[Samuel x Roman]

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The labour went by relatively quickly, only a few hours, which was shorter than London's and Chelsea's both. Perhaps it was due to the assistance of the epidural, or perhaps it was the size of the baby, or perhaps it was something else entirely, Roman didn't know for sure. And at that moment, he couldn't think about it too much, because a small cry had filled the room, and it had claimed Roman's entire attention.

He watched, his gaze unwavering, as a small baby was wrapped in a blanket and cradled by the midwife. Harper. That was Harper, little Harper Hemlock-Ortega, Roman and Samuel Hemlock-Ortega's son, their child. Roman was stunned, and his heart was hammering in his chest but it felt like time had been frozen still. They were finally able to meet their little baby boy.

However, the midwife asked Blake if she wanted to hold him first, and while Roman was a little disappointed, he knew it was the right thing to do in this situation. He took his husband's hand and squeezed it gently as he carefully watched Blake, unsure of how she was going to react in that moment. She had just gone through hours of pain that even an epidural couldn't entirely numb, and months of emotional pain that likely hurt more than anything else.

And now, she was being presented with the physical evidence of a horrible thing that had happened to her.

"No," she said rather bluntly. Due to the epidural she was rather woozy, but still insistent and forceful through that mild stupor. "No," she said again. Then, she seemed to realise how harsh she sounded. Blake sighed and closed her eyes, leaning back in against her pillows with a troubled expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, I just ... I can't, I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologise, Blake," Roman said to her, reaching over to gently touch her arm. In no way did he blame her for that reaction. In no way was it her own fault or something she should be ashamed of. She had done more than what was expected of her by having this baby, and now, what was most important was her recovery.

Blake nodded, though she seemed unconvinced, and ran a hand over her face. The doctor and another couple of midwives were working on cleaning her up and explaining to her the healing process. Once Roman made sure she was relatively okay, he stood up and walked with his husband around to where the first midwife was standing with their baby.

"Here, we can take him," he said in a slightly shaky voice. He was overwhelmed with emotion, his eyes fixed on Harper's small little face. He was dozing soundly, having fallen straight to sleep in the midwife's arms after being born. Roman almost didn't want to disturb him, but his need for either him or Samuel to hold him was far more potent.
 
Blakes reaction was valid and didn't surprise Samuel at all. It did however back off a little while Roman made sure Blake was alright. Samuel looked over at them carefully, shifting his attention from Harper just a moment so he got to see Blake at least nod to Roman's statement. And then Roman came up to him and they stood so very close as he suggested they'd take the baby. Which wasn't a weird suggestion at all, because they were the parents. But the midwife seemed hesitant.

For a moment Samuel got terrified that she was going to refuse giving him too them because she morally disagreed with them getting to have and raise this baby. But with the way her eyes darted between the two men Samuel realised she just didn't seem to know who to hand him off to. To ease her decision Samuel carefully held out his slightly shaky arms and without hesitation, the woman handed him the baby.

And just like that, Samuel was holding him. He was holding his and Roman's little baby. He was holding Harper. He let out a very small sob. Harper felt so tiny and so warm and he was so cute. He turned to Roman and stood so his arms, with Harper in them, were pressed against his husband's chest, so that he could feel their son as well.

It was so weird, after just about nine months of waiting and preparing and making sure Blake was alright, and now they had this living, breathing little human being between them. It didn't feel real, but it did feel amazing and totally right.

He looked up at Roman with wide teary eyes, "he's so light," Samuel murmured. It wasn't that the child felt lighter than any other tiny baby he had held, it was just that tiny newborn babies tended to be light. He held Harper out a little to encourage Roman to feel and hold him as well.
 
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Suddenly Samuel was holding the baby and everything felt perfect in the world. Roman also let out a small little sob, tears in his eyes, as he stood next to his husband and gazed down at the tiny little bundle of joy in his arms. Harper, still snoozing adorably, looking so peaceful and serene and innocent that Roman just wanted to protect him from all things bad in the world.

