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TITLE: Family Confidential
AUTHOR: Laragh
CHAPTER RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: Willow, Tara and any other characters from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise belong to Joss Whedon, FOX, ME and a whole host of other entities, none of which are me.
SUMMARY: The promised sequel to
Hacker Confidential. How are Willow, Tara, JJ and all their family getting on 4 years into the future?
SPOILERS: Perhaps minor references to the show or stealage of dialogue, but mostly just spoilers for all of
Hacker Confidential . If you haven’t read that...well, you really will have no idea what’s going on lol.
FEEDBACK: Yes please
Chapter 58 ********
“Olivia?”
Tara grimaced and shook her head.
“Olivia was my Cordelia Chase in high school.”
Willow nodded in understanding as she lay in a deck chair in the backyard, Tara alongside her in another, both of them in light t-shirts and shorts, enjoying the summer sun on that Saturday afternoon while JJ spent the morning swimming with Ira.
At first they’d just been sunbathing and Tara had been reading, but after a while it had turned into a discussion on baby names. They had yet to find a name that spoke to both of them.
“Madison?” Tara ventured, though her heart wasn’t really in it.
Willow scrunched up her nose and Tara sighed.
“Yeah, I’m not really feeling it either.”
Willow took one of Tara’s hands on the two armrests between them and swung it lightly.
“She needs a name.”
“I know she does,” Tara replied softly, looking down at Willow’s belly, visible from where the redhead and pulled her t-shirt up around her chest.
“Mia?” Willow asked, the scowled, “Scratch that, it reminds me of that skank who had a crush on you in college and tried to break us up.”
Tara shuddered at that memory, then Willow threw her other hand up in exasperation.
“‘Little bean’ is going to end up on her birth certificate if we don’t come up with something!”
“We will figure out what her name is, I promise,” Tara replied reassuringly but Willow was already in the beginning stages of a pout.
“JJ was just JJ and then when we had to come up with a proper name for him, we decided on the spot! Why is this so difficult?”
Tara reached over and pushed some hair from Willow's brow affectionately.
“Well, he was soothed by that jingle you sang for him, that's how he got his name. Maybe we need to think about the things she...”
Tara trailed off as she saw Willow tense, looking intently down at her stomach, and directed her gaze there too. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw a little bird perched right above Willow's belly button.
“It’s okay, Willow,” she whispered, squeezing her hand softly, “It’s just a robin.”
Willow seemed to relax a little but stayed motionless. They both watched in amazement as the little bird looked towards them for a long, intense moment before flying away.
“Well that was freakin’ weird,” Willow said a moment, wiping at her stomach to rid herself of the odd clawing feeling the bird's feet had clutched at her, “My damn belly button is so big it thought it was a branch!”
Tara stayed looking at the spot where the bird had land landed, her hand moving to cover Willow's on top, rubbing over it. She looked up to Willow, eyes shining with a tender warmth and her lips quirked happily to one side.
“I don’t think it was weird. I think it was telling.”
Willow looked to her wife, confused.
“Come again?”
Tara's grin grew, her tone soft.
“Robyn.”
Willow’s brow creased in confusion; she knew the bird was a robin – Tara had already mentioned it and she had enough basic knowledge that she could identify the common creature.
“Was it, um, a rare breed or something?” she asked, thinking maybe the bird had appealed to the nature lover in her wife.
“No, Willow,” Tara shook her head, still beaming from ear-to-ear, “
Robyn.”
Willow continued to gape in confusion before looking down at their conjoined hands rubbing her belly and a wide smile broke out on her face in realisation.
“Robyn,” she repeated loudly, almost bouncing up and down in the chair, “Robyn! Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Tara, that’s her name, we have her name!”
Tara brought her hands together and clapped in delight.
“We named our daughter!”
“We named our daughter!” Willow repeated giddily, leaning over between the chairs as much as she was able in a request for a kiss.
