Disclaimer: I only own the newest bundle of joy.
Author's Note: This is a companion piece of sorts to my "Searching" series, but it completely stands alone. This is just a fluffy vignette. Enjoy!!
"Any news?" Finn asked, slumping into the seat across from Malone, her plate full of food banging softly against the wooden table. She motioned with her head towards the other side of the tree house.
"None," Ned answered, looking up from his own dinner. "If we don't have any soon, I think the house is going to explode from the tension."
"Wouldn't surprise me," Finn mused with a slight smile.
"Bet you a week's worth of chores that she's cursing Roxton right now," Malone grinned, sipping his evening coffee.
"Didn't your wife tell you to stop making bets with me?" Finn laughed.
Malone gave the (for now) youngest housemate a sideways nod and looked towards the room where Challenger, Veronica, and Marguerite were. Roxton was pacing in front of the door like a caged wild animal.
"What do ya think, a boy or a girl?"
"A girl, definitely," Roxton called over to them. "I know it's a girl."
"How do ya figure, big guy?" Finn asked.
"I don't know. I just have a feeling."
The father-to-be made his way to where his friends sat, refusing the dinner Malone offered him.
"I think a girl would be very cool," Finn commented.
"Tips the balance in your direction. We'll be ruled by the women, Roxton."
"You're married men, you're already ruled by women."
Roxton grinned momentarily and then turned his attention back to the room. There was an anxious silence that settled over the room until a tiny wail pierced everything. Lord Roxton ran towards the room.
"It's a girl," Veronica smiled as she stepped out of the room moments later, cradling the swaddled newborn against her chest. "Here, Dad."
John Roxton gently took his baby girl from his "little sister" and was instantly filled with the most pure love he had ever felt as he gazed into her tiny face. "She's beautiful…"
"Why don't you take her in to her mom," Veronica said gently, pushing him towards the room.
Challenger gave him a friendly pat on the back as he passed and grinned, before turning to Marguerite and saying "Good job, Mum," and leaving the couple alone with their new daughter.
"She's beautiful," Roxton smiled at his wife, placing the newborn in her arms. "She looks like her mother."
"Hello, darling," Marguerite said to the little one. "What shall we name you, beautiful?"
The infant's eyes were not quite open yet and a sprinkling of brown hair was atop her head. She was simply the prettiest baby her mother had ever seen. Marguerite had never felt a love this completely consuming before, not even for her husband.
"My mother's name was Elizabeth," Roxton offered, watching his wife and daughter with blissful awe.
"I like it… but it doesn't suit her…"
"It's too ordinary for her first name," Roxton agreed, laying a hand on his wife's shoulder.
"What about Isabella?" the new mother tried. "I knew an Isabella once. She was the only adult who was ever nice to me."
"I love it… It suits her well. Isabella Elizabeth Roxton."
The couple let the name hang in the air, letting their minds become accustomed to it.
"You do realize we've given her the same name, right? Isabella is the Italian form of Elizabeth," Marguerite then laughed tiredly, taking John's hand in her free one.
Lord Roxton chuckled. "Well, I guess my mother will be happy then." He kissed the top of her head and moved to take Isabella from her arms. "You get some rest. Isabella and I are going to go meet the rest of her family. We'll be right back."
An odd sense of separation anxiety filled Marguerite but she smiled as the man she loved walked out of the room with their daughter.
When out in the main room again, Roxton cleared his throat. "I want you all to meet someone."
Everyone looked up from what they were doing to see the beaming father holding his precious new daughter.
"So, what did you name her?"
Finn was the first one to speak.
"Everyone, this is Isabella Elizabeth Roxton."
"That's a cool name," Finn smiled, taking a step towards the bundle of joy. "Hey Izzy."
"Isabella, this is your Aunt Finn."
"No, lose the aunt part, kiddo. It's just Finn to you." She spoke directly to the infant, brushing the tiny hand with her own. Isabella yawned contently in response.
The father-daughter pair moved on to Challenger next, who sat at the table reviewing scientific notes.
"This is Grandpa Challenger. He helped bring you into this world, Isabella."
The red haired scientist looked flustered at the name. "Oh, dear. You needn't bother with the 'Grandpa' title. Challenger will do fine. And your mother did all the work today, Isabella. I was just helping out."
"He'll bother you with lots of lectures, Isabella," Malone interjected, coming alongside the trio. "Everyday for the rest of your life."
"This is Uncle Ned. He is definitely going to bother you with questions for the rest of your life."
Ned laughed. "Very funny, Roxton."
"But if he bothers you too much, just come to Aunt Veronica," the jungle-raised woman told the newborn, joining the group.
"If she doesn't kick his butt, then your mum will," Roxton grinned, shifting the little girl in his arms.
"If anyone ever bothers or hurts you, Izzy, you've got all of us looking after you," Finn put in. "You're lucky."
The tree house family members all echoed these sentiments.
"Well, I'm going to take her back to her mother now to get some rest. Good night all of you."
The group said their goodnights to their newest member and Roxton walked his daughter back to the room his wife was in.
"All those people out there love you, darling. Your mum and I most of all. I love you, little one. You are loved and you are safe, Isabella."