Fate || BENNIFER

First Times

Jennifer's P.O.V

It was a beautiful sunny fall evening and we thought it was perfect for a first stroll with our newborn daughter around the neighborhood. First times. I didn't go crazy with the diaper bag, I only packed the necessary items, wipes, an extra blanket, and a bottle. Ben gently placed Grace in the stroller, checking twice to make sure she was comfortable. We covered her with a soft blanket to protect her from the sun.

Lola was also coming with us, so we clipped the leash onto her collar before setting off. As we walked out of the house we were greeted by a few neighbors who stopped to meet the new addition to the family.

One neighbor, a middle-aged woman with a kind smile, couldn't help but coo over our daughter.

"What a beautiful baby." She exclaimed.

"Thank you." I responded with the same kindness.

"Congratulations." A young man who was walking his dog, stopped when he recognized us. "I'm a big fan of your work, by the way." He offered his hand to Ben.

We thanked him graciously before continuing on our stroll.

We held hands, our fingers intertwined, and we stole kisses from each other every few steps.

As we turned down a quiet street, we noticed a group of people standing at the end of the block. We immediately recognized them as paparazzi, their cameras already clicking away. Our plan was to ignore them and continue walking, but they were very persistent.

"Can you tell us the gender and name of the baby?" One of the photographers shouted.

We exchanged a quick glance. We told them we weren't ready to share that information and continued with our walk while they continued to press for answers.

"The baby is sleeping." I said gesturing towards the stroller.

The paparazzi seemed to take the hint and backed off slightly. We resumed our walk, taking care to keep the stroller covered and out of sight as much as possible.

After the not-so-peaceful stroll, we returned home, ready to start our recently adopted nighttime routine. We entered the living room and turned on a soft light that was enough to illuminate the space and created a relaxing atmosphere.

I scooped her up from the stroller and sat on the couch. As I fed her, Ben took care of Max and Emme's dinner, only minutes after my mom brought them back from the park. Their sleepy eyes showed that they were ready for bed. It was easy, after some playing and a short shower, they were out. It wasn't Grace's case. We had put her down to sleep, but as soon as we closed the door, we could hear her crying.

She had been fussy since we got home, and despite our best efforts, she still wouldn't fall asleep. We had fed her, bathed her, and put on her pajamas, but nothing seemed to work, she was still crying.

We couldn't find her pacifier. We searched the crib, the changing table, and the floor, but the pacifier was nowhere to be found. We could feel our anxiety rising as her cries were growing louder and more desperate.

We began to search the room more frantically, pulling apart the bedding and looking under the furniture. Desperate, I turned to Ben.

"We should let her sleep with us in our bed for one night." I said.

He was hesitant at first, but he knew that we had to do something to calm her if we wanted to sleep.

Ben approached the crib and reached in to scoop her up. Cradling her close to his chest, she immediately quieted, her cries turning into soft whimpers. We made our way to our bedroom, and Ben laid Grace in the middle of the bed.

As we lay there, we watched her face slowly relax. We could feel her breathing becoming more regular, her tiny chest rising and falling with each breath, and we knew that she was finally falling asleep.

We had never imagined we would be lying in bed together like this, with a tiny human we had created together between us. Without saying a word, we reached out and touched each other's hand. Our fingers intertwined, and we squeezed gently. It was a small gesture, but it spoke volumes. We were there for each other, through thick and thin, and we would always be a team.

We tried not to move too much, afraid of disturbing our baby, who slept soundly. But even as we lay there still, our love was evident, in the way we looked at each other, in the way we touched, in the way we smiled.

As the night wore on, we drifted in and out of sleep, our daughter nestled between us.