Today was Sunday, and it was normally a day of rest, but it was the day before opening night and the house was all abuzz with preparations for the party Miranda was throwing in honor of Vicki and the baby. A party at which no men were allowed. It was just as well Jon was going to be busy with rehearsal, since he was not welcome at the decidedly female event.

The countdown to Vicki's due date was growing ever closer, and Jon was growing ever more nervous as it approached. It didn't help that opening night for A Doll's House was in another day. Rehearsals had been going well, but Jon's mind was obviously distracted with worries about Vicki and the baby. He'd uncharacteristically flubbed several lines, much to the horror of the director, and it had ironically fallen on Mataya's daughter, Juno, to reassure her co-star that everything would be fine.

He hadn't quite wrapped his head around how the little girl he'd met a little over a year ago had already become a grown women, but it was Rhy'Din, and anything was possible. He'd learned long ago to take things at face value and not try to figure them out. And then, there was the matter of his long lost brother. Talk about awkward. At least, he didn't have to pretend to not have forgotten him, like everyone else he knew

Unsurprisingly, Vicki wasn't exactly thrilled about the baby shower, either. Being British, it was a cultural phenomenon she was wholly unfamiliar with, and even when Miranda had explained the concept to her, she'd still been all at sea. But Miranda was very difficult to argue with, and had even gone out of her way to buy Vicki a dress to wear to the little gathering. A dress that was currently hanging up on the door of her wardrobe while she lay in the middle of the bed, groaning. She was about an inch from declaring the whole thing null and void and cancelled, if she'd thought Mad Miran would let her get away with it.

At 37 weeks, with her due date now being counted in days, the red-haired Mrs Granger just wanted to get on with it and do the icky birth stuff. She felt fat and uncomfortable, she wasn't sleeping very well, her ankles were swollen, her back ached like crazy, and to top it all, Mataya had taken away her keys for the Shanachie in an attempt to stop her from coming into work. This end of the pregnancy was not agreeing with Vicki one little bit.

Jon was not ignorant of Vicki's discomfort, though he had a tendency to wallow a little bit in his own worries and problems. He was a caring, loving husband most of the time, when his mind wasn't ten thousand miles away worrying about this or that. At the moment, he was in the shower, going over his lines for Act III for the umpteen thousandth time. With opening night a day away, he had to get it right. He almost wished he'd asked for a leave of absence until the baby was born, his mind just not on his work, but on the other hand, the stage provided a distraction to his worried mind. It was a Catch-22, and Jon was stuck right in the middle. At the moment, he was unaware that his wife was lying on the bed and groaning and wishing it was all over with already, but he was about to become aware as he stepped out of the shower to start his day.

Lying on her back hadn't help with the ache, so Vicki rolled over onto her side as Jon stepped out of the shower, curling up around her ever increasing bump to try and stretch the painful muscles around her spine - and embarrassingly, her arse - as much as she could. "Swear to God," she informed the baby girl adjusting herself inside her mother's womb enthusiastically, "if you don't move out soon, I'll send someone in there to get you. And you'll be automatically grounded for ten years if you dare go overdue."

Jon arched a brow as he stepped into the bedroom clad only in a towel and overheard his lovely wife's threat to their unborn first - and quite possibly, at this rate only - child. "Uh, Vicki" I don't think threats are going to help." He had to hide the smirk that was threatening to appear on his face at her third trimester woes. "You know..." he started as he rifled around in his wardrobe for the day's outfit. "If you're anxious to give birth, we could give her a little nudge." He was, of course, thinking about sex and how sex at this point in the pregnancy might speed things up a bit. He was mostly teasing, but only mostly.

Vicki let her head fall back, twisting a little to look over at Jon with one raised brow, not exactly leaping at the idea. "Try running that by me when I'm not about to face an afternoon of silly girls getting ridiculously excited about a natural process and trying to make me be excited about it with them," she suggested. It wasn't often Vicki indulged in having a bad mood; unfortunately, she tended to look more comical than upset. "Anyway, it was nudging that got me into this state, remember?"

As worried as he was about Vicki and the baby and his long lost brother and the play, life was pretty damned good right now, and he had to smirk at his wife's bad mood, which Humphrey - of all people - had long ago warned him about. "I don't recall you complaining about it. In fact, I seem to recall someone falling all over themselves to....How did you put it' F*ck my brains out?" He was bent over his bureau as he rifled through the ridiculously large piles of clothing he had stashed in them, trying to find just the right outfit for the day, more picky than a woman about his appearance, at times.

