"Daddy!"
Micah charges into their hospital room, straight into Fitz's arms.
"Hey, buddy," Fitz laughs, squeezing him tight, "Did you have a fun morning?"
"Yeah! I waked up, and—and, Bee was coming in my room!"
"She was?! That's so fun, were you surprised?"
Abby walks over to Liv's bed while they boys re-unite, bending down to give her a long hug.
"Thanks for bringing him by," Liv says, hugging her best friend, "We missed him."
"Uh, like I would miss the opportunity to meet my new niece?" Abby says incredulously, looking down into the bassinette next to the bed, "Oh my gosh, look at her, she's gorgeous."
Liv nods, smiling affectionately at Ruby. "I know, we're already pretty much obsessed with her."
"Hi, Mommy!"
"Hey, you," she smiles, opening her arms as her first baby crawls up the bed and into a hug, "How are you? I missed you this morning."
"I played am'nals with Bee!"
"You did?! Oh, I bet that was really fun, huh?"
Micah nods, and then tips his head with concern. "Umm, yes. Mommy, are you sick?"
"No, baby, I'm not sick, I'm just fine," she reassures him, stroking his curls.
Almost immediately, the baby catches his attention, and he points at her curiously.
"Oh. Mommy, that's, umm, thass a baby?"
"It is a baby, you're right. And guess what? That's our baby, that's your baby sister."
"It's my baby sister?"
"Yes! Remember, we've been talking about how there's a baby sister in Mommy's belly?"
Micah pats her belly, no longer full of baby but still round. "Hi, baby. Mommy, the baby sister is right here."
"Well, now baby sister is right there. She's not in Mommy's tummy anymore."
He looks back and forth between the baby, and her belly, massively confused. Ruby makes a few little noises, squirming slightly and drawing his attention, and Olivia decides to skip over the belly-to-world transition.
"She really wants to meet you. Do you want to meet her?"
"Yeah," he breathes in wonder, eyes locked on the infant, forgetting all about his confusion.
Fitz walks over to scoop up the sleeping baby and hand her to Liv, looking on as his two youngest kids meet for the first time.
"Here she is," Liv says softly, trying to get Micah to match her calm demeanor, "This is your baby sister. Her name is Ruby."
"Ruby?" Micah asks, watching Liv settle the baby against her thighs so he can see her.
"That's right, her name is Ruby. Do you want to say hi to her?"
Micah stares at his sister curiously, reaching out to touch her blanket. "Hi, Ruby."
"Hi, Ruby," Liv echoes, eyes filling with tears as she watches them together.
He uses both hands to lean on Olivia's thigh, getting very close to the baby's face.
"It's a baby sister?" he repeats, still checking her out in detail.
Liv smiles and wipes her eyes, trying to stop crying. "Yup, this is your baby sister."
"When did she came-ed here, Mommy?"
"She just came here this morning, she's brand new."
"Oh," he breathes, moving one hand, now trying to lean directly on the baby to get even closer.
"Oh, oh," Liv corrects gently, moving his hand, "Don't push on her, okay? We have to be so, so careful because she's really small, right?"
"Yeah, she's really small," he echoes, moving his hands and getting close again.
The three adults in the room watch him stare at her, amused by how quiet and contemplative he's being. He's now so close to the baby's face that it's comical, looking her over, taking it all in. Liv looks up at Fitz, pulling a face to show that she's barely holding it together.
"What do you think of her, bud?" she asks after a moment, trying not to laugh and cry at the same time.
"She's good," he mumbles absently, patting her gently.
"Yeah? You can touch her, if you want," she encourages, wanting him to be careful, but not wanting him to walk on eggshells around her.
Micah deliberately reaches out with one finger, touching her tiny nose. Ruby's face twitches, and he giggles, looking up at Liv, who crinkles her nose and smiles back at him.
"Isn't she cute?"
"Yeah," he agrees, touching her chin, then her lips, "Mommy?"
"What, baby?"
"The baby is sleeping?"
"Yup, she's sleeping. She's really tired."
