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“Oh, hi, birdie!”
Scott’s washing the dishes when he hears Tessa’s soft voice. He peers out the kitchen window to see her in her lounge looking up at a tree just overhead. There’s a bird in a nest just above her.
Tessa’s taken to reading for an hour outside every day. Her doctor recommended lots of rest, and this is one way she can feel productive about resting. Scott laughs to himself because it’s so very Tessa to need to feel productive about resting. But when she commits to something, she sees it out, and she’s been doing so each day at lunchtime. If it’s for the sake of their unborn baby, there’s nothing she won’t do.
Scott’s amused now at the way Tessa is conversing with the bird as if it will speak back.
“You’re so pretty up there in your nest.” She says sweetly to it. “And it really is a beautiful nest, you’ve done such a great job.”
Scott bites his lip. It’s hilariously adorable.
“Are you expecting a lot of babies?” She asks. “I’m just waiting on the one but I’m very excited. I’m sure you are too.”
The bird chirps and Tessa jumps with excitement. “Yes, I know! It’s so exciting.”
And then he hears Tessa laugh.
“Are you looking at my book?” She asks. “It’s pretty interesting. It tells you all about how babies grow.”
She’s quiet for a moment. “Human babies, I mean. I’m not exactly sure how bird babies grow, but I can look it up for you later if you’re interested.”
The bird chirps. Tessa giggles. “Ok, I promise I’ll look it up and get back to you.”
The bird waits another moment before flying away.
“Ok, bye birdie, stay safe!” Tessa calls.
Scott takes that as his cue to join her outside. He doesn’t want the neighbours to start thinking his wife is so lonely she feels the need to talk to birds. He steps out of the sliding glass door. “Hey, kiddo, you making friends?” He asks.
Tessa turns to him, beaming. “There’s a bird’s nest up there.” She points to it in the tree.
“Very cool.” Scott says, squeezing onto the lounge and wrapping her in his arms. She settles contentedly against his chest.
“She’s going to be a mom, too.” Tessa mutters softly as Scott begins to stroke her hair. He presses a kiss to her forehead.
A few days later, Scott logs onto the desktop and finds the browser open to a page entitled, Robin Life Cycle. He laughs and leaves it open in case Tessa isn’t finished with it. He notices her other tab is a thread called fears of motherhood. He chews his lip and leaves that up as well, hoping she'll talk to him about it.
She’s back on her lounge as per usual days later, when Scott hears her talking to the bird again as he’s making lunch.
“So,” She’s saying, as if they’re in a private meeting, “I’ve researched the lifecycle of a robin.”
Scott pauses his sandwich-making to listen.
“Baby robins,” She says, “when they’re still eggs, take two weeks to mature.” She pauses for a moment. “Two weeks!” She emphazises. “You’re so very efficient.”
Scott turns away from the window so Tessa won’t hear him laugh. Of course that’s what she took from it.
“I’ve been growing this baby inside of me for almost eight months now.” She sighs. “It takes nine to fully grow a human baby, and that’s the goal, and I love it, I really do. I love knowing my baby is safe and warm and happy inside of me, but I miss being me, Birdie. You’re lucky that you don’t have to worry so much about that.”
Scott smiles fondly. He knows she misses skating, misses working out, misses having her body to herself, but she’s hardly ever complained about it to him. Why hasn't she talked to him about it?
“I saw how beautiful your eggs look online. They’re such a lovely shade of blue. I read that it’s for sun protection. That’s very good of you, Birdie. You’re going to be such a great mom."
Scott can practically hear Tessa’s smile. She sounds so proud of this little bird.
“Not only is the blue good for sun protection,” Tessa continues, “but you’re dressing your kiddos in style already.”
Scott watches Tessa nod at the bird.
“I hope I can be as resourceful as you.” She says. The bird chirps a few times and flies off again. “Bye, Birdie!” Tessa says.
Scott laughs to himself and shakes his head.
Scott and Tessa head to the local hardware store to pick up paint for the nursery. They’ve been a bit disorganised with getting their nursery together. They’ve got all the furniture crowding the living room, because they’ve yet to paint the nursery walls. Scott’s been away some weekends for competitions, and he’s working every day, so he hasn’t had the time to paint, and he doesn’t want Tessa up on a ladder or around all the paint fumes. Now that he has some time off, they’ve finally decided to go pick out some paint and begin the process of putting everything together before the baby comes.
