"I've never understood Christmas in July."
Jackson smirked as he looked up from his laptop to find April frowning at an advertisement from a local store that had gotten mixed in with their mail.
"It's just an excuse for stores to have sales on out of season items."
She seemed to ponder that for a moment, smoothing one hand thoughtfully over her protruding stomach. It was a habit she had picked up recently, only since their last OB appointment the week before when they had found out they were having a little girl.
"It's still weird," April decided finally, tossing the flyer aside, "But now I really want peppermint stick ice cream…"
"Babe, we have four different flavors in the freezer that you really wanted."
Jackson couldn't help but smirk as April crossed over to stand behind the couch, swatting him playfully on the back of the head.
"Excuse me," she grumbled, "But I am your wife, and it is your fault that I am this pregnant in the middle of July. The least you can do is buy me the ice cream I want."
"I did, four times. We don't have any more room in the freezer."
"We could go to that cute little ice cream stand down town..."
Jackson sighed, closing his laptop and setting it aside as he turned his body to face April,
"You are supposed to be resting, remember? Doctor's orders. That's why we took the day off."
"I did rest! I rested all morning, and now I am getting restless, so-"
"How're your feet doing?"
April scowled, her hands moving protectively to her stomach as she pursed her lips and refused to answer. Jackson raised his eyebrows, but she continued to stand stoically until he set his laptop on the coffee table and patted the seat next to him on the couch.
"C'mere," he said, placing two throw pillows on his lap as April plopped down next to him, still scowling. With some difficulty she swung her legs up, placing her feet in Jackson's lap and reclining against the arm of the sofa.
"They look a little less swollen today," Jackson offered, taking one of her feet in his hands and massaging it. April refused to respond, staring defiantly at the ceiling. He frowned for a moment, then decided to take a risk and traced a finger lightly along the bottom of her foot.
"Hey!"
Jackson grinned as she jerked her leg back with an involuntary giggle, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Quit being a grumpus," he said with a smile, taking her foot back, "I'll take you out to get peppermint stick ice cream later, okay?"
"Okay."
April settled back against the arm of the sofa with a smug smile, absentmindedly rubbing the spot where she could feel her little girl resting her head near her belly button. Her tiny feet pressed into April's spine as she stretched and kicked.
"What do you think of the name Noelle?" She asked after a quiet moment. Jackson smirked,
"I'd say it's right up there with Cindy-Lou"
"I'm being serious!"
"So am I," he insisted, swatting at her leg as she kicked him lightly in the stomach, "we are not naming our daughter after Christmas."
"Why not? Everyone loves Christmas. When people think of Christmas it makes them feel happy and nostalgic and like they want to call their mom and tell her they love her."
"So our daughter will make people want to call their moms?"
"You're missing the point."
Jackson chuckled as April pouted, knowing that she wasn't going to get her way. But the thought of Christmas lingered in his mind, creating a twinge somewhere deep in his heart. The feeling stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Clara."
April propped herself up on her elbows to get a better look at her husband, who had frozen with a far out look in his eyes. The name was so quiet she had barely heard it pass through his lips.
"What?"
"Clara. It's from the Nutcracker. I was just thinking if you like the Christmas theme…"
He turned to face her, and April furrowed her brow at the sudden vulnerability reflected in his features.
"I didn't know you were a fan of ballet," she admitted with a small smile, one that he returned.
"I'm not really. My mom used to take me to see the Nutcracker every year when I was a kid. She usually had to work on Christmas, so that was kind of how we celebrated instead. It's okay if you don't like the name. It was just a suggestion."
They both knew that it was more than that. From the moment he had said it something had clicked in April, some sort of feeling that they had found their daughter's name.
"Clara," she repeated, moving both of her hands to cradle her stomach as she bit back a sudden wave of tears, "It's perfect."
Jackson moved his hands to cover hers, feeling the same sense of exhaultion rising in his chest as he searched her eyes for confirmation.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Clara Catherine Avery, it's perfect."
"Hang on, I didn't agree to-"
"Oh," April laughed, taking Jackson's hand and pressing it against a spot on her stomach where Clara's tiny feet were pounding, "I think she likes it!"
Jackson gave a half-hearted sigh, unable to contain the wave of happiness that crashed over him as he listened to April talk to their daughter through her fits of joyful giggles.
"Clara Catherine, we could call you Cece," she mused, then looked up and grinned at Jackson, "Cece Avery. Our little sugarplum."
He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead he found himself pulling April fully onto his lap, tangling a hand in her curls as he pressed his lips to hers, kissing her with a sort of soft intensity.
"Ï love you so much," he whispered against her lips, their foreheads pressed together and their noses brushing in the way that always made her grin, "Both of you."
He leaned down then, placing a kiss to the top of her stomach, causing another quieter round of giggles.
"What do you think Cece, should we go get your mom some peppermint stick ice cream?"
April's stomach quivered visibly from the force with which Clara kicked her, and Jackson chuckled as she gasped in surprise.
"That definitely seems like a yes to me."
"I'm starting to think she's the one with the craving and she's just using me to project."
"Well whatever our little sugarplum wants, she gets."
April rolled her eyes as she stood up from the couch,
"Okay, I'll remind you of that when she's sixteen and wants to go to a concert on a school night with some boy who drives a pickup truck."
Jackson's eyes widened with horror,
"She won't-"
"She will. But don't worry about it now, let's just go get ice cream before our little sugarplum breaks my ribs with excitement. Deal?"
"Deal."
A/N: Just some Japril fluff to kick off the hiatus. Now that I'm on summer break I'm hoping to get some more oneshots finished before I start my summer job. Please review! It always makes my day :)