"When did you find out?" Ramsay asked, arms crossed, leaning against the door frame as you peed on the fourth pregnancy test.
"Only this morning." You said with a sigh, replacing the cap and setting it next to the other three that all read positive. "I was hoping to tell you at dinner tonight. But..." You added, giving your husband a frown.
He pushed off the door frame and watched, for the fourth time, the lines read positive.
It was hard to tell what was going through his head. Was he mad? Excited? Scared? Happy?
"Who all knows?" He asked, glancing over at you as you washed your hands.
"Just you baby." You said, reassuringly, drying your hands off.
Ramsay nodded. "You're making a doctor's appointment first thing in the morning." With that he left you alone in the bathroom.
You were a bit afraid. It wasn't that he had shown no emotion, it was that you didn't know the emotion he had etched on his face. It was foreign and unknown to you. Was he making you set up an appointment for an abortion? The thought made your stomach hurt.
You let out a yawn and walked toward the bed. You had been so ready for bed after sex, but then Ramsay demanded going and buying pregnancy tests.
Kira raised her head off the floor a bit when you entered the bedroom. You gave her a loving nudge with your toe before climbing into bed, heaving a deep sigh as you sunk into your squashy pillow.
A few moments later Ramsay came to bed. What happened next made you want to cry in happiness. Once under the covers he pulled you into him, nuzzled your neck, and placed his hand protectively over your stomach.
"I love you, baby girl." He whispered.
You let a small smile tug your lips, "I love you too, baby."
The smell of bacon and coffee woke you. You looked around through bleary eyes and stifled a yawn. The clock on the bedside table read 8:17.
You sat up, running your hand through your hair, casting around for your bathrobe. You slid out of bed and opened the closet door. No bathrobe hanging up.
'Laundry room.' You thought with a sigh, grabbing the silk robe instead.
It was really too cold as the cold December air seemed to seep into your hardwood floor. You shrugged into your robe and made your way to the kitchen.
The table was set with a plate of eggs, toast, and bacon. A cup of coffee waiting for you. Ramsay was nowhere to be found. He must have been outside smoking.
You sat in the chair and tucked into your food. Once you had eaten your fill you looked around the spotless kitchen, thinking back to the night before. You sipped your coffee, absentmindedly running your hand over your stomach.
Ramsay came into the kitchen, whistling. You looked up and offered a small smile. He narrowed his eyes and gave you a sweet smile back.
"Go get ready. We have a doctor's appointment at eleven thirty." He said, clapping his hands together, and taking your plate away.
"Uhm, okay, love." You said, rising from your chair.
"I need to go into the office after, so one of the guys will bring you home. We have dinner reservations at six."
You smiled to yourself walking into the bathroom and turning the shower on. It had been weeks since your husband had taken you out to eat, and you were excited. Though, you were also nervous about the appointment in three hours.
"How cold is it outside?" You called from your closet.
"Cold enough." Ramsay called back.
You nodded to yourself grabbing a sweater and pair of skinny jeans. After dressing you pulled on your boots and walked back to the bathroom to fix your hair and make up.
"Come on baby girl, let's go!"
"Coming!" You called from the bathroom, finishing up your hair.
Ramsay held out your coat and purse when you reached the front door.
You felt extremely out of place in this waiting room. You felt way over dressed as you looked around at the women in the room. Ramsay sat, impatiently tapping his foot until the nurse opened the door and called your name.
Ramsay possessively grabbed your hand and pushed you forward to walk in front of him as the nurse led you back.
"Good morning, Mrs. Bolton." The nurse said kindly, as she indicated you to step on the scale.
"Good morning!" You said brightly, as she took down your weight.
"So what are we doing today?" The nurse asked, leading you to an empty room.
"Well, yesterday five pregnancy tests informed me that I'm pregnant." You said, as Ramsay helped you up onto the examination bed.
"First?" The nurse asked, making a note.
"Yes." You breathed in excitement, cheeks flushing.
The nurse smiled kindly, "can you tell me the last day of your cycle?"
You frowned, trying to remember. "Uh..."
"Second week of September." Ramsay spoke up.
Nothing slipped past him. In a weird way it was like he knew everything. Especially when it came to you.
The nurse nodded, writing another note. She then smiled at you again.
"Alright, let's get some blood drawn and a urine analysis and then Doctor Stark will be with you and we'll see what we can see."
