Chapter Text
Fran was not known in her family for being very nurturing. She was not as bad as Eloise in that she would hold a baby if needed, but she didn’t have a baby doll that she carried everywhere. There was no cooing over her nieces and nephews. She was feminine but not in a maternal way, more of an ethereal fairy way.
Yet, Fran wanted to be a mother abstractly. She knew that once she started thinking about her adult life. She knew she wanted to be a mother with Michaela after their third date. Michaela, who was also not textbook maternal and was feminine in a femme fatale way, was so caring and loving that Fran could imagine her with their children.
It had been a long road to this moment, a lot of tears and false positives, and a loss that they were still working through, but the pain was worth it.
“And there they are, ladies.” The ultrasound tech smiled at them. Michaela was looking at the screen in awe before looking at her stomach and back. “Well.” She looked up at Fran’s admittedly wet face.
Fran sniffed.
“Baby.” Michaela chuckled as she wiped Fran’s face.
“Thank you,” Fran whispered.
“Of course.” Michaela pulled her into a hug, and Fran fought a sob. Michaela was pregnant. She was…
Fran was going to be a mother.
“I’m going to print you two some pictures.” The tech stepped out of the room to give them some privacy.
“Oh, love,” Michaela whispered. She kissed Fran’s face. Fran saw a sheen of tears in her eyes. “We’re doing this.”
Fran nodded. “We are.”
Fran caressed her stomach, not even upset at the gel on her fingers. A baby.
They were having a baby.
Something had flipped in Fran. She couldn't stop touching Michaela’s stomach.
“I’m reading.” Her wife looked at her over her glasses with a very no-nonsense glance. Fran stayed glued to her side, cupping the tiny bump. “Fran?”
Fran kissed her stomach. “I love you both so much.”
“We love you too,” Michaela murmured.
“I can’t believe this.”
“It’s real now. We’re out of the first trimester. Do you want to tell your family soon? We need to make a list. Do we want to know the sex?” Michaela shut her book and dug in her nightstand for something.
Fran watched her very Type B wife suddenly get serious. “Michaela?”
“Fran, we are having a baby. We are not ready.”
“We will be.”
Michaela nodded, writing down her thoughts.
“Hey.” Michaela looked up. “I love you.”
She got a smile back. “I love you.”
“And I promise to be here for whatever you need. We can do this.”
“We can.”
“A baby.” Fran quietly squealed.
Michaela laughed. “A baby.”
“I know who to tell second.”
“Who’s first?”
“Helen.”
Michaela beamed.
“A baby?” John grinned.
Michaela nodded and accepted John’s bear hug with a happy laugh.
“A BABY,” John yelled. He gently shook Michaela and kissed the top of her head. “We’re having a baby!”
Fran had never seen John this excited and couldn’t help but be confused, yet delighted. John finally let Michaela go and pulled Fran into an equally tight hug.
“So…who else have you told?”
“Besides, Mama? Just you.”
John pressed his hand to his heart. “Me?”
“Uncle John.” Michaela pulled a onesie out of her bag. It read My Uncle is the coolest. John looked teary.
“Micki,” John whispered. “You’re going to be a mum.”
“I know.” Michaela quietly laughed. “Godfather?”
“Of course.” John squeezed Michaela’s hand. He looked at Fran. “Who’s the other godparent?”
“Eloise. She should be here…”
“Now.” Michaela pointed behind her.
“Hey.” Eloise looked at them in confusion. “What’s up?”
Fran had planned an elaborate speech for this moment. She wanted Eloise to know how much she cherished her as an older sister. How El had helped Fran become the person she is today, and how she hoped she would do the same for her child. That all flew out the window.
“Michaela’s pregnant.” Fran blurted out.
Eloise’s eyes widened before she blinked in shock and smiled. “What?”
“Surprise!” Michaela trilled out.
“Holy shit. Congrats, you two.” Eloise pulled Fran into a hug that was very similar to John’s. She left Fran to squeeze Michaela.
“El, we wanted you to be Godmum,” Fran said.
Eloise looked at John. “Godfather?”
“Of course,” John said like Marlon Brando.
“A thousand times yes,” Eloise said.
Fran grinned.
Fran watched her mother, confusedly unwrapping the gift she had given her. Michaela was on the phone with her own mother, talking about her current morning sickness that was taking over her whole day.
Mum pulled out the photo frame. She gasped. “You’re…?”
“Michaela,” Fran whispered.
Mum smiled. “Congratulations, darling.”
“Thank you.”
Mum sighed in delight. “Well, I know where I am putting this.” Mum went to the mantle and made a space next to their wedding photo and put the ultrasound next to it. “I can’t wait to update it.”
Fran grinned. She couldn’t either.
Family dinner went smoothly. Mum respected their desire not to tell the entire family just yet. Fran planned on calling everyone tomorrow, but today, she just wanted to bask in the knowledge of the little gift that she had with her wife.
“What’s this?” Hy held up the picture.
