Previously:
There stood Maddy with some of Mark's running shorts on and an old t-shirt. "Morning Zo." "Morning Mad." Zoe said walking away to go get a drink. Maddy closed the door behind her as she looked around the house, her whole family was there she noticed. "Shannon's come on and dig in before it gets cold." Elisabeth yelled one more time. They didn't need to be told again all the guys were up in a heartbeat running to the kitchen. Maddy had a small smirk on her face as she stepped in front of them with her hand up. "Hey ladies first guys." she said but turning to Skye, her mother, and Zoe as they reached for their plates to start getting food. "Wait, I wasn't finished. Ladies...with child first." The smirk on her face getting bigger as coffee was spit across the room from Josh. Zoe just stood there staring at her sister. Elisabeth, Jim, and Skye just smiled at the reactions. But the reaction that caught everyone's eye was Mark's. He froze in time and his jaw fell open, not believing what his wife had just done.
"What did you just say?" Josh asked. "I said ladies with child go first." Maddy repeated to her brother. "With child? Like pregnant? As in my baby sister is going to have a kid?" "What else would it mean Josh? I mean come on." Skye said a little annoyed. "Skye, you knew?" he turned to his fiance. "Yes. I was in the infirmary the day she found out. I ran the test." she told him. "And you didn't tell me?" he sounded a little angry. "It wasn't my place to tell you." "Who else knew?" he looked around as his father and mother raised their hands. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" he asked his whole family.
"We wanted to keep it a secret until she was at least a month along." Mark stepped in, "Are you angry?" "No. I'm not mad. I just wanted to know why everyone else knew but me." Josh answered his brother-in-law, giving him a hug. "Congratulations man. You too Mad. Sweet I'm going to be an uncle!" Josh said excitedly and walking over to his sister and hugging her. "Thanks Josh." Maddy and Mark said in unison. Everyone's attention then turned to Zoe, who hadn't moved. "Zo?" Mark said walking over and bending down in front of her. "Z." Maddy said walking up behind him and putting a hand on her husband's shoulder bending down beside him. Josh and Jim came up behind her to help stable her. "I'm good guys. Thanks." Maddy told her father and brother shooing them away.
"Yeah." Zoe came out of her daze. "Zo? What do you think about this?" Mark asked. "About what?" she asked him. "About me being pregnant." Maddy finished. "What does that mean?" Zoe questioned. Maddy and Mark exchanged glances with each other then with everyone else in the room. "It means Mad is going to have baby." Jim said from behind her. "Really!" Zoe exclaimed and jumped foward into her brother and sister, hugging them and knocking them backwards. "Woah Z. You gotta be careful. You could hurt Maddy and the baby if you aren't careful." Elisabeth told her youngest daughter. "Oh sorry Maddy. Are you ok?" Zoe asked concerned. "Yeah Z. It's ok, really."
Zoe and Mark got up. Mark reached his hand to Maddy, who accepted it and he helped her up. "Thanks." Maddy said getting up. "Anytime." Then there was a knock on the door startling everyone. "Who could that be?" Josh asked, "Everyone is here." "I don't know. Guess we are about to find out." Skye said walking to the door. "...Commander...Wash?" They heard Skye say as she opened the door wider for everyone to see who was at the door. "Skye how are you?" Commander Taylor asked. "Good sir. You?" "I'm well. I see you are having a Shannon family breakfast." Wash said looking around the house. "Yes ma'am." Skye said. "Mind if we crash?" Taylor asked stepping inside. "Of course not, we have plenty of food." Elisabeth answered getting out two more plates and glasses.
"Thank you Elisabeth." Taylor and Wash said, as Skye closed the door. "So how is everyone?" the Commander asked standing in the newly formed line. "We are all good." Jim said. "Anything new happened lately?" Wash asked looking at Mark who was still in his pajama pants. Jim noticed and answered for him, "Yeah. Mark here spent his first night in the doghouse last night. He crashed here." Wash busted out laughing patting him on the shoulder, "I knew you would be eventually. What did you do?" Mark looked at Maddy who just shrugged, which was her way of saying 'you're on your own.' "I uh..it's just a long story."
