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Soren had been feeling sick lately―not unlike the last time they’d gotten a bad flu, really. Headachy, tired, sick to their stomach. They hoped they weren’t coming down with that again, personally, seeing as they’d been stuck in bed for nearly a week and a half while their body fought off the sickness. They didn’t want to experience that again and they especially didn’t want Law having to call in to work to take care of them.
He was still starting out, after all. He shouldn’t miss work too often if he could avoid it.
Still, it was getting concerning, and they’d long since learned that not telling Law their symptoms when they felt sick would just lead to him being even more protective of them when they inevitably got to a point they couldn’t hide it, so they waited for him to get off work one fine day with intent to ask his opinion. He was a doctor, after all.
Ah, their partner. A doctor.
“Hey, Pup!” They greeted, when he finally arrived home.
“Hey, Bunny,” He greeted in turn, smiling at them and pulling them into a hug to kiss them after he’d finished taking off his shoes and coat, “Everything okay?”
“Mhm,” They said, and almost winced at the instinctive deflection, “Been feeling a little sick, but I don’t think it’s anything serious?” They shrugged, “How are you, though?”
“Definitely been worse. What’re the symptoms?”
Ah, as they’d expected. Well, at least he was feeling alright.
“Headaches, back pain, nausea that comes and goes…” They listed off the symptoms, including the others they remembered as they went, “My ankles feel swollen, too, and I thought my breakfast tasted funny this morning but there wasn’t anything wrong with it so I’m thinking my tastebuds are being rude?”
“Sounds like a flu,” He said, then paused with a furrow of his brows, “Hang on, this is a reach but… Any odd or out of place food cravings?”
“I―” They furrowed their brows, “I mean, I did suddenly feel a craving for butterscotch pudding and chicken earlier?”
“And about how long have you been noticing the nausea?”
“The past couple of weeks…”
“Uh-huh…” Law frowned, and they weren’t sure they liked that.
“What?” They asked, “What are you thinking?”
“Bunny,” He began, and he paused as if he was trying to collect his thoughts, “... When is the last time you took your birth control?”
They gasped outright, taken aback, “I― Law, you can’t possibly think―”
“I’m just… Covering my bases,” He said, hands up.
But that was the thing.
They couldn’t remember if they’d taken their birth control this morning or not. Or at all since before the nausea had started. Like… A couple of weeks before.
Sure, they didn’t expect to remember taking it every single day since it was part of the routine, but…
They walked out of the room and went to grab their birth control.
It was nowhere to be found.
They―
They hadn’t even noticed, because they hadn’t had their cycle, and―
Oh, Moon help them.
“Pup,” They said, re-entering the kitchen, “I think you might be right.”
“Yeah?” His brows furrowed.
“I can’t find it.” They said, “And I don’t remember taking it today.”
The two of them shared a long look, and then, finally, Law slowly got to his feet from where he’d taken a seat at the kitchen table.
“Okay,” He said, “I’m gonna go buy a package of pregnancy tests.”
They nodded, and off he went while they carefully maneuvered into the seat he’d vacated.
When he returned some time later, with a box already being offered to them, they snatched it up and went.
They took all three of the tests in the box and―
Moon help them.
They were all positive.
Soren was pregnant.
Staring, nearly uncomprehending, at the tests, their mouth went dry. Law wrapped an arm around them, kissed their forehead gently.
“Okay,” He said, calm as could be and they were sure that was only by virtue of him having worked the ER during his residency and therefore now being used to remaining calm in stressful situations, “So I was right. What do you― What do you want to do about this?”
Well, there was the million dollar question, huh? What did they want to do? They didn’t not want kids, but they… Did they want a kid right now? How would they feel about this in the long run? It was theirs and Law’s, so they knew they were going to love this little cub, but were they ready to be a parent? Was Law?
“I― I mean, I’m not opposed to the idea of being a parent,” They said, watching his face to gauge his reaction.
“Okay,” Said Law, and he seemed like he was on-board with the idea.
“... Guess we’re gonna be parents, then.”
“Guess so.”
They shared a look.
Laughed disbelievingly.
Gave each other a kiss, and Soren set about snapping pictures of the tests to send to him and to post to their social media. They thought they ought to keep it on the down-low, but it was important to make sure their clients knew, you know? They probably would just hold onto the pictures until later.
Probably.
(In the end, they waited a total of two hours before making a very excited post about it.)
“I want, like,” They paused, “A taco,”
“Sounds reasonable,” Law said, but his brow was lifted.
“... Dipped in bechamel sauce...”
“Not… Horrible.”
“And, like, covered in mashed potatoes.”
“... Soren, you’re killing me.” He deadpanned, “You’re killing your husband.”
