Author's Note: I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's longer than I intended, but I really wanted everything to happen all at once. And yes, we can finally stop being annoyed by SOME people for their cluelessness. It was really fun to write a couple other than Jake and Olivia being clueless, because that seems to be what I write most of the time… anyway, thank you for all of the reviews!
Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.
The first eight hours after the birth of Eliana Rose Ballard were blissful for her parents. Olivia fell asleep within an hour of the delivery of her daughter, giving Jake several hours to bond with the child while she rested. While Olivia was out of it enough that she couldn't carry on conversation, she did hear the phone calls he was making and the exclamations of joy that he seemed to be replying to every few moments. The moment that she was out from under the influence of the pain medication she had been given enough to focus on something in front of her without her vision becoming blurry in under five seconds, she was looking for her daughter.
It didn't take long to find the newborn; Jake was standing at the window, a small bundle of light green fabric held close to his chest. His attention was on the face of their daughter, and Olivia took a moment to appreciate the expression of absolute adoration on her husband's face before clearing her throat to inform him that she was awake. He turned around slowly, careful not to jostle the baby, and grinned at her as he headed in the direction of her hospital bed.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, babe," he teased gently, shifting Eliana slightly in his arms so that he could more easily transfer her into his wife's. "The sun's actually up now," he informed her once their daughter was in her embrace. "Eliana was getting a little Vitamin D by looking through the windows." His smile widened as he brushed a finger against Eliana's plump little cheek, causing her eyelashes to flutter as she struggled to decide whether she wanted to remain asleep or wake up. "It's slightly ironic that we named her something that honors the sun and she decided to be born in the middle of the night, isn't it?" He smiled softly at the baby when she finally made her decision and slowly blinked open her hazel eyes. "Yeah, sweetheart, I was talking about you," he murmured, placing his hand against her cap-covered head and leaning down to press a kiss to Olivia's temple. "Do you think her ears are already burning?" he questioned as Eliana continued to gaze up at them.
"I don't think that actually happens," Olivia responded, her focus still on their daughter. "Did your mom leave already?" she questioned after realizing that Philippa was no longer in the room. "I figured she'd stay here until we left."
"Oh, she plans to," Jake replied. "She left to get some food that my aunts made and stick it in the fridge for us so that we don't have to worry about anything once we get her home," he explained. "She told me to tell you that she loves you and she's very proud of you," he informed her, pulling faces at Eliana when she glanced towards him once again. "She also spent time researching organic formulas." He shrugged when Olivia glanced in his direction. "She wants to be helpful, and she didn't know enough about it to give us advice without doing research. When she bottle-fed us, well, it was the seventies and she was broke. A much different situation going on here."
Olivia smiled slightly. When she had made the choice to bottle-feed, no one had challenged her decision. Philippa had even told her the story of how both of her children ended up bottle-feeding after they both lost a substantial amount of their birthweight while breastfeeding. Jake had patiently listened to her explain her reasons for choosing not to breastfeed over a dozen times even though his response was always the same. It was still strange to her how supportive people could be of things that seemed so simple to the rest of the world. It wasn't a bad feeling, though. "Did she find any brands that she thinks we should check out?"
"She ordered about seven different brands," Jake responded with exasperation, causing Olivia to burst into laughter. "Baby, she was dedicated." He beamed down at the baby in his wife's arms. "A lot of people care about you, princess. You'll figure that out really quick." Eliana yawned, causing both of her parents to laugh. "I know, you're just so interested in what I'm saying, aren't you?" His phone suddenly began to ring, taking his attention away from the baby for a moment as he read the message flashing across the screen. "Naomi wants you to know that you're extremely brave and she's very proud of you," he informed her as he glanced away from the device. "She also wants to know when she and Fitz can come and visit. Her exact word usage is 'not to be pushy, but can we meet the cherub soon?', and I am not joking," he laughed.
Olivia smiled slightly, brushing her lips against Eliana's forehead. "Tell them to give me a bit to get ready."
