Nettie Damon made good on her promise to come as soon as the baby was born. Which meant the Damon-Whitlock household was all the more crowded.
"I'm not mistaken, right? We did have a baby?" Peter asked, looking around their living room with his head on Jasper's shoulder.
Jasper chuckled dryly. "I don't know. I haven't touched our daughter since the hospital."
"This child is so precious," Nettie cooed, reluctantly handing Bethany over to Bella.
"You always look so good holding a baby," Edward said, kissing Bella's cheek.
Looking up from under her eyelashes, Bella narrowed her eyes slightly. "Don't start," she warned.
"Well, where am I putting my things?" Nettie asked, looking expectantly at her son and Jasper.
"Um..." Peter started.
"You can have the room I was staying in, Mrs. D." Charlotte turned to Alice. "Did you pack up my stuff?"
Alice nodded. "I did it yesterday."
"Whoa, what?" Jasper asked, a little shocked.
Charlotte ignored the protesting boys as she stood. "Just let me do a run through to make sure I didn't leave anything behind. Honestly, I could have moved into that suite in the hospital."
"See, someone knows how to appreciate the maternity suites," Edward said, elbowing Bella in the side lightly.
"I appreciated their banana nut muffins," Bella said innocently.
Jasper and Peter shot off after Charlotte. "Honey, you don't need to leave," Peter said, his voice low so the gathered people in the living room wouldn't hear.
Charlotte paused, looking down for a moment before she looked up at them with shining eyes. "Look, you guys have been so good to me. But the sooner I get back to my own life, the better."
"Well, that's fine, Char. You just shouldn't feel like you have to run out the door," Jasper said. "Take your time. You had a baby two days ago."
"Yeah," she said, laughing lightly. She wiped away two tears that suddenly spilled over. "Look, guys. This isn't easy, okay? I meant every word I said, and I don't regret it for the world, but there's still this big part of me that just...wants to grab that little girl and never let her go." She sniffled, hiding behind her hand for a moment.
"Charlotte..." Peter began.
"I wouldn't do it, Petey... I would never do that. She's your daughter, and that's good...that's perfect, actually. It's just how I feel right now. The fairy tale, remember?" She sniffled again and Peter pulled her into his arms. "It's just all the hormones, or whatever. It'll pass. I just ... need to not be here for a little while."
"Okay, darlin'," Jasper said soothingly. "You take what time you need. Just remember." He tugged her arm, leading her to the edge of the hallway so they could peak in on the zoo that was their living room. "You're part of all this mish mash."
"Oh, man," Charlotte groaned. "God help me."
~0~
The boys finally managed to wrestle their daughter back. They took her to their room, nestling her safe in the bassinet she would spend her first few weeks in.
Peter caught Jasper's hand to keep him from rearranging the baby's blanket for the fifth time. "She's fine," he said.
"She's something," Jasper murmured, still completely in awe.
They made sure the monitor was on and turned around only to find they were being watched. Peter looked over at his lover, raising his eyebrows in vague amusement. "I'm going to see if we can shoo all these people out sooner rather than later," Peter murmured, kissing Jasper once before he stepped around their little intruder, ruffling his hair as he went.
When they were alone, Jasper knelt, putting his arm around the almost three year old in the doorway. "What's up, Dash? You look sad."
"No," he claimed, but he put his arms around Jasper's neck, clinging.
"Hey, buddy," Jasper murmured, sitting down with the little boy in his lap. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah," Dash said with a melodramatic sigh. "Jappa, you is still like me?"
"Like you?" Jasper asked, pulling back to look at the little boy. "You're pretty much the most awesome person I know."
Dash giggled, cheering considerably. "Juss checkin'."
Jasper chuckled, wondering idly what his daughter's personality would turn out to be. "Come on, munchkin," he said, standing and flipping the boy over his shoulder. Dash squealed in delight. "Your moms should be about ready to -"
Startled awake by Dash's high pitched yelp, Bethany started crying.
