A/N: So basically I had this sequel planned almost as soon as the original story got finished, because there just had to be a Part Two (more Gay Moms and little Brady, and now with the addition of baby Owain!). If you haven't read the first, it might be a good idea to do that so you know how it got here! Hopefully the context clues help with figuring out which male character/donor they're talking about~
Also, special thanks are in order here to the proposer of the original idea that I didn't know at the time would take such a strong hold of my heart and fill my head with so many ideas and make me want to write a sequel for, from last year's Spring Fic Exchange; and my good friends for putting up with me obsessing over this idea and talking about it and its numerous, self-gratifying "side stories" for over a year now. Y'all are the real MVP's.
The idea to have another child hadn't come up in the two years while raising Brady; Lissa and Maribelle were quite content with spending any and all time they could with their baby, watching him grow and learn about the world. And it had been the best few short years of their lives.
Brady was a few months shy of being three when he posed a single-worded question of what he'd like: a sibling (more specifically, 'baby'). Where he had gotten the idea from, they had no idea. It could have been from one of the little kid's shows they let him watch (while keeping a close eye on his allotted choices), or from being out in public and seeing more than one child following the parents. Either way, as he resumed playing with whatever toy it was keeping him occupied at the moment, the idea had been planted, and it didn't seem to want to go away.
After a few weeks of careful consideration and talks that would go very late into the night, it was decided; they would add another baby to their little family. This time it would be Lissa who would be carrying the baby, at her own insistence. And so the task of searching through donor profiles began once again.
They decided to do it one night after Brady had been put to bed, retreating to their own bed and huddling together at the laptop once again. It didn't take long to find the website again, and after putting some preferences into the search engine, they were on their way.
"Keep in mind that if we don't find someone, we could possibly ask Frederick if he'd be the donor," Maribelle broke the silence after a few unsuccessful pages of looking, and Lissa nodded, distractedly.
"That's an option, but I'm kind of really hoping to find someone else, you know? No offense to Frederick, or anything."
"Of course. Oh, look at this one, he's a military veteran," Maribelle said, pointing to the screen. " 'As strong and intimidating as this military veteran looks, his big heart can't help but shine through' ."
"He sounds good, but look at the next sentence," Lissa said, continuing to read.
"'Donor 12260 may have more brawn than brains, but underneath, he's a big, loveable guy.' I'm not sure how many people that will actually make want to have his children, but okay," Lissa said, moving on to the next profile.
" 'Donor 10100 is a cool guy who mostly keeps to himself. He's humble, but dislikes flattery, and is very direct in his conversations.' " My, he certainly sounds like a dry one. Let's see the next one, unless you want an unsocial child," Maribelle said, and Lissa proceeded to the next one.
" 'Gentle, trusting, has a big heart- all the ingredients that make up this donor!' 06160 really knows his way around a kitchen.' " Okay, so this one is a chef. That's interesting."
" 'He's passionate about food and on the way to earning his honors in his culinary arts program, and hopes to open his own restaurant someday.' That's quite an achievement he's going for," Maribelle commented, continuing to read.
"Let's keep his page open, I kinda maybe like this one. But there's a few more I want to see," Lissa said, and opened a new page for browsing.
" 'Donor 11130 is always smiling and usually cheerful, though his jokes can be a bit on the dark side of the humor scale. However, he has been said to be great at having an odd way of putting a person's mind at ease.' I wonder what kinds of dark jokes they are?" Lissa said. "Otherwise, he seems good, too."
"So right now we're between an almost-chef and a strange joke teller? You sure know how to pick them, darling."
"I didn't say I was actually going to pick either of them, they both just seem really good! And it's about time, since we're four pages in already," Lissa said.
"I'm not sure if this is going to affect your overall decision at all, but the strange joke teller apparently has low blood pressure. It's probably good that they put that on his profile," Maribelle said, pointing to the smaller font at the bottom of the page. Lissa squinted to read it, before nodding.
"I guess it might a little bit, but let's just look a liiiittle bit more."
A click brought Lissa back to the page that had the now-evident top choice. Another, and she was back to the main page, where Maribelle clicked on another profile and began reading the next donor's summary.
" 'Calm and collected, this veteran has a bit of a sweet tooth that never ceased, even after his time fighting for our country. Donor 01020 has morals and does things with the best interest of others.' This one seems sweet."
"A sweet tooth, though! We barely let Brady have any candy, which is totally going to upset him this Halloween...so what if the baby grows up and teaches him to be a candy thief?"
