Happy Monday! Alright just a heads up you're going to see a different side of Angela in this chapter than you might be used to. It's a side we get a glimpse of in the season 6 episode "The Pinnochio in the Planter" and I'm exploring it more with my take pretty much. Oh and there are TWO flashbacks in this one so enjoy! :)
"Hodgins we need to talk," Angela said quietly as they closed to door to their son's room after putting him to bed.
"Okay. Let's go into our bedroom." He started down the hall but stopped when he noticed she hadn't moved. "What?"
"Can we go downstairs? I don't want to wake Michael," she asked, keeping her eyes on the ground.
He frowned wondering what on earth could be so important, "Sure…"
Without saying anything she started down the stairs and went into the living room, pacing back and forth as Hodgins took a seat on the couch.
"What's wrong Angie?" he asked her and she finally turned to look him in the eyes, tears forming in her eyes. He got up to hug her but she put her arms up, stopping him.
"No you need to hear this," she ground out, "Sit back down." She took a deep breathe, closing her eyes. "I'm pregnant Jack." She dropped to her knees now, unable to control the sobs that racked her entire body.
Hodgins sat there with his mouth wide open for a few seconds before getting up and pulling his wife to her feet, leading her to the couch. He put his arms around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, allowing her to get it all out. "Shhh shhh, it's going to be okay," he whispered into her hair.
"No, it's not," she wailed, "We-we were sup-supposed to be careful."
"And we were. You've been on birth control since Michael, and I always wear a condom," he stated and when he thought about it, he really had no idea how Angela had still gotten pregnant. "Shit," he muttered clearly remembering an event.
"What?" she asked, looking up at him for a moment.
"Last month we went to Pennsylvania for the weekend."
"So?"
"Remember the night we decided to make use of the hammock?"
She thought back, remembering that when they had arrived at the house they rented for the weekend, they had been surprised to see a hammock. And, seeing as neither of them had ever had sex in a hammock, well they had had to try it. "The condom broke!" she exclaimed, burying her head back into his chest.
He nodded solemnly. "And you probably forgot to pack your birth control," he pointed out, knowing how she could often be caught in her own little world.
"Damn it! You should have just gotten a vasectomy after Michael was born," she cried.
He sighed, knowing that she was probably blaming herself for their predicament. "Yeah but remember we talked about maybe eventually having another kid when Michael was a little older," he reminded her.
"I know. I just don't know if I'm ready to go through this again."
Flashback
"Would you ever want another kid?" Hodgins suddenly asked, watching Angela rock their one month old son to sleep.
She looked up suddenly, "Where is this coming from?"
"Well, you're cleared for sex now…" His eyes flashed deviously, "And I don't know, I just wanted to make sure we're on the same page."
Angela settled Michael into his crib and beckoned Hodgins to follow her out into the hallway. "You know I want like a million kids, but knowing that Michael could be born blind while I was pregnant with him really took its toll on me."
Hodgins nodded in agreement, "Yeah I know. We were supposed to be ecstatic, planning for the future, and there we were just praying that our son would be healthy."
"Honestly Jack, if I had known that we were both carriers I think I would've been a lot more careful in Paris. I'm not saying that I'm not glad we had Michael, because believe me, you and him are the best thing that ever happened to me. I just don't think we could ever make the decision to try for another baby knowing what we know, and be able to sleep easy. You know what I mean?"
He smiled, reaching out to touch her cheek, "We would feel guilty throughout the entire pregnancy," he murmured, saying aloud what neither of them really wanted to acknowledge.
They were both silent for a minute, "So if we both agree, why did you ask?"
"I don't know. I was just wondering if maybe eventually we'd find the courage to try again. Not anytime soon of course, but maybe when Michael is older," he said, shrugging.
She dragged him into their bedroom, setting the baby monitor on the end table before climbing into the bed with him. "I honestly couldn't tell you at this point in time, I'll guess we'll have to wait and see. Michael's only a month old." She smiled and he leaned over, kissing her neck all over, at the same time unbuttoning her blouse.
"Do you think I'm a horrible person for not wanting to have another baby just because it could be blind?" she suddenly asked, forcing Hodgins to stop what he was doing.
"Angie, you are the kindest, sweetest person I have ever met. And I'm not just saying that because you're my wife; I'm saying it because it is 100% true. This decision in no way makes you a horrible person."
"But every day people have to deal with stuff like this. Babies are born with Down syndrome and Tay Sachs and other horrible diseases and I'm worried about blindness, blindness that only has a 25% chance of even occurring."
"Ange you're only human, it's okay if you get scared sometimes, especially when it concerns another human being. Would it make you feel better if we stopped having sex?" he teased, attempting to lighten the mood.
She hit his chest, hard. "Stop deflecting Jack! You always do this! I don't want you to reassure me! I want to know what you think about all of this!"
