Entry tags:
Fic: What a lovely way of sayin' how much you love me (RPF, Blake Lively/Leighton Meester)
Title: What a lovely way of sayin' how much you love me
Fandom: Gossip Girl RPF
Pairing: Blake Lively/Leighton Meester
Challenge: The
bleighton_squee Spring Fic Exchange
Recipient:
faithtastic
Word Count: ~ 4,600
Rating: PG-13 (for swearing mostly)
Prompt: FPREG! Established relationship or not, your choice. Through some mystical studly mojo, Blake gets Leighton knocked up. Comedy hijinks ensue. Elements I'd like included: Leighton freaking out over the results of a pregnancy test, explaining the situation to Josh and Stephanie, Taylor asking to be godmother, going overboard and buying lots of cute things for the baby, Blake and Leighton arguing about possible names, the girls attending a lamaze class, the birth with Leighton berating Blake for her mystical studliness and the doctors/nurses being totally bemused.
A/N: Google and Amazon think I'm pregnant now.
“So, normally I wouldn’t bother you with something like this, but it’s been going on for a while and my partner was kinda worried so I…”
Leighton finished buttoning her shirt and looked up to see the doctor looking at her, wearing a strangely conflicted expression.
“Oh my God, is it bad?” Leighton asked, a sense of dread settling at the pit of her stomach.
She’d been throwing up for a week - the first time being in the God-awful hat they’d made her wear for the visit to Yale episode. She’d joked that at least Blair would never be able to wear it again. But she’d thought nothing of it, not really.
Blake, on the other hand, had decided that it must be something serious and had insisted that Leighton visit the doctor. Leighton had rolled her eyes at Blake’s overprotective nature. But she’d agreed, if only to stop Blake worrying. And now, for the first time, she considered the fact that there might actually be something wrong with her. She waited for the diagnosis, wishing that she’d accepted Blake’s offer to accompany her to her appointment.
“Ms Meester, you’re pregnant.”
Leighton laughed. A huge, barking laugh that bounced off the walls of the consulting room and echoed in her ears. He was joking. He had to be. Pregnant? That was impossible.
“That’s impossible.”
“I…well, not according to the test.”
The test was wrong.
“The test is wrong. Do it again.”
And he did it again. Twice.
Upon hearing the third confirmation of her impending motherhood, Leighton started crying. The doctor patted her on the shoulder clumsily, hoping he wouldn’t be required to perform another test.
“Ms Meester, Leighton…there are…options if this isn’t something you planned.”
Leighton looked up, her eyes bright with tears and indignation.
“Planned? Planned? I told you, it’s an impossibility. I haven’t had sex that could result in this in over a year.”
“But your partner…”
“Is a girl, and does not have the requisite parts to knock me up.”
“Oh…ah…then I can see that this would be a…delicate situation.”
Leighton glared at him.
“You think I’m lying. You think I’ve been sleeping around. You think I’m a big slut.”
The doctor flailed for a way to not make the situation worse.
“No, of course not, and even if you were, there is no judgement in this room. Things…happen. Sometimes, with alcohol…”
“So, now I’m a drunken slut?” Leighton wailed, dropping her head into her hands.
“No, no…of course not. Again, no judgement.”
Leighton looked up.
“I haven’t had sex with anyone other than Blake in over a year. So unless this…thing…has been incubating for that period of time, this can’t be happening.”
The doctor sat down heavily on the examination table next to Leighton.
“I, uh…there’s someone I can refer you to…to talk about…your take on things.”
“I don’t need a psych referral, I am not making this up.”
“I’m not suggesting you are.”
“No, you think I’ve had drunken sex with some random man and I’ve repressed it to the point where I’ve convinced myself that my girlfriend somehow magically got me pregnant.”
“Uh…that’s a possibility.”
Leighton pushed herself up off the table and picked up her purse.
“I need to talk to Blake.”
And with that, she powered out of the surgery, leaving the doctor to open his desk drawer and pull out a bottle of bourbon he kept there for emergencies.
*
Leighton drummed her fingers on the arm of her couch, watching the clock.
On her way home from the clinic she had called Blake and got her voicemail, for which she was thankful. Hearing Blake’s voice telling her cheerily to leave a message was enough to bring a knot of emotion to her throat. She left a brief message telling Blake that she did not have a life-threatening disease and asking her to drop by right after work. Then she’d gone to Duane Reade and bought three pregnancy tests. She figured there was no harm in being absolutely positive (or, preferably, negative) before telling Blake.
All three tests gave the same result. Leighton was pregnant.
A key turned in the lock and a shiver of apprehension ran through Leighton’s gut. She stood up, a hand unconsciously smoothing her shirt over her stomach. She opened her mouth to say ‘hi’ but didn’t get a chance as a blonde hurricane blew into the room and swept her up in an embrace. Kisses rained down on her face and neck and she couldn’t help but smile at Blake’s exuberance.
“I’m.” Kiss. “So.” Kiss. “Glad.” Kiss. “You’re.” Kiss. “OK.”
Blake covered Leighton’s mouth in a final, deep kiss, leaving her breathless. Leighton allowed herself to be held, her face pressed tightly against Blake’s shoulder, her arms encircling Blake’s waist. Blake swayed them both gently. Any other time, Leighton would’ve found the motion soothing, but all she could think about was each second passing, stretching out the time that she wasn’t being honest with Blake. Reluctantly she pulled back and smiled up weakly at Blake’s bright smile, which faltered.
“Baby…you…you are OK, aren’t you?” Blake asked, suddenly unsure.
“I’m fine…look, can we sit down for a sec?” Leighton said, feeling a bit light-headed.
Blake led her to the couch and sat them both down, holding onto Leighton’s hand and looking at her with concern etched on her features.
Leighton took a breath and held it, not wanting to let the words out. Blake’s eyebrows drew together and Leighton released the air in her lungs and started speaking.
“OK, before I tell you what I’m going to tell you, I need you to know that I love you, and that I have never loved anyone the way I love you, and that I would never do anything to hurt you. You know that, right?”
“Leight, you’re really fucking scaring me,” Blake said, squeezing Leighton’s hand.
Leighton swallowed and looked directly into Blake’s eyes.
“I’m pregnant.”
Blake’s reaction almost killed Leighton. There was a tiny, fraction of a second where her face lit up with joy before the implication of Leighton’s words impacted fully. Her face seemed to collapse on itself and Leighton thought she’d never seen anyone look as destroyed. Blake tried to pull her hand out of Leighton’s grip but she held on.
