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“How on earth did you do this on your own?” Henry groans quietly as he rolls out of bed. Small cries come from the baby monitor on their nightstand. “Holy shit. I feel like we were just up.”
“Some nights, mom took the monitor into her room and they would take shifts to let me get some sleep,” Alex grumbles. His eyes are still closed. “Dani stopped crying like this a few months in, so we should start getting more sleep soon.”
Henry rubs his face. “I sure hope so.”
-
Alex remembers the day this started.
“Daddy. I want a little sister,” Dani had announced one day. Henry choked on his tea while Alex dropped the spatula straight onto the floor.
“Um.” Henry cleared his throat. “Your papi and I will have to talk about that, okay?”
Dani nodded and walked off like she didn’t just drop a massive bomb on them.
That conversation led to several weeks of discussion. Surrogacy, adoption, egg donors- they had a lot to consider. As soon as they found out, June and Bea both offered to be surrogates.
“That way, the baby will biologically be part of both families,” June had smiled softly. “My egg and Henry’s sperm, or your sperm and Bea’s egg. Just think about it, okay?”
They decided on June to be their surrogate this time around. Alex knew that Henry would love their child no matter what, just like he loved Dani, but he wanted Henry to have that biological connection to their new baby- not just a familial connection. They got lucky with the insemination taking on the first try. They found out the gender six months in and immediately started preparing the nursery.
“I think I know what I want to name our baby,” Henry smiled softly one night.
Alex raised his eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“Yeah, just- it’s okay if you don’t like it,” Henry said quietly, suddenly nervous. “I wanted to make sure we use a Hispanic name, because I know that’s important to your family. I did some research and it seems like most people agree that the Spanish version of Catherine is Catalina,” he murmured, watching the realization hit Alex. “And since your sister is carrying her, I think it would be very fitting. Catalina Grace.”
“Oh, baby, that’s beautiful,” Alex whispered. “June is going to cry her eyes out when we tell her.
June had cried for almost an hour when they told her. Catherine was emotional as well.
The day Catalina was born was life changing for Henry. He was absolutely terrified that he was going to mess everything up. Now, almost three months later, he’s definitely getting the hang of it. He’s thankful for the daycare, for Bea and Pez who help him watch Cat while they’re at work. June and Nora help when they can. Dani is obsessed with her new baby sister.
When Henry doesn’t come back after a few minutes, Alex forces himself up to go check on them. He finds Henry asleep in the rocking chair next to the crib. His hand is through one of the slats, Cat gripping one of his fingers as she sleeps soundly. Alex feels so overwhelmed with love for the man in front of him. He drapes a blanket over Henry and goes back to the bedroom to try and get some sleep.
Two days after Cat turns four months old, she begins teething. Henry hates hearing her cry, even though Alex assures him that she’s fine. He packs her bag in the morning to take her to daycare while Alex gets Dani ready for school.
”You look like shit,” Pez says cheerfully when Henry walks in.
Henry knows Pez is right. He knows he has purple bags under his eyes, his hair a mess, but he still narrows his eyes. Bea takes Cat from his arms without a word. “She’s teething, Pez. Would you like to live with a teething infant who cries so loud that she wakes up her older sister, so both of them end up in your bedroom?”
”Oh, poor darling,” Pez coos, stroking Cat’s cheek as she stretches in Bea’s arms. “We’ll have to get you a cold teether, hmm? Give you something nice and soothing to chew on?”
“I’m gonna go work on payroll,” Henry sighs softly. “Bea, can you take her to the infant room?”
Bea rolls her eyes playfully. “She’s staying with me. Auntie Bea to the rescue.”
”Thanks, love.” Henry gave Bea a kiss on the cheek before making his way to his office. He’s exhausted, but he does his best to push through.
When Alex stops by at lunch, he finds Henry bent over his desk, snoring quietly as he drools onto the paper below his head.
”Baby,” he chuckles, shaking Henry’s shoulder gently. “Wake up. I brought sushi for lunch.”