Jake glanced up confusedly. "Babe, you had a baby eight hours ago. They don't care about what you're wearing," he informed her slowly. "They wouldn't care even if you hadn't had a baby eight hours ago; they're our friends."
"I know that they don't care, but if I don't get out of this bed now I don't think I ever will, and I don't even want to think of the state of my hair at this moment," she replied, wincing as she shifted slightly and pulled her staples. "I've never been shot, but I'm pretty sure I can understand your pain now," she muttered as the pain reverberated through her body for several moments. She drew in a deep breath. "Okay, maybe we should wait until your mother gets here so that somebody can be with the baby in case I faint, because this is the exact opposite of painless."
Jake kissed her forehead apologetically. "I'm sorry, baby." He pressed a kiss to the apple of her cheek and then nuzzled her neck before accepting their daughter into his arms. "Mommy's a little hurt, so you're going to hang out with me for a while, okay?" he cooed. Olivia smiled at the sight before her and turned at the sound of the door opening.
Philippa made her way inside with a smile and a bagful of food. "I figured that the last thing you needed was hospital food," she explained as she bent to gently hug Olivia and then placed the food in a spare chair by the bed. "How are you feeling?" she asked seriously, settling on the sofa and looking inquiringly towards Olivia.
"Well, it's not the most comfortable I've been," Olivia admitted. "But she makes everything worth it," she added, glancing at her daughter with a fond smile as Jake walked about, murmuring to his daughter as he went. "I'm going to try to get up for the first time in a second so that I can at least go change into clean pajamas, but I don't know how this is going to turn out, so we were wondering if you could watch the baby for a second if anything happens."
"Oh, absolutely," Philippa agreed immediately. "In fact, hand her over right now." Jake approached his mother immediately and handed the baby over. "Hello, Eliana," she cooed. "We're going to be best buddies, aren't we? You can run to me when Momma and Daddy are being mean and won't let you…" she trailed off. "I don't know where I was going with that, you're not mean people."
"Jake probably won't let her date," Olivia offered, smiling at Jake as he made his way towards her.
"Thirty is a perfectly acceptable age to start dating," Jake defended as he moved the tray out of the way and moved over to the side of the bed nearest the bathroom to help her out from under the covers. "You ready for this?"
"Not at all, but it has to be done." Olivia moved the covers aside slowly and reached for Jake's hand. He smiled at her reassuringly as she lifted her legs over the side of the bed, wincing as it pulled at her stitches. "You okay?" he murmured once she was on her feet and breathing in and out deeply.
"Yup," she replied tightly. By some miracle, she made her way into the bathroom with Jake's help and left him leaning against the wall while she used the bathroom, changed into a fresh pair of flannel pajama pants and a tee shirt with the NAVY logo that had been stolen from Jake at some point early in their relationship, and combed and pulled back her hair. By the time she splashed water on her face and brushed her teeth, she felt human once again. She then stepped into slippers and grabbed her robe from a hook on the door before slowly making her way back into the main hospital room.
Jake helped her into the robe, apologizing when she winced slightly. He then helped her get settled back into the bed before removing several containers from the bag of food that his mother had brought before. "Mom went a little crazy," he explained as he took the lids off of a few of the containers. "Mom, where did you get this from again?" he asked Philippa over his shoulder.
"Oh, some adorable little bakery on the corner near your old apartment," Philippa explained, shifting Eliana slightly in her arms when the baby began to fuss. "I've been there before, but they have the best breakfast selection, and I remembered you saying Olivia likes croissants. Considering you both look like deliriously happy zombies, I figured protein and carbohydrates were a safe bet." She made a sympathetic face down at Eliana when she continued to make upset noises. "I know, sweetheart, but you need to let your parents eat." She shifted Eliana onto her shoulder, and the baby calmed down immediately.
Olivia and Jake were halfway through breakfast when they heard a knock on the door. After calling out that it was safe to enter, they caught sight of Naomi and Fitz peeking into the room, similar expressions of excitement on their faces. Olivia had to bite back a passive-aggressive comment about the state of their relationship (seriously, even Fitz couldn't be this blind, could he?), but the joy she felt when she caught sight of her friends was genuine. Jake was her person, but Naomi, Fitz, Abby, Quinn, Huck, and everyone else? They were her family, too. And despite the slowness that Fitz apparently suffered from, it was nice to see her family happy.
