You guyssss. Thanks for the comments, old re-readers (thatnks for your enthusiasm) and those who are reading for the first time. This fic took a long time to write, I poured a lot into it and it took on a life of its own.
Its 54 chapters I believe, so plenty more coming your way and the timeline will pick up soon.
Anon, saw that you saw Caught in the Whirlwind is also being reposted.
Enjoy! I will try to keep up w posting 5 chaps daily. Working full time, plus going in extra hours, and I have to reformat every chapter. Bear with me please :)
14
The blonde sleeps deeply in true exhaustion, her head turned to the side, her arm over the back of their baby, her lips slightly parted. She questions whether or not she should wake the blonde and help her move from the couch to the bedroom, but instead just props a pillow under her head and closes the curtains in the living room. She lifted their son off of her chest and covered her with a blanket; she lays him on the love seat next to her mother in law and showed off her 3 days worth of swaddling skills. Carol insisted that she take a nap as well but she said she couldn't. She was determined to install the co-sleeper in their bedroom so that they didn't have to get up to go to his room to check on him again; they tried putting him to sleep in his crib last night and listened for him on the baby monitor but Piper worried that they'd sleep through his cries and Alex kept insisting she'd heard him and checked on him no less than four times through the night just to see him lying completely still.
Bill caught sight of his daughter in law dragging the large box out of the nursery toward their bedroom, "want some help there?"
"Nah I got it thanks." She heaved it into their room, cut open the box and laid out all of the contents. She put it together relatively quickly and attached it to Piper's side of the bed.
"Fish taco's or chili night?," he asked Alex as she returned from their bedroom, "if you're gonna make chili, we need to put aside some for our friend Nicky, the short one with the crazy blondish hair? She'll blow a fuse if she knows there's a Chapman chili that she didn't get to take advantage of. She's got an abnormal obsession."
"Not a problem, want to make enough to keep you guys stocked for a week or two." Alex washed her hands and started to pull things out from around the kitchen when he sent her out to relax with the rest of his family. Carol handed off her grandson and Alex slouched down into the couch, she loosened his swaddle and rested him over her legs to stroke his chest.
"Oh," she started to get up, "I wanted to hang up the letters Polly made for him," she slowly rose careful not to wake James.
"I can do that Alex, just sit and rest with him, Piper said you guys didn't get any sleep last night." She yawned, "it's alright, I can just do it later."
"Don't be ridiculous, c'mon now rest, grandma's orders."
Alex slouched back down on the couch resting her head on the arm and let her legs drape over the other arm, she unswaddled James and laid him face down on her chest and rubbed his back, while she breathed deeply inhaling his hair and fell asleep.
"She's just as bad!," Carol said pointing out Alex to Bill, "how do I take a picture with this thing?," she asked her husband as she pulled her glasses down to the tip of her nose and tried to read the small print on her phone. She figured out that pressing the camera button magically worked the camera and took a picture of Alex with her grandson and then a wider shot of both women passed out on both couches, "looks about right for day 3."
"This shelf's got the potato leek batch and the lentil," Bill Chapman reviewed the geography of the fully stocked refrigerator as Piper bounced her son over her shoulder, reading the labels with her mother's handwriting on containers upon containers of food, "and there's a pot pie down here, and a lasagna and the leftover chili in the freezer. There's a deep container of chili for your friend in there too, make sure you share it!," he says shutting the door and walks toward their door to join his wife who's already got her coat on.
She laughs, "I will, I think we have enough food here to get through the rest of this hibernation season, thanks."
"He always looks like he's gonna fall over your bony shoulder," Alex says to her with an open hand on James' back while Piper keeps him propped high.
"I have our baby daredevil over my shoulder, you have your salt shaker, he's fine, he burps better this way," Piper says to her struggling to hold him up and unlock their door at the same time. Alex shoos her hand away and un-does the double locks and chain, profuse thanks are exchanged while James is smattered with multiple kisses from grammy and gramps.
"You call me if you need me to come back alright?," she says directly to Alex, "no sense in struggling."
Alex watches the Chapmans exit down their hall and locks their door, as Piper exhales a sigh of relief. She was thankful for the help but was happy to have her apartment back and for the first time it was just the three of them.
Alex starts to pick up behind the aftermath that the tornado left behind in their living room when James starts to whimper and then lets out a strong cry. Piper bounces him up and down, swaying back and forth, she rubs his back trying to sooth him with shushes.
"I just fed him he can't be hungry," she says to Alex who's already walking over to her. Alex dips her head towards her son's tush, "geez, you stink kiddo, this is already the second time today," she takes him from Piper, "I don't know how he's growing. How does anything even have time to absorb? His plumbing squirts everything right back out!" They'd gone to the pediatrician 2 days prior for his first follow up visit after delivery and he had already gained 2 ounces.
Piper slowly eases down on the couch and watches Alex swiftly change their sons diaper through his wails; she re-snaps his onesie, and lifts him up supporting his head bringing him up onto her shoulder the way he likes it; he whimpers once or twice before quickly settling against the swell of her chest. She rests her cheek on the top of his head and smiles slightly to herself proud that she's able to soothe her son; she sees Piper staring at her with lowered brows,
"What? Don't say I'm spoiling him," she said to the blonde defensively.
