Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Joy had dealt with plenty of emergencies throughout her life. Like, the entire world as we know it could fall apart before our very eyes if this isn’t taken care of pronto types of emergency. Having prevented the implosion of the universe on multiple occasions with naught more than a snap of her fingers, the witch was convinced there was no challenge she couldn’t tackle head-on. So of course, she had thought, how hard could it be to take care of her pregnant demon wife?

The answer; it could, in fact, be very, very hard.

To be fair, it was their first pregnancy, and, for all the reasons Joy loved her, Dahlia could barely take care of herself under normal circumstances. Now that her body had become home to the most precious thing in both of their lives aside from each other, Joy had to be the one to constantly step up to the plate, reminding Dahlia that no, a raw slab of meat that you shoved to the bottom of your bag a week ago and subsequently forgot about isn’t a meal, and snapping a rock in half just because you can is not “self care.” And that friendly advice often got lost in translation, registering in Dahlia’s hormone-driven mind as a personal attack. Which is exactly what happened on that otherwise peaceful morning, when Joy walked into their shared living room to find Dahlia proudly holding their entire couch above her head, bending and straightening her arms with the couch balanced carefully atop her outstretched palms.

“Morning, babe!” Dahlia turned to flash her wife a grin, seemingly oblivious to the concern that was overtaking Joy’s features. In greeting her wife, she had become distracted enough for her knees and arms to start wobbling, the couch teetering in her grasp. It was only for a second or two before Dahlia seamlessly regained her footing, but it was more than enough to strike instant worry into Joy’s heart.

“Dahlia, would you mind putting the couch down?” She hoped the exasperation in her voice wasn’t apparent - the way Dahlia had begun bawling the last time Joy scolded her reminded the witch to be as gentle as possible in her approaches to these situations.

“C’mon, Joy, you know I can’t skip arm day!” Dahlia offered her wife another crooked grin, though this did little in convincing Joy to drop the subject.

“Dahlia, sweetie, please put the couch down.”

“And why should I?”

“Because…” Joy was really not in the mood to have another argument about why Dahlia should be resting during her pregnancy, so she instantly scrapped that response and began racking her brain for another reason. “I was planning to sit on it and read.”

“Well, hop on, then! The more weighted the couch is, the better.” That smug smile still hadn’t left Dahlia’s face, and Joy felt like she was about to go into cardiac arrest. She wasn’t frustrated or even annoyed with her wife, just desperate to make her listen, for all three of their sakes. No longer thinking of what conflicts could potentially arise from having this conversation, Joy’s face fell sadly as she begged.

“Dahlia, you could seriously hurt yourself if you aren’t careful. Please, just put the couch down, baby.”

Dahlia’s nostrils flared, her golden eyes flashing with anger. Joy groaned internally; she knew what came next. “Oh, so you think I’m weak?” The demon, of course, had still yet to comply with her wife’s request - in fact, Joy could have sworn she saw her curl her fingers even tighter around the couch’s legs.

“No, babe, that’s not what I said. I just said-”

“That I can’t lift the furniture anymore or I might seriously hurt myself.” The last three words were spoken in a very poor mimic of Joy’s own voice. The witch simply sighed, too wrapped up in thinking of all the disasters that could potentially occur at the moment to even be offended.

“Dahlia, you heard what the doctor said. Come on, if you wanna lift weights right now you can use those smaller ones I bought you, okay?” Joy gingerly reached for a toned arm, only for Dahlia to take a step back from her.

“Oh, you mean those puny ass ten-pound pathetic excuses for dumbbells? That’s what you want me to lift!? For fuck’s sake, Joy, I’m not five years old anymore!” Joy quirked an eyebrow at this; as tiring as it could be to deal with her pregnant wife’s antics, even in the midst of this dispute she couldn’t deny that the idea of a five year old Dahlia lifting ten-pound dumbbells was amusing, and surprisingly easy to imagine.

“Sweetheart, I’m only looking out for you…”

“Oh, yeah, now, all of the sudden, you’re all worried about me! You never had a problem with me lifting weights before!”

“Because you weren’t pregnant before,” Joy stated, as gently as was possible through clenched teeth. “You can go back to lifting as much as you want once the baby is born, but for now, you really need to take it easy, okay?”

The demon unleashed an indignant growl, her blue cheeks now overlaid with a bright shade of red - if this was from yelling or the strain of holding the couch, or a combination of both, Joy wasn’t sure. What she was sure about, though, was that Dahlia’s increasing hormonal volatility wouldn’t allow her to crown Joy the victor of this argument. “Fine, here’s your stupid couch, since you want it back so badly!”

And with that, Dahlia hurled the couch at the wall, leaving a massive hole in its wake before she stormed into their bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

Joy pinched the bridge of her nose as she watched chunks of their living room flake off and fall to the ground. Of course she wasn’t angry at Dahlia; that woman had always been stubborn to a fault, and with her hormones going haywire thanks to the pregnancy, Joy had predicted that quite a few quarrels like this would take place. She just needed to give Dahlia some time to cool off, and then they’d talk it through just like any other disagreement they had had in the past. Their bedroom was completely free of exercise equipment, too, so she could at least be at peace knowing Dahlia wouldn’t be overexerting herself in there either.

Unless, of course, she decided to start bench pressing the bed.

Oh no.

Not even caring anymore if Dahlia yelled at her further, Joy rushed over to their room and flung the door open, a wave of relief coursing through her upon discovering that Dahlia had left it unlocked.

What Joy didn’t expect to see was her wife lying on her side, clinging tightly to a pillow as her yellow eyes glistened with unshed tears.

“Hey…” Joy started in a voice just barely above a whisper, taking a seat next to Dahlia on the mattress. She began to stroke the demon’s hair as she cooed to her. “What’s wrong, honey?”

Dahlia sniffled, curling into herself as much as she could with her protruding stomach in the way. “There’s a hole in our wall,” she whimpered. “And I was really, really mean to you.”

“Aw, babydoll…” Joy bent down, planting a kiss against her wife’s temple. “Don’t worry. The hole is an easy fix.” Hole was putting it lightly - an entire wall had crumbled into a pile of plaster dust - but Dahlia didn’t need to know that. “And you weren’t mean; you’re just hormonal, that’s all.”

Dahlia shifted her gaze up to meet Joy’s, and the witch couldn’t help but smile as she thought to herself that Dahlia looked like a puppy who had been caught chewing its owner’s favorite shoes. “I’m really sorry, Joy…”

“Shhh. All is forgiven, sweetheart. I know you didn’t mean to lash out like that.” Joy scooted closer to the demon, who clutched the pillow tighter.

“You’re right, though… I really should be listening to you. You’re only trying to protect me, and our baby.” A tiny sob bubbled up from the demon’s throat. “How am I gonna take care of a tiny baby if I can’t even take care of myself… I’m gonna be the worst mom ever.”

Joy let out a soft gasp before shifting so that Dahlia’s head was now directly in her lap, allowing her easier access to comfortingly caressing and kissing the tear-stained face. “Oh, baby. Shhhh. Dahlia, you’re gonna be a great mom. It’s okay…” Joy gently soothed her wife as the taller woman’s body trembled with sobs, shushing her until her cries tapered off into nothing. “This is all very new to both of us, I get it. It takes some adjusting to. It’s okay if you mess up sometimes.”

