If Walls Could Talk

He could not contend with overly concerned parents, Clay Evans decided as he watched one such mother guiding her college-aged son out of his office. Kyle Irving had potential, but he also had a family depending on his success as an athlete. Clay had seen the enthusiasm and joy for the game in the young basketball player's eyes but his mother was another story. Much as he respected a guy who valued his mother's opinion, it could sometimes make his job a lot harder.

The taste of failure was still bitter his mouth when he saw his boss hovering disapprovingly outside his room. Thankfully his young assistant Callie warded the judgmental man off for him; the girl was an asset barely two months into the job. He saw her answer the phone at her desk and prepared himself for an incoming call just in case. Sure enough, seconds later the line was passed on. "Who is it, Callie?"

"It's Sara, boss," said the blonde and the usual surge of pleasure that came with hearing from his wife was accompanied by a burst of nerves. Sara was currently eight months pregnant with their first child and Clay hated working even two hours away from home as a result. Who knew with babies, right?

He gestured to Callie to connect him and picked up the phone nervously. "Hi angel," said quickly. "Are you okay? Is it the baby?"

"I should hope not, you goof, there's like a month to go," she giggled. "I just have a really important question. Do you have a minute?"

Clay let out a sigh of a relief before responding. "For you I have all the time in the world. What's up?"

"You're sweet," she told him and just picturing her loving eyes made him feel better about how badly work was going today. "What's Wolverine's real name?"

"That's the all-important question?" he said incredulously. "Why didn't you just look it up?"

"I want to hear it from you, you dork. It's for a good cause, I promise."

"You're a funny one, Sara Kay," he laughed. "It's Logan, if you really must know. Why the sudden curiosity anyway?"

"You'll see," she told him mysteriously. "I should let you get back to work, my super-agent. See you tonight, babe. I love you."

"I love you too. Take care of the junior knucklehead."

"Obviously. You'll have to share a very big piece of my heart with him soon enough."

"Noted." Clay smiled to himself; "I'm totally okay with that. I'll be home as soon as I can. Bye angel."

The mysterious phone call from his wife lifted Clay's spirits for a very short while. It wasn't long before his boss Ken Arthur cornered him for a lecture on caving in to overprotective parents' demands. Emotions had no room in the corporate man's agenda and he made sure Clay was aware of the fact multiple times by the end of the day. It was getting dark by the time he was ready to drive back to Raleigh from the Tree Hill-based office. A tense grimace in lieu of a smile was all he could manage when Callie held the elevator for him.

"Rough day, huh?" she said conversationally. "Mr. Arthur can be such a hardass. I thought you were doing really well with Mrs. Irving for a while there."

"I really wasn't," Clay told her dully. "You have a lot to learn, Callie."

"I'm sure I do, but for what it's worth you had me sold on that proposal. Don't dwell on it, okay? My Mom always says every day is a chance to try again and do better."

"Smart woman. It's a shame Mrs. Irving isn't more like her, with business you get one chance to impress and that's it."

"Wait for the next first impression to walk in then, I guess," said Callie, for of course that was the only solution. "See you tomorrow, boss."

Feeling disappointed in spite of his assistant's encouraging words, Clay moved towards his Stingray and began the journey home. The two hour drive back to Raleigh was spent going over every detail of the meeting with Kyle Irving in his mind. By the time he reached home the simple failure of the day had been built up into something that rattled more than just his professional confidence. When he swept into the apartment he shared with Sara and deposited his keys on the peg by the door, a rustling noise from the direction of the bedrooms caught his attention.

"Sara?" he called curiously, moving towards the sound. His heavily pregnant wife was leaning against the future nursery door when he reached down the hall. "Hey there, beautiful," he said, feeling his troubles melt away at the sight of her coy smile. "What are you doing over here? Can't get enough of the nursery since I wouldn't let you see it for so long?"

"Something like that, yeah," she nodded and drew as close to him as her bulging belly would allow. "It's just perfect."

"I'm glad you approve." The bump acted like a buffer between them and placing his hand against it Clay found himself calming down even further. "How's our Wolverine today?"