He threw up his hands, "Fine! I spend every waking minute scared to death okay? Scared that something will happen to Michael, scared that something will happen to you, scared that I won't live up to your expectations. Watching you grow with our son after getting the news tore me apart. I knew I should have been overjoyed but I couldn't help thinking that if there was a God, he had it out for us. It was pure luck that Michael wasn't born blind and if we decide to have another baby, the luck won't be on our side, I just know it."
She sighed happy that he had finally let it out, "Thank you babe," she said and it was easy to hear the sincerity in her voice. "So are we selfish then? We wanted a big family yet we're pretty sure that our luck will run out and another baby will have the LCA gene so we don't even want to try."
He took her hands in his own, "We're just afraid and we have every right to be."
Angela was silent for what seemed like forever to Hodgins and he had actually thought she'd fallen asleep. He reached over her to turn off the lamp when he saw her eyes still wide open, deep in thought. "How about we end this conversation until Michael is at least in school or if we want, forever?" he suggested, knowing neither of them would be able to sleep without some sort of closure on the issue.
"Okay. If we're ready we're ready. If we're not we're not," she said simply, rolling out of Hodgins' arms onto her side.
"Goodnight Angie. I love you." He reached over her and turned the lamp, kissing her cheek, before settling in beside her.
"I love you too Jack."
Everything having been discussed thoroughly all they wanted to do now was get a good night's sleep before they had to get up for work the next morning, but it seemed like baby Michael had other plans for them. His crying rang loud and clear over the baby monitor and both Angela and Hodgins sat up, suddenly awake and alert.
"I'll go," Angela said, making to get up, but Hodgins grabbed her arm, "No together," he told her and she nodded, taking a hold of his hand.
"Angie, we can do anything. Now I know it's scary right now, but you and me together? We can totally get through this."
"I just don't know what to do," she cried.
"What do you mean?" he asked, clearly confused. His eyes suddenly got wide at a thought, "Wait you aren't actually even thinking about getting an abortion are you?"
She sighed getting up off the couch, "I don't want to talk about this right now okay?"
"No no no! You do not just get to get up and walk away! We are going to discuss this because that's what married people do."
She turned back towards him and took a seat on the couch again. "You really don't get it Jack. You're not the one who's going to be carrying this baby for nine months, constantly in fear of the end result."
"Angela," he said softly, taking her hand, "That doesn't mean that I won't be scared too. And you'll be able to lean on me whenever you feel like it's getting to be too much to bear. That's what I'm here for."
"What did I do to deserve a man like you?" she asked him, caressing his cheek. "I'm sorry. I would never terminate a pregnancy without discussing it with you Jack, you know that. I don't think I could ever get an abortion period. I would feel like such a bad person for the rest of my life."
"I know I know. I just didn't want you to make some hasty decision before you actually thought about the consequences." He paused, smiling at her, "You would have carried Wendell's baby to term if you had actually been pregnant."
"Yeah. It's probably a good thing I wasn't really pregnant though. That might have been a tad bit awkward." She laughed. "Why does it always seem like I get pregnant on accident?"
"Uhh because you kinda do Ange. Michael was the result of one of many drunken but extremely passionate nights in Paris. Wendell's almost baby; well I don't really want to know about that." He smirked at her, "And well this baby, this baby will be able to say that his parents acted like a bunch of teenagers while on vacation." He gently rested a hand on her stomach.
"Oh and what makes you think we're having another boy?" Angela questioned, an amused smile on her face.
"It's in the Hodgins genes babe. You can't ignore the DNA."
"Great, just what I need three boys running around wrecking havoc," she said, rolling her eyes.
Hodgins pouted. "Hey! I for one am a man!"
"Only when you're in the bedroom honey." He began to interrupt with no doubt a comeback of some sort but she cut him off, "You think bugs and slime are cool, you insist on doing ridiculous experiments with Wendell, and you would stand in line all day to see a science fiction movie. Don't even argue, it's true."
He sighed, "Fine you win Angie."
She raised her eyebrows, surprised he had given up so quickly, but a win was a win.
"So I guess I should make an appointment with the doctor soon. And I think we need to keep it a secret until I'm past 12 weeks."
"Yeah that's what you said last time too. Do you really mean it this time?" he teased.
"You're never going to let me hear the end of that are you Jack? Yes, I really mean it this time. I don't have the energy to tell everyone, especially since they all are aware of our situation."
"Fine by me, but do you at least think we should tell Michael?" he asked as he began to rub her back.
She squinted her eyes, weighing the pros and cons in her head. "We probably should. He deserves to know. Not that the baby could be blind of course; just that he's going to have a little brother or sister soon."
"Okay," he said simply, jumping off the couch and sweeping Angela into his arms before she could even protest.
She laughed, "What are you doing babe?"
"We're going to spend the rest of this lovely evening drowning out our fears. No worries, just a night to be Angela and Jack, a happily married couple." He smirked at the alarmed look on her face.
"But we still need to talk about-" she started.
