"Inventing the Future"

Author's Note: Kinda funny how Jaming always seems to jump to the very worst conclusions in this fic! I think he'd see himself as a realist, while others might view him as a pessimist.

"Chapter 34: Important Discussion"

Jaming remained awake for many hours that night, long after Meredith had fallen asleep. He didn't remember sleeping at all, but he knew that he must have because when he noticed that the sun was rising he had lost a large chunk of time. Also, Meredith was no longer in bed beside him. She was sitting at the dresser, munching on some crackers she must have brought with her. Yawning and rubbing his eyes in an almost childlike fashion, Jaming sat up and reached for his monocle.

Hearing the sheets rustle, Meredith looked over and swallowed a mouthful of cracker. "Morning. How'd you sleep?"

Jaming nodded to indicate that he had slept well, even though she could probably tell that he hadn't. He didn't want to cause her any worry, and he was ashamed of his behavior from the night before. Also, she was still a bit too pale for his liking, and he couldn't stop himself from asking her, "Meredith, are you sure you're not coming down with something? You really don't look well at all."

"I'm positive," She set aside her crackers and came over to lie on her side next to him.

She didn't kiss him as she usually did, and Jaming tried to lighten the mood by making a playful comment. "What, no kiss today?"

"Um...I just threw up." She avoided his gaze, and clicked her tongue in annoyance when he reached over and felt her forehead. "I'm not sick. I'm just a little queasy."

Her forehead wasn't abnormally warm, but Jaming shook his head decisively. "That's it. We're going home as soon as we're dressed and packed."

"But-"

"Leave my bottom out of this," he smirked, tapping the tip of her nose with a finger.

She smiled a tad salaciously and replied, "Well, it is very nice. But no, seriously, I'm fine."

"No. We can ask about the paint later, after you've gotten over whatever sort of illness you have." He furrowed his brow in thought, and muttered, "Unless I can get this room for a few more days."

Meredith could see that he was unmovable in this, and she shut her eyes and sighed. She had planned to come clean with him when they got back to Veniccio, because the last thing she wanted to do was add more stress to an already tense situation. She and Jaming had discussed the subject of children before, and they both agreed that they eventually wanted to have at least one, although he stated that he hoped that they resembled their mother.

The plan was to wait a couple years first, and even though they had been very careful for the most part, there was that first encounter when birth control was the very furthest thing from their minds! This was happening sooner than she had wanted, and she was almost afraid to tell him. Get the room for a few more days? Try seven months!

Jaming got out of bed and shuffled off to use the facilities while Meredith returned to her crackers and tried to get up the nerve to tell him. "I really think it would be better if we got this out of the way first," she said through the door while he brushed his teeth. "You're not doing yourself any favors by saving it for later."

He began to reply, but it was difficult to speak with a mouthful of foamy toothpaste. He leaned over and spat discreetly into the sink, rinsed out his mouth, and opened the door so that they could hear each other better while he shaved. He never grew very much facial hair, but what he could grow came in rather patchy, so he simply went clean-shaven. "Meredith, please don't argue with me on this. If it was the other way around, you would be drilling it into my head that I needed to stay in bed."

'If it was the other way around, you'd probably have a coronary!' she thought. Knowing that he was right, though, she shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe. If it was an illness like the flu. But it isn't."

Jaming turned to give her a strange look, one side of his 'beard area' scraped clean of stubble, and the other side fluffy with shaving cream. "So, you're sick, but you aren't? Meredith, what are you talking about?"

"Just...finish shaving first. I'm going to get dressed."

Jaming slowly shook his head, but did as he was told. He nicked his chin because now he was hurrying, but it didn't bleed much, and he quickly got it to stop. He came out of the bathroom, drying his face on a towel and smelling pleasantly of aftershave, and his expression told Meredith that he meant to get some answers from her. "I'm finished. What did you mean?"

She eyed him doubtfully, then sat down on the bed and patted the space beside her. "Better sit down for this one."

Jaming sat down beside her, dreading what he was about to hear. "It's bad, isn't it?"

Looking unsure how to answer that, Meredith slowly shook her head. "It's unexpected, is what it is...I'm really not sure how to say it. I wanted to wait until we got back to Veniccio. I guess I still could have done that, but this was so important to you, and now you're going to leave without finishing what you came here to do, and I don't want to be the cause of it."

"Just tell me," he tried to keep his voice calm and even, but his mind was jumping from one dreadful scenario to the next, each one was worse than the one before. What could possibly be wrong with her? "Whatever it is, I...we'll handle it. Just tell me."

Meredith raised her eyes to meet his, and there was a mixture of emotions on her face. The predominant one was fear. Would he be happy about this, or would it send him running for the hills screaming 'entrapment'? "We're going to have a baby."

Jaming was prepared (or as prepared as he could be) for the worst, so he wasn't certain that he had heard her correctly. "What?"

"I'm pregnant. About two months, if I did the math right." Meredith was babbling now, as if speaking quickly could ever be any kind of damage control. "I wasn't sure at first. I've been late a few times in the past, but the doctor said it was due to stress. And, well, as you know, the past couple months have been very stressful. So, I thought that was what it was. But then I was late a second time, and I started feeling really tired. And today is the first time I've gotten sick, and I...Jaming? Are you-"

He was staring wide-eyed at her, his mouth slightly ajar...well, more so than it usually was. 'Late...pregnant...two months...a child...our child...I'm not ready...I'm...I'm...' He realized that he had forgotten to breathe, and he drew a deep breath and blinked twice. 'We're having a child. We're having a baby! I'm going to be a father!'

And then there was the sound of a door closing, accompanied by muffled weeping, and Jaming realized that he had mentally checked out for a minute and given Meredith the wrong idea. "Meredith?"

No answer. More quiet sobbing.

Jaming tried the doorknob, but it was locked. He knocked softly, and his voice held a gentleness that most people wouldn't expect to hear from him. "Meredith, open the door, please. It just caught me by surprise, that's all." He placed his palm against the door, fear and joy warring within him, and guilt for having upset her overshadowing both emotions. "Meredith...Please, let me in..."

He couldn't hear her crying anymore, and he wasn't sure what she was doing. Then there was a faint click as she unlocked the door, and he came in to find her sitting on the edge of the bathtub. He reached down, took her hands in his, and gently urged her to her feet. "A baby..."

"I'm sorry...I know this isn't how we planned for things to happen."

Jaming surprised her very much by bursting into laughter and seizing her in a fierce hug. "Sorry? Oh, Meredith, don't be ridiculous! This is wonderful!" When he let go of her, though, his smile faded. She looked terrified. An awful thought occurred to him, and he asked carefully, "Meredith...do you want this baby?"

He held his breath as he waited for her answer, praying that it was a yes. This news was coming straight out of left field, but the more he thought about it the more real it became. Inside her womb was a tiny person, one that the two of them had created. Before he knew Meredith, he had never even let himself think about a future with a wife and children. And now, if she changed her mind...

But she nodded, finally smiling the tiniest bit. "Very much. But...I always thought children would come later, and the one time we're not careful..."

"Well, to be fair, we weren't exactly thinking rationally. Meredith...I'm not going anywhere. You're the one I want to be with. Don't be afraid to be happy about this! It might not be conventional, but since when were we conformists, eh?"

Meredith finally laughed, and wiped off a dollop of shaving cream that he had missed. "The day after never."

"Well, then...I suppose I should build an addition onto the garage. A house-sized one. Climbing those tree house ladders at nine months would probably be right up there on the list of bad ideas. Right above Donny's vinegar macaroons."