Dahlia sucked in a watery breath, clearly fighting hard not to start crying again. “Being pregnant sucks…” she whined, prompting a sympathetic nod and another kiss from her wife.

“I know, babe. I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you. But you’ve made it this far, and just think; once all of this is over, we’re gonna have a baby.” A grin spread across Joy’s plush lips at that final remark; there were some days where she almost couldn’t believe it herself.

Dahlia sniffled, flicking away a few rogue tears with her knuckles. “You still think I’m strong?”

“Of course I do, sweetheart.” Joy bestowed another kiss upon her wife’s face, this time against her cheek. “You’re putting your body through a lot of difficult changes right now so you can bring a new existence into the world. That’s just about the strongest thing anybody can do.” Painted nails dragged along a defined jawline, making the demon hum contentedly despite herself. “I thought I loved you before, but holy shit, Dahlia, watching you endure this pregnancy like the absolute champion you are has made my love for you soar. You’re the most beautiful pregnant woman I’ve ever seen, Dahlia, you look… like a Goddess.”

Dahlia looked up at Joy again, her eyes glazed over with tears, though the witch suspected these ones were for a different reason. “Really…?”

“Without a doubt, my beloved.” Joy draped an arm around her wife’s shoulders, who in turn coiled her arms around Joy’s waist and buried her face into her stomach. The witch chuckled, her fingers returning to her wife’s scalp to soothingly card through the silver locks.

“Thanks, Joy,” Dahlia mumbled, her words muffled by the fabric of her wife’s shirt, but Joy could hear her clear as day.

“Of course, love. Now c’mon, let’s go fix that wall.”

As it turned out, “fixing the wall” was code for “Joy performing a spell to fix the wall instantly while Dahlia sat on the (somehow still perfectly intact) couch and indulged in ice cream for breakfast.” Not something Joy would typically allow, but the demon had had a Hell of a last few months, so as far as Joy was concerned, she’d earned it.

Was taking care of a pregnant demon the hardest job Joy had ever undertaken? Very possibly. But she had no doubts in her mind that it was also the most rewarding.

Chapter Text

Joy hadn’t wanted to show up for Coven duty that day.

She was nothing if not a woman of her word, and she had already promised Dahlia that she wouldn’t be leaving the demon’s side for the entirety of these nine months. And now, Dahlia was in her ninth month; the baby could arrive any minute now, and Joy wanted to be right there when it happened. But the world didn’t suddenly stop needing to be saved just because Dahlia was pregnant now. (Pretty rude of the world, to be honest.) As much as Joy would have loved to just eschew her Coven responsibilities for a bit, life unfortunately didn’t work that way. So when she got a notification from Hope and Faith that they were needed once more, all she could do was cast a hesitant look at her near-exploding wife.

“You sure you’ll be okay?” she had asked, stepping forward to rub Dahlia’s swollen stomach.

“I’ll be fine, Joy! I’m the toughest demon there ever was, remember? I can get through the day by myself, no problem!” Dahlia countered with a grin and a flexing of her biceps.

“Alright… I’m bringing my phone with me though, so if you need anything, anything at all, don’t hesitate to call me. Got that?”

It was about an hour into her showdown with the Jersey Devil when her ringtone sounded. Joy went into overly concerned wife mode immediately, holding up an outstretched palm to block an incoming punch from the vengeful cryptid. “WAIT! I GOTTA TAKE THIS!”

The Devil barked out a laugh. “If you think I’m going to just stop what I’m doing mid-battle so you can take a phone call-”

Joy locked eyes with him, and the anger in her expression was far more intense than it had been at any other point throughout their scuffle. “Listen here, asshole, my wife is currently nine months pregnant and if you think I’m risking missing the birth of my first child for any reason, you’ve got another thing coming, buddy!”

The Devil let out a soft gasp, clapping both hands over his mouth. “Omigosh, that is SO exciting! Of course, take all the time you need!”

Joy cast him a grateful smile before answering the call. “Hey, you. How are my two sweethearts doing?” she cooed, the rage that had been pouring out of her just seconds ago seeming to have completely melted.

That happy demeanor was just as quickly dropped - though not replaced with anger this time - when Dahlia immediately asked, “How do I know if I’m in labor?” through shallow, labored breaths.

The blood drained from Joy’s face. “What?”

“Like, how do I know this isn’t the fake one?”

“Um…” Joy turned her back to the battle scene, cupping her free hand over her phone so as to not let herself get distracted by the Jersey Devil, who had taken this time to busy himself by fighting Faith and Hope. “Okay, Dahlia, can you tell me exactly what’s happening, please?”

“My stomach started hurting and then I peed on the floor and now it’s hurting worse…” Dahlia punctuated the sentence with an agonized groan, presumably as a contraction hit.

“You peed on the-” Joy gripped the side of her head, her eyes widening. “Oh for heavens’ sake, Dahlia, you read about this! Your water broke!”

There was a split second of silence before the sounds of Dahlia’s hysterical sobbing came plashing through the other end of the phone. “Nonononono I thought that was a metaphor!”

“Shhh, okay, okay, just relax, babydoll.” Quite the ironic request considering that Joy felt as if she was about to go into a panic attack herself, but she knew that if Dahlia sensed how tense she was, it would only intensify the demon’s own agitation, so she tried her best to give off the illusion of being calm.

“I have to wait for you,” Dahlia sobbed, and Joy clicked her tongue, her face falling sympathetically.

“No, baby, you have to get to Spooky General Hospital immediately. Call Milo and have them take you there, okay? I’m going to head over right now.”

“Please hurry,” Dahlia whimpered desperately.

“I’ll be there so soon, baby, I promise. I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

After ending the call, Joy took a few deep breaths to steady herself before searching her contacts for another number.

“Everything okay?” asked Faith, flawlessly dodging a roundhouse kick from the Jersey Devil that was assumedly intended to target her jaw.

“Your niece or nephew is coming,” Joy stated bluntly. “Calling Liam, then hauling ass to Spooky General.” She knew she didn’t have to explain the situation any further to her two best friends - it had been firmly established the minute Dahlia got pregnant that regardless of what was going down while the baby was coming, Joy would be present at the birth. Faith and Hope understood full well that Joy was to prioritize her family above all else - not to mention, they were the ones who had organized the baby shower, they were almost as excited for Joy to become a mom as she was.

Trembling fingers punched in the vampire’s number, and thankfully it only took two rings before he picked up - which may as well have been twenty minutes to Joy’s panicked mind.

“If you’re calling to ask for baby name ideas, Bartholomew if it’s a boy and Wilhelmina for a girl.”

“First of all, those are the worst names I’ve heard in my life. Second, Dahlia’s in labor and I’m fighting the Jersey Devil. Can you temporarily rejoin the Coven while I take my very last minute maternity leave?”

“I’m on my way right now,” Liam responded with no hesitation in his voice. Joy sighed in relief - as pretentious as Liam could be, he was ultimately a really good friend to both of them, and he clearly knew how much this meant to Joy.

“You’re the best,” she said with a contented exhale before ending the call.

