Prequel to And Then There Were Three…
Set seven months prior to the birth of Rani and Clyde's daughter.
Disclaimer: I don't own SJA, the BBC does so I'm not making any profit off of this story and I have no intention of infringing on Copyright laws.
Rani Langer awoke to the sounds of birds chirping outside and to the sound of her husband Clyde Langer snoring. A smile spread across her face and she turned over so she could observe her husband sleeping and maybe even kiss him awake. She reached over to do so but then got a good whiff of his morning breath. The smile on her face faded replaced by a frown, and soon her stomach began to churn. Not long after the nausea set in. Rani covered up her mouth and quickly sprinted to the master bathroom.
Clyde Langer woke to retching noises. "What the…" He glanced over to his wife's side of the bed and found it empty. "Rani," he got out of bed and walked into the bathroom.
Rani flushed the toilet and cleaned up her mouth. She then tossed the tissue in the commode, and flushed that as well.
Clyde knelt down beside her and felt her forehead. "You're not running a fever, baby, are you all right?"
Rani looked over at him and got another whiff of his breath. Her face went grim again as she began to puke into the toilet once more.
Clyde thought he had heard her mention the words 'breath mint' during her retching so he brushed his teeth and took some mouthwash before putting a breath mint into his mouth. He then retrieved some saltine crackers and tea from the kitchen and placed them on a tea tray. Clyde returned to the master bedroom with the tray and placed it safely on their mahogany dresser.
Rani ventured out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth and rinsing her mouth out.
Clyde led her back to their queen size mahogany bed and gently made her sit down. He then sat beside her and handed her one of the crackers. Once she had eaten it, he handed her a cup of tea and watched her drink it. He set it aside on one of the mahogany end tables once she was finished. "How's your stomach?" he worriedly asked.
"It's starting to settle down," Rani answered. "I guess what I ate last night didn't agree with me this morning."
"Yeah, I guess it didn't. Still you should stay home today just in case," Clyde said.
"But I have to turn in my article today," Rani protested. "Besides I'm starting to feel better already."
"You can email your article. I don't want you going to work after you got sick like you did," Clyde fussed.
"Clyde, it's not that serious." Rani couldn't help but smile at his over protectiveness.
"When you're not feeling well it's very serious to me," Clyde protested. "Now do I have to stay home with you to keep you home?"
"If I begin to feel worse I'll come home okay. Besides, I have a shopping date with Sky and Sarah Jane after work," Rani reminded him.
"They'll understand if you need to take a rain check," Clyde replied. "Now if you don't stay home I'm calling your mum."
"Oi there's no need to use threats," Rani chided.
"Hey whatever works," Clyde retorted.
"But we can't both stay home you have that important meeting today with the art dealer," Rani said as she got back under the dark blue comforter and light blue sheets. She also grabbed the silver cordless phone so she could call in sick and postpone the shopping date.
Clyde sighed. "You're more important."
"Clyde, I'll be fine, now go and get ready for work," Rani insisted.
Clyde kissed her and then went to get ready for work. He grabbed something to eat on the way to work.
Rani fell back to sleep after emailing her article to her boss. The ringing phone woke her again two hours later. She checked the caller ID, sighed, and then pressed the talk button. "Sarah Jane, I'm fine."
"Are you sure? Is your stomach bothering you still?" Sarah Jane inquired.
"I'm sure," they talked for a bit longer before hanging up.
Rani continued to get sick each morning and by the end of the week both she and Clyde had begun to worry more. They were sitting on their bed and waiting for the results of a test that had the potential to change their lives forever.
"How long is it going to take?" Clyde questioned.
"We should know in a few more minutes," Rani replied. "Clyde, we checked all of the kits. This one gives the quickest and most accurate results."
"Yeah," Clyde rose to his feet and began to pace.
"Hey we were going to start trying in a couple of months anyway remember?" Rani asked.
"I remember." Clyde smiled weakly.
