April 1989
Milly and Eric had taken Garry's car to the drive-in to see a new movie called Say Anything. Garry had been wonderful about lending out his car to Milly, who always put gas in it after she was done. He let her take it out on a date with Eric, and Milly's only rule was that no matter how badly they wanted to, they couldn't have sex in her stepfather's car. Both did makeout through as much as possible, and always ended up doing some very heavy petting. Tonight though, both actually watched the movie. Eric really never mentioned which movies he liked, since he pretty much watched everything. Milly did know though that anything with airplanes or flying he absolutely loved. She had seen in the newspaper that the latest Indiana Jones movie was set to come out next week, and she was certain there probably was flying or some sort of action in it Eric would love. She planned on bringing him next weekend, and see if he liked it.
Tonight, she was actually surprised to find Eric closely watching the movie tonight. His arm was around her, and he closely watched, and laughed at the funny parts, and smiled softly throughout the whole movie. It was a cute romance that actually sorta reminded Milly of her and Eric. Sure there was a ton of difference, but the John Cusack character was so sweet to his girlfriend, she couldn't stop thinking that Eric acted the same way towards her. They laughed together, snuggled in close watching, before one scene in the movie gave her an idea. It was when John Cusack was trying to teach his girlfriend how to drive a stick. She glanced at Eric, and smiled.
Later...
Milly had driven the car out of the drive-in after the movie was finished, and found a side street, before parking.
"Okay, you're getting your permit tomorrow. Let's practice."
Eric raised an eyebrow before silently laughing and then signing...
"It's just the permit, not the actual driving test."
Milly wrinkled her nose.
"I know, but I think we need to practice. Come on, you've shown me you're an even better driver than me. Come on, switch places with me."
Eric laughed rolling his eyes, before both Milly and him unhooked their belts, and climbed out, switching places. The car softly dinged, before Eric climbed into the driver's seat, and Milly got into the other side. They shut the doors, before Eric and her belted themselves in, and Eric smirked at Milly making her giggle, before he started the engine, and put the car into park. Milly watched him, and couldn't help but smile. He didn't need any instruction. He had been reading up with her driver's book, studying it for almost a year now, and taking a few private lessons driving with Garry. She saw he had listened, and closely watched every single thing that needed to be done. He knew to slow down and stop at red lights, and stop signs. He drove around the neighborhood slowly for about ten minutes, before finally pulling over and parking on Oak Street. He smirked again, and looked over at her. Milly laughed.
"Color me impressed. Come on, let's switch places, God knows if my mom saw us pull in and saw you driving she would have a major cow."
Eric silently laughed, before instead of opening the driver's side door, he began to climb over towards her. Milly laughed and gave a little shriek.
"What are you doing?!"
Eric climbed onto her seat, taking hold of her, kissing her. She giggled and laughed, before both wrapped their arms around each other, squished in the passenger's seat, before Milly leaned down, blowing a raspberry against his neck, making him crack up completely.
Later...
They had U2 softly playing off the radio. Eric laid on top of Milly, dully thrusting into her underneath one of the many blankets they used up here in the attic. Milly breathed in and out, staring up at him almost in a trance. His brown eyes locked with hers, before Milly softly smiled up at him. He smiled back, before leaning down and deeply kissing her. Their mouths slowly opened and closed, before Milly reached up, grasping onto one shoulder, while her other hand ran through his thick beautiful hair. Eric began to speed up, pushing down softly against the other spread out blankets, before he snapped his eyes shut, and buried his head against her shoulder, and grunted. His entire body twitched, before finally he collapsed against her. After a second, he lifted his head, his face full of color, before Milly smiled.
"Where's your uncle tonight?'
Eric smiled, and slowly worked his way out of her, before rolling over beside her. He pulled the blanket up slightly around his waist, before he hiked himself up on his elbow looking at her, using his free hand to sign...
"He wouldn't admit it, but Mrs. Fields who owns the flower shop downtown..."
Milly's eyes widened.
"Shut up..."
Eric silently chuckled, before making a face. He continued to sign...
"Yeah, it started up a month ago. He came with me that day. I sent you your favorite flowers, and they started talking. She's a widow, and lately he's been spending the night at her house. He won't talk about it, but he always seems to be in a much better mood when he comes home after seeing her."
Milly giggled, covering her face with her hands.
"Ew! I can't think of your uncle like that!"
Eric actually laughed this time, which caught Milly off guard by the sweet low chuckling. She grabbed onto him, and together they began kissing in between their laughter.
Later...
The two went downstairs, and Eric grabbed his earplugs to take a shower with Milly. He had been wanting to try and take a shower without using his earplugs, but the sound still seemed to bother him. Milly absolutely loved taking showers with Eric. The two had snuck down shortly after they finished up in the attic, and stripped down, before venturing into the shower. Milly wasn't exactly comfortable to have sex in the shower, seeing that Uncle Hugo used this. She had wanted to go down on Eric as the warm water poured down on them. Instead, the two took turns soaping each other up, and then washing each other's hair. They laughed throughout it, before finally they were driven out due to the water cooling, and stepped out. Milly wrapped a towel around herself, as Eric wrapped one around his waist. Milly took the blow dryer out from under the sink, and asked if she could use this, or if the sound would be too much? Eric smiled, and pointed to his ears, before signing that he could barely hear a thing, and that she was fine. Sitting on the edge of the tub, she dried her hair, while Eric finished drying off, and then left the room. When he came back, he was smirking, now wearing only blue and black plaid PJ bottoms. Milly finally got her hair dry enough, and was in the middle of putting the blow drier away, when she saw him walk in and smiled, liking what she was seeing. At the park a few days ago, Luis dared Eric to see if he could do a pull up on the monkey bars in the playground. Luis attempted a few, claiming you had to do this kind of stuff before you became a Navy Seal. Eric looked up at the monkey bars, before he reached up, his T-shirt riding up slightly, showing his flat stomach, before he wrapped his hands around the bars. He then surprised both Luis and Milly, as he did a total of twenty-five pull ups, showing little to no effort. Milly knew Eric had no interests in PE, or working out, but she was beyond surprised by how strong he was.
