[Fanfiction] The Fatherhood Chronicles - They Don't Teach It at Quantico
Title: The Fatherhood Chronicles - They Don't Teach It at Quantico
Author: Aragarna
Characters: Peter, Elizabeth, Neal Burke
Genre, rating: family fluff, gen, g.
word count: 900
Summary: Becoming a dad didn't come all naturally to Peter. Luckily, he had a wonderful wife to show him the way.
Author's Note: This one is chronologically set shortly after And Then They were Three. This is a birthday present for my dear friend and partner in shenanigans paganlowroader. I hope you'll like it. :) Many thanks to kanarek13 for the cheerleading, as usual. :)
They don’t teach it at Quantico
Happiness had rarely felt so awkward, and yet so perfect.
Peter loved being a dad, even though he had no clue how to do it. So, during Neal’s first days home, he would just follow Elizabeth, and watch her being a mom. A wonderful, and adorable mom. This was an all new side of El that he was discovering, and it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. In parenthood, like in everything she ever did, Elizabeth was a natural. She had that instinct.
Which Peter sure hadn’t.
Luckily, Elizabeth was there to help him.
“Sit on the couch,” she would order, and Peter would comply dutifully. El would then put Neal in his arms, and would sit next to Peter to cuddle with her boys. They would remain nestled together until Neal fell asleep, and then El would take Neal back and put him to bed.
Peter was still feeling all clumsy and awkward each time he was holding his son, and yet, he loved it.
Neal was now a week old, and Peter, a perfectly happy dad.
“I think you’re ready for the next step,” Elizabeth said that day, as she was watching her husband and son.
Peter looked up at her, feeling at the same time excited and vaguely anxious. Neal was still very much a tiny little thing that looked scarily breakable.
“You think?”
“Yes,” El said, confident. “Hold on.”
She walked to the kitchen and came back with a baby bottle.
Neal was mostly breast-fed, but Elizabeth was sometimes adding a bottle of formula to keep up with the ogre appetite of this tiny creature.
She helped Peter holding Neal properly with his left arm, then tied a large bib around his neck.
“Are you comfortable?”
“I… guess…”
“All right.”
Elizabeth uncapped the bottle and sat on the sofa next to Peter. “Here”. She handed him the bottle and Peter put it to Neal’s mouth, who instantly started sucking.
“Make sure to rise the bottle high enough so that he doesn’t swallow air.”
Peter tilted the bottle a little more. “Like this?”
“Yes, you’re doing great. If he stops, give him a minute to breath.”
Peter nodded, keeping his eyes on his son, the bottle and the level of milk.
“How do you know all this?” He asked.
“Well, if you weren’t magically disappearing each time our friends or cousins were offering to hold their own newborns, you’d know it too,” Elizabeth teased, before putting a kiss on Peter’s cheek.
Peter glanced sideways at her. He couldn’t explain why, but even though he had always wanted to be a father, other people’s children were always putting him ill-at-ease. They were just weird and noisy little aliens speaking a foreign language of their own. But Neal was different. Neal was his son. Peter felt connected to him. It was still all new and strange, almost surreal, but when he was with Neal, Peter felt happy, complete.
He knew he was stupidly smiling, as he blissfully watched his son drink his bottle. He looked up at El, who was watching them tenderly.
“I love you,” Peter whispered. “Both of you, I love you.”
Elizabeth bent over to kiss him. “I love you too, my boys.”
Neal rejected the bottle.
“I think he’s done,” Elizabeth said, taking the bottle. “Now hold him upright against your shoulder, and wait for his burp.”
Peter did as he was instructed and hold Neal for a few minutes until he burped. Elizabeth wiped his mouth and untied his bib.
Peter rocked Neal tenderly, as Neal started to look sleepy.
-----------------------------------------------
Three hours later, Neal started crying in his bed, and they went together to take him and feed him one last time before going to bed themselves. This time, El would feed him, so Peter didn’t have anything to do.
Elizabeth took Neal in her arms and turned to Peter. She cleared her throat. “Before I feed him, there’s one more thing, Honey…” She said, a vaguely mischievous smile brushing her lips.
Peter felt a trap. His gut’s alarm suddenly started ringing. He should have seen it coming.
“I see your face, Agent Burke. You have to learn this too, because you won’t escape your diaper duty any longer.”
Peter winced.
-----------------------------------------------
“First, you lift the two adhesive bands.”
“Lift the adhesive bands,” Peter echoed, taking mental notes, as Neal was happily wriggling on the changing table they had installed in the bathroom.
“Then, you unfold it, and hold his feet up, to take it away.”
“Urgh…” Peter grimaced. “Right, hold his feet up.”
“Make sure to always keep hold of him, so that he wouldn’t roll over.”
Peter nodded.
“You grab a baby wipe and carefully clean everywhere. Make sure you properly wipe in all the creases. When his little butt is all clean, you put some of this cream. This is to reduce skin irritation. And finally, you take a clean diaper, lift his feet, and slid it under his adorable little butt, wrap it, tape it. Make sure it’s well adjusted. See, it’s easy.”
“Piece of cake,” Peter reluctantly agreed while glancing at the dirty diaper El was wrapping tightly and threw away.
“Next time, you do it,” Elizabeth said, grinning, as she took Neal and put him in Peter’s arms.
He gave her a contrite smile. “Sure.”
