Work Text:
His large, calloused hand ran down the gentle swell with a smile. "Hey little one, you're okay in there, right? Mind if your Dad talks to you for a bit?" He licked his dry lips while searching for the right words. "Your Mama is an amazing woman. She's fighting hard to keep you and your sister safe. I.. I didn't mean to upset her or have to leave you'll but I wanted to help keep the three of you safe too. I know things got loud and scary in there a few times but I'm gonna make it better, okay? You just worry about getting big and strong for me and go easy on your Mama. Your Dad's got this." The lines from worry and stress lifted as his grizzled face cracked another smile.
"I'm kind of busted up right now and I'm sorry. I fucked up with your Mama, well. Okay..." Chris fumbled for a moment when he realized he was cursing. Crap. The books said babies can hear in there and he didn't the want their kid popping out of the womb dropping F-bombs like they did all the time. Jill was worse then he was.
Chuckling, he started over. "I meant I messed up with your Mama. I just got scared, and before anyone tells you different, it's okay for guys to get scared. I get scared all the time buddy. If your a boy like your Mama thinks, it's definitly okay buddy. When we brought your sister home I was scared of everything hurting her and we found about you and I don't want to mess up with you either. If your half as cool and tough as your Mama is then I know you'll be okay but I'm gonna do my best too, okay?" He paused as if waiting for his unborn child to answer him, massaging the skin very carefully for fear of being too rough. "If your a girl, that would be amazing. I just want you to be like your Mama. I've been told I'm a stubborn blockhead and maybe not so smart outside a fight but I'll do everything I can for you and your sister. Somehow I'm getting out of this chair so I can be the Dad you both deserve when you get here. I promise." Leaning down, he kissed the place where his hand had been then the top of his tiny girl's head before his lips brushed Jill's pale cheek.
Soft whimpers alerted Chris to his daughter beginning to stir as the light blanket tucked against her back moved when the baby began to fidget and stretch before her minature face shriveled up to unleash a soft cry against her mother's skin. Man, did he wake her? Chris quickly leaned over just enough to scoop her up with his single arm a little awkwardly. It was hard without his left arm and no matter how hard he willed it to move it was still weak and flopped back down. "Easy baby girl, let's not wake Mama up. Daddy's getting it." Finally, he cradled her head and body along his right arm to lift her up from against her source of warmth. When Jill began to stir, he promised her he had it in hopes of his wife going back to sleep.
"Let's let her sleep, baby girl." Jill had fed her an hour ago while they had both been half asleep so it was either her diaper or she was startled. Maybe both. He'd figure it out. Realizing he couldn't hold her and use his working arm to wheel himself, Amari was laid in his lap, cradled between his pajama-clad thighs where she couldn't fall. He wheeled them to her box of diapers and the package of wipes on the low dresser beside several clean onesies because his daughter went through a ton of them. With a diaper laying beside her and pack held between his teeth, he rubbed her tiny chest to calm her down until he could take them back to the bed to lay her down and change her.
Chris nearly dropped the diaper and wipes to protect his daughter's incredibly small head now full of soft black hair when he bumped the edge of his chair against the chest at the foot of the plush king size bed and bit back the growl threatening to escape. Cradling her tiny head still, he focused on calming down. It was hard not to get frustrated with his inability to function normally but remembering the look of fear on his daughter's face was enough to hold that Redfield temper in check. They shouldn't have fought in front of her like that.
"Daddy's got you, sorry about that." Laying the pack and diaper down by Jill's feet, he winced at the lingering pain but could care less as he picked Amari up to lay her down and change her. "No wiggling Munchkin, if this diaper falls off and you spray me we'll have to have a talk." He chuckles, letting go of his frustration at himself when those dark blue eyes fixed on him. She looked just like Jill sometimes, down to her attitude. Looking at them side-by-side you wouldn't know they were unrelated. She didn't need to be, she was loved. Chris loved her so much it scared him when those tiny fingers held onto him or she calmed down when he held her. He was screwed and he knew it and that was okay. "You three are the best decision I ever made. Don't forget that, even when Daddy is being a blockhead like your Mama says." Fastening her diaper, he chucked her sleeper towards the hamper and picked his little girl up to hold her for a while. She was getting heavier, he thought with a proud grin.