Piper softened her stare and gazed at her son against her wife's breasts, just visible through her very worn loose grey v neck. "You can't spoil him, not by holding him," she said with a wide smile and puppy eyes, "he loves to be held."
"Hah, just like you," she says pointedly, "then what was with the Bert eyebrows?"
"Just amused I guess, how a few days ago you were practically putting his diaper on backwards and going through a pack and a half of wipes every time you changed him and now...," she started laughing, "you're like a ninja."
"Yeah well the quicker I can get him off his back the better, he hates it!" "Oh, just like you."
"Piper!," she started to protest having been given shit for inappropriate language over the last week, but then she shrugged her shoulders, "some of us aren't lazy bottoms," she guffawed, "besides I don't like to mess up my coif," she said smoothing her hair. "Want something to eat?," she started over toward the kitchen, "...and don't even say anything smart, I already have my calendar alarm set to ravage you in five weeks."
Piper pursed her lips and shook her head, something's never change. "Feel like making me a smoothie?"
"Sixteen options of already made stuff in the fridge, but yes I can make you a smoothie, oh mother of my child, apple of my eye. What kind?"
"Peanut butter banana? You got him over there?"
"Yes Piper, you know I'm more than capable of doing two things at a time," she said excited to continue showing off her skills. She held James in the crook of her arm while taking the lid off their blender. She got down the peanut butter and held a banana and shook it until it fell off the bunch. "Okay so I kind of need both of my hands for this, can you hold him?," she asked humbly and walked her son back over to Piper.
"Absolutely not," she said sarcastically reaching her arms up to received her son with a smirk.
"I want one of those baby wrappy things," she says motioning putting something over her shoulders.
"A carrier?," Piper chuckles correcting her.
"Yeah but not the one's with the buckles and crap, the cloth ones like a Mei Tai or an African kanga."
Piper never minded Alex throwing around her worldly knowledge, she loved that Alex never hesitated to incorporate it into their everyday lives, "whatever you want, I just don't know where to find those."
"I'll look it up later," she said turning on the blender, startling James against Pipers chest. She drew circles with her pointer over his head, kept her feet on the coffee table and bounced her legs.
She handed the smoothie to Piper and kissed James tenderly on his forehead. "Mmmph," she whined, "I need to get some work done," she said and walked out toward the office.
"Hey Alex, do we need anything from outside? Polly's gonna drop off some of Finn's old...," she stopped in the doorway to look at Alex sleeping on her stomach, her face against her bent arm, pencil still in her hand. She rubbed Alex's butt with her foot, "Al? Honey wake up," she nudged her with her foot again.
"Hmmm?," she managed from the floor.
"Polly's gonna stop by to drop off some of Finn's old clothes, do you want her to pick up anything else?"
"The wrap," she mumbled.
"Babe I don't know where to get that and..."
"Moby wrap, Babies R Us, more like Babies R costing me an arm and a leg," she swallowed and cleared her throat, "Union Square has it in stock, $45, there's cash in my bag, ill pay'er back," she managed to get herself into a slumped cross legged position.
"Did you get that?" Piper asked Polly into her phone that was wedged between her ear and her shoulder.
She hung up with Polly. "Can you take him while I go shower?," she asked not waiting for Alex to respond. She set him down into her arms. "And can we do a wash later? Polly said she'd wash the clothes first but I told her not to bother because I'd need to do it again," she judged herself knowing she was already a neurotic mess. "Alex?!" The brunette snapped her head up, her eyes wide, "yeah, I can take him," she looked down not realizing she was already holding him, "oh, Hi," she said smiling down at him. "I need to talk to my HR department because this is not gonna fly," she said to Piper motioning at the work that was lying around the floor, "no its not!," she said to James in a baby voice. "I'm so tired."
"Just give me twenty minutes and I'll take him back so you can finish." "Kay," she said and pulled a throw from their leather chair.
Piper walked back, "that shower is sincerely my happy place," she said turning into the doorway to find Alex and James sleeping on the floor, "Oh for God's sake," she whispered to herself looking at her family nestled into each other. She left them there and finished picking up the mess in the front room that Alex had started organizing earlier.
She let Polly and Finn in an hour later, and dragged her down the hall when she demanded cuddle time with her new nephew. They stood in the doorway peering down at the two still sleeping on the floor. Polly sat on the floor and scooped up the sleeping baby, Piper jostled Alex slightly.
"Hey," she said to Polly opening her eyes, straightening her glasses, she embarrassedly adjusted her shirt that had come down while she rested.
Piper left and returned tossing her one of her flannel shirts,"can you bring him out in a few minutes? I need to feed him," she said while Finn dragged her out to get some chocolate milk.
She sat upright and crossed a leg under the other and watched Polly with him. "The bags of clothes are in the front, you guys can just look through them whenever and whatever you don't want, just donate or something." Alex nodded.
