Mine
Things slow down a little after that, both of them a bit tired of the cleanup involved. They still try, of course, but maybe twice a week instead of nearly every day. Not to say that they don’t do other things on the days they aren’t trying.
Wynn comes home from training a bit late a few weeks later, citing something about catching up with Brom and chatting. In reality, she’d been going to the jewelry store to try to find a ring for Evie. None of them had felt right, though, so she’d secretly called Hendrich about it, who’d promised to ask Sara. The next time they were at dinner, Hendrich asked Wynn's help with moving some things about in the attic while Evie and Sara cooked. It was up there that he slipped a ring into her hand.
“It was Evie's grandmother’s. Apparently it was the one Evie always wanted to wear. She gave it to Sara to keep, to hide from Liam when he was going to propose. She didn’t want to waste it on him.”
Wynn looks at it, and can't help but smile at how utterly Evie it is. “It’s perfect.”
“When will you do it?” He asks, curious.
“Not sure,” Wynn lies. She knows exactly when she’ll do it, or at least in what circumstance. But she can't tell Hendrich or Sara - Evie wanted to keep any possible baby a secret until they knew for certain.
While they’re at dinner, and as they head home, Wynn obsessively checks her pocket to make sure the ring is still in there. Hendrich handed it to her loose, which had thoroughly freaked her out about losing it. And she couldn’t exactly put it on her own finger for safe keeping.
Evie's quiet on the way home, and Wynn is too - Evie had a headache at dinner, and was hoping to sleep when they got back. But when they get inside, Evie pulls her to the sofa, pushes her onto it, and crawls into her lap.
“Everything okay?” Wynn asks worriedly.
“Wynn, I-” Evie starts, biting her lip. Her eyes fill with tears and Wynn holds her tighter.
"What? What's wrong?" She whispers, smoothing Evie's hair back and kissing her head gently.
"I- it's my- my period, and I-" she gasps, breaking into hysterical sobs.
“Hey! Hey, it’s alright. It’s okay, baby. This was only the first month, we can keep-”
Evie shakes her head, staring at Wynn with wide eyes as she cries.
“No? You don’t want to keep trying?” Wynn asks, frowning.
“No, I- I think-” she whispers, and Wynn's eyes widen.
“Do you- do you need a test?”
Evie nods, still tearful.
“Okay,” Wynn breathes, kissing her cheek. “Let's take a test then.”
“I don’t have any!" She sobs. "I didn’t think- I don’t know! I don’t know why I didn’t get any and now I’m freaking out and I just want to know-”
Wynn smiles at her, pressing her lips to her forehead. “Sweetheart, breathe. We have tests. I got some a week ago, just in case. They’re under the sink.”
“You did?” Evie asks, eyes big.
“I did. I wasn’t sure, but I figured we’d better have some, just to be safe. For times like these,” she grins. "Come on, then. Let's go see.”
“But what if I’m not?” Evie asks, clinging to her as Wynn tries to stand.
“Then you’re not, and we keep trying,” she shrugs.
“Will you be disappointed?”
“In general, maybe. But not with you,” Wynn says, kissing her head. “Are you ready then? Or should I carry you?”
“Carry me, please,” Evie mutters, burying her head into Wynn's shoulder. She clings to her as Wynn moves towards the bathroom, then sets her down on the sink. “Should I stay for this part, or-”
“No, I can wee on a stick on my own,” Evie says, but it isn't convincing.
“Okay, love - I’ll be right outside. And we’ll set a timer and then look together, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Go on. I’ll come right back in when you’re done.”
Evie looks pale when she reopens the door, and Wynn immediately gathers her into her arms, lifting her up, grabbing the test in the other, and carries them both to the sofa. She lays the test face down on the table in front of them, then cuddles Evie close, rocking slightly. She glances at the clock and mentally notes when three minutes are up, then rubs Evie's back softly.
“Alright, love - it’s time. You ready?”
Evie shakes her head.
“Do you want me to do it? Or do you want me to wait?”
“You do it,” Evie whispers, shifting so she’s straddling Wynn's lap, her back to the table.
“Okay,” Wynn says, looking at her closely before giving her a kiss. Then she leans forward, one hand on Evie's back, and grabs the test off the table. Evie studies her expression and Wynn gives her a final kiss before she lifts it up over Evie's shoulder and flips it.
