24 December '74: Merry Christmas, baby: Edgar

[Phoebe Bones]

24 December 1974

It had been such a nice Christmas eve with her family. They'd started the tradition years ago, when Phoebe was a child.  A special dinner, followed by opening a present. Now that she was grown and lived on her own, they'd changed it up. Instead they celebrated the holiday with her family on Christmas Eve, and spent Christmas day with Edgar's family. And this being the first Christmas since they had gotten engaged, her parents had insisted on having a party for them. It was nice, seeing her old friends, seeing her parents friends. But it was exhausting, and she wasn't entirely sure how she had made it through the night. Everything had been so wonderful, good food. But she could barely eat these days, constantly feeling like she was going to be sick. Not to mention the times she was throwing up.

But planning a wedding in just a few months was taking it's toll on her, that was for sure. It was only a few days away now. She was glad that she had been planning some of the details for ages now, it made getting vendors and stuff easier. And Edgar had agreed to a completely muggle wedding - and was making sure his family understood exactly what that meant. She did not need questions for her family that she couldn't properly explain. And now that she was accepting the idea of magic, she was learning exactly how useful it could be. Things on the wedding day would be set up within minutes, the decorations had made themselves while she addressed envelopes. And house chores? She'd given him a good punch for that one.

Kicking her heels off as they entered their apartment, she hung up her coat before giving Edgar a kiss. Her parents were going to bring presents in the new few days. She was off of work, and her and Edgar could spend the next few days relaxing and being around family. As she headed into their bedroom, discarding her jewelry on the dresser, a wave a nausea hit her hard. Not a false alarm. She darted into their bathroom just in time, cursing in between her heaving.  

[Edgar Bones]

Merlin's sake, not again.

Edgar Bones, graduate of Auror training, member of the Order of the Phoenix, all-around self proclaimed badass - didn't do well with vomit. Everything about it - the sounds (both of retching and of the plopping) and the smells - went straight to his stomach, making him feel like he was about to give up his dinner for no other reason than being in proximity of one who was.

Thus, if she'd had any doubts before, Phoebe had fully realized in recent weeks how much he really did love her. Because whenever she high-tailed it to the bathroom, Ed was only a few moments behind. He needed the few moments to steady himself, to mentally prepare for what he was about to experience through her experience, but then he was there. At her side. Holding back her hair. Rubbing her back. And fixing up her toothbrush when she was done.

And so, as Phoebe's nearly-getting-to-undressing (which was a high point of any evening, even one spent in such great company as her family, even one spent at the most festive of occasions) turned in to her darting for the bathroom, Ed took his moments, heard her retch and curse, and then was there.

One hand rubbing her back, one holding back her long hair, swallowing back the rush of bile to the back of his throat - he was there.

When she'd finished - please be finished - he rid them of the evidence and popped a kiss to her forehead before quickly getting to his feet to ready her toothbrush. He joined her on the floor with it, making himself fit in the small space there was by sitting with his legs around her, head resting on her shoulder as he...debated letting out some thoughts. Because yeah, it wasn't unusual for brides-to-be to be stressed about an upcoming wedding. But she'd been having these episodes often. And if it was the wedding, if it really was, he'd feel like the worst groom-to-be ever for putting the stress on her. And if it wasn't...

"Babe," he began, voice muffled against her, "do you really think this is because of the wedding?" Or...could you be...

[Phoebe Bones]

She didn't know he did it. Vomit was never one of Edgar's strong points. Between that time she had gotten sick after drinking too much with her friends, and the time she had the flu? She wasn't sure he was going to make it then. With how often she had been throwing up now, she wasn't sure how he wasn't right there with her. She knew she needed to stop worrying so much - Edgar wouldn't let anything ruin their wedding. But it was so hard not to stress out about it. She was only getting married once, and she wanted everything to go perfectly.

But here he was, rubbing her back and holding her hair. When the feeling (and the retching) finally passed, she still hovered over the toilet for a moment before he disposed of the evidence, and handed her a toothbrush. Teeth cleaned, and toothpaste spit into the toilet, she leaned back into him as they sat there. She might be fine, but there was also a chance another urge to hurl would come.

