"Hey, Jim." Blair blew through the doors to Major Crime.
Jim looked up from his paperwork and smiled. "You're looking pretty pleased with yourself," he commented. "What's up?"
"You mean besides me?" Blair was bouncing again, excess energy needing a release in movement.
Jim did a quick double-take. "You're not. . . ."
"Of course not. Jim, I'm still breastfeeding. Give me a break."
"So, what's your excuse then?" Jim reached out to grab a nearby chair, dragging it over next to him and tugging Blair into the seat.
"Guess who I bumped into after class this morning?"
Jim thought for all of ten seconds. "I give up."
"Lynne Casey. She was a guest speaker in the Life Sciences Department. She was giving a lecture on micro-biology and male pregnancy." Blair beamed.
"Oh, wonderful," Jim deadpanned. "All we need is for her to let the cat out of the bag."
"Well, actually, she already has," Blair replied, somewhat subdued. At Jim's startled look, he rushed on. "She didn't know that I'd kept it a secret from the university. She mentioned that one of the Profs here at Rainier had gone through the program. Of course, the students asked, and, well . . . she didn't know, Jim."
Jim sat, shaking his head. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, he composed himself enough to speak calmly. "What, exactly, is this going to mean for you working at Rainier?"
"That's the really good part of this, Jim," Blair explained. The Dean of Humanities came to speak to me. He came to me. Seems I'm some sort of instant celebrity on campus. Anyway, they're allowing me the benefits and privileges of being a parent. I get sick leave to stay home with Laurene when she needs it, health coverage for her, as well as myself, and free, on-campus babysitting. They'll even give me special breaks for breastfeeding."
"Blair, you do realize that if this gets around, you're not going to have any privacy. Neither will I. And Laurene will become the center of a media circus."
"Actually, the Cascade Herald has already come knocking, but Dean Crawford sent them packing." Blair chuckled, then continued. "The Dean asked me something that got me thinking."
"Oh no," Jim groaned. "That's dangerous."
"Very funny, Jim." Blair shook his head in mock annoyance.
"I'm almost afraid to ask," Jim asked.
"He wanted to know if I planned to get pregnant again soon." Before Jim could open his mouth to protest, Blair hurried on. "He said there are all sorts of waivers and benefits for pregnant employees. I think he sort of liked the idea."
"Well, we're not getting pregnant again just to make the Dean happy," Jim stated flatly.
"Of course not, but it got me thinking. . . ." He glared at Jim when the detective made a move to make another snappy comeback. "I was thinking . . . I'd like to have another child. Laurene needs a little brother, don't you think?"
"No."
"No? What 'no'? Come on, Jim, give it a little consideration first."
"I've given it a lot of consideration. No."
"Jim. . . ."
"This isn't the time or place for this argument, Blair," he said, looking around the bullpen at the attention they were beginning to draw. "We'll talk about it tonight."
"All right," Blair agreed, standing and preparing to leave. "But I don't intend to take 'no' for an answer. At least, not without a fight. See you tonight." He breezed back out of Major Crime with nearly the same bounce as he'd entered.
Jim sighed, trying without much luck to return his thoughts to the case report he was filling out.
[Reviews - 5] [Kudos - 428]
Download story PDF format or ePUB format or MOBI format
Table of Contents
Download story PDF format or ePUB format or MOBI format
Table of Contents