SORRY IT'S TAKEN ME SO LONG TO GET THIS UP. SAME OLD EXCUSES: SCHOOL AND WORK. BUT I WANT YOU GUYS TO KNOW I VALUE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. I MEAN THAT. YOU ARE THE BEST READERS I COULD EVER ASK FOR. ON THAT NOTE, HAPPY READING!
DON'T OWN ONCE UPON A TIME OR ITS CHARACTERS.
Giavanna was laying on her back, looking up at Snow and James' smiling faces. She gurgled, her hand reaching up to pull on a lock of her grandmother's dark hair, which was a little longer than shoulder length.
"Hey!" Snow laughed, gently prying her hair out of the baby's grasp. James couldn't help but smile wider. His wife really was a natural at the whole motherhood thing, even though she missed twenty eight years –technically thirty three, since she didn't know she was Snow White until five years after Emma first rolled into Storybrooke– with her own daughter. He and Snow had offered to babysit while Graham and Emma took Henry on a day just to themselves. Henry agreed whole-heartedly; while he was in no way jealous of his baby sister, he did miss getting all the attention. Graham only hesitated for a moment, not wanting to leave his daughter alone for the first time, but quickly realized she wouldn't be alone: she had two loving grandparents looking after her and besides, it would only be a few hours (Emma complained when they stayed outside for too long, something about the dirt and bugs.) The blonde, on the other hand, nearly yelled 'no!' when Snow first presented the idea. It wasn't that she didn't want to spend time with her boys, she was just extremely uneasy with the idea of –okay, she was freaking terrified– of having Giavanna out of her sight. It was bad enough when Graham had to drag her out of their daughter's nursery at night.
In the end, Snow managed to get husband, wife, and son out the door on a hike/picnic/swim in the watering hole a few miles from the castle.
James looked up from the baby briefly and she did the same. They shared a totally different kind of smile.
"I want this someday. To be able to lay on the floor with our baby, give him or her rattles and other stuff." Snow said, feeling comfortable voicing her innermost thoughts because there was no way Emma could hear. "Don't get me wrong, I will always love being Emma's mom it's just… I thought we were getting a baby, and we really got a thirty three year old. I want to raise our child."
"I know." He grasped her hand. "I feel the same way, Snow. But maybe right now we could just focus on watching our two month old granddaughter?"
"Yes." She breathed, peering down at the baby. "We should. With our luck, she'll figure out how to move and end up under the table or something, and we'll panic thinking we've lost her."
"She's two months old, Darling." James smirked. "I don't have any experience with babies –well, except sword fighting with one in my arms– but I'm pretty sure she can't move yet." With an irritated eye roll, Snow picked up a purple rattle and held it out to Giavanna.
"Here, Gia! It's fun, you'll like it!"
"I'm not sure Emma's going to like the nickname." He said, watching as the baby stretched her arm out and wrapped her tiny fingers around the toy. It was in her hands for all of five seconds before it clattered to the carpet, eliciting a cry from her.
"It's okay." Snow cooed, scooping her up and gently rocking her. "You're fine, it was just a loud noise." Giavanna's loud cries quieted to the occasional whimper, and both Snow and James sighed in relief.
"Mom, what happened!?" Emma burst through the door. Apparently, they had stopped at the stables so Henry could pet his horse before they really set off on their adventure.
"Nothing, Honey, she just dropped the rattle. Really, everything's under control." The brunette smiled. "We just won't try the rattle again, that's all." James nodded in agreement.
"No, you should. That cry wasn't her being scared, that was an angry cry. She's mad that she doesn't have the rattle anymore, or she's frustrated that she dropped it." Emma explained in a nonchalant voice. Snow had to keep her bottom jaw from dropping.
"Babies cry differently for different things?"
"Um… yeah." The blonde frowned, sharing a look with Graham. "Her loud cries mean she's upset –whether it's anger or demanding attention– and the softer ones mean she's hungry. And if she ever looks like she's about to cry but isn't, then something probably scared her. It took me about two weeks, but now I know what all the different cries mean."
"It's kind of confusing, but once you get it, it's very helpful when it's two in the morning and she's crying." Graham says, his Irish lilt audible in every word. "Or, you know, babysitting." He shrugs.
"Oh." James and Snow say in unison, staring down at the baby, dumbfounded.
"So just give her the rattle before she starts shrieking again, okay?"
"We will." James scrambled for the toy, then placed it in Giavanna's hands. He held his hand around her much smaller one so she wouldn't drop it. This seemed to pacify her, for the time being, at least.
"Now, you two go and have a great time with your son." Snow commanded quietly so Giavanna wouldn't have another fit. Flushing slightly, Emma smiled, nodding her consent. Graham, still feeling like he had to prove himself, even after everything, bowed his head slightly before following his wife out the front door. In a way, Snow and James had become his parents, too. James offered him advice on how best to deal with their respective wives (and he needed it, with Emma's mood swings.) Snow was always there to tell him to put a band-aid on scrapes, even the superficial ones. And they were all his, all five of them.
His wife.
His son and daughter
His family.