With summer promising to make itself known on the air, spring at King's Cove had been a windy affair so far. It certainly made painting outside nothing short of a nightmare, and finally Lena had given in, setting her projects aside until the weather calmed down a little. Not that there wasn't plenty to keep her occupied in the meantime. The men of the Cove were being subjected to every crackpot theory on how to have a successful pregnancy anyone could think of, with both Helena and Jasmin expecting, but thankfully, no one had argued yet. Besides, today was a milestone of sorts for the Kings - they were heading into Rhy'Din city, to have the first ultrasound scan that would tell them everything was progressing normally.
"Have we decided if we want to know if it's a boy or a girl yet?" Lena asked Tommy curiously, curled up in comfort on the passenger seat of his VW van.
"I dunno. Have we?" he asked, flashing a silly, dimpled grin over at her from the driver's seat. It was just like Tommy to toss a little humor into an otherwise serious subject, but he had his own thoughts on the matter and wasn't sure if it was up to him to decide. Just the idea of being able to see the baby this early on was new to a man who was still working on getting caught up with Rhy'Din. He was still pinching himself every morning he woke up to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
She laughed fondly, absentmindedly twisting a hank of her hair into a braid to pass the time as he drove them into the city. They could have brought her car, but for some reason, she'd wanted to give the van an outing. "Well, it depends if you want to know," she teased her husband. "I'm happy either way, but you might want to know in advance if you're having a son or a daughter. And we don't know if Jaz and Jack have decided to know in advance yet, either."
"Do you wanna know what I'm getting you for Christmas?" he asked. While it might seem like a random question, there was a point to it. "Jack will want to know because that's Jack," Tommy predicted, glancing from time to time from his driving over to her. "Do you want to know?" he asked. Though she'd already said she'd be happy either way, that really wasn't much for him to go by.
Lena considered the question for a moment. "Huh. I guess knowing would kind of be like knowing what you're getting for Christmas," she conceded with a faint smile. "Maybe I could know and keep it a secret from you. That way, you'd still get the surprise." She grinned at him, agreeing with his comment on Jack. "I hope they get a girl this time around. Jack's not ready to have a son yet."
"And as soon as you start buying baby things in pink or blue, I'd have my answer," he pointed out. He arched a brow at the remark about Jack. He hadn't thought about it much, but she was right. Jack had grown up with a military father and a couple of older brothers. It would be good for him to be surrounded by females for a change. "I think you're right. He never really got along with his dad or his brothers, but I'm not sure he'll know what to do with a daughter, either." For that matter, Tommy wasn't sure he'd know what to do with a daughter.
"I'm not that obvious, am I?" Lena laughed, shaking her head as she abandoned her braid. "No, everything will be multicolored, to keep you guessing right up until the last minute. Unless you want to know, of course." Tucking her hair behind her ear, her smile softened as he passed comment on Jack. "It'd do him good to have a little girl to dote on for a while," she mused. "Better than spending the first few years of a little boy's life worrying too much."
He chuckled at her question. "Do you really want to know?" He knew her pretty well by now, but he wasn't sure she could keep a secret that big from him until the baby was born. Anyway, all he'd have to do is tickle it out of her, if he really wanted to know. "I'm sure Jack and Jaz will do fine," he remarked, pretty confident about that. Himself as a dad" Now that was another story, but he kept that to himself for now. They'd been over it a few times already, and Helena seemed sure he'd be a great dad.
Smiling, she rested her temple against the headrest, watching him as he drove. "Yeah, I think I do," she admitted. "I know a lot of people like to be surprised, but ....I don't know. Maybe I just like the idea of being prepared. At least if we know, we'd only be arguing over one set of names, and not two."
Tommy frowned thoughtfully. Lena had always been the practical one, while Tommy was mostly a free spirit. He acted first and thought about things later. "What makes you think we'll be arguing about names?" he asked curiously. The fact of the matter was they hardly ever argued about anything.
To be fair, she was a lot more impulsive these days than she had been when they had first met, but the prospect of a baby had brought out her cautious, always ready for anything side. "We might not argue, but it would simplify things, wouldn't it?" she asked gently. "I don't mind not knowing, moonbeam. Not if you don't want to know. I'm just too practical for my own good sometimes, I know."
Tommy couldn't help but have mixed feelings about it. While it certainly made more sense to be prepared, knowing took away the element of surprise, but this wasn't about Christmas or birthday presents; it was about their child, their son or daughter. "I know I'm not very responsible about some things," he started. He had a tendency to live life as it came, and there was nothing wrong with that, but now that they were married and having a child, he knew some things couldn't just be left to chance.
"You're responsible about the necessary things," she reminded him. After all, he ran a business perfectly well, and he took care of her in a way no one else ever had. Her hand gently touched his arm. "Really, Tommy, I don't mind not knowing. I want you to be happy, that's all."
"It's not that important, Lena," Tommy argued, sighing as that didn't come out the way he wanted to. It wasn't the baby that wasn't important but the decision they were facing. "Tell you what, if Jack and Jaz are gonna know, then we should know, too. It seems only fair. And like you said, we can plan better. There's no point in getting our hearts set on a boy, if we're gonna have a girl, right?" he asked, almost as if he was trying to convince himself, more than her.
Her fingers crept up his arm to stroke into his hair, listening as he seemed to be talking to himself more than to her. "Let's see how we feel when we get in there," she suggested, offering up a compromise, of sorts. "Maybe seeing the baby is all we need, right now. We'll know better when we're in there together."
"Okay," he replied, though he would likely go along with whatever she wanted. It really just wasn't worth arguing over, and they were going to find out sooner or later, so why not sooner" At least that way they could prepare and not have to worry about everything being either yellow or green.
