Room 614, the Arms Hotel, Saturday lunchtime

[momslilassassin]

Turns out that waking up as a woman when your daughter is expecting you to be a man is not the most exhilirating start to a morning-now-heading-into-afternoon.

"Come on, Val," Ben soothed, rocking the sobbing infant as he paced the room for the thousandth time. "It's me. I still feel the same in the Force, I just...look different."

Perhaps philosophical discussions of gender and sex were not the place to start with a distraut one month old. "Ender?"

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[endsthegame]

Ender sighed. He looked tired. He had good reason to look tired. "I can take her," he said, getting up off the bed.

[momslilassassin]

"Thank you, kreetle," Ben mumbled. "I'll make a bottle. Maybe we can get her to drink herself into a milk coma."

[endsthegame]

"You dream such big dreams," Ender said, walking over to take the baby in his arms.

[momslilassassin]

"Fifteen minutes of quiet seems like an impossible thing to achieve right now," Ben said with a tiny smile, kissing Ender's cheek.

[endsthegame]

"And we can't even foist her on your grandfather, because he's probably a girl, too," Ender sighed.

He wandered over to grab one of Val's toys. Maybe that would help?

[momslilassassin]

"Try the squeaky giraffe," Ben said from where he was putting the bottle together.

[endsthegame]

"C'mon, love," Ender whispered to the baby. He took the giraffe and squeaked it. "Please?"

[momslilassassin]

Val stopped screaming for a moment to contemplate the giraffe and Ben forgot to breathe as he handed the bottle to Ender.

[endsthegame]

Now came the difficult part: sliding the bottle into Val's mouth without distracting her and setting her off again.

Ender was also holding his breath.

For a long, long thirty seconds.

After which she sucked the nipple of the bottle into her mouth quietly.

He released his breath.

[momslilassassin]

"Well that was the longest morning of my life," Ben whispered.

[endsthegame]

"We're not done yet," Ender said, watching Val very closely. "She could decide not to go to sleep after food this time."

[momslilassassin]

"Shhhhhh," Ben said. "Don't give her ideas."

[endsthegame]

"Sorry," Ender said quietly, and clung onto the bottle as Val chugged through it.

[momslilassassin]

Ben took a step back in case it was his particular presence that was setting Val off and then sat down on the bed.

[endsthegame]

As the bottle neared empty, Ender slowly began to walk back towards the crib, muttering "please don't cry please don't cry" under his breath.

[momslilassassin]

Ben didn't dare to give Val encouragement through the Force in case that set her off too, and watched as the baby's eyes drooped closed.

[endsthegame]

There had never been a singular human being who put a baby as gingerly down in a crib as Ender did with Val.

He was actively holding his breath as her head touched the pillow...

... and she remained silent.

He stepped away. "Oh, thank god."

[momslilassassin]

"I'm almost tempted to go sit in the hallway just to make sure she stays asleep," Ben whispered.

[endsthegame]

Ender took a few more steps back. "No," he whispered back, "Get on the bed. Get to sleep. Now. While you can."

[momslilassassin]

Ben smiled and snuck to the bed, then patted Ender's pillow. "You too."

[endsthegame]

Ender sighed. Then froze.

But there was no sound from Val.

So he tip-toed towards the bed as fast as he could and sat down on it.

[momslilassassin]

Ben leaned over--sloooowly--and kissed Ender's cheek. "You're a good dad."

[endsthegame]

"Don't talk too loudly," Ender whispered. He curled up against Ben on the bed.

[momslilassassin]

Ben ran his fingers through Ender's weirdly long hair and closed his eyes.

[endsthegame]

Ender slid his arm around Ben's waist. "Love you," he said softly.