A/N: hello friends :) i hope everyone is doing well and as always sorry for my absence but i do hope you enjoy this little fic.
Prompt: Blake becomes a father, and asks Elizabeth to be honorary grandmother to the baby.
"They're here!"
There was unmistakable excitement ringing in Elizabeth's voice as she bounded from upstairs. Henry looked up at her with a grin; with her blonde hair pulled back, almost running down the stairs, features alight, she looked impossibly young.
They'd been waiting all day- Elizabeth uncharacteristically high strung with excitement, Henry the picture of calm as usual while his wife busied herself around the farmhouse in preparation for their afternoon guests.
The doorbell had alerted them, and Henry could have easily gone to open it, but he hung back. He knew Elizabeth would want to go and welcome their arrival herself.
Breathlessly, with an excited smile back at Henry, she headed immediately for the door, and he trailed behind her, unable to keep a small smile off of his face. Her enthusiasm was as contagious as it had always been, and Henry had to admit that he was excited, too.
"Blake!" Elizabeth exclaimed, throwing open the door. And on the other side, her former staff member and forever family member stood, in a warm forest green sweater, his once-always-pristine hair cut a bit shorter now and looking windblown from the March breeze. He, too, was older, but it suited him well. He looked like he had grown into himself. And, to the utter delight of Elizabeth, from his left hand hung a baby carseat, shielded from the wind and sun by a stretchy peach-colored cover.
"Hi," Blake said with a big, bright smile. His voice was warmer even than usual and his eyes lit up at the sight of Elizabeth, who immediately pulled him into a tight hug. He could only return it with one arm, but all of the sentiment was undeniably mutual.
"Let him in," Henry laughed from behind her, and the two of them broke apart to allow Blake to step inside the house.
"Hey, Blake," Henry added as Elizabeth shut the door behind him.
"Henry, hi, thanks for having me," Blake said, and Henry was waving him off even as he spoke.
"Of course, we've been looking forward to it," he answered.
"More than looking forward to it," Elizabeth insisted, ushering Blake and the baby carrier into the living room. "So excited," she elaborated. Blake couldn't help but laugh at the undisguised enthusiasm from his former boss and mentor.
Elizabeth and Henry meant a great deal to Blake, and having them as a part of his personal life was something he was- and always had been- extremely grateful for.
Now, more than ever.
Blake, after a failed marriage and more than his fair share of floundering with his future plans, had recently taken the step of becoming a dad. Elizabeth was one of the first people he had consulted on the idea, and she had been all for it from the very start. Whatever concerns Blake had, Elizabeth had an answer for them. She sat with him over endless cups of coffee and assuaged every worry that he had until he was all out of excuses and the only thing that remained was his desire to be a parent. It wasn't something he had always been sure he wanted, but now that he wanted it, he wanted it more than anything else. It had been Elizabeth who had helped him see that, as was the case with so many of the pivotal decisions in his life. So, with her encouragement, he had embarked on the journey of surrogacy and single fatherhood. And now, she was meeting his brand-new baby girl for the first time.
Elizabeth was peering over the back of the couch where Blake had rested the car seat, not even bothering to hide her eagerness.
"Can we see her?" She asked hopefully.
"Of course," Blake laughed, and Elizabeth grasped Henry's arm in her hand with anticipation as Blake carefully removed the car seat cover. Inside, the three-week old baby looked around, quietly wide-eyed.
"Hi, sweetie," Blake cooed. Elizabeth watched him lift the baby gently from the car seat, cradling her against his chest. In a tiny onesie printed with little oranges, she looked miniature in Blake's hands, and as Elizabeth caught the look on his face, she felt something close up in her throat.
In so many ways, Blake was like a son to her. She had seen him grow from a naive college student to a confident, savvy professional and now to a loving new father. He was family to the McCords; he always had been. She'd been beyond excited to meet the new baby, but somehow she felt unprepared for the emotions that came with seeing Blake hold his daughter.
Pride and joy overwhelmed her.
"Blake, she's beautiful," Henry was saying as he rested his hand on Blake's shoulder in that particular warm and fatherly way of his. Blake beamed. He couldn't help it. He was ridiculously proud of this little being, and this was the moment he'd been so looking forward with his own parents could be complicated, but this- Henry and Elizabeth- he could always count on to be simple and good. At his side, Elizabeth reached down to the baby in his arms and pressed her finger against her little palm, watching the way her fingers curled in response. She looked like Blake already, Elizabeth thought, and she said as much.
"Well," Blake hummed with a shy shake of his head. "Thank you," he added.
