Disclaimer: No, I don't own Static Shock and yes, I did borrow some jokes from Scrubs. There's not an original bone in my body.
A Man, a Woman, and a Baby
Companion piece to Second Glance. After moving to Gotham, Theresa accidentally gets pregnant and now she and Francis must face the problems of having a baby.
Theresa watched her lover sleep beside her and marveled at how lucky she was. She was lucky to have been cured, she didn't miss the feathers at all, and she was lucky to have gotten out of Dakota when she did. The city had gone to hell after the second Bang, Ebon died, and the gangs took over again. Only this time they were fiercer and more spread out, more dangerous.
She idly ran a hand through his red and blond streaked hair and smiled. Things would get better for them. They were survivors.
Francis moaned in his sleep and turned a little, his face scrunching up momentarily very childishly before finding another comfortable position to sleep in.
Theresa's smile grew and she nestled against him, holding him close to her and went back to sleep.
Francis frowned at the mirror, running a hand through hair agitatedly. This did not sit well with him. This did not sit well with him at all.
New city, new look. Annoying new look.
Francis had cropped his spiked hair and bleached it just a few hours ago, leaving him looking like a completely different person. A person without a criminal record the size of a dictionary that is.
"Don't you look spiffy." Theresa sauntered into the bathroom of their dingy new flat and wrapped her arms around his chest from behind.
Francis snorted. "This stuff makes my head itch. I look like that tool Gear." He ran both hands vigorously through his hair and pouted at the mirror.
"I think you look muy guapo." Theresa said. "Anyway, I need to pee. Get out." She directed him to the door and shut it in his face.
She could hear him complaining, and then retreating to their bedroom to get dressed in defeat. She let out a nervous breath and pulled a small box from under the sink. It was a home pregnancy test.
She prepared it according to the directions on the back of the box and waited. Theresa sat on the toilet, tapping her foot anxiously. It was the second time she had had to take one, the first time was with her asshole of a boyfriend three years ago who had been screaming at her the whole time for not being careful with her pills. Thankfully it had turned out negative.
The thing is, she and Francis had left in such a hurry Theresa had forgot to bring her pills along.
Four minutes went by and Theresa grabbed for the test, scanning the strip of color for the answer. Her heart skipped a beat.
Positive.
She was pregnant. The funny thing is, she wasn't upset about it.
Francis knocked on the door. "Are you trying to set a world record or something? Get out here; I'm leaving for that tryout and I want a kiss."
Theresa stood on shaky legs and opened the door. Francis opened his mouth to say something and the snapped it shut again at the look on her face. "What's wrong?"
Theresa didn't know what to say, so she handed him the test. Francis raised an eyebrow curiously and took it, unsure of what she was getting at.
He looked at it and his unnaturally green eyes went wide. From fear or surprise Theresa couldn't say. Francis looked from the test, to Theresa, and back to the test. Then he collapsed against the wall behind him and closed his eyes, suddenly looking very young and tired. "Shit."
Theresa frowned. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear from you Francis, thank you."
"No, no. Not that. I l-love you." Theresa forgave the stutter; he wasn't used to saying it yet. "But, in case you haven't noticed, we're not exactly staying at the Ritz here."
Theresa looked around their very small apartment. It was supposed to be temporary until Francis could find a job. "You're right. My savings won't get us much farther either."
Francis stood slowly, and put a hand cautiously on her stomach. "Okay. Okay. Money and a new place. We can…we can do this. Right?"
Theresa smiled and pulled him in for a kiss. "Yes, I trust you." She pushed him away suddenly. "But if this little skateboarding audition of yours doesn't pan out, promise me you'll try and get a real job."
"I promise."
"Good, now get going. You're going to be late."
Five months later, Francis and Theresa had moved into a spacious new flat on the good side of Gotham thanks to Francis' blossoming skateboarding career.
Apparently he had done more than dabble in the sport in his youth as he had told Theresa. He was actually really good and had already won a tournament, earning big money.
Francis had signed with a team and now his sponsor was graciously catering new clothing and even a custom made crib with their logo on it to the young couple.
Francis ran a hand tenderly over Theresa's expansive stomach and made sure she was comfortable in the waiting room. "Want me to go see if you doctor is ready?"
"Yeah please, this little guy is kicking like mad, my feet are swollen to the size of watermelons, I have to pee and puke, and all I want to do I got to sleep." Theresa complained loudly.
Francis turned, and then stopped. "Was that a yes?"
"Yes!" Theresa snapped. Francis jumped and walked away. "God he looks hot today." Theresa muttered to herself and rubbed her belly.
Francis returned a few minutes later with Theresa's OBGYN, a young woman with a pleasant smile. "Hi Miss Stone, we'll begin you're Amnio right away. Clark here'll wheel you up."
"Thank you." Theresa smiled kindly.
The doctor left and Clark, an intern, wheeled a wheelchair over. "Um, okay. Have a seat and I'll take you up. Unless you'd like a snack from the cafeteria first or something we can stop there and…"
Francis whistled loudly. "Can we get my hormonal, extremely aggravating wife's Amnio underway?"
