Anybody have some fun winter/holiday plans? Comment them if you want. I'd love to talk :)
*Shawn’s POV*
The second after I was told that I had some free time before my next show, Y/n called from home to facetime me. Somehow the timing ended up that perfect.
I already started to feel relaxed and relieved as I quickly stepped into my hotel room. I could finally talk to Y/n, my beautiful wife, and our almost one-year-old son Elliott. I had seen their faces not too long before, but it had been a few weeks since I had been with them in person.
Without even having to consider it, I answered the call and sat down on the edge of the bed. My phone rested in my hands and I leaned my elbows forward on my knees. I grinned as it connected and Y/n’s face appeared on the screen. “Hey hun,” I greeted, “I miss you.”
Y/n smiled and lifted Elliott up a little more so I could see his face. He was sucking on his fingers but not looking at the camera. “I miss you too, Shawn,” Y/n said, “How are you doing? Did your show go well last night?”
“Yeah,” I responded, “It was good. The crowd got really into it which made it even better.”
“That’s great, babe,” she replied, “I’m so glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
“Did you see any pictures from the show?” I asked.
“Yeah, I saw a few. You looked so happy,” she beamed, “I tried to show them to Elliott, but I don’t think he really understood what you were doing.”
I chuckled, “Probably not. How is he doing?”
“Pretty good,” she said, sitting him on her lap and moving her phone so I could see him better.
“Hey Elliott,” I cooed, “Daddy misses you.” He stared at the screen, eyes big, and I watched him recognize me. He smiled and clapped his hands, muttering baby gibberish. Why did it seem like he always got cuter every time I saw him?
“He’s been a little fussy lately,” Y/n told, “but you’re never going to guess what he did today.”
“What happened?” I questioned.
“He said his first word! He called me ‘Mama!’” she said with excitement.
“No way!” I expressed, “That’s amazing! I can’t believe he said his first word!”
“Here, I think I can get him to say it for you,” Y/n added and looked down at our baby, “Elliott, can you say ‘Mama’ again? Who’s Mama?”
“Mama!” Elliott immediately spoke in his quiet baby voice and reached his hands towards Y/n's face. My heart melted.
Y/n looked at me, her eyes filled with excitement and awe. She looked so incredibly happy and I was ecstatic about it too. However, I couldn’t ignore the slightly disappointed feeling in the back of my mind that I had missed it. I had missed my son’s very first word. I couldn’t help but wonder what else I might have been missing. There was probably so much.
“I love you guys,” I sighed, “So much. I promise I’ll be home soon.”
“I love you too,” Y/n answered, “We’ll be here waiting for you.” Then her eyes went wide. “Uh oh,” she said, “I think this one needs a diaper change.”
“Oh no,” I chuckled, “Good luck with that. I should let you take care of it.”
“Wave bye to Daddy, Elliott,” Y/n gushed and gently picked up his tiny hands to do so.
“Goodbye, guys. I love you both and I’ll see you soon,” I ended.
“Bye!”
I hung up the call and turned off my phone. All I wanted then was to get through the rest of my tour so I could go home and be with my family.
~
A week before Christmas, my flight touched down in Toronto. I had barely stepped through the door of our house when Y/n gave me the biggest hug, holding onto me and not letting go for as long as she could. I squeezed her snug against my chest, feeling the warmth that radiated off her soft skin and heated up my freezing body. Not long after, I held Elliott as well. He seemed happy to see me, but I still tried my best to make up for all the time I had missed by staying with him as much as possible.
A couple days later, I had finally caught up on the jet lag and settled in at home. Y/n and I decorated the Christmas tree together and even attempted to get Elliott into the spirit. Most likely he didn’t understand any of it, but it’s the thought that counts.
Pretty soon after I got home, I decided that Y/n deserved a break from taking care of Elliott. She had done it the whole time while I had been gone. I needed and wanted to help out more. One morning, I was dressing Elliott in his nursery while Y/n had some time to herself. I was trying to make him smile since he seemed to be kind of upset that his mom wasn’t there.
“Do you know how to play peek-a-boo, Elliott?” I asked, “I’ll show you how.” I covered my face with my hands and Elliott was silent. I wondered if he actually believed I had disappeared.
“Peek-a-boo!” I grinned and removed my hands from my face. Elliott smiled big and giggled. I did it a couple more times as I finished putting on his clothes. Each time he would laugh and each time it made me so glad that I was a dad.
Once Elliott was dressed and happy, I took him in my arms and sat down in the comfy armchair we had in the room. I placed Elliott on my lap and held him steady while he chewed on one of his teething toys.