She groaned again, copper curls sticking out wildly between her fingers as she rolled onto her side once again. "Oh, har, har, funny man," was her somewhat belligerent response. "Next time you be the pregnant one, see how you like it." And now she felt ridiculous. Not because she was being teased; that happened often enough that it was water off the giant waddling duck that she had become's back by now. No, she felt ridiculous because she could feel the silly, hormonal tears welling up, and that just wasn't the way Vicki dealt with things, not at all. Still, she held it in, forcing away the urge to sniffle out of sheer pride.

"That would be a neat trick, but I think it's impossible," he replied with a smirk she could probably just about his in his voice, even if his backside was turned toward her. "You've been wanting to f*ck me since you were..." He paused in silent consideration a moment. "How old were you anyway?" She'd known him, in a way, since she'd been a baby, though he had only known her a few years. Theirs was a simple relationship made complicated by one little step back in Time. Mr. Picky finally made his choice, plucking out a well-worn and well-liked sweater, a pair of jeans, and a t-shirt. Today was more about comfort than fashion. Even so, the sweater and jeans were designer brand labels, along with most everything that hung in his closet.

"I thought you said nothing was impossible in Rhy'Din," she muttered, wincing as a particularly enthusiastic stretch of the little limbs in her belly jarred against her ribs. Uncurling a little to avoid having it happen again, she grabbed a pillow, pressed it over her face, and had a very satisfying little screaming fit, thankfully muffled. The muffling didn't, however, stop Cosmo from bursting up from his padded bed on the other side of the room and leaping onto the bed with her, padding around in search of whatever it was that had upset his mistress.

"Some things are impossible..." he replied, sounding a little doubtful, but hoping at least, that was impossible. He had no desire to trade places with the beached whale that had taken over his wife's body. Turning, he frowned over at his wife as Cosmo hopped onto the bed, suddenly alarmed at her overly-emotional response that was exhibited by a somewhat muffled scream into the pillow. "Vicki" Are you okay?" he asked, concerned, as he hurried over to the bed almost as quickly as Cosmo. He dropped the pile of clothes onto a nearby chair and bent over to try and pry the pillow away from her face to make sure she was all right. "You're not having contractions, are you? Remember what the doctor said. Breathe in..." He took a deep breath, puffing out his bare chest to demonstrate. "Breathe out." And he exhaled.

She frowned a little as he raised this point, which admittedly wasn't something they had discussed in any great detail. It had taken their combined force of will to stop Humphrey from renovating one of the spare bedrooms into a fully equipped labor suite as it was. "I, um ..." Her fingers rubbed against her forehead as she huffed a little with laughter. "This sounds so paranoid and alarmist," she warned him through her smile. "I want to do it the natural way, if I can. But ....is it being silly to want a healer on hand, in case things get out of control?"

"No, not silly at all," he reassured her, reaching for her hand and brushing a gentle kiss against her knuckles. "Whatever you want, baby. I just want you and the baby to be happy and safe. I'll talk to Caroline," he added, skipping over Humphrey who, though well-meaning, was not female and had never been pregnant. Caroline would know exactly what to do, who to call, how to make arrangements. Hell, she might even make arrangements for them.

For some reason, the endearment struck her as very funny in that moment, her expression abruptly switching from concern to thinly veiled laughter. "Did you just call me ..." Her voice dropped to movie voice-over depth, developing an American accent to boot. "....baby?"

His frown disappeared, replaced by that dimpled Granger smirk once again. It was hard to stay serious for long in Vicki's company, even if she was overly hormonal. "Yes, I did. Do you have a problem with that' Would you prefer snookums" Or maybe honeybunch' How about sugartits?"

"Sugartits!" Guffawing with laughter, Vicki groped for another pillow to thump him with again, the last of her mood eradicated in the face of her husband's relentless teasing. "Darling, I know you can't get enough of them, but are you really trying to say that my boobs could give you tooth decay?"

He put up his arms to shield himself as he got thumped for the second time with the pillow, cackling with laughter, which earned them both another bark from Cosmo. Thankfully, it was only a pillow. "They probably could if I didn't brush my teeth!" he teased back, at least, if he partook of them while she was breastfeeding. A thought occurred to him and was suddenly wearing a slightly confused frown. "Vicki....When you're....you know....breastfeeding....does that mean I can't....you know..." He made a vague gesture toward her chest, wondering if he was going to be banned from that area of her body for a while.

