AN: these one shots take place in the calmer years of Bailey and 10K's lives meaning there's a lot of fluff and sweet moments and no real action scenes with zombies and explosions. Sorry.
After the one shots I will be doing a season 7 with more of that when life in Altura gets complicated again.
Oneshot #1
In the next couple months of winter - after all the excitement had settled down - life had returned to normal for everyone in Altura and the surrounding outposts. Their supply of medicine was holding up meaning when people got sick Red was able to help them keep the symptoms to nothing more than a common cold level meaning they weren't short on workers anymore which meant Bailey and 10K now got to spend a lot more time together, something they were both enjoying. Bailey was now five months pregnant and it was very obvious just by looking at her stomach. She wasn't huge but her bump was no longer hidden by her shirt or her winter jacket. However it also meant she was working shorter shifts at work since too much time on her feet often left her with bad backaches. And if it wasn't backaches it was headaches or dizzy spells. Red had assured Tommy that all of this was perfectly normal and he'd even read and re-read it in every baby book he'd collected but it still made him wish he could help her more.
Right now was one of those times, Bailey was laying on their bed while 10K sat up against the pillows next to her. She'd felt a little dizzy so she'd closed her eyes while they talked to take her mind off it.
"Remember back when you were asking me about my last name?" he asked out of the blue knowing the change in topic would help her head.
"Yeah." She replied with her eyes still closed. "I was sort of using it as a way to figure out if my theory about you and Doc was right." She opened one eye and looked at him, "Sorry."
He chuckled as she shut her eyes again, "Don't be. But I've been wondering. . . "
"Yeah?"
"Do you even want to take my name?"
She opened her eyes and lifted her head off the pillow, "Why wouldn't I?"
"It's just, I don't even use my own name, first or last. And once the baby comes. . . I don't know, it was just a thought bouncing around in my head."
"Well what other name would we use?"
He shrugged. "Well. . . I like Hawthorne."
"You want to take my name?" she asked sounding shocked and touched. He shrugged again and she started to contemplate it, "Tommy Hawthorne."
The corner of his mouth rose as he heard her say it, he knew in the grand scheme of the post-apocalyptic world it didn't really matter who had whose last name. But knowing how well Altura liked to document its citizens he knew they'd need to pick something for the baby's birth certificate.
"What if we use both?" Bailey suggested, "Hyphenate them. Like Hawthorne-Beck, I think that could work –" she gasped and sat up straighter.
"What is it? Are you okay?" he asked instantly going into high alert, his protective dad nature kicking in. She put a hand on her stomach over the baby and froze, "Bailey –"
"Wait, wait." She said as she took deep breaths then she reached out for him, "Give me your hand."
"What?"
"Give me your hand." She demanded more forcefully pulling his sleeve and resting his hand on her stomach too, "Come on baby do it one more time for Papa."
"Did you feel the baby move?" he asked realizing what had happened. She nodded still moving his hand around, "Has that happened before?"
"No." she said still trying to get his hand over the right spot. She kept shifting it but he didn't feel anything.
"I think Little K went back to sleep." He said after another minute of feeling nothing.
"Damn." She muttered under her breath and he kissed her temple.
"Next time." He said though he wished he'd reached over in time to feel their baby move.
«»
The next day 10K was packing up to go out on a supply run with a few of the other guards. They were going to stop at a handful of the outposts helping pick up and drop off supplies. They were going to head west to the Islanders first and pick up their supply of fish which thanks to the winter weather they'd been able to keep fresh in coolers full of ice and snow. Then they were going to follow the coast south and stop at the High Plains who used their animals that had survived to get milk and make cheese and yogurt and other dairy they needed along with the honey they'd harvested. After that they'd drive just a couple miles north to the Inlanders and drop off their fish and pickup more winter clothing from their textile mills. Then they'd continue east to Old Frontera to drop off their ration of fish and pick up some crops which were mostly vegetables and soy bean made tofu which they used to replace a lot of meat in their diet since the apocalypse meant everyone went vegetarian. Then they'd head to the Tree Dwellers and get lumber before driving north, stopping to make a drop off at Pacifica before returning home. They'd be gone at least three weeks, maybe a whole month depending on weather conditions. But Citizen Z had been in contact with Hackerville and together they'd hacked enough weather satellites that they were confident the weather would be good.
