Work Text:
Family of three
Shortly after he slipped the ring on her finger, Colin laced his fingers with Penelope's.
Your fiancée, a little voice in his head reminded him. His heart lurched in excitement. Penelope, the mother of his child, the love of his life, was going to be his wife.
Reading his thoughts, Penelope gave his hand a little squeeze, gazing wistfully down at the stone sparkling on her finger.
"I love you," she told him, her voice quiet.
He pressed a kiss to her temple. "I love you, too, Pen. So much."
She bit her lip, her expression shifting into something uncertain.
"What is it, love?"
"Would you mind terribly if we kept this to ourselves for a bit?" she asked. "Not that I'm not thrilled, but the moment we tell your family…"
Colin let out a chuckle. "Utter pandemonium."
She nodded. "I want to treasure this, just the three of us, for a little while." She blinked up at him, her lashes fluttering delicately against her cheeks. "Is that alright?"
Colin bent down and kissed the crown of her head. "Of course, darling. Whatever you want. Why don't we grab our girl and tell her our news before breakfast? Then we can enter the family chaos."
Willow was just stirring when they re-entered their bedroom, her blue eyes bleary from sleep. Penelope gathered her into her arms and peppered her face with kisses.
"Happy Christmas, darling girl," she whispered to her daughter.
Colin ran a hand over the top of her head, Willow's red curls already beginning to spring out madly. "Are you ready to have some breakfast? Open packages?"
Willow clapped her hands in delight, then reached for Colin with her grabby hands. "Dada!"
Penelope huffed and handed her over. "I see. Now that I'm not the primary food source, I'm unimportant."
Colin kissed his fiancée sweetly. "Patently untrue. She just knows who will slip something sugary into her yoghurt."
Penelope swatted his arm. "Colin Bridgerton, you better not!"
He shrugged as they walked out of the room. "If something just so happens to find its way into her bowl…"
___
Penelope and Colin watched cheerfully as their daughter ripped in the presents placed before her. Once the paper was off, she was fairly uninterested in the actual gift, content to continue ripping up the wrapping paper.
"She's like a bloody cat," Colin whispered to Penelope with a snicker. "Happier with the box than the actual treat."
Penelope pinched his calf from where she sat between his legs and he yelped. "Please don't compare our daughter to an animal." But there was no malice in her voice; she held back a laugh as she observed Willow with Violet's beautiful gift wrap. "Willow, darling, let's see what's inside…"
Penelope assisted her daughter with several gifts and loved the awed expression that crossed the little girl's face when she pulled a stuffie or board book out of the box. When they opened a gift from Willow' aunt Hy and Greg, Colin sent a glare toward his siblings when Penelope pulled out a music set—a tambourine, drum kit, and maracas—for ages twelve months and up.
"We pooled together our pocket money," Greg told them proudly while Hyacinth giggled behind her hot chocolate.
"Thanks ever so much," Penelope said with a grimace.
"That is never coming out of the closet," Colin assured her with an annoyed whisper. "I don't think Greg has any idea, but Hyacinth—"
"Knew exactly what she was doing," Penelope finished. "We'll exact our revenge, don't worry."
Colin beamed down at her. "God, I love you."
"I know."
When Willow finished with her gifts (which was the largest pile of all, Penelope noticed), Eloise took her niece in her lap while Penelope and Colin opened their packages.
Penelope was grateful for the pens, stationery, notebooks, and novels from the Bridgerton siblings; it meant so much to her that they all knew her so well. She was equally pleased when they all seemed to revere her gifts to them, including Kate who was also spending the holiday with them (Penelope and Eloise had giggled at how smitten Anthony was with her).
But her breath caught in her throat when she opened a gift from Violet. She had been a bit caught off guard when it was in a simple, off-white envelope. Not that she expected large, over-the-top gifts from Colin's mother year after year, it was only those types of things were her style most of the time.
When she slid the envelope open with a flick of her finger and pulled out the card, she had to use all her inner strength not to widen her eyes.
She looked up and saw Violet watching her intently. "H-how did you…?"
