Taladaras :: Air Dragon (bymybook) wrote in brightstar, @ 2019-05-30 00:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | !thread, character: ethan proudfoot, character: laura proudfoot |
Who: Ethan & Laura Proudfoot
What: Laura gets to inform Ethan that it was not, in fact, his cooking that made her sick.
When: 30 May 2019, late morning
Where: Their home
Warnings: Low
Laura's mind was still reeling, even after the trip back home. The conversation with Njall had not gone in the direction that Laura had expected at all. Pregnant. She was actually pregnant. Sure, her and Ethan had talked about it, but she hadn't thought in a million years that it would've happened this quickly.
There were about a dozen things running through her mind as she stepped through the front door of the home that she shared with Ethan. She was both excited and terrified, and she'd already started formulating a list of things that they were going to need to do, and buy, to prepare. Njall said she was only about five or six weeks along, but she also knew how quickly time could get away from you.
She was immediately greeted by Titan, who damn near knocked her over, as was his routine. "Ethan? I'm back."
Ethan hadn’t had a long day out of the reserve - just showing the newest intern the updated feeding roster, then leaving him in the supervision of one of the keepers - and had been relaxing on the verandah when Laura arrived home. The first sign of his wife’s arrival was Titan enthusiastically dashing off with an excited woof, and to follow the dog, Ethan set down his book and followed him through the house.
“Hey, you,” he smiled, tilting down his head to give her a kiss. “How’s things?”
Scratching the dog behind the ears, she looked up as Ethan came into the room. It wasn't until she actually laid eyes on him that she started to get a little bit nervous. She didn't know why - the two of them had always talked about having kids, and they'd been married for quite a while now. This had always been a part of their plan.
Returning his kiss, she chewed her bottom lip lightly, as she contemplated how to drop this little bit of news to her husband. "Well, the appointment was … enlightening." Taking his hand, she pulled him toward the living room. Something told her that he was probably going to want to be sitting down for this.
He quirked an eyebrow curiously as he followed obediently, figuring it for a strange choice of word. He wasn’t worried yet, knowing that she would have set this up differently if there was a concern, but Ethan could still sense something unusual was up.
“Yeah? How so?” he asked, sitting on the couch and letting Titan sit between them, reaching down to scritch behind his fluffy ears.
"Well," She sat down next to him, angling herself toward him. "The sensitive stomach isn't going to go away, at least not for a little while. Apparently it's to be expected, though. Otherwise, I'm in perfectly good health."
Reaching out, Laura placed a hand on his knee, her teeth finding the corner of her bottom lip again, even as she smiled at her husband. "Or, I guess I should say we are in perfectly good health." An eyebrow raised as she waited to see if Ethan caught on.
Ethan was starting to look confused, his brows knit as he tried to process what she was saying. A long term stomach issue didn’t see to marry up with being perfectly well, and why was she being so calm about this?
The statement was perfectly bland, but the hand placement and the slow smile were all too deliberate. His face was calm, but a clear and deep curiosity was behind his eyes as one brow raised slowly, the question writ large on his face. “We..?”
Alright, apparently that wasn't quite enough of a hint for him. That was alright, Laura had a backup plan of sorts, that she hoped would make it a little more clear to her wonderfully clueless husband. Taking his hand, she pulled it over and placed it over her stomach. "That's right, Ethan. We."
Well, although the hint had been there, Ethan was never a man to leap straight to conclusions, especially where family was concerned. However, it seemed that family was now more than a mere vague, far-off-in-the-future concept. He wanted her to say the words, to confirm everything that now seemed to be falling into place for them, but his breath caught in his throat a little as he tried to ask.
Instead, he splayed his fingers over her still-flat middle, almost as if searching for the truth with touch where his words could not. Looking up at her, his eyes bored into hers. He understood, now, but needed to hear more.
She watched carefully as the implication of what she was saying soaked in. The look of realization on his face, and the inability to form words had Laura tearing up. She hadn't thought that she could be so incredibly happy about something.
Locking eyes with him, she nodded ever so slightly, grinning. "We're gonna have a baby, Ethan." There was no holding back the tears now.
Laura may have been tearing up, but a slow, gentle smile was beginning to appear on her husband’s face. His fingers closing slightly, he lifted his head and leaned in, gently kissing her as if already being as gentle and protective as he’d need to be later on. In mere months, even.
“Well,” he replied, still smiling softly, “there’s a surprise, mmm?” he chuckled softly, his nose touching hers.
He was smiling, and kissing her. That was good. Smiles meant happy. She couldn't help but laugh a little, through the tears. "Quite the surprise. A very wonderful surprise."
Titan shoved his giant head between them, apparently disturbed by mom's tears. It only had Laura laughing even more, as she reached down to scratch behind his ears. "You hear that, buddy? You're going to be a big brother."
Ethan tilted his face, mouth chasing Laura's tears as he kissed them away with a feather light touch. He might not be crying himself, but for a guy just processing news of impending fatherhood and still managing to centre his wife in everything, he thought he was doing OK.
