Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Spring 13, Year 2

The first two weeks back to work on Runaway Farm were grueling, far more than May had anticipated.  The year before, spring began quite slowly for May as she had only barely begun to acquaint herself with farm life.  Now, however, the workload of spring started with a bang as May attempted her most ambitious season yet.  After a dormant winter, she was eager to get back to work on the farm and to make the most of her spacious field to finally start turning a profit once again.

However, a year’s worth of experience, a clear field, and a sprinkler system were not the only differences this spring.  This year, May was also working with one notable disadvantage that she certainly did not have to contend with the previous year.  This spring, May was pregnant.  Newly pregnant, of course, but it certainly proved to be quite a stumbling block.  The first day of spring had been more demanding than May had anticipated, even with Harvey, Robin, and Demetrius on hand to help her.  The soil needed to be completely re-tilled and the amount of crops that May had planned was perhaps a bit more ambitious than she should have attempted in her current state.  May found herself needing a substantial amount of breaks that day after feeling light-headed and dizzy.  By the time the work had been completed on the first day of spring, the sun had long since set and May, Harvey, Robin, and Demetrius were all beyond exhausted.  It was a long, hard day’s work, but May was fortunate to have devoted friends and a caring husband to support her.  Robin and Demetrius were still in the dark about May’s pregnancy.  May wasn’t quite ready to break the news yet, even to her best friend.

For the remainder of the week, May tackled the farm work all on her own despite Harvey’s disapproval.  It was much easier once the crops were already planted, there wasn’t much May could do but wait for them to grow.  It was the only thing that gave Harvey peace of mind was knowing that at least she wasn’t doing the same amount of grueling work that they had done on the first day of spring.  May assured Harvey that it would be much easier work and that she would go at a slow and steady pace.  Her dizzy spells and light-headedness almost guaranteed it.  The early days of her pregnancy were certainly taking a toll on her and she wasn’t sure if it was normal to be this nauseous and light-headed.  Harvey assured her that this was a perfectly normal part of pregnancy, but it was making May miserable.  She hoped that this would all pass very quickly and that she could return to a sense of normalcy, but May had a bad feeling that it would be quite some time, if ever, for a sense of normalcy to return.

On the morning of the Egg Festival, May could already tell that it was going to be another difficult day to get through.  Before she even rose from bed, already her stomach churned and she had to jump out of bed as a wave of nausea hit her.  Thankfully it passed just as quickly as it had arrived, but it was certainly a foreboding sign of the day to come.

The morning’s chores passed without incident and May was quick to take a shower and get dressed for the Egg Festival once her work was complete.  They were already running late due to the increased workload on the farm and May had been slowed down a bit from the morning’s sickness.

“We don’t have to go,” Harvey pointed out as May opened the closet to get dressed.

“We should probably try to make an appearance,” May reasoned.

“Just consider what will happen if you get sick in the middle of the festival, you know the rumors will start flying,” Harvey warned her.

“Consider the rumors that will fly if we don’t attend,” May countered.  “Either way, people are going to talk.  That’s just how this town works.  We’re better off if we attend but just try to take it easy.”

“Do you think you’ll be okay?” Harvey asked.

“I think I’ll be alright,” May replied, though she wasn’t entirely sure she believed herself.  Harvey tilted his head skeptically, clearly he didn’t believe her either.

“As your doctor I-” Harvey began, but May quickly spoke up.

“As my doctor you should know that I’m certainly not the first pregnant woman in the world and I can handle going into town for a festival,” May cut in.  “And as my husband you should know that I’m stubborn as all hell.”

“I certainly know that much,” Harvey chuckled in response.  “But as my wife you should know that I’m paranoid as all hell.”

“And I certainly know that much,” May replied with a smirk.  “I’ll be just fine, sweetheart.”

“If you insist,” Harvey sighed.

Within the hour, Harvey and May were both dressed, ready, and on their way into town in the golf cart for the festival.  May’s stomach had still been too uneasy that morning and she had skipped breakfast completely, though she wasn’t sure she’d eat anything at the festival either.  Egg-based foods didn’t exactly sound like the best option for her stomach.

Once they arrived at town square, May glanced at her watch to see that they weren’t as late as she had anticipated they would be.  The festival had only started five minutes earlier, not too bad considering how much time was lost that morning.  As soon as they stepped out of the golf cart, already many of the residents in town were waving to them and shouting words of welcome from across town square.  May waved to Jodi who was standing near the center of town, chatting with Caroline.  At Jodi’s side was her husband Kent, a man May had only met once almost two weeks prior.  He had stopped by Runaway Farm on the first day of spring to introduce himself but May had yet to run into him again.  He seemed very quiet and reserved, though May could understand why.

Before May or Harvey could even decide where to head to first, May heard a soft whistle to her right.  When she looked over, she locked eyes with Maru who was attempting to get their attention in a covert way, though her whistles and wild arm gestures weren’t exactly subtle.

“Finally, I’ve been trying to flag you two down ever since the golf cart pulled into town,” Maru whispered.  “Come here real quick, I gotta ask you both something.”

Maru crept over to a nearby tree and stood beside it, signalling for May and Harvey to join her.  May glanced up at Harvey who merely shrugged.  He seemed just as baffled as May.

“What’s going on?  Is everything okay?” Harvey asked curiously.

“Yeah, yeah, just wanted to check in with you guys,” Maru answered, still in a whisper.  “You know how hard it is for me to keep secrets, I’ve been dying being around all these people and not being able to say anything.”

Poor Maru looked distressed, but May couldn’t help giggling.  Besides May and Harvey, of course, as well as May’s parents, Maru was the only other person to know about the baby.  It wasn’t intentional, Maru had caught sight of May’s positive result for her hCG test from the lab while at the clinic and Harvey swore the poor girl to secrecy.  It was bad enough that Maru was notorious for being a bad secret keeper but it was even worse that she had to keep the secret from her own mother; May’s best friend.

“I’m sorry you’re once again in a position to keep our secrets,” May said apologetically.  She recalled the summer before when poor Maru and Robin had to keep May and Harvey’s relationship a secret from the town.

“I totally understand you guys not wanting to announce anything yet, I don’t blame you,” Maru began shaking her head.  “But Yoba, it’s been hard not saying anything to my mom.  You really need to tell her soon.”

“I plan on it,” May replied with a nod.  “I actually plan on telling her today after the festival.  Harvey and I want to invite your parents over once the festival ends to hang out at the farmhouse for a bit.  Of course you’re more than welcome to join us.”

“Absolutely!” Maru squealed excitedly.  She very quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment, realizing just how loudly she had squealed.  Maru lowered her voice to a whisper and continued speaking.  “I wouldn’t want to miss my mom’s reaction, she’s gonna be ecstatic.”

“Well after today, at the very least you won’t have to hide it from her any longer,” May said kindly.  “Thanks again for your discretion.”

“Any time,” Maru replied with a friendly wink.  “This town is nuts, take as much time as you need before the madness.”

“Is it really gonna be that big a reaction?” Harvey asked uncertainly.

“Doc, the clinic was swamped with a bunch of busy-bodies asking you a million questions last year when they found out you and May were dating,” Maru said plainly.  “You really don’t think an even bigger reaction will occur when they find out you two are expecting the first baby the town has seen since Vincent?”

“Ah, a very fair point,” Harvey replied as a bit of color drained from his face.

“Just brace yourselves, that’s all I’m saying,” Maru went on.  “The instant that news breaks, it’s back in the spotlight for you two.”

“Odd how often we seem to be thrust into the spotlight,” Harvey groaned.

“Well that’s what you get when the lonely town doctor and the new farmer date, get married, and get pregnant in less than a year,” Maru teased.  “It’s almost like you’re begging for the spotlight.”

Harvey opened his mouth to rebut, but stopped when he heard Robin’s voice from across town square.

“Kitten!  Doctor Boyfriend!  There you are!” Robin called out to them.

Both May and Harvey turned their heads to see Robin ending a conversation with Marnie as she strode across town square to meet them.  Even though it was perfectly understandable for May and Harvey to be holding a conversation with Maru, she still felt incredibly guilty and her eyes shifted awkwardly back and forth as though she were caught in the middle of something scandalous.

“H-hey, Mom, we were just, uh… talking… about stuff,” Maru said nervously.  “Clinic stuff.”

“I don’t care what you guys were talking about, I just wanted to come over and say hi,” Robin said dismissively.  Maru sighed slightly in relief as Robin reached out and hugged May in welcome.

“You two sure got a sleepy start,” Robin commented with a smirk.  “You always manage to be the last ones to show up.”

“I do still have a farm to run and chores to do,” May reminded her.  “I still get up just as early as ever, but on festival days I have to fit an entire day’s worth of work into the morning and then get showered and dressed so that I don’t show up smelling like dirt.”

“Ah… yeah, I suppose that’ll do it,” Robin replied.  “Then I suppose I should thank you for not showing up smelling like dirt.  Hey, wanna go with me to the food table?  I don’t know what Gus did differently this year, but the deviled eggs are incredible.  Better stock up before they disappear, Alex has eaten at least an entire tray all on his own.”

Even the mention of deviled eggs made May’s stomach turn.  Hard boiled eggs weren’t exactly known to have an appealing smell and May’s heightened sense of smell was not going to be merciful if she got anywhere near the food table.  It would certainly be best to avoid it altogether.

“Oh, we ate breakfast before we got here,” May lied.  “But don’t let that stop you from grabbing a plate and enjoying yourself.”
“Suit yourself, but you’re really missing out on these deviled eggs,” Robin replied with a shrug.

The moment Robin left, Maru exhaled a long, shaky sigh.  It seemed she had been holding her breath the entire time Robin was in their presence.

“Alright, I gotta get away from you two, being around you guys is making it a million times harder to keep my mouth shut,” Maru said jokingly.  “Go mingle, or hide behind a bush together, just something away from me and my big fat mouth.”

Harvey and May chuckled as they bid Maru farewell and walked further into town square.  Most of the villagers in town were already caught up in conversations with others and thankfully, since they had yet to break the news to the town, Harvey and May weren’t quite the center of attention that they had been for the second half of last year.  Attention was finally beginning to fade from them as the town grew used to seeing them together.

Out of the corner of her eye, May spotted a very vibrant and colorful duo headed their way.  Approaching May and Harvey was Emily, hand in hand with a beautiful woman with hot pink hair in a long, elegant ponytail.  It was a noticeable yet stunning contrast to Emily’s very short, dark blue hair.

“May!  Harvey!  I’m glad you two made it!” Emily said excitedly.  “I wanted to introduce you to my girlfriend Sandy.”  Emily quickly turned to Sandy and addressed her.  “This is the newlywed couple I was telling you about, May and Harvey.  They just got married last fall.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet, I just love weddings,” Sandy replied excitedly.  Her voice was high-pitched, higher than May had expected, yet it was also strangely melodic as though she were singing without even trying to.

For a moment May was slightly confused.  She and Emily had never been very close before and the few times they’d ever spoken to each other were either in the saloon or during major events like town festivals or at May’s wedding.  At first May couldn’t quite understand why Emily had sought her out just to tell her this until she noticed the look of absolute adoration that Emily wore on her face as she looked at Sandy.  This was a woman in love, a woman who was proud to show off her partner, a woman who wanted to share her love with the world.  Whether May and Emily were close friends or not, she couldn’t help but feel an electric excitement at this news.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Sandy!” May said happily.  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around Pelican Town before, do you live nearby?”

“I live in Calico Desert,” Sandy answered, sighing in disappointment.  “It gets really lonely out there without many visitors, but thank Yoba for Emily because she’s been keeping me sane.  We’ve been writing back and forth to each other for almost a year and she’s come out to visit me a few times when she can.  Now that the bus to town was just fixed, it’s a lot easier for us to see each other.  That’s actually why I’m here, we finally have a reliable way to see each other more often.”

“That’s incredible, I’m so happy for you two!” May squealed excitedly.  “That’s wonderful that you two were able to keep a relationship so long through your letters, I bet it’s a relief to be able to see each other more often.”

“Oh, for sure,” Emily agreed, nodding fervently.

“You’ll probably be seeing a lot more of me,” Sandy replied, smiling lovingly at Emily.

“Always happy to see new faces around town,” Harvey said politely.  “We’re so happy to meet you, Sandy.”

“Likewise,” Sandy replied.

“Okay, sorry to bother you guys, I just wanted to introduce you since Sandy will be around town a bit more,” Emily explained.  “But you two take care, enjoy the rest of the festival!”

“You as well!” May replied cheerfully, waving to the two of them as they walked away hand in hand.

“It’s so nice to see romance blossoming in this town,” May said with a smile.  “First Elliot and Leah, now Emily’s got a lovely lady in her life.”

“For the longest time, everything in this town was just so stagnant,” Harvey replied thoughtfully.  “In the six years I’ve lived here, nothing really happened.  Everyone stayed almost exactly the same as they’d been when I moved here, with the exception of Vincent and Jas who were still toddlers.  It’s funny that you show up and within a year, Pelican Town is unrecognizable.  Everyone here seems more cheerful, more optimistic, more motivated.  There seems to be a rebirth in this town causing the people living in it to strive for a better life than the one they’d been living.  I’m not saying you’re the direct cause of all this change, but I certainly can’t deny that life around here didn’t start getting better until you showed up.  And not just for me, it seems.  You were the catalyst for a ripple effect that’s reached almost everyone in town and Pelican Town is much better for it.”

May was nearly in tears by the time Harvey was through speaking, blinking hard against the stinging feeling in the corners of her eyes and sniffing back an emotional sob.

“No fair, you’re not allowed to be that sweet to me,” May said playfully, still sniffing to subdue an emotional outburst.  “My hormones are already all over the place, you’re lucky I didn’t burst into tears and make a scene.”

“Just an observation is all,” Harvey replied sweetly.  “You made life better… for more people than you realize.”

Despite May’s valiant effort, a trickle of tears ran down one of her cheeks, though she quickly wiped it away with the palm of her hand.  All things considered, it could have been a far worse display.

In the time until the egg hunt began, May and Harvey spent their time saying hello and chatting with a few residents in town.  It was a far cry from the year before where Harvey was found hiding behind a hedge to distance himself from the rest of the crowd.  Harvey was right, a lot had changed in the last year.

For the most part, May felt perfectly fine as they mingled until she met up with Shane who was holding a full plate of deviled eggs.  Just as May had suspected, the pungent aroma of hard boiled eggs and mayonnaise was more than she could handle and she instantly felt nauseous.  It was difficult to pay attention to Shane talking about the new calves at the ranch while May so suddenly felt sick to her stomach.  In moments, she was positive that she couldn’t be around them for even a second longer.  Rude as it was to leave, May was certain that it would be even more rude to be sick in front of Shane.

“I gotta run, talk to you later,” May blurted out quickly, interrupting Shane mid-sentence.

Both Shane and Harvey looked bewildered as May rushed across town square, tugging Harvey by the hand to drag him along with her.  Harvey’s confused expression very quickly turned to one of concern, though he at least seemed to understand what was going on.  He was already pulling the keys to the clinic out of his pocket as May strode across town square, holding her lips tightly together just in case.  Harvey had barely opened the door to the clinic when May burst inside and ran straight for the patient restrooms.  Poor Harvey couldn’t even keep up, by the time he had closed the door behind them and followed her, it was already over.  At the very least May had made it to the patient restroom before being sick, that was something .

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry that you’re going through this,” Harvey said compassionately, running his fingers gently through May’s hair.

“I just never thought it would be this bad,” May groaned.  “You hear that this kind of thing happens in early pregnancy, but I just didn’t think it would be like this.”

“Everyone’s symptoms are different, as is the severity of them,” Harvey reminded her.  “I know this isn’t exactly comforting, but this is all completely normal.  With a bit of luck, it’ll pass soon and you’ll start feeling much better in a few weeks once you enter your second trimester.”

“I don’t know if I can deal with a few more weeks of this,” May sighed in defeat.

“I’m sorry,” Harvey repeated.  Even he seemed defeated, there didn’t seem to be much more he could say to May that he hadn’t already said a dozen times.  The look on Harvey’s face held nothing but the utmost sympathy for his wife.

It took May a few minutes to freshen herself up and prepare herself to rejoin the festival.  She couldn’t imagine it would be a good thing to disappear into the clinic for too long, especially after how swiftly and unexpectedly she had rushed away from Shane.  Thankfully Shane was not the type to gossip or speculate, but his aunt Marnie certainly was.  By the time May felt ready to leave the clinic, she took hold of Harvey’s hand and gave it a soft, gentle squeeze.

“Feeling any better?” Harvey asked hopefully.

“A little,” May answered.  “I’ll just be happy when this whole thing is over and we can just go back home.  Now I know how you felt at all the town festivals, just waiting for the whole thing to be over.”  Harvey couldn’t help himself and he chuckled at May’s sentiment.

When May and Harvey exited the clinic, May was relieved to see that no one had noticed them step out the door to rejoin the community.  Of course there were plenty of valid excuses as to why she and Harvey needed to be in the clinic, but it was still preferable to not have to explain themselves at all.  May’s eyes quickly scanned the crowd for Shane, hoping that he wasn’t too put off by her sudden and inexplicable departure.  When she spotted him, he was crouched low to the ground, speaking to Jas.  Jas looked mildly concerned about something and Shane appeared to be trying his best to comfort her, though he didn’t quite seem to know how.  The closer May got to Shane, the better she could hear their conversation.

“I don’t know where she ran off to, kiddo, but I’m sure she’ll be back in time for the egg hunt,” Shane sighed, shrugging as though this were the best answer he could give.  It was clearly not a good enough answer, as Jas looked quite displeased.

“But she can’t miss it!” Jas groaned.  “I was hoping she would-”

Before Jas could finish her sentence, Shane had looked up and locked eyes with May.  A look of relief washed over him and he stood upright as he gestured in May’s direction and interrupted Jas.

“There she is!” Shane sighed in relief, pointing directly at May.  Jas turned quickly on the spot and her entire face lit up when she, too, saw May.

“Miss May!” Jas said excitedly.  “Miss May, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!  I was hoping to find you before the egg hunt started.  You are joining the egg hunt this year, right?  I thought maybe we could work together like we did last year!”

The eager look on Jas’ face and excitement in her voice told May that there was only one answer this girl wanted to hear and it was an answer that May most definitely didn’t want to give.  After her recent bout of nausea, May wasn’t entirely sure it was a good idea to go running around town square collecting eggs.  And yet as May took a moment to contemplate her answer, she could see that her hesitance was causing Jas to look increasingly worried and disappointed.  Yet worry was also present on Harvey’s face, he was making it quite clear with his own expression that he was very much opposed to May’s participation in the egg hunt.  Shane, of course, looked just as desperate as Jas to hear confirmation from May that she would be participating, if only for Jas’ sake.  It seemed impossible to come up with an answer that would satisfy everyone, but May at least got an idea for a way to try.  It would involve a small lie which she would certainly feel guilty for, but she knew it wasn’t wise for her to sprint around town square looking for eggs, even if it was only for a minute.  Telling a tiny white lie to Jas seemed better than disappointing her.

“I don’t know, I got in trouble last year after what happened,” May revealed with over-the-top uncertainty.  Jas’ eyes widened.

“You did?!” Jas asked with wide eyes.

“I got spoken to after the event, apparently it didn’t go unnoticed that I gave you all my eggs,” May went on.

“I’m so sorry, Miss May!” Jas cried out, looking apologetic.

“Not your fault, Jas,” May quickly reassured her.  “I just think it maybe wasn’t the best for me to help you out like I did, it spoiled the spirit of the competition. It wasn’t exactly fair to Vincent or any of the other participants.”

“Yeah, you might be right,” Jas said sadly.  “I don’t want to get you in trouble.  Do you think you’ll participate just for fun?”

“Probably not this year,” May answered, shaking her head.  “Plus, look at it this way, with one less person playing that just means more eggs for you to find.  You’ve got this, kiddo.”

“Thanks!” Jas giggled happily.

As Jas and Shane walked away from Harvey and May, Jas looked up to him with a grin and May overheard, “She called me ‘kiddo’ just like you do!  I really like Farmer May, she’s nice.”

Once Shane and Jas were out of earshot, Harvey turned to May and brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face, looking upon her with admiration.

“Somehow you managed to make the best choice while still making everyone happy,” Harvey said in awe.  “I don’t know how you do it.”

“I had to lie a little,” May admitted guiltily.  “No one actually talked to me about it, but I figured a small fib was better than just telling her ‘no’ or trying to suck it up and participate when I really don’t feel like it.”

“You handled it admirably as always,” Harvey reassured her.

When it was time for the event to begin, Mayor Lewis’ voice boomed through town square calling everyone to the center to start the egg hunt.  Unlike last year, Maru didn’t even attempt to ask May if she would be participating or not.  Thankfully she knew better.  It was the same people participating this year as there had been last year, minus May; Abigail, Sam, Maru, Vincent, and Jas.  Everyone else seemed just as eager to watch from the sideline as they had the year before, there was no sudden and unexpected change of heart.  Though May wasn’t participating this year, she couldn’t help but smile at the idea of Harvey joining her in the hunt the following year.  An image flashed in May’s mind of Harvey cradling a tiny baby in his arms as he followed May around town square while she collected eggs on behalf of their son or daughter.  Only a few, just enough to say that they participated, but it was exciting to think that they were only a year away from celebrating their child’s first Egg Festival.  May was eager to experience all of their baby’s firsts with Harvey.

As soon as the buzzer sounded to begin the hunt, May watched as Jas took off with a renewed determination.  For just a moment May locked eyes with Jas and May flashed her a quick wink for encouragement.  Jas smiled and took off at a run, far more confident than she had been the year before.  There had been many changes in town in the last year but May couldn’t help but notice that Jas seemed a bit more sure of herself than she had a year earlier.  It was nice to see.  When the buzzer sounded once more to end the hunt, May could tell that Jas didn’t have anywhere near as many eggs as Abigail, but at the very least she had a huge smile on her face.  She’d done far better on her own this year than she had the year before.

“Would you just look at all these eggs!” Lewis exclaimed, glancing into the baskets of the participants.  “I sure do wish you kids would clean up litter with this much enthusiasm, we’d be the cleanest town this side of the Gem Sea!”

Lewis chuckled heartily as the rest of the crowd groaned or rolled their eyes.  May would have sworn she heard him make the same joke the previous year and guessed from the reactions of the crowd that it was a bad joke he made annually.  After declaring Abigail the winner of the egg hunt, Lewis clapped his hands together to get the attention of the crowd one last time.

“And with that, our Egg Festival this year has reached its end!” Lewis announced.

Much like last year, the group surrounding Lewis immediately dispersed and everyone seemed eager to get back home.  This certainly seemed like one of the least enjoyed festivals that the town had.  While Sebastian followed Abigail and Sam in the direction of the river, Robin and Demetrius turned their backs to leave toward the mountain followed closely by Maru.  May reached out a hand and tapped Robin on the shoulder.

“Do you guys have any plans for the rest of the day?” May asked once Robin turned to look at her.

“Not really,” Robin answered with a shrug.  “With all those eggs I ate, I plan on passing out in a food coma.  Why, did you have something in mind?”

“I just thought it might be nice if you head over to the farmhouse and we can maybe spend the afternoon together,” May replied as casually as she could.  It was difficult to mask the importance of this request.

Robin quickly glanced back and forth between Demetrius and Maru who both nodded back at her.  May couldn’t help but notice Maru glance over at Harvey and the moment they locked eyes together, she smirked slightly.

“Sure, why not,” Robin replied.  “I’m definitely not looking forward to the long walk back home, I can put it off for a bit.  It might even be better to rest for awhile and let my food settle before heading up the mountain.”

The Higgins’ golf cart could only seat two, three if everyone squeezed close together, but certainly not five.  The Higgins’ and the Bennetts parted ways briefly as Harvey and May climbed into the golf cart to head back to the farmhouse, leaving the Bennetts to walk the distance there.

“I feel bad just leaving them there,” May commented as Harvey drove across the cobblestone path back to the farm.

“It sounds uncaring but I’m far more concerned about you getting a proper ride home, especially in your current condition,” Harvey pointed out.  “But I’ll tell you what, once we get back home I’ll drop you off and turn back around.  I can start shuttling them here one by one to at least make the trip shorter.”

“Thanks,” May replied sweetly.  “I doubt they make a family-sized golf cart, but maybe we’ll need one.”

When they arrived home, May waved to Harvey as he turned around to start bringing the Bennetts back to the farmhouse.  As she watched the golf cart go, she started to feel very nervous.  Of course she had been feeling a bit queasy all morning, but she could tell that this was not a side effect of her pregnancy.  Other than Harvey, this would be the first time that May would be announcing her pregnancy to someone face to face.  She’d had a phone call with her parents to break the news but it seemed like a much more personal ordeal in person and especially with someone she was so close to.  It was an odd sort of friendship May had with Robin, partly due to their large age gap.  Most times Robin felt like her best friend where their difference in age was hardly noticed.  Other times, May came to see Robin as a second mother, a woman with experience and wisdom that May sought whenever she needed motherly advice or even just a maternal stand-in.  Though May’s relationship with her mother had improved, it was still difficult being so far away from her.  There were times when having a mother’s love and support was needed from more than just a phone call and it was comforting to know that her best friend could fill that void.  Especially now, May knew that she would need Robin’s guidance and support more than ever.  It left May feeling nervous and excited to know that she would finally get to make such a monumental announcement to someone she cared about so much.

It took a few minutes, but eventually Harvey had shuttled Robin, Maru, and Demetrius over to the farmhouse and May had already setup chairs in the living room to make everyone comfortable.  To ensure that May got a seat on the sofa, Harvey immediately sat down in one of the dining room chairs and gestured for Demetrius to take the dining room chair next to him.  Maru, knowing what announcement was to come, sat on one end of the sofa to allow May and Robin to sit next to each other.  May caught Maru lock eyes with Harvey and flash him a giddy smile and a subtle thumbs up.  The nervous feeling in May’s stomach only intensified.

“I don’t know why I even bother going to this event every year,” Robin groaned, slouching against the back of the sofa.  “I always eat too much and then I regret it.  Not that it’s any different at other events, Gus certainly spoils this town with so much good food.  But at least at other events there’s something to do , this one’s just useless unless you’re a kid.”

“Hey, I participate every year!” Maru replied in mock offense.

“Exactly, and you’re my kid,” Robin explained with a smirk.  “It’s just boring as hell to stand back every year and watch the same group of kids… and kid-like adults-” Robin added after Maru loudly cleared her throat, “-run around looking for eggs.  Either we need a whole new springtime event or we need some fresh blood or something.  It was cute watching Vincent and Jas when they were little, but it stopped being cute about a year or two ago.”

May locked eyes with Harvey and they both nodded very slowly and subtly.  Neither of them had been exactly sure how or when they would break the news, but this seemed to be the perfect segue into their big reveal.  It couldn’t have been more perfect if May had scripted it herself.  May opened her mouth to speak, but closed it when she found that she was starting to feel a wave of emotion overtake her.  She hadn’t expected to feel this overwhelmed but now that the time was actually here, she feared for a moment that she might burst into tears before she could even say a word.  Her hormones really were wreaking havoc on her.  May nodded once more to Harvey, signalling him to start speaking.  Maru sat upright and looked intensely at Harvey as he opened his mouth to speak.

"There's actually something May and I want to tell you guys," Harvey started off slowly.  “We wanted to make sure that you hear this from us before the rest of the town knows.”  Robin and Demetrius gave their full attention, meanwhile Maru broke out in a huge grin that she was trying very hard, and failing, to subdue.  Harvey looked over at May and nodded, allowing her to take over so that she could announce the good news.  As overcome with emotion as she was, she knew she could at least hold it together long enough to say-

"I'm pregnant!"

Robin immediately gave an excited shriek that was so loud, it actually caused May's ears to hurt for a moment.  Meanwhile Demetrius gave Harvey a solid, congratulatory pat on the back as a wide, goofy grin spread across his face.

"A BABY!!!" Robin shouted as she reached over to give May a big hug, squeezing as tight as she could.  She released May almost immediately and sat back with a look of mild fear.

“I didn’t squeeze too hard, did I?” Robin asked cautiously.  May chuckled and shook her head.

“I’m pregnant, not made of glass,” May commented with a smirk.  Robin immediately resumed hugging her friend, though a little less tightly this time.

"Congratulations, you two," Demetrius said, still smiling widely.

It was a few moments before Robin realized that Maru was being suspiciously quiet and not showing the same shock and amazement.  Robin released May once more and turned her attention to Maru, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"You already knew, didn't you?!" Robin asked Maru, tilting her head in annoyance.  Maru silently nodded as she flashed a cheeky grin.

“You little brat, you didn't say anything?!” Robin said with mock indignation.

“I wanted to so bad , but I promised Harvey I wouldn't tell anyone,” Maru groaned.

“I'm your mother, I'm not just 'anyone’,” Robin said matter-of-factly.

“Harvey told me, and I quote, 'Don't tell anyone, especially not your mom and dad… because we secretly hate them’," Maru said seriously.  This answer caused a few raised eyebrows until Maru burst out laughing.

"Kidding!" Maru replied quickly.  "Well, kidding about the last part.  He definitely said the first part."

"What gives, Doctor Boyfriend?" Robin asked, rounding on Harvey.

"May really wanted to be the one to tell you," Harvey answered honestly.  “Plus, Maru wasn’t even supposed to find out, she only knew because I was just a bit too slow intercepting May’s lab results from the fax machine.  We had every intention of telling you all when the time felt right.”

“Alright, alright,” Robin answered with a nod, turning her attention back to May.  “I guess if it’s because you wanted to be the one to tell me then I can respect that.  Now with that being said, I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE GONNA HAVE A BABY!”

Robin shrieked and wrapped her arms around May one more time, squeezing her tightly as she continued to squeal in excitement.  May had been proud of how long she had been able to hold back her tears, but being able to share this news with someone and feel their support, share in their excitement, and actually see their joy was so overwhelming to May that she let out a soft, muffled sob.  Tears streaked down her face but Robin only held her tighter, which only made May cry even harder.  It was a peculiar cycle and May was sure that if she could see the others’ faces, they would be staring at the two of them as though they were crazy.  Sure enough, when Robin finally released May, Maru was staring awkwardly at the ceiling while Demetrius and Harvey appeared to have started a conversation of their own to give May and Robin their moment.

“I’m so happy for you, Kitten,” Robin said sincerely.

“I’m sorry, my hormones are already going crazy,” May replied, attempting to sniff back her tears.  “I didn’t mean to cry all over your shoulder.”

“You’re pregnant, you’re allowed to be as crazy as you wanna be,” Robin joked.  “Trust me, this is only the beginning.  Talk to me once you’ve burst into tears at 3 in the morning because you have to have a bowl of cereal right now but you’re out of milk and the stores are closed.  I wish that was a random example I pulled from thin air but I assure you it’s not.”

May laughed as Demetrius temporarily halted his conversation long enough to call out “It’s not!” and then seamlessly resumed speaking to Harvey.

“Let’s also not forget the time I almost left the house with no pants on,” Robin went on, chuckling.  “I got all dressed, planned to leave the house to make a run to the store, and even stopped at the door to make sure I had my keys and purse.  I had my hand on the doorknob and almost turned it to open the door before looking down and realizing I had no pants on.  True story.  Pregnancy brain is real, Kitten.  It’s no myth, you will lose your mind.”

“Yesterday I attempted to feed the chickens three times,” May laughed.  “I fed them in the morning and then twice afterwards went into the coop to feed them and wondered why there was already food there.  Trust me, it’s already begun.”

“Pregnancy’s a wild ride, Kitten, this is only the beginning,” Robin remarked, smiling at May with a mix of pride and excitement.

“Don’t remind me,” May sighed.

The hour that passed was oddly soothing to May.  It was nice to finally be able to open up about her pregnancy to someone other than Harvey, it still seemed to be a subject that brought him equal amounts of joy and anxiety.  Feeling Robin’s excitement and sharing it with her was wonderful, it was great to hear her input and be able to vent to someone who understood.  As much as Harvey understood the process academically, Robin understood from personal experience.  While Maru, Harvey, and Demetrius had moved to the dining room to hold their own conversation on topics ranging anywhere from upgrading clinic equipment to Demetrius’ latest field work, it was calming for May to have an outlet to continually talk to someone about the largest, and only, thing going on in her life.  She hadn’t realized how stifling it was to keep quiet on the subject until given the opportunity to talk openly about it.  Robin proved incredibly helpful already in giving May some pointers on how to handle her nausea as well as some useful heads up for symptoms to look out for as she got further along.  It was the sort of useful maternal guidance that May had been missing from her own mother and was relieved to find from Robin.  By the time Robin and May had even the slightest lull in their conversation, Robin looked down at her watch and frowned.

