cassandra_firebreath | for actiii

"Definitely mine."

He would be glad to know that he helped calm her and if she was scared what he could do to help her more. He didn't want her to go through anything on her own. He'd had times like that and didn't want her to feel anything close to how he had. As well as that she'd helped him through some pretty tough times and he he wanted to be with her for anything she needed him for.

"We can do that. I can do laundry tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Alex. Without you, I'd be scared out of my mind."

She kissed him before she stood up, offering her hand to him with a fond smile.

"And I'll help as much as I can."

He kissed the back of her hand as he stood up. "Any time you are scared you tell me. We'll figure it out. I'll do the same."

He sighed. "If by help you mean supervise then, yes, that's allowed."

"I will. And you should, babe. I want to know how you're coping with this."

She giggled while leading him to their bedroom. "Okay, I'll supervise. We don't want to worry papa too much, right?" Her free hand rested on her bump as she spoke.

Cassandra climbed into bed and made herself comfortable.

"You know tomorrow I'm going to get a photo of you with your hand on the bump, because I need to show everyone and maybe to embarrass them when they're older." He laughed as he started to climb into bed beside her, then stopped. He vanished off for a moment and came back in a new pair of sweatpants before climbing in beside her.

"A maternity photoshoot? That's a wonderful idea, babe." When he laid next to her, she immediately took her favorite place. Her head resting on his chest. "I want you in the photos, too. Your hand on top of mine."

The thought made her eyes well with happy tears. Motherhood felt so magical.

"Well I was thinking more me with the camera, do people do that?" He wasn't saying no, he was curious and if she wanted to do that then he wasn't going to say no to her.

"We can do that then." He didn't want to see her cry, he was worried they weren't happy tears.

"I've seen a few online. The partner standing behind, looking at her so fondly."

She smiled up at him, letting him know that they were happy tears. "I was just imagining you holding the baby for the first time."

"You mean like I do every time you're not looking?"

He laughed, "Someone is going to have to teach me how to do that, unless it's like holding a very precious football?"

"Yeah."

Her heart fluttered when he said that. Alex had the most loving eyes and she loved thinking about him looking at her.

"We can practice with dolls."

He did though, he couldn't help himself sometimes just watching her when she was doing other things. It always made him feel so lucky to know her at first and that had only grown over time to a love that he didn't think he could put into words properly.

"That sounds like a smart idea." He would hate to do something wrong for the baby.

"I love the way you look at me."

She did the same, just watching him sometimes, thinking about the first time she realized she was in love with him.

"Our baby will be so cute.. I hope they'll have your smile."

He looked at her.

"Sit back." He waved his hands at her to try and get her to sit back as he suddenly moved, sitting up then tucking the covers around her or more importantly the bump then he grabbed his pillow and put it next to her hip. Then he lay out next to her, his feet hanging off the bed so they weren't where his pillow had been and his head was by her hip, just resting a little on her thigh which was under the covers he'd tucked around her.

"This is only gonna be a short story because I'm all tired out from making your room ready for you." He put his hand on her bump where he'd felt the kicking earlier. "I mean you're gonna be here soon and we need to be ready. I bet your momma is already tired of me doing this."

She did as told, curious for a moment but soon realized what he was about to do. She made herself comfortable while Alex got ready to tell their baby a story.

"Not tired at all. Momma loves it."

Her fingers played with his hair gently while he spoke, adding to the connection between them and the baby.

"Your papa's taking really good care of me."

"Well clearly your momma is a crazy lady and you better listen to her, because she's incredibly smart really and knows these things." He glanced up at her.

"But one day you're going to do incredibly stupid stuff sometimes and you won't want to tell us about it, I hope you have friends like mine, well ours." He reached to brush her fingertips with his. "I used to have a best friend who I wish you could meet. He'd love you and no doubt teach you all kinds of terrible things about me and your momma as well as so many bad habits."

He laughed quietly.

