Chapter 26: I Am The Future

February 9th, 2014 - 1900 (7:00 pm)

Rachel was still riding the high from seeing their baby for the first time when they asked Jed to come back to their cabin with them and the kids after dinner. He looked curious, but nodded, accepting easily as they threw away their trash.

Sam had been bouncing off the walls ever since they had picked him and Ashley up from school. Apparently, they'd had cupcakes to celebrate Hannah's birthday during school time. Sam had eaten two, which both Tom and Rachel could have told them was a terrible idea if they'd been consulted. Rachel knew that the next two or three hours would be chaos, but once the sugar left Sam's system he would crash hard and sleep all night, which was good, because she planned to celebrate with Tom in a distinctly non-kid friendly way.

Shaking those thoughts away (for now), Rachel smiled fondly at the child, knowing that in a few months, they'd have another to love and take care of. A little brother or sister for Sam. He was going to be so excited.

"What's up?" Jed asked, sitting on the couch with Ashley and Sam while Rachel and Tom sat across from them on Ashley's bottom bunk. Rachel grinned, fingering the picture she was holding in her hand, but let Tom take the lead on the conversation.

"Well, we have something we want to tell you," he started, and Jed gave his son a knowing smile. He'd had this conversation with Jed once before, when Darien had been pregnant with Sam. His father had been happy for him then, and Tom knew he would be happy for them now, despite the different circumstances. Tom continued, a smile taking over his face, "Rachel's pregnant. About 12 weeks. We're going to have a baby."

Sam's little eyes widened, and even if he hadn't been hyped up on sugar, he would have started bouncing off the walls at the news.

"A little brother?!" he screamed, jumping up and down on the floor, unable to stay in his seat. "I always wanted a little brother! Oh my goodness, can we name him Bolt? From the movie?"

Tom laughed, and Rachel opened her arms for Ashley to crawl into them. The little girl was smiling, though she wasn't bouncing off the walls in excitement like her brother. "We don't know if it's a boy, buddy," he said. "It could be a girl."

Sam stopped running at that, giving them a comical frown. "No, Daddy. It has to be a boy. There are already four girls on this ship. There need to be more boys. OH! Maybe Ms. Foster's baby will be a boy, too, then there could be three boys!"

"I'll do what I can," Rachel said, reaching out to ruffle Sam's hair. "But no promises."

Sam gave Rachel a cautious look. "But you're having the baby. You can make it be a boy."

"It's doesn't... quite work like that," she said, and Ashley laughed in her arms.

"Dummy, Rachel can't make the baby a boy even if she wants to. She grows the baby in her tummy, but whether it's a boy or a girl is just a surprise."

Tom scolded Ashley for calling her brother a name while Jed watched the little family in happiness. He had loved Darien, had been very fond of his son's first wife. She was sweet, and kind, and had loved his son unconditionally. But Rachel was what Tom needed now; someone who was his equal on all levels and wasn't afraid to stand up to him. God knew he loved Tom, but he could be a stubborn ass, and Rachel did a fantastic job putting him in his place. Yeah, he was happy. He was happy that his son had found love for a second time, and was expanding their little family.

"Wait," Sam said, interrupting Jed's thoughts. "The baby is in Rachel's tummy? Where?"

Rachel smiled, shifting Ashley to one side so she could pull Sam onto the bed beside her. He squeezed in between her and Tom, and Rachel brought out the ultrasound picture to show them. Ashley gasped, her eyes widening, while Sam stared at it in confusion.

"Is that the baby? It looks like an alien."

Tom laughed, rubbing Sam's hair. "Yeah, that's the baby. See, here's the head, and these are it's arms and legs."

"It's so little," Ashley said in wonder, and looked up at Rachel in awe.

"They'll grow," Rachel said, touching her stomach out of habit. She caressed the tiny bump, and then took Ashley's hand in her own, pressing it over her hard stomach. "Feel that? It's hard instead of soft like normal, because the baby is growing and taking up room in my belly. They're really little right now, about the size of a strawberry. But over the next six months, they'll grow big and strong."

