"That's not what I meant and you know it," Andy murmured in reply as she returned the kiss. "I'm going to need to go shopping in a month or two. I'm going to need bigger clothes, since my belly is going to be rapidly outgrowing the ones I have now." She stayed still as he undid the snap on her pants, not sure what he was going to do next.

Nathaniel nodded, kissing her neck as he passed out.

**

The next morning he woke up before his alarm went off. It was Saturday but it was still darkish. Not 6 yet. He looked at the woman in his arms and then rested a hand on her stomach. "Riley..." He whispered and closed his eyes. "Annabelle... Whichever you are. Do not be mean to your mommy, okay?" He continued his quiet hushed whispers and then slid out of bed to start his shower.

Andy stirred a bit when Nathaniel started whispering to the baby, but she didn't wake up. She was a deep sleeper, and it would take much more than that to wake her. She snuggled deeper into the bed when he got up and rolled over into the warm spot he left, one hand shifting to rest on her stomach lightly.

December 24th


Nathaniel sat on their new plush furniture in their suite, his finger on the last page of the baby expecting book. He closed it, set it on the table. "In no way did that teach me how to be a dad." He muttered and then shivered a little at the cold. It was 6 am, his coffee he'd poured in the cup was already cold, however he hadn't touched it since he poured it. He'd been waiting for Andy to wake up sick so he could hold up her hair for her, wipe her face off just like every other morning recently. He even got the strangest assortment of foods she'd been asking for recently already cooking.

"Merry Christmas, Da'." A male's voice.
"Yeah, Merry Christmas." Another male's voice. Riley and his lover.
"Dad... what is this?" A younger girl.
"That's a box." Nathaniel.
"I know. But what is inside it?" The girl again.
"Open it."
"But I see it. It's... moving. OH MY GOD DADDY! YOU BOUGHT ME IT?!" The girl again. A rsutle of paper and more squeals.
"Nathaniel. You bought her a rat." Most definitely Andy.
"It's a ferret honey, and it's what she wanted."
"You spoil them."
"Wait till you see what I got you."

He bit his lip and heard the alarm clock go off. "Here we go." He muttered.

Andy groaned softly when she heard the alarm go off, but didn't move to turn it off immediately. Reaching a hand out from under the covers, she waved a couple fingers in the direction of the alarm clock, and the device went silent. She tried to fight off the nausea she felt, just laying there, but after a few moments, she jumped out of bed and sprinted into the bathroom.

"And there she goes." He muttered and followed after her. In a strange way, he loved how repetitive she was, it took a long time for her to change anything from her norm. He took her hair, twisted it and clipped it with a... clippy thingy girls used. He then wetted down a washcloth and pressed it against her forehead, rubbing her back at the same time. He ignored the vile in the basin of the toilet. He instead focused on the girl. "Well, comparatively today wasn't near as bad. I think we finally hit the descent of the puking. But maybe it's a one time thing. Lord let us hope not." He murmured and gently wiped her face off then flushed the toilet, then threw the washcloth in the washer in the next room. "Your new book came in, you left your laptop on last night so I turned it off and set it on the dining room table, and whenever you feel up to it, breakfast is ready. I'll keep it hot."

"Damn morning sickness..." Andy murmured as she caught her breath. Once she was sure she wasn't going to hurl anymore, she stood up. "I really hope it's starting to fade... I hate doing this every day." She let him take care of her, glad that he was willing to. "You're a saint," she added when he said that he had breakfast ready. She wasn't quite hungry yet, but she knew she would be. She tugged the hem of her shirt down a bit, self-consciously. It had been a bit snug to begin with, and it had started to ride up a little as her belly began to swell. "Oh, don't let me forget... I got the prints from my latest ultrasound, yesterday, they should be with the rest of the mail."

