#falling series

The kid’s version of a black Jordan and the styled curly hair made Lewis smile, that boy appeared to be around five but was already starring a fashion sense that a few older people hadn’t.

“Leo, you’ll give me a heart attack one of these days. You can’t go out running like this, honey,” your voice carried a serious but sweet tone simultaneously. 

Lewis’ eyes found you standing a few feet away, curly hair clipped away from your face by a few strands, a pencil skirt, and a cream blouse. The folder and books in your arms gave him a hint of what you were doing there, and his silent guess turned out to be true when Wendy turned with a toothless grin and introduced you: “This is Miss Yn, our new teacher!” She took a step to stand beside you looking up with a beaming face that reflected yours. “And this is Leonard, her son, my new classmate. They’re new here, can we introduce the city to them like we did with Jackie and Uncle Toto? Also, can we have playdates later? Can we go to the park? Can we–”

****

“Mamma, I don’t wanna eat,” Leo held his hands behind his back giving you his best puppy eyes and you chuckled. 

“How about you try a few bites and then go play with Dee, huh?” 

“Yeah, champ, you gotta make your body strong so you can run as fast as you can,”  Lewis tried, already cutting a sandwich in half for Wendy. “Have you ever tried vegan sandwiches?” He asked and Leo shook his head.

“I don’t like lettuce, mamma does though,” he shared, pointing his small finger at you.

“What do you mean you don’t like lettuce? Lettuce is exactly what makes us run even faster, it gives us tons of energy!” 

“It does?” the curly-haired boy asked, hands now on the side of his body and curious eyes watching the food in Lewis’ hands. 

“Yeah, I eat it all the time so I can drive my car in endless circles.”

You smiled watching the interaction. 

“How about you have a bite? You don’t have to eat it all, just a bite. But I bet you will want to finish it. This one has so many things that make us bigger and stronger.”

“Strong like you?” his big brown eyes now looking at Lewis’ biceps, and you chuckled at your kid's face when the driver curled his arms and flexed his muscles. 

“Yeah, strong just like me!” 

****

“They truly made a bond in a short time, huh?” You commented.

“Guess we’ll be seeing each other a lot more often,” Lewis bumped your shoulder with his and you smiled. You wouldn’t lie that the prospect of interacting with him more than you did the last week wasn’t a bad thing at all.

“I’m not opposed to that.” 

“Neither am I.” 

────── ⋆🪩 VOICEMAIL: Hi! I hope you guys liked this lil sneak peek! Make sure to like and reblog if you did *mwah* and PLEASE, LET’S INDULGE IN THIS UNIVERSEEEE BECAUSE I'M ALMOST SURE THIS WILL BECOME A SERIES OF SOME SORT. I sorted a few ideas for "chapters" yet, but I won't be following the chapters format, but rather taking asks requests about them and publishing the blurbs and pieces <3

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She had a nasty stomach bug, courtesy of little Augie Basset. Simon had been really sick and Daphne called Kate desperately, begging her soon-to-be sister-in-law to watch the baby as she took her husband to the A&E. The younger woman was aware that Kate was home from the gallery and she knew Kate wanted to rest and see some details about her upcoming wedding. Daph would never bother Kate on her free day if there was another option but her mother was also down with something and Augie's usual sitter was out of the country on holiday. It was down to her or Eloise by this point. 

Kate really didn't mind. She loved her soon-to-be nibbling and Augie was a delightful little thing. At 10 months old, he was trying to stand on his feet and he was starting to try and form words. She secretly rejoiced the chance to have some one-on-one time to try and get the boy to say something similar to "Auntie Katie" before he said "Uncle Ant". She was already at a disadvantage since her fiancé's name was already much easier for a baby to babble than hers. She needed all the time she could get.

Newton was always excited when Augie was around. The first time she took him to Violet's for family brunch after Augie had been born, Kate was a bit scared the dog and the baby might not mingle well. Newton could be rough when he was excited and the puppy could feel left out with much of the attention on the new baby. 

Turns out her worries were for nothing. Newton had wiggled his little chubby butt all the way to where the four-month-old was resting in his carrier. Kate held on tight to the leash, in case her dog did something that might hurt Auggie and Simon was standing close as he told her to let him take a sniff. And so Newton did. He smelled the baby curiously for a few moments before realising it was friendly and giving it a nice sloppy lick to the head, to little Augie's delight. And that had been that. 

Unfortunately, Augie was fussy the entire afternoon. He cried whenever Kate tried to set him down, clinging to her T-shirt with little chubby fingers, and he hadn't taken much of the bottle she had tried to feed him. Her sister-in-law had informed Kate he had been sickly the past week but he had been to his paediatrician and was slowly getting better, so Kate hadn't been much phased. 

Anthony had come home that day to find his fiancée on the couch with his nephew cuddling into her chest, both of them as asleep as it would get, Newton had wiggled himself at the crook of her arm, his snout pressed against the baby's side as he wagged his tail to Anthony. 

In the end, Simon had a stomach bug, Daphne had thanked her profusely for watching Augie all afternoon and Anthony had sent a photo of Kate, Augie and Newton to the family group chat with the caption 'Who's babysitting who?', which had prompted a long discussion on how clearly the corgi was the one true nanny in the pic. It had been a lovely afternoon.

A few days later, Kate woke up with a sore body, a dry mouth and nausea rolling over her in waves. She bolted from bed, the world threatening to collapse under her wobbly legs, and emptied the meagre content of her stomach into the toilet, Anthony following behind her with a worried frown already twisting his face. 

Apparently, the stomach bug Augie Basset had passed to his father and grandmother and had gotten Kate too. She and all of the inhabitants of Bridgerton House but Hyacinth, although Anthony assured her his baby sister almost never got sick at all. She hadn't gotten chickenpox the summer three of her siblings had it and she was the only member of the family who had never been down with the flu. Apparently, the only health-related issues Hyacinth Bridgerton was capable of having were self-inflicted ones, such as a broken arm and some stitches to the head. 

According to Violet, Eloise had taken control of the upstairs bathroom, Greg was curled into a ball under his comforter with stomach cramps, and Frannie was running a temperature and couldn't keep any food down. Hyacinth had already called her big brother to take her out to eat because she couldn't stand living off chicken soup and crackers anymore and Violed did not allow the 10-year-old to run the cooker without adult supervision, and no one close to adulthood was in any condition of doing so. 

Kate could relate. The idea of a nice meal that wasn't clear broth or toast seemed wonderful in her head, although her stomach protested at the thought. She'd taken some sick days, to Benedict's most utter delight. But she'd only done it because apparently whatever Augie gave her spread pretty easily and she couldn't risk contaminating other people but Anthony's brother would not hear of it. 

"First, the two of you are using all your holiday leave and now Kate's even taking sick days!" He had laughed through the call. "Love really can perform miracles, I guess." 

The day Benedict discovered Kate and Anthony were planning to travel abroad for their honeymoon, he'd stared at her as if they'd told him they had decided to quit their jobs and move to Antarctica. 

"What?" She asked with a raised eyebrow as Ben stared open-mouthed. 

"I'm sorry, did you just say you talked to Mr Griphins about using your holiday leave after the wedding?" 

"I'm going on my honeymoon." She scoffed, turning back to the planner in front of her. "We're going to travel." 

"Willingly?!" Kate blinked at her future brother-in-law as if he had gone crazy. "Both you and Anthony are willingly using all your holiday leave?"

"I'm not that bad!" 

"When was the last time you took a holiday?" Ben interrupted before she could reply. "That wasn't either mandatory or an emergency?" Suddenly, her shoes became quite interesting and Benedict couldn't even decipher what was her reply. "Come again?" 

"I haven't, alright?!" She rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "But we are going. We're taking a tour around Italy, all the way from Piemonte to Sicily. We're going skiing and wine-tasting and seeing beautiful art and eating great food." 

"That sounds fishy. Does Anthony know that?"

"He suggested it." 

"He what?!"

Kate's boss had also been shocked when he got a call from her saying she needed to use up some of her sick days. Was everything okay? Was she in the hospital? Did someone die? 

Kate might be a bit too hard on herself, but she refused to be a health hazard. So she stayed curled in bed, feeling her body begin building up a temperature but too tired and aching to actually get up and check. Her stomach was in knots and only taking toast with a little smear of marmalade and a very softened version of Mary's Chicken noodles soup. 

Anthony had worked from home the first day Kate came down with her stomach bug and he had tried to take some days off to take care of her, but his fiancée had categorically refused. There was very little he'd be able to do from home. The doctors had told both Simon and Violet during their visits to the A&E that it was viral and the way to treat it was to rest, have plenty of fluids, some rest, some vitamin C, and rest and try to eat as much as you could and rest. Did she mention rest? Because her body seemed like it had been run over by a truck and she was exhausted. 

There was no logical reason for Anthony to miss work. She'd probably just sleep all day long, getting up to go to the loo before rushing back to the comfort of the bed and the less contact between them, the better, before Anthony ended up sick himself. Kate had promised she'd call him in case there was anything wrong, which they both knew she wouldn't do unless she was actually really close to dying. 

So Anthony had gone to work after forcing her to take the vitamin tablet and leaving a big bottle of Pedialyte on the nightstand, telling her that bottle better be empty when he called to check on her around lunchtime and that she was supposed to check in as often as she could. Behind her back, he had scheduled with Mary to come to the flat to make sure Kate was alive and breathing, refill her water and try to get her to eat. Maybe it was vengeance from when she had forced him to call a family member after their disastrous first date. 

He would pay for that. Not right at that moment, but when she had enough energy to get out of bed, she'd definitely make him pay.

The first few days went by in a blur of exhausted sleep, constant trips to the toilet and stomach pain, but by the 6th day, things were slowly but surely starting to come back to normal. 

Despite this, she was still barely keeping anything down and she was still tired, sometimes dizzy, but she could spend more time awake and walk around the house without feeling like she'd walked all the way to India and back when she reached the sofa. 

