Fic: Ignoring the Symptoms
Title: Ignoring the Symptoms
Author:FredtheSled48
Ships: Ben/Leslie
Rating: PG
Word Count: 5,800
Summary: With the recall vote in three days and the stress and exhaustion seem to be getting to Leslie. In true Leslie fashion, she won’t admit it. When beautiful nurse Ann gets involved things can no longer be ignored. Big changes are about to come to the Knope-Wyatt household.
Author’s Note: This is my first fic. Hope you like it. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Happy reading!
Ben woke as the light streamed in through the window across his face. At first he was startled by where he was, forgetting that he had fallen asleep next to Leslie on the couch. They had been immersed in a strategy session the night before, attempting to figure out how to deal with the last few days leading up to the recall vote. Since Kathryn Pinewood stated The Committee to Recall Leslie Knope three months ago, things in their house had not been the same. Ben had taken over his old campaign manager position, attempting to help coach Leslie through this tough time while she still dealt with new problems arising every day in the Parks Department and City Council. His job at Sweetums was easily avoidable, seeing as no one really cared to check into the foundation. With Andy spending most of his time between the Parks Department and Bloomington visiting April, Ben could pop into the office for a couple hours a week, check on the status of the current charities and then spend the rest of his time focused on Leslie’s uphill battle.
Looking down at the sleeping Leslie still in his arms, Ben is once again amazed by how much this new political challenge has shifted things for them. While they certainly have dealt with drama and scandal in the past, this one seems to have taken a particular toll on Leslie. For the last month or so she has been constantly exhausted, something that was so foreign to everything Ben had learned about his beautiful wife. During the campaign she had had countless amounts of energy, always wanting to be brainstorming about new ideas and always positive about the outcomes.
The recall vote had been set for the beginning of August which had allowed them to take things relatively easy for the first month or so. It wasn’t really until July that Leslie had really started to show the amount of anxiety she had for the upcoming vote.
Councilwoman Leslie Knope had made the city of Pawnee a much better place to live in just a single year. As her biggest fan, Ben Wyatt was going to do everything in his power to make sure that the city remembered all the positives. So, by the beginning of June they had a plan of attack and they have been working relentlessly since then to see to it that she stays on city council.
The bright green 7:10am on the clock above the TV in their living room jolts Ben. They had been working on a speech for Leslie to read the day of the vote and she had fallen asleep around 9:30 last night. Ben had moved her the best he could without stirring her to the couch and let her sleep while he continued to work on the speech. Around 11:30, after he found his eyes unable to stay open, he had cuddled in with Leslie, drawing her to him. She had woken up momentarily, whispering softly in his ear “I am sorry that I fell asleep” and he had just kissed her forehead as she found her normal, cozy spot against his chest. As far as Ben could tell she had not moved since. For what feels like the hundredth time in the last few months his heart silently swells with worry for his wife. He is used to the Leslie Knope that cannot sleep more than six hours a night and is constantly a ball of energy, not the one that falls asleep in the living room because of pure exhaustion at 9:30.
“Leslie? Hey, it is time to wake up,” he whispers in her ear while kissing her forehead lightly a few times. She stirs and opens her eyes, looking around with the same wonder of where she was that Ben had woken up to.
“Morning Sleepyhead. We didn’t quite make it through our ‘Epic Political Rally’ that we had planned.” He smiles and leans in to kiss her as the night begins to come back to her memory.
“Oh God Ben, I am so so sorry that I fell asleep! I know we needed to get that speech done and I couldn’t even stay awake to help! And we were supposed to watch Nightline and celebrate our final speech! I completely dropped the ball, honey. I am so so so---“ Before she could finish, Ben kisses her. It has been such a rough few months for her that the last thing he wants her to be worrying about is actually sleeping a recommended number of hours.
“It is okay. I finished the speech aside from any notes you wish to give me on it. I am very glad that you were able to get some rest, these last few weeks have been so difficult for you.”
“You really are the best husband. Thank you. Maybe we can make up the celebration tonight? I think I owe you one” she says with a sly grin as she looks at the clock and the late time registers on her face. “Crap. I have breakfast at 8:30. I need to get in the shower and go.” With that, Leslie was gone. A few minutes later Ben heard the water begin to run upstairs and he slowly made his way to the coffeemaker to get a fresh pot ready.
He could not wait for the next three days to be over. The house had become a mess, littered with recall information, political books, old election fliers, and new business that Leslie has been attempting to fit into her already packed schedule. It was no wonder she was exhausted. As much as she wanted him to believe that it had just been a one night thing for her to fall asleep early, Ben knows better. He has been aware of the growing exhaustion for a few weeks now. At first she had just been falling asleep sooner after they made love at night but now they didn’t even make it that far. She made up for that, Ben notes as his heart speeds at the thought of their intimacy, but things had definitely shifted. He was just so happy that things would return to normal soon and that his wife would be able to carry around less stress.
About thirty minutes later Leslie comes into the kitchen wearing a grey pantsuit and a pink blouse. “Will you be coming into the office for lunch today? I will go over that speech and we can talk about it then.” She takes the cup of coffee from his outstretched hand and kisses him gently murmuring a soft thank you against his lips. Her attention moves to the newspaper that is already laid out on the counter, having already been perused by Ben.
“That sounds like a plan. I will stop and pick up something to eat on my way from the office. Is it a Parks day or a City Council day?”
“Both actually. I have to meet Ann for breakfast at JJ’s to talk over some of the health codes and of course to get an update on her life and then I have to work on the maintenance report for Ron. By lunch I should probably be in my council office. I will meet you there, say about 1?”
“Say hello to Ann for me. I am going to jump in the shower and then head into the office for a bit” he moves towards her and kisses her cheek. “Remember to look over that speech. Have a wonderful day and I will see you at 1. Love you.” He ascends the stairs to get ready for the day. Just as he’s about to start the water for the shower he hears a sweet “bye” from downstairs and the soft close of the front door. He loves their morning routine even if it hadn’t started in their warm bed or a shared shower.
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Sandwiches in hand, ben walks into City Hall a little early to meet Leslie. He had spent his morning smoothing out a problem with the bank and it had been much more difficult than he had imagined. After having dealt with such rude people all morning he really couldn’t wait to see his always bubbly wife.
