November 15th, 1890 - Miller Residence
Beau Miller

I don't love you like I used to
This gets better every time you kiss me like this
It's stronger the longer I'm with you
More than every single day before

Though things were hardly settled in regards to Odina and Toby, Eva was, for all intents and purposes, very settled in her own life. She felt like she was the size of a small erumpet, but there wasn't much to be done about that. She'd been assured you could hardly tell that she was pregnant from the back and that she was all belly, which she supposed was true, but her aching hips and feet didn't agree.

Thankfully the house was pretty much all set, she couldn't sit idle for very long, (though she did nap quite a bit these days) and she was taking it easy, thanks to the random pains she kept having, but she'd wanted the inside of the house to be as ready as possible before winter. Thankfully magic made that quite a bit easier and she wasn't overworked, just bored. Also quite fortunately, she had Fergus for company most days as Beau and Murph were picking up her slack at the zoo these days.

She was curled up in bed, a fire roaring in the hearth of their room, snuggled up with a book of pictures from when she was little. Some included her mom, most of it was of their travels around the world, but she was in the mood to reminisce a little. The baby was quite active at the moment, the little one doing their (she was convinced it was a girl) somersaults, which had become quite the nightly routine shortly after dinner. Eva was highly amused until one pretty good jab to her ribs left her breathless for a moment and she had to push back on what she assumed was a little foot. Still, she had to laugh.

This was where Beau found her, curled up under an old afghan of her mother's creation, the book and pictures sprawled around her as she smiled up at him. "I think she likes what we had for supper." She chuckled, pushing again against the little foot in her ribs.

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babystamp 26 weeks

  

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The situation with Odina and Toby was ... complicated. There was no doubt in Beau's mind that the boisterous young boy was, in fact, his own flesh and blood, but with Odina dragging her feet on any kind of unification between father and son Beau's hands were effectively tied. He wouldn't — couldn't — out her, he would never doom his child to the life of a bastard. But, that didn't stop the yearning in his heart to somehow parent his son. He knew all too well what it was like to grow up without a healthy relationship with his father, he knew the lifelong pain it caused. That Odina refused to even acknowledge it as a future for Tobias only made Beau angrier.

He tried to reign it in and be more present for Eavan's sake. It wasn't his wife's fault that Beau suddenly had life changing revelations happening left and right, nor was it her fault that he couldn't process anger the way most people could. Fury festered within Beau, like bacteria in a swamp. Multiplying and poisoning everything around it until there was nothing left to be consumed. Eva hadn't signed up for that. In fact, the short redhead would probably be better if Beau hadn't forced her into such a life.

Conall had every right to kill him.

Beau had shooed Eva off to bed and took care of the washing from dinner and joined her as soon as he was done. His long hair (Lord knew he ought to chop it off sooner or later) was loose and hanging down his back in tangled waves, his shirt already mostly unbuttoned. "Oh?" He asked with a raised brow and settled down besides her. "We'll have to have lamb more often. Can't have the princess not enjoying her meals."

  

Moving her book aside, she made room for Beau on the bed, having gotten used to having most of it to herself more often than not. She'd gotten too round to take her naps on the sofa anymore and so had taken to the bed more often. Beau's demon's plagued him mostly at night and she'd stood by her promise to leave him to his fence posts whenever he felt the need.

"The little princess is doing a damn jig in there." She shifted, wincing slightly, still trying to dislodge the limb in her ribs. "She'll be a dancer, if I have to venture a guess." Eva laughed, knowing it was highly unlikely, given her own inability to dance, but who knew at this point. She was alight highly amused that Beau seemed ready to follow her lead on thinking it was a girl. "Or he's going to be quick on his feet, either one." She wasn't fussed either way, not really, but a little girl would be delightful. She would probably do better with a boy, considering she was not the most feminine of creatures, but she was going to do her best to let them name a girl Nola, after her mother.

Relaxing fully against him, Eva sighed so contentedly. "I bet you can feel her now." Eva could see the little feet and elbows sticking out every now and then, certainly Beau would be able to feel the little dancer by now.

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"A dancer?" Beau repeated with a raised brow. Eavan possessed a great many qualities that he loved, but her skills on the dance floor were lacking, to put it mildly. He was no great dancer himself, too tall and bearish to have that level of coordination. Beau knew enough to keep him from stepping on his partner's toes, but not much more than that. "More like a ring leader. She'll be the master of a circus in no time."

The circus was one of the only periods of his life he could discuss freely. Granted, it was there that he met Odina, but that was neither here nor there since she was so adamantly avoiding him. There was nothing to be done but focus on his beautiful wife and their new baby. A girl. A son was possible too, of course, but he hadn't the slightest clue how to be a proper man for his son. At least if the baby was a girl he could follow Eavan's lead.

