LIFE WITH ALEX
Disclaimer: The Mummy, and The Mummy Returns does not belong to me so there.
Chapter 1: The new arrival
It was quiet in the O’Connell house, and Rick found himself up early despite the long two days he had gone through with Evelyn while she was in labor with Alex. Now he lay in their bed, watching Evie sleep, smiling at the look of peace on her face. It was still so unreal to him, that less than four hours ago he had been holding Evelyn in his arms as she endured the final stages of labor, pushing their baby into the world, and in that moment when the doctor had laid the wet wailing infant on her chest, their son, their lives had forever changed. He looked over at the clock on her her bed side table, and knew he needed more than four hours of sleep in order to make it through the day, but he just could not. After watching his wife for a few more minutes, he eased out of bed, and stretched, then went over to the swinging cradle that Alex was in. The cradle was suspended held up on two posts and eventually he guessed they would actually put it to use, but not right now. He looked down at Alex who was wrapped in a light weight creme receiving blanket, still content to sleep. The Doctor had told him that both Evelyn and Alex would spend the next few days sleeping, and Alex most likely would sleep more than anything through out the week. After another few moments there, he went back to bed, and as he slid in Evelyn opened her eyes.
“Did I really have a baby?” she asked softly. He reached out and stroked her cheek.
“You did, and he is still asleep.” She smiled and yawned.
“I feel sore all over,” she admitted. Rick could well imagine that she did. In the end when she had been pushing him out, she had been so tired that she couldn’t managed on her own, so the doctor had instructed him to push above where the baby was whenever she had a contraction. He reached out and rubbed his hand over her stomach which caused her to flinch.
“Sorry,” he said, and started to pull his hand away.
“No It felt good once you started to rub there. I’m just tender,” she said so he put his hand back, and gently massaged it. Her eyes closed, then she opened them again.
“Rest,” he said.
“Only if you hold me,” she replied. He grinned and scooted closer to her, and eased her into his arms so that he lay on his back and her cheek rested against his chest. Gently he rubbed his hand over her back, and it wasn’t long before she went back to sleep. He was about to join her when he heard a squeak coming from the cradle, just one, but he had never heard Alex do that, so he managed to get away from Evelyn and went over to him. Rick looked down at Alex and found him starting to move about, and he made more of those squeaking sounds. It was up to him to either calm him down, or get him to Evelyn so he could be fed, and he guessed more than anything their son was ready for his second meal. For a moment Rick tried to remember what the nurse had told him about holding Alex, and what he recalled was to support his head and neck. He slid his hand under the bottom part of the blanket, then his other hand under the upper part, then lifted Alex out. It was a bit awkward at first, and Alex made more noises that were starting to sound like cries as Rick tried to get the hang of holding him. Then he held Alex in the crook of one arm secure.
“There that wasn’t so bad,” Rick said softly, as he swayed with the baby. Alex relaxed for a moment, then made a face, sort of wrinkling everything up and let out a fairly loud cry.
“Shh, she’s over here.” His cries woke Evelyn, and she winced as she had to move on her own.
“Do you want to sit up or lay down,” Rick asked over Alex’s cries which were getting louder.
“Sit up,” she said. Rick managed to help her do that, propping pillows behind her, then when she was ready gave her their son.
“Shhh, mummy has you,” she said. The sound of her voice, and her touch worked to calm him down, though it wasn’t until he had what he wanted, which was her breast that he completely calmed down. Alex was getting better at eating, and she was more comfortable this second time. Rick settled beside them and she leaned against him.
“I still can’t believe he is here,” she said not taking her eyes from him. Rick also watched him and wrapped his arms around her, helping her hold him as he nursed.
“Neither can I,” he said. It didn’t take long for Alex to get his fill, and Evelyn was half asleep as he finished. It was his weight being taken from her that woke her, and she relaxed when she realized Rick was just taking him to burp him.
“Your so well wrapped in this blanket I’m not sure were going to get a burp,” Rick said softly, as he got Alex unwrapped, then lifted his small body to the shoulder he had the burp cloth draped too, and started to rub and pat his back. There was something about that, which Alex didn’t seem to like, and he started to squirm, so Rick stood and walked around the room.
“Should I tell you about how your mum and I met?” Rick asked as he kept up his pacing. Alex was starting to relax so Rick continued.
“Before I met your mum I was pretty scruffy guy, and I was in a prison which is where scruffy guys go when they are as your mother puts it ‘naughty’,” Rick said, as he settled in to the rocking chair. As he talked, and rocked he kept patting his son’s back, wondering if his baby would ever give him a burp.
“Now I told your mum not to read from the book, and guess what she did Alex,” Rick said softly. Alex responded with a good burp, and Rick chuckled.
“I think you get that from me,” he said and eased Alex away from his shoulder finding that he was awake.
“Did you wake yourself up?” He asked his son. Alex tried to follow the voice that he knew, fairly alert for all he had gone through. Rick smiled and lifted Alex close to his face, and kissed his little nose, then cradled him in his arms.
