a/n: firstly, stop asking me to write about the first time Lottie and Ben had sex, because I blatantly refuse to do that. secondly, i guess some of you were confused, but this bonus chapter is when Lottie and Ben found out that she was pregnant with Amity, not their next kid. and thirdly, i am not doing a proposal chapter, because there has been a chapter written about that for every single circumstance on the entire planet and i don't want to just write the same thing again, so please stop hassling me about it lmao.

i might do another bonus chapter, but i really don't think i want to. i want to kinda move on from this story if you'll let me :)

"I'm going to vomit if you make me eat that," Lottie said, slowly backing away from me, her eyes trained on the brownie I held in my hand.

I frowned at her. She didn't want a brownie, her complete ultimate favourite thing in the entire world besides me? "What's wrong with you?" I asked. She looked like she was going to burst into tears, so I hurriedly put the brownie back on the plate and wiped my hands off.

"Ben!" she wailed.

I narrowed my eyes and scooped her up, feeling her tremble in my grip. She sniffled into my shoulder. "Lottie, what's the matter?"

"I-I...I don't know!"

I put her down and placed my hands on her cheeks, moving her face so that she was looking at me. I cleared my throat once, then again, and then a third time. "Hey, do you need me to run down to the shops and get you...anything?"

Her cheeks burned under my palms, and she looked up at the ceiling so she wouldn't make eye contact with me. She frowned, her forehead furrowed thoughtfully. "No, Ben, you know I'm a just little late."

I grinned. I did know. A week's wait every month, but it was always worth it at the end, once I...you know, got some. But then I focused in on Lottie's trembling lip, and my smile fell off my face. "Then what's the matter, babe?"

She didn't say anything and that worried me. My brow creased and I rubbed my thumb along her cheek. "I really don't know," she said finally. "I'm just feeling a bit emotional."

"Why?" I asked. Her lip trembled even more, and I felt myself starting to crumble at her feet. No, no, no, I didn't want her to cry.

"I don't know!" she suddenly sobbed, throwing her arms back around my neck.

I stared at the top of her head, absolutely flummoxed. I honestly had no idea what to do. Should I call Ginny? Was this something that I didn't understand? "Should I call Ginny?" I voiced my thoughts.

"No! I don't want to bother her, she's three hours away!" I felt a wetness on my shirt, and I almost collapsed when I realised she was crying. "I don't want to bother her!"

"It's okay, Lottie," I said softly, rubbing her back. "You're fine. Come on, don't you want a brownie?"

"No!" she snapped, which couldn't even technically be described as snapping, because she still spoke gently. But for Lottie, it was snapping, and that made me raise my eyebrows. "I already said I didn't want a brownie!"

Okay, Ben, keep your dumb mouth shut, then. I sighed and picked her up, carrying her to our sofa. I sat down and settled her on my lap, and she whimpered slightly. The sound broke my heart clean in two, and even though I was sure nothing horrible had happened, I was still worried about her. Why was she acting like this? Was she sick? Did I need to take her to the hospital?

After a few minutes, I realised she had fallen asleep on me. I shifted so that I was laying against the armrest and swung my feet up on the cushions. I felt her breathing steadily and pushed her hair out of her face. She looked worried even as she slept, and I hoped this was just a weird thing and she'd sleep it off and be okay after her nap.

But she wasn't. She woke up after an hour, looking extremely queasy. "Ben?" she said worriedly, eyes half-open and arms stretched out, looking for me.

I pulled her closer. "Right here, my love." I bit my lip. I had to go to work soon. I'd already missed half of the day, but I didn't want to leave Lottie alone when she was like this. "Are you okay?" I asked carefully.

She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "I'm okay," she said. "Why aren't you at work?"

I didn't answer truthfully, because she would probably get mad at me for staying here with her. "Took the day off," I said.

She saw right through me, though. "No, you didn't," she said, narrowing her eyes. "I'm not going to be the reason you're fired, Ben."

"I won't be fired," I assured her.

"Just go, okay? I'll be fine. You're already dressed anyways."

I glanced down at my shirt and slacks. I'd been ready to leave when Lottie got a little emotional, but now I just wanted to lounge around home with her. "I don't wanna," I whined.