“We should probably get going,” Robin sighed.  “I’m not looking forward to that walk up the mountain but it’s gotta happen sooner or later.  Might as well do it now before I get so comfortable on your couch I just spend the night and you end up with an impromptu sleepover.”

“Don’t tempt me with a good time,” May teased.

Robin groaned as she rose from the couch, signalling to Demetrius and Maru to wrap up their conversation.  May was pleased to see that Harvey at least looked at ease, far more than he had all morning.  It didn’t take much these days for Harvey to appear tense or anxious.  While May appreciated having someone to talk to about her pregnancy, Harvey seemed to appreciate having people over to take his mind off of it.  Having Robin and Demetrius over more often might prove beneficial for both of them to seek comfort and support from someone who has been in their position before.  As the group approached the door together, Robin turned around and hugged May one last time, patting her supportively on the back.

“If you need anything at all, Kitten, you just let me know,” Robin said seriously once she had pulled away from their hug.  “Your husband may be the doctor, but I’ve been through two pregnancies and I can give you whatever advice or guidance I can.  I can guarantee you, there’s only so much a medical degree can help you with.”

Robin glanced apologetically to Harvey who nodded in response.

“I have a feeling I’ll be calling you constantly,” May admitted sheepishly.

“Any time, I mean that,” Robin replied.  “I’m here for you, Kitten.”

“Thank you so much for that,” May sighed happily.  “That really means so much to me, especially right now, and-”

May stopped speaking when she started to feel another swell of emotion and closed her lips tightly, attempting to hold back another emotional sob.  Robin just smirked and nodded knowingly.

“Don’t work yourself up, Kitten, we’ve been friends long enough for me to know how you feel,” Robin said kindly.  “Just let me know whatever you need.  And Doctor Boyfriend, same goes to you.  You need anything from us, you just let us know.”  Demetrius was silent, but stood next to Robin and nodded in agreement.  Maru didn’t even have to nod for Harvey to know that she was also fully supportive of him and his growing family.

“We were actually hoping that once the weather gets a little warmer, maybe at the start of summer, you could build a second story to the farmhouse for a nursery,” Harvey requested.  Just hearing the word ‘nursery’ caused Robin to become giddy all over again.

“Absolutely!” Robin squealed in delight.  “I’ll start drawing up the plans as soon as I get home.”

“You don’t have to rush-” May began, but Robin kept barrelling forward.

“When I’m through, that baby is gonna have the best damn nursery anyone has ever seen,” Robin went on passionately.  “It’s been too long since I’ve built a nursery and although I was hoping to build one for my grandchildren-” Robin glanced sideways at Maru, “-it’s just as rewarding to build one for you two.  Not quite a grandbaby, but just as special.”

“I guess we’ll have to name you Honorary Grandma,” May replied sweetly.

This time it was Robin’s turn to get choked up with emotion.  The moment May uttered the word ‘grandma’ Robin inhaled sharply and clutched her chest as though she’d had the wind knocked out of her.  Clearly she hadn’t expected May to grant her a title of such honor and May knew that it was a title Robin would not take lightly.  With Harvey having no parents of his own and May’s parents living so far away, Robin may very well be the closest person to a grandma for their baby than anyone else.

“Oh, you know just how to push all my buttons, don’t you, Kitten,” Robin teased, wiping stray tears away on the backs of her hands.  “Honorary Grandma… I’ll take it.”

There was a flurry of hugs, handshakes, and ‘congratulations’ as the Bennetts and Higgins’ said their goodbyes, with Robin returning to hug May three times before finally tearing herself away to leave.  Demetrius and Harvey shared a slightly-too-long handshake as Demetrius fumbled through an excited and endearingly fatherly speech about how rewarding fatherhood is and how Harvey is welcome to ask any and all questions he might have about fatherhood.  When the Bennetts finally exited the farmhouse, May closed the door behind them and took a long, deep breath.

“I don’t know why I’m still so nervous,” May said shakily.  “I thought telling Robin would feel like a weight off my shoulders.  And I guess it does, to a point, but not as calming as I had hoped.  I still feel so anxious.”

Harvey smiled warmly at May and wrapped an arm supportively around her shoulders as he led her to the sofa to sit down.

“Telling Robin was the easy part,” Harvey began gently.  “Now it’s everyone else we have to worry about.”

May’s eyes widened as she sat down with Harvey, leaning against his chest to snuggle close to him for comfort.  She had spent so long psyching herself up to tell Robin, she didn’t even want to think about how the rest of the town would take the news that a new baby was on the way.

Chapter Text

Spring 24, Year 2

Tears welled up in the corners of May’s eyes as she looked at her reflection.  Last year, her Flower Dance dress had fit her perfectly.  It hugged every curve and showed off her slender, petite figure.  This year, however, the fabric of the dress was pulled so tightly around her midsection that she had barely been able to close the zipper.  It was possible, but it was a tight squeeze.

As May’s pregnancy belly finally started to show, she had been wearing looser clothing around town to remain discreet.  She and Harvey had not yet been ready to announce the pregnancy to the town until she was a bit further along but now, as she approached the start of her second trimester, they were finally ready to break the news.  A town event seemed as good a time as any, at least everyone would be gathered together to hear the news all at once.  And yet as May surveyed her reflection in the mirror, staring at her midsection with a quivering lip, she was wondering if it was too late to just announce it on the bulletin board like they had for their engagement.  The thought of showcasing her growing belly to the town was suddenly mortifying.

“Honey, what’s the matter?!” Harvey asked, rushing to her side when he noticed her tears.  Of course he looked handsome in his light blue suit.  In a cruel twist of fate, his suit seemed to fit him far better this year than it had the year before and made him look slimmer.

“It’s nothing,” May replied, but the crack in her voice gave her away as she fought to subdue her tears.  Harvey tilted his head in concern and May sniffled as she tried once more to halt her crying.  “I just… I look so fat in this dress.”

A small sob escaped that May could no longer hold back.  The tears that had threatened to fall from her eyes were now streaming down her cheeks.

“Oh, honey,” Harvey sighed gently, rushing to May’s side.  His arms enveloped her immediately and May rested her head delicately against Harvey’s shoulder.

“I look so ridiculous, I don’t even know if I want to go anymore,” May uttered quietly.

“Honey, you’re pregnant, there’s nothing wrong with that at all,” Harvey replied soothingly.  “You’re not fat, you don’t look ridiculous, you look radiant.”  May simply scoffed at his answer.

“I mean it,” Harvey continued, his tone becoming serious.  He stepped back to take a better look at May and smiled sweetly back at her.  “You look perfect to me.”

The way Harvey was looking at her made May instantly feel better.  There was a reverence in his gaze and a sincerity in his voice that told May that he meant every word.  The dress that had moments earlier felt ill-fitting and awkward now suddenly felt comfortable and cute.  Leave it to Harvey to instantly make May feel better about herself, he was always exceptionally skilled at that.  May flashed Harvey an appreciative smile and twirled in her dress, giggling slightly at the way Harvey stared in awe.  By the time she completed her twirl, she noticed a soft pink flush in Harvey’s cheeks.

“What’s got you all flustered?” May teased.

"I just never thought I'd see the day where I'd be escorting a beautiful lady to the Flower Dance," Harvey said, beaming at his wife with a lovestruck expression.  "Not that Maru isn't beautiful, of course," he added with an awkward chuckle.

"I'm just glad you agreed to dance with me this time, after last year I was afraid you'd turn me down again," May teased.

"I'm never going to live that one down," Harvey sighed, hanging his head slightly.

“Never,” May replied, placing a gentle kiss on the tip of Harvey’s nose.

“Well if we hope to be on time, we should probably get going,” Harvey remarked, glancing at his watch.  “We always seem to be the last ones to arrive, but I suppose in this case that’s not terrible.  Considering what we’re announcing, I’d hate to live through an announcement like that more than once.”

“Once will be bad enough,” May agreed.  “Hopefully once the chaos is over we can at least enjoy the dance together.”

“ ‘Enjoy and dance aren’t often two words I put together in the same sentence,” Harvey teased.  “But I have a feeling this year will be quite a different experience than any Flower Dance I’ve ever had.  Who knows, maybe this one won’t be my least favorite event anymore.”

The drive through Cindersnap Forest was bumpier than expected, May and Harvey had never driven the golf cart this deep into the forest before.  Yet Harvey insisted on taking the golf cart to prevent May from walking such a long distance in heels and in this instance, May fully agreed.  She recalled the year before and the long, tiring walk back home at the end of the event.  By the time they arrived at the festival, they could already hear music playing and hear the chatter of their friends and neighbors.

The first person Harvey and May encountered when they stepped into the forest clearing was Pierre, which was unsurprising.  Last year he’d had a booth setup with souvenirs and this year was no different.  Pierre’s booth was ladened with seasonal decor and bouquets of flowers.  May walked quickly by the booth, waving courteously to Pierre as she went past.  Just as she passed by, May caught Pierre tilt his head sideways and his eyebrows knitted together, but he didn’t seem to quite process what looked different about May before she and Harvey had already gone.

The next person May encountered as they stepped further into the open field was Emily.  She was standing with her girlfriend Sandy, smiling lovingly as Sandy picked a stray flower petal from Emily’s shoulder that had fallen from the daisies placed in her hair.  Both women were wearing beautiful dresses, it was clear Emily had gone all-out to make dresses for their first Flower Dance together.  When May passed, she gave Emily and Sandy the same friendly wave she had given Pierre.  Unlike Pierre, however, Emily’s eyes widened slightly and she seemed to notice right away just what was different about May.

“Farmer May, Doctor Harvey!” Emily greeted them kindly as she rushed forward.  When she approached them, she lowered her voice to nearly a whisper and looked back and forth between them with a giddy excitement.  “I hope I’m not prying but… May, are you… are you… expecting?”

May leaned in close and very discreetly nodded her head as a wide smile spread across her face.  She should have known that if anyone was going to recognize it right away, it would be Emily.  Emily had been the one to take her measurements and make her dress the year earlier, of course she would recognize that it wasn’t fitting quite the way it should.  Sandy approached Emily from behind and waved to Harvey and May, unaware of what Emily had just been told.  Yet Sandy hardly needed to be told what happened, Emily’s eyes widened and she let out a very high-pitched squeal that rang painfully in May’s ears.  And yet it wasn’t just May’s ears that the squeal echoed in, it had also traveled across the field and drew the attention of a few nearby villagers.  May looked up and noticed Caroline, Jodi, and Marnie all turn their heads toward the source of the sound.  Robin was near them and had also looked, her expression became nervous when she spotted May and Harvey.  Clearly she knew what the squeal was about and was bracing herself for a town-wide reaction.

“Oh my word, that is fantastic news!” Emily shrieked, clapping her hands wildly in front of her as she danced on the tips of her toes.  Sandy appeared confused until she took a second look at May and smiled knowingly as she put two and two together.  Emily’s expression suddenly fell and she lost a bit of color in her cheeks as she stopped clapping.  “Oh no, is this supposed to be a secret?  Were you not ready to tell anyone yet?”

“Well, we planned on telling everyone today,” May assured her.  “It’s not exactly easy to hide in a dress this tight.  Don’t worry about it, this was always the plan.”

By the time May finished reassuring Emily, the trio of town gossipers had already arrived to greet Harvey and May, curious to see what the source of Emily’s shriek was.  Robin wasn’t far behind, cringing already as she nodded sympathetically at May.

“Welcome, May!  Welcome Har-” Jodi began kindly until Emily shifted out of the way and Jodi trailed off once she had a full view of May.

“H-hi, everyone,” May greeted them awkwardly as all three women stood frozen in place, staring at May’s midsection.

“So, uh… I guess now’s as good a time as any to announce… we’re having a baby,” May went on uncomfortably.  The silence and the staring had become unnerving.

Right away, Jodi shrieked in almost the same way Emily had while Marnie shamelessly burst into tears.  Caroline simply looked shocked, her mouth agape.  For one of the few times May could ever remember, the woman was speechless.

“May’s pregnant!” Jodi squealed happily.

“There’s gonna be a new baby in town!” Marnie sobbed, wiping her tears on the backs of her hand in vain, her stream of tears was still going strong.

“Oh, is everyone finding out what I’ve already known for weeks now?” Robin asked sarcastically, unable to wipe the smug grin from her face.

“Finding out what?” Leah asked as she approached the small group that formed.  Leah certainly wasn’t the only one.

It was the most bizarre version of the telephone game May had ever seen.  She watched as villagers approached to find out what the fuss was all about and could pinpoint the exact moment when each of them heard the news.  The facial expressions were all relatively similar; a raised, curious eyebrow at first, an excited whisper from their neighbor, all followed by either a whoop of celebration, a squeal of excitement, or a look of shock.  May nearly melted into a puddle at the sight of Evelyn bursting into tears much like Marnie had, though for Evelyn it was quite uncommon to see her cry.

Very slowly, Harvey and May attempted to make their way further into the forest clearing, but it was nearly impossible with how many people were swarmed around them.  It was safe to say that everyone in town had made it over to them and there were so many people talking at once, it was very overwhelming.  May’s heart swelled with emotion as she watched her friends and neighbors sharing in their excitement.  It was a big deal for the town, it would be the first new baby since Vincent was born over seven years ago and May could see just what an exciting thing this was for everyone.

“I can’t believe you guys are having a baby!” Leah said excitedly.

“Congrats, Doctor H!” Gus said, slapping Harvey on the back perhaps a little harder than he meant to.

“When are you due?” Penny asked cheerfully.

“How long have you known?” Haley asked curiously.

“Okay, everyone, calm down!” Robin shouted over the roar of the crowd, standing in front of May and Harvey.  “Let’s give them some breathing room, alright?  I’m sure they’ll answer questions when they’re good and ready, just let ‘em actually enjoy their time at their first Flower Dance together!”

The din of the crowd died down a little, but there was still a murmur of excitement as the crowd parted for May and Harvey to pass through.  It was strange to feel so many eyes upon her, May hadn’t felt so on display since her wedding.  When she looked up at Harvey, he simply looked dazed and a bit pale, also not unlike the wedding.

“You okay?” May asked Harvey as they broke through the crowd.  For a moment May wasn’t sure if he might pass out.

“I’m sorry, in your current state I feel I should be asking you that,” Harvey muttered apologetically.

“Sweetheart, I’m fine,” May chuckled dismissively.  “I haven’t felt nauseous in over a week and I’m finally starting to feel better.  Now it’s my turn to worry about you .”

“I-I’ll be fine,” Harvey said quietly, though May noticed his eyes travel to the large crowd that was still formed near the entrance, watching the faces of the villagers alive with excitement as they spoke openly amongst themselves about May, Harvey, and the new baby on the way.

“Come on, let’s go grab something to eat,” May suggested, taking Harvey by the hand to lead him to the food table.  “Look on the plus side, with everyone all gathered together, there’s no line for food!”

Harvey chuckled and followed May across the field to the completely deserted food table.  For the first time in a season, May’s appetite was finally starting to return.

Together May and Harvey watched the crowd slowly disperse while they ate, quietly observing as the rest of the town resumed their regular activities at the Flower Dance.  It was sweet to watch the younger crowd slowly couple off as they made their choices for the dance.  It reminded May of the previous year when she had worked up the courage to ask Harvey to dance, only to be rejected.  It had hurt May to endure that rejection and at the time, she had been positive that nothing would ever come of a relationship with Harvey after that.  If she had only known a year later they would show up to the dance as husband and wife, announcing to the town that they were expecting a baby.  It was funny how different the two years were and how much had happened in-between.

May was appreciative that everyone in town appeared to be giving her and Harvey their space, but it was very short-lived.  She couldn’t help but notice the sideways glances, not-so-subtle whispers, and excited smiles they were receiving from all around.  No sooner had May finished her plate of food than Marnie, Jodi, and Caroline all split off from the crowd and headed her way.  They were clearly through waiting.

“Congratulations, you two!” Caroline began, throwing her arms around May in a tight hug.

“A new baby in town, I can’t believe it,” Jodi remarked, squealing in excitement.

“So when is the baby due?” Marnie asked curiously.  Jodi and Caroline perked up instantly, it was obvious that this was the part they were most eager for; information.

“Mid-fall,” Harvey answered.

“Oh wow, so you’ve known for quite some time, then,” Jodi remarked, scrunching up her face in thought as she did the math.

“We’ve known since Winter Star,” May admitted sheepishly.  The three women all looked harassed by the very idea that May and Harvey had not said something right away.

“So are you nervous?  Excited? Scared?” Caroline asked in quick succession.  May turned to Harvey and locked eyes with him for a moment, though he merely shrugged and stayed quiet.  Feeding the gossip mill wasn’t exactly what he wanted to do.

“All three, I guess,” May answered honestly.  It seemed like a bit of an obvious answer, but it was the truth.  May couldn’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t be a mixture of all three.

“And how have you been feeling?” Jodi asked, an endearing concern in her voice.

“I was pretty sick in the beginning, but that’s finally starting to go away,” May answered, sighing in relief.  “The last few days I finally feel like I can eat again without getting sick, so it’s been a nice change.”

“Any weird cravings yet?” Jodi went on.  “When I was pregnant with Sam, I only wanted sugary foods.  I gained 40 pounds, all I wanted was donuts.  I guess that’s why he loves maple bars so much, there’s an old wives tale that whatever you’re craving becomes your child’s favorite food.”

“No cravings yet,” May said thoughtfully.  “I’m sure that’ll come later, but for now I’m just glad to be eating again without getting sick.”

“I’m sure it’s too early, but any idea on the baby’s gender?” Marnie asked.  “I always forget when that kinda thing is figured out.”

“Not yet,” Harvey answered, finally speaking up now that the topic had turned to a more medical question.  “Hopefully we should know some time in the first half of summer.”

“What are you hoping for?” Caroline asked.

“As long as the baby is healthy, it doesn’t matter to me,” May answered honestly.  “Boy or girl, it doesn’t really matter.”

“Oh, c’mon, you don’t have to give the political answer,” Caroline went on, smirking deviously.  “We all have a preference.  I wanted Abi to be a girl, but Pierre wanted a boy so badly.  He cried when we found out we were having a girl, he asked the poor doctor to check every appointment afterwards in case there was a mistake.”

“Kent wanted one boy and one girl while I wanted two girls,” Jodi piped in.  “I guess neither of us got what we wanted, but we still love our boys so much.  I can’t imagine it any different now.”

“Well I assure you I have no preference,” May repeated, starting to get annoyed by the line of questioning.

“Are you going to deliver here at the clinic, or are you going to St. Lucia’s in Grampleton?” Jodi asked.  “I think that’s the nearest hospital.”

“Here,” May answered, though her answer seemed to make Marnie, Jodi, and Caroline uneasy.

“I bet that’ll be tough for you, Harvey, delivering your own baby,” Marnie finally said, addressing Harvey uncertainly.  “Have you ever delivered a baby before?”

“Every med student has a rotation in each department of the hospital,” Harvey explained.  “I spent a six week rotation in L&D at Zuzu City General Hospital.  I delivered 21 babies in my time there.”

“That must have been quite some time ago,” Jodi remarked nervously.

“I’ve already been working with the hospital in Zuzu City for updated training and experience opportunities,” Harvey went on.  “As this town’s only doctor, I take my duties seriously to expand my knowledge and experience to fit the needs of the community.  I always knew I’d need to deliver the babies in town as our community grows, but I’ll be honest it adds a bit of pressure that mine will be the first.”

“Well it happened so quickly,” Caroline remarked.  “You two barely got married and now there’s already a baby on the way.  Be honest, was this planned or was this an oopsie baby?”

May was starting to feel uncomfortable by how personal the questions were becoming.  It was one thing to be curious and have questions, but this seemed to be going into territory that really wasn’t any of their business.  May glanced over to Harvey whose face instantly flushed and the calm, cool demeanor he had while speaking about the medical side of things vanished as he became visibly flustered.

There was never a time in May’s life when she was more thankful to hear Mayor Lewis’ voice echoing through the field, calling for attention.  They were saved from such an uncomfortable question as Mayor Lewis called out to the town residents.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Lewis called out, a dramatic flourish in his voice.  “Please gather to the center of the field, we are moments away from beginning our annual Flower Dance.”

“And don’t forget announcing the Flower Queen!” Haley chimed in excitedly.

“Ah, yes, to be followed by the crowning of this year’s Flower Queen,” Lewis added half-heartedly.  “May I ask all eligible bachelors and bachelorettes to join me for our first dance to kick off the event!”

As a few of the town’s residents headed for the dance floor, May could feel someone approach her from the side and give her a soft nudge.  She looked over and saw Robin, glancing back and forth from May, to the dance floor, and back.

“Get out there!” Robin said, gesturing toward the dance floor.

“I thought this was just for singles,” May replied, glancing out at the group in the middle of the field.  Sure enough, the only couples on the dance floor were Sebastian and Abigail, Alex and Haley, and Sam and Penny.  Elliott and Leah were standing off to the side not too far from Emily and Sandy while Shane was far off by the food table, almost unaware that the dance was even taking place.  Maru was on Robin’s other side, though she seemed completely unbothered by the fact that she wasn’t dancing this year due to the fact that her usual dance partner was Harvey.  If anything, she looked relieved.  When May really looked, both Elliott and Leah as well as Emily and Sandy appeared unsure as to whether they should join the dance or not.  It was odd having only three couples on the dance floor, yet tradition dictated that the dance was for eligible bachelors and bachelorettes only.

“Oh, who cares?!” Robin said, rolling her eyes.  “With you two, Elliott and Leah, plus Emily and Sandy out of the equation, there’s hardly any eligible ones left anymore!  If the whole point of this dance is to get the singles to hook up, then in theory doesn’t it make itself irrelevant by design?  Besides, you never got a proper Flower Dance last year, Kitten, you’ve earned this.”

May could see Harvey hang his head slightly at this, looking suddenly uncomfortable.  Surely he was still blaming himself for turning May down the year before in his attempt at staying loyal to Maru.

“What do you think, sweetheart?” May asked, turning to Harvey.  “Are you ready to dance?”

“I’ve been looking forward to it all afternoon,” Harvey replied sweetly, holding out his arm for May.  “You look radiant in the fresh spring air, my love.”

“That’s the second time you’ve called me radiant today,” May replied, giggling at Harvey’s over-the-top chivalry and flowery, though sweet, tone.

“Well it’s true,” Harvey replied affectionately.

As May and Harvey left the larger group to step onto the dance floor, Mayor Lewis opened his mouth to speak, looking harassed.  He seemed the type to strictly uphold the traditions of the town and the fact that a married couple was joining the opening dance seemed something he was unwilling to allow.  Yet before he could speak, Elliott and Leah stepped forward as well, almost as a show of solidarity with Harvey and May.  They were very closely followed by Sandy and Emily, who seemed giddy with excitement to share in their first dance.  Lewis’ mouth remained open, but this time in awe as Robin and Demetrius, Jodi and Kent, and Caroline and Pierre all stepped out onto the dance floor as well.  Evelyn even stepped behind George’s wheelchair to wheel him away from the viewing area and onto the field with the other dancers.  Evelyn rested a hand lovingly on George’s shoulder, pursing her lips at Mayor Lewis as though daring him to say a word.  Lewis faltered for a moment at the sight of the dance floor filled with couples, both married and new, and sighed in defeat.

“It seems we’re taking a break from tradition this year,” Lewis began quietly.  “The first dance to kick off our Flower Dance shall include… anyone that wants to!”

Lewis attempted a bright, jovial smile to save face but the defiant looks from the couples on the dance floor were a sure enough sign that they weren’t buying his sudden change of mind.  Very quickly, Lewis crossed the field to start the music and at least take the spotlight off of himself.  A wise move in his position.

Once the first note of the classical music rang through the field, the couples all spaced out to begin dancing.  It was sweet to see the community come together in the name of breaking tradition for the sake of inclusion.  It seemed archaic to place arbitrary rules on the first dance, especially to see how much everyone around them enjoyed the opportunity to kick off the festivities.  The younger, eligible bachelors and bachelorettes all looked a bit more relieved that the spotlight would not be on them and the older, married couples looked overjoyed to experience the thrill of the first dance all over again.  Jodi seemed positively giddy to be able to dance with her husband, newly home from his tour overseas.  As for May, she was thrilled to finally be able to participate in the Flower Dance with her husband.

Neither she nor Harvey were the best dancers, but that didn’t matter to May.  All they really did was sway back and forth in each other’s arms, but it was still such a satisfying and intimate experience to share with Harvey.  May thought back to the year before and how far they had come.  This time last year, May had been watching Harvey dance with Maru, filled with jealousy and longing.  The feelings that she had harbored for Harvey were certainly not reciprocated, or so she’d thought, and she left the dance feeling certain that nothing would ever come of her crush on the lonely town doctor.

As the song came to a close, Harvey very carefully dipped May, catching her by surprise.  Harvey held her tightly, keeping her steady as he looked lovingly into her eyes.  While she was dipped he gave her a gentle, tender kiss before lifting her upright again.

"So that's what a Flower Dance is like," May said, looking up into Harvey's face and giving him a cheeky grin.

"I'm sorry I didn't give you the chance to find out last year," Harvey said, looking truly apologetic.

May smiled and gave Harvey a soft peck on the cheek before reassuring him, “It’s better this way.”  Whether consciously or not, Harvey rested a hand atop May’s growing belly and nodded in agreement.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Mayor Lewis called out to the crowd.  "If you'll all please gather, I think it's time to crown our Flower Queen!"

The town gathered together in the middle of the clearing, Haley practically elbowing her way to the front of the crowd to be close to Lewis with the expectation of continuing her reign.  May slowly made her way to join the crowd with Harvey wrapping his arm around her for support.  Though it wasn’t a very long dance, May was finding it more difficult to be on her feet for long periods of time.  By the time she and Harvey joined the rest of the town, they were positioned near the back of the crowd.

Mayor Lewis held up a beautifully crafted floral crown and called out to the crowd.  "For this year's Flower Dance, I am proud to announce that our Flower Queen this year is... May!"

The town immediately burst into applause as murmurs began to explode throughout the crowd.  It took May a moment to process what she’d heard Mayor Lewis say, it wasn’t until the eyes of those around her all darted in her direction that she realized she’d heard Lewis correctly.  As May slowly made her way to Mayor Lewis, she could hear Haley bitterly say, "She was only made Flower Queen because she's pregnant."  Whether or not that was true or whether it was because of her and Harvey inadvertently rallying the town to break Flower Dance tradition, May felt strangely honored to receive the title of Flower Queen, despite knowing that it was only a made-up title for Haley’s benefit six years earlier.

“Wow, thank you so much, Mayor!” May said excitedly, bowing her head for Mayor Lewis to place the crown atop her head.

The crowd was still cheering loudly for May, nearly bringing her to tears.  All except Haley, of course, whose arms were folded across her chest as she wore a scowl.  While May made her way back through the crowd to return to Harvey, Mayor Lewis addressed the town once more.

“Ordinarily this would be the part where we open up the dance floor to all ,” Mayor Lewis began awkwardly, “but seeing as we’ve already done so, I guess let me just say-”

Before Lewis could say whatever it was that needed saying, a loud, rumbling sound came from one of the villagers in the town.  Elliott had cleared his throat loudly to capture the attention of the crowd around him, including Leah who looked perplexed.  All eyes left Lewis and darted to Elliott, watching him curiously as he waited until he had the attention of the entire crowd.  Once all eyes were on him, he cleared his throat once more and turned to Leah.

“Leah, my love, my light, my muse,” Elliott began overdramatically.  “I stand before you a man burdened by love; burdened by unrest whenever we are apart, burdened by my thoughts when all my idle mind can conjure is thoughts of you, burdened by the ache of my heart so full of love that it consumes me.  You have captured me; body, mind, and soul, and I capitulate to you and the power you hold over me.  I am yours, dear Leah, forever and always.”

Elliott knelt down on one knee, reaching into his coat pocket to extract what was pretty well expected by everyone surrounding him; a small white jewelry box containing a beautiful Mermaid Pendant.  The entire time Elliott was speaking, Leah had covered her mouth in shock and a red tinge was visible behind her fingers from the flushing of her cheeks.  Tears were welling up in the corners of her eyes and by the time Elliott finished speaking, Leah’s whole face was flushed pink and her shoulders were shaking to hold back her tears.

“Leah, will you do me the honor, the privilege, the-” Elliott went on in his same over-the-top dramatic voice, though before he could even finish he was interrupted by a very impatient and excited Leah.

“YES!” Leah squealed, unable to stop herself from blurting out her response before Elliott could even ask the question.

Elliott had still been down on one knee for his proposal, but Leah grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him upright, kissing him deeply.  The crowd surrounding Elliott and Leah burst into celebration as cheers, whistles, and applause broke out among the villagers.  For what was the second time so far today, Marnie burst into tears and sobbed shamelessly as she clapped for Elliott and Leah.  Marnie always seemed to get very emotional whenever there was good news in town and today, there was plenty.  Already Elliott and Leah were being swarmed by eager residents all wishing congratulations and celebrating before Elliott could even place the pendant around Leah’s neck.

“W-what a tremendous day for Pelican Town!” Mayor Lewis remarked happily, beaming at Elliott and Leah.  “First we find out that a baby is due to join our little community for the first time in seven years, and now two more of our own are engaged to be married.  What an outstanding festival this turned out to be!”

The crowd cheered once more as Mayor Lewis retreated and started up the music to play for the dance to continue.  Though a few couples broke off to dance, the majority of the crowd gathered around Elliott and Leah to offer congratulations and ask questions.  It was actually quite a relief that no one was approaching May or Harvey any longer now that there was a new couple in the spotlight.  Before anyone could pay them notice, Harvey and May split from the crowd and found a bench near the river to sit down on.

“I’m so happy for Elliott and Leah!” May squealed excitedly once they were seated.  “This is so exciting!”

“I suspected this might happen, but I’ll admit I didn’t expect such a public proposal,” Harvey remarked.  “Then again I suppose Elliott does have a flair for the dramatics and the idea of a public proposal in the middle of the Flower Dance seemed too good an opportunity to pass up.  He’s been asking me a lot about marriage and proposing during book clubs.  He never outright said that he wanted to propose, but it seemed obvious.”

“It’s sweet that he felt he could come to you for that sort of thing,” May pointed out.

“Never thought I’d see the day I’d be the one to come to for advice on marriage and proposals,” Harvey chuckled.  “Life’s funny that way.  If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be here at the Flower Dance with my wife, I’d have thought I was the victim of an elaborate prank.  And being here with my wife is one thing, but now you’re the Flower Queen no less.”  Harvey smirked in amusement, wrapping an arm affectionately around May’s shoulders.

“Take that, Theresa DeMayo,” May said jokingly.  Harvey raised a curious eyebrow.  “She was crowned Prom Queen in my senior year, all the boys worshipped her and I was so jealous.  Only took me 17 years to be crowned queen at a dance, but better late than never.”

“I’m sure you’re far lovelier than Theresa DeMayo,” Harvey replied sweetly.  “But perhaps I’m being biased.”

“I heard she’s had four divorces in ten years, so I’m probably way better off, too,” May said smugly, feeling only the slightest bit guilty at the petty satisfaction she felt.

Out of the corner of her eye, May spotted Robin and Maru crossing the field towards the benches where she and Harvey sat.  Maru looked quite content, however Robin looked annoyed as she stomped up to May and plopped down on the bench next to her with an irritated sigh.

“What’s got you upset?” May asked in concern.

“Well I had been hoping to dance with my husband, but he decided to get into the world’s most boring conversation with Willy about the ocean’s ecosystem or some bullshit so I guess I’ve been stood up in the name of science,” Robin vented.

“Sorry to hear it,” May replied sympathetically.

“Why aren’t you dancing?” Robin asked, her annoyed expression fading into a look of curiosity.  “This is your first Flower Dance together, you should be living it up on the dance floor!”

“Neither of us are exactly big on dancing,” May replied with a shrug.  “Plus, with so much attention already on us today, it’s nice to fly under the radar at the moment.”

May tossed her head in the direction of Elliott and Leah who were currently surrounded by Caroline, Jodi, and Marnie.  It was no surprise that the gossip girls had moved on to their latest target.  Pierre and Kent stood off to the side, idly chatting with each other while their wives nearly interrogated Elliott and Leah.  Unlike Harvey who always dreaded the attention that came along with big news, Elliott seemed to be flourishing in the spotlight and delighted in talking to others about his engagement.

“Yeah, that was pretty fortunate timing,” Robin remarked with a smirk.  “It took the heat off of you guys, which I’m sure is greatly appreciated.”

“I’ll have to thank him for it later,” Harvey joked, breathing a subtle sigh of relief.  “And of course congratulate him later as well.  Maybe when the crowd disperses a bit, I want to give them their moment.”

“And avoid getting the spotlight again,” Maru teased.  “It’s like a game of hot potato, who will get the spotlight next?”