“Mama Joyyyy!” Hope playfully jeered with a wide smile as she kneed the Devil in the crotch.

“I’m about to be a mom,” the Coven leader whispered to herself incredulously, finally allowing the reality of things to fully set in. A peaceful smile began to tug at the corners of her mouth, though it was quickly superseded with a look of terror when she realized what this actually meant. “Oh Goddess, I’m going to miss the birth of my first child of a currently unknown gender!”

“Don’t say that! There’s still time,” Faith reassured her in the midst of a butterfly kick.

“Go to her! Go to your woman!” Hope encouraged her, sending a blast of magic the Devil’s way.

“Congratulations!” the Devil called out at Joy as he evaded the spell.

“Thank you!” she shouted back, and with that she was off.

Unsurprisingly, Joy was a nervous wreck the entire way to Spooky General. She was trying to keep her cool, she really was, but she had spent three quarters of a year with a vision of her comforting Dahlia through her contractions, encouraging her as she pushed, both of them looking on in wonder as their baby took their first breaths. And now the vision would remain just that, a vision, all because some jackass had decided that world domination was more important than Joy and Dahlia’s child. Seriously, you’d think even a villain would have the decency to provide at least a week’s notice!

“Maternity wing,” Joy sputtered as she approached the front desk.

“Third floor!” the receptionist chirped back. Joy didn’t even take the time to muster up a thanks before she took off running towards the nearest elevator.

The twenty-three seconds (not that she was counting or anything) it took her to reach the third floor felt like an eternity. Once the doors glided open, she bolted out of that cubicle metal psychological torture chamber, her combat boots squeaking against the linoleum floors until finally, finally, she skidded to a halt in front of a congregation of a good chunk of her and Dahlia’s friends… all of whom looked at her with sympathetic smiles on their faces. Shit.

“I missed it,” she panted. It wasn’t phrased as a question.

“Fret not, Friend Joy! According to my time log, Friend Dahlia only gave birth to [CHILD WITH INDETERMINATE NAME] approximately 14 minutes, 46 seconds, and 939 milliseconds prior to your arrival, so you are not as late as you could have been!” Calculester offered, largely unhelpfully.

“Oh, don’t look so glum, darling!” Milo tried. “You have a baby-”

“DON’T TELL ME!” Joy shrieked, slamming her hands over her ears as she made a beeline further down the hallway.

“Room 356, it’s a little way’s down on the right!” Vicky called after her.

Joy didn’t even bother taking a second to compose herself before bursting through the door.

Dahlia looked up, and just like that, all of the anxiety, frustration, and guilt that had been racing through Joy’s head for the past however many hours evaporated into nothing. The demon’s hair was splayed out in tangled tendrils around her shoulders, her face was glistening with sweat and tears, and she was cradling the tiny bundle in her arms more gently than Joy had ever seen her handle anything in her life (which wasn’t saying a lot, because, you know, it was Dahlia. But it was very sweet to witness nonetheless).

A dopey grin spread across Dahlia’s face, her eyes glossing over with a fresh batch of tears as they settled upon her verklempt wife. “She’s beautiful,” the demon choked out.

Joy swallowed the lump that was forming at the back of her throat. “She,” the witch repeated.

“We have a daughter, Joy,” Dahlia affirmed with a watery laugh.

Gnawing her lower lip, Joy made her way over to her wife’s bedside and situated herself in a spot Dahlia had created by shifting over on the mattress. “This is the lady I was telling you about,” Dahlia whispered to the tiny creature. “This is your mommy.”

Joy carefully took the subconsciously kicking swaddle of blankets from Dahlia as the demon handed it to her, allowing herself to finally get a look at the girl’s face. The witch’s breath hitched as she drank in all of her daughter’s features - pale blue skin, observant chartreuse eyes, a tuft of dark purple hair falling between a pair of tiny peaks on her forehead that would no doubt grow into a rather impressive set of horns someday. Joy blinked in rapid succession to subdue her tears, lest one of them fall against the baby’s head and startle her.

“Hi there, little one,” she crooned, her knuckle tracing a gentle, loving path along the girl’s cheek. Those watchful yellow-green eyes never left her. “I’m your mommy, and I’m so happy you’re finally here. Your mama and I have been waiting so patiently…” The normally composed woman’s voice was cracking at every other word she spoke. Part of her still couldn’t even believe this was real - the love she had for Dahlia and the love the demon felt for her in return had created a new life, and she was more perfect than either of them could have ever imagined. A day that had started off so stressful and hectic had very quickly become one of the best days of her life - and more specifically, her shared life with Dahlia.

After a few more seconds of admiring her daughter, a realization dawned upon the witch. “She needs a name,” she murmured, still not taking her eyes off the girl.

“She needs a cool name.” Dahlia nodded in agreement. “Like Dahlia Jr. Or Cutie Pie.”

Joy laughed as she lolled her head against her wife’s shoulder, careful not to jostle the baby around too much. “Both very fitting. But I think we can do a bit better than that.”

“How about The Cutest and Most Awesome Baby in the Entire Universe?”

“It definitely suits her, but it’s a bit of a mouthful, don’t you think? Not to mention we’ll have to keep changing it as she gets older.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Dahlia murmured before letting out a little disgruntled sigh. “She’s just… too perfect, I can’t think of a name that’s perfect enough for her.”

Suddenly, everything fell into place for Joy. Her own words barely even registering with her, she blinked and whispered, “Erica.”

“Hm?” Dahlia turned to look at her, brows raised in curiosity.

“Erica,” the witch repeated herself, a bit louder this time. “Her name is Erica.”

“Erica,” the demon echoed, that massive grin taking over her features once again.

“Erica Grace Aquino-Johnson-Johjima.”

“Aquino-Johnson-Johjima, huh?” Dahlia let out a yawn, shifting a bit so that her head was resting on top of Joy’s. “Putting my name first. I like the sound of that.”

“I love you,” Joy breathed out, turning to plant a kiss against Dahlia’s exposed shoulder. “So much. And I’m so, so proud of you for doing this, even though I couldn’t be here to help get you through it.” A look of sadness claimed Joy’s features. “Which… I’m so sorry about, by the way.”

“Hey, don’t sweat it.” Dahlia kissed Joy’s forehead, then Erica’s. “The important thing is that you’re here now. The three of us are here. Together. As a family.”

A family. Something about hearing that phrase spoken out loud broke the dam behind Joy’s eyes. The witch pressed a clenched fist to her mouth to keep herself contained, and Dahlia was instantly leaning in, gracing her with a torrent of soft kisses to mop up the tears that tumbled down Joy’s flushed cheeks.

“I love you, Joy. Mommy.”

Chapter Text

“You okay in there, pumpkin? You’ve been in there for like, a whole hour…”

Truthfully, it had only been just over twenty minutes, but Joy was too overwhelmed to bother correcting her. With a sigh, she ambled over to let her wife into the bathroom; as soon the door swung open, Dahlia was met with the sight of a disgruntled-looking Joy and the negative pregnancy test clutched between her index finger and thumb.

“Nothing. Again.” Joy let out another sigh, motioning to an array of pregnancy tests that were lined up on the bathroom counter, all bearing that same singular red line. “I don’t understand - we did everything exactly the same as we did last time. There’s no reason for it not to have worked.”

