Grell awoke one morning, feeling a little off and his stomach doing wibbly wops. He dragged himself downstairs in routine, once again late for breakfast. However, as soon as the smells from the kitchen hit his nostrils, his stomach churned, causing him to rush to the bathroom and vomit. "Grell?" he heard his lover calling from across the house, but Grell was too busy to answer.

Shaking, and pained from the act, Grell slid to the floor to rest a moment. He felt bloated and just plain awful. He placed a hand to his abdomen...and felt movement! Could it be? But how? Oh it didn't matter how, he was pregnant!

Grell pulled himself to his feet and ran towards the kitchen, meeting William in the hallway. "Will! Will!" he shouted excitedly. His face shone with happiness as he threw his arms around William.

"What? What is it?" William replied in between the kisses Grell was plastering on his face, trying not to be disgusted by the acidic smell of vomit on Grell's breath.

"Now is the perfect time!"

"The perfect time for what?"

"Marry me!" Grell shouted happily, wrapping his arms around William.

William wedged a hand between them and pushed Grell away. "I thought we had discussed this."

"Things are different now."

"How so?"

"Well…" Grell paused a moment to toy with his hair. "What if I told you there will soon be three in this household? You would do the honorable thing and marry me, wouldn't you?"

"Are you trying to tell me you're with child?" William asked then sighed, rubbing the bridge if his nose. "Grell…"

"Wouldn't you?"

"Grell…"

"You do love me, don't you?"

"If...and this is a very big if...you were to become pregnant...yes, I would do the honorable thing," replied William.

"We should get married now while my dress still fits." Grell started bouncing up and down and almost immediately regretted it, bolting back into the bathroom.

William sighed heavily and followed him into the bathroom. "First, when you're done with that is brush your teeth and rinse your mouth, especially if you plan on kissing me again. Second should be going to see a doctor and confirming your pregnancy and discussing what steps to take if you are indeed pregnant. Then we shall discuss marriage."

Grell spat out the last bit of bile in his mouth and let out a chuckle. "I have to get a doctor's note to get married."

"Go to the doctor once you're not feeling so nauseous. I'll see that you get today off. You can't work if you're vomiting everywhere or possibly contagious."

"Thank you, darling."

"Thank me by taking care of yourself so you can return to work as soon as possible. Honestly, it was probably the lobster you insisted on eating last night. I told you it smelled off."

"And I say it's all the baby making fluid you've been filling me with since we started dating."

"Honestly. Don't be vulgar." William helped Grell up off the floor and back to their shared bed. "You're more trouble than you're worth."

"Keep telling yourself that, darling," replied Grell as William pressed a kiss to his temple. "You know you love me."

"How unfortunate. I'll have someone check in on you later, if not myself."

William left shortly after. Grell let his hand rest on his stomach and frowned when he didn't feel any movement. Maybe it was the lobster. "No! That's negative thinking! We'll wait and see what the doctor says," Grell said aloud to himself. "Then Will will have to marry me."

William phoned a few hours later to check on Grell, who still felt dreadful. "I feel absolutely awful, darling. My insides are all wibbly wobbly. I haven't been out of bed all day, except to use the bathroom."

"I wish you would go see a doctor. He can give you something for your stomach."

"I will, I will, I promise. Ugh, I just look and feel so awful."

"Well you can either lie in bed and be miserable all day, or you can go and get yourself some help."

"Cruel man."

"I have to get back to work. I'll see you tonight."

"Alright, darling. I love you." Click. Grell smiled at William, who was too embarrassed to return the sentiment where others could hear. Grell laid back against his pillows and sighed. He really should see the doctor, but he hated hospitals. He picked up the receiver again and dialed the London Branch Laboratories. "Hello, get me Othello. Now, you twit, or you'll have my scythe up your arse! I don't care if he's busy. He's probably only playing that stupid game of his and eating sweets anyway." There was a pause while Grell waited for Othello to be fetched. "Hello, Othello, darling! Sweetie, how are you? Me? Why would you ever think...Oh, very well, I need you to come over here. Yes at once. I need a doctor. I know you're not a doctor, but you're close enough. Just get over here and I'll buy you a week's supply in licorice whips. Ugh, fine, a month." *Click*

Othello was over as soon as he could manage, letting himself in. "So, what's the big emergency?" he asked, coming in the room. "Holy jeez! You look awful!" A pillow was thrown at his face in response.