“Ben! Hey!” He literally jumps at the loud voice. Ann comes rushing to the door of her office, obviously desperate to catch him. “Can you come in here for a second?” Ben nods and moves into the office, growing extremely antsy about what this could pertain to.
Ann slowly closes the door behind him and takes a deep breath. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Leslie told me that you were coming in for lunch and I was hoping to catch you on your way.”
“How did your breakfast go? She said that she needed to talk to you about some of the health codes. I am guessing that is for the new bill that she is thinking about for the hospital? She has been very -“ Ben continues talking as he takes a seat and Ann tries her best to think about the details of the work Leslie had spent all morning telling her about. While she cared deeply for the project and wanted to see it happen just as much as Leslie did, this is not what she had called him in here for.
“Have you noticed anything strangely weird about Leslie?” Ann just comes right out and says it, interrupting Ben’s conversation completely. He looks taken a back, physically recoiling back a little in his chair.
“Umm. I am not sure exactly what you are asking Ann.” His mind starts racing with the possible scenarios that could play out from this conversation. Had there been something he hadn’t seen? “The recall vote has taken a huge toll on her. It has definitely made her more tired and I don’t think she is finding as much joy in what she is doing because she doesn’t know how long she will be there. I am doing everything in my power to make sure that she wins the recall vote Thursday but she is still worried.”
Ann just sits there, staring at him. Was she attempting to process all of this? It wasn’t new to her. She and Leslie talked every day, multiple times a day. What has Ann picked up on that he obviously has not? What was causing her to make that face?
“I… Ann… What is… Please say something. Why do you look like that? Is something wrong?”
A small smile spreads across Ann’s face as she is once again reminded of just how much Ben cares for his wife. “Ben, I have no idea what my place is in this. I don’t want to say too much and start anything but at the same time I really think that we must address it. With how busy Leslie is I didn’t want to overwhelm her with one more thing so I am coming to you instead. Plus Leslie would never admit that she wasn’t feeling well or that something was up.”
“What is it?” he is fighting the urge to hurt her for dragging this conversation out.
“I think Leslie is pregnant.” Ann leaves it at that, staring into his face for a response. Ben’s mind goes silent, unable to process anything that is happening. One word, pregnant, swims in his mind. The ridiculousness of this conversation pulls him out of his own thoughts. Ann isn’t his wife. This is not how he ever pictured being told about the prospect of becoming a dad.
Right as he is about to ask her more questions, the door of her office sails open and a sunny voice takes over the room. “My two favorite people in one place!” Leslie moves to the open seat next to Ben and lightly squeezes his knee. “I am sorry that I am running late honey. Councilman Milton started telling me a story about his grandson, Tim, and you know how he is. Can’t remember the whole story so he just starts the whole thing over and over but I see you found Ann so you couldn’t have been too lonely.”
“I kept him entertained,” Ann adds, glancing to Ben in the hopes of conveying a ‘be cool’ attitude.
“You beautiful health code superhero!” The small talk continues for a while until the stomach growls were audible enough to not be ignored. Leslie led the way out of Ann’s office down the hall to her own. Ben had lost pace with her only for a minute, stopping in the doorway of Ann’s office to tell her he would stop back down on his way out of the building.
The whole time through lunch Ben could not stop thinking about what Ann had told him. Could his wife of a little over six months be pregnant? As he sat there, attempting to focus on the speech she was to read in a few days, his mind traced the last few weeks for any evidence to validate Ann’s claim.
Of course the first thing is her exhaustion that has made its appearance steadily over the last month. But what else had Ann picked up on? “Les, why didn’t you eat your pickles?”
“Umm…” She looks visibly startled by this. For the last ten minutes she had been asking him questions and talking over her notes for the speech. The food that she was nibbling at was very much a second thought to her. “They just didn’t sound appetizing. Do you want them?” She hands him the togo container that once held her turkey sandwich.
He takes them, not wanting to draw attention to his question and moves half of his thoughts back to her notes on the Soda Tax paragraph of the speech. Leslie was always super protective of her pickles. He remembers vividly two occasions that she had gone to the restroom during lunch and before she left she had sternly told him to not touch her pickles.
This whole thing would be hilarious if Ben weren’t so concerned. Ann’s revelation had turned his stomach into an emotion that he had never experienced in his life. Before he took the time to understand what exactly he was feeling, he wanted to know for sure if she was actually pregnant.
Under any other circumstance he would have just come right out and asked her but with the recall vote he wouldn’t dare add to the stress she already felt. She had spent so many nights of the last two months worrying about her fate on Council. Recently her stress had boiled over into tears and small Leslie fits. They were always short but Ben knew that she needed him to be her rock. The last thing she needed to worry about was his and Ann’s stupid assumptions.
It had only been three months ago that she was accused of being pregnant in front of an entire audience. After that moment she had been horrified and Ben had been dumb enough to ask her if she was sure. In a rare snap of anger Leslie had replied, “Of course I am sure! If I was pregnant I would have told you and not two hundred people in a public forum! Now tell me what we are going to do about this recall vote!” If she had any idea she was pregnant, she would have told him by now.
____________________________________________________________________
“Okay. I need you to tell me why you think she is pregnant.” Ben slips into the chair across from Ann’s desk, having firmly shut the door behind him.
“We went to breakfast this morning and she ordered her normal waffles. She ate them without putting any whipped cream on them. When I asked her why she just shrugged it off, saying that it just didn’t sound appetizing and smelled a bit funny. She then started talking about how she fell asleep on you last night and she got very emotional about it. When I asked her if you had been upset she just shook her head. It didn’t make sense why she was so shaken by it.” Ben moves to interrupt but Ann just continues, looking very determined to not forget to tell him everything. “When we went to the movies last week she went to the bathroom three times. I am pretty sure that she threw up one of the times because she looked so pale when she got back. She wouldn’t talk about it though, just said that it was stress.
“The nurse in me is on overdrive. Heightened sense of smell, nausea, aversion to foods, increased emotions, and fatigue, these are all signs of pregnancy. Ben, I really think that she is pregnant.”
“Do you think she knows?”
“I don’t think she has time to try and figure it out. Everything she talked about today was the recall vote and how it has changed things at home with you.”
“So you are telling me that I am going to have to break the news to my wife that she is pregnant - or might be pregnant?”
