What a wicked game you play/To make me feel this way
Blossom paced around the island in the middle of the kitchen. She was 12 days past her due date, and was booked to be induced the following day; so the pink puff was doing all she could to bring the labor on naturally.
"Come on little baby. Come and see us today. I really don't want to be induced tomorrow. I want to be in the hospital, with you in my arms tomorrow." Blossom spoke to her bump as she walked round and round the marble worktop.
Brick looked up from his newspaper at her, smiling. "You look ridiculous."
"You're probably right but this feels necessary - being induced is the last thing I want. It can be harder, longer drawn out and it's more likely to result in a C Section, which I don't want either - I don't even know if they can do a c section on me, given our impenetrable skin. I'd have to have Antidote X first and - it'd just be so longwinded and messy. I want to go into labor myself. It'd just be so much more straight forward. Come on baby." Blossom urged, rubbing her large, round stomach.
"Are you feeling absolutely nothing?" Brick asked, and she shrugged.
"Some mild contractions, I think. But, not enough to do much, I'd bet. But what do I know? They could be the real thing for all I know." Blossom said, slumping on a chair next to him, getting too tired to keep walking. "You're probably okay to go back into work. I'll call you if I need you."
Brick placed the paper down on the kitchen table. "Are you sure? I don't mind staying."
"No, no you go. It's just a false alarm." She assured him.
Brick gently stroked her tummy. "I'm beginning to get impatient." He murmured to her bump.
"Do you want me to come over?" Buttercup asked down the other end of the phone.
Blossom shook her head. "No, no it's okay. I'm okay. I can still - talk through them." She said, forcing herself to talk through a contraction.
"Yeah, it sounds like you can." Buttercup replied sarcastically down the phone. "Are you having one now?"
"Yeah." Blossom breathed down the phone. "They are just getting quite close together now. My waters haven't gone yet though. I think I'll wait till they d–"
Blossom went quiet suddenly.
"Blossom? Everything okay?" Buttercup asked.
"Yeah," Blossom murmured breathily. "Bit of a doozy. Oh my god."
"Just breathe through it okay?" Buttercup instructed.
The pressure was getting worse, then suddenly Blossom heard a pop. "Oh! Oh god, did you hear that?" She cried.
"Hear what?"
Blossom looked down, realising there was something wet and gooey beginning to run down her leg and pool on the floor, beginning to drench the hem of her dress. "I think my waters just broke…"
Buttercup laughed down the phone. "You're so lucky, I had no idea when mine had gone! You better call Brick and get him home, that baby's gunna be here within the next 24 hours."
Blossom felt a little panicked then. "Right, right okay. I'll call him. Thanks Buttercup, I'll keep you updated."
"Bye Blossom. Good luuuck."
Buttercup put the phone down on the side and turned to Butch. "Blossom's water's just broke."
Butch nodded. "Gross."
She furrowed her brow at him. "You worried?"
"About...?" He asked, looking up at her from the sofa.
"The fact Blossom's having a baby in like the next day. That could be yours." She muttered, folding her arms across her chest.
Butch swallowed hard. "I already told you it's not mine... That baby is Brick's. Even if it comes out the spitting image of me, that kid is Brick's. Fucking story of my life. So, what is there to worry about?"
She balked at his words, forcing herself to speak and not show any kind any reaction of a negative nature. "It isn't going to be as simple as that."
He laughed mirthlessly. "Yes it will."
She blinked, staring at him for a few seconds, her stomach rolling uncomfortably. Dangerous territory once again. "When exactly are you gunna go home?" She asked, ensuring her voice came out strong and unwavering. Her real question was: what the hell are you even doing here in the first place?
His facade was back up, and he smirked once again. "When I'm good and ready I guess." He shrugged.
She sighed, folding her arms across her chest. "Well, I'm going to pick Jay up from school soon, so I'm afraid I'll have to force you out. Plus, Mitch'll be home from work soon."
"Oooh no, can't have Mitchy-witchy knowing you've been hanging around with bad old Butch now hmm?" Butch mocked.
Buttercup spluttered. "I can hang around with who I want to. But I don't actually want to hang around with you. You're just here, again. Anyway, it's no secret that you and Mitch don't see eye to eye. It's not like you're someone he'd welcome in his home."
