Hey peeps. Sorry for the delay... uni is crazy right now but good thing is only two months and I'm free from education forever should I so choose. Hope you enjoy this chapter - it is a little angsty. Okay a lot. But those who have read my stuff know to trust me so hang in there. Please review if you can, they make my day... I literally end up bouncing around like a lunatic because of them.

oxoxoxo

8 weeks along. It was around three am when Leena awoke with a deep, paralyzing fear. It all clicked into place. Forcing down whimpers, she shook Claudia awake until the caretaker stirred and pulled her pillow away from her head as an attempt to wake herself up.. When Claudia finally blinked open her eyes and sat up asking what was wrong, Leena lost it and buried herself against her wife's chest, sobbing grievously. "Honey, honey… tell me what's wrong." Claudia noticed Leena's hands shaking and watched the woman's chest rise and fall rapidly. "Was it another bad dream?" Leena shook her head and as much as it pained Claudia, she discreetly checked the bedcovers and Leena's pajama pants for blood. "What's going on?"

There was silence bar the innkeeper's withering breaths until she spoke in a haunted tone. "We were so stupid."

"Huh?" was all Claudia could say, still half asleep and completely confused.

"Claudia," Leena sighed in defeat, tears sprinkling down her face. No wonder things didn't feel right. "How… wh," she took a shuddering breath and tried again. "My body clock…" At Claudia's blank look, she scrunched up her face and sobbed out, "The baby won't grow." She left the bed swiftly and pulled on some clothes before pacing round the room. She gripped her hair and let out a quiet wail. "This was all for nothing."

Claudia's stomach dropped and she swallowed the intense nauseous sensation down. She dashed out of bed and held Leena still, two strong hands holding her arms like a vice. "Don't panic. Breathe…"

Leena shook her head frantically, tears rolling down her face. "Doesn't feel right. Doesn't feel good, Claud. I… I dunno what to do."

"Frak, okay," Claudia took a deep breath to steady herself. "First thing we're gonna do is you're going to get back into bed," she ushered Leena over to the bed and sat her down. "Lie down. Deep breaths."

"Claudia, I'm so scared right now." Leena whispered hoarsely, her hand never leaving her abdomen as if she would cause the apocalypse if she did let go.

"Hey, hey…" Claudia held the woman's cheeks with warm palms and shook her head. "You can't panic, okay? Lie down, close your eyes… I'm gonna call Dr Vanessa."

"She's in Eureka," Leena whimpered, gritting her teeth as she focused passed the fear.

"And she will be here soon," Claudia hushed. "Shh, close your eyes."

"I'm so scared," the innkeeper's face scrunched up and she hugged the quilt cover to her chest, curling up into a ball.

"I will be right back, okay? I just need to go call her." Claudia whispered and grabbed her Farnsworth.

Out in the hall, Claudia sat down in the middle of the floor and watched as a very tired looking Dr. Calder answered, peering blearily at the screen. "Claudia?" Vanessa cleared her throat. "Everything okay?"

Claudia shook her head at the old woman. "We…we think there's something wrong with the baby."

Vanessa cleared her throat and sat up with haste. "Is she bleeding?" She asked, and began to get out of bed, packing a light holdall satchel.

"No." Claudia closed her eyes and shook her head, tears sprinkling down one cheek. "Vanessa…" She sighed. "We're not sure if Leena can carry."

"Why? She's perfectly capab-" Vanessa stopped still and pursed her lips. "Clock." she said simply.

Claudia nodded and covered her eyes, her shoulders shuddering. "Can you get here soon?"

"Leaving for a plane right now," Vanessa promised. "And Claudia?" The redhead looked down at the tears that had stained her grey vest black across her chest. Her eyes flicked back to the screen. "Calm down, we don't know for sure," the older woman soothed. "In the meantime, let her rest, see if you can get any information about how she's feeling, any pain," she said. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Keep me updated?"

Claudia nodded. It took every ounce of courage she had to stand up and re-enter the bedroom. Leena was still curled up on her side but she'd stopped crying. Instead, she stared at the baby monitor Farnsworth blueprints that Claudia had conjured up in the corner of the room. She just…stared.

"I've never carried to full term." Leena mumbled suddenly when Claudia's protective hand settled on her hip as she joined her on the bed.

"What?" Claudia's eyes snapped up to her wife's head. "Leena…what?"

Leena rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, one hand still cupping her lower belly. "1993. I got pregnant" Leena shrugged, as if it was the most natural thing to say to your wife of five years in the world. "I miscarried at 12 weeks."

Claudia's tongue tied and though she attempted to speak, nothing came out for a good while. "Wha… Who-"

"Don't." Leena put her hand up and shook her head. "Don't you dare," she sniffed. "Don't you dare ask me that right now."

