"I think you should go."
For several moments, Derek blinked in stunned silence. "Please tell me you're joking..."
"What? Why?" Emily demanded to know.
He gave her an extremely pointed look. "Because it's ridiculous."
She shot the look right back at him. "Oh, so, I'm ridiculous now?" she asked, tone threatening bodily harm.
He hung his head, sighed wearily. "That's not what I said. I said your idea..." He trailed off, realizing he was just digging himself a bigger hole. "Nevermind. I just don't want to do it, okay?"
"But..." she said with a pout. "Please?"
"I'm not going to show up alone," he said, "If you want me to go, you have to come too." He gave her a superior look that said he clearly thought he'd won the argument. He crossed his arms over his chest with a triumphant smirk, waiting for her to concede to his obvious victory.
Instead, though, she held up both hands in self-defence. "Oh, no," she said, shaking her head. "No way. I'm not going to a high school dance while eight months pregnant. Not gonna happen. I didn't even like going when I wasn't a goddamn whale."
"You're not..." he started to argue. That wasn't the point, though.
Besides, she cut him off by announcing, "I have someone else for you to go with."
"What?" he deadpanned.
She nodded, entirely too pleased with herself. "Her name is Ashley; I tutor her in French. She just transferred to the school, so she doesn't know anyone. She's a freshman, but she really wants to go, so I told her you'd take her."
"What?" he repeated.
She smiled sweetly, batted her lashes. "Please?" she begged. "It will mean so much to her. And to me." She held her hands up in prayer. "It's just one night... Do it for me?"
He groaned, trying to resist the temptation to give into Emily's every whim because he hated to tell her no... "Why are you so determined that I go to prom?" he wanted to know.
She said something in response that was really more of a quiet mumble. At his continued expectant expression, she repeated in a slightly louder mumble, "I don't want to deprive you of anything else..."
"Deprive me!?" he repeated incredulously. "Oh, Princess..." He folded her into his chest as best he could around her protruding belly. He rubbed a hand up and down her back soothingly.
She shook her head insistently. "Don't," she said, voice muffled by his chest. "Don't try to convince me that I haven't done that because I know for a fact that I have."
He raised a brow. "Such as?"
She pushed back from the embrace to fix him with a pointed look as she listed, "Tailgate parties, pep rallies, game win celebrations, normal teenage shenanigans that you can actually do when you aren't at home with your pregnant girlfriend..."
He waved away her concerns as if she'd just suggested something completely and utterly ridiculous. "Psh..." he said dismissively.
Her eyes went wide. "Really? You don't care at all?" She clearly didn't believe his assertion.
"Nope. Not even a little." She fixed him with a dubious expression at his steadfast refusal, so he continued, "Em, none of that matters. My high school memories are going to be of something different than everyone else my age and that's okay. Because when I look back at my experience, it's going to be one of impending fatherhood and that's special. Maybe it's not 'normal', but I certainly wouldn't trade it for all the tailgates and pep rallies in the world."
Emily clapped a hand over her mouth to keep her sobs from escaping.
Derek just sighed, wrapped her in another embrace. "I love you, Princess," he murmured as he dropped a kiss to the top of her head.
"But it's prom," she said from the depths of the embrace.
"I'd rather spend the day with my favourite gal," he said. When she seemed about to argue, he said, "We're having a date night. No ifs, ands, or buts."
Emily reluctantly got all dolled up for Derek's prom replacement. And, just as she was coming down the stairs, she was startled by a camera flash... "Derek!" she threatened.
"Hey!" he whined, "It's not me, it's Mama!"
"This is your prom and I'm going to take pictures," Fran said, leaving no room for argument...and Emily knew by now that there was no point in arguing with Fran Morgan when she was dead set on something.
By the time she'd finished taking pictures – in all the classic prom poses – Emily's feet were already sore and part of her was wishing she could just get back in her pyjamas and watch Netflix in bed. But she wanted Derek to be happy and he seemed rather determined that they have a date.
"So, where are we going?" she asked as they drove off. "And please don't say dancing because I am already losing feeling in my toes..."
He grinned slyly.
"Please don't say it's a surprise because I am in no mood," she whined.
Chuckling, he said, "Don't worry, Princess, it's a low-key date. I promise." At her continued doubtful expression, he said, "Mini golf and '50's diner. Then a movie...if you're not falling asleep."
"That actually sounds like the best not-prom," she said. A beat. "But I guarantee I'll be asleep before dinner is even over."
With a fond smile, he said, "Then, I guess I get to cuddle you at home in front of the TV."
Her eyes lit up suddenly. "Can we watch X-Men?" she asked excitedly. "We haven't watched it since that day I took the pregnancy test..."
He groaned and seemed about to argue, but he knew how happy it made her, so he ultimately shook his head with a little laugh. "Anything you want, Princess." He reached across the centre console to squeeze her hand to emphasize how much he truly meant that...as if she could have ever doubted it.