Chapter Text
November
35 Weeks
Considering he’d only gotten home the night before, Rooster was in a good mood. He usually crashed and burned after a longer deployment, especially overseas due to jetlag on the way home, but there was no mention of feeling unwell or being overly tired. Dee promptly decided to take advantage of this fact as whilst he’d been gone, she’d ordered everything for the new house and had it delivered there.
All that had to be done now was to put it all together. Easy, right?
Wrong. God, so wrong.
“Why do I need to put parts A and F together if it says to assemble it in alphabetical order?”
That good mood was waning fast.
“Dee!”
Very fast.
Carefully getting up from her spot at the kitchen counter so as not to trigger a kick to her bladder, Dee made her way around the corner into the living area where Bradley was spread out on the rug, reading instructions whilst his foot held two pieces of what she assumed was their new dresser together.
“You okay?”
“I need you to do me a favour, and never talk to anyone about it again.”
Dee blinked. That had her interest.
“Okay... what is it?”
“I need you to call Jake and invite him over... say it’s to discuss the house, he’s been really into it.”
She tangled her fingers in his curls when she got close enough he could lean his head against her thigh, smiling to herself.
“You want me to ask him to help you?”
“Fuck no, I don’t have a death wish.”
Then he kissed her hand. His foot apparently moved just enough to dislodge the two pieces of wood and they fell to the ground with a loud bang. Dee watched Rooster put his head in his hands and she squeezed his shoulder, snorting to herself.
“One smug Seresin, comin’ right up.”
-
“Dee, you are glowing, congratulations on the baby.”
“Jake, you look exactly the same as when I saw you last time.”
Dee glanced over her shoulder to call for her boyfriend, stepping back to let Jake through the front door. He paused in the hallway, gesturing to his hair.
“I did get a haircut, but it’s okay; I know lawyers don’t always see the obvious.”
In response, she tossed the towel she’d been using to dry the dishes at his head. Of course, he ducked and it hit Bradley square in the chest when he rounded the corner.
“Hangman.”
“Rooster.”
They nodded at each other, some kind of silent man-conversation going on, and then disappeared into the kitchen to get beer before going to start the furniture. When Dee got to the couch, book and a glass of water in hand, the pair weren’t even working on the furniture, rather wrestling on the rug. She sighed, stepping around a wayward leg that darted out when Hangman got on top of her boyfriend. Not like that, get your head outta the gutter!
“My money’s on Hangman.”
“Hey- ow!”
Narrowly dodging the headlock coming his way, Bradley elbowed Jake right back and then they were both screaming for mercy yet neither seemed to be letting go. Dee took the opportunity to toss the remnants of her glass of water on them and they retreated like wet cats.
A power move. Be like Dee.
“Here’s the thing, Bagman; I need you to pass me that screwdriver and the instructions.”
He did as asked, Rooster flicking his head so the water from his curls went all over Hangman.
“Alright, let’s get this started. Baby, sit the larger piece up so that Jake can hold it. Seresin, if you drop that on his leg I might bite you.”
Jake and Bradley exchanged a look. Bradley shook his head.
“I wouldn’t mess with her if I were you, man.”
“So specific,” Jake muttered to himself. His head swivelled between Rooster and Dee for a moment, then he frowned.
“So Rooster gets head, and I get- what? A thank you and kicked out the door?”
“Last time I checked I can’t even get to my own pants let alone his,” Dee commented dryly. She’d flipped the instruction booklet upside down and Rooster snorted at his wife while Jake continued his pout.
“I took a night off getting drunk on leave for you guys.”
“I feel like someone’s fishing here- no, Roos, baby, that’s back to front. Jeez, you guys fly expensive planes for a living?”
“Jets,” Rooster and Hangman said simultaneously. Hangman shrugged.
“I can think of one thing that would make this worth it.”
Dee cocked an eyebrow.
“If it has to do with sex, I don’t want to know.”
Rooster facepalmed.
-
“Absolutely not!”
“Jade, c’mon-“
“You literally said last week that he gave your boyfriend a wedgie so bad it took you an hour trying to get off the floor from laughing about it!”
“He has good days... sometimes!”
Dee heard Jade scoff, and knew it wasn’t going to go well. She winced, glancing into the living room where she’d left dumbass and dumbasser (she wasn’t entirely sure who was who at that point) putting together the last of the furniture. They’d managed to get the main crib together, as well as the portable one that would be going in their bedroom for the first few months, and then the rocking chair. All that was left was the changing table and the wardrobe, but Dee had a feeling they were going to need pizza before they got to the wardrobe. Bradley looked mildly irritated, moustache tilted downward as he squabbled with Jake.
