(no subject)

[deadashale]

WHO: Laura & Eddie
WHAT: It's time to see if baby make's three, if the planning and attempt to make dreams come true worked.
WHEN: Backdated to December - just prior to Christmastime.
WHERE: Eddie's apartment.

The wait has been agonizing. Laura’s not entirely sure how other women handle it, but the werewolf has been on constant alert for a shift in herself - making a genuine attempt to predict or track the subtle differences in her body that will be the telltale sign that this baby, this pregnancy, has gone from dream to reality. Never in her life has Laura actually been more eager to fast forward than recently. Not even when Derek was in pain and she wanted to get through how difficult losing their entire family had been for him had she wanted it quite this much.

Then again, at that time, she knew the only way to get to the other side of the pain her baby brother had been experiencing was through it.

This isn’t painful. It’s exciting. It’s scary. It could be everything that she’s wanted for some time finally manifesting itself into reality. And she deserves it, right? She knows that Eddie does. Life hasn’t treated either of them kindly - and they deserve something good, someone, good that they can pour their love into.

The plastic bag dangling from the werewolf's fingers is loose, the pink box inside shifting to and fro as Laura approaches Eddie’s apartment door. This could be the day when everything changes and Laura can feel the butterflies in the pit of her stomach. She could be a mom next year. She and Eddie could be parents.

Lifting her free hand Laura knocks, listening until she can gauge that Eddie is close enough to actually hear her voice through the door. “It’s Laura - I brought the test!” She announces brightly, a hint of a smile pulling at her mouth. She wants to do this together - well part of it anyway - so that they can find out at the same time. She knows how much this means to not only her but Eddie too. They both only get to be alive because they’re here and they want to bring in a new life now because of this chance they have.

And she really is excited, but damn is this nerve-wracking. And trying to be hyper-aware of her own scent and listening to her own body is definitely not a part of the training that her mother imparted. She imagines that it’ll be much easier for Derek, or maybe even Izzy if he can teach her along the way, to pick up the subtle changes when they start to manifest. So for now she’s stuck with a test that she needs to pee on. A test and a wish.

Nervous? Eddie Kaspbrak, nervous? For the most important test he'll never actually take? No. No, Eddie's not nervous. Eddie is terrified. Whether the test comes back positive or negative, he's afraid. If he's positive, he's afraid he'll be terrible at being a dad, or he'll drive Laura away with his incessant neuroses and even if he's the donor, she's the gestational carrier. She has more rights than he does.

He's not nervous for a negative result, he's petrified that the inexplicable infertility he and Myra faced is his fault and that dying didn't break the curse. Not only will that be disappointing for him, but he'll have let down one of his best friends in the process.

Eddie texts Laura to let her know that Chrissy's gone over to Eddie and Lydia's, likely for the night, and she says she'll be right up. As soon as he reads the text, he can feel bile rising in his throat. Okay, maybe he is nervous.

The knock on the door startles him a little, but mostly because he's too busy catastrophizing internally to hear the footsteps approaching the door. "It's open!" he calls back, trying to make sure his voice doesn't break like a fucking thirteen-year-old. He calls it out to her because he's spiraling and he needs an extra few seconds to get his shit together. Both of them can afford to keep trying if this doesn't work, but will it be worth it for him to bother? If she can't get pregnant, chances are, he's the problem.

As the door opens, Eddie stills, shakes his head as if to physically shake off his thoughts, and then crosses the room to meet her. "Hey," he greets, giving her a nervously excited smile and a hopeful look. He hopes she's got the test because she's late on her period and not because she's hoping that she'll break records by getting a positive result earlier than normal. Knowing her, it's the former, but some part of him can't help fearing the false negative of the latter, making it even harder for him to adjust to the reality of whatever might come next. He can mentally prepare if the result is one way or the other and that's that, but if it could be wrong, that's a whole other can of worms Eddie is not mentally prepared or emotionally ready to navigate just now.

"...do you feel different at all or anything…?" he asks, lifting his eyebrows, not entirely sure how to move the conversation when the last time he ever had to approach it, he and his ex-wife both approached it with painfully low expectations and had, ultimately, called it quits after the disappointment results.

The apartment is heavy with the scent of anxiety. Of fear. Of Eddie’s emotions. They waft over Laura - punching her in the nose the second she’s got the knob turned and the door cracked. Hoo-boy. She’s grown used to Eddie’s way of handling things over time. And this is probably one of those situations where it’s a good thing that of the two of them she is relatively calm. Somewhere in the back of her mind she can’t help but send up a silent thanks to her mother for the way that she raised her - the way that she taught her to face things in her life.

