Fic: The Best News (Times Two)

[stillxmyxheart]

Title: The Best News (Times Two)
Author: Mary (stillxmyxheart)
Beta: Lindsay (rowofstars)
Rating: G
Genre: Fluff, Romance, Friendship, Family
Word Count: 3,760
Characters/Pairings: Chris, Kari, David, Eli, Hannah, Nicholas, Ben, Madison, Juliet, Angela (Chris/Kari, Hannah/Eli, Ben/Madison, David/Juliet)

A/N: Back, finally! Posting this one today, since I'm gonna be gone all day tomorrow, but starting next week I'll get back on the usual Tuesday/Friday schedule :D


Chris looks up and smiles when Kari steps into his office.

"Hey, baby," he murmurs, standing to kiss her.

"Hey," she replies, and he thinks there's something different about her smile. "How's your day been?"

"Pretty good. Quiet, which is nice sometimes because it means I get to catch up on paperwork. Yay," he adds, a little sarcastically, and Kari laughs softly.

"Ready to go to lunch?" she asks, taking a breath.

"Just about." He frowns. "You okay? You seem a little... off."

A wide smile instantly curves Kari's lips and she shakes her head. "Okay, I was trying to wait to tell you, but I just can't." She raises her eyebrows. "I'm pregnant."

Chris stares at her, his eyes wide. "Preg - pregnant? Really? Are you sure?"

Kari nods. "I had an appointment with Will before I left the hospital to come here. I thought maybe I was, but I didn't want to tell you until I knew for sure, and he confirmed it." She smiles again, pressing her hands to her stomach. "We're gonna have a baby."

Chris stares at her a beat longer and then suddenly sweeps her into his arms, making her squeal and giggle as she wraps her arms around his neck.

"I have never been so happy in my life," he says, holding her tightly.

"Me neither," Kari replies, smiling against his shoulder. "I love you so much."

"I love you too. And I love it already."

Kari's smile widens. "Me too."

Chris sets her down and takes her face in his hands to kiss her, his fingers sliding into her hair as he kisses her nose and then her forehead, making her giggle again.

"Still want to go to lunch?" she asks, her eyes a little bright as she looks up at him.

"Yeah, but hang on."

Chris steps from his office and Kari trails after him, wondering what he's about to do.

"Guys!" he says loudly. "Hey!"

The office chatter dies down as everyone turns their attention to Chris, and he grins broadly as he glances at Kari, who looks back at him with an expression that's a mix of amusement and exasperation.

"My beautiful, amazing, incredible wife Kari is pregnant. I'm gonna be a daddy!"

Laughter and applause begin to sound and a few agents leave their workstations to congratulate them, shaking Chris's hand and kissing Kari's cheek.

A moment later, David comes wandering out of his office, frowning as he stares around.

"What's going on?"

The corner of Kari's mouth rises. "I just told Chris that I'm pregnant, and he just announced it to the entire office."

"I thought I heard something," David murmurs, looking over at Chris where he's pulling out of a hug with Tony, a brilliant smile on his face. "I think you just made his entire life."

"Yeah," Kari says with a laugh.

David smiles as he looks at her and pulls her into a hug, murmuring, "Congratulations, sweetheart," before they pull apart. "Even though Chris isn't technically my son, he still kind of is anyway, so you're sort of like my daughter-in-law, so I feel like I'm getting another grandbaby."

Kari laughs. "Well, since my parents live in California, I think we'd be okay with you and Jules having honorary grandparent status."

Chris walks back over then, grinning when he sees David. "Did she tell you?"

"She did," David confirms, grinning too as he hugs Chris. "Congratulations, son."

"Thanks," Chris says, his face a little flushed. "God, I'm so excited."

David and Kari laugh, and Chris reaches for Kari's hand, pulling her to him so he can kiss her again.

"Baby, can we go to lunch now?" she asks when he pulls back. "I'm kind of starving."

"Yeah, sorry," Chris laughs.

