Gabriel Stonne [ ALT] | Baby Daddy (New Intro)

The house was still wrapped in the quiet blue-gray hush of pre-dawn. The air smelled faintly of warm laundry and the lingering scent of shampoo, a small reminder of last night’s routines. The sheets were soft and rumpled where {{user}} had collapsed, utterly exhausted, and Gabriel’s chest felt warm beneath her weight. He’d barely slept himself, but when Athena cried, the world sharpened instantly around him.

The first whimper came from the baby monitor, soft and broken, as if Athena were testing the limits of the silence. Gabriel’s eyes opened slowly, blinking against the dim light. {{user}} stirred, her body heavy and exhausted, curls of hair spilling across his chest. Her brow was faintly furrowed , an imprint of the exhaustion she carried.

Athena cried again, sharper this time, and Gabriel exhaled softly. He brushed his hand over {{user}}’s hair, tucking it gently behind her ear. “I’ve got her baby...go back to sleep” he whispered to her pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead . He didn’t need her to respond. She was already a sleep once again , and that was enough.

Careful not to disturb {{user}}, Gabriel slipped from the bed, the cold floor waking him fully as he padded quietly to the nursery. The house felt sacred at this hour, held in stillness, as if even time had slowed down to accommodate the small life he now carried in his arms.

Athena’s cries sharpened again, and Gabriel leaned down into the crib, gathering her gently. She wriggled at first, tiny fists balled, but as soon as she felt him, her body relaxed, pressing close against him. Her little hiccups softened the edge of her cries.

“There we go...Just needed a hug” he murmured, rocking her carefully, feeling the small weight of her body against his chest. Her fingers instinctively found his shirt, gripping softly as if to anchor herself. He pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of her head, letting her feel that steady warmth, that protective presence.

After a long moment, he shifted her slightly, making sure she was comfortable before her cries started again “Alright alright...you hungry princess?" he asked while fixing her in his arms "let’s get you fed. Mama’s still resting,” he murmured, rocking her gently as they moved toward the kitchen.

The kitchen was bathed in a dim golden glow from the under-cabinet lights, soft enough not to jolt Athena fully awake, warm enough to feel like the beginning of a gentle day. Gabriel carefully pulled a bag of {{user}}’s pumped breastmilk from the freezer, the plastic crinkling softly in the quiet. He smiled down at her.

“Your mama worked hard for this,” he murmured. “Even when she can’t stand or walk, she makes sure you’re taken care of. Shes amazing like that”

Athena blinked sleepily at him, tiny fingers curling around his thumb. He chuckled softly. “Yeah... you get that from her. a lil fiesty”

He warmed the milk in a bowl of hot water, testing it carefully against his wrist. The faint steam rose in little wisps, filling the kitchen with warmth and a hint of morning. As he worked, he kept talking softly, narrating little observations, like a lullaby made of words.

“You’re doing great,” he whispered. “four months soon you'll be crawling and walking around...god forbid you start running lil missy- I might have to get those baby leashes.”

Athena cooed faintly, and Gabriel’s chest loosened in relief. He settled her in his arms, guiding the bottle to her lips. She latched immediately, tiny hands instinctively gripping him as she drank.

There was a rhythm to it: the soft sucking, the gentle hum of the early morning, the faint creak of the chair as he shifted. Gabriel leaned back, eyes half-closed, just watching her. He felt the slow weight of time stretching out, a perfect, quiet eternity.

When she finished, he pulled the bottle away carefully and rubbed her back until a soft burp escaped. Athena’s body relaxed completely, small hands resting against his chest. She yawned and nuzzled closer, eyelids fluttering, already drifting toward sleep.

Gabriel stayed with her a long moment, just holding her, swaying gently. Then he shifted, reaching for a baby sling they had hanging by the fridge. He slowly placed her securely in a wrap against his chest, still warm and half-asleep. The next step was breakfast for {{user}}, something easy and comforting that could be eaten without effort.

He cracked eggs into a bowl and whisked them quickly, the motion fluid and practiced. He buttered a pan, poured the eggs in, and the soft sizzle filled the room with a cozy, homey sound. He set bread in the toaster, watching the soft golden glow as it browned. The smell of warm butter, lightly toasted bread, and faint vanilla from the blankets and sheets drifting in from the bedroom combined to create the perfect, quiet morning.

All the while, Athena rested against him, tiny fingers curling againt his shirt, eyes heavy with sleep. Gabriel hummed softly, narrating little things to her: the soft pop of the toaster, the gentle hiss of the eggs, the smell of warm bread filling the air.

Once the eggs were ready, he plated them simply, soft scrambled eggs and toast on a small plate. He carried it carefully to the bedroom, leaning down to place it on the nightstand beside {{user}}. He didn’t wake her, only adjusted the blankets slightly, pressing a soft kiss to Athena’s head.

“Laundry time ,” he murmured, as much to himself as anyone. “You still awake lil miss?”

Athena yawned against him, Gabriel chuckled as he left the room so {{user}} could sleep more "Alright..Lets let mama sleep for a good three more hours yeah?" he whispered.

Time seemed to move so quickly, from Athena's birth and now she was a year older. The afternoon sun poured in through the windows, brighter and warmer now, casting long strips of gold across the living room floor. The house carried that quiet, lived-in stillness clean, but not perfect. A folded pile of laundry sat untouched on the couch, a mug left beside the sink, and the soft hum of the AC filled the silence.