Because despite her own concerns and emotions she’s almost positive that she’s balancing it all out better than the lanky man whose anxiety she can practically feel in the air.

The door clicks closed behind her and Laura offers Eddie a warm smile, in hopes of reassuring him. Maybe if she puts enough calming energy out there it’ll start to rub off on him, bring him down, and balance it out a little bit. She can be steady where he’s teetering. Because, honestly, no matter what happens they can handle it. And they will handle it. Laura’s been through hell. Eddie’s been through hell. The worst things that could happen to either of them have already happened and so this - this is just real life and them figuring out how they proceed from here - whether they try again or what the next step is.

It doesn’t stop the hope that this took - that she’s carrying their baby, though.

“Well, I’m late.” Laura offers - her tone certainly a shade of reassuring. “And a little tired and bloated - and some woman at Walgreens had on the most god-awful perfume that almost had me losing my lunch, but… werewolf, so hard telling if that’s par for the course or not.” Laura jokes as she approaches Eddie, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder, the warm and steady smile still on her face. “Either way - just breathe. I’m not certain of anything yet, but,” Laura lifts her other hand, the bag crinkling with the movement, “We’re going to find out - and then figure out where we go from there together.”

Laura rubs Eddie’s shoulder down to the shoulder blade lightly, looking him in the eyes - her smile not wavering or faltering. Will it be disappointing if some of this is all in her head - or just her monthly visitor being a late asshole - sure… but Laura doesn’t give up. And she’s not going to count on it one way or the other before she knows. “Derek and Izzy will probably be able to smell or hear a difference before I will - at least until it’s obvious because I live with myself every day, so I don’t know anything for sure yet, but I’ve got a good feeling - are you good, should we wait a little bit before I take this so you can even out first or rip the bandaid off quick?”

Laura asks, genuinely ready to do whatever might help Eddie feel prepared - feel ready. And in some ways it’s easier to focus on his anxiety than anything going on on her side of things. It makes it easier to remain hopeful, and ready for whatever. But god does Laura really want this. She’s not sure how much it’ll hurt if this hasn’t worked, but she knows that there’s not anything that either of them want more than to be parents - otherwise they wouldn’t be here in the first place. And as much as she’s itching to take the test there’s an afterbite of fear. Healthy and whole as she is she was dead. And he was dead. There are so many complicated elements.

But they deserve this, right?

Sometimes, he feels guilty about needing all of the emotional support that he does, not just from Laura, but especially from Laura, even more especially in moments like these, when he should be the one supporting her.

Eddie gives her a small, apologetic smile when she gives his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "That's good, right? Being late, that's a good sign," he says, swallowing back the urge to point out that he's done some research and he knows that the cycle can be negatively impacted by anxiety and stress, so he's probably not helping anything right now. She could just as easily be late because she's anxious about being late. He doesn't say it; doesn't let himself dwell on it. She knows her body better than he does, that's for sure, so if Laura has a good feeling about it, that'll have to be good enough for Eddie.

Shaking his head, Eddie gives her a semi-tight smile — he's trying, okay? — and nods his head toward the bag in her hand. "I'm not going to even out and we both know it. Go take it. Do you need anything? Water? Or…gloves, or…I don't know. I don't know how much or how little those damn things have changed in the last decade," he offers with a nervous laugh, reaching up to rub the back of his neck a little. "Egg timer?" he tries with an awkward smile.

And there’s the guilt.

Sometimes her nose is a blessing and other times it’s a curse - though she’s almost positive that it doesn’t take the sensitive nose of a werewolf to read Eddie, truth be told. She can tell there’s a myriad of feelings - all big and all with the potential of overwhelming him - going through his brain one right after the other. And she has to give him credit that he has enough control not to spout everything that is crossing his mind. He’s trying.

And that is enough for her. She appreciates it.

“It’s definitely a good sign.” Laura smiles and watches the play of emotions and the pull of muscles and tension in the man’s face. He really won’t even out. But maybe once they know one way or enough it’ll lighten up - for good or for bad. But she’s going into this knowing it could go either way while hoping for that good. “I’m good, Eddie. I promise.You let me worry about the test and you be ready - egg timer or phone it doesn’t much matter, they work the same.” She gives him a wink and squeezes his shoulder.