"Why?"
"Because she was just born today, and that made her really tired."
He fidgets on the bed, readjusting himself, reaching out to gently touch each tiny curl on Ruby's head. "Oh. She's tired, from being borned?"
"Yeah, she's really tired. See, how sleepy she looks?"
"Mommy?" he says, suddenly sitting up and looking right at her, very serious.
Olivia matches his expression, giving him her full attention. "What?"
"Umm, I wanna, umm, we can see her feet?"
"You want to see her feet?" she repeats, stifling a laugh, "Okay, we can look at her feet."
She undoes the bottom of Ruby's blanket, keeping her wrapped except for her tiny feet.
"There they are, what do you think?"
Ruby moves her legs, squirming and stretching.
Micah touches her feet, each toe, grabs her foot and lifts it up. "Mommy, I can see her toes."
"Her toes are so tiny, huh?"
"Yeah," he giggles, still touching her feet.
At that moment, Ruby makes her annoyance at having her feet touched known, grunting and letting out a little squawk.
Immediately, Micah sits up looking concerned. "Mommy, she cried."
"I know, that's okay. She just doesn't really like when her feet aren't wrapped up," Liv reassures him, wrapping Ruby back up.
Still looking very serious, Micah takes a deep breath and sighs, gently patting Ruby's head. "S'okay. We can cover your feet, baby."
Her heart melts, more tears welling up in her eyes. "That's so gentle, Micah, good job, pumpkin."
"Hi, baby," Micah chirps loudly, leaning in close to Ruby's face again, "Hi, baby sister. Mommy, thass my sister!"
"That's right, this is your baby sister! You're her big brother, that's a very important job."
"Yeah, I'm a big brother," Micah says proudly, repeating what they've been telling him for the past few months.
"Yup. And remember we talked about how you'll get to be best friends with your baby sister, and teach her things, and keep her safe."
"Yes, I will, I will teach her my am'nals, and we can go in the snow!"
"Right!" Liv laughs, reaching out to stroke his hair, "You're such a good big brother. Hey, do you want to hold her?"
Micah's eyes get big, and he nods excitedly. "Yeah!"
"Okay, sit down right here on your bottom," she says, patting the bed.
He crawls around and sits down next to her, cuddling in to her side.
"Okay, here you go," she murmurs, laying the baby in his lap, showing him how to cradle her, "You're her big brother, so hold her tight, okay? Keep your arms just like this, so she's safe."
"Okay," Micah agrees, looking down at his sister, "Mommy, I wanna hold her."
Liv keeps her hand underneath Ruby's head, not fully trusting her toddler to protect her newborn's wobbly little neck. "You are holding her, bud. I'm just helping a little bit. Hey, look, she's looking at you."
Ruby's blinking her eyes open, wiggling a little bit.
Micah giggles, touching her nose and lips again. "Hi, baby. Baby, you like honey nut Cheer-oh-ohs?"
"Are you gonna share your cereal with her?" Liv asks, giggling as Micah nods emphatically, "That's so nice, buddy."
"She can eat some, Mommy?"
"Well, we might have to wait until she's a little bit bigger, okay? Babies like to drink milk."
"Hey, Micah, look at Daddy. Say cheese!"
Fitz is standing at the end of the bed with his cell phone, poised to take pictures. He snaps a few and then Abby grabs his phone, shooing him into the picture with them. They take a couple more pictures, and Fitz gets up to look at them.
"Bee! This is my sister!"
"It's your baby sister?!" she whispers excitedly, coming over to sit with them, "Oh my gosh, can I see her?"
"Yeah, she's right here," he says, as if it's obvious.
"Oh, okay," Abby says softly, reaching out to stroke Ruby's head, "She's pretty cute, huh?"
Micah nods his head, resting his hand on Ruby.
"What's her name? Do you know?"
"Yeah, her name is, umm, Ruby. This is baby Ruby!" he announces excitedly, already owning his role as big brother.
"Hi Ruby," Abby coos, letting Micah introduce them properly, "Liv, she's so beautiful."
