16 June 1923
St Mungo’s First Floor
Labour & Delivery
5:00am
Gideon paced the room, back and forth in a steady rhythm. Looking far more rumpled than normal. Suit jacket tossed haphazardly somewhere in the private hospital suite. Tie discarded, white dress shirt wrinkled, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, hair disheveled after his fingers ran through the locks over and over. But the smile on his face was full of love, tired and sweet.
He hummed a simple tune, some sort of long forgotten lullaby as his blue eyes stared at the tiny bundle in his arms.
Theodore Rupert Blackwood came into the world with a war cry, very upset that someone would interrupt his perfectly lovely home. Weighing in at 8 pounds 2 ounces (3.69kg) and 21 inches (53.34cm), he was absolutely perfect.
After making his displeasure known to all those that would listen, he was placed on his mothers chest where he immediately calmed.
Gideon watched in awe at his wife during the entire delivery. They arrived at the hospital early in the morning when she woke up with the first contractions. Rose breathed through them like a practiced warrior, holding on to his hand through them all. He was the dutiful husband, terrified and worried every second that something would happen.
Just a few short hours after the contractions started Rose was pushing. Gideon would never be able to describe the strength and beauty of his wife in that moment. Pushing through the pain, literally, until little Teddy arrived.
She was sleeping now, needing every bit of rest.
Teddy’s little eyes were wide, looking at Gideon. Those tiny fingers wrapped around Gideon's much larger one. Strong little grip. For some reason making the man proud, as if a strong grip had anything to do with him.
The walk around the room continued, his exhaustion pushed firmly to the back of his mind while adrenaline stubbornly refused to loosen its grip. Every few steps, Gideon found his eyes drifting back to the hospital bed.
Rose. Still there. Still breathing. Safe.
His gaze lingered longer than he realized.
There had been moments throughout the night when he had feared the worst. Irrational perhaps, but fear was rarely reasonable. Too many years had taught him that happiness could disappear in a single heartbeat.
Swallowing hard, Gideon looked back down at Theodore, who had apparently decided his father's white shirt wrinkles needed to be studied. "You've caused quite the commotion," he murmured, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Your sister is going to insist on holding you before the day is over. Your grandmother will likely have an opinion about your hair."
He paused. "So will your aunt." The thought caused a quick chuckle, as he took in the brown hair that covered his son’s head, standing on end. There was a lot of it and it seemed to go against the laws of gravity.
"You'll learn soon enough that the women in this family generally get their way." He spoke softly, not wanting to wake Rose.
The room settled into a comfortable silence, broken only by Theodore's soft little noises and the sounds of the hospital alive and moving beyond the door. For years, Gideon wondered if he would get the chance to feel this happiness.
And here it was. Exactly one year after another of his happiest days. Their one year anniversary. June 16th was proving to be a very very good day.
Sleeping peacefully in the bed across the room. Curled around his finger. Waiting back at home with a little girl who would proudly announce to anyone willing to listen that she was going to be a big sister again.
Carefully crossing the room, Gideon lowered himself into the chair beside Rose's bed. He looked at his sleeping wife for a long moment before leaning over to press a kiss against her forehead.
Nothing ever could compare to this moment. He settled back into the chair, Theodore now asleep in his arms and simply took in the moment, not wanting to forget the smallest of details.
Teddy had come quicker than the other two. Rose’s body had kicked in with the familiar situation as soon as the contractions began. When she’d woken Gideon from slumber, he seemed a bit panicked in a way she found adorable. But they’d arrived at St. Mungo’s quickly and she was immediately ushered into the labour and delivery ward.
Once the baby left her body, her womb felt immediately empty. That was the hardest part. Then the baby was on her, almost a stranger for the first few moments of his life. It’d been the same with Fiona and Evander. As her body recovered from the trauma of giving birth, exhaustion covered her like a warm blanket. She fed him, and then drifted off to sleep.
