Chapter 5

The whole thing was quite different from what he's imagined. Less dramatic, mundane at times even and... infinitely longer than he was told it would be.

He didn't panic. Well, perhaps the correct description would be that he didn't panic as much as he thought he would.

The contractions started just after four o'clock in the morning and, admittedly, he panicked initially and quite substantially, when Morticia woke him up but she assured him, in her soft, calm voice, that the contractions were mild and quite pleasant. In fact, she was enjoying them. The only thing she complained about was that she hoped the early start didn't mean their baby was going to be an early riser like his father - the mere thought was to her terrifying.

There was, undoubtedly, an additional excitement mixed with a healthy dose of apprehension but otherwise, their morning was unremarkable. They still had their family breakfast together and went through their morning routine as Morticia's contractions, although they were getting progressively stronger, were still quite far apart from each other.

Naturally, everyone was ecstatic that it was finally happening and Ivy even insisted on skipping school so she wouldn't miss the birth but was told by Eudora that it will be still hours until the baby actually arrived. Nevertheless, they all promise to pick her from school earlier if need be. His daughter wasn't particularly pleased but agreed, surprisingly, without much resistance.

It turned out that Eudora Addams was right and their son took his very sweet time to arrive.

Gomez Addams hasn't been so stressed in years. It was difficult for him to describe how he was feeling except that he was quite overwhelmed.

At the beginning, and indeed, for most of the early labour, it was quite slow, calm and unremarkable. His wife had her bath and breakfast. Then she called their family midwife to let her know that the contractions have started and were advised to just continue with her normal routine and Maggie, the midwife, would be there soon. She decided not to call her mother until later, because she didn't want Hester to smother her with her over-excitement. Hence, in the end, they've spent the rest of the morning in the conservatory where Morticia was tending to her plants and Gomez had played chess with Thing. It felt...uncannily normal.

The hours past and the contractions progressed into more severe ones but nothing actually dramatic since Morticia had an impressively high threshold when it came to pain and she didn't so much wince since her contractions started, although he could tell she was getting tired. The pain was one thing but hours and hours of prolonged pain was something else entirely.

Still, it wasn't until Maggie, their family's trusted midwife, arrived, followed by Morticia's mother, and they all, Eudora included, started to arrange things ready for the labour...it finally hit him with the full force. It hit him like a ton of bricks that they were actually having a baby, in a matter of hours.

This, in itself, wasn't new, he was already a father after all but in so many ways it was a completely new experience and somehow, bizarrely, he didn't fully comprehend it until now.

His heart hasn't stopped its mad beating even for a moment. Even now, sitting on the bed, where his beloved wife was lying on her side with one hand over her stomach and the other, securely wrapped into his - almost eighteen hours since the first contractions started, his heart was racing in his chest, his lips were dry - with excitement and worry and everything.

She looked exhausted, her face was glistening with exertion and she squeezed his hand when another strong contraction hit her and she winced in pain. At the other side of the bed, Hester held her hand for support while Eudora wiped Morticia's face and hair with a cool, wet cloth.

Gomez smiled at her encouragingly and brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles tenderly.

"How is it going?" he asked lightly.

"This is way more painful than I've thought," she admitted in a tired whisper but smiled at his tone. She was so tired, so so tired, she could no longer tell how long this labour was going on for, she just wanted it to finally end.

"You're doing great, my darling," Hester placated when Morticia whimpered in pain and leaned back, tilting her head back tiredly."Hang in there."

"Deep, slow breaths, love, it's not long now," Maggie assured gently - she's the very same midwife who helped deliver all Addams babies in the last forty years, including the very man whose wife was currently giving birth to their baby."I know it's been very long but you're almost there."

Gomez shifted nervously, Morticia looked even paler than usual, but then she has been in labour for almost a whole day, so that wasn't all that surprising. He wished, desperately, there was something he could do for her, anything to make him stop feeling so useless even though he knew, logically, there was nothing else he could do except being here for her.

"I love you," he whispered against her temple when Morticia squeezed his hand, surprisingly hard, bit her lower lip and moaned in pain."You're amazing, you can do it, querida."

She nodded faintly, tilting her head towards him and he leaned down to press a soft kiss to her forehead. Gods, she wanted to be done with it, she wanted her baby and, miraculously, it seemed her baby finally decided it was a high time to end this ordeal.

"Now, at the next contraction, I want you to take a really good breath and push, ok?" Maggie's instructed calmly.

Morticia nodded, compressing her lips into a thin line. She really didn't remember ever being in so much pain for so long, even though it was a good pain, she was just too exhausted to even comprehend the difference at this point.

A few minutes later, that seemed to her somewhere near an eternity, she was in such agonizing pain, she was only vaguely aware of her mother's encouraging words and Gomez muttering to her words of apologies, but she did not have time to wonder what was he exactly apologising for when the next contraction hit her and she felt white, hot, searing pain tear through her and then a loud, wailing cry followed.

