Title: Holiday Moments

Author: Ami

Email: SciFiCatGirl18@aol.com

Rating: R

Pairings: J/B

Archive: Yes, to mpreg, SAFFL, FHSA, WWOMB

Status: Complete

Summary: A series of vignettes chronicling Jim's pregnancy and the subsequent birth of his and Blair's child.

Author's Notes: I'd like to thank Bobbie, Alex, and Gerbil for betaing this. Gerbil especially, since originally this fic was only the Christmas segment,
but she said it needed more. So I ended up including eight more holidays. :)

Story Notes: Written for the Holiday Drabble Drive on the M-Preg list.


Holiday Moments
By Ami
***


Memorial Day

"All done," Dr. Keri Tahyal pronounced, tugging Jim's hospital gown back down. The procedure was relatively painless and only required a local anesthetic, so her patient would be able to leave once it wore off, in less than an hour.

Blair let out a breath and smiled. "It's done? You're sure?" he asked pensively, coming over to check on his partner.

Dr. Tayhal nodded, smiling at the nervous young man. "Yes. Jim is now pregnant."

Jim sat up carefully on the exam table, wincing slightly at the pull of his sore stomach muscles, and hugged his mate carefully. "We're going to be dads, Chief," he said softly, placing a hand lightly on his abdomen.

"Yeah, man, we are." Blair grinned happily, laying his own hand over the Sentinel's.




July Fourth

"Are you sure you're okay, Big Guy?" Blair asked worriedly. He picked up the hamper full of food and shut the truck door, following his partner toward the picnic area.

"I'm fine, Chief," Jim growled. "The morning sickness is only in the morning, and it's not that bad, anyway. Besides, the probationary period is over; the baby's as safe as it can be, and will be for the next seven and a half months. Attending the station picnic won't hurt us."

Blair nodded. "I know, love, I just worry about you."

Jim smiled and shook his head. "But you don't need to."

Blair huffed. "Don't tell me you wouldn't be doing the same thing if I was the one carrying."

Jim coughed. "Uh, no comment, Chief." He grinned.

Blair just shook his head and smiled. With Jim carrying a child, it was his turn to be the Blessed Protector. These past few weeks he'd finally come to understand what it was that drove Jim to hover over him when he was hurt or sick

-- love. It was all about love.




Labor Day

Blair woke with his arms wrapped around his mate, hands gently cupping Jim's rounded tummy. He smiled happily and snuggled closer to his still sleeping Sentinel. He was glad they both had today off. They hadn't spent much time together lately, and he wanted to find out what was going on in Jim's life...as soon as Jim woke up, of course.

The thought had no sooner entered his mind than his partner showed the first signs of waking. Jim's eyes fluttered open, squinting at the light coming through the skylight. One hand came up and rubbed at his eyes. Blair chuckled softly -- the gesture made his love look all of six years old.

"Mmmm, hey, Chief, you up?" Jim rumbled softly, turning to face his lover.

"Yeah, I'm awake. You ready to get up, or are you still tired?" Jim had started taking the late shift a few weeks ago; he needed more sleep now that he was in his second trimester.

"Yeah, I'm good. That nap yesterday helped a lot." The Sentinel blushed; he hadn't taken an afternoon nap since he was a kid, but he was *carrying* a kid, so...

"I told you it would. And it helps the baby, too. It didn't move around as much last night as it normally does."

"Yeah, I finally got a full night's sleep," Jim said happily, stretching languorously like a cat, showing off his muscles to perfection.

A mischievous gleam entered Blair's eyes. "Well, since you're all rested up, perhaps you'd like to, uh, *expend* some of that energy with me?" He smirked.

Jim grinned back at his mate and licked his lips lasciviously. "I think that can be arranged..."




Rosh Hashanah

Lying back on the same exam table he'd graced four months earlier, Jim waited as Keri Tayhal used a fetal monitor to detect the baby's heartbeat. She placed some cold brown goop on his abdomen, ran an instrument over his no longer flat stomach while listening with a stethoscope, and then adjusted some knobs on the small television set.

"There's your baby," Dr. Tayhal said, pointing to a small white blob on the screen.

Jim's eyes filled with tears and Blair got a small lump in his throat as they stared at the wiggling little form on the small screen.

"It's beautiful," Jim whispered, taking in the newly-formed arms and legs the baby was waving around.

Blair just nodded in awed silence, too emotionally choked up to say anything. All of a sudden it was real; there was another living being inside his
lover, one that was a part of both of them.

