Expecting - Part 2

"Your face is lookin' kinda green," Gilbert noted as they began pulling on their coats and gathering their belongings in preparation for the long drive over to her parents' house.

They were running late, as usual, and for once it was not Gilbert's fault. The temperature had dropped several degrees over night and Maddie's ankle had surprised them by throbbing in pain in response to the shift in the weather. Gilbert had suggested they go back to the hospital and skip out on dinner, but Maddie felt confident she could just power through it. The stinging had lessened as the day went on, but it made the simple task of getting ready for the trip across town that much harder. Yet Maddie knew that her ankle had nothing to do with her complexion.

"I know, Gil," she sighed as she grabbed her crutches and began hobbling towards the door. "It's nothing though. Just baby stuff."

"Do you think you're getting some sort of weird end of the day morning sickness?" he asked as he grabbed her purse off of the kitchen counter and stuffed the car keys into her bag.

"No, that's not it," she said, because she had yet to feel nauseous once and she thanked her stars for that small blessing. "I'm just kinda nervous. My stomach's all filled with butterflies and the baby's getting jittery because of it."

"Oh," Gilbert said and she could tell from that one simple word that he knew exactly how she felt. "Maybe we should cancel then. Didn't your gyno say something about stress messing with the baby?"

She shook her head at the suggestion, because while the idea of just crawling into bed and asking Gilbert to bring her a mug of cocoa was tempting, she knew that it wasn't a real option. Putting off telling her dads about the baby would only make her feel worse and, in turn, make the baby feel worse. "Nah, let's just get this over with," she sighed. "Bite the bullet and all that."

"Ah, that's my girl," Gilbert laughed as he kissed her cheek. "Tough as nails. You want me to carry you to the car?"

"No, I can make it on my own," she said figuring that the elevator ride to the ground floor would take most of the effort out of the journey. She did, however, end up allowing Gilbert to carry her when they discovered that the elevator was, once again, out of service due to the carelessness of one of the tenants and the laziness of their landlord.

--

Francis frowned as he tapped at the thermostat, raising the heater until it was a toasty seventy-five degrees inside the two level house. The snowy weather was something that he could only allow himself to enjoy from the safety of the indoors, but this sudden temperature drop was sure to turn him to frost even in his own home.

He had just stepped away from the thermostat when Arthur came up behind him, glaring up at the digital read out before dialing it back a few degrees. "Really Francis, you're as bad as the children," he chided. "You know better than to play with the thermostat. If you're so chilly then put on a sweater."

Francis rolled his eyes at Arthur's fatherly tone, before pointedly tugging at the tasteful cream colored cardigan that he was currently sporting over his chocolate dress shirt. "Do you not think I have enough sense to do just that?" he snapped irritably. "Besides, I want it to be nice and warm in here for when the children come. Madeleine's ankle is injured, remember?"

Arthur frowned at the thought. He grumbled something to himself before turning back to the thermostat and raising the temperature a degree. Francis accepted the small victory before moving on into the living room.

"I hope they get here soon," Arthur sighed as he followed Francis into the living room and moved towards the window. "It's starting to snow."

"They should arrive in a few minutes," Francis said as he sat down on the couch and motioned for Arthur to do the same. He did, but only after glaring at the window one last time. "Now Arthur, I want you to be on your best behavior for when the children arrive."

"Will you please stop calling them 'the children'?"

"Why? Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"No, but it does make you sound ridiculous."

"Ah, so you are uncomfortable," Francis noted as he smiled triumphantly to himself. Arthur glared at him and Francis took the opportunity to stand and go into the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of wine. "Do I have your word that you will behave?"

"I'm a gentleman, Francis, I am always on my best behavior," Arthur assured and Francis knew that that was just Arthur's long winded way of saying "no."

Francis frowned as he uncorked a bottle of pinot noir and allowed it to breath. The bottle had been opened for only a moment or two before a knock suddenly came at the front door. Arthur volunteered to get it while Francis busied himself by gathering a few glasses from the cabinet above the refrigerator. When the glasses and bottles were assembled, he made his way to the sitting room and spread them out on the coffee table. It was only then that the rhythmic sound of a metallic "clank clap" reached his ears.

