We could always go with Ruby
Who: Emma, Scott and Faiza What: Faiza does a gender test, and then there's curry! When: A few days ago? Where: Faiza's place Status: complete Rating: PG
Emma led the way up to Faiza’s door, carrying a casserole dish full of curry. It smelled amazing, which made her just a little jealous. She couldn’t cook something this nice on a whim. She had to move aside so Scott could knock on the door. She wasn’t nervous, which was something of a surprise. Most things about the baby made her nervous on some level. Maybe the baby’s sex just wasn’t a big enough thing to be nervous about, she’d love it no matter what it had between its legs.
Curry was a good choice. Few things Faiza loved as much as Curry. She opened the door and smiled cheerfully at the couple. “Do come in, ducks!”
Scott smiled back at her. “Thanks again, Faiza.”
Emma smiled back. “It’s lovely to see you under normal conditions.” She stepped inside, looking around a little. “Where would you like me to put this?” She made a motion with the dish to indicate what she meant.
“Oh my, that smells perfect!” She led Emma to the kitchen in order to get the food put on the table. Her house was an odd mixture of British things. She had a cricket club, a neatly arranged stack of robot parts and paintings of various parts of England and Pakistan throughout her home.
Emma admired the decor. It was eclectic, but she liked it all the same. “Yes, Nate is wonderful at everything he does. If I didn’t love him so much I’d probably have strangled him by now.” Emma laughed, to show that she was joking. “How have you been?”
“Pretty good, all around,” Faiza replied. “Perhaps in need of another holiday if you lot keep it up.”
“We try very hard to make sure your talents don’t get rusty,” Scott joked.
Emma laughed a little. “But it’s not our intention to keep you busy the way we have been. I’m thankful nothing’s exploded just yet. Maybe we’ll get some time to breathe.” She set the casserole down and took Scott’s hand. “Would you like to eat first, or get the working part of the evening out of the way?”
“There you go, now you’ve done it,” Faiza said, shaking her head. “Just wait, tomorrow Godzilla will rise from the sea.”
“I’d feel sorry for him.” Scott squeezed Emma’s hand back.
“Me too. Lets get the medical things out of the way, ducks. I tend to work up an appetite.”
Emma laughed at the Godzilla comment. She was pretty sure they could take a monster like that fairly easily. She gave Scott’s hand one last squeeze, then stepped closer to Faiza. “Ready when you are.”
“Well then!” And Faiza took Emma apart. She spun the woman around until she got to what she was looking for. It was actually pretty easy for her to tell.
“You have a wee little girl!”
Emma tried not to look at herself, because this was still pretty weird. She did smile when Faiza said they were having a girl. “That’s wonderful!”
She made a few minor, unnoticeable adjustments and then closed Emma up. “You should feel a little less morning sick for awhile, duck. I hope that helps. And congratulations!”
Scott looked between them, grinning like he’d won the lottery. Okay, really he’d grin like that in either case.
Emma hugged Faiza when she was put back together. “Thank you. Not just for this, you’ve been wonderful to all of us, even when we’re being ridiculous.” She couldn’t stop smiling either. Somehow it made this more real. They were going to have a baby girl. “If there’s anything at all we can ever do to help you you’ll let us know, right?”
Faiza soon found herself in a group hug, and laughed in delight. “She’s pretty adorable, if I do say so myself. She seems pretty healthy, you should be set for a December delivery.”
“Anything we can do for you, we’ll try,” Scott added.
“It’s quite all right. Just keep bribing me with that curry.”
“Of course.” Emma said with a laugh, taking Scott’s hand again. Their mental link was buzzing with Emma’s excitement. “I definitely think it’s time to enjoy the fruits of Nate’s labors.”
The doctor clapped her hands together and then bustled about breaking out plates and cups and serving. Because she was the host and she was going to serve and don’t you dare try to help Emma Frost and sit down right this minute!
Emma laughed and did as Faiza mentally commanded, still holding Scott’s hand tight. “Apparently he went to India directly for the spices for this thing. I’m wondering how that will affect the taste.” She assumed for the better.
“For the better, I assure you. There was this little place in London I used to go to all the time that imported from that corner of the world and it really was the best curry you could get outside of southwest asia.” Faiza put bowls in front of her guests, then spooned up some herself before taking a seat.
Scott scooted up against the table, his mind still racing over learning he would have a daughter. There was pain there, too. For Rachel, and for his grandson. Even a little for Nate. He almost wondered if it was fair to them to try to have a more ‘normal’ attempt at parenting.
Emma made a mental note of his fears. They’d need to be addressed, but not right now. Faiza deserved their full attention. “I’m looking forward to it, it smells divine.” She waited until Faiza was settled to take her first bite. It was very good, flavorful without being hideously spicy.
“It’s a bit mild, but then I like things hot enough to peel the paint of a car,” Faiza said, tone joking. “It’s really very good! You said Nate did this? I might have to kidnap him.”
“He’s our chef, you can get your own,” Scott countered.
