Fic inspired by Tim Daly and babies + my dad. I pulled some events from my childhood for this chapter. My dad used to sing this song to my sister and I when we were little, but she's the one that broke his heart though haha :) Shout out to AllDucksInARow! Congrats on your gorgeous children and other shenanigans xx
Been ridiculously hesitant about posting this because UGH I don't know. I'm struggling hardcore with the rest of the story and where I want it to go, which is ridiculous because it's all just a collection of moments so I can go anywhere with it. I've been sitting on this chapter for…longer than I care to admit actually haha and I'm going to skim it once right now and then post before I chicken out for the millionth time, so my apologies for any typos/switching tenses/anything else that might annoy you. Feel free to shoot me a message and I'll look into edits! As always, reviews and general love/comments/constructive criticism would be massively appreciated! Thanks :)
PS. Super quick shout out/reference in this chapter to the Guitar God, Eric Clapton, for obvious reasons :D
When You Wish Upon A Star
It started when Stevie was in the womb. She wouldn't stop kicking and squirming, no matter what they tried. She was an active little girl from the start, but all Elizabeth wanted was a good night's sleep and she would do anything to get it.
It was Henry that stumbled upon the fix. One night as he tuned and fiddled with his guitar, Elizabeth, who was seated on the edge of their bed, stopped in mid sentence.
Confused and a little concerned about his now silent wife, he stilled his guitar with an open palm and began to cross to the bed.
Elizabeth held up her hand and listened intently with one hand on her pregnant belly. Henry's blood ran cold.
"What?" he said frantically, wracking his brain for some explanation. "Is it the –"
"Shhhhh," Elizabeth hushed her husband, as a brilliant smile lit up her face.
Bemused, Henry left his guitar on the chair as he stood in front of his wife and waited for her to speak.
"Wait, Henry, play something again!" Elizabeth said excitedly.
Henry didn't know what to think, but he picked up his guitar and strummed a few chords. His wife's face softened, as she seemed pleased with whatever was happening in her uterus at the moment.
"Wanna fill me in, babe?" he said, still mindlessly strumming on his guitar.
"The baby stops moving whenever you play! It's like she knows that her daddy is just the best musician and she wants to hear more of it! You're a baby whisperer! I think it soothes her," Elizabeth said with a hint of laughter. "Maybe this will finally make her sleep, which will make me sleep. So for the love of all that is holy, please keep playing!"
Elizabeth tried to turn over on her hands and knees to crawl up to the head of the bed, and Henry had to bite back laughter, learning early on to not anger a pregnant woman. Sometimes they were more than a little dangerous!
After much huffing and puffing, she finally made it to the head of the bed and slid partway under the covers, with her hands folded on top of her stomach.
"Well go on, Mr. Clapton, dazzle baby and me with your excellent guitar skills!"
He had to smile at his wife — even 7 months pregnant, she was just so vibrant and full of amazing energy. She was his other half; his soul mate; his everything; and he couldn't believe they were going to be parents in less than two months! Sixty. Days. He wasn't ready – okay, okay, time to play now, his audience was getting antsy.
Mentally flipping through his songbook, he almost cackled with glee. It was perfect. Nothing like introducing their baby to the magical world of Disney at an early age!
Henry sat on the edge of the bed, turning his body so that he could face Elizabeth, and began to sing softly.
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you
Elizabeth's eyes fluttered close as she traced aimless circles on her belly. God, Henry's voice could always make her weak in the knees and she was so thankful for her cozy bed at the moment. Slipping away on the sound of her husband's voice, she and the baby both drifted off into a soothing, blissful sleep.
With amusement, Henry watched as his wife's hands stilled on her stomach and her head fell back onto her pillow. Deciding to finish out the song, he continued to the end.
Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true
Henry gently stilled his guitar and placed it on a nearby armchair. He crossed to his side of the bed and quietly slid under the covers, hoping that Elizabeth didn't wake up. At this point in the pregnancy, his poor wife needed all the sleep she could get.
Light peeked through the curtains in the master bedroom, and Elizabeth stirred groggily. She yawned as she stretched her arms over her head and arched her back in a cat-like motion, as well as she could with her midsection the four times the size of a bowling ball. She felt a prickling on the back of her neck, and awkwardly rolled to her other side to find Henry staring at her.
"Morning, beautiful," he said as he greeted her with a kiss. The simple kiss ignited a fire in her belly, and she fought back a moan.
"Good morning," she whispered as she memorized every bit of his handsome face.
"Sleep well?"
She thought about it for a second. "Yeah, actually! You must have worked your magic on the baby last night, cause she was out like a light — a fact which her human incubator is obscenely grateful for," Elizabeth said with a laugh.