Oh, it was so tempting to tell him he would have to keep his hands off for an indeterminate amount of time, just to see the look on his face. But the opportunity to point out a particularly funny bit of woolly thinking trumped that for Vicki. She laughed, relaxing back against the bed again. "Stud muffin ....if the baby can live on it, I very much doubt it's going to poison you if you accidentally get a mouthful," she told her husband with a chuckle. "It all depends if I get cracked nipples or not, really. They don't sound like fun."

Jon relaxed for about half a second before Vicki continued. "Cracked....nipples?" he repeated, enunciating each word singularly and with obvious distress. He didn't recall reading anything about cracked nipples in the instruction manuals. The more he learned about childbirth and all it entailed, the more he thought twice about putting her through it all again. There was nothing wrong with having an only child, right' He winced. It did sound painful. No wonder some women opted for baby bottles. Cosmo leaned over and gave his face a lick, just because it looked like his master needed it.

"Yeah." She drew the word out, feeling a little apprehensive about that side of the whole breastfeeding business herself. "Apparently they dry out and crack and sometimes they bleed. Not looking forward to that. If I can even manage to breastfeed. Some people can't, you know." She smiled faintly as Cosmo licked Jon's face. "But, you know, if you play your cards right, I'll let you moisturise them for me."

"Bleed?!" he exclaimed, pushing Cosmo's licking, furry face away from his with slight irritation, but the dog was persistent. He looked appalled and aghast at the very thought of his beloved wife's precious, perky nipples cracking, much less bleeding. "We'll bottlefeed," he declared with vehemence. Breast milk or formula, it was all the same to him. He couldn't even imagine what kind of pain she was dealing with and still had to deal with. This whole baby-making thing was more complicated than he'd originally surmised, and yet, women had been doing it since the dawn of time. Or at least, the dawn of humanity.

Vicki chuckled at his vehemence. "But I thought you wanted to do everything the natural way, love," she protested teasingly. "Nothing but the best for your little girl, as I recall, and they do say Breast is Best, after all." She didn't know how to tell him how very endearing his sudden concern for her nipples was. He didn't really have much in the way of empathic ability for the rest of her current headaches, but apparently nipple bleeding was something that really worried him. She gave Cosmo a push for him, wiping his cheek dry with her hand. "Don't worry so much," she told him fondly. "Women have been doing this for donkey's years. I'm sure whatever happens, it'll be all natural."

"Bleeding nipples doesn't sound very natural to me, Vicki," he pointed out with a pout, but he wouldn't argue the point further. In the end, it was her body, and her decision to make. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty for putting her through all this just so they could have a mini-me. It seemed almost a little narcissistic, but there was more to it than that. Having a baby was about the miracle of life and about sharing their love and starting a family. He sighed and settled down beside her, resting his head against her shoulder, his hand upon her tummy, feeling their daughter move restlessly against his palm, as if to reassure him that everything would be all right. "I want the best for both of you," he admitted quietly.

There was something very relaxing about the way Jon curled himself to her, resting against her and embracing the baby in the same movement. Vicki smiled, feeling the tension ease away as her hands came to rest on him - one over his fingers against the curve of her belly, the other playing in and out of his hair. "I know, love," she assured him softly, brushing her lips against his temple lovingly. "And it will be the best for us, no matter what happens. We can't predict how it's going to go, it's different for everyone. But I promise, no heroics. If something is too painful, or awkward, or anything, we'll find an alternative."

He quietly acknowledged her statement with a kiss, turning his head to brush his lips against hers before settling back against her shoulder. His opened his fingers so that she could weave hers between his as together they felt their child move beneath their joined hands. "I love you, Vicki," he told her quietly, unable to express it often enough, words failing to properly convey the depth of his feelings. "I'm happy with you," he continued, even after being with her for over a year, still a little bit in awe of how amazingly happy he was when he was with her.

She smiled, nuzzling softly against his hair as they shared the feeling of their daughter stretching and turning over in her belly. "I love you back," she promised him, answering him in kind for once rather than teasing him about something ridiculous. "I'm never happier than when I'm with you, Jon."

Content and not ready for the moment to end, he laid there against her, savoring the quiet moment that they both knew wasn't going to last. "Two weeks, Vicki. And if the baby comes early, I have an understudy. I want to be there for you and for our daughter." Somehow referring to the baby that way made it seem all the more real. There was a little person inside there just waiting to come out and be welcomed and loved, and Jon intended to make sure he did just that.

((A short but sweet scene between the parents-to-be, and the perfect mix of humor and drama. Muchos thankos to my partner in crime for all the fun! Stay tuned for more. We have a little something amusing planned for these two. They are too much fun. :smile:))