“It sounds tasty.” They argued, “Tell me it doesn’t!”
“It doesn’t,” He said, far too easily, “But if that’s… If that’s what you’re craving… I’ll see what I can do?”
This was not the first odd craving. It wouldn’t be the last. And every single one seemed to take years off of Law’s life, judging by the faces he kept making. Soren couldn’t help laughing a little.
And Law just gave them a suffering look… But nonetheless got slowly to work making what they’d requested―slowly, they knew, because he knew as well as they did that the craving could change or disappear at the drop of a hat.
“On second thought,” They said, suddenly realizing (as he had known all along) that the mashed potatoes were a bad addition, “You’re right about the potatoes. Just the taco and bechamel.”
Law sighed, relieved, and presented to them exactly that. “Thank the lord you said that before I made the potatoes.”
They grinned sheepishly.
He just laughed.
“Law, I’m drawing,” They sighed, exasperated, shifting in their chair and shooting him a look. They were about three months along, now, just starting to show signs of weight gain, and not at all in a state where they needed to be mother-henned. They were just trying to get some work done for a client. “It’s not exactly strenuous activity. Worst case scenario I forget to drink water for an hour.”
“I just,” He sighed, and he was about to leave for work which was the only reason he was here to nag at them, “Make sure you don’t just sit there all day and forget to eat? Please?”
They wouldn’t pretend they weren’t annoyed, because they definitely were, but… They did understand where he was coming from. They could forget literally all day to eat. They’d done it in the past, and they’d ignored literally all of their symptoms of a flu once just because they thought it probably wasn’t serious… They tried to take care of themself, was the thing, but sometimes their attempts were less than stellar. And Law loved them, so that worried him, and it especially worried him now, when Soren wasn’t the only one who could get hurt by them not taking proper care.
Law loved and trusted them, but he’d always been protective and having both a baby’s health and Soren’s to worry about was only going to amplify that.
They puffed out an annoyed breath, took in a deep one, and tried for a less unhappy look.
Law’s own expression softened in response immediately.
“I will,” They said, and watched him relax further, “Promise.”
The tension seemed to melt from him, and they weren’t surprised. He knew they didn’t make promises they didn’t intend to keep.
“Okay, thank you.” He kissed their head as he passed, and they smiled, “I’ll see you when I get back, alright?”
“Mhm. See you then.”
“Frequent breaks,” He urged one last time, stepping into his shoes.
“I know,” They rolled their eyes, but thankfully they weren’t so annoyed that they couldn’t appreciate that even he looked a little annoyed with himself.
And then he was out the door, and they were able to get to work.
Soren was starting to get used to the steady weight gain of pregnancy, even if at five months they were starting to feel a little bit uncomfortable with how quickly it was happening. They knew it had to happen, and it didn’t bother them too much to be gaining the weight, but it was… Off-putting to gain so quickly.
On top of that, there was a lot of annoyance to be found in the fact that with every pound they gained, it seemed, Law’s protectiveness spiked up a point or two. And, halfway through the pregnancy (or thereabouts), it was at a damn near possessive level. He was obsessed with ensuring their safety and happiness, and they, in their least hormonal moments, understood the how and the why. It didn’t stop them from being annoyed the rest of the time.
At their most hormonal moments it was the subject of a lot of frustrated crying and yelling.
Which was met, typically, by a very calm and gentle Law who tried very hard to make them understand he wasn’t trying to upset them, and that usually resulted in more frustration because they already knew that and couldn’t figure out how to express that they knew that and were still upset anyway.
They took a deep breath, squeezing their eyes shut, and got up out of bed. Law was at work, or was supposed to be, and that meant they could go about their day more or less uncontested in anything they did. As much as they hated him being so busy all the time, it was great when they were in a mood and wanted to be left alone. Would he still text them every break he got? Absolutely. Was he still going to call them on his lunch break? Yep.
But he wasn’t here, and that meant he couldn’t vaguely bitch about them working on things.
They weren’t quite waddling yet, but there were few other words that could describe the way they walked their way to the kitchen now, and it made them snort a little.
They had initially intended to grab some water and go sit down to draw, but instead they found themself grabbing a mixing bowl and a baking sheet as soon as they’d had a drink of water. They just… Had a sudden craving.
Specifically for, like, scones.
Blueberry scones.
Oh, and pancakes.
Blueberry pancakes.
They could make both at the same time, definitely. They could eat the pancakes while the scones were baking!
They hummed happily as they worked at both items, taking breaks when their ankles and back started hurting like they knew Law would nag at them to do, and soon enough they had eaten a plate of pancakes and had a nice, warm plate of scones waiting for them. Mm.