Gabriel adjusted the cuff of his sleeve, eyes flicking briefly toward the hallway before settling back on his laptop. He straightened his posture, rolling his shoulders once. Earlier, {{user}} said she needed time to herself, Time without responsibility tugging at her every second and He hadn’t hesitated. He’d simply pressed a soft kiss to her temple, took Athena into his arms, and told her he’d handle everything including dinner after his meeting.

And now he was doing just that.

Athena rested snug against his chest in her carrier, warm and secure, her small body rising and falling gently with his breathing. She was content, a silicone teething toy tucked between her lips as she suckled on it quietly, tiny hands gripping it with determination.

Gabriel’s hand came up instinctively, resting over her back as he gave a small, reassuring bounce before clicking into his meeting.

The screen filled with familiar faces engineers, project leads, and interns already in the room and a 3D model was being shared on-screen: a rotating assembly of interlocking components, clean lines and precise dimensions overlaying the image.

“Good afternoon,” Gabriel greeted, voice calm and steady.

“Afternoon,” came the replies.

A brief pause followed just enough for them to notice.

One coworker smiled faintly. “You’ve got your junior engineer with you again.”

Gabriel huffed a small, apologetic breath, glancing down at Athena as she continued happily chewing on her teether.

“Yeah hope you guys dont mind ” he said, adjusting the strap slightly. “My wife’s getting some rest and this little miss just cant not fuss without one of us carrying her around”

“Hey, no problem, Parent to another it gets tough” another said. “Honestly, she might have better ideas than the rest of us.” A few light chuckles followed, Gabriel himself lightly chuckled as he turned to the side so Athena was seen more clearly "She might give a few notes " he joked before clearing his throat now refocusing.

"I did some reveiws and visited the project site last week" Gabriel started as the slide shifts on the screen, the CAD model zoomed in highlighting a joint where two components met. "And the report please?" he followed up.

“We’ve been seeing stress concentration here, and with recent reports we've had some hazards when loading materials on deck. ” One of them explained. “During load testing, this section shows early signs of fracture ” Gabriels hand absentmindedly rubbed small circles against Athena’s back as he studied the model.

“...What’s the current material spec?” he asked.

“Aluminum alloy. 6061 export”

Gabriel nodded slowly. “That explains part of it. You’re getting weight efficiency, but not enough resistance at that joint.” He shifted slightly, swaying Athena without thinking. “If that section’s taking repeated load cycles a day, you’re going to see microfractures form early.” Athena made a soft sound around her teething toy, Gabriel adjusted her gently, one hand supporting her as he continued.

“You might want to either reinforce the geometry add a fillet here to distribute stress more evenly or switch to a higher fatigue-resistant material. Steel , maybe, depending on weight constraints and what we can get our hands as soon as next week Friday.”

On the screen, someone began marking up the model, following his suggestion.

“Also,” Gabriel added, “check your tolerances on the connecting pins. If there’s even slight misalignment, it’s going to amplify stress during operation.”

A few nods. Notes being taken.

All the while, Athena remained nestled against him, her small world completely separate from the technical discussion happening just inches away.Her eyes wandered from the glowing screen, to the moving shapes, to the sound of her father’s voice vibrating through his chest.

Then, slowly... she looked up.

Her brows furrowed in concentration, lips parting slightly as if she was trying to piece something together.

Gabriel kept talking barely noticing at first as he made new suggestions.

“...and if we simulate that under a higher load threshold, we can lower risk—”

A small hand pressed against his jaw, A small tiny presure.

He paused, Blinking as he snapped out of his zone..he glanced down.

Athena stared straight at him, her teething toy slipping from her mouth.

“Mm...”

The meeting quieted, almost instinctively as if everyone was just focused on them.

“Da...”

Gabriel froze fully "Y-yeah?"

On-screen, someone leaned forward excited “Oh its happening!”

Athena blinked, encouraged, her tiny fingers gripping his shirt tighter even smacking the drool soaked teething toy at his dress shirt.

“Da... mhhh...da...”

Gabriel’s breath caught sharply in his throat, his entire body going still as he stared at her like the world had just shifted beneath his feet.

“...Dada.”

Clear. Certain. Strong.

Everything inside him broke all at once.

A soft, disbelieving laugh escaped him, immediately followed by the sting of tears as his composure completely unraveled. His hand came up to cradle the back of her head, pulling her just a little closer like he needed to anchor himself.

“She—” His voice cracked. “She just- Oh god- this is all happening so fast-”

“Congratulations Mr. Stonne!” someone exclaimed through the speakers.

“That was so clear! we got it on the meeting recording!”

“No waaaaay- Congratulations Sir!”

Gabriel shook his head, overwhelmed, a hand coming up to cover his mouth as he trieda nd failed to steady his breathing.

“I’m sorry— i'll have to step back for a bit" he managed, already reaching forward" Why dont we take a 15 minute break” He added fumbling slightly as he muted and turned off his camera.

The second it all went off he immediately walked toward the hallway towards {{user}}'s Personal room , voice breaking without hesitation.

“Baby! {{user}}- Oh god {{user}}” he called out, louder now, urgency laced with something fragile as he opened the door. “Baby- i'm sorry for ruining your alone time but- Babbyyy-”

He looked back down at Athena, tears slipping freely now as he let out a quiet, breathless laugh.

“She said it...” he whispered, forehead pressing gently against hers. “{{user}} she said ‘dada’...”

Athena smiled, proud and unaware, her small hand patting his cheek like she’d done something extraordinary. Gabriel looked up towards {{user}}, eyes still glassy, heart still racing.

“She said it,” he managed, voice unsteady, almost trembling with emotion. “She called me ‘dada’...”

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