Dr. Susan (Storm) Richards ∞ Invisible Woman (drsusanrichards) wrote in newalliance, @ 2012-06-18 13:12:00 |
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Entry tags: | invisible woman, mr. fantastic |
Who: Sue and Reed Richards
When: June 17, 2012
Where: Starts briefly at store that sells greeting cards, then moves to Reed's lab in the Baxter Building.
What: What better day to tell someone they're going to be a Daddy is there than Father's Day?
Rating: G.
Sue had butterflies in her stomach as she selected a card from the display and got in line at the cash to pay for it.
There were a lot of people buying cards today. She really hoped no one recognized her. It helped that she wasn’t wearing any make-up today, and was doing everything she could not to stand out. When she made to the front, Nancy, the middle-aged woman manning the register, smiled at her. She had a rotund figure and a kind smile.
“Congratulations,” she said.
“Thank you,” Sue said softly. It occurred to her that she would be saying that a lot in the future. That felt surreal.
Card in hand, she exited the store, and headed for home. It was a good way to break the news to Reed that they were going to be parents, Sue thought, considering that it was Father’s Day. She was glad she’d decided to stop, and go in.
The walk had been a good idea, too. Sue had needed the time to herself to process the fact that the blood test had confirmed the positive pregnancy test.
She was pregnant. That moment changed her life forever. Sue had gone through some pretty life-changing experiences, ones that had that forever effect; but few of them had been so deeply personal and... awe-inducing as this one. She knew most women wouldn’t have taken that step to get a blood test until they’d consulted their OB/GYN, but most women weren’t doctors with 24/7 access to their own medical lab. Plus, Sue couldn’t wait. She’d needed that it was absolutely certain, and not a false positive.
This was everything Sue had told Reed she wanted for them a few months ago. They’d begun to plan for it, too. Dr. MacTaggert had been very helpful in helping them determining what effects their powers could have. She hadn’t expected expected things to go right so soon, though. That was okay. Together, she and Reed could do anything.
Everything was about this was good, Sue told herself as she returned to the Baxter Building. Their doorman was good-natured, and had a cheery greeting for her, “Back already, Mrs. Richards?”
“Just needed a walk to clear my head, Brian,” she said, with a smile. She liked Brian. He was a dear old fellow.
“You should think about getting a dog,” Brian said, “Keep you company on those walks.”
Sue had a sudden vision of her life 9 months from now: Ben and Johnny having a heated disagreement, Reed asking her where he left something very critical to his current experiment which would explode the lab if he didn’t find it immediately, a dog wanting to play, and a crying infant demanding her attention.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, vaguely. “I think we’ve got our hands full as it is. Give my love to Patty, won’t you?”
Sue did her best to extra nice to all support staff at the Baxter Building, and sometimes she’d even stop and take time to chat with some of the tenants. But today she was glad to find the elevator empty when she entered it. She decided to go directly to the floor where Reed’s lab was located, because there was no point in going anywhere else. Sue knew that was where she would find him. The truth was If it weren’t for her and the fact that they were married, Reed would live in his lab.
She’d once told him, when they were still dating, that it was lucky for her that evolution had ensured that biology would always trump all the other sciences eventually. And then she’d proceeded to have her wicked, wicked way with him. The memory made her smile. Sue had been a biology student.
Sue placed a hand on her abdomen, perfectly flat and toned, and wondered at the miracles biology could create. That’s what had drawn her to the subject at the age of 8: the desire to understand how science could be responsible for the miracle that was life, and living things.
That was after she’d had the crushing (but very mature for her age) realization that she was never going to be a physicist. She’d married one instead.
Sue took a few minutes, before she entered the lab, to make a slight change to the card, and write a personal, heartfelt message inside. She meant every word.
As always, the green light and the doors opening announced her arrival before she spoke.
“One of these days,” Sue said, “I’m going to come home, and I’m not going to find you in the lab,”
Reed,
The day I became Mrs. Fantastic was the happiest of my life. Thank you for giving me everything I could ever want. I love you with all my heart, and I already know I love this baby even more because (s)he's ours. There's no one else in this world I could picture as the father of my children, or that I'd want to do this with. Parenthood is something that's going to be for the rest of our lives, and since I plan on being with you for the rest of mine, I'm not worried. Together, we can do anything.
All my love, always,
Susan
XOXOXOXO