A Little Afternoon Freaking Out

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Summary: Companion piece to my story, "Puppet Love" – it takes place several months later than that story but earlier than "The Man in Her Life". This is how Emma reacted when she found out she was pregnant. (August/Emma obviously)

I've got a little confused here: is it freaking out or freak-out?

When August ushered Henry into the house after picking him up from school, he closed the door behind them with an uneasy sigh.

When Henry started towards the kitchen where obviously his mother was, the man reached out and grabbed his collar. Henry stopped abruptly and looked back at his father.

"You go ahead and start on your homework," August instructed the boy distractedly; apparently his mind was somewhere else.

"But we've just got home," Henry whined. "Can I at least say hello to Emma?"

Another sigh escaped August's lips as he turned his full attention to the boy. "Just go to your room, please."

"Is something wrong?" Henry, who picked up on his father's unease, asked becoming concerned. Of course, the noises coming from the kitchen were a dead give-away, too, that something was up.

"Nah," August shook his head with a reassuring smile just as a loud bang shattered the suddenly settled silence. August forced a carefree smile on his face as Emma's swearing reached their ears. "Everything's fine."

Truth was, earlier when they had stopped by his father's little workshop, Gepetto shared his concerns about Emma, who apparently had been acting strangely all day. This put August on edge and he was set on finding out what had made Emma act in a way that raised concerns in his father.

"I just need a minute to talk with Emma. Can you give me that?"

"Yeah," Henry nodded. "I'll be in my room… doing my homework," he pursed his lips before turning on his heels and ascending the stairs, dragging his backpack behind him.

August took a deep, steadying breath before starting for the kitchen. He winced when the noises coming from there became louder as he got closer.

He stopped by the door to the kitchen and, crossing his arms on his chest, he leant against the doorframe watching Emma. Something was obviously troubling her if the unnecessary force behind her every movement was anything to go by. Plates were clinking, cutlery was rattling as she put every item back to its place slamming the cupboard doors and drawers closed at every turn.

"What are you doing?" he assumed a nonchalant tone as he spoke up.

"Nothing," Emma answered – more like snapped – only sparing a fleeting glance for him as she reached for a glass and filled it with water.

"It doesn't seem nothing to me."

"Is there something you want?" she finally turned to him, clearly wanting him out of the room.

"A glass of water would be nice," August told her, watching as she took a sip. He walked up to the kitchen island and leant his hands against it.

Emma looked at the glass in her hand and pursed her lips before practically stomping up to the island herself and slamming the glass down in front of August. August stopped for a moment watching the little pool of water on the counter then slowly he raised his eyes to look at Emma.

She looked like a mess, he noted with concern and his heart sank when she reached up wiping away a wayward tear. Her posture was tense like her features and there was nervous energy radiating from her.

"Emma," he tried again sidestepping the island to step up next to her but Emma flinched and turned away. "What are you doing?" he repeated his previous question with patience.

There was a deep breath on the part of Emma then she turned around.

"All right," she told him with an edge in her voice. "I'm freaking out. Happy now?"

"Freaking out," August repeated nodding his head in understanding. "That's all right. Nothing's better than a little afternoon 'freaking out'," he commented, opting for taking a less serious way of approach. He smiled when he could see Emma's lips twitching slightly. "So… do you mind me joining? Or is it a private party?"

"Knock yourself out," Emma threw her arms into the air before turning back to her previous occupation of opening and closing cupboard doors.

After a while she must have realized that she was looking foolish because she abruptly stopped, still with her back to August.

"Do you want to share why we are freaking out?" August, who up to that point patiently watched Emma's abuse of the kitchen furniture, ventured to continue his inquisition.

"Not really," Emma said with her back to him, folding and unfolding a kitchen-towel with such focused attention as if she'd been doing a spinal surgery.

"Emma…"

"What?" she snapped turning around and giving him an annoyed look. Now, he was beginning to freak out.

"What happened, Emma?" he asked with genuine concern. "Father told me that you've been this way ever since you got back from the station… just before lunch. You said you'd be in till late… so, again, what happened?"

"Am I not allowed to freak out without any reason whatsoever?"

"People don't freak out just for the heck of it," August pointed out.

"Well, I do," Emma insisted.

"No, you don't."