"Thieving was never explicitly mentioned, but I see your point. Last one in this category," Maribelle said, bringing them to the last profile. "He's studying to be a lawyer, so he's highly ingenious. But he's a bit self-conscious; oh dear, what a sad combination."
"Mm," Lissa nodded in agreement.
"Are you stuck on the chef, then?" Maribelle asked, sensing Lissa had zoned out on the current profile viewing.
"I think so, but let's look at his profile one more time," Lissa said, opening the tab again. " 'He is mellow, but will work hard when necessary. He's a culinary delight!' I don't know what it is about him, Maribelle, but he just seems really good..."
Maribelle nodded. "If you feel as though he's good, I say you should go with it. What do you have to lose?"
Lissa nodded at Maribelle's words, glancing at the olive-haired donor's profile photo. She didn't know what it was about the kind-looking, up and coming chef's smile, but she made her decision then and there.
"I just hope Brady will actually take to having a sibling well," Lissa said. "Like, I hope he wasn't just saying it because he saw it on his favorite show, or something."
"Children usually know what they're talking about, it should be fine. And it's about time we had another baby around here, what with him almost being three."
"You're right, it'll be great! We should make an appointment for tomorrow. And we should ask Frederick to babysit."
"I'm sure he'll be alright with it. When isn't he happy to be around Brady?"
As they thought, Frederick quickly and happily agreed to watch Brady the next day, but when asked about the plans why, the girls wouldn't say anything beyond he'd hopefully see in time. Accepting the answer, Frederick promised to arrive bright and early to watch his godson.
The girls left after breakfast that morning to the clinic, where they were met with the same receptionist. She gave them the appropriate forms to fill out again, and while this took longer than expected, once they were all done and checked, the process went quickly.
"I'm sorry you girls have had such a hard time finding the perfect donor for your needs, but maybe with this switching up on preferences and who will be carrying, you will have more success," she said, and the pair had to hold their tongues and instead nod their thanks. Thankfully somehow the mishap almost three years before never made it back to the office, and that's how they intended to keep it.
Which was hard because they almost couldn't keep straight faces as they informed the nurse which number vials it was they wanted. Once the selected vials were (this time) paid for and bagged and they had gotten back outside, they let out relieved breaths together, and headed again to the next part of the journey at the women's clinic.
Once it was all over and they were free to go, again given the warning that the first time sometimes wasn't successful, they headed straight home, and Brady greeted them happily at the door.
"I missed you, Ma!" he said, immediately clinging to Maribelle's legs once they were inside. She bent and picked him up, and he planted a kiss right on her cheek before leaning towards Lissa.
"Miss you, too, Issa!" he said, repeating the process as Lissa leaned in for her kiss. "Where go?"
"Just went to go run a few errands. Nothing too much," Maribelle said, leaning in and giving him his own kiss on the forehead, causing him to giggle. Little did he know the actual meaning behind the errands, but he thought nothing of it anymore as he led them to his room to show them what he and Frederick had done together that morning.
Over the next few weeks, Brady picked up on Lissa feeling off, and often asked if she was alright. She convinced him every time that she was, and he'd smile again and resume his playing. One morning, however, his concern grew when before breakfast Lissa didn't follow him to the living room to play, but instead bolted to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Brady followed her, and wailed when he was met with a closed door.
"Issa okay? Issa okay?" he called through the door, tears welling in his eyes as he knocked his little fists on the wood, but got no response back. Maribelle was eventually alerted from the noise, and went down the hall to see what the racket was.
"Brady dear, what's wrong?" Maribelle asked, crouching to the now sitting and very visibly upset Brady.
"Issa in bathroom, won't come out," Brady sniffed, pointing with one finger. Maribelle stood and gently knocked on the door.
"Lissa, darling, are you alright?" she called, pressing her ear close to try to hear a reply.
A mumbled and weak sounding, "I'm okay" came back a few moments later.
"Open the door and let me help you, love," Maribelle called back.
After another few long moments, the lock snapped, and the door opened. Brady jumped up and dashed inside the small room, Maribelle following.
"Brady, come along, she's alright. I can handle it," Maribelle tried to remove the child from the situation, but he didn't want to seem to leave, attempting to hug Lissa, who was sitting with her back against the bathroom wall opposite the toilet. This was an oddly familiar scene to Maribelle.
