"This was a good plan, Harry." He looks over at her and he's relieved to see her looking relaxed next to him in the passenger seat. "Using your charms on Spikings to get us out of the office early."
"If it gets us a nice dinner that neither of us has to cook and a chance to claim that a terribly busy week at work means we need an early night then I'll use my charms on him whenever I need to." She smiles at him and reaches over to squeeze his hand. "Not in the same way I use them on you, obviously."
"Glad to hear it." He smiles as he makes the final turn into Winfield Hall. "I don't think pulling my gun on the boss would work out too well for me."
He spots Freddy standing on the steps as he pulls the car to a stop and he's happy to see him. He's a good guy, Harry's dad, he liked him right away, and it makes everything easier knowing it's mutual. He loves seeing Harry with him too. She's comfortable here in this huge, imposing place that just happens to be her home, even if it did take him twenty minutes to find the kitchen on his first visit. He's never told her that and he probably should, he's pretty sure she'd find it hilarious now.
She gets out of the car first and he watches as she rushes towards Freddy, who looks every inch as happy to see her. He takes their bags out of the car, reaches into the back seat for her jacket, and when he turns back she's still hanging on tightly to her father, who looks slightly baffled, even more so than usual.
"Are you quite sure you're alright, my darling?" Freddy smiles at her and he sees her nodding in response.
"I'm absolutely fine, Daddy, really. It's just…" He wonders if all of her deliberating was for nothing, if she's about to break their news within two minutes of arriving. "I've just missed you, that's all."
"Dear girl, I know I'm down here now more than in London, but it hasn't been so very long since your last visit." Freddy looks amused by her show of sentimentality and he studies her for a second. "You do look rather tired though, Harriet, and you're a little thin. Are you eating enough?"
"I am a little tired. We've been busy at work lately." She steps out of Freddy's arms and turns back to him, stepping close enough to slide her arm through his and lean against him. "I happen to have someone at home with the appetite of a horse so yes, I'm eating plenty."
He stands by, looking on but saying nothing. Not that there's much he could he say anyway other than "I'm making sure she eats plenty but so much of it ends up in the toilet it's hard to keep up…" Thankfully she usually manages most of her eating in the evenings so hopefully dinner will be enough to put Freddy's concerns to rest.
"James! Marvellous to see you, as ever." Freddy grins at him and slaps him on the back. "Let's get inside, it's about the right time for some drinks before dinner, I'd say, wouldn't you?"
"I won't turn down that offer." He grins back at Freddy and reaches for Harry's hand.
"Good man." Freddy leads the way into the house, turning back as he reaches the steps. "Leave your bags, I'll send someone out for them."
"You okay?" He thinks she is but he wants to be sure, and when she looks up at him there's a relaxed smile playing at her lips so he's happy.
"I'm fine." She nods and he squeezes her hand. "Let's get inside so at least one of us can have a drink."
Almost as soon as they step inside Freddy remembers something he meant to request for dinner and disappears towards the kitchen, throwing a cheerful "feel free to get started on the drinks, James!" over his shoulder as he heads out of the room.
"Perfect." Harry rubs his arm and smiles. "You can make me something that looks terribly alcoholic but is in fact nothing but bloody tonic water. Mix Freddy a strong martini and he won't notice what the rest of us are drinking anyway."
"I'm glad we're here this weekend, honey." He reaches for the tonic water, deciding to make her drink first so she can sit down. "What was it Spikings said, it'll be good for you to get some fresh air?"
"Honestly, if you had heard him, Dempsey. I really can't imagine how but I'm sure he knows." She sighs and he smiles at her as he drops a cocktail stick with two olives into her glass.
"There, you'd never know that wasn't the finest martini I've ever made." He hands it to her and carries on with the actual martinis for himself and Freddy. "You know Spikings is married, he has kids. Older, wiser, whatever, maybe he just knows the signs, knows morning sickness when he sees it."
"Maybe." She shrugs and he senses that she's decided not to worry about it, at least for the weekend. She takes a sip of her drink and smiles. "Well, that might just be the finest martini you've ever made."
