Archive of Our Own ^beta

Outside their hospital room window, the sun was setting over Westview as Agatha fed Nicky his dinner. The newborn let out a satisfied yawn, his tiny mouth forming a perfect “O” shape. Agatha smiled as she pinched his cheeks. “Nobody will ever mistake you for being malnourished with these cheeks, kid!”

At that, Nicky grunted and blew her a raspberry.

“Oh, my apologies! I didn't mean to bruise your fragile ego!” Agatha chuckled to herself as she leaned back against her pillow.

Once Rio had gone home to check on Senor Scratchy and pick up a few things for the night, Jen seized the opportunity to whisk Nicky away for a routine newborn exam and “highly encouraged” Agatha to get out of bed and take a shower. Sure, the hot shower felt nice after nearly two days of labor, and Agatha did have to admit she preferred her own bathrobe over a stuffy hospital gown, but the heartache of being separated from her newborn son for even twenty minutes was almost too much for Agatha to bear.

 But now they were finally alone, Agatha just sat and stared at him, memorizing every inch of his perfect little face. “I said no incantation. I spoke no spell. You were made from scratch.” She smiled wistfully as she whispered the words that had become a spell in their own right; words that both she and Rio had recited to her stomach countless times from the moment his presence was known. “Made from scratch, and made from love,” she added, kissing him on the forehead. 

She was so captivated by Nicky that she didn't notice her wife had returned and was watching quietly in the doorway, holding a small bouquet of purple and white flowers. Rio announced her presence with a gentle knock on the door. “Flowers for milady?”

Rio’s voice made Agatha jump. “Pour moi?!” She gasped dramatically, clutching her hand to her chest.

Rio nodded with a cheeky grin as she walked in and put the flowers in a Styrofoam cup on Agatha’s tray table. “Baby’s breath, lavender, and white roses.”

“Baby’s breath?” Agatha snorted. “Don’t you think that’s a little on the nose?”

“Maybe, but they do smell lovely, don’t they?” Rio picked a white flower and held it out for Agatha to smell.

Agatha took a deep breath through her nose and then quickly turned away, gagging. “Oh, God! It smells like my hospital gown after Nicky spit up on it this morning!”

Rio snickered as she climbed into bed next to her wife. “That’s what the lavender is for. And hey, at least you finally showered!” She pulled back a damp strand of hair that clung to Agatha’s neck and tucked it behind her ear.

Agatha scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Jen practically forced me. She snatched Nicky out of my arms and muttered something about a stupid newborn hearing exam, and said that should give me plenty of time to freshen up. Can you believe that?”

Rio gasped. “The audacity of a trained midwife to do her job!”

“It’s not funny!” Agatha insisted, pouting.

“Agatha, she was just trying to help,” Rio admonished her gently. “Besides, you probably smelled like shit after being in labor for two days.”

“She said I couldn’t do it --”

Rio groaned. “Here we go again.”

“She said that his head was too big, and I was going to need a C-section! Well, who’s laughing now, Jenny Kale?” Agatha pumped her fist triumphantly in the air.

“You sure showed her, didn’t you?”

“Damn straight!”

Rio laughed and shook her head. “You are incorrigible.”

“And you love me!” Agatha replied with a smug grin.

“That I do.” She wrapped her arm around Agatha and laid her head on her shoulder, naturally following her gaze to their son, who was now sound asleep. She pulled her phone from her back pocket and snapped a picture to send to the coven group chat. “This oughta keep them quiet for a while,” she said. “They were hounding me for pictures from the second I walked in the door.”

“Is everything okay at home?”

“Yeah. The rabbit’s been fed, and nobody’s burned down the house. The teens wanted to decorate, so Alice and Wanda are supervising.”

“Let me guess: They put up one of those obnoxious signs that say ‘It’s a Boy!’ in bright blue letters?”

Rio winced as she nodded apologetically. “And there are blue balloons and streamers everywhere.”

“After I specifically told Lilia I didn’t want any of that crap?! Why didn’t she stop them?”

“Lilia and Sharon were too busy in the kitchen. They wanted to make sure we wouldn’t have to worry about cooking for the first few weeks, but at the rate they’re going, I suspect we’ll have enough lasagnas and casseroles to last until Nicky starts kindergarten.”

“At least I won’t have to eat your cooking,” Agatha teased.

“Hey! I’ll have you know that your little chaos magic minions love my cooking!”

“They’re teenage boys, my love. They’ll eat almost anything that’s put in front of them.”

Rio began to skulk when Nicky sneezed and startled them both, not because of the noise, but because of what they were now covered with.

“Are these… flower petals?” Agatha asked, totally bewildered.

Rio nodded, grinning proudly as she inspected one of the petals that had fallen into her lap. “Looks like we’ve got a baby green witch on our hands!”

“How is that even possible?” Agatha wondered. Blood witches alone were rare enough, but a blood green witch? That was nearly unheard of.

“I don’t know,” Rio admitted. And that was true. Until she learned that Agatha was pregnant, Rio wasn’t even sure she could safely produce offspring, let alone that they could inherit her unique ability to control the elements of nature.

“That would be just my luck,” Agatha scoffed. “Not only did I give birth to your clone, but he got his powers from you, too!”

“I’m sorry, my love!” Rio chuckled as she gently brushed her fingers through Agatha’s hair. “Maybe the next one will look like you.”

“Are you kidding me? I just birthed a nine-pound baby with a head the size of a melon! I’m never letting you touch me again.”

Rio’s eyebrow raised with skepticism. “Is that so?”

“Okay, maybe not never . But at least not for a very long time because that shit hurt like hell!”

Rio smirked. “I am so telling Jen you said that, Little Miss. I don’t need any of your stupid numbing potions, Kale. It doesn’t even hurt that much! ”

“You wouldn’t dare !”

“Watch me.” Rio threatened as she pulled out her phone and began to send Jennifer a text.

“Alright, alright! I take it back! I should've taken Jenn's stupid potions. Happy now?”

“No, because as much as you tried to hide it, I can always tell when you're in pain, Agatha. Your poker face isn't nearly as good as you think it is. I’m sorry I kept getting called away for work. I would’ve stayed with you if I could.”

Agatha chuckled dryly. “I mean, we are in a hospital! And trust me, I was not left alone for even a second. Lilia and Wanda made sure of that.”

Rio’s smile was soft and warm as she held Agatha’s chin in her hands. “Good. You deserve that. I know you don’t believe it, but I’m going to keep saying it until you do. You deserve all of this, Agatha.”

“You’re right. I don’t believe you,” Agatha responded, her face devoid of any emotion.

“Then Nicky and I will just have to spend the rest of our lives convincing you that it’s true,” said Rio. “And I think you’ve figured out by now that your little coven isn’t going anywhere.”

Agatha smiled and shrugged. “I could learn to live with that. We’re going to need all the help we can get with this little grass Pokémon we’ve created!” She joked, earning another laugh from Rio.

“He’ll learn how to control it eventually. And until then, we can open up an Etsy shop! I bet Sharon could use them to make wreaths or something.”

Agatha gasped. “You want me to profit off of my own child’s magical abilities? Rio, I’m shocked!”

“Oh, you are?”

“Yes! Shocked that I didn’t think of that idea first.”

“There’s the Agatha I know!” Rio leaned in to give Agatha a proper kiss, and the warmth and sweetness of their sleeping newborn’s breath lulled them into their first sleep as a new family of three.