Title: Little One
Fandom: Brokeback Mountain
Characters: Jack Twist, Lureen Twist, Bobby Twist
Prompt: #029 -- Birth
Word Count
Rating: PG
Summary: Lureen and Jack son has just been born and now they have to choose the perfect name.
OO
It was getting late; the clock on the peach colored wall of the maternity ward of Childress General Hospital said that it was minutes shy of eleven. Jack was tired. It had been one hell of a day; exhilarating and frustrating and too many emotions for the cowboy to name. He was a daddy. A genuine parent now responsible for the keeping a fragile new infant son.
The thought was somewhat terrifying.
Jack sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair in the waiting room with one elbow propped up on his knee, rubbing the muscles of his neck. Lureen's parents, Marla and L.D. Newsome, had finally left the hospital about ten minutes before, but not without getting in a couple of coos over the baby and jabs at Jack.
After nearing on two years of wedded bliss, or at least peaceful understanding, the esteemed Newsomes still hated their son-in-law as much as they had the day Lureen had defiantly marched his poor, rough cowboy butt into their pristine living room and announced that she was gonna marry him whether they liked it or not.
Marla Jack didn't mind so much. Sure, she hated him plenty, but she also thought of herself as a genuine Texas aristocrat and kept his disapproval to sidelong glances and withering eyes whenever Jack said somethin too "hick" for her taste.
L.D, known as Big L.D to his friends and shit eating sonovabitch to his son-in-law, was something else entirely. He lacked the subtly and grace of his wife, or maybe he was just a prick; in either case his disapproval with Jack came in the form of blunt jabs about everything from his parents to his virility.
Things like that tended to wear on a man after awhile, even a man who was known for having a good deal of patience when it mattered, as Jack was. So, he was hardly begging the in-laws to stay once they'd decided to hit the road.
Jack hadn't had ten seconds alone with his girl and his new son the whole damn day. He'd gotten one look at her sitting on the bed with the kid in her arms before Hurricane Newsome blew in and changed him into the little errand boy.
They hadn't even had a chance to name him, for sweet Jesus' sake. And now visiting hours were over and he was gonna have to wait until the damn morning. Something about that just wasn't right. A child shouldn't have to go through almost a whole day of life not knowing what they were gonna be called the rest of their life.
Of course, knowing L.D, he'd probably named Jack's son Lionel David Jr. and called it a day.
Trying to keep his thoughts from turning too mean, Jack straightened his back, kind of enjoying the bone deep cracks and pops he heard coming from his spine. As he stretched a young, tiny, pretty little thing in a nurse's clothes came into the waiting room with mischief in her eyes.
"Mr. Twist?" She said. Her accent rang a dormant chord in Jack's heart. Surrounded by southern twangs everywhere he went, a Wyoming drawl was hard to miss.
"Yes?" Jack said, looking her in pretty hazel eyes. She had light brown hair pulled back from a country lovely face and a name tag that said Katie.
"Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but your Mrs. Lureen Twist's husband, right?" She asked, leaning over and whispering.
"Yes, ma'am, I am." Jack whispered back, half wondering if she was planning on making a pass at him.
"Well, your wife told me that y'all hadn't been able to name your son yet, 'cause her parents came an' you just didn't get the chance." Nurse Katie said.
"True, miss." Jack agreed, wondering just where in the hell this was going.
"Well, visitin' hours are over, but…your wife thinks, and I agree, that it just ain't fair to have your son wait any longer to know his name." Nurse Katie said with a smile on her lips. "So, if you keep quiet, I can sneak back into your wife's room."
"Really?" Jack asked, elated. This was one hell of a way to recover from an afternoon with the hounds of Baskervilles.
"Yes, sir." Katie whispered. "You comin'?"
"Lead the way."
Not much more than five minutes later, Katie quietly opened the door to room 311 just wide enough for Jack to slip inside before she closed it with a firm click.