“But maybe try and sit down - though if you have to place have at it, I’ve got this part, but… just remember no matter what it’ll be okay.” She reassures with a knowing determination that whether or not that’s how it feels in the moment she’ll find a way to make it happen. It will be okay. That reminder pops into her head again - they’ve both already faced the worst things in their former lives. They can come through anything - pain and determination don’t diminish, really, they get stronger and this is no different.

After lingering for a moment longer Laura lets go of her potential baby daddy’s shoulder and makes her way to the bathroom. It’s impossible to not be aware of Eddie elsewhere in the apartment, but Laura still does her best to tune him out - even if she isn’t a nervous pee-er by any means.

Eddie can feel his face warming with the embarrassment of aging himself so much by bringing up the egg timer. "Stopwatch app, got it," he replies with a slightly shamed but equally as amused.

Just remember no matter what, it'll be okay she tells him and Eddie gives a small smile, nodding, trying to remind himself that there are worse things than not getting to be a dad. He's gone this far in life without children and now Stanley has a kid he can spoil the shit out of in a pinch, right? Plus, Laura's young, still. She has ever reason to keep trying even if this doesn't take, and he'd like to think that she wouldn't shut him out of continuing to be a part of her and her child's lives, even if he's not a contributing factor. "I'll be okay, go do your thing," he assures her softly. "Just yell when I need to start the clock."

The second she's behind the bathroom door, Eddie's heading to the kitchen. Coffee, tea, something; he needs something and alcohol doesn't seem like a fair choice since she can't partake with him when she comes back out. Even if it's negative, she can't, if she wants to start a new round of IVF after this.

Tea is more hands on, he decides, so that's what Eddie does to occupy himself while he waits for Laura to take her test. What, in reality, is probably only minutes feels like actual centuries as he prepares a cup of spearmint tea for each of them. It's herbal; no caffeine, so that should be safe for her. Even if she normally metabolises those sorts of things so fast they barely register, if at all, for all he knows, pregnancy changes that completely and he'd rather be safe than sorry.

Laura can hear Eddie in the apartment outside of the bathroom - and even though there are nerves involved there’s a comfort in not being alone. The mere fact that he’s there and that she can hear him moving about and interacting with various items around him. It’s the kind of sound that Laura actually misses now that she’s living alone again. It’s part of the reason that she’s constantly inviting Izzy over - or showing up unannounced at Derek’s house. As much as she can function alone it’s never been a necessity and she doesn’t really want to.

So the sound of another person existing while she takes the pregnancy test is a legitimate comfort.

Sure the results are more accurate in the morning, and there are so many factors in this that are not what they should be in an ideal scenario, but Laura is happy. Even if Eddie and she aren’t together they area good duo - they’re good friends and she knows that despite his idiosyncrasies and quirks she knows that he’ll be a great dad. She’s seen the way that he is with Stan’s daughter, the twins, and Chrissy - none of whom he owes anything, but treats them with love and care and reverence (almost) just the same.

After a little introspection, Laura finishes up and caps the test, moving to wash her hands and clean up after herself. She only pauses long enough to look in the mirror - seeing the ever-familiar dark hair, falling loose in waves around her. Her nose is the same, her eyes unchanged. She’s still the same person that she was. The only difference is she could be the same person who will eventually become someone’s mom. A soft smile pulls at her face as the slow, even breath releases from her nose before she breathes in… scenting the vaguest hint of spearmint in the air.

Putting the test back in the wrapper - knowing how Eddie can be with germs - Laura moves to exit the bathroom. “We’re on the clock - timer is a-go.” She calls out ahead of herself, following her nose and good sense into the kitchen. “We’ve got three minutes to kill.”

Laura announces from the threshold as she holds up the test hidden within the wrapper. “I see you found a way to busy yourself in the meantime.” The teasing tone comes easily. “I love the smell of spearmint.”

Even as Eddie hears the toilet flush and the faucet turn on, he's trying to remind himself that this isn't the end of the world and he's going to be fine, no matter what that test says. He still has kids he can dote on; they don't have to be related to him by blood. Hearing her call that he needs to start the clock, Eddie lets go of the tea bag he's been idly bobbing up and down in the mug of hot water in front of him and fishes out his phone to start the countdown for three minutes. "Longest three minutes of our lives counting down, now," he announces.

Then, he returns his attention to the mug, finally taking the tea bag out of the mug and tossing it into the sink beside himself before turning to offer her the mug. "I know you do," he replies, grinning. "You've mentioned. Plus, I heard somewhere that mint tea can settle the stomach. I don't know if that shit's true, but I'm hoping for the placebo effect if it isn't, because I'm nauseous with nerves right now," he admits with a sheepish laugh, waiting for her to take her cup of tea before turning back to repeat the process for his own.

