Sims County

Tem shrieked for joy.  “Oh my ‘bob really!?” 

Atticus: “Well that’s all I was going to tell you, so you can go to bed now if you want.” 

She shoved him.  “Don’t play with me!  Oh my goodness how far along is she?  Has she been to the doctor’s yet?  Do you know what it is?  When is she-” 

Atticus: “Whoa whoa slow down!  I just found out today, and then she had to go to work.  We can all figure this out together tomorrow, we just wanted to make sure you knew too.” 

Tem: “Oh that’s right, your dad had the day off today.”  She bit her lip in thought. 

Atticus: “Aw don’t feel bad, we would have told you at the same time, but dad was in the room when Danae found me.  Sorry.” 

Tem: “Oh no I was just thinking.  I’m going to go find your dad now.”  More hugs.  “I’m so proud of you baby!” 

Atticus: “Well it wasn’t just… thank you?” 

She laughed as he went upstairs to bed. 

Once alone, she did a little dance.  There were going to be babies in the house again. 

I’M GOING TO BE A GRANDMA! 

Atticus: “Oh good you’re home!  Do you have a second to talk?” 

Tem: “Oh sweetie, whatever it is can it wait ‘til tomorrow?  I’m beat.” 

Atticus: “You really want to hear this though.  Let’s sit down.” 

Tem: “What’s the matter, did you get fired or something?” 

They finished the game in silence, and before he went back upstairs to finish his freelance project, Kam gave him one last hug. 

As he poured himself a drink, Atticus mulled over everything his father had said. 

So, I’m going to be a dad. 

Atticus sighed.  “I’m sorry dad, I just… it’s… we just got married!  I thought we’d have more time to settle in, maybe wait until I had a promotion, you know?” 

Kam: “Look, there’s only so much in your life that you can control.  Instead of panicking, you just have to tell yourself ‘from this point on, what can I do to make this easier?’ and not just dwell on all of the stress that’s incoming.  Because I won’t lie to you, babies are hard, not just in the late nights and leaky diapers-” 

Atticus: “Leaky what!?” 

Kam: “Shut up and listen!  It’s not just the obvious stuff, it’s the worrying about their eating habits, their behavior in school, and staying on the same page as your partner when they learn to ask you separately for stuff.” 

Atticus: “This isn’t helping dad.” 

Kam: “Give me a minute!  When your mom first told me about you, I was still working on the wrong side of the law.  I didn’t think that I could handle a kid, I didn’t want any, didn’t like them, and I almost left her.” 

Atticus: “You-” 

Kam: “Yes.  I was young and scared, and incredibly stupid.  Your mother talked me into staying until the birth, to give it a try with her… 

“When you came out, you didn’t cry.  They handed you to me and you just blinked a few times, looked right at me, and even though you probably couldn’t see a damned thing yet, it felt like you were looking… into me.  As much as I loved your mother, I had never felt anything like that before with anyone.  No matter how hard it was, with just you, then you and Char, and ‘hey look how about a Penny too?’, I have never regretted choosing to stay and be here for all of you.  Whatever you’re afraid of, it’s worth it, all of it.” 

Danae had a quick snack, then left for work. 

Meanwhile Kam challenged Atticus to a game of chess. 

Partway through, Kam leaned in and said, “Atticus, from the moment you were born, you’ve been the most serious kid I’ve ever met.  I know you don’t like surprises, but this one is a good surprise, not a bad one.  You’ve talked about wanting kids, so why aren’t you more excited about this?  Danae seems to be taking your reticence in stride for the moment, but pregnancy is hard on a woman, and the farther in she goes the more she’ll need you to help her stay positive.” 

Before and after shots of Kam’s celebratory pancake brunch.

That’s the face of regret right there. 

Bottom’s up!

Danae: “I’m pregnant!” 

Atticus: “WHAT!  But we have no money!  How?  I mean I know how, but…” 

Danae: “It’ll be okay babe, we talked about this, remember?” 

Kam sent off his work and spun around to face them, beaming.  They had both forgotten he was there.  He patted Atticus on the shoulder in comfort.  “You’ll be fine my boy, your mother and I can help, you don’t have to worry about anything.” 

He gave a glowing Danae a hug while Atticus panicked in the corner about all the things that were coming five, ten, and fifteen years from now. 

“ATTICUS!  ATTICUS!”  Danae ran out of the bathroom, fists clenched. 

He tucked his bookmark back in and stood up.  “What?  Are you okay?” 

She grinned.  “Okay, you know how I said I felt fat?” 

He narrowed his eyes.  “Is this a trick question?” 

WHEEEE! 

Hey, don’t look so excited there Danae, you’ll give yourself a hernia.   

On a slightly more positive note, we start the Hopper household off with a bang!  Kam aged up into an achy silver fox, and in a day or two Tem will catch up with him. Also, we have some much more exciting news it seems… 

XD