Our Little Family [Miles Wood] Chapter 20- Meet The New Baby Woody
From B: I know we have some new followers around here! Yay and welcome! So I wanted to give a quick re-introduction to Little Family! It's a blog submission series by our lovely 👢 anon! I do not write this series. I am as much of a fan as the rest of you! This series is also completely independent of Shot In the Dark. KK enjoy!! 🍿
A/N from 👢 anon: Hi guys, it's been too long. I'm here with another update from little family. After this chapter, there is going to be 5 left and we will be closing the little family chapters.
Oh yeah, we have some smut here too.
Since the moment you told Miles that you are pregnant, things changed. He was the perfect partner and dad. When he was home, he took care of you and Lily. So you could have alone time, he knows it can be a lot being pregnant and your baby hitting 2 years old.
Every night that Miles is home, he's rubbing lotion and oil on your bump. Because he loves touching you, knowing that you're carrying his baby and the baby likes his touch too.
You're doing your best to give Lily lots of love. Let her be the baby, too. It's an adjustment, but it's amazing. You're not going to lie, your favorites moments are when she crawls into bed with you and lies on the bump talking to her sibiling.
All your appointments are around Miles' schedule. He wants to be there for you and the baby. Not that he didn't do that for you and Lily before. You're having more happy moments during this pregnancy because Miles is loving you, too. He's your partner and husband now, before he was basically just Lily's dad. You guys had fun, but not like this.
Finding out that you guys are having another girl makes him cry. And he doesn't cry much. Seeing Miles getting more emotional makes you emotional too, more than usual. That's on the hormones.
The first time she kicked was just perfection. All three of you were cuddling and watching a movie. Both Miles and Lily were lying on the bump. And then she kicked, Miles looked at you with teary eyes and a big smile on his lips. Lily asked what happened. And you explained that her baby sister said hi. It made her so happy. Lily kissed the bump and said hi back. You know you're lucky.
Sedona for babymoon was perfect. You and Miles had a really good time together. It was something that you guys needed. Having that alone time and connection was amazing. But getting home to Lily saying that she missed you was the best. It made you emotional talking to Miles later.
Miles' season ended short again, but this time he was down for a day or two and then he decided that he was going to enjoy all his girls.
……
The day finally comes, and your water breaks in the middle of the night. Miles was asleep, and you had to basically shake him to wake up.
As much you love his sleepy look, this time you need him to move his ass because you're going to be in pain soon. And you would like some meds.
You groan when the first contraction happens.
“Miles, for the love of God. My water just broke.” Miles blinks at you a few times before his brain catches up.
He curses getting up, he helps you get changed, and he goes to wake his parents. To let them know what is happening. He's so frantic because last time he was on the road.
You need to say goodbye to your baby before you go. Miles was preparing her for this moment, letting her know that maybe mommy and daddy would leave without her knowing, but grandma and grandpa would be there with her. And they're going to come back with her baby sister.
You only show that you're in pain when it's just you and Miles. The whole drive to the hospital was painful. Miles had to pay attention to your contractions while driving.
When you guys got to the hospital, Miles stayed downstairs admitting you while you went to your room. By the time he gets there, you are already in pain meds. They make you a little happier.
But then you're in pain again. Miles is by your side the whole time. You get him a cot so he can take a nap. Even if he doesn't want to. He wants to stay up with you.
You're in labor for more than 6 hours. Your doctor comes in to check you, and sees if it's time. Miles asks if it's time, and she says that it's.
He moves to your side and holds your hand. You curse at him, probably hurting his hand, and saying that you're not going to have his babies anymore. A few times during that process.
Miles just encourages you. He kisses your sweaty forehead. He praises you. You feel so weak by the end. He says that you're doing amazing, but hearing him say that she's almost here gives you that extra strength to push.
Hearing her crying filling the room makes your body go limp. You smile while taking a deep breath.
Miles kisses you. “She's here, babe, and she's perfect.” You nod, not having a lot of strength right then.
The nurse puts your baby on your chest. You kiss her head crying, and your baby is finally here. “Welcome to the world, Ella harper Wood.” You kiss her head again.
Miles rests his forehead on yours “she's perfect, babe. We made her.” He kisses your forehead.