She smiled at me. "I'll be fine, I promise. I can take care of myself."

I stared at her. I hated when she tried to use her loveliness against me, because she knew I could never refuse her. Whatever magic it was she held over me, I had no idea. I'd married a sorcerer. "If one thing happens, one thing, you better call me," I warned. "If I find out something happened while I wasn't here, I'll smother you for a month!"

Lottie laughed. "Okay, easy, tiger. I'll be right here when you get back."

"You're not going to work, right?" I asked.

"Nope," she said. "I closed it for today. Bernice had to go to her mother's for the day." Bernice, the manager of Lottie's bakery, pretty much held the place together. Honestly, Lottie was incredible, but she wouldn't be able to manage a business if my business guru of a dad didn't do it for her.

"Okay," I said, relieved that she didn't have to do anything. "I'll be back around five. Remember to eat lunch." I straightened out my clothes and my hair that had gotten a little ruffled, and then I bent to kiss Lottie. "Love you."

"I love you," she echoed. She followed me to the front door and waved as I got into my car.

I frowned, feeling really bad about leaving her alone. But she seemed okay now, and I'd be home soon. Maybe I'd pick up some flowers on the way back. Yeah, I'd do that.

***

I unlocked and opened the front door and stepped inside. "Lottie, my love, where are you?" I set the sunflowers I'd bought on the coffee table and went to go look for Lottie. She was sitting on the sofa, reading a book. I felt relieved. She looked fine.

Lottie glanced up at me, and I realised her expression was anything but fine. "Ben, before you sit down, can you go fetch the buns that are in the oven?" she asked in a wobbly voice.

Oh no, was she going to cry again? Fuck, fuck, fuck, I shouldn't have left her alone. "Okay," I said, moving to kiss her on the forehead before heading to the kitchen. I frowned. I couldn't smell anything cooking.

I looked back at the sofa, where Lottie had her eyes closed. Was she going crazy? I shook my head and opened the oven anyway. Just like I thought. Nothing in there. Got me worked up to eat her bread for nothing.

"There's nothing in here," I called.

"Check again," she insisted. She looked over at me with pleading eyes.

I shook my head. Of course I would check the clearly empty oven again when she looked at me like that. I wasn't a monster. "There's still nothing ther-" I paused, noticing something on the bottom rack. A piece of cloth? I picked it up without looking and strode over to Lottie. "Why's this in the oven?" I asked. If she was going to tell me this was the "buns," I was going to have to force her to go to bed.

Lottie smiled nervously and gestured to me. "Look at it."

I unrolled the cloth, realising immediately that it was actually a tiny white onesie. Baby clothes? My eyes widened as I read the curly black script: 'Sorry ladies, my daddy's taken.' My heart starting pounding wildly. "Y-you...this isn't for you, is it?" I asked idiotically.

Her hand moved to her stomach and she shook her head. "Not for me, dummy."

I gaped at her, my eyes wide, my mouth opening and closing like a stupid fish. "A-are you...are you serious?" I looked from my wife's face to her belly several times, not comprehending what was going on. The onesie in my hands fell on the sofa.

She nodded, a beautiful little smile blossoming on her face. "Bun in the oven," she joked softly.

"M-mine?"

Lottie looked at me like I was an idiot and then rolled her eyes. "Obviously."

I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. "Oh," I said stupidly. My mind was blank.

Her face fell. "Oh," she repeated.

I stared at her and she stared back for maybe a whole minute. Her big doe-eyes pleaded with me to say something else, but my throat had closed up and I was starting to hyperventilate. What did this mean? I was going to be a...father? I blinked. "Oh!" I screamed.

Lottie jumped about a foot in the air, her hand going to her heart in shock at my sudden yelp. "Ben!" she exclaimed.

"I'm going to be a dad!" I yelled, bouncing to her and gently picking her up. She giggled as I twirled her around once and then set her down for fear I might cause her an upset stomach. "I'm going to be a dad! You're going to be a mum!"

"Yes," she said. She sniffled, wiping her face and smiling a watery smile that almost killed me. "That is what this means."

I sunk down beside her and took her hand. I was going to be a dad? My mind whirred. We needed to go shopping, we needed to book a doctor's appointment, we needed to start baby-proofing everything. "I need to call my parents," I said.