"I know," Liv sniffles, bending to press a kiss into Micah's curls, "She's perfect. Here, I know you want to hold her."
"Of course I do, gimme," Abby smiles, reaching for the newborn.
"Micah, can Bee have a turn holding Ruby?"
"Careful, Bee. She's little," Micah scolds, brows furrowing as Abby cradles Ruby.
Abby stifles a laugh. "Okay, I'll be careful big brother, I promise."
"Daddy, we made pancakes with choc-lit chips!" Micah exclaims, hopping off the bed.
"No way, buddy!" Fitz laughs, bending down to talk to his son.
"Chocolate chips?" Liv asks, raising an eyebrow at Abby.
Abby shrugs, rocking the baby gently. "I figured it was a special occasion, what with him becoming a big brother and all."
They all visit for an hour or so, until Olivia starts to yawn uncontrollably, and Micah starts to get bored.
"Hey, Micah," Abby says excitedly, crouching down to his level, "Guess what we're going to do today?"
"What?" he breathes, eyes wide with excitement.
"We're going to the aquarium to see the fish!" she announces, clasping her hands together.
He gasps, bouncing up and down. "Mommy! I'm seeing the fish with Bee!"
"You are?!" she exclaims, mustering enough energy to be excited with him, "Oh, you are such a lucky boy."
Fitz lifts him back on to her hospital bed, and then takes Ruby from Abby.
"I want you to come too, Mommy!"
"Well, how about if I come next time. I have to stay here with baby Ruby today."
"Why?" he asks, brows furrowed.
"She's a brand new baby, and she doesn't know anything about the world yet," she explains, trusting that he'll understand if she's honest with him, "She doesn't know how to eat, or sleep, or get dressed or anything. And she has to stay here until tomorrow, so Mommy and Daddy are going to stay with her so we can take care of her. And then tomorrow we'll all be home together, okay?"
Micah thinks about this for a second, playing with her hospital bracelet.
"Okay," he sighs, making no effort to hide his disappointment, "Tomorrow you can make my sandwich?"
She laughs softly, hugging him close. "Yes, tomorrow I'll make your sandwich. But guess what?"
"What?"
"Tonight, you're going to have a sleepover with Bee."
His face lights up with excitement, and he looks over at Abby, hopping off the bed. "Bee! You are gonna sleep over?!"
One semi-successful nursing session and a long nap later, Fitz gets a call that a new shift of secret service personnel has arrived with food for them.
"I'm going to go out and say thank you," Fitz says, slipping his shoes back on.
"Say thank you for us too, please," Liv smiles, sitting up in bed, Ruby sleeping on her chest, "I'm going to see if I can get her to wake up and eat again."
He winks at her, closing the door on his way out.
"Are you gonna wake up, bug?" Liv asks her softly, using her index finger to stroke her cheeks, "It's time to try to eat again. We have to keep practicing. Yeah. Oh my gosh, you're so cute. I can't take it."
She lifts the baby a little higher, kissing her forehead, using her fingertips to tickle her back.
"Wake up, little sleepy girl. Ruby," she sing-songs, "I don't want to make you cold, but I might have to. You won't like it."
She gently lays the bundled infant down in front of her, untucking the edge of her swaddle blanket. Ruby stirs slightly, turning her head, making little noises, pursing her lips. Liv's heart melts, and she leans down to nuzzle her cheek, pressing kisses there as she unwraps her.
"There," she coos, gently running her hands over her skinny body, marveling at her soft, new, baby skin, "What do you think? Hmm? We need to fatten you up. Look at these little legs."
She rubs the bottoms of her feet, and right away, Ruby makes a face, squirming and grunting. Finally, her eyes slowly blink open, and she yawns widely.
"Oh, I know," Liv laughs softly, slipping her hands underneath to pick her up, "What a day, huh? Hi. Hi, baby. C'mere, my love."
She lifts her close to kiss her cheeks, her little nose, and then cradles her when she startles and flails, starting to whimper.
