Good Thing We're Packing
Title: Good Thing We’re Packing
Characters: Donna, Shaun, Alex (OC)
Summary: Donna finds one last wedding present while packing.
Word Count: ~1,200
Prompt/Notes: Written for Travellers’ Tales Prompt #7 (gather) at doctor_donna. I should also point out that, while writing this, I happened to update my f-list and prompt #31 (immaculate) had just been posted. I’m far too amused by this. :p
‘Verse Notes: This is intended to fit into the ‘verse started by Better Than Just Stories, but it can be read on its own. If you’d like to read the whole ‘verse, you can go to the masterlist page for it here.
The clatter of pots and pans filled the room, dings and hesitantly quieted bangs sounding as Donna placed them in a large box as gently as she could. As she sorted plates and bowls, carefully concealing them in paper she’d saved from her wedding gifts, she glanced down the hall to see if she’d woken her husband. Good. He was still sleeping. He’d earned it after the last few weeks they’d had, what with him losing his job right before the wedding and the way she’d been eating lately mucking up their budget. Not that that was her fault of course.
She tried to close the cupboard but the door was stuck again and she sighed, reaching instead for more things to pack away. Her favorite mug was one of the last things she wanted to pack, but there was room for it in the box and she wanted to get it sealed in case her mum stopped by and could take a load of things in her car. She sighed. It wasn’t like she was supposed to drink coffee these days anyway. “That’s your fault, you know,” she mumbled, glancing down with a smirk, and before she could say anything else the baby kicked her soundly in the side.
The mug slipped from her grasp and she muttered a curse as it crashed onto her foot. It rolled under the cupboard and she slowly bent down to grab it, dusting it off and wrapping it in some leftover paper before stuffing it into the box with the other dishes. She gathered up the spoons and forks, smiling fondly as she tied them together with a bright blue ribbon. It had come off the gift from her grandfather, she was almost sure of it. He’d been so proud of his wrapping job she didn’t have the heart to tell him he’d tied the bow wrong.
“Donna?”
“In here,” she called, and a moment later Shaun appeared in the doorway, rubbing his neck and staring at her with bleary eyes. “Morning, sleepy.”
“How are my two beautiful girls this morning?”
“Mmmm,” she replied simply. “One of us was kicking up a fuss. I’ll let you guess which.”
Shaun smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, but Donna shook her head.
“You missed it,” she said, frowning slightly. “But don’t worry; she’ll be at it again later.”
“Next time, I want you to give me a shout,” Shaun insisted softly, and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “I keep missing it. It’s not fair.”
“Yeah, well, if you like, you can carry her around for a bit. I won’t complain, you know.”
“Don’t you have to work today?” he asked as he glanced at the clock. “It’s Tuesday, right? Isn’t this your day to be at the art gallery?”
“Contract ended early. They told me they weren’t as busy as they expected, but, well....” She nodded down to her stomach and sighed. “I have the feeling I wasn’t front entrance material.”
“I don’t suppose your complete lack of artistic talent had anything to do with it?”
“Oi!” She turned around and flicked her husband on the shoulder. “Watch it, Mister.”
Shaun just smiled, taking advantage of her new position and kissing her on the lips. He pulled away after a moment and sighed, his grin fading. “Will we make the rent this month then?”
“Not sure,” Donna replied with a half-hearted shrug. “Maybe it’s a good thing we’re packing.”
“But that’s not why we’re packing,” Shaun reminded her, and gently massaged her belly again.
Donna nodded, teasingly batting his hand away. “We got married just in time,” she noted with a roll of her eyes. “I’m fairly certain I could rent myself as advertising space.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Shaun said, stifling a chuckle. “Think of the money we could make!”
“Go pack up the bedroom closet,” Donna ordered sharply. “I’ll see if I can find one of us a job.”
“Sounds great,” he replied, and cleared his throat, clearly still trying not to laugh. “Maybe you should phone the art gallery,” he suggested. “They might want to hire you back as an advert.”
“Get out of here,” Donna snorted. “I’ll not be insulted in my own bloody kitchen.”
Shaun gave her another peck on the cheek then disappeared into the hallway, still grinning.
Donna rolled her eyes at his back, waiting until he was gone before she sat down at the table and flipped open her computer. As she waited for it to turn on (yet another thing they needed replaced, but didn’t have the money for) she sorted through the stack of mail sitting beside her, chucking a few junk envelopes in the trash. Bills for the apartment, bills for their mobiles, bills for his car, and a paycheck from the art gallery that wouldn’t even begin to cover half of them.