He carefully guided Samuel over to some chairs in the far corner of the room, away from Blake, because she obviously would have an easier time if the baby was nowhere to be seen. Roman sat down with Samuel, and then carefully took their son in his arms. God, this felt perfect. Roman smiled, and stared at the little baby, completely transfixed by his gorgeous son. Their son. His and Samuel's first child.

A midwife brought over a blank birth certificate, with the 'Mother' line replaced with the word 'Father'. Roman let Samuel fill it out with their baby's name, and their own names, and then carefully returned Harper to Samuel's arms so he could print his signature on the line. Then the doctor signed it and it was taken away, so they could make a fancy version of it with Harper's name printed, the one they would take home. That document was powerful, because it legally recognised Roman and Samuel as the parents, and that was amazing.

Roman leaned over, his chin rested on Samuel's shoulder so they could both gaze at the little infant. "He's perfect," Roman murmured. "I love you."
 
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"I love you too," Samuel murmured, "both of you,"

The next couple of hours they got to spend with their baby, holding him loving him. It was amazing, then the doctors came to check on him and Samuel took the opportunity to check on Blake because he hadn't really yet. He wished that moment could been nothing but a happy one, but it clearly couldn't be completely joyous because of what Blake had gone through. Samuel made sure to thank her though, and he thanked her again when they finally got to go home too. He would never be able to thank her enough.

By the time they parted ways from Blake and the other two it was late in the evening, but it was nice that it hall had gone so well that they were allowed to leave that very day. Samuel drove home after dropping of the women at their place and Roman held Harper. It felt weird to leave Blake but Bella, and Delilah too, were there for Blake to take care of her. It was kind of how things had to be. As it were right then, seeing Harper seemed to stir up negative emotions within Blake, and Samuel and Roman needed to be with Harper. Samuel felt really guilty about not being by Blake in that moment and he was certain Roman felt the same, but he recognized that this was what was best for not her and Harper. And no matter what Samuel would not be leaving Harper alone. Blake was the most most important but Harper was born now, and he was equally important.

They stepped out of the car in the cool winter air. Samuel looked the car and hurried over Roman so he could be close to both him and Harper. He gazed softly at the little baby and then up at his husband, he put an arm around him and kissed his shoulder and without saying anything they headed over to the door. Walking into their house would really be what signaled the start of the rest of their lives as a family.

"I think this is the best day of my life," Samuel said as he unlocked and opened door, "but it's probably tied with our wedding,"
 
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Roman made sure to thank Blake more than once over the next few hours, because what she had done for them was so incredible that words couldn't describe it. Roman wanted to stay and help her recover, but he knew the best thing for all of them was to leave her with Bella and Delilah and to take Harper home. So, they dropped the women off first, and then Roman set up the infant car seat he had inherited from London and Evan in the back seat of the car -- he had been keeping it in the trunk for this moment -- and carefully buckled him in for the rest of the journey.

Now, he and Samuel were back home, about to carry Harper inside, into their home where they would begin with the rest of their lives as a proper family. Roman carried a bag on his shoulder, and that bag contained a bottle of breastmilk that Blake had pumped for them, which Roman was thankful for, because he truly believed that breastmilk was vital for a baby's health. It had been something he had been very worried about, because he feared that the whole process of pumping would be too much for Blake, but she had been fine with it, and Bella had promised to come around as much as possible to drop it off to Roman and Samuel. Roman understood that Blake wasn't ready to do that herself yet, and he was honestly just grateful with everything she had done for them already.

The bag also contained both Harper's official birth certificate and the decorated one, the latter Roman was going to frame and hang on the wall in Harper's bedroom. Everything else -- nappies, dummies, baby clothes, toys, shoes, rattles, blankets, hats, teddy bears, baby monitor, furniture -- was already inside, waiting for their son to arrive. Roman felt like he was going to explode with happiness.

"You can't make me choose between the two," Roman chuckled to Samuel. Carefully holding Harper to his chest, he and his husband stepped over the threshold.

Roman flicked on the light, and the three pets came scurrying down the hall to meet them. Harper, who was awake by this point, blinked a few times, peered at the animals and then turned his face into Roman's chest. Roman nearly melted, because that was his son, searching for comfort from his father, it was amazing.

