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The tiny noise from the basinet beside him made him stand, smiling down at his squirming newborn. "Well, good morning, little darlin'." He gently picked her up, holding her to his chest and gently rocking from side to side. She made a tiny noise of protest but quieted after a moment. "There we go. We gotta let your mother sleep. She had a long day and night yesterday welcoming you to the world." He sat back down on the couch he'd slept on the night before, settling James down against his thighs when he propped them up on the small table in front of him. He grinned watching her little form nestle there, feet resting against his belly. "There we go. Now, I can see you."

"You know, you were never something I ever planned on having." Francis muttered as he slipped his thumbs into her little fists, watching intently as her tiny fingers curled around them. "Can't imagine why now. Although, I'm terrified I'm going to screw this up. I had a father who grew to not care about his family, and I'm sure he grew up with a father worse. It's been generations, and I never wanted to do that to somebody else. At least not somebody who I actually cared about. Part of me contemplated on never getting married, but your mother came out of nowhere and all those plans went up in flames."

He smiled softly when James yawned. "I'm boring you already, huh? I guess you're probably tired too. You're already growing and you are only hours fresh. Still, you've got your mother and I smitten. Like I said, I didn't plan on a family. I came to the conclusion long ago it would be better for me to be alone. When I met your mom, I fell for her hard and still tried to tell myself it wouldn't last. But, she was different from everybody else. She was like me. Hardened from a mother similar to my father, but lashed out with her tongue more so than fists. We found each other, perfectly content solitude people, and then decided we were better together than apart. Boy, was I glad for it. James, if your mother ever decided to leave me, I don't think I'd have a chance."

"Do you want to know when I fell for her? It might surprise you." Francis chuckled to himself. "It was our second date, only a few days after our first, and your mother decided to cancel our dinner reservations to grill me with questions for my campaign. She didn't want me to be good. She wanted me to win. She didn't want to be pampered and fawned over like most of the girls I knew. She wanted to be a partner in what I was after. By the end of the night, I was exhausted, in need of a good burger, and helplessly in love. I knew I'd ask her to marry me before we said goodnight.

He didn't notice Claire gazing over at him, a sleepy smile on her face. He continued to be mesmerized by the tiny human propped up in his lap. "And, I did. We got married and blazed a campaign trail and won, and we haven't stopped racing together. Not even when you announcement your presence with a bout of morning sickness. I'll admit that I was against you at first, but I'm so happy your mother fought for you. We don't know hardly anything about you, and I already know I would destroy everything for you. That terrifies me. You terrify me. I've never wanted to have anything that relied on me for care, and you are completely dependent on your mother and I. I don't know if that scares you, but it should. I've never changed a diaper before. Well, not on a human baby at least. Your mother got me a doll to practice on. There was a point system involved that I think she rigged, because I failed every time."

Claire giggled at that, causing Francis to look up at her with a blush at being discovered. "You're doing better than you think, Francis."

"I can't become my father, Claire." Francis breathed with a shake of his head. "Now that we have her, now that I can hold her. If you ever see any of my father in me, you need to leave me. I don't want James to be scared of me. I want her to be proud of me."

"You're not your father." Claire reminded him. "And, James will know she's loved by you. You may have a quick temper, and you may snap at her sometimes. But, you'll learn from her too. Keep being the man I married, and she'll never know an ounce of what you endured." She glanced down at the tiny pink sleeves poking out from behind Francis's leg. "When did she wake up?"

"Just a few minutes ago." Francis stated before adjusting James in his arms so he could stand. "She's probably hungry. She's been asleep for a few hours." He carried her over to Claire, letting his wife prepare herself for James, before setting her into Claire's arms. "How are you feeling?"

Claire relaxed when James latched onto her, meeting Francis's eyes. "Sore, tired, but happy. Plus, I can lay on my stomach again." She giggled softly when Francis's eyebrows furrowed. "You take it for granted. I had a belly full of baby keeping me on my sides the last five months."

Francis grinned. "Worth it?"

"So worth it." Claire breathed. "You?"

"I didn't know I could love something this much." Francis laughed with a shake of his head. "I mean. . .Claire, you made her."

Claire giggled with a nod. "I know. I just pushed her out of me ten hours ago."

"But, Claire, you made her." Francis stated again. "You created live. Fingers, toes, eyes, a brain. Your body literally made a whole person." He chuckled seeing Claire begin to laugh to a point breathing was becoming difficult. "I just didn't think I would love you more than I did before this. I didn't think I could love you more than I did. But watching you birth our daughter, watching you push for three hours and then deliver our daughter, I can't imagine what I did to deserve you."

