still there patiently waiting for your Kevin/Allison fic!!! ❤️❤️❤️
PREFACE: CONCEPTION
(I know I broke your heart, but you broke mine)
Ten years ago...
Mahogany and glass were cold against Allison's knuckles as she knocked on Wymack's office door. When there was a grunt from inside, she pushed it open.
"Coach?" she asked.
Wymack looked up from his computer screen. "Since when do you have manners? Sit," he said, waving towards the two seats across from his desk.
Allison shut the door, and made her way across the floor. Everything smelled like carpet cleaner and old coffee.
Wymack had returned his attention to his screen as he finished typing something up.
Allison took a deep breath. Like a band-aid, she reminded herself.
"You need to bench me for the rest of the season."
Wymack's fingers paused over his keyboard a moment before he turned his monitor away and focused entirely on her. "Why the fuck would I do that?" he asked. "It's your last season as a Fox. Even if you're not going pro, you should still be on that court while it's yours."
Allison swallowed. "I know," she said. "But I can't be." The words felt as if they were lodged in her throat. "I can't risk taking a tackle for the next nine months."
She watched Wymack's face as he joined the dots, and his entire demeanor softened. He rubbed a hand over his face, but not before Allison saw his eyes get a bit shinier.
"How far along?" he asked, his voice gruff.
"Six weeks," Allison said, and Wymack nodded slowly as he took a deep breath.
"Tell me you're getting some sort of check-up to make sure neither of you got hurt in the dirty tackle you took during the last game," he said, and she nodded.
"I'm going back for a follow-up at the end of the week," she said. "But the nurse said there was no harm done, yet."
Allison reached into her purse, taking out the ultrasound picture. Her fingers shook as she passed it across to Wymack. When he took it, he held it as if the paper were made of gold and diamonds.
The older man smiled at the little greyscale image, scrubbing his other hand over his lower face again.
"You're keeping it, after it's born?" he clarified, and Allison nodded. Her throat felt tight. "This kid is gonna be the luckiest idiot on the planet," Wymack said softly, then cleared his throat. "You're gonna be a great mother, Allison. You know that, right?"
"I hope so," Allison whispered. She took another deep breath. "There's something else you should know."
Wymack looked up from the ultrasound scan, curious.
Like a band-aid, Allison reminded herself.
"Kevin's the father."
Wymack's mouth opened. Closed. Opened. Trembled. Closed. He pressed his lips into a thin line, but that didn't change how much his chin was starting to wobble.
"This is my grandbaby?" he asked, his voice a hoarse whisper.
Now, Kevin poured steaming water into three cups, two of coffee and one of cocoa, before stirring in cream and taking them over to the table. Allison tipped her head up, and he pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. Her cheeks had gotten rounder at the same rate as her belly, and he now got swatted every time he was caught smiling at her. She wasn't a fan of how her face had changed, but Kevin was a fan of the new buccal fat, along with the freckles she now had, and how curly her hair had decided to become regardless of how many hours she spent ironing it every week.
"You two thought about names yet?" Dad asked as Kevin sat down on the corner of the table.
"A bit," Kevin said with a sigh, his gaze tracking back to Allison. "We've agreed we want it to be a pretty name, at least."
"Opheilia, Naomi, Lauralice, Evangeline," Allison ticked off on her fingers. Her nails were painted pink with lace-designs in white. "Those were the ones we agreed were prettiest."
"You didn't like Anabelle," Kevin said, and Allison scrunched her nose. It made the tip of it stand up like a pig's snout, and Kevin took a sip of coffee before he could be accused of smiling at her.
"It's cliche," Allison said, not for the first time. "Baby Anabelle is off her head, oh-wow," she sang, then shook her head again. "Not happening. The press will have too much fun with that when she gets older."
Kevin grimaced, and felt something inside him twist at the reminder of the press. It was a feeling he'd been getting used to since finding out about Allison's pregnancy - about the baby - about his baby.
