WHO: Francis and Lucy Lyon WHEN: Backdated -- Evening of January 31 WHERE: Lucy's apartment in DC SUMMARY: Lucy finds out she's pregnant and needs some company as she eats peanut butter from the spoon. WARNINGS: None
As far as Lucy saw it, she had been handle the past day pretty damn well. When she had started the week, she had assumed the most exciting part would be the State of the Union and the new episode of This Is Us. Instead, all of that -- even the political bits, which were the very bits that she got out of bed every morning to deal with -- had been overshadowed. What she had thought had been nothing more than a bit of flu had been a life changing bit of news given to her in the form of a peed on stick. (Several sticks, actually; she hadn't told anyone that she'd done five before she'd finally accepted the news and would likely take that secret to the grave.) Her doctor had assured her that with the flu season being what it was this year, her assumption had been a natural and valid one. Somehow, though, that did little to make her feel better about the whole thing.
Still, though she'd allowed herself a spot of panic when she'd first been confronted with what was going on, Lucy had made a very real attempt to be level-headed. That was, after all, what she tried to do with every hurdle that came her way. This was a bit more of a hurdle, though, and she could feel herself teetering on the edge of something and she didn't like it.
The only thing truly keeping her steady, though, was the support she'd already been gifted by the most important people in her life. When she had thought of who to reach out to, Francis and Annie were the obvious people that came to mind. Though she had plenty of other friends, her best friend since she was a literal infant and her closest friend since moving to the United States were exactly who she had needed -- and they'd proven it with their immediate support. Lucy wouldn't have expected much else and would have offered the same to them were they in her shoes, but it made her feel less alone. Fiercely independent, she might not have admitted needing to feel less alone without a bit of coercion, but she appreciated it nonetheless.
Needing that company, Lucy had been happy for Francis to come over. Normally she might have gone to his place, but her day and she couldn't even muster up the energy to drive to Dunhaven. Besides, it was her bed that she wanted to be sprawled in, which was exactly where they had been since he'd arrived. Though her living room had very comfortable furniture, her bed was large, piled with blankets, and she wasn't sure she was ever going to move from it.
Leaning back in a pile of pillows and covered in one of the fluffier blankets, Lucy held a jar of peanut butter (an example of one of America's better ideas) in one hand and a spoon in the other. There was also an open container of Oreos next to her, but at the moment she was simply eating the peanut butter from the spoon. Whether or not it was the baby making her eat terribly the past few days, she didn't know, but she'd been injesting an awful lot of fast food and sweets. (If anything, she suspected that it was more that she was mentally using the baby as an excuse to eat terribly. That would have to stop, but Lucy thought she could afford peanut butter.) It was out of character, though; she may not have been a health nut, but she was more often eating avocado toast and quinoa over the cheeseburgers and cheese fries she had been ordering.
"Do you think -- " Lucy started, her voice thick from the peanut butter, tilting the jar toward Francis in an offering. "Do you think I could just not tell my mum and dad? I could remove them from Facebook… just never go home for the next eighteen plus years? Possible, maybe?"
Francis had been in comfortable clothes to sleep in for the night when he’d seen her post. He'd thrown jeans and a shirt in a bag with his meds and toiletries and headed straight over, so he hadn't had to do anything but kick his shoes back off and get comfortable, sprawled out on top of the blankets next to Lucy. At her offer, he took a small amount of the peanut butter before answering.
“That is my plan,” he agreed. “Your mum isn't nearly as mad as mine either.” He bumped her foot with his affectionately, then asked more seriously, “Are you worried what they'll think? If they have any… opinions you tell them to bugger off.”
Lucy sighed, her head tipping back against her headboard as her eyes lifted to the ceiling. Her parents and siblings had never actually visited her in the United States, but, as she had frequently told others, that had been by design. It wasn't that her immediate family was dysfunctional, like her extended family, specifically Francis's family, happened to be; really, it was a wonder to her that Francis and some of her cousins had turned out as normal as they had. There had never been a doubt in Lucy's mind that her parents loved her, nor did she feel pressured to go into a certain field or walk a specific path that they felt was best. Of course, it helped that she had always been a high achiever, even as a teenager. She had never given her parents much of a reason to worry, outside of her decision to relocate across the pond -- but even that had turned out well, with her high education and impressive sounding government job title.
Unexpected pregnancy that came outside of wedlock, though, stepped outside of that box of things that her parents would have expected from her. While she wanted to think that they would be as supportive as ever, she didn't really know. They had always made noise about grandchildren when she spoke to them on Skype or visited London, but that always came with the caveat of a husband.
"Honestly, I don't know," she admitted, lifting the spoon to take another mouthful of peanut butter. She swallowed before continuing, her voice once again thick, "I want to say that they'll be supportive, but I can't guarantee that. And it's not as though I really need their support, but it would be nice to have. Besides, what if they decide to be too supportive?" At that, she straightened up and scrunched up her nose. "What if this is going to be the thing that makes them insist on me letting them actually come over here and visit?" For as much as Lucy loved her family, she loved her independence almost as much. The idea of having them in this life she'd cultivated on her own was worrisome.