The nurse comes in saying that they need her, and you pass her to the nurse.
“Go be with her.” You push Miles towards where she's getting cleaned.
Your doctor works on you to make sure that everything is okay. The few pushes after giving birth and the stitches.
Miles takes one last look at you before he goes with the nurses to follow your baby. The room starts to get less crowded, which is a relief. You close your eyes when you're alone. The only sounds inside the room are the machines connected to you.
You don't hear Miles coming in. He kisses your head, thinking you're asleep. You open your eyes to look at him. You mumble a soft “hey”.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” He watches you with such a worried look in his eyes. You nod but ask for water, Miles goes to get you water. He rubs your arm when he's back, and you slowly drink the water.
“Is everything okay with her ?” You ask between sips.
“Yeah. She's perfect. You did a good job, Mama.” He kisses your head. He's so proud of you. He definitely has a new admiration for you.
You nod and smile. That's what you needed, to know that she's okay.
“Babe, I know I'm supposed to be resting, but I need to call your mom to talk to Lily.” Miles watches you for a second before nodding and grabbing his phone.
He texted her when he was with El saying that the new Wood was born. He facetimes her, Cheryl smiles, seeing her son's face on the screen. She says, "A congratulations and asks," How are you doing? " Miles says that you're tired, but all good.
He says that he's going to give you the phone. You talk to Cheryl a little before asking if you can talk to Lily. She takes the phone to your baby, seeing Lily's face, and you relax a little more.
You talk to her, asking how she's doing, if she's having fun with grandma and grandpa. She says that she is but that she misses you. You say that you miss her too and soon she'll be home with daddy and her baby sister. She gets excited.
You say that you love her before passing the phone for Miles. He talks to her, and you drift off hearing your loves talking to each other.
Miles plans with his mom for her to bring Lily in the middle of the afternoon. He knows you need that and that you feel guilty for leaving her in the middle of the night.
He lays in the hospital bed with you. He just wants to hold you. It doesn't take long for the nurse to bring El for her breastfeeding.
Miles wakes you. He helps you settle before passing El to you. You smile seeing that cute little face. You kiss her forehead, saying that you're her mommy.
It takes a little time for her to latch, but when she does, you relax big time. Miles gives you the space to be with her.
You brush your finger over all her features. Saying that she has the best daddy and the best big sister, that you guys are so excited for her to be part of your family.
Miles stays outside of the door, updating his family, his teammates, and ordering you food. He knows you're hungry.
When he comes back, he sees you counting El's little toes and fingers. Miles is still a little worried, but he sees that you're more like yourself now.
He moves closer to you. “Can I hold her ?” You look at him a little confused.
You chuckle, nodding because, of course, he can pick his baby. Miles picks her up, settling with her in his arms. You watch El stir a little before settling completely in her daddy's big chest.
“Babe, do you mind if I take a nap ?” Miles is shocked that you asked him that.
“Not at all, rest, sweetheart.” He kisses El's head to settle her a little more. You nod before turning to your side.
Miles holds El as long as he can while you're asleep. The nurse comes to get her. He gets your food and then just sits there looking at you. You wake up to those piercing blue eyes staring at you. You blink a few times, getting him focused.
“Can I have more water, please ?” You lick your lips, feeling a little dry.
“Yeah.” Miles picks the cup and helps you drink. “I brought food for you, babe.” You take a big sip before nodding.
“What about you ? Did you eat ?” You pass the cup to Miles. He looks at you, and you know he didn't.
“Why were you staring ?” You ask, lacing your fingers.
“I'm worried about you, babe.” He sighs, running his hand through his hair.
“Why ? I'm okay.”
“You don't look like yourself, I just don't want something to happen to you.”
“Hey, c'mon here.” You cup his cheeks moving to the side to give his big body space.
“I'm okay, I promise you that. I'm exhausted, being in labor in the middle of the night is not fun, and I miss Lily too.”
“Yeah, I know.” He closes his eyes, feeling your fingers brush along his cheekbone.
“I didn't like leaving her like that in the middle of the night. I know she's okay with your parents. And I promise you, it doesn't change my feelings for El. I love her and I'm so happy she's here with us. I'm exhausted and hungry, probably not the best combination.” You smile, seeing you smile brings a smile onto Miles' lips.