"I'm no saint. But damn I come close. And oooh I can't wait for the mail then." He said and grinned, handing her her toothbrush. "Freshly boiled." He said and then walked behind her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. They skimmed her belly and he grinned. "I love this bump. Right here." He said and then poked her head. "All of you, I love it all!" He teased and kissed the girls neck. He then slid two tickets in front of her. "So I stumbled upon these when I entered the building, I was wondering if I could change these in as the early Christmas present?" He asked and grinned. Two first class tickets to see her Grandma. "Best part is... We'll be there for Christmas." He said and kissed her shoulder quietly. "We need to start getting you maternity clothing..."

Andy took her toothbrush gratefully. She never thought she'd appreciate her vanilla-mint toothpaste as much as she did lately. She started to brush her teeth immediately, trying to get the nasty taste out of her mouth. She couldn't help but blush when he laid his hand on her stomach. She knew she was starting to show, but she was still able to hide it under the right shirts.

"The prints should be in the big evelope with the mail, the one that says 'photo, do not bend,'" she said as she rinsed her mouth out. "I don't know if the doctor was able to tell the sex of the baby, though, I asked her to put it on the prints when she was able to see it, rather than telling me." That way, it would be a surprise for both of them, instead of him being able to hear it. She blinked when he showed her the tickets, turning to look at him. "We're going to see the family?" she asked. She still wasn't used to him spending so much money on her, so the first-class tickets surprised her.

"We're going to see your family." He confirmed and then grinned, once her mouth was washed out he kissed her. "Weird toothpaste. i like it." He said and grinned, moving to pull her in to his chest. "Aren't you glad you got me?" He teased some more then took the tickets. "Oh look, they're flying to the breakfast table. I think that means it's time to eat. Move your tush!" He said and grinned, putting the tickets on the table and then walking back to the bathroom and resting his head on the doorframe. "Would you smack me if I told you I was horny? The baby bump just.... mmm you look good." He said and grinned. After three months he'd gotten more comfortable with her, adding the teasing tone to nearly everything so if he said something offensive she didn't take it so bad.

"Then it's a good thing I feel willing to accomodate you this morning," Andy replied as she leaned over and gave him a kiss. "I don't want breakfast yet, I don't want to tempt fate at the moment, and it looks like I need to dig out some of my things so I can pack properly for Christmas with the family." Grinning a bit, she used her phantom touch to tease him a little. She'd gotten much more comfortable with him in the three months since she'd confirmed her pregnancy, and she wasn't nearly as hesitant to initiate any intimacy.

"Oh my God you're kind of devilish." He whispered and leaned against the doorway and watched her. "And it's a good thing I'm willing to accept your willingness." He said and grinned. "Woah, you are moving towards the right room, and hey... I get you're kinky but sex on a dresser? That's not my thing." He sat on the bed and opened his arms. "Come here you overtly sexy woman carrying my child. I want to see your belly... and other desirable parts of you." He laughed and bit his lip, closing his eyes. "How good's your phantom creepy hand thing doing recently? Got more precision?"

"We won't be able to do this at my grandparents' place," Andy murmured as she kissed him again. "Too many people around. When the whole family gets together for Christmas, it's upwards of 25 people. We'll be lucky if we get a proper bed instead of an air mattress, though I might be able to use the excuse that I'm pregnant to get us a decent bed..." Using her phantom touch, she teased him a bit where she knew he was sensitive. "Speaking of beds..."

"Gods you tease!" He said and moaned, looking down at his hard on beneath his jeans. "You are the most ultimate tease in the world. Goodness gracious... And you are pregnant, and we WILL be getting a bed because You're aunt got the flu and she won't be there. There, I used my powers, keep using yours...."He begged and pouted at the girl. "I'm just trying to make up for the time we won't have there... Come on, you knoooow you want too... Keep playing with your creepy powers because it feels SO good." He was still not sure how to act when she could get him off without touching, while his pants were still on, which when hard could tend to hurt. But he almost felt like he needed permission to take his pants off.

