first_in_time | I Will Always Love You, Baby

I Will Always Love You, Baby

After she was dressed and ready for the day, Barbara Chesterton watched her reflection as she washed up the breakfast things. Alfie was late to help her but for once she didn't mind since it gave her time to think. They had celebrated Ian's running for council the night before and she felt awful to be the bearer of bad news, particularly she'd had chances before.

Once she had finished, she found Ian in the back garden with some of the boys, constructing another hammock.

"May I talk to you for a moment?" she asked once he looked free enough. Some of the boys made noises to suggest that Ian was in trouble.

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"There's no guarantee I'll win the election anyway," he pointed out. "But we'll find a way to cope," he agreed. "And we'll love this baby just as much as we love Johnny."

"But you have a good chance at winning since you're one of the youngest to try," she told him and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Perhaps." He shrugged. He wasn't sure what it was that would influence people's votes. "I suppose I'll at least be a chance from the stuffy councillors we have now."

"A good change," Barbara added, "you've got fresh ideas and, unlike most of them, you have a family. They all preach about the importance of building up families but most of them live on their own."

"Very true. Maybe they should have a few teenagers come and live with them, they'll soon learn what having a family is like." He grinned.

"Or we could work out a way to get them pregnant. Let's see if they're still all for building families when they're running on a lack of sleep and baby's crying is fraying their last nerve." Barbara chuckled.

Ian chuckled too, but then sighed. "I'm not looking forward to going back to that lack of sleep."

"Me either, particularly when we still have John to deal with and I've got lessons to write and work to mark. I'm not looking forward to being so large again that I can't stand up for long periods of time."

Barbara scratched the back of her head then looked up at Ian. "We could put the baby up for adoption," she said hesitantly. Barbara wasn't keen on the idea but if they couldn't cope, it was an option.

"I'm not sure about that," he said slowly. "It might be better for the baby, but I don't think I can just hand it over to someone else." They should consider it, the same as they should consider all options, but he knew he'd love the baby once it was born, which would make it hard to hand over.

"I suppose that if someone is truly desperate to have a family they could always come and help with the teenagers." Barbara bit her lip in thought. "I can't see myself giving up a child I'd work so hard to carry, just like I can't ever see myself aborting a child. Willingly, that is."

"Then let's not give it up." If neither of them could do it, then there was little point in trying. "But perhaps we should look seriously into getting someone to help. Or giving some of the older teenagers more responsibility for the younger ones."

Barbara nodded and looked deep in thought. "We could trial giving them more responsibility and if that doesn't work we can look into hiring someone to help us."

"That's a good idea." At least then they'd be used to it by the time the baby comes. He hesitated a moment before he added, "I hope they don't think we're putting our children before them just because their ours, biologically."

"It's fairly obvious that we don't. John has as much attention as the teenagers. We teach all day and come home to help with homework when and if we need it. We each run special activities outside of studies to develop further relationships and rapport with them. I don't see how anyone could accuse us of favouritism," Barbara told him matter-of-factly.

"Children aren't always that logical," he pointed out. "I was often convinced that my mother liked my sister better than me or my brother." It was probably because Alice tended to react to her brothers fighting by being as good as possible, but Ian hadn't appreciated that as a child.

"Fortunately they don't control our supplies, and none of them have argued that we don't spend enough time or attention on them just yet." Barbara squeezed Ian a little tighter to her for a brief moment. "If they do try to argue that we're showing favourites, we can always list the things we do for them. For most of the children it'll put things into perspective."

He smiled at her. "I'm glad I have you. Bringing up children is hard, but it would be even harder without you."

"I"m glad you think so," Barbara smiled up at him. She felt so much more relaxed and even a little excited about the prospect of having a second child, and it was all because of Ian. As they walked slowly, she took a brief moment to capture his lips briefly to simply demonstrate her appreciation.

"You make a lot of things easier, too. And some things more difficult."

"I don't make anything more difficult," he protested, grinning, and tickled her where his hand lay on her waist.

Barbara giggled and squirmed but Ian's hold on her was good, and he wouldn't release her.

"Alright!" she managed, breathless, "alright, you're my darling husband and I love you so much that things only improve when you're around."

"Good." He grinned and stopped tickling her and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "And everything will be alright," he promised.

"I'll trust you. Just his once," she added with a grin.

Ian always seemed to be able to make Barbara feel better no matter the situation. She had walked out of the doctor's office feeling as though that light at the end of the tunnel had been put out for the moment, and now she was contemplating pulling him into a gap between two houses to kiss him properly without the general public watching.

He smiled, feeling better about the whole thing as well. They had nine months to prepare for the new baby and then they'd be ready. He hoped. "Let's wait to tell people we're having another baby until we're used to the idea."

"The children will suspect something if we start changing time tables and things on them but I think we could give it a month or so," Barbara told Ian with a smile. "It will be our secret."

"We can tell them at the same time as we change the time tables, then they'll know why." It would take a little while to decide what would work best anyway.

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