#but now that quinnie is a wake i must sleep

[huggybearhughes43]

anything quinny based on the song 'more hearts than mine' ?

More hearts than mine

Quinn Hughes x Fem! Reader

Warnings- FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF

Summary- Quinn’s nervous about meeting readers family in her home town

Word count- 1.3k

I can't wait to show you where I grew up

Walk you 'round the foothills of my town

Probably feel like you've been there before

After hearing all the stories I've been telling you

For six months now

Quinn Hughes is the man I’ve been talking to my family about non stop since I met him. We’d been dating for six months and since he has a game there tomorrow, I’ve convinced him to meet my family back in Raleigh. He’s been wandering around my apartment in circles for an hour, trying to talk himself up. In a way I thought it was cute how nervous he was. I reassured them that no matter what they were going to love him but no matter what I said it didn’t help.

Ever since the day we met I’ve been telling him stories from back home. How my friends from high school tease me at every given moment, how my sister flies to Vancouver every summer to visit, how my parents cook a feast every time someone visits no matter who. He knows basically every detail of my childhood, every friend, every ex, every enemy. He knows all of it. He knows the road I grew up on, the house that my parents still live in. Quinn knows about the swimming hole I used to swim in every summer and he knows about the time I started crying because a fish touched me. Which to this day, my family still jokes me for.

For me, I was deathly excited to show him where I grew up. I wanted to show him every road I rode my bike down, show him the places I’d sneak out to with my sisters. And more than anything I was excited to introduce him to my little sisters, the same little sister who have been gawking since they found out I’m dating a famous hockey player. I know my dad will like him, they share the same interest in boating. The second Quinn brought up his lake house my dad would be all in. Then my mom? Well, Quinn’s planning to buy her flowers which will win her over instantly.

We'll probably have to sleep in separate bedrooms

Pack a shirt for church because we'll go

I'm not trying to scare you off but

I just thought that we should talk a few things out

Before we hit the road

Even with my sister’s husband, our parents make them sleep in two separate rooms. My ma says she doesn’t want anything more than a single peck under the roof of her home. Ma thinks that gods watching her and her children in everything we do. It’s sweet and I’d understand for boyfriends but husbands are a bit of a stretch, the thought makes me laugh. On Sunday mornings Ma and Pa wake us up at eight, she says it’s the lords day so we must look the best for him.

I sit Quinn down before we go to bed, his hands are practically shaking. I laugh and press a reassuring kiss to his lips. “Ma will want you to go to church on Sunday, Sunday is the day where no one can curse, argue, or even look at someone the wrong way. I packed an outfit for church in your bag just in case you forgot.” I run a hand through his hair. “It’s okay, I promise.”. We go to bed early that night, preparing for the flight with his team early in the morning. Quinn finally settles down, his face cuddled into my chest as I scratch his head with one hand and his back with the other.

If I bring you home to mama

I guess I'd better warn ya

She falls in love a little faster than I do

And my dad will check your tires

Pour you whiskey over ice and

Take you fishing but pretend that he don't like you

Oh, if we break up, I'll be fine

But you'll be breaking more hearts than mine

In the morning as we get ready I remind him that the second he brings my mom flowers that she’ll practically fall in love with him. I tell him that just because he won’t have his car with him doesn’t mean my dad won’t ask for pictures, he’ll nit pick details on it but he means well. My dad will try to get him drunk, ask him details to make sure he has a clear intent with me as his girlfriend. I remind him to act like he likes fishing even though I know he doesn’t, my dad will make him fish until he likes it. I don’t tell him all of my thoughts, though. I don’t tell him that after this trip if we were to break up, he’d break my families hearts as well.

The plane ride goes well but the nervousness got back to his system in the car ride over to my parents home. I hold his hand in mine, reminding him what I’ve told him over and over. My younger sister rings my phone and I answer. The FaceTime showing her and my other little sister. They cheer when they see me in the car and explain that my Ma and Pa are so excited to meet Quinn. They also complain about how my mom made them clean the house for him. One complains specifically that she never cares for the house to be clean when her husband visits from the army.

My sister's gonna ask a million questions

Say anything she can to turn you red

And when you meet my high school friends

They'll buy you drinks and fill you in

On all the crazy nights I can't outlive

The second Quinn and I walk through the door, my sisters run up to him and start asking questions non stop. ���What’s it like being famous” and “you better win against the Hurricanes tomorrow” were my favorites, made me laugh a bit. My youngest sister, at the ripe age of twelve tells Quinn he’s the most attractive Hughes brother, no shame and just a huge grin on her face. Quinn coughs and stutters out a ‘thanks’ before staring at me wide eyed. Ma and Pa run to the door and tell my sisters to give him space. Quinn was thankful for it and cheesily smiled at he handed her the roses. Ma gawks and tells me I found a good one before she runs off to find a vase to put the flowers in, my dad introduces himself then follows short after.

Ma invited a few of my high school friends over for the day, wanting me to catch up with them. My face turned to a neat red the second they walked in. Quinn finally cracks a laugh as they sit down and start telling the most embarrassing stories about me. They tell him about the time I tripped and fell in the middle of the lunch room and had to walk around school with a huge spaghetti stain on my shirt for the rest of the day. They also tell him about how I used to bribe the jrotc kids to be disrespectful to their instructors for pure entertainment

Pa grilled steak for supper, Quinn says it’s the best he’s ever had. My dad congratulated himself for that. Ma breaks the saddening news that we’d be sleeping in different rooms, at least until my sister’s husband gets here. I silently laugh at the way my sister whines, knowing Ma never trusted her husband because he doesn’t believe in the lord. Quinn and I stand at my childhood bedroom door as we bid goodnight. “I told you they’d love you.” “I know, baby.” He kisses me goodnight. We both say goodnight and he leaves to his room.

What I don’t tell him is that if we break up, it wouldn’t only be my heart broken, it would be more hearts broken than mine.

[carlsainz]

ESRHLDJSG OKAYYY

this is really weird and specific but how cute would a rainy or snowy day inside after a really rough game. Like lets say the Canucks had a double OT the previous night or something, and quinn came over to your place after the game. Athletes get super sore after games, so you pull out all the stops to make sleep as comfortable as possible. With the chilly air outside, a space heater is a must alongside a heating pad to hot water bottle after a hot shower. In the morning you make shitty coffee in your $20 mr coffee machine and make something super easy for breakfast like oatmeal or eggs while quinny sleeps in.

lets say that the weather is so bad that the Canucks or other team have to cancel the game that was planned for the night. so a few minutes later q wakes up thinking hes super late to morning skate, and is scrambling to get into the bathroom half dressed as he tried to get ready for the rink. you tell him to take a mf breather and go back to bed, and things are cancelled. now now now what would q want to do the rest of the day

-q anon

BESTIE IM DYING!!!!! THIS IS SO CUTE I LOVE IT

i bet he would want to stay in bed all day long, maybe watch some movie or cartoon with you but it would be a very lazy day for sure

[catholicjinx]

Our conversation has ended and now I’m sad

i know :(

[morgansyorkie]

Too Afraid of Losing You ~ Nolan Patrick

Summary: You’re a med student and you had to graduate early due to the Corona Virus pandemic happening in the Philadelphia area. You have been working insane hours and the exhaustion from it all has definitely took a toll not only on you, but on your boyfriend Nolan Patrick well. You both have come to realization on truly how each of you mean to one another and how much you need one another during this difficult time.

