I was having Goo Goo Dolls vibes, so have a chapter influenced from their song Name ;)

"Bean is named Bean no longer!"

Jemma rolled her eyes, though a smile twitched at the corner of her lips. Her hand spread over her lightly rounded belly, she rolled in her desk chair to face him.

"Care to elaborate?" She tapped her pen against the desk, still working Vaughn's lecture questions in her mind.

Fitz triumphantly held up his tablet, his cheeks flushed with excitement. "It says here that at twenty weeks of pregnancy, the baby is about the size of a banana." He waggled his eyebrows. "Do you know what that means, Jemma? Hm?"

"Oh please, do enlighten me," she dryly replied, sipping at the mug of cooling tea she'd prepared. It had taken some time to get used to the decaffeinated brew instead of her regular, but by now she was fairly accustomed.

"They're not a bean anymore, Jems. They're a banana. And bananas equal monkeys,"

"Ugh, Fitz!"

"Think about it! Little Monkey. Has a much better ring to it than Bean."

"I'll have you know Bean was the name of -"

"- the bloody cat, yes, I know, Jemma. I'm not naming a baby after a creature whose liver spoiled my lunch!"

"Yes, well, you won't have to be calling them by names much longer," Jemma grinned, propping up her knees to settle her notebook against. "My OB says we should be able to tell the gender at my next appointment."

Fitz froze, his tablet still suspended in the air above his bowl of pretzels. "Say what now?"

Jemma let out a small laugh, her cheeks flushing. Avoiding his eyes, she twisted to settle her book back on the desk before turning back to him. "Remember how you weren't able to get out of that lecture for my last appointment? Well, she told me we'd be able to find out the sex next week, and I thought it might be a nice surprise - Daisy and I had this Pinterest board running with ideas on how to tell you - but if it's going to save my child from being called monkey, then I might as well just tell you now,"

Fitz gaped, not unlike a fish, for a moment. She could see his mind flitting over various responses all while trying to categorize every word she'd just uttered. "Okay, well, one: monkey is not that bad Jemma - my mother named me Leopold of all things, it's a bit difficult to beat that. Secondly, since when did you get a bloody Pinterest?! You said, and I quote - "Ugh, Fitz! That site is for dull stay at home mothers who just so happen to have a good camera and 2.5 kids,"" his voice raised in a clear attempt to mimic her accent, but he didn't need the look on her face to tell him he'd failed miserably.

"Well, I may have been wrong with my initial impression of the site," her cheeks flushed again. "It's actually rather addicting, I must say. They have everything, Fitz! From the Who to organic eating!" She felt a small flicker of pride at the disgust clear on his face at the last bit. "And besides that, I am going to be a mum, you know." Jemma added the last part quietly, her eyes darting down to her hands.

Despite having become a fact that occupied their minds every waking moment, her pregnancy was still a bit rough between them. It was, after all, difficult to imagine her best friend being just that while also being called 'dad.' It also didn't help that she was to be the 'mum,' with no 'wife' or 'girlfriend' thrown in the list of names she'd acquired. It wasn't that she'd ever planned for a traditional date-ring-baby scenario, just not exactly . . . this.

She was startled out of her musings by glancing up to see Fitz moving in front of her. He kneeled in front of her computer chair, taking both of her hands in his. He grinned at her, eyes sparkling.

"Yeah, you're going to be a mum, and a damned good one at that." he nodded, a fierceness to his words. "And I'm proud to be doing this alongside you, alright?"

Her chest tightened at the way he could just know whatever it was she was thinking. So much so she had to refrain from reaching out, tangling into those curls she loved so much, and kissing him senseless.

But the moment was broken by Fitz leaning forward, pressing a quick kiss to the tiny bump beneath her sweater, and then squeezing her hand tightly.

"Would it be quite alright if we skipped the Pinterest ideas?" He asked, a blush creeping up his neck. "Because I'd much rather accompany you to this ultrasound and cry and weep over the miracle we've been given,"

She laughs a bit too hard at his cheesy line, but nonetheless she wraps the still kneeling Fitz in her arms, careful not to spill her tea mug where it's situated between her legs. "God I love you,"

He squeezes her back softly. "I love you too. Both of you,"

She allows herself a small smile. Perhaps it isn't the love she'd like it to be, but it's love nonetheless and that's alright for now.

"Are you almost ready?"

Jemma sighs as much as she can around the bobby pins stuck between her teeth, trying to wrangle her hair into a quick but somewhat elegant bun. Finally getting the hair stuck in place, allowing a few tendrils to fall gently around her face, she nods decisively.

"Yes, almost!" She calls back through the door, resettling her skirt where it rests at knee length, and then pulling a bit of lint from the camisole.

Jemma has never prided herself on being particularly self centered. But now, gaining weight with her baby, she occasionally took more time to get ready. It made her feel a bit nicer about the inevitable stretch marks that would take residence on her sides, and the extra chubbiness on her thighs and arms.

And besides, Fitz may not have any feelings outside of friendship for her, but she could at least try to look nice. For him.

Breathlessly, she breathed against the butterflies in her stomach, and plucked her clutch from the edge of the sink.

Fitz was sitting on the edge of the couch when she exited the bathroom, and she could tell from his tight posture and restlessly tapping foot he was nervous. His head darted up, and his tapping froze.

"Is . . . Is everything alright?" she asked nervously at his expression. Jemma toyed a moment with the rose necklace he'd made for her, before nervously patting down her skirt once more. "I feel a bit silly, all dressed up like this," she added quietly, her chest deflating. She'd made him nervous, the complete opposite of what she'd anticipated.

"No, no!" he burst out, a bit louder than he'd likely meant to judging by the red tips of his ear. "You just . . . You look nice, that's all,"

The breath left her in a rush as her cheeks heated. They'd been doing quite a lot of that lately, come to think of it. "Oh," she managed, puffing out the single syllable from between rounded lips. "Thank you,"

"Yeah, o' course," Fitz shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. A smile ticked at the corner of her lips.

"Well, are you ready then? I don't want to be late to the ultrasound," she offered in an attempt to diffuse the tension.

"Oh, right!" He jumped up, walking quickly to beat her to the door so he could hold it open for her. "Got to find out about lil monkey here. Can't be late for that,"

Jemma stifled a giggle but rolled her eyes. "If it's a girl - which it's not - you can call her monkey for a nickname, alright?"

He grinned smugly at her from the driver's seat. "Deal. But it's a girl, so . . ."

Jemma sighed, giving into the need to smile.

Next update shouldn't be too long - I already have it all planned out :)

Tumblr/Instagram - WhenTheSkyeQuakes