[Fic] The Sweetest Gift
Sep. 28th, 2007 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kittydesadeTitle: The Sweetest Gift
Fandom: The Covenant
Characters: Caleb/Pogue
Word Count: 1,112
Rating: PG
Summary: Caleb and Pogue make some discoveries with/about the next generation of the Sons of Ipswich.
Neither Pogue nor Caleb was actually there for the birth. It was the kind of thing that made men uncomfortable, and though either of them would have been with their wife, if they had had wives, they didn't. And so they weren't. Privately, Pogue had the feeling that they wouldn't have been welcome anyway. It was sort of a private moment, for the woman and her husband.
For young William they had gone through a surrogate service, and although they had interviewed the woman a few times and gotten to know her well enough that they all four of them trusted each other, they hadn't become close. Not like with Pogue's son. Maggie was one of his mechanics at the garage, and she and her lover had wanted children. The new century, new thinking gave rise to the new concept of more than one child per Son. Now Pogue had a son and an unPowered daughter. Time would tell whether or not the bloodline carried true, but neither of them thought so.
William came home with them, after a quiet conversation with the woman's husband and the renewed assurance that the adoption had not been reconsidered. The papers came home with them a few days later.
Breast milk or formula, the doctors said it made no difference, but Pogue and Caleb both took turns worrying over its nutritional value before Reid told them they were both acting like girls and to stop it.
"The pediatrician said it'd be fine. So they'll be fine. Stop that." Reid picked up baby Timothy, automatically draping the spit rag over his shoulder. "I said stop."
"Guy goes to med school and suddenly he thinks he knows everything," Pogue muttered, but with a sort of sheepish smile.
Caleb just sort of shook his head and continued to feed William.
It was amazing, to see tiny life and realize that they had planned and created it. Not with Power, but with the same processes albeit slightly altered that everyone used, over and over since time began. Little life. They were making all the same little discoveries that every other new father made, a slice of normality in their hidden, abnormal lives.
Pogue and Caleb took turns waking up in the middle of the night for feedings, each man for both boys. Lack of sleep made Caleb cranky and Pogue less careful than usual but somehow they managed. They caught naps in the middle of the day when Reid came over, curling up into each other on the bed for a couple hours. Falling asleep, Caleb's fingers tangled in Pogue's hair and Pogue's cheek pressed against Caleb's chest. Waking up when Reid knocked softly on the door to tell them he had to go in an hour.
Tyler worked long hours, but came by in the evenings to play with the three boys. Four, if Reid was still there. Four sons and four fathers and Pogue made sure Caleb didn't stand back and watch too much. It was underneath, a little, that if Caleb stood back too much he might turn into his father, but Pogue was going to make damned sure that didn't happen. They would both be active in their sons' lives, and they would both stay alive long enough to see them graduate high school, college, whatever graduate programs they chose. If Pogue had to drag Caleb kicking and screaming to the ceremonies (or wheel him in, which he didn't let himself think about except late at night when he couldn't help it) they would be there together.
"Do you think we'll be able to do this?" Caleb did ask, more than once, when they were standing out on the balcony late at night. The scent of rain was always in the air this time of year.
Pogue didn't look out but into the room, leaning against the rail and watching the tiny, sleeping forms in the cribs. "We can do this."
"But…"
And Pogue wasn't going to hear it, so he stepped up and put his hand over his husband's mouth and shook his head. "We can do this. No buts."
Caleb nodded, but Pogue could tell he didn't really believe it. He moved his hand to rest against the other man's cheek, sliding his arm around his waist. Caleb turned his head to kiss his palm out of reflex, and smiled a little because it was a gesture that always meant happiness.
"I'm scared."
"I know."
"I don't want to end up like my father."
"I know." And for that Caleb got a kiss and a tight hug, fingers sliding through his hair to rest against the back of his head. "I know. But you know what he was like, you know what he did, which means you also know what not to do. And, I'm here, right?"
Pogue never knew how much that counted for, but he always tried to sound like he did.
"And Reid's here, and Tyler, and our families, and we've come this far. We can go a little further. And maybe…"
Soft little kiss there.
"Maybe. Coming a little further, you can find a way to go a little further after that."
Caleb nodded, listening for a moment longer until the silence went past the point where Pogue had anything else to say, then burying his head in his beloved's shoulder. They stayed like that for just long enough that the chill hit Pogue's skin, and then he gently tugged Caleb inside. If he was feeling it, the kids could too. He closed the door behind them and turned.
Caleb was standing over the cribs, one hand on each rail, looking down. He had the strangest look on his face, a look Pogue had never seen before. He wondered if he'd had the same look on his face before.
"We really…" Caleb looked over at him and smiled. "We really can do this, can't we?"
It was the smile that did it. He was … he was going to cry and jump up and down and scream all at once and he hadn't seen Caleb smile like that since they were teenagers. Younger side of teenagers. Hell, since…
Okay, so he knocked Caleb over hugging him. And maybe they did said some things on the floor that the kids shouldn't have overheard. They wheeled the kids behind the privacy screen so that they wouldn't see Daddies doing things that would traumatize the poor boys. There was laughter. There was joy. And there were little moments of discovering things about each other that they would have been sad to have forgotten, if they could stop being happy for a moment.