“Dee you're asking a lot, girl.”
“Jade, if I wasn’t so desperate to put the baby’s clothes in something before she graduates from high school, I wouldn’t be asking you.”
Jade was quiet for a moment. Dee crossed her fingers behind her back.
“Is he going to be nice?”
“He’s from Texas, Jade. His Southern Charm will have you giggling in minutes.”
-
“Roos!”
Rooster carefully extracted himself from his spot elbows-deep in the Bronco, frowning when he jogged back into the house to see what was going on. Dee was on the living room floor somehow, surrounded by baby clothes, and he raised an eyebrow.
“What’s up?”
“I’m pregnant.”
“Wow, really? Guess I missed the memo- can you not throw things at me?”
Dee had promptly tossed a spit up rag at him which he caught easily, placing it on the couch and then joining her on the floor.
“I wanted to pack the hospital bag but I can’t choose a going home outfit. The photos, B, she needs cute photos.”
Rooster passed her a pink bib with a purple baby grow and a green hat. Dee blinked.
“Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“She’s gonna be a colourful baby.”
“She’s gonna get bullied before she’s even started school.”
“Not with us around.”
Dee paused. The determination in Bradley’s voice told her she could unlock something vital to his childhood trauma... or she could pelt him with another piece of baby clothing sent by her mom that was borderline the ugliest thing she’d ever seen.
“Is this how you show love?”
Yeah. That was better.
-
36 Weeks
Sitting around the dining table, Jade on one side and Jake on the other with Dee next to him, Bradley wondered if they’d made a bad decision. Jade was glaring daggers through the man on the other side of the table and for the first time... ever, Jake looked like he wished it would swallow him whole.
Truly, Bradley wondered if it was his birthday and Christmas rolled into one. He kind of wished he had a camera.
Christmas was right around the corner.
“What did you want to talk to us about?” Jade finally asked, turning to Dee. She smiled, one hand on her stomach while the other reached for Bradley’s.
“We wanted to ask you two something, but it’s totally okay to say no. It’s a lot of responsibility and it wouldn’t be something we’d take lightly.”
“Responsible is my middle name.”
Jade’s eyebrows shot up at Jake’s comment and Bradley winced when he watched her glare turn harsh again.
“If that’s true, you better ask the condom company for a refund. They really fucked up on that one.”
“Jade,” Dee hissed while Rooster stared pointedly at the wood of the dining table. He didn’t see this coming. To be fair, he forgot about their little meet up too.
“What? He asked for it!”
“I-“
“-no, fuck you, you don’t get to explain yourself. Dee, Roos, let's go already.”
“We were wondering if you two would be godparents.”
The air in the room turned thick again, this time with silence. Dee and Bradley exchanged a look.
“Look, we just... this is important to us. Jade; you and Dee have known each other since you were kids, and Bagman, y’know, you’re... okay, I guess.”
Jade stifled a laugh into her shirt while Dee facepalmed at her boyfriend’s stilted attempt at affection. She put her hand on the back of his neck, scratching at the base of his curls before checking over the potential godparents. Jade’s eyes were wide, and she rounded the table to hug the expecting parents.
“I would love to. Dee, Roos, I- this is a lot. Thank you.”
“I would trust you with my life, it makes sense we’d ask you to watch out for our little girl,” Dee replied. When everyone glanced at Jake he had his eyes pointedly on the dining table like Bradley had only moments prior.
“Why the hell would you ask me when all I’ve done is drink your beer flirt with your girlfriend and cause hell at work?”
“Our little girl has a lawyer for a mom and a naval aviator for a dad. She’s going to need someone to cause chaos with.”
That earned a smile.
“Only if you’re sure. I don’t want to- that is your baby, the last thing I’d ever want to do is hurt her.”
“Jake, the only way you could hurt her is by telling her Santa’s not real,” Dee reassured. Jade’s eyebrows shot up.
“Santa’s not real?!”
-
37 Weeks
The further Dee got into her pregnancy the more she found she had to get up to pee in the middle of the night. It was barely 2am and it felt like this was the millionth time already. She’d woken to the need to pee with Bradley asleep beside her, his face pressed into her shoulder. She’d reached behind herself to gently nudge him off and then peeled out of his arms, stumbling down the hallway to the bathroom. By the time she was washing her hands she was already cold again, Virginia Beach in December often meant cold nights and she had a feeling her furnace of a boyfriend had turned down the thermostat.
