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The baby was singing again.
Luke rolled onto his back, being careful not to jostle Julie. They’d been spooning together and he’d been blissfully asleep, until Royce started singing to himself over the baby monitor.
Royce had a pretty good voice for a three-month-old.
“Izzat baby?” Julie muttered. She moved to get out of bed, still mostly asleep.
“Shh,” Luke gently pressed her back. “It’s my turn.”
She lay down again without any protest. “Thanks, mi corazόn.” She patted him clumsily with her hand.
Luke kissed her temple and got out of bed. He was wearing sleep pants and nothing else, but he’d always preferred his shoulders bare. He slipped quietly into the baby’s room. “Hey, Royce.”
Royce turned his head to the sound. His whole face brightened and he cooed.
Luke shut off the monitor so the baby’s happy noises wouldn’t wake up Julie. “Hey, big guy,” he murmured as he scooped his son out of his crib. “Whatcha doing awake, huh?”
Royce waved his chubby arms and kicked his legs, delighted at being in his father’s arms. He cooed again.
Luke chuckled. “I’m happy to see you, too, Ro-Ro. But it is way past your bedtime.”
The baby waved his hands, then popped his fist in his mouth and started to suck.
“Oh, you’re hungry, are you?” Luke grinned. “Well, mommy’s asleep right now, bud, but I can help you with that.” He took the baby out of his room, past Ray and Bobby’s bedroom, and down the stairs to the kitchen. They hadn’t put the baby gates up yet, and the boxes were leaning against the wall at the top of the stairs. Maybe he’d ask Ray and Bobby to help him with that tomorrow.
It’d been an easy decision for Julie and Luke to move back to her childhood home once they found out she was pregnant. There was plenty of space in the large house, and having Ray and Bobby around was a huge help when caring for a baby. Especially as the success of Julie and the Phantoms was still on an upward trajectory. Besides, the house meant everything to Luke. It was the first place he’d felt truly at home.
The kitchen was dimly lit by a few strategically-placed night lights, which meant Luke didn’t have to turn on the overheads. Using only his left hand, he opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle from the shelf and popped it into the microwave. He set the timer for exactly forty-seven seconds and then turned it on. He bounced the baby gently with his right arm. “Snack’s almost ready.”
Royce gazed up at him, smiling happily. He burbled a string of sounds.
“Are you singing to me?” Luke rubbed the baby’s cheek with his nose. “Is that you singing?”
Royce laughed and grabbed a fistful of Luke’s hair.
Luke grimaced. Royce’s grip was strong for someone who weighed less than fifteen pounds. He gently untangled Royce’s fingers from his hair. The microwave beeped and Luke took out the bottle, deftly testing the formula on his wrist before giving it to his son. Royce drank greedily and Luke chuckled. “It’s like we never feed you, huh?” He sat down on one of the kitchen chairs, cradling the baby in his arm. Royce’s eyes, so much like Julie’s never left his face. His curly hair, fuzzy like a chick’s and dark like his mother’s, was soft against the inside of Luke’s elbow.
There was something profoundly peaceful about feeding his son in the middle of the night, sitting in the near dark with a warm bundle of baby in his arms. It made him wonder if Emily and Mitch had ever felt like that, holding him. If they’d ever suspected what difficulties and tragedy the future was going to hold.
“Did you know it was in this exact chair when I found out I had ADD?” Luke said quietly. “That’s right. Your grandfather was the one who told me. It was the first time in my whole life an adult had told me I was smart, and the problems I was having with school were because I was neurodivergent and not because I was lazy or dumb.” He sighed as he thought about that moment, how it felt like something important clicked into place with Ray’s words. Even though it’d happened more than ten years ago, he’d remember that conversation for the rest of his life. “Ray told me I shone like a star.”
Royce watched him as he nursed from the bottle, his gaze pinned to Luke’s, like he was peering deep into his father’s soul. “I want to be like that,” Luke said softly. “I want to be a dad like Ray. I want to support you, and accept you and… and love you, exactly as you are. The way Ray loved me. The way Ray loves me. Exactly as I am.”
Luke had loved his mom and dad before he’d “died,” and he was grateful he had a good relationship with them now. But Emily and Mitchell had never understood him the way Ray did. Had never accepted him the way Ray had. The first time he’d ever felt loved unconditionally was because of Ray.
“I’m going to love you like that,” he whispered to Royce, eyes held by his son’s gaze. “Totally and unconditionally for as long as I live. I promise.”
The vow echoed softly in the dark kitchen, as deep and meaningful as the ones he’d said on his wedding day. Royce spit the bottle out of his mouth and gurgled, hands waving.
Luke laughed. “All done?” He put the bottle on the table and then burped Royce against his shoulder before returning him to his arms. “You ready to sleep?”
Royce flailed his hands and feet with a broad, drooly smile, extremely awake. He babbled a string of vowels that sounded a lot like the backing vocals for “Flying Solo,” and Luke chuckled. “You definitely have my Gift, dontcha?”