“They can have it,” May replied.  “We’ve had enough of the spotlight for the time being.  It’s nice to see other people get the attention for a change.  It’s not like there’s even much more we can say on the subject.  Caroline, Jodi, and Marnie already grilled us for information before the dance and I think it’s safe to say the word has spread by now.  We answered every basic question and luckily managed to skip the uncomfortable ones.”

“Caroline never did have any tact,” Robin scoffed.  “What kinds of questions did she ask?”

“Mostly the basics,” May answered.  She held up a hand and started ticking each question off on her fingers.  “When am I due?  Am I excited, scared, or nervous?  How am I feeling?  Am I craving anything?  Do we know if it’s a boy or girl?  Has Harvey delivered a baby before?  Oh, and let’s not forget my favorite, was this planned or unplanned?”

Maru did a double-take as she stared at May in disbelief and Robin burst out laughing so hard she snorted.  When Robin’s laughter finally calmed down, she looked at May apologetically and shook her head.

“I’m sorry, I know that’s not funny, but wow is that inappropriate,” Robin remarked in amusement.  “Whatever happened to normal stuff like asking how far along someone is or if they have names picked out?”

“Funny enough, that wasn’t one of the questions she asked,” May pointed out.

“Oh Yoba, that’s one of the first things you ask,” Robin sighed.

“And yet I’ll point out that you’ve still never asked me,” May replied, smiling cryptically.  “I have a feeling you might like one of them.  You too, Maru.”

“Ooh, now you have my attention, Kitten,” Robin said excitedly, leaning forward in her seat to listen better.  Maru did the same.

Harvey and May exchanged brief, knowing glances as though wordlessly checking in with the other before divulging this information.  After a small nod from each of them, they turned back to Robin and Maru.

“Well, if it’s a boy we were thinking Milo Robert,” May began.  “The Robert part, of course, after his Honorary Grandma Robin.”

Robin immediately squealed in excitement, though Harvey held up a hand and continued.

“But if it’s a girl,” Harvey added before Robin could get too excited, “we were thinking Daisy Marie.”

“Well that doesn’t sound anything at all like ‘Robin’,” Robin pointed out as her expression fell.

“It would be ‘Marie’ after her Honorary Auntie Maru,” Harvey remarked, nodding in Maru’s direction.  Now it was Maru’s turn to get choked up.

“No way,” Maru uttered under her breath, her eyes misting as she smiled with glee.

“We can’t think of any finer people to name our child after except our honorary family,” May added.  “With Harvey not having a family and mine so far away, I’d like to think you’re the closest thing we’ve got.”

“I swear to you, Kitten, if you’re gonna get sappy with me every single time we see each other, I’m gonna have to let you go,” Robin said jokingly, though she was sniffing rapidly to ward off any crying.  “I know your hormones are all over the place and that’s made you all emotional and weepy, but don’t you dare drag me down with you.  I’m not normally a cryer and Yoba help me, I don’t wanna be.  I’m a cold, heartless old lady and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“You’ve got a bigger heart than you’d like to think,” May teased.  “You may want everyone else to think you’re a heartless old lady but I’ve figured you out, you big softee.”

“Don’t tell anyone else my secret, they’ll never let me live it down,” Robin replied, winking playfully.  Her eyes suddenly perked up and she snapped in realization.  “By the way, I’ve been meaning to tell you, if it’s alright with you I’ll be starting on Milo Robert’s nursery some time during the first week of summer.”  Robin was sure to place extra emphasis on the name.  Maru rolled her eyes.

“Yes, Daisy Marie is going to have a beautiful nursery,” Maru chimed in, narrowing her eyes at her mother as she over-pronounced the name as well.  While Robin and Maru glared at each other, May and Harvey exchanged a quick glance and shook their heads in amusement.  It was never lost on May how funny it was that her best friend and Harvey’s best friend were mother and daughter.  It was an odd sort of friendship dynamic they had.

“That sounds perfect,” May agreed, speaking up to break up the overblown tension between the two.  “Harvey will be away a lot the first two weeks of summer between a medical convention and some training at the hospital in Zuzu City.  It’ll be nice to have some company.”

“ Someone’s gotta be the man of the house, might as well be me,” Robin teased.  She turned to Harvey and became playfully serious.  “Your wife and unborn child are in good hands with me.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Harvey laughed in response.

“The clinic, too!” Maru piped in.  “I’ll whip your temporary replacement into shape, don’t you worry, Doc.”

“I don’t doubt that either,” Harvey replied kindly.  “It won’t be long, just a little over a week if you add it all up.  Two weeks if you throw in our… what was it that you called it, Robin?”

“Babymoon,” Robin replied, causing Maru to burst into a fit of giggles.  “Like a honeymoon, but for a baby.”

“Ah, yes, babymoon,” Harvey said, nearly laughing himself at the absurdity of it.

“Every couple needs a babymoon before their first baby,” Robin said seriously.  “It’s your last chance to spend time together alone before the baby comes and enjoy being just the two of you before it becomes the three of you.  Take a vacation, take a load off, because I promise you you’ll be glad you had it.”

“Best to just get it all done in summer when Harvey’s already taking so much time away from the clinic,” May reasoned.  “As long as you and Demetrius don’t mind tending to the crops again while I’m gone.  Thankfully for me it’ll only be a few days, Harvey will be gone much longer.”

“Anything for you, Kitten,” Robin replied with a friendly wink.  “You and Doctor Boyfriend here deserve a quality babymoon but the later you put it off, the more miserable it is because you’ll be too huge and uncomfortable to enjoy it.  We’ll hold down the fort while you’re gone.”

“You really are a big softee,” May teased.

It wasn’t much longer until the Flower Dance truly kicked off and the villagers of town finally started to dance.  Demetrius had ended his conversation with Willy and whisked Robin away to the dance floor.  The crowd surrounding Elliott and Leah had finally broken up, allowing the couple to enjoy their time together dancing among many other younger couples in town.  May watched Sandy and Emily having a wonderful time, they both looked incredibly giddy to be dancing together.  Harvey and May danced a few dances together, but not too terribly many.  Harvey wasn’t exactly comfortable on the dance floor and even May had to admit that she wasn’t too keen on dancing either.  It was nice to be with Harvey, but it was much more enjoyable to sit with him on the bench by the river to just talk or observe the crowd.  The few times they were asked why they weren’t dancing, May used her pregnancy as an excuse and claimed that she was feeling woozy or that her feet were hurting.  Already her pregnancy was proving to be quite beneficial to get her out of unwanted festivities.

Over the course of the next couple hours, May and Harvey had been approached a few times by friends and neighbors curious to ask about the baby, but luckily they had far more tact than Caroline and asked only appropriate and basic questions.  May probably answered the question ‘when are you due’ at least a dozen times, but she supposed she couldn’t blame the town’s excitement over a new baby.  It was a momentous occurrence for Pelican Town seeing as the last new baby the town had seen was Vincent who was now 7 years old.

By the time the Flower Dance was formally over, most of the town looked exhausted.  Though May and Harvey stayed sitting down through most of the event, many villagers did not and it was clear who spent most of their time on the dance floor and who did not.  Robin and Demetrius looked like they were about to pass out, though they appeared to have had a good time together.  May wondered if they would stop by to say goodbye before leaving, but Robin looked far too exhausted to linger even a minute longer.  Robin, Demetrius, and Maru headed straight for the exit as soon as the final song played and May figured they were eager to get home quickly.  With most of the town already headed for the exit, May and Harvey rose from their bench to head home as well.  As they started walking towards the exit, Harvey placed a hand on May’s shoulder to catch her attention.

“I want to be sure to talk to Elliott and Leah before we go,” Harvey remarked, tossing his head in the direction of the newly engaged couple who were already crossing the field to leave.

It was one of the rare few times May had seen Elliott and Leah on their own, unbothered by others.  Her heart went out to them, May knew firsthand just how overwhelming it could be to have a mob of excited friends and neighbors pestering you for information.  It wasn’t too different from how her own day was going with the news of the baby.  Of course she wanted to offer her congratulations, but she wondered if maybe they were sick of hearing the word.  May certainly was, but it would seem rude to leave without speaking to them.  Harvey and May crossed the field hand in hand to meet up with Elliott and Leah, who turned to greet them with warm, welcoming smiles.

“Elliott!  Leah!” Harvey greeted them cheerfully.  “Glad we caught you before you left.”

“I could say the same,” Elliott replied.  “I’ve been trying all day to make it over to you to offer my congratulations, but either we’ve been caught up in conversation or you have.”

“It’s a busy day for congratulations,” Harvey remarked.  “Though that being said, I’m sure you’re tired of hearing this today, but congratulations!”

“Likewise,” Elliott replied, holding out a hand for a handshake.  “I feel terrible about how we robbed you of the spotlight on the day of your big announcement.  I almost held off on the proposal to avoid overshadowing the two of you, I hope you don’t feel I was trying to take attention away from your big news.  That was absolutely not my intention.”

“No, actually, it was quite welcome if I’m being honest,” Harvey admitted.  “I’m glad you didn’t put off your proposal just for us, I’d have felt terrible.  I’m so happy for you both.”

“Thank you, Harvey,” Elliott said kindly.  “We’re happy for you as well.  What an exciting announcement, a new baby in Pelican Town.  I’d ask the standard questions, but I will assume you’ve answered them a dozen times by now.”

“I’m due mid-fall, we don’t know if it’s a boy or girl yet, yes Harvey has delivered babies before, no we’re not using another doctor, and we are simultaneously scared, nervous, excited, and overjoyed,” May rattled off quickly.  Elliott and Leah chuckled in amusement.

“Our turn,” Leah replied.  “We haven’t set a date yet because we literally just got engaged today, yes this is a real Mermaid’s Pendant, no I had no idea that Elliott was going to propose, we have no clue whose house we’ll live in yet because again… this just happened today!”

“Ouch,” May replied sympathetically.  “Sounds like you two have been through the ringer as well.”

“I love and appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm, but yikes a little breathing room would be nice,” Leah said wistfully.

“Right?!” May replied loudly, unable to hold back her impassioned response.  “Especially in your case, this only just happened this afternoon, you two haven’t even had a moment to discuss anything yet.”

“I have a feeling the next week is going to be interesting,” Leah sighed, already looking weary.

“Unfortunately, I can say from experience that it will be,” May replied sympathetically.  “Best thing to do is stay home as much as you can.  Turn off your phone and just focus on the two of you for a bit.  This is your moment, nobody else’s.  Don’t let the town’s over-enthusiasm stand in the way of your enjoyment and peace of mind.  You’re engaged now.  Enjoy that, soak it all in, you two deserve to bask in that for a bit.”

“Excellent advice, May,” Elliott replied cordially.  “But of course the same can be said for you.  You’re expecting a child, this is a wondrous and joyful event in your lives.  Enjoy every moment of it.”

“We intend to,” Harvey replied with a nod.

May glanced across the field and noticed that by now, most of the town had already left to head home.  The only ones left were Caroline and Pierre who were packing up the souvenir stand, Gus and Emily packing up the food tables, and Mayor Lewis who seemed to be staring at Harvey, May, Elliott, and Leah as they spoke.  Though he wasn’t voicing it, he seemed to be eager for them to join the rest of the town in leaving the Flower Dance.

“I think we might have to finish this conversation another time,” May remarked.  “Everyone else has left, we should probably head home.”

“We’ll talk more at the next book club,” Elliott replied, looking to Harvey with a nod.  “Until then, may I offer one final congratulations.  To the both of you, of course.”

“To you as well,” Harvey replied cheerfully.

The two couples left the field and parted ways once Harvey and May reached the golf cart.  At first May felt guilty that they couldn’t offer the two of them a ride, yet watching Elliott and Leah cross the forest together, hand in hand, talking to each other for what was probably their first moment alone since becoming engaged, was all the proof May needed that they would be just fine.  The long walk home with just the two of them in peace and quiet was probably very welcome at the moment.

“I’m so happy for them,” May repeated once Elliott and Leah were out of earshot.  “They make such a cute couple, I think they complement each other well.”

“I think so too,” Harvey agreed.  “I’ll be interested to talk to Elliott a little more candidly at the next book club.  I would hope they aren’t already married by then, but hey, we got married in three days so it’s not unheard of.”

“I can’t imagine everyone in town is as crazy as we are, sweetheart,” May chuckled.  “But you’ll have to report back to me with what Elliott says.”

“Expecting me to gossip, are you?” Harvey asked with a cheeky grin.  “Are you forgetting I’m the last person in town in a position to gossip?”

“It’s not doctor/patient confidentiality if it’s book club,” May replied, returning Harvey’s grin.  “There’s not much you can give me, you gotta at least give me updates on your friend.”

Harvey faltered for a moment when May said ‘friend’, it was endearing to see how pleasantly taken aback he was by the term.  By this point, he and Elliott could definitely be considered friends from the many book club meetings spent together and how often Harvey spoke positively about their interactions together.  Yet it seemed like Harvey hadn’t actually put two and two together to realize that his weekly participation in the book club was, in fact, making him friends with other residents in town besides Maru.  When this realization struck, Harvey sat back against the seat of the golf cart and smiled.

“Well then, at the next book club I shall have to ask Elliott a bit more about his engagement,” Harvey said, a bit more giddy and upbeat than perhaps he had intended.

“Or maybe we could invite them to dinner some night,” May added.  “I love being friends with Robin and Demetrius, Robin will always be my best friend, but I’ll admit I miss having friends a bit more… in my age range.  I know that sounds awful, but it’s hard to relate to Robin when I’m newly married and expecting a baby while she’s been married for decades, her children are grown, and she’s hoping for grandchildren.  It might be nice to have Elliott and Leah over to connect with a couple that’s at a similar place in their life.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea, honey,” Harvey replied sweetly.  “That doesn’t mean we stop being friends with Robin and Demetrius, we’re just expanding our social circle, that’s all.”

“Never thought I’d hear you being a proponent for expanding our social circle,” May teased.  “But I agree, it’ll be nice to have someone in the same station in life as us.  Plus, you and Elliott already get along so well, it’ll be nice for me to get to know Leah.”

“I’ll bring it up to Elliott at the next book club meeting,” Harvey offered.

Harvey and May spent the majority of the ride back home talking about the Flower Dance, Elliott and Leah’s engagement, and the town’s reaction in general to the big news that hit Pelican Town that day.  It was odd to compare this year’s Flower Dance to the year before, already so much was different and the way things were headed, it was only the beginning.  Big changes were happening in Pelican Town.

Chapter Text

Summer 11, Year 2

Mornings before a community event were always rushed, but the morning of the annual summer luau seemed particularly rushed as May and Harvey hurried to get the morning chores done in time.  As the farm expanded, the amount of work that needed to be done increased along with it.  There were more chickens to feed and clean up after, more crops to harvest and prune, and more trees in the orchard to pick fruit from.  A few of these tasks weren’t crucial to complete daily, but many of them had to be done this morning as May and Harvey rushed to get everything taken care of in time.

In addition to the workload increasing, it was also becoming increasingly more difficult for May to be very productive.  Now that she was in the second trimester of her pregnancy, her work was slowing down and she found herself getting winded far more quickly than she used to.  As a result, it took her nearly twice as long to do the work she could have done with ease only a season earlier.  Harvey did the best he could to help pick up the slack, but there was only so much he was capable of doing when he was so far out of his element.  Most mornings if May needed help, it was the chicken coop that Harvey was sent to since he seemed to flourish there.

By the time the chores around the farm were tended to, May glanced at her watch and winced when she saw the time.  She and Harvey only had thirty minutes to shower, get dressed, and make their way to the beach for the community luau.  They certainly would not arrive on time at this point.

“Shit, we’re running so late,” May groaned.  “I just can’t seem to get the work done as fast as I used to.”

“Honey, you’re pregnant, it’s perfectly understandable and even encouraged that you’re taking things slowly,” Harvey assured her.

“It’s only gonna get worse,” May sighed.  “I’m not even halfway through this pregnancy and I’m already exhausted.”

“It’s to be expected,” Harvey went on.  “Everything you’re going through, the lethargy, the exhaustion, it’s all perfectly normal; especially considering what you do for a living.  Now, with all of that said, it might not be the worst idea to consider hiring some help around the farm.”

May stopped in her tracks and looked over at Harvey in disbelief.

“H-hire someone?” May asked uncertainly.  She was ashamed to admit that the thought had never even crossed her mind until now.

“You said yourself, it’s only going to get worse,” Harvey pointed out.  “We were barely ready for the change from spring to summer and the change from summer to fall will be even more crucial with the Fair.  Ever since we found out you were pregnant, I’ve hated the idea of you working such a strenuous job in your condition and it will reach a point where you simply can’t do it anymore.  Rather than force the farm to shutdown during that time, maybe we should start thinking about hiring a farmhand to do all of the physical work around the farm.  You’re still in control, you still decide how the farm is run and manage the purchasing of equipment, seeds, and animal feed, but you don’t have to actually put in the work.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” May considered thoughtfully.

Of course May enjoyed her work on Runaway Farm and was proud of what she had done to rebuild the farm from the ground up.  The state it was in even a year earlier was nothing compared to what it was now and if May continued, the farm would grow to the point that she would need help running it.  That wasn’t even considering the fact that, as Harvey pointed out, she would inevitably reach the point in her pregnancy that she could no longer do any of the work around the farm.  The thought of closing up the farm and halting her progress did not sit well with her and she nodded to herself at the idea that at some point, sooner rather than later, they would need to hire some help.  The farm was making enough money in its second year that it was reasonably possible.

“I’m not saying this is anything we need to decide right this second, especially with how late we are at the moment, but it’s just something to think about,” Harvey remarked.  “Hopefully it’s something that will at least ease your mind a bit and not cause more stress.”

“No, it’s actually a bit of a relief,” May admitted with a smile.  “I’ll start putting some thought into exactly how we’re going to find someone, but I think it’s finally time I admit that I can’t do this alone for much longer.”

Harvey smiled at her sentiment, clearly he had been thinking the exact same thing.  He had been trying very hard as of late to subdue much of his nagging and fussing over May, but it was clear that this was a topic he’d been eager to bring up until just the right moment.

The next thirty minutes passed in a flurry of activity as May and Harvey very quickly got dressed and ready for the luau.  Neither one of them were too keen on showing up smelling like chicken droppings or with dry leaves in their hair.  May smiled as they got dressed, eager to show off the special outfits they had purchased just for the occasion.  Ordinarily May wasn’t fond of matching couple’s outfits, she usually found them odd and a bit tacky.  However, the outfits that she and Harvey were wearing to the event were matching for a very important reason.

It had only been a few days since May and Harvey had found out the gender of their unborn baby.  Harvey had been in Zuzu City for almost a week for a medical convention, followed by a few days spent shadowing a former colleague of his, an OB/GYN, in preparation for May’s delivery.  During this time, May made a day trip to see Harvey’s colleague for an ultrasound.  It was then that they learned the gender of their child; they were expecting a girl.

The moment she had left the doctor’s office, leaving Harvey behind to continue his training, May could not stop herself from going clothing shopping.  It was only after she had returned back to Pelican Town that she questioned whether or not she bought too much pink, but she couldn’t stop herself in her excitement.  Already she had purchased almost half of the baby’s wardrobe despite the fact that they hadn’t even had any form of a baby shower yet.  In addition to frilly yet impractical dresses for the baby, May had also purchased the outfits that she and Harvey would wear to the community luau.  The moment she laid eyes on the mannequins dressed in these outfits, she knew exactly how they would break the news of the baby’s gender to the rest of the town.  Her outfit was a long, flowing maxi dress which was thankfully roomy enough to accommodate her growing belly while Harvey’s was a matching short-sleeved, button-up collared shirt.  Both clothing pieces were made with the same light pink fabric, adorned with white hibiscus flowers.  It was certainly a bit stereotypical attire to wear to a luau, but many of the villagers wore tropical clothing to the event so they would hardly look out of place.  May wondered how long it would take people to recognize the fact that both she and Harvey were dressed in pink, a subtle yet exciting way to announce to the town the gender of their baby.  It would almost be a game to see who would figure out the puzzle first.

Once they were both dressed and ready to leave, Harvey helped May into the golf cart to drive across town toward the beach.  May had to admit, the golf cart ended up being the best present they could have ever hoped for, especially during her pregnancy.  It was a quick, easy way to move through town to run her errands without exhausting herself.  Harvey parked the cart off to the side of the bridge leading toward the beach and rushed to the other side to help May step down onto the cobblestone.  With her hand still in Harvey’s, May walked across the bridge and stepped onto the beach, impressed that they arrived only fifteen minutes late.

As soon as they crossed the threshold of the beach, May heard a loud, rumbling sound to her right.  They had barely been there ten seconds and she looked over to see Mayor Lewis clearing his throat loudly to get her attention.  Once she caught his eye, he gestured wildly for her and Harvey to join him.  Just the same as last year, Lewis was in the company of the governor who was once again wearing the same ridiculous purple getup that he had worn the previous year.  May still couldn’t fathom what kind of statement he was trying to make, but he at least looked like a nice man with kind eyes and a pleasant smile.  Perhaps he was just eccentric.

“May!  Doctor!” Lewis greeted May and Harvey as they approached him.  Almost immediately, Lewis turned his attention back to the governor, ignoring May and Harvey completely.  “These are the ones I was telling you about, Doctor and Mrs. Higgins.”

“Ah, yes, a pleasure to meet you both,” the governor said kindly, extending his hand.  Both May and Harvey shook the man’s hand, though they both shot each other looks of confusion as to why Lewis had even been talking about them at all.

“Yes, we’re very excited about a new resident joining our little town soon,” Lewis went on, his eyes darting unintentionally to May’s small baby bump.  “First new baby in town since little Vincent was born, so it’s quite exciting.  And how fortunate that we have one of the most skilled doctors in the valley here!”

Lewis clapped Harvey proudly on the shoulder as though he were a teacher praising a student’s success.

“Ah, yes, I actually saw him in action last year,” the governor remarked, looking impressed.  Everyone collectively nodded as they recalled the previous year when Marnie passed out and Harvey swiftly jumped to her aid.

“Well, hopefully we’ll have a much smoother event this year,” Lewis replied nervously.  “We don’t need anyone passing out from this awful heat.”

“I would hope there’s a schedule in place for taking turns stirring the soup so that we can avoid what happened last year,” Harvey said seriously, looking at Lewis over the rim of his glasses.

“Ah, yes, uh, it might not be a bad idea to run that suggestion by Gus,” Lewis said nervously.  “That’s actually a very good idea.  Thank you, Doctor, I’ll speak to Gus about it.”

Harvey nodded at Lewis and the governor before leading May away from them as they stepped further onto the beach.

“What the hell was that all about?” May asked in confusion once they were out of earshot.

“Mayor Lewis has been suggesting that I expand the clinic a bit to accept patients from neighboring towns,” Harvey sighed wearily.  “Apparently the doctor in Hartvale retired and the town has been going through replacements like crazy, none of them are a good fit.  It’s unfortunate, I knew the previous doctor very well and she was a hell of a doctor, but she was ready to retire.  Mayor Lewis sees this as a great opportunity to grow Pelican Town.  It’s all about ‘growing the town’ lately, I don’t know why.  He sees you and I as a shining beacon not only because I’m the closest doctor to Hartvale but because you’re literally growing the town right now.”  Harvey gestured toward May’s belly.  “I’m sure he’s spent all morning going on about us to the governor, we’re probably the crown jewel of Pelican Town in his eyes.”

“That’s… weird,” May grimaced.  “I wonder why he wants to grow the town so much.”

“Who knows,” Harvey sighed.  “I’ve heard rumors, now of course I don’t hold much stock in rumors, that he wants to repurpose the old Joja building for a tourist attraction; something that will get out-of-towners visiting Pelican Town.  JojaMart barely went out of business at the beginning of summer and already he’s a vulture circling its corpse if you’ll forgive the macabre comparison.”

Harvey shook his head in dismay as they left the governor and Lewis to join the rest of the town.  As soon as they were even remotely close to the refreshment tables, Harvey excused himself and broke away from May to make a beeline straight for the beverage table.  He had warned May that he would keep her stocked with a constant supply of water and clearly he wasn’t joking.  May couldn’t entirely blame him, the previous luau was cut short when Marnie passed out from heat exhaustion and that fact alone was causing Harvey some anxiety.  The fact that today was a record high temperature and the fact that his pregnant wife would be stuck outside in this heat did not make Harvey any more relaxed.

While Harvey scouted the refreshment table for water, May crossed the beach toward Robin and Demetrius who were already seated with their plates of food.  As May’s belly grew, her center of balance was already thrown off a bit and walking on uneven sand in sandals was only making it worse.  She was sure she looked ridiculous waddling across the beach like a newborn cow, but it honestly didn’t matter to her at the moment.  These days, her vanity was becoming a thing of the past.

“Glad to see you, Kitten,” Robin said kindly.  “I was wondering if Doctor Boyfriend was gonna be okay with you being out in this heat today.”

“Trust me, the goal is to find a seat in the shade and stay there almost the entire time,” May huffed, stopping to catch her breath once she reached Robin’s table.  “Not only by Harvey’s request, but also because it’s just too damn hot and I’m too lazy to want to do anything.”

As soon as May approached their table, Demetrius immediately rose from his chair and gestured toward it for May.

“There’s not much seating available, you can take mine,” Demetrius offered courteously.

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean to imply that I needed to take your seat from you,” May began apologetically, but Robin shook her head in response.

“You know as well as we do that if Doctor Boyfriend sees either of us sitting in a seat while his pregnant wife stands next to the table, he’ll never forgive us,” Robin interjected, only half-joking.  “Seriously, you need to sit down way more than either of us do.”

“I was about to head off anyway, another helping of crab cakes is too tempting at the moment and I should stock up before they run out,” Demetrius replied, already eyeing the food table.

“Thanks,” May sighed, plopping down onto the empty seat.  Robin was right, even the short walk across the sand had put May slightly out of breath and it was nice to sit down for a moment.

Once Demetrius left the table, Harvey approached with two ice cold bottles of water in hand.

“I brought you some water, I want you to stay hydrated today,” Harvey said with concern as he set both bottles of water onto the table.  “Oh, hello there, Robin!”

“Hey, Doctor Boyfriend!” Robin greeted kindly.  Her eyes scanned back and forth between Harvey and May in their matching pink outfits and all of a sudden, her expression fell into a scowl.

“... son of a bitch, it’s a girl,” Robin blurted out as it suddenly clicked.  May flashed a huge grin at Robin which only caused Robin to scowl.

“Maru will never let me live this one down,” Robin groaned.  “Are you sure you don’t want to name her Daisy Roberta or something?  No… okay, even I have to agree that sounds terrible.  It sounded way better in my head.”

“Sorry, Robin,” May said sincerely.  “I know you were hoping for a boy.”

“Eh, I’m just being dramatic,” Robin said dismissively. “I’m honestly just so happy that we finally know who’s in there!  You guys are having a little girl, that’s so exciting!  Has anyone else figured it out yet?”

“Not yet,” May answered with a shrug.  “Then again, it really only clicks when the two of us are standing together and I don’t think we’ve been here long enough for anyone to notice… besides you, of course.  I have a feeling if the right people figure it out, word will spread in seconds.”

“So Maru doesn’t even know yet?” Robin asked, lowering her voice as though Maru might overhear them even though she was on the other side of the beach.

“Not yet,” Harvey replied, shaking his head.  “We only found out a few days ago so this is relatively new information.”

“Yes!” Robin muttered under her breath victoriously.  “She may have found out about the baby before I did, but I found out the gender before she did.”

“This really isn’t a competition,” May chuckled.

“That’s what you think,” Robin replied with a smirk.  “We’ve been in competition ever since you told us that the gender would determine which one of us the baby’s named after.  We’re also competing to see whose guess is closer for when the baby will be born.  Personally, I’m betting on the 21st of fall because I really want this baby to share a birthday with her Honorary Grandma.”

“I can’t believe you two are in such heated competition over our baby,” May sighed in playful disbelief.

“Both of you are our best friends and, let’s be honest, what the hell else is there to do in this town?” Robin answered honestly.  “You guys are the most exciting thing going on these days.  Even Elliott and Leah’s engagement isn’t all that exciting because, hey, you guys got married first and broke the twenty year dry spell so weddings just aren’t a big deal anymore.  And now here you guys are, breaking the dry spell for a new baby in town, so you two are once again the center of the town’s collective attention.  I guarantee you that Maru and I aren’t the only ones placing these bets.  Gus literally has a secret pool going where people can place their bets.  I know for a fact there’s was a pool going for the baby’s gender as well, so you’re about to make half the town very happy today and the other half incredibly disappointed.  I believe Pierre was adamant that you two were having a boy, so don’t be surprised if he’s short with you for the next week.”  Robin snorted with laughter as she glanced over at Pierre, smiling devilishly.

The entire time Robin spoke, Harvey was looking slightly uncomfortable.  He was never much for the spotlight anyway, but to hear that he and May were still the center of attention in town even after being together for a year was unsettling for him.  The fact that there were even bets being placed on his unborn child seemed even more unnerving for him.  May wasn’t too terribly bothered by it, if anything it was strangely amusing, but she could sense how uncomfortable Harvey was.  He quickly turned his attention back to May once Robin stopped talking and his awkward expression melted as he locked eyes with her.

“Can I get you something to eat, honey?” Harvey asked eagerly.  These days, he was incredibly anxious to dote upon May at any opportunity.  The fact that this was also a distraction from Robin’s conversation was even better.

“I’ll do it myself in a little bit,” May answered dismissively.  “Now that I finally stopped feeling nauseous, my appetite is back and then some.  I don’t quite know what I want yet, but Yoba, I think I want all of it.  I’m starving.”

“You know the whole ‘eating for two’ thing is a myth, right?” Harvey asked uncertainly.  Robin waved her hand dismissively at Harvey.

“Okay, I know you’re new to this whole thing, Doctor Boyfriend, but you never deny your pregnant wife food if she’s craving it,” Robin instructed matter-of-factly.  “Drop the doctor hat for a minute and consider that your wife’s appetite is back for the first time in over a season.  If the woman feels like eating half the buffet, then so be it.  There is such a thing as eating for two, even if it’s psychological.”

“Yes ma’am,” Harvey agreed almost immediately.  He seemed to know when to pick his battles and this was certainly not a battle worth pursuing.  Instead he turned his attention back to May and tilted his head in concern.  “Just do me a favor, stay away from that soup.  Yoba knows what’s in there and in your current state, you’re far more susceptible to listeria.”

“I didn’t plan on touching that soup anyway, who the hell wants hot soup on the hottest day of the year?!” May asked in disgust.  Just the thought of it was making her sweat.

“Alright, as long as you avoid the soup as well as any other foods that are a no-go in your condition, I won’t stop you from enjoying yourself,” Harvey replied with a satisfied nod.  “I guess if it’s for the baby.”  Harvey winked at May and smiled affectionately.

“You should at least get food for yourself,” May offered.  “I’ll get mine once I convince myself to get my fat butt off of this chair, but don’t let me stop you from eating.”

“I’ll grab a plate at some point,” Harvey mentioned casually.  “I might check in with Gus real quick to see about that soup, I want to make sure no one ends up getting stuck stirring it for too long.  That’s no easy task in this heat, it needs to be done in shifts.  I think the mayor’s too busy rubbing elbows with the governor to actually take care of it like he said he would.”

Harvey kissed May gently atop her head before leaving the table, striding across the beach toward Gus with a sense of purpose.

“Wow, so he’s taking the topic of safety really seriously,” Robin remarked once Harvey left.

“Yeah, he’s been a bit anxious for this event,” May admitted.  “Between what happened last year, the record heat, and of course me being pregnant and all, he’s been a little on-edge.  Then again, I suppose he’s been a bit on-edge ever since we found out I was pregnant.”

“Understandable,” Robin said with a nod.  “It’s no easy position he’s in.  It’s his first baby in more ways than one, but he doesn’t really get to enjoy the ‘new father’ side of it all because he’s too busy being the doctor.  It can’t be easy for him.”

“It’s not,” May agreed, shaking her head sadly.  “Most nights he’s up late, hunched over textbooks or just spacing out at his desk.  He’s been finding it really hard to enjoy this and it breaks my heart.  He’s so focused on the stress of being a doctor that he’s missing out on a lot of the excitement and anticipation of being an expectant father.”

“Keep in mind, though, Kitten, that there’s not a lot he can get excited about right now,” Robin said plainly.  “They say that a woman becomes a mother from the moment she finds out she’s pregnant, but it takes men a little longer to get into that mindset or to get excited about it.  Wait until there’s more concrete proof, some tangible evidence to get excited about.  As your belly grows, that’s usually around the time that men finally start to feel the gravity of it all.  And of course once the baby starts moving, wow… that’s a huge moment.  I remember Demetrius almost burst into tears the first time he felt Maru move.”