"That's the other thing," Kevin said, partially for Dad's benefit and partially to hear the thoughts out loud. "I don't want her growing up in the press. It's even worse now with social media - we only had to worry about tabloids and headlines, but she's going to be growing up with every single person she passes in the street being able to take her photo or record her and post it online, every single day of her life. I don't know how we're meant to keep her out of that, but I don't want that to be her life."
Allison was nodding slowly as she fidgeted with her hair. There was a small frown between her eyebrows that Kevin wanted to pinch.
"You should talk to Aaron's Katlyn about that one," Dad said, and they both looked over to him; Kevin had thought Randy Boyd might be able to help, but he hadn't considered the Vixen.
"Why?" Kevin asked. "She's just a gymnast, and she grew up in the middle of nowhere."
"Do you never listen to Aaron?" Dad asked, then scoffed into his coffee. "You're as bad as Josten, sometimes. Katlyn's majoring in photography and her minor is on social media marketing - she probably knows how you can protect Moonbear's face from the cameras, without shutting her away from the world."
Since Allison's baby bump had started growing, she and Kevin had started referring to the baby as their Moonbear; Kevin still wasn't entirely sure why.
Allison took a sip of her cocoa.
"There's actually another name I've been considering for her," she said, drawing the words out slowly, looking from Dad to Kevin and back again as she spoke. "It's not traditionally a pretty name, but I think it'd be beautiful for her."
"What is it?" Kevin asked.
Allison worried her lip for a moment before placing one hand on her bump. "I was thinking... Kayleigh."
(9 years, 3 months ago)
The bones in Kevin's left hand felt as if they were getting pulverised as Allison screamed.
"Almost there," Abby said, from her place between Allison's legs which were propped up on cushions and the blanket which had been placed beneath her back four hours ago. Allison panted, and Kevin peeled some of her hair off of her cheeks before it could go in her mouth or eyes. "Almost there, honey," Abby said. "Remember your breathing."
"I know how to fucking breathe," Allison growled, before her face contorted as she screamed again. Her grip on Kevin's hand tightened again, and Kevin wondered how long it'd take for her to break his hand.
"Almost there," Abby said again.
"You've been saying that for the last hour!" Allison snarled. "Just reach in and pull her out, for fuck sake!"
"Breathe," Abby chided softly and Allison moaned, letting her head fall back on Kevin's lap. He'd been given very simple instructions by Abby: Keep Allison breathing, let her squeeze his hands, and do not complain about the pain.
He'd been given even simpler instructions by Allison: Do not move or speak or breathe unless he wanted to be castrated.
"She's starting to crown," Abby said. "I can see her head. Keep going, honey; don't fight the contractions, lean into them. Your body knows what it needs to do, you just have to let it."
Allison snarled, but started screaming again a moment later.
"Her head's starting to come out," Abby said.
"I'm charging her for this," Allison said between clenched teeth. "Every hour she's put me through labour, every time she's made me wet myself, every time she's made me throw up, is coming out of her savings funds."
"Of course, honey," Abby said, placating, and Kevin bit his tongue as Allison twisted his hand before crushing it once more as she screamed. "One more push," Abby said. "One more push, honey, one-"
Allison's screams were joined by another, higher pitched wail, and Allison broke off into a whimper. She lay there, panting, as the high-pitched cries filled the room.
Slowly, Kevin looked from Allison's flushed face, soaked with sweat and tears, down to where Abby was holding an impossibly small bundle of flesh and blood. He watched, frozen, as Abby reached up, and placed the small bundle onto Allison's chest.
"She's so small," Allison whispered. "Hi," she cooed, as Kevin slowly eased around to the side, keeping Allison's head propped up on his lap. "Hi, Kayleigh," Allison whispered.
The little bundle's nose crinkled, and her cheek turned to the side as she gurgled.
"Hi, Moonbear," Kevin whispered, feeling as if the words were being punched out of him. "Hi, Kayleigh."