Something suddenly smashed nearby and Dee’s heart leapt into her throat. She winced, peering toward the stairs and then their bedroom door. Dee decided to retreat and made her way back into the bedroom, carefully opening the bedroom door and closing it behind her.
“Hey, I think there’s a...”
She paused. The glass from Bradley’s bedside table was on the floor, water dripping on the floorboards. The sound of shallow breathing, sharp and stilted, finally processed in her brain and her eyes darted around the room.
“Roos? Babe...”
“Oh, fuck.”
Dee’s eyebrows furrowed. She watched Bradley frantically scrub at his face, chest going a million miles an hour. He finally glanced up and Dee sent him a soft smile.
“Same dream?”
“Yeah.”
The way his body shook contradicted the way he was warm to the touch when Dee got close enough to carefully put her hand on his shoulder. Usually she wouldn’t, but the fact that he’d responded when she spoke to him told her he was mostly present.
“Just breathe.”
It wasn’t the first instance of nightmares; considering his job, it made sense. He’d only been home a couple of weeks, she knew it took time to wind down after a deployment and Bradley tended to muscle through whatever was plaguing his mind. Dee went to bend down and start picking up the glass but Bradley stopped her, thumb tracing her wrist.
“You go back to sleep, I’ve got this.”
“You don’t look so hot, Roo.”
“Dee, stop.”
They exchanged a look. Dee sighed.
“Do you have to be so fucking stubborn?”
Dee watched Bradley’s face pinch and she scrubbed at her face, rounding the bed to get into her side. Her pregnancy pillow was put into position and she lay on her side, watching him move around the room to fix the broken glass. By the time he was coming back to bed her eyes were threatening to shut. The minute he was under the covers Dee smoothed her hand down his chest, brows furrowed as she tried to think about the best way to step forward.
“I’m here, whether you want to talk about it or not.”
That was enough.
-
“So, if you see here, baby’s head is in the perfect spot. Dee, it’s looking like you’re going to be having this baby very soon.”
The doctor gestured to where the ultrasound showed the baby’s head facing downward. Dee smiled.
“That explains why I feel like I have to pee all the damn time. How long do you think we’ve got before she’s ready?”
The doctor hummed.
“Well, when I checked you earlier you were almost three centimetres dilated. This means it could be days, really- no Bradley today?”
Dee glanced at the empty seat beside her, used to seeing Bradley there. His deployment had been almost six months, but he’d tried to be at as many appointments as he could when he was home.
“I left him in bed. He hasn’t been sleeping well, it’s probably nothing.”
The doctor nodded in sympathy, smiling as she handed over the brochure about birth and post-natal care.
“Hopefully he’s feeling better by the time baby decides to make her appearance. Have you decided who you want in the room with you?”
“I think it’s just going to be me and Bradley; it’s really important to the both of us that we get time to bond with her before we let any of my crazy family see her.”
“And what about Bradley’s family?” The doctor asked, scribbling notes.
“Uh, he... he hasn’t told his family about the baby, and that’s how we’re gonna keep it.”
“Not a problem. Alright, Dee, let’s get you out of here. I have no doubt you and Bradley are revelling in the last moments of peace.”
“I had the best nap yesterday and when I went downstairs Bradley was making dinner; it was so... I can’t even explain it.”
“I can imagine; a lot of my patients are armed forces or the family of armed forces.”
-
“Bradley? Oh my god-“
“-I need access to mom’s safety deposit box.”
Rooster’s foot tapped against the wooden flooring in the living room, trying to hold back from hanging up. He needed to see this through.
“Are you alright? Do you need money-“
“-I’m in San Diego next month, I can pick it up then. Could you just tell the bank that I’m on my way-“
“-Bradley...”
Rooster sniffed, swiping his eyes with the end of his sleeve and clearing his throat.
“Please don’t make this hard.”
“I- okay. Okay, fine. I’ll leave the key on base. Are you-“
He hung up, tossing his phone on to the coffee table and grasping the edge of the couch, forcing himself to take deep breaths. He heard the front door close and shut his eyes, hand to his chest.
“Hey, you. Sleep well?”
Dee was leaning against the wall into the living room, holding their last ultrasound photo. Rooster spun on his heel and hugged her tightly. Dee made an oof noise as they collided, wrapping her arms around his waist. Her hand slipped under her shirt, breathing in the familiar cologne she always knew meant he was close.