"I guess that's true." Butch agreed, but was completely unfazed by the comment.
"Why do you keep turning up at my home? Why do you keep turning up wherever I am, actually? If Mitch knew you were here –" Buttercup began but Butch cut her off.
"'I can hang around with who I want to'" He imitated her poorly. "Ha! Never thought I'd see the day when the great Buttercup Utonium was whipped! By Mitch fucking Mitchelson!"
"I am not fucking whipped. Can you blame Mitch for not wanting you around me? He has valid fucking reasons to feel uncomfortable, given the past. You know what he'll think. I mean, look at what you did to Blossom just recently." She said, trying to look the least bit bothered by what she was saying but mostly failing.
"I didn't do anything to Blossom. Well, I did do a lot of things to Blossom but, that's not the point. She played a part in that too. As did you in the past. I didn't ask you to come to me when you were first with Mitch. You wanted to." Butch pointed out, and Buttercup rolled her eyes, her expression one of disgust.
"Don't talk about Blossom like that. And actually, sometimes you did ask me." She muttered.
"And you chose to come see me. What, you gunna act like I forced you? No, like I said, you wanted to." Butch murmured, trying not to enjoy what he was saying too much.
She rolled her eyes to the heavens, glaring at him. "Look, this is besides the point. Just stop showing up, okay? It's not worth the shit it's eventually going to cause!"
"Do you ever think about me?" He asked her, not bothered by her growing anger.
"Why do you keep asking that?! No I don't; not fondly anyway!" She spat back. He smirked at her, but his smile didn't last long and was replaced by a curious, more somber expression.
"Seriously Buttercup." He questioned quietly.
She didn't answer, just gave him a hard look. He could read her like a book. A book he'd read several times. Her saying nothing was as good as a yes to him.
"I think about you too."
"I never said yes -" She tried to interrupted but he cut her off.
"We were so good together, huh? It was like; we just matched. We understood each other so much, like we just got each other." He mused.
Buttercup let out an exasperated, angry grumble, pulling her hands through her black hair.
But Butch carried on. "I think that's why me and Blossom got on like we did. Horizontally, I mean."
"Please don't talk about my sister like that. It's disgusting." Buttercup grimaced.
"I mean because of the superpowers thing. Like, yeah - it was good and all - but man oh man, it was nothing compared to when we used to –"
"You know what?" Buttercup interrupted. "This is getting fucking ridiculous. Can we not talk about ancient history?! Because that's what that is! It was all so, so long ago now - and plus, I'm practically married."
"Mmm. Yeah, that's right. Practically married. You're not actually married though, are you?" Butch said, thinking he had one up on her. "Why is that, huh?"
"Because," Buttercup stammered slightly. "Because I don't want to get married."
"You two have got a place together. Been together years. But no ring? Not even an engagement ring." Butch queried.
"I don't want to. That's why. Not Mitch. Me." Buttercup said, her expression turning into one of worry, not liking where this conversation was going. "I'm allowed to not want to get married."
"He asked again recently, didn't he?" Butch asked, and she frowned deeper, looking up at him, bewildered. "Asked you to marry him again - and you said no."
"How do you know that?" She asked in a small voice.
"You told Bubbles. Bubbles told Boomer. Boomer mentioned it to me. Same way I usually find stuff out." He said with a shrug.
Buttercup looked irritated but also unsure why she expected any less - Bubbles was known for her loose lips. And Boomer wasn't much better.
"How many times have you shot him down now?" He asked, unable to hide the hint of satisfaction in his voice as he questioned her.
"Will you shut up? It's none of your business. Mitch and I -" She began but he cut her off again.
"You won't marry him because you fucking settled for him." Butch said, and Buttercup scowled at him.
"Hey, back off Butch. You have no fucking idea what you're talking about! I love Mitch!" Buttercup growled.
"Right, and I 'loved' Blossom." Butch scoffed. "And every other woman I've been with since you. God Buttercup, you sound more like you're trying to convince yourself than me!"
