Hello, all. Back with a new chapter. Enjoy.

I do not own these characters or the shows they are from.

Sometime into watching the British series of The Office Alex fell asleep, and when Mitchie heard the rhythmic breathing coming from her wife she turned off the TV so she could read on her phone instead. Alex wasn't interested in reading up on what else to expect during the pregnancy because according to her once she'd lived through it with Mitchie there was no amount of reading that could compare to her real-life experience.

Mitchie, on the other hand, wanted to read as much as possible. During her own pregnancy she'd been so young, stupid, and scared. The one time she'd tried to read up on pregnancy when she'd learned she was expecting Sam she read something that freaked her out so badly she never dared to look into it again—preferring to be blissfully unaware. That wasn't the case this time around.

Maybe it was because it wasn't happening to her body, but she found the whole process fascinating. It was amazing how women's bodies adapted and changed in order to accommodate the miracle of childbirth. At sixteen she didn't have a complete understanding of what was going on in her uterus; she never took the time to truly educate herself because she wasn't ready to deal with the reality of it all.

But now she was excited, and she was curious to see what stage the baby was at during this stage of pregnancy. Various organs were forming, and the baby was growing every day. She still looked like a tiny alien no doubt, but Mitchie already loved that alien-like embryo more than life itself already.

After over an hour of scrolling her phone's battery began to get extremely low, and her charger was all the way downstairs. While nothing in her wanted to leave the comfort of their bed, Mitchie knew she needed to go and get it. If Sam would have been home with them, she probably wouldn't have worried about it so much, but he was still with Shane. What if he fell and broke his arm and she couldn't be reached because her phone died? Or if there was a car crash, or a fire, or any other kind of tragedy?

No, she needed her phone. And that meant unwinding herself from the warm blanket cocoon she and Alex had wrapped themselves in. While she wasn't fond of the idea, her concern for her son outweighed her laziness, so she rolled out of bed as quietly as possible.

Downstairs she found her phone chord where she'd left it in the kitchen and plugged it in. The sound of the door opening caused her to jump as she wasn't expecting company, but when the alarm didn't start going off, she figured it had to be a friend instead of a foe. Going into the living room, she discovered she was right. Caitlyn was standing there in the same outfit as the day before, looking like she'd slept in her makeup, holding various outfits on hangers.

"Dude, you really need to start knocking," Mitchie somewhat scolded. "You scared the shit out of me."

"I need your help," Caitlyn said, ignoring Mitchie's statement.

Mitchie paused to take a moment to look Caitlyn over and try to assess the situation. Caitlyn seemed tense and nervous, and Mitchie was starting to worry if her friend had slept at all.

"Cait, are you okay?" Mitchie asked, walking over to her friend and placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I'm better than okay," Caitlyn said, a smile twitching at the corners of her lips. "I'm great, in fact."

Mitchie's eyes flicked over her friend, and she frowned with confusion. "Okay, you're gonna need to elaborate."

Caitlyn smirked as she said, "Nate and I hooked up last night."

The songstress's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and her jaw hung open slightly at her best friend's revelation. "I need details. Now!" She grabbed the tiny brunette by the wrist and pulled her to the couch, where she made them sit.

Caitlyn draped the clothes over the back of the couch while they got comfortable, facing each other. Mitchie tucked her legs under herself as settled herself in to hear every juicy detail. She tried to be as patient as possible as Caitlyn situated herself, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"So, what happened to 'he's like my brother,' huh?" Mitchie asked teasingly as she rested her arm across the back of the couch.

"More like a really hot step brother you fantasize about until one night you find out he fantasizes about you too, and at first you don't want to do anything about it, but then you fuck him anyway," Caitlyn said.

Mitchie stared at her for a moment in horror. "That's weird. What the fuck, Caitlyn? I am begging you to stop watching Lifetime movies."

