Chapter Text
November 14, 1997
The sound of loud voices pulls Nancy from a dreamless sleep. She tries to ignore them and return to oblivion but they persist, continuing to tug her toward consciousness. A loud laugh, someone yelling angrily, a sharp whistle…
Sighing, Nancy stretches and silently curses the adults that get to live their lives carefree, rested, not exhausted...
But then she hears voices she recognizes and her ears perk up. Jonathan’s low voice… his gentle laugh… then what sounds like cooing.
Cooing? She sits up, tilts her head and listens intently. There it is again… she wasn’t imagining it.
Scooting out of bed, she pads to the living room and finds Jonathan sitting on the couch, Dani sitting on his chest, watching him raptly.
Jonathan is talking to Dani so quietly Nancy can’t make out what he’s saying. But when he pauses, Dani coos at him happily. As if talking back.
Nancy’s heart seizes. She hadn’t known how much it would mean to her to see Jonathan be a father. To see him love their daughter despite what an asshole his own father has been. But now that she has, she is beyond grateful Dani came into their lives, even if unplanned.
She has to constantly remind herself that not everything has to be planned. And that sometimes the best things in life come unexpectedly, without warning.
Jonathan chuckles and the sound brings Nancy back to the two people in front of her… the two great loves of her life. Two things she definitely didn’t plan… they just happened… a loving, supportive husband and a beautiful daughter.
Slowly, she walks over the couch, coming up behind Jonathan. She sees Dani staring intently at Jonathan and hears him say, “Baby girl… that face… you look just like your mommy!”
Nancy places her hands on his shoulders and he jumps slightly. “Nah, she doesn’t look like me at all “ she says teasingly.
Jonathan turns his head and shoots her a mock irritated look. She laughs and kisses him soundly on the cheek.
Sauntering around the end of couch, she glances at the clock on the wall. “Jonathan, why did you let me sleep so long?” she gasps.
He watches her sink down next him and lean over to greet Dani. Dani’s head turns at the sound of her voice. “Oh, hi, sweet girl…” Nancy coos.
“I thought you needed the sleep,” Jonathan explains, wiping some drool off Dani’s mouth. “And you pumped this morning so…”
“You didn’t have to do that, Jonathan. You need sleep too,” she sighs, toying with the bib around Dani’s neck. Dani continues to watch her, smacking her lips and kicking her feet.
“I wanted to,” he insists. “We’ve been having a good time. Right, Dani?” He smilies at his daughter and in the silence, she coos loudly in agreement.
Nancy gasps happily and turns to look at Jonathan. “Oh, Jonathan… she’s growing so fast…”
He sees a tear slip out of the corner of her eye and he leans over to kiss it off her cheek. “She is,” he agrees. Suddenly, Dani’s head turns, trying to root around for the milk she wants.
He gently hands her over to Nancy. “She must have smelled you. Plus, I gotta pee so…”
“Hi…” Nancy says softly to her daughter as she settles her into the crook of her arm.
Dani immediately begins to root again and Nancy chuckles softly. “Okay, okay…”
As she begins to drink, Dani hums contentedly and Nancy shakes her head. “Just like me, huh? No, that is completely your daddy,” she chuckles.
She watches Dani drink eagerly as the sun suddenly peeks out from behind the clouds, sending shafts of sunshine into the room. One hits her leg and she sighs in contentment at the warmth it brings.
Jonathan wanders back into the room, his hand stroking her neck as he walks by. “How about a walk?”
She stares out their balcony doors into the unusually sunny November day. “I don’t know… it’s pretty cold out.”
“Nance, come on. We’ll dress her warm, I’ll wear her in the carrier… it’ll be fine,” he coaxes. She looks down at Dani, tracing her finger across her forehead. Jonathan can see the concern written all over her face.
“It’s actually not too bad out,” he adds. “Probably the last nice day we’ll get for a while…”
“Yeah, okay,” she finally agrees. “Can we stop and get coffee?”
He nods, smiling. “Of course.”
“Just let me burp her,” Nancy tells him. “Can you grab one of her blankets?”
