#dad!hunt

His bride glares directly at him and reaches for another one of his shirts, but he’s just as quick, gripping her wrist in a gentle, yet firm hold.

“Thomas, let go.” She struggles against him, but he is unrelenting, keeping her hand in place away from the hanger.

The director wraps an arm around her growing waist and guides her around the clothes on the floor, leading her to the bed and motions her to sit on the edge as he does. She stays standing, crossing her arms and turning away from him instead. Thomas sighs deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose as he collects his thoughts. He cannot allow anger to rise because he knows this is most likely the pregnancy hormones causing whatever is going on. But, what is going on?

“Please inform me of the reasoning behind tearing into our closet.”

“You have too many clothes.”

The sharp tone in her voice doesn’t even register with him. It’s the statement that finally triggers him. He stands and steps directly in front of her, lowering his face towards her so he can stare into her eyes, their noses nearly brushing at the close proximity.

“I have too many clothes?” His jaw clenches, his dark, intense eyes boring into hers. “Your clothing and shoes take up the entirety of the closet! I have a small portion in comparison to you and you have the audacity to say that I have too many clothes?”

His voice has raised an octave, the usual deep, settling sound higher than she is used to startles her. She immediately drops her head in shame, backing down as she realizes how selfish she’s being. The tears come too easily and begin flooding down her face, sobs wracking her body and with another sigh, he stands to wrap her in a comforting embrace. He holds her, rubbing her back gently while she tries to get control of her emotions. Her slender fingers grip at the lapels of his jacket as she buries her face against his chest, not caring about the mess she’s making of his shirt or her makeup. After a few minutes, she finally collects herself and pulls back to look up at him apologetically.

“I am so sorry, that was… I didn’t mean that. These hormones-- I…” She shakes her head, blushing lightly as she looks away.

His hand reaches under her chin, a finger pushing it up so she has to look at him. His face has softened, the anger gone, replaced with love and care as he looks down at her with worry.

“What started all this?” His voice has lowered as well, the depth of it holding its usual warmth when he’s with her in private.

Stephanie takes a deep breath, her sparkling sapphire eyes still shining from her previous tears as she looks up at him, the blush deepening as each second passes.

“Nothing looks good on me. I’ve tried on every dress I have, everything I have in our closet, but nothing looks good. I’m getting fatter. My eyes have these bags under them, my breasts are huge compared to how they used to be, and I have these stupid mood swings.” Another tear rolls down her cheek, she wipes it away quickly and shakes her head while she breathes out a laugh. “Ridiculous hormones.”

He cannot fathom what he is hearing is what she actually thinks. His dark brows draw together. “You cannot actually believe that.”

“Thomas, look at me.” She steps back and holds her arms out, motiong at her body.

“I have.” He steps back to her, a hand cupping her cheek softly as the other goes to her belly. “You take my breath away each time I see a glimpse of you. You are carrying a child made from our love, that love radiates through you and I have never seen you as beautiful as now. You should understand that I fall more deeply in love with you each day I wake up with you in my arms knowing I’m holding my family.”

Throughout his short speech, her tears began to build up again and at the end, they finally begin falling once more. She wipes at her eyes furiously, sniffing while he caresses the baby bump and her cheek, softly smiling at her. He’d never felt as much love as he does now. Love he didn’t realize he could ever hold for two people. His family. His chest swells with pride as he looks down at his bride with love. He leans down, kissing the shell of her ear before he whispers against it quietly.

“You are a stunning mother.”

She slaps his chest softly, sniffing again. “Stop it, I don’t want to cry anymore.”

When he chuckles, the deep rumble warms her and she wraps her arms around his waist, needing to hold him while she presses her cheek to his chest. He begins rubbing her back in silence and looks around at his shirts littering the floor.

As if reading his thoughts, she speaks up, mumbled by his chest. “I’ll clean those up. But, I think you might need one.” She pulls back and looks at his white shirt stained with mascara.

He nods and cups her cheek once more, smiling so widely the corner of his eyes crinkle. “I love you both beyond words.”

