Author's Note: Thank you so much for continuing to read this story and for the lovely reviews you've left me on previous chapters! I'm not sure if I'll be able to update this Sunday as I will be in ENGLAND - super excited about that! Hopefully I'll be able to write a bit on the flight and still be able to update on Sunday :)

As usual, I don't own/have anything to do with Skins.

Chapter 5: A Love

June 16th, 2013

I woke up to the sound of my mobile ringing and vibrating on my nightstand. I groggily reached over and grabbed my phone, knocking over a bottle of water, my watch and a book in the process. It was only 6:30 in the morning and I hadn't slept properly last night. It was mostly because I ended up worrying about what would happen if I did get pregnant and all the things we would have to buy to get the flat ready for a baby. And also because I felt somewhat grossed out at the idea of having Cook's sperm inside me.

I checked the caller ID on the phone, finding it odd that Katie was calling me this early in the morning. I knew Katie pretty well, and I also knew that she rarely got up before 10 am, unless maybe somebody died or a nuclear bomb hit or she had to go to work.

"Hello?" I grumbled into the phone, pushing myself up to sit.

All I heard was happy screaming on the other end. I frowned and said hello again, a bit louder this time.

"WE'RE PREGNANT!" Effy screamed into the phone. "Come over, bring Ems and Libby we're making breakfast and partying without booze and drugs!"

I smiled brightly and shook Emily awake. "Congratulations! We'll be over in half an hour!" I said, squealing as I hung up and continued to shake Emily awake. She groaned and pushed my hand away.

"Naoms, sleep," Emily said, staring up at me perplexedly.

"Effy's pregnant!" I practically screamed. "Get up, get up! We're going round to have breakfast and party! Get up!"

I practically jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. Emily followed me in soon after and started doing the same. I applied a bit of makeup and rushed back into the bedroom to get dressed, choosing a pair of denim shorts and an old Nirvana t-shirt. I went into the kitchen and filled up Libby's food and water bowls.

"Libby!" I called, knowing she was probably still fast asleep in the office. She was so lazy, nothing could wake her up, not even the sounds of us frantically rushing around the flat to get ready. The only way to get her up and moving was if I called her and offered her food. Libby came into the room, a bit wobbly from sleep, laid down in front of her food bowl and started to eat.

"The laziness of that dog amazes me," I said as I ran into Emily, who was on her way into the kitchen while I was on my way to the office. Emily nodded and smiled.

"She's especially bad in the mornings. Where you going?" She asked, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back into the kitchen. I smiled at her and she pulled me closer to her. Her arms wrapped around my waist, tucking into my lower back before slowly moving lower and grabbing my ass.

"I wanted to grab some baby stuff I ordered online for Effy," I said, my voice turning low and almost husky.

"Mmm, what baby stuff?" Emily asked, her voice definitely husky and her eyes darker than usual. Her lips attached themselves to my neck, placing open mouthed kisses on my skin.

"Well, a documentary and a book about giving birth...what's got you all worked up this morning?" I whispered, tilting my head back to allow Emily better access to the skin of my neck. I whimpered as she started to suck on the delicate flesh. I bit my lip to contain my noisiness.

"I was just thinking...that could be us celebrating your pregnancy in two weeks. And then I started thinking about how hot you're gonna look when you're pregnant..." Emily whispered against my skin, trailing off as her hands worked back up my sides and boldly grabbed my breasts.

"Em, we don't have time. I told them we'd be over in half an hour," I said in a shaky voice. Emily sighed heavily and nodded before kneading my breasts one last time.

"Fine, you're right. But I certainly hope you'll be in the mood to pick things up where we left off tonight," Emily said. I let out a shaky breath and nodded at her.

I kissed Emily quickly before dashing into the office and grabbing Effy's book and DVD. I'd really bought it hoping that we would be able to share them, but since Effy got pregnant first it only seemed fair to just give them to her. I'd order another set for myself once I got pregnant.

When we finally got to Effy's, we all sat down to a happy, loud breakfast. We all toasted to Effy and the baby (or babies) with sparkling non-alcoholic sparkling cider. Effy cried when Katie made her toast, where she proclaimed to love Effy for eternity, no matter how many times they disagreed over how they would raise their children, no matter how unreasonable Effy would be during her pregnancy, and no matter how many times Katie would have to re-paint the nursery because Effy was so indecisive when it came to decorating.

"To the love of my life," Katie whispered as a lone tear fell down her cheek. Effy held back a sob and leaned over the table to kiss Katie. Emily grabbed my hand under the table and squeezed gently, her fingers playing with my engagement ring and wedding band. I knew what Emily was thinking; she was sending me the same unconditional love as Katie was sending to Effy.

We finished our breakfast, Katie and Effy talking about whether it was too early to start painting the nursery and decorating for the baby or babies. Katie argued that it was definitely too soon and they should wait to confirm Effy's pregnancy with their doctor and to find out whether Effy was having one baby or more.

"After all, Eff, it's possible that right now, you could be carrying up to six babies," Katie said, taking a sip of her tea as we all looked at her quizzically.

"Uh, Katie, last I checked Effy only had two embryos transferred," Emily said, shooting Katie a confused look.

Katie shrugged. "Yeah, that's true, but if we look at all the possibilities, she could be carrying up to six babies," Katie said as she walked to her desk and pulled out a notepad. "I worked it all out."

She handed Emily the notepad. Emily frowned and started counting on her fingers to try to follow Katie's logic. Katie sighed, exasperated with Emily's lacklustre attempts at maths.

