Ages:

Ned - 29
Katie - 25
Asher - 1 month

One thing Ned was certain of was that Katie had never looked more radiant than she did right now at this moment.

Her hair may be unwashed and she was only wearing a simple cotton nightgown, but to watch her embrace her role as a mother was by far the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

She didn't hear him come in when he returned from the store, having just purchased the biggest box of newborn size diapers and wipes he could find. They had grossly underestimated how many diapers and wipes one little baby could go through in his fourth week of life.

He could hear her speaking in hushed tones as he made his way through the hallway, following her voice until he found her.

Ned stopped and leaned noiselessly against the doorway to their bedroom, just out of her line of sight behind the door. Still holding the bag of diapers under one arm, he gazed lovingly at his wife and son who laid on their bed face to face.

"Just wait until we tell Daddy what a good job you did nursing today!" Katie cooed tenderly to the infant snuggled up to her bosom. "I think we're finally getting the hang of this, aren't we?"

He watched and smiled as she kissed the tip of his button nose.

A part of him wanted to join his family on that bed and kiss both of them, but it filled him with so much joy to see Katie glowing with love as she bonded with their son, that he decided to stay a silent spectator for just another minute or two longer.

"You have your Daddy's eyes, did you know that?" She whispered as she lightly stroked her finger across his plump, rosy cheek and then along the cupids-bow of his upper lip. "I can't wait to see if you'll have his smile, too." The baby instinctively opened his mouth at her mama's touch and Katie gave him her pinky finger to suckle on for a few seconds. "Are you getting hungry again already? Can't be, just look at how full this belly is." She caressed her fingertips in circles over his rounded stomach. "I promise you, you will never, ever know what it's like to go hungry. Your daddy and I will never let that happen."

Their baby boy flailed his arms and Katie caught one tiny hand in hers, staring at it for a moment as if to marvel at its perfection- smooth, soft skin, itty-bitty fingernails. She kissed each of his chubby pink baby fingers one by one.

"See this little pinky finger? You've already got your daddy and I completely wrapped around it." She said before kissing it. "We've waited so long for you. We love you more than anything in the whole world."

"Actually," he said, correcting her. "I love him and his mama more than anything in the whole world."

"Ned!" She gasped in surprise, then smiled sheepishly at being caught in such a cheesy, sentimental moment. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," he replied, setting the bag of diapers on the floor and then laid down on the bed, enveloping his wife and son in an embrace. "Let's get you changed little man. I've got it babe. You can shower like you wanted." He moved out of bed and toward the changing table. The boy looked up at his father in wonder, an easy and quiet baby like Katie had been according to her mother.

"You sure?" She asked, moving to follow him. She pressed her face into his shoulder as he unbuttoned Asher's onesie. "I can do it."

"You could even go take a bath and relax. I can get him down," he said and winked at her.

"Alright," she sighed and kissed his cheek reluctantly. She didn't want to go. She was always the one to put Asher down or she'd be with Ned if he did. "Be a good little monkey for your daddy."

Katie's fingers graced his belly and then his newborn baby smile, which was as sweet as a summer strawberry and filled them both with a sunshine they never knew existed in the world.

She moved out of the room and shot him a smile over her shoulder.

He quickly changed the boy's diaper and buttoned his onesie up. Asher kicks his legs quickly and jaggedly as he gave his father his famous toothless grin. Ned slowly reached down and picked the baby up

"Nap time," he said softly and laid him in his bassinet which was adjacent to Katie's side of the bed.

Ever since they brought him home, she hadn't taken her eyes off of him for more than his nap time or when she slept. He didn't blame her. She was worried something could happen to him, and that he will end up like his older brother. He feared this too, of course, but she had always been the worrier of them both.

"Night buddy," he whispered and bent down to press a kiss to his forehead before walking into the bathroom.

He watched Katie try and relax in the tub, her eyes being closed despite wanting to check on Asher as he knelt down by her.

"Stop worrying," he whispered in her ear.

"I'll never stop worrying about him," she replied, looking at him. "I have my reasons to worry."

"No one's going to hurt him. We can both see his bassinet from here," he reassured her and began to press down softly on her shoulders in a circular motion. The knots in her muscles were tight and he worked the free, kissing her neck too. "He wants his mother to relax."

"Does he?" She sighed, closing her eyes and leaning into him. She relaxed as he worked his fingers against her skin, moaning a little. "Mmm down a little and press with your thumbs."

"Of course he does," he replied, moving his hands down her back a little. He pressed with his fingers, working the knots out of her muscles. "He also wants his mother to kiss his father."

Her laughter filled his ears as she turned her head, smiling at him. Her body moved a moment later and she pressed her finger against his cheek as she caressed his face.

"I bet he does," she whispered, leaning in and then she kissed him.

It was magic, the way Katie's lips had always connected with Ned's. It was right and somehow, among all of the dizziness and the way she clung to him like a lifeline, something inside him changes, never to be reversed.

This new feeling could be dwelled upon later, because, for now, he was content to feel her breath come and go with his.

"I love you," he whispered and then caressed her cheek lightly. "And our new crazy life with Asher."

"I love you and our life too," she smiled at him.