" I just wanna be myself " (A Hunchback Of Notre Dame fanstory)

Chapter 5

After spending a total of 4 days in the hospital and being given a clean bill of health, Esmeralda finally went home with little Edgar in tow.

Thankfully, the family had baby-proofed everything in the bell tower when they were expecting the quadruplets, so they didn't really change much, the only thing they really did was place the sharp cooking utensils up in a high cabinet.

Once home, the quadruplets had practically swarmed the little bassinet that Edgar was sound asleep in, little hands clenched into tiny fist, small gloves covering said hands. Edgar was  sound asleep, his little chest slowly rising and falling with every breath he took, his small hands occasionally moving around.

" He's so small! " Jade remarked as she looked at her new baby sibling.

" We were small like that too! Le père told me so! " Charlotte said, her lips curling into a smile.

" All babies are small! " Felix responded, looking over to his sibling.

Micheal didn't say much, he was far too focused on his new baby sibling that was sleeping peacefully in his bassinet.

Meanwhile, Esmeralda was watching all the children together, her arms crossed and a soft smile on her face " You sure all love your new sibling, huh? " She asked, to which, all the quadruplets nodded.

Esmeralda then made her way over to the bassinet, where she carefully picked up Edgar, who woke up upon being picked up. Esmeralda gently kissed Edgar's forehead as she walked out of the nursery and made her way to her & Quasimodo's bedroom, where she sat on the bed, still cradling Edgar.

" You hungry, little angel? " Esmeralda asked, her hand gently holding Edgar's hand.

Edgar looked up at his mom, his green eyes seemingly fixated on his mom's face, as he quietly stared at her, he stuck his tongue out.

Esmeralda giggled " Guess i'll take that as a ' yes ' " she then pulled her shirt up and over her head, removing it, along with her bra, exposing her chest on full display.

Edgar latched on and began drinking, his tiny hand resting on Esmeralda's chest " My my, you sure are hungry today, aren't you? " Esmeralda spoke " You're so hungry around 2 p.m, huh? Guess that must be lunchtime for you "

As Esmeralda fed Edgar, Jade had made her way into her parent's bedroom, where she proceeded to climb onto the bed and sit next to her mom, a small superhero toy clenched in her hands.

" Is everything okay, Mon Amour? " Esmeralda asked, as Jade never usually came into a room without loudly saying that she had entered the room, but Esmeralda just assumed it was because there was a new baby in the house and Jade just didn't want to be loud.

" There's a woman standing outside our house. She's yelling for you and le père to come outside so she can talk to you. " Jade spoke, her voice seemingly monotone and ' normal '. As if what she had said didn't just catch her mom off guard or anything.

An agitated sigh escaped Esmeralda's lips, her expression changed from confused to a rather annoyed expression " Merci beaucoup, Mon amour. " She spoke as she slowly stood up, grabbing a blanket, she covered her breast as she made her way to the living room, where Quasimodo was at with the other 3 kids, they were all looking out one of the windows.

" Is she still out there? " Esmeralda asked, peeking over Quasimodo's shoulder, her arms still cradling Edgar, who was still eating.

" Yeah, she's still down there. She was yelling just a couple moments ago, you just missed it " Quasimodo responded, an irritated look on his face.

" When will she learn that she isn't welcome here at all? " Esmeralda asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

The kids all seemed confused, they had never seen this woman before, all they knew was that their parents knew her.

The woman in question was standing on the steps of Notre dame, she was wearing a long green dress with white sleeves, black Mary Jane shoes, and a single engagement ring on her finger. Her hair was mid-length, barely just reaching her back, and was blonde. Her eyes were a bright green, her lips were a light tinted shade of red.

" Want me to go talk to her? " Quasimodo asked as he turned to face Esmeralda " She's probably here to talk to me anyways " 

Esmeralda shook her head " No, no. I'll go talk to her. I don't want her to try and touch you "

" You sure? " Quasimodo asked, to which, Esmeralda nodded.

Esmeralda made her way down the spiral staircase that led to the main entrance of Notre Dame, she was walking unhurriedly, on purpose too, as she wanted this woman to wait as long as humanly possible. This woman was named Madellaine, and she wasn't the nicest person. This Madellaine chick was a part of a traveling circus, which had traveled to Paris, as this circus group wanted to steal a very precious bell that was inside of Notre dame, in which they succeeded in stealing and pawning off for half a million euros.

