The Reunion (Liv): Are They Ever Wrong?

Hey all!  Thanks for sticking around :)  Since I'm not really writing along any sort of real storyline anymore, this post takes a jump about two years into the future.  Enjoy!
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"I have good news!" Brody said cheerfully when I answered his call.

"You're bringing me back some real cheese curds?" I asked.  Brody was currently in Milwaukee, working on a new contract.  I missed Wisconsin cheese curds.

Brody laughed.  "I can do that too, so I guess I have double good news.  Everything is going really well, so I'll be back tomorrow instead of Saturday."

"That is good news!" I agreed.  "Though I can't promise the house will be clean.  I've been exhausted this week."

"I don't care even a little about the state of the house, I'm just looking forward to seeing you," he said.  "My flight gets in at 7:05, maybe we can get dinner together on the way home?"

"That sounds great!"

We talked for a few more minutes and then we hung up so we could both get to bed.  The next day, when school was done at 2:50, signaling the end of my work day, I calculated that if I went straight home, I could nap for an hour and a half before I had to shower and get ready to go pick up Brody.  I had no idea why I was so tired this week.

I let Eddie out, then brought him upstairs with me.  We fell asleep with ease and I grumbled when my alarm went off.  I hauled myself out of bed and into the shower, then re-straightened my hair and put on some light makeup.  It was an unseasonably warm February day, so I pulled on a navy polka dot dress, a gray cardigan, and tights.  It had been awhile since I'd gotten dressed up just for the hell of it, and I had a lot more energy after my nap.

I got to the airport at 6:50 and parked in the cell phone lot, waiting to hear from Brody.  I was glad he never checked bags for these short trips, because I was eager to see him.  He'd only been gone for 3 days, but we'd both had a busy week before that and hadn't gotten to spend much time together then either.  Brody's work schedule was so much more reasonable now, but we both got swamped from time to time.

I got a text from him at 7:11 saying that he was getting off the plane, so I drove over to arrivals to find him.  I only had to wait a few minutes before I spotted him.  "Hi!" I exclaimed, jumping out of the car and throwing my arms around him.  "I missed you."

"Well, hello!" he said with a laugh, hugging me with the arm that wasn't holding his carry-on.  "I missed you too, Liv."  He kissed the top of my head, then my forehead, then my lips when I tilted my head up.

I dragged myself away so we could get in the car and get out of the airport.  My stomach was rumbling and I needed some dinner soon.  "How was your flight?" I asked Brody as I pulled away from the curb.

"It was alright," he replied, rubbing the spot between his eyebrows tiredly.  "There was a screaming baby right behind me.  I felt terrible for his parents, but also for my ears."

I snorted.  "That does make for a rather miserable flight," I agreed.  "I promise I won't do any screaming tonight."

Brody opened his mouth, closed it, opened it, and closed it again, shaking his head and laughing.  "Not going to touch that one," he said.

My face turned red as I laughed with him.  "I mean, I guess that would be up to you."

Brody snorted and reached across the center console for my hand.  "I know I was only gone a few days, but I really missed you."

"I missed you too," I told him, glancing at him and smiling.  We figured out where to go for dinner and I navigated there easily, finally able to get around this city without an issue.  It taken long enough.

We got lucky and didn't even have to wait for a table.  It was nice to eat and relax with Brody after a busy week.  I yawned several times over dessert, prompting Brody to offer to drive home.  "Long day?" he asked.

"I've just been so tired this week," I said, shaking my head.

I closed my eyes and the next thing I knew, Brody was gently shaking me awake.  "We're home," he told me softly.

"Mmm, I knew that," I mumbled sleepily.  "I wasn't sleeping."

Brody laughed as he pulled his carry-on out of the back.  "Okay," he replied.  "Then we'd better get you to bed so you can sleep."

Eddie jumped around like a crazy dog when Brody and I came inside.  "Hey bud!" Brody said, crouch down to rub his ears.  Eddie licked Brody's face and wiggled excitedly.  "I missed you too, were you a good boy for Liv?"  Eddie wiggled harder and let out a sharp bark, clearly indicating he was the best boy.  "I'll let him out, go get ready for bed," Brody said to me.

"No, you just got home, and I know you want to shower.  I can let him out," I protested.

In the end, Brody won, and I trudged upstairs to wash off my makeup and brush my teeth while Brody went out on the deck with Eddie.  By the time I was done, Brody was in the bedroom, throwing some things from his suitcase into the laundry basket.  He kissed me on his way past me into the bathroom.  "I'm just going to take a quick shower, okay?"  I nodded and climbed into bed.

 I made myself stay awake while I waited for Brody to get out of the shower.  When he got into bed I rolled to face him and my lips found his in the dark.  "Hi," I said between kisses.

