Not What I Expected
Title: Not What I Expected
Characters: Donna, Shaun, Sylvia, Wilf (and his mouth)
Summary: Reactions to Donna's announcement aren't quite what she thought they would be.
Word Count: ~1,500
Prompt: Written for Travellers’ Tales Prompt #24 (assume) at doctor_donna
Timey Wimey Factor: Directly continues Stretch the Definition (to the point where I repeat a line of dialogue)
'Verse Notes: This is part of my Better Than Just Stories 'verse, the masterlist for which you can find here.
Another Quick Note: Some of the formatting on this may still be incorrect (because Chrome is mean to LJ and vice versa). If you see any mistakes, please do tell me, as I hate to let errors linger. Thank you!
“What?!”
Shaun’s mouth was hanging open and Donna gently closed it for him, leaning in and kissing him on the lips. “I’m pregnant,” she repeated patiently. “What, all your books and you don’t know what that means? And here I thought you were clever.”
“Donna....” Shaun blinked, his eyes slowly refocusing on her face. “Donna, are you serious?”
“Sure am, Dad.” She tried to kiss him again but he stopped her. “Shaun? You all right?” She winked. “You know, if you’re going to be sick, you might want to hurry. I’ve avoided the morning sickness so far, but I’ll probably be setting up shop in the toilet before I know it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
The glint in Donna’s eyes flickered. “I assumed you’d be happy,” she replied hesitantly.
“Yes, of course. Of course I’m happy. I’m happy my wife forgot to tell me she was pregnant.”
“I didn’t forget,” Donna began, but Shaun just shook his head, gently sliding her from his lap and rising to his feet. “Shaun, what’s going on?”
“You should have told me sooner,” he said sharply. “How long have you known about this?”
Donna crossed her arms over her chest. “Longer than you,” she said simply, “and don’t get cross with me, Shaun, ‘cause at least I’m happy about it. I thought you wanted to be a dad.”
“That’s not the point. Donna, you had another fit today. What if you fell and hurt the baby?”
“I didn’t,” she retorted, though she lowered one of her arms to wrap around her middle. “I didn’t hurt the baby. I know I didn’t,” she insisted softly. “I’m not sure how, but I know.”
“Donna, you can’t know that.”
“Yeah, well I know!”
Shaun silently stared at her, doing his best to block the image of her lying on the ground earlier that day, unresponsive and half freezing. She’d been so hard to wake he’d assumed the worst, but then she’d been herself again, the loud and short-tempered and overprotective woman he’d fallen in love with, and he’d been overjoyed to have her back safely. Now she was pregnant? It wasn’t enough for him to protect his wife, he had to worry about a baby as well? He wanted a family more than anything, shouty children that took after their demanding, beautiful mother, and he couldn’t imagine what he would do if he lost them. He knew she wasn’t weak, and if she said she was okay he knew better than to argue, but he was too stressed from all the other rubbish that had happened in the last day to stay calm. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, not for Donna, not for him, not at all. He deserved better and, more importantly, so did she.
“Donna, sweetheart,” he began, but before he could continue Sylvia rushed back into the room, dragging Wilf behind her.
“What are you doing in here?” she demanded. “I can hear you shouting from the kitchen.”
“We’re fine, Mum,” Donna said flatly. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m your mother. It’s my job to worry about it.”
When Donna didn’t snap back Sylvia sat beside her, grabbing the hand Donna had settled over her stomach and placing it in her own. “Donna? If you’re still ill....”
“I’m fine,” Donna said simply. She shook her hair out of her eyes, smiling as brightly as she could. “I’m a bit better than fine, really. I’m pregnant.”
Sylvia dropped Donna’s hand like it had caught fire. “Pregnant?” she repeated hoarsely. “No, no you’re not pregnant. You can’t be pregnant.”
“I think you’ll find I am, actually. Eight or ten weeks,” Donna added, casting a quick glance at Shaun. “I found out last Tuesday, when I went to that doctor about my headaches.”
Wilf’s jaw bobbed up and down, a series of incomprehensible noises leaving his mouth, at least until Sylvia stood and whacked him on the arm. “What was that for? She’s having a baby!”