Her hand tightens on Evie's back and she laughs breathlessly, pulling Evie in tight against her chest. “Fief,” she breathes.
“Wait, is it- Am I-” Evie asks.
“Yeah, baby,” Wynn laughs, squeezing her and cradling the back of her head. “It’s positive. You’re pregnant.”
Evie makes sort of a strangled noise, then starts sobbing, clinging to Wynn from her place in her lap. “Oh my god! Oh my god. Oh god - Wynn! What do I- what do we do?!”
Wynn laughs in disbelief, peppering her cheek with kisses. “I have no idea. We’ll have to start reading, obviously. I- we need to make a doctor appointment, I think… I may need to call Brom. Sara and Hendrich won’t know-”
“We can't tell him! It's too early!”
“Baby, he’s going to know anyway! As soon as I tell him to please stop bringing me his… samples-”
Evie laughs, sounding slightly manic. “Oh my god I forgot he was bringing it to you!”
“I need to tell him to stop doing that immediately. It’s horrible,” Wynn says, shuddering.
“Okay. Okay, so - we’ll read. Or… I’ll read, and you… watch videos or something? And talk to Brom? And we’ll make an appointment-” she cuts off, looking at Wynn with extremely wide eyes. “Oh my god, Wynn - we’re going to have a baby.”
“I know,” Wynn smiles.
“There’s a baby in me right now,” she says, looking down. She puts a hand on her belly, like she’ll be able to feel something, then looks up at Wynn.
“There is,” she nods, putting her hand on top of Evie's. “Wait- how did you know?”
“I didn’t!”
“Is your period late?”
“No, I’m not due for a couple days!”
“Then-”
“I don’t know. I think it was the candles, at Sara’s? I just- I felt a bit sick, when she had them on and I didn’t think anything of it until we were coming home and I- the air smelled like snow!”
Wynn squints at her, trying and failing to put those puzzle pieces together.
“My mum- my mum used to be able to smell when snow was coming, back in Holland. She’d just sort of… announce it randomly. She couldn’t say what it smelled like, but she always knew. And I asked her once and she said she’d been able to ever since she got pregnant with me. That her sense of smell was so sensitive, the littlest things like smoke or flowers would make her sick, at the beginning. But snow - it didn’t make her sick but she could smell it in the air, before it came. That part stuck around after,” she smiles. “And we were just walking and then we got inside and I thought ‘we should bring logs in for the fire before the snow’, and-”
“And you remembered your mum,” Wynn says softly.
Evie smiles back, just a little bit sad.
“It was so special that you two share that, love. I’m so glad you could share that bit, since she isn't here for it now,” she says softly.
Evie's eyes water a bit but she blinks the tears away. “I can't believe it.”
“I know,” Wynn nods. Evie leans forward and Wynn tilts her face to meet her, letting Evie kiss her softly.
“I love you.”
“I love you. I love both of you,” she says quietly, pressing her fingertips to Evie's stomach.
Evie laughs wetly, and Wynn wipes the tears away with her thumbs. She kisses her once more, then stands with Evie in her arms, spinning and setting her back down on the sofa.
“Hey!” Evie protests. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to go bring in the logs for the fire,” Wynn says easily, her face aching with the size of her grin. “Before the snow. And I’ll put the kettle on. You just stay here and be cosy, okay?”
“Okay,” Evie nods , curling up. Wynn tucks a blanket over her, then runs a hand over her hair, stooping to kiss her head.
“My girl,” she whispers to herself. She moves to the kitchen, puts the water on to boil, then pulls on her coat, stepping out into the garden. Evie has a little stack of firewood out against the fence, which Wynn makes a mental note to add to tomorrow. But for now, she stacks a pile of kindling and a larger-than-necessary pile of logs by the door, then shuffles them inside over the threshold before she closes the door, shucks off her coat, and moves them to the hearth.
This is by far not the first fire of the season, so she crouches and builds a little starting pile with practiced ease, flips open the flue, and lights it with a long match. She spends a moment blowing on the embers, catching the sticks and branches into a solid blaze before she stacks a few logs inside and shuts the grate. Then she washs her hands, pours the now-boiling water for tea, and brings a mug to Evie, still curled up on the sofa.
