Summary: Tish hasn't been feeling well and Priestly's getting increasingly worried about his wife. When Tish realises what her bouts of sickness might mean, some less than pleasant memories are brought to the surface. How will Priestly react to her fears and the possibility of a new addition to their family? A Priestly/Tish story, with some Tish flashbacks. (see warnings inside)

Warnings: Some oblique references to teenage sex (17 years old) and abortion (hypothetical, not actual), mentions of contraceptives and domestic abuse. Some mild swearing. (The warnings mainly apply to chapters 4 and 5.) This sounds very heavy, but nothing is graphic, and despite all these warnings, it was written as a sweet, fluffy, happy fic, I promise!

Disclaimer: Writing belongs to me. Everything else belongs to the writers/producers/makers of Ten Inch Hero. For entertainment purposes only.

AN: This story has been lurking in the back of my head for a while and I finally found the time to get it written. By which I mean, sacrificed sleep to appease the plot bunnies! ;) As I've said before, I love Tish and Priestly as a couple and I love imagining stories of their life together after the film ended. This comes after my 'Now and Forever' and 'Colours of our Hearts' stories, but this fic can easily be read as a stand-alone.

AN2: The story is completely finished, with six chapters in total. I will update weekly, real life permitting. I hope you enjoy reading this story. Reviews are very much appreciated. :)

Positive

By Lanthiriel25

Chapter 1

Something was pulling him towards consciousness. He could feel it, tugging at the edges of his awareness; something was telling him that he needed to leave his dreams behind and wake up. Priestly groaned into his pillow in protest, trying his hardest to ignore that annoying sensation which was dragging him further and further towards reality. Snuffling as he shifted, Priestly reached for Tish, expecting his fingers to meet with the sleep-warm skin of his wife, wanting nothing more than to hug her close and drift back into his slumber. But his fingers met nothing but rumpled sheets and cold air. Bemused, Priestly slowly pushed himself up onto his elbow, scrubbing his eyes as he cracked them open, face scrunched up in confusion.

Suddenly he heard what it was that must have been tugging at his instincts; a quiet retching sound coming from the bathroom. Tiredness forgotten, Priestly threw the covers back and hurried through the darkness; not again, he groaned internally. This was the sixth night, well, early morning, that Tish had been woken by rolling nausea, spending the hours following hunched wretchedly over the toilet bowl, emptying her stomach until there was nothing left. Piper had had a stomach bug the week previous; she'd been sick as a dog for 48 hours straight. The sickness had subsided after that but it had taken her a while to build up her strength and get back on her feet. Priestly had hoped the sickness would disappear just as quickly for Tish, but it hadn't and it showed no signs of abating. They'd gotten into an argument, a rather loud one, the day before yesterday, with Priestly begging Tish to go to the doctors, just to be sure, hoping they could give her something which would help. He hated seeing her battle through this. But Tish vehemently refused, adamant she must have caught the virus off Piper and that she just had to ride it out with the help of water and sleep. He really hated his wife's stubborn streak at times.

Quickly making his way to the bathroom on bare feet, Priestly pushed open the ajar door, squinting as the bright light assaulted his vision, his heart breaking slightly at the miserable sight before him. Tish was propped up on the floor, resting her head on her forearms which were folded on the toilet seat, breathing heavily. Sweat beaded on her skin, making her hair cling to her face in clumps. Her sleep clothes were dishevelled, hanging loose and twisted uncomfortably round her body. Her eyes were closed but Priestly could see the dark shadows painting her skin, the sleep loss taking its toll on his wife. Her skin shone pale in the harsh bathroom light.

Priestly fell to his knees beside her, gathering her into his arms. Tish made a soft sound of protest as she was moved, but it was half-hearted at best. Priestly shifted himself into a more comfortable position for the both of them, pulling his 'Don't annoy the crazy person' t-shirt, which Tish had taken to wearing to bed, back onto her shoulder as he did so. He smiled in remembrance of when Tish had stolen it and had crossed out 'crazy' and written on 'sleeping' instead, in retaliation for Priestly's habit of waking her if he couldn't sleep.

"Sorry…" Tish whispered, leaning gratefully into her husband's arms, keeping her eyes closed against her nausea. "Sorry, I woke you."

"Shh," Priestly soothed, brushing her limp, damp hair away from her forehead, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple. "It's fine. I'm glad you did. Being sick on your own's never fun.

"Being sick with someone's not that…much fun either," pointed out Tish, her grip on Priestly tightening somewhat as the room began to spin a little faster. "Still… Sorry. Know you're tired…"

"Don't worry about it; you can make it up to me later."

Tish let out what was probably meant to be an indignant huff, but sounded more like a sigh.

"Not looking…my best right now. You sure you want a piece of this?"

