I'm thinking about doing something a little bit different in the next couple of chapters and exploring more about how Rita & Dylan feel about becoming parents. I'm thinking about Rita talking to Dixie and Zoe talking to Dylan, is that something you'd all be interested in reading or would you rather I jut carried the fic on as it is?
"Do you have a minute?" Dylan asked nervously as he walked into the staffroom to find Rita getting her things together at the end of her shift a few days after their conversation in the staff room.
"Yeah" she nodded, "I have, why?"
"I erm, I got you this" Dylan fumbled with his own locker key before finally opening it and handing Rita a pink gift bag, "well, I didn't get it for you, I got it for…" his eyes drifted to Rita's stomach, "and well it's not much but I didn't know what you've already got so if you let me know what you need I can get it or I can just give you some money or…"
"Dylan" Rita interrupted, you're rambling" she said as she placed the gift bag in her own open locker so she could open it, "thank you" she smiled as she took out a large cream rabbit with pink floral fabric sewn on the bottom of it's hands and feet and a white sleepsuit covered in tiny pink stars.
"It's erm,it's 0-3 months, the woman in the shop said newborn might not fit for long if she's big."
Rita smiled and nodded, she knew this was Dylan's attempt at a peace offering, a way of trying to build a bridge between them, "thank you Dylan, I'm sure she'll love it, I'll put this in her cot as soon as I find the time to put it together" she said, still holding the rabbit.
"I could help if you'd like? I mean you probably shouldn't...not in your condition."
Rita rolled her eyes and chuckled, "I'd appreciate that, thank you."
"This weekend maybe?" Rita nodded, "is everything okay?" Dylan asked when he saw her rub her stomach.
Rita nodded again, "yeah, she's just…" she thought for a moment, "do you want to feel her kicking?"
Rita swore she saw Dylan's face light up, "I erm...would that be okay?" Rita said nothing but gently took Dylan's wrist, laying his palm against the side of her slightly swollen stomach where he could feel the baby wriggling away, "is that."
"That's your daughter" Rita said softly.
"It's...wow" Dylan was lost for words.
Rita nodded, "yeah, it is"
The week passed quickly and it was a little after 10am on Saturday morning when Rita opened her door to find Dylan stood on her doorstep, "I bought these with me" he gestured to the screwdrivers he held in his hand, "I didn't know if we'd need them, for the cot, I've come to put it together for you" he clarified.
Rita smiled, "come in, I'll put the kettle on."
"Thank you" Dylan nodded, slipping off his shoes once he'd stepped into the house and following Rita into her large kitchen where he stood awkwardly in the doorway.
"You can sit down if you want, you don't have to stand there all day" Rita could feel the awkward tension in the air but, for her daughter's sake, she tried to push it aside and be friendly towards Dylan, "here we are, tea, milk one sugar" she said as she put the mug down in front of Dylan as he sat at the table.
"You erm, the baby she's…" Dylan gestured towards Rita's stomach, their shift patterns meant it had been just 4 days since he'd last seen Rita but in those four days, her slightly curved stomach had changed into a rather obvious baby bump.
"Yeah" Rita ran her hand over the swell of her stomach, "she's grown, I don't really know where this came from, I'm just glad my maternity uniform's already waiting for me, I think I'll need it on Monday."
"I suppose it's a good sign" Dylan pondered as he sipped at his tea, "that she's growing well."
Rita nodded and smiled, "yeah, I guess it is."
They finished their drinks in near silence before Rita lead Dylan up the stairs and into the largest of her two spare bedrooms, three of the walls had been painted a soft turquoise blue and the wall furthest from the door had been covered in a blue floral wallpaper, "I didn't want pink" Rita said as she saw Dylan taking in the room.
"It's very nice" he nodded, "did you do it yourself?"
"Dixie helped" Rita nodded, "anything that involved a stepladder was her job, she 'helped' with the shopping too" she laughed, gesturing to the boxes and bags that littered the room.
Dylan nodded, "where would you like me to start?"
