xp_logs | Nathan, Moira, and Rachel, Wednesday morning (Reply)

Moira wakes up to her peacefully sleeping daughter and loudly snoring husband.

The feeling of loss but not loss was what really woke Moira up from her well-deserved rest. Hands fluttered down to her stomach before she was fully awake. No...the baby was born, she was safe.

Turning her head, Moira smiled as she opened her eyes. Nathan was dead to the world in the chair next to the bed, his familiar snoring filling the room. And if she looked past him, she could make out the bassinet and hear the soft sounds of her daughter sleeping.

All was well.

Contented thoughts murmuring up the link were what roused Nathan from his not-quite-as-well-deserved-but-almost nap. He opened his eyes, raising his head and blinking sleepily at his smiling wife. "You okay?" he murmured softly. "Need anything?"

"More sleep," she joked, reaching over to put her hand over his. "Nay, I'm good right now. Jus' woke up because somethin' felt like it was missin'."

Nathan yawned, then gave her a lopsided smile. "Well, that'd probably be because there is," he joked gently, squeezing her hand. "On the other hand, she is just over there..." His eyes strayed towards the bassinet. "Want me to get her?"

Moira's eyes lighted up at that. "Aye, if ye would." Pushing herself up into a sitting position took a bit of effort but she batted Nathan's hands away. She could do that part by herself.

Pride was in full working order, Nathan noticed with a certain amount of mirth, hauling himself up out of the chair and moving over to the bassinet. Rachel, wide-awake as soon as he approached, made an interrogative little chirping noise as he leaned over the bassinet.

"Hey, there," he said softly, picking her up. "Come and see Mom. She wants to admire you and tell you how beautiful you are."

"...ooo?"

"Yes, you."

#Ooooo....#

"'Tis goin' ta be a trial gettin' 'er ta actually talk," Moira noted, smiling softly at the sight of her husband and their child. Nathan still looked like a truck hit him every time he looked at Rachel but it was endearing.

And funny.

Nathan caught the thought on the link and made a face at her. "I can't help it," he said, the grimace melting into a smile as he came over and eased the baby down into Moira's waiting arms. "And you realize, it may be a problem to get her to start talking, but on the other hand, it may also happen earlier than it should. Both, I'd think, are equally likely... given how much she'll be absorbing."

Bringing Rachel in closer, Moira snuggled against her for a second, not answering Nathan right away. "'ello, lovely," she crooned as the baby cooed up at her. "Aye, she'll be absorbin' so much at such a fast rate...thank God she's 'ere at the school."

Nathan lowered himself back into his chair. "Best place in the world for her," he said, his eyes on his daughter. "Charles was here while you were asleep. We put the circuit-breaker in." Moira looked at him, and he smiled. "Everything went just fine. She was curious, but... she trusts Charles already. And me," he said, the smile tugging at his lips.

She beamed at that and placed a gentle kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Smart lass already, I see," she murmured, rocking her back and forth slowly. "Tha'll 'elp, aye, an' so will all th' trainin' she'll get once she's ready."

Rachel sneezed, and Nathan grinned suddenly at the disgusted look on the little face. "She's so wonderful," he said softly. "Her mind... I've never felt anything like it."

Moira assumed that he meant the fact that Tyler hadn't been active at birth and that would make the difference in the way the mind operated. "Kevin was so verra different," she murmured softly.

Nathan raised a hand and stroked her hair gently, the smile still lingering on his lips, but touched with a certain amount of wistfulness as well. "She'll be able to share the memories, you realize," he said softly. "When she's old enough. Of both of her brothers."

She teared up just a little bit at that and took a shaky breath as she nodded. "I think she'd like tha'," she murmured, smiling as Rachel grabbed her finger in a death grip that only babies knew how to do.

Nathan leaned in and pressed his lips to her temple, just for a moment. "She's going to run us both ragged," he murmured, still smiling. "You realize that."

Laughing, Moira grinned back. "I think we're up for th' challenge," she teased.

#Ooo!#

Nathan gazed at the two of them, realizing that he was probably wearing that pole-axed expression again. Ah, well. It wasn't as if it were unjustified, now, was it?

He got up out of the chair, sitting down on the edge of the bed so that Moira could lean against him. Rachel gave a low, contented coo.

"This is going," he said softly, his smile widening, "to be an adventure."