i'm really sick so i didn't edit this all too well. but whatever.
enjoy!
"-and tough. Your mommy is very tough. She's the strongest person I've ever met. She will be an incredible mother for you, little one," Toby's voice abruptly cracked through Happy's sleep, awakening her from the trance of deep slumber she'd been captured by. Immediately, her eyes flew open, her mind beginning a sudden reboot. She blinked a few times to rid her pupils of the grogginess ensuing her return to consciousness. Once her vision was for the most part cleared, she took notice of her husband's current position, as his face was oddly close to her torso.
"She's also-"
"Uh, Toby?"
Startled, he jumped from underneath the sheets, nearly slamming his chin into her tinily formed stomach bump. Eyes wide, he glared at her. "Jeez, Hap! You scared me half to death!" he cried, unnecessarily placing his hand across his chest before inhaling slowly.
"What are you doing?"
"Sharing my affection for you to the little lump of love cooking in your baby oven!" he replied.
Happy's face scrunched. "What?"
Exhaling, he dropped back comfortably onto the bed. "I'm talking to our baby."
"Can it even hear in there?" the mechanic asked. Without question, she in leaned towards him, the doc's arm instantly wrapping tenderly around her small frame.
"Sugarplum, our child is not an it."
"That didn't answer my question, doc," Happy responded, her voice partly muffled by the soft material of his shirt.
Rolling his eyes at her dodge of the question, he pulled her closer to him. "He or she can't hear exactly what I'm saying, but they recognize noises outside the womb."
"Then why bother at all?"
He shrugged to the best of his ability in their current position. "I don't know," Toby told her, "Maybe because I want our baby to hear our voices, to know what great parents he or she has before even coming into the world."
A proceeding scoff almost halted her reply. "That seems fairly pointless."
"Hap, it's far from pointless. I'd like to think the minute our child pops out, they'll know just how loved they are are."
Happy contemplated for a short moment before she answered, his comment seeping slowly into her genius brain. "I guess."
The doc pressed a kiss into her scalp. "Despite your objections, I will continue talking to our little one for the entirety of your pregnancy."
A bit of hesitation towards her next question was slightly obscured by her following inhale. She glanced at him, eyes clearly brimming with a slight bit of curiosity. "Doc?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you...mean what you said?" she asked.
His playful laugh arose before his request. "Be specific, babe. I say a lot of things," Toby told her.
She snorted. "That's true. You almost never shut up," the mechanic countered, "...But that's not what I meant."
"Then what are you referring to, sugarplum?"
"When you were talking to my stomach."
"Not to your stomach. To our baby."
"Same thing," Happy responded. Leaning further into his embrace, she paused. "...Did you mean it?"
His brows furrowed. "Mean what?"
"The stuff you said. About me being a good mom."
Toby blinked at her. "Hap! Of course I meant that!"
Her eyes appeared unconvinced, but she didn't give him an argumentative reply.
The doc immediately recognized her skepticism, hugging her even more securely into his grasp. "Happy," he said, his tone an amalgam of coaxing and scolding, "Your doubts are unnecessary, sweetpea."
Happy sucked in a breath. "Doc-"
"Our child going to be is so lucky to have you as a mother."
A heavy exhale made a departure from her lungs, brushing against his arm. It obviously took a lot for her to convey whatever was going through her mind. "What if I don't have the EQ for this? I certainly haven't proved an ability to connect with people over the last three years."
"Are you kidding?"
"...Not really."
"Hap," Toby replied, a slight disbelief laced into his voice, "you're brilliant for a million different reasons. Figuring out motherhood will have its rough moments, but I know you're going to get the hang of it."
"I'm practically a robot," she countered, "What child should have that as their mother?"
"You have it in you. You've taken care of Ralph enough times to show that."
"He blew up a pumpkin on my watch. I'd hardly call that good parenting."
"It's not like our child is going to be on a sugar high like Ralphy Boy was. ...At least...not when you're around," Toby stated, "But, nevertheless, Hap I believe in you. You already love our baby so much. That's the first step in being a great mom."
She sighed. "Maybe. But that doesn't mean-"
"Yes it does. Your EQ will develop. I swear to you that this is not going to be like you're expecting. That you're going to be spectacular. That you will win mom of the year every year."
Happy couldn't help but laugh.
Toby pressed another kiss into her hair. He changed the subject while giving her hand a squeeze. "You know, with your looks, intelligence, and secret soft side, we have ourselves a fine recipe for our growing baby muffin."
She gave him a sideways glance.
He merely shrugged in response, a small grin emerging upon his face. "We can't keep calling our child it. I'm trying out new terms." After she narrowed her eyes, Toby shook his head. "Forget I mentioned it."
Happy didn't reply. Instead, she snuggled herself up closely against him. A comfortable quiet replaced the void that had just been inhabited by conversation seconds prior.
Toby interlocked their hands, the simultaneous pulses in their fingers suddenly pressed together. The rising and falling of their chests synchronized as the mechanic closed her eyes.
But their peaceful silence didn't remain long.
Toby's body jolted as a thought struck him. "Hap!"
"What?"
"You should talk to the baby!"
She blinked. "Doc-"
"Talk to our baby!"
"I thought you said it can't hear you when you talk to it."
"Sweetheart, not it," he gently reminded her, "But you should let he or she get familiar with your voice! What better way to start off your journey into motherhood?"
"Toby-"
"Happy, I think it'd be good for you."
She groaned. "It's stupid to-"
"Happy," he said again.
She glared at him, but, oddly enough, the mechanic didn't proceed with arguing. Reluctantly, she shifted out of his embrace. Her eyes drifted towards her stomach while she awkwardly cleared her throat.
"Go on," Toby urged, nuzzling the side of her neck.
"What am I supposed to say?"
"Whatever you want!"
"That's not helpful."
"Just talk, Hap."
Happy groaned again. But she did as he told her to, clearing her throat a second time. "Uh, hi..." she began slowly, unsure of what to speak about, "I'm your mom…"