[A/N: So here we are – the final chapter. In the end, this story was much shorter than my other stories, but I'm still proud of how it developed over time from just a simple idea.
Thanks so much to all my readers for (kind of) "pushing" me to write & publish it 😅 I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Lana and Colin will always be one of my OTPs 🥰]
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May 2022
„Alright, here we are!", she pulled the laces as tight as she could, „Now, off you go! But careful, okay?"
Millie nodded eagerly as she carefully put one foot in front of the other while trying out her brand new roller skates. With a deep breath, Lana got up from the squat she had been in, realizing once more that this allegedly easy move was not as easy anymore for her as it used to be.
„You want me to hold your hand?"
„No, I can do it!", the little girl yelled, „I'm not scared!"
„Alright!", she replied, walking back to her chair, mumbling, „Speak for yourself..."
With a sigh, she took a sip of her lemonade, enjoying this little break. They had been at it non-stop since this morning, preparing everything for Millie's birthday party. She looked over to where Colin was heating up the barbecue, he still had to finish putting up the last of the decorations too. She could take care of it, of course, but he'd absolutely not have her go up the ladder, and she had already learned by now that there was no point in arguing with him over these things.
„Everything alright?", he asked as he came walking over to her.
„Yep!", just taking a little break.
„Of course. You okay?"
„Oh yeah, for sure! Don't worry. I just forgot how much work such kiddie birthday parties can be. It's been a while since my niece and nephews were that age."
„Right. Better get used to it again, then?"
„Seems like it", a soft smile appeared on her lips, then she leaned over to give him a kiss, „Come on, get your beer, you earned it."
„What? No no, I don't think..."
„Come on! It's fine, really! I know you want one. And Sean and Marc are gonna be here any minute now, then you'll have one anyway."
He blushed with a shy chuckle. „Okay... maybe you're right."
When he took his first sip, his gaze got lost in the distance to where his daughter was being a trooper on her roller skates.
„Five years! I can't believe it... She was a baby just yesterday, wasn't she?"
Lana chuckled, sticking to her lemonade. „I'm sure she was. You ready to do it all over again?"
„Well, no turning back now, is there?"
He reached out to gently caress her cheek with his thumb, and she nodded with a smile, her heart skipping a beat. All this was the craziest and at the same time the most beautiful dream she'd never have allowed herself to even have.
„Lana, Lana! Did you see me? Did you see how fast I went??"
She turned her head and yelled. „Watch out where you're going, sweetie, okay?"
Millie came stumbling across the grass in her roller skates, arms flailing in the air for balance, before climbing on Lana's lap.
„Did you see how well I did?"
„I did, sweetie! You were amazing!"
„Millie", her father said, „Remember what we talked about... careful with Lana's tummy, okay? You don't want to knock out your baby brother with your knee."
„Sorry, daddy!", she replied, rueful, then she looked up at Lana with her big blue eyes, „Is my baby brother hurt?"
She smiled, shaking her head. „No, sweetie, all good! Don't worry about it, he's fine, Daddy is just very protective, mhm? Now, come on, you want to keep your skates on for a bit or shall we take them off? Your guests should be here soon."
The little girl thought about it, then decided to end her skating session for now.
When Lana was about to get up to help her take off her skates, Colin shook his head. „I'll do it! You sit, get some rest until the guests are here, alright?"
He carefully placed his hand on the little curve under her t-shirt and bowed down to give her a kiss before tending to his daughter.
Indeed, it wasn't long until the first guests came. A few parents dropped off their children, friends of Millie's. And then, a familiar laugh came booming across the park to the corner they had reserved for the birthday party, and Lola and Levi went running to greet Sean, Bex and their families.
Lana got up to give them a hug, but the closer they came, the slower their friends' steps got, until Bex could just cover her mouth with her hands and shake her head, her eyes glued to her TV sister's unusually round midsection.
„You must be f-ing shitting me... This is for real?"
Lana just smiled, let her hands run over her little bump and nodded.
„It's for real?! OH MY GOD!"
Now, Bex started running to cover the last few yards and wrapped her arms around her friend to pull her close, not fully able to hold back her tears.
„This is just... incredible!"
„It really is", Lana hugged her tight and stroked her back, „That's a very fitting description indeed."
„I mean, you're... you're..."