When they’re faced with a wall of seemingly endless paint chips, Scott thinks it will take them years to pick out a colour, and he figures since they don’t know the baby’s sex that Tessa will choose a yellow. So he’s surprised when she goes straight to the blues and scans carefully before pulling one form the wall.
“What do you think of this one?” She asks.
Scott takes the paint chip from her. It’s a nice colour, really beautiful. It’s a pretty blue that would work well for a boy or a girl. “I think it’s perfect.” He tells her, smiling widely.
She does an excited little bounce and kisses him on the lips, making his heart flutter.
“I’m going to go look at something, do you mind getting the paint and I’ll meet you at checkout?” She asks.
“Of course.” Scott tells her.
When Scott's at the paint counter, the man asks him for the name on the back of the paint chip so he can get the correct colour out of the stock.
“It’s uh…” Scott squints his eyes to see the tiny print and breaks out in a huge smile. “It’s Robin’s Egg Blue.” He tells the man. Of course it is.
He’s waiting at checkout a few minutes later with a small cart filled with four cans of blue paint when he sees Tessa dragging a large box toward him.
“Tess!” He nearly shouts, hustling toward her and lifting the box easily into his arms. “Honey, you should have come found me.”
Tessa rolls her eyes, but knows Scott’s only being protective. He’s probably right, actually, but she won’t admit it. She still wants to do things for herself. She doesn’t like asking for help.
“Jeez.” He huffs. “What is this?” He tries to crane his head to see the label on the box.
“It’s a bird bath.” Tessa shrugs. “I thought the robin in the nest out back might like somewhere nice to clean up.”
Tessa’s sitting out reading while Scott paints the nursery. He’s got all the windows open to try and cut down on fumes as much as possible. They got the kind of paint that isn’t supposed to require many precautions, but Scott feels they can’t be too careful. He’s painting the far wall when he hears Tessa.
“Oh, hi Birdie!” She sings. “Yep, that’s for you!”
She’d tried to put out the bird bath as soon as they’d come home the other day from the hardware store. Scott saw her trying to lift it and immediately took over. He wished she'd just ask him for help. It wasn't that she couldn't do it, Scott knew she could, but she should really be taking it easy now.
“My husband set that up for you, do you like it?”
Scott’s heart does a funny thing when she refers to him as my husband, and he smiles warmly not only at her mention of him but at the way she seems proud of him. He hears her giggle then and figures the bird must be in the bath.
“Oh, he’ll be so happy to hear you like it.” Tessa says. “I like taking baths, too. They’re very relaxing. My husband’s really good at making me baths too.” She says, and Scott smiles proudly.
“Do you have a um… daddy bird?” She asks. “I don’t know if you’re married, but do you have someone to help you - I guess is what I’m asking.” She sounds so concerned.
“I’d have a really tough time without Scott - that's my husband's name.” Scott pauses what he’s doing and looks out the window at Tessa lounging below. He wants to kiss her.
“He’s really good to me.” She sighs. Scott can see her rubbing the bump of her stomach. “He takes care of me when I’m not feeling well and he makes me lunch and dinner and even breakfast sometimes when he has time. Sometimes he surprises me with little things like flowers or chocolate.” She pauses and watches the bird, who seems to be watching her right back. “And he gives the best hugs.” She says warmly. “He’s really good at making me feel better when I’m sad or scared or hurt, and I know I'm not always good at asking for help, but he kind of always knows when I need it."
Scott finds himself blinking back tears hearing the way Tessa talks about him. That’s all he’s always wanted to be for her but he finds it funny that she almost never tells him when she’s feeling down like that, and he wishes she would just ask him for help instead. He's terrified that there will be a time that she'll need help and he won't know it or won't be there to see it.
“Right now he’s painting the nursery - that’s like our nest.” Tessa continues. “He’s really good at stuff like that. We picked out a colour that looks just like your eggs. It’s so pretty I thought my baby would like it too.”
Scott can hear the fondness in her voice. He can tell how much she’s come to care for this bird.
“But I know even if you don't have a daddy bird you'll be alright.” Tessa says. "I know you're very capable and you don't need a man."
Scott pouts. Ok, yes. Tessa could do everything on her own easily, but he's glad she wants to do this with him, and he loves helping in any way he can.
"Or maybe your daddy bird is just away right now.” He hears Tessa say.
The bird chirps and flies up to her nest.
