Hi all! As always thanks for reading... I recently started a new job and have been trying to find the muse again... Hope this doesn't disappoint.
There's no specific timetable I was thinking in for this one, and it could be related to the first chapter ("Storm") or it could be completely separate... whatever your hearts desire ;)
Pale, slender fingers absently worried the thin cardboard clutched in her hands, rotating the box back and forth, back and forth, before nervously tearing at the edges. From her perch on the edge of the bed, her toes curled anxiously over the footboard, Amanda glanced down to the phone she'd tossed haphazardly onto the mattress beside her, seconds ticking away from the timer as if in slow motion.
1:47.
The slowest three minutes of her life.
She heaved a deep sigh, dropping her head between her shoulders and roughly tangling the fingers of her free hand through knotted blonde hair before steeling herself, looking up and into the open doorway, finding the edge of the EPT stick that sat, waiting, atop three squares of toilet paper.
A hand on her shoulder made her jump, and she breathed a sigh of relief when the hand rubbed calming circles around her upper back. The mattress dipped beside her and she felt her body being tugged into a warm embrace.
"Relax, honey," Olivia soothed, gently kissing the crown of Amanda's head. "I could feel the nerves radiating off of you from the other room," the brunette teased. "I brought you some tea… It's cooling down on the nightstand." She squeezed the back of Amanda's neck, tenderly massaging away the thick tension she felt beneath the younger woman's skin. "How much time?"
"'Bout a minute," Amanda mumbled in reply against a smooth, tan neck. "Y'know, Liv, as many pregnancy tests as I've taken in my life, I've never hoped this hard one would be positive," she drawled self-deprecatingly.
Olivia chuckled softly. "I know, I'm hoping, too," she shared. "But… even if it's not, everything is still going to be okay. Remember?" The brunette pulled away, only far enough to meet blue eyes that were swimming in vulnerability, and Olivia cupped both of Amanda's cheeks in her hands, forcing the other woman to maintain eye contact. "No matter what that stick says, nothing changes. I love you, and we will be okay. Okay?"
"Okay," Amanda agreed weakly, giving the brunette a small smile. "I love you, Liv."
The older woman's reply was interrupted by the melody of the timer going off and, brown eyes darting between blue, Olivia took a deep breath. "You or me?"
Tears welled in Amanda's eyes and she bit her lip, considering. "You," she said, imploringly. "Please? I don't think I can look at another negative one, Liv…"
"Shhhh," Olivia cooed. She brushed wayward blonde bangs out of Amanda's face, peppering the younger woman's forehead with comforting kisses. "I'll go, baby. I'll go."
As soon as the brunette moved toward the bathroom, Amanda covered her face with her hands, her heart pounding with nerves, ears pricked for even the tiniest of noises to come from her lover as she waited to hear their fate.
"Amanda…"
The younger woman refused to look up, shaking her head from behind her hands and letting out a ragged sob. "Just say it, Liv. Just get it over with…"
"Okay," Olivia agreed, then paused. "You're pregnant."
For a moment, Amanda didn't hear her. She remained still, practically unbreathing, on the edge of the bed. She was what?
"I…" She looked up, watery bloodshot eyes finding the elated brown orbs of the other woman. "Pregnant?"
Tears welling in her own eyes, Olivia nodded vigorously as she stepped forward into the V of Amanda's open legs, her hands coming to cup the sides of Amanda's neck, the blonde's hands finding her wrists and holding on tight. Blue eyes, still shrouded in disbelief, searched her face.
"Pregnant?" Amanda asked again. Inside, thousands of words jumped at her from all over, but her mouth seemed unable to articulate more than just that one. Pregnant.
"It was positive. You're pregnant, baby," Olivia laughed, pressing her forehead against the other woman's. "We're pregnant… We're gonna have a baby."
Amanda gasped. It seemed like such an impossibility; she'd prepared herself so much for the treatment to be unsuccessful, so sure that it would be. And now… "We're gonna have a baby…" Her hands rubbed up Olivia's arms and down her back until they wrapped around the brunette's waist, her eyes finally showing the clarity of understanding, and she looked down at her stomach before finding Olivia's gaze once again, her face the picture of happiness. "We're gonna have a baby… Liv…"
"Yeah," Olivia breathed. A smile lingered on her face as they both sobered, and she tipped Amanda's head back, her thumb lazily wiping away an errant tear as she eyed the younger woman's parted lips. "I love you so much…"
Amanda groaned as soft, pillowy lips pressed passionately against her own, each tasting the salt of the other's tears as they celebrated. "God, I love you," Amanda gasped, tearing her mouth away from the older woman's, nipping and sucking her way along Olivia's strong jaw before separating completely. "Number three… We're gonna be outnumbered," Amanda teased. "Are you really sure you wanna do this with me? Really, really sure?"
Tossing her head back with laughter, Olivia pulled the younger woman against her body, lightly scratching her blunt nails down the ridges of Amanda's back and feeling the reverberations of the blonde's responding moan. "It's a little late to be asking that, don't you think?" Olivia rested her cheek against the top of Amanda's head and sighed contentedly, feeling the other woman's arms wrap tighter around her waist. "I'm in this with you, one hundred percent, until death do us part, remember? Whether it's the four of us or we have our own soccer team."
Amanda snorted against the older woman's chest, then smiled, thinking of their son and daughter, already fast asleep in their own rooms. "They're going to be so excited."
"Mmm," Olivia hummed in agreement.
"Should we tell them in the morning? Or wait?"
"We should probably keep it to ourselves at least until we get you to the doctor, just to confirm and make sure everything is good," Olivia smiled tenderly, one hand sneaking down to splay across the still flat expanse of Amanda's tummy.
"You're right," Amanda whispered, her hand coming to rest atop her lover's. She met Olivia's gaze, noting how the older woman's chocolate eyes had darkened significantly, and bit her lip in a move that she knew would weaken the other woman's restraint.
Gently, Olivia used the hand on Amanda's stomach to push her backward on the bed, smiling sexily at the younger woman as she watched Amanda shimmy backward until her head rested comfortably against the pillows. Her gaze turned predatory then, and she crawled atop the mattress, dropping kisses as she traversed Amanda's body until her head was level with her lover's stomach. She lifted the nightshirt Amanda wore until it was bunched beneath pert breasts, and she felt fingers thread through her hair as her lips pressed the most tender kiss against the warm skin of Amanda's quivering belly.
"For now," Olivia whispered, "This little peanut will be our little secret."
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