„I'm pregnant, yes", she completed her sentence, beaming with pride and joy.
Of course, she had prepared them beforehand on the phone, not wanting to risk anyone suffering a heart attack on this beautiful and sunny day, but they had only half believed her.
A little further, Sean could not stop smiling, hugging his best friend and patting his back. „Congratulations! Good job, mate!"
Colin was somewhat shy about it, blushing, but of course couldn't help and smile along with everybody else. In the end, he was no less proud than his girlfriend about the little miracle they had somehow managed to create together.
As they were greeting Marc and Tanya and their two little girls who seemed about twice the size by now than when they had seen them last, the boys already ran off to join Evan who was finally coming to life, now that there weren't only little girls around to play with.
„Come on, sit!", Lana said after they had congratulated Millie and handed over her birthday presents, pointing to the adult table, „You can grab some snacks or salad, the meat is already on the grill, it'll be like five more minutes. What would you like to drink?"
„Anything! I really don't care about all that", said Bex with glowing eyes, „What I'd like to know is everything else!"
„What do you mean?", asked Lana, sitting down, refilling her glass of lemonade, the most exciting drinks she'd have in a while.
„Well... THAT!!", she pointed at her belly, and Lana could only laugh.
„What would you like to know?"
„I mean... how? When? Why?..."
„How? I'm assuming you know how babies are made? You have two on your own?"
She rolled her eyes. „Obviously! But... Well, most importantly, how are you doing? How is the baby?"
„We're good! We're great, really", she replied, stroking her little belly, „The baby's great. He was very busy growing recently, or so it seems. I hadn't been showing at all until just, like, a few days ago, and then, all of a sudden, almost overnight... my pants didn't fit anymore."
Bex eyes grew wide: „He... did you say?"
She nodded as Colin gently pulled her into his arms, placing a soft kiss on her cheek and resting his hands on her stomach.
„It's a little baby boy. We found out earlier this week."
„Awww, wow, congratulations!"
„Respect, mate", Sean said, „Another son!"
He blushed again, smirking, mumbling a coy ‚Thank you' into his stubbly beard.
„Wouldn't you have preferred a girl?", Bex asked.
„Oh no, not at all", Lana shook her head, „I mean, whichever, it really doesn't matter! As long as the baby's healthy, right? At my age, that's all that matters. But seriously, I'm stoked that it's a boy. I know boys. My nephews, and then Fred's boys... Boys are comparatively easy to handle! Just watch out that they don't accidentally kill themselves until they're teenagers, and then, just try and keep them away from drugs and pretend like you don't know they're thinking about sex every minute of each day... that's it! But girls, girls are more complex. They're complicated! Honestly, I wouldn't want to have been MY mother for sure."
„Word", said Bex and took a sip of her bubbly, „So, how far along are you, did you say? When are you due?"
„Four months. I'm due in October."
„So, Colin, my man", said Sean, opening a bottle of beer and clinking it with him, „riddle me this... When you guys told us back in Dublin that you were planning to take it slow... Did that mean that you'd wait two full weeks with knocking her up, instead of doing it right then and there, is that how we should interpret this?"
Both expectant parents sighed and couldn't help but laugh uncomfortably.
„Well, as you can imagine, this wasn't exactly planned, but it came very... very much as a surprise for us as well", Colin answered.
„So was it an accident? Weren't you using any protection?", Bex asked, curiously.
„Well, we were", Lana explained, „Actually, we were always very diligent in using condoms when we, you know... started enjoying each other's company in that way last year. But then, eventually, when we got back together on New Year's Eve, we found ourselves to be not as well prepared as we should have been and, you know... we like to be spontaneous, so..."
„Uh-huh...", Bex raised an eyebrow.
„Yeah, well, so... eventually I made an appointment with my OB-GYN to discuss potential more permanent and robust methods for protection, so I went in for a check up and told her I was in a new relationship and even though I'm seriously starting to dip my toes into menopause, I didn't want to take any risks, you know, so... and then while we're at it, she looks at me and says: ‚Well, your intention is very noble, but I must tell you that you're already pregnant!'"
„No way!!"
„I almost fell over backwards, trust me! I sincerely thought she was joking. Because, get this, it gets better: I was already three months along! All that happened not even a month ago."
„What?!"
