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Hey Jude | Malia - Julia Barlowe - 03-03-2026
Wednesday, May 24, 1922
Arundel Castle
5:30 AM
<3
Arundel Castle
5:30 AM
<3
Julia’s eyes fluttered open, a soft inhale of breath at the slow cramp that roused her from her sleep. Her hand hovered over her belly, as a small faint kick answered. A deep breath as the cramp tightened from her back, radiating to the center of her lower abdomen.
She was a week overdue, the baby apparently wanting to be fashionably late to their own birthday and make a scene about it. As the days and hours had ticked on with no sign of labor starting, Julia had begun to think she’d be pregnant forever. An eviction notice was apparently needed for the little squatter who was more than happy to remain warm and comfortable where they were.
She, on the other hand, was fed up. She’d found, early on, she wasn’t a fan of being pregnant. It limited the woman’s abilities to get on with her day, and while she was excited for the new little one coming into their lives, it had been a difficult and physically exhausting nine months.
Maddox was still at Hogwarts, needing to finish out the school year as much as he could, while Julia had retreated to her family’s estate to await the birth. Her husband - as strange as it still was to call him that - had insisted he’d come the moment she called for him and they kept in touch nightly with owls and more urgent messages via Fidele when required.
Their home was ready, and they’d be settling in as soon as the baby made their entrance, but until then, Julia wanted to remain with her family.
She rolled over when the cramp subsided, her eyes falling on the outline of her sleeping daughter beside her. She worried about Kathryn. Everything was changing so fast for her little girl who didn’t handle such things well, and she was innately invested in making sure Kate understood this changed nothing between them.
Of course, there was the other worry that had gripped her from the moment she’d learned she was expecting. Her own mother had died giving birth to Julia. A placental abruption that resulted in uncontrollable hemorrhaging. She’d never had the chance to feel her mother’s love or know what it was like to have one in the first place.
She didn’t want to leave her children in the same way.
She snapped her fingers as another cramp began to take hold and within a moment Fidele appeared at her bedside.
“Is it time for Lady Julia’s baby?” The elf’s eyes widened with hope, having been through this experience multiple times over through the years with the family. She nodded, pursing her lips as she forced herself to sit upright. “Call for the family Fidele. And go to Maddox. Tell him we’re heading for the hospital.”
The elf vanished with a snap of his fingers.
St. Mungo’s
Labor and Delivery Ward
6:30 AM
Labor and Delivery Ward
6:30 AM
“A ways to go yet. Baby’s taking his time.”
The nurse smiled as she replaced the sheet over Julia’s legs. “It could be a girl,” she insisted in a breathy protest, grimacing as another contraction hit, stronger and more intense this time. The nurse nodded patiently, waving her wand to cast a cooling charm over the woman who already felt like she was burning up.
At her side, Edith sat in a padded chair, holding Kate in her lap. Julia had insisted when the time came, she wanted her daughter nearby - not necessarily in the room, but close enough to come in after and be the first to meet the baby. She knew part of reassuring the anxious girl was having a private, quiet moment with her after, where Kate could sit with her and see the baby for herself without several pairs of eyes on her.
“Fidele sent him for him, right?” Julia asked, taking a sip of water from the cup the nurse handed her. Edith nodded, busying herself by fixing Kate’s bun so that not a hair was out of place. “He did. I’m sure Maddox will be here soon.” Edith smiled, a rare one that spread to her eyes. “Try to relax. These things take time.”
Edith would know. Her labor had gone on for two days at home when she’d birthed Adi. Amelia’s labor with Claire had been speedier, but she’d still spent most of the day in her bed at the castle. It wasn’t until she was ready to push that the midwife had actually arrived.
Aside from Gretchen, Julia was the only woman in her family to have chosen the hospital to give birth, but all things considered, she didn’t want to take the chance of something going wrong at home.
Julia sighed, tilting her head back on the pillows as she took another sip of water.
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Maddox Barlowe - 03-05-2026
When he met the new baby, he or she was going to be grounded until they were married.
They'd had a week, extra. They'd had the entirety of the day before or could've chosen to hang on a little longer to give the sun some time to rise. No. They'd chosen an hour when people typically liked to sleep and with Julia for a mother, they were likely unapologetic about it, too.
Maddox had been roused by the frantic elf, and it had taken him a good ten minutes to understand nearly anything Fidele was saying.
Something about Julia...a baby...
The baby.
He wouldn't say he was wide awake, but there was no chance of falling back asleep now. He had to move. They'd decided long before the day came that, no matter what strings she had to pull and whose name she had to drop, he would be there in the delivery room. It was...unusual, to say the least. Morgan he met later in life, but Evander wasn't a birth he was allowed to witness. It didn't feel like a place for a man to be – and usually wasn't, with the hospital's rules – but Maddox could also understand the apprehension that drove Julia to such a decision.
It was an outcome he'd rather avoid, and given the way things had gone for the other woman, he supposed he would've felt better having eyes on her condition throughout. He understood the inherent danger and wanted to provide his wife the support she needed to take her through it.
The man bundled up his sleeping toddler, not seeing the need to wake Rose to drop him off. Not everyone needed to have their night disturbed by the baby with poor timing.
"Right this way," the healer said, gesturing toward the room closest to the staircase. It was one nearly everyone would have to walk by to get to the others, but he supposed he couldn't blame them. Men weren't allowed on the delivery ward, and while they were willing to make allowances, they weren't about to give him the simple liberty of walking by door after door and making every woman on the way to his wife uncomfortable.
He knocked twice on the open door to alert them of his presence before entering.
"That kid will be writing essays until he's six," Maddox grumbled as he crossed the room to drop a kiss atop Julia's head.