"It's okay," Roman murmured to the infant, rubbing his back. "It's okay, they're nice." Of course, Harper wouldn't know what that meant, but Roman liked interacting with his son. He then gently shooed the pets away, because now wasn't the time, they needed to get Harper settled before they overwhelmed him. "Do you want to have him sleep with us tonight?" Roman asked Samuel, because simply going to sleep with their baby in the bassinet so soon felt wrong.
 
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"I wouldn't want to leave him all alone," Samuel decided, his eyes almost glued to Harper, he just couldn't look away, he was so cute and perfect and amazing.

So they got changed and as ready for bed as they could without leaving Harper alone for even a second. One holding him while the other got dressed and brushed his teeth and vice versa. Soon they had cuddled up in bed, Harper comforted on the cheers between them, just like Mae had been laying all those months ago. But this was different, so very different. This was their son between them.

The little boy was still awake, though he did seem a little tired again. Samuel slowly and gently reached out a hand to run a finger down his son's cheek, he just wanted to feel that he was there and real and that this was all there and real.

On his way to pull his hand back the infant got a chance to grab his finger, because he had been doing it so slowly.

Samuel looked over at Roman, eyes filled with tears again, "his hands are so tiny," he said quietly, as if that was something surprising and amazing. But really that Harper was there felt so amazing that anything about him couldn't be anything else.
 
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Soon they were changed and laying in bed with their son nestled between them. He looked so perfect and gorgeous and amazing and wonderful just laying there, and if he were anyone else he probably wouldn't care this much, but Roman couldn't help it, because this was his son, his and Samuel's child. Anything that Harper did was glorious, in Roman's opinion.

Roman's heart melted when Harper reached out and grabbed Samuel's extended finger. It was just so cute that Roman had to try it. He offered his own finger, with its somewhat long nail painted a deep purple, to the baby, who took it in his other little fist. Roman marvelled at the silky soft feeling of his skin, at the wonderful sensation of his son's hours-old skin against his own. Everything was absolutely perfect in that moment.

Harper turned his head to look at Samuel, then back at Roman, and Roman looked at him, studying every detail of his son's face. Then he noticed something, and despite it having the potential to ruin the moment, he said it to his husband, because it needed to be said.

"He has his eyes," Roman said in a quiet voice. He didn't need to specify that he was Kyle, the biological father of their son.

Indeed, Harper's eyes were not Blake's lovely blue but Kyle's cold, steely grey. Roman had definitely been hoping, before Harper's birth, that the baby would inherit as much of his biological mother's traits as possible, but now that he had been born, he couldn't imagine anything else. Harper's eyes were beautiful, and they weren't Kyle's, they were his own, beautiful grey orbs set against rosy skin under a small covering of dark brown fuzz that would later grow into hair. He was ...

"But he's perfect." Roman leaned in and pressed the smallest of kisses to his son's little forehead. When he pulled back Harper blinked at him, then turned to stare at Samuel with those grey eyes. Roman wished he knew what the baby was thinking.
 
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Samuel's eyes widened a little as Roman pointed out who their son had inherited his eye colour from. He looked into the little boy's eyes and noted that it indeed was true. He knew What blue colour Blake's eyes had from years of knowing her, he couldn't remember exactly what Kyle's was looked like but he knew Harper's eyes didn't look like Blake's and through the process of elimination that left one other set of eyes.

But as Roman said. It didn't matter, Harper was perfect.

"I have my dads eyes, and hair, and skin," Samuel murmured, "but I know no one who loves me any less for it, and I won't love Harper any less even if he shares his appearance with him. Harper's eyes are his own, not his, and even the parts of him that are from Blake are still going to be his own, I think that's the best way to look at it, really,"

This was the complete opposite of how they talked about Allison and Mae where they would jokingly point out how which traits they shared with which parents. But that wouldn't be a thing with Harper or any other kids the two of them might end up having in the future.