He nods again and finds one in Dani’s bouncy seat, tossing it to Nancy. He then grabs a couple of diapers and some wipes, throwing them into the diaper bag.
After getting Dani into her baby coat and shoes, Jonathan slides her into the carrier on his chest. Nancy grabs the diaper bag and they head out, down to the bustling street below.
Nancy drags him immediately into the nearest coffee shop for her decaf, his tea and some donuts.
She sighs happily as she eats her donut and sips her coffee. He sips his tea and smiles at her finally looking relaxed, happy.
“Sorry if we woke you up earlier,” he says quietly.
“You didn’t,” she reassures him. “It was the noise-“
“Outside,” he finishes. “Yeah, woke Dani up too.” He sighs before grabbing her hand.
“Do you ever think…” she start but then trails off.
“What?” he prompts.
“That our neighborhood is too loud for a baby?” she finishes softly.
“But you love our neighborhood,” Jonathan reminds her.
“I do,” she sighs. “So many things to do, all just right here but… I don’t know…”
“You want that house at the end of the cul-de-sac?” he teases.
She stops suddenly and he is forced to stop too. “Yeah and I wanna ride around in an RV full of kids too,” she deadpans.
He snickers and looks down at Dani. “One down, only five more to go.”
“Jonathan Byers…” she says in mock exasperation. “Do you like sleeping on the couch?”
“If you’re there too…” he answers, tugging her hand to resume their walk.
“No, see, I’d be in our bed, stretched out, with all the blankets, not getting pregnant again…” she tells him wryly.
Jonathan shakes his head. “You’d miss me too much,” he says, squeezing her hand.
“Oh, yes, I would totally miss your blanket stealing ass,” she chuckles.
“Who steals what now?” he asks in astonishment.
She bursts out laughing. “You! You steal all the blankets!”
“You, Nancy Wheeler, are a liar,” he snorts. “And I suppose you don’t warm up your feet on my legs either…”
“First of all, it’s Nancy Byers,” she says, shooting him a pointed look. “And second, it’s not my fault your legs are so warm.”
“I keep forgetting you changed it. I mean, at all your work things, they call me Jonathan Wheeler,” he reminds her.
“You love it,” she says, knocking her shoulder into his.
“Yeah, I do,” he agrees. “What I do not love is your cold-ass feet-“
“Yes, you do,” she argues. “Because after my feet are warm, I warm up my hands under your shirt.”
“That’s a little nicer,” he nods, tugging her closer to him.
“Then I drag your hands over to warm up my-“
“Nance,” he warns, leaning over to kiss her cheek but winds up just behind her ear.
“I know,” she sighs. “Hopefully only a few more days.”
“Yeah,” he says, echoing back her sigh. “Your appointment is on Monday?”
She nods. “I think I’ll get the all-clear. I’m not sore at all anymore.”
He sips his tea and place a hand on her back. “You’re probably right.” He can’t help but get lost in the thoughts of his hands on her-
“Jonathan?” she calls out, pulling him out of his dirty daydreams. “Don’t forget Dani has her 2 month check-up on Monday too.”
“Oh, yeah… right… I won’t forget.” he says distractedly, moving his hand up to clutch that spot where her shoulder meets her neck to ground himself. “Anyway…back to our apartment…”
She smirks before looking off contemplatively into the distance. “I love our apartment,” she tells him quietly. “But if one more drunk person wakes up Dani, I may go postal and strangle their stupid ass.”
He nods. “Agreed. We need a neighborhood like this,” he says, gesturing with the hand holding his tea.
Nancy looks around and sees they have wandered into a quiet neighborhood she’s never been in. All around them are townhomes of various shapes and sizes.
“I had no idea there was a neighborhood like this so close to everything,” she tells him in awe. “It’s so… quiet.”
“And there’s trees, grass…” he sighs wistfully.
Suddenly, a man comes out of one of the townhomes and puts a “FOR RENT” sign in the small front yard. Nancy and Jonathan both stop and stare at what may as well be a neon sign.
