Chapter Text
“Lisbon. Lisbon,” Jane calls gently, punctuating her name with whiskery kisses to her uncovered cheeks.
She groans, nose wrinkling in annoyance as she rouses from her slumber. Her left hand comes up to cover her face while she brings the right up to fend off her irritating bedmate with an uncoordinated smack .
“Ow.”
At his half hearted complaint, she cracks one eye open, meeting his gaze. His hands have caught the cast-clad offender, and he smiles down at her as she frowns. “I’m still sleeping,” she mutters.
“Not anymore,” he grins. “Get up, I want to see our prince.”
“Princess,” she corrects grouchily, pulling the sheets up over her head as she turns her back to her husband.
Jane sighs dramatically, snaking an arm around her waist. His hand settles against her abdomen, thumb tapping an impatient beat against the oversized jersey-clad skin.
She’s only able to stand about two more minutes of his tapping and yearning sighs before she gives in, grumbling a short; “Fine.”
Turning back to face him with an unimpressed frown firmly in place, she’s met with the look of pure innocence, all big round eyes and mild-mannered smile. As if he hadn’t so rudely pulled her from sleep, badgering her to get ready for an appointment that was still- she checks her phone from beneath her pillow- four hours away.
Of course she’s excited too (and scared and nervous and-), ready to officially see the tiny human she’s growing. Usually they’d be hearing the heartbeat for the first time as well, but despite the fact that they’d already gotten a preview at the hospital, they were still just as eager to hear it again.
Lisbon softens as she accepts her fate, and Jane can see the moment she does, because he’s leaning forward and capturing her lips in a languid kiss.
“I’m thinking: Patrick Jane Jr.,” Jane teases once they separate.
Lisbon rolls her eyes. “And I’m thinking: no.”
“Oh come on, I already overheard Wylie and Langley discussing baby Jane yesterday. I think it’s a great name,” he continues to needle.
“Who’s doing all the hard work? They better be discussing baby Lisbon-Jane,” she humors, injecting faux indignance into her tone. “I’ll have to have a chat with them.”
Jane laughs.
“And it’s still not a boy.”
“Ah, my dear Lisbon, only time will tell,” he says mysteriously.
***
Lisbon squirms on the table for the umpteenth time, the paper table cover crinkling beneath her. It seems like she’s been waiting an eternity for the ultrasound tech to return, when in reality it’s only been about five minutes.
She’s not quite sure where the nervous energy is stemming from, she definitely wasn’t feeling so antsy this morning. She wonders if maybe it’s because this will make it undeniably real. That all the nausea, cravings, fatigue and etcetera she’s been enduring thus far aren’t in vain.
And now, sitting here in the doctor's office, waiting to actually see their little creation within has her feeling all sorts of things. (Those could also just be down to the moodswings- something of which Jane can unfortunately attest to, having been on the receiving end of plenty recently.) But she’s going to be a mother, which wasn’t something she ever really thought about in any serious sense until about six weeks ago when those three little tests had changed the course of their lives. Jane’s going to be a father again, and they’re going to be inextricably linked forever in a much more tangible and personal way.
“Hey,” Jane calls softly, catching the hand that’s been picking at the blanket across her lap. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
She offers him a tight smile in response. Luckily, the sonographer chooses that moment to reenter the room, saving her from having to reply.
The woman introduces herself politely as Peyton, and seems to sense the nerves in the air.
“First time?” she asks as she sets up the equipment.
Lisbon nods, and Jane’s fingers tighten briefly around her own.
“Well this is pretty straightforward,” the technician explains. “The first ultrasound is mostly just to confirm the due date, and give you a peek at your little one to make sure everything’s how it’s supposed to be.”
The brunette shifts the blanket down in preparation as the technician grabs the bottle of gel. It’s cooler than she’d anticipated, and the other woman shoots her an apologetic smile before directing the couple's attention to the screen before them. As she moves the probe across Lisbon’s lower abdomen, a grainy picture starts to take shape.
Jane’s breath catches as he takes in the blurry form. It’s real, he thinks. It’s real, and I’m going to be a father again . The joy he’s feeling is palpable, his nerves converting to excitement at the teeny tiny person on the screen, and tears rise to his eyes.