Then don't bring it up. Claudia mentally snapped. She closed her eyes, took a deep, settling breath and blindly took hold of Leena's hand. "Okay," she mumbled. "I'm sorry." She blinked and watched closely as Leena's scrunched her eyes closed and she began to cry into her hand. "Oh shit, honey come here." She opened her arms and even though Leena was lying down, she practically fell into Claudia's arms, hugging her as tightly as she could. "Shhh, it'll be okay," she whispered.

"Please don't say that," Leena shook her head, "Please don't say that just yet or I'll believe you." Claudia didn't know how to answer that, so instead, she rubbed Leena's back and lay with her for an hour and a half as she contemplated Leena losing a child. It sent shivers down her spine and though the initial jealousy struck her hard, now she just felt an overwhelming amount of grief. Leena had fallen asleep again in her arms. She could hear Artie in the next room, snoring his head off. He was actually quite enjoying living at the inn, although Myka had often found him sleepwalking when she got up in the night to feed Lillian. Claudia lay there staring at the ceiling, waiting for a sign, for the phone to ring. For someone to just tell her it'll be okay. Placing a hand on Leena's tummy, she closed her eyes and stroked the soft downy covered skin with her thumb gently. "Please," she merely whispered. "Just…" She felt her throat close. "Just, please…"

Waking up with a start, Claudia looked down to find herself in the same position she'd been in before; back against the wall, one hand protectively lying across Leena's belly and her wife half on top of her. She looked around at the source of the noise and grabbed her Farnsworth, flicking it open hastily. "Hi."

"Sorry I took a while," Vanessa replied. "Pete's just let me in."

"You're here?" Claudia wiped her eyes and blinked a few times. She watched the older woman nodded and she stretched. "We'll be right there." she said and hung up. "Leena? We have to go to the Warehouse," Claudia whispered, loud enough to stir the woman awake.

"Is she here?" was Leena's immediate reply, which obviously meant the innkeeper wasn't sleeping as deeply as Claudia had thought she had been.

"Yeah, time to go." She said, and eased Leena up until the woman was able to put some warmer clothes on.

Claudia opened the door to the Warehouse twenty minutes later and pulled Leena forward. The innkeeper clutched Claudia's hand so firmly, the redhead was pretty sure she'd either obtained a small break or at least a sprain.

"Hi," Vanessa's voice soothed the women instantly as they entered the Warehouse's hospital wing. "How're you doing?"

Leena shook her head, biting her lip to stop it from shaking. "I just… I need to know."

"Alright," Vanessa rubbed her back and guided her over to the chair that stood in the middle of the room. The Warehouse medical wing was a strange place, much different from every other part of the huge storage system. It was relatively new, built in the late 80s and though it still contained several strange steampunky gadgets scattered around the room which, of course, Claudia was forever fascinated by, it stood out like a sore thumb. When Leena was settled in the chair, Vanessa wordlessly started up the ultrasound machine. "Apart from with Myka, I don't think I've done an ultrasound on a pregnancy with this machine before. It's usually worms, or…" she froze. "Funny, huh?"

Her good humor was lost on both women and she looked up as Pete snuck in. "Can I…uhh, can I be here? Or do you want me to leave?," he asked gently, looking at the tearstained faces of his friends.

Leena sniffed and wiped her face with her hand before she waved him over and he sat down next to the chair. She sighed and watched closely as Vanessa smeared a little gel over her abdomen. "Feeling bloaty?" Leena looked down at herself and nodded, letting out a nervous laugh. "Quite a tum there," Vanessa smiled and turned the Doppler machine up. "Okay, ready?" Leena gripped Claudia's hand hard as she prepared herself and nodded. Gliding the transducer over the woman's skin, the echoing sound filled the room and each person waited anxiously. Nothing. Just the sound of Leena's belly coming into contact with the probe. "Keep calm, you're still very early… it might be too soon" Vanessa reminded gently, her hand moving further down until she reached just above the pubic bone. Still nothing. Leena sighed and wriggled her hand free from Claudia's, covering her eyes as tears trickled again. They'd try again, right? Leena held down a sob. She didn't think she could do this again and if she was quite honest, she was about to lose it. Big time. Still nothing. It really was all for nothing. Before her chest was able to constrict from the crippling grief she had started to feel, there it was. A tiny, speedy little heartbeat. "Hear that?" Vanessa smiled, a little shocked that there were tears in her own eyes. She listened a while longer and took in their reactions. "Your baby is very much alive and well." she said with a small crack in her voice.

"But… how?" Leena let out a wondrous smile. "I just… I was so sure."

