A/N: Another response to a prompt for Angel-princess-anna who asked for the Bate's announcing to their eldest that a new addition was on it's way. Please review.
"Can I get you anything? A biscuit or perhaps a glass of water," John asked as he emerged from the washroom.
While John was quite familiar with the ups and downs of pregnancy, this pregnancy seemed to be taking its toll on Anna more than usual. At John's insistence, though it didn't take much convincing, Anna had gone to see the village doctor. The doctor had already assured mother and father that things were running like clockwork and that they could expect their newest bundle of joy in the spring.
Anna lay in their bed on her side clutching at her stomach, a barely noticeable bump beneath her touch. "No, but thank you. Will you come sit with me?" she asked weakly. Her hair was mussed up and her eyes look tired, but Anna still looked as pretty as a picture to him.
He shook his head in disapproval at her reluctance to eat or drink anything more for fear that it would simply come back up. If there was one thing John had learned in his courtship and marriage to Anna it was that when she set her mind to something she would not be deterred. Instead, he offered her a warm smile and crossed the room towards her while sliding his braces off. "Do you even have to ask?" John lowered himself onto the mattress with his white undershirt and pants still in place. He sat beside Anna and let his hand drift across the comforter to find her hand. He gave her a reassuring squeeze and they shared a smile. He couldn't take his eyes off her; time spent in silence was his worst enemy and right now his greatest concern was Anna.
He had been quiet since they left the doctor's office and a brooding John was not a good thing. "John Bates, I know right now your mind is thinking the worst case scenario but everything will be fine. I'm tired but I feel fine," she said as she stroked his cheek with her free hand.
"I just wish there was something I could do. I feel so helpless right now," John said as he forced a smile.
Her hands felt impossibly soft against his skin. Marred by a minor scar or two from working the iron as a young housemaid maid, but still the most gentle, silk-like hands he had ever felt. A reminder of how just how nurturing and tender she could be. John turned his face into her touch to place a kiss in the palm of her hand. She smiled at the gesture and lowered his hand to her abdomen. "You heard the doctor, he said 'no stress'. That goes for you too," she reminded him. "If you want to be helpful you will grant me that," she said playfully.
"I'll try," he said with a good-natured smile. His eyes crinkled at the corners, making him look all the more adorable to her. He smoothed a loose hair back behind her ear and let his fingertips run down the length of her braid.
"Mummy!" a voice called out from across the hallway.
Anna began to rise from the bed but John lifted his hands up to gesture for her to sit back down. "You are supposed to stay off your feet for a few days. I'll go tend to him," John said. She looked like an angel sitting there in her white night gown, her cheeks aglow from her pregnancy, and her hair creating a golden aura around her face.
Anna had all but given up on her husband returning to bed and had wondered if he was having a hard time with their son, but she knew he would only worry more if she got out of bed to check on him. Anna had just reached for a book on her bedside table and began to read where she had last left off when she heard the sound of the doorknob turn. She paused on the sentence she was reading and raised her eyes to look in the direction of the doorway and was pleasantly surprised to see her eldest, Michael, standing in the frame. "Hello, my darling boy. Are you alright?"
Michael rubbed at his eyes, his cheeks showing evidence of a tear stained face. Despite his fair hair and complexion he looked exactly like his father when he pouted. Michael nodded his head in a 'no' motion and ran to her with haste when she gestured for him to join her on the bed. He helped himself to burrowing under the covers and snuggling against her side. At four years old her little boy was growing up fast. He had taken after her in every way except for his tall frame that he obviously inherited from his father. She ran a hand through his long, blonde hair and reminded herself that she would need to cut it again soon. "Did you have a nightmare?" Michael nodded silently in agreement. "Would you like to talk about it?"
He thought about her offer for a moment with his lips pursed together and looked up at her with big blue eyes before answering back, "No."
"Would you like to sleep with Mummy and Daddy tonight?" Without hesitation Michael nodded his head in agreement. Anna heard the familiar footsteps followed by a tap of a cane as John walked in with another addition on his arm. "Andrew, my love!" she greeted enthusiastically.
"Mumma!" he called back with his finger pointed towards Anna.
John walked toward the bed and set Andrew down next to Michael. Their youngest held his stuffed dog to his chest and a thumb in his mouth. His dark blue eyes were somewhat obstructed by an unruly lock of dark hair.
"Come to me, sweetheart," Anna said.
"Anna, do you think it wise?" John asked.
"I'm pregnant John, not dying," she affirmed. As she pulled Andrew across her body to settle him on her other side his foot trailed across her waist.
"Careful," John cautioned to Andrew.
Andrew was still suspended in air with wide eyes as he looked in the direction of John's voice. Michael sat up in bed looking back and forth between his parents.
"He'll be fine. We just need to explain to the both of them that there are going to be some changes," she reasoned. After all the last time she was pregnant, Michael was barely old enough to talk. He had no understanding of the circumstances at the time.
"Should we tell them now then?" he asked.
"I don't see why not, especially after the clean bill of health from the doctor," she said while patting her stomach lightly.
"Alright then," John said as he sat down on the bed. He scooted a little closer to Michael and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Michael...Andrew," he addressed them both. Michael looked up at his father with curiosity and Andrew smiled at his father. "Mummy is going to have a baby," John explained in the simplest of terms.
"A baby?" Michael asked.
"Now?" Andrew asked in unison.
"No," Anna answered as she broke into laughter. A smile drew itself on John's face and he chuckled heartily. "In a few months my love."
"Where is the baby?" Michael asked eagerly.
"It's in Mummy's tummy," John answered.
"Here?" Andrew said as he pulled his top up a little and pointed to his stomach.
Anna tickled his little belly. "No my love. Here," Anna corrected as she placed Andrew's hand on her tiny bump.
"Baby," Andrew said as he explored the expanse of Anna's stomach with his hand.
"Can I see?" Michael asked in a small voice.
"Of course," Anna said.
"Just be gentle," John reminded them both.
"I will," Michael insisted.
"Me too," Andrew said trying to be as much like his big brother as possible.
It warmed John's heart to see some semblance of understanding between both their boys. Having never gotten to observe this interaction with Michael when Anna was pregnant with Andrew, this was certainly a new experience. Even Andrew appeared to be excited about the possibility of a brother or sister. It was hard to imagine that he, John Bates, was soon to be the father of three. He already thought he was lucky enough to have landed the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on, but to have gotten the opportunity to be a father was an experience he was glad he had not been denied.
Watching Anna with her boys, who were clearly as infatuated with their mother as he was, was quite the sight to see. From the moment he had met her, Anna had been a continuous source of love and it was only right that that affection and devotion be shared with the world. He couldn't imagine two more deserving people to share it with than their children.
"So, looks like we will be having a full house tonight," John said as he clapped his hands together.
"It certainly does," Anna said with glee as she began to tuck Andrew into bed next to her.
John slipped into his pajamas and seamlessly slid into bed next to his little family. He extended his arms to reach for the bedside lamp to turn it off, but paused and turned back to Anna.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"I can't go to bed without my goodnight kiss," he said as he leaned over Michael to reach Anna.
She giggled a little in the dimly lit room. "You sound just as bad as the boys," she said with a wicked grin. But despite her teasing she gripped at the collar of his undershirt and pulled him down for a slow, passion-filled kiss.
"It's only because we love you so. Count yourself lucky, Mrs. Bates," John said as he leaned back onto his side of the mattress. He turned off the lights and got comfortable in the dark.
"Oh believe me, I do," she whispered back into the darkness.