She had noticed his arms becoming a little more toned, and just last week while Geneva, Eric, and her visited Andy at his house, they all hung out in the basement, where Andy's parents had a big screen TV, some couches, and his dad's weight lifting equipment that he used to workout for football on. Geneva and Andy had started dating shortly after Valentine's Day. Milly and Eric really liked Andy for her. Sure it wasn't the same as it was with Alex...but after everything that happened, it somehow felt more natural. Andy truly seemed to care about Geneva, and made her laugh a lot. He was super cool with Eric and Milly, and seemed really interested in Eric's progress he had been making. They had all double dated a few times, and Milly noticed Andy seemed like a total gentleman with Geneva. They had all hung out down in the basement several times, sharing pop and pizza, watching MTV, and all sitting around laughing and talking. That day, Andy had brought Eric over to the bench presses, before first having him spot him. Milly watched from the couch, how focused and serious Eric was watching Andy. Then, she felt her heart leap in her chest, when she saw them switch places. Andy could lift 300 pounds, but he seemed to know Eric was doing this for the first time, and changed the weights to 150. He directed Eric on what exactly to do. Milly was on the verge of saying something, but she watched Eric lay down, get handed the barbell, before he lifted it up easily, up and down as Andy grinned.
As nervous as she was...watching Eric do something like this really turned her on.
He was eighteen, taller, his hair styled different, starting to slowly get well defined, and clearly much stronger. He watched her, before smirking. Milly went to reach down and grab her clothes when he signed...
"Can you call your mom and tell her you're over Geneva's or something?"
Milly smirked, before chewing on her lip nervously.
"I guess so..."
Eric smirked before motioning to the hallway in the direction of his bedroom.
"I have some clothes for you. Come on."
Milly laughed lightly before looking at him as if he was crazy.
"What if Uncle Hugo comes home?"
Eric shrugged.
"He knows you stay over sometimes. He doesn't care. Besides, I need my good luck charm for tomorrow."
Milly laughed, shaking her head, before following him to his bedroom. It was officially the first Friday for their nearly two week spring break. A good group of people at school were planning on traveling, and going away for the break. Milly meanwhile was perfectly content with staying here. Geneva kept telling her that maybe during their freshman year of college, despite them all probably going to different schools, maybe they should plan on heading down to Florida all together? She even mentioned maybe senior year, since apparently Andy's grandparents owned a timeshare, they only used during the winter. Geneva said they could have a blast if it was just the four of them. Geneva and Milly had been watching the VJs host Spring Break on MTV, and saw what a crazy party it seemed like. Just last month, Milly and Eric had rented two Spring Break comedies. One called Spring Break, and another called Private Resort, with Johnny Depp, which reminded Milly of Eric. The two loved watching 21 Jump Street together on Sunday nights. The two movies were pretty raunchy, but they had the living room to themselves, where Uncle Hugo was spending the evening playing poker down at the Elks. Milly cracked up over the movies, as well as blushed a little at how many naked women there were in both. She smirked, playfully hitting Eric on the arm, telling him he outta put his eyeballs back into his head. Eric smirked, before reaching over tickling her, causing her to crack up completely.
Milly wasn't so sure if the wild party otherwise known as Spring Break down in Florida was really her and Eric's scene, but the thought of them being able to go away for a week or so, "partying" with their two close friends, actually sounded pretty nice. Geneva kept trying to talk her into maybe going down this summer, since it wouldn't really cost anything? Milly wasn't so sure, despite how tempting this all seemed. Still, her mother had been kind of bitch on wheels as of recently. She suspected this had sorta started when she almost walked in on Milly going down on Eric in her bedroom that past winter. Milly could have sworn she had locked her bedroom, but must have left it unlocked while she went to use the bathroom. The two had done their homework, and began to fool around when suddenly without even knocking her mother walked in, carrying the laundry basket, in the middle of complaining to Milly that she left towels in the dryer. Milly and Eric had scrambled away from each other. Both had been sitting on her bed, leaning against the wall, watching her mini TV. She had Eric's jeans unzipped, and had just pulled his penis out, and was just starting to lean down to blow him, when her mom came storming in. They had jumped and Milly grabbed one of her tiny throw pillows to cover Eric's lap with. Her mother must have seen how they jumped away from each other, and color filled her face, before she dropped her eyes, looking more embarrassed than the two of them. Just then, she clutched onto the laundry basket, before shooting a look at Milly. Lately, Milly had sensed her attitude about Eric and her, and it truly had been getting under her skin. The truth was, she kept catching tie disapproving looks her mother was constantly giving, as well as the little remarks.
"Milly, you forgot to..."
Milly took a deep breath, hoping she wasn't blushing nearly as bad as she was, or Eric, who was trying to sit up straight, while holding the throw pillow over him, being beyond obvious. She could faintly hear Luis and Garry downstairs watching a basketball game downstairs.
"I didn't forget to do anything. I did all of my chores tonight, including making dinner, and doing all of my homework. Tonight was Luis' night to fold and put away the towels."
