Danny and Elise Ch. 13

"You did so good, sweetheart," he whispered in her ear, his forehead lingering against the side of hers a moment before kissing it.

Elise was exhausted, beyond, really, but couldn't sleep. 17 hours of labor or not, her endorphin levels refused to dissipate enough to let her sleep.

Everyone else in the room slept. Her two boys, Danny and the baby.

Her boys.

It felt weird, the newness of it. Her boys. One, the man she dearly loved and fell head over heels for so quickly. Had it really only been a little over 2 years since they had first met? The insane amount of changes to her life in that time were mind-boggling. From a young single woman living on her own to a married, mother of one in such a short time.

Her other boy, her "one": Parker James. The name Parker had come to them one evening while watching a National Geographic special on national parks not long after they had found out they were having a boy.

"What about Parker?" Danny suddenly blurted out as they sat on the couch together, holding hands.

"What?" Elise was lost.

"The baby," he put a hand on her stomach. "What about Parker?"

She thought about it for a minute, mulled it around in her head.

"I like it," she finally declared.

It made sense. Danny and Elise spent almost all of their free moments outdoors, whether it was hiking, backpacking, kayaking, fishing. It was befitting that their son would have a name that was related to their beloved nature in some way.

As for his middle name of James, it was Danny's father's middle name.

Elise looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms. It was all she could do not to caress one of the cheeks on his irresistibly chunky face. Her mind wandered as she continued gazing at him. Who would he look like?

At that moment in time, baby Parker looked more like Danny as far as his facial features and black hair. But she knew that could always change since most babies were born with dark hair. Elise secretly held out hope that he would inherit her green eyes, though she knew the chances of that were slim. For now, she waited for him to wake and get a peek at his steel-gray baby eyes. Instead, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey," Danny's voice was thick with sleep.

"Hi," she spoke quietly, not wanting to wake the tiny bundle in her arms.

"Have you slept at all?" he came over to her bedside.

"No," Elise admitted, looking back down at their son.

"You have to be exhausted. Why don't you let me take him for a while?"

"I am, but I'm too wired to fall asleep. You can take him, though," she gently lifted the baby up to Danny's awaiting hands. She felt a deep happiness watching them together as her husband gazed down at their sleeping baby, treating him as if he were a bomb.

"He's so tiny," Danny marveled.

"He didn't feel very tiny coming out. I can assure you of that," they both laughed softly.

"You did great, though. I'm proud of you, Elise."

She didn't know what to say, "thank you" didn't feel right, so she said "I love you" instead.

"He's beautiful, Elise," Danny smiled wanly.

"He gets his handsomeness from his father," she smirked.

"No. He looks like you." Elise rolled her eyes.

"And don't roll your eyes either," he continued without looking up. He knew her too well.

"How about we just agree we make pretty babies?" she asked.

"Agreed."

"Why are you looking at me like that," amusement filled her voice. Danny laid on his side, facing her. Elise could barely make out his face, the only light coming from the moon above their tent and even it was shadowed by all of the trees overhead. Still, she could just make out the goofy look on his face.

"What if we had another baby?" Danny never was one to beat around the bush much.

"What?!" she tried to stifle her laughter, not wanting to wake their boys up in the next tent a mere 6ft away.

"Like right now?"

"We can certainly practice right now," he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Are you out of your mind?! I'm almost 35 years old!"

"So? Plenty of women have babies in their 40's now."

"Where is all of this coming from?" Elise asked seriously.

"I don't know," he shrugged one shoulder. "It's been popping up in my head lately," Danny paused. "Wouldn't you like to have a little girl?"

She felt bad as soon as she did it, but she couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh at you. It's just so...out of nowhere. Suppose we did try to have another baby. There's no guarantee it will be a girl, silly. Look at your family. It would be our luck we would end up with all boys like your poor parents," Elise teased, referring to Danny's three brothers.

"Maybe, but I have a feeling it would be a girl if we had another baby. Plus, don't all women dream about having little girls?"

Elise laughed again.

"I don't know. In case you haven't noticed, though, I'm not all women," she leaned forward and rubbed her nose against his.

"Plus, I'm not trying to be mean, but I think you're just wishful thinking, babe."

"No, I'm serious. I can feel it. We'd have a girl," Danny insisted adamantly.

"Ok, ok," she stroked his chest, trying to pacify him.

"What do you say?" he looked at her so earnestly Elise felt like he could see her soul. She didn't know what to say. They hadn't really talked about having any more children after Stephen was born.

"I don't know, Danny," she waffled. She hated being put on the spot. Having another baby wasn't something to take lightly either. At the same time, she could tell Danny had thought about it more than he let on and had already made up his mind. Elise wanted nothing more than for him to be happy and his current puppy dog eyes were just adding to his already convincing personality.

His hand ventured to her abdomen.

"It's up to you. I didn't mean to, like, corner you about it."

"I know," she scooted closer to him and stroked the side of his face. His tenderness was not helping matters. It had always been a turn on for her. Now her emotions and hormones were starting to get carried away. Elise knew if she said "yes" there was no going back. Danny wouldn't want to drop it until she got pregnant. But there he was, looking at her with such a raw look she couldn't stand it.