Looking up he saw Madeleine carefully making her way inside, relying on the support of a pair of metal crutches to help her.

"I thought you said you were feeling better!" Francis cried as he left the wine on the table and made his way towards the foyer where Arthur was already helping Maddie take off her coat as Gilbert stood just out the door brushing off a few flakes of snow from his jacket.

"I was until this morning," Madeleine explained as she hobbled her way into Francis's arms where he held her tightly, yet carefully. "This crazy weather really threw my leg for a loop, eh?"

Francis frowned at the extra syllable dangling on the end of her sentence. Glancing over Madeleine's shoulder he saw from the mirrored look of concern that Arthur had caught it as well. Clearly Madeleine had something weighing down on her mind, but he decided to wait until they were away from the chill of the frosty air and safely nestled into the warmth of the sitting room.

"Well let us hurry inside before it becomes any worse," he suggested as he guided Madeleine over to the living room.

"I'll crank up the heater a bit more," Arthur added as he made to close the door, nearly catching Gilbert's arm in the frame as he did so.

Francis led both Gilbert and Madeleine over to the sofa and quickly grabbed a nearby ottoman in order to give her injured ankle some support. He considered asking Madeleine if she would want a blanket, but decided to just wrap a nearby afghan around her anyway. "There, so much better," he said approvingly. "So how was the drive over? Were the roads crowded at all?"

"Nah, it was no problem," Gilbert said dismissively. He shifted closer towards Madeleine and pressed their sides together, offering her his warmth. "I'm an awesome driver in any condition so even if there was a blizzard I would have gotten us here safely."

"You should have just stayed home," Arthur chided as he entered the living room. He took a seat in one of the armchairs across the room and gave them both a very stern frown. "You shouldn't have driven all the way over here just for a silly dinner if your leg is bothering you."

"Its fine Daddy, really," Madeleine assured him. "Besides, I really wanted to come here tonight since... well, it's been a while since our last visit."

Francis hummed thoughtfully before he left the room in order to grab their drinks. He had caught the pause and Gilbert's worried glance when Madeleine spoke. Francis wondered if he should start prying or if he should just wait for the news to come naturally. Ultimately, he decided to go with the latter, because whatever it was would come tumbling out of Madeleine soon enough.

"That's sweet dear, but your health is far more important," Arthur was saying just as he returned to the living room. "And this weather..."

"It makes me sad," Madeleine sighed wistfully as Francis placed a glass in front of each of them. "I love playing in the snow and skating on the frozen lakes. Now thanks to this ankle I'm going to miss out on the whole winter."

"Well, I'm sure that work would have taken care of that anyway," Arthur reminded her, but Francis could tell from the slight quirk in his lips that the comment had been meant as a joke.

"I guess so," Madeleine chuckled.

"Dinner is just about ready," Francis said as he poured a bit of wine into each glass. "So let us just have a drink before we start."

Madeleine awkwardly grabbed her glass and began to lift it to her lips, but Gilbert's hand on her wrist stopped her. "None for you, remember?" he whispered, but his naturally loud tone caused the words to carry clearly to both Francis and Arthur's ears.

"Why can't Madeleine have any?" Arthur asked suspiciously.

Madeleine stiffened briefly, before quickly blurting out "My ankle. The doctor told me not to drink while, um, while it was healing. I can't mix alcohol with my medication."

"Oh," Francis and Arthur chorused as they stared into their own glasses. "Well, if Madeleine can't drink, then I don't think Gilbert should either," Arthur suggested.

"What?"

"That sounds fair," Madeleine smiled as she took Gilbert's glass from his startled fingers and handed it back to Francis.

"I am sorry Gilbert, but this is part of being a husband," Francis laughed as he collected the glasses and poured the extra pinot noir into his and Arthur's drinks. "Mutual sacrifices must be made in any healthy relationship."

"Yes, unless you're having a fight, in which case there are no rules," Arthur said tersely.

"Will you never let that go?" Francis huffed tiredly. "One cigarette, fifteen years ago and you are still bitter?"