Henry wipes his mouth as he sits up? “Huh? Oh, fuck, I can’t believe I fell asleep,” he groans. “I feel terrible- I was supposed to go back to the front desk.”
”Bea is up there, you’re fine,” Alex smiles softly. “She told me where you were. Baby, are you okay?”
”I’m so exhausted,” Henry whines quietly, putting his face in his hands. “How on earth did you manage this in college? Teething is so miserable. She’s always crying.”
”Oh, darling, I know.” Alex sits down in the chair across from Henry. “I can sleep in Cat’s nursery tonight if you and Dani wanna cuddle in our bedroom for the night. She’s been pretty tired, too. Or I can take Cat downstairs into the guest room so you two won’t hear her cry.”
Henry shakes his head a little. “Sweetheart, that’s not fair to you. You deserve to have sleep, too. I wouldn’t want to put you out of your own bed.”
”You and Dani can take the guest room downstairs if you’d prefer,” Alex teases gently. “I want you to get caught up on your sleep and then we can determine how to continue. I promise I’m okay with it. Now c’mon, let’s eat and then we can go spend some time with our little Catalina before I have to go back to work.”
-
That night, Alex gives Henry and Dani a kiss goodnight before taking his blanket into Cat’s nursery. He knows Henry is struggling. And as much as Dani begged for a little sister, she complains about being woken up all the time. He’s glad he can give them both a full night’s sleep without worrying about the baby monitor.
It’s a rough night.
Alex wakes up four separate times to hold Cat and rock her back to sleep, doing everything he can to keep her comfortable. By six am, he knows they’re officially up for the day. He takes Cat with him to the kitchen while he prepares her bottle, singing to her quietly, letting her chew on her teether.
When Henry comes down a little before ten am, he finds Alex half asleep on the couch with Cat in his arms. “Good morning, love,” he smiles softly as he takes Cat into his arms. “Get some rest.”
“Mhmm, okay,” Alex mumbles. He shifts until he’s laying flat on his side. He’s just closed his eyes when someone knocks loudly on the door. “Fucking hell, go away,” he mumbles.
“Stay. Sleep, I’ll take care of it.” Henry goes to the door. He barely gets it open before Pez and Nora push their way in.
“Good morning, strumpets, time to go pack a bag,” Pez announces, clapping his hands together. “Alexander. Get up.”
“Alex did Catalina duty solo last night, let him sleep,” Henry frowns. “What do you mean time to pack a bag? What’s going on?”
“Henry, darling, yours and Alex’s anniversary is tomorrow,” Pez reminds him, “we’re taking over your beautiful home to watch the kids, and you’re going to take Alex to the nice hotel June booked for you two so you can enjoy the weekend. Reservation information is in Alex’s email. You have a lunch reservation at noon, and hotel check in is at two. So chop chop, go get ready! Shower!”
“Please fucking shower,” Nora agrees, pushing Alex into a sitting position. “You look like shit.”
“Fuck off,” Alex mumbles. He lets Henry lead him upstairs to their bathroom, letting Henry move him and wash his hair for him. He’s not usually this exhausted.
“We’ll enjoy the weekend, love,” Henry says quietly. “It’ll be good for us to get away for ourselves. But I’m gonna miss our babies.”
“You just wait- the first night away is always the worst,” Alex chuckles. “You’re gonna try to call every ten minutes. I give Pez half an hour before he blocks your number.” Alex looks up to find Henry chewing on his bottom lip. “Baby. Nora quite literally helped me raise Dani. You trust Pez enough with kids that you opened a daycare with him. We can trust them with our kids.”
“I know, but… I’ve never been away from Catalina before,” Henry says softly. “Shit- not that I’m okay with being away from Dani, I adore them both-”
Alex cuts Henry off with a small kiss. “I know what you meant, sweetheart. I know Dani is your kid, you love her like your own, but Cat is your first biological kid. It’s a huge deal. The first time I left Dani overnight, I cried for an hour and could barely even enjoy myself.”
“We deserve this time away.” Henry tries to sound convincing, but it’s obvious he’s not even believing himself. “I feel terrible that I didn’t plan anything for our anniversary.
