Sputter and Dottie had quite a few mixed reactions when they found out they were going to have a baby. Well, Dottie did anyway. Sputter was mostly just happy about the whole thing. He was sure that they would be the greatest parents ever, and their kid would be the most amazing baby ever.

Dottie was a bit more self-conscious about the whole thing. Having the baby itself was already nerve wrecking, but she wasn't sure how she would fare as a parent either. Having Sputter constantly reassure her helped, but until it actually happened she couldn't really be sure.

When it finally did come time to bring their darling baby girl into the world, pretty much everyone knew it. Simmer was rather quiet when she had arrived… for the first couple of seconds anyway. But then she took a deep breath and let out the loudest yell her tiny lungs would allow. They were sure that half of mewni could hear her.

And when she finally did quit, she took another breath and yelled out again. And again, and again, and again. Unless she was eating or sleeping, she just yelled her little heart out. At first they had been worried something was wrong, but every doctor they went to including Corona assured them that she was as healthy as could be.

Even her trip to the great volcano had been filled with shouting. Dottie was pretty sure the only reason the volcano gave her back was because it wouldn't have been able to stand her constant crying. Sputter wasn't actually all that bothered by it at first, but eventually it started to get to him too.

"She just… won't, stop," he said as he cradled the newborn in his arms. "I don't get it. I mean she's not hungry is she?"

"She's been fed…" Dottie said from her spot on the bed. They had been swapping between looking after Simmer, and she was trying to make the most of her break.

"I changed her, she doesn't smell. Maybe she had gas?"

"I doubt it. Maybe she's just angry?"

Sputter held him up above him. "Is that it? Are you angry?" he asked. "If you're angry then just tell me what's upsetting you? Then I'll go beat it up and you can stop."

Dottie sighed. "Sputter, she can't tell you. She can't talk."

"Maybe she can. She's your daughter so she's probably super smart. Maybe she's been able to talk all this time and just hasn't until now," he suggested. Dottie turned and gave him a look. She couldn't tell if that was just another of his usual crazy ideas or if it was the lack of sleep they'd been getting.

Before she could tell him how ridiculous that was, they heard a knock at the door. Dottie sat up, and Sputter looked over his shoulder. "Who the hell is that?" Sputter asked. He handed Simmer off to Dottie before going to get the door. When he opened it, he was surprised to see the King of the Waterfolk Kingdom standing before him.

Hody grunted when he saw him. "Hello Sputter, where are your wife and child? I heard you were having trouble and-" Sputter slammed the door and turned around.

"Who was that?" Dottie asked.

"Just some jackass."

"Open the door you ingrate!"

"Yep, just some jackass. We should ignore him until he goes away."

Dottie narrowed her eyes. "Sputter, open the door…"

He sighed. "Ugh, fine." He turned back around and opened the door to see a scowling Hody glaring down at him. "What do you want, king asshole?"

"Are you always so vulgar in front of your child?" Hody asked, crossing his arms. It was bad enough that had somehow warped Dottie into finding his rudeness charming, but now it seemed like he was going to pass it on to his daughter as well.

Sputter flipped him off and then turned and walked inside. Hody followed in after him, and when Dottie sat him she smiled. "Hey, what are you doing here?" she asked. "I thought you'd be way too busy to visit." With him being a royal ruler and all he never really had time to come to their humble little home these days. Usually they were the ones who visited him.

"I came here because I heard that you've been struggling with the little one. And I thought I would offer my help seeing as I've successfully sired four children of my own," he said. While Sputter deserved all the grief little Simmer could give him, he couldn't just sit back and let Dottie suffer.

"Three. You successfully sired three," Sputter pointed out. He really liked Turq, but mostly people didn't consider the circumstances around his birth very successful, and they didn't seem to have the best relationship either. "And the only reason they're all doing fine is because my big sis is looking out for them."

Hody scowled towards him. "Listen, if you don't want my help-"

"Don't want it! Don't need it! Didn't ask for it!"

"Sputter…" Dottie said, rolling her eyes. Her husband groaned again and Hody smirked before walking over and reaching down to take Simmer. "If you think you can get her to quiet down, then go for it."

Hody grunted. "Of course I can. The problem is obviously-"

"WAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Dottie and Sputter both covered their ears as Simmer yelled even later. Hody winced and quickly handed her back towards Dottie, and Simmer calmed down a bit. "Good gods, how can she scream even louder?" he asked, stunned.

Sputter looked proud. "That's my girl! If she can make all this noise already, just imagine how much of a total badass she'll be when she gets older!"

"That's fine and all, but right now we need to get her to quiet down before she bursts your eardrums. I have no idea how you've managed to keep this up this long," Hody said, rubbing his chin. His ears already felt sore and he'd just gotten here. "Do you think it may be-"

"I promise you whatever you're about to say we've already checked for," Dottie said as she gently bounced Simmer in her arms. "Corona said as far as she can tell she's as healthy as can be. A little small but nothing to worry about."

Hody looked down at Simmer curiously. This wasn't exactly like his own children. She wasn't just half fire nymph and half waterfolk. She also had a mix of septarian features mixed in. "Does she have gills?" he asked.

"What?" Sputter asked.

"Does she have gills?"