Leaning down, Blair kissed his lover softly. "I love you," he said fervently.

"Love you too, Chief," Jim replied.



Halloween

"I look awful! I'm not going." Jim pouted, glaring at his mate.

"Come on, Jim, you look fine. And I haven't seen the guys in ages; I really want to go to the station's party. Please?" Blair cajoled.

"But this costume is...it makes me look *fat*." Jim sulked, scuffing one booted foot across the floor.

Wrapping his arms around his mate, Blair said, "You're not fat, you're pregnant. Pregnant with my child. And I think you look wonderful. Your costume is great."

And it was. Jim was a pirate, and the billowy white shirt and soft drape of gray cloak helped conceal the fact that he was five months pregnant. But his hormones were raging, and he was sure he looked awful.

"I don't know..." The Sentinel fiddled with the edge of his cloak, peaking up at Blair from under his lashes. "Are you sure I look okay, Chief?" he asked finally.

"You look great, Big Guy. We both do." They were *both* pirates, only Blair wasn't wearing a cloak or a feathered hat.

Jim thought for a moment and finally nodded. "All right, let's go."

*Yes! I get to look at his ass all night in those skin-tight leather pants. And when we get home, the pants come *off*...*



Thanksgiving

"I really think we should've invited some of the guys over. Either that, or we shouldn't have gotten a whole turkey for just the two of us. We'll be eating leftovers for weeks!" Blair gestured to the ten-pound butterball marinating in the oven.

Jim shook his head and put the mashed potatoes in to warm. "Not with the way my appetite's been lately, Chief. Beside, I like turkey."

Blair huffed with laughter. "You like any kind of meat, Big Guy."

Pulling his mate closer to him and wrapping his arms around Blair from behind, Jim cupped the bulge in Blair's pants and purred, "But you're my favorite kind."

Blair laughed softly. "Your hormones are kicking in again, aren't they?" Now that he was in his sixth month, the extra hormones Jim was taking were making him really horny. They made love *at least* once a day if not more.

Jim smiled smugly at his mate. "There are upsides to this whole thing."

Snorting, Blair said, "I'll remind you of that when you're in labor."

Jim chuckled softly and kissed Blair's hair, rubbing his burgeoning erection against his lover's ass. "I'm sure you will, Chief. But for now, everything's in the oven and we don't have to check on it for half an hour. Let's go upstairs."

Turning around in the Sentinel's arms, Blair kissed his lover long and slow and nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."



Christmas Eve

Blair smiled as he watched his mate try to put the crib together. He had to laugh; Detective Jim Ellison, ex-Amy Ranger, who at seven months pregnant could still take down bad guys with the best of them, couldn't seem to follow the instructions for putting their baby's crib together.

He didn't laugh out loud, though, because Jim's mood swings could take over at any time, and he didn't want to deal with a cranky Sentinel.

"Are you sure I can't help you with that, love?" Blair asked once more. He'd offered to help and Jim had declined; the Sentinel wanted to do it himself.

Jim shook his head. "No, I think I've almost got it, Chief." He picked up a small screwdriver and connected a few of the bolts. The pile of plastic beams was finally beginning to resemble the frame of a crib.

Blair sat back on the couch and thought about the last year and the strange and wonderful events that had led to this -- Jim, pregnant and putting together a crib on Christmas Eve.

Two years into their relationship, he and Jim had finally talked about kids -- they'd both agreed they wanted them, and adoption was out of the question. They were gay men (well, only technically, since they were straight until they got together) and cops, which were two strikes against them. The new male pregnancy program at Cascade General had seemed just right. When the first crop of male-carried babies were delivered, happy, healthy and whole, they signed up.

It was discovered that Jim would be a better choice to carry, his greater musculature helpful in supporting the fetus in its unusual habitat. He'd still be able to work; just not the more dangerous cases he was used to. He'd spent his days chasing down petty thieves and burglars -- until now, that is. He'd taken off for the next three months, since his greater bulk, now that he was in his third trimester, meant that even deskwork was wearing. He wanted to get the nursery all fixed up in case the baby arrived early, and first on the list was the crib.

A yawn brought Blair out of his thoughts. "Tired, Big Guy?" he asked solicitously. Jim had been taking more naps the farther along he got in his pregnancy; it was one of the side effects.

Jim nodded and stifled a second yawn. "Yeah, I think I'm gonna go to bed. I'll finish this tomorrow," he said, laying the instruction sheet down on the crib frame and heading for the stairs.

A few minutes later Blair crept quietly up the stairs to check on his partner. Jim was sound asleep, tucked under the covers, with one arm protectively cradling his stomach.

