love within the silence

fifty-one

(1 and 1/2 YEARS LATER)
(August)

'Hunter, you need to stop throwing your food' I said with a sigh while trying to feed him his fruit. He took the banana and threw it to the floor, I sighed and then took it away from him. He whimpered and then started to cry, I lifted him from the high chair and placed him on the floor. His tears still streaming down his face, he stood up and walked over to me, his arms wrapping round my leg. 'Mama...' he babbled, I lifted him up, resting Hunter on my hip and I gently brushed away the tears that still lingered on his cheeks. His head rested on my shoulder and I kissed his forehead, 'I know my baby boy, I miss daddy too' I whispered to myself.

3 weeks ago Jughead had agreed to go on a job, it was a few towns over and would take a month to finish. Cheryl and Toni has been helping massively with Ally as Hunter was going through a clingy stage.  He called us everyday and a few times a week he will FaceTime us, but we were really starting to miss him now. Hunter wasn't sleeping through the night and ended up with him joining me in the middle of the night and sleeping on my chest. Ally was starting to miss Jughead too, she was starting to carry hotdog everywhere again.

Once I had put both of my babies to bed, I went and sat downstairs on the sofa when my phone rang:

Betty: hello?
Jughead: hi baby
Betty: jug, it's really good to hear your voice
Jughead: it's good to hear yours too, you sound tired betts
Betty: it's Hunter, he's still not sleeping through the night. He really misses you, ally misses you, I miss you. Please tell me you're coming home soon
Jughead: I miss you too sweetheart, I'm sorry this is taking so long but I'll be home before you know it

Just as I went to reply the doorbell rang, I sighed and then said:

Betty: hang on one minute juggie

I placed the phone down on the coffee table and headed towards the door, I opened it and tears sprang to my eyes. 'Hey beautiful' I smiled widely at Jughead who was standing on the doorstep, my arms wrapped around his neck and I wrapped my legs around his waist, hugging him tightly. I placed kisses against his neck and he walked us into the house, his bag dropped by the door and I pulled my head away finding his lips. It was a hard kiss and when I pulled away I said 'you are not allowed to leave for that long again. We missed you too much and Hunter has been a nightmare' Jughead let out a laugh and as if on cue there was crying through the monitor. I let out a sigh and then said 'I'll go grab him' Jughead nodded and then grabbed his bag heading upstairs with me.

I walked into Hunters nursery where he was standing in the cot and crying. I lifted him up and his head rested against my shoulder, I reached into the cot and grabbed his pacifier as well as the teddy bear that Jughead bought for Hunter the day he was born. I walked back into our bedroom and Jughead was sorting out it clothes that were in his bag. I came up behind him and when I got there the smile on his face when he saw his son is something that will stay imprinted in my mind. Hunters head rose from my shoulder and he said 'dadadadada' Jughead smiled and took the little boy who was now reaching for him. Jughead hugged Hunter tightly and I said 'I'm just going to grab him a bottle, see if we can put him down again' he nodded and then moved towards the bed hugging Hunter. I smiled and watched the both of them for a minute before heading downstairs and getting a bottle. When I came back up I heard Hunters laugh, I walked into the room and saw Jughead blowing raspberries against his stomach. I got into bed next to the both of them and passed Jughead the bottle, he happily took it and tested the milk against his wrist before letting hunter have it.

Towards the end of the bottle Hunters eyes had started to close again, Jughead gently took the bottle and reached onto his bedside table and grabbed his dummy. He kissed hunters forehead and slowly moved to put him back to bed, I went with him and watched as he settled him. He turned the baby monitor back on and within 10 minutes he left the room with Hunter fast asleep. I moved and wrapped my arms around his waist, I hugged him tightly and then he said 'I just want to see Ally and then we can go to bed' I nodded and let him head into her room. I watched from the doorway and Jughead carefully sat down on the side of her bed and brushed some hair from her face, she stirred slightly and then he kissed the side of her face. Her eyes opened and when she saw Jughead, the smile that came onto her face melted my heart. She quickly jumped up and into Jugheads arms, he hugged her tightly and then pulled away and signed hi baby, I missed you ally smiled and said I missed you too dada. I walked into the room and I signed to Ally 30 minutes and then daddy will put you back to bed, do you want to talk? Ally nodded eagerly and Jughead carried her into our room where her hearing aids were. Once they were in she started to tell Jughead all about what had happened while he was away and all the funny things Hunter did as well.