"You're going to be able to pick me up pretty soon, Munchkin. Don't grow up too fast on me, we have a lot of fun things I want to do with you and your brother or sister." He was grinning despite the aches and pains as he held her in his muscled arm like she was made of glass. Grabbing his phone from the nightstand beside them, he unlocked it and turned on Spotify at a low volume and the sounds of classic rock filtered through the phone speaker from the playlist he shared with his wife. Jill loved most of the same music he did and he knew it wouldn't wake her. Music was like white noise for her.
He couldn't walk with her like they used to around the apartment but he did wheel her around and talk to her. Chris made a game of checking things out with her and asking what she thought of the place. He would bring her back to Jill if she needed to eat, they were having to start over without the supply of milk from Alcina stored in the freezer so that meant he was forced to wake her if she needed a feed which was nearly every two hours. His daughter was pretty consistent with her demands for the boob and Jill had not ventured into learning to pump milk for her with everything going on. He was still blown away over the way her body was figuring out how to give their daughter and their unborn child what they needed and for all her fears over not getting it right, she was fucking amazing. He wasn't surprised really, Jill always met a challenge head on and boots first. He loved that fierce woman with all his heart and could not be more proud to call her his partner as he watched her learn to be a mother she never had.
Right now he wanted to spend time with his daughter without the current problems seeping into everything. He played with her fingers and toes, sang along off-key (quietly) and pulled out one of the comics from his duffle bag to read to her.
To help her develop her muscles, he would very delicately move her tiny arms and legs, always careful of the stump of mostly healed tissue ending where an identical little foot should have been kicking at his hands when he ran a weathered finger down the tiny sole to tickle it in hopes of getting her to laugh. It broke his battered heart when he saw it because he knew it was going to be hard for her but he also knew neither him nor Jill would let her feel less.
"Stretch all those muscles out baby girl, big stretches like Daddy." He used his good arm to show her how even if he was in pain as his wounds pulled with the movement. It was worth it for her. He knew Amari was going to fall back asleep again soon so he wanted to make the most of the time.
Chris playfully grunted back at his little girl as if they were both having a conversation only for his eyes to water as her tiny foot popped him square in his nose. The sting left his eyes watering and he laughed as quietly as possible before blowing a raspberry on that little foot as Amari gifted her Dad his own smile. "You been going to the gym with your Mama again? She kicks like a donkey." The hulking agent joked with his baby girl as she cooed to him. He would know after countless sessions spent sparring with one another. That gummy smile made his heart ache and Chris knew he would do whatever he had to to make sure she kept it in the years to come.
Oh, his little girl had him wrapped around those teeny, tiny pinkies of hers as he tried to make up for missing so much time with her. An inkling of guilt nibbled at his insides but he reminded himself it had all been to protect her, the baby and Jill. "Daddy's going to make it up to you." He promised his newborn daughter as her tiny blue eyes stared at him before her minature features creased up into a yawn. Those little eyes would get him in trouble one day, he was sure of it as his large thumb rubbed her small temple softly, watching it furrow with another impressive yawn that shook her tiny little frame. "Go to sleep, Daddy's got you." He whispered to his daughter as the baby started to curl up and his finger hooked into the tiny digits by her tired face. Christ, she was still so tiny. Why did kids have to come so small?