“Huh…” Dahlia cast her wife a sympathetic look - she couldn’t say she understood exactly what Joy was feeling right now, given that they had gotten the demon successfully pregnant on just their first attempt at the fertility spell, but she knew how badly Joy had wanted to carry, not to mention how much they both wanted their daughter to have a younger sibling. The demon quirked her lips upward into an encouraging smile, hoping her own sadness wasn’t too visible through it. “Maybe it just needs more time! Or something.”

“It’s been weeks already, Dahlia… it should have worked by now.”

“Right… should we maybe try doing the spell again?” Dahlia offered her another look of encouragement, but Joy only released another disgruntled breath and rubbed her temple.

“Hmm… yeah. Maybe.” Clearly not wanting to stay on the subject for too much longer, Joy stepped forward and curled a hand around Dahlia’s bicep. “How are you feeling, though? I know you were having a bit of tummy troubles yesterday…”

“Ah, I’m fine! I just came here to, uhh… ughhh...” A pale shade suddenly coated Dahlia’s face, her throat convulsing and a staggered gasp bubbling up from her lips before she promptly hurried over to the toilet. Groaning empathetically, Joy wasted no time in crouching down next to her and gathering a fistful of platinum hair to keep it away from Dahlia’s face as the demon emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

Dahlia continued to vomit for a few seconds before looking back up, a dazed expression layered over her normally bright and zestful eyes. “Ugh… bleh. Okay, I’m good. I’m okay…”

She looked far from okay, to be honest, but Joy didn’t feel like saying anything that would toss her wife directly into “stubborn and refuses to accept help” mode, especially not when Dahlia was already feeling so shitty, so she merely smoothed her palm over the small of Dahlia’s back in what she hoped was a comforting circular motion. “Poor thing… you must’ve eaten something bad, huh?”

Dahlia wiped some stray droplets of puke from the corner of her mouth. “Yeah, I guess so… heh, I don’t think I’ve puked this much since I was preggers with Erica.”

Despite everything they were both going through that morning, a small, amused smile claimed Joy’s features - it was hard not to when faced with memories of Dahlia’s pregnancy with their first (and as of yet, only) child. “Yeah, no kidding. It’s almost like you’re experiencing all my morning sickness for me…” It was intended to be a joke, but as soon as the words left Joy’s mouth, they tapered off thoughtfully. Her hand not leaving Dahlia’s back, the witch’s gaze locked onto the wall as the implications of her words seeped in.

“Haha, yeah, exactly! Right…” A similar look of thought appeared on Dahlia’s face, and both women sat in silence for a few minutes, neither knowing what to say next after that.

“Um…” It was Joy who finally ended up breaking the quietude, chewing her lip as she stood up to retrieve an unopened pack of pregnancy tests from beside the sink. “Do you wanna, maybe, you know… take one of these? You know… just in case. I mean, it probably won’t be positive, but… just so we’re absolutely sure. Right?”

“Yeah! Couldn’t hurt just to check, right?”

Within minutes, Dahlia was seated on the toilet with Joy parallel to her on the edge of the bathtub, the witch toying with her thumbs nervously as they waited for the results. They had been together long enough by this point that doing their business in front of each other wasn’t an issue, especially not within the context of their current situation. A lot of emotions were happening at once, they needed to be with each other right now.

“Hm…” Joy’s bare thighs scraped against the cold porcelain of the tub as she shifted awkwardly, her eyes full of tentativeness as she looked up at Dahlia. “Riri awake yet?”

“Not quite. Our little warrior princess needs plenty of rest if she’s going to conquer the day, haha!” The demon’s eyes flicked over to the test, but didn’t depart, a notable change in her expression forming as her gaze remained stagnant on the little white stick.

Immediately upon noticing where Dahlia’s stare was, Joy gulped thickly and began gnawing her lower lip. “Anything…?”

“… Joy…”

The softness in Dahlia’s voice did absolutely nothing to keep Joy’s nerves at bay. “Dahlia…?”

There was another fraction of a second of silence, then suddenly, Dahlia was tossing the test aside, lifting Joy into the air, and twirling her around, a massive smile stretched across her face; a smile Joy had only seen on her one other time. “JOY!”

Joy was too caught up in the mere shock of what had just happened to share any of Dahlia’s excitement with her. It didn’t take a genius to realize what Dahlia had seen, but she still needed to understand, for her own peace of mind. Blinking hard and with her jaw hanging open, all the witch could manage was a breathy, “… what?”

Dahlia set her wife down, her grin unwavering. “You’re not gonna believe this - we’re having another baby! I guess you accidentally cast the spell on me instead, haha!”

The witch’s hand flew to her mouth.

She messed up the spell.

And now, Dahlia was going to experience another nine months of pain because of it.

She should have been celebrating, she knew this. But all she could feel in the moment was a rush of guilt, and the feeling that she was a failure, as a witch, a wife, and a mother.

“Shit… shit. I must have done something wrong somewhere… I’m so sorry, Dahlia-!”

“Hey, no, it’s okay!” Dahlia held Joy’s hands in her own, gazing lovingly into her wife’s eyes. “We’re gonna have another baby, Joy! Another warrior for our little army!”

“B-But…!” Panic continued to spread throughout the witch’s body, her eyes starting to fill with tears. “Your pregnancy with Erica was so hard on you, I… it was supposed to be me this time…”

“Hey…” Dahlia’s hands fell against Joy’s shoulders, their eye contact never breaking. “I won’t lie, carrying Erica was one of the toughest trials I’ve ever faced. It was filled with hardships and obstacles of the likes I’ve never seen! But, Joy…” Her expression melted into one of pure love and tenderness. “It was also one of the greatest things that’s ever happened to me! And I’d do it again any day, for us, and our family!”

Joy gulped and took a step forward so she could rest the palms of her hands against Dahlia’s stomach. Her thumb smoothed over the ridges in Dahlia’s abdomen for a few moments, right where she swore for a second she could feel a tiny heartbeat beneath the skin. Her gaze traveled back up to her wife's face, lower lip trembling. “Another little warrior, huh…?”

“Yeah! And besides… after our new little soldier comes to join us, we can always try again! I know you’ll get it next time, I’m sure of it!”

Next time. The knowledge that Dahlia would allow Joy to try for a third, along with the reality of their situation, hit all at once, and Joy's frustration immediately scattered to make way for unbridled bliss. The witch choked on a sob before a watery smile took over her features. “We’re having another baby!”

The girls embraced each other, pressing their foreheads together and promptly dissolving into a mess of happy tears and sloppy kisses. So overtaken by the rapture of realizing that their family was finally growing, both of them almost missed the soft creaking of the door tilting open, and their almost-three-year-old daughter’s head emerging from behind it.

“Oh, hey, look who it is!” Dahlia grinned at Erica, beckoning her to come and join them.

“Why are you guys crying…?” she asked, as childishly innocent as ever, making both women laugh breathlessly.

Joy wiped at her eyes before crouching down to her daughter’s level, looking at her with all the love and wonder she held for her. “Your moms are really happy right now, sweetheart, because we just found out Mama’s gonna have another baby soon.”

