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lgg5989 · 2 years

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Church Encounters Chapter 19

Hey guys! @barbiewritesstuff and I waffled on in this one (again, are you even surprised anymore?)…its a whole 11k words…hope you enjoy it! :D

Please enjoy the moodboard I made, the previous chapters can be found on my Masterlist, and you can read the whole series so far on my Ao3! :D

Tagging: @roosterscock @sydneyhlove @mygyn

You woke up to find Jake with one hand on your tummy and another one flipping the pages on a book. His voice carried you gently into reality, mixing in with the birds chirping outside and the music he turned on whenever he went downstairs to make himself a cup of coffee in the mornings. It all made you very reluctant to stir, especially when you recognised the text he was reading

“Who told you all that stuff about the White Witch?” he asked.

“Mr Tumnus, the Faun,” said Lucy.

“You can’t always believe what Fauns say,” said Edmund, trying to sound as if he knew far more about them than Lucy.

“Who said so?” asked Lucy.

“Everyone knows it,” said Edmund; “Ask anybody you like. But it’s pretty poor sport standing here in the snow. Let’s go home.”

“Yes, let’s,” said Lucy. “Oh, Edmund, I am glad you’ve got in too. The others will have to believe in Narnia now that both of us have been there. What fun it will be!”

But Edmund secretly thought that it would not be as good fun for him as for her. He would have to admit that Lucy had been right, before all the others, and he felt sure the others would all be on the side of the Fauns and the Animals, but he was already more than half on the side of the Witch. He did not know what he would say, or how he would keep his secret once they were all talking about Narnia.

By this time they had walked a good way. Then suddenly they felt coats around them instead of branches and the next moment they were both standing outside the wardrobe in the empty room.

“I say,” said Lucy, “You look awful, Edmund. Don’t you feel well?”

“I’m all right,” said Edmund, but this was not true. He was feeling very sick.

“Come on, then,” said Lucy, “let’s find the others. What a lot we shall have to tell them. And what a lot of adventures we shall have now that we’re all in it together.”

He finished his sentence then leaned in and placed a tender kiss upon your stomach. Six months of pregnancy had made your stomach swell into a half moon, the evidence of your growing family now undeniable.

“How about we wake up Mommy now?” he whispered to your bump as you felt him run his hand along your side and up over the top.

As his hand trailed upwards, Jake lightened his touch, tickling you as he went. You let out a giggle.

“Good morning honey,” he said, shuffling up the bed so he could spoon you properly, “How is my beautiful wife doing today?” he asked, kissing down your shoulder and towards the crook of your neck, his fingers still working on tickling you. You curled up, trying to escape him but he wouldn’t let you.

“We need to get up,” Jake said.

“You’re mean to me,” you replied, finally doing what he wanted and shuffling yourself close enough to the edge of the bed so that you could roll yourself off of it.

“You love me though,” he replied smugly, taking your place in the bed and curling up in the covers, smiling contently at the warmth you had left behind.

“If you damage my book, I will be very mad,” you laughed, seeing the pink edge of the first instalment in the Narnia book series peek through the covers where he had abandoned it. Jake fished it out, putting it down on your night stand before closing his eyes and nuzzling into your pillow.

“Oh, does that mean I’ll have to shower by myself?” you asked, “It’s dangerous, you know… I could slip. I could hurt myself… I could hurt the baby…” you said, slowly inching closer to the ensuite’s door.

“You can’t use the baby to get me to shower with you,” Jake groaned, throwing off the covers and stepping out of bed too, a mischievous smile on his face.

You went into the bathroom, going through your preshower routine of using the bathroom, washing your face, and brushing your teeth before running a brush through your hair and turning on the shower. As the water heated up, you undressed slowly, looking at your changing body in the mirror.

You couldn’t help but be a little disappointed in what you saw. While you knew that you were pregnant, and that yes your stomach was going to get bigger, you still found that the sight of your growing belly made you feel more fat than pregnant. For someone who was only six months along, even your doctor said that you were a little more pregnant than usual for this timing, but that there was nothing wrong with the baby.

You huffed out a sigh, your fingers trailing over the stretch marks that your growing body was leaving behind. Continuing to nitpick yourself in the mirror, you jumped when the door was pushed open behind you. Jake stopped when he saw you, his eyes roving over your naked body before coming to settle on your face, his eyebrows furrowing when he saw the look on your face.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling alright?” he asked, obviously worried as to why you looked so concerned and disappointed.

Letting out a small sigh, you took one last look in the mirror before turning back to the shower to adjust the water temperature, steam now billowing over the curtain, “Nothing’s wrong, I’m just not feeling myself.”

“What do you mean?” he tried again, coming up behind you and reaching past you to turn off the water, the bathroom now humid and silent.

You felt Jake’s hands trace over your stomach again, his fingers gently brushing the ridged skin of your stretch marks, “I’m just so….fat.”

Jake stiffened behind you and you were sure that had he not known you were being serious he would have laughed at your comment, “Darlin’, you’re not fat. You’re growing a life inside of you. Our little beanie. You might be…bigger than you usually are but you aren’t fat.”

“Even you think so,” you said, pulling away from his gentle grip, your hand coming up to brush the tear that you felt sliding down your cheek. You made to wrap yourself in a towel, trying to hide your changing body from both of your sight.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Jake said, coming towards you and taking the towel in his hands, “You might be…curvier than usual, but that just means there is more of you for me to love.”