And that's how she found herself alongside Anthony as he took Newton for a short walk on a Saturday morning. Her fiancé, as overprotective as always, had tried to talk her into staying home. 

"I need fresh air, Anthony!" She complained, groaning as she leaned down to fit her trainers into her feet. "I've been cooped up here all week, I'm losing my mind! I want to see the sky." 

"The sky is as cloudy and grey as always, you can see it from the window." Anthony scoffed. "And we live in London, there's no such thing as fresh air." 

Still, Kate was bundled up in her jacket next to him as they strolled down the sideway, her hand tugged into his arm, Newton's leash around his hand, the chubby little pup wiggling his butt as he stopped to sniff every single plant and lamppost he found. 

"I'm going back to work on Monday." She told him decisively. 

"Are you sure you're well enough for that?" He asked, his face twisted in concern. Kate knew Anthony worried about her just as much as she worried about him. They were both workaholics who tended to ignore their own bodies' needs and demands until they actively broke down, too sick to actually keep going. And because she knew that, she knew her fiancé was just as bad as she was when sick. "You need to rest."

"You wanted to work three days after getting your appendix removed, Anthony." She rolled her eyes at him. "You're the last person who can lecture me on this."

"You're still barely being able to keep anything down." Anthony continued as if she hadn't said anything. "And don't think I don't know you're still feeling some pain in your stomach."

"I'm much better now." 

"You've been living on toast and marmalade for a week." He raised his eyebrow, offering his fiancée a pointed look. 

"That's not true." She scoffed. "I managed to eat strawberry jam instead of marmalade yesterday and I didn't throw up." 

"Oh, alright, now you're so much better!" He rolled his eyes, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I don't know why I was worried at all." 

"I'll be fine, okay?" She pulled herself closer to his side, enjoying the way he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I'm already feeling much better." It wasn't a straight-out lie, she did feel better. The much more part was a big exaggeration, though, and she knew her fiancé could see it as well. 

 "I'm just worried about you," Anthony said, kissing the top of her head gently. "I can't stand the thought of anything happening to you."

"Nothing's going to happen to me, you silly man." Kate laughed as she kissed his cheek and pulled away, bending down to help Newton, who had managed to tangle his lead on his little legs in his excitement to chase after some pigeons. "You're not getting rid of us that easily, Mr Bridgerton. We're here to stay, isn't that right, Newty?" The corgi barked at the sound of his name as if agreeing to what his owner said. 

"Good, I put that ring on your finger for a reason." Anthony extended his hand and Kate took it, letting him pull her to her feet. 

Nope, big mistake, Kate thought as the edges of her vision faded. She rose way too quickly and her vision turned even darker the moment she was standing on her own two feet. She clutched at Anthony, who, by the look on his face, had noticed something was wrong. 

"Kate?" His voice sounded way too far away from her ears as she tried to blink back the spots that were swarming her sight. "Kate!”

And then everything went black.

Kate came back to herself slowly, dizzy and a little nauseous, with a throbbing pain burning against her temple. She was laying on the hard, cobblestone floor of the park. The flaps of her coat, which had been previously quite snug across her chest, were zipped open, making Kate shiver with the wind. Newton was next to her face, sniffing at her and licking the skin of her cheek.

"Stop..." Her voice was weak as she tried to move her hand to push the dog away from her only to find out that her wrist was securely in her fiancé's hand as he murmured something she couldn't really understand under his breath. Her poor, stressed-out fiancé looked like he was very close to having a panic attack. His eyes were wide, and all blood seemed to have left his face. Kate could feel the way his hands were shaking as he tried to feel her pulse. "Anthony..."

"Kate! Kate, are you listening to me?" He came closer to her face, his hands feeling her cheeks. "Kate, please..."

"Newton's licking me." She whined in a weak tone, closing her eyes again. Her head just hurt so bad. But, at least, the dog’s attention stopped. "What happened?" 

"You fainted." He told her sternly, the words hitching with fear. "You were fine one moment and the next you went pale and the next thing I knew you collapsed against me." Kate tried to move, to push her body upwards towards a sitting position but Anthony just pushed her shoulders right back. "Stay down." 

"M'fine." She grumbled but laid her head back on the concrete anyway, licking her dry lips.

"Yeah, sorry for not believing that at the moment since you said that and then you fainted right after." Anthony scoffed, reaching for his phone. "You're going to lay there until I get the ambulance here." 

"No, Anthony!" She reached for the phone in his shaking hands with sluggish moves and clammy fingers. "No ambulance."

"Will you just stay down, please?" His tone was at least an octave higher as he held her down. "You fainted, I'm pretty sure that calls for an ambulance." 

"My blood pressure just dropped." Kate closed her eyes, breathing deeply, feeling the dizziness slowly start to ebb away. "No need for an ambulance for that." Kate opened her eyes to see him still with the phone in his hand. "Oh, for God's sake, Anthony. I'll let you take me to the hospital, just put that phone away!" 

"You'll go without complaint?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow, his thumb hovering over the call button. "You're not going to get home and tell me you're fine and refuse to go?" 

 "I promise." Anthony studied her face for a moment, trying to see if she was being honest, and seemed satisfied with what he saw there. His hand drew back from the button, locking his phone and shoving it back into the front pocket of his trousers. "Can I sit up now?" 

"No, staying lying down just a bit longer." 

Anthony didn't even allow her to go up their flat when they returned from the park, his arm placed carefully around her for support in case she were to feel dizzy again. He just unlocked the car and told her to wait inside while he dropped Newton upstairs and picked up her bag and some water for her parched mouth. 

The A&E was as loud and busy as ever, but it did not take that long for them to be sitting in front of an older man with greying hair and heavy-rimmed speckles resting on his nose.  

"How can I help you today, Miss..." He looked at the computer screen on his table. "Sharma?" 

"I have a stomach bug." She told the doctor with a humourless smile. The man just raised an eyebrow at her. "I've been having some symptoms for about a week and..."

"She fainted in the park." Anthony interrupted her, making her roll her eyes, the doctor looking between the two of them. 

"I was getting to that, thank you, Anthony." She huffed. "My blood pressure dropped when I got up too fast. But my fiancé is worried, so now we're here."

"Alright..." The man blinked, his gaze flickering between the two of them for a moment before clearing his throat. "You said your symptoms began last week?"  

"About Monday, yes." Kate nodded. "I was babysitting our nephew on Friday and he had a stomach bug, passed it around for half the family." 

"Yes, kids are usually the best vectors for these things." He typed something down before looking back at her. "And apart from dizziness, any other symptoms?" 

"I mean, just the usual. Some stomachache, my body hurts and I've been really tired. And the nausea, I've thrown up a bit." Anthony scoffed and Kate glared at him. "Would you like to do my medical consultation for me, Anthony?" 

"She hasn't been able to keep anything other than toast for a week." He told the doctor, who went back to his typing. 

"And chicken noodle soup," Kate added, but the doctor didn't exactly look impressed at that. 

"And you fainted." 

"Yes."

"Was it a strong dizziness or did you lose consciousness?" 

"I... um... I blacked out for a bit, yes." The doctor wrote some more into his computer. 

"And for how long were you unconscious?" Kate opened her mouth to reply, closed it and turned to Anthony. 

"For about a minute." He told the doctor. 

"Right." The doctor pulled away from the table and stood. "If you could hop onto the exam table..." 

The doctor listened to her chest, checked her eyes and mouth, and palpated her abdomen, asking Kate to tell him if it hurt. Throughout all of it, Anthony was staring at her, a worried little frown carved into his features and it did not ease once Kate was down from the table, sitting back next to him, her hand reaching out to grab his with a gentle squeeze. 

"All the symptoms would match a stomach bug, but I'd like to run a few tests, just to be safe." The man pushed his glasses up his nose. "You're a bit dehydrated so I asked for IV fluids and something for the nausea. Just go down to the nurses' station, they'll take you to get your labs done and then start on your IV while we wait for the results." 

Nausea IV meds were, in Kate's humble opinion, one of the best things invented by mankind. Within 30 minutes, Kate was feeling better than she had all week and Anthony had even managed to convince her to eat a bit of a chicken sandwich he managed to get in the hospital's food stall. Her mouth didn't feel as dry and her stomach didn't feel like it was ready to push every single drop of its content out at any second. 

Despite the two hours sitting in the waiting room, Kate was in almost a good mood when the doctor called them back into his small exam room. She was ready for the man to tell her fiancé she was just going through a nasty stomach bug, then hopefully prescribe her some more of that nice nausea medication she could take at home so she could just slowly go back to her normal life. 

"So your labs came back and there's nothing here that indicates any type of a severe infection..." 

"See?!" Kate turned to Anthony with a triumphant smile. If she had to sit through being poked around with needles and sitting in a waiting room for hours, at least she could have the satisfaction of rubbing at her fiancé's face that she was right all along. "I told you it was just a stomach bug!"

"Not quite..." Both Kate and Anthony turned so quickly to face the doctor that it was a wonder their necks hadn't snapped.

"I'm sorry, what do you mean by not quite?" 

"It's possible you actually have a stomach bug since many people in your family seem to be presenting similar symptoms, but I believe some of these symptoms you have been experiencing might actually be because of... a hormonal imbalance you're going through now." 

"Excuse me, a what?!" Anthony reached out, lacing his fingers with Kate's, his thumb running circles over the back of her hand. 

"You see, your body is going through a mass production of this hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin which is...." 

"Doc, please." Kate interrupted the man with a raise of her hand, her patience running a bit short. She hated when doctors talked to her in a way she couldn't really follow. "I have a degree in Fine Arts. He's an accountant. Between the two of us, we speak about 5 different languages and none of them is the one you're using right now. We're gonna need you to be a bit more clear here please because I didn't understand half of what you just said." 

The doctor looked at the two of them across the desk before taking a deep breath. 

