Shouldn't I know this?
SPOILER ALERT - THROUGH THE PROMO FOR THE CHRISTMAS EPISODE!!!
If you haven't seen the promo, this a) will spoil you, and b) might not make much sense.
Rating: G (reference to pregnancy)
Author's note: This is based on a very fleeting hypothesis about the backstory of that little joke in the promo. I will be interested to hear what people think of it, as I know there are differing opinions on what canon is here, and also what direction(s) it would be interesting for the show to go in. I haven't got any spoilers beyond that little promo, to be clear.
Word count: about 1400, quickly written, not beta'd!
It’s kind of Jerry’s fault.
After Leslie swings by the Parks Department with a round of coffees for everyone, and they’re all chatting, he says, “Hey, Leslie, so you and Ben must be pretty serious, hey, when can we expect to see you start a family?”
Everyone turns to look at Leslie on hearing this: Andy with wide-eyed glee, April with a skewering stare, Tom with a skeptical look, and Donna just looks amused. Ron looks away, but with a telltale bug-eyed glare and his hands stuffed in his pockets.
She laughs it off, “Oh, well, who knows, Jerry, probably never, we’re both very busy, you know, anyhow, I’ve got to run, Andy, remember to go see Ethel Beavers about those boxes, I promised her, OK, I’ll let you all get back to work, thanks everyone, bye!!!” And she practically runs out the door.
Shut up, Jerry, is what she’s thinking as she slinks back in to get her bag and her coat. And her cup of whipped cream.
It just caught her off guard, is all.
Because, shouldn’t she know the answer to that? She should know the answer to that.
What’s the answer to that?
Does she want kids?
It’s never really been front of mind for her. She thinks maybe, yeah, Ben’s niece is so cute in the pictures, Ben’s kids would be so cute, but does she really want one of her own?
One of their own?
One of their own. Hers and Ben’s. Well, maybe she might. Huh.
Maybe she does.
Maybe she does want a little baby Ben or Leslie or whatever combination of them would decide to show up.
Huh. She did not know that.
Is that normal that she didn’t know that? Should she have known that before? But, before Ben, what would she have done about it, really? She’s never even had a real pregnancy scare, because of her belt-and-suspenders approach to birth control (not literally a belt or anything - more like the pill plus a condom type of thing). And she hasn’t dated anyone seriously enough to have that discussion with them, not even Dave.
And now there’s Ben.
Does he want kids? She has no idea if he would ever want kids. They haven’t talked about it. They’ve done everything so ass-backwards that now they are so in love and so serious about each other and it’s entirely reasonable for people to ask her this question, even if it was Jerry, and she doesn’t know the answer. How could she not know this? Because they spent the early part of their relationship not sure whether there would be a later part, that’s why. And they spent the middle part of their relationship broken up, technically. And the last week or so has been a bit crazy. Not really the time to bring it up.
But she’s going to meet Ben’s family over the holidays.
They might ask her. Unless they know he doesn’t want kids. Maybe they know he doesn’t want kids and she doesn’t know that and something might come up where they all know something that she doesn’t and that happens often enough when you’re with someone else’s family that why would you want to add to the opportunities for awkwardness?
Especially when it’s something that’s kind of a big deal.
He would make a great dad, wouldn’t he? Strict but fair. Loving.
Oh, crap. She’s definitely going to have to talk to Ben about it.
So, of course, she goes to see Ann instead.
“Shouldn’t I know the answer to this? Shouldn’t I know something like this about Ben?”
“Not necessarily, I mean, you guys haven’t exactly done things the typical way, right? And you don’t owe the Jerrys of the world an answer to that question, either. Although, yeah, when you’re in a serious relationship, people do ask. My mom started talking about it as soon as she heard about Mark.”
Leslie has a sudden realization. “Ann, I don’t know this about you - do you think you want kids? How could I not know this about you?”
Ann laughs. “Leslie, Don’t worry about it! And yeah, I think I’d like to have kids. I think about it sometimes. But I’m single, so I don’t think about it too much. And I’m not the kind of woman who gets all squealy when someone else is having a baby, and neither are you. So it just hasn’t really come up, is all.”
“Ann, you’d be such a great mom!” Ann beams. Leslie considers. “How would I know for sure if I want kids, though?”
“Maybe some people never know for sure. Maybe it’s all about circumstances for some people. How about this: I read in a magazine once that if you are trying to figure out how you feel about something, you say it out loud, and see how that feels. So why don’t you imagine telling Ben that you’re pregnant, and see how that feels?”
So Leslie tries it.
“I’m pregnant.”
points at self “I! Am! Knocked! Up! Me! Lookit me!” points at self, tapping her breastbone frantically
tittering “I’m pregnant, isn’t that EXCITING! WHEE! BAYBEES!”
scowling “You. Made. Me. Pregnant.” Starts to climb over the desk with murderous intent.
whispering, looking around in a paranoid way “[inaudible] NANT!!!”
looking down at her nails, which she is filing “Yeah, so, whatever, I’m pregnant. Wanna beer?”