Tara happily obliged in meeting her halfway, holding her wife's face in her hands and softly stroking her jawbones with her thumb. She bumped their noses together and left a doting kiss on the tip of Willow's when they pulled away, then shuffled down in her chair and began trailing her lips softly all over Willow’s exposed belly.
She whispered quiet affections against her wife’s skin, nuzzling tenderly against it until she felt an intense gaze from Willow and turned her cheek to rest on the redhead’s cheek, smiling softly.
“What?”
Willow reached down and gently toyed with the ends of Tara's hair.
“I…” she trailed off, a pensive and hopeful look on her face “I think I might…Well, you know, we like to do the whole alliteration thing. So I think I might have a middle name idea.”
Tara reached for Willow’s hand and cradled it.
“Tell me.”
Willow silently thought to herself for a moment before speaking.
“Ruth,” she said, half-questioning, with a shy smile, “After my Bubbe, and Mrs. Michelson. But, Tara, I completely understand if you’re not comfortable naming our daughter after a woman you never met and one you only met once in a bookstore.”
Tara lips quirked into the same fond smile they had before and she closed her eyes as she let the name ring around her mind, then opened them to nod keenly at her wife.
“Hi Robyn Ruth Rosenberg-Maclay. Hi,” she said to Willow’s belly, using her other hand to stroke it before grinning up at Willow, “Three R’s. We’re stepping it up a notch.”
Willow’s eyes were glassy with unshed tears and she brought a hand up to cover her heart.
“Really?” she asked, her voice choked.
Tara sat back up wrapped her arm around Willow's stomach to leave a hand on her hip, holding her and planting a warm and sweet kiss on her lips.
“That’s her name.”
Willow beamed and clapped her hands together excitedly.
“I love it,” she gushed, smiling ear-to-ear, “It’s perfect. It’s her name. Little Robyn. Robyn Ruth.”
Tara’s face held the same amount of joy and she started to rub Willow’s belly again, the allure too much to resist.
“Our baby girl, Robyn.”
Willow began to bounce again before stopping, suddenly serious.
“Wait, wait!” she said, clearing her throat and started to wag her finger, “Robyn, don’t touch that! Robyn, that’s hot! Robyn Ruth Rosenberg-Maclay, you go to your room right now, young lady!”
Tara burst out laughing and grinned, scrunching up her nose in delight.
“That’s definitely her name. How about…” she started, moving back down to Willow’s stomach and kissed her bellybutton, “We love you, Robyn. We love you, Robyn Ruth.”
Both Tara and Willow felt a swift kick at that.
“She likes it!” Willow exclaimed in in glee before her tone softened and she held Tara's hand up against her heart, “Thank you. I’m gonna tell Mrs Michelson in my next letter and she’ll be so touched. This means the world to me.”
Tara rested her cheek on Willow’s belly again and closed her eyes to imagine the little being growing inside.
“It’s a beautiful name.”
Willow traced her finger down the side of Tara's face and the curve of her ear lovingly.
“The next one, you get total middle-name naming rights!”
Tara just continued to grin and resumed kissing Willow’s stomach.
They stayed like that, the sun shining down on them, for quite a while until the sound of car doors banging and their son’s loud laugh floated over from the driveway.
“Boys are back,” Tara said, sitting up and stretching her back, “I'll get the door.”
“I'll come,” Willow replied, pushing herself from her seat and taking Tara's hand as they moved towards the house.
They reached the door just as the bell started to ring and Tara opened it to JJ and Ira, both in t-shirts and long shorts with wet hair.
“Hey, little man!” Willow greeted her giddy son, “Did you enjoy swimming?”
JJ nodded enthusiastically.
“I did a handstand under water!”
“Wow!” Willow replied with equal enthusiasm, holding her hand out, “High five!”
JJ slapped her hand and Tara watched as water dripped from the ends of his clothing to the floor.
