Everything's coming up Linney-Smith
Waiting was the worst part of anything. Zacharias had more than enough to keep him occupied, honestly. He had shoots in the best places, and when he didn't, he had Marlow. There wasn't anything he was ever going to complain about
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She might have been a little dazed still from her trip to St. Mungo's that morning. It had been a hush-hush kind of meeting, a "please don't tell anyone" plea to Cecilia Jacobs as they sat in the patents room, waiting for the results. She didn't want the news getting out before she could tell Riah. They hadn't been actively trying, or anything. No more than usual, really.
But then, there it was, the little parchment of confirmation.
She clutched it in her hand as she moved down the hallway, beaming like a bit of an idiot as she found him.
"Love- I have to tell you something-"
Then, what he said registered.
"Wait-" she said, eyes widening. "Does this mean- did you get it?"
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"That's exactly what it means."
Without giving her the chance, Zacharias closed the last bit of space between them, hands going instinctively to her hips.
"It's not some silly part in an apocalypse movie. This actually might matter." Eyes narrowing a little, he shrugged. "Sort of. Whatever. Yes. I got it."
Laughing and rambling. Not the most professional of reactions, to be sure, but that's why he saved that for Marlow.
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"Oh, Merlin-" she said, feeling a rush of pride and excitement for her husband, knowing how much he had been vying for the role. "Riah- that's so amazing-"
She squeezed him again.
"You're gonna be the best prince charming-"
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Marlow made things worth it.
"Thank you, gorgeous," he laughed before pressing a quick kiss to her lips.
Zacharias didn't go far when he pulled back, leaning away only enough to see her well.
"We should celebrate. I have no idea how but we should," he determined without preamble. Other things started to catch up with him, like that she'd been saying something on her way down the hall.
"Were you going to tell me something a minute ago before I turned into a over excited teenager and does it derail celebrating?" Zacharias gave her his best shifty look, as if he doubted her for a second, not that he had in a long time.
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But she sucked in a breath, chest heaving slightly as she nodded her head.
"I really hope it doesn't derail celebrating-"
She swallowed, pulling her arms back from around his shoulder, fingers shaking as she smoothed out the parchment in her hand.
"I um- I went to St. Mungo's today, you know, just to be sure," she started, holding the paper for him to see. "I had thought yesterday- but then I didn't know- and well, Riah- I-we- well, love, we're going to have a baby-"
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His hands slid away from her, taking the piece of parchment she was holding out, looking it over twice before he let it sink in.
Once it did, Zacharias wasn't sure he could actually put words together.
"Marlow. Wait. Really? Yeah?"
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She repeated the word with a nod of her head. She was smiling now, brightly, stupidly, clown-like probably. It didn't matter. It was real. It felt so much more real now that she could say it out loud. That she could say it to him.
She had been waiting all day.
"I'm nine weeks. Cecilia thinks the middle of September for the due date-"
She pressed her lips together for a moment before grinning again. She couldn't stop. She might have a problem here.
"It's legit. Like, baby growing here-" she gestured to her still flat stomach. "Right here."
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"September," he whispered, doing nothing more than repeating her at this point.
They'd talked about this, discussed the concept of children and what that would mean for them, but they hadn't really been trying. It hadn't taken over their every waking moment the way it might - did - with other couples.
Somehow that made this that much more exciting.
Zacharias finally managed to tear his eyes away from where his hand was splayed over her stomach, grin and eyes bright.
"I love you." He told her as if she'd just handed him the world - something he was actually convinced Marlow was constantly doing - and reached out with the hand still clutching the parchment to frame her face and pull her into a kiss even though they were both smiling too much. "I can't... I love you."
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She said the words back with a quiet ferocity. She had been beside herself when she found out the news on her own, quickly trying to predict what Roger's reaction was going to be. Cecilia had been so happy for them and the excitement just seemed to be everywhere.
She couldn't help but cling to him, kissing him again, laughing through it all.
"I can't believe it," she said, then, voice quiet. "I mean- we're going to be parents-"
It was almost too wild to think about. Teenagers, adolescents, she could deal with those. Five years teaching had said well enough. But babies? Merlin, she was beyond her scope. She spent enough time with Emmy and David to feel somewhat comfortable, but her? Motherhood?
She felt secure in knowing that no matter what, Riah was going to be an incredible father.
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There was something in his voice that might have been awe and might have been excitement. Somehow, it was a cross between the two. For a moment, when she'd told him she was pregnant, this detail had slipped his mind.
Parents. They were going to be parents. Was something supposed to be this fantastic and terrifying all at one time? Once upon a time, it would have been enough to scare him off, send him into some weird sort of avoidant panic.
Now?
Now he brushed her hair back from her face, grin firmly on his. "You're going to be so good at it. And ... " Zacharias shrugged, dragging the word out. "I'm just going to try not to fuck it up."
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But she frowned, brow furrowing as she looked back up at him.
"Riah, you are going to be the best dad," she told him, and meaning every word. "I wouldn't be so excited if I didn't think that-"
It was entirely true. Marlow Linney just had far too much sense than that. Riah might have swept her off her feet back then, but she stayed with him because he was seriously one of the best people she knew. He made her ridiculously happy and took care of her in ways she never cared for herself.
She had no doubt in his future parenting skills.
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She might be surprising, always, enough so that she kept surprising him in some sort of small way, even now. She was also unerringly constant.
He had more faith in her than did in himself on any given day, but that meant her faith in him somehow managed to boost his own. It was a weird cycle, but they were always a little bit weird. It worked for them.
His grin, smaller but more genuine than he could say, only broke long enough for him to press a kiss to her lips.
"We are going to be so good at this. They will create awards for how good we're going to be at this."
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Then, she nodded her head, her brain brimming with the best ways to celebrate their grand pair of news. She reached up, fingers curling into his shirt as she eyed him with a wriggle of her eyebrow.
"We need to celebrate," she said. "Dinner? A parade? Carnival? We need to do something what with you becoming a huge movie star and me- well, getting fat in a few months."
She grinned brightly.
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