Till death us do part

'So I'd like to know where you got the notion?'

'You okay?' A voice asks, the other figure turning around, caught in the act. He smirks at the sight, taking a picture. 'The picture won't go anywhere.' He promises, as she grins at the sleep embedded in his voice. She's been up for over an hour; the baby wouldn't let her sleep and Joe just looked so sweet whilst he was asleep. 'You have Nutella on your nose.' He points out, as she takes the spoon out of the mouth. He doesn't say anything about this being the third jar of Nutella she's eaten in the last week, she's had a strange craving for Nutella and chip sticks, together. She had offered to let him taste it, but he decided to pass on that one.

'It's your son.' She accuses him. 'He's making me do all this.'

'You mean your daughter.'

'Nope he's your son.' She tells him.

'We will know by the end of the day.' He tells her, rubbing her bump gently. As the days passed, this was becoming more and more real to him. Today, they were finding out if it was a girl or a boy. Dianne was adamant that this was a boy, and Joe thought it was a girl. One of them was right.

'Do you have a preference?' She asks, moving towards the sofa, before gently lowering herself. She had found herself increasingly unable to flop down on sofa, the way she did before the small bump appeared. 'I don't know if I do or not.' She confesses, she is worried about how she will feel as soon as she pops that balloon.

'As long as it is healthy, it doesn't matter.' He promises, and he meant it. He wanted a family with this woman, he didn't care what their child was. He would love it regardless, he was up for not finding out the gender, but he knew that she wanted to know, and for planning purposes it would be practical. They would be able to design a nursery, they would be able to buy clothes. More importantly, it would make it real.

The party was happening in their garden. They had moved to a new house before they found out about the pregnancy, they knew it would be on the cards and they had to make the changes. They had moved to south east London, where there was good enough transport links and a good amount of green.

Mid-afternoon, most of their friends were gathered around the garden, Dianne talking to Amy and Joe conversing with his sister. 'Right.' He shouts, getting everyone's attention. 'So, we are all here today to find out if we are having a boy or a girl.' He's met with a duh from Dianne, and a fit of laughter from his friends. 'I take it you are all wearing the colour shirts.' They nod, as he directs people to the relevant corners, all barring Dianne, Amy and Alfie were wearing pink shirts.

No one knew, they had deliberately made sure that no one knew what the gender was. Before long, Joe and Dianne were standing around the black balloon, everyone's phones at the ready. 'Am I okay to make this a boomerang?' Zoe asks, as the pair smile at her. They want this on camera, Dianne just hopes she doesn't feel deflated when the confetti comes out. She doesn't know what she wants, but what if subconsciously she does? She grabs Joe's hand, smiling at him. There was no going back now.

'3, 2, 1.' The group cheers, as the pair pop the balloon. It takes a moment for it to sink in, as the confetti starts to fall in their hair. Joe pulls her into a hug, neither being able to speak.

'It's a boy.' He whispers. 'We're having a son.' He grins.

'Are you crying?' He shakes his head, trying to discreetly wipe his eyes. 'You are.'

'I can teach him to play Rugby, we can go fishing.' She grins, she's relieved. 'Are you happy?' He chokes.

'I am.' She manages to get out. 'You won't believe how happy I am.'

Later that night, it is just the pair of them in bed. 'You know.' Joe starts. 'It's amazing how you don't know someone, yet you start making all these plans.' Dianne raises an eyebrow, pulling the duvet over her bump, watching Joe get ready for bed. 'Like, we've never met the baby, yet I now have all these plans for him. I am going to teach him to play rugby, I can imagine going to every rugby game. He grins, she doesn't mention that he may not like rugby, it's cute.

'This makes it seem more real.' She agrees. 'He's a proper person, not just a picture on a piece of paper.' She tells him, her hand drawing circles on her bump. 'Like he exists, he's already made his mark on me.' She sighs, pulling up her top, revealing the fine lines that plague her stomach. She knows it's not a big deal, and he will be worth it. 'It's such a big responsibility.' She panics, it's only hit her today, what a big deal this is. 'Like we are responsible for this little person, I can barely keep my Tamagotchi alive.' She tells him, as he looks at her through the mirror, they lock eyes and he can see that she is about to cry.

'Where is this all coming from?' He asks, moving gently to sit next to her on the bed, his hand running over the top of her leg.

'Now we know bump is a he, we know we can start buying things for him. It's just hit me how much that scares me. Like what if we fuck up his life? What if we are crap parents?' He shakes his head, 'How can you be so sure?'

'Because I know you, and you will make the most fantastic mum, he will be the luckiest guy in the world because he has you as his mum.' She smiles. 'I've seen you with your niece and nephew, and I know you will be even more brilliant with our own kid.' He promises her. 'You will be the most amazing mum.'

A/N Thoughts?