Word Count: 3,660 

Disclaimer: this is my first writing that I am posting, I hope that you all in enjoy it and would love to get any kind of feed back. Thank you :) Also thank you to @quinny-boy-hughes​ and @kravistonecny​ for giving my the courage to write and post this!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Who would have thought that two months ago your normal life as a med student was going to change, but change in a way you never thought could happen. Sleeping was starting to become more and more difficult nor it never came at all. You frequently found yourself tossing and turning throughout the night or during the day depending on your crazy schedule. The world as you knew it was changing and not in a good way, your school decided to let all medical students graduate early if they chose to due to the pandemic that was happening here in America.  

Sixteen hours...sixteen hours later you were finally walking into your apartment in downtown Philadelphia feeling completely exhausted and worn out. Your shift was only supposed to be from 7 pm to 7 am a normal twelve hour nurse-based shift, but with the amount of cases that were pilling in overnight, your team had to work overtime to make sure there was enough room for everyone coming in. You quickly kicked your shoes off and headed straight to the bathroom so you can remove your uniform and jump into the hot scolding shower. As you were removing your clothing you noticed a note and a single red rose laying on the countertop of the sink. “You’re so amazing and I’m so proud of you” Love always Nolan

As exhausted as you were, you couldn’t help but smile at the little gesture that your beyond amazing boyfriend Nolan has done for you. Nolan is your absolute everything in this world, he has seen you go through so much while attending med school and knowing that your graduating year had to be cut short due to the Corona Virus outbreak put a toll on the both of you. He was looking forward to watching you walk across the stage and finally getting that diploma that you’ve worked so damn hard for. He was looking forward for after graduation to settle down some and enjoy sometime together and maybe start planning your guys future together before you landed your official nursing job at University of Penn. He was even in talks to the guys about proposing to you when the time was right, but now that’s all thrown out the window due to this insane virus that no one has control over.

Once you got out of the shower, you changed into some sweats and one of Nolan’s hoodies that he totally sprayed his cologne with overnight to make sure that it smelled exactly like him. You walked out of the bathroom and was surprised to see Nolan still spread out in your guys bed peacefully sleeping. Must have been a long night of video games, if he is still sound asleep at this time of the day. As much as you desperately needed sleep you didn’t want to disrupt your boyfriend so you headed towards the spare bedroom and crawled under the blankets. You turned to lay on your side but the scarring on your face made you jolt some, but after a while the cooling of the pillowcases felt good against your beat-up face.  

Nolan rolled over and looked at his phone which had a bunch of notifications that he could care less about, he saw that it was almost noon. He opened his text’s and saw that the last text from you was around eleven in the morning stating you were finally clocking out and heading home. But it’s almost been an hour since that text and he doesn’t understand why you’re not home lying in bed next to him. He got up and walked out of the room “Y/N? Y/N you home”? He asked in a low mumble tone. When there was no response, he got worried, he was about to grab his phone to call you when he noticed the guest bedroom door slightly closed and the bag with your scrubs in it laying out in the hall way. Seeing the bag out in the hall way made his nerves calm down a bit, he softly opened the guest bedroom door and saw you peacefully laying in the bed sleeping. He was glad to have you home safe, but he would be lying if he wasn’t a little hurt for the fact that you were sleeping in the guest bed instead of next to him in your guys bed.

You were finally getting some good sleep for once until you heard the loud ringing coming the night stand next to you. You sat up and rubbed your eyes a few times before answering the phone.  

“Hello?” You answered still half a sleep.  

“Y/N” I am so so sorry to wake you; I know how worn out you must be but I need you to come in for another overnight shift tonight. We just got about another 100 or so cases that rolled in from the time that you left and it’s getting out of hand here. We are going to need all hands-on deck tonight and tomorrow.” Your boss explained to you.  

You had no choice, you had to go in this is what you signed up for. Well not this exactly, but you knew that becoming a nurse meant you were going to have some really tough days and nights.

“Yes, of course I’ll be there for shift change at seven tonight” You said in mid-stretch and getting ready to hop out of bed since it was just pass three thirty in the afternoon.  

“Ugh thank you so much Y/N see you later hun.” Your boss said quickly and hung up

You walked out of the bedroom and headed towards the living room and kitchen area. You might as well start planning on cooking a big meal since you don’t know when the next time you will be able to eat a proper meal next. You saw Nolan sitting on the couch with his gaming headset on, trying his best not to yell into the mic at the person on the other end which was most likely Travis and maybe Carter.

“Dude Trav what the fuck are you doing? You just shot me I am on your team you stupid idiot, such a dumbass, god you are so fucking bad at Call of Duty.” Nolan said into his headset.  

You couldn’t help but laugh to yourself and shake your head at the site of Nolan. You walked over and leaned over the back of the couch to run your hand through Nolan’s hair and give him a quick kiss on the cheek before heading into the kitchen.  

“Hey guys, I gotta go.” Nolan said as quickly as he could before shutting down the game and throwing his headset onto the coffee table.

You’d just finished getting out some pots and pans to start preparing a meal of spaghetti and meatballs when a pair of familiar strong arms wrapped themselves around your torso and a nose nuzzled into your neck.  

“Done your game already.” You said giggling.  

“Why were you in the spare bedroom?” Nolan questioned, as he spun you around so he could properly kiss you.

“I slept in the guest room because you took up the whole bed and you looked so damn cute and peaceful that I didn’t want to disrupt that. It's been so hard for me to even get a good night’s and in this case a good day’s worth of sleep lately so when I was done showering and found you sprawled out, you looked so peaceful. That I didn’t have the heart to ruin your beauty sleep in case I couldn’t fall asleep.”

I appreciate that babe…but I missed you.” Nolan breathed. “Was worried that something happened to you or that something had happened at the hospital.”

“Nah…never.” You insisted. “Not when I have you here to come home to after a long exhausting shift at work.”  

With Nolan’s arms bringing you closer to him and him resting his head over your shoulder you sighed softly.

“Baby, what’s wrong and why are you cooking now? I thought that we were just going to snuggle and relax tonight and order some take out.” Nolan said as he played with your hair

“Plans changed...” You said barely above a whisper

“Y/n? What’s going on?” Nolan asked while stepping next to you so he can get a good read at the expression on your face. He knows how exhausted, worn out and beat up you have been lately. Seeing all of scars on your face every time you walk through that door reminds him how serious this virus actually is, it reminds him how scared he is that you are on the front lines during this time and how he doesn’t exactly know what you are battling every day, hour and minute.

“My boss called...hundreds of more cases came flooding in after I left the hospital, we need all hands-on deck. So, I have to head back down to the hospital later for another overnight shift.” You spoke softly as you pour the pasta into the boiling water and went to the freezer to grab the bag of meatballs.

“Y/n...no you were supposed to have the rest of the evening off, you weren’t supposed to go back into work until tomorrow morning. We were finally supposed have a relaxing night together, I feel like I don’t get to see you anymore.” Nolan said grabbing your hand squeezing it tight afraid that he might never get another relaxing night with you again.

“Patty, trust me I more than anyone in this world want that. I just want to crawl onto the couch and in your lap and just wish this horrible nightmare of a virus away, but it’s not like that. It’s getting worse by the hour and minute it seems like now and I just can’t say no. I just can not just not show up when there are higher doctors and nurses out there who never really get chance to go home and see their families and loved ones.” You said squeezing his hand back and kissing his soft lips to reassure him how much you love him.

“Here why don’t I finish dinner and we can sit outside on the balcony and enjoy some fresh air…” Nolan said picking up the ladle. “Then we can have a little cuddle session before you have to leave for the night.”