Fuck it, she thought. The desire to make love to him right that minute was too overpowering. She could deal with the consequences later. What were the odds of her getting pregnant after one night, anyways?

"You really want another baby, don't you?"

"I wouldn't have brought it up if I weren't sure," Danny answered honestly.

"Let's make a baby then," Elise scooted the rest of the way towards him, pressing her body and lips against his own.

Danny made love to her slowly, more tenderly than normal. It felt good to have him inside of her, uninhibited by a condom. It was such a small thing, trivial, really, but it made her feel more connected to him.

She got lost in the feel of his hands on her body, each touch making her crave more until they blissfully reached the peak of their pleasure in one another together.

They laid panting together quietly, side by side. Danny stroked her hair as they gazed into each other's eyes, not speaking for a long time.

"I love you so much, Elise."

She took his hand and held it against her cheek.

"That's good because you're stuck with me forever," she smiled sleepily.

"Are you awake finally?" Elise's voice held a hint of laughter, her face mere inches away from Danny's. It was 3 weeks later, Father's Day, and she had already made the boys waffles, their favorite, for breakfast. She and their sons were waiting somewhat impatiently for him to wake up. Elise had given them strict orders not to come into the bedroom, though. She had a special surprise in store for Danny before she let Parker and Stephen bombard him.

"Yes," Danny laughed a little, stretching his arms above his head before kissing her.

"Well, get up because I have a special surprise for you," she insisted.

"No waffles first?" he asked, sniffing the air slightly.

"No. I've been waiting to give you this surprise for a week. You'll get waffles later."

"Alright, alright," he rubbed his eyes, throwing his legs over the side of their bed. "Where is it?" Danny asked groggily with a sideways smile on his face. It wasn't often that she doled surprises on him, but she knew he reveled in it when she did.

"Here," Elise handed a card to him.

"A card?" he asked, somewhat unimpressed. Clearly he was expecting something more significant. He had no idea and Elise couldn't keep the stupid grin from her face.

"It's more than it seems. Just open it." Danny did as he was told, ripping into the envelope.

"Careful," she warned him, not wanting him to get too over-zealous and ripping the precious surprise inside.

Danny slowed some, making his movements more deliberate until he pulled the card from inside. If Elise was being totally honest, she couldn't remember what exactly the words of the card said. They weren't the most important part. She waited in anticipation until Danny opened the card and noticed the obvious part.

"Wait. What?" he asked, holding the picture up closer to his face, then looking to Elise.

She had taken a picture of her "pee stick" from a week ago. She had felt so weird printing out a picture of it, but it was the best Father's Day gift she could think of. It was the best gift, really, especially considering he was the one who had talked her into having another baby. Danny had gotten his wish, perhaps sooner than he was expecting, but there it was, staring them both in the face now.

"Is this for real?" he asked, waving the picture around slightly.

"Yes," she laughed softly. "I'm pregnant," she stated simply, as she was want to do.

"Seriously? Already?" he practically whispered the last word.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted another baby," her voice held a slightly defensive tone.

"No, no. I do. I just can't believe it...That it happened already...Elise?" he questioned her again, still trying to wrap his head around everything in his groggy state.

"What?" she laughed again quietly.

"This is the best Father's Day gift I could have asked for. Thank you. How are you feeling, though? I know you weren't exactly sold on the idea, were you?"

It was Danny. She had to be honest.

"No, not completely..." she trailed off, thinking about the several weeks of agony waiting to see if she had made another baby with Danny or not.

"I'm really excited, though," she smiled genuinely. Elise took his hands in hers, meaning every word she said.

"I wasn't totally sold on the idea, but I figure since it happened so quickly and you really wanted it, it's meant to be, right?" she looked at Danny hopefully.

"Absolutely," he squeezed her hands. "I just can't believe it happened that quickly," he shook his head slightly. "I mean, it took a few months each with both of the boys and we had been, you know, 'trying' a lot with them," he paused. "This is bonkers," Danny shook his head again, smiling. He kissed Elise on the lips.

"Are you sure you're excited?" his smile faded into concern. "You're not just saying that for my benefit, right?"

"No," she laughed. "I'm genuinely excited. Now stop being such a girl and get your clothes on. The boys made you presents," Elise guided him towards his sweatpants and t-shirt lying at the foot of the bed. He quickly pulled his clothes on and turned back to her.

"Thank you," Danny wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight before giving her another kiss. He was like a kid on Christmas who had gotten the exact present he had been wanting and anticipating for months. She loved being able to surprise him so utterly and thoroughly. His reaction warmed her heart.

"You had a part in it too, you know?" she spoke close to his face, grabbing his groin.

"Oh God. Elise..." he inhaled sharply. "Can that be my other gift later?" he joked with closed eyes.

"You betcha, daddy," she let go. "By the way, you'd better enjoy the next 8 months of unprotected sex. Because you're either getting a vasectomy or I'm not having sex with you ever again once this kid is born.," a slight smile pursed her lips.

"Wait. What?!"