(Untitled)

[edmcmillan]

Date/Time: Sunday, 22 April / 5am
Location: Ashed Quarters
Open To: Ashleigh
Warnings: married couple schmoop

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[a_lucky_charm]

Ashleigh hadn't really been sleeping. She normally hid it pretty well - laying in the dark, breathing evenly until she was certain that Ed had slipped off into the peace of sleep. She rarely left the bed after that, but she did relax and put less effort into pretending to be asleep when she wasn't.

It was odd, really, that he hadn't noticed. He normally picked up on such things quite easily. However, he'd been distracted and she always had an excuse for being awake before him.

When she saw a smile, a real one, her own face lit up. "Not yet this morning," she answered softly, returning the kiss when his lips brushed over hers.

She didn't believe his words when he told her that she was amazing. She wasn't amazing. Honestly, she'd never felt like more of a failure before now... and with her mother, that was saying something.

"I love you," she mumbled, reaching out to touch his cheek. "So much."

Their lips touched and she sighed into the kiss.

Maybe things would be okay. She'd started to believe that they would never be normal again

[edmcmillan]

Ed had been distracted. No one could really blame him, given what had happened, but a part of him still felt bad. He knew he was being a crappy husband these days - distant and withdrawn, wandering off by himself a lot - and he didn't mean to shut her out. He just didn't know how to talk about everything.

This morning, though, it was as if he really did wake up when he opened his eyes. Ashleigh? Was incredible. And he'd been taking her for granted. He hated realizing that.

He deepened the kiss a little bit and for a moment it was easy to forget the past several days. Ed could get lost in Ashleigh, so easily. It felt good to let himself get lost right now.

He pulled back after a moment, catching her gaze with his, and his hand slipped just under her pajama top, thumb rubbing light circles over her belly.

"That's our little girl in there," he whispered, and there was another smile -an actual smile as he ducked his head to kiss her shoulder. "Or son, I suppose." Was it obvious he hoped for a girl?

[a_lucky_charm]

Ashleigh was completely understanding of how he'd been behaving. She couldn't blame him for being distant or withdrawn. She didn't like it, of course, but she loved him and she did her best to let him know that she was there for any and everything that he could possibly need.

As always, she got lost in the kiss. His lips touched hers and, for that moment, she could forget about all of the horrible, awful things in the world. For those few seconds, she could pretend they were the only people who existed.

She'd not mentioned the pregnancy much since Trick had been killed - sometimes, it was easy to forget herself but she smiled again when he was the one to remember.

"Or bo..." she began to correct him.

It was only a little obvious that he was hoping for a girl. Though, honestly, when she allowed herself to think about it, she was sort of hoping for one too.

"Yes," she agreed. "There's a baby in there... our baby."

[edmcmillan]

Ed had gotten the message - loud and clear. She'd been like a rock to him through everything and he couldn't be more grateful. Even if he'd probably forgotten to say thank you.

He beamed at the idea of their baby. That sounded nice. Something happy and hopeful after the tragedy of losing Trick was really just what they needed. Not that it made it okay that he was gone.

But it made him feel better. It reminded him that there were still people who needed him.

"I can't wait," he told her, leaning in again to brush his lips softly over hers. "Our baby. That just sounds so amazing."