"It was a joke," Caitlyn said, laughing slightly as she shook her head with amusement. "I never really saw him as a brother. I've always thought he was cute. I just told you that I didn't like him because if you knew I did him you would have pushed me to pursue him, which you did even when I told you I didn't like him."

"That is valid, I did do that," Mitchie said thoughtfully. "But you did like him, and obviously my advice was also valid because you clearly spent the night with him." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and tugged at Caitlyn's t-shirt from the day before.

"Yeah, well, it appears I may have you to thank for that," she said, narrowing her eyes at Mitchie. "Did you make Alex talk to Nate about me?"

Mitchie choked on her own spit at the accusation, and, coughing, she pounded herself on the chest. When she cleared her throat, she tried to put on her best to shrug nonchalantly. "No, I did not make her… She did that of her of volition."

"Mitchie Catherine…" Caitlyn said slowly, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Mitchie winced reflectively at the use of her middle name. Caitlyn had asked her one day, and she'd told her without thinking much of it. But then Caitlyn started using it against her, and Mitchie regretted it ever since.

"So, it was obvious to me—and to Alex—that you and Nate were into each other," Mitchie began, avoiding eye contact with the slightly irritated woman beside her. "And since you were being a pain in the ass about it, we had to try to convince Nate to make the first move."

Caitlyn was silent for a moment, wishing she could be staring at her friend in disbelief. But somewhere deep inside she'd known. The setting up of the baby room, her and Nate being there together, Alex suddenly getting tired resulting in them leaving together. Mitchie had obviously been trying to nudge them towards each other; she knew it the moment the doorbell rang. That was what Mitchie did—she got involved, even when it wasn't her place. And while she should have been angry with her friend for explicitly going against her wishes and meddling, she wasn't all that bothered by it. Because she'd gotten what she wanted, though. She may have felt differently had Nate not returned her feelings.

"And what if you'd been wrong, Mitchie?" Caitlyn asked, frowning slightly. "What if I had been telling the truth, and then you got Nate's hopes up for no reason? Or what if he actually didn't like me, and I'd taken your advice and looked like a fool?"

"You gave him a boner, that's kind of self-explanatory, Caity." Mitchie said with exasperation. "And it worked out, so everything's copacetic."

"Mitch!" Caitlyn exclaimed and threw her hands up in exasperation. "That's not the point. You deliberately meddled in my life after I told you not to multiple times. While I know you meant well, you really overstepped, here."

"I know," Mitchie said, looking down to her lap as shame trickled into her stomach. "With everything going on with me and Alex, I guess I just got swept away. We're so happy right now, excited about this new chapter in our lives. I guess I pushed you on Nate because I want you to be this happy, too." She looked back up bashfully, thankful when she saw that Caitlyn's features had softened. "You're so amazing, and you have so much love to give. I just want you to find the right guy so you can have all the things I have—a loving partner you can grow with and maybe someday start a family. Because I know you, and you've always wanted that."

Caitlyn had to admit Mitchie had her there. Often times she regarded her best friend's family with envy. She longed to have someone to hold and call her own, and while being Sam's godmother was amazing, she'd always dreamed of being a mother someday.

"You're not wrong, but I need it to happen on my terms," Caitlyn said softy. She let out a heavy sigh and gave her friend a pointed look. "So, I'm letting you off the hook this time, but please never do anything like this ever again.

"Well, hopefully I won't have to now that you and Nate are a thing—"

"Mitch," Caitlyn warned.

The singer sighed as well. "Fine, I'll never interfere with your love life again. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," Caitlyn assured her with a smile before quirking an eyebrow playfully. "So, do you want to hear how it happened?"

"You know I do," Mitchie said with a wide grin. "Spill."

"Well, last night after we were leaving he asked me to hang out—watch Netflix, order takeout, have a few drinks," Caitlyn began.

"He got you drunk?" Mitchie asked, her smile dropping a bit. She knew Nate wasn't Shane in any way, shape, or form, but a chill still went down her spine at the mention of alcohol.