“‘Deal.” You said in agreement, while quickly rising up onto your tippy toes to plant a kiss onto Nolan’s lips before grabbing the place settings for outside. Being a med student wasn’t easy, but it was certainly easier with Nolan by your side the whole entire time. Now being a freshly new nurse isn’t easy either especially during this pandemic time, but again it was certainly a lot easier with Nolan by your side.

Nolan brought out dinner and you two just shared the moment that you were in. Eating a great dinner together while enjoying each other’s company and looking off into the cities sun. Every now and then you would glance over and give Nolan an adorable look and smile. He would try to give you the same reassuring glance back, but you knew there was something off with him. His eyes didn’t have that sparkle or shine to them like they normally do and it worried you.

After dinner, you joined Nolan in the lounge chair that he was sitting on and crawled in between his legs so your back was snuggled up to his chest and he could tightly wrap his arms around you.

“I can’t wait for this new normal to be over. I can’t wait to actually get my diploma and hopefully have an actual ceremony or at least party to celebrate my hard work with our friends and family. I can’t wait to see what an actual regular day of work is going to look like, a day where I don’t have to wear protective gear 24/7 and have to social distance myself from everything and everyone that I love.”

“Can’t wait for that too...” Nolan said barely above a whisper

Nolan’s voice alarmed you, you spun around so you were facing him. You looked up at Nolan and could see a sea of tears forming in eyes and a few slightly falling down his face.

“Nolan, baby are you okay, baby what’s wrong you’re worrying me.” You said grabbing onto his shoulder and running your hand through his hair.

“No..I’m not okay y/n... I’m scared...I’m scared as hell.” He said mumbling  

“Scared about what Nols? Baby please talk to me; you’re really worrying me here. I have never seen you like this.” You said wiping a tear away from his face

“I’m scared to death of losing you Y/N. Ever since this virus has gotten more and more out of control it has frightened me more each and every single day. Every time you walk out of our door it kills me not knowing if that will ever be the last time that I get to see your face, hold you and kiss you. I’m so damn afraid that one of these days you aren’t going to be walking through those doors again and right into my arms. I can’t imagine my life without you Y/N, I’m so incredibly proud of you don’t get me wrong you’re a fucking super hero in my eyes but you’re also my girlfriend who I’m madly in love with who one day I hope to make my wife and the mother of my children. It’s like I need that reassurance to know that every time you leave to fight this virus that you’ll be able to come home back to me. It's why I have arguments with my mother on daily occasions about why I decided to stay here instead of flying back home because of the season being postponed. It’s because in reality I could never live with myself if I did that and god forbid something happened to you and I wasn’t here and I couldn’t get to you! It’s why I leave you little notes with a rose in the bathroom so when you come home you know that I was thinking about you the whole entire time you were on the front lines at work. As much as you hate not being able to sleep properly lately, I kind of love it because I can be there to protect and comfort you through it all y/n. I feel better when I have you tightly in my arms, I feel better when I’m able to look at you from a far, I feel better when I can play with your hair and kiss your lips. Over all I’m a better person when I am with you, if you don’t believe ask Travis and Carter, they have heard it all.” Nolan said full on breaking down at this point

You have never seen Nolan this vulnerable before, in all the years that you have been dating. It killed you to see this side of him, you never realized how much this was also affecting him until now.

You grabbed his face with both of your hands and kissed him like you have never kissed him before. You pulled away and leaned your forehead against his and wiped away a few more tears. “Nolan Patrick, I promise you I will always come back home to you.” You said looking straight into those gorgeous eyes that you love so much.

You looked at the clock and saw that it was 7:05 in the morning, you were hoping to run into your boss so she can give you the all clear to head home. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen until a few hours and a break down alone in the hall way later. Your one coworker made sure to give Nolan an update every so often to let him know and that you were alright even though you weren’t. But she didn’t want to worry him anymore than he already was, plus she did it since you were too busy running around and forgot to leave your phone on the charging station to charge.

One O’clock...One O’clock in the afternoon that is the time that the clock read when you were able to finally clock out for the day. An eighteen-hour shift was way more than enough that you could ever possibly handle. You looked into the mirror and could barely recognize the woman staring back at you. It wasn’t you, this woman had dark bruised circles and lines around and under her eyes. This woman had broken and cracked lines on her cheek bones, where her mask had laid and dug into her. The only good thing that is coming out from these past horrific days is that your boss was giving you the next few days off to rest and compose yourself.

You drove yourself home and the moment you parked your car in the garage exhaustion took a new total on you. You didn’t member the elevator ride up to your floor, you didn’t remember walking down the hall to your apartment door and noticing all of the lovely and cute little notes that the children on your floor made for you and hung on the front door for you to see every day. You didn’t remember walking in and taking off your shoes and heading straight to the bathroom to take your routine hot shower. The only thing that brought you back to normal thought and time was the strong arms of Nolan wrapping you up tight into his arms while leaning next you on the cool bathroom floor.

“Shh, let it all out baby. It’s okay y/n I’m here..I’m here. Just please talk to me.” Nolan said while kissing your hair and rubbing your shoulder

“In the eighteen hours that I have worked I have seen way too many deaths than I ever wanted to see in my life Nolan. People are dying alone..because their loved ones aren’t allowed to come in contact with them. Its people of all ages young and old. Some I stood by their side because it broke my heart that they were dying alone. I broke down in a hallway at work, because I don’t understand how we are going to continue to fight this. You aren’t the only one who is completely scared to death, I am too. I am scared just as much as you are about not being able to return home and being able to crash into your arms. Nurses are already starting to get tested for the virus in different departments and floors and I’m so worried that soon we will have to be tested. I’m trying not to think of the worse, but what if I get tested and I’m positive I can’t imagine never being able to see or talk to you again. You deserve so much better”  

Nolan brushed a piece of hair behind your ear, brushed the falling tears away from your cheek with his thumb and turned your face so you were looking right at him. “Don’t think like that baby, you are one strong woman. Each and every single day I find more and more reasons to fall in love with you. This pandemic made me realize to appreciate and love the little things in life more, to hold and adore your loved ones a lot closer. I can’t imagine what you and your staff are going through day in and day out but know that I will always be here waiting for you, so I can ease your mind and try my best to take it all away from you. If anyone deserves better it’s you y/n, I’m just a bonehead professional hockey player. But you, you are a talented young woman changing the world every single time you out walk of this apartment. Here come with me, I have something I want to show you and I think that it will make you feel a lot better.” Nolan said picking you up and carrying you into your guys bedroom and placing you onto the bed.  

Nolan took out his iPad and handed it over to you and started playing a video for you. It was a video that the entire Flyers team put together thanking you for everything that you are doing during this crazy and difficult time. Even Gritty made a special appearance for you in the video which told made you light up and giggle. They even went on and talked about how such an amazing person you are and how much you mean to not only Nolan but to them as well. They were so grateful and thankful for you and it warmed your heart so much to hear them say it. The video ended with Nolan obviously getting emotional about much he is so proud of you and how he can’t believe that you were willing to get your degree early and risk your entire life just to save others without any hesitation.

Once the video ended you looked at Nolan and thanked him, this is what you needed to help you get through these times.