“What’s this?” she said with a frown, picking up a crumpled bit of paper. She smoothed it out, her eyes widening slightly as she realized what it was. She stared at it for a moment then shoved it back into the pile. “Cheapest wedding present ever,” she grumbled. She looked back at her computer and narrowed her eyes in thought, then pulled the ticket back out of the mess.
The internet was even slower than usual -she’d complain, but the landlord didn’t charge them extra and they couldn’t afford to get into any trouble- but a minute later she was staring at the last few weeks’ worth of winning numbers. She scrolled down the list, not needing to verify the date on her ticket, and as she reached the results for the week of her wedding she gasped.
“Oh. My. God,” she breathed. “Shaun!” She blinked a few times, checking it again. “Shaun!”
Shaun rushed into the room, crashing into the chair at her side. “Is she kicking again?” he said excitedly. He started to touch her belly but she pushed his hand away. “Donna? What is it?”
“I don’t....Shaun, tell me I’m not going crazy.”
“What’s wrong, babe?” When Donna didn’t answer he raised his hand again, cupping her cheek and forcing her to look at him. “Donna, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she replied, shaking her head. She shoved the ticket at him then pointed to the screen, watching his face as he read off the numbers. “Well?” she demanded.
“Donna, is this a joke? This is....this is 10 million pounds.”
“I know,” Donna whispered. She shook her head again, pursing her lips as she continued to stare at him. “But they all match, don’t they? I thought maybe I read one wrong....”
“They all match,” Shaun said, reading the screen again. Suddenly he jumped to his feet, pulling her with him and gathering her into his arms. “Donna, we just won 10 million pounds!”
“I know!” Donna shrieked, and flung her arms around his neck, holding onto him tightly. He squeezed her so tight she could hardly breathe and finally she pulled away, gesturing for him to release her. When he stared at her blankly she smiled. “Baby,” she reminded him gently.
“Oh!” he shouted, hurriedly letting her go. “Oh, God, Donna, I’m sorry. Are you all right?”
Donna just nodded, grinning as he carefully stroked her stomach. “I’m fine,” she assured him, then she screamed again, gripping his shoulders. “Because we just won 10 million pounds!”
Characters: Donna, Shaun, Alex (OC)
Summary: Donna finds one last wedding present while packing.
Word Count: ~1,200
Prompt/Notes: Written for Travellers’ Tales Prompt #7 (gather) at doctor_donna. I should also point out that, while writing this, I happened to update my f-list and prompt #31 (immaculate) had just been posted. I’m far too amused by this. :p
‘Verse Notes: This is intended to fit into the ‘verse started by Better Than Just Stories, but it can be read on its own. If you’d like to read the whole ‘verse, you can go to the masterlist page for it here.
The clatter of pots and pans filled the room, dings and hesitantly quieted bangs sounding as Donna placed them in a large box as gently as she could. As she sorted plates and bowls, carefully concealing them in paper she’d saved from her wedding gifts, she glanced down the hall to see if she’d woken her husband. Good. He was still sleeping. He’d earned it after the last few weeks they’d had, what with him losing his job right before the wedding and the way she’d been eating lately mucking up their budget. Not that that was her fault of course.
She tried to close the cupboard but the door was stuck again and she sighed, reaching instead for more things to pack away. Her favorite mug was one of the last things she wanted to pack, but there was room for it in the box and she wanted to get it sealed in case her mum stopped by and could take a load of things in her car. She sighed. It wasn’t like she was supposed to drink coffee these days anyway. “That’s your fault, you know,” she mumbled, glancing down with a smirk, and before she could say anything else the baby kicked her soundly in the side.
The mug slipped from her grasp and she muttered a curse as it crashed onto her foot. It rolled under the cupboard and she slowly bent down to grab it, dusting it off and wrapping it in some leftover paper before stuffing it into the box with the other dishes. She gathered up the spoons and forks, smiling fondly as she tied them together with a bright blue ribbon. It had come off the gift from her grandfather, she was almost sure of it. He’d been so proud of his wrapping job she didn’t have the heart to tell him he’d tied the bow wrong.
“Donna?”
“In here,” she called, and a moment later Shaun appeared in the doorway, rubbing his neck and staring at her with bleary eyes. “Morning, sleepy.”
“How are my two beautiful girls this morning?”
“Mmmm,” she replied simply. “One of us was kicking up a fuss. I’ll let you guess which.”
