Author’s Note: Just a silly little fic I’ve had in my head for a while. Pretty much pure ridiculous fluff.
Summary: Seth and Kaylee discuss names for their first child.
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The sun dipped low in the horizon, a blazing orange globe amongst red and pink tinged clouds. At one sizeable – though not overly extravagant- Los Angeles estate tucked into a hillside for privacy, a man and woman enjoyed the view on their back porch.
They were seated on a wooden bench under a slight overhang, facing out towards a sprawling yard in which two large dogs ran and wrestled. The woman was pulled tight against the man. Her head rested on his chest while his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Their left hands lay one atop the other, fingers playing together, on the woman’s softly rounded stomach.
Sounds of the city were nearly nonexistent as bird chirps, the buzz of insects, and the occasional sounds of playing dogs filled the air. The entire scene was Hallmark movie ending worthy, really.
And then a shriek of laughter pierced through the peaceful serenity of the moment- a normal occurrence at this particular household.
“We are not naming our child, Enterprise, Seth!” The woman laughed. She smacked the man, Seth, on the arm lightly with her free hand.
“But we’re celebrities now, Kaylee. Aren’t we expected to come up with a quirky name that everyone pretends to find charming while secretly wondering if we thought of the poor child branded with it forever? Besides, if Frank Zappa can get away with naming his kid Moon Unit, I think we can name ours after a starship for the ages,” he responded.
“Dear husband of mine, you know I love you and I know you’ll be the best dad in the universe- well, aside from the copious dad jokes…”
“I think you mispronounced ‘because’.”
“Nope, I meant what I said.” She flashed a wry grin as Seth feigned being burned by the tease.
“Anyway, as I was saying, you are the worst at coming up with serious contenders for our “possible names for the Levine Bean” list. And no we’re not naming him or her Bean Levine. Even if the rhyming is kinda spectacular.
“Hey, it’s not my fault you don’t consider Turquoise, Dover, or Kiwi Watermelon as serious possibilities. I think they’d give our baby character.”
For a moment, the grin on Seth’s face outshone the setting sun. Kaylee merely rolled her eyes and looked up at him, two dark brows raised to the heavens.
“Seth,” she said, in a tone which warned her husband his antics were starting to wear on her hormone-frayed nerves.
His face softened then, a look of tender understanding replacing unbridled mirth. He placed a feather-light kiss on the tip of Kaylee’s nose and a soft smile bloomed on her lips.
“Alright, in all seriousness, it’s a tradition of sorts in my family to name a baby after a deceased family member to help keep their memory alive. And in hopes the child will inherit some of the positive qualities of the namesake. Unless the namesake had no good qualities. But then why would you want to name your baby after your mom’s estranged uncle, who she hates, anyway?”
“Well that was a very specific example and now I really wanna know more of your family’s dirty secrets.”
Seth’s smirking mouth opened in reply, only to be cut off.
“…but, to keep us on track, I’ll just say I like that idea. The naming after a dead relative I mean. Who would you wanna name the little bean after if it’s a boy? Maybe your Grandpa Levine?”
“Well if we take great-uncle Garrett off the table, I guess he would be a good second choice.” Kaylee’s eyes rolled once more, but her smile was wide.
“And Henry is a strong name,” Seth continued. “Not too easily changed into a taunting nickname. A good amount of syllables. Rolls off the tongue nicely. Yeah. I like it. The first name on our list is Henry!” He pumped their joined hands in the air in triumph before resting them once more above the current home of the baby up for discussion.
A soft snort sounded from Kaylee.
“And for a girl…”
“Genevieve,” Seth stated, his face suddenly growing kind but serious.
“No.” The word was barely more than a breath. Kaylee’s once jovial expression turned instantaneously downtrodden.
“Why not, Kale? It’s a beautiful name. It’s unique but not so obscure our friends and family will question our sanity. There are tons of possible nicknames- obviously a plus with me. And I know how close you and nana Gen were. Hell, if it wasn’t for her, who knows if we…”
“No, Seth. Just no. I can’t right now. It’s too soon. It still hurts too much.” Her green eyes welled with tears.
Seth chastised himself internally. He shouldn’t have pushed it. He should have figured her grief was still too raw. After all, Gen had barely been gone three months. But he’d thought- no, he’d hoped- considering her as a namesake might help with the healing. Clearly he was wrong. For right now anyway.