Tessa nods. “Sometimes Scott goes away too. We normally go together but I have to take a bit of a break, tend to my own nest, I guess.” She says, laughing to herself. “I’m sorry if he’s away.” She says. “I know hard that can be.”
Scott bites his lip. He always hates leaving her.
“We can always keep each other company, though.” She says cheerfully.
That evening, Scott draws Tessa a bath and gives her some time to herself, but he comes in after a while to brush his teeth... And maybe to admire her in the tub a little bit too.
“Oh.” Tessa sighs happily, when he kneels by the tub. “Hi.”
Scott kisses her forehead and cheeks. “Hi.” He replies in kind.
She looks positively radiant, her hair gathered up on top of her head, her skin glistening in the water, her green eyes shimmering and her lips plump and red.
“You ok?” He asks, running his hand down the column of her neck and then to her shoulder.
She nods. “Thank you again for painting.” She says.
He knows she feels guilty that she didn't get to help and he wishes she wouldn't. He really was glad to do it.
“It looks wonderful.” She tells him.
“Of course.” He says, and then takes a moment before adding, “Baby, I think I’m going to take off work for the rest of the month.”
She looks up at him surprised. “Oh, why?” She asks. “The kids need you.”
“They can get by without me.” He says. “They have plenty of great coaches, and I’d rather be here with you.”
Tessa smiles and reaches up to trace her fingers across his cheek. “Scott, I’m really ok taking care of myself. I love you for thinking of me but I can handle it.”
“I know.” He says. “I know you can, I just… want to be part of this.” He says, placing a hand on her bump and leaning forward to press his lips to her shoulder. And it's the truth, he knows Tessa is fine on her own, but there's a part of him that just feels the need to be with her and to give her everything he can to make things easier on her.
Tessa smiles and kisses the top of his head.
When he pulls back, he’s smiling just as much. “Good bath?” He asks. She looks incredibly relaxed and it puts him at ease.
She nods. “My bird friend had a nice bath too, so I knew it would be a good night for a bath. You read my mind.”
“Can’t argue with bird logic.” Scott says and presses feathery kisses to her neck so that she giggles with the way it tickles her.
It’s mother’s day, and Tessa’s in her usual spot on the lounge for lunch. “Hi Birdie! Oh! Hi!” She sounds extra excited today and Scott, who’d been carrying furniture up into the nursery peeks out the nursery window to see her. The bird is closer than usual, perched on the small shrub just by the lounge.
“Did you lay your eggs yet?” She asks. “I was in the nursery the other day and I thought I could see them in your nest!”
Scott tries to see into the nest and sure enough there’s the tiniest hint of that same beautiful blue that surrounds him in the nursery.
“Happy mother’s day, Birdie!” Tessa exclaims softly so as not to frighten the bird.
It chirps back at her.
“About two more weeks for you then.” she says, and then sighs. “I know you’re going to be a great mum.”
She’s quiet for a while. “Birdie,” She says, finally. “I’m scared.”
Scott kneels down at the window. Tessa’s talking so quietly now that he can just barely hear her.
“I’m scared I won’t know what to do.” She says. “How do you know what to do?”
The bird chirps at her.
“And I’m scared I won’t be good enough. I’m scared I’m going to do something wrong, and I’m scared I might disappoint Scott.”
Scott frowns. She's never expressed these fears to him. Plus, he knows she going to be an amazing mum. Tessa’s voice is wavering now and Scott thinks she might cry.
“I just don’t know… I never really felt like I could be a mother, you know? Like, I never felt like I was good enough or strong enough, or knew the right things to say to kids. I mean it’s so hard. I know that already, it’s the hardest job in the world. And what scares me the most is that I already love this baby more than I could have ever imagined.”
Scott hears her voice break and he gets up with the intention of going to her, but stays to listen when she continues, “I haven’t even met this little person yet and I already know I would do anything for them. I’m so scared that they’re going to get hurt. And I already know that of course they are, that’s the world, right? But I want to be ready to do everything I can, and know everything I can before they get here so I can protect them.”
She sniffles. “Oh, I’m sorry.” She says, and Scott sees her wipe her eyes.
Just then, another robin comes and lands beside Tessa’s Birdie.
“Oh, hello.” Tessa says, sniffling again. “Is that your guy?” She asks, knowingly. “Dad bird? You’re lucky to have each other.” She says. “My Scott, he’s going to be such an amazing dad. I think maybe that’s the only thing holding me together right now, knowing that he’s there to help me. It’s not all on me. And I’m just so excited to see him become a dad.”
