Joe can hear a faint noise coming from the baby monitor. His phone reads it's 11PM, and his bed is empty. He knows it's his wife and his baby daughter. 'You can tell everybody that this is your song.' He smiles at the voice, it's quiet but he can hear it. His heart beats a little faster at this sweet gesture. She didn't do this for the other three children. He knew that she used to sing to the bump, when she thought he wasn't around. It's always the same song, your song. It's the moulin rouge version, a movie they watch on a regular basis. A movie, that, never fails to make them cry. 'It may be quite simple but now that it is done.'
It was only them in the house tonight, Theo was at uni and Maddie was at Lucy's. Maddie has moved rooms to the top of the house, the attic. They decided that she didn't want to hear a crying baby all night, so it made sense for her to take that room. The nursery was set up in the room next to theirs, a room that used to be an office. The room had yet to be used, Dianne insisting on the baby sleeping in their room until she is, at least, seven months old. Joe didn't question it, if it made Dianne feel better, he was all for it. The office was moved into the girl's old bedroom, there was a last-minute panic because Dianne didn't want any of the kids to have that room, given the context. They all respected that, and Maddie was finally ready to let go of the room, tempted by the prospect of having her own floor. 'I hope you don't mind.' The voice continues.
He pads to the kitchen, passing the room where the noise is coming from. He makes two mugs of tea, as the noise continues. He's made sure to make decaf green tea for both of them, knowing it's probably better for them not to have caffeine this late at night. He puts the mugs on a tray, taking it back to their bedroom, placing his on one side and taking the other and putting it on Dianne's side of the bed. He always does this, making her a hot drink before bed. It's a tradition they started three weeks ago, when the baby was brought home from the hospital in too many layers that was probably needed. 'I sat on the roof.' The voice continues, spreading a smile across the mans face.
He knew that they couldn't refer to the baby as the baby for the rest of her life, they didn't have a name at this point. Maddie had pointed this out to him, that you can't call her the baby when she is thirty-two with a family of her own, it wouldn't be fair. They knew it was a joke, but it made them think. They had an idea of some of the names they liked. Nothing was set in stone, but time was running out to name her. The whole family kept pressing them on the name issue, wanting to know the newest arrivals name. He creeps quietly across the hall, to the dark room. 'And kicked off the moss.' The voice continues.
The figures in the room don't notice the man come in, the hallway being dimly lit so it didn't make the room light up. 'Well a few of the verses, they got me quite cross.' The voice continues, unaware she's being watched. A deliberate feature, so that the baby wouldn't be exposed to the light when they had just got her to sleep, Dianne insisting on feeding her on the rocking chair, rather than the bed. The only problem with that being that the chair was in the nursery. 'The suns been quite kind, while I wrote this song.' Joe takes in the view surrounding him, his wife and his daughter. His wife is slowly rocking back and forth on the chair, her eyes closed. It is in moments like these that he is reminded at how stunning she is, not that he ever doubted it. He knows if he were to ever say it, she would get embarrassed and tell him she's not. 'It's for people like you, that keep it turned on.'
She would point out everything that is wrong, she still had the baby weight. She's not as young as she was and bouncing back was much harder this time. She told him this morning she needs to re-dye her hair. He knows that she's self-conscious about her boobs, them having expanded with pregnancy and now they seem to leak every time she's near the baby when she is crying. He knows she turns away at night because she is so self-conscious of them. 'So, excuse me forgetting, but these things I do.' He knows that's why she doesn't like to feed the baby the when he's about. If he was caught staring at her like this, she would blush and get all embarrassed. 'You see I've forgotten if they are green or their blue.'
She has one of his old t-shirts on and a pair of his tracksuit bottoms. The t-shirt is lifted up, above the baby's head, exposing her breast. He can see that she's falling asleep, whether it be the gentle rocking or Dianne's sing. She's rubbing the soles of her feet gently. Dianne told him why she feeds her late at night, if he remember rightly it's called a dream feed. It would stop her waking up in the middle of the night from hunger. He had offered to feed her by the bottle, but Dianne wanted to do it. He gives in as she opens her eyes, turning her head away from her and ceasing her singing. He carries on, 'Anyway the thing is, what I really mean. Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen.'
A/N thoughts? Also please send your suggestions in cause otherwise you'll end up with like three one shots