"I didn't think you would have any energy," he replied with a chuckle, moving his lips to my neck.  "Not that I'm complaining."

"Shut up and kiss me, or you'll miss your chance," I warned him.  He laughed and kissed me hard, rolling over until he was on top of me, between my legs.  I had just enough energy for one round of sex, and then I happily fell asleep in Brody's arms.

I didn't even wake up when Brody got up in the morning.  When I did wake up, I rolled over, confused by the emptiness of the bed next to me.  I squinted at the clock, surprised to see it was 9:30.  Brody had probably been up for hours.

"Good morning, beautiful," he greeted me with a smile when I made my way downstairs.

"Morning," I grumbled.

"Want some breakfast?  Eggs, maybe?"

My stomach turned at the thought of eggs and I shook my head.  "Just coffee," I said, frowning and sitting down at the table.  Eddie trotted over to me and laid his head in my lap.  I rubbed it briefly.  When I stopped, he nudged me and whined softly.  "Down," I commanded him.  He laid down, but he looked at me reproachfully and whined again.

Brody looked at me with concern.  "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, my stomach is just a little upset," I said, rubbing my forehead.

Brody frowned.  "Well, drinking just coffee on an empty stomach isn't going to help," he pointed out.  "Toast?"

"Sure," I agreed.  I yawned.  I was so tired.  Brody, saint that he was, made me some toast and coffee and brought both to me.

When I gagged a little on my first bite of toast, Brody said, "Do you think maybe you should take a test?"

"I'm not pregnant," I replied, choking down another bite of toast.  My stomach roiled angrily and I set the uneaten toast down on the plate Brody had provided.  "I don't feel pregnant."

"Sweetheart, you don't know what 'pregnant' feels like," Brody pointed out gently.

He had a point.  I didn't.  Despite us spending the last 8 months trying to get pregnant, I still had no idea what being pregnant felt like.  I'd thought I was pregnant.  Several times, in fact.  Each time, I convinced myself that this was it, that I was absolutely, positively, without a shadow of a doubt pregnant.  And each time, I filled the bathroom garbage with First Response pregnancy tests with just one line.  Well, after the third time that happened, I'd switched to cheaper tests.

"Maybe if I still feel like this tomorrow," I said, finally.  I had felt a little sick the last couple mornings too.

Brody kissed the top of my head as I attempted another bite of toast, then said, "Sounds like a plan.  I'm going to get a little bit of work done, and then I'm all yours after lunch, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed, smiling at him.

I had been planning on going to the gym and then the grocery store this morning, but I was so tired and nauseated that I decided to just go back to bed for a little while.  The toast had settled my stomach a bit and I fell back to sleep fairly easily.  When I woke up, I felt much better.

Feeling more curious than anything, I decided to listen to Brody's suggestion and pulled a pregnancy test out of a drawer in the bathroom.  I left the test on the counter to process while I jumped in the shower.  I rushed through my shower, realizing I needed to know what the test said right now.

Still dripping water, with a towel hastily wrapped around me, I took a deep breath and looked at the test.  "Oh my god," I whispered.  Then, "Brody!"  Not sure if he'd heard me all the way down in his office, I stuck my head out of the bathroom, into our room, and yelled again.  "BRODY!" 

Turned out it wasn't necessary, and he appeared breathlessly in our room not 3 seconds later.  "Are you okay?" he asked me, looking alarmed.  "Liv?  What's wrong?"

Finding myself suddenly unable to speak, I waved him into the bathroom and motioned at the counter.  Brody looked at the pregnancy test, then at me, and then at the test again.  Then he put one hand on either side of my face.  "Two lines means...you're pregnant?"

I nodded as much as I could with Brody's hands on my face.  "I'm pregnant," I confirmed, a lump rising in my throat.

"You're pregnant," Brody repeated.

"I'm pregnant."

We stared at each other for several more seconds before Brody's face split into a huge grin and he wrapped his arms around me.  By the time he let go, I was crying, and his eyes weren't exactly dry either.  He backed out of the bathroom, tugging me with him.  Brody sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled me down onto his lap.  Wrapping one arm around me, he touched my stomach lightly with the fingers of his other hand.  "Do you think..." he started, looking up at me.  "I mean, are they ever wrong?  The tests?"

I shrugged.  "Sometimes?  Maybe?  I guess I don't really know.  I could take another one."

"Not right now," he said quickly.  He spread his hand flat across my stomach and stared at it in wonder.  "It doesn't look like you're pregnant."

I laughed.  "Well, I'm sure that will change," I told him, leaning against him and resting my cheek against the top of his head.

Brody shifted me off his lap and stood, pulling me against him.  "I love you so much, Liv," he said.  Then he crouched in front of me until he was eye level with my stomach and said, "And I love you."

