Title: Birthday Kisses
Characters: Cady, Pete, and babies Townshend, John Entwistle
Word Count: 3,444
Rating: PG-13 [cuteness, language, innuendo]
Warnings/Spoilers/Summary: It's Pete's birthday, 1971. The Who are not touring, so the family is at home in London. Pete spends his birthday with his family, including his two-year-old daughter and three-week-old son. John also make an appearance. Contains spoilers.


May 19th, 1971

Waking much earlier than she wanted because of a soft baby cry in the cradle near the bed, Cady rolled over to ask Pete to deal with baby Alec. She sighed upon finding the bed empty; he had never come to bed. Getting out of bed, she groggily approached her son. Scooping him out, she kissed his head softly before leaning him against her shoulder. He continued to fuss, his little baby fingers tangling her hair.

After changing his nappy, Cady settled in the rocking chair near the window to nurse the weeping babe back to sleep. He quickly latched onto her offered nipple, his little fingers resting on her pillowy breast. Alec gazed lovingly up at his mother as he suckled, bringing a smile to her curvy lips. Her fingers gently brushed his dark downy baby hair across his forehead.

“My beautiful baby boy,” she breathed. “Mommy loves you so much.”

As soon as the baby dozed off, Cady eased him away from her and got to her feet. Kissing his forehead, she tucked him back into the crib. He stirred slightly, but remained asleep. With another smile, she turned away, briefly considering slipping back into the empty bed.

Instead, she left the bedroom, the door left ajar in case Alec called for her. She stopped first at Audrey’s room, hoping to find Pete there for some reason. However, the toddler slept on her small pink toddler bed soundly, Towser on the carpet beside her with his legs twitching happily. While she found it cute that the dog slept so protectively by Audrey, it did not bode well. Usually when Pete spent all night in his home studio, Towser remained with him. If the dog was with Audrey, where was Pete?

After closing her daughter’s door as quietly as she opened it, Cady continued down the hallway. Heading towards the door at the end of the hallway, directly over the kitchen, she truly hoped to find Pete inside. If not… she had no idea where he could be. The band’s studio?

Pressing her ear to the door, she frowned. Even though Pete had taken to using headphones usually in the studio, she could normally hear something when he was working. Her fingers curled around the doorknob and turned it. She practically held her breath as she pushed the door open.

“Goddammit, Pete,” she muttered, discovering the studio completely empty. “Where are you?”

Turning away from the silent void, she closed the door again and covered her eyes with her hand. She fought back the tears that threatened to bubble up. Much as she had with Audrey, depression had crept into her soul since the birth of her son, though tended to remain hidden with all she needed to do with two very young children in the house. With Pete absent, it all came bubbling to the surface. She struggled to step away from the room and continue her search for her husband. He was not home and that was enough to send her plummeting.

“Pete,” she uttered again, tears running down her cheeks.

Finding hidden strength inside, she took a deep breath and headed downstairs. She glanced in the rooms, unsurprisingly finding them empty. Turning on a light in the kitchen, Cady picked up the telephone and instinctively dialed John’s number. It rang three times before she glanced at the clock and realized it was four in the morning. Right as she turned to hang up, John’s voice slurred a greeting.

“John… I… I…”

“Cady? Love? What’swrong? Whyareyouc-crying?”

With his question, she instantly broke into gasping sobs. She cried and muttered unintelligible words. Even if he had been stone cold sober, John would not have been able to understand her. He tried to work through it, but found it impossible, so he waited until she paused to sob more.

“Cady? Love? I’mcomingover.”

Before she could protest, the line went dead. She had not intended to worry him into coming over. All she wanted was to know was if he knew where her husband was or in the very least why he would leave her home alone with a three-week-old baby boy and a two year old toddler girl. But none of those words left her mouth in any sensible way at all. And now her best friend was on his way to her house in the middle of the night; all because she was hysterical and really should not be.

John arrived less than an hour later, stubbing out his cigarette. He tried the front door, but found it locked. After checking under the mat to see if a key had been hidden, he turned and headed around the house, presuming he could get in through the back door to the garden.

As he disappeared around the opposite corner of the house, Pete pulled into the detached garage and quickly entered the house through the front door. He paused, his brows furrowing as he re-locked the door behind himself. Seeing lights on downstairs instantly concerned him. His wife and children should have been asleep. It was five in the morning.