"It's a boy," the midwife announced with a bright smile. "And what an impressive set of lungs."

Morticia collapsed against the pillows - exhausted, breathing heavily but smiling happily at her grinning husband. Their son continued to cry ardently as Maggie proceeded to clean him gently.

"You did it," Gomez whispered hoarsely before claiming her lips in a firm kiss."I love you, God, I love you so much."

"Well, say hello to your son," Maggies smiled happily, bringing the baby towards them.

Morticia's held many babies throughout her life, but when the midwife placed her crying son into her arms, securely wrapped up in a dark-grey muslin cloth she felt her mouth go dry at the sudden and violent wave of love that hit her and immediately she felt her eyes sting with hot tears. All the pain, all the exhaustion was instantly forgotten. How could they matter, after all, now, with this beautiful creature in her arms? Their son, their little boy.

"Oh, my God," she whispered huskily at the baby."Oh, my God, Gomez look at him," she added, her words trembling. She placed a soft kiss on the baby's forehead and he stopped crying almost immediately, staring at her with his curious, deep blue eyes.

Next to her, Gomez couldn't stop grinning at the sight before him. He's seen many beautiful sights in his life, but watching his wife, his beloved querida, holding their newborn baby son in her arms was absolutely amazing, it was breathtaking. He was shocked at the sudden wave of protectiveness that engulfed him.

"He's perfect," he whispered, swallowing hard, his voice rough with emotions. He reached gently to brush the baby's faint hair with his fingertips."He's so tiny."

"He's actually a pretty big baby, Gomez," Maggie remarked with a laugh."I bet if you were to give birth to him, you wouldn't think him tiny at all."

Gomez laughed heartily before replying:

"Probably not."

"Oh Morticia, he's just beautiful," Eudora beamed happily at her grandson, drawing another proud smile from her daughter-in-law."Oh, he's going to break hearts, this one."

"Why don't you try to feed him?" the midwife said to Morticia, sitting gently next to her and helped her latch the baby to her breast. "That's it, good boy. How does that feel?"

"Weird," Morticia replied watching as the baby suck expertly while staring curiously at his mother.

"He's so gorgeous," Hester said softly, caressing her new grandson's tiny cheek tenderly."Oh my God, I'm going to cry," she admitted and no one even attempted to tell her that she already was."I'll go downstairs to tell everyone all is well," she added hoarsely and then leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her daughter's head eliciting a tender smile from Morticia."Well done, my darling."

"We'll give you few moments alone," Maggie decided."I'll be back in a few minutes."

Once alone, Gomez turned to his wife, bringing his hand to lightly caress her cheek and felt his with such love and gratitude he could barely stand it.

"Thank you," he whispered, swallowing hard, pressing his forehead gently against hers."You're incredible, Tish, I'm so proud of you, cara mia."

Morticia grinned and looked at him tenderly. She felt the baby detach from her breast and momentarily panicked, expecting him to cry but he hasn't, instead he focused his gaze on her. She smiled as she watched her son's eyelids drop sleepily and leaned down to kiss his soft cheek.

"He's so cute," she whispered."So wonderful," she added and turned to her husband who was watching both of them with absolute awe on his face."Your turn," she smiled at him and she placed the baby gently into his arms.

He placed his finger into his tiny fist and instinctively the baby closed its little fingers around it.

"Hello there, little pup," he whispered hoarsely and placed a soft kiss on the baby's forehead."He's so perfect, Tish."

Morticia smiled tenderly, her husband looked utterly mesmerized. Actually, she was mesmerized herself because this - her husband with their infant son in his arms - must have been the most beautiful sight she's ever witnessed.

"I love you," she whispered.

"Forever," he replied in kind and was about to kiss her when the soft knock reverberated through the bedroom and the door opened and Maggie came in.

"He's done with his first meal?" she asked teasingly."I'll show you how to burp him," she said and came over to Gomez."Just place him on your shoulder and pat him gently on the back-"

"Like this?" Gomez asked eagerly, placing the baby gently on his shoulder.

"Yes, just hold on a second let me give you some muslin cloth in case he…," she winced slightly when the baby burped loudly and a second later vomited on his father's shirt."Vomits."

Morticia couldn't help but laugh as the baby settled contentedly in his father's arms, apparently all ready to go to sleep, utterly unconcerned that he's just messed up one of his father's favourite and most expensive white, silk shirts and his father didn't seem at all concerned either.

"Oh, it's alright," he assured, still grinning."This is how my children express affection towards me."

Carrying his new baby son down the stairs felt absolutely nerve-wracking, even though the baby was calm and simply gazed at him curiously. He was all washed and dressed, wrapped in a grey blanket, Gomez cradled him securely close to his chest, yet he was still terrified he's going to somehow slip from his grip.

