Never Have I Ever…worried about names

I'm sitting on the couch with my feet propped up when Rio walks in through the door. As she takes her shoes off and sets down some stuff on the table, I call over my shoulder, "Welcome home, Rio. Did you get everything you needed in town today?"

"What?"

"I said," I repeat, "Did you get what you were looking for?"

I turn my head to watch as Rio walks over to where I am, giving her a smile as I move my arm so she can sit next to me on the couch. As she plops down in the seat, I put an arm around her shoulders and give her a quick kiss on the cheek before saying, "So? Did you?"

"Stop bothering me," she laughs, before elbowing me lightly and settling into the couch more comfortably. Leaning against me, she murmurs, "Yes, I got what I was looking for. I'm really glad Soseki had this book otherwise I would have had to make a trip to Mineral Town…"

"Book?"

In answer to my question, Rio reaches into the backpack she still wears and produces a heavy, leather-bound book that looks as if it hasn't been touched in ages. Handing it to me, she gives me an expectant smile that I half-heartedly return before glancing down at the cover to see what the title is.

The words "Naming your Baby" are spread across the cover, emblazoned in a dazzling gold that only somehow seems to make the book even worse. As I stare at it, hoping Rio isn't about to do what I think she is, I hear her cough from beside me.

When I look over, she gives me another expectant look before I sigh and say, "Okay, hold on. Why are you giving this to ME? And why did Soseki even have this book in the first place?"

"Soseki has a lot of books lying around his house from his reporting days," Rio waves off the question, "and I figured that a book like this would really be useful to us. Neil…It's already been a few seasons. You know what Klaus said at my check-up yesterday."

Inwardly, I shudder a bit at the memory of our latest visit to the clinic.

"It will be due on the first week of summer," the doctor said, adjusting his glasses and giving us a scrutinizing look. "Take care of yourself until then."

"The first week of summer?" I choked out. "But that's…that's only in two weeks!"

"I expect you to take care of yourself very carefully before then, Rio," Klaus continued, ignoring me as he talked to my wife. "Take extra care not to strain yourself. Go to sleep earlier, and take some supplemental pills if you must."

As I stare blankly at the wall, Rio jostles me again and I look over at her. Biting her lip, she fidgets with her hands before murmuring, "Are you that nervous about it? Aren't you excited, even a little?"

Instantly I feel awful, and dropping the book on my lap my arm goes around Rio as I hurriedly reassure her, "No, no, I'm excited too! It's just a lot to take in…that's all."

"You've been saying that since we found out I was pregnant," Rio points out, but ignoring that I hug her tightly before saying, "I'm ready to take care of you and this kid. Don't worry about me."

My words seem to cheer her up, and a smile comes over her face again before she points back to the book on my lap. In a happy voice, she says, "I got this book thinking that it'd be good to think of names ahead of time…"

"You want ME to help? Rio you of all people know that I'm really not that good at this kind of thing."

My will crumbles as Rio looks at me, a begging look in her eyes as she says, "I thought we could do it together…don't you want to?"

Avoiding her gaze, I grumble and mutter under my breath before dropping my arm from her shoulders and picking the book back up. Flipping open the cover and thumbing through the pages, I ask, "Girl names or boy names?"

"Well, what would you like?"

Instantly my thoughts go to that of a little girl; in my mind's eye I see her blond pigtails and blue eyes. I'm sure she'll look exactly like Rio-down to the smile that manages to make my heart beat fast even to this day. Clearing my throat, I mumble, "A girl would be nice…"

Rio must know what I'm thinking because she smiles at me gently before reaching over and flipping towards the back of the book.

"Let's try girl names first then," she encourages me, and together we bend our heads over the book and begin to read.

"What about the name….Adeline?"

Rio watches me with hopeful eyes as I lean back and think about it. With my eyes closed I try to picture an Adeline-somehow it doesn't click. Opening my eyes, I shake my head before saying, "Not cute enough. Let's try another one."

Looking down at the book again, Rio asks, "Okay….what about…Quinn? It says here that this was a popular name a few years back…"

The name doesn't even faze me, and quickly I shake my head before saying, "No. Definitely no-it's not speaking to me. Try another one."

Rather than looking back at the pages, Rio scowls at me before complaining, "You've rejected every name we've gone over for the past hour! What exactly are you looking for?"

As she glares at me, I shrug and mutter, "I don't know…something that rings. Something that when people hear it, they'll just KNOW she's cute."

At my answer, Rio laughs before saying, "There's no name like that!"

I blush a bit as I argue quietly, "Your name is like that…Rio."

Rio blushes too before a blush spreads over her face and she smiles back down at the book.

Quietly, she mutters, "Honestly, you're too much...tell me seriously what you're looking for in a name."

I bite my lip, a little reluctant to tell her what's on my mind. Somehow, it seems almost childish of me to have these thoughts, but when Rio gives me a look I know that there's no chance I can hide anything from her. Ducking my head a bit, I say softly, "I want a good strong name, for either a boy or a girl. It has to be a name that I'd love to hear and love to say…because I'll love them…very much…"

I turn crimson as Rio grins at me a bit before mumbling, "Shut up."

Ignoring me, she flips a few pages idly before suggesting, "Maybe we should look for boy names again for a bit. If we have time later we'll go back to the girl side."

I don't say anything as she heads to the front of the book and begins to look at names. From the start I knew this would be a bad idea; no name speaks to me at all. Whether it's for a boy or a girl, all Rio and I have done since start reading has been argue about what names we like and which names we don't like.

At this point, we can't seem to agree on anything.

As she runs her finger down the pages, I lean back and prepare to make myself comfortable to just reject it again when she stops on one name and blinks at it.

Leaning in, she smiles before saying, "Neil, what about this one?"

As I straighten up to look, I wonder why she's smiling when my eyes fall upon the name her finger points to. Instantly, I'm hooked and a smile comes across my face too.

"Really? That name?" I ask, looking over at her. "It's…nice. I like it."

Our eyes meet and she gives me the same look she did on our wedding day, sending my heart into overdrive as she does so. Smiling happily, she seems to glow as she says, "You too? I thought you might. It just…jumped out to me."

"Me too."

As our hands reach across the pages and our fingers intertwine, we look back down at the name together. In a strange way, the appearance of this name is the first agreement we've had since we started, and the idea that we both agree on a name seems to make the idea of a kid real.

"Elijah…it's a sweet name." Rio murmurs, before bringing my hand up to press her lips to it gently.

The two of us smile at each other before looking back down at the book.

"Should we continue?" Rio wonders aloud, and smiling I shake my head before picking up the book and saying, "Well we never did find one for a girl…"

Choosing names for a child has GOT to be a struggle. I mean, there are so many good names out there but you want one that really speaks to you, you know?

Also, in answer to what Neil was thinking in that last chapter: he wants to cook with her and kiss her while she's not sick! What dirty thoughts were you thinking, lol :P No but for reals, nothing really dirty I promise! I don't roll that way XD Even if I implied it it's up to others how they interpret it!

Anyways thanks all for the reads and reviews and the next one is the pregnancy event, so look out for it! :D until next time!