"You're pregnant." 

It took a moment for Kate to process the words that had just come out of the older man's mouth and when they finally settled in her brain, she just let out a loud disbelieving laugh. 

"No, no, that can't be right." She shook her head with a chuckle. Anthony's hand had gone lax around hers, his palm resting against her leg. It seemed he still needed a moment to process the words. "I can't be pregnant I..." Kate choked on the words, the laughter dying in her mouth. "We weren't trying and... I mean... I can't be, can I...?"

Kate turned to Anthony, expecting some sort of answer, either in agreement or disagreement, but he was just staring at her with wide, surprised eyes.

They had discussed the idea of children, of course, they had. It would be stupid walking into a life together without discussing what expectations each of them had of what this life would be. They both had believed for a long time that love and a family would never be in the cards for them, but then they met and Kate could not imagine not wanting a little human that was half her, half him. She had seen him with Hyacinth and Greg and baby Augie and she knew it was something she needed in her life. 

But it was something they agreed on for the future. They'd wanted to settle into their married life and enjoy each other as a newlywed couple before beginning to plan for a baby. They had time. Or so they thought. 

"When did you have your last period?" Kate furrowed her eyebrows at the question. When had it been? She… Why, she couldn't really remember!

"I don't know… I..." She wracked her brain for the last time she had to reach for the tampon box she kept under their master bathroom sink. "I have a really irregular period because of my erratic work schedule so I..."

"It was at brunch at Mum's," Anthony spoke up suddenly, turning to Kate. "Before her birthday, on the 18th. You asked Daph for tampons because you didn't have any but she didn't have any either so you had to get pads with Frannie..."

"Because Eloise uses a cup, yes!" Kate nodded. "So, what, almost... oh." The doctor raised an eyebrow at her. 

"That was almost three months ago." Anthony finished for her. 

"That would put you between 8 to 10 weeks, I suppose." The doctor told her patiently. “The usual calculation is from the last period. But an ultrasound can give you a better estimate.” 

"Holy shit," Kate whispered, tugging on her hair. A baby? She was pregnant? They were having a baby? God, she hoped they had Anthony's hair.

"I guess we're not going wine-tasting in Italy anymore." 

The entire ride home from the hospital was quiet, both of them absorbed in their own thoughts. The doctor had sent her home with a prescription for nausea medication, a few vitamins and a reminder for her to schedule a visit to her OB/GYN, as soon as possible. And if she was back to being unable to keep food or fluids down, she was to come back to the hospital at once to be admitted. 

They were having a baby. Kate was growing a human being inside her…  Hers and Anthony's little human being. It didn't really feel real yet. She barely knew what to feel at all. 

Anthony hadn’t spoken a word on the way home, but his hand hadn't left Kate for a single moment since they had stepped out of the little exam room in a daze. He kept continuously in contact with her, either with his fingers on her lower back as they walked to the parked car or his palm on her thigh as he drove. Or how he offered her his hand to help her out of the car as he always did. 

Kate toed her trainers off by the side of the door before collapsing into the sofa with a deep, tired sigh. Anthony dropped down next to her while Newton climbed up after him, wiggling himself between them. 

"So…," he started, but the sound trailed off and no other word followed. Kate understood the feeling. She didn't know what to say either. 

"Yeah, so..." She turned to the side to see Anthony's eyes studying her face and they held their gaze. It was quiet for a few moments while they looked deep into each other's eyes before both of them burst out laughing. It was a strange laugh, something between wonder and surprise and nerves. Kate herself wasn’t exactly sure why she was laughing at all, she just knew she couldn't really stop. Perhaps the shock of the news, added to the past two weeks of nausea and exhaustion had finally made her brain short-circuit. 

They laughed together for a full minute, unable to contain it, until it slowly dwindled to a stop. Kate was out of breath, her chest heaving up and down with the effort to breathe regularly, but the smile on her lips refused to go away. She didn't even want it to. Next to her, Anthony's shoulders were slowly stopping to shake, his head thrown back, his hands raking through his hair as he always did when he didn't know what to do with them. 

He really was the most handsome man she'd ever seen, wasn't he? Their child would be spectacular. 

"God..." Kate's head lulled to the side, resting against her fiancé's shoulder, his fingers reaching out to twist themselves with hers. "A baby..." 

"Yeah..." Anthony's mouth brushed against the top of her head, sounding awed. "What now?" 

"Do you think we can get a refund on the ski park?" Kate could feel the rumble of his chuckle as his arms wrapped around her tightly. "Oh God, and the winery tour..."

"I can't believe that's what you're thinking about right now." 

"I don't..." Kate shook her head, turning to bury her nose against his neck. "I don't even know what to think, at the moment." 

"I get that." Silence took over for a couple of moments before Kate shifted, turning to watch her fiancé, worrying her lower lip between her teeth.

"Is this..." She breathed in deeply, steadying herself. "Do you... Do you want to do this?" 

"What? Have a baby with you?" Anthony turned to look at her as if she had gone insane. "I thought we had agreed on three kids." 

"Yeah, but one day in the future, not like in about 7 months' time!" 

"Is this not something you want to do now? Because we..." The quiet worried tone of his voice had Kate close to shaking. 

"No! No, I..." She grabbed into his arms, her fingers digging into his flesh with more strength than necessary. "I mean, yes, I do, I want to, I want this…it's just... Ugh!" Kate shook her head desperately, unable to get her head put the words together properly. "This wasn't the plan! We had decided on something and that’s not it. The wedding and the trip are..."  

"Kate! Kate, look at me." Anthony's hands cupped her cheeks on either side of her face, tilting her face gently towards his. "Fuck the plan!" Kate chuckled, her eyes filling with tears. "I want everything with you. I love our house, our things next to each other in the closet, your mess of paint boxes in the office next to my books and even your stupid dog.” Newton looked up as if aware he was being mentioned, his tail wagging and his tongue hanging outside his mouth happily. “I want everything you're willing to give me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and start a family with you. Yeah, sure the timing isn't exactly perfect..."

"I'm going to have to have my dress altered." Kate moaned, making Anthony chuckle. 

"You still have three dress fittings before the wedding." He kissed her forehead and then the tip of her nose. "Sure I would have preferred to have planned this in advance, and not have it sprung on us two months before our wedding, but still." His lips found hers in a sweet, gentle kiss. "All the way here I couldn't stop thinking what our child would be like." 

"What, like a stubborn workaholic?" Kate asked, a cheeky smile blooming between the tears running down her face. God, she loved that man so much it was ridiculous. 

"I mean... It's really very possible." Anthony snorted, running his fingers through his hair. "We're going to have to work on that, won't we?" 

"Well, I guess the forgetting to eat and skipping meals thing will have to be out of the cards, at least for me." Kate sighed, enjoying the feel of her fiancé's arms around her, joking together, just the two of them. Well, three with Newton still happily stuffed between them on the sofa. And four, if you counted the baby. Their baby. The idea brought tears back to Kate's eyes. That hormonal, emotional thing had barely started and she already hated it. 

"On the other hand, you and I are very skilled at erratic sleep schedules."

"I suppose we'll be putting your insomnia to the test really soon, huh?" She hummed. 

"Why do you think I used to stay up until the early hours of the morning with Hyacinth when she was little?" 

"That's true." Kate nodded pensively. "At least one of us will have some idea of what they're doing." 

"Kate." Anthony pulled away from her, tugging on her arms until she was sitting on his lap, her legs bracketing either side of his thighs, and they were face to face. Newton huffed in annoyance at the sudden jostling before curling himself into a ball next to them. "You're going to be the most amazing mother I've ever seen. You're loving, caring and compassionate..." 

"I also have no idea what I'm doing." She sighed dejectedly, biting the inside of her lips to keep from spilling the tears pooling in her eyes. She wanted this, their little family, so, so much, and yet there was this stupid voice inside her head telling her she could barely remind herself to stop working and eat or rest, how was she supposed to take care of a baby? 

"No one knows what they're doing when they have a baby. My dad once told me, after Greg was born, that no one is ever ready to be a parent. It doesn't matter how many times you do it." Anthony told her gently, his knuckles brushing away the spaced tear from her cheek. "I was so scared I'd fuck up Hyacinth for good when she was little. Sometimes I still am sometimes and she’s not even my kid. Hell, even Daphne, who was born to be a mother, was terrified about it." Daphne was the type of nurturing person who everyone knew would be the most gentle, loving of mothers. She dreamed of having a baby since she was a girl if the stories were to be believed. There was no way she was scared. 

"You don't have to say things to make me feel better, love." Anthony tutted at the way Kate rolled her eyes at him. 

"I would never. Ask her about it if you don't believe me!" He scoffed. "A couple of months before Augie was born, you remember I took Daph to get groceries while you, Ben and Simon were painting the nursery?"

"The smell of the paint was making her sick." Kate nodded. She remembered the day rather well. Anthony's sister had asked them to help decorate Augie's nursery. They were going with an underwater theme and Kate and Ben had spent the entire afternoon painting bubbles and little octopuses and brightly coloured fish under Simon's careful instructions. Anthony, who was absolutely no help in the art department and was mostly there for moral support, had dragged sister, who was quickly turning three different shades of green, away before she threw up on the floor. 

"Daphne realised she got the wrong shampoo for Simon on the way back home. And then she sat in my car crying for almost twenty whole minutes. Crying. Full-blown ugly sobbing with a runny nose and tear-stained cheeks, about how she'd be a terrible mother if she couldn't even remember the correct type of shampoo to buy, how would Simon trust her with their child? She'd end up being one of those horrible mums who forgot her kid in the car." 

"You're fucking with me." Kate couldn't help but laugh. "There's no way Daphne would have said that." 

"Cross my heart and hope to die, I'm not." Anthony chuckled. "Ask her if you don't believe me." 