Fran should have known. Michaela looked at her. Fran nodded and cleared her throat.
“You?” Daphne asked.
“Me,” Michaela replied.
Fran winced at the level of cheering and hugging that she was immediately swamped in. She hadn’t even seen them move. What the hell?
“Congrats,” Cress whispered. She didn’t look surprised.
Fran smiled. “Eloise told you.”
Cress nodded. “Sorry.”
Fran shook her head. “Michaela was going to tell you tonight.”
“I figured.” Cress took a strange step back. Fran wanted to ask about it before she was pulled into a group bear hug by Anthony, Ben, and Colin.
“Frannie. We have so much advice for you.” Colin said.
“Oh…that’s okay.” Fran appreciated that, but right now, she just wanted to be happy.
“A pregnant wife is an experience that one should seek advice about,” Anthony said.
Fran was sure she would love advice…later. “I just want to enjoy this right now.”
“Is she nesting?” Ben asked.
“No?”
“It’s a bit early,” Colin said.
“Kay seems like an early nester,” Ben said.
Fran decided to ignore her brothers. “Thanks, guys. I’ll call you when she starts.”
“Good. We’re here for you.” Anthony said.
Fran nodded and wiggled away to save Michaela from the graphic talk about childbirth that she was being subjected to.
“We’re going to head home.”
“Good. Take your wife home to rest, Fran.” Daphne glared at her.
Fran took a step to hide behind her wife. She looked at Michaela. “Are you tired?”
“No?” Michaela shook her head. “Bye, all.”
A chorus of goodbyes hit their ears as they left for the car.
Fran opened the passenger door for Michaela.
“Oh no.” Michaela groaned.
“What?”
“I can get myself in the car.”
“I know that.”
Michaela kissed her and then slid into her seat. Fran walked around and got in the car to drive them home.
“Love?”
“Yes?” Fran said as she pulled out of her spot.
“Promise me that you will not get overbearing about this.”
“You’re pregnant.”
“And I don’t want you to treat me like I’m made of glass just yet.”
Fran nodded. “I promise.”
“Thank you.” Michaela kissed her hand.
Fran’s blissful ignorance lasted a week.
She got a week of just being excited that her beautiful wife was having her baby. Fran wanted to shout to the world how much she loved Michaela. Michaela, who finally started feeling better after chewing ginger candies and stopping all dairy.
Michaela, who was glowing more than usual.
Michaela, who walked into the house with several bags of shopping that Eloise was carrying for her?
“Hi?” Fran looked at her wife and then her sister.
“Hello, my love.” Michaela leaned over to kiss Fran deeply. Fran moaned into the kiss before Michaela pulled back. “I picked up a few things for Baby.”
Fran nodded and stared at the bags. That was more than a few things. “With Eloise?”
“I was coming by. I ran into her on the way in.” Eloise answered.
“I promised I’d facetime Mama and Aunt Janet about the goodies. Then a fashion show for you.” Michaela winked before taking the bags to the bedroom.
Fran stared at her wife. Michaela was not a shopper. She didn’t hate it, but she didn’t linger. She went to the store, got what she needed, and left. Was this nesting?
Did Fran need to call a brother?
“Frannie,” Eloise whispered.
Fran blinked and got herself together. Eloise was sitting next to her, knee bouncing.
“What’s wrong?”
“I asked Cress to marry me.”
Fran grinned. “Oh?”
“She said no.”
“Oh.”
“Well, not no, just not now? I don’t know what to do.”
Fran didn’t know what to do here either. Again, did she need to call a brother?
“Did you ask her why? Maybe ask Michaela?”
“I don’t want to bother Michaela. She’s nesting.”
“She is?” Fran whispered.
Eloise gave her an incredulous look. “Francesca.”
“This is the first sign she’s giving me.”
“Oh.” Eloise swallowed. “Shit.”
Fran nodded.
“Well, can you help me propose between the nesting?”
“No?”
“You’re the only person I trust with this. Besides Pen, who is helping but…”
Fran nodded, then sighed. “I’ll try.”
“Thank you.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Find out why Cress wouldn’t want to get married.”
Fran nodded. She can do that. That shouldn’t be so hard.
“Thank you,” Eloise whispered and pulled Fran into a hug. Fran squeezed her back.
A sniffle broke them apart.
Fran looked back to see her crying wife. “Michaela?”
“Sorry. You two just looked so sweet, and Mama showed me some baby stuff she saved, and I feel very emotional.” Michaela almost looked disgusted with herself.
Eloise stifled a laugh as she got up. “See you later, Kay.”
“Bye, El,” Michaela said in a teary voice.
Fran stood and opened her arms. Her wife flew into her arms, crying on her shoulder. She waved goodbye to her sister, who shut the door behind her.
“Baby.” Fran chuckled.
“I can’t believe I’m crying over this.”
“Me either.”
“Mama said she was so weepy when she was pregnant with me. So we have that to look forward to.” Michaela did not look excited.
Fran just rubbed her wife’s back. She was going to need to call a brother.