“She’s been moving, but not enough for Harvey to be able to feel it,” May replied, once again placing a hand against her belly.  “He just keeps catching it at the wrong time, she seems to stop the moment he comes over.  I know there’s still plenty of time for him to get to feel it, but you’re right.  I think it’s really gonna help him relax a bit and finally start to feel excitement once he can actually feel her move.  There’s a huge difference between seeing her on an ultrasound screen versus actually feeling her.”

“It’ll happen in good time,” Robin said calmly.  “Trust me, I know you’re excited to just start reaching all the milestones, but these things take time.  Before you know it, you’ll be wishing she wasn’t so active and could give you some respite so that you can actually sleep.  It’s not fun at three in the morning to be awoken by a swift kick to the bladder.”  May shuddered at the thought.  “Harvey will feel her in no time and I’m sure that’ll make it more real for him.  You live this every hour of every day, he only lives it through the small amount he’s able to experience which isn’t much right now.”

“That’s true,” May said thoughtfully.

Up until now, Harvey’s only experience with her pregnancy had been in a clinical capacity, an experience that most fathers aren’t involved in.  Not every expectant father has to worry about fetal measurements, tracking growth, or taking proper ultrasounds.  May was eager for the shift to occur so that Harvey could finally start experiencing the pregnancy along with her and feel the same joy, excitement, and anticipation that May felt every time she experienced a new pregnancy symptom.  The newest symptom, of course, was her increase in appetite.  For her entire first trimester, it was nearly impossible to eat anything at all without feeling a little nauseous.  May really only survived on a diet of saltine crackers, toast, and ginger ale much to Harvey’s disappointment.  It seemed to be the only thing she could reliably keep down.  Now, however, the morning sickness of her first trimester had disappeared and was replaced by the ravenous appetite that May had been expecting during pregnancy.  Now, it seemed she could barely go a few hours without being ready to eat and at the moment, she felt starving.

“Alright, I’ve sat down long enough, time to make my trek across the sand for some of Gus’ legendary spread,” May told Robin, huffing slightly as she stood up from her chair.

“Don’t let me stop you,” Robin replied with a grin.  “And don’t let anyone tell you that eating for two isn’t a thing, especially not at the biggest buffet of the year.  Go hog wild, if you’ll excuse the expression.  That wasn’t a fat joke.”

“I honestly don’t care,” May chuckled.  “Call me a hog all you want, I plan on eating some good food regardless.”

May crossed the uneven terrain of the beach as best she could until she arrived at the many tables of food, each piled high with more food choices than she could fathom.  Last year, the food had not been her priority and she couldn’t recall if this was the same amount as last year or if Gus had truly outdone himself this time around.  As May’s eyes scanned the tables hungrily, trying to decide where to begin, she heard a familiar grunt to her left.  She looked over to see Shane with a plate filled with some sort of red chunky sauce that almost looked like salsa.

“Wow… you don’t get hot pepper chutney like this in the big city,” Shane remarked.

Shane dug the serving spoon into the bowl of red sauce and scooped another spoonful onto his plate.

“I’ve never had it before, but it sounds amazing,” May remarked, reaching for the spoon.  Shane playfully grabbed the spoon and held it away from May, preventing her from dishing any.

“Whoa, hey now, I don’t know if I wanna go sharing, I can’t have you eating it all,” Shane teased, still holding the spoon away from her.

“Do you really think it wise to stop the pregnant lady from getting the food she wants?” May asked, folding her arms across her chest in the best form of intimidation she could attempt.

“I’m not gonna lie, I’m curious what you’re gonna do about it,” Shane replied, raising a curious eyebrow.

“At the moment?  Probably nothing,” May replied thoughtfully.  “I’ll play the long game and just slowly make your life a living hell.”  May had been teasing, but it was unnerving how quickly Shane’s expression fell and he suddenly looked miserable.

“Trust me, Farmer, ain’t nothin’ you can do to me that would make me feel any worse than I already do,” Shane replied half-jokingly, though his tone became dark.  “Joja goes outta business and is run out of town and everyone’s cheering as they leave.  Everyone except me, who’s suddenly become unemployed.  Pester me all you want, you can’t hurt a 34 year old unemployed alcoholic anymore than life already has.”

“Oh, Shane, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” May began, but Shane shook his head.

“Not your fault,” Shane replied.  “Joja had to go.  It was hell working for them everyday and feeling like I was selling my soul, you of all people should know that.  But I gotta say, my soul wasn’t a bad price to pay for a steady paycheck.  Not like I was using it anyway.”

“I’m sure there’s something out there for you, Shane,” May said gently, resting an encouraging hand on Shane’s shoulder.

“In this small town?” Shane asked, laughing darkly.  “Nah, jobs are scarce as it is, plus too many people know me, they don’t want me to be any part of their business.”

“What about-” May began, but Shane shook his head before she could even speak.

“You don’t have to try to dig me outta this one, Farmer, I know you’ve got a savior complex but this is my own burden to bear,” Shane cut in.  “You’re sweet, but maybe a little too sweet for your own good.  I’ll figure something out.  I always do when life deals me another blow.”

“I’m here for you, Shane,” May replied sincerely.  “Whether you want my help or not, I’m here for you.  You’re my friend.”

“Thanks,” Shane replied with genuine gratitude.  “Can’t say I have too many of those… or any, really.  Hey, by the way, are we still on for the saloon on Monday?”

May winced at Shane’s question, she had completely forgotten to cancel her weekly ritual with Shane.  Ever since Harvey had started participating in the weekly book club, May spent those nights at the saloon with Shane to catch up and hang out.  It was becoming a wonderful ritual of theirs to be able to hang out once a week and strengthen their friendship.  This week, however, May had to cancel but had failed to give Shane a heads up.  The hopeful look on Shane’s face would not make it any easier to tell him.

“Oh… no, I meant to tell you that I’ll be out of town that day,” May replied apologetically.  Shane’s hopeful expression immediately fell.  “I’m really sorry.  Harvey and I are going to the city for a four day weekend to have one last vacation together for my birthday before the baby comes.”

“Oh shit, I forgot it’s your birthday tomorrow,” Shane groaned.  “Shit, I didn’t even get… dammit.”

“You don’t have to get me anything,” May said delicately, but Shane looked irritable and turned away from May.

“Your one damn friend and you can’t even remember her fucking birthday,” Shane muttered to himself angrily.

“Shane, really, you don’t-” May continued, but Shane interrupted once more.

“I’m a shitty friend, Farmer, I’m… I’m sorry,” Shane mumbled before turning around to leave.  Before he left, he muttered one last sentiment to May, without even turning around to look at her.  “Enjoy the luau.”

It was uncomfortable to be left standing there after the exchange she’d just had with Shane.  He seemed to be in such a delicate state after losing his job at Joja and it seemed like no matter what May said or did, it just made it worse.  For a moment she debated chasing after Shane to talk to him, but he seemed to want some space.  Already May was feeling incredibly guilty for not telling Shane earlier about her birthday plans, she feared that most of this awkward exchange could have been avoided if she had.  But, it was too late now.  Shane found a secluded area of the beach to sulk, not even touching the plate full of hot pepper chutney that he had been so excited about.  With a deep sigh, May returned her attention to the buffet before her, knowing there was little she could do at the moment to make things right with Shane.  Maybe when she returned from her birthday trip, she would have to make arrangements to spend more time with Shane before the arrival of the baby.

May felt guilty at how quickly her thoughts shifted from Shane to food, but it was inescapable in her current mood where food seemed to dominate much of her thoughts lately.  The spread in front of her was as impressive as ever and May couldn’t quite decide what to get, so she loaded up on a little bit of everything.  Not quite everything , actually, there were a few food items that would cause Harvey to have an anxiety attack if he caught May eating them because they weren’t exactly safe to eat during pregnancy.  Still, even removing the forbidden foods, there were still plenty of options.  By the time May loaded her plate, it was filled completely.

“Hungry, I see,” Gus remarked as he watched May leave the table.  “Glad to see the appetite’s back, I missed having you at the saloon.”

“Sorry for the disappearance, the little l-” May stopped herself just in time from saying ‘little lady’, “-er, the little one wasn’t content with anything but crackers and toast for the whole first trimester.  But rest assured, you’ll be seeing a lot more of me now.”

“I hope I’ll be seeing you for your birthday tomorrow?” Gus asked hopefully.  He loved hosting the residents of town at the saloon on their birthdays, he was always so generous and welcoming that way.

“Not this year,” May answered.  Gus looked devastated.  “Harvey and I are going to the city for a four day weekend.”  At this news, Gus’ disappointed expression brightened considerably.

“Well in that case, I’ll give you a free pass,” Gus replied, just as jovial as ever.  “You two deserve a nice trip together before your little one arrives.  Just a little disappointed that you won’t be returning to the saloon to relive the moment.”

“The moment?” May asked, raising an uncertain eyebrow.

“Come on, don’t tell me I have to be the one to remind you that it’s not just your birthday, it’s also the anniversary of the night you and Doctor H got together!” Gus remarked in disbelief.  “In my saloon, no less!”

“Oh… I guess I hadn’t thought of that,” May replied sheepishly.  So much focus had gone into planning their trip and celebrating May’s birthday, it hadn’t really occurred to her or Harvey that it was also the anniversary of when they started dating.  There was certainly a lot to celebrate this year.

“Don’t tell anyone, but I’ll still give you your free birthday drink whenever you do manage to stop by,” Gus added quietly.  “Non-alcoholic, of course.”

“Of course,” May replied with a grin.  “Thanks, Gus, you’re awfully sweet.”

“Alright, I should let you go, I know better than to stand in the way of a pregnant lady and her plate of food,” Gus chuckled.
“You’re too good for this world, Gus,” May teased, smiling as she waved to Gus.

When May stepped away from the food table, her eyes scanned the crowd to see if she could find Harvey.  It wasn’t all that surprising to spot him outside of Elliott’s cabin, having a conversation with Elliott and Demetrius.  With Elliott’s wedding in only a few weeks, planned for the evening of the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies, there was excitement in the air.  It was nice to see Harvey becoming more social and making friends, to the point that Elliott had even asked Harvey to be a groomsman at the wedding.  It was proving very helpful for Harvey to have something else going on to focus his time and attention on other than the baby.  Rather than interrupt Harvey’s conversation, May headed back to the table where Robin was sitting to rejoin her.

“Well you’ve been awfully chatty,” Robin remarked, grinning.  “Quite the luau celebrity, can’t even get a plate of food without being stopped for pleasant conversation.”

“Not all pleasant,” May said darkly, her mind drifting to Shane and the uncomfortable conversation they shared.  Robin opened her mouth to question it, but May shook her head in response.  Robin knew well enough to drop the subject.

“So hey, I forget if I mentioned but I should be finished with the nursery by the time you and Doctor Boyfriend return from your babymoon,” Robin remarked.  She had in fact already mentioned this to May, but seemed to be coming up with smalltalk to gloss over the previous line of discussion.

“I can’t wait to see it!” May squealed excitedly.  “It’s been in-progress for so long, it’ll be great to see it when it’s all done.”

“And admittedly it’ll be a lot easier to just hurry up and finish when there aren’t people living in the house at the time,” Robin pointed out.  “It’s been difficult having to add a complete second story to a house that people are still living in.  You two being gone for four days should be all the time I need to hurry up and finish.  I told you back in spring, that baby’s gonna have the best damn nursery I can possibly provide… even if she isn’t gonna be named after her Honorary Grandma Robin.”  Robin pouted overdramatically, causing May to laugh.

Robin and May talked more about the nursery addition as well as the upcoming babymoon while May ate.  It hardly caught May’s notice just how much she was eating, but it didn’t matter one bit in her current condition.  Though at the very least, May kept the promise she made to Harvey that she would stay hydrated in the heat, sure to drink lots of water to the point that Robin brought her a refill of ice water to keep her fully stocked.

As May took a large gulp from her ice water, she suddenly felt the baby moving.  Of course she felt small movements throughout the day, but the sudden icy cold water made the baby become very active and start kicking to the point that May was positive it could be felt from the outside.  Without even thinking, May’s hand suddenly darted to her belly and she looked up at Robin, knowing Robin would be much quicker than May could be.

“Get Harvey,” May said urgently.

Robin’s eyes went wide and she lost all color from her face, no doubt May’s sudden urgency made her believe that something was wrong.  And yet Robin didn’t stick around for clarification, she took off running across the beach at a sprint to where Harvey was standing, still idly chatting with Elliott and Demetrius.  May watched as Robin spoke to Harvey and within seconds, Harvey had lost all color from his face as well and sprinted across the sand toward May.  It was very reminiscent of how quickly he moved across the sand the year before when Marnie passed out, but this time was wildly different.  At that time, he had looked confident and calm.  Now, however, he looked terrified.  May felt bad about putting Robin and Harvey in a state of panic like this, she hadn’t meant to, but there was no time.  It felt so urgent to get Harvey over here that she hadn’t thought about what he or Robin might think.  May groaned as she saw a large group of villagers following Harvey with Elliott and Demetrius leading the way, also looking panic-stricken.  Maru wasn’t far behind, the poor girl looked petrified.  Clearly they were also remembering the emergency the year before and were just as concerned to see the town doctor sprinting across the sand toward his pregnant wife.  Harvey and Robin arrived first, of course, but they were almost immediately followed by a crowd of onlookers.

“What is it, what's wrong?!” Harvey asked in a panic.

May didn't even say a word, there was no time.  Already she could feel the intensity of the kicks fading.  She grabbed Harvey's wrist and pulled him closer to her, resting his hand against her belly.

"She's moving,” May said breathlessly, looking up at Harvey for his reaction.

His initial reaction was one of confusion, he seemed to be stuck in a spot of relief that May was okay and confusion over why she had called him over in such a rush.  A bit of the color returned to Harvey’s face, though his jaw was still agape and his shoulders were still trembling from his residual fear.  All of a sudden May felt another powerful kick and Harvey’s entire demeanor changed.  His nervous expression, his shaky shoulders, his uncertain frown all melted away and were replaced with pure joy.  Harvey stood a little straighter, his entire face lighting up in excitement as he felt his daughter move for the very first time; not as a doctor, but as a father.

“She’s moving!” Harvey repeated excitedly.  His hand moved around May’s belly, trying to find the next spot that he might feel his daughter’s movements.

“ She?! ” Maru gasped in shock, causing both May and Harvey to jump slightly.  For a moment, they had tuned out the crowd surrounding them and forgot that they were even there.

“Oh my goodness, the outfits!” Demetrius called out, smacking his palm against his forehead in realization.  “They’re having a girl!”

A babble of excitement and confusion spread through the group like wildfire, those in the back who couldn’t see what was happening were still under the assumption that a potential emergency was taking place.  However, it didn’t take long for everyone to realize that there was, in fact, no emergency at all.  Instead, the panicked and worried buzz of the crowd quickly turned to an electrified excitement as people figured out what was going on.  There were a few playfully disappointed residents, no doubt they had lost their bet, but nobody seemed to be genuinely disappointed by the news except for Pierre.  He clearly did not like to lose, even if it was a meaningless bet.  Pierre’s scowl was almost immediately ignored, however, as Maru pushed her way forward and threw her arms around both May and Harvey.  It was a bit awkward, as Harvey’s hand was still resting on May’s belly to feel for anymore movement, so it resulted in an uncomfortable three-way hug with limbs and a large belly in the way.

“Doc!  How come you didn’t tell me in advance?!” Maru asked through a stream of tears.  When she pulled away from the hug, she punched Harvey playfully on the arm.  “You tell me everything in advance, that’s the perk of being your best friend, I get all the juicy info first!”

“We only just found out a few days ago,” Harvey reasoned, his eyes still slightly wide as he appeared to be in a daze.  A lot had happened in less than a minute.  “May thought it would be clever to show up in these outfits to see if anyone figured it out.”

“And hat’s off to your mother, because she figured it out right away,” May replied, nodding her head toward Robin who looked incredibly smug.

“So wait… this means you’re gonna name your baby after me?!” Maru squealed, jumping up and down in excitement as the meaning of this revelation hit her.  Robin’s smug smile immediately vanished.

“That’s exactly what that means,” Harvey replied with an amused smile.

The tears running down Maru’s cheeks only became worse and she fought desperately to sniff back a sob as she smiled at Harvey and May.  Maru looked like she was about to open her mouth to say something else, but she was interrupted as the crowd behind her all eagerly started talking over each other to address May and Harvey.

“I can’t believe you’re having a little girl!” Jodi squealed excitedly.

“I have to get started on clothing for her right away,” Emily cried out, her face lighting up.

“I knew they were gonna have a girl!” Penny remarked, clapping her hands as a giddy smile spread across her lips.

“A GIRL!!!” Jas shrieked excitedly, sticking her tongue out at Vincent who scowled in return.

“Are you absolutely certain, Doc?  Is there a chance you’re wrong?” Pierre asked bitterly.

“We had the ultrasound in Zuzu City on the most hi-tech equipment available,” Harvey assured Pierre.  “There’s no question, the image was clear… we’re having a girl.”

The crowd cheered once more as a wave of ‘congratulations’ washed over Harvey and May from the eager townsfolk.  It was very reminiscent of the Flower Dance not even a season earlier when they first broke the news of May’s pregnancy.  It seemed that was just how the town reacted to good news, mobbing the source of the excitement and drowning them with affection.  If the worst May could say about her friends and neighbors was that they were sometimes too excited , that wasn’t bad at all.  Harvey, on the other hand, looked just as irritated and overwhelmed as he had at the Flower Dance.  Even moreso, in fact, since his moment of feeling his daughter move for the very first time had been cut short and intruded on by a flock of unwelcome attention.  May knew that Harvey would have preferred a quiet, more intimate moment but these things can rarely ever be planned and coordinated perfectly.  At the very least, he seemed relieved that there was no medical emergency after all and that alone made it all okay.  Harvey finally got to feel like a father for the first time.

Chapter Text

Summer 28, Year 2

“Honey, it’s time to wake up.”

Harvey’s gentle voice roused May from her sleep.  She hadn’t meant to fall asleep on the couch, but lately she was becoming more tired than normal.  Understandable as she entered the third trimester of her pregnancy.  Not to mention that this was the busiest weekend that Pelican Town had seen in quite some time.  The entire town essentially shut down during the last weekend of summer this year, as there was much to celebrate in their small community.  With the upcoming wedding between Elliott and Leah plus a baby on the way for Harvey and May, there was no shortage of joy and excitement.  The weekend began with May’s baby shower on Saturday morning, an event attended by the entire town in the newly remodeled community center.  Everyone in town gathered to celebrate the impending arrival of baby Daisy and to shower Harvey and May with gifts for their new arrival.  It was overwhelming how much the town had given in preparation for Daisy and by the time it was all over, Harvey and May were as prepared as it was possible to be for the new baby.  This little girl would certainly never run out of clothing.

That evening, the town split in groups of two as they had a year earlier, it was time for yet another bachelor and bachelorette party; this time in celebration of Elliott and Leah’s wedding.  May found herself enjoying this bachelorette party far more than her own, it was actually much nicer with the attention off of herself.  She spent the majority of the night sitting on the sofa, munching quietly on the spread of food available to her.  It was one of the few perks of being the pregnant lady in the group; nobody expected her to get up and move around and it was pretty well guaranteed that she wouldn’t be judged for spending the evening stuffing her face.  All in all, it was a surprisingly relaxing and enjoyable affair.  The same could not be said for Harvey, it sounded as though Elliott’s bachelor party was just as drunken and unruly as Harvey’s had been.  Even worse, in fact, with the arrival of Leah’s many loud-mouthed and rowdy brothers in town that evening.  It was when the karaoke machine was dusted off and Leahs’ brothers began a drunken rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody that Harvey chose to call it an early night.

Sunday was spent preparing for Elliott and Leah’s wedding, although the wedding itself was not until later in the evening.  They had planned it so that the wedding would be held on the beach at sunset, the reception would take place in the early hours of the evening, and the entire event would culminate with the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies.  May was thankful that the wedding was not early in the morning as her own wedding had been, it was already proving to be a busy and exhausting weekend and it wasn’t even over yet.  Harvey was sure to let May sleep in late on Sunday, knowing how late they would be staying up that night for the town festivities.

Shane had stopped by the farm bright and early on Sunday morning, ready to work.  By now he was so adept at his new job on Runaway Farm, he could get started on the day’s work without May’s instruction which was fortunate this morning to give May more sleep after the late-night bachelorette party the evening before.  May was pleased to hear from Harvey that Shane hadn’t touched a single sip of alcohol during the bachelor party and had actually left somewhat early, knowing he would need to be at the farm early the next morning for his duties.  May felt guilty that by the time she and Harvey woke up that morning, Shane was almost done with the bulk of the work.  He hadn’t even been working on the farm for half the summer and already his help was proving invaluable.  Then again, Shane’s new job on the farm was just as beneficial to him as it was for Harvey and May.

After the loss of his job at JojaMart, Shane spiraled downward and hit rock bottom on a rainy night only a few days after the community luau.  Already May had suspected that Shane was not in a good place at the luau, but it was when May found him passed out in the forest, surrounded by empty beer cans, that it was clear he needed help.  Not only the medical help that Harvey provided that night or even the help that his new therapist was providing, but help from a friend.  Harvey and May had already been looking for a farmhand to hire for Runaway Farm, it seemed that Shane was the perfect fit for the job.  Ever since then, Shane worked hard to prove himself and already, May was confident that it was the right choice for everyone.  The lightened workload made it much easier for May to get much needed rest, Harvey had peace of mind knowing that his pregnant wife would no longer have to work a grueling job, and Shane had the break he needed to work a job that he felt fulfilled with.  The arrangement was perfect.

Yet even with more time to rest, May was still just as tired as she had been, if not moreso.  The start of her third trimester was uncomfortable and exhausting to say the least.  It wasn’t uncommon for her these days to take short naps throughout the day.  Though she hadn’t meant to today, it was probably necessary with two major town events in one evening.

“Honey, it’s time to get up,” Harvey repeated gently.

May sat up and yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she glanced around the room.  Though she was slightly disoriented for a moment, her heart began to race when she realized that she had unintentionally fallen asleep on the couch.

“What time is it?!” May gasped, her eyes darting open at the sudden fear that she’d overslept and missed the wedding.

“It’s alright, it’s only 3:30,” Harvey said softly.  “We don’t have to leave for another half hour.  I was hoping to wake you gently and slowly to give you time to properly wake up, but alas, it looks like that was a bit more abrupt.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” May yawned, holding her arms out in a wide stretch.  “I’m just so tired these days.”

“Understandable in your condition,” Harvey chuckled.  “I’m actually glad you were able to get a nap in before the wedding, it’ll be a late night tonight.”

“True, I might not have made it otherwise,” May replied, nodding.

Now that she was fully awake, May looked Harvey up and down and smiled at his appearance.  He’d changed into his wedding attire while she was sleeping.  Though Harvey usually looked very well dressed, his regular attire suddenly looked casual compared to the sleek black suit and blue bowtie he was wearing; the outfit Elliott had chosen for his three groomsmen.

“Well don’t you look handsome,” May commented, smiling at Harvey as she rose from the couch to get a better look at him.

“Admittedly it’s pretty difficult not to look handsome in a suit like this,” Harvey replied modestly, though his cheeks still flushed as May rested her hands at Harvey’s shoulders and squeezed affectionately.

“Now the dress I picked out doesn’t quite look so nice by comparison,” May noted, frowning.  “Not that I had many options, mind you, I had a grand total of two choices for maternity dresses and I wore my other one yesterday for the baby shower and bachelorette party.  Both of them just look like giant bedsheets, it’s ridiculous.”

“You’ll look lovely, I guarantee it,” Harvey said sweetly.

“I’ll just have to ride your coattails and be content showing up on the arm of my handsome doctor husband,” May remarked with a grin.  Harvey blushed further.

“The suit’s doing all the work for me in the handsome department, I’m just wearing it,” Harvey replied.  “Though it certainly could have been worse.  When Elliott had said it would be a beach wedding, I’ll admit I feared for a moment that I’d be asked to be barefoot with khakis rolled up to my knees and a white muslin shirt.  From what I understand, that's a pretty popular trend for beach weddings.  Despite how odd it will be to walk around a sandy beach in dress shoes, I was mostly relieved by Elliott’s choice.”

It was sweet to May that Elliott considered Harvey enough of a friend to ask him to be a groomsman, their friendship had really started to grow ever since Harvey joined the book club and had weekly meetings with his new group of friends.  He and Elliott in particular got along quite well and even May was starting to become friends with Leah as a result.  Harvey and May had invited both Elliott and Leah to dinner at the farmhouse not long after their engagement and it was nice to have another couple over to visit with.  While May usually talked to Robin and was on the receiving end of plenty of her advice, it was a nice change of pace to be the one giving the advice.  While Elliott and Harvey bonded over their book club and the most recent novel Elliott was working on, Leah was eager to ask May questions about her marriage to Harvey, her work on Runaway Farm, and any advice May could give her about the upcoming wedding.  The two of them would never replace Robin and Demetrius as Harvey and May’s couple friends, but it was nice to expand their social horizons a bit and see Harvey finally have friendships beyond Maru.

The hours that followed were a bit frantic, but May supposed that was expected for a wedding.  Harvey had been asked to arrive at the wedding early to help setup as part of his groomsman responsibilities while May needed to get to Emily and Haley’s house for hair and makeup.  Harvey drove May as far as her destination, then left the golf cart with her to walk the rest of the way to the beach.  Despite May’s protests, Harvey insisted that his pregnant wife was more in need of transportation than he was and she was hardly in any position to argue against that point.

Much like with May’s wedding, the inside of Emily and Haley’s house was chaotic with the room filled with people all waiting to have hair and makeup done.  May was fortunate that all she needed was a quick curl to her hair.  Though she wasn’t the best with makeup, she did it all herself to avoid stressing poor Haley and Emily out.  With Emily being a bridesmaid in the wedding, she needed to focus more time and attention on getting herself ready than anyone else.  It didn’t help that this time around, the house was even more full than it had been for May’s wedding with friends and relatives of Leah’s crammed inside as well.  A very frantic woman was barking orders at people and trying to take command over the chaos, May had to assume that this was Leah’s mother.  Leah had mentioned her a time or two and used the words ‘overbearing’ and ‘micromanaging’ to describe her.

Thankfully May was able to get in and out of there quite quickly, the chaos inside and the amount of people were making her feel a bit overwhelmed.  Her pregnancy was already causing her body to run hot but with so many people stuffed into a small house and a large belly to contend with, she was relieved when her hair was curled and she could go.  The entire time she was in the house, she hadn’t spotted Leah once, though May assumed she was in one of the bedrooms getting ready in private.  It wouldn’t be much longer now until the wedding began.

As crowds of people started arriving at the wedding, May was disappointed when she couldn’t find Harvey.  She had to assume that he was in Elliott’s cabin with the other groomsmen waiting for the wedding to begin, but it felt strangely lonely to be in a large community gathering without him.  Thankfully May spotted Robin across the crowd, sitting all alone.  Demetrius was another groomsman in the wedding which left Robin in the same situation.  Once Robin caught eyes with May, she smiled and patted the open seat next to her.  It seemed Robin was just as eager for company as May was.

“There you go looking like a lost little kitten again,” Robin remarked once May joined her.  “I knew I picked the nickname for you.  Feeling lost without Doctor Boyfriend around, huh?”

“A bit,” May replied with a nervous laugh.  “It sounds stupid, but I really do feel a little lonely without him here.  Not that it’s for long, it’s just for the ceremony.”

“Not stupid at all, Demetrius and I have been together for over twenty years and it still feels odd to sit by myself,” Robin admitted.    “Glad I’m not the only pathetic soul pining after her husband.”

As the time came closer for the wedding to begin, the mingling crowd was asked to take their seats to await the start of the ceremony.  The entire front row seemed to be filled with members of Leah’s family, though May couldn’t help but notice that she’d yet to see anyone that was Elliott’s family.  There was a small group of people around his age that appeared to be some of his friends, but no whisper of grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, or even his mother or father.  It was strangely reminiscent of May’s wedding when Harvey had no family of his own in attendance.  May didn’t know much about Elliott or his family, but a lack of family on his behalf was very noticeable.  Especially in comparison to Leah’s rowdy and excitable family, they were very much making themselves known.

A hush fell over the crowd the moment Mayor Lewis approached the archway at the end of the aisle.  Soft violin music began to play from a string quartet, May had to admit that it was an elegant addition to the ceremony.  The crowd collectively jumped at the sound of a creaking door, Elliott emerged from his cabin in a pure white tuxedo looking almost ethereal.  His long, flowing hair looked as silky and smooth as ever, glistening in the light of the setting sun.  Baby’s breath was woven through the strands of his hair only adding to the otherworldly aura he gave off.  So often it was the bride who was gazed upon as a vision of grace and beauty, but Elliott was already setting the bar quite high.  Elliott’s walk down the aisle was done with elegance and poise, however the moment he turned to face the crowd, he seemed to lose a bit of his confidence.  So often May had felt like Elliott’s constant grace and elegance was a wall he had put up around himself but for the first time that May could recall, Elliott looked nervous and vulnerable.

Following Elliott down the aisle was the wedding party, all entering in pairs.  It was the most unusual grouping May had ever seen and she had to stifle a laugh at how peculiar the whole wedding party looked.  At the head of the procession was Leah’s Maid of Honor and best friend since childhood, Keiko.  Leah had mentioned her to Harvey and May when they were discussing wedding plans and May knew that Keiko was about the same age as Leah.  Seeing her paired up with Elliott’s Best Man was, putting it mildly, a spectacle.  Elliott had chosen his closest friend in the valley who just so happened to be Willy, a man old enough to be Keiko’s father.  Luckily Keiko seemed quite content with the pairing, smiling happily as she walked down the aisle arm in arm with Willy.  It was sweet to see Willy dressed up in a nice suit, it was something May had never seen from him before.  Even at Flower Dances and at May’s own wedding, the most he showed up in was a dress shirt and slacks.  In his suit as Elliott’s Best Man, he looked positively dapper.

Speaking of dapper, May felt stupidly giddy and flustered at the sight of Harvey walking down the aisle arm in arm with another young lady May had never seen before.  Harvey had mentioned that he would be paired with Leah’s cousin Wendy but based on the look of her, they very well could have been sisters.  She appeared to be a few years younger than Leah, maybe 24 years old, and wasn’t quite as tall as her cousin Leah.  Understandably, Wendy appeared a little nervous about being paired with a perfect stranger so much taller and older than herself.  Her arm was only barely linked in Harvey’s and she looked a bit awkward, though she wasn’t the only one.  Harvey looked considerably awkward as well, but May knew that was just Harvey.  He wasn’t exactly fond of big social events, especially when all eyes were upon him.  His eyes seemed to be scanning the crowd looking for his wife and when he locked eyes with her, he smiled.  May blew an air kiss at him and smiled in return as he passed by, hoping that her gesture would help him relax.  Already he looked more comfortable, if only a little bit.

Next in the procession was Demetrius and Emily, the least odd pairing of the wedding party which was certainly saying something because they still looked so odd together.  Emily’s bright, vibrant hair was a near identical match to the bright blue bridesmaid dress she was wearing.  She looked fun and quirky compared to Demetrius who looked sleek and dashing in his suit.  At the very least the both of them looked content to be paired together.  It was cute to see the both of them also scanning the crowd, looking for their partners.  May heard a brief catcall from next to her, Robin was calling playfully to Demetrius which caused a few surrounding guests to chuckle.  Once the wedding party had reached the altar and the groomsmen were all together, May had to hold back a laugh.  It was amusing to May that Harvey was actually the youngest of the groomsmen, especially considering how much older Harvey was than Elliot.  Not that age gaps mattered in a friendship, of course.  May had to remind herself of the thirteen year age gaps both she and Harvey had with their own friends.  Still, it was amusing to see Harvey, who had always been so self conscious of his age, standing amongst the other two groomsmen as the youngest of the bunch.

Following the wedding party were two young children May had never seen before, she had to assume they were a niece and nephew of Leah’s.  The little girl couldn’t have been more than four years old and was grabbing fistfuls of rose petals and chucking them to the floor like she was pitching a baseball.  The little boy was younger, maybe only three, and yet the serious look of determination on his face was intense.  This boy had a mission to hold the rings and carry them to the altar and nothing on earth could stop him.  May had to guess that his mother had stressed the importance of his job so much that he took it as seriously as though it were life or death.  The determination on his face was actually quite hilarious.  From the back of the gathering, May could hear Haley’s camera clicking away to take photos of everyone’s entrance.

Suddenly the bright, upbeat music from the string quartet changed and became much slower.  The sudden change commanded the attention of the crowd and everyone knew what was coming next.  In preparation, the crowd rose from their seats as was customary for the entrance of the bride.  May quietly groaned, at this stage in her pregnancy she was reaching the point where it was much more preferable to sit than to stand.

“You need help getting up, Prego?” Robin teased, holding out a hand for May.

