Context: Well, what generally happens when two people who are married and love each other VERY much?

(Written by Gina)

Cathy's News

They had been married for about four months now.

They had moved into Jamie's new flat, one they'd picked out together, prepared to start a new life as husband and wife. Things had been going pretty well - they had designed most of the flat together. Though Cathy did most of the color and furniture work. She'd seen Jamie's sense of style and thought it was for the best.

He instead accepted his role as couch inspector.

They took turns cooking meals, though they occasionally made breakfast and desserts like cookies together. They went out on dates – Sometimes traditional ones like out to dinner, or lunch at that coffee shop that Jamie was now working at. Other times they just set out and walked around town, or to the park. Or sometimes they'd take a drive, maybe stop to watch the sunset or to get ice cream, for the ride. Though, Cathy sometimes had to squeeze his hand when they stopped at a red light or an intersection to calm him down. To assure him that those things were over and behind them. That she was right there with him.

She'd even experienced love-making for the first time. She would've been a bit panicked afterwards had they done this in the past, before Jamie's accident. But then he'd hug her from behind, kiss her temple, and tell her how much he loved her while playing with her left ring finger. His romantic little Jamie things. And she remembered that he wasn't that person anymore. She'd remember that he cared for all of her, not just her body. And she'd smile. She knew she could trust him. She could tell him anything.

So why was she unable to do so now?

They were in their room, cuddling and talking, dinner settling in their stomachs. They hadn't felt like cooking and had just decided to go out for a bite.

Cathy sighed. It wasn't a happy sigh, nor was it an upset one. It was really just a sigh.

She had ran over how she was going to do this for a week now, after her most recent visit with the doctor. She'd made several attempts to tell him, these past two days especially: some while they were eating, some while they were in bed, and even some when he had just gotten out of the shower.

But none of them worked. If they were eating, it was a phone call from Stuart that left him in a strange mood. (They'd been very formal with one another lately, though it was getting better.) If they were in bed, they were both too tired to do anything other than cuddle. And after showers were just too damn distracting.

But she'd tell him tonight. She'd break the news to him. It was now or never.

She shifted so she was sitting up a bit, and was about to ask him to do the same, prepared to tell him everything she had supposed to a while ago. But a groan of protest and a lazy tug at her waist stopped her.

"No," Jamie mumbled, wrapping his arms tighter around Cathy's waist, gently pulling her back down to a laying position. He pouted like a stubborn child. "Stay down here."

Cathy giggled, shaking her head at him and turning over so she could get a good look at him. He was so peaceful and relaxed, and he grinned at her in such a blissful way that she couldn't help but smile herself. She snuggled closer to his chest, and he kissed her forehead. They lay there for some time, perfectly relaxed.

Wait. You were supposed to tell him, remember. What are you doing, get off his chest andtell him!

Cathy jerked suddenly, and Jamie looked down at her with concern. "What's wrong?"

"Uh…"

It would seem that I have now lost every word in my vocabulary.

"I-I…I just wanted to…let you know…l-let you know that I…"

Stuttering. This is fun.

Jamie waited for a response that never came. He pulled her close to him again, cupping her cheek in his hand, and looking her right in the eye. "What's going on?" he asked, his tone soft. "You can tell me."

She opened her mouth several times, but couldn't find the words to tell him. What was she supposed to say? How are you supposed to give news like this to someone?

HOW?!

She missed his lip twitch, but she heard Jamie sigh, taking her hand, and then looking at her with a serious expression. She felt a small wave of panic. What if he kne-

"Is it because I won't get rid of the paisley suit?"

Cathy gave him a confused look before registering what he'd said and, grinning, bit her finger to try to hold back her laughter, forgetting most of what she needed to say. Jamie sighed dramatically, as if this was an issue of importance in their relationship.

"It's about the paisley suit isn't it? It's the suit."

He shook his head and sighed again. Cathy was giggling uncontrollably as her husband went on, putting his hands up in defense.

"Well you said you loved the suit! You said it was cute! You can be honest with me, so if you don't like it, then just say so, I'll toss it!"

He smiled at her laughter and brought his hands back to her waist. She gradually calmed herself again, though she couldn't shake the smile on her face. Only Jamie would do something like this in a serious situation and cause her to giggle like a child. Only hecould do this.