"Whoops," Jasper muttered, righting Dash in his arms. The little boy held his hands over his ears.
Setting Dash on the ground, Jasper went to tend to his daughter.
"You like her?" Dash asked, sounding dubious as he watched Jasper sit on the edge of the bed.
"I'm pretty fond of her, yeah," Jasper admitted.
"Well, okay," Dash allowed.
"There you are," Alice said, shaking her head as she came in the room. She scooped Dash up and looked at Jasper, lowering her voice. "Sorry if he woke the baby."
"It was my fault," Jasper said gently.
Alice smiled at him. "That's a good look for you, you know," she murmured.
"You think?" he asked, smiling at the idea.
"Yeah." She jostled the toddler in her arms. "What do you think, baby? Isn't Bethany pretty?"
Dash considered this. "No. She's lil'."
Alice and Jasper both laughed. "You were smaller than she was. By a lot, actually."
"Nah-uh!" Dash protested.
"Well," Alice said, leaning down and kissing Jasper on the forehead. "We'll be around, okay? Remember to sleep when the baby sleeps."
"Baby's sleeping now," he pointed out.
Alice rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it never actually worked for us either."
~0~
"Mom, it's okay," Peter said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "We can put her down."
"Peter, for heavens sake. You're going to fall where you stand," Nettie said, taking Bethany from Jasper's arms. "I'm not going to be here forever. Take advantage of me while you still can." She looked over at Jasper. "You two take a few hours for yourselves."
"Thanks, Nettie," Jasper said, tugging on Peter's arm. Personally, a little alone time sounded fabulous. Peter sighed, kissing the fussy baby on her downy head before letting Jasper drag him down the hallway.
"Oh, man," Peter groaned falling onto their bed. "I am so tired."
When Jasper climbed into bed, his lover automatically rolled over. Peter threw an arm over the blond man's stomach, resting his head on Jasper's shoulder. "Been a wild week, hasn't it?" Jasper asked, lazily drawing his fingers through Peter's hair.
"Wild," Peter echoed.
They lay quietly, enjoying the few moments of peace Nettie had given them. Jasper thought about how much his life had changed. Nettie was the only reason his house wasn't a complete mess. It was the first time since forever that Jasper had absolutely no idea what was going on at the studio. He hadn't shaved in days.
But his little girl, as tiring as she could be, was well worth it.
Jasper ran the pad of his finger along the shell of Peter's ear. Early that morning, Jasper had woken alone. He found Peter in Bethany's nursery, fast asleep in the rocking chair with the baby held securely to his chest. He'd gotten up with her to give Jasper a chance to sleep.
That sight had stirred something primal in him. It was a need so great it had robbed him of breath for a moment. This family was his. It was a moment of pure pride, but also of an irrational, terrible fear. He knew nothing was written in stone. He could lose this perfect, pretty picture any number of ways.
Remembering that feeling - pride and fear mixing together - Jasper rolled onto his side. Peter's eyes fluttered open and he groaned at the loss of his pillow. But his protests were soon silenced as Jasper began to kiss his grizzly chin.
"Mmm. Babe," Peter muttered. "I'm exhausted. I need a nap."
"So take a nap," Jasper rumbled, nipping lightly at Peter's neck while his hands sought the hem of Peter's shirt.
The brown haired man groaned. "Oh, fuck," he muttered as Jasper's hands ran across the skin of his stomach. "You want to molest me in my sleep?"
"I want you," Jasper growled, tugging Peter's shirt off. "We're parents. We can't be picky about things like consciousness."
Peter's laugh turned into another moan when Jasper cupped him over the sweatpants he wore. He ran his hands up underneath the blond man's shirt, scraping his nails against his back.
Peter must have decided that he could sleep when they were dead because he slowly became a more active participant. He cupped Jasper's face, bringing his head up so they could kiss properly. Jasper reflected that he tasted like coffee - the miracle elixir that must have replaced their blood by now.
It felt so good to be kissing his lover like this again. Had they really let this slide for a whole week?
