[Raleigh and Chuck's one year old son does not wear clothes. Not because they're Those Kind of Parents or that they haven't tried, and valiantly, but the kid clearly has a future in being a criminal because he can wriggle and unsnap and strip off anything if given enough time and space to do it.
Near the end of the day, Chuck stops trying to fix this problem, because it's bathtime and on any given day, he's spent upwards of ten, twelve hours in surgery and the only thing he wants to do is pass out. But he learned after the first half dozen times he did that and Raleigh got so mad she nearly grabbed the baby and left and they fought about it horribly and she works too, you know and she chooses to work actually, he makes more than enough to support all three of them and then some so maybe--
Chuck has learned to never suggest that Raleigh quit her job.
He's also learned how to bathe a baby which is more difficult than it looks. Babies splash. Babies cry. Babies can't be gassed and kept sedated until it's all over and he doesn't have to deal with the touchy feely stuff. Learning how to be a father has been a real trial in general and she wasn't wrong, initially, in thinking that he didn't want kids but here he is. He thinks it has to do with his own dad, and how he never wants his son to feel like he did as a kid and so he's going to be the best fucking dad ever.]
[ Raleigh loves Chuck; the man is an established cardiac surgeon, prodigiously gifted, frighteningly brilliant and a high flyer; but sometimes the man can be a complete moron where they're concerned. Though, she supposes, it stands in his favour that he learns quickly, like where her employment is concerned.
Raleigh insists on pulling her own weight, even if she earns much less than Chuck; she's fiercely determined not to depend on him, and comfortably secure with herself not to begrudge him for his achievements, but to celebrate them with him, and to give him hell when he says something extremely stupid. She's sure to pay for the shit around the house -- pull her weight where their little boy is concerned, who, in her opinion, is going to grow up to be a neighbourhood pervert, the way he hates clothes, but they'll cross that bridge when they come to it.
Chuck's bathing him (AND IT'S NOT GOOD FATHER MATERIAL IF YOU'RE THINKING OF GASSING THE TOT), and Raleigh's about to kick back and relax when he's yelling for the towel. Raleigh exhales and goes to fetch it, pausing for a moment to watch Chuck with their wriggling and giggling son. It startles her to see how much he looks like him, right down to the dimples in his cheeks. Perseus "Percy" Hansen, she named him (because she liked that name and fight her for it, Charles) and his father make a perfect tableau, and she can't help but smile when she comes in and hands it to him. It means a lot that Chuck does his best even if he's tired, and she loves him for it.
"--daddy!" Their kid crows delightedly, planting wet kisses all over Chuck's face, and it's the cutest thing she's ever seen. ]
Here. [ She makes an amused sound. ] Looks like you need a bath, yourself.
[Percy takes after his mother in that she's kind of a pervert too. And he's like having a puppy around all over again except that he cries more and poops all the time and can't be potty trained or hit with a newspaper.
But look at how well behaved Max is. Even if the poor dog does seem to get jealous sometimes of all the attention the baby gets and fights his way to the middle of the bed at night, sitting right between Chuck and Raleigh.]
No I've already bloody gotten one. [He answers as he fights to get the towel around the kid and how is it possible for someone so tiny to move so damn much. A little whiskey in his bottle won't kill him, you know.]
[ A little whiskey in Percy's bottle will make Raleigh hurt Chuck, because it's obvious he's put it there. So, you know, there's that. But their one year old can totally be potty-trained, what are you talking about; she's going to train Percy to poop only on Daddy, how's that?
And Raleigh's getting resigned to the fact that Max is going to come and settle between them a lot of the time, which, frankly, makes it quite difficult to get laid because she's not going to have sex with her husband if Max is in their bed. Just no.
She takes it with grace anyway, and scoops up a happily wriggling Percy in her arms, swaddled in the towel. He's choosing to cling to Raleigh's neck, and the fact that he isn't completely dry means that he's getting her wet, and it's going to be a massive trial to get him to put his pajamas on. ]
I dunno, [ And maybe Raleigh really is a pervert, because she's commenting; ] the wet look really works for you.