“Ha ha,” May replied sarcastically, though that didn’t stop her from taking Robin’s hand anyway to help her up.

May was so short that it was difficult to properly see over the heads of those taller than her, but she could hear the crowd gasp as Leah made her way down the aisle.  All May could see was a train of white lace dragging along the floor and the smallest glance of ginger hair and a bit of tulle from her veil.  May always hated the tradition of standing up for the bride’s entrance, it always seemed incredibly unfair to the short ones.  Once everyone was finally seated, May had a much better view.  Leah looked just as elegant as Elliott, they really did make a handsome couple.  The same flowers in Elliott’s hair had also been woven through Leah’s and for one of the only times May could remember, Leah’s hair was worn down and not in the signature braid that she usually wore.  The two of them looked picture perfect together; both of their long, ginger hair was adorned with beautiful white flowers complementing the pure white attire that they wore.  The setting behind Elliott and Leah only added to the picturesque moment.  The soothing crash of the ocean waves could be heard in the silence and the sandy beach around them, glimmering under the light of the sunset, cast a warm glow around them.

“Friends, family, and neighbors, I thank you all for being here today on such an important day in the lives of Elliott and Leah,” Mayor Lewis began eloquently.

The ceremony was essentially the same for Elliott and Leah as it had been for Harvey and May, Mayor Lewis seemed to have the entire process scripted out with only minor variations.  To the surprise of no one, Elliott and Leah had elected to write their own vows.  Leah’s were a bit short, though it was clear that she’d written them with love and sincerity.  Elliott’s vows were just as sincere, yet they were quite a bit longer and more eloquent.  Clearly he rose to the challenge of writing his own wedding vows and met it beautifully.  Not surprising for a man who made his living as a writer.  Elliott had memorized the vows that he’d written and recited them with a grace and poise that brought nearly everyone to tears, Leah included.  When he finished, it almost felt required to burst into applause after such a performance.

At the end of the ceremony, Elliott and Leah scampered down the aisle hand in hand to the applause and cheers of the crowd.  Leah’s four older brothers all whooped and hollered rowdily while her mother was openly sobbing.  The wedding party followed Elliott and Leah down the aisle and May watched as Harvey walked past her, flashing an apologetic look her way.  If this wedding was anything like her own, Harvey was about to disappear again for photos.  Sure enough, Haley quickly caught up to the wedding party and started to gesture towards them to follow her to the docks with her camera at the ready.  It would likely be another hour before May saw him again.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I invite you all to the tide pools to enjoy a cocktail hour with refreshments and appetizers,” Gus announced to the crowd.  May hadn’t noticed until now that he was dressed once more in his white chef’s coat and had likely missed the ceremony in preparation for the cocktail hour.

The crowd all made their way across the sand to follow Gus toward the tide pools with May waddling her way behind everyone.  The uneven sand was difficult enough to traverse over but being this far along in her pregnancy, May’s walk was more of a waddle.  Though May had spent the ceremony seated next to Robin, she was slightly disappointed to see that Robin was caught up in conversation with Jodi.  May supposed it wouldn’t be the end of the world to spend the cocktail hour alone, it wouldn’t be long before she could rejoin Harvey at the reception.

When they arrived at the tide pools, May was impressed to see that Gus had somehow managed to setup an entire bar area among the many pools.  With Emily as a bridesmaid, Gus enlisted the help of Caroline to serve the food while Gus stayed behind the bar to serve drinks.  Right away it was clear this was a smart choice on Gus’ part, there was already a large crowd surrounding the bar to get their drinks.  A cocktail hour didn’t exactly do much for May in her condition, but at least there were trays of small finger foods to snack on during the wait.  When May had finished loading up her plate with appetizers, she started toward the nearest seat she could find to take a load off.  She had barely stepped away from the table when Marnie turned away from the table and bumped into May and her protruding baby bump.

“May, I’m glad I ran into you,” Marnie began.  “Though not literally of course, that was unintentional.  Sorry about that.”

“No problem, I’m hard to avoid these days,” May chuckled, resting a hand on her belly.  “What’s up?”

Before Marnie spoke, she looked around at the people near them and gestured to May to step aside for more privacy.  Once they were relatively separated from the crowd, Marnie seemed far more comfortable to speak.

“I just wanted to thank you for hiring Shane on Runaway Farm,” Marnie said seriously.  “I can’t tell you how much of a relief it is.  When he lost his job at Joja, things got… well, saying ‘bad’ feels like an understatement.  I’d never been more worried about him in my whole life.  And that night you found him in the forest, I…” Marnie paused, stopping to catch her breath to stop herself from crying.  May rested a supportive hand on Marnie’s shoulder and kept it there until Marnie felt ready to continue speaking.  “I’m so grateful to you and Harvey.  You’re the only people in town to see Shane as more than just a screw-up.  Thank you for giving him the chance to prove himself.  I know he’s a good man and a hard worker, he’s just been dealt a really terrible hand.”

“I have no doubt that he’ll do just fine,” May replied kindly.  “I never had any doubts about that.  Already his help is proving to be so valuable, I don’t know how I’d survive this work if it weren’t for him.  Trust me when I say that we need him just as badly as he needs us.”

“Yoba, it’s just nice to hear that he’s needed,” Marnie sighed in relief.  “Joja was never a good fit for him, he hated it there.  But it was the only work he could get, so he just had to suck it up.  Shane’s not content just going through the motions, but he’s never had much of a choice.  He really does have big aspirations and a hell of a work ethic.  He won’t let you down, I can promise you that.”

“And I can promise you that we’ll treat Shane well,” May added.  “I’ve been a Joja worker myself, I can safely say his work on Runaway Farm will be much more rewarding and worthwhile.  We’re very lucky to have him.”

“Thanks for saying that,” Marnie replied gratefully.  “It honestly means so much to me to hear that.  I hope Shane can at least bring you and Harvey some peace of mind in the lead up to your little one’s arrival.”

“Trust me, it’s already such a weight off of our shoulders to know that the farm will be okay,” May agreed.  “Not only now when it’s been so difficult to do the work, but even once she’s born.  It’s safe to say I’ll have my hands full.”

“Less than a season to go!” Marnie said excitedly, her entire demeanor becoming cheerful in the blink of an eye at the mention of the baby on the way.  “How are you feeling these days?”

May knew the moment the conversation shifted to the baby where things were likely to head and she was not wrong.  Following their serious discussion about Shane, Marnie seemed eager to stick to lighthearted subjects and to grill May on an up-to-date status on how her pregnancy was progressing.  It seemed every few weeks May was stopped by one of the gossip girls to catch up with her and ask for updates.  Of course that was nothing compared to the awkward conversations she’d had with Caroline, Jodi, and even Robin involving their own experiences.  May didn’t know what it was with older women and their compulsion to share their own pregnancy, labor, and delivery stories in great detail but it always made May feel incredibly awkward and uneasy.  She hoped she wouldn’t be the type to do the same in the future, but it seemed to be standard protocol whenever a group of moms got together.  It was why May never minded too much when speaking to Marnie, at least she knew it would only ever involve questions and not stories.

It took nearly the entire cocktail hour before the wedding party finished photos and May was surprised that she spent most of her time chatting with Marnie.  It certainly wasn’t how she envisioned spending her time, but it was pleasant nonetheless.  Too often at town events she got hassled by so many people to ask questions, it was nice to spend a little one on one time with someone like Marnie who she otherwise didn’t get to see often.  When the bride, groom, and wedding party returned to the reception area, May sought out Harvey and noticed right away that he looked weary.

“Hi, sweetheart,” May said sympathetically, kissing Harvey gently on the cheek as he approached.  “You already look so exhausted, don’t forget we still have a reception and a town festival to get through.”

“Oh Yoba, don’t remind me,” Harvey groaned, resting his forehead against May’s.  She felt bad for how tired he already looked, but couldn’t help smiling at his touch.  “At least the pictures are out of the way, that’s always the worst part.  I remember at our wedding, that was my least favorite part.”

“Same here,” May recalled.  “Plus, looking back at our wedding album, it’s always the candid pictures that are better anyway.  They’re more real.  A forced smile in a posed photo is nice, but the candid ones have real joy.”

Harvey had only barely reunited with May when Leah’s mother swept through the reception area, barking at anyone who would listen that it was time to be seated for the bride and groom’s first dance.  The woman looked incredibly frazzled and May had to guess that she was serving as Leah’s unofficial wedding planner.  Luckily the head table was only set for the bride, groom, Best Man, and Maid of Honor, allowing the other bridesmaids and groomsmen to sit with their families.  It was one thing to sit through the ceremony on her own, but May wasn’t fond of the idea of going through the entire reception sitting apart from Harvey.  Luckily, they were seated at a table with Robin, Demetrius, Maru, and Sebastian near the front; the perks of Harvey and Demetrius being groomsmen.

Once everyone was properly seated, Elliott and Leah walked amongst the tables to the sound of applause from the crowd, stopping when they reached the dance floor that had been setup on the beach near the shore.  The string quartet that had played during the ceremony had relocated to the reception area and played a song that May recognized as Canon in D.  Though she wasn’t exactly a huge classical music fan, it was a fairly recognizable song.  It was sweet to watch Elliott and Leah dance together, it was clear that they had taken some form of lessons based on the much fancier footwork and moves that they performed.  From the moment the song began, May felt Harvey reach under the table for May’s hand and he held it in his own, squeezing her hand affectionately every so often throughout the song.  It was a funny coincidence, but every time Harvey squeezed her hand, May could feel Daisy move slightly.

When the song ended, the crowd applauded once more and Elliott gave a rather overdramatic bow which made May giggle slightly.  Elliott always did have a flair for the theatrics.  When Elliott and Leah returned to their seats, there was a lot of shuffling happening to get things moving on time.  The string quartet packed up to leave, it seemed they were only staying for the ceremony and first dance.  May was surprised to see that they were replaced by Pelican Town’s resident DJ, Sam, who would likely handle the music for the duration of the evening.  As young and chaotic as Sam was, she had to give him credit for his musical knowledge.  Right away classical instrumental music began to play quietly in the background, setting a calm and soothing mood as the next phase of the wedding began; dinner.

Dinner was a pleasant enough experience, it at least gave Harvey time to sit down and relax for a bit after a very busy and uncomfortable afternoon.  Already he seemed much more at ease being at a table with his wife and friends.  All through the meal, the conversation was light and pleasant.  Of course mostly it was about May, Harvey, and the baby, but there was the occasional shift in conversation to keep things interesting.

At the conclusion of dinner, Gus and Caroline were already busy at work to clear the tables in preparation for the toasts.  May felt bad for how much work Gus had to put in every time there was a wedding in town, but he seemed to enjoy the thrill of it.  Through the entire process, he never appeared to be anything less than delighted.  Once the plates were cleared away and champagne was served, or in May’s case sparkling cider, the wedding toasts began.  Leah’s Maid of Honor Keiko told some adorable and amusing stories from their childhood and spoke for nearly five minutes straight.  Willy’s speech was far less lengthy, not even a minute long, but May could tell he was very much out of his comfort zone speaking in front of so many people.  His speech was very brief and not exactly profound, but May could tell it was written from the heart.  It had to be intimidating to write a speech in honor of someone who was a writer by profession.  Last in the lineup was Leah’s father whose speech brought nearly the entire crowd to tears.  Being the only girl in her family with four older brothers, it was clear that Leah was very special to her father and that they shared a special bond.  His speech was heartwarming, endearing, and very emotional.

When the speeches ended, Sam announced from his DJ booth that the dance floor was open and nearly half the crowd rose all at once to dance.  Many people seemed eager to get up and move after sitting for so long, but Harvey and May were certainly not feeling that way.  Harvey still seemed content to stay put and relax while May wasn’t sure whether or not she even wanted to dance.  This far along in her pregnancy, it was more difficult to stay standing for long and she certainly didn’t want to make a fool of herself on the dance floor by looking like an over-inflated beach ball bouncing around.  Of course Robin and Demetrius immediately headed for the dance floor, that was no surprise, and when Sebastian realized his obligation to stay at the table was over, he immediately got up to find Abigail.  Though Maru’s company was always fine, she seemed to recognize that she was the third wheel of the group and excused herself to find Elliott and Leah to congratulate them.  Harvey and May were finally alone together.

“The wedding was beautiful,” May commented conversationally.

“Yes, beach weddings may be a bit overdone, but for a good reason,” Harvey agreed.  “I wouldn’t change our wedding one bit, but I must admit it was nice to have a wedding at sunset on the beach.  It definitely fits Elliott, that’s for sure.”

“And hey, it just occurred to me that the last two weddings this town has had since two decades ago, you’ve been an active participant in both of them,” May chuckled in amusement.  “I wonder who’ll get married next, maybe you can go for three.”

“Unless it’s Maru which I find highly unlikely, that probably won’t be the case,” Harvey chuckled in return.  “I’m honestly surprised Elliott chose me as a groomsman.  Honored and flattered, of course, but still a bit surprised.”

“I’ll admit, I was a bit surprised as well,” May remarked.  “Leah had friends and family in her wedding party, I was expecting someone like Elliott to have a ton of friends from before he moved here.  I also noticed he didn’t have any family here either, which seemed…”

May stopped herself from commenting on how odd it was, it suddenly seemed like an incredibly insensitive thing to say to Harvey of all people considering he didn’t have any family at his wedding either.  It probably looked just as odd to the guests at their wedding that Harvey didn’t have any family and it suddenly felt rude to make such a comment without any context.  Still, Harvey must have known what May was about to say and nodded in understanding.

“I wouldn’t say Elliott’s exactly like me, though at the moment he doesn’t really have any family to speak of,” Harvey commented quietly.  “I don’t know all the details and I’d certainly never ask for them, but I know enough.  He went through a bit of a falling out with his family and that’s actually why he’s here in Pelican Town.”

May’s heart went out to poor Elliott, she’d have never guessed given how confident and self-assured Elliott was that he had gone through any trauma in his past.  She couldn’t imagine what he might have been through with his family to cut ties, but it was clear by the look that Harvey had on his face that he wasn’t going to elaborate.  Already he looked uncomfortable by the amount he had already said, May wasn’t about to push him further for more information.  She recalled a conversation she’d had with Harvey over a year earlier during their first date, Harvey had mentioned that Pelican Town was home to many wayward souls and the longer May lived here, the more she started to believe it.  Pelican Town really was home to all the lost souls of the valley all coming together to create a community.  On a day like today, with a beautiful wedding and a town festival to look forward to, there was no further proof of that.

As the dancing continued, Harvey and May were content to watch the crowd dance and mingle.  Neither of them were in any hurry to get up from their seats, May especially.  Of course at some point Elliott and Leah had made their way over to say a quick hello and for Harvey and May to offer their congratulations, but it was a brief exchange.  May remembered all too well the obligation for the bride and groom to visit with their guests and with Leah’s larger family, there were many people for them to see.  May reasoned that they’d have more time to chat with Elliott and Leah the following week, they had invited the couple to the farmhouse for another dinner double date after their first one had gone so well.

It was entertaining to listen to the variety of music that was being played, during the reception Sam was taking song requests from the crowd for what they would like to listen and dance to and in no time, he had a decent sized stack of request cards.  The diversity in music styles and tempos was actually quite entertaining, it kept things interesting to go from techno to country to classical.  While May had been spaced out watching the crowd, she heard the opening notes to a song she was very familiar with, a song that had played at her own wedding.  The Nearness of You began to play from the large speakers setup by the dance floor and May gasped when she saw Harvey rise from his chair and hold his hand out to her.

“I know neither of us are big on dancing, but… I couldn’t resist,” Harvey remarked sheepishly.

May smiled lovingly at Harvey as she took his hand, thankful that he’d offered it to her to help her get up from her chair.  Sitting for too long combined with being very pregnant made it difficult to stand but Harvey was there to support her.  He always was.  With his arm wrapped gently around May’s back, the two of them headed for the dance floor.  The moment Harvey and May faced each other to dance, May couldn’t help but laugh at how far away they actually were with her belly in the way.

“I feel like something has come between us,” Harvey joked, wrapping his arms as well as he could around May’s waist.

“This is certainly quite a different dance than it was at our wedding,” May laughed, resting her hands on Harvey’s shoulders.  “I guess we’re just as uncertain on the dance floor as we were at our wedding, but now we’re like two awkward teenagers dancing together for the first time standing a foot apart.”

Though May joked about dancing like two awkward teens, it was funny to her just how true that seemed.  Neither of them were very good dancers, all they ever typically did was sway back and forth but that was always enough for them to feel content.  All that really mattered was being close together, but right now they couldn’t even do that much.  May wished she could rest her head against Harvey’s shoulder while they danced, but they were too far apart.  Still, it was nice to be close to him and be present on the dance floor, even if just for one song.  It made her feel more like an active participant in Elliott and Leah’s reception and less disconnected from the rest of the town.  Many of the requested songs had been fast, upbeat songs and it seemed other couples were gathering inspiration from the music playing and took to the dance floor with their partner as well to indulge in a slow, romantic song.

In addition to Harvey and May, other married couples took to the dance floor as well.  Of course Elliott and Leah were dancing happily together, with Leah resting her head against Elliott’s shoulder as they swayed in a slow, lazy circle together.  Elliott appeared to be singing the words of the song quietly to his bride, his arms enveloping her as though desperate to keep her close.  Jodi and Kent weren’t much further away, they were awkwardly swaying back and forth in much the same way as Harvey and May, but they at least looked happy together.  Caroline and Pierre were also swaying, but it was very different.  It felt just as disconnected and tense as their marriage in general.  Robin and Demetrius, of course, were doing far more than basic swaying, they were always very adept on the dance floor and always appeared to be having a great time together.

Dancing in the center of the dance floor were Emily and Sandy, gazing lovingly into each others’ eyes.  They were in deep conversation as they danced and it seemed that whatever they were talking about was making them quite happy, they were both smiling from ear to ear.  May was thrilled to see that their relationship together really was blossoming.

On the far edge of the dance floor, almost so far to the edge that they were barely even considered to be on the dance floor, Sebastian and Abigail were somewhat awkwardly dancing together.  If you could even call nervous swaying back and forth while barely holding hands ‘dancing’.  Still, it was endearing to see the two of them attempting to be discreet together by distancing themselves from the majority of the couples on the dance floor.  May couldn’t quite blame them for wanting their privacy in a town like this.

May glanced over to the DJ booth and smiled at the sight of Sam, completely ignoring his equipment while the song played, slow dancing with Penny.  Just before May looked away she caught Sam plant a soft kiss on top of Penny’s head, causing Penny to smile giddily.  May couldn’t be sure if this meant that Sam and Penny were dating or if they even had any interest in each other, but it was sweet nonetheless.  Love was in the air in Pelican Town.

With so many couples both on and off the dance floor, May was curious how people like Maru or Shane were holding up.  A quick glance over to Maru made May’s heart sink.  Maru was leaning forward in her chair, resting her chin on the palm of her hand, staring sullenly at the group of dancers before her.  It seemed there was a specific spot she was staring at and when May followed Maru’s line of sight, she felt even worse when she noticed Maru eyeing Sam and Penny.  May searched the rest of the crowd that were still seated at the tables, hoping to find Shane in much better spirits.

It at least made May feel quite a bit better when she spotted Shane.  He was seated at a table with Marnie, chatting casually with her over their glasses of sparkling cider.  Sitting in Shane’s lap was Jas who was already passed out asleep in his arms, resting her head against Shane’s shoulder.  It was incredibly sweet to see Shane take on more of a fatherly role with Jas, something May hadn’t often seen from him the year before.  Jas was usually trailing Marnie most days but as Shane began his slow road to recovery, it was clear that he was channeling the majority of his attention and focus to his new job on Runaway Farm as well as his role as Jas’ guardian.  It was strange to see Shane cradling a sleeping child in his arms, it looked oddly natural for him.

At the table nearest Shane, May noticed Haley sitting alone, snapping photos of the dancing for her role as wedding photographer.  At first this seemed a reasonable enough explanation for why Haley wasn’t dancing with Alex, yet May caught sight of a quick, dirty scowl Haley flashed across the other side of the beach.  When May’s eyes followed, she noticed Alex sitting at a table with Evelyn and George, both of whom were too caught up in the song to notice Alex’s miserable expression.  May had heard rumors of a recent break-up between the two of them, but swore to herself that she wouldn’t give much credence to any rumors overheard in a place like Pelican Town where rumors were nearly a form of currency.  It seemed that maybe this one was correct.

When the song reached an end, the couples on the dance floor stopped their dancing and there was a collective moment of calm and contentment as the many couples in love enjoyed the warm embrace of their partner.  Yet as the seconds passed in complete silence with no song to follow, May glanced over to the DJ booth out of curiosity.  She gasped slightly under her breath at the sight of Sam and Penny, still in each other’s arms, so involved in a deep kiss that neither of them seemed aware of what was going on around them.  A frenzy of whispers broke out through the crowd, a few giggles, and May even heard a loud whistle and cheer.  It was the whistle that finally broke Sam and Penny apart, alerting them to the fact that they’d been spotted.  Sam looked almost proud of the fact that nearly the entire town was staring by this point, but poor Penny looked mortified.  May’s heart went out to the both of them, it was exactly one year earlier that she and Harvey had been caught in a very similar situation by the entire town, though they were thankfully not on display behind a DJ booth with a literal spotlight on them.

“Let’s give it up one more time for the bride and groom!” Sam finally called out in his usual upbeat voice, a weak attempt at diverting attention off of himself and Penny.

The crowd of onlookers all clapped politely as Elliot and Leah took a bow, they at least seemed to be trying to cover for Sam and Penny though there wasn’t too terribly much they could do.  All attention was on Sam and Penny at the moment.

“So, uh… let’s get on to some more song requests!” Sam continued, though his cheerful facade was starting to crack as his voice wavered nervously.

Sam took a moment to rifle through the index cards of song requests, no doubt looking for the perfect song to take attention away from himself and Penny.  It would have to be a doozy in order for people to stop staring, whispering, and smiling.  Sam didn’t say a word, he simply nodded, turned to his laptop, and within seconds the crowd collectively laughed, cheered, and gasped as the opening to ‘Shout’ played over the speakers.  May had to hold back a laugh of her own, if any song in the world could divert the attention of an entire group of people at a wedding, it was this.  Practically a wedding staple, no one on earth could resist dancing to ‘Shout’ at a wedding and that fact became abundantly clear as the crowd on the dance floor quickly resumed dancing as though nothing had happened.

“This song might be a bit more than I can pull off in my current condition,” May teased, already waddling her way off of the dance floor.

“I’m not much better off, at least you have an excuse,” Harvey replied with a grin.  “We can sit back down.  Heck, we can spend the whole rest of the wedding back at the table, I just wanted one opportunity to get to dance with you.”

“I’m glad we had that,” May replied.  “After all, tonight’s kind of a big night for us.”

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten,” Harvey remarked.  “How could I forget that one year ago today you told me you loved me.”

“Wow, here I was wondering if through the excitement of the wedding you would forget,” May commented, nodding at Harvey.

“How could I forget something so monumental in my life,” Harvey replied sweetly.  “Most people can’t remember the first time they were told ‘I love you’.  I’m in a unique position where I can.”

“And I don’t plan on stopping any time soon,” May said sweetly.  “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Harvey replied.

May leaned over in her chair and rested her head against Harvey’s shoulder as they continued to watch the crowd.  His arms immediately wrapped around her and he rested his cheek gently on top of May’s head, peppering her hair with the occasional soft kiss.  May would be content spending the entire rest of the wedding right here in Harvey’s arms.

The remainder of the wedding passed by fairly traditionally.  As the dancing continued, much of the attention left Sam and Penny who spent the majority of their time together in the DJ booth, mostly talking.  There would be occasional lulls in-between songs while Sam was distracted, but it was quite endearing when he would finally realize there was silence and rush to start playing the next song.  It was sweet to see Pelican Town’s younger generation start to find love in the valley.

After the wedding cake was served and the bouquet was tossed, caught by Leah’s best friend Keiko, the wedding reception finally reached its close.  The wedding guests who did not reside in Pelican Town were invited to stay for the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies, though many of them elected to start making their way back home.  It was already so late in the evening, many of them had a long trip back to Zuzu City ahead of them.  The only ones who stayed behind were a few of Leah’s friends and her parents who were staying the night in Pelican Town.  As nice as the large wedding was, it was a bit of a relief to return to a smaller, more calm group.  Leah’s four brothers certainly got a bit rowdy during the reception, especially the more alcohol they drank, and it was much calmer once the crowd whittled down to primarily the residents of Pelican Town.

“It’s 10:00,” Harvey noted as he glanced at his watch.  “30 more minutes until they send out the boat.  Are you doing alright?”

May chuckled as Harvey asked if she was alright, she had just started to yawn and was feeling a bit tired.  Leave it to Harvey to pick up on that right away.

“Starting to get tired, I guess it’s a good thing I took that nap before the wedding,” May answered.  “I think I need to stand up and start moving, at least for a little bit.  We’ve been sitting in these folding chairs all night.”

Harvey quickly rose from his seat, almost at a comical speed, and hurried to offer his hand to May to help her up.  May took Harvey’s hand in hers and rose from her seat, keeping Harvey’s hand grasped in her own.  Their fingers laced together and May smiled as Harvey’s thumb rubbed soft, delicate circles along the back of May’s hand.  She wasn’t sure if it was intended to be more soothing for herself or for Harvey, but it was sweet nonetheless.

“Where to?” Harvey asked, though May caught his eyes glancing toward the tide pools.

“You know where,” May replied, tossing her head in that direction.

Harvey’s cheeks flushed, surely he was also remembering how it was almost exactly one year earlier down to the minute that he and May professed their love to each other by the tide pools.  It felt so long ago, May often forgot that it had only been a year; and yet what an eventful year it was.  It was strange, there were moments when May’s time spent with Harvey felt like an eternity, like she’d known him for years and loved him for just as long.  But it was always moments like these, milestones of the big moments they shared in their relationship, that put everything into perspective for her and reminded her of just how quickly they fell in love and how quickly their lives progressed.  A year earlier she had told Harvey she loved him and now a year later, they were anxiously awaiting the birth of their daughter.  It was funny how disorienting time could be.

The walk across the sand was slow and lazy, but Harvey and May were in no hurry.  The uneven sand and May’s waddling gait didn’t exactly make the walk easy, but Harvey was exceptionally patient.  They leisurely strolled between the empty tables from the reception and made their way across the sand to the wooden bridge connecting the beach to the tide pools.  It wasn’t often that May found herself in this section of the beach, the last time she had found herself here was to acquire Harvey’s mermaid pendant and the time before that had been for the previous year’s Dance of the Moonlight Jellies.  Already just being here amongst the tide pools, a place with two very fond and meaningful memories, made May feel at ease.  She breathed in deeply through her nose to inhale the fresh scent of the ocean air and exhaled in a content sigh.

“Are you okay?” Harvey asked in response to May’s sigh.  It was sweet how concerned he looked, though he had no reason to be.

“Perfectly fine,” May answered.  “Just… happy to be here tonight.”

“I know what you mean,” Harvey replied, his nervous energy fading as though he, too, were more relaxed just being here with her.

“Who would have guessed this is where we’d be one year later,” May chuckled, glancing down at her large belly.  Harvey reached out his free hand and rested it against May’s stomach, glancing down at her with an affectionate smile.

“It’s incredible to think about,” Harvey remarked happily.  Yet Harvey’s answer only made May nervous.  A thought that had been festering in the back of May’s mind through most of the day was surfacing and she suddenly felt uneasy.

“Do you… do you ever think we moved too quickly?” May asked in uncertainty.  “I mean, I know it’s a bit late to be asking that, but… I don’t know, tonight of all nights it really puts things into perspective.  If you had told me a year ago that we’d be returning the next year as a married couple with a baby on the way, I’d have been overwhelmed.”

“I’m sure I would have been as well,” Harvey agreed.  “That night already was quite overwhelming for… many reasons.”  Harvey coughed nervously, only causing May to giggle in response.  She only now remembered that saying ‘I love you’ wasn’t their only ‘first’ that night.

“True,” May replied, still giggling as she pecked Harvey gently on the cheek.

May breathed in deeply once more to take in the scent of the crisp, ocean air.  For a moment she and Harvey stood in silence, standing on the exact same spot they had been a year earlier, just soaking in the sight of the ocean before them.  It was too dark to see very far beyond the shore, but the glow in the water from the reflection of the lights on the beach made it look as though the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies had already begun.  Standing here with Harvey, his arm wrapped lovingly around her shoulders, was calm and serene.  Yet suddenly, Harvey tensed up and removed his arm from May in a hurry.

“You should be sitting down,” Harvey blurted out in sudden realization, becoming instantly stressed.  Right away Harvey took May by the hand to guide her down onto the sand, but May smiled and shook her head.

“I’ve been sitting all night, it’s actually nice to stand for a bit,” May answered.  “Plus, Yoba knows if I sat down on that sand, I’d never be able to get up.  I’d be a beached whale.”

“Well at the very least let me offer you my jacket, it’s getting cold,” Harvey began, though he was already removing his suit jacket as though making the offer to May was only a formality.  It was quite fortunate, actually, May was starting to get cold with only a thin dress on.

“Thanks,” May replied, standing still as Harvey draped his jacket over her shoulders.  Much like last year when Harvey did the same, May instantly warmed up from Harvey’s residual body heat in the lining of his jacket and she let out a soft, content sigh.

“I think next year you need to wear a proper jacket,” Harvey teased.

“Now why would I do that if every year you keep loaning me warm jackets that smell like you,” May replied with a smirk.  “Maybe we just created an annual tradition of me being too stubborn to bring a jacket and you being too kind and lending me yours.”

“Deal,” Harvey laughed in response.  It was nice to see him so quickly calm down after fussing over her.  These days, that didn’t often happen.

“You know, we keep talking about how different things were this year compared to last year, but… things will be really different next year,” May mused.  She could feel Harvey tense up once more beside her, but other than that reaction, he seemed relatively calm.

“It sure will,” Harvey agreed.  “I guess I’ll need to bring two jackets next year.”

May smiled at the thought of it, leaning against Harvey once more as his arm returned to its comfortable spot around her shoulders.  Being here with Harvey, at this spot where they first professed their love, felt so right.  Just thinking of returning a year later as a family quelled any doubts she may have had about whether or not they moved too fast.  They moved exactly at the pace they needed to.

It wasn’t long before Mayor Lewis called out to the town to summon them to the docks.  May was eager to watch the moonlight jellies once more, it was such a breathtakingly beautiful experience.  As the candle boat sailed out to sea, May caught sight of the first light glow in the distance.  The jellies were approaching.  In minutes, the docks were glowing from the bioluminescence in the water and May watched on in awe.  A light breeze from the ocean blew past May and Harvey, slightly chilling May’s nose.  She pulled the edges of Harvey’s jacket tighter around her for warmth.  The Dance of the Moonlight Jellies signalled the end of summer and already, the chill of fall was in the air.  Fall had felt so far away at first when Harvey estimated the due date of their baby for mid-fall but now, it was suddenly right around the corner.  As the glow of the jellies faded away, May knew that summer was officially over.  By the time the next season ended, May and Harvey would be parents.

Chapter Text

Fall 16, Year 2

The first year May competed in the Stardew Valley Fair grange display contest, she had been a bit competitive.  She’d worked hard to be prepared and grow the best crops for display but ultimately, she was just glad to experience another new and exciting event in town.  This year, however, the novelty of the event was gone and all that May was left with was fierce determination and a competitive spirit far more intense than the year before.  Her level of competitiveness was completely unchanged by the fact that she was very pregnant and that her due date was the exact date of the fair.  The first half of fall was spent working together with Shane to yield the best crops possible.  And as ambitious as it was, May set her sights a little higher this year.

Though the year before May had had grand aspirations of opening up a pumpkin patch at Runaway Farm or even a corn maze after her win at the fair, it seemed a bit of a lofty goal while being pregnant and ready to have a baby any day.  Much to May’s chagrin, that goal would have to wait another year.  As a middle-ground, May decided to at least setup a produce stand on the farm property and even offer apple picking to eager tourists in town for the festival.  May wanted to boast being the winner of the Stardew Valley Fair grange display while she could in case a new victor would take over this year.  The blue 1st prize ribbon she’d won the previous year was prominently displayed on the porch of the farm where the produce stand was setup to flaunt her win to any tourists visiting the farm that day.  It wasn’t quite the pumpkin patch she’d had in mind, but it was still a great way to start boosting the name Runaway Farm throughout the valley.  May felt fortunate to have Shane helping her along the way, it would have been impossible without him handling the brunt of the work.

