I'm sorry if I scared you. Who: Artemis and Elias What: Dealing with the news When: 12.17.12 - Monday Afternoon Where: The Lasko Residence Warnings: Language, maybe
Elias had been pretty quiet on the way back home. He was trying to take in all the new information that he'd gotten that day, trying to process and deal with it accordingly. He wasn't upset, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little scared. He'd never really thought he'd bring any children into the world and now that he was faced with that reality, he wasn't even sure how to react, what to say or even what to do. It was a terrifying situation to be put in but he was far more concerned with Artemis at this point. They really needed to talk about how she felt about the whole thing. What she wanted to do. What she really wanted to do and not what she thought he wanted. They just needed to have a conversation. A heart to heart.
Once they were home and in their room, he took off his boots and his jacket and settled on the bed, back against the headboard and legs parted slightly because he wanted her close. "Come here, Emi," he murmured, beckoning her over. He knew she was freaking out just as much as he was.
Artemis had been just as quiet, staring out the window as Max drove, her fingers clutching Eli’s tightly. She was terrified, more scared about this than she’d ever been about anything her whole life. Maybe because yes, hunting scared her, but it also gave her a buzz, adrenaline racing through her veins. Right now she didn’t have that buzz, just the fear. The dread that something terrible was going to happen. That she was going to fuck this up, somehow. She kicked off her boots once they were upstairs, sliding out of her jeans a little gingerly. She was aching, enough that she just wanted to curl up in Eli’s arms and not move for a while. Crawling up onto the bed, she lay down between Eli’s legs, her back against his chest, curling his arms around her. Now she felt safe.
Elias kissed her neck, then her cheek, nuzzling his nose against her skin and closing his eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked her softly, knowing that she was sore to say the least. Those instruments hadn't exactly looked comfortable. He certainly didn't envy her at the moment. If he could have taken on the discomfort himself to rid her of it, he would have. Unfortunately that wasn't a choice for him.
Artemis let out a soft murring sound at Eli’s nuzzling, smiling gently. “I will be,” she murmured softly. “Just a little sore.” A little sore, and a lot freaked out, if she was honest. She stroked his forearms, his wrists, relaxing back against him bit by bit, turning to kiss his cheek, nuzzle warm skin in turn. “I’m sorry if I scared you,” she added. “I just...I needed you to be there. And there’s no good way of saying, ‘I’m at the hospital, come meet me’.”
He shook his head a little, giving her a little squeeze though not enough to cause her any more pain. "It's alright," he assured her. "I just... All the bad things possible rolled through my head and even imagining something bad happening to you makes me sick," he admitted, kissing her forehead and then her lips since she'd turned her head so perfectly. "I'm just glad that the problem's taken care of now before it became bigger or harder to correct." Before it became a threat to the baby. Their baby.
Artemis reached up a hand, cupping the back of his neck as she kissed him softly and sweetly. “I’m okay,” she assured him softly. “We’re okay.” She slid her hand over his, linking their fingers together, leading their joined hands down over her stomach. “You’re sure you want this?” She asked, hesitantly. “You want to have a baby with me?”
"I never honestly expected to have a baby with anyone," he admitted. "I always figured that if anyone of us had kids, it would be Max. I just didn't think that I was cut out to be a dad. Not with the way that life was for all of us. I didn't want to bring a kid into that but now...," he shrugged a little. "It's a little terrifying," he told her honestly. "To think of myself as being the person in charge of taking care of another life but I know that I don't want to end it before it starts. I don't want to give the baby up. I just know I can't expect you to just go along with what I think is right if it's not what you want."
She sighed, nodding. “I know what you mean,” she murmured. “about it being terrifying.” Because yeah, she was scared shitless. She shifted, turning to sit sideways, curled up against him, wanting to be able to look at him better. “I never planned on having kids either,” she said softly. “Figured I’d die hunting before I ever got that chance.” She bit her lip, looking at him. “I don’t want to get rid of the baby, either. I want this. With you. It’s your baby. Our baby. I couldn’t ever give that up.” Kissing him again, she pressed close to him, needing the reassurance of his touches, his arms around her.
She got the touches she wanted, his arms sliding around her, pulling her body in tighter against his own. "Plans change," he told her, eyes searching hers for a long moment. "If this wasn't supposed to happen, it wouldn't have. So we make adjustments. Figure out a new plan. We were hunters for crying out loud. If we can handle vampires and other things going bump in the night I think we can handle a baby." And truth be told, he was a little happy just because Max wasn't doing it all on his own. "And Max's twins'll have a playmate. They'll grow up more like siblings than cousins. Family is the important thing, right? We're just expanding our family."
Wrapping both arms around his shoulders, stroking his neck, Artemis smiled. “I don’t know,” she murmured. “I think I’d take a nest of vampires over night feeds and baby puke.” She was teasing. Mostly. “You sure you’re ready for this?” She kissed him softly. “You think I get bad mood swings around the full moon now, just wait until I get all cranky and hormonal...” Because yeah, even she knew that wasn’t going to be pretty. Not with her temperament. “I like the idea of our family getting bigger though. Of our baby and Max’s being the same age.” Being older than her sister, they hadn’t gotten along so well. If their kids’ relationship was more like Max and Eli’s, that same closeness...yeah, she could definitely get used to that.
