your eyes are the size of the moon

[Grace Grimm]

Grace knew without a doubt that she was pregnant. But knowing and telling were two different things entirely, and she had no experience to draw on where things like this were concerned. Did she leave a note? Build up to it? Wait for him to notice?

It didn't take her long to decide that the best option was just to get it out and tell him, tactful behavior be damned. (She was pregnant! She didn't need to be tactful about this; besides, they had moved past the 'tactful' phase years ago.)

The best thing about living in his brother's house was that it was always incredibly easy to find him. The girls were both asleep and Grace sat down on the couch next to her husband. She wriggled up to him and tried to think of the best way to phrase this - yes, she was just going to say it, but there were some ways that were probably better than others.

"So I'm having our child," Grace said in the most casual tone possible.

  

[Everett Grimm]

Ev, oddly enough, felt more at home in his brother's house than he had in the one he and Grace had moved into after her inheritance came through. They would definitely not be building such an expansive house this next go around.

Thankfully the girls were asleep, Flopsy was happily cleaning the kitchen and he was not one to keep tabs on Miss Vivienne as her coming and going was none of his business. He was however very content with his glass of bourbon as he lounged on the couch. This was far too familiar, though not entirely unwelcome. The wonderful addition of his beautiful wife on the couch next to him was definitely welcome as well.

Draping a comfortable arm over her shoulder as she snuggled in, Ev had just taken a sip of his bourbon when she announced a little bit of news. Surprised by the bluntness of the statement (though he really shouldn't be) Ev sprayed the sip of bourbon on the carpet before them, hopefully not on Grace, as he digested the information. It sank in quickly however, and a wide grin threatened to split his face in two.

"Really? Are you sure?" He asked hopefully as he set his drink aside and eyed his wife.

  

[Grace Grimm]

Probably she should have waited for him not to be drinking to tell him this. Grace stifled a giggle and brushed the bourbon off of her skirts, though luckily he had not gotten them too badly. She wondered if @Edmund Grimm would notice that his carpet smelled like alcohol. She hoped that he did, it was the sort of thing that Grace would like to see.

Grace grinned right back at her husband, already more than pleased with his reaction.

"Well, I've never been with child before," she said, "But I'm almost completely certain. I've been feeling the things I was told I would -" she hoped that the nausea went away soon, like her mother had told her it would "- and unless I've lost the ability to use a calendar, well. I'm certain."

  

[Everett Grimm]

Ev quirked an eyebrow at her; she was mocking him, just a little bit, as he set his bourbon aside to look at her properly. This moment was entirely foreign to him. Sure Ev had two girls, neither of which were biologically his, though he would never tell either one of them that. As far as they were concerned their mothers had left them with him and disappeared, but he was in fact their father. Of course they wouldn't only come to know Grace as their mother, but if they ever asked why they looked different than their future siblings, he wasn't going to lie to them.

Apparently future siblings was closer than Ev realized!

The newness of going through a pregnancy firsthand was something that should terrify him. From what he had heard pregnant women could be almost impossible to deal with. As he'd been absent for both the pregnancies resulting in Ella and Vivi he had no real knowledge but, with Grace he kind of doubted she'd be some hormonal monster...

Leaning in, he kissed her soundly, grin still very evident on his face. "That's very exciting..." Grace did look excited, which was good, but he just wanted to double check. She was a very independent girl that he'd somehow managed to rope into marrying him. He just hoped that she didn't feel obligated or anything... "Right? I mean I'm excited, but you are too, right?"

  

[Grace Grimm]

"Of course I'm excited, you big dumb oaf," Grace said, planting a kiss to her husband's forehead. And she really was - even if she was perpetually tired, and a little nervous, and still entirely antsy without a Quidditch career to have or a team to run. (As soon as they got a new house, she was teaching Ella how to ride a toy broomstick.) Still, despite all that, she was extremely excited - she loved Ella and Vivi as if they were her own, and was certainly a more useful mother to them than either of their biological mothers. But this - carrying the child inside her - was obviously a different experience, and though she had not expected to experience it quite so soon after marriage (or at such an inconvenient time) she was very excited nonetheless!

  

[Everett Grimm]

Only Grace could get away with calling him a big dumb oaf unscathed.

What a beautiful marriage they had.

And now they were adding to their already budding little family. Ev heaved a happy sigh, exaggerated of course. "Glad to hear it then." The grin currently in place couldn't get any wider if he tried, though he was sure it was permanently affixed there for at least the next twenty-four hours. Maybe if he was lucky he'd finally get his boy.