Her mother took a second, looking at her as if she was lying. Milly knew she had to be careful when it came to sticking up for herself, since her mother could simply turn it around on her, and hold the power of Milly getting less freedom now that she was a teenager, and being able to hang out with Eric as much as she was, which she knew annoyed her. Still, she knew lately the amount of responsibility that was put on her. She still saw Dr. Grenader once a month now, who agreed she needed to set boundaries with her mother. She could see how far Milly had come since freshman year, and Milly knew to be careful, and never once mentioned her believing that Eric could fly, after she learned that it was in fact true. No, Dr. Grenader believed this was all a fantasy after suffering from a late reaction to her father's death. She knew she had too much responsibility put on her plate by her mother, who agreed that she was in shock and mourning as well. She talked to her mother every few weeks, mostly about Luis, who had hit a brief rough patch, where his grades had really suffered, and he had gotten into a lot of trouble for fighting at school. Thankfully he bounced back, mostly once things got serious with Garry and their mom. Still, Dr. Grenader had been a Godsend, constantly sticking up for Milly, and telling her mother how lucky she was to have such a wonderful daughter. She didn't see anything wrong with how her relationship with Eric had developed, and by the little bit Milly knew, Dr. Grenader was very impressed with how far both Eric and her had come. She believed the two were very good for each other, and her little relationship with Eric, was a consincent, positive thing that was good for her life.
That Milly needed to be able to be allowed to be a teenager every once and awhile, and had been fully supportive of her mother's relationship with Garry, and that she needed to be shown the same amount of support right back at her. Milly knew her mother spoiled Luis, and thankfully Garry was usually on her team, and stuck up for Eric and her. There were more than once where Luis would goof off on his chores, and when her mother was about to simply pass it to Milly, no questions asked, it was Garry who would shrug, and say it didn't seem that fair, but would stay neutral, never wanting to step on toes, and never once trying to ever take their late father's place. In fact, in all the years that Milly and Luis knew him, they honestly couldn't say that they ever saw him angry. Still, Milly loved how great he was with Luis, just firm enough to be the right male figure in Luis' life during these pre-teen years, which was really a major crossing point for him. He was also amazing for their mother, and Milly honestly didn't want to think of what life would be like with her still on her own. She figured she wouldn't be given as much freedom as she was given, or to be able to be around Eric as much. Garry loved Eric like a son, almost like he was in some weird way his third stepchild, and constantly tried to have her mother go a little easy when it came to her not constantly being weighed down with chores, always reminding her that she was just a teenager, a good teenager at that, and should be able to go out with her boyfriend and friends every once and awhile. That night, she figured she couldn't have her stepfather, or therapist come to her rescue. She needed to do this for herself.
Taking a deep breath, she stared up at her.
"I did all of my chores as usual mom, including dinner since Garry and you were stuck at that meeting."
Her mother stared down with icy cold eyes down at Milly and Eric.
"Well your brother..."
"Forgot to do his chores again. If I forgot any of my chores...any...you would ground me mom."
Her mother looked stunned at Milly saying this, before looking down at Eric.
"Well, Lord knows you two can't even go a day without being apart from each other. Also, I meant to tell you. You must have mixed up a pair of your jeans with mine. I wanted to bring them back, and show you that you left this wrapper in the front pocket..."
She then lifted up a pair of Milly's Guess jeans she had saved up for down at the mall. She owned a few pairs, and loved the Guess ounces, which gave what she believed her boyish figure some actual curves. She watched in slow motion as her mother dug out an old torn open foil package for a condom. The moment both a stunned Milly and Eric stared up at it, Milly's mother gave a disappointed, and sorta disgusted look. She figured she knew that the two had been sleeping together. She had asked once, during one of the many arguments about Eric and her being too codependent on each other. Milly figured her non-answer, and plenty of an answer enough. Still, she saw the looks she would get after coming home right before curfew, or how her mother would seem disgusted whenever Milly tried in vain to cover up the hickeys that Eric left on her. She tried keeping anything that had to do with birth control (besides her pills, which she originally began claiming it was for her period.) everything else, she kept hidden in her closet, but apparently this one condom wrapper, and the expression on Eric and Milly's faces jumping apart, with Eric grabbing a throw pillow to cover his penis, which was still very much pulled out from the opening of his jeans. Her mother looked disgusted, tossing the condom wrapper onto the bed, which landed in-between them, before sighing, shaking her head, and muttering she would have Luis put the towels away...
She left, closing the door a little too hard, before Milly picked up the broken foil wrapper of the condom. Holding it up to Eric, she looked mortified.
"Oh my God..."
Eric was blushing, but smirked, before kissing the top of Milly's head and signed...
"At least she knows we're practicing safe sex?"
Milly couldn't stop it, but she broke up laughing completely against him. Now she used the phone in the hallway, still only wearing a towel, as she dialed next door. Thankfully Garry picked up, and Milly asked if he could put on her mom to see if she could spend the night over at Geneva's? Garry told Milly that her mom had fallen asleep in front of the TV. He said of course she could, and he would tell her she was at Geneva's once they went up to bed. Milly, feeling thankful for Garry being such a great guy. She suspected he must have known where she really was, but knew she was safe, and as he so often said, had been a teenager once, and didn't see the harm in Milly and Luis having fun with friends, as long as she said they were being safe, they were totally fine. She hoped deep down inside that whenever her dad was, he was grateful that Luis and her, and yes even her mom...were all very lucky to have Garry in their lives. She thanked him, and told him that tomorrow morning, she was going to go with Eric and Mrs. Sherman to get his permit, in case her mom was wondering where she was? Garry's voice actually sounded excited.
"That's right! I forgot! Well, let him know we're all rooting for him! He's got this!"
Milly chuckled to herself nodding, and thanking him.
"Night kiddo."
"Night Garry."
Hanging up, she smirked, and dialed Geneva's private line by heart. She knew Geneva wasn't out with Andy tonight since she was on her period, and always claimed the second day was the heaviest, much like Milly's, and usually stayed in, even if it was a Friday night, to lay low. Milly and Geneva did agree on this one thing together. There was no fooling around during the first three days of having your period. Milly admitted it made her horny, but she found it gross, even though now after being on the pill for as long as she did, it really only said sorta heavy for the first two days, then were gone with just a little bit of cramps. Geneva had mentioned that she was planning on catching up on Dallas, which was holding a marathon tonight, and pigging out on chips, and cookies. Geneva picked up after the second ring.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's me. Your parents are asleep?"
