She was dreaming. Curled up in bed wrapped in a blanket, arms wrapped around her pillow, she slept peacefully, lips curved into a smile due to the images playing out in her mind. It was another dream of the future, of the family she wanted more than anything. She dreamed she was sitting on the grass in her garden, mending a tiny pink T-shirt which had a slight tear in the shoulder. The light breeze blew through her hair, fluttering the ribbon that tied it back and the hem of her blouse, as well as the child's garment she held. Hearing sweet, tinkling laughter, she smiled, turning around to see a little girl running towards her, her dark hair coming loose from it's ponytail

"Mommy!" the girl shouted, hopping onto Murrue's lap and hugging close. Giggling, the young woman hugged back, tickling the child's ribs and making her squeal in laughter. "Stop it, Mommy!" she squealed, wriggling around to try and escape the loving torture. "Stop it!"

Still laughing, Murrue stopped tickling, and the little girl snuggled close happily. "I love you, Mommy," she said softly.

"Well, I love you too, sweetie," the young woman replied, adjusting the child's ponytail. "And so does Daddy.."

The girl nodded with a smile. "Daddy says he loves you and me more than anyone in the whole entire world..." The words made Murrue blush pink, and the little girl laughed. "He said that if I told you, you'd go all pink, just like that! Isn't Daddy clever?"

Murrue made a face. "That sounds like your daddy." Lifting the little girl into her arms, she made as if to get to her feet, but her legs buckled under her, and she almost fell. Clambering down to the ground, the child looked up at her mother, blue eyes wide.

"Be careful, Mommy," she said, reaching up to squeeze one of Murrue's hands. "Daddy says you have to be careful 'cause you still can't walk so well yet..." Standing up on her tiptoes, she managed to wrap her tiny arms around her mother's waist. "Please be careful..."

"Thank you, Isabelle.." replied the woman, kissing her young daughter on the crown of her hair. "Sometimes I still forget, huh?"

"Daddy says the nice doctor at the hospital told him you'd be all better soon.." Frowning, Isabelle tried to recall exactly what her daddy had told her. "He said that because you had me, you couldn't get better as fast as the doctor thought.." She bit her lip. "Did I stop you getting better, Mommy? 'Cause, I didn't mean it..."

"No, sweetheart, of course not," said Murrue softly, leaning down with an effort to hug the little girl. "Even though I knew it would take longer for me to get better, I didn't mind. Because your daddy and I wanted you so much..."

"I know you did," Isabelle replied softly, looking up at her mother. Still hugging her, she rested her little head against the woman's stomach...and said something which surprised Murrue a great deal.

"I'll be here soon, Mommy. Don't forget to tell Daddy, okay?"

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Opening her eyes, Murrue sat up, brushing auburn hair away from her face. Her thin fingers tightened on the blanket that covered her as she tried to make sense of what she'd just seen. She'd dreamed of Isabelle several times, but never like this. It had been as though the little girl had been trying to...tell her something. She'd said "I'll be here soon, Mommy.." What had she meant? Sighing, she flopped backwards onto the soft pillows, amber eyes focused on the ceiling.

"C'mon, sweetheart," a gentle voice teased from the doorway. Turning her head to the left, she saw Mwu standing there holding two mugs. "I know it's Monday morning, but that's no reason to look so miserable.."

Despite everything, Murrue smiled, pushing herself back into a sitting position and accepting the mug of tea he offered her. "It's okay. Just had a strange dream, that's all..."

"What kind?" he asked, climbing back into the bed beside her, but she just shrugged, setting the mug down as she stretched out her arms. "I'm not really sure," she replied softly, moving close to rest her head on her husband's shoulder. "But it's okay.."

"I made you breakfast," he said after a while. "Oatmeal with extra syrup, just how you like it.." Setting down his own mug, he tugged aside the covers and slipped his arm under her knees, lifting her from the bed. "C'mon.."

Smiling, Murrue wound her arms around his neck and let him carry her to the kitchen, planting a gentle kiss on his lips as he set her down in a chair and placed the bowl in front of her.

"I can walk now, you know," she teased, eating a spoonful of the oatmeal and licking the syrup from the spoon happily. "You don't have to carry me everywhere..."

Mwu just chuckled, standing behind her and hugging her tightly, nuzzling his face into her neck. "What if I want to?" he asked, his breath tickling her and making her giggle. "And you know that you really shouldn't be walking yet, don't you?"

She chose not to answer that, instead quickly finishing her bowl of oatmeal and looking back up at him. "Can I have some more, please?"

"More?" he asked, clearly surprised. "Okay..." Crossing to the counter, he fixed more of the oatmeal, before adding syrup and placing the bowl back on the table. Picking up her spoon, Murrue polished off the bowl in record time, before sitting back in the chair and sighing in contentment. Mwu raised an eyebrow, sitting down on the chair. "You sure were hungry," he observed mildly. "That's rare.."

"I don't know..." she murmured, playing with the spoon in the empty bowl. "I'm just really hungry this morning..." Getting to her feet slowly, she walked to a cupboard and rooted through it until she found a package of cookies. "I feel like I haven't eaten in days.."

"You've been acting kinda weird these days," he remarked, as she sat back down beside him. "Not weird weird, but it's just that...you've seemed to have a much bigger appetite. And you sleep a lot more..."

"I know," she replied softly, nibbling at a cookie. "But I feel fine. In fact, I feel more than fine...better than I have in a long time. You think I should get myself checked out?"

"You do have a doctor's appointment before work," he pointed out. "They'd probably do a blood test if you asked them to.."

And they did.

Murrue held the test result sheet tightly in one shaking hand, fuzzy mind unable to process what she was reading. "This...but this says...that I..."

The nurse that had taken the test nodded, smiling kindly. "You're going to have a baby. The test says that you're pregnant. Would you like us to do any other tests?" Murrue nodded blankly, a single tear sliding down her cheek to drip onto the paper. A baby. Something she had wanted more than anything else for a very long time, almost as long as she and Mwu had been together. And now.."

"Are you all right? This must be a big shock.." said the nurse gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Will your husband be all right with it?"

"I think so," she replied softly. "Mwu...he said that he wants a family. I don't think he expected it to happen this quickly, but I'm sure he'll be happy.." Rubbing her tears away, she smiled, placing a hand on her stomach. "And so am I.."

"You...you're what?"

His wife sat there in her wheelchair, a smile of pure delight on her beautiful face. "I'm going to have a baby," she replied, voice barely above a whisper. "The nurse said I was about two months along..." Her smile grew at the look of pure astonishment on his face, and she held out her arms, tears beginning to slide down her cheeks. Mind spinning, Mwu knelt down to embrace the young woman, breathing in the scent of roses from her hair. A baby? He was going to be a father? Sure, it's something I want...what I've wanted ever since Murrue and I married...but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly... "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she replied softly, voice choked with tears. "The blood test confirmed it. In seven months...we're going to be parents.."

Closing his eyes, he hugged her tightly. "This is awesome, Murrue. Did they say whether it was a boy or a girl?"

"Too soon to tell," she murmured in reply, her tears soaking into his shirt. "But I know she'll be a girl. Our Isabelle.." Mwu smiled at that, hugging her as tightly as he could.

"You're okay with this?" she asked. "Okay with..us having a baby?" He nodded firmly, stroking her hair lovingly. "More than okay, sweetheart..."

Definitely more than okay...

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( Weeellll, I wanted them to hurry up and have a kid already. And I have so much fun writing Isabelle...

Please read and review! )