Who: Scott and Sharon and NPC child What: Waking up to meet their little one When: Feb… 12 Where: Scott and Sharon’s Room at the Bug House Warning: Low/None (feels) Status: Completed via Gdoc
Living with Scott was perfect. Sharon wasn’t sure that she deserved something so wonderful, but she wasn’t going to jinx it by saying anything. This was her second chance at life and happiness, and she’d be damned if she let anything get in the way.
Waking up next to him was one of her favorite parts. She would stir, and then suddenly strong, warm arms wrapped around her, a chest pressed against her back, a face tucked in her neck. It was the reason neither of them ever wanted to get out of bed in the morning (and often led to some adult activities before breakfast).
This morning, however, when Sharon stirred, there was something else in the bed with her. Something small and warm, something tucked in against her chest. She opened her eyes suddenly, thinking it must be a cat? But it was bigger than a cat.
“What--?” She asked, suddenly startled.
—
Scott had been around for one round of potential children. He knew he should have expected another bout of them here eventually, and he knew he should have expected one with Sharon. But with the Dome and how it liked to play it’s little games, he had been lulled into this false sense of security. That no children would arrive.
Not that he didn’t want a child. He did. But this was not the way he wanted to go about having one.
He blinked open his eyes when he heard Sharon stirring, when he heard her confused words. He rubbed his eyes, and peered at the child beside Sharon in bed with them. “Oh,” he said, softly.
—
Sharon turned to look at him over her shoulder, then back to the child that was in the bed with them. She blinked. “Oh?” She repeated after him. As if this was the most natural thing in the world. Was there a small child living in the house that she didn’t know about? Couldn’t be. She would have noticed.
“Who is this?” Sharon asked, lifting a hand to run over the child’s hair. But she knew. She knew deep down inside. This was her daughter.
__
“It’s Madison Valley giving us a child,” he explained. “Temporarily, but a child nonetheless.” He reached toward the sleeping child, his fingers brushing lightly over the curls at her forehead. “She looks like you,” he said, softly.
He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against Sharon’s lips, before focusing on the child in question once more. “I wonder what her name is,” he said, softly.
Scott hadn’t expected to wake up to this, but he thought he was handling it exceptionally well. Or, at least, well enough.
—
Sharon blinked at him. "Madison Valley giving us a child? Temporarily?" She probably sounded as shocked as she felt. Her eyes came back down to the child laying in bed with them, fast asleep. He wasn't wrong: the girl looked an awful lot like her when she was small.
The kiss was sweet, and Sharon returned it gently. Then she, too, turned back to the little girl. "Do you think she'll be able to tell us? How old is she? about… 2?" Surely Scott had more experience with small children than she did.
__
“Yes,” he said. “She’ll probably be here about a week or so, if anything else Madison Valley has thrown at us is any indication.” At the question of the child’s age, Scott studied the toddler between them. He might have more experience with small children, but he was still bad with ages. Sometimes.
“I would say so,” he said, after a moment. “She looks about the same as Cassie did at two.” He shrugged a bit at this. He was only guessing, really, but he thought two was as good of a guess as any.
Besides, she did look similar to Cassie when she was two.
—
“Two, maybe three.” Sharon studied the little girl between them. “...I can’t believe this place would give us a baby. How… is this… some kind of magic?” She wasn’t sure what to think about it…
But then the little girl rolled over and stuck her thumb in her mouth, cuddling in close against Sharon’s chest. Sharon’s breath caught in her throat.
“Oh my god, Scott,” she whispered. “We have a child.” She couldn’t wrap her mind around it. It was something she’d dreamed of, but had thought wasn’t possible. The Powerbroker couldn’t have a child… could she?
__
“The dome likes to do this sometimes,” he explained. “It’s all part of the town’s charm, or something.” He shrugged a bit at this, as he peered down at the small child between the two of them.
He couldn’t help but smile slightly at Sharon’s words, “I know. I can’t believe it myself.”
While they had been moving a bit fast in their relationship, a child had been the last thing on his mind at the moment. The town seemed to not care, though, and gave them one anyway.
“I wonder what her name is,” he said, softly.
—
Sharon was staring down at the little girl between them, and she felt her heart swelling in her chest. Somehow, she knew this small child between them was a product of the love they shared for one another. As corny as it sounded, it felt real. It felt true. And it made her so happy she thought she might die. Tears were definitely going to come, she wasn’t sure she could stop them.
Of course, Sharon wasn’t thinking about children. Marriage, maybe? As she’d always imagined she’d be engaged (or even married) before she moved in with a man, and since she and Scott moved in, she’d been thinking about it. But children? That was taking it a step far. Still, she hadn’t even looked into this child’s eyes, and she was already in love.
“I dunno,” she whispered, her voice hitching. Sharon lifted a hand to brush the soft, fine hair away from the child’s face.
The little girl stirred. She stretched her face up, forehead wrinkling as her back arched. Then she lifted her hands and stretched them up over her head. Her eyes opened, blinking up at her Mommy and Daddy.
__
“Hey,” he said, softly, as the young girl started to wake up. “Did you sleep okay, love?” he asked the child. He smiled slightly as the child nodded slightly, sleepily. While children hadn’t been on Scott’s mind recently, he was glad that he had a child here, a child with Sharon. While it wasn’t something that had been on his mind, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t glad she was there.
“What’s your name?” he asked her, and smile broadly when he received Amanda in response.
“What a lovely name for a lovely little girl.”
—
“Hmmm,” the little girl grinned a sleepy grin up at her Daddy.
“Amanda,” Sharon repeated, running her hand over Amanda’s hair. “Is it time to get up, baby?” She asked. As much as she loved cuddling with her little family in bed, having a lie-in for a bit, she also wanted to get up and get breakfast started. She wanted to get the day started so they could play. And read books. And spend awake time together.
Amanda nodded her ascent. “Books? More books!”
“After breakfast. We can go to the library.” Sharon’s heart might burst. A little girl who was this cute, and loved books??
__
“Breakfast and books sounds like an excellent plan,” Scott said. “Especially breakfast.” His stomach growled a little at the idea of food, and he looked at Sharon and Amanda a bit sheepishly at the sound. He rose from the bed, pulling on a t-shirt before heading toward the door.
“I can make us pancakes. Do you like pancakes, Amanda?” he asked.
He understood that he’d probably end up making pancakes for the entire household, not just his little family. He didn’t mind whatsoever, though. He liked cooking for the household.
—
Sharon grinned softly at the sound of his stomach. She lifted a hand to touch the side of his face, then leaned in to tap a kiss against his lips. It was amazing the amount of love she had for this man.
Amanda nodded.
Sharon looked up from Amanda’s beautiful face and smiled at Scott. “Sounds like you’re on for pancakes. We’ll get up and get ready while you start on them.”
__
Scott return Sharon’s kiss, and smiled slightly at her. He really did love her immensely. He would do anything for the woman. …almost anything. There were limitations. For now.
“Pancakes it is! Do we want regular pancakes or blueberry? Or ones with chocolate chips?” Because all of them sounded amazing to Scott. Of course, it could be because he was rather hungry and he would eat anything when hungry.
He got up out of bed, before placing a quick kiss on Amanda’s forehead. “I’ll go make us some breakfast,” he said.
—
“Chawkit!” Amanda said. The idea of the sweet treat woke her up. “Oooh, I gotta go potty!”
That was Sharon’s cue. With Scott up and out of the bed, Sharon climbed up and out, too, to rush their daughter to the bathroom.