Work Text:
One Week Earlier
Kim rinsed her mouth with water, and brushed her teeth for the sixth time that morning. She had to face reality–this wasn’t the stomach bug she thought she’d caught. Moreover, she hadn't had a period in over a month, and although her cycle wasn’t accurate to the day, she’d never skipped one. Till now. The last time this had happened was… the last time she’d been pregnant. With a deep sigh, she changed out of her sweats so she could walk down to the pharmacy to buy some tests.
Walking down the street in the bitter winter wind, Kim hunkered down in her coat and scarf and thought about how she’d tell Adam if the tests came back positive. Wanting to think ahead, she quickly dialed her OB-GYN and scheduled the earliest possible appointment, which happened to be in three days. At the pharmacy, she bought one of each brand she could find, and a couple more of the one which had the best reviews after a quick Google search. While waiting in line to checkout, she saw wrapping paper and got an idea… a week before Christmas Day. Kim grinned for probably the first time today, imagining the look on Adam’s face when he opened his present.
Present Day
Adam surveyed the kitchen counter with a critical eye to assess the damage. He’d envisioned like a six or seven on a scale of ten, but they’d long surpassed that during the rolling up of the dough. Where they were currently was more like… a twelve. Out of ten. Shit. Kim was going to have his ass unless he did some serious damage control. So while they waited for the timer to go off, he created a cleanup game so Mak would be enticed to play. He wasn’t sure what kind of negotiation tactics they taught her at school though, because the only way he got her to help out was a promise of extra Christmas candy, letting her open two presents first, and ten extra minutes before bedtime tonight. He was really counting on all the sugar rush and excitement high of the day to conk her out long before then so he wouldn’t have to answer Kim’s questions about any of it.
Together they cleaned up the entire mess, and he set the breakfast table, made another pot of coffee and then walked to the tree to make sure his present for Kim was safe and sound. He’d not wanted to risk leaving it anywhere in their room for fear of her finding it, and had figured underneath the tree was probably the safest place. The oven timer chirped at the exact moment Kim reached downstairs, and he rushed to grab the cinnamon rolls out of the oven.
“Mmmmm. Smells delicious,” she hummed in appreciation. He dropped a quick kiss to her head on his way to the oven, and she went to say good morning to their kiddo.
“Merry Christmas, bear! Are you excited?” she asked while giving her a hug. Their first Christmas together had been last year, but it truly felt like a real holiday as a family this year, and it filled Kim with the deepest happiness she’d ever felt. She figured it’s how one felt when they had everything they could ever wish for, and she sent a silent prayer up there to whoever was listening to always keep them safe and together.
“Presents!!!!” is all Mak said, so it was a safe bet she was counting down the minutes until they opened them. Adam finished icing the rolls and plated them, and the three of them went into the living room and settled onto the floor, letting Mak pick out which she’d open first. As wrapping paper went flying across the room, Kim felt a flutter of nerves. She pressed a hand to her belly, trying to calm down. She focused back on her daughter, smiling indulgently at Mak’s excited exclamations. It had been a herculean task to get all her presents wrapped, and she and Adam had had to bribe Kev,Jordan and Vinessa to babysit, but they’d somehow managed.
When it was Kim’s turn to unwrap presents, she teared up at Mak’s gift to her, which was a picture of the three of them from Thanksgiving. She knew Adam had helped her frame it, and she squeezed both of them in a huge hug, knowing it was gonna sit at her work desk from now on. She opened a few more, gasping at delight at Adam’s gifts to her– tickets to see his dad down in Florida, a pair of earrings he’d caught her admiring a few months ago, a candy bouquet that he hoped would last her a few weeks and a few stocking stuffers. Once she’d opened all of them and given him a kiss to say thank you, she let out a nervous breath. Adam’s turn. Before he could reach for the ones scattered around from her and Mak, she stopped him.
“I want you to open this first,” she said shyly. At his confused look, she just pressed a long, flat wrapped box to him and encouraged him to open it.
“What’s this? Why wasn’t it with the others?” he asked, while impatiently ripping off the packaging. It was a nondescript box, giving him zero clue as to its contents. He lifted the lid, and the breath stole out from his lungs. He stared at it for what seemed like hours before looking up at her face.
“Is this… is it…,” he couldn’t get the words out. She nodded, pursing her lips so as to not cry. But her eyes had welled up at the look on his face, seeing the disbelief and shock melt into elation.
“Baby…,” he whispered.
“I know,” she whispered back. He suddenly stood up, too excited to sit still.
“I’m gonna be a dad?!” he exclaimed. She laughed and nodded, the tears spilling from her eyes. He bent down and pulled her up before wrapping his arms around her, burying his face in her neck and twirling them around. Their hearts were beating a wild beat, in sync with each other. He brought her back down and bent reverently to her belly. He stroked it lovingly, whispering sweet words that she couldn’t make out.
She turned down to look at Mak, who’d gone very silent in the last few minutes. Kim bent down to fish out the hidden present, the last surprise for the day, and presented it to her daughter.
“For you, bear. Open it!” she urged her. Not needing to be told twice, Mak tore open the gift-wrapping in seconds, pulling out a t-shirt. She held it up, reading it carefully before looking up excitedly at her parents.
“Big sister?” she asked.
“Yes honey, you’re going to be a big sister!” Kim exclaimed. Mak had been asking for a sibling for months now, always asking them why it would take so long to get one. With all the trouble they’d had while conceiving, there were days when Kim would wonder the same. But she’d finally gotten her wish. She looked at her little family, in their matching Christmas pjs, and thought how next year there’d be a little baby in their midst. While it would be incredibly difficult, she knew her growing family was what made her happy, and to have Adam by her side, doing life with her… she truly couldn’t ask for anything more. The man in question squeezed her in his arms again, pressing kisses to her hair.
“Thank you for giving me the best present ever,” he whispered, rubbing her belly… their baby, gently. Her heart burst with joy, and soon Mak came bounding over, putting her ear to Kim’s stomach to see if she could hear anything, and Kim thought how this was quite literally the best Christmas she could ever remember having.