Who: Paige Winterbourne and Lucas Cortez What: Babies and Christmas and Stuff When: Recently Where: Their house Warnings: None Status: Closed/Completed gdoc
Lucas was not a religious person. He never had been. Faith and the metaphysical were not really something that worked with his personality, and he’d never wasted much time with them. His mother had tried to raise him Catholic and failed miserably. He hadn’t been to church since she had forced him practically on pain of death.
Still, there was something about this Christmas season that was moving him. It was the religious aspect. He was pretty sure, in fact, that it had something to do with the fact that it was his first Christmas as a father, and that had given him insight into something special and sublime. He wanted to celebrate this year, which was a strange feeling for him.
He’d actually left the office on time today, and when he got home, he’d changed into less formal clothes before starting to decorate the inside of their house. He hung garland over the fireplace, put up wreaths, strung lights around the windows, and in each one of them put an electric candle.
He put up a Christmas tree - although he didn’t decorate it yet. He felt that was something that needed to be done as a family, even if the little ones were still too small to appreciate it.
When he was done, he plugged in all the lights and turned off the overhead, and sat sipping a cup of coffee in the gentle glow of the Christmas lights. No doubt Paige would wonder what disease he’d contracted, but something about it just seemed….right this year.
***
Their children were still only a few weeks old, and Paige still spent the majority of her time at home caring for them. She was exhausted, felt a little bored and cooped up, but it was all completely worth it.
She’d been laying down for a while, while the infants did, listening carefully for any movement in the nursery. She’d heard Lucas come home, been distantly aware of him coming in to change but several weeks of virtually no sleep, always up every hour to feed one or the other child, meant she hadn’t had the energy to even stir if it wasn’t a crying baby.
They did eventually rouse her, she wasn’t even sure which child it was she went in to feed at first, wound up carrying both downstairs with her a bit later, mussed and sleepy and in her nightgown, only to be surprised by Christmas decorations. They’d never really gone all out for Christmas. Paige would put up a tree most years, a few small gifts between them but not much beyond that. What she walked down to what a lot more than that, and she couldn’t help smiling.
“What’s all this?” she wondered, going right to transfer one of the babies to Lucas’ arms.
***
Lucas took his child gladly. He really did want to do what he could and help out however he could with the children.
Looking around him, he shrugged.
“It’s our first Christmas as a family. I thought it should be special for them.”
***
“You do know they’re probably just going to be sleeping through all of it, right?” Paige teased, easing herself down beside him, reaching across herself and the child in her arms to adjust the other baby’s onesie a little.
It was a nice thought, to want to make things special and start new traditions for their newly expanded family. It definitely brought some festivity to the house that they’d never really had before.
***
“Yes, but we won’t be.” This early in their lives, Lucas was aware that the holiday celebration wasn’t for the kids, it was for the parents. And he very much looked forward to watching their kids’ faces as they saw the lights...even though he knew that they wouldn’t really have any idea what was going on.
Christmas as a family somehow seemed distinctly different than Christmas as a couple.
“I did leave the blow-up reindeer at the store.”
It was said completely straight faced, as if in some universe that might have been an option.
***
Paige didn’t even bother trying not to laugh. “Damn. It would’ve looked great right out in front of the door. Maybe you should go back for it.”
As if decorating to the extent he had wasn’t a big enough shock to their lives. And probably to their poor ward, whose life had been turned over enough with the arrival of the babies. It was a good thing he was largely independent and didn’t need much from either of them, because their time was otherwise absorbed these days.
***
“Alas, I think the person behind me took the last one. We will have to wait until last year.”
Of course, they would do no such thing. Lucas thought the thing was utterly hideous.
“We should make sure we celebrate with Briar, too.” He didn’t want to forget their ward just because they had children of their own now.
***
Paige didn’t even need to see it to agree. Giant inflatable anything was not their style.
“I don’t think he celebrates,” she noted with a sigh, shifting a little to oblige as the baby in her arms fussed to be fed again, despite having just eaten upstairs a few minutes ago. Some days they just couldn’t make up their minds. “But we should do something nice anyway.”
The poor kid hadn’t signed up for twin infants across the hall.And she was sure that he was probably quietly displeased to be stuck with the two of them now that they were new parents. They should at least make an effort, since they’d taken him in.
***
“It doesn’t have to be religious in any way,” he said. If the kid wasn’t religious, he could respect that. Lucas didn’t consider himself religious either. Instead, he liked celebrating for the family aspect. For the togetherness and the warmth.
“But we could have dinner with him. Make sure there are some gifts under the tree.”
As strange as he could certainly be at times, Briar was still a child. Surely he’d enjoy gifts.
***
She definitely wasn’t religious either, suddenly introducing it would be too weird. She didn’t really know if Briar was either, though after having him for as long as they had she was pretty sure he did at least believe in something. And pretty sure that something didn’t exactly go with Christmas. But she also recalled him participating in the traditions a little last year.
“Dinner and presents sounds great,” she agreed through a yawn. “God knows we should encourage him to stay a kid as long as we can.”
What little she knew about his life before made PAige worry that he’d never had the chance to be a kid in the first place. It was important to her that he got that experience, especially now knowing how important it was that her own children get to stay children for as long as possible.