“Excuse me,” Nancy calls out. The man turns to look at the small family. “We live a few blocks over but are looking for a quieter neighborhood for our little girl.” She reaches over and pats Dani lightly on her bottom.
“Oh! Yeah, this is a very family friendly area,” the man says. “I’m David Harris.” He strides over to them and holds out his hand, shaking first Nancy’s hand then Jonathan’s.
“Here’s some information about our townhomes. My number is on the back. Call me tomorrow if you are interested in a tour.”
They nod and Jonathan pockets the card. “We definitely will. Thank you.”
“Sorry, I have to get to an appointment or I would just show you now,” he apologizes.
“We understand,” Nancy assures him.
“Thank you. Hope to hear from you tomorrow,” he says politely and then hurries to a nearby car.
After he pulls away, Nancy turns back to the house and says quietly, “Think we can afford something like this?”
“I hope so,” he responds. “I like it here.”
“Me too,” Nancy sighs. She leans into his side and his arm wraps around her.
Suddenly, a cry bursts out from the carrier. “I forgot to bring a bottle,” Jonathan says, bouncing Dani. “We should head back.”
“I’ll just feed her,” Nancy tells him, looking around. She sees a bench across the street and tugs Jonathan over to it, sitting down with a relieved sigh.
After some cursing and fighting with the carrier, Jonathan manages to get Dani out of it and into Nancy’s arms.
“Is there a blanket in the bag?” she asks him.
He digs around and triumphantly holds up one. Nancy takes it from him and says gratefully, “Thank you… can you…?”
He nods and drapes the blanket over her shoulder as she pulls up her shirt. Dani latches on immediately and hums happily.
As Dani eats, Jonathan opens the brochure they had been given and holds it so they both can see it.
“It has a back yard, Jonathan!” Nancy says in awe.
“We could get a dog,” he points out.
“Jonathan… no,” Nancy laughs.
“Yeah,” he agrees turning back to the brochure. “We are more cat people anyway.”
She can’t argue with that.
“Look, it has a washer/dryer,” she points out.
“Fuck, that would be nice… I’ll definitely call first thing in the morning,” he says.
She nods, checking under the blanket. Dani had fallen back asleep so she pulls her shirt down, gently moving Dani to lay on her chest.
Jonathan pulls the blanket down and pops a pacifier in Dani’s mouth. Nancy starts patting her back before leaning over and kissing him.
“We make a great team,” she says softly against his lips.
“We do,” he agrees, kissing her back. A squeak below them jolts them apart and they look down to see Dani stretching.
“Oops, she’s probably looking for this,” he says, plucking the pacifier from where it had fallen on Nancy’s leg.
“Are you sure? She usually doesn’t wake up for that-“
A sharp cry interrupts Nancy. “Okay, I guess she does now,” she sighs, grabbing the pacifier from Jonathan and popping it into Dani’s mouth.
Dani sucks hard on the pacifier a few times before falling quickly back to sleep on Nancy’s chest.
“You want me to take her?” Jonathan asks gesturing toward the carrier dangling from his chest.
“Can I…?” Nancy asks. “I haven’t gotten to…”
“Yeah, of course,” Jonathan replies quietly, starting to unfasten the carrier from around his shoulders.
“I mean… I know you like being the sexy dad, walking down the street with his hot mess of a wife…” she teases.
He stops messing with the carrier to stare at her. “Nancy, you know I don’t-“
“Oh, come on, Jonathan… I see how the women look at you when you are holding Dani,” she smirks. “You love it.”
“What? Wait, I don’t-“
“Jonathan,” she laughs. “I’m teasing!”
“Oh,” he says, relieved, going back to fiddling with the carrier.
“Kinda,” she finishes.
“Kinda?” he asks as he snaps the carrier around her, tightening it so it fits correctly.
“Well, I was teasing about you liking the attention… but you do get a lot of it. Everywhere we go,” she tells him as he settles the carrier around Dani and secures it in place. “It’s annoying.”
“Nance, no…” he protests. “Everybody just loves a cute baby.”