Smiling to himself, he headed back downstairs and picked up the instruction sheet. "Now...where were we?"

Less than an hour later the crib was together. He set it up in his old room and headed upstairs. Carefully climbing into bed with his mate, he snuggled nearer to his partner and child.


Next Morning

"Chief."

Blair awoke to the sound of his name. He yawned and headed down the stairs to find Jim standing in the doorway of the spare room. "Did you do this?" he asked happily. The Sentinel was looking at the crib, smiling broadly.

"Uh-huh. I knew you were having a hard time with the instructions and I wanted to help you," he replied, grinning at his mate's enthrallment with the crib. A thought occurred to him. "You aren't mad, are you?" he asked worriedly.

Jim shook his head, running his hands over the crib rails as he smiled to himself.

Blair had to smile in spite of himself, as he intently watched Jim's stomach ripple while his mate inspected the crib.

Jim turned and gave Blair a quick hug. "Thank you, from both of us." He grinned bashfully, his voice sounding choked up.

"You're welcome...both of you," Blair said softly, placing one hand on Jim's tummy.



New Years Eve

"Six...five...four...three...two...one. Happy New Ye--"

Blair cut off his shout as he realized that Jim had fallen asleep. The Sentinel had spent the past few hours lying on the couch with his head in Blair's lap as they watched the festivities in Times Square on the tube. When Jim had settled with his face pressed against his groin Blair had thought he was just feeling frisky, but now he realized that Jim must have been tired. His afternoon nap hadn't lasted as long as it normally did, and he must have just been plain tuckered out from all the excitement.

Chuckling silently, Blair stroked Jim's short hair, letting the soft bristles prickle against his palm. He was actually pretty comfortable on the couch, and saw no reason to move. Grabbing the multi-colored afghan from the back of couch, he draped it over Jim and himself and settled in with his lover to enjoy the New Year.



Valentine's Day

Jim closed his eyes to try and hold off the nausea. The local anesthetic he normally took wasn't good for the baby, and this kind made him slightly sick. He held tightly to Blair's hand, making sure to keep his hearing dialed down; he didn't want to hear the doctors cutting into his stomach.

Blair stroked his Sentinel's hand, careful to keep his eyes averted from where the doctors were operating. He focused all of his attention on his mate, trying to calm Jim down. "Shh, it's all right, love. You're doing great. It'll be over soon, and we'll have a beautiful baby boy or girl."

Jim nodded slightly. The dials were spinning out of his control, and the nausea was back. Before he could say anything, the world went black

When he came to, the first thing he noticed was that he couldn't feel the baby inside him anymore -- where was his baby?!

Before he could panic, a soft whimper reached his ears. He turned his head and saw Blair sitting in one of the Neonatal Unit's rocking chairs, cooing at a tiny pink bundle in his arms.

The younger man looked up when he heard the soft rustle of the sheets. He smiled at his lover. "You did it, Jim. We have a beautiful baby girl."

Jim grinned. "Can I see her?"

"Of course." Blair got up and came over to sit on the edge of Jim's bed. He carefully laid his precious cargo down on Jim's chest, tears pricking his eyes when he saw the awed look in his Jim's eyes as he picked up his daughter.

Jim smiled as he saw a tiny round face peeking out of the bundle of pink blankets. He carefully reached out and stroked the baby's fuzzy brown curls, her soft pink cheeks and baby-smooth skin. He laughed aloud as the little girl giggled when he accidentally tickled her stomach.

"She's perfect, Chief. She looks like her dad." Jim smiled. "Her hair is just like yours -- thank god." He chuckled slightly, careful of the incision in his abdomen.

"But she's got beautiful bone structure -- just like you," Blair said softly as he settled in beside his love and kissed the Detective's short hair. "We never did decide on a name. What you would like to name her?"

"I was thinking about naming her 'Lily Ren', if that's alright with you," Jim said, still transfixed by the baby girl he'd brought into the world.

"It's a beautiful name. Perfect, in fact," Blair said as he kissed his mate on the lips.

Jim gazed at the little girl in his arms, transfixed by her every move. He cuddled her close as he saw that she was falling asleep. When her eyes fluttered closed for the final time, he turned to his mate. "I still can't believe we made her, Blair. *We* made this wonderful little life. Can you believe it?" Jim felt as if his face would split apart from grinning.

"Yes. And I hope she's only the first of many children we have."

Looking into his Guide's eyes, Jim could only say, "Me too, Chief, me too."


END