None of this helped calm Bailey's nerves, though she tried to be reasonable, the baby still wouldn't be here for another four months, 10K would be back in plenty of time. She tried to distract herself by making lunch. She didn't really cook a lot for her and 10K anymore since her taste buds had changed so much. She'd been eating not only weird combinations but her sensitivity had changed. If they ate anything with hot sauce she'd end up putting three times as much on her food then Tommy put on his, and he didn't shy away from spicy things, she just had a different flavor gage now. It just made it easier if they each only cooked for themselves, though he'd always offer her whatever he was having even if she did cover it in hot sauce.
When Tommy finished packing he found her in their small kitchenette with a pickle in one hand and a bowl of jelly in the other. She didn't know why but dipping the pickle into the jelly was just hitting the spot right now.
"Don't judge me. I'm stress eating." She said leaning back against the counter taking in his expression as he looked at her. Then he shook it off, threw his duffle bag on the couch and joined her in the kitchenette looking for something to eat.
"Stress eating?" he asked pulling out a sleeve of crackers from the cabinet. She nodded looking into her bowl as she dipped the pickle not making eye contact with him. He set the crackers down and turned to her, "I told you not to worry, I'll be back in no time, and besides, it's bad for the baby."
"I know but I can't help it."
He chuckled and knelt down in front of her bringing his hand to rest on her bump. "Hey Little K." he whispered to the baby, "Momma's worried, even though she's going to be acting tough while I'm gone. I need you to be good for her until I get back okay?"
As cheesy as the moment was Bailey couldn't help but love it. She loved how he talked to their baby and knew a lot of people said that the baby could actually hear it. 10K stayed like that for a bit longer and she got the impression he was hoping to feel a little kick or some movement but just like last time, nothing.
«»
Three weeks later and they were finally driving back to Altura after leaving Pacifica. They had a couple trucks and had divided their team between the two. They were both loaded up now with fish, vegetables, soy, cheese, yogurt, honey, new clothes, lumber and some books and miscellaneous things from Pacifica.
"Man, I can't wait to get home." Luke was saying while 10K was cleaning his rifle that laid across his lap. "This apocalypse definitely has changed me man, all I can think about is getting home and having some of my mom's cricket de gallo."
"Luke you've been talking about barbequed crickets for the last two weeks! I am never coming over to your place for dinner." Brendan joked and they all chuckled.
"Hey you guys remember having weekends off? Like real weekends?" Paige asked leaning her head back against the side of the truck they were in. "My dad used to take me to baseball games down at the park. He had those season passes that got you the really nice seats." She said falling into a memory.
"Yeah." Brendan agreed, "A hotdog, a beer, maybe some cracker jack."
"Man my perfect day was whenever we'd grill burgers and hangout poolside in the backyard." Dave said then turned to him, "What about you 10K? What's your perfect day?"
He smirked and looked down at his gun, "I just want to get back to my wife and baby."
"Awww!" they all said at once busting his chops and he looked up and laughed.
"Aw shuddup!" he said chuckling.
They pulled up to Altura not much later. The guards stationed there opened the gate for them and they drove straight to the supply and storage building where everything had to go. They pulled up to the back door and parked, 10K hopped out instantly when he saw Bailey come out the back with another worker and he rushed over to her. She smiled when she saw him and they hugged before he pulled back and kissed her.
"Everything go alright?" she asked as she pulled away but not far enough to be out of his arms as he held her.
"Perfectly. Maybe a frozen Z every few miles but even those were scarce." Then his smile fell as he felt a nudge and she gasped. They both looked down at her stomach and his eyes grew wide, "Was that?"