You kiss him before asking if he can bring you the food. You hear that giggle as Miles goes to get you the food.
You thank him before putting a lot of food in your mouth. You give him a look, for him to eat too. If you need food, he does, too.
Miles picks your tray of food as you drink a little more water. You pat empty space beside you for Miles to join you. You need hubby cuddles. He's so careful with the wires and iv on your arms. He doesn't need the nurses to come running scared into the room.
You bury your face in his chest, just needing to feel secure. This is one of the most vulnerable moments that he ever saw you, and he'll take care of you.
You guys cuddle until you hear a knock on the door. Miles kisses your head before getting up to open the door.
You hear your oldest voice saying hi, dada. You smile, getting a little emotional, and Miles squats to give her a kiss. Then, he holds her hand to help her walk towards you.
She's holding a bouquet to give to you. Miles helps her to jump into the bed. “Mama” she's so excited as she settles against you. You kiss her head, holding her close to your body. You thank her for the flowers and then bring her to your lap.
“Baby, mommy is so sorry for leaving like that last night.” Lily looks at you with her big blue eyes.
“ ‘s okay mama, I have a new baby sister now.” She's so excited, and it's adorable. You kiss her head before putting her beside you. You guys talk, and the nurses bring El for another one on one with Mommy before feeding.
While you guys talk, Miles shows El to his parents. Then you ask Lily if she wants to meet her baby sister. Lily says that she does.
Miles brings El, placing her in your arms. Lily's little face moves closer to El, she wants to meet her baby sister. She kisses El's forehead, blushing a little at El's reaction.
“She loves you too, baby.” Lily smiles at you as she brushes her finger on El's hair.
Miles snaps a few pictures of his girls together. You kiss Lily's head, letting her have a moment with her sister. Cheryl sends Miles to be with you guys so she can take a few pictures of you.
You cup his cheek, looking at him with heart eyes. You mouth a thank you for him, he rests his forehead on yours and Lily kisses El's forehead again. It's the perfect picture.
He pecks your lips before looking at his family. El starts to get fussy.
“Baby, can you go with Daddy while mommy feeds baby El. After she is done, you can come say goodbye before going home with grandma and grandpa.” Lily nods and makes grabby hands for miles.
He picks her up, giving her lots of kisses, making her giggle. You smile as they leave the room. You shift El for her to be comfortable. This time, she latches right away.
“You're going to have the best big sister, baby.” El wiggles a little because she feels that too, Mommy.
You watch your baby eat, slowly at her own pace. She's so adorable, lots of Wood's genes in her. The caramel hair, the bone structure, she has your nose and mouth. So you're happy. Miles will be in trouble when his girls grow up.
Miles comes in a few minutes later, and Lily has her mouth full of chocolate. And you give him a look, shaking your head.
“There are wipes in the bag.” You point to the bag, Miles nods and picks the wipes to clean Lily's mouth.
Lily comes to join you with a clean mouth. You pass El for Miles to hold her. You kiss Lily's head and tickle her belly. Her laugh is a good sound to your ears.
You look at Cheryl, biting your bottom lip. Then you look at Miles. He's entertained by El.
“Cheryl, can you help me with something ?” Miles almost snapped his head, looking at you.
“Of course, sweetheart.” She grabs your bag before moving to your side to help you get out of bed.
Randy moves to be with Lily, and you move slowly to the bathroom.
“Babe…” You hear Miles calling for you as you enter the bathroom.
Cheryl helps you sit on the toilet, and she closes the door. You take a big deep breath.
“I'm sorry, I couldn't ask anyone else. I understand if it's too personal for you, but I don't think I can have Miles looking at my body right now.” Cheryl is taken aback for the personal part, but she understands not wanting Miles to see you right now.
“It can be a little personal, but you're my daughter too. And I'm here to help you. Not only Miles, you too.” She moves to hug you. “But you need to talk to him. He needs to know that.” You nod, hugging her back.
You and Cheryl work on getting you undressed. You pee and change your pad. Putting on some normal clothes makes you feel happy.
You guys go back into the room. You thank her before moving back to bed again. Miles is holding El and talking to Lily.
