Motherhood || Steve

[Erin-Rose Ryan]

It's been two weeks already. Two weeks since Johanna Nicole Ryan was born. The little girl quickly became Erin's whole world. Taking care of the little baby girl was all that Erin had done for the past two weeks. She had fed her baby, slept when her baby slept, she had changed her daughter and tried to get as much done as possible, but she was just too tired.
Erin didn't really get any cleaning around the house done. Her daughter took up too much time and strength and Erin was pretty exhausted.
Johanna was upstairs in her crib, sleeping and Erin had the baby monitor with her as she was downstairs, sitting on the couch watching some TV. But she didn't really pay attention. In fact she was actually about to fall asleep.

[Steve Anderson]

At the same time, Steve was on the downward leg of his shift. The afternoon shift would be taking over soon, so at the moment, Steve was hoping that nothing big happened so he could get over to Erin and check on her and their daughter. He glanced up at the photo of Erin and Johanna that he kept with him. He smiled a bit and looked back to the road.

[Erin-Rose Ryan]

Erin sighed a little, flipping on the TV with the remote on the coffee table. She pulled her legs up onto the couch and lay down on her side, facing the TV. Johanna was asleep upstairs and she would take the chance to relax a little, although she really needed to get some cleaning done. She had planned to do that for days, but she was just so tired all the time. Sometimes even a little depressed, although she would never show that to anyone. She figured it was just because she wasn't pregnant anymore and the hormones that now needed to find their balance again were doing that to her. She wasn't the type of girl to be depressed over something like this. She loved being a mother, although right now, she didn't quite feel it.
Johanna had been up all night, crying, because she had a colic. The very first one since she was born. Erin had been worried about her baby girl, but in the end, at about 4 AM, Johanna had finally settled down and fallen asleep, only to wake up two hours later, being hungry and needing a change. Now it was afternoon and Erin had just fed Johanna about 30 minutes ago.

Erin didn't really pay attention to the TV. As she watched the people on the screen in some stupid soap opera, she slowly fell asleep on the couch.

[Steve Anderson]

Steve's shift soon finished at the same time. After the roll call, Steve changed, then headed out to meet up with Erin. The photo he had was back in his wallet. As he drove, Steve thought back to the day that Johanna was born. That was the best day of his life.....well one of them. The next best day of his life would be when he and Erin got married. True it raised a few eyebrows at the station when Steve told them, but everyone was happy for Steve and Erin.

[Erin-Rose Ryan]

Erin had fallen asleep on the couch downstairs in the living room. The Soap Opera was playing on TV, but Erin didn't even notice when it finished. She was getting the sleep she so desperately needed.
As she was sleeping, Erin was dreaming one of those romantic dreams about her and Steve going out and him proposing to her. He did say that he was going to marry her, but he had yet to keep his promise to her fairy tale proposal. She had had that dream for several days now, maybe because she knew some time soon, he might take her out and ask her that very question she was waiting to answer. Properly.
A smile appeared on Erin's face as she slept, dreaming about her and Steve.

[Steve Anderson]

Steve had it all planned out for tonight. He had already talked to Erin's father and asked for his permission to marry Erin, which Mr. Ryan agreed to. At the same time, Mrs. Ryan was beside herself that Steve wanted to marry Erin. However, she knew that he was the right man for Erin and Johanna. Mrs. Ryan knew that Steve would provide for them and that he would not hesitate to lay down his life for them.

[Erin-Rose Ryan]

Erin was peacefully sleeping in the small town house apartment that she now owned. She had no idea of Steve's plans for tonight. But she was now dreaming of herself having a true fairy tale wedding.
Just when Erin was about to say 'I do.' she heard a baby cry. It took her a few minutes to realize that it wasn't in her dream, but that Johanna was crying. With a moan Erin opened her eyes and tiredly sat up on the couch. She sighed a little before she slowly got up and went upstairs to see what Johanna wanted.

[Steve Anderson]

At the same time, Steve was making last minute calls to the places he would be taking Erin to. After talking with the guy at the Mandalay Bay's rooftop bar, he went to get the ring he would give to Erin. At the shop, he looked the ring over and smiled a bit. The woman working with him knew he was impressed. "Your girlfriend is a very lucky woman." the petite brunette said to Sean. "That she is" Sean replied before thanking her and paying for the ring. He then headed out to his car, calling Erin at the same time.

[Erin-Rose Ryan]

Erin just got upstairs when she heard her phone ring, which of course, was downstairs on the dining table. Talking of bad luck. Erin sighed a little and decided that she was going to get Johanna first, even though the caller would probably have the voicemail to talk to when she got back. But her baby girl was more important right now.
Erin walked into her daughter's room and up to the crib. She looked down at Johanna and smiled a little, even though Hanna was crying. "Shhh.... mommy's here." she said softly and picked her daughter up. Then she started her way downstairs, gently rocking Johanna in her arms as she walked.