“I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us, if we can get through this together than we sure can get through anything in life together.” You said leaning in and closing the gap between you with a kiss

“As long as I have you in my arms, I don’t care where life take us. I realized that as long as you’re in my life that I have officially won no what matter. You’re my absolute everything y/n and I wouldn’t change it in a heartbeat.” Nolan said cupping your cheek and kissing you passionately  

Nolan was right, as long as you had each other you knew you were always going to be safe and have strong arms to come decompose home too.  

[hiyo-silver]

Amber

chapter three and I promise this is all I’ve got to post for a while

other losers are introduced in this!

1, 2, 3 on ao3

The Kaspbrak-Denbrough family awakes again the next morning, having actually slept the entire day away. Bill wakes feeling worlds more alive than he had before. Bill is actually the first to get up the next day, shaking Eddie awake, “Mmm babe how long was I out?”

Eddie had woken up at some time the day before, having he and Quinn eat dinner but not wanting to wake Bill, since sleeping is probably doing him good. He just ordered pizza, something easy and not overly taxing.

“You’ve been asleep for at least 24 hours, you should shower,” he says softly, rubbing Bill’s back slowly but firmly.

Bill nods softly in agreement, “Mkay,” he says sleepily. He sits up and gets out of bed, grabbing another pair of pajamas. He disappears into the bathroom to take a hot shower, the heat feels soothing overall.

He comes out feeling refreshed and completely awake again, almost human feeling again. He walks back into the bedroom, dressed and relaxed. He sees Eddie looking stressed and typing furiously on his phone.

Eddie looks up quickly when Bill finally walks in, “Bill,” he says quickly, “Bev had her baby.”

It takes a second for the information to sink in for Bill. when it finally does he’s already slipping his socks on his feet and shoving his sneakers on without even untying the laces. “We gotta go be there for it,” he insists.

Eddie nods in agreement, “Yeah, you sure you up to it?” he asks worriedly.

“Yeah, I feel worlds better, besides, this is a big deal,” Bill insists further, quite persuasive once he’s fully awake.

“Yeah, of course,” Eddie says softly, grabbing his own shoes and socks. He pulls his on a little less hastily than Bill had.

“Hey, Quinnie, can you get your shoes on?” Bill asks gently, grabbing his wallet and his phone, putting his watch on quickly.

“Yeah, why are we rushing?” She asks, she creases her eyebrows in worry, looking incredibly confused.

“Auntie Beverly is having her baby,” Bill smiles softly and starts walking to the living room and then to the front room to grab his coat off the hook where Eddie had put it away once he fell asleep on Monday.

Eddie grabs two water bottles and fills Quinn’s sippy cup with orange juice, wanting them to at least drink something if they were going to leave the house early and without having breakfast.

Once they have everything situated and Quinn is strapped into her car seat, Eddie made Bill at least take some Dayquil before leaving, just in case. Eddie drove, not trusting Bill with his car as much as he trusts himself, he takes good care of his car.

They arrive at the hospital and then they wait. And wait. Until finally a joyous Ben comes bursting out of the room, “I have a daughter,” he says quickly, stumbling over his own words with his own giggles getting in the way.

Both Bill and Eddie stand up immediately to envelop Ben in a congratulatory hug. “I’m so happy for you,” Eddie whispers softly before they all pull away.

Ben leads them into the room where Beverly is laying calmly in the hospital bed, although her face is still red from crying. But otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to tell, she looked serene with the child wrapped in a white blanket in her arms. She cooed softly and stroked the baby’s cheek, impressed with her body’s ability to make something so beautiful.

Bill and Eddie walk over, Quinn standing in the corner, not sure what to make of the situation. Beverly smiles softly at them, exhausted from the effort. “Does she have a name yet?” Bill asks.

“Amber,” Beverly says softly, smoothing the blanket gently again. “You hair is winter fire, January embers, my heart burns there too,” she recites the reasoning behind the name softly, stroking the baby’s hair, which already had an obvious tint of red.

“That’s a really pretty name,” Eddie says, Bill responding with a small nod. Ben and Beverly seem over the moon about the new baby and Bill and Eddie couldn’t be happier for them.

“Congratulations, Bev,” Bill adds, remembering how happy it had been when they finally officially adopted Quinn, he assumes this feeling must be similar. Although different, he almost feels bittersweet about the fact that he wouldn’t feel what Ben is feeling right now, but he also doesn’t think he’d ever want to change anything about his life.

“Thanks, Bill, now I’ll know how being a parent is, eh? You’ll have to help me through, I’ve never changed a diaper before, except maybe Quinn’s a few times,” Bev chuckles lightly.

“Yeah, I’m here to help, especially since you watch my kid all week,” he chuckles, beckoning for Quinn to get out of the doorway and come closer to see the baby.

The small girl walks up to him, hiding a little behind Bill. “She’s really small.”

“Yeah, babies tend to be,” Bill chuckles.

Soon, Stan and Mike come bursting into the hospital room with a gift bag and their twins in tow. “Bev, Ben!” Mike says enthusiasticallly, handing the bag to Ben since Beverly’s arms were already holding the only gift he really wanted to hold.

Bev passes the baby carefully to Mike, the baby still asleep. Mike coos quietly, remembering when Andy and Jenny were this small, scared to hurt her just because he’s so much bigger than her.

Stan gasps a little in surprise, “oh!” he takes her carefully, “Hi little baby, please don’t cry at me I still don’t know how to deal with that,” he says jokingly, though his voice quivers fearfully.

Eddie, who works in the NiCu sometimes, laughs lightly at how two grown men are so scared of such a tiny human. Though, he can’t talk, for he is scared of spiders that are much much smaller. “Stan, babies cry, it’s fine,” he says softly as he takes the baby from him gently, not sure that Stan was supporting her neck enough.

Quinn had long since attached herself to Bill’s leg, having never really been faced with this type of situation. It wasn’t anxiety over her parents friends, she knows them all well. Definitely not anxiety over the hospital, Bill was a little protective over her and would often at least bring her here to Eddie if Eddie wasn’t already home. Maybe it could even be distressing to her that Beverly didn’t look as comfortable as she always does, but the most likely cause was the baby that was currently in her dad’s arms.

Bill looks down at her, russling her blonde locks with a little chuckle, “Cat got your tongue, chatterbox?” he teases, lifting her up into his arms to level her with the baby, trying to make her less intimidated.

Quinn studies the sleeping expression, how Amber’s face is red and wrinkly, looking back up at her papa with confusion, “I thought babies were supposed to be cute?”

Bill suppresses a chuckle, “they are, you just have to remember that they’re babies and not big people, you looked like that as a baby,” he smiles, trying to give her a close enough explanation.

She seems to accept the answer, studying the smaller child with a fascination only a child’s eyes can hold. At one moment it seems to click and the fascination turns more to caring, reaching out to poke the baby’s cheek, to which Bill responds by pulling her hand back.

“Hey, hey,you shouldn’t touch her face unless you’ve washed your hands,” he explains, moving away because it seemed Mike was going to hold her again.

“You look-,” Mike pauses, adjusting how he was supporting her neck at Eddie’s instructions, “Just like your mom,” he smiles, looking over at Bev with a bright expression.

Bev smiles back reassuringly, looking down at Ben’s thumb stroking her hand, a certain comforting feeling in the surreal moment she was in.

The serene was suddenly interrupted by a loud and lanky man bursting through the door, “AY! And her Uncle Dick is here,” he grins, handing a bag to Ben, obviously a bottle of wine of some sort, “For the m’lady who hasn’t been able to drink for nine months,” he grins, a hint of his British guy voice sneaking into his words. “Sorry I’m late to the party y’know, walk of shame, wanted to at least brush my teeth for you guys,” he smiles with no actual hint of shame.

