you put a bun in the oven ;; joel

Arizona was standing in her bedroom in front of a mirror staring at herself. She was wearing the dress she purchased for the upcoming party, the party celebrating the end of the war, trying to decide if she still liked it or not. She gently placed her hands on her tummy, and sucked in her bottom lip. Underneath her hands was a tiny little baby, barely even the size of a cherry. She smiled at herself in the mirror, thinking about the teeny little life inside of her. A life that she created with Joel.

A lot had happened since the death of Kole. Arizona had managed to resist enough to where her army overtook the Deilig supporters in Adhbhar, the Eilemaidens damaged from the war were all being rebuilt, physically and politically, and after a night of passionate celebrations, Ari and Joel were pregnant. Only Joel didn't know that yet.

Arizona sighed and examined her dress again. She had just recently visited a doctor in Ughdarras, who told her the good news. She was nervous though, she wasn't exactly sure how Joel was going to react.

"Joel, baby!" She called from her spot in front of the mirror. "Can you come in here for a sec?"

It was so wonderful having him back home again.

Ari's Party Dress!:

Now that the war was over, Joel was back to living in Adhbhar with Arizona. Both of their physical wounds had healed, and Ari had retaken her eilemaiden. Joel had also moved his mother in with them for the time being, and his father had been captured alive and taken to prison. Joel found he wasn't too upset about that, but he felt guilty about what his mother must be going through. His father may have been a horrible clio, but he'd been a good husband, and his parents had been very much in love. His mother had put up a brave face, considering how much her life had been turned upside down.

Besides his parent situation, though, things were going well. Despite all the tragedy that had occurred, it was hard not to feel happy when your side won a war. In fact, Ari told him that the overloridians were planning a big party soon to celebrate.

"Joel, baby! Can you come in here for a sec?"

Joel walked into Ari's room, and his breath caught at how stunning she looked in her party dress. "You look incredible," he told her.

Arizona smiled widely when she saw the look on Joel's face. She put her hands on her hips and stepped forward to pose. "Do you like it?"

She walked toward him and playfully tugged on the hem of his shirt when she could reach it. She placed her hands flat on his belly, stood on her tippy toes and kissed him then wrapped her arms around him, smiling up.

"It's so nice being together again," she said, for probably the millionth time since the past month or so.

Joel smiled. "I like the way it looks on you," he told her. He'd probably like the way it looked off of her, too. He put his hands on Ari's waist as she wrapped her arms around him. This was what home felt like. "It is," he agreed, as he always did. Things may not be perfect, too much had been lost during the war, but at least it was over and they could share these little moments together. "I don't know what I ever did without you."

"We were only half clios," Ari replied dreamily. "Finally whole again."

She let go of his body and grabbed his hand, then pulled him toward the bed. She sat at the end, and patted the spot next to her. "Sit," she said. "I have something to tell you."

Joel presumably sat and she took both of his hands into hers. Ari smiled down at them, weaving her fingers into his while she did it. "Remember how I had just recently gone to the doctor?" She asked. "Because I wasn't feeling well?" Finally, Ari looked up, "I'm pregnant Joel, you're going to be a daddy!"

At first, Joel was a little worried when Ari led him over to the bed and brought up her doctor's appointment. He knew she had been feeling sick and nauseous lately, and hoped it wasn't anything serious. Nothing could really prepare him for what she said next, though.

"I'm pregnant Joel, you're going to be a daddy!"

Joel stared at Ari, his mouth literally hanging open like an idiot. After a moment he managed to sort of pull himself back together. "Oh my gods, Arizona," he said in disbelief, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair. "Pregnant. Oh my gods." He looked back at Ari, a smile beginning to form on his face, before pulling her into a tight hug. "I can't believe it!"

They hadn't planned this, and several months ago Joel would have been horrified at the idea of an unplanned pregnancy. But now, with the war over and peace returning to Amelia, having a surprise baby with the woman he loved more than anything seemed almost like fate.

Arizona's heart swelled when Joel pulled her to him. There had been no reason to be nervous about telling him, she should have just known that he would be excited. She actually started to tear up, and when their hug broke she wiped away tiny little tears of joy, then laughed.

"We're going to be parents, Joel," she said, tearing up again.

Joel smiled down at Ari, and placed a hand on her belly. "I know we didn't plan for this," he told her, "but I'm glad." He would have wanted to start a family with Ari eventually anyways, and he was happy that she seemed so excited about this too. "I hope I'll be a good father." At the very least, Joel resolved right then and there that he would be better than his own father.

Ari placed her hand on the hand on her tummy and placed her free hand on Joel's cheek. What an incredible thing. Joel and Arizona, mom and dad. She was so excited to start a family with this man. It felt like so long ago when Joel first showed up in her estate, "guarding" her and her home, and now he was the love of her life, and the father of her child.

"You're going to be an incredible dad," she assured him. "You're an incredible clio, so caring and loving."

Ari leaned forward, and kissed Joel deeply.

Joel kissed Ari back, of course. He was still smiling as they broke apart. "My mom will be so excited," he told her. "Her first grandbaby."

There was a twinge of sadness behind his words, for a number of reasons. One was due to his own family--his father, specifically. Joel had accepted for a while now that his father was not a good man, and had not been a good father, but it still hurt to think about the fact that Joel's father would probably despise his grandchild's existance. The second reason was Ari's family. This child was going to miss out on ever knowing or having the most wonderful aunt and uncle.

Ari heard the sadness behind his words. She smiled sadly up at him, sure that he was thinking about his father. Her heart was hurting for him, just as it was hurting for their unborn child. He or she would never get to meet Kavi and Neeva, and that broke her heart. However, the baby would have Joel's loving mother, and Ari's father. It wasn't like a normal family, but it was perfect just the way it was.

She took both of his hands in hers and squeezed. "We should tell our parents soon," she said. "I bet my dad will be excited too."

Joel squeezed her hands back. "We can tell them together," he said. "And then at that big celebration you and the other overloridians are planning, we can announce it to everyone." The party was meant to celebrate the end of the war, but Joel didn't think anyone would mind a baby announcement thrown in there as well. Everyone could use some happy news right now.

"That's a brilliant idea!" Arizona agreed. "Now, why don't you help me take this dress off?"

She smiled slyly at him, and Joel presumably helped Ari take off her dress. The two clio made love, and then afterwards laid in each others arms, discussing baby things, how to surprise their parents, if the baby was going to be a boy or a girl, and all kinds of other cute happy family things.

END