“You hear that, little warrior?” Dahlia laughed with a clap of her hands. “You’re gonna be a big sister!”

“Come here!” Joy gingerly clasped her fingers around her daughter’s wrist, dragging her hand forward so she could place it against Dahlia’s lower abdomen. “There’s a baby in there!”

“Do you feel them?” Dahlia peered down at Erica as the toddler’s little fingers roamed around her torso. “They’re so excited to meet you!”

“Baby in here…?” Erica looked up at her mother curiously, the childlike wonder swimming in her eyes more than enough to make the demon’s stomach do backflips.

“Yeah, honey, baby’s… uhhh…” Okay, nope, it definitely wasn’t the look on Erica’s face making Dahlia’s stomach turn. “Hold on a sec, sweetpea-!”

Dahlia hunched over the toilet to vacate her digestive system once more, effectively shattering the tender family moment they’d all been sharing. With a sigh of “oh, Goddess” muttered under her breath, Joy joined her at her side to comfort her once again, politely explaining to their daughter that the baby was making Mama’s tummy hurt and that if she wanted to go wait in the living room, they’d meet her there as soon as she felt better.

This was going to be a long nine months indeed.

“Still upset that you messed up the spell?”

For the first time since he had been born, Joy allowed her gaze to stray from her newborn son so she could respond to Dahlia’s quip with a lighthearted roll of her eyes. “You kidding? He’s perfect, I wouldn’t have things any other way right now. If every baby you have is gonna be this gorgeous, it’s no wonder fate won’t let me get pregnant; I just can’t live up to you.”

“Hey now, who keeps putting those gorgeous babies in me?”

“Oh, yeah, I guess that’d be me, huh?”

They shared a mutual playful grin before turning their attention back to the tiny boy that lay sleeping against Dahlia’s chest. Unlike his sister, he bore a lilac complexion, and his hair was the same shade of pale gray as Dahlia’s, but he was otherwise the spitting image of Joy, right down to the small, dark birthmark that adorned his cheekbone. The two things he did share in common with Erica, though, were the little horns budding above his forehead and his yellowish-green eyes, which were currently hidden behind a curtain of moth-like silver lashes.

“Okay, I named Erica, so I think it’s only fair that you get this one,” said Joy after a few more minutes of admiring him. “However, I still reserve the right to veto any name you come up with if it’s stupid.”

Too enamored with her son to be offended at Joy’s suggestion that Dahlia would pick a “stupid” name, the demon skirted her thumb along his round, plum-like cheek, humming thoughtfully. “You know… I’ve always liked the name Felix for a boy.”

“Felix?” Joy rested her head against Dahlia’s shoulder. “That’s really cute, actually. I like it." She turned to kiss her wife's bare shoulder. "Have you thought of a middle name?”

“Hmm… how about Damon?”

Joy’s face contorted curiously. “You know… ‘Damon’ sounds an awful lot like…”

“Nuh-uh! It doesn’t sound like anything, I just…! I think it’s a cool name, that’s all.” Dahlia’s lips pulled into a soft pout, the pink hue dusting her cheeks most likely the product of more than just exhaustion. Joy didn’t press the issue further, though, figuring that if she continued to argue, Dahlia would end up choosing a different name, and Joy was really feeling the ones she had already tossed out.

The witch reached forward to lightly trace her son’s jaw, chuckling under her breath when he stretched out his entire body to let out a tiny yawn. She couldn’t be mad at herself anymore, not when her little “mess up” had led to something so beautiful. She was falling harder in love with her son every second, and harder in love with her wife and daughter every day, and there wasn’t a thing about her life that she would change. Feeling the sting of fresh tears emerging from behind her eyes, Joy leaned forward to stamp a gentle kiss to his velvety forehead.

“Welcome to the world, Felix Damon.”

Chapter Text

“Mommy! Mommyyyy!”

Just turning over in bed so she was facing her five-year-old daughter was an ordeal for Joy. At only three months pregnant, the witch was struggling a lot. She had figured triplet pregnancies were probably harder to go through than regular ones, but that didn’t mean she was prepared to deal with one herself. Most if not all mornings were spent hunched over toilets retching, and there were times where she couldn’t walk for more than a few minutes without needing to stop and sit down. That morning had been particularly rough - her head was throbbing, her vision was blurred around the edges, the slightest movement would send a searing pain rippling throughout her nervous system, and a feeling of intense nausea loomed over her even after she had already spilled the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Not to say that she wished she wasn’t pregnant - the thought that she and her wife would have not just one, but three new additions to their rapidly growing family in just a few months’ time made all of this worth it, no question about it.

But holy fuck, the sickness.

Despite the discomfort she was in, Joy didn’t have to force the smile she cast at her daughter. In all honesty, Joy could think of very few scenarios in which seeing Erica wouldn’t immediately lift her spirits, even if just for a moment. “Hey, bug.” If lifting her arm didn’t seem like such a chore at the moment, she would have reached out and ruffled the girl’s hair. “Mm… Where’s your brother?” Of course, even in her current state, Joy’s priority was always ensuring the well-being of her children. Felix was probably fine, and undoubtedly in the house somewhere, but Joy’s line of work gave her no room to just assume so.

“Mama’s putting him down for a nap.”

Joy gave a relieved smile, both at the assurance that her son was okay and that Dahlia was carefully aware of how much sleep the toddler needed. “Whatcha got there?” she asked, nodding towards the mug Erica had her tiny hands circled around.

“Mama said you weren’t feeling very well, so I made you some tea!” Erica extended her arms so her mother could get a closer look - Erica’s idea of “tea,” as it turns out, was a cup of tap water swirling with clumps of flowers and leaves pulled from their backyard. “I wanted to make it hot with lemon and honey, like you and Mama always make me when I’m sick, but Mama said not to use the stove so I made you this instead.”

The thought of little Erica so determined to prepare a cup of tea for her mother, combined with the knowledge that Dahlia was so attentive when it came to keeping their daughter safe, made Joy’s heart start to swell in her chest. Probably for the best that the tea was inedible anyways - she most likely would have puked up anything she did drink right now. “Aww, thank you, sweet girl. You can go ahead and leave it next to Mommy’s bed and she’ll drink it later, okay?”

“Okay!”

As Erica stood on her toes to place the cup on top of Joy’s night table, Dahlia walked in, wearing a pout of faux disappointment as she looked down at their daughter. “Ricky, I told you not to bother Mommy while she’s resting.”

“Nuh-uh! You said not to bother Felix while he’s resting, you didn’t say I couldn’t bother Mommy!”

Joy laughed at this. “She’s got you there. In any case, she’s not a bother at all; she’s being very good right now.” Joy punctuated the statement with a kiss to Erica’s forehead, making the girl beam with pride.

“Well she won’t bother you anymore, because I hear there’s a death reaper in our living room right now who really misses their little niece!” Dahlia grinned and raised an eyebrow, and Erica gasped at the implications of her mother’s words.

“Auncle Milo is here!?”

“They sure are, bud! Why don’t you go play with them?”

A toothy grin illuminated the little half-demon’s face as she nodded enthusiastically before bounding down the stairs to greet her favorite out of her parents’ friends (and one of the only few that they would trust around her, to be frank).