At his question, she gave a sigh and ran her hand across her face. With the amount of stress in her life, being sick was simply normal. But this sick, and this often? She had given it a thought, but they were careful about that sort of thing. But the sickness, the food aversion...the weight gain.

"Under the sink," she mumbled quietly, pointing. She always kept at least a couple pregnancy tests in there, just in case they even slipped up or her period was late. Her period. When was the last time you had that?. "Give me a minute."

Edgar left the bathroom, and she pulled herself together enough to stand and grab a stick, sighing as she sat it down on the counter after she was done. Two minutes it said to wait, but she snuck a peak after washing her hands and couldn't escape the curse that came from her mouth. "Ed!"

[Edgar Bones]

He felt the weight of her - what little there was - lean back against him, and Edgar's heart ached. Whatever was doing this to his girl, he had to figure it out, he had to help. Because Phoebe didn't deserve this getting-sick-randomly business. If it was because of the wedding, he'd pitch in more, gather reinforcements to do as told. It was the holidays! Everybody was home - part of why they'd sped things up (but was it really speeding things up since they'd been together so long?) - so they would have many willing helpers.

If it wasn't because of the wedding...if she was sick and tired so often because they'd accidentally...

Should've gotten her to take the potion.

They were careful, obviously, but these last months - well - right after they'd gotten back together, they'd been getting back together quite often. It was only natural - they were together again, they were engaged, readying truly to spend their lives together - how could they be anything but taking advantage of any time they had? But they were still using the muggle protection instead of anything magical, and the fine print wasn't exactly reassuring...

At her less than excited words, Ed reached around to pry the cabinet under the sink open, and grabbed one of the neatly stacked little boxes for her. "Just - ah - let me know, eh?" He grabbed another for himself on his way out to read while he waited, because reading the box was better than thinking about being a parent. But although it was engrossing reading, while he paced around their bedroom the young groom-to-be was much more keen on what was happening inside the bathroom than the fine print of this muggle contraption. Because he soon found out that they were incredibly simple to read - and at this point that was all he needed to know how to do, right?

I can't be a father - can I?

Eventually, yeah, Ed wanted to have a family with his Phoebe. Their kids would be blessings upon the good green Earth - gorgeous, smart, talented, obviously. But he and Pheebs needed a few more years to be young, didn't they? And the two of them and Sadie hardly fit in the apartment - they'd have to get a house, and they couldn't afford a house in the city, which meant they'd need to move...

But those were only the tip-of-the-iceberg of the logistics.

Could he really be a father? Now?

Sure - loved kids. Loved them. Took any rare opportunity he had to play with them, kids of cousins and the like. But to not hand the kid off to its parent at the end of the family party? To have that kid be his? Could he handle that responsibility? The responsibility of another life besides his and Phoebe and Sadie's? Their dog had, jokingly and lovingly, been nicknamed their dog-ter - but what if she really was their trial child? Preparing them for this moment?

Could we do this?

Ed didn't have nearly enough time to think through his thoughts before his fiancée was cursing up a storm and calling for him. He whipped around, nearly tripping over his feet, and caught himself on the wall before propelling over to the bathroom. He swung the door open and took in the look on her face - and looked to the stick on the counter.

In those few moments, everything he'd learned about how to read the thing left his brain through his ear. Ed fumbled with the box still in his hands and looked between the key on the back and the stick on the counter. Then to Phoebe. Tapping the key on the box reading Positive Pregnancy Indication he swallowed. Expected panic collided with an unexpected joy as he tried to speak. "I'm reading this right. Right? We're...we're..."