Large bump still present; the baby was still taking his time, thinking the world would wait for as long as he demanded. "Edith," Maddox greeted, taking in the second woman and the silent 10-year-old who looked about as thrilled to be there as she was to watch paint dry. Actually, never mind. Something told him that that might be one of the things Kathryn would enjoy.
"Any word on when he," or she, as Julia liked to remind him, "plans to stop being a menace?"
Maddox had never witnessed a birth, but he'd been waiting outside each time one of his sisters had brought a new life into the world. He'd also spent enough time with creatures to know that, unfortunately, there was no magic button you could press to get it all over with.
"And how're you feeling?" Other than being ready to relieve herself of their child. That feeling, he imagined, was likely very strong.
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Kathryn Barlowe - 03-05-2026
It wasn't very often that Kathryn refused to do as she was told. In fact, anyone who knew her knew the little girl to be agreeable to a fault. She did what was asked the moment it was asked, with very few exceptions.
This was one of those exceptions.
Kathryn did not care to 'go back to bed', as Aunt Edith had tried to suggest. She didn't want to remain at the castle with little more than a 'Your mother will be back soon, Kathryn. You'll meet your new brother or sister then". Levying threats then telling her to return to slumber was the proverbial slap in the face that the little girl wouldn't tolerate.
Leave her mother? Let her be taken to St. Mungo's, where she could have the baby, bond with the baby, look into its eyes and fall in love? Without her?
Someone had lost their mind, and Kathryn Elise was certain that it wasn't her.
Remaining behind was out of the question. Thankfully, Julia was of a similar opinion. There would be no leaving her. While her aunt and mother quickly – as quickly as one could waddle, she supposed – moved around her room, reaching for the things she'd prepared to take with her, the small blonde child calmly made her way from the bed and went to get herself dressed. She didn't know what sort of dress was expected for such an occasion but suspected her mother, even in the midst of her labour pains, would pause to have her change if she returned in the dress she'd worn to Laura's father's funeral.
It was, perhaps, not an occasion for black, no matter how much it felt like it was.
Kathryn settled on her pale yellow chiffon dress with its frilled sleeves and ostentatious bow tied at the back. She changed from her sleeping gloves to those more suitable for going out. They weren't the new pair; the little girl feared the germs within the hospital would stain them. She chose a pair that was already closer to a light beige, thinking it might cause her less distress should things suddenly become messy. She pulled her hair into its usual bun, not a strand out of place. When she was presentable, she returned with silent expectation to be taken along as she'd been promised.
At the hospital, Kate sat atop her aunt's lap with stoic reticence.
She didn't know how to be. She didn't think she was excited, nor did she think she was particularly happy for the dreaded day to finally arrive. Was she anxious? There were several reactions taking place inside her that her mother had once attributed to such sentiments. Kate placed a gloved hand to her chest, interrogating the heavy way her heart thumped.
She didn't like it. Too distracting. It made it difficult to focus, and if it continued, she might miss the moment.
The knocks drew her attention to the door as Mr. Maddox entered...with Evander. The room was quickly becoming crowded. Kathryn leaned into her aunt's chest, pulling herself inward. It was getting harder and harder to have moments alone with her mother, and she couldn't see that changing any time soon.
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Julia Barlowe - 03-05-2026
"That kid will be writing essays until he's six."
A knock or two and he had finally arrived. While in reality, it hadn't taken Maddox long at all once he'd been summoned, to Julia it had felt like a lifetime already. A sigh of relief took hold as she smiled at him, thankful she was between contractions for the time being and reached out to stroke Evander's hair when Maddox leaned down to kiss her head.
It wasn't tradition or even normal really for men to be a part of the birthing process. Her father had witnessed all of her mum's births, so she was told, but aside from that it was generally taken as women's business. Maddox hadn't been in the room when Morgan and Evander were born, for different reasons, but Julia was of the mindset that he had helped make this baby, and he was going to help her deliver this baby.
Cultural norms be damned.
Edith smiled, tucking Kate gently into her chest when her niece leaned in, understanding already that the little girl was likely feeling anxious or overwhelmed. She'd offer her warmth and comfort as much as Kathryn would take. "Maddox," she answered politely, running her hand along Kate's back.
"Any word on when he plans to stop being a menace?"
"She's a Barlowe," Julia said with a playful role of her eyes, emphasis on the 'she' since he continued to insist it was a boy. "Being a menace is in her blood." She grimaced as a contraction started up, a tight wave starting from the middle of her back and slowly creeping around to her abdomen again. She sucked in a breath, her body tensing against the pain as her hand dropped to her belly, willing the little one to hurry up and get it over with.
"And how're you feeling?"
"Marvelous," she breathed as the wave tapered off again. "Thanks for doing this to me." She glanced up at him through already tired brown eyes and grinned.
It was going to be a long day.
2:50 PM
She didn't think she could do this anymore.
The contractions were unreal. They came, faster and faster now with very little breakage in between. There was no real rest. As soon as one contraction finished, another started up twenty seconds later. It was that type of pain that gripped one fully, making them forget how to breathe, and just when Julia couldn't imagine it getting any worse, it would push, taking her over the edge of her tolerance until she was crying out in agony.
She couldn't remember how to breathe. Countless times now, the nurses had caught her holding her breath, followed by a chorus of 'breathe, Julia'. Which would have been fine and good if her lungs would listen. The only thing that worked was either a nurse or Maddox blowing gently in her face, causing her to suck in an involuntary breath.
Edith had taken Kathryn and Evander both to the waiting room at the healer's behest, advising there were toys and books in the room that would surely entertain the children more. It was one less worry for Julia who hadn't been ignorant to the increasingly unsure look in her daughter's eyes. She knew everything would be fine, but for now, she couldn't focus on anything but the way this baby was taking their sweet time.
Maddox's child, indeed.
