning back around to face Sharon. "See, still her favorite." Shit-eating fell short in describing the grin on his face.
"Oh," Sharon didn't know what she wanted to say, and before she could even try to decide, she found herself taking the one step between them, clasping his face, and kissing him soundly on the mouth, then finally, and quite lamely, said, "you."
Andy laughed, and kissed her once quickly, too. "What can I say," he shrugged, and quirked his eyebrow innocently as he tilted his head, "I'm a charming guy."
The baby was now completely alert, and she started making disagreeing noises before Sharon could respond, or most likely smack him again. When Andy turned her around and settled her into the crook of his elbow though, she quickly settled again, and he ran his fingers gently over the top of her onesie, just under her chin. "What do you say grandma continues that song of hers, huh?"
The baby just made some indiscernible garbling noises, but Andy took it for a yes, and added, flashing Sharon a quick grin, "I know, it's like an angel singing." When Sharon rolled her eyes at him, he added, already prepared to run away from her, "Who'd have thunk it, huh, a big bad meanie like that singing so," he feigned a groan, "gooood?"
Yup, he had to duck quickly before Sharon could smack him again, and it made the baby clutch at his T-shirt again for his abrupt movement, but he quickly rocked her a few times and mumbled reassuringly, "No worries, I got you," until she relaxed.
Sharon glared at him playfully. "You know what?" Her tone indicated Andy was about to get the short stick of whatever decision she just made. "How about I go get dressed for the day, and you," she reached the baby and tickled her belly, making her squirm, "get grandpa to change your diaper in the meantime?"
Andy shot her a wide-eyed look of not horror, but betrayal. They both knew it was Sharon's turn for diaper-duty, but Sharon barked out a laugh, studiously ignoring the fact, and said, "See, grandpa can't wait for it!"
Before Andy could so much as think of a retort, Sharon had plopped a gentle parting kiss to Mia's head, and was walking away, happily singing again.
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…"
THE END