When Rose awoke, James was making breakfast. He brought it in to her, and sat beside her.

"I think we should talk." he said.

"We need to." agreed Rose. Oddly, she didn't feel as embarrassed as she thought she would be.

"Was that just a one-time thing?" asked James. "It would be understandable. We're both... under a lot of stress." He finished lamely.

"Well..." said Rose. "I don't know. It... was good."

"I enjoyed it too." agreed James.

"I thought it would feel weird." continued Rose "What with the... news... and all. But... I just feel comfortable with you." she admitted.

"That's sort of how I feel." replied James. "It's a little odd to think about, but we already promised to be partners. We just sort of... added to that."

"Don't take this the wrong way," said Rose "but there can't really be anyone else. I mean, if we're going to live together and raise these – " Rose's voice broke.

"These children." finished James "Or this child, then there isn't really room for anyone else. And neither of us wants to be alone for ever. I understand."

"Exactly." said Rose. "But, well, no pressure."

"No." said James. "We'll wait and see. I'm... I'm glad it's you though, Rose."

He kissed her, just gently, and she just felt safe. Like she knew she could count on James.

"I'll let you eat and clean up." offered James. He got up.

"Okay. We should probably talk about baby stuff." decided Rose. She felt a little pang at the thought.

"You look nice." said James.

Rose was just in a casual beige maternity dress and tights, but she blushed. "Thanks."

"Okay, so, sorry, but I haven't really looked at any of this stuff. I mean, I've been checking out houses, and daycare options, and things, but I don't know about baby stuff." confessed James.

"It's okay." replied Rose "I've done a lot of research. Hopefully we should be able to get a lot of things second hand."

"So what do we need?" asked James curiously.

"Well, it depends. A dozen sleepers or so. We can get hand me downs from ...somebody I guess." James put his hand on Roses shoulder, and she continued. "Breastfeeding is a lot cheaper, but well, the only way we really won't have to buy anything for that is if I don't work, at least not right away. We'll just need a nursing pillow."

"We haven't talked about that." said James "Do you think it would be easier if you didn't work?"

"Possibly. It might be difficult to live on one income, but if I'm going to be away from the baby – or babies – for any length of time, there are more things we would need. A breast pump or formula, and bottles, and daycare costs." explained Rose.

"Okay." said James. "That might be best for us then. We don't need to decide right now, but let's talk about it as if that's the plan."

"Diapers. A stroller might be nice, for walks. And then just wherever they sleep." concluded Rose.

"Are there options for that?" asked James.

Rose nodded. "A crib, or a basket, or a carrier, or some babies sleep in with the parents."

"But when he's bigger, the baby will need a crib." said James.

"Yes, probably." agreed Rose. "But we'd need a carrier – or two – anyway."

"Okay," said James "So sleepers, nursing pillow, diapers, carrier. Is that really all we need?"

Rose smiled. "There are tons of other things to buy, but yeah, we should be able to make do with that for the first six months or so."

"And then what?" asked James.

"More clothes, a stroller, high chair, baby spoons, sippy cups, bibs, crib, bedding, blankets, safety gates, and cupboard latches. Pacifiers, maybe." Rose listed off.

"I knew there was more." said James. "But it's better than I expected."

Rose was quiet. "It's just, will we need twice as much of everything?"

James turned to face her. "I don't know." he said truthfully. "We'll start collecting for one, and see how things go. If... if our little girl survives, we'll make sure she gets what she needs. It'll be okay Rose."

"I know." said Rose. "It's just sad."

"It is." agreed James solemnly. They were silent for a moment. "Er, did you want to talk about names?"

"Okay." agreed Rose. "I've got some books. Let's each make a list of ones that we like, and then we'll switch and cross off the ones we can't stand."

James agreed to this, and they both picked up a quill and began working. Finally they each had a list of ten names for each gender. They swapped, threw some incredulous glances at each other, and decided to save that conversation for after they had gone through the lists. Eventually, it looked like this:

Rose's Boys:

Angus X

Cole

Darcy X

Dylan

Ellis

Jasper X

Kenneth X

Mason

Rowan

Sage

Rose's Girls:

Abby

Ashley X

Beth X

Charlotte

Elsie X

Emily

Maria X

Payton

Sienna

Violet

James' Boys:

Archie

Arrill

Brody X

Caleb

Elric X

Hal

Milton

Noah

Oscar X

Riley X

James' Girls:

Callie

Ciadda

Clover

Eadlyn

Ella

Posy X

Rae

Reeth X

Rory X

Sara

"Let's see if we can narrow it down to six girls and six boys." suggested Rose.

"Fine." said James. "But what's wrong with Oscar? I like it. And Reeth."

"Reeth sounds like teeth. And I don't like Oscar." retorted Rose.

"Angus then? We're not Scottish!" James replied.

"Whatever. Forget Angus. But where did Ciadda and Eadlyn come from?" questioned Rose.

"Oh, I think one of the books I picked up was Old English Names and Variations, or something like that." answered James. "Anyway, I like Mason, Emily, and Sienna."

"I like Milton and Noah. And most of your girls' names, actually." admitted Rose. "Let's just check none of them are too similar to anyone we know. That's why I crossed off Riley, Posy, and Rory, they remind me of Rosie."

"Hmm." thought James. "Okay, Charlotte, that's Uncle Charlie. Rae and Rowan kind of sounds like Rose also. Abby is close to Albus, if you want to be picky."

"I really like Rae and Rowan, but you're right." agreed Rose.

They continued chatting until they narrowed the list down as Rose had suggested.

"So that's Arrill, Ellis, Hal, Mason, Noah, and Sage for the boys, and Ciadda, Eadlyn, Ella, Emily, Payton, and Sara for the girls." Rose announced.

"I think we did good." said James.

"Me too."

Author's Note: I'd just like to mention that this chapter marks the halfway point in the story. From now on I will be posting new chapters every two or three days, rather than one for every day. Sorry for any inconvenience, and thanks for reading.