“Blake…Blake look at me.”
But Blake wouldn’t meet her eyes. She sat stock still, looking at the rug, her hand limp in Leighton’s grasp.
“Blake, you are the only person I’ve been with in over a year. I swear to you. I can’t explain this and I can’t imagine what you must be thinking right now but please, please believe me when I tell you that you are the only person who could possibly be responsible for it.”
Blake laughed mirthlessly.
“I know I’m good Leighton, but I don’t think I’m that good.”
Leighton risked a small smile. She reached out and touched Blake’s jaw, gently urging her face around.
“Arrogance is not your best quality, sweetheart,” Leighton whispered.
Blake’s lips quirked briefly.
“Is it arrogance if it’s justified?”
“Yes,” Leighton said, somewhat relieved that Blake was joking.
Blake ran her thumb over Leighton’s knuckles. Then she stood up and walked to the window. Leighton watched from the couch, each tick of the clock taking her fear up a notch. Blake turned around.
“I…I need to go for a walk. Clear my head. Think about stuff.”
Leighton nodded, not trusting her voice. Blake walked over and leaned down to kiss her forehead. Leighton’s eyes closed at the contact as she prayed that it wasn’t a goodbye kiss.
“I’ll…see you later,” Blake said, then walked out of the living room without a backward glance.
Leighton sank down on the couch, buried her face in a cushion, and cried.
*
A restless couple of hours passed, where Leighton vacillated between bouts of crying and periods of obsessively checking her phone and looking out of her apartment window. At one point she poured herself a large glass of red wine and was lifting it to her lips when she remembered the whole reason for her misery and poured it down the drain. She was wrapped in a blanket and staring out at the darkening sky when she heard the door opening. Her heart leapt into her throat and she headed into the hallway but was met halfway by Blake in a replay of earlier that evening. Only this time the kisses were punctuated by apologies.
“I’m so, so sorry.”
Leighton’s cheeks were wet with tears as she gratefully met Blake’s lips with her own.
“It’s OK,” she murmured, between kisses.
Blake shook her head, her nose rubbing against Leighton’s.
“No, no it’s not. I should’ve been better, I should’ve believed you right away.”
Leighton laughed into Blake’s mouth.
“Honey, it’s not exactly a normal thing to hear.”
“But it’s you and you wouldn’t lie to me and I’m so sorry for being such a bitch.”
Leighton sighed in relief as Blake squeezed her tightly against her body.
“Baby, you’re not a bitch,” she assured her. Then her lips turned up into a smile. “A stud, maybe, but not a bitch.”
Blake looked down at her, her own face streaked with tears and mascara. She raised an eyebrow.
“And apparently quite virile.”
“Apparently so.”
“We could get on Oprah with this…that pregnant guy got on Oprah.”
“We’re not going on Oprah.”
“D’you think it’s the second coming?” Blake asked, her hand gently stroking Leighton’s abdomen.
“No.”
“But it’s kinda li-“
“No. Our child is not going to be held up as some Messiah by religious zealots.”
“Good point.” Blake conceded, then she smiled.
“What?”
“Our child. We’re gonna have a baby.”
Leighton’s brow crinkled.
“Fuck. I was so worried about telling you that I didn’t really think about that.”
Blake knelt down in front of Leighton and pushed her shirt up, exposing her stomach. She leaned in and placed a kiss just below her belly button.
“Hey baby. I’m your mommy. I can’t wait to meet you!” she said in a high-pitched, childish voice.
She grinned up at Leighton who was looking down at her in bemusement.
“Please don’t do that again. It disturbed me on a number of levels.”
“OK momma,” Blake said, in the same voice.
“Blake.”
“What?” Blake continued to tease her with the voice.
“There will be no talking to my internal organs in silly voices.”
Blake placed another kiss on Leighton’s belly before standing up and kissing her lips.
“So…when are we due?”
Leighton’s eyes went wide.
“I…have no idea.”
*
A hastily arranged appointment later, Leighton found herself in a paper gown with her feet in stirrups. Blake was sitting by her side, having been warned to stay at the top end.
“Honey, I have seen you from that angle a couple of times,” Blake whispered.
Leighton just glared at her. After the internal exam, and once the stirrups had been dispensed with, the time came for the sonogram. Leighton winced as cold gel was applied to her abdomen. The sonographer pressed the wand into Leighton’s belly and moved it around. Blake took Leighton’s hand as they both held their breath, watching the shapes on the screen for any sign of life.
“There you go!” the sonographer announced, pointing to an indistinct blob and adjusting the angle slightly.
“It looks like a peanut,” Leighton blurted out without thinking.
Blake didn’t respond, her lip was caught between her teeth and she was transfixed by the black and white image in front of her.
“That’s our baby,” she eventually whispered.
The sonographer smiled and Leighton glanced at Blake worriedly.
“I can snap a couple of shots for you to take away with you if you’d like.”
Blake nodded, not removing her eyes from the screen, a tear making its way down her cheek. Leighton looked from Blake to the blob and tried to feel something. Anything.
*
On the way to the set, after the appointment, Leighton was looking out of the window at the traffic and talking to Blake.
“So even though we’re not going to tell the world at large, I kinda think we should tell people at work just so there are no awkward questions. Well, apart from the whole ‘How the fuck could that happen’ question.”
She got no response.
“Are you even listening to me?” Leighton asked, annoyed.
Blake was staring at the pictures from the sonogram. Again. She looked up abruptly.
“Telling people at work. Absolutely. Sure.”
Her thumb was unconsciously stroking one of the images and Leighton grabbed it out of her hand, looking at the tiny white mass that was, apparently, their baby.
“What’s up?” Blake asked, sliding across the seat and draping her arm around Leighton’s shoulders.
“I…I don’t think I’m going to be a good mother.”
“What?” Blake almost shouted. “How the hell did you come to that conclusion?”
“I…I called the baby a peanut. And I didn’t cry. You fucking cried when you saw it. I didn’t cry,” Leighton said, turning huge, worried eyes on Blake.
Blake smiled and shook her head.
“Leighton, this baby is growing inside of you, you’re the closest you can possibly be to it…seeing it on the monitor today…that’s the first real connection I’ve felt to it, you know?”
Leighton nodded in understanding, Blake was making perfect sense.
“But what if I…”
“You will be amazing. I will be amazing. We’ll all be amazing. OK?”
Leighton smiled and laid her head on Blake’s shoulder, sighing as she felt a kiss being pressed to her hair.