"Just holding him makes me yearn for another one," she said looking at James, "they're so much work when they're this small but ugh, their smell, and their noises, they change so fast." Alex helped Polly up and joined Piper and Finn in the front.
"Oh the sling is also in that big bag there," she said pointing Alex in the direction of her haul.
"Oh thanks!," she withdrew the plastic bag from the bag of hand me downs and cracked open the package with her Moby wrap and looked through the pamphlet it came with.
Piper came over and sat with Polly on the couch, Finn joined them holding his chocolate milk, and added a second hand to the cup with a glare from Polly. Polly handed James to Piper and she covered herself with a receiving blanket and nursed him.
Polly sighed watching her friend, "do you remember being that small?," she asked Finn caressing his head and pulling him close to her; she wished she could shrink him down again.
He shook his head rapidly, "nooooo mommy," he said straightening up to make himself seem bigger.
"Go over there Finn," Piper pointed to one of the smaller bookshelves, "on the bottom row, do you see the picture of you and me, you're standing on the jungle gym?"
His hand hovered over different frames before he found one of his aunt and a toddler, "this one?" he raised it up curiously.
"Yep," she nodded and beckoned him to bring it over. He brought it over and placed his hands on her knees and pulled back the blanket to watch this fascinating new little person have lunch. She discarded the blanket intended for the now non-existent modesty and he climbed up beside her and continued to watch.
"Look how handsome you are here," she said stroking the old photograph. It was the first time she'd met him, that day was weighted with both joy and sorrow, for while she was thrilled to finally run around with her nephew, hearing him squeal with laughter as she chased him up wide stairs of the jungle gym, she'd missed out on his entire first year and some of his second. She was so relieved that he'd taken to her and seemed comfortable with her holding him. She remembered Polly pointing out that while he still appeared to need a hand to climb down steps, climbing up those same steps without any support was a first for him that day, and she felt honored to witness his milestone.
Her moment of reminiscing was broken by Finn's giggles as she turned as saw Alex trying to balance a bag of flour into the harness she tied around herself. Piper joined in the giggles, "what on earth are you doing? That looks really complicated by the way."
"I want to practice and make sure it doesn't come undone. It wasn't hard though," she bounced up and down a little to see if the flour bag would fall, "seems sturdy."
Piper broke James' latch and covered herself up, "wanna burp him Finn?"
He nodded enthusiastically and opened his arms. "Okay, scoot down a little so you're leaning so he doesn't slip off, " she helped adjust his seating and laid her son down over Finn so they were facing each other and demonstrated tapping his back.
"Smile Finn," Alex said snapping a picture of the proud cousin taking care of her son. Piper took the camera and took a picture of Alex with her flour baby with two thumbs up.
A few days later Nicky stopped by, Alex unlocked the door and went back to the kitchen, Piper napped in their bedroom. "I come bearing commissary Vauseman's," she said shouting and started taking off her boots at the front door.
"Jesus Nichols, we have a baby and Piper's sleeping, is there a brain under that bush? Whaddya got?," Alex came around the corner with James strapped to her chest, "we have something to barter with;" she says temptingly, she goes over to the freezer to get Nicky's portion of chili."This is from Sir Chapman." Nickys eyes are popping out of her head, but Alex cant tell if it's because she's delighted to be the recipient of a tupperware of chili or her appearance. Her Janis Joplin look a like of a best friend puts the bag she brought onto the counter, takes the chili and sets it near the bag.
"Don't try talking to me all normal when you look like a kangaroo," she said swirling her hand around the baby, "what the hell is that?" She raised herself up onto her toes trying to get a look at her friends' baby, Alex pulled away.
"Nah uh, you don't get to play with him after insulting the mama roo. He loves this thing by the way."
Nicky smirked, "why wouldn't he love being smothered by tits all day? Smart kid." She took her gift and handed Alex a cd of Lady Gaga lullaby covers. "This rocks Nichols thanks!," she says looking over the track list. "He needs a bath, wanna help me?"
"For sure, is he even in that thing?," she pointed to the wrap. Alex pulled back one of the layers revealing his face, "so should it just be an expectation that he's fucking cuter each time I see him?, c'mon Vause!" Alex pulled him out from within the cloth and handed him to Nicky while she walked out to get all of the stuff for his bath. She popped his new cd in the player and returned with a giant cloth flower, and bath gear. She ran his bath, checked the water and Placed him in the flower in the sink, "oh you're really wearing this June Cleaver thing well Vause."
Alex hummed along to the tune and started singing in falsetto to match the octave, as she lathered his washcloth and cleaned the front of his body, "I'm gonna lace up my boots, throw on some leather and cruise, down the streets that I love in my fishnet gloves, I'm a sinner."
Nicky joined her, "then I'll go down to the bar, but I won't cry anymore, I'll hold my whiskey up high, kiss the bartender twice I'm a loser," she made an "L" on her forehead.
"Ok hold him up so I can get his butt," she said to Nicky.
"His butt is like this big," she made a space between her index and thumb the size of a peanut, "just move his leg."
"Can you just fucking help me?"
"Alright, alright," she lifted him, "time for lessons with Nicky kid, lesson # 1: crack kills."