“Cady?” he called softly. “Are you up?”

She quickly stepped into the hallway, “Pete?”

Before he could say anything, she ran down the hall and embraced him tightly. Stumbling back slightly, he circled her waist and quickly kissed her. His hands reached up and quickly wiped the tears glimmering on her cheeks.

“Baby, why are you crying?”

As Cady quickly began to ramble about waking alone to take care of their newborn, John stepped into the hallway. While Pete noticed his best friend and bandmate, Cady did not as she continued to explain the events that led up to her crying babble. He tightened his embraced and kissed her forehead as her difficult-to-understand story ended.

“Love, did you call John?”

She nodded, “But he h-hasn’t c-come either!”

Pete turned her slightly so that she could see the bassist standing behind her. Her eyes widened slightly and she pulled away from Pete. She embraced John briefly, thanking him for coming and ignoring the fact he drove drunk to do so. He patted her back, assuring her that it was no trouble at all, before pulling away and heading into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

Returning to her husband, she softly asked, “Where have you been?”

“I had an idea for Lifehouse that I just couldn’t get done here at home,” he stated. “So I headed to Ramport to work on it a little bit and… I just lost track of time. I swear I only expected to be gone for an hour, maybe more. I did not want you to wake without me being here, especially with the new baby. I am deeply, deeply sorry.”

“P-Pete…”

“I know, baby. I know,” he kissed her softly. “Let’s just go upstairs and get some rest before the children wake up, okay?”

She nodded.

Turning her about, Pete guided her to the stairs. He stopped as John stepped out of the kitchen, coffee cup in hand.

“So, Pete, since today is your birthday, what do you want to do?” the bassist asked before sipping the black liquid.

Pete’s eyes widened slightly before he recovered and replied, “Right now, I just want to sleep with my wife. And you should get some sleep too. Put down the coffee and go sleep it off in the guest room.”

John glanced at his cup and shrugged before returning it the kitchen, “Good night, Pete, Cade. We’ll talk birthday plans when the sun is up.”



Waking in an empty bed, Cady instantly sat up, panic filling her. Her eyes darted to the nearby crib and her heart froze. Her son was gone. She threw back the blankets and rushed over to the crib, her hands patting down the mattress as if she just could not see Alec. No longer concerned that Pete was gone; she burst out of the bedroom and rushed down the hall. Audrey’s door was open, the girl absent. With little pause, her bare feet slapped down the stairs as she hurried down. She turned down the hall, intent on calling the authorities from the phone in the kitchen.

Cady skid to a halt, her blue eyes locked on the scene in the living room. On top of a large blanket, Pete lay on his back, their infant son sleeping on his stomach, as Audrey played with toys around him. She playfully smacked Pete with one of her soft dolls, making him softly admonish her. Naturally, the toddler hit him again, daring him to go through with his threat. Before Pete spoke another word, John stepped over and picked up the toddler, holding her upside down until she erupted into giggles, her pink Who tee shirt falling over her head and exposing her belly.

Instantly calmed by the sight, Cady stepped evenly into the room, placing her finger to her lips. Both adult men nodded, watching as she approached John and Audrey. Before the toddler recognized her mother’s presence, Cady pressed her lips to the little girl’s soft belly and blew. Audrey once more laughed, wiggling in John’s embrace. Holding the girl’s shirt in place, Cady smiled down at her upside-down daughter.

“MOMMY!” she squealed, reaching for Cady.

“Hi there, baby girl,” she released the shirt and stepped away.

“HELP, MOMMY!”

“Nope. You have to ask Uncle John,” she declared before kneeling on the blanket next to Pete.

Leaning over, she gently touched the sleeping baby’s head before kissing her husband. Pete’s hand left the baby’s back to cup the back of Cady’s head, holding her in the kiss. She allowed it to deepen for a moment, before leaning back up.

“Happy birthday, Pete,” she breathed.

“Good morning, beautiful.”

“You scared me,” she admitted.

His eyes widened slightly, “No husband and no baby?”

Cady nodded.

