A/N: Abby and Connor get some unexpected news and Connor makes a big decision. Just a little much need fluff for Connor and Abby. Hope you enjoy. Please let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: Primeval and its characters belong to Impossible Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended.
Will You?
Abby found the first one on her bedside table one month after they had returned from the Cretaceous. It was a small green origami dinosaur, sitting astride a single long-stemmed red rose with a note tied to it. The note simply read, 'I love you'. Abby smiled; Connor was so sweet. She had been ill that morning and thoroughly depressed as this was becoming a regular occurrence, Connor kissed her clammy forehead and left to get in the shower. She was going to have to go into work late again. She was having trouble falling back asleep and glanced over to the tablewhere the clock was. The little paper figure was sitting on top of it. Connor must have set it there just after he kissed her. Suddenly, she felt much better now, as though her spirits had lifted. She surprised him by joining him in the shower.
Abby was a very methodical lover when she was focused. Where Connor was attentive, Abby was… detailed, wringing every possible ounce of pleasure from him. The only downside was that she was once again violently ill about an hour later, right when they were about to leave for the ARC. Abby could see that Connor was worried, but she said it was nothing. She said it was probably just a light stomach bug that didn't want to leave her system. She could tell that Connor wasn't really convinced, but Abby insisted she knew her own body and that there was nothing to worry about, though it was sweet of him to worry.
From that day on, at least once a week, Abby found an origami figure and a flower with a little note from him. The notes were never long, but they were sincere. Abby loved and treasured each one, keeping them in the drawer next to her bed.
Connor never demanded anything from her; he just seemed to enjoy the way her face lit up whenever she found a new one.
The whole origami dinosaur thing had all stemmed from a conversation they had shared during their year in the past, when Connor had recounted the story how his father, who had died when he was a boy, used to make origami pets for him. Connor couldn't have real pets because his allergies were so bad they would cause him to have difficulty breathing, like an allergy-induced form of severe asthma. He didn't grow out of it until just before he went to uni. His father knew he had really wanted to have a pet, so he made him one, of sorts. Any time Connor was feeling down, or sick, or just having a rough day, he found a note in his lunchbox from his dad and a small origami figure. His favorite had been the origami dinosaur. The summer before his dad died, after James Temple had learned that he was sick, he'd spent hours teaching Connor the fine art of origami. Connor hadn't realized that would be the last summer he would have with his father, but he treasured every memory from that precious time. He had placed two origami dinosaurs in his father's casket before they buried him, one labeled Connor, and the other labeled Daddy. Connor had never told anyone that story before. Abby had been touched by his willingness to share this most beloved of memories with her. Abby knew then that he trusted her completely and she knew him better than anyone else. With Connor's willingness to tell her this story, something had shifted in there relationship. They knew each other, inside and out. They were one, with no secrets between them.
Three weeks, and three origami animals later, Abby still wasn't really better and even Lester insisted that she go see a doctor. He kindly offered the use of the ARC doctors in case it was something related to their time in the Cretaceous. Abby reluctantly agreed. Connor got called out on an anomaly just as she was preparing to see the doctor. By the time he got back, he was told that Abby had been sent to hospital and then on home.
Connor rushed home; Abby had seemed very hesitant to talk about what she found out over the phone, she said she need to have the conversation face to face. He was terrified that she was going to tell him she was sick and that he was going to lose her just like he had lost his dad.
When he came through the door, Abby was sitting on the couch waiting for him. He came to her and knelt down in front of her, taking her small hands in his bigger ones. "Abby, are you OK? What's wrong, sweetheart? Lester said you had to go to hospital. Please tell me. You can tell me anything."
Abby nodded. "I know, I didn't mean to make you panic. I just didn't know how to deal with this exactly. Um… Connor… um…"
"Just tell me, Abby. It'll be OK. We'll handle this, whatever this is, together, yeah?"
"I'm pregnant, Connor." Abby eyes clouded with tears and she looked away, looking anywhere but at Connor. "I'm sorry, I should have been more careful, I've been meaning to get back on my birth control, but I just hadn't made the appointment yet, and then you almost always wear a condom anyway. There were just those handful of times where we were in the moment and … and… I'm so sorry, it's my fault." The tears were flowing freely down her cheeks now. She figured Connor would be terribly disappointed with her. She was afraid her would leave her like her father had done to her mother. Connor had never talked about having or wanting kids. Neither of them had even mentioned it in the Cretaceous; they were too busy trying not to be dinosaur chow.