Claire teared up, taking a deep breath between the lack of it from her laughter and to calm the swelling emotions the doctors had warned her about due to hormones. "I love you, Francis."

Francis smiled before pecking her lips, dropping his forehead to hers as they turned to stare down at their daughter. "I love you too."

"I hear I have a granddaughter." Charlie's voice whispered as he stepped inside the room.

Claire grinned. "She's awake. You can talk normally, Daddy." She held James a little higher when he came over, balloons in one hand and stuffed animal in the other. "This is James."

"I thought it was a girl." Charlie frowned.

Francis chuckled with a nod. "She's a girl. We both liked the name James. We think she'll pull it off."

Charlie shrugged. "If she has half the spunk of either of you, she could pull off the name Hannibal. I prefer James." He got a laugh from both of them at that before staring back down at the newest addition to the family. "How was delivery?"

"Longer than either of us thought, but there weren't any major complications. Doctor said everything went very well." Claire sighed. "For not knowing what to expect, I was happy to just come out of it with a healthy baby and no scalpel."

"Honestly, that's what everyone should be grateful for." Charlie agreed before setting his things down. "Can I hold her?"

Claire nodded with a smile. "Of course, you can. She's been waiting to meet her grandfather. He's in person this time and not talking through my belly on a phone." She gently lifted James into her father's arms, her chest tightening watching the two meet for the first time. "We can't figure out who she looks like. I think she's got Francis in her."

"I can see a little bit in the shape of her head. Her hair color- man, she's got a lot of hair already - but she's you through and through, Claire. The lips, the nose, those eyes are going to seal the deal if they turn out like yours. She'll be your twin."

Francis raised his hands in the air. "Thank you, Charlie." He shrugged when Claire looked over at him with an arched brow. "What? Claire, we want the girl to have a chance. I may be handsome, but if I were to choose which parent she looked like more it's you hands down. A girl can have some traits of her father's, but she should look like her beautiful mother."

Charlie chuckled. "Sounds like he's already buttering you up for another little one, Claire."

"No." Francis and Claire immediately blurted out.

"We're good with one." Claire chuckled. "Besides, if she does end up with our spunk that you so love, she will be more than we can handle." She took in the moment of her father holding her daughter, humming softly as she felt some of her drowsiness catch up with her again. "When did you land?"

Charlie gently shushed James as she grunted in his arms. "We got in a couple hours ago."

Francis frowned, standing to be by Claire knowing she'd tense at the mention of the word, "we?"

"Your mother came." Charlie admitted softly. "She's out in the car. Wouldn't even step foot in the hospital." He shook his head. "I told her she'd regret it, but your mother seems to think you two having a kid isn't the best idea."

Claire tried to ignore the sadness bubbling up, but between the lack of sleep, the trauma of delivery, and the hormones she felt her breathing shallow as her eyes glazed over. "She couldn't get over it just to meet her only grandchild? She couldn't get over her own feelings just to support me once?"

Francis quickly maneuvered himself into the bed with Claire, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "She's the one missing out, Claire. We knew she despised the idea of us having a baby from the moment we told her. Look how wrong she was." He smiled his thanks to Charlie when he handed James back to Claire. "She thinks we're going to be terrible parents. We're going to prove her wrong."

"Like you always have." Charlie reminded his daughter, leaning down and kissing her forehead. "You're already handling this better than your mother or I did when you were born. We were petrified. Now they let you keep your baby in your hospital room, but back then they took you away to let the mothers rest. So, we didn't have a clue until that first night home how many times you actually woke up in the middle of the night. We called our parents so many times trying to figure out what to do just to keep you alive. It was terrifying." He smiled when Claire chuckled at that, wiping her eyes with his thumb. "And, look at you. A new mother who, while probably still terrified, is more content having her baby in her arms than out of her arms. You're gonna be a natural, princess."

"Thank you, Daddy." Claire breathed before kissing his cheek. "Now, what did you bring? I can hear you crinkling."

Charlie laughed before he reached behind him, under his jacket, and held up a folded blue cloth. "Someone told me it's create for new parents. It's a baby carrier, but a cloth. So, you don't have to deal with a bunch of snaps and buckles. You just wrap it around yourself somehow and then it holds the baby to your chest. Figured it would be a wise gift since you still have some campaigning left to do."

"I've seen some of those. The baby can sleep in them and everything." Francis nodded as he took the cloth. "Thanks, Charlie. Claire and I will have to figure this out so she can wear it to campaigns this summer."

Claire smirked. "Me? Francis, you know as soon as I wear it once it will never leave your body. You'll wrap her to your chest just to walk around the neighborhood."

"He said it was for both of us." Francis replied, earning a giggle from his wife. "You created her. I can carry her."

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