"Yeah a while ago."
"If anyone asks tomorrow, I slept over last night okay? Not that anyone will, but just wanna get our stories straight. Cool?"
"Got you. Night girl."
"Night Geneva. Thanks again."
They blew kisses to each other over the phone, before Milly hung up, smirking, and walking into Eric's bedroom. He had drawn down the shade, and only had his nightstand light on. He had pulled on a wrinkled short sleeve T-shirt on, his hair messy and drying. Blizzard softly cooed in her cage. Milly smiled standing in the doorway. Eric smiled, holding up one of his T-shirts, and basketball shorts. He signed...
"Everything okay?"
Milly nodded smiling, before Eric tossed her the extra clothes. He looked thrilled, and signed again...
"Awesome, I know it's stupid to be nervous before tomorrow, just...I'll sleep better knowing you're here."
Milly, truly feeling touched, smiled, and walked over, taking the clothes from him, and slightly leaning up to kiss him. They smiled through the kiss, before she wrinkled her nose.
"Can I use your toothbrush?"
Eric nodded and motioned towards the hallway.
"Let's get ready for bed."
Milly grinned, all the while Blizzard softly bounced it's tiny little head, wiggling it's feathers, all the whole rocking back and forth it the tiny hanging swing. A few minutes later, both stood side by side over the sink, taking turns passing the toothbrush back and forth, before leaning down, cupping their hands with a little bit of water, before sloshing it around, and then spitting. Milly smiled, wiping her mouth using the tiny face cloth, before Eric went over to the toilet, and lifted the seat, before pulling his penis out, and peeding. Both had become very uncomfortable around each other, and Milly never forgot the time, they were taking a tiny hike through Mystic Woods, where he actually walked off to the side of the pathway, and peed. Milly was impressed, and even squatted down herself. Touched that he stood in front of her, blocking her in case anybody came up the pathway, and looked over. Milly didn't see this as the romance going out of their relationship. That was still constant, and very hot and heavy. No, she saw it as finding somebody that she was pretty much comfortable with.
They saw each other naked all the time, dressed, and undressed in front of each other constantly, and didn't really mind that the other one was in the room while the other quickly used the bathroom. Milly also found it pretty hot the way he stood whenever he peed, and smirked, chuckling to herself as she used the sink to wash her face. She left the facecloth out for Eric, who did what Milly did. Sure they washed up in the shower, but Milly showed Eric that the reason how he was able to keep up with his skin as good as he did was because he took her advice, and washed his face after whenever he showered. In fact, she had even helped him pick out acne cream, when he pointed out he was breaking out a little bit near his chin. He didn't need to shave often, but his skin was oily, as was hers. This cream did wonders, and both really hadn't really been breaking out that often. Switching places with him, Milly pecked him on the cheek, as he went to wash his hands, as well as scrub up his face the same way she had just done. As he leaned down, cupping the warm water in his hands, as he cleaned up, and applied the cream, she used the toilet herself, dabbing herself with the toilet paper, before getting up, and washing her hands, as he finished putting on the last bit of acne cream. He motioned for her to look, and she squinted under, before nodding.
"Looks good."
He smirked, as they finished washing their hands before heading back to his bedroom. Milly had finished changing her other clothes in his bedroom. The shorts were baggy, and were the T-shirt she was borrowing, but she loved how comfy they felt, and how she loved how they smelled like the laundry soap he used. Milly knew it was silly, but in the back of her mind played out a little fantasy, that maybe this is what it would be like if they lived together? She had never felt more comfortable than how she felt with him. Somehow, it just felt normal. Eric shut his door, and signed to her not to worry about using the bathroom in the middle of the night. He had a feeling Uncle Hugo wouldn't be coming back home until after we're gone tomorrow after his adventures with Mrs. Fields. Milly giggled, before he flicked off the overhead light, just the warm dim glow coming from the lamp on his nightstand. She loved that he had a small framed photo of her there, right next to the stack of plain white paper he used whenever he folded, and made paper airplanes. Smiling, she watched as he checked to see if Blizzard had plenty of water, before pulling back his light blanket, and sheets, before motioning for her to climb in. Milly smiled, stepping forward, before gently placing her hands on his firm chest over his T-shirt. Smiling, she stared up at him.
"Come on, I'll bring good luck and good dreams tonight to you okay?"
Eric grinned, before leaning down, softly kissing the bridge of her nose, before he helped her into his narrow twin bed, that they had slept in together many times before. Eric climbed in after her, smelling of the clean soap from the shower, before he clicked the light off, pressing the button to set his small clock radio, before rolling back over and staring straight at her in the darkness of the room. Milly, absolutely how comfortable and soft Eric's bed was, she snuggled in close against Eric, kissing him in the darkness of his bedroom, their mouths slowly opening and closing against each other. Milly smiled through the kiss, very much wanting to continue with this, since feeling the comforting weight of him pressing her down against his pillows, his firm arms wrapping around her, and then the feeling of a bulge in his PJ pants, press up against her thighs as his shorts she had on were slowly riding up. Milly wanted more than ever to just spread her legs, and fool around in the darkness of his bedroom together. Still, she knew he had a big day ahead of him tomorrow, and wanted him to get a good night's sleep. Kissing him one last time, she laughed softly, nuzzling her nose against his, before opening her arms, and telling him to lay back. Eric kissed her a few more, before finally laying his head against her breasts, snuggling in close, as she gently stroked his hair. Slowly, they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.