Samuel yawned. It had been a long day, he was tired but he just didn't want to go to sleep, he didn't want the day to end, end besides, they were parents now, Samuel wanted to watch over their little son until he fall asleep before doing so himself, "… Roman…?" He tore his gaze from Harper for a moment to grin up at his husband, it was okay because he could still feel the child's little grip on his finger, "We're dads,"
 
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Roman knew Samuel was right -- Harper's appearance didn't matter. He felt incredibly blessed to have this child laying beside him. His physical appearance didn't change that at all. Even if Harper resembled Kyle more than Blake, Roman and Samuel would love him just the same, because he was their son, and nothing could take away from that. This was one of the best days of his life, and Harper's eye colour wasn't going to change that, nor was it going to affect their love for him ever.

Roman moved his gaze from his perfect baby to his perfect husband, and a smile immediately graced his face as he heard those words. We're dads. That was the first time anyone had said it aloud since Harper had actually been born, and the words felt so perfect that it was insane to think there had ever been a time when they worried they wouldn't have kids. How could they not be parents, when this moment, the two of them laying with their baby son between them, just felt so right?

"We're dads," Roman repeated, his voice nothing but a whisper. He raised his free hand to gently caress his husband's gorgeous face, then trailed it down so it rested on Samuel's forearm, the one attached to the hand that Harper had claimed. Harper was so tiny, he fit in the little triangle made by the gentle curve of Roman's arm. Harper blinked and looked at Roman with those gorgeous grey eyes, and Roman gave him a small, soft smile.

"I love you," Roman whispered to the child. His son. His and Samuel's son. This moment couldn't be more perfect. Roman lifted his gaze to his husband, his soulmate, the love of his life. "Both of you."
 
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"I love you too," Samuel smiled, he meant it to the both of them, both his son and his husband.

Soon they were all asleep, sleeping together in their bed under the painted ceiling, their first night together. Of course, Harper was an infant so he woke up crying once r twice, but Samuel was honestly just excited to take care of him when it happened.

The next morning was just as exciting as the day before because while they had become dads for real the day before, today was the day they really became dads as today would be their first full day taking care of Harper. One of the first things they did that morning, except for taking care of Harper, of course, was to call and tell their families about the fantastic news, and it was decided that the Johnsons would be coming over a little later.

Now it was that later. Samuel and Roman were sitting huddled up in the couch with Harper, Roman was holding him and feeding him while Samuel sat close, leaning against his shoulder and watching quietly, still barely believing this was happening. The doorbell rang and Lady's barks from the guestroom pulled him out of his trance though. They still had Lady in another room, since she was a dog and dogs got excited in another way than cats and bunnies did, but Samuel would take their cute little dog out for a nice walk and give her some treats later to compensate so it was okay.

"It's probably them, I'll go get it," Samuel said, placed a kiss on Roman's temple and ran a couple of affectionate fingers over Harper's head.

The first thing Samuel noticed when opening the door was that Allison looked so excited she could burst. But her dad had a hand on her shoulder, "This is just like when Mae was born, okay, sweetie? You have to be calm and careful, so you don't scare him,"

"Okay," Allison said and clearly did her best to calm down a little, then she looked up at Samuel and sweetly asked, "Uncle Sammy, can I see the baby now?"

"yeah of course," Samuel held out a hand for his niece to hold, she took it and they walked out to the living room, London and Evan following them close behind.

When they could see Roman and Harper Allison let out a gasp and let go of Samuel's hand to carefully hurry over to her uncle and cousin, "He's so cute!" Allison said in a loud whisper, "What's his name?"
 
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Early that afternoon, Roman was sitting on the couch with Harper in his arms, carefully bottle-feeding him out of the plastic bottle they had gotten from Blake the day before. Roman now understood what London had meant when she had said, years ago, that breastfeeding Allison had been a bonding experience for them. Of course, bottle-feeding wasn't exactly the same thing, but Roman was still getting a little emotional as he watched his son feed, and he felt the love for his child intensify as they held one another's gaze. He also felt wonderful knowing that he was being a parent and nourishing his and Samuel's little son. All in all, it was a wonderful experience.

The Johnsons arrived just as Harper finished his bottle. As they were coming in, Roman carefully wiped a little excess milk off Harper's soft little chin, and set the bottle on the side table. "His name is Harper," Roman replied to his lovely niece. "Harper Alexis Hemlock-Ortega."

