final part of the series. thank you all for reading. this went wayyy further than i thought it would and i would be happy to do more series like this again soon <3

/ / /

You were sobbing as the baby was placed into your arms and on your chest. You felt his open mouth brush against your bare shoulder as he squirmed and cried. You looked up at Barley as he put a hand on the baby's back and another on your head.

"I love you," you cried, shaking your head. "I love you so much." 

There were tears dripping down his face as he smiled. "I love you too."

"We did it," you said. The baby's cries were slowing down. "We had our baby."

"Yeah," he whispered. He inhaled deeply and then started to cry. You closed your eyes as he kissed you on your temple and then touched his forehead to yours.

Barley had never found it harder to leave a room than when he did to go tell his mom and brother about the baby. He rushed out, his beanie in his hand, his entire body shaking. He saw them by the vending machines. Laurel lowered her magazine and grabbed her purse. Ian stood up, his eyebrows pulled together.

Barley held his arms open. "He's here," he said. "He's seven pounds five ounces. He has her hair and uh --- I don't know! He's great."

Laurel's smile spread as she pressed her hands against her heart. "Can I see my little grandson?" 

"Yeah," he said. "Come on, Mom." 

Laurel leaned against her oldest son as he brought her to the hospital room. As soon as he opened the door, he saw you sitting in the bed with the baby cradled in your arms. You looked at him and beamed when you saw him, and Barley swore that you were just looking prettier every second that went by today. 

He walked over to you and put his arm around you. Your lips met his for just a moment before you greeted Ian and Laurel and waved them forward. They gathered around the bed to admire the little bundle in your arms.

"Oh, guys, he's beautiful," Laurel whispered. "Has he opened his eyes yet?"

"He has a couple of times," you said. "I think he looks like Ian."

Ian's eyes widened. He smiled slowly. "R-Really? He looks like me?" 

"A spitting image of you," Barley said. "He has her hair, but he's got your everything else." 

"You're right," Laurel said.

"Do you want to hold him?" you asked.

"Of course." She eagerly stepped back and opened her arms. You very slowly shifted the baby so that he laid in her arms. She brought him close to her chest and melted at the feeling of his warmth and the sound of his sleeping breath. "Oh, what a precious little guy."

You leaned against Barley tiredly. He wrapped his arms around you and kissed your cheek. You were grateful when he just held you now, rubbing your arms as you relaxed against him. 

Laurel held him for a moment, and then she passed him to Ian. Ian couldn't hide his smile of pure joy as he held onto his little nephew. A swell of pride filled him. He had been the baby of the family for his entire life, and now in his arms was a new addition that he would get to take care of, just like his brother took care of him. 

"He does look a lot like me," he said, his voice shaky. You smiled warmly; Ian's eyes were glistening with tears. He blinked them back fast and cleared his throat. The baby's hand poked out of the blanket. Ian poked his palm with his finger, and he latched on with his whole grip. He chuckled. "Hey, kid... I'm your Uncle Ian."

Laurel snapped a picture with her phone and then turned around. "Was there a final decision on a name?"

You looked up at Barley as you nodded. "Wilden. Wilden Barley, and we'll call him Will, I think."

"That's perfect," she said. She held up her phone and snapped a picture of you and Barley leaning against one another. "Congratulations, you two." 

/ /

That night, alone in your room in the middle of the night, Barley tiredly tied back the top of your hospital gown. "Maybe you can feed easier later. It's a learning process, right? That's what the book said."

"Yeah," you said. You couldn't help but be disappointed; feeding your baby was less than simple. You had no idea it would be this difficult or tiring, but here you were at three in the morning, exhausted and sore and drained, settling for a bottle feed when all you desperately wanted to do was provide for your baby. "We just gotta keep trying."

"Hey," he said. You looked at him. "None of this is gonna be easy. Don't get frustrated about it. We both are gonna struggle through this, and the important part is that we are gonna struggle through it together." 

You smiled. "Yeah." 