Turns to the side and mimes a huge baby bump, grinning like a freak and nodding furiously.
thunderously “I AM WITH CHILD. DEAL WITH IT.” Thumps table.
She turns to Ann, who’s looking increasingly weirded out. “OK, Ann, well, I don’t know. I think, maybe, at some point, I mean, not right now, but, yeah? Yeah, I would like to have kids. A kid. A baby first, I guess. With Ben.”
“That’s great, Leslie! I mean, whatever you wanted would be great, but if that’s what you think you want, it’s great to know that, right?”
“Right! OK. Right. Yeah! But.”
“And you’d be such a great mom. But you do have to find out what Ben thinks about it all. Even hypothetically.”
“Oh yeah, of course.”
“And you should start taking a multivitamin with folic acid, just in case. And make sure you get a physical if you’re due for one. And ask the doctor if there’s anything else you should do, maybe there are some tests she’ll want you to take.”
“That’s all? There isn’t a test or a license or anything?” It seems like there should be more to this whole notion.
Ann laughs. “Leslie, this is Pawnee. Do you think Greg Pikitis’ parents had to get a license?”
“Good point.”
And right after that of course she ran into Ben in the hallway and blurted it out.
And then of course they had to talk about it. So they ducked into an empty meeting room and he just looked at her.
She squirmed a bit. “Ben, I’m sorry, this is stupid, I’m not pregnant, it just got into my head and wouldn’t get out and at first I was all just, no, this is just Jerry’s fault--”
His eyebrows go up. “How is this Jerry’s fault?”
“-- but now I just feel like it’s something we should know about each other.”
“What, whether we’re each pregnant? I’m not, for the record.” He places his hand on his own chest for emphasis.
This cracks her up, which is good. “No. Um. I meant. Whether we would want to be. Ever. I guess just me. Whether we would ever want me to be. To have a baby. You know. Not now, but maybe. Someday. We just, we never talked about it and Jerry asked and I didn’t know and I felt like an idiot because I didn’t know if I did and I didn’t know if you did and I thought I should know and then I thought about it and I think I might want to, but I don’t know how you feel, and...”
He’s come closer to her, and slid his hand around her waist. He bends down to kiss her.
He pulls back, and smiles, and says, “Sure.”
“Sure?”
“Sure. If you want to, that is." He looks at her seriously. "I mean, let’s not rush into it, but sure.”
“Sure.” She makes a note to tell Ann the trick from her magazine worked. Saying that feels really good, so she figures it's the right answer.
If you haven't seen the promo, this a) will spoil you, and b) might not make much sense.
Rating: G (reference to pregnancy)
Author's note: This is based on a very fleeting hypothesis about the backstory of that little joke in the promo. I will be interested to hear what people think of it, as I know there are differing opinions on what canon is here, and also what direction(s) it would be interesting for the show to go in. I haven't got any spoilers beyond that little promo, to be clear.
Word count: about 1400, quickly written, not beta'd!
It’s kind of Jerry’s fault.
After Leslie swings by the Parks Department with a round of coffees for everyone, and they’re all chatting, he says, “Hey, Leslie, so you and Ben must be pretty serious, hey, when can we expect to see you start a family?”
Everyone turns to look at Leslie on hearing this: Andy with wide-eyed glee, April with a skewering stare, Tom with a skeptical look, and Donna just looks amused. Ron looks away, but with a telltale bug-eyed glare and his hands stuffed in his pockets.
She laughs it off, “Oh, well, who knows, Jerry, probably never, we’re both very busy, you know, anyhow, I’ve got to run, Andy, remember to go see Ethel Beavers about those boxes, I promised her, OK, I’ll let you all get back to work, thanks everyone, bye!!!” And she practically runs out the door.
Shut up, Jerry, is what she’s thinking as she slinks back in to get her bag and her coat. And her cup of whipped cream.
It just caught her off guard, is all.
Because, shouldn’t she know the answer to that? She should know the answer to that.
What’s the answer to that?
Does she want kids?
It’s never really been front of mind for her. She thinks maybe, yeah, Ben’s niece is so cute in the pictures, Ben’s kids would be so cute, but does she really want one of her own?
One of their own?
One of their own. Hers and Ben’s. Well, maybe she might. Huh.
Maybe she does.
Maybe she does want a little baby Ben or Leslie or whatever combination of them would decide to show up.
Huh. She did not know that.
Is that normal that she didn’t know that? Should she have known that before? But, before Ben, what would she have done about it, really? She’s never even had a real pregnancy scare, because of her belt-and-suspenders approach to birth control (not literally a belt or anything - more like the pill plus a condom type of thing). And she hasn’t dated anyone seriously enough to have that discussion with them, not even Dave.
And now there’s Ben.