Connor placed his fingers softly on her face, touching her cheek first and then tenderly stroking down to her chin, gently lifting her gaze to look at him. Abby's scared eyes finally rose to meet his. She literally sucked in a breath at the expression on his face. Connor was positively beaming. He had one of those blinding, brilliant, dimpled, ear-to-ear grins spread across his face. He leaned forward and gently kissed her trembling lips.
"That is the best news you could have ever given me, Abby." He kissed the tip of her nose. "I know you're scared, but you're not in this alone, you know that, right? Why are you so terrified, huh?"
Abby let out a small sob of relief. "I was afraid you'd run. That you'd leave like my dad did when mom told him she was pregnant with Jack. She was never the same after that, you know?" Abby wiped her nose and sniffed loudly. "I don't know why I'm so scared; you're nothing like my prick of a father."
Connor leaned forward and kissed the tears from her cheeks. "I love you. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm ecstatic about this." He was still grinning from ear to ear. "I can't wait to meet him… or her. I was so worried when you wouldn't talk to me earlier, I thought you were sick and I was going to lose you like I did me dad." Connor pulled a small brightly coloured pink origami swan from his computer bag, resting next to him on the floor, and placed it delicately in her lap.
Abby smiled. "I'm sorry I scared you." Her smile broadened as she asked him, "You're excited? Really?"
Connor nodded, giving her another view of his bright, lovely, dimpled smile.
Abby laughed a little. "Good, because I really want to have this baby. I didn't think I would, but they did an ultrasound and I got to hear the heartbeat. It was kind of incredible."
"Did you get a copy of any of that? How far along are you? When's your next appointment? What are we going to name him… her… whatever?" Connor rested his head against her abdomen as if he were trying to hear the heartbeat himself.
Abby gazed down at him and carded her fingers through his thick dark hair. "Where to begin? Um… Yes, I got a picture. I'm about 10 weeks along. My cycle was so irregular in the Cretaceous that I just figured it hadn't regulated itself back yet, that's why they sent me to hospital. They wanted to make sure that everything was ok with the baby, and me, you know, incase the anomalies have adversely affected either of us or anything. We needed to accurately determine the due date, too. Lester pulled some strings so I could jump to the head of the queue. And, I thought we would talk about names together." She smiled as he stroked over her currently flat tummy. "You know you can't actually hear anything right?"
He giggled against her and she laughed with him. "Maybe I just want him to get acquainted with the sound of me voice." He lifted up her shirt and kissed her tummy. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I can't wait for you to get all round and pregnant looking. You're going to be even more beautiful than you are now."
"Are you saying you want me to get fat?"
"Mm-hmm. I am absolutely saying that. You'll be perfect, exactly like a mummy should be."
He crawled up to sit next to her one the couch and pulled her to lean back on his chest.
"I love you, Connor Temple. Do you know that?"
Connor nodded, "Never get tired of hearing it though."
"I love you."
The next couple of months were a flurry of activity. Abby and Connor spent every spare moment preparing the nursery or discussing names. Work was a little hectic and Abby ended up having to take medical leave for her health and the health of the baby. Connor missed not being able to work with her and see her all the time. It made him think. He wanted to do things right, even he was a little behind the curve.
He approached Becker for help later that day. Abby was five and a half months into her pregnancy, and Connor had suddenly realized that if he wanted to do this right, he was running out of time.
"Becker, can I get your help with something? It's nothing illegal; it's just… I have an idea. Can you help me?"
"So, will it involve me and my men being your personal army again?" Becker smirked and quirked an eyebrow at Connor.
Connor smiled at the memory, "Um, no, nothing like that."
"Well, what'd you have in mind?"
"Well…"
Abby spent the afternoon shopping with Jess; the two had become unlikely friends over the last few months. They had spent the entire day shopping for baby stuff and more maternity clothes for Abby. She didn't arrive home until late in the afternoon. She was exhausted and her feet were sore and they had started swelling when she stayed on them too long. She wondered idly if Connor would rub her feet. She turned the key in the lock and opened the door.
