#gonna have some nibbles in my office (bathroom) and maybe watch a silly video while i recaffeinate

[trashbaget]

yknow, i used to have purpose all nighters down to a science and i dno if that makes me feel better or worse that i don’t know where i was going with this post but anyway—

[lastbluetardis]

And Baby Makes Three (2/6)

And here we are! The next installment of my Perfectly Matched series, where James and Rose begin the new adventure that is parenthood!

Ten x Rose, Soulmates AU, Teen

With the decision to try for a baby made, James and Rose eagerly look forward to this newest chapter of their lives.

AO3 | TSP | FF | Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Epilogue

“So, there’s this cool new video we want you guys to watch,” James said after he cleared away the dishes from dinner. “Rose, can you grab my mobile?”

“Got mine,” she said, biting her lip to hide a smile.

“What’s this video, then?” Jackie asked. “It’s not one of those silly science explosion videos, is it?

“Oi! While those are cool, this is cooler. You’ll love it,” James promised, eagerly standing behind his dad and Jackie as they scooted their chairs closer to crowd around Rose’s phone.

“Everyone ready?” she asked, turning up the volume on the phone.

She pressed the play button, and James stared reverently at the screen as a grainy image of a moving gray and white blob appeared, and a rapid whump-whump-whump sound filled the room. He felt his heart stutter in response, as in love with the sound as he was six weeks ago when he’d first heard it.

“Is this… are you…?”

A slow smile split Robert’s face just as Jackie shrieked, “Oh, my God, you’re pregnant! This is my grandbaby! Isn’t it? I swear to God, if you’re messing about…”

“Yes, we’re pregnant, Mum,” Rose assured, letting Jackie yank her mobile out of her hand.

Rose leaned back in her chair, and James came up behind her to wrap his arms around her neck as they both watched the grandparents-to-be fawn over the video of their baby’s latest ultrasound.

“Congratulations, you two!” Robert said, taking off his glasses before standing up to embrace his kids. “This is wonderful news!”

“How far along are you?” Jackie asked, setting Rose’s phone down on the table. “Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl? When are you due? Oh, this is such a surprise!”

“Thanks, Mum,” Rose said, leaning into her mother’s arms. She stood then and lifted her jumper far enough to reveal the small bump beginning to form between her hips. “About fourteen weeks gone. My doctor says I’m due around December seventeenth. Early Christmas present.”

“Fourteen weeks, and you haven’t told me?” Jackie demanded, even as she reached out and rested her hand on Rose’s stomach.

“Well, we wanted to wait until the first trimester was over. Y’know… just in case…”

Her eyes flickered to Robert, and his face softened in understanding; he and Vera had announced the pregnancy far too soon with their first one, and the condolences of their friends and family after the miscarriage had made the pain of their loss more stinging.

“We don’t know if it’s a little girl or boy yet,” James said, slowly massaging Rose’s shoulders as he watched his father and his mother-in-law touch Rose’s baby bump. “It’s a bit too soon yet to get an accurate prediction. Hopefully at next month’s appointment we can find out. If that’s what you want, too, of course, Rose.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to know the sex?” Jackie asked. “We need to know if we’re buying pink things or blue things!”

“Well, I’m not entirely certain—I am new to this whole parenting thing, after all—but I don’t think newborns particularly care about the color of their onesie,” James drawled.

Jackie rolled her eyes and muttered something about a “stupid plum”, before she asked, “And how are you feeling, sweetheart? Any nausea? Any weird cravings?”

“Not really,” Rose asked, glancing up at James to confirm. “If I didn’t know any better, I wouldn’t even realize I was pregnant.”

“You’re a little tired more often,” James countered, caressing the back of her neck with his thumbs. “But yeah, so far we’ve lucked out of most of the worst pregnancy symptoms.”

“‘We’?” Jackie scoffed. “Rose has lucked out of the pregnancy symptoms.”

“Oi, he’s going through this, too!” Rose snapped, covering James’s hand with hers when she felt him stiffen. She knew he already felt useless that he couldn’t help care for their baby yet, and she would not have her mother make him feel bad about it either.

“Anyways,” Robert said, trying to direct the conversation back to the happy occasion it was. “Doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or girl, does it? S’long as it’s healthy. I am so happy and excited for you two.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Rose whispered, tilting her head up as he bent down to peck a kiss to her cheek.

Their parents left shortly afterwards, still reeling and giddy from the revelation that they were to be grandparents.

Robert made a pit stop in town before driving home to his flat, making his weekly errand a day early.

When he returned home a little while later with the small bouquet he had purchased, he immediately went to his bedroom and to the vase he kept on the bedside stand on the right side of the bed. He stuck the stems into the vase and filled it with water and the plant food, and he fretted over the flowers, arranging them until they were just perfect.