You tell Lily that she's going home with grandma and grandpa. Mommy and Daddy will be there soon. You give her lots of kisses before Randy helps her out of the bed. She blows kisses to you from the door. You smile and blow her kisses. El is passed out in her daddy's arms.
She looks so peaceful in his arms. The nurse comes to get El, saying that she'll bring her soon for another feeding. You nod and thank her.
Miles comes closer. He fixes your blanket before hugging you. Your head rests on his abs.
“I'm sorry.” Miles looks at you confused before lifting your chin to look at him.
“Why are you apologizing, love ?” You shrug as Miles give you the look. Don't hide.
“Ahh, I thought I hurt you by asking your mom to help me.” His face goes soft, hearing that.
“Sweetheart, you just had a baby. You can basically do whatever you want. At first, I was a little disappointed, but then I remembered that you're doing what makes you feel comfortable.” He pecks your lips as the tears stream down your cheeks.
“Yeah, I'm not comfortable with you seeing my body right now.” Telling him that shows how far you guys come together.
“I understand, baby. And I'll help you in any way that I can, keeping the boundaries you just set for us.” You nod thanking him.
Your doctor comes in to check on you, and how are you doing. If everything continues like this, you can go home tomorrow.
You ask Miles for food, and if he wants to go home, shower, change, and take a nap, you'll be fine in the hospital. He looks offended by your suggestion.
“I'm not going anywhere until you and El are discharged.” You sigh, closing your eyes.
“Babe, you need to rest too. I'm going to be okay for a couple of hours. I need you to take care of yourself too.” Miles has his debating face.
“Okay. I'll go home, change, and shower, but not nap.” You nod. If this is what you can get from him, it's fine.
You and Miles cuddle as you fall asleep on him. When you wake up, Miles says that he'll go home and bring you food after. You thank him softly.
While you wait, you decide to scroll through your phone to pass the time. You have a bunch of texts from the halves congratulating you, his teammates too. Some say that they hope she looks like you and not Miles. It makes you laugh.
You see Miles post, a picture he took of you holding both of your girls. With the caption:
“My world right here, welcome to the family baby”
It makes you smile, but there is one just for you. With different pictures from your dating years.
“To my strong wife, thank you for giving me these greatest gifts. But also you loved me before I could do the same. I want our girls to grow up to be strong like their mother. You're the best, babe.”
And this one makes you cry, not hearing what he thinks of you often and your hormones. It make you soft. Miles is becoming the best husband.
When Miles come with food, you're feeding El after spending some mommy and daughter time with her. His hair is still wet, and you know he showered and left. You just hope he loved Lily before leaving.
Miles comes closer, he pecks your lips and brushes his finger over el's head. Little girl stirred but didn't stop eating.
“I love you.” That big grin shows on his lips again. “I love you too.” He kisses you before putting the food on the table.
While El eats, he takes the containers out to put them on the tray for you. His mom made food for you. You get emotional again, Cheryl is just amazing.
El finishes eating, and you shift her for a burp. Then Miles picks her up for cuddles while you eat. You're half way through your dinner, and she starts to cry and get fussy. You stop eating to tend to her.
Miles stops you saying that he got this. He sits with her, strips his shirt, and does skin to skin with her. It takes a couple of minutes, but then she settles.
You smile at them. Miles is really an amazing dad. Miles looks at you, so in love. He still can't believe you agreed to have more of his babies.
The rest of the night flies by. There are some moments where El gets super fussy. But you guys work it out as a family.
The next morning you get discharged, going home makes you so happy. Miles is so careful that it's a little funny.
The whole family is waiting for you guys. Lily comes running to you, and you give her lots of kisses. You take a shower at home and then just cuddle the rest of the day.
Later that night in Miles' arms, “Thank you for giving me this life.”
Miles pecks your lips. “Always sweetheart, it's what you deserve.
You snuggle closer, enjoying the quiet for now.
……
Life at home has been an adjustment for sure for the next couple of months. El struggled a little bit, but thankfully, you had Miles and his parents.
Lily was perfect the whole time. Thankfully, hers and El's nap schedules were different. So you could love both of your babies, giving Lily that mama and daughter time.
She's getting so smart, definitely a little sassy. Miles doesn't know how to handle it, and you think it's funny.
Miles has been perfect, too. Your marriage continues getting stronger and closer. All the bumps made you guys better.
