A/N Thank you to everyone reading so far! Your support is amazing and I really appreciate it! Also thank you insidealiceshead, teamzollie and HCZollie for your kind reviews, as always :-)
Several more weeks passed and Zosia was just about getting used to the idea of Seb being in prison, and that she could move on with her life and together with Ollie they could get ready for their biggest challenge yet- becoming parents. She started to get used to being pregnant- the morning sickness subsided, she was less tired, less moody (which Ollie was very relieved about) and her bump slowly grew. Zosia loved feeling their little one move and kick (except when they decided that 2am was a good time to be awake), and since she had moved out of the flat and moved in with Ollie, he enjoyed being able to be there for the big moments, like the first time they felt him or her kick.
Dom, Arthur and Guy were also very supportive in their own way. Guy answered a lot of Zosia's questions about her own mother's pregnancy, to reassure her that everything she was experiencing was normal, and he even gave Ollie advice on how to handle Zosia when she was in a bad mood, having had experience of a moody pregnant wife himself, and having Zosia as his daughter, he had had a lot of practise.
Dom took great pleasure in reminding her that she was an 'egg on legs' and that she would be waddling fairly soon, but Zosia managed to shut him down each time by reminding him that as the resident expert in birthing swings, he would have to assist her with it personally whenever the feeling took her.
'Thanks Mr T' he grumbled, sipping his wine, and Zosia laughed.
'No no, Essie told me' she laughed. 'But Mr T did tell Mo...' she continued as Arthur entered with trays of pasta. Zosia was having a night in with her old flat mates while Ollie was working a night shift. 'Oh come on, you know you want to help me...'
'I'm sorry Zosh, but I'm not coming anywhere near you when you're in labour' Dom grimaced. 'I value my hands, and knowing how bad you find your, ahem, I don't think my future in surgery would stand a chance' he joked, looking and sounding serious. Zosia smirked at him.
'I'm not that bad' she shook her head, and then Dom looked at Arthur for help.
'Arthur, help me out here, you've seen Zosia try and deal with pain' Dom argued.
'I think labour and periods are very different things, Dominic' Zosia argued, but both men looked at her. 'What?'
'Okay...but I think you'll be crying for an epidural within the first hour' he joked.
'Thanks for the vote of confidence' she sulked, but then Arthur decided to change the subject.
'So, have you had your 20 week scan yet?' He asked, and Zosia nodded.
'Yeah, everything's great, baby's healthy so that's the main thing' she smiled.
'You decided not to find out the sex then' he pointed out, taking an interest.
'No, we're keeping it a surprise' she smiled, stroking her bump. 'I really don't mind as long as he or she is healthy' she smiled, looking down. She laughed as she felt the baby shuffle around. 'Little bean is a real fidgeter though, do you want to feel?'
'No' Dom yawned, and Arthur reached out his hand and placed it where Zosia showed him.
'Wow, he's really going for it isn't he?' Arthur gasped, and Zosia looked at him inquisitively.
'He?'
'Well, you know what they say, you can tell what you're carrying by how your bump looks. High up its a girl, low down its a boy'
'Arthur with that fascinatingly scientific input you should consider a career in medicine' Dom rolled his eyes and Zosia laughed, and then she got distracted by her mobile ringing. It was Ollie. 'Does Ollie do that embarrassing thing where he talks to your bump?' Dom continued as she answered the phone, and she shushed him.
'Hello you, how's it going?' She smiled.
'Yeah not bad, I'm just about to head in for emergency theatre, thought I'd say goodnight to my favourites now' he smiled, and Zosia looked around.
'Wait a moment, Arthur's just gone to the loo' she joked and on the other end of the phone, she could feel him laugh sarcastically.
'Ha ha ha, very funny' he smirked.
'Arthur, Ollie is about to do that embarrassing thing that dads do when they talk to the bump' Dom laughed, and Zosia shot a glare at him.
'No he isn't!' She whispered harshly.
'He isn't what?' Ollie asked, having heard her.
'Dom thinks you do that thing where you talk to the baby'
'But I do do that...' He laughed, and Zosia laughed too. 'But please don't tell them...'
'I know' she laughed. 'Dom,' Zosia called out, 'Ollie says you're a twat' she laughed.
'No, I didn't say that!' Ollie laughed, and Zosia continued.
'And that you should be my birthing partner because you know how to get into a birth swing' she laughed, and Dom frowned while everyone else laughed.
'Whatever' he sulked, and then as Zosia and Ollie finished their call, the three of them sat back with a film and cups of tea. After a little while, Dom spoke again. 'So does everyone know?!'
'Yep' Zosia smirked, and then she got a text from Ollie.
'Say goodnight to bean for me xxx' Zosia laughed lightly and then Dom saw this and snatched the phone off of her, laughing triumphantly, holding the phone up out of Zosia's reach.
'Aha! I knew it! This is way more embarrassing than what I did' he smiled, laughing, and Zosia shook her head, trying to reach for the phone. When she eventually did manage, they laughed about it and when the film finished, they went to bed.
The next morning, Zosia went to pick Ollie up from work, and when they arrived home and he had slept for a few hours, she woke him up by nudging him. As he woke, his eyes still closed, he smiled. 'What's up with you?'
'I'm bored' she complained, lying down next to him as he moved his arm out to hold her in towards him. 'Plus bean seems to calm down when you're around' she smiled as Ollie stroked her bump.
'I've been thinking, are we going to be calling the baby "bean" until it's born? We should talk about names' he smiled, and she looked deep in thought. 'What shall we call it if he's a boy?'
'Hmm...I like Oscar...' she thought out loud, but then saw Ollie look unsure- 'or not...'
'What about Pip- that way we don't have to choose two names' Ollie suggested, but Zosia shook her head, deep in thought.
'George is cute' she added, and again Ollie shook his head.
'Seth is cool', and Zosia kept shaking her head.
'I think this is going to be a harder decision than we anticipated...' She laughed. 'Just as long as we don't call him something like-'
'Ooh oh ooh' he interrupted, excited, 'what about something like Willis, it sounds strong, like Bruce Willis. Plus it's unusual, just like you, my love'
'...no' she said, bluntly. 'Ooh how about Noah?' She suggested, her eyes lit up.
'Yeah maybe...I'm sure inspiration will come to us...' Ollie concluded, lying back and yawning. 'Now are you going to let me go to sleep again now? A guy needs his beauty sleep'
'Nope' she teased. 'And beauty isn't the right word'
'Shush you' he pouted, nudging her. She stood, laughing, and made her way over to the doorway to let Ollie rest. 'Make yourself useful and make me breakfast if you're bored' he teased, and she stood in the doorway. She turned around, thought playfully for a second and then shook her head.
'No that's ok, I should put my feet up, being pregnant and all that...' She teased in return, and Ollie smiled, finally being serious.
'Good idea' he smiled as he closed his eyes to get another few hours sleep. 'But Zosia, seriously, Willis will grow on you' he laughed as she closed the door, sticking up her middle finger at him and smirking.
As she smiled, her attention was caught by post coming through the letterbox. As she retrieved it from the mat, she sat on the sofa as she shuffled through it. Among bills and junk mail, something addressed to her caught her eye. It was a visiting order. Seb was requesting for Zosia to visit him in prison.
The panic sent her reeling, was he allowed to contact her in this way?! What on earth could he possibly have to say to her?! The baby started kicking as a reaction to Zosia's panic, and as she tried to calm down, she screwed up the letter and threw it in the bin, before taking a deep breath and stroking her bump. 'It's ok, that's enough from you Willis...' She sighed, and then shook her head. 'Nope...no, there's no way that's going to be your name...' she murmured.