At that Emma pressed her lips into a thin line and regarded August with narrowed eyes. But August didn't back off and held her gaze.

"Fine," Emma finally relented. "Seeing that you've already joined me, I might as well tell you." There was only a moment of suspenseful pause before Emma blurted out, "I'm pregnant."

"That's it?" August asked with an incredulous chuckle, completely missing the desperate look on Emma's face. At his reaction Emma raised an eyebrow and gave him a look that clearly asked: are you really that dense?

"Yes," she drawled.

"That's great," August grinned. "You are…" his eyes suddenly widened. "You are what?"

"Pregnant," Emma answered in an exasperated tone.

"All right," August took a deep breath then ran his hands through his hair - now he was definitely freaking out. "Just give me a minute here," he turned to Emma before starting to pace.

"Suit yourself," Emma answered then, sliding down to the floor, she leant her head against the cupboard and closed her eyes.

Not long after that, August joined her on the floor but said nothing.

"All right, I'm done," he informed her when she looked at him.

"Done with what?" Emma asked with furrowed brows.

"Done with freaking out."

"Well, I'm not," Emma let out a chuckle that was filled with tears and she turned away.

"Emma," he paused for a little and reached out to put his hand on hers that rested on her knees. "It's good news… isn't it?"

"No," Emma shook her head vehemently then laughed out and began to nod. "Yes," she croaked then promptly started crying. "I don't know."

"Hey," August hushed her and bringing his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her to him… and Emma just kept crying.

August's heart happily fluttered in his chest but he was genuinely concerned for Emma. They were going to have a baby… together. They were going to do it the right way this time. It filled him with happy excitement and he couldn't help the grin that appeared on his face.

But that same grin should be visible on Emma's face, too. She should be grinning like a fool, kissing him and those tears in her eyes should be happy ones. That was how couples react to the news of a baby.

Why was Emma so upset then?

Okay, he freaked out there for a moment, too. He wouldn't deny that but it was only because what Emma had told him was so unexpected that he suddenly didn't know what to do with it.

They'd been living together in his father's house as a family for a couple of months now but they were still trying to establish a routine. When Emma turned him back into a real man, they quickly established that they loved each other and even though they agreed to take things slow, a couple of weeks later Emma and Henry were moving in Gepetto's old house with him.

It didn't mean, though, that things went smoothly ever since.

Emma was still fighting with her deep feeling of abandonment and August could still feel the pang of guilt he'd been carrying for years. And they both were trying to do their best to be there for Henry in a time when even their own life made little sense at times.

Every day was a new fight, August knew it, and he'd understand if Emma was frightened by this new development of their life. But it was something good. Amidst all the uncertainties that surrounded them it was finally something to be worth looking forward to.

His thoughts were interrupted when Emma sniffled and pushed herself away from him to look at him.

"I'm sorry," she said wiping her face. "It's just that I've never done this before."

"You do know that we have a kid upstairs, right?" August raised a questioning eyebrow.

Emma rolled her eyes. "I mean that the last time I was alone… in prison… and I gave up my son. You know, you always hear about how wonderful it is to carry your child and be waiting for its arrival… but all I can remember is the anger and regret that I got into that situation… and how terrified I was about the responsibility I wasn't ready for. I just don't know what to feel."

"I'm so sorry, Emma… for putting you into that situation."

"We've already had that conversation," Emma regarded August. "You yourself said that maybe it was for the better how things turned out between us."

"Yes…" August agreed then added, "…regarding that ten years we've got to grow up, to find our selves independently… to give Henry his best chance. I wasn't referring to all that emotional crap you had to go through."

"But all those things go hand in hand."

"True. But where does it leave us now? You're freaking out because you don't know how to feel about us having a baby. Maybe you're wondering when I'll walk out on you again..."

"I'm not doubting you…" Emma was quick to disagree, "…or what we have. I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around all this. It's just… it's so unbelievable," she finally admitted with a small, unsure smile that seemed timidly happy.

August furrowed his brows. Now she was happy? Not as if it was a bad thing but…

"You're seriously confusing me here."

"Welcome to my last couple of hours," Emma told him wryly. "When the doctor confirmed that I'm pregnant I grinned like a fool. Really. My cheeks were hurting. Then by the time I got to my car I was on the verge of tears I was so scared. Then I wanted to find you and punch you in the face… But I came home instead because I freaked out again… It's crazy."