“She could have died, Dad,” Sylvia retorted. “She just assumed she didn’t have to tell us about this. Of course not. We wouldn’t have even known about the baby. What if she’d been hurt, or if they’d taken her in and tried to give her medicine? What if she’d lost the baby? Or-”
“Stop it!” Donna shouted. She stared at them all for a moment then lowered her head into hands and sighed heavily. “I don’t believe this,” she whispered.
“Donna?” Shaun called hesitantly. Donna just shook her head and he walked up beside her, sitting down and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Babe? Are you all right?”
“Brilliant,” she snapped. “I’m having a baby, and everyone’s angry about it.”
Shaun just shook his head. “I’m not angry with you,” he said gently. “Donna, I love you more than anything else on the bloody planet. You know that. And this,” he added, nodding down at her waist, “is brilliant, just like you’re brilliant.”
“You just don’t want me to slap you,” Donna grumbled.
“Well, that’d be nice,” he admitted, “but I really do want a baby. And so does your mum. Right, Mrs. Noble?” He shot a pointed look at Sylvia, who just glared back. “Right, Mrs. Noble?”
“Right,” she replied finally. She sighed and nodded, relaxing a bit at last. “I do, actually. And your granddad needs someone else to drive insane, so you’ve probably made his day.”
Wilf didn’t say anything. He was still smiling too broadly to bother with proper speech.
“See?” Sylvia offered with a wry grin. “Dad, close your mouth. You’ll catch a cold and end up giving it to the baby.”
“Sorry,” Wilf mumbled, but his lips were still stretched as wide as they could go. “Well,” he said when no one else spoke for a moment, “that’s a much-needed piece of good news, isn’t it?”
“Oh, God, Granddad, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about your friend-”
“And well you shouldn’t,” Wilf replied, his tone more stern than Donna had expected. “It’s nothing for you to worry about, girl, you hear me? It’s not what I expected, that’s true, but you’ve got more important things to take care of now, like keeping me and that little one of yours apart once it comes.”
“Good luck with that,” Sylvia muttered. “I assume the three of you will be over here every day, expecting me to play with it or some such. God, I’ll never get the house clean again.”
“Mrs. Noble,” Shaun began, but as he looked up he was surprised to see she was smiling. He was quite sure he had never seen that happy of a look on her face, and he grinned as she walked off into another room. “See, babe? We’re all happy about this.”
“All of us,” Wilf agreed, and shot Shaun a quick glance. “So what do you say, Miss? I’ll whip us up a little something to celebrate. It’s Christmas, after all! We should be celebrating!”
Donna just chuckled. “Yeah, all right, supper. Oh, and someone needs to get something else to drink in this house. You’ve no idea how close I came to drinking that margarita this morning before I remembered. Not that just the one drink would hurt it, but....”
“I’m on the job,” Shaun said simply, and before Donna could make any requests he pressed his lips firmly over hers. “I’m sure I can find somewhere that’s open,” he assured her as he pulled away, then he rose from the couch and headed straight for the front door. “Back in a few!”
“Well, there went my kitchen assistant,” Wilf sighed, and eyed Donna as he continued. “I suppose now supper will never be ready, not with me cooking all alone. All alone....”
“Oh, shut up, you daft old man, I’ll help.” Donna took Wilf’s hand as he offered it, but yelped as he quickly pulled her into his arms. “Granddad, be careful!”
“I won’t let anything happen to you, my girl. I promise. Nothing,” he said, squeezing her tighter, “nothing’s going to hurt you.”
Donna was almost certain she felt him shaking again and she wrapped her arms around his back, rubbing it gently as he held onto her tightly. “Gramps? Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Fine,” he said, and gave her another brief squeeze before letting go. “Honest, darling, I’m fine.”
“You’re lying again. And you’re rubbish at it.”
Wilf smiled, but instead of answering her he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re brilliant, darling,” he said simply. “Come on. I don’t know about the two of you, but I’m starved.”
Donna started to protest but instead she just nodded, taking his hand and starting for the kitchen. “So does this mean I can come over whenever I fancy something strange? ‘Cause you know I’ll be asking for that weird egg thing you make.”
“I’ll have you know, that’s not weird,” Wilf replied indignantly. “Your gran loved it.”
“When she was pregnant with Mum, I’m sure.” Donna smiled. “You know I’m having you on.”
