I've been blocked- again- and, honestly, I'm still kinda blocked. But I'm gonna try to push on through- for y'all.
By the way, this chappie is Stacy-free. LOL.
Thank you, as always, for the feedback.
Let's do it...
"She's so beautiful," Rocky said, shaking his head slowly.
"I won't argue. She's an angel. We created an angel, Rocky," Katherine said softly.
It was now the second Saturday in April and- on this particular afternoon- the DeSantos couple was sitting on their bed, staring down at their daughter- whom was in her mother's arms. Katherine'd given birth to baby Karina just two days earlier. The little girl- whom had blond hair and brown eyes- stared up at her proud, beaming parents in wonder.
Katherine glanced at her husband. "Again, I'm sorry about your hand, honey."
"Eh, don't worry about it, ballerina. Look at it this way: I now have at least an idea of what labor is like," he said jokingly- causing her to laugh. He grinned, then, refocused on Karina. "Hey, there, princess. Your mommy and I are so glad you're finally here. You do know that you're one of the two most beautiful people in the world, right? I don't think I have to tell you who the other person is." He looked at his wife.
Katherine smiled as a warm sensation washed over her. "You're too wonderful to be real," she said before kissing him softly on the lips. The baby made a soft, cooing noise and her parents grinned at her. Then, Katherine's eyes widened and she gasped.
"Something wrong?" Rocky asked.
She looked at him. "No. It's just that... well, we're a family now, Rocky. We're a family." Just saying that filled her with a contentment she didn't think existed. Family. The couple smiled at each other, both thinking of how happy they were feeling. Thinking of how complete they felt. Just then, Karina made a noise that basically said: "Hello, new baby here, people. Back to me."
"She's gonna be homecoming queen," Rocky said, nodding.
"And head cheerleader," Katherine said with a laugh.
"And single for the rest of her life," he said. His wife rolled her blue eyes. "What did I say?" he asked innocently. He gently took his daughter's tiny hand and she cooed. "No guy's ever gonna be good enough for her. They all have... let's just say... cooties. Yeah, that's what we'll go with for now. Dirty, dirty cooties. Except Daddy. Right, princess?"
"Oh, I'm sure she'll "agree" now. But, you know you're gonna be having serious showdowns when the time actually comes," Katherine said, grinning.
He groaned. "Don't remind me. Hey, we never had lunch. You hungry?"
"Yeah," Katherine said. "I'll just go simple, though."
"Hot dogs?" he suggested.
"Sounds great. I can't remember the last time I even had one," Katherine said.
"Same here," he said before leaning over and kissing his daughter's forehead. "Daddy'll be right back." Then, he got off of the bed and exited the room.
Katherine looked down into her daughter's awe-filled eyes and a surge of strong, maternal love coursed through her body. She was incredibly overwhelmed by the fact that she was holding this little person. Little angel. Her little angel baby. Tears filled her eyes and a soft smile lit her face.
"I love you," she whispered.
Three weeks later, a piercing, ear-splitting wail rang throughout the DeSantos residence on that very early Sunday morning. This was, of course, a regular occurrence. Katherine groaned and Rocky unconsciously pulled the covers up over his head. His wife's eyes opened and she stared at the ceiling for a couple seconds, then, she yawned and looked over at the clock on her bedside table. It was almost five in the morning.
The blonde looked at her husband and pulled the covers off of his face. "Rocky?"
"Pick whatever drapes you want, Kat. It really doesn't matter to me," he mumbled, turning onto his side.
She began shaking his shoulder insistently. "Rocky, wake up. The baby's crying and it's your turn."
He groaned, then, slowly opened his eyes. "What time is it?" he asked before yawning, then, rubbing his eyes.
"Almost five," she said. "You better get in there."
He turned to look at her. "If you take this, I'll take over totally the next few nights. What do you say?" She replied by simply looking at him and he smiled sheepishly. "Not gonna buy it, are ya?"
"I won't even rent it," she said sweetly.
He nodded, then, blinked a couple times, took a deep breath and got out of bed. "Daddy is on the way." On his way out of the room, he tripped over something. "What the- why would anyone put their shoes right in the doorway?"
"They're your shoes, hon," she said as she yawned again.
"Oh, yeah," he said, then, kicked them out of the way and headed across the hall.
Just then, Katherine became aware of loud knocking at the front door and she sighed in annoyance. She already knew who it was- their neighbor, Mrs. Smythe. The middle-aged woman was the only one who complained about Karina. Katherine got out of bed, exited the room and headed down the hall, muttering. She understood that people needed their sleep and she sympathized, but, Mrs. Smythe was the type that always had to have something to complain about- she lived for it. She rarely smiled.
The former ranger unlocked and opened the door to, sure enough, find Mrs. Smythe there. The woman had her "morning frown" in place and she was in a blue bathrobe, her arms folded across her chest.
"Hi, Mrs. Smythe," Katherine said quietly.
"Well, you must be! Mrs. DeSantos, I have always been a very patient person, but, this is getting to be quite ridiculous," Mrs. Smythe said, glaring at the younger woman.
"Again, we're really sorry, Mrs. Smythe. Rocky's taking care of it right now," Katherine said. It still amazed her that Mrs. Smythe had raised four children- meaning she shouldn't act as though babies were the latest invention!
"Do you realize that it's not even five yet? Do any of you realize that?" Mrs. Smythe said shrilly- even though Karina's cries had subsided.
"Rocky and I do, but, unless I missed something, Karina can't tell time yet," Katherine said dryly- unable to help herself.
Mrs. Smythe gasped. "Honestly! Sarcasm is not a necessity at the moment, young lady."
"Mrs. Smythe, the situation is now under control, so, if there's nothing else-" Katherine began.
"There are other people, Mrs. DeSantos. You and your husband should pick up a dictionary and look up "considerate". It's pretty clear that you both have forgotten the meaning completely," Mrs. Smythe said coldly.
Katherine's eyes flashed. "Mrs. Smythe, my baby doing what every baby does is not inconsiderate. It's natural. It's not like Rocky and I are blasting our stereos or having wild parties up on the roof. Now, again, I apologize-"
"Those of us who aren't noisy beyond belief deserves far more than a verbal apology," Mrs. Smythe said, lifting her head.
"Should I have Karina make you a card or would you prefer Rocky and I bake a cake?" Katherine said dully. Being polite to and trying to reason with this woman would be hard for anyone.
"Of all the nerve... . This is not an amusing matter, young lady. If this situation doesn't improve, I'll have to-" Mrs. Smythe was saying.
"Mrs. Smythe-" Katherine began.
"I'll let it rest- for now," the other woman said stiffly, then, turned and stalked back across the hall.
Katherine couldn't help crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue at the back of the woman's head before closing and locking the door. 'I wish she'd go for a ride on her broom sometimes,' she thought grouchily as she headed for Rocky's and her bedroom. Mrs. Smythe could drive a crazy person insane.
Rocky- whom'd gotten the baby back to sleep- walked into the room just as his wife sat down on the bed. "Mrs. Smythe?"
"The one and only," Katherine said with a sigh as he got into bed. "I think she stays up every night making lists of complaints about us."
"Wouldn't surprise me. Man. You'd think we were having twenty-four-hour orgies in here or something," Rocky said, shaking his head. "Well, Karina won't be in that stage forever and we definitely won't be here forever. Let's get some sleep."
Katherine pulled the covers back, got into her spot and moved close to her husband- whom pulled her closer. "Love you," she mumbled.
"Love you, too," he mumbled before they closed their eyes simultaneously.