"He's okay. I'm sorry for disappearing on you, Brady," Lissa mumbled, turning her head to the toddler and smiling weakly at him.
"Issa okay?" he asked again, frowning.
"I'm fine, but you should go ahead and play. I'll be right there, okay?" she promised. He nodded and went. Maribelle slowly sat down next to Lissa.
"How long has it been?" she asked.
"Little over a month now," Lissa replied with a small smile, knowing exactly what she was referring to. "I think we have something else to be thankful for on Thanksgiving now."
Maribelle gasped and turned to the side and wrapped an arm awkwardly around Lissa in a sort-of hug, causing the other girl to let out a weak giggle.
"I still need to take a test and confirm it with a doctor, though. Don't get too excited yet," she said, trying to return the hug.
"It sounds like it's good news, though. Don't you tell me to not get too excited when I'm sure you're barely able to contain yourself."
"I won't be able to soon if this is really it," Lissa said.
"Me either," Maribelle said. "But are you alright now? If you're feeling better I think it's time to get you back to bed."
"But I promised Brady I'd play with him some more," Lissa said, moving slowly to a sitting position, but grimacing slightly at her small movements.
"You're not going anywhere but to bed to rest, darling. He'll understand...well, he won't, but soon he will," Maribelle said, resting a hand on Lissa's shoulder.
"Oh, alright," Lissa agreed, taking another moment to recover before attempting to stand. Maribelle helped her, and soon was leading her out of the bathroom and down the hall to their bedroom. Brady had been sitting outside of the bathroom waiting for her to come out, and followed them into the bedroom and watched as Maribelle tucked Lissa back into bed.
"Bedtime?" Brady said, cocking his head in confusion.
"Lissa doesn't feel well so she's going back to bed for a while, dear," Maribelle explained, as Lissa got comfortable in the bed. "Meanwhile, you and I are off to have some breakfast."
"And then maybe I'll feel well enough to play, okay Brady?" Lissa added, seeing the sad look cross the little boy's face. He smiled a bit and nodded, and after a moment followed Maribelle back out of the bedroom, catching a last glance at Lissa laying in the bed.
They took care of her for the rest of that day. Brady brought some of his toys into the bedroom for playtime instead, and soon he and Lissa were pushing his little toy cars across the bed sheets. Maribelle made plans to visit a doctor while Brady was distracted, and once he heard that he'd be spending the next day with Frederick, he nearly forgot about his playtime with Lissa and headed to his room to start picking what he'd be playing with with Frederick the next day.
"It's all set, you have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow," Maribelle said, sitting on the edge of the bed next to Lissa. "And this time it's not a last-minute thing."
"We could be having another baby," Lissa whispered excitedly, reaching her hand out to Maribelle, who took it in her own and squeezed it with the same enthusiasm.
Brady was so excited about his day with Frederick that he barely noticed when Lissa and Maribelle slipped out of the house for the appointment, and only when they came back later that day with blurry pictures and whispered voices did he even realize they'd left.
"Well?" Frederick asked a little after they had returned, when Brady was in the other room and out of earshot, still adding to the block tower they'd been building for the better part of that day. They had finally broke and told him the reasonings behind the appointment and the previous one before they'd left, making him promise not to tell Brady anything (even though he wouldn't have known what it'd meant anyway).
Instead of saying anything, Lissa smiled and held out one of the blurry pictures for him to see, the subject of the picture barely visible, but there.
"Oh, wonderful news," Frederick whispered back with a smile, quickly realizing what he was looking at from seeing a few of Brady's sonogram pictures from Maribelle's pregnancy.
"Now the hard part will be explaining it to Brady, while also waiting to tell him," Maribelle said.
"Like we did with him, we gotta get to that three-month mark just in case something...happens," Lissa said, her voice going very low for a moment.
"It'll all be alright," Frederick said. "Plus, it will give you time to practice what and how you're going to tell him."
"That's right," Maribelle said. "For now though, the important thing is, it's happening."
Brady was the only one completely unaware about the exciting thing happening with and within Lissa, since his parents were waiting to tell him until the timing was right. Instead he went on with his life, seeming to forget about ever asking about a sibling.
It all suddenly came back to him when one night they sat him down on the couch saying they had something very important to tell him. The subject of the pictures was a little more recognizable and formed now, but as expected, Brady didn't understand what he was being shown right away. Sitting on his mother's lap, and through some carefully chosen words and then having his hand be put on Lissa's now slightly curved stomach, though, he slowly came to understand that there was a tiny baby inside of Lissa that would one day be his little brother or sister (Lissa was the one hoping for Brady to have a little brother, while Maribelle held out hope that he'd have a little sister; but they didn't really care either way, as long as the baby was healthy).
