A/n Woah a third Pillow Talk one-shot in 2024? Considering I wrote none in 2023 shows that this year I am already doing better haha.

Thank you to WhiteOrchids on AO3 for the inspo on this chapter and the last one.

More prompts always welcome!

TW - This chapter includes mentions of health problems during pregnancy.

/

One More?

They feel very lucky. There are many reasons as to why Jane and Lisbon should feel lucky, especially with the ghosts of their pasts, but currently they feel like the luckiest parents on the planet because they have a baby who sleeps through the night. Their son, Theo, turns one in a couple of weeks and he may just be the easiest and happiest one-year-old in the world. He feeds well three times a day and he even tries to participate in their mealtimes on occasion. He particularly loves strawberries and small slices of cheese, but the jury is still out on raisins. He spends his days shuffling around on his butt and babbling, and his mother isn't at all hurt that his first word was 'Dada'. It makes sense to her because he is the stay-at-home dad.

Jane smiles to himself, sitting up in bed as he mentally plans the following day. It will include a trip to the park and then the grocery store and probably some colouring. Theo loves scribbling messily. His favourite colours are blue and purple. Lisbon has a page of scribbles framed on her desk at work which frequently confuses her colleagues, but she doesn't care. Seeing it is a great reminder to be grateful for what she has.

She too is smiling when she wanders into her bedroom having just checked on their son in his. His nursery is a kind of moss colour with animal stencils on the walls. It is classy and adorable, something that made her cry when her husband surprised her with it. "Is he alright?" Jane asks her with a grumble to his throat that he sometimes gets when sleepy.

"Yeah. He's out like a light." She tells him as she climbs into bed next to him.

"He's a good boy."

"Yeah…" She mumbles in reply but there is something wondrous about the way she says it. Like she's distracted by a daydream that must be so strong that it has pulled her attention immediately away from her husband even though she has literally just spoken to him.

"What is it?" He asks softly, but when she hesitates his brow dips and he nudges her leg with his foot. "Teresa…"

Lisbon nervously peers down at her hands and inspects the wedding ring on her finger. She's not even been wearing it for two years but now she can't imagine her life without it. Whenever she has feelings of anxiety, she just looks at it and she knows that things will work out because, well, they have so far. "Maybe I've been lulled into a false sense of security by our angel of a son but…" She chews at her bottom lip then swipes her tongue over the light graze she has left by doing so before she has the courage to finish her sentence. "I think I want another one."

Jane is very conflicted in this moment. He loves being a dad so much and the idea of his son having a younger sibling to be pals with for life is definitely appealing, but his concerns lie with the health of his wife. "It may not be that easy." He chooses his words carefully and she watches his blue eyes flicker slightly from side to side as he thinks. "I wouldn't want you being put at risk." The again is lost from his lips.

Their last pregnancy wasn't easy. They knew the potential risks of a geriatric pregnancy for both mother and baby because they were highlighted from their very first appointment and reiterated repeatedly throughout the process. Jane made sure that his wife had the best doctors and regular appointments to monitor growth, hormone levels, amongst other things. However, even with all the warnings they were shocked when Lisbon was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. The condition affects how well blood circulates in the placenta leading to irregular blood pressure in the mother which can have a knock-on when it comes to the health and development of the unborn child.

At a routine antenatal appointment, it was Lisbon's hypertension which was flagged first. Then they found high protein levels in her urine, so she was referred for a blood test that determined the condition. She remembers starting to shake on the hospital bed as they waited to find out if she could go home or if it was bad enough that she needed to be admitted, and when Jane wrapped his arms around her supportively, she could feel him shaking too. Fortunately, they were allowed to go home but with there being no cure other than delivering the baby, twenty-eight weeks pregnant suddenly felt a long distance from forty.

They gave her medication to reduce her blood pressure and she had regular scans to check the baby's growth, but even after positive appointments they were terrified. At thirty-six weeks she got a bad kidney infection and they decided that they had to induce labour. Labour is already hard without the worry about the health of two key people involved and Jane recalls how he felt like he was on the edge of crumbling completely.

