Work Text:
Incoming entry 0201. Record renamed: Second Baby. First boy. Daniel Fenton.
Recording in progress.
"I hope this one is working this time. Most of Jazzy's records were covered in glitter somehow. Oh- It's on. Hello, I am Doctor Madeline Fenton and this is the second edition of my first few years of having a baby. Jasmine is still growing so the first 200 tapes are for her, the next 200 is for this bundle of joy. Here's hoping for another smooth delivery-"
She always wanted children, there was no doubt about that especially with the love of her life. Jack was everything she could ask for and more. There was nothing she would want to change about their life and that was an absolute fact. Jasmine wasn't exactly planned and neither was Daniel but when they knew, when they found out? Pure joy.
There was only one small issue for the mother to be. Madeline was very dedicated to her line of work and even if people didn't really approve it wasn't about to stop from doing it. She almost lived and breathed that job. Work as much as one could until they can't work anymore.
Workaholics aren't exactly the greatest about their health especially when one of them just so happens to be pregnant. It was already a given when the doctors already told her multiple times to stop working. Around week 21 they were threatening to call the authorities, not that they did much the first time she was like this.
Surprisingly no one ever sues for the amount of stress one lady can put them through.
So when the same future mother came in around week 35, they were not even slightly surprised. It was as if she didn't learn from the first time she was pregnant. They were surprised that their daughter was alive and healthy somehow. Meanwhile the mother was fussing and huffing in a wheelchair, the nurses had to stop each other from sedating her. After a few tests with the doctor, she realized that she was not leaving anytime soon. She was giving birth that day whether she liked it or not.
They worked out of their house so it wasn't like she was leaving work or something. She knew she was being judged every time she came to the hospital during both of her pregnancies. Maddie couldn't change their minds about herself especially when she knows she has nothing to be ashamed of. Here's hoping her little joy wasn't going to get her talent of never sitting still.
Daniel Fenton, born 2 weeks before he was actually due at 3:54 pm on a Wednesday no less. As they always do Maddie watched them take her son away and like that he was gone. But something caught her attention perhaps that was the first sign of Daniel not being a normal baby. There was no crying, just an odd babbling sound that she didn't think was possible from a baby just born.
It felt like forever while sitting on that bed just waiting for the doctor. Her son was gone and out of her reach but it still felt like hours had passed since she heard a low babbling sound from her son as the nurse took him. But soon enough a new nurse rolled him in a clear box and placed him on her bed side. Her son's heart stopped for a moment but he was well now and in good condition.
She reached over to see the small infant breathe, the lovely soft glow that bathed him. All that was left was her laughing to herself but this was some twisted joke of fate for her. What a laughable joke, her actions were far too reckless this time around. Maddie made a vow to herself to keep watch over her baby very carefully, the possibility of something like this happening again was higher now because of her.
Being released from the hospital wasn't as smooth as it was last time but they did manage to leave in due time. She was starting to get tired of staring at hospital walls, even with Jazz and Jack there. Their excitement could fill a room with color but even they get worn out after a few days. With that time she did study her son from the other side of the glass barrier, he was a drastic difference compared to Jasmine as a baby.
Danny, as Jazz instantly started calling him, was a quiet baby. As if he barely made any noise, the only noise he did make was when he was physically shifting his body because he needed a change. Once they got home and a few weeks into him being home, Danny just stared when he wanted something. He wasn't much for yelling, just stayed in his crib and laid there staring at the ceiling as if something was there.
The doctors said it was fine, that some babies were like that for the first few weeks. That even if Maddie pointed out that Danny was slightly too pale for a baby, those tests came back normal. At the bare minimum she wanted to know if it would fix over time and they said it would. She was just going to have to trust the process, a process that she created by not taking care of them when he was still a part of her.
He didn't change, it never really fixed itself. Days turned to weeks and those weeks extended to months and years. She gave up on going to the doctors around year 3 because they kept giving her the same answers. Danny was three and he was still not talking much to her dismay. He had his first steps which weren't much, he knew what and where things were but talking was a difficulty.
Maddie kept Danny in a playpen in her office as she sat at her computer trying to figure out anything. Danny could hear just fine, he understood every word anyone was saying but he was emotionless. He didn't speak, smile or cry. It was so odd she couldn't even begin to figure out what was wrong. Her baby was starting to write too, so he definitely knew what words were but she didn't understand why he didn't expressed them with words.
As she grumbled she was met with a small warmth on her leg and a cold chill down her spine. Maddie looked up at the playpen before looking down at her leg to see Danny staring back up at her. He shouldn't have been able to get out but he did, somehow.
Perhaps she left the gate door open a bit and he closed it after he got out? Maddie played with his little curls while trying to figure out a way to get him to speak.
"Mama's sad." A little voice came from the far too cute face.
"Danny? Repeat that for me baby!" Surely she was imagining it.