Buttercup made the mistake of hesitating before she spoke. He noticed. "Shut the fuck up Butch! I don't have to justify myself or my relationship - or my choices to you. I don't fucking want you here. So just go! I don't know what you think you're fucking doing, buzzing around me the way you are?!" She yelled at him. "Like some annoying little fly!"
Butch grinned sadistically, and stood up to leave, slowly shaking his head at her.
"Just get out! And get that moronic fucking grin off your face too." She snarled at him.
When Butch got to the door he turned and looked at her. He wasn't grinning anymore. "It's about time you woke up Buttercup."
When Brick arrived home, he was greeted by the sight of Blossom kneeling on the floor in a pool of clear liquid, surrounded by kitchen towels and leaning on her knees. She was taking big deep breaths.
"What are you doing?" Brick said, hurriedly plonking his work bag down onto the counter and taking her hands to slowly pull her to her feet.
"I was trying to clear all this up." She muttered breathily.
"Don't worry about that." Brick said, leading her to a chair. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'm fine - they're coming quite quickly now though."
Brick turned to the puddle on the floor, grabbing the towels Blossom had gathered and beginning to clear the mess up. He immediately regretted it; its consistency was like nothing he'd ever felt before. He swallowed his pride, continuing to wipe it away; he was going to see a lot worse tonight, by the looks of it.
"Well, we'll go to the hospital when you're ready." Brick said.
"Yeah, okay." She replied, standing up again and beginning to pace the kitchen. When a contraction was particularly strong, she was leaning on the worktop or a chair for support and breathing steadily through it.
An hour passed, and Brick came down the stairs holding armfuls of bags. "You ready?"
"Yeah." Blossom said, breathing rapidly. She looked at her watch. "They're about 6 or 7 minutes apart now I'd say, maybe closer. God, it feels like it's all happened so quick."
"Let's hope we're not in it for the long haul then." Brick replied as he slipped his sneakers on.
"At least I won't be induced." Blossom muttered, clutching at her stomach as another contraction came.
"Have we got everything? Towels? Change of clothes?" Brick asked, beginning to rifle through her bags.
"Brick." Blossom said, her teeth gritted. "Brick I already checked -" Another contraction. "I already checked everything we would need was - in there."
"Plenty of reading material? Food? Drink?"
"Brick."
"Oh! I want to bring my tablet just in case we're there for ages." Brick cried, rushing off to a room in the opposite direction to the front door.
Blossom seized one of the hefty bags off the floor and launched it at him.
It hit him with such force he fell flat on his face quite comically, cradling his tablet.
"BRICK! Can we just GO?! PLEASE." Blossom shrieked.
Brick blinked, standing up and rubbing his neck. "All right, all right, let's go."
Blossom looked down to see her obstetrician peering at her over the top of her leg.
"You were cool with not using any strong pain relief, weren't you?" She asked, awaiting a very unhappy response to what she was about to tell her.
"No, yes - I don't know, why?" Blossom replied with uncertainty.
"Well, you're 7cm dilated. It's too late for anything too invasive." The obstetrician replied.
"Oh, okay - that's fine." Blossom said through breaths. "Thats - that's fine. So, we're nearly there?"
"3cm to go." Dr Marsh nodded, scribbling away at Blossom's notes. "I'll be back to check on you in a little while, but press this button here if you need anything, okay?"
Blossom nodded and thanked her as she left their hospital room. Then she turned to look at a nervous looking Brick. "3cm to go. Can you believe that?"
"I thought labor takes forever? " He mumbled, feeling confused and a little stumped. It was all going so quickly. He thought he'd have more time to process it all.
"It can do. When I did my pediatrics training, some births took days. Some women came in and had their babies in minutes. There's no saying how long it can take. The baby will come when it wants to." Blossom said, pulling herself upright. "Also, bear in mind I've been contracting all day."
"What are you doing?" He asked as she got to her feet. "Shouldn't you be resting?" He asked gingerly.
"The more I move, the quicker baby'll be out. Gravity, you know?" Blossom said, taking a few deep breaths as a contraction began. "Mother of God this is painful. Like - no other pain I've ever felt before, it isn't comparable."
"It's really that bad? Considering we have a higher pain threshold than normal people - I used to throw buildings and airplanes at you when we fought as kids." He pointed out.