Once Erica was gone, Joy turned to Dahlia and snorted. “Auncle?”

“Hey, I asked Milo what they wanted Ricky to call them, and that’s what they came up with!”

Without having to be asked, Joy scooted over, creating enough space in the bed for Dahlia to slip in beside her. The demon wrapped her arms around her wife’s torso, eliciting a contented sigh from the witch as she lolled her head against Dahlia’s shoulder. “In any case, I didn’t know they were coming over today.”

“Oh, I asked them to! They’re gonna look after Erica and Felix for the day so you can rest.” Dahlia gave Joy a little squeeze, which the witch responded to with a frown.

“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of my own children right now. There was no need to-”

“Hey.” Dahlia pulled back to look at Joy - bloodshot-eyed, ashen-skinned, messy-haired Joy, who still looked like the most beautiful person in the world to Dahlia. “Remember what you told me during my pregnancies?”

Joy’s lips parted, and she swallowed softly as she recalled it. “I said that your body was a temple, and that it was now home to the most precious thing in both of our lives besides each other, and that you had to take really good care of it and not overexert yourself.”

“Exactly! And I only had one precious thing inside me both times I was pregnant, you have three. Now it’s my turn to tell you to take it easy. Hell, Joy, you could barely make it to the bathroom this morning without your knees giving out. You deserve a day to yourself to relax! It doesn’t make you a bad mom, and it doesn’t mean the kids are gonna love you any less for it.”

The witch’s brows crinkled. “What about you? Can’t you look after them?”

Dahlia wrapped an arm securely around Joy’s shoulders and drew her closer. “Hey, I’m not gonna let my fearless leader take a sick day without someone being there to take care of her.” She pressed a kiss to the witch’s temple. “If there’s anything you need, anything at all, I’ll be at your beck and call today. Plus, I doubt the kids would be too happy if we told Auncle Milo to go home right now.” The sound of Erica squealing with delight from downstairs served to prove Dahlia’s point.

Joy’s lips began to stretch into a smile despite herself, but her face abruptly fell when the implications of Dahlia’s words set in. “Wait - the Coven. Oh, Goddess, what if there’s some kind of emergency today? What if the world needs saving but I can’t save it because I’m too pregnant?”

The poor woman looked like she was about to suffer another vomiting fit with how stressed out she was, but Dahlia quickly calmed her down with another kiss to her forehead. “Relax. I already called Liam and delegated all your Coven duties to him for the day. The world’s in good hands, trust me.” Dahlia felt Joy relax against her. “For now, you just take it easy, alright? I’ll tell the little ones to take it easy too.” An open palm fell against the witch’s swollen stomach, making her hum contentedly.

“Mhm… thanks, sweetheart.”

“Anything for my girl.” The demon bent down to bestow a kiss upon her wife’s navel, tracing comforting circles into the sides of her stomach. “Hey,” she spoke directly to the bump. “You three be good, alright? Your mom’s working real hard to bring you guys into the world, so you better be nice to her.”

Joy blinked away some tears of adoration as she watched her, bringing a hand up to lovingly pet the demon’s head.

“I’m not mad at you three, but you’ve given Mommy a real hard time lately. Just ease up a bit, that’s all I’m saying.” She pressed a kiss to the bump, then two more. “Thank you. We love you guys.”

Joy closed a hand over her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut, letting a few stray tears run free. Hearing such sweet, genuine words from one’s wife, coupled with hormones going haywire from a three-in-one pregnancy, could have that effect on someone. And as Dahlia smiled warmly at her and took her cheeks in her hands to kiss her tears away, Joy reminded herself just how lucky she was.

Some twenty minutes later, Joy was out cold, snoring softly against Dahlia’s shoulder. The demon was about to doze off herself when a notification from her phone jostled her awake. Curiously, she picked it up to check; oh, Milo was just live streaming. Nothing new.

Wait.

Milo was live streaming?

While they were supposed to be supervising Joy and Dahlia’s kids?

Her nostrils flaring, Dahlia joined the live stream, fully prepared to spam Milo with angry comments and encourage their fans to get #MiloBelladonnaIsCancelledForChildNeglect trending on Twitter.

The tension in her body dissipated, however, when she was met with the sight of a grinning Milo and a just as widely smiling Erica perched on their lap.

“Hello, darlings! Today I’m here with my darling niece - introduce yourself, honey!”

Erica offered the camera a proud grin and a little wave. “Hi! My name is Erica, and I’m half-witch, half-demon! My mommy’s a witch and she’s part of a super cool Coven who saves the world! And my mama’s a demon, and she tells me that one day I’m gonna help her take over the Eighth Circle of Hel-”

“Okay, good job, thank you, sweetheart!” Milo clapped their hands together with an awkward laugh. “Anyways, today the adorable little Erica is going to be doing my makeup for all you lovely monsters who are watching!”

Dahlia idly played with Joy’s hair as she watched the stream, making sure the volume was turned down so it wouldn’t disturb Joy. Milo let Erica do their eyeshadow, lipstick, and nails, and it went exactly as one would expect a five-year-old doing makeup to go, but the way the reaper cooed into their hand mirror about how “pretty” Erica had made them caused Dahlia’s heart to melt.

Joy shifted against Dahlia’s shoulder in her sleep. The demon curled a hand around her wife’s bulging stomach, smiling as she thought of how soon they’d be here. How in just a few more months, she’d get to introduce them to their big sister and brother and all of their parents’ friends.

She couldn’t wait to meet them.

Chapter Text

Gone were the days of Joy waking up at a reasonable hour. She wasn’t unused to being roused from her sleep thanks to an emergency alert about a world-saving mission requiring magic, but now, all she needed were the silvery, plaintive wails of her daughter and she was up in a flash to prepare a bottle for the girl. It saddened her that she couldn’t nurse Erica herself, but she knew how taxing pregnancy and labor had been on Dahlia, and refused to add on to her wife’s exhaustion by waking her up at ungodly hours to feed their daughter. Now, she was sitting at the edge of their bed with Erica in her arms, pressing a bottle to the girl’s lips and watching the little half-demon hungrily suck up its contents.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, I know it’s probably not as good, huh?” Joy cooed, smoothing an indigo curl from her baby’s forehead.

Erica stared back up at her with those wide chartreuse eyes, and it was like she was casting a spell to fill Joy with the insatiable desire to kiss her tiny forehead, which the witch succumbed to every time.

Dahlia stirred behind them, hoisting herself out of the tangle of their sheets to sit behind her wife and wrap her arms around the witch’s torso. Her golden eyes were clouded with sleep and she bore an almost childlike expression of peace, strikingly similar to Erica’s own.

“Mm… morning, sweet potato,” Dahlia whispered huskily, lips sliding against Joy’s cheek in a lazy kiss.

Joy chuckled at the customary nickname her wife had given her, way back when they first began dating. “Morning, honey.”

“Good morning to you too, little warrior!” Dahlia announced with a grin, her energy seemingly having restored itself at a miraculous rate as she affectionately ruffled Erica’s hair.

“Little Warrior,” upon hearing her mom’s not-so-quiet voice, decided to shriek a reply, her shrill howls filling the open air as they spilled from her (relative to the sounds she was making) tiny mouth.

