muse_shuffle | April Disc Two
14. I don’t get many things right the first time
In fact, I am told that a lot
Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls
Brought me here
[‘The Luckiest’ - Ben Folds]
Co-written with imnodoctor
[Before THIS]
They were home from Scotland, the mood around the house was pretty sombre. It was tough to come away from a place everyone loved so much, but it was bittersweet. They knew they could always go back, and would always go back. Lachlan was hardly speaking to anyone by the time the plane touched down in Jersey. It was going to take a few days for him to get back on his feet. He never did will saying goodbye to his family and even as they were getting into a cab at the airport, the Scot seemed close to tears every time someone spoke to him.
But it was time to get back to normal. At least, as normal as possible. A lot had changed, and even more changes were on the horizon. Riley found Evie getting a head-start on their unpacking in the bedroom, even though they had only been home a few hours. She was fussing around making neat piles on the bed, much to Riley's amusement. The jet-lag was going to have to set in sooner or later... he hoped. He was going to need that bed when he passed out cold in a little while himself. He came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. A small kiss was pressed to her cheek and then he held up a small box in her line of sight.
A pregnancy test.
Evie paused in the act of folding one of Riley's t-shirts, her breath catching in her throat. Truth was, she was almost dreading this moment. The excitement that had been building, and her faith in the success of the IVF had slowly been waning during the trip to Scotland. She wasn't throwing up, she wasn't even sure if her breasts were tender because she was pregnant, or if her bras were just bad. Or maybe it was too much foreplay. Wasn't like she'd let Riley rest very much when he wasn't passed out.
She turned her head a little to glance at him from the corner of her eye as she dropped the t-shirt and took the kit out of his hand. "I'm scared, sexy," she said quietly.
Riley nodded. "I know, sweetheart," he agreed softly. "Which is why we're going the standard supermarket route than hauling arse to the IVF clinic for the invasive test first up. We're home, it's your bathroom, you don't even have to put a bra on. We should at least get to do some part of this normally." His arm stayed securely around her waist and he rubbed her stomach gently. "And if it's not... well, there's no rush to New York, is there?"
Evie shook her head, and leaned back against Riley as she rubbed her thumb against the cardboard packaging. "No, no rush... Shit, I can't believe it's time. Before we were talking about how long it was going to take before we could do this, and now we're doing it. Are you going to come watch me pee, or just wait here?"
Riley took the box off her again and opened it up, removing the test and pressing it against her palm. "How about you do it quickly, then give me a shout and I'll come in and wait with you?" he suggested. "But if you freak out before that, I'll come in and hold your hand."
Evie twisted in his hold as her fingers closed around the stick and she held onto it tightly as she hugged him. "Good thing I was drinking nothing but tea this morning, huh? You English and your tea. I swear to god I'm slowly losing my love for coffee... It's a sad, sad day." She kissed Riley's lips softly before she retreated to the toilet. She could do the quick pee thing. She could do it, and not freak out. This was something she wanted. Something they both wanted. It was the moment of truth, and Evie was in danger of wetting herself regardless.
She ran into the ensuite, and pushed down her pajama pants. She was shaking, but she could do this. She had to do this. "Can you please not leave it so quiet?" Evie called out, the sudden silence in the bathroom driving her crazy.
Riley was left standing at the end of the bed and blinked, sticking his tongue out the corner of his mouth. "Uh," he said, at a loss of what he was supposed to do. He scratched his head and then started singing YMCA at the top of his lungs, not really bothered if Luke and Tab would hear him down the stairs. He blamed Pat for that being the first song to jump into his head.
In the bathroom, Evie dropped her head into her hand and started to laugh. Riley's singing--however bad--was something that helped relax her, and she managed to pee on the stick without any trouble. He was still singing as she lay the test on the side of the sink and washed her hands. Evie flushed the toilet, and appeared in the doorway as she smiled. "You could have just turned the stereo on, but thank you," she laughed. "This is why I married you."
Riley looked at her sheepishly. "I didn't think of that," he admitted, pulling his lips to the side. "And this is an argument for my idea to put a plasma in the en suite," he added with a cheeky grin, moving over to her and reaching to take her hands.
Evie pulled his arms around her and kept him close as she laughed again. "Exactly when would you watch the plasma, and where are we going to put it?" she asked. Evie looped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "You can't put it in the shower, they're not waterproof."