They picked up the plate and carried it, and their cup of water, with them to their computer. Now that they could work, they had every intention to do so while they snacked on their scones.
Oh, they were tasty!
They couldn’t help making a happy noise as they chewed on their first bite of the first scone, getting things set up so that they could finally get to work.
They just had to make sure that they ate all the scones and were done working by the time Law got home so he wouldn’t think they’d over-worked themself.
Lunch time rolled around at last, and Law’s daily lunch-call with them did as well as a result.
“Hey, Pup!” They greeted happily as they picked up, “How’s work?”
“Hey, Bunny.” He sounded beleaguered, but happy nonetheless, “It’s going, that’s for sure. How are you?”
“I’m good,” They kicked their legs a little, “I’ve gotten a little work done, so I don’t feel a lot of stress to get things done. I should have this commission done by tonight.”
“Don’t work too hard,” Law said, that note of worry creeping into his voice.
They resisted the urge to roll their eyes, because they understood.
“I won’t, I won’t,” They promised, “I wish I could say the same to you, but working ‘too hard’ is the only setting you have.”
He made a jokingly affronted noise, “You’ve eaten, right?” He redirected the conversation easily.
“Of course. I made pancakes this morning.” But that did remind them it was lunchtime and they’d finished their scones a while ago, “Have you?”
“Had a danish this morning.” He assured them, “Working on grabbing some lunch right now.”
They carefully got up from their chair and made their way to the kitchen to find something to eat, continuing their call with Law until he inevitably had to go back to work.
Despite doing it often enough throughout the years that they pretty much had most of their recipes memorized, Soren had never really realized how much stress relief came from baking. Like, really.
Not that there was as much of it as they wanted, they thought, a little bitterly, with a glanced tossed over their shoulder at their rather overbearing husband. Just as with earlier in the pregnancy, when they’d been a little less hormonal and a little less close to the size of the moon, they understood his worries, but it didn’t make it any less annoying to have him watching like a hawk all the time.
Like.
Literally, all the time.
As long as he was home, and especially lately, as they had well and truly begun to waddle and their ankles were swollen almost 24/7.
They shuffled over to the counter with their mixing bowl on it, grabbing the hand-mixer and going after the cake batter with a good deal of annoyance. Just to, you know, vent their frustrations without taking them out on Law. Like, sure, he was the source of the frustrations, but Soren tried not to make a habit of being mean to their husband for something he couldn’t control anymore than they could.
He couldn’t help being worried, and they couldn’t help being annoyed by it.
“You should―”
“Take a break,” They cut him off in a huff, setting down the bowl, “I know.”
Thankfully they’d managed to mix the batter for the appropriate amount of time by then, and it needed to set for a moment anyway while they made sure the pan was ready.
They grabbed said pan as they waddled to their chair and sat down.
Law was giving them an apologetic look, when they glanced up, and they sighed.
Still not his fault he was worried and just trying to make sure they didn’t hurt themself. He was just trying to make sure they didn’t work themself too hard, but it was…
Ugh.
He was watching them like… Like a dingo watched a human baby, you know?
He didn’t even let them go to the store anymore.
Like, before they got pregnant they could go if they wanted even if he usually did it instead, but he was almost obsessed with keeping them home and ‘out of danger’ right now. Not that it stopped them, ultimately, because they could literally just go while he was at work if they wanted to go that badly, and all he could do was tell them he didn’t want to go otherwise.
The possessiveness still rubbed them the wrong way.
But they understood and it wan’t his fault he was that worried.
“Can I get back up now?” They asked, after several minutes, and Law looked sheepish.
They took that as a yes.
They got up, they poured the batter into the pan, and they sat it in the oven.
If nothing else, Law’s obsession with them taking frequent breaks had allowed the oven to heat up properly. They did have a tendency to be impatient or forget to turn it on before they got to work, sometimes.
“So what all are you making?” Law asked, quietly, genuinely curious, as they sat back down.
The cake was the last thing they’d put in, after several other items.
So they leaned back in their chair a little, eying the clock.
“Danishes,” They said, “Brownies, scones, and a cake.”
“I didn’t realize we had a big enough oven for all that.”
They glanced at him, “The puff pastry is still in the fridge,” They admitted, “So I haven’t started on the danishes. But there’s enough room for the other stuff… Even if I did have to give every Jenga player a run for their money to fit it in properly.”
He snorted a little, and they couldn’t help giggling.
“Stress baking, or…?” He asked, after a moment.
“Had a craving,” They said, “And stress baking, too.”
He visibly bit down on his lip in what was likely an attempt not to nag them again.
They appreciated the effort immensely.
“... Gonna start working on the danishes once you get the other stuff out of there?”