London, who was standing next to Allison, was gazing at the baby with a wondrous expression on her face. "He's absolutely gorgeous," she breathed, clearly nothing but happy for her brother and brother-in-law. "Can I burp him?" she requested.

"Yeah, sure," Roman said, standing up and very carefully handing the baby over to his sister. London shifted Harper so he was resting vertically against her chest with his head on her shoulder, and began to very carefully pat his back to help him burp. Harper didn't seem to have a problem with being held by London, likely due to the same reason Allison and Mae had been content with Roman when they had been little babies. They were twins, after all.

London turned to look at Evan with a happy smile. "Look at him, he's so gorgeous, I wanna have, like, seventy more kids," she said, in a clearly joking tone so as to not meanly get Allison's hopes up.
 
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Allison peered up curiously as London burped the baby and Evan looked at them both softly, Samuel supposed that no matter what seeing one's spouse with a baby always was a precious sight, even if one didn't want more kids.

"You know, we don't have to have seventy more kids," Evan said after London's comment, now with a mischievous look on his face instead of the soft one, his gaze was turned towards Roman, "Your holding a perfectly cute little baby right now… Maybe we should steal him?"

"Nu-uh" Samuel protested, "I'm not letting your revenge kidnapping-plan go out over me and Harper just because Roman was annoying like seven years ago,"

"Aww come on it's funny," Evan laughed, then he held his arms out for London, "I humbly request to also get to hold our nephew," he said sweetly.

"You only get to hold him if you won't kidnap him," Samuel chuckled and sat down on the armrest of the couch, watching London holding his son carefully, part of him just wanted to take him back and hold him with Roman again, part of him was happy to see his family interact with him. Being a parent was really weird, but he just mostly wanted to protect Harper from everything.

"yeah, yeah, don't worry, I'm not Roman,"
 
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"Well, if you take Harper we'll take Allison," Roman promised darkly, picking up the little girl and sitting her down on his lap. He was joking, however, and didn't protest when London carefully handed Harper over to Evan. He watched with bated breath as Harper adjusted to being held by this new person, who did not look nor smell like either of the people he had quickly known to be his guardians, and therefore was a mystery and possibly a source of distress.

Harper was quiet for a few moments, looking around and then fixing his gaze on the person holding him. He seemed to be a trusting little infant, so for the moment, he was still, not protesting being held, but also not really responding happily to the contact. Still, it was better than nothing.

"So, do you guys want a drink, or --"

Roman was cut off by Harper letting out a little whining sound, and then starting to squirm as he began to cry. Clearly, he had realised that Evan was neither of his parents. The sound of their infant in distress sent a pang to Roman's heart, and he looked to Samuel, since he was holding Allison and Samuel was simply closer.
 
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Samuel stood and reached out for Evan to hand over Harper. Evan did so without hesitation, he was a father too and obviously knew the feeling of seeing his baby distressed.

Samuel took Harper and held him close to his chest rubbing his little back gently, "it's okay," he murmured softly and sat down next to Roman and Allison in the couch, and almost instantly Harper seemed to calm down. Samuel smiled and he felt all warm inside. He had never had this calming effect with a baby before, Roman had been able to calm both Allison and Mae down like this, because he was related to the two little girls. It was quite an amazing feeling to know how much Harper trusted him, and to know that he saw him as his parent even if they weren't related.

"Harper should learn some manners," Evan finally joked, but he had a warm smile on his face, he was clearly happy for Samuel and Roman and their little baby.

"Well to be fair, Allison cried the first time I held her," Samuel laughed gently and spoke a little quieter so he wouldn't accidentally upset Harper.

"That's because you're scary," Allison laughed, and Evan burst out laughing as well.
 
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"Hey," Roman chastised gently, poking Allison on both of her sides. "Your Uncle Sammy is not scary, he's a sweet and innocent bean who deserves the best."

"Maybe he's secretly an evil mastermind and therefore should be feared," London theorised. She sat down on the carpet in front of Roman, Samuel and the kids, and pulled her husband down to sit beside her.