“I can do it but I think it would be better coming from you. With the vote in a just a few days I don’t know if it is worth waiting to tell her until after the vote or if she should know now. I just don’t know what to do…so…I am handing it over to you…” she trails off, looking at him for some sort of sign.
“Wow, thanks” he teases. “Is this as ridiculous as I feel it is?”
“What? You being told by your wife’s best friend that she might be pregnant? Yes, it is pretty hilarious.” She starts to laugh and Ben shortly follows. The whole last three months have been hell but now they are beginning to understand why things had shifted so much more than they had ever thought they would.
As his laughing fades away Ben is filled with the warmest feeling. “Ann…I am so so so happy. This is certainly not what I expected but God, I am about to have a baby with the most amazing woman in the world…” His mind drifts off, soothed by the fact that Leslie and him were about to get everything they had dreamed of. Maybe it wasn’t the right time but they were Ben and Leslie, they would make it work.
“This recall vote will be okay. She will get by, I just don’t know by how much. I think I have to tell her tonight. It might cause more stress but I think she has to know .”
“Congratulations. Really, if she is pregnant, I am so happy for the both of you.”
“Thank you. Thank you for bringing all of this to my attention. I have to get to a meeting and then I have to go pick up some pregnancy tests. Oh God, can men by pregnancy tests?”
Ann chuckles at the look of horror on his face. “Yes you can by pregnancy tests. I would get three, just in case.”
“Ha, thanks. Tonight I get to tell my wife she is pregnant! Every man’s dream!” With that he was
gone, off to meet with the Perd Hapley about getting Leslie onto the show.
_________________________________________________________________________________
The meeting with Perd took up till 4:45, far longer than he had expected and he knew that Leslie would be home within the half hour. He took out his phone to text her and let her know that he was running late.
Hey Babe. I will be home soon. I have to stop by the Board of Elections to okay the ballot and then I will be home. Do you need anything?
Okay. I am here so hurry home. It has been a long day and I just want to see you :)
Speeding. Why don’t you take a bath to get rid of that long day and I will be home before you get out
Get here fast enough and you can join me ;)
Her desire for him had not feigned in the recent months. Out of everything, this aspect of their lives had always been the most consistent. From the moment they first started dating to six months into their marriage they have been all over each other. It was a constant reminder to the both of them that they were perfect for each other, neither of them ever getting enough.
He ran into the Board of Elections and looked over the ballot, making sure that everything was spelled correctly and that nothing was worded funny. At his final okay they were to be printed in anticipation for the upcoming vote. His final stop on the way home was the drug store. He had to use caution in that he did not want any of the nosy Pawnee residents to see him buying these tests. They all knew who he was and the last thing he wanted to do was cause any more commotion before the vote.
He slipped down the back aisle and found rows of tests and picked out three different boxes. To his surprise his heart was beating rapidly. The awkwardness of this situation began to set in. It almost felt wrong and sneaky to be doing this to Leslie but she had to know. With how busy things are for her there was no telling how long it would take her to finally put the two together. He paid for the tests and moved as quickly as he could towards his car, ready to be home.
______________________________________________________________________________
“Leslie?” he calls out as he walks into the house. He does not hear a response and moves towards the master bedroom in the back of the house. The door is half shut so he knocks lightly, hoping to avoid scaring her and moves into the room. At once Leslie emerges from the attached bathroom wearing the same clothes that she had been wearing at work.
“You’re home! Good! I was getting worried that the meeting at the Board of Elections was going too long,” she moves towards him quickly, talking fast and happy. Normal Leslie. “Did everything turn out alright? My name wasn’t misspelled was it? They aren’t trying any crazy stuff like Jennifer tried with Bobby are they? Those candy machines? Maybe we should do something like that! Give candy out to people for voting! Is that legal? Who cares, candy is wonderful.”
Ben laughs, taking his wife in his arms. She feels a bit clammy and when he looks down he realizes how pale she is. “Leslie, are you feeling alright?”
“Yes. Tell me about the BoE, I want to know where we stand on this. Oh and did Perd come through with the interview tomorrow?”
“Come here.” Ben takes her hand and moves towards the arm chair that sits in the corner of their bedroom. Sitting down, he pulls Leslie onto his lap.
“Bennnnn, please, update me!” She hits his arm while laughing at his move. It hasn’t quite registered that he isn’t trying to be cute.
“Honey, I promise you that everything with the recall vote is fine. Now I need you to tell me if you have been feeling alright lately. I am really worried about you.”
“I am fine. It is just stress, nothing I cant…”
“Les, you look so pale right now. Did you get sick?” Leslie seems to cave at this, whether from the direct question or the tone of Ben’s voice, she understood that it was time to be honest.
“It was a stressful day and when I got home I thought that I would take your advice and get in the bath. As I was getting ready for that I started to not feel well so I scraped the plan. I got sick about 20 minutes later but I am fine now. It is just the nerves.”
“Has this happened a lot?”
“Not at all! Really Ben, I promise you that I am okay! It will all be okay after this vote is over. I don’t want you to worry and I will power through it all. I am not going to let you down and-“
He cuts her off quickly, “it is absolutely impossible for you to let me down. Leslie Knope, you are the most amazing, crazy, loving, and passionate person I know. Telling me that you are sick or feeling ill doesn’t and will never change that. I love you and I don’t want you to keep things from me. Plus I missed out on all this wonderful time taking care of you.”
She smiles at his sentiments, “but Ben really it isn’t…” he gives her a look and she sighs. “I haven’t been feeling well. The stress of this has been so much worse than I ever imagined it would be. I am so tired. Every minute and I hate it. Even Nutri-Yum bars haven’t had their normal effect.”
“I don’t know if it will be better or worse for you to have a reason for feeling that way.”
“What?” She shifts the hand that rests behind his head and locks eyes with him. Her gaze is full of curiosity and no wave of understanding seems to come. Ben knows now that it really is his responsibility to break this news to his wife. He is now 80% certain she is pregnant and she needs to know.
He tightens his grip on her hip ever so slightly and takes the hand that had been fondling the buttons of his shirt, resting their now entwined hands softly on her thigh.
“Honey, I think you might be pregnant.”
