Gwendoline had scheduled an appointment the very next morning, she couldn't possibly wait any longer - not when she had two incredibly impatient men at her heels and a heavy cloud looming over her head. Not to mention the play started tomorrow... Gods, if I have to wait more than a day, all hell will break loose.
She sat awkwardly in the quiet waiting room, Nikolaj to her right and Giles to her left. Both men were attempting to be distant, though they were both touching her, their fingers grasping at her clothing, grazing against her skin, their knees nudging against hers. The people in the waiting room were starting to stare, they were taking notice of who she was - who they were. How could they not? They were three big names and there were all just sitting there, together. She felt like she was suffocating. She needed to step away, to get fresh air, to be truly alone for the first time in ages, to get away from the public-
"Gwendoline?" A voice called.
Gwen's eyes shot up to her doctor, her lovely lovely doctor who has been nothing but kind and supportive. She had let Gwen cry to her for what seemed like hours after this whole situation arose. Though Dr. Williams was surprised, to say the least, when Gwen had mentioned she was bringing in both men today - but again... nothing but supportive.
"Come on, love." She gestured for the three of them to join her.
Gwen shot out of her seat with a tad too much enthusiasm, taking long strides to be by the woman's side. She lowered her voice and walked with her down the long hallway. "Thank you for getting us in here so quickly, I really greatly appreciate it."
Williams simply laughed. "Gwendoline, really, you've been coming to me for years, you act like this is the most outrageous thing you've done. I assure you, it's no trouble."
A quick glance over her shoulder reassured her that Giles and Nik were following as briskly as she'd hoped. Both walking with their eyes glued to her, wide as if they were following her into some life-altering surgery.
An hour, some blood samples and cheek swabs later, they were told it would take 48 hours to have the results. Fuck, fuck fuck fuck. 48 long hours where all 3 of them will be out of their goddamn minds. Gwen was perfectly fine with not knowing but both these idiot men will be the death of her. Either way it'll come out blonde with blue eyes, why does it matter in the slightest.
It does matter and you know it, Gwendoline, don't lie. You couldn't stand to watch Nik's heartbroken face if he didn't see the resemblance. Haven't you broken his heart enough? Shut up. You have, you do nothing but hurt him. Stop-
Gwen blinked as she heard it; the quick, methodic, grainy sound of a heartbeat. Not hers, but... it.
"Oh my god..." Nik muttered.
She looked to Giles. His eyes were wide with his mouth agape, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. She tore her eyes from him and glued them to the monitor where the tiny bean of a human squiggled and squirmed. She had already felt the immediate attachment to that little clump of cells, the moment she knew for certain she had this air about her. She instantly was in a protective mode that put it above everything else. She slept for it, she ate for it, she wore comfy clothes for it, she rubbed the non-existent bump when no one was around because it made her feel like she was helping. Helping what? She didn't know.
You made that.
She knew Williams was talking to her but she couldn't hear anything over the heartbeat of her baby and the constant thudding of her own heart. Nik and Giles both looked between the women with perplexed faces, she couldn't crack what either of them were thinking in that moment. She didn't care though, she still had two whole days to survive with them, and she imagined they'd be looking at her like that an awful lot.
The remainder of the day was a blur.
Gwendoline woke up in the dead of night. She hardly remembered anything between leaving the hospital and falling asleep. But something came flooding back.
Nikolaj had cried. He had cried more than she had seen him cry before. His cheeks were a blotchy shade of pink, or at least she surmised they were from the glimpses she caught. He'd buried his face into her stomach as they sat on the couch together, his arms wound tightly around her softening waist - clinging to her as if she'd float away if he didn't keep a vice-like grip on her. His warm tears soaked through her shirt. His chest heaved and his shoulders shook.
Gwen could hardly recall what he was whimpering about, she couldn't make out any complete sentences. But she did what she could to comfort him. She kissed away his tears and stroked his hair, his cheek, sweeping his hair from his forehead to kiss there too.
"I love you," she repeated. Over and over she repeated it until she felt the need to change it. "We love you," came next. She had taken his hand in hers, rubbing soft, slow circles on her stomach.
She kept him close until the tears stopped, but she was dozing off long before then.
And now she was here, alone in their bed, with Nik's side still cold. He hadn't come to bed. This is one of the few times she decided against finding him and bringing him back to bed with her, they both needed time to think, to sleep it off, she didn't know.
Giles had offered the puffy-eyed Dane a glass of a dark amber liquid. "I'm sorry."
Nikolaj took it gratefully and sat, running his fingertips along the textured glass. "What do you have to be sorry for?"
"You know what."
Of course Nik knew. He was hoping this talk would come, and luckily it was while Gwen wasn't around to hear it. "I do, but I was hoping to hear you say it."
Giles sighed. "I'm sorry I was with Gwendoline. And I'm sorry that neither of us told you. It was her idea to keep it a secret but it was my idea to..." He cleared his throat. "Copulate."
Nik grimaced and closed his tired eyes. "Thank you. All in the past now." It still hurt. It hurt to hear, to think about, to imagine- no, don't do that. But an apology put a bandaid over the gaping emotional wound.
"You do know it's yours, right?"
His brows furrowed. "Gwendoline?"
Giles huffed a laugh. "That too. No, the baby . Lord knows that between the two of us, it certainly wouldn't be me to knock her up. I truly did only mention it to her to get under her skin. It seems though she took it a bit seriously." A moment of pause. "And you."
Nik broke his stoic front with a small, half-hearted smile. "I'd love if it were as easy as that. But I can't say I'll be sleeping well until I know for sure."
"So what if the stars aligned just right and it... weren't yours. Hypothetically."
He shrugged and took a long drink. "I'll love it regardless. I'll just be... I don't know."
With a few moments of hesitation, Giles placed a firm hand on Nik's shoulder. "You have the right to be upset if it isn't yours. If we're being truthful, please don't tell Gwendoline, I'll be wildly relieved when they say it's not mine." He gestured to himself with his free hand. "These genetics are nothing spectacular to be passing along!" He laughed. "Look at you! God, it would be lucky to have those rugged Danish features of yours. A jawline like that."
Nikolaj narrowed his eyes in thought at the eccentric man beside him. Is he... hitting on you?
Giles gave him a warm smile and a pat on the back. "I know that look. But you're really not my type, I'll let Gwendoline keep you." He stood and turned on his heel, taking his still-full glass to bed with him.
One can only hope these several hours will pass without any intrusive thoughts.