“I didn’t either,” Alex shrugs. “We have an infant, who is teething, and we don’t get any sleep. We’re allowed to forget those things. Doesn’t mean we don’t love each other. I happen to love you very much.”
“I love you very much, too, darling.”
By the time they get dressed and drag their bags downstairs, Bea and June have joined the party in the kitchen. Dani is helping Nora with sandwiches for lunch.
“Daddy! Papi!” she grins, running over to hug them. “Auntie Nora said it’s your an-anniversiny!”
“Our anniversary, yes,” Henry laughs softly as he picks her up. “Are you okay with having a sleepover with all your aunties?”
“Uh huh, Pez said we can watch whatever movies I want,” she nods. “I’ll see you for dinner tomorrow.”
“That you will.” Henry puts Dani back down on her feet so she can give Alex a hug goodbye before going to finish helping Nora. They both say goodbye to Cat while she’s sleeping and get a taxi to the hotel.
“So, we’re gonna have over a day to ourselves,” Alex says quietly. “What’re we gonna do with our time?”
“I don’t even know, it’s been months.” Henry exhales slowly. “I think we deserve to just have time to cuddle.”
“Naked cuddles,” Alex murmurs, kissing Henry’s cheek, “and kisses.”
Alex makes it through lunch, barely, and crawls into the giant bed. He smiles softly when Henry climbs into bed behind him.
“Take a nap,” Henry says quietly. “You had a long night. I won’t let you sleep for too long so you aren’t up all night.”
“Thank you, love.” Alex falls asleep almost instantly.
-
“Wake up, baby,” Henry whispers into Alex’s ear, fingertips running down Alex’s bare side, “otherwise you won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
Alex hums quietly as he snuggles back into Henry’s chest. “Keep touching me like that and I’ll wake up,” he mumbles. “Feels nice.”
Henry chuckles, the noise deep and heavenly in Alex’s ear. “I’ll touch you more when you wake up. If you’re up for it, we can have some fun.”
“I’m up.” Alex forces his eyes open and rolls onto his back. “What kind of fun are you thinking about?”
Turns out, Henry has been thinking about a lot, specifically about things to do with his tongue. Alex finds himself breathless and exhausted an hour later. His body is spread out over the bed as Henry collapses down next to him.
“Happy fucking anniversary to us,” Alex whispers.
Henry kisses Alex’s cheek. “Happy anniversary, darling.
-
Things get easier when Catalina turns six months old. She’s sleeping better through the night, and the teething pain seems to be under control. Henry’s thankful that he feels like a normal human again. It makes it easier to get through his work day.
Thankfully, Henry is working at the front desk when Alex calls him. He answers his phone on the second ring. “Hi, my love, what’s-“
“The school just called- Dani is on her way to the ER,” Alex rushes out. The sound of his office door slamming shut echoes through the phone.
“Wait- what? What do you mean she’s going to the ER?” Henry gasps. He stands up as Bea looks at him, her eyes wide.
“Apparently that kid who’s been messing with her pushed her on the playground,” Alex bites out. His annoyance is obvious. “She fell off the fucking slide and broke her arm. I’ve told the school time and time again that I wanted him moved to a different class. They said they’ve talked to his parents, but clearly nothing has been fixed.”
“Alex, breathe, is she okay?” Henry asks softly.
“They said she was, yeah. I’m on my way to the hospital now.”
“I’ll meet you here. She’s going to be okay, sweetheart, just breathe. I’ll see you soon.” Henry hangs up and slips his phone into his pocket. “So, Dani is on her way to the hospital.”
“What?” Bea gasps softly. “What happened?”
“The little hellion that’s been causing issues pushed her off the slide.” Henry runs his hand through his hair. “I need to meet Alex at the hospital. This is going to be a lot of paperwork with the school, and I’m going to have to talk Alex out of suing a child. Are you okay if I leave Cat here? I don’t want to take her to the hospital.”
Bea nods jerkily. “Oh yeah, absolutely. If you two aren’t back before close, I’ll take her back to your place and get her ready for bed. You go take care of Dani.”