"Well, shall I grab a hold of an airplane now, and throw it at you? See if it hurts you any more or less? You know, because of our high pain thresholds?" Blossom snapped. "Shall we test this theory out now?"
Brick smirked at her, shaking his head. "No no, no we don't have to put it to the test."
He watched her waddle about the room, glaring, gritting her teeth and inhaling and exhaling deeply. She'd occasionally mumble a curse under her breath, and this began to make Brick suppress a laugh; Blossom never really swore, even as an adult.
"What was that? Did you just use the f word?" He asked, and she turned on him rapidly.
"If you had a baby on its way out of your vagina you'd say fuck! Because fuck, it hurts!" She growled.
Brick burst out laughing, and Blossom continued to grumble under her breath, breathing through contraction after contraction.
An hour or two passed; Brick amused himself by taking note of all the curse words Blossom used, so he could shock her when all this was over and she was more herself again.
Dr Marsh came in to check her, telling her she was 8cm, much to their chagrin - they were hoping she'd be further ahead.
"You're almost there, this is literally the last hurdle. Just think about that little baby you'll have in your arms soon." She assured her as she removed her rubber gloves and opened the door to their room. "I'm going to be back really soon as you're almost there - Daddy." Brick looked at the obstetrician as he realised she was talking to him. "You press that buzzer if she starts telling you she needs to push, got that?"
"Err yeah, sure." Brick nodded as she smiled and left the room.
Daddy. Daddy. Hearing her say it out loud, being called it - it had stumped him. Blossom had said something to him, but he hadn't heard it. Panic was taking over him. Daddy. Dad. He was going to be a Dad.
But was he?
That niggling, awful question he'd been shoving to the back of his mind - it was elbowing its way to the forefront once more - and forcibly.
What if he wasn't going to be a Dad? What the hell happened if the baby was born with forest green eyes? Or jet black hair? What the hell would he do?
He'd been telling Blossom it didn't matter. He'd been telling her he loved her and he was going to be there for her. But now fear and doubt was consuming him - could he be there for her if this was Butch's child?
He could not deal with that. He just couldn't. He knew he couldn't.
But he loved Blossom. He loved the very beginnings of the life they'd been rebuilding together. He didn't want it to end. He loved her. Could he love Butch's kid? Could he deal with that?
"Brick? Are you okay? You've gone really pale -" The oncoming contraction stopped Blossom short and she grunted in pain.
The noise was enough to bring Brick back to reality. He looked across at her, noting the pain in her rose eyes before she squeezed them tight shut.
"Shit. Sorry. I was just - sorry. Are you okay?" He got to his feet and started to rub her back as she breathed through the contraction.
"Are you okay?" She asked, her voice strained.
"I'm fine." He said, but it sounded very forced. It sounded the complete opposite.
The contraction began to ease, and Blossom caught her breath slowly, looking up at him and pushing her sweaty bangs from her face. She knew something was up with him; she knew him well enough to know when something was bugging him. But this seemed more than just something bothering him. She didn't have long till she'd have another contraction. They were coming in thick and fast now, but she needed to know what was going on.
She pulled herself to her feet shakily, and Brick took her arm gently, supporting her.
"What's wrong? You completely clocked out then." Blossom asked, and Brick swallowed.
"Nothing, just, I dunno - freaking out a little." He murmured, and watched her eyes widen with alarm. "It's nothing - honestly. Just ignore me. You're in labor, now is not the time for me to lose it. Ignore me."
"What are you worrying about?" Blossom asked, but she felt like she already knew. A part of her had been waiting for this moment to happen. Although, she really had hoped it wouldn't happen right now. When she was about to give birth to a little person.
"I told you, it's nothing. Now isn't the time to -" Brick began but she interrupted him.
"Brick,' She cried, her voice brimming with emotion. "Please just tell me."
"Blossom, honestly it's really not important right now -" Brick tried to assure her but she shook her head, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
"You're worried the baby isn't yours, aren't you?" She mumbled, her bottom lip trembling.
He didn't know what to say, he didn't want to be honest, he felt like he'd look like an asshole. Here she was, contracting, going through the throes of labor, and he was suddenly having a freak out - over something he'd assured her wasn't a problem anymore. A tiny voice screamed in the back of his head that he wasn't being out of order to be concerned, given the circumstances. Nothing was certain, his whole world could cave in the moment the baby was born.
