Who: Todd Rhone and Morgan Kennedy What: A surprise! Where: Their home in Savannah, Georgia When: Thursday evening, July 28, 2011 Warnings: TBD? Also this is half-logged and half-not, because we sort of fail at checking gdocs these days. WHATEVA WHATEVA WE DO WHAT WE WANT.
As he pulled into the driveway after a long day of training, Todd couldn’t help but stifle a yawn. He hadn’t meant to stay at the castle so long, but with the difference in time zones it was hard to keep track sometimes, and Todd was never that good at telling time anyway. By the time he took the MTN back to Georgia, the sun was already beginning to set, casting a pinkish glow through the Spanish moss hanging on all the trees. This was his favorite time of day, he thought as he closed the car door behind him, surveying the skyline. It was still hot as hell – always was here in Savannah – but a cold beer and someone to share it with easily took care of that. There was nothing he loved better than to sit on the porch and watch the sun set with the woman he was going to marry. And now that he could actually do that again? He loved it even more.
Smiling contentedly, Todd started making his way up the path to the front door, but his thoughts were interrupted by none other than his one-year-old daughter, Emma. She came out of nowhere, flying down the porch steps and screaming, “Daddy!” at the top of her lungs, and Todd caught her in his arms with a wide grin and an easy laugh, throwing her high up into the sky and catching her once more. Every day she waited for him, every day since he’d come home to stay, and this had become a routine for them, a routine they both loved, and for similar reasons, too. Emma loved it because she had her daddy again, and Todd because he knew what is was like to come home to an empty apartment, full of nothing but silence. This he preferred. This he would do anything to keep. Nothing mattered more to Todd than his family, and he would never, ever take them for granted again. Not as long as he lived.
Giving his daughter a kiss on the forehead, he held her in one arm and started into the house, asking, “Where’s mommy, sweetheart?” Emma pointed inside and whispered something like “baffroom” as she started pulling on his hair. That only made him smile, and he plopped the two of them down on the couch, kicking his shoes off once they were settled. “Well, then. Guess we’ll have to wait here for her, huh?” Emma wasn’t really one for waiting, though. As soon as he was settled, she made a face and wriggled out of his grasp, toddling over to one of her toys that was littering the floor. Todd sighed, still smiling. “Okay, then. I’ll wait.”
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Morgan had left the door to the bathroom open so she could at least keep half an eye on Emma while she unceremoniously threw up most of her lunch. This was always the first thing in a long string of things that she hated about pregnancy, but she could hardly believe this stage was already here. It seemed like just days ago she was at the doctor’s office getting a routine check up when she’d been told the news. News that she still had yet to share with Todd, and at this point she wasn’t sure why she was keeping it from him anymore. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him to know, or that she was afraid he’d react badly to the news. All Sawyerisms aside, Todd really was the ideal father figure. He was great with Emma, and Morgan knew if anything once the shock of the news had passed he’d be happy about it. But that didn’t stop the sinking feeling in her gut from staying firmly put for the past couple weeks while she debated when and how to tell him. She knew that no matter what they’d be okay, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were moving too fast again. First the engagement and now this? Morgan knew it was stupid to even worry, Todd hadn’t even known she was pregnant the second time he proposed. How could that have even played into his decision?
It couldn’t. And it was definitely time for her to stop being so neurotic about this. (Right, because Morgan Kennedy would ever stop being neurotic about anything) She had to tell him before she actually started to show, because then she wouldn’t even be able to explain away her delaying in telling him without starting a fight. When she heard Todd’s voice echoing from the front of the house and Emma careening across the floor to him Morgan groaned over the toiled seat, swaying a little as she made an attempt to stand. Once she’d finally managed to get up she flushed the toiled, splashed cold water on her face and brushed her teeth so it wasn’t completely obvious she’d just been in there puking her guts out.
“Well I guess that explains all the commotion. You know she’s always so well behaved until you get home. Bad influence.” Morgan smiled, emerging from the bathroom and crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the door frame that led into the living room. She knew Todd had been at Camelot head quarters all afternoon and while she knew it was useless to do so, she worried anyway. Especially when he was gone for so long on that kind of business. You never really knew what could happen when you worked for Camelot. “Everything okay?”
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“Really? And here I thought she took after you...” Todd shot back, smiling over his shoulder as Morgan entered the room. Now that she was here, he didn’t waste another second – indeed, he hardly wasted anything these days, after so many months of nothing but wasted time – before he stood back up and went over to her, placing a gentle but loving kiss on her lips as he took her into his arms. He always felt huge around Morgan; she wasn’t petite or doll-like in any way, but she was just small enough to make him feel too tall, too gangly, too awkward. When they’d first started dating in college, he’d literally tripped over himself more than once to open doors for her. It was definitely a good thing he’d gotten past that semi-permanent state of nervousness when he was around her. Now there was no one on earth he was more comfortable around, rough patches aside. Or maybe it was because of their rough patches that he felt this way now. They’d been through the worst of it, hadn’t they? Now things could only get better...
“Yeah, baby. Everything’s fine. Just more of the same, you know. Cabin fever.” It wasn’t exactly news that everyone in Camelot was getting a little restless. The Resistance had been more active than usual lately, recruiting with a vengeance, it seemed, yet Camelot was still preparing. For what, Todd didn’t know. That was way above his pay grade, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know, either. He wasn’t a fan of doing nothing when action was called for, but at the same time he wasn’t quite sure if he was ready for that. Camelot came first for most if not all of its members. Not for Todd. When it came right down to it, his family came first, always.
And speaking of... he pulled from Morgan slightly, frowning as he noticed how clammy she felt. She looked pale, too. And was she actually leaning on him? He kept his hands planting firmly on her waist as he looked her over, a gnawing feeling of unease taking hold at the base of his stomach. “Enough about me. You don’t look so good, honey. What’s wrong?”