"So, I was thinking if we have a boy," Oh Merlin please let it be a boy, he was so outnumbered in his house own house. "Maybe his middle name could be Sydney?" Ev was not an overly sentimental person, well he hadn't been until he'd become a father- and he certainly wasn't crazy about the name Sydney for a first name, but it would be a nice way to honor her brother to squeeze it in there somehow.

  

[Grace Grimm]

A slow grin spread over Grace's face. "I'd like that, I think," she said. She still missed her brother, sometimes, even if it was not nearly the level of grief she had felt when he had passed - and she was glad that she had hardly ever visited his Wellingtonshire home, and that her husband and their daughters filled it up, because she thought it would have been dreadful otherwise.

"For a girl," Grace said, "How do you feel about a virtue name? For middle name, not first." As much as she liked Grace - and she had chosen that over her technical first name, Mallory, though it had been legally changed - she did think that she preferred to stick that sort of name in the middle.

  

[Everett Grimm]

For a girl. Ev highly suspected that would be the case every time they had a baby (he did want a couple more at least) and he should probably be prepared for the inevitable arrival of yet another female in his house. Perhaps he should only pick out girls names just to be completely prepared.

"I feel like that could be a theme in our house. Vivi's middle name is Grace." Which was ironic on a whole different level. Not that he'd picked it either, but apparently he was destined to be graced with girls- pun intended. "As long as we leave my family names out, we'll be fine." Not that Walter was too bad, it could really be worse, but aside from Ed, Ev didn't even have much family. "Well that's middle names settled, probably should think of a few first names." He chuckled, thinking they should probably worry about that a bit too.

  

[Grace Grimm]

Grace snorted. "No, we're not cruel enough to name anyone Walter or Aeriona," she said. She was pretty sure that her mother herself would be incredibly displeased if Grace named a child Aeriona - such a top-heavy name for such a short last name! It really was no wonder that Grace's mother had not let any family names get used on her own children.

"Something snappy," Grace agreed, "Ella and Vivian are both so quick, it has to go with those!" She was mentally running through names, trying to think of something that she was actually willing to stick a child with for its whole life - and came to the immediate conclusion that this was very hard. Perhaps she shouldn't blame her parents quite so much for sticking her with a name like Mallory!

  

[Everett Grimm]

Ev nodded followed by a chuckle. "We do have nine months, give or take, to figure it out." Merlin's beard he hoped Grace had an easy pregnancy. He would obviously do his best to make her comfortable and indulge her whims to the best of his ability, but he was just a hair nervous. The end result was nothing- he was already a father, but the process in getting there was entirely new to him. He certainly wasn't complaining, in fact he'd been looking forward to it, but that didn't save him from being antsy about it.

"Let's be real though, I named Ella and that took serious debate between James and myself. I almost named her after my mother." He really shouldn't be able to name anything. "Ella was the most little girl sounding thing I could think of. Perhaps you should name this one." He put his free hand over her stomach, though he knew the little thing was just that- very little. If Ev had his way though and especially now that they were completely financially secure, they'd be having plenty more.

  

[Grace Grimm]

"Oh Ev," Grace said affectionately, because naming a baby after his literally insane mother seemed like a terrible idea. She made a mental note to thank James for talking him out of that the next time she saw Ev's best friend. Of course, Emmaline wasn't a terrible name, or anything - it was just terribly and notoriously unlucky in the Grimm family, and Grace would have constantly worried that Ella would be cursed!

"I promise not to let you name our baby anything stupid," she said, grinning cheekily at him. Hopefully she wouldn't have to exercise her womb-bearing veto powers too often, but it was good to know that she definitely had them and that her husband apparently had more faith in her than he did in himself.

  

[Everett Grimm]

"I knew a married you for a reason. Ev teased. There were many reasons that he'd married Grace; chiefly, she agreed. Well that was a lie, nobody really got to him or put up with him, like Grace did. Her ability to keep him in line was both amusing and necessary. One of them had to have their head on straight. "We'll figure it out, we do have nine more months, give or take a couple weeks." He said it again, mostly because it was really starting to settle in. Financially they were very set, thanks to Grace's inheritance, but was he really ready to add another baby to the mix? He was used to them being surprises! He wasn't sure which he liked more, them just showing up or having the better part of a year to prepare. He'd know when this one arrived, he supposed.

Snuggling in, he grinned to himself, the knowledge washing over him again. He'd smile like an idiot for weeks every time he thought about it. It wasn't like he didn't know what was coming and this time he'd have a whole little team to help. With Grace, the nanny and Flopsy in tow, they would certainly be more than fine. At least in this respect, he already knew what he was doing! "I love you Mrs. Grimm." He reminded her, not care one bit how mushy that sounded.