“A la nanita nana, nanita ea, nanita ea, mi niño tiene sueño, bendito sea, bendito sea.” Luke sang, hoping this time Royce might fall asleep, even though music was the most exciting thing ever, and Royce definitely preferred being awake and making music to sleeping, just like his dad. The song was a traditional Spanish lullaby Julie had taught him; one Rose had sung to her and Carlos. She’d claimed it had put her and her brother right to sleep.
Royce treated it like it was the beginning of a dance party.
The baby shrieked in joy at his daddy's singing, chubby limbs waving and kicking. He burbled along, actually matching the pitch of Luke’s voice. It was equal parts cool and frustrating. Luke loved singing with his son, even had fantasies of sharing a stage with him one day. But he hated how he had no idea how to get the child to sleep.
“Should I take you for a car ride?” Luke had started dancing around with his baby in his arms, hoping the movement would help. But dancing was its own kind of rhythm, and rhythm was a part of music. Royce started cooing another song along with his father’s dancing.
Luke could feel his own Gift perk up with his son’s vocalizations and he tamped it down. Maybe one day he’d compose a song based on his son’s singing, but not tonight. He tried rocking him.
Royce frowned and kicked his legs, clearly unhappy the rhythm had stopped. His little face twisted, fists waving. He wailed.
Luke immediately put Royce back on his shoulder, bouncing him in a dance. The last thing he wanted was for Julie, Ray, or Bobby to be woken up. He knew none of them would really mind, but he also knew they all needed their sleep. Having a baby in the house brought its own kind of special exhaustion.
“Are we going to have to go for a car ride?” Luke asked Royce, but he dismissed the idea. Royce really liked car rides, but it was only fifty-fifty if he’d actually go to sleep. Because apparently the vibrations of the car on the road were also very compelling and could be made into a song. Julie could nurse him to sleep, but Luke really didn’t want to wake her.
There was only one thing left to do.
Luke went to the spot on the counter where he and Julie left their phones to charge. He texted Reggie. You up?
The answer came in less than a minute. Is this a booty call??? LOL
Luke smirked. Can’t get Royce to sleep.
Ur lucky I'm awake. Where r u?
Kitchen. Luke texted.
There was a flash of golden light and Reggie appeared beside him. He was in a T-shirt that said "I am a leaf on the wind," and sleep pants. He immediately made grabby hands. “Give me my baby.”
“Hello to you too,” Luke muttered, but he handed Royce to him. Reggie cradled the baby in his arms, staring at his little face like Royce hung the moon. “Grab my shoulder.”
Luke did, and there was another golden flash and they reappeared in the studio. “Go to sleep,” Reggie whispered as he gently jiggled the baby in his arms.
Royce yawned. His eyes fluttered. Within moments he was asleep.
“How the fuck do you do that?” Luke asked.
Reggie sat down on the couch, baby still in his arms. “No idea.” He grinned.
“I’ve never felt tired after you’ve teleported me.” Luke sat beside him.
“Neither has Flynn, and I’ve teleported her lots. He’ll probably grow out of it.”
“Not too soon, I hope! Thanks for helping me.” He patted Reggie's back, letting his hand rest there.
Reggie leaned into the touch, his eyes still on Royce’s face. “It’s my pleasure. You know how I feel about this little guy.”
“Yeah, I do.” Luke squeezed Reggie’s shoulder.
“I love doing this. Putting him to sleep,” Reggie said. “Like, knowing I’m one of the only people who can do this for him. It just feels pretty special, you know?”
Luke nodded. “Totally. It’s the way I feel when it’s my turn to get up. It’s the middle of the night and it’s just him and me, and I’m making sure he’s warm and fed. People always told me and Julie that having a baby would be so hard, and to get our sleep now because we’d be exhausted all the time. And yeah, I’m pretty fucking tired. But it’s a different. It’s a good tired.” He stroked the baby’s cheek with his finger. “Having him… it’s amazing.”
“It must be amazing,” Reggie said wistfully, and Luke’s heart twisted.
“It’ll happen.”
Luke heard the click of Reggie swallowing. “Can I tell you a secret?”
There was a world of fear and hope in that one sentence, and Luke’s heart clenched, pretty sure he knew what Reggie was going to say. “Always.”
“Flynn’s pregnant again.”
Luke took a deep breath as a whirlwind of emotions rushed through him, not all of them good. “That’s awesome!”
Reggie nodded, still not looking up from Royce’s face. “She’s eighteen weeks, and the fertility specialist is pretty confident they’re going to stick this time. God. I want this so bad.” His voice cracked.
Luke immediately understood why Reggie had waited so long to tell him. Hope was a precious thing that was sometimes too fragile to share. He hugged Reggie around his shoulders, pulling him closer without disturbing the sleeping baby. “It’ll work this time. You guys are doing everything right.”
“Flynn’s been so amazing with all of this. So focused and so strong. But I know she’s scared. Scared like I am. When we lost the first one—” he broke off and wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand.
