Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you

[dharmalady]

Juliet Scott was married for five years. Three of them were good. She was young, Damien was too. They were in love and carefree; had fun and had a lot of sex, traveled to a lot of places. She'd been on track to start med school but when she met Damien, she wanted him instead, and she thought she'd always choose him over everything.

Until she got pregnant.

He stuck around for a few months but then, conveniently his job took him away and the stretches of time between being home and being gone were longer. He was never a bad dad to Mia, not once, but it was like a chore to be home, to be a husband and civilian again. Juliet missed him but she tried to talk to him about it and it was a fight, every time. He had a job, he had missions, he couldn't just give that up. So she decided a year and a half ago to not make him choose anymore. She sent him divorce papers, certified mail, with a letter explaining to him that she was tired of feeling like she and Mia weren't a priority. Like he didn't want to be there when he was back in the states. She wasn't surprised when she got the signed paperwork back with no note in response.

She and Mia have been solo ever since, the two of them moving to Miami to be closer to Juliet's sister. Med school finally happens, and now Juliet's an intern and Mia is five. It's been hard, harder than Juliet ever thought she'd have to do on her own, but she's doing it. She's never told Damien he can't be a part of Mia's life, she's never tried to keep him away from her. When she moves, she makes sure someone in his branch of the military, wherever he is, gets her address. She's not even angry at him anymore, just sad that it ended this way between them.

Comments

[inthewar]

"Uh-huh, mommy," Mia grins at her, snuggling up close. "Daddy said the baby makes you a little sleepy 'cause you're helping it grow strong."

[dharmalady]

"That's right. And I did the same thing for you," she says, as she strokes her hair. "I took naps every single day when you were in my tummy," Juliet says with a soft smile.

[inthewar]

"Can daddy have babies in his tummy, too?" She asks, looking up at her with so much curiosity in her eyes.

[dharmalady]

Juliet laughs. "Mommy wishes. But no. Only girls can have babies if they want to."

[inthewar]

"But daddy could grow a baby good, too," Mia insists, feeling that this is really wrong somehow.

[dharmalady]

With a softer laugh, Juliet looks at Damien, kissing Mia's forehead. "Baby, boys don't have the right body parts inside to have babies. Girls have different parts than boys. We've talked about that, right?" She's taught her, girls have vaginas, boys have penises. As a doctor, she just couldn't see the benefit of sugar coating it, and if anyone every put their fucking hands on her, she wanted Mia to know it was wrong.

"You have to have a vagina to have a baby, honey."

[inthewar]

"Okay," she nods in understanding, still thinking it's kind of stupid, but understand it nonetheless. She reaches out, resting a hand on her mommy's belly. "Daddy wants the baby to come."

[dharmalady]

"I do, too. But she's not big enough yet. What about you? Do you want the baby to come?" she asks softly, stroking Mia's hair and letting her touch her belly wherever she wants.

[inthewar]

"I think so," Mia answers honestly. It's hard to say for sure, but she's looking forward to being a big sister.

[dharmalady]

"I love you so much, Mia. You know that?" Juliet kisses her face all over. "You're my first ever baby. That makes you so special."

[inthewar]

"I like being special," she smiles, snuggling up close. "I love you, mommy."

[dharmalady]

"I love you, too, Mia," Juliet breathes out. She loves her more than Mia will ever know, and she just holds onto her, kissing her intermittently before her stomach growls. "The baby's hungry," she grins. "Did daddy get dinner?"

[inthewar]

Mia nods with a grin. "Daddy got pizza. With bacon!" She smiles, getting up and taking her mommy's hand to lead her to the kitchen."

[dharmalady]

Juliet sits with them both to eat, polishing off three slices and some garlic knots before laying back on the couch with Damien, leaning into his arms and Mia curling into his other side while they watch a movie together. Since it's the weekend, Mia gets to stay up a later, and while they cuddle with Damien, Juliet puts his hand on her belly then covers it with her own, holding onto him.

[inthewar]

Damien loves touching her belly like this, enjoying it more than he let himself with Mia. He regrets that so much, but he hopes he's more than made up for it, that Mia knows she's his whole world and the light of his life. Kissing Juliet's temple, he smiles tenderly, stroking her belly.

[dharmalady]

Eventually, Mia falls asleep against her daddy, unable to make it through the entire movie, but they stay together, just like that until the end. In the quiet that follows, Juliet speaks softly. "This is perfect, you know? This is everything I ever wanted."