“Richie,” Bill grins, walking over to him with a proud pat on the back with the hand that was not holding his daughter, “not around the kids, but was she at least pretty?” he whispers the second part with a mischievous grin.

“Ah she was gorgeous,” Richie speaks back with a smile that takes up half his face, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he spots the baby in Mike’s arms. “Gimme gimme gimme gimme,” he says quickly, reaching his arms out, “please?” he asks as an afterthought, his excitement having gotten the best of him.

Mike just smiles in understanding and passes her over, settling her head in the crook of Richie’s arm. “Geez, Rich, you reek of cigarette smoke, couldya not right before meeting a brand new baby?” he asks, though he knows the answer and there isn’t any real bite to his tone.

“Nah, Mike, it’s part of the Uncle Dick charm, can’t let her miss out because she’s a newbie” he smirks, bouncing the baby around lightly to try and entertain her, she’d obviously awoken at his dramatic entrance.

Andy and Jenny sit quietly in their chairs, Jenny swinging her legs restlessly, “daddy, when do we get our ice cream?” she asks, swinging her legs a little more violently.

“And I thought they were just well behaved, Stan, a bribe, really?” Eddie smirks, trying not to crack up at the idea of Stanley Uris only being able to control his kids by bribing them with ice cream, it got him laughing hard enough to need his inhaler, which Bill pulls out of his pocket and hands over as soon as he hears his husband wheezing.

Stan can offer no explanation besides a sheepish smile. “Ice cream, or at least the promise of it, can make any kid sit still,” he says softly, obviously not really wanting to preach his parenting tactics.

Mike chuckles lightly too, “Hey, I’m slightly in the wrong here too, I was the one who said we could add chocolate chips if they didn’t tell,” he glares jokingly at the twins, “looks like we won’t be getting chocolate chips,” he jokes, he probably would anyways because he can never say no to them.

“Papa, I want ice cream,” Quinn says quickly, shooting Bill her puppy dog eyes. Bill is one of the few who can resist them sometimes, seeing as he knows he has always pulled the same thing.

“Sometime soon, not today, alright?” he answers, pulling her higher up around his waist.

“I can get you some ice cream, kiddo,” Richie says, sneaking up behind Bill and nabbing his daughter, Bill only then realizing that the baby was back in Beverly’s embrace.

“Richie,” Bill says firmly, “This weekend maybe?” he suggests, since when it came to his kid he would rather make plans days in advance, he probably has more separation anxiety than she has ever had.

“Alright, Billiam, you win this time,” Richie says, even after all these years, most of the losers have trouble defying Bill’s authority, which he still hardly realizes. “But I can still- tickle monster!” he exclaims, dipping Quinn down and dancing his fingers wildly over her torso, which has her erupting into unstoppable giggles.

“She’s gotten so big, eh? They grow up too fast, I can’t even blink,” Mike comments, looking over to his own twins sitting in their respective spots, “I can’t believe they’re seven already, and Quinn is almost five,” Mike sighs. “Grow faster than bean sprouts,” he adds in conclusion.

“That they do,” Ben sighs fondly, looking around at all the kids in the hospital room, “Amber is going to be as tall as me sooner than I know I’ll be ready for,” he predicts, looking at his tiny daughters face with such a softness bev had only ever seen.

Eddie pulls out his phone, taking a picture, realizing the time after, “Hey- uh guys we’d better get going, it’s time for Quinn’s nap and I’m probably going to make Bill go back to bed too,” he notifies, eyeing his tired husband, the adrenaline having worn off a bit.

"Weeks of no sleep catch up to you," Bill says sheepishly, running his fingers through his hair. "I don't wanna go home and take a nap," Quinn whines, grabbing protectively onto Richie. "'s too boring," she pouts, the same puppy eyed look Bill tends to give him to get what he wants. "We'll let you play with the baby another day?" Bev suggests from her spot on the bed as Richie gently puts Quinn back onto her own two feet.

Eddie picks Quinn up on his own. "Yeah, another day when you and the baby aren't so sleepy," he explains, lifting Quinn up to his hip. She gives a tired nod and decides to sink into Eddie's grip and stop arguing with him. Bill nods as well, giving Ben a final hug and a smile in the direction of all his friends. He ruffles Jenny's hair and tells Andy to stay cool, something he tells the kids on a regular basis. After a few more stray goodbyes, they head out the door, and with the excitement wearing off, Quinn falls asleep before she's even strapped into her car seat. Which is exactly what Eddie expected. He slides into the driver's seat with a smile, "told you," he says to Bill with a smirk.

Bill returns a lazy smile, "I didn't doubt you, love," he chuckles, tugging the seatbelt over himself. He messes with the air and the music channel, earning a look from Eddie when he changes it to the 80s station. "Oh, William," Eddie sighs, putting the key in the ignition. He pulls out of his parking spot and out of the hospital parking lot. Bill rolls his window down, sticking his arm out of the window just a little. Eddie smiles at this, god how he knows how much his husband likes the feeling of wind on his skin.

"Oh you expected that channel," Bill grins, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" coming on next. Bill gives Eddie a devilish smile before singing along to it teasingly. "Oh shut up, Bill- you're already like losing your voice, your voice sounds dead," Eddie rambles, partially teasing but still a bit worried. He looks over at his husband warily whenever his voice cracks over not even the highest notes, but reminds himself that Bill can't even hit those on a good day. Bill shakes his head slowly and just goes to humming the tune. He taps his finger on his knee to the beat, bobbing his head along with it. Eddie can't help but smile at Bill's obvious love for music.

Eddie pulls into the garage of the flat, parking in his spot. He lets the song finish up before getting out of the car with Bill, going to the back seat to pick Quinn out of her seat, she stirs a bit, grasping onto him in her sleep. Eddie smiles, "oh lookit her, I wish they'd always stay this little," he hums to Bill. "Oh god I just remembered she's going to grow up someday," Bill says, looking over at Eddie with wide eyes but a teasing grin. "Bill! No! That's not allowed!" Eddie whisper yells, dragging Bill over to the elevator to get to their place. Bill keeps making teasing faces at him, being quiet to try not to wake Quinn up, she looks too peaceful when she sleeps for that to be something forgivable. They walk through their front door, Bill bending down a bit to press a sweet kiss to Eddie's cheek. "Bed? Couch?" He suggests, Eddie just shrugging and walking towards Quinn's room. He lays her in bed, gently pulling her shoes off and pulling the blanket over her, Bill switches off the light, ruffling the sleeping child's hair slightly. Bill and Eddie head back out to the living room, settling on the couch, Eddie tucked into Bill's arm. "I have some papers to grade before tomorrow,"Bill says softly, but not wanting to move from his spot. "Those can wait," Eddie says peacefully, melting into Bill's side, more vulnerable when it's just the two of them. They both are. "Just stay here for now?" He asks, trying to mimic bill's own puppy dog eyed expression to him.

"Yeah, they can," Bill agrees softly, putting his head on top of Eddie's and taking a deep breath in. "They're about of mice and men, that damn book," he chuckles slightly. "Oh the one I'm pretty sure made you cry in ninth grade?" Eddie grins, tracing his finger over the pattern on Bill's shirt. "That's the one," Bill agrees, wrapping his other arm around Eddie. Quinn comes out after a bit more of their teasing. They immediately stop when they see her amble into the room, sitting on the couch next to them, snuggling up to Eddie's side, still not fully woken up. "Daddy? Papa? Where do babies come from?" She asks curiously. Bill's face goes nearly white. "Uh-uh your father and I couldn't figure it out so uh- we just decided to buy you from the baby store," he mutters out awkwardly, Eddie shooting him an embarrassed look.

