InsaneJournal

Anything you want I can get you?
Who: Alma and Beth
What: “Honey, I’m pregnant!”
When: Before the plague?
Where: Shepard’s house
Status: complete
Rating: PG



Alma was waiting downstairs for Beth to come to Shepard’s house. She thought school would be closed tomorrow, and would return to the Ranch, but for tonight, she was here, and waiting for Beth.

Beth was nervous - Alma having news didn’t seem like it would be good, but she’d said it wasn’t bad. She was trying to trust that. She drove over to Shepard’s house as fast as she could, knocking on the door and trying not to bounce. It was her nervous tell.

"Do not be nervous," Alma said, taking Beth's hand to still her bouncing. She pulled her closer and kissed her, then shut the door. She pondered how to break the news she had for her lover. It was major, super duper news!

Sighing happily, Beth wrapped her arms around Alma and kissed her, pulling her down a little as she purred. “How’re you feeling?” The news was at the forefront of her mind, but she really wanted to make sure that Alma was okay first.

"I'm fine. Are you ill?" She touched Beth's forehead to assure herself of what she already knew. Aw, she was mom material already. "The only vomiting I've been doing is because of the baby."

Beth shook her head. “I’m fine. I’ve been staying at home, and now that I’m here, I think I’ll just stay here.” She kissed Alma’s forehead, smiling. “And you worried about being a good mom. You’re already a good mom.”

"You will be too." Alma ducked her head for a minute, then looked into Beth's eyes. "Do you remember how I had my third child? How she was conceived, in the dreams?"

“The mind thing?” Beth smiled, pulling Alma a little closer. “Why?”

“I believe, since my body was dead when I...” She couldn’t say it, so she skipped over the ‘R’ word. “With Michael, I used my powers to take his genetic material and combine it with my own. And that is what happened here. You are going to be a father.”

Beth’s eyes went wide, and she couldn’t help but grin. “Wait, what? You’re saying - “ She couldn’t help it, wrapping her arms around Alma, spinning her lightly as she picked her up. “She’s … us? Ours?”

"Yes. I confirmed it with Faiza, who was kind of enough check when she had a bit of time to rest." She wrapped her arms around Beth and started to grin. It was exactly what she'd wanted.

Beth did something she rarely did. She felt her eyes start to water and closed her eyes against the tears. “It’s what I wanted. More than anything, you know. I joked about it, but I really - “ She’d sort of thought it was a stupid wish, but apparently it had come true.

Alma laughed softly. She felt like she was ready to do this, especially now. She'd been a little afraid it would have been Zevran's, somehow. That would have been bad. And seeing and feeling Beth like this, she realized exactly how important it was to her. "We are too young to be parents, but we'll have help."

“We’re too young for a lot of things we’ve done, but here we are.” Beth smiled, closing her eyes. “I want to marry you, you know. I’ve been looking around at rings and everything.” She pet Alma’s hair, eyes closed. “All I know is that I’m happy. I don’t know if I’ve been happy before.”

Alma felt her eyes mist up, little tears starting to crawl down her cheek. She pressed closer. "I know. You have not. There was a well of loneliness inside you."

Beth leaned back, wiping Alma’s cheeks with her thumb. “Having someone who understands me does a lot to help.” She smiled, letting her forehead rest against Alma’s. “I want our little girl to have it better than we did.”

"We will make sure she does. She'll need a name..." Alma pulled Beth to the couch, and sat her down, then crawled into her lap. "We'll give her joy."

“We could even name her that.” Beth wrapped her arms around Alma, pulling her closer. “Joy is a good baby name.”

“Joy?” Alma frowned. It seemed like a good name, but something struck her as off about it. “I do not know. It feels too...short.” She wanted something elegant.

Beth smiled, kissing along Alma’s neck. “Mmm, you want something longer but pretty.” Beth wracked her brain. “I’ve always liked Elise.” She shrugged. “But I figured I’d end up naming a cat that someday. Never planned on having kids.”

"Elise....” It was pretty, and it sounded good on Alma’s tongue. She didn’t know many women, and had no female family to speak of. “I like that. Elise Cassidy.”

She wanted to take Beth’s name. She wanted to erase the last links she had to Harlan Wade.

“Alma Cassidy is pretty too.” Beth closed her eyes, running her fingers through Alma’s hair and rocking her gently. “Of course, you’re just pretty in general.”

Alma kissed at Beth’s neck, smiling happily to herself. “I like Alma Cassidy. I want your name. Not just because I want to get rid of mine.”

“Soon,” Beth smiled. “It’ll be a good birthday present for you.” Beth would think of something else to get her, but a wedding was a good start. The honeymoon would be awesome too. “Where do you want to go on our honeymoon, anyway?”

Alma sighed. She didn't want to wait nine months to take Beth's name, but she didn't think she could legally take it until she was eighteen. She wondered if she should take 'Wrex'. And then be Alma Wrex-Cassidy.

It sounded like a good compromise, and it would make Wrex happy too.

"I had not thought that far ahead. Although I just realized that we will spend most of the next year breaking a law."

“Not really. Age of consent in California is seventeen. Trust me, I know these things.” Beth winked at her girlfriend. She’d used that line on enough people in her past. She’d just never really cared before. She’d tell Wrex that if she had to as well.