"It wasn't like that," Caitlyn said gently, patting Mitchie on the arm in a comforting manner. "I'm a consenting adult who knowingly chose to drink. Nate even explicitly told me I did not have to drink if I didn't want to. He even offered to let me stay in his guest room instead of just assuming I would go to bed with him. He was a complete gentleman, don't worry."

"Good," Mitchie said as she took in a relieved breath. That was comforting. For a second there she was seriously reconsidering her friendship with Nate.

"So, we start drinking, and there's a reason they call it 'liquid courage,' you know?"

"I've been drunk once, but I've heard that, yes," Mitchie said with a small nod.

"Well, it can make you say things you're normally too timid to say," Caitlyn said, looking down with a small smile. "He told me he thought I was hot, and that he'd liked me since my first summer at Camp Rock."

"I didn't know that," Mitchie said, eyebrows knitting together. "He never told me." Then again, why would he? Sure, they were friends, but they didn't talk about things like that. Music, movies, guitars, sure. Those were easy topics. But Nate rarely talked about his dating life or feelings, so there was no way of her knowing that. Not to mention Caitlyn was her best friend, and she doubted that put her at the top of Nate's list of people to confess his crush to. In fact, she was probably the last person Nate would have told. "Never mind, that was smart of him. I definitely would have told you."

"See?" Caitlyn said with a small laugh. "It was just really cute, and sweet, and normally I would never jump into bed with a guy so soon—"

"But?" Mitchie interrupted with a quirked eyebrow.

Caitlyn laughed again as she picked up her head. "But it's Nate, and he's not some guy I just randomly met on the internet. He's good, and kind, and every time I think of him I either want to smush his cheeks together or suck his dick. There is no in-between."

Mitchie's face went red, and she bit her lip to hold back a laugh. This was a side of Caitlyn she hadn't seen in a while. When she first started sleeping with Gabe she'd been thirsty and horny, and their sex life was one of her favorite topics. After the breakup, though, Caitlyn had retreated into her shell. It was nice to see the dancer open up again.

"And did you?" Mitchie asked. "Suck his dick?"

"No," Caitlyn said, a hint of disappointment in her voice. "We kind of just went right into it. After we were done Nate fell asleep almost instantly." She shrugged. "Besides, even if we hadn't, I doubt he'd have been able to get it up again. With all the drinking we did I'm surprised he was able to get it up at all. Gabe always had trouble with that after getting drunk."

"He didn't seem to have a problem when he stuck it in that blonde bimbo," Mitchie said harshly. "Hadn't his excuse been it wasn't his fault because he was drunk?"

"I'd rather not delve into an in-depth analysis of the reason my ex-boyfriend cheated on me, if you don't mind." The brunette frowned deeply and shifted on the couch. "Gabe's in the past, and I'd rather look to my future—which has a date with Nate in it."

"Ah," Mitchie said, realization dawning on her. "Hence the outfits." She looked to the garments, running a hand over a wrinkle on a little red dress Caitlyn had brought over. "And needing my help."

"Yeah," Caitlyn said, her nerves coming back to her. Normally she wouldn't worry too much about what to wear, but this wasn't some unimportant Tinder date. This mattered, and she wanted everything to be perfect. "I'm excited, and happy, but I also feel like I'm gonna throw up." She shook her head and looked to the outfits she brought over. "I went home and just stared at my closet for, like, twenty minutes before I grabbed a few things and headed over here. I haven't been on a date in so long, I'm just so unprepared. I'm—I'm a mess."

"I can see that," Mitchie commented, eyebrows raised. "First things first, please go upstairs and take a shower."

"Good call," Caitlyn said, standing. She was about to leave the room when a thought occurred to her, and she looked around the room in confusion. "Where's Alex?"

"She's upstairs taking a nap, but when she wakes up I'll be sure to tell her how long it took you to acknowledge her absence," Mitchie quipped with a good-natured smirk.

