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?"

Comments

[momslilassassin]

"Please," Ben whispered, barely breathing as Val snuffled to herself, let out an enormous burp, and settled.

[endsthegame]

"Thank god," Ender mumbled, curling into Ben a little more and attempting to go back to sleep.

[momslilassassin]

Ben had already fallen back asleep--soldier habits worked just as well in fatherhood, it turned out.

[endsthegame]

Really made you think.

Ender's soldier training didn't kick in so fast this time, as now his brain kept counting Val's breaths.

It quieted after a while, and he could go back to sleep. For a bit.

[momslilassassin]

Ben's hand was rubbing circles in Ender's back as Ben slept sitting straight up. His eyes opened just before Val started crying again.

[endsthegame]

Ender groaned and then whacked his head (gently) against the pillow.

[momslilassassin]

"I've got her," Ben whispered, kissing the top of Ender's head. "I'll take her for a coffee run. You nap."

If Ben thought being in public was going to stop Val from screeching, he had a rude awakening waiting for him.

[endsthegame]

"You're going to take an ornery baby out on a walk?" Ender mumbled. "Is that a good idea?"

[momslilassassin]

"I'll take her down by the dock. Hardly anyone's except probably Bucky down there, so she can yell without bothering everybody," Ben said. "The movement might get her to nod back off, too."

Way to think positively, Ben!

[endsthegame]

Ender let out a sigh. "Okay," he muttered, because he really was that tired. "But I'll take her if she's still awake after that."

[momslilassassin]

"Deal," Ben murmured, kissing Ender's forehead. "I love you even when you don't look like yourself."

[endsthegame]

"Good to know," Ender mumbled, though sleepiness took half the teasing out of it. "Be careful."

[momslilassassin]

"Always," Ben said, tucking the sheets up around Ender before getting Val settled in her baby stroller (that probably also could fly and defend itself because Ben). "Back in twenty minutes, hopefully."

[endsthegame]

Ender mumbled something and immediately turned over to faceplant in Ben's pillow.

He needed that nap.

[momslilassassin]

Ben grabbed an extra bottle, three diapers and the squeaky giraffe (and the baby, yes), and went out the door, closing it quietly behind him.

Val started screeching halfway down the hallway.

[endsthegame]

The sound was enough to make Ender open one eye again - it was instinctive by now.

Then he pulled the blankets over his head and lapsed into an exhausted sleep.

[momslilassassin]

Val fell back to sleep five minutes into their circuit around the island. Ben kept his steady pace and his slightly off-key version of "Dance, Dance Little Ewok," for the trip before finally stopping at the Perk for two enormous coffees and heading back to the room.

He opened the door as silently as he could.

[endsthegame]

Unusually for him, Ender didn't jerk awake at the noise or the sudden presence.

He was still sleeping quietly, face pressed against Ben's pillow.

[momslilassassin]

Ben smiled softly at Ender and kept the stroller moving to keep Val sleeping as he sipped from his coffee.

[endsthegame]

It took Ender five minutes to register Ben's presence in the room.

He flopped over onto his back and squinted through the fuzzy permeating his vision. "Ngh."

[momslilassassin]

"Coffee?" Ben murmured, holding out the cup.

[endsthegame]

Ender waved his hand in the cup's general direction.

Yes, coffee.

[momslilassassin]

Ben handed it over with a grin. "Love you."

[endsthegame]

Ender didn't echo that "love you" until he had that coffee firmly in his grasp, but then he sighed it with conviction.

He took a sip. "Val?"

[momslilassassin]

"Out pretty hard," Ben murmured. "She hasn't made a peep in ten minutes."