How to tell him. How to tell him. How to tell him. Those four words rang over and over in Jessie's head as she clutched the object in her hand. Would he be happy? Shocked? Angry?
"Oh just put it down, stupid!" she hissed at herself. It amazed her at the moment that such a little thing like opening five fingers could be so difficult. Could she do this? Maybe she was wrong. Nope. She'd done this seven times. She wasn't wrong.
Jessie finally managed to pry her fingers open, setting the object down on the dresser where she was sure that Jason would find it and then whirled around and flew back into the kitchen before she could change her mind. Dinner was waiting for her.
Two years of being married had still not prepared her for being a fabulous cook, since she had not had anyone to instruct her during her growing up years after her parents died, but somehow, she had managed. Currently, she had four different cookbooks splayed out on the immaculate counters of her large kitchen, all spitting instructions at her that she had trouble following.
When Jason had presented her with the house they now lived in, she had childishly told him to return it. It was far too big for two people. However, he had simply laughed and kissed her, saying, "You can't return a house, and who says there'll only be two of us?" His lifted eyebrows had caused a deep blush to spread over Jessie's face that stayed for so long that she was worried it would never dissipate.
That memory made her smile now as she glanced over the cookbooks, silently thankful that there was a phone right above her head, equipped with speakerphone. Jason would never have gotten a decent meal if Jessie hadn't been able to talk to his mom and ask for help almost every time she cooked.
Jessie glanced at the clock on the wall and felt her palms begin to sweat. In fifteen minutes, just a quarter of an hour, her husband would be home and he would find out her secret. Just a quarter of an hour to prepare herself for who-knows-what to come.
Jessie bit her lip, glad that the timer next to her was still ticking away, filling in the void of silence that would surely have bothered Jessie much more. Tick, tick, tick. It was not only ticking down the time when her confection would be complete, but also the time until secrets came out.
"Shoot!" she muttered as she caught her finger in the drawer she had been absently closing. She sucked it into her mouth for a moment and groaned. "That hurt," she said aloud, as though to announce to herself that although she was still in a relative state of shock, she could still feel pain.
"Would you like me to kiss it and make it better?"
Jessie squealed. Yes, actually squealed, and jumped around, her eyes wide and frightened, her left hand brandishing a wooden spoon as if her life depended on it. She found Jason casually leaning against the doorframe to his kitchen, twelve minutes early. "You. Scared. Me," she told him, her words punctuated to show the damage he had done.
"Sorry," he said with a smile and raised his hands in surrender. "I won't do it again, so just put the spoon down."
His mock threatened voice caused Jessie to look down at the spoon she was still holding and blush, embarrassed to have been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't even heard him come in. By the casual way he was regarding her, he obviously hadn't been in their bedroom yet.
She smiled widely back up at him. "I don't know," she said slowly, twisting the spoon around and around in her hands. "It's a useful tool against unwanted folk in my kitchen."
"Unwanted?" Jason asked, placing one of his surrendered hands over his heart. "You wound me deeply." He turned away from her, probably to head into their bedroom to change, and Jessie stopped him by calling his name in an almost panicked voice. "Yes?" he asked.
He'd been too early. She still hadn't had enough time to come to terms with the development herself. She felt excitement and fear, but an overwhelming sense of insecurity. Without thinking, she crossed the room and threw herself into his arms, knowing that he would catch her. He always did.
"Is something wrong?" Jason asked, all teasing gone from his tone.
Jessie bit her lip again, worried. She cared more for his opinion than anyone else's. "Not wrong, exactly," she said. "Just different." She pressed her hand gently to his cheek. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
Jason frowned, confusion and worry clouding his eyes as he gazed at her. Nothing appeared to be broken, there was no blood anywhere. Jessie herself looked okay, though perhaps a little pale and edgy. All in all, he couldn't understand the look she gave him, full of pleading for his understanding, his favor.
"For what?" he found himself asking.
Jessie opened her mouth to explain the whole situation, but then stopped. No, she wouldn't apologize. She wanted this. And the more she thought about it, the more Jessie realized that she wanted this latest development almost as much as she wanted Jason. No, she definitely wouldn't apologize. Mind made up, Jessie gave him a wobbly grin and thumped him on the chest with her spoon.
