"Ruth we've paid for them. We're not taking them back. Let it go." Stepping onto the escalator, he turned sideways and watched as she carefully stepped behind him.
"But Harry, six bags worth? No one needs that many clothes for only a few months time." Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she looked down into his eyes.
"Most women would be thrilled beyond words that not only has their husband suggested a trip to the stores but also given them free reign of his credit card." Stepping off to the side at the bottom, he waited until she was standing next to him. "Now, say thank you Harry, give me a kiss and let's go home."
Standing in front of him, Ruth looked around his arm before gently patting his chest. "Shut up Harry, take that smirk off your face, and since you're feeling so generous, let's go spend more of your money."
"Funny." Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against her forehead. "Stop worrying about the clothes. You needed them."
"Not that many. I could have made some things in the wardrobe at home work with just a few of the pieces you bought me."
Looking down at her, he gave her his best grid look, and spoke in his best Grid voice. "It's done and over. You're keeping the clothes, there'll be no more discussions about it. And you'll be happy about it."
"Alright," she said softly, seeing the look on his face. "But you have to stop buying me everything you think I need or want. You're spending entirely too much on me."
He didn't speak, just looked at her a moment. She was unlike every other woman he'd ever been with or known, including his daughter. They'd wanted things; clothes, makeup, jewelry, expensive dinners, fancy trips; but the only thing Ruth wanted was him.
Broken old Harry Pearce.
A man who'd cheated on his first wife not once but many times.
Who had done unthinkable things for his country.
She knew all that. Had been so worried it'd make him want something more than herself. But she'd taken the chance. And realized she couldn't care about his past.. She still wanted to be with him.
Had married him.
Was currently carrying their first two children.
"Harry?"
Broken from his moment of thoughts, he smiled at her. "Ready to go home?"
"Actually," she started, nervously looking behind him before speaking, "can we buy one more thing?"
Turning her eyes back to his, she waited nervously.
Ruth's sitting on the bed when Harry steps back into their room. In her hands she's holding the softest of stuffed penguins he'd ever seen or felt. The fur is a multitude of grays with patches of black fur here and there. It's nose is orange and shaped like a carrot. Next to her is an exact replica of the one in her hand.
Crossing the room, Harry settled onto the bed and reached for the second penguin. He hadn't known what to expect when she'd asked if they could buy one more thing. All evening he'd not fought exactly but been challenged in getting her to buy clothes for the coming months. Then all of a sudden, standing at the bottom of the escalator, she'd seen something she wanted.
He'd have bought anything at that moment, if only to reinforce the thought in her mind that he didn't mind buying her things. As he'd turned around, he was sure it'd be something unexpected. And it had.
The children's section had been just over his shoulder. An area filled with everything a newborn could possibly want or need. She'd seen the stuffed penguins sitting on the shelf, part of a menagerie of different stuffed animals. Seeing the hesitance on her face but the joy in her eyes, he'd managed to shift all the bags containing her clothes to one hand before taking her hand in his.
Fingers wrapped together they'd made their way over to those children's toys. Stopping by the shelf, he'd expected her to reach for the traditional brown bears but instead, she'd picked up the penguins. Penguin gripped in each hand, she'd turned her eyes up to him and smiled. The first true smile since they'd been at dinner earlier in the evening.
The two penguins weren't the last things they'd bought that night. As Ruth had clutched the stuffed creatures in one arm, she'd looked around the section in wonder. Rack upon rack of little outfits surrounded them.
Whereas she'd been reluctant to pick anything for herself, the twins were an entirely different story. Picking up little pant sets, she'd turned them over and looked at them in amazement.
"Do you want to get some things?" he'd asked softly, standing at her back.
"Can we?" Looking up from the outfit, she'd turned her head and smiled over her shoulder. "We should wait. I mean, we only know one of their genders."
"We're having one of each. I told you in the doctor's."
"But we don't know that."
"Alright, then we buy a couple of things for our son and a few gender neutral things for our daughter until we're sure."
Turning back to the rack, she'd picked up the brown and green pant set, the smile on her face growing larger. "Only one or two."
That one or two had turned into three bags of little outfits and onesies. Little trousers in browns, blues and blacks; shirts in greens, reds, and blues as well as some plaids. By the end of the night, he'd even managed to slip in a few outfits of purples and pinks.
