An Hour Before The Light
Title: An Hour Before The Light
Summary: Allison and Joe watch their newborn breathe while she sleeps.
Prompt: 11: "Breathe"
Author: Sakura123 (weber_dubois22)
Rating: K+
Characters: Allison Dubois; Joe Dubois; Marie Dubois
Chapters: 11/28
Word Count: 758
Written: 10/11/09
Completed: 10/12/09
Disclaimer: Medium and all things related are property of Glenn Gordon Caron, CBS Paramount Television, Picturemaker Productions, and Grammnet Productions. Original storyline and characters are property of me, the author.
Authors Note: One of the many prompts I've been just dying to do, especially after seeing "Then and Again".
"You look exhausted. Beautiful, but exhausted."
Allison averted her gaze away from the bundle in her arms toward the doorway of her hospital room. There was Joe, in all his equally exhausted glory, leaning against the doorframe with a balloon in one hand and a white coffee mug, with hallmark card taped to it, in the other.
She managed a small smile for her husband before giving him a once over. "You try being in labor for 38 hours and see how you feel, or look even," She retorted, not at all jokingly. Joe made a face, not exactly keen on the mental image that popped in his at the mere description of his wife's then-agony. "Hmm, I'd rather not, thanks," He sighed, stepping into the bedroom.
"How are the girls?" Allison asked. Joe took his place in the swivel chair next to Allison's hospital bed with a groan, he sat the mug plus greeting card on the bedside table, already littered cards and other gifts, and tied the helium inflated "congratulations!" balloon to the railing of her bed.
Allison watched it go up and stop mere inches from the ceiling before taking the time to regard her husband. The circles under his eyes were direct product of trying keep his ten and five year old entertained at home while Allison and the new baby rested. "Their asleep, finally," Joe answered. "I swear they have more energy than I did at both ages, respectively." He pauses and glances at the items he placed on the table and hospital bed. "Those are from Nick and Diane."
Allison nodded, grinning. "I figured," She said, nodding her head toward the white mug. Joe said nothing in response to that, not sure what his wife meant by what she said. Brushing it aside, he focused his attention on the sleeping figure wrapped in a pink blanket. "How's the baby?" He asked instead. The most he could see of her was her little nose and lips, followed by the wisp of sandy brown hair that peeked out from beneath her pink cap.
Allison rubbed the bottom of newborn's bottom affectionately. "She's doing just fine, just finished eating a hour ago," Allison relayed. Joe gave a brief nod his head, rubbing his hands together excitedly. For another minute, Allison watched her husband in the corner of her, just staring at his anticipative expression with amusement. "Do you wanna hold her?"
Joe was startled out of his trance, eyes wide with restrained excitement. "Can I?" He whispered, biting the edge of his lip. Allison laughed at her husband's hesitation, he acted like this the last two times she gave birth; Fidgety and afraid of touching his own child, in fear that he would break her. She could attest to the strength of her own children though, they weren't fragile beings, at least not in the way her husband was thinking. "Joe, she's half yours. Of course you can hold her," Allison replied, all while giving him a weird look.
It was all Joe could do to contain himself, as Allison leaned over and shifted the baby over to him, Joe jumped a little at the sound of gurgle. The second Joe had the baby in his arms, her little fists were raised and she started to squirm in his arms. Both Joe and Allison shared a wince, neither of them meant to wake her. But instead of crying, she just make a cooing sound, big blue eyes staring back up at her father. "Aw, she said hi," Allison laughed, relieved. Joe just smiled down at his daughter. "Hi back, little one," Joe chuckled. "Hi, Marie."
Marie Dubois cooed again, managing a tiny smile for the familiar voice above her. It was different than the one she'd heard earlier, but it was familiar nonetheless. She was as soft as a kitten, Joe could tell even with the blanket acting as a buffer between his skin and her body. His smile just got wider at the feel of her sides inflating and deflating as she breathed. Lowering his face, Joe rubbed his nose against her tiny one, listening to her cooing become longer.
Her tiny fingers found their way to his face, pads pawing carefully across his recently shaven face moving toward his nose. Joe sat up again, he felt his face would break if he smiled any harder. "She's beautiful, babe," He exhaled. "Just like her mom." Allison rolled her eyes at her husband's honest flattery, the prickle of tears making itself known.
[End Prompt 11]