Scott’s heart skips a beat. Oh, he loves her so.
Tessa nods. “Anyway, enough about my worries.” She huffs. “Listen, dad bird, take good care of Birdie today, it’s mother’s day, you know. Don’t make her do all the foraging.”
Scott laughs.
Later that evening, she and Scott are laying out on the lounge together under a blanket.
Scott kisses her forehead. “You know, you’re going to be an amazing mum.” He tells her. “I know you are.”
Tessa snuggles closer to him. “I just worry sometimes.” She concedes.
“I don’t want you to worry.” He whispers to her softly, stroking her hair. “I don’t ever want you to worry about that, you’re already an amazing mum.”
“Scott?” She says softly.
He turns his head and presses his forehead to hers. “What, baby?” He asks gently, his lips brushing across hers and his hand running in a slow circle over her back.
“I know I have dad.” She whispers. “but not really in a way that’s felt significant, so I’m not an expert on the matter by any means,” She takes a breath, “but you’re everything I want my baby’s father to be, and I want you to know that. I feel really lucky to be doing this with you.”
“Oh.” Scott breathes. Jesus, he hadn’t been expecting that. Tears spring to his eyes that his sweet Tess would say that to him. “T, come here.”
He pulls her as close as he can, holding her against him, safe and snug in his arms as he blinks his tears away. When he pulls back, he takes her face in hands. “I want to be everything for you and this baby.” He kisses her nose. “Tessa, I want to give you both the world, and I promise I’ll always be here. I’m not going anywhere, kiddo. You two are stuck with me for good.”
Tessa smiles up at him, stroking his hair and letting her fingers curl around his ear, the skin around her eyes crinkling the way he loves. “Good.” She whispers, before bringing her lips to his.
When she pulls away and rests her head on his chest, she glances up at the little bird nest in the tree and hopes that Birdie is snuggling with dad bird and their eggs.
It’s nearly 3 in the morning and Scott wakes up to an empty bed and a thunderstorm. He doesn’t see the bathroom light on, which has him slightly concerned, so he checks the kitchen to see if Tessa got up for a snack, but doesn’t see her there either. When the thunder claps so loudly that it makes him jump, he realises the door to the backyard is open.
“Tess?” He shouts.
The light on the back deck is switched on and it only takes him a moment longer to see Tessa out there with an umbrella, looking up at the tree by the lounge.
“Tessa! Hey!” He runs barefoot out in the wet grass until he can duck under the umbrella with her. Her face is wet and he can tell it’s not from the rain - she’s crying. “Tess, oh, Tessa, come back inside, it's dangerous out here.”
Lightning flashes across the sky.
“I didn’t know… I worried that maybe the wind was too much for them.” She nods in the direction of the nest but doesn’t shine her light at it, for fear of disturbing the birds.
“No, it looks ok.” Scott says, “It looks ok.” He tries his best to reassure her. “Come on, come back inside with me.”
Tessa falters for a moment, turning up to survey the nest once more, making sure that it looks ok, and it really does, it looks sturdy. So she allows Scott to guide her back inside. He takes her upstairs without a word and strips her wet articles of clothing off one by one until she’s standing there before him completely bare. And then he brushes the tears from her cheeks and kisses the last traces of them away.
"I'm scared." She says quietly.
"Hey." He takes her face in his hands. “They know what to do.” He tells her, referring to the birds and trying his best to comfort her. “They just know.”
Tessa sighs, a shaky little sigh, and reaches for him. He holds her tight, presses his forehead to hers. “And you do too.” He says. “You’ll know. You’ll know what to do. Even when things get scary. I know you will. And it's not all on you, ok? I know you could do it on your own, but you're not alone, T. You’ll always have me too.”
"We're stuck with you." She says, echoing what he'd said to her earlier, and Scott laughs.
"You are." He says. "And I'm not even a little bit sorry about it."
Tessa lets her body relax into his, presses her face into the crook of his neck and allows herself to cry while he holds her. He waits, does his best to calm her, and when she’s finished, he scoops her up and carries her back to bed before stripping off his own clothes.
“I want you.” She whispers in the dim light and reaches for him.
He moves toward her until he can wrap her back in his arms. “You have me, T.” He tells her. She hardly ever expresses her needs so plainly let alone her wants. He's proud of her for telling him and grateful that she seems to be opening up to him more.
“I’m right here.” He says and then he kisses her.