"How can you not be scared about this?" Kate asked, leaning her forehead against his and closing her eyes, just enjoying the delicious feel of her fiancé all around her, with his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her close to him. 

"I am scared." He confided in her with a whisper, pressing their lips together in a quick kiss. "I'm absolutely terrified, actually." Another soft kiss. "But at the same time I think about our baby growing inside you and I'm so fucking happy that, Kate, I can barely breathe." 

"Yeah..." Kate's smile was tentative at first, growing in proportion as she looked at Anthony's glowing face so close to hers. His hands were firmly on her waist, his thumbs brushing circles over the slip of bare skin between her shirt and trousers. "I'm really fucking happy as well."

"There's absolutely no one else I'd ever want to do this with." He told her, her eyes staring deep into hers. "I love you so, so much and I can't wait to do this with you. All of this, the wedding, marriage, our baby..." 

"Our baby." Anthony's hand drifted from her waist, brushing against the little bit of exposed skin until it was resting over her still-flat stomach. Kate laughed and tears spilt down her cheeks without her consent, Anthony's free  palm cupping her cheek, using his thumb to brush away her stray tears, while completely ignoring his own. This man, this stupid, ridiculous, wonderful man that had come into her life, fainted into her arms on their first date and then proceeded to turn her entire world upside down. This fool, who was too hard on himself and loved so fiercely, although he had declared love not to be in the cards for him for so long. 

Kate used to tell herself she was perfectly happy with life the way it was before. That she loved her job and her art, that being there for her sister and stepmother was enough for her, and that she didn't need anything more than that. God, what an idiot she had been! 

Love had sneaked up on her quietly in a hospital room and by the time she walked into that restaurant for their second first date, Kate Sharma knew she was meant to spend the rest of her life with Anthony Bridgerton. Sure, he was infuriating sometimes, so stubborn it hurt and so, so cocky. Sometimes he worked his damndest to be his poshest self in order to annoy her, she was certain of it. 

Yet, at the same time, he was the kindest, most caring and gentle man she'd ever met. He listened to what she had to say and valued her opinion on things, even if they bickered endlessly when they disagreed. He took his time to learn what she liked and what she didn't. Kate had never felt so comfortable and understood as she did when she was with him. 

Anthony Bridgerton would be a lovely father. He was excellent at taking care of every single person he cared about. Well, everyone but himself. But that wasn't a problem. Kate knew a thing or two about being way too hard on yourself while being 110% there for the people you loved. They could have each other's backs. She'd take care of him and he'd take care of her. And they'd take care of their child, together.

"I love you so much it's actually a little ridiculous." Kate sniffed, laying her hand over his across where their child was nested and turning her face to place a soft kiss on his wet palm. "And I'm really excited to have our little family as well."

"Even if it means you'll have to get your dress altered?"  

"I'll live." She shrugged, making Anthony chuckle a little watery.

"I heard your fiancé is loaded, I'm sure he'll pay for any alteration you need to get done." He offered, replacing his hand with a soft brush of the tip of his nose against her cheek. "He'll even buy you a whole new wedding dress if you want. Or three." 

"I can pay for my own dress alterations, Anthony." She scoffed.

"Shh, stop fighting me on this." His lips brushed against her cheek before settling against her mouth in a sweet, deep kiss. "It's kinda my fault alterations might  be necessary anyway." 

"I'm pretty sure it takes two to make a baby, love." Kate laughed. "And I think you'd find I was a very willing participant in the actions that led to this moment." 

"That you most definitely were." He hummed against her mouth. "But you'll end up doing most of the hard work in the end. It's only logical for me to pay for the alteration costs."

"Logical only in your posh little ri..."

"Besides that," Anthony interrupted her loudly before she could continue her rant. "What is mine is yours and all of that. Or it will be soon." 

"You're gonna do it whether I agree to it or not, won't you?" Kate pushed away from him just enough so she could look her fiancé in the eye as she raised an eyebrow at him. 

"I mean, yeah, probably." He shrugged, not really ashamed of admitting it. 

"You know what, alright." It was Anthony's turn to be caught by surprise by her easy acceptance. She'd always agree to it, and if she didn't, he'd probably go to Edwina and plot behind her back to pay for it himself. In the beginning, Kate had thought he was trying to buy her love and as a fiercely independent person, she had tried to rebel against it. And then she slowly started to understand that paying for things and giving presents was Anthony's weird way of expressing his affection, apparently, since words were not always his forte. Bit by bit, she started to accept it. Not without a bit of a brawl, though. She'd never go down without a fight. Or almost never, anyway. "I'm a bit too tired to bicker about it, really." 

"Are you feeling alright?" It was almost funny how quickly his expression changed from surprise to smugness to worry as he studied her with his soft brown eyes. If she knew Anthony at all, which she liked to believe she did rather well, he was already considering if he should just drag her back to the hospital for admission. 

"I just need a nap, Anthony." She rolled her eyes good-naturedly at her overprotective man. "It seems our little bug takes up a lot of my energy."

"Don't call our child a bug." Anthony rolled his eyes, but he was getting up from the sofa, Kate scrambling to wrap her legs around his waist to steady herself. "And you're going to drink some water before sleeping." 

"Whatever you say, Mr. Bridgerton, as long as you nap with me." 

And five minutes later, Kate fell asleep with a smile on her lips, wrapped safely in her fiancé's arms, their legs tangled together and their child between them. 

The closer to the wedding it got, the more stuff appeared on Kate's already unending list of things to do. She needed to wrap up all her work in the gallery before she took her holiday, there were doctors appointments to go to and last-minute decisions to make, a rehearsal wedding and dinner to plan.  Her last dress fitting was coming up and she desperately needed to find a way to tell their family she was pregnant. 

Anthony had assured her no one on his side of the family would be anything but delighted at the news. His mother most certainly wouldn't have any grounds to judge them too harshly, since apparently her wedding had taken place in late February and Anthony was born in September of the same year. Plus, there were very few things that were considered as going too far for Violet Bridgerton in order to get her the precious grandchildren she so desperately wanted. And although Mary would not go the same length as her mother-in-law, Kate knew her stepmother was also desperate for a grandbaby of her own. 

Kate had been the one to insist they find a good moment to share the news. She was pretty sure that, if it was Anthony’s decision alone, he'd have walked into family brunch the day after they had their first OBGYN appointment, shouting at the top of his lungs that they were having a baby, ready to show every single member of their family the blurry ultrasound picture he had taken to carrying around in his wallet. 

At first, Kate had wanted to keep the news to themselves for a bit longer, to be able to fully wrap her head around the fact that yes, there was a baby coming in approximately 6 to 7 months. They deserved time to enjoy it for themselves for a while. And then that time passed and she had wanted the moment to feel right. Anthony respected her decision and allowed her to take the lead on how to tell everyone about their baby. Unfortunately, the right moment never seemed to come.  

And that's how Kate found herself sitting in Violet Bridgerton's living room, three weeks before their wedding, surrounded by their still blissfully-unaware family. Her mind was working overtime as she tried to find either a very good explanation as to why she wouldn't be drinking at the bachelorette party her sister and sisters-in-law (the ones legally allowed to drink, anyway) were throwing on the following weekend and why she didn't want her mother and mother-in-law at her final dress fitting, since she had started to show the week prior and taking in her clothes in front of the two women would certainly give her away. 

In the end, the situation presented itself rather clumsily and Kate just took it. 

Violet, Daphne and Mary were deep into a discussion over seating arrangements for the ceremony and the reception while Anthony had been dragged to a corner by Simon and Ben and they were now locked into a quiet debate over... Kate wouldn't even venture a guess. Anthony would probably tell her about it on the way home anyway. Eloise was sitting with her nose buried in a book, Colin was giving a plate of pudding his entire, undivided attention and Fran was focused on her phone. 

And that's how Kate found herself sitting with Augie rather comfortably on the sofa, her nephew bouncing excitedly in her lap as she watched Hyacinth and Greg squabble over a game that was similar to marbles, but not exactly so. The baby squeaked loudly, trying to wrap his chubby little hands around Kate's loose hair while his aunt valiantly fought the attempts. 

"Kate," she lifted her eyes to find Hyacinth staring at her with pensive eyes, two marble balls clutched to her fingers. "Will you and Anthony have a baby of your own?" 

It was rather impressive how the entire room's attention focused on Kate after the girl's question, all types of side talk were put on hold to hear what her reply would be. 

"Yes, we will, Hy." Kate nodded, smiling gently at the little sister that was almost as close as a daughter to her soon-to-be husband. 

"Yes, but when?" Hyacinth continued to probe. Violet seemed ready to scold her youngest child for inappropriate questioning when Kate cleared her throat. 

"Around mid to late November, I'd reckon." Kate had been attending weekly brunches at Bridgerton house for about a year and a half at this point, and she had never seen any room in that house go as quiet as now, right after her answer. She could feel Anthony's eyes stuck to her, half in questioning, half in encouragement. The rest of the gazes were shifting quickly between her and her fiancé, trying to determine if it was some sort of joke or not. Not even Hyacinth dared to speak. The only sound  ringing around was the delighted giggles coming from Augie as his aunt bounced him on her knees.  

It was Eloise who dared to break the silence, clearing her throat loudly after a full minute of stunned silence.

"When you say November..." Anthony's second sister turned to look at Kate with a frown. "You mean like a hypothetical November because you want a winter baby or....?"

"Not hypothe... Ought dear, careful!" Augie had managed to grab a fistful of Kate's dark hair and was tugging at it with all his baby might. "I don't mean it like that."

"So you mean like, this November." It wasn't exactly a question but Kate nodded anyway. 

"Yes."

"In six months." 

"Give or take, yeah." Kate could feel the eyes of the entire room glued to her, their expressions ranging from confusion, to surprise to disbelief. Even Colin's pudding was forgotten at the centre table. 