"Three ounces check," he said, turning his attention back to the baby who was gulping his milk down quickly. 

"Oh. Right." You pulled the bottle from his mouth and checked much he had drank so far. "Yup, it's burping time." 

"My turn," he said. He took the baby from you, slung the burp rag over his shoulder, and gently patted Will's back. 

"He'll spit up on you and then you'll have to shower," you warned, "again."

"My love, that is just one of the perks of fatherhood," he said. "Many long, luxurious showers in our tiny hospital bathroom that always smells like bleach no matter how long we've been in it."

You laughed and shook your head. "Oh hey, it's been almost twenty hours since he was born. Maybe you should try some skin-to-skin with him now. The book said it's best for a father to do it before the baby is twenty-four hours old."

"Okay, we'll work on it," he said, still patting Will's back. "But only if you get some sleep while we do it."

"I am not gonna argue with you on that," you said. "But are you sure you don't want me up for it? What if you..."

"Honey, I promise you that I can handle it," he said. The baby burped. He pointed to the back of his head. "See? The kid just proved that I am a pro dad now. Add it to my list of current successes. I'm a warrior, I'm a Quests of Yore champion, and I have officially mastered the entire dad thing."

You laughed and leaned back against your pillows. "Alright. Let me finish feeding him and then I'll try to get some sleep."

Barley handed Will over to you and you put the bottle back in his mouth. He drank a couple more ounces and then after another burp, he was ready for bed and so were you.

Barley kissed you goodnight and walked around the bed to his spot on the couch by the window. The nurses had brought him a couple of blankets, a sheet, and a few pillows. He made a bed out of them and then yanked his shirt off over his head. He brought Will with him and laid him down on his belly. His head rested against his father's chest. 

Barley smiled as he stroked his son's back gently, lovingly looking down at his rosy pink cheeks that appeared through his blue skin. His thick blue hair tickled his chin as Barley breathed, but he didn't mind.

You fell asleep while you were watching them. You loved your boys with everything inside of you.

/ /

Twenty minutes had gone by, and Barley sat in the dark, quiet room. You were breathing slowly in your bed, sound asleep. He sighed happily and Will made a small squeaking sound. 

"Is that your way of asking if I'm still awake?" he asked. "I'm awake. I just keep thinking about everything. You know, just last night I was telling you that you were gonna have to take care of your mama one day, and I know that's still true. You're always gonna have to take care of her. But I think... I think I can see it now, that I really will be around longer than my own dad was. I'm going to take such good care of you, Will. Of you and of your mama. Your old pops won't be letting you down or leaving you behind. I'll teach you not to be scared of anything and how to be yourself. And I know your mama won't be as excited about this one, but I do have plans on how to make sure your first word is quest. Or wizard, you know, 'cause Uncle Ian got you that awesome bear. Eh." He shrugged. "We'll figure it out."

Will yawned. Barley smiled.

"I'm tired, too. We'd better get some sleep, 'cause we both know that you'll be crying about your diaper needing changed soon and it'll be waking both of us up." He kissed his son's head and breathed in his scent. "Goodnight, Will. I love you."

/ / 

four years later

You pushed the figurine of the knight gently into the buttercream frosting of the homemade cake that you had spent all day long on. You took a moment to admire the decorated cake with purple icing, topped with a giant figure of a dragon and a figure of a knight.

You gently lifted the cake off of the counter and headed towards the dining room. As you walked through the doorway, Will ran right into your legs. 

"Will, sweetie! Be careful, Mama has your cake."

He stepped backwards, lifting the viking helmet off of his head. It was way too big for him, but he insisted on wearing it and dragging his sword around everywhere. 

"Sorry, Mama," he said breathlessly with a giggle. "Daddy and Uncle Ian and me are having an active campaign! It is very serious."

"Very serious, huh?" you asked, raising your eyebrows. "Well, I think your birthday is very serious too, don't you?"

Barley skidded towards you on his socks, Ian behind him with a wizard hat and a cloak on. Barley didn't wear his helmet much anymore (Will had pretty much taken it for good), but he still had a red cape tied around his neck. 

