When the skyfalls

Chapter four: Telling Charlotte

Over the next few days, it became harder and harder to hide the exciting news from their incredibly intuitive four year old, who just couldn't understand why Mama was considerably more tired, still generally unwell and didn't want to play during the school holidays. The subtle touches did not go unnoticed, nor did the exchanged looks and the constant, romantic air to her parents relationship. "Daddy! Why are you rubbing mama's belly, is it sad again? You rub it a lot. Can you rub my belly? It might make me sleepy like mama!" the bubbly four year old pleaded, desperate for a little more of her father's attention before it was bedtime. "Of course I will babygirl, but no, mama's tummy is happy again, very happy again. Now come here, snuggle down and let's get ready for sleep time, okay?" whilst he traced gentle patterns on his daughters stomach, Joe found himself thinking of the future; A child in each arm to begin with, then Charlotte teaching the new baby to play, reading books and sharing her toys. He couldn't wait.

Content that his child was now fast asleep, he shimmied out from her koala like grip and left her room quietly, leaving the door slightly ajar so they could hear if she shouted on them, having been recently plagued with monster filled nightmares. Finding his wife staring into the treats cupboard, he decided this would be the perfect time to prank her and so, began silently creeping up behind her, fingers extended and ready to tickle her sides. In the optimal position, he lunged forwards, grabbing her hips and pressing a rough kiss to her neck as she let out a scream and her hands automatically flew to protect her now, slightly pudgy stomach. "Joseph Sugg! You cannot do that to me while im carrying your child, oh my god I nearly had a heart attack! And I could have woke Charlotte! You're an arse!" she pants, still clutching her stomach as she makes her way back into the cupboard, in search of something sweet, the cravings appearing much earlier and much stronger than her first pregnancy. "Do we have any of those lovehearts left over from Halloween? I'm really craving them you know" she states simply, still on her mission and completely unaware of the fact her husband was pissing himself behind her. "Well my love, at least it isn't banana and ham sandwiches this time, I can cope with love-hearts" he chuckles, reaching into his hidden snack drawer and placing the tube in her back pocket with a kiss to her head as he began the usual nightly, lock-up routine, hoping to encourage his wife upstairs and into bed at a reasonable time tonight.

Happy that the house was locked up, teeth had been brushed, Joseph found himself propped up against the sink, eyes locked on the pregnancy test which had been left on the side since their discovery. After booking the first scan for a few weeks time, it had suddenly become very real for both Joe and Dianne, that they were in the process of becoming parents all over again and although the emotions had been predominantly positive, both had been feeling slightly more nervous this time but neither had discussed this yet. Coming up behind her husband and wrapping her arms gently around his waist, Dianne pressed her face softly against his back, rubbing his skin gently with her nose. "You'd been in here for ages, I thought the toilet had eaten you or some shit. Come to bed my love. I'm feeling needy and I want a cuddle." She whimpers, pulling him backwards and leading them to the bedroom again. Stepping back from him, she smirks, "Have you got a shirt handy? I don't want to wear my pjs and its a bit cold to just sleep in my bra." Reaching under his pillow, he fires a t-shirt at his wife, rolling with laughter as she poses at the end of their bed, arms crosses and one eyebrow raised, knowing that had be refused, she would have taken it by force anyway. Shrugging into the over-sized shirt, pausing to run her hands over the tiny swell presenting in her lower abdomen, silently she took her position in her husbands arms as they prepared to settle down for the night. Sliding his hand under the shirt his wife was wearing, Joe found himself unable to resist stroking the place in which his child was growing. "We need a nickname for bump, Dot. What are we thinking? What did we call Lottie?" he ponders, tracing patterns over the soft skin, thinking back to Dianne's first pregnancy.