"That's so cool," she whispered, and Rachel nodded, wrapping her arm around Ashley's shoulder and squeezing her.

"It is very cool," she agreed. And then, nervously, "Ashley, love, are you OK with this? With the baby?"

Ashley pondered it for a second, and then nodded. "Yeah. I think it'll be fun to have a new baby brother or sister."

Rachel hummed, considering. "I believe you. But you still look worried."

Tom watched on as Rachel talked to his daughter. She had a way of talking to the children that made them feel validated, that their feelings were understood and important. Tom loved it; it had helped both Sam and Ashley open up to her and love her.

"I just wonder... will you love the new baby more than me and Sam? Since it's your baby, and we're not?"

Tom drew a breath in, waiting, wanting to know what Rachel would say. He knew that even if she felt that way about the new baby (which he didn't believe for a second she would), that she would never, ever show it. She cared so much about Ashley and Sam, and had shown over and over again that they were important to her, that she loved them dearly even if she wasn't their mother.

"Never," she promised, kissing Ashley's forehead. "Love, I may not be your real mother, but I love you like a mother would. Does that make sense? I love your father and I love you and Sam, and yes, I do love the new baby very much. But when they're born, it won't be a different kind of love. It'll just be like the love I have for you and Sam, but it'll grow to include the baby. I think of you and Sam like my children, even if you're really not, and I love you that way."

Ashley nodded, accepting this. "OK, good. I love you, too, Rachel."

Tom smiled at his girls, and then looked up to see his father smiling at all of them.

"Dad?" he asked. Jed turned his gaze to Tom and nodded.

"I'm happy for you," he said, just as Tom knew he would. "Gotta be the worst time ever to have a baby, but if anyone can do it, it's you two. Gonna have to start thinking about moving the kids out of here, though," he said, gesturing to the bunk beds. "Gonna need room for a crib, changing table, all that stuff. Babies need a lot of stuff."

Rachel nodded, smiling, unable to put into words what she was feeling. She and Tom had been excited about the baby, but knowing that Ashley and Sam and Jed were excited, too, only added to her joy.

"They can move into my quarters," Jed continued. "I'm right across the hall, and there's plenty of room. We can put their bunk beds where the couch is, I never use it anyway."

"Are you sure, dad?" Tom asked. "You're with them all day at school already. Do you really want to put yourself through that?"

Jed laughed, but nodded. "Sure, they're good kids, and this isn't forever. The nightmares have stopped for the most part, but if they have one I'll just bring them to you. They won't do much in there except sleep, anyway. They'll still shower in here and everything. And if it doesn't end up working out, I'll move somewhere else so they can stay right next door to you and Rachel. Besides, when the baby comes, no one will sleep if they don't move. Having a baby is hard enough, you don't need to exhausted children on top of it."

It made sense, Tom knew, but he felt a little sad at the thought. He had enjoyed having the children so close. Of course, he thought, glancing at Rachel, if the kids were across the hall, they wouldn't need to be so quiet at night. So, at least one pro, then.

"Sounds like a plan," Rachel said, clapping her hands together.

"Can we do it tonight?" Sam asked in excitement. "So we can sleep in Grandpa's room? That would be so cool!"

Tom chuckled, looking at the clock. It was early, and they could probably manage it tonight if the kids wanted to make the swap.

"Ash, what do you think?" He asked, and Ashley nodded.

"Yeah, we should do it! Wait, can you still read Harry Potter to us if we move to grandpa's room? Cause if not I wanna stay here."

Rachel nodded. "Of course, love. We can all read together before bedtime, regardless of where you are."

"Then yeah, I wanna sleep in grandpa's room!"

"All right then, let's find some people to help us out," Jed said, laughing as Sam began bouncing up and down again as they started on their mission.

February 9th, 2014 - 2100 (11:00 pm)

It took the better part of two hours, but eventually they were able to move the couch out of Jed's room and swap it with the bunk beds. The couch, for the moment, made it's way back into Tom's cabin.