[ ...She's totally allowed to ogle her man, okay. ]
[Well then he's allowed to ogle her back, now isn't he? Fair's fair. Chuck smirks at her in a way that says maybe he'll actually shut the door on Max tonight and keep him firmly out of the bedroom. Because no, he's not going to sleep with her with Max even in the same room but he's not very capable of saying no to the dog most of the time.]
All the more reason for you to put him to bed then.
But that's good, the mutual ogling -- and she likes when Chuck gets that gleam in his eye because that can only mean good things; and look, she can admit that he's really damn good at what he does with her, okay. But it's not like she'll ever tell him that; he's got a huge enough ego as it is. ]
See you in an hour.
[ And it really takes an hour, from wrestling her precocious toddler to bed to getting clothes on him and making sure it stays on to reading him a story about the three little bears, and by then Raleigh feels like she'd gone to war and back again. When she finally retires to the bedroom she shares with Chuck, she's yawning. ]
...Your son has too much energy. He made me read Goldilocks and the Three Bears five times.
[It takes Chuck nearly as long to clean up the bathroom from all the puddles, mostly because he's not... that great at cleanly up messes but he tries and he's got a little bit of extra time while she's still putting Percy to bed (and if he tries to help now, it will just excite the kid more and it's just better to steer clear) that he spends changing into dry clothes, meaning just a pair of boxer shorts.
Since he anticipates that she's going to pull them all off sometime in the near future.
Chuck looks up from his tablet at that, he's not playing angry birds while she puts their son to bed, what are you talking about.]
[ It's wonderful when she finally gets to go and rest -- and what's she seeing but Chuck in his boxers, studly as a cardiac surgeon can be, playing angry birds because he's a giant manchild and of course he'd fucking play angry birds.
She heads towards the dresser to pull off her damp shirt, pulling on another and dropping the previous in the laundry hamper by the door. It's lovely, this time of night where it's just the both of them and neither Percy or Max are in their bed and it's nice to get him all to herself for the night.
And, you know -- she glances over at where he's playing, then frowns. She's climbing into bed beside him then, turning out the lights save for their bedside lamps. ]
Sign on to Candy Crush, too. I need you to give me life.
[ ...She can be addicted to stupid games too, shut up. ]
[Candy crush is stupid. No wonder she's addicted to it.
Chuck smirks down at the tablet, pretending like he wasn't just watching her strip off her clothes a moment earlier, even though he totally was and any time she wants to do a little strip show: is completely okay with him.]
And here I thought you wanted to have sex tonight.
[ Angry birds is stupid. Who the fuck makes a game out of tossing birds at pigs?
Raleigh just smiles and climbs in under the covers, taking his tablet delicately from his hands, before leaning over to set it on the table beside him. No games now; she wants all his attention. ]
Who said I didn't want to? [ She's pleased that he's just in his boxers; makes things so much more simple -- and he's really something, giving her plenty of eye candy at the same time. ] You're in a fine mood today. Good day at work?
If Chuck is really upset by her taking the tablet from him, he doesn't do a very good job of showing it. Actually for once isn't contrary just to be contrary and reaches for her instead.]
And oh, Raleigh likes this version of Chuck, the Chuck that doesn't get it into his head to nitpick just for the hell of it. When he reaches for her, she meets him halfway, curling happily into his arms and draping an arm around his waist.
It's nice like this, too, the cuddling. She's tipping her head up to kiss him briefly on the mouth, before snagging the baby monitor and turning it on. ]
I'm surprised you didn't do anyone in on purpose. [ She remarks, setting the baby monitor back aside and sparing a few moments to enjoy the silence, to savour the feel of Chuck's body against hers -- they really haven't done this in a long time. ] Hmm. I've missed you.
Chuck eyes the baby monitor, like he just knows that if he goes for it, Percy is going to start fussing and that will just kill the whole mood and he wonders if he can turn it off without her noticing. Just for like a half hour.]
Your fault. [He murmurs against her lips.] Just had to be so fertile.