"It's about time to start pushing," one of the nurses said, just in time for Healer Warner to walk through the door. "Ah the happy couple," the man said dryly, remembering them from that day late last year when he'd sprung the news on them.
Julia glanced up at Maddox, sharing a look with him that indicated she was in no mood for jokes and would likely strangle the next person that made one. Healer or not. She sat up in the bed, hair matted to her forehead from sweat, as the healer and nurses took their places.
She reached for Maddox's hand, squeezing tightly as another contraction began. "Bear down Julia. To the count of ten."
Merlin. This was actually it.
Julia closed her eyes as the pain took hold, but fought through and started pushing, clenching her husband's hand even tighter. A sharp moan fell from her lips, but she didn't stop.
"One...two...three...four..."
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Maddox Barlowe - 03-07-2026
2:50 PM
Did he say six? He meant 60.
Whenever the stubborn baby came out, he would begin writing essays until he was 60 for all the grief he'd managed to cause in the span of hours. It went without saying that Maddox didn't have the energy required to keep up with hours upon hours of intense labour while his wife dug deep to find her inner intolerance. But there was nothing to be done about it. Maddox couldn't very well leave – nor did he want to. Unfortunately, he also couldn't step away for a half hour to curl up in a corner and recover.
Something told him that his child might be the deliberate sort and that Julia would be anything but pleased with him if he was off in the middle of a nap while their child came into the world. Desperate as he was to close his eyes, the man understood what a poor look it would be. He was there for indefinite support, and that word was doing a lot of heavy lifting in the moment.
"Ah the happy couple."
The greeting fell as flat as one would imagine it would.
"Not the time." In case that wasn't already abundantly clear. "I don't intend to be liable for anything my wife does to you before she's able to relieve herself of our son."
After hours upon hours of labour pains and contractions, Julia wasn't in the mood for the man's sardonic greeting. He didn't blame her in the same way that he didn't envy her. Watching the creatures go through this very process for years had already told him that it wasn't something he wanted any part of – outside of what he did now, letting Julia squeeze his hand until it was numb and blowing on her face when she needed it to not suffocate herself.
If she thought she was leaving him alone with four and a half children, the woman was out of her mind. They were in this together and would be staying that way.
Bearing down was promising. Surely the kid couldn't keep resisting now that they'd entered active labour.
Maddox chose to remain a quiet presence as the healers encouraged her. He didn't know that there was anything he could say that wouldn't result in a glare. Frankly, he was lucky she wasn't currently glowering at him with side eyes that could land him in the next century and accusations that he was the one who'd done this to her.
In his defence, it had been a team effort.
For what it was worth, she was probably doing great.
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Julia Barlowe - 03-17-2026
“…eight…nine…ten.”
Julia fell back onto the pillows, chest heaving as she fought for breath, her cheeks red but draining of color otherwise. The pain was excruciating, alleviated only by the few seconds of peace her body gave her before crushing in on itself all over again.
She didn’t hear Maddox’s lecturing towards the healer, but if she had, she would have added her own two cents about the man being able to read a fucking room.
She could feel the baby moving down, her pelvis shifting in a way that it felt like it was cracking in half. Her fingers linked through Maddox’s, thankful he was here as quiet support, his presence calming her even in arguably one of the most chaotic moments of her life.
She moaned as another contraction started, her back instinctively arching against the pain. The nurses called for her attention, drawing her from the blinding contraction and focusing her energy back down below where she began to push again.
Another ten seconds. She gasped as she fell back, convinced she wouldn’t be able to do it. Julia had done a lot of hard things in her life, had been through more than many women of her background ever had. She was a strong woman in many ways, but in this?
In the thing that was supposed to come innate to a woman? The most natural thing she was supposed to know how to do?
Her mother hadn’t survived it. Maybe she wasn’t meant to either.
“I can’t…” she breathed, as another contraction waved through her, the nurses insisting she could. One more big push, they insisted. Just one more.
Her fingers tightened between Maddox’s as she steadied herself. One more was all she had left in her, after hours of painful labor that had weakened every muscle in her body.
She focused, closing her eyes and bearing down as hard as she could. She thought of her mother in this moment, how if she were here, maybe Vera would be standing on the opposite side of her, cheering her on and comforting her with gentle words.
“One…two…three…four…”
She could feel the baby now, as she pushed harder, setting her jaw and staying silent through the pain.
“…five…six…seven…baby’s right here, Julia!”
She didn’t stop, the world growing hazy around her as every sound muffled and all she could hear was a high-pitched ringing until….
A gasp of relief shot out of her lips as her eyes opened at the sweetest little cry.
“It’s a boy!”
The nurses all shrieked and cooed with excitement as the baby cried, strong, loud wails that filled the room. Julia slumped with exhaustion onto the bed, her hair sticking to her forehead and her eyes hazy as she looked up at Maddox.
The nurses busied themselves cleaning up the baby, fussing over how chubby his legs were, as tears immediately flowed down her cheeks. Emotions she’d never felt before overwhelmed her, and she pressed her forehead against Maddox’s hand.
A boy. He’d been right all along.
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Maddox Barlowe - 03-18-2026
Maddox wasn’t rattled by birth. Some might say the man was desensitised by his experiences. He wasn’t, by any means, comparing this intimate and wondrous moment of his wife bringing their first shared child into the world to an animal bearing their own, but he’d always been a practical man. That came with a distinct lack of sentimentality on many matters.
One of the healers kept checking in to ensure he was alright, worried it might all be too much. He’d been offered a seat, a chance to step out, well-meaning reassurances that Julia was still fine and doing great.
In all the chaos, it had taken some time for the woman to finally misread the man’s apathetic exterior, and while it shifted her into a less flattering impression of him, it saved Maddox the unnecessary fussing.
He didn’t need his hand held; he didn’t need people insisting she was okay. None of them helped. Getting through the labour would.
