Wildflowers and Weddings Chapter 6
Apr. 7th, 2014 01:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
asphaltcowgrrlTitle: Wildflowers and Weddings, Chapter 6
Fandom: Common Law
Pairing: Travis Marks/Wes Mitchell
Rating: PG-13.
Word Count: 2,038
Warnings: More mpreg. You’ve been warned.
Short Summary: Wes and Travis plan a wedding while dealing with other things.
Author’s Notes: Part four of the Flowers in the Garden series. The first three installements are on AO3: Buttercups and Babies, Violets and Doting Daddies, and Poinsettias and Presents.
“The main facts in human life are five: birth, food, sleep, love and death.” – E. M. Forster
Still June – approximately 37 weeks
“Detective Marks,” Travis announced into his cell phone. “Wes? Baby, wait, slow down. What’s wrong?” He could hear Wes’ struggle for control through the line.
“I hate to ask but I need you to come home. Soon. Maybe not this minute, but soon, please.”
Travis looked at his current partner out of the corner of his eye. “I’m not sure I can. If I give the cap a good reason though, he might take pity on me.”
“Dakota and I just got back from my doctor’s appointment and he thinks the baby is under too much stress. He wants –” Wes’ voice faltered the fear evident in his words.
“Travis, he wants an emergency section. Tomorrow.”
“Emer – Wes, what does that even mean?” He could feel the panic rising inside him, stirring in his gut and clawing its way upwards.
“It means he wants to force delivery. In other words, an early C-section since there’s no other way for her to come out.” Wes took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I guess it’s common but… but I’m scared” The last two words came out as a whisper.
“Baby, I’ll be home as soon as I can. Let me call the cap first.”
“Hurry,” he begged.
“I will,” he promised, unsure if he could come through on it or not.
“Dakota,” Travis sighed inwardly, thankful that she hadn’t abandoned Wes in his hour of need. “You’re still here, thank god.”
“Of course I’m still here. Your man isn’t in any condition to watch over this little one.” She pointed at the child in question who was currently dancing by herself in the living room.
“Good point. He told you everything?”
She nodded. “He did. I’ve already talked to Peter and he’s okay with me bringing Violet home with me tonight so you can get some rest and get Wes to the hospital on time in the morning.”
Travis blinked back his surprise. “You talked to Peter? Did Wes…?”
She shook her head. “No, he didn’t ask. I knew he wouldn’t and that you’d probably be too worried about him to think about what was going to happen with her.” Dakota looked down at her hands, adjusting her wedding rings as she said the next part. “I kind of took it upon myself to kidnap your daughter so you didn’t have to worry about her.”
Travis wrapped his arms around her shoulders, crushing the delicate woman against his chest. “God, I love you right now, you crazy woman.”
Pushing Travis off her, she laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment, Travis. I haven’t packed her bag yet, I wanted to make sure it was okay with you two first.”
“It’s definitely okay,” he assured her. “I don’t know where else she could go, honestly. And she loves you and Uncle Peter. Where’s Wes?”
“In your bedroom, having a meltdown.” Her look said more than words could convey.
Travis frowned knowing how true that probably was. Wes handled a lot of things with grace, being pregnant wasn’t one of them. “Thank you.”
He didn’t wait for her to respond before going to find his husband. Pushing the bedroom door open, he found Wes curled in a ball on the bed, Travis’ pillow hugged to his chest. The sight of his lover so scared and broken tore at him.
“Wes, baby, you okay?” Travis knew it was a stupid question the minute it left his mouth, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Why didn’t the parenting and pregnancy books prepare you for crap like this?
Blue eyes lifted from the pillow. Wes shook his head in the negative as best he could without lifting it from the pillow. A small smile touched Travis’ lips as he kicked off his shoes. Climbing into bed beside Wes, he cuddled him close.
“That’s my pillow you’re crying all over,” he teased, hoping to lighten the mood somewhat.
“I know,” Wes whispered. “I needed to believe you were nearby until you really could be.”
“I’m here now and I’m not going to leave your side again until I have to. Okay?” He rubbed small circles on his husband’s back, giving what comfort he could.
Wes nodded. “Okay. Did the captain give you the go ahead to come home?”