Present. It had been four days since Milly had given birth to Marshall. With Dr. Weaver's orders, Milly spent an additional three days in the hospital to be closely monitored. Her blood pressure had been up during the delivery they did some tests on both Milly and Marshall, to make absolutely sure everything was fine. Of course this worried Eric, but Dr. Weaver allowed him to stay even after visiting hours. Since all of the nurses adored Milly and Eric as a couple, and the fact that Dr. Weaver had the final say no, they never seemed annoyed, and kept telling Milly every morning that they had seen millions of couples before, but Eric and her were the ones they all agreed that seemed the most in love. Some of the nurses all told Milly how handsome Eric was, and how clearly it was that he was head over heels in love with her. Anytime Milly had to be examined, Eric always insisted on saying, and was right by her side in case she needed anything. They told her that most husbands seemed bored at the hospital, and seemed turned off by all of the ugly natural facts of what a woman went through after giving birth. Eric on the other hand never even batted an eye at any of this. In fact, he had been the one, along with Milly's favorite nurse, Nurse Linda when it came to her attempting to take her first shower. She was horribly sore, but the entire time Eric stood by her, his arm wrapped around her, allowing her to lean her weight into him, not even bothered that his T-shirt and jeans were soaking wet by the time they finished. He usually sat right beside her, gently squeezing her hand, and being the buffer as all of their friends, co-workers, and family came to visit.
He knew whenever Milly was getting too tired, and would explain she needed her rest. He was also the one who comforted her when she was informed that she wasn't producing as much milk as the doctors wanted her to in order to breastfeed Marshall. She had tried several times, and even got him to latch, but finally it was Dr. Weaver who explained that sometimes women who had been on strong hormones in order to get pregnant, sometimes struggled producing enough milk. Sure, there were vitamins, and certain foods she could try to attempt in trying to produce more milk, but Dr. Weaver broke it down simple for her. There was nothing wrong with bottle feeding, in fact she did it with her own son. It was better for him to get on a fixed feeding and sleeping schedule, and there were plenty of vitamins in formula that could help Marshall to keep gaining weight, and help him continue to grow. At first Milly felt devastated, breaking down crying in her hospital bed. Here, Eric sat across from her, allowing her to vent in frustration, as she sobbed to him that she felt that already she was failing as a new mother. Eric let her cry, before her placed his hands on her shoulders, and made her look at him. His eyes were serious, before he began to sign to her that plenty of women bottle feed their babies, and it doesn't make them any less of a mother. That he agreed with Dr. Weaver, and if one of the best doctors in the country even claim she did it herself, then there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Somehow knowing that only he could cheer her up, she sniffled, rubbed her eyes, and nodded. With that, he smirked, wiped her face with his hand gently, before leaning in and kissing her, before gently wrapping his arms around her. She knew her hormones were going crazy, and she felt like laughing one second, then sobbing the next. Somehow everything seemed to settle into focus whenever she got to hold her son. He was absolutely perfect. All of the nurses loved him, and she continued working on her walking, and Eric had brought her down to the nursery several times already to see him.
All of the nurses agreed, Marshall was one of the prettiest, and calmest babies they had ever seen. Already Milly could tell he was going to be the spitting image of Eric. He was bald, with a tiny wrinkled up face, and dark eyes, but just by gazing down at him in wonder, watching him take his bottle silently while staring up at her, she could see Eric 100%. Eric was constantly going down to the nursery while Milly rested to check in on Marshall, or to sit with the other parents and just hold him. Nurse Linda said that all of the other nurses had fallen in love with watching him with the baby. They claimed they had never seen a father so in love before. He would sometimes give Marshall his bottle, or closely listen, and watch as the nurses showed him different ways to change him, burp him, or get him to settle down if he woke up fussy. They all said he was a very calm baby, and would stare up at Eric with his big dark eyes, while Eric did the same, always smiling. Milly loved watching this whenever the baby was brought upstairs, and she could tell already what a wonderful daddy Eric was going to be. It was clear he was completely in love with their son, who they had struggled and tried so hard to have all these years. Finally just earlier today, Milly and Marshall were cleared to go home from the hospital. Eric had already been home, making sure everything was all set, and had the carseat installed. He had also told Milly, he had told all of their friends, they needed a few days to get adjusted, and get Marshall used to home, before they welcomed any visitors. Eric already was taking a brief leave from work. Milly was relieved he did this, since she was starting to really get overwhelmed by all of these visitors from the hospital. Dr. Weaver told her she would see her in a few weeks for Marshall's first checkup, and if she needed her at all, or had any questions, she was giving her private number, and to not hesitate to reach out. Giving her a strong hug, she thanked her again, before being wheeled out to the car, where Eric, and Marshall, sleeping soundly in his carseat were waiting.
The entire ride back, she felt as if she was in a dream. She had lost count how many times they drove back in silence, completely heartbroken from the hospital, the backseat empty, and both heading to a silent sad house after either a stillbirth, or miscarriage. Instead, Milly kept glancing in the rearview mirror at Marshall, dressed in an outfit that resembled a teddybear. He had a little knit cap on with ears, and was sleeping soundly. Milly felt her heart hammer with both fear, and joy, before she felt Eric's large warm hand reach over, gently squeeze hers, before bringing it up to his lips, and kissing it. Milly glanced over and saw Eric smiling, and could honestly say she had never seen her so happy before.
That night...