His eyes move to the test in her hand and then down to the stopwatch app on his phone. Only forty-five seconds have passed. "Jesus…" he mutters more to himself than to her as he makes his way to the kitchen table, setting the phone face up on the table so that they can both see it counting down with painfully slow ticks as each second passes them by.

"You have to do a blood test at the doctor's office to confirm, no matter what it says, don't you?" he asks. "Or are tests nowadays a lot more accurate? Back when Marty and I were trying, no matter what the damn things said, you always had to get a blood test to confirm it if you wanted to be sure…"

Laura can’t help the small laugh that bubbles up passed her lips. She’d argue, but he’s not wrong - it is likely going to be the longest moment of their lives. There’s never been anything that she’s wanted to know or waited to find the result about, quite like this. The werewolf knows that she means it when she’ll be okay either way, but she can’t spend the next three minutes going insane and fixating on this. Not internally Especially if she doesn’t want him to have an aneurysm on top of her own thoughts.

“Luckily we’re in it together.” Laura offers - by way of consolation in the situation - as she reaches out to take the mug in her left hand and bringing it up to breathe in, taking in the comfort of both of the scent and warmth. “Good memory.” Laura lingers, watching as Eddie as he continues to speak and goes about prepping his own mug.

“It does - there are some pressure points too, for the record, but I have a feeling that the only cure for you is two minutes, and some change, away.” Laura offers Eddie a sympathetic headtilt. They make for a slightly odd duo in this instance. Where he’s wired tight, Laura is not, and where Laura is strong - at least in his head - he finds himself weak. It’s not the first time that the fact that the two of them balance one another out has crossed the alpha’s mind.

She waits until he’s ready before finding a seat at the kitchen table, placing the safely wrapped test down - where neither of them can see the result. If she’s tempted to peek she knows that he has to be too, after all. Once she’s done that she forces herself to bring her eyes up to Eddie as she moves to take a testing sip from her mug - part of her relishing the bite of burn with the heat.

“This one is supposed to be the most accurate according to the research I did - the doctor will want to confirm after a positive pregnancy test, but it’s got the highest track record with accuracy,” Laura notes, elbows on the table as she cups her mug between her hands gingerly. “So I’m pretty sure that means that we can trust it and then confirm officially with the doctor afterward. Plus I have a few extra - this box came in a set of three.” Smiling to herself she can’t help but add, after a moment.

“My mom used to be able to catch this kind of thing so early - between scent and sound - the changes are so minute. I never did get the hang of it quite that early, but I’d put money Derek might wonder before I actually get the chance to tell him if it’s positive.” Laura takes a sip again, studying Eddie over the rim of the mug. “Do you mind if I ask - how long did you and your wife try?”

Something about Laura has always left Eddie in slight awe of her. She appears to breeze through life with the same fervor of a fearless child while still carrying the wisened weight of a fully grown woman who has lived, died, and lived again. She's always so level-headed and calm even when he thinks it'd be more normal for her to be freaking out, and she can always manage to find the bright side of things, no matter how bleak they look to him. If he were ten years younger, this platonic coparenting arrangement could never work in a million years; he'd never be able to separate the process from the person.

He huffs a little laugh and takes a sip of his own tea, hissing in a breath immediately thereafter in response to the heat. "You'll smell different to him if you're pregnant, you mean? What's that about? I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to wrap my head around all the cool shit you guys can do," he comments playfully, only barely resisting the urge to look back down at the stopwatch, knowing it'll only make him mad. It's probably only been another fifteen seconds, with his luck.

By reflex, Eddie moves to twist his wedding ring at Laura's question, frowning slightly at his inability to keep from actually doing so. It's an ugly compulsion he'll probably never break until he's ready to take the fucking thing off for good like Stan did. He doesn't like to think too much on the fact that Stan loves his wife and misses her and still managed to take off his ring and start hooking up with the woman who got assigned to his apartment, meanwhile Eddie is still untangling all the trauma from his Mommy issues that he only managed to perpetuate with Myra and he still can't take the goddamned thing off.

"Oh, God…we started trying in our early twenties," he replies. "Straight out of college and right after the wedding. We gave up when she turned thirty-two. So…I don't know, eight or nine years. Nothing. I mean, shit, sex was literally on our chores list by the end. We saw like four or five fertility specialists, including the best in the country at the time…nobody could find any reason why we couldn't get pregnant. Nothing wrong with her eggs, nothing wrong with my sperm."