"Have a good lunch, guys, and congratulations again," David says, smiling at them as he turns to head back to his office.

Chris ducks back into his office to clock out and then he and Kari start for the elevator.

"Oh, wait, really quick, can we go see Eli so we can tell him?" Chris asks, raising his eyebrows hopefully.

Kari smiles. "Yeah. I was planning to go see Han after we ate so I could tell her, so you can tell your best friend too."

Eli is suitably excited when they tell him, clapping Chris on the back and kissing Kari's cheek as he congratulates them.

"If you guys need anything, Han and I are more than happy to help," he says.

"I'm surprised you guys don't have another one cooking," Chris remarks, raising his eyebrows.

Eli snorts. "Nicky just turned two, I don't know if we want another one just yet."

Chris grins and nods, and he and Kari step from Eli's cubicle, telling him they'll see him later.

"So you're really excited?" Kari asks when they're outside a few minutes later.

"Baby, I have wanted nothing more than to start a family with you since we got married. Like, I've wanted to be a dad for so long, and I'm finally going to be, and best of all, it's with you, and I couldn't be happier."

Kari's smiling when he looks over at her and he dips his head to kiss her, sliding his arm around her waist as they come to a stop to wait to cross the street.

"We need to start looking at houses," Kari says. "I don't know if I want to raise our kids in an apartment."

Chris nods. "Yeah. We can start soon, but I think even if we're still in the apartment after the baby's born, it'll be okay for a little while."

"Only for a little while," Kari says, arching an eyebrow up at him.

Chris snorts and nods again. "Okay, we can start looking this weekend."

"Better."

Chris laughs and Kari grins as the crosswalk light changes and they start forward.

A couple of hours later, Kari smiles as Hannah opens the door.

"Hey," Hannah says, smiling back as she steps aside to let Kari in. "You picked the right time; I just put Nicky down for his nap. He's being a bit of a terror today, but he actually wore himself out and passed out on the floor, so I just picked him up and put him in his bed. Luckily he's a heavy sleeper like me."

Kari laughs and nods as they settle on the couch.

"So, what's the big news?" Hannah asks. "You sounded so excited on the phone."

"I'm pregnant," Kari replies, almost before Hannah finishes speaking.

Hannah's eyes widen and a beat later she pulls Kari into a tight hug. "Oh my god, that's incredible news! Does Chris know?"

Kari nods as they pull apart. "Yeah, I had wanted to wait until tonight to tell him, but I just couldn't keep it inside. He was so happy; he's wanted to be a dad for so long. He basically announced it to the entire office, so your dad knows too, and then we stopped by to tell Eli before we went to lunch." Kari gives a short laugh. "Chris asked him why you guys weren't expecting another one yet."

Hannah laughs suddenly, and then claps her hand over her mouth. Kari stares at her in disbelief.

"Hannah, you're not -"

Hannah nods quickly, her eyes bright. "I am. I haven't even told Eli yet, so don't tell him that I told you first, but yeah, I'm pregnant again."

"Oh my god," Kari says, covering her mouth with her hand. "This is too much. We're gonna be pregnant together, what if our kids even have the same birthday?"

"Less planning for one party?" Hannah says, grinning.

Kari laughs and nods, pulling Hannah into another hug. "This just got so much better, I can't even believe this."

"You think it's great for us, imagine how Chris and Eli are going to react."

Kari giggles, her nose crinkling, and then takes a breath.

"God. I'm just so happy. We've been trying since we got married - I mean, not actively trying, but you know, not trying to keep it from happening, and I kept wondering when it might stick. And now it's happening." She rubs her hand over her stomach, a contented smile on her face, and Hannah smiles too as she looks at her.

"So are you guys gonna start looking for a house now?"

"Yeah, Chris said we'd start looking this weekend."

Hannah raises her eyebrows. "There's a fair number of houses for sale around here, and I have to admit, I'd kind of love being so close to you guys. Being able to walk to each other's houses, our kids getting to play together whenever they want."