On the morning of the fair, Shane arrived at the farm bright and early as he did every morning and May could already hear him busy at work by 7:00 that morning.  It was the sound of Shane hammering a pricing sign to the porch that awoke May that morning and she yawned as she wiped the sleep from her eyes to glance at the clock.  These days sleep was already so difficult to come by due in large part to how uncomfortable she was, but on this particular morning she was able to wake up quite easily when she recalled what day it was.  May sat up in bed as quickly as it was possible to, which admittedly was not all that quickly being as pregnant as she was, and turned to wake up Harvey yet he wasn’t there.  It wasn’t surprising to her that he was gone, no doubt he’d woken up early in the morning and couldn’t get back to sleep.  Harvey’s sleep these days was just as bad as May’s, though that was primarily due to stress, nervousness, and anxiety over the baby.  More often than not, Harvey would crawl into bed some time after midnight, toss and turn for most of the night, then wake up for the day before 6:00 a.m.  It seemed neither of them were destined to have a good night’s sleep.

When May rose from bed and waddled across the room, she opened the door to find Harvey in his usual spot; hunched over the table with a cup of coffee in one hand and a medical book in the other.  May wasn’t exactly sure how much more information Harvey could glean from this book after reading it literally hundreds of times, but it seemed to bring him an odd sense of comfort to feel like he was preparing himself for her delivery.  When she entered the room, Harvey looked up from the book and smiled.  He was still dressed in his pajamas and his eyes were bloodshot while the bags under his eyes were visible even through his glasses.  But despite his haggard appearance, his face still lit up when he laid eyes on her.

“Good morning, honey,” Harvey said sweetly, setting his coffee and book down to rush to May’s side.  May had long since stopped asking Harvey to stop doting on her.  Especially now with the baby almost due, she knew it was a useless request.  “How was your sleep?”

“About as good as yours,” May teased, shuffling across the room with Harvey’s help to plop down in a seat at the kitchen table.

“I’d say we’ll get more sleep when this is all over, but I suspect we’ll get even less sleep,” Harvey remarked.  May nodded in agreement.

Once May was seated at the table, Harvey zipped into the kitchen and started making her breakfast without even asking.  By this point May was used to the new routine they had since Shane started working at the farm; wake up, Harvey makes breakfast, Harvey goes to the clinic while May checks in with Shane.  Only this morning, Harvey was not headed to the clinic as usual seeing as today was the day of the Stardew Valley Fair.  May was anxious for breakfast to be over with so she could check in with Shane and see how the produce stand was coming along.  She couldn’t wait to work the stand and see the wave of tourists come and go from Runaway Farm.  It would only be better if she also attended the judging of the grange displays and won first place for a second year in a row.

“Today’s the big day,” Harvey sighed, setting a plate of eggs and toast in front of May along with a glass of orange juice.  It was the quickest, easiest breakfast he could make and as a result, May had eaten it nearly every day of fall.

“I know, I’m so jittery this morning,” May replied anxiously.  “I just hope we win.”

“Oh, I… I sorta meant the other big day,” Harvey chuckled nervously.

In the week leading up to the fair, May had somehow forgotten that today was not just the day of the fair, but another important day; her due date.  She supposed it was much easier and far less stressful to focus on preparations for the fair than it was to focus on preparations for having a baby any day now.  The fair had given her something else to focus her time and attention on.

“Oh, yeah… that big day,” May replied quietly.  “Of course who knows, it might not even happen today.  It probably won’t, let’s be honest.  Only five percent of women actually deliver on the exact due date.”

“True,” Harvey nodded in agreement.  “But we should still be prepared.  As far as today goes…”

Harvey trailed off for a moment, clearly trying hard to phrase what he was about to say very delicately.  Yet before he could continue speaking, there was a knock at the door.  May didn’t even have the chance to get out of her seat before Harvey was crossing the kitchen to answer the door.  May couldn’t see around the doorframe but knew from the voice on the other side that it was Shane.

“The Boss up yet?” Shane asked.  He was panting and sounded like he’d already been hard at work.

“She’s eating breakfast as we speak,” Harvey answered, stepping aside to allow Shane passage through the door.

When Shane walked in, his brow was already covered in sweat and he had stray pieces of hay in his hair and on his shirt.  It was a relief to see that he'd remembered to feed the animals before things got too crazy today.

“What’s the word, Shane?” May asked, munching on a piece of toast.  Shane grabbed a chair from the dining room table and flipped it around, sitting in the chair backwards so that he could rest his hands and chin on the backrest of the chair.

“The animals are all taken care of for the day and the produce stand is all setup, so we’re a little ahead of schedule,” Shane replied.  It was nice to hear the pride in his voice, he took his job at Runaway Farm very seriously.

“That’s excellent news,” May replied.  “And the orchard?”

“Since the tourists’ll be the ones picking the apples, all I really need to make sure of is that there’s enough buckets out there for people to use.”

“Perfect,” May replied with a satisfied nod.  “I figure I’ll work the produce stand since that won’t be much work and you can work the orchard to supervise and help people out when they need it.”

Right away Shane shifted uncomfortably in his seat and his eyes darted nervously away from May.  It was clear he wanted to say something, but thought better of it given that May was his boss.  Harvey, on the other hand, seemed to share the same thought as Shane but had no reservations about speaking up.

“I don’t think it wise for you to be doing any work today,” Harvey stated delicately.

May’s eyes snapped so swiftly to Harvey that he slightly cowered under her glare.  It was momentary, though, as within seconds he stood confidently at his full height and stiffened his lip to maintain his resolve.

“Harvey, this is the first time the farm has been open for business with actual customers,” May remarked.  “Ever since last year I’ve wanted to open up the farm for tourism and this is the first step forward.  It’s the starting point for what I hope will be a yearly venture for Runaway Farm to open to the public and this year is the most important one ever.  We’re building the foundation for years to come.”

“I understand that, but I think the health and well being of you and the baby are a bit more important than having an extra set of hands working the farm today,” Harvey replied seriously.

May huffed and turned back to Shane who flinched once she rounded on him.  Clearly he was trying very hard to stay out of it and wasn’t thrilled with any attention being placed on him.

“Come on, Shane, back me up here,” May scoffed in annoyance.  Shane’s eyes darted around the room once more before finally settling back to May as he sighed.

“I’m sorry, Boss, I gotta side with the doc on this one,” Shane admitted, jerking his thumb over his shoulder in Harvey’s direction.  “You’re about ready to pop.”

“I’m so sick of hearing ‘you’re ready to pop’!” May shouted angrily.  “That’s all I ever hear these days!  I’m a human being, not a balloon!”

“Honey, calm down,” Harvey cautioned her gently.  “I know you’re upset but getting riled up isn’t going to help matters.  It was always a possibility that you wouldn’t be able to work the produce stand.  If you’d gone into labor early, you wouldn’t be doing anything related to the fair.  At least this way you can still be present for the judging of the grange displays.  I’m sorry, but working the produce stand was out of the realm of possibility from the start.”

May wanted to argue, she wanted to rise from her chair and start telling off both Shane and Harvey for holding her back, but she knew she couldn’t.  Deep down, she knew they were right.  And at least what Harvey said had given May a little bit of hope.  Given how protective he’d been and how quick he was to dismiss her working at the produce stand, May wasn’t even sure if he would be comfortable with her going into town for the grange display contest.  It was entirely possible he would want her staying home under the guise of “doctor’s orders” when really, he was just being overprotective.  It was at least a decent enough compromise for her to be present for the judging of the grange displays.  If they won first place again, it could be a decent opportunity for her to send even more business to the produce stand and orchard.  It wasn’t a terrible marketing strategy, actually.  Being the face of Runaway Farm; a local farmer and her doctor husband running a farm together with a baby on the way seemed like a decent, if not unconventional, way to attract business.  Maybe it wasn’t the worst idea for May to be the face of the farm and Shane to be the muscle.  It was, after all, what she had hired him for.  May turned to Shane once more and found it incredibly amusing when he flinched slightly, bracing himself for another outburst.  It was funny that somehow he was intimidated by his very short, but very feisty, boss.

“Looks like you’ve got full reign of the farm today,” May pointed out.  Shane visibly relaxed at the fact that May was not about to start getting angry again.

“Haven’t I had that every day since fall began?” Shane asked with a smirk.

“True, but today will be way busier than anything you’ve done so far,” May pointed out.  “You’ll be juggling sales at the produce stand as well as keeping order in the apple orchard.  It’ll be a lot to juggle on your own.”

“I’ve got help coming,” Shane replied with a cryptic smirk.  Harvey and May both raised an eyebrow in curiosity.  “Jas is heading over before the fair starts to help me out.”

“Shane, she’s a child,” May said plainly.

“I’m aware of that,” Shane answered.  “But she’s a good kid and she’s happy to help.  She’s done the fair plenty of times, now she wants to experience something totally new.  Trust me, between the two of us, we’ve got this.”

“I think you underestimate how busy today will get,” May said nervously.  “I don’t want Jas getting overwhelmed, I know how shy she can be.”

“I’m just gonna have her be the eyes and ears in the apple orchard for me,” Shane replied.  “For the most part that area can basically run itself and she can just stand off to the side away from the crowds.  If anything happens that needs further attention, she’ll run and get me.  Don’t worry, Boss, I’ve had this figured out for a week now.  Like Harvey said, I was always prepared that you wouldn’t be able to help today, I just assumed you figured that as well.”

“Well it’s too bad I didn’t know Jas would be working today, it’s a shame she won’t have a uniform,” May sighed overdramatically.

It took Shane a moment to hear what May had said and another moment to process it.  Once he had, he tilted his head in curiosity.  Shane looked even more bewildered when Harvey stepped away from the table without warning and headed towards the living room.

“Last year, Harvey made me a shirt with a custom Runaway Farm logo on it,” May explained.  “Sort of a ‘good luck’ charm for my first Stardew Valley Fair.  Well, if we’re in this together, then you need to be part of the Runaway Farm family.”

Harvey returned to the table in perfect timing, holding a folded teal t-shirt which he handed off to Shane.  Shane’s jaw went slack as he took the shirt from Harvey and opened it up to reveal the same Runaway Farm logo from May’s t-shirt the year before.  It wasn’t often that Shane was at a loss for words but the way he stared at the shirt in awe, his mouth agape, May knew that he was speechless.

“Don’t worry, I won’t make you wear it everyday,” May went on.  “I’m not Joja, I won’t make you wear a uniform or anything.  But I figure… it’s nice to have if we plan on opening up the farm for tourism down the line.  We need to make a good impression.”

“C-couldn’t agree more, Boss,” Shane finally muttered, clearly trying to keep it cool and subdue any emotions.

“Well if we’re gonna make it to town square in time for setup, we should probably start getting ready,” Harvey noted, glancing down at his watch.  Shane seemed incredibly thankful for the distraction and nodded quietly.  He left the farmhouse clutching his new t-shirt in his hand with a smirk that held a hint of pride behind it.

The time that followed was hurried even though there wasn’t too terribly much to do.  These days May seemed to take at least twice as long to do anything and in the last week it became nearly triple the regular amount of time with Harvey’s constant fussing.  With today being May’s official due date, Harvey’s fussing had reached an almost annoying peak.  Not that she could blame him, of course, the stress and pressure he was under at the moment was no small amount.  He helped May through every step of getting ready for the day, plus hurried to get himself ready.  It wasn’t a surprise to May that Harvey wore the same teal dress shirt and cream necktie he had worn the year before, despite the fact that May would not be wearing the matching teal ‘Runaway Farm’ shirt he had made special for her.  Needless to say, the old one certainly wouldn’t fit this year and they couldn’t exactly order one in a maternity size.  May opted for a cream colored maternity shirt to at least match Harvey’s necktie.  By the time they were both dressed and ready to go, they were perfectly on schedule.  Harvey’s sense of time was always spot on, even taking into account May’s slower speed.

As Harvey and May descended the porch stairs, they found Shane waiting for them at the bottom, already dressed in his Runaway Farm shirt.  It looked good on him.  May raised a curious eyebrow when she noticed him twirling his keys around his finger as though ready to take off in the golf cart.  Harvey and May had given him a key not long after he started working on the farm but she couldn’t imagine where Shane thought he was going.  She thought the plan they came up with was pretty clear.  Noticing May’s confused look, Shane already spoke up 

“I’ll go ahead and drop you guys off at the fair so I can help you get the display setup,” Shane explained.  “Until the crowds start showing up, there’s nothing for me to do anyway.  Then I can swing by the ranch to pick up Jas and head back to the farm before the tourists start arriving.  That work for you, Boss?”

“Sounds like you’ve thought everything through,” May replied with an impressed nod.

Shane stepped back to allow Harvey to assist May into the golf cart.  At her size she couldn’t easily climb into her seat and it was to the point that she certainly needed help getting in and out of the cart.  Once May was seated, Harvey took the keys from Shane and climbed into the driver’s seat while Shane clambered into the back.  The golf cart was only intended to seat two people, but Shane sat on the storage rack in the back, holding on tightly to the support bars.  Harvey wasn’t exactly thrilled by the idea, but it was the best way to transport three adults.

Same as last year, the town square was already abuzz with activity by the time they arrived.  The empty grange displays were already lined up and some of them were being filled by the eager participants.  The tents for the various games and activities were setup as well and May could already catch a whiff of barbecue in the air from Gus.  The moment Pierre laid eyes on the golf car pulling into town square, his expression turned sour.

“How much you wanna bet Pierre was hoping I’d go into labor this morning so that I couldn’t compete,” May whispered to Harvey in amusement.

“Not that it would have saved his sorry ass produce,” Shane spat under his breath.  “Even if you had, I’d have stepped up for you on behalf of Runaway Farm.”

“Aw, trash talking the competition, you really are a part of the Runaway Farm family,” May teased.

Harvey, on the other hand, still looked nervous.  When Shane began unloading the basket of quality produce they’d brought along with them, Harvey’s eyes kept watching May as though waiting for her to make a move.  May at least knew enough to let Shane handle the heavy lifting by this point, Harvey had nothing to fear.  Rather than jump to help Shane, May held out her hand for Harvey to help her out of the golf cart which he was more than happy to do.  Once the produce was unloaded onto the display, Shane retrieved his keys from Harvey, hopped in the driver’s seat of the golf cart, and nodded to Harvey and May.

“I’ll have my phone if you need me, I’ll try to message you updates throughout the day if I can, Boss,” Shane called out.  Just before he drove off, he added one last bit rather loudly to ensure that anyone nearby would definitely overhear.  “Be sure to text me once you’ve kicked everyone’s ass and won this thing.”

The wheels of the golf cart squealed against the cobblestone as Shane took off from town square as fast as the small cart could go.  To May’s right she could spot Pierre glaring at Shane as he drove away while from her left, she could hear Marnie gasp at her nephew’s cursing.  May couldn’t help giggling in amusement, having Shane working for her was proving to be entertaining as well as useful.  May had barely moved an inch when Harvey rushed to her side.  The fussing was already starting up again.

“Don’t worry about the display, I’ll take care of everything,” Harvey began, his voice already shaking in his nervousness.  “I’ll set everything up in the display to look nice, it’ll be perfect.  You just take it easy.”

“Well why did I even bother coming if you weren’t gonna let me do anything,” May sighed, only half joking.

“I know it was important for you to be here,” Harvey answered.  “Plus, it doesn’t hurt that we’re ten steps away from the clinic in case you go into labor.”  Harvey chuckled half-heartedly at this in an attempt to lighten the mood.  “Though speaking of which, before I start on the display I want to run inside the clinic real quick to get a few things for you.  For sure I need to grab a chair for you to sit in, a bottle of water, some sunscreen, maybe a sun hat-” Harvey trailed off as he already turned around and left May’s side to disappear into the clinic.

“He seems a bit nervous,” Marnie pointed out with a smile once Harvey had left.  Her sudden appearance caused May to jump.

“Yeah, he’s been very uneasy about today,” May remarked.

“Not that I blame him, you’re about ready to pop!” Marnie replied with a light chuckle.  May forced a smile and a laugh but was thoroughly irritated.  It was already the second time today she’d heard this and the day had barely begun.

By the time Harvey returned, it was clear he wasn’t messing around.  He had brought not just one, but two chairs from the clinic; one for May to sit in and another for her to prop her feet up if she needed to.  He brought a small side table to set next to May for everything else that he’d brought her which included a large bottle of water, a selection of healthy snacks, a sun hat, sunscreen, and a stopwatch.  When May raised an eyebrow at the stopwatch, Harvey’s expression became serious.

“It’s to time your contractions in case you experience any this afternoon,” Harvey replied seriously.

“You really did think of everything,” May teased.  “Pretty sure if I start feeling contractions I’ll just find you immediately.”

“Find me?” Harvey questioned.  “I don’t know where you think I’m going, I’m staying with you the whole time.”

“Not even gonna revisit the slingshot game?” May asked with a grin, though she already knew the answer.  Harvey shook his head vigorously.  “No strength game?  Barbecue?  Fortune telling?  You don’t want to see what the future holds?”

“I know enough of what the future holds and that’s already intimidating enough,” Harvey replied wearily.  “No, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Then I suppose this will be a very uneventful fair,” May sighed.

“Only if we’re lucky,” Harvey answered with a nervous half-smile.

As tourists began to arrive, it felt very awkward for May to just be sitting there next to her grange display not doing anything.  Of course Pierre always stayed right next to his own display, but it was for smarmy reasons.  He loved chit-chatting with tourists and talking up his display as well as his store.  This year he came prepared with coupons as though anyone would actually return to Pelican Town just to buy canned foods at a markup.  If they were lucky, the coupon would break even without taking into account driving to the middle of nowhere.  Once the tourists moved past Pierre’s display to May’s, the reactions always seemed about the same.  One glance at heavily pregnant May sitting next to the display with her feet up caused eyes to widen nine out of ten times.  The one out of every ten times was usually someone making a dumb joke like “trying to hide another pumpkin?”  Most tourists were nice enough, many of them made short conversation with May, though of course it was never about her farm or her produce.  May had always heard the saying that you should never assume a woman is pregnant but in her case, she was so large at this point that it was a very fair assumption for people to make.  With so much talk about the baby and so little questions about the farm, May was wondering if any business was actually making its way to Runaway Farm for fresh produce or apple picking.  They had setup a sign at the bus stop where most tourists would be arriving from, but until Shane messaged her it was impossible to know if that was generating any business or not.  Until then, it was nothing but awkward, forced conversation that typically included tourists making way too many forward and intrusive remarks.

Though it wasn’t only tourists making intrusive remarks, even a few residents of Pelican Town stopped by to see the grange displays and felt the need to comment on May.  Nearly half a dozen alone had told May she looked like she was “ready to pop” and a few nosier ones including Pam and Jodi expressed shock that May was even outdoors at all and not sitting at home.  Apparently sitting down at the fair only steps away from the clinic was frowned upon while sitting down at home was okay.  It was a constant struggle for May to keep her lips sealed and to prevent herself from rolling her eyes.

Through it all, May had to at least commend Harvey on how well he was holding it together, though she supposed he was used to this sort of thing.  Every intrusive question or remark was handled very tactfully by Harvey who probably answered these types of sensitive, delicate questions regularly.  Ordinarily so many tourists all at once would be overwhelming for Harvey and even worse to have so much attention on himself, but given the medical nature of people’s interest he seemed to quite easily slip into doctor mode and that usually made him far more comfortable.  It was actually nice to see Harvey so relaxed, he hadn’t been for most of the week.  In many cases, May turned the questioning over to Harvey to give herself a reprieve from answering and to give Harvey a welcome distraction.

It was unnerving for May to go the entire first hour of the fair without hearing any word from Shane.  Either it was good news because it meant he was so busy that he didn’t have time to talk, or bad news and he was just sparing her from disappointment.  Numerous times May picked up her phone to call or message Shane but each time she resisted.  He’d said that he would keep in touch and as tempted as she was to call him, she had to respect that he would do so.  It was important to show Shane that he was valued and trusted enough to not need constant updates.  Yet waiting around for any sort of communication from him was making May very antsy.

“Should you head over to Runaway Farm and check in on Shane?” May finally asked Harvey after the first hour had passed.  “Maybe he needs help right now.”

“If he needed help, he’d have said something,” Harvey said casually.

“But maybe it’s so busy that he doesn’t even have a moment to message me,” May reasoned.

“I’m sure if it were really that busy, he’d make time,” Harvey countered.  “I know it’s hard not knowing what’s happening, but you have to trust that Shane has it handled.  That’s why we hired him in the first place, to take care of things so you don’t have to worry about it.  Stressing yourself out right now is not what you need.”

It was incredibly maddening that Harvey was right, though May wished he weren’t.  Were it not for her current state, May would be on her way to the farm now to check in but Harvey was right.  They hired Shane to alleviate the stress and worry of working the farm from May during such an already stressful time in her life.  There was nothing May could do but wait.

Another hour passed in silence as May sat in anguish, dying to know what was happening on the farm.  The only clue this time around were the few tourists that walked by holding brown paper sacks, ones that May had purchased to package their sales from the produce stand and apple orchard.  It was certainly a relief to see so many tourists walking around with these bags but it was still difficult to get a read on whether this was a good amount of sales or not.  Without hearing anything from Shane, May could only speculate.  Any time May even hinted at calling Shane, Harvey advised her not to.  He seemed to think that Shane should be shown trust this close to when he’d be left to operate the farm alone once the baby was born.  Luckily for May, Robin happened to pass by as she browsed the grange displays and waved to Harvey and May as she approached.

“Hey there Kitten and Doctor Boyfriend,” Robin greeted them.  “Though with how big you are, I feel like Kitten won’t do, you’re a full grown cat now.”

“Ha ha,” May sighed, tilting her head in playful annoyance.

“You really look like you’re ready to-” Robin began playfully but May couldn’t help herself and she shouted in frustration before Robin could even finish.

“How many times am I gonna hear that today?!” May snapped.

“Whoa, hey, it was just a joke,” Robin replied, holding her hands up defensively.  “Then again, it’s been so long since I’ve been pregnant, I forget how annoying comments like that can be.  You’re right, Kitten, that one’s on me.  That’s probably the last thing you want to hear right now.”

“Yet I’ve heard it SO many times today,” May vented.  “Yes, everyone look at the human balloon, ready to pop at any second.  Meanwhile, I’m stuck here in this chair and can’t even go anywhere or do anything.  I’m stuck being gawked at by tourists while my farm is running its first ever produce stand and I don’t even have a clue how it’s going because Shane hasn’t messaged me and I can’t even go see how it’s doing.”

“Want me to go?” Robin offered.  Harvey started to shake his head, but May answered before he could say anything.

“Oh dear Yoba, yes,” May blurted out.  “Don’t make it obvious you’re checking up on him, I just have to know what’s going on over there.”

“You got it, Kitten,” Robin replied with a salute to May.

Right away Robin took off at a brisk walk across town square, making her way through the crowd of tourists towards Runaway Farm.  Harvey looked as though he were about to say something on the matter but seemed to think better of it.  Sending Robin seemed to be the best way to check up on what was happening at Runaway Farm without bothering Shane or forcing May to go herself.  Since Harvey could see the visible stress that May was under with the uncertainty of it all, he seemed content to have Robin be their scout.

It was nearly another hour before Robin came into view across the crowd of tourists.  May craned her neck to see Robin more clearly and once she was better in view, May could see that Robin was smiling.

“Wow, it’s no wonder Shane hasn’t messaged you,” Robin began once she approached May and Harvey.  “It’s crazy over there!”

“Really?!” May squealed in delight.

“Really,” Robin confirmed.  “He’s swamped.  He seems to be loving it, though.  I never thought I’d see Shane so personable in my entire life but he was actually… smiling !  While helping customers!  It was wild.”

“Oh wow!” May remarked with an impressed nod.  “I’m so glad to hear it!”

“I was gonna do this whole thing of tricking you into thinking that things were going poorly and then surprise you with the good news but knowing my luck, the surprise would cause you to go into labor or something,” Robin teased.

“Yeah, I don’t think it works that way,” May said thoughtfully.  “But either way, cutting straight to the point is appreciated.  I’m so relieved to hear that it’s going well over there.”

“At this point, there’s a very good chance you’ll run out of produce to sell before the fair ends and your apple orchard will be picked over,” Robin remarked.  “Good news for Doctor Boyfriend and all.”

May rolled her eyes at Robin’s dumb joke and groaned when that joke caused Harvey to laugh.  Too often Harvey had made some variation of the “apple a day keeps the doctor away” joke and now Robin was in on it, too.

Robin stayed a bit longer to go into more detail about what she had witnessed at the farm, all very good news for May and the business at Runaway Farm.  They both stopped mid-conversation when they saw Mayor Lewis approach Pierre’s grange display while holding his clipboard.  The judging was beginning.  Robin excused herself to return to her own display while May sat nervously awaiting Lewis’ judgement.  Right away May was comforted when Harvey rested a supportive hand on her shoulder.  His silent support of her throughout the day was very calming and it was exactly what she needed.  It was amusing to May to eavesdrop on Lewis judging Pierre’s display.  Last year Pierre had showered Lewis with all sorts of flattery and Lewis ate it all up.  This year Pierre kept the same tactic, but Lewis was nowhere near as responsive.  Lewis quietly surveyed Pierre’s display, nodded a few times, wrote a few notes on his clipboard, and moved on.  Once he got to May’s display, his entire expression lit up and he greeted her with an unusually bright and cheery demeanor.

“Well if it isn’t Doctor and Mrs. Higgins!” Lewis greeted them boisterously.  “No little one yet, I see.  Quite surprising, you look like you’re about to pop!”

It took everything May had to swallow the frustrated scream she wanted to release at this comment.  Instead, she forced a smile as best she could and just shrugged in response.  She didn’t trust herself to actually say anything without ripping into Lewis with a string of curse words she’d never live down.  At the end of the day, he was still the town’s mayor and also the judge of the Stardew Valley Fair.  It wouldn’t exactly give her the best odds to lose her temper on him.

It wasn’t long for Lewis to make his way through the remaining grange displays, he seemed to go much more quickly this year than he had the year before.  It was odd to May, but she supposed he’d seen enough of these displays over the years to know what he was looking for.  Once he’d visited every display, he didn’t even take a moment to tally the scores as he had the year before.  Instead, he reached for his megaphone and stepped into the center of town square without any further consultation of his clipboard.  A hush fell over the crowd and the residents of Pelican Town all watched Lewis with great interest.  Same as the year before, most tourists went about their activities without stopping, only a small group of tourists paused to see what was going on.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!” Lewis announced with flair.  “As the Mayor of Pelican Town, it is my great honor and privilege to welcome you to the annual Stardew Valley Fair!”

The small crowd surrounding Lewis clapped half-heartedly and May had to stifle a laugh at how deflated Lewis looked by such a response.  For some reason he seemed to build this event up to be much grander than it actually was, but that was fairly typical for Lewis.  After shaking off such a lackluster response, Lewis continued with far less gusto.

“At this time I would like to take a moment to announce this year’s winner of the grange display contest,” Lewis went on.  “I would first like to thank all of our very talented participants, every display here truly showed off the devotion and skill our merchants have in their fields.  After careful consideration of each display, I have tallied the scores and a victor has been named!  This year, it is my honor to announce that first prize goes to… May Reed of Runaway Farm!”

The shock and elation May had experienced the year before from her win was overwhelming.  She recalled being so taken aback that it had taken her a few moments to fully comprehend the fact that Mayor Lewis had called her name.  This year she was equally surprised, but not quite as overwhelmed.  If anything, it was actually a mild annoyance to have to get up out of her chair to accept the blue ribbon award that Lewis held in his hand.  Thankfully she had barely begun to push herself out of her chair when Harvey rested a hand on her shoulder to stop her.  Instead, Harvey stepped forward and accepted the award on behalf of his very pregnant wife.  Lewis handed the award to Harvey and shook his hand, almost as though he were posing for a newspaper photo even though there were no cameras around.  It was odd how staged and theatrical it all was.  Once Harvey returned to May and handed her the blue ribbon, Mayor Lewis brought the megaphone to his lips and continued addressing the crowd.

“This is Farmer May’s second year in a row winning the grange display competition, we are so fortunate to have such quality locally sourced produce right here in our own backyard,” Lewis went on proudly.  “In fact, Runaway Farm is open for anyone who would like blue ribbon quality produce and an apple picking experience guaranteed to put you in the right mood for fall.  I’m told next year will be bigger and better than ever with May boasting a corn maze and pumpkin patch!”

Suddenly it all made sense and May’s victory this year came into focus much more clearly.  Whether her grange display was actually the winner or not didn’t matter, not when tourism was at stake.  This year May’s victory was granted purely by strategy.  It was why Lewis only half-heartedly judged the grange displays this year.  He’d already picked the winner.  Harvey had mentioned to May during the summer that Lewis was trying to drive more tourism to Pelican Town and what better way was there to do that than to exploit May’s business ventures on Runaway Farm and use her aspirations as a selling point.  The win suddenly felt very hollow and looking at the blue ribbon just made May feel sick to her stomach.  Lewis had continued to address the crowd to thank them for coming and to encourage them to visit award-winning Runaway Farm for all their produce needs, but May stopped listening.  Even seeing Pierre seething with rage next to her couldn’t make her feel any better.

“C-congratulations on your big win,” Harvey said with as much forced positivity as he could muster.

“If you can consider that a ‘win’,” May replied sourly.

“Are you okay, honey?” Harvey asked, clearly noticing May’s disappointment.

“I’m… fine,” May replied half-heartedly.  “Let’s just pack up and go home.”

“Shane and I can come back later to handle packing up, why don’t we just head home now,” Harvey suggested gently.  “Ordinarily I’d frown upon you walking all the way home from here, but you’ve been sitting for so many hours that it’ll actually be helpful for you to walk.  We can go as slowly as you need, we’re in no hurry.”

“I’d like that,” May replied, already feeling better just from Harvey’s warm smile and comforting gaze.

As always Harvey helped May out of her seat which was greatly appreciated, though he didn’t let go of her hand.  His fingers laced with hers and slowly, the two of them left town square to start the long walk back to the farmhouse.  With so much of Harvey’s fussing and how often he encouraged her to be sitting down or stay inside, it was actually nice to be outdoors going on a walk with him.  It seemed like it had been so long since they last went on a walk together hand in hand, it was refreshing to breathe in the crisp autumn air and feel the light, gentle breeze against her face.

“This is nice,” Harvey commented, squeezing May’s hand in his as he looked at her with a warm, loving smile.

“It is,” May agreed.  “We should do this more often before the baby comes.”

“We should actually do this more often to help the baby come,” Harvey remarked thoughtfully.  “Walking is actually a great way to kickstart labor and-”

Before Harvey could sink too far into doctor mode, May gently shushed him and rested her head against his shoulder and nuzzled him affectionately.

“You’ll have plenty of time to think like a doctor in the coming days,” May pointed out.  “For now just… be my husband.  Be Daisy’s father.  Just walk with me.”

“You’re right,” Harvey laughed nervously.  “It’s just so hard.  Today especially.  Before I could just keep telling myself that we hadn’t reached your due date yet, but now… it could be any day now.”

“Any day now,” May repeated hopefully.

Chapter Text

Fall 27, Year 2

Any day now… that was the mantra that May had been repeating to herself over and over again since the Stardew Valley Fair; her due date.  But that had been nearly two weeks earlier.  Yet now the next town event was approaching and May was still pregnant, still anxiously awaiting the arrival of her baby, and more miserable than she had been through her entire pregnancy.  If she thought she had been uncomfortable back then, it was nothing compared to how uncomfortable she was now being almost two weeks overdue.  Not to mention the stress and anxiety that went along with that.  Each day that passed brought about new worries, new anxieties, and that was only what May had to endure.  Poor Harvey was losing his nerve with each passing day.  On her due date he had been confident and self-assured that he could handle things.  By now, he was a neurotic mess, barely able to get through the day without having a near anxiety attack.  To say that life in the Higgins household was tense would be a tremendous understatement.

On the morning of Spirit’s Eve, May had heard Harvey rise from bed, though she didn’t even bother to address him.  These days she was so exhausted, most of her time was spent in bed either by choice or by Harvey’s insistence.  Instead, May shifted positions for the hundredth time and attempted to fall back asleep.  After nearly twenty minutes of moving and readjusting, she was finally able to.  By the time she awoke again, the bright sun was streaming through the small crack in the blinds and she could hear Harvey trying to quietly move about the room so as not to wake her.  May grunted to alert Harvey that she was awake and he shuffled quietly to her side and sat at the edge of the bed, resting a hand gingerly atop her protruding belly.

“Sorry if I woke you,” Harvey uttered softly.  “I was trying to be as quiet as I could.”

“No, you didn’t wake me,” May reassured him.  “Just trying, and failing, to get comfortable.”

“I’m sorry,” Harvey apologized for what was probably the thousandth time just this week.  ‘I’m sorry’ seemed to be all he could say any time May showed any discomfort, which was just about every minute these days.  Not that there was anything else he could say or do.

“It’s fine,” May sighed, though she was sure her irritability was crystal clear through her hollow assurance.

