*Well here we have it, the final chapter! And our adorable couple is going to share their great news with the big sister to be! Thanks to everyone who's stuck it out with me through this, you're the best!
After telling their friends their good news the group had celebrated well into the night, joking and laughing and just enjoying each other's company. After leaving Noa's, Ethan had driven them home in silence, his mind on one thing and one thing only, telling Ellie. It's not that he wasn't excited to tell the little girl that she was going to be a big sister, because he was. But more than anything, he was nervous. Her world had been rocked so much in the past six months and he wasn't entirely sure how this would affect things. The last thing he wanted to do was to take anything away from his daughter.
When they had finally made it home they had both showered in silence, changing into their pajamas and climbing into bed without a single word to each other. It's not that they were mad at each other, at least he didn't think they were, but rather they were both feeling the overwhelming emotional toll of what was about to happen to their world. Things had been simple, once, and now, well now they were far from it.
He had tucked Leanne against his chest with a simple kiss to the head and they had fallen asleep almost instantly. When he awoke the following morning his companion was gone and for a minute he panicked. Had she left him already? Then he heard the sounds of the TV in the other room and he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. It was unlike her to be up so early, especially given that he was there for her to snuggle with. Letting out a soft sigh he dragged himself out of bed and made his way quietly into the living room.
"Hey you." He whispered, his eyes catching sight of his lover curled up in Ellie's favorite chair, her unicorn blanket draped over her.
"Hi." She whispered back, her eyes shifting from the TV screen to meet with his.
"You okay?" He was worried about her, it wasn't like her to be this quiet.
"Just worried." Her voice was barely audible and he felt his heart clench in his chest. There were so many things to be worried about, he was curious as to what she was focused on now.
"About what?" He made his way toward her slowly, not wanting to scare her off. When she didn't flinch away from him or break eye contact, he offered her a soft smile, moving to sit on the couch across from her.
"Telling Ellie." She said softly, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm worried she'll hate me for coming into the picture and ruining things."
"Oh love." He reached out for her then, his arms moving to wrap around her tightly as he dragged her from the chair and into his lap. He had no idea that she was concerned about that. "She could never hate you. Ever."
Shaking her head back and forth against his chest she let out a soft sniffle, her arms wrapping around his waist tightly. "She's just a kid Ethan. This will totally rock her world."
"And we'll be there to make sure that it gets righted Leanne." He dropped a kiss to her head then, his arms tightening around her as he spoke. "We're gonna get through this."
She let out a soft sigh, her head tilting upward so that she could lock her eyes with his. "I love you." She whispered. "I just want things to be okay."
Leaning down, he dropped a gentle kiss to her lips before resting his forehead against hers. "I love you more." He whispered back. "And things will be just fine."
—
The couple had stayed like that for a little longer, the sounds of the rain falling outside lulling them into a comfortable state of contentment. When they heard Ethan's sister pull up outside they both felt their hearts tighten in their chests, their anxieties from earlier coming back. Ethan had taken a half-asleep Ellie from Mae's arms, thanking her again for watching the tot for them, and made his way inside.
"Leanne!" The girl had practically jumped from Ethan's arms at the sight of the older woman and when she was finally free she was flinging herself into her arms with a giant smile.
"Hi baby." She whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to the girl's soft hair. "I missed you."
Ethan felt his heart clench in his chest at the words leaving Leanne's mouth. Sure he knew that the woman cared for his daughter, but seeing just how much made him feel all weak in the knees.
"I missed you too!" Ellie snuggled in closer and Ethan figured that now was as good a time as any to bring up their news.
"Hey peanut." He said softly, moving to sit in the chair that Leanne had occupied not that long ago. "Leanne and I need to talk to you about something."
Ellie's eyes shifted from his to Leanne's and back again, her brow furrowing as she spoke. "Am I in trouble?"
"No. No baby of course not." Leanne whispered, her hands going out to brush the girl's hair out of her face. "We have some good news."
"Are we getting a puppy?" Her little voice asked excitedly. Her eyes were wide and Ethan almost wanted to tell her 'yes' just to soften the blow that they were about to deliver.
"No honey." He whispered. He grabbed the envelop of pictures from the table between them and slide out the cards as he did so. "It's something even better than a puppy."
"A pony?" Her brow furrowed once more and Ethan felt like he was the worst father ever because he was about to burst her so perfectly crafted bubble.
"No love." Leanne spoke this time, reaching out to take the cards from his shaking hands. He was thankful that she seemed to be handling this better than him. That certainly didn't seem to be the case earlier this morning.
"So what then?" She asked softly, her eyes shifting to the small objects in Leanne's hands. "What are those?"
Ethan watched as Leanne swallowed, her eyes blinking back another round of tears. She gently pulled the top card out of the stack and turned it so that Ellie could see the image printed on the front of it.