„I know! I was shocked! And... I felt betrayed somehow, by my own body, you know what I mean? I'm usually so in tune with myself and so sensitive and perceptive, and then I don't realize that my body is... creating an entire new human? For THREE months?!"
„Wow...", Sean took a sip of his beer and asked his buddy, „What did you think when you heard?"
Colin replied: „She actually told me over the phone."
„Really?", he looked at her, he couldn't believe it.
„Yeah, I know, I just had to tell SOMEONE asap! I was sitting in my car... I think in that moment I had just called him to hear myself say it out loud."
„She definitely sounded as if she wasn't quite believing it herself", her boyfriend added.
„The good thing is though", said Bex, „that after three months the risk for a miscarriage drops significantly."
„That's right", said Lana, „I mean, there's still enough risks remaining for a pregnancy at my age, mind you, but... that's also what the doctor said. Maybe my body was protecting me. Because I'm 100% sure that if I had known any sooner, I would have completely freaked out. I would have been paralyzed out of fear that something could happen at any moment. Which could even have turned into some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy! So yeah... in the end, the fact that I didn't find out until I was further along might be exactly what our boy and I needed to even get to this point."
„Awww, that's really beautiful! I'm sure there's some truth in that!", said Bex, „And don't worry, back then with Milo, I think if I hadn't been planning and waiting for a pregnancy, I wouldn't have realized in quite a while either. And how about the kids, what do they say? Do they know?"
They nodded. „They do. Millie is thrilled to be a big sister, of course. And Evan... let's say he's tolerating it."
„Another advantage of having a boy", Colin said, „I think if we'd have surprised him with another little sister, he'd gone on strike."
„Anyway, all this to say", Lana placed her hands on his that were still resting on her stomach, „Never send Colin to buy condoms... I should have known."
Bex snorted with laughter. „I can imagine... Awww, look, he's blushing!"
Indeed, he had lowered his gaze, his cheeks a cute shade of rose, he was running his fingers through his hair and chuckling uncomfortably.
„You're right!", Sean's eyes grew wide as he got a sinister idea, „Hang on a second, Colin! If she's pregnant... and if you're the father, then that means...", he gasped as he was feigning shock, „You guys had... s-e-x?! Like, for real? You put your, you know... into her..."
„Just leave it, mate, will you?"
„And not only that", Bex picked up where he left off, „If you guys made a baby while doing it, that must mean that... you liked it! Like, a lot..."
Lana couldn't help but chuckle when she saw how much her boyfriend was suffering. „Nawww, poor baby!", she ruffled through his hair, „Come on, guys, stop it, that's enough! I think you made your point."
„Alright, alright", Bex waved it off, „How does it make you feel to have a baby with such a sissy?"
She winked at Colin, while Sean raised his hand. „Good point! Like, what made you think the last thing you were missing in your hot & spicy Puerto Rican Sicilian gene pool was some pasty faced, ginger pinch of Irish?"
„Well actually, it's a cool mix, no? I gotta say, I can't WAIT to see what our son's gonna look like."
„Part of me hopes he's gonna be ugly", Bex shrugged, „otherwise our daughter's are going to fight over him one day, Maguire, mark my words!"
Sean added with a nod. „What if he has red hair?"
„Then he has red hair! I mean, his daddy turned out quite fine, I like to think? And only his beard is a little ginger, see?", she said, giving him a gentle smile while caressing his beard, „As long as he won't have that ridiculous accent..."
„Oh please, stop!", said Bex, „If he will, consider yourself LUCKY! I still refuse to believe that my children will grow up speaking like this." She was faking an American accent while rolling her eyes, and Lana had to laugh.
„Well, nothing you can do about it, probably... And let me remind you, it was your choice to live here! Plus, they're born here, so they in fact ARE Americans. They have a right to talk like this."
„Yeah, please don't remind me..."
„But then, sorry to backtrack", said Sean, „What about taking it slow? What happens now?"
Colin sighed. „Well, that's still the plan! I mean, we're going to have a baby in five months, yes... But we'll figure it out. Just means our dates will look a lot different than they would have otherwise, but... We're still getting to know each other as romantic partners. No need to rush things."
„Where will you live?"
Lana explained: „Same here, for now, nothing's gonna change. He stays living at his place, I stay living at my place with the baby. Whenever Evan and Millie are with their mother, he's going to stay with us at my place. The problem is that neither or our houses is big enough for two adults, three children and the dogs."