((and now we're back))

"You only think my belly is cute because it's your kid in there," Andy teased. "Before I forget, don't touch those ultrasound prints. We're going to open them tomorrow, since it's Christmas." Leaning up, she gave him a kiss. "The doctor said that pretty much from here on in, she might be able to tell if the baby is a boy or a girl at any time, so she might have put it on the prints. She also said I might start feeling the baby move relatively soon, but probably not for a few more weeks." Stretching, she got up. "I should go and shower."

"Fine, fine, I won't touch the prints." He said and teased and kissed her quickly. "And that just means, within a few weeks you will want to kill me because you will be constantly being kicked because of OUR child. And I love all of you, your belly is just the cutest. Well... There's a few things almost as cute..." He teased and then walked into the closet and grabbed clean boxers and pants and a polo. He figured he might as well look nice for her entire family.

"I don't think I'll mind the kicking as much as you think," Andy replied as she got up from the bed. One of her hands went to her stomach and rubbed it a little. Somehow, she'd gotten into the habit of rubbing her stomach, just to feel how round it was getting. Leaving his room, she went into her own room to pick out some clothes and then went into the bathroom to shower. The water felt wonderful on her skin, though she still made sure to keep her shower short. She still needed to pack, after all.

Nathaniel packed his bag, it was easy since he wasn't a girl and didn't need to pack his whole wardrobe. He put the suitcase in the kitchen and went around turning off lights, no reason to waste electricity. He went into the fridge and searched. Ever since the ban of all bad foods, he'd been reduced to 100% juice or water. He grabbed apple juice and then dug into the breakfast which was now semi-cold. "You better eat. Your baby needs the food to you know?"

"I know," Andy replied as she rolled out her suitcase. She'd packed enough for a few days, knowing she'd be able to do laundry if she needed to. She'd put on her favorite sweater, though it was snug enough to outline the slight swell of her belly. He jeans were riding a bit low on her hips, since she'd started to outgrow them as well. "I think you're right about me needing to get maternity clothes... My jeans aren't fitting anymore."

"If we leave now we can get some jeans at the store, but I'd rather wait until I could take you to New York. They have entire stores dedicated to beautiful pregnant women. You being the best. But I don't think I can fly you out there by the end of break... so... We'll have to deal with WalMart." He said and brought her close and kissed her. "You should have heard what Riley said last night. Or well, on his 19th birthday. It was hilarious. It's too far in the future to just bring back up. I'll have to wait for it to appear again." He muttered.

"It's Christmas Eve," Andy pointed out around the kiss, "nothing's open. I can deal with the jeans I have until after the holidays. I won't get much bigger in just a week, after all." Taking a bite of breakfast, she looked at him curiously. "What did you hear? Was it interesting?" One of her hands went to her stomach without her realizing. She still didn't know if the baby was male or female, but she had a sneaking suspicion that she was carrying Riley.

"Hmmm it was interesting but I don't think I'd be able to quote him so I'll just have to let you hear the next time the audio... appears." He said and grinned. "And WalMart is always open. Now eat." He said and grabbed her coat from the main hall closet and set it on the back of her chair and kissed the top of her head.

"I am eating," Andy pointed out. Even as she practically inhaled her breakfast, she could feel a craving coming on, and breakfast didn't cover it. "Aniel..." she said, "while we're out, I really want pretzel M&Ms. Not just chocolate-covered pretzels, but actual pretzel M&Ms." Yeah, those sounded really good... It wasn't as strange as some of her other cravings, but it was just as strong.

Nathaniel laughed and kissed her hair again. "Whatever you want sweety." He said and turned, making sure he had his wallet for the trip, as he'd left last week without it. Bad deal. He opened the fridge, grabbed the bowl of candy he'd been collecting and searched for the blue bag. "Tada." He aid and set the bag down in front of her. "You bought them three days ago and decided they didn't seem so good, remember?"

"Vaguely," Andy replied as she took the bag and opened it. Popping a few of the candies into her mouth, she nearly hummed in pleasure. That was exactly what she wanted. "Alright, I'm happy now. We can leave whenever you want." Her cell phone and her wallet were both in her purse, she knew, and she made a mental note to grab the ultrasound prints on their way out and slip them into her suitcase.