He then sat down on the edge of the bed and let his gaze linger on the bi-fold photo frame that contained his favorite photo of him and Vera at their wedding, and the photograph of him, Vera, and James at Napa Valley a few weeks before the accident.

He sighed and touched his fingertips to the small cylindrical pendant where he’d saved some of his wife’s ashes.

“Hey, darling,” he murmured. “Happy Saturday. A day early, I know. I have a good excuse this time. I went ‘round to James and Rose’s tonight for dinner, and you’ll never believe it. Our little boy is expecting a little one of his own! Mad, isn’t it? He and Rose are so excited. Oh, you’d be so proud of them, love. I sure am. Anyways. Listen to me, nattering on. Just wanted to tell you the good news. I’m gonna be a grandad. Can’t wait.”

Robert pressed a kiss to his fingertips and touched them to the pendant. “Love you, darling. Miss you.”

oOoOo

Telling their parents that not only were they pregnant, but that Rose was hardly having any of the typical pregnancy symptoms seemed to tempt fate. James awoke the morning after the dinner with their parents to the sound of retching coming from their bathroom.

“Rose?” he asked, vaulting out of bed and rushing to her side. He crouched down beside her as she braced her forehead in her hand and her elbow on the toilet seat as she caught her breath. “All right, love?”

“Guess I jinxed it by saying I wasn’t having any morning sickness,” she mumbled.

“Come on,” James murmured. “Let’s get you back into bed. Do you feel like eating anything?”

Rose scrunched her nose and said, “Please, no food.”

James furrowed his brow and rested the backs of his fingers against her forehead. She felt a little warm, but not warm enough to cause concern.

“All right, then,” he whispered. “Bed, or do you want to rest on the couch?”

“Shower,” she countered, pushing herself to her feet.

“Do you need any help?” James asked, steadying her with an arm around her waist.

“You just want to see me naked,” she teased, poking her tongue out at him.

He snorted. “Must be feeling all right if you can joke about sex. Seriously, though. I don’t want you passing out.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine,” Rose said. “Keep the door open. I’ll shout if I need you.”

James nodded and pressed a kiss to her temple before stepping out of their en suite to start on breakfast. Rose said she didn’t want anything, but maybe she’d change her mind after a shower, so James set about making foods that would hopefully be easy on her stomach.

He nibbled at a slice of toast as he waited for the kettle to boil and the eggs to fry, all while keeping his ears peeled for a shout from Rose. He exhaled in relief when he heard her coming downstairs.

“God, what’s that smell?”

Rose entered the kitchen with her arm covering her nose.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, glancing around at the food.

“I don’t know. Making me dizzy,” she said apologetically, before she retreated from the kitchen and down the hall to the home office.

James cursed under his breath and opened up the windows to try and air out the flat before taking off after her.

“Rose, I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t realize the smell would bother you so much.”

“S’all right,” she sighed. “Hasn’t bothered me before now. You couldn’t’ve known.”

“Still feel bad,” he whispered, sitting down on the sofa beside her. “Can I get you anything?”

“Really not hungry,” she answered. “Maybe later.”

“Cuppa tea?” he asked. “You need to stay hydrated. I’ve stocked up on peppermint tea. Think that’ll help?”

“Sure. Let’s give it a try. Maybe lunch will sound more appetizing.”

Lunch time came and went, and Rose was still half nauseous and completely uninterested in food and elected to continue napping on the couch as random Netflix films cycled through on the TV.

“Please, love, you need to eat,” James pleaded at dinnertime, raking his fingers through his hair as he rifled through their cabinets. “Soup? Crackers? A sandwich? I can go out and pick something up. Anything at all.”

“M’not hungry,” Rose mumbled, pulling a blanket over her head as she tried to not even think of food lest her stomach roll more than it already was. “Just let me sleep. M’tired.”

“Because you haven’t eaten all day!” he exploded. “This is scaring me!”

“Well, I’m sorry, but anything I swallow down is gonna come right back up!” she snapped. “Just let me rest, James! If I still can’t eat in the morning, we can phone the doctor.”

James groaned in frustration and let the pantry door slam shut. He went through all of the cupboards and the fridge again, hoping to come across something Rose could stomach. A quick pass of the top of the fridge found him a food that could pass as his dinner, and he peeled his banana and munched on it as he glared at the wall.

“James, relax,” Rose said, walking into the kitchen to presumably refill her mug. “I feel fine. Mostly. Stop worrying.”

“Impossible,” he said. He filled the kettle, flicked it on, and took another bite before saying, “I will always worry about you. And our child.”

But Rose wasn’t listening to him. She instead was staring at the fruit in his hand with an odd look on her face.

“Rose?” He followed her line of sight, and cringed when he realized what he was eating. Rose disliked bananas on a normal day; seeing and smelling one today probably set her off again. “I’m sorry, I’ll take this to another room.”