They were going to be fucking beyond amazing.
*
Josh and Stephanie had not said a single word since Blake and Leighton had started to tell their tale. They both sat in stupefied silence, their mouths hanging open slightly as the narration jumped from one girl to the other, explaining as best they could what the situation was.
“And that’s about the size of it,” Blake finished, looking from Josh to Stephanie and back again. “Uh…are you guys OK?”
Josh nodded. Stephanie made no movement whatsoever. Leighton laughed nervously.
“OK, this is obviously a lot for you guys to deal with so we’ll leave you to mull it over and get back to us…’kay?”
She nudged Blake, who nodded. They stood and left, casting worried looks back over their shoulders on the way to the door.
Some time passed before Josh spoke.
“So.”
“Uh huh,” Stephanie agreed.
“She’s pregnant.”
“Yup.”
“And it’s Blake’s.”
“Apparently.”
“Can we make Blair pregnant?”
“To who?”
“Serena?”
“Fuck off, Josh.”
“Call wardrobe, tell them we need a really big purse for Blair. Really big.”
*
“That seemed to go well, huh?” Leighton said, swinging her and Blake’s joined hands back and forth as they walked to their trailer.
“Way better than I thought,” Blake agreed.
“I didn’t get fired, which is a plus,” Leighton continued.
“True,” Blake said, nodding.
“Telling everyone else will be a breeze.”
*
As it turned out, telling everyone else was mostly a breeze. Ed and Jessica had congratulated them, while wearing vaguely sceptical expressions. Taylor had almost exploded with joy and had very quickly talked herself into the role of Godmother. Chace had cried, but pretended it was allergies. Kelly had confided that she too was expecting a little bundle of joy and had offered to lend Hermes to them if they wanted to practise. Matthew had hugged them both, holding onto Blake just a little too long for Leighton’s liking. And Penn…
Penn caught up with Blake as she stood at the craft services table.
“So…I heard Leighton’s pregnant,” he said, without preamble.
She froze as she was reaching for a handful of M&Ms. She turned to face him, worrying her lip with her teeth.
“Listen, I tried to find you earlier…I wanted to tell you myself, you know, in private. Who told you?”
“Chace. He was crying.”
“Still?”
“Said it was allergies.”
“He’s such a girl,” Blake said, popping a grape in her mouth.
Penn shifted uncomfortably.
“Speaking of…girls and stuff…I was…wondering…” he trailed off.
“Wondering what?” she prompted.
“Well, with you getting Leighton pregnant and all…you don’t have…you’re not…I mean, you don’t have secret guy parts that I should know about or anything?”
She laughed.
“Not that I’ve noticed, no. Why, worried this makes you gay?”
He shrugged.
“A little.”
“It doesn’t make you gay,” she assured him. “Sneaking into the storage closet with Chace when you think no-one’s around and then coming out wearing the wrong belt, that might make you gay.”
“I…we…uh…” he stammered.
She leaned in and kissed his cheek.
“Bye Penn,” she said, winking at him before walking away.
He watched her go, a smile slowly making its way across his face.
“Oh, congratulations by the way,” he called after her.
*
Blake could hear excited chatter even before she opened the door to the trailer. She peeked her head in to see Leighton and Taylor sitting on the couch. They were surrounded by pieces of paper and Taylor seemed to be doing all the talking.
“…and I printed off this ‘Calendar of your Pregnancy’ which shows you what’s happening to the baby all the way through and it tells you what’s happening to your body, like right about now the baby is about this big and your abdomen is gonna start stretching soon and you’ll be able to see a bump. Oh my god you’re gonna look so cute with a baby bump! So anyway this is…”
Leighton caught Blake’s eye and mouthed ‘save me’. Blake chuckled, it was going to be a long six months.
*
Leighton flicked through the Baby Name book, shaking her head. Blake leaned in to try and read over her shoulder.
“What are the highlighted ones?”
“They’re ones Taylor thinks we should consider. She has chosen only noble, meaningful names,” Leighton said, rolling her eyes.
“’Bai'?” Blake asked.
“It means pure,” Leighton explained. “Taylor thinks that this baby was conceived out of pure love and should be named accordingly.”
“Sounds more like a sexual orientation to me,” Blake mumbled.
Leighton sighed.
“I guess we should actually talk about names at some point…we haven’t really discussed it.”
Blake shrugged.
“I like the idea of waiting to see what she looks like…I think we’ll know what she’s meant to be called when we see her.”
Leighton scrunched up her nose.
“That seems a bit last minute…we should at least agree on a couple that we like and then see what fits.”
“Well, you think she looks like a peanut so we should probably put that on the list…I think it’s cute.”
Leighton closed her eyes.
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
“What? Gwyneth called her baby ‘Apple’…it’s the same thing, it’s a foodstuff,” Blake said, hiding her smile.
“Blake.”
“C’mon, ‘Peanut’ would be an awesome name!” Blake pushed further.
Leighton looked hard at her for a long moment, until Blake could no longer keep a straight face and dissolved in giggles.
“I hate you,” Leighton said, turning back to her book.
*
“This is so amazing!”
Leighton smiled tightly. That was at least the twelfth time Taylor had uttered that sentence since they’d arrived at the Lamaze class. Blake was unavoidably detained at work, completing a scene that needed to be in the can, like yesterday. So Taylor had volunteered to take her place as Leighton’s birthing partner for the evening.
“OK partners, time to get behind Mom and support her through the breathing exercises, you should practise these at home because they really will help to make the early stages of labour much more comfortable.”
Taylor’s hand shot up in the air. Leighton cringed. The class leader smiled and nodded at Taylor to ask her question.
“I’ve been reading about using breathing and relaxation techniques during labour and some people think that’s all you really need, what’s your view?”
“Well, I think it’s every mother’s choice how they manage their labour discomfort…”
“Pain,” Leighton murmured.
“…but yes, it’s very possible to have a drug-free delivery, using a combination of techniques…we’ll cover a bit about that in one of our later classes so…”
“But I wanted to ask you ab-“
“Taylor! Just get behind me and help me frickin’ relax!”
Taylor moved to sit behind Leighton, her height making her a passable physical substitute for Blake. She leaned her chin on Leighton’s shoulder and starting caressing her swollen belly.
“That’s inappropriate touching, missy,” Leighton muttered, half-heartedly copying the teacher’s exaggerated breathing actions.