There were no lights on in the apartment. There was soft music flowing out from the main room. Abby rounded the corner and the sight took her breath away. Candles rested and flickered lightly on nearly every surface in the room. Also on almost every surface rested origami dinosaurs, of every color and pattern imaginable. There must have been hundreds. Each one was paired with a red Rose, white Tulip, pink English Daisies, or blue-violet Delphiniums. Connor stood in the middle of the room, wearing a suit, he had some how even managed to tie his necktie. He looked incredibly nervous; he was holding an entire two-dozen red rose bouquet.
"Pick one," he said quietly. Abby picked up one of the little origami dinosaurs she loved so much. "Open it."
Abby delicately unfolded the little paper figure. Written on the inside were two words: "Will you?"
"Will I what?"
"Open another one."
Abby did as he instructed. It was exactly the same message. She reached out and grabbed a third and unfolded it. It also said the same thing.
She looked up at him questioningly, her eyebrows knitting together in the way that made him melt for her. "They all ask the same question," he stated quietly.
"Will I what?"
Connor held out one final dinosaur to her, his hands shaking a little.
Abby took it and opened it slowly. There were only two words written inside this figure also, but they were two very different words: "Marry me?"
Abby gasped and looked up at him. He had set the roses down on the table and was now on one knee holding a small black velvet box open to her. Fear, nervousness, and excitement all bound together on his face as he waited for her response. Abby's feet suddenly didn't hurt as much. In fact, she felt like she wasn't even touching the floor at all. Tears welled up in her eyes as she nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
"Yeah?"
"Yes," she finally managed. "Yes."
Connor stood up and wrapped his arms around her expanded waist. He felt the baby bump pressing between him as he kissed her in the candlelight. He took her hand and delicately slipped the ring onto her finger. Abby was impressed. It was a perfect fit. It was also beautiful and quite large.
As if he could read her mind he said, "I talked Lester into giving me quite a bit of the hazard pay we're due upfront instead of slowly paying it out in small amounts added to my regular pay."
"It's so beautiful and perfect."
"If it's OK with you, I'd really like to actually get married before the baby's born."
Abby had her arms around his neck and she nodded into his shoulder. She was so overcome.
"How did you manage all this? There must be hundreds of those origami dinosaurs."
Connor kissed her hair. "Four-hundred-and-twenty-seven." Abby felt a lump form in her throat. "The exact number of days that we spent trapped in the Cretaceous," he finished.
Abby turned her head and kissed his neck.
"I wrote out the words on every piece of paper, and I spent the last month teaching Becker how to make them so that he could help me do all this. We only just managed to finish about a half an hour ago." He felt her tears on his neck and rubbed her back gently.
"Oh, Connor, you did all this for me?"
"I'd do anything for you, love."
"I know. Thank you. It's perfect. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
He hugged her to him more closely. "Oh, I'm sorry, you must be exhausted. Here." He led her to the couch and pulled off her trainers; they were the only shoes her swollen feet could endure for long periods of time. Without her even asking he grabbed her favourite Night-Blooming-Jasmine scented lotion and began working it into her feet. He was attentive and thorough as always, kissing her feet and toes.
Abby closed her eyes and relaxed into his gentle touch. She leaned back and let herself drift, rubbing light circles over her growing baby bump. They stayed like that for a long time, Connor slowly working out the tension in her feet and calves and Abby lightly caressing her stomach thinking about what their child was going to be like. Would he - or she - have Connor's eyes? Would they have her feisty personality or Connor's gentle innocence? Was she going to be a good mum? As she rested the movements of her hand on her abdomen at this silent question she felt a very obvious bump come in contact with her hand. She gasped a little and looked up at Connor. It was the first legitimate kick she'd felt. She'd had other flutterings that she thought might have been the baby, small movements here and there, but this was obvious. It was as if the baby was answering her.
"What is it?" Connor asked. She reached out and grabbed his hand, placing it on her tummy at the spot where the baby had just kicked.
"Come on baby, say hello to daddy, yeah?" Abby made small circles with her fingertips on her stomach all around where she had Connor's hand pressed to her.
Suddenly there was another jolt from inside of Abby. Connor gasped and then laughed out loud.
"That's brilliant!" The baby kicked at their hands again and Connor laughed out loud again. When he looked up into Abby's face he had tears in his eyes. So did she. The whole moment was beyond perfect. It was truly sublime.
Connor leaned up and kissed her, tender and sweet, savoring the moment.
"Make love to me, Connor?" Abby asked softly.