"For brandishing my spoon at you, of course," she said, and even through her nervousness, she managed to smile. "It's a very scary weapon, after all."
"Indeed," Jason agreed humorously.
She gave him another thump with the wood for good measure. "However, maybe it'll teach you to stop sneaking up on people."
Jason ducked his head, pretending shame. "Undoubtedly," he said dryly.
Jessie smiled. "I love you," she said seriously. "Sneaking or not."
For some reason, Jason had the distinct feeling that what Jessie needed most right now was for him to take her in his arms and hold her, returning her sentiments with as much love as she had given them. So he did. "I love you too," he said just as seriously.
"Good, because I cooked again." That teasing grin was back.
Jason winced. "Again?" he asked teasingly. "Why?"
Jessie smacked his arm lightly. "Hey!" she protested, but then her gaze softened. "I know I'm far from the greatest cook in the world, but I wanted to do something special for you tonight. Plus, your mom practically did the whole thing for me over speakerphone. I swear, that woman's amazing!"
Jason hugged her tightly. "Thank God for my mother," he teased, whispering the words against his wife's silky hair.
"Ha!" Jessie snorted. "You're missing the sentiments involved."
"Sorry," Jason whispered. "What's so special tonight?"
His open curiosity, that you-can-tell-me-anything look, nearly made Jessie cave. Darn these mood swings! She really wanted to burst out crying and tell Jason everything, but she couldn't force the words past her throat, which had squeezed itself closed. "You'll find out soon enough," she promised, begging him not to be upset.
"Okay," Jason drew out. "Well then, I'm going to go change. Will I have time to enjoy this no doubt wondrous meal of yours?"
Jessie grimaced at him. "Now you're just teasing me!" She made shooing motions with her hands. "Go. Shoo! Get out of my kitchen before you really get a taste of my spoon!"
His laughter could be heard from down the hall as he disappeared into their bedroom. Jessie whirled back to the stove, trying to busy herself with pulling her pan of homemade lasagna (Jason's favorite) from the warm grates, but her mind refused to focus. She was straining to hear any sign of what Jason was doing. Was he in the bathroom? Had he been to his dresser yet? Had he found it?
The kettle on the top of the stove whistled shrilly and Jessie was forced to pay attention long enough to take it off the stove. She heard something from down the hall, but she couldn't make it out, so she decided to ignore it.
Halfway through cutting the lasagna into pieces, Jessie felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her, causing her to gasp and drop the knife into the pan. There was no shouts of outrage, no growls of indignation, but she still couldn't see his face. Was he mad? Disappointed?
"Is this what was bothering you?" Jason's voice was husky, his tone lower than normal, but decidedly not angry.
"Yes," Jessie managed to squeak out.
"You should know by now that I'm not mad about this. I'm ecstatically happy." He pulled her around to face him and held up the small piece of plastic. "I love you both."
He pulled her into a long kiss and Jessie relaxed into it. Her world was right again. He wasn't mad, he was just as happy as she was. She threw her arms around him and he whirled her around gently, the pregnancy test long forgotten on the counter.
Eight months, one week, and two days later, Elaine Michelle Grey came into the world, wet, red, and with very healthy lungs! As Jason and Jessie hung her birth certificate above her cradle in their home, Jessie smiled slightly and twined her fingers with Jason's.
Sometimes, true love isn't the love at first sight that grips your heart and sends you spiraling into an oblivion that you gladly let overpower you. Sometimes, true love doesn't creep up on you, coming softly so that you barely notice that it's there before it is right in front of you, begging to be recognized.
No, in Jason and Jessie's case, love was none of those things because sometimes, love was just unconscious.
A/N: It's actually done. For those of you that missed the last author's note, I hope I made you happy by this last chapter. Also, thanks to Sam, I've redone the previous chapter's ending slightly, so if you want, check that out. Thank you all so much for reading, and if you have a chance, please check out my profile and quickly vote on the story you'd like me to do next. For those of you that have already voted, I've added two other plotlines, so please check those out! :D You guys are all amazingly awesome! Thank you so much!!