In the blink of an eye, Seth pulled his wife onto his lap. Without hesitation she buried her face into his shoulder. As he wrapped his arms around her protectively, he felt the warm wetness of silent tears soaking through his t-shirt. One hand rubbed circles across her back while the other covered her clasped hands in her lap.
Several minutes passed before Kaylee’s breathing evened out and her body relaxed against his. Seth loosened his hold on her. A gentle palm found her chin and tipped it up. With his thumb he wiped away the majority of the tears staining her face before finishing the job with a tender kiss on each cheek.
“I’m sorry dear. We’ll leave that option off. For now at least. If you change your mind before she gets here, we can always circle back.” he said, gazing deeply into her eyes, hoping his own showed how sorry he was for causing her pain.
“Okay,” Kaylee said quietly. Then her eyes narrowed.” She? You know it might be boy, right?”
“I mean, I know you believe that. I, on the other hand, am pretty darn sure there’s a little girl in here.” Seth rubbed Kaylee’s abdomen. “A little girl with dark brown curls and green eyes and a sparkling smile that melts my heart. Just like her momma’s does.”
And with those simple words, Seth watched said smile spread across his dearest love’s lips. As it always did, his heart performed a flip in his chest before promptly turning into putty.
“She sounds beautiful. And like she already has you wrapped around her tiny finger. If it’s a girl, that is.”
Seth merely shrugged and smiled sheepishly.
“But, we still don’t have a possible name for this little princess of yours.”
“Oh, I know!” Seth exclaimed, bright animation returning to his features. “What about Zoey, or Inara, or River?”
“Those are characters from Firefly, Seth, not relatives.”
“Well, I miss them more than some of my actual family members sometimes. Besides, we could start a theme, what with your name and all.”
“Seth…”
“Okay, okay. Well there’s my aunt Martha, my great grandma Rose… Oh! I think I had a second cousin once removed named Donna who was a doctor. And we can’t forget your dad’s long-lost sisters, Amelia and Clara.”
“Nice try, with the faux relations there babe,” Kaylee spat out between snorts of laughter, “but we’re not naming our daughter after Dr. Who companions either. Though i suppose Amelia would work. It is a family name.”
“Wait, really?”
“Yup. Spans back all the way to early 19th century England and my great to the sixth or something power grandma, Amelia Sinclaire. There’s a whole long, kinda crazy story involving treason plots and relatives coming back from the dead. Honestly, I’m not sure how much of it is really true. Regardless, since her time, at least one girl per generation in our particular line of descendants is given Amelia as either a first or middle name.”
Seth sat silent for a long moment, waiting for Kaylee to continue, until it became apparent she’d finished her explanation.
“Wait, are you really just gonna leave me hanging like an overly dramatic season finale? Come on, Kale, tell me the story!”
With a small sigh, followed by a huff of laughter after seeing the pleading look on her husband’s face, Kaylee told the whole drawn out tale. While she spoke, Seth was dead silent, apart from some dramatic gasps at the perfect moments. As each plot twist was revealed, his eyes grew wider and his jaw dropped ever closer to the floor.
“Holy crap!” He said once Kaylee was finished.
“Oh yeah. Deep family history on the Kramer side.”
“Oh yeah, I say we definitely add that to our list then. Who wouldn’t want to be named after someone who apparently starred in a real-life period drama?”
“No one I’d be friends with.”
“Well good. That means we have one of each kind so far. Not a bad start if I do say so myself. Besides, our little bean still has a few months of incubation left. There’s plenty of time to dream up more crazy possibilities.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“It’s rare, but can happen sometimes. Kinda like a writer getting through an entire story or script without second-guessing themselves.”
More laughter erupted from the couple.
Their important conversation done, they settled into a comfortable silence, watching as the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the hillside.
“Hey, Ohio?” Kaylee asked later, once two worn out dogs rested at their feet and the porch light shone overhead- signs that it was probably time to head in for the night.
“Yeah, Iowa?”
“Thanks for making me laugh every single day, even when I feel like I’ll never be happy again. Especially then.”
She reached up and kissed him quickly but tenderly.
“Always and forever, dearest, always and forever. It is my job as your faithful husband. I vowed it and everything.” He straightened his posture during the last sentence, his chest puffing out slightly, like a noble superhero pledging to protect his city.
“Well, if you’re even half as great a dad as you are husband, this baby is going to love you to infinity and beyond. Just like their momma.”
~The End