"Oh my god." Blossom murmured, panic gracing her features now as she removed her arm from his and held onto the side of the bed instead. A contraction began and she turned away from him to lean on the bed with both her hands, her arms outstretched as she grit her teeth and tried to pant through it. Her mind was swimming with images of Brick thundering out of the delivery room at the sight of a green eyed or black haired baby; of everything they had together falling apart in seconds.
"Blossom, Blossom - I'm sorry -" He muttered hastily, stroking her back as she groaned quietly.
"Why are you - apologising?" She grunted. "You don't need to -"
"I'm apologising because it's not fair of me to start freaking out about this now. You're in fucking labor." He exclaimed, irritated with himself and his imperfect timing. "You're contracting, and, and in pain and about to give birth - it isn't fair."
"No, no I'm not surprised - now is the perfect time for it to hit you. You're the one it's - ugh, it's not fair on. Brick, if this doesn't go how we're hoping -" She stopped to grunt through the pain. "I'm not saying it's not going to but, if it doesn't - I'm so sorry." Her voice broke on the last word, and Brick frowned deeply.
"Blossom, look - whatever happens, we'll deal with it - okay?" Brick said as she began to cry, taking a hold of her hands and gently easing her around so she was standing facing him. He put her hands onto his shoulders so she could lean on him instead. "We'll deal with it together okay?"
"You can't mean that." She whimpered through her tears, and he nodded hastily.
"I do. I do mean it. I'm not gunna lie - it'll devastate me. But, I love you. I love you, and I love that kid. We will work our way around it, somehow." His voice was hard; he meant every word.
"Okay." She bleated softly, closing her eyes tightly as another contraction swept over her. She leant against his chest.
"You okay? Just breathe okay, breathe through it." Brick assured her, wrapping his arms around her carefully.
"Brick," She grunted. "I think, I think I need to push. It feels different, I think this is it."
There was fear in both their eyes as they looked at each other. Brick reached for the buzzer, then helped her get back onto the bed slowly. She'd just got herself comfortable when Dr Marsh appeared in the room again with a nurse.
"She said it feels different," Brick explained hurriedly. "She said she needs to push."
"Fantastic." Dr Marsh said brightly as she pulled her gloves on. "May I?" She asked Blossom, who nodded.
"Yes, sure." Blossom urged.
"Just let me know if you have a contraction and I'll stop." Blossom nodded in reply once more as Dr Marsh examined her. "So," The obstetrician said a few moments later. "Who's ready to have a baby? You're fully dilated."
"Really?" Blossom cried.
"Really. So, we can start pushing at your next contraction." Dr Marsh told her as the nurse prepared equipment and a cot behind her.
"Okay." Blossom said, sounding extremely nervous.
Brick held onto her hand tightly beside her. "Blossom you can do this okay? I'm right here."
"I'm scared." She mumbled. "What if - what if -"
"Don't be scared. It's going to be okay, okay?" He promised her, and she nodded. He was smiling at her, his red eyes glassy. She smiled back, but it didn't last long as she had a contraction coming.
"Okay Blossom, push right into your bottom - that's it, that's it. Well done - keep going. Okay and stop to breathe." Dr Marsh instructed. "Okay, and again. That's it! Just like that, well done, keep going!"
Brick and the midwives encouraged Blossom as she pushed and pushed. It felt like only minutes had passed, but when Brick looked at the time, it had been about half an hour.
"Okay Blossom, you've been pushing for about 35 minutes now. We can see the baby's head but it isn't out yet. If you give one huge push for me, and keep it going for as long as you can, I think your baby's head will be delivered. Ready?" Dr Marsh said, her voice calm and authoritative.
Blossom nodded tiredly. She was drenched in sweat and exhaustion was setting in.
"You're nearly there Bloss, you can do it." Brick spurned her on as she began to push once more.
A few minutes later and Blossom stopped to catch her breath; letting out an exasperated moan as she did.
"The head is delivered. And what a beautifully coloured head of hair if I do say so myself." Dr Marsh complimented.