Quinn comes out after a bit more of their teasing. They immediately stop when they see her amble into the room, sitting on the couch next to them, snuggling up to Eddie's side, still not fully woken up. "Daddy? Papa? Where do babies come from?" She asks curiously. Bill's face goes nearly white. "Uh-uh your father and I couldn't figure it out so uh- we just decided to buy you from the baby store," he mutters out awkwardly, Eddie shooting him an embarrassed look.

Eddie sighs and looks over at his puzzled daughter. "Some mommies and daddies can make babies together with their bodies. Some mommies and daddies can't, and mommies and mommies and daddies and daddies can't do it by themselves, you came from another mommy and daddy who thought you'd be better off with us," he explains, hoping it's not too much for his young daughter to comprehend. "Oh," she says simply, seeming to understand, "can we watch Cinderella again?" She asks almost immediately after. Bill cracks a smile, "of course we can," he responds, reaching for the remote.

[hiyo-silver]

Flower Doodles

chapter two of the dads au! part one is right here!

this one is a bit angsty but aaaa

it’s also on ao3 here!

Eddie fumbles with his keys, finally poking them into the keyhole and opening the front door, around 8 o’clock. “Is it cheesy to say ‘honey I’m home?’ even though we’ve been married for six years?” he calls out, expecting them to be in the playroom. He walks in and hangs up his coat on the hook, Bill’s was not hung.  

He walks into living room, spotting Bill on the couch, fast asleep, a tiara on his head, obviously he’d been playing some sort of game with Quinn. She, on the other hand, was kneeling in front of him on the couch, drawing flowers on his face with a washable marker.

Eddie walks over, wanting to chuckle at the situation. He kneels in front of the couch where Quinn is, “Hey sweetheart, papa’s face isn’t a canvas,” he says with a small smile, “Can you get the wet wipes so we can clean this up?”

Eddie studies Bill’s face, who looks exhausted, his nose looks a little red and raw, and it makes Eddie frown. “Hey, Billy, you up?” he says softly, tapping his face lightly to get his attention.

Bill hardly stirs, turning his back to Eddie and hiding his face in the back of the couch. Eddie frowns again, rubbing circles on Bill’s back gently. “Baby, I don’t know how long you’ve been asleep but you’ve gotta get up, honey,” he says softly. He carefully takes the tiara off Bill’s head, it looked tight enough to hurt. He notices that Bill is still in his coat, the house wasn’t too cold so he must be overheating.

Quinn comes back with the package of wet wipes, they were easy to find on the shelf in the bathroom. She hands them to Eddie, giving him the puppy-eyed expression. “I’m sorry, daddy,” she says softly, seeing Eddie’s frown and assuming he was upset with her.

“No- no sweetheart it’s fine, I think your papa is just a little sick, I think, you wanna go back to your room?” he asks, taking the package and pulling out a wipe for Bill’s face.

“Is papa okay?” she asks, staying put, if not moving even closer to Bill.

“Yeah I think he’s just got a cold, I just wanna clean this up and have him at least drink some water.”

“Mkay,” she says calmly, “When you’re done will you play with me?” she asks, offering another puppy-dog-eyed face.

“Yeah I’ll be there soon, sweetheart,” he promises, coaxing Bill into turning towards him again.

She finally leaves the two, scampering off to her room to play with her dollhouse or something. Leaving Eddie to play nurse. Even though that’s his literal career, he feels that he has to do it for his husband far too often. He really needs to take care of himself better. He frowns again.

Eddie gives up on trying to get Bill up, just gently rubbing the flowery scribbled design off his cheeks. It takes him quite a while to get them all off, “Bill, c’mon, you gotta eat dinner, did you or Quinn eat yet?” Eddie looks over at the clock, 8:26.

Bill opens his eyes blearily, putting his hand out to Eddie, who doesn’t accept it. “Mmm no ‘mb sorry,” he slurs out, putting his hands on his face out of shame, he felt like he messed up big time by forgetting to have the two of them eat.

“Hey- hey no baby it’s okay, I know you don’t cook, you obviously aren’t feeling great, I’ll be right back, mkay?” Eddie says softly but quickly, not wanting his husband to feel bad for something that wasn’t his fault, schools really are germ factories.

Bill pushes himself into a sitting position on the couch, fumbling to unzip his jacket, which Eddie does for him instead, “You too hot?” Eddie asks as he helps the disoriented man get his coat off.

Bill shakes his head, “not too bad, my jacket just makes weird noises when I move,” Bill murmurs, getting up to hang it up on his hook.

Eddie frowns at the sound of his voice, “Have you been feeling bad all day, baby?” it sounded settled in his sinuses which probably wasn’t comfortable. Bill sits back down on the couch and pulls the throw blanket over his shoulders.

“Mmm only a little,” he still speaks softly, curling up a little on the couch, looking small, which was always concerning to Eddie.

“Bill… you should call me if you aren’t feeling well, I think you have a fever, you should have come home,” Eddie said in a disappointed voice. He hates having to be like this, he is Bill’s husband, not his nurse who should be nagging him all day about his choices.

“‘Mb sorry, Eddie,” Bill tucks his head away in his knees, he’s always most emotional when he doesn’t feel his best.

Suddenly, Quinn comes back in quietly, basically sneaking behind Eddie, he jumps when she speaks. “Papa, you’re awake!” she says with a smile, clamoring to sit next to him on the couch and pushing a fuzzy pink blanket in his lap. “Daddy said you were cold so I brought you a blankie because he was taking too long to make you warm enough to play with me,” she explains, which brings a small smile to Bill’s face.

“Ndo,” Bill cringes at the sound of his own voice, “A little cold but I’m just a little sick, Like two months ago, remember, daddy made you be quiet because he wanted me to sleep,” Bill explains, he was always better at explaining things to little kids than Eddie was.

“OH, I’m sorry papa,” Quinn says, in a smaller tone, trying to be quieter since he had brought it up.

“I’m gonna make some food,” Eddie says, giving Bill a sympathetic look, he wishes Quinn wouldn’t cuddle so close to him, she was going to get his germs and then she’d be sick too- and he just didn’t want that. “Quinnie, you wanna help?” he asks, trying to pull her away.

She nods excitedly, she loves helping in the kitchen.

“We’re going to make canned soup for dinner again,” he tells her as they go to the kitchen and both thoroughly wash their hands. He gets out the cans and lets her set them in the automatic can opener. She giggles the entire time, she likes to feel like she’s helping too, and Eddie didn’t let her often. He was just desperate now.

They put the food in bowls and put them at the table with three glasses of water. Eddie walks back to the living room to find Bill wrapped in both the blankets now and made a note to grab the thermometer after they ate. He shakes Bill’s shoulder again to wake him back up, “Billy, I’m sorry you’re so exhausted but please come eat something,” he says a little desperately.

Bill easily agrees, just wanting to properly get to bed soon as possible. He keeps the knit blanket from the couch over his shoulders as he drags his feet to his spot at the kitchen table. He swirls his spoon around in his bowl a little, taking some small sips of the broth.

Eddie watches him with pity, seeing him wince at swallowing and needing to be careful so that he could breathe through his mouth when he needed to. Bill puts his spoon down when he’s finished most of it, “shower?” he asks, wanting to take another steamy one to clear his sinuses again before bed.

