Prompt: Twinge
Rating: K+

Her due date was fast approaching but it wasn't time yet.

That was what Jess told herself when she woke up early one morning and felt a slight twinge in her abdomen.

Braxton Hicks, she told herself. It had to be. She'd read all about on the Internet, had heard about it from both her mother-in-law and her sister-in-law. They'd both warned her about it, told her not to worry if she thought she was going into labour because she probably wasn't.

Especially before her due date.

First baby's, she told herself, were usually late and rarely on time. It was very rare for them to be early, or at least that's what everyone told her.

So she forced the slight twinge out of her mind and took her time getting ready for work. She only had two days left to go before the start of her maternity leave. She could get through those two days and then... then the baby could come. She was ready for it. Or would be in two days time.

"Jess? You want anything for breakfast?" Becker called up the stairs as she tugged one of her looser maternity dresses over her head and smoothed it down her body. Every muscle ached, every limb felt too heavy to lift.

"I'll get something at work," she called back, feeling a little sick at the thought of eating anything before they left the house. For all her morning sickness had passed early on in her pregnancy, she found she couldn't eat much in the mornings anymore though often made up for that during the day, which led to some of the team teasing her about having an appetite to match Connor's.

She ran a brush through her hair and tied it back in a ponytail, too tired to lift her arms for any longer than she had to. She put the bare minimum of make-up before padding barefoot downstairs, pausing halfway down to hold onto the railing, pressing a hand to her back as she felt something tighten and then relax.

"Braxton Hicks," she muttered, exhaling slowly when it was over before resuming her journey downstairs.

Becker met her in the hallway, his brow furrowing when he saw her. "Are you feeling okay?" He asked, worry shining in the depths of his hazel eyes. "You look pale."

"I'm fine. Just tired," she added when he looked at her sceptically. "I might've managed to sleep last night but it wasn't very restful."

"You did toss and turn a bit," he murmured, moving closer so he could reach her. He let his hands settle loosely on her hips, holding her as he pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose before letting their foreheads rest together. "If you don't feel up to going in, I'm sure Lester will understand."

"If I don't go in for pregnancy related reasons, it'll automatically start my maternity leave early," she reminded him, recalling the conversation she'd had with Paula in HR a few weeks before. "I know it's only a few days early but I'd like to see it out. I've still got a few things I want to get finished before I go on leave."

Becker nodded but didn't look entirely convinced. "If you get too tired or don't feel well during the day, let me know, okay? Even if you end up working from home for the next few days, I'd rather you take care of yourself than push yourself when you should be taking it easy."

"I'm fine," she said instead of making a promise she couldn't keep.

"You better be." He pulled back to look at her, moved one of his hands from her hip to rest on her stomach. The grin that graced his face when their child moved as if in response to feeling its father's hand would never fail to make a matching smile appear on her lips. She lifted her face to accept the kiss he bestowed on her, letting it linger for a few moments in the hopes of distracting both of them. "Seriously, Jess. We've come too far now. If you need me, no matter what's going on, raise me on the comms or get someone to come and find me."

"I will." That was a promise she could almost make. If he was in the ARC and something happened... Well, there's no one else she'd rather have by her side than her husband. "I promise, Becker. I'm not about to go ahead and have this baby without you. I'll keep my legs crossed and shoot anyone who says I can't until you're there."

Becker chuckled, pulling back to look at her. She saw the amusement replace worry in his eyes and felt herself relax in response. "I don't think that's quite how it works, sweetheart. Keeping your legs crossed might not be enough to keep the baby from coming, no matter how stubborn you are."

"Probably not," Jess admitted, a teasing smile on her face. "Not if this baby is half as stubborn as its father, anyway."

"Me?" He rolled his eyes and moved away, shrugging into his jacket before holding her coat open for her. "I think you'll find you're the stubborn one in this relationship, Mrs Becker."

"I bet to differ, Captain, and I'm sure if we did a survey at the ARC, the majority of our colleagues would agree me with." She slid her arms into the sleeves of her coat, frowning a little when she tugged it over her stomach and felt the material tighten over her back. "I can't wait to be able to fit into normal clothes again," she grumbled, struggling to fasten the buttons.

"You'll be wearing them soon enough," Becker assured her, grinning at the exasperated expression on her face.

A few minutes later, after slipping her feet into the flat slipper-sandals that were the only thing she could wear comfortably, Jess let Becker lead her out of the house and towards their car.

It was just a twinge, she told herself, just a fluke.

First baby's were never early... were they?

Continued in 'Timing'
Apologies if anyone's annoyed with the 'spamming' of chapters - just aware I've been dragging my feet where this story is concerned in comparison to previous stories so trying to get it done for those who've been following it since February, plus I've actually got time to write at the moment (hooray!) so am taking full advantage. Huge hugs for the reviews as always xx