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Entry tags:
Fic: Gossamer (8/18)
Title: Gossamer
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Summary: "Paige, you're pregnant." Three weeks after her parents' death, Paige receives some surprising news. What she decides next will change the course of history, not only her own, but that of the family she doesn't even know exists...
*****
June 3rd, 1995
"I am never letting you drive, again."
Paige shot Henry an exasperated glare as she peeled her fingers off the door handle, shaking her hand to try and ease the cramping muscles.
"Oh, come on," Henry protested, as he climbed out of the driver's seat. "I was not going that fast."
"No, you weren't," Paige agreed, reaching over her enormous stomach to undo her seatbelt, "but you seem to have forgotten how to use the brakes."
"I stopped at that light," Henry argued, scooting around the car and opening her door for her before she could. "I just didn't stop all the way."
"You were lucky that there were no cops around to see you," Paige informed him. "What would Dan think if you got a ticket? Or, your foster parents?"
"Yeah, I don't want to talk about them," Henry said, shortly, and Paige could hear an undercurrent of tension in his voice, so she let the matter drop.
As they walked across the parking lot, Henry slipped an arm casually around her waist. Paige leaned into his embrace, feeling the warmth of his hand where it was resting against the side of her abdomen. And, she guessed that the baby could feel it, too, because she suddenly kicked out against Henry's hand, making both of them jump in surprise.
"She kicked me," Henry said, a grin spreading over his face.
"She hasn't been doing that a lot, lately," Paige told him. "She must know that it's you."
"Well," Henry said, with a pleased smile, "that just means she has good taste."
Shaking her head in exasperation, Paige added, "Nick was complaining the other day that he never gets to feel the baby kick."
She winced, inwardly, when she realized how her statement had sounded, not missing the eyebrow Henry raised at her as he held the door to the clinic lobby open for her. But, to his credit, he didn't say anything.
"How is Nick?" he asked, neutrally, as they walked toward the elevators.
"He's fine," Paige said, shortly. "I, um, I don't really want to talk about it," she muttered, sheepishly.
Henry nodded, thankfully letting the matter drop, and Paige breathed a quiet sigh of relief. As they stopped in front of the elevator, she reached out and pushed the up button.
"So, where are we going?" Henry asked, as they waited for the doors to open.
"Top floor," Paige told him. "Doctor Roberts is on vacation, for the next week, so I'm being seen by her partner, Doctor Dyers."
"And, for that, we have to go all the way to the top floor?" Henry grumbled, good-naturedly.
"That's where her office is," Paige pointed out, entering the elevator when the doors slid open.
They were the only ones on the elevator when it started its slow ascent. Paige leaned back against the wall, folding her arms over her stomach and closing her eyes as the numbers on the display slowly got larger. Beside her, Henry was humming tunelessly under his breath, something that Paige vaguely recognized from the radio.
Then, suddenly, the elevator jerked to a stop, and Paige stumbled forward, her eyes flying open in shock. Henry reacted, instantly, wrapping his arms around her to keep her on her feet, and she clung to him for a second.
"What the hell was that?" she gasped, and Henry jerked his shoulder in a shrug.
"No clue," he said. "Maybe we lost power?"
He went to the door, pressing the intercom button and waiting. But, they got nothing but silence, and he turned back to Paige, his shoulders slumping.
"I think we definitely lost power," he told her.
"We've been having those rolling blackouts, lately," Paige reminded him, as she slid down the wall to sit on the floor. "Could be one of those."
"The last one lasted five hours," Henry retorted, as he joined her on the floor. "Do you really want to be stuck in this elevator for that long?"
"No," Paige replied, "but we don't exactly have a choice, do we? I mean," she went on, gesturing at her enormous stomach, "I'm not really in any condition to go scaling the wires."
"I get it," Henry said, as he leaned against the wall. "We're stuck."
"At least we're together," Paige said, leaning against him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'd hate to be stuck in here, alone."
"Yeah, about that," Henry said. "Wasn't Nick supposed to be coming to this appointment with you?"
"Nick's busy," Paige said, surprising even herself with the bitterness in her voice. "He's always busy, and he never has time for me or the baby. I don't understand why he even-"
She broke off, suddenly, as a spike of pain shot through her head. She rubbed at her temples, trying to breathe through the pain.