"How did we get so serious all of a sudden?" she asked with a playful smile. "Did we already get over the frankly mind-boggling fact that there are three people in this van?" She chuckled, touching her hand to her midriff. Though the bump didn't show beneath her clothes - not yet - it was there, and it had been the source of a great deal of speculation over the past few weeks since it had made its appearance.
"Have we decided if we want to know if it's a boy or a girl yet?" Lena asked Tommy curiously, curled up in comfort on the passenger seat of his VW van.
"I dunno. Have we?" he asked, flashing a silly, dimpled grin over at her from the driver's seat. It was just like Tommy to toss a little humor into an otherwise serious subject, but he had his own thoughts on the matter and wasn't sure if it was up to him to decide. Just the idea of being able to see the baby this early on was new to a man who was still working on getting caught up with Rhy'Din. He was still pinching himself every morning he woke up to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
She laughed fondly, absentmindedly twisting a hank of her hair into a braid to pass the time as he drove them into the city. They could have brought her car, but for some reason, she'd wanted to give the van an outing. "Well, it depends if you want to know," she teased her husband. "I'm happy either way, but you might want to know in advance if you're having a son or a daughter. And we don't know if Jaz and Jack have decided to know in advance yet, either."
"Do you wanna know what I'm getting you for Christmas?" he asked. While it might seem like a random question, there was a point to it. "Jack will want to know because that's Jack," Tommy predicted, glancing from time to time from his driving over to her. "Do you want to know?" he asked. Though she'd already said she'd be happy either way, that really wasn't much for him to go by.
Lena considered the question for a moment. "Huh. I guess knowing would kind of be like knowing what you're getting for Christmas," she conceded with a faint smile. "Maybe I could know and keep it a secret from you. That way, you'd still get the surprise." She grinned at him, agreeing with his comment on Jack. "I hope they get a girl this time around. Jack's not ready to have a son yet."
"And as soon as you start buying baby things in pink or blue, I'd have my answer," he pointed out. He arched a brow at the remark about Jack. He hadn't thought about it much, but she was right. Jack had grown up with a military father and a couple of older brothers. It would be good for him to be surrounded by females for a change. "I think you're right. He never really got along with his dad or his brothers, but I'm not sure he'll know what to do with a daughter, either." For that matter, Tommy wasn't sure he'd know what to do with a daughter.
"I'm not that obvious, am I?" Lena laughed, shaking her head as she abandoned her braid. "No, everything will be multicolored, to keep you guessing right up until the last minute. Unless you want to know, of course." Tucking her hair behind her ear, her smile softened as he passed comment on Jack. "It'd do him good to have a little girl to dote on for a while," she mused. "Better than spending the first few years of a little boy's life worrying too much."
He chuckled at her question. "Do you really want to know?" He knew her pretty well by now, but he wasn't sure she could keep a secret that big from him until the baby was born. Anyway, all he'd have to do is tickle it out of her, if he really wanted to know. "I'm sure Jack and Jaz will do fine," he remarked, pretty confident about that. Himself as a dad" Now that was another story, but he kept that to himself for now. They'd been over it a few times already, and Helena seemed sure he'd be a great dad.
Smiling, she rested her temple against the headrest, watching him as he drove. "Yeah, I think I do," she admitted. "I know a lot of people like to be surprised, but ....I don't know. Maybe I just like the idea of being prepared. At least if we know, we'd only be arguing over one set of names, and not two."
Tommy frowned thoughtfully. Lena had always been the practical one, while Tommy was mostly a free spirit. He acted first and thought about things later. "What makes you think we'll be arguing about names?" he asked curiously. The fact of the matter was they hardly ever argued about anything.
To be fair, she was a lot more impulsive these days than she had been when they had first met, but the prospect of a baby had brought out her cautious, always ready for anything side. "We might not argue, but it would simplify things, wouldn't it?" she asked gently. "I don't mind not knowing, moonbeam. Not if you don't want to know. I'm just too practical for my own good sometimes, I know."
Tommy couldn't help but have mixed feelings about it. While it certainly made more sense to be prepared, knowing took away the element of surprise, but this wasn't about Christmas or birthday presents; it was about their child, their son or daughter. "I know I'm not very responsible about some things," he started. He had a tendency to live life as it came, and there was nothing wrong with that, but now that they were married and having a child, he knew some things couldn't just be left to chance.
"You're responsible about the necessary things," she reminded him. After all, he ran a business perfectly well, and he took care of her in a way no one else ever had. Her hand gently touched his arm. "Really, Tommy, I don't mind not knowing. I want you to be happy, that's all."
"It's not that important, Lena," Tommy argued, sighing as that didn't come out the way he wanted to. It wasn't the baby that wasn't important but the decision they were facing. "Tell you what, if Jack and Jaz are gonna know, then we should know, too. It seems only fair. And like you said, we can plan better. There's no point in getting our hearts set on a boy, if we're gonna have a girl, right?" he asked, almost as if he was trying to convince himself, more than her.
Her fingers crept up his arm to stroke into his hair, listening as he seemed to be talking to himself more than to her. "Let's see how we feel when we get in there," she suggested, offering up a compromise, of sorts. "Maybe seeing the baby is all we need, right now. We'll know better when we're in there together."
"Okay," he replied, though he would likely go along with whatever she wanted. It really just wasn't worth arguing over, and they were going to find out sooner or later, so why not sooner" At least that way they could prepare and not have to worry about everything being either yellow or green.
"How did we get so serious all of a sudden?" she asked with a playful smile. "Did we already get over the frankly mind-boggling fact that there are three people in this van?" She chuckled, touching her hand to her midriff. Though the bump didn't show beneath her clothes - not yet - it was there, and it had been the source of a great deal of speculation over the past few weeks since it had made its appearance.