Once everything was moved, Harry Potter had been read, and the children had fallen asleep, Tom collapsed onto the couch in their cabin and held out his arms for Rachel to come to him. She did so with a smile, crawling onto the couch and settling against him with a happy sigh.

"It feels weird. Quiet," she said, and Tom nodded.

"It does. But they're right next door, just like they would be in a regular house. We just have more privacy now."

"Hmm," Rachel said, slipping a finger under the neckline of Tom's t shirt. "Whatever will we do with all of this privacy?"

Tom grinned, leaning forward to nibble on the skin of her neck.

"I have a few ideas. Remember the first time we made love? We were in the shower, and I remember wanting to pick you up in my arms, naked, and walk through this room but we couldn't because of the kids."

Rachel grinned, her hands moving to the bottom of his shirt. She quickly dragged it over his head, tossing it to the floor and running her hands over his chest, plucking at his nipple as she caressed his warm skin.

"We could ... definitely do that."

Tom groaned, pulling Rachel's shirt off and throwing it to join his on the floor. He stood up and reached out, offering a hand. She took it and let him pull her into the bathroom, where he turned on the shower to let it warm up while he went about the very serious job of taking Rachel's clothes off.

"Have I told you," he whispered as he kissed down her chest, reaching behind her to unclasp her bra. She groaned when her breasts were freed and Tom's hands found them immediately. He cupped one breast, sucking the nipple of the other into his mouth while his free hand rubbed over her belly. "That I ... love your belly? I love watching our baby grow, feeling the changes in your body."

Rachel moaned, reaching her hand out to tangle in his hair when he reached her belly button with his mouth. He laved his tongue over her taut stomach, kissing her baby bump while his fingers tugged at the waistband of her pants. She helped him tug them off, and she was left in nothing but her red, lace underwear.

"These are my favorite," he said, nipping at the skin on her stomach as he ran his fingers along the inner seam of her panties. He could feel he warmth through the fabric, and groaned at the feeling. There was a warm, wet spot already forming, and he smiled, loving how much pregnancy had affected her already fairly intense sexual drive.

"They're my favorite, too, so be nice to them," she huffed, remembering the way he had torn her panties from her body less than two days ago. They'd been unsalvageable, though she hadn't minded at the time.

"Fine," he grumbled, and tugged them off gently before going for his own pants. He loved that they didn't have to worry about leaving their clothes in a messy line from the couch to the bathroom, since they knew no one would wake up and see them, and happily added his pants and boxers to the pile before crowding Rachel back into the shower.

Tom kissed her deeply, one hand already searching out the heat of her center as he did. She groaned deeply when his fingers danced across her clit before sliding deep into her body.

"Yes, please," she moaned, canting her hips to take him more deeply.

"Rachel, can I go down on you?" he asked, his voice hoarse and needy. "Please. I need to taste you, to make you come."

Rachel loved how desperate he was to do this for her. No one, none of her past lovers, had ever really even wanted to eat her out, much less begged her.

"Yes, yes," she said quickly, and Tom kissed her once more before helping her lean against the wall of the shower and taking one of her legs, throwing it over his shoulder before he pressed his lips to the soft mound of skin above her clit. Her curls tickled his chin, and he loved it. "Tom," she groaned in frustration, and he chuckled against her before sweeping his tongue out, brushing over her clit softly before he took the sensitive bud into his mouth, sucking hard. She cried out, her hands tangling in his hair.

Tom grinned; he didn't have to shush her this time. She could be as loud as she wanted, and he intended to make her scream his name before he was done.

"Please," she begged, and he sucked harder, reaching down to press two fingers inside of her. His free hand was still pressed to her belly, and he felt so aroused his vision was blurry.

He needed to be inside of her, but he was determined to make her come at least once before then. He pumped his fingers in and out of her slowly, groaning at the obscene, wet sound they made. She was so wet, and he licked her, loving the musky, sweet taste that exploded over his tongue. He groaned, his tongue pressing into her alongside his fingers, and pressed his nose to her clit, grinning in triumph as she cried out, convulsing around his fingers.

