September 26th, 1891 - Kirke Flat
Tybalt Kirke

Sunday mornings were finally for sleeping in now that the morning sickness was passed, or they would be, if the little one she was currently housing did not think sunrise was the perfect time to be doing somersaults while she was trying to sleep. Still, she had managed to quell the gymnastics long enough to doze off again, thanks to snuggling into her nice warm husband beside her, but Elsie knew it wouldn't last long.

The snooze was better than she'd imagined, but someone was definitely wide awake and it wasn't the adults in the room. She sighed as she rolled over trying to get comfortable, shifting so she was on her side, watching Tyb sleep. She was so envious of his ability to really crash and sleep so deeply. It had never been something she had been fortunate enough to be able to do, but it was even worse now. After being put on leave from the library, at least she had the luxury of an early afternoon nap during the week. It pained her to be so idle at home, but Mr. Ainsworth had brought up some good points and had insinuated her job would still be there for her after she was recovered from having the baby, so that was a comfort to her. They had enough savings to cover the lapse, and Elsie even thought they might be able to settle into a small little cottage before the baby came. It might be a little tight, but with her savings, her dowry and Tyb's continued salary, they could swing it and Elsie wanted nothing more than to be settled before the baby arrived.

A particularly good jab to her ribcage had Elsie laughing quietly as she winced, pushing back with one hand to see if she could get the baby to remove their foot from her lungs. "That's quite enough out of you in there," She whispered as she squirmed against the discomfort, trying to manage some level of relaxation in her own bed at the moment.

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   Tybalt Kirke

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MJ always makes her so pretty

“Hmm?” Tybalt murmured, sure that she’d been talking to him.

She wasn’t as close as she had been, though, so eventually the missing warmth dragged him from the depths of sleep. He yawned into the pillow and rolled onto his side as well, blearily adjusting to the daylight. He blinked a few times as Elsie fidgeted in place beside him, laughing softly and seeming in the midst of battle with something almost ticklish. Oh. The baby. (He still thought it was – slightly insane, that she was growing a person right now. Their person. A real living human – who apparently needed no rest at all.) The baby was moving.

Meeting Elsie’s gaze for a moment, he raised his eyebrows in tentative curiosity. “Someone’s an early riser,” he remarked as he propped himself a little further up in bed to watch the scene, stifling another yawn to grin.

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   Elsie Kirke

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With one hand pushing against the little foot in her ribs, Elsie wondered who this little one was going to take after more. Clearly they had her early morning habits, but with Tyb's energy. It was going to be interesting to see and it made her sigh in contentment just thinking about it

Her eyes fluttered open when she realized Tyb was awake. "I didn't mean to wake you," She had almost apologized, but knew that wasn't allowed. Her constant readjusting must have been obnoxious though. Her soft smile turned into another wince as the baby stretched out again. "I'm either growing a boxer or a dancer, but they're very lively." She chuckled and reached out to pull one of Tyb's hands to replace hers against the movement.

"I'm blaming you," She teased sleepily as she put her free arm under her head to look at him. Hopefully the baby would get Tyb's coordination and not hers.

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MJ always makes her so pretty

Tyb just shrugged at the being-woken-up thing. Better like this than by Elsie retching like in the early days, anyway; besides, he’d gotten enough sleep, and much as he was slow to get it together most mornings, he didn’t like to think he was missing anything important. Like the baby doing an impromptu polka. 

Letting Elsie pull his hand to her abdomen, he felt it – and he could really feel it now: the very first few times it had happened he’d felt he might just be imagining it, but not anymore – and was struck again by the sensation that there was a real person in there. A real little person who would one day be with them in the world, for whom they would be completely, utterly responsible... Tyb’s heart lurched at almost the same moment the baby kicked again, and he outwardly flinched.

Elsie was watching him, though, so he let the smile settle back on his face, wishing he could be as serene as she seemed to be. “I think you mean that they’re already getting ready to try out for their house quidditch team,” Tyb joked, in his attempt to emulate her ease with all of this. That was likely whether they were a boy or a girl. If, of course, they made it to Hogwarts intact in the first place, he considered nervously. Eleven years felt like lifetimes away from here, and Tyb didn’t want to get carried away and – jinx it, or anything.

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She had nearly closed her eyes again, trying to soak up the moment, but she saw a flicker of something cross Tyb's face and that had her watching him closely. She felt the baby give him a solid kick and he flinched though covered it up quickly. Els furrowed her brows at him; she knew him far too well to be fooled by the charming smile and chipper attitude.

"Right of course, the house team. That should have been my first thought." She chuckled, giving it a moment, trying to decide if she wanted to ask or if she would let him be. Gently she covered his hand with her own again and gave him a soft smile. It was hard to imagine a few months from now, when the baby finally arrived, to Hogwarts, but it would fly by, of that she was sure. Her mother had always said the days went by slow, but the years went by quickly. It was a startling realization really, but she was looking forward to every minute of it from here on out. As long as she got to do it all beside Tyb she would be fine.

