I don't own Warehouse 13 or any of its characters. Thanks for all the feedback, readers! I enjoy hearing from you!
One morning, Claudia bounded into the kitchen, yelling "Guys, guys!"
"What is it, Claudia?" Myka asked, smiling at the girl's enthusiasm.
"I've got a baby bump!" She exclaimed, lifting her tank top and grinning from ear to ear. Sure enough, her stomach was decidedly rounded out.
"Aww, Claude it's adorable!" Myka gushed.
"Kind of matches Pete's." Abigail said, glaring at Pete, who had come down without a shirt on.
"Hey!" Pete protested, mouth full of food.
"How many weeks is it now?" Steve admired the baby bump
"Ten weeks." Claudia grinned, pulling her shirt back down over her stomach and grabbing a slice of bacon. "And man, am I ever getting cravings."
"Such as?" Jinksy asked.
"Oh, I don't know. Nothing too weird," she mumbled, searching through the refrigerator.
"What are you looking for? I put syrup on the table," said Abigail.
"Oh, I know. Nevermind." Claudia scooted her way around the table to her seat, trying to hide what she had gotten from the fridge.
"Whatcha got there?"
"Oh, nothing." Pete snatched two containers out of her hands.
"Aww nasty, Claude. Sour cream and pepperoni on your pancakes?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I was going to put some syrup on them too."
Everyone groaned.
"I don't think I'm hungry anymore," Pete mumbled as he watched Claudia spread the sour cream over her pancakes, and carefully place 3 pepperonis on each one.
Claudia was lying on the table for her 13-week ultrasound with Dr. Vanessa. The agent hated hospitals and felt far more comfortable in a back room of the Warehouse, surrounded by Myka, Pete, Steve, and Artie, than in a clinic.
"Well, would you look at that," Dr. Calder exclaimed, rubbing the wand through the goop on Claudia's pelvis.
"What? What's wrong?" Claudia searched the screen with an anxious face.
"Nothing. Nothing at all. In fact, Claudia, you're having twins!"
"What?"
Vanessa probed a bit more and pointed to the screen. "See there?"
"Holy crap! There's two of them?"
"Yes, congratulations!"
"You're going to get so huge, Claude," Pete said.
"Oh geez. There all good right? The right size, and everything? One's not eating the other?"
"They look just right." Vanessa replied, smiling at the redhead.
"Twins. I'm having... twins." She glared up at the Warehouse and pointed her finger accusingly. "You did this to me." Her snarl gave way to a helpless grin as she stared at the screen. "Twins. Two of them."
Claudia walked into Myka's room one morning saying,"hey, can I ask you a favor?"
"Sure, Claude. What is it?"
"Could you... uh... go shopping with me? I'm pretty much busting the seams of my largest pair of jeans and stretching out all my shirts, but I'm not really a shopping kind of girl. I mean, maternity clothes are always so grown up and mature, you know? And I'm just so... You know... Not."
"I'd love to, Claudia." Myka smiled.
Later that day, they went shopping together at a maternity store with an obnoxiously punny name. Myka helped Claudia pick out a few tops that were professional-looking, yet also pretty bad-ass, along with a few pairs of pants, and two tee-shirts which Claudia absolutely insisted on getting. One said "cautionary whale," and the other said "touch it and die," with an arrow pointing at her baby bump.
"These are great," Claudia gushed excitedly.
"You sure about those two shirts, Claude?"
"Yes. Positive," she said, grinning.
"Abigail?"
"Yes, Claudia?"
"Can I talk to you about something?"
"Sure."
"Well, once the babies are born, they're going to take up a lot of room. And my room is already sorta jam-packed... so,"
"Don't worry, Claudia, I've already cleaned up the empty room next to yours, and asked Mrs. Frederick about putting a connecting door in."
"Wow, really?"
"Yes."
"Thanks Abigail." Claudia hugged the woman, getting a little teary. "Sorry. Stupid hormones."
"It's okay, Claudia."
The younger agent gave her another quick hug, then sauntered off.
Steve crept downstairs at an ungodly hour one night for a glass of water. He was about to turn on the tap when he heard a sniffle come from the living room. Going to investigate, he found a tousled Claudia curled up on the couch with her "Tigger" mug full of hot chocolate and a plate of cookies, crying and watching Mission Impossible 2.
"I've never really thought of MI 2 as a tear-jerker. What's wrong?"
"Nothin." She swiped at her tears quickly.
"No, something," he persisted.
"I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"Being a mom."
"Yeah?"
She nodded. "Pretty damn scary."
"I know." He put an arm around her.
"Steve, what if I end up like a really awful mother, or go crazy on the kids, or don't know how to take care of them right because I'm frakking 21 years-old, and should be in college or traveling, or making stupid choices, not pregnant with twins. And what if-"
"Claude- Claude!" Steve finally got her to stop rambling. "I think you'll make a great mom."
"Really?" She was incredulous.
"Yes. Really."
"I guess I just... Don't know how to be a mother. You know, I didn't have one for very long."
"Every parent struggles with knowing what to do, Claude. You kind of have to figure out what works for you. It's not like you have to parent like anyone else or have to suddenly turn into this matronly woman who pushes around a pram and wears her hair in a bun."
"Yeah, I guess not," she said, unconvincingly.
"Claude, look at me. I believe in you. You're going to do awesome."
"Thanks Jinksy." She smiled.
"No problem."
She offered him a cookie, and they sat and watched mission impossible together in comfortable silence, Claudia occasionally rubbing her growing belly.
I hope you liked it! Please review, and let me know if you have any ideas for this or other stories!
P.S. Did you catch my reference from "Juno?"
