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The wind was whizzing outside. A tree planted just in front of the loft shaking and bending under the power of the wind, its branches hitting the still-to-be completely fixed windows. Shawn had been working on them for a week now, but they were harder to fix than he anticipated.
That cold night in San Francisco obligated them to take the sweats out of the wardrobe and make the possible to keep warm and cozy. The tiredness both were feeling, mainly caused by the busy week they had, between cases, deciding about rooms and appendages of their future house, and fixing their apartment, brought them back to bed earlier, that night. Juliet had her back rested against Shawn’s stomach, with his chin laying on the crock of her neck, his arms were protectively around her, while his hand caressed her prominent belly.
There, was a small bump. Finally, it had shown, just a few days before. And now that it had appeared, it wouldn’t stop growing. According to her doctor’s predictions, Juliet wouldn’t have that huge, magazine cover belly since she was very petite, and that was her first child. But the woman didn’t care, she just wanted her baby to be healthy and develop properly. Shawn couldn’t agree more.
Since she revealed her pregnancy, Shawn changed completely. If he was already protective over her, now he was treating Jules like a porcelain doll. He was holding her hand whenever she climbed or descended a stair, regardless if it was an entire flight or just a couple of steps. Holding her hair up and soothing her after a disgusting trip to their bathroom to empty her stomach, all her breakfast flushed down on their toilet. Helping her to put her shoes on even though she still could reach her feet easily. Calling her during the day, just to check in and make sure she was safe and never, under any circumstances, allowing her to carry any weight, from file card boxes to their grocery bags.
At first, Jules got very irritated by his overprotectiveness, even mad at times. But the pure worried look he would give her and the real concern he felt, not only for their baby but mostly for her well-being were so genuine and selfless she couldn’t just push him away. Instead, she started being more careful, ditching the field job (only until the birth), knowing that it was a small price to pay if it meant her child was safe and Shawn was less preoccupied with her.
And there was a brighter side from all that, she had never been more well taken care of in her life. Not only by Shawn, who always had been like that but by her social circle too. The Chief offered to teach her some breathing techniques, share knowledge and baby books, giving her every piece of information she thought could be useful for first-time parents. Gus was a constant presence in their house, cooking healthy meals, indicated by the best OB-GYNs in the city, and he even changed his pharmaceutical routine, asking to represent prenatal vitamins to meet with good doctors and collect information to his friends, and supply Juliet with free medication. Selene was thrilled for the baby, already willing to lend her little one a few hours to the new parents so they could practice.
Even Lassiter was on board, calling weekly, under the premise that Lily missed her auntie Julie and wanted to talk to her. He would listen through their conversation to check and drag conclusions over O’Hara’s (now Spencer O’Hara, him liking it or not) voice and fill in the gaps later when Marlowe let slip a thing or two about her “mom to future mom” conversations with Juliet.
Not to mention Henry, Madeline, Maryanne, Lloyd, even Frank, all on board, calling daily, sending pictures of baby's clothing and toys they had begun stacking in huge piles, back at their houses, giving tips of things they learned on their favorite afternoon talk show or in random doctor’s informational flyers, even speaking about their own experiences and failures in the parenting department.
It was safe to say that Juliet was surrounded by the most special people, and her baby would be loved, not only by their parents but also by a bunch of other members of that big family.
From the very beginning, all Juliet could do was smile, and so did Shawn. He was so excited to be a father that he even started to read some of the parenting books Jules bought. And not just flipping around the pages, no. He was actually reading them, asking for his wife’s opinions and desires on her birth plan and her postpartum routine.
But it’s Shawn we are talking about, so of course, he had already made fun of his wife’s mood swings and weird cravings. Not to mention the fact that he had a list with more than 20 name options for the kid, and none of them seemed to be appropriate for a human baby. His winning choice was Starfish, regardless if would be a girl or a boy. But no way Jules would allow him to name their baby after a sea creature. So, they made a compromise. If it was a boy Juliet would pick the name, and if it was a girl Shawn would, but both had to be okay with the chosen one, and no sea creature related names. From that list, Juliet found only one name that caught her eye: Jacob. Her little Jake. She liked it very much. It just sounded right in her tongue, and she was pretty much content with her choice. But Shawn would constantly say that they were having a little girl, a mini Jules, so it would be his right to name the baby, and he was currently struggling between Shawnnya and Gusterinna. Emphasis on the double “n”s.