It’s days later and it’s late in the evening. Tessa’s out by the tree, scattering some bits of apples and nuts around the tree for the birds. Scott watches from the patio where he’s grilling. He smirks and shakes his head playfully at her as she coos to them.
“I know you’re probably very busy keeping your babies warm in their eggs.” She says, “And I know you're very capable of getting your own food but in case you get hungry, I’m going to leave some food down here for you, ok? I looked it up online to make sure it's good for you, so if you feel hungry, it’s here.”
When she's satisfied with the scattered food, she joins Scott on the patio for dinner.
Tessa’s nearly due now. She’s resting out on the lounge while Scott makes lunch.
“Oh, Birdie.” She sighs. She’s been so uncomfortable lately.
Scott hears the bird chirp to her and laughs. They’ve become quite the pair, Tessa and Birdie.
“Birdie, I wish I could just lay an egg. I mean - don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s hard work sitting up there and keeping them warm but… I can feel this little one kicking me in the ribs and I have heartburn and oh, my feet are so, so sore.”
Scott frowns. This is the first he’s heard of it. Classic Tessa pretending everything is fine and well while she’s actually hurting.
“And I don’t know about you, Birdie, but all I really want is strawberry ice cream and pickles.”
Scott laughs. The pickles he knew about, the ice cream he did not. He decides to scrap lunch then and run to the corner store to pick up some ice cream.
When he returns, Tessa is asleep outside.
He makes her a bowl of strawberry ice cream and sets a few spears of pickles in the corner and places it by the little table where she’d set her book. She’d finished the pregnancy book and is now reading a book called Native North American Birds. Scott sits down on the stone patio at the end of the lounge and takes Tessa’s foot in hand, beginning to massage it for her. She lets out a little murmur, and then something akin to a whimper as her eyelids flutter open. She looks down at Scott and smiles sleepily. “Mh.” She sighs. “That feels nice.”
Scott kisses the arch of her foot before moving to the other one. Tessa closes her eyes again and Scott continues working her feet until he’s satisfied that they’re good and relaxed and Tessa’s fallen back to sleep. He adjusts the umbrella over her to make sure she’s in the shade and then settles into the lounge next to her, picking up her bird book and flipping through the pages until he finds the one for the North American Robin. Tessa’s dog-eared the page. He reads the entire thing before he notices Tessa’s Birdie on the branch up by the nest. At least he thinks it’s her Birdie. He’s not really sure how she tells the difference between that bird and all the other robins that might be hanging around.
“Hey.” He says to it, feeling a bit silly to be talking to a bird, but Tessa does it, and she’s always been the logical one. Plus, she seems to be getting something out of it.
He turns toward the bird so he doesn’t wake Tessa.
“Hey, I guess I should say thank you for being so good to T.” He says softly. “Sometimes she has a hard time telling me what she needs.” He admits. It bothers him, that she sometimes keeps her wants and needs from him. He knows it’s because she feels that needing things makes her weak, but he also knows she only feels that way about herself. Just look at the way she provides the birds with food and water - she knows they can do it themselves, but everyone deserves a bit of help and kindness, especially when things are tough. Scott wishes she’d understand that about herself as well. Even Tessa Virtue can use some help once in a while - it definitely doesn't make her weak.
“Tessa’s really happy for you. I guess we’re going to be parents right around the same time.” Scott says.
The bird chirps and Tessa stirs beside him.
“Anyway,” He says, “I’m glad you’re here. Thanks for being cool.”
“Scott?” He turns to Tessa, who’s just woken from a deep sleep and is now examining the bowl of slightly melted strawberry ice cream and pickles with the biggest smile on her sleepy face.
Scott sits up and turns to her, unable to resist the urge to kiss her. “You look so beautiful, baby.” He tells her, pressing his lips to hers. “Were you really tired?”
She nods, and then looks down at the bowl. “How did you know… this is exactly what I wanted.” She’s still half asleep and trying her best to understand how Scott figured out that she specifically wanted strawberry ice cream with pickles.
Scott beams and shrugs. “A little Birdie told me.” He says, leaning in and holding her face while he kisses her again.
She hums against his lips and gives a sleepy little giggle before asking, “Will you rub my feet again?”
Scott smiles widely and nods. Even Tessa Virtue needs help sometimes. And he's glad to provide it, and impressed when she asks. He stands and bows his head at the bird in the tree as if to thank her again.