Raleigh catches his look, though, then decides to do it for him. Fifteen minutes, maximum. Silencing the baby monitor without looking at it (because a gurgling baby will kind of kill the mood, too, that happened twice), she returns his kiss once, twice, tangling her limbs with his. ]
You waiting for me to make a crack about how potent you are? [ She's smiling, before she rolls him onto his back. ]
Chuck settles on to his back, helping to pull her on top of him. He can work with fifteen minutes. It's been that long. The way he leans up from the pillow to kiss her should be proof enough of that.]
Just saying-- you weren't supposed to be able to have kids.
[ Fifteen minutes, or maybe more if he's good. And he's always good, though -- and when he pulls her over him, she straddles his hips, pulling her shirt over her head and dropping it over the edge of the bed.
At his words, though, she hesitates. She's never been one to want kids even before she knew she couldn't -- but not wanting kids and not being able to have them, to a woman, are two entirely different things. The news had been quietly devastating, even if she knew Chuck doesn't care about whether she could have kids anyway. Her smile fades, and she looks back at him contemplatively, accepting his kiss and returning his softly.
To be able to conceive Percy -- that was a miracle, and that was the most fearful time of her life because what if she lost the baby anyway? What if her body failed the life that was knitting itself together in her womb? He's her little hero, she thinks, and she exhales. ]
...I know. Would you really have been okay with it if I couldn't?
[Oh no. No, no. This conversation is not very conducive to what he had in mind. Raleigh wears her heart on her sleeve, always has and he can just tell that she's heading toward melancholic. They've been over this, a few times, the only person in the world that wanted kids less than she did-- was him.
He loves Percy-- now-- but he was definitely more like wary until that little bundle of poop was handed to him in the hospital.
Chuck sits up more and presses a long kiss to her mouth.]
[ Mmmm-hmmm, that long, proper kiss works its magic well enough -- Raleigh likes kissing him; Chuck might be an asshole sometimes (she knows him well enough to know that he's not as much of a jerk-ass as he likes to come across), and that proves to be a nice, proper distraction.
While other women would be upset that Chuck isn't all that invested in children, Raleigh is relatively pleased about it -- he likes Percy well enough, and that's pretty much a-okay with her. And so just for being a pretty good husband (in his own way), Raleigh rewards him with what's pretty much an hour's worth of great sex that consisted of a blowjob and her letting him top. And then the one time after they had another quick round in the bathroom just because.
It was great, it was delightful, and it leaves Raleigh happily sore when she stretches beside him lazily, naked as the day she was born -- to turn the baby monitor back on again. Well, all's peaceful on the Percy front. ]
[Yeah he definitely knows he's being rewarded when she lets him get on top. And when she goes for another round of it in the bathroom without even checking the baby monitor first but it's okay, their kid is still sleeping. Probably wore himself out with all of that naked running around. It takes energy to strip, kid, he understands.
Chuck nuzzles her at the same time he pats her ass. Like good game. How's it feel, Raleigh, huh? Not that great is it.]
Yeah, maybe he's exhausted from all that adorable screaming he did.
[ She laughs, drowsy and contented, draping an arm over his waist with a languid grace. She's exhausted in all the best ways, so much so that she doesn't mind him patting her ass, so long as he keeps it up with the nuzzling. ]
All the ad --
[ And then it starts, the incredible escalation of a crying toddler having just woken up from a nightmare, clear and vivid over the baby monitor. Raleigh winces. ]
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Near the end of the day, Chuck stops trying to fix this problem, because it's bathtime and on any given day, he's spent upwards of ten, twelve hours in surgery and the only thing he wants to do is pass out. But he learned after the first half dozen times he did that and Raleigh got so mad she nearly grabbed the baby and left and they fought about it horribly and she works too, you know and she chooses to work actually, he makes more than enough to support all three of them and then some so maybe--
Chuck has learned to never suggest that Raleigh quit her job.
He's also learned how to bathe a baby which is more difficult than it looks. Babies splash. Babies cry. Babies can't be gassed and kept sedated until it's all over and he doesn't have to deal with the touchy feely stuff. Learning how to be a father has been a real trial in general and she wasn't wrong, initially, in thinking that he didn't want kids but here he is. He thinks it has to do with his own dad, and how he never wants his son to feel like he did as a kid and so he's going to be the best fucking dad ever.]
