The Baby's Room ][ for fakes_death (future)

[freshoffthefarm]

Deciding to use Clayton' s old bedroom as the nursery had been a no-brainer for Annie; it was simply where their daughter would belong. The furniture she had ordered from her work computer during her last week at the Agency, since no one was letting her touch anything that she was going to feel the need to work on long-term, and no one wanted her

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[fakes_death]

Clay spent all of Annie's pregnancy to date, dreading her maternity leave, mostly because he was going to miss their morning coffee break. He also figured he was going to regret leaving Annie with his platinum card. So far though, she hadn't spent much on the baby's room so that was good.

He'd been told he wasn't allowed to go into his old bedroom until Catherine's room was finished, and was assured that everything that was in there was safely in storage. Clay was proud of himself because he didn't peek into the room at all, though he did wonder when Annie was going to be done.

"Annie, I'm home," Clay called when he got back from the office. Annie answered that she was upstairs, which was his first stop after leaving his briefcase by the door. When he saw his old room he was surprised to say the least.

"It's really nice."

[freshoffthefarm]

As if she'd ever given him reason to worry about her and his platinum card. Everything he'd ever bought for her or given to her had been something he'd bought on his own and paid for himself. The only time she'd ever taken control was the wedding and that had been a party worth spending money on... or, at least she'd thought so. The President of the United States had shown up. Also, the open bar. And since they didn't have friends that could drink them into bankruptcy, they'd done okay.

Their daughter's room, however, had to be perfect. Even more perfect than the wedding. And when it was just finishing touches, Annie was more than happy to let Clay in. She was thrilled it had only taken her two full days to make it presentable, and that was with the delivery team setting up the furniture appropriately

[fakes_death]

Apparently, there was something wrong with what he said. Clay didn't see what the issue was, as he did complement her, but he knew Annie was disappointed. "You did an excellent job, just like the rest of the house."

[freshoffthefarm]

"Are you just saying that now or do you really think that?" She looked around the room again before looking up at him from where she was in the chair. "Because if you don't like it, you can say so and we can return this and do something different."

It wasn't her first pick, but she'd make do.

[fakes_death]

"I think Cathrine's going to love it. It looks good."

He picked up the metal flower from the dresser, "Where did you get the idea for these?"

[freshoffthefarm]

Annie made a face when he used a mild word like 'good' again, but hefted herself out of the chair to join him at the dresser.

"I saw something kind of like it in an article about decorating a room in a house, but I thought it'd look really pretty in here. Kind of delicate and elegant and all of the things we want for her," she explained.

[fakes_death]

"You'd like her to be delicate and elegant?" He smiled a little, "I would too, as long as she's like her mother too."

Annie was one of the strongest women he'd ever known and that, more than anything was something he wanted their daughter to have.

[freshoffthefarm]

"I know it sounds silly, but that's why I kept the wood dark in here. It reminded me of you. Strong and solid and still very..." She slid her hand into his and rested her head on his shoulder. "You. I want her to be like both of us. Smart and funny and tough and elegant and yeah, maybe a little delicate when it counts."

Annie didn't think of herself as delicate, but she knew that she was softer when she was around Clay. He'd taught her that side of herself, too, and she didn't mind.

[fakes_death]

"I think she's going to be like both of us, I just hope she picks up on our best qualities."

Clay put his arm around Annie's waist, "I love the rocking chair."

He could see himself spending many hours in that chair with their daughter in the coming years.

[freshoffthefarm]

Annie turned to him so that their casual holds turned into more of a hug and she looked up at him with all seriousness. "I want her to be like you and have all your qualities, down to your neurotic paranoia about everything." Going up on tip-toe, she kissed him quickly and then looked over at the chair. "It's a very comfortable chair."

[fakes_death]

He doubted Annie wanted her to have all of his qualities, since he'd been accused of being cold a lot of the time.

"It looks it."

[freshoffthefarm]

Considering that Annie could count the times that he'd been cold to her on one hand, she really didn't mind the thought of their baby being a lot like him. His positives outweighed his negatives, at least in her mind. That's why she enjoyed being married to him as much as she did.

"Do you want to sit in it?" He looked like he was contemplating it.

[fakes_death]

"Oh, Sure."

He hugged Annie properly before sitting in the rocking chair. "I think I claim midnight feedings except the night before the monthly directors meeting and the Intelligence Committee Meeting."

[freshoffthefarm]

Seeing him in the rocking chair made her smile properly and she nodded as she leaned up against the rocking chair.

"I was thinking about nursing her, at least for the first few months. And if you're up that late, because midnight is sometimes actually two or three in the morning and sometimes both, then you're going to have a bad day the next day." She gave a small shrug. "If you want to use a bottle, that should be okay, but you're still going to be exhausted."

[fakes_death]

"And you're going to be exhausted all day. The least I could do is give you a good night's sleep."

[freshoffthefarm]

"The fact that you've thought that far ahead is really sweet," she said, walking to his side and bending down to kiss his head. "I love you."