Eddie takes another sip of the tea and scrubs his free hand over his face as he lets the hot mug warm his other hand for a moment before setting it down on the table again. For a few seconds, he's quiet before he elaborates, frowning.

"I think It did it to me. Stan and his wife tried for years, too, he said, and nothing. Big Bill and his wife tried; Beverly and her husband tried…nothin'. Shit, Richie fucked half of Hollywood and nada. I think It wanted to make sure we'd come back to it could finish us off. There's not a damn one of us who would've kept that stupid fucking promise if we'd had kids to come home to. I think It knew that…" he sighs. "So, I'm hoping that, since Richie and Ben said they killed It, maybe I'll finally be able to conceive with someone. This is my hail mary move. If this doesn't work, I'm pretty sure nothing ever will when I'm involved. Let's hope I don't fuck this up for you."

Laura nods and laughs. “Yeah - it’s subtle but detectable because the hormones change a person’s scent, and as the baby gets bigger the scents mingle too - it’s… really trippy but kind of amazing any time I’ve actually scented it.” She can’t quite banish the smile from her face even as she laughs at his amazement. These things have been a part of her skill set - of her life - for so long that it’s nic to see people admire them, even if sometimes it’s accompanied by a bit of jealousy. She chooses not to take it personally, plus she knows Eddie doesn’t mean it that way anyway.

“I’m pretty sure that one day you’ll wrap your brain around it, and in the meanwhile you remind me to remember how cool it is.” Laura winks.

Anything to help distract them both from the heaviness - and the waiting game is welcome right now. Laura can’t help but feel a little sad for all of the years that Eddie and his wife suffered unable to have what they wanted. Even if she’s gathered the dynamic wasn’t really a healthy one they might have beena ble to change it, or break through it, for the better of their child. Eddie certainly has made changes, even since the first time that Laura met him. And there’s a part of her that can’t help but be proud of that fact.

He’s a good guy - the kind of guy that you want sticking around, even if occasionally you want to roll your eyes at him.

“I don’t know how It did it to you, but it really does suck that you couldn’t get this, be a dad potentially, sooner than now.” Reaching over, Laura gives Eddie’s forearm a squeeze. “If you’ve got a shot of this with anybody I’d say I’m a pretty good one - curse from It, cross-dimension, and werewolf healing factor… we’ve pretty much stacked the odds in our favor, but I need you to know something either way.” Laura looks Eddie - eyes meeting his, purposefully. She wants him to know exactly how serious she is and how much she means what is about to fall from her lips.

With her hand grounded on his forearms and their eyes meeting Laura chooses her words purposefully - meaning them with every fiber of her being. “Even if it doesn’t work you aren’t fucking anything up for me. We’re in this together and, unfortunately, it’s basically out of our control. So you’re not allowed to blame yourself if the test isn’t what we want because you wouldn’t choose that - and nothing you could have done in any of this could have changed the result, okay? Don’t make it about you because you don’t control It, the portal, or even your sperm, really, so give yourself some grace because you don’t need the weight - or deserve it.”

Eddie lets out a soft, mirthless laugh. "Yeah, well…it's probably for the best. God knows Marty and I would've messed up a kid pretty good if we'd been coparenting, so…" he replies, his tone as wry as the smile that accompanies the roll of his eyes. They wouldn't have been a healthy set of parents. That kid would've been just like him and Eddie wouldn't wish his childhood on anyone. Except maybe Henry Bowers, fuck Henry Bowers.

That thought has his fingers moving to brush reflexively against the scar on his cheek, even as his tongue prods the scar on the inside. His hand drops back to the table and he smiles at Laura when she moves to hold his arm. "Did anybody ever tell you that you have the patience of a saint? Because you do. It's kind of incredible," he says, only half-joking. He can't promise her that he'll give himself grace because he doesn't know that he can without guidance and he's not going to ask her for that on top of everything when he's got a paid professional a text message away that he can reach out to for that.

"You know, even if this doesn't work, I hope you keep trying, because you're going to be a fucking awesome mom," he thinks aloud, giving her a little smile and then moving his tongue to prod at the scar inside his mouth left behind from the stab wound, again. Now that he's done it, he'll keep doing it probably for the rest of the night, knowing him. Then he'll spend the night staring at the ceiling and willing himself to sleep, getting up a hundred times to double-check the front door is locked and the windows are locked and Chrissy's door is locked and, finally, his own. That's another knot of trauma he's been working on detangling. He wonders if Ben's H is still there on his now stupidly sculpted abs, an ugly reminder of their past unwilling to fade. Maybe it went away again after they killed It. Eddie died before that happened, so he's still got the scar on the palm of his hand that came back when he got to Derry. He still has the scar from the stab wound courtesy of Henry Bowers, and he still has a giant scar that takes up his entire fucking chest, thanks to Pennywise.

