"UNCLE CHRIS!" Was all we heard followed by a low 'Ooof!' as Ruby collided with Chris - no doubt she had collided with something very sensitive. "Hello Sweetheart!" He said, scooping her up making her appear instantly smaller as she sat proudly in her uncles grip, his large frame and arms dwarfing her. She played with his necklace that hung over his sweater - taking great care in moving it with her chubby little fingers, her cuddly Mickey long forgotten.
We'd been out shopping for some things before our holiday in a few days time. Tom had mentioned that Chris was in town and at the mere mention of his name, Ruby was demanding that we go see him. And, because she has her father wrapped around her little finger, Tom obliged and phoned Chris, checking it was ok for us to drop by for a while. Don't get me wrong, she wanted for nothing but she was by no means spoiled. She just knew her Daddy couldn't say no to his baby girl.
Our darling daughter had just turned 3. Goodness knows where the time had gone, she has grown up so quickly already. She has Tom's eyes and hair - a gorgeous head full of bouncing blond curls and piercing blue eyes that were as blue as the ocean. We hadn't thrown her a birthday party, deciding to go on a family holiday to celebrate instead. Ruby didn't know it yet, we couldn't tell her - she'd be hyper for such a long time if we did.
Tom and I watched, sitting hand in hand on the couch, as Ruby told Chris all about her day. "And, and, Mummy made pan, pancake! But Daddy stealed a piece." I'd made her pancakes for her breakfast as a birthday treat. Tom had came in, leaning over her from behind her chair and cut up her pancakes for her - stealing a piece in the process. "Did he really?" Chris exclaimed, his eyebrows raised as he played along with Ruby's shock. "That was a mean thing Daddy did." He frowned gently, his eyes flicking up to us before back to Ruby. "But it's ok cause I loves him uncle Chris. I loves him this much!" She stretched out her pudgy little arms as far as she could and Chris' eyebrows raised, "Wow! That's a whole lot! You really love Daddy don't you?" She nodded her head as quickly as she could.
I watched Tom during Ruby and Chris' little exchange. His eyes were filled with love and he had the warmest of smiles on his face. He was completely and utterly besotted by Ruby and had been since the minute she'd been placed into my arms in the hospital. He'd barely been away from her since that day. He'd fly home to tuck her into bed, do double the interviews in one day so he'd have the next day off just to make her breakfast when she got up the next morning. If it involved Ruby, he'd do his hardest to be there.
I had come home from work one day to find the pair of them sitting at the kitchen table in matching aprons. Tom was sat on a chair holding a mixing bowl steady while Ruby was stood up on her chair, putting her all into stirring some icing - or trying her best to. Tom 's hand ended up being firmly clamped over hers. "Mummy!" She exclaimed as I walked through the door. "Hello baby girl!" I kissed the top of her head before moving to Tom, "Hello handsome." I kissed him quickly on the lips, eager to find out what they had been up to. "How was your meeting darling?" He wound his fingers into mine as I stood behind Ruby. "Productive. It went really well." I smiled down at him, finding him beaming back up at me, gently squeezing my hand as he did. My heart still fluttered everytime he looked me in the eye. "But I'm more excited about what's going on here." I grinned, glancing down at Ruby. "CAKE!" She squealed, throwing her arms into the air causing some icing to splatter on to the kitchen wall.
"Ruby and I went to the shops, didn't we darling?" He ran his hand over her blonde curls as he spoke, the most gentle and protective of touches and it made my heart turn to goo. Ruby nodded, agreeing with her daddy. "And we seen these amazing princess cakes, and Ruby wanted to make them for the princess in our family - her mummy." My heart pounded in my chest, it was so full of love that I thought it would burst. My tiny baby daughter was turning into the sweetest little lady. "Well thank you darling." I kissed the top of her head, "I bet they'll taste amazing."
Ruby never got to taste her handy work that night. She had all but fallen asleep at the dinner table so Tom scooped her up and put her to bed while I tidied up the kitchen. I met him on the couch in the living room and took no time in cuddling into his side while he flicked through the channels on the tv.
"She's growing up so quick." I stated, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen over us.
He sighed gently, kissing my hair. "I know, Em. That's why I didn't want to miss anything. It goes by so fast. I'm so proud of her, she's turning into an amazing little girl. She really did say that at the supermarket, she called you a princess." He laughed gently and smiled down at me. I moved onto my back, resting my head in his lap as I stared up at him.
"Do you remember when we found out I was pregnant with her?" I asked him.
"Of course I do. It was one of the happiest days of my life." He leaned down to kiss my forehead, "Although I did think I'd done something before you took the test. You'd been in a weird mood before we found out."
"I wasn't moody, I was freaking out!" I shrieked, looking up at him with wide eyes. He said nothing, just leant down to give me a kiss full of love and passion.
"Do you, em, do you ever think about having any more kids?" My gaze fell to my hands where they played with a loose thread from my top.
"I'd love more kids, Em. If they're anything like Ruby I think we should have dozens more!"
"Easy there stud, you're getting ahead of yourself there." I laughed and patted his arm, trying to calm him down.
"Are you saying you want to start trying again?" Tom's tone changed as we turned serious.
"Yeah. I want us to have another baby, Tom." The grin the spread on to his face was like nothing I had seen before. It was wider and brighter than any smile he'd had in a long time.
"Well then, why waste any time?" He moved me so I lay on top of him on the couch before kissing me.
"Let's start trying right now."