"Okay, baby, here we go. Let's try, okay?" she murmurs quietly, offering the baby her nipple, watching as she blinks and fusses, "I know, it's all so different, huh? I know."
Ruby latches shallowly, still trying to wake up.
"Not quite," Liv mumbles, slipping her finger into the baby's mouth to break her weak suction, "You won't get very much food if you try to eat like that, little one. Let's try again, bug. Mommy will help you, don't worry. We'll get it."
They get another shallow latch, and Olivia smiles patiently, holding Ruby close so she doesn't get too cold and upset. Her sucking is getting more enthusiastic, little smacking sounds escaping as she tries to eat, but it's still not quite right.
"I need a third hand," she muses, laughing softly as she breaks the suction again.
She switches her hold on the baby, cradling her tiny body against the length of her forearm, gently cupping her head in the same palm. She uses her other hand to lift her breast, watching carefully as Ruby's little mouth opens in protest. In one coordinated motion, she brings baby to breast, deliberately tucking more of her nipple into the baby's mouth. Immediately, Ruby's lips splay out and her suck gets stronger.
"There we go, that's better. That's better, huh?"
As soon as she tries to cradle Ruby in one arm, she comes off of the breast and starts to fuss.
"Oh, that's okay, little peanut, let's do it again. You had it."
She repeats the process and gets a good latch again, watching her baby calm instantly as she starts to nurse.
"There. How's that? That feels pretty good to me, and you look pretty happy, so you must be getting some food. I know, you're so sleepy, huh? It's tough, being born, I know it. But you're going to be a good eater, I can already tell. And once you're a little more awake you won't have to be naked, we can just have snuggle time."
She carefully slides her arm back underneath Ruby to cradle her close, still using the opposite palm to help keep her in place. Fitz comes back into the room, smiling when he sees that they're nursing.
"How's she doing?"
"She's doing a good job, this is our best time yet," Liv coos, gazing down at Ruby, "She's working hard, huh? Yeah, nursing is hard work. But you're doing a good job, bug. She definitely seems hungry, she was a little mad when I kept making her try again. Speaking of hungry…"
Fitz holds up the bags of food. "Our secret service agents love us."
"I'm starving," she says, her face lighting up.
He pulls two tray tables over and starts setting out their feast. Two burgers, shoestring fries, milkshakes, cherry pie—
She starts to laugh when he pulls out a large container of macaroni and cheese, another of coleslaw, and a third container of seasoned, curly fries. "Holy crap. Were they hoping we would share?"
"I think they just realized that we probably only had access to hospital food," he grins, fishing around in the bag and coming up with two plastic forks, "And that one of us needed lots of calories."
"I'm going to have to wait until she's finished, I don't want to stop her now. She just got into a good rhythm," she murmurs, watching Ruby nurse.
Fitz smiles, leaning closer to watch her, and sure enough she's actively sucking every few seconds, breathing through her nose in between. "Oh, look at her. She's getting the hang of it."
"I need to help her with this hand, though. She's still new at this, huh?" Liv says softly, referring to the hand that's cupping Ruby's head, "I bet in just a couple days I'll be able to cradle her in one arm. You should eat though, you don't have to wait for me."
"Livvie," he admonishes, tucking a curl behind her ear, "Do you honestly think I'd make you watch me eat? You? My starving wife, who is currently nursing our child?"
He's being silly, and she giggles, watching as he sweeps an arm over their spread of food.
"What are you in the mood for first?" he asks, grandly, "As you can see we have a myriad of choices."
"Curly fries, please," she grins, watching as he pulls the container over and plucks a fry out of it.
He holds it out for her and she opens her mouth, letting him feed her. She moans gratefully, savoring the perfectly spiced, crispy morsel of fried goodness. Chuckling quietly, he opens the coleslaw, digging his fork into it.
"Mmm. I love Pete's. How did they know we love Pete's?" she asks, accepting another fry.
"Dunno," he shrugs, answering around a mouthful of coleslaw, feeding her again, "I mean, they've seen the delivery guy at our front gate on more than one occasion. They're secret service, they pay attention."