Milly's eyes fluttered open. She never thought she could be this exhausted, but as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out cold. She had been a little overwhelmed and scared at first, mostly when Marshall started crying loudly earlier. She was still so sore from the delivery, and tried soothing the baby, who's tiny wrinkled face turned bright red, before Eric hurried in from the kitchen, having been heating Marshall up a bottle, and getting lunch ready for them. He seemed perfectly calm, smiling as he carried the bottle. Milly, who had been camped out on the couch with the baby for the last few hours. She had successfully changed the baby several times, once Eric showed her the few tricks the nurses had shown her. Both had burst out laughing, when Marshall started peeing straight up in the air without any warning. She had changed the baby several times, in cute little outfits Geneva and her had picked out, as she used her digital camera to snap photos of him, propped up on his feeding blanket, and stuffed animals. She kept fussing over him, closely studying him in complete wonder, unable to believe that Eric and her had made something so perfect. Eric had been taking care of everything, and hadn't been the slightest bit disturbed when Milly told him about filling a rubber glove with water, and putting it in the freezer in case she got too sore...down there. Dr. Weaver told her for the next six weeks there could be absolutely no sex, and next week she would be in a little more pain once she got her stitches out from down there. Geneva warned her not to even try to look down below for a few weeks, since it wasn't pretty. Milly was still lightly bleeding, and had to wear pads, and felt pretty uncomfortable. She was given something for the pain since she wasn't nursing, and when it started to really bother her, she knew she could either soak in the tub, take a pill, or try the iced glove trick. Not wanting to be away from the baby, she asked Eric if he could hand her one of the frozen gloves from the freezer while she was in the bathroom, and the baby was asleep in his bassinet. Eric lightly knocked on the door, with the iced glove, a bottle of water, and her bottle of pain pills. Milly sadly smirked, before Eric raised an eyebrow, before walking in and placing everything down on the counter near the sink.
He signed...
"What do you need me to do?"
Milly frowned, feeling a little embarrassed.
"I'll do it. Dr. Weaver said this helps with the pain..."
Eric glanced through the open doorway at the bassinet, before he smirked and shrugged before signing...
"Take a pill, I'll do it. Just insert it slowly?"
Milly had to cover her mouth from giggling too loudly, looking out into the other room where the bassinet sat. Sighing, she made a face.
"I can do it. It looks really bad...gross in fact."
Eric made a face before signing...
"I watched our son go through that part, I think I can handle that. Now take your pill."
Milly softly laughed, shaking her head, before she took a pill, swallowed it with some water, before she slowly pulled down her baggy shorts, panties, and pad which she knew she was going to have to change. She wasn't embarrassed about any of this stuff with Eric, since he had seen much worse, and never seemed bothered by any of it. Instead he walked up behind her, both looking at their reflection in the mirror before both burst out laughing softly. They quieted down almost instantly, when they heard the baby coo in the other room for just a second, before Milly calmed herself down, still laughing softly, and looked at him from the mirror.
"Reminds me of that day after senior prom in here. Remember your uncle wasn't home, and we tried doing it in here...from behind?"
Eric grinned, and nodded, before he held up the frozen glove, which was starting to slowly melt. Milly nodded, and gripped the counter, and leaned forward. "Just go in really slowly. Leave it in for about a minute then take it out. It's supposed to help." She stared forward, before she slowly felt the coldness of the glove slowly slip inside of her, which had been so sore lately she could barley pee without feeling tears in her eyes. She let out a soft moan, smiling, as Eric continued slowly putting it into her, gently, and slowly.
"Good...Good boy Eric...oh my God this feels amazing..."
She could almost cry. Knowing any other husband would probably get grossed out by this kind of thing, she counted her blessings she had such a wonderful husband, who would be willing to do something this weird and gross, just to give her a little relief. Once they were finished, Eric gently kissed her neck, before signing and asking if she was okay? Milly almost felt like crying with happiness, figuring the ice, and the pills had just begun to kick in. She nodded, and said she was fine now, and was just going to freshen up, and be right out. Eric signed that he would put another glove in the freezer, and kissed her cheek, before leaving her. She changed her pad, and found it a little easier to pee, before redressing, and venturing out to the living room. Eric was changing Marshall on a spread out blanket on the couch, making the baby giggle, as he made faces over him, before leaning down, and gently tickling the baby's stomach with his hair, as he leaned down and nuzzled him. Watching her husband be so good with their son, her heart swelled. She yet again was in awe over how much she truly loved him. Now hours later, Eric had insisted she head up to bed ahead of time. She had tried the glove thing with Eric once more after dinner, and was starting to feel a little better. Dr. Weaver insisted she was all perfectly normal, and that she would heal ten times faster, than a woman who had a C-section. She spent the whole evening with Eric in the living room with the baby. At one point she put on a tiny straw hat she had received for him at the baby shower, and Eric cracked her up when he signed...
"So when is he moving to Florida to retire and sell oranges?"
Milly cracked up, as the two took turns holding him while watching TV, and snapping photos. Milly ate a ton at dinner, before feeling the pills start to really kick in. Eric, who was holding Marshall, burping him after his nightly bottle, glanced over and saw her starting to nod off, before he told her her to head up to bed, he would be up soon, and put Marshall down, and have the baby monitors on the whole night. At first, Milly said she was fine, that she could help, but Eric smirked, and said he was sure, and wanted her to get some rest. Milly went upstairs, changed, and passed out instantly. She faintly heard Eric slip into bed shortly after, the baby monitor on the nightstand, before he kissed her cheek, and Milly fell into a deep dreamless sleep. Then, hours later her eyes fluttered open, before she glanced at the alarm clock, and saw it was a little after one in the morning. She stirred, before seeing Eric's side of the bed was empty, and the baby monitor was on. She saw the volume button was glowing in the dark, as soft static came from it. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she wanted to get up and help, even though Eric said for the next few weeks while he was home, he would be the one to get up in the middle of the night, so she had plenty of rest. Milly thought Eric was a saint, but wanted to do this as a team.
Feeling well rested, and only a little sore, she got up, wearing one of Eric's baggy T-shirts and her shorts, before she shuffled down the hallway and towards the nursery. She gently pushed the door open, and looked in. Smiling, she looked in, and saw Eric was sitting in the rocking chair, right by the window he used to so often sit outside of. Marshall, was sound asleep on his chest, as he gently rubbed the baby's back. Milly smiled, feeling her heart flutter, she leaned against the doorway, arms crossed as she looked in on them. Eric seemed lost in his own little world. He rocked slowly back and forth, before leaning down and gently kissing Marshall's head. Milly stood there silently watching them, and never felt so lucky before in her entire life.
