Author's Note: Thank you so much for everybody who wrote a review on chapter 29 and my author's note and let me know that they wanted me to continue writing. I'm definitely continuing with AIWMTB. We're in the tail-end of the story now and I expect it will be done by New Year, which is when I'll start posting my new story.

That being said, I realized after posting the Author's Note that now all my chapters are going to be messed up because it'll say "31. Chapter 30" on fanfiction and that kind of stuff bothers me to no end so I'm posting a short bonus chapter as chapter 31 at the same time that I'm posting this, meaning you'll get the short bonus chapter in this update. I'm sorry if that didn't make any sense to anybody, but you'll see what I mean when you get to the end of the chapter.

As usual, I don't own/have anything to do with Skins.

Chapter 30: Happiness

April 19th, 2014

I was completely exhausted, but I couldn't fall asleep. All I wanted to do was stare at the gorgeous face of my daughter. I was sat in bed with the TV on, though I wasn't watching it – I was watching Elouise, who was sleeping against my chest. I couldn't get over how gorgeous she was – blonde hair, blue eyes, and perfect lips that really did look exactly like Emily's. Elouise was so tiny, I couldn't believe how small she was. Anna said she weighed only six pounds and eleven ounces. Her tiny fingers amazed me, with her tiny nails and her tiny knuckles. I spent ages staring at her hands. Emily was completely obsessed with our daughter, too. She spent almost all evening last night watching Elouise sleep. Emily was more of an emotional mess than I was – every time she looked at Elouise, she started to cry, as though she couldn't believe that she was really ours. I couldn't believe that she was ours either, but I didn't cry nearly as much as Emily did. Maybe I was just too tired to cry all the time.

Effy had warned me a few weeks ago, just after she'd given birth to Owen, that breastfeeding was harder than it seemed. I'd actually gotten a bit worried about whether I'd be able to breastfeed Elouise at all, since Effy said it was pretty painful at first. Luckily, Anna took the time to show me how to get Elouise to properly latch on, and though I got some pretty bad cramps while Elouise fed, it hadn't been nearly as painful as Effy had made it seem. Anyway, it was definitely nowhere near as painful as giving birth was.

Emily had tucked me in bed sometime yesterday, promising to take care of me until I started feeling normal again. Elouise's birth had really taken it out of me, and for lack of a better term, I felt as though I'd been hit by a freight train. Emily had done a great job taking care of things while I've been off my feet. She made us a small dinner last night, did the laundry, woke up with me for each of Elouise's night feedings, and made a big breakfast for the whole family this morning. My mum and Kieran were first to arrive this morning, which meant that Mum got to hold Elouise first.

"Hello, my gorgeous darling, Elouise Pearl," Mum cooed as Elouise stared up at her with fascinated eyes and a slightly open mouth. "You're so beautiful, my love, you look just like your mummy did when she was a baby. Yes you do."

Kieran took a look at the baby and smiled. He told Emily and I that we did a "good job" and then he sat down to watch TV. But Mum was having none of that. About half an hour later, she sat down right next to Kieran and handed Elouise over. Kieran stared down at Elouise with a terrified expression on his face. Elouise looked just as unsure as Kieran did and Emily nearly had a stroke when Kieran almost forgot to support Elouise's neck.

"Gina, I don't think this is a good idea," Kieran said, trying to hand Elouise back. He kept shooting Emily and I apologetic glances. Mum shook her head and smiled.

"Kieran, you're going to have to learn how to hold a baby sometime. You're a granddad now," Mum replied. She showed Kieran how to hold Elouise properly, and soon our daughter had fallen asleep in his arms. "See, you're a natural."

Kieran pursed his lips and stared down at our daughter, before smiling again. He let Elouise sleep while he watched TV until Jenna and Rob came over.

