𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 (Steve Harrington x fem!OC)

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐄

Jim squeezed Diane's hand, who was looking at him with tired eyes. The nurse walked over and handed her the small bundle that was her daughter. Upon looking at her, Jim's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. She had his eyes, and his dark hair, and she looked so curious and kind, as her mother once had looked also. She began to cry, and Jim's smile melted into a face of intense worry.

"Jim? Do you want to hold her, sweetie?" Diane asked.

"M-me?" The new father responded. His wife handed the baby over to him.  He held her safely and tightly, and the child immediately stopped crying. The brief moment he held her seemed to last forever. At that moment, he knew he could never love anything more than he loved his daughter. He smiled down at her, but the moment was cut short by the nurse taking the baby back. Jim shot her a slight glare for her rudeness.

"Have you two thought of a name yet?" The nurse asked.

"Yes we have! Ca-" 

"Caroline Pamela Hopper." Jim interrupted his wife, immediately sending her an apologetic look afterward. He smiled, knowing that after all of this time, the nervousness and preparation would pay off. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caroline bounced up and down in her high chair, listening to the music in the background and babbling along intelligibly. Jim walked up to the chair with mashed carrots and sat down in front of her. The swirl of hair on her head swished as she moved, and Jim grinned playfully at her.

"Okay kid, here's how this is gonna work. I am going to be the gracious, loving dad that I am and feed you. And then you are gonna be the gracious, loving daughter that you are and eat it with no pile or complaints, because I do NOT have time to wash my uniform today." He stuck a finger and wagged it in front of her. 

Jim took the small spoon and fed her the food slowly. She smiled back at him with her eyes sparkling with joy, until the third spoonful. She spit it out all over him and babbled something along the lines of "ew!" Jim groaned at the stain on his uniform and lowered the food in defeat. Caroline giggled loudly at the stain, causing her dad to crack a smile again.

"Honey! Can you come feed Caroline?" He yelled loudly, but not loud enough to scare the little kid. He ruffled her hair before getting up and switching places with Diane.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sound of 'Happy Birthday' echoed through the house as Caroline sat at the table, smiling at her parents' friends. 

"She's extremely intelligent for a two-year-old, you know." Jim said to his coworker, Eric. 

"Yeah? She clearly doesn't get that from you." He jokes.

"Whatever buddy. Go over there, she understands everything! Ask her to do something! You'll see just how smart she is." Jim retorted. Eric reluctantly walked over to the toddler, who had a bright yellow cake in front of her with a sunshine on it in icing.

"Caroline, sweetie. Can you smash a piece of that cake in your face for Uncle Eric?" He smirked. Jim's protectiveness was starting to boil down inside of him. Caroline took a massive hunk of cake and flung it into Eric's face, causing Jim to calm down and laugh.

"No!" The toddler shrieked. She was, in fact, very smart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jim and Caroline walked down the trail together, holding hands and trying to give Diane some time alone. She had just announced that she was pregnant again, and tended to take the irritability out on her other daughter. Jim would never let anything happen, but this time he was quite worried, so he took her on a walk.