"And just to be very clear," Eloise clasped her hands together in front of her, her body leaning forwards. The book on her lap fell to the floor but no one even jumped in surprise at the noise. "You are aware that it takes about 9 months to... grow a baby, yes?"

"Around 40 weeks, according to my doctor, yes," Kate confirmed. Eloise just nodded her head slowly, looking completely taken aback.

"Katie..." There were tears running down Mary's cheeks when Kate turned to look at her stepmother, who seemed like words had escaped her after she whispered her child's name. 

"Wait," Gregory, bless him, had been one of the most confused faces during the entire exchange and only at that moment, understanding seemed to be drawing in his mind. "That means you're pregnant?"

"Yes, Greggy." Kate smiled, her eyes already turning wet. Stupid hormones, she barely could say anything without having to fight back tears. It was worse than PMS. "I am."

It seemed like the confirmation lifted the invisible barrier that was holding the people in the room in place, because everyone seemingly burst into action from all around her, blurting out questions and letting out little happy exclamations or excited squeaks. The noise was so sudden and so loud, the family all moving at the same time to reach Kate that her nephew got frightened, letting out a loud, wailing cry. 

"Alright, just a moment, excuse me, please. Coming through, thank you." Simon barreled his way through the crowd of people all speaking one over the other, pulling Anthony behind him by the shirt. "I believe this is mine," he said, picking up his scared son, who burrowed quickly into his father's chest, his tears drying immediately. "And this here is yours." He sat Anthony on the empty space at the loveseat with a cheeky grin. Kate's future husband seemed perfectly content to have been pushed around the room and quickly wrapped his arm around her, his hand resting at the side of her quickly rounding stomach, just as he had taken to doing for the past month. Since they'd gotten together, Anthony was always touching her in one way or another. A brush of his fingers to push her hair from her face, a hand on her waist, a soft touch at the back of her neck. But since they had found out about their baby, Anthony's hand was always on her.  "I am really happy for the two of you, you'll be excellent parents." 

"Thank you, Si." Kate smiled as he bent down to press a quick kiss to her cheek, urging his son to do the same.

"Now if you'll excuse me, Augie and I are going into hiding." He told them, fixing the baby on his hip with a smirk. "I'll leave you to them. Really happy and all. Good luck." 

He was gone through the sea of people around them before any other words could be exchanged, leaving the soon-to-be newlyweds and parents-to-be in the clutches of their loving family and their gleeful, excited questions.

Kate and Anthony Bridgerton had lied to their family before leaving on their honeymoon, and they were feeling only partially guilty for it. 

You see, they were not the type of people who enjoyed surprises. Both Kate and Anthony were planners and thrived on having all the possible, available information on their hands in order to make the most of the situation with as fewer issues as possible. This applied to their work lives, to simple things in their daily routines and to talks about the future. So when their OBGYN asked if they wanted to know the gender of their baby they agreed on the spot. And so she told them. 

But when their mothers and siblings questioned them about it, they said it wasn't possible to see it yet and that they'd probably find out in their next appointment, after they returned from the trip. 

There was a reason for that, of course. They had planned a nice little surprise to announce, not only the gender but also the name of their child. Anthony and Kate had agreed on names both for a boy and for a girl very quickly, although they had kept that to themselves as well. 

So roughly a week after finding out their child would be a boy, Kate and Anthon boarded a plane to Piemonte, Italy, with a whole scheme set up for their little surprise gender reveal. For everyone else, they'd be posting a bunch of photos showing Kate's bump around Italian museums and monuments saying "Baby's first trip. Of course, he'd be into art."  But their family deserved a bit more than an Instagram post with a funny caption. 

Kate spent the entire week hand-painting wooden boxes in black and gold and had copies of their ultrasound pictures made. Kate had sent her husband out for art supplies, password padlocks and t-shirts she could paint on and take out while she worked and he obliged her every single whim while reminding her to eat, drink some water and take a couple of breaks. And then the little chest had been finished, safely locked and left in possession of a few trusted friends. Agatha Danbury was responsible for handing Mary, Violet and Simon and Daphne's boxes. Penelope Featherington would give Colin, Eloise and Edwina theirs and Henry, their friend from the Galery, would be responsible for Ben's. Frannie would be responsible for her own box, as well as Hy and Greg's since she had pinky promised Anthony she wouldn't tell a soul. Francesca was the only one they trusted to do this.

Early in the morning of the day they had agreed to the surprise, Anthony sent a text to their family group, telling them they'd be receiving a small present for them and that, under no circumstances, they were to open the boxes before their group call at 1 PM. 

Anthony and Kate were bickering in a quiet corner of a Fiorentinian cantina when the time of the call came. One of the best things about entering her second trimester was that the morning sickness had faded. On the other hand, her cravings had been getting progressively stronger and she would randomly have a desperate need for a specific dish or ingredient while other things she had previously excited to have looked like the most unappetizing thing in the world.

That was what had fueled their current bickering. Kate had ordered a Pappardelle al ragù di cinghiale, which was a flat pasta with some boar meat sauce while Anthony had chosen a Gnocchi alla Sorrentina, which was just the little round pasta with tomato and mozzarella sauce. Unfortunately, the moment the food was placed in front of them, Kate knew with absolute certainty she wouldn't be able to eat hers, while Anthony's looked exactly like her gastronomic dream come true. 

"You have your own food, you know?" He had asked with a raised eyebrow the moment she reached for his plate with her fork, hers going completely ignored. 

"Bug wants the gnocchi, Anthony." She shrugged, scooping some of the potato dough and sauce into her fork. "It's not my fault."

"Couldn't you have ordered gnocchi for you, then?" Her husband rolled his eyes, but he was already swapping the plates between them. 

"I don't know what to tell you, love." A huge smile broke into her face as he placed the pasta in front of her. "He's the boss, not me. And I didn't know he wanted the gnocchi until I saw it." Kate couldn't hold back the moan when she shoved a forkful of the food into her mouth. God, that was the best thing she'd ever eaten in her life. She could spend the rest of her life eating just that. 

Anthony just eyed the way her mouth closed around the fork for a few moments, a different type of hunger burning in his eyes, before he cleared his throat loudly. 

"I'm joining the call," He warned. "Please stop being indecent with your food." 

"You love it." She scoffed, licking her lips a bit more seductively than she would normally have. 

"I really, really do." He agreed, with his gaze following the path of her tongue. "But I don't think our mothers and siblings need to see it." 

Kate just stuck her tongue out at him as the call connected. They were bombarded with questions the moment the sound came in. They could see Mary and Edwina in their living room, with Newton at Kate's sister's lap. Violet had the children and Francesca on the dinner table, each of them sitting in front of their own box, their names shining on top of it in golden ink. Daph and Simon were sitting in their bed, little Augie on his father’s lap, his own box between his parents’. Ben, Colin and Eloise were sitting all clutched together in what seemed to be Ben's living room floor. 

"What's going on?" 

"Oh finally, I've been itching all morning!"

"Would you two care to explain...?"

"CAN WE OPEN IT NOW?!"

"Kate, did you paint those yourself?"

"Why was Frannie aware of this and I wasn't?"

"Wait, Francesca knew it?!" 

"Are you kidding me?!"

 "I'm muting everyone if you start at this," Anthony told them, strictly. 

"I'd like to see you try." Colin taunted and his brother instantly silenced their line. 

"Anyone else?" Little mumbles of no and shaking of heads followed his question. "Thank you. So, Kate and I had some interesting news at our last ultrasound and..." 

"Is it twins?" Daphne interrupted, with wide eyes. "Because if it is, I'm going to have to sit down for this." 

"Not twins," Kate assured her with a laugh. "Only one little bug here, I promise." 

You’re already sitting. Eloise wrote in the group chat. Please unmute us, Colin promises he will behave.

"Guys, just get on with this, Mama's going insane here," Ediwna begged, looking way closer to hysterics than her mother was. 

"You're all so impatient," Kate giggled, wrinkling her nose. “Suppose we should let them open it now, yeah?”

“Maybe we could let them wait for a little longer?” Anthony suggested, a teasing smirk on his lips.

“Anthony Bridgerton!”

“Don’t you dare!”   

“I’m smashing this open now if you don’t give us the code.” 

“Alright, alright!” He laughed. “Go on then, the password is 1811.” 

There was the heavy sound of metal clicking and hurried hands against the wood before they were replaced by whoops of triumph as each of their family members managed to open the lock. 

"Oh my God, you two, I'm shaking here." Violet let out a quiet little laugh. "We can open it, right?" 

"Please do, but don't do anything else yet." Kate nodded, her husband's hand finding hers under the table. Christ, she was already on the brink of tears. At least this time, her husband look as right about to cry as she did. Across the screen, ohs and ahs were filling the air. 

"Maybe someone..." Anthony cleared his throat, trying to keep his voice steady. "could read it aloud?" 

"Me, me, me, me!" Hyacinth was jumping up and down in her chair. "I'll do it, let me." She barely allowed her brother to nod before she started reading the words painted in loopy cursive at the top lid. "Hi, family. This is me. Oh, look there is a little arrow pointing to the ultrasound. That's really cute." 

"Hyacinth, on with it, focus!" Ben snapped. 

"Right, sorry." The youngest Bridgerton giggled. "This is me. I know that all of you already love me very much and I can't wait to meet all of you in November. But that's a long time from now so I thought I could introduce myself. Nice to meet you, I'm..."

Hyacinth looked up from the lid, blinking at them with big, green eyes filled with expectation. 

"You can open the wrapped thing now," Kate instructed and they were all tearing at the thin paper, tugging on bows until they unwrapped a shirt. 

"Oh, guys...!" Daphne choked on her words with a watery sniff. "Ned's Auntie Daph." Kate had decorated each shirt by hand, each of them reading Ned's and the person's title. There was Ned's Granny Mary and Grandma Violet, a bunch of Uncles and Aunties. Augie's read 'Ned's big cousin/best friend Augie.' "I love this so much." 