Then Miles' season started, you all had to make another adjustment. You called Miles crying a couple times in the middle of the night. His heart broke every time. He hates seeing you like that.
But when he's home, he's home. He's taking care of Lily and El, so you can have some me time. For you to have a long bath and things like that.
You're glad that you and Miles made sure Lily continued as a toddler. She didn't need to grow up because of her sister. That's so important to you.
You and Miles started taking date nights with each other but also with Lily. And you like how things are going, that's something you always wanted. Her being a kid.
Miles is such a gentleman and respectful when it comes to your body issues after pregnancy. He gives you the space necessary to feel comfortable enough.
One night, you decided to be bold. Your doctor cleared you a while back, but you didn't feel good enough to go through it.
You're in the bathroom looking at yourself in the mirror. You bought lingerie that looked good, but now they feel a little off. You're nervous, taking one last look in the mirror. You take a big deep breath before sliding the robe on and moving to the master.
Miles is scrolling through his phone. He lifts his eyes, looking at you with a soft smile. You just go for it, opening the robe and letting it slide from your body. Miles puts his phone to the side and shifts so he can be closer to you.
“Holy shit, babe. You're fucking gorgeous.”
Your cheeks get warm at the way he's looking at you. Miles moves to where you're standing.
He stops in front of you, pulling your hands to touch his body. “Can I touch you, gorgeous ?” You take a deep breath as you nod.
“Baby, I need to hear you say the words.” It's important to him that you say what you want.
“Yes, you can.” His smile brights the whole room. He leans to kiss you. First, he just rests his hands on your side. As you stop overthinking, his hands wander more through your body. Your hands start to wander his body too, shoulders, hair, neck, his arms.
He likes that a lot and humms into the kiss. Miles cups your ass cheeks before scooping your legs to wrap around his waits. Feeling his bulge between your legs makes you moan.
You missed that feeling for sure. Miles starts to gives your body love. He looks at your face, to see if you're uncomfortable. He kisses every possible inch of your body.
As much as he would like to go to town on your boobs, he just cups them softly. Because he knows they're still uncomfortable for you.
“Woody, I need you.” Miles chuckles as he kisses your ribs. He sits on his heels, and you lift your head to look at him.
“Babe, we need a little more foreplay. I don't want to hurt you.” You know he's right, but it doesn't make it easier for you to wait, after waiting for so long.
Miles makes his way back to your lips. He kisses your jaw line, cheeks, the corner of your mouth, and your lips. You sigh, having his lips attached to yours again. You nibble his bottom lip to have his attention. Miles moans before facing you.
“Please.” Your voice is like a whine and Miles agrees. He pulls your underwear down before stripping himself. Your eyes go wide seeing his big cock erect for you.
You moan as he smirks. Miles strokes himself and uses his fingers on you to open you up a little. He lines himself and starts to slide inside you. But your body is resisting him big time.
“Babe, we can stop. It's clearly painful for you.” Miles moves your hand from your face.
“But I want it, I need you. It's time.” Miles chuckles a little bit. He pecks your lips. “Do you want to try with the lube ? We worked for us before.” Your hand plays with his abs while you think.
“Yeah, we can try.” He smirks before getting up to grab the lube. He settles himself again between your legs, pouring lube on his hands.
Miles strokes himself, spreading the lube. He puts a little on you too.
“Are you ready, babe ?” You watch Miles line himself with your entrance.
“Yeah, I am.” Miles smiles before sliding in.
“Tell me, if I'm hurting you or it's uncomfortable, babe.” You nod, before mumbling an okay. Miles slowly slide inside you as your nails dig in his shoulder. But when it doesn't hurt, your grip is lighter. You open your eyes to see Miles staring at you with a smirk on his lips. You look down seeing that he's completely inside you.
You smile at him as you brush your thumb on his cheekbone before bringing him for a deep kiss. Feeling adjusted to his size, you wiggle so Miles can start moving to build up the tempo.
You missed this so much, Miles is careful building up the tempo. He knows that it's going to be tricky making you cum today, but boy he's struggling himself. Having your tight heat around him again after so long, makes him crazy. He's going to focus on you for now.