Violet gace her a knowing look. "A mother knows these things, dearest."
"What is it, Pen?" Colin inquired, peering over her shoulder.
Penelope handed him the card wordlessly, fighting back the tears that had her eyes pricking.
She heard Colin inhale sharply from behind her. "Mum…"
Violet walked over and embraced them both, doing her best not to draw the attentions of the other family members. "Congratulations. I love you both so much."
Colin handed Penelope back the card and she scanned it once more in disbelief.
Dearest Penelope,
I know you are not close with your own mother, so I hope you will allow me the honor of taking you to purchase your wedding gown in these next few weeks. I would be further honored if you would wear my veil when you walk down the aisle and marry my son next year. Edmund's mother wore it and her mother before her; it is a family tradition and nothing would make me happier than to pass it on to you.
I have always considered you a daughter and it warms my heart to know you will be once in earnest soon. Willow is one of the most precious gifts I have ever received and I am beyond grateful that she belongs to you. Thank you for giving her to us.
Yours always,
Violet
Family of four
Willow's penchant for enjoying gift wrap more than gifts was a thing of the past.
Her pile of gifts being the largest of the bunch, however, was not.
If anything, the pile had increased in size as she got older.
Now, at five going on six, her boundless energy allowed her to tear through packages a mile a minute, leaving the Bridgerton living room in utter disarray before the rest of the family had taken four sips of coffee.
"You want to slow down a bit, Wills? Savor the moment?" Colin prompted his daughter.
Willow shook her head furiously. "No, Daddy! There's so many presents!"
Colin chuckled as he took a drink of his brew. "There will still be the same number of gifts no matter how fast you go, love."
Willow rolled her eyes in such a way that Colin knew he would be in big trouble in about a decade. "I have to open them all now, Daddy!"
"Yeah, Daddy," Penelope whispered from next to him on the couch.
Colin stiffened. "Pen," he muttered, sliding a hand up her thigh. Penelope bit her lip, her cheeks coloring.
"You might want to hold off on that for a moment," she replied, inclining her head toward their daughter.
Willow opened her next gift, a graphic tee, examining it curiously. "What's this, Mommy?"
Penelope beamed. "Why don't you read it, love? Hold it up so your dad can see."
Willow held it at an odd angle and sounded out the words (she had been a good reader for some time already thanks to Colin and Penelope's diligent efforts). "World's best big sister."
Colin's eyes widened. "Pen, are you…?"
Penelope nodded, her eyes damp. "Yeah. I just found out last week."
Colin drew her close. "Oh my god!"
"I'm a sister?" came Willow's voice.
Penelope beckoned her over. "Yes, love. You're going to have a little sibling."
"Little sister?" Willow asked, her eyes pleading.
Penelope let out a watery laugh. "Maybe so. It might be a little brother."
Willow sighed dramatically. "Little brother is okay. Little sister is better."
Colin swept her into his arms, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "We will do the best we can, Wills. But I know you will be the best big sister no matter what, yeah?"
Willow giggled and nodded excitedly. "Yes, Daddy!"
Penelope rolled her eyes affectionately. "Maybe the next one will be attachmed to me."
Colin set their daughter on the ground and she bounded back to her presents. Before she sat down, she returned to Penelope and hugged her tightly. "I love you, Mommy," she whispered.
Penelope's eyes began to water once more. "I love you too, my darling girl."
Damn hormones.
Family of six
Aurora had been a menace all evening. Penelope loved her infant daughter immensely, but her nerves were frayed. Her daughter was struggling the same way Willow had when she was a few months old, except now Penelope had two other children and all of her in-laws to worry about for Christmastime.
Everyone was very helpful and kind and assured her they didn't mind sweet Aurora's wails in the early hours of the morning. Violet even offered to have a night nanny come over so Penelope and Colin could get some rest. Penelope had chuckled at that; she knew the gesture was well-meant, but she heard the deeper implication—everyone wanted some rest. Despite Aubrey Hall being a mansion, it was difficult to escape the screams of a baby when its lungs were as fierce as Aurora's.
