(no subject)

[takecourage]

Mostly, what she does is stare. She holds Edie in her arms and she feeds her or she sleeps and she just...stares at her. Mostly, she's trying to figure out how something so utterly perfect can have come from her. Danny, she can believe it of, but her? What she do to deserve something like this. A few days after Edie is born, Alex lets Danny start texting people, letting them know that they can come and visit, if they want to. She installs herself in the sunroom with Edie wrapped in a blanket in her arms and she rocks, slowly, and she feels, for the first time in her life, like she's something entirely new.

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[more_magic]

It's only been a few days, but it still feels unbelievable to know that she's here, that the wild, hectic night of her birth had resulted in something so perfect. When Alex sleeps, it's Darlington who takes over merely watching Edie: sitting in a chair by her crib and following the slight rise and fall of her small chest as she breathes; holding her when she fusses, humming all the music he can remember or murmuring poetry as he walks her from one wing of the house to the other. Early this morning, he'd stood before one of Black Elm's wide bay windows as the sun broke over the horizon, Edie finally asleep again in his arms, and knew he'd never trade the moment for anything else--that this, too, had its own kind of magic.

After showering and shaving, he gets dressed again and comes downstairs, leaning against the open door of the sunroom and just watching Alex sit and rock, their daughter in her arms. "Hey," he says softly. "Thanks for letting me sleep in."

[takecourage]

"Thanks for letting me sleep a few hours straight in the middle of the night," says Alex, who'd only half stirred when Danny had stumbled out of bed to fix a bottle. She shifts the little weight in her arms, ghosting her free hand over the soft curve of Edie's head. "Feel better after a shower?"

[more_magic]

"Much," he says. His eyes follow the passage of Alex's hand, Edie only half-stirring at the gentle touch before subsiding again into quiet. "I've got coffee going," he says. "And I was going to start breakfast soon, or closer to brunch now, I guess, if you haven't eaten yet?"

Going to her side, he looks down at them both before bending to kiss the top of Alex's head, breathing in the soft scent of her shampoo. "Your wish, my command, Stern."

[takecourage]

"Sucker," she says, softly, smiling. She knows that Danny has done his research, knows that she's allowed some caffiene in her diet, even if she's breastfeeding. And coffee does sound really good right now. "Coffee would be amazing. And...hm. Bacon? And toast."

[more_magic]

"I spent nine months seeing what Alex Stern is like undercaffeinated," he says, grinning. "Not an experience I want to revisit." His hand rubs a gentle circle between her shoulderblades, just for a moment, before he takes it away again. "Bacon and toast, too. Coming right up."

He starts towards the kitchen again, out of the sunroom, but looks back at them after a minute. "I'll bring it in once it's ready."

[takecourage]

"You're the best," she says, and means it, utterly. She sinks easily back into that quiet little bubble that's just her and Edie. She's been shocked, utterly, by how easy it's been to find that quiet. She hums quietly under her breath, something that Estrella used to sing to her. Edie fusses and Alex smiles.

"What, baby?" she says, softly. "What is it?"

[more_magic]

In the kitchen, Darlington sets a pan on the stove to heat and takes the bacon from the fridge, checking on the slow percolating drip of the coffeepot as he puts slices of bread in the toaster and pushes the lever down. As he cooks, he can half-hear Alex in the other room, the murmur of her voice as she talks and hums--and, every so often, Edie piping up in what he knows intellectually isn't response but feels like it nevertheless. A few times, he catches himself pausing to listen for it, those small sounds of contentment coming from either or both of the girls he loves.

Once everything is plated and poured, he sets it all on a tray and carries it back to the sunroom, just in time to hear Alex's quiet, half-amused question. He smiles. "She's more of a fan of that than the Purcell I tried last night. Or this morning, technically."

[greatamazingfeelingsboy]

Caleb doesn't feel as nervous as he thinks he should. He's known this baby for weeks, already. Knows the shape and strength of her feelings, even if they'd caught him off guard more than once. He'd been checking in periodically — texting Daniel when Alex doesn't answer — on when it's okay to visit. As it'd gotten closer to the actual due date, he'd stayed away. Everyone's feelings were way too high, and he hadn't wanted to be around that and react badly. So he'd stayed away, and when he'd gotten the announcement texts, he'd made himself stay away another couple of days, so that he wouldn't overwhelm them (or himself).

And now he's gotten a text saying he can come visit, if he'd like. He waffles, at first. He's got some reading for school, but he can fit time in for that before bed, right? So he drives to Black Elm, and sends them both a text letting them know he's there before heading up to the door.

Despite the amount of times he's been there, helping Daniel with the early repairs and stuff, it still feels weirdly imposing.

[takecourage]

She hears the door and it takes a moment for her to get them out of the chair, Edie settled in her arms. She pads through the house and shifts the baby's tiny weight as she opens it. She smiles.

"Hey, Uncle Caleb," she says. "Sorry I look like shit."

[greatamazingfeelingsboy]

"Oh my god, you look great," he assures, then lowers his voice because the baby is there, small and delicate and soft-looking. He bites his lip and shifts from foot to foot. "Fuck, she's so tiny," he whispers. She's not sleeping, he can feel that, but she's calm and quiet, and he doesn't want to change that by talking.

