OUT OF THE RED ↝ dave grohl

sixty.

NOVEMBER 28th, 1991, OLYMPIA, WA

"YOUR BUMP IS showing," Kate said pointedly from across the living room. She was sitting on the Abners' couch with her legs crossed, wearing a coy smile on her face. Reagan looked up from where she sat, legs splayed, on the carpet. RaeLynn was clambering on her back and Kody was handing her Lego pieces, instructing her accordingly on what to build.

"Is it?" she asked. She looked down and saw that her flannel buttons had indeed come undone, revealing her tank top that was beneath it. Sure enough, her stomach was slightly distended against the fabric, giving way to her steadily growing pregnant belly. To Reagan, it looked as if she'd simply overeaten at the dinner table. To everyone else, she was clearly pregnant. It wasn't just a figment of the mind anymore.

"Baby, baby, baby," RaeLynn sang in her lilting toddler voice. She patted at Reagan's stomach gently. It had taken judicious explanation on both Reagan and her parents' part when telling the twins about their new family member. Thankfully, they were still too young to understand the logistics and didn't look at their eldest sister with horror upon learning that they would be an aunt and uncle.

Robbie, on the other hand, was too shell-shocked to be within even a ten foot radius of Reagan. He treated her as if she were unfamiliar, like a statue made of glass. It had pained Reagan immensely to watch him skirt around her with wavering eyes, but she could understood his hesitance. She had left as someone he knew entirely at heart and had returned with a growing person inside of her. It was a lot to take in.

She was surprised that Kimberly hadn't ratted her out. Reagan had entertained awful thoughts about what her mother might have said about her to Robbie in her absence, but when Reagan had been tasked with explaining what was going on to him, she had realized that Kimberly had been rather quiet about Reagan's personal life.

"Tiny baby," Reagan explained to RaeLynn with a smile. RaeLynn looked awed as she patted Reagan's stomach once more. Kody frowned, tugging on his older sister's hand in order to reel her attention back in to their game. He had no patience for any of the life-changing news Reagan had brought back home — to Kody, she was still just his big sister.

"Tiny baby with no name yet," Kate chided. She uncrossed her legs, clad in black tights and leaned forward with a cocked eyebrow.

"I'm working on it," Reagan said grudgingly.

"Working on it? I already have my future baby names picked out. And I'm not even dating anyone!" Kate cried.

"Work has kept me busy," Reagan replied, fumbling for an excuse. Only she knew the real reason as to why she hadn't settled on any potential names for her baby. It plainly felt odd doing so without Dave there to give his input. Speaking to him over the phone about the matter wasn't the same as what it might have felt like to look into his eyes and see them light up when they mutually decided on the right name for their child.

"Dinner's ready," Robbie called from around the kitchen corner. He poked his head out tentatively, looking nervous when his gaze landed on Reagan. She offered him a soft smile, which he weakly returned before darting out of sight.

She sighed heavily. He was doing a poor job at disguising his angst. Reagan knew Robbie well enough to know that he would normally would never be caught dead helping their parents cook in the kitchen.

"He'll come around," Kate said as they both got to their feet. She wore a sympathetic look.

"I should have been honest with him from the start," Reagan said grimly. "He probably feels so out of the loop. I mean, even my head is spinning and I'm the one that this all happening to!"