"Barley, honey," you said, "please clear off the table so I can put the cake down."

"Doth my wife disrupt an active campaign?!" he exclaimed dramatically.

"No, Mama, no!" Will cried, tugging on the bottom of your skirt. "Mama you can't!"

You sighed and looked at your husband with raised eyebrows. He sighed and rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "Mama's right, we need to clear off the table. We gotta get ready for your birthday party. In a few minutes, Grandma and Grandpa will be here and all of your friends from preschool..."

"And they're gonna want to see Sir Wilden Lightfoot's birthday cake," you finished. You placed it on the table as Barley and Ian scooped all of the game pieces off and put them away. Will struggled to climb up on the chair, but once he stood up on it and leaned against the table, he gasped. 

"Wow, Daddy look! Mama got me a cake with a knight fighting a dragon!"

Barley got on his knees in front of the table so that he would be at eye-level with his son. "Would you look at that. That's pretty cool, kid."

"All it's missing is a wizard. Like Uncle Ian," he said. Ian got down on his knees on the other side of Will and laughed. "'Cause I wanna be a wizard and a knight when I grow up."

"Who says you don't have a wizard on your cake?" you asked. You turned the cake around and on the front was a unicorn figurine and a wizard holding a staff similar to Ian's. 

Will gasped. "A real wizard! And a un-a-corn!" 

Barley laughed. "What do you tell your Mama?" 

"Thank you, Mama!" he cried joyfully. He stretched up his arms. 

Although your boy was a snuggler and always asked for hugs or cuddles or being held, your heart melted a bit when his tiny fingers reached for you. You scooped him up and nuzzled your nose against his. "You're welcome, baby boy. Mama loves you so much. Give me a kiss?"

He gave you a noisy kiss on the lips, his hands pressed against your cheeks. He nuzzled your nose again and then you set him down. The timer in the kitchen was going off, signaling that the mini pizza bites you had made for the party were done. 

"Mama will be right back," you said. 

"I'll come help you, babe," Barley said. "Will, you play with Uncle Ian and I'll be back."

"Okay, Daddy!" Will grabbed Ian's hand. "Ian, show me a magic trick again! Show me a big one!" 

Barley's hand reached for yours as you walked into the kitchen. As you made your way to the stove, he slung one of his arms over your shoulder and pulled you in for a kiss on your cheek. You giggled and turned your head to kiss him quickly on the lips. 

"What's up, babe?" you asked.

"Nothing," he said. He dropped you and grabbed the oven mitt. He passed it to you with a smile and you opened the oven to pull out the bagel bites. "You know, I thought of something today."

"Yeah?" You put the tray on the stove top and pulled off the oven mitt. As you closed the oven, you looked at your husband. "What is it?"

"I am now older than my dad ever was," he said. "And Will is older than I ever was while still having a dad."

Your heart broke a little. You turned towards him and cupped his face. "I thought about that, too. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," he said reassuringly.

You nodded. "Bar, babe --- Will is so freaking lucky to have you as his dad. The kid's eyes light up every time he sees you. I know you were worried about not measuring up to your own father, or even being able to go further than your dad ever could... but I hope now you see how wonderful you are to him and to me." He touched his forehead to yours and you smiled. "Thou hast stolen thy heart, Sir Barley Lightfoot."

"Doth hast stolen not only thy heart, but thy breath from thy lungs, my queen," he said.

"Ooh, that's extra cheesy," you said. 

Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around your waist and dipped you back. "Hey, let's make out really quick before the party starts."

You laughed, wrapping your arms around his neck. "Sure babe, but if they come in and are served cold pizza bites, you'll be explaining to them that you were too busy kissing your wife to care about their dinner."

He pondered this for a split second. "Deal."

You laughed again as his lips found yours.

/ / /

i loved this series bc all i want is to marry a guy that looks like barley and acts like barley! but most likely no one will ever marry me so i will keep writing these stories and pretend!!! yay!!!