Further proof that babies are never good news.
"Derek." Casey says, and her eyes reach out and yank his gaze to hers and he almost automatically responds with a 'what?' before he remembers he doesn't care. "Derek." She says again, and this time she does this half-bouncing thing next to him, her chin jutting forward and her mouth pulled into a pout, as if she thinks he can be enticed by such a childish ploy. "De-reeeek." And he's flashing (unbidden) back to Keener Casey, the girl he swore he was leaving behind after graduation, and then her hand is on his thigh, and she Looks at him, and he's responding before he has the chance to stop himself.
"Casey." He keeps his eyes on her face even though the only thing he can focus on at the moment is the weight of her palm against his leg.
"We're going to be in our thirties when the baby is Edwin and Lizzie's age now."
"That's what you've been thinking about this whole time?"
"It doesn't bother you that one of our siblings is going to be a total stranger? That we'll be adults, maybe with kids of our own, by the time he or she is almost finished with high school?" He doesn't mean to actually consider the notion, but he does, and he supposes it is a bit odd.
"Guess it is kinda strange that we're never gonna get to know the kid." She sits back (and her hand slides up, and he wills himself not to jerk or fidget), a little sullen.
"I know! It's so weird." A few seconds later, "You know what else is weird?"
"That you, magically, never stop talking?" She hardly even seems to hear him.
"That kid is going to have McDonald and Venturi blood." He looks at her for a long moment. She's the first one to shuffle her glance away.
"For it's sake, then, it'd better be a boy." She looks back at him, insulted.
"Why's that?" She queries, in a tone of voice that suggests he'd better be careful with his answer. (He blithely ignores the implicit warning.)
"Because from what I've seen, all the women in the McDonald line are crazy."
"Hey!" He gives her a sincerely started glance. (Was she even aware that she'd just squeezed his thigh?)
"You don't think I…I wasn't talking about you, Case." She blinks at him stupidly.
"R-really…?" He puts a well-meaning hand on her shoulder (and he becomes aware, in a flash of disquieting insight, of just how much they touch each other).*
"Of course not. See, including you in the 'woman' category would be almost like admitting that we're part of the same species." He throws himself sideways when she swipes at him, bringing the pillow behind him forward to use as a crude shield.
*I'm pretty sure I stole this from someone else. I can't remember who, but I'm almost certain that it's not mine. (If it be yours, please lemme know and I shall credit where credit is due!)