lisa finnigan is not a baby person (candyaday) wrote in theprofslounge, @ 2009-07-06 00:25:00 |
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She was so tiny, Lisa decided. That was only to be expected, of course, what with Teacake making her appearance a month early. There were no problem and she was going to be just fine - which was what the Healer had let them know just a few moments prior - but she still couldn't believe that she was so...tiny. "She's tiny," Lisa finally murmured, her eyes not looking away from the baby in the pale green blanket in her arms. She had been wailing when the Healers took her aside to look her over, do whatever they needed to do, but there she was with her big blue eyes - Seamus's eyes, Lisa thought firmly - open and looking around as if she had always been right there in Lisa's arms. "I can't get over it." Seamus was seated on the bed beside her, his arm around her shoulders. "Even littler than Nora was," he agreed, chuckling quietly. "I've caught fish bigger'n this kid. She's a beauty, though." Once more, Seamus wondered how on earth he was going to survive the girls being teenagers. At least they could go to school right there within easy reach so he could worry at least a fraction less than his mother had to. "She is," Lisa agreed, reaching over to take her tiny hand between her fingers as though she was checking for five. She leaned back a bit into Seamus's chest, glancing away from their daughter for the first time since she was put in her arms. "She's perfect. I said it when Nora was born, but I still don't understand how it is we could make something that perfect. We must have brilliant genes." "Pretty ones, anyway," he replied, leaning down to kiss Lisa's forehead. As he looked over at their little girl again, his thumb brushed gently over Teacake's - no, Deirdra's - faint wisps of blond hair. "I just realized that in my head I'm still calling her Teacake," Seamus said, another soft laugh escaping him. "It's hard to remember she's got a real name now." Lisa laughed, realizing that she had been doing the same thing. "That's all right, because I've been doing it too," she admitted. "Merlin only knows that everyone is going to be calling her that anyway, so she might as well get used to it." She didn't really want to let her go, but she realized that maybe it would do to share. Leaning back just a smidge, she looked up at Seamus with a questioning look. "Do you want to hold her?" Seamus grinned back at her, taking his arm carefully from behind her shoulders. "I was beginning to think I'd just have to wait 'til you fell asleep," he teased. He wasn't nearly as nervous this time as he'd been the first time he held Nora, being well aware now that babies were much more difficult to break than one might think. He was still careful, though, gingerly sliding his arm under where Lisa's was and leaning forward to get as close as possible before taking her weight. After she took him, Lisa turned just slightly where she was laying to face him better. She grimaced just slightly; the potions that the Healers had given her were working like a charm, but she still felt a little something now and again. She briefly wondered if she'd be able to convince them to up her dosage just a bit, but decided she would wait until later for that. "Even if we're all going to be calling her Teacake, though," Lisa said quietly, leaning her head on Seamus's shoulder as she returned to their previous conversation topic, "it's a good thing we decided on a name when we did." "Yeah, really," he snorted. His visual attention was all caught up in little Deirdra-Teacake, but he was listening to Lisa. "Thought we were a month early...turns out we were just in time." "Deirdra Finnigan," Lisa murmured to herself, looking over their daughter as if testing it to make sure that it really fit the little person in Seamus's arms. She smiled as she felt it internally click in her mind and she gave one pleased nod. "Thank you for getting here so quickly, by the way," she said suddenly, changing the subject completely. Lisa glanced once up at her husband, then back down. "I don't know if you noticed, but I was something of a wreck." "No need for thanks," Seamus replied. "There's a reason I keep the journal by me when I'm writing, and that's it right there: so I can be reached in an emergency. Lo and behold, an emergency came, and there it was, and all is well. And as soon as you finish fading out, I'll use it to let everybody know you and the wee one are okay." "Gotta love those journals," Lisa replied. Just the thought of her fading out made her feel just how tired she was, but she didn't want to fall asleep just yet. She wasn't done looking at Teacake. "I'm sure Su will be happy to know that she picked the perfect day for the shower. A week later and Teacake would've been at her own." "She'll doubtlessly use it as further proof that she's always right about everything," Seamus said with a sarcasm born mostly of affection. "Which is obviously just what we needed: a Su Li who is more certain of her own brilliance." Teacake was drifting off to sleep again herself, slumped against her father's chest in much the manner Nora had always liked. Apparently they had another one who liked to fall asleep to the sound of breathing. Since she was out, Seamus