“Yeah,” Travis said, snuggling closer and resting a hand on Wes’ belly. “He also told me to take at least ten days before coming back. Called it a baby gift.”
A tiny smile teased at the corners of Wes’ mouth at that. “He’s good to us.”
“He is, even if we do make him crazy,” Travis agreed. “Now, I need to break that promise I just made to you so I can pack Violet’s bag for Dakota.”
Wes moved back from Travis. “Pack a bag? Why?”
“Shh,” Travis said, pulling Wes back against him. “She and Peter have offered to take her for a few days, just until we can get you back home and settled with the new little one.”
“I don’t like it, but I don’t have much choice, do I?” Dusky circles were smudged under his eyes, giving his pitiful look a darker feeling.
“Nope, sure don’t, baby.” Travis kissed the top of Wes’ head, reassuring him that it was the right thing to do. “But she loves Dakota and is comfortable with her. I could have gotten one of my foster moms to take her for a few days, but she doesn’t know any of them like she does Dakota and Peter. This is better.”
Wes sighed. “Write this on the calendar, but you’re right, Marks. Now, go get them on their way so you can come back here and hold me.”
Travis kissed his cheek this time, grinning at Wes’ admission. “I won’t be long, baby. I promise.”
It had been an hour since they’d wheeled Wes off and Travis was doing his level best to wear a rut in the waiting room’s floor. The first time, when he’d gone into labor with Violet, it hadn’t taken nearly this long, had it? But then, Violet was impatient and wouldn’t be held back by any man, doctor or not. Travis had to laugh at that because she had certainly received that trait from him. Maybe this baby would show more patience, be more like her other parent. He could hope.
Travis checked his watch again – an hour and fifteen minutes had now passed – and he was beginning to worry. He'd jokingly told Wes that morning that he was going to be the death of him, but now he was slowly beginning to believe it.
“Mr. Marks?” A nurse called to him from the front desk.
“That’s me, what do you need?” He prayed that it wasn’t anything serious. Wes had done this before without issue, so why would there be trouble now? That nagging reminder that Wes fell into the ‘older mother’ category popped back into his mind. Shoving it away, he faced the nurse. “Is everything okay?”
“Of course it is,” she comforted him. “Just wanted to let you know your husband was out of surgery and that he and your daughter are fine and in recovery.”
“Wonderful,” he said, resisting the urge to kiss the nurse on the mouth for such good news. “I can go see him now?”
“You may.” She shook her head at his enthusiasm, watching him run out of the waiting room and towards the bank of elevators that would take him to the labor and delivery ward.
Travis poked his head into Wes’ room, checking to see if he was awake before talking to him. Wes was half watching the television, eyes straying from the screen to the clear plastic crib stationed by his bed. Following his lover’s line of sight, he observed his little girl for the first time, amazed how they could produce two children that were physically so very different.
“She’s so pale,” he whispered, the surprise in his voice raising a chuckle from Wes.
He turned to Travis, nodding. “I know. Vi’s not nearly as dark as you are, but she makes Bri look like an albino. Come, sit. I’ve missed you.”
Travis obeyed, coming over and sitting on the edge of Wes’ hospital bed where he could see both his love and his baby. “I’ve missed you too,” he admitted, leaning forward for a kiss. “You feel okay?”
“For now. Whatever they gave me is pretty strong.” He got quiet for a moment, watching Travis study the baby. “So, what do you think?”
“About what,” he asked before suddenly realizing what he meant. “Oh, about her. She’s perfect, baby, just like Violet and just like you.” He placed another kiss on Wes’ mouth, wishing momentarily for more.
“Yeah, she kind of is, isn’t she?” Pride was evident both on his face and in his words.
And she was. Her flawless skin held just a hint of his darker complexion, giving her the impression of a baby with a tan instead of the caramel latte coloring her sister had. He thought he even spied a few tiny freckles dotting her cheeks here and there. Her eyes were blue, of course, but darker and more like Wes’ than his own paler set. Despite having the same kinky, loose curls as Violet, hers was much lighter, showing traces of Wes’ golden locks in her own coffee-colored mane. Yeah, it didn’t get much more perfect than this.