“Your clothes are all wet, honey, why don’t you go change?”
JJ dutifully ran upstairs and Willow stood aside to let her father inside.
“Come in,” she said with a smile, closing the door behind him, “Handstands, huh? Have you been doing those Pilates classes with Michelle?”
Ira flushed lightly.
“I simply observed and offered encouragement.”
“Thanks for taking him, Dad,” Willow replied as she lead them all into the living room, “We really appreciate it.”
“Oh, no problem,” Ira responded jovially as he sat on the sofa, Willow and Tara opposite on the armchair, “Truth be told I enjoy the excuse to act juvenile. We got those noodle things and pretended they were lightsabers. Not something I can get away with in my everyday life.”
Both Willow and Tara laughed before Ira gestured lovingly at Willow’s belly.
“And I look forward to learning the art of the tea party and how to play with Barbies with my beautiful new granddaughter.”
Willow felt a swell of emotion in the back of her throat and tried to push the lump down.
“We’re so happy our children have such wonderful grandparents.”
Ira smiled, though seemed confused at the seemingly random statement. Willow let out a shaky breath as she decided to tell her father the less than happy moments from their trip to Sunnydale, having only recounted the reunion and revisiting of the town when they'd returned the weekend before.
She reached for Tara’s hand and held it in her lap, needing the strength from her wife.
“I-I didn’t tell you something about when we went back to Sunnydale,” she said, stroking Tara’s fingers both for comfort and to calm her nerves, “I went to see Mom.”
Ira's eyebrows rose in deep surprise but he just nodded, his hands clasped together between his knees.
“Oh. And how was that?”
Willow swallowed and tucked a piece of hair behind her own ear.
“It…it didn’t go well. Not that I expected it to,” she said with a slight roll of her eyes, “But she acted like I was a stranger, pretty much disregarded Tara and didn’t care at all about the baby when she found out we used Tara’s egg, or JJ when I told her he was adopted.”
Ira’s eyes creased in sorrow.
“I’m very sorry, Willow.”
Willow shook her head softly.
“I’m not. It just proved to me how lucky we are that you and Michelle are our children’s grandparents. And, you know, I guess some relationships just can’t be saved. It’s her loss.”
Ira again seemed surprised, but almost relieved as well and nodded.
“It most certainly is. I’m honoured to be able to call all of you my family.”
The lump of emotion rose in Willow’s throat again but she wasn’t able to quash it this time and tears began streaming down her face. Ira looked at her in alarm and sat forward.
“Willow?”
Willow covered her face with her hands and suddenly stood from Tara’s lap, rushing from the room and up the stairs to the bathroom. Ira immediately stood and looked helplessly at the door.
“She’s okay,” Tara said softly, trying a smile, “Even that toilet paper commercial with the puppy makes her cry these days.”
Ira continued to look concerned and Tara went over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder in comfort.
“She just needs a moment. Don’t worry, I’ve learned to decipher when she needs a hug and when she just wants to be left alone for a minute.”
Ira swallowed, but nodded, trusting Tara’s instinct. He sank back down onto the sofa, his hands between his knees again.
“Did she take the confrontation with her mother very hard?”
Tara sighed and retook her seat in the armchair.
“It was rough. It was. Sheila was…cruel. But we’ve both dealt with parents who aren’t what they should be. Willow’s looking to the future now and not dwelling at all on the past, for the first time ever really, even if she hid it well before.”
Ira nodded again, understanding, but his gaze was firmly directed at the floor. After a few moments, he raised his head, his face ashen and eyes filled with sadness.
“I don’t regret having Willow, not for a second, even when I was…well, not being what I should have been like you said,” he started, his tone laced with remorse, “But I wish I could have given her a better mother. Sheila and I were an arranged marriage for all intents and purposes. Our fathers were big in business, we were shoved together and it was talked about more like a merger than a marriage. I’m not saying I didn’t love her once, you can’t create a child with someone and not have a part of you that doesn’t love them after that…but I didn’t even realise that real love didn’t feel cold until I met Michelle. And it still pains me that Willow grew up subjected to that coldness. Treated as an achievement, not as a child.”