It’s another week and Tessa’s been staring at the nest in the backyard, waiting eagerly to hear the chirping of little hatchlings. It’s one evening when she’s trying to peek into the nest from the nursery when she sees them for the first time. She immediately shouts for Scott who comes bounding up the stairs as fast as he can, thinking she’s gone into labour. He’s half relieved and half disappointed to find out she just wants to show them the baby birds.
“Oh, Scott.” She clutches his hand and you’d have thought she was gushing about their own baby the way she's so enamoured with the little creatures. "Congratulations, Birdie." She whispers to herself as she looks out the window at the nest. "They're beautiful."
Tessa asks Scott if he wouldn’t mind eating dinner in the nursery that night. Scott’s happy to oblige and they spend the evening looking out at the happy little robin family and dreaming about how they’ll soon have their own little one as well.
Tessa hasn’t seen her Birdie in a few days, not since before the babies had hatched, but she checks outside often. She keeps watch over the babies, loves to hear them chirping. She figures Birdie is likely busy gathering food, so she makes sure to chop apples and leave seed for them. She knows mealworms are their favourite but for the life of her she can't bring herself to toss mealworms over her lawn, despite how much she loves the little bird family. They’re capable of finding those little pests on their own. They're capable of doing all of it on their own, really, and Tessa knows this but she likes to help anyway.
One morning Tessa is peering out the kitchen window while Scott is busy at the stove making pancakes for breakfast.
“Oof.” He hears Tessa grunt, and when he turns to see her she’s leaning on the counter, her head down between her arms.
“Tess?” He shuts the stove off and discards the spatula, rushing to her side and running a hand over her back. “Tess, you ok?” He asks.
She nods her head, her bun bobbing with her. “Yep, I-“ She tries to stand but groans and doubles over in pain.
“Tess?” Scott’s stomach drops.
Tessa shakes her head. “I’m not.” She says, finally straightening up with the aid of the counter. She looks at Scott fearfully and shakes her head. “Scott.” She whimpers. “I’m not ok.” Her lip quivers and she shakes. It’s the first time she’s ever really admitted it out loud, the first time she’s felt she could admit it, and she means it. And she finds strength in that. She finds strength in the authority of expressing her true feelings.
“Come on.” Scott says, looping an arm around her waist and grabbing his keys up off the counter. “Let’s go, let's go, I got you.” He’s careful not to rush her too much, but his own heart is racing a mile a minute and he just wants to get her safely to the hospital. He’d thought he’d be ready for this moment, thought he’d feel braver, safer, stronger, but he’s terrified, and so is she, judging by her expression. He tries his best to be brave for her and walks her to the car, helps her in. He’s clamouring into the driver’s seat when he hears her gasp and looks over at her, expecting her to be in terrible pain, but she’s pointing. Scott follows the direction of her finger and sees on the tree in the front of her house, a robin. Tessa smiles, the slightest smile, but it’s all he needs to feel reassured. He takes a deep breath and then takes her hand and brings it to his lips for a quick kiss. He knows she's plenty strong for the both of them.
“You ready, kiddo?” He asks.
Tessa turns to him and lets out a deep breath. “I’m ready.” She nods. And she means that, too.
As Scott pulls out of the drive, Tessa presses her hand to the car window and says softly to her Birdie, “I can’t wait for you to meet my baby.”
He’s born - her baby - hours later, after the worst pain Tessa’s ever experienced. Scott thought he might die, truly thought he might die hearing Tessa scream out the way she had, but here they are. He's sure now Tessa is the strongest person he's ever known.
She’s holding their baby against her bare chest now, their baby boy.
They’ve both been crying on and off, but it’s Tessa’s turn to cry now, apparently. Scott's sat beside her bed, stroking her hair, admiring the little bundle at her chest.
“He’s so beautiful.” He tells her kissing the tears away. “I’m so proud of you, Tess. I’m so, so proud of you.”
Tessa looks up at him, those green eyes shimmering and joyous. She looks more alive than he’s ever seen her despite how exhausted he knows she is. She’s glowing from the inside out.
When they name him, their baby, they choose a name they’d discussed at length - they'd had a name picked out for a boy and a girl. The boy's name they’d agreed upon together was Connor.
But when Tessa asks about a middle name, something they’d completely overlooked in their excitement, Scott smiles and immediately suggests Robin, and Tessa thinks it’s a perfect way to thank their dear friend, the unassuming little Birdie that had taught her there's more than one way to be strong.