AN: Credit to Ashley for the idea for Callum's stress ball. I just had to use it xD And as you lovely readers may have noticed, my stories have undergone a slight name change. They now have the overall name of the collection on the end of them. This is, for example, the 4th series/part of the Shades and Shadows collection. Honestly, I've done that mostly so that I can keep track of what I'm writing. And I came up with the name Shades and Shadows randomly and decided that it needed to be used. xD Anywho, welcome to part/series 4! Happy reading, darlings :) xxx

Announcement

She phoned Jazza and Jerome when she and Stephen had finally stopped crying. They laughed and cried and giggled and hugged and kissed and now it was time to tell everyone else that they were expecting a baby. She didn't tell Jazza or Jerome on the phone but rather asked if they could come over to Goodwin's Court. "I have some news and I'd rather not tell you over the phone. Besides, I'd love to see you both. It's Christmas after all."

She watched Stephen as she spoke, playing with the heart shaped pendant she never tok off. He was pacing the kitchen, smiling, shaking his head in disbelief and then crying again. His glasses lay on the counter but he could still see her where she stood. He sniffed and smiled across at her lovingly. A tear slipped down her cheek as she smiled back. She hung up the phone. "Ok, they're on their way over. Apparently they have some presents for us."

"There's no present in the world they could give me that would be better than our baby." His voice broke on the last word into a sob-laugh hybrid.

She smiled. "I love how excited you are. I was so afraid about how you'd react."

"Afraid?" He looked at her questioningly. "Why would you be afraid?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. We're both quite young, I didn't know how you'd react to having a baby right now."

He sniffed and watched her quietly for moment. He approached her slowly. "After everything we've been through, I'm sure we can handle a baby."

He smiled down at her as he placed both hands on her face. He leant down as she went up onto her tiptoes, arms around his middle. They met halfway and shared a long, slow kiss. Neither one of them heard Callum walk in.

"Did you seriously come into the kitchen just to make out?" He was throwing the stress ball that Boo had given him up in the air and catching it. He was grinning. They broke the kiss politely and Stephen turned to face him, eyes red and voice shaky from crying and laughing and everything in between. "Y'know, I'm fairly certain you're supposed to squeeze them, not throw them."

Callum had stopped throwing the ball when he saw Stephens face. Then he looked at Rory, who looked much the same. He grew immediately concerned. "Are you two ok?"

Rory chuckled and dried her eyes. Stephen just smiled at the ground before reaching for his glasses. "We're fine," Rory said. "We're crying cause we're happy. We actually have a little bit of news for everyone but we're just waiting for Jazza and Jerome to get here."

"Jeez," Callum laughed. "You both sound like you're gonna tell us you're pregnant or something." He continued giggling as he looked at the pair. But the giggling stopped as he watched them. Rory bit her lip and raised her eyebrows. Stephen grinned and started sniffing again as he gently nodded to Callum.

Callum's mouth dropped open. "Holy..."

The three of them stood there for a few seconds more, unmoving and silent. Then Callum smiled. Really smiled. "Mate!" He said going up to Stephen. He shook his hand, pulling him into a hug and clapping his back. "That is incredible."

Stephen chuckled. "Thanks."

Callum walked up to Rory, smiling and shaking his head. "Sis..." He opened his arms and hugged her, holding her close. "I couldn't be happier for you both."

She pulled away from him gently. She was crying again. "Thank you," she managed.

Stephen exhaled heavily. He laughed. "Sweetheart, we need to stop crying or people are going to think something's wrong when we gather them all."

She nodded. "I know, I know."

Callum was elated. "So, do you know how far gone you are? When did you find out? I'm gonna assume that you," he turned to Stephen, "just found out." Stephen nodded. Callum turned back to Rory, beaming. "What about you?"

"I've known for a week. I'm three weeks gone."

Callum shook his head, grinning. "This is such a good day."

"Yes it is," Stephen agreed. He was looking at Rory lovingly. Then they heard a knock on the front door. Rory had told Jazza and Jerome to code so they were able to let themselves into the building and now they were outside the flat. Rory bit her lip. "They're here."