Henry smirked. "Oh yeah? How grateful?"
"Mmmmm we'll see, mister!" She teased as she pulled him in for a searing,
toe-curling kiss. She pulled back and rested her forehead on his.
"Hopefully baby behaves today! Mommy has to sit in meetings and would very much appreciate not being kicked in the ribs all day," Elizabeth said with a laugh, knowing clearly that her daughter would do whatever she wanted to, Mommy's wishes be damned!
Henry smiled and began to kiss his way down Elizabeth's body; he rested his head on her stomach as he nestled between her legs. As he placed a gentle kiss on her stomach, he started one of his favorite pregnancy rituals: talking to the baby.
"Hi, baby girl," Henry said, hoping to get a kick in response. Sure enough, he wasn't disappointed, and Elizabeth watched in gratitude and amazement as a smile lit up her husband's face. That was a sight that would never get old.
"I need you to be extra good for Mommy today, okay? She's gonna have a long day and you're gonna have to chill. And then when you get home, I'll play you our song before you go to sleep - how's that sound?" Henry almost sounded pleading, and Elizabeth had to laugh.
"You know she probably can't understand anything you say, right? Just because her brain is developing doesn't mean she can wrap her head around the finer points of a McCord negotiation just yet," Elizabeth said, trying to poke as much fun as she could at her adorable husband.
Henry smirked. "Maybe our child is gifted, okay? After all, she does have our genetics. Maybe she takes after her brilliant mother."
"Oh, you are good, McCord!" Elizabeth said playfully. "Now help me get out of bed please, I feel like a whale!"
Henry chose not to respond to that statement, got out of bed and went to help his wife.
Four Years Later
4-year-old Stevie was propped up on the couch, surrounded by her favorite stuffed animals, and she was miserable. The stupid baby was crying so Stevie didn't get her mommy's undivided attention, which she normally got when she was ill.
She heard the front door open and her face brightened. Daddy was home! He'd make everything better, and make Alison finally stop crying. She still wasn't 100% sold on this whole sibling business. So far, being a big sister sucked.
Henry came into the living room, holding a now-quiet Alison in his arms. He could almost feel the tension leech out of his wife, and the tension that left was almost immediately replaced with bone-crushing exhaustion. Still on maternity leave, Elizabeth had been stuck with a sick 4-year-old and a screaming newborn all day, and he felt a little guilty.
He called back to his wife. "Go lay down for a little, babe! Or go take a nice long bubble bath. I think Stevie and I got it covered, don't we?" He said with a wink in Stevie's direction.
He heard Elizabeth wearily trudge up the stairs, and knew unless the house was on fire or something, she wouldn't be leaving their bedroom for the rest of the night. Poor thing was exhausted.
Cradling Alison in one arm, he sat down on the couch and placed his other hand on Stevie's forehead.
"Mmmm, you don't feel warm to me. What are we going to watch this time?" Although Henry grumbled sometimes about Stevie's recent "princess" phase, he secretly loved it.
"Beauty and the Beast, Daddy! Belle is my favorite princess! She likes to read, just like me!" Stevie said with enthusiasm.
Henry inwardly groaned; Stevie had already watched that tape three times this week — but he settled back on the couch with baby Alison in his arms and readied himself for round four.
Stevie hopped off the couch, popped the tape into the VCR and pressed play. The screen lit up with a blue and white Disney castle, surrounded by fireworks.
His oldest child tugged on Henry's arm, and he moved quickly to soothe Alison, who was disturbed by the jarring motion.
"Daddy, it's our song!" Stevie said enthusiastically, as the opening chords of When You Wish Upon A Star began to play. She stopped bouncing on the couch and stared at the screen, mesmerized.
"Yeah, love bug, it is!" Henry said as he hummed along. He would always love the introduction to Disney films and the way they captivated his children. Even baby Alison was silent and intently listening to the orchestrated music that played from the speakers.
Surrounded by his two girls, with his beautiful wife sleeping upstairs, he tried to soak in the moment. He knew his girls wouldn't stay little forever; Stevie was already growing like a weed, and learning something new every day, and it seemed like Alison was already starting to develop her own little personality.
For now, he was grateful that his children were starting to develop a healthy appreciation for all things Disney. Growing up with two sisters, Henry himself partook in many Disney-themed adventures and tea parties, and he couldn't wait to share more of the Disney magic with his own girls.
A/N Round 2: Hey, I'm back! Rereading this was bleh. There might be more chapters, but I haven't decided if I'm going to post them or not. There's so much more I want to change and I'm not loving this story so much anymore for some reason. But whatever, I'm posting it, it's in the universe and maybe it'll make my writer's block go away because that would be fantastic! Hope y'all enjoyed xoxo