She finds Arthur reclining in the living room, eyes closed and arms spread at his sides. Despite his pose, he seems anything but relaxed. There is no training away the tight line between his brows when he is upset.

"What's wrong?"

He opens his eyes just long enough to glimpse her standing over him before he shuts them again and shakes his head.

"Arthur."

Sighing, he shifts in the armchair so he's sitting up. "She hates me."

"No she doesn't. She's just a baby. She's not even capable of hate."

"Yeah, well, call it what you want. She doesn't want to be anywhere near me."

Gwen finishes tying off her braid and crawls into his lap to tuck her head under his chin. Her husband's hand comes automatically to her arm to hold her in place.

"She will love you one day, but right now everything is new and frightening," she consoles him.

The dejection is as plain in his posture as it is in his tone. "Scout didn't cry every time I tried to hold her."

"Scout was different. She was a Daddy's girl from the moment she could identify you. It's not always like that."

"What am I supposed to do? Stay away from her?"

Gwen places her palm on his chest and rubs small circles over his heartbeat, the place where their first child clung to him at every opportunity. It's hard to see Arthur so hurt by the way their daughter reacts to him, but he is still a relatively inexperienced father.

"No," she says quietly. "Of course not. We're just going to have to deal with the crying until she gets used to you."

"What if she never does?"

"That's ridiculous, Arthur. You know, I was the same way around my dad for the first year or so. Or at least that's what my mum told me. I don't remember it at all."

"Really?" his bristled chin grazes her forehead as he tries to look at her and then gives up. "But you were so close with your father."

"I told you it's not uncommon for babies. I even felt bad about it when she told me, but of course it wasn't my fault. Or his. It's just a weird thing. I bet there are some babies that take to their fathers more than their mothers."

He hums, though he seems to disagree. "Mums are the ones that feed them. I doubt that very much."

"Mums are also the ones that tend to hand out the punishments," she points out, making him chuckle.

It's true enough for them. Arthur is terrible at punishing Scout, hating to make her upset. But when it really matters, he's always there to back up Gwen.

They both know it will only get harder as she grows older and gets herself into more trouble.

"I think I'll be the fun parent from now on," Gwen decides.

"Hey," he groans, scooping her tighter and kissing her forehead. "Let's share, shall we?"

"Mmm." Gwen snuggles against his chest, her breathing more relaxed as she begins to doze off.