[Phoebe Bones]

Staring at the stupid little stick on the counter, she didn't know what to do. Because how? Well, I know how it happened but I haven't missed a dose... She was always diligent about taking her pills on time, every morning at the exact same time. She'd been on the pills for years at this point, her parents growing concerned when her "summer fling" with Edgar went on for more than just that summer. And they'd had scares before, but that was usually just because of her being too stressed out or sick-

Sick. She'd been on antibiotics only a few weeks ago for a bad cold she'd caught at work, and she hadn't thought about it. She could hear the pharmacist in her mind reminding her that this could make her birth control less effective. But she hadn't worried about it, because it was just a few days worth of antibiotics.

Edgar was then swinging the door open, looking between her and the stick on the counter. She watched him silently as he looked back and forth between her, the stick, and the box. He was tapping the box, doing his best to process the "muggle" results that he was seeing.

"I, what?" Phoebe asked as he pointed at the box. "We aren't anything." She was the one that was pregnant. She placed a hand on her forehead, taking a deep breath. "Okay well technically we are going to be parents if that is what you are asking. I'm pregnant Ed. Bloody pregnant."

[Edgar Bones]

We aren't anything? You're not pregnant? Ed was thoroughly confused and showed it until his fiancée continued. He wouldn't exactly call Pheebs pleased with the news, but he got an undeniable rush as she said that they were going to be parents. It was mad, obviously, but -

"You're gonna be a mum," he teased, smirking down at her before he came up to her properly. The oddity of a little human calling Phoebe "Mum" was incredibly distracting to him, only surpassed by the realization that that same little human would call him "Dad." He held her by her hips, kissing the hand still on her forehead, and swayed with her playfully as he tried to get a smile out of her. "I'm not going to say this isn't unexpected," Ed said, still attempting to process more of their new reality than that the little human they made would address them how children addressed parents, "but it's not like we weren't going to try for this at some point, eh? We're just - a little ahead of schedule." He shook his hair from his eyes and smiled down at her, squeezing her hips. "This will be fine. We'll be the raddest parents, won't we?"

[Phoebe Bones]

Edgar was incredibly calm about this whole ordeal, while she was fighting back the urge to lose the rest of the contents of her stomach. How were they going to tell their parents? This had been one of the concerns her parents had voiced back when they originally moved in together, and she had sworn that it would never happen. But she was pregnant and she hadn't even thought about it for a second. There were so many things to be concerned about right now, and Edgar was just smirking at her.

Because he was making perfect sense. There would be a little human looking up to both of them soon, no matter how she felt about it right now. And they had talked about kids, but she hadn't exactly planned to be pregnant before their wedding! What if her dress didn't fit because she was gaining weight? And oh, her parents would be pleased with a grandchild but they would be able to do simple math to figure out that she had been pregnant before her wedding...

"How is this fine? My parents are going to freak out - and I don't even know how your parents will react. And if my dress doesn't fit...what if I'm sick all day of our wedding?" She leaned her head against his chest, arms wrapping around his waist. "I'm not ready for this. We have this tiny place, we both have work. You're going to be involved in a war. I..do I have to go to your magical hospital? Are there rules about this?" 

[Edgar Bones]

While he couldn't blame her, his little lady was having a bit of an internal freak out. Her eyes were telling of the endless questions bouncing around inside, and when she started to speak, thankfully some of her worries came out so he could see where some of her mind was at. But Ed could just smile as Phoebe leaned into him, and he rubbed her back as he thought.

Why can't you stop smiling?

For all of the insanity that this was, Ed was predominately instinctually happy about the news. The news that they were going to have a child. He kissed the top of her head, trying to figure out his own thoughts as he spoke. "Slow down there, babe," he cautioned gently. "It's not like any of them think we haven't slept together," Edgar said, quickly continuing, "so I don't think this'll be too huge of a shock. But they get a grandkid, they'll be over the moon. And now that we know what's been getting you sick, I can get you potions for that, okay? And your dress? Amelia will be with you the whole time you're getting ready, if need be she can do a little magic under the table. And everything else..." He leaned back against the wall, bringing her with him, and nudged her chin up so he could see her.

In that moment, Edgar realized why he couldn't stop smiling.