"You're going to meet the rest of the family," he whispered and smiled when the baby yawned."We'll let your mother rest a little," he added. Since Hester and Maggie were helping Morticia to bath and change, and his mother took care of preparing the beds for them and the baby, Gomez decided it was a good moment to let everyone see the baby. In all honesty, he just couldn't wait to show his son off to the world, because he was absolutely perfect.

The whole family was in the parlour, except for his father-in-law, who was still at his shift in the hospital. All were eagerly awaiting to meet the new Addams, even though it was already nearing one o'clock in at night.

They've all turned towards him the moment they heard the movement at the door, all sans Ivy who was currently sprawled on the floor - sleeping soundly.

His father immediately darted from the sofa, so eager to meet his newest grandson but was instantly showed-off by his over a hundred-year-old aunt.

"Aurora, what the hell?" he exclaimed in outrage, massaging his arm vigorously. Damn, she was surprisingly strong for an old fossil like her.

"Let me see him," she demanded firmly and Gomez shook his head affectionately, but obediently placed his son securely in Aurora's arms.

"He's so beautiful," Ophelia cooed, standing behind Aurora to take a good look at her nephew."How is Morticia?"

"Fine," Gomez smiled at her."Exhausted, but fine."

Ophelia nodded and reached to smooth the baby's soft, fuzzy hair smiling at him brightly.

"Oh, he's gorgeous," Aurora smiled at the baby."Oh, just look at him, he already adores me," she decided happily when the baby wrapped his little fingers around her thumb. "What's his name?"

Gomez opened his mouth to reply before suddenly realizing that they haven't actually decided on the name yet.

"The baby," he admitted somewhat sheepishly, earning himself an exasperated glare from his aunt.

"Don't hog him," Salvador whined, fidgeting impatiently on the sofa next to Aurora."Let me hold my grandson."

"In a minute," Aurora retorted calmly."He likes it here with me," she declared as the baby stared at her unblinkingly.

"Is the baby here yet?" Ivy murmured sleepily into the carpet, still splattered on the floor and Gomez smiled at her affectionately.

"He's ready to meet you, the minute you scoop yourself up from the floor," he remarked softly and laughed when his daughter inhaled sharply and jumped up off the floor in a split second.

"Oh, wow," Ivy said slowly, still hazed from her sleep, as she came over to where Aurora was holding her baby brother."Can I hold him?" she asked tentatively.

"Why, of course you can," Aurora replied, her lips curling into a mean smirk when she heard Salvador's outraged inhale of breath."Come, sit down next to me," she instructed and Ivy sat down obediently."Hold him close and watch for the head," she added as she placed the baby in her arms.

"Oh, wow," Ivy repeated in awe and grinned at her brother happily."He's like...the best toy ever, daddy."

Morticia Addams couldn't say she remembered much from the moments following the birth of her son, it all seemed to her a bit of a blur. She was just so exhausted she fell asleep almost immediately once she was bathed and changed and resting comfortably in her bed.

Surprisingly, the baby didn't wake up for any night feeding during the first night which made her worry until Maggie assured her it was perfectly normal and he will catch up on his feeding later. The birth, she said, was as exhausting for the mother as it was for the baby, so no wonder the little pup decided to sleep right through his nightly feedings. It subsequently turned out Morticia had nothing to worry about because, indeed, her little boy now seemed to be constantly hungry but she loved bonding with him during breastfeeding, it felt to her absolutely amazing.

Even more amazing was her the discovery of how well her husband was at taking care of their newborn baby. He was surprisingly confident as he happily took the bathing and changing duties of their infant son.

"Oh, Gomez used to help to look after Lumpy," Eudora explained with an amused laugh as Morticia shared with her how amazed but nevertheless proud she was of her husband."Lith had very difficult labour so she's spent the first month here with us. Mind you, it was quite hilarious to watch Gomez and Wedge trying to change a diaper together, but at least now he's well versed in a diaper duty," she reminisced fondly.

"I was always better at it than Wedge," Gomez remarked proudly.

"When are you going to name him, though," Ophelia asked."He's three days old and still referred to as 'the baby'," she pointed out exasperatedly."You can't call him the baby forever."

"We haven't decided on the name yet, it's pure agony - so many names to choose from," Morticia explained just as the baby decided to vomit on his grandfather's shirt...again.

"My mom got a puppy once and he was vomiting all the time as well so we gave it away," Ivy piped out suddenly, curled on the sofa, next to Morticia."And it was one ugly puppy - a pug, but mom thought it's cute."

Gomez and Morticia looked at each other as if struck by a sudden thought before smiling brightly.

"Oh my God, you two, you aren't seriously thinking of actually naming my nephew after a wrinkly, short-muzzled dog, are you?" Ophelia interjected, clearly outraged at the mere thought.