Fandom: The Covenant
Characters: Caleb/Pogue
Word Count: 1,112
Rating: PG
Summary: Caleb and Pogue make some discoveries with/about the next generation of the Sons of Ipswich.
Neither Pogue nor Caleb was actually there for the birth. It was the kind of thing that made men uncomfortable, and though either of them would have been with their wife, if they had had wives, they didn't. And so they weren't. Privately, Pogue had the feeling that they wouldn't have been welcome anyway. It was sort of a private moment, for the woman and her husband.
For young William they had gone through a surrogate service, and although they had interviewed the woman a few times and gotten to know her well enough that they all four of them trusted each other, they hadn't become close. Not like with Pogue's son. Maggie was one of his mechanics at the garage, and she and her lover had wanted children. The new century, new thinking gave rise to the new concept of more than one child per Son. Now Pogue had a son and an unPowered daughter. Time would tell whether or not the bloodline carried true, but neither of them thought so.
William came home with them, after a quiet conversation with the woman's husband and the renewed assurance that the adoption had not been reconsidered. The papers came home with them a few days later.
Breast milk or formula, the doctors said it made no difference, but Pogue and Caleb both took turns worrying over its nutritional value before Reid told them they were both acting like girls and to stop it.
"The pediatrician said it'd be fine. So they'll be fine. Stop that." Reid picked up baby Timothy, automatically draping the spit rag over his shoulder. "I said stop."
"Guy goes to med school and suddenly he thinks he knows everything," Pogue muttered, but with a sort of sheepish smile.
Caleb just sort of shook his head and continued to feed William.
It was amazing, to see tiny life and realize that they had planned and created it. Not with Power, but with the same processes albeit slightly altered that everyone used, over and over since time began. Little life. They were making all the same little discoveries that every other new father made, a slice of normality in their hidden, abnormal lives.
Pogue and Caleb took turns waking up in the middle of the night for feedings, each man for both boys. Lack of sleep made Caleb cranky and Pogue less careful than usual but somehow they managed. They caught naps in the middle of the day when Reid came over, curling up into each other on the bed for a couple hours. Falling asleep, Caleb's fingers tangled in Pogue's hair and Pogue's cheek pressed against Caleb's chest. Waking up when Reid knocked softly on the door to tell them he had to go in an hour.
Tyler worked long hours, but came by in the evenings to play with the three boys. Four, if Reid was still there. Four sons and four fathers and Pogue made sure Caleb didn't stand back and watch too much. It was underneath, a little, that if Caleb stood back too much he might turn into his father, but Pogue was going to make damned sure that didn't happen. They would both be active in their sons' lives, and they would both stay alive long enough to see them graduate high school, college, whatever graduate programs they chose. If Pogue had to drag Caleb kicking and screaming to the ceremonies (or wheel him in, which he didn't let himself think about except late at night when he couldn't help it) they would be there together.
"Do you think we'll be able to do this?" Caleb did ask, more than once, when they were standing out on the balcony late at night. The scent of rain was always in the air this time of year.
Pogue didn't look out but into the room, leaning against the rail and watching the tiny, sleeping forms in the cribs. "We can do this."
"But…"
And Pogue wasn't going to hear it, so he stepped up and put his hand over his husband's mouth and shook his head. "We can do this. No buts."
Caleb nodded, but Pogue could tell he didn't really believe it. He moved his hand to rest against the other man's cheek, sliding his arm around his waist. Caleb turned his head to kiss his palm out of reflex, and smiled a little because it was a gesture that always meant happiness.
"I'm scared."
"I know."
"I don't want to end up like my father."
"I know." And for that Caleb got a kiss and a tight hug, fingers sliding through his hair to rest against the back of his head. "I know. But you know what he was like, you know what he did, which means you also know what not to do. And, I'm here, right?"
Pogue never knew how much that counted for, but he always tried to sound like he did.
"And Reid's here, and Tyler, and our families, and we've come this far. We can go a little further. And maybe…"
Soft little kiss there.
"Maybe. Coming a little further, you can find a way to go a little further after that."
Caleb nodded, listening for a moment longer until the silence went past the point where Pogue had anything else to say, then burying his head in his beloved's shoulder. They stayed like that for just long enough that the chill hit Pogue's skin, and then he gently tugged Caleb inside. If he was feeling it, the kids could too. He closed the door behind them and turned.
Caleb was standing over the cribs, one hand on each rail, looking down. He had the strangest look on his face, a look Pogue had never seen before. He wondered if he'd had the same look on his face before.
"We really…" Caleb looked over at him and smiled. "We really can do this, can't we?"
It was the smile that did it. He was … he was going to cry and jump up and down and scream all at once and he hadn't seen Caleb smile like that since they were teenagers. Younger side of teenagers. Hell, since…
Okay, so he knocked Caleb over hugging him. And maybe they did said some things on the floor that the kids shouldn't have overheard. They wheeled the kids behind the privacy screen so that they wouldn't see Daddies doing things that would traumatize the poor boys. There was laughter. There was joy. And there were little moments of discovering things about each other that they would have been sad to have forgotten, if they could stop being happy for a moment.