"So you are happy?" August ventured the question.

"At the moment," Emma admitted, her smile becoming less hesitant. "It doesn't mean, though, that I won't punch you in the next minute."

"Duly noted," August acknowledged then leant closer to her. "But for the time being you can kiss me," and with that he closed the distance between them.

When they parted August began to laugh and Emma gave him a strange look. "Don't look at me like that," he told her through his merry laughter. "I'm just happy," he stated and it didn't take long for Emma to join in his merriment.

After their laughter died, they continued sitting on the kitchen floor and quite some time had passed in complete silence. Emma had snuggled closer to August whose arm left Emma's shoulders and settled on her waist, his thumb drawing circles on her hip. After a while Emma started squirming in his arms and August thought that she'd got bored just sitting there but then a very familiar moan escaped her lips.

A playful grin appeared on his face as he moved his hand to lay it on Emma's belly. For a moment he lost focus and found himself wondering about the child that was growing right under his hand but then another moan from Emma pulled him out of his reverie. It seemed that his absentminded caresses had turned her on. That thought made him squirm, too.

His hand travelled just a little bit more to the south on Emma's body and suddenly, with a frustrated – and very sexy – moan, Emma was straddling him, her mouth covering his in a kiss that was filled with need.

Emma's hands were in his hair pulling him closer in the kiss while his own hands quickly found their way to her butt from where they happily made excursions up on her sides to her breasts, over her back, under her shirt, all the while Emma eagerly grinding against him.

It'd just occurred to August that there were too much clothing between them when he became aware of loud stamping coming down the stairs. It reminded him of something else – Henry was in the house.

Crap.

"Can I come in?" Henry appeared in the doorway within a blink of an eye, making Emma and August jump. "I'm done with my homework and I got really hungry." The boy stopped in the doorway with a curious expression on his face.

"Oh," Emma looked at her son, trying to scramble out of August's lap. "What time is it?" She finally landed on the floor with an unceremonious thud.

"6:21," Henry informed her looking at his watch. "What are you doing?"

"Freaking out?" Emma offered weakly and August laughed out next to her. Henry just looked at them as if they'd completely lost it.

"I'm eleven, not stupid," he stated walking up to the kitchen isle and taking a seat there then surprised his parents with his next remark. "I know how babies are made."

"That's certainly good to know," August drawled from the floor, bemused.

"Really?" Emma looked at the man shocked.

"It spares me 'the talk'," August shrugged and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Hey, guys," Henry was apparently getting impatient. "I'm really hungry here."

"All right, kid," Emma pushed herself up from the floor. "You go get your grandpa and I'll try to fix something."

Henry nodded climbing down from the chair then started for the door. He stopped, though, and turned back to his parents. "About the babies…" he started and Emma actually blushed while August stood up to stand behind her awkwardly. "I really wouldn't mind one," he informed them then turned around and ran out in search for Gepetto, who had undoubtedly gotten too engrossed in his work to notice that it was getting late.

The adults looked at his vacated spot in disbelief.

"That's certainly good to know," August found himself saying again while Emma snorted.

"Did we just get his permission to make a baby?" she asked glancing at August over her shoulder. In turn, his disbelieving look quickly disappeared and its place was taken over by a mischievous glint in his eyes as he sneaked his arms around Emma's waist.

"It sure sounded so," he agreed murmuring into her neck. "I know that we've already covered the baby part," his hands sought out the waistband of her trousers and fumbled with the buttons there, "but how much time do you think it takes them to get back?"

"Oh," Emma laughed out swatting his hands away and stepping away from him. "You are not suggesting…"

"Well, it depends," August tried, stepping closer to her. "Feeling like punching me yet?" he asked reaching out for her then groaned when Emma, once again, stepped back. Her mischievous grin matched his.

"Well, it depends…" Emma started with a suggestive smile as she slowly backed out of the kitchen. "If you don't get me out of these cloths in the next minute I ma…"

At that August bounced on her with a predatory look and Emma started towards the stairs with a happy shriek.

They were slightly disheveled and not so slightly flushed by the time Henry and Gepetto got home but dinner was ready. And they kept it for themselves for the time being that the baby had actually already been made.

The End

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