"Okay, scenario one: Effy is only carrying one baby. Scenario two: Effy is carrying identical twins. Scenario three: Effy is carrying identical triplets. Scenario four: Effy is carrying fraternal twins. Scenario five: Effy is carrying two sets of identical triplets," Katie said as Effy frowned and became extremely pale.

"Are you trying to tell me that it is possible that I have six babies in my uterus right now?" Effy said, placing a hand on her stomach. She was obviously quite concerned.

"Well, it's possible, but also really unlikely, love," Katie said, reassuring Effy with a kiss on the cheek. "We're probably only having one."

Effy smiled, though I noticed she also gave a small sigh of relief. I would have been relieved too.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" I said as I quickly got up and ran to the front room where I put my handbag. I grabbed the book and DVD I brought for Effy and went back into the kitchen and handed them to her. "Here, I ordered these online for you. It's a book and DVD about birth and all that fun stuff."

Effy smiled and hugged me as Katie and Emily started clearing away the dishes from breakfast. "Do you want to watch it with me? Katie can't handle the idea of me giving birth, but I really want to be prepared," Effy asked, smiling up at me hopefully. I nodded. Effy grabbed my hand and dragged me into their living room.

The DVD was called "The Business of Being Born", and after Effy, Emily and I had finished watching it, we were completely changed women. Katie had refused to watch because she didn't want to think of Effy being in pain, so she went to the hardware store to get paint samples for the nursery. But the way the DVD addressed birth as more than just a process you have to go through to have a baby, and instead introduced us to the idea of birth being a feminist issue, I felt completely changed. The documentary advocated for home births and midwives, and only using ObGyns when the pregnancy was high-risk. It provided statistics about caesarean section rates and how they were skyrocketing, blaming the medical industry for making women feel as though they are incapable of giving birth naturally and at home. Effy turned to me as Emily shuffled over to the DVD player to turn it off.

"I want to have an at-home birth with a midwife," Effy said. I nodded at her, astonished by the way this one documentary shifted my thought patterns about birth and feminism.

"Me too," I said without thinking. Emily stiffened from where she was standing, but tried to pretend she didn't notice and continued to put the DVD back in its case. Effy looked at me quizzically, and I just shrugged. "I mean, if Emily and I decide to have kids, and if I decide to be the carrier, and if we find a donor and actually manage to get pregnant and everything...then yeah, I suppose I'd like to have an at-home birth with a midwife too."

I tried my best to play it cool, but Effy continued to stare at me with her all-knowing eyes and I desperately hoped that she would just let it drop. She smiled at me gently and asked Emily if she knew of any midwives. Emily shrugged.

"Not really. I could ask my mum, she might know of some. But I think you'd be better off asking Gina, don't you think, Naoms?" Emily came to sit next to me on the couch.

"I could always ask her," I replied, giving Effy a calm smile. "But maybe you should talk to Katie about it and get her to watch the documentary before we start finding you a midwife."

Effy nodded and yawned. "I think I'm going to take a nap. Being pregnant is making me dead tired all the time."

Emily and I nodded, hugging Effy goodbye and grabbing all our things, including Libby, who had been playing in Katie and Effy's backyard. It was already about 3 in the afternoon, and I knew I was supposed to pick up from Cook at 4 so we could inseminate again tonight.

Once we were out of Katie and Effy's house, I passed Libby's lead to Emily.

"You take Libby home and I'll make my way over to Cook's to pick up," I said, giving Emily a quick kiss before we parted ways.

The walk to Cook's flat was especially nice today since the weather was so nice. It seemed to make Cook's area seem like a nicer place to live than it actually was. I was a bit early, so I went into a pharmacy to buy some pregnancy tests, obviously not wanting to interrupt Cook while he was...doing the deed. I also bought a bottle of my favourite shampoo and a bottle of my conditioner because Emily had started using it as well, meaning that we used it up twice as quickly.

By the time I was finished up at the pharmacy, it was 5 minutes to 4 o'clock, which I figured was a safe time to make my way up to Cook's flat. I waited outside his apartment door for an extra three minutes, just to be sure I wouldn't be interrupting him before I knocked.

Cook answered the door and invited me in. I sat down at his rather crappy kitchen table, and Cook sat across from me.

"So, Naoms, how's it goin'?" Cook asked, smiling away as he poured me a glass of water.

"Not bad, how about you, Cookie? I hope you aren't regretting your decision to help me out," I said jokingly as he passed me the glass. He laughed.

"Trust me, Naoms, I'm not regretting my decision at all. I mean, at least now I know that my wanking is helping somebody out!"

I laughed, though Cook's face suddenly turned serious.

"I'd do this a million times over for you, Naomikins. I really fokin' love you, you know," He said quietly. He kept looking at me, not averting his gaze. I really felt it at that moment, that he really did love me, even if it was only as a friend.

"I love you too, Cook," I said, getting up and walking over to hug him. He wrapped his arms around me tightly, protectively. That was the thing about Cook. You always knew that you would be safe and protected around him. He was fiercely loyal, and once he let someone see who he really was, once he let them in, he'd never lose them.

Cook sighed and pulled away from me, playfully messing up my hair. "Anyways, here's my deposit," He said, handing me a brown paper bag. "Now off you go to get pregnant."

I laughed and let myself out of his apartment. I certainly hoped I was off to go and get pregnant...and hopefully, Emily hadn't forgotten about our earlier abandoned plans.

Check out my tumblr page: keeping-schtum (dot) tumblr (dot) com

And please don't forget to leave a review! I love reading all of your reviews and comments. They really encourage me to continue writing (and to write faster!) and are an excellent source of feedback!