By the time Henry makes it to the hospital, Dani’s arm is wrapped in a neon pink cast and she’s sitting in Alex’s arm as he talks to the principal. She has stitches closing a cut across her forehead, her knees scraped up.
“Daddy,” Dani whines, holding his arms out for him. “My arm hurts.”
“I know, baby girl, I’m so sorry,” he whispers.
The principal is gently trying to calm Alex down. “Mr. Fox-Claremont-Diaz, there’s no way we could’ve guess this would happen-”
“Except that we’ve been warning you about this child for weeks,” Henry cuts in. “Daniela has come home crying on more than one occasion. My husband and I have both been in your office several times to talk to you about this child’s behavior. This isn’t the first time he’s harmed her, it’s just the first time she’s ended up in the hospital.”
“We have had conversations with his parents about his behavior.”
“And look how well those have been helping,” Henry says flatly. “Our daughter has come home with bruises, scrapes, and now a broken arm. Each incident has been documented. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that my husband is a lawyer, but that information will become useful to us if that child does not get taken out of this class and away from our daughter.”
The principal shifts on his feet. He’s clearly not used to Henry losing his temper- usually Alex is the one raising his voice. “The student has been expelled,” he says. “We’re so sorry this happened to Daniela. It won’t happen again, and she will not have any more contact with that student.”
“I should hope not. Now if you excuse us, we’ll be taking our daughter home for the rest of the day.” Henry turns his back to the principal and leans closer to Alex. “C’mon, love, let's get her home. Bea will bring Cat to us when they close.”
“Can we get ice cream on the way home, daddy?” Dani asks quietly. She tucks her head into Henry’s neck.
“Of course we can, baby,” Henry promises. “Papa and I just have to make sure all the paperwork is filled out first.”
It takes almost an hour, but as soon as Alex signs the last paper, he takes Dani into his arms. “Let’s get some ice cream and go home.” He follows Henry out of the room and into the waiting area to leave.
“Mr. Claremont-Diaz?”
“Fox-Claremont-Diaz,” Alex corrects automatically. “Can I help you?”
“We’re Jonathan’s parents,” the man explains. “We just wanted to make sure Daniela was okay.”
“You mean after your son shoved her off the playground slide?” Henry’s voice is ice as he moves to stand in front of Alex and Dani.
The man takes a step back. “Excuse me, we’re trying to talk to Daniela’s father-”
“You are,” Henry snaps. “She is our daughter.”
“I didn’t realize.” He clears his throat a bit. “I just wanted to extend our apologies. This isn’t like Jonathan, he’s such a good kid-”
Henry cuts him off with a harsh laugh. “A good kid? Your son has injured our daughter multiple times. The school has documentation of all of it, and according to the principal, they’ve talked to you about it. Clearly you’re not doing anything to stop your son’s bad behavior.”
“He didn’t mean to hurt her. It’s normal for little boys to pick on girls when they have a crush on them.”
“Normal? You’re saying it’s normal that girls should get injured just because some little brat has a crush on them?” Henry keeps going despite the gasp that comes from Jonathan’s mom. “Boys only do that when they aren’t taught any better. If he has a crush, he should pick her flowers. Compliment her. Make her a card. He should not be shoving her off playgrounds,” he scowls.
“I’ll make sure he knows for the future, maybe he can get Daniela an apology gift-”
“If you or your child ever come near my daughter again, I will have you arrested,” Henry warns. “We will be filing a restraining order. Teach your son better.” He wraps his arm around Alex’s waist and leads them out of the hospital.
-
Dani falls asleep easily that night, the mixture of tears and pain medicine pushing her over the edge of exhaustion. Henry gets her tucked in and leaves her door propped open.
“You were hot at the hospital,” Alex smirks as soon as Henry enters the living room. “I’ve never seen you lose your temper like that.”