Maddox offered his own encouraging words, choosing to focus on his wife. They weren’t necessarily warm and sentimental in a way many of the healers may have preferred. Instead, they were steady and calm, hoping to cut through the chaos to provide something more solid for her to hold onto–besides his hand, of course.
Hours went by with their baby tangling himself in a game of ‘will-he-won’t-he.’
Then the cry rang out.
Loud and every bit as obnoxious as one would expect from such a difficult baby. It was the healthy sort of cry that anyone would be happy to hear, and it melted a part of the man that was less resistant to such manipulations. It was the same part of him that gave in when Morgan smiled a particular way and had him relenting when Evander’s big blue eyes looked up at him with all the innocence of the world.
This would end well.
”It’s a boy!”
Would you look at that? The gravity of the situation did nothing to dampen the smugness that filled him in the moment. A boy, as he’d said. Call it a sixth sense or wishful thinking, but it couldn’t have been anything else in his mind. A boy felt right, inevitable almost.
Maddox found himself overwhelmed by a sudden influx of affection for the woman who’d just brought their son into the world. He leaned in to place a kiss atop her head, muttering how amazingly she’d done when he did.
Hours of labour, but she was still there with him. That was the most important part, the part that had given him real worry.
“Would you like to hold him?” one asked, offering the little bundle that was less sticky but no less alien-looking. It brought back flashes of Evander, red-faced and screaming as he threatened–then delivered–no peace. At least this one had calmed down. Maddox accepted the baby while they checked on Julia, entranced by the sweet face and light eyes that squinted up at him in a daze of confusion and fatigue.
Maddox let the nurses do their checks before stepping closer for Julia to have her moment with him. ”He’s perfect,” he said, placing him in her arms.
It was important that she saw for herself the gift she’d given him.
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Julia Barlowe - 03-18-2026
The exhaustion was only superseded by the elation that filled the woman with each shrill cry that rang throughout the room.
Julia had never thought she’d be in this place. She was already a mother of course. Benji had given her the title treasured most of all and Kate had become the little star in her sky. Evander was her precious boy who had stolen her entire heart for his own, and Morgan was the girl who shared love for the same little hobbies and interests she did.
But this little one.
As the nurse placed their son in Maddox’s arms, a little boy that was half him and half her, Julia felt something profound take over. She understood in the moment, that it was that feeling women talked about when the baby they had carried finally entered the world, and a fierce maternal instinct took over.
It wasn’t a more intense love. She loved all of her kids, so much that it hurt. It was just a new sensation within that love that she had never experienced before, and it moved her in a way she’d never expected.
“He’s perfect.”
Julia didn’t think she’d ever been more in love with a man than she was in that moment, watching her best friend hold the baby they had created. A whole little person that would share their features, their mannerisms.
As the baby was placed in her arms, her eyes welled with fresh tears, seeing the light eyes he’d received from his father, and the little nose he’d inherited from her. Sweet chubby cheeks and soft waves of light brown hair.
He was perfect. One of the five most beautiful things she’d ever laid eyes on. Julia leaned down to kiss his little head, unable to take her eyes off the beautiful boy that had just come screaming into their lives.
“He is,” she said softly, running her hand along the baby’s hair, before smiling up at her husband. For a moment, everything else faded away. The healer, the nurses, the aftercare that was taking place. Her focus was here on the little family she and Maddox had just expanded. Their son felt like the glue that tied the two little families into one.
“He has your eyes,” she said, and then smirked a little. “Too bad. He would have gotten a lot more attention with mine.”
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Maddox Barlowe - 03-18-2026
“He has your eyes. Too bad. He would have gotten a lot more attention with mine.”
Maddox cracked an amused smile at the small moment of banter that passed between them. Truth be told, he hadn’t noticed the boy’s eyes; not in any meaningful way that would’ve given him pause. It would take some time for his features to settle post-birth, leaving no reason for scrutiny beyond more general observations of strength and health.
None of the healers expressed concerns, and none drew attention to any signs they might have considered troubling.
Given just how many things could go wrong, it was its own blessing. No news was the best news in such insidiously perilous situations.
“Two and a half attention-hungry children between us, and here you are lamenting that he might have a fighting chance to be different.”
Their children were already such a diverse host of characters, who found their own way to keep themselves from fading into obscurity. “This one’s quiet.” His entry into the world notwithstanding. Maddox had to believe that they couldn’t all be menaces. [b“The most unproblematic.”[/b] Wishful thinking or a man already watching his nights of sleep slipping between his fingers like fine grains of loose sand?
The man didn’t suppose leaving him just one night at the hospital would go over well. It was the beginning of the end as he’d learned through Evander.
This wasn’t new. This wasn’t the first time he would be held hostage in dark rooms with a wailing newborn, and while it didn’t dampen the affection currently building, it certainly sobered him to the shift in their reality. He was no longer on the inside, cushioned by Julia’s stomach and constantly cosy. The days of him being a passive member of the family, a beautiful concept that only had real consequences for his wife, were over.
Now, he was real. He was there for them to love and protect. He would grow and eventually join the chaos of pattering feet constantly running through the home, adding to the warmth that filled each room.
“He needs a name,” he said gently.
They’d floated around a few in the months leading up to this very moment, poking and teasing as they both believed they knew the gender and had the right of it. Julia had found herself a host of delicate girl names and some that hinted more at strength. She and Edith had had the time of their lives waving him off each time he reminded them that it could have as easily been a boy.
Speaking of, where was sweet Edith to witness the aftermath of this great moment? He had a special smile waiting for her, one that clearly meant ‘he’d told her so’.
But of course, he was a gentleman, and would never rub such a thing in. Sometimes, knowing you were right was its own reward, and in this instance, it would seem Maddox was far more prepared than either of them had been.
