Author's Note: Hi friends! It's been awhile :)
I never expected or intended to revisit this little universe, feeling as though the end of the one-shots was the end of their story. But over the last few months, I've felt an urge to come back to this little family and spend a little more time with them. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be cleaning this fic up a little and posting it over at ao3. In a re-read of this, I caught some minor mistakes in timelines and things that make me a little crazy. The bulk of the story will stay the same. When this and the one-shot series are all caught up over on ao3, I plan to begin posting a short little sequel I've been working on for a few weeks. I don't know if anyone is still following or if anyone still cares about this, but I hope you'll join me in this new adventure. If you prefer to read on ao3, which is where I post most things these days, you can find me there at Ashley_Writes28.
In the meantime, here is a tiiiiiny preview to hopefully hold you over until the new fic is ready. If you are still here with me, I'd love to hear from you. I've missed this place!
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Hank walked in from his breakfast with Al to find Jenna folding clothes on the couch while Emerson played in the corner, surrounded by her favorite toys. She was in a princess dress with a toy tiara, and he couldn't help but smile at the scene in front of him. He leaned against the wall beside the doorway into the living room, just watching his baby girl play. He loved the little moments like this, getting a peek into her imaginative world.
Never in a million years could he have imagined having another home overrun by a toddler, but now that it was here, he enjoyed every second of it.
Emerson had the sweetest, tiniest little voice, and she talked non-stop from the moment her eyes opened in the morning until the moment they closed at night. It was exhausting, but so sweet.
Jenna observed her husband from her place on the couch, folding laundry while Emerson played. She too loved the quiet moments where she could just watch both of them, and she loved that Hank could barely tear his eyes away from their little girl.
Emerson wasn't paying any attention to either of her parents, lost in her own world with her toys. They couldn't understand most of what she was saying, except for random family names: "Mama", "Ewin," "Jay," and just the last few days, "Hank."
It was breaking Hank's heart.
He sighed before finally turning his attention to Jenna. "She's still calling me Hank."
Jenna couldn't hold back her smirk at her grumbling husband. For the last couple of days, it seemed their two-year-old had learned her daddy had another name, and she refused to call him anything but that.
"It could be worse. It probably will be worse someday," Jenna replied.
"She's never called you anything else," he continued crankily.
It was funny, her big strong man pouting over being called by his real name. Jenna understood, having gone through the very same thing with her ex and a couple of their children, but that was twenty years ago.
Hank had tried everything he could think of. In the beginning, he tried gently reminding her that he's her daddy, not Hank. All Emerson would do is smile up and him and continue calling him Hank.
He tried playing with her, laughing and tickling her as he insisted he wasn't Hank.
Nothing worked.
For Jenna, it sounded so precious hearing his name come from their little girl's mouth. She was so serious and so sure of herself, and Jenna couldn't help it; it wasso cute.
"She hasn't called me Jenna yet, but a few times, she's called me Mom, which is honestly more heartbreaking than if she'd called me Jenna."
She was being honest; her baby girl calling her 'Mom', like she was a teenager, instead of the tiny little 'Mama' she'd been saying since she first starting speaking was hard to live with.
They were interrupted by a small crash coming from Emerson's play area. Their little girl came running to Hank, holding out her hand, tears rolling down her face, presumably hurt. She held her hands up and sweetly sobbed, "Hank," and Jenna watched all of his sadness over his name momentarily vanish at the sight of his baby's tears.
Hank scooped her up immediately, comforting her by kissing her injured hand and cradling her against him, whispering soothing words to her and reassuring her she'd be just fine.
Jenna watched with a smile, feeling herself fall in love with him even more than ever before, as she did every day since the moment she told him they were having a baby. Since his retirement, she'd been impressed with how attentive, patient, and loving he'd been to their little girl. Emerson loved her daddy deeply, often choosing him over Jenna, and she loved watching their relationship deepen every single day. While Jenna herself hadn't grown up with an attentive father, her daughter would never wonder or doubt that she was deeply loved by the man who was raising her.
When Emerson's tears were dry, she snuggled into Hank one more time before pointing down to the floor. "Down pease, Hank."
Rolling his eyes, he prompted her to try again. "Please Daddy?"
Emerson nodded her head. "Pease Hank."
With a resigned sigh, he pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "Ok, baby girl."
When Emerson returned to her toys, Hank hung his head, and Jenna couldn't help but feel a little bit bad for him. She walked over, kissing his shoulder before resting her forehead against it, her hand coming to rub his back softly.
"I'm sorry, babe. It'll stop someday."
He slipped his arm around her shoulders. "I know. It just makes me feel bad right now."
"No matter what name she calls you, she loves you so much. You know that, don't you?"
Sighing, Hank couldn't help but agree. "Yeah, I know. I just miss hearing her call me daddy. I don't want to be Hank to her."
A sly smile crossed Jenna's face, and a couple of her fingers slipped through one of his belt loops, tugging just enough to get his attention. "If it helps, I can call you Daddy," she said quietly.
Immediately Hank's entire body stiffened next to her. He took a few deep breaths before finally cutting his eyes at her. "Are you serious? You're saying that right here with our kid in the room?"
She looked up at him, her eyes feigning innocence as she said, "Just trying to make you feel better. Daddy."
Jenna laughed as Hank pulled away, shaking his head and grumbling to himself as he walked away from her. She scooped up her daughter, and through her laughter, she said, "Little girl, we need to have a talk. Your daddy is sad."
"Daddy sad?" Emerson asked, settling against Jenna's chest.
"He is, so you need to give him hugs and call him daddy so I don't have to."
Emerson nodded, as if she understood Jenna's dilemma. "Down pease Mama," she said, pointing to the floor.
Jenna let her down, and Emerson immediately ran off to find Hank, and in her search, she sweetly called, "Daddy? Where are you?"
Jenna smiled to herself as she watched her run off. Her surprise baby girl had brought such a unique, unexpected joy to their lives, and she couldn't imagine a world without her.
A few minutes later, Hank and Emerson rejoined her, this time with a newly-awake Parker in Hank's arms. The baby's eyes were focused only on Emerson. He was obsessed with her already, and his biggest grins were reserved for her. It was clear their relationship was going to be a strong one.
Hank settled on the couch next to Jenna, and she immediately curled into him, softly talking to the baby, earning a few more smiles. Hank couldn't take his eyes off of her, in awe at how deep his feelings ran for her. After a moment, she felt his eyes on her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.
Hank shrugged. "I just like looking at you. You're pretty."
Jenna rolled her eyes before tucking herself further against his side, her head on his chest.
"Are you happy?" Jenna asked.
"I am," he replied, kissing the top of her head. "Happier than I've ever been."
He meant it. He couldn't imagine anything better than what he was experiencing right now. He'd never imagined it would happen at this stage of his life, especially after suffering so much loss. But for the first time in a very long time, he wasliving, and he couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life doing exactly this.