More Than Words (a Pesy story)

Always been there for me, now I'll do the same (part 2)

I wake sometime later to familiar coos sounding from the speaker of the baby monitor. I slowly disentangle myself from Perrie, the two of us having snuggled up at some point while we slept, and move off the bed with a slow stretch before making my way down the hall. Once I've reached the nursery, I'm greeted by happy gurgles and a little blonde baby chewing on her now-sockless feet. Her gurgles get louder once she notices I'm there, and her little feet kick out, and I'm nearly a sobbing mess from the overwhelming cuteness of it all.

     "Hiya Punkin'," I coo, sweeping my darling daughter into my arms. She just giggles, waving her hands at me and tucking her head against my chest. "Did you have a good nap?" I ask, tracing her soft little features, answering her coos with little hums of my own. "Oh, yeah? I bet that was nice," I say, as if she's telling me about her dreams. She beams up at me, and even though she can't understand my words, I know she knows she's loved.

     "Oh, my heart," I hear Perrie coo from the door. I look up at her with a soft smile, gently bouncing the happy baby in my arms.

     "How was your sleep?" I ask softly, as if speaking too loudly will disturb this perfect little moment.

     "It was grand until you got up, I think. I almost forgot how nice it is to not sleep alone," she says honestly.

     I hold her gaze, knowing all too well how lonely it feels to go bed on your own. Perrie and I used to sleep in the same bed all the time when we were younger, just after our X-Factor days. Leigh and Jade were always a bit better at being by themselves, but Perrie and I needed nearly constant comfort. I can see now that the tiredness in Perrie's eyes wasn't the result of one long night with the baby, but of many long nights alone.

     The baby somehow lands a kick to my sternum, harder than she rightly should be able to at just over 5 months old.

     "Oh," I groan. "Maybe you'll be a kickboxer when you're older."

     "Or a football player," Perrie says, walking over to us.

     "Football is boring," I groan.

     The baby pouts.

     "But if that's what my baby wants, that's what my baby will get," I coo at her. She smiles at me, the little shit. How she already knows what buttons to press, I don't know, but I know she's gonna give me a run for my money.

     "Lord help you when she learns to talk," Perrie says with a laugh.

     "I'm not even ready to think about that," I say with a groan.

     Parker starts to fuss, which I know means she's hungry again. I change her nappy before we go, 'cos it's somehow always dirty, and then give her to Perrie while I go ready a bottle.

     Perrie feeds her this time, and she sucks at the bottle lazily while the three of us sit on the couch, flicking through different things on the telly before finally landing on Peppa Pig.

     "Oh my gosh, you're whipped," Perrie says as I set the channel changer down. She knows how much I despise cartoons.

     "I can't tell her no about anything, even though she doesn't know what no means," I grumble.

     "And she never will, by the looks of it," Perrie says with a laugh. The baby just sits, slowly sucking on her bottle as she looks in turn at me, Perrie, and the TV. We quickly lose her interest, not nearly as captivating as the bubblegum pink creature oinking on the screen.

     I try to watch the show, I really do, but I just can't focus on it.  I really, really hate cartoons.

     A glance at Perrie shows she's thoroughly engrossed, laughing along at all the right bits and looking truly pensive at the questions that are posed.