(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.

Comments

[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."

[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.

[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."

[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?"