“Yeah, of course, I’ll do the dishes and get Quinn in bed, I’ll read her Peter Rabbit, it’s been a while, and you shower and get some warm pajamas on, I’ll get the Vicks out too.”

“I still wanna do storytime,” Bill says strongly, “Makes me happy,” he says tiredly. He cringes at the mention of the Vicks, he’s never been a fan of it, he’s too familiar with it.

“Of course, baby,” Eddie nods, surprised that he is so specific about it, although he should have known.

“Yeah, papa has to tell the story,” Quinn says surely, even as Bill gets up and shuffles to the bathroom.

Eddie agrees, finally asking Quinn about her day with the Hanscoms as he does the dishes. When she’s finally done talking about all the games they played and the stories they exchanged, Eddie suggests that she goes back to her room to wait for he and Bill to be ready.

Bill comes out of the bathroom feeling a little better and a little more awake. He has on a baggy and long sleeved shirt, one that’s relatively old and gross but it makes him comfortable. He had pulled on some navy flannel pajama pants.

Eddie studies his dark circles and angry pink looking nose, creasing his eyebrows in worry. He just doesn’t like when Bill gets so worn down. “Hey Billy, I set up some clean sheets on the couch for you so you’d be comfortable sleeping tonight,” he says softly.

Bill nods, this was standard procedure for when he was unwell, since Eddie may be able to be around germs, but he also still can’t get sick because work. At least Eddie made him feel loved by showering him with care besides physical affection.

They go to Quinn’s room, Bill didn’t write anything new that day either. So, he must wing it. “Once upon a time,” he clears his throat for his voice to come out clearer. “There was a beautiful little princess named Quinn, and one of her fathers, the king, wasn’t feeling well,” he starts with a small smile, finding himself clever.

Eddie just kept his same worried expression, wanting to just put Bill to bed already. He sounded congested still and he would do better with a good night’s rest and he’d probably call him out of work the next day, against the other man’s wishes.

“And he was taken care of by the other big and strong king who made him feel all better really soon so that he could kiss his daughter goodnight,” he finishes the story much quicker than usual, frowning when he realizes he should probably be more careful of spreading this to her.

Eddie kisses both of her cheeks, instead of Bill kissing one of them, “Night, princess,” he says, flicking on the nightlight before switching off the main lights.

Then he drags Bill out too, bringing him back to the living room couch and having him sit down, “Bill goddamn, you look like Rudolph, if I didn’t know better I’d think you didn’t have proper tissues in your classroom.

“Rand out this mornindg,” he says through the congestion, looking down at the ground.

“Mmm baby, I’m gonna get you more, I think we have some in the linen closet, I’ll be back.” Eddie gets up quickly, ruffling Bill’s hair and walking to the hall closet where he kept most of what he’d need.

He gets out the unopened box of tissues along with the thermometer, Vicks, and a cold and flu medicine before kneeling in front of Bill on the couch again. “I’m gonna fix you right up, don’t worry, baby,” he says softly, rubbing Bill’s shoulder gently.

“I know, Eddie, I trust you,” he says tiredly, leaning into the boy’s touch.

Eddie pulls the wastebasket nearer to the couch, unwrapping the tissue box and throwing the trash away, handing the box to Bill since he’d need it that night. He gestures for Bill to take off his socks, rubbing the Vicks into his feet, massaging his feet a little longer than he needed to to be more comforting once he sees Bill relaxing more as he does. He pops two pills out of the package and hands them to Bill with a glass of orange juice. “Okay one last thing, lemme take your temperature.”

He pops the thermometer in Bill’s compliant mouth, it’s gotten easier to do this over the years. Bill has slowly gotten easier on him about getting taken care of. While he waits for it to beep, Eddie swipes some more Vicks under Bill’s nose and walks behind him to rub his shoulders, grabbing it from his mouth as soon as it beeps, before Bill can even grab it himself. “100.4, not too bad, you’ll be alright, but I do want you staying home from school tomorrow,” he lets him know, although it wouldn’t be a choice.

“Mkay, as long as I can get a sub,” he says quietly. He lays down and Eddie lays the blanket over him, running his hands through his still damp hair.

“I’ll help if you need, you just sleep. You’ll be okay for the night?” Eddie asks, continuing to rub his hair carefully.

“Yeah, I just am annoyed that I can’t sneeze,” Bill mumbles, cuddling himself into the couch.

“Lemme help,” Eddie chuckles, booping Bill’s nose ever so lightly and pulling his hand back when Bill wrinkles his nose and buries his face into his elbow to sneeze. “Bless you. Mmm yikes, baby, that sounds like it hurts,” Eddie says softly.

“Only a little,” Bill replies, closing his eyes, at least he was comfortable now.

“Goodnight, I love you, I’ll be checking on you tomorrow before I leave for work, so I’m sorry that I’ll be waking you around six, I’m just paranoid, and you’d be up by then anyways if you were going to work, and I’ll get Quinn to Bev’s tomorrow morning like usually,” he rambles on, trying to calm himself by talking out loud.

“Eddie-” Bill interrupts softly, “It’s gonna be fine,” he says, looking up at Eddie assuredly.

Eddie nods and goes over to turn the lights off, “You can take more nyquil if you need it, I know the dose isn’t that many, but another capsule shouldn’t have long term damage if you really need it to be comfortable enough to sleep. Eddie turns on the t.v., putting on Cartoon Network, for some reason Bill still always watches cartoons to fall asleep when he doesn’t feel well, although Eddie does find it adorable. “Sleep well, baby, I hope you wake up feeling better tomorrow.

Bill nods and hums happily, snuggling into the couch and blowing Eddie a kiss, “I love you,” he murmurs out, although it comes out more like “I wuv you,” due to the lack of enunciation.

A few hours later Bill shoots up into a sitting position, his face wet with tears and sweat, still choking out a panicked sob even in his conscious state. He puts his face in his hands and tries to calm himself, but he’d awoken from a nightmare. He wasn’t on his PTSD medication anymore. It didn’t usually affect him anymore. Sometimes though, it came back with fever dreams. He felt himself reimagining Georgie’s death over and over in his head. He feels like he can’t breathe. Just like when Pennywise had me in a chokehold. He chokes out another sob, forcing himself to stand up and shuffle to he and Eddie’s room with the blanket still around his shoulders, a mess of coughing and hyperventilating and crying as he opens the door.

“E-Eddie,” he pauses to try to catch his breath, coughing roughly into the blanket.

“Bill?” Eddie wakes up slowly at first and then sits up quickly and is at Bill’s side in seconds. “Baby, baby, what’s wrong?” he coos softly and ushers Bill over to the bed, having him sit and rubbing his back.

“Dr-dr-druh-dreams, G-g-g-g-georgie,” Bill fumbles the words out and leans into Eddie with almost all his weight. Eddie holds him close, pulling him between his legs and rubbing his back with one hand and his hair with the other.

“Sweetheart, it’s just the fever, baby you didn’t do anything wrong,” Eddie murmurs to him softly, trying to be comforting to him because it was distressing to see him in this stage of a panic attack.

Bill coughs again, the hyperventilating wasn’t doing his clogged chest any good. He starts to regulate his breathing and calm into Eddie. “‘M s-suh-suh-suh-sorry, cuh-cuh-can you tuck muh-me in again? Buh-buh-but first cuh-can we check on Qui-Qui-Qui-Quinn, I’m sc-scuh-scuh-ared,” he breathes out.