“Mhm.”
He nodded.
It was fairly awkward, but they knew that by the end of the evening they’d still be curled up together in bed with his hand on their belly, grinning like an idiot at every little bump and kick. And he’d give them a back rub, if they asked, and foot rubs.
Being awkward now just meant he knew he was being overbearing and was trying not to be.
They could handle that.
“How you doing?” Came Law’s voice, through the receiver.
“Awful,” Soren complained, “I hate this.”
Law laughed, a little. “Bed rest doesn’t agree with you?”
They were within, now, about three weeks of their due date. They were the size of the moon and exhausted at all times, and the doctors (Law included) had told them that they needed to stay in bed as often as they could. They hated it, it was horrible. Like, really.
They needed to move.
“No,” They groaned, “It doesn’t. I need to move. I want to get uuuuupppp.”
“You can,” He said, placatingly, “You just need to rest as much as you can, okay?”
“I know.” They grumbled, “Doesn’t make it suck less.”
“You’re doing great.”
The praise did, at least, make them feel a little bit better. Enough they were able to joke, fairly lightly, “In thirty minutes I get to turn onto my left side. That sounds exciting.”
“Sure does,” Law joked in return. Then, voice soft and gentle, “I’ll be home in a couple hours, okay? I’ll rub your legs for you and we can watch Nightmare Before Christmas again.”
It was a tempting offer, so they shifted a little until they were more comfortable and said, “Alright.”
Soren never, ever, ever wanted to feel their water break ever again.
It was so, so unpleasant.
The whole pregnancy had been, sort of, but the sudden rush of liquid was awful. Thankfully they were prepared, were already undressed and about to shower because they and Law were going to head to the hospital once they were cleaned up since they were due very soon and wanted to be prepared… But it was still awful.
Like, ew.
Still, they called for Law as they steadied themself.
He ultimately told them to go ahead and shower while he got the car warmed up.
They did.
And then they let him help them out of the house, down the stairs to the car. Into the passenger seat.
They were… Very calm, the realized ― not terribly bothered. They’d been preparing for this moment for the last eight-ish months, after all. Their water had broken, they were on their way to the hospital to have their baby…
It was finally happening, and they didn’t feel as scared as they thought they were going to.
Law, however, was clearly panicking.
They squeezed his hand on the way into the hospital, and he squeezed back.
Soren was…
Exhausted.
Hours of labor, months of gaining weight and dealing with Law’s anxiety on top of their own… It had all been tiring. But, despite their complaints?
Looking down at their baby in their arms, they wouldn’t take any of it back.
And they weren’t at all upset.
“He’s so little,” They mumbled, tracing their forefinger over the bridge of the little bundle’s nose.
“He is,” Law agreed, smiling a little as he filled out the birth certificate. Under his breath, as he wrote, he mumbled, “Cai… Rhys…” And only smiled wider.
Soren found themself smiling as well.
Yeah.
Their little Cai Rhys.
Here he was, at last.
They’d loved him from the moment they came to terms with being pregnant, but now… Oh, the love may very well be at its strongest yet.
… Eight years later…
Soren still hated nights when Law had to take a double shift or work later than normal, both because he needed rest as much as they did and they hated him overworking himself, and because they had so much trouble sleeping as a result. Even with their son to keep them company, they had problems.
Tonight, like most nights when they couldn’t sleep, they sat in the window with Cai curled up against their chest.
He was just as awake as they were, kept awake for as long as they were most nights no matter what they tried to get him to sleep. He had joked, several times now, that when the moon was awake, he was awake.
They had, so far, only managed to shake their head and smile in reply.
“You should head to bed, Cub,” They said, nuzzling into his hair.
Ignoring them completely, he continued to stare out the window a moment before saying, “Bunny? Can you tell me about the moon again?”
They watched him a moment, seeing the moon’s reflection in his eyes, and the droop of his eyelids that said he was tired but unwilling to sleep until they could. He was too young to be staying up with them like this, but that never stopped him. Even when he was much younger.
They found themself smiling a little, playing with his hair and getting a smile out of him as a result.
“Okay,” They relented, after a long moment of silence between the two of them, “But only if you promise to go to bed when I’m done.”
Their son laughed, screwing his eyes shut as he snuggled closer. “Deal.”
And they knew that he was only agreeing because he knew that they’d go lay down as well once they were done. They knew that he would stay here with them until they could manage to go lie down. And they knew, even if he fell asleep on their chest again, as he had several times in the past, he would resist being sent to bed until they went to bed.
Even if it took all night.
Even if it took until Law came home.
So, taking a deep breath as they continued to play with his hair, they readied themself.
“Once upon a time,” They started, and Cai was already smiling.