ed mcmillan (likeatree) wrote in onceuponadream, @ 2011-05-09 23:14:00 |
|
|||
It was just about a week ago that Ashleigh and Ed had brought their baby girl home from the hospital and Ed was exhausted. Happy, but exhausted. Babies were a lot of work, it turned out, and they hadn’t exactly gotten a lot of sleep since she’d been born. Ed wasn’t complaining, though. In fact, he couldn’t seem to stop wanting to hold his little one. She was every bit as perfect as he had known she would be. To say that Ed was completely in love with the little girl would be an understatement. He slipped into her nursery with the intention of watching her sleep, but a moment later she began to fuss and he gently lifted her from her crib. “Shhh, it’s okay, Daddy’s here,” he murmured reassuringly as he held her. Even as he spoke his soft reassurances, he gently rocked her in his arms. He knew that you shouldn’t hold a baby too much if you didn’t want to spoil her, but he just couldn’t help himself. He absolutely loved holding her. Ashleigh couldn't tell you how long she'd been asleep. She only knew that she was exhausted when the baby began to fuss. In spite of the way she was feeling, though, she sat up and moved off of the sofa. "Mommy's coming," she croaked sleepily. As she made her way through the house, she tripped over a decorative rug and a lone flip-flop that was sitting in the middle of the floor. She managed to catch her balance in the door frame that led into the hallway, but that didn't keep her from stumbling several more steps. "Fuck," she cursed quietly. Regardless of how it might seem, she didn't usually curse like a sailor, but old habits were hard to break.. especially when she'd only slept a couple of hours in the last week. Seconds later, she was moving into the nursery, but she came to a halt when she heard her husband crooning to their newborn daughter. A smile moved over her features when she caught sight of the two most important people in her life. They were perfect. Even now, when she was so run down that she could fall asleep standing up, she couldn't help thinking that she was the luckiest woman on the planet. She had the man she'd loved since grade school and the most adorable daughter in the world. What more could she want? Ed looked up a few moments after his wife entered the room and he smiled at her. “Hey, baby,” he murmured just loudly enough for her to hear. Like her, he was exhausted, but he couldn’t be happier. “How did you sleep?” he asked her quietly. He was careful to keep rocking the small bundle in his arms as he questioned her. The little girl was nearly back to sleep, but he knew that could change if he stopped rocking her too soon. He was nearly as exhausted as Ashleigh was and the thought of getting to take a nap once they got the baby back to sleep. His glance shifted from Ashleigh to their little girl as he waited for her to answer him. He could swear she got more beautiful every time he looked at her. It was amazing to him that they had created something so perfect together. Ashleigh was beyond exhausted, but her face lit up when Ed greeted her. They'd been together for nearly six years, but that didn't seem to matter. Each day, she fell a little more in love with him, and she knew that she was unbelievably lucky to have him in her life. She wasn't capable of taking him for granted. "Hey, baby," she returned. Their daughter had already stopped fussing. Ashleigh suspected that the little girl was close to drifting off to sleep, but experience had taught her that she couldn't rush this sort of thing. If they put her back into her crib too soon, she would start to cry. Her head shook slightly when he asked her how she'd slept. "Not nearly long enough," she answered truthfully. "How's our girl?" She knew that the baby was alright, but she couldn't help being protective. ”She’s perfect,” Ed answered his wife with a smile. It was possible he was slightly biased, but even perfect didn’t seem to quite cover how amazing their little girl was. To say that Ed was completely in love with their newborn daughter would be an understatement. Several moments later, their daughter was sleeping soundly once more and Ed very carefully stood so that he could lie her down. Once he had her settled - which required him to fuss over her a little and be sure she would be warm and comfortable enough - he turned back to his wife. “Hey, beautiful,” he murmured, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her in close as he brushed a tender kiss over her lips. “How’s my other favorite girl?” It was possible that Ed was biased when it came to their daughter. If that was the case, though, Ashleigh didn't seem to notice. She was just as enamored by their little girl, after all, and she happened to agree with his assessment; she was absolutely perfect. She stood there and patiently waited for Catrina to drift off to sleep. It took a little longer than she would've liked, but she didn't complain. Her own comfort didn't really matter to her. The only thing that mattered was the infant in her husband's arms. Once the little girl was settled, Ashleigh allowed Ed to pull her into his arms. She leaned into him and sighed after their lips brushed together. "Exhausted," she answered truthfully. "Completely and utterly exhausted." Under different circumstances, she might have tried to hide how tired she really was, but she knew that he had to feel similarly. "How are you?" ”Exhausted,” Ed echoed when Ashleigh turned his question back on him. Like her, he would have tried to hide his exhaustion under different circumstances, but he saw no need for that now. Ed’s arms tightened around his wife and he smiled down at her as he brushed another gentle kiss over her lips. It was probably a testament to how tired he was that he wasn’t trying to deepen the embrace. He was actually so exhausted at the moment that sex was the furthest thing from his mind. “We should go back to bed,” he murmured, “take a nap while we can.” For once, he wasn’t just being protective over Ashleigh. The idea of more sleep sounded amazing. He was pretty sure he’d never been as exhausted as he was right now. Ashleigh could've guessed that her husband was equally exhausted, and she flashed him an understanding smile. Her lips puckered under his, but she didn't try to deepen the embrace. She hadn't been lying when she'd said that she was beyond tired, after all, and as out of character as it might seem, she wasn't particularly interested in making out with her husband. Not when the alternative was catching up on some of the sleep they'd lost since their daughter had been born. "That is the best idea you've ever had," she answered softly. If they were lucky, they would get a couple of hours of sleep; if they weren't, some sleep was better than none, right? |