“Someone hurt our daughter, on purpose,” Henry huffs. “Of course I lost it. None of them even seemed to care that her arm was broken! Telling us he’s a good kid- clearly he’s fucking not, but that seems to be a parenting issue.” He looks up at Alex and notices that his smile seems a bit forced. “How’re you handling this, Alex?”
“I’m fine,” Alex shrugs.
Henry narrows his eyes. “You’re not, and I can see it. Dani is asleep, love, you can talk to me. What’s going through your head?”
Alex lasts all of thirty seconds before his eyes start watering. “Um. This is the first time she’s ever been seriously hurt,” he whispers. “She’s had bumps and bruises before, of course, but this…” His exhale is shaky. “When the school called and told me Dani was on the way to the hospital, my heart fucking dropped. They sounded so calm about it, too- like it wasn’t a huge deal. Like she wasn’t sitting in the back of a fucking ambulance-” Alex stops suddenly. He presses the palm of his hands into his eyes.
“C’mere, love.” Henry sits on the couch and pulls Alex down into his lap. “I can’t imagine how that would’ve felt. I’m so sorry all of this happened. She’s safe, our baby is safe.”
Alex curls into Henry’s lap. He tries to fight it, but the tears fall after just a few seconds. His body shakes with every sob, hot tears falling onto Henry’s shoulder. Henry just rubs Alex’s back gently to help him stay calm. He can’t even begin to understand how Alex must be feeling after this. After almost an hour, Alex’s body relaxes against Henry’s. Small snores leave his lips.
Bea quietly enters the brownstone a little after six that evening. Alex is still asleep in Henry’s lap. “How are they?” she whispers.
“Dani’s asleep in her room, she’s so pitiful- bruises, stitches, and a cast,” Henry sighs quietly. “Alex took it pretty hard. He’s been asleep for about an hour now.”
“Cat has been fed and changed, she should be ready for bed,” she says quietly. “Do you want me to put her down?”
Henry shakes his head a bit. “Bring her here, please. I want to hold her.”
“Alright, love, here you go.” Bea carefully places Cat in Henry’s arms and covers them both with a blanket. “I’ll go make the three of you some dinner. Don’t argue,” she says as soon as Henry opens his mouth. “You three have had a stressful day. I don’t know if Alex has gone through this, but this is your first time with a hurt child. Spend time with your husband and babies, I’ll take care of dinner. It’s not a problem.”
“Thank you, Bea,” Henry smiles softly and blinks tears back. “You always take such good care of me.”
“You’re my baby brother. That’s my job.”
Alex wakes up a few minutes later when Cat starts cooing. “Hmm? Oh, Cat’s home?” he mumbles, rubbing his eyes.
“Bea just brought her in a few minutes ago,” Henry murmurs. “Bea also insisted on cooking dinner, so she’s in the kitchen. You wanna go check on Dani, or do you want me to? I’m sure she’d love to see her aunt Bea.”
“I’ll go-”
Nora bursts through the door with June close behind her. “Where is she? Is she okay? What the actual fuck happened?”
“Neither of you have answered your phones,” June adds on. “What the hell is happening?”
“Dani has been asleep since we got home, and Alex fell asleep not long after that.” Henry shifts Cat to his other arm. “We haven’t really been checking our phones. Dani is okay.”
“How did she end up with a broken arm at school?” Nora frowns. “Whose ass do I have to kick?”
“The principal’s. Or the little brat’s parents.”
“I genuinely thought Henry was going to punch the kid’s dad in the face,” Alex chuckles softly. “They came up to us at the hospital to apologize and Henry went off.”
“As he should,” Nora nodded. “It’s the same kid y’all have been having issues with this whole time?”
“Yeah,” Henry groans as Alex goes upstairs to check on Dani. “He’s been expelled, and Alex is going to get a restraining order filed. His dad tried to claim he just had a crush on Dani, and it’s normal for boys to pick on girls they like.”
“Bullshit,” June snaps. “Parents like that are the problem. I can’t fucking stand them.”
“With any luck, this will teach all of them a lesson. Bet they never expected a restraining order to be filed on their ten year old.”