Riley edged them into the bathroom and then pointed. "I was thinking above the end of the bath where that shelf is. Then you can see it from the toilet and the shower, if you lean out the door. Also, if you stand off the edge of the sink and lean a bit to the right, you can watch it via the mirror when you're brushing your teeth," he explained with an accomplished grin.
"You really have been planning this, haven't you?" Evie asked with a smirk. The grin on his face was too cute. She tilted her head as she considered the spot above the shelf. "How are we going to make sure that it stays on the wall, and doesn't fall off and electrocute us?"
Riley waved his hand. "I'll get some bloke to mount it securely. I saw it in a home book thingy. Which I meant to say too, we should repaint the kitchen. Maybe get some new appliances. I'm getting annoyed with that nudging thing you have to do to the dishwasher before it clicks on." His eyes flicked briefly to the test sitting on the side of the sink and his tongue darted out to wet his lips. Clearly he was going to try and deal with this by rambling.
Evie moved him so he was sitting on the closed toilet lid and climbed onto his lap. She rest her head against his and stroked his cheek. She was choosing to deal with it by keeping as close to Riley as possible. "We can do that. I think it might be handy having a TV in here, don't you? I don't think there's anything wrong with the idea. I mean, I know it's probably a guy thing, but I think I'll like it, too. Help me when I shave my legs."
Riley nodded as if he understood the whole technicalities of shaving legs... which he didn't. "And, you know, if one of us isn't feeling well and we have to camp out in here, we can watch The Simpsons," he added, holding a hand up. "We could always repaint in here, too. If we have some time and all..." Under her, his leg started bouncing anxiously and he was chewing on his lip. His stomach was flipping nervously. He was usually a really patient person, too.
Evie wrapped her leg around Riley's to try and stop him bouncing it. "I feel like we've just finished painting this place, but okay. We can do any repainting you want. It'd be nice watching The Simpsons when we're sick." She turned her head a little to take a peek at the stick. It was meant to be a couple of minutes, right? She touched her fingers to her stomach and looked down at it.
Riley drew in a deep breath and let it out with a rush. "Can we look? How long has it been? How long was it supposed to be? What does it do?" he asked, his leg bouncing all over again. "You're the one who is supposed to be feeling sick right? Because I think I'm going out in sympathy here," he admitted with a nervous laugh.
Evie took his face between his hands, and smiled at him. "Just between you and me, if you're the one getting the morning sickness and not me, I won't complain. I haven't really been feeling sick, though. I've just been wondering if my breasts are tender for reasons other than over-stimulation, and bad bras. There's also the fact that I have never paid as much attention to unpacking suitcases as I have on this trip..." Evie shrugged, and she reached over to pick up the test, careful to cover the window with her hand so the surprise wasn't spoiled. "Two lines for positive, one line for negative. You sure you want to look?"
Riley shook his head. "No," he told her. "I'm not sure." His voice was shaky and uncertain and he was sure if he kept biting his lip the way he was, he would bite it off.
"So we're not going to look?" Evie asked, watching him. She wished she could make his nerves better, but she was having enough trouble controlling her own. Her stomach was starting to tie itself in knots, and she felt like she was going to be sick.
Riley nodded and then shook his head. He wasn't feeling much better. It had to be jet-lag and bad airline food. "You look," he told her, his hand curling around hers.
Evie nodded, and turned enough to hide the stick from Riley as she held onto his hand. She sucked in a breath as she saw the two blue lines, her eyes going wide. She was pregnant. According to this test, she was actually pregnant. The IVF had worked, and she was carrying Riley's baby. "Holy shit... holy fucking shit." She looked at Riley before her stomach felt like it was trying to push it's way up through her throat and she jumped off his lap. "Get off the toilet, I'm going to be sick!"
Riley was still in shock and automatically reacted by somehow toppling off the toilet and banging his head on the toilet roll holder. What did this mean?! He moaned, clutching at his head as he tried to drag himself back into a sitting position. "What... what?!" was all he could get out, feeling dampness against his finger. "Oh fuck me!" It was like the room had exploded in chaos and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to absorb first. And he still didn't know the result!
Evie flipped up the lid, her need to check on Riley becoming second to the need to throw up. She stuck her hand out with the test in Riley's direction, a load groan her only answer. It was like the morning sickness had been holding out until she saw the results, and now that it was real, the morning sickness was making up for lost time.
Riley never expected anything in their life to go off without some sort of explosion. He had blood trickling down his temple as he made a blind grab for the held out test. The puking could really be for either reason, he rationalised. He held it close to his face to see the tiny screen and then blinked. "Is there two lines here or am I just seeing double?" he asked, holding it even closer and causing him to go cross-eyed.