Lisbon passed out as soon as Theo was born and whilst a team of medical professionals worked on her, another ran through all the tests on him. By the time she regained consciousness with Jane tired and apprehensive at her side, their son was on the neonatal ward connected to too many wires and tubes for someone that small - and he was only a little over five pounds when he was born. Perhaps, this is a reason why they feel so lucky now.

Thankfully he only had to stay for a week and since then has been very healthy, he just may be a bit smaller than average for his age group. She fully recovered too on all levels. Physically, mentally, and emotionally, but maybe she is looking back at that time through rose-tinted glasses. It was really difficult and that was a year ago. The condition can be caused by many factors, but it is more common in women over forty. She is forty-three now. "I know." She whispers and she is now back to looking at the ring on her finger, but this time she fiddles with it nervously. "It's just…" She begins but then trails off, quickly becoming unsure of herself.

"You can say it." He tries to reassure her, and she briefly glances his way with her green eyes looking both uncertain yet hopeful simultaneously. "You can always speak your mind with me."

Teresa sighs, almost mentally reeling that her husband isn't actually a psychic, but she does continue while burying that thought because it isn't fair on him. "I know I don't have the greatest relationship with my brothers, but I don't think I would have survived without them when my mom died. And not just because of who my father was." She chooses not to say anything else on that topic and he is sort of glad that she decides this, because he doesn't want to envision the terrible things that could have happened to her. "There's just a lot to be said for having a sibling."

"I understand that. There were many times as a kid that I wished I had a brother or sister. Someone who may have been able to relate to me." He felt so alone, isolated in the carny life. He was different and thought no-one understood him - until he met Angela. Maybe if he had a sibling then they would have been like him, and life wouldn't have been so lonely. He wouldn't want Theo to feel like that if something were to happen to him or Lisbon. "What if we put no pressure on it?"

Jane starts to compromise and if Lisbon weren't so confused by the suggestion, then she probably would be grinning. "What do you mean?"

His mouth opens to reply but his brilliant mind hasn't had the opportunity to formulate it, perhaps because of his fatigue from running around after Theo all day or the gravity of the situation. It is not a simple discussion, not when there is so much at stake. He likes the life they have; another child could make things even better or it could upset the balance of their family. Especially if it caused harm to the woman he loves so much. "I think if we actively tried for another baby and then you got sick again, I would feel incredibly guilty. Like my actions caused your bad health." He finally finds the words, but they cause her shoulders to slump, dejected… Thankfully he is quick to make them lift back up. "If getting pregnant again just happened, like last time, then I think that could be okay."

Lisbon's despondent reaction is swiftly lost, and she is beaming widely, flashing him her perfect smile. "That's all I ask. I-I don't even know if I could get pregnant again." However, she will pray that she can. "But I miss the feeling… and I never thought I would say that."

"Hm." He recollects all the times he caught her cradling her bump whilst smiling at her reflection in the bedroom mirror. It filled him with joy every time and if it happens again then it will continue to bring him joy. "I love being a father, you know that, and if we can have another child then I know I will love them just as much as our Theo and Charlotte." He outstretches his arm so he can slide it down her arm before taking hold of her hand affectionately. "And obviously you as well."

"I love you too." She pulls at his hand to tug him towards her meaning that their lips can gently connect almost identically to their first kiss in Miami but this one isn't full to the brim with relief, just an emotional happiness and heaps of love. He could kiss her forever if it meant this feeling would never end, but it isn't long before it becomes apparent that she has something else on her mind.

Jane only breaks the kiss because of gasping at the feeling of his wife wrapping her hand around his shaft, after tucking her hand under the waistband of his pyjama pants. He makes a sound that is a cross between a moan and a chuckle before his lips find her neck, and they're shifting positions so that he can hover over her. He knows what she has planned, and he is definitely not going to say no.

He may have his concerns about them having another baby, but he meant what he said and he loves being a father, and there is part of him that hopes that after tonight that can happen again.