To Be Continued...
The Fatherhood Chronicles - Masterpost
Author: Aragarna
Characters: Peter, Elizabeth, Neal Burke
Genre, rating: family fluff, gen, g.
word count: 900
Summary: Becoming a dad didn't come all naturally to Peter. Luckily, he had a wonderful wife to show him the way.
Author's Note: This one is chronologically set shortly after And Then They were Three. This is a birthday present for my dear friend and partner in shenanigans paganlowroader. I hope you'll like it. :) Many thanks to kanarek13 for the cheerleading, as usual. :)
They don’t teach it at Quantico
Happiness had rarely felt so awkward, and yet so perfect.
Peter loved being a dad, even though he had no clue how to do it. So, during Neal’s first days home, he would just follow Elizabeth, and watch her being a mom. A wonderful, and adorable mom. This was an all new side of El that he was discovering, and it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. In parenthood, like in everything she ever did, Elizabeth was a natural. She had that instinct.
Which Peter sure hadn’t.
Luckily, Elizabeth was there to help him.
“Sit on the couch,” she would order, and Peter would comply dutifully. El would then put Neal in his arms, and would sit next to Peter to cuddle with her boys. They would remain nestled together until Neal fell asleep, and then El would take Neal back and put him to bed.
Peter was still feeling all clumsy and awkward each time he was holding his son, and yet, he loved it.
Neal was now a week old, and Peter, a perfectly happy dad.
“I think you’re ready for the next step,” Elizabeth said that day, as she was watching her husband and son.
Peter looked up at her, feeling at the same time excited and vaguely anxious. Neal was still very much a tiny little thing that looked scarily breakable.
“You think?”
“Yes,” El said, confident. “Hold on.”
She walked to the kitchen and came back with a baby bottle.
Neal was mostly breast-fed, but Elizabeth was sometimes adding a bottle of formula to keep up with the ogre appetite of this tiny creature.
She helped Peter holding Neal properly with his left arm, then tied a large bib around his neck.
“Are you comfortable?”
“I… guess…”
“All right.”
Elizabeth uncapped the bottle and sat on the sofa next to Peter. “Here”. She handed him the bottle and Peter put it to Neal’s mouth, who instantly started sucking.
“Make sure to rise the bottle high enough so that he doesn’t swallow air.”
Peter tilted the bottle a little more. “Like this?”
“Yes, you’re doing great. If he stops, give him a minute to breath.”
Peter nodded, keeping his eyes on his son, the bottle and the level of milk.
“How do you know all this?” He asked.
“Well, if you weren’t magically disappearing each time our friends or cousins were offering to hold their own newborns, you’d know it too,” Elizabeth teased, before putting a kiss on Peter’s cheek.
Peter glanced sideways at her. He couldn’t explain why, but even though he had always wanted to be a father, other people’s children were always putting him ill-at-ease. They were just weird and noisy little aliens speaking a foreign language of their own. But Neal was different. Neal was his son. Peter felt connected to him. It was still all new and strange, almost surreal, but when he was with Neal, Peter felt happy, complete.
He knew he was stupidly smiling, as he blissfully watched his son drink his bottle. He looked up at El, who was watching them tenderly.
“I love you,” Peter whispered. “Both of you, I love you.”
Elizabeth bent over to kiss him. “I love you too, my boys.”
Neal rejected the bottle.
“I think he’s done,” Elizabeth said, taking the bottle. “Now hold him upright against your shoulder, and wait for his burp.”
Peter did as he was instructed and hold Neal for a few minutes until he burped. Elizabeth wiped his mouth and untied his bib.
Peter rocked Neal tenderly, as Neal started to look sleepy.
-----------------------------------------------
Three hours later, Neal started crying in his bed, and they went together to take him and feed him one last time before going to bed themselves. This time, El would feed him, so Peter didn’t have anything to do.
Elizabeth took Neal in her arms and turned to Peter. She cleared her throat. “Before I feed him, there’s one more thing, Honey…” She said, a vaguely mischievous smile brushing her lips.
Peter felt a trap. His gut’s alarm suddenly started ringing. He should have seen it coming.
“I see your face, Agent Burke. You have to learn this too, because you won’t escape your diaper duty any longer.”
Peter winced.
-----------------------------------------------
“First, you lift the two adhesive bands.”
“Lift the adhesive bands,” Peter echoed, taking mental notes, as Neal was happily wriggling on the changing table they had installed in the bathroom.
“Then, you unfold it, and hold his feet up, to take it away.”
“Urgh…” Peter grimaced. “Right, hold his feet up.”
“Make sure to always keep hold of him, so that he wouldn’t roll over.”
Peter nodded.
“You grab a baby wipe and carefully clean everywhere. Make sure you properly wipe in all the creases. When his little butt is all clean, you put some of this cream. This is to reduce skin irritation. And finally, you take a clean diaper, lift his feet, and slid it under his adorable little butt, wrap it, tape it. Make sure it’s well adjusted. See, it’s easy.”
“Piece of cake,” Peter reluctantly agreed while glancing at the dirty diaper El was wrapping tightly and threw away.
“Next time, you do it,” Elizabeth said, grinning, as she took Neal and put him in Peter’s arms.
He gave her a contrite smile. “Sure.”
To Be Continued...
The Fatherhood Chronicles - Masterpost