Vanessa shrugged and listened intently at the beats. "You don't grow any older, or grow at all for that matter, but your baby is a different human being," she smiled. "Just as long as you keep eating properly, and taking the right supplements, I don't think we'll have a problem at all. Your hormone levels are fine, or at least they were…and he or she is just getting all the nutrients it can get to… well, to create its own clock." She looked around the room, then dipped her head to look Leena squarely in the eye. It was as if they were having a silent conversation, until Leena nodded slowly. "Now," Vanessa said cautiously, "What we need is for you not to worry, okay?"

"Hard…" Leena muttered.

Vanessa smiled and turned on a few buttons at the machine next to her. "Understandable. Is it why you never tried again?" Leena looked at her fingers and nodded silently. Claudia was ready to burst into tears. Instead, she held Leena's hand tightly. Vanessa sighed in understanding. "Then let me put your mind at rest. Second pregnancies are usually extremely successful. And…" She drew the transducer of the ultrasound over Leena's abdomen, down passed the ovaries until… "There we go. Say hi," she grinned at the two women and Pete who had scooted over and was looking dumbly at the screen. He was still trying to understand the whole second pregnancies thing when he saw it.

"That's…" Claudia gulped. She peered at the screen and pointed with a shaky finger. She had done that. Or at least helped with that… in a very smexy way. That tiny little child was her doing. She swallowed thickly. "My…"

"Your baby," Vanessa smiled widely. "Yes, Claudia," she said with feigned priggishness. Claudia scoffed and rolled her eyes, tears sneaking out passed her nose.

"Oh god that is kinda adorable," she whispered softly.

Pete chuckled. "It's a blob."

"See?" Claudia laughed, looking at her wife who was still trying to take in the immense relief that she felt. "It is a blob, I was right," she smiled down at Leena who was sniffling quietly.

"Hey, look at its little ticker going!" Pete exclaimed, ruffling Claudia's hair before she swiped at him with her arms to stop.

She did look at the screen though and shook her head in wonder. "That's its heart?"

She turned to Vanessa who smiled as she continued to take down the stats of what seemed to be a very healthy early pregnancy. She nodded. "That is the heart… beating very well."

"Can I have a picture?" Leena asked, holding her lip tightly with her fingers as an attempt to stop herself from becoming hysterical.

"Printed it already," Vanessa smiled and handed over the sonogram. "If you get worried about anything, you'll let me know?"

Both women nodded with confidence. The innkeeper let out yet another sigh of relief and looked Claudia in the eye. She wordlessly pulled the woman over, cupping her chin delicately before she pressed her lips to her wife's. She pulled back, grinned and kissed her again. Claudia smiled into the kiss and rubbed her thumb softly against the innkeeper's cheek. "You okay?" she whispered when she separated from her wife, peering into the hazel eyes that seemed kind of green in the clinical light.

Leena nodded, blowing out a nervous breath. "Yeah… Yeah I'm good," she looked down at the sonogram and traced the baby's silhouette with a finger. "Oh wow…" she looked at the sonogram again and flopped back against the chair, closing her eyes as another wave of relief passed through her. She'd never felt anything like this in her life.

"You are so tired," Claudia laughed, shaking her head as she saw the innkeeper's eyes drooping as she lay back in the chair. She watched as Vanessa got up to take off her gloves and wash her hands, grinning from ear to ear when the doctor placed a proud hand on her shoulder.. "Come on, time for bed." She chirped, rubbing at Leena's thigh.

Leena yawned and nodded, happily letting the redhead pull her up. "Sorry about the hassle." she said sincerely to the doctor who stood watching admirably with a hand on her hip. Claudia was so much like a daughter to her, she had to keep reminding herself that they weren't actually related.

"Oh not at all," Vanessa placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. "Anytime you have any little problems, you come to me, okay?" Leena nodded and gave a shy smile, her eyes never leaving the sonogram in her hand.

"Can we put this on the fridge?" Leena asked as they neared the umbilicus.

Pete laughed. "You're kidding me, right? It's totally the first thing Claudia had on her mind when you guys get home."

"Dead man," the caretaker growled.

"Heh," he shrugged and waved them off. "You going with them, Doc?"

"I think I might," Vanessa smiled. "I can't say no to a warm bed."

Pete snorted. "I bet he's like a cute little teddy bear." Each woman turned to Pete with quirked eyebrows.

"Seriously?" Leena rolled her eyes, still clutching the sonogram in her hand. Claudia's arm wrapped around her wife's back.

"Night, Pete." Claudia sighed, holding in a yawn.

"Night," he chuckled.

The younger woman turned suddenly and put her finger in the air, remembering something. "What time's Danny flying in?"