“So…,” Travis began, wondering how he should proceed.
Wes arched a tired brow. “So, what?”
“We talked names,” he began.
“We did,” Wes confirmed.
“Did we ever come to an actual conclusion?” Travis flicked his gaze back to the possibly nameless child.
Wes hesitated. They had talked, but had Travis ever agreed? He couldn’t remember, not with everything that had happened since then. “I’d suggested Bryony, remember? Not sure if that was okay with you or not but… well, I’ve already started calling her Bri. Stop me now if you don’t like it.”
“It’s perfect. And now that I see her, it fits. Did you ever come up with a middle name? I mean, what actually goes with a poisonous vine?”
Glaring at his partner, Wes said, “I didn’t, but in the interest of one of our children having a normal name, I thought Rae would work. It fits with your bizarre obsession for names spawning from nature but isn’t nearly as weird as Violet Storm.”
Travis traced his bottom lip with his tongue, staring hard at the baby, knowing if he looked at Wes he’d be caught. He had suggested it after all. “I like it. Bryony Rae, my little ray of sunshine, it is.”
“So glad you agree, Marks,” Wes teased. A yawn escaped him then, startling both men. “I guess I’m more tired than I thought.”
“It’s all good, Wes,” Travis said, moving off the bed and into the recliner seated next to the bed. “You get some sleep and I’ll commune with baby girl here in the meantime. Can I hold her while you sleep?”
“You sure can. And if she fusses, the nurse can bring you a bottle, you just have to call and ask.”
“Got it.” He stood and came to his husband’s side. Giving him yet another kiss, but not nearly as many as he’d like to shower him with, he let Wes drift off while he held their newest addition. Things could not get any better than they were right that minute.
Two perfect, beautiful, healthy children. A wonderful husband. They had a nice house with a big yard, decent jobs, and good friends. He couldn’t think of a single thing missing from his life. If he died tonight, he would die a happy man. Granted, he’d be so much happier if he didn’t die tonight, but that was neither here nor there. He didn’t write those stupid ass adages, they just found their own way into his vocabulary over the years. Travis was content, and he could live with that. Live being the operative word here.
Idiotic old proverbs or whatever they were.
Continues here.
Fandom: Common Law
Pairing: Travis Marks/Wes Mitchell
Rating: PG-13.
Word Count: 2,038
Warnings: More mpreg. You’ve been warned.
Short Summary: Wes and Travis plan a wedding while dealing with other things.
Author’s Notes: Part four of the Flowers in the Garden series. The first three installements are on AO3: Buttercups and Babies, Violets and Doting Daddies, and Poinsettias and Presents.
“The main facts in human life are five: birth, food, sleep, love and death.” – E. M. Forster
Still June – approximately 37 weeks
“Detective Marks,” Travis announced into his cell phone. “Wes? Baby, wait, slow down. What’s wrong?” He could hear Wes’ struggle for control through the line.
“I hate to ask but I need you to come home. Soon. Maybe not this minute, but soon, please.”
Travis looked at his current partner out of the corner of his eye. “I’m not sure I can. If I give the cap a good reason though, he might take pity on me.”
“Dakota and I just got back from my doctor’s appointment and he thinks the baby is under too much stress. He wants –” Wes’ voice faltered the fear evident in his words.
“Travis, he wants an emergency section. Tomorrow.”
“Emer – Wes, what does that even mean?” He could feel the panic rising inside him, stirring in his gut and clawing its way upwards.
“It means he wants to force delivery. In other words, an early C-section since there’s no other way for her to come out.” Wes took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I guess it’s common but… but I’m scared” The last two words came out as a whisper.
“Baby, I’ll be home as soon as I can. Let me call the cap first.”
“Hurry,” he begged.
“I will,” he promised, unsure if he could come through on it or not.
“Dakota,” Travis sighed inwardly, thankful that she hadn’t abandoned Wes in his hour of need. “You’re still here, thank god.”
“Of course I’m still here. Your man isn’t in any condition to watch over this little one.” She pointed at the child in question who was currently dancing by herself in the living room.
“Good point. He told you everything?”
She nodded. “He did. I’ve already talked to Peter and he’s okay with me bringing Violet home with me tonight so you can get some rest and get Wes to the hospital on time in the morning.”