Without a second thought Brick leaned forward, partially regretting it as he'd never seen anything like what he saw in his life; but he'd not been able to resist. He'd wanted to know just what colour the obstetrician was referring to.
The warm, wet back of the head was covered in blood, but what you could make out through that was indeed red hair.
"Oh my god there's a head sticking out of you. Oh shit - it's red hair Bloss, the baby has red hair!" Brick cried.
Blossom whimpered happily, but then flinched as she had another contraction coming. She began to push with all her might. The baby was almost here. And she needed to see that face she'd been dreaming of for months. And not to mention check those eyes weren't green…
Brick thought it was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen, as slowly but surely, shoulders, arms and a tummy appeared. Once the baby's shoulders were out, the rest slid out easily, and the sound of a baby screaming filled the room. Relief, sweet, blissful relief from the pain took over Blossom's whole being.
"Oh happy birthday baby!" The Dr Marsh cried, laying the baby at Blossom's legs and rubbing it down with a towel. "Aren't you a noisy one? Congratulations guys, it's a boy."
"Oh!" Blossom cried, peeking at him. "A boy, it's a boy! Is he okay?"
He clicked his eyes open, searching around with such awe at the bright lights before him. Faces, noises he had never seen or heard with such clarity before.
The moment he opened his eyes Brick's heart thudded loudly in his chest. Sweet relief flooded him to at the sight.
"Blossom, his eyes, look…" Brick breathed.
Blossom was filled with fear for a moment then, but she realised Brick sounded thrilled when he said it. The baby boy's eyes were…
"Red. Just like his Daddy's. Born at 12.10am on the 20th August. Congratulations Mom and Dad." The obstetrician said, laying him down on Blossom's chest, the umbilical cord stretched across her stomach, the two of them still connected.
He immediately stopped crying as he smelt and felt the familiar smell and feel of his mother.
"Oh hello, baby boy. Oh my god - we have been waiting so long to meet you." Blossom said, her voice filled with emotion.
Blossom looked at Brick, and it was the happiest she had ever looked. Blossom thought the same of Brick. He leant down and kissed her tenderly on the lips.
"No more doubt, right?" She asked him in a small voice.
"With those eyes? None at all. He's ours. Well done Bloss. You were fucking amazing. And so is he. We have a son." Brick breathed, kissing her once more, before wiggling his finger into the soft, squidgy palm of his son's hand. The baby squeezed his finger ever so tightly, and Brick felt his heart grow bigger than he thought possible.
Brick sat in the armchair, looking down at his son, completely in awe of him. The baby boy looked at Brick with equal amounts of awe. In fact, they were having an intense stare off, red eye to red eye.
He was elated. He had a son. Not a nephew. They were a family. Finally.
Blossom lay on the bed, not asleep but resting. She was watching Brick and the baby feeling in complete bliss. They'd been moved to a private room for Blossom to begin to recover.
"A baby boy." Blossom sighed happily. "I suppose you need a name don't you little guy?"
"I kind of had a name I liked, if he was a boy." Brick murmured, not being able to tear his eyes away from his baby's little face.
"What's that?" Blossom asked, intrigued.
"Blake."
"Blake. Baby Blake. I like it." She sat herself up, gazing down at the bundle in Brick's arms. He had so much red hair; she'd never seen a newborn with this much hair. "He looks like a Blake."
"Are you Blake? Is that who you are?" Brick asked.
The baby only stared; still bewildered by this bright, shiny world he'd suddenly arrived in.
"I think that's a yes." Blossom said, smiling warmly.
"Blake." Brick said.
"Blake." Blossom agreed.
"You can pick a middle name if you like?" Brick offered.
"Well that's easy then. Blake John Jojo. After the Professor." Blossom answered simply.
"Blake John. Has a nice ring to it." He then looked up at Blossom. "Jojo? Are you sure?"
"Of course. I'm sure we'll marry someday." She said, batting her eyelashes at him.
Brick smirked, standing and passing Blake into Blossom's arms. "Hello Blake John." She cooed at him. Brick looked down at them both, feeling the most complete he'd ever felt.