"Baby," he said, moving his little hand across Lissa's tummy in a waving-like gesture.
"That's right. But you won't be able to feel anything yet, it's a bit too small. Lissa is just barely able to feel it now," Maribelle explained gently to the boy. "But someday both you and I will be able to feel it, too."
"I used to love feeling you move and kick in your mommy's tummy, Brady, and someday I hope you like feeling your little brother or sister do the same!" Lissa said.
Brady nodded, continuing to rub Lissa's stomach "Brady feel baby soon."
Lissa and Maribelle shared a relieved look, happy that he had taken to the news well and seemed as excited as they were about it.
Every day following this one, Brady would always ask if he would be able to feel the baby move yet, and become disappointed when Lissa or Maribelle would tell him not yet. Finally he gave up and became tired of asking, his interest going somewhere completely different on the day he discovered Maribelle reading one of his books to Lissa's belly and he wanted to do the same thing. So in his own broken English, he made it a habit to read his favorite book to Lissa's growing baby bump, too. The two of them adored his new pastime, encouraging him to do it so the baby would get to know him before it was born, too.
They even let Brady come to the next doctor's appointment with them because of his growing interest in the baby. And much to his excitement, he even got the special treat of getting to reveal what the baby was to his mothers after the nurse had whispered it to him. (It had only taken mere moments after getting a good picture of the baby's lower half to determine its sex, and along with leaving with the knowledge of what it was, the mothers also left with the knowledge that sometimes due to pregnancy hormones and everything, baby boys could, in fact, spring erections in the womb; Lissa was much more amused with this fact than Maribelle was, and proceeded to treasure that sonogram picture of her unborn baby over any other for the rest of her pregnancy, to Maribelle's slight displeasure.)
Now knowing what their second child would be, the name discussions and other preparations really began. Maribelle spent almost all her free time with her nose buried in a baby book, trying to find different things she could do for Lissa and for her second son. This ended up with her learning about the wives tale that having babies listen to classical music through headphones in the womb could possibly make them smarter, and she adopted this idea the very next day, the start of Lissa's sixth month.
Frederick conveniently came to visit while this was in the process. He used his key to unlock the door and found Lissa laying on the couch with a pair of headphones stretched across her stomach as she read one of the baby books Maribelle had obsessed over.
"Hello, Lissa," he greeted, after closing the door behind him and noticing the headphones. "Has Maribelle been doing her research about baby related things again?"
Lissa looked up and smiled, setting the book face down over her stomach. "Hey, Frederick! Yeah, she found this thing that apparently making babies listen to music in the womb is supposed to be good for them or something, so I'm just letting the little guy listen to some classical music."
"I see," Frederick said, coming over to the couch, staring down at the headphones. "And does he seem to like it?"
"I'm not sure yet, I think he's sleeping right now. Hopefully he does, though," Lissa answered, bringing a hand up to the side of her stomach and rubbing the last spot there'd been a kick.
"Be sure to let me know," Frederick said. "But in any case, are they home right now?"
Lissa nodded. "They're playing in Brady's bedroom. They're actually supposed to be trying to plan how to split it up for when we need to get the baby settled in there, but I can hear Brady playing with his cars instead," Lissa said with a smile. Just then the voices paused, and the sound of running footsteps came down the hallway, and Brady screeched Frederick's name upon seeing him.
Frederick opened his arms and Brady ran into them and hugged the man, before pulling back and beginning to try to explain to them what they were doing in his progressively better English.
"We make room for the baby!" he said, grabbing Frederick's hand and trying to pull him in the direction he'd come from. Before they could get very far, Maribelle appeared.
"I thought I heard your voice," she said to Frederick, giving him a grin. "What brings you by?"
"Just thought I'd visit," he said, before nodding to Lissa. "And then I noticed what you're doing to your girlfriend and baby and so we got into a discussion about that."
"Oh yes, how is that going, Lissa?" Maribelle asked, turning her attention back to her.
"I think it's going good, he hasn't really done much though," Lissa said. "The music probably put him to sleep."
"Good," Maribelle said. "At least for now."
"I guess," Lissa said. "And it's nice to just lay here, I guess."