"Mama's sad. Don't be sad." Danny, her baby was speaking?! More than that, those were sentences?! She didn't even think that could happen, at most she would expect one word. His first words were his concern for her. God, Maddie's heart would have burst from her chest if this wasn't the most momentous thing right at this version second.
"Yes baby but not anymore. Mama's happy now. Come here." She picked him up and sat him in her lap, before peppering him in kisses. Her son spoke finally, it was odd that this was the first moment but she needed this.
"Better?" He asked, he was so smart she wanted to just eat his little cheeks.
"Yeah. You make me happy. Want to go show papa and Jazzy?" Maddie was pretty much over the moon, Danny bobbed his head like he normally did when answering yes or no questions.
His speech problem was solved, she wasn't sure if it was due to time or just because Danny didn't want to but that battle was over. But with a battle there was also the war, Danny was too quiet. Not that she was judging she liked keeping her peace to herself at times but Danny spent most of his time inside doodling. Well what she would call doodles, Danny just aggressively took the black or green crayons and scribbled in circles or up and down.
So much since he was able to draw, out of all the crayons black, green and sometimes red were gone. He completely refused to use the other colors that Maddie made sure he had black crayons and once he was old enough, black markers. He was 5 and a very cute 5 year old but now how he either didn't move from his place of drawing or he moved about the house like a ghost. She didn't really mind because she could tell where Danny normally was but it did start getting to his sister, Jazz would be leaving her room and would freak out because he was just standing there.
Maddie took it upon herself, Danny needed to go out. She didn't really want to leave her research on a pause but she was starting to see numbers so it would also do her some good. A normal mother takes her children to the park, that's what she did one day. Jack took Jazz normally but since their daughter was at school and Jack was in the middle of something she would have to brave this challenge on her own. Danny wasn't that pleased though, she could understand since there wasn't much place for him to draw but he could talk to kids his age.
She should have honestly checked the date before stepping outside. Some sort of festival was being held in the park, there were adults setting up booths everywhere. Thankfully the kids area was still open but it was overflowing with children and adults alike. Maddie was debating on whether they should go home and just come back another day but as a kid, around Danny's age, ran towards them and wanted Danny to play with them.
She wanted to see if he was okay but he was looking at her, was he asking permission or was he confused? Maddie nudged him forward a bit to see if it was the ladder or not. Her son was quickly dragged away before she could figure it out but Danny didn't look back so it might have been a good thing. The children seemed excited to have a new friend, she sighed with relief and went to find a seat.
There wasn't really much space but Maddie found an empty bench and watched from a distance. All the big bright smiles that were going around with laughter and yelling made the park feel much louder than it should but she bared with it. Even the parents were chatting with each other but she didn't know them. Jack would have probably went up to them. They probably knew him just by the sound of his laugh or if they saw Jazz running away giggling.
Perhaps Danny got his personality from her? It developed so early that he didn't really like being outdoors. She looked back to the group of kids that were with him and he just stared as they argued about something. At least they can say that they tried getting him to interact with kids his age, it just wasn't working.
Looking away for a second was a mistake.
All she wanted to do was grab her bag so she could take him home but she started to hear yelling getting louder and crying.
The group had gotten into a little tussle and her son was nowhere in sight. Of course she would have panicked, all the other parents were too as they ran over to break it up but Maddie looked around and she was immediately calm. He wandered away from the rest of the kids and was crouched in front of some bushes looking at something. Walking over she could see he was messing with something, poking at whatever it was with a stick.
"Danny?" Truly, she wasn't exactly the perfect mother or a normal person for that matter. At the moment, normal people freak out or yell but Maddie crouches down next to him. Danny looked at her with his usual blank stare but his eyes were wider than normal. He was curious, he found this interesting. Maybe their line of work was rubbing off on him, she didn't think it would she tried keeping him away from it but he wasn't crying to it like Jazz did.
A dead bird, seemed recently deceased as it was still a bit warm but unmoving. Danny poked at it with a stick, he didn't expect to move but he was trying to see something. Whatever it was Maddie wasn't exactly sure but it was a start to something new. She never thought he would be fascinated by death but here he was trying to study it, trying to find anything.
She took him home after that, Danny didn't need to spend his time at the park since normal interactions didn't even keep him entertained. A handful of kids were fighting right in front of him and instead of stopping and staring like the rest of the children and parents, he was not invested. Danny was special, quietness was where he thrived so Maddie wasn't going to force it. Embracing it, somewhere else where it was quiet.
The vast unknown that was her son's mind.
Maddie decided perhaps she should show him something similar to both his interests. Space was quiet and dangerous, freezing anything that was warm to a degree no one could return back from. Watching Danny light up just like that from her stories and teaching made progress. It also changed his drawings too, all the crayons were getting used now though she couldn't quite understand why they weren't being used in the first place.
Yet this was a learning opportunity for her. Something they will both have to learn from as they go. Danny was her bundle of joy even if he doesn't show it as much.