Happy Birthday, Will!

[notsocommon]

Helen wasn't exactly in the interest of keeping her plans for Will's birthday a secret but she imagined he wouldn't want a big party and would prefer to spend it quietly and at home as they'd done for the past two years. That was more than fine with Helen, who was still sleep deprived more often than not, and she took Gregory with her up to the Compound to bake what she felt like was a spectacular cake. It had just a touch of chocolate in the sauce and banana in the cake part - while it wasn't chocolate banana nut bread, it was close enough to the concept while still passing for an actual birthday cake.

She'd dressed Gregory in his little Blue Jays onesie and a teeny baseball cap that she coaxed from the box and, cake done, started going through the machinations to get both cake and baby back down to the hut by the time Will got home. With the stroller, it was quite simple, and she would have to remember to thank Nikola yet again for his generous gift.

Once she got back home, she laid Gregory in his cradle (where he was more than enthralled with the mobile Uncle Nikola had made him) and dressed herself - she could finally fit back in the green dress from St. Patrick's the year before last and she knew it was one of Will's favorites. She spritzed on a bit of her rapidly-dwindling perfume but left her hair loose and simple, just the way Will liked it.

"Today is your daddy's birthday," Helen sing-songed, completely shameless when it came to babytalking around Gregory. "We're going to make sure he has a good time, aren't we? Yes, we are."

Comments

[inabmovie]

Greg does look kind of tired; his eyes are a little droopy and he's leaning his head against Will's shoulder. "Want to feed him now?" he asks. "And then maybe he'll sleep for a while." Will's not as good as interpreting all Greg's moods the way Magnus is, but he does seem to sleep longer on a full stomach.

[notsocommon]

"I think that might be wise," Helen agreed, keeping her voice low and soft. "Just think, we might get to have a few hours to ourselves, hmm?"

Not that having Gregory around was a bad thing but couple time was few and far between with a newborn.

[inabmovie]

"If I'm lucky." He kisses Greg and carefully passes him back to Magnus. "Do you need anything? Glass of water? Piece of cake?" He feels a little left out of feedings, sometimes, so he tries to make himself useful.

[notsocommon]

"Help me out of this dress? It's not exactly nursing accessible," Helen said, thinking that perhaps that should have been something she'd kept in mind before putting it on. Oh well, Will got to see her in it for a little while at least.

[inabmovie]

"I think I can manage that." It didn't occur to him she couldn't feed the baby in that dress, but duh, he thinks now--it's a good thing he's not in charge of baby-feeding because he'd probably fail at it. He steps behind her and carefully unzips the dress for her.

[notsocommon]

"I'll be just a few moments," Helen said quietly, trying to soothe Gregory. "Mummy is almost ready."

Gregory had started to fuss a little, having figured out what was going on, and that elicited a biological response in Helen that simply couldn't be stopped. She sat down with him and was infinitely grateful this dress didn't allow for a bra.

"There, darling, eat," she said, giving Will a sheepish look. "Sorry. It's not very romantic, is it?"

[inabmovie]

"You gotta do what you gotta do," Will says. He thinks his wife taking care of their baby is one of the sexiest things he's seen but he doesn't say so; he doesn't want to weird her out or make her feel like she's on display. "You want a blanket? Pillow?" More trying to be helpful, though sometimes he thinks he sounds like a nervous old woman with his hovering.

[notsocommon]

"Both," Helen decided after a moment, shifting a bit so she was more comfortable. Nursing always relaxed her and made her blissfully tired; her reactions were always a bit slower unless she had something else pressing going on at the same time.

"I should have just worn sweats and a tee if this was how I was going to end up, shouldn't I?"

[inabmovie]

Will gets a pillow and a blanket for Magnus and helps her get comfortable. "I think you looked great in the dress, even if you only got to wear it for a little while. Seriously." He sits down beside her and rubs his fingers against Greg's foot; Greg pushes his foot against Will's hand but doesn't stop nursing.

[notsocommon]

"I just wanted to make your birthday special," Helen said, gently lifting Gregory up to burp him when he finished. He had a bad habit of wanting to go to sleep straight away instead of burping and then he woke up crying later. Helen wanted to avoid that, if possible.

"I think, if you lay him down very carefully, he may sleep for a few hours," Helen said softly, keeping her voice pitched low and even.