Author's note

Thank you so much to everyone who has read/followed/reviewed/favourited this collection so far! I always love to hear from you.

Happy Mothers' Day, S/T ship!

Learning curve

Aislín Branson looked up from her seat on the hearth rug, where she was helping her brother Michael build a tower out of blocks, as her father came through the door. She watched him walk towards her mother, put his arms around her and kiss her tenderly, as he did every night when he came home. Aislín had assumed that everyone's parents were like hers, always kissing and cuddling, but since she had started school she had learned that her Mam and Da were the exception, not the rule.

Then, she saw her father do something she'd never seen him do before – rest his hand gently on her mother's stomach as they exchanged smiles. Aislín realised that her mother's usually slender form seemed to be swelling under her dress and decided to find out what was going on.

She got up and went over to her parents. Tom reached down to ruffle her tousled hair –

"A stóirín, how are you? How was school today?"

"It was fine – I played at lunchtime with Maureen O'Connor, she's my new friend. Why is Ma's stomach all big like that?"

Sybil blushed and glanced at Tom before looking down at their daughter. Although Aislín wasn't yet six, she missed nothing, and this wasn't the first time Sybil had been surprised by how much she noticed.

"Well, darling – you know how there's you, and Michael? There's going to be a new brother or sister for you both, later on this year."

Aislín was confused – a new brother or sister? Why is Ma hiding a baby under her dress? Tom saw her face and picked her up, looking at her solemnly.

"This is how babies come, Aislín – they grow for a while inside their Mas, and then they come out and join their family. Isn't it exciting?"

"But I don't ... how did the baby get in there?"

Her parents exchanged a look over her head that she didn't understand.

"Darling, you know how much your Da and I love each other, don't you?"

Aislín rolled her eyes at this – Of course I know, I'm not stupid!

"Well, sometimes, when two people love each other as much as Da and I do, we can make a baby together, and the baby is growing now, inside me. That's how you came to us, and Michael too."

"Really? I was inside your stomach after you and Da made me? Michael too?"

"Yes, Aislín – both of you were inside me, before you came out and joined our family."

"Ah... But how did you and Da make me grow inside you?"

"It was a very special cuddle and kiss, something we only do when we really want to make a new baby."

"But you kiss and cuddle Da all the time, Mam. Why don't we have a new baby every day?"

Sybil blushed again and Tom took over. "Just as your Ma said, darling – it's not the usual kiss and cuddle, it's a very special one."

Aislín had a memory in the back of her mind, of catching her parents in bed on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago when she had woken up early and gone in to find them. They had forgotten to put their nightclothes on, and Da had been lying on top of Ma to keep her warm, he said.

"Like the time you were keeping Ma warm because she forgot to put on her nightgown?"

"A little bit like that, yes, darling." This time, Tom was blushing furiously – he hadn't thought his daughter would remember what she had seen that morning!

"So – can we choose whether we get a boy baby or a girl baby? I want a sister, please, no more boys!"

Sybil stroked her daughter's cheek. "We can't choose, Aislín – whichever comes will be a blessing for our family."

Tom leaned over to kiss his wife's lips at those words, remembering every minute of the day Aislín had been born and the way their family had come so close to tragedy. She smiled back at him, then took their daughter's hand.

"Aislín, if you want to put your hand on my stomach, you can feel the new baby, kicking."

Aislín cautiously reached down from her perch in Tom's arms and put her hand on her mother's belly, and a grin broke out across her face as she felt a flutter and then a bump against her hand.

"He knows me! He knows I'm his big sister! Or maybe her big sister!"

"I think you are right – the baby knows you will be their big sister."

The little girl gave her parents a satisfied nod. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing, to have another baby in the family!

A/N -

"a stóirín" = my little darling, in Irish Gaelic, per Google Translate.