"Well there's the wardrobe, drawers, a changing unit and her cot that need putting together, don't feel like you have to do it all though, I'm sure Dixie will help me with the rest.
"Yes, well" Dylan rolled up the sleeves on his shirt, "let's make a start and see what we can get done shall we?"
It was a little before 6 when Dylan finished building the cot, the wardrobe, drawers and changing unit already placed exactly where Rita wanted them, "thank you" Rita smiled as she accepted Dylan's hand to help her from where she'd been sat on the floor passing him the required parts.
"Are you keeping this in here or…?"
Rita nodded, "I think so, I've been reading about the benefits of co-sleeping so I think I'm going to get a moses basket or something for in my room, I'm not confident enough to have her in my bed with me."
"That sounds like a sensible idea" Dylan said, easily placing the cot against the featured wall, "I erm, I could buy it if you'd like?" he offered, "or give you the money, I mean you've already…"
Rita smiled softly, "you can buy her a Moses basket if you'd like" she said gently, "but you don't have to."
"No" Dylan said firmly, "no, I will."
"Thank you" Rita smiled before her stomach rumbled loudly, "do you want to stay for dinner?" she offered, "it'll probably just be pasta or something, I don't mind if you have to get off."
"No, no" Dylan shook his head as he picked up the instructions for assembling the cot and placed them neatly on the windowsill with the others, "I erm, I'd like that."
Rita couldn't help but feel pleased as she got into bed later that evening, they hadn't really spoken about the baby but Dylan had at least acknowledged her existence, he'd helped with the nursery and even offered to buy something for her, in Rita's opinion that was a big step forward.
She was already in her pyjamas when he knocked on her door at almost 8 the next evening, "Dylan, Hi, is everything okay?"
Dylan nodded, "I just wanted to bring this round" he said, handing over a large, traditional style Moses basket that looked to be filled with more sheets and blankets than Rita thought the baby would ever need.
"It's gorgeous Dylan, thank you" Rita gasped, she'd seen that exact Moses basket when she'd been shopping with Dixie and she was surprised Dylan had spent so much.
"There's a stand there too" he placed the box in the doorway, "it should be quite simple to put together but if you need any help I can… or you can ask Dixie..."
Rita smiled and nodded, "thank you".
"There erm, there's something else" Dylan told Rita, "I just couldn't carry everything, I'll go and fetch it from the car."
"What's that?" Rita frowned as she tried to get a look at the box Dylan had just placed at the bottom of her stairs.
"It's a co-sleeping crib" Dylan said nervously, "I hope you don't mind, after what you said yesterday...co-sleeping has a lot of potential benefits, you're right, so erm, I got you this so you can do it safely. It's like a normal crib only you can fold one of the sides away and have it right against your bed so she'll be sleeping with you but she'll be safe in her own crib, if you don't like it I've got the receipt and…"
"Oh Dylan" Rita burst into tears at the gesture, "sorry" she wiped at her eyes, "I love it, thank you, it's so thoughtful, it's perfect, thank you" she said before frowning and looking at the Moses basket she was still holding, "what about…" she gestured to it.
"I erm, well, I thought you could leave that downstairs for her to sleep in during the day but I can take it back if…"
"No, no, it's fine, it's more than fine" she finally managed to pull herself together and wiped at her eyes again, "thank you Dylan, I, I really appreciate this, thank you."
"Do you want me to take these upstairs?" Dylan asked, eager to avoid being present if Rita started to cry again.
Rita nodded, "yes please."
She carried the Moses basket upstairs as Dylan took the boxes, he placed them neatly in the baby's nursery before making his excuses and leaving. Once he'd gone Rita managed to lower herself to the floor of the nursery where she took the blankets and sheets from their packaging so she could wash them. "I know" she whispered softly as she felt the baby kicking, "I think he loves you too" she smiled softly as she looked at the things Dylan had bought and stroked her stomach, "I don't know about him taking a little step towards being your Daddy" she said quietly, "I think this is a great, huge, leap."