He moves his thumb to rub circles on your clit. You moan moving your hips toward his finger. Miles changes your position to go deeper inside you.
“OH, fuck.” You cover your face, but Miles moves so he can see you.
“Babe, I'm hurting you ?” He slows down his movements.
“Nope, it just feels so good.” Miles smirks as he leans to kiss you. He increases the tempo again, knowing that you're okay.
You call for him a few times, and Miles know that you're close. He rubs a few more firm circles, bringing you over the edge and bringing him over the edge too. It's not a crashing orgasm but enough to make you happy and make yourself tight around him.
Miles groans as he moves his hips. “God, I love you.” You smile, bringing her for a kiss, you lick his bottom lip. “I love you too.”
He chuckles and pecks your lips. He pulls out and settles before pulling you to his body.
“Thanks for waiting for me.” Miles kisses your head seeing you play with his chest hairs. “Always, I'll always wait for you,sweetheart.”
You kiss his chest, enjoying his body before needing to pee. “I'm going to shower. Do you want to join me ?” He looks at you a little surprised because it's been a while that you asked to be this intimate with him.
“Yeah, I do. And I got El next, you can rest.” You smile thanking him with a little smooch before you get up to move to the bathroom.
You guys take a shower together. Miles is so soft and gentle, touching your body. He makes sure that you're feeling okay with his touches. He smiles softly. He knows that it's not easy, but he's so proud of you.
“Babe ?” You look at him with soft eyes.
“Yeah ?” Miles kisses your cheek.
“I'm so proud of you.” You look at him confused.
“Why ?” Miles pushes your hair from your face.
“Because you took your time, you reached out when you were ready. You gave me another baby, you make my life better every single day.” You smile as your cheeks get warmer.
You kiss him, because that's the only way you can express what you're feeling. Miles helps you get out of the shower wrapping around the towel, he lets you finish your night routine.
You come back to the bedroom and Miles is holding your underwear.
“We can keep these babe, they look so good on you.” You shake your head before joining him in bed.
He wraps those strong big arms around you. And you fall asleep so quickly, the girls got that from their mama for sure. Just like he promised, Miles takes care of El in the middle of the night.
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anyway for funsies, i did fill out the assessing your parent's emotional immaturity questionnaire for jack & janet (& dana!) because again, i don't feel they were. quite as bad as they're oft accused of. (also. i'm on the side that at least they were probably more emotionally mature than bruce lmao lmao)
(as always this is subjective and based on my intepretation of them)
-My parent often overreacted to relatively minor things
so to start, we have no proof of this for janet (& she doesn't get mad at Tim showing up randomly at a dig site in batman #134. she does get pissy with jack during rite of passage but that's also probably reactionary to jack being jack & being dismissive of her which he shows more than once in the interaction we do see, so no it is. jack is. arguably a yes here bc he does have a tendency to do nothing or take the nuclear option. dana's a pretty solid no)
-My parent didn't express much empathy or emotional awareness
we're going to go no for janet & dana (they both show empathy & emotional concern/awareness for how tim might be feeling in the interactions we see). jack is. hm. *arguably* a no. i think there's a definite argument for yes for him, but jack is generally shown as *aware* and concerned when his son is going through something & often worried about his son. the problem is he never learns from his moment fo clarity, not that they don't exist imo.
-when it came to emotional closeness & feelings, my parents seemed uncomfortable and didn't go there
definite no for janet & dana. very strong leaning towards "no" for jack. whenever there's a conflict they do end up skirting around the real issue between them (tim is robin), but every conflict is often followed up by an affirmation that jack loves his son & is proud of him (see: after tim runs away, the christmas dinner they have during the NML event, jack's dying words) so he might not say it often, but i don't get the impression he's super *uncomfortable* going there, it's just that he only sees the need to go there when there's a Good Reason.