Funny how that worked.
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Julia Barlowe - 03-18-2026
Her smile grew wider, brown eyes shimmering at her husband’s tease. It was so funny wasn’t it? Moments ago, she’d felt as though her body was tearing itself apart, and just like that, all the pain was gone and their sweet boy laid in her arms.
“This one’s quiet. The most unproblematic.”
She nodded, humming softly in agreement as a gentle finger stroked their baby’s soft little cheek. His eyes grew heavy against the touch, his little body wrapped snug and warm in the blanket against his mother. “He’ll be our little academic. The one who keeps the others in line.”
Not likely, she would have thought were she not so tired and enraptured in the new love that overwhelmed her. This one was a Barlowe, and while he surely had plenty of Laurence in him, it wouldn’t be long until he was tearing through the house with Evander right beside him.
Unlike her husband, Julia wasn’t dreading the long nights with a crying infant, or the lack of sleep that would come with it. Rather, she was excited for this new chapter in their lives, and was eager to experience all the ins and outs of being a new mum. She’d had a bit here and there, when Maddox had asked her to keep Evander a night now and again. But this time, she could be there for all of it.
No one was going to come and collect her baby at the end of the day. This would be all her, and she was excited at the idea of settling into their family together.
“He needs a name.”
That he did. Brown eyes followed the delicate little features of their son, studying every inch of him. They’d thrown out names here or there, vetoing the ones they couldn’t agree on and hemming and hawing over the others that were ‘okay’.
Set on the idea she was having a girl, she hadn’t thought too deeply about boy names, but there was one that had stood out to her. “How about Jude?” she offered, glancing back up at her husband. A name that signified gratitude seemed only fitting for a little boy that she felt immense thankfulness for. An unexpected surprise that had turned into the greatest gift.
“And Alexander.” She smiled down at the baby again, holding him a little more snug against her. They hadn’t discussed naming him for Maddox, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Maddox Barlowe - 03-19-2026
Jude.
That had been one of the names on the list, one that neither had had objections to. It was a good name for someone who wanted to be taken seriously someday. Strong enough for a boy, and it held a subtle quietness to it. Perhaps they really were only thinking wishfully when they tried to project some level of serenity on the boy who'd barely taken his first breaths, but this was a good start.
'Alexander' he wasn't expecting. That hadn't been on any of the many lists they'd made. Not any of the discarded ones, not the final one they kept in the small drawer of the bedside end table.
His expression softened as he stared down at her, though her attention had already moved to their son. "Are you sure?"
Jude would be her first child, biologically speaking. While Maddox had no doubt that Julia loved and would love all her children in roughly a similar measure (only dirty liars insisted they didn't have favourites), he knew that it would still mean something incredibly special. There was no point denying it and no point beating around the bush about it. Some things simply were, and there was no shame, except in those who liked to pretend otherwise.
Jude was his third. A gift, no question, another precious part of him made manifest into the world, but the third nonetheless. He'd been of the mind that, should Julia want, she could name him after a man who held great importance to her in her family. They weren't always sunshine and roses over at that castle, and a lot of her upbringing had been rough in ways only the upperclass would understand, but he remembered how hard she'd taken the death of her father and had thought to offer her the option.
"We don't have to think about it right away. You can take some time to decide before we get him registered, in case there's someone else you may have had in mind."
He was more than a little 'flattered' by her suggestion, and it did mean something to him that his wife was willing to have her first child bearing his name.
But, at the end of the day, all his children bore his name.
"Barlowe" was attached to each and would be until the day they died, or in the case of marriage, when it came to his daughter. They already carried a piece of him, leaving less need for him to fuss. The greatest struggle was already past, and it wasn't much of a struggle at all.
There was no debate over whose last name Julia and the baby would take and that was enough.
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Julia Barlowe - 03-21-2026
"Are you sure?"
Her eyes found his again, leaving their son for only a moment as she took in the softer expression on her husband’s face. Maddox wasn’t an overly sentimental man. He had his moments, here or there, but most of his personality lay in sarcasm and dry wit. Seeing that little shimmer in his eye stirred something warm and gentle within her chest, and her smile grew, allowing her dimples to deepen along her cheeks. “I wouldn’t suggest it if I weren’t.”
Julia had had many men of importance in her life. Her father, of course, who had raised her and instilled the strength she needed as a woman to navigate a man’s world. Her brother James, who had been her closest confidant and playmate throughout her childhood. Even her late brother, Edward, had at one time been someone she’d looked up to and admired, always wanting to make him proud of her and earn one of his rare smiles.
Cousins, uncles, friends. She had plenty of them, all with solid names that would serve their son well if she chose any of them.
"We don't have to think about it right away. You can take some time to decide before we get him registered, in case there's someone else you may have had in mind."
“Nonsense,” she said lightly, dropping a kiss on Jude’s little forehead as he nodded off, already tuckered out by the events of the last few minutes. “Why wouldn’t I name my son after the greatest man I’ve ever known?”
It wasn’t flattery or bias. Since she’d met Maddox, he’d always been the man in her life, even when there were others. He was her anchor through troubled waters, her light in the darkness, and her laughter through her tears. He was her strength when her nerve gave out, and he was the man she shared all of her happiest moments with. The man she shared parenting woes with and built a family with before they even knew they were one.
Now, he was the father of her son. A beautiful boy who she couldn’t tear her eyes from. Of course he should be named for the man that she had loved all along.
“Evander and Kate?” she suggested, reaching for his hand. “Maybe Kate first. Give her some time alone, and then Evander.”
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Maddox Barlowe - 04-01-2026
“Why wouldn’t I name my son after the greatest man I’ve ever known?”