“H-happy anniversary, honey,” Harvey went on hesitantly, as though nervous to even broach the subject of their anniversary while he knew she was so miserable.

“What’s so happy about it,” May grumbled.  She didn’t intend to be so short with Harvey but it was difficult to find any reason to be happy about their anniversary while she was so miserable.

“I, uh… I’m making a special anniversary breakfast for us,” Harvey went on tentatively.  “I figure we could both use a good meal to lift our spirits.  Get it?  Spirits?  On Spirit’s Eve?”

As irritable as May was, she couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at Harvey’s attempt to make her feel better.  It really was sweet how much he was trying to be positive and keep things light today of all days.  Too many mornings he was just as stressed and anxious as May was, it was nice to see a calmer side of him, even if it was likely forced.  May shook her head and smiled at Harvey, her first smile of the morning.

“Getting an early start to the dad jokes, huh?” May chuckled.

“I thought I’d be able to make them by now, I’m getting antsy to start,” Harvey teased.

“That’s what you’ve been antsy about this whole time?” May teased in return.  “Your inability to make dad jokes?”

“Among other things,” Harvey replied, still smiling but clearly reverting back to his usual nervous state.  “Too much to worry about these days.”  Harvey went quiet, staring across the room at a blank spot on the wall as he spaced out for a moment.  When he finally snapped back to reality, he rose quickly from the bed and shook his head apologetically.  “I’m sorry, I… I didn’t mean to make things tense again.  I should get started on that breakfast.”

“It’s okay, we don’t need a special anniversary breakfast,” May remarked.  “We can try to celebrate properly next year, it’s fine.”

“No, I want today to be special,” Harvey insisted, sounding almost resentful.  “Today’s supposed to be a special day for us, we were… we were supposed to celebrate as a family.”

“I know,” May replied in disappointment.  “Nothing’s quite gone the way we planned.”

“I’m sorry, here I go again, making things worse,” Harvey sighed.  “I really should get on that breakfast, it’ll probably be good for me to take my mind off of things and have something to focus on.  Take your time getting up, I prepped all the ingredients but didn’t want to actually start cooking anything until you were awake so it would be nice and hot.  I’ll just… go.”

Before leaving the room, Harvey gently kissed May atop her head and left the room, closing the door gently behind him. He was very clearly frustrated, but of course he had been for at least the last week.  It seemed worse today, though, which was understandable given the importance of the day.  May sighed and groaned when Harvey left the room, expressing her own frustration.  Being as overdue as she was had put an unexpected strain on their relationship, making the time they spent together very tense.  The comfort that they had sought from each other was much harder to come by when they were both so worried and stressed.

It took some readjustments and multiple attempts to sit up, but when May finally did she already felt tired again.  Her arms stretched out wide as she yawned, fighting to wake up.  She was in an almost constant state of exhaustion these days.  For a moment May considered whether she should get dressed for the day but ultimately decided not to.  One of the few perks to being heavily pregnant and way overdue was the fact that no one, not even Harvey, expected her to get dressed.  Even Shane was used to seeing her step out onto the porch in her pajamas to check in on him.  Though these days May hardly needed to anymore, the end of fall meant that work around Runaway Farm was slowing down immensely and Shane certainly had a handle on things all his own.  He’d probably already shown up and left for the day today before May even woke up.

When May stepped out into the living room, she spotted Harvey standing at the stove, holding his cell phone to his ear.  He was so distracted on a phone call that he hadn’t heard May leave the bedroom or notice her footsteps as she approached him.  When she got close enough, she could hear Harvey’s conversation a little more clearly.

“I just don’t know what to do,” Harvey sighed, weariness and desperation present in his voice.  “She’s miserable every single day and I know I’m only making it worse.  I don’t mean to be so fussy but there’s only so many times I can say ‘I’m sorry’ when I can tell she’s uncomfortable and frustrated.  There’s nothing else to say or do at this point.  I just feel so… useless.”

May’s heart sank overhearing Harvey call himself useless.  Yes, he may have only been able to respond ‘I’m sorry’ so many times, but it certainly wasn’t his fault that she was so overdue.  And as far as being useless, Harvey was far from it.  As her doctor, he was very diligent in doing almost daily check-ups and giving all sorts of advice on what could help start her labor.  Not every expectant father had to bear the burden of also being the delivering physician and May was not ignorant to the stress Harvey was going through as a result.  May being overdue meant that Harvey had to handle the fear and worry an expectant father would feel awaiting the birth of his first child in addition to the anxiety and stress a doctor would feel in anticipation of their first solo delivery.  It was just as hard for him as it was for her, yet May often forgot that.  It was easy to forget that Harvey was coping with the mental strain of everything while she was the one coping with the physical strain.

“Do you think you’d be able to stop by today and, I dunno, try to cheer her up or something?” Harvey asked the person he was speaking to.  “Yoba knows I’m not doing the job, I think I’m the last person she wants to see today.  A fact I will try not to take personally on our wedding anniversary.  You just always have a way of relaxing her, she’s comfortable with you.  Things aren’t so tense when you’re around.  At this point she needs something to help take her mind off of things and I think you’re our only hope.”

Though May couldn’t be certain, she suspected Harvey was speaking to Robin.  Based on that description, he was right.  No one could make her laugh and make her feel at ease more than Robin, especially now when Harvey was so understandably high strung.  Harvey paused to listen to the other end of the phone, his tense shoulders loosening slightly when he seemed to get the answer he was hoping for.

“Thank you,” Harvey sighed in relief.  “I just think she could do with seeing a different face other than mine, even if just for an hour or two.  I fear she’s grown tired of my doting and fussing, but I just can’t think what else to do.  I don’t think either of us expected her to be this overdue.  To put it mildly, things have gotten a bit… tense.  And that’s even before I’ve told her about Monday.”

May had no clue what Harvey was referring to when he said ‘Monday’, but she could tell from the worry in his voice that it couldn’t be good.  He paused as he waited to listen to the other person on the phone, hanging his head low.

“No, haven’t told her yet,” Harvey replied nervously.  “I’m making her an anniversary breakfast, I figure I’ll break the news to her then.  She’s not gonna like it, but at this point there’s nothing else to be done about it.  It is what it is.  I’m certainly not happy about it either, it wasn’t an easy choice, but we have to do what’s best for her and the baby and right now… well, if she needs an induction, the closest hospital is in Grampleton and-”

“What?!” May called out, too shocked and upset by what she had overheard to stay quiet any longer.

Harvey nearly dropped the phone in surprise and his already pale face lost what little color was left.  The poor man was as white as a sheet.

“M-May!” Harvey gasped, his entire body tensing right back up.

“An induction?!” May went on angrily, seething at Harvey even though the very small, rational part of her brain knew that this outcome was likely to happen.

“I… I’ve gotta go,” Harvey muttered into his phone before ending the call.  As soon as the call ended, Harvey looked immediately flustered and opened his mouth to speak, but May was too upset.  She barreled right over anything he was going to say to get to the bottom of what was going on.

“And how long ago did you decide this?” May asked, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

“Last night,” Harvey answered quietly.  He looked weary and defeated.  “I was up all night, I couldn’t sleep.  I’ve been debating this decision for days now, hoping the problem would solve itself and you’d go into labor naturally and that would be that.  But it didn’t happen.  It’s still not happening.  And it needs to.”

“We’ve waited this long, we can keep waiting,” May went on as her anger turned to pleading.  “What’s the harm in waiting?”

“There’s a number of complications that can arise if we wait any longer,” Harvey answered honestly.  “Not to say they will happen, but they can .  And my clinic isn’t equipped to handle many complications.  I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, but… I think it has to come to this.  At this point, you’re well past being ‘overdue’, it’s starting to get to the point that it’s worrisome.  If labor hasn’t started naturally by Sunday night, intervention will be necessary.”

“Can’t you-” May began desperately, but Harvey was already shaking his head.

“I’m sorry, May, I’ve considered every angle,” Harvey said firmly, but sympathetically.  “I’m not equipped for an induction in the clinic and even if I am, that complicates things in a different way.  At that point you’d need a full medical staff and emergency equipment in case things go wrong and that, well, that requires a hospital.”

“Would you still be able to-” May went on, but trailed off at the devastated look on Harvey’s face.  His expression alone answered her question.

“No, I would not,” Harvey replied quietly.  “If you end up in the hospital for an induction, the doctor at the hospital will be the one in charge of your delivery.  Not me.”

Above all, this news was the biggest crushing blow.  With all the stress, chaos, anxiety, fear, and worry through this whole process, Harvey at least seemed to feel a small sense of pride and excitement at the idea that he would be bringing his own child into the world.  Now, it seemed unlikely that this would happen for him.

“How do we fix this?” May asked desperately.

“We’ve already tried everything we can do,” Harvey answered sadly.

“I can walk more, I’ll walk circles around the entire town if I have to,” May went on, but Harvey just shook his head.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the smoke alarm wailing suddenly.  They’d both been so caught up in their conversation that neither of them saw the plume of smoke rising from the pan of onions and peppers Harvey had been cooking which now looked black as charcoal.

“Shit!” Harvey called out in mixed fear and anger.

It was unsurprising that Harvey was much quicker on his feet than May and he hurried over to the pan to turn the flame off.  With a frustrated shout, Harvey pulled the pan off the burner and ran it under the sink, only causing it to steam as the hot pan was met with cool water.  In the background, the smoke alarm was still wailing.  Harvey looked moments away from a nervous breakdown.

“I think maybe you need to take a walk yourself,” May suggested delicately.  “Get out of the house for a bit, get some fresh air, I think it’ll do you good right now.”

In his frustrated state, Harvey almost opened his mouth to protest but paused.  His angry expression softened and he stopped for a moment to take a series of deep breaths.  By the time he had calmed down, he looked weary but at least a bit more relaxed.

“You’re right,” Harvey sighed.  “I need to get out of the house for a bit, the last twelve hours have just been…” Harvey trailed off, but he didn’t need to finish speaking for May to know that he’d been having a very rough time.

“I’m sure after how that phone call ended, Robin’s probably sprinting down the mountain on her way over here,” May went on, chuckling awkwardly.  Now it was her turn to attempt to lighten the mood.  “I can spend the morning chatting with her which will help me feel better.  You can go on a walk outside, settle down, and hopefully that will make you feel better.”

“But what about breakfast?” Harvey asked sadly.  “We were supposed to have a special anniversary breakfast.”

“You can stop by Pierre’s and grab us some of those muffins I love,” May answered as cheerfully as she could.  “We can still have a good day today.  We both just need to unwind after what just happened.  And as for Monday, well… there’s still two days to go.  Who knows what can happen by then.”

Harvey nodded in response, though he still looked unsure.  He and May exchanged hugs, kisses, and ‘I love you’s before Harvey headed down the cobblestone path into town, his hands shoved deep into his pockets as his shoulders hunched forward.  May had stepped onto the porch to see Harvey off, but decided to stay even once he was out of view.  Too many days had been spent cooped up inside, even she was in need of some fresh air.  The farm looked far more barren than normal, but it was expected as the end of fall approached.  Most of the land was cleared with the exception of a few cranberry bushes that Shane would harvest in the final days of fall before digging them up and raking the soil flat in preparation for a dormant winter.  With all the chaos going on in her life, it was at least nice to know that Runaway Farm was being cared for.

Within twenty minutes of Harvey leaving, May could hear footsteps approaching, but not from town.  These footsteps were coming from the path to the mountain which meant Robin was here for a visit.  May had never been more relieved to see her in her entire life.

“Hey there, Kitten!” Robin said cheerfully as she approached the porch steps.  “It’s Spirit’s Eve, where’s your costume?”

“You're looking at it,” May grumbled.  “I'm going as a huge, cranky pregnant lady who's two weeks overdue and miserable.”

“Wow, pretty convincing costume,” Robin joked, taking her seat next to May.  “And lemme guess, your husband is going as a petrified father-to-be?”

“That sounds about right,” May answered.

“So, uh… how is he doing?” Robin asked hesitantly.  “I caught enough of what was going on to know that, uh… he didn’t end his call with me under the best of circumstances.”

“No, he did not,” May answered bitterly.

“Look, Kitten, don’t be too hard on him,” Robin began, but May shook her head.

“It’s fine, we talked about it,” May clarified.  “It’s a terrible outcome, but… there’s still time.  There’s still two days.”

“Ya know, they say spicy foods can kickstart labor,” Robin suggested thoughtfully.

“Tell that to the four plates of pepper poppers I've had this week,” May replied with a lopsided frown.  “All that accomplished was lighting my mouth on fire.”

“Have you tried walking?” Robin added.  “That’s supposed to help.”

“Every evening I walk circles around the farm,” May answered.  “And I’ve been trying to walk more inside the farmhouse whenever possible.  It’s really all I can do these days.”

Robin leaned in and whispered, "You know what else is supposed to kickstart things?  They say that if you, uh…” Robin hesitated for a moment to think of how to word herself, but May didn’t need her to go any further.  May simply nodded silently to show she understood, feeling incredibly awkward.  Thankfully Robin glossed right over it and moved on.

“So other than that little unpleasantness this morning, how are you?” Robin asked light-heartedly.

“Still as pregnant and uncomfortable as ever,” May answered.  “Can’t say much has changed.”

“And Doctor Boyfriend?” Robin went on.

“Walking on pins and needles lately,” May answered honestly.  “If he’s not fussing over me or stressing out about me being overdue, then he’s freaking out that the baby could come at any minute.  I can't even sneeze without him thinking that I'm going into labor.”

“So probably not a good idea for me to pour a cup of water underneath you and tell him your water broke,” Robin chuckled.

“Yeah, probably not a good idea,” May laughed.  “Though I suppose at this point he’d be relieved.”

“I doubt it, but do you think you’ll go to the festival tonight?” Robin asked curiously.  May frowned slightly, the last thing she had considered was the town festival tonight but she supposed it wasn’t ludicrous to think that she could.

“I guess it’s possible to attend,” May said thoughtfully.  “I mean, it’s not like I’m gonna go exploring the hedge maze or anything, but it might be nice to get out of the house.  I could sit around being uncomfortable at home or I could sit around being uncomfortable at the Spirit’s Eve festival.  At least the latter offers candy.”

“Well if you need a last minute costume, just wear an orange t-shirt and draw a face on your belly, you could be a jack-o-lantern,” Robin teased.  May playfully reached over and punched Robin on the arm.

The remainder of Robin’s visit was far more light-hearted and fun than the first part of her visit.  Now that the unpleasant discussions were out of the way, Robin seemed intent on distracting May and it was a relief to have something else to think about.  Robin told May all about how bad Sebastian was at hiding his supposedly secret relationship with Abigail and how Lewis had been asking weirdly cryptic questions about how much it would cost to remodel the old Joja building and whether or not Robin knew how to build a movie theater.  It was nice to talk about people besides herself, Harvey, or the baby.  So much of May’s life revolved around the baby, it was refreshing to hear about other people’s lives for a change.  Just as Robin was wrapping up a story about her latest encounter with Pierre, May caught sight of Harvey arriving back to Runaway Farm from town.  He was carrying a brown grocery bag, no doubt containing a few items he’d picked up from Pierre’s.

“Hey there, Doctor Boyfriend,” Robin greeted him pleasantly.

“Hi, Robin,” Harvey replied with equal pleasantry.  He appeared to be in a much better mood than he had been before.

“I was actually just about to head out,” Robin went on, already rising from her seat to step down the porch steps.  “Gotta finish a few chores around the house before I have to get ready for the Spirit’s Eve Festival tonight.”

“Ah, yes, with everything happening I almost forgot there’s a town festival tonight,” Harvey remarked.  “I only remembered when I stepped into town square and saw decorations already being placed.  Pierre was closed for the festival, but thankfully he made an exception for me to get these muffins.  I think he feels sorry for me, but I’ll take whatever sympathy I can get these days.”  Harvey chuckled light-heartedly, it was nice to see him relaxed after how the morning had begun.

“Well, I hope to see you two there!”  Robin waved to Harvey and May before heading back up the path towards the mountains.

At these words, Harvey’s cheerful demeanor fell and he suddenly looked nervous once more.  Easy come, easy go.

“We’re not actually going to the festival, right?” Harvey asked May tentatively.  May paused before answering, but her hesitance was all Harvey needed to know what her answer was.

“Look, if we take the golf cart and I sit at one of the tables the whole time, it’s not like it would be much different than sitting at home,” May reasoned.

"I don't know that you should be going out to the festival in your condition," Harvey said hesitantly.  “Even if you stay sedentary, there’s still a lot of activity going on.  It’s going to be a high-stress situation.”

"What's the worst that could happen, I go into labor?" May asked with a hint of sarcasm.  "Wouldn’t that just help our situation?"

"I… I don’t know," Harvey answered, still looking hesitant.  "Give me the rest of the day to think about it.  We can talk about it again before the festival starts.”

It had only occurred to May at this moment that Spirit’s Eve was generally Harvey’s least favorite town event.  Bitterness over a ruined anniversary, anxiety over a baby due any day now, and stress over a potential visit to the hospital in their future certainly wouldn’t help improve his feelings towards the day.  Spirit’s Eve really was shaping up to be a terrible day for him.

~*~

Spirit’s Eve had been, and always would be, Robin’s favorite day of the year.  As a horror movie fan, Robin loved the ghastly, horrifying decorations she could put up around her home and appreciated the light, misty fog that hung in the autumn air surrounding the lake near her cabin, giving her secluded home an ominous, foreboding feel to it.  Not to mention the costumes.  The first year Robin and Demetrius had been together, they’d picked a cute yet simple costume; a chef and a waitress.  Not exactly the most creative of couples costumes, but they were still a fairly new couple at that point.  However, a new tradition had begun and each year they tried to outdo the previous year.  Their costumes became more involved and more detailed to the point that everyone in town looked forward to what they would do next.  This year, Robin was very excited about their selection; Gomez and Morticia Addams.  It was one she had been wanting to do for quite some time, but just hadn’t found the right dress for it.  Upon finding the perfect one while clothes shopping in the city, she knew that this was the year.  Robin had yet to see Demetrius in his suit and he had yet to see her wearing her dress.  They each loved the thrill of seeing each other in costume for the first time on the day of the event, it made everything far more exhilarating.

Sebastian and Maru had long since left the cabin to head to the festival, not pouring anywhere near as much time and effort into their costumes as Robin and Demetrius did.  Robin was surprised when she emerged from the room fully dressed and ready to go with no sign of Demetrius.  She had been sure his costume would be easier, and therefore faster, to put on.

“If we don’t leave now, we’ll be late,” Robin bellowed down the hall.  From Demetrius’ lab she could hear him shout in response.

“Almost done with this mustache!” he shouted in return.  “It keeps falling off, I have to glue it on for it to stay put.  It’ll be hell getting it off tonight.  Should have just grown my own.”

When Demetrius finally stepped out of his lab and strutted down the hall, he looked far more dapper than Robin had ever seen him look before, not even on their wedding day.  His black pinstripe suit, repurposed from the year before, somehow looked far better this year in the context of his costume and the sleek mustache he wore, though fake, looked suave and debonair.  Robin nearly swooned on the spot.  When Demetrius locked eyes with Robin, he looked equally smitten.

“Cara Mia,” Demetrius uttered in adoration the moment he caught sight of Robin in her costume.  The skintight dress that had moments earlier felt uncomfortable and made her feel vulnerable suddenly felt glamorous and beautiful under Demetrius’ reverent gaze.

“Mon Cher,” Robin replied with a coy smirk.

“Shall we?” Demetrius asked, holding out his arm.  Robin sauntered to his side and hooked her arm in his.

“Lead the way,” Robin replied with a smirk.

Though most days Robin loved living up in the mountains, secluded from the rest of the town in her quiet, cozy cabin by the lake, she had to admit that it was always a huge hassle any time she had to go into town.  It always took far more time and effort than she cared for and it was even worse for town festivals.  Going there was never too bad, but facing the long trek home all the way from the forest after an afternoon of dancing at the Flower Dance or from the beach very late at night after the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies was always rough.  And with Spirit’s Eve, there were always uncomfortable costumes to contend with.  The dress that Robin had chosen was so skin tight that it wasn’t exactly easy to move in.  By the time she wiggled her way down the mountain for the Spirit’s Eve Festival, it had already begun.

Nearly everyone in town was there when Robin and Demetrius finally arrived.  The only faces that Robin didn’t spot in the crowd were Harvey’s and May’s.  Unsurprising considering how tense things were earlier that day, but admittedly disappointing.  Robin was hoping the two of them could get out of the house for a bit, if only for a change of scenery.  They both deserved the opportunity to unwind for a bit after a stressful few weeks.

One of the first things that Robin noticed upon her arrival was a small gathering between Caroline, Jodi, and Marnie.  That was definitely unsurprising.  Right away Demetrius excused himself to go find Elliott, it seemed this was her chance to join up with the other ladies and catch up.  As usual for them, they were all hunched together, speaking in lowered voices to avoid attracting attention.  The gossip was good tonight, it seemed.  The least surprising thing of all was that when Robin approached the group, she most definitely overheard the name ‘May’ uttered.  Her best friend seemed to be all anyone could talk about for the last few weeks.

“I’ve been watching the clinic all day today while we’ve been decorating, haven’t seen any sign of either of them,” Caroline remarked.  “Harvey showed up to the shop this morning practically begging to buy some muffins, but that’s it.  If she really is in labor, they’re still at the farmhouse, not the clinic.”

“It could just be that she didn’t feel like coming,” Jodi reasoned.  “I was incredibly overdue with Vincent and trust me, it’s not comfortable.  I was grumpy and irritable and didn’t want to be around anyone, Kent included.  I wouldn’t blame her for wanting to stay as far away from people as she can get.”

“What do you know, Robin?” Marnie asked curiously, the first to notice Robin’s presence.  Caroline and Jodi immediately shuffled aside to allow her room in their literal social circle.

“After all, you’re her labor coach with her husband being her doctor and all, you’re privy to more than the rest of us,” Caroline went on in a hint of annoyance.

It never had sat right with Caroline just how much Robin got along with May.  For sure she was jealous, but Robin hadn’t figured out yet whether it was jealousy that Robin had moved on to a different friend or that Robin was close enough to the current topic of gossip to have all the insider information that she wouldn’t share.  Knowing Caroline, it was probably the latter.  Either way, Robin felt little guilt over her friendship with May and wasn’t about to put her friendship on the line to report back to her old friend group.

“Hey, I’ve said it a dozen times already, I’m not gonna give you guys gossip when it comes to my Kitten,” Robin said seriously.  “Just because I have all the insider information doesn’t mean I’m gonna feed the gremlins with it.”  Caroline scoffed at the notion of being called a gremlin while Jodi and Marnie simply nodded in understanding.

“Now with that being said,” Robin went on, “what I can tell you is that I saw her this afternoon and trust me, she’s still as pregnant as ever.  She’d considered coming this evening, but wasn’t sure, so who knows.  I think Jodi’s spot on, I think she’s just miserable at home and not wanting to deal with anyone right now.  She’s been pretty cranky all week.”

“Understandable,” Marnie replied, nodding.  “The poor thing, she must be so anxious.  Harvey, too.”

“Oh yeah,” Robin confirmed.  “They’re both on pins and needles.  But one way or another, in a few days it’ll be all over.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Caroline asked curiously.  Robin’s hand flew up and she slapped her hand over her mouth, cringing at what she had said.

“Nothing,” Robin uttered, her voice muffled through her hand.  Robin swiftly removed her hand and shook her head vigorously to indicate that she wouldn’t clarify any further.  “I really need to stop talking to you hens, you’re gonna make me say things I’m not supposed to.”

Before Jodi, Caroline, or Marnie could speak, Robin stepped away from the group and hurried over to the food table.  She was sure they had already gathered what she meant, but there wasn’t much she could do about it now.  It’s not like it was a secret to anyone in town just how overdue May was and that she couldn’t stay pregnant forever.

“Robin!” Gus greeted her jovially as she approached the nearest food table.  “Nice costumes, once again you and Demetrius knocked it out of the park.  I don’t know how you two manage to outdo yourselves every year.”

“That’s certainly the plan,” Robin replied with a kind smile.  “Spirit’s Eve is my favorite holiday, I’m gonna go all out with it.”

“Heard anything from May today?” Gus asked curiously.  Robin unintentionally rolled her eyes.

“Ugh, Gus, not you, too,” Robin sighed.  Gus’ cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

“Sorry, can’t help it,” Gus replied sheepishly.  “Not many people have seen or heard from her this week and I think we’re all a little hesitant to ask Harvey these days, he’s been a bit on edge.”

“Understandable, though, don’t you think?” Robin asked, raising an eyebrow.  Gus nodded.

“That’s fair, that’s fair,” Gus replied.  “I guess we flock to the next best information source and that’s you.  Sorry if we’re prying too much, but you can’t blame the town for feeling anxious and excited, especially when we’ve been waiting for so long.”

“You think you’re anxious and excited from waiting so long, imagine how Kitten and Doctor Boyfriend feel,” Robin pointed out.

“Oof, I can’t imagine what they must be going through,” Gus said sympathetically.  “I hope they’re doing alright.”

“Me too,” Robin replied with a lopsided frown.  After the visit she’d had earlier that day with May, Robin couldn’t deny how worried she felt for both of them.

“Well stock up on the spread this year,” Gus remarked with a much more cheerful tone, gesturing to the food on the table in front of him.  “Couldn’t really do much last year on account of the wedding, had to try and do it up right this year.  Try the scream puffs, they came out great.”

Robin looked at the table and saw a plate of cream puffs, each decorated with a ghostly face of frosting.  Gus beamed proudly, causing Robin to smile.  Even after all these years of catering the many town events, Gus never lost his passion for serving the community.

“I’ll have to load up,” Robin replied kindly, grabbing two scream puffs.

Scream puffs weren’t the only thing Robin loaded up on, Gus was right that the spread this year was much better than it had been last year.  He really did seem to be compensating even though he certainly didn’t have to.  Gus’ food was always a matter of pride to him and this year, he had plenty to be proud of.  After gathering her plate of food, Robin sat down at a table to eat by herself while Demetrius was still chatting with Elliott, Penny, and Maru.  Their small book club seemed to have grown a lot closer, it was nice to see Demetrius, and even Harvey, becoming more social over the last year.  That did, however, leave Robin vulnerable to chit chat of her own without Demetrius by her side.

While she was eating, almost everyone in attendance stopped by to ask Robin at least once how May was doing.  On the one hand she was annoyed by how much she was being hounded but on the other, she felt bad for how little information she had to give.  Gus was right, it was understandable why everyone in town was so excited and why they came to Robin of all people for information.  She supposed it was a vast improvement over the town texting May or Harvey constantly for updates.  If she could be the target for most of the bothering, she was at least happy to alleviate that stress from Harvey and May.  They were dealing with enough already.  It just started to get exhausting and even a bit annoying to face the same questions over and over again, the same concern, the same impatience, the same disappointment when all she could give were the same updates as always.

Thankfully an hour into the festival and everyone seemed to have gotten their questioning out of their system.  When it became clear that Robin either didn’t know much or couldn’t say much, she was pretty well left alone.  It was a relief to finally be able to enjoy the festival without being harassed.  Once Demetrius finished chatting with his book club, he returned to Robin and the two of them walked idly around the decorated town square.  Neither of them were fond of the hedge maze, instead it was nice to just be together and soak in the ambience of their favorite festival.  Not long after Robin and Demetrius passed by Pierre’s souvenir stand, Robin could hear a gentle tinkling sound from her purse.  Her cell phone was ringing.  Immediately Robin’s stomach clenched, she didn’t need to look at the phone to know who was calling.  Robin scrambled in her haste to get to her phone and when she pulled it from her purse, she was unsurprised to see May’s photo on the screen.  Though she hadn’t even answered yet, Robin felt a mix of giddy excitement and nervous energy knowing the biggest reason that May could possibly be calling.  She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but it was difficult not to.

“Kitten?!” Robin answered breathlessly, too exhilarated to be relaxed.

“If contractions are this bad from the start, I’m done for in a few hours,” May remarked.

It took Robin a moment to fully grasp what May was getting at.  Even though she had known in her gut why May was calling, she refused to believe it until May confirmed it.  This was the call Robin had been waiting weeks for; May was in labor.

“Oh… OH!  OH MY GOSH!” Robin shrieked, most definitely catching the attention of the nearby crowd.  She hadn’t meant to be so loud or so obviously excited, but it was near impossible to be discreet.  Already Robin could tell that at least half the eyes in town were upon her, watching her with great interest.

“It started about an hour ago,” May began.  “We’d been having a… disagreement on whether or not we should try to attend the festival.  Needless to say Harvey got his way.”

“He may have gotten his way, but at least we can all agree that the reason for missing the festival is certainly welcome,” Robin sighed in relief.

“Very true,” May replied with her own sigh of relief.  “Just please do me a favor, don’t say anything to the rest of the town.  We don’t want to cause a stir.”

Robin turned around to see the crowd behind her, no one in town even trying to act nonchalant as they watched her with great interest.  Murmuring through the crowd had already begun and nearly everyone looked excited and anxious, no doubt figuring out exactly who was on the phone and what was happening.  It was already far too late to keep a lid on this.

“Yeah, about that, it might be a little too late for that,” Robin admitted nervously.

“How can you have told anyone, I’m still on the phone with you?!” May asked, half in exasperation and half mildly impressed.

“Well it’s kinda obvious when I answer the phone calling you Kitten, then start freaking out in excitement,” Robin answered.  “At that point it’s pretty obvious.”

“I suppose so,” May begrudgingly agreed.  “I was hoping the whole town wouldn’t know but -”

May suddenly stopped speaking and Robin could hear her sharply inhale, wincing in pain.  It was clear she had just started having a contraction.  Robin remained silent as May breathed slowly and steadily.  In the background, Robin could hear Harvey very calmly talking her through it.  Based on how relaxed both May and Harvey sounded, Robin guessed that it was still quite mild.  When the labored breathing quieted down and it seemed to be over, Robin spoke up to break the silence.

“Do you need me over there?” Robin asked seriously.  She was, after all, May’s labor coach seeing as Harvey’s primary role was doctor.
“Not yet,” May replied.  “It’s still very early.  Though definitely keep your phone nearby, who knows what the night will bring or how early you’ll have to get up in the morning.”

“I’ll go home right now,” Robin assured her.  “Gotta get to bed early just in case.”

“It’s fine, enjoy yourself, enjoy your night, we’ll call when we’re headed to the clinic,” May assured her.  “I know this is your favorite festival.”

“Nope, we’re leaving right now,” Robin replied stubbornly.  “I’ll let Maru know as well.  If I’m gonna be your support and Maru’s gonna be Doctor Boyfriend’s support, we need to be well-rested.  Yoba knows neither you nor Doctor Boyfriend will be, it’ll be a long night for both of you.”

“Don’t remind me,” May groaned.

When her conversation with May ended, Robin stowed her phone in her purse and turned to find Maru.  What she was met with instead were the anxious, eager faces of almost everyone in town staring at her in the hopes of an update.  Many of them already suspected what was going on and by this point, it would be cruel if she didn’t confirm it.

“Well… I hope everyone’s ready to welcome a new resident soon!” Robin squealed excitedly.

The crowd surrounding her erupted with applause, cheers, gasps, and of course some tears.  Without fail, Marnie always burst into tears at happy news and the news that Harvey and May’s baby was on the way was certainly cause to be happy.  Even Robin felt herself becoming emotional, but tried her best to hold herself together.  The next few hours were too important for her to go losing her composure.  As Robin attempted to step through the crowd to find Maru, already she was stopped as the eager crowd around her fired off a whole new barrage of questions.

“How long has she been in labor?” Caroline asked seemingly in concern.  It was actually the first time Robin could recall that Caroline asked a sincere question without an underlying need for gossip.

“Does she need anything?” Jodi asked nervously.

“If we need these decorations and tables cleared away from the clinic, you just say the word,” Lewis spoke up, gesturing to the festival setup surrounding them.

“It started about an hour ago, no she doesn’t need anything, and you shouldn’t need to move the decorations and tables until after the event is over,” Robin answered in quick succession, looking at each person who asked her questions as she answered them.  She was far too nervous and excited to care about pleasantries.  “Now if you’ll excuse me.”

Once she spotted Demetrius, Robin grabbed him by the hand and excused herself through the crowd, ignoring the excited chatter surrounding her as she tried to find Maru.  Just as Robin broke through the other side of the large crowd, she spotted Maru exiting the hedge maze.  Once Maru caught sight of a mass of people all talking excitedly and saw the look on her mother’s face, she stopped in her tracks.

“Mom, is everything okay?” Maru asked, her expression in an odd state of limbo between confused and excited, dependent on what Robin’s answer would be.

“It’s go time,” Robin answered with a large grin.  Maru whooped in excitement.