Feeling pressure on her forehead as her husband gently kissed her, Rose’s eyes fluttered open a moment later. She spotted him sitting in the chair that had always been empty when she had her other babies. Her eyes took in the sight of him cradling their baby and she smiled. He was a natural with children, had always been a father-figure to Fiona.
But seeing him with a new baby, well… that was something that filled her heart with love.
As if that was possible.
“Hi,” she said softly, her voice rough with sleep and the remnants of everything the night had asked of her. She sat up a little bit, turning her body to lay on her side so that she was facing her husband.
For the first time, she realized that she was not alone. Maddox had been great from the beginning helping with Evander, but Rose knew that he would have preferred the child’s mother be anyone other than her. Gideon, however…
Did she deserve it? Her thoughts moved back to her first boy, the one who felt more like a stranger than a child of hers and she frowned briefly.
But as her eyes caught a glimpse of Teddy’s dark hair, she smiled. She couldn’t see him and not smile.
“Has he been asleep long?” she asked, before looking at Gid’s face. “You should get some rest.”
Gideon settled back into the chair beside Rose's bed, Theodore resting against his chest. The tiny boy's eyes were shut now, little breaths and the occasional sigh escaping him.
When Gideon looked up and found Rose awake, his own smile answered hers immediately.
"Hi."
Carefully adjusting Theodore against him, he instinctively rested one large hand over the baby's back, his thumb tracing slow circles between his tiny little shoulders.
"Hello, my love." His voice was little more than a whisper. He had imagined this moment more times than he cared to admit. His dreams never doing it justice.
"Has he been asleep long? You should get some rest."
His eyes drifted from Theodore back to Rose. Even exhausted, hair a mess, and still recovering from hours of labour, she was the most beautiful thing in the room. The strongest. He'd watched her bring their son into the world, he was still in awe.
"Not long," he murmured. "He spent a while inspecting the room." The corner of his mouth twitched. "Very observant. Clearly takes after me."
A pause, looking down on him once again. It was a problem, he was totally addicted
.
"He's already wrapped me around his finger."
Gideon shook his head slightly, his mind having trouble registering the way their lives were forever altered by the tiny bundle in his arms.
Sleep. He should. He knew that. His body knew that.
But every time he looked down at Theodore, every time he heard Rose breathe beside him, every intention of closing his eyes disappeared. There would be time for sleep later.
For now, he was happy watching his family rest peacefully within arm's reach. The only thing that would make this better, was for Fiona to be here as well.
Rose watched him for a moment, smirking when he mentioned that the baby was observant like him. And of course Gid was already wrapped around his tiny little finger. He traced slow circles on the sleeping baby’s back, the unconscious gesture making her chest ache in the best possible way.
This is what she’d been wanting. Through the birth of Fiona, and then Evander, this moment – all of it was better because Gideon was there with her. Her mum had died years ago, longer than she wanted to count, so when she had her other babies, she’d been alone. Yet now, she had an army around her. She knew that by the time the day was over, Lavinia would have been there, along with her in-laws.
She was never alone again, and Rose wouldn’t change that for the world.
Rose pushed herself up slightly, moving her hips back in the bed so she could sit up. She winced from the protest her body gave her with the movement but didn’t let that stop her.
“Hand him over,” she said softly, reaching out. Now that the initial drowsiness of the work her body had done, she was prepared to fully take in the child she’d birthed.
“And then you need to try to close your eyes, even for a little while.” She gave him the look that brooked no argument, the one that worked on Fiona and occasionally on him. “I mean it, Gid.”
Rose accepted the baby into her arms, his weight so familiar and so new at the same time. She pressed her lips to the top of his dark hair. None of her babies had her red hair, but she knew that they were not done building the family he wanted. Surely one of their future children would inherit it.
“Only a couple more hours and it’ll be a decent enough time,” she murmured, not looking up from their sleeping son. “You can go get Fi then. She’ll never forgive either of us if she has to wait any longer than necessary.”