“Jonathan, she is cute but that’s not why,” she snickers, grabbing his hand and slowly walking back toward their apartment.
“Hmmmm… agree to disagree,” he tells her, breathing deep, tipping his head back to enjoy the sun on his face.
“And you are not a hot mess,” he adds, cracking an eye open to look over at her.
“Liar,” she sighs, patting Dani softly on the bottom.
“Nah,” he argues. “You look great. Better than me and I didn’t create a whole human, give birth…”
“Pretty sure I didn’t create her all by myself,” Nancy snickers.
“True,” Jonathan smiles. “But you did everything else.”
“True,” she echoes, smiling back at him. “Definitely gonna be a while before I want to do it again.”
“Wait, you want to do it again?” he asks in shock.
“Maybe,” she shrugs. “Can you imagine your life without your brother?”
“Well, no…” he admits.
“There you go,” she says smugly. “Never say never.”
“I just… didn’t realize… wow,” he sputters.
“Gotta keep you on your toes,” she says softly, tugging him to a stop, kissing him soundly.
“And you do,” he chuckles. “You definitely do.”
—————-
Later that night, Nancy is changing Dani’s diaper when she suddenly calls out, “Uh-oh, Jonathan!”
“Nance, what’s wrong?” he asks, poking his head around the corner.
“We are out of wipes….”
“Damn,” he sighs. “Okay, I’ll run to the drug store real quick.”
“Thanks, babe… I’ll feed her while you’re gone,” she says. “Then hopefully we can get her to bed.”
“Then you and me, the couch, a movie?” he asks as he grabs his wallet.
“Sounds good. Though I may fall asleep halfway through,“ she warns him, bouncing Dani in her arms.
“You know I will,” he chuckles. “When did we get so old?”
“When we got this little cutie that wants to eat every 3-4 hours,” Nancy croons, lifting her daughter up and raining kisses on her face.
Dani curls into Nancy’s attention but once she pulls away, starts to cry. “Okay, sweet girl,” Nancy laughs, settling down on the couch and tugging up her shirt.
“I’ll be right back,” Jonathan promises.
Nancy waves him out as she clicks on the television. “We’ll be here…”
————-
When Jonathan returns, he finds Nancy sitting on the floor, Dani laying between her legs, fussing as Nancy dangles a toy in front of her.
“Oh, thank god! She pooped again,” Nancy tells him as he throws his keys and wallet on the table near the door.
He hands her a package of wipes and she efficiently pulls Dani’s legs out of her sleeper and changes her diaper.
Nancy scoops Dani up off the floor and is throwing the diaper away when she notices Jonathan still standing near the door with his coat on.
“What are you doing?” she asks him suspiciously.
“Okay, well, I-“ he starts when suddenly a strange noise interrupts him.
“Jonathan? What was that?”
The noise happens again and Nancy walks over to him, tugging his coat open. She gasps when she sees a ball of orange fluff.
“Jonathan? Seriously, what is that?”
A tiny head pops out of the fur and meows loudly.
“Oh, no way,” Nancy says, backing up.
“Nance-“
“What, are they selling kittens at the drug store now?” she asks, bouncing Dani lightly in her arms.
“Nance, I was walking back and heard this sad meowing. I looked around and saw him sitting against our building, shivering in the moonlight. It’s getting cold out. I just couldn’t leave him there.”
“Jonathan, I get that but-“
“We’ll try to find his owner. If we can’t, we’ll take him to the Humane Society,” Jonathan promises. “I just couldn’t leave him outside to freeze.”
“Okay,” Nancy sighs. “He can stay in the bathroom. And you are taking him to the vet tomorrow…”
“Sure, okay,” he agrees. “I ran back to store and bought some food and litter. I’ll make him a bed in a box or something…”
He goes into the kitchen, mumbling about a box and Nancy watches him, shaking her head in amusement.
“Dani’s diapers are in a box… it’s in her room, in the closet…” she calls out to him.
Jonathan pops back into the room. “I need two boxes,” he tells her. “One for a bed, one to make a temporary litter box.”