"Nope. Nuh-uh. Not my Sammy."

"Sure, whatever," London said with a roll of her green eyes. She turned her gaze to Harper, who was now sucking on a few of his fingers and staring up at Samuel's face with tears in his steely grey eyes, and she adopted the same soft, gentle expression on her face as before. She then looked up at Roman and reached over to put a hand on his arm. "Congratulations, Roman, and you too, Samuel, I know how long you've wanted this for."

Roman smiled back at his twin, his best friend, who knew him best second only to Samuel. All his life, Roman had known he wanted children with every fibre of his being. Now, he was fortunate enough to have a child with his gorgeous and perfect husband, and he could not have been happier in that moment. Everything was right.

"Thank you, bubba," Roman said in a loving voice.
 
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That day, and the day before was the start of an amazing year, probably the best in Samuel's life so far. He had never been so happy. Everything was just right, he had his amazing husband and his beautiful and amazing son. They were a family, the three of them and the pets, and actual proper family. The feeling of coming home from work to greet Roman and Harper both with a kiss to the cheek, or to spend his afternoon of with Harper waiting for Roman to come home to do the same was wonderful.

Their friends were doing well too, Elliot was walking again and both he and Matilda seemed very happy again. Elissa and Matthew were doing as well as ever, Matthew's book had actually become quite popular, which wasn't surprising because it really was good. Bella and Delilah were still going strong, Samuel was very happy for them. And Blake, well she was recovering, Samuel was eternally grateful for her, and he didn't Blame her for the distance she had taken from Harper throughout the year, but he felt like things were becoming easier for her as Harper was getting older and becoming his own person with his own personality and appearance.

Harper was growing so fast. It felt like he had been the tiny infant they brought home from the hospital that wonderful July 31st one day and a curious toddler the next, crawling around on the floor, trying to say words that still turned into gibberish and playing with the pets. He was the most amazing little child and Samuel loved him more than anything.

Currently, it was a nice Saturday in June, Samuel and Roman were sitting on the floor of the living room, Harper with them, a whole bunch of toys strewn about. Not at all an uncommon sight as Harper was a very active and playful child. Lady was with them she had calmed down with her age, which was pretty perfect since she always played with the little boy nicely and patiently.

"Harper, do you want another slice of banana," Samuel asked his son sweetly. Samuel had sliced up some bananas as a healthy and easy to chew snack for their little almost one year old while they were all playing together on the floor. He didn't expect an answer as they were still waiting for Harper to say his first words, and not really expecting them yet for a while either, so he grabbed the plate and held it out for him so he could show his response in whatever way he pleased.
 
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It had almost been a year since Roman and Samuel had taken Harper home, and that year had easily been one of the best of Roman's life. Everything felt perfect. His relationship and marriage with Samuel had never been better, and they were a little family now, with the addition of their perfect son. Both of their jobs were paying well and making them happy, and all their friends and family were happy too.

In short, Roman was living his dream life in that moment, and it was hard to make him happier.

Harper was growing up to be a wonderful little boy. He was gorgeous, with a cap of dark brown hair, thick black eyelashes ringing his cool-toned grey eyes and Blake's perfect, fair skin, with a rosy complexion. He was a curious little creature, always crawling around to investigate everything in the room, speaking nonsense and brightening up when either of his dads came to interact with him. He loved the pets, and they loved him. Most amazingly, he acted with Roman and Samuel the same way as Allison did with Evan and London, or Mae with Brooklyn and Chelsea -- there was no doubt in his mind and that the two men were his parents, and that filled Roman's heart with warmth.

"Say 'No, Papa, bananas suck, I want lollies'," Roman prompted his son with the air of a teacher instructing a student. He was joking, of course, because even if Roman was a fan of junk food he wanted to give his son a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Roman and Samuel had managed to compromise and co-parent effectively. While they agreed on most things, there was the occasional dispute, but nothing they couldn't work out. Roman loved his husband immensely.