“Of course, darling. I love you too.”
Characters: Donna, Shaun, Sylvia, Wilf (and his mouth)
Summary: Reactions to Donna's announcement aren't quite what she thought they would be.
Word Count: ~1,500
Prompt: Written for Travellers’ Tales Prompt #24 (assume) at doctor_donna
Timey Wimey Factor: Directly continues Stretch the Definition (to the point where I repeat a line of dialogue)
'Verse Notes: This is part of my Better Than Just Stories 'verse, the masterlist for which you can find here.
Another Quick Note: Some of the formatting on this may still be incorrect (because Chrome is mean to LJ and vice versa). If you see any mistakes, please do tell me, as I hate to let errors linger. Thank you!
“What?!”
Shaun’s mouth was hanging open and Donna gently closed it for him, leaning in and kissing him on the lips. “I’m pregnant,” she repeated patiently. “What, all your books and you don’t know what that means? And here I thought you were clever.”
“Donna....” Shaun blinked, his eyes slowly refocusing on her face. “Donna, are you serious?”
“Sure am, Dad.” She tried to kiss him again but he stopped her. “Shaun? You all right?” She winked. “You know, if you’re going to be sick, you might want to hurry. I’ve avoided the morning sickness so far, but I’ll probably be setting up shop in the toilet before I know it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
The glint in Donna’s eyes flickered. “I assumed you’d be happy,” she replied hesitantly.
“Yes, of course. Of course I’m happy. I’m happy my wife forgot to tell me she was pregnant.”
“I didn’t forget,” Donna began, but Shaun just shook his head, gently sliding her from his lap and rising to his feet. “Shaun, what’s going on?”
“You should have told me sooner,” he said sharply. “How long have you known about this?”
Donna crossed her arms over her chest. “Longer than you,” she said simply, “and don’t get cross with me, Shaun, ‘cause at least I’m happy about it. I thought you wanted to be a dad.”
“That’s not the point. Donna, you had another fit today. What if you fell and hurt the baby?”
“I didn’t,” she retorted, though she lowered one of her arms to wrap around her middle. “I didn’t hurt the baby. I know I didn’t,” she insisted softly. “I’m not sure how, but I know.”
“Donna, you can’t know that.”
“Yeah, well I know!”
Shaun silently stared at her, doing his best to block the image of her lying on the ground earlier that day, unresponsive and half freezing. She’d been so hard to wake he’d assumed the worst, but then she’d been herself again, the loud and short-tempered and overprotective woman he’d fallen in love with, and he’d been overjoyed to have her back safely. Now she was pregnant? It wasn’t enough for him to protect his wife, he had to worry about a baby as well? He wanted a family more than anything, shouty children that took after their demanding, beautiful mother, and he couldn’t imagine what he would do if he lost them. He knew she wasn’t weak, and if she said she was okay he knew better than to argue, but he was too stressed from all the other rubbish that had happened in the last day to stay calm. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, not for Donna, not for him, not at all. He deserved better and, more importantly, so did she.
“Donna, sweetheart,” he began, but before he could continue Sylvia rushed back into the room, dragging Wilf behind her.
“What are you doing in here?” she demanded. “I can hear you shouting from the kitchen.”
“We’re fine, Mum,” Donna said flatly. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m your mother. It’s my job to worry about it.”
When Donna didn’t snap back Sylvia sat beside her, grabbing the hand Donna had settled over her stomach and placing it in her own. “Donna? If you’re still ill....”
“I’m fine,” Donna said simply. She shook her hair out of her eyes, smiling as brightly as she could. “I’m a bit better than fine, really. I’m pregnant.”
Sylvia dropped Donna’s hand like it had caught fire. “Pregnant?” she repeated hoarsely. “No, no you’re not pregnant. You can’t be pregnant.”
“I think you’ll find I am, actually. Eight or ten weeks,” Donna added, casting a quick glance at Shaun. “I found out last Tuesday, when I went to that doctor about my headaches.”
Wilf’s jaw bobbed up and down, a series of incomprehensible noises leaving his mouth, at least until Sylvia stood and whacked him on the arm. “What was that for? She’s having a baby!”
