Author's Note: So...I was eating candy canes last night and I remembered how my aunt once hung candy canes on her Christmas tree when I was younger so I decided to kinda write a random, fluffy one-shot including that! I always think of Anna as having a bit of a sweet tooth, so I just had to write this and I really hope that you enjoy x
Lowering herself back down into her rocking chair once she had waddled over to the little Christmas tree on the opposite side of the sitting room and taken another candy cane from one of the branches, Anna unwrapped the treat and put the curved end in her mouth before humming with delight and resting a hand on her bump through her cardigan. She still couldn't believe how much she had rounded out over the past couple of weeks and, contrary to what her husband believed, she was rather certain it wasn't all down to the number of mince pies and candy canes she had consumed since December had come around. Her little prince, for she was completely certain she was expecting a boy, had grown so much since her last appointment with Doctor Clarkson and she couldn't have felt happier about it.
The remarkable stitch that had made it possible for her to keep her baby and had kept him safe while he'd grown and developed over the past couple of months had been taken out at her last antenatal appointment which meant that she could expect to go into labour at any second. His due date was January 3rd and even though she was dying to meet him and knew he would be absolutely fine should he arrive before then she hoped he waited for as long as he could. The longer he was within her the longer she would be able to keep him safe and strengthen him. 'You take all the time you need, my sweet boy,' She whispered to him while warmly tracing the curve of her bump with her palm. 'Mummy and daddy will still be here when you decide you're ready to come out and meet us, I promise you.'
As though he understood exactly what she was saying to him, he pushed against her with one of his tiny hands or feet and she smiled in response before lifting her head at the sound of the front door being unlocked. She always looked forward to that sound when she was home alone throughout the day. It was nice that the family had given her some time off of work so that she could rest before the birth, but she missed John something chronic whenever he was away from her and almost as soon as he left the house in the morning she started longing for him to come home again. 'Have you had him yet?' She heard him call from out in the hall while he hung up his hat and coat and she shook her head, smiling to herself. He asked her that question every night and her answer was always the same.
'Nope, I was still very much pregnant the last time I checked!'
His chuckle reached the sitting room before him, but when he finally came to stand in the doorway and smiled in a way that made his eyes crinkle at the edges she felt her breath catch in the back of her throat as her heart fluttered. How could one man be so perfect? She removed the candy cane from her mouth and followed him with her eyes as he started to approach her and when he laid his hand on her cheek beneath the curtain of her hair she tilted her head back, the two of them allowing their noses to graze for just a second before he pressed his lips to her own. His lips were rather cold on hers, she couldn't deny that, but as she lifted her hand to the side of his neck and traced his jawline with her thumb she found that she didn't care. She was just glad that he was finally home with her.
Their kiss lingered for several long seconds before he pulled back and caressed her cheek with the pad of his thumb, nothing but love for her in his eyes as he did so before she looked down and he followed her gaze to the proof of the baby they had been yearning for years to be blessed with. He still wasn't entirely sure if they were having a little girl or a little boy, but Anna was adamant that there was a little boy tucked away in there and so he was more than happy to let her believe that and go along with it. 'Hello, little man...' He let his hand fall from his wife's cheek to her stomach before running his palm across the expanse of it and feeling their child shift in response to his touch. 'I hope you haven't been giving mummy too much trouble while I've been gone. She's very tired, you know.'
'As much as I'd like him to, I don't think he's going to wait until January to make his appearance.'
He lifted his gaze back to Anna's at her words and frowned slightly. 'I thought you said you weren't in labour.'
'I'm not, I don't think,' She shook her head. 'But I'm feeling a lot of pressure low down and Doctor Clarkson told me that that usually means that the baby's dropped and its head has become engaged. I'm not having contractions and the pain in my back is the same as usual if I'm honest, but I've just got such a strong feeling that he's going to end up coming a bit sooner than Doctor Clarkson thinks.'
'Do you want me to ask for some time off? The last thing I want is for you to go into labour by yourself.'
'If you wouldn't mind doing that, then I think it would be a good idea if you did. I want you here when my waters go and it all starts.'
He nodded, easing a blonde curl out of her face. 'I'll have a word with His Lordship about it when I'm getting him dressed tomorrow.'
She smiled. 'Do you think you might help me up? My back's hurting me tonight and I think I'll be more comfortable over on the sofa.'
'Come here,' He slipped both his hands into hers and took a step back from her so that he could help her to her feet, his arm winding itself around her waist before he held her close and walked at her pace to the sofa. He then sat himself down, knowing that she much preferred to curl up in his lap and cuddle against him rather than sit next to him, and he let her sit down and shift into a comfortable position before wrapping her in his arms and kissing her on the forehead. He couldn't find the words to describe how deeply he loved her and how proud he felt of her for enduring all that she was so that they could finally have all they'd ever wanted. She hadn't slept properly in ages and she was constantly uncomfortable and in pain but not once had she complained. 'I love you so much, you know.'
'Mmm...I love you too,' She hummed sleepily against his shoulder before laying a hand on his cheek and brushing her lips against his. 'I can't wait to start a family with you. I don't doubt for a second that you're going to make the best daddy and our little boy and any children we may have in the future are going to love you so much. I'm so excited to see you cuddling him for the first time, honestly.'
He ran a hand over her hair and sighed. 'You and our children are all I'm ever going to want or need, I mean that.'
'I feel the exact same way.' She reassured him, catching his hand with hers and bringing it to rest on her perfectly round bump.
He pressed his lips back to her forehead and smiled against her as her hand laid over his and kept it in place on her stomach, the two of them sitting in comfortable silence for a while before he pulled back when he heard a subtle change in her breathing and chuckled at seeing that she had fallen asleep on him. It didn't surprise him that she was so exhausted, what with growing a tiny human and all, and so he chose to just draw her closer to his chest and let her sleep so that she could get the rest that she both needed and craved.
Holding her securely in his arms, he looked around the little sitting room before his gaze fell on the Christmas tree that still had yet to be taken down and he frowned at noticing that something was definitely different but not being completely certain of what it was. He stared at the tree for several minutes, slowly running his hand along the length of his wife's arm, before it finally dawned on him.
The candy canes that had once been hanging from the branches had disappeared.
And he didn't have to think too hard about where they had gone since there were a number of wrappers near his wife's rocking chair.
'Honestly, Mrs. Bates...' He tutted, turning back to her and tightening the arm that was wrapped around her. 'You and your cravings!'
Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading this little one-shot and I really hope you enjoyed it. I'm planning on writing more little ones in the near future while attempting to beat writer's block and update my other fics, so I hope you come back for them and please leave a review on this just to let me know what you think! See you all soon!