AN: I've never been to America and I'm afraid of flying so I probably won't get there anytime soon. So, for the Louisiana heat, i'm am genuinely going off climate charts I found on wikipedia so I apologise if it's horribly wrong. Also, poor Stephen is a reflection of me in that he just can't handle the heat. Us Brits are used to the cold. We are creatures of the cold. Especially us Geordies. Seriously. It's like a freezer in summer up here in the North East :D
Denes in Louisiana
Stephen sat under the huge ceiling fans in his in-laws house. He had only been in Louisiana an hour and he was already melting. How could it be this warm at the end of January?! Rory was at the shop with her parents and they had asked if he wanted to come. He politely declined, joking that his English body needed the air conditioning of their home. Frank and Louise had laughed and Rory kissed him, telling him that they wouldn't be long.
He sat now, relaxed on the couch in their living room, the sliding door to the garden open. He remembered how, the last time he had been here a couple of months ago, he had sat in the garden with Rory, both of them quietly talking about how he had seen this house before in the underworld. It was very much the same in the real world. He sighed when he thought about the timing of it all. He'd only been here about two months ago. Rory was two months pregnant. She must've fallen pregnant almost immediately after they got back to England. And then he remembered the day after they had got back. The ghost in the attic. She had nearly died and that night they'd made love until the sun began to shine through their window. It must've been then.
He heard the front door open and stood. He walked through to the door and smiled as Rory carried in some shopping bags. He hurried to take them from her. "I'll take them darling."
She laughed. "Y'know, I'm not completely fragile."
He sighed with a smile. "I know. You're the strongest person I know. It's just that...well..."
She nodded and handed him the bags. "I know. So, when are we going to tell them?" She motioned to her parents who were unloading shopping from the car.
"Whenever you like."
"I want to tell them now. After the shopping's in. What do you think?"
"I think," he said, placing the bags down and wrapping his arms around her. "That that is a excellent idea." He kissed her before letting her go. "You go sit down love. I'll help with the shopping."
She giggled. "You really are the perfect husband."
"And you the perfect wife. And the only woman I will ever love." He smiled at her softly before walking past her to the car outside. She heard him call to her parents as she walked through to the living room. "Frank, Louise! Can I help?"
She exhaled and let herself fall onto the couch. She closed her eyes for what felt like a few seconds. Then she felt a finger gently caress her cheek. "Rory?" Stephens voice was soft next to her. She opened her eyes to see him smiling next to her on the couch. She became vaguely aware that she had dozed off. "How long was I asleep?"
"Only the time it took to unload the shopping and get it through to the kitchen. About 10 minutes."
"It felt like 10 seconds. I'm just keep getting tired lately."
"Well the doctor said that's perfectly normal for the first few months of pregnancy."
He put her arm around her shoulder and she nestled into it. "True."
They heard her parents coming through from the kitchen. Stephen looked down at her. "Now?"
She nodded determinedly. "Now."
Frank and Louise smiled at them both as they came in the living room. They carried three glass of iced tea and one cup of hot tea. "Here we are then," Frank said. "Iced tea for us and a hot one for Stephen. I still don't understand how you can drink that." He laughed, as did Stephen. "Thanks Frank. It's very kind of you." Rory sat up a bit and Stephen took his arm from around her shoulders. He picked up the cup and took a sip, allowing the hot liquid to calm him. Rory did the same with the iced tea. He placed the cup back down and he took Rory's hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze when she had placed her glass back on the table. They looked at each other and nodded. Rory spoke calmly. "Mom, dad?" She turned to her parents who sat on the opposite couch. "There's something we have to tell you."
Frank and Louise looked up with a smile. "Oh?" Louise said. "What's that my dears?"
Frank and Louise looked at Rory and Stephen expectantly. Rory continued. "Well, it's something I could've told you over the phone but I honestly wanted to tell you in person." She took a deep breath and with one final look and smile to Stephen, who squeezed her hand again, she turned back to her parents with the news. The words tumbled out fast. "We're having a baby."
She grinned at them as Stephen bit his lip. Louise gasped and then cried, standing and walking over to Rory. She pulled her up and hugged her happily. Frank clapped and laughed then stood, smiling widely at Stephen, and took his hand. "Congratulations my boy."
Stephen breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you Frank."
Louise sobbed happily as she released Rory and Frank went to hug his daughter. Louise came over to Stephen and pulled him into a hug like the one she had given Rory. Stephens eyes watered a bit as he hugged her back. He looked over her shoulder and saw Rory looking at them both, smiling, her lip quivering. He smiled at her as Louise detached herself, mumbling that she was "gonna be a grandma. This is incredible."
"Well," Frank said. "We only have tea of varying temperatures but let's raise our glasses." Rory, Frank and Louise lifted their glasses from the table and Rory stood by Stephen once more. Stephen picked up his cup. Frank led the toast. "To Rory and Stephen."
They cheered and drank. "Oh," Louise said. "I have to phone your Uncle Bick. He's gonna be thrilled."
"Yes," Frank agreed. "And I'll phone Diane if she's not too busy channeling Angels."
They both left the room, leaving Rory and Stephen alone. The tears Stephen had been fighting fell as he laughed. Rory smiled at him warmly as they sat back down on the couch. "This is what you should've had growing up," she said softly. "Family who care."
He nodded, removing his glasses and drying his eyes. "Yeah, but I have a family who care now. And most importantly," he replaced his glasses and laid a hand on her stomach. "Our baby will have too."
She woke early the next morning. It was going to be a good day. She knew that. She, Stephen and her parents were going out for meal later and the rest of the family would be seeing them to offer their congratulations. She should've been excited for that but all she could think about at that moment was the churning in her stomach. This had started about a week ago and it was one part of her pregnancy that she certainly wouldn't miss. She rushed from the bedroom.
Stephen felt her leave and shook himself awake. It was 6am. He sighed. He felt terrible for her, he really did. He stood, forgoing the dressing gown because, even at the end of January, it was 16 degrees Celsius. Granted, it wasn't hot, but it wasn't cold either. He blinked hard, wiping the sleep from his eyes and putting his glasses on. Then he left the bedroom and walked to Rory's undoubted location.
He heard her before he saw her. He opened the bathroom door and found her as he had found her every morning for the past week. She was hunched over the toilet bowl. He gently knelt down behind her and pulled back her long hair, holding it out of the way. He rubbed her back soothingly as he heard more footsteps approaching. Louise gently pushed open the door. Stephen looked round at her with a smile. She smiled gently. "Everything ok?"
"Morning sickness," he replied. "She started getting it a week ago."
She nodded sympathetically as Rory gently turned around to her mother. "Yes, I remember that well. Peppermint chewing gum. Sounds odd, I know, but it worked wonders for me."
Rory smiled weakly. "Thanks mom."
She nodded gently. "I'll go make you a bite to eat. Some dry toast might help. Stephen will look after you."
Rory turned her eye to Stephen as she spoke. "I know. He's always looked after me."
"And I always will." He gently placed a hand on her stomach, careful not to trigger more nausea. "Both of you."