A short moment of silence passes behind the words but soon the room is filled with Leslie’s laughter. “Why are you laughing? I am sorry if I am overstepping I…Ann and I noticed some things and I just figured you were so distracted that you hadn’t had time to even think about it. I don’t get why you are laughing… and you are notorious for not accepting illness so it wouldn’t be unlike you to ignore it all…Leslie?”
“You…Are…Right” she staggers through her laughs, attempting to calm herself to be able to continue this conversation. “I was so busy the last few months with Council, the Parks Department, and then the recall vote that every minute I wasn’t doing that I was spending it with you and I didn’t even realize - I didn’t even realize my own pregnancy symptoms.”
They both sat in silence for a few moments until Leslie spoke again. “How many women do you think in the world have been told they are pregnant by their husbands? Other than the pregnant man’s wife. And he had two so I guess she was told twice but I have a feeling this makes history. Do you think Todd had to tell Sarah she was experiencing signs of pregnancy because she was so busy being Governor? Probably not. It was her fifth pregnancy so I am sure that she was used to the signs by then but still.”
“Do you think that is why you have been feeling so off lately? Do you think you are pregnant?”
“Well, you said that beautiful nurse Ann Perkins diagnosed the signs?” He nods in confirmation. “You and I both know that things have been off and now that you say this I am realizing even more things that can be explained by this…like how sore I was the other night after we, you, went a little rough in the chest region…”He looks at her with a shade of embarrassment “Oh Ben, it is true and it is fine! This also explains why I could smell Jerry’s feet so potently the last few weeks.” He cringes at this.
“I bought a few home pregnancy tests. Would you like to find out for sure?”
Ben grabs the pregnancy tests from the bag and opens them up for her. He places all three in the bathroom and closes the door halfway to give her some privacy to take them. Grabbing his phone from his pocket he sends a quick text to Ann telling her that there will be official word soon and that Leslie would be in touch. He knows that Leslie will be happy that he is taking a moment to update Ann.
“Set a timer for a few minutes and then we can look at the results,” Leslie instructs as she moves back to take her spot on Ben’s lap in the armchair. They sit in silence mostly, just reveling in the closeness of the moment.
When the timer goes off they both jump a little, startled by the loud noise. Leslie slowly gets up from the chair and Ben follows.
“Ben?” Leslie realizes that he had come to a stop behind her, just a few feet away from the bathroom door. “Do you not want to look?”
“Why don’t you tell me? I would rather watch you find out…” With a small smile and a nod Leslie turns and walks the final steps into the bathroom. She had placed the three tests on the counter side down so that she would have to flip them over to see the results. Taking all three of them she begins flipping them: a plus sign, two pink lines, and the final test spelled it out in the simplest way possible: ‘pregnant.’
She can’t help the tears that begin to form in her eyes as she continues to stare at the three pregnancy tests each revealing the same information in their own unique way. Her heart pounds but no thoughts form until she hears his voice from the corner of the room. The man of her dreams, the husband that she wakes up to every morning, the boy she thanks the universe for every day, the father she was now going to raise a family with.
“Leslie…” he almost doesn’t even get the sound out, her name only coming as a soft whisper. His wife was staring at the three small white sticks in her hand hardly moving. He could tell that she had tears in her eyes but he could not tell the exact emotions that were causing them. At her name she breathes for the first time and slowly removes her eyes from the tests and searches for his. She locks her gaze with him and he moves slowly forward, instantly overcome with his own emotions.
“Benjamin Wyatt. You are going to be a dad” she chokes the words out as she smiles through her happy tears. Ben rushes forward, closing the few feet gap that they still had remaining in between them. He kisses her and lifts her into his arms. She wraps her legs around his hips, not once breaking their kiss.
Ben makes his way out of the bathroom and sets her down on the bed, continuing to kiss her. He moves his lips to her ear, leaving a trail of kisses behind. “I am so, so happy” he whispers into her ear and she giggles, losing herself in his arms.
____________________________________________________________________
“How early am I allowed to read him or her Harry Potter?”
“12. How old until they can watch Game of Thrones?”
“20”
“That’s not fair!”
“The violence in that show! Ben, we can’t raise some crazy violent sci-fi geek!”
“Ouch”
“I don’t mind the sci-fi geek part it’s the violence part! Both of our competitive natures put together? We can’t put more wood in that fire!”
“Okay. 15 supervised?”
“16 supervised. With every single bit of your commentary. How about our first trip to Disney World to see the Hall of Presidents?”
“5 so that he or she remembers it. Then we can start telling him or her about history.”
“Baby numbers robot or baby elf king?”
“What?”
“We need a name. I don’t like the whole he or she thing.”
“Babe, we can’t call our child a robot or an elf. Born or unborn.”
“Baby Sebastian! After lil’ Sebastian. He has always been so important to us! Whether it is a boy or girl we could use that name.”
“Leslie, I think naming our child after a mini horse is just as bad ---- no matter how important he was in our lives.”
“Finnee. How about baby Wyatt? For now. Until we find out what we are having…if we find out.”
The sound of that brings tears to Ben’s eyes. He had always planned on starting a family but the fact that it was finally happening was overwhelming him with joy.
“I know we are trying to avoid talking about the recall vote but Ben, I want to stay on council more than ever now. I want to make sure that Baby Wyatt grows up in the best Pawnee possible.”
“The recall vote will be okay. You have Perd tomorrow and then you just have to make your final speech. We can talk about changing it so that you let them know you are pregnant and therefore have a renewed passion. I am just not sure if that would help you or harm you in this town.”
“The sexist laws still exist. I am not even sure if I am allowed to step foot in City Hall while pregnant. Plus, the Councilmen keep a calendar of my menstrual cycle. I don’t know how they will treat me while pregnant let alone the public. Do you think we can just keep this to ourselves for now?”
Ben tentatively looks at her, concerned that she doesn’t have as much enthusiasm as he would normally expect from Leslie Knope. When they got engaged she was literally screaming it to everyone in sight.
Leslie picks up on his worry immediately. “In three days, Ben, I will be the happiest person in Pawnee publically. For now, I am the happiest wife and future mother in the Knope-Wyatt household. I really am looking forward to all of this wonderfulness with you. God, I can just imagine how cute you will be at two in the morning holding our baby. With your hair all a mess and your sleepy smile and your cute butt in those flannel pajama pants.” She kisses him, reassuring him that she has happiness within her that can match his own.