Right then, their sloppy dress - shirts and sweatpants - was a godsend. The fewer buttons they had to contend with the better. Their hands tangled, pushing pants down and pulling Jasper's shirt up, all the while trying not to let their lips part for longer than a few seconds.
"Quiet, doll," Jasper mumbled against Peter's lips, trying to swallow his increasingly louder moans. "You want your Momma to know what I'm doing to you?"
They shared a quiet look, both of them breathless from their exertions. One day soon, they would whisper at each other to be quiet, lest Bethany hear them and be traumatized for life.
Jasper kissed Peter gently then, his neediness fading into tenderness. This man was the father of his child, and he was so in love he felt he would be warm standing in the middle of a snow storm naked. He kissed Peter's lips and remembered spotting him for the first time across the bar - how his hair was too shaggy but Jasper inexplicably wanted to run his fingers through it.
Stroking the skin behind Peter's ears, Jasper remembered their first date and their first kiss. He remembered that he fell in love first with the brown haired man's smile, then his laugh, then his incredibly bright spirit.
Then it was all an incredible blur. Peter had fit seamlessly into the life Jasper had built himself. He got along with Bella and Jacob, accepting them and loving them as Jasper did. He understood Jasper's hectic work schedule, rarely complaining about late hours and phone calls in the middle of the night. With Peter, Jasper had begun to dream of the nameless more.
Now, more was here. Jasper was living a life he'd once only visited in his dreams, and it was all thanks to the man he held in his arms.
"I love you," Jasper said against Peter's lips, kissing him soundly before he pushed the other man's shoulders. Peter let Jasper direct him until they were both on their sides, spooned together.
Jasper only broke contact long enough to retrieve the lube from the nightstand. "Do you know how fucking hot you are to me?" he murmured against Peter's ear.
"Yeah," the other man scoffed, but his tone was breathy. "So hot with these bags under my my eyes, and the stench of baby vomit lingering..."
"You've never been more sexy to me," Jasper growled, moving his slicked finger around Peter's entrance.
"When I see you holding her, I want to jump you. All the time. Is that wrong?" Peter asked, spreading his legs as Jasper began to slide into him.
Laughing, the blond man wrapped his arms possessively around his lover, rocking his hips. "Don't you know? Hot daddies holding their daughters trump just about anything else."
"Ooooh," Peter said, his hand snaking back to tangle in Jasper's hair. "That explains a lot. Like why I could never get enough of you."
"Never," Jasper agreed, dragging his teeth along the skin at Peter's neck.
Their position was lazy yet intimate, and neither man was in a hurry. They were content to reconnect after their hectic first week of child rearing. Jasper rocked into Peter a steady pace, kissing and nipping his skin. Peter took one of his hands, guiding it down so they could stroke his length together
Jasper brought his free hand up, clasping it tight over Peter's mouth when their tempo reached that more fervent pace. He bit into his lover's shoulder perhaps a bit harder than he intended, drowning his own normally loud cries against slick, salty skin.
Peter rolled back toward Jasper when they were both satisfied, kissing him between breaths. Tangled up in each others embrace, they lay together quietly.
"It's scary, isn't it?" Peter asked, his head resting on the same pillow as Jasper's.
Jasper had to laugh because which part? It was scary how much he loved the man beside him, and scarier still how much he loved his daughter. They were essential to him, like air and water. That kind of devotion was always frightening.
But what Jasper knew was that the also had the best partner possible who would be at his side through thick and thin. For better or for worse? Jasper and Peter had not had to recite those vows to know they were true.
And if ever they should falter, they knew they had family to fall back on. It didn't matter that they weren't tied by blood, the people that surrounded Jasper's life, his lover and daughter's lives, were steadfast and true.
"It's scary," Jasper concurred with Peter's statement. He threaded their fingers together, squeezing tightly. "But we got this, babe."
"Yeah," Peter agreed, smiling. "Just hold on tight."
A/N: There will be an epilogue, so you will get to see the boys as parents to a toddler.
Thanks and love to jadedandboring and barburella.