#prayandprotect

@aviaviatori

http://aviaviatori.tumblr.com/post/129673622401/you-did-this-to-yourself

@finemxrespice: http://finemxrespice.tumblr.com/post/127330977544/unfortunately-musical-instruments-was

@prayandprotect: http://prayandprotect.tumblr.com/post/124932984322/theoriginalbloodcountess-a-smile-perked-at-the

@oneirophcbia: http://oneirophcbia.tumblr.com/post/122107553628/theoriginalbloodcountess-it-was-obvious

@ghostsandabsinthe: http://ghostsandabsinthe.tumblr.com/post/120166758487/theoriginalbloodcountess-yes-and-you-would-be

@gunsnguinness: http://gunsnguinness.tumblr.com/post/121312335100/blame-it-the-blood

@therisingtempest: http://therisingtempest.tumblr.com/post/118568092396/you-look-bloody-awful-what-are-you-doing-here

@heres-us-and-thedead:  http://theres-us-and-thedead.tumblr.com/post/114456285321/theoriginalbloodcountess-if-she-could-still-laugh

Despite reading every single parenting and childbirth book Mark could get his hands on, he still didn’t feel prepared. Through a bit of criminal activity, they had gotten their own little apartment and every night while Gracie made dinner, Mark sat in the chair by the window with a new book. They both agreed that going to the hospital would be a last resort, they didn’t have enough money and they couldn’t risk being found out. Of course, when Gracie started to show the first signs of labor, Mark immediately regretted their agreement.

While she walked around, he sat on the bed reading another new book and as her labor progressed, he started pacing and she sat down to read the book. As the hours passed, Mark continued switching from pacing to hugging Gracie to obsessively cleaning the apartment. He moved the crib closer to the bed and set down plenty of towels to keep the sheets clean. Occasionally he’d stick a thermometer in her mouth and take her blood pressure and pulse, just to make sure everything was going smoothly. Even her steady vital signs didn’t do much to comfort the poor man.

Much to their relief (and surprise), the baby arrived quietly about ten hours later and after everything was cleaned up, the pair sat together, staring in absolute awe at the red child in Gracie’s arms. The little girl wiggled and cried as Gracie wrapped the yellow ducky blanket around her and Mark snuffled as he watched his wife.

“She’s so tiny, Mark.” She whispered as she continued staring at the child in her arms.

“I th-thought she’d be bigger.”

“Me too.” They giggled together, neither of them taking their eyes off of the baby. Hesitating slightly, Mark reached out and touched the baby’s hand. “What should we name her? We need to give her a name soon.”

“I haven’t thought about it. I’ve been more concerned with you.” His eyes finally focused on hers’ and he leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the lips. “How about nothing biblical? So her name won’t bring back any bad memories.”

“Alright.” She nodded, knowing that even a beautiful name from the Bible might spark plenty of bad memories in the long run. It narrowed down their options but she knew they’d find the perfect name even if a took a week or more. Mid-screech, the baby realized she was pressed right up against Gracie’s breast and it was just what she wanted. She latched on easily and quieted down, leaving the couple stranded in an awkward silence as they thought. After a few minutes of staring at the baby and thinking, the silence was finally broken.

"I can’t think of any names... It’ll take me a while.”

“We can’t just leave her without a name!" Gracie said, looking up at him with a slightly panicked face. How could her husband not have any names picked out? What had he been doing for the past nine months?! “We can’t just called her ‘the baby’ for the rest of her life!”

“Well...I mean, we could...”