"Ned?" Violet asked softly, tears running down her face. 

"It's a boy?!" Greg cried out in excitement. 

"I'm going to be his godmother?!" Edwina squeaked, her hands shaking so hard she could barely hold the fabric up. "Look, Ned's Godmother Eddie! The shirt says it, you can't take it back now! I have proof!"

"I'm going to spoil my godson so bad," Ben commented, a laugh mingling with his crying as he held the shirt to his chest. "I'll be unbearable, you're going to regret this choice so hard." 

"Katie!" Mary cried out, calling attention to herself. "Is this...?" 

Kate had been crying since Hyacinth had started reading the message out loud and all she could do was nod at her teary stepmother across the screen. 

"What, what is it?" Edwina was basically climbing over her mother to see what she had seen. "Is this what?" 

"It's his name," Mary commented, her fingers tracing the name they had settled for the baby the week after they found out he existed and that Kate had painted on the bottom of the box with golden ink. 

Edmund Arjun Bridgerton.

"Oh, Anthony..." Whatever Violet was planning to say next was muffled by her own sobs. There wasn't one person with dry eyes in the entire call apparently. Daphne had her face hidden in her husband's shoulder. There were wet tracks over all their siblings' cheeks, even Eloise was trying to brush hers away without much success. 

"I hope this is alright..." Anthony cleaned his face with his free hand with a sniff. "We wanted to name them after our fathers and..." 

"Your dad would be so proud of you, my boy," Violet told him, smiling softly at her son and daughter-in-law over the camera, her shoulders still shaking. "All he wanted... All both of us wanted was for our children to be so incredibly happy, and look at you now..."

"Thank you, Mum." Kate squeezed her husband's hand lovingly before turning to her own stepmother's little image on the screen. Mary was still staring at the box in awe, tracing the letters with the tip of her fingers. 

"Mama?" Kate's voice was just a tiny thing as she called the woman who had raised her. "Is it alright?" 

"It's more than alright, dearest." Mary looked up to Kate with bright, teary eyes and the biggest, softest smile lighting up her own face. "It's perfect. Appa would have loved it so much."

"You think so?" Kate missed her father so much and she desperately wanted her son to have a little bit of her father, even if they'd never have the chance to meet in this life. But when Anthony asked her about naming their son after their fathers, the idea of hearing her beloved Appa's name whenever someone called her child made her chest hurt. She had been slowly and steadily healing from her loss, but it was still too fresh for her. And then her husband had suggested having it as a middle name, just a bit of the man that had created Kate for their baby to always quietly carry with him and…. Yes, that could work. She liked it like that. It was a bit of both the men that had shaped his parents into the people they were and the men they hoped their child would be like. 

"I know so, Beta." She laughed gently. "He'd probably be here dancing around the room and calling every single member of the family back in India to tell them about his grandson." 

Kate choked back on a snort and next to Mary, Edwina threw her head back in laughter. It was exactly what their Appa would do. He'd probably be humming a song as well as he did so. 

"Now that we all asserted it was an amazing name, which it is, really brilliant by the way, it’s great, Dad would really have loved it," Colin spoke up. "Why is Ben the Godfather? I mean, I expected Simon, but Ben?!"

"There wouldn't even be a Ned if it weren't for me." Benedict scoffed, looking downright offended. "I introduced the two of them!"

"You cannot keep rubbing that on everyone's faces forever." 

"I believe I most certainly deserve being my brother's first child's godfather for that, thank you very much." 

"I completely understand having Ben and Edwina as godparents." Daphne chimed in with a little self-satisfied smirk as Simon was putting Augie's new shirt on him.

"Thank you, Daph." 

"And as am a very graceful person, I don't mind not being the godmother of their first child. I'll love my little nephew either way." She said. "We can be the godparents of their second, I'm patient, I can wait and..." 

"I'm sorry, Anthony has other sisters, you know?" Francesca interrupted. 

"Yeah, why would he pick you?" Eloise rolled her eyes.  

"He could pick me." Hyacinth agreed, her three sisters turning to look at her. 

"He can't pick you."

"Yeah, you're too little. And you're already his baby. It wouldn't even be fair." Hyacinth stuck her tongue at the camera. 

"I mean he could totally..." Anthony just clicked on the end call button before Daphne could drone on about their hypothetical second child and said child's possible godparents.

"Anthony!" Kate tried to scold him, but she couldn't even stop laughing to do so. "That was rude!"

"We did what we were going to do." He told her matter-of-factly, picking up his fork. "They can keep that argument on without us there, we're having lunch." He eyed the empty plate in front of her. "Or at least I am...?"

"It was really good," Kate told him, looking down miserably at the plate. 

"Do you want another one?" He asked with a sigh, already calling their waiter over without even waiting for the answer he knew he would get. 

"And maybe some bread too?" Anthony rolled his eyes with no heat behind them, ordering the food in his broken Italian and she was smiling brightly when he turned back to her. "You know..." She mumbled, her hand coming up to brush his hair from his forehead tenderly. "I think you fainting in that restaurant was the best thing that's ever happened to me." 

Her husband let out a loud, sonorous laugh before leaning in, pressing their lips together in a deep kiss. "If I'd known having emergency surgery would end up with me married to the love of my life who's expecting our baby, I'd probably have done it much sooner."

"You're so stupid." She giggled against his lips. 

"Well, I guess that's what makes us so well-matched, isn't it?" He kissed the side of her mouth and then the tip of her nose, making her giggle again. Kate didn't know happiness like this even existed much less imagined she would one day have it. "Since we're one and the same and all that." 

"I suppose you're right." She said with a fake pensive pout, which Anthony couldn't resist kissing. 

"My, my, wife." He shook his head, sending a shiver down Kate's spine. "Admitting I'm right? Marriage sure has changed you, hasn’t it?."

"It's the pregnancy hormones, husband." She mumbled back. "Don't get used to it. "

"I wouldn't dream of it." 

Kate knew she was still in the very beginning of her path through motherhood and, all things considered, she still had a lot to go through in life at only 27 years of age. But, still, she could tell with absolute certainty childbirth was one of the worst experiences she'd ever been through, and it would not be easy to find something to rival it. 

Pregnancy had been a rollercoaster. Her back hurt, her feet swell, her boobs were sore and she looked like a puffy, waddling blowfish. Some food she loved dearly now gave her heartburn and she desperately needed to pee approximately every two hours. By her third trimester, she was moody and uncomfortable the majority of the time. And she was having to learn her life did not belong only to herself anymore, which was turning out to be a bit of a struggle and a point of contention between her and Anthony, who was constantly hovering over her, reminding her to slow down. 

But the good moments? The feel of her child moving inside her for the first time? The wonder in Anthony's eyes when he first felt it too? The excitement that brought tears to her eyes wherever she heard Ned's heartbeat, always strong and steady through the ultrasound? The way their family just loved her and her baby so openly and limitlessly? The way their son would dance inside her stomach whenever Anthony was speaking around her? The hours awake in bed together, imagining what their baby would be like when he was finally here? That completely compensated for the bad times. 

Pregnancy had been a mostly positive experience for her. Childbirth, on the other hand? She couldn't see a single positive aspect of it. 

She'd been in what her doctor had called active labour for over six hours, feeling horrible shooting bouts of pain through her entire body that were quickly getting longer and stronger, which her doctor told her was a good thing?! Because it meant the baby was coming?! 

No, no, no. Ned could stay inside her. It would be safer this way anyway. Kate could protect him like that. 

She had moved up and down around the room, shuffled around in bed, moaning and groaning and probably cursed her husband a thousand times until her doctor had checked her dilation and vitals and cheerily announced everything was running smooth and it was time to start pushing. She hated the woman right at that moment. 

Anthony was there, holding her hand, letting her squeeze it until she all but broke his fingers every time the doctor instructed her to push and, apart from a grunt or a groan, he hadn't complained a pip about it. Even if she seemed ready to bite his head off and swore she'd never allow him to touch her again, he had remained steady, whipping her sweaty brow, giving her sips of water, going through the breathing exercises with her and whispering comforting and reassuring words of encouragement in her ear that had her almost crying every damn time. You're doing great, sweetheart. You're so strong, so brave. I'm in awe of you. I love you so much. You can do it. We'll have Bug here soon. 

Her husband had been an absolute champ throughout the whole pregnancy process, even if he had been an annoying overprotective hooverer the entire time. He didn't miss an appointment, catered to her cravings, rubbed her sore back and feet whenever she asked and helped her through her sour moods and panic attacks.  He stayed up with her when she couldn't sleep and spoke soothingly to their son until he calmed when he was wracking havoc inside her. 

Kate really did love the man more than she could say. She was in just a lot of pain. He certainly understood. And if he didn’t, he could try being the one pushing their baby out.

It had already been dark outside for at least a couple of hours when the doctor told her, "Just a couple more, Mummy. And then we'll be done and your baby will be here."

Kate screamed as she pushed, the contraction wracking through her body until she was almost out of breath, Anthony's knuckles white from the pressure she was putting on them.

"I can see his head." The doctor announced from between her legs. 

"I can't do this anymore." She cried, dropping her body against the bed, Anthony's moist washcloth soothing the hot skin on her face. “I can’t, make it stop.”

"Yes, you can. It's almost over, love." He kissed her fingers and Kate lifted her eyes to find her husband looking at her wide-eyed and ashy. 

"You look pale." She said hoarsely. "You're not going to faint on me now, are you Mr Bridgerton?" She asked, chuckling weakly at their old joke. 

"I might," Anthony said back, his tone just a bit too serious as he looked towards where the doctor was with a nervous frown. 

"Anthony, don't you daAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" The pain had her body shooting out of the bed, Anthony's free arm moving behind her to hold her steady as she crushed his hand in her fist, tears streaming down her face. And then when the blinding pain was gone, Kate dropped down back to the bed in exhaustion, and a loud piercing wail rang clear through the room. 

