ESTES METHOD | chris x pregnant!reader
| 𐙚 SUMMARY: You've always watched the paranormal from a distance, but tonight, you're part of it. When the Estes Method points to something you don't understand, the truth only comes into focus after the footage is replayed, a quiet word everyone almost misses, and a test that changes everything.
| 𐙚 WARNINGS: Mentions of pregnancy, emotional intensity, mild paranormal themes
| 𐙚 A/N: This is my first time writing a one-shot on Tumblr, and I'm so excited! Let me know if any warnings or anything else are missing. Not to mention, English is not my first language...
You’d known about Sam and Colby’s videos long before you met Chris, and now, after dating him for months, you found yourself standing in a haunted hotel with him, heart racing in a way that wasn’t entirely fear.
Three haunted hotels. Las Vegas. Cameras on.
By the time you reached the Luxor, exhaustion sat heavy in your bones. The massive pyramid rose into the night sky, its black glass reflecting the city lights in a way that felt less impressive and more ominous. A dull ache lingered low in your body, nothing sharp, just persistent enough to notice. You blamed the long night, the adrenaline, the unfamiliar weight of being on camera for hours.
Chris noticed anyway. “You’ve been quiet,” he said softly as you stood outside the entrance. “I’m okay,” you replied automatically, even managing a small smile.
He studied your face for a moment longer, then leaned in to press a quick kiss to your temple, letting it go without pushing.
Inside the Luxor, the mood shifted instantly.
The air felt heavier, thicker, as if the building itself was holding its breath. Every sound echoed just a little too long. Every hallway felt like it stretched farther than it should. Sam’s voice lowered naturally as he explained the plan, even before he meant to.
You were doing the Estes Method.
Nick would be there with you. Sam would guide the questions. Chris, Matt, and Colby would head upstairs to investigate the suite, separate locations, separate audio, no way of hearing what was being asked or what was being answered.
Chris hesitated when the blindfold came out. “You sure?” he asked quietly, his thumb brushing once over your knuckles. You nodded, even as your pulse picked up. “I trust them.”
He exhaled slowly. “I trust you. If anything feels off, you stop.”
That was the last clear thing you heard from him.
The blindfold slipped over your eyes. The headphones settled over your ears.
It swallowed everything. Loud, relentless, disorienting. You focused on breathing, on sitting still, on reminding yourself that you were safe, that this was controlled.
Then, cutting through the noise, “…hello.” Your breath hitched.
Sam straightened. “Hello? Is someone here with us?”
“Yes.”
Nick glanced at Sam. “Are you male or female?”
“Female.”
“Are you alone?” Sam asked.
“No.”
Nick frowned. “Who else is here?”
“She is.”
Sam’s pulse quickened. “Who is ‘she’?”
Your head tilted slightly. “The one you brought.”
Nick blinked. “Brought where?”
“Here.”
Sam steadied himself. “Are you connected to this hotel?”
“Yes.”
“Are you the Blonde Lady?” Nick asked.
There was a pause, long enough to make your chest tighten. “No.”
“She’s nearby,” you said calmly.
Nick’s eyes flicked down the hallway. “Nearby how?”
“Watching.”
Sam hesitated. “Why are you talking to us?”
“Because you’re listening.”
The static wavered, rising and falling like breath.
“Is something wrong here?” Sam asked.
“Yes.”
“With the hotel?” Nick clarified.
“No.”
“With us?”
A pause. “With her.”
Sam frowned. “What about her?”
“Doesn’t feel right.”
Nick tried carefully. “Is she hurt?”
“No.”
“Then what’s wrong?” Nick pressed.
“Doesn’t know yet.”
Sam’s voice lowered. “Know what?”
The static crackled, then settled. “Pregnant.”
The hallway went quiet. Sam froze. “Pregnant?”
Nick blinked. “Are you saying someone here is pregnant?”
“Yes.”
Sam swallowed. “Who?”
The answer didn’t come immediately.
“She’s confused,” you said.
Nick’s voice softened. “Is the baby safe?”
“Yes.”
“And the mother?” Sam asked.
“Yes.”
“Why tell us this?” Nick asked quietly.
“It’s happening.”
The static surged violently, overwhelming everything else, making you jump.
“That’s enough,” Sam said firmly. “We’re stopping.”
The blindfold came off. The headphones were pulled away.
Reality rushed back in too fast, too bright, too loud. Your head buzzed as fragments of words replayed without context.
Pregnant. She doesn’t know yet. Safe.
None of it made sense.
When everyone regrouped later in the hotel room, the energy felt different, quieter, more thoughtful. Chris dropped onto the couch beside you, arm resting comfortably around your shoulders.
“You okay?” he asked softly.
“I think so,” you replied, though uncertainty lingered.