I bit my lip and looked down at him, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion.  "I love you, too," I said softly, pulling him to his feet before I lost it completely.  Just then, Eddie wandered in, happily panting away.  He bounded over and nudged both of our legs before laying down and rolling onto his side, looking up at us.  I laughed.  "I love you, too, Eddie," I said, bending to rub his belly.

Brody shook his head.  "You sure know how to steal a lady's thunder, Ed," he said, sitting on the floor and rubbing behind Eddie's ear.  Eddie whined and shoved his head against Brody's hand, leaning into it.  I joined them on the floor, snuggling against Brody's side as Eddie stretched himself across our laps.  "We're going to have a baby," Brody said softly, kissing the top of my head.

"Yeah," I agreed.  "We are."  

The Reunion (Kinsley)

"Nooo," I groaned, rolling onto my side and pulling the blanket up to my face.  "Too early, even for me."

"You warned me that you'd argue," Damien pointed out, pulling the blanket down to my knees.  "And you told me to persist.  C'mon, let's get up and run."

I let out a noise that was half sigh, half rabid growl.  Opening my eyes as little as possible, I reached for my phone.  "It's 4:59," I whined.  "It's not even 5!"

Damien paused, his eyes on his watch.  "It is now," he said with a grin, 20 seconds later.  "Up!"

"I hate you and everything else," I informed him, rubbing pathetically at my eyes, which I couldn't seem to open.  "Fuck."

Damien had talked me into a signing up for a 10k with him.  I'm not even a little bit sure how I let that happen, but at this moment I was not pleased about it.  "You know," I muttered, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and maybe-or-maybe-not-accidentally kicking him in the hip as I did so, "Some of us prefer to exercise in the evenings."

"But I love running with you when you have such a great attitude about it," he said, straight-faced. "And in the evening you're sort of cheerful.  It's awful."

"Oh, I can give you attitude any time you want," I retorted, pulling a tank top out of my drawer.  I tossed it on the bed and opened the next drawer.  "Where are all my fucking shorts?"

"Probably in the large pile of dirty laundry you have," Damien pointed out helpfully.  I chose to say nothing, instead just giving him a withering look.  He laughed and kissed my cheek.  "Coffee?"

"It's the least you could do," I grumbled.

By the time I had some passably clean-ish shorts and my tank top on, Damien had a cup of coffee for me.  I drank half of it in a couple gulps, then set it down on the counter.  "Okay," I said.  "Let's get it over with."

Oddly enough, after the run, a shower, and more coffee, I felt significantly better.  Good, even.  "Isn't it great to have your workout done already?"  Damien asked, coming out of my bathroom with a towel around his waist.

I eyed that towel hungrily and said, "I mean, I still have some energy left if--"

"Tonight," Damien promised.  "I have to get ready and get out of here."

I frowned.  "Fine, but I'm going to hold you to it!"

"We'll see who is holding who to what later," he replied, leaning down to kiss me.

I groaned.  "You're cruel!" I exclaimed as he straightened.  "Now I'm going to be thinking about it all day."

"You make that sound like a bad thing," he said with a shrug.  "I'll see you tonight.  What time are we meeting Kaleb and his girlfriend?"

"6:30," I said, standing up to kiss him one more time before he left.

Damien let his lips linger on mine, and I wasn't entirely sure I could make it through an entire work day and dinner with my brother and his new girlfriend before getting my hands on him.  "I'll be there," he told me, breaking into my inappropriate thoughts.

We said goodbye and I finished getting ready for work.  I really did feel great after our run this morning.  It probably helped that I really was a morning person.  Just not a 5am morning person.

My work day went fairly fast, though I was slightly nervous about meeting Kaleb's new girlfriend.  My relationship with my brother was still so new itself, I wasn't terribly sure about adding a new person to the mix.  But Kaleb was so excited to introduce me to Ellen, so I felt bad for being so hesitant.

I left work about 10 minutes before 6 and got to the restaurant about 15 minutes early.  I put our name on the list and for a table and went to the bar, hoping a drink would help settle my nerves.  I ordered a run and coke and sipped it slowly, because an appearance by Drunk Kinsley would be the worst thing for the evening.

A gentle hand on my shoulder startled me, and I looked up to see Damien.  "Sorry," he said guiltily.  "I should have known better than to sneak up on you."

"It's okay," I said, tilting my chin up for a quick kiss.  "Hi."

"Hi," he replied, smiling.  He sat down on the empty stool next to me and started to say something else, but then I saw Kaleb come in with a tall, pretty brunette.  I stood up and waved to him and they came over.

Kaleb smiled at us, and I recognized the line between his eyebrows.  He was just as nervous as I was.  "Hey!" I greeted them.  "Kaleb, you remember Damien, right?"  Kaleb had only spent time with Damien once (outside the disastrous Thanksgiving that had reintroduced me to Kaleb in the first place) and it had been awhile.

