Alright, we've got a new fluff piece up, short and sweet. Lost my job three weeks ago (yay, budget cuts), so I needed to give myself a little pick-me-up of the TMsquared variety. This is set right before Tracy tells Ted she's pregnant; and my story "Baby Fun Fact No561" is probably a good follow-up to this. Now that I have more time on my hands, I am hoping to get more writing done in between applying to jobs. (Got another fluff piece forthcoming.) So, I hope you all enjoy!
It's positive.
Tracy stared down at the pregnancy test in her shaking hands, the bold plus sign as clear as day. There was no denying it: she was pregnant.
She wasn't too surprised, given this was the fifth test she had taken in the span of three days. But she still stared down at it, stunned. Tracy couldn't quite believe it.
Sure, the signs that she was possibly pregnant were present for a couple of weeks now, although Tracy ignored them at first. There was that time she threw up the weekend she and Ted got engaged, with the nausea and vomiting persisting on-and-off for a few days, which Tracy just shrugged it off.
But as she soon after started to feel more tired, needed to pee more often, and experienced lower back pain, she wondered: Maybe...?
So the purchased a pregnancy test while on her lunch break one day, waiting until she got home to take it. Ted had been in the kitchen, happily cooking dinner, unaware that Tracy was taking a life-altering test just a few feet away.
It was positive, and while it shook Tracy, she tried to find reasons to not take it seriously. These things aren't always 100% accurate, she had tried to convince herself.
So she took another. And another. And another, each giving her the same result again and again.
She contemplated letting Ted in on the situation. He wouldn't have been anything but ecstatic over the news, she knew. The prospect of children together was everything to him. But Tracy didn't want to get his hopes up before she knew for sure. He was the kind of guy who would get excited all too soon, counting his chickens before they've hatched.
Admittedly, though, Tracy wanted to get her own emotions and thoughts in order first. She wanted kids, of course—especially with Ted. That wasn't even an issue; they'd discussed kids at-length and were on the same page on that front.
There was just that small part of her that still suffered from some Catholic guilt. Yes, she was an adult and she was in a committed relationship—she was engaged, for goodness' sake!—but Tracy still oddly felt like a 16-year-old in deep trouble. It wasn't supposed to be this way; love and marriage came first, and then babies! She mentally kicked herself for not being careful with protection; of course, the romantic weekend they decided to spend up at the house in Westchester, they managed to pack everything they needed except condoms.
And yet, as she sat on the edge of the bed that she shared with Ted, staring down at a fifth positive pregnancy test, Tracy also thought about this second chance she was given.
She and Ted were building a life together. A mere 18 months ago, Tracy would've never thought she'd be where she was. And yet, she had a diamond ring on her finger, a potential house in the suburbs, a down payment check in her purse to give to the castle guy for their wedding, and now she was pregnant with Ted's baby. Tracy finally let that sink in: Ted and I are having a baby.
A smile started to form on her lips, tears of joy quite possibly stinging her eyes. Holy crap, she and Ted were having a kid together; so did it really matter if it wasn't going to happen exactly how she'd always envisioned? They'd have to move some things around—move into the house earlier than anticipated, and clearly postpone the wedding until after the baby was born—but these were minute details that didn't even compare to the bigger picture.
And best of all, she was going through this with Ted. Sure, every time they made love was a tiny chance they could've ended up pregnant; she and Ted were both conscious of it. But that tiny possibility never seemed scary, because it was him and it was her.
And that possibility was now a reality. This was crazy and amazing and wonderful news; they were going to be alright. More than alright, in fact.
And right then, Tracy only had one thing on her mind, one task that was urgent and pressing. Castle guy's check, be damned.
I have to go and tell Ted!