Raleigh! Can you grab a towel?
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Raleigh insists on pulling her own weight, even if she earns much less than Chuck; she's fiercely determined not to depend on him, and comfortably secure with herself not to begrudge him for his achievements, but to celebrate them with him, and to give him hell when he says something extremely stupid. She's sure to pay for the shit around the house -- pull her weight where their little boy is concerned, who, in her opinion, is going to grow up to be a neighbourhood pervert, the way he hates clothes, but they'll cross that bridge when they come to it.
Chuck's bathing him (AND IT'S NOT GOOD FATHER MATERIAL IF YOU'RE THINKING OF GASSING THE TOT), and Raleigh's about to kick back and relax when he's yelling for the towel. Raleigh exhales and goes to fetch it, pausing for a moment to watch Chuck with their wriggling and giggling son. It startles her to see how much he looks like him, right down to the dimples in his cheeks. Perseus "Percy" Hansen, she named him (because she liked that name and fight her for it, Charles) and his father make a perfect tableau, and she can't help but smile when she comes in and hands it to him. It means a lot that Chuck does his best even if he's tired, and she loves him for it.
"--daddy!" Their kid crows delightedly, planting wet kisses all over Chuck's face, and it's the cutest thing she's ever seen. ]
Here. [ She makes an amused sound. ] Looks like you need a bath, yourself.
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But look at how well behaved Max is. Even if the poor dog does seem to get jealous sometimes of all the attention the baby gets and fights his way to the middle of the bed at night, sitting right between Chuck and Raleigh.]
No I've already bloody gotten one. [He answers as he fights to get the towel around the kid and how is it possible for someone so tiny to move so damn much. A little whiskey in his bottle won't kill him, you know.]
Will you take him so I can clean up in here?
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And Raleigh's getting resigned to the fact that Max is going to come and settle between them a lot of the time, which, frankly, makes it quite difficult to get laid because she's not going to have sex with her husband if Max is in their bed. Just no.
She takes it with grace anyway, and scoops up a happily wriggling Percy in her arms, swaddled in the towel. He's choosing to cling to Raleigh's neck, and the fact that he isn't completely dry means that he's getting her wet, and it's going to be a massive trial to get him to put his pajamas on. ]
I dunno, [ And maybe Raleigh really is a pervert, because she's commenting; ] the wet look really works for you.
[ ...She's totally allowed to ogle her man, okay. ]
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All the more reason for you to put him to bed then.
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But that's good, the mutual ogling -- and she likes when Chuck gets that gleam in his eye because that can only mean good things; and look, she can admit that he's really damn good at what he does with her, okay. But it's not like she'll ever tell him that; he's got a huge enough ego as it is. ]
See you in an hour.
[ And it really takes an hour, from wrestling her precocious toddler to bed to getting clothes on him and making sure it stays on to reading him a story about the three little bears, and by then Raleigh feels like she'd gone to war and back again. When she finally retires to the bedroom she shares with Chuck, she's yawning. ]
...Your son has too much energy. He made me read Goldilocks and the Three Bears five times.
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Since he anticipates that she's going to pull them all off sometime in the near future.
Chuck looks up from his tablet at that, he's not playing angry birds while she puts their son to bed, what are you talking about.]
I believe he's your son when he gets like that.
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She heads towards the dresser to pull off her damp shirt, pulling on another and dropping the previous in the laundry hamper by the door. It's lovely, this time of night where it's just the both of them and neither Percy or Max are in their bed and it's nice to get him all to herself for the night.
And, you know -- she glances over at where he's playing, then frowns. She's climbing into bed beside him then, turning out the lights save for their bedside lamps. ]
Sign on to Candy Crush, too. I need you to give me life.
[ ...She can be addicted to stupid games too, shut up. ]
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Chuck smirks down at the tablet, pretending like he wasn't just watching her strip off her clothes a moment earlier, even though he totally was and any time she wants to do a little strip show: is completely okay with him.]
