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“Gently,” Jared coaches as he lets Dustin ‘hold’ his little sister. Big green eyes stare solemnly up at him as Dustin gives an exaggerated head nod to show that he understands before he turns his head back to look at the baby.
“Tiny,” Dustin whispers after a few seconds.
Jared swallows and gives both of his children a gentle squeeze. “Yeah, she is, Buddy.”
“Smaller ‘n me? When I came home?” Dustin asks.
“Way smaller,” Jared admits, glad that Dustin isn’t seeing the tears in his eyes because he’s too obsessed with his baby sister.
“Wiv,” Dustin calls to her softly, and Jared chuckles a bit.
Jensen had insisted that they name her Olive even though Jared pointed out that her initials would be O.P. and that she’d be called ‘Opie’ by annoying classmates.
“I just, we can call her ‘Liv,’ right? Because I want, I just want her to do that,” Jensen had mumbled.
Jared couldn’t possibly disagree with that sentiment. Even if his mate hadn’t been a complete emotional wreck about the near miscarriage, Jared would have caved.
He can’t even think about Liv’s birthday without having a minor panic attack. Jared can’t remember how he got to the hospital that day, not really. He recalls growling and biting at the people trying to hold him back even though he knows he never shifted into his wolf form. He remembers smashing the front end of his SUV in when he ‘parked’ it on the hospital’s front lawn. But most everything in his memories is covered in a haze of desperation and denial.
“Daddy?”
“Yeah?”
“You teach me, right? How to be big brover?” Dustin’s voice is earnest.
“Sure,” Jared agrees easily. He doesn’t tell his son that some things can’t be taught. Dustin doesn’t need to bear the weight of his father’s philosophizing. He’s a little boy who has had a very big scare, and Jared just wants all of his family to be okay again.
Liv lets out a tiny, hungry cry, and Jared can hear the rustle of sheets as Jensen stubbornly gets out of bed. He is supposed to be resting as much as possible, but the same stubborn streak that had a human boy trying to run with wolves is still alive and kicking inside of Jensen’s thick skull.
“Baby hungry,” Dustin tells Jared for what feels like the thousandth time since Liv finally came home. And yes, Jared knows his daughter his hungry, but it took him weeks to learn the differences in baby cries when they’d brought Dustin home. That his son could tell almost immediately remains a hit to his pride.
“Babies are always hungry, Little Man,” Jensen says as he shuffles by on his way to the kitchen. His skin is far too pale, and the dark circles under his eyes make him look more vampire than werewolf.
“Like Daddy!” Dustin exclaims sagely.
Liv lets out a happy burble at Dustin’s overly excited little boy voice, and Dustin’s green eyes grow big and round as he focuses back in on her. Jared can see the pride in his eyes at making her do something other than cry.
“Exactly like Daddy,” Jensen agrees as he settles down on the couch next to them. “I put the bottle on,” he adds on for Jared’s ears.
Jared nods. He doesn’t say anything about Jensen being out of bed because he isn’t a stupid mate. There might not be any frisky making on their matrimonial agenda in the foreseeable future, but their bed is comfy and Jensen is fun to snuggle with. Being kicked out of it is not high on Jared’s list of things to do.
“You’re adorable when you’re all tense and polite,” Jensen comments after a moment.
“What’s tense?” Dustin asks.
The words make Jensen’s tired face break into a smile. Jared’s mate is a freak who actually likes it when pups hit their inquisitive stage.
“It’s like when you’re worried, and you’re afraid of what’s going to happen next,” Jensen tells him.
“Oh,” Dustin says. Jared can tell his son is just saying that. He doesn’t understand, but ever since Liv came along, he’s been caught up in the idea that he has to be a big boy. He isn’t stupid. A pup’s eyes can see just how good Jensen’s health isn’t, and Jared knows his son is worried.
“I think Daddy should order us Chinese for dinner, don’t you?” Jensen’s change of subject isn’t subtle, but it is effective.
Dustin practically vibrates in excitement. Chinese take-out has been a favorite of his ever since he was old enough to start tasting real food. But after a few seconds, he stills. “Baby can’t have it,” he says sadly.
Jared half opens his mouth to reply, but Jensen beats him to it with, “Chinese formula, Dusty. She’ll love it.”
“Really?”
“Yup,” Jensen tells him. “It’s all in the preparation. Like how their chicken tastes so different from how Grandma’s baked chicken does.”
Jared doesn’t bother taming his disbelieving expression as he flat out stares at Jensen. Jensen smiles serenely back at him and says, “Why don’t you go finish up Liv’s Chinese bottle and order me and Dusty some dinner, Daddy?”
“Do I get to eat too?” Jared asks dryly.
“Order extra,” Dustin chimes in before Jensen has a chance to respond.
“Oyster wings,” Jensen adds as he moves to take Liv out of Jared’s arms.
