Written for MiM on Facebook. Many thanks to the great and fantastic Lady Lanera for beta'ing for me.

Our First Christmas

"We need furniture."

Tobias only chuckled as he continued singing some Christmas song I didn't know the name of. Needing to respond with a scowl, I pushed myself up on my elbows with great effort and attempted to glare over my protruding stomach at my husband. He wasn't paying attention to the dirty look I was giving him, however. Instead he was feeding another log to the fireplace, fueling the already blazing inferno.
"If it gets any warmer in here, we'll have turned the house into an oven."

Tobias turned towards me then, grinning like a child on Christmas morning. "I hate to disagree, my lovely, but it's freezing in here.

Pouting slightly, I dropped back off my elbows so I could stare at the ceiling while laying on the living room floor.
"We need furniture." I repeated, knowing I was being difficult.

"I know," I heard Tobias say before he knelt down beside me and his face moved into my line of sight. "Unfortunately, we're going to have to suffer through without it for a bit." He rested his hand on my stomach before continuing excitedly. "I'm almost done with the crib, just a bit more sanding and a coat of varnish to finish it off."

"Wonderful," I replied expressionlessly, "You and I will have mattress and the baby will have a crib and plenty of room to crawl around."

"We'll get some furniture before the baby comes. I promise."

"Good." In truth I felt a bit guilty for giving him a hard time. We had just bought a house, after all, and furniture cost money.

"We still haven't decided on a name for her yet." Tobias said focused on rubbing his hand gently over my stomach. He didn't see me roll my eyes.

"You keep saying 'her.' What if it's a boy? That sweet yet insane lady down the street -what's her name again? Anna? Abigail? Ann?- she seems sure I'm having a boy."

"Ann I think." Tobias shrugged. "I want a girl."

"Why?"

Tobias finally looked back at me grinning. "So there will be another one of you to love."

"Of course." I stared at him for a moment, hoping his brain will turn on. It didn't. "You do know I just turned 18 and I'm pregnant, yes? And you want a girl that will be just like me?"

Tobias was still smiling as he replied. "And I'm nineteen with a very pregnant wife. It takes two, lovely, in case you didn't know. Besides, girls are…"

When he didn't continue, I prompted him a bit. "Girls are what?"

"Girls are, I don't know, more huggable."

For a moment I could only raise an eyebrow. "More huggable?"

Tobias shrugged focused on my stomach once more.

"You're an idiot."

Tobias turned back to look at me. "It's true!"

"You just sat there and told me that a seventeen-year-old girl getting pregnant is the same as a nineteen-year-old boy getting his girlfriend pregnant, but somehow a baby girl is going to be more huggable than a baby boy. That does not make sense."

"Little boys don't want to be cuddled and hugged like little girls do." He once again focused on my stomach, not looking at me and probably pouting.

"That's a stereotype, love." I replied, wondering exactly where he got that ridiculous idea from. "Every child is different. Some girls don't like being held and cuddled all that much, and there are boys that like being held and cuddled a great deal."

I wasn't sure if he was even listening to me for a moment, since he remained silent, tracing a circle on the side of my stomach. He was trying to make the baby move.

"So a boy can be held and hugged, too?"

I couldn't remember a time I had ever heard him sound so…small. At first, I was not sure what to say. It seemed like a silly question, and I almost asked where he got such a ludicrous idea. Before I answered, however, I remembered the one time I met Tobias's father… how father and son only shook hands… Tobias's desire to prove something to the old man…his need to always be close… I knew exactly how he could get an idea like that.
"Tobias." I tugged on his arm and pulled him down on the floor next me. He rested his head on my shoulder, and his arm wrapped around me as much as possible. I brought my hand up to play with his dark hair. "You like being held like this, right?"

"The pregnancy has finally rotted your brain, hasn't it? I always love being close to you." He obviously didn't see the connection.

"Love, if you like being held like this, why wouldn't our little boy?"

Tobias didn't move as he thought that over. After a minute or two, he gave me a squeeze and pushed himself up on his elbow. His grin had returned, and if possible he seemed even more excited than before.

"If it's a boy, we should name him after a Roman Emperor."

"My son will not be named Caesar."

Tobias chuckled and brushed a strand of hair out of my face. "There are other emperors you know."

"Why? What's so special about the Romans and their emperors?"

Tobias shrugged, still grinning. "They were an amazing lot, did a lot of great things, built the greatest empire in the world, and were inventors and explorers…"

As Tobias droned on, I knew my son would be named after someone who had been dead for a few hundred years or so. Give or take a century. It could be worse, I suppose.

"We're not naming him after the one who killed his mother."

Tobias laughed. And despite the fact I was slowly roasting in a living room void of furniture, I found myself laughing along with him.

"And his middle name will be Tobias."

My husband of five months gave me a curious look. "Why?"

"Because I love you, and I want my son to always have a bit of you with him. Even when he's 150 years old, and we're long gone." Before he could reply, I pulled his head down to meet mine and started kissing him, my lips roaming over every bit of skin they could reach.

"Eileen," he said, already breathing heavily.

"Hmm?" I managed to respond between kisses.

"Lovely, if you don't stop…we can't…you'll go into labor."

With a groan, I released him. "This is not how I planned on spending our first and last Christmas together."

"Last?" he asked as his smile disappeared, leaving his mouth hanging open slightly as his eyes widened.

"Yes, love." My hands moved to my stomach, where I could feel the baby start to move. "After this Christmas, it won't be just the two of us. We'll have to share."

Tobias's grin returned full force. He leaned over to kiss me again. "Happy Christmas. I love you."

"I love you, too. Happy Christmas." I kissed him again, and somehow our house with absolutely nothing in it seemed like the greatest place in the world.

Tobias pulled away and moved closer to my stomach. Pulling my shirt up just a bit, he found the spot the baby was kicking and placed a gentle kiss there before whispering, "Happy Christmas, son."

*Looks up at the story.* Well that was sappy. :P
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