“I’m being Blake,” Taylor explained. “And by the way, I meant to ask, have you and Blake been doing the perineal massage thing I gave you the article about?”
“Taylor, if you ever use those two words next to each other in a sentence again, I will hit you.”
“That’s the hormones talking.”
“No, that’s Leighton talking, and Leighton wishes you would stop talking so that Leighton can concentrate of frickin’ breathing!”
*
“You have to talk to Taylor,” Leighton announced, over breakfast.
“’Bout what?” Blake asked, around a mouthful of Lucky Charms.
“About what? About…everything! I need her to back off a little. Or a lot. Every day she calls me and demands an assessment of my overall health and wellbeing, she’s constantly buying things for the baby, she keeps e-mailing me terrifying articles and absolutely disgusting pictures of people giving birth…it’s…it’s too much.”
Blake sighed.
“OK, I’ll talk to her.”
Leighton smiled gratefully.
“Thank you honey, if I could manage to haul my fat ass over there, I’d kiss you.”
Blake rolled her eyes. She got up and walked around to Leighton, placing a firm kiss on her mouth.
“You’re welcome. And your ass isn’t all that fat.”
*
Leighton dragged her attention away from ‘America’s Next Top Model’ as Blake entered the apartment after her talk with Taylor.
“How’d it go?”
Blake’s face was serious.
“It went fine.”
“So she’s gonna back off?”
“She’s gonna back off…”
“Why do I sense a ‘but’ coming ?”
“In exchange for her backing off, I had to agree that she could film the birth.”
Leighton’s mouth dropped open. Blake cracked up.
“You bitch!” Leighton shrieked, “I thought you were serious.”
“That was my superior acting skills coming to the fore.”
“Maybe you should try using those on the show sometime.”
“And you call me a bitch?”
*
Leighton wandered around the studio, feeling a bit like an outsider. A very large outsider. Her maternity leave had started a little over a month previously and she found herself missing work terribly.
“Hey, how’s Blair enjoying her semester in France?”
Leighton grimaced before plastering on a smile and turning to the source of the voice.
“Oh, you know Blair, she’s most likely wreaking havoc, but in French.”
Penn nodded and scuffed his toe on the floor.
“And you, how are you doing?”
She sighed.
“I just can’t wait to be not pregnant, you know? I just want the baby to be he-“
She stopped speaking, her face contorting in a combination of pain and disbelief.
“Are…are you OK? Leighton?” he asked, moving forward to put his hand on her shoulder.
“I think…no, I’m sure that my water just broke.”
“Oh…Oh!” he said, taking a step backwards as he noticed a small puddle collecting around Leighton’s feet. “What does that…I mean, does that mean that…”
“It means there’s gonna be six more weeks of winter. What the fuck do you think it means?” Leighton yelled.
“Right, right, sorry…I…we should call somebody,” he said, frantically looking around for anybody.
Leighton grabbed his arm as a ripple of pain shot through her lower body. Her fingers dug into his bicep and she sucked in a breath through her teeth, her eyes squeezed shut.
“Where’s…Blake?” she ground out after the worst of the pain had passed.
“She’s on location…I think they’re in the Park…look, do you want to sit or…”
Leighton was rooting around in her purse, she held up her phone.
“Call her, tell her to meet me at the hospital. Now!”
Penn managed to drop the phone. Then he proceeded to call himself from it. Leighton punched him in the stomach before burying her face in his shoulder as another contraction hit.
“Hey, I should call an ambulance or a cab for you first.”
“What-the-fuck-ever, just do it now!” she shouted into the fabric of his shirt.
*
One frantic cab ride and a number of highly charged telephone calls later, Leighton was being wheeled into a birthing suite and Penn was being gowned up. And Blake had still not been located.
“No, no, no…I’m not the father…I’m just…I’m her…kinda friend, I guess…”
“Well, you’re all she’s got right now so you’ll have to do, put this on,” a nurse said, thrusting a face-mask in his direction and pushing him into the room where Leighton was being helped into bed and was wearing not very much at all.
“Badgley!”
He immediately directed his eyes at her face.
“Huh?”
“Get over here and hold my hand.”
Her tone did not invite discussion. He obeyed. She gripped his hand and he was sure he heard the bones creak as a contraction took hold.
“Breathe, breathe…”
He found himself imitating every annoying birthing partner he’d ever seen on TV or in a movie, doing that panting thing while smiling widely.
Leighton looked up and managed a little laugh.
“You look ridiculous.”
“I have no doubt of that,” he agreed.
Her smile faded and her lip started to tremble.
“I want Blake.”
He squeezed her hand.
“I know you do.”
*
What seemed like hours later, the door burst open and Blake skidded to a halt. Her hair was completely wild and she was wearing a highly inappropriate Serena outfit.
“Oh thank God,” Penn muttered.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Leighton demanded, shoving Penn away and holding out her hand to Blake who immediately rushed to her side.
“I’m sorry, baby, I came as soon as I got the messages.”
“This is all your fucking fault and you weren’t even here and I wanted you here and…”
“OK, you’re going to have to start pushing now, Leighton.”
Leighton looked at the face between her thighs in horror.
“Start? I thought I had been!”
*
“Come on baby, you can do it, you’re amazing, I’m so proud of you,” Blake mumbled words of encouragement against Leighton’s sweat soaked cheek.
“Blake,” Leighton panted.
“Yeah?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Ok.”
*
“One more push, Leighton!”
Exhausted and in agony, Leighton gripped Blake’s hand and pushed as hard as she could. Blake’s arm was around her shoulders, holding her tightly, anchoring her. And she pushed.
The sound of crying filled the room and Leighton slumped back against Blake, panting. Blake was kissing her face and crying.
“One healthy baby girl, check!”
Leighton laughed and cried as a tiny pink bundle was placed on her chest.
“She’s OK?” she asked the nurse, anxiously.
“Ten toes, ten fingers…really large hands, actually.”
Blake beamed, tears streaming down her face.
“That’s my girl,” she said, hugging Leighton and stroking one of the baby’s hands. “Both my girls.”
“I can’t believe she’s finally here,” Leighton whispered.
“I know, and we never did agree on names we liked.”
Leighton looked at the perfectly formed, tiny little person in her arms. She looked up at Blake.
“How about…” she started.
“Taylor?” they both said at the same time.
“Baby Taylor,” Blake said. “I think it suits her.”
“Yeah, it does.”
Blake placed a tiny kiss on Baby Taylor’s forehead before kissing Leighton soundly.