"Just as I thought." He grins at her, thinking about how relaxed she looks already and vowing to get her out of the city on the weekends more often. "You know, I wouldn't sweat whether the boss knows or not. We have to tell him sooner or later anyway, right?"
"Tell who what?" Freddy comes back in, a broad smile on his face as he moves to take the martini being offered.
"Oh nothing, Daddy, just a work thing." Harry heads to the couch and he follows, his own drink in hand.
"No talking shop this weekend, you two." Freddy takes a gulp of his martini and raises the glass. "Unless there's anything particularly gruesome in your current caseload to share, of course."
"Even if we did have something juicy we couldn't share it with you, as you very well know." Harry grins at her father, who tries the same thing every time they visit. "How are you, anyway?"
"Creaking but still standing, sweetheart." Freddy grins at them. "Waking up every day when you reach my age feels like an achievement."
"Don't be silly, you'll be around for years yet and we all know it." Harry jumps in as she always does but there's a serious note in her voice this time. "I need you around for a good deal longer yet, do you hear me?"
"You know me, Harriet, stubborn as a bloody ox. I shan't be shuffling off this mortal coil anytime soon." Freddy frowns slightly, looking concerned but he shakes it off quickly. "I'm hungry, let's go and forage for food, shall we?"
"By forage, do you actually mean go into the dining room and see what one of your lovely staff has cooked for us?" Harry smirks as she stands up.
"That's exactly what I mean." The sparkle in Freddy's eyes makes him smile. As usual he hopes for half of his energy when he's his age.
He never gets tired of the food at Winfield Hall, and tonight is no exception. He's not sure it would be possible for him to feel any more relaxed than he does right now, full of good food and settled on Freddy's enormous couch with Harry beside him. His arm is around her and her head is on his chest. She stayed in the conversation until the subject turned to sports and she snuggled in closer and fell silent. She's been asleep for a good half an hour now, her breathing soft and steady, her hand warm on his thigh.
"Everything is alright, isn't it, James?" Freddy asks, smiling gently in Harry's direction. "It's not like my daughter not to be the last one standing, you know that as well as I do."
"Things have just been crazy lately, that's all. We've been pulling long hours at work, I think it's just catching up with her. With both of us, if I'm honest. This weekend is just what we need. Fresh air, good food, and it's always great to see you, of course." He smiles back at Freddy, hoping that's enough but wondering again if it's inevitable that their news will be out by the time the weekend is over.
"The feeling is mutual, dear boy." Freddy raises his glass and grins. "I really couldn't be more delighted that she has you in her life, James. I have quite honestly never seen her so happy."
"Mm…" He feels Harry shift slightly and her head lifts up from his chest. "I think I dozed off there for a few minutes."
"A few minutes, a half hour, who's counting?" He smiles at her and she blinks up at him.
"Half an hour, really?" She stretches slightly and looks over at Freddy. "I should probably head to bed. I promise I'll be much better company tomorrow."
"Nonsense." Freddy smiles at her and shakes his head. "You're always perfectly wonderful company, sleepy or not. Nothing wrong with an early night though."
"Come on, sleeping beauty, let's hit the hay." He stands up and reaches for her hand, pulling her gently up off the couch and waiting while she heads over towards her father.
"Goodnight, poppet." Freddy kisses her cheek and smiles. "Get some rest and I'll see you in the morning. You too, James."
By the time he finishes in the bathroom and walks back into the bedroom she's asleep. On top of the bedclothes, fully clothed, curled on her side almost in a ball, and fast asleep. As much as he hates to wake her, he's pretty sure she wouldn't want to sleep in her clothes, and he knows she'd pull a face at the thought of not brushing her teeth, and he really wants her to get a good night's sleep. He leans over her and strokes his thumb slowly across her cheek, but other than a slight frown she doesn't budge.
"Honey…" He climbs onto the bed and lies down next to her, figuring that even if he can't wake her he can be comfortable while he gazes at her. He never forgets how beautiful she is, he's not a complete idiot, but there are still times when it hits him like a giant wave, and it's hitting him right now. He tries again, running his hand down her arm, but succeeds only in making her snuggle more deeply into the pillow.