"He's here, Kate! You did it!" The doctor cooed, speaking over her son's little cries. Kate desperately tried to sit up, her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to get a glimpse of her baby, but she couldn't. 

"Anthony!" Kate tugged on her husband's arm, trying to use him as leverage to host herself upwards despite the ache in her body. "I can't see him! Can you?"

"Yeah, I can." His voice was far away, his gaze glued to the place where the loud wailing was replaced with a soft little whimper. His entire face was frozen in wonder, tears running freely down his face. "Kate, he's..." He blinked, turning to look at her for a moment, his fingers still holding onto her hand, but this time it seemed like he was the one who needed to be held together. "God, Kate... I..."

"Everything seems alright, guys." The doctor assured her and maybe Kate didn't hate the woman all that much after all. "You'll be able to hold him in just a second, as soon as we cut the cord. Daddy, do you want to do it?" 

Anthony went even paler, his eyes wide as he stared at the woman who was holding their child as if he hadn't even heard her. 

"Anthony," Kate poked his arm with the little strength she had left. "Are you going?"

"Yes, I..." He shook his head, trying to get rid of the fog in his brain, still ignoring his wet eyes. "I want to do it, yeah." 

"Don't faint!" Kate ordered as he let go of her hand. She was mostly joking, but he did look a bit unsteady on his feet. 

"I won't." He answered, following the nurse who was motioning to him to come forwards, whispering under his breath. "I think..."

Kate let her body drop back into the reclined bed.  The thirty seconds that took the medical team and her husband to clip and cut the umbilical seemed like the longest of her life. And then Anthony was back, carrying a little bundle in his arms, his eyes shining with more love and adoration than she'd ever imagined possible. She shuffled in bed to a more sitting position, instantly reaching out to the little baby wrapped in a soft white blanket. 

"Here's your Amma, Bug," Anthony whispered lovingly, gently placing their son in her waiting arms and, at that moment, everything else in the world around them disappeared on the spot. Kate could barely breathe, all air appeared to have vanished from her lungs, every thought other than the baby in her arms and the man next to her vanishing from her mind. The moment he deposited their child safely into her arms, Anthony turned to her, pressing a soft kiss to her lips and another to her forehead, tears running freely down his face, dripping from his chin into his medical gown. 

"Hey, you," Kate whispered, tracing her fingers over the smooth pink skin of her son's cheek. Oh God, her son! Her Ned! She stared at that little thing that had been living inside her for the most part of the past year, jumping around and not letting her sleep with his tiny feet against her ribcage and he was the most perfect thing in this world. "Oh, look at you..."

Edmund curled against his mother's chest the moment he heard her voice, the whimpering stopping as he lay against the warmth of her chest, his little plump lips smacking together. There was a shocking amount of brown hair at the top of his head, wet and gooey and curling at the tips. His eyes were big and round with that greyish hue all newborns had. His skin was coppery, lighter than hers but darker than Anthony's. He had Anthony's cheekbones and his long, straight nose. Actually, apart from his huge wide eyes and the way his hair curled in itself, Edmund looked so much like her husband it was almost funny. Even just a couple of minutes old, Kate already knew he'd be the spitting image of his father and she absolutely loved it. 

"He's perfect," Kate whispered to her husband in awe, her fingers tracing the smooth baby skin of his arm until she reached the tiny hands, his slim little fingers wrapping themselves instantly around her finger. 

"He is." Anthony agreed with a wobbly voice, kissing the top of Kate's head again. "Thank you." He whispered into her hair. "Thank you, thank you thank you." Each time, he peppered her with more warm, wet kisses. "Thank you for him and for coming into my life and for absolutely everything."

"Your Papa's being silly, Neddy," Kate told her baby with a chuckle which was mixed with a small sob. "I'm the one who should be thanking him." Kate turned her face, pressing her lips to her husband's wet cheek before looking back to the child they'd made together. "Every day, I think it's impossible to be more happy than I already am, and every day I prove myself wrong." 

"I love you two so, so much, Kate." He whispered, his fingers brushing the curls atop their son's head reverently. "I'll do everything I can to be a good father, I promise." He choked at his own words for a moment. "I'm not... I know I'm not perfect but I will do everything I can…." 

"You already are more than enough love," Kate told him decisively, her eyesight blurry from all the crying. "Bug and I are really lucky to have you." 

"I'm most certainly the lucky one." He kissed Kate's wrinkled nose. 

"Now it's not the time to argue with me, mister." She tutted at him. "I just spent over 7 hours pushing your child into this world. Just say ‘yes, ma'am’." 

"Yes, ma'am." He laughed. "I'm so happy I could burst." He confessed, caressing the side of their son's face as the baby blinked slowly towards his father's voice. "I barely even know what to do with so much joy." 

"I know." Kate let her head fall to Anthony's shoulders with a tired little smile. In her arms, Ned let out a small sigh, his eyes blinking slowly until they were closed. Sitting there with her husband's arms around her and their child curled safely to her chest, Kate felt what absolute bliss was like. "I feel like that too."

It was with these thoughts running rampant in her mind that she came across him, or more like his book. 

The library usually stays deserted this time of the day, with only Mrs. Lee stopping her occasional favorite student to chat for a second or to recommend a book in accordance to their taste. So when she finds the elderly woman dozing off on her table, she does her best to not startle her. In truth she didn't need to visit the library but she was bored and she reasoned with herself, reading another educational book won't make Ma too mad. 

She quickly made her way to the area where newly catalogued books are kept, the turquoise book had caught her eye almost immediately, sitting there on the shelf untouched and unread, DIAGNOSTIC PRINCIPLES it said in bold letters, she frowned, it was probably a book with difficult terms above her knowledge and would probably be a waste of time, but she was in her last school year, she knew a great deal more about medicine than most students her age and she wanted to waste time, what use is revising the same thing over and over when you can broaden your horizon with that time? 

There was something in the book. Something magnetic about the author's way with words, brusque, almost cynic beyond the understanding of an 18 year old, yet endlessly inspiring. His writing made you stay up late into the night, with crickets chirping and the creaking porch swing as company. 

He had begun the book saying, "If you're reading this in hopes to get into med school, in hopes of tips and tricks then put it back down. Medicine isn't about luck. It isn't about endless sleepless nights, it's about fighting the mysteries that defeat us, it's about man's mortality and fighting a losing battle, it is about giving everything even after knowing how it all ends."

It takes her three nights to read the book and it's three nights of feverish intake of every word that was printed on the book. 

Somehow the words had become her Gospel, unknowingly shaping her into the person she didn't know she'd be. 

By the third night, she had turned the last page of the book, where he talks about boundless curiosity about an urge for knowledge that cannot be contained about learning and learning and never stopping till the answers are in reach and then it ends. 

With that comes the terrible heartache, the loss of a friend, the abrupt end of a fever dream. 

She keeps scanning for an author's blurb about anything more that can be learnt about this friend who wrote about medicine with fire in his pen, for something that would make him something more real than a silhouette. But there's nothing, nothing except a generic author's blurb and a digital signature. 

As she runs her hand through his signature, two things run in her mind, over and over gaining a voice of their own. 

John Hopkins. Ethan Ramsey. 

And suddenly she's an archer and her arrow takes aim. 

A/N : Hi! Here's another mini series, this will be about five chapters and mostly a lot of fluff, I wanted to show Diana's POV in their relationship in this series because I have mostly focused on Ethan most of the time, so here it is. If you've read this far, thank you and I love you ❤

A/N II : I am putting my old taglist for the time being till the end of the taglist cleanup.

Tags : @genevievemd @jamespotterthefirst @terrm9 @maurine07 @schnitzelbutterfingers @tsrookie @sophxwithers @actuallybored @iloveethanramsey @natureblooms24 @chemist-ana @mercury84choices @uneravine @mm2305 @mrsethanfreakingramsey @smilex1104 @shanzay44 @sweetheartdetectivex @potionsprefect @bex-la-get @headoverheelsforramsey @jerzwriter @mainstreetreader @coffeeheartaddict2 @kdjdhdvksojs @satrangee-ray @lawyerlies @kachrisberry @estellaelysian @crazy-loca-blog @sincerelyscarring @rosebudde @quixoticdreamer16 @choicesfanaf @a-crepusculo @zahrachoices @rookiemartin @queencarb @arjaywrites

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@openheartfanfics @choicesficwriterscreations

But a couple of champagne glasses and top notch whiskey thrown back and Y/N was humming along to the songs the live band played like she hadn’t been anxious at all. Bucky had even joined her for a dance to a slow song, whispering sweet nothings into her ear about how gorgeous she looked tonight as if he hadn’t been the one to pick out the dress. He himself was looking very well put together, and Y/N was glad that her bobby bins had helped to keep his long hair back into a bun.

Hours filled with somewhat boring conversations and stolen giggles with the girls flew by quickly, and now, the party was finally coming to a close. Tony insisted that since every party had to have a good ending so that it was not easily forgotten, so near the end of the night, he quickly ushered everyone outside. The cool evening breeze made Y/N and a few other women shiver, her fingers rubbing gently along her exposed skin to keep her warm, but the look on Tony’s face insisted that whatever was going to happen was going to be worth it.

He stood up on a stage, grinning and posing for a moment before inviting the birthday boy onto the stage and clapping a hand on his shoulder saying, “Thank you, Cap, for everything you’ve done for us. Truly, I’ll never have anyone else be so helpful. Seriously ‘cause no matter how old I get, I always remember, that you’re so much older,” Tony grinned and Steve rolled his eyes with laughter, chuckles pouring out of the audience. “Now to celebrate my favourite Captain, I have asked a very special man to help me with some very special fireworks. But first, Birthday Boy, would you like to give a speech?” Tony held out the microphone but Steve waved it away. No matter how hard the crowd cheered, Y/N laughed a little knowing that Steve’s ears were turning pink with embarrassment, knowing he didn’t really like talking in front of large groups.