Nancy hums, trying to think of any boxes they might have, still bouncing a now increasingly fidgety Dani.
“Oh! I’ll just use one of my shoe boxes,” Jonathan says, hurrying into their bedroom.
Nancy smiles at his retreating back, knowing that her husband’s big heart for animals is going to assure they will help this cat. It wasn’t the first time and likely wouldn’t be the last.
Each time, she had managed to make sure whatever animal he had found made it to a good home. One time it was a lost dog, then a rabbit that was obviously someone’s pet at one time, even a guinea pig they found wandering in the hallway.
And this time would be no different, she vows.
Dani starts to fuss and Nancy recognizes that she’s not only hungry but tired. She grabs a blanket and plops down onto the couch, tugging her shirt up.
Nancy hears Jonathan in the bathroom, talking softly to the cat. The sound of him opening a can of cat food drifts out to her.
Jonathan suddenly appears and asks if they have any newspaper. She points to their dining table before pressing her finger against her lips.
His eyes widen and he looks down at Dani now asleep against her breast. He creeps over to them quietly and kisses the top of Dani’s head.
“Good night, baby girl,” she hears him whisper. She watches him stare adoringly at Dani for a long moment before he suddenly leans over and kisses Nancy deeply.
He pulls away and she finds herself trying to follow him, her mouth searching for his. “Later,” he whispers, smiling at her cheekily. “Put her to bed.”
Nancy nods and watches him hurry back into the bathroom, grabbing the newspaper on the way.
By the time she comes out of the bedroom, Dani now nestled in her crib, Jonathan is sitting on the couch. He is flipping through the channels, an orange ball of fur curled up on his chest.
“And what is this?” she says, pointing at his chest, her face set in faux anger.
“He looked and sounded so pathetic when I went to leave the bathroom,” Jonathan tells her, sheepishly.
“Oh, I’m sure he did,” Nancy chuckles. “But as long as he’s willing to share…” She slides in next to him, ducking under his arm to lay her head just under his chin.
The kitten wakes, stretches, and notices Nancy laying close by. He stands and walks over to where Nancy is pressed against Jonathan, settling between them.
“Oh, he’s good.” Nancy snickers at the audacity of this tiny cat.
“He likes you,” Jonathan shrugs. But Nancy sees a smirk tugging at his lips.
“Jonathan… no. We are gonna find his owners. Or a good home that doesn’t have a newborn in it,” she tells him sternly.
“Yeah, okay,” he agrees, relaxing back into the couch.
She looks at him suspiciously. He gave up the fight awful quickly. Too quickly.
Humming in annoyance, she finds herself pushing her concerns aside as exhaustion starts to creep up on her. She lays her head back down, tilting her head to bury her nose against his neck.
She feels his hand lightly dancing up and back her back and between that and the purring against her chest, she finds herself quickly drifting off to sleep…
———-
2 weeks later…
Jonathan sighs loudly as he trudges up several flights of stairs to their apartment. Stupid broken elevator. Thank god they are moving in two weeks…
He feels a rush of gratefulness that not only were they were able to afford the townhome they had found on their walk but they had been chosen as its new occupants.
Idly he wonders if Nancy had found some time to pack. He’s sure she found some time to pack up the still-unnamed cat’s things. He sighs again… today is the deadline.
He had until today to find his cat friend a new home since no one had claimed him. The flyers he had put up all over the neighborhood had yielded nothing. Not one call, not one knock on their door.
He dreaded the idea of having to take the kitten to the Humane Society. He had hoped someone in the building or one of his clients would be looking for a new cat. But no such luck.
Shoulders heavy, he pauses with his hand on their front door knob, steeling himself for what he had to do. Maybe Nancy would agree to a couple more days…
He walks into their apartment and sets his camera bag down on the table next to the door. He listens but doesn’t hear anything. Not Nancy, not Dani and not even their kitty visitor.
He checks the living room first and that’s where he finds them. All three of them. Nancy is stretched out, asleep, on the couch, Dani asleep on her chest.