Evie sits up when Wynn sits down next to her, leaning against her shoulder and halfway onto her chest. They sit there, sipping their drinks in silence, staring into the fire, thinking and enjoying each other's company. Wynn has a brief moment of panic while she runs her hands through Evie's hair after she falls asleep on her lap, thinking of her own family and what a nightmare it turned out to be. But she sneaks a glance at Evie, and thinks about Hendrich and Sara, and her brother, and forces herself to take a deep breath. If there's anyone she can do this with, it's Evie.
She leans down and kisses her forehead slowly, combing through her hair again to wake her gently. “Fief, baby - come on. I think we should sleep.”
Evie grumbles, but opens her eyes. “Gotta put out the fire first.”
“I’ll take care of it,” she says softly, easing Evie into a sitting position before going to cover the embers of the fire. They hardly ever put it entirely out, just bury the coals and use them to light the fire they’ll have in the morning, if it snows. She narrows the flue opening, so cold air won’t come pouring down the chimney all night, then puts the grate back in place.
Evie's still standing at her side, holding her hands out for Wynn to take to pull herself to stand from where she'd knelt at the hearth. Wynn stares at her hands for a moment, thinking, then looks up at Evie.
"Come on,” Evie beckons. “Bedtime, lieverd.”
‘Wait,” Wynn whispers. “There's something I’ve got to do first.”
“What?”
Wynn slips a hand into her trousers, closing Evie's grandmother's ring in her fist. Then she looks back up and takes Evie’s left hand in her right, slipping the ring over her finger.
Evie falls to her knees as well the minute she spots the ring in Wynn's grip, slowing herself a bit before she cracked her knees on the stones. “How did you-”
“Sara,” she explains.
“Oh my god,” Evie whispers, tracing a finger over it. “I’d forgotten I’d given it to her to keep safe. She- you-”
“I went looking- that was why I was late home after training the other week. But I didn’t find anything I liked for you. And so I asked Sara and Hendrich for ideas.”
“When did she-”
“She gave it to me tonight. Or, Hendrich did, when he took me to help him with chores. It was a distraction, so you wouldn’t know.”
“You’ve been planning this?”
“I’ve wanted to marry you for ages. Practically since I first met you,” Wynn jokes. “But- you’re having my baby,” she says softly. “And I want you to be my wife, too.”
Evie grins and kisses her, holding her face in both hands, leaning into her enough that Wynn places her hand on the ground for balance. Wynn adjusts to sit on the ground and pulls Evie into her lap, tangling her hands in her hair. She kisses her desperately, then pulls away, placing her palms over Evie’s hands where they rest on her cheeks. She feels the ring under her ringers and tugs Evie’s hand between them so they can both see the metal shine in the faint light of the fireplace. Wynn takes a shuddering breath, blinking away a few tears.
“You okay?” Evie asked softly, brushing her fingers over Wynn's cheek.
She nods silently, biting her lip hard.
“Wynn?” Evie prompts her.
“Just-” she starts, choking. “Never thought I’d have this. A normal life-”
“Well, I’m not sure I’d call this a ‘normal’ life,” Evie teases.
Wynn laughs wetly. “Maybe not. But-” she looks up at her, forehead wrinkling as she fights the urge to cry. “It’s so perfect, Ev.”
“Wynn,” she says quietly. “I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay?” She says, raising her eyebrows seriously until Wynn nods her agreement. “You, liefje, are a wonderful person. You deserve good things. You deserve to be happy.”
Wynn bites her lip again, nodding silently.
“Do you hear me?” Evie asks quietly.
“I hear you,” Wynn whispers hoarsely.
“Good,” Evie smiles gently. “Now come on. I want to wear your clothes and cuddle,” she says, pushing off Wynn’s lap and tugging her to her feet.
“Go on,” Wynn smiles, wiping her eyes discretely. “Go pick whatever you want,” she says, giving her a nudge toward the bedroom.
“Whatever I want?” Evie asks, eyes bright.
“Whatever you want, baby,” she repeats. “You get whatever you want from here on out.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Evie warns, narrowing her eyes playfully.
“Good,” Wynn answers seriously. “I mean it.”