“Hey, Elliott,” I said, seeing an opportunity. He looked up at me. “Can you say ‘Dada?’” Elliott just stared at me. “Da-da,” I spoke slowly, “That’s me. That’s your daddy.” I pointed to myself to try and explain it to him, but it wasn’t really helping. “You got it, bud,” I encouraged, “Say ‘Dada’, you can do it.” I waited in anticipation, smiling and almost mouthing the sound. I thought that maybe it would sway him into saying it, but he still said nothing. Eventually, he became more interested in his toy.
“It’s okay,” I assured him, picking him up in my arms, “You don’t have to say it. I know you’re probably not ready.”
I held him with his head on my shoulder as Y/n walked through the doorway. “What are you two up too?” she asked, stepping over to Elliott and me.
“Just getting him ready,” I told, “I got him this long sleeve shirt with a snowman on it. It should help keep him warm and he also looks adorable in it.”
Y/n chuckled, “He does.” She sat down on the arm of the chair to the left of me. Reaching over to Elliott, she placed her hand on his head and rubbed the thin bit of hair with her thumb. He kept his head on my shoulder but looked up at her.
“I heard you talking to Elliott,” Y/n began.
“Oh, you heard that,” I sighed, embarrassed, “I'm sorry. I promise I'm not jealous or mad that Elliott spoke to you first. I'm overjoyed and I'm so proud of him. I just wonder if…I don't know. I worry that with how much I've been gone, he doesn't know who I am.” I stared at the wall opposite me, rubbed Elliott's back a little, and added, “I want to make sure he knows who his dad is.”
“It's okay,” Y/n comforted, “You don't need to apologize. I understand.” She moved closer to me and wrapped one arm around my shoulders. “Honey, of course, he knows who you are. He loves being with you and I'm sure he knows that you're his dad,” Y/n cooed, “You just have to be patient. He'll come around eventually.”
I nodded and returned the kiss Y/n left on my cheek. However, I couldn't help but wonder how long I would have to wait and worry before “eventually” came.
*Y/n's POV*
I woke up on Christmas morning feeling like a little kid. I was so excited for Elliott’s first Christmas that I sat up in bed before it had even reached eight am. Just like a five-year-old waking their parents up, I shook Shawn’s arm once it was eight-thirty.
“Hey,” I grinned once he opened his eyes, “It’s morning!”
He smiled, “I can’t wait to see what Elliott thinks of today.”
“Me too.”
After getting out of bed and slowly waking Elliott, the three of us headed into the living room. Elliott was pretty tired, but I knew he would soon be more awake with all the excitement that we had planned.
Eventually, we began opening gifts. Shawn and I had promised to not get anything too expensive for each other so we could focus on our son’s gifts. Because of that, most of the presents we exchanged were smaller, except for one more expensive gift that Shawn apparently had to get me. Not that I could really complain.
Most of the presents, though, were for Elliott. As I had expected, he didn’t quite get the idea of opening presents at first. But with a little help, he discovered that ripping wrapping paper was actually pretty fun.
While Elliott was opening his last gift, Shawn and I were sitting on the couch watching him. I had my phone out to take a few pictures here and there, and Shawn was slowly getting one of Elliott’s toys out of its box. Elliott was baby-talking as he tried to rip the wrapping paper. I quickly reached down and helped rip a small piece for him to start. He happily grabbed hold of it and ripped it a little, then looked up at Shawn. “Dada,” he chorused.
I gasped and turned to look at Shawn. His eyes were wide and his head snapped up from what he was doing. “Elliott, did you just say-” Shawn blurted, incredulously, “Did you just say ‘Dada?’”
Elliott grinned and repeated him, “Dada!”
Shawn’s jaw dropped and he stood up quickly. “Yes, Elliott. That’s me!” His mouth hung open and he picked Elliott up in his arms. “That’s right, I’m Dada!” Shawn's face was lit up with joy and he hugged our son against his chest. Shawn pressed a kiss onto his head and closed his eyes as he hugged Elliott again.
“Shawn, this is amazing!” I expressed, standing up.
“I know!” Shawn beamed, looking at me, his eyes slightly glossy, “This is the best Christmas gift ever! I’m so happy!” It looked as if he was about to jump up and down in delight. It was the happiest I had seen him since he came home for the holidays.
Shawn held Elliott’s small hand in his and smiled at him. “I love you, Elliott,” he cooed, “Dada loves you so much.”
It was so sweet that my eyes were starting to water. I wrapped my arms around Shawn and Elliott, hugging both of them. Elliott was playing with my hair and he might have been drooling a little, but he was perfect. Our little family was perfect.
- - -
Idk if it's the fact that I'm tired or what, but I was almost crying reading the end of this :') I hope you guys liked it too.
I'm so glad I got a holiday imagine written. I'm sorry if you don't celebrate Christmas. I just thought it would be a cute situation for this imagine, so hopefully that's ok.
No matter what you celebrate or don't celebrate though, I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season. Relax and enjoy it. (I know I will haha) Happy holidays and happy new year!
Thank you so much for reading and I'll be back soon :)
--Kaelan ❤