Most of what was being said might have meant nothing at all to him, not now when he was nestled safely against her lap. The effects of his job, the late nights and coping with being alone most of the time was wearing on him and she had been a sound release. Something between them had been happening, had happened… Much longer than it should have and yet it was worth it. He would be sorry to Sean later, he would hurt for his friend another time but for right now it didn't matter.

"Nic… I'm pregnant, again."

He heard her. Inelegant as the statement might have come out, blunt as usual for DanI, it still didn't shock him. She and Sean would be producing an entire brood together, he was sure, and they would live happily ever after and all that jazz. Blah. Nic scolded himself for a few seconds for being a heartless ass, letting his own involvement get in the way of him congratulating a good friend on some fantastic news. Nice guy to the core.

He had pulled himself out of her lap when she said it and tossed his legs off the opposite edge of the bed. She was always waking him up it seemed. The Auror put his face in his hands, the sinuous form of his bare back showing the motion with a ripple of muscle. He took a deep breath, gathering himself to be awake and excited for her, for them on their second fortunate child. He could hardly look at her.

"I'm pregnant, and… and until the wedding, I wasn't with Sean since the very beginning of September, I'm about a month along, and that's… that's two weeks to many for it to be Sean's baby."

It took the man a few seconds for him to piece together what she was saying, to get the words clear in his mind so he could suffer the epiphany that was her announcement. HE was the father. It was his baby that DanI was pregnant with. He turned his profile and looked at her, hardly able to believe what she was saying. If this was a game, or if she was teasing him he would never forgive her, if it turned out to be a false alarm or somehow a mistake… He took a breath.

"This is my baby?" He managed to ask as he rose from the bed and stood, the sheets slipping away to reveal boxer-briefs. To be fair she was lucky he was wearing anything to bed at all. "DanI, you're going to have MY baby?" He asked, sounding serious - frighteningly so. It was almost the tone he used when working, almost. She was babbling about doctors and Sean, oh fuck Sean. His stomach hurt and he pressed a hand against it. The mixture of emotions roiling around inside of Nic Roman were almost too much to bear. He was exultant over being a father, over the possibility that he could soon become a father, and completely agonizing over what they had done to Sean. Sean was going to kill him, try to beat the hell out of him at the very least and despite years of training Nic was going to let him because he deserved it. He deserved whatever punishment his best friend would lay on him.





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Anyca McTiernan: Ready to Sissify the Shit out of Tobias Haddock.