Shaun smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, but Donna shook her head.
“You missed it,” she said, frowning slightly. “But don’t worry; she’ll be at it again later.”
“Next time, I want you to give me a shout,” Shaun insisted softly, and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “I keep missing it. It’s not fair.”
“Yeah, well, if you like, you can carry her around for a bit. I won’t complain, you know.”
“Don’t you have to work today?” he asked as he glanced at the clock. “It’s Tuesday, right? Isn’t this your day to be at the art gallery?”
“Contract ended early. They told me they weren’t as busy as they expected, but, well....” She nodded down to her stomach and sighed. “I have the feeling I wasn’t front entrance material.”
“I don’t suppose your complete lack of artistic talent had anything to do with it?”
“Oi!” She turned around and flicked her husband on the shoulder. “Watch it, Mister.”
Shaun just smiled, taking advantage of her new position and kissing her on the lips. He pulled away after a moment and sighed, his grin fading. “Will we make the rent this month then?”
“Not sure,” Donna replied with a half-hearted shrug. “Maybe it’s a good thing we’re packing.”
“But that’s not why we’re packing,” Shaun reminded her, and gently massaged her belly again.
Donna nodded, teasingly batting his hand away. “We got married just in time,” she noted with a roll of her eyes. “I’m fairly certain I could rent myself as advertising space.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Shaun said, stifling a chuckle. “Think of the money we could make!”
“Go pack up the bedroom closet,” Donna ordered sharply. “I’ll see if I can find one of us a job.”
“Sounds great,” he replied, and cleared his throat, clearly still trying not to laugh. “Maybe you should phone the art gallery,” he suggested. “They might want to hire you back as an advert.”
“Get out of here,” Donna snorted. “I’ll not be insulted in my own bloody kitchen.”
Shaun gave her another peck on the cheek then disappeared into the hallway, still grinning.
Donna rolled her eyes at his back, waiting until he was gone before she sat down at the table and flipped open her computer. As she waited for it to turn on (yet another thing they needed replaced, but didn’t have the money for) she sorted through the stack of mail sitting beside her, chucking a few junk envelopes in the trash. Bills for the apartment, bills for their mobiles, bills for his car, and a paycheck from the art gallery that wouldn’t even begin to cover half of them.
“What’s this?” she said with a frown, picking up a crumpled bit of paper. She smoothed it out, her eyes widening slightly as she realized what it was. She stared at it for a moment then shoved it back into the pile. “Cheapest wedding present ever,” she grumbled. She looked back at her computer and narrowed her eyes in thought, then pulled the ticket back out of the mess.
The internet was even slower than usual -she’d complain, but the landlord didn’t charge them extra and they couldn’t afford to get into any trouble- but a minute later she was staring at the last few weeks’ worth of winning numbers. She scrolled down the list, not needing to verify the date on her ticket, and as she reached the results for the week of her wedding she gasped.
“Oh. My. God,” she breathed. “Shaun!” She blinked a few times, checking it again. “Shaun!”
Shaun rushed into the room, crashing into the chair at her side. “Is she kicking again?” he said excitedly. He started to touch her belly but she pushed his hand away. “Donna? What is it?”
“I don’t....Shaun, tell me I’m not going crazy.”
“What’s wrong, babe?” When Donna didn’t answer he raised his hand again, cupping her cheek and forcing her to look at him. “Donna, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she replied, shaking her head. She shoved the ticket at him then pointed to the screen, watching his face as he read off the numbers. “Well?” she demanded.
“Donna, is this a joke? This is....this is 10 million pounds.”
“I know,” Donna whispered. She shook her head again, pursing her lips as she continued to stare at him. “But they all match, don’t they? I thought maybe I read one wrong....”
“They all match,” Shaun said, reading the screen again. Suddenly he jumped to his feet, pulling her with him and gathering her into his arms. “Donna, we just won 10 million pounds!”
“I know!” Donna shrieked, and flung her arms around his neck, holding onto him tightly. He squeezed her so tight she could hardly breathe and finally she pulled away, gesturing for him to release her. When he stared at her blankly she smiled. “Baby,” she reminded him gently.
“Oh!” he shouted, hurriedly letting her go. “Oh, God, Donna, I’m sorry. Are you all right?”
Donna just nodded, grinning as he carefully stroked her stomach. “I’m fine,” she assured him, then she screamed again, gripping his shoulders. “Because we just won 10 million pounds!”