[Steve Anderson]

Steve waited for Erin to pick up, not knowing that she had Johanna in her arms and that she had just woken up from her nap.  As he waited, he pulled into his place and parked, shutting the car off at the same time.

[Erin-Rose Ryan]

Erin carefully made her way down the stairs, rocking Johanna to calm her down. The little girl was crying and Erin figured since she just fed her about an hour ago, the baby girl still had a sore tummy. Damn that colic Erin thought as she walked down the stairs.
Just as she reached the dining table, her phone stopped ringing and the voicemail started.
"You've Erin's voicemail. I'm currently either feeding my baby or am unavailabe otherwise. Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Bye!"

Erin sighed. Just a second too late. She picked up her phone and looked at who had been calling. Seeing it was Steve, Erin smiled a little, but at the same time she figured that he would get worried if she didn't answer. She sighed again and put her phone back down on the table. She needed to calm Johanna down first, otherwise she wouldn't be able to talk on the phone anyway.

She picked her phone up again and put it into the pocket of her sweatpants. Then she walked over to the couch and set Johanna down on the blanket that was always there for her and sat down on the ground. Johanna was still crying and Erin was a little annoyed right now, because she had been up all night trying to make her daughter feel better. Erin put her hand on Johanna's belly and gently began to message the baby girl's tummy. 
She would call Steve back as soon as Johanna calmed down a little bit. He would have to wait until then, being worried or not, Erin couldn't do it any other way.

[Steve Anderson]

After hearing the answering machine message, Steve waited for the beep, which soon came, and left his message.  "Hey Erin, its Steve, but you probably saw that.....I just wanted to tell you to get yourself dolled up and have your parents watch Johanna for you.....I want to take you out to dinner tonight.  Talk to you soon, love you, bye." Steve said before hanging up.  After doing so, he walked back to his place and went to get ready for tonight.

[Erin-Rose Ryan]

Erin gently massaged her baby girl's tummy and a few minutes later the crying girl slowly calmed down. Erin smiled at her daughter. "I know honey... it hurts." she softly, feeling her daughter's pain, too. She hated to see Johanna like this, but what could she do? All she could do was trying to make her comfortable.
When Johanna was only whimpering, Erin checked her voicemail to see if Steve left a message for her. And he did. Erin smiled a little listening to his voice. It calmed her down as well. And the sound of him taking her out to dinner was making her a little bit excited. She hadn't been out since Johanna was born, so she was looking forward to it. But Erin was worried about the short notice for her parents to watch Johanna.

Erin called her mom and much to her surprise, she agreed the moment she asked her to watch Johanna. It was as if Erin's mom knew exactly what Steve had planned for her daughter. They arranged for Mrs. Ryan to come over to Erin's place to watch Johanna until Erin got back. Erin would try to pump some milk for her before she left.
With that settled, Erin left Johanna, who was falling asleep again, on the couch and went to try and get some milk saved, since Erin was breast-feeding her she had to pump some milk for later. Erin didn't like it. It felt so much different than feeding Johanna directly. But she got it done.

After she put the milk into the fridge, Erin picked Johanna up and took her upstairs into her crib, so Erin could shower and get herself pretty for Steve.

[Steve Anderson]

At the same time, Steve had finished showering, then walked into his bedroom and got dressed.  After doing so, he picked up the ring he got for Erin and looked at it, it was perfect for her.  Steve smiled a bit, then headed out to Erin's place.  As he drove, he thought about what he was going to say to Erin when they were at the Mandalay Bay bar.  Steve had managed to get the whole bar for themselves.  He knew that Erin would like that.  He also thought of how Erin would look tonight when he picked her up.

[Erin-Rose Ryan]

Erin got out of the shower and dried herself off. Putting on her robe she walked out of the door and into the bedroom then opened the closet. 
Looking through her clothes, Erin sighed heavily. She had no idea what she was going to wear. There was nothing that caught her eyes right now. Not to mention that she still had some overweight from the pregnancy to get rid off. She wasn't quite fit yet, so finding a dress for tonight was quite a hard task.

Erin heard a car pull up in front of the house and then someone getting out. Erin figured it was her mother and she was right. A minute later she heard the door being opened and closed again and then Mrs. Ryan called out to her, coming upstairs. She knocked onto the bedroom door and was allowed in by Erin. Mrs. Ryan had a surprise for her daughter.

"I got you this, thought you might want to wear it tonight." Mrs. Ryan said, smiling a little as she handed Erin a beautifully wrapped box that held a dress for Erin. And she loved it! 

"Thanks mom, you're the best!" Erin said, smiling happily and then got dressed. Her mother went to check on Johanna, giving her daughter some privacy. A few minutes later Erin walked into the nursery and her mom helped her zip up the dress for her, then took a good look at her daughter and smiled. 

Erin went back to the bathroom and got ready. She still had to do her hair and make-up before Steve would arrive to pick her up.

