Summary:
John and his wife, Caroline, cuddle in bed as they talk about their kids Rosie and Colin, and family planning for the future since they're in their forties.
Notes:
Flufftober fic for Oct 13th "Pillow Talk"
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John and Caroline head up to their bedroom sleepily after a long day of work and taking care of the kids after dinner. Caroline slips into the bathroom to shower as John changed into pajamas.
He takes the bed down and climbs in wearily, sighing in content as his body hits the mattress and his head hits the pillow. Deciding to roam through social media for a moment while Caroline showers, he gets up to date on his notifications and work emails that he didn't quite get to earlier in the day.
After a little while, Caroline comes out of the bathroom in her pajamas and slippers before tapping them off and climbing in next to him in bed, cuddling close.
"Mm, I like the smell of your soap, Care. Very fresh and flowery."
"Thanks, love. I like the smell of your cologne, and your aftershave. Even your deodorant most days. Except some of those things used to really make me nauseous when I was pregnant."
Chuckling softly he nods and peppers her cheek in kisses before pressing a firm kiss to her lips. "I do remember that. Not a fun time. Thank goodness that's over, huh?"
Caroline nibbles her lower lip for a moment and nods slowly and silently, nuzzling his cheek. "I delivered six babies today."
"Wow, six? That's a long day. Fantastic job, love."
"Thanks. I spent a lot of time thinking between deliveries though..."
"Oh? Of what?"
"Well...y'know. Age, and fertility, and...life."
"Right...", he looks a bit confused.
"I had my hormone levels and fertility evaluated, because, well, I am forty now...I thought it would be good to know where my body stands and such."
"Oh, okay. And?"
"And...everything is still good. Normal levels, same as I had in my thirties still."
"That's good, right?"
"Yeah, I suppose. I guess that's sort of what I wanted to talk to you about, but I can tell you're tired."
"I am, but I've barely seen you all day and if you need to talk about something, I'm here", he says, stroking her cheek gently. "Is this the part where you talk about baby fever, and how you have it again?"
She giggles softly and shrugs. "Yes? No? Maybe. When I was younger, I told you that my husband and I wanted a large family, but he had gotten cancer before we could have children. When he died, I forgot about that dream and I grew up, I had my career and all the babies at the hospital to take care of. But then I met you, and for the first time, I felt like that dream could come alive again. When we had Colin, that was the most painful but the most wonderous day of my entire life. I know he's only one, but we aren't getting any younger again, John. I-I think I'd like to have another baby or two. But I wanted to ask you how you felt about that because I know we both have demanding jobs and Rosie and Colin are a big responsibility already. I don't want to put you through the newborn stage again if you have no desire for that, y'know. I know we're older now, and I wanted to talk to you about how you felt about it."
John sighs softly and looks over at her from his pillow, his eyes taking in her features. The wrinkles that have appeared since having Colin, the smile lines she's gotten since they had gotten married, and he can't help but adore those little things because it speaks about their life together.
"I wouldn't be opposed to another child or two. But Colin is only one. I know that our biological and honestly our physical clocks are ticking, but maybe we should wait until he's a little older? Unless you're adamant about trying right now. I want you to be happy. I want to give you the life you have always dreamed of. The life we both dreamed of, with Mary and Dawson, respectively. I love you. We work well together, and we have gotten to the point where we have a set routine and it works, however hectic it may be."
Caroline kisses him lovingly and cups his face. "We can wait a little while if you'd prefer. I'm glad you didn't shut down the conversation, I was getting a feeling that maybe you didn't want anymore, since we have a girl and a boy."
John twirls his finger around one of her blonde tendrils of hair. "I did feel like that for a while because Colin came years after Rosie, and getting back into the swing of it was difficult, being older. But like I said, I love you, and I wouldn't want to deny you utter happiness. We both know from experience how short life is, and how we can't take each other for granted. I don't want to do that; I don't want to take something this important away from you. I want you to have the big family that you dreamed of. That we dreamed of. I'm yours. Okay?"
She looks up at him from her pillow and traces his jaw. "Okay. So should we assume that it can happen naturally? Maybe stop using birth control?"
"Well considering how busy we are, I think that could work", he laughs softly into her temple. "I love you, Caroline Watson."
"I love you too, John Watson. Thank you for giving me another chance at being a mother. Even before Colin, with Rosie...I know she's not mine biologically, and her mother will always be near and dear to you. But it meant the absolute world to me that you let me adopt her. I love that little girl as if she were my own. I hope you know that."
John smiles softly, tearing up. "I do know that. Rosie knows that too. Of course, she'll always know about Mary, and the way she was killed was, in part, due to circumstances of my life and her life, but...I know that Mary would adore that you love her as she did. I see how you are with her. There's no difference between your love for Colin and your love for Rosie and I love seeing you with them. Thank you for being an extraordinary wife and mother, Care."
"It's my pleasure. Those kids make everything I ever went through worth it. So do you", she smiles, kissing him softly.
John kisses back and hums contentedly. "We should get some sleep, hm? Another workday tomorrow."
"Unfortunately", she chuckles tiredly. "I love those babies, but my feet have been aching this week."
"Mhm, I can imagine."
"Sleep well, my love."
"Sleep well, beautiful."
They cuddle up into each other's arms softly as they drift to sleep, happily dreaming of what could come in the near future.