Deep down, Milliencet was Juliet’s first choice. Her dream to have a baby girl named after her great-grandmother. But they had agreed it was Shawn’s decision so she would respect it, and only interfere if he attempted to name the baby after his favorite cereal brand, or those horrible names he created to honor him and Gus.
As if Shawn noticed he was on her mind, he kissed her neck gently, bringing her attention back to their room, his warm breath against her skin, sending those known shivers down her spine. He continued to caress her belly gently, before rolling to his back, dragging her along with him.
Face to face, Juliet laying above his arm, Shawn could properly stare at her, those big blue eyes shining to him like a pair of perfectly round comets. Her cheerful smile and relaxed expression reassured him of her welfare and safety.
She moved her hand to his thick hair, running her fingers between the brown strands that once were very blond, as his baby pictures would reveal, making her wonder if their baby would have that same changing color hair, or Shawn’s crooked smile, or those insanely captivating eyes, or even his brilliant mind.
He moved closer, descending his lips on hers in a tender kiss, leaving one in her forehead after. Shawn watched his wife’s mouth open in a wide grin and she sighed in happiness. She was perfect, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
Gently, he used his hand resting on her belly to pull up her sweater a little, just enough to reveal her growing bump. His fingers traced small patterns around her exposed skin, imagining when he would feel the first kick under his palm, or how wonderful and powerful a woman could be, especially Jules. She was carrying and growing a freaking human inside her, and that fact still amazed him.
Detangling from her, Shawn moved to plant a soft kiss on her belly, leaving his ear there, as if he could hear the heartbeats of his child just like he did back at their first ultrasound appointment. Unfortunately, he couldn’t, but was assured by all the books he read and all movies featuring a pregnant woman he watched (after all, that was the safer source for accurate pregnancy information, according to him) that their baby definitely could hear him. So he talked. Daily. To the point of Jules shush him so she could have a few hours of sleep. Not to mention the hundreds of songs he also had composed for their tiny human.
“Hey little girl, it’s your daddy here. I hope you’re comfortable, and that you still have space to jump around.”
Juliet smiled, wondering if Shawn knew their baby couldn’t jump, and still was the size of a very small sweet potato.
“Well, today I’m not gonna sing you one of my marvelous songs, or tell you stories.”
The detective raised one eyebrow, staring at him a bit skeptical and a lot curious about what her husband had in mind.
She pushed herself to a sitting position, resting her back against the headboard of the bed so Shawn could talk with their child easily, and she would be in a more comfortable position.
“I’m gonna tell you a secret, I love you very very much. And… well” - he mischievously smirked at his wife - “You’re my favorite girl.”
“Shawn! I’m here, I can listen to you.”
He turned his head as she lightly slapped him on the arm, looking at her who, for some unknown reason, had an annoyed expression painted on her face. For sure her pregnancy hormones were acting fully on, and Shawn wouldn’t miss an opportunity to play with it. Only a little.
“And…”
“And “She’s your favorite girl”?”
His smirk widened.
“Oh… Someone is jealous of my talking with little Cher.”
“Shawn! I’m not jealous! And we’re not gonna name the baby Cher.” Crossing her arms above her chest, Juliet had to hold her urge to pout, astounded with herself about her reaction. What was that all coming from? She wasn’t like that.
“Yes, yes you are! And I don’t see why we can’t name the baby Cher. It’s a pretty decent name, and worked really fine for Alicia Silverstone.” He shrugged his shoulders, as if this was the most sensible comment, which only caused his wife to roll her eyes at him.
“Shawn, she was a character in a 90’s teenage movie! Her actual name is Alicia.”
“I don’t see your point, and you didn't deny you’re jealous.”
“Well, you didn’t deny that you’ve watched Clueless either.”
She tightened her crossed arms over her chest, giving into her signature pout, letting it cover her lips as it always did whenever Shawn got on her nerves or beat her at their pointless random discussions.
