How It Came To Be// Two Become Three Book 2

Crude

Joe started pulling faces at Connie as he lifted her up and put her on the bed to get her changed.

"Your Grandma bought you this dress to come home in bubba, it's very pretty. And I think Mumma will give you a little hair bow too," they were getting ready to go home and Joe had specifically picked this outfit for Sandra wanting to make an effort to involve her.

Connie's face screwed up and she started to cry. Joe had realised that she didn't like getting changed, the aircon in the room making her cold. "Oh baby, shh, it's okay, I think these are tights, let's put these on they'll keep your leggies warm."

"Why's she crying?" Louise asked limping out of the bathroom.

"She doesn't like getting changed. You don't like getting changed do you Connie?" Joe said, turning her so that she could see. Louise gave a little smile and pulled the tights out of his hand, turning them around and giving them back to him, no longer inside out.

"Clever Mummy eh Con, and now for your dress," he said, putting that over her head.

"She looks cute, she needs a little bow though, for all that hair," Louise said, and Joe realised this might have been the most interaction she had had with Connie since a minute after she was born. The very thought brought tears to his eyes but he forgot about them, wanting to remember what it felt like to be a complete little family.

"Mummy's going to have to teach me how to do your hair Connie, I'm not all that good, it'll be falling all over the place if I get my hands on it!"

Louise looked at him and rolled her eyes, before looking intently down at Connie. Joe watched her shaky hands pick her head up just enough to put the bow on and then lay her down again, as if she was burning her.

"Want to give her a quick squeeze before we go?" Joe asked, giving Connie a dummy to suck on to soothe her, clipping it to the little white cardigan he had since put on. He watched Louise out of the corner of his eye, as he settled Connie securely into his arm, to see her seemingly struggling with her mind.

"When we get home," he voice broke slightly and Joe looked up from Connie who had spat the dummy out in favour of sucking on her hand, to see Louise covering her face.

"Hey hey, what's wrong? What's up?" He put his free arm around her and turned her into him, rubbing her back.

"I'm scared something's going to go wrong."

"I'm not, we've got this, we know exactly what to do, you did it with Kevin when he was younger and again when Ellie had her boy, you know how to do this, just because it's our own little one doesn't mean all the skills have changed. And your mum is only a phone call away if you decide you need that support. She's offered," Joe said, pulling back, wiping her tears with the burp cloth that was over his shoulder.

Louise nodded and kissed Connie ever so slightly, before stepping back sitting on the bed.

"Are you still feeling light headed?" Joe asked, as he strapped Connie into the carseat that dwarfed her. She had her eyes open and if Joe followed her gaze he would see she was staring right at her mum, tongue sticking out slightly, as she sucked her fist- very content.

"Definitely, I didn't think that I would feel like this after having her, I thought I'd just get back to life. I didn't think my body would hurt like this, or bleed like this, they don't tell you about this bit," Louise laughed, yawning afterwards.

Joe shook his head, he had expected this all, apart from the disconnect, he had expected it all. "You pushed a baby out of you, I get it, your body performed a miracle, I'm sure it'll take a while to go back. Plus you're just losing all of the stuff that kept her safe."