"Do you know what this is Ellie?" She held the card up some, the girl's eyes squinting as she examined the image for a second.
"Yeah!" Ethan was surprised by how excited she seemed to sound. He wondered if she truly knew what it meant, or just what it was a general image of. "Jackson had one of these at show-and-tell last week. He said his mommy's having a baby and that this was a picture of the baby inside his mommy's tummy!"
"You're right honey." Leanne said softly. "That's exactly what that is."
"But that's not a picture of Jackson's baby is it?" Her little eyes crinkled together as she reached to take the card from Leanne's shaking hands.
"No love, it's not Jackson's baby." Ethan barely heard himself speak, but he felt his heart start to race at his words. He didn't know how long they could keep this game up before someone, namely Ellie, got confused.
"Then who's baby is that?" She asked quietly, her eyes shifting from the card in her hands to Ethan's face. She locked her eyes with his and Ethan knew that he was a goner. There was no way he could escape his daughter's look.
"That's your baby." He whispered. He waited for Ellie to say something, or even Leanne, but they both just sat silently. Ellie returned her gaze back to the card before she lifted her eyes to lock with the woman's.
"Is this baby in your belly?" Her question was whispered and Ethan almost felt like the whole world was going to stop spinning.
"Yes Ellie." Leanne smiled at the girl then, her hands moving to pull the image of Baby A and Baby B out of the stack. She handed it to Ellie gently. "Both of those babies are in my belly."
Ellie's face went from confused to excited to murderous and back again, and Ethan was fearful of just how the girl was going to respond to the woman in front of her. He knew that telling her about one baby would be hard enough, but two babies, well that was an idea that he still hadn't wrapped his own head around.
"I get two babies?!" She exclaimed excitedly, her eyes going wide as the information she was just given sank in.
"Yes honey." Ethan said softly. "You're gonna have two babies."
And then Ellie was throwing her arms around Leanne's neck and she was crying what looked like happy tears and Ethan felt his heart explode with happiness. Never in a million years did he think that he would ever get this lucky. Ellie pulled back a minute later, her tear filled eyes shifting to his face as she released her hold on Leanne. She reached for him then, and he couldn't help but pull her little body into his arms, cradling her against his chest with a soft sigh.
"Daddy?" She asked quietly a minute later, her body pulling away from his as she lifted her curious eyes up to meet his.
"Yes baby?" He had a sneaky feeling that this question wasn't one he wanted to hear.
"Are you and Leanne gonna get married now?" And he had been right.
"Um…" He swallowed back the sudden lump in his throat, his eyes catching Leanne's over the little girl's shoulder. They hadn't discussed anything having to do with getting married. In fact, they had barely even discussed the prospect of buying a bigger house.
"We um…" Leanne's voice shook just as much as his and he was thankful that she didn't seem to have an answer either. Although it was appearing to make things more awkward that way.
"Well… are you?" Her little voice was full of all kinds of seriousness and Ethan couldn't help but offer her a smile. He shook his head at her playfully, before scooping her up in his arms.
"We'll be right back." He said softly, carting the young girl off with him and into the back bedroom with a chuckle. If she wanted a proposal, well than he would give her one.
The two returned a few minutes later, both giggling uncontrollably, and Ethan could tell that Leanne was curious. She eyed them softly from her spot on the couch and when he deposited the tot into her lap with a smile, she got a curious glint to her eyes. Digging his hand into his pocket he let out a soft laugh as her eyes went wide.
"Leanne…" He dropped to his knee then, his free hand going out to take hers gently, his eyes soft as they locked with hers. She was doing her best to hold back her tears, but he could tell that she wasn't succeeding. "Will you marry me?"
She let out a chuckle then, her mouth turning upward into a giant smile, her eyes shimmering through her tears as she nodded her head at him softly. "Yes Ethan." She whispered. "I'll marry you." Ellie's squeal of delight was enough to send them both into a fit of laughter as he opened the black velvet box in his hands.
"Preeettty." Ellie dragged out, her little eyes going wide at the ring in Ethan's hands.
"It is indeed very pretty isn't it?" Leanne asked softly, her eyes shifting upward from the object to meet with Ethan's eyes. He had done his very best to meet her standard of white gold, but since that was all he had to work with, he had had to guess on the rest of it.
"You like it?" He whispered as he removed it from the box and slid it onto her ring finger. She nodded her head at him then, her eyes glowing as she locked them with his.
"I love it." She whispered back. "And I love you. Both of you." She dropped a kiss to Ellie's head then, her eyes softening as the girl snuggled against her chest, her arms wrapping tightly around her neck.
"I love you too." He whispered back, leaning in to press a gentle kiss against her lips before turning to press one against Ellie's head. He dropped his head down to her belly then, pressing a feather light kiss against the material of her t-shirt. "All of you."
**Don't forget to comment!
***P.S. There might be an epilogue down the line, so keep your eyes peeled :)