“I love you.”
“I love you and I like you. Oh! I have to call Ann and tell her the
Author:FredtheSled48
Ships: Ben/Leslie
Rating: PG
Word Count: 5,800
Summary: With the recall vote in three days and the stress and exhaustion seem to be getting to Leslie. In true Leslie fashion, she won’t admit it. When beautiful nurse Ann gets involved things can no longer be ignored. Big changes are about to come to the Knope-Wyatt household.
Author’s Note: This is my first fic. Hope you like it. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Happy reading!
Ben woke as the light streamed in through the window across his face. At first he was startled by where he was, forgetting that he had fallen asleep next to Leslie on the couch. They had been immersed in a strategy session the night before, attempting to figure out how to deal with the last few days leading up to the recall vote. Since Kathryn Pinewood stated The Committee to Recall Leslie Knope three months ago, things in their house had not been the same. Ben had taken over his old campaign manager position, attempting to help coach Leslie through this tough time while she still dealt with new problems arising every day in the Parks Department and City Council. His job at Sweetums was easily avoidable, seeing as no one really cared to check into the foundation. With Andy spending most of his time between the Parks Department and Bloomington visiting April, Ben could pop into the office for a couple hours a week, check on the status of the current charities and then spend the rest of his time focused on Leslie’s uphill battle.
Looking down at the sleeping Leslie still in his arms, Ben is once again amazed by how much this new political challenge has shifted things for them. While they certainly have dealt with drama and scandal in the past, this one seems to have taken a particular toll on Leslie. For the last month or so she has been constantly exhausted, something that was so foreign to everything Ben had learned about his beautiful wife. During the campaign she had had countless amounts of energy, always wanting to be brainstorming about new ideas and always positive about the outcomes.
The recall vote had been set for the beginning of August which had allowed them to take things relatively easy for the first month or so. It wasn’t really until July that Leslie had really started to show the amount of anxiety she had for the upcoming vote.
Councilwoman Leslie Knope had made the city of Pawnee a much better place to live in just a single year. As her biggest fan, Ben Wyatt was going to do everything in his power to make sure that the city remembered all the positives. So, by the beginning of June they had a plan of attack and they have been working relentlessly since then to see to it that she stays on city council.
The bright green 7:10am on the clock above the TV in their living room jolts Ben. They had been working on a speech for Leslie to read the day of the vote and she had fallen asleep around 9:30 last night. Ben had moved her the best he could without stirring her to the couch and let her sleep while he continued to work on the speech. Around 11:30, after he found his eyes unable to stay open, he had cuddled in with Leslie, drawing her to him. She had woken up momentarily, whispering softly in his ear “I am sorry that I fell asleep” and he had just kissed her forehead as she found her normal, cozy spot against his chest. As far as Ben could tell she had not moved since. For what feels like the hundredth time in the last few months his heart silently swells with worry for his wife. He is used to the Leslie Knope that cannot sleep more than six hours a night and is constantly a ball of energy, not the one that falls asleep in the living room because of pure exhaustion at 9:30.
“Leslie? Hey, it is time to wake up,” he whispers in her ear while kissing her forehead lightly a few times. She stirs and opens her eyes, looking around with the same wonder of where she was that Ben had woken up to.
“Morning Sleepyhead. We didn’t quite make it through our ‘Epic Political Rally’ that we had planned.” He smiles and leans in to kiss her as the night begins to come back to her memory.
“Oh God Ben, I am so so sorry that I fell asleep! I know we needed to get that speech done and I couldn’t even stay awake to help! And we were supposed to watch Nightline and celebrate our final speech! I completely dropped the ball, honey. I am so so so---“ Before she could finish, Ben kisses her. It has been such a rough few months for her that the last thing he wants her to be worrying about is actually sleeping a recommended number of hours.
“It is okay. I finished the speech aside from any notes you wish to give me on it. I am very glad that you were able to get some rest, these last few weeks have been so difficult for you.”
“You really are the best husband. Thank you. Maybe we can make up the celebration tonight? I think I owe you one” she says with a sly grin as she looks at the clock and the late time registers on her face. “Crap. I have breakfast at 8:30. I need to get in the shower and go.” With that, Leslie was gone. A few minutes later Ben heard the water begin to run upstairs and he slowly made his way to the coffeemaker to get a fresh pot ready.
He could not wait for the next three days to be over. The house had become a mess, littered with recall information, political books, old election fliers, and new business that Leslie has been attempting to fit into her already packed schedule. It was no wonder she was exhausted. As much as she wanted him to believe that it had just been a one night thing for her to fall asleep early, Ben knows better. He has been aware of the growing exhaustion for a few weeks now. At first she had just been falling asleep sooner after they made love at night but now they didn’t even make it that far. She made up for that, Ben notes as his heart speeds at the thought of their intimacy, but things had definitely shifted. He was just so happy that things would return to normal soon and that his wife would be able to carry around less stress.
About thirty minutes later Leslie comes into the kitchen wearing a grey pantsuit and a pink blouse. “Will you be coming into the office for lunch today? I will go over that speech and we can talk about it then.” She takes the cup of coffee from his outstretched hand and kisses him gently murmuring a soft thank you against his lips. Her attention moves to the newspaper that is already laid out on the counter, having already been perused by Ben.
“That sounds like a plan. I will stop and pick up something to eat on my way from the office. Is it a Parks day or a City Council day?”
“Both actually. I have to meet Ann for breakfast at JJ’s to talk over some of the health codes and of course to get an update on her life and then I have to work on the maintenance report for Ron. By lunch I should probably be in my council office. I will meet you there, say about 1?”
“Say hello to Ann for me. I am going to jump in the shower and then head into the office for a bit” he moves towards her and kisses her cheek. “Remember to look over that speech. Have a wonderful day and I will see you at 1. Love you.” He ascends the stairs to get ready for the day. Just as he’s about to start the water for the shower he hears a sweet “bye” from downstairs and the soft close of the front door. He loves their morning routine even if it hadn’t started in their warm bed or a shared shower.
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Sandwiches in hand, ben walks into City Hall a little early to meet Leslie. He had spent his morning smoothing out a problem with the bank and it had been much more difficult than he had imagined. After having dealt with such rude people all morning he really couldn’t wait to see his always bubbly wife.
