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[ogunquit_girl]

Frannie couldn't stop staring at the sleeping baby in her arms. She watched every intake of breath, every exhale. Her pulse spiked when his little face twisted into any expression other than serene sleep.

She was waiting for him to cough. She was expecting him to sneeze.

Even though she knew the flu wasn't here - it was contained to their world and it hadn't followed them here on their clothes (even if it had, she'd burned hers shortly after coming through to the Nexus, even the time she'd just walked into her bedroom in Maine for a few minutes before backing out in horror.

Still, Frannie watched her son sleep, listened to the soft silence of breathing unencumbered by snot or phlegm or whatever had choked the life out of her world. Against every odd there was, she was here, Stu was here, and her baby had survived arguably the most stress filled pregnancy ever, to arrive a respectable 6 pounds 9 ounces, with a pair of lungs announcing his arrival. Loudly.

If Frannie could remember how to pray, she would have right then and there.

Gathering type post - tag Frannie, tag each other (feel free to top level with Frannie asleep if you want, or just outside the room). If your pup saw the stationery post, feel free to jump to the conclusion that the hotel's only pregnant woman popped.)

Comments

[assistingconsultant]

On her usual cursory check of the notes at the front desk, Joan had noticed a message that had set her on alert right away. She recognized the name and the handwriting, and realized that time must have drastically gotten away with her with her coming and going from the hotel. If the other woman was up and moving enough to write a note - even a garbled one - she must be somewhat fine, but Joan knew she had to check.

Finding the right room with the help of one of the bellboys, she knocked hesitantly on the door, hoping she wasn't intruding.

[ogunquit_girl]

"Come in," Frannie said softly after checking to make sure everything that was supposed to be covered up was. Peter, for his part, was moving his little mouth, content with every need met. For the moment, anyway.

[assistingconsultant]

At the invitation, Joan turned the handle and opened the door, peering around cautiously. When she saw a woman there holding a baby and looking more or less completely happy and at peace, she relaxed.

"Hey," she said. "You're Fran? I'm Joan Watson. I'm... So sorry I wasn't there for the birth like I'd hoped. How are you doing?"

[ogunquit_girl]

"Joan," Fran smiled and waved a free hand towards her. "It's a pleasure to meet you face to face."

Her eyes tracked down to the bundle in her arms and then back up to the other woman. "We're both doing just fine. One of the people from where I come from, Larry, is friends with a doctor and he brought her when he saw the note on the stationery. Between Dr. Jones, Larry, and Stu, we managed to get him out without too much fuss."

[assistingconsultant]

"Sounds like you had a whole team," Joan remarked with a smile. She had considered children of her own before dismissing the notion, mostly, but her friends were pretty active babymakers. She approached the bed, looking at the baby, and realizing as always how impossibly small they were in the beginning. She was a surgeon and rarely found herself in the maternity ward back when she was practising, but whenever she had she was always a bit overwhelmed.

[ogunquit_girl]

Frannie blushed, just a little. "I have some apologizing to do, I think. From what I remember, I wasn't exactly ladylike throughout the process. I think ritual castration of anything male might have been mentioned once or twice."

She raised laughing eyes to Joan's, noting the way she looked at Peter. "Do you want to hold him?"

[assistingconsultant]

"Hold him?" she asked. She had been around babies before, naturally, so she rarely had any troubles with it. But he looked so happy, sleeping with his mother, she didn't want to disturb that. "I'd be afraid of waking him up," she confessed. "I'd love to, but maybe when he isn't acting like an angel? What's his name?"

[ogunquit_girl]

"Peter," Frannie replied, looking between Joan and the sleeping baby and willing the tears to not fill her eyes. She'd cried enough over the loss of her father. "I think he'd like having a little namesake running around. No middle name, though."

She wasn't kitschy enough to saddle him with something like 'survival' or 'triumph' and there was no way she was giving him Jesse's name, either. One name would suit him just fine.

[assistingconsultant]

Joan didn't have to pry any further to understand that that was a somewhat delicate subject, but she gave Frannie her most encouraging smile.

"So are you going to raise him here?" she asked, curiously. "That would be interesting, growing up in a hotel, and around all these people." Just the thought of living here, permanently, in a corner of what she could only assume was a knot of many different worlds - it was enough to make any self respecting adventurer jealous.

[digyourman]

Even with as little experience as Larry had with babies, he'd still managed to scrape together a few reasonable expectations. Mom and kid would both probably sleep a lot for awhile, and there would be crying from both and probably him, too, just because. Diapers and formula and all the normal stuff.

What he hadn't anticipated, though, was how bittersweet the experience would prove for him, how each time he laid eyes on the two cuddled up together, there would be a stab of ache to accompany his gladness.

He hadn't missed Lucy this much since leaving Boulder.

From his place slouched in the open doorway, he smiled anyway, quietly watching.

[ogunquit_girl]

"You know something," Frannie addressed the sleeping baby in her arms, her voice soft so as not to wake him. "I think everything would be just about perfect if your Uncle Larry wasn't pulling double duty as a creepy stalker, lurking in doorways."

She finally raised her head to look over at him, a tired but content smile on her face.

[east_texas_stu]

Stu was still trying to get used to everything. He'd been getting ready mentally all these months,but now it had finally happened. He knew a lot of men would have run away from a woman pregnant with another man's child, but but it was also her baby, and loving her let him love,the baby,too. Truth was, he didn't really think of Peter tuat way;he jist saw that they were a family and this was his son. Like Frannie, he lept expecting Peter to get sick, to start coughing and sneezing. So far, he was fine, but the fear wouldn't go away. There was a knock at the door, and it turned out to be one of the other doctors. Stu imtroduced hmself,then let her talk to Frannie.