You nodded, sliding off the table and following the nurse. You glanced back at Ramsay who looked uncomfortable with letting you leave without him.
Five minutes later the nurse returned you to your room and you sat nervously on the examination bed while Ramsay sat in a chair, stared out the window. Every so often he would glance down at his watch and jiggle his foot.
Finally there was a knock on the door and the doctor entered as Ramsay stood quickly, taking his place beside you.
The doctor was a lovely looking woman, who was maybe old enough to be your mother. She had kindly blue eyes and deep auburn hair.
She held her hand out to shake Ramsay's hand.
"I'm Doctor Stark. But feel free to call me Cat." She took a seat on her stool and glanced down at the clipboard she was holding.
"So, I believe a congratulations are in order. Mother's urine sample and blood shows she is in perfect health and baby will do just fine. And this is your first?"
"Yes ma'am." You said, unable to keep the grin off your face.
"Never had any miscarriages before?" The doctor questioned.
You shook your head, "no. But I've been trying for a couple years. Was about ready to give it up as a lost cause. But here we are."
"Here we are." Doctor Cat echoed, writing more things on her clipboard. "Okay, well, you seem healthy, your weight is good, I want you to start taking prenatals, and we will get the Doppler in here to see if we can hear a heartbeat."
You chewed your lip and gave a nod.
You held back tears, gripping Ramsay's hand as the tiny heartbeat came through the speaker of the Doppler.
Ramsay clenched his jaw and fought back a grin.
"I would say we are about eight to nine weeks. Next appointment we will get an ultrasound done, and see exactly how well the little one is doing." Doctor Cat said, with a smile.
The woman at the front desk handed you a slip of paper with your next appointment. You thanked her, smiling brightly, as Ramsay led you from the office. Your smile faltered slightly as you saw Damon's car parked next to yours.
"I won't be long." Ramsay said, pressing a kiss to your temple and then stepping into Damon. "She will get home safe or even Satan himself will have pity on you." He growled so threateningly it made your blood run cold.
"Y-yes, of course." Damon trembled, opening the door for you.
You said nothing as Damon wound his way out of the downtown. You didn't like him. Something about him made you uneasy. But he was Ramsay's right hand. He had more brains than some of the men Ramsay had employed.
"You hungry, ma'am?" Damon asked, waiting on the stoplight to turn green.
"No. Thank you though." You said, watching a group of people hurry across the street, bundled against the harsh December wind and laden with shopping bags.
You were curled up on the couch, under a blanket, reading when both dogs sat up and growled at the front door. You peered at them in interest as the doorbell rang.
You hurried to the door as the dogs barked. Peering out the peep hole you saw two men in suits standing on your door step.
Slowly you opened the door.
The taller of the two, a auburn haired man gave you a smile, while the sandy haired man gave you a nod.
"Mrs. Bolton?" The auburn haired man asked, flashing a badge.
Your stomach dropped, but you put on a sweet smile, "Yes. May I help you gentlemen?"
"We have a few questions for you. I'm Detective Stark and this is my partner Detective Greyjoy."
"Yes, of course. Please, come in out of the cold." You said opening the door wider. Kira and Willow on your heels, emitting low, rumbling growls. You snapped your fingers and the dogs reluctantly retreated across the room to their beds, but never taking their eyes off the men.
You motioned to the empty love seat and the two detectives sat down.
"Can I offer you gentlemen anything to drink? Tea, coffee, water?" You asked taking your seat, and folding your blanket up.
"No thank you." Detective Greyjoy said, eyeing you up and down.
Your phone lit up on the coffee table.
[Ramsay: 5 min]
"If you'll excuse me a second." You said, picking your phone up and hitting call.
'Yes babydoll?' Ramsay said on the other end.
"Hey, wanted to finish up that cake for your father. Can you bring home some sugar?" You said, looking down at the coffee table.
'Of course, baby. See you soon. I love you.'
"Be careful. I love you too." You said, hanging up and turning back to the detectives. "Sorry, I just wanted to catch him before he got home. Really don't wanna be out in this cold."
'Bring home some sugar' was your code phrase to let Ramsay know unexpected company had shown up.
"Not a problem at all. But, last night a man was murdered behind the bar you work at. Reports say you were the last one to see him." Detective Stark said, pulling a picture from his jacket pocket and laying it on the coffee table and sliding it towards you.
