Good Old Days
"She's so beautiful." Cassie smiled, holding her newborn niece in her arms, standing in the room with Thea and Sean.
"Yeah, we think so too." Jude smiled as Sean sat down on the bed beside her, kissing her cheek.
"She really looks like you, Jude." Thea said, leaning over Cassie's shoulder and looking on at her sweet, sleeping niece.
"Yeah, dad said that too." Jude nodded, "Actually he said it's another Hey Jude." She said as the girls smiled.
"What happened with you and dad?" Cassie asked Thea, "We heard a lot of shouting before Jude's water broke." She said.
"He just flipped out. Starting cursing at the doctor like a little brat. He still acts like he's a kid sometimes." Thea shook her head.
"I think we gotta cut him some slack." Jude said, "He's scared." She said.
"Yeah but he can't behave like that, Jude. I mean, you didn't see mom acting like that when dad was gone." Thea shook her head.
"You gotta stop pitting them against one another." Jude said, "They're two different people. Mom has all her good and bad stuff, dad has all of his. We all deal with things differently." Jude said, "He's scared, we need to be there for him and not just expect him to be there for us." Jude said as Thea sighed to herself.
"Well we talked about it and we're ok now." Thea shook her head, "I think he just freaked out when he heard that mom had a seizure." She said, "But things like that are gonna happen. She's got a brain injury. It's… hard to tell what's gonna happen next."
"So there's really not been any change in her condition?" Sean asked.
"No." Jude shook her head sadly, "I really wanted her to be here to meet Mirren." She sighed to herself, feeling tears in her eyes.
This wasn't how she had planned her birth to go. She was heartbroken that her mother couldn't meet her daughter right now.
"Hey, she'll see her soon." Sean nodded positively, "It'll be a good surprise for her to wake up to." He said, kissing Jude's head as Jude wiped her tears with a tissue.
"Why can I not stop crying?" Jude sighed, "I saw my jug of water was empty and I started crying." She shook her head.
"Yeah, you'll be like that for a few days." Thea nodded, "Your hormones are all over the place."
"Did you really do it without any drugs?" Cassie asked.
"Yeah." Jude nodded, "The nurse told me that the drugs don't really take much pain away anyway." She shrugged, "So I thought, what's the point?"
"Well she is pretty cute." Cassie nodded, looking down at Mirren, "What weight is she?"
"Six pounds and nine ounces." Jude said, "She's small but… she's healthy." She nodded, "They did all these tests with her after she was born to make sure she was all good. I guess she's just a little smaller because she's three weeks early."
"Makes sense." Cassie nodded, "How does it feel? To be a mom?" Cassie smiled.
"I don't actually feel much different." Jude admitted, "Is that worrying?" She turned to Sean.
"Of course it's not." Sean shook his head.
"It'll hit you gradually." Thea nodded, "Is the nursery all set? Is there anything you guys need us to do?" She asked.
"I had one corner of the nursery still to paint." Jude scoffed, "I thought I had three weeks to finish it." She said unhappily as Sean chuckled.
"I'm sure she won't mind." Sean assured her, "Everything is built so… we should be good to go." He nodded to Thea and Cassie.
"Well we're here if you need anything. Any help." Thea nodded.
"Thank you." Jude smiled, "What I really need right now is some sleep." She admitted, "You guys are welcome to stay and watch me." She nodded, trying to sit comfy in bed as Sean helped her.
"No, we'll go and let you get some sleep." Cassie nodded, passing Mirren over to Sean who took the baby girl.
"Mom told me I should sleep when she's sleeping." Jude remembered as Thea smiled.
"Yeah, mom knows best." Thea agreed, "We'll go check on dad." She said as Cassie nodded, leaving the room whilst Sean put Mirren down in the bassinet.
"She's the best." Sean shook his head, amazed and in awe by their baby daughter and all the joy she had brought him already.
"She is." Jude smiled as Sean looked over to her, watching her resting her head back on the pillow.
"Hey, before you sleep… can we talk for a second?" Sean asked, sitting down on the chair by the bed, discreetly reaching into his jacket pocket which hung over the back.
"Sure." Jude nodded, "I can't promise my eyes won't just start closing, though." She admitted with a tired smile.
"It won't take long." Sean smiled, taking out the velvet box from his pocket as Jude watched.
"What are you doing?" Jude asked, suddenly wide awake, watching him stand up and push the chair back behind him, getting down on one knee, "No, stop." Jude laughed a little, not being able to turn away.
"Jude, you are the best person I've ever known." Sean nodded, "There's no one else I'm ever gonna wanna spend my life with." He said, "Will you marry me?" He smiled, opening up the ring box as Jude looked on, clasping her hands over her mouth.
"Yes." Jude nodded, "Of course I will." She cried as he stood up, kissing her sweetly as she cupped his face.
"Please tell me you've been home." Dean walked into AJ's room as Punk turned around.
"No, I haven't." Punk said.
"Dude… you're gonna lose your mind carrying on like this. You gotta sleep for a few hours." Dean shook his head, seriously concerned that his brother had been in the hospital for almost forty eight hours without sleeping any or going home.
"I don't gotta do anything. I'm fine." Punk said, watching Dean walk around the bed, "I don't think you can eat in here." He said, noticing Dean had a box with some donuts in them.
"They're not for me." Dean assured him, sitting them on the table beside AJ's bed, "I'm hoping if she smells them she might wake up." He nodded as Punk chuckled a little.
"Maybe." Punk chuckled.