“It happens to be an excellent movie Jules, and I don’t get ashamed to admit that, yes, I’ve watched it a few times. With Gus, of course. And I believe that naming our baby after Cher will guarantee her instant popularity.” Again, Shawn said it so naturally, Juliet wondered if he was listening to himself.
“Well, first, we don’t know the sex of the baby yet. Second, if I recall correctly, Cher also had a lot of boys running after her, is that what you want?”
Juliet knew how to poke the nestle in the right spot, knowing her husband was just as jealous as she was. Immediately Shawn stiffened, with the possibility of having men running around his little girl, who he decided would stay little forever. No, no way that would happen.
“Okay, you won. Cher is off the list.”
Satisfied, she proudly smiled at her husband, laughing a little as he was trying to take the picture of their daughter dating out of his mind. She didn’t want to even begin theorizing about the discussions that would happen until there, but she decided it was good enough to have one problem at a time so she would stick with the present rather than travel on the future’s possibilities.
“How about Dionne?”
“No.”
“Tai?”
“Shawn, no Clueless’ characters names.”
“Okay.”
Seeing he wouldn’t win, at least not at that conversation, he dropped the subject, smiling freely at his wife’s posture, relaxed after her victory.
“And… So you know…”
Signing, Juliet threw her arms in the air, a sharp look pointed at her husband. “Shawn, no more discussing baby names for today.”
“I wasn’t going to do that. Can I finish, please?”
Sheepishly, she conceded. “Sorry.”
“I just wanted to say that, the main reason why I love our baby so much it’s because I love the heck out of their mom. You’ll forever be my only and favorite girl.”
His sincere eyes melted Juliet like butter and her messed hormones (she would blame them, of course) brought tears to her eyes. She pulled Shawn’s hand, obligating him to return to her side. He happily did, nestling her in his arms, his thumb caressing her cheek while he drowned in her shimmering ocean-colored eyes.
“I love you, Jules, so much. More than anyone.”
She smiled.“I love you too. More than Joanie loved Chachi.”
“Well, I love you more than Gus loves candy.”
“I love you more than Bert loved Ernie, Carlton loves guns and Cher loved Josh, allegedly.”
“I guess you win. Your love reigns supreme over all the land.”
“Yes, it does. Now pucker up, buttercup.”
Gladly he leaned in, locking their lips in a lovable kiss, so usual but not less spectacular. Shawn could kiss Juliet for eternity and still be amazed by it every single time. Her taste, her presence, constantly burst his heart with the purest joy and deepest love. He could kiss her all the time without ever getting tired of it. She was his and he was hers, no doubt.
They parted and Shawn laid them down again, returning his hand to her belly, his arm shielding her from all the harm in the world, their bubble protected.
His wife on his arms, their child, and their family beginning made Shawn reflect on how much they had grown, how much he had matured, moving from a declared bachelor, afraid of any type of commitment to a soon to be dad, totally dazzled by his kid and deeply in love with the most perfect woman in the world.
There were a lot of things that still scared Shawn, he and Jules having such dangerous jobs and all the horrible possibilities life could bring them, but if he thought through all of them he would regularly live in fear and would miss the highlights and joy of the family he had there. Sure there were concerns in his mind but if he learned one thing during all this time besides Jules was that he would never have to face the world alone.
She was by his side no matter what, even when he infuriated her, even when they discussed. They passed through much but their love always exceeded, their baby was the ultimate proof of that.
They would have a lot to figure out, to learn, mistakes would be made, and maybe even some crying, but they were on that together, so Shawn knew it couldn’t go wrong. They loved each other and that baby so much and what better protection a kid could have than being born in a cop family?
Convinced by his pondering, Shawn was reassured that he and Jules would be great parents, and if everything crumbled down they had tons of friends and family to help them glue the pieces back together.
He watched the heavy eyes of his wife close, her losing the battle against her sleep. Making sure she was comfortable and warm, Shawn lulled her to her dreams.
“Sweet Jules, it’s off to sleep you go. Happy dreams and pineapples. Us three together, you and me and baby Cher…”
She poked him on the side with her elbow.
“Us three together, you and me and little Jules.”
She smiled
“I love yoouuuuu.”