He shook his head a little. "I love you, hormonal and bitchy or otherwise. Hell, that's part of why I love you. I can't imagine you being any way that the way that you are. And you've really gotten better since the broken nose incident," he smiled, stealing a kiss from her. "We can do this," he promised her. "It's not going to be easy. It's going to be scary and new and different," he sighed. "But we can do this."
“Mmmm, well that’s because you’ve got better at not trying to drug me,” she teased, stroking the nape of his neck gently. It wasn’t the most auspicious of beginnings to a relationship, but then they weren’t the most normal of people. And she did enjoy teasing him about it, now and then. She sighed, kissing him again, pressing him back into the pillows, against the headboard. “You know,” she murmured, lips against his, “this means we don’t have to worry about protection, for the next...oooh, eight months, three weeks or so.”
"Well now we've both got the hang of it. It'll be better for you and the baby to just sleep through the night instead of throwing yourself around," he said, nodding a little. Which would make him sleep better, that was for sure. He wanted the both of them safe by any means necessary. He grinned at her words about protection. "Okay, that's definitely a bright note if there ever was one," he smirked.
Artemis looked worried at that. She hadn’t even thought about what the full moon would mean for the baby, how her body shifting might affect things. “You’re gonna do research, right?” she asked. “Because I have no fucking clue how normal people do this, let alone cursed weres.” She murred softly, nuzzling at his cheek, his throat, cuddling impossibly closer to him.
"Yes, baby," he promised her. "I'll do all the research you want." Not just for her but for himself as well. "From what I know, babies inside of weres are still attached to the parent so even if they're not weres they'd shift as well. I'm not worried about that part. I'll check with Cath to see if the potion that we've been using for you will be safe for the baby but I'm pretty sure it is. I can give him a call though. I know it's his honeymoon but it's not as though it's not an emergency." The full moon was coming up soon and he wasn't going to take any chances.
Artemis nodded. “If not...I can go to Mercy.” She really didn’t want to have to, but given the choice between shutting herself up in a cage, and risking their baby by taking Cath’s potion and stepping into the containment circle that was set up in the garage..well, that was no choice at all. She didn’t quite trust the containment circle alone, to keep her contained. And there was no way she’d be comfortable, that close to Jayne, to Jude, and the Laskos.
"We'll figure something out," he told her. "Cath is supposed to be back right after Christmas. So if I call him tomorrow, that'll give him time to find out if the potion is baby safe and if it's not maybe he can figure out a new potion that will be safe but just as effective. It'll be okay. I'll take care of it." He didn't want her to go to the nightclub either. He couldn't stay with her if she was there. He couldn't make sure she was safe. He didn't want that. It would be a last option if no other path worked.
“You always do,” Artemis murmured, smiling softly. She kissed Elias again, cuddling in against him, purring softly. “I love you,” she breathed, nuzzling her nose against his, her eyes slipping closed. Nipping gently at his lower lip, she deepened the kiss, needing the reassurance. Sex was out, for a day or two, but hell, Eli still made her feel good. And more touches, more kisses, were just what she needed right now.
"I love you too," he breathed in response, pulling her closer to him and returning that kiss. So maybe sex would be out until she felt less sore but that was fine by him. He could cuddle with her instead, hold onto her and make her feel better. And really that was all he wanted to do at that moment anyway. So he focused on kissing her and trying to convey every bit of love he had for her in that simple liplock. He'd never be able to, of course, but at least he could try.
“Parents, baby,” she breathed against his lips, somewhere between terrified and thrilled. “We’re gonna be parents.” she leant her forehead against his, smiling softly, her hands still stroking his neck, holding him close. She couldn’t believe it. It felt like it was still sinking in. And yes, they wouldn’t know for sure until they’d done the test, but considering two separate weres - one of them a doctor - had told her that she was pregnant, she was willing to trust them.
He smiled a little at her words, liking that she was smiling despite knowing how scared she was. "Parents," he agreed, nodding a little and stealing another little kiss. "You're going to be a great mother," he whispered. "We're in this together. Guess I should be thanking you for being such a pain in my ass," he teased.
She laughed softly, swatting him round the back of the head, gently. “You love me being a pain in your ass,” she murmured, pressing their lips together once more, tongue flicking out to tease at his mouth, deepening the kiss little by little. She sighed, pressing tighter against him, twisting so that her breasts pressed against him, her arms wound around his neck. “I’m still sore,” she murmured against his lips. “I think you should kiss it better.” She smirked a little, sucking gently on his lower lip, purring softly.
He arched a brow at her words. "Oh yeah?" he asked her. "You think I should, huh?" Not that he was complaining of course. If that was what she wanted, he was prepared to come through in fine fashion for her. "You sure you're up for it?" he questioned, stealing another kiss, nipping at her lower lip, sliding his hand over her cheek and back into her hair.
Purring throatily, she arched against him, eyes slipping half-closed as his fingers ran through her hair. “Yeah,” she breathed. “Been feeling so horny all day...” she bit her lip, looking at him through her lashes. “Why’d you think I was dressed like this?” Because yeah, she normally put a bra on. And wore jeans that weren’t quite so skintight. This was her on-the-prowl outfit, and she’d worn it mostly to torture Eli with when she met him at the Inn. “Should be fine, as long as you’re gentle,” she breathed.
That got a smirk from him. He slid down the bed a little until he was laying on his back head against the pillows. "Then how bout you get rid of those panties?" he said. "And come here so I can take care of you." And take care of her he would. Gently of course. At least for now. They had the next eight months to be a little rough.