"It's good you're getting off your feet, I'm sure," Frederick piped up, and Maribelle nodded.
"This is true. So it's all good!" Lissa agreed.
"Frederick, come see!" Brady said, sensing a pause in conversation, and pulling the other man's hand again. He nodded and let himself get pulled down the hallway to the direction of Brady's room. Maribelle sighed and went to the couch, lifting Lissa's legs enough to let herself sit down, before placing them back over her lap.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Lissa asked.
"I should be asking you that," Maribelle said. "You're the pregnant one this time."
"I'm fine, but I care about how you feel too," Lissa said. "And now that Brady is occupied, I want to know."
"I'm doing fine, there's just so much excitement happening," Maribelle said, bringing a hand up to put on Lissa's belly and rubbing. Lissa brought her hand up over Maribelle's, guiding it more to the side of her stomach.
"If you're trying to feel him, I last felt a little foot around here," she explained. "That was awhile ago, but maybe he'll kick there again just for you."
"Maybe," Maribelle said, but seemed to be interested in something other than the baby. She brought her hand back to on top of Lissa's. "Do you remember what size your class ring was in high school?" she asked.
"Oh gosh, that was so long ago, but I think it was five?" Lissa answered, a bit caught off guard at the random question. "Why?"
"I was thinking, if it still fit you, you should start wearing it again. It looked really pretty on your finger," Maribelle answered.
"Aw, I may just do that," Lissa said, smiling. "Of course, I'd have to find it first."
"Very well," Maribelle said, before moving her hand back to the spot on Lissa's belly. "Now, while they're distracted, maybe it's time to try talking to the little one."
"Feel free, I know he loves your voice," Lissa said. Maribelle leaned in, kissing Lissa's stomach before beginning to dive into baby talk. She ended up getting a few good kicks from the baby, even with the music still playing on the headphones.
Actually getting the room planned for the baby was easier said than done, but by the time his due date was mere weeks away, arrangements had finally been made. He would stay with Lissa and Maribelle in their bedroom for the first few months before moving in with Brady. Everyone was happy with the arrangements, especially Brady, who couldn't wait to share a room with his baby brother.
The questions about when that would be happening were brought up again by the older brother, who every single day would make an attempt to feel his brother kick and try to encourage him to come out now. This reminded Maribelle of how Lissa had 'made' baby Brady come out, and she shared the story to Brady, who though didn't understand fully, joined in his mother's laughs about that event.
While a name had still not been officially decided, everything else in regards to the new member of the family was ready, so it was now only a matter of time before he would arrive. Maribelle packed the hospital bag as Lissa watched, laying in their bed with the headphones stretched across her belly again, at Maribelle's insistence.
"Do you have his going home outfit in there?" Lissa asked, and Maribelle nodded.
"It was one of the very first things I packed," she assured her, zipping up the bag. "Now we're all set and ready to go, whenever that may be."
"I hope it's soon," Lissa said, rubbing the sides of her belly as Maribelle came to sit by her. "I can't wait to meet the little guy."
"Neither can I," Maribelle said, about to put a hand on top of Lissa's, before she paused, noticing the tiny piece of jewelry that inhabited a finger. The day after Maribelle had offhandedly made her comment about it, Lissa had found it and started wearing it again. "Oh, you're still wearing your class ring?"
"Should I not be?" Lissa asked, a bit concerned.
"No, it looks beautiful, I'm just surprised it still feels comfortable on your finger with you being this close to your due date. Most women complain about their jewelery being very tight at this stage in the pregnancy."
"Nah, it still feels okay. I'll take it off before we go to the hospital, but until then I like wearing it," Lissa said. "I'm glad you made the suggestion for me to wear it again."
"Good, you should," Maribelle said, leaning forward to kiss her.
Another week put them exactly on Lissa's projected due date of July 15th, and apparent day that the baby decided he'd like to actually call his birthday. The excitement started immediately after breakfast, before Lissa had gotten to go through with her promise to go play with Brady in the other room while Maribelle cleaned the morning's dishes up.
The incredible pressure and slight pain she'd been feeling all that morning (but had hid from Maribelle to avoid her fussing over her) was relieved slightly once Lissa stood up from her chair, suddenly making a little puddle form on the floor between her socked feet. Lissa gasped at the realization of what had happened, having read the labor chapter of the baby book the most recent of all, and acknowledging the uncommon sign.
"Hey, Maribelle? I think my water just broke," Lissa said, grasping the back of her chair as she tried to steady herself.
