Rifiuto: Non Miriena
December 19, 2008
"I'm the luckiest man in the world, you know that, Jojo?" She 'hmmed' softly in response, settling in bed and quickly unbuttoned her top, guiding the baby's mouth to her nipple. "We have... the most beautiful baby girl in the entire world. Bug looks just like you." He whispered, settling next to her and wrapping an arm around her waist, until she was comfortably settled against his chest. Jo grinned, reaching down to take his hand. He winced; not realizing her own strength, Jo had squeezed Zane's hand so hard during active labor that she'd literally broken every bone in his hand- a fact not discovered until Allison xrayed it- and even months after, it was still tender.
"I'd say Bug looks like her father." Jo replied.
Though the name on her birth certificate, and her given name, was Gwendolyn, Jo and Zane couldn't shake the simple nickname. It had become such a part of their lives over those nine months, that neither parent could imagine not calling their precious baby girl that. In the short few months since her birth, Jo and Zane had decided that Bug would just be her nickname; that she could- when she grew up- decide when and if she wanted to drop it and go by something else, or if she wanted to keep it. It was a nickname only used by family and close friends; everyone else called her Gwen or Cait or Gwendolyn. Jo always winced whenever she heard her daughter's full name; painful memories of missing persons fliers, a charred and dusty photograph of four girls, and a silver bracelet with small red stones lay just below the surface, always there, haunting her.
The baby watched her parents with bright, blue-grey eyes as she suckled contentedly at her mother's breast. Jo reached up, brushing a fingertip against her daughter's small hand, reveling in the softness of her skin. Her beautiful olive complexion was lighter than her mother's, and her black hair thick and soft, revealing her mother's rich Italian heritage, while her wide blue eyes and small features gave credit to her father's Russian and Irish ancestry. Zane pressed a kiss to Jo's hair, breathing in the sweet scent of the vanilla shampoo she'd used during her shower earlier. The two had seemed to fall into parenthood easily, adjusting to the sleepless nights and constant needs of newborn; most likely programmed into them on the day of the attack, when very few people were sleeping, and everyone was working to pull people from the rubble of what had once been the Twin Towers. Both had rarely left the house since the birth, preferring to spend as much time as possible with their daughter. When the baby finally finished nursing, Jo lay her against her shoulder, rubbing her back gently before laying her in Zane's arms and buttoning her top again.
Gently, Zane cradled his daughter in his arms, unable to take his eyes off the beautiful human being he and Jo had taken part in and created together.
"It doesn't seem real." She pulled her hair over her shoulder, working it into a quick, messy braid as she watched her husband with their child. "That she's here, in our arms."
"It's quite amazing, isn't it?" Jo asked, laying her head on Zane's shoulder as she watched her daughter. Gently, Zane brushing a finger over Bug's cheek, before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss gently against her forehead. "Creating a life." He chuckled, never taking his eyes off the baby in his arms.
"It's simple genetics, Jojo." He felt, rather than saw, her glare and grinned. "But yes, it is quite amazing."
Allison looked up as she took a seat beside Carter at the counter. With Jo and Zane on leave, things hadn't been any less crazy, and Carter had done everything he could, short of calling Jo and begging her to come in, to solve the cases he'd been given with little help. Although, the sheriff had to admit, the absence of his deputy was a huge blow to his sanity, and the office felt empty without Jo there, flipping through her copies of Guns and Ammo or trading barbs with him over lunch. Zoe stood back behind the counter, staring at her phone. "Um... what's going on? Zoe okay?"
Carter set his cup down, saying,
"She's just a little stressed about her SCAT test results." Allison nodded, as Zoe brought over her coffee, catching her father's last words.
"Yeah, but... after helping Jo with the baby, I just... I know I want to be a doctor. I... I mean this... this test could tell me what kind of medicine I'm cut out for. I was thinking... you know, after delivering Bug... maybe... maybe obestrician, but... I mean, pediatrics could be cool..." She swallowed, reaching down to hit the button when she stopped. "I can't. Dad-" She held the phone out, and after a moment, Carter hit it. After several seconds, Zoe glanced at it, her face falling.
"A... Robotics?" She looked up at Allison and Carter, shock on her face. Allison took it, reading the results.
"Look at those data points. It's a... a perfect score, Zoe." She whispered, handing it back. The teen shook her head.
"No. I... it's got to be a mistake." Allison shrugged.
"The SCAT's are right ninety-nine point nine percent of the time." Zoe sighed, slipping her PDA into her pocket and returning to work.