"Shh, uh uh, no more talking unless you are screaming out how much you love me." He started up the stairs and down the long hallway to their bedroom, careful to close the door behind them. He set her down gently on the bed, but instead of attacking her as her normally would, he just stared at her for a moment.
"What happened to drowning out our fears?" she asked, quietly slipping out of her dress.
He chuckled, "Oh don't you worry, we will definitely be doing that." His body hovered above hers, his face a couple inches away from hers, "You take my breath away Ange. Every time I look at you, my heart almost stops."
"Shhh." She put a finger to his lips, giving him a mischievous look, "No more talking." Her hands were at the bottom of his v-neck t-shirt now, tugging at it. She huffed in frustration and he laughed, kissing her with such force Angela thought she might never be able to talk again. "Take your shirt off now," she ordered, longing to feel his bare chest against her own body.
"With pleasure," he replied as he complied, slipping easily out of the shirt to reveal a well-muscled chest, lightly lined with soft brown hair.
She rolled on top of him, her lips kissing all over his chest and then slowly moving down his stomach until she got to his pants. "Mind if I take these off?" she teased.
"Be my guest," he ground out, struggling to keep his cool.
She smiled, undoing his belt and throwing it across the room before sliding his jeans off of him so he was just in his boxers.
"God Angie," he moaned quite loudly.
"Shhhh, you'll wake Michael," she warned as her lips met his once again. He turned them over, his kisses hungry and animalistic now. "I want you so bad Ange," he whispered into her ear, sending chills down her spine. "I love you," his tone was serious now as he stopped what he was doing to look into her eyes.
"I know you do. I love you too Jack," she murmured against his lips.
A little while later
"Wow. That was incredible. You were incredible Ange," he said, kissing the top of her head as she lay in his arms, her head resting on his chest, an arm slung over his body.
She giggled, turning her head to look up at him, "Well you know what they say, being pregnant does give a woman more…" She paused, trying to come up with the right words, "More stamina, more hunger."
"Don't I know it," he murmured, stroking her now hopelessly crazy curls as he recalled how it had been when she was pregnant with Michael.
He walked into his wife's office with the measurements she had asked Wendell for. Without looking up he said, "Hey Angie. I've got the measurements you wanted." The next thing he knew he was being slammed against one of the walls, Angela ferociously kissing him. He faltered, entirely too surprised to concentrate properly.
"What's wrong?" she asked, her lips now moving along his jaw line.
"Not to be a killjoy Ange, but we're at work. People might see us."
She looked into his beautiful blue eyes, grinning ever so slightly. "That didn't seem to stop you before Jack."
He laughed nervously, "Yeah but you weren't pregnant then." His eyes were on the small bump of her stomach now.
"Don't you think me being pregnant has anything to do with my increased need for sex lately?" she asked.
He thought about it for a second and realized she was right. She had always been one for a healthy amount of sex, but it seemed like during the past few months she had been jumping his bones any chance she got.
Angela watched him as she realized that what she said was true, deciding to tease him a bit. "Yeah not sure how long this phase is going to last though. I may not want to make love to you when I'm the size of a ship." She slowly walked towards the couch, picturing the look of horror that was surely on his face. The door to her office slammed shut and before she knew it she was being pushed onto the couch and he was on top of her.
"You're kidding right?" he asked.
She smiled at him, "Yes Jack. I'll always want to make love to you, even when I'm huge and hormonal. It just may not be as passionate as you're used to. So I think we should make use of this time." She tugged at the collar of his shirt, bringing his lips down to meet hers.
She shuddered, startled as his hand suddenly slipped onto her stomach. He sat up and showered kisses onto her bump. "Daddy loves you so much baby," he whispered, stroking her stomach softly.
"Honey as much as I love when you do that, if you don't bring your attention back to me, I'm going to be quite upset." She raised her eyebrows, pursing her lips.
"As if I could ever forget the mother of my unborn child, the woman I wake up to each and every morning, the woman whom I love more than anything in the world."
She groaned, "Enough with the sappy crap Jack. Just kiss me already."
He laughed at his wife's impatient nature and did as she ordered.
"You loved it and you know it," Angela said, playfully smacking his arm.
"Oh I'm not denying that at all. Who cares if I was a little run down for a few months, I got to have smoking hot sex with my beautiful wife just about every five minutes," he teased. She was silent now, clearly having not paid any attention at all to what he just said. "Everything's going to be fine Angela," he reassured her.
She looked at him a hopeful look in her eyes, "As long as we're together right?"
"Right. You, me, Michael, and this new baby; we're going to be just fine."
A/N: I'm pretty sure I managed to keep it T, but please do let me know if I need to change the rating. Anyways sorry the flashbacks were shorter than previous ones, but at least you got two this time. Umm yeah so I know it's take awhile for me to develop this story but I think I'm getting there and once I get there the drama won't stop trust me, I've already got it planned out :P
Thank all of you for your support and I know how badly you all want quick updates so I'm going to do my best to get new chapters written and posted in a timely fashion. As always please leave me a review :)