Lureen was sitting upright in the bed, wearing one of her own satin gowns instead of the cotton robes the hospital passed out. Her dark hair was loose around her shoulder in gentle waves, her eyes sparkled gently, her lips curved up in a secretive smile. She looked downright pretty in the dim light the lamp provided. Jack was a little surprised. Their relationship had never been based on uncontrollable lust, but Jack had never seen her look more beautiful.
But the best part of the little picture was the tiny, sleeping infant Lureen cradled in her arms. He was so damn small, much tinier than Jack had ever thought even a baby would be. He was wrapped in a pale blue blanket, but Jack could see a down of dark hair over his fragile skull.
"Did Mama and Daddy leave?" Lureen asked, looking at her husband standing in the doorway.
"Yep. Said they'd come by tomorrow bright'n early." Jack answered, mesmerized by the sight of his son.
"I'm sorry about them, Jack." Lureen said, sounding genuinely regretful.
"Ain't your doin'." Jack said.
"Doesn't matter too much, I suppose." Lureen said with a slight chuckle. "Now, get over here and meet your son proper."
Jack crossed the little room and settled on the edge of the bed with one arm wrapped around Lureen's shoulders. He laid one finger in the palm of the baby's hand and felt his heart twist a little when the tiny fingers curled around it.
"Sweet Jesus." Jack murmured, for once at a loss for words.
"I know." Lureen said, leaning her head on his shoulders.
"He's…I dunno…damn near perfect." Jack said, taking every detail. The soft patch of hair, the curved tip of his nose, the baby roundness of him.
"He looks like you." Lureen commented.
"Naw." Jack said, for some reason unknown to him, both blushing and swelling a little with pride.
"Yes he does." Lureen insisted. "He's got more of my eyes in him, but the rest of this face is yours Jack. Bet your money on it."
"You think?" Jack said, looking for some sign of his nose and cheeks and chin in the pudgy face.
"Course. Time'll tell. A mother knows there things." Lureen said easily. "Now, what are we gonna name this little one?"
"I don't rightly know." Jack confessed. "I ain't a-given much thought."
"Well, I know Daddy wants me to name him Lionel David Jr, but I told him plain and simple that isn't gonna happen, so stop looking at me like I'm traitor." Lureen said, catching the steely glint in Jack's eye. "What about your daddy?"
"Well, his name John." Jack said slowly. "But I ain't partial to saddlin' my kid with my daddy."
"Well, have you got any relatives you do like?" Lureen asked, trailing one finger down their son's nose.
"Um...I got an uncle, name a Rob who I'm partial to." Jack said.
"Rob...short for Robert?" Lureen asked.
"I s'pose. I ain't never asked." Jack answered. "Good man, tough as nails an' smarter than anyone thinks."
"Want to know something funny?" Lureen said, smiling again.
"What?"
"I got an uncle named Bob, short for Rob. My Mama's brother." Lureen said. "I used to spend my summer at his house in Austin."
"So I guess we gonna name him Robert." Jack said, trying the name on his tongue. He had a feeling that it was gonna yell really well, which was handy when dealing with dogs and kids.
"I think we should call him Bobby." Lureen said firmly.
"Okay." Jack agreed. He'd known a Bobby in school. "Bobby Twist. I like it."
"What about a middle name?" Lureen said. "How 'bout you pick it."
"Me?" Jack said slowly. For a long moment he thought about it, and one name came to his mind loud and clear.
"Ennis." He said softly.
"What?"
"Ennis. Bobby Ennis Twist." Jack repeated.
"Ennis." Lureen echoed. "I like it. Where's it come from?"
"An old friend a mine." Jack answered, thinking about a quiet, tacit man with blonde hair and one hell of a hidden beautiful soul. "I ain't spoke with him in, hell three years, but...you know."
"I know." Lureen said, looking down at her son. "It's perfect."
"Welcome to the world, Bobby Ennis Twist."
All Jack could do was smile a bittersweet smile.
End