"Whatever, I'll just... make it work. But I know that test is wrong." She glanced back Allison and her dad. "After helping Jo deliver Bug, I know it's wrong."
"There is someone at the door, Zane. Shall I let them in?"
"Who is it?" Zane asked, as Jo came into the kitchen, grabbing the cup of hot tea AIDA had prepared for her. Bug lay with her head on her mother's shoulder, and after a moment, Zane pressed a kiss to both his wife's head and his daughter's. "Probably Carter or any of the other thousand residents of this town, here to drop off gifts or meet Bug since she was born, which normally, I'm not opposed to, but there has to be a stopping point." He muttered, pressing another soft kiss to his daughter's head.
"Your family." AIDA said, pulling up the image on the wall. Jo reached up, shifting Bug into her arms and taking a seat at the counter, cradling her daughter as she shuffled through the mail.
"It's... Mom and Dad and..." Jo cried, unable to keep her tears from choking her.
"Shall I let them in?" AIDA asked, as Zane went to the door.
"Of course, AIDA. Why wouldn't you?" He asked, as the door swung open. Tessa was the first to greet the young doctor, dropping her bag in the doorway and wrapping her arms around her son in a tight hug as the others slipped into the house behind the pair.
"Auntie Jo!" Jo soon foun herself surrounded by her nieces and nephews, all eager for hugs and kisses and all craning to see the baby in her arms.
"Mommy! Auntie Jo had a baby!" Nicole cried, as her Aunt Amy and her mother, Louisa, made their way to Jo, exchanging kisses and hugs with her.
"Oh Jo, she's beautiful!" Louisa breathed, as Bug stared up at her. "How old is she?" Jo shifted her hold on her daughter and got up, going into the living room and laying Bug in the moses basket- another tradition in her family, it was customary for the firstborn child to recieve a moses basket as a gift, which would then be used by all children following- and gently pushed it with her foot. She turned to her sisters-in-law, wrapping them each in a tight hug.
"Three months on the eleventh." She replied, kneeling down and scooping Nicole into her arms.
"When did you have her, Auntie Jo? Why didn't you tell us you had a baby?" Gently, Jo brushed the girl's blond hair off her forehead, smoothing it back behind her face.
"I did. Those pictures I sent Mommy, remember those?" The child shook her head.
"Remember the photos Uncle Zane and Aunt Jo sent, Nik? Remember seeing how big her tummy was getting?" After a moment, the child nodded in rememberance. "Well, her tummy couldn't get any bigger, and the baby had to come out." The child nodded, turning her gaze back to the infant.
"What's her name?" Jo raised her eyebrows, glancing at her sisters-in-law.
"This is Bug?"
"That's a funny name for a baby." Lucca's oldest, Georgie replied, wrapping her arms around her mother's waist.
"It's her nickname." Jo replied gently, realizing her slip. "Her real name is-"
"Gwendolyn Cait Donovan." Everyone turned to see Zane enter from the kitchen, one of his young nephews piggybacking; Zane held a cup of coffee, which he handed to Tessa. "There's coffee and cider in the kitchen for any who wants it." He said, kneeling down and letting the little boy return to the floor. Then, he stood, going to Jo and wrapping his arms around her from behind and pressing a kiss to the top her head.
"I think she's beautiful, Jo, Zane." Amy said, taking a seat in an armchair after returning from the kitchen, cider in hand. Jo and Zane settled on the sofa; Jo curled in his arms. Gently, Zane nudged the basket, watching as his daughter examined everything with his wide blue eyes. "You never answered us. When was she born?" Jo and Zane shared a glance; gently, Jo reached out, stroking her husband's thigh nervously. A moment passed before Zane reached down and took her hand, stilling her nervous stroking, squeezing her fingers gently. Taking a deep breath, Jo replied,
"September Eleventh. That's why we didn't make the ceremony. We were... too busy bringing new life into the world." Jo joked lightly, despite the tears building and slipping from her eyes.
"What time was she born, Jo?" Louisa asked softly, taking a seat beside her sister-in-law on the sofa. Sniffling, the deputy whispered,
"Ten... ten-twen..."
"Ten-twenty-eight A.M." Zane finished for her, giving his wife's hand another gentle squeeze. A moment passed, before Tessa said,
"I think, that you've given them a wonderful tribute. They'll live on in your daughter." Zane gave his mother a small smile as Jo snuggled into his chest.