Titan's loud woof of response, almost as if in reply, had Ethan joining Laura in her laughter. “The best big brother, huh? The best boy!” he grinned, giving the large dog plenty of pets on his strong, powerful back. Turning back to Laura, the smile had spread somewhat further, his face still oddly serene. “A baby, Laura. Wow.” His pause, though only for a moment, saw a flurry of expression pass behind his eyes. “Wait… how long?”
Laura was not normally a crier. She was usually pretty good at keeping her emotions in check, but right now, it seemed like she couldn't stop, despite her laughter. She blamed the newly discovered pregnancy hormones. Could she do that this early? She was going to need to get some books. Research must be done.
Content with the attention and pets he'd gotten from his parents, Titan laid down on Laura's foot. "Njall said about five weeks? It's still pretty early." She bit her lip again, thinking about what what else Njall had said. "I told him about my mixed heritage. There's a possibility that, if something goes wrong, that BACO may be alerted, because of tests that might need to be run. It's an extreme case scenario, but it's something that we need to be swayed of, and prepared for, in case it happens."
“Five weeks…” there was whirring behind Ethan’s eyes as he did the math, his eyes opening a little wider as he came to the correct conclusion. Vegas. It was definitely Vegas.
He visibly tensed as she mentioned BACO, well aware of Laura’s concerns as the issue of mixed-heritage beings had been on the rise. She’d been worried for weeks now, and with this vulnerable change in her state, Ethan was instantly more protective. “Well then, we’ll just have to take care of you so that the worst doesn’t happen,” he replied, leaning forward and kissing the top of her head. “Because nobody in our family is going on a damn register, Laura. Nobody.”
She had done the math as well. "You know, I didn't think you'd take what I said in Vegas quite that seriously," She said with a smirk. She had wanted to start trying for a baby. She never once thought that it would happen so fast.
With everything that had been going on - the WWN broadcasts, the Ghost articles - Laura was terrified. She couldn't help but wonder if it was only a matter of time before her and Rory were outed, or worse. Now she had their child to worry about. Her husband's words caused the tears to flow again, and she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his middle as she pressed her face into his chest. He always seemed to know what to say. "I love you so damn much, Ethan Proudfoot."
“Oh...shush!” Ethan replied weakly, miming a swat at his wife’s arm. He’d found the request a little awkward at first, but just gone into it with the goal of he and Laura having fun, and what happened would happen. And then… it actually did happen. Well, at least it proved that they had no difficulties on that front.
Wrapping his arms around her in his best attempt at comfort, he held her gently, letting her talk. “It’s OK, babe. It’ll be OK.”
Wiping the tears from her eyes, she sat back up, her hand resting on his leg. It would be alright, damnit. They would make sure of that. Laura was going to do everything in her power to give their child a better life.
"Ethan … we're going to be parents!" As afraid as she was, she was equally as excited. "Oh, we should tell the family. I need to contact HR… but I think that's all we should tell, at least for now." She knew the first trimester was the most delicate. If something was going to happen, it would likely be during that time. Laura didn't want to tell anyone who wasn't immediate family, until that danger had passed.
“Yes, yes we are,” he grinned, tilting his head forward to affectionately kiss the tip of her nose. “And I know I’m not saying much now… I’m processing, that’s all. But I’m happy, I promise.” Another kiss, this time to the top of her head, was the last before he sat back to look at her and listen.
“I… I don’t want to tell them right away. Family, I mean,” he replied. “I don’t mean keep it secret, but… I think it would be great to have it to ourselves for just a little bit. Something that’s just ours.” There was a sad aspect to the look in his eyes, one that came from knowing he would give his wife whatever she wanted, even if it was opposed to his own desires. There was all the time in the world for their families to find out and adjust - not to mention the world at large.
She fully believed him. It was a lot to take in and process. She’d already had time to do that before she got home. It was his turn, now. He was happy, though, and that was what really mattered to Laura.
Nodding, she listened to his thoughts on the matter. “We don’t need to tell them right away. We can take our time, let people know when we’re ready to tell them.” There was no need to rush, after all. They were still months away from welcoming the little one into the world, which meant they had plenty of time to inform people.
Ethan reached out to take her hands, wrapping them inside his own and idly stroking the back of her left hand with a gentle finger. This felt like such a big moment in their lives, and yet, such a normal one. Here they were, at home (like a normal day), relaxed on the couch (like a normal day), and with Titan curled protectively at their feet (again, like a normal day). Yet, they’d just had the biggest news of their lives - how did things already seem like they would go on as usual? In the coming days, Ethan would certainly marvel at the very thought. Perhaps it was supposed to be this way, given the thousands of couples who received this news each day and the world had to keep on turning.
He was almost relieved as Laura replied in the affirmative, nodding his head a little to confirm he was listening. His eyelids flickered open to look at her, slowly taking in the details of his wife’s face; from the gentle slope of her nose, to the blue of her eyes and the shade of blonde that warmed her expression still further. She was the lightness in his world, but also added weight to his existence. Where Laura lifted him up, she also kept him down to earth, holding him steady and reminding him what it was they kept going for.
“OK… good,” he exhaled, the tension escaping his body with his breath, his shoulders slumping down a little. “I know we’re part of the bigger picture when it comes to our families - but this is our own, too. Definitely.”