“Should I continue?” Since Alex was content, Rick continued his story.
“Your mum read from that book, and unleashed plagues on Egypt, and a mummy,” Rick said. Alex yawned, then got restless, and Rick guessed he was ready to finish his meal.
“I’ll finish my story when its time to get another burp, how does that sound?” Rick asked, as he carried Alex back over to the bed.
“I heard you spinning tales to our son,” Evelyn mumbled.
“What tales?” Rick asked, as he helped her sit up, and gave Alex to her. Again he went right to his meal, leaving mum and dad to talk.
“I was merely trying to learn about history, and I didn’t know reading from a book would do all that it did. You do realize that if I had not read from that book, we likely would have gone our separate ways, and wouldn’t be sitting here with Alex,” she said leaning down to kiss his soft head. In all this time Rick had not looked at it that way, and realized that as cursed as that book was, it had severed a good purpose, which was bringing them together.
“I guess your right,” He said. She smiled.
“Alex, mummy is always right, don’t ever think otherwise,” she said yawning. She leaned her head against Ricks chest, and this time when Alex finished, she had fallen sound asleep as had he. Carefully Rick took Alex back into his own arms, and eased Evelyn against the mattress, then went back to the rocking chair and settled down with his son.
“Your mum had a good point, so It wasn’t so bad of her to read from the book,” Rick said. Alex gave two small burps, and continued to sleep, and Rick just held him rocking him. It wasn’t long before the new father fell asleep holding Alex secure in his arms.
It was when Evelyn rolled over and didn’t feel Rick beside her, that she woke up. She looked around the room, and smiled when she saw him asleep in the rocking chair with Alex against his chest. Slowly she managed to sit up on her own, though it was very painful. She turned and put her feet to the floor then stood slowly, and closed her eyes. It hurt to even stand, but she wanted to go to her husband and son, and after a moment she took one step and then another, and the more she walked the less it hurt. When she got to the rocking chair, she leaned in and kissed the top of Alex’s head, then Rick’s lips which woke him.
“Hey,” he said stretching but keept his hands on Alex, then he came fully awake when he realized she was out of bed.
“Honey you need to stay in bed,” he said softly.
“I know, but I wanted to come over here with you two,” she said. Rick looked down at the baby in his arms.
“I didn’t intend to stay here,” he said softly
“I just got tired and before I could think otherwise, I fell asleep,” he said. She smiled and he moved his hands letting her take Alex who stretched and grunted until he was against her shoulder.
“I’ve never felt so much love for one little person,” she admitted as he stood up, and steadied her. They walked over to Alex’s bed together, and Evelyn gently placed him on his side while Rick got his blanket and they tucked it around him without so much as a peep from him.
“I think I want to eat,” she said, leaning against him heavily. He turned her and lifted her into his arms.
“You rest, and let me get our lunch,” he said, and placed her back in their bed. She let him go do that and closed her eyes starting to go to sleep when she heard Alex start to cry. She got up a little easier, though she was ready to fall over and go to sleep, she wouldn’t let him lay there crying.
“Alex, shh,” she said softly, and reached in, and like it had been with Rick at first it was awkward trying to hold him, then she found a good way and carried him to the bed.
“Shhhh,” she whispered as she settled with him. She tried getting him to nurse but he was getting more and more upset, and she was getting more afraid. Relief washed over her face when Rick came in.
“He won’t stop crying,” she said, panic clear in her voice. Rick was less panicked, and came to them. After setting the food down, he sat beside them and she let him take their unhappy son.
“Hey Alex, what’s got you so unhappy?” he asked as he lifted him to his shoulder rubbing his back.
“Lets see, he’s been fed, and burped, maybe we should check his diaper,” Rick said, and Evelyn nodded having forgotten that part. He put Alex back in his mothers arms, and went to get a few things they would need. When he came back to the bed he laid out a blanket, and Evelyn let him take Alex who was not very happy at the moment.
“Shh, we will get you all cleaned off, then you can have more to eat,” Rick said as Alex cried even louder. He wasn’t very fast at getting the diaper off of him, or cleaning him, and that only made his son that much more angry, but he did get him into a clean diaper, and once that was accomplished Evelyn took him and in a moment he was nursing, content to be back at her breast. Evelyn leaned back against the pillows and closed her eyes. She was exhausted, and hungry, but Alex’s needs would come before hers. She felt Rick settle beside her, and felt a glass against her lips. She drank from it tasting the milk which she downed in a hurry, then let him feed her which very quickly filled her stomach, and by then she was ready to fall asleep. Once Alex had finished his meal and was asleep, She felt Rick move her against the mattress, and let sleep take over.
The next few days were like that, then slowly she was able to regain her strength, and by the end of the fourth day, she was able to be up, and life as a wife and a mother for her, and a father and a husband for Rick began in full swing.
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