Tara felt an ache in her heart at her father-in-law’s sadness and went to sit beside him, putting a hand on his knee in comfort.
“She turned out pretty well.”
Ira smiled sadly.
“No thanks to me.”
Tara sought out Ira’s eyes and smiled kindly.
“Ira, I can tell you honestly, after meeting Sheila…” she trailed off, shaking her head for a moment at the memory of meeting her before continuing, “All thanks to you. I know you feel you weren’t the father you should have been and deferred to your ex-wife a lot. But before your reconciliation, whenever Willow talked about you two, it was always you she remembered and missed. Learning how to ride a bike, and she said you did painting with her. And that you read with her until she started high school and she never felt it was to push an agenda, just because you enjoyed it.”
A fond smile graced Ira’s features.
“She was always a great reader. Knew words I didn’t, even. And a star at crosswords.”
The side of Tara’s lips quirked upwards and she looked at her father-in-law reassuringly.
“She said while we were in Sunnydale that she had this image of the town in her head where she was only focusing on the negatives of when she’d lived there and rediscovered all these wonderful things about the place and things she loved about growing up while we were there. I think you do the same thing. You regret all that you should have done but don’t think about all you really did do.”
Ira looked at Tara for a moment as if contemplating what she was saying before giving a quiet laugh.
“You’re wise beyond your years, Tara,” he said sincerely, taking both of her hands and looking at her intently, “Thank you for making my daughter happy.”
Tara squeezed Ira’s hands and returned the look.
“Thank you for giving her to me.”
They embraced for a moment before pulling apart as Willow came back into the room, gently wiping at her eyes with a tissue and looked at the two curiously.
“What?” Tara asked with a grin off the look, standing up to pull Willow back into her lap on the armchair, “You’re the only one gets hugs?”
Willow giggled and shook her head.
“No,” she replied, wrapping her arms around Tara as best she could, “You can have all the hugs you want.”
Tara closed the lopsided embrace and whispered ‘you okay?’ in Willow’s ear, getting a brief nod in return. She kissed Willow’s lobe and kept her hands around her waist before the redhead suddenly jumped in place and beamed at her father.
“Daddy, we picked a name!”
Ira perked right up at that, the smile on his face finally reaching his eyes.
“You did?”
Willow nodded giddily and took one of Tara’s hands resting it with hers over her belly.
“Robyn.”
“Robyn,” Ira repeated, sounding it out with a smile, “Robyn Rosenberg.”
“Rosenberg-Maclay,” Willow corrected and Ira had the decency to blush lightly.
“Of course, I’m sorry.”
Willow waved a hand in forgiveness, too happy to stay mad at an accidental faux-pas and bit the side of her lip before speaking again.
“Her middle name is Ruth,” she said gently, “After Bubbe.”
Willow didn't think her father would remember the bookstore owner from Sunnydale so opted not to mention the double-meaning behind the name. She had suggested the name in equal parts for her real and quasi grandmother and figured there would be a better time to inform her father of it, as she swore she saw a tear come to her father’s eye, though it was gone as soon as it came and he cleared his throat.
“She would be so proud,” he said, the emotion he had tried to hide coming through, “And I am so proud.”
He looked down to clear his throat again and Willow whispered ‘thank you’ to Tara. Tara just kissed Willow’s cheek and squeezed her hand until Ira looked back up, seemingly recovered from his moment and began to reach into the breast pocket of the golf shirt.
“I actually had something I wanted to…” he trailed off as he picked out a folded piece of paper and handed it across to them, “For you.”
Willow looked at it in confusion as she accepted it and her eyes went wide as she opened it to reveal a cheque, for quite a substantial amount of money. She looked at Tara, whose face had a similar expression before back to her father.
