Entangled

Chapter 20

"Sasha bought so much stuff that you can barely tell what colour the carpet is." Since Becky is sitting against the headboard of the bed and Sasha is on the other side of the room, rearranging her various purchases, she feels safe enough to continue. "I swear she got the baby a dozen pairs of shoes—"

"Nine!" Sasha calls back. "It was only nine." Then she laughs. "I must have put a few pairs back."

Seth laughs too, and even the phone connection can't dim his enthusiasm. "Why does a baby need so many shoes? They don't normally walk until they're about a year old, right?"

"That's what I tried telling her," Becky replies. "I hope you cleared out the back of SUV, because by the time you pick us up tomorrow, she'll probably have bought the baby an outfit for the first day of preschool." Glancing over at Sasha, Becky waves. "If you want to shower, Sash, go ahead. I'm just going to send him a copy of the ultrasound."

Sasha shakes her head. "In a minute." Her voice has an odd echo as she rummages through a large bag. "I could have sworn I bought a little varsity jacket, so where is it?"

Becky smiles as she settles back into the pile of pillows. Her appointment with Eleyna and Dr. Zaba went well, and the baby seems remarkably healthy, so she's glad she didn't do any inadvertent damage before she realized she was pregnant. "Eleyna will be back in Chicago soon, so that will make the next appointments easier. I didn't book my follow-up one yet," she adds hesitantly, "because I knew you wanted to come, so I wanted to check your schedule first."

"Thanks." Seth's voice crackles a bit. "After this batch of evaluations is done, there shouldn't be anything I can't reschedule for at least a few months."

"That's good." When Becky sits up straighter, she sees that Sasha is still searching through her shopping bags. "Come on, Sash! I'm getting hungry. I don't know why you need a shower already, but if you want one, go have it now so we can eat soon." Becky laughs as she returns her attention to her phone. "Sorry. Sasha wanted to go shopping again after my appointment and all I wanted to do was get something to eat."

Seth laughs too. "You're totally going to milk the eating for two thing, aren't you?"

"Well, if I have to cut down on coffee," Becky retorts, "I have to have something." Then she hears an odd beep on the line, so she checks her screen. "Do you have another call? I heard a beep, but it's not mine...."

"Shit. Sorry." She can hear Seth fumbling with something on his end. "Don't send the picture just yet. I'm going through a tunnel, so it might not come through. Hold on."

"Sure." When Becky glances over at Sasha again, her lover is giving her a strange look. "Seth said he was going through a tunnel, so...." Despite her fog of tiredness and hunger, a thought manages to worm its way through. "Where is there a tunnel in Davenport?" She knows Seth loves his adopted hometown, but it's not exactly a bustling city. When she hears another beep, she checks her phone again, wondering if it's her battery. "Sasha, is that your phone?"

"Hm?" Sasha sits back from the bag she's riffling through and reaches for her phone. "Nope, not mine."

Becky puts her phone back to her ear. "Seth? You back yet?" She can hear a rustling sound on the other end, but no voices. Glancing over at Sasha, she says, "Maybe he got cut off. I'll just call him ba—"

Before she can end the call, though, there's another beep: the card lock on their suite door. "What the fuck?" Sasha's on her feet in an instant, reaching for the nearest lamp.

Becky manages to scramble off the bed just as the door eases open—and Sasha's delighted laugh rings out. "Do you greet all your lovers with a lamp to the face," Seth asks as he steps into the suite, "or am I just that special?"

Sasha sets the lamp down and gives Seth a quick jab to the shoulder before hugging him. "You were supposed to text me when you got to the city!"

It doesn't take Becky long to catch on and she hurries over to kiss him, nearly tripping over his overnight bag. "What about the finals at Black & Brave?"

Seth kisses her back long enough that Sasha starts pushing at his chin to separate them. "We finished most of it," he says when he pulls back. "But the students could tell I was distracted and they all agreed to reschedule the last part for next week." After kissing Becky again, he pulls Sasha in close too. "She kept delaying dinner because I was going to meet you at the restaurant," he adds with a grin, "but this way I could surprise both of you." Then he glances down at all the shopping bags. "You weren't kidding about needing space in the SUV."

"You're lucky Becky dragged me out of the denim boutique," Sasha declares, giving him a quick kiss before returning to her search for the varsity jacket. "Baby jeans are so freaking cute." As she sits on the floor, she looks up at Becky. "C'mon, c'mon. Ask him already!"

"Ask me what?" Seth rests his chin on Becky's head and strokes her back. "So the appointment was okay? All the machines weren't too hard on your ears?"

Becky shakes her head. "They had a special room for supernatural patients. And now that you're here, I can just show you the ultrasound rather than send—"

"Ask him!" Sasha kicks the air impatiently, like a child throwing a tantrum.

"I thought you wanted a sho—" Becky stops short when she realizes that Sasha's request for a shower was likely just another stalling tactic to buy Seth more time to join them. "Okay. But then can we get something to eat?" When Sasha nods eagerly, Becky steps back just enough to meet Seth's gaze. "Did you want to know the gender? I told Sasha I would tell her, but I wanted to wait to see if you wanted to know. If you don't, I'll tell her later and neither of us will spoil it for you."

"It doesn't matter." Seth is grimacing even as the words come out. "Not like that. Not in a bad way, I mean. It's not that I don't care, but I don't... you know. I just want the baby to be healthy and happy. You too, of course," he adds quickly. He runs a hand over his face and laughs. "Maybe I should have waited and just met you at the restaurant. I'm just fucking this up."

"No, no. You're fine." Rising on tiptoe, Becky kisses him again, slow and soft. He's trying so hard to be supportive, even if it doesn't always come across the right way. Living in his house for so many months is going to be a challenge, but at least she knows his heart is in the right place. "It's a boy."

Sasha lets out a whoop. "Now I can look for more names. Have you picked out a nursery theme yet?"

"Sasha!" Becky's too happy to be mad, though, and even her admonition is softened by her laugh. "We don't even know where the baby will be living full time!" Pressing a kiss to Seth's neck, she takes a moment just to enjoy his warmth, his scent, his dizzying heartbeat. "So...?" she asks softly, rubbing his back. "Are you ready to have a son?"

"No. Yes." A slight tremor runs through his arms as he hugs her. "He's... okay? You're okay?" Seth moves a hand to her face and brushes some hair away. "No problems?"

Becky shakes her head. "Apparently the baby will be smaller than a human one, but that's normal: some sort of survival adaptation. But he's healthy and I'm healthy, so that's good." Resting her head on Seth's chest, she glances over at Sasha. "Still hungry, though, so we should probably try to gather... all of this up somehow and clear some floor space for when we get back."

"Don't worry about that. We've got it." Seth gives her another kiss before setting her back on her feet and going over to the puddle of shopping bags to help Sasha. "How much did you buy, Sash?" he exclaims. "We're having one baby, not a litter." When he turns back to Becky, his face is pale, his eyes wide. "It's still just one, right?"

"Just one," Becky confirms, patting her belly. She sits back on the bed and smiles as she watches her lovers rearrange the bags, Sasha pausing here and there to pull out a particularly cute pair of shoes or an adorable onesie to show Seth. All the items look so incredibly tiny in Seth's large hands, even the ones meant for one-year-olds, and Becky sneaks a few pictures while they're working. It won't always be easy, and she knows that: there will be long days and longer nights, lots of tears—not just from the baby—and worry and frustration. But there will be wonder too, wonder and laughter and so much love.