"What's that- oh my, that doesn't always happen right away when women go into labor," Maribelle said more to herself, moving from the sink to to go stand by Lissa to see.
"Mmhmm, I remember reading about how uncommon it was from the book," Lissa replied, before taking a quick breath and bringing a hand to her middle. "Okay, before it gets too bad, let's follow the game plan we made. We need to get the bag and get Brady." They had made the plan weeks ago about how it would go once Lissa finally went into labor, and though Maribelle was super excited on the inside, she kept calm so she'd be able to keep Lissa calm as well.
"Alright, we will. Come with me, we'll walk together so you don't slip," Maribelle said, wrapping an arm around Lissa's shoulder, and the other around her middle. "Brady dear?" she called, once they had arrived at the kitchen doorway which separated the living room from the kitchen, "Get your things, your baby brother's coming today."
"Baby?!" Brady gasped, his head snapping up from the setup of cars he'd made in front of him. He jumped up and ran to his room for his backpack. Maribelle led Lissa to the couch and told her to stay there while she went to get the bag and their things, and Lissa nodded, taking small breaths. She waited at the couch for what felt like forever, and after a long while, called out her frustrations.
"Maribelle? I really think we should get going now!" she called, grimacing a bit at the sudden increase of pain.
"Coming, love! I just needed to find and grab one more thing!" Maribelle called back from the bedroom, before appearing a few moments later. She then noticed that Brady hadn't come back either. "Brady? Come along darling, quickly."
"Coming!" he called, also appearing a moment later with his backpack packed full of the things he would be bringing to the hospital.
"Okay, we'll call Frederick on the way, let's just go, now, please," Lissa said, once they had all gathered back at the couch. The pains were already beginning to bother her, and it was only the beginning.
They met Frederick at the hospital entrance, also standing with a bag of things to entertain Brady for the day, and Lissa and Maribelle each kissed him and gave their thanks to Frederick, and headed off to check in and get things on the road. Brady barely noticed they had gone, already chattering away to Frederick about what they were going to do together.
It was only a few hours later when he suddenly remembered them.
"Issa have baby brother?" Brady asked Frederick, pausing in the middle of his coloring book to look up at him.
"That's right, your baby brother is coming," Frederick confirmed. "Why don't you color a picture for him?"
"Picture for brother," Brady agreed, resuming his work.
Another couple of hours went by, in which time Frederick had taken Brady for a walk around the floor, pausing to see the few newborns in the nursery, and remembering when he had seen Brady the day he was born before his classes. Brady asked if his brother was in there, and Frederick had to tell him he wasn't yet. Frowning, Brady muttered something along the lines that he hoped his brother would come soon.
When the news finally came yet another few hours later around dinner time, Brady was asleep, somehow having found the chair next to Frederick comfortable enough to curl up in. Frederick lowered his magazine to glance at his phone, which had vibrated on the table next to Brady's drawing for the baby. He looked at the text and relief washed over him. The baby had arrived safely, and was ready to meet his brother.
Gently calling his name and tapping his shoulder finally woke the sleeping boy up, and Brady rubbed his eyes.
"Brother here?" he asked immediately.
"He is, and he can't wait to meet you."
"Let's go!" Brady said, sliding off his chair and grabbing the picture from the table.
A tiny knock came at the door, and Maribelle opened it to find a grinning Brady standing there with a piece of paper in his hand, and Frederick standing by his side. Maribelle leaned in to pick Brady up, hugging him and causing him to giggle, before she reached an arm out to Frederick, inviting him into a hug, too. Brady got a little squished in the progress, but nevertheless seemed happy.
"See baby brother now?" Brady asked once the hugs are over, and Maribelle nodded, turning to the curtain just inside the door. Frederick came in and closed the door behind him.
"Are you ready?" Maribelle whispered to Brady, who nodded. She pulled the curtain back, which gave view to an exhausted looking Lissa laying in the hospital bed with a bundle at her chest. Maribelle led them to the bed.
"There's your baby brother and your Lissa," Maribelle said. Lissa looked up once they were standing there, smiling weakly at Brady.
"And there's the big brother," Lissa said, making Brady smile. "Your little brother is very excited to meet you, Brady."
Brady stared down at the darkish-haired baby at Lissa's chest, in the middle of nursing, but still looking very bright eyed for a newborn. He was grasping one of Lissa's fingers in his tiny hand, and the size comparison was quite adorable.
