what a lovely way to say how much you care
Fandom: Only by the Dawn (genderswapped)
Pairing: m!Jael/Olivia
Word Count: 1,411
In a way it was funny, Olivia thought to herself. She had confronted hordes of bloodthirsty vampire fiends and her hands had been steady on her gun, but now a small blue plus sign on a little piece of plastic had her clutching the side of the sink for support, the pregnancy test shaking in the hand that was holding it. She glanced up, looking at her reflection in her bathroom mirror. Her face looked blanched of all color, her mouth wide and chest heaving as if she had just been punched in the stomach.
“Pregnant,” she murmured. “I’m pregnant.” Well, that was good. She had said it to herself and that wasn’t so hard, was it? She nodded at her reflection, giving herself what she hoped was a dazzling smile but looked more like a grimace. A fresh wave of nausea hit her, making her fall to her knees and double over the toilet. Once she had thrown up all her nerves and washed out her mouth, she tried again, this time practicing for when she would tell someone else - the father of the baby she was carrying.
Olivia liked sex, there was no doubt about it, and she wasn’t exactly a one-man woman, but she knew there was only one person who could possibly have impregnated her given their very sexual relationship and the frequency of it. Jael Black. He was the only person capable of keeping up with her so it was fitting that he be the one to ruin her. Okay, ruin was very dramatic, but she was pregnant! She was a militia member! What was she suppose to do now that fighting and training were very obviously out of the question? And what was she supposed to do with a baby? And what was she supposed to do about Jael? She had actually began to think that she might start having feelings for her which he would return at some point in time, but getting pregnant so soon seemed a surefire way to kill the relationship before it could even begin. It was just too much too fast.
After Olivia had practiced in the mirror a few more time, she nodded with a hint of finality. Maybe other women would have waited a few more days to give themselves time to adjust but not Olivia. She dove headfirst into everything and if she waited, she would just make herself sick from worry about how to keep calm she was sure. She was going to tell him and . . . and well, that was that. She pinched her cheeks to try to force the color to return to them and swept her long, dark hair into a high ponytail before setting out to find Jael.
Jael had adopted a daughter after an attack had left her orphaned so Olivia knew that he liked kids, but one was enough, wasn’t it? And even if Jael liked kids, she didn’t. It wasn’t so much that she didn’t like kids as it was that she hadn’t actually imagined herself ever having any, especially not this soon in her life. She knew that it being late evening and militia training having just ended (she’d taken a sick day just to take a pregnancy test), she would find Jael in the weapons room long after everyone else had left. When she had first met him she had thought that maybe he had some sort of OCD or was just a regular neat freak, but though he was a perfectionist when it came to work, she believed that more than anything, Jael liked to do something, to feel needed. She needed him and she hoped she wouldn’t lose him now. If she did though? Well, fuck him very much. She would do just as well on her own. She would be scared shitless, but she would manage and she would be sure to kick his ass as soon as she could after the baby was born.
She poked her head into the weapons room and just as she had expected, he was alone, disassembling a gun and carefully wiping it down with a rag. She took a deep breath before she stepped in. “Hey,” she called stiffly, smiling.
He turned his head to see her there, giving her the mischievous half-smile that made her stomach do that annoying flip thing she had heard other women describe (it made her roll her eyes and gag). Then again that annoying flip could just be the baby; it was difficult to tell now. “Hey,” he called back. “I thought you had the day off.”
“Ya know me,” she shrugged, stepping further into the room, shoving her hands into her back pockets. “I just can’t stay away.”
“I’ll be finished with this soon if you want to -“ he began, but Olivia quickly cut him off.
“I’m pregnant.”
The piece he was holding dropped to the counter with a clang, knocking the other parts to the floor as he quickly turned to face her, his blue eyes wide.
Yes, that had been the reaction she had expected.
“And it’s yours,” she continued on, shrugging as if her being pregnant was the most normal occurrence in the world. “I just thought you should know,” she shrugged again, but the cracking of her voice was a dead giveaway that wasn’t nearly as blasé as she was putting on. Jael was silent, his eyes still wide and his mouth open. He closed it and then opened it again as if to say something, but no sound came out. Panic. He was probably panicking, she thought.