"Two... lines..." Evie gasped before she was groaning again, and holding the edge of the toilet. "Pregnant."
Riley dropped the stick like it burned him, accompanied by an inelegant shriek of shock. "No, that's... you... we... no..." He shook his head, but it was mistake. No way was Evie pregnant. He had convinced himself so much it would be negative that as far as his brain was concerned, the pregnancy test was just routine. But there was two lines. Two whole lines. "Oh, dizzy..."
Evie pulled back as she managed to stop being sick, and used some toilet paper to wipe at her mouth. She looked at Riley and reached up to flush the toilet before she moved to the cupboard under the sink and got out the box of latex gloves they kept under there. Evie pulled on a pair without a second thought and moved over to take a look at Riley's head. "I'm sorry, sexy. I never meant for you to hurt yourself. I just really needed to puke. Are you okay? Are you seeing double?"
"Oh, that's okay," Riley said with a calmness that seemed to come out of nowhere. Then he started to laugh, and it was like he couldn't stop. He was oblivious to the cut on his head. "I think I need to puke too soon," he decided through the laughter, tears soon trickling down his cheeks when he couldn't stop it. He put his hand over his chest as he broke into a fit of coughs but still more laughing. "Oh shit, we're pregnant!"
Evie was back over by the sink as she got the first aid kit and sat in front of Riley so she could clean him up. The way he was laughing was making her nervous, but she figured it was just shock. "I know... shit. I can't believe it. I have a baby Browne inside me."
"I think I need to lie down." Riley flopped over onto his side before the words were even out of his mouth. He shifted onto his back, looking up at the ceiling and rubbing his fingers against his forehead. "This wasn't... I didn't... I've lost the ability to talk in sentences."
"I can tell," Evie said as she leaned down and continued to clean him up. When she had the bandage in place, she moved on top of him, and rest her head on his chest. "It's real, Riley. We're having a kid. It worked..."
Riley draped his arm around her back. "Why is it every life milestone with us comes with blood, sweat, tears, and puke?" he asked in amusement. "I just... I... wow."
"Just wait until the kid's actually born. There'll be even more blood, sweat, tears, and puke." Evie rubbed her hand against his arm, and sighed. "You still want to be a daddy, right?"
Riley nodded. "Yeah, of course. I'm... just really scared all of a sudden," he admitted. "I made a mistake. I didn't let myself believe it was going to happen. Didn't really prepare. I think I'm maybe a third of the way into a freak out."
"You're allowed to freak out," Evie said quietly. "I mean, I was hoping I was pregnant, but now I am, and I can't believe it." Evie touched a finger to her lips, and was quiet for a moment. "Are we even supposed to tell people? Isn't there a rule? Like... five weeks, or something."
Riley shook his head and held his hand up. "Maybe?" he said, his voice a little higher than usual. "Probably. If there is, I can't do it. I suck at lying. Especially about big things. I start talking with the last syllables of my sentences going up an octave, and I get a funny rash around my throat. Gives me away every time, especially to people who know me." He was rubbing his forehead again, still trying to wrap his head around it.
Evie got up a little and moved up his body so she could look at his face. "So we tell them... but try to make sure no one gets too excited? We kind of have to make sure we stay pregnant, don't we? I don't know... I've never done this before. We'll be okay, won't we? We can do this... Are you okay? How's the freaking out? I think I'm going to freak out."
"I just... um... I don't know. Maybe you should take some leave? Just the first couple of months, or something? I mean, money's not really an issue. Just take it easy..." Riley let out a sharp breath, still staring at the ceiling and feeling his heart start to beat a mile a minute. "I think maybe it's my turn to throw up. We should install a second toilet with the plasma, maybe?"
Evie rolled off him to give him room to throw up if he needed to. She pushed her fingers through her blonde hair and nodded. "Time off might be a good idea. I mean, shit... I'm pregnant. We're pregnant. We're going to be parents. This is huge. This is so fucking huge. A second toilet is probably going to be a great idea."
"Oh god, it actually worked. My sperm is in there!" Riley scrambled up over to the toilet, making it just in time to lose the bad airline food. It didn't last too long, and he let out a groan of annoyance before wiping his mouth and flushing the toilet. He rested back on his knees, holding his stomach which was turning over with a mixture of nerves and worry. "It has to be alright in there, right?" he finally asked, looking at her helplessly.
Evie smiled, her own arms wrapped around her stomach. "Yeah, it'll be alright. I'll keep it safe."
