"What are you doing?"
Magnus stared at the scene that confronted him as he walked into the bedroom. Em was lying flat on her back on the floor beside the bed, her cheeks pink with effort.
"I've – uh. I've almost got – the button." She puffed between breaths, trying without luck to pull in her stomach so she could fasten a pair of black jeans that to Magnus' eyes, looked at least two sizes too small.
He watched for a moment as she wrestled fruitlessly, before walking over. "Stop," he said, looking down at her. "If you weren't already lying down I'd say you look like you're going to pass out any minute. Where are the maternity jeans you bought last week?"
Em paused her struggle and glared up at him. Magnus realised his mistake a second too late.
"These are the maternity jeans," she said, her voice dangerously quiet.
His eyes widened a fraction. "They must have... shrunk?" he replied, hopefully.
Em looked up at him from her position on the floor, button abandoned. She glared for a second longer then sniffed and averted her gaze. As she tugged her t-shirt, which had ridden up during her battle with the jeans, down over her bump, her eyes looked suspiciously glassy.
Magnus sighed. He reached down, grabbed her arms and pulled her gently to her feet. "You are beautiful," he said, tilting her face so she was looking at him again. "And those jeans do not deserve to be worn by you."
He let out a breath of relief as Em blinked and a small smile spread across her face. Last week he'd been accused of calling her fat when she'd asked to borrow his pyjama pants and he'd told her bluntly that they wouldn't fit. She'd cried for forty minutes. Magnus still felt terrible, and also slightly confused about it.
She pulled away and crossed over to the wardrobe, discarding the offending item in favour of a loose-fitting cobalt blue dress made from a more forgiving jersey material.
"Why don't we go shopping later?" Magnus suggested, watching warily as Em made a beeline to the dresser where she kept her tights – another item of what he had secretly named 'trigger clothing'. "You know I love any excuse. We could get you a pair of new jeans and pick up some things for the baby. They have a really nice stroller at that cute little boutique on the corner."
"That sounds great," Em looked up from the pile of flimsy fabric she was considering and flashed him a warm smile. "Actually," she snapped the draw shut, turning on him with an expression Magnus thought was supposed to resemble innocence. "Maybe we could go now? It's actually really sunny right now and I could do with a walk-"
She broke off as the doorbell sounded from the other end of the apartment.
"Hah. Nice try," He scoffed. He bit back a laugh as Em shot another glare his way before turning back to the tights, and went to greet their guest.
"Catarina." He smiled pleasantly as he opened the door. He walked into the kitchen, not bothering to check if she had followed him inside and flipped on the coffee machine. "Coffee?"
The door thumped closed and the warlock appeared by his arm. She shook her head, eying the bubbling concoction. "Not for me, thanks. I've got to be back at the hospital in an hour. Is the patient here?"
"If by patient you mean terrifying ball of hormones with an attitude to rival a Greater Demon? Then yes, she's in the bedroom."
Catarina snorted as Magnus grabbed a mug, poured half the coffee inside, then dumped a tablespoon of sugar into it. "A Greater Demon? Really?"
"Actually, I agree that's a bit harsh." He cocked his head to one side, considering whether a second tablespoon of sweetness would be going too far. "Most of the Greater Demons I've encountered have been positively civilised in comparison".
"It can't be that bad, surely?" Catarina raised an eyebrow.
He sighed and looked wistful, "I wondered why, when I visited Tessa and Will after they'd had children, he'd mutter darkly about the 'bad days'. I thought it was some sort of joke or something, although Tessa never seemed to take it very well." He relinquished his grasp on the sugar bowl and carried his mug into the living room, Catarina close behind.
"Em's only been here for two weeks and I'm terrified of upsetting her. It's like a roulette wheel - I never know what I'm going to get. She bounces from happy, to sad, to annoyed. Overreacts at the tiniest thing and then feels terribly guilty about it. The other day she told me she wants to do everything by hand for the baby, no magic. We got halfway through painting the nursery I added to the back room and she burst into tears because she didn't like the colour." He shrugged.
Catarina had to use all of her restraint not to smile at the bewildered expression on her friend's face. "Welcome to pregnancy," she said.
He choked ungracefully on his coffee. "This is… normal?" He looked as if it was clearly the furthest thing from normal in his mind.
"I'm afraid so," Catarina grimaced sympathetically.
Magnus didn't know if that was good news or very very bad news.
"Think about it this way," she offered, "Em's only like this because she's emotional and exhausted and her body doesn't even resemble anything she recognises right now. She just needs a bit of comfort and stability. In a couple of weeks, it'll all be over - you'll have your girlfriend back and an adorable little baby to dote on."
"Well, our baby will be adorable." He conceded, perking up a little.
"Yes, it will be" Catarina nodded. "Now shall I get Em? It'll only take a minute to give her a check-up but it's important, especially after she forgot to tell me she wasn't at Tessa's last week."
Magnus laughed, "You know she tried to trick me into taking her shopping this morning so we'd miss your appointment."
Catarina gasped, wounded. "You'd think she didn't like me or something," she said. Her tone sounded hurt but the edge of her lips curled up in amusement.
"No," Magnus replied, mildly. "Although she did call you 'Captain of the Fun Police' the other day." He laughed as Catarina's smile faltered and got to his feet to fetch Em, silently praying to any available Gods, Goddesses, angels or even demons that she'd managed to find a pair of tights that fit.
A/N - Sorry, it's a little shorter than usual.
Next chapter - running into some unexpected guests while baby shopping... (click follow to get an email alert when the chapter is up).
Reviews & comments are very appreciated!