-my parent was often irritated by individual differences or different points of view
gonna go with a hard no for all three of them. janet seems only supportive of tim's interests. dana too. jack is. well. for some reason people seem to picture him as a fire and brimstone evangelical conservative when the fact of the matter is that he's a financial conservative who just doesn't care enough about social issues over his financial concerns (lower taxes). he'll gladly donate to save the rainforest fundraisers because that seems like a good thing. he doesn't particularly care that tim is into computers and he's not? he's vaguely supportive of that & it doesn't seem to bother him tim is a nerd (don't @ me about him misunderstanding tim and taking him to sports games. i assure you. tim ALSO likes sports quite a bit). honestly if tim came home and declared himself a liberal, jack doesn't seem the type to get upset about it (because he would just chalk it up to tim being young--it would probably amuse him more than anything--"i was dumb in my youth too, son haha" sort of deal.). he has friendlyish banter with his wife about how boys are vs. girls are (they have different opinions on that) & takes her poking at his sexism in stride at the circus.
-when i was growing up, my parent used me as a confidant but wasn't a confident for me
hard no all three. we never see janet do this & tim feels comfortable confiding everything in her in batman 134. dana definitely doesn't. jack also doesn't use tim as a confidant *and* we see him explicitly be a confidant for tim least once (when tim is dealing with the gun at school, he decides it is a tim drake problem and goes to his dad for help *because* it is a tim drake problem. robin can't confide in jack, but tim can bring up school issues with his dad and expect he'll be listened to)
-my parent often said & did things without thinking about other people's feelings
debatable one. jack is arguably yes, as he has a tendency to think and make decisions without really considering tim's view. dana no. janet. ehhhh. we don't really have enough evidence to say either way. i lean towards no, because we see her have more concern about tim possibly feeling nervous at the circus && the very empathetic consideration of the drakes to dick in choosing to send him the final photo of his parents so they probably did think about other people with careful consideration & tim says they're the ones who taught him to care about people. however, janet was also complicit in sending tim to boarding school without thinking of whether he was happy (though jack implies janet wouldn't want him to be far apart from tim) & they didn't necessarily notice tim's ruminating on the death they witnessed (altough remember: they *also* have their own personal trauma surrounding this) so. they did do some things without considering their son first.
-i didn't get much attention or sympathy from my parent, except maybe when i was sick
ooooh hard controversial here & could go either way for all three of them! so, obviously the jack & janet going away for long periods of time definitely leans to yes for them as them not being there means tim didn't have their attention. however! hugely complicated by the fact that the times they were home they genuinely wanted to spend time with their son--taking him with them to the opera & art galleries & monstery truck shows, calling to talk to him whenever they arrived back and he was still in school, & they care about his grades and general wellbeing & think of him while they're gone. & jack often is shown care about tim outside of the big events whenever he's home. dana is also arguably yes--she does some nice things like remember tim's birthday & teach him how to make soup when asked but the far larger part of her character is that she's jack's girlfriend/wife & is very clearly *not* tim's mom--she & him both draw the line of she's his stepmom, not his parent--and so she also doesn't pay enough attention to tim & also doesn't think it's her job to intervene in parenting tim affairs to actually notice anything that's going on with him. as much as she likes tim, she is also perfectly happy to go on trips with jack & leave tim behind for holidays, & get engaged without talking to tim first, start secretly dating jack without talking to tim first, ignore jack's treatment of his son so she doean't really notice how hurt tim gets by him.
-my parent was inconsistent--sometimes wise, sometimes unreasonable
okay. hard yes for jack. 100% him in a nutshell. no for dana. we truly don't have enough evidence either way for janet, but leaning towards no as she's never shown to be unreasonable with tim.
-if i became upset, my parent either said something superficial and unhelpful or got angry and sarcastic
debatable yes for jack on the angry part, but i'm personally leaning towards no, actually. like jack gets angry with tim's perceived disprespect (ie/ the TV incident). but when tim gets mad at him, really mad at him, or is genuinely upset about something jack does at least attempt to be understanding and comforting. like, he was super afraid tim would be upset about dana & didn't try to diminish his feelings at all about that or expect he'd be okay with it or get mad if he wasn't (i mean. tim was fine with it. but.). surprisingly, a fairly solid yea from dana here because while i like her she's queen of the superficial and generally unhelpful kindness that doesn't usually actually fix things, just tries to smooth ruffled feathers. the easy way out. janet, we can guess a fairly solid no given she thinks about tim being upset first & getting him out of that upsetting scene asap above all else at the circus.
