Hemmings Family of Eight - a Dad!5sos AU

The Beginning

After twenty four hours of commotion, the rush of many different doctors and nurses coming in and out of the room, and the worst pain you had ever felt in your life - you and Luke were finally parents. The last few hours were a blur of contractions, many tears and every emotion you could think of. But none of that mattered anymore - all you could focus on was the tiny being curled up on your chest, sending a feeling of warmth and love through your entire body.

Your hospital gown had been pulled down to expose your chest, letting the baby feel your bare skin on his, your familiar heartbeat making him feel safe in the brand new, scary world that he had been brought into. You couldn't stop looking at him, kissing him, stroking his delicate skin. He was perfect; so beautiful, and you were scared that you were going to break him.

"I can't believe he's here." Luke's gentle whisper broke through the silence of the now calm room, sitting at your bedside, also unable to tear his eyes from the little one on your chest. "He's perfect, baby. You did amazing. I'm so proud of you."

"I couldn't have done any of it without you, Lu." You replied, your finger tracing through the light blonde tufts of hair on his head. He didn't have much hair, but looking at your husband, you wondered if he'd inherit his unruly head of curls in the future. "So thank you, too."

Luke smiled, his eyes filling with tears yet again. The two of you hadn't slept in nearly 24 hours, having to rush to the hospital in the middle of the night and then waiting all day for your baby to make an appearance. He had no idea if it was day or night, or even what day of the week it was. But he couldn't find it in him to care.  He felt like all he could care about now, was you and his son.

"Have we decided on Grayson, then?" He asked with a hopeful voice, the name continually coming up over the past few months whenever you tried to choose one. You'd decided in the end that you needed to meet him before naming him - and now you had, you knew it was perfect.  You nodded with a warm smile, looking down and pressing a light kiss to his forehead as he finally felt like a real little person. "Grayson Hemmings."

Luke's heart felt like it could burst as he heard you say his name - baby Hemmings. He felt complete, like he was everything you were waiting for. He couldn't be more proud of you. He had been in love with you for several years now, and even though he thought it wasn't possible, he loved you even more. He had a new appreciation for you and women in general, after witnessing everything you had gone through over the last nine months, and more specifically, in the last 24 hours. You were acting like it was nothing, even though he knew you were still in a lot of pain. But in the current moment, nothing mattered beside the sleepy bundle settled in your arms.

"Are you feeling okay, sweetheart? Do you need anything?" He asked in a quiet voice, not wanting to speak any louder to disturb the peaceful feeling that had taken over the recovery room.

"I'm okay, Lu. I mean, everything hurts, but it's okay." You chuckled, shifting uncomfortably in the bed, trying not to jostle the tiny baby in your arms. You'd already had a lot of pain medication, and knew you'd need a lot more in the near future, but despite the pain, you couldn't stop the feeling of overwhelming happiness that had taken over your heart. "Do you want to hold him whilst he falls asleep?"

Luke nodded eagerly, the expression on his face softening completely as he stood up from where he was sat next to your bed. You slowly sat up, wincing in pain as your lower body throbbed. The tiny boy on your chest whimpered at the loss of your skin as you carefully rearranged him in your arms, cradling him in your arms so Luke could easily pick him up. He reached down, one large hand easily covering his head, the other fitting along his body.

"There we go." Luke said softly, mainly to reassure himself, as he held baby Hemmings against his chest, his tiny head fitting perfectly under his neck. Having watch him being born and then seeing him on your chest for the last few hours, he knew baby was small, but actually holding him in his arms felt so different. A feeling of panic took over him as he realised just how little his son was, and he suddenly felt like he was going to break him. "Oh my god babe, he's so tiny."

You saw the concerned expression on his face and your heart melted, at just how much Luke worried and cared about the tiny human comfy on his chest. Although he seemed nervous, and his hands were slightly unsure of where they were meant to be holding,  your baby was perfectly content dozing against his dad's neck.

"He's fine, I promise." You reassured him, as he sat back into the cushioned chair next to your bed. His nervous eyes glanced over to you, looking for assurance that he wasn't about to harm the baby who was barely one day old. "He looks cozy, Lu. You've got him just fine, he'll go to sleep soon."

Luke wanted to cry at the overwhelming feeling of love that he felt for you and his son; his new little family. In his heart he knew he would love and protect the two of you forever. He loved how you already seemed to know your son, how you knew when he seemed happy, and when he was about to fall asleep. He admired how he knew you were in pain, but he didn't even have to ask if it was worth it. He knew your answer would be yes, every time. 

"Hi, bubs." He whispered softly, planting the lightest kiss possible on his forehead. The nickname fell naturally from his lips, melting your heart, as you watched them meet properly for the first time. The tone of his voice was gentle - you had only ever heard him use that voice for Petunia, and for his one sided conversations with your bump. "How you doing? You're so sleepy. It's been a long day for you, hasn't it?"

You laughed softly at what he said, expecting nothing less from your husband - he had an abundance of dad jokes ready, that he had been collecting in the notes of his phone since finding out you were pregnant. 

"You look like such a dad." You stated, watching as he started to relax more, his arms much less tense, one hand beginning to stroke his little features and around the blonde swirls of hair on his head.

It was a simple comment, one that was obvious, but made Luke realise that he was just that. A dad. He had looked up to his own father for many years, loved having a figure to follow and shape him into the man he is today - and now, he gets to do that for the baby boy dozing against his body. You saw his face soften when you said it - and you knew those words meant more to him than you could ever know.

"I am a dad." He murmured quietly, the realisation bringing tears to his eyes. For your whole pregnancy, he found it so hard to believe that there was baby inside you. His baby. And now he was there, in his arms, the whole thing just felt so real. "And you're a Mum."

Everything felt so complete. Luke had always been your home, your family, but having Grayson with you now, just made everything feel more whole.

"Do you think we'll be good at this?" You asked softly, tears filling your eyes yet again as Luke so gently kissed Grayson's forehead, his lips lingering over the soft skin for a few moments. Everytime you looked at your son, it made you nervous - your heart racing at the thought of having this whole little person depending on the two of you.

"I don't know, my love." He replied honestly, his eyes moving from his son and looking over towards you. He shifted Grayson in his embrace, managing to cradle him with only one arm. His free hand reached over to gently grip yours, his thumb stroking the soft skin as a reassuring gesture. "But I'm looking forward to finding out with you."

Having Luke right next to you, made you feel much less scared. Because no matter what, Grayson would be loved by the two of you, and hopefully, that would be enough. With his support - you knew you could do anything, and starting your family, was your favourite thing that the two of you had done so far.