"Oh," she breathes, eyes wide, "Do you know what I want tonight?"
Fitz grins, feeding her another fry and standing up. He walks over to their hospital bag and reaches all the way down to the bottom, coming up with a bottle of her favorite red wine.
"Come over here, so I can kiss you," she gasps, laughing in surprise.
He strolls back over, setting the bottle down and leaning in for a kiss. "Baby, I've got you covered."
"I just want a couple sips. Just a little taste, to celebrate."
"You can have whatever you want, Livvie."
"Look at this sleepy girl," she smiles, looking down at their daughter, "Hey, you. Don't fall asleep yet."
She tickles the bottom of Ruby's foot and she takes a big shuddery breath, waking up and starting to suckle enthusiastically again.
"There you go, bug. Couple more minutes," she murmurs, watching her blink sleepily.
Fitz reaches over to take her tiny hand, letting her fingers curl around his index finger. "She's just so cozy. She just wants to sleep."
Liv giggles, opening her mouth for another fry. "I know. I remember having to wake Micah up too, those first couple days."
They chat and eat for a while longer, until Ruby starts to fall asleep again.
"Okay, baby. Do you have a full tummy now? Hmm?"
"Think she needs to burp?" Fitz asks, taking a sip of milkshake.
Olivia shrugs, carefully sitting the baby up on her thigh, cradling her head when it tries to flop forward. "Probably not, but I'll give it a try. A nurse showed me this while you doing paperwork this morning, watch."
Supporting Ruby's head with her hand cupped beneath her chin, she gently bends her forward, and then sits her up again, carefully folding her, repeating the process a few times. It doesn't take long for a small burp of air to escape, and Ruby blinks sleepily, looking wonderfully milk-drunk.
"That's so cool," Fitz grins, wiping his hands on a napkin, "Does it just squish her stomach a little bit?"
"Yup," she says, snuggling the baby skin-to-skin against her chest, where she drifts off almost immediately, "That nurse said she works with preemies sometimes, and it's just a gentle way to burp tiny babies."
"I'm stealing her again soon," he murmurs, watching Liv tuck her inside of her robe again, "I need more sweet pea cuddle time."
Liv hums, pressing kisses to Ruby's head, breathing her in. "Mmm…we'll see if I feel like sharing. I might just keep my little bug right here, Mommy's prerogative. Right, baby?"
"You're gonna have to sleep eventually," he threatens teasingly, starting to clear away their leftover food.
"And? We napped like this all afternoon, what makes you think we won't be sleeping like this tonight?"
"What happened to your sharing spirit from this morning?" he laughs, pulling his pajama pants out of their bag and quickly changing into them.
She smiles, kissing Ruby's head again. "Maybe we should ask her what she wants."
"Oh, well, that's not fair. You're the one with the boobs, of course she'll say she wants you."
"I think we're getting delirious," she giggles, sliding over to make room for him on the bed, "We're not even sleep-deprived yet."
Fitz's phone buzzes with a text as he settles on to the bed, and the photo makes him chuckle. He turns the phone to show her, and it's a selfie of Abby and Micah making fish faces, standing in front of a huge tank at the aquarium.
"He's having the time of his life."
"He was so sweet with her this morning, wasn't he?" Liv smiles, glancing down at Ruby when she squeaks and sighs in her sleep.
He loops his arm around her, letting her cuddle into his side. "I was really proud of him, he was very good with her. I wasn't sure how he would do when she was actually here, even though we've been talking about it. He's never seen you hold another baby before."
"There's still plenty of time for him to be jealous, but, I think we'll be okay. We'll both be home with them for a few months, that will definitely help."
They both stare at Ruby for a few moments, watching her snooze peacefully, cheek pressed against Olivia's skin.
"How are you feeling?" Fitz asks softly, sighing deeply as they settle down together for the first time all day.
"I'm sore," she admits, tipping her head against his chest, "But she's more than worth it."
A/N: Baby is here and big brother approves! For now...hahaha Hope you enjoyed it!