She nodded before looking up at him again, smiling, "Looks like the baby missed hearing your voice as much as I did."
"You think so?" he asked her and felt another nudge against his hand. He couldn't hold back his smile as he felt the baby move one more time before he or she seemed to settle down and go back to sleep. His fingers stroked over the spot in awe, "There's really a little baby in there." He muttered before looking back to Bailey and kissing her again.
.
.
One shot #2
A few months later spring started to make its way to Newmerica. The snow on the ground became less and less as everything started to get warmer. There were still small mounds of snow around and there was a fine dusting over the grass but the little pieces of green were starting to poke through. Bailey, who was close to her due date had stopped working a few days ago, though not by choice, she wanted to keep working and felt up to it but her stomach and the weight she was carrying made 10K worry so to help him calm down she'd agreed to take it easy for his sake.
Meanwhile, 10K had been working extra shifts to collect as many hours as he could, that way when the baby did come they'd still have enough hours earned that they could get what they needed from the supply building when they had a need, although their home already looked pretty well prepared. They had a crib and plenty of baby stuff. The bathroom had a stack of diaper boxes in the corner that she knew they'd go through way too quickly. A whole drawer in the dresser was full of baby clothes, and they had a ton of toys, blankets, bottles, and other things the group had gotten for them to help them prepare.
Bailey was awake in bed though Tommy was already fast asleep, she figured it was probably ten or eleven at night as she watched 10K sleep peacefully beside her as she read one of the baby books to try and help her fall asleep. Her stomach made her so uncomfortable now that being up most of the night was now common and part of her was glad she didn't have to be at work in the morning so she could sleep in. She turned the page going to the next chapter before she suddenly felt like she was sitting in a puddle, it was as quick as if someone had thrown a bucket of water on her and she froze up wondering if it was what she thought it was. She scooted back and lifted the blankets before her heart began to pound and she turned to 10K.
"10K." she said shaking his shoulder, "10K, wake up. . .Tommy."
He groaned and shifted in his sleep before he muttered something that sounded close to 'what?'
"My water broke." She said.
"What?" he asked still half asleep as he rolled over.
"I'm in labor." That made him shoot out of bed as he sat up and turned to her.
"You're sure?" he asked, his eyes wide as she looked down to her lap and rested a hand on her stomach nodding. He threw the blankets off him and got out of bed while Bailey tried to wrap her mind around the fact that this was happening as she tried to keep her breathing steady. She was overcome with emotion and keeping calm was now pretty hard. She was happy of course - their baby was on the way - but she was also nervous and scared, she'd heard about how painful childbirth was and she hoped she was strong enough to get through it. Then a fully packed duffel bag was thrown on the end of the bed and she looked up and saw Tommy pulling on his shirt.
"Wow you did that quick." She said still trying to keep her voice calm and level.
"If the apocalypse prepares you for anything it's getting from point A to point B at a moment's notice." He said moving to her side of the bed, "Do you need help?"
She nodded and he offered her his hand and his stump which was wrapped in his usual navy-blue bandana. She grabbed his hand and his forearm and pulled herself out of bed.
"Do you want to go to the infirmary?" he asked and she shook her head, she knew while she was in early labor she didn't need medical care yet and that this was going to be the longest stage which meant a lot of waiting around. It only would feel longer because she hated waiting to go, she'd feel better once she was with Red who'd been preparing and prepping for this even more then she had. She began to pace around the room knowing that walking could actually help but was uncomfortable and realized she was still in her wet pants. Tommy moved next to her making sure she had her balance as she walked. She stopped by the dresser and rested her hand on top of it before she grabbed his arm and turned to him.