Yet as they were stealing this valuable bell, Madellaine had fallen in love with Quasimodo, and it wasn't any cute, romantic love either, she was full blown obsessed with Quasimodo. Now, this doesn't sound too bad, if it wasn't for the fact that Madellaine had treated Quasimodo like a literal baby because of his disabilities, and not like an adult. Thankfully, after putting up with all of this nonsense, Quasimodo broke things off with Madellaine and started dating then eventually married Esmeralda.

After making her way down the spiral staircase and opening the main door, Esmeralda was finally standing outside, where Madellaine stood, her arms crossed and a clear annoyed expression on her face.

" First of all... " Madellaine began " I didn't wanna see you, i wanted to see Quasimodo, i want to talk to him. Right now! " 

Esmeralda sighed as she shook her head " Let me stop you right now, alright? " She spoke, her tone was clearly unhappy " You know god damn well that you aren't welcome here, after your little group of scammers stole something that belonged to my husband's house, then you manipulate my husband into thinking he's useless without YOU taking care of him, and now you stalk us everyday? Do you have some kind of boner for this?! "

Madellaine laughed " Oh you poor girl, I simply just love Quasimodo! I want him to get with me again! I just miss him so dearly! "

Esmeralda rolled her eyes, she was already fed up with the other woman's nonsense. In the mist of Madellaine's rambling, Esmeralda felt Edgar unlatch from her chest, using the blanket she had covered herself with, she wiped Edgar's mouth gently after she pulled her shirt up. She then adjusted Edgar so he was now sitting up, she then began to pat his back, so she could get him to burp. This of course, caught the other woman's attention.

" Is that a baby you've got there? " Madellaine asked, she slowly began to approach Esmeralda, her lips curling into a smirk.

Esmeralda instantly began backing away " No, get back. I don't want you to touch me or my child! " Her tone had shifted from annoyance to anger in a mere 2 seconds.

" Oh come on! Just a little peek! It wouldn't kill you to let me see the little baby! " Madellaine was very persistent.

Esmeralda couldn't really fight away the other woman, even if she tried, the two women were standing on stairs, and any wrong movement could result in either woman or the baby being injured.

Madellaine easily overpowered Esmeralda, she easily grabbed the blanket that was being used to cover up Esmeralda as she was just feeding her baby. Edgar's little face was then revealed, his little eyes fluttering open, they were more green now, his skin was still quite pale, but he would get more melanin in the coming weeks.

Madellaine's face lit up with overwhelming joy " Aww! Look at you! You look just like your father! Oh, I could just eat you up! " Her tone was extremely ecstatic, her lips had curled into a wide smile, yet it looked kind of disturbing.

The loudness of this woman's voice and her wide smile clearly made Edgar upset, as soon as Madellaine had finished talking, Edgar began to wail out, and loudly too.

Esmeralda grabbed Madellaine by the front of her shirt " If i ever catch you trying to talk to my husband or my children again, i will fucking end you where you stand. " Her tone was clearly threatening. She then pushed the other woman down the stairs, causing her to fall down and land on her rear.

After slamming the church doors closed, Esmeralda let out a pissed off sigh, her hand clenching around Edgar, who was still crying.

Esmeralda felt herself slump against the church doors as she gently cradled Edgar in her arms, she gently patted his back, her body was trembling from how much adrenaline was running through her body.

Her breathing seemed agitated " Je suis désolé, Mon bébé d'amour " She quietly whispered to Edgar, who was finally calming down, his little hand clenching onto his mom's shirt.

Esmeralda slowly picked herself up and made her way back up the spiral staircase which led to her house. She made her way to the living room, where she sat on the couch and placed Edgar in his baby pillow. She sighed as she looked at her baby, his little hands laying next to him, little legs moving ever so slightly, his vibrant green eyes were wide open and were focusing on his mom.

" Despite how much i hate Madellaine, she's right about one thing, you DO look like your father. You got a lot of his features " Esmeralda spoke " You got a lot of his facial features too, maybe you'll also get his carving skills, or maybe you'll perform with la mère one day. " She smiled softly as she gently held Edgar's tiny hand.

" Did she ask to see me again? " Quasimodo asked as he re-entered the living room, holding a small cup of coffee.