So enamored was Chris that he failed to remember how good stretching was for a newborn's digestion that when he lifted her up to rest against his shoulder after changing her that his daughter promptly let one rip right next to his face, her tiny body visibly relaxing from its scrunched pose. The smell of a pungent diaper was worse then any B.O.W. he had ever fought. "I just changed you, Munchkin. Did you really just do that to Daddy?" Explosive was probably the best word for the gust of air from that tiny bottom. "Did you wait for me to get home to start doing that again, huh?" The large man chuckled which soon turned into a low laugh. Some things hadn't changed while he was gone. "Stinker." He could use Dad puns now, right? Move over Burton. "Definitly a fifteen, baby girl." Chris remarked with, his grin fixed firmly in place as he laid his daughter back down to change her for the second time.
Okay, forget that, she was going to need a bath instead as he fumbled to close that diaper before it could get all over the bed when he noticed it had gone up her tiny back. Gonna have to be quick with this one. Lifting her back up as carefully as could manage with his one arm, the smell now permeated their bedroom and woke his wife. Jill's nose began to wrinkle in her sleep and blue eyes cracked open slowly. "Munchkin is famous for those. She burps and farts just like you do, big guy. I'm starting to think she learned it from you." The agent mumbled jokingly in a voice thick and scratchy from sleep as she sat up with help from the pillows piled around her. Back on duty for her. A brief stab of pain pinched her eyes together but it was quickly gone again.
Sighing, Jill massaged the side of her rounding belly to settle Tapeworm when he seemed to protest at the odor too. Those flutters of his were starting to get stronger, more pronounced and it wouldn't be much longer before he was kicking away like his sister. "Oh, I've heard you belch with the best of us, Valentine." Chris fired back teasingly with the familiar banter having returned. "Whatever Redfield, let's deal with our kid's sh-.. crap disaster. I could smell that blowout in my sleep."
Yawning against the back of her hand, Jill swung her legs around to place her bare feet on the rug as her world spun for a fraction of a second before it went back to normal. Waiting for the painful twinge in her left hip to subside. Well, she needed to go again too but it would have to wait until they got Munchkin situated. It had barely been an hour since her last feeding, was her kid just super hungry tonight?
Getting her bearings, Jill moved to the master bathroom to relieve her shrinking bladder after running a bath. May as well have one with her, she would kill two birds with one stone and feed her while they were in there too. The familiar 80's beat of Modern Talking followed her into the large bathroom and Jill resisted the urge to hum along to it. Chris was the dork who sang off key, even when they were shit-faced drunk he couldn't carry a tune, she reminisced with a smile that softened as the agent listened to her longtime partner in the next room attempting to serenade their kid.
----------
If a baby her size could throw tantrums then Jill was pretty damn sure her kid was as she bit back the urge to laugh at Chris's predicament when he looked surprised at the tiny, little hand popping his chin in frustration. "She's got your left hook, that's for sure." She heard him chuckle as he calmed their daughter down. "We'll work on that when you learn to walk, princess. You going to beat me up everyday?"
All those books would probably tell her not to but honestly it was fucking cute and hilarious when Munchkin hid her face and promptly spit up the taste of mashed potato all down his t-shirt after she had managed to push her tiny fist into the plate and suckle her hand clumsily. Snorting, Jill caught the pouch of wipes Leon tossed at her and grabbed several to help wipe the tiny girl's scrunched face and hands before going after the baby puke on Chris's shirt as he struggled to juggle their daughter and clean her small face and hands. "Maybe we should stick to the boob for a little longer, kiddo." Her headache still lingered but the laughter did her good after the last two weeks.
"She loves food, probably more than Chris. Trust me, I know." Jill quipped as Chris casually mentioned that she could clear a pizza and six pack on her own. "You trying to call me fat now, Redfield? I'm carrying your kid, I'm allowed now." A beer would have been great right about now too, damn it. That ship sailed awhile ago sadly, it was worth it but she missed having drinks together. At least Chris quit drinking with her. He was only allowed so many after his benders in Edonia anyway. Jill had put her boot down the minute they got him home from China. They fought too hard for him die of liver failure on her while she was stuck in rehab. Cleaning, Amari's fingers while her husband offered her her pacifier back to placate her, Jill grinned lightly at their team mate while playfully tapping her daughter's nose. "Stubborn from both of us. She's smart all on her own."