[Steve Anderson]

Erin's mom held Johanna as she sat on the couch in the front room.  She knew her daughter would be happy tonight.  She remembered the day Steve came over and talked with her and her husband about proposing to Erin.  Both of them were happy and gave their okay for him to do so.  He's a good man Mrs. Ryan said to herself and she held Johanna in her arms.

Outside, Steve pulled up and parked, then walked up to the front door of Erin's apartment.  After getting to the door, he knocked and waited for someone to answer.

[Erin-Rose Ryan]

Erin was still in the bathroom, doing her hair. She needed a little longer than she thought she would and she was a little bit disappointed that he would have to wait for her. But she couldn't change that.
Mrs. Ryan walked downstairs, Johanna in her arms. She was gently rocking the little baby girl as she walked and opened the door for Steve. She had been surprised when he asked for permission to propose to Erin, knowing that he actually didn't need to, but in the end it was a bonus for him. She liked the way he treated Erin and knew that he would be a wonderful husband to her daughter and loving father for Johanna.
"She's not quite done yet." Erin's mom told Steve when she opened the door.

Erin was surprised that Steve even knocked, because he was supposed to have a key to her home. Yet she found him always knocking when he came over to visit, or be with them. She smiled a little as she put part of her red hair up and pinned it at the back of her head. She wanted to have a beautiful hair do tonight. And she was almost done, then it was only some decent make up.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
btw... I don't think Erin's small house has a front room so she stayed in Johanna's Nursery

[Steve Anderson]

Erin's mom looked up when the knock was heard, then walked over.  She looked out and saw that it was Steve.  She smiled a bit and let him in.  Steve walked in and nodded to her.  After they talked for a bit, Steve looked at Johanna and smiled a little.  "Hello Johanna" he said to her.  Johanna looked up at him and cooed a bit in reply.  Erin's mom smiled a bit.  "She knows your hear." she said to Steve, who nodded in reply.  "That she does" Steve replied before asking were Erin was.  Erin's mom told him that she was in her room and would be down soon.

[Erin-Rose Ryan]

Upstairs in the bathroom Erin quickly got ready for her date with Steve. Because she knew that's what it was. They were going out all alone, that was always a date for Erin. She put some make-up - not much, but a little bit, then checked her appearence again and smiled at herself. It was visible that she had a few pouds too much left from the pregnancy, but she still looked gorgeous in her dress.
After spraying on some perfume, she spun around once in her dress before she walked down the stairs. She had a matching pair of shoes in her closet downstairs and would put them on when she got there.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~
...you should really read my replies more carefully sometimes, love. I already wrote that Erin's mom opened the door and told him Erin wasn't ready yet....

[Steve Anderson]

Steve watched Erin's mom as she told him that she wasn't ready. He waited with her by the door, kicking himself for getting there a bit early. As he stood there, Steve looked around the place before looking back at Erin's mom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
sorry about that

[Erin-Rose Ryan]

Little Johanna was looking around curiously, as she was held by her grandma. She didn't make a happy face though, because her tummy was still hurting from the colic she had. But Mrs. Ryan was gently massaging the baby's belly, easing the pain for the little girl, who was now too busy watching her 'daddy' to actually feel the bit of pain.

Meanwhile Erin came walking down the stairs, fully dressed up and smiling as soon as she saw Steve, her mom and baby Johanna. Just like a family should be.
She walked up to them, her baby girl turned her head and looked at her mommy, while Erin got her shoes out of the shoe cabinet and put them on.

[Steve Anderson]

Steve looked over at Erin and smiled a bit. "Wow.....you really clean up well Erin." he said as he watched her get her shoes on. Erin's mom looked at Steve when he said that, then shook her head. "She must get it from me." she commented. Steve looked back at Erin's mom when she said that. "Your daughter is a very beautiful woman." he said to Erin's mom in an honest tone. "Thank you Steve" she replied while holding Johanna in her arms.

[Erin-Rose Ryan]

Erin blushed while the two spoke of her, but it gave Erin a very special look tonight. It was as if she knew what a special night it would be for her, yet she really had no idea. All she had was a guess. And Mrs. Ryan didn't say a word.
"Well, sweetheart... be good for gramma, kay?" she said to Johanna, gently stroking her baby girl's cheek with her finger. "Mommy loves you."

[Steve Anderson]

Johanna cooed in reply when Erin said that to her.  Erin's mom watched them at the same time.  "Go have fun you two, Johanna is in good hands." she said to Steve and her daughter.  Steve looked at her and nodded a bit.  "We will" he said in reply before taking Erin's free hand in his.

[Erin-Rose Ryan]

Erin smiled at her baby girl when she cooed. She was such a bubbly and happy baby. Erin had never seen such a happy human being. And everything around her was just so exciting and interesting. It warmed her heart to see how Johanna looked at everything around her with curious brown eyes.
"Thank you mom for coming on such short notice." Erin said to her mother and then kissed her cheek goodbye. "I'm sure I am in good hands, too." she added, winking at her mom.

"There is no doubt about that, sweetheart." Erin's mom said with a soft smile to Steve.

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