"You okay?" Henry asked, concern in his voice as he rubbed her back, gently. "Another headache?"
"Yeah," Paige gritted out, closing her eyes to block out the light. "They still come on, sometimes, especially when Nick and I-"
"When you fight?" Henry prompted, when she trailed off, and Paige sighed, not sure how she felt about being so apparently transparent to her best friend.
"Who says we're fighting?" she asked, trying to keep her voice neutral, and Henry shot her a knowing look.
"You haven't smiled once when you've said his name," he told her. "And there's this little line in the middle of your forehead that just keeps getting deeper and deeper." When she sighed, heavily, he squeezed her shoulders. "Come on, talk to me."
"We're fighting," Paige confessed, after a few seconds. "I haven't even told Julie and Dave; I don't want them to worry."
"Fighting about what?" Henry asked, quietly, and Paige frowned as she thought about her answer.
"Name it," she told him. "Where we're going to live, how we're going to raise the baby, her name-" She trailed off, letting out a short, bitter laugh. "He got upset when I told him that I wanted you to be her godfather."
"You want me to be the baby's godfather?" Henry asked, and she smiled at the happy tone in his voice.
"I told him that it was the one thing I wasn't going to compromise on," she replied. "I want you and Prue to be her godparents. You two have become like family over the past eight months, and if anything, god forbid, should happen, I want to know that someone I love and trust is looking after my daughter."
"You love me?" Henry asked, teasingly, and a blush spread over her cheeks.
"You're my best friend," she started, and then she broke off when a sharp pain shot through her abdomen.
"What's wrong?" Henry asked, seeing her grimace. "Another headache?"
"No," Paige said, squeezing his arm as she rode out the wave of pain, "it's lower than that."
"How low?" Henry asked, and Paige shot him a wry look.
"Guess," she gritted out, and Henry stared at her in disbelief.
"Oh, you're kidding," he said, flatly.
"Yeah, I'm a real walking cliché," Paige said, breathing a sigh of relief when the pain subsided. "Only I could manage to go into labor in a stalled elevator."
Continued here
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Summary: "Paige, you're pregnant." Three weeks after her parents' death, Paige receives some surprising news. What she decides next will change the course of history, not only her own, but that of the family she doesn't even know exists...
*****
June 3rd, 1995
"I am never letting you drive, again."
Paige shot Henry an exasperated glare as she peeled her fingers off the door handle, shaking her hand to try and ease the cramping muscles.
"Oh, come on," Henry protested, as he climbed out of the driver's seat. "I was not going that fast."
"No, you weren't," Paige agreed, reaching over her enormous stomach to undo her seatbelt, "but you seem to have forgotten how to use the brakes."
"I stopped at that light," Henry argued, scooting around the car and opening her door for her before she could. "I just didn't stop all the way."
"You were lucky that there were no cops around to see you," Paige informed him. "What would Dan think if you got a ticket? Or, your foster parents?"
"Yeah, I don't want to talk about them," Henry said, shortly, and Paige could hear an undercurrent of tension in his voice, so she let the matter drop.
As they walked across the parking lot, Henry slipped an arm casually around her waist. Paige leaned into his embrace, feeling the warmth of his hand where it was resting against the side of her abdomen. And, she guessed that the baby could feel it, too, because she suddenly kicked out against Henry's hand, making both of them jump in surprise.
"She kicked me," Henry said, a grin spreading over his face.
"She hasn't been doing that a lot, lately," Paige told him. "She must know that it's you."
"Well," Henry said, with a pleased smile, "that just means she has good taste."
Shaking her head in exasperation, Paige added, "Nick was complaining the other day that he never gets to feel the baby kick."
She winced, inwardly, when she realized how her statement had sounded, not missing the eyebrow Henry raised at her as he held the door to the clinic lobby open for her. But, to his credit, he didn't say anything.
"How is Nick?" he asked, neutrally, as they walked toward the elevators.
"He's fine," Paige said, shortly. "I, um, I don't really want to talk about it," she muttered, sheepishly.
Henry nodded, thankfully letting the matter drop, and Paige breathed a quiet sigh of relief. As they stopped in front of the elevator, she reached out and pushed the up button.