All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe
Word Count | 3,016
In fact, I am told that a lot
Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls
Brought me here
[‘The Luckiest’ - Ben Folds]
Co-written with imnodoctor
[Before THIS]
They were home from Scotland, the mood around the house was pretty sombre. It was tough to come away from a place everyone loved so much, but it was bittersweet. They knew they could always go back, and would always go back. Lachlan was hardly speaking to anyone by the time the plane touched down in Jersey. It was going to take a few days for him to get back on his feet. He never did will saying goodbye to his family and even as they were getting into a cab at the airport, the Scot seemed close to tears every time someone spoke to him.
But it was time to get back to normal. At least, as normal as possible. A lot had changed, and even more changes were on the horizon. Riley found Evie getting a head-start on their unpacking in the bedroom, even though they had only been home a few hours. She was fussing around making neat piles on the bed, much to Riley's amusement. The jet-lag was going to have to set in sooner or later... he hoped. He was going to need that bed when he passed out cold in a little while himself. He came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. A small kiss was pressed to her cheek and then he held up a small box in her line of sight.
A pregnancy test.
Evie paused in the act of folding one of Riley's t-shirts, her breath catching in her throat. Truth was, she was almost dreading this moment. The excitement that had been building, and her faith in the success of the IVF had slowly been waning during the trip to Scotland. She wasn't throwing up, she wasn't even sure if her breasts were tender because she was pregnant, or if her bras were just bad. Or maybe it was too much foreplay. Wasn't like she'd let Riley rest very much when he wasn't passed out.
She turned her head a little to glance at him from the corner of her eye as she dropped the t-shirt and took the kit out of his hand. "I'm scared, sexy," she said quietly.
Riley nodded. "I know, sweetheart," he agreed softly. "Which is why we're going the standard supermarket route than hauling arse to the IVF clinic for the invasive test first up. We're home, it's your bathroom, you don't even have to put a bra on. We should at least get to do some part of this normally." His arm stayed securely around her waist and he rubbed her stomach gently. "And if it's not... well, there's no rush to New York, is there?"
Evie shook her head, and leaned back against Riley as she rubbed her thumb against the cardboard packaging. "No, no rush... Shit, I can't believe it's time. Before we were talking about how long it was going to take before we could do this, and now we're doing it. Are you going to come watch me pee, or just wait here?"
Riley took the box off her again and opened it up, removing the test and pressing it against her palm. "How about you do it quickly, then give me a shout and I'll come in and wait with you?" he suggested. "But if you freak out before that, I'll come in and hold your hand."
Evie twisted in his hold as her fingers closed around the stick and she held onto it tightly as she hugged him. "Good thing I was drinking nothing but tea this morning, huh? You English and your tea. I swear to god I'm slowly losing my love for coffee... It's a sad, sad day." She kissed Riley's lips softly before she retreated to the toilet. She could do the quick pee thing. She could do it, and not freak out. This was something she wanted. Something they both wanted. It was the moment of truth, and Evie was in danger of wetting herself regardless.
She ran into the ensuite, and pushed down her pajama pants. She was shaking, but she could do this. She had to do this. "Can you please not leave it so quiet?" Evie called out, the sudden silence in the bathroom driving her crazy.
Riley was left standing at the end of the bed and blinked, sticking his tongue out the corner of his mouth. "Uh," he said, at a loss of what he was supposed to do. He scratched his head and then started singing YMCA at the top of his lungs, not really bothered if Luke and Tab would hear him down the stairs. He blamed Pat for that being the first song to jump into his head.
In the bathroom, Evie dropped her head into her hand and started to laugh. Riley's singing--however bad--was something that helped relax her, and she managed to pee on the stick without any trouble. He was still singing as she lay the test on the side of the sink and washed her hands. Evie flushed the toilet, and appeared in the doorway as she smiled. "You could have just turned the stereo on, but thank you," she laughed. "This is why I married you."
Riley looked at her sheepishly. "I didn't think of that," he admitted, pulling his lips to the side. "And this is an argument for my idea to put a plasma in the en suite," he added with a cheeky grin, moving over to her and reaching to take her hands.
Evie pulled his arms around her and kept him close as she laughed again. "Exactly when would you watch the plasma, and where are we going to put it?" she asked. Evie looped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "You can't put it in the shower, they're not waterproof."
Riley edged them into the bathroom and then pointed. "I was thinking above the end of the bath where that shelf is. Then you can see it from the toilet and the shower, if you lean out the door. Also, if you stand off the edge of the sink and lean a bit to the right, you can watch it via the mirror when you're brushing your teeth," he explained with an accomplished grin.