Does he want kids? She has no idea if he would ever want kids. They haven’t talked about it. They’ve done everything so ass-backwards that now they are so in love and so serious about each other and it’s entirely reasonable for people to ask her this question, even if it was Jerry, and she doesn’t know the answer. How could she not know this? Because they spent the early part of their relationship not sure whether there would be a later part, that’s why. And they spent the middle part of their relationship broken up, technically. And the last week or so has been a bit crazy. Not really the time to bring it up.
But she’s going to meet Ben’s family over the holidays.
They might ask her. Unless they know he doesn’t want kids. Maybe they know he doesn’t want kids and she doesn’t know that and something might come up where they all know something that she doesn’t and that happens often enough when you’re with someone else’s family that why would you want to add to the opportunities for awkwardness?
Especially when it’s something that’s kind of a big deal.
He would make a great dad, wouldn’t he? Strict but fair. Loving.
Oh, crap. She’s definitely going to have to talk to Ben about it.
So, of course, she goes to see Ann instead.
“Shouldn’t I know the answer to this? Shouldn’t I know something like this about Ben?”
“Not necessarily, I mean, you guys haven’t exactly done things the typical way, right? And you don’t owe the Jerrys of the world an answer to that question, either. Although, yeah, when you’re in a serious relationship, people do ask. My mom started talking about it as soon as she heard about Mark.”
Leslie has a sudden realization. “Ann, I don’t know this about you - do you think you want kids? How could I not know this about you?”
Ann laughs. “Leslie, Don’t worry about it! And yeah, I think I’d like to have kids. I think about it sometimes. But I’m single, so I don’t think about it too much. And I’m not the kind of woman who gets all squealy when someone else is having a baby, and neither are you. So it just hasn’t really come up, is all.”
“Ann, you’d be such a great mom!” Ann beams. Leslie considers. “How would I know for sure if I want kids, though?”
“Maybe some people never know for sure. Maybe it’s all about circumstances for some people. How about this: I read in a magazine once that if you are trying to figure out how you feel about something, you say it out loud, and see how that feels. So why don’t you imagine telling Ben that you’re pregnant, and see how that feels?”
So Leslie tries it.
“I’m pregnant.”
points at self “I! Am! Knocked! Up! Me! Lookit me!” points at self, tapping her breastbone frantically
tittering “I’m pregnant, isn’t that EXCITING! WHEE! BAYBEES!”
scowling “You. Made. Me. Pregnant.” Starts to climb over the desk with murderous intent.
whispering, looking around in a paranoid way “[inaudible] NANT!!!”
looking down at her nails, which she is filing “Yeah, so, whatever, I’m pregnant. Wanna beer?”
Turns to the side and mimes a huge baby bump, grinning like a freak and nodding furiously.
thunderously “I AM WITH CHILD. DEAL WITH IT.” Thumps table.
She turns to Ann, who’s looking increasingly weirded out. “OK, Ann, well, I don’t know. I think, maybe, at some point, I mean, not right now, but, yeah? Yeah, I would like to have kids. A kid. A baby first, I guess. With Ben.”
“That’s great, Leslie! I mean, whatever you wanted would be great, but if that’s what you think you want, it’s great to know that, right?”
“Right! OK. Right. Yeah! But.”
“And you’d be such a great mom. But you do have to find out what Ben thinks about it all. Even hypothetically.”
“Oh yeah, of course.”
“And you should start taking a multivitamin with folic acid, just in case. And make sure you get a physical if you’re due for one. And ask the doctor if there’s anything else you should do, maybe there are some tests she’ll want you to take.”
“That’s all? There isn’t a test or a license or anything?” It seems like there should be more to this whole notion.
Ann laughs. “Leslie, this is Pawnee. Do you think Greg Pikitis’ parents had to get a license?”
“Good point.”
And right after that of course she ran into Ben in the hallway and blurted it out.
And then of course they had to talk about it. So they ducked into an empty meeting room and he just looked at her.
She squirmed a bit. “Ben, I’m sorry, this is stupid, I’m not pregnant, it just got into my head and wouldn’t get out and at first I was all just, no, this is just Jerry’s fault--”
His eyebrows go up. “How is this Jerry’s fault?”
“-- but now I just feel like it’s something we should know about each other.”
“What, whether we’re each pregnant? I’m not, for the record.” He places his hand on his own chest for emphasis.
This cracks her up, which is good. “No. Um. I meant. Whether we would want to be. Ever. I guess just me. Whether we would ever want me to be. To have a baby. You know. Not now, but maybe. Someday. We just, we never talked about it and Jerry asked and I didn’t know and I felt like an idiot because I didn’t know if I did and I didn’t know if you did and I thought I should know and then I thought about it and I think I might want to, but I don’t know how you feel, and...”
He’s come closer to her, and slid his hand around her waist. He bends down to kiss her.
He pulls back, and smiles, and says, “Sure.”
“Sure?”
“Sure. If you want to, that is." He looks at her seriously. "I mean, let’s not rush into it, but sure.”
“Sure.” She makes a note to tell Ann the trick from her magazine worked. Saying that feels really good, so she figures it's the right answer.