You picked up the photo with trembling fingers and taking in a sharp gasp. "Oh my god." It was a picture of Dogbait Farlan as he was known at the bar. You looked up from the picture, trying to remember yesterday. You had been feeling ill and were only half there.
"What... what happened?" You asked, looking between the two men.
"Stabbed to death it seems." Greyjoy spoke, glancing around your house. "Awfully nice place for someone who works at a bar."
His partner gave him a scowl.
You bristled, "I've been working at the bar since I was eighteen. The customers love me and tip me well. Besides i co-own it, if you must know. And my husband works at the bank. We don't hurt for money, thank you."
"Please forgive my partner's rudeness. He's having a bad day it seems." Stark spoke up quickly.
You pursed your lips and turned your gaze to the red head, "is your mother the OBGYN at the place down town?"
The man nodded.
"I saw her today. She confirmed my pregnancy." You said, making small talk. If you could keep them talking until Ramsay got home you'd feel better.
"Congratulations. You must be excited."
You nodded, smiling. Glancing up as Ramsay entered the house, looking rather goofy with a bag of sugar. He gave you a quick look and then ran his eyes over the detectives.
Both men stood, pulling their badges. Ramsay gave a nod. You watched him take an interest in the Greyjoy man.
"Has my wife done something I should know about? Money laundering? Murder? Grand theft auto, perhaps?" Ramsay asked, dropping the sugar on the coffee table and taking a seat beside you.
Detective Stark gave a laugh, putting his badge away, and sitting down again. "No, sir. But we had information that she was the last one to speak to our murder victim last night before we was found dead behind the bar.
From the corner of your eye you saw Ramsay narrow his slightly.
Bastard. You knew it. It was him. It had to be.
"So, what can you tell us?" Greyjoy asked.
"Well, I mean, it was a slow evening. Just the regulars. I left early. I wasn't feeling well and had a date with my husband. But by the time I got home I was feeling too bad to go out. But as far as the bar... Nothing out of the ordinary, honestly. Farlan was my last customer before clocking out, yes. He ordered a beer, drank it, and left. He wasn't with anyone that I know of, and he didn't seem distressed in any way. He was telling me about his new litter of hounds and was just regular ol' Farlan. Sorry if I'm not much help. I can't believe... I mean... He was a good guy." You said, playing up emotion at the end. Ramsay drapped his arm around your shoulders and gave you a small squeeze. To let you know you were playing your part wonderfully.
"No enemies? He didn't owe anyone any money or favors?" Stark asked.
You frowned, shaking your head. "Not that I'm aware of. He was a pretty quiet man. After him and his wife divorced he kept himself to himself mostly."
The detectives exchanged looks, telling you they were back to square one. Stark sighed and rose from his seat.
He held his hand out to you and Ramsay in turn.
"Thank you for your time. If you hear anything, please give us a call."
"Of course. Good luck." Ramsay said politely, showing the men to the door.
Once they were gone, Ramsay clicked the lock and watched as they drove away. He then walked over to the chair they sat in and pulled all the cushions and pillows, examining every inch.
He stood back up and turned to you.
You grinned at him, picking up the bag of sugar. "We may have more sugar than anyone in the world now. When the apocalypse happens we can make our fortune selling sugar." You giggled.
Ramsay snorted, following you to the kitchen.
"Did you do it?" You asked casually, glancing at your husband over your shoulder as you placed the bag of sugar on a shelf in the pantry.
"No. Wasn't us. We were across town."
You frowned, crossing your arms. "Then who? I mean, who'd want to kill that man? Everyone loved him."
Ramsay shrugged, stepping into you and pulling you into him.
"Go get ready for dinner."
"I didn't like that one detective. He was rude." You said, slipping your dress on and pulling your hair aside so Ramsay could zip it.
He kissed along your bare skin before pulling the zipper up.
"Rude, how?" He asked, placing a diamond necklace around your neck and clasping it.
You fingered the new necklace and stared at it in the mirror.
"Rams, this is beautiful." You whispered.
"Thought my little momma might like it when I saw it in the window. Now, tell me about the detective." Ramsay said, kissing your cheek.
You turned to face him, "he was just all like, 'this is an awfully nice place for someone who works at a bar.' Fucking rude ass."
You saw the gears turning behind your husband's eyes.
"Don't do anything stupid, please." You added quickly.
Ramsay smirked, "I would do no such thing, baby girl."
"Liar." You whispered, pressing your lips to his.
His grin widened against your lips, but said nothing as he kissed you back.