He placed his large hand over hers, unsure of where to attempt to feel their baby's small movements. "Does it always hurt?" Beau asked as he thought back to her wince a minute prior. Despite having dealt with countless pregnant creatures over his career, Beau had never had to deal with a human baby.

  

"Nobody said she had to be good at it." Eva chuckled. She was not good at it, but she did enjoy it when the occasion called for it. At his mention of the circus, Eva's smile softened. "An acrobat then." She conceded easily.

Covering his hand with hers, she slid them higher on her stomach to where the kicks we happening. "It doesn't hurt at all, sometimes just surprises me. Plus right now there's a foot in my ribcage and that's mildly uncomfortable." It really didn't hurt, but she would watch her reactions a little more carefully around him. Growing a human was strange business.

"Oh! Did you feel that?" There had been a good enough kick that he likely could have felt it, though they weren't right on top with their hands.

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An acrobat. Beau grinned at the thought of their child walking across the high ropes (with all the appropriate cushioning charms, of course). "I can already picture her bouncing around between acts. Do you think she'll have your hair?" Merlin, he hoped so. Beau loved Eavan's hair, and any child — any person really — would be lucky to have the same.

He allowed her to shift her hand however she saw fit, and looked at her with sheer delight in his eyes as the thump hit his palm. "Amazing." He murmured, shifting down the bed to be better able to place both of his large hands on her stomach. "She's really in there."

  

Sighing contentedly, Eva had one of those rare emotional moments (damn hormones!) where she could feel the happy tears bubbling up, but she refused to let them fall. It was completely ridiculous after all.

"Of course she's in there," She let out a breathless laugh. "I'm not half the size of an erumpet for nothing." Eva liked to tease him about it, but there was no way she'd change how they'd gotten here. It definitely wasn't what she'd imagined their life would look like, but now she couldn't picture it any other way. It wasn't easy and the road was bumpy (moreso than expected thanks to Odina) but they were getting there.

Moments like this were a blissful reminder that they'd be alright.

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He thought to tease her about her size for a half a second before realizing what a foolish mistake such a comment would be. Eavan's emotions were all over the place as of late, and joining her joke could only lead to a fight. Still, he didn't quite know how to respond that wasn't a gross cliche of affection. Telling her she was beautiful would likely be met with an eye roll. Comparing her to other creatures ran the risk of a different offense altogether.

Kissing her as a means of distraction...well, that could work.

Beau looked up into her eyes and kissed her softly. Although he was still very concerned about hurting her throughout her pregnancy, he had since learned to ignore the baby bump between them during relations. Instead, he focused all his attentions usually on watching for any signs of discomfort and adjusted as needed. "You'll be back to the size of a niffler before we know it. Don't stress."

  

Eva half-expected him to play along, but was glad he didn't. She would feel bad if in an instant her whole mood changed. She did feel like the size of a small erumpet, but wasn't sure she wanted to be teased about it either.

The soft kiss was unexpected and wholly welcome as she cupped his cheek, running her thumb along his strong jaw. "Good answer." She let out a breathless chuckle. It was a good one. The size of a niffler was overdoing it, though she was small in comparison to him, she wasn't all that tiny.

Looking up into his eyes she bit her lip for a moment, trying to piece out what she wanted to say. The subject of names had been on her mind for a while now, but she obviously wanted his input. "I was thinking, if that is a wee lass in there, that maybe we could name her Lena, or maybe Nola." Neither of their mothers would be here to see their grandchild and Eva was hopelessly lost on a boy's name, but girls were easy, if he was agreeable.

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Beau was always surprised when he realized just how much of his life Eavan remembered. It made sense that she would, they were married after all. However, Beau didn't often feel as though he was worth remembering. His life thus far was the result of following one whim after another, of chasing after the next rush or dollar. Whichever came first.

Now, though, that had obviously changed. They owned a (albeit, small) home and were soon to be parents. There was no fighting or running in hus future, just the happy stability of their lives together. "Nola," he said with a tight smile. "We'll call her Nola."

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   Elsie Kirke

Eva's face lit up a little brighter when he agreed on using her mum's name. Either would have been just fine, but she was secretly very pleased he preferred Nola. Lena would undoubtedly be her middle name however, it could work.

Kissing his cheek softly, she chuckled, "You're on your own if it's a boy." She meant that too. Eva had absolutely no idea what to name a boy if they were to have one. Conall might be an option for a middle name, but she wasn't about to go for the confusion of naming a boy after her father. Not to mention she had used her favorite boy's name on her diricawl, so she was out of ideas.

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Beau's first instinct was to name a son after him, only to sullenly remember such a son already existed. He pressed a kiss to her hair and shrugged. They would figure something out, after her dad maybe. Or after Murph. Legacy names sat well with him, just so long as it was any name but Oscar. "We'll talk." He chuckled. They had more than enough time to chooss still.