The sound of the timer going off on his phone physically startles Eddie out of his thoughts and it takes him a second to realize what it means, he'd fallen so far down the mental rabbit hole. "Oh, shit…" he gasps, snatching up his phone and shutting off the alarm on it before looking up at Laura with a mixture of raw hope and intermingled fear in his eyes.

Moment of truth. Bases are loaded, friends and neighbors, as Eddie Kaspbrak steps up to the plate. Couldn't conceive with his wife of twenty years, STEEEEEEERIKE ONE! Died in the goddamned sewer in Derry, Maine at the age of 40, before he could even brother having a midlife crisis, STEEEEEERIKE TWO!

His eyes move from Laura's face to the test, and back to her face. "I feel like I'm gonna puke, I'm so fucking nervous, I can't look at it. You have to," he says, completely forgetting the fact that she had to pee on that thing before he reaches for it, pushing it in her direction without looking away from Laura's face.

“You never know - but can’t live in that, really.” Laura admits - knowing that it does no good to speculate either way. After all, Eddie knows himself relatively well - even if he’s ready to be a hardass on himself and himself only based off of the interactions she’s seen with Chrissy and the other kids in his life. And she doesn’t know his wife at all, even if she knows enough to know that he probably is better, healthier here.

The laugh that the alpha barks out is automatic at the praise to her patience. “Yeah, well, that took some time to figure out, and a lot of help from my mom and Derek along the way - even if he doesn’t know it - so I can’t take all the credit. And I’m no saint, but I’ll take it.” Laura lets out a breath.

She’s not going to let herself start swirling the pool of guilt and regret. Not right now. There are too many things and there’s something that is undeniably more important to focus on. Plus, there are only so many times she can self-flagelate and trip down the road not travelled. All she has is the here and now and she’s making the most of it in every way that she possibly can. Still, her eyes wind up falling over Eddie’s face as he seems lost after the sweet encouragement - and additional compliment. “I hope whatever the result is that you don’t quit either - you’re already a good dad in all but title and ‘officialness’ from what I’ve seen.” Laura encourages, pulling her hand back and moving to take a sip as keen eyes spot the countdown on his phone, and Eddie’s heartbeat, the changes to it though subtle, in the background just before the timer sounds.

“Pretty sure puking is my job for the foreseeable future.” She jokes, but takes the pregnancy test that’s shuffled in her direction. Looking down at the package she slid it back into Laura prepares herself. Whatever the result is she will be okay. They will be okay. This is just one step. One thing. Not everything. Not yet.

One line means not pregnant - two means that this worked and that they’ll be parents.

After steeling herself nimble fingers pull the test from the in tact wrapper and she looks down, the test angled toward her so that she can digest the information before him - per his request. And there, in front of her very eyes, there are two solid pink lines where there was just an open, blank white oval prior. They did it. It worked!

The smile that spreads across Laura’s face is immediate as she turns the test toward Eddie, feeling the sting of tears, the overwhelming creep of excitement and happiness only fueling it. “Guess we don’t need to keep trying for now - it’s positive!” Laura doesn’t make it at all trying to be calm, or funny, her tone just getting excited until the elation is pilling from her by the end of her sentence. “It worked, Eddie - we’re going to be parents!” And though Laura doesn’t even fully realize there are big, fat, happy tears slipping passed her dark lashes and down her cheeks. Now… now it’s everything, isn’t it?

It feels like time stands still when Laura takes the test and lifts it to look. Even though he's turned it off, the alarm on his phone continues to ring in his ears and he watches her expression as she looks at the little stick in her hands. His own expression seems to reflect back some approximate amalgamation of worry and excitement. It takes him a second to register the smile because Eddie, being Eddie, notices the tears first and his stomach drops. It's only a beat later that he notices her wide smile as the tears start to creep down her cheeks and he can hear her talking, but he's barely registering the words.

Two lines.

There are two lines.

Not one. Not one bright one and one barely there, is it really or is that a fluke.

Two.

He can't even find the words, he just finds himself taking the test from her to look at it more closely for himself. Yes. Two very distinct lines, no ifs, ands, or buts.