Only half a year ago, they had been on the rockiest part of a relationship a relationship could be on. He didn't know if she'd take him back after learning he'd lied omitted truths deceived not told her about magic for the whole of her life till that point. But she had. And they had gotten engaged. They were getting married in a few days.

And they were making a family of their own.

"Everything else will work itself out. I promise," he said earnestly, clearing his throat in an attempt to clear the sudden hoarseness from it. "Phoebe - we're going to have a baby. A baby. A few months ago - I didn't even - I didn't even know if we'd be together now." While it had been an unspoken rule of don't speak of that time, he couldn't help it. "I just - I love you so much, Pheebs. You're going to be amazing. We can do this, I know we can."

[Phoebe Bones]

This isn't exactly how she had planned this day in her mind. She'd thought of plenty of fun ways to tell Edgar he was going to be a father, and none of them involved panicking in their bathroom on Christmas Eve, only a few days away from their wedding. It did nothing to calm her nerves that Edgar was still smiling at her, because how could he be so calm about this. They were certainly at a decent age to be parents, but were they really ready to have a baby?

Edgar's words were helping calm her down, however. Obviously their families weren't oblivious to the happenings behind closed doors, but that didn't mean she wanted them to know she hadn't been as careful as she could have been. And as he continued to speak, she felt a shiver down her spin as she looked up at him.

Because he was right. Back in June, she hadn't know where her life was going to go. It had taken a lot of conversations with his family, a lot of lies to her friends and her family about what exactly was making her so upset. And a lot of bottles of wine by herself crying in her childhood bedroom. But she'd realized that she loved him too much to let it tear them apart.

"Ed..." Trailing off, she couldn't stop herself from smiling back at him. "Okay. We can do this. Potions sound wonderful, and Amelia will be there. You're right. My parents will get worked up but eventually they will calm down." Reaching up, she ran a hand through his hair. "And you are going to be a great father."

[Edgar Bones]

Merlin’s beard, but he was getting emotional. It was insane to think that Phoebe was pregnant. That they were going to have a child. That months ago this could have all been taken from him by his own - er - delayed good judgement. But now…

Ed chuckled, bringing her even closer as Phoebe ruffled his hair, and leaned down to close the distance between them. Usually after she’d - ah - been sick, he wasn’t too keen on kisses. Fear of that lingering - erm - taste. But this…was…how could he not? They were going to be a family - they’d already been on their way, but they were going from an engaged couple with a dog to having a third human in the apartment - we need to get a house - by, what, summer? How far along was she? He’d tried to keep questions from badgering him since finding out this life-altering news (questions were better for the morning, not now), and thus shook himself out of it by deepening their kiss.

"I can’t believe this," he whispered after a time, resting his forehead against hers. "What d’you think? Boy or girl?"

[Phoebe Bones]

Now that she had accepted the fact that it was real and actually happening, she felt an odd sense of relief. Because it was an answer. No more unexplained sickness, no more questions of what was going on. And they had talked about having kids, it was something they both had decided would be in their future. There was no harm in that future starting sooner rather than later. Sure, there would be family to deal with, but once there was an actual baby?

She smiled into the kiss that Edgar gave her, glad to lose herself in the moment and just linger on the fact that the man she loved the most was going to be a father. She smiled as he rested her forehead against hers, letting out a laugh at his question. "Shouldn't you be able to tell that with your magic?" Although if she really thought about it, "I think I want it to be a surprise."

Just one last surprise. This year of their relationship seemed to be that year, with Edgar dropping a quite sizable one into her lap. But one that had become delightful with every knew spell he showed her, every knew place he took her to. It only seemed fit they finish it off with one more surprise - a good one.

[Edgar Bones]

"I dunno, babe," he began with a slight grimace, "more surprises?" But Ed couldn't keep up the facade for long, soon laughing along with her. Whether their first child was a boy or girl, it really didn't matter. What mattered was that his soon-to-be wife was cared for, and that she and their child were as healthy as possible. Among many other things, this was going to make their wedding day one they actually both would remember (he'd planned to get delightfully drunk, but if she couldn't drink he couldn't either, right?). "I don't know the spell to do it, could ask around...but I'm with you there. So long as everything's good, I don't need to know anything more than that."