"What's wrong then?" Rani stood up, walked over to him, and then stopped him from pacing. "Why are you a bundle of nerves?"
"Rani, what if I'm more like my dad than I think?" Clyde fretted. "What if I turn out to be a lousy dad?"
"Clyde Langer, you are nothing like your dad. Yes, you both have a brilliant sense of humor, but that's where the similarities end. You would never run out on our baby or me. You don't have it in you to betray us like that. Besides I wouldn't just marry any one. I knew what I was doing when I chose you," Rani assured him. "Everything is going to be all right, love."
Clyde hugged her and held on for dear life. Rani hugged him back and kept trying to calm down her very nervous husband.
A few minutes later the results were in. Rani returned to the bathroom and checked on the pregnancy test stick. She closed her eyes before reading the results and tried to prepare herself. Truth was that she was just as nervous as Clyde. I sure hope I'm ready for motherhood. I don't want to screw this up. I don't want to make any mistakes that screw up our child mentally. Rani took a deep breath, let it out, and then opened her eyes again.
Clyde walked in and looked at the results as well. "So what does that symbol mean again?"
Rani beamed at him. "It means that we need to get a crib, a bassinet…" She continued naming off things that a newborn baby will need.
Clyde's eyes welled with tears as he felt a rush of multiple emotions stir inside him: fear, joy, nervousness, and worry. He tried to speak but was at a loss for words. He just hugged his wife instead and kissed her. Moments later, he was able to talk. "A baby, we're really having a baby?"
Rani nodded and kissed him. "We are."
They began to celebrate but didn't let anyone else know yet, since they didn't want to jinx anything. Also, they wanted to keep the happiness to themselves for a bit longer.
The following week Rani and Clyde had her pregnancy confirmed by an obstetrician and one month later they started telling people. Carla cried and hugged both of them. She then boasted about becoming a grandma soon. Gita and Haresh reacted the same way.
"Sarah Jane, I can't help out with aliens for awhile," Rani said while they visited in Sarah Jane's attic, sat on the sofa, and drank tea.
"Why not, is something wrong?" Sarah Jane inquired.
"My doctor says it's not good for the baby if I'm running around too much or if I get into any physical fights," Rani replied.
"Well you don't have to do any fighting we'll cover for you and…." Sarah Jane stopped rambling. "What?"
Rani smiled. "I'm three months pregnant."
"What?" Sarah Jane was still stunned.
"Mum, are you okay?" Sky worried.
"A baby, you're having a baby?" Sarah Jane began to recover.
"Yeah," Rani nodded.
"So that's why you wanted decaffeinated tea?" Sarah Jane inquired.
"It is, Sarah Jane, are you all right?" Rani began to worry as well.
Sarah Jane smiled and hugged her. "I couldn't be better or happier right now."
Rani hugged her as well.
Rani made it through the pregnancy without any major complications, and one month before the birth of the baby, Carla and Gita threw a surprise baby shower for her. After the shower was over Luke and Clyde brought everything back to Clyde and Rani's house. Luke stayed and helped Clyde setup everything in what was going to be the baby's room.
One day before the birth of the baby Rani decided to rearrange their living room furniture while Clyde was at work. Clyde came home and realized straight away due to stories his mum had told him, and stories his grandma used to tell.
"Rani, how are you feeling? Are you experiencing any labor pain?" Clyde asked.
"No, what makes you think I am?" Rani snapped.
"Sometimes pregnant women move furniture or do other strenuous work when they're about to go into labor," Clyde pointed out.
"That doesn't mean I am," Rani had gone on the defensive. "Oh I see you still think I'm fat and ugly and can't wait for the baby to get here so I'll be thin again," Rani went on ranting about how insensitive he was being.
"I do not think that," Clyde argued. "You're beautiful as always." It's just her hormones talking right now. It's not my Rani.
Rani appeared not to hear him she just continued her ranting while Clyde patiently tuned her out and nodded every now and then. Later that night while they were sleeping the labor pains began.
The End