The scolding their daughter would give them, her finger pointed at them and everything, would be adorable. Rose, however, was still worn out, and so the thought of that happening now was not very pleasant.
She closed her eyes as she breathed in the scent of the baby’s clean hair. Rose loved babies. She loved being pregnant, and she loved being a mum.
“Sleep, husband. I’ll feed him when he wakes up,” she said, finally looking over at Gideon while cradling their baby.
Gideon continued rubbing Teddy's back while looking at Rose. She was gorgeous, even after the events of the last twelve hours. He would never look at her the same way again. Her strength had been nothing short of extraordinary.
“Hand him over, and then you need to try to close your eyes, even for a little while.” She gave him that look. The wife and mother look. In one gaze she said more than words ever would. “I mean it, Gid.” Yep, he was in trouble.
Should he rest? Probably. Just thinking it made him yawn, his jaw stretching so wide it surprised even him. He blinked rapidly afterward, trying to chase away the heaviness settling behind his eyes.
”Your mother wants you back.” He whispered to his sleeping son. Looking at Rose, he became playful in his exhausted state.
Another yawn followed almost immediately.
Merlin.
He'd been awake for... he wasn't entirely sure anymore. The adrenaline that had carried him through Rose's labour was beginning to crash, every muscle felt his tiredness. His shoulders ached. His legs felt heavy after pacing the room for what must have been hours.
Yet somehow…
The moment he looked back down at Theodore's tiny face, he felt awake all over again. The little boy shifted against his chest, letting out a soft sigh before curling impossibly closer.
Gideon's smile softened. Handing him over completely forgotten.
"Comfortable there, are we?" he murmured.
Rose shifted in her bed causing Gideon’s eyes to lift away from Teddy. “Hand him over.”
Then slowly… He glanced down at Theodore. Back to Rose. Back to Theodore.
His arms instinctively tightened around the baby.
"..."
Hugging the boy close, he shifted a small amount away from Rose, acting like a petulant toddler with his favorite toy. "I'm not entirely convinced that's necessary. He's perfectly content where he is."
Teddy answered with a sleepy little snuffle, nestling even deeper beneath Gideon's chin. Gideon looked ridiculously pleased with himself. "See? Besides..." he said with a jaw cracking yawn, "you've already had him for nine months. Surely it's my turn."
He was absolutely serious. For perhaps half a second. Then the corner of his mouth betrayed him. The smile spread, followed by a quiet chuckle.
"I suppose..." he sighed dramatically, rising from his chair to pass over the small warm bundle. "sharing is an important lesson to teach him."
Even then, he was in no hurry to surrender his son. Leaning over the bed, he lingered for another moment, pressing one last kiss to Teddy's soft hair before finally settling him carefully into Rose's waiting arms.
"There," Gideon said with mock resignation. Putting his hand under Rose’s chin, he lifted her face up slightly so that he could give her a quick kiss. "...I expect him back later." Smiling, a sleepy smile.
He would take a nap. A short one, then he would get Fiona. He couldn’t wait for her to meet Teddy, but as his eyes lost focus and another yawn escaped he decided sleep might be important.
Of course his wife was right. She usually was.
Walking over to the small bed reserved for the father, Gideon took off his shoes and fell onto the too small bed. Within seconds of his head hitting the pillow, he was asleep.
Rose watched on as Gideon easily drifted off to sleep, clearly a sign of how tired he truly was. She smiled when his breathing turned even.
She looked down at Teddy.
He was so new, so soft. That was always the strangest part; they arrived already themselves, already a complete person, just very small and very curious about it. His dark hair stood in every direction. His mouth made a small movement in his sleep, working at nothing.
“Hello,” she whispered. “Properly this time.”
She had held him briefly after the birth, before the exhaustion pulled her under. This was different now. The room was quiet, Gideon’s breathing had already evened out, and it was just the two of them in the low light of early morning.