“Dad, we can’t accept this,” she said, folding it back in half, “We were so grateful when you helped us out when we first got JJ but we couldn’t possibly…”
Ira held his hand up to reject the cheque.
“You just bought the house, and I know the treatment to conceive can’t have been cheap.”
“Well,” Willow replied, swallowing, “No, it wasn’t. And we are…less in savings than we have been for the past while, but we’re, I mean, we’re fine. We’ve both still got steady incomes.”
Ira leaned forward slightly, knowing it was a delicate issue and not wanting to cause any offence.
“Michelle mentioned to me that you’d only asked for three weeks of parental leave,” he spoke, looking at Tara and seeing her face fall as he did so, so tried to turn to a joking tone, “I mean really, what kind of grandfather would I be if I didn’t do everything I could to make sure my granddaughter got all the time she could with both of her parents? You wouldn’t embarrass an old man in front of his only grandchildren would you?”
Willow looked down at the cheque in thought, then behind herself to Tara, who she was surprised to see was near tears.
“Baby?” she asked in gently, though with obvious alarm, moving to cup her cheek.
Tara dropped her gaze for a moment before speaking in a quiet, almost choked whisper.
“I…I don’t know how I’m going to cope going back when she’s just three weeks old.”
“Oh Tara,” Willow replied solemnly, stroking her cheek, “Baby, I had no idea. Y-You didn't say.”
She felt Tara drop her head against her shoulder and rubbed the back of her neck reassuringly, leaving a kiss on top of her hair before turning back to her father, knowing the decision was made.
“Dad, thank you,” she said with the utmost sincerity and felt Tara squeeze her knee, “My beautiful wife says thank you too.”
Tara let out a quiet laugh and raised her head, her eyes still glimmering with tears but smiling from ear-to-ear.
“We will pay you every penny back, Ira.”
Ira nodded in agreement before gesturing again to Willow’s stomach.
“Agreed. As long as it’s paid back into a college fund for…” he trailed off for a moment, a wide and happy smile slowly moving its way up his face, “For Robyn.”
Tara quietly made her way up the stairs to check on Willow who had gone up for an afternoon nap. She tiptoed her way across the hall and gently opened the door, not wanting to wake what she was expecting to be her sleeping wife but instead found her playing with their old video camera, moving it around on their dresser.
“Video camera?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, shutting the door behind her, “Do you...want to make another sex tape?”
Willow looked over and scoffed playfully.
“7 months pregnant?” she asked with a look that said ‘you have got to be kidding me’ before smiling widely, “Now that we have a name I thought we could make Robyn a video. Embarrass the crap out of her on her 16th birthday or something.”
Tara’s face lit up and answered Willow’s smile.
“That’s a great idea, honey,” she said as she walked over and stood next to Willow, “What do we say?”
“Sit on the bed,” Willow directed and adjusted the camera so it focused where they’d be sitting, “I dunno, whatever we want. Okay it’s on.”
She went and perched next to Tara, shuffling in close and taking her wife’s hand in her lap while she brought the other one up in a wave.
“Hi Robyn!” she started warmly, then pointed down at her belly, “This is you, right in here!”
Tara laughed quietly and offered her own wave.
“Hi Robyn. Happy birthday.”
Willow nodded keenly.
“Yes, Happy Birthday! Unless you ended up seeing this before your 16th birthday, in which case, Happy Whatever-Day-Of-The-Week-It-Is!” she proclaimed and could see Tara trying not to laugh out of the corner of her eye, “So, we picked your name today. I’m sure we’ve probably bored you with the story a hundred times, but it was a really special moment. I hope you like it. And that don’t hate us for that three ‘R’s thing.”
Willow suddenly turned to Tara, wide-eyed.
“Maybe we should rethink her name. I mean, her initials are RRRM, it sounds like we’re starting a car or something.”
