Chapter Text
Sophie toed off her heels and sat them on the shoe rack next to the front door. Time would tell if they would make their way back into her closet or if she'd be wearing them again the following day. Normally, she'd take them straight into their closet where she changed out of her clothes into something more comfortable, but it’d been a long day and all she wanted was to find her family, eat something, shower, and then go to bed, in that order. Wanting to accomplish the first task, she made her way up the stairs to one of the bedrooms at the far end of the hall.
It was after 8 and while there was a good chance she'd walk into a battle of wills, she was pleased by the scene she found: her wife rocking their son while LD lay at her feet.
She stood in the doorway and took the moment in. There were still moments where she couldn't believe that this was her life; that she had a wife and son and a fulfilling career that she loved. She was so caught up in her thoughts that when Ryan looked up at her, she was surprised, but quickly recovered and made her way over to them.
“Did he give you any trouble tonight?”
“No more than usual. Your son feels like he's going to miss something if he goes to sleep at his bedtime, though your video call helped him settle down. Mommy always makes things better, huh?” Ryan asked their sleeping son. He was on one before Sophie's call and as soon as he locked eyes on his Mommy, he settled, even though she wasn't physically there. Ryan loved the calming effect Sophie had on him.
“I'm sorry. I thought we would've finished much earlier than this, but there was an unforeseen-”
“Babe, it's okay. Some things can't be helped and I was actually able to get a nap today, so I was rested enough to keep up with him.”
Sophie fought the desire to suggest making their nanny, Ashanti, full-time yet again. At present, their nanny worked very part-time; only when Ryan taught self-defense classes at Sheldon Park or when they had date night.
When they decided to expand their family four years into their marriage, no one was more surprised than Ryan when she offered to carry and then later become a stay-at-home mom to their son. Everything that she'd been through, particularly with Imani, had put a lot in perspective and she realized that despite everything she'd accomplished with The Hold Up, she wouldn't have been able to rebuild without having to relive the trauma she went through. And though she was previously considering it, she decided against opening a lounge and instead sold the lot her former home resided on to the city and donated the funds to Sheldon Park to help expand their community services. As a thank you to both Ryan and Sophie for their contributions and collaboration with the Gotham City Family Violence Center, Sheldon Park opened and dedicated the Wilder-Moore Family Service Center to them.
Ryan taught self-defense classes full-time at the Center until she got pregnant, and then reduced her time back to volunteer status after recruiting another teacher to take her place. Her pregnancy and labor had been pretty easy going and when it was time to return to work, Ryan surprised them both by stating that she wanted to stay home full-time. Sophie's six-month maternity leave was coming to an end and while it could've easily been extended with approval from her boss and mother-in-law, Sophie was eager to get back to Jeturian.
After obtaining her Master's degree, she was hired at Jeturian and placed in their Intelligence department, slowly making her way up through the ranks, starting with joining the internship program and becoming hired full-time once the internship was complete. There were a lot of late nights and early mornings, but Sophie loved every bit of it. It helped that Ryan and their son were able to visit often and have lunch whenever they were missing the other member of their family. With Ryan staying home and having Ashanti, they didn't have to put their son in daycare, though Sophie felt Ryan needed more of a break than she often got. She didn't want her wife to become overwhelmed, and while Ryan promised that if she felt she needed a break, she'd let her know and would call Ashanti, she often toughed it out on her own to the dismay of her family.
Sophie moved over to where her two loves sat and lifted the sleeping boy into her arms. She hugged him close as he nuzzled his face into her neck and breathed deeply, content in his mommy's arms. She kissed his temple before laying him down on his back in his crib and felt Ryan stand next to her and watched as she leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. Checking to make sure the monitor was on, they quickly and quietly backed away from the crib until they were outside of his bedroom and headed down to the kitchen where dinner awaited them. Before Ryan could grab some plates, Sophie tugged on her hand and pulled her towards her, Ryan's arms automatically draping themselves over the taller woman's shoulders.
Their kiss was slow and sweet, a reminder of just how much they missed one another while apart. Before they could get too deep, Sophie's stomach growled causing the women to laugh.
“Did you work through lunch again?”
Rather than answer, Sophie reached above and behind Ryan to grab the plates and walked around her to plate their dinner: brown butter scallops with risotto and sautéed spinach. Ryan had abandoned her vegan lifestyle during pregnancy and kept a mostly pescatarian diet, something Sophie was very grateful for.
“Sophie,” Ryan called and the woman in question turned around sheepishly.
“I was planning on leaving at a decent hour today but then Wayne Enterprises decided to launch their newest AI prototype ahead of schedule and it had a lot of, too many, if I'm being honest, similarities to ours. There's concern that there's a mole in the department so I was focusing on that all day.”
“Is there a mole?”
“I'm not sure. We're having to comb through security footage and go through each person's personnel file to see if there are any ties to Wayne. If there's a mole then the prototype may have to be scrapped since Wayne announced theirs, though we're still waiting to see if their version has any flaws.”
“How was mom?”