There were jokes he could crack, banter he could seamlessly integrate after a comment like that, but Maddox refrained. There was something almost reverent about the moment that demanded he reserve his often dry humour for another time. The greatest man she knew. He knew she knew many, both in her personal life and as a function of the role she'd held in her family. Many dignitaries, men of high breeding, sunburnt adventure mongers who desecrated graves to find the finest antiques, and bland men who kept libraries and museums. It was fair to say that Julia had seen enough of the world and its selection of men for those words to mean something.
"Stubborn as ever," he said, drops of affection seeding themselves into his tone. "Alexander, then."
Jude didn't look like an 'Alexander'. Then again, he didn't look like anything or anyone. It would take time for his features to set in, and Maddox found himself looking forward to the unveiling. When the man had first met his daughter, he couldn't help but stop to assess what she'd taken from him and what she'd taken from Lynn. It was a unique mixture all her own but grounded in a shared past. It was the same with Evander – a fact he was less thrilled about – and would be the same with Jude.
Maddox was quickly realising how much the latter...mattered.
He'd loved Lynn, but they'd grown away from each other, and there was a lot of complicated and unresolved emotion between them that had prevented him from being able to enjoy such a simple joy. Rose had been a fling but otherwise a stranger. He'd had no reason to care what Evander inherited from her or whether he would.
It was a different story with Julia. She'd become his best friend, the woman he loved enough to marry and the woman who'd just given him another son. Seeing her in their child would do something to him that he'd never considered before.
“Evander and Kate?”
Ah, right. How easily he'd forgotten the two back in the waiting room with Edith. It had been hours, and the man was worn down. An easy slip of the mind.
“Maybe Kate first. Give her some time alone, and then Evander.”
"You sure?" he asked a second time, this time harbouring more hesitation than with the naming of their son. "Wouldn't prefer a bouncing toddler ready to plaster kisses all over his brother and have to have the concept of 'gentle' explained to him for the millionth time?" Evander was...enthusiastic, if nothing else.
"Alright, if you're sure."
She knew their child better than he did, and if she thought Kathryn was the lead, then he'd get Kathryn and maybe ten minutes of shut-eye if Evander didn't decide he was thrilled to see him.
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Kathryn Barlowe - 04-01-2026
She stood at the door for longer than perhaps she was meant to.
Mr. Maddox had come to the private waiting room to collect her. He'd told her that her mother wanted to see her and that she wanted her to meet her brother. It seemed to the little girl that she only had one of those, and she'd already met him. They got on quite well, actually. Benny had become a lot more than she remembered, and many of his ideas were terrifying or likely to get her dirty, but she loved him a great deal and, when he wasn't being loud and forceful, could still find peace sitting in his presence.
He'd always been a great big brother and had always taken care of her. She remembered how happy she always was whenever he came home from roaming the streets – and how relieved.
"Tell your mother I'll be waiting with Evander until you're both done," he said.
She would not.
At that early hour, Kathryn hadn't thought to bring along her quill and even if it had crossed her mind, there wasn't much the girl thought would need to be said.
Come get Evander after.
Another thing she had no intention of doing. Kathryn had watched Mr. Maddox slink into the armchair next to Aunt Edith. The little girl had seen the look often enough to know he was powering down. It came as no surprise that her aunt was the one who led her back to the door, attempting to nudge her inside despite the way her feet remained firmly planted on the outside of the threshold. The pair of women exchanged brief words, and Aunt Edith offered to come back later before leaving Kate to stand there, staring in her uncertainty.
The baby on her mother's chest didn't belong there but was there all the same and wouldn't be leaving any time soon.
Babies took a long time to grow, and her mother seemed adamant about keeping that one. She couldn't see why. From where she stood, he was small and wrinkly. Eventually, he would cry. Would there ever be peace again? Unlike Evander, that one couldn't walk. Her mother would have to take him everywhere and carry him around. He would need to be dressed and fed, held close and constantly monitored.
This would never work. No, she thought not.
Sharp blue eyes remained on the tiny bundle, the little girl making no effort to enter. Surely there was another room in such a big place where they could donate the baby to someone in need. There had to be someone in the market for an unwanted sibling.
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Julia Barlowe - 04-02-2026
"Stubborn as ever. Alexander, then."
Jude Alexander Barlowe. A strong name that commanded attention and would, in time, demand to be reckoned with. If their son turned out anything like either of them, Julia knew he'd do great things one day, but for now, as the newborn nuzzled against her chest, she knew the name would suit a sweet little boy encapsulated in the safety of a family that would adore him.
"Wouldn't prefer a bouncing toddler ready to plaster kisses all over his brother and have to have the concept of 'gentle' explained to him for the millionth time?"
A tired smile stretched across her lips as she tilted her head at Maddox, urging him to go and fetch their daughter. Evander would be a ball of energy and the excitement he would exude at finally getting to meet his brother would be heartwarming and bring her to the edge of her emotional self-control.
But for now, she needed a few minutes with her girl.
As Maddox headed out, Julia's eyes fell to the tiny boy again, her fingers tracing every little feature of his face. It was incredible to her, how easy it was to fall in love with someone she'd only just met, but there he was. The newest keeper of her heart, ready to fall right into the space their family had made for him.
She wondered what her father would have thought had he met Maddox. Would he be happy for them, one of the first to visit and take Jude in his arms, his smile as bright and proud as any grandfather's? She wished, that somehow things could be different. That both her parents could be here to not just see Jude, but all of their grandchildren and the family she and Maddox had curated without even trying.
The door opened again, Edith offering her gentle congrats and promising to come back in a bit to meet the little one, before leaving Kate standing and staring in the doorway.
Julia waited a moment to see if her daughter would make any effort to enter the room, and when she didn't, Julia merely smiled knowingly. She knew well that Kathryn harbored insecure feelings surrounding the baby, and hadn't expressed any sort of excitement at having to share her mother.