“No, don’t,” she said, walking up to him. “I’m… I dunno. Hang on…”

She pinched off a piece of his banana, and James watched with a raised eyebrow as she licked it off her finger.

“Ehm, Rose?”

“Can I have a bite?” she asked shyly, sucking on her finger to get all of the banana off.

James laughed in relief and thrust the rest of his banana at her.

“You can have the rest if it means you’ll eat,” he said, and he beamed when she scarfed down the whole thing. “Want another?”

“Yes, please,” she said, tossing the peel in the trash. “How many more have we got?”

“Two,” James said, peeling one for her. “But believe me, I will go and buy out all of Oxford’s grocers if it’s something you’ll eat.”

Rose laughed at him, and took her banana and refilled mug of tea back to the living room.

While her sickness wasn’t as dramatic as it was that first day, Rose was disheartened to find she still felt ill in the mornings and was completely turned off of her favorite foods. James, while pleased that she was eating more regularly, grew concerned that she wasn’t getting the proper nutrients she needed from meals that were mostly comprised of bananas and peanut butter.

He’d made a note to check with their doctor about how to better supplement her diet, but a few days before Rose’s twenty-week appointment, her finicky stomach cleared up.

They still informed Doctor Ashwood, though, just to make sure nothing was amiss. But the doctor proclaimed that both mother and baby were as healthy as they could be.

“All right, now,” the doctor said as she set up her computer for an ultrasound scan. “Ready to find out if you’re having a little boy or girl?”

“Yes!”

James clutched Rose’s hand tight as they watched the grainy image of their baby appear on the screen. His son or his daughter…

“Congratulations,” the doctor said with a grin. “You’re having a little girl.”

A girl! A little girl! His daughter!

James choked out a delighted laugh and wrapped his arm around Rose’s shoulders. They were having a baby daughter!

“Hope she looks just like you,” he murmured when they got home, a new sonogram photo in hand. “My two precious girls.”

“Nah, I hope she gets some of you,” Rose countered. “Your freckles, for one. And your hair.”

“It is pretty great hair, isn’t it?” he preened, tilting his head to the side to tickle her nose with the strands.

The sound of her giggles made warmth bubble deep in his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her to hold her close. God, he loved her. And he loved their little girl so much, too.

He was so excited to meet her, to hold her, and to make her laugh as often as he could. There was so much waiting for her in the world, and he couldn’t wait to explore it with his daughter.

oOoOo

Rose cursed as she stretched out her fingers, wincing at how tight the skin felt.

“C’mon,” she growled, twisting her rings around her fingers to get them on. She’d taken them off the night before when she noticed the bands were cutting into her skin, but she couldn’t seem to get them back on, and she was getting frustrated with trying.

“All right?” James asked, stepping into their room in his boxers as he rubbed a towel through his damp hair.

“No,” she grumbled, still working at the metal. “Rings won’t go on.”

“Let me see?”

He stepped up in front of her and took her hands in his. She’d managed to work her wedding and engagement rings down to the knuckle, and they were already compressing into her skin.

“Sorry, love,” he whispered, kissing the back of her hand before he wiggled the rings off her finger.

“No!” Rose snapped. “Give those to me. I’ll get them on.”

“If you get them on, you’ll never get them off again. They’ll cut off circulation to your fingers and they’ll swell even more than they are already,” James soothed.

“Got bloody sausage fingers,” Rose mumbled, furiously blinking away the stinging in her eyes.

“Cute sausages, though,” James said, giving her hands a squeeze.

“I just want to wear my rings,” Rose whimpered, and James startled when her voice cracked with tears.

“Rose, it’s not a big deal,” he promised, sitting down on the bed beside her. “You not wearing your rings doesn’t make us any less married. Your body is changing, is all. It’s producing loads of blood and fluid to help our little girl grow and thrive, and it’s softening you up in preparation for our daughter’s birth. Your body is doing such an amazing thing, it’s beautiful.”

Rose sniffled and tucked her head under his chin.

“I suppose it is, yeah,” she agreed, brushing her fingertips across her growing belly.

“It is,” he said firmly. “I would help you, if I could, but I can’t do much apart from keeping you comfy and happy.”

“You’re doing brilliantly,” she assured when she heard the frustration in his voice. “You’ve been taking such good care of me. You spoil me.”

“Well, you deserve it,” he said simply, giving her a quick squeeze. “Are you up for a bit of shopping today? We can tick off a few more supplies for the baby, and we can get you some more clothes, if you want?”

“Yeah, sure,” Rose said, reluctantly setting her rings on her bedside table. “Can you do me a favor and grab my sandals for me?”

James moved to the corner of the room and found her shoes before he dropped to his knees in front of her and started slipping them on.

Just as he got the second shoe on her, Rose felt her stomach roll. Not as though she were about to be sick, but more like she was hungry. But she wasn’t hungry; she and James had just finished up their breakfast. Muscle spasms, maybe?