"Let's just get it over with. Just verify I'm pregnant so Will will marry me."

"Just...what?!" Othello exclaimed before doubling over in a guffaw.

"Shut it and just examine me already!"

"Alright, alright, don't get your panties in a bunch." Grell sat on the edge of the bed and told Othello his symptoms as Othello examined him to the best of his knowledge, involving him leaving to fetch a pregnancy test. Grell waited impatiently for the test to finish. "I can examine you better if you stop fidgeting."

Grell rolled his eyes and did his best to sit still. Othello looked over at the test to see if it was ready. It was, and it read...negative. "Sorry, Grellie-bean, but you are not pregnant."

"What?!" exclaimed Grell in disbelief, snatching up the test and reading it for himself. "But I felt it, the symptoms…"

Othello shrugged. "Gas, maybe?"

"Ladies do not get gassy," denied Grell vehemently.

"Perhaps you should go see a real physician then," suggested Ohello, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Who can tell you without a doubt if you are pregnant."

"Will you go with me?" Grell asked

"I suppose," replied Othello. He helped Grell with his grooming until Grell was what he considered 'passable'.

Some time later, the two exited the medical wing. Grell leaned on Othello, crestfallen. "Food poisoning," he sobbed. "Just a case of food poisoning. Now I have to wait who knows how long until Will is ready to marry me, which could be centuries! I'll be an...an old maid!" Grell said in horror.

"Unless…" began Othello, the wheels of his mind turning.

"Unless what?"

"Unless you don't tell him you're not pregnant."

"Huh? What the devil are you on about?"

"Just pretend to be pregnant. Convince him you're expecting and boom, you're married before you know it."

"But what happens after, when he finds out I'm not really pregnant? He'll divorce me out of spite. And besides, he wanted a note from the doctor."

"I can forge you a note from the doctor, don't worry about that. As for afterwards, I don't know. We'll think of something."

Grell didn't bother to pick up his prescriptions from the doctor and returned to bed, still sick to his stomach, figuring it would help sell the pregnancy lie. William came home promptly at six thirty p.m. and went in to Grell. "Darling," Grell greeted with a smile.

"How is your stomach?" William asked, hanging up his suit jacket.

"Oh, much better!" He lied, sitting up. "I just thought I should rest for a little bit. After all, I have to be a lot more careful now."

William raised an eyebrow in interest. "And why is that?" he asked, undoing his tie and sliding it from his collar.

"You know why, silly," Grell smiled. "As a mother, I want to take the utmost care with my pregnancy. Should I learn to knit?"

"You saw the doctor?"

"Of course. Here," Grell picked up the "results" from the bedside table Othello delivered before William got home. William took it and read it over, noticing the scent of cheap aftershave and clove cigarettes. Also there was a small sticky spot in the top left corner. Licorice?

Othello.

William sighed. He was too tired to for this. Taking out his cigarettes, he lit one up and took a puff. "William!" Grell shouted in a horrified manner. "You can't smoke around the baby!"

William sighed again, leaving the room and wondering why he put up with the redhead's antics. Grell obviously knew what William had suspected all along, that he just had food poisoning. If Grell was pregnant, William would marry him, he had promised. So now Grell was pretending to be pregnant to force the marriage. Just how long did he think he could get away with it?

There were so many reasons not to marry yet, but Grell was too impatient. It was too soon. William was still getting used to all of Grell's personal habits, and vice versa. If William had had his own way, they wouldn't even be living together yet, but Grell had been so damn persistent and they ended up practically living together anyway that William gave in. Then there upper management to deal with. They already frowned on the relationship. He and Grell should wait until their positions would not incite conflicts of interests, any more than they were.

And there were other things too, not all of which William could pinpoint. He just...wasn't ready to marry Grell. However, Grell didn't want to wait, so hung up on the spectacle of it all, he couldn't take no for an answer, or at the very least, a not yet. It was so frustrating, William wondered why he bothered with the relationship. He frowned, finishing his cigarette and stamping the butt out. It was because he loved him too much, despite his bothersome behaviors.

William prepared Grell some toast and put some ice chips in a glass for him. His lover likely hadn't eaten all day and this should help. He just hoped this charade would be short lived.