Two months later...
Mr. Draven, Milly's illustrator had just recently painted a beautiful mural on the wall the crib was nearest, a design Milly had sketched of Eric the Boy Who Could Fly, from the books flying high up in the sky, surrounded by clouds, and bursts of colorful fireworks. It was absolutely beautiful, and everyone who visited raved about how gorgeous it looked. Milly explained to Eric it was based off the first dream she ever had of Eric while she was in the hospital after her fall, and how she dreamed Eric had visited her, and took her high up in the clouds as they watched the fireworks just like from her favorite movie To Catch A Thief. Eric had grinned from ear to ear when he was first shown it. During the few days it took Draven to finish painting it, the baby slept in their room in his bassinet. Milly knew Eric loved this, and most mornings, he would bring her breakfast in bed, a bottle for Marshall, and coffee for himself. They would watch the morning news, snuggle, and gaze down at Marshall gurgling, sucking on his pacifier, laying between them, and staring up with his big brown eyes. Eric had been absolutely wonderful during all of his, and took to parenting as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He never got grossed out whenever Marshall had a bad diaper change, or spit up all over himself. Both had given Marshall his first bath in the kitchen sink. Milly and Eric both in jeans and old faded T-shirts, laughing as Marshall actually seemed to take to the water instead of screaming his head off. In fact, Eric started taking him into the shower with him, and he swore to Milly the baby even started to laugh the last couple of times once they were in there.
He loved giving Marshall his bottle, and most nights would lay with him while he had "tummy time" on his play mat in the living room, both laying side by side as Eric laughed with him, and showed him all the different color rings, and little things that jingled above his head. Milly's heart broke when they brought Marshall in for his first round of shots just last week, and Eric looked as if he was going to faint the second Dr. Weaver, wheeled out the syringes that were already filled and ready. Marshall was following the growth chart perfectly, and was very alert, and seemed like a happy content baby. Milly had him in her arms, as Eric sat beside her. Dr. Weaver scanned over Marshall's chat, asking regular questions on how he was doing, before she looked up and saw Eric nervously eyeing the tray full of shots. She sadly smiled.
"Is daddy a little nervous?"
Eric blinked, looking a little embarrassed, before Milly used her free hand to rub his arm. Dr. Weaver, who loved Eric, smiled before she motioned to the baby.
"These will go by real quick, then another two months until the next round. Trust me, these are all the same usual shots we all got when we were his age. It's better to get them over with now. Just a few tears, and by the end of the appointment he'll forget all about it. That's the beauty of being that young. You forget stuff."
Milly laughed, but saw Eric still seemed a nervous wreck. He was taking another month off from work, and she knew he was even debating on if he should stay home for the summer? Money wasn't an issue right now, and she really did love having all the extra help. Eric was a wiz with the baby, and always seemed to be perfectly calm, and level headed whenever Milly thought she might lose her mind with worry. Just last month the baby started throwing up real bad after his nightly bottle. He started turning bright red, before he began to choke. Milly, a complete hysterical wreck, screamed she was going to call 911, when Eric scooped the baby out of his crib, placed him against his shoulder, as if he was going to burp him, before, he used the heel of his hand to firmly pat on his back. The baby threw up over Eric's shoulder, before the wonderful clear healthy cries of a baby able to breath again filled the air. Milly's knees felt weak, as she burst into her own tears, completely relieved that Eric had been there. Eric within minutes, soothed Marshall, gently rubbing his back, before he walked over, and nudged Milly with his leg. She looked up, tears streaming down her face.
"He...could have died..."
Eric made a face, before he shook his head, holding the baby against his shoulder with one arm, before signing with the other...
"No, just have him an extra hand. He does that a lot. He might need to just water down the milk a little more."
Milly couldn't believe it. She had been reading about babies, and parenting for years, in fact she read a total of eleven books during her whole pregnancy with Marshall, and here Eric was, who had only held a few babies before, no experience whatsoever, and he was a natural. She wasn't jealous at all, no...she was in awe. Whenever Genevea came over for coffee, the two would sit in the backyard while her little girl played, and the two would watch Eric on a spread out blanket, under the shade of the tree out back, bouncing the baby gently on his lap, smiling, and making funny faces to the baby. Even Geneva admitted, he was wonderful with him. He loved Marshall, and just like her loved spending every single second with him. He was the one that pointed out how good Marshall's head smelled, almost like flowers. He was always tickling the baby, leaning over him, nuzzling him with his hair, always with an extra pacifier in his pocket, always with the diaper bag extra packed whenever they even went out for errands. Always the one who got up, never grumpy whenever Marshall cried over the monitor in the middle of the night. Milly knew he loved being home with him, and figured if she locked herself into another three book deal, they would have more than enough income, and maybe that could mean Eric could stay home? She knew this was something they would need to talk about, since he did love working with his hands, and coaching basketball, but somehow becoming a father overshadowed all of this. Just yesterday, as Milly fed Marshall his afternoon bottle on the screened in back porch, Eric made a paper airplane for the first time in what seemed like forever, and let it fly across the porch, smiling at how Marshall's eyes tracked it. Today, she watched her poor husband watch completely a nervous wreck, as Dr. Weaver pushed him the tiny sleeve to Marshall's blue T-shirt that had a whale on it. The baby was wearing a tiny newsboy hat, and matching whale pants, and blue socks. Dr. Weaver smiled, as she swabbed the baby's chunky little arm, who closely watched her with his big brown eyes, sucking on his pacifier. Dr. Weaver smiled.
