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Leon had gotten out of a doctor’s appointment about two and a half hours ago and made his way to Grace’s. He would have been at Grace’s much earlier, but he needed to pick up some medication and a few things for Emily at the store.
The last time he’d been with Emily, he’d been asked to babysit her due to a report Grace had been desperate to finish. He had no missions or reports that needed his attention when Grace had called, but he did need to head to the store to get some groceries. Grace was fine with the arrangement, and Leon didn’t mind having Emily in tow.
He understood Grace’s panic, since he’d pulled far too many all-nighters in order to finish reports that his higher-ups nagged him about, and he didn’t mind keeping an eye on Emily. It allowed him to take a break from his normal, overly dangerous life. When she had gotten home, Grace looked like she’d stayed up all night and consumed at least two pots of coffee.
He didn’t leave until Grace had gotten a full eight hours of sleep. One Grace woke up; her bed head was so bad that she looked like she had been struck by lightning. Emily certainly got a good laugh from it.
Chuckling at the memory, Leon glances at the blue bag on the passenger seat and wonders if Emily would like what he’s picked up for her. Grace mentioned that Emily had taken an interest in baking, and when he’d taken Emily to the store, she pointed out some mixes that caught her eye. He had allowed her to choose three cake mixes to take home.
The drive to Grace’s house was smooth and easygoing. A blessing for Leon, since he’s been dealing with some mild nausea as of late. Parking the car, Leon groans as he feels a wave of nausea wash over him. Placing a hand on his stomach, Leon breathes deep until it passes.
“Wonder how long I’ll be able to keep this a secret." Leon hums, “Not ready to let everyone know yet. Still quite early. I want to wait until I’m at least twelve weeks or so.”
Grabbing the bag, Leon exits the car and makes his way up the porch and to the door. He didn’t need to knock as the door flew open and Emily rushed to wrap her tiny arms around him, her face nestling into his belly.
“You were in the car for a while. What’s in the bag?” Emily’s muffled voice sends a soft vibration through his stomach.
“You can find out, once I’m inside.” Leon chuckles, ruffling the girl’s hair.
Leon watched as Emily removed her face from his stomach, but she had not let go of him. He raised a brow as the girl tilted her head to one side, then the other, a curious expression on her face. If Leon had to guess, it was like Emily was trying to figure something out that had her puzzled.
Wait, could she sense the—
“Come on, you two, get inside.”
Leon looks up and finds Grace leaning against the door frame with an amused smile on her face. He lets out a small chuckle as Emily releases her hold and trots inside. He follows moments later, giving Grace a half nod in greeting.
“She’s been asking when you're coming over today.” Grace hums as the front door clicks shut.
“I would have been here earlier, but I had to get some things.” Leon says, “I was given a prescription I needed to pick up.”
“Prescription?”
“Yeah, it seems I’ve got a bit of a— What’s the smell?” Leon covers his nose and mouth with his hand as a strong smell causes immediate nausea.
Both had made their way to the kitchen, and Leon set the bag onto the table when something close to pork or beef being smoked assaulted his nose. He wanted to throw up immediately, but covering his nose and mouth helped.
“One of the neighbors must have started up their smoker,” Grace sighs, walking to one of the kitchen windows and closing it. “I don’t mind smoked meats being cooked, but sometimes what’s being smoked stinks.”
“I can tell,” Leon agrees. He was going to puke, and he wasn’t going to do so in front of Grace. Luckily, Emily wasn’t in the kitchen. He didn’t know she had disappeared, too, but at this moment, he didn’t care.
“I’m heading to the bathroom,” Leon says before dashing to where the restroom is.
He had not noticed Grace raise a brow at him, nor the fact that he had his other hand cradling his stomach.
After emptying the contents of his stomach for the second time that day, Leon flushes the toilet and leans against the sink to allow himself to catch his breath. Turning the cold water on, Leon splashes his face to help calm and clean himself up. Well, it seems the smell of meat being smoked is something that’ll be making him sick throughout his pregnancy.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t be sick throughout his whole pregnancy. It would be a shame, since he loves barbecue and smoked meats.
Thankfully, he had been able to take his jacket off and place it on the counter before throwing up his guts.
“Leon?” Grace’s voice comes from behind the door, “You, ok?”
“Yeah,” He called back, turning the water off. He groans as his stomach settles, “Just a bad stomachache.”
The door creaks open, and Grace steps into the bathroom, “... ‘A bad stomachache’... huh?”
“Yes, a bad stomachache,” Leon lied, “Happens all the time.”
“And, by any chance, did Chris cause this stomachache?”
Leon whipped around and found Grace holding the medication box that he’d picked up earlier. It had taken him a moment to realize that he had left the box in the bag with everything else he’d bought.
“I… un… It’s—”
“This is normally given to individuals who are pregnant and dealing with some bad nausea.” Grace twirls the box between her fingers, “So, is there something you want to tell me?”