He grinned, giddy as more and more realizations ran into him about the turns their lives were taking. "How're you feeling?" he asked excitedly, hand gently coming to cup her cheek. "Do you need anything?" Not that Edgar knew the first thing about caring for a pregnant woman, but knowing Phoebe - she'd teach him. And fast. "How far along do you think you are, anyway?" he asked, leaning back from her a touch to look down at her stomach curiously. She'd always been so tiny, and maybe it was just his imagination projecting the tiniest of baby bumps onto her abdomen. They'd get a healer to look at her soon, make sure she and the baby were all right...they'd tell their families soon, after the wedding...they'd go to the bookstore and get everything...he was up for promotion within the Order, and while that meant more danger, it would also give them extra funds to start searching for a real house...

Mind rather spinning with everything there was to do, he nodded out towards their bedroom; with her hand held lightly in his, Ed loosened his tie with the other on his way to take a seat on their bed. Sadie came jingling in from the other room - she was festive, of course, a bell hanging from her collar for the holidays - and hopped up to join them. He took a look around the room, never having really felt how small the space truly was. If they moved the dresser right next to the closet, and the bookshelf out into the living room, there could be room for a crib squeezed in with them...

"I'm gonna get us a house," he promised quietly, kissing her temple as he looped an arm around her waist. "We probably can't afford anything too fancy right off the bat, but - but it'll be nice. Maybe outside of the city a bit? With a yard?" He couldn't help another grin at the thought of a yard - they needed one, didn't they? For family things? Yeah, the parks in the city were wicked, but you had to go to them. He wanted to just walk outside and lounge around on their own lawn with their kid - surely that wasn't too much to ask.

[Phoebe Bones]

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at his jest, but it was interesting to know that there was indeed a spell to determine the gender of a child. Now if only this magical world would get up to speed on transportation, perhaps she would find it a little more endearing. So far many of her experiences involved being sucked through space and time, and the silly owl they had gotten bringing her a dead rat when she was trying to take a nap. That had been disgusting, for more reasons than one.

And Edgar, ever the sweetest person she'd ever met, was quick to start spouting questions, although she gave him a pointed look as he leaned back and looked at her stomach. "I'm feeling alright, now that I've lost my dinner. I'm sure there a ton of things I need, although that will have to wait for a few days," she replied. Vitamins would be essential, and easy to get at the store. It was unlikely that she would be able to get into the doctor until after the first of the year though, which meant it would have to wait until the wedding was over. "And you best watch yourself, looking at my stomach like that. I hear pregnant woman can be very emotional about these sort of things."

She followed him to the bedroom, glad to be sitting down. She was tired - another pregnancy symptom she had been ignoring. And she was sure Kyra would be here in the morning, horoscope in hand about how a new life was going to change her future and pestering her with questions. That always seemed to be how things went. She'd known about Edgar and her almost splitting a few months ago, she had known about the proposal before it ever happened. Maybe there's more to those horoscopes that meets the eye. Phoebe reached out, scratching the dog behind the ears as she joined them on the bed.

"How are we going to afford a house?" she questioned, leaning into him as he wrapped his arm around her. They were doing just fine in the flat, although another bedroom would be nice if they were going to have a kid. Surely that would be more cost efficient than moving. But they could make this work, they would have to. "Although, I don't know the first thing about raising a magical baby, so perhaps it would be nice to be closer to your Mum. Assuming the baby can do magic, of course. I suppose I don't know how that works."