Clark the intern jumped and helped Theresa stand up. She slapped Francis lightly. "Wow, I can't wait to write that down in the baby journal. Could you be a bigger ass right now?"
"Could you have a bigger ass right now?" Francis craned his neck to get a good look. Theresa slapped him again as Clark the intern pushed her past.
Theresa was put into a room and the Amnio started. Francis wandered around the hospital for a bit, knowing it would take a long time, trying to stay out of the way and repressing the urge to flinch every time he saw a syringe or a white coat.
He was sitting at a table in the cafeteria enjoying a cup of lukewarm coffee when Clark the intern ran up to him. The young man paused, gasping for breath while Francis watched him.
"Y-your wife's A-amnio is finished. There were…complications."
Francis didn't wait to hear the rest. He didn't even correct the intern and say that Theresa wasn't his wife…yet. He sprinted the whole way back to her room.
Francis burst into the room. "What the hell is going on in here?"
The OBGYN turned calmly and placed an IV into Theresa's arm. "The Amnio triggered premature labor."
Francis gaped. "But she's only twenty-one weeks! Theresa cut it out right now."
"Is he yelling at me?" Theresa asked her doctor, slurring her words slightly from the pain medications.
"Yes, he is. I'm going to give you a shot of Terbutaline." The doctor replied calmly, hooking a bag of medicine up to the IV.
Theresa glared at Francis and tugged at the doctor's sleeve. "And you know what else? He said I had a fat ass before."
Now both of them were glaring at Francis. He backed up slowly towards the door. "The nice kind?"
That night, after Theresa had been discharged from the hospital, it was Francis' turn to watch her sleep. He rubbed her stomach gently, smiling when he felt a thump against his palm.
"That tickles." Theresa murmured sleepily and placed her hand over Francis' to stay it.
Francis wrapped his arms around her and put his chin on her neck in the crook he had deemed his. "You scared me."
Theresa didn't say anything at first. "I was scared too. But everything's fine. Our baby is fine."
"I know but still, I'm not used to being scared. People are usually scared of me." Francis muttered.
Theresa played with his hair for a moment. "Not anymore. You're just Francis and I'm just Theresa and soon we'll have just…he doesn't have a name yet does he?"
"No." Francis smiled against her neck. He loved the way she could calm him down.
"What names do you like?" She asked quietly.
Francis closed his eyes. "Dunno. You?"
"Hmm…definitely not Carlos after my brother or anything too Hispanic like that. I'd like it to be kind of normal. Anyone you think of that we can name him after?"
Francis thought about it. There was his dad…not going to happen. That drunken bastard was dead and better left forgotten. His mom? No, Kendra Stone wouldn't work either. Francis couldn't even hear a name that started with a K without seeing her blood on the bathroom floor in his mind. Then there was his older brother Jack, dead too, but at least Jack had been nice to Francis before he joined a gang and got himself shot.
"What about something with a J?"
Theresa didn't ask who for, she knew him better than to ask. "Okay." She yawned, elongating the ay. "Like what? Jason, Jake, Jeremy, Jesse?"
Francis mulled it over for a few minutes, going through all the J names he could think of. "Jesse sounds good."
Theresa nestled closer to him and smiled. "Jesse it is then."
August fourth, Francis was sitting in the hospital again, this time for the birth of his child.
He could hear Theresa screaming through a particularly bad contraction inside the room. He was supposed to be getting ice for her but he was instead sitting on the cold floor outside the door.
He would get the ice in a minute; Francis just needed a moment to clear his head.
He was going to be a dad. An actual dad. A far better dad than his own had been he hoped.
Francis stood and stretched his back before getting the ice and heading back to the hospital room.
Theresa's face was scrunched in pain, the sheets fisted in her hand. The OBGYN looked on from the end of the bed. "Doing good Theresa. Very good. It's almost time to push. Don't forget to breath."
Francis went to her side. "Hey baby."
Theresa grabbed his collar and strangled him rather roughly. "I'll kill you! You did this to me!"
Francis choked and handed her the ice. She released her grip slightly but didn't let go, wrapping one arm around his neck and squeezing him against her side while she held and ice cube to her forehead. She sighed in relief, then grabbed a chunk of Francis' hair. "Oh god, again."
Another contraction shook her body, Francis screamed right along with her. She was pulling his hair out!
"I can't…breath." He gasped when it was over.
"Sorry baby." Theresa panted, letting him go and moaning with the pain.
"Now Theresa, push. Thata girl, keep going. The baby is crowning."
Theresa screamed and grunted, holding Francis' hand in a bruising grip. Francis didn't even care that he could feel the bones in his hand grinding together. He was watching what was going on beside him in silent awe.
The doctor smiled and patted Theresa's thigh comfortingly and a baby's cry echoed through the room.
Theresa started to laugh and cry at the same time. Francis moved back as the doctor placed the baby, in a blue blanket, into his mother's arms.
His baby. His son. Jesse Stone.
Author's Note:
So yeah, this is a oneshot filling in some missing pieces from Second Glance. It was nagging at me so wrote it. Pretty fluffy, I used Scrubs for the lines because not only is it funny, it's got some dramatic moments. And also I'm not that funny on my own. Hope you like it and as always...PLEASE REVIEW!