"You really have been planning this, haven't you?" Evie asked with a smirk. The grin on his face was too cute. She tilted her head as she considered the spot above the shelf. "How are we going to make sure that it stays on the wall, and doesn't fall off and electrocute us?"
Riley waved his hand. "I'll get some bloke to mount it securely. I saw it in a home book thingy. Which I meant to say too, we should repaint the kitchen. Maybe get some new appliances. I'm getting annoyed with that nudging thing you have to do to the dishwasher before it clicks on." His eyes flicked briefly to the test sitting on the side of the sink and his tongue darted out to wet his lips. Clearly he was going to try and deal with this by rambling.
Evie moved him so he was sitting on the closed toilet lid and climbed onto his lap. She rest her head against his and stroked his cheek. She was choosing to deal with it by keeping as close to Riley as possible. "We can do that. I think it might be handy having a TV in here, don't you? I don't think there's anything wrong with the idea. I mean, I know it's probably a guy thing, but I think I'll like it, too. Help me when I shave my legs."
Riley nodded as if he understood the whole technicalities of shaving legs... which he didn't. "And, you know, if one of us isn't feeling well and we have to camp out in here, we can watch The Simpsons," he added, holding a hand up. "We could always repaint in here, too. If we have some time and all..." Under her, his leg started bouncing anxiously and he was chewing on his lip. His stomach was flipping nervously. He was usually a really patient person, too.
Evie wrapped her leg around Riley's to try and stop him bouncing it. "I feel like we've just finished painting this place, but okay. We can do any repainting you want. It'd be nice watching The Simpsons when we're sick." She turned her head a little to take a peek at the stick. It was meant to be a couple of minutes, right? She touched her fingers to her stomach and looked down at it.
Riley drew in a deep breath and let it out with a rush. "Can we look? How long has it been? How long was it supposed to be? What does it do?" he asked, his leg bouncing all over again. "You're the one who is supposed to be feeling sick right? Because I think I'm going out in sympathy here," he admitted with a nervous laugh.
Evie took his face between his hands, and smiled at him. "Just between you and me, if you're the one getting the morning sickness and not me, I won't complain. I haven't really been feeling sick, though. I've just been wondering if my breasts are tender for reasons other than over-stimulation, and bad bras. There's also the fact that I have never paid as much attention to unpacking suitcases as I have on this trip..." Evie shrugged, and she reached over to pick up the test, careful to cover the window with her hand so the surprise wasn't spoiled. "Two lines for positive, one line for negative. You sure you want to look?"
Riley shook his head. "No," he told her. "I'm not sure." His voice was shaky and uncertain and he was sure if he kept biting his lip the way he was, he would bite it off.
"So we're not going to look?" Evie asked, watching him. She wished she could make his nerves better, but she was having enough trouble controlling her own. Her stomach was starting to tie itself in knots, and she felt like she was going to be sick.
Riley nodded and then shook his head. He wasn't feeling much better. It had to be jet-lag and bad airline food. "You look," he told her, his hand curling around hers.
Evie nodded, and turned enough to hide the stick from Riley as she held onto his hand. She sucked in a breath as she saw the two blue lines, her eyes going wide. She was pregnant. According to this test, she was actually pregnant. The IVF had worked, and she was carrying Riley's baby. "Holy shit... holy fucking shit." She looked at Riley before her stomach felt like it was trying to push it's way up through her throat and she jumped off his lap. "Get off the toilet, I'm going to be sick!"
Riley was still in shock and automatically reacted by somehow toppling off the toilet and banging his head on the toilet roll holder. What did this mean?! He moaned, clutching at his head as he tried to drag himself back into a sitting position. "What... what?!" was all he could get out, feeling dampness against his finger. "Oh fuck me!" It was like the room had exploded in chaos and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to absorb first. And he still didn't know the result!
Evie flipped up the lid, her need to check on Riley becoming second to the need to throw up. She stuck her hand out with the test in Riley's direction, a load groan her only answer. It was like the morning sickness had been holding out until she saw the results, and now that it was real, the morning sickness was making up for lost time.
Riley never expected anything in their life to go off without some sort of explosion. He had blood trickling down his temple as he made a blind grab for the held out test. The puking could really be for either reason, he rationalised. He held it close to his face to see the tiny screen and then blinked. "Is there two lines here or am I just seeing double?" he asked, holding it even closer and causing him to go cross-eyed.