"How is Jude and the baby doing?" Dean asked him, "Renee is gonna come in after work and visit them. Chrissy and Sarah too."
"They're doing good. Both healthy." Punk nodded positively.
"It's nice to hear some good news." Dean nodded.
"Yeah, it is." Punk agreed, "Six pounds and nine ounces." He said, "She's tiny." He smiled to himself.
"I can't believe you got three grandkids." Dean shook his head, "It's crazy." He said as Punk nodded.
"Yeah, I know." Punk laughed a little, "I wish she was awake to meet her. She was so excited for Jude." He sighed to himself.
"It'll be a good thing for her to wake up to." Dean nodded.
"Yeah." Punk agreed, "Do you remember when we used to drive her crazy with the music in the apartment?" Punk smiled as Dean nodded, remembering fondly.
"Yeah." Dean chuckled, "Those were the good old days." He nodded to himself.
"Phil." AJ hissed, storming out of their bedroom with one year old Thea in her arms, "Phil, I'm trying to get her down to sleep." AJ walked into the living room where music was playing loudly.
"Hey!" Dean called drunkenly, "There's my little T-bag." He stood up from the couch, crushing an empty beer can. He wasn't overly drunk, but had a tipsy glow about him.
"Dean, stop calling her T-bag." Punk said, sitting over on the couch.
"But she's my little T-bag." Dean frowned, taking Thea from AJ into his arms, "You wanna dance with Uncle Dean?" He asked, swaying around the room with baby Thea in his arms who began to smile which caused AJ and Punk to chuckle, "Yeah? You like Duran Duran? Little Punk baby." He nodded, drunkenly dancing around the living room as Punk just laughed to himself.
"This makes me nervous." AJ admitted, putting her hands on her hips, "The music is too loud, and he's too drunk." AJ looked over at Punk.
"He's fine." Punk scoffed, "It's funny." He laughed as AJ walked over to him.
"Phil, Thea needs to be asleep. She's in a routine." AJ said as Punk tugged on her hand, pulling her onto his lap, "Phil." She tried to reject his affection, but it was impossible.
"She's having fun." Punk said, kissing AJ's cheek as she sat on his lap, turning around and watching as Dean spun Thea around.
"He's gonna make her sick." AJ shook her head but with a smile, watching as Dean almost tripped up over his own feet, "Ok, that's it. Fun is over." AJ stood up worriedly, "No more dancing." She insisted, taking Thea from Dean, "Turn it down, please." She nodded to Punk.
"Ok." Punk said, turning the music down as he watched her walk out of the living room with Thea to go put her down to sleep.
"I need another beer." Dean nodded, walking back over to the couch, sitting down and drunkenly missing the couch, collapsing down on the floor as Punk laughed loudly.
"Dude." Punk chuckled, pushing Dean's head, "You're a fucking idiot."
"Did you move that couch?" Dean asked him as Punk chuckled even louder.
Dean was at the apartment almost every night, not always drunk of course, but it was payday weekend and they had gotten off from work, bought a few new records which had dropped in the store, picked up a pizza and for Dean, Punk had bought him some beers. They'd learned their lessons from the partying and the idiotic behaviour from when they were young. All three of them had.
"I didn't move the couch." Punk insisted as Dean got back to his feet, collapsing down on the couch and pulling out his cigarettes, "Out the window." Punk insisted.
"Why?" Dean screwed his face up.
"April doesn't like smoke around the baby or in the apartment." Punk said, "And neither do I."
"Doesn't April smoke?" Dean scoffed.
"No, she quit." Punk said.
"Your kid is gonna grow up so high class." Dean groaned.
"I guarantee you she won't." Punk chuckled, watching as Dean knelt up over the back of the couch, opening up the apartment window wide to have his cigarette.
"Hey, it's Bobby." Dean looked out onto the street, "Bobby!" Dean yelled as Punk rolled his eyes. There was no shame in the fact that people knew who they were. For bad reasons or for good, depending on who it was.
"I thought he was still in prison." Punk said, kneeling up beside Dean and looking out the window, "Oh, Robert!" Punk called loudly and sophisticatedly.
"It's you assholes!" Robert looked up.
"I thought you were still in prison!" Punk yelled down.
"They let me out early!" Robert called.
"I'm sure all the shoe departments in every store in Chicago will be alerted!" Dean yelled.
"Yeah, fuck you Dean!" Robert called up as Dean stuck his middle finger up at him.
"What the hell are you two doing?" AJ shook her head, walking back into the living as she saw Punk and Dean hanging out the window.
"Bobby is out of prison." Dean told her.
"Bobby?" AJ shook her head, rushing over, jumping up on the couch and leaning over Punk to look out the window, gasping and laughing, "Shoe store Bobby?" AJ chuckled.
"Yeah." Punk laughed to himself, "Ask him if he's got new shoes." Punk nudged Dean as AJ laughed to herself.
"Bobby! Is that new shoes?!" Dean called as AJ and Punk chuckled.
"I thought he got years?" AJ asked, leaning over Punk's back.
"He got out on good behaviour." Punk said as Dean shook his head.
"Fucking idiot." Dean laughed to himself.
"Is Thea down?" Punk asked AJ who nodded, leaning over his back.
"Yeah, she's down. That is if you two keep it down." She warned.
"Motherhood has made you crabby." Dean turned to AJ who grabbed his cigarette and threw it out the window, "Hey." Dean frowned as Punk laughed whilst AJ made a kiss face at him, leaning her head on Punk's back comfortably.