Her thoughts drifted to Fiona, already eleven years old and certainly already awake at home, vibrating with impatience. She thought about Evander, who would meet his half brother eventually and hopefully love him. She thought about her mother, the way she always did in quiet moments like this one with her new babies.
You would have loved him, she thought, directed towards her mother. You would have loved all of them.
Teddy’s fingers curled and uncurled against her chest. Rose pressed her lips to his hair and closed her eyes. After a moment, she turned her head to face her sleeping husband.
“Happy anniversary,” she said in a soft murmur. It was a hell of a way to celebrate.
It was either hours or minutes, Gideon wasn’t sure. The sound of a baby crying caused him to wake with a start. It took him a few minutes to come to his senses, realizing that the child crying wasn’t random, but his newborn son.
Standing up quickly, assessing the scene in front of him, Gideon looked around the room with his hands out like he was expecting something to be placed there. What? Who knew… not even Gideon.
Looking at the bed, Rose was holding little Teddy laughing softly at her husband.
It all came back in a wave. Hospital, labour, little Teddy coming into the world with strong lungs and a head full of brown spikey hair.
Seeing Rose, humor in her eyes, he shook his head and ran his hand through his disheveled hair. ”For about five seconds I had no idea what year it was.”
Walking towards his wife and sleeping child, he leaned down running his hand over his head, smoothing down the spikey hair just for it to pop back up. He smiled and kissed his forehead. Then, he switched to kissing the lips of his wife, who had no right to look as beautiful as she did after giving birth.
”How are you? Can I get you anything? Have you eaten?”
Too many questions came out in a rush, but he wanted to make sure she was comfortable. But before she was able to answer there was a knock at the door and it slowly opened. His mother’s head poked in with a wide smile on her face.
”OH! Dear me, just look at you.” She had tears in her eyes as she approached the bed. Fiona’s hand clasped in hers. Gideon walked over to his daughter and kneeled in front of her.
Kissing her cheek and pulling her in for a hug, he smiled at his daughter. ”Hey there monkey, have fun with gramma and pops last night?”
Then, leaning in close he whispered, ”I think there is someone who would like to meet you.”
Hours had passed by the time Gideon woke up, and Rose had spent that time memorizing every detail of her son’s face. She nursed him, then burped him, and held him as he slept. She hummed a lullaby her mother used to hum to her as a baby, one that Fiona would know instantly if she heard it. She’d had a bit to eat somewhere after he was sleeping.
When her husband woke, Rose had just finished changing the baby’s nappy and he was fussing as he settled back in for more sleep. Gideon’s hair was a mess; pointing every which way. The man had stood up so quickly, clearly confused about life itself before finally getting his bearings about him. She laughed.
“For about five seconds I had no idea what year it was.”
The baby was back asleep before Gid was over to them. She smiled as he kissed the baby’s forehead, and then kissed her on the lips.
“How are you? Can I get you anything? Have you eaten?”
“Don’t worry about me, Gid, they brought me a small bite earlier,” Rose commented and then she looked over at the sound of a knock on the door.
“OH! Dear me, just look at you.”
The familiar sound of her mother-in-law’s voice meant her daughter had arrived. “I think he looks more like your son than me,” she commented as she titled the baby slightly so the woman could look down at him. She spotted Gideon hugging Fiona, and took the opportunity to focus on her mother-in-law so father and daughter could have a moment.
“He is so beautiful, and that hair!”
“It’s wild, that’s for sure…” she said and laughed softly.
Gramma and Pops’ house had been busy enough with cousins that Fiona had actually slept, which surprised her a little. She’d expected to lie awake worrying, but there hadn’t been time to worry with everyone running around, and by the time she’d put her head down she was already mostly asleep.
But she’d woken thinking about it.
Fiona had been through this before, sort of. When Evander was born there had been a whole fuss – everyone crowding around, nobody looking at her, all the attention going somewhere small and loud and new. But Evander didn’t stay with them for long, and went home with his dad after a while.
This one would be going home with them. Permanently.