"Why not?" Gomez asked, clearly baffled by her resistance."It's an excellent name."

"Because it's a baby and you do not name babies after small, ugly dogs?"

"Pugsley!" Gomez announced happily entirely ignoring his sister-in-law."What do you think, querida?"

"I think it suits him perfectly, darling," she smiled at her husband lovingly.

"Papa, help me please," Ophelia requested dramatically, but her father simply kept staring at his grandson, completely mesmerized as if he didn't vomit on him twice in the last half an hour.

"Hello, Pugsley," Mortimer grinned at the baby and his eldest daughter groaned dramatically."I'm your grandfather," he said and the baby reached to touch his nose. Gomez couldn't help but smile because gone was the imposing head of the Frump household. Indeed, his father-in-law looked like a completely dazzled pile of mush as he cooed at the baby in the softest way Gomez has ever heard him speak."Yes...yes I am."

A week into a glorious world of parenting to an infant baby boy, in which Pugsley focused practically exclusively on eating, sleeping and making sure his parents had to change as many diapers as it was humanly possible, Gomez and Morticia were surprised how relatively easy taking care of their son was. He was a very content baby that cried rarely and patiently endured new visitors that came to meet him. He was admittedly feeding frequently but slept uninterrupted for most of the night, allowing them to get some rest, so they really couldn't complain.

All that was shot to hell by the second week when Pugsley suddenly decided that sleeping for long period of times was not his thing, was practically constantly hungry and started having colics - usually in the middle of the night.

The honeymoon, so to speak, was over.

Morticia moaned tiredly as the sound of their son's crying woke them up as if she didn't feed him and put him to sleep slightly over an hour ago.

"I'll get him," Gomez mumbled before letting out a long yawn and slid wearily out of the bed. He felt as if they've gone to sleep only fifteen seconds ago when the house reverberated with loud cries again.

The little pup was obviously trying to kill them all, he thought proudly and couldn't help but smile at the thought of the little devil in the next room. His son didn't cry, he wailed until the very core of the house shook from his cries, so much so that Ivy started to sleep with earplugs in her ears. Needless to say, they were all extremely proud, especially Salvador who bragged to practically everyone what a little nightmare his grandson was.

"We should have named you Lucifer," Gome remarked slowly as he approached the Addams cradle where his son was crying his head off and picked him up. Unsurprisingly, the cries ceased immediately."You'll drive us insane, you little monster," he murmured fondly and kiss the baby's head softly before carrying him back to their bedroom.

Morticia stretched tiredly before pushing herself to a sitting position on the bed and smiled as Gomez entered their bedroom with Pugsley placed securely against his chest. She knew they were shamelessly spoiling him, but their son absolutely loved being carried around and rocked to sleep and created utter mayhem when he was put down in his cradle. Not to mention, that everyone, particularly his two grandfathers, seemed absolutely delighted to spoil him anyway.

"I'm just food for you, am I?" she teased when Pugsley opened his mouth the moment she took him in his arms.

"Can't blame him, your breasts are amazing," her husband quipped, laying down next to her on the bed.

"Gomez," she scolded but laughed nevertheless.

"What, they are," he grinned."Enjoy it while you can, son, because they will eventually return to their rightful owner - me," he added linking his hands behind his head.

"You're incorrigible," she laughed before turning to the baby who was already in the midst of his feeding."Don't listen to this sex-obsessed maniac, my darling, be a gentleman."

"I'm a perfect gentleman," her husband remarked."Besides, may I remind you who scandalized the last PTA's meeting?"

"You may not," she laughed, swatting him gently on the arm with her free hand.

"You practically devoured me in front of everyone," he pointed out, grinning at her caddishly.

"Gomez Addams, stop scandalizing my baby. You poor, little darling," she addressed the baby dramatically."You will need so much therapy after this."

"Although, it did cut that meeting in half," he remarked in a matter of fact voice, making her laugh again."I won't even mention that time in the bistro when you went under the table…"

"Gomez, stop it…," she scolded but laughed even harder.

"And almost got us kicked out for indecent behaviour."

"I dropped my fork and you know it."

"That may be but it's certainly not the version of events I'm going to tell our grandchildren."

"I'm feeding your son," she reprimanded in a half-amused, half-exasperated tone."Can we please make this conversation child-appropriate?"

"We can certainly not," he replied, utterly unconcerned."Serves him right for making us sleep-deprived zombies," he added before turning towards her and biting cheekily into her nightgown-cladded thigh, eliciting another laugh from her.

Morticia shook her head but sighed contentedly.

This, she thought, was the true magic - being a wife and a mother, to experience the love so complete it's almost incomprehensible - nothing was more precious than this.

Even now, in the middle of the night - sleep-deprived and utterly exhausted yet blissfully happy - it was to her idyllic.

A/N: Thank you for reading. Hope you've enjoyed! :)