“Hi,” she whispered into his shoulder, voice muffled and sounding mildly confused, “This is nice... you good?”
“Yeah.”
Bradley pressed a kiss to her cheek, running a hand over her stomach. Dee grimaced.
“Hey, so, funny story. I left the doctor’s office and, uh... you should probably get changed.”
“Oh, fuck me.”
“That would be how we got here, Roos.”
-
10:43am
“That has to be the fastest turn around I’ve ever seen, Dee. How are you feeling?”
Sitting up in bed and reaching for her boyfriend’s hand, Dee winced. Her doctor glanced at the monitors surrounding the bed and, satisfied with what was happening, took a seat on the stool at the end of the bed.
“Is it too late for the epidural?” Dee asked. Another contraction hit and she slowly exhaled, feeling Bradley run his hand carefully down her back. The doctor smiled, reaching for her pager.
“I’ll get it set up for you. Is there anything else I can do?”
“We’re good, but thanks.”
The doctor got up, heading out of the room and Dee got back under the blankets, tugging at Rooster’s hand. His brows furrowed.
“Hey; you’re doing great, baby. I’m right here.”
Dee slowly nodded.
“Can you imagine what would have happened had you not been here?” She whispered.
“I wouldn’t have let Seresin in here, Dee, I promise.”
“I’m more worried about my mom- oh, shit, you gotta-“
“-she’s on the next flight in, Tasha is gonna pick her up. Jade’s getting everything ready at home; you just focus on you. We’ve got this.”
2:39pm
Sure enough, Dee’s mother came barrelling into the hospital a couple of hours later. Natasha was right behind her, and caught her arm before she could start talking to the hospital staff.
“I just texted Bradley, he’s on his way out. Last I heard she had an epidural and was almost five centimetres dilated. Everything’s going well.”
“That’s my daughter and my grandchild in there; it was Bradley who insisted I wasn’t in the hospital room. Aren’t you his friend?”
Natasha blinked.
“I like to think I’m close with Dee too. Roos and Dee talked about it for a really long time about who they wanted in the delivery room; in the end it was Dee’s decision.”
“Hey, guys. Thanks for doing this, Nix.”
Natasha turned at the sound of the opening door, giving Rooster a hug before he went to greet his mother in law. Dee’s mother backed away, face flushed as she held out her hands.
“Where’s my daughter?”
“Right now? She’s going through a contraction.”
“I’m going in-“
“-we’ve already talked about this. Dee and I agreed-“
“-you agreed that I wasn’t allowed in the delivery room, but I know my daughter and she would want me there.”
Natasha’s eyes darted between Dee’s mother and Bradley; she knew Bradley was resistant to pleading and petty insults but nothing could outdo a mother’s care for their child.
“Roos-“
“-look, I can’t do this right now. Dee told me that she only wanted me in the delivery room and that’s what we’re going for. I’m sorry that you can’t be there, but it’s important to the both of us that we get time alone with our daughter. It’s nothing personal, it’s just a choice.”
Natasha cleared her throat, turning to Dee’s mother.
“Hey; it could be a long night. Let me get you a cup of coffee and we can sit together. Dee’s tough and Bradley’s hands are strong, he can handle her grip.”
Dee’s mom sighed.
“Fine. Go and be with her, she needs someone to rub her back through contractions.”
“I know. If anything changes I’ll be back.”
5:22pm
“She’s beautiful.”
“She has your eyes, Dee. Well done, babe.”
Cradling their little girl in her arms, Dee reached up to swipe the happy tears from her eyes and she glanced over to find Bradley not far behind her. The nurse moved around the room quietly, trying not to disturb the new family. The baby yawned and Dee felt movement next to her when Rooster got up to stretch.
“You should do some skin on skin. It would be good for her.”
The nurse, apparently done with being quiet, turned to Rooster who frowned.
“What?”
She gestured first to their baby on Dee’s chest, and then to his shirt.
“Babies, especially ones as young as this one and as small, need a lot of warmth and love.”
“Come hold her, babe,” Dee encouraged. The nurse picked up their daughter and let Rooster get comfortable, shirt hanging open just enough to not freeze his tits off. She fit perfectly in the crook of his elbow, warm and surprisingly quiet for the time being. Cradling his daughter to his chest, Rooster looked up to Dee.
“She is going to have all the boys and girls after her; if that’s what she wants.”
Dee snorted, sighing as she pulled the blankets back up to her chin.
“I love you,” she whispered. Bradley’s eyes went soft, a flush covering his features and he sniffed.
“I love us.”