"I'm going to change into dry sweatpants. And we'll need a pen and paper." She said letting go of Tommy's arm as he nodded and went to get it. Red had told her to time the contractions, she had to keep track of the pattern, if they were lasting longer and started closer together. She went to the bathroom and sat on the toilet knowing it would help her reach her feet as she put on her sweatpants slowly and carefully. Once they were on she went back to walking around the room. Whenever she felt bad cramps in her lower back and pelvis she stopped pacing and sat back down on the edge of the bed so if she needed to get back up she'd be able to on her own. Tommy watched her like a hawk and wrote down everything she told him as she took deep breaths. The pain wasn't really bad - she'd been shot, burned and gnawed on by a zombie before after all - and it was still spread out enough that she could relax between the muscle spasms. She let out a deep breath knowing this was going to be a very long night.
8-12 hours later. . .
Tommy had convinced her to take short naps between the contractions while the pain was still dull and pretty spaced out so she was able to get some sleep in until they were getting more painful and lasting longer. After several hours they decided to head to the infirmary while she could still walk a bit on her own, she dreaded the idea of having to be carried and hoped the movement might continue to help the pain.
She was able to walk, though her pace was very slow and Tommy kept his left arm held out ready to catch her if she needed the support. The duffel strap was thrown across his torso giving him full use of his arms as he hovered over her looking to help in any way. Then she grabbed his hand and squeezed as she leaned back against the wall of the hallway and grit her teeth as another contraction hit. He was by her side helping her down to sit on the floor immediately as he got to one knee and she tried to take deep breaths. It felt like a bad period cramp and she kept repeating her new mantra in her head, she'd been through getting shot and bitten, she'd been through getting shot and bitten. This wasn't the worst pain in the world, all she needed was a moment to get through it.
"I'm here, just breathe." Tommy said moving his hand to her abdomen and rubbing lightly, "Breathe through the pain." She continued her deep breathing until the pain had passed, it was only about sixty seconds but the hard part was now she only had 3-5 minutes to rest between them instead of the 20-30 minutes she had earlier and the closer contractions were starting to wear her out. When it was over she looked at Tommy and nodded letting him know she was okay to go again but he seemed hesitant. "You want to rest for a minute?"
She shook her head, "No, I just want to get there."
He helped her off the floor and they kept moving. She was happy there wasn't a lot of snow on the ground anymore, though it was still chilly, but she found it actually helped take her mind off the pain. She made it across the courtyard before she had to lean on the community building where the infirmary was giving herself a moment to gather her strength before she had to go inside and up the stairs. She kept breathing through it and 10K alternated between rubbing her stomach and rubbing her lower back trying to help. He'd offer her water since he read that helped and she could see in his face he wished he could do more.
"I'll be so happy once the baby is here and this is over." She said between her breathing.
"Actually, I read that contractions last even after the baby is born." He said looking at her stomach and she looked at him horrified.
"What?" she asked and he looked at her.
"Yeah, to discharge the afterbir –"
She held up her hand in front of his face, "I'm gonna stop you right there."
"Sorry." He said as he continued massaging her back trying to help. He didn't go into how he'd also read smaller contractions would last two or three days after she had the baby, Red could tell her that later.
"It's okay." She replied now taking heavy breaths like she'd just ran a marathon, "Just distract me, talk about something else."
She took his hand and they kept moving, heading inside and up the stairs.
"Like what?" he asked knowing he could talk about anything but having her pick a topic might take her mind off it a bit longer.
"Ummm, what color eyes do you think the baby will have? Or what hair color?"
"Umm, hair I'm not really sure, but aren't all baby's eyes blue at first? Because of the melanin?"
She paused on the first landing and looked at him with a quirked brow, "Okay, how many of those baby books did you read?"
He smirked, "A lot. It's been nine months Bailey, I've done a lot of reading on this."
«»
Waking Red up hadn't been hard and she immediately helped him get Bailey to a room she had prepared. While she checked Bailey over she sent him to go get Doc who at least had experience delivering Lucy and she'd need the extra set of hands. After he'd done that 10K spent the rest of his time sitting next to Bailey either holding her hand or playing cards with her– which Doc had brought over suggesting it might help, which it did for about an hour before Bailey put her full attention on her breathing again not able to think of anything else but the contractions at this point. Tommy had given her the red bandana from his pocket which she tied around her head to keep her sweaty hair out of her face. Bailey looked in more and more pain and discomfort as time went on and it was another 3 - 5 hours before Red checked her and said she'd moved into the 'transition phase' which was when she'd have to start pushing.
