"i need to write something other than baby fic," i say, knowing full damn well that i will just end up writing more baby fic.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Thank you to Heather for beta-ing, or mostly beta-ing. I wrote this about a week ago and then made some changes but never had her re-beta so... any issues say nothing about her top notch beta skills.
—
She thought about telling him in some cheesy, cliche Christmas movie fashion with a box containing baby clothes or a t-shirt announcing their impending parenthood but ultimately, neither felt right. Not for this.
Somewhere along the line, spontaneity had become their thing— from the night she kissed him in her office, to the night he appeared on her doorstep, and the moment he got down on one knee because he couldn't waste anymore time not being her husband. All of it was spontaneous in a "more than a decade of our lives has led up to this" sort of way and this, possibly the most important news she would ever give him, felt deserving of that spontaneity too.
So she didn't plan anything. Within fifteen minutes of three different tests confirming what she had already known for days, Donna decided against gifting a onesie or a pacifier, or hell, even throwing a pregnancy test in a box with a bow. Instead, she waited for the moment.
—
It came two nights later and not a single piece of it was planned— much like curling up on the couch in their new apartment on Christmas Eve with wedding bands on their fingers while the twinkling lights of the tree cast an illuminated glow over the room had never been planned. Dreamt of, yes, but never planned.
A soft, familiar melody flowed through the room and Harvey moved from the couch before turning to face her with an outstretched hand.
Donna raised an eyebrow at the gesture, prompting a sheepish smile to spread across his face, "What? I wanna dance with my wife."
With a lighthearted eye roll she joined him, lacing her fingers through his as he led her into the middle of the room and pulled her into his embrace before they began to sway. It wasn't a "proper" dance like their first as husband and wife but it was just as strong, safe, and secure with her against him, one of his arms holding her close, while the other hand held hers near his heart.
"You know, this was my dad's favorite Christmas song," Harvey said, his cheek resting against her head.
"Mmhmm I do know that," Donna replied softly, "You told me that our first Christmas at the firm."
"I remember," he smiled, remembering the sound of her laugh that moment. She'd caught him humming along to Christmas music in his office the morning of the holiday breakfast that Louis had insisted on throwing and he had insisted on avoiding. "But I never told you why it was his favorite."
Donna pulled back to look at him with a silent question on her face, waiting for Harvey to continue.
"He missed my first Christmas because he was touring. You know, it wouldn't have been a big deal to me. I wasn't even a year old yet and I wouldn't have remembered it anyway, but it was a big deal to him and my mom. As the story goes, I guess he called every night and sang me to sleep but I hated it. I hated every single song until…"
"Until he sang this one?"
Harvey nodded, "Until he sang this one. It was Christmas Eve and my mom said that he called around midnight and convinced her to wake me up. She was livid, but she did it anyway because he was so insistent that I couldn't go to bed on my first Christmas without him. So he sang this song and I mean, you know, my dad was a great musician but he couldn't sing for the life of him, it's no wonder I hated it but this was the first time that I didn't. My mom always insisted that I had never been that calm before and they both just knew. He sang it to me every night for the next few years after that."
A smile spread across Donna's face and she reached up to run her hand through the hair at the nape of Harvey's neck, grateful for all of the memories that he had with his parents and all of the things that she still had to learn about him. It was hard to believe that there was ever a time where she didn't want to— or was scared to— learn even more about him than she had already known.
"Marcus hated it though," he chuckled, "I'm sure he still does. My dad spent years trying to get that kid to like this song."
There was something about the look in his eyes, the way Harvey's smile reached them, the deep complexity of the layers of brown and the way his emotions seemed to settle there that hit Donna straight in the chest. This, this was the moment.
Barefoot in their living room with content smiles on their faces as the swaying and the song came to a stop, an ease and comfort that had always been there but had only grown more welcome settling around them and Donna just knew.
"Well, I'm sure you won't have any trouble convincing our kid to love it."
A calculating look crossed his face as her implication began to sink in and he did a double take. "Donna…?"
"Harvey, I'm pregnant."
Those words came as a shock to her own system and Donna realized that that was the first time she had actually said them aloud. Saying them to him for the first time couldn't have felt more right.
Every emotion that lingered deep in Harvey's eyes quickly erupted on the surface— thrill, awe, terror, love — and that alone was so distracting that Donna almost missed the huge grin that followed.
"Yeah?" he asked, tone weighted but steady and laced with pure joy.
"Yeah," she confirmed with a nod as tears spilled from the corners of her and a smile formed in mirror of his. "I know that it's unexpected and we didn't exactly plan it but—"
Harvey cut her off; palm resting between her cheek and neck while his other hand found her hip and his mouth met hers— delicate, slow, intimate, desperate. In an instant. Donna felt everything radiating off of him in a way that felt so familiar yet so different all at once.
"You're happy?" the question came in the form of a whisper as the kiss came to an end and their foreheads met in the middle, Donna's thumb gently grazing over Harvey's bottom lip.
The way his demeanor softened impossibly more, practically melting in her hands was answer enough but still, Harvey's words came effortlessly. "I love you. And yes, Donna. I am happy. Are you?"
"I am," Donna replied before fusing their mouths together once more, this time with purpose. She was carving this memory into her mind, setting it in stone— the look on his face when she told him that they were having a baby, a look that no one else had ever seen nor would they ever see, the love in his touch and the tone of his voice that only she was privy to. Donna decided that that might be the best thing she had ever learned about Harvey Specter.
"You know," he quipped as his lips just barely left hers, interrupting Donna's thoughts, "This isn't actually that unexpected."
"Harvey."
"Donna."
She let out a laugh in defeat, "Okay, it isn't. I mean, we didn't plan it but we… weren't… we… yeah—"
"Oh, I know."
"You're an idiot."
With a smirk and a suggestive eyebrow, Harvey began guiding her backward toward their bedroom and one thing became especially clear to Donna. Spontaneity worked for them.
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Thank you for reading!