Travis blinked back his surprise. “You talked to Peter? Did Wes…?”
She shook her head. “No, he didn’t ask. I knew he wouldn’t and that you’d probably be too worried about him to think about what was going to happen with her.” Dakota looked down at her hands, adjusting her wedding rings as she said the next part. “I kind of took it upon myself to kidnap your daughter so you didn’t have to worry about her.”
Travis wrapped his arms around her shoulders, crushing the delicate woman against his chest. “God, I love you right now, you crazy woman.”
Pushing Travis off her, she laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment, Travis. I haven’t packed her bag yet, I wanted to make sure it was okay with you two first.”
“It’s definitely okay,” he assured her. “I don’t know where else she could go, honestly. And she loves you and Uncle Peter. Where’s Wes?”
“In your bedroom, having a meltdown.” Her look said more than words could convey.
Travis frowned knowing how true that probably was. Wes handled a lot of things with grace, being pregnant wasn’t one of them. “Thank you.”
He didn’t wait for her to respond before going to find his husband. Pushing the bedroom door open, he found Wes curled in a ball on the bed, Travis’ pillow hugged to his chest. The sight of his lover so scared and broken tore at him.
“Wes, baby, you okay?” Travis knew it was a stupid question the minute it left his mouth, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Why didn’t the parenting and pregnancy books prepare you for crap like this?
Blue eyes lifted from the pillow. Wes shook his head in the negative as best he could without lifting it from the pillow. A small smile touched Travis’ lips as he kicked off his shoes. Climbing into bed beside Wes, he cuddled him close.
“That’s my pillow you’re crying all over,” he teased, hoping to lighten the mood somewhat.
“I know,” Wes whispered. “I needed to believe you were nearby until you really could be.”
“I’m here now and I’m not going to leave your side again until I have to. Okay?” He rubbed small circles on his husband’s back, giving what comfort he could.
Wes nodded. “Okay. Did the captain give you the go ahead to come home?”
“Yeah,” Travis said, snuggling closer and resting a hand on Wes’ belly. “He also told me to take at least ten days before coming back. Called it a baby gift.”
A tiny smile teased at the corners of Wes’ mouth at that. “He’s good to us.”
“He is, even if we do make him crazy,” Travis agreed. “Now, I need to break that promise I just made to you so I can pack Violet’s bag for Dakota.”
Wes moved back from Travis. “Pack a bag? Why?”
“Shh,” Travis said, pulling Wes back against him. “She and Peter have offered to take her for a few days, just until we can get you back home and settled with the new little one.”
“I don’t like it, but I don’t have much choice, do I?” Dusky circles were smudged under his eyes, giving his pitiful look a darker feeling.
“Nope, sure don’t, baby.” Travis kissed the top of Wes’ head, reassuring him that it was the right thing to do. “But she loves Dakota and is comfortable with her. I could have gotten one of my foster moms to take her for a few days, but she doesn’t know any of them like she does Dakota and Peter. This is better.”
Wes sighed. “Write this on the calendar, but you’re right, Marks. Now, go get them on their way so you can come back here and hold me.”
Travis kissed his cheek this time, grinning at Wes’ admission. “I won’t be long, baby. I promise.”
It had been an hour since they’d wheeled Wes off and Travis was doing his level best to wear a rut in the waiting room’s floor. The first time, when he’d gone into labor with Violet, it hadn’t taken nearly this long, had it? But then, Violet was impatient and wouldn’t be held back by any man, doctor or not. Travis had to laugh at that because she had certainly received that trait from him. Maybe this baby would show more patience, be more like her other parent. He could hope.
Travis checked his watch again – an hour and fifteen minutes had now passed – and he was beginning to worry. He'd jokingly told Wes that morning that he was going to be the death of him, but now he was slowly beginning to believe it.
“Mr. Marks?” A nurse called to him from the front desk.
“That’s me, what do you need?” He prayed that it wasn’t anything serious. Wes had done this before without issue, so why would there be trouble now? That nagging reminder that Wes fell into the ‘older mother’ category popped back into his mind. Shoving it away, he faced the nurse. “Is everything okay?”