"We did stupid things all the time, more than your momma knows." He made a face at Cass briefly. "Me and my best friend, it was impressive we made it sometimes..." He faultered a little. There was a sort of cruel irony to that. It wasn't their dumb teenage antics that had cost them. It was something the pair of them hadn't even considered. "Love them, every day, don't be afraid of that." He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek to the bump.

"Sean was... oh when you're older I show you a picture of him. I'll show you a picture of your momma when we first met too, if she doesn't stop me. She was very pretty, she got even more beautiful though. But that's another story." He didn't look at her then, he gave her a little sideways glance.

She listened quietly as he spoke, wanting to let him say everything he wanted to say and not interrupt. Instead, she kept stroking his hair gently, offering him comfort when he began talking about Sean. It couldn't have been easy going back to those memories again.

"I won't stop you. Those are special memories that should be shared with the entire family."

Cassandra flashed him a playful grin when he gave her that sideways glance.

"Sean supported your papa through so many things, and I hope to do the same."

"I need to tell everyone I married one beautiful lady who just gets better!" He smiled but it got a little distant, he would never. Never. Tell share with anyone about Vietnam or after.

"I miss him." He whispered. He didn't even think he could ask her if they ever had a boy could they add Sean's name in. He didn't think he could even if he knew she wouldn't mind. "And your momma looks after me when I get sad about that. She's great like that." He paused as he wasn't sure if he felt something then. He glanced up to Cass.

"We were trying to pick a name for you earlier. Do you want to help us?" He joked, hand still touching Cass, wondering if he'd get some sort of response.

"I know, babe...," She sighed a little sadly, knowing how painful it was for him. "And you can count on me to be here whenever you need comfort or distraction."

Her hand rested on top of his, hoping to feel another kick. "We'd really like that.. Give us a kick when you hear a name you like the best."

He smiled at Cass when she said that, this time it reached his eyes. A genuine reason to push how he was feeling and be happy again. He loved Cass so much for helping him like that.

"You've got to give us your best kick to let us know." He glanced back a Cass a moment. "Jane?" He didn't feel anything. He looked at Cass to make the next suggestion.

She smiled back, happy to see that genuine smile on his face again. She hated the world sometimes for giving them so many reasons for sadness, but together they could fight against it.

"Hmm... Noah?" She felt a light kick. "The baby kinda likes it, I think." Cassandra laughed softly, gently caressing the bump.

"Well, we will make a note of it on the maybe list then." He nearly decided to write on the nursery wall so he could paint over it later when they had decided.

He caught her fingers and joined her in gently stroking the bump. "Cassidy?" That worked for a boy or a girl and was a little less painful to think of than suggesting Sean but it was obvious to both of them and anyone who knew them where it came from. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what either of them thought of his suggestion but he couldn't bring himself to pull his hand away.

"Woah," Cassandra laughed, surprised by the strong kick. "That's a great name, huh? Momma thinks so, too. It's definitely an option." She knew where it came from and she'd be happy to include it in their baby's name somehow.

She cupped his cheek, wordlessly urging him to move up and kiss her.

Alex gave a little surprised laugh and looked thrilled at that. It was such a strong kick he wasn’t expecting it. Both of them agreed with him.

"We have to do this with all of them right?" He asked as he took the hint to sit up, leaning in to kiss her. He gently brushed his fingers down her cheek.

"We should. It's a fun way to interact with the baby."

She went serious for a moment, closing her eyes while focusing on that gentle touch.

"I was so worried when you were away... Fearing someone would knock on my door and tell me you'd been injured... or worse."

"I was worried that they wouldn't tell you, they'd just cover it up. I mean we don't count right?" He laughed but it hurt, he'd hate to just vanish on her, leave her never knowing. "You need to thank Raven though."

He glanced at her. He wasn't sure he should finally tell her what had happened before he'd come home to her.

"I nearly didn't come to you babe."

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