isn't she lovely? isn't she wonderful? isn't she precious?

Feb 21, 2010 16:35

Title: Don't You Want to Make Her Stay Up Late
Author: rockinhamburger
Rating: G
Summary: "She's... different." "Different how?" Adam breathes, terrified. "She," Kris begins, pausing for a moment, his breathing very audible over the phone, "she has, um... wings." -- Kris and Katy have a brand new baby girl.
Word Count: 870.
Notes: I've been reading a whole bunch of Terry Bisson's sci-fi short stories, and there's this lovely one called "George" you should definitely read, about a little boy born with wings. That story was the inspiration for this little snippet of a fic. Yeah, I wrote baby!fic. Started with kid!fic, and now I can't resist all the presh! The title for this ficlet is from Stay Up Late by Talking Heads. This is, if you hadn't already guessed, a little bit cracky and probably very OOC. But I wrote it and wanted to share it anyhow!



Adam's recording a track for his second album when he gets the phone call. His caller ID reads Pocket Idol, and he answers with a grin on his face. "Good evening, sir! Are you a father yet?"

Kris' voice is trembling when he replies, "Yeah."

Adam's heart stops. "Is the baby okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine - beautiful. Amazing. And tiny." Kris sounds positively dumbstruck.

"Awww! Of course she is!" Adam coos, his whole body warm and happy. "Does she have your eyes or Katy's?"

"Mine," Kris replies shortly, still in that strangely quiet, dazed voice.

"Are you all right?" Adam asks, concerned.

"Um, yeah," Kris stammers, "I just -- there's something. She's just. She's... different."

"Different how?" Adam breathes, petrified. He finds himself imagining a whole host of terrible scenarios, but he tries to push through them to focus on Kris' words.

"She," Kris begins, pausing for a moment, his breathing very audible over the phone, "she has, um... wings."

-

Adam has no trouble locating the maternity ward at the hospital. He finds Kris standing outside the room where they keep the newborns, gazing in through the window at, Adam assumes, his brand new daughter.

Adam approaches carefully, and Kris turns abruptly. As soon as he sees him, he throws himself at Adam. Adam squeezes him close, breathing in Kris' scent. "Congratulations," he whispers.

"Thanks," Kris whispers back. They pull back and share a wide-eyed look of amazement and, in Kris' case, exhaustion, fear and bewilderment.

"Can I see her?" Adam asks after a significant pause. "Have you named her yet?"

"Yeah. And yeah, her name's Kimberly."

It takes him a moment. "Wow. Kris, Katy, and Kim. That's almost too adorable - and nauseating - for words."

Kris laughs, and it's a good sound and look for him, rather than the overwhelmed expression and demeanor he's no doubt been wearing for the last 12 hours. "Shut up," he says, slugging Adam in the arm gently. "Come on."

Kris retrieves a nurse at the front desk of the ward, and instead of the baby room, they're led down the corridor to a different room. They enter quietly, and Adam looks around to see a room that is clearly meant to hold one baby, probably for special circumstances. And if this isn't a special circumstance, Adam doesn't know what is.

Kris is talking - babbling, really. "This team of doctors whisked her away pretty much right after she came out - Katy barely got to hold her; I didn't get even get to - and they did a bunch of tests, tried to - you know, figure out why..." Kris trails off. There's no need to say it, because Adam can see quite clearly for himself.

The nurse holds Kimberly out for Kris to take in his arms, which he does. He moves toward Adam, turning Kimberly in his arms so Adam can see her. He's holding her at a strange angle, since she's got a pair of tiny, crimson wings sticking out of her back, each about four inches in width and six or seven in length. Adam can't see what they look like perfectly from this particular angle, but there's no mistaking it.

Kris and Katy's baby has fucking wings.

"Do they know why --?" Adam starts, unable to even form the words.

"No," Kris responds. "Apparently there've been other cases of - of babies born with wings, but. They try to keep these things quiet. Can you blame them?"

Adam shakes his head no, still unable to speak. He's transfixed by the sheer beauty of Kimberly, who has a small tuft of light hair, Kris' eyes and mouth, and Katy's nose. She's the most darling baby Adam has ever seen, and not just because he's supposed to be this kid's godfather. She really is a breathtakingly beautiful infant, and Adam has a suspicion it has at least something to do with the wings. They make Kimberly seem magical, somehow. They make her glow, almost.

"She's beautiful," Adam finally manages.

Kris only nods in reply, staring down at the bundle in his arms, his daughter, in what looks to Adam like pure awe and delight.

-

Katy's exhausted. Her hair's limp around her shoulders and there are dark circles under her eyes; she can barely keep them open. Still, she somehow manages to look utterly radiant lying there in her hospital bed.

"Katy, it should be illegal how beautiful you are right now," Adam says, seating himself in the chair on the left side of her bed while Kris takes the one on her right.

"Don't even, Lambert," she croaks tiredly. "I look hideous."

"No, you don't," Adam and Kris say together, defiantly, firmly.

She smiles at them both, a tiny quirk at the corners of her mouth.

"She's so beautiful. You gave birth to a gorgeous little girl, hon," Adam says quietly.

Katy really does smile this time. "Our little angel," she says softly, and it should be the lamest thing Adam's ever heard; instead, it's such an adorable, genuine truth that Adam can hardly bear the weight of it.

They sit quietly together, Adam basking in his best friends' sheer joy. It's an extraordinary series of moments in time, and Adam can only sit back in reverence and enjoy them.

---

Please leave a comment on your way out :)

I may write a bit more. There are still some stubbourn ideas circulating!

fanfic, rating: g, americal idol, gen

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