"I think he can't wait to start kicking the world's butt," she laughed. "He squirms…a lot. How was his Dad's day?"

"Could have been better," Clay sighed and as usual something about the look in Sara's eyes compelled him to spill his guts. "Your call was pretty much the nicest part of the day. I was supposed to convince this rookie basketball player to sign with us today and I couldn't do it. He was straight out of college and his mother wasn't a fan of my proposal. I guess the real world doesn't believe much in integrity, character and heart." He hesitated, reluctant to voice the fear his failure of the day had unleashed.

"That's their loss then, isn't it? Someone else will believe in all those important things. He's hardly going to be your only client to impress," said Sara firmly and squeezed his fingers gently. "Is something else wrong?"

"How the hell do you that, angel?" he marveled and wrapped his arms around her vast frame.

"I can always tell when you're hiding something, remember?" she reminded him. "Surprises, lies, general problems, I'm just that good."

"Modest you are not, babe," he smiled in spite of himself. "Actually…it's kind of silly. I guess failing to sign this kid just starting out on the path to greatness today made me doubt if I'll be able to teach our kid the important things in life, you know? He had so much potential but I couldn't even convince his mother it was a good deal."

"Clay," she began, looking pained at the defeat in his tone and putting that look on her face just made him feel worse. "That's not going to be a problem, okay? We have a great kid on the way, I can feel it. Failing to get one contract signed has nothing to do with your abilities as a parent."

"But how do you know that? It feels like exactly the same thing." He looked so desperate for reassurance that Sara decided there was no time like the present to reveal what she had really been up to all day.

"I just do," she said simply and took his hand before shoving the nursery door open. "It's not the same thing at all, trust me. Now, close your eyes and get in here. I have something to show you."

Confused, Clay did as she asked and let her guide him into the nursery. "No peeking," she insisted and he heard the plastic sheeting protecting the floors while the paint on the walls dried rustling underfoot. "Okay, stop here," she said finally and Clay heard a strange scraping and clanging noise while Sara pressed her hands over his eyes. "On the count of two," she whispered in his ear and he smiled in spite of the terrible day because she valued their thing so deeply. "One…two!"

With that Sara lowered her hands and Clay opened his eyes. Almost immediately he felt his jaw drop in awed delight. His father-in-law was standing near the already assembled crib and from the way it was positioned slightly crooked, Clay guessed it had just been shoved back into place. "Behold the finishing touches to this lovely room," said Sam, gesturing at the wall. "And don't worry; I made sure Sara didn't handle the paint at all. You can thank her for the little paper chains on the rails of the crib, see?" The older man pointed at the decorations in question, but Clay kept gaping at the wall.

"This is a good silence, I'm guessing?" Sara smirked, kissing his cheek to end the stunned reaction. "It looks amazing, Daddy. Thanks for your help." She smiled at the wall where the name Logan glistened in fresh white paint on the light blue backdrop, the letters shaped like fluffy white clouds. "Do you like it?"

"Like it?" Clay repeated faintly. "Are you kidding me, angel? I love it! Are you serious about this?"

"Of course," Sara nodded. "He's our little superhero, our Logan." She placed one hand over her baby bump; "Hey Wolverine, tell Daddy you believe in him, would you?" Seconds later she grabbed Clay's hand and placed it against her belly. "He listened to me, feel that?"

"Oh my God," Clay whispered, falling more in love with his wife than he ever would have believed possible when her eyes sparkled with pure adoration. "That's my Wolverine."

"We believe in you," said Sara simply and he welcomed her kiss with pleasure. "You're already my hero, Clay. In a few weeks you'll be his too, you'll see." Overcome with love and excitement, Clay lifted his wife slightly off her feet and twirled in a careful circle. He was only distantly aware that Sam had snapped a picture of the moment, for right then nothing else mattered but the woman about to give him the most precious gift in the world.

A / N This one is an expansion of a Clara flashback I put in chapter 21 of my multi-chapter fic This Time Tomorrow. Enjoy all! xx