“If they do,” he teased, shaking his head as she offered more peanut butter, “don't tell them I'm here.”
Lucy snorted, reaching for the Oreos and pulling the package toward her. "I'm not even going to tell them that Dunhaven exists."
“This is why you're my favorite,” he told her. He reached out and stole an Oreo. She was taking all of this far better than he had expected and he wondered if she would fall apart soon. His expression grew more serious as he chewed the cookie. “Have you decided what you want to do, Goose?”
Lucy breathed a sigh, her gaze on the chocolate cookie between her fingers. There were options, of course. The moment she saw the positive test, all of those options had flashed through her head. She didn't have to keep this baby and even had further options underneath that header, but she wanted to keep it. Even if Mikhail had wanted nothing to do with her or the baby, she was blessed with the means to not have to stress about the financial side of being a single mother -- and while that was only part of being a parent, she thought it had to have been a good start.
"I'm keeping it," she said, her voice quiet as her eyes moved from the Oreo to her flat stomach. One of her hands splayed over the expanse. "None of this is particularly ideal, but..." Her voice trailed off as she shrugged a shoulder, a bit of forced nonchalance that she had a feeling he'd be able to see through; if anyone could see through her airs, it was Francis.
Francis reached out and gave her hand a sympathetic squeeze, gaze steady on hers. “Luce. It’s alright to be going a little mad over this. You can be afraid. You are human.” She was the strongest person he knew, in his opinion, but she wasn’t invincible. No matter the financial resources, panic was a fair and logical first response.
"I'm not afraid," Lucy replied immediately, though there wasn't any offense in her voice. She knew that he was right. Panic had been her first response, which is what had led her to take more of the pregnancy tests. And, if she were to be honest with herself, there was still an undercurrent of panic within her that probably wouldn't settle until after she'd talked to Mikhail and got that confession out of the way. She hoped to god that he would be in town this weekend, because she didn't know if she could wait -- and she really didn't want to go to Minnesota to track him down.
"It will be easier once I tell him," she added, admitting to her thoughts. "It's not like I expect him to propose or even want to be in a relationship with me, but once he knows, that's one less thing that I have to worry about. He can either be involved or not at all. Knowing what he wants to do will make it easier for me to properly plan."
“He’s… not local, is he?” Francis asked curiously. That could complicate things, too.
"No, he isn't," Lucy confirmed, scrunching up her nose. "Forgive me for saying, but that was actually a bit ideal up until now. What we were doing was definitely not dating and was mostly kept to weekends or when he was around for a holiday or some work thing, so there wasn't any worry that he'd distract from work or anything else." She tipped her head back. "That worked well."
Francis chuckled softly. The two of them really were quite different. He hadn’t had zero casual encounters, but they’d been the exception. He’d certainly not had anything like what Lucy had with Mikhail, even when things were most casual with Olivia. He did not judge her or begrudge her for it, though. “Well, then it will be on him to step up to the challenge. Whatever he decides, though, Goose, I know you can do this. I think you’re going to make an incredible mum. And I get to spoil them and be the favorite, like with Elizabeth’s girls.” He playfully pinched her arm, hoping for a smile or even a laugh, though the truth was that he missed his nieces more than anything else back home.
"Don't you just get to be the favorite by default?" Lucy smiled, Francis's goal met. It didn't completely alleviate her worries, but just having him there certainly helped. There were days where she wondered how she had gone so many years without him in Dunhaven.
"And for what it's worth," she continued, reaching for the cover of the peanut butter and screwing the top back on it, "I don't think he won't be supportive. I could probably know him better, but he seems a good bloke. I know that he drives Annie a little crazy, but I think that simply comes with the territory of being a brother-in-law."
“I did not hate him, for the short minute you let me near him,” he teased. Francis was torn a little. He was trying to be supportive, but the part of him that was excited for her wasn’t small. They weren’t old, but they were no longer very young either. He would be there to support her in every way that he could, especially if the father wasn’t. “Hey, Luce? Whatever happens from here, you have me, alright? Anything you need.”
He hadn't needed to say it, of course. Their years of growing up together, cultivating the relationship that they had today that went beyond simply cousins and to the point in which Lucy often thought of Francis as more of her brother than she actually considered Pietro to be her brother, had always been filled with support and a direct lack of judgement. Though judgement was one of her more natural hobbies, he always escaped that -- teasing and a need to do extensive background checks into the girls he allowed in his life, notwithstanding. There had been no doubt in her mind that she'd be able to rely on Francis for support in this.
Still, it was nice to hear. Lucy bounced over once, her Oreos and peanut butter forgotten, so she could rest her head on Francis's shoulder. "I know," she murmured, releasing a sigh. "And I love you for it."
“I love you, too.” Francis put his arm around her shoulders loosely, knowing he wouldn't be allowed to move very much this evening and accepting it fully. Whatever fate had put him and Lucy in the same time American town was a true blessing. They were only at their best when they were together.
“Do you want to find something daft on the telly to mock?”
"Always," Lucy agreed, breathing out a sigh. She reached for the remote, perfectly content to find something brainless to take her mind off of everything that was going on. Thank the gods for reality television.