“Ben! Hey!” He literally jumps at the loud voice. Ann comes rushing to the door of her office, obviously desperate to catch him. “Can you come in here for a second?” Ben nods and moves into the office, growing extremely antsy about what this could pertain to.
Ann slowly closes the door behind him and takes a deep breath. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Leslie told me that you were coming in for lunch and I was hoping to catch you on your way.”
“How did your breakfast go? She said that she needed to talk to you about some of the health codes. I am guessing that is for the new bill that she is thinking about for the hospital? She has been very -“ Ben continues talking as he takes a seat and Ann tries her best to think about the details of the work Leslie had spent all morning telling her about. While she cared deeply for the project and wanted to see it happen just as much as Leslie did, this is not what she had called him in here for.
“Have you noticed anything strangely weird about Leslie?” Ann just comes right out and says it, interrupting Ben’s conversation completely. He looks taken a back, physically recoiling back a little in his chair.
“Umm. I am not sure exactly what you are asking Ann.” His mind starts racing with the possible scenarios that could play out from this conversation. Had there been something he hadn’t seen? “The recall vote has taken a huge toll on her. It has definitely made her more tired and I don’t think she is finding as much joy in what she is doing because she doesn’t know how long she will be there. I am doing everything in my power to make sure that she wins the recall vote Thursday but she is still worried.”
Ann just sits there, staring at him. Was she attempting to process all of this? It wasn’t new to her. She and Leslie talked every day, multiple times a day. What has Ann picked up on that he obviously has not? What was causing her to make that face?
“I… Ann… What is… Please say something. Why do you look like that? Is something wrong?”
A small smile spreads across Ann’s face as she is once again reminded of just how much Ben cares for his wife. “Ben, I have no idea what my place is in this. I don’t want to say too much and start anything but at the same time I really think that we must address it. With how busy Leslie is I didn’t want to overwhelm her with one more thing so I am coming to you instead. Plus Leslie would never admit that she wasn’t feeling well or that something was up.”
“What is it?” he is fighting the urge to hurt her for dragging this conversation out.
“I think Leslie is pregnant.” Ann leaves it at that, staring into his face for a response. Ben’s mind goes silent, unable to process anything that is happening. One word, pregnant, swims in his mind. The ridiculousness of this conversation pulls him out of his own thoughts. Ann isn’t his wife. This is not how he ever pictured being told about the prospect of becoming a dad.
Right as he is about to ask her more questions, the door of her office sails open and a sunny voice takes over the room. “My two favorite people in one place!” Leslie moves to the open seat next to Ben and lightly squeezes his knee. “I am sorry that I am running late honey. Councilman Milton started telling me a story about his grandson, Tim, and you know how he is. Can’t remember the whole story so he just starts the whole thing over and over but I see you found Ann so you couldn’t have been too lonely.”
“I kept him entertained,” Ann adds, glancing to Ben in the hopes of conveying a ‘be cool’ attitude.
“You beautiful health code superhero!” The small talk continues for a while until the stomach growls were audible enough to not be ignored. Leslie led the way out of Ann’s office down the hall to her own. Ben had lost pace with her only for a minute, stopping in the doorway of Ann’s office to tell her he would stop back down on his way out of the building.
The whole time through lunch Ben could not stop thinking about what Ann had told him. Could his wife of a little over six months be pregnant? As he sat there, attempting to focus on the speech she was to read in a few days, his mind traced the last few weeks for any evidence to validate Ann’s claim.
Of course the first thing is her exhaustion that has made its appearance steadily over the last month. But what else had Ann picked up on? “Les, why didn’t you eat your pickles?”
“Umm…” She looks visibly startled by this. For the last ten minutes she had been asking him questions and talking over her notes for the speech. The food that she was nibbling at was very much a second thought to her. “They just didn’t sound appetizing. Do you want them?” She hands him the togo container that once held her turkey sandwich.
He takes them, not wanting to draw attention to his question and moves half of his thoughts back to her notes on the Soda Tax paragraph of the speech. Leslie was always super protective of her pickles. He remembers vividly two occasions that she had gone to the restroom during lunch and before she left she had sternly told him to not touch her pickles.
This whole thing would be hilarious if Ben weren’t so concerned. Ann’s revelation had turned his stomach into an emotion that he had never experienced in his life. Before he took the time to understand what exactly he was feeling, he wanted to know for sure if she was actually pregnant.
Under any other circumstance he would have just come right out and asked her but with the recall vote he wouldn’t dare add to the stress she already felt. She had spent so many nights of the last two months worrying about her fate on Council. Recently her stress had boiled over into tears and small Leslie fits. They were always short but Ben knew that she needed him to be her rock. The last thing she needed to worry about was his and Ann’s stupid assumptions.
It had only been three months ago that she was accused of being pregnant in front of an entire audience. After that moment she had been horrified and Ben had been dumb enough to ask her if she was sure. In a rare snap of anger Leslie had replied, “Of course I am sure! If I was pregnant I would have told you and not two hundred people in a public forum! Now tell me what we are going to do about this recall vote!” If she had any idea she was pregnant, she would have told him by now.
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“Okay. I need you to tell me why you think she is pregnant.” Ben slips into the chair across from Ann’s desk, having firmly shut the door behind him.
“We went to breakfast this morning and she ordered her normal waffles. She ate them without putting any whipped cream on them. When I asked her why she just shrugged it off, saying that it just didn’t sound appetizing and smelled a bit funny. She then started talking about how she fell asleep on you last night and she got very emotional about it. When I asked her if you had been upset she just shook her head. It didn’t make sense why she was so shaken by it.” Ben moves to interrupt but Ann just continues, looking very determined to not forget to tell him everything. “When we went to the movies last week she went to the bathroom three times. I am pretty sure that she threw up one of the times because she looked so pale when she got back. She wouldn’t talk about it though, just said that it was stress.
“The nurse in me is on overdrive. Heightened sense of smell, nausea, aversion to foods, increased emotions, and fatigue, these are all signs of pregnancy. Ben, I really think that she is pregnant.”
“Do you think she knows?”
“I don’t think she has time to try and figure it out. Everything she talked about today was the recall vote and how it has changed things at home with you.”
“So you are telling me that I am going to have to break the news to my wife that she is pregnant - or might be pregnant?”