Kari nods, still smiling. "Yeah, that'd be really nice. I think Chris wants that too, we sort of talked about it really briefly right after we got married, and he mentioned checking out houses here. It obviously never got much further than that, we've been happy with the apartment and have sort of been casually saving money, but now with the baby, I guess we need to get a move on."

Hannah smiles and nods. "Well, if you guys need help with anything, Eli and I are always here."

"I know," Kari replies, leaning forward for another hug. "I'm gonna go, I think I wanna drive around the neighborhood, just to scope out what's available, and then figure out what to make for dinner. Though I guess I should ask Chris, he may want to go out to celebrate."

Hannah smiles again and stands with Kari to walk with her to the door. "I'll see you later. And don't tell Chris I'm pregnant either, I want to let Eli tell him."

Kari laughs and nods. "Bye, Han."

Hannah steps out to stand on the small porch, waiting until Kari's inside her car and waving before stepping back into the house.

Eli gets home a few hours later, sweeping Nicholas into his arms when he runs to greet him and carrying him into the kitchen, where Hannah's starting to get things together for dinner.

"Hey, babe," he murmurs, dropping a quick kiss to her lips. "How was your day?"

"Not bad. Somebody was a bit of a brat earlier, but he was better after his nap."

"Oh?" Eli says, raising his eyebrows as he looks over at Nicholas. "Were you bad for Mama?"

"No!" Nicholas declares adamantly, though a mischievous smile curves his lips.

"Uh huh," Eli mutters. He bends to set Nicholas on the floor. "Go play, and try to behave."

Nicholas runs off and Eli shakes his head. "I'm gonna change."

Hannah nods, smiling as she turns her attention back to the chicken she's cutting up.

When Eli returns, he takes over as usual, and Hannah moves to get a glass of water.

"Did Kari come by to see you?" Eli asks, glancing back at her with a smile.

"Yeah," Hannah replies, laughing softly. "She's so excited, and I'm sure Chris is over the moon."

"Oh, definitely," Eli says with a short laugh. "He said he was surprised you and I didn't have another one on the way."

Hannah doesn't reply, and Eli turns to look at her, noticing the way her lips are pressed together.

"Han?"

"Yeah, um, about that..." She grins and raises her eyebrows. "I'm pregnant."

"Seriously?" Eli says, laying the knife down as he turns to face her fully.

"Yeah, I found out this morning."

Eli stares at her a moment longer, and then suddenly starts laughing.

Hannah's smile fades. "Eli?"

"I'm sorry," he says as he tries to bring himself back under control. "I'm sorry, I just - I'm not laughing at you, babe, I'm laughing at me, because I'm an idiot."

"What are you talking about?"

Eli shakes his head as another brief laugh escapes him. "I told Chris earlier that I didn't know if we wanted another baby yet, since Nicky just turned two, and you and I haven't really talked about having another baby."

"What are you saying?" Hannah asks, an edge to her voice. "Do you not want another baby?"

Eli sighs. "Babe, don't do that. You know I do, it's just unexpected." He steps over to the sink to wash his hands, and then moves to stand in front of Hannah, resting his hands on her arms. "I am beyond happy that we're having another baby." He grins, sweeping his thumbs over her skin. "Nicky's gonna get to be a big brother."

A slow smile curves Hannah's lips as she nods, and Eli bends his head to kiss her, lingering a moment before pulling away.

"Man, though," he says as he moves back over to the counter to finish getting dinner ready. "It's kind of awesome, you and Kari being pregnant together."

"I know," Hannah replies, coming to stand next to him. "She and I can get fat together, and you and Chris can go off and hide together when our mood swings get bad. Though knowing Kari, her pregnancy will probably be perfect and easy, while mine will be like Nicky all over again."

She sighs and Eli tilts his head as he looks over at her. "You never know, Han. Maybe this baby will be easier, since it's your second."

"Yeah, maybe. Do you need any help?"