-conversations generally centered around my parent's interests
fairly solid no all around. we know that janet listened attentively to tim's story in batman 134. jack does sometimes prefer to talk about his intetest but he also does try to understand and talk to tim about computers & school so, you can't say that in general he only talks about what he cares about. he just sometimes talks about what he likes. like all people do. did you know that just as parents should listen to their kids about their interests, kids should do the same for their parents. it's the basic two way street of relationships. and a no for dana. she likes when tim talks to her about anything.
-even polite disagreement could make my parents very defensive
no for janet & dana. we have nothing to indicate that was the case with either of them. debatably yes for jack, he does tend to go on the defensive when tim is accusing him of bad parenting but he also almost always realizes he's in the wrong and ends up agreeing with tim (he just. never learns and grow. but he does have the capability of recognizing he's wrong sometimes and trying to make amends). also there's nothing that imo indicates he would upset at a polite disagreement (since his and tim's disagreements tend to get very heated on both sides). like if tim were like "i don't want to go here for dinner, i'd rather go here" he doesn't seem like he'd get all "oh, so my dinner choices aren't good enough i guess", he'd probably be normal about it. he's shown disagreeing with dana (& janet at the circus) & he's fairly normal about those times.
-it was deflating to tell my parents about my successes because it didn't seem to matter
super hard no, all three. they're all extremely proud of tim when he chooses to do the right thing. jack brags about tim to randos at bars. they're clearly the type to be very exuberant & effusive over tim doing well at something (i hate to even bring n52 jack & janet in here but they were very proud of his gymnastics achievements there.). think of how happy jack was when tim lied and said he joined footballm tim's successes matter to them.
-facts and logic were no match for my parent's opinions
leaning towards no, all three. dana and janet we don't know for sure, but there's nothing to indicate this was the case with either. jack. jack does have strong opinions but tim was also able to very easily convince him to move back to gotham during NML after tim ran away. dana is able to change his mind quite easily by talking to him. he's definitely my way or the highway but not near as unchangeable as people like to imagine.
-my parent wasn't self reflective and rarely looked at his or her own role in a problem
once again, no all three. janet and dana we have no proof of this (actually when janet was kidnapped she did seem to reflect on everything, so). jack. hm. this is definitely a more debatable no, but the problem with jack is that he's not allowed to grow in the narrative so he can keep conflicting with tim. but whenever they have a conflict he's constantly questioning his own role in it (tim runs away, finding out tim is robin). however war games + identity crisis show that he was finally able to mature enough to accept he was part of the problem so even if he did have some immaturity around this, this was on it's way to getting better. then he died. so we never got the chance to see if it would stick.
-my parent tended to be a black & white thinker, and unreceptive to new ideas
definitely a no for janet, per batman 134. also a no for dana, she tends to be a little more flexible. and even a no for jack? homeboy was rooting for the side of child heroes during sins of youth. he probably likes status quo as much as the next person, so i don't think he's near as inflexible as one would think.
so idk. like, do they all demonstrate some emotional immaturity? yea. a bit. jack's the highest for sure. he's definitely got at least a couple of these, maybe even as high as 5 or 6, depending on how shitty you interpret jack to be. also consider we only ever really see him after he's been through several highly traumatic events (which does not excuse by any means, but can help explain). dana & janet both demonstrate a couple each, but aren't necessarily huge offenders on the emotional immaturity checklist.
which. i guess with doing this it's like. i don't think their parenting needs to be pathologized or anything truly. they were just. not great parents at time. & i'm not diminishing the harm of the neglect on tim, i like talking about that too. but sometimes it seems that people want to diagnose them with like "oh, they didn't really want tim/kids after all, they hated responsibility, they were too immature, they didn't see him as a person, they couldn't handle parenting, they had these issues that meant they sucked, etc"
when realistically. they just probably made some tough choices trying to consider what would be better for their son (stability and good education of boarding school vs. traipsing all over the world with them while they fought constantly), which did end up giving him some trauma *despite* what was probably their best intentions. they can be doing their best & still cause hurt. they were probably very unprepared for the *entire family* to witness an incredibly traumatic event & the long-term issues that would cause for all of them. nobody wants their marriage to start failing & that adds another issue to try to manage within the family. parenting wasn't a skill they naturally excelled at. it doesn't need to be some huge thing. they're just humans. and they make mistakes. they don't act in ideal ways.
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