Fiona held her grandmother’s hand as they walked down the corridor, and when the door opened and she saw her father, she went to him immediately pressing her face into his shoulder when he hugged her. She could smell the hospital on him, which was strange.
“I think there is someone who would like to meet you.”
She pulled back and looked past him as her mother, who was holding something small and wrapped in a blanket. She stayed close to her father’s side, now holding onto his hand.
“Is he… is he awake?” she asked, her voice much smaller than she had intended.
She looked from the bundle up to her mother’s eyes, who nodded. Fiona, still holding her father’s hand, moved forward and peered down at the little baby.
“Does he cry a lot?” she asked, wondering just how often his crying would wake her up during the night.
“Is he… is he awake?” She sounded nervous, which Gideon could understand. Her life had irrevocably changed. He just hoped for the better. Tucking some hair behind her ear, he focused entirely on her. ”He’s sleeping right now, but I’m sure he will wake up soon to see you.”
“Does he cry a lot?” His mouth turned up into a smile. An honest question, and one that was obviously weighing on her.
”Well, I’mno expert Monkey, but it seems to me that he is pretty calm. I’m sure he will have his loud moments though. Come, lets meet Teddy.”
Standing to his full height, Gideon took her small hand in his, giving it a squeeze. Walking her around to the side of the bed, he brought her to stand in front of him. His hands placed on her shoulders, Gideon bends down and whispers in her ear.
”Fiona, I would like you to meet Theodore. He has the craziest hair I’ve ever seen, don’t you think? Gideon said with a smile, kissing her cheek.
As they looked at the small little bundle of blankets and baby, the brown hair sticking out straight, little Teddy began to stir. He didn't cry, just cooed in his little baby voice, mouth moving in a cute smacking motion. Little blue eyes opened, looking around, as if he was assessing his current situation, looking at the new people there to visit.
"Would you like to hold him? I think he woke up to meet you."
Rose watched from the bed, Teddy stirring in her arms as Gideon walked Fiona around to her side. She had been so focused on the baby that she hadn’t fully taken in her daughter until now: the way Fiona held her father’s hand a little tighter than usual, the smallness of her voice when she asked if he was awake.
Gideon’s mother excused herself to give the new family some time and quietly exited the room.
Fiona had been through so much. More than any child should have to navigate.
“Would you like to hold him?”
Rose looked at her daughter’s face as Gideon asked the question, watching for the answer there before the girl said anything out loud.
“Come sit up here with me,” Rose said softly, patting the bed beside her. “I’ll put him right in your arms. You just have to support his head like this.”
She demonstrated, her hand cradling the back of Teddy’s dark, wild hair. He was still making his small cooing sounds, blue eyes moving around the room with the unfocused curiosity of someone who had only recently discovered that rooms existed.
“He’s been waiting to meet you,” Rose said, which was not strictly true but felt like it should be. “You’re the first person he’s going to know, Fi. He’s going to follow you around one day and think you hung the moon.”
She smiled at her daughter.
“That’s what big sisters are for.”
Even while she said this, Rose couldn’t help but to think about her first son, the one that spent most of his time with his other family. They weren’t as close as they should be, and she knew that was her fault. It would be different this time.
Fiona looked at the bed, then at her mother, then at the small bundle in her arms that was making sounds she hadn’t expected. She’d expected crying. She hadn’t expected cooing.
She climbed up onto the bed carefully, arranging herself next to her mother, and held out her arms the way she’d seen people hold babies in pictures. Stiff. Uncertain. Ready.
The weight of the bundle surprised her. He was heavier than she’d thought he would be, and warmer, and his eyes were moving around the room like he was trying to figure out where he was. She held very still, in the way you held still when something important was happening and you didn’t want to mess it up.
Teddy made a small sound. His mouth moved.
“His nose is so small,” she said, to no one in particular. She was looking at it very seriously, like she was assessing a very important detail. “It’s like a little button.”
She hadn’t meant to say that part out loud.