“Tony, just get on with it,” Steve tried to beg, cheeks flushed as all eyes turned to him.

“Fine, anyone else want to talk about the birthday boy?” Tony offered, holding out the microphone in the crowd’s direction.

“Oh! ME! Mr. Stark, Tony! Me! Please, pickmepickmepickmepickmeeee!” sang a voice from the very back of the crowd. Much like everyone else, Y/N turned to see who was yelping from the very top of their lungs and she burst into giggles noting Scott Lang’s eager hand waving to grab Tony’s attention.

“Really, anyone at all,” Tony was saying, as if there wasn’t a man jumping up and down like a 4 year old. “Anyyyyoneeee?”

“Mr. Iron Man! Me! I promise it’ll be good! It’ll be like the best speech you’d ever heard!” Scott was pleading and Y/N realized that the flush in his skin was probably due to the alcohol in his blood. He tried to wave around both hands, forgetting that one of them was filled with some whiskey and it splashed around to the people around him. “Oops I’m so sorry, I totally didn’t mean to do that, I’m so very sorry-”

“Fine. Get up here, Regular Sized Dude,” Tony groaned, rubbing his forehead gingerly as Scott whooped and hollared excitedly, dashing through the crowd clumsily to get to the stage.

“Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!” Scott started as he yelled into the crowd. Tony rolled his eyes and shoved the mic into his hands, probably adding into Scott’s ear that he didn’t need to yell. “Alright. Whew. Here we go,” Scott grinned, wiggling out his joints like he was getting ready for a fight. He turned to face Steve’s direction, who was turning bright red at the second hand embarrassment.

“Mr. Captain, Captain Steve, Mr. Rogers, Captain America, Mr. America, Steve- if I can call you Steve. Steve!” Scott howled out the last one, grinning from ear to ear as if his words weren’t slurring together and his body wasn’t fumbling around the stage. “Mr. Steve, you are one of the coolest people I’ve ever met and I need you to know just how amazing I know you are like seriously, did you guys see that news story where he just lifted like three cars?” Scott asked with wide eyes, looking to the crowd for some sort of agreement. “Seriously, like I think you’re a really cool dude and you’re always super nice and- no no, I swear I’m almost done- you’re like my biggest hero so thank you so much for letting me join your team.” Scott waved away Tony who continuously tried to take the mic away, still going on his love confession to the Captain.

Murmurs in the crowd with fake smiles plastered on had everyone wondering how long this speech was going to go on. Hope managed to get through the crowd with a forced and apologetic smile on her face, climbing the stage and tugging on Scott’s arms to drag him down slowly.

“I LOVE YOU CAP!” Scott yelled out once more before Hope finally managed to tug him down, Tony grabbing the microphone and trying to salvage the audience’s attention.

“Uh, thank you Scott, for that really desperate attempt of a speech. Thank you for not letting the audience suffer anymore, Hope. Anyways, on to our grand finale! The fireworks!” Tony proclaimed and a feeling of relief washed over the crowd as they cheer, Y/N clapping along as a few workers helped to prepare the first few. The dark sky was quickly lit up with red, white, and blue. Flashes and bangs popped up into the atmosphere and the guests were all ooh-ing and aww-ing at the sight of them. All in a row, the lights popped up into view with loud sounds and then dissipated back into the black nothingness.

Y/N’s lips were worn into a tired smile as she watched the sky, tired of both talking to her friends and socializing with people who seemed awfully familiar but she couldn’t quite place where they had met. She was utterly exhausted, though to be honest, she expected nothing less from a Tony Stark party.

For just a moment though, there was very little chatter, and everyone stood together all staring up at the sky, mouths open just slightly as they watched art made by some famous firework maker light up the sky. Steve’s face sparkled against the dark sky, his shield popping up next to him with a loud bang.

Then out of nowhere, it was almost as if there was a quick whisper in her ear, as if some deity had kneeled down to her height and wondered aloud, “Where’s Bucky?”

The thought pulled Y/N from her sky gazing, eyebrows furrowing when she didn’t catch his eyes immediately. The two of them had been unhappily torn apart from each other for the majority of the night, Y/N having been pulled by reporters and esteemed guests while Bucky tried to stay out of the limelight due to his reputation. But even though they had been apart physically, Y/N always found herself able to catch his eye even from across the room, and a quick shared smile between the two of them was all Y/N needed to feel comfortable in the room again.

She finally caught sight of his frame, his dark hair pulled into a bun and tall demeanour making him easy to spot over the crowd, and for a moment, her nerves were relieved. But there was a look in his eyes that made her stomach turn. She wasn’t quite sure from this distance, but something was wrong and she knew it. “Excuse me, ladies,” Y/N gave a short smile to the women around her, pushing through the crowd around her in an eager attempt to find him. She had to get to his side, she had to help, she knew something was going wrong.

When she finally got close enough to note his facial expression, another firework went off and she noticed just how quickly the blood was draining from his face, his eyes wide and trained on the flashes of light in the sky. “Sorry, gentlemen, I’m going to steal Bucky for a moment,” she spoke quickly, giving a smile to Sam and Clint who chuckled, not noticing the panic in Bucky’s face and assuming the couple were just disappearing for some alone time.

Y/N placed her hands gently on Bucky’s chest, gently pushing him backwards, looking up at his eyes as his gaze slowly fell to hers. She watched as his dry lips parted slightly, eyes widening some more as no sounds came out. “It’s okay. Just come with me inside, Bucks,” Y/N whispered to him, taking his hand and walking briskly to the doors. Firework after firework crackled into the sky and Y/N realized as they so quickly burst behind them, just how much it sounded like a war. Her heels clicked underneath her as the two of them scurried off past the party room that was once filled with far too many people, and soon found themselves in Y/N’s room. She closed the door quickly behind them, keeping the lights off and rushing over to the window to shut the curtains.

When she returned to Bucky’s side, she noticed the clamminess of his hands, the sweat beading at his brow, the bloodshot in his eyes. “Bucky?” Y/N called to him gently, waiting for his eyes to meet hers. “Hey, it’s alright. Just focus on me okay? I’m gonna take this tie off alright?” Y/N told him and waited for his head to slowly nod before her fingers pried the knot away from his throat, slipping it onto the floor. She remembered just how happy he looked earlier today, staring at himself in the mirror and commenting to her how he hadn’t felt this happy in so long.

Now here he was, standing there like when she had first met him. Broken emotions heavy in his eyes, fingers curling into fists as if ready to defend himself. Her fingers gently pulled apart the first few buttons of his shirt and reached behind her to find a small face towel she normally used for her skincare routine. With gentle and soft presses to his face, Y/N patted away the sweat that stuck his loose hairs to his forehead, gently reminding him to “breathe in…. okay now breathe out…,” as she went.

Bucky’s eyes seemed so hollow as he watched her, his breath still jerky and heaving, as if he was unable to grab the oxygen he needed. “Here,” Y/N offered softly, taking his hand and pressing it to her chest, keeping his eyes on her. “Copy me,” she whispered, slowly breathing in and out, dramatizing the movement of her chest and shoulders so he could see. Bucky nodded after a while, his breaths slowly becoming calmer, more fluid. “I’m here, don’t worry,” she whispered to him softly, reaching up with one hand and tucking his hair behind his ear. “I promise they won’t hurt you anymore.”

There was a moment here and Y/N would wonder later if Bucky felt it too. A sort of serene minute where the muffled sound of fireworks in the distance stopped and the two of them just stood there, breathing and looking at each other.

“Will you stay with me?” Bucky asked quietly, feeling how eager his panic was to seep back in. He needed to control it, he wanted to fight it, and yet it felt like he was swinging his arms at a losing battle.

Y/N nodded slowly, reaching up to kiss his nose, “Of course. Want to watch some cartoons?” She offered and grinned as the suggestion lit up his eyes. He nodded quickly, trying not to wince as another firework went off somewhere.

In a few moments, old reruns were playing on Y/N’s laptop and she had pulled out her speaker too so the noise was a little louder than the fireworks going off. She waited for him to settle on the bed, for his breathing to slow down and his body to relax, before prying off her dress and pulling on some comfier clothes.

“Can I come cuddle you?” She asked him in a hushed whisper as she crawled back into bed with him, as if they were going to get caught and scolded if they were any louder. Bucky nodded quickly and opened his arms for Y/N to crawl into, and pressing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Scooby and his gang caught the thief, the Road Runner still managed to outrun the Coyote, and Tweety outsmarted Sylvester the Cat, and Y/N and Bucky were still half watching, their eyelids heavy with the full exhaustion of being social hitting them.

Y/N’s eyes closed for a moment and she felt Bucky’s fingertips trace gentle shapes into her arm. She kept herself awake as she felt his finger start to make more deliberate lines, slowly spelling out what felt like… I LOVE YOU.

Her heart fluttered for a moment and she couldn’t help but shift in her nervousness. She felt Bucky’s breath hitch, as if worried that she really was still awake and wondering what she would think. Had she really felt what she thought she felt? Was it real? Was she just dreaming?

“Y/N?” Bucky whispered gently, his thumb now stroking her arm. “Are you sleeping?” He murmured.

“Mm?” Y/N hummed, turning further into his chest as the next cartoon episode started to play.

“Just… wanted to thank you for tonight. Thank you for being there for me.” Bucky’s voice sounded like music, floating in the air like a dream.

“Always,” Y/N yawned softly, a small smile on her lips as she felt him press another kiss to her brow.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

WE LOVE A WHOLESOME COUPLE. I love these two so much. A big thank you to Destiny for the idea of a drunken Scott speech (so much fun to write honestly) and a thank you to my IRL bf for being my muse for the whole ‘tracing I love you’ thing (fun fact: he did that to me before the boy even got the nerve to ask me out LOL) 

Anyways, as always, we love to hear from you lovelies! Please feel free to comment any feelings!!!