-
Dani is ecstatic to find three of her aunts downstairs when she joins them for dinner. She feels better, but she’s struggling to get the hang of moving around with her cast. The girls stay far past Dani’s bedtime. She stays up with them, pushing through her sleepiness, sitting in Alex’s lap. When she can barely keep her eyes open, Henry announces that it’s time for bed. They get Dani tucked into bed while Bea cleans the kitchen. After another bottle and diaper change, Cat is down for the night, too. Bea locks up on her way out.
Alex lets Dani skip school the next day. He’s unable to stay home, but he does walk her to the daycare with Henry and Cat. Alex kisses them all goodbye before hurrying off to work.
“Oh, my precious Daniela!” Pez gasps when she comes running in. “Look at you! Such impressive battle wounds!”
“I got to pick my cast color,” Dani giggles as Pez picks her up. “And papa let me skip school so I can come to work with daddy!”
“Well. We are going to have an absolute blast together, my love, you can stick with me all day while your daddy helps in the baby room,” Pez grins. “C’mon, let's go get some food in your tummy.”
-
Catalina takes her first steps a week before she turns ten months old. Alex notices first, scrambling to grab his phone while he yells for Henry. He manages to record a few steps before she falls back down on her pillow.
“Oh my god, she’s growing up so fast,” Alex whines softly. “Dani didn’t start walking until she was close to a year old. Like, within a couple weeks. Cat hasn’t even started talking yet!”
“She babbles a lot, darling, she’ll start saying words soon,” Henry smiles softly.
Once Cat starts walking, she never slows down. It’s overwhelming to say the least, but Henry keeps up as best as he can. He always feels like he’s drowning. Alex handles it all with ease. They cry when Cat’s first word is dada at eleven months old. She says papa a week later. It’s a lot to take in.
Henry tells his mom as much when he has lunch with her that Sunday afternoon. “I feel like I'm failing,” he whispers. “Failing at being a father. Alex did all of this as a single parent in college- in law school! Now we’re married and I can’t handle this, even with his help. We have a whole village of people helping and I still feel useless.”
“Oh, love,” Catherine murmurs, rubbing his back gently, a sympathetic smile on her face. “You’re not failing. You’re a wonderful father to Dani and Cat. Babies can be challenging. They test your patience like no other. You’re doing great with Cat. Babies aren’t supposed to be easy.”
“I just… Alex is so much better than I am at this stuff. I feel like I’m letting him down,” he admits.
Catherine frowns at that. “Have you talked to Alex about this? He doesn’t think you’re failing, love. He always talks about how wonderful you are.”
“I don’t want to worry him.” Henry keeps his eyes cast down at his tea. “He’s got a lot on his mind between work and trying to plan Cat’s first birthday. Plus, I think he’s wanting to start planning for another kid. Dani and Cat have such a big age difference and he doesn’t want that for Cat and her next sibling. I’m just not ready for another kid yet.”
“Tell him that. You need to be up front with him before he gets too caught up in the plans.”
So Henry does… eventually. He waits until Cat’s first birthday party has come and gone. Both of their families gathered in their brownstone to celebrate, including all three of Alex’s parents. Thankfully, everybody gets along.
A couple weeks later, June and Nora take the kids for the night so Henry and Alex can have a night to relax.
“I’m not ready for another kid yet,” Henry blurts out as soon as Alex sits by him on the couch. He blushes softly. “Sorry- I just- I know you had been talking about it more. Bea even brought it up since she’s going to be our surrogate next time around, but I’m just… I’m not ready.”
“That’s fine, babe,” Alex promises him. “We don’t have to rush. Cat just turned one. We have plenty of time.”
Henry exhales slowly. “I don’t think I’m doing a good job as a dad,” he finally admits. “I feel like I’m failing constantly.”
“What? Baby,” Alex frowns, reaching out to grab Henry’s hands. “Henry. You are such an amazing father. You always have been. Dani claimed you as her dad before either of us had even talked about it. Dani absolutely adores you. What has you thinking you’re a bad father?”
