25 Days of Camie

Day 20 - Sled

Saturday, December 20th

Jamie, Cathy, Emma and Fred took Gina and Nick out to the big hill to go sledding. The men were, of course, much more into getting wet and cold, and made an extra effort to land in piles of snow and start the occasional snowball fight with the kids. After a few hours, they went back to Jamie and Cathy's flat for cookies and hot chocolate.

Emma and Cathy were playing with the twins, giving Fred and Jamie the chance to relax. Jamie found himself watching Cathy, his heart fluttering every time he saw the dimples in her cheeks appear. Nick and Gina had decided to play Tickle Fight, and the two of them were torturing Cathy, Emma trying unsuccessfully to pry them off of her.

"You all here, mate?"

Jamie almost dropped his mug, jumping in his seat. "Oh…sorry." He turned to Fred. "Were you saying something?"

Fred laughed. "You're crazy for her, aren't you?"

Jamie felt himself blush as he scratched the back of his neck. "Maybe."

"You guys thinking about having a little one?"

"Er…I'm not sure how she'd feel about it." He shrugged. "We've never really talked about it. I mean, I'd love to have kids, but…I don't know about her."

"Why don't you ask her?"

"I…I don't want it to be awkward, is all. I mean, what if she says she doesn't…or she won't want…"

"The only way you're going to know is if you ask. It'll get your mum off your back, won't it?"

"I suppose."

"Trust me, you wanna talk to her about it." He nodded over to Emma, who had finally managed to subdue their children. "Emma walked in one night and said, 'I'd like to have kids.' And I said, 'Okay.' And nine months later, we had those two rascals."

"I guess…I don't want her to say no."

"She married you, didn't she?"

"Doesn't mean she'll want me to be the father of her children."

"What's the alternative? Never knowing? Risk losing her to some tall, dark stranger?"

"Not helping, mate."

"Sorry." Fred took a sip from his own mug. "I'm just saying, it's better to say something to her. Chances are she's going to want to have your kids. She committed herself to you, didn't she?"

Jamie nodded, turning back to look at his wife. She was eating a cookie, smiling at her niece and nephew with a far-off look in her eyes. He knew he definitely wanted to have kids with her, but he didn't know what was holding him back from asking her. Fred was right; he had to take the chance and ask. She wouldn't storm out and leave him.

As soon as they were alone again, they lay on the couch, kissing and cuddling. There were several moments when he almost brought up what was on his mind, but every time he avoided it.

"You alright, sweetie?"

"Of course I am." He pulled her closer, kissing her harder. "Everything's perfect."

He didn't know that, a little over a month from now, he'd be in this exact same position, this time with the knowledge that Cathy was pregnant.