Congratulations
Their little bubble of happiness bursts about three days later.
Evie's sick. Wynn's practically beside herself about it, especially since she can't read any of the pregnancy books on her own with any sort of efficiency, given her dyslexia, and she can't ask either of their parents for help, and they don’t have any appointment for another two months, nearly!
“Brom - I need to talk to you,” she says, tugging him aside after training.
He frowns at her. “What's wrong?”
“I- uh- well, first. Thank you for being our donor, but also please stop bringing me...that," she says awkwardly.
Brom blinks at her, then realization dawns across his face. “It worked?!”
Wynn nods, but it isn't the excitement he was expecting. “That's amazing, Wynn! Why do you look like that? Aren’t you happy?”
“I am, but - oh god, I’m not prepared at all! And Fief - she's so sick, Brom! I don’t know what to do and I can't read any of the stupid books to figure out how to help her, and mum and dad don’t speak to me and Fief's parents are dead and her adoptive ones didn’t have any babies, so you’re the only person I can ask, but I don’t even know if you know anything- maybe you weren't there for this bit - not that I think you’re a bad father, at all, obviously not-”
“Wynn - take a breath. Relax. Everything's fine," he says gently, resting his hands on her shoulders to try to calm her down.
“Everything isn't fine! I don’t know what to do and Fief doesn't either and there's no one to ask except her stupid books that have too many words I don’t know so I can't understand them, and she's so sick, and I-”
“Wynn,” he says again. “Stop. I have a kid, remember? Your nephew? I’ve been through this before. In your exact position, I might add.”
Wynn manages to rein herself in. "Do you think you can help, then?"
“Sure,” he shrugs. “First - congratulations, I’m thrilled for you, really. You both will be amazing mums. Second - I remember the sickness. Small meals frequently help, like snacks. If she gets too hungry, she’s going to want to be sick. And nothing that smells or tastes too strong. Mostly bland. Ginger tea helps sometimes.”
“Okay… what else?”
“Let her sleep. As much as she needs. doesn't matter if it was all day. But you should take her for walks, too, so she doesn't get stiff. And don’t ask her if she’s fine all the time - they hate that.”
Wynn rolls her eyes at that one. “What else? What are the rules? What can and can't we do?”
“She should try not to get sick, like with a cold or anything. So avoid anyone with any sniffles. No alcohol. Don’t let her drink insane amounts of coffee. No smoking or drugs, obviously. For food, you’ve got to think about what might have bacteria. They told us no raw or undercooked meats, no deli things or unwashed produce. But other than that, you just… wait. It’ll get better.”
“Okay…. Uhm. what about-” she starts, then cut herself off. “Never mind. Stupid question.”
“There are no stupid questions. Go on, ask me," he says kindly.
“It isn't a question for my baby brother,” she says awkwardly.
He blinks, then cringes, then laughs. “It's allowed, generally. Just… don’t go crazy.”
“I won’t like… touch anything, right?”
Brom makes a face, then shakes his head. “Aren't you a sex ed teacher? The baby's basically sealed off in there until it's born."
“Oh, right, okay-”
“Wynn, breathe. Loads of women do this all the time and it turns out fine - don’t make the same mistake I did. Don’t treat her like she's fragile.”
“Okay. Okay,” Wynn breathes, nodding. “I can do that.”
“And don’t act like she isn't your partner just because she's pregnant - you should still talk to her and lean on her. Tell her if you’re scared. Don’t hide it from her.”
“Right,” she nods again.
“But also… she is incredibly fragile, at least emotionally, so… just be careful.”
Wynn stiffens. “What the hell kind of advice is that?! Treat her like normal except for don't’?”
Brom chuckles, offering a shrug. "Yeah, I know. It was hard. It really was. And you should tell her parents. At the very least, you could talk to them when you’re overwhelmed, because you will be. Even if they don’t know what to do from personal experience, I bet you they had loads of friends that had babies when they were younger. They won't be entirely clueless.”
“Oh. Right.”
“And Wynn?" Brom says seriously, catching her eye. "There’s going to be times when it feels entirely overwhelming and terrifying and like the end of the world. When that happens, you call me, okay?”
“Why?" She asks warily.
“Because. I’m your person. Just yours, not Evie's. Not really.”
“What?”
“Freddie- I don’t want to freak you out, but I’m warning you right now- there's going to be at least one moment during this when you want to run away, and with your history..." he trails off, wincing. "And you’re not going to want to tell Evie or her parents because I know you, and you’ll worry about what it will do to her, and what they’ll think of you. And you’ll be alone with it, the panic, which won’t end well. So when that happens, you call me. No judgment. I’ll help. But you have to call me. As soon as you feel that way, you call me. I don’t care if it's the middle of the night. You call me.”
“You really think I’d-”
“No. You won’t relapse, Wynn. I know you won’t. I won’t let you, and you won’t let yourself. But you’re going to want to. And I’m telling you - when that happens, you come to me. I’ve got you. I’ll get you through it. And I swear, I won’t tell anyone. I’ve got your back, okay?”
Wynn nods, biting her lip to blink away her tears. “Okay," she whispers. "Uhm. Thanks-"
“No problem,” he shrugs. “And Wynn? Congratulations. This really is amazing.”