CHAPTER 2: DO YOU REMEMBER (PT1: CHALK HEARTS MELTING ON PLAYGROUND WALLS)
(Present day)
Neon paint had dried in dripping arcs of iridescent rainbow on the bright pink wall. Incandescent sunlight shone through the yellow curtains, casting cheque-patterned shadows of gold around the room and making the dust particles in the air glow like silver and snow. Scattered pieces from a boardgame lay on the floor, next to the stuffed unicorn and myriad of little plastic ponies, each with their manes and tails combed and styled meticulously with little bows and clips - except the little green one, whose mane had been shaved and replaced with a mohawk of beads on cocktail sticks, each held in place with a dollop of super glue.
Inside a glass cabinet hung medals of various colours and sizes, alongside plaques and framed photographs of a little girl grinning at the person behind the camera. She had long black hair and green eyes, and in most of the protected photographs, she was dressed in the plain white uniform of martial arts, her waist decorated in each colour of belt in succession.
On the glass shelves of the case, there was a small wooden box which held the little girl's milk teeth - it had originally sat in her parents' room, but when she had discovered its existence, she had proudly announced it to be her property, given that it held her teeth, and had proceeded to move the small box to her own bedroom.
Against the far wall, a bookshelf shaped like a rabbit's side profile and decorated in neon paint and stickers stood tall amidst the weight of worlds belonging to princesses, pirates and heroes, rescue sanctuaries and magical forests. Beneath its paws was the foot of a little bed wearing sheets covered in cartoon bears and speech bubbles. At the pillow sat a stuffed yellow bear, who had been by the girl's side every night since her birth. Now, it sat there, staring out into the empty room as it waited for the little girl to return and tell it about her day over a pot of pink tea.
It waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Just as it had, and just as it always would.
(9 years ago)
"Hush, little baby, don't say a word,
Daddy's going to buy you a mockingbird."
"With Mamma's bank card, because Daddy hasn't graduated yet," Allison interjected under her breath, and Kevin grinned, but continued singing to the bundle of pink and gold in his arms. Abby had said not to let her fall asleep in his arms. So had Bee. But it was rare for her to sleep anywhere else.
"And if that mockingbird don't sing,
Daddy's going to buy you a diamond ring.
And if that diamond ring turns to brass,
Daddy's going to buy you a looking glass."
Allison sighed, closing her eyes as she lay back in her pillows. Abby had put her on bed rest after Kayleigh's birth, and had banned her from getting up for anything besides the bathroom. Even washing had been rationed.
"And if that looking glass gets broke,
Daddy's going to buy you a billy goat."
"Minyard would train it to headbutt your kneecaps on his behalf," Allison muttered, and Kevin laughed, struggling to hold onto the tune as he continued.
"And if that billy goat won't pull,
Daddy's going to buy you a cart and bull.
And if that cart and bull turn over,
Daddy's going to buy you a dog named Rover."
"Only if Daddy takes Rover out in the rain when Mamma's and Baby's hair looks too nice to ruin," Allison sang under her breath.
"And if that dog named Rover won't bark,
Daddy's going to buy you a horse and cart."
"And if that cart ain't an Audi, Baby's going to cry all night long," Allison added.
"And if that horse and cart fall down,
You'll still be the sweetest little girl in town."
In his arms, Kayleigh grunted, wriggling briefly in her sleep. She was wearing a onesie with teddybears on it, with a matching cap with ears and mittens with paws. He'd wrapped her moon-print blanket around her to shush her an hour ago, and she had proceeded to fall asleep in his arms twenty minutes later.
Next to him, Allison was watching them both with a rare soft expression.
"She likes you," she said, and Kevin could feel how wide he was smiling.
"Do you think she's gonna be a Daddy's Girl?" he asked, and Allison laughed.
"She's definitely gonna be a Daddy's Girl," she said, then sighed blissfully. "We're gonna spoil her absolutely rotten," she said.
"Do we get to see the creature Reynolds had to spit out of her-"
"Andrew Joseph Minyard, do not finish that sentence, or you're not getting desert tonight."
"There's desert?" Andrew asked.
It's gonna be such a cozy fic. So totally cozy. And cute. And fluffy. And *checks writing on palm* and adorable.