"She's got Jill's smarts and attitude and definitly some of her combat skills." Chris added playfully and his wife shook her head at him. She knew he was more serious then he let on, this many years in and he still had heart eyes for her, the big dork. "He's rubbing off on her too, Rolando. She would cry when he was gone if he missed comic time with her. I bet she'll be into video games and sports too, she loves watching him play." The brunette finished softly, sniffing lightly. Jesus, not the hormones this time. Why the hell were her eyes watering? "She sleeps better when he's with her." Who had heart eyes now, Valentine?
The mood was broken when Rolando spoke up again during his own meal, sparing Jill the embarrassment of tears which she swallowed back in hopes of feeling more like herself again. "You could try, Kathy would probably smack you on the back of of the head and give it back to you." Jill answered him humorously with the mental image making her laugh. Kathy Burton was a loving force of nature. "Hey, I had to luck out on something. There's hope Munchkin will learn at least between these two. I gave up learning to cook years ago." She remarked and Chris snuck a kiss on her cheek with a boyish grin. "Claire got tired of macaroni and cheese when we were kids." He laughed heartily, covering his daughter's head and kissing the top of her hair as he held her in his arm. For a moment, he swore he could move his left one but maybe it was wishful thinking. He wanted to if only to hold them both like he used to. It already added to his silent frustration over the recovery time he was stubbornly attempting to speed up.
For now, the man let his team mate take his daughter while she was distracted with one of her many aunts and uncles. Call him selfish but Chris could hold her all day even if his stomach gave him a reminder it was ready for Kathy's cooking as he smelled the mouthwatering aroma of fried food and fresh vegetables. Memories of dragging Jill to the Burton's for Sunday dinners rather than let her sit in that loft and eat takeout made him smile as Jill's eyes landed on him between bites of their meal. Without making a show, her free hand found his left one, threading his limp fingers together carefully and for a moment those fingers could move ever-so slightly to squeeze hers faintly.
"Nice try Rolando, quit bribing my kid. You and Emily better go find your own, we got her fair and square." Jill knew he was kidding obviously as she shot him an amused glare over Chris's bandaged shoulder in response to his teasing before he eventually relinquished their kid to her bouncer. Some of the things she helped Chris pick out and order for her were starting to arrive now and one of the first pieces had to be the bouncer if they wanted her to nap when they weren't holding her. They had a lot of things to replace until their moving container was cleared to ship here assuming it could be.
Munchkin's blanket and bear had been saved but she had been growing out of so much before they escaped now that she was gaining weight. Jill had never thought she would miss a clean bra either and not one scrubbed out in the sink. She was happy stealing her husband's clothes but he didn't wear her cup size, she mused with a smirk. The thought was tempered with the reminder of the innocent people lost however. It was what had brought them here. If it had not been for Alcina, Jill wasn't sure where they would have decided to stay. She couldn't help but wonder how long they had here before they were found again.
Rolando's voice took her away from her darkening train of thought as Jill focused back on the conversation while switching Amari's bouncer on for her. Licking her chapped lips, the agent nodded her agreement at their friend and teammate. "A small one would be kind of nice. The weather is warmer here, I think it would be safe to show Munchkin the water and get some swimming in with you guys. We could use a volunteer for the grill, think we can talk Emily into it? I heard she can make a mean burger." Jill perked up further when he suggested the aquarium. It was a semblance of normalcy they rarely got and both Jill and Chris knew they had to try, especially for their kids. Their daughter was barely old enough to stay awake for more than a couple of hours but she needed this.