“Baby, I’m sorry. I just thought it would be good if you got some extra sleep while you could. Alec went right back to sleep after I changed his nappy, so I saw no reason to wake you to nurse or anything. But I couldn’t get back to sleep and then Audrey and Towser got up, so I brought everyone down here. I didn’t think it would… worry you like that. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I was just being… irrational,” she declared softly. “What would you like for breakfast?”

Before Pete could answer, Alec woke to the sound of his mother’s voice, crying softly. Without pause, Cady scooped the baby off Pete and headed to the sofa to nurse. Watching her unbutton the two buttons holding her nightgown closed, John’s eyes widened and he shifted Audrey to lie over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Wordlessly he carried the toddler into the kitchen, declaring that the two of them would get the kitchen ready for breakfast making.

Grateful his bandmate excused himself from the room a moment before Cady bared her breast to feed their son, Pete got up from the floor and joined his wife and son on the couch. He slipped his arm around her shoulders, his other hand reaching up to caress Alec’s downy hair.

“I can’t believe we created this little miracle,” he stated softly as the boy began to nurse. “Twice even. Audrey is a blessing I still cannot fathom and this little guy… Cady, what did I do to deserve you and them?”

Her blue eyes met his, “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we’re here with you.”

“That is the greatest gift I could ever have,” Pete claimed. “I don’t need anything else.”

“Then I should just take back the birthday gifts I bought then?” she teased.

“If you want. I don’t need or want anything else.”

She rolled her eyes, “You are unwrapping gifts on your birthday, Pete.”

“If you insist…”

“Your daughter will,” Cady said. “What should I make for breakfast?”

Pete shrugged, eyes dropping back to Alec, “Whatever you want.”

“Oh no. It’s your birthday. You tell me.”

“Um, pancakes? That’s easy enough, right?”

“I can handle something harder for your birthday, Pete.”

His eyes briefly flicked to hers, hoping to see a glimmer of innuendo in her gaze but he did not, “You don’t need to, Cady. Pancakes will be just fine.”

The sound of shattering glass interrupted Cady’s response. Pete instantly got to his feet to investigate, leaving his wife and son in the living room. Stepping into the kitchen, he shook his head. Audrey stood on the kitchen counter, the cabinet filled with drinking glasses open behind her. On the tiled floor, the shards of a drinking glass glimmered. The toddler turned slowly towards her father, large baby tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I sowwy, papa,” she muttered.

Before Pete could step over the glass with his bare feet, John appeared with the broom and dustpan, quickly cleaning up the mess. Not caring if John had swept up all the shards, Pete stepped over and picked up his crying daughter. He kissed the tears on her cheeks and hugged her tightly.

“It’s okay, sweetie. I’m sure it was an accident,” he declared.

“I help Unkie Wan,” she said.

“Of course,” Pete smiled. “Were you getting glasses for juice? Can Daddy help?”

She considered for a moment, “Okay, Daddy.”

“What are we making for breakfast?” John asked after putting the broom and dustpan away.

“Cady’s going to make pancakes,” Pete answered.

The bassist remained silent for a moment, “So should I call ahead and make us a reservation at the–”

“Everything okay?” Cady’s voice interrupted a moment before she stepped into the kitchen, gurgling baby on her shoulder.

“We got it all cleaned up,” John quickly replied. “Let me take the baby so you can… get to work?”

Her eyes flicked to his and she nodded, handing over her son. Pete said nothing, but briefly caught his best friend’s eyes, non-verbally agreeing to his suggestion, before telling Audrey to sit down or she would go back down to the floor. The bassist left with the baby, intending to call in the reservation from the phone upstairs after laying the baby down. Pancakes might be an easy thing to make, but both men knew that something would likely go wrong, leaving Cady in tears and everyone hungry. Better to prepare beforehand.



After the complete disaster of breakfast, resulting in the expected breakfast out instead, dinner reservations were made and Cady’s home-cooked birthday meal nixed. Though she had thought it nice to invite his family along, Pete vetoed the idea, making it a far more intimate dinner for his twenty-sixth birthday than Cady counted on. However, she could not go against his wishes, and so she loaded up the two babies in their car, slipped behind the wheel, kissed her husband and headed to the restaurant.

It was the first day they had left the house as a family, with Alec in tow. Though they had gone out for brunch earlier in the day, Cady did not think it really counted, as they had John for support as well. The closer they got to the restaurant the more her anxiety rose. She should not be out like that with two young children. Even with Pete doing his fatherly duties, Cady did not think they could handle the time out.