And here I thought you wanted to have sex tonight.
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Raleigh just smiles and climbs in under the covers, taking his tablet delicately from his hands, before leaning over to set it on the table beside him. No games now; she wants all his attention. ]
Who said I didn't want to? [ She's pleased that he's just in his boxers; makes things so much more simple -- and he's really something, giving her plenty of eye candy at the same time. ] You're in a fine mood today. Good day at work?
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If Chuck is really upset by her taking the tablet from him, he doesn't do a very good job of showing it. Actually for once isn't contrary just to be contrary and reaches for her instead.]
Everyone lived, if that's what you mean.
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And oh, Raleigh likes this version of Chuck, the Chuck that doesn't get it into his head to nitpick just for the hell of it. When he reaches for her, she meets him halfway, curling happily into his arms and draping an arm around his waist.
It's nice like this, too, the cuddling. She's tipping her head up to kiss him briefly on the mouth, before snagging the baby monitor and turning it on. ]
I'm surprised you didn't do anyone in on purpose. [ She remarks, setting the baby monitor back aside and sparing a few moments to enjoy the silence, to savour the feel of Chuck's body against hers -- they really haven't done this in a long time. ] Hmm. I've missed you.
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Chuck eyes the baby monitor, like he just knows that if he goes for it, Percy is going to start fussing and that will just kill the whole mood and he wonders if he can turn it off without her noticing. Just for like a half hour.]
Your fault. [He murmurs against her lips.] Just had to be so fertile.
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Raleigh catches his look, though, then decides to do it for him. Fifteen minutes, maximum. Silencing the baby monitor without looking at it (because a gurgling baby will kind of kill the mood, too, that happened twice), she returns his kiss once, twice, tangling her limbs with his. ]
You waiting for me to make a crack about how potent you are? [ She's smiling, before she rolls him onto his back. ]
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Chuck settles on to his back, helping to pull her on top of him. He can work with fifteen minutes. It's been that long. The way he leans up from the pillow to kiss her should be proof enough of that.]
Just saying-- you weren't supposed to be able to have kids.
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At his words, though, she hesitates. She's never been one to want kids even before she knew she couldn't -- but not wanting kids and not being able to have them, to a woman, are two entirely different things. The news had been quietly devastating, even if she knew Chuck doesn't care about whether she could have kids anyway. Her smile fades, and she looks back at him contemplatively, accepting his kiss and returning his softly.
To be able to conceive Percy -- that was a miracle, and that was the most fearful time of her life because what if she lost the baby anyway? What if her body failed the life that was knitting itself together in her womb? He's her little hero, she thinks, and she exhales. ]
...I know. Would you really have been okay with it if I couldn't?
[ Would any man really be all right with it? ]
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He loves Percy-- now-- but he was definitely more like wary until that little bundle of poop was handed to him in the hospital.
Chuck sits up more and presses a long kiss to her mouth.]
Yes. For the hundredth time, Raleigh. Yes.
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While other women would be upset that Chuck isn't all that invested in children, Raleigh is relatively pleased about it -- he likes Percy well enough, and that's pretty much a-okay with her. And so just for being a pretty good husband (in his own way), Raleigh rewards him with what's pretty much an hour's worth of great sex that consisted of a blowjob and her letting him top. And then the one time after they had another quick round in the bathroom just because.
It was great, it was delightful, and it leaves Raleigh happily sore when she stretches beside him lazily, naked as the day she was born -- to turn the baby monitor back on again. Well, all's peaceful on the Percy front. ]
Tonight's our lucky night.
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Chuck nuzzles her at the same time he pats her ass. Like good game. How's it feel, Raleigh, huh? Not that great is it.]
Yeah, maybe he's exhausted from all that adorable screaming he did.
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All the ad --
[ And then it starts, the incredible escalation of a crying toddler having just woken up from a nightmare, clear and vivid over the baby monitor. Raleigh winces. ]
Go on, that's your son.
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Get off me, then.
[He'll go get that crying toddler and bring him right back here for Mommy to calm down.]