"Mmm, you do look pretty gross at the moment, it's true, but I think I'll keep you" conceded Priestly teasingly, his voice still quiet, soothing, in the early morning stillness. "Besides, you're always gorgeous to me."

"I would…throw up at that comment but…don't think I've got anything left," Tish bantered breathlessly.

Priestly just smiled, resting his cheek on her head, wrapping his arms around her, hoping that it really was over for the night, even as he regretted not being there to help Tish through the worst of it. He could feel her small frame trembling against him, the hot-cold clamminess of her skin. Careful not to jostle her too much, he blindly reached up for a washcloth, wetting it in some warm water in the sink. Wringing it out, feeling the excess warm water trickle through his fingers, Priestly haphazardly folded the wet cloth and pressed it gently against Tish's forehead. Tish moaned at the soothing sensation, her tense muscles relaxing slightly against Priestly's body as he tenderly used the cloth to clean and sooth her face, neck and chest.

Suddenly, however he felt Tish tense up against him before she began to squirm a little. Her breathing started to speed up and become more ragged, her temperature rocketing even as she shivered. Priestly had come to know the warning signs pretty well in the last few nights, quickly supporting Tish as she scrambled once more for the toilet bowl.

Bracing himself behind her, holding her upright, Priestly wound his arm around her hips to keep her steady, keeping his other palm resting against her forehead so she wouldn't accidentally hit her head on the unforgiving porcelain as her body violently convulsed, every muscle straining and spasming. Long, painful minutes passed as Tish heaved again and again, body shaking brutally with the effort, struggling her way through this latest attack, painful, guttural sounds and whimpers being torn from her as her body worked against her. Priestly didn't stop his steady stream of reassurances, stroking his thumb across her hip bone in an effort to give her something else to focus on. He couldn't remember what he said, he just wanted Tish to know that he was there, she wasn't on her own, that it would be over soon.

"This…sucks," Tish panted as she slumped back against him, the onslaught over for the moment, her muscles trembling from fatigue.

"Yeah," Priestly agreed, hating to see his wife in any kind of pain or discomfort; it really did suck. He felt so powerless in the face of it all; he just wished there was more he could do. What he didn't know was just how much he was helping, how much it meant to Tish that he was there, that he cared.

Rinsing out the cloth, Priestly dabbed and cleaned her face once more, reaching out to flush away the mess. Sliding out from behind her, so he could get a good look at her, he settled in front of her, bracketing her with his arms. Priestly frowned; she looked terrible. He needed to get her back to bed and resting.

"You think it's over?" Priestly queried, hoping her body would let her relax for the rest of the night.

Tish nodded woozily, tilting slighting as her head movement caused her to lose her sense of balance.

"Come on. Up you get," he encouraged, gently snaking his arm round Tish's back, carefully, slowly, pulling her up to standing. Tish wavered on her feet, leaning heavily into Priestly's hold. Stretching out an arm, seemingly to steady herself, using both Priestly's body and the wall to guide her, Tish began to slowly make her way back to bed. After three wavering steps however Tish's legs went from under her, nearly a week of practically no food and interrupted sleep catching up with her.

Priestly reacted quickly, not letting her crumple to the ground. Despite the awkward position and the narrow space of the hallway, Priestly managed to get Tish cradled in his arms, one arm hooked under her knees, the other securely wrapped around her back, her head resting against his shoulder. Carefully making his way through the dark, not wanting to further hurt his precious cargo, Priestly eventually reached their bedroom, gently placing Tish down on her side of their bed. Wrapping her up in the covers, he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"You want a drink? Something to wash your mouth out?"

Tish nodded. "Please."

Letting his fingers linger for a moment on the covers, Priestly hurried to the kitchen to fill a glass with some luke-warm water, since cold water apparently wasn't good for upset stomachs. Quickly padding his way back into the bedroom, careful not to spill a drop, Priestly handed Tish the glass before sliding into bed beside her, propping her up against him and arranging the pillows so she was comfortable.

"Okay?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Good," Priestly smiled, trying to not show her how worried he was about her. "There's still a few hours til morning. Try to get some rest."

"Mmm," Tish replied, setting the glass on the bedside table before snuggling into her husband's embrace, taking comfort from his warmth and his solid presence.

Priestly knew she rarely fell back asleep after the bouts of sickness, the muscles still spasming and cramping at seemingly random intervals. But it seemed that tonight she was given a reprieve. As Priestly hummed quietly, tenderly stroking her hair, soothing her, calming her, Tish actually fell asleep. Priestly could feel as the tension completely left her, her breathing evening out, and he was glad; she needed to rest.

"Sleep well, sweetheart," he breathed, careful not to wake her, finally letting himself close his eyes and drift off for a while himself before his alarm would force him up to greet the day.