“All right then.” She took her hands out of her pockets to clap them together and shot him another bright smile. “That was all I wanted. Carry on.” And then she bolted as casually as she could.
Her hands balled into fists at her side as she hurried through the passageways of the militia building, taking deep inhalations to calm herself. She was shaking, as jittery as a junebug and so nervous she didn’t know whether to scratch her watch or wind her ass.
She had pushed the door open and was out in the warm twilight air of Dresden, stars twinkling so bright that it was almost like being back in the country in the south. The evening air was sweet with the smell of fresh cut grass and possibly the promise of a very rare rain.
“Hey,” she heard behind her as she crossed the smooth terrain to get back to her apartment building. The voice was deep, familiar. She wondered if she could just pretend that she hadn’t heard him, but Jael Black was not a man who would be ignored. He caught her by the arm and turned her around.
“What?” she asked, slipping her arm out of his grasp as she met his gaze. The look on his face was different than the shock she had seen before. It was . . . dare she say hopeful? Excited? Incredulous? All of the above?
He smiled widely. “Were you serious back there? Are you messing with me?”
“Am I messin’ with you?” Olivia repeated, her slow Southern drawl drawing the sentence out even longer.
“You’d better not be,” he shook his head. “Cause if you don’t start showing some sort of baby bump in the next few months, I’mma knock you up just for getting my hopes up.” His smile was wide, his obvious excitement infectious.
The weight that had weighed her down, that had made it hard to breathe seemed to vanish with his words. “You can’t just go around threatenin’ to knock women up just cause you’re desperate to spread your seed around,” she joked, her voice faint; she was still in shock. She hadn’t anticipated this reaction at all.
“Oh, yeah? If you don’t pop out my baby soon, just watch me.”
She damn near launched herself into his arms, not caring how uncharacteristic it was of her. It wasn’t what most women would think of as romantic, but Olivia wasn’t your average woman. “Pig,” she punched him lightly in the stomach before her arms tightened around his neck and he raised his own to wrap around her waist.
“Is that any way to talk to the father of your unborn child?”
If it had to be any man in all of Dresden to knock her up, of course it was Jael Black. And she wouldn’t have chosen anyone else.
Pairing: m!Jael/Olivia
Word Count: 1,411
In a way it was funny, Olivia thought to herself. She had confronted hordes of bloodthirsty vampire fiends and her hands had been steady on her gun, but now a small blue plus sign on a little piece of plastic had her clutching the side of the sink for support, the pregnancy test shaking in the hand that was holding it. She glanced up, looking at her reflection in her bathroom mirror. Her face looked blanched of all color, her mouth wide and chest heaving as if she had just been punched in the stomach.
“Pregnant,” she murmured. “I’m pregnant.” Well, that was good. She had said it to herself and that wasn’t so hard, was it? She nodded at her reflection, giving herself what she hoped was a dazzling smile but looked more like a grimace. A fresh wave of nausea hit her, making her fall to her knees and double over the toilet. Once she had thrown up all her nerves and washed out her mouth, she tried again, this time practicing for when she would tell someone else - the father of the baby she was carrying.
Olivia liked sex, there was no doubt about it, and she wasn’t exactly a one-man woman, but she knew there was only one person who could possibly have impregnated her given their very sexual relationship and the frequency of it. Jael Black. He was the only person capable of keeping up with her so it was fitting that he be the one to ruin her. Okay, ruin was very dramatic, but she was pregnant! She was a militia member! What was she suppose to do now that fighting and training were very obviously out of the question? And what was she supposed to do with a baby? And what was she supposed to do about Jael? She had actually began to think that she might start having feelings for her which he would return at some point in time, but getting pregnant so soon seemed a surefire way to kill the relationship before it could even begin. It was just too much too fast.
After Olivia had practiced in the mirror a few more time, she nodded with a hint of finality. Maybe other women would have waited a few more days to give themselves time to adjust but not Olivia. She dove headfirst into everything and if she waited, she would just make herself sick from worry about how to keep calm she was sure. She was going to tell him and . . . and well, that was that. She pinched her cheeks to try to force the color to return to them and swept her long, dark hair into a high ponytail before setting out to find Jael.