The spasm happened again, in a different spot, and Rose gasped when she realized what it was. She pressed her hand to her belly as the rippling sensation fluttered through her again.

“What? What is it? Are you all right? Rose? Rose, talk to me!” James pleaded, balling his hands into fists against her thighs.

“I felt her move!” Rose whispered excitedly. She reached down for his hand and pulled it to her stomach, resting it where she last felt movement. “I can feel her, James!”

Wonder and awe slackened his face, and he pressed his palm to her stomach.

“I can’t feel anything,” he said, frustrated.

“Hang on…”

Rose pressed her fingertips to her belly, looking for the twitching spasm, and when she found it, she quickly replaced her fingers with James’s.

“Right there,” she said. “Feels a bit like a muscle spasm. But it’s not.”

“Oh!” he whispered, looking up at her with amazement shining in his eyes. “Rose!”

“Feel her?” she grinned.

“I do! Oh, Rose! This is… She’s…”

James stood up and pressed a hard kiss to her mouth. Rose buried her fingers in his hair and massaged his scalp as she lost herself to the pleasure of the kiss.

The summer marched on, with James and Rose gradually stocking up on baby supplies while simultaneously searching for a new home. They finally found a small bungalow in a quaint neighborhood just outside the city limits. It seemed perfect for what they needed, and it even had an extra bedroom if they decided to expand their family further.

A few days after the start of autumn found them signing the paperwork for a mortgage and the deed to the house. Their first proper house.

“Oh, it’s perfect,” Rose sighed as she and James walked through the house that was only half-unpacked.

“It is, isn’t it?” he murmured, wrapping his arm around her waist and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. He rested his hand on her swollen stomach and whispered, “Welcome home, my loves.”

oOoOo

James grunted in her ear as he stiffened above her, trembling and moaning lowly through his release. Rose cradled him against her, murmuring words of love into his ear as she stroked his back with her fingers and his bum with her feet.

He lowered his weight carefully, keeping most of it off of her as he nuzzled into her neck. She loved seeing him like this, completely consumed by pleasure and bliss, and while she didn’t join him in it, she still enjoyed seeing him lost to it.

“Love you,” he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek before he lifted up and began to roll off of her.

He paused though, and his eyes flitted across her face.

“Didn’t you come?” he asked, furrowing his brow.

“Nah, didn’t need to,” she assured.

His frown deepened as he said, “Are you sure? I can go down…?”

Rose shook her head and reached out to keep him from dropping between her thighs. At nearly seven months pregnant, she really wasn’t all that interested in sex. She was just too uncomfortable to completely enjoy it, or relax enough to derive pleasure from it.

“I’m fine, James,” she said. “I don’t need to finish to have fun with it. As long as you enjoyed it, that’s good enough for me.”

James’s lips pressed into a thin line as he silently crawled off of her and walked to their en suite. Rose sighed and scrubbed her hands across her face; she hoped she hadn’t dented his ego too badly, but she just wasn’t in the mood—for sex or for telling him that she wasn’t interested in sex.

James returned a moment later with a warm flannel, and he gently wiped her clean, and the tenderness behind his motions reassured her slightly. However, when he crawled back into bed and lay stiffly on his back, that relief was gone.

She shifted to her side and rested her hand against his stomach.

“Talk to me, love,” she murmured, rubbing slow circles into his skin with her thumb.

He was silent for several long moments, and Rose kept caressing his ribs as she waited for him to tell her what was bothering him.

Her patience was rewarded a minute later when he whispered, “Did I just… force myself on you?”

The agony in his voice lanced through her, and she moved her hand up to cup his cheek, tilting his head towards her so she could look him in the eye. The misery in his face made a hard knot lodge in her chest, and she vehemently said, “No! Not at all, James!”

“But you weren’t interested in it, were you?” he asked, staring at a point behind her shoulder.

Rose bit her lip and finally admitted, “Not really.”

James groaned and turned his head away from her as he pressed his palms into his eyes and mumbled a string of unintelligible curses.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered raggedly. “I’m so, so sorry, Rose. Why didn’t you just say no?”

“Hey, look at me,” Rose commanded gently, scooting closer to him. She waited until he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before she continued. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Okay? I didn’t mind what we just did. I promise. And I promise you that if I really don’t want to have a shag, I’ll let you know, okay?”

James didn’t look all that convinced, but he nodded anyway.

Rose curled up beside him as best she could and rested her cheek against his shoulder. She slowly massaged her fingertips through his chest hair and trailed her foot up his shin for several minutes until she felt his muscles relax completely.

“I love you,” she murmured into his skin.

“As I love you,” he replied. “Care for a bit of breakfast in bed?”

Rose grinned and nodded. “First, care to help a soulmate to the loo?”