“I’m just… I get so overwhelmed, so easily,” Henry whispers. “I forgot to do Cat’s laundry last week because I was so stressed out over Dani’s school project, plus inspections at the daycare. I’ve forgotten Dani’s lunch so many times on days I’m supposed to take her to school. When you were working late the other day, we didn’t have pizza because I was tired. We had pizza because I fell asleep while Dani was doing homework and I burned our dinner.”
“Henry, baby, look at me,” Alex murmurs. He cups Henry’s cheeks and looks him in the eye. “None of that makes you a bad father. When Dani was a baby, the amount of times I fell asleep with her on the floor with me is insane. I forgot to feed her at times- my mom and June were the only reasons I made it. Fatherhood is not easy, baby, and you’re doing a fucking fantastic job. You are so good at taking care of all of us. You do so much for us. Any time I have to work late or go in early, you always step up to take care of us and I love you so fucking much it’s unreal.” Alex leans forward and rests their foreheads together. “You are an amazing father. Both of our babies love you so much. Cat’s first word was dada because you are her absolute favorite person in the world.”
“That’s not true-”
“It is true, and that’s okay,” Alex smiles softly. “It’s okay if kids prefer one parent over the other. It probably won’t always be like that. Especially when she realizes I’m the better cook,” he teases.
Henry lets out a small laugh, wiping at the tears that fall down his cheeks. “I love you so much, Alex. I’m sorry I’m feeling like this-”
“Don’t you dare apologize for how you feel.” Alex shifts on the couch, pulling Henry into his side. “You’re allowed to feel like this. You’re allowed to be upset. Hell, when Cat wasn’t sleeping through the night, there were so many times that I thought we made a mistake having another kid. There were times where I felt like we were taking too much attention away from Dani because Cat was sick, or something was wrong. And, god, when Dani got hurt- I thought I failed at protecting her because I didn’t do more to pull her out of that school.”
“She didn’t want to leave the school, love, neither of us failed her,” Henry promises. “The principal failed her.”
“I know, sweetheart. Neither of us are failing, even if we mess up. Even if you burn dinner, or I forget to come home early to help with a school project, or either of us forget Dani’s lunch at home. We’re doing our best. Our babies are happy and healthy. Fuck, Dani is growing like a weed. She’s almost eleven now!”
“I’m baffled that I have an eleven year old, I can only imagine how you must feel.” Henry rubs his face gently. “You’ve been her father much longer than I have.”
“And yet, she still goes to you for help with her homework,” Alex laughs. “But she comes to me when she wants food. We each have our redeeming qualities.”
Henry rests his head on Alex’s shoulder. “She told me something interesting when I picked her up the other day. Kind of irked me a little at first, honestly.”
“What did she say?”
“She said she overheard the other parents talk about how they look forward to your pickup days,” he murmurs. “They like looking at you. That explained why they always looked a little disappointed when I walked up, but I can’t say I blame them. I also love looking at you whenever I get the chance. Only difference is that they’ll never see you naked.”
“They should be absolutely worshiping you every chance they get,” Alex huffs. He slips his hands under the hem of Henry’s shirt to rub his hips. “You’re fucking gorgeous. Every inch of you. Every… glorious… inch,” he smirks, accentuating each word with a kiss to Henry’s neck.
“You are an absolute heathen,” Henry gasps softly. “You’re just saying that because you want my dick.”
“Maybe. But maybe I really do love every inch of you,” Alex winks. He stands up and scoops Henry into his arms bridal style. He laughs at Henry’s yelp. “What? You’re not the only strong one around here.”
Henry loves every single inch of Alex’s body, too. But mostly, he loves that Alex knows exactly how to get him out of his head and calm him down.
-
Things get easier for Henry after that. Instead of holding everything in, he spends more time talking to Alex. Any time he feels insecure, or overwhelmed, he curls up in Alex’s arms that night and tells him everything. When Cat falls, she reaches for Henry first. When Dani gets her first crush at school, she comes home to tell Henry about it. ( “Daddy, you know papa will just make a big deal about it! You can’t tell him!”) Henry can’t help but think that, yeah, maybe he is doing a good job at this parenting thing.