"No, no, it's not the suit. It does look nice on you, though, no matter how god-awful it looks in the closet."

It was Jamie's turn to laugh now, and he hugged her to him lovingly. "So what is it then?"

Cathy sighed almost inaudibly, looking at her hands, and then back at Jamie. He had a beautiful smile on his lips that even reflected in his eyes – it was a proud look, one he usually made when he knew he'd pleased her. The one that she could just never take her eyes off of.

She couldn't do it. She couldn't tell him now. The time wasn't right. She'd tell him later.

But despite her telling herself the decision was final, her mind kept screaming, "Don't be a freaking wimp! Tell him! While he's still in a good mood! TELL HIM. TELL HIM NOW."

"It's just that…" she began. He waited patiently until she gave him a small smile. "It's just that I love you. So much."

She definitely meant it. It just wasn't what she should've told him right now. Not all of it at least.

She could see the part of her mind that was opposed to this decision, jumping about in anger, tearing at its hair. It was not amused by her words.

But Jamie sure was. He gave her a goofy grin, like a little school boy. She chuckled, and he took her hand, intertwining their fingers. He looked at her lovingly, in the way he always did in these heartfelt situations. That was the thing about Jamie. He talked with his eyes.

Suddenly, though, the grin transformed itself into the familiar cocky smirk Cathy got most of the time when he was about to do or say something.

"I know you do. I'm fantastic."

He flashed her a wink and a cheeky grin. She chuckled and gave him a quick but sweet kiss, placing her hand on the back of his neck. She smiled as he kissed her other hand that was still intertwined in his, then her wrist, gradually moving up her arm to her shoulder and neck bone, making sure to trail his tongue and to bite lightly at all the right places. Cathy's eye lids fluttered and a quiet sigh of pleasure escaped her lips.

She knew she should've told him just then. She couldn't hide it forever. It wasn't the sort of secret that she could store away in her head and never have to share. She had to tell him sooner or later, before the evidence started slowly revealing itself on its own.

But now, Cathy was forgetting all her thoughts and her feelings of guilt, and she just ran her fingers through Jamie's hair and enjoyed the wonderful feeling that shot down her spine when her husband kissed his way up her neck, nibbling her earlobe, and moving to her lips to kiss her passionately, all while gently pushing her onto her back and rolling over so he was hovering above her.

Yes, she was sure it could wait until tomorrow. At least.

Cathy smiled tiredly, shifting slightly in the bed as she started to wake up. She immediately noticed that something was different here – something was missing. She frowned, noting the absence of the strong arms around her, a chin nuzzled into her neck brushing her with his stubble, and the sounds of soft breathing behind her. In fact, there's wasn't even any other body heat near her.

She sat up and peered over her shoulder. The comforter had been tucked around her, and the sheets were still warm. She was confused. He didn't have work today, so he usually slept in. And if he had woken up first, he would've woken her up, too (whether he had intended to or not).

So where was he?

The answer came when she turned over again, towards her nightstand, where a small note stood, scribbled in Jamie's handwriting.

Hope you feel like pancakes. ;)

She smiled to herself and got out of bed, not bothering to get dressed. That little sweetheart.

When she padded down the stairs to the kitchen, she was instantly met with the sweet, delectable smell of bacon and eggs.

Jamie hadn't noticed her come in and continued his work on the pancakes, a growing stack on a plate next to him. How he thought they would finish all of that, she was not sure.

Taking the opportunity, Cathy crept up slowly and got right behind him. She reached out and hugged him by the waist, causing him to jump and almost drop a pancake onto the floor. He was certainly surprised.

"Oh, hello."

Cathy giggled as he turned around to give her a sweet kiss. "Good morning."

"And a good morning to you, too, Mr. Bradley." She sat down at the kitchen table, waiting patiently until Jamie brought over plates filled with breakfast foods.

"And today," he said, placing the pancakes in the middle of the table and sitting down across from Cathy, "we dine like royalty."

"I'm guessing you're in a good mood?"

"Well I slept well, that's for sure."

They grinned to each other and started making their plates. There were all sorts of things for their toppings – syrup, whipped cream, strawberries – even some chocolate chip-stuffed pancakes were hiding in the large stack.