Caitlyn stuck her tongue out in lieu of response before sticking her nose in the air and heading upstairs.

When Caitlyn emerged from Sam's bathroom wrapped in a Superman towel Mitchie was waiting in Sam's room with the outfit she'd selected sitting on the bed: a red, sleeveless blouse with a deep V cut, a black skirt, and black heals to tie it all together. Caitlyn didn't remember bringing the shoes, and she picked them up questioningly.

"These aren't mine," she commented.

"No, they're mine," Mitchie clarified. "You're a size seven, like me, right?"

Caitlyn nodded, smiling at Mitchie's memory. "Thanks."

"Sure," Mitchie said brightly. "Why don't you change, and I'll go grab my makeup and curling iron from our bathroom?"

"Mitchie, you don't have to go through all of this with me," Caitlyn said quickly.

"I want to," Mitchie said honestly. "I'm almost as excited about this as you are. Besides, after I stuck my nose where it didn't belong, it's only fair that I do your hair and makeup for you."

Caitlyn chuckled and nodded her consent. "Well, you are better at these types of things."

"Yup," Mitchie said quickly. "Now, change. We have work to do."

An hour later Caitlyn was dolled up and ready to go. Her hair was styled in finer, more controlled curls—a contrast to her natural mess of curls she usually just ran a brush through. Mitchie had given her a smoky eye and bright red lipstick, and the heels made her legs and butt look amazing.

She looked so good that it filled her with confidence, and her initial trepidations began to subside as her excitement grew. By the time she said goodbye to Mitchie so she could drive back to Nate's she was practically running out the door, promising to be back the next day to pick up the rest of her clothes and return the shoes.

Mitchie stood in the driveway and shouted warnings about making good choices and using a condom, and Caitlyn turned her car on and blared the stereo to drown her out. Then she was gone, and Mitchie went back inside and up the stairs to her and Alex's bedroom.

Her wife was still sound asleep, sprawled out on her back for a change. Mitchie shook her head as she went over to the bed and hovered over Alex. She gently shook her awake, evoking an annoyed wine of protest from the sleeping Latina.

"Babe, you have to get up, or you're not going to be able to sleep tonight," Mitchie warned in a soft voice.

"Bold of you to assume there's a limit to the amount of hours I can sleep in a day," Alex said groggily, smirking as she opened her eyes slowly and looked up at her wife.

"You're right, how stupid of me," Mitchie joked, and grabbed Alex's hand, tugging on it. "But seriously, come on, get up. We need to eat. I was thinking we could order in?"

"Sounds good," Alex said, perking up instantly at the promise of food. She sat up slowly, struggling a little because of her growing belly. "I'm craving sushi."

Mitchie's eyes widened. "Alex, you can't have sushi when you're pregnant."

"What?" The looked of horror on Alex's face was rival to one's reaction to someone kicking a puppy.

"Raw fish?" Mitchie shook her head. "Not a good idea."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Alex asked with a pout as she crossed her arms over her chest like an angry toddler.

"I could have sworn you knew," Mitchie said honestly. "It's pretty common knowledge."

"Apparently not!"

"Al," Mitchie said with a groan. She'd had problems with getting Sam to agree to dinner before, and it was infuriating—especially on an empty stomach. She didn't want to start with her wife. "Just pick something else, anything else."

"I'm not hungry for anything else," the former wizard muttered, arms still tightly crossed across her torso.

Mitchie rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone. "Hold on," she said, pulling up google. Alex waited patiently as Mitchie clicked and scrolled, seemingly reading an article. "So, I was wrong—raw fish is safe to eat as long as it has low levels of mercury. Salmon and shrimp are the safest. And if you're still not sure, we can always get you veggie rolls."

Alex's pout vanished, and her whole face lit up with excitement. "So we can get sushi?"

"As much as your heart desires," Mitchie promised and leaned down and kissed the crown of Alex's head gently.

That's it for now.

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