"Seven." He grinned widely. "You still okay to… you know," Pete's arm flailed around to signify the warehouse.

Claudia's eyes darted to Leena who shifted uncomfortably, looking desperate to get home. "Sure," she nodded. "Sure."

Claudia had to practically drag Leena up the stairs after they'd clipped the sonogram onto the fridge. "We're still having a baby," Claudia smiled, wrapping her arms around Leena's waist.

"We are," Leena's voice bubbled with excitement. "Ohhh my god." She smiled and closed her eyes when kisses were pressed to her neck. "Thanks for not freaking out."

"Oh I freaked out." Claudia smirked. "I even prayed."

"You didn't…" Leena spluttered.

The caretaker sighed and nodded. "I did. I was freaking out, and I prayed when you were asleep."

Leena frowned. "To who?"

Claudia shifted on her feet and shrugged. "The dudes who make the artifacts? It's not all science… I know that." She huffed reluctantly. Leena's breath hitched and she sunk back into her wife's arms, letting out a small nod. "This kinda just went from the worst day of my life to the best, you know that?" She turned Leena around and took a deep breath when the innkeeper hugged her tight. She smiled at the little yawn that sounded in her ear. "Oh you are such a sleepyhead," she grinned.

Leena let the woman lead the way to the bedroom but froze when they got to their bed. "You really have to go?"

Claudia sighed. "Sweetie, it's the same as if we got a ping and I was out on the field."

Leena huffed and pulled off her clothes, looking down at the small podge of her belly with a grin. She lost it when she remembered their discussion. "Still… I don't like it."

"Then come with me, to the Warehouse. Come stay with me and leave to go to the inn in the morning."

"Okay," Leena nodded happily and slipped into bed.

"Wh… really? You really wanna stay in the Warehouse with me?"

"Not really… but I don't wanna sleep on my own, so I guess we gotta meet halfway, huh?" She rolled over and smiled when Claudia frantically snuggled up close behind her as she tried to understand.

"You are something else," Claudia grinned and kissed the smooth back under her lips. "Really? You're coming to the Warehouse with me."

"Until little Daniel leaves. But I'll be heading over to the B&B in the mornings. No stalling."

Claudia chortled and mouthed at the woman's back, lightly digging her teeth into the skin. "Can we have sex there?"

"On Pete's bed? Are you kidding?" Leena's eyes were closed and though her voice was a little slower, her tone was still incredulous.

"We can change the sheets," Claudia wrinkled her nose. " Or fuck on the floor. Please… It'll be sexy."

"Sex is supposed to be sexy. It's why it's called sex." Leena hummed when a possessive hand grasped her breast. "Ahhh, ahh… oww," she winced suddenly. "Claud… sensitive."

"Sorry," Claudia chuckled sheepishly. "I forgot." She nuzzled her nose against the nape of Leena's neck. "Come on… what do you say?"

"Okay, yes I will have sex with you in the Warehouse if it means you'll let me go back to sleep."

Claudia fistpumped discreetly. "You just made a woman very happy."

"Okay," the innkeeper tugged the covers with finality, "Goodnight." she smirked. "Kinky bitch." She mumbled, grinning at the cackle sounding in her ear as Claudia snuggled even closer.

"Night," Claudia let out a final sigh before she too closed her eyes, trying to get a few more hours in until breakfast. She knew Leena would head out as soon as she woke up to buy supplies for Pete's son. Trix were his favorite… then, Apple Jacks. Her eyes snapped open and she stopped the stroking assault she had on Leena's belly. She was turning into her wife. Either that, or she was becoming some crazy hospitable old lady. Oh shit… She rolled onto her back and placed both hands over her chest. She really was ready to be a parent. She was ready to do school runs, and help her child with his or her homework, and teach them about cool history lessons she'd learnt whilst working at the Warehouse. What's more… she was looking forward to it. If she was telling the truth, she knew it would be a girl. She joked around to Leena saying the opposite but after months of using the prayer sheet from Min's temple and finding her voice exactly the same, zero increase in body or facial hair, she was pretty sure whatever the kid was made from was all the x's. She closed her eyes. Leena shifted in her sleep, sensing the change in temperature as Claudia moved away from her. Turning, she sought her out and wrapped one arm around the redhead's waist, pinning her down. "You really need to stop playing this snuggle game," Claudia whispered, pecking her wife on the forehead. She knew they needed to talk... about the miscarriage, about what happened... who happened, even. She wouldn't push it though - maybe gentle reminders but if Leena was uncomfortable, maybe the best thing to do was to leave it. All in due time. Right? She sighed in defeat, too tired to think about it and closed her eyes once more, finally able to rest and catch up on the sleep she'd missed.