A/N: This is another part to the Ashley and Annie story. Enjoy!
Ashley's POV
Annie gave birth to our daughter, Amelia, two days ago. Today, we get to take her home. Now, I haven't really told Annie, but I have no fucking clue what I'm doing. I've been relying on the graciousness of the nurses as far as teaching me most things. I know how to hold a baby and all, but changing diapers? How hot the bottle has to be? Crying? Sleeping? I know nothing.
Annie puts Amelia in the carseat, and we're ready to go home.
"Babe?" I say worriedly.
"Yes?" she replies, looking up at me with those beautiful eyes.
"I have no idea how to take care of kids," I say.
"I know," she nods. Wait, she knows? Who told her?
"How?"
She raises her eyebrows at me before answering. "You've literally been lost for two days. You really thought I wouldn't catch on?"
"Oh," I say quietly, picking up the carseat. I decide not to say anything else, kind of embarrassed.
"Ashley, it's okay," she puts a hand on my shoulder. "We're gonna do this together."
I take a deep breath and nod. That definitely made me feel a little bit better, but I'm still nervous. Annie shows me how to put the carseat in the back of the car and we head for home. Annie sat in the back seat with Amelia to make sure everything on the way home goes smoothly, so it's just me in the front. I look in my rearview mirror every few minutes just to see her smiling over our bundle of joy. Amelia sleeps through all of it, I assume. I don't hear any sounds coming from her, so I guess she must be sleeping. When I stop in front of the house, Annie doesn't even notice.
"Annie?" I say. "We're home."
"Oh!" she laughs. I get out of the car and go over to where Amelia's carseat sits snugly. I gently pick up the carseat so I don't wake her up. It doesn't work so well, because Amelia begins to squirm and whine. I look down at her.
"Sorry, honey. But guess what? We're home!" I coo. She looks up at me with her big, brown eyes that she got from me. She seems a bit curious about my tattoos. I bring her inside the house. She still seems to be fascinated with the tattoos, not really paying attention to her new surroundings.
"She likes your art," Annie notices.
"That she does," I smile. I get an idea. I take off the hoodie I was wearing to reveal the short sleeved shirt underneath, revealing all of the tattoos on my arms. I take Amelia out of her carseat and sit her on my lap. She grips her tiny hand on my finger. Before I even realize it, she begins sucking on my finger.
"You got her? I'm gonna go unpack the hospital bag," Annie says.
"Go ahead love," I say. Amelia continues sucking on my finger, as she must like that more than any pacifier we've bought her. She begins looking around the living room at all of the different decorations and awards we've got displaying around. "So, what do you think of the place, huh?" Amelia stops sucking on my finger and looks up at me for a moment. I smile at her and she goes back to sucking my finger. Soon enough, she falls asleep on my lap. I'm really scared to move because I know she'll wake up again. I'm afraid to even talk because I think I'll be too loud and wake her up. So, I decide to just sit still until Annie comes back. Annie must have that "mom" sense that a lot of women do, because she comes right over to me as soon as Amelia hits the deep sleep.
"Here, let me take her," she says, holding out her arms for our daughter. I help lift the baby into her arms and follow her to the nursery. Annie lays Amelia down in the bassinet and we quietly tiptoe out of the room. Annie and I go back to the living room. She rests her head on me as we sit on the couch. Annie's had a rough couple of days. From labor and delivery, to beginning postpartum, she has every reason to be exhausted. I play with Annie's hair as she sighs and closes her eyes. "Do you think we're gonna be alright?" she says just loud enough for me to hear.
"Of course, babe. Why wouldn't we be?"
"I'm so tired and I know motherhood is basically being tired all the time. What if I can't handle it?"
"That's why I'm here. Not everything is on you. If you need a while to rest, of course I'll take Amelia. If you need to shower or go grocery shopping, I've got her. Even when you're here and are deep into a movie, I've still got her. We're a team. Nobody's doing anything alone. I promise."
She sits quietly next to me for a minute, then she smiles up at me.
"I love you, Ashley."
"I love you too, Annie."
That night, I made sure Annie slept. I took care of Amelia, whatever she needed, all night. I fed her, changed her, and made sure she went back to sleep safely, just like Annie would have done. I realized that, even though this is hard, it's not impossible. We just need some time to get into a routine and settle in. I wouldn't trade this for the world, though. The chaos, if it never goes away, that's okay. As long as these two are by my side, the world is ours.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
A/N
Hey it's me again. Quick lil update about my updating. I started working a crazy ton of hours, so it's gonna be hard for me to update regularly. I work 5 days a week in a strenuous position, so I usually take my 2 extra days for relaxation. Hopefully, though, things start to settle in a month or so. I'll try to keep you updated.
I'm still slowly taking requests. You can send them in, I just have no promises as to exactly when they'll be done right now. Thanks for everything, guys. I love you!