Eli shakes his head. "No, I got it."

"Okay, I'm gonna go call Kari so I can tell her."

Eli laughs and nods, and Hannah moves from the kitchen into the living room, glancing at Nicholas where he's playing on the floor as she digs her phone from her purse.

Kari smiles when she sees Hannah's name on her phone's caller ID and lifts the phone to her ear.

"Hey, Han."

"So, I'm pregnant again."

Kari laughs. "Congratulations. I'm guessing Eli's around?"

"Yeah, he's in the kitchen. Hold on, I'm not interrupting anything, am I? It just occurred to me that you and Chris might be celebrating."

"Well, we are, but Chris wanted to cook for me, but he had to run down to the store, so it's just me here right now."

"Did you see any houses you liked earlier?"

"Yeah, a few. I haven't really had a chance to tell Chris yet, but we'll talk about it at some point tonight, probably."

"That's good. You know, I was kind of thinking, I want to throw a party for you. You know, first baby and all of that."

"Yeah, that'd be fun," Kari agrees, "but why not just make it for both of us? I mean, just because it's your second baby doesn't make it any less special."

"Yeah," Hannah says, laughing softly.

"Oh," Kari breathes as an idea begins to form in her head. "Oh, you know what could be really fun? If you don't tell anybody besides Eli and me, and maybe Chris, that you're pregnant, and we can announce it at the party and surprise everybody."

"Oh, man," Hannah laughs, "that does sound like fun. Yeah, okay, I'm down with that. You wanna come over tomorrow so we can start planning?"

"Sure. I'll be there around lunchtime."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then. You and Chris have fun tonight."

"Oh, I'm sure we will. It's probably a good thing I'm already pregnant."

Hannah giggles and Kari grins. "Bye, Han."

"Bye."

Kari sets her phone on the coffee table, and is still grinning when Chris comes home a few minutes later.

"Hey, baby," he says, smiling when she stands to greet him and take some of the bags from his hands. "What's up? You're so smiley, is it still just baby happiness?"

"A little," Kari replies, laughing softly as they move into the kitchen. "I just got off the phone with Han; she wants to throw me a party, so I'm going over there tomorrow to help her plan stuff."

"That'll be fun." Chris rummages inside one of the bags, and then turns to face her, a bouquet of flowers in his hand and a wide grin on his face. "For you."

Kari laughs again, tipping her head to the side as she takes the flowers. "Thank you. They're beautiful."

"I tried to find some as beautiful as you, but that's pretty much impossible," Chris says, still grinning as she loops her arms around his neck.

"Oh, you think you're so smooth."

"I am smooth. I mean, I got you to fall in love with me, and marry me, and now you're having my baby, I mean, there's got to be some level of smooth going on here."

"Yeah, I guess so," she murmurs, her lips curving as he dips his head to kiss her.

The party is a week later at Hannah and Eli's house, and once everyone is there, Kari stands up to speak.

"I just wanted to thank everybody for coming. There'll be another party in a few months, but I'm gonna look a lot different for that one," she says, grinning as she presses a hand to her stomach.

Everybody laughs, and Kari's grin widens as she glances over at Hannah, who grins back.

"But I won't be the only one, because this party isn't just for me."

She holds out her hand, tugging Hannah closer, and suddenly Ben's voice sounds. "No freaking way!"

"Han?" David says, his expression confused but hopeful.

"Yeah, guys, I'm pregnant too."

Cheering and laughter break out as everyone moves forward to congratulate them both, along with Chris and Eli.

"I can't believe you kept that from me," David says, laughing as he hugs Hannah.

"Well, it was Kari's idea," Hannah says, her mouth twisting as she glances over.

"Hey!" Kari exclaims, playfully shoving Hannah.

"So who all knew?" Juliet asks.

"Just the four of us."

"Okay, now I'm even more impressed that Chris and Eli managed to keep that secret for so long."

"What are you trying to say, Jules?" Chris asks defensively.