Stephanie swears she will never get used to seeing that smile from him, but she matches it and leans up, kissing him sweetly before she pulls back and begins to lean down to pick up his scattered clothing. 

“We love you, too. I know this baby loves you beyond words because they get really excited when you’re around.”

He smirks and picks up most of the hangers with shirts, taking the ones she’d already grabbed from her and he takes them to the closet, hanging them up again. He smooths them out before he takes a white one off the hanger and carries it with him into the bedroom. He lays it across their bed before he slips his jacket off and begins unbuttoning the stained shirt. His fingers are nimble and efficient in their work as he stares at Stephanie. He sees her eyes following his movements, her breathing hitching subtly at every new inch of his exposed chest and he steps closer to her.

“If the child truly does grow excited when I am near, they must get that from you.” 

Without any hesitation, she reaches forward with both hands and places them on his chest, sighing as her palms meet his warm skin. “We get excited for two completley different reasons, Mr. Hunt, but yeah, they probably do get it from me.”

Another chuckle erupts from his chest and he slips the mussed shirt off, allowing her to trail her soft hands over his toned body. He fights every urge and want to ravish her right now, forcing his hands to stay at his side while she continues her exploration.

“Mrs. Hunt, I believe it would be best to wait to celebrate until we’ve learned our child’s gender.” He smirks at her despondent huff, “You are the one who asked Ms. Sinclaire for this party.”

“Fine.” As soon as her hands leave his skin, he misses the warmth from them, but soon she’s moving away to reapply her makeup.

***

Thomas could not believe that Addison actually achieved an air of elegance he could approve of. She’d lined their backyard with tables, alternating between light pink and light blue tablecloths. Groups of pink and blue balloons also adorn the yard while silver accents the decorations. The colors are not overdone, nothing is overbearing and she was beyond ecstatic when he gave his version of a compliment to her. So much so, she ran off and began talking excitedly with Matt, gripping his hand and arm. Thomas arches an eyebrow and turns to Stephanie who is looking around in awe.

“Is Ms. Sinclaire pursuing Rodriguez?”

“Huh?” Her gaze follows his to where Addi is held close to Matt. “Oh, yeah. They’ve been going out for quite awhile.”

Before Thomas could push for more information as to why he’d not been informed of that, Addison goes to the front of the party, tapping a spoon against her champagne glass to capture the party guest’s attention.

“Thank you everyone for coming to the Hunt’s gender reveal!” Her bright smile widens when friends and colleagues of Thomas and Stephanie’s begin to cheer. “I’ve been holding this secret in for days and it’s really starting to take its toll on me, so I think I’m ready, as are the parent’s, to find out the gender. So without further ado, please turn your attention to the big screen we’ve set up at the back of the yard.”

Everyone turns to look towards the back of the yard at the large screen Addison has set up. A vintage film countdown appears on the screen. A three shows up, then switches to a two, and finally a one until all of Stephanie and some of Thomas’ close friends appear. They are on a set, a green screen behind them with no background and Addison steps forward from the group. Behind her, Matt, Ryan, Chris, and Holly stand with large cards. The cards have both pink and blue designs on them, not giving away any hint as to the gender.

“Hi everyone! We’re here on set preparing to share the exciting news of Thomas and Steph’s beautiful baby’s gender.” Addison steps back between Matt and Ryan, holding her card forward as she prepares to flip it. 

She glances at the group of friends as they start counting together.

“1… 2… 3!”

The cards all flip on the screen while the background of the green screen transitions into a dark sky being illuminated by pink fireworks. As Thomas and Stephanie read out the cards, she starts laughing as tears stream down her cheeks and she covers her mouth while she leans her head onto Thomas’ arm. He feels his lips turning upwards and he reaches over to his pregnant wife, grabbing her hand as her laughing causes him to chuckle.

Matt’s card says “It’s a…” while the rest of the cards spell out "girl".

“It’s a girl.” Stephanie reads it out, beyond excited, her voice cracking while she wipes her eyes. “Thomas, we’re having a little girl.”