One of his hands had worked free of the blanket and was opening and closing slowly, the way babies did, reaching for nothing in particular.
Fiona offered him her finger. He took it.
She didn’t say anything, but let a little smile cross her lips.
Watching Fiona hold her baby brother brought a smile to Gideon’s face. It was the future he had dreamed of, playing out right before his eyes.
The bliss was short lived, when Teddy let out a loud cry.
”I think he might be hungry. Why don’t you let mom feed him. I was thinking you and I could go spend the rest of the day together.”
While Gideon wanted to spend more time with Teddy, he knew that Fiona needed just as much attention. If not more. Her life had changed a lot over the last year, between the wedding and now a baby brother. It was important for Gideon to spend one on one time with her as much as possible.
After leaving the hospital, Gideon took Fiona for a day trip to Diagon Alley. Ice cream, lunch, clothes shopping, and anything else she may want.
He was going to spoil her rotten.
Holding left hand, while her right hand was sticky with melting ice cream, she smiled at his daughter, happy that they could have some time together. ”How’s the ice cream monkey?”
Their walk was slow. No real destination in mind. If she wanted to browse in the quidditch store, they would. If she wanted to pick up some new art supplies, the answer was yes. If she wanted glitter paint, he would hate it, but they would get one in every color.
”Where too next? Candy, books, toys or would you like to visit Aunty Vinni at work?”
Fiona was thankful to be out of the hospital with the crying baby.
The ice cream was helping.
It was Midsummer Fizz, the same one she’d had in Diagon Alley with Lace, and the sparkles caught the afternoon light in a way that made everything feel slightly more manageable. Fiona licked the side where it was melting fastest and held her father’s hand and tried very hard to just be happy, which she mostly was.
”How’s the ice cream monkey?”
“Good,” she said, which was true. “It tastes like glitter.”
She knew he wouldn’t understand that description. Her father almost had an allergy to all things glittery. It was kind of funny, if she were honest.
She walked slowly beside him, looking in the windows of the shops they passed. It was a good day. It was a really good day, actually, and she knew that, and she also knew that part of why they were having it was because of Teddy. Because her father had looked at her in the hospital room and decided she needed this. Which meant the good day had Teddy in it somewhere.
Fiona didn’t say that, though.
”Where too next? Candy, books, toys or would you like to visit Aunty Vinni at work?”
Fiona considered the options very seriously, as the question was an important one.
“Auntie Vinnie,” she decided. “And then art supplies.” A pause. “I need more glitter paint.”
She said the last part while looking straight ahead because she already knew exactly what his face was doing. She couldn’t help but to smile at the thought.
“Good. It tastes like glitter.” Gideon’s steps faltered briefly at the mention of glitter, then a smirk graced his face. ”Glitter huh? Why do I feel like glitter also tastes like pink?”
As they walked down the street, Gideon pointed out things he knew she would love in the shop windows. Many were pink. None contained glitter. He didn’t like to encourage THAT obsession.
Even with magic, there was glitter everywhere. Stuck in the seams of the wood floor, embedded in the fabric of the rugs, couch and a particularly old wingback chair that would never be the same.
“Auntie Vinnie. And then art supplies. I need more glitter paint.” While Fiona focused on her ice cream, Gideon tilted his head back with a sigh.
More glitter.
Always. More. Glitter.
”Aunt Vinnie it is. She’ll be thrilled to see you.” It had become a tradition, whenever they visited the pub, for whoever was behind the bar would try and make the most ridiculous non-alcoholic drink with the brightest colors imaginable for Fiona. Some even seemed to sparkle.
”While at the arts and crafts store, maybe we can see if they sell a tarp of some sort. Something magical that can contain the stuff. Keep it from drifting all throughout the house. I still don’t understand how it gets on every surface. It’s a talent my dear.”
Gideon bent down, kissing his daughter on the top of her head. All jokes aside, he would buy her every package of glitter she wanted. He loved her more than the moon and wanted nothing more than to see her happy.
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