Leon felt his neck and face heating up as the shock of the situation settled. How embarrassing for him to forget to take the medication out of the bag before leaving the Porsche. He did not mean for Grace to find the medication, but maybe he could play this off and keep his pregnancy under wraps.
“No lying to me either,” Grace gives the older man a stern look.
Well, shit.
Leon sighs, knowing that he couldn’t spin this. Grace’s an FBI agent; she’d find out if he was lying to her one way or another. Coming clean was easiest.
“So, the doctor's appointment was to figure out why I was having bad nausea and vomiting. Turns out, I’m pregnant.” Leon explained as he found himself staring at a confused Grace, “They think it’s a side effect of every infectious thing I’ve had.”
“So… Un…” Grace seems to take a moment to find her words, “A bun in the oven, then?”
“Yup,”
“How far along?”
“About eight weeks or so,” Leon shrugs, taking the medication box and slipping it into one of his jacket pockets.
“Does anyone else know?” Grace tentatively asks, “Besides the obvious."
“Nope.” Leon responds, “Haven’t told anyone else, let alone Chris. So, keep this on the down low until then, yeah?”
“Un… Y-yeah.” Grace nods, “I can do that.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that— What are you thinking about now?” Leon had seen Grace’s face shift from confused shock to overly giddy in less than a second. He knew she had something going on her mind. He can see the wheels turning.
“N-nothing much… just this isn’t something that happens every day and—”
“Grace, are you planning a baby shower at this moment?”
Leon eyed Grace as the question hung in the air for a few moments before Grace nodded. The older man ran his hand over his face and sighed. He should have known someone was going to be doing baby shower planning.
“You can start planning one, but I’m sure others would love to join once they’ve found out.” Leon hums, “So, keep that under wraps too.”
“Yeah, I can do that.” Grace chirps, clearly giddy over the news she now possesses.
“I think we should get back to the kitchen. I’m sure Emily has dug through the bag by now.”
“Oh, she most certainly has. How do you think I found the medication?” Grace hums as she leaves the bathroom.
Leon gathers his jacket into his arms and follows with a smile on his lips, “Which flavor of cake mix do you think she’ll want to try?”
“Either one of the chocolates or a white mix and try to make a coconut cake from it.” Grace says, “I got a coconut cake that was on clearance from a store, and Emily really liked it.”
Leon hummed in thought, “I wonder how she’ll react to Italian desserts? I used to make several when I had the time.”
“Anything cake or ice cream is her favorite.” Grace informs, “Mix both together, and she’ll be over the moon.”
Leon hums again and files the information away for later. He and Grace made it back to the kitchen to find Emily with the five cake mixes he’d bought laid out in front of her. He can see she’s staring at them with a face of concentration, and couldn’t help but laugh.
“What are you doing?” Leon asks, sliding into the chair across from her.
“Can’t figure out what cake to make out of these.” Emily huffs.
Leon hums as he picks up a box and sees that it’s a white cake mix, “You mean what to add? Sometimes a cake doesn’t have anything added to it after it’s baked.”
“That’s lame.”
Leon chuckles while Grace snorts in the background.
“I’ll admit, I don’t like my cakes bare. You have to add something to it. Frosting is the easiest. But there are other things that can be added.” Leon hums, “Whipped frosting happens to be a favorite of mine.”
Leon isn’t sure how long he and Emily had talked about cakes and other things the girl had interests in, but when he looked out the window and saw the sun had set, he knew he needed to get going.
Emily had trotted off to use the bathroom.
“Well, I lost track of time.” Leon mumbles, starting to get up from the chair.
“You can stay for the night.” Grace offers, “It’s late, and you’re looking tired.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary—”
Leon notices the leveled look Grace gives and is about to protest when she motions to the kitchen window with her head. Turning his attention to the window, Leon sees the smoke and remembers what happened earlier. If the smoker is still going, then he’ll be throwing up before he makes it to the Porsche.
He’ll also be throwing up in the Porsche as well.
“I can stay for the night.” Leon gives Grace a nod of thanks.
“I can order pizza.” Grace says, “There’s a nice pizza place Emily likes. It doesn’t have a delivery service, but I can pick it up.”
“As long as it’s not far,” Leon says, “I haven’t had a good pizza in a while.”
“It’s about ten minutes away.” Grace takes her phone from her pocket, “Any kind you want?”
“Pepperoni or cheese for now. I probably shouldn’t be eating spicy food since well…” Leeon gestures to his stomach.
“Unless that’s what you’re craving.” Grace hums.
“I don’t think I’m far along enough for cravings yet.” Leon chuckles.
“Cravings can start as early as the fifth week of pregnancy. Though you could have them later or not at all.” Grace shakes her head with a laugh as she places an order for three large pizzas.
Leon hums as he lets his mind wander about how his and Chris’ life will change with a little one on the way. He didn’t know what the future would hold, but he had people in his corner, and he knew they would help him without hesitation.
At least he knew his little one would be one of the most protected beings on this earth.