"So, where are we going?" Henry asked, as they waited for the doors to open.
"Top floor," Paige told him. "Doctor Roberts is on vacation, for the next week, so I'm being seen by her partner, Doctor Dyers."
"And, for that, we have to go all the way to the top floor?" Henry grumbled, good-naturedly.
"That's where her office is," Paige pointed out, entering the elevator when the doors slid open.
They were the only ones on the elevator when it started its slow ascent. Paige leaned back against the wall, folding her arms over her stomach and closing her eyes as the numbers on the display slowly got larger. Beside her, Henry was humming tunelessly under his breath, something that Paige vaguely recognized from the radio.
Then, suddenly, the elevator jerked to a stop, and Paige stumbled forward, her eyes flying open in shock. Henry reacted, instantly, wrapping his arms around her to keep her on her feet, and she clung to him for a second.
"What the hell was that?" she gasped, and Henry jerked his shoulder in a shrug.
"No clue," he said. "Maybe we lost power?"
He went to the door, pressing the intercom button and waiting. But, they got nothing but silence, and he turned back to Paige, his shoulders slumping.
"I think we definitely lost power," he told her.
"We've been having those rolling blackouts, lately," Paige reminded him, as she slid down the wall to sit on the floor. "Could be one of those."
"The last one lasted five hours," Henry retorted, as he joined her on the floor. "Do you really want to be stuck in this elevator for that long?"
"No," Paige replied, "but we don't exactly have a choice, do we? I mean," she went on, gesturing at her enormous stomach, "I'm not really in any condition to go scaling the wires."
"I get it," Henry said, as he leaned against the wall. "We're stuck."
"At least we're together," Paige said, leaning against him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'd hate to be stuck in here, alone."
"Yeah, about that," Henry said. "Wasn't Nick supposed to be coming to this appointment with you?"
"Nick's busy," Paige said, surprising even herself with the bitterness in her voice. "He's always busy, and he never has time for me or the baby. I don't understand why he even-"
She broke off, suddenly, as a spike of pain shot through her head. She rubbed at her temples, trying to breathe through the pain.
"You okay?" Henry asked, concern in his voice as he rubbed her back, gently. "Another headache?"
"Yeah," Paige gritted out, closing her eyes to block out the light. "They still come on, sometimes, especially when Nick and I-"
"When you fight?" Henry prompted, when she trailed off, and Paige sighed, not sure how she felt about being so apparently transparent to her best friend.
"Who says we're fighting?" she asked, trying to keep her voice neutral, and Henry shot her a knowing look.
"You haven't smiled once when you've said his name," he told her. "And there's this little line in the middle of your forehead that just keeps getting deeper and deeper." When she sighed, heavily, he squeezed her shoulders. "Come on, talk to me."
"We're fighting," Paige confessed, after a few seconds. "I haven't even told Julie and Dave; I don't want them to worry."
"Fighting about what?" Henry asked, quietly, and Paige frowned as she thought about her answer.
"Name it," she told him. "Where we're going to live, how we're going to raise the baby, her name-" She trailed off, letting out a short, bitter laugh. "He got upset when I told him that I wanted you to be her godfather."
"You want me to be the baby's godfather?" Henry asked, and she smiled at the happy tone in his voice.
"I told him that it was the one thing I wasn't going to compromise on," she replied. "I want you and Prue to be her godparents. You two have become like family over the past eight months, and if anything, god forbid, should happen, I want to know that someone I love and trust is looking after my daughter."
"You love me?" Henry asked, teasingly, and a blush spread over her cheeks.
"You're my best friend," she started, and then she broke off when a sharp pain shot through her abdomen.
"What's wrong?" Henry asked, seeing her grimace. "Another headache?"
"No," Paige said, squeezing his arm as she rode out the wave of pain, "it's lower than that."
"How low?" Henry asked, and Paige shot him a wry look.
"Guess," she gritted out, and Henry stared at her in disbelief.
"Oh, you're kidding," he said, flatly.
"Yeah, I'm a real walking cliché," Paige said, breathing a sigh of relief when the pain subsided. "Only I could manage to go into labor in a stalled elevator."
Continued here