“I can do it but I think it would be better coming from you. With the vote in a just a few days I don’t know if it is worth waiting to tell her until after the vote or if she should know now. I just don’t know what to do…so…I am handing it over to you…” she trails off, looking at him for some sort of sign.
“Wow, thanks” he teases. “Is this as ridiculous as I feel it is?”
“What? You being told by your wife’s best friend that she might be pregnant? Yes, it is pretty hilarious.” She starts to laugh and Ben shortly follows. The whole last three months have been hell but now they are beginning to understand why things had shifted so much more than they had ever thought they would.
As his laughing fades away Ben is filled with the warmest feeling. “Ann…I am so so so happy. This is certainly not what I expected but God, I am about to have a baby with the most amazing woman in the world…” His mind drifts off, soothed by the fact that Leslie and him were about to get everything they had dreamed of. Maybe it wasn’t the right time but they were Ben and Leslie, they would make it work.
“This recall vote will be okay. She will get by, I just don’t know by how much. I think I have to tell her tonight. It might cause more stress but I think she has to know .”
“Congratulations. Really, if she is pregnant, I am so happy for the both of you.”
“Thank you. Thank you for bringing all of this to my attention. I have to get to a meeting and then I have to go pick up some pregnancy tests. Oh God, can men by pregnancy tests?”
Ann chuckles at the look of horror on his face. “Yes you can by pregnancy tests. I would get three, just in case.”
“Ha, thanks. Tonight I get to tell my wife she is pregnant! Every man’s dream!” With that he was
gone, off to meet with the Perd Hapley about getting Leslie onto the show.
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The meeting with Perd took up till 4:45, far longer than he had expected and he knew that Leslie would be home within the half hour. He took out his phone to text her and let her know that he was running late.
Hey Babe. I will be home soon. I have to stop by the Board of Elections to okay the ballot and then I will be home. Do you need anything?
Okay. I am here so hurry home. It has been a long day and I just want to see you :)
Speeding. Why don’t you take a bath to get rid of that long day and I will be home before you get out
Get here fast enough and you can join me ;)
Her desire for him had not feigned in the recent months. Out of everything, this aspect of their lives had always been the most consistent. From the moment they first started dating to six months into their marriage they have been all over each other. It was a constant reminder to the both of them that they were perfect for each other, neither of them ever getting enough.
He ran into the Board of Elections and looked over the ballot, making sure that everything was spelled correctly and that nothing was worded funny. At his final okay they were to be printed in anticipation for the upcoming vote. His final stop on the way home was the drug store. He had to use caution in that he did not want any of the nosy Pawnee residents to see him buying these tests. They all knew who he was and the last thing he wanted to do was cause any more commotion before the vote.
He slipped down the back aisle and found rows of tests and picked out three different boxes. To his surprise his heart was beating rapidly. The awkwardness of this situation began to set in. It almost felt wrong and sneaky to be doing this to Leslie but she had to know. With how busy things are for her there was no telling how long it would take her to finally put the two together. He paid for the tests and moved as quickly as he could towards his car, ready to be home.
______________________________________________________________________________
“Leslie?” he calls out as he walks into the house. He does not hear a response and moves towards the master bedroom in the back of the house. The door is half shut so he knocks lightly, hoping to avoid scaring her and moves into the room. At once Leslie emerges from the attached bathroom wearing the same clothes that she had been wearing at work.
“You’re home! Good! I was getting worried that the meeting at the Board of Elections was going too long,” she moves towards him quickly, talking fast and happy. Normal Leslie. “Did everything turn out alright? My name wasn’t misspelled was it? They aren’t trying any crazy stuff like Jennifer tried with Bobby are they? Those candy machines? Maybe we should do something like that! Give candy out to people for voting! Is that legal? Who cares, candy is wonderful.”
Ben laughs, taking his wife in his arms. She feels a bit clammy and when he looks down he realizes how pale she is. “Leslie, are you feeling alright?”
“Yes. Tell me about the BoE, I want to know where we stand on this. Oh and did Perd come through with the interview tomorrow?”
“Come here.” Ben takes her hand and moves towards the arm chair that sits in the corner of their bedroom. Sitting down, he pulls Leslie onto his lap.
“Bennnnn, please, update me!” She hits his arm while laughing at his move. It hasn’t quite registered that he isn’t trying to be cute.
“Honey, I promise you that everything with the recall vote is fine. Now I need you to tell me if you have been feeling alright lately. I am really worried about you.”
“I am fine. It is just stress, nothing I cant…”
“Les, you look so pale right now. Did you get sick?” Leslie seems to cave at this, whether from the direct question or the tone of Ben’s voice, she understood that it was time to be honest.
“It was a stressful day and when I got home I thought that I would take your advice and get in the bath. As I was getting ready for that I started to not feel well so I scraped the plan. I got sick about 20 minutes later but I am fine now. It is just the nerves.”
“Has this happened a lot?”
“Not at all! Really Ben, I promise you that I am okay! It will all be okay after this vote is over. I don’t want you to worry and I will power through it all. I am not going to let you down and-“
He cuts her off quickly, “it is absolutely impossible for you to let me down. Leslie Knope, you are the most amazing, crazy, loving, and passionate person I know. Telling me that you are sick or feeling ill doesn’t and will never change that. I love you and I don’t want you to keep things from me. Plus I missed out on all this wonderful time taking care of you.”
She smiles at his sentiments, “but Ben really it isn’t…” he gives her a look and she sighs. “I haven’t been feeling well. The stress of this has been so much worse than I ever imagined it would be. I am so tired. Every minute and I hate it. Even Nutri-Yum bars haven’t had their normal effect.”
“I don’t know if it will be better or worse for you to have a reason for feeling that way.”
“What?” She shifts the hand that rests behind his head and locks eyes with him. Her gaze is full of curiosity and no wave of understanding seems to come. Ben knows now that it really is his responsibility to break this news to his wife. He is now 80% certain she is pregnant and she needs to know.
He tightens his grip on her hip ever so slightly and takes the hand that had been fondling the buttons of his shirt, resting their now entwined hands softly on her thigh.
“Honey, I think you might be pregnant.”
A short moment of silence passes behind the words but soon the room is filled with Leslie’s laughter. “Why are you laughing? I am sorry if I am overstepping I…Ann and I noticed some things and I just figured you were so distracted that you hadn’t had time to even think about it. I don’t get why you are laughing… and you are notorious for not accepting illness so it wouldn’t be unlike you to ignore it all…Leslie?”