“It was brutal,” Luke finished for him. He remembered the agony of those days. He’d thought it’d hurt when they’d been tortured by Caleb, but nothing in his life had hurt as much as when Flynn miscarried. He never wanted them to live through anything like that again.
Reggie nodded. “It’s twins this time,” he said. “At least the doctor said so.”
Luke’s eyes widened. “Twins? Are you shitting me?”
“Guess those drugs work.” Reggie grinned, despite his tears. “But I’d be so grateful for one.”
“Eighteen weeks along is pretty good. Your risk is way less.”
“And Flynn’s Gift has been blissfully silent,” Reggie agreed. “But she’s never sure if it works for herself.”
“They’ll stick,” Luke said with as much confidence as he could. He wished he had Flynn’s Gift for predicting the future. He desperately wanted to be right. “Do you have any names picked out?”
Reggie’s smile brightened. “The ultrasound says we’re having a boy and a girl. I mean, you can’t really tell gender from an ultrasound, but it’s a place to start. We haven’t really decided yet, but we’re thinking Dove for maybe the boy? Her dad’s name was Donald.”
“Dove’s really pretty,” Luke said admiringly. “Any ideas for the girl?”
“Jael? But it means mountain goat, which isn’t as pretty as Dove. So maybe not?”
“I like it,” Luke said. “And mountain goats are great!”
“That’s what I thought!” Reggie enthused. “The name really means 'one who ascends', which I think is really cool. And Flynn wanted a J name for Julie.”
Luke smiled. “You’d name your baby after Julie?”
Reggie nodded. “Julie’s really important to Flynn… To both of us.”
“Girl saved our lives,” Luke agreed. “None of us would be here if it wasn’t for her.” He stroked his baby’s cheek again, thinking of the miracle that was his wife.
“I’m sure Rose had something to do with it,” Reggie said softly. “I mean, I can’t prove it or anything, but I feel like she helped us, you know?”
“I’m sure of it.” Luke sighed. “I wish she could’ve met him.”
“She probably knows,” Reggie said. “She’s probably his guardian angel.”
That made Luke smile. “We named him after her, so maybe?”
“I still think you should’ve called him Rose. Fuck gender norms, amirite?”
“You’re right.” Luke laughed. “And hey, he can go by Rose if he wants.”
They sat in silence for a few moments, watching Royce sleep. His mouth pursed like he was sucking and Reggie chuckled. “He’s having a good dream.”
“He likes it when I bottle feed him, but nothing beats Julie’s breasts.” Luke realized what he said and blushed.
Reggie laughed. “I’ll pretend you didn’t say that.” He sighed and gently handed the baby to Luke before standing. “I should probably get back.”
Luke took his son and stood. “Thanks for coming, and for this.”
“I’d do anything for you guys.” Reggie said it with a smile, but they both knew he wasn’t joking. He put his hand on Luke’s arm and teleported them to Royce’s room.
“You’re a really good friend, Reg,” Luke said once they’d materialized. “Please tell Flynn congratulations, and I’m rooting for you guys.”
“Thanks,” Reggie said. “Fingers crossed.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He teleported away.
“Time for bed,” Luke whispered to the sleeping child. He put Royce back into his crib, as careful as if the baby were made of glass. He really didn’t want wake him.
The baby stayed asleep, and Luke sighed in relief. He turned on the monitor and went back to bed.
Julie stirred when he crawled under the covers. “Royce okay?” she asked, voice thick with sleep.
“He’s asleep,” Luke said softly.
“Oh, good. Reggie?”
“He may have helped,” Luke said with a quiet laugh. “His Gift is very useful.”
“Better’n yours,” Julie teased. “Can’t even sing our son to sleep.”
“So mean,” Luke protested lightly.
“Truth hurts.” He could hear the smile in her voice.
“Hey. Good news. Flynn’s pregnant.”
Julie propped herself up on her arm to look at him, the joy in her expression visible even in the low light. “She is?”
Luke propped himself up too. “Eighteen weeks. Their doctor says it’s looking good this time. It’s twins.”
“That’s amazing! I want to call her! Do you think I can call?”
“Tomorrow,” Luke said. “It’s way too late now.”
Julie pouted for a moment before sighing. “Yeah. If she’s pregnant with twins she’ll definitely need her sleep." She paused. "You know, maybe it’s time we started working on our next one.”
Luke grinned at her, his exhaustion melting away with her sultry expression. “But the doctor said we should wait at least six months before trying to get pregnant again.”
“We should probably practice, though,” Julie said sagely. “Just to make sure we still know what we’re doing.”
Luke laughed before rolling onto his back and pulling her on top of him. “That sounds like a really good idea.”
She straddled his hips and leaned down to kiss him. “I love you, Luke.”
“I love you, too,” he whispered before claiming her lips with his own.
“Make love to me quickly,” Julie said against his mouth, “because you know Royce is going to wake up any minute.”
Luke slid his hands underneath her sleep shirt, his heart full. “Yes ma’am.”
END