Dottie nodded. "Yes, they're small but she has them. We've been keeping her hydrated with plenty of bathtime though, so it should be fine right?" she asked. Her mother told her that she'd had to do the same thing when she was a baby.

Hody bent down to get a closer look, noticing the tiny gills on her neck. "I have an idea," he said. He turned around and walked out of the room. Sputter and Dottie shared a glance, looking confused. After a few minutes, Hody came walking back into the room carrying a tub of water.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sputter asked.

"Helping you out. Put her in the tub."

"What?!"

Dottie hugged Simmer to her chest. "Uh, Hody… are you trying to drown my child?" She knew he wasn't exactly thrilled about her having a baby with Sputter, but this was a little much even for him.

"No! Look, I think she'll be more comfortable in the water. I did the same thing with Turq and it worked out fine. Just put her in the tub and-"

Sputter slid between his family and Turq. "You must have bumped your goddamn head! She can't swim! And we don't know if she can breathe underwater!" he snapped.

"Her gills are a little small, Hody," Dottie said worriedly. "I know you think it's better to get them used to water when they're young, but… she's not just half waterfolk. She's a septerian too. It might not be the same case."

Hody sighed. "Listen, I know this is a scary idea, but I think it'll work. And if there's any signs that she's in trouble we can pull her right out. I just need you to trust me on this. Do it, it'll work," he said before looking towards Sputter. "Besides, she should be able to handle a little water shouldn't she?"

"I mean yeah but…" Sputter looked back at her worriedly. Simmer was a tough little one. There was no doubt about that. But she still was just a baby. He didn't like the idea of putting her at risk like that. Which was weird, because he definitely would have taken the risk himself without a second thought.

Being a dad was kind of scary.

Dottie looked down at Simmer, and then at Hody. He nodded, silently trying to assure her that this was worth giving a shot. "I think… maybe we should give it a try," she said looking up at Sputter. "She should be able to handle it. She's our daughter after all. For all we know she could be a natural born swimmer and just have not shown us yet."

Sputter was silent for a moment, and then smiled. "Yeah, you're right! I bet she can swim through the water like a fish!" he said. Hody narrowed his eyes at the fire nymph. Reason and logic usually flew right through one ear and out of the other with him, but whenever Dottie said something to it he took it like it was just an indisputable fact.

"Alright then. Just slowly lower her in and see how she reacts," Hody said.

Sputter and Dottie both nodded, and the latter held Simmer up before carefully lowering her down into the water. Simmer kept on crying, and Dottie looked worried. "It's not working," she said.

"Put her all the way in."

Dottie gulped, and then lowered her even deeper. Once Simmer was all the way under, she seemed to slowly calm down. She blinked, looking around in the tub confused. She had never been this deep in the water before. Her mother had only ever put her up to her neck, and even that was rare.

"Her hair is still… fiery," Sputter said. Usually when they were in the water their hair started to droop down and stuff. "Is that normal?"

"No… but neither is she. I think you can let go."

Dottie took her hands off and Simmer, letting her sit in the water. Simmer waved her arms around for a few moments, and then suddenly stood up and began walking around. "She looks so comfortable," Dottie said.

"Yeah, look at her go! She's got sea legs or whatever! And she's not cryin anymore!" Sputter said excitedly. "Look at how badass my kid is! She's a genius just like her mama! I bet you kid didn't learn to swim this quickly!"

Hody would have normally told the fire nymph to pipe down, but he decided to let him have his proud parent moment. He smiled and crossed his arms. "See, I told you. My suggestion would be to let her have a daily dip in the water. It'll not only help calm her, but it should help her develop her waterfolk traits," he said.

Dottie smiled. "And more importantly we might actually get some rest," she said happily. Seeing Simmer so calm and relaxed for once was reassuring, but now that she had let her guard down her tiredness was starting to set in.

"If you'd like to catch a little sleep I can watch her," Hody offered. "My schedule is clear for a little while, so I have some time."

"Oh my gosh, thank you so much," Dottie said, laying back on the bed.

Sputter walked right past him. "I'm not thanking you," he said before flopping down face first on the bed right beside Dottie. "But I am gonna take a quick nap. I'm not tired or anything, but you know… I just feel like napping."

Hody scoffed and watched as the two of them dozed off. It looked like he was going to be serving as a babysitter for the time being. But he figured he should let them get some rest while they could. He remembered just how tired he was with each of his newborns. By the time Phyrus came around they'd sort of gotten used to it, but this was their first go around.

Hody stepped forward and looked down to see Simmer blowing a bubble. "Well, look at you. Blowing bubbles and enjoying yourself. Seems the waterfolk genes are already strong in-" The bubble suddenly popped, and Hody stumbled back as the force of it pushed him. He went wide eyed as Simmer burst out in laughter.

The king looked down at Dottie and Sputter who had stirred, but not been awoken by the noise. He looked back at Simmer who was trying to blow another bubble, but couldn't seem to. "Yeah… I'm not telling them you can do that." The last thing he wanted was Sputter running around and weaponing his child to show everyone what she could do.

"We'll just keep that as our little secret for now. Or let mommy and daddy figure it out on their own later…"

A/N: Fic for Princesscallyie of Turq helping Sputter and Dottie out with some new parenting troubles! Simmer wasn't trying to let them get ANY sleep when she was a baby!