He decides to take a chance that she won't kill him for not waking her and gets up to go over to his bag, taking out one of the pregnancy books he packed. He figures he may as well start trying to get some idea of what they've gotten themselves into. Settling himself next to her again on the bed, he opens the book and starts reading.
"Have you reached the part about pregnant women apparently needing to sleep for twenty hours a day?" He's a couple of chapters in when he hears her sleepy voice. "I'm starting to worry I may actually be part cat."
"You'll always be my little tiger, you know that." He turns and smiles at her. "I tried to wake you, figured you wouldn't want to sleep in your clothes. Pretty sure trying to raise the Titanic would be less of a challenge."
"Shut up and tell me what you've learnt from that book while I try to summon enough energy to get undressed." She smiles back at him and then has to stifle a yawn.
"Hey, if you need a cheerleader, I'm pretty good at persuading you to take your clothes off." He reaches across and softly strokes her middle. "Exhibit A right there."
"Do you think we're going to get away with it this weekend?" She props herself up and again he's struck by just how beautiful she is, and how much he wants to marry her. "With my father, I mean. I'm convinced the poor man thinks I'm dying or something."
"He's just worried about you, Harry." He leans in and kisses her before putting the book down and getting off the bed again. Taking her pyjamas out of her bag he passes them to her and sits back down.
"Go on." She rolls onto her back and smiles up at him. "Do your best work, Lieutenant...undress me."
When he wakes up, it's light already and there's sunlight breaking through the gap in the curtains. There's also an empty space in the bed beside him. He rolls over and looks at his watch before sitting up and trying to shake himself to life. He slept like a log and he knows she must have slept pretty well too because he knows she was sound asleep when he woke earlier, curled against his chest, letting out the gentle hum that she swears cannot be described, in anyone's book, as snoring. He's about to stand up when she stumbles into the room and sits down next to him.
"When is this ever going to stop?" She leans against him and sighs, and he wishes he could do something for her, something more than just offering ginger biscuits.
"You want to know what the books say?" He remembers skipping to this part last night so he can give her an answer if she really wants one.
"Not right now, no." She lets out a faint, humourless laugh. "I don't think I could take it if you told me I've got months more of this to get through. I feel bloody awful."
"I'm sorry, honey." He moves his hand and starts to gently rub her back. "What can I do?"
"Keep my father entertained until I feel well enough to make it downstairs. Tell him…" She sighs and snuggles closer against him. "Oh I don't know. Tell him I woke up with a headache and I'm going to have a bath to see if I can shift it. Take him out for a walk or something."
"I can do that." As much as he hates that she's feeling rotten again he knows this is the chance he was hoping for to talk to Freddy, to tell him he's planning to propose to Harry, to make sure he's okay with it. "I'll get ready and head down. Do you want me to bring you anything? Some toast?"
"I'm fine." She looks up at him and manages a faint smile, still gorgeous even in the midst of a bout of morning sickness. "I have this guy, you see...he got me pregnant and now he brings me ginger biscuits. It's a slightly strange trade-off but it seems to be working."
"Tell you what, I'll bring you some tea." He smiles back at her, thinking about the fact that by the time the weekend is over the ring currently hidden in his overnight bag will hopefully be on display where it belongs. "I have this girl, you see... I got her pregnant, I bring her biscuits, and I paid attention when she said you can't have biscuits without tea."
"She sounds like a smart one." She rests her head against his shoulder again and squeezes his thigh. "I think you should keep her."
"Well, she is pretty cute…" He rests his hand over hers and strokes her fingers, his mind again filled with thoughts of sliding an engagement ring in place. "If the biscuit situation doesn't totally bankrupt me, I'm definitely going to keep her."
"I can buy my own biscuits." She turns her hand over and tangles her fingers in his, squeezing gently. "Keep me anyway."
"You, beautiful…" He kisses the top of her head and smiles. "Have yourself a deal."