She reached down with her free hand, moving the blankets of her bed to offer Kate a little spot to nuzzle in right next to her. "Come on Little," she coaxed softly, and patted the mattress beside her. "Sit with us awhile? He's waiting to meet you."
She was certainly in no position to get up and lead her daughter herself. If Kate wandered off, she'd have to hope Maddox or Edith caught her before she got herself lost.
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Kathryn Barlowe - 04-03-2026
Come on Little. Sit with us awhile? He's waiting to meet you."
No.
No, she didn't think she would. The chronically obedient child didn't remain by the door because of a sudden surge of defiance. Kathryn hadn't suddenly learned to say no or to discern her own will separate from the will of anyone set above her. Instead, there was an invisible force that held her firmly in place. The little girl lost all feeling in her legs, and the numbness crept ominously upward. Soon, she couldn't feel the way her stomach twisted. She couldn't feel the fabric of her dress clutched between her figures as she fought to remain perfectly upright, poised and uncompromising in her posture.
The baby was no longer a hypothetical. Mr. Maddox said his name was 'Jude'. A name. That made him a whole person. He had his own soul and would grow to want his own things. He would take, he would bleed, he would fail, and he would develop his own cherished things.
Kathryn lacked the vocabulary for the dread that coiled itself inside her chest. It was heavy and foreboding as it insisted itself upon her, but it never introduced itself. Never told her what it was up to. She may as well have been sick. Many of the sensations were the same. She never looked at her mother, not even after the beckoning for her to come closer. There was nothing else in the room, only the small blanket and the occasional 'coo' from the oh-so content baby.
She bet he was content, nuzzled into her mother's chest the way he was.
His mother, she thought grimly.
It had taken hours – no, this nightmare began months earlier – but he'd come from her. It was her blood that ran through his tiny veins and her hair that coated his head. He might have her smile someday or her laugh. He might wrinkle his nose the way she sometimes did when she was amused and trying not to laugh. Subtle. Cheeky. Julia was his mother, truly, in the way most children easily laid claim to their parents.
Kathryn and her brother already had parents somewhere back in Hackney. They already had someone else's eyes and someone else's smile. The blueprint they carried belonged to a different manufacturer. It wasn't the same fit.
Where was that thumping coming from? It was intrusive, booming, but echoing from somewhere she didn't recognise to be her own chest.
Blue eyes grew moist until she could no longer see the warm expression on Julia's face. Kathryn blinked fiercely, removing them before they could properly take hold. Her vision shifted as her left leg took the first step, minimally changing the scenery with the subtle shift. Her right foot went next. She stopped, every nerve resisting the closing distance while a quieter ache reached out.
She wanted her mother but wasn't sure she was allowed to anymore.
Another step. Another pause.
This one, she couldn't break free from. Only two steps into the room and she realised she couldn't. Kathryn wanted nothing more than to return to the waiting room and wait to be taken home, but she also couldn't bear the thought of being away from the only mother she'd had for years now.
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Julia Barlowe - 04-03-2026
One step. Then another.
She stopped.
Julia's expression didn't change, but she watched for the small tells in Kathryn's composure that gave her away. In the two years she'd been the little girl's mother, she'd come to understand that Kate's language lay in her eyes and the smallest movements that would heed no notice from most. It was a language Julia had studied carefully, reverent of the small moments that spoke volumes where the small girl remained silent.
She understood this, she thought. As quiet and stoic as Kathryn was, the smallest deviance from her norm blared in the otherwise peaceful room, and Julia felt her own heart start to ache.
She knew it wasn't because Kathryn wanted to be mean or act like a spoilt little girl with sibling envy. Rather, Jude coming in to their lives was another shake-up and disruptor in a carefully curated world.
Kathryn had her routines, her people, her habits, her quirks for specific reasons. Julia suspected most of these reasons were to give her a sense of control in a world that for so long had been cruelly unpredictable, but at some point, her daughter needed to start trusting their family unit and her place in it.
"Come on," she coaxed again, holding her hand out to beckon her girl closer. "You're the first person I wanted to see." She was, and not just because she knew her daughter would need a private moment to take in everything with her. It was because while Benji had made her into a mother, Kathryn had taught her what it really meant to be one. What it meant to always put someone else first, to worry about their needs, their wants, their hopes and dreams. What it meant to be a provider and a caregiver in a way that didn't rest on legacy and loyalty, but love and commitment.
Kathryn had brought out the very best in Julia - a nurturer and a natural, patient, protective mother.
Of course she wanted her sweet girl in a moment that was so special and private to her.
"He's going to need you, you know," she said softly, tilting her head a little as she smiled at her daughter, "Little boys always need their big sisters to keep them in line and teach them what's right." She motioned with her outstretched hand, "To keep them safe and watch over them. And then one day, when he's all grown," she looked at her son who sleepily opened his eyes, making small grunting noises as he acclimated to his new world, "He'll keep you safe and watch over you."
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Kathryn Barlowe - 04-06-2026
So that was the way of it.
Kathryn had moved a little closer at her mother's behest, landing somewhere in the middle of the room before her legs refused to carry on. The young girl understood that it was an important moment. Julia seemed keen to pass that on. She was the first one who hadn't been in the room, to be given access to view the baby she never wanted.
Julia wanted him. Mr. Maddox wanted him. Benny wanted him. It was difficult to get a read on Morgan, and the girls had never shared a word between them, making her new sister difficult to gauge. Evander wanted dirt on his face and an extra hour running around like a headless chicken before he was forced into a bath and bed. Kathryn wanted nothing to do with him and wished none of it had happened, but like with many other things in her life, she was aware that wishing was never a force powerful enough to change anything.
This was life now, and she would need to adapt, the way she'd slowly adapted to everything else.