“Shit!” Joy hissed under her breath, starting to bounce the girl in an effort to soothe her, but Dahlia scooped Erica out of Joy’s arms, casting a wink her wife’s way when the witch gave her a questioning glance.

“Let the master do it, babe.” Dahlia nuzzled Erica gently, and the baby’s sobs came to a halt almost immediately, her chartreuse eyes shining as she watched her mom’s facial expressions change rapidly with each nonsensical word that came out of her.

“Aww, there’s that smile! Who’s my happy little warrior princess? I demand an answer!” Dahlia crooned, curling her lips over her teeth so that she could safely mime biting the baby’s cheeks. The “answer” she received (and the one she was expecting, Joy hoped) was a toothless grin, and it was more than enough to satisfy her.

“Look at that,” Joy whispered, a smile of her own claiming her features. “She’s got a smile that could end a war.”

“A smile that could win a war!” Dahlia corrected, beaming back at the both of them.

Too caught up in her own bliss to argue, Joy merely chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right.”

It was strange, Joy thought as she watched the two. It wasn’t that Joy had anticipated that Dahlia wouldn’t be good with children - she wouldn’t have agreed to even have a child if that were the case - but actually seeing it for herself was truly extraordinary. There was such a carefulness in how Dahlia spoke to the little girl, one that she didn’t have in other affairs.

Watching how quickly Erica would calm down in Dahlia’s presence was indeed something special. She loved her other mom too, of course, but there seemed to be some kind of gravitational pull between the baby and the demon. I guess growing inside someone for nine months will do that to you, Joy mused to herself, her gaze never leaving the two as Dahlia husked her shirt off and got into position to feed Erica.

“What? She’ll get all grumpy again if I don’t feed her,” Dahlia explained when she noticed Joy looking.

“Seriously? You don’t even notice when I’m hungry. Who are you and what have you done with my wife?” A lopsided grin tugged at the edges of Joy’s mouth, indicating that her teases were meant to be lighthearted.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you only eat weird things. Like, what even is a quinoa pilaf?”

If not for the fact that Dahlia was holding an infant, Joy would have playfully shoved her.

Within a few minutes, Erica had fallen back asleep, and Dahlia had joined Joy at the kitchen table for their own breakfast. They ate in a comfortable silence, Joy lost in thought and Dahlia too busy eating to care about conversation. Eventually, Joy spoke, her voice gentle and tentative through bites of granola. “Hey, Dahlia…?”

“Yeah…?”

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t feel comfortable, I guess I’m just kind of curious… but… what was it like? … Giving birth, I mean.”

Contrary to how Joy had expected her to answer, Dahlia sighed wistfully, a serene smile eclipsing her features as she reflected on it. “Ah, giving birth… one of the toughest trials I’ve ever faced. I won’t lie to you, it really wasn’t easy… I think I may have broken a couple of Damien’s fingers while trying to push Erica out.”

This prompted Joy to set her spoon down, eyes widening the slightest bit. “You brought Damien into the delivery room with you? Of everyone that was there?”

“Milo wanted to livestream the whole thing, Calculester seemed more interested in studying the ‘miracle of organic birth’ or whatever than being emotionally supportive, and Aaravi and Amira looked like they were about to puke at just the thought.”

Joy snorted. “Okay, Damien it is, then. Oh, wait, what about Vicky?”

“Vera wouldn’t let her. Said it might ‘give her too many ideas,’ or something.”

Both women hid a crumpled smile behind their hands at this - they could tell from the way Vera looked at Erica that parenthood was a very real possibility for the future of the gorgon and her undead wife.

“But, yeah. I mean, it’s not like I asked Damien to enter the room with me. He just kind of… did it? I dunno, it felt like my organs were tearing themselves apart, I don’t think I was really paying attention to who was where at what time. Erica was really fighting to get out, and she was fighting hard. Guess she inherited her Mama’s strength, haha!”

“I think she inherited a lot of things from you.”

“I dunno, Joy… she’s got your charisma for sure. The way she gets everyone in the room fawning over her with just a look? You’re the only other person I know who can do that. And she took my features, mostly, but her little button nose is definitely yours.”

“Really?”

“Totally. It’s the first thing I noticed about her.”

Joy smiled at this.

“Anyways… Damien was surprisingly really helpful. He actually cried when he saw Ricky for the first time… He made me promise not to tell anyone, but at this point, he should know that whenever I promise not to tell anyone something, what I really mean is I’m not gonna tell anyone other than my wife. His mistake.” She shrugged.

“Oh, don’t worry. My lips are sealed.”

“I know.” Dahlia winked. “But, yeah. It was tough, but… once she was finally here, I took one look at her face, and I knew right away that all the trials and tribulations had been worth it. Definitely one of my toughest battles, but… it was also one of the most beautiful things that’s ever happened to me. And, I dunno…” She shifted a bit in her seat, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. “I kinda hope you get to experience it someday, too.”

Joy pouted a bit in thought - whereas Dahlia seemed quite adamant about raising a “little army” together, Joy had always figured that she would be more than happy with just one kid. It was reasonable that they’d each feel the way that they did, considering Joy was an only child herself and Dahlia came from a large family. But something about watching Dahlia go through her pregnancy and actually seeing what their lives were like with a baby present had possibly given the witch a change of heart, and now she often found her mind drifting to what she would look like cradling her own swollen belly. She leaned forward to clasp the demon’s hand, hoping Dahlia didn’t notice the tear that was brewing in her eye.

“Thank you, Dahlia… that means a lot to me.”

Dahlia smiled, smoothing her thumb over the ridges in Joy’s knuckles. Erica, ever talented at perfect timing, suddenly started to screech again. Their tender moment all but forgotten about, the two hastily departed from one another as they rushed to tend to her once more.

Over the next few months, Erica continued to sprout, and Joy was begrudgingly reminded that being Erica’s mom wasn’t her only job.

It had been nice to take a break, especially because she was certain that things had been left in good hands, but it couldn’t last forever. In a lot of ways, Joy felt that becoming a mother had improved her performance at work. If she ever felt herself beginning to lose a battle, all she had to do was think of Erica’s smiling face and she was back on her feet, expelling blasts of magic more powerful than ever before.

But work was also putting a rift between her and motherhood. Erica’s was usually fast asleep by the time Joy returned home, and threats to the safety of earth weren’t on any sort of fixed schedule, meaning the witch often found herself hustling off to tend to an emergency mission before sunrise, leaving Dahlia with the task of caring for Erica if (or, more accurately, when) the girl awoke bawling in the middle of the night.

The demon assured her wife that she didn’t mind, and Joy believed her. But even if Dahlia was okay with it, Joy herself couldn’t shake the feelings of shame and guilt that arose. This was only exemplified whenever her frantic attempts to console a wailing Erica were only met with more piercing shrieks, only for Dahlia to swoop in and calm the distraught girl in a matter of seconds. The twinge in her chest that happened each time she gazed upon them was gradually becoming more of a mix of bliss and sorrow - Joy wouldn’t describe herself as being jealous of her wife, but she was certainly afraid that she wasn’t doing enough as a mother in contrast to Dahlia. What if Erica were to grow up believing Joy loved her less than Dahlia did? She didn’t want to think about that, but a nagging voice at the back of her head told her it was a very real possibility, which is why she intended to savor every moment of affection with Erica that she got.