"Baby eating?" Brady asked, and Lissa nodded.
"That's how he eats, just like when you were a baby," Lissa told him, and Brady seemed to get it.
"So, what's his name?" Frederick asked, and Lissa and Maribelle shared a look and a smile at each other.
"We decided to name him Owain," Lissa said after a moment. "Baby Owain."
"Baby Owain," Brady repeated. "See baby."
He then reached his hands towards Lissa, and Maribelle set him gently on the bed, telling him he had to be careful, but of course he could go see his brother. He crawled up to Lissa, snuggling up next to her and laying his head on her shoulder, and reaching a small hand to his little brother's exposed arm and patting it.
"Nice brother," he said after a moment. "I like him."
"I'm so glad you like him, Brady," Lissa said, turning her head to him. Brady smiled back, and quietly went back to watching his brother for a bit.
Maribelle had insisted on being the one to change baby Owain's diaper once Brady and Frederick had left that evening (a little to Brady's protest, despite him being exhausted from the long day; but once he realized he'd be spending the night with Frederick, he was more okay with it), so she gently took him from Lissa's tired grasp, not allowing her to get an argument in otherwise.
"I'm capable of changing my own baby's diaper, Maribelle. Just because I'm tired doesn't mean I can't do it," Lissa said, her argument falling on deaf ears since Maribelle had already taken then fussy bundle and placed him in his hospital bassinet.
"I know you are fully capable of doing so, but right now I want you to rest. His delivery was more strenuous on you than Brady's was on myself, and so you'll let me take care of this, alright?" Maribelle declared more than asked that last statement, and all Lissa could do was sigh and nod her head.
"Good. Now, along with getting him a fresh diaper, what say you we dress him in something a bit better than this hospital drab for his first night?" Maribelle asked, pushing the little cart away from Lissa's bedside and to the other side of the room where their bags were.
"Oh yeah, we can dress him in one of the things we brought for him!" Lissa asked, perking up a bit at Maribelle's suggestion to change his clothes.
"We can, I know I'm more than ready to see him in something other than just plain white," she said, parking the bassinet by the table and leaving it and the fussy occupant to dig in one of the bags.
"Me too," Lissa said with a sigh.
"A different outfit is going to look great on him," Maribelle said. She actually moved the outfit in question away from her questing hands as she spoke, and grabbed a different onesie, one she had successfully hidden from Lissa. She had made sure to order it in the same color as the outfit in question so Lissa wouldn't catch on when her plan came to this. Her heart pounded as she pulled it out and she quickly read over the text written on the front again, her back still turned so Lissa wouldn't catch on.
Maribelle turned her attention back to the bassinet, putting the outfit in the bed next to Owain, who was still whimpering since his diaper hadn't been changed yet.
"Alright, here we go," she cooed to him, bringing her hands down to unsnap the buttons on the hospital shirt. "I know you're not going to like this at all, but just know you'll feel so much better afterwards." As soon as he was naked and exposed, Owain wasted no time in showing them how upset he was about his current situation.
"Aw, Owain, it's okay!" Lissa said, feeling helpless as she tried cooing to her son over his crying, though still being confined to the bed.
"Everything is fine, darling," Maribelle tried as well, gently using the baby wipes to clean Owain up. "This will be over soon and then you'll be back with your mother."
It wasn't soon enough, and by the time he had a fresh diaper on, the cries had increased to as loud as they had been when he had been first born. Finally getting her plan into action, Maribelle grabbed the new outfit to dress Owain in, purposely folding it over a bit in her hands when she grabbed it, and bringing it to the crying baby. She gently gathered it all and brought it over his head, pulling it down to cover his body, cooing gentle nonsense to him the whole time to hopefully make him stop crying.
"Oh, I wish he'd stop crying, it's making me sad," Lissa said, sniffing.
"I'll be done momentarily and then you can make him stop," Maribelle assured Lissa, just as she put the finishing touches on the baby. Satisfied with how the little onesie fit him, she took the edges of the blanket he was wrapped in and brought them loosely around the baby. Being dressed and wrapped had made Owain quiet down a bit, so now it was only little whimpers emitting from him. Maribelle picked him up, being careful about the blanket, and brought him back to Lissa, her heart giving a sudden little jump as she readied herself for this moment.
"Here he is, my darling," she said, handing him back to Lissa, who already had her arms outstretched a bit for him. She took him back into her arms, gently arranging him so he was snuggling against her chest again, before sighing contently.