Emma laughed. “I think I’d murder Nate if it was that spicy.” Of course, he’d probably make it as spicy as she wanted if he was cooking for her. “I think we’re going to have to guilt him into living with us for the rest of his life. I could never cook half the things he manages.”
“Indentured servitude? Or perhaps the right sorts of bribes.” Faiza winked at them, before she was too busy enjoying some damn good curry to talk.
Curry had never been one of Scott’s favorite things, but it was still pretty good, and he enjoyed it. Even with a nervous tick in his stomach.
Emma laughed. “One or the other. Whichever is more likely to keep him around.” She did her best to soothe Scott’s discomfort. She didn’t want to cover over his feelings, but he didn’t need to have an upset stomach the whole evening. “I suppose that is a somewhat evil step-mother thing to say, but I don’t think he minds.”
“You’re hardly the most evil step-mother I’ve ever seen.” Faiza gave her a wink. Really, Emma was nothing like she’d heard about in the dreams. Just more proof you couldn’t put stock in what they told you.
“We should just build him a house on the property.”
Emma laughed at that. “God, I’m not even sure where we’ll wind up, long term. Things have become complicated since Dani came back.” Which was unfortunate, really.
“It’s something to figure out,” Scott replied, nodding his head.
Faiza tilted her head, and nodded thoughtfully. Her feelings on Dani were complicated. There was part of her still angry for hurting Obi-wan, but otherwise she wasn’t sure how she should feel.
Emma noticed Faiza’s expression, but Scott was the one who spoke, so she addressed him first. “It is, and we’re no closer to a solution than we were before.” They really did need to have that dinner.
“I’m sure you’ll all figure it out. it’s just like treating an injury. Isolate the cause and then the appropriate medicine or fixes.”
Scott smiled. Leave it to Faiza to break it down to medical terms. “I suppose it is.”
Emma nodded. “It’s so simple when you say it like that. Of course, the body wants to heal, and people occasionally don’t.” It was the most insidious part of many mental issues. The affected person often didn’t see a point in wellness, or have a desire for it. Interpersonal relationships were even worse, in that regard.
"Oh, I'm well aware of that." She shook her head, a dry, displeased expression crossing her face. It went away when she took another bite of that curry. She put Obi out of her mind.
"We'll arrange something later," Scott promised. "After we think about names." He grinned at Emma.
Emma grinned back. “Yes. See, we’ve easily narrowed our options down by fifty percent. And if we don’t include any that start with ‘s’ or a soft ‘c’ sound we’ve cut out quite a few more.”
“Why not .. oh right, your last name.” Faiza grinned. “So no Samatha Summers, then?”
“Not in the slightlest,” Scott replied.
“Susan was a frontrunner, but I had to discard it.” She sounded a little sad about that. “I suppose picking out your children's names before you leave gradeschool isn’t the best plan, in the long run.”
“Susan Summers sounds like one of those actresses on Threes Company,” Faiza observed, covering her mouth with her hand.
Emma had to restrain a laugh as well. “Yes, unfortunately it does. But at least our name is generic enough that almost any name will sound good with it.”
“We could always go with Ruby,” Scott suggested. He’d heard the name somewhere, and kind of liked it.
Faiza glanced at Emma before making any sort of comment.
Emma hadn’t heard that name at all, yet. “I don’t know, it sounds like a stripper name. Ruby Summers?”
That did it. Faiza let out a laugh then covered her mouth. “She has a point, love.”
Scott rubbed at his temple. “You probably do. Last thing we want to do is encourage that.”
Emma blinked, turning to face Scott. “I missed something.” It wasn’t a question.
“Stripping. I don’t want to encourage that,” Scott replied. “I was making a joke.”
“It fell a bit flap,” Faiza noted, helpfully.
“No, why pick Ruby out of nowhere?” Emma clarified. “I got your joke, but not why you picked that name.”
Scott shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe I saw it somewhere. Just kind of floated up into my head.”
Emma shrugged. “Fair enough. You have some strange things jostling around in there, I shouldn’t be surprised when one of them floats to the top.” She winked at him and went back to eating. “Thank you for entertaining us, Faiza.”
“It’s been a delight, really.” Faiza winked at her. “Maybe I should have taken a picture of her for you, but she’s not quite ready for her portrait, I think.”
“That would probably be a little odd,” Scott agreed.
Emma snorted. “She probably still looks like a mutant shrimp. The pictures on those pregnancy countdown websites are truly bizarre.”
“Technically she’s probably at least one of those things,” Faiza said, cheerily.
“A shrimp?” Scott grinned.
Faiza laughed.
“God, I hope so. Finding a shrimp sitter is so much easier.” Emma said with a laugh.
Faiza nodded her head, and put down her spoon. “Just hope they don’t eat her. That’s a danger.”
“Just hope I don’t. I love shrimp.”
Emma couldn’t restrain her laughter anymore. It felt good to just be ridiculous and joke around, instead of things being so gravely serious. Maybe this world wouldn’t be much like the one in the dreams, after all.