There was another caveat as well.
Penelope was pregnant again.
And the only people who knew were Willow, Atlas, and Colin.
They had planned to tell the family at Christmas, but with Aurora being on a tirade, Penelope felt insecure about sharing their news.
"What if they think we're mad?" Penelope fretted as she and Colin prepared for bed. "We are a bit mad, to be honest. We didn't plan for this."
Colin embraced his wife and rubbed her back soothingly. "Who cares what they think? It's our life, Pen."
For a moment, Penelope had a flashback to the first time she and Colin were anxiously sharing news of her pregnancy with his family—and how they had responded. She went stiff beneath his touch.
"Hey," he pulled away, bringing a hand to her cradle her jaw, his thumb brushing her cheek. "I know what you're thinking. This is nothing like before, okay? For one, we're not teenagers." They both laughed. "And second, we have three other children we have created a stable, beautiful life with. There's no reason for them to be anything but thrilled for us." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "But if anyone has anything negative to say, I won't hesitate to punch them, alright? I meant what I said about not being a teenager anymore. I can take them."
Penelope laughed again. "Too right. And you'll feel your age the next day as well."
Colin pulled her close. "All will be well. I'm sure of it."
He was right, as always.
Violet burst into tears immediately and hugged them both.
Kate dabbed at her eyes and quietly confessed to Penelope that she was also pregnant again. Penelope hugged her tightly, so pleased that another of her children would have a built-in best friend.
Colin stayed closer to her than normal as they watched all the next generation Bridgerton children unwrap their packages, Aurora tucked safely into his other side.
She smiled softly at the scene, wondering what it would look like in later years with all her children gathered together.
Six years later
"If you don't wipe that sour look of your face, Colin Bridgerton, I swear to god," Penelope whispered furiously to her husband.
Colin's frown only deepened as the grip he had on his whiskey glass tightened considerably. "He's standing too close to her."
Penelope scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "He's standing beside her. He's not even holding her hand. Probably afraid you'll lop it off if he does."
Colin mumbled something a bit like, "Too bloody right," and Penelope flicked his ear.
"Ouch!" he yelped.
"Stop it," she hissed. "Your daughter brought her boyfriend to Christmas because she wanted us to meet him properly—wanted everyone to meet him properly. If you act like an arse, she will never bring him around again. Is that what you want?"
Colin swirled his drink around in the glass, muttering under his breath.
"What was that?" Penelope prompted.
"I said, I'd rather her not bring him around at all."
Penelope let out an exasperated sigh. "Do you remember when we were kids, younger than Willow if you'll recall, and Anthony was a git about us being chaperoned at all times?"
Colin smirked. "Well you were pregnant—"
"And so far," Penelope interrupted, "Willow has managed to take care of herself in that regard—no happy accidents. So relax or you'll leave everyone wondering what an old man with such deep forehead and lip wrinkles is doing with a spry young thing like me." She tossed her hair for added effect to really drive her point home.
Colin rolled his eyes. "They already wonder that, darling."
She blushed. "Stop."
Colin pulled her down into his lap, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "It's something, this life we built. Yeah?"
Penelope watched as six-year-old Rhodes tugged on Willow's sleeve and asked to be picked up. He was just shy of being too old for such things, but Willow adored her baby brother and always gave in to whatever he wanted. He clung to his sister's neck, beaming at her.
Penelope inclined her head toward them. "See? Nothing to worry about. Her beau looks properly terrified being in the presence of a child."
Colin snorted and let out a full belly laugh. "Good lord. He must not have any siblings."
"Compared to your family, having one sibling is practically having no siblings," Penelope teased.
"Hey!" Colin protested, pinching her side.
Penelope let out a squeak of indignation, drawing everyone's attention.
Willow sent her eyes skyward and whispered to her boyfriend. "This is how they always are."
"Even after all this time?" he asked, arching a brow.
Willow smiled, nodding at her disgustingly in love parents. "Yeah, even after all this time."