September 23rd, 1890 — The Miller Home, The Hallow

The downfall of buying a home that needed work to be done was that there was, in fact, always something to be done. Whether it was patching the roof, replacing windows or building furniture for the said home, there was never an idle minute. Not in the hours after work, not in the mornings before work, and certainly not in the middle of the night when he was restless.

Beau was careful not to disrupt Eva as he climbed out of bed that evening. From the looks of it, pregnancy was exhausting and he wasn't looking to keep her from her rest. He'd carried his boots to the front porch, dropping into the chair to tie them up tight before grabbing his hammer and heading towards the still-broken fence. It seemed no matter how many boards he replaced there was always another that needed to be adjusted or fixed. And, if Eva was serious about wanting her cow, the fence needed to be in place sooner than later.

Hours passed as Beau worked by both moon and lamp light. At least it wasn't frigid out. Soon enough, winter would be here and any work to be done outside would be a chore. He cut another board to length, wincing at the louder than normal clang as the sawed off piece fell. Beau was far enough from the house to hope he didn't wake Eva with the noise, but not far enough to be certain. Either way, he kept at it. She would find him if she woke.

  

Things had settled some recently, though she could tell Beau was still frustrated by the whole situation with Odina and Toby, they had managed to find a routine and move on a little. Eva hadn't any idea what to do for him in the situation other than be there and to try and not pick fights over the little things. She'd been quite put out when he put his foot down on her working, now that she was quite obviously showing, but she hadn't put up nearly as much of a fight as she would have if the circumstances were different.

After a very thorough discussion with Mr. Podmore about the aviary and leaving it in Amelia's capable hands (with help from Beau of course) she'd been dismissed home to wait out the rest of this pregnancy. Ugh. She was bored already. Thankfully there was plenty to keep her hands busy around the house and with Beau gone all day, he couldn't hover and repeatedly ask her to take it easy or sit down. She was benefitting from an abundance of energy late in the morning, now that the morning sickness had subsided, but she could only do so much of the physical stuff without him whining at her to stop.

They were almost there, the house was quite livable now, she'd done a lot of work on the inside while Beau maintained outside, trying to get it it ready for the plethora of animals she had coming in. By the time bed rolled around she was well and truly exhausted. Thankfully once she curled up against her nice, warm husband, she was asleep within seconds and these days she got to sleep in a little bit. That was a nice perk.

It seemed Beau was not reaping the same benefits. As she rolled over to snuggle in, she found his side of the bed empty. After a few moments, she heard the familiar noise of work being done outside at this unholy hour. Slipping into her warm housecoat and slippers, she stole from the house, hair loose and wild. "Love, what are you doing out here?" Eva wasn't sure if she was amused, annoyed or worried right about now. 

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babystamp ~19 weeks

The following 1 user Likes Eavan Miller's post:1 user Likes Eavan Miller's post
   Fallon Gillespie

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Well, fuck. He really hadn't meant to wake her, but intentions only ever went so far. Beau dropped the hammer on the nearest post and turned to face her. Unloading the reasoning for his restlessness (stress over his son, over her, over bloody Odina) wouldn't be the kind, husband-like gesture to make at two in the morning. She was already stressed too, not working would do that.

"Fixing the fence," Beau murmured with a fake half smile. "What else?"

  

With furrowed brows she tried her best to look stern in the dim light cast by the open door of the house. "I'd worked that much it for myself, thank you very much. But I shall rephrase, why are you out here fixing the fence at this unholy hour?" If he was going to be a bit of a brat about it, she could give it right back to him. She and Fergus could easily take care of it tomorrow if she used a little well-placed magic. Why Beau always insisted on doing it the hard way she would never know.

"It's a good thing we don't have neighbors." She then teased a little more lightly. She worried that he wasn't sleeping well and this was the result of some pent up energy. Still, he needed some sleep to pick up her slack at the zoo.

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"Couldn't sleep," Beau mumbled. It was bad enough that she was miffed at his behavior, he wasn't going to get into it now with her. "Figured getting work done was better than laying there restless." He had feared waking her up with his tossing and turning, only to have woken her up anyway.

Beau smiled tensely at her teasing. Eva was always able to lift his mood, but this was something she just couldn't fix. No amount of lightening would mask the fact that Odina refused to allow him near his son. "Good thing, they'd think we're nuts."

  

"Aren't we though?" A shotgun wedding to hide an pre-marital pregnancy, fixing up this run down little farm to suit their needs and fill with animals Eva already had put out feelers for. She had a runt of a Scottish Cow named Herald arriving first, with a couple of goats to boot. At least if she couldn't work, she'd still be able to feel like she was doing something worthwhile. Plus having Fergus around when he wasn't in lessons was a huge help. Not to mention her father and Murph checked in frequently.