„I was gonna say", said Bex.
„Eventually, once we're sure that we want to live together full-time, we'll look for something. But not right now. Now, enjoying this pregnancy and focusing on the baby and our relationship is the most important. Everything else can wait. Actually, we are going to have a trial run living together pretty soon! Remember that I was scheduled to spend the summer in Vancouver, for a new gig?"
„Geez, you're right! What about that?"
„Well, I obviously can't do it anymore, I'll be too pregnant for it, at least towards the end, but guess what! Just when I called Marc Cherry to let him know, he told me that the show got yanked anyway."
„Marc Cherry?", she frowned.
„Yeah... it was Why Women Kill, actually... third season."
„Oh wow! I heard they renewed it, I didn't know you were cast in it."
„Yeah, I hadn't told anyone. For good reason, so it seems. You never know what happens in this industry."
„Bummer..."
„Yeah, I know. I was devastated. But then I remembered, I wouldn't have been able to do it anyway! However, I leased a house and I'm not sure I could break the lease, so I thought... why not go? I'm pretty sure Vancouver is a much better and healthier place to be to grow a new human than LA."
„Oh, for sure!"
„We talked about it, and Colin said that he'd have the summer off as well, most likely. So, we're going to go together. Spend a few months up there, like old times... Just playing house this time around."
„That sounds really nice", said Sean, slightly jealous, „It's going to do all three of you really good, I'm sure."
„Definitely", Bex agreed, then she couldn't hold back the question any longer, „And what if, I mean... what if you realize that, you know... it doesn't work?"
Colin jumped in: „Then I'm sure that we'll be grown up and responsible enough to accept it and move on from there. For our son. I'm not thinking about it even for a second, but I don't have a single doubt that we'll figure out co-parenting in no time if we have to."
„Lesser people have done it", Bex agreed.
„For now, I'm just grateful that fate somehow has decided to bind us for life in this most beautiful of ways. Whether this means we'll grow old together, or whether we're short lived in the end... who can say? After both our divorces, we certainly have no unhealthy illusions, but we want to give this the fairest shot that we can give. For now... I'm happy with the fact that every morning when I wake up, I find myself a little more in love with this woman than I had been the day before", he turned his head to look at her, full of love, his hands gently running over her belly, keeping his son safe and warm as best he could, „And as long as that's so, it's all that matters."
„I love you!", she whispered before gently placing her lips on his, snuggling up to him, feeling so incredibly safe in his arms as she always did.
„I love you too!"
„Ugh, dear, you two make my teeth ache!", said Bex, „You're so incredibly sweet, it's nauseating."
„Don't listen to her", said Sean, „I mean... you are, in a way, but it's great to see, really! As weird as I found the idea of the two of you together in the beginning, I have to admit that you're really, really cute together. You're going to be the perfect little family, I'm sure! You deserve it. You'll go all the way, I'm calling it!"
„He's right!", Bex agreed, „As much as it still pains me to say it, but... you belong together. Your baby is the best proof of that! I see that now."
Lana had to laugh. „Yeah? I don't even see that myself quite yet, but...", she looked over at her boyfriend, „We'll see. Time will tell. I mean, I get what you mean! Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I see him lying next to me and I think to myself: What the actual f is Colin O'Donoghue doing in my bed??' Then I remember that I'm in love with him and that I carry his child. And then I remember the old days on set... If anyone back then had told me..."
„Let me guess: you'd have clubbed them down with the heel of your shoe?", asked Bex.
„I mean... it's wild, ins't it?"
„It is", Sean nodded decisively, „And it will be wild for a while, it's always like that when you've just been friends for so long and had other partners before. But I'll also be incredibly beautiful."
„Yeah", Lana nodded with a smile, turning her head and placing her hands back on Colin's that were still resting on her belly, giving them a gentle squeeze, „It will, won't it? We can be a family... Not just with our boy, but with Evan and Millie too, of course. The perfect little patchwork family."
Before he could nod and reply, Millie was yelling from the kid's table: „Lana, Lana, look what I got!!"
„Sounds like a job for step mommy?", Sean said with a smile as she gave her boyfriend one more kiss before she got up, grinning from ear to ear.
„I'll be right back", she said and walked over to her little girl.
THE END