He sees a blanket draped over Nancy’s legs and there nestled on top of her legs is an orange ball of fur. He smiles at the scene in front of him as he walks quietly to the bedroom to change his clothes.
When he comes back out, they are all still sleeping. He sits down gently next to Nancy and kisses her forehead.
He watches at she takes a deep breath, her eyes fluttering, one of her hands moving gently up and down Dani’s back.
“You’re home early,” she says, voice soft and gravely.
“Yeah,” he agrees. “It was an easy job. Just had to get some good pictures of the new park. They want to publish an article about it by the end of the week.”
“You got some good ones?” she asks stretching carefully, trying not to disturb the baby or the cat.
Jonathan sees the kitten lift his head at the disturbance then look at him sleepily before curling back up into a ball.
Forcing his voice to stay even, Jonathan says, “Yeah. Oh, and don’t forget I have to get him to the Humane Society before it closes.”
Dani suddenly starts to whine. “Can you help me find her binky?” Nancy asks.
He nods and starts looking around. He finds it wedged under one of Dani’s legs and hands it to Nancy.
“Oh, and he can stay,” she says as she pops the pacifier back into Dani’s mouth. Dani settles immediately.
“Yeah, okay,” Jonathan says, slightly relieved. One more day to find him a good home. “I’ll take him tomorrow if I can’t find a new home-“
“No, he can stay stay,” Nancy tells him. “Dani loves him, he’s so good with her… and honestly, he keeps me company when you go to work.”
“Yeah?” Jonathan asks, somewhat in shock at Nancy’s change of heart.
“Yeah,” Nancy confirms. “Garfield is part of the family now.”
“Garfield?” Jonathan asks. “Really?”
“Well, your name is Jon… he’s an orange cat…” she shrugs, grinning wildly.
“No one calls me that,” Jonathan reminds her, narrowing his eyes.
“You said Steve did once,” Nancy says cheekily.
“Once. And then I threatened to kick his ass if he did it again.” Nancy can see the muscle twitching in his cheek at the mention of her ex.
“Plus that isn’t really helping your argument,” he says, tapping her on the nose.
“Doesn’t matter. Dani and I already decided. You’re outnumbered,” she informs him. She adjusts her legs again and the cat jumps down in annoyance. He saunters out of the room as if fed up with them both.
“Oh, Dani gets a vote now?” Jonathan chuckles.
“Uh, of course she does,” Nancy tells him, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. “She’s our new tiebreaker.”
“You may end up regretting that,” Jonathan laughs.
“Nah, she’ll always side with me,” Nancy says confidently.
“You’re probably right,” he agrees, stroking Dani’s hair lightly. “She is your mini-me, after all…”
“If you say so,” she smirks, shaking her head.
“I do say so,” Jonathan chuckles. “Because I have eyes.”
Nancy laughs loudly then covers her mouth, afraid she had woken Dani. They both stare at Dani but when she doesn’t stir, they breath a sigh of relief.
“Should we work on packing?” Jonathan asks reluctantly. Because what he really wants is to curl up on the couch with his two girls…
“I suppose,” Nancy sighs. “I’ll put her in her crib.”
“You want me to…?”
“No, I got it,” Nancy smiles. “You start packing out here…”
Jonathan nods then grabs a box. When Nancy returns, she finds him packing their books neatly and methodically. She watches him for a moment before wrapping her arms around him, pressing herself against his back.
“Hey…” she whispers against his shoulder. He smiles at her over his shoulder.
“Hey…”
He turns in her arms, kissing her gently before pulling back to ask, “How was your day?”
“Good,” she breathes. “Dani slept a lot. I went to my doctors appointment…”
“Oh… that’s right. How did that go?”
“I was finally cleared,” she answers with a sigh of relief.
”Finally,” he breathes and suddenly realizes her hands have ventured under his shirt. “Then what are we doing packing?”
She laughs as he tugs her around the boxes and onto his lap on the couch.
“We do need to pack, Jonathan…” she protests weakly.
“Nah, we’ll just let Dani do it,” Jonathan says into her neck.
“Fair enough,” Nancy breathes before pulling his mouth to hers.