"Big compliment, kid," Elizabeth said softly, and Blake could have cried.
"Alright, out with it," Elizabeth declared, looking up at Blake with her familiarly sharp blue eyes.
"What's her name?" She asked. Blake smiled. He had been putting Elizabeth off for three weeks now, insisting that he wanted to tell her in person what the baby's name was, and Elizabeth was bursting with curiosity.
"Her name," he began carefully, "is Amelia Elizabeth."
He watched Elizabeth's face very carefully as he spoke, so he caught all of the unguarded, heart-tugging expression that lit up her features at his words.
"Elizabeth? Blake," she breathed. "I'm-"
"It was the only choice," he insisted, holding eye contact with her. Elizabeth was sure that her heart would burst from her chest.
"Thank you," she said instead of crying, and wrapped her arms around Blake in a hug again before she returned her gaze to the baby.
"Do you want to hold her?" He asked. Elizabeth nodded, immediately reaching her hands out in a way that made Blake chuckle lightly.
Elizabeth took the baby and Blake was surprised to find that he felt no anxiety at all, watching his infant daughter pass from his own hands into hers. Elizabeth and Henry didn't know it, but they would be the first people to hold Amelia other than himself since she had come home from the hospital. The thought of it had been very unsettling to him, but now watching the way Elizabeth cradled her in her arms, he felt completely at ease.
"Hello, cutie," she cooed at the baby. "Aren't you beautiful? Just like your dad." She looked over at Henry, who was watching her fondly.
"Doesn't she look like Blake?" She asked, and Henry, peering over her shoulder, nodded in confirmation.
"She's your miniature," he added to Blake with a smile.
"Thank you," Blake answered graciously. He was smitten with the baby, who he thought was the most beautiful one he'd ever seen, so it felt very complimentary, nestling like pride somewhere in the pit of his chest.
But as he watched the two of them fawn over his baby daughter, there was a nervousness gnawing at him as well. He had come here for something more than just the chance to let Henry and Elizabeth meet Amelia, and he knew that if he didn't get it out soon, he would lose his nerve altogether. So he cleared his throat and they both looked up at him in question.
"Everything okay?" Elizabeth asked when he didn't speak. She eyed him, like she knew, and Blake realized that she probably did. She had always been able to read him like an open book.
"I wanted to ask you something," he admitted. Henry and Elizabeth, almost exactly in sync, sat down side by side on their couch, and Blake could do nothing but follow suit unless he wanted to look horribly formal standing there above them.
"What is it?" Elizabeth prompted, looking attentively at him. She had that way about her; no matter what else might have been going on, you always felt you had her undivided attention when she was listening to you.
"Well," Blake started, trying very hard not to sound nervous, "you know I'm not that close with my family." He searched their eyes, finding them both steady and attentive. "And it's just me raising Amelia, which of course I'm thrilled about and I'm so glad I did it, but…" he trailed off, and found himself remembering the first time he'd visited the McCord house in Georgetown, the way it had felt so immediately warm and welcoming. He shook his head slightly. "I always loved being around your family," he continued. "It was...well, I guess in the back of my mind it was what I always aimed for, what I hoped my own family could be like someday, if I had one."
"The way you guys raised your kids, even in such unusual circumstances, to be kind and caring and good human beings, it's…" he met Elizabeth's eyes even though he felt awkward. "It's admirable," he finished.
"Thank you, Blake," Elizabeth interjected with undeniable sincerity. He nodded, but now that he'd started, he knew he needed to get to the point.
"Anyway," he continued, "I think you know that your place in my life has meant a great deal to me and I wanted to ask you if…" he hesitated, anxiety ebbing against his words, though he couldn't have articulated exactly why he felt so nervous. "If you would be honorary grandparents to Amelia," he finished softly.
He looked up, finding Elizabeth and Henry both looking very warmly at him.
"I want her to have a family," he admitted quietly. "A real family, more than just...you know, distant grandparents she sees at holidays."
It was what he craved most of all for his child, a warm and welcoming extended family that Amelia would trust and know that she could count on, and Blake had only ever found it in the McCords.
"Blake," Elizabeth said softly, but when he glanced up at her, he found her looking down at the baby in her arms instead. He waited, and she glanced at Henry, and then found his eyes.
"We are honored to have you and Amelia in our family," she said softly- like it was already a given, like she hadn't even had to think about it- and as Blake watched her reluctantly pass the baby to her husband, his chest felt fuller than before. He blinked back tears, and when Elizabeth looked over at him with a familiar, knowing smile, he thought that perhaps he needn't even have asked at all.