Looking to Lisbon, he sees she’s having just as an emotional response as he is. Her lower lip trembles slightly as she fights to hold back the tears. “That’s our baby,” she whispers, voice thick with emotion. Jane continues to stare, awestruck.
“The head, the back,” Peyton points out as she goes. “You can’t see very well yet, but there's the start of ten little fingers and ten little toes waving at you.”
The thought of the baby’s little phalanges is almost too much for Lisbon at the moment, already overwhelmed by happiness and her face crumples as she loses the battle with the tears. Jane pulls her into a one armed hug, left hand not leaving her own as he does so. He knows she’s cursing up and down internally for allowing such a reaction, probably blaming it on the hormones and whatnot. After all, it’s her new favourite excuse.
Thankfully, Peyton doesn’t seem to judge as the woman breaks down over tiny baby fingers, having seen a multitude of reactions over the years. She allows the couple a moment to comfort each other, recognizing how overwhelming the realization of ‘it’s actually happening’ can be.
The sonographer continues scanning while Lisbon works on reeling in her tears, pausing occasionally to fiddle with a switch or a knob on the machine.
“Are you ready to hear the heartbeat?” she asks the pair a few minutes later.
Jane nods eagerly as Lisbon replies with a choked ‘yeah’. Peyton smiles as the whooshing sound of their baby's heartbeat fills the room. It’s almost enough to get the waterworks going again, and had this been the first time they’d heard it- it probably would have.
After three days sitting in a hospital room listening to the combined rhythms of both the brunette’s and baby Lisbon-Jane’s heart, they had it pretty well committed to memory. Jane had it tucked away safely in his memory palace, revisiting it often within the last couple of days, but nothing beats the real thing.
He’s half considering buying a stethoscope just so he can hear it whenever he wants when Peyton interrupts his thoughts, asking if they’d like to get it on a disc to take home. The way the blondes eyes practically twinkle with wonder is all the tech needs in answer.
A short while later, Peyton bids them adieu, and the doctor enters the room.
“Everything’s looking how it should,” the doctor informs the couple. “Now, usually we expect a bit of an error margin when estimating due dates, but judging by what we’re seeing here, ten weeks seems to be accurate.”
The doctor hands the couple the disc and a couple copies of the printed ultrasound photos (extra, per Jane’s request). The estimated due date of June 26th is neatly scrawled onto the back of the photos, and a reminder of when to book their next appointment.
As soon as they leave the building and step into the crisp November air, Jane pulls Lisbon into a crushing hug.
“Thank you,” he whispers into her hair.
She’s momentarily at a loss for words, caught off guard by his action. “For what?” she whispers back, but holds him back just as tightly.
Jane laughs, a watery sounding thing. “For being you. For giving us this.”
It’s Lisbon’s turn to laugh, the sound escaping in airy huffs. “As I recall, it took the both of us. But I’ll still accept it,”she teases.
The blonde pulls back slightly, just enough to look into her eyes. He makes sure she’s holding his gaze before he speaks. “Teresa, I love you so much that it scares me. And almost losing you, I just couldn’t- I just couldn’t do that again,” he says, words catching in his throat.
She nods mutely, bringing her hands up to cup his face. Some part of her wants to tell him that nothing bad will ever happen to them again, that they’re completely safe.
But she also knows that she can’t promise him that, he can’t do the same for her either. Recent events tell her as much. It’s almost worse that she had been nabbed when she hadn’t even been picking a fight. How easy it was for things to turn sour on the flip of a dime.
They live in a world filled with so much darkness and uncertainty, and they see the worst parts of humanity daily, have direct experience with the abuse and loss and death that mere existence provides.
But over the years she’s come to accept that there will always be the Hardwells of the world, always someone looking to cause pain and anguish.
However, there will also always be people like her team, like Jane, like herself. People looking for the truth, people looking to protect and to make the world a better place, despite its flaws.
And that’s the world she’ll strive to create and maintain for their family- that’s who she is, that’s who they are. Because no matter what happens next, they have each other, and that’s enough for now.
She promises him just that in the seal of her kiss, and he answers her vow just as passionately in return.