verdantgt | For Starr: Calleigh/Norrington

Note: Based on RP canon in

hearts_andminds

For Starr, who wanted a Calleigh/Norrington ficlet talking about babies:

Calleigh placed her hand over her eyes to shield them from the hot Miami sun. It had been a year since they'd been able to both leave the village and James had adjusted very well to life outside a pocket universe. She raised a hand in greeting as he came out of the surf with a surfboard under his arm. "You look like you've been doing that your whole life."

James chuckled and set the end of the board down into the sand, careful not to get Calleigh wet. "The friendly competition with Eric helped with that."

That had her laughing, "boys will be boys." In fact, Calleigh was very grateful that Eric, Ryan and Horatio had accepted James and made him feel a part of the group. Only Horatio knew of the unusual circumstances in which Calleigh had met James. The others knew him as the man she'd met while on vacation. It wasn't so far from the truth.

Calleigh reached up and cupped James' cheek, tenderly stroking the skin. "I never thought that I could be this happy." Especially after everything that had happened with her father and Jake. Even after their marriage in Haurvatat, Calleigh hadn't allowed herself to truly be vulnerable, thinking that she was going to lose him when either he or she had to leave. Once they'd arrived in Miami, then she'd stopped waiting for the other shoe to drop and could relax. "Only one more thing would make this perfect."

She had thought about it for a while, debating about how it would work in their lives until she finally came to the conclusion that they would make it work. Calleigh had planned to have this discussion over dinner in the privacy of their home but seeing James enjoying himself and fitting in so well with the twenty first century, it just felt right. Her lips curled into a tender smile as she continued. "Our baby."

There were many expressions that flitted over his features ranging from shock to elation and finally tenderness. "Are you --? Are we --?"

She shook her head, quickly clarifying. "No, no. I'm not pregnant yet but I think we should start trying to have a family. If you're ready."

James stopped being concerned about getting Calleigh wet and pulled her into a hug. "I want a little girl with your smile." Public displays of affection was still something that James was working through. He was uncomfortable with them still but at this moment, the world failed to exist, except for the woman in his arms.

Calleigh's smile grew wider. "I guess that means that you're ready to start and I was thinking that I'd also like a little boy with your eyes." She had been an only child and as nice as that was, she would have liked to have had siblings.

"A dozen with six of each would be acceptable." He said with humor in his eyes, teasing her.

She rose to the bait, dumbfounded. "Uh ----" Then Calleigh noticed the suppressed laughter that he was trying to control. "Very funny. We'll talk about the actual numbers later. Let's just get used to the idea of one right now."

Calleigh, always mindful of James' cultural differences, stepped back and slid her fingers through his ending the public display. "Come on, let's go home."