decided to make himself a little more comfortable and lean back against the propped up bed again. "Mam said she'd bring Nora by in the morning, as soon as we give her the go-ahead," he went on, shifting subjects once again. "Hopefully she'll actually manage to get her to sleep a little tonight." Lisa chuckled softly, her voice dropping in an effort to keep Teacake asleep. She still had to reach over and brush her fingers over that little bit of hair on her head. "If she does, it's because your mum is a miracle worker." Nora's excitement over preparing to be a Big Sister was adorable, to say the least, and it had been mounting more and more over the past few weeks as she anticipated the big red circle on the calendar in August. Lisa could only imagine how much the excitement would have amped up the second she found out her little sister was coming early. "Mam does have the baby mojo," he said. "I'm guessing she probably read The Only Cat On the Moon about...oh, four times? Either that or Madeleine. Either that, or she'd have to sedate her. The Big Sister was excited enough as it was, and she let out an absolutely piercing squeal of glee when I told her Teacake was coming early so it was time to go to Gran's quick." "I've been tempted to try sedating her in the past," Lisa joked with a smile. "Either way, I'm sure she'll be bouncing off of the walls for the next several weeks. She already detailed just how much she wanted to help out once Teacake was here." She paused, looking thoughtful for a moment, then asking, "Think we can train her to change diapers? That'd be convenient." "Oh, I bet we can," Seamus said, clearly liking this possibility. "She's very smart, and diaper-changing isn't that hard. Hell, even if all we do is train her to recognize the signs of a diaper that needs changing she'd be awfully useful. Lisa chuckled softly, closing her eyes as she made herself comfortable. "My eyes are closing, but I'm not sleeping yet," she warned him, although it was a hint that she was getting closer. "If we could get her to do diapers and prepare a bottle, I think that life would be just set. Or does that infringe on child labor?" "I think you're still allowed to make your own children labor as much as you want," Seamus said, smiling as he looked down at his increasingly sleepy wife. "You can't pay other people's children to labor, but as long as they belong to you, you can do as you like with them. I think we can even borrow other people's children as long as we don't get too greedy. So diapers and bottles should be no problem. Besides, Nora would enjoy feeling like she was helping; she likes to be helpful. We just have to make sure we train her right so this doesn't become one of those situations where she overestimates her own helpfulness." "I wonder if Deirdra's going to be helpful like Nora," Lisa replied thoughtfully. She recalled the feeling of excitement that she felt when Nora was finally old enough to really show that she had a personality rather than just wanting to be fed or asleep at all times. "It's too bad we don't know now what she'll be like. I'm impatient and curious." "Right now, I just hope she's one of those mythical "quiet babies" I hear so much about," Seamus replied, only about half joking. "I still periodically consider killing Roger and Lila Davies for their "Oh gosh, really? Merry slept through the night at four months!" No one should have it that easy. It's criminal." Lisa chuckled, her arm snaking around Seamus just under where he was cradling Teacake. "She's being quiet right now. That's rather nice." She was silent for just a split second, however, when she added, "But despite having pretty genes, I think we also have loud genes. I wouldn't hold your breath." "Gotta take the good with the bad, I guess," Seamus sighed. "And hey, at least we'll never have to worry about our kids not standing up for themselves. There's something to be said for that." "That's true," Lisa agreed, her eyes opening again so she could look down at their perfect baby girl once more. She smiled, then tilted her head back. The only thing that could make the picture even better was if Nora was there, but Lisa would just have to wait until tomorrow for that. Leaning up, she put a hand on Seamus's cheek to direct him to kiss her softly. "Love you." Seamus went for the kiss first. "Love you too," he replied after. "Now, you need to go on and get some sleep. You've taken enough years off my life with worry for one day, and I promise that Teacake and I'll both be here when you wake up." "Okay, okay," Lisa sighed in resignation, turning a bit to reach for the potion her midwife had told her to take when she decided to go to bed. She didn't know what it did and she hadn't even asked, but she hoped that it would make her sleep deeply. Despite how exhausted Lisa was, she didn't think she would actually be able to sleep, not with everything that had just happened in the past day. She certainly didn't expect a trip to Greece to trigger the early arrival of little Teacake, but it did and it was good. Laying back again, she turned so she would be able to see that little Teacake as she felt herself slowly drift off to sleep. Lisa reached over, her fingers grazing over the girl's cheek and forehead before she murmured, "Love you, baby," and then fell asleep. |