[takecourage]

"Oh, my God, I do not, but you're very fucking cute," says Alex, grinning as she steps aside to let him into the house. "You can talk in a normal voice. She'll sleep through it. It's actually supposed to be good for them; reminds them of the womb or something."

[greatamazingfeelingsboy]

"She's not sleeping," he says, even though her eyes are closed and she's so, so quiet and still. It feels like a bed he could lay on and just float away with. "I think she's just, like... enjoying being held and snuggled." He looks at Edie for a second longer, then at Alex, with puppy eyes and a huge smile. "Oh my god, Alex, you have a baby."

[takecourage]

"It hadn't even occurred to me that you'd be able to feel that," she says, and then she smiles at him. "I know, right? It's fucking weird." She turns away from him, padding back into the great room and lowering herself and Edie down onto the sofa in front of the fire. "C'mon. Get comfy and meet her properly."

[something_incredible]

All this makes Hopper kind of nervous. He doesn't want to admit it, definitely not to Alex, not even to himself, but when he gets his shit together to go visit after putting it off for a bit, as he gets the little stuffed elephant wrapped up in tissue paper and then settled in the gift bag Beverly had instructed him to by, his stomach flips over.

Because Alex might ask if he wants to hold the baby and the last time he touched anyone that young, it'd been Sara. Since her death, Hopper has avoided kids that age. Little ones. Babies. They're all so similar, they all smell the same, and he's afraid of what it might bring up.

But he goes anyway. He lingers in the door, then clears his throat and says, "Hey."

[takecourage]

She'd almost been dozing and, when he speaks, she lifts her head, a sudden smile on her face. Edie stirs in her arms, kicking against her blanket for a moment and Alex tucks it in a little tighter around her.

"Hey, Hop," she says. "Danny let you in, huh?"

[something_incredible]

"Yeah," he says. "I got the text that I was clear to come visit."

From his place in the doorway, he holds up the gift bag. "Brought her somethin'. Beverly wrapped it, though, I'm crap at stuff like that. She was giving me shit for not actually wrapping the gift properly inside the bag."

Mostly she had just been laughing at him, but he likes that. Being laughed at by a kid who used to not laugh all that much feels pretty nice.

[takecourage]

"You're clear to visit," she says, shifting in the chair. She smiles at the gift. "You didn't have to bring her anything. She's got more stuff than someone this small needs already." In her arms, Edie makes a soft, snuffling sound and Alex shifts her weight. "You want to come meet her?"

[something_incredible]

"Kinda think that's the point of a baby, isn't it? Give 'em a bunch of stuff they don't even understand." Hopper comes closer, sets the bag down where Alex can reach it when she wants to unwrap it, then leans closer.

"Shit," he says in a soft voice. "She's so damn small."

[takecourage]

"Yeah, well, she hurt like a bitch coming out so I'm glad she's not any bigger," says Alex, with a rueful smile. "Edith Estrella Stern, meet Jim Hopper. Hop, meet Edie."

[mitsubishievo]

Kavinsky came bearing gifts. He had done that leading up to the birth, to get the nursery set up with Danny, and to the hospital after the birth. Today there was nothing dreamt; it was all just things he could do without that magic. Soup made at home, herbal teas from the garden, a meal with leftovers that the new parents could pick away at for a little while.

It felt good to be an uncle again. He let himself into the house because, even after so long, that's who he was as a person. When he spotted Alex in the sunroom, he smiled.

"You wanna eat while I watch the kid?"

[takecourage]

"It's like you don't know me at all," says Alex, with a smile. She shifts to the edge of the seat that she's sitting in, Edie cradled in her arms. "What did you bring me?"

[mitsubishievo]

"Bunch of stuff," he said, holding the hot-cold bag up. "Figured you and Danny could both use a few meals that would keep as good leftovers. It's mostly Bulgarian because that's about all I know how to cook--so you've got mixed grill, moussaka, and a couple different soups."

He smiled, gentle and adoringly, looking at Alex and Edie. He was maybe, a little, sad about it. Seeing her made him think of Beca, and all he could think of for a moment was hoping she stuck around. That was selfish, so he kept it to himsel.

"Also? Good ground coffee from the Slavic store."

[takecourage]

"You're the fucking best," she says. She catches something in his face, just a flicker, gone as quickly as she sees it. She knows him well enough not to ask. "Fix me a plate? You know where everything is in the kitchen. Then I'll swap you."

[mitsubishievo]

"Absolutely," he said with a smile, stepping close enough to smack a big kiss on her forehead before heading toward the kitchen. "How much coffee do you want with all this? I can just put the pot on if that's better."

He probably would anyway, given that it was good coffee and he planned to hang out for a while. So he started there, pot of coffee, before unpacking the food to make a plate and put the food away as well. A little bit of everything, just so she could try.

[takecourage]

"One of the big mugs," says Alex, shifting Edie's weight again, putting one foot on the floor so that she can rock them a little. "I pumped earlier, so I should be good to load up." She leans to the side a little so she can watch him through the open kitchen door. "What's Bulgarian for uncle?"