Sophie winced and Ryan frowned. For Sophie and Jada, the term “in-law” was merely a formality. Jada took Sophie under her wing at work and became the boss she needed: someone who saw her potential and was willing to lead her in becoming the Intelligence expert she desired to be. At the same time, she also became the mother Sophie needed. She loved and treated Sophie as her own and for the most part, Sophie loved it, and while she understood that Jada the mother and Jada the CEO were two different entities, experiencing it in practice was a difficult lesson to learn.
Sophie was an avid people pleaser and as much as she'd already admired Jada, she didn't want to disappoint her that much more. She pushed and was hard on herself to the point that both Jada and Ryan had to remind her that she'd already proven herself and her merits by being hired on permanently at Jeturian after successfully getting through the internship. Still, her desire to prove her worth and shoulder burdens not belonging to her, remnants of the life she lived with Diane and Tyler, respectively, lingered, and she often took failures in her department personally, even if not her fault. That disposition led to the aforementioned late nights and early mornings, but just as she was learning to not take every issue regarding her department personally, she was committed to being present when with her family. That meant no work calls once home unless it was an emergency that came from her mother, herself. Weekends were committed to family time, and PTO was to be taken regularly.
It was a balance that Sophie hadn't been able to experience before, but was glad to have the opportunity now. It wasn't always easy, but it was always worth it, especially since the reward was so great.
“It's all hands on deck and she expects competency-”
“-which you have in abundance,” Ryan finished before Sophie could start verbally doubting herself. “You wouldn't be there if you weren't qualified. I'm sure you all will figure it out. Just don't take it all on yourself, okay?”
“Okay,” Sophie nodded and pulled Ryan closer to her so she could kiss her again. Pulling away only because she really was starving, she led them to the kitchen table where they sat and ate together.
They talked about their standing Sunday dinner with Jada and Terrance who had officially rekindled their relationship not long after Ryan and Sophie moved into their townhome. They weren't married, though Terrance already had a ring chosen for Jada after having had Ryan accompany him to the jeweler for her input on the perfect ring for her mother. The fact that father and daughter could coexist to the point where Ryan gladly accompanied her father to help him choose an engagement ring for her mother was a testament to the work they'd both put in to repair their relationship.
Ryan hated that she couldn't say the same for Sophie's relationship with Diane, but the older woman had made it abundantly clear that Sophie and her family had no place in hers. It still bothered Sophie and Ryan suspected that it always would, but she was eternally grateful for her sister-in-law, Jordan, who'd chosen Sophie rather than their mother. While Diane had lost two daughters, Sophie maintained her relationship with her sister and had gained a wife, in-laws, and a son. As far as Sophie was concerned, she had everything she needed and wanted, even without Diane in her life, and with Jordan and Xane moving to Gotham from Freeland in the next couple of months, their close proximity would be the icing on an already sweet cake.
The couple finished their dinner and headed back upstairs to their bedroom, making another stop to check in on their son. Once inside, they took a shower together and started on their nighttime routine. Finally in bed, Ryan snuggled up to Sophie who welcomed her in her arms.
“How do you feel about you and Jordan's age gap?” Ryan asked as she laid against Sophie's shoulder.
“I love it. Growing up, she wasn't just my sister, it was like she was my baby, too.”
“Did you ever wish you were closer in age?”
Sophie pondered the question. “Sometimes, but for the most part, I think it was perfect.”
The sisters were six years apart and while it may have been a problem for some siblings, it wasn't for Sophie and Jordan. Save for the years Sophie was married to Tyler, they couldn't have been any closer.
“Not having any siblings growing up and not meeting Marquis until I was a teenager, I always wanted my kids to be close in age, you know?”
Sophie looked down and met Ryan's eyes. “How close are we talking?”
“Well, Marquis is almost 18 months, so we'd be out of two-under-two territory if we got pregnant soon.”
At Sophie's wide eyes, Ryan smiled and kissed the mole on her chin.
“I like a 4-year gap. Close enough to have similar interests but far enough that we'll only have one in diapers.”
“Unless we have multiples.”
At that, Ryan's eyes widened. “Don't even play!”
Sophie laughed and Ryan legs tangled themselves in hers before kissing her softly.
“Sooooo…what do you say?”
“I say,” Sophie turned them so Ryan was lying flat on her back and moved between her parted thighs. “There's no time like the present to start practicing.”
Just as Ryan was about to point out that ‘practicing,’ while fun, wouldn't produce a child, Sophie silenced her with a kiss as her fingers walked up the side of her ribs beneath her shirt and over her breasts. They made love well into the night and as they climaxed together for the final time, they held one another tightly. As they drifted off to sleep, her wife in her arms and their son asleep in his room, for not the first time, Sophie mentally thanked the hospital social worker for providing her with the hotline all those years ago. In accepting ‘Cora's' number, she not only saved her life, she was given a new one.
She made a note to herself to follow up with her OB/Gyn to start fertility testing. They'd long since agreed that should they have additional children, Sophie would be the next to carry. Ready and willing to keep her word, the first step would be to see how she fared fertility-wise so they could embark on the journey of expanding their family soon in the future. Closing her eyes and squeezing Ryan tighter, she couldn't help but think that should their next child be a girl, Cora would be a wonderful name.