"Coffee bean. We called her Coffee bean because that was the first sign of me being pregnant- I hated even the smell of coffee which is so unlike me. And it hasn't happened this time actually, I've been drinking coffee like normal because I hadn't realised...Joe, what if it effects the baby?", the feeling of dread flooding her small frame as she realised all the terrible things she had done lately, things she should do when pregnant. Stroking her hair protectively, he mutters words of affection, supportive and confidence to his stress wife, determined to calm her down and ease her worry. "I promise you Dot, the baby will be fine. If it isn't, we will deal with it together but the baby will be absolutely perfect." Wordlessly, the couple melt into a close embrace before Joe felt the need to break the silence once again. "How about Jelly bean? So then we have Coffee bean and Jelly bean? And speaking of Coffee bean, we need to tell her you know. She's noticing more and more, she asked me tonight if I could rub her tummy the way I've been rubbing yours, questioning if your tummy was still upset, bless her." The innocence and sweetness of her daughter's actions brought forth a rush of maternal emotion and tears; Dianne could but daydream of how she would feel when she had two children to make her feel this way, would her heart physically be able to hold all the love she already felt? Whilst she had been in dream world, Joseph had been shopping for t-shirts, preferably with something sister related on it and had found the perfect one for his little princess. "Hey Dot, what do we think of this? For Lottie that is? It says, "I'm going to be the best big sister." We can tell our friends and family that way too, it'll be so cute. It'll arrive tomorrow morning too, we can tell her then." Having received no response, he glanced down to the redhead, who had managed to fall asleep during his mini speech and smiled fondly, ordering the little shirt anyway, knowing she would approve. Placing his phone on the nightstand and pressing a final kiss on her head, Joe let sleep wash over him, knowing either their daughter or their unborn child would wake them quick enough.

"Mama! Mama! Mama! Mama! It's wake up time! Mama! I want a special Mama hug..." Bouncing frantically on their bed, Charlotte had tried (and failed) to wake her father up first before turning her attention to her mama, who was decidedly easier to wake. Stirring, stretching and sleepily pulling her daughter towards, Dianne forced her eyes open, grateful to be feeling 100% herself together, morning sickness evidently giving her the morning off. As her daughter continued to wriggle, her motherly instincts told her to hold the child tighter, in an attempt to settle her but this had the adverse effect, causing Charlotte to push and kick, landing a small-but-strong kick directly on her mother's stomach. Letting out a squeal and pushing her daughter away, Dianne rolled away from the two bodies in the bed, sitting upright and massaging her stomach, a thousand worried thoughts running through her mind. Having woken up with her scream, Joe reached out to rub Dianne's back, while attempting to tame his hyper child, who wanted nothing more than to apologise to her mother, not intending to hurt her. "Calm down monkey, Mum just needs a moment to catch her breath okay? She knows you didn't mean to hurt her. Now, the door is going, so can you sit with Mama calmly while I get the post?"

Nuzzling into her mother ever-so-gently, Charlotte places a trail of wet kisses right down to her tummy, "Mama, I really am sorry. I love you." she pleads, flashing the famous Buswell puppy dog eyes up at her mother, who was still rocking slightly, wincing. Skipping back into the room, Joe places the parcel beside Dianne, excitement clearly written on his face as he signals his wife, who nods in agreement. "Right Little Lottie! Mama and I have a surprise and a little present for you baby, you've been really good recently. Now, can you sit in-between me and mum? Hands open, eyes closed okay? Noooo peaking!" Unwrapping the t-shirt and placing it into her outstretched hand. "Now open, do you like it? Do you want to know what is says? "I'm going to be the best big sister." What do you think that means? Mama is having a baby Lottie! In her belly, there's a baby right now!" Turning to face her mama, who was still holding her stomach but was now grinning at her eldest child. "Yes babygirl! You're going to have a little brother and sister! How do you feel?"

"Mama! I can't WAIT! I'm gonna teach her to dance, laugh and play dollies! Can i give her a kiss?" Charlotte babbles, hugging her mama tightly and running her fingers over the belly, fascinated by the fact that there was a baby growing. "We can't promise it'll be a girl sweetheart! But we can promise that it will love you so much. Are you happy?" Dianne mutters against her daughters hair, stroking it gently and pressing little kisses on her head, overjoyed with how accepting their child had been with the whole situation.

"Mama. Dad? This is the BEST PRESENT EVER!"