“I’m still gonna call her Peanut,” Blake said.
“No you’re not.”
“Yes I am.”
“I hate you.”
“I love you.”
Fandom: Gossip Girl RPF
Pairing: Blake Lively/Leighton Meester
Challenge: The
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Recipient:
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Word Count: ~ 4,600
Rating: PG-13 (for swearing mostly)
Prompt: FPREG! Established relationship or not, your choice. Through some mystical studly mojo, Blake gets Leighton knocked up. Comedy hijinks ensue. Elements I'd like included: Leighton freaking out over the results of a pregnancy test, explaining the situation to Josh and Stephanie, Taylor asking to be godmother, going overboard and buying lots of cute things for the baby, Blake and Leighton arguing about possible names, the girls attending a lamaze class, the birth with Leighton berating Blake for her mystical studliness and the doctors/nurses being totally bemused.
A/N: Google and Amazon think I'm pregnant now.
“So, normally I wouldn’t bother you with something like this, but it’s been going on for a while and my partner was kinda worried so I…”
Leighton finished buttoning her shirt and looked up to see the doctor looking at her, wearing a strangely conflicted expression.
“Oh my God, is it bad?” Leighton asked, a sense of dread settling at the pit of her stomach.
She’d been throwing up for a week - the first time being in the God-awful hat they’d made her wear for the visit to Yale episode. She’d joked that at least Blair would never be able to wear it again. But she’d thought nothing of it, not really.
Blake, on the other hand, had decided that it must be something serious and had insisted that Leighton visit the doctor. Leighton had rolled her eyes at Blake’s overprotective nature. But she’d agreed, if only to stop Blake worrying. And now, for the first time, she considered the fact that there might actually be something wrong with her. She waited for the diagnosis, wishing that she’d accepted Blake’s offer to accompany her to her appointment.
“Ms Meester, you’re pregnant.”
Leighton laughed. A huge, barking laugh that bounced off the walls of the consulting room and echoed in her ears. He was joking. He had to be. Pregnant? That was impossible.
“That’s impossible.”
“I…well, not according to the test.”
The test was wrong.
“The test is wrong. Do it again.”
And he did it again. Twice.
Upon hearing the third confirmation of her impending motherhood, Leighton started crying. The doctor patted her on the shoulder clumsily, hoping he wouldn’t be required to perform another test.
“Ms Meester, Leighton…there are…options if this isn’t something you planned.”
Leighton looked up, her eyes bright with tears and indignation.
“Planned? Planned? I told you, it’s an impossibility. I haven’t had sex that could result in this in over a year.”
“But your partner…”
“Is a girl, and does not have the requisite parts to knock me up.”
“Oh…ah…then I can see that this would be a…delicate situation.”
Leighton glared at him.
“You think I’m lying. You think I’ve been sleeping around. You think I’m a big slut.”
The doctor flailed for a way to not make the situation worse.
“No, of course not, and even if you were, there is no judgement in this room. Things…happen. Sometimes, with alcohol…”
“So, now I’m a drunken slut?” Leighton wailed, dropping her head into her hands.
“No, no…of course not. Again, no judgement.”
Leighton looked up.
“I haven’t had sex with anyone other than Blake in over a year. So unless this…thing…has been incubating for that period of time, this can’t be happening.”
The doctor sat down heavily on the examination table next to Leighton.
“I, uh…there’s someone I can refer you to…to talk about…your take on things.”
“I don’t need a psych referral, I am not making this up.”
“I’m not suggesting you are.”
“No, you think I’ve had drunken sex with some random man and I’ve repressed it to the point where I’ve convinced myself that my girlfriend somehow magically got me pregnant.”
“Uh…that’s a possibility.”
Leighton pushed herself up off the table and picked up her purse.
“I need to talk to Blake.”
And with that, she powered out of the surgery, leaving the doctor to open his desk drawer and pull out a bottle of bourbon he kept there for emergencies.
*
Leighton drummed her fingers on the arm of her couch, watching the clock.
On her way home from the clinic she had called Blake and got her voicemail, for which she was thankful. Hearing Blake’s voice telling her cheerily to leave a message was enough to bring a knot of emotion to her throat. She left a brief message telling Blake that she did not have a life-threatening disease and asking her to drop by right after work. Then she’d gone to Duane Reade and bought three pregnancy tests. She figured there was no harm in being absolutely positive (or, preferably, negative) before telling Blake.
All three tests gave the same result. Leighton was pregnant.
A key turned in the lock and a shiver of apprehension ran through Leighton’s gut. She stood up, a hand unconsciously smoothing her shirt over her stomach. She opened her mouth to say ‘hi’ but didn’t get a chance as a blonde hurricane blew into the room and swept her up in an embrace. Kisses rained down on her face and neck and she couldn’t help but smile at Blake’s exuberance.
“I’m.” Kiss. “So.” Kiss. “Glad.” Kiss. “You’re.” Kiss. “OK.”
Blake covered Leighton’s mouth in a final, deep kiss, leaving her breathless. Leighton allowed herself to be held, her face pressed tightly against Blake’s shoulder, her arms encircling Blake’s waist. Blake swayed them both gently. Any other time, Leighton would’ve found the motion soothing, but all she could think about was each second passing, stretching out the time that she wasn’t being honest with Blake. Reluctantly she pulled back and smiled up weakly at Blake’s bright smile, which faltered.
“Baby…you…you are OK, aren’t you?” Blake asked, suddenly unsure.
“I’m fine…look, can we sit down for a sec?” Leighton said, feeling a bit light-headed.
Blake led her to the couch and sat them both down, holding onto Leighton’s hand and looking at her with concern etched on her features.
Leighton took a breath and held it, not wanting to let the words out. Blake’s eyebrows drew together and Leighton released the air in her lungs and started speaking.
“OK, before I tell you what I’m going to tell you, I need you to know that I love you, and that I have never loved anyone the way I love you, and that I would never do anything to hurt you. You know that, right?”
“Leight, you’re really fucking scaring me,” Blake said, squeezing Leighton’s hand.
Leighton swallowed and looked directly into Blake’s eyes.
“I’m pregnant.”
Blake’s reaction almost killed Leighton. There was a tiny, fraction of a second where her face lit up with joy before the implication of Leighton’s words impacted fully. Her face seemed to collapse on itself and Leighton thought she’d never seen anyone look as destroyed. Blake tried to pull her hand out of Leighton’s grip but she held on.
“Blake…Blake look at me.”