As much as he still didn't care much for doctors,was good that they were here, although the lack of medicine and equipment meant things were limited. Frannie hadn't had any drugs during the birth, and it hadn't been easy, naturally. He recalled well what she and the doctor were talking about, especially since a few of the yells had been about him not getting near her to make another baby. He supposed it was normal,though.

The llimited supplies meant he would have to live with his leg,too-it needed surgery, but there wasn't anytning here to do it with. He'd just have to deal with it for now. At least for now,it was pushed to the back of his mind.

He caught Larry's expression in the doorway;he knew the other man had to be missing Lucy. He wished she were here as well,just so Larry would be happier. Larry did smile,though, and Fran made a joke at him.

The next few months would be long and tiring,but they'd come through,there was no doubt. The thought of,the doors did come to mind,though-they'd have to watch close when Peter got crawling and walking. He made a mental note to bring it up later,though he put it aside for now.

[digyourman]

"But if I wasn't your creepy stalker, I don't know what I'd do with my time," Larry quietly replied as he took a couple of steps into the room. Hands in his pockets, he leaned back against the wall, feeling even now that this wasn't his place or his family, that he was just a well-meaning bystander. Stu was here, now, and that was the way it should be.

"You had anybody look at that leg yet?" Larry asked him with a nod toward the limb, stiffly stretched out from where Stu was sitting.

[ogunquit_girl]

"Oh, I'm sure I'll find plenty of things for you to do," Frannie answered, eyes twinkling with just a hint of mischief. "After all, the diapers aren't going to up and wash themselves."

She quirked a single eyebrow at where he stood, the posture and the position, and her memory flashed back to their first committee meetings, before he'd truly accepted himself as a member of that committee. Without a word, she raised the hand not cradling the baby towards him.

That accomplished, she looked at Stu with the tell-tale line forming between her eyes because she was waiting for an answer to that one as well.

[east_texas_stu]

Stu laughed at Frannie's reply, even though he knew that he would end up doing some of the dirty work as well.

Naturally,she was concerned about the leg.

"I didn't find out much that I didn't already know...badly set,over used...They can't do much here. It will probably need surgery, if we manage to get to a place where they have the stuff to do it. All I can do for now is try and take it easy on it."

[digyourman]

After a moment staring at Frannie's outstretched hand, Larry stepped slowly forward and slipped his fingers around hers. None of them could refuse her anything, and this was no different.

"Have you talked to Martha? She might be able to take your through to her world," he asked Stu as he gently perched on the edge of the bed. "You can't just sit here and wait for it to fix itself, man."

[ogunquit_girl]

Once Larry had joined her and she had them both close, Frannie relaxed back against the pillows. She was pretty sure she'd feel this way all the time, especially after they lost Nick to whatever forces ran this place. Losing him once was bad enough...she didn't want to experience that again with Larry or Stu.

"He's got a point, Stuart," she replied, using his full name for emphasis. "I know there are others that can go back and forth, some pretty easily. She'd probably be able to do a better job than in Boulder, too, since we didn't exactly have crack surgical teams there."

[rangerbecket]

Raleigh had seen the announcement and immediately went to go see Frannie. He doesn't have much in the way of cash for presents or anything but he'd gotten some flowers from one of the greenhouses and a little card for Frannie so she could have something to remember the day by.

He keeps quiet as he walks in, not wanting to disturb mother or baby if he can help it. "Hey, Mama. Are you feeling up to any visitors right now?"

[ogunquit_girl]

Frannie looked up and beamed a wide smile. "Raleigh! Of course I am. Come on over and see what I made," she laughed a little at her own foolishness, but the more time that passed with out a sniffle or cough from the baby, the more she was relaxing into the new, and not a little terrifying, role of mom.

[rangerbecket]

"I think you did a great job," Raleigh says, putting the flowers down so he can go and get a better look at the baby. He hands her the card. It's just a simple little thing with a quick note of congratulations scribbled inside but he's never been very good with words.

"Babies are...amazing. All that potential in one little person."

[ogunquit_girl]

"Thanks," she replied and brushed a finger over the baby's cheek. "I think he's pretty impressive, too, but I'm just a little biased. He didn't have the easiest start and it's a miracle he made it this far. Now? Now I can't help thinking that he really might have a future, maybe even a bright one, since we came here."

[rangerbecket]

"I think so," Raleigh says, pitching his voice low. He hasn't been around a lot of babies in his life, especially since people were more hesitant to have kids because of the kaiju.

"So everything seems A Okay with him? No problems or anything?"

[ogunquit_girl]

"Picture perfect, according to the doctor. Ten fingers, ten toes, a good set of lungs," Frannie said, then looked up him. "And not a sign of the illness that took so many where I came from."

The relief about that was palpable on her face.

[rangerbecket]

"Good," Raleigh says, letting out his own sigh of relief. He knows about coming from a world that seems to be at the end of things and while kaiju have destroyed half the planet, they're at least contained to the Pacific rim. There's no containing a virus, not when it can jump from person to person without stopping.

"Maybe you can just keep him here and never have to worry about it, right? That's an option?"

[ogunquit_girl]

"I plan on looking at any doorway close before I walk through it, that's for sure," Frannie nodded. "I won't run the risk of what happened a few months ago happening again. Not with him."

The backs of her fingers brushed Peter's cheek. "There are always the gardens here if I start to feel stir crazy or anything."