"Ohhhhhh my GOSH! Aww he's so cute!" Bubbles squealed, as Blossom slowly passed him into her arms. "Hello Blake. Nice to meet you you little cutie! I'm your Aunty Bubbles. And this is Uncle Boomer." Bubbles said, gesturing towards Boomer.
"Man, look at his eyes! They're the exact same colour as yours Brick! Congratulations man! And well done Blossom." Boomer said in awe of his nephew.
"Thanks Boomer. Not long till it's you two in here doing this." Blossom said, nodding at Bubbles bump.
"I know! 2 weeks to go! How scary is it to think it could happen any time now!" Bubbles gushed, still holding Blake gently in her arms. "Want to hold him Boomer?"
Boomer looked nervous as Bubbles gave Blake to him. "It's okay, he won't bite."
"Wow… Hey little man." Boomer cooed. "He's so cute, I could just squeeze him." A small silence ensued and when Boomer looked up, everyone was giving him a mildly concerned look. "I won't." He assured them.
Brick smirked, kissing the top of Blossom's head lovingly.
"So how was it? Was it as horrific as they say? Can I take it?" Bubbles suddenly asked Blossom, her face deadly serious.
Blossom chuckled. "Of course you can! It's not that bad, really. You'll be fine. And no, it's not as bad as they say. You'll walk it, trust me." She reassured her sister, who sighed softly with relief, patting her big tummy.
Boomer and Bubbles left soon after visiting for a short while, Bubbles was getting tired and they wanted to give them some peace. But more visitors predictably followed; the Professor and Kelly came to see their latest grandchild not long after, and then Buttercup and Jay arrived to meet Blake too.
"Well done Blossom, he's gorgeous. No green eyes either, thank god." Buttercup said, stroking his red hair.
Blossom's mouth went into a thin line, but she couldn't help but nod her agreement. "You can say that again."
"Brick, you look like shit." Buttercup commented casually, still cooing down at Blake.
"Nice to see you too, Buttercup." Brick muttered.
"Though exceptionally blunt, she is right. You should go home and get some rest." Blossom said, stroking the red stubble on his chin.
"I will in a minute." Brick replied, smiling down at his son proudly. "I'm finding it hard to leave either of you." As tired as he was he didn't want to leave either of their side.
Buttercup got Jay to sit down on the armchair, and carefully placed Blake in his arms.
"Oh my god, you look so grown up holding baby Blake, Jay." Buttercup commented, taking her phone out and snapping a pic of her son and first nephew.
Jay's cheeks deepened as he looked down at his little cousin Blake, holding him awkwardly, obviously feeling out of his depth.
"Doesn't he? My, my Jay where do the years go? You start college soon right? And start that full time job?" Blossom teased, Jay's cheeks reddening more as he stared at Blake.
"No way, I'm only 8!" Jay cried.
Buttercup's phone went off, so she stepped outside to answer it. It was Mitch, asking how everything went. He was working, again, and wanted a baby update. When the phone call was over Buttercup turned to return to Blossom's room but found herself face to face with Brick.
After Brick's infidelity, the pair had struggled to see eye to eye. Which was a nice way of putting that Buttercup thought he treated her sister like trash, so therefore was trash.
"Can I help you?" Buttercup asked, furrowing her brow at him.
"I was about to ask you the same question." Brick replied flatly.
"Huh?" Buttercup asked, stumped.
"Is Butch bothering you at the minute?" Brick demanded, his expression serious.
Buttercup blinked, floored by his guesswork. Her mouth dropped open as she tried to figure out how to answer, then she scowled, not liking Brick making her speechless.
"I noticed him, let's say, paying you more attention than normal at that family meal a few weeks ago. I've been trying to catch you to ask you about it." Brick elaborated.
Buttercup still didn't know what to say. If she admitted Butch had been pestering her, would he make it public knowledge? Would Blossom, then Bubbles end up knowing, then inevitably, Mitch? Did Blossom already know Brick thought Butch was up to something?
She didn't trust Brick at all, regardless of Blossom and him being in a much better, healthier place again.
"Why are you asking?" She decided to ask.
"Because, I know Butch. I know what a handful he can be, and I also know how persistent he is. And how inappropriate he can be." Brick continued as he folded his arms across his chest.