"Of course I'm still bitter!" he snapped. "I'd been trying to quit for years, driving myself absolutely mad chewing nicotine gum and wearing uncomfortable patches and you had to go and smoke a cigarette right in front of me just because I said your mother's macaroons tasted better than yours!"

"You knew how hard I had been working to perfect my macaroon recipe!" he shot back.

"Uh, can we eat dinner now?" Gilbert asked hesitantly. "I mean, since we're not drinking and all..."

Francis and Arthur huffed, took a deep breath and then held it. "Fine, let us eat," Francis said at last. "We cannot let this marvelous dinner go to waste after all."

--

The dinner had been served, the table had been cleared, and the dishes were all washed and dried, yet Maddie still had not revealed her secret to her parents. Her stomach felt tight, yet fluttery and every time the opportunity seemed to come up, Maddie felt a hardness in her throat stealing the words from her before they could leave her lips. She sighed, pressing her hand against the slight swell in her stomach and she took a moment to thank the cold weather that made the floppy red and white sweater concealing it not seem out of place.

"What's wrong, babe?" Gilbert whispered to her some time after dinner. "You look jittery."

"I feel jittery," she admitted as she rubbed the imaginary chill from her arms. Her dads were still in the kitchen -- arguing, cleaning, and preparing dessert -- which gave her and Gilbert the opportunity to speak freely, if quietly, for the first time that evening. "I want to tell them, but... I just can't."

"Hey, that's not my tough girl talking," Gilbert teased as he gave her arm a playful pinch. "You're tough as nails and twice as sharp, remember?"

"Gil," she started, a faint blush coloring her cheeks as she shifted away from him.

"You said you wanted to do this and get it over with, so let's do it and get it over with."

"It's not that easy," she sighed. "They'll be upset. I know it."

"Hey, best case scenario, they'll cry and laugh and then we'll go home," Gilbert said with a casual shrug. "Worst case scenario, yeah they'll be upset, but it'll last probably a day or two tops. Either way, when the baby's born they'll forget all about being upset and just be happy that there is a baby."

Maddie sighed, because Gilbert was right and she knew it. Yet despite that, her tongue just would not cooperate and deliver the message to her parents. "You're right Gil," she said at last. "Next chance I get, I'll tell them."

"Okay," Gilbert said, before leaning forward and looking towards the kitchen. "Hey Dads! Maddie has something she wants to tell you!"

"Gilbert!" she cried, horrified at her husband's tactics (although she knew in the back of her mind that she would probably thank him for this later).

"Hey, it's like my Grandpa Fritz always said, 'the only way to learn how to swim is to just drive in head first.' That's how I got that scar on the back of my head."

Her parents emerged from the kitchen then, Papa carrying a tray of maple cookies and Dad holding two mugs of cocoa in each hand, both of them wearing looks of confusion and curiosity on their faces. Dad placed the mugs down in front of each of them as Papa walked over to Maddie's side and allowed her to take a few cookies from the tray. She smiled brightly, eager to accept the cookies that had been a personal favorite since childhood. Sitting on the couch with a plate of cookies on her lap and a mug of cocoa in her hands made her feel like a little girl who had been brought inside after playing out in the snow.

"So Madeleine, what did you want to tell us?" Dad asked as he sat back to enjoy his own dessert.

"Um..." she began, and the hardness in her throat quickly resurfaced. "Can I have more marshmallows in my cocoa?"

"Of course you can, ma douce," Papa crooned as he happily took her mug into his hands in order to deposit a few more marshmallows into the foamy brown liquid. "But that is not what you wanted to say, is it?"

Her face burned at the question and the knowing glint in both her fathers' eyes. She suddenly felt trapped and the hardness in her throat was soon matched by a clawing sensation as the truth struggled to get out. "Uh, Gil, can you bring me my purse?" Maddie asked finally.

Gilbert nodded and gave her elbow a quick squeeze, before standing and heading back to the foyer where she had left her bag.

Maddie cleared her throat and willed the fluttery feeling in her stomach away as she prepared to dive in head first. "You see, when I went to the hospital after I sprained my ankle, the doctor found something while running tests."