"The contractions are going to get closer together." Red coached her, "And longer, you won't have much time to rest in between, maybe thirty seconds? Two minutes at the longest, though some of them might overlap –" Bailey groaned and dropped her head back against the pillows of the bed.
"But this is the quickest part right?" Bailey asked and he noticed Red's expression wasn't reassuring, which might be why she was in a position so Bailey couldn't see her face.
"In comparison to the other phases of labor, yes." Red said trying not to lie but Bailey saw through it just from her words.
"Well what does that medical book say?" she asked.
Red hesitated, "Thirty minutes to two hours."
Bailey groaned again. 10K kept holding her hand and gave her as much encouragement as he could but she didn't seem to be in the mood for talking and it did seem like she was tuning him out but he still tried every few minutes.
Then Doc walked in the room bringing more equipment and things that he and Red might need. He placed some blankets down behind them and turned to Bailey.
"Hey hun, how you doing?" he asked concerned.
"I feel like I might throw up." Bailey groaned as she breathed hard.
"Yeah, that's pretty normal." Doc said grabbing a plastic bin and leaving it on the side of the bed for her, "Better keep that nearby just in case."
"Alright Bailey, the next contraction I want you to try and push okay?" Red said and Tommy held her hand tighter.
«»
A tiny cry filled the air as his head snapped from Bailey to the end of the bed where Red was holding something and Doc was wrapping it in a blanket. Then Doc brought over a small knife and cut the cord while Red wiped the baby off. Beside him Bailey had fallen back onto the pillows and took deep breaths, the worst of it now over.
"It's a boy." Red said smiling as she kept cleaning the baby off.
"A boy." 10K repeated as a smile broke across his face and he turned to Bailey and kissed her temple. Then he rested his forehead above her ear and whispered. "We have a little boy."
Even exhausted she bent her elbow and brought her hand to run in his hair holding him close to her as she smiled too. Then Red stood up with the baby as Doc took the dirty towel away. She brought him over to Bailey as 10K pulled away from her giving her the space she needed as she held out her arms and took their child. He piled some pillows behind her so she could sit up a bit easier while still being reclined a bit. Then he sat on the edge of the bed and put his right arm across her shoulders while he leaned in looking at their son. He was resting his tiny head on Bailey's shoulder with his tiny fist against his cheek, Bailey had wrapped her arms around him as Red draped a fresh clean blanket over him before going to help Doc clean up at the end of the bed. 10K leaned in closer and brought his hand to cradle his boy's head, his thumb running through the baby's fine blonde hair, he couldn't believe how small and tiny and cute he was or that he'd had a part in making him. Bailey was grinning from ear to ear as she stared at him curled up against her skin enjoying the warmth coming from his mother. The baby's eyes were closed but he'd give tiny wiggles as he readjusted himself. Then his eyes blinked open and he stared right at 10K. Bailey smiled and looked between her two boys.
"That's Papa." She whispered to the baby and 10K smiled even wider, the baby stared at him a little longer before his mouth opened and his eyes screwed shut as he gave a big yawn and settled back against Bailey's shoulder going to sleep. Bailey chuckled and he looked at her looking at their child, her hair was sweaty and pushed back from her forehead by his bandana but 10K thought she never looked better, she was glowing and he felt like the happiest man in the post-apocalyptic world.
«»
After Doc had given the baby his first check up and Bailey had taken a good long several hour nap, it was just their little family of three in the infirmary room while Red went back to the lab and Doc went back to his patients. Bailey was sitting up on the pillows holding their baby to her chest again and 10K was going through the duffel he'd packed looking for something for her to change into given that what she was wearing was now sweaty from the delivery. He was barely paying attention to what he was grabbing as he stared at them, he couldn't believe he was a father, that he had his own family. Then Bailey looked up from their sleeping baby to him.