Harper ignored Roman and reached over to take a slice of banana from the plate. It was in a small enough piece that he could put it in his mouth and chew it without making too much of a mess. Still, he dropped a little piece of yellow mush on the floor, and Roman immediately picked it up and put it on the plate to minimise the mess. Currently, Harper was playing with a small, soft version of a soccerball, rolling it back and forth between himself and Roman, who was happily reciprocating because he loved his son.

Harper caught the ball when Roman rolled it to him, and happily smiled and held the ball out to Samuel with a gleeful gurgle. He made a noise that resembled an aaaah!, but of delight, and it made Roman's heart swell with happiness, because it was so adorable.

"This child is so cute, I'm going to die."
 
"No don't die please, I need your help when he's being not cute and throws a fit and cries," Samuel joked as he received the ball from his adorable little son, then he quickly added, "I'm just joking Harper, you're always the cutest ever,"

He rolled the soft soccer ball toy over to Harper in the same way Roman had. He had the most affectionate look on his face because nine times out of ten that was how he looked at his and Roman's son, "I love you so much Harper," he added in Spanish. He had been speaking a lot of Spanish for the past year and it honestly made him incredibly happy.

He hadn't been sure about what the best way to raise their son bilingually was at first, he had read some article saying one parent could only speak to the child in one language and the other in the other. But Samuel didn't want that because he didn't want to exclude Roman, not that Harper could respond in any language yet. But in the end, Samuel had settled for sometimes sneaking in small sentences or repetitions of what he had just said in English in Spanish, and when he and Harper were alone he would only use Spanish with him.

Harper received the ball without any issues but when he was about to roll it off to Roman again Lady swooped in with a happy little bark and snatched the ball. Since she was calmer now she actually didn't really destroy many on the soft toys they had laying around like so many dogs did, so Samuel wasn't worried about her ruining one of Harper's favourite toys by doing that. He just laughed a little and went, "Lady noo, we were playing with that, here, give it back," he patted the ground next to him so she would come over with the toy. She didn't and just wagged her tail and waited for someone to playfully try to take it from her, which could actually ruin the toy so Samuel didn't want that.
 
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Samuel had been speaking a lot of Spanish recently and Roman certainly wasn't complaining. He loved the language, and he loved hearing Samuel speak it and teach it to their child. Also, he was making his best effort to learn it. He couldn't sit down and learn it like he had with French in high school, but he was learning it by ear and sometimes asked his husband to write some words down so he could spell it. He knew a lot of words now and could string together basic sentences, but he was far from fluent.

"Lady, don't be lame," Roman told the dog, also patting the floor to try and coax the toy from the dog. She ignored him too, and Roman rolled his eyes and searched for another toy to occupy Harper with. "Hey, Harper, do you wanna play with —"

"B - B - Ball!"

Roman's eyes widened, and he looked up at his son in surprise and admiration. Harper was scowling at Lady with a cute little crease between his brows, and was pointing at the ball, clearly identifying the object and communicating that he wanted it back. But Roman couldn't care less about the ball, because Harper had just said his first word.

"Ball!" the little boy said again, more surely this time, and Roman let out a happy little gasp and looked up at his husband. Their son was talking.
 
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Samuel's eyes widened as Harper used a proper word to request the item he wanted, he looked up at Roman and saw that his expression matched his own. One of happiness and surprise. It was truly an amazing feeling to see their son develop and learn. It was just one tiny little word that was completely unexpected at that moment. But it was absolutely wonderful to hear. But really the word ball wasn't actually that random, it was easy, it referred to a toy Harper liked and they used words like it quite a lot since Samuel still played soccer several times a week.

Samuel placed his hands under Harper's arms and held him up in the air, which he knew his son tended to think was a lot of fun, "I'm so proud of you," he said happily, brought him closer to kiss his cheek with an over exaggerated "mwa" sound and then placed him back on the ground.

Lady had left the ball unattained since she hadn't gotten the attention she wanted and was now back by them trying to figure out what was going on. So, Samuel leaned over and grabbed the ball and handed it to Harper, so he would know he used the right word and that using real words would get him the objects he wanted, "Here you go, one ball for you!"

Then he looked up at Roman with a huge smile, "He's totally gonna be a soccer player, "
 
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