Tara glanced at the camera, then back at Willow.
“Her name is Robyn Ruth,” she replied calmly but insistently.
Willow nodded slowly and turned to face forward again.
“Your name is Robyn,” she said to the camera with a big grin, “I bet your Mom’s still calming my freak-outs.”
Tara smiled and decided to say a few words as well.
“We can’t even begin to tell you how happy you make our lives already. And whoever you are, whoever you’ve grown to be, I know we’ve loved you for every moment.”
Willow nodded in agreement.
“We love you. And your brother!” she announced, before frowning for a moment, “Uh, your older brother.”
She saw Tara shoot her a confused look at that.
“She might have more brothers by then. Or sisters!” she explained, then gestured in front of her, “And we love them too! We love all of you. You’re the apple of our eye, Robyn and we can’t wait to meet you.”
“We love you, little bean,” Tara added tenderly, putting her hand on Willow’s stomach and feeling a small flutter straight away, “And you’re grounded for kicking your mother.”
Willow giggled and waved at the camera again.
“Bye Robyn, we love you!”
“We love you,” Tara tacked on for good measure as Willow went to turn the camera off, “Are you sure it’s off? That’s exactly what happened last time…”
Willow blushed with an embarrassed smile.
“It’s off,” she confirmed, shutting the display panel and holding it in her hands, “I’m going to go save it onto my laptop and back it up and stuff. Thanks for doing that with me! I know it was short but we can always add stuff on if we want. And I can add effects and everything!”
Tara watched her wife’s eyes lit up as she thought about how she could play with the clip and smiled softly.
“Have fun.”
Willow bounced from the room with an excited pep in her step.
“I will!”
Tara’s eyes fluttered open into darkness and her head rose from the pillow in confusion.
The LED lights from the alarm clock told her it was still the middle of the night and Willow was snoring softly beside her, but her spidey senses – aka her mommy senses – were tingling. She sat up and looked around, trying to gauge the room and if anything was askew.
When she saw and heard nothing, she gently scooted off the bed so as not to disturb Willow and threw a pair of shorts and a tank top over her before walking from the room into the hallway. Her ears instantly picked up a snivelling sound coming from the bathroom and she rushed in to see JJ sitting on the floor, leaning against the bath, eyes red and tears streaming down his face.
“JJ,” Tara said in alarm, dropping to her knees and gliding across the floor to him, patting down his front, “What’s wrong? JJ, what’s wrong, are you hurt?”
JJ didn’t answer and continued snivelling until Tara reached to pick him up from underneath and he jumped back, trying to move out of her reach.
“Don’t!”
Tara frowned in concern and reached for him again, managing to grab a hold of him this time and realising what he was upset about when she felt how wet the pants of his pyjamas were.
“JJ, it’s okay,” she soothed, rubbing the back of his hair and kissing his forehead, “It’s okay, it doesn’t matter. Accidents happen.”
JJ continued crying though accepted being comforted, burying his head into Tara’s neck. After a few moments Tara heard Willow calling her name and looked around just in time to see her at the doorway in an oversized t-shirt, visibly in the first stage of panic.
She quickly mouthed ‘he wet the bed’ and saw her clutch her wife heart in relief before putting a hand against the wall to aid herself getting onto her knees and moved towards them, taking over the hugging duties.
“Hey, buddy,” she said gently, wiping JJ’s eyes with her thumbs, “Why don’t we get you into the bath so you don’t feel so sticky?”
Tara took the cue to leave to take his bedclothes to the washing machine and dropped a kiss on JJ’s head before leaving. Willow helped him out of his pyjamas and threw them outside the door for Tara to collect on her way before turning the taps on to fill the tub.
JJ sat in, not crying anymore but still looking crestfallen, and Willow let the water rise a few inches at a warm temperature before turning the taps off again.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed,” she said gently as she washed his body down with a washcloth, “Never be too embarrassed to tell me or Mommy anything, okay?”