Dad stiffened, Papa paled, and Maddie couldn't recall ever seeing either one of them look so upset. "Found something?" Dad repeated, saying the words slowly yet forcefully, as if the very act of forming them made him sick inside. "What did they find?"

"Is it serious?" Papa asked in a voice that was little more than a whisper and Maddie knew that a hundred terrible thoughts were churning around in his head.

"Well, yes," Maddie said as a smile began pulling at the corner of her lips. She could tell from the odd looks on their faces that her fathers didn't quite know what to make of the gesture and their confusion was likely doubled when Gilbert re-entered the living room with her purse in his hands and a similar smile on his face. Gilbert placed the bag in her lap and Maddie quickly reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope hidden inside. "It turns out that... that I'm pregnant."

Papa stiffened, Dad paled, and both of their eyes expanded until they were the size of dinner plates. A stunned silence settled upon the living room and Maddie used the opportunity to pull the ultrasound pictures out of the envelope. She handed the pictures over to Gilbert who then placed them in front of her fathers.

"That's your grandson," Gilbert announced proudly. "Or granddaughter. We don't know for sure yet."

"You... you are..."

"P-pregnant?"

Maddie nodded. "Three months."

"This is wonderful!" Papa gushed, tears sparkling in his eyes as he quickly stood from his chair and walked over to Maddie's side. She laughed as he wrapped his arms tightly around her and began pressing firm kisses onto her cheeks. "Ma petite fille! Ma chère enfant!"

"Madeleine," Dad began as he shoved Gilbert aside in order to sit down next to Maddie. He took her hand in his and gave it a tight squeeze. "Are you sure? Really sure?"

The smile on her face widened and Papa eased away from her, giving Maddie enough room to lift the hem of her sweater high enough to expose the patch of stomach that was growing larger and firmer with each passing day. "I'm sure," she said, placing a firm hand on her stomach. "You're going to be a granddad, Daddy."

"Oh how did I not notice that before?" Papa sighed as he gave her cheek one last kiss before moving on to focus his attention on Gilbert. She watched as Gilbert was, reluctantly, dragged into a tight and teary hug and allowed Papa to place a kiss or two to his cheeks. "I knew that something had happened, but I did not think... I never would have guessed..." The words faded in and out from Papa's lips and he soon settled on silently holding Gilbert as tears dripped down his cheeks. Gilbert gave an awkward chuckle, patting his shoulder with one hand and wrapping the other around Papa's back. "Oh! I must call Alfred!"

In an instant Papa released Gilbert from his grasp and sprinted out of the living room in search of his cell phone.

She smiled at his retreating figure, but it was a smile that didn't last long. The pointed lack of reaction from Dad struck her then and when she turned back to him, Maddie saw that his eyes were downcast as his demeanor spoke of confusion and uncertainty. "Daddy," she began soothingly, touching his fingers tenderly with her own. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I..." A tight smile slipped onto his features then and when he looked up at her, Maddie saw tears reflected in his green eyes. "I'm sorry... It's a bit much to take in. I knew this day would come, but it all seems so soon." His hand wrapped around hers again, but instead of worry or fear, she only felt pride in his grasp. "My little girl is pregnant. It's a hard thought to come to terms with."

"Oh Daddy."

"Don't worry Dad," Gilbert assured him, clapping his hand on Dad's back in a friendly manner that only caused his shoulders to stiffen in annoyance. "We're gonna be just fine."

"Don't touch me, Gilbert."

"I will put you on speaker," Maddie heard Papa say as he re-entered the room. She turned just as he pulled his cell phone away from his cheek, pressed a button on the smooth screen, and held it out to the small group gathered in the sitting room. "Everyone say 'good morning Alfred!'"

"Good morning, Alfred," they all greeted.

The sound of a muffled yawn was their response and the idea that it was probably still quite early over in Japan made Maddie's stomach tighten in guilt. "Hi everyone," Alfred said as another yawn bubbled into his throat. "Uh... who am I saying 'hi' to?"

"Gilbert, Madeleine, and your father," Papa reminded him.

"Alfred, shouldn't you be at work?" Dad asked, frowning at the phone as if he could clearly see Alfred's sleep tossed form standing in its place.