“Oh I heard this is a quite lovely restaurant,” Pete commented as Cady pulled into a parking space.

“We can still go home and I can coo–”

“Nonsense,” he interrupted. “We’ve gotten all dressed up, as have the children. Let’s go have a nice meal, love.”

“Pete, the babies…”

“Will be just fine out with their lovely mum and dad,” he assured her, reaching over to squeeze her hand. “I am certain of it.”

Cady forced a smile and nodded slightly. The two climbed out of the car, each picking up the child that sat behind their seat. Babes in arms, the couple headed into the Spanish restaurant. Seated promptly in the back of the restaurant, they moved quickly through courses without incident. Alec only began to fuss as the waiter set down dessert plates. Gathering him up in her arms, Cady rocked him back and forth, hoping he would not demand nursing until they were able to slip out of the restaurant. Pete shared his dessert with both his wife and daughter, worry beginning to touch his eyes as Alec continued to fuss.

“Let me get money out to pay the bill and I’ll meet you in the car,” Cady declared, pivoting to grab the purse hanging from the back of her chair.

“Love, your money comes from the same account as mine. You go take care of our son. I’ll handle the bill and our daughter.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

Before Pete could reply, Alec let out a louder cry. Eyes widening slightly, Cady got to her feet and kissed her husband before rushing out of the restaurant. Pete finished the dessert with his daughter, smiling at the server as payment was accepted. Audrey kissed his cheek loudly before whispering in his ear as he settled her on his hip.

“Happy birfday, best Daddy,” she breathed.

Pete grinned, “Thank you, little girl.”

As they approached the car, he smiled upon seeing Cady in the backseat, a jacket draped over her chest to hide the nursing baby. He walked around the car and climbed into the back beside her, shifting Audrey to sit in his lap. Leaning over, he kissed Cady’s temple lovingly. Her eyes left their son to meet his and she smiled.

“I love you, Pete.”

His lips touched hers briefly, “I love you too, Cady.”

“Mama,” Audrey reached for her.

“Do you mind driving home, Pete? That way I can take care of the kids and we can put them directly to bed,” Cady stated.

Nodding he shifted their daughter to sit on the seat between them. Kissing Cady once more, he accepted the keys from her and moved into the front seat. She lifted the jacket up and their daughter climbed into her lap, tugging on the front of her dress. Pete glanced back as their daughter latched onto Cady’s other breast. At first, he found it odd that Audrey still nursed every now and then, but quickly got used to it, especially with Cady’s explanation of letting their daughter naturally wean. In addition, it allowed him the chance to view his wife’s breasts, as she did not bother to conceal them with both children suckling.

Clearing his throat, Pete started the car and readjusted the mirror so he could see out the window, not at his wife. He managed to drive home safely, keeping his desire for his wife in check. They arrived home promptly, Pete pausing for a moment to take a deep breath before getting out of the car. He opened the back door, his hands sliding under their sleeping daughter.

The family entered the house, Pete raising his knee to block Towser from jumping up. He laid Audrey in her bed after quickly changing her out of her party dress and into her footsie pjs, before rushing to take the dog out. By the time he slipped into the master suite, Cady had already tucked Alec in his cradle and herself into bed. Stripping his clothes off, Pete tried to not run and jump into the bed.

Cady lifted up the bedcovers as Pete neared the bed, “I wish that I could… give you birthday sex.”

His arm slid over her belly as he slipped into beside her, “I do not need sex with you to have an excellent birthday. Today has already been more than I could ask for. It was a rare treat to spend all day with you and the kids, and some of it with my best mate. And it makes me realize how much I love you and our children. I do not need sex, Cady. At all. I just need your love.”

She embraced him tightly, her lips finding his, “You will always have it, Pete. Always.”

“You have given me the best gifts I could ever ask for: two beautiful children and allowing me in your life. I need nothing more.”

Her hand trailed down his chest, scratching down to his waistband, “Oh really?”

He groaned as her hand cupped his flaccid cock, his hand circling her wrist, “Really, love.”

Cady’s hand returned to his chest, her lips kissing his, “I love you, Pete. And soon, once my body is ready, I will show you how much I love you.”

“Kiss me again and I will know.”