But Blake wouldn’t meet her eyes. She sat stock still, looking at the rug, her hand limp in Leighton’s grasp.
“Blake, you are the only person I’ve been with in over a year. I swear to you. I can’t explain this and I can’t imagine what you must be thinking right now but please, please believe me when I tell you that you are the only person who could possibly be responsible for it.”
Blake laughed mirthlessly.
“I know I’m good Leighton, but I don’t think I’m that good.”
Leighton risked a small smile. She reached out and touched Blake’s jaw, gently urging her face around.
“Arrogance is not your best quality, sweetheart,” Leighton whispered.
Blake’s lips quirked briefly.
“Is it arrogance if it’s justified?”
“Yes,” Leighton said, somewhat relieved that Blake was joking.
Blake ran her thumb over Leighton’s knuckles. Then she stood up and walked to the window. Leighton watched from the couch, each tick of the clock taking her fear up a notch. Blake turned around.
“I…I need to go for a walk. Clear my head. Think about stuff.”
Leighton nodded, not trusting her voice. Blake walked over and leaned down to kiss her forehead. Leighton’s eyes closed at the contact as she prayed that it wasn’t a goodbye kiss.
“I’ll…see you later,” Blake said, then walked out of the living room without a backward glance.
Leighton sank down on the couch, buried her face in a cushion, and cried.
*
A restless couple of hours passed, where Leighton vacillated between bouts of crying and periods of obsessively checking her phone and looking out of her apartment window. At one point she poured herself a large glass of red wine and was lifting it to her lips when she remembered the whole reason for her misery and poured it down the drain. She was wrapped in a blanket and staring out at the darkening sky when she heard the door opening. Her heart leapt into her throat and she headed into the hallway but was met halfway by Blake in a replay of earlier that evening. Only this time the kisses were punctuated by apologies.
“I’m so, so sorry.”
Leighton’s cheeks were wet with tears as she gratefully met Blake’s lips with her own.
“It’s OK,” she murmured, between kisses.
Blake shook her head, her nose rubbing against Leighton’s.
“No, no it’s not. I should’ve been better, I should’ve believed you right away.”
Leighton laughed into Blake’s mouth.
“Honey, it’s not exactly a normal thing to hear.”
“But it’s you and you wouldn’t lie to me and I’m so sorry for being such a bitch.”
Leighton sighed in relief as Blake squeezed her tightly against her body.
“Baby, you’re not a bitch,” she assured her. Then her lips turned up into a smile. “A stud, maybe, but not a bitch.”
Blake looked down at her, her own face streaked with tears and mascara. She raised an eyebrow.
“And apparently quite virile.”
“Apparently so.”
“We could get on Oprah with this…that pregnant guy got on Oprah.”
“We’re not going on Oprah.”
“D’you think it’s the second coming?” Blake asked, her hand gently stroking Leighton’s abdomen.
“No.”
“But it’s kinda li-“
“No. Our child is not going to be held up as some Messiah by religious zealots.”
“Good point.” Blake conceded, then she smiled.
“What?”
“Our child. We’re gonna have a baby.”
Leighton’s brow crinkled.
“Fuck. I was so worried about telling you that I didn’t really think about that.”
Blake knelt down in front of Leighton and pushed her shirt up, exposing her stomach. She leaned in and placed a kiss just below her belly button.
“Hey baby. I’m your mommy. I can’t wait to meet you!” she said in a high-pitched, childish voice.
She grinned up at Leighton who was looking down at her in bemusement.
“Please don’t do that again. It disturbed me on a number of levels.”
“OK momma,” Blake said, in the same voice.
“Blake.”
“What?” Blake continued to tease her with the voice.
“There will be no talking to my internal organs in silly voices.”
Blake placed another kiss on Leighton’s belly before standing up and kissing her lips.
“So…when are we due?”
Leighton’s eyes went wide.
“I…have no idea.”
*
A hastily arranged appointment later, Leighton found herself in a paper gown with her feet in stirrups. Blake was sitting by her side, having been warned to stay at the top end.
“Honey, I have seen you from that angle a couple of times,” Blake whispered.
Leighton just glared at her. After the internal exam, and once the stirrups had been dispensed with, the time came for the sonogram. Leighton winced as cold gel was applied to her abdomen. The sonographer pressed the wand into Leighton’s belly and moved it around. Blake took Leighton’s hand as they both held their breath, watching the shapes on the screen for any sign of life.
“There you go!” the sonographer announced, pointing to an indistinct blob and adjusting the angle slightly.
“It looks like a peanut,” Leighton blurted out without thinking.
Blake didn’t respond, her lip was caught between her teeth and she was transfixed by the black and white image in front of her.
“That’s our baby,” she eventually whispered.
The sonographer smiled and Leighton glanced at Blake worriedly.
“I can snap a couple of shots for you to take away with you if you’d like.”
Blake nodded, not removing her eyes from the screen, a tear making its way down her cheek. Leighton looked from Blake to the blob and tried to feel something. Anything.
*
On the way to the set, after the appointment, Leighton was looking out of the window at the traffic and talking to Blake.
“So even though we’re not going to tell the world at large, I kinda think we should tell people at work just so there are no awkward questions. Well, apart from the whole ‘How the fuck could that happen’ question.”
She got no response.
“Are you even listening to me?” Leighton asked, annoyed.
Blake was staring at the pictures from the sonogram. Again. She looked up abruptly.
“Telling people at work. Absolutely. Sure.”
Her thumb was unconsciously stroking one of the images and Leighton grabbed it out of her hand, looking at the tiny white mass that was, apparently, their baby.
“What’s up?” Blake asked, sliding across the seat and draping her arm around Leighton’s shoulders.
“I…I don’t think I’m going to be a good mother.”
“What?” Blake almost shouted. “How the hell did you come to that conclusion?”
“I…I called the baby a peanut. And I didn’t cry. You fucking cried when you saw it. I didn’t cry,” Leighton said, turning huge, worried eyes on Blake.
Blake smiled and shook her head.
“Leighton, this baby is growing inside of you, you’re the closest you can possibly be to it…seeing it on the monitor today…that’s the first real connection I’ve felt to it, you know?”
Leighton nodded in understanding, Blake was making perfect sense.
“But what if I…”
“You will be amazing. I will be amazing. We’ll all be amazing. OK?”
Leighton smiled and laid her head on Blake’s shoulder, sighing as she felt a kiss being pressed to her hair.
They were going to be fucking beyond amazing.