Cathy wasn't sure how they had managed to, but soon the plate of pancakes was empty and Jamie was sitting back in his chair with a satisfied look on his face.

Cathy twirled her fork around, the last bite of pancake still there. It was so golden and syrupy – even a little chip was in there, nestle in the middle.

It was beautiful.

"Jamie, talk me out of it."

"What?"

"Talk me out of it."

"Talk you out of what, exactly?"

Cathy sighed, as if the predicament were obvious. "This last bite! I want it so bad-"

"Then eat it."

"But I'm so full!"

Jamie chuckled, leaning over the table and holding his face in his hands. "Oh c'mon, you can do it! You can eat one more bite, it's not gonna kill you."

"But what if it dooeess?"

Jamie laughed again, "Don't be such a wimp!"

Cathy tensed a bit. Oh, she wished she wasn't.

"Oh, c'mon, Cathy!"

"Alright, alright!" She hesitantly looked down at her stomach and sighed. "This is for you."

She wasn't expecting the tone she had used. It was a bit more heartfelt than what she had been aiming for. Luckily, Jamie didn't seem to notice, and simply watched her in childish anticipation. He was too adorable.

She took a deep breath and forced the tiny bit of pancake in her mouth, chewing and swallowing it. Once she had, she threw her hand in the air and triumphantly slammed her fork next to her plate. Jamie laughed louder than before, cheering.

"That's my girl!"

"You're such a goof!"

"You are, too!" He stuck his tongue out at her. "And so what if I am? Never bothered you before."

Cathy smiled warmly at him. They sat in silence for a bit as Jamie finished up his tea and played with the spoon, an amused look on his face. She could feel herself starting to fall into her own thoughts again as she watched him balance his spoon on the cup like a catapult, pretending to fling sugar cubes across the room.

He was such a child sometimes. But he could be serious if it was necessary. He knew when to joke, he knew when to comfort.

She'd seen him with Jack before, playing around with his toys, watching TV. He must have thought Jamie was the coolest adult ever – other than Stuart, of course. She'd seen the way he'd go along with anything Jack said, making up crazy things, creating new games. But he also knew when it was time to turn on "adult mode" if Jack did something reckless. He was playful, but…fatherly.

And it was just what she needed right now.

She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed before. The way he always joked and played with Jack. The small hesitation in giving Jack back to Stuart after a day of playing. The way he looked at Stuart, almost with envy, when it was his turn to be the playful, fatherly adult.

Jamie yawned suddenly, shaking Cathy from her thoughts. She hadn't realized she was staring at him, a far-off smile and expression plastered on her face. He was leaning back again, his hands behind his head. He picked at one of his front teeth with his tongue and raised an eyebrow at Cathy, who was now tensing again, sitting up and trying not to long him in the eye.

"You alright?" he asked. She didn't reply, but cleared her throat and shook her head weakly. It was now or never, she kept telling herself. Now or never.

He sat up, suddenly alert. "What's wrong? Are you okay? Is this about something from last night-"

Just do it. Say it.

"Jamie, I'm pregnant."

She could feel tears stinging her eyes, but she refused to let them escape. She eyed him, waiting for his reaction. His face was, for the most part, blank, but with a look of surprise in his expression. His eyes were unreadable.

He always did that when he was having a particularly strong feeling of emotion. Made himself unreadable. Closed himself off.

He looked down at the table, and whispered, almost silently, "Preg…pregnant…"

It was more of a statement than a question, but Cathy nodded anyways. A single tear rolled down her cheek, and she covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hide her quivering lip. He looked back up at her, and his expression changed instantly to one of worry.

"Cathy." He walked around the table to hug her, kneeling by her chair. Being at his height, he was at shoulder level with her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing once very quietly.

"Cathy…please don't."

He could feel himself getting worked up, but he sure as hell didn't want to end up breaking down in front of her. She rested her cheek on his shoulder, sniffing and gasping for breath.

"Is…having my kid really that bad?"

Cathy jolted upwards, ignoring the tears on her cheeks and facing Jamie's pained face.

"Not at a-all! I j-just don't w-want you to be upset with me. I d-don't-t even know if you w-want k-kids." The rest of what she said had become nonsense jabbering and she had to stop herself, only resulting in letting more tears through. Jamie glanced down - she had a feeling where - and then back up at her.