"Oh, please, Chris, you're like a bomb ready to explode when you have to keep a secret. I wouldn't be surprised if Kari knows more about your cases than she should."

"Don't worry, I tell him to shut up if he starts trying to give too much information. And I'm much better at keeping secrets."

"Eli's a little bit better, but not much," Hannah adds.

Eli frowns petulantly. "Okay, when did this party turn into 'pick on Chris and Eli day'?"

Juliet laughs as she reaches up to lightly pat his cheek, and she and David turn to head over to the couch, where Nicholas is playing with a few of his toy cars.

Ben and Madison walk up, and Madison murmurs, "Congratulations, Lisey," as she hugs Hannah tightly.

"Thanks, Lexie," Hannah replies, smiling as they pull apart. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, we just thought it would be fun to surprise everybody."

"No, it's all right, it was a fun surprise," Madison says, smiling back. "And it's really cool that you guys get to be pregnant together. Share all of that pregnant stuff that I am so glad I'm never gonna have to go through."

Hannah and Kari laugh, and Ben holds up his hand.

"Okay, truth time, guys, did you plan this?"

"No," Eli says with a snort.

"I know you guys are best friends, but I mean... knocking your wives up at the same time? Did you have a calendar or something? Sync your watches? Or better yet, sync your -"

"Ben!"

The loud chorus of his name makes him jump, and he glances at Madison. "I said too much, didn't I?"

"Yes, Jesus, shut up."

"I can assure you, Ben, this was not planned," Eli says, shaking his head. "It's just a happy coincidence."

"Well, okay, then it's cool, you guys getting to raise your kids together, and Han and Kari getting to go through all of the pregnancy stuff together. Maddie and I will just watch from the sidelines, come up with new ways to be an awesome aunt and uncle team."

They all laugh, and Ben and Madison wander off as Angela steps forward.

"I know I already said it, but congratulations, honey," she says, pulling Kari into a hug. "I've tried not to be the 'so when are you gonna give me some grandkids' mom to Chris, but I have to admit, the itch was growing, especially since you guys got married."

Kari laughs. "We'll try to give you a couple, at least."

"Even if it's just one, I'll be happy. And congratulations to you too, sweetheart," she adds, turning her attention to Hannah. "I'm sure you're excited to be having another one."

"We are, and Nicky's excited about being a big brother."

"Oh, I bet he is," Angela laughs, and then glances over her shoulder to where David is on the couch with Nicholas in his lap. "Think I'll go talk to your dad, get some grandparent lessons."

Once she's gone, Kari looks over at Hannah. "The party just started, and I'm tired already."

"Me too, let's go sit down. Can you guys get us something to drink?"

"Why -" Chris starts to protest, but Eli claps his hand on his shoulder and starts to steer him towards the kitchen.

"Just do it. This is your life for the next several months, so get used to it fast."

Hannah and Kari giggle as they move to settle into a couple of nearby chairs, and right after they sit down, Nicholas climbs into Hannah's lap. She smiles as she hugs him, pressing a kiss to the side of his head, and looks up at Kari.

"No matter how rough your pregnancy might be, just remember that this is the end result."

"I can't wait," Kari replies sincerely, smiling as she reaches over to brush her fingers over Nicholas's hair.

A few weeks later, Chris comes home from work a little late one night, sighing as he closes the apartment door behind him.

"Hey, baby," he says when she sees Kari on the couch. "I'm sorry I couldn't go to the doctor with you today, work was just stupid. How'd it go?"

"Um, maybe you should sit down."

Panic instantly seizes Chris's heart. "Is something wrong with the baby?"

"No, no," Kari says quickly, reaching for his arm and pulling him down beside her. "No, everything's fine, it's just, um - there's two."

"Two?" Chris repeats dumbly.

"Two babies. I'm - we're having twins."

Chris stares at her a moment, his brow creased. "Twins?"

"Yeah," Kari says with a quick laugh.

There's a beat of silence, and then Chris breathes, "Holy shit."