"Snow day, Dad," he answered. "It's a crazy blizzard outside. We're stuck indoors."

"You're still at Kiku's apartment?"

"Yeah and she's still asleep. So what's up?"

"Your sister has some very exciting news," Papa told him, a laugh caught in his throat as he handed the phone over to Maddie.

Her face flushed and once again her insides felt jittery. Maddie had known that she would have to share the news about the baby with Alfred soon, but she hadn't expected it to be this soon, and to have an audience gathered while she did so... She sighed, wishing that Alfred truly were right in front of her instead of the other side of the world. "Hi Alfie," she said at last.

"Hey Maddie," he returned as a mix of curiosity and caution crept into his voice. "Uh, what did you want to say?"

"Well, I just came over to Dad and Papa's house to tell them some good news and Papa wanted me to tell you."

"Okay," he drawled, growing more impatient with every second. "And what is it?"

"Um... I'm pregnant."

There was a long pause and for one horrifying moment Maddie felt certain that the call had dropped. Yet when she looked down at the display screen, she saw that Alfred was still indeed on the other line. After a few more moments of silence, Alfred answered with a steady, "You're shitting me."

"No, I'm not," Maddie chuckled into the phone. "I'm really pregnant."

"No way! Dude! I'm gonna punch Gilbert in the dick!"

"Hey!"

"Alfred!" Dad chided as he grabbed the phone out of Maddie's hand. "You're on speaker!"

"Oh. Right. Hi Gilbert."

"Hey Alfred," Gilbert muttered sullenly.

"Don't wear a cup the next time I see you," Alfred threatened in a voice that was eerily cheerful. A beat passed and when it left a genuine laugh erupted from Alfred's lips. "Dude, what am I talking about? I'm going to be an uncle! This is awesome! I'm totally coming home after this semester." The background, which had been completely silent previously, was now filled with the sounds of the steady yapping of a small dog which was followed by a distant voice whose words were too soft to be heard. "Aw, crap. I woke up Kiku. Hold on a sec."

Silence settled upon the phone and Maddie wasn't sure if Alfred had put the call on hold or simply clapped his hand over the mouth piece.

"How excited he is," Papa tittered as he took a seat on the sofa beside Maddie. "Perhaps he truly will come home this time."

Dad muttered a quick "I hope so," into his cup before taking a long sip of his cocoa as if to deny the words ever leaving his lips.

"Sorry 'bout that," Alfred said suddenly, his voice easing back into the room from the phone's speaker. "Everybody say 'good morning, Kiku!'"

They all offered Kiku a polite greeting and Maddie was only mildly surprised when her whispery tone came through the phone. "Good morning everyone," Kiku greeted, before quickly amending, "good evening, rather. Alfred has told me the good news. Congratulations Madeleine. Gilbert. I hope you have a healthy baby."

"We totally will," Gilbert boasted happily. "Our kid's going to be a little butt kicker!"

"He will with me for an uncle!" Alfred's voice cried out from a distance and Maddie heard the light notes of laughter leave Kiku's lips.

"Thank you, Kiku," Maddie put in. "I hope you will be able to see the baby when it's born."

There was a pause on the other line and Maddie had a feeling that Alfred and Kiku were sharing a long, thoughtful glance at her words. Maddie knew how much Alfred wanted Kiku to come home with him and as guilty as it made her feel to force the idea on her, Maddie hoped that the subtle hint would help to ease Kiku into the suggestion of traveling over to their side of the world. "We shall see," Kiku said at last and Maddie had to smile warily at her typically cryptic response.

"I'd hate to ruin the mood, but I'm sure this phone call is quite expensive," Dad put in then.

"Ever the tight wad, I see," Papa muttered bitterly before gently plucking the phone out of Dad's hands. "Alfred, we will be letting you go now, mon coeur. But before I do, I wanted to say that I mailed your care package earlier this week..."

"Yeah, Pops, I got it," Alfred muttered, his voice dripping with weary irritation and Maddie had a strong feeling that Papa had put something inappropriate in the box. "Thanks. Thanks a lot."

"You are welcome, mon cher!" Papa sang out. They all gave Alfred and Kiku one final goodbye before the call came to a sudden end.