“Of course it is,” she comforted him. “Just wanted to let you know your husband was out of surgery and that he and your daughter are fine and in recovery.”
“Wonderful,” he said, resisting the urge to kiss the nurse on the mouth for such good news. “I can go see him now?”
“You may.” She shook her head at his enthusiasm, watching him run out of the waiting room and towards the bank of elevators that would take him to the labor and delivery ward.
Travis poked his head into Wes’ room, checking to see if he was awake before talking to him. Wes was half watching the television, eyes straying from the screen to the clear plastic crib stationed by his bed. Following his lover’s line of sight, he observed his little girl for the first time, amazed how they could produce two children that were physically so very different.
“She’s so pale,” he whispered, the surprise in his voice raising a chuckle from Wes.
He turned to Travis, nodding. “I know. Vi’s not nearly as dark as you are, but she makes Bri look like an albino. Come, sit. I’ve missed you.”
Travis obeyed, coming over and sitting on the edge of Wes’ hospital bed where he could see both his love and his baby. “I’ve missed you too,” he admitted, leaning forward for a kiss. “You feel okay?”
“For now. Whatever they gave me is pretty strong.” He got quiet for a moment, watching Travis study the baby. “So, what do you think?”
“About what,” he asked before suddenly realizing what he meant. “Oh, about her. She’s perfect, baby, just like Violet and just like you.” He placed another kiss on Wes’ mouth, wishing momentarily for more.
“Yeah, she kind of is, isn’t she?” Pride was evident both on his face and in his words.
And she was. Her flawless skin held just a hint of his darker complexion, giving her the impression of a baby with a tan instead of the caramel latte coloring her sister had. He thought he even spied a few tiny freckles dotting her cheeks here and there. Her eyes were blue, of course, but darker and more like Wes’ than his own paler set. Despite having the same kinky, loose curls as Violet, hers was much lighter, showing traces of Wes’ golden locks in her own coffee-colored mane. Yeah, it didn’t get much more perfect than this.
“So…,” Travis began, wondering how he should proceed.
Wes arched a tired brow. “So, what?”
“We talked names,” he began.
“We did,” Wes confirmed.
“Did we ever come to an actual conclusion?” Travis flicked his gaze back to the possibly nameless child.
Wes hesitated. They had talked, but had Travis ever agreed? He couldn’t remember, not with everything that had happened since then. “I’d suggested Bryony, remember? Not sure if that was okay with you or not but… well, I’ve already started calling her Bri. Stop me now if you don’t like it.”
“It’s perfect. And now that I see her, it fits. Did you ever come up with a middle name? I mean, what actually goes with a poisonous vine?”
Glaring at his partner, Wes said, “I didn’t, but in the interest of one of our children having a normal name, I thought Rae would work. It fits with your bizarre obsession for names spawning from nature but isn’t nearly as weird as Violet Storm.”
Travis traced his bottom lip with his tongue, staring hard at the baby, knowing if he looked at Wes he’d be caught. He had suggested it after all. “I like it. Bryony Rae, my little ray of sunshine, it is.”
“So glad you agree, Marks,” Wes teased. A yawn escaped him then, startling both men. “I guess I’m more tired than I thought.”
“It’s all good, Wes,” Travis said, moving off the bed and into the recliner seated next to the bed. “You get some sleep and I’ll commune with baby girl here in the meantime. Can I hold her while you sleep?”
“You sure can. And if she fusses, the nurse can bring you a bottle, you just have to call and ask.”
“Got it.” He stood and came to his husband’s side. Giving him yet another kiss, but not nearly as many as he’d like to shower him with, he let Wes drift off while he held their newest addition. Things could not get any better than they were right that minute.
Two perfect, beautiful, healthy children. A wonderful husband. They had a nice house with a big yard, decent jobs, and good friends. He couldn’t think of a single thing missing from his life. If he died tonight, he would die a happy man. Granted, he’d be so much happier if he didn’t die tonight, but that was neither here nor there. He didn’t write those stupid ass adages, they just found their own way into his vocabulary over the years. Travis was content, and he could live with that. Live being the operative word here.
Idiotic old proverbs or whatever they were.
Continues here.
