"There we go, a nice nappy that is all clean," Emily Osborn said with a smile, having finished cleaning her baby's nappy. "come on, big boy." She carefully picked him up and gently cradled him to her body before walking out of the room and towards the kitchen. "You're a good little boy, aren't you?" She cooed.
"No, I'm a big boy, thank you very much, madam!" Harry hissed angrily, or at least as angrily as a baby could hiss. Well...it wasn't really a hiss, he apparently couldn't make that noise yet, given that his words just sounded like a short cry.
"Aw, don't worry, Daddy's gotten your milk ready." She kissed him on his forehead before she entered the kitchen where she saw Norman holding up a bottle of milk.
"I've checked the temperature, before you ask," He said, cutting her off as she opened her mouth. "here you go, dear." He smiled as he handed her the bottle.
"Thank you," Emily gave him an appreciative nod before she smiled down at Harry. "is my little boy thirsty?"
"I'm not little and I am a bit thirsty but that doesn't mean that..." Harry found his angry baby rant cut off when she shoved the tip of the bottle into his mouth. 'This is so embarrassing.' He thought to himself when he started sucking on the teat of the bottle.
...
'Hmm, why did I have to wake up?' Harry mentally complained when he felt his eyes open almost against his will, he looked up and saw that he was still in Emily's arms. She was sitting down with Norman next to her, the pair of them looking through a book together, though Harry couldn't really see what they were reading.
"What about Peter?" Norman asked Emily.
"No, not Peter." Emily shook her head.
"Okay, then how we call him Ned?"
"No," Emily shook her head once more. "he doesn't really seem like a Ned to me. Find a different name." Harry blinked as he realised that they were trying to pick a name for him.
"Fine?" Norman frowned before he continued going up and down the book in a random manner. "how about Ron?"
"Eh...you what?" Harry frowned.
"No, he's not a 'Ron' either." Emily sighed as she rested her head on top of Norman's shoulder.
'Damn right!'
"What do you suggest then?" Norman raised an eyebrow. "We've been looking at names for the last hour."
"This isn't something you're supposed to rush," Emily lightly admonished.
"Perhaps not, but I would've liked it if we had made some progress," Norman replied, earning an eye roll from Emily.
"Alright, swap, now." She ordered.
"I'm sorry?" Norman asked in a confused voice.
"You give me the book so I can look through names, and you hold the baby while I do that," Emily explained, looking at him expectantly.
"Um...right," Norman coughed as he put the book down. "um...how...how do I do that?" He asked.
"I beg your pardon?" Emily blinked. "How do you do what?"
"How do I hold him?" Norman asked.
"How do you...you...you hold him the same way you hold a baby," Emily spoke in a slow voice. "you know...because he's a baby."
"Yes, right, but...how do I do that?" Norman stared at Harry like he was a particularly complex puzzle.
"Are you joking?" Emily laughed.
"What's so funny?" Norman's voice matched the offered expression on his face.
"You, one of the most successful businessmen in the country and a guy who can easily teach science at a university level, can not work out how to hold a baby," Emily explained in-between bits of laughter.
"First of all, I am THE most successful businessman in the country," Norman glowered at her. "second of all, I am not incapable of working out how to hold a baby. I just want to know if there's a specific method you would like me to use when holding him."
"You just need to support his neck while you hold him." Emily snorted as she held Harry out to Norman, not for a second believing what he had just said. Norman stared at Harry for a second before he gently picked him up, making sure to keep one arm under Harry's neck. "There you go, now just keep that up until I've picked out a name."
"Hmm." Norman hummed, not bothering to say more, and instead, he stared at Harry who stared back.
Norman stared at Harry with fascination, he stared into his bright green eyes, noting the features he inherited from his mother, like his nose. He watched as the baby, his baby, stared right back at him. It was weird to Norman just how intelligent he thought his baby looked, was it just him or was there actual intelligence in the eyes of the infant in his arms? It was hard to describe the feeling he had, how a mind as active as his own was content with simply staring at the infant in his arms.
"You look like you're having fun," Emily's voice cut into Norman's thoughts, causing him to finally look away from Harry. "you've been holding him for a while."
"I have?" Norman questioned, he was sure it hadn't actually been that long, perhaps a few minutes, ten minutes maximum.
"Norman, you've been holding onto him for the last half an hour." Emily giggled, staring at him with no shortage of amusement.
"W...what? Really?"
"Yes, silly," Emily laughed, she couldn't help but love this side of Norman. To everybody else, he was simply a scientist, a businessman, but she knew that there was more to him than that. "now pass Harry to me."
"Harry?" Norman repeated as he handed Harry to Emily.
"Yes, Harry, I like that name." Emily took Harry into her arms and rocked him back and forth. "It just...seems to suit him, I guess, it's hard to explain. What do you think?" She asked Harry. "Do you like that name? Do you want us to call you 'Harry'?" She asked, not really expecting an answer. She was pleasantly surprised when Harry made a small noise that sounded much happier than the other noise he would usually make.