A/N Probably taking complete liberties with the medical stuff but it's fiction, right? Thanks for all the reviews 'n' stuff - much appreciated.
Snapshot Seven
"Makes it seem real, doesn't it?" she probed softly into the comfortable silence that currently lay between them; he was watching her with an easy gaze, his head propped up on one hand - a stance she was mirroring. She'd wanted to talk to him about this morning's events as soon as they'd left the hospital but she hadn't had the chance to until now. They'd literally just got back to the car when Shaz had radioed in to say Ray and Chris had pulled in a suspect (giving them more responsibility did sometimes pay off) and they'd headed straight back to the station, Gene in full 'Guv' mode.
He considered her, and her words, carefully, knowing that the longer he took to respond, the more likely she was to get the wrong impression. "Yeah," he agreed with a small smile, and a feeling that his answer probably wouldn't suffice - he had let Alex think she had talked him into going when he had always intended to be there, why he couldn't just admit that to her, he wasn't sure. Just as he couldn't tell her now. The truth was, the whole experience had left him with a vast array of feelings; he'd had a vague idea of what to expect but he hadn't been prepared for the wave of emotions that had washed over him when he'd seen the image of their baby. Emotions that seemed excessive as, to be fair, he had been basically looking at a little, fuzzy grey blob.
She wanted to reach out to him right then, to hold the hand that was resting on the table, feel his skin against hers, make that connection with him but she refrained from doing so; this really wasn't the place to do that or even to talk about this but she really wanted to know. She wasn't really sure how this had affected him; was he overwhelmed, indifferent, appalled? Or was he lost in a storm of emotions as she was? Seeing her baby today had been a mixture of joy, awe, excitement - but it had also been tinged with sadness for the child she had lost. For Molly. How her daughter would have been so excited by this, how she would have loved to have had a brother or sister. It was a sadness that she didn't want to force on him. "Any ideas on how to break the news?" she asked, changing the subject back to something that they still hadn't agreed upon.
Gene, mouth now set in a even line, watched her closely; he had seen the same sadness just then that he had witnessed at the hospital and he knew she was thinking of her daughter again, even if she wouldn't admit as much. They both had their secrets. He sighed deeply, letting the air out slowly as he turned his thoughts to her question. Whilst he didn't care what the reaction would be - though he would deal with anyone who bad mouthed Alex over this - he didn't want people to know either. There'd be questions; questions he still didn't want to answer, even though he now knew many of the answers. In the past it had been easier to keep his private life just that: private. With Alex it was different; she was his DI and his lover and whilst he could – just about – keep the two roles separate they were inextricably linked. And she was their DI too, he had to share her with them, eventually he'd have to share their news as well. He leant forward on both of his arms and whispered quietly, "I could stand on the table and just tell everyone that I knocked you up?"
If he hadn't smiled then, if his eyes hadn't shone, she'd have seriously thought about reminding him how painful her left hook could be. She leant forward too, getting closer to him, and not letting him deter her. "We have to say something, Gene," she said quietly, her voice even, and he nodded but his eyes fell to the table top. They'd put this off for as long as possible and, whilst she had been happy to go along with that in the short term - just in case something went wrong - the weeks were flying by and this morning's appointment had shown that everything was progressing nicely. Plus, she'd finally stopped throwing up so weight gain was next on her list. "It's probably safe to tell people now," she pursued, causing his eyes to dart quickly back to hers.
He nodded his head again, reluctantly this time. He knew three months was the magic number, the safety zone as it were, but he also knew that until the baby was born and screaming its lungs out, nothing would convince him that everything was 'safe'. He couldn't admit that to her or to anyone else for that matter. But she was right. Again. Not telling people would probably cause as much upset as telling them would. He supposed he could just stand up and announce it. Or maybe send a memo around the office. Pin something up on the notice board. Or just give Granger the nod and let her do it.
"The Guv's pregnant?"
Gene glanced quickly to his left at the unmistakable sound of his DC to find a rather confused looking Christopher staring back; seated at the same table, both Ray and Shazza seemed to be holding their respective breaths and staring his way too, the latter looking slightly embarrassed. WPC Granger had been the way to go then. Gene shook his head, partly in disgust, partly in annoyance; only Chris could've managed to blurt out that sentence in a busy, noisy restaurant at the exact moment a natural lull in volume had occurred, effectively managing to break the news to the whole of CID and most of Luigi's other customers. But when he looked back to Alex she was smiling, trying to keep herself from laughing out loud - she had the strangest sense of humour but her smile was always a welcome sight. He knew the eyes of the entire department were on him, on them both, waiting for a response, and she was apparently leaving it to him. "Oi, Luigi!" he shouted without taking his eyes off Alex, and probably a little too loudly as the entire room had remained silent, thick with anticipation now rather than chatter, "Got any champagne - preferably Bollinger - behind that sorry excuse for a bar of yours?"
"Are we celebrating, Signor Hunt?"
He couldn't miss the hopefulness in the Italian's voice. If he could tear his eyes away from Alex he couldn't be sure of finding the same reaction amongst his team. "Yes, we are," Gene replied, aware that his tone made it sound like an order rather than an invitation but he didn't care. If they all had to know, then they were going to be happy about it - at least for tonight. "Me and Bolly are going to have a kid," he confirmed, finally allowing a smile to return to his lips.