Jenna and Rob arrived soon after, and demanded all of Elouise's attention, though Elouise did not appreciate being woken up and made sure she let everybody know about it. Jenna held her first, and though she didn't say much, I could tell that she loved Elouise just as much as she loved Owen. Rob was next to hold Elouise, though I don't think Elouise liked the sound of Rob's voice much. Rob was quite happy to hand Elouise over to Emily as soon as she started fussing. I suppose what Emily and I now refer to as Elouise's "fussing" can be a bit shocking though, considering she doesn't just make tiny noises like Owen does when he's hungry or needs his nappy changed or if he's tired. Elouise full out screams when she gets "fussy", and her little arms and legs move as though she's in desperate need of attention and she wants that attention right now. Emily tried to settle Elouise down, though we both knew it was futile. Elouise was likely hungry and tired and no amount of Emily's calm words would keep Elouise quiet.

I took Elouise upstairs and changed her before I started feeding her. Usually Elouise falls asleep after I finish feeding her, and she'll normally stay asleep for a few hours at least. Emily came up to check on me a few times while I was feeding Elouise, and after a 45-minute feeding, Elouise fell asleep. I grabbed her baby monitor and brought it downstairs with me. All the grandparents were gathered at our dining room table, eating a huge breakfast that Emily had prepared. Em smiled at me as soon as she saw me and got up out of her seat.

"I saved you some food, Naoms," Emily said as she walked back into the kitchen and grabbed a plate that she'd been keeping warm for me in the oven. "I gave you extra waffles because you extra deserve it."

I smiled at her and kissed her gently. I thanked her and started eating right away, not even bothering to sit in the dining room with everybody else. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I had food right in front of my face.

"Hungry?" Emily asked with a smile. She leaned against the counter as I nodded enthusiastically and tried to suppress a yawn. "Tired too?"

I nodded again and ate another bit of waffle. Emily leaned over and kissed me again, making sure to kiss away some maple syrup that had gathered at the corner of my lip.

"I love you so much," She whispered. I put my plate down on the counter behind me and wrapped my arms around Emily, who hugged me back tightly. "I didn't know it was even possible to love you more, but my heart filled with so much love for you when you gave birth to our daughter. It's like my heart tripled in size and I just feel so full of love for you and for Elouise."

I nodded against Emily's shoulder and kissed her neck lightly. "I love you so much, too, Em," I replied. I felt the same way Emily did – watching her with Elouise made me realize that I definitely fell in love with the right woman. She's kind, gorgeous, smart, forgiving, and endlessly loving. "I never want to lose this feeling."

"Me either," Emily replied, her warm breath sinking into my skin. Emily pulled away slightly and kissed me sweetly. "Now, you need to eat, love."

Emily turned with a smile and went back into the dining room, leaving me to eat my breakfast in peace. By the time everyone else finished eating, my dishes were already in the dishwasher and I was on the couch, asleep. I'm assuming it was at that point that everybody decided to leave, because when I woke up again to feed Elouise, everybody was gone and it was just our little family.

Katie and Effy came over for dinner that night, though thankfully they brought dinner over. Emily and I were completely shattered. Emily was barely able to stand up, let alone cook a full meal. I suppose getting used to having a whole other person to take care of was really tiring us out. Luckily, Katie and Effy had already gotten used to having Owen around, so they were much better at time management and getting the right amount of rest than Emily and I were at the moment.

Katie and Effy left Owen in his car seat, which was propped up just high enough so that he could watch his mummies eat their dinner. I lay Elouise down on the couch cushion next to me, where she promptly fell asleep.

"Does he just sit like that all the time?" Emily asked, gesturing to Owen who was sat in his chair and contentedly sucking on his hand. Katie looked over at Owen and smiled.

"Yup. What a good boy we have," Katie said, turning to Effy with a huge smile on her face. Effy smiled in response and looked over at Owen.

"Hello mummy's darling," she cooed. Owen smiled and gurgled back in response, his legs kicking out excitedly when he heard Effy's voice.

I turned to Emily and I knew we were both hoping that Elouise would be that well behaved when she was a bit older. I doubted that Elouise would be as calm as Owen. Regardless of whether Elouise was a quiet baby or the most fussy baby, I had no doubt that Emily and I would love her just the same.

Katie, Effy and Owen left a few hours after we finished dinner, which was good because Em and I were just about ready to pass out. Elouise, thankfully, was feeling just as tired as we were and fell asleep while I was still feeding her. I knew that would mean she'd wake up sooner to feed, but I was okay with that for now. All I wanted to do was get to sleep.

