A/N: So, I present my favorite chapter, which includes a certain mini-Megan and a certain mini-Megan-and-Peter! I hope you all enjoy this, because I definitely liked writing it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Body of Proof, or else Nic Bishop would definitely be in season 3 (and 4 and 5 and 6 and 7)!
XoxoX
Chapter Five: Parenthood and Stuff Like That
"Don't worry, Lace." Peter consoled as he let Lacey cry into his shoulder. "She's going to be fine."
His stepdaughter hugged him and tried to stop all of the tears from escaping her eyes.
"What about the baby? When can we see her?" Lacey was anxious, just like her mother would have been in the situation.
"It should be soon." He consoled her, barely believing his own words. Peter had never been a particularly optimistic person when it came to things like this.
"Mr. Dunlop?" The midwife who had been helped with the birthing of the child and such walked up to them. She smiled at Lacey. "She's stable, you can come see her now."
"Oh, thank god." The half an hour had been one of the longest of Peter's life. But when he and Lacey walked in, time slowed down almost to a screeching halt.
It was like an otherworldly experience. The only thing Peter saw was his wife, holding his child, with his stepdaughter perking up at the sight as well.
Lacey was just excited to be a big sister. She had given up on any possibility of that happening when her parents divorced, but it was definitely worth the wait. She stood next to her mother's bed and just smiled at her baby sister. She was so tiny!
Peter stood beside his older daughter and gave her a side hug. "How you feeling?" He asked his wife.
"Fantastic, thanks for asking." She laughed, the child in her arms squirming at the sudden movement.
"She's so little…" Lacey said, holding her hand out and watching as the baby wrapped a tiny little hand around the sixteen year old's finger.
"I know." Megan said, smiling. "But so were you, when you were born."
"I was?" Lacey didn't know that.
"Yep." Megan held the baby out a little. "You wanna hold her?"
"Yes!" Lacey held her arms out and gently cradled the newborn child close to her, the tiny little person making a small cooing sound in response.
"What did you name her, again?" Lacey asked the parents giddily.
"Samantha Kate." They answered in unison.
Lacey smiled. "Oh, right." Lacey looked back at the baby and could feel the little heartbeat through the thin hospital blanket. "Hi, Sammie! I'm your big sister! Welcome to the outside world!"
Everyone laughed quietly.
"Can I…?" Peter gestured to Lacey, asking to hold Samantha.
"Oh, of course." She gently handed the baby off to her father.
Peter experienced another time-stopping flood of emotion. He almost couldn't comprehend the fact that he had made this little bundle of joy. "Hey, baby." He said.
His voice was soft and sweet, like none of them had ever heard before. There was a brief silence as Megan and Lacey watched the father for a moment. Lacey ended it, though, by pulling out her phone.
"One sec, let me take a picture!" She moved to the foot of the bed and aimed the camera at her mom and step dad.
Peter handed the Samantha back over to her mother, and leaned in so Lacey could photograph them.
"One, two, three, cheese!" Lacey said as she snapped the picture. She hit "Post to Facebook" and typed in the words "Mom and Peter with my new baby sister, Samantha Kate Dunlop."
It was now Facebook official.
Samantha Dunlop was the newest member of the family.
XoxoX
"It's your turn." Megan slapped Peter across the face – by accident – signaling to her husband that he needed to get his ass out of bed to get the baby. Who was crying, again. By again, I mean for the second time in that night alone.
"Uh, fine." He groaned as he sat up in bed and headed, groggily, I might add, for the baby's room.
She was in her crib, crying, as per usual. "Come on, Sammie. Mommy and Daddy need some sleep!" He told the infant, as if it might get her to be quiet.
No such luck.
He sighed and picked her up, and the three month old immediately became silent.
Peter walked into the living room, sat down on the couch and rocked his daughter back and forth, trying to make her go back to sleep.
No such luck.
Samantha remained wide awake, but silent, as she laid her tiny little body calmly against her father's strong chest.
And when Megan Dunlop woke up that next morning, they were still lying on the couch. Peter was laying down, using the armrest of the couch as a pillow, with Sammie lying on his stomach, using her father as a pillow.
Megan just smiled, lifted the baby off of Peter and put little Sammie to bed.
Then Megan decided to take the child's place, and laid on top of her husband. His arm moved onto her lower back, but he didn't move in any other way.
"I love you." Megan said, knowing that Peter was awake.
"Of course you do." The father responded. "And I love you, too." Then the couple fell back asleep, the first long rest they had had in months, thanks to Samantha Kate Dunlop.
XoxoX
I hope you liked it! This was probably my favorite chapter so far! I love babies (even though I don't even have a boyfriend, much less a husband) and I liked getting a little more Lacey in the chapter! Plus, the family stuff made me all happy! And I ask that everybody will please continue reviewing! Because, you know, I'm awesome! Thank you, my fantastical reader people! More chapters up soon, I promise! (And I mean it! I will update very soon! Girl Scouts honor! That's kind of a shitty promise because I wasn't a Girl Scout, but who cares? Well, besides all of the Girl Scouts, of course.)