“An’ eggrolls. An’ Gennel Joe’s chicken. An’ pork an’ ‘shrooms,” Dustin tells him as he bounces out of Jared’s lap, father-son time effectively over in favor of take-out.
“Don’t forget the hot mustard this time either,” Jensen orders him smugly.
“And you accuse me of being the one to pass my appetite on to my children. I’ll have you know that I wasn’t eating General Tso’s chicken and mushrooms at Dusty’s age,” Jared says as he obediently rises from the couch.
“No, you were being pitifully uninitiated to the wonders of multicultural cuisine. A habit which you had to be broken from by your long suffering, human best friend,” Jensen reminds him.
Normally, Jared would come back with a quip about breaking Jensen from his nasty being human habit, but he knows that now is not the time. Jensen hasn’t shifted since Liv’s birth, and Jared can feel how uneasy it makes him when Jared is in his wolf form. It doesn’t take a man of half Jared’s IQ to notice that something is up there.
Jensen scowls up at him. “Quit standing there looking concerned and go order food.”
Jared obeys, mostly because he doesn’t want to fight with Jensen – especially not in front of Dustin. He isn’t surprised when tiny footfalls trail him into the kitchen. Dustin’s been his little shadow lately.
“Dusty, why don’t you get Daddy’s cellphone for him?” Jared asks as he tests the warmth of the formula on his skin.
“Mommy’s doesn’t smell good,” Dustin whispers, “is he gonna die?”
Liv’s formula drips down the inside of Jared’s forearm as he stands there in shock. “Dusty,” he chokes out, “Mommy is going to be fine.” Jared hates the uncertainty in his own voice as much as he hates the fact that his child is asking such a question.
“Nurse Mel said…”
“Dusty,” Jared interrupts so he doesn’t have to hear whatever the hell that worthless woman at the hospital said to his son, “your mother isn’t feeling well, but he’s going to be fine.”
“P’omise?” the word is spoken with a tiny voice, and Jared wishes that he could break down and shed the tears that are sparkling in his son’s eyes.
“I promise,” Jared says as he tugs his son in close to give him a hug. “Now why don’t you bring your Mommy this bottle, and I’ll order dinner for us?”
Dustin eyes the bottle like it is a million dollars, but he nods his head emphatically.
“Don’t touch the tip,” Jared warns as he makes certain that Dustin has a good grip on it. Another furious head shaking is all the answer Jared gets before Dustin is speeding back to Jensen.
Jared has a few minutes to compose himself as he orders from Denton’s only Chinese restaurant. He orders more of Jensen’s favorites than his mate specifically asked for, but he can’t bring himself to care. Jensen’s parents offered to pay for the hospital bills, and Jared is of the mind to accept their generosity. If they’re going to pay off the balance for Jensen and Liv’s stay, then Jared can afford to splurge a bit on supper.
“Should be here in about twenty minutes,” he says as he goes back to his family.
“They always say that,” Jensen reminds him. Liv is sucking down the rest of her terrifyingly teeny bottle in his arms, and she looks just as little against him as she does when Jared is holding her. “You want to burp her?” Jensen asks as she polishes off the rest of her formula.
“You just don’t want her to spit up on you,” Jared accuses even as he takes her from Jensen’s arms.
Jensen’s crooked grin and slight flush confirm that was indeed his plan, and Jared is too relieved to see something so normal to feel put out about it. Whatever expression is on his face, Jensen rolls his eyes at it, but he doesn’t say anything.
Instead he gets off the couch and sits down on the floor next to Dustin who apparently decided his storybook was more interesting than watching Jensen feed the baby.
“Hey,” Jensen says as he cards his fingers through Dustin’s hair, “you want Mommy to read that to you while we’re waiting for dinner?”
Jared freezes in mid pat on Liv’s back as his son scrambles into Jensen’s lap. Jensen never calls himself ‘mommy.’ It isn’t a word that he encourages Dustin to associate with him, but both of them know that their son has a preference for the moniker.
Just like that, Jared feels like an idiot. Jensen might be avoiding his werewolf side, but it is still there. He hasn’t lost his acute hearing even if Jared suspects that his continued preference for hot mustard is a sign that his enhanced taste buds never came through after the change.
“Once upon a time, there lived a lonely man in a castle,” Jensen’s low voice rumbles in the room. “He was a sad man who had one hundred servants, but not one friend. Then one day, the man went hunting. And what did he find?”
“A wolf!” Dustin declares.
Jensen smiles and presses a kiss to the top of his head. “That’s right. He found a wolf. And he was scared. But the wolf wasn’t mean, didn’t growl or bite. Instead it wagged its tail asking, ‘Won’t you be my friend?’”
Liv chooses that moment to show that small, premature babies can indeed project baby spit just fine, and that said projection can easily miss the burp cloth. As Jared goes to go put her down in her crib, he swears he can hear Jensen’s voice tilt upwards with laughter.