Heather May Jennings (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
3forthepriceof1) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
dreamlikenewyork2015-12-18 02:11 pm
3forthepriceof1) wrote in dreamlikenewyork2015-12-18 02:11 pm
@ muserevival | 111.2. Quote
HERE @ muserevival
"Having a baby is a life-changer. It gives you a whole other perspective on why you wake up every day." - Taylor Hanson
PAST SCENE
Even if Heather had her hands full with three infants of her own, there was no way in hell she wouldn't help out with her best friend's little baby and be the aunty-in-everything-but-blood to him. This was one of those days where Joe's parents had taken the triplets for a few hours to give Heather, a stay-at-home-mom, a break. But when Karla's mom got called to the hospital for an emergency with one of her closest friends who had no close family, and her dad was at work teaching, there was no question she would forgo her own break to help out.
Richie had been asleep in his crib when Heather arrived to take over the reigns from his grandmother. The baby boy's mommy in this equation was absent, though not by active choice. It was ripping Heather's heart out to know what Karla, like a sister to her, was going through. Mere months since she had been brutally raped that left her pregnant and deeply traumatised, she had made the heartbreaking decision to go through with the pregnancy and keep the baby. None of it had been easy. Heather had started to see the signs even as Karla's pregnancy progessed. She was suffering post-trauma issues, without a date, but she also seemed entirely separated from the fact she was pregnant. She didn't want to talk about it or plan for the baby's arrival. Postpartum Depression was inevitable.
It hit as soon as Richie was born. Karla hadn't even wanted to hold him. Heather had been there with her as her birthing partner because she had recently done it herself... three times in a row. It didn't make her an expert, but it make her definitely empathetic of the pain of it. She had hoped like hell that once the baby arrived and Karla held him, her feelings would do an complete flip. Heather knew as soon as she held all her beautiful children for the first time, they owned her heart, her soul, and her life.
Karla's condition just worsened and her parents stepped in as Richie's permanent guardians. Whether it would be temporay or for the rest of his life, no one knew. Heather managed to talk Karla down from tearful and heartbreaking cries from Karla that she wanted to give the baby up for adoption because every time she looked at him, it reminded her of the rape. The only way she had coped was going back to college, living on campus, and throwing herself into her studies at med school.
Richie's grandparents were amazing, and Heather stayed close to them. She wanted her children and Richie to have a close relationship from day one. She promised herself, and also Karla, that she would watch over Richie unconditionally. Which is why she was here, picking the tiny little boy up who was sobbing his heart out waking up his nap. She nursed him in her arms, cuddling him and holding him to try to get him to settle a little. The crying eased a little, but his beautiful eyes were still full of tears as he looked up at her. His lower lip was out, an emphasis on the fact he was miserable. He had cried himself up into a sweat, and his thick head of dark hair already showing signs of curls like his mommy was messed up from sleep.
Heather brushed his hair down and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. He was such a beautiful little boy, and Heather knew if Karla wasn't ill, she would see it too. Rocking him softly, she rubbed his back in tender little circles. A lot of this was natural for her now, being a mommy of triplets. She looked at his sweaty, red face and he was giving her those big teary blue eyes again. Her heart twisted, wishing Karla was okay. Richie tucked his head in against her shoulder, a tiny hand wrapping around a handful of her shirt as he tried to seek out comfort. "It's okay, little man. Your momma's going to get well and realise she adores you. I promise you that..."
"Having a baby is a life-changer. It gives you a whole other perspective on why you wake up every day." - Taylor Hanson
Even if Heather had her hands full with three infants of her own, there was no way in hell she wouldn't help out with her best friend's little baby and be the aunty-in-everything-but-blood to him. This was one of those days where Joe's parents had taken the triplets for a few hours to give Heather, a stay-at-home-mom, a break. But when Karla's mom got called to the hospital for an emergency with one of her closest friends who had no close family, and her dad was at work teaching, there was no question she would forgo her own break to help out.
Richie had been asleep in his crib when Heather arrived to take over the reigns from his grandmother. The baby boy's mommy in this equation was absent, though not by active choice. It was ripping Heather's heart out to know what Karla, like a sister to her, was going through. Mere months since she had been brutally raped that left her pregnant and deeply traumatised, she had made the heartbreaking decision to go through with the pregnancy and keep the baby. None of it had been easy. Heather had started to see the signs even as Karla's pregnancy progessed. She was suffering post-trauma issues, without a date, but she also seemed entirely separated from the fact she was pregnant. She didn't want to talk about it or plan for the baby's arrival. Postpartum Depression was inevitable.
It hit as soon as Richie was born. Karla hadn't even wanted to hold him. Heather had been there with her as her birthing partner because she had recently done it herself... three times in a row. It didn't make her an expert, but it make her definitely empathetic of the pain of it. She had hoped like hell that once the baby arrived and Karla held him, her feelings would do an complete flip. Heather knew as soon as she held all her beautiful children for the first time, they owned her heart, her soul, and her life.
Karla's condition just worsened and her parents stepped in as Richie's permanent guardians. Whether it would be temporay or for the rest of his life, no one knew. Heather managed to talk Karla down from tearful and heartbreaking cries from Karla that she wanted to give the baby up for adoption because every time she looked at him, it reminded her of the rape. The only way she had coped was going back to college, living on campus, and throwing herself into her studies at med school.
Richie's grandparents were amazing, and Heather stayed close to them. She wanted her children and Richie to have a close relationship from day one. She promised herself, and also Karla, that she would watch over Richie unconditionally. Which is why she was here, picking the tiny little boy up who was sobbing his heart out waking up his nap. She nursed him in her arms, cuddling him and holding him to try to get him to settle a little. The crying eased a little, but his beautiful eyes were still full of tears as he looked up at her. His lower lip was out, an emphasis on the fact he was miserable. He had cried himself up into a sweat, and his thick head of dark hair already showing signs of curls like his mommy was messed up from sleep.
Heather brushed his hair down and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. He was such a beautiful little boy, and Heather knew if Karla wasn't ill, she would see it too. Rocking him softly, she rubbed his back in tender little circles. A lot of this was natural for her now, being a mommy of triplets. She looked at his sweaty, red face and he was giving her those big teary blue eyes again. Her heart twisted, wishing Karla was okay. Richie tucked his head in against her shoulder, a tiny hand wrapping around a handful of her shirt as he tried to seek out comfort. "It's okay, little man. Your momma's going to get well and realise she adores you. I promise you that..."