It was a full day after I had given birth before Fee showed up because 'no new mom wants to be gawked at five minutes after having her vag sewn up with a pile of ice in her panties'. She also brought makeup which I had forgotten.
"I know you just gave birth, but everyone wants to look decent in their hospital pictures," she told me as she applied some mascara and concealer with expert hands. "Did you guys pick a name yet?"
"Danny," I supplied automatically. Easy. We actually had it picked out from the moment I knew I was pregnant. Danny, the only father I had ever known. I figured if we kept popping out boys, we would eventually pay homage to his father and then maybe even Bry.
"Love it," she declared, meaning it. While my uncle was never used to a big family dynamic like me, he had somehow fit in effortlessly with the Mallick clan. They were just... accepting. He came with me and that was all they needed to know to consider him family.
"I wish Eli..." I started, feeling the pang somewhere deep.
"I know," Fee said, looking sad.
Eli was always a heavy heart topic.
"You think he would let..."
"No," Fee cut me off, voice firm. She wasn't being cruel, just honest. And I knew she was right.
"Mark just lost a hundred bucks," I said, changing the topic to lighter things.
Mark was losing big on the baby betting department. He got the color of Shane and Lea's firstborn, Jason, wrong. Then he went ahead and got the bet on the sex of the next being a girl. It was twins and they were both boys, for which his brothers made him pay double.
"I think he just wants more girls in the family now," Fee said, smiling wistfully. Enough that I wondered if she was maybe reconsidering her 'three is more than enough Mallick offspring' idea.
"Then maybe he should start making some," I said with a smile. "He's got the girl now. What are they waiting for?"
"You know Mark," she said, shrugging.
And I did. Mark was the most go-with-the-flow of the brothers. He certainly would never plan on something like making babies. If it happened, it happened. Other than that- he was content with what he had.
"Hey Fee," Ryan said, coming in the room after I forced him to go home and shower and change, assuring him that I was fine alone for a while. But there was no such thing as 'alone' in the Mallick family. Where he left, Helen and Charlie showed up. When they were gone, Fee and Hunter and the girls made an appearance. "Hunt looks like he's about to lose his fucking mind," he added as Fee jumped off the bed so he could slide in next to me.
"That'd be my demons for you. I'll catch you guys when you head home," she added, giving me a warm smile and leaning down to kiss her nephew. "Try sleeping through the night, Danny. Mommy and Daddy will be a lot more tolerable if you do."
With that, she was off.
"Did I miss anything?" he asked, running his finger down the baby's face.
"Oh, only my about gazillionth try at nursing," I grumbled, annoyed that it didn't come as naturally as something so natural was supposed to. He wouldn't latch on me, but he would suck on the unnatural bottle like it was nobody's business.
Ryan leaned over, kissing my temple. "Did he get anything from you?"
I shrugged, taking a deep breath. "About half what he was supposed to I guess."
"Half is better than last time," he told me, giving me a small smile. "That's progress, honey."
"You're right," I agreed, smiling the stress away. "It's progress."
Progress.
It was what we had built our relationship on the hope of.
And it was what we had slowly but surely made.
And it was what there was sure to be much, much more of in our future.