"Fuck, Tom!"

She cried out loudly, and he kept licking inside of her, as deep as he could reach, his hand moving to cup her mound and tease her clit with his fingers. She was so sensitive, had been for the past few weeks, and he was shamelessly taking advantage of it.

In the end, he made her come a second and then a third time before they finished their shower. She was leaning against the wall, flushed and panting, and he was very much ready to take her into his arms and carry her through their cabin.

So, he did.

He barely bothered drying them with the lone towel in the bathroom before sweeping her into his arms and stalking into the bedroom. Before she knew what was happening, he had gently tossed her into the bed before climbing in after her, prowling his way up her body before capturing her lips with his.

"Are you ready to go again?" He asked, not wanting to overwhelm or hurt her after he had already made her come so many times. But she nodded, pulling him back down to kiss her again as he grasped her thighs, pushing them open. She let them fall to the bed on either side of him, opening her up to his hungry eyes.

"Please, I want you to come inside of me," she groaned, and ran her hands along his back, his arms, and down to his ass. She gave him a hard squeeze and he yelped, giggling against her skin as he buried his head in her neck.

"We can manage that, I think," he said, and kept one hand protectively over her baby bump as he lined himself up, pushing inside of her body slowly. She moaned, bucking her hips up to meet him. She was already on edge; a definite bonus of this pregnancy was that she was always on edge.

Tom grunted as he bottomed out, pushed as far inside her body as he could go.

He loved the times that she took control and rode him, telling him what to do and taking her pleasure from his body.

But he also loved times like this, when she was happy to lay vulnerable beneath him, her legs open for him, her chest pressed into his as she begged him to make love to her.

"Tom," she said, knowing exactly what she wanted. "Hard, please," she asked, and he obliged, pulling most of the way out before thrusting back in as hard as he dared. They both cried out, Rachel bringing one leg up to hook over his hip and encourage him to continue.

"Just like that," she moaned, and he loved that she knew what she wanted. She knew what she liked and wasn't afraid to ask for it, and that was just so hot to him.

He gave her what she asked for, pulling out and thrusting back inside of her hard and fast, his arms trembling as he held himself above her. He could feel sweat on his face and pressure building in his groin as he moved inside of her. She was so tight around him, gripping his cock in a wet, warm vice, and he reached down to press a finger to her clit. She groaned at the feeling, and reached for one of his hands, entwining their fingers and pressing them over her belly.

"I'm close," she gasped, and Tom sped up, encouraging her to wrap her other leg around his waist so he could slip even deeper inside of her. They both groaned at the feeling, Tom slamming in hard and fast. He was so close, he-

"FUCK," he groaned, pressing in as deep as he could go, coming before Rachel for the first time that he could remember. He dropped his head to her shoulder, and circled his finger around her clit, encouraging her to come, too, as he shook and emptied himself inside of her.

"Oh, God," she cried out, and came around his length hard, her walls fluttering and gripping him even more tightly.

It took several long moments for him to calm down enough to pull out and drop to the bed next to Rachel, gathering her into his arms as she panted for breath.

"That was..." she began, but either couldn't find the words or the breath necessary to continue. Tom, next to her, grinned and silently agreed.

"I think I like this new privacy," he said, and Rachel laughed, kissing his sweaty chest. She could feel his heart thundering beneath his skin, and knew hers was beating just as fast.

They lay there, basking in the afterglow, for a very long time. Long enough that Rachel had fallen asleep and, not wanting to wake her, Tom carefully crawled out of the bed to find a warm cloth to clean them both up. She stirred a little as he wiped gently between her legs, groaning at the sensitivity that four orgasms had gifted her, but fell back asleep as he ran a second cloth over her skin, clearing away the sweat.

"Love you," he whispered, kissing her temple as he walked back to the bathroom to clean himself up.

He definitely liked the privacy.