"We still have to name him." She said quietly so not to wake him, "We can't call him Little K forever."
10K smiled at her and moved to sit next to her on the bed. He sat by her knees and faced her tilting his body on the mattress. "Well do you have any ideas?"
She smiled and blushed looking at the baby and not at him, "How about TJ?"
"Tommy Jr?" he asked, "You want to name the baby after me?"
"Why not?" she said looking at him with a shrug, "And I was actually thinking it could stand for Thomas Jeffrey." She said and he paused, "You said that was your dad's name right?"
He couldn't tell if his heart was breaking or if it had swelled so much it burst as he smiled and looked away for a minute before licking his lip and looking back at their boy.
"Thomas Jeffery. . . I like it." He said and she smiled, "It's perfect, he's perfect. You did such a good job Bailey."
"Well, it was really only today. The past nine months I didn't have to try that hard." She said with a shrug looking back down at TJ again. "But it was worth it."
He smiled, his face actually hurt from how much he'd been doing that but he didn't care. Then Bailey tore her gaze from TJ to look at him, "Do you want to hold him?"
He hesitated, this had been one of those things in the back of his mind that he'd been worrying about but tried not to dwell on. "Oh, I . . . I don't know. Maybe later. . . like in a few weeks until he's a little less. . . fragile." He said and Bailey looked confused as her smile fell, he lifted his bandana wrapped wrist, "I don't want to drop him." He said gesturing to his missing hand.
Bailey's expression changed from sad and confused to a smirk and a slight eye roll. Then she shifted on the bed being careful not to jostle TJ as she moved to sit on the edge beside him.
"You won't drop him Tommy –"
"I just don't want to take the chance." He cut her off, "What if he starts squirming and I lose my grip? I've never even held a baby with two hands."
She stared at him for a minute before she nodded to the loveseat that was a few feet from the left side of the bed.
"Sit." She said and he could tell by her tone she wasn't going to let him get out of it. He took a deep breath and moved to the loveseat and Bailey stood from the bed changing her grip on the baby.
"Bend that arm." She instructed nodding at his right; when he did she leaned over and rested the baby in the crook of his elbow, "Now support his bottom with your hand and let his head rest between your arm and your chest."
He carefully did what she told him to until TJ was nestled up against him sleeping peacefully. That feeling of his heart bursting returned as he tightened his grip a little to make sure he had him as Bailey sat down next to him and leaned on his left shoulder watching their baby too.
"So you think we can do this?" he asked her still looking at TJ in his arms.
"Mmmm." She hummed in agreement reaching over and using her fingertip to lightly stroke TJ's cheek, "One day at a time."
Then there was a light knock on the door and Warren poked her head in smiling.
"Hey." She greeted softly, "You guys up for some company?"
"Yeah, come in." Bailey said sitting up taking her head from his shoulder as Warren tip toed over.
"Aww." She said as she got closer and sat on the arm of the loveseat by 10K and looked down at the baby. "He's adorable. Congratulations you guys."
"Thanks." 10K said looking up to her, "You want to hold him?"
"Can I?" she asked getting up and holding out her hands. 10K got up and passed the baby to her only letting go once he was sure she had a grip on him. Warren smiled down at him and rocked him in her arms as she shifted her weight from foot to foot.
"What's his name?"
"TJ." Bailey said leaning back in the loveseat still tired and regaining her strength.
"Hi TJ." Warren said sweetly looking at the baby in her arms. "I'm your Auntie Warren." Then she looked over to Bailey. "And how have you been doing? Tired?"
"A little." Bailey replied, "I got in a good nap but I feel like I'm going to be tired until TJ starts sleeping through the night."
Warren chuckled, "Probably a good expectation to have. Though you'll have help." She said looking to 10K who had gotten Bailey her fresh clothes from the duffle and made his way across the room handing them to her. She nodded thankfully and headed to the adjoined bathroom.
"Get me if he wakes up." She said and 10K promised he would.