***
Lucas wanted that too. They’d let Briar go his own way for the most part, because he was mature and could handle it. But he was still a child, and he needed to enjoy the perks of being a child before it was too late.
Growing up came far too quickly.
“Maybe a little party, just the five of us, on Christmas eve, too. Dinner. Presents. A tree. Movies.”
He didn’t know what all it entailed, but they could come up with something.
***
“”That actually sounds like the perfect Christmas.” Whether or not Briar would be on board was yet to be seen but making the effort was what mattered, and having the chance to spend a nice quiet Christmas together as a brand new family was too good to pass up.
“Adam will probably want to at least stop by, though.” Her best friend in town meant that they saw a lot of each other, and they were as good as family so of course holidays together happened.
***
Lucas didn’t have a problem with that. He knew that Paige and Adam were friends and he was glad that they were. Adam had been for them when they’d needed him, always.
“Of course, he’s welcome.”
Maybe he could even babysit the kids for a few hours while they took a nap. That might be the best Christmas gift of all.
***
A good night’s sleep was pretty much all Paige wanted these days. She couldn’t wait for the day to come when the babies would sleep through the night. It might’ve only been a couple weeks so far, but she really was exhausted, some days just spent all her time dozing and feeding and worth it as it was there were moments when she really missed the way life had been before.
“You’d better say that,” she laughed softly. “Or I’d have to rethink this whole marriage thing.”
She might love Lucas with everything she had, but she’d known Adam since they were little kids.
***
“Too late,” Lucas said, matter-of-factly. “I know better divorce attorneys.” And yes, yes he did. Not that he ever planned to be using them - he was fairly sure that he could forgive Paige almost any transgression.
“But of course your friend is welcome. He’s part of the family.” And back home, he was even more so, since he was dating Savannah.
***
Well damn; her not at all serious plans foiled by the truth of her husband’s professional life. A good thing she had no plans to, nor could foresee any circumstances in which she would, consider divorce even for a second.
“I know I’ve said so, but I’m glad you guys get along so well.” She’d easily go so far as to say that the two of them were friends now. And Paige was so glad for that.
***
“Adam is a good man,” he said. “And so is his father.” And he’d never had romantic interest in Paige, so there’d never been any competition between them in any way. That had helped. Not that Lucas was the type who was prone to jealousy, but it couldn’t have been anything but uncomfortable.
“He’s with Savannah back home,” he said, knowing she wasn’t from the same time he was, although she probably knew that anyway.
***
She knew anyway. Paige had found out in a less than ideal way, and reacted in a far less than ideal way, back when Savannah had been in town. She accepted it now, it was easier with time and with being more settled here than she had been at the time.
“I know.” Still remembering Savannah much more clearly as a teenage girl it didn’t sit well with her, but knowing nothing happened until she was old enough to make her own decisions had helped too. “Still. It’s important to me.”
Without further comment she moved again to hand the baby in her arms to him and take the other one. “Here. Trade. When one’s done eating the other’s going to want to any minute.”
And if the baby was going to spit up, it could be done on him.
***
Lucas considered that only fair. Paige had plenty of unpleasantness. If it was his job to burp the babies and be vomited upon, that was his part in this. And he was - if not glad, then content to do it.
“When they’re both fed, why don’t you try to go get some rest? I’ll put them down for a nap and if they wake up, I’ll entertain them with my case files.”
***
Paige had been trying to rest, while he’d apparently been decorating, and there was only so much lying down and dozing she could do in a day. But she could probably do with a little more. It would be easier knowing he was there to care for them if they woke up, instead of her just being half-awake and listening for cries.
“I’m sure they’ll find those thrilling,” she teased, reached out to rest her hand against his leg and squeezed gently. “I think I will go lie back down when we’re done, though.” And if the babies decided they weren’t done eating after all, despite being fed twice in such a short time, Lucas was more than capable of giving them formula.
It was so helpful that he was as eagerly involved as he was. Not that Paige had ever thought he’d be otherwise but she knew there were plenty of guys who’d have left it up to their wives and she was lucky she got one of the good ones.
***
Lucas only wished that he could do more. But there were some things only the mother could do, so he tried to make up for it in other ways.
He leaned in to kiss her forehead.
“Better than lullabyes, I imagine.”
***
With a soft smile, Paige just shifted a little so she could lean her head against Lucas’ shoulder.
“I’d say read some to me next time I can’t sleep but I don’t think I need the help.” And honestly, she’d probably just get interested in whatever they were about. She always wound up curious about his work, even when it was mundane.
***
He didn’t have any interesting cases at the moment, so he was pretty sure that she wouldn’t find it at all interesting or entertaining. But she was enough like him that the chance always existed.
“We’re so lucky, you know,” he said after a moment. “I mean, it’s difficult. It’s a lot of work...but I don’t feel that there’s a single thing our life is missing.”
***
“You’re right.” So completely and totally right. “I do miss sleeping but everything right now is so perfect that I don’t even mind that much.”
Paige missed bits and pieces of their lives before children now and again, mostly because she spent so much time just with them, caring for them, that she missed things like working, but then she looked at one of their faces and wouldn’t rather be anywhere else.