I put Elouise in her crib that was pushed up against my side of the bed and went to get ready for bed. Em took a quick shower while I brushed my teeth and washed my face. When we walked back into the bedroom, we found Libby lying on our bed and staring intently at Elouise, who had woken up and was staring back at Libby. We hadn't really found the time to properly introduce Libby to Elouise just yet, and even though I knew Libby wouldn't even hurt a fly, I couldn't help but freak out a little that our dog had gotten that close to our baby and we hadn't even noticed. You grabbed my hand when you noticed my panic and we both walked over to the bed and sat next to Libby. Elouise was slowly drifting back to sleep, and Libby was intently sniffing at Elouise's hand. She gave it one tiny lick, as though she was saying "yes, I approve of this new human," before she hopped off the bed and actually went to lay in her own doggy bed, which she never did. Libby always slept in our bed with us, but it seemed she understood that tonight was different and we wouldn't want her sleeping on the bed.

Emily pulled down the duvet and we both climbed into bed, both of us turned to face Elouise. Emily wrapped her arms around me and we laid closer together than we had in months. She was pressed right up against me and it felt so good for her not to have to reach so far to wrap her arms around my midsection.

"I missed holding you like this," Em said quietly. "It's nice to be able to wrap my arms all the way around you again."

I laughed and turned in Ems' arms to face her. I kissed her gently, my tongue lightly moving against hers.

"I'm so happy," I said quietly. I closed my eyes and nuzzled closer to Emily, who held me tighter in response. She traced light patterns on my back and we fell asleep holding each other, listening to the newborn baby noises our daughter made as she slept.

Chapter 31: A Short Bonus Chapter

Cook

It was almost midnight on Thursday when my phone rang, interrupting my sleep. It was a Thursday, after all, and I did have to get up for work tomorrow so I figured I should try to go to sleep early. Except I wasn't really sleeping. I was awake and thinking about everything I'd left behind in Bristol. I knew Naomi's due date had passed and since I hadn't heard anything from her in months and Effy hadn't mentioned that Naomi had given birth, I assumed she was still pregnant. I wasn't nearly as hung up over her as I was a few months ago. I didn't like the person I'd become when I watched Naomi and Emily be so happy together. I couldn't look at my best friend and be happy that she was finally getting her happy ending. I would look at Emily and feel only jealousy – I wanted to give Naomi her happy ending.

I knew I needed a change. I didn't like the person I was and I needed a fresh start. So I moved to Glasgow to be closer to Paddy. I helped him as much as I could over these past few months, and even managed to sort myself out a proper job. No girlfriend yet, but that's okay. Starting a new life can take time.

I reached onto the nightstand where my mobile was ringing and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Cook," Effy said quietly, as though she didn't want anybody to hear her making the call. "Naomi gave birth tonight to a baby girl. She and Emily named her Elouise. Just thought you'd like to know, maybe send a congratulations card or something. But nothing more than that, okay? This is Naomi and Emily's daughter. Not your daughter."

"Yeah, I know...thanks for telling me, Eff," I replied. "How's your littl'un?"

"Owen's doing great, thanks. Anyway, Cook, I've got to go. Katie doesn't know I still speak to you. Take care, mate."

"Yeah, you too, Eff."

I ended the call and walked out to my living room, grabbing the card I'd bought weeks ago in preparation. It was a simple card that had a picture of a pram on the front and said "congratulations" on the inside.

Naomi and Emily,

Congratulations on the birth of your daughter. Hope you're all doing well.

Cook x

I didn't write anything else in the card. No number for them to reach me, and I didn't write a return address on the envelope. I wrote their new address on the envelope, the address that Effy had given me a few weeks ago when I'd asked her for it. I sealed the envelope and placed it next to my keys so I'd remember to mail it on my way to work tomorrow morning.

And for the first time since Naomi met Emily, I felt genuinely happy for my best friend.

Author's Note: check out my tumblr page at keeping-schtum DOT tumblr DOT com

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