⇾𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐖𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 | 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐈𝐈

Chapter Fifty-Three: Won't That be Something?

April 8, 1967

Donna's POV

"Donna, good morning."

"John, if you shake me one more time I'm going to smack you."

John retracted his hand cautiously. I opened my eyes to see him crouching down next to the bed, staring at me with a warm and inviting smile on his face.

"Morning," I said groggily, immediately noticing how uncomfortably I was laying.

"Guess what?" he cooed, reaching over to brush hair out of my face.

"What?" I murmured, pulling the blankets I'd stolen from him sometime in the night closer around me.

"Today we go home."

I managed to smile vaguely. "Am I driving?"

"Not if you don't want to, you aren't."

"Well, as usual, I don't care."

"I'll drive," he said.

"You sure?"

"Yes, of course I'm sure."

I put my hands up in surrender, then moved so I could sit up. "Well, alright." Then, I paused. "Can we get coffee?" I asked innocently.

He rolled his eyes jokingly. "We'll get breakfast too."

"Ah, even better," I said excitedly. "I'm ready to get up now."

He laughed. "I was betting on it."

~~~

"Boots, you cannot climb over to John." I pulled the squirming cat back into my lap.

"I'm telling you we should have gotten him a crate."

"No," I snapped. "I'm not locking my cat in a crate. He will be just fine."

"But why not?"

"Would you stick a child in a crate?"

"Well, no, but that's different."

"It is not. I ought to lock you in a crate and see how you like it."

"I'd advise against that," he teased, but he had a look of genuine fear on his face like he wouldn't put it past me to actually do something like that, which to be fair, I probably would be the person to do that.

Finally, Boots hopped into the back seat of the car and sprawled out, closing his eyes comfortably.

I reached next to me for the styrofoam cup that was filled with coffee, raising it to my lips so I could take a drink of it.

"Feeling alright?" he asked me, not taking his eyes off the road. I knew he didn't like to drive anywhere outside of the city and I felt bad, but he really wouldn't let me drive. He insisted and I didn't want to argue.

"What? Of course I'm feeling alright," I responded. It was true. I was feeling a lot better today than I'd been feeling in recent months. I had good days and bad days. Today was fortunately a good day.

John fell silent for a moment. When the song playing on the radio was over, I looked over at him. "You're thinking about something," I noted. "Whatcha thinking about?"

He smiled and looked over at me, then shrugged. "Nothing really. Same as always."

"And what's that?"

"Well, what do you think that is?"

"I haven't a clue. That's why I'm asking you."

"Just imagine driving down to Liverpool with kids in the back seat," he said with a uncontainable smile.

"Oh man," I said. "Won't that be something?"

"Something it sure will be." John laughed.

I glanced back at Boots in the backseat. When I began to get fidgety in the seat, I pulled the mirror on the visor down and began to braid my hair, just to keep myself busy.

John and I sat in a comfortable silence, listening to the radio.

When a Beatles song, "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," came on the radio, John reached to change the station, his cheeks turning red. I quickly smacked his hand away with the hand that wasn't holding a half-braided section of my hair, a playful smirk on my lips. I promptly turned the radio up.

He frowned at me and I began to sing along with the radio, not on key in the slightest, but I made him smile, and that's what made it worth my humility.

~~~

Three hours and twenty-six minutes later, we pulled into the driveway of Brian and I's Liverpool home.

Boots was in my lap now, waiting anxiously to get out of the car he'd been stuck in for four hours. I scooped him up into my arms and he squirmed a few moments before giving up. John and I clambered out of the car and went towards the door.

I watched as John fumbled through the keys a few fleeting moments before finding the key to the door and popping it into the keyhole to open it. As soon as we stepped into the house and the door was closed behind us, I sat Boots down on the floor. John and I watched as he sniffed around a bit before retreating to the living room.

When we were sure he wouldn't slip out the door with us, we returned to the car to get our stuff.

"Welcome home," we heard from behind us and we both turned to see Mimi coming up behind us. I was suddenly aware of how much bigger I was now than the last time we'd been here and felt like hiding so she wouldn't notice. She didn't say anything, of course, and didn't really seem to take note of it either. She pulled John into a hug, and then me.

"Have you eaten?" she asked. "How about you come over for some tea?"

"Let is take our stuff inside first," John said with a laugh, gesturing to the bags in our hands.

"Yes, of course," responded Mimi. "Just come over when you're ready."

"Thank you," I said to her with a grateful smile and she turned to go back towards her house.

John and I gathered our things in our arms before retreating back into the house. Boots was waiting on the floor for us when we made it inside. He was perched by the back door, waiting to be let out so he could explore some more. Without a word, John went and let him outside into the fenced backyard.

"Ready to go over?" I asked him.

"Have you got the pictures?" he asked excitedly.

I reached into my coat pocket and pulled two ultrasound pictures out, smiling and nodding eagerly. "Of course I do."

"Well, come on then!" He grabbed me by the hand and pulled me towards the door, being mindful of the fact that I couldn't move very fast in my pitiful state.

We walked over to Mimi's in total silence, focused only on what we were going to say when we made it there. We'd rehearsed it even.

When we made it over there, we let ourselves in and found our way into the nicely set up dining room where Mimi was preparing tea for the two of us.

She smiled when she saw us. We seated ourselves in chairs at the table, John holding one of the baby pictures in his hands, the other in mine. Mimi sat a cup of tea in front of the two of us and then took one for herself before situating herself across from us.

"So?" she asked. "What's the news?"

John, who looked like he was about to explode in excitement, spoke first. "We're having a little girl," he said, holding up a picture. Mimi's face was overtaken with delight.

"And..." I added timidly, holding up the second. "A little boy."

~~~

Sorry sorry boat day again oops