"Well you will find out sooner or later, so I'll just tell you. I got angry because he told me he wanted someone else to talk to. He wanted to tell my dad, who apparently already knew, that I am pregnant." Maddy stepped in to help her husband. Taylor spit out his coffee and Wash's mouth fell open. "Why does everyone keep doing that?" Maddy asked looking toward Mark. He just shrugged and looked at Wash and the Commander. "Soldier, is this true?" Commander Taylor asked Mark.
"Uh..yes sir." Mark answered hesitantly. "Calm down Mark. He is just trying to scare you." Wash said walking over and hitting Taylor on the chest. "Wash don't tell him wh-"Taylor said looking at Alicia, who was giving him a very serious look, "She's right. I'm happy for you. Congratulations soldier." he continued, shaking Mark's hand. "Congratulations Maddy! Good job Mark." Alicia said hugging both of them. "Thanks Licia." Maddy said laughing and hugging the Leuitenant. "Really Alicia? You couldn't just leave it at congratulations?" Mark said when it was his turn to hug her. "Nope. You know me better than that."Alicia said. "Yeah I suppose I do." Mark stated, grabbing a plate and getting food.
Once everyone got their food and was seated randomly around the house, they all started having their own conversations. Mark glanced around for Maddy, but couldn't find her. He just brushed it off, but after a few minutes had gone by he began to worry, so he picked up his plate and walked to the back of the house. When he slid open the door to the sunroomhe found his wife sitting on the bench looking at all the flowers that had been placed aroung the room. She hadn't heard him come in so when he sat down beside her she jumped.
"Sorry." He said simply. "It's fine. I just didn't hear you come in." She replied scooting closer to him, "I'm sorry Mark. I shouldn't have went off like that. I know you need someone to talk to and I don't know why it bothered me so much. It's just, lately, I haven't been...myself." "Oh believe me I know Mads. But it's fine, it's not like you can help it, you're pregnant." Mark told her, rubbing her arm. "Has it really been that bad?" "No babe. I'm just not used to seeing you cry so much. I don't like it because I can't do anything but try and help soothe you. And most times you just push me away when I do that." "I'm so sorry. You are just trying to be nice and help me and I'm not making it any easier." "It's fine, really Mads." "So you want to go home? Because I'm done eating and I'm starting to feel nauseous and just want to go to sleep." "Does this mean I'm forgiven?" "Why of course. Let's get going." Maddy said standing up and grabbing Mark's hand.
They walked out into the main house and Maddy walked right up to her father. "Thanks for taking care of him Dad. I'm feeling nauseous so I'm going to go lay down and I'm sure Mark wants a shower." Jim laughed and looked Mark, who was nodding. "Alright sweetheart. I'll talk to you two later." Jim said hugging Maddy. "Thanks for letting me stay here Lizzie." Mark said hugging his mother-in-law. "Anytime honey. Go take your shower and I will see you later." Mark laughed and turned toward the door. Mark and Maddy waved bye to everyone while opening the door. "Bye guys." everyone yelled in unison. "Bye." Mark and Maddy said and walked out the door to go home.
Mark walked out of the bathroom, after taking the cold shower he has grown accustomed to, and found Maddy asleep on their bed. He smiled at the sight and walked over to lay down to get some rest too, since he spent the night on a couch and maybe got 2 hours of sleep. He laid down and wrapped an arm around her stomach and scooted close to her. She readjusted putting her back against his stomach, and intertwining her fingers with his. He rubbed his wife's growing abdomen and kissed her shoulder before falling asleep.