“She could have died, Dad,” Sylvia retorted. “She just assumed she didn’t have to tell us about this. Of course not. We wouldn’t have even known about the baby. What if she’d been hurt, or if they’d taken her in and tried to give her medicine? What if she’d lost the baby? Or-”
“Stop it!” Donna shouted. She stared at them all for a moment then lowered her head into hands and sighed heavily. “I don’t believe this,” she whispered.
“Donna?” Shaun called hesitantly. Donna just shook her head and he walked up beside her, sitting down and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Babe? Are you all right?”
“Brilliant,” she snapped. “I’m having a baby, and everyone’s angry about it.”
Shaun just shook his head. “I’m not angry with you,” he said gently. “Donna, I love you more than anything else on the bloody planet. You know that. And this,” he added, nodding down at her waist, “is brilliant, just like you’re brilliant.”
“You just don’t want me to slap you,” Donna grumbled.
“Well, that’d be nice,” he admitted, “but I really do want a baby. And so does your mum. Right, Mrs. Noble?” He shot a pointed look at Sylvia, who just glared back. “Right, Mrs. Noble?”
“Right,” she replied finally. She sighed and nodded, relaxing a bit at last. “I do, actually. And your granddad needs someone else to drive insane, so you’ve probably made his day.”
Wilf didn’t say anything. He was still smiling too broadly to bother with proper speech.
“See?” Sylvia offered with a wry grin. “Dad, close your mouth. You’ll catch a cold and end up giving it to the baby.”
“Sorry,” Wilf mumbled, but his lips were still stretched as wide as they could go. “Well,” he said when no one else spoke for a moment, “that’s a much-needed piece of good news, isn’t it?”
“Oh, God, Granddad, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about your friend-”
“And well you shouldn’t,” Wilf replied, his tone more stern than Donna had expected. “It’s nothing for you to worry about, girl, you hear me? It’s not what I expected, that’s true, but you’ve got more important things to take care of now, like keeping me and that little one of yours apart once it comes.”
“Good luck with that,” Sylvia muttered. “I assume the three of you will be over here every day, expecting me to play with it or some such. God, I’ll never get the house clean again.”
“Mrs. Noble,” Shaun began, but as he looked up he was surprised to see she was smiling. He was quite sure he had never seen that happy of a look on her face, and he grinned as she walked off into another room. “See, babe? We’re all happy about this.”
“All of us,” Wilf agreed, and shot Shaun a quick glance. “So what do you say, Miss? I’ll whip us up a little something to celebrate. It’s Christmas, after all! We should be celebrating!”
Donna just chuckled. “Yeah, all right, supper. Oh, and someone needs to get something else to drink in this house. You’ve no idea how close I came to drinking that margarita this morning before I remembered. Not that just the one drink would hurt it, but....”
“I’m on the job,” Shaun said simply, and before Donna could make any requests he pressed his lips firmly over hers. “I’m sure I can find somewhere that’s open,” he assured her as he pulled away, then he rose from the couch and headed straight for the front door. “Back in a few!”
“Well, there went my kitchen assistant,” Wilf sighed, and eyed Donna as he continued. “I suppose now supper will never be ready, not with me cooking all alone. All alone....”
“Oh, shut up, you daft old man, I’ll help.” Donna took Wilf’s hand as he offered it, but yelped as he quickly pulled her into his arms. “Granddad, be careful!”
“I won’t let anything happen to you, my girl. I promise. Nothing,” he said, squeezing her tighter, “nothing’s going to hurt you.”
Donna was almost certain she felt him shaking again and she wrapped her arms around his back, rubbing it gently as he held onto her tightly. “Gramps? Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Fine,” he said, and gave her another brief squeeze before letting go. “Honest, darling, I’m fine.”
“You’re lying again. And you’re rubbish at it.”
Wilf smiled, but instead of answering her he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re brilliant, darling,” he said simply. “Come on. I don’t know about the two of you, but I’m starved.”
Donna started to protest but instead she just nodded, taking his hand and starting for the kitchen. “So does this mean I can come over whenever I fancy something strange? ‘Cause you know I’ll be asking for that weird egg thing you make.”
“I’ll have you know, that’s not weird,” Wilf replied indignantly. “Your gran loved it.”
“When she was pregnant with Mum, I’m sure.” Donna smiled. “You know I’m having you on.”
“Of course, darling. I love you too.”