But his favorite outfits of the night were the two pastel green onesies currently lying in front of them. Setting the penguin on his knee, he reached down and picked them up. Ruth had found the long sleeved pieces as they'd stood in line waiting.
Unlike the others they'd picked in stripes and darker colors, these were entirely pastel green; the only change in the picture and words on front. On their fronts, a light gray elephant smiled, its trunk lifted up. Under the elephant in carefully stitched white letters, it read "Will Cuddle For Peanuts".
When she'd spotted them, she'd made a sound he'd never heard from her before. For one long moment, he'd thought something was wrong but then, as she'd turned towards the rack and picked up the small outfit. Showing it to him; the smile she'd had on her face for the last hour lightening her eyes; she'd turned to grab another before they'd made their way up to pay.
"Harry?"
Looking up from the outfit, Harry smiled as he met her eyes. "Yes Ruth?"
"I've been thinking. About the nursery. And which room would be perfect for the twins." Tucking the penguin into the corner of her arm, she turned to face him. "I was wondering if you'd mind too much switching your office to the box room. It's just that it's bigger and has all those windows that bring in the afternoon sun. Plus it's directly across the landing instead of down the hall. If you don't want to, I understand but..."
Lifting his hand, Harry cupped her cheek softly before pressing his lips against hers. Kissing her slowly, he heard her sigh and watched as her eyes fluttered shut. Nipping her lower lip, he pulled back and smiled as her eyes flickered open. "I have no problem moving my office for the twins but I've been thinking about space too. And I've come up with a different idea. What do you think about moving?"
"Moving?"
"Hmm. Yes. To a larger house."
Looking around their room, she frowned. "But...we have plenty of space here. And so many happy things have happened these last few months."
Watching her, he let his thumb follow the curve of her cheek bone. "I know. But I've been thinking we'll need something with a bigger back garden. One with enough space for Scarlett and the twins to play and run." Thumb sliding under her chin, he smiled. "Plus, we haven't talked about it yet but I'm assuming you're going to want to go back to work after the twins are born."
"I uh...haven't really thought about it but I think I'd want to."
"That's what I thought. With both of our jobs and the hours we can put in, we're going to have to have a live in Nanny; or at least the space that she can stay over when the need arises."
"I hadn't thought of that." she said softly, her eyes lowering. "I don't want the twins to be raised by strangers never knowing us."
Seeing the sadness cross her face, Harry leaned forward and brushed his lips across the tip of her nose. "Hey, don't worry about that right now. The twins are going to know both of us, you don't need to worry about that. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I was just thinking."
"But Harry, you're right. We work such long hours. There are weeks we come home long enough to sleep and shower. How can we raise two children like that? What kind of parents would do that?"
"Ruth, we can make changes so that doesn't happen. I won't let that happen. Our twins will know who their parents are and that they're loved. I promise."
"You can't promise that."
"I can." Sliding his arms around her shoulders, he pulled her until she curled herself into his lap. Head resting against his chest, she let her hand lie on his shoulder. "We don't need to talk about it tonight or even until after the twins are born."
Hand sliding across the scar from where Tom had shot him, Ruth turned her face to look up at him. "I don't want to move."
Lips brushing against her forehead, he smiled softly. "I want you happy but are you sure?"
"Yes." Hand resting over the puckered skin, she leaned back so she could see him better. "The back garden is plenty big for Scarlett and two little kids. It just needs some TLC. I can spend some time on it this weekend."
"You're not doing anything in your condition."
"I'm pregnant, not an invalid."
"I'll help you if you want to do it."
Smiling, she nodded. "I do. And there's plenty of space here in the house. There's the entire attic that you've barely used and I don't need my reading room all to myself. We could turn that into a play room for the twins when they're old enough to need it. The twins can share a nursery for the first few years too."
"We'll see what we can do." he said softly, eyes watching her carefully.
"We'll make it work Harry. I know we can." Leaning down, she pressed her lips against the scar on his shoulder, her eyes watching him. "And I know something else we can make work."
AN: I'm a bit behind in my reading of fics and in reviewing them. I'm trying to catch up but if I've missed something or someone, please let me know. I've got a four day weekend to catch up on them. Happy Thanksgiving to those readers living in the US and Happy Thursday to everyone around the world. I hope you're all doing well. =0)