An incredulous sound escapes him, something that can't really decide whether it wants to be a laugh or a sob so it settles firmly in between.

Setting the test back down on the table, Eddie gets up and moves to her, his own smile as wide as hers. "Holy shit!" he all but shrieks. "Holy shit!"

Laura is up just as quickly as Eddie’s ‘holy shits’ come out and she can’t help herself. She’s too elated. Too full of emotion - happiness, relief, contentendness, and so much more that she’s not even sure that she can really name in this moment. There is no thought put into it as she throws her arms around Eddie, hugging him tightly and laughing. It’s so early, but she already feels the itch to tell Derek. To cry to him about how they’re going to have more than just the two of them in their family again.

Choking back a happy sob, Laura finally realizes that she’s crying and a laugh bubbles up.

“I’m leaking, jesus!” She jokes, pulling back to wipe at her face, eyes feeling pulled toward the table again - almost as if magnetized. They’re still there, no change. It’s not like it’s a cruel joke of some kind. They both can see the two lines and even with her vision watery that’s reassuring to the werewolf. “Oh my god… we’re really doing this - we’re going to have a baby, Eddie - it’s actually happening!”

Laura speaks, her voice wavering ever so slightly with the emotion as the tears continue to fall. It’s literally everything that she wanted. It’s coming true. She made it happen with him. They made it happen. She almost can’t believe the luck. It’s perfect.

Sniffling, Laura wipes at her eyes again - thinking about how happy her mother would be. How happy Derek will be. How happy she knows she and Eddie are. “How do you feel - you good? Less anxious now… dad?” Laura asks, still full of emotions and working on the whole tears situation, but the smile hasn’t dwindled any. Even if she is a fucking mess.

When Laura hugs him, Eddie squeezes her back enthusiastically. There's a lump that has risen in his throat and he can hardly believe this is real. Thank God for her being a werewolf, he finds himself thinking; it probaby overcorrected for his curse.

At least Laura's laughing and crying all at once and it makes him feel less crazy for wanting to do the same damn thing. His eyes are prickling and he's laughing when she pulls back to wipe her eyes.

And it's going…going…gone! Kaspbrak knocks it out of the park, friends and neighbors, look at him go! Hi-ho Silver, away!

"I can't fucking believe it," he laughs, brushing a knuckle under his own eye before reaching to push her hair out of her face as Laura wipes her eyes again. "How do I feel? Like I'm about to wake up alone in my bed really disappointed that this was a dream," he says, still laughing, and he's only half-joking. Some part of him is afraid of it.

"Holy shit, this is really happening… You did it. You did it, you beautiful, wonderful, amazing fucking woman, you did it. Even with my shitty, old ass swimmers, you fucking did it," he gushes, his laughter shifting into dry, happy sobs somewhere in the middle of it before he pulls her back in for another hug, needing to release some of the excited energy into affection for the woman who is finally going to make him a father after all these fucking years of trying and failing.

Laura sort of knows the feeling. After the entire process and the time it’s taken to get here there’s a part of her that wonders if the line is going to disappear - reality rearing it’s ugly head, but it’s still there, she reassures herself for the second time it not even as many minutes. It’s still there and not going away. And even though it’s stupid she can almost think of it as her baby - her baby isn’t going anywhere. Their baby.

Taking in a deep breath, Laura brushes the tears away before looking back at Eddie - bemused.

She’s almost positive that he genuinely believes it - that this was all her. But none of this would have been possible without him. And after a moment - barely thinking it through - even as he pulls her into another hug Laura pinches him, not bothering to give him warning or to pull away from the second hug, instead holding onto him. “Feel that - pretty sure that means you’re definitely awake - and I hate to break it to you, Eddie.” Laura squeezes. “But it’s literally impossible for me to make a baby by myself - I’m a werewolf not a seahorse, so you very much played a key role in this, so take the credit, dumbass.” She teases, affectionately - the friendship and fondness she feels for him pouring from every word, as well as from her body in that moment.

They may have some things to figure out and work on - but they get the chance to, together, as co-parents. And Laura is beyond excited, even as she closes her eyes in relief, allowing herself just to hug Eddie for one more lingering moment, resting her head there against his shoulder, she’ll gather her grace, strength - whatever - back in a moment. For now she’s just in the moment and happy and overwhelmed and this is amazing as far as she’s concerned.

“Thank you - I know I’ve said it - but thank you for doing this with me, helping me make this happen. I’m so stupidly happy right now it’s… ridiculous.” Laura admits.