“You…Are…Right” she staggers through her laughs, attempting to calm herself to be able to continue this conversation. “I was so busy the last few months with Council, the Parks Department, and then the recall vote that every minute I wasn’t doing that I was spending it with you and I didn’t even realize - I didn’t even realize my own pregnancy symptoms.”
They both sat in silence for a few moments until Leslie spoke again. “How many women do you think in the world have been told they are pregnant by their husbands? Other than the pregnant man’s wife. And he had two so I guess she was told twice but I have a feeling this makes history. Do you think Todd had to tell Sarah she was experiencing signs of pregnancy because she was so busy being Governor? Probably not. It was her fifth pregnancy so I am sure that she was used to the signs by then but still.”
“Do you think that is why you have been feeling so off lately? Do you think you are pregnant?”
“Well, you said that beautiful nurse Ann Perkins diagnosed the signs?” He nods in confirmation. “You and I both know that things have been off and now that you say this I am realizing even more things that can be explained by this…like how sore I was the other night after we, you, went a little rough in the chest region…”He looks at her with a shade of embarrassment “Oh Ben, it is true and it is fine! This also explains why I could smell Jerry’s feet so potently the last few weeks.” He cringes at this.
“I bought a few home pregnancy tests. Would you like to find out for sure?”
Ben grabs the pregnancy tests from the bag and opens them up for her. He places all three in the bathroom and closes the door halfway to give her some privacy to take them. Grabbing his phone from his pocket he sends a quick text to Ann telling her that there will be official word soon and that Leslie would be in touch. He knows that Leslie will be happy that he is taking a moment to update Ann.
“Set a timer for a few minutes and then we can look at the results,” Leslie instructs as she moves back to take her spot on Ben’s lap in the armchair. They sit in silence mostly, just reveling in the closeness of the moment.
When the timer goes off they both jump a little, startled by the loud noise. Leslie slowly gets up from the chair and Ben follows.
“Ben?” Leslie realizes that he had come to a stop behind her, just a few feet away from the bathroom door. “Do you not want to look?”
“Why don’t you tell me? I would rather watch you find out…” With a small smile and a nod Leslie turns and walks the final steps into the bathroom. She had placed the three tests on the counter side down so that she would have to flip them over to see the results. Taking all three of them she begins flipping them: a plus sign, two pink lines, and the final test spelled it out in the simplest way possible: ‘pregnant.’
She can’t help the tears that begin to form in her eyes as she continues to stare at the three pregnancy tests each revealing the same information in their own unique way. Her heart pounds but no thoughts form until she hears his voice from the corner of the room. The man of her dreams, the husband that she wakes up to every morning, the boy she thanks the universe for every day, the father she was now going to raise a family with.
“Leslie…” he almost doesn’t even get the sound out, her name only coming as a soft whisper. His wife was staring at the three small white sticks in her hand hardly moving. He could tell that she had tears in her eyes but he could not tell the exact emotions that were causing them. At her name she breathes for the first time and slowly removes her eyes from the tests and searches for his. She locks her gaze with him and he moves slowly forward, instantly overcome with his own emotions.
“Benjamin Wyatt. You are going to be a dad” she chokes the words out as she smiles through her happy tears. Ben rushes forward, closing the few feet gap that they still had remaining in between them. He kisses her and lifts her into his arms. She wraps her legs around his hips, not once breaking their kiss.
Ben makes his way out of the bathroom and sets her down on the bed, continuing to kiss her. He moves his lips to her ear, leaving a trail of kisses behind. “I am so, so happy” he whispers into her ear and she giggles, losing herself in his arms.
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“How early am I allowed to read him or her Harry Potter?”
“12. How old until they can watch Game of Thrones?”
“20”
“That’s not fair!”
“The violence in that show! Ben, we can’t raise some crazy violent sci-fi geek!”
“Ouch”
“I don’t mind the sci-fi geek part it’s the violence part! Both of our competitive natures put together? We can’t put more wood in that fire!”
“Okay. 15 supervised?”
“16 supervised. With every single bit of your commentary. How about our first trip to Disney World to see the Hall of Presidents?”
“5 so that he or she remembers it. Then we can start telling him or her about history.”
“Baby numbers robot or baby elf king?”
“What?”
“We need a name. I don’t like the whole he or she thing.”
“Babe, we can’t call our child a robot or an elf. Born or unborn.”
“Baby Sebastian! After lil’ Sebastian. He has always been so important to us! Whether it is a boy or girl we could use that name.”
“Leslie, I think naming our child after a mini horse is just as bad ---- no matter how important he was in our lives.”
“Finnee. How about baby Wyatt? For now. Until we find out what we are having…if we find out.”
The sound of that brings tears to Ben’s eyes. He had always planned on starting a family but the fact that it was finally happening was overwhelming him with joy.
“I know we are trying to avoid talking about the recall vote but Ben, I want to stay on council more than ever now. I want to make sure that Baby Wyatt grows up in the best Pawnee possible.”
“The recall vote will be okay. You have Perd tomorrow and then you just have to make your final speech. We can talk about changing it so that you let them know you are pregnant and therefore have a renewed passion. I am just not sure if that would help you or harm you in this town.”
“The sexist laws still exist. I am not even sure if I am allowed to step foot in City Hall while pregnant. Plus, the Councilmen keep a calendar of my menstrual cycle. I don’t know how they will treat me while pregnant let alone the public. Do you think we can just keep this to ourselves for now?”
Ben tentatively looks at her, concerned that she doesn’t have as much enthusiasm as he would normally expect from Leslie Knope. When they got engaged she was literally screaming it to everyone in sight.
Leslie picks up on his worry immediately. “In three days, Ben, I will be the happiest person in Pawnee publically. For now, I am the happiest wife and future mother in the Knope-Wyatt household. I really am looking forward to all of this wonderfulness with you. God, I can just imagine how cute you will be at two in the morning holding our baby. With your hair all a mess and your sleepy smile and your cute butt in those flannel pajama pants.” She kisses him, reassuring him that she has happiness within her that can match his own.
“I love you.”
“I love you and I like you. Oh! I have to call Ann and tell her the