The Academy In My Head

An Almost Forgotten Birthday

Sang paused in the hallway outside the baby's room. She'd come upstairs because she'd heard a muffled sniffle over the baby monitor down in the kitchen. That usually meant Sophia was about to wake up. 

Sometimes, she praised North for figuring out that they needed multiple baby monitors across the house so that she didn't always have to cart a monitor from room to room or be glued to her phone to watch for the baby to wake up. But sometimes she cursed him because there was no way for them to tell each other that someone had gotten to her already once you left the room you'd been in with the volume up.

She smiled when she heard Owen talking to his baby girl. She knew she shouldn't listen but she loved listening and if she knew him the way she knew him, he'd turned off the volume so that no one could overhear him. Which meant she really shouldn't eavesdrop but... Sang took every advantage she could manage in this majorly male house she lived in.

"Ah, my darling baby." Owen spoke to her as he cuddled her close. "Did you have a good nap, sweet pea?" Sophia cooed at him. "Ah yes, diaper change for you." She heard him take her to the changing table.

You know, watching her guys handle every aspect of taking care of the baby was something valuable. She knew that most men didn't take part in everything. Feeding her a bottle, burping, changing diapers... every last one of them didn't hesitate to take her and care for her.

Okay, so there were sometimes it appeared someone lost a bet when it came to a really dirty diaper but Sang was pleased really with most of the time.

"Oh, good girl." Owen praised her. "Thank you for staying still while I changed you." Sophia babbled something at him. "Oh, what an excellent idea. I just happen to be free and would love to rock you for a while."

Sang smirked as she heard the rocking chair creak slightly when he sat in it. Sophia babbled again. "What? A song? Is there no end to your begging, little one?" Owen sighed softly. "Okay, but only for you. Shall we take creative liberties tonight?" he asked the baby. "You know, you're six months old. It's your half birthday." He murmured, still rocking gently. "Even better, you share your half birthday with Daddy." Sophia gurgled. "Oh, you knew that? Of course you did. You're an extremely bright child."

Sang's eyes widened in a panic. Shit! Owen's birthday was today and she'd forgotten all about it. Was it too far away from the birth of the baby to claim pregnancy brain? She pulled out her phone and texted Luke. ~Change of plans. Please bring fried chicken, potato salad and diced peaches for dinner. ~

"All right, lovely... your song." Owen hummed a few bars before deciding to take some creative liberties with one of his favorite Hamilton songs.

Dear Miss Sophia,

What to say to you?

You have my eyes, the name your mother gave,

When you came into the world, you cried, and it broke my heart.

I'm dedicating every day to you,

I never thought I'd get this far.

when you smile, You knock me out, I fall apart.

And I thought I was so smart.

Owen smiled at her, her tiny fist coming up to find a spot in her mouth. It was quite remarkable to look at your child that you never thought you'd have. She was the cutest baby he was sure he'd ever seen. Her eyes had been blue for a long time but in the past month or so, they'd turned into an exact match to the gray of his own eyes. He couldn't wait to see if her hair would stay blonde like Sang's or if it would also darken to match his own hair color.