Author's Note: All of these promps are from acoupletshort on tumblr (Kedi here). I hope you all enjoy!
Keywords to use, abuse, or disregard completely: silver, summer, gossip, freckles, coffee, education, night, wings
Summary: Archie is waiting in the hospital, worried for Ruby's safety
Characters: Archie, Ruby, Granny, and Marco
Worry was the only thing consuming his mind as he sat outside the hospital room, resisting the urge to pace or barge in to make sure she was alright. In fact, he would be in there right now, if Ruby hadn't told him, quite forcefully, to leave the room. Apparently, his nerves had been too much of a strain for her, but if something happened to his wife or …
Archie was jerked out of his thoughts as a Styrofoam cup of coffee was gently placed into his hands. "She'll be fine, Archie," Marco tried to reassure him.
"Of course she'll be fine," Granny spoke up from where she was knitting, trying to ignore her grandson-in-law's distress. "Ruby's a tough woman." He nodded in agreement, but still was unable to shake of his fear as he took a sip of the beverage. "You really shouldn't drink coffee this late at night, especially when you're so wound up," the older woman advised.
"He wasn't going to get any sleep anyway," Marco pointed out. "And it's the closest thing to tea I could find." Granny shrugged, and continued to knit the silver blanket as Archie drained the cup. Once it was gone, he was left, yet again, with nothing to distract him from the pain Ruby must be going through.
Marco had sat down beside Granny, and the two of them were whispering quietly, probably about him. Still, he wished they'd stop gossiping; he'd seen Marco texting someone, and by now at least half the town probably knew Ruby was in the hospital. Sure, they meant well, but it just made the whole situation that much more stressful.
Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, and he stood, pacing back and forth. Marco and Granny shared a worried look that he knew they thought he didn't see, before his best friend spoke up. "Archie, she really will be fine. The doctors know what they're doing." He didn't respond, just kept wearing a hole into the floor as if his life depended on it.
"Alright, that's it," Granny said, finally fed up with him. "Do you need me to educate you, Doctor? Because last time I checked …"
"That's the problem!" he nearly shouted. "I am a doctor, I remember going to medical school! I know all the terrible things that could happen to her." Then he was sobbing as he sunk back into his chair, finally ceasing the pacing that had annoyed Granny so much.
Marco sat down next to him, gently putting an arm around his shoulder. "Archie, I know you're worried, but I think you're overreacting a bit. She'll be just fine, you know that."
It was true, Archie did know that in all likelihood, Ruby would make it through this. That didn't help, though; nothing could stem his irrational fear that something terrible was going to happen to her. "Here, you're sweating," Marco said, gently helping his friend take off his sweater vest. Archie had rushed to the hospital straight from work, and hadn't had time to change into something more adept at keeping away the summer heat.
"I know Marco," he sighed, trying to calm himself down. "It's just, if something happened to her …"
Suddenly, the door to Ruby's room opened, and all three of them were on their feet without realizing it. Now, Archie's face wasn't the only one covered in worry. "She's fine," the nurse said, a huge smile on her face. "You can come in now."
Archie brushed past her, only to freeze in the doorway. "Hey, Archie," Ruby greeted weakly, but his attention wasn't on her, but the wailing little boy she held gingerly in her arms.
"He's …" Archie said, trying and utterly failing to find the right words to describe their precious newborn son.
"Would you like to hold him?" Ruby gently prodded. He nodded mutely, and then one of the nurses gently placed the boy in his arms. Tears sprang to his eyes, this time out of pure joy, as he gazed at their son. He thought he'd known what love at first sight was when he'd met Ruby, but now he truly realized the meaning of the word. He'd never cared so strongly for someone the first time they met as he did for the little boy crying in his arms.
"And you said you were worried about Ruby," Granny muttered good-naturedly from behind him. He didn't respond, still failing to find words to express the awe of this moment.
"He was worried about me? What for?" Ruby asked, sounding genuinely confused.
"Something about you dying in childbirth," Marco stated, and now that he said it aloud to Ruby, Archie realized how foolish that had been. Ruby smirked slightly, showing she also thought it was silly for him to jump to that conclusion.
"He's beautiful," Archie exclaimed, finally finding his words, even if they couldn't properly convey his emotions.
"Yes, he is," Ruby replied, and then, realizing his wife probably wanted to see their son too, he moved to stand beside her. "I bet he's going to look just like you. He'll be a ginger," she predicted, gazing at the adorable boy.
"Which me? Because I really hope he gets the freckles I had as a boy instead of my cricket wings." She laughed then, just like he knew she would, and his smile widened, if that was even possible.
"I didn't know you had freckles," she commented, and then they just stared at their baby together, smiling widely and not caring how much it hurt to do so.
"So, what are you going to call him?" Granny inquired, reminding the new parents that she and Marco were still in the room.
"Um, well …" Ruby glanced at him, obviously unsure whether she should mention the name she'd been thinking of for their son. She thought he didn't know the name she was considering, but he'd overheard Belle and her discussing how he'd react to it. Well, neither of them had thought he'd suggest the name himself.
"What about Peter?" he asked, and tears were almost instantly streaming down her face.
"Yes, Peter," she agreed. It was only fitting to name Ruby's first son after her first love. She thought he'd be hurt; that Archie would assume that she still loved Peter more, but he understood. He knew Ruby loved him, and that it was important for her to name their son after Peter, to honor him.
They both looked back at little Peter Hopper, smiling even as the young boy continued to wail. He was so precious, so perfect, that everything else seemed to fade away. The panic attack, the fact that they'd be the main town gossip for at least a month, and even the very room they were standing in disappeared. Only one thought was prevalent in Archie's mind; he was a father.