"Doc told me the delivery went smoothly." Warren continued as she rocked TJ.
"Yeah. Everything went perfectly." He replied sitting on the edge of the bed. "I think Bailey wishes it had gone a little quicker, but nothing was abnormally long which Red said was a good thing."
"How long are you two staying here?"
"A few days." He told her, "Red wants to make sure Bailey heals normally and feels well enough before we take the baby home. And Doc said it would be a good idea too since the baby's now exposed to the environment, to not bring him outside with all the germs and people just yet. We're on 'family only' visitors right now just to be careful."
Warren smiled and looked back down at the baby as he began to wake up and squirm. Warren rocked him a bit more but he got fussier just as Bailey walked out of the bathroom in a fresh tee shirt and cotton shorts. Her head snapped to TJ just as he let out his first cry and she tossed her old clothes on the foot of the bed as she went to take him from Warren now fully in mother mode.
"Aw, he's probably hungry." She said settling him down in her arms and trying to calm him as she made her way to the bed and sat down resting her back along the pillows as she sat up and crossed her legs.
"I'll leave you guys to it then." Warren said politely still smiling as she tapped 10K's shoulder as she passed, "Congrats again."
"Thanks Warren." Bailey said as 10K got off the edge of the bed and moved closer to her.
"Do you need any help?" he asked as she fought with the squirming baby.
"Yeah, can you take him for a minute?" she asked passing him the baby again and he held TJ the way Bailey had shown him before. Then she pulled the wide collar of her shirt down off her shoulder and fixed the pillows behind her before she held out her arms for the baby again. He passed TJ to her and she rested him in the crook of her elbow using her hand to cradle his head for extra support. While she fed their son 10K moved to a diaper bag Red had left them and dug out a diaper knowing if they were putting food in eventually something would come out. The diaper was so tiny like everything else they had for him and he felt the smile return to his face. Then he turned back to Bailey and tried not to laugh at the discomfort on her face.
"Is that uncomfortable?" he asked moving to the loveseat again.
"No just. . . weird. Like really, really weird." She shrugged, "I'll just get used to it I guess."
"Speaking of eating, I can go to the dining hall and pick us up something." He offered.
"Oh that would be great." She said looking up from the baby at him, having been so preoccupied with motherhood she hadn't thought about how little she'd eaten that day.
"Alright, are you in the mood for anything in particular?"
"Just don't get anything with pickles." She said her face scrunching up, "After all those weird cravings I don't want to see a pickle for the next few years."
He chuckled, "So I guess that's a no to me bringing you a whole onion?" he asked jokingly referring to the time he'd walked in on her eating an onion like an apple. She chuckled too and shook her head.
"Anything but that." She agreed.
"Alright." He said smiling and kissed her temple as he made his way for the door, "I'll be back in no time."
"See you in a minute. . . Papa." She said and he paused feeling that swelling heart thing again before he headed out to get dinner.
«»
When 10K came back with dinner TJ was wide awake in his mother's arms as Bailey smiled at him and poked his belly. Tommy couldn't help but smile at her as he brought over the plastic bag of food and sat on the loveseat wheeling over a small metal table Red had left.
"What did you get?" Bailey asked as she shifted TJ in her arms and looked at the bag in his hand. He set it down next to him on the loveseat and started piling the Tupperware on the table.
"They had pasta, some fresh bread and fruit. And this thing, it's like buffalo wings but they use cauliflower instead." He said taking a tin with something orange in it.
"Here, let me see." Bailey said moving TJ so she could hold out one hand for it and he passed her the tin as he took out some plastic utensils. "Actually, I might start with that, that looks good."
Then TJ began to get fussy and Bailey put down the food beside her while she tried to rock him.
"I think he might need to be changed." She said and 10K put down what he was holding.
"Here I'll do it."
"Really? You sure?"
"Yeah, you should eat, you've been doing all the work." He said taking TJ and bringing him over to the other side of the room where the top of the cabinet had a padded changing area on it. 10K laid him down while Bailey began eating her dinner while she sat on the edge of the bed with her back to him going through the rest of the food.