"I'm trying really hard not to squeal right now," Naomi admitted the moment that she was in the room, approaching Jake and cooing over the baby that had been returned to his arms. "Hi, Miss Eliana. I'm your Aunt Naomi, and I'm going to be your favorite aunt. Yes, I am," she murmured as the baby was placed in her arms.
"Are you about to cry?" Fitz asked amusedly as she blinked rapidly.
"Yes, Fitz. Yes, I am about to cry. Look at this face. Our friends made this," Naomi replied defensively, her voice softening as she glanced down at the baby. "Oh, you're just perfect. Your dad needs to buy stock in those baseball bat companies right now, huh?" She turned back towards Fitz. "Look at her. Look at this." She glanced up at Olivia. "You are badass, woman." She then glanced down at the baby sheepishly. "Oh, no. Don't use that kind of language. That's bad."
"Well, Aunt Naomi's already made the first steps towards ruining her vocabulary," Fitz sighed. "That's great, Nai." He smirked at Jake and Olivia behind Naomi's back, ignoring the woman's playful yet fierce glare. "How are you two doing?" he asked Jake and Olivia.
"Well, exhausted," Olivia admitted with a laugh. "But extremely happy," she added, her eyes on her daughter. "Once we got past the 'oh God she's coming' phase of panic, it was a very calm experience. Being told I had to have a surgery wasn't fun, but she's so worth it."
Naomi transferred the baby into Fitz's arms before turning her attention to Olivia. "She's so little, my God!" she exclaimed with a wide smile. "I was expecting her to be much bigger, because, you know, Jake's like a giant." She smirked when Jake rolled his eyes at her. "She's not even six pounds, right?"
"Five pounds, fifteen ounces," Jake confirmed. Eliana let out a small cry, causing Fitz's eyes to widen as he glanced towards Jake and Olivia for help. "You've done this how many times now?" Jake teased, stepping forward to take his daughter from his friend's arms. "I think Liv wanted her back, anyway," he added, carefully transferring the baby into Olivia's arms. "No, seriously, you looked like she had just declared war on you or something," he continued, his focus back on Fitz.
"Little people yelling at you is somehow more intimidating than adults yelling at you," Fitz explained. "Please back me up here, Naomi."
"Oh, yeah, I would have reacted the same way," Naomi agreed. She turned her attention to Olivia. "Boys, you're kicked out."
"Why?" Jake asked. Naomi turned towards him with a raised eyebrow. "You know what? I don't need to know why. I'll go make some phone calls." He walked away with a muttered, "I have no phone calls to make." Fitz followed him with a sigh, winking at Naomi over his shoulder.
Olivia glanced towards Naomi questioningly. The other woman drew in a deep breath before sinking into the chair next to the bed. "Fitz and I are together." She rushed through the sentence, her words almost indistinguishable, but Olivia still understood everything that was being said. "I just wanted to tell you privately because I know that…" She caught sight of Philippa in the corner and backtracked. "You're his friend, and so is Jake, and I want to make sure that you're okay with it." She bit her lip nervously.
"Naomi," Olivia began with a sigh, smiling when the woman's eyes grew wide. "This is amazing news. I'd say it's the best news of the day, but…" She shifted Eliana in her arms. "Well, I'm no liar."
"I know, I know. We didn't want to steal your spotlight, but it would have been awkward if you didn't know, and…" Naomi smiled. "Well, now you don't have to invite plus-ones to the christening for the two of us."
"Very good logic. We'll be saving some trees." Olivia smiled when Naomi chuckled. "Really, Naomi, I'm thrilled for you. I know that Jake will be, too." She then glanced over at Philippa. "Philippa, you look like you're about to burst," she informed her mother-in-law. "Just say whatever you wanted to say."