Maddy woke up to a wonderful smell. She got up starving and walked into her kitchen. "Mmm. What is that? It smells amazing." she asked her husband who was cooking. "I was just making lunch. I was going to wake you up but you were sleeping so well." Mark said. "That's so sweet. Wait, lunch? What time is it?" "1. I only woke up like 2 hours ago. Hungry?" he said setting a plate down on the counter. "So hungry!" Maddy replied sitting down and looking to see what was on the plate. "Umm...Mark. What is this?" "It's a kind of Italian food. I think it's called chicken parmesan." "Eww Mark. Chicken?" "Yeah? What's wrong with chicken? You love chicken." Mark replied.
"No Mark. I hate chicken. I don't want this." "Maddy, you just said you were hungry. And if you want me to I will make you something else." "No. It's fine, you know what I will just go to the market and get something. You can go to my parents house, my mom is off today maybe she will want some of this not so much chicken stuff, since you know chicken's don't exist here." "Maddy what are you talking about? We have food I can make you something." "Mark, just stop. I will see you later, actually tomorrow would be better." Maddy said getting up to get her jacket. "Maddy I work tomorrow. I don't get off until 9. Who's going to be with you all day?"
"I'm not a child I don't need a babysitter. And that's fine then I guess I'll see you tomorrow night then." Maddy responded walking out the door. Mark sighed and walked to the bedroom to get clothes exasperated. After he got some clothes and his uniform in a bag, he locked up the house and started walking towards what he thought would be his house for a while.
When he got to the house he knocked on the door, a few seconds later Elisabeth opened the door. "Mark what are you dong here?" she asked, he just lifted up his bag, and she nodded stepping aside for him to come in. "What happened this time?" "I made some lunch and she had just woke up. She seemed fine until she noticed it was some sort of chicken and then went off." "Ok then. Just go set your stuff on Maddy's old bed and we will figure something out." "Thanks Lizzie." Mark said and walked toward Maddy's old room.
Later that night Jim came home to find Mark helping Elisabeth in the kitchen making dinner. "Mark. What are you doing here?" "Do you even really need to ask that Jim?" Elisabeth said. "No it's fine Lizzie. Maddy got mad because I made some kind of Italian meal with chicken but not really because chickens don't exist here. So I don't really know if she was mad at the food part or the chickens don't exist here part." Jim was almost on the floor from laughing so hard. "James Shannon! Stop laughing at him right now!" "It's ok Lizzie." Then they all started laughing. 30 minutes later they had dinner and Mark went to take a shower while Jim and Elisabeth washed the dishes.
Almost 15 minutes later Mark come back out, saying quite excitedly "I haven't had a hot shower in forever! That was amazing!" "Yeah Maddy definitely likes long, hot showers." Jim said walking by him to go take his shower. Mark walked over and sat down on the stools by the counter. "You need some help?" he asked Elisabeth. "No sweetheart I got it. Besides I wanted to talk to you about something." "Ok?" Mark sounded worried. "It's nothing bad Mark so calm down. I was just wondering if Maddy got around to telling you that she has her first sonogram tomorrow?" "No she didn't. When is it?" "At 2." "Well I'll make sure I'm there. Maybe she will be calmed down by then." Mark said hopefully.
"I think I'm going to give her some medicine that maybe will help her with her mood swings." "Thank you because I don't think I can take much more of this. I hate being away from her and I feel bad being here while she's at home by herself pregnant. Even though she told me to leave it still doesn't feel right." "That's because you are a good man Mark. How about you go to bed considering you have work tomorrow and I will see you at her appoiintment." Elisabeth said befor econtinuing, "You can sleep in Josh's room. He is at Skye's for the night." "Ok thanks. Good night Lizzie." "Stop saying thank you so much, you are family. But either way you're welcome. Good night Mark." Elisabeth said walking around the corner of the counter to give him a hug and kiss him on the cheek. Mark returned the hug and walked into Josh's room, letting out a huff when he closed the door. I wish I was at home with Maddy right now, instead of being here in my brother- in-law's room for the night and have to work all day tomorrow, being away from her. he thought before falling asleep.
Sorry there wasn't a lot of Zoe in this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it anyways! Maybe she will be in the next one more. Review! Review!