the unforgiven | james hetfield [2]

forty

chapter forty: a second chance

James came home from the studio nice and early so he could get a head start on spending some time with his two favorite girls for the rest of the weekend.

Iris was sitting on the couch, burping Star after having just fed her. She was surprised to see him home so early, but she smiled, looking at Star.

"Who's that, baby?" She asked, pointing to James coming closer to them on the couch, a smile on his face. "Do you know who that is?"

Star giggled and raised her arms as soon as she saw her dad, already excited. "Dada!" Of course, that was the only word she managed to know for now.

James pressed a kiss against her forehead before giving Iris a kiss, happy to see them. "Did you have fun with mama today?" 

She clapped, her own way of excitedly telling him that she was having the best day with her mama. They wished they could keep her this tiny forever.

This was a new and unpredictable chapter in their lives, one that was going to get hard and out of control. But no matter how scary it would get, they knew they had each other. 

And more importantly, they had their guiding light, Star, who was starting to look more and more like James with every passing day.

James started to tickle one of her little feet, causing Star to laugh and kick her feet. This house was now a home, and he didn't want to change that for the world.

"You're gonna get her all excited before dinner," Iris laughed as she watched them playing together. "She's gonna be too tired."

"Good," He replied with a smirk. "That way we can put her to bed earlier and we could actually get some sleep for once." He laughed.

Everything felt so right at the moment. After all the arguments, heartbreak, and tears that were shed, this was the end result. A beautiful little happy family.

"Is it too soon to ask for another one?" James said with a little wink, clearly joking about his question.

Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "Slow your roll there, sir. We haven't even gotten used to taking care of this one." 

Star began to squirm and cry in James's arms and reached for Iris, almost like she seemed to understand what he said and didn't like it.

Iris laughs and takes Star into her arms, gently rocking and rubbing her back. "See? Star said no. She doesn't want all the attention on a new baby, only for her."

He laughed and leaned over, pressing a gentle kiss to her head. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'll wait to put another baby in mama." He winked at her. 

She gasped and gave him a light shove, always annoyed with his immature comments. "James?!" Of course, he thought it was the funniest fucking thing in the world.

A silence fell over them afterward, Star cooing in her mother's arms as she curiously explored her surroundings. Her small hand wrapped around Iris's finger, making her heart swell.

She was so small and new to the world still, and yet, she had changed their lives forever. She had them both wrapped around her finger, not even knowing she had the best parents in the world.

Before James went to bed every night, he hoped that he wouldn't wake up the next morning to find out this was all a dream. Once upon a time, this sort of life, especially with Iris, felt so far away.

For them to come this far, he knew he was extremely lucky. Iris was always his home, the one person who could ground him and give him a sense of belonging.

"I don't deserve you, you know that?" James muttered under his breath as he looked over at their daughter resting on Iris's chest.

"Well, who else is gonna put up with your bullshit?" She joked, giving him a teasing grin. 

He smirked and shook his head, knowing she was right about that. She seemed to be the one to accept his flaws. "I'm just glad you didn't give up on me." 

"Me too," Her face softened and she smiled, squeezing his hand and pressing a kiss to his lips. "I love you, James."

"I love you too," He whispered, looking down at Star and pressing gentle kisses on her cheek. "And I love you, pretty girl."

No matter how difficult things would get, Iris and James will never lose their love for each other. No separation, no secrets, no turning away when things got rough anymore.

As long as they had their little family in their little happy home, that was enough for them.