JJ nodded but his head was permanently slumped against his chest. Willow ran some warm water gently down his back.
“I had some accidents too when I was a kid.”
JJ looked up, uncertain, but hopeful.
“You did?”
Willow nodded.
“Uh huh. Mommy did too, I'm sure. Accidents just happen sometimes,” she explained, then offered a smile, “I bet you were dreaming about all the fun you had in the pool with Grandpa. He said you played Star Wars.”
JJ nodded keenly.
“I was Luke and Grandpa was Darth Vader and I beat him.”
“Ah, because, the Force is with you, always,” Willow grinned, happy her son seemed to be cheering up, “Who would I be?”
JJ seemed to think about it for a moment before giggling.
“Yoda!”
“Yoda?” Willow asked, pulling a face of mock-offence, “Green face, I have not! Wrinkles on this face, there isn’t, hmmmmm!”
JJ giggled again, his face not showing any signs of embarrassment anymore and Willow wrung out the washcloth, leaving it on the side of the tub.
“Do you feel clean?” she asked and got a definitive nod, “Okay, let’s get you dried off.”
He stepped out of the bath while Willow pulled the plug and let it drain before grabbing a towel from the rack and grabbed JJ with it.
“Oh no!” she proclaimed as she pretended to attack him with it, “The towel monster got you!”
JJ giggled more and pretended to try and fight the ‘monster’ until Tara returned from upstairs, a fresh pair of pyjamas in her hands.
“I have jammies,” she announced, kneeling down beside them, “I even put them in the tumble dryer for a minute so they’re extra cosy.”
JJ seemed pleased with that and started getting into the new Scooby-doo pyjamas, slipping into the pants and buttoning up the top.
“Do you want to sleep in with us tonight?” Willow asked, getting an eager nod in response.
He ran ahead of them towards their bedroom and Willow left the towel back on the rack before she and Tara followed JJ.
“Are we all gonna fit?” he asked, jumping in place on the bed and casting a sceptical look at Willow’s belly.
“Oh I don’t know,” Willow replied with mock-seriousness, scooting onto the bed and grabbing him close, “We might have to snuggle up!”
Tara smiled affectionately at the two as she climbed in the other side.
“You get comfy, JJ and we’ll fit in around you.”
JJ bent his knees up so he was lying in the foetal position between them and above Willow’s belly. Tara didn’t even have a chance to ask him if he was comfortable before his eyes closed and he was drifting into slumber. She pressed her lips lightly against his forehead so as not to wake him and tried to swallow the emotion she felt in the back of her throat.
“Baby?” Willow whispered in concern when she saw the look on her wife’s face.
“He was scared to tell us,” she said in an emotional whisper, “He was crying in the bathroom alone and he was scared to tell us.”
Willow gently shook her head and reached across JJ to stroke Tara’s cheek.
“He wasn’t scared, he was embarrassed,” she said softly, reassuringly, “He hasn’t had a wet night since we were potty training him and he probably doesn’t even remember that. He’s a-okay, just had a little accident.”
Tara’s eyes sought out Willow’s in the dark and felt her fears calmed.
“Do you think he’s nervous about something?”
Willow smiled and shook her head again.
“No, I think I let him have too much juice with dinner,” she said jokingly, though knew it was the likely culprit, then moved her arm down to wrap over JJ and reach for Tara’s hip, “He’s okay, Tara. Look at him. He’s safe and loved and cuddled up between his moms in his favourite jammies.”
Tara finally smiled and Willow gave her hip a squeeze.
“And you’re safe and loved and cuddled up with your wife and your son and your daughter in my favourite jammies ‘cause I can see your boobs.”
Tara bit her lip to stop herself from laughing too loud and Willow’s teeth flashed in the darkness, pleased. She cuddled both herself and JJ in closer and encouraged Tara’s arm over them.
“Now hold us close and never let us go.”