- You and Trent take to new parenthood fairly well, if you do say so yourself. It's an adjustment period, (you're responsible for keeping a helpless little person alive and happy, -- that's pretty daunting,) but the two of you have done tons of adjusting over the years. It's no wonder that you do just fine. 

- He's a bit more nervous than you are, however; he's constantly asking you if he's doing this right, if there's anything else that she needs that he should be getting. You thought he was going to die the first time he gave her a bottle, asking if she was eating too fast, if he was tipping the bottle back too far, if he should give her a break. And don't even get started about the first bath. 

- Whenever the baby monitor goes off in the middle of the night, he's the first one out of the bed, telling you to lay back down, he's got her. You never do lay back down, of course, because you know that, no matter what he tells you, he will need an extra set of hands. Besides, you get to see him taking care of her that way, gently lifting her into his arms and holding her close to his chest, singing some lullaby with a sort of sweetness that many would doubt he could posess. If that isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen, you don't know what is. 

- You're worried to death about leaving him home alone with her for the first time, though. It's almost impossible for you to even leave them behind to run a few errands; exhausting as it was, watching the baby had become second nature to you. You figure being without her presence for even just an hour will be strange.

- Still, you trust Trent, especially when he runs every little thing he must do while you're gone right back by you. You confirm his every inquiry before heading towards the car, giving both he and little Trinity a quick kiss before going on your way. 

- You don't expect to come back to find him looking positively helpless, trying his best to hush the baby as he walks in circles around the room, Trinity screaming at the top of her lungs. You quickly drop your bags and take her from him, quietly shushing her as you gently rock her back and forth. Eventually, her wails subside and her eyes close as she falls into a peaceful sleep. You kiss her on the head and lay her down in her crib before attending to your other baby, looking totally and completely dejected on the couch. You smile, nudging him until his eyes open. "You look like you could use a drink."

- The afternoon's drink of choice is a pot of strong coffee, split between the two of you to give you more tag-team power for the next time the baby wakes up. As you steadily work at draining your mug, Trent details the horrors of taking care of a crying baby without you home. "It was impossible," he says. "No matter what I did, she just kept crying. It made me feel godawful."

- You sit your mug down, giving him a pointed look. "I hate to tell you, hon, but she's a baby," you tell him. "Babies cry. It's what they do."

- He rolls his eyes. "I know that," he replies. "It just upsets me that I can't make it better."

- Your heart kind of simultaneously bursts and breaks then: bursts because he's such a wonderful human being, breaks because you know there will so many things in her life that neither of you will be able to fix, and it's already eating at you. Rather than saying any of this, you simply smile at him. "Well, you're doing a great job thus far. I'm sure Trin feels very lucky to have a dad like you." These few words bring light to his eyes and a smile to his face as he thanks you.

- Surely enough, there are things that you can't fix, even some that are made apparent over the next few weeks. There are the hell-sent instances of colic, teething, and earaches, every one making for a fussy Trinity and a pair of very worried parents, one instance ending with you waking up in the wee hours of the morning to an empty bed, only to find Trent sound asleep on the floor of the nursery. When he wakes, he informs you that he was just 'hanging out, in case she needed me.'

- But there are so many beautiful moments that overshadow the stressful ones, little milestones that make you so very happy. The first time she smiles, it's at her father, something that makes you insanely jealous. A few weeks later, though, she gives you her first word: 'mama.' Then it's Trent's turn to play the green-eyed monster. And you were both there months later when she stood up for the first time, both inspiring delight and scaring you to death. 

- It all goes by so quickly, it seems; in fact, before you even know it, it's her first birthday. The two of you talk about this as you leave the nursery after putting her to bed for the night. 

"It's crazy," you tell him. "It seems like just yesterday I was screaming that I was going to leave you."

He smiles in response. "And it also seems like yesterday I was blacking out in a hospital room, funnily enough."

- You smile back at him as the two of you make your way to your own bedroom. Just before you cut the light off, you turn back around to face him. "Can I tell you something?" you ask.

"Shoot," he replies. 

At this point, you're beaming at him. "You're a really great dad, you know that?"

He beams right back. "I try."

You pause, wondering if it's the right time to add the last part. In the end, you decide that sooner is much better than later.

"What would you do if I said 'here we go again?'"

(A/N I got the idea for that ending out of nowhere, oops. Kind of makes me feel like this AU is gonna go on forever.)