"You alright?" She asked quietly after a moment, deciding to just go for it rather than think about it all day.

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MJ always makes her so pretty

“Yeah, it should have,” he agreed cheerfully, but then Elsie put her hand on his and looked at him and it felt like she could see through him. He swallowed gently, turning over the feeling in his head to try and make enough sense of it to explain it; he was still contemplating whether or not it was better to air it aloud or keep it to himself when she asked outright, and he shifted upwards slightly, leaning against the headboard and letting his gaze fall on her again.

“Aren’t you – worried?” Tyb said finally, chewing on the inside of his cheek. Elsie knew nerves, knew worry, knew insecurity and how to face it – and she knew the extent of this undertaking, he remembered the early days of the pregnancy, when they’d both had to readjust to the unexpected – but now she was making everything seem so easy. Natural. Like she wasn’t nervous in the least.

Maybe she’d done her research as usual, and felt better for it. Maybe he should try that, but every time he thought about the near future his chest seized up a little, so it felt easier not to think about it at all.

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"I am absolutely petrified." She admitted easily, without even having to contemplate the truth of her answer. She settled more against the pillow to study him for a moment. Did she really not appear worried? That was a first. She had done her reading, but as Lucinda had promptly warned her, real life did not compare to books. With that said, everything she had read about pregnancy had mostly panned out, so she had that going for her. Plus she did have some experience with babies and young children, though she knew it was a different situation entirely when they were your own.

She sighed softly, peering over at him. "I think we're going to be some level of worried for the next twenty years." It didn't help and though she really was worried, it didn't do much good to get lost in the trenches of it either. Elsie was an anxious person by nature, but this, them, the marriage, the baby, it was the surest she had ever felt. "But I have everything that I need right here in this bed and that is all that matters." A roof over their heads, food on the table, a steady income, they could make it work. She could get through everything life would throw at her as long as he was there with her.

"I truly think we can do this though." She smiled at him fondly. Theirs would be a house full of love and laughter, good times and bad and she was prepared to do it all.

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   Tybalt Kirke

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MJ always makes her so pretty

He was actually surprised to hear that. Because if she was petrified, what was he? Maybe Tybalt just wasn’t used to it, being this terrified – when Elsie was nervous, he usually noticed it in her, and he generally didn’t feel it as badly – but this was worse than any quidditch game or facing her family or anything, this was staring down the future with absolutely no confidence to count on in reserve.

“I’ve never been this worried,” Tyb admitted, in return. And he still was, even with all her assurances, all her trust in them. He trusted that she could do it: if that was the whole equation he would have had absolute faith, but... “It’s just,” – he struggled to find the words, the confession I trust you but I don’t trust me – “what if we – what if I – mess this up?” 

“I don’t want to fail. This. Them. But...” He’d never cared so much about the possibility of failing until now, his hand caught between hers and the kicking baby. Tybalt could talk about trying all he wanted, but trying wouldn’t make a difference if he still screwed this up somehow because you didn’t get to just pay for it with a detention or start afresh in the next game with parenthood, with raising a child. What if he lost his job and couldn’t provide for them, or accidentally dropped the baby on its head, or one day just didn’t even know what to do...? And what if he wasn’t good enough to begin with, and that wasn’t something he could change?

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Elsie's smile softened. Of course he was worried, it would be odd for him not to be, but just as he admitted he had never been so worked up, she had also never seen him like this. It was always the other way around, she was always the one needing his steady hand; he always had the right words and did the right things to calm her down. She had to think carefully about how to return the favor.

"This is a huge thing we're doing," In all the wrong order, so with added pressure of course. "It's natural, it's okay to be worried." Elsie had to assume and impending newborn was a source of stress for any new parents. Would the birth go alright? Would the baby be healthy? Would they sleep alright? How were they going to handle being freshly married and new parents all at the same time?

Gently she reached out to cup his cheek, running her thumb across the stubble on his chin fondly. "Answer me this," Elsie turned blue eyes onto his hazel ones. "Do you love me? Will you love this baby?" She asked, though she already knew the answer, she rather thought he had to process this out loud.

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MJ always makes her so pretty

Tyb let out a long, unsteady breath when she touched him, trying to expel all the fear from his chest and let himself be reassured. And she was right, it was okay to be worried, it was a huge thing, it was new for both of them.

But everyone else seemed to manage it alright, and even the best people made mistakes from time to time, and if Elsie was here at his side the whole time then even if something did go wrong, Tybalt was fairly confident they would work it out. And – he stared at her, slightly taken aback by the question. “Of course I love you,” he said, creasing his brow in confusion, because clearly that was true. “And I already love them, too,” Tyb promised her, moving his hand lightly over the bump again. Elsie must do as well; and Tybalt wasn’t worried about that part, he would love the baby every day they were in the world, that wouldn’t involve any trying. “I guess I just – what if they don’t love me?”