" Yeah, she did. " Esmeralda responded as she looked over at her spouse " She also scared our baby, so, me being me, i threatened her "

Quasimodo took a sip of his coffee " What do you mean by ' She scared our baby '? "

Esmeralda slightly adjusted Edgar, her finger clasped in his tiny hand " She began talking loudly to him, she had this.. somewhat disturbing smile on her face. I can't really put it into words on how creepy her smile was, but it was creepy "

" Was it serial killer like? Or just one of those overly-happy-creepy smiles? " Quasimodo asked, clearly interested.

" Kind of a mixture of both? if that makes any sense " Esmeralda responded " She just looked terrifying, y'know? " 

Quasimodo nodded as he looked down at Edgar, who in return, looked up at him, his other tiny hand reached upwards, obviously wanted to hold his parent's hand. Quasimodo placed his cup down on one of the side tables, he then extended his hand out, to which, Edgar quickly placed his tiny hand in his parent's hand.

" His hands are so small, i just wanna hold them for hours! " Quasimodo said, he smiled softly as Edgar's tiny hand patted his much larger hand.

That's when Esmeralda noticed something out of the corner of her eye, and that was her & Quasi's quadruplets, they were all standing around the corner, hiding behind the hallway wall, they all had slight smirks on their faces as they were staring right at their father.

She knew what they were about to do, so she carefully picked Edgar up and out of his baby pillow, which made Quasimodo a bit confused " You going to go feed him again? Or are you going to bathe him? " He asked.

The quadruplets then all beelined towards Quasimodo, effectively knocking him over and causing him to fall to the floor with a slight thud, which caught him by surprise for a quick moment before the family all began laughing together.

Surprisingly, the sound of his family laughing, even though it was kinda loud, Edgar didn't get fussy or start crying! Instead, he simply looked around, he was much more interested in the sound of the laughter itself, he didn't know what it meant yet, but his little baby brain just knew it was a happy sound and that he liked it.

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" Is dinner done yet? " Charlotte called out from the living room, she was sitting on a small bean bag chair that was propped up against the couch.

" Almost! Just gotta add some chopped up peppers to my plate! " Esmeralda responded from the kitchen, she was cooking some Grilled chicken for everyone that could at least chew.

Quasimodo had all the quadruplets sitting in bean bag chairs, they were all watching some late afternoon-early evening cartoons. He had Edgar cradled in his arms, whom was also waiting for food, although he couldn't eat solid foods at all yet, he was simply staring at his father, his little hands clenched into fist.

The quadruplets all had small tables in front of them, they were mainly just waiting for dinner to be done, which thankfully, it was! As their mom walked in and placed their plates of food in front of them, it was cut up into small bite-sized pieces, so the kids wouldn't choke on their food. The kids were then handed small sippy cups filled with some fruit juice, which two of them held while the other two placed them on their tables.

Finally, Esmeralda placed hers & Quasimodo's plates on some small foldable tables that were on the side of the couch, along with their drinks. At this point, Edgar had taken notice of the food that had surrounded him, as the scent was hitting his little nose, he knew it was time for dinner.

" You think someone else is hungry? " Esmeralda said sarcastically as she carefully picked up Edgar and cradled him in her arms.

" But he can't have what were eating yet! " Felix stated, he turned himself around to face his parents.

Esmeralda let out a quiet giggle " I know, mon chéri, i know. " She pulled her shirt up and exposed her chest " He drinks milk, he'll eat regular food once he gets much older, like you and your siblings. " She helped Edgar latch on, which didn't take much effort, thankfully.

" Where does the milk come from, la mère? " Micheal asked, seemingly confused.

Esmeralda took a sip of her water " Well... " She began " A lot of animals have glands in their bodies that help produce milk for their babies, and humans have a similar gland that makes milk for babies too! "

Jade let out a quiet sigh " We aren't at school yet, la mère! Yet you're sounding like a teacher! "

" Well maybe la mère could've been a teacher! You don't know! " Charlotte responded as she picked up her sippy cup and drank some of her juice.

Quasimodo tried holding back a laugh " Alright, alright. No fighting you guys. It would be an outnumbered fight too "

Esmeralda raised an eyebrow " How so? " She asked

" Well, Edgar is only a newborn, he can't join in the fight yet. How's he supposed to join in the fight if he can't even crawl yet? " Quasimodo responded, which made the family all giggle.

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After they all got done eating their dinner, the family all collectively cleaned up by putting their dishes in the sink, putting their foldable tables away, and placing the bean bag chairs back in the corner of the room.

