I've managed to sneak a little bit of Iain/Jez banter into this chapter. I hope you like it :)
"Rita, Rita."
"Sorry Ethan, what can I do for you?"
"Are you okay? I don't mean to pry only I've been stood here a while and you seemed to be miles away."
"Me?" Rita forced a smile, "no, I'm fine, just a few too many long shifts, looking forward to a day off tomorrow" she lied, in reality there was only one thing on her mind, what if she was pregnant? Did Iain really want a baby or was he just saying that so he didn't upset her? Would he really stick around or would he disappear in the middle of the night, not wanting the responsibilities that came with raising a child?
"Lucky you" Ethan smiled, "I've got another 3 shifts before I get a day off" he told her before remembering why he wanted to speak to her in the first place, "have Mrs Harlow's results come back from the lab yet?"
Rita shook her head, "I haven't seen them, do you want me to chase them up?"
"Please" Ethan nodded, "if you wouldn't mind."
Rita nodded, "I'll do it now" she said, reaching for the phone, desperate for something to take her mind off the thoughts racing through her head.
"What we doing here Mate?" Jez asked as Iain parked the ambulance in the carpark of a retail park not far from the hospital.
"I've just got to pick something up, I won't be a minute, I'll be straight out if we get a shout." He hopped from the ambulance and walked through the car park towards boots. Once in the store he found the pregnancy tests easily and picked up one that would clearly tell them 'pregnant' or 'not pregnant' without needing to mess about trying to look for lines or to try and understand various symbols.
He was making his way to the till when he stopped, he could easily hide the pregnancy test in his pocket but Jez would ask questions if he came back empty handed. He chuckled to himself as he saw a display, picking up a box of tampons before heading back to the till, Jez wouldn't ask any questions when he saw those.
He paid at the self service checkout to avoid any remarks or funny looks about his unusual combination of items, and slipped the pregnancy test into the inside pocket of his coat, walking out of the shop with the tampons in a carrier bag.
"Got anything interesting?" Jez asked, just as Iain predicted, when he got back in the ambulance.
"Nah, not really, just something for Rita." He said, chucking the carrier bag onto Jez's lap as he pulled out of the parking space.
Jez glanced into the bag before dropping it on the floor of the ambulance, "Eww mate."
"What?"
"They, they're… God she's got you whipped. I'd never buy things like that."
"Why?" Ian decided to tease Jez, "it's a perfectly natural bodily function, Rita doesn't ask to have periods, the least I can do is make sure she's got what she needs ready for when she gets her period" he said, glancing over to see Jez's cheeks blush each time he used the word period, "even your Mum has periods."
"No, no, shut up. I thought you were getting jonnies or something mate."
"Nah, why would I pay for them? You can just go upstairs to the sexual health clinic and get them free" he said, not wanting to go into too much detail about the contraception he and Rita did or didn't use.
"Yeah but then people see you getting them."
"They see you getting them when you buy them." Iain frowned.
"Not if you buy them online" Jez smirked.
Iain laughed, "seriously Mate?" Jez nodded, "if you're not man enough to go into a shop and buy condoms then you're not really man enough to be having sex mate, no one cares what you're buying."
"What if my mum finds them?"
"She'll find them whether you buy them in the shops or online, and does it really matter? You're an adult, you're having sex and you're being responsible about it" Iain told him as he pulled up outside the hospital, "do we need to sit down and have a talk, man to man?" He asked as he turned to face the younger paramedic, a serious look on his face.
"No" Jez said as he jumped from the ambulance, quickly making his way inside the ambulance station, "no, definitely not."
"I'm heading over to the hospital" Iain told Jez, "bring the ambo round if we get a shout" he said, taking the carrier bag from the passenger footwell before tossing the keys to Jez and heading towards the hospital in search of his girlfriend.
He found Rita in her office, "present for you" he said, throwing her the bag which she caught easily.
"Tampons?" She frowned, "is that some sort of joke because if it is Iain it's not funny."
"No, no, I had to buy something so I didn't come out of the shop empty handed, Jez would have asked questions, here" he reached into the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out the pregnancy test.
"Thanks" Rita dropped it into the bag before putting it in a drawer of her desk, "I know I could have had one done here but…"
"You don't want everyone knowing" Iain nodded, "it's fine Love, honestly, I don't mind."
"I'll do it tonight, at home."
"Do you want me to be there?"
Rita nodded, "please, if you don't mind."
Iain nodded and walked over to Rita, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close, "of course I'll be there with you, I told you, whatever happens we do it together yeah?"
"Yeah" Rita nodded, "thank you."
Iain only pulled away when he got a call to another shout, a woman collapsed in the high street. "I'll see you later" he promised, kissing Rita's lips and telling her "don't worry about a thing Reet, we'll be okay whatever happens" before he winked cheekily at her and raced out of the department to where Jez was already waiting with the ambulance.
They walked home in silence, both thinking about the pregnancy test hidden in the bottom of her handbag, "I erm, I'll go and do it now" Rita told him once they were safely inside her house, "I drank a bottle of water before we left the hospital."
Iain smiled, "I'll be in the kitchen, I'll make us a brew yeah? Come through when you're ready."
Rita reappeared a few minutes later and placed the white plastic stick on the sideboard as she gratefully accepted the mug Iain held out to her before glancing at her phone, "two minutes" she whispered.
Iain nodded and wrapped his free arm around Rita, he could see her hands shaking, "we'll be okay" he promised.
"Can you look? I, I don't think I can." She said quietly when the time was up.
Iain nodded again and kissed her temple before putting his mug down and picking up the pregnancy test, "it's negative" he told her.
"Oh." Rita wasn't sure whether she was relieved or disappointed.
"Are you okay with that?" Iain asked softly as he took her in his arms once again.
"I don't know" she said honestly, "I, I was scared, terrified that it would be positive but now, I'm, well, I'm a bit disappointed I think."
"We could try again, well not again because we weren't trying but you could stop taking the pill and we could see what happens?"
"Yeah" Rita nodded, "I erm, I'll keep taking it til we're settled though."
"What do you mean?" Iain frowned.
"If we're going to do this, if we're starting a family I want us to live together and we'll have more space here than at your flat so…"
"You want me to move in?"
Rita nodded and smiled, "I want you to move in, we could go and fetch a few of your clothes and things now if you like, stop having to flit between both places every couple of nights"
Iain nodded and kissed Rita's lips, "I think that's the best idea you've ever had."