It was easy to keep it light, but Eva did want to know the root of it. She had an idea of what might be bothering him, but if something was frustrating him, she wanted him to know she was willing to listen, even if it was the same thing she'd already heard. "Well, you can keep slamming fence posts in for Herald, or I can make tea and we can curl up by the fire and you can tell me what's on your mind?" She could take a nap tomorrow, a little lost sleep was worth it for him.

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He frowned. Curling up with her wouldn't soothe the frustration as much as she wished it would. Beau's guilt of keeping her awake would eat him alive until she finally fell back asleep, at which point he'd simply find himself right back here. Rubbing a tired hand on his jaw, Beau sighed. There was no way for him to win this one.

"You should just go back to bed, Eva," Beau told her as gently as he could. "I'll be in when I'm done with the fence."

  

Well, at least he'd be on schedule to handle nighttime wakeups with the baby when the time came. Eva frowned, but her lips slipped into a pout when he told her to go back to bed. She hated this. Hated that he was still so worked up about this and there was nothing they could do about it. Of course whatever frustration she felt, must have been tenfold for him.

Still, it kind of stung that he didn't (or couldn't, she wasn't sure which) see that she just wanted to do something for him. "I just want to help," She mumbled quietly, wrapping her arms around her, resting comfortably on her bump. Maybe she couldn't help and that was worse.

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Were he a better man, Beau would've taken one look at her face and succumbed to her wish. Thus far, he and Eva had a pretty solid foundation that Beau doubted could crumble. Such foundations weren't built by ignoring comfort and burying grief, they were painstakingly formed piece by piece of shared burdens. However, Beau was no such man. Not tonight. Possibly not tomorrow night eifher.

He kept his gaze downcast away from her, missing her pout entirely. Turning from her, Beau reached for the hammer, his hand forming a white knuckled grip around the handle, and huffed, "just go back to bed."

  

It seemed he wasn't going to budge.

Well neither was she.

Eva whirled around back toward the house, stomping just as little. She whipped into the living room and collected the blankets from the sofa in a huff.

As she came streaming back outside wrapped in one blanket, she quickly spread the other on the ground a few feet from where he was working and unceremoniously plopped herself down with a defiant look on her features.

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The stomps were impossible to miss, and Beau knew immediately he'd have some apologizing to do in the morning. Eva at least deserved that. He began to hammer in the next board, only managing to sink two nails before he heard her footsteps again.

What the fuck was wrong with her tonight?

Determined to at least finish the board he was working on, Beau hammered in three more nails before turning to face her. His annoyance and frustration was, for once, plain across his features. "That isn't what going to bed means. Or have you decided to practice acting like a child?" He muttered a bit harshly. But, really, he had asked for space several times.

  

"Did you change your name to Conall? Because last time I checked, he was the only man who could actually tell me what to do." Eva jutted out her chin as she looked at him. She wrapped herself up in the blankets and got comfortable. She was perfectly capable of being as stubborn as he was and at least this way she could keep an eye on him. The last thing she needed was for him to hurt himself being overzealous with the fenceposts.

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Fuck! She just wasn't taking the fucking hint, was she? Beau's hand flexed around the hammer, an angry tic he'd retained since his fighting days. "Eavan," he nearly growled as he, once again, turned to face her. "Go to fucking bed."

  

Eva was unperturbed by his behavior. She knew it was a reaction to things beyond their control. Right now, she just happened to be something he thought he could control. Unfortunately, he was sadly mistaken. Despite her comment about her father, even Conall knew better.

"No." She shook her head and watched him. "Go about your fence fixing, I'll watch." She stated simply, shrugging a little. She could nap tomorrow (later today?), but he couldn't so there was that. m

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   Beau Miller

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Before he could think better of it, Beau scooped her up, not daring to look down at whatever expression was on her face, and stormed through the small house to their bedroom. Why couldn't she understand he just needed to be alone? A few hours, that was all he was asking for. Not much.

He tracked mud through every room before entering theirs and placing her down gently on the bed. If she weren't pregnant he would've dropped her, but alas. Even as angry as he was Beau would never do anything that might cause her or their baby harm. "Just leave me be," he muttered coldly. Then, hoping it might do the trick, he added, "please."

  

Before she could even so much as holler in protest, he'd scooped her up and manhandled her (gently) through the house and back to bed. Honestly she was torn between laughing and being even more pissed, but settled somewhere in between.

"No," She reiterated, holding onto him so he couldn't just escape. "You married me, you're stuck with me, for better for worse, for your bad fucking moods at two in the morning, you're stuck with me. So be stuck and like it." It was like holding a squirming creature who wanted nothing more to escape you, but she was going to be a stubborn brat about it.

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