-
They keep it a total secret. Not a single person knows, not even Dani or their parents, but Alex is buzzing with the need to tell someone. They’re at the lake house for the weekend, all of their family gathered around the bonfire near the dock. Dani has spent most of the day swimming with June and Nora. Cat has been toddling around as much as a two year old can, never getting too far from anybody. After dinner, Alex and Henry take Cat in to get her changed.
“You ready for this?” Alex grins. “Who do you think she’ll go up to first?”
“She’s been very fond of Bea today, so hopefully not here,” Henry giggles quietly. “Maybe your mum? Or dad? She doesn’t see them as often as she sees Bea and my mum.”
“Bea should know to stay clear.” Alex adjusts the shirt on Cat and picks her back up. “Let’s get out there, baby.”
Henry keeps his hand on Alex’s back as they make their way back to the family. Alex sets Cat down on her feet gently.
“Go say hi to nana or tia,” he whispers.
Cat laughs brightly as she takes off towards the family. Ellen grabs her just before she falls face first into the dirt. “Careful there, sugar,” she laughs, setting Cat on her knee. “Your daddies changed you, huh? I didn’t think you were that dirty-”
“Oh my god!” June shouts, standing up. “Oh my god!”
Everybody jumps at June’s outburst. She’s pointing at Cat’s shirt. Big Sister is written across the shirt in big, block letters. Everybody starts talking at once.
“Holy sh-crap, y’all are having another kid?”
“How long have you known?”
“When did you decide?”
“What-”
Henry just laughs as everybody gathers around them. Bea finally takes her hoodie off, the beginnings of a small baby bump showing through her t-shirt.
“Oh, my babies!” Catherine gasps softly, wrapping both of her kids up in her arms. “I can’t believe I’m going to have another grandbaby. Beatrice, I’m so proud of you for doing this for your brother.”
“We’re both very thankful for her,” Alex nods. “Obviously, we would love our baby no matter what, but I love that all three of our kids will have a biological connection.”
“I’m not going to use my uterus for myself, might as well put it to good use,” Bea teases as she laughs. “I will say, morning sickness is a nightmare.”
Dani finally walks up to them. “Wait. I’m gonna be a big sister again?”
“Yes, baby, you are,” Henry laughs as he wraps his arms around her shoulders. “Remember how Tia June carried Catalina? Aunt Bea is carrying this baby.”
“Is it gonna be another girl? I hope so. Boys are stinky.”
“Hey! Rude!” Alex flicks Dani’s head playfully. “You’re stinky.”
“I’m only three months along, darling, we won’t know for a couple more months,” Bea chuckles. “I think your dads are hoping for a boy this time around though.”
Dani narrows her eyes up at Alex and Henry. “You want a boy?”
“Maybe we do,” Alex challenges. “You’ll love having a little brother. You can protect him and love him and teach him how to be nice to girls.”
“I guess.” Dani crosses her arms. “At least he won’t push girls off the playground.”
Nora has to excuse herself to hide her laughing.
When Oscar brings out the guitar and starts a small sing along, Nora helping Dani make s’mores way past her bedtime, Henry wraps his arms around Alex from behind.
“I can’t believe my baby is almost twelve,” Alex whispers. “It’s so crazy to me. I’m not even thirty and I have an almost twelve year old.”
“At least you’ve had twelve years to get used to the idea,” Henry laughs quietly. “Dani was already five when I met her.”
“I can’t believe we’ve been together so long,” Alex smiles softly. “I kind of love you a lot, y’know that?”
“Yeah, I think you’ve mentioned it a time or two.” Henry grunts when Alex elbows him. “I love you, too, darling, you know that. You’re my husband, and the only person I’ve ever loved this much. If you weren’t already my husband, I’d marry you.”
And he would. Henry would marry Alex over and over again, in every world, and every lifetime. He wouldn’t give up his family for anything. And with Dani running up to his side with her sticky marshmallow fingers, Cat following her with chocolate covering her face, Henry realizes that his family wouldn’t give him up for anything, either.