*
Josh and Stephanie had not said a single word since Blake and Leighton had started to tell their tale. They both sat in stupefied silence, their mouths hanging open slightly as the narration jumped from one girl to the other, explaining as best they could what the situation was.
“And that’s about the size of it,” Blake finished, looking from Josh to Stephanie and back again. “Uh…are you guys OK?”
Josh nodded. Stephanie made no movement whatsoever. Leighton laughed nervously.
“OK, this is obviously a lot for you guys to deal with so we’ll leave you to mull it over and get back to us…’kay?”
She nudged Blake, who nodded. They stood and left, casting worried looks back over their shoulders on the way to the door.
Some time passed before Josh spoke.
“So.”
“Uh huh,” Stephanie agreed.
“She’s pregnant.”
“Yup.”
“And it’s Blake’s.”
“Apparently.”
“Can we make Blair pregnant?”
“To who?”
“Serena?”
“Fuck off, Josh.”
“Call wardrobe, tell them we need a really big purse for Blair. Really big.”
*
“That seemed to go well, huh?” Leighton said, swinging her and Blake’s joined hands back and forth as they walked to their trailer.
“Way better than I thought,” Blake agreed.
“I didn’t get fired, which is a plus,” Leighton continued.
“True,” Blake said, nodding.
“Telling everyone else will be a breeze.”
*
As it turned out, telling everyone else was mostly a breeze. Ed and Jessica had congratulated them, while wearing vaguely sceptical expressions. Taylor had almost exploded with joy and had very quickly talked herself into the role of Godmother. Chace had cried, but pretended it was allergies. Kelly had confided that she too was expecting a little bundle of joy and had offered to lend Hermes to them if they wanted to practise. Matthew had hugged them both, holding onto Blake just a little too long for Leighton’s liking. And Penn…
Penn caught up with Blake as she stood at the craft services table.
“So…I heard Leighton’s pregnant,” he said, without preamble.
She froze as she was reaching for a handful of M&Ms. She turned to face him, worrying her lip with her teeth.
“Listen, I tried to find you earlier…I wanted to tell you myself, you know, in private. Who told you?”
“Chace. He was crying.”
“Still?”
“Said it was allergies.”
“He’s such a girl,” Blake said, popping a grape in her mouth.
Penn shifted uncomfortably.
“Speaking of…girls and stuff…I was…wondering…” he trailed off.
“Wondering what?” she prompted.
“Well, with you getting Leighton pregnant and all…you don’t have…you’re not…I mean, you don’t have secret guy parts that I should know about or anything?”
She laughed.
“Not that I’ve noticed, no. Why, worried this makes you gay?”
He shrugged.
“A little.”
“It doesn’t make you gay,” she assured him. “Sneaking into the storage closet with Chace when you think no-one’s around and then coming out wearing the wrong belt, that might make you gay.”
“I…we…uh…” he stammered.
She leaned in and kissed his cheek.
“Bye Penn,” she said, winking at him before walking away.
He watched her go, a smile slowly making its way across his face.
“Oh, congratulations by the way,” he called after her.
*
Blake could hear excited chatter even before she opened the door to the trailer. She peeked her head in to see Leighton and Taylor sitting on the couch. They were surrounded by pieces of paper and Taylor seemed to be doing all the talking.
“…and I printed off this ‘Calendar of your Pregnancy’ which shows you what’s happening to the baby all the way through and it tells you what’s happening to your body, like right about now the baby is about this big and your abdomen is gonna start stretching soon and you’ll be able to see a bump. Oh my god you’re gonna look so cute with a baby bump! So anyway this is…”
Leighton caught Blake’s eye and mouthed ‘save me’. Blake chuckled, it was going to be a long six months.
*
Leighton flicked through the Baby Name book, shaking her head. Blake leaned in to try and read over her shoulder.
“What are the highlighted ones?”
“They’re ones Taylor thinks we should consider. She has chosen only noble, meaningful names,” Leighton said, rolling her eyes.
“’Bai'?” Blake asked.
“It means pure,” Leighton explained. “Taylor thinks that this baby was conceived out of pure love and should be named accordingly.”
“Sounds more like a sexual orientation to me,” Blake mumbled.
Leighton sighed.
“I guess we should actually talk about names at some point…we haven’t really discussed it.”
Blake shrugged.
“I like the idea of waiting to see what she looks like…I think we’ll know what she’s meant to be called when we see her.”
Leighton scrunched up her nose.
“That seems a bit last minute…we should at least agree on a couple that we like and then see what fits.”
“Well, you think she looks like a peanut so we should probably put that on the list…I think it’s cute.”
Leighton closed her eyes.
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
“What? Gwyneth called her baby ‘Apple’…it’s the same thing, it’s a foodstuff,” Blake said, hiding her smile.
“Blake.”
“C’mon, ‘Peanut’ would be an awesome name!” Blake pushed further.
Leighton looked hard at her for a long moment, until Blake could no longer keep a straight face and dissolved in giggles.
“I hate you,” Leighton said, turning back to her book.
*
“This is so amazing!”
Leighton smiled tightly. That was at least the twelfth time Taylor had uttered that sentence since they’d arrived at the Lamaze class. Blake was unavoidably detained at work, completing a scene that needed to be in the can, like yesterday. So Taylor had volunteered to take her place as Leighton’s birthing partner for the evening.
“OK partners, time to get behind Mom and support her through the breathing exercises, you should practise these at home because they really will help to make the early stages of labour much more comfortable.”
Taylor’s hand shot up in the air. Leighton cringed. The class leader smiled and nodded at Taylor to ask her question.
“I’ve been reading about using breathing and relaxation techniques during labour and some people think that’s all you really need, what’s your view?”
“Well, I think it’s every mother’s choice how they manage their labour discomfort…”
“Pain,” Leighton murmured.
“…but yes, it’s very possible to have a drug-free delivery, using a combination of techniques…we’ll cover a bit about that in one of our later classes so…”
“But I wanted to ask you ab-“
“Taylor! Just get behind me and help me frickin’ relax!”
Taylor moved to sit behind Leighton, her height making her a passable physical substitute for Blake. She leaned her chin on Leighton’s shoulder and starting caressing her swollen belly.
“That’s inappropriate touching, missy,” Leighton muttered, half-heartedly copying the teacher’s exaggerated breathing actions.
“I’m being Blake,” Taylor explained. “And by the way, I meant to ask, have you and Blake been doing the perineal massage thing I gave you the article about?”