[Edgar Bones]

While he knew he wasn't gaining any points by taking a peek at Phoebe's midriff, Ed couldn't help it. He'd caught on to her sickness as a sign of pregnancy, but what had he missed? And for how long? For those who did the math once the baby was born, how far off would the months be from the wedding? Not that he particularly cared about that bit of it, but...I don't want to miss things about you. Being in the Order was a world-consuming thing, but the thought that he'd missed something so unbelievably important...I'll do better, I swear I will. He'd have to help her figure out, and quick, what foods and drinks were good for her nowadays. Maybe a grocery trip tomorrow, bucket in one hand and cart in the other as they worked their way through the aisles? "Oi, you are always beautiful to me - and have been, and will be," he said earnestly, lips quirking up into a smirk as he stole another look. "Our kid is in there somewhere, just curious where he's hiding out."

Settled with his fiancée on the bed, their dog-ter joining them, Ed half wanted to sleep and digest the news and what it meant for them tomorrow, and half wanted to keep riding the we're having a baby vibes until morning found them. He worked off his shoes as she spoke, holding her to him as they thought about what was coming. "I'm nearly up for a promotion, raise comes with it," Edgar reminded her lightly, leaving out the reminder that the advancement within the Order meant not only a raise in pay, but also a raise in risk. He'd laid the structure out for her over the summer, she knew it all...It was necessary, the risk. Necessary for the big picture, and necessary for theirs. Standing idly by, living an ordinary life, while Phoebe and others like her were in jeopardy just because they hadn't been born with magic? He couldn't do that, not when he could help end this. Before our child's grown, before he's at Hogwarts, he thought firmly, his usually simmering desire to bring the true wizarding traitors down boiling up suddenly within him, all of this will be done with. He swallowed thickly, not wanting to get into all of that with her just then...focus on the good tonight...

"As for magic - er - sort of depends on the kid, from what I remember," Ed assured his little lady, giving Phoebe's side a squeeze as she leaned into him. This was yet another first that the pair of them was having over their mates - while he couldn't complain, having a more recent example of a magical baby than dredging up memories of his siblings would've been appreciated! "Like Roddy, if he ever got a scrape when we were horsing around, sometimes it'd be healed before I could give him enough sweets to make him keep mum about it. Amelia though," he chuckled, scratching the back of his neck as he remembered fits of rage coming out of the girl as a toddler, "she had - er - her bouts of magic came more when she was peeved. Toppling things over and shite like that, feisty little thing she was when she didn't have her way. Can't argue with being closer to our parents though, I'm sure they'd love that too. May even offer to help with the house if we play the grandparent card right!" 

[Phoebe Bones]

He was taking another peek at her stomach - oh I am going to kill you - but she had to grin at his words. Because it was a wonderful thing for them, a new chapter in life. Unplanned and unexpected, but this wasn't the biggest surprise she'd ever had. And if she could deal with learning about magic and a wizard wanting to take over the world, she could handle learning how to be a mother. "What makes you sure we're going to have a boy? She could just as easily be a girl." Oh, a little girl would have Edgar wrapped around her finger without even trying.

Their bed was comfortable, and the sheer exhaustion she had been trying to ignore was hitting her as she settled against Edgar. How many signs had she just brushed off as something else? It had been so easy to assume that the stress of the wedding and work was what was causing her to feel sick. At least you are finding out now and not when the baby shows up. They would need to go shopping for baby books, she didn't even have the slightest idea where to begin when it came to being pregnant. Edgar mentioned his promotion, and she sighed at the thought. She wasn't keen on him becoming, what was it again, an agent? It meant he would be the one out fighting and not sitting at a desk. It's what he wants though, you know that. But when they had discussed it there hadn't been a child in the picture. "We have reviews coming up at in Feburary at the office, which means I might be getting a raise as well." And if not, she could always look for something that paid better even if it was outside of her field. Babysitting had always been nice for some extra money, and she could pick up some parenting skills along the way.

Hearing about Roderick and Amelia's magic as toddlers was interesting, and she couldn't help but laugh. It seemed so perfect that Roderick - he was working on becoming a healer - was easily mending cuts and scrapes and that Amelia had a temper. The girl was so sweet, Phoebe could hardly even imagine her mad. "Are all babies magical? I know your mum is a muggle like me, but all three of you aren't. And you didn't mention what kind of magic you go into as a kid, you just have to tell me."