Jael had adopted a daughter after an attack had left her orphaned so Olivia knew that he liked kids, but one was enough, wasn’t it? And even if Jael liked kids, she didn’t. It wasn’t so much that she didn’t like kids as it was that she hadn’t actually imagined herself ever having any, especially not this soon in her life. She knew that it being late evening and militia training having just ended (she’d taken a sick day just to take a pregnancy test), she would find Jael in the weapons room long after everyone else had left. When she had first met him she had thought that maybe he had some sort of OCD or was just a regular neat freak, but though he was a perfectionist when it came to work, she believed that more than anything, Jael liked to do something, to feel needed. She needed him and she hoped she wouldn’t lose him now. If she did though? Well, fuck him very much. She would do just as well on her own. She would be scared shitless, but she would manage and she would be sure to kick his ass as soon as she could after the baby was born.
She poked her head into the weapons room and just as she had expected, he was alone, disassembling a gun and carefully wiping it down with a rag. She took a deep breath before she stepped in. “Hey,” she called stiffly, smiling.
He turned his head to see her there, giving her the mischievous half-smile that made her stomach do that annoying flip thing she had heard other women describe (it made her roll her eyes and gag). Then again that annoying flip could just be the baby; it was difficult to tell now. “Hey,” he called back. “I thought you had the day off.”
“Ya know me,” she shrugged, stepping further into the room, shoving her hands into her back pockets. “I just can’t stay away.”
“I’ll be finished with this soon if you want to -“ he began, but Olivia quickly cut him off.
“I’m pregnant.”
The piece he was holding dropped to the counter with a clang, knocking the other parts to the floor as he quickly turned to face her, his blue eyes wide.
Yes, that had been the reaction she had expected.
“And it’s yours,” she continued on, shrugging as if her being pregnant was the most normal occurrence in the world. “I just thought you should know,” she shrugged again, but the cracking of her voice was a dead giveaway that wasn’t nearly as blasé as she was putting on. Jael was silent, his eyes still wide and his mouth open. He closed it and then opened it again as if to say something, but no sound came out. Panic. He was probably panicking, she thought.
“All right then.” She took her hands out of her pockets to clap them together and shot him another bright smile. “That was all I wanted. Carry on.” And then she bolted as casually as she could.
Her hands balled into fists at her side as she hurried through the passageways of the militia building, taking deep inhalations to calm herself. She was shaking, as jittery as a junebug and so nervous she didn’t know whether to scratch her watch or wind her ass.
She had pushed the door open and was out in the warm twilight air of Dresden, stars twinkling so bright that it was almost like being back in the country in the south. The evening air was sweet with the smell of fresh cut grass and possibly the promise of a very rare rain.
“Hey,” she heard behind her as she crossed the smooth terrain to get back to her apartment building. The voice was deep, familiar. She wondered if she could just pretend that she hadn’t heard him, but Jael Black was not a man who would be ignored. He caught her by the arm and turned her around.
“What?” she asked, slipping her arm out of his grasp as she met his gaze. The look on his face was different than the shock she had seen before. It was . . . dare she say hopeful? Excited? Incredulous? All of the above?
He smiled widely. “Were you serious back there? Are you messing with me?”
“Am I messin’ with you?” Olivia repeated, her slow Southern drawl drawing the sentence out even longer.
“You’d better not be,” he shook his head. “Cause if you don’t start showing some sort of baby bump in the next few months, I’mma knock you up just for getting my hopes up.” His smile was wide, his obvious excitement infectious.
The weight that had weighed her down, that had made it hard to breathe seemed to vanish with his words. “You can’t just go around threatenin’ to knock women up just cause you’re desperate to spread your seed around,” she joked, her voice faint; she was still in shock. She hadn’t anticipated this reaction at all.
“Oh, yeah? If you don’t pop out my baby soon, just watch me.”
She damn near launched herself into his arms, not caring how uncharacteristic it was of her. It wasn’t what most women would think of as romantic, but Olivia wasn’t your average woman. “Pig,” she punched him lightly in the stomach before her arms tightened around his neck and he raised his own to wrap around her waist.
“Is that any way to talk to the father of your unborn child?”
If it had to be any man in all of Dresden to knock her up, of course it was Jael Black. And she wouldn’t have chosen anyone else.