"Make sure he doesn't get you." She advised and he turned to her back confused.
"Get me?"
She didn't turn as she responded. "Just, when you take off his diaper. . . be careful."
As 10K worked behind her she kept eating, picking at the buffalo cauliflower before reaching over and taking the tin of pasta from the table and popping the lid off and digging into that too.
"Whoa!" she heard Tommy exclaim in shock.
"Did he get you?" she asked twisting some spaghetti onto her fork.
"No, but I'm going to have to clean up the puddle on the floor when I'm done changing him."
She chuckled, "Seems like he didn't inherit your perfect aim. . . luckily for you."
"Eh, I'll teach him that stuff later. Right now I'm going to take advantage of the fact he's not a sharp shooter and avoid getting peed on." He said and she laughed.
«»
When a few days had passed and Red had given TJ a few checkups and his first vaccinations they were able to leave the infirmary and bring their baby home. Bailey had a carrier on the loveseat and was changing TJ on the bed into some cute baby clothes some of her coworkers from the supply building had brought her as a present. Once he was dressed she stood up – a little too quickly – and felt a sharp pain. She hissed and moved to sit back down while 10K, who had been packing their bag, quickly turned and rushed over to help her.
"Are you okay?" he asked with wide concerned eyes.
She nodded taking deep breaths as her body relaxed again, "Yeah, I think it was just the stitches."
"Do you want me to get you another ice pack?" he asked and she shook her head thankful she was healed enough that she didn't need ice anymore, though she did have to still remember to be careful.
"No, I'm fine." She reassured him, "Red said to just take more baths when I get home, it should help. And I'm looking forward to showering in hot water again after nine months."
He nodded but still looked worried before he returned to packing their stuff. Bailey looked over to TJ making sure he was alright as he laid back on the bed beside her with his fingers in his mouth as his wide eyes looked around the room. She smiled before she slowly got up and took her baby in her arms and brought him over to his carrier and rested him snug inside. She buckled him in and tucked a blanket over him as 10K threw the strap of their duffle bag across his torso and picked TJ up in his carrier by the handle. Bailey had a smaller bag of baby supplies but 10K was adamant she didn't overdo it and she was grateful for his help.
«»
When they got home 10K was feeling excited and terrified but he kept repeating the mantra he and Bailey had been using since they found out she was pregnant: take it one day at a time. He brought the carrier in and rested it on the bed as Bailey brought her bag and started unloading the baby supplies. She had some pacifiers and toys and a bottle or two that her friends had brought her and she opened one pacifier and started cleaning it with some fresh boiled water while he unbuckled TJ who had fallen asleep on their walk home. He was so cute while he napped curled up under his blanket to keep warm, his tiny hands in little fists under his chin. 10K didn't want to risk waking him just to move him to the crib so he left him in the carrier and stood there watching his son breathe and wiggle every now and then until he woke up.
When he did it didn't take him long to start crying and Bailey came over drying off the clean pacifier. She brought it to his mouth and TJ immediately took it and began suckling on it. They both smiled and Bailey ran the back of her finger along TJ's little cheek before she took him out of the carrier.
"I can take him if you want to have that bath." Tommy offered and she looked at their son for a moment while she thought it over.
"Yeah, that'd be great actually." She said passing him the baby before she headed to the duffle bag to get some clothes before she passed him and kissed his cheek on the way to the bathroom.
"If you need anything just shout." He said as he sat on the bed.
"You too." She said before shutting the door behind her and he heard water running a moment later. He sat back on the pillows and raised his knees shifting TJ so he was laying on his thighs and 10K could watch him as he sucked on his pacifier and looked around the room taking in his home for the first time. 10K brought his hand to TJ's and by reflex his little fingers wrapped around one of 10K's larger ones. 10K felt his heart warm up as he smiled watching TJ wriggle around, not being able to wrap his mind around the fact that this was his life now.