Callum moved fast. "I'll get it. You two dry your eyes and try to make it look like you're not about to tell us that you of you is dying. I'll make sure everyone's gathered in the living room."

Stephen gazed at Rory as Callum left the room. "So are me and Callum the only ones you've told."

She wiped her eyes with a smile. "No. I told Alistair when I went to see him a couple of days ago."

Stephen smiled. "What did he say?"

"Not much, as usual. He did say congratulations and said he would hug me if he wouldn't explode. Which, actually, means quite a lot coming from Alistair. He even blew me a kiss."

He smiled at her and took both of her hands in his, raising them to his lips and kissing them. "Ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go tell them."

Callum greeted Jazza and Jerome merrily with a hug and a handshake respectively. He took them into the living room where they were greeted by everyone else. They brought with them a bag of presents which they set down on the coffee table. Callum was trying hard not to grin and Boo kept looking at him questioningly. Freddie asked how Jazza and Jerome were doing and asked if they enjoyed living together. They had just replied that they did, very much so, when Stephen and Rory walked in.

Everyone's faces immediately turned to concern when they saw the puffy red eyes on both of them and Rory noticed. She held up her hands in a calming motion. "It's alright, before you ask. Nothing's wrong. Jaz, Jerome, merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," they both answered, uncertain of why their closest friend had, evidently, been crying a great deal.

"Right," Stephen began. "So...me and Rory have a little bit of news."

He turned to her, unable to keep the grin from spreading across his face. She looked at him and nodded gently, taking a deep breath before turning back to the group gathered. Callum looked at them both and nodded enthusiastically while Boo, Thorpe, Freddie, Jerome and Jazza looked on expectantly.

"Yes," Rory said. "We do. Everybody," she took Stephens hand in her own. "Me and Stephen are..." She giggled gently and cleared her throat. "Me and Stephen are expecting a baby."

A collected gasp sounded in the room. Boo's eyebrows raised so high that they nearly came off of her forehead. Her eyes widened and Rory was reminded of the time that she had told her Stephen and she had kissed. She thought her eyes were going to pop out. Her mouth hung open in shock but pulled at the corners in a smile. Callum was grinning again. Freddie put her hand over her heart and looked at them both adoringly. Thorpe was smiling and nodding gently. Jazza hand her hands over her mouth and Jerome blinked fast.

To everyone's surprise, Jerome reacted first. Without a single word he stood and walked over to Stephen. He held out his hand and smiled. Stephen smiled back and shook it before Jerome moved on to Rory. He smiled at her too before placing a small kiss on her forehead and pulling her into a hug. Jazza was very close behind him and squealed in delight as she hugged Rory. Rory laughed before she started crying a little again. By this point, the whole room was reacting. Thorpe shook Stephens hand before Boo and Freddie both threw their arms around him. Jazza moved over to Stephen as well, leaving Rory free to hug Thorpe, Boo and Freddie.

That night, Stephen came upstairs after brushing his teeth. Before he went into their bedroom, he stopped by the door of the spare room and gently pushed it open. At the moment, it was bare but he knew that in nine months, it would be decorated, furnished and lived in. He smiled as he closed the door and walked into their bedroom.

Rory stood at the chest of drawers in her pyjamas, folding her clothes and putting them away. She looked up and smiled when Stephen walked in and put the final article of clothing away before she shut the drawer. He stood in the doorway just looking at her. She was utterly perfect. He stepped forward gently and walked over to her. Without a word, he placed a kiss on her lips before slowly dropping to his knees and placing one of her clothed stomach. He rested his forehead against her stomach and she gently stroked his hair.

"I love you." He whispered against her stomach.

She giggled. "Are you talking to me or the baby?"

He looked up to her, smiling, tears in his eyes. "Both of you." She smiled down at him and he stood once more and hugged her.

They fell asleep that night holding each other. She lay on her side and he lay behind her, spooning her. His arm was draped over her lovingly and his hand rested on her stomach protectively.