Work had been particularly taxing one night, and the knowledge that she was going to come home to a loving wife and beautiful daughter was the only thing getting her through it. Said loving wife and beautiful daughter were playing together on the floor when she got home, and she felt all the tension in her muscles melt away as soon as she caught a glimpse of them.

“Mommy’s home, little warrior!” Dahlia cooed to the girl, who squealed and placed her hands on Dahlia’s face in response. The demon's wide, goofy grin thawed into a softer, more sympathetic smile when she looked over at Joy, immediately sensing the agitation etched into her wife’s features. “Hey, honeybunch. Long day?”

“Had to fight Axarax again. Don’t wanna talk about it,” Joy mumbled, pushing a hand through her hair. “I just wanna make myself dinner and then snuggle with Ricky and not have to think about my messy past for a while.”

“No need, sweet potato!” Dahlia said with a proud grin, before quickly correcting herself. “Uh, no need to make yourself dinner, I mean. Snuggling with Ricky and not thinking about your exes is a go. But I already made you some vegetable soup. I’ll go heat it up for you while you spend time with Ricky, okay?”

Dahlia could practically see the stress floating off of Joy’s shoulders as she sagged them gratefully. “Goddess, I’ll never know what I did to deserve you.”

“Aw, what are you talking about? You deserve every good thing you have, especially me!” Dahlia handed Erica off to Joy, who eagerly enveloped the girl in her arms, greeting her with a gentle kiss to the temple. “I’ll go get that soup ready for ya, babe.”

“Thanks, hun.” Joy smiled at her thankfully before turning her attention back to the fidgeting bundle of fuzzy pajamas and soft blue skin in her arms. Erica peeked up at her with massive emerald eyes, and Joy could swear she actually felt her heart turn to liquid. “Hiiii, baby,” she hummed, lips just barely dusting her forehead so as to not stain the delicate skin with her dark lipstick. “Was Mama good to you today? I bet she was, huh?”

Of course she was. Dahlia was always there when Joy couldn’t be. The witch quickly shook away the thought, trying her damnedest to just enjoy the rare opportunity to share a bonding moment with her daughter and not focus on her insecurities.

“C’mon, sweetheart, you wanna cuddle with Mommy on the couch?” Joy carried Erica over to the sofa and sat down, taking caution to not jostle her around too much. One hand supported the girl’s legs and bottom while the other shielded her backside. As she sat, Joy carefully repositioned Erica, just enough that the baby’s little head was resting against her mother’s chest. Erica lifted her head to look up at Joy curiously - a milestone she had reached just around a month ago - getting Joy’s necklace snagged on one of her horns, which had already grown quite a bit in size, in the process. Joy laughed as she reached over to unravel it.

“So curious about the world already, huh? That’s an admirable trait to have,” the witch murmured as her daughter extended a tiny, chubby hand to inspect the shiny metal. Joy allowed her to toy with it for a second or two before removing it and setting it aside, not wanting to create a choking hazard for either one of them. “Just promise me you won’t become as much of a troublemaker as your Mama when you’re older, okay? I have enough on my plate as it is, being married to that woman…”

Peridot green eyes traveled over the tiny being curled up against her bosom. Everyone would always comment on the fact that Erica was practically a carbon copy of Dahlia, and Joy knew it too, but it never failed to take her breath away just how much of her wife she saw in the little creature. She had never really thought much of it until Dahlia pointed it out, but now that she was looking at Erica up close, Joy definitely recognized her own nose in the center of her daughter’s face, placed perfectly like a cherry on top of a cake. How had she never noticed?

“Mm… besides that, you’re free to take as many personality traits from Mama as you please. She really is amazing, even if she can be a handful. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me… Second only to you, of course.” Joy snuggled her closer, her hand making loving passes up and down, up and down the tiny back. Erica squirmed for another second or two before stopping, as if she’d been trying to make herself more comfortable. Joy chuckled at this, continuing to rub her daughter’s back and bestowing another gentle kiss to the top of her head.

There was another few moments of silence before Joy felt something vibrating against her chest, and heard a low, rhythmic rumbling noise reverberating throughout the room. She blinked, staring straight ahead for a split second before allowing her eyes to drift down to her daughter.

At some point, being held and caressed by Joy had become so comfortable for Erica that she’d fallen asleep, as evidenced by her closed eyes and the metrical rising and falling of her tiny chest. The fact that she had managed to lull her baby to sleep without even really trying to was a victory in and of itself, but what was really getting to Joy was the thrumming that was, without a doubt, radiating from her daughter’s throat.

Erica, for the first time since she had been born, was purring.

Something in Joy shattered as her gaze remained stagnant on the child. Her hand never strayed from its continuous pattern up and down Erica’s little torso. A stinging feeling clawed its way up Joy’s throat as she ogled the sleeping baby in awe - here she had been, spending the past however long fretting that she wasn’t being a good enough mother, that Erica didn’t feel cared for by her, that Erica didn’t know that Joy would move the very stars in the sky if it meant keeping her safe and happy (probably with very little effort, too; perks of having a mom with magical powers). And here Erica was, sleeping soundly in her Mommy’s embrace, purring to express how content she was.

All at once, the fact that she’d spent her day dealing with a scornful ex-lover didn’t matter. The fact that she hadn’t been present for Erica’s birth didn’t matter. Even the way she’d so aggressively rejected Dahlia’s affections back when they first started getting to know each other at Camp Spooky didn’t matter.

What mattered was right now, this very moment, this gorgeous, happy being in her arms that she had created with the help of her soulmate, who was in the next room heating up a bowl of vegetable soup for her.

Her vision warped into a vortex of vague colors and shapes as tears finally eddied in her eyes. She quickly blinked them away and let them slip down her cheeks, not wanting to miss a second of this, but not daring to take her hands off Erica to wipe them away manually either.

Every mistake Joy had ever made, and every effort she had made to rectify those mistakes, had led her to this moment.

“Alright, soup’s ready! I didn’t pour you a drink though ‘cause I’m not sure what you wa-” Dahlia paused mid-sentence, her face twisting with concern when Joy met her eyes with damp, swollen ones. Joy immediately smiled, letting her know that these were good tears.

“She’s purring,” she whispered, punctuating the sentence with a gentle pat on Erica’s back.

“Oh.” Dahlia’s eyes widened before scintillating, and she matched Joy’s smile with one of her own. “She’s never done that with me before.”

Based on Dahlia’s expression alone, Joy could tell that the demon had picked up on her wife’s doubts regarding her bona fides as a mother. Based on the watery laugh that erupted from Joy’s chest, Dahlia could tell that Joy could tell.

They’d married each other for a reason.

Dahlia made her way over to the couch and took a seat next to Joy. She curled an arm around the witch’s shoulders, the proud grin stretching across her cheeks never faltering. “Mm… you know demons only do that when we’re really, really happy. Right?”

Joy’s own smile widened, and she let her head fall against Dahlia’s shoulder. “Yeah. I know.”

A comfortable silence fell over the room again as they both turned their attention to the incredible being nestled between them, her purring sounds continuing to ring out.

The soup could wait.