"This calls for a picture," Maribelle said, finding an excuse to make her way back to the bag. "Oh, but first, you've got to see how he looks in his new outfit."
"Right!" Lissa said. In all the excitement, she'd almost forgotten that's what he'd been dressed in. In only a second, Maribelle had gotten back to the bags, quickly slipping something else into her pocket, before standing a little away from the bed to watch Lissa, who had gone to work on unwrapping Owain's blanket from around him.
Lissa gasped once she had gotten the blanket away and had read the text on her baby's onesie.
'Will You Marry My Other Mommy?' Owain's little onesie proclaimed in bright letters.
With tears already blurring her vision at the words, Lissa quickly looked back to Maribelle, who was now grinning at her bedside. She was holding a tiny box in the palm of her hand, before opening it with her other hand and showing the beautiful ring inside to her girlfriend.
"Lissa, my love, we have been through so much together in the last few years, and I do hope we can spend the rest of our lives together," Maribelle said. "Will you marry me?"
"Oh, Maribelle…" Lissa gasped, the first of her tears falling down her cheeks. "Of course I will!"
Maribelle covered her own sob with her hand, quickly leaning over to hug Lissa, being careful not to squish the now-resting baby at Lissa's chest between them as she did, who only shifted a bit.
"How long have you been planning this?" Lissa asked, as Maribelle pulled away.
"Just for the past two months, since we picked his going home outfit," Maribelle said, bringing her hand up to wipe away Lissa's tears with her thumb. "I found this one online, and wanted to make sure it matched the one we picked as his going home outfit, so you didn't suspect anything."
"But what if I had found it?"
Maribelle grinned. "I had kept it hidden away so there was no worries about that. I had it so kept away, in fact, that that was the reason I delayed our arrival here, actually."
"Oh...I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier, then," Lissa replied, frowning as she realized.
"Think nothing of it, you didn't know," Maribelle said. "And as for the ring, remember when I asked you about your class ring size?"
The realization about why Maribelle really asked about that finally dawned on Lissa, who gasped. "Oh my gosh, Maribelle…that's why you were asking! That's so sweet!"
"I'm so glad you think so," Maribelle said, before sighing. "Oh, this is all such a relief, I've had this planned for months, and I don't know what I'd do had you...well, let's not discuss that."
"I could never say no! I love you so much, and I was actually beginning to think about doing the same…"
"Were you?"
"Well, we've been together for years now, and we have two babies together, so we obviously love each other very much and it was about time to further our relationship," Lissa said, looking down at the mention of babies to little Owain.
"That's right," Maribelle agreed.
"Oh, I just don't know how to process all this," Lissa said, giving another sigh. "I had a baby and got proposed to all in the same day, and…" she stopped mid-sentence, tears welling up in her eyes again as the day's events finally caught up with her. Maribelle leaned in and brought her into a side hug.
"Oh, darling, it's alright," Maribelle said with a chuckle. "It's just all the hormones and emotions. You'll feel better soon."
"This is one of the best days ever, minus the day you agreed to be my girlfriend and the day Brady was born," Lissa managed between her tears. She suddenly stopped, sniffing. "Oh, I can't wait to tell Brady and Frederick the big news!"
Maribelle chuckled, and Lissa gave her a look. "You're all over the place and it's quite adorable. But I really shouldn't have riled you up this much after you giving birth, since you seriously still need your rest from that."
"I can rest later, but I need to tell them now!" Lissa said. "Our other baby and his godfather deserve to know."
"But love, they've already gone home, and it's getting late. Brady is probably in bed now," Maribelle said, which made Lissa sigh.
"Oh, okay, we'll tell them tomorrow. But, Maribelle?"
"Yes, my darling?"
"I love you so much."
Maribelle leaned in once more, kissing Lissa's cheek. "I love you so much, too."
The girls both looked down to the peaceful, sleeping face of their new baby. Little Owain was completely unaware of the exciting and loving life that he'd been born into. All that mattered to him in that moment was being in his mother's arms, safe, warm, and loved.
A/N: I debated for the longest time about leaving this open-ended for the reader or plotting and writing a quick little epilogue chapter to tie up any and all possible loose ends and make it feel more complete. The epilogue option won, so keep an eye out for that (I'll try hard to have it ready for Owain's birthday!).
I hope this was enjoyable, though! Reviews are welcome and appreciated, and thanks for reading. c: