Work Text:
Ana’s cheeks were flushed with fever. She’d insisted that she was well enough that Edwin could still go to work, but Edwin had worried about her all day. Their daughter, Jane, came with him. It had only been a few months since Jane had come into their lives, but she was turning one tomorrow. Already, the girl had a smile that warmed his heart.
“Yes, Miss Jane, Anya is getting bed rest. We’re going to go home and we’re going to make her a big pot of soup.” He loved talking to Jane. She couldn’t speak yet, but she seemed to be fascinated by his voice. Despite knowing it was unlikely, he hoped she’d have at least some amount of a British accent.
Jane snuggled one of Edwin’s suit jackets while Edwin made dinner. She preferred to be in the same room as her family. He supposed something in her life before she had come into their care had made her that way. She was going to be part of the program that terrifying woman Dottie Underwood had come from. Edwin didn’t want to know what kind of monster could look into Jane’s green eyes and think she could be a killer. (He already knew: it was the same kind of people that could handcuff little girls to a bedpost or make his boss fly over Manhattan with tanks of toxic gas.)
He brought Ana dinner in bed. Her condition was getting worse. Her eyes were glassy and her forehead was covered in sweat. She gratefully sipped the hearty soup.
She looked up at him, letting soup drop off her spoon. She said something about doing something for Jane. He asked what she meant, and she gestures to the corner, where she keeps her knitting projects. The pieces of Jane’s new dress were sitting there. Normally, Ana could make it in a couple of days, but she’d been too sick.
Edwin’s heart ached. Ana had been pouring over patterns for months, trying to find the perfect one. The thought stayed in his mind as he changed Jane’s diaper and set her in her crib. He had to do something.
Well, he had learned basic sewing and darning skills in the army, and he’d watched Ana knit plenty of times. Ana had saved the easiest part for last - the skirt was just a rectangle of fabric that would be sewn into a loop, gathered, and sewn to the bottom of the dress. He’d try anything once, especially to see Ana smile.
Edwin took the ball of rose-red yarn and the half-finished knitting to the living room. Ana was fast asleep and didn’t hear a thing. In the silent house, he began to work.
It was slow going. The wooden needles kept slipping between the strands of yarn. He had to remember to switch between knitting and purling with each row. There were a few times when he let a stitch drop by mistake and had to scramble to pick it up before it disappeared into the fabric. Ana was much faster at this, but she’d had much more practice. He took it one stitch at a time. Every few rows, he’d tug on the knitting. He wasn’t sure what this would do, but Ana did it, so it must be important. Besides, the wool felt nice in his hands.
Once it was done, he cast off with the help of one of Ana’s pattern books. He used the book’s instructions to weave in the ends and to block the pattern piece. Once that was done, he headed to bed. The knitting dried on the counter overnight.
The next morning, he sewed it up using precise stitches. It really wasn’t all that different than fixing a hole in an old pair of socks. He wrapped the finished gift in brown paper. Jane came with Edwin to work again.
That evening, Edwin carried Jane to their bed. Ana was feeling well enough to hold her by that point. Edwin brought in the little paper package, singing cheerfully.
“Miss Jane, Anya and Dadda have something for you. Open it up.” He put the package on Jane’s lap. She grabbed the crinkling paper and delighted in shredding it.
“Edwin! You shouldn’t have!” Ana giggles, running her finger across the waist seam and admiring the evenness of the stitching.
“You know I don’t let rules stop me,” Edwin murmured.
“Why -- I could have finished it.” Ana insisted.
“It’s worth it for the looks on your faces. Don’t be crazy. There’s not a day that I don’t think about you. You’re the centers of my world. Any day I can show you that is a good day.”
“Let’s see if Jane likes it.” Ana undid the fastenings on Jane’s current dress.
The new one fits perfectly. The pink and red look beautiful together, evoking the bright colors Ana loves wearing. Jane grabbed the knitted fabric and giggled.
All night, Edwin couldn’t stop smiling.