Ryland Grace as a father (to be)
These could be read as adoption or having a biological child. Regardless of how your family looks, it’s valid ✌️
Right off the bat- he’s scared. Whether you guys planned it or not, he’s scared.
For a while he gets serious. Too serious, like he’s a completely different dude. I think he gets so stressed about it because at first because he forgets that being a parent—while a very big part of his life, doesn’t mean he has to do a personality redo. You have to remind him that he’s perfectly capable of being both a caring and responsible parent while simultaneously being the same Ryland you know and love.
After that, he mellows out a ton, plus he’s a lot more excited.
Now, we all know this man doesn’t drive. He probably had a license but he let it expire, so he’s been biking everywhere for the past how many years. You probably have a car that you brought into the relationship, and even though it’s old and probably sucks, it’s still gets you places. You have to sit him down explain to him why he really really needs to get that sorted out.
“So,” Ryland glanced up from his oversized textbook to where you were leaning up against the wall.
“Mhm?” You tugged at the ends of your oversized sweatshirt as you sat down beside him.
“We have a problem.” His brow furrowed as he shut his book.
“What I mean is,” you shot him a pointed look, “you don’t have a valid license.” He blanched.
“And I know that you’re scared-“
“Which is perfectly reasonable.” Ryland spluttered in indignation, straightening up so fast you were surprised you didn’t hear his spine crack. “Do you know how many deaths are related to motor accidents each year? I’ll tell you! It’s—“ You held up a hand to cut him off, looking thoroughly unimpressed. He deflated.
“I understand where you’re coming from, but I feel like this is a non-negotiable when it comes to having a kid.” He hesitated, torn between giving in and putting up a little more of his weak fight. You took this silence as an invitation to quietly keep going. “What if something happens? What if we have to go to the hospital? What if they get sick? What if there’s an emergency and one of us needs to pick them up?” He rubbed his temples and sighed.
“I know, I know, I hear you. I’ll, um…” he looked away, squeezing the bridge of his nose, “I’ll get that taken care of, I promise.”
You gently pulled his hand away from his forehead and pressed a chaste kiss to his knuckles.
At least that motivates him to put in the car seat himself. Fun fact: the most you have ever heard him swear was when he was installing that damn car seat.
Probably does most of the work putting together the kid’s room to take some of the stress off of your shoulders. He definitely includes a lot of science related books and décor.
“Ryland…” you started slowly, staring up at the ceiling.
“Yeah, hon?” He called out from the bedroom.
“Is this…is this a fully crocheted model of the solar system?” He poked his head through the doorway,
“Oh, that old thing?” He shrugged, trying (and failing) to hide how proud he was of himself. “Yeah, it’s nothing too special.” His bravado dropped in an instant when you didn’t reply. “Why, do you not like it? I can take it down if you want.”
“No, no,” you shook your head. “It’s nice.” He frowned, trying to keep his ego from being completely crushed.
“It’s very nice.” You amended, squeezing his arm as you admired the swooping colorful threads adorning the ceiling of your future child’s room. He perked up at your praise.
“It’s still a planet in my heart.”
His clinginess has been turned up a notch (if that’s even possible). If you’re the one carrying the child, best believe he will be getting on your ass about taking prenatal vitamins.
“The bottle shouldn’t be this full, Sweetheart.”
“…what do you mean ‘my bad?!’”
Ryland probably told his class about his impending parenthood and while they were excited, he didn’t think that much of it. UNTIL, that is, they all gathered around him at the end of the period to confront him.
“Alright guys,” Ryland called out, scribbling the upcoming homework onto the whiteboard, “Please do not forget chapter six-“
“Thank you, Cory. As I was saying, please do not forget chapter six tonight like you conveniently did last week…” and he’s about to grab his bag and head to lunch when he realizes he still has about twenty pair of tween eyes locked in on him. He slowly looked around, chucking nervously.
“Uh…the bell rang, you guys.”
“We know.” Olivia said brightly, digging in her backpack. “We have something for you.” This was certainly a first. He froze.
“Oh?” The other students were rifling around in their bags too, passing forward what looked like pieces of paper to Olivia. She tapped the papers—which Ryland now recognized as cards, on her desk until they all neatly aligned.
“We wanted to do something for you before you go on your break.” She held the stack out, smiling shyly. “Hope you like them.” He stared at the pile of cards, biting the inside of his cheek.
“Oh, guys…” This was one of the rare occasions where Ryland Grace was rendered completely speechless.
He rode home in a rush, almost crashing his bike into a tree in his haste and scaring the shit out of you when he practically came tumbling through the front door, tripping over himself with excitement. It took several cups of tea that you practically forced down his throat (as in his own words, “tea was just grass masquerading as coffee”) before you could get him calm enough to form a coherent sentence. The two of you had settled on the couch as you flipped through the cards, admiring the squiggly stars and color pencil drawings from his 8th graders.
“Oh, this one’s for you! It’s from Rekha.” He cleared his throat. “Hi Mr. Grace’s partner, you probably don’t know who I am, but congrats! I don’t know how you can live with Mr. Grace all of the time, he’s kind of weird. Oh, that’s…uh…” He frowned at your uncontrollable laughter. “Should I be offended?”
“No, no.” You shook your head quickly, trying to keep a straight face. “I’m affronted on your behalf.” He narrowed his eyes.
“You think it’s hilarious.”
“I do. You teach hellions, and I love them.”
Regardless of how scared he started out, Ryland is absolutely overjoyed that he gets to be a parent alongside you. He does everything humanly possible to ease your stress during this time. He stays up with you into the late hours of the night listening to your worries, and soothes them with gentle words and even gentler kisses. He reads every book he can get his hands on so he can best support you and the child. He understands he’s definitely not going to be perfect, and he doesn’t expect you to be either, but he knows you two are going to love this kid like they’re the only thing in the universe.