They compared footage. Chris, Matt and Colby talked about their conversations, strange sounds, the constant feeling of being watched. Sam and Nick explained the Estes session, pulling up the footage and replaying it slowly.
“At first it didn’t feel personal,” Sam said, scrubbing a hand over his face. “But the more we rewatch it…”
Nick nodded. “It kept coming back to her. Not the hotel. Not the Blonde Lady.”
Chris frowned. “Her, meaning…?”
Sam gestured vaguely toward you. “We think.”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” you said quietly. “I didn’t even know what I was saying.”
“Yeah, but that’s the thing,” Nick replied. “You weren’t guessing. You were responding.”
They let the footage play again. Static. Questions. Your voice, calm and distant.
Then Sam paused it. “Hold on.”
He rewound a few seconds and turned the volume up.
Buried beneath the static, almost lost, “…Chris.”
The room went silent.
Nick leaned closer. “How did we miss that?”
“Because it’s barely audible,” Sam said slowly. “And because we weren’t listening for it.”
Matt spoke carefully. “So the pregnancy thing wasn’t symbolic.”
Colby nodded. “It was present tense.”
Chris hadn’t said anything. He just looked at you, something unreadable crossing his face.
“When was the last time you took a test?” he asked quietly.
You opened your mouth... and stopped.
Sam’s voice softened. “Hey. No pressure. It could be nothing.”
Nick nodded. “But if it’s something, it’s better to know, there is a store across the street.”
There was a long pause before you nodded. “Okay, we can do a test.”
The walk to the store felt unreal, like the city had shifted slightly off its axis.
Las Vegas buzzed around you. Cars passing, lights flashing, laughter spilling from open doors, but it all felt distant, muffled, as if you were moving through it underwater. No one cracked a joke. No one reached for a camera. Even Colby, who usually couldn’t resist narrating the moment, stayed quiet. It felt unspoken but unanimous: this wasn’t content. This was real.
Chris never let go of your hand.
His thumb traced slow, grounding circles into your skin, steady and constant, like he was anchoring you to the present, reminding you that whatever waited at the end of this walk, you wouldn’t be facing it alone. Every few steps, he glanced at you, searching your face for something, panic, certainty, fear. You weren’t sure what you were giving him in return. Probably all of it at once.
Back in the hotel room, everything happened at once and not at all.
Someone shut the door. Someone else turned on the bathroom light. The space felt suddenly too small, packed with bodies and held breath, yet no one suggested leaving. It felt instinctive to stay together, like separating would break something fragile.
The camera was set on the counter almost out of habit, then promptly forgotten.
You leaned against the sink, staring at the box in your hands. The instructions felt impossibly detailed for something that promised such a simple answer. You read them once. Then again. Then a third time, just to give your hands something to do, something to focus on other than the way your heart was pounding.
Chris stood directly behind you, close enough that you could feel his breath at your shoulder.
His hands rested at your waist, not tight, not possessive, just there. Solid. Present. Every now and then, his fingers flexed slightly, like he was grounding himself as much as he was grounding you.
“You ready?” he asked quietly, only for you.
You nodded, though your stomach twisted.
The minutes that followed stretched thin.
Too thin.
No one spoke. Sam leaned against the wall, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the counter. Nick stood unnaturally still, jaw tight. Matt hovered near the door, like he was ready to step out if you needed space but unwilling to leave first. Colby watched you, expression soft and careful, like he didn’t want to blink and miss something important.
The silence wasn’t awkward. It was reverent.
When you finally looked down, the world seemed to narrow to the small white stick in your hands.
Your breath caught.
You stared at it, mind refusing to catch up with what your eyes were seeing. For a split second, you wondered if you were imagining it, if the exhaustion and adrenaline had finally blurred reality.
Then you turned around and handed it to Chris.
He looked once.
Then again.
His breath left him in a quiet, disbelieving laugh, something breaking open in his chest as his eyes lifted to meet yours, bright, overwhelmed, unmistakably full.
Two lines.
Sam sucked in a sharp breath. Nick covered his mouth, eyes glassy. Matt smiled softly, like he’d just been handed something sacred. Colby whispered, almost to himself, “Oh my god.”
Chris didn’t say anything at first.
He just pulled you into his chest, arms wrapping around you like he was afraid the moment might slip away if he didn’t hold it tight enough. You felt his heartbeat, fast, strong, real, against your cheek.
“Hey,” he murmured, voice thick with emotion. “We’ve got this. Okay? We’ve got this.”
The words settled into you slowly, easing something you hadn’t realized you were holding.
The bathroom felt warmer. Brighter. Like the air itself had softened.
And for the first time that night, the Luxor didn’t feel haunted.
It felt like the universe had been whispering the truth all along, waiting patiently for you to be ready to hear it.
dividers by: @digilatte