“I thought it was eighteen.” Alma folded her arms, looking down at Beth and quirking her brows.

“Eighteen is legally an adult, age of consent for sexual activity is seventeen.” Beth smirked up at her girlfriend. “Wrex couldn’t call me in for statch even if he wanted to.”

"He would never, but he would threaten you," Alma confirmed. Her sources must have been wrong, then. Or Beth was being very very clever. Either way, it didn't matter. There was none who'd press charges, except maybe Harlan.

“He knows what we get up to. I think if I was a boy he’d be more upset, but I’m not.” Beth rubbed Alma’s shoulders lightly, kissing her gently. “Did you mean what you said? I can move here?”

"That's a double standard," Alma said, but she didn't seem to mind. "Yes! I already talked to Shepard, and Wrex. We can stay here during the week, and the Ranch on weekends."

Her eyes fluttered at the kiss, and she had to contain a sudden rush of joy.

“Well, yes, it is, but it’s not a big deal to me. I’m glad he likes me. He’s … I don’t know. I feel like he and Shepard are more my parents than my own are.” She cared more when they yelled at her than anyone else.

Once the kiss broke, she grinned. “My birthday’s on the ninth. I mean, that’s … soon. I should pack!”

Alma started to cling to Beth. “I do not know what I would be right now without you. I probably would have killed myself.”

Beth leaned back a little. “Don’t say that. Please. Because if something ever happened to me, I want to know that you and Elise are okay.” Beth kissed Alma’s eyelids, her nose, her cheeks. “I just want you to be happy, Pretty. That’s it.”

“Then nothing should happen to you,” Alma replied, her eyes watering. She dug her nails into Beth’s shoulders. “Please.”

“Nothing on purpose, Pretty.” Beth smiled, reaching up to cup her cheeks. “Shepard’s going to teach me some self defense things. I’m excited.”

“Good. I want you able to protect yourself, and when I’ll be too weak.” Alma nuzzled Beth’s hands, then closed her eyes. She amplified the sound of the baby’s heartbeat, so that Beth could hear it.

Beth bit her lip to keep from crying. “I want to protect you and Elise.” Especially now that she’d heard that little heartbeat. “I hope she looks like you, pretty. I really do.”

"I want her to have your natural hair," Alma admitted, stroking one finger along a stray tear. "And your figure."

Beth laughed. “I hate my natural hair color, it’s why I dye it. But it’d be pretty on a little girl. And I like your figure better, I’m too skinny.” Granted, a lot of it was from not eating much and working out even more.

"You're a sexy blonde." Alma's hand trailed dangerously close to areas between Beth's legs, then back up again. "I want to see you without the dye, some time. Just once." She looked down at her chest, and then chewed her lip. "You think so?"

“Maybe I’ll let it grow out when I graduate.” She figured college would be as good a time as ever to reinvent herself. Taking Alma’s free hand, she kissed the knuckles and smiled. “I know so. I’d rather have your body than mine. I don’t know, it’s pretty obvious I think you’re hot.”

"You would be sexy with a black punk hairdo." She was teasing, and half-serious, as she played with Beth's lips. "It was not obvious to me until recently, but my mind was typically elsewhere."

“You think?” Beth laughed, playfully biting at Alma’s fingertips. “Don’t get me wrong, studying and the pursuit of knowledge is awesome, but sexuality is important to life. It makes it better, I think.”

“I do not know what I did before I met you. Be boring I think.” She still liked all the things she liked before, she just had new likes and new things to do. It wasn’t like her libido had slowed down (if anything it had gotten worse), but she at least had an outlet, both emotionally and physically.

“You’ve never been boring, Alma.” Beth smiled and ran her fingernails gently up and down Alma’s arms, kissing her neck lightly. “You just have more ways to express yourself now.”

“I love you so much. I want to express that.” Her eyes flared with energy.

Beth smiled, leaning back. “Will you marry me when you turn eighteen? When we can?”

Alma tilted her head. "I thought we had already decided. Are you trying to make it official? Or be romantic?" She smiled shyly. "I would marry you today if we could."

“Both.” Beth blushed a little. “And yeah, me too. I’d marry you right now.”

Alma sighed. She wished they could before the baby was born, but that just wasn’t an option. She chewed her lip, and pressed her forehead against Beth’s. “We already are.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Beth murmured. “We just haven’t had the fancy party yet.” She ran her fingers lightly over Alma’s stomach. “Are you still a little queasy?”

"Sometimes. I think I'm start to have cravings though. Isn't it too soon for that?" She pressed Beth's hand against her stomach.

“It is. But you’re not exactly a standard pregnancy.” Beth’s fingers curled against Alma’s daughter, wondering if she was imagining the roundness there. “Anything you want I can get you?”

She tilted her head. “Watermelon. And sour cream.”

Beth’s nose wrinkled. “Hopefully not together, pretty.”

Alma darted her eyes and cleared her throat. "Of course not."

That made Beth laugh out loud. “Want me to run and grab you some? You can come with if you want.” She kissed her lightly, fingers curled into Alma’s hair.

“You need someone to keep the germs off of you,” Alma said. She didn’t move, though, staying in Beth’s lap as the cheerleader toyed with her hair.

“I’ll try and stay healthy,” Beth smiled. She kissed Alma’s jawline, smiling to herself, glad that they weren’t going anywhere any time soon.