first_in_time | Copy Cat

The taxi pulled up outside a rather tall and grand looking hotel. Barbara stepped out to stare upwards. There were tall buildings in London but there was something about being in a different city which made the buildings unique and fascinating. Despite how tired she felt after such a long flight, she could almost go for a walk to see some more but there would be time for that later.

A finely dressed man dashed toward the from where he had been standing next tot he doors. "Shall I take your luggage?" he asked Ian and Barbara once the cabbie, or taxi driver, had hauled it out of the boot.

"Yes, thank you," Barbara replied. She reached out. For Ian's hand and offered him a smile before they walked into the hotel lobby together.

Once they had signed in at what appeared to be a marble desk, taken the lift up to near the very top, and stepped into their room, Barbara turned to thank the man for bringing their luggage. She gave him a small tip, since she didn't have a lot of money on her, and shut the door behind him.

"Would you look at this!" she said to Ian, gesturing to the entire room. "You must be valuable to have the board so generously pay for you to stay here!"

Barbara trotted over to the window to look out, passing a bottle of champagne and a note which wished them both a happy first anniversary.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

splendid_roman

"If you think that's best." He gave no clue as to his thoughts in his face or voice, but just held out a spoonful of ice cream. "I don't want to wait too long. I don't want to run around after small children when we're too old to do it."

From:

first_in_time

"No," Barbara ate the ice cream and thought about it a little more.

"I want children," she told him after a quiet moment, "but it's rather daunting. Every other time we've discussed it, we were dating. Being in such a position, it was all hypothetical. It seems much more real now," not to mention scary. Anything could go wrong in pregnancy and birth, and then there wa raising it.

From:

splendid_roman

"I suppose it is." He had only really thought about the good times and the easy bits. "We should wait until we're ready."

He had the last spoonful of ice cream and sat back in his chair, holding his glass, so he could sip at his wine. "Maybe we'll know when we're ready when the prospect is less daunting and more exciting."

From:

first_in_time

Barbara wasn't so sure about that. She lifted her legs up to rest them on Ian's lap with a sigh. "I don't think that it will ever not be daunting. I think we should save and then, when we think we have enough, start trying. In all honesty, I think that if I fell pregnant tomorrow, we'd survive and so would the baby."

She had the last of her wine and topped up heir glasses. "Tell me what you're thinking on the subject."

From:

splendid_roman

"I'm wondering how much is enough. Babies are expensive." He had a sip of his wine and dropped his other hand to her legs to rub against them gently. "I think we should at least wait until we have a house. We don't want to move while you're pregnant or we have a baby needing attention."

From:

first_in_time

Again, Barbara paused to think, half-finishing her wine in the process. "Alright, let's make a deal: once we've found a house, I'll go off the pill. We won't be buying and moving until we gave a bit of money behind us, and it could take months for the contraceptive to completely leave my system and make it entirely possible to have a baby."

From:

splendid_roman

"All right. It's a deal." He held his hand out for Barbara to shake on it.

From:

first_in_time

She smiled and shook it, then pulled Ian's hand closer so that she might kiss his knuckles.

"As scary as it seems, I think you'll be a wonderful father."

From:

splendid_roman

He smiled back. "I think you'll be a wonderful mother." He leaned forward to kiss her. "Why don't we move over to the sofa, where it's more comfortable? And take advantage of having a sofa in a hotel room."

From:

first_in_time

"I'm sure that I'll take advantage of it rather a lot, seeming as I don't have to go to a conference each day," Barbara grinned but got up anyway and stood by Ian's chair. "I could always give you a back rub, if you'd prefer."

From:

splendid_roman

"I won't say no to that." He turned round to look at her. "Where do you want me?"

From:

first_in_time

"It would be easiest on the bed but if you really do want to take advantage oft he sofa, I can do it there," she replied with a slight shrug.

From:

splendid_roman

"We can take advantage of the sofa tomorrow night." He sipped at his drink and then stood and went to the bed. "I suppose you want me to take my shirt off too," he said with a grin.

From:

first_in_time

She sat on the bed to watch Ian take off his shirt. "It would feel a lot better," Barbara said, trying to sound innocent but coming off a little eager instead, "and your trousers. So I can rub your legs, too."

From:

splendid_roman

"Oh, that's the reason, is it? It's not just an excuse to see me in my pants?" Not that it stopped him from taking his shirt and trousers off and grinned at her, before lying face down on the bed.

From:

first_in_time

"You have done the same," Barbara told him as she picked up his clothes and folded them over a chair. She then climbed up onto the bed, swung a leg over him and started rubbing his shoulders.

"I'm actually rather surprised that you haven't tried to untie my robe just yet."

From:

splendid_roman

"We were eating dinner." That being more important, of course. "And then you were so insistent that I stripped that I just had to obey you." He turned his head a little to grin at her.

From:

first_in_time

She bent over to kiss his cheek and murmur: "and now I'm out of your reach."

From:

splendid_roman

"You are," he agreed. Although for the moment he seemed perfectly happy to stay where he was and not attempt to touch her. "Your hands feel good, though."

From:

first_in_time

"I have had over a year to practice," she replied and gently kneaded his back from the bottom of his spine all the way up to his shoulders and back down, adding the odd kiss afterwards.

From:

splendid_roman

"Practise makes perfect. Although you were pretty good to start with." Relaxed, his eyes drifted closed.

From:

first_in_time

For a long moment, Barbara didn't notice. Not until his breathing had changed and she realised that he'd been quiet for a while.

"Ian," she nudged him, "if you're going to fall asleep, please do it under the covers. You're too heavy for me to lift."

From:

splendid_roman

He yawned and opened his eyes, sleepily. "I shouldn't sleep yet, it's early." It just felt late.

From:

first_in_time

"You have been on an airplane for almost an entire day," she told him gently and stroked his hair. "We have a whole week to stay up late honeymooning and planning the future. Let's just sleep tonight."

From:

splendid_roman

He smiled at her. "You're very wise." Before he did fall asleep on top of the covers he slid out from under Barbara and kissed her. Then he found his pyjamas and her nightie from where he'd put them in the bed.