His own eyes close when she rests her head on his shoulder and Eddie actually has to take a second to remind himself that this is Laura, not Myra, because he never thought he'd be trying this with someone else, even after all these years in Eglaf. "Yeah, but you're the one with the fertility to make that shit work," he laughs. "Eight years of twelve failed attempts per year before you, remember?" he reminds her.

There's going to be a lot to talk about sooner than later, but for right now, Eddie thinks it's fine to just revel in the fact that he's going to finally be a dad and he gets to share the joy of that and the whole process of it with one of his best friends here. It's an exciting, terrifying, incredible endeavor that they're about to embark upon together and, frankly, Eddie can't wait. He's already trying to mentally decide how best he can pamper and spoil her while she's carrying his child without overstepping friendship boundaries or being obnoxious when she speaks again.

Eddie gives her a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for doing this with me, too, Laura. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you for it. You're the one doing the hard part here. I got off easy on this one."

Laura scoffs, though there’s no actual emotion behind it, waving off the credit for all of this that he’s all too happy to place squarely on her shoulders. Even if it were all her, Laura knows that there’s two of them here. They’re going to have to go at this all from a united front from here on out. And she’s happy to share that with him - happy to do that with him. So for now she lets it lie.

They have plenty of time for her to correct him, him to correct her, and for them to meet somewhere in the middle ultimately, as she’s sure will be the ultimate end of everything going forward. It’s how their friendship has sort of worked up until this point, at least. And the thought genuinely excites her. For the first time in a long time there’s something real in the future that she’s preparing and reaching for.

And it’s not just for her, for him too.

“You say that now - just wait until the diapers, screaming, crying, and tantrums.” Laura teases. “But I don’t think either one of us is scared of that part either… I’m so excited… and I know I need to make the appointment for the doctor to confirm the details and wait, but… I’m so stupidly happy this is happening and getting to tell Derek and Stan - Chrissy - everyone.” Laura pulls back and beams at Eddie.

“This is going to be good, for everyone.” She’s not sure if she’s acknowledging it for herself, or both of them. But she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face if she tried.

Eddie snorts a laugh. "Okay, but I don't have to be the one carrying around a watermelon for nine months and then pushing an eight pound bowling ball out of an opening the size of a grape, so…you're the hero here. I'm just the sidekick," he jokes.

Grinning a little wider, Eddie gives Laura a once-over when she pulls back to look at him again. "I know, we need to get you an appointment ASAP and find out how long we have to sit on it before we can tell everybody. I'm going to be fucking dying to tell Stan and Chrissy. And Sally, too," he beams. Eddie can't wait to tell the people he cares about the most. He knows that they're all going to be so excited for him, even Stan, who might also feel a pang of jealousy, but who will still be his biggest supporter.

"I have a good feeling. This is going to be so amazing. Hey, let's go celebrate, just us. Just for us before we bring other people into the fold. Where do you want to go for dinner? Or do you want to do something else? I feel like we need to get out of this apartment before we both explode from our excitement and leave a mess," he jokes.

“I’m actually looking forward to the watermelon belly - for now - so let me live in my delusion that it’s going to be great for a while longer.” Laura jokes, bumping Eddie playfully. She knows it’s not all glamorous, but no matter what the experience is - she’s not going to take it for granted considering exactly what is going to come from all of this. A baby.

Their baby.

It’s hard to resist the urge to call and start harassing the doctor’s office right here and now, but the time is all wrong, and she’s got to continue to be patient for a little while. Damn if it isn’t hard, though - even for someone with, apparently, saintly patience. “Sitting on it’s going to be the hardest part. Lydia’s going to be really excited too - hell everyone will. Babies are good new for everyone around.” Laura smiles to herself, wondering what her mom would say.

Hell, she can’t help but wonder what her mother would think of all of this - and if she’d even be able to keep it from her long if she were here. She definitely doesn’t think she would. And she’s, maybe secretly, hoping that Derek will figure it out even before she tells him. Maybe approach her, but at the same time getting to tell everyone is going to be part of the joy.

No matter which way this all goes Laura is happy.

And it’s easy to nod at the invitation. “Food would be good, honestly - what are your feelings on italian? There’s this place down the street from the DoDS offices that just got revamped that sounds pretty good?” Laura hedges, not sure how she’s going to keep from bursting from the good news. But damn is this one of the best problems to have. No matter what they have to figure out, or talk about, it’s all… amazing that it’s even happening. And nothing is going to ruin how happy they both are that they’re truly beginning this journey now.

Laura just knows.