"Well, I wanted to congratulate them on getting their heads out of their asses, but that seemed a bit harsh, so now I'm going with congratulations," Philippa commented mildly, completely comfortable with her use of the expletive. Olivia was beginning to realize just how much her husband took after his mother. "So, congratulations, my dear."
Naomi chuckled. "Thanks, Pippa," she replied. "Congratulations to you on the super cute granddaughter, by the way. She's scrumptious." She brushed a hand over Eliana's hair before standing up. "I'm gonna go hunt down the boys so that Jake can tease us mercilessly for not listening to him earlier," she sighed.
Olivia smiled slightly. That did sound like Jake.
Thirty minutes later, Jake returned to the room, but he wasn't alone. Huck, Quinn, and Abby were behind him, and the two other women were practically bouncing on their toes. "I found them in the lobby," he explained, laughing when Quinn glared at him. "Okay, so I called them," he admitted. "Eliana, meet the other people that'll probably never leave you alone," he introduced, carefully lifting Eliana from Olivia's arms and pressing a kiss to her forehead. He glanced back at Olivia. "Cyrus and Michael are sending flowers, but Ella has a cold," he explained. "Michael told Cyrus that he'd kill him if he came up here and exposed the baby, so he's holding off."
"Cyrus actually listened to somebody and the sky isn't falling?" Olivia asked with a smirk. Jake chuckled at her. "No, that's very nice of him." She glanced at her friends. "She's littler than you thought, right?"
"I didn't understand how tiny six pounds was until this exact moment," Abby admitted as the baby was placed in her arms. "Hi, Eliana. I'm Abby. It's very nice to meet you. I work for the President, who is also your parents' best friend, so if anyone's mean to you, you just tell me, okay? You could tell your Uncle Huck or Aunt Quinn, but they're not calm people, so maybe just stick to your parents, your grandmother, and me. Aunt Naomi is also nice, but I'm pretty sure she can go insane in about two minutes, so maybe hold off until you're a teenager and some boy hurts you. Then she'll help your dad in whatever way he needs to get back at the guy." She chuckled when Eliana yawned widely. "She really has a way of making you feel like you're being listened to, doesn't she?"
"She's done that to Jake at least half a dozen times," Olivia informed her friend. "You should probably just get used to it." She smiled when the baby was handed off to Quinn. "Have you even held a baby before?"
"Not one this small," Quinn admitted, hesitant to make any sudden moves. "I've been less terrified with a gun aimed at me, honestly. She's so freaking little."
"She won't stay that way forever," Olivia assured her friend. "Quinn…Okay, you're holding her like she's breakable. Calm down."
"Uh, she is breakable!" Quinn defended. "Are you honestly telling me that Jake wasn't hesitant to hold her at all?"
"Not outwardly," Jake answered. "Inside, though, I was terrified."
"You've disabled bombs, my love," Olivia laughed incredulously.
"Yeah, and the bombs were less terrifying," Jake informed her.
"Here, Huck, it's your turn," Quinn stated, turning towards their friend and carefully transferring the baby into his arms. "Also, I want to go talk to Mrs. Ballard. Hi, Mrs. Ballard," she greeted, heading in Philippa's direction. They began to talk quietly while Huck tried to look calm. It didn't take Jake long to take mercy on him and accept the baby back into his own arms. Small steps were required, Olivia supposed.
It was nearing lunchtime when everyone finally left, and Olivia and Jake were alone with their daughter for a few minutes while Philippa left to pick up edible food from a local takeout place. Dr. Reilly arrived just ten minutes after Philippa had departed with a wide smile on her face.
"Hi, you three," she greeted cheerfully. "Olivia, your nurse informed us that you were out of bed already?" When Olivia nodded, she did the same. "That's good. We want to keep you at least until tomorrow, but we'll see how you're doing in the morning and go from there, all right?" She smiled when both Jake and Olivia nodded. "All right, then. Well, I'll leave you to coo over that baby in peace. She's gorgeous, by the way," she called over her shoulder as she walked out of the room.
Jake turned towards Olivia with a smile. "Home sounds nice, doesn't it?"
Olivia smiled. "Home sounds perfect."