Elsie was carrying this baby, he was sure the baby would know her – and Elsie was the easiest person to love in the world. But who was to say their child would ever be proud of him, proud to call him their father? What if he screwed up and they resented him forever? What if they just didn’t ever grow to love him? He felt stupid for saying it, stupid, because it seemed like an irrational fear and a faraway one, but what if their child was just so good they grew up to be disappointed in who he was?

He shook his head to say forget it, I don’t even know what I’m saying. Why was this baby already making him stupid? (More stupid.)

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Elsie watching him carefully, could see the worry etched across his features; something she didn't see very often at all, and if she did it was usually because of her. They were only human after all, this was life-changing, things would never be the same after this. However, they had overcome every obstacle that had come into their path so far and this would be no different.

Knowing what she wanted to say, but unsure of exactly how to phrase it, Elsie had to wonder if this had something to do with his own father and their strained relationship. She wasn't sure if that was it or not, but the way he phrased it certainly made her think it was part of it. "I should think that a house filled to the brim with love like ours will be all it takes." If he was as good of a father as he'd already proved to be a husband, they were going to be absolutely fine. "We're going to be different than our parents were." Though her mother was obviously a good parent, Elsie knew there were things she would do differently as a parent now that she had the chance.

"Besides, what's not to love?" She teased lightly, pinching his cheek gently.

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MJ always makes her so pretty

He breathed out again, and he felt like something in him did ease a little this time. Maybe she was right. Maybe that was enough. She was right about love, at least – he had wondered, before, whether he would ever love anyone as much as Elsie, now or ever... but as it turned out, maybe there was no limit to it. In fact, he felt like love just made more love, like he – they – just had more of it to give now, that there weren’t enough places in the world to put it, like it would keep spilling out anyway, regardless.

Finally, Tyb nodded at her, and half-smiled at her in defeat, and took her hand again to kiss it. “Well, I could ask you the same question,” he returned, sounding like himself again. He tucked an arm around her to pull her closer beside him, and leant in to kiss her forehead next, and thought that she would probably be the best mother in the world without even trying. So how could their children ever be unhappy, when they were already that lucky? “And you, too,” he added belatedly to the bump, with a small grin. (He still couldn’t quite believe he was actually talking to their baby.)

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   Elsie Kirke

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Relieved that he seemed to be put a little at ease, Elsie snuggled in as he pulled her closer, chucking as he addressed the rather large bump still between them; snuggling wasn't as easy as it used to be. "I've been thinking about names," She admitted with a sigh, thinking that might be something to get his mind off of it. She had been doing quite a bit of thinking in all of her spare time without working.

A boy's name had come easily enough and though it made her sad to think about it, naming a baby after her brother felt right. "Maybe Bentley for a boy?" Tyb had been the only reason Elsie had made it through his death and in the aftermath she'd realized for the first time, that maybe she'd cared for him a little bit deeper than she'd thought possible.

Thinking of something for a girl had been a bit harder, though she knew what she wanted to do, she wasn't exactly sure how he would react or if he'd been doing any thinking himself. Elsie had tried not to get too attached to anything in case he was set on something, because his input was wanted, but she thought she would toss her thoughts out anyway. "And something after your mum for a girl, Helen or maybe Elena?" She was quite fond of the latter, but wanted him to think on it too.

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   Tybalt Kirke

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MJ always makes her so pretty

Names? Oh, names! It was only now that Tybalt realised he had spiralled so far in the last few weeks or months about having to figure out how to be a father, that he’d forgotten to think about that.

Well, thank Merlin one of them was prepared.

He broke into a small smile at the initial thought – which faded briefly at her suggestions, and the wave of memory associated with them – but he kept quiet a moment longer, letting it wash over him. “I love them,” he decided, closing his eyes and envisioning their boy or girl, before glancing at her again. “I love you.” Because they weren’t just names, there – it meant more than that to both of them. “Honestly –” he added, still picturing it, the names settling as he tested them silently on his tongue, and feeling like they fit there naturally, like it was maybe meant to be, “I couldn’t think of anything better if I tried.”

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He was quiet for a moment and Elsie worried briefly (and unnecessarily obviously) that he wasn't fond of what she had suggested. It was all for naught of course, as he agreed that he liked them. She couldn't tell if he hadn't thought of anything or really truly did like her choices more, but decided not to press it. "I love you too," She echoed with a smile as she squeezed him gently. "Let me know if you think of something else you like though." Elsie did want him to choose something if he wanted to. This was not a one-person decision after all. There was still a more solid decision to make on a girl's name and she thought that was a little more firmly in his court, as it was his mum they would name her after, but he could mull it over for a bit before she pestered him again.

"I also love breakfast so I'm going to make some." She didn't exactly want to get out of bed, now that they were all snuggled in and cozy, but she knew well enough that if she didn't eat soon she would be nauseous for the rest of the day and that was the last thing she wanted. They had houses to look at today and she wanted to be up and ready for the day without having to worry about feeling unwell. Plus Hallie would be demanding food soon too. Clearly the little one knew they had important things to do today and that was why they had decided to wake Elsie so early.

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MJ always makes her so pretty