"Two... lines..." Evie gasped before she was groaning again, and holding the edge of the toilet. "Pregnant."
Riley dropped the stick like it burned him, accompanied by an inelegant shriek of shock. "No, that's... you... we... no..." He shook his head, but it was mistake. No way was Evie pregnant. He had convinced himself so much it would be negative that as far as his brain was concerned, the pregnancy test was just routine. But there was two lines. Two whole lines. "Oh, dizzy..."
Evie pulled back as she managed to stop being sick, and used some toilet paper to wipe at her mouth. She looked at Riley and reached up to flush the toilet before she moved to the cupboard under the sink and got out the box of latex gloves they kept under there. Evie pulled on a pair without a second thought and moved over to take a look at Riley's head. "I'm sorry, sexy. I never meant for you to hurt yourself. I just really needed to puke. Are you okay? Are you seeing double?"
"Oh, that's okay," Riley said with a calmness that seemed to come out of nowhere. Then he started to laugh, and it was like he couldn't stop. He was oblivious to the cut on his head. "I think I need to puke too soon," he decided through the laughter, tears soon trickling down his cheeks when he couldn't stop it. He put his hand over his chest as he broke into a fit of coughs but still more laughing. "Oh shit, we're pregnant!"
Evie was back over by the sink as she got the first aid kit and sat in front of Riley so she could clean him up. The way he was laughing was making her nervous, but she figured it was just shock. "I know... shit. I can't believe it. I have a baby Browne inside me."
"I think I need to lie down." Riley flopped over onto his side before the words were even out of his mouth. He shifted onto his back, looking up at the ceiling and rubbing his fingers against his forehead. "This wasn't... I didn't... I've lost the ability to talk in sentences."
"I can tell," Evie said as she leaned down and continued to clean him up. When she had the bandage in place, she moved on top of him, and rest her head on his chest. "It's real, Riley. We're having a kid. It worked..."
Riley draped his arm around her back. "Why is it every life milestone with us comes with blood, sweat, tears, and puke?" he asked in amusement. "I just... I... wow."
"Just wait until the kid's actually born. There'll be even more blood, sweat, tears, and puke." Evie rubbed her hand against his arm, and sighed. "You still want to be a daddy, right?"
Riley nodded. "Yeah, of course. I'm... just really scared all of a sudden," he admitted. "I made a mistake. I didn't let myself believe it was going to happen. Didn't really prepare. I think I'm maybe a third of the way into a freak out."
"You're allowed to freak out," Evie said quietly. "I mean, I was hoping I was pregnant, but now I am, and I can't believe it." Evie touched a finger to her lips, and was quiet for a moment. "Are we even supposed to tell people? Isn't there a rule? Like... five weeks, or something."
Riley shook his head and held his hand up. "Maybe?" he said, his voice a little higher than usual. "Probably. If there is, I can't do it. I suck at lying. Especially about big things. I start talking with the last syllables of my sentences going up an octave, and I get a funny rash around my throat. Gives me away every time, especially to people who know me." He was rubbing his forehead again, still trying to wrap his head around it.
Evie got up a little and moved up his body so she could look at his face. "So we tell them... but try to make sure no one gets too excited? We kind of have to make sure we stay pregnant, don't we? I don't know... I've never done this before. We'll be okay, won't we? We can do this... Are you okay? How's the freaking out? I think I'm going to freak out."
"I just... um... I don't know. Maybe you should take some leave? Just the first couple of months, or something? I mean, money's not really an issue. Just take it easy..." Riley let out a sharp breath, still staring at the ceiling and feeling his heart start to beat a mile a minute. "I think maybe it's my turn to throw up. We should install a second toilet with the plasma, maybe?"
Evie rolled off him to give him room to throw up if he needed to. She pushed her fingers through her blonde hair and nodded. "Time off might be a good idea. I mean, shit... I'm pregnant. We're pregnant. We're going to be parents. This is huge. This is so fucking huge. A second toilet is probably going to be a great idea."
"Oh god, it actually worked. My sperm is in there!" Riley scrambled up over to the toilet, making it just in time to lose the bad airline food. It didn't last too long, and he let out a groan of annoyance before wiping his mouth and flushing the toilet. He rested back on his knees, holding his stomach which was turning over with a mixture of nerves and worry. "It has to be alright in there, right?" he finally asked, looking at her helplessly.
Evie smiled, her own arms wrapped around her stomach. "Yeah, it'll be alright. I'll keep it safe."
All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe
Word Count | 3,016