"Okay Mr. Gibb, here we go..." She stuck the baby quickly with the needle, and the second it happened. Marshall froze up.
Milly felt Eric tense up beside her, as the baby dropped his pacifier, and instantly his face became flushed with color, as his adorable little face crumbled, and he began to scream. Milly's heart broke, as she tried to sooth him, as Dr. Weaver spoke in baby talk, that he was a brave little man, and just a few more. That's when Milly glanced over, and saw that Eric looked like he was about to pass out. She sighed, staring at him over their screaming son. "Eric? Are you okay?" Eric bowed his head for a second, his eyes almost on the verge of tears. He tried to lift a hand to sign, but he was shaking too badly. Taking a second, his lips trembled, before he spoke, struggling, and looking as if he was in the middle of a massive panic attack as their baby screamed in pain between them.
"P...P...please...let...m...me...h...h...h...hold...h...him..."
Milly didn't take any offense. Instead, her own heart broke over seeing him this upset. She carefully handed the screaming baby over to Eric, who leaned down, kissing the top of Marshall's hat, as he continued to scream. Dr. Weaver got the next shot ready, knowing the faster she did these, the faster the baby would calm down. Milly placed her hand on top of Eric's thigh, as he clutched the baby, and the next needle went in. Milly sighed, hating seeing her little boy in this much pain.
That's when she looked over and saw Eric was trying his hardest to sooth the baby, all the meanwhile, his own eyes filling with tears.
Later...
Milly had driven home, as the baby slept in Eric's arms. He of course settled down after a little while, and while Eric took the baby down to the car to get him loaded into his carseat, Milly asked Dr. Weaver if she should be worried about how Eric reacted? Dr. Weaver sadly smiled.
"You'll always be your husband's soulmate, but he had a new love of his life. He's been on this journey wanting a baby just as badly as you over all these years, and for the last year I've known you guys, I got to see your husband is truly one in a million. He's crazy about you and the baby. I think he's really taken to fatherhood like you said. His dream finally came true. I think he just gets worried, and hates seeing either one of you in pain. Now I'm telling you this as a friend, not as a doctor..."
Milly raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"When you were getting ready to deliver, and I saw your blood pressure was getting high, I stepped out for just a second while the nurse got you prepped. Eric followed me, and he wrote down and showed me...that if there was any risk of losing you, or the baby...that he wanted me to save you no matter what. I thought maybe he was just being dramatic, and nervous after everything that had happened...honestly you and the baby weren't in any danger, but you could tell he was scared out of his mind. He loved you Milly, and he's crazy about that baby. You two are doing everything right believe me. It's just...you two worked so hard on making Marshall a reality. I think him just seeing the baby so upset...it gets to him."
"Should I maybe have him see a therapist or..."
She shook her head and smiled. "No, he'll be fine. Just keep being a team...also I think after your last appointment you are cleared to start having sex. Take it slow, but after a stressful day like today...it could help."
Milly smiled, feeling herself blush, before nodding, and thanking Dr. Weaver.
Now a few hours later, Milly had finished doing some laundry, and taking a nice long cool shower. Eric brought the baby into the bedroom to take a nap. Milly had dried her hair, and wore just a long baggy T-shirt of his, before lightly spraying herself with perfume, before taking the laundry from the dryer, and carrying it to the nursery. Putting it away, she smiled staring at the mural, before venturing down the hallway. It was pretty warm out, and the windows were all open, letting in a nice cool breeze. She put the laundry basket down, and smiled looking in. Eric had changed into just his boxers, and had Marshall in a fresh diaper, laying sound asleep on his chest. Milly smiled watching them, before she slowly walked over, and sat on the edge of the bed. Eric's eyes fluttered open, before Milly smirked. On the baby's arm where the shots had been given was a tiny bandaid.
"How you two fellas doing?"
Eric, still looking sleepy smiled, and stretched a little, before looking down at the baby. His tiny little head turned, as his chest slowly lifted him up and down. Eric used his hand and signed slowly...
"He's had a pretty big day."
Milly smiled, and felt to see if he was wet.
"Say, he's still another two hours before his next feeding. Why don't I lay him down, and...I take care if you a little bit?"
Her free hand drifted down, and she gently ran her fingernails against his inner thigh. Eric lifted an eyebrow susprised.
He signed...
"Yeah? You...okay to?"
Milly smiled and nodded.
"Very much so...hold on, let me put our trooper down in his crib..."
She scooped the baby up who just stirred a little, before smiling down at Eric, as she carried Marshall down the hall. Laying him down gently, and spun the mobil over him, which softly played music. The baby gazed up, before Milly smiled, kissing the tips of her fingertips and placing them on his chubby little cheek.
"Sweet dreams angel."
She smiled, standing back, looking up at the beautiful mural, and smiled. If only that little girl who had dreamed of her next door neighbor crush sending her flying up to the clouds, really was that magical...and even after everything, his flying wasn't what would make her stand back like this so many years later as a grown woman in awe. No, it was the fact he was magical enough to help her make this truly beautiful little miracle that laid peacefully in the crib before her.
Later...
Eric stared up at Milly silently, lightly sweating as the bed creaked. He pumped himself upwards towards her, as she arched her back. Still wearing his shirt, as she lifted, and lowered herself, actually feeling pretty amazing. She wasn't sore at all, in fact, she couldn't explain it, but sex after all this time and giving birth actually seemed better. She didn't know if she was tighter, or if it had been so long, she missed the feeling of him so deeply inside of her, but she started feeling the first few tingles of an orgasm building. Eric held onto her hips, keeping her in place, before Milly smiled, staring down at him, locking her eyes with his. She firmly placed her hands on his chest, and felt her breathing begin to quicken.
They were finally a family now.
They had their baby, and he was absolutely perfect.
A whole new chapter was starting in Eric and Milly's life, and she couldn't wait to see what would happen next.