"Of course, good to see you again," Kaleb said, shaking his hand.  "This is my girlfriend Ellen.  Ellen, this is my sister Kinsley and her boyfriend Damien."  

"Hi, nice to meet you," she said, smiling shyly.

"Nice to meet you too," I said, taking her outstretched hand.  Just then, my phone buzzed with a text from the restaurant letting us know our table was ready.  Technology.

I was really glad Damien was there, because without him, our dinner would have been really awkward.  As it was, Kaleb and I were still awkward at times, and Ellen was quiet.  Damien could talk to anyone, and I was grateful for that.  I loosened up by the time our food came, and I chatted with Kaleb and Ellen, getting to know her.  "How did you guys meet?" I asked.

Ellen blushed and Kaleb laughed.  "I love this story," Kaleb said.  "I was at a bar with some buddies, and I was standing behind Ellen, waiting to get a drink.  Her friend grabbed her ass, and she thought it was me, so she slapped me."  Ellen's face was a color that I've only ever seen on Liv's.  "Luckily, I thought she was pretty, so I didn't hold it against her."

"One of these days I'm going to make something up.  Maybe something that's embarrassing to you!" Ellen exclaimed, but she was laughing.

"I met Kinsley when my friend ran into her friend and knocked her drink on the ground.  That's not nearly as good of a story," Damien said.

"It gets better if you add in that we only got together because your friend pretty much stalked my friend for the next couple weeks," I pointed out.

Damien laughed.  "To this day, James maintains that was all purely coincidental."

Ellen and Kaleb had to leave right after dinner, but Damien and I moved back to the bar to have another drink.  "She seems nice," I said.  "I'm glad I got to meet her."

"You and Kaleb seem a little more comfortable," Damien replied.  It had been a long and awkward road for Kaleb and I to reconnect, but we were both determined to push through it.  We'd been through a lot together and then had been out of communication for so long, some discomfort was to be expected.

We finished our drinks and then headed to Damien's house.  When we got there, Damien looked in the fridge and brought us both a beer.  Luckily it was Friday, so it didn't matter if I got a little tipsy.  I took the beer and took a long drink before I settled against Damien on the couch.  We didn't talk, both of us tired after a long week and an early morning.  We didn't need to, either.  It was one of the things I loved most about Damien--we could simply sit together silently and enjoy being with each other without feeling pressured to make conversation when it wasn't flowing naturally.

After I tipped the last of the beer into my mouth, Damien gently pulled the empty bottle from my fingers and set it on the end table.  "Ready for bed?" he asked.  I nodded, closing my eyes.  Several seconds later, Damien chuckled.  "You need to get up if we're going to bed," he said.

"Right," I replied, still making no move to get up.  Damien shifted so he could stand, then leaned down and before I could stop him, he scooped me up.  I laughed.  "Put me down, I'll walk!"

"Missed your chance," he said, walking to his bedroom with me in his arms.  He set me down on the bed and climbed on with me, kneeling above me as he kissed me.  "Still have some energy left?" he asked, pulling his lips from mine and kissing along my jaw to my neck.

"Always," I responded, wrapping my hand around the back of his neck.  I sighed contentedly as his continued to kiss down my neck and then along the neckline of my shirt.  30 seconds later, and most of my clothes were scattered around the bed.  He teased one nipple with his teeth and tongue, lightly gripped the hair at the back of my head with one hand, and used the other hand to stroke between my legs.  He got me close, then stopped suddenly, leaving me groaning in frustration.

I watched him pull his clothes off and grinned at him as he got back in bed, positioning himself between my legs.  He reached down and stroked me again until I was back to the point of nearly orgasming, then moved his hand and pushed into me.  I gasped and gripped his arms, and it didn't take long for me to come, digging my nails into his triceps and burying my face in his shoulder.  He thrust for several more seconds before pulling out, flipping me onto my stomach, and slamming back into me.   I came again a few minutes later, and he followed close behind.

"I can't believe you made me wait all day for that," I groaned, my face pressed into the pillow.

"Well it would have been really inappropriate to do that at the restaurant," he replied.

I rolled over and smacked him with the pillow.  "Really?"

He laughed and reached for me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me closer.  "Really," he said, trying to be serious.

I rolled my eyes in the dark, settling against him.  We laid cuddled together for about 10 minutes before my yawning took over and I wiggled away.  "Goodnight, Damien," I mumbled, getting comfortable on my side of the bed.

"Goodnight, Kinsley," he said, leaning over to plant a kiss on my forehead and then one on my lips, lingering gently.  Between the early wake up, the long run that morning, the alcohol, and the sex, I was asleep by the time his lips left mine.