Buttercup frowned. Brick was on to him, already - and he'd not really even done anything wrong. Buttercup didn't even know what the hell he was doing.
"Look, if you need me to step in, and tell him to back off –"
"I don't need you to step in." Buttercup interrupted, the usual rough edge to her voice back. "I can deal with Butch."
Brick raised his eyebrows and sighed at her. "What's his game?"
"I have no idea. But I'm dealing with it."
"Well the offer still stands if you need it." He turned away but Buttercup called his name, making him stop.
"Thanks, anyway. I guess." She muttered.
"Don't mention it. Just don't let him fuck things up for you." Brick replied. "He's fucking good at that, which you already know."
Brick headed home to freshen up shortly after his encounter with Buttercup. Buttercup and Jay stayed a little longer, and then they left too.
Blossom held Blake in her arms, and was considering laying him down so she could take a little nap, when she heard a light knock on the door, which then opened.
She looked up to see the last person she expected to visit.
"Butch?"
He nodded in reply. "All right?"
"Erm, yeah. What are you doing here?" She asked, a little flustered at his arrival.
"Just came to check there's no green eyes or black hair." He said, smirking. "Although I figured Brick would have hospitalised me by now if there was any signs of that."
Blossom sighed lightly and shook her head. "Nope. Both red. You're in the clear." She added sarcastically.
"Well. Good. That would have uhh, really fucked you and Brick up, wouldn't it…" He muttered, sitting down awkwardly on the armchair by her beside, and cocking his head to peer at Blake.
"Yes, it really would have done. Butch, this is your nephew Blake." She said, holding him out for him to hold.
Butch rose off of his seat hesitantly. He scooped him up, a smile spreading across his face as Blossom instructed him to support his head. He'd barely ever held a baby before - Buttercup had let him hold Jay once when he'd been little, and it had been very brief. He didn't know anyone else with kids this young either. He felt nervous, as if he were holding something extremely precious - which he reasoned he was. "Hey little dude. Jeez, he looks just like Brick."
"I know." Blossom mumbled, still looking at Butch in surprise as he held her son in his large hands. Why was he here? They'd not had a nice thing to say to each other for a long time now. And here he was, not being an asshole.
"Butch why are you –"
"Look, apologies don't come easy to me, as you know, so I'm not going to apologise to you. Let's just let bygones be bygones, and at least be civil or something, if we can. I didn't mean to cause trouble, it was just supposed to be a bit of fun. I didn't really want to hurt anybody." He said, looking down at Blake and not looking Blossom in the eye.
Blossom's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow. Butch, I don't know what to say. Thank you, I guess. You're not the only one at fault. But, I agree with you - it's over now." She smiled. "And we don't need to dwell on any of it anymore."
He nodded, looking up at her. "It is over now."
She could tell he meant it, and relief swept over her.
The door opened again, and Brick was there, a surprised but guarded expression on his face at the sight of Butch cradling his newborn son.
But Blossom didn't feel even a hint of alarm at Brick walking in on Butch visiting. For the first time in a long time, Blossom was in a room with Brick and Butch and she didn't feel an ounce of guilt or shame. It was over.
"Hey man, I just come to meet your boy - he's a dime right?" Butch said, cocking his head down to Blake.
Brick smirked and nodded, being pleased with the acknowledgment that Blake was indeed his baby. "Yeah, he is."
"Blake John Jojo. Well, aren't you just the little bundle that tied everything back together again?" Blossom smiled, stroking Blake's soft red hair. "I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me already. You saved me baby boy."
Blake was sleeping soundly, his mother's voice soothing him.
"And I will always save you. I'll always be here, always. I won't let the world hurt you like it's hurt me. You'll always be safe, and you'll always be loved, I promise you that. Things can get tough, but they also get better, so you have to just, just love like it's the last thing you'll do. Because, what have you got without love hmm?" She asked him, still gently stroking his face.
"I will be here for you to run to when you need me. Any time, any place. Even when you're my age. Because you will lose, sometimes. Sometimes you'll hurt too. But I will be there to break your fall as often as I can. I promise. I promise, Blake."
Blake slept on, as Blossom promised her life away to her newborn son, half her, half Brick, but completely perfect.
r&r (: