Two in a Million | Auslly

Twenty Four: Clients & Costumes

one day later

august 10

"Alright, guys," Dr. Jones said as he walked into Ally's hospital room, "Everything is looking good here. I'm happy to announce that you are officially cleared to go home." Ally leaned her head back against the pillow, grinned and let out a deep sigh. After four and a half days here, she was tired of the hospital and more than ready to leave. The doctor had said that they wanted to keep Ally an extra day to keep an eye on her just to make sure everything was looking good before clearing her to go home. Dr. Jones handed Austin the paperwork that they needed to sign, and he looked over at his wife, who was as relieved as he was.

"I'm so happy," Ally whispered, letting out a tired laugh, "I'm sick of this stupid hospital room."

Austin nodded, handing the paperwork over to her after signing where he needed to. "Me, too."

"I miss my bed," she mused, "and Pickles and Paris. And of course, Ava." He nodded again, going over to Alex's bassinet and picking him up, bouncing him lightly.

"Me, too."

"I can't wait for him to meet the rest of the family. I mean, technically, he has, but he hasn't, like, met them, met them, you know?"

He looked over at her, grinning. "Yeah."

"Well, you're awfully quiet today," Ally commented. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, Als, I'm fine," he said with a laugh, going over to sit back down in his chair. "Just tired. I didn't sleep a wink last night."

Ally nodded. "Yeah, me neither. But at least now we can be sleepless in our own home." She slowly swung her feet over the side of the bed and hobbled over to the duffel bag she'd packed to get some new clothes, wincing with every step. Austin took her hand and helped her over to the bathroom, where a nurse was waiting to help her change. Penny had brought another change of clothes for them yesterday, along with another couple of onesies for the baby and some other essentials, which they were both grateful for.

In the main room, Austin was putting Alex's go-home outfit on him—a onesie from his parents that said, "Prince of Moon's Mattress Kingdom" (they'd ordered it before Alex was born—although nobody knew the gender, they were positive it was a boy). The newborn looked around, blinking curiously, occasionally trying to wriggle out of his dad's grip. Austin placed a clean diaper underneath Alex's bottom and unstrapped the dirty diaper from him, quickly replacing it. He'd learned the trick from his mom when they were visiting two days prior. "You only make that mistake once," she'd said, "Always replace the diaper quickly or else he'll squirt ya. You know, you used to do that to your father and I when you were a baby." Austin had rolled his eyes at that one. Of course she had to bring up one of his baby stories right now.

Once he'd finished putting the diaper on, Austin slid the onesie on him and snapped the three buttons at the bottom. "There we go," he said, picking Alex up, holding him on the left side of his body, "Good as new." He went over to the couch, grabbed the car seat, and set it on the bed, pushing the handle back and setting Alex inside. Austin tickled him lightly in the belly a couple of times, eliciting a little smile from the baby, before buckling him in. Ally walked out of the bathroom just then, setting her clothes back in the duffel bag and going over to where Austin was standing. She leaned against his shoulder, smiling.

"My two favorite boys," she said, looking up at him. He put an arm around her.

"We're honored," he replied, planting a kiss on her forehead. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke up again.

"Want to take this little man home?" she asked. Austin nodded.

"Let's do it."

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