"You sure? I mean, you're clearly showing now, is it still safe?"
"Remember that the doctor said, 'go with your feelings and what your body is telling you.' Well, my body is telling me that I want you to make love to me."
Connor's eyes were dark with passion as he nodded and lifted her from the couch.
They made love that night and it only added to the perfection of the moment. Connor shared with Abby that he had a vicar, a man he'd known since boyhood, lined up at the little picturesque country church that his mum had attended her whole life. His parents had been married there and his father was buried in the adjoining cemetery. It was right near a beautiful little cottage style bed and breakfast. They could get married in two weeks. Abby was more than overjoyed. Connor had carefully planned out everything. He really was amazing.
Two weeks later they were standing before the vicar with a small gathering of friends around them, including Connor's mum and Abby's brother. Jack had gone a long way to maturing after nearly getting himself, and them, killed in that abysmal future almost two years ago. He was at uni himself now, taking it seriously and actually proving to be quite good at it. The ceremony was beautiful. When the vicar announced them as Mr. and Mrs. Connor Temple there was applause and tears all around, especially from Connor's mum, who said over and over to anyone who would listen how lovely a couple they were. Becker and Jack clapped Connor on the back and congratulated him.
They had a weeklong honeymoon at the little cottage bed and breakfast. Connor was shocked to find that their bill had been paid in full already. When he asked who had paid it, he was handed a note. It read, 'don't let it go to your head Temple, and perhaps I'll consider letting you make me the baby's godfather." It was simply signed JPL in an elegant and flourishing script.
Connor smiled to himself and showed the note to Abby. "I guess he really is an old softy after all, isn't he?" Connor remarked.
"Oh, he'd be quite a good godfather. I think we should totally take him up on that. Then, when we need a weekend away, we could guilt him into child care." The two giggled a little at the thought. Connor got their room keys and headed to the old carriage house that would be theirs for the next week.
Two months later Connor walked out of Abby's hospital room all smiles and holding his newborn son. He didn't really let anyone else hold him just yet, but showed him off gratefully to his friends and family. The only three who had the distinction of holding baby Nicholas James Temple, (named after Connor's dad, though Lester certainly wouldn't mind sharing) were Connor's mum, godfather Lester, and Uncle Jack, and even that was only for a few minutes each. Connor was very anxious to get Nick and himself back to Abby, who was recovering.
After being out with everyone in the waiting room, he could stand it no more. He held Nick close to him and made his way back to Abby's room. She was resting quietly, but her eyes opened when Connor opened the door and walked in. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You were amazing Abby. You up to holding him again?"
"Of course, let me see my beautiful son." Connor gently unwrapped the blankets from around Nick, leaving him in just his nappy. Abby pulled down her gown and Connor laid the baby on her chest, bare skin to bare skin. Nicholas fussed for a moment as he adjusted to his new position; his mouth then quested for Abby's milk. Abby moved his head until he was able to latch on properly. She cradled him to her as he drank deeply from her.
"Well, at least I know Nick and I have something in common," Connor laughed. "It seems he has the same enthusiasm for your breasts as I do."
"Cheeky bugger!" Abby said playfully. He sat on the bed and Abby scooted over to accommodate him.
Connor held up a small powder blue dinosaur origami figure with the words, 'It's a boy,' written on it. "From Becker. He thought we might get a laugh out of it." And they did, both smiling from ear to ear.
He wrapped his arms around his little family. Abby laid her head on his chest and sighed contentedly. Connor kissed the top of both their heads. "I love you, and I promise to do all that is in my power to protect you both." There was silence from him for a moment, then, "Do you think I'm going to be a good dad?" His voice had gone low and quiet, all of a sudden uncertain as the reality and the gravity of the situation hit him.
Abby took his hand and guided it to rest on Nick's back. "He's part of you. You helped to create this perfect little being. If he grows up to be half the man you are, he'll be fine. I have no doubt that you'll be a great dad. You are the most amazing man I've every known. You'll be a terrific father. I know it." Nicholas snuffled around and stopped suckling. He seemed to be content and full for the time being.
Connor stroked his son's head tenderly. "I will, you think?"
Abby reached up and caressed Connor's cheek before turning his face to kiss his lips. "Yeah, you will."
A/N: OK, so what did you think. Hit the review button and let me know. I really like to know what you guys think of my writing. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE? :-D