“Billy baby, sleep here for the rest of tonight, I don’t want you alone like this,” Eddie says worriedly, pressing the back of his hand to Bill’s neck, “You’re burning up, baby,” he fingers the sweaty short hairs at the back of Bill’s neck.

“Stay here, I’m getting the ibuprofen,” Eddie says, pushing Bill onto the bed.

Eddie gets the bottle of fever reducers and rustles around for a washcloth to get damp with cool water. Quinn shuffles out of her room, her teddy bear in her grip, “Is papa alright?” she asks, having heard the chaos.

“He’s just not feeling well, he had a bad dream,” Eddie finds a soft cloth and brings it to the sink and turns the water to cold, running it over the cloth and wringing it out before deciding it’s good enough to bring back to Bill.

“Can I help?” she asks softly, rubbing her eyes.

Eddie looks down, considering it. Maybe it would help Bill calm down if she were there for at least a few minutes, and that’s all he’s about right now. He just wants Bill to feel better. “Alright honey, just for a while, you really need sleep too, so he doesn’t get you sick.”

He brings the things back to the bedroom, grabbing the tissue box and wastebasket on his way back to the bedroom. “Hey Billy, Quinn was worried,” he says as he makes Bill sit up again, putting the cool cloth on the back of Bill’s neck.

Bill shivers at the sudden coolness but finds comfort in it eventually. “Qui-qui-qui-quinnie the pooh,” he smiles, putting his arms out for a hug. She crawls into his lap, a little confused by the sound of his words.

“Papa you sound like a frog,” she giggles lightly.

“Mhm, I knuh-know,” he croaks out in his hoarser voice.

“You need sleep, papa,” she says softly. “I gotta go back to bed.” She starts to get up, and Eddie is glad to notice that he already seems a little calmer.

“I pruh-pruh-promise I’ll get some rest. Tea p-puh-party redo tomorrow?” he asks tiredly, cuddling up to Eddie.

“Mhm,” she says, already on her way back to her bed, yawning. She’s always been pretty independant, which was good in this situation.

Bill lays back on Eddie, relishing in the comfort of the cool cloth and gratefully taking the bottle of pills, swallowing three with the water on the bedside table. Eddie lays back, Bill immediately crawling on top of him. Bill was basically entirely on him, his legs straddling his hips and his head on his chest. The rise and fall of Eddie’s breathing slowly calmed him the rest of the way.

“Thank you, Eddie,” he says softly, “‘M sorry for being so needy,” he mumbles.

“No, sweetheart, you’re fine, I shouldn’t have left you out in the living room alone, I know a lot of your triggers have been around and I should have known it would be really bad soon,” Eddie says softly, running his fingers through Bill’s hair lightly.

“I can’t lose you two,” Bill murmurs as he slowly starts to drift to sleep again. Bill’s stuffed up snores fill the air again soon after and Eddie feels a twinge of guilt in his chest.

I really can’t just keep hurting him because of my own phobias. I know my mom sucked, but his parents were the opposite, I can’t help but feel like them. Eddie almost starts crying at the realization. Eddie has trouble sleeping due to the intense smell of Vicks right in his face. He falls asleep with his hands tangled in Bill’s hair, Quinn walks back in with her blanket and he teddy, cuddling up to Eddie’s side, never one to pass up sleeping in her dad’s bed.

As promised, Eddie is up by six in the morning to shower, squirming gently out from under Bill to get ready for another day of work. He showers quickly and comes back to the bedroom to get dressed and then wake Quinn. He’s mindful of the fact that Bill’s nose is still running in his sleep, which sends a shiver down his spine as he tries to clean his face up with a tissue.

He shakes the small blonde one until she wakes up fully, attached to her papa’s warm body. “Morning, Quinnie,” he says softly, picking her up to take to her room to get her in clothes for the day. He gets her dressed and makes her a quick piece of peanut butter and banana toast, at least healthier than yesterday’s meal.

“Thank you, daddy,” she says, eating her toast slowly as she grabs her coat for when they leave.

Eddie texts Beverly asking if Quinn could stay until eight that day, not wanting to leave his ailing husband with her for two hyper hours before Eddie could be home. She says it’s fine, sending Bill her well wishes.

Eddie hears a pained squeak from the bedroom, quickly walking over and peaking in, Bill had curled up under the blankets in a tight ball. He’d stifled back a sneeze in hopes he could stay silent and not have Eddie worry about him at all before work.

“Billy, you know that can burst your eardrums,” he hums in a tone of disappointment.

Bill peeks just his eyes out from under the covers, embarrassed to have been caught. “‘M sorry, didn’t wanna bother you too much before work,” he says, sitting up and rubbing his eyes to alleviate some pressure in his sinuses that had ignited a headache.

“It’s fine, Bill, as long as you’re up I’m gonna have you take some medicine, alright?” he says, although Bill can tell the question isn’t really a question. “Mike is coming over later, wanted to make you something to eat, since you don’t seem to do that much when I’m not here but food is important for healing.”

Bill just nods, “I’ll be fine today, Eddie, no more panic attacks, I promise.”

Eddie frowns a little, “I just feel guilty leaving you again,” he sighs, walking over and kissing Bill’s temple. “You’re still warm, what if your fever spikes again?” Eddie asks softly, about two seconds away from calling into work sick. He never missed work, he never got sick himself, he decides that he may as well use it for Bill.

Bill turns to the side opposite of Eddie to cough into his elbow, sighing and laying back.

“That’s it- I’m calling in to work to take care of you,” Eddie says, pulling out his phone and leaving no room for argument. Bill whines and looks over at him.

“Babe, I don’t want you missing work because my students are actually germ factories,” he mumbles, turning to lay on his stomach and cuddle his pillow.

“No, I wanna stay and make sure you’re alright,” Eddie says, gaining more confidence every time he repeats himself.

Eddie was in his sweatpants and a tee-shirt already, seeing as he had to change into scrubs when he got to work anyways. He crawls back into bed next to his husband and cuddling up to him, “I’m staying right here.”

Then, Quinn pulls off her coat and climbs in next to them again, “Me too?” she asks softly.

“Oh shit, yeah I gotta text Bev,” Eddie says in a hushed voice, pulling out his phone to let her know.

“Eddie, language,” Bill says softly, curling up with his face in Eddie’s chest.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Eddie says distractedly, typing away on his phone. She responds quickly, only a little frustrated with the sudden change in plans, but she understands.

“How about I fill you with medicine again and then you take a nap, how does that sound?” Eddie asks softly, playing with Bill’s hair gently.

Bill cuddles closer to the other for a moment before releasing his tight grip on Eddie’s waist. “Mkay, as long as you come back,” he says softly, letting Eddie wriggle out of his place in bed again.

Quinn pulls herself closer to her dad, snuggling into his chest, “I miss you when you go to work, papa,” She says softly.

Bill feels guilty when he hears this, although he knows he can’t help it. “I’m sorry, I’m home now,” he replies softly.

They lay quietly until Eddie comes back with a small bottle of cough syrup and some Dayquil pills. “Here, sit up and take these, I’ve got tea for you too,” he says softly, pulling Quinn off of him gently and pulling him into a sitting position.

“You’re the best,” Bill hums, taking the small cup of red liquid and knocking it back, and then swallowing the pills easily. Eddie hands him the mug of tea, which he sips carefully before laying back down. “I’m still sorry, but hold me?” he asks softly, putting his arms out, beckoning Eddie to lay beside him.