"Cathy," he began, pausing to wipe some tears from her cheeks. "I could never be upset with you." He took her hand in his, stroking it with his thumb. "I'm actually…"

He kept stealing glances back down at Cathy's stomach, then back at Cathy. "I'm actually really excited."

She watched him stare down at her belly with the familiar, loving expression he gave her.

"I mean…I'm…" He searched for words, huffing out a quick laugh. "I'm gonna be a dad."

He suddenly stopped for a few seconds as the realization finally struck him. A huge grin broke out on his face, reaching into his eyes. He repeated the sentence to himself several times, as if unable to contain his excitement, "I'm gonna be a dad…I'm gonna be a dad." He then stared at Cathy, as if he was breaking the news to her, with a huge excited expression. "We're gonna have a kid and I'm gonna be a dad!"

He practically lifted Cathy into his arms, squeezing her tight, laughing and repeating to himself. Cathy was shocked for a moment, but watching his thrilled face and listening to him practically shout his excitement, she found herself grinning just as widely.

Why had she been worried? This is James Bradley. He had been right last night – he was fantastic.

He was practically a hurricane, rapidly switching between hugging her and jumping around. Sometimes he was unsure of what to do and just squeezed his wife tight, muttering about baby names, and all the cute socks he'd be able to pick out, and what room in the flat would be their child's.

Their child.

Oh, how far they've gone.

"Alright sweetie, okay." Cathy laughed, unlatching him from her and grasping his shoulders. "Calm down. Just breathe, baby, just breathe."

But even she was ecstatic. She wanted to jump up and down and scream out the window just as much as he did. It was the fear that he'd be upset that had kept her from feeling so happy and thrilled. But now all the pent up emotion was leaking out, and she soon had to cover her grin with her hand to stop from squealing.

Through laughter she gasped, "We're gonna have a kid."

She swung her arms around Jamie while he continuously mumbled excitedly into her hair, "I know! I know!" When they finally separated, they realized they were now in the living room. Cathy took a huge intake of breath and plopped herself onto the couch, closely followed by Jamie, who turned to face her. He was still smiling – she imagined it hurt after all the smiling he'd been doing so far. But he didn't care. He couldn't stop himself now.

They stared at one another for a bit before Cathy shook her head and grabbed Jamie's face in her hands, planting a huge kiss on his lips. He pulled her closer to him by the waist, and when they separated they were both out of breath. He was watching Cathy's stomach, looking a bit shy about something.

Cathy smiled weakly, squeezing his hand. "You…you can feel if you'd like."

Jamie glanced at her quickly, and she nodded. He hesitantly let her guide his left hand and place it over her stomach, the emotion welling up in his eyes. He remained like that for a moment, just feeling around, rubbing softly and tracing his fingers along her stomach and over her bellybutton. He had a beautiful look on his face, as if he was actually holding the newborn child in his hands at that very moment.

"I…"

Cathy waited for him to say something, and he now pried his eyes off her abdomen and back to her eyes. She gave him an understanding look, rubbing his left arm and smiling weakly again.

"Cathy…I…" he began again.

She helped him a bit. "You..?"

"I…I hope the baby looks like me."

He tried to pull the most serious face he could as Cathy stared at him, bewildered, her mouth hanging open.

"What, are you – are you serious?"

Jamie smirked, leaning back on the couch and swinging his arm over her shoulders.

"Oh c'mon, babe, when am I ever anything but?"

She stuttered for a bit, not sure if she should be annoyed at him for ruining the moment or just overwhelmed with happiness.

He saw the expression on her face and chuckled, pulling her closer to him. "I'm sorry –"

"Stop it, Jamie." She tried to sound annoyed with him, but the twitching smile on her face gave her away.

"I'm so sorry, Cathy. Baby. Sweetheart –"

"Jamie."

"Honey –"

"Jamie, if you don't kiss me right now, I swear."

He didn't need any more convincing. They remained like that, snuggled on the couch, kissing and cuddling. Jamie couldn't help but subconsciously rub Cathy's belly as they spoke, just like he couldn't help but excitedly interrupt her to suggest baby names. She'd shake her head. He'd laugh apologetically. And they'd both smile.

There were always a lot of smiles in their home.