"Munchkin might like that, she loves the fish and sea animals on one of her shows." Jill's own fondness for the sea and all it's aquatic life was tainted by memories of her experience with the T-Abyss. Fuck, after years of fighting B.O.W.s, it was difficult to separate her need for vigilance with the thought of having a good time in public anymore and the thought of their kids out in the open for some other crazy to go after scared her way more than Valentine would ever admit. Maybe that made the suggestion of going even more important as the big man beside her would say.
As if sensing her inner conflict, Chris's weak hand struggled to squeeze her own again even if he could barely manage more than a light touch before it came to rest on the softly curve of her belly. "We should take her." He backed the other man's suggestion, hoping to remind his wife they needed something like this with their kids. They needed to give them good memories and not just their parents looking over their shoulders and worrying. He was always better at this part. "I know." Jill finally answered him as the couple came to a silent agreement once she dealt with her own internal conflict. It would have been easier to just hide Amari at home and now she understood how Alcina had felt. They owed this to their kids, though. Didn't mean she was going without some sort of weapon.
"Don't I know it. I won't argue about a nap right now once this one takes hers." Jill jiggled the colorful toy octopus 🐙 above her daughter's hands before allowing her to grip it clumsily and lightly shaking it in her hands to make a game of it for her like Rebecca encouraged her to try to help her develop her motor reflexes. Chris would tickle her toes to distract her before she would do it again when their baby let go of the toy.
Jill was stuffed after so much food and was ready for that nap when Amari was down. Hiding a yawn behind her free hand not dangling the toy over Munchkin, the brunette waved to Leon when he collected his dishes and helped tidy up before leaving with the blood samples after Regina. Jill was trying not overthink any potential problems but like any parent she was worrying about possible outcomes for not only Munchkin but Tapeworm. Rebecca promised her he was doing great after last time but Jill never trusted her luck. Amari had come so far from the half-starved baby that had been left abandoned when they found her four weeks ago. What was she going to do if something was wrong with either of them? As if on cue, the baby began fussing in her bouncer, clearly fighting her sleep. Letting Chris lift her with his good arm, Jill slid her hands under his and lifted the grizzling little girl into her own. Her blue eyes began to water when her kid started to drift off against her as if she had been waiting the whole time and fuck, no crying Valentine, come on.
The brunette nuzzled her face into her kid's thickening hair when the baby burrowed into her, making herself comfortable. It wasn't long before mother and daughter were out like a light and thankfully no nightmares this time. Bailey had climbed up onto the sofa to take her place beside her mistress and human pups as always and soon the pitbull was snoring loudly alongside them.
--------------
The next two days were as close to peaceful as one could hope for, they had no way of knowing it was just the calm before yet another storm though Jill herself shouldn't be surprised. For the first time in over two weeks, they were just a normal family. She stole Chris's shirt and shorts and waded into the huge pool on the patio to join Chris for his first time doing water therapy with Regina while Claire had joined them to keep Munchkin occupied though the redheaded Redfield did dip her tiny foot in the water and playfully cheered her brother on with her when Jill insisted on helping him through the therapy exercises. It was a tentative way to see how the baby girl handled the water before they took her in. Amari loved her bedtime baths but this was much bigger and Regina assured both parents that babies were naturally able to learn to swim fairly well even when Chris and Jill still seemed leery about it.
It was funny how the roles reversed, he had been super nervous about anything with their daughter and now Jill was starting to become the same way, maybe more after her kidnapping. After therapy, the three girls enjoyed sunbathing on the patio with Chris playing with his daughter on her blanket and safely in the shade to help build her own tiny muscles up. Well, until she fell asleep with his finger as a pacifier and he didn't have the heart to move her so he just watched her sleep. He had moved his hand again, in fact it the was the one currently hanging from his little girl's mouth comically. It was the encouragement he needed to keep going. He was going to pick her up and take her swimming at some point, without being a busted wreck like this.
--------------
--------------
Author's Note: This is only a snippet of a scene. It will be a few more weeks until I have the first chapter ready with a hectic work schedule. Until then guys. 👋