The quadruplets all went to their bedrooms, where they got their pajamas out, which they changed into. They all then turned their night-lights on, as they didn't like the pitch dark at all, they were all scared of the dark. They also had glow-in-the-dark stars all on their walls, which usually helped them fall asleep quicker. They didn't get a bath that night, as they had already gotten one that morning.

" Does anybody want a naked baby? " Esmeralda announced as she walked into her & Quasimodo's bedroom, holding Edgar, who was wrapped up in a towel.

" I don't! " Quasimodo responded as he grabbed a diaper and pajamas for his child " We need to clothe him so he won't be cold while he sleeps! "

Esmeralda let out a giggle as she sat down on the bed " You sleep naked, how are you not cold? "

Quasimodo felt his face heat up out of embarrassment " I-i just..! I don't get cold easily! I guess my body doesn't want me to ever be cold! "

Esmeralda placed Edgar down on the bed, carefully dried his body off, then put his diaper on, a smile formed on her face " God, just look at him, so tiny and adorable " She said.

Quasimodo smiled as he gently poked Edgar's nose " He's so beautiful. It's surprising to believe that this little baby used to kick against my head whenever i would lay on your stomach " He said.

" Well, maybe he just didn't like the fact that you were laying on his early home! " Esmeralda said jokingly.

Edgar then stuck his tongue out at his parents " Hey! Don't give me that kind of attitude! " Esmeralda said as she took Edgar's tiny hand in her own hand.

" Well, maybe that's his response " Quasimodo said " He loves me more anyways, right, little buddy? "

Edgar looked over at his father, then promptly stuck his tongue out at him " Guess that's how he feels about the both of us, huh? " Esmeralda asked as she carefully helped Edgar into his pajamas.

After making sure that he was completely dressed and relaxed, Esmeralda cradled Edgar in her arms as she stood over his bassinet, she was quietly singing a lullaby to help her baby fall asleep faster and to help him stay relaxed. Edgar was having a slight problem with staying awake, but tiredness washed over him and before his mom knew it, he was fast asleep in her arms.

Esmeralda gently kissed Edgar's forehead, which made him squirm a little bit " Bonne Nuit, Mon bébé " she whispered quietly.

Quasimodo made his way over to Esmeralda, where he too kissed Edgar's forehead gently, thankfully, Edgar didn't squirm " Bonne Nuit, Mon bébé. " 

Esmeralda then placed Edgar in his bassinet, she then turned on the little mobile that hung just above it, as it began to spin ever so slightly and play a quiet lullaby. She then stripped down to nothing but her underwear and she climbed into bed, she made sure that she was comfortable before she laid down.

" You comfortable, Mon amour? " Quasimodo asked as he covered himself up with the blanket that covered the bed.

Esmeralda nodded in response as she scooted herself over and wrapped her arms around Quasimodo " Mon amour? If Edgar wakes up in the middle of the night, can you help him? " she asked as she cuddled her spouse close to her body.

Quasi looked over at Esmeralda " Oui, Oui! Of course, if he does wake up, i'll help him fall back asleep! " He responded " Why wouldn't i help? He's our child of course! "

Esmeralda looked away " Well, I have this deep fear in my mind, where i kind of get these crude thoughts that you wouldn't help with the kids. " Her tone was seemingly sad and worried.

Quasimodo looked surprised at this " Really? How come you have those kinds of thoughts? "

" Well, when we were dating a couple years ago, i was out at the local market, right? Well, Phœbus de Châteaupers had followed me there. He grabbed me from behind and basically told me how you wouldn't help me with anything if we had kids. " 

Quasimodo blinked in confusion " If anything, he isn't doing much. He has a kid too, doesn't he? I could've sworn that he has a kid, or am i remembering wrong? " He asked as he scratched his head.

Esmeralda nodded " Yes, he has a child. Him and that bitch, Madellaine, have a son. He tried to get Fleur-De-Lys knocked up, but since she's, y'know, his cousin, the fetus didn't survive past 7 weeks. " 

A yawn escaped past Esmeralda's lips as she cuddled against her spouse " let's get some sleep, we're both tired " 

" But i'm not tired... " Quasimodo mumbled, his eyes were barely open.

Esmeralda gently kissed her spouse's forehead " Yeah, sure. Bonne Nuit, Mon ange. "