“Taylor, if you ever use those two words next to each other in a sentence again, I will hit you.”
“That’s the hormones talking.”
“No, that’s Leighton talking, and Leighton wishes you would stop talking so that Leighton can concentrate of frickin’ breathing!”
*
“You have to talk to Taylor,” Leighton announced, over breakfast.
“’Bout what?” Blake asked, around a mouthful of Lucky Charms.
“About what? About…everything! I need her to back off a little. Or a lot. Every day she calls me and demands an assessment of my overall health and wellbeing, she’s constantly buying things for the baby, she keeps e-mailing me terrifying articles and absolutely disgusting pictures of people giving birth…it’s…it’s too much.”
Blake sighed.
“OK, I’ll talk to her.”
Leighton smiled gratefully.
“Thank you honey, if I could manage to haul my fat ass over there, I’d kiss you.”
Blake rolled her eyes. She got up and walked around to Leighton, placing a firm kiss on her mouth.
“You’re welcome. And your ass isn’t all that fat.”
*
Leighton dragged her attention away from ‘America’s Next Top Model’ as Blake entered the apartment after her talk with Taylor.
“How’d it go?”
Blake’s face was serious.
“It went fine.”
“So she’s gonna back off?”
“She’s gonna back off…”
“Why do I sense a ‘but’ coming ?”
“In exchange for her backing off, I had to agree that she could film the birth.”
Leighton’s mouth dropped open. Blake cracked up.
“You bitch!” Leighton shrieked, “I thought you were serious.”
“That was my superior acting skills coming to the fore.”
“Maybe you should try using those on the show sometime.”
“And you call me a bitch?”
*
Leighton wandered around the studio, feeling a bit like an outsider. A very large outsider. Her maternity leave had started a little over a month previously and she found herself missing work terribly.
“Hey, how’s Blair enjoying her semester in France?”
Leighton grimaced before plastering on a smile and turning to the source of the voice.
“Oh, you know Blair, she’s most likely wreaking havoc, but in French.”
Penn nodded and scuffed his toe on the floor.
“And you, how are you doing?”
She sighed.
“I just can’t wait to be not pregnant, you know? I just want the baby to be he-“
She stopped speaking, her face contorting in a combination of pain and disbelief.
“Are…are you OK? Leighton?” he asked, moving forward to put his hand on her shoulder.
“I think…no, I’m sure that my water just broke.”
“Oh…Oh!” he said, taking a step backwards as he noticed a small puddle collecting around Leighton’s feet. “What does that…I mean, does that mean that…”
“It means there’s gonna be six more weeks of winter. What the fuck do you think it means?” Leighton yelled.
“Right, right, sorry…I…we should call somebody,” he said, frantically looking around for anybody.
Leighton grabbed his arm as a ripple of pain shot through her lower body. Her fingers dug into his bicep and she sucked in a breath through her teeth, her eyes squeezed shut.
“Where’s…Blake?” she ground out after the worst of the pain had passed.
“She’s on location…I think they’re in the Park…look, do you want to sit or…”
Leighton was rooting around in her purse, she held up her phone.
“Call her, tell her to meet me at the hospital. Now!”
Penn managed to drop the phone. Then he proceeded to call himself from it. Leighton punched him in the stomach before burying her face in his shoulder as another contraction hit.
“Hey, I should call an ambulance or a cab for you first.”
“What-the-fuck-ever, just do it now!” she shouted into the fabric of his shirt.
*
One frantic cab ride and a number of highly charged telephone calls later, Leighton was being wheeled into a birthing suite and Penn was being gowned up. And Blake had still not been located.
“No, no, no…I’m not the father…I’m just…I’m her…kinda friend, I guess…”
“Well, you’re all she’s got right now so you’ll have to do, put this on,” a nurse said, thrusting a face-mask in his direction and pushing him into the room where Leighton was being helped into bed and was wearing not very much at all.
“Badgley!”
He immediately directed his eyes at her face.
“Huh?”
“Get over here and hold my hand.”
Her tone did not invite discussion. He obeyed. She gripped his hand and he was sure he heard the bones creak as a contraction took hold.
“Breathe, breathe…”
He found himself imitating every annoying birthing partner he’d ever seen on TV or in a movie, doing that panting thing while smiling widely.
Leighton looked up and managed a little laugh.
“You look ridiculous.”
“I have no doubt of that,” he agreed.
Her smile faded and her lip started to tremble.
“I want Blake.”
He squeezed her hand.
“I know you do.”
*
What seemed like hours later, the door burst open and Blake skidded to a halt. Her hair was completely wild and she was wearing a highly inappropriate Serena outfit.
“Oh thank God,” Penn muttered.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Leighton demanded, shoving Penn away and holding out her hand to Blake who immediately rushed to her side.
“I’m sorry, baby, I came as soon as I got the messages.”
“This is all your fucking fault and you weren’t even here and I wanted you here and…”
“OK, you’re going to have to start pushing now, Leighton.”
Leighton looked at the face between her thighs in horror.
“Start? I thought I had been!”
*
“Come on baby, you can do it, you’re amazing, I’m so proud of you,” Blake mumbled words of encouragement against Leighton’s sweat soaked cheek.
“Blake,” Leighton panted.
“Yeah?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Ok.”
*
“One more push, Leighton!”
Exhausted and in agony, Leighton gripped Blake’s hand and pushed as hard as she could. Blake’s arm was around her shoulders, holding her tightly, anchoring her. And she pushed.
The sound of crying filled the room and Leighton slumped back against Blake, panting. Blake was kissing her face and crying.
“One healthy baby girl, check!”
Leighton laughed and cried as a tiny pink bundle was placed on her chest.
“She’s OK?” she asked the nurse, anxiously.
“Ten toes, ten fingers…really large hands, actually.”
Blake beamed, tears streaming down her face.
“That’s my girl,” she said, hugging Leighton and stroking one of the baby’s hands. “Both my girls.”
“I can’t believe she’s finally here,” Leighton whispered.
“I know, and we never did agree on names we liked.”
Leighton looked at the perfectly formed, tiny little person in her arms. She looked up at Blake.
“How about…” she started.
“Taylor?” they both said at the same time.
“Baby Taylor,” Blake said. “I think it suits her.”
“Yeah, it does.”
Blake placed a tiny kiss on Baby Taylor’s forehead before kissing Leighton soundly.
“I’m still gonna call her Peanut,” Blake said.
“No you’re not.”
“Yes I am.”
“I hate you.”
“I love you.”