The parameters laid out were clear. Julia, and she supposed Jude, expected her to protect him and teach him right from wrong. Most days, Kathryn didn't think she knew herself. Her concept of right and wrong wasn't steeped in any moral scaffolding, and with each day that passed, the line grew fuzzier. The only thing she held to was her schedule. It was right. Going against it was wrong. Outside of that, the world turned, and things happened while she stood silent witness, waiting for it to pass. Babies couldn't understand. Evander trampled his way through every schedule and did so with nearly malicious glee.
Worse? It was allowed. Always with an apologetic smile and a "sometimes it's okay to go a little off-schedule" or "he's only a baby, leave him be".
It wasn't okay, and adding a second baby wouldn't make it more so.
There would be more disruptions and more requests on her behalf that she loosen her tightly balled fists and let life happen at a pace and cadence that terrified her. Jude would need to be changed when the clock struck 3, and they were meant to be heading out to the garden. He would grow cranky during ballet lessons, be obnoxious during meals, and make his own demands for how her mother should spend an afternoon that would compete with hers.
And in all that, she was to protect him and teach him right.
She didn't need him watching over her. That was Benny's job, and she'd never had complaints. Benny was big and strong, a bit loud, and a disruption in his own right, but a good protector.
The wrinkly-faced alien was not needed.
Kathryn nodded her understanding, assimilating the information into her wider understanding of her place within the family. 'Help with the baby'; a simple instruction.
She was done being the first one to see the baby. There were others who were in a better position to enjoy this 'miraculous' moment. Kate never managed to meet her mother's gaze. All she saw was the baby until she turned and stiffly made for the door.
Life was changing, and her chest was hurting too much to handle it.
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Julia Barlowe - 04-07-2026
Sometimes, being a mum meant picking battles and recognizing when something was too overwhelming.
Julia could have forced the issue. She could have taken a sterner voice and commanded her daughter knock off her behavior and come sit. Some might see Kathryn's outright refusal and retreat as bratty or spoiled. A jealous little girl who was too old too be threatened by a baby's arrival.
But that wasn't how it was, and Julia knew it.
Kathryn had never known real stability prior to becoming a Laurence. The Cuddrun home was volatile, neglectful and starved the little girl of love and care. Left to fend for herself after Benji had been sent to Hogwarts, Julia could only imagine the abuse and horrors that her daughter had faced.
Then came the orphanage. While clean and safe, the amount of children outnumbered the staff easily four to one, and for a little girl that didn't speak she couldn't have commanded much attention for herself.
The Longe household was...unnerving to say the least, based on what Benji had told her and what she had gathered from Eleanor.
Julia thought she understood what her daughter might be feeling, and her reactions leant credence to that. She was scared, feeling insecure.
And the woman was at a loss, not sure for once, exactly how to help Kathryn or make her understand that this all changed nothing. Love wasn't measured in portions. There would need to be adjustments in the realm of attention and time, but never in the aspect of love.
As she watched her daughter turn to leave, Julia felt the deflation between them, but allowed the little girl to go anyway. Forcing things wouldn't make Kathryn feel any better. It wouldn't help her understand any faster. It wouldn't make her love her brother in any real way. Those were all things Kathryn would have to do at her own pace and in her own way. Being a mother meant exercising patience and understanding that every child was different and had their own needs, and it was up to her as the parent to adjust and find what worked.
As the door closed behind Kathryn, Julia turned her attention back to the little boy in her arms, making soft noises against her chest. She watched as his little fists opened and closed as he acclimated to the new world he'd just entered. "Don't worry love," she said quietly, "She'll come around."
In the meantime, there was another little boy's voice growing just outside the door that signaled he was much more enthusiastic about a new brother than Kathryn had been.
RE: Hey Jude | Malia - Maddox Barlowe - 04-15-2026
There was an enthusiastic little boy waiting just down the corridor, loud and uncontained as he yelled in search of his mother.
Edith did what she could to quiet the boy, but there was only so much one could explain to a three-year-old about hospital etiquette and why screaming wasn't allowed when it seemed the easiest way to find your mummy.
It was a gargantuan task for the woman who, herself, was exhausted, but when the boy's father curled up beneath the chair of the waiting room, the message was clear. He wouldn't be moved.
The door swung open after a pair of knocks, and in barrelled little Evander Harrison Barlowe. If no one else, he had gotten plenty of sleep. Well rested and bursting with energy, the woes of the adults who'd been put through the wringer for several hours were far above his head. Somewhere up in the clouds maybe, or perhaps in outer space. However far off, they were beyond what Evander could consider.
The toddler darted over to the bed before Edith could close the door behind her and reach for his hand. By the time she turned, he was already scrambling his way up onto the hospital bed with a bit of a bounce when he finally managed it and a 'Ta-da! I did it!' for good measure.
"Careful, Evander," Edith tried, but the warning went in one ear before swiftly floating out the next. Evander scooted right up to Julia, leaning in as close as he possibly could to get the very best view of the baby. Some might even say he had the right idea, eye to eye, foreheads practically touching while he happily squealed 'baby' over and over.
"That Maddox," Edith huffed, coming to a stop by the side of the bed. "I swear, Julia. I don't know what you'll do with him. Sleep! He went to sleep, at a time like this! God forbid it be his OWN SON in here, and his wife who bore him," she continued to fuss as she adjusted Julia's gown to have it sitting atop her shoulder properly. "By the time I turned to let him know he could take Evander down, he was gone. How was Kathryn?"
Meanwhile, Evander was getting himself very comfortable.
He too wanted to be snuggled in his mother's arms and didn't see the issue with sharing. He understood the concept of 'gentle' in some sense, but largely with animals and not babies that had been in the world for less than an hour.
Baby brother looked like a doll, and the boy had thrown several of Adi's, leaving him to think this one would be as sturdy.
No throwing though, just nudging him out of the way to make room.