“Then we’d better get home and get to sleep!” Maru called out.

“My thoughts exactly, Marzipan,” Robin agreed.  “No need to find your brother, I’m sure he’ll be out all night with Sam and Abi doing Yoba knows what.  But as for us?  Time to head home.  Who knows what the next few hours will bring.”

Though the walk up the mountain was always far more difficult and grueling than the walk down , Robin felt a renewed energy in her that helped her get through the long trek back home, even in such an uncomfortable dress.  The idea that soon she would be a grandma, even if just an honorary one, was an exciting enough prospect to help her through it.  By the time they arrived back home, Robin felt as awake as ever, her mind racing with nervous excitement.  Still, Robin almost felt obligated to try and get as much sleep as she could, even if it meant forcing herself to lie in bed and relax.  In a weird way, despite the fact that it didn’t make any actual sense, it felt like Robin had to try and get decent sleep to make up for how little sleep Harvey and May would be getting tonight, if any.  While Robin’s night was coming to an end, poor May’s night was only just beginning.

Chapter Text

Winter 8, Year 2

Daisy Marie Higgins
Born 28th of Fall, 5:08pm
7lbs. 4 oz.
To parents Harvey and May Higgins

“Are birth announcements even necessary anymore?” May asked, glancing at the stack of printed announcements and blank envelopes.  “I feel like in the age of social media, there’s no real need for it.  Plus, it’s not like everyone in town doesn’t already know we had a baby.”

“From what I understand, it’s social convention,” Harvey remarked.

“It’s social convention to expect exhausted brand new parents of a newborn to sit down and fill out the addresses of dozens of people to mail off announcements for information they already know?” May asked sarcastically.

“Apparently,” Harvey answered with a tired chuckle.

“Ugh, I really don’t want to do this,” May groaned.  “Somehow this is worse than 19 hours of labor.”

“You say that now, but I highly doubt you actually feel that way,” Harvey replied seriously.  He certainly wasn’t at the point yet where he was ready to joke about the experience and was surprised May seemed to be able to.

“Okay, so maybe that’s over-exaggeration,” May admitted with a nod.  “I just hate having to spend the day doing this, I just want to get sleep.”

“Look at the bright side, anything is better than what we would otherwise be doing today,” Harvey remarked optimistically.  It took May a moment to fully grasp his meaning, her eyes darted upwards in thought until she nodded knowingly.

“Ah, yes, the Ice Festival,” May recalled.  “True, I’d much rather be filling out addresses all day in my pajamas with my two favorite people than bundling up in the freezing cold just to watch a bunch of people go fishing.”

“It’s all about perspective, honey,” Harvey pointed out.

“Being an exhausted parent to a newborn at least has its perks, built in excuse for missing the festival today,” May teased.  “Of course it also doesn’t hurt that this is one of your least favorite festivals.”

“Least favorite or not, there was no way that was gonna happen,” Harvey suddenly piped up passionately.  “I couldn’t consider myself a good doctor or a good father if I brought a newborn to the middle of the forest in freezing temperatures.  No one will miss us.”

“ Everyone will miss us,” May corrected him.  “We’re the parents of a brand new baby in town, no one has stopped asking when it’s okay to come over and see the baby.  I’m sure everyone was hoping to see us there at the festival today.”

“If anyone actually expected us to bring a newborn to the Ice Festival, they must be crazy,” Harvey scoffed.

Without saying a word, May slid her phone across the tabletop to Harvey.  When he turned on the screen, there were at least a dozen text notifications.  The first one read ‘can we expect to see little Daisy at the Ice Festival today?’  Harvey had to assume the rest of the texts relayed similar messages.

“This town is baby crazy,” May laughed as Harvey’s eyes widened.

“You’re not kidding,” Harvey groaned, handing May her phone back.  “I suppose I should have assumed as much if conversation at the clinic was any indication.  She’s all anyone ever asks about.”

“Can you blame them?” May asked, lowering her head to gaze lovingly into the bassinet that had been moved right next to the table.

There, sleeping soundly inside, was their newborn daughter Daisy.  She was perfect in every way, but Harvey supposed every parent felt that way about their child.  Still, Harvey had not been prepared for just how much love he would feel for someone he barely knew, how much joy such a tiny thing could bring him, or how much fear he would harbor over even the slightest mistake.  Though he hadn’t been a parent for long, he had experienced a range of emotions more intense than anything he ever could have anticipated.  The love he had for her was stronger than any love he’d ever felt, even for May.  The fear was equally overwhelming, the fear that one wrong decision or misstep could result in a fate Harvey couldn’t even bear to think about.  It was simultaneously the most overwhelmingly joyful and soberingly terrifying experience of his life.  The tiny person sleeping so soundly in her bassinet, clueless of the intense emotions raging through Harvey every minute, meant more to Harvey than he could comprehend.  Any time Harvey thought on it for too long, he felt a swell of emotion so powerful it nearly brought him to tears.  Even now, just watching his precious daughter fast asleep, was enough to cause his breath to catch in his chest and his eyes to mist over.

“She’s beautiful,” Harvey remarked quietly, his voice only barely cracking as he fought to rein in his emotions.

Almost as if on cue, Daisy began to fidget in her bassinet, squirming in her tightly swaddled blanket as her eyes slowly fluttered open.  It was a rare occurrence at this point in her life to see Daisy with her eyes open.  Instantly Harvey and May stopped everything they were doing and leaned over her bassinet, staring in awe and adoration.  May wordlessly took Harvey’s hand in hers, squeezing it tightly as her gaze remained transfixed on their newborn daughter.  Her small eyes were still fluttering as they adjusted to the light.  At the moment, they were a beautiful green color just like Harvey’s.  Through his medical knowledge only did Harvey know that newborns eyes could change color but it was admittedly nothing he had ever seen firsthand.  Some days Daisy’s eyes were a light brown, others a soft hazel, but today they were unmistakably green.

“I think she’s gonna end up with your eyes,” May pointed out, smiling lovingly at Harvey.  “I hope so.”

“I’m sure her eyes will look lovely no matter what,” Harvey replied, though deep down he secretly wished that May was right.  It seemed silly, but the idea that there could be something he shared with Daisy, some discernible trait of his that could cause people to know ‘that’s Harvey’s daughter’, made him feel giddy.

For over five minutes Havey and May watched in wonder as Daisy did nothing more than wiggle and coo.  To anyone else it would be the most boring way to pass the time but to Harvey and May, every movement was captivating and each sound was music to their ears.  As Daisy wiggled, her brow began to furrow and her soft, gentle coos turned to fusses.  Then quite suddenly, her fuss escalated to a high pitched wail.  The tightly wrapped swaddle around her fell apart as she kicked her legs free.  It didn’t matter that crying was a perfectly natural response for a newborn and that at this age, it was the only way for Daisy to communicate her needs.  Harvey had heard his fair share of crying newborns during his rotations in L&D and the NICU at Zuzu City General Hospital, and yet it was wildly different on the other side as a parent.  His gut clenched and all common sense and medical knowledge fled his brain momentarily as he feared for the worst.  Thankfully this snap reaction faded as quickly as it had arrived, but it struck Harvey like lightning every single time Daisy cried, this instantaneous moment of panic and distress.  May seemed to handle Daisy’s cries far better than Harvey could.  Already she reached into the bassinet and scooped Daisy up in her arms, showing extra caution to cradle her head gently.  May began to make soft, soothing shushing sounds and slowly rocked Daisy in her arms.

“It’s alright, little one,” May uttered in nearly a whisper.  “Mama’s got you.”

May gently kissed Daisy atop her head and was already crossing the room on her way up the stairs to the nursery.  Harvey never knew when he should follow or when he should stay behind to give them their space.  At no point did he ever want to give May the impression that he doubted her abilities.  If anything, Harvey trusted May as a mother far more than he trusted himself as a father.  May was already thriving in motherhood.  But he feared he would be sending the wrong message if he followed her to the nursery, as though he’d be suggesting that she couldn’t do this without his medical expertise or insight.  Still, it pained Harvey to miss even a moment of being with his wife and daughter while he was home.  Before he could even question himself further, May turned around and smiled at Harvey.

“Well?  Aren’t you coming?” May asked sweetly.  Even over the din of Daisy’s loud cries, May still maintained a soft, soothing tone.

Harvey followed May and Daisy upstairs and into the nursery.  Still with an impressive amount of composure, May gently laid Daisy upon her changing table and set to work calmly changing her diaper.  At this point, she was going through diaper changes ten times a day and May was very quickly becoming an expert.  There was little Harvey could do to help, May seemed to have a handle on everything.  Once Daisy’s diaper was changed, May moved seamlessly across the room, holding a still wailing Daisy, and sat down in the rocking chair that Robin had made.  Through all of this, Harvey questioned why May had even requested his presence.  She was so adept at all of this already, he couldn’t fathom what she needed him for.  As though reading his thoughts, May beckoned for Harvey to step close to her.  As he approached, May was already shifting her clothing in preparation to feed Daisy.  Despite being married to May for over a year, Harvey turned his head on instinct for May’s modesty which only caused her to giggle.
“Harvey, I’m your wife, this is nothing you haven’t seen before,” May teased.  Daisy’s cries were instantly silenced as May began nursing her daughter.  “You look away every single time.”

“I don’t mean to,” Harvey replied awkwardly, turning his head back though his eyes remained averted.

“It’s fine, just kind of sweet in a weird way,” May remarked in amusement.

“I can go if you need me to, it seems you’ve got everything handled beautifully,” Harvey said honestly.

“Please stay,” May answered, a bit more rapidly and with a hint of desperation that Harvey wasn’t prepared for.  “This is always the loneliest part.  The days are so busy now, everything’s chaos, but when I’m feeding her, there’s nothing else to do but sit.  Which is nice, of course, it’s a welcome chance to sit down and get some rest, but admittedly it’s the times when I miss you the most.”

Her words hit Harvey like a ton of bricks, for a moment he felt the wind knocked out of his chest and he became light-headed for a moment.  It pained him to go to work each day, to leave his wife and daughter behind, to care for other people’s families instead of caring for his own.  Yet it was always a comfort for Harvey to know that his girls had each other; that Daisy was in good hands with May and that May had a bright spot such as Daisy to bring her joy.  To hear that his presence was missed at all was a harsh dose of reality.  Of course he should have assumed as much, but it was painful to hear confirmation.

“I-I’m sorry,” Harvey muttered sadly.  It was all he could think to say.

“You have no reason to be,” May replied, her desperate tone softening.  “I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must be to leave the house everyday, wanting so badly to stay but knowing you can’t.  You certainly have it way harder than I do.  You have to say goodbye to her every single morning, spend your day worrying about her, thinking about her, wondering if she’s okay.  I try to send as many status updates and pictures as I can throughout the day, but I know that can’t even come close to being here with her.  It makes me feel selfish when I start to miss you during these times, knowing that you probably miss us so much more.”

“You’re not selfish,” Harvey reassured May.  “You say that I’ve got it tough, but you’re not giving yourself enough credit.  You’re tackling something so new and different from anything you’ve ever done before and when I’m at work, you’re having to handle it all alone.  I wish I could be here to help, I really do, but I know I never have to worry because Daisy is in wonderful hands.  Motherhood is hard.  And from what I understand, it can also be very lonely.  You’re allowed to feel that, especially in moments where there’s nothing to do but sit and think.  I’ll tell you what, every time you feed Daisy I want you to call me.  I’ll answer whenever I can and we can talk.  If I can’t answer, I want you to leave a voicemail.  As long a voicemail as you want.  Talk for twenty minutes, just tell me about your day, tell me about Daisy, tell me anything you need to talk about.  Anything that’ll help you not feel so lonely or disconnected during those times.  I know that’ll help me just as much as it’ll help you.”

Since Daisy was born, May’s hormones were still very much all over the place.  Throughout the entire time Harvey spoke, May just sat listening with a blank expression that was nearly impossible to read.  Yet the moment he finished speaking, May burst into tears.  Her whole body was shaking so much as she sobbed, poor Daisy was nearly squished in May’s arms.  Harvey rushed over to her side, hoping that her tears were the result of a swell of emotion from her hormones rather than something more serious.  When May looked up at Harvey, he was relieved to see her smiling up at him through her tears.

“I always forget how quickly and easily you manage to fix things,” May sobbed.

“I just wish you’d said something sooner,” Harvey replied gently.  “I never want you to feel like you’re in this alone, even when I’m away.  And honestly, I’ll feel quite a bit more connected as well with regular phone calls like that.  I know we’re in my busy season, but I can make time where I need to.  You and Daisy are my first priority.”

“It’s been so much harder than I expected,” May went on, her shoulders still shaking though her sobs were slowly subsiding.  “I keep trying to act like I’ve got a handle on everything because I don’t want you to worry that I don’t have this or that I’m not doing a good job but the truth is, I have no clue what I’m doing and it’s terrifying.  It gets so much worse when I’m all by myself, like my safety net is gone.”

“Hey, this is brand new to both of us and we’ll figure it out together,” Harvey went on, kneeling on the floor next to the rocking chair to see May eye to eye.  “You’re a wonderful mother, whether you know what you’re doing or not.  I promise you, years of working in the medical field hasn’t even prepared me for this, I’m no better off.  But the best either of us can do is try because we love her.  Always remember I’m just a phone call away.”

“Thanks, sweetheart,” May replied sincerely, her breathing still ragged from crying but the flow of tears had stopped.

Streaks of tears still stained May’s cheeks, but with her arms full cradling Daisy to feed her, May couldn’t exactly wipe them away.  Harvey stood up to his full height and crossed the room to Daisy’s dresser to grab a tissue.  When he returned, he knelt next to May once more and gently wiped her cheeks and dabbed at her eyes to clear away the tears.  The warm, appreciative smile May flashed at him made his heart melt.  He was a problem solver by nature and being able to help May with Daisy in any capacity, especially when he couldn’t help directly at home, was a welcome opportunity.

“All better,” Harvey remarked, wiping the last of her tear stained cheeks.  “Anything else you need while I’m here?  Might as well take full advantage, I’m ready to help.”

“Now that you mention it, I’d actually love a glass of water,” May requested, licking her lips.  “No one ever tells you how thirsty nursing makes you.  I never think of it until after I’ve sat down to feed her and then I just end up parched the whole time.”

“Water, you got it,” Harvey replied with a nod, already crossing the room swiftly.

When Harvey returned with May’s water, he seated himself cross-legged on the floor beside the rocking chair in order to be close to May to keep her company and give her sips of water while she fed their daughter.  The cramp in his leg and ache of his back from sitting in this position were inconsequential.  Once Daisy was fed, Harvey’s legs only felt slightly numb and his knee only popped once as he rose from his spot on the floor.

“Sorry for such an uncomfortable spot,” May apologized, though she appeared incredibly grateful for his company.

“Worth it,” Harvey replied without hesitation.

“I can’t in good conscience ask you to hunch over a table to start filling out those birth announcements after you got stuck sitting on the floor,” May went on, holding Daisy out to rest her gently in Harvey’s arms.  “She’s all changed and fed, you should get some bonding time with her while I fill out the addresses.”

“I’ll keep you company,” Harvey offered, already following May down the stairs.  “I can still hold Daisy as I read the names and addresses off to you while you write them down.”

“Teamwork makes the dream work,” May remarked with a grin.

“It’ll be good for Daisy to hear my voice anyway,” Harvey explained as May pulled out his chair for him at the table.  “It’s important to the bonding process for her to hear our voices, especially now while proper eyesight isn’t fully developed.  This will be a perfect project for us to work on.  We’re still all together but it’ll give me a chance to bond with my daughter.”  Harvey’s heart swelled at his utterance of the word ‘daughter’.  It was still such a new and exciting event in his life, it reminded him of the joy and exhilaration he felt when he first referred to May as his wife.

“Whatever you say, Doctor Daddy,” May teased, taking a seat next to Harvey.  She stared at the mountain of birth announcements, envelopes and stamps as she sighed heavily.  “Let’s get this over with.”

It was a long and boring process, but within moments May had already left the table and returned to put on jazz music in the background.  If they had to endure such a tedious task they might as well attempt to enjoy it.  The house was already warm and cozy with a fire in the fireplace and the heater running at a comfortable temperature, however Harvey felt even more warmth from the bundle in his arms.  Daisy was cradled in his arms, already fast asleep once more.  As much as Harvey felt bad for May having to fill out so many addresses, he couldn’t deny that it was nice to get to hold Daisy for so long.  His eyes kept switching back and forth from reading an address, then gazing upon Daisy while May wrote it down, then back again.  It was a cycle Harvey wasn’t terribly bothered by, though he was still relieved when it was finally over.  The whole process had taken over an hour.

The next hour that passed was equally busy, Harvey begrudgingly placed Daisy back into her bassinet to sleep as he and May worked together in the kitchen to make and eat lunch.  Too often the days flew by without eating proper meals and although Harvey didn’t mind it for himself, he worried about May.  He couldn’t stress enough how important it was for nursing mothers to eat properly but this sentiment was usually met with rolled eyes and a playful shake of May’s head.  Still, at least on his days off Harvey intended to make sure his wife ate properly.  Lunch wasn’t exactly fancy, but it was something.  At the moment their lives operated on a two hour schedule in-between feedings.  Daisy was nothing if not prompt, nearly two hours on the dot after her last feeding she was already squirming in her bassinet, ready to eat again.

This time around May sat on the couch to feed Daisy, allowing Harvey to sit more comfortably next to May.  Not before he could bring her a tall glass of water, of course.  It brought Harvey immeasurable joy to be with May while she fed Daisy, especially knowing now how lonesome an experience it was for her when he wasn’t home.  May seemed so much more relaxed this time as she and Harvey talked about the most unimportant things like speculation over who won the fishing tournament that afternoon and whether Robin could go a whole day without calling May for an update on her honorary grandbaby.  It was such a silly but amusing conversation, Harvey found himself losing all track of time until May lifted Daisy up and rested Daisy against her shoulder to begin burping her.

“Wow, time flies when we’re all together,” May pointed out happily.

“I’m just glad I can be part of her feedings,” Harvey remarked honestly.  “It’s nothing I can exactly take on myself, but it’s nice to know I can still support you in some way.”

“You and your useless man chest,” May grumbled playfully.  “Biology is so unfair.”

While May gently patted Daisy’s back to burp her, Harvey noticed that the bags under May’s eyes were practically purple and her eyelids were drooping, showing her exhaustion.  Due to nursing, May was up in the middle of the night far more than Harvey was and it certainly showed.  As wonderful as it was to spend time with his whole family on his days off, Harvey had spent quite enough time with them together to be satisfied.  Giving May a few hours of sleep while soaking in more bonding time with Daisy sounded perfect at the moment.

“You should try to get some sleep,” Harvey suggested once May cradled Daisy in her arms once more.  “She won’t need to be fed for another two hours, I can handle things in the meantime.  You look exhausted.”

“You’re tired, too,” May pointed out, but Harvey was already shaking his head.

“I’m not the one who has to wake up every two hours in the middle of the night,” Harvey reminded her.  “I’ll go to bed early tonight, but for now you get some good sleep while you can.  Take advantage of my days off to catch up on sleep.  And don’t think I’m being entirely selfless here, admittedly it’s nice to hog her all to myself on my days off.  You get so much time with her, I quite like knowing I can help you get more sleep and spend time with my daughter.  I just can’t seem to get enough today.”

“Understandable,” May replied with a knowing smile.  “If I could, I’d hold her all day long.  I get it.  Well if you’re sure , I would love the chance to catch up on some sleep.  I won’t do Daisy any good if I’m exhausted.”

“Exactly,” Harvey agreed, already scooping Daisy from May’s arms.  “Go get some good rest, I’ll wake you when she needs to be fed again.”

“Thanks,” May replied, yawning as she rose from the couch and shuffled off to bed.  Harvey suspected that she would be passed out asleep in a matter of minutes.  As he heard the sound of the bedroom door close, Harvey shifted spots on the couch to rest his arm against the armrest of the couch for support while he held Daisy.  If he got his way, he would spend the next two hours here simply holding her and talking to her.

“Well that just leaves you and me,” Harvey remarked happily to Daisy.  “Not that I don’t adore your mother, of course, but I’ve had plenty of time to get to know her.  You, on the other hand, we’re still getting acquainted.  Who are you, what’s going on in that brain of yours, I’d love to know.  What goes through your mind when you hear me talk?”

Daisy fidgeted in Harvey’s arms, squirming as she snuggled up close to his chest.  Harvey’s heart melted on the spot as Daisy turned her face into Harvey’s chest for warmth and security.

“So young and you already know exactly how to push my buttons,” Harvey teased.  “You’re gonna have me wrapped around your little finger in no time, young lady.  Then again, I suppose you already do.  You did from the moment I brought you into the world.  Not that I did all the work, of course, all that credit goes to your mother.  But I was the first person to ever hold you in my arms, did you know that?  Do you know how special that feels, to be the first person to hold your child?  Not every new father can say that.  I don’t know if that’ll ever account for anything in the future, but I would like to think it’s something special between us.  From the moment I delivered you, from the very first moment you came into the world, I was in love.  I never stood a chance.  I’ll be wrapped around those tiny fingers of yours indefinitely.”

Harvey cradled Daisy in one arm while his other hand reached out to take Daisy’s hand in his.  She was so tiny, her entire hand was barely able to wrap around Harvey’s thumb.  Her fingers grasped his thumb and squeezed, causing another swell of emotion to course through Harvey.  At this point there wasn’t much Daisy could do that didn’t cause Harvey to feel a surge of emotion and love for his daughter.  Even just looking at her left Harvey in awe.  The light wisps of brown hair atop her head, just barely curly to the point that Harvey wondered if her hair would be wavy like his or straight like her mother’s, were soft to the touch.  Harvey couldn’t help but lean over and gently kiss her atop her head.  The wiry bristles of his mustache caused Daisy to wriggle in his arms once more and make a soft cooing sound that Harvey couldn’t decipher whether it was a good reaction or a bad one.  He looked forward to getting to know Daisy well enough to be able to figure those noises out one day, to know how she was feeling just by the looks in her eyes or the sounds she’d make.  For now, it was nice to be with her and start learning every quirk of her personality; to know her as a person with thoughts and emotions as complex as his own, more than just a small blob only capable of eating and sleeping.  Too many times he’d been warned that the newborn stage was boring but Harvey found every moment with Daisy to be captivating.

As Harvey stared lovingly at Daisy, soaking in each tiny detail of her face, every movement and wiggle, and the symphony of soft cooing sounds she made, there was a knock at the door.

“Now who could that be?” Harvey asked aloud, grunting as he rose from the couch with Daisy cradled in his arm.  With today being a festival day, he had been counting on everyone in town being occupied with the festivities.

When Harvey opened the door, he was very taken aback at the unexpected sight of all the members of the book club standing at his door, their arms laden with goodies.  He knew tonight was a book club meeting in the mountains, but of course he was taking leave of the book club meetings for at least a few weeks following Daisy’s birth.  All of his friends were smiling with a warmth in stark contrast to the bitter chill that was in the air.  Their cheeks were rosy from the cold, though all of them were bundled up in scarves and coats to protect from the elements.

“Surprise!” Penny shouted happily.

“We brought the three D’s; dinner, dessert, and diapers,” Maru joked, a large casserole dish in-hand.  “Now let us in, it’s freezing!”

Without even waiting for an invitation inside, Maru pushed past Harvey into the farmhouse, followed by Elliott, Leah, Penny, and Demetrius, their arms weighted down with offerings.  Elliott and Leah were each holding trays of food, Penny was holding a pie, and Demetrius’ long arms were each cradling a large box of diapers.

“Oh wow, this is… oh my goodness, you really shouldn’t have,” Harvey gasped in awe, his jaw slack as he watched his friends file into the house with so many wonderful offerings.  When the last of them entered, he closed the door to keep the farmhouse cozy and warm.

“Don’t think that not attending a town festival will get you out of socializing, Doc,” Maru teased.  “You can’t escape at least some amount of attention today.”

“Admittedly with this group in particular I’m far more okay with it,” Harvey teased.

Though he was disappointed to lose out on the quality time he’d been looking forward to having with Daisy, it was such a pleasant surprise to have his closest friends over bringing such wonderful and helpful things.  The peace of mind from knowing dinner would not be an issue tonight was worth it.  Already the group had set to work to find room in the refrigerator for their offerings.

“Mom wanted to come but I told her she’s banned because she’d end up just hogging the baby the whole time,” Maru joked.  “It’s time for other people to get a turn.”

Before Harvey could even pipe up regarding his comfort level on people holding the baby, he noticed that a line had already formed at the kitchen sink for everyone to wash their hands.  Harvey had made it clear from the beginning that no one was to hold Daisy without first washing their hands and it was a point that many in town took issue with.  Pierre seemed outright offended when visiting May in the clinic to see Daisy and was told to wash up first.  It was a relief to know this was a battle Harvey wouldn’t have to fight with his friends.  The first at the sink had been Penny, she seemed the most eager to hold Daisy.  By the time she’d barely finished drying her hands, she was already skipping across the room with a giddy smile.

“May I hold her?” Penny asked, her voice escalating in pitch so high it slightly stung Harvey’s ears.

“Sure,” Harvey answered, though his heart sank at his own response.  The one on one bonding time he’d been having with Daisy was nice while it lasted.

It was always a tense moment to pass a newborn over to someone who wasn’t used to holding them.  Harvey took extra care to cradle Daisy’s head in his hand until he was sure that Penny had a good hold of her.  With Vincent and Jas, Harvey had insisted that they be seated while holding Daisy but with adults, it felt like a paranoid request.  Though clearly Penny felt just as nervous to be standing, the moment she had Daisy in her arms Penny crossed the room to the couch to sit.  Harvey breathed a sigh of relief, glad he wasn’t the only paranoid one in the room.

“Oh, you’re just a little darling, aren’t you?” Penny asked in very high-pitched baby talk.

As the rest of the group finished washing up, they all found seats in the living room.  Maru sat next to Penny on the sofa, leaving the other spot next to her empty for Harvey.  Demetrius, Leah, and Elliott all grabbed chairs from the dining room and set them up around the sofa the same way they would if they were holding a book club meeting.  Though this time, the topic of discussion was not literature, it was Daisy.

“How are you holding up so far, Harv?” Demetrius asked in concern.  “I don’t mean to sound uncaring, but too often the mother and child’s well being is asked about, but not often is the father asked how he’s doing.”

“That’s very considerate of you,” Harvey remarked with a nod of thanks to Demetrius.  “I’m doing just fine, though.  No need to worry about me.”

“And May?  She’s recovering alright?” Leah asked, her interest piquing for reasons only Harvey and Elliott knew.  Leah was recently pregnant and to Harvey’s knowledge, the only people who currently knew were Elliott and himself for obvious reasons.  The last he’d heard, they intended to announce it to the rest of the book club at tonight’s meeting.

“She’s just fine,” Harvey assured her.  The last time Leah had seen May was in the clinic the day after Daisy was born and admittedly, May was so exhausted and frazzled that it had made Leah understandably nervous and scared.

"Would you just look at those big, beautiful eyes," Penny went on, still fully in baby talk.  "I'm just not gonna let you go, no I'm not."

"First my mom hogs her, now Penny's hogging her," Maru whined.  "At this point I'll barely get to hold her before-"

Maru froze mid-sentence, her eyes growing slightly wide.  Thankfully Elliott, Leah, and Penny didn't clock Maru's sudden worry, but Harvey and Demetrius certainly did.  Demetrius turned his eyes away, clearly not trusting his poker face very much when it came to his daughter leaving the valley for her internship in the city.  This was yet another secret Harvey held, another secret that he knew was intended to be shared with the rest of the book club at tonight's meeting.  Harvey would be missing one heck of a meeting, but it was probably for the best.  He anticipated lots of tears, both happy and sad.  For Harvey, it had been difficult enough to sit through Maru's news the first time, he wasn't sure if he could sit through it again.  Even thinking about it now was causing him to feel overwhelmed.

"-before we leave here for book club," Maru finished as gracefully as she could.  Harvey and Demetrius each heaved subtle sighs and turned their eyes away from Maru.  Luckily, the rest of the group was still none the wiser.

"Speaking of book club, do the rest of you mind if I join you all tonight?" Leah asked excitedly.  Harvey knew she was asking in order to be present for the big news she and Elliott wanted to deliver to the group.  "I won't intrude on your book discussion, but I love being around El's friends."

"Of course you can, you're our friend now!" Penny answered happily.  "Same goes for May and Robin, everyone's spouses are part of the Pelican Town book club family!  Speaking of May, where is she?  I'd love to say hello!"

"Resting at the moment," Harvey answered.  "She's been getting so little sleep lately, just trying to do my part to help her catch up on rest on my days off."

“Aww, that’s so sweet of you!” Penny squealed.  “Look at you, being such a good husband and dad.”

“Fatherhood’s a good look for you, Harv,” Demetrius remarked with a nod of approval.

“Thanks,” Harvey replied modestly, feeling a swell of pride at such kind affirmations.

Most of the conversation that followed was about Daisy and her first days in the world.  Demetrius seemed eager to relive the newborn days while the others seemed interested to hear more about it, especially Elliott and Leah.  All through the conversation, Daisy was passed around to each book club member for the opportunity to hold her and though Harvey missed being able to hold her himself, it was warming his heart to see his friends interact with her.  Many of them had only held Daisy in the clinic the day after she was born, but that was such a chaotic time that Harvey barely got to be there with any of them.

Demetrius dissolved into a blubbering mess as he cradled Daisy.  Harvey wasn’t sure if he was reliving the days when he held his own daughter in his arms or if he was secretly hoping for the day he could cradle a grandchild.  Either way, Demetrius was lost in the moment of holding a newborn.  Elliott and Leah each had the opportunity to hold Daisy and Harvey found it endearing to watch the nervous and excited glances they shared with each other and the looks of giddy anticipation for the day not far from now when they would hold their own child.  Elliott seemed terrified to hold someone so small, he handled Daisy as though she were a porcelain doll.  Maru had been over to the Higgins house enough that she’d held Daisy a fair few times already.  Still, she could never seem to get enough.  By now, she was so adept at handling Daisy that she was nowhere near as hesitant as the others.  Not to say that she wasn’t careful, but Maru had a familiarity with Daisy that the others simply didn’t have yet.  It was bittersweet for Harvey to watch, warming his heart to see how comfortable his best friend was holding his daughter while causing a wave of sorrow at the thought that Maru would be leaving for the city soon.  The thought that Daisy would not have Maru consistently in her life was too devastating for Harvey to dwell on.

“Oh Yoba, we’ve been here for over an hour!” Penny gasped, glancing at her watch.  “We should get going or we’ll all be late for the book club meeting!”

“Admittedly being late to the book club meeting by being held up by the book club members is forgivable,” Maru teased.  “But yeah, maybe we should all head home for a bit before we meet up again later tonight.”

Maru was the first to rise from her seat, still holding Daisy in her arms.  She snuggled Daisy close for a hug and kissed her gently atop her head before holding her out to Harvey.  Even after only an hour, Harvey already missed holding his daughter and was eager to take her back.  As much as he could feel his friends’ love as they held Daisy, he felt no selfishness at all in wanting to have her back in his arms.

“We’ll start getting out of your hair, Harvey,” Penny remarked, already crossing the room for the door.  “Sorry for the intrusion.”

“Hardly an intrusion to have my friends stop by for a visit, and with such a generous offering,” Harvey answered sincerely.  “Thanks again for the dinner, dessert, and diapers.  May will be so grateful for it when she wakes up to find dinner covered.  Not to mention the next few weeks of diapers.  We appreciate it.”

“You’re very welcome!” Elliott replied happily.  “Anything for the Higgins family.”

Even now, over a year after marrying May and starting what was the first family Harvey had ever been a part of, it was still wonderfully jarring any time it hit him that he had a family of his own.  It was something that his conscious mind just glossed over until the word ‘family’ came into play and then suddenly, the utterance of the word would send a shock through Harvey.  Somehow since Daisy’s birth he hadn’t fully been able to grasp that his small family was growing; that he and May had truly started a family of their own together.  Only a small amount of times had the three of them been referred to as ‘the Higgins family’ and mostly it was the days following Daisy’s birth when Harvey was still too busy and stressed to fully comprehend it.  This was the first time it truly sank in that he, May, and Daisy were a family unit.

It was made even more impactful when Harvey looked up at his second family; his book club.  Penny had said it herself that by now, they were all a family.  Daisy had honorary grandparents in Robin and Demetrius, honorary aunties and uncles in Maru, Penny, Elliott, and Leah.  Soon, she would even have an honorary cousin in Elliott and Leah’s baby.  For too many years, Harvey lived his life alone with barely any friends and certainly no hope of ever being part of a family.  Now, as he held his newborn daughter in his arms and looked upon the group of people he felt closest to, he knew that he’d beaten insurmountable odds.  He found his family at long last.