You let out a watery laugh at his attempt to make you feel better, “Sure, I think you shouldn’t ever get captured by the enemy Lieutenant Commander Seresin.”

“And why is that?” Jake asked, “Besides the fact that you love me dearly and can’t live without me?”

“Because you, Jacob, are a terrible liar,” you said, bursts of laughter now coming out of your mouth.

Jake looked at you with mock indignation, “I am an excellent liar, this whole time you have thought that I didn’t like peas, but they’re my favourite. I only pretended not to like them because I know you do.”

“That’s bullshit!” you yelled at him, a smile on your face, “I haven’t ever seen you eat a pea and the times you have tired them the faces you pull make me think you’re going to be sick.”

“Alright, that might be bullshit,” he conceded, now pulling you into a hug, “But me loving all of you isn’t. And I do, love all of you, all the time.”

You sighed, pressing your face into his chest and closing your eyes. Jake hummed a soft melody, one you were certain you had heard before but couldn’t remember. As you relaxed into his embrace further, you felt his hands on your back, and when you opened your eyes, you could see him looking at you through the vanity mirror.

“Are you sure there aren’t two in there?” he asked, a smile on his face.

“I sure as hell hope not, if so they are going to have to share the crib, at least until I can get you and Bob to assemble another one,” you joked, pulling away from him to turn the shower back on, one hand resting on your back.

There was some rustling behind you and as you climbed in, Jake joined you, his hands set low on your hips as the two of you stood under the hot spray. You felt his hands move down your stomach, both cupping the underside of your belly before he asked, “Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?” you questioned, leaning back against him. You felt him let out a small sigh before saying, “This.”

Suddenly, the weight hanging off of your front was relieved, Jake’s hands lifting your belly gently to support the baby inside you.

“That feels so good,” you said, relaxing further into him, “You are a large man, and this is a big baby.”

Jake laughed behind you, “Are you calling me fat now?”

The two of you burst into laughter, and after a few more minutes of quiet conversation, Jake carefully put your pregnant belly back down and helped you finish up in the shower. The two of you enjoyed a rare, lazy Saturday morning at home before getting ready for Peter’s afternoon football game.

----

Jake parked the truck in the first spot he found in the high school parking lot. He grabbed his sunglasses from the dashboard before fixing you with a pointed glare as you reached for the door handle. Once you let your hand drop back to your lap a small laugh escaping you, he got out and came around to your side, helping you out of the truck.

“I’m not an invalid, Jake,” you chastised him as he basically lifted out of the passenger’s seat.

He huffed as he put you down carefully, “I know that, I just don’t want you or the baby to get hurt.”

“We are going to be just fine, okay?” you reassured him.

“I know, I just worry sometimes,” he said, pressing his lips to your forehead in a quick kiss. You gave him a smile and followed him around to the back of the truck where he pulled out a small cooler and a few seat cushions for the two of you. Manoeuvring it all to one hand, he slammed the bed closed before taking your hand in his free one.

“Do you think they’ll win today?” you asked him, looking up at the side of his handsome face.

“I’m not sure, Cyclone said that they had been practising defensive drills, but their rivals are quite good,” Jake explained, “I’d bet that if they don’t win, they’ll only lose by a small amount.”

Once you were inside the gates to the field, you let Jake lead you up the stairs to where Elizabeth and the girls were waiting. Bob and Maria sat just behind them on the next row, saving room for you and Jake beside them. Seeing as how the two of you seemed to always be running late now, Maria had offered to save you seats when Bob picked her up that morning.

Due to the wedding planning being easier to complete in person, Maria had temporarily moved in with the two of you. She was a great house guest, and you couldn’t be happier to have another woman so close to help you pick out outfits and help with some of the chores. Jake did what he could, but with him preparing to be deployed again soon, things on base were taking more of his time than he would have liked.

You had noticed that she would disappear into the nursery from time to time, but she and Jake both made you swear that you wouldn’t go in the room until something was done. You hated surprises, preferring to be involved in most decisions and ideas, but no matter how much you nagged the two of them, neither one had broken from your interrogations yet.

Jake let you hold his forearm as you made your way up the steps to where Bob and Maria were sitting.

“Hey there momma,” Elizabeth called, “How are you feeling today?”

“Quite large, but good at the moment,” you replied with a small smile, “How are you and the girls? Dad and Matt down on the field with Peter?”

Peter was a Sophomore and just secured a starting spot on the varsity team. Even thought Cyclone was busy on base, he had tried to make sure he could at least be an assistant coach on the team, wanting to be involved in something with his son. Matthew was helping with the team, he was still in middle school, but would be moving into high school next year, and he wanted a chance to join his brother as soon as he could get it.

“Yeah, they’re in for a rough game today, but I’m hoping they’ll pull through,” Lizzie said, taking your hand as you settled on to your cushion on the bleachers.

“That’s good, Jake said that dad’s been having them work on defence drills?” you asked her, knowing she might know a little more about the topic.

Lizzie laughed, “You’d be surprised, he even took a page out of Mav’s book, making the entire defensive line play ‘Dogfight Football’. He said that by the end they were actually pretty good!”

Bob and Jake both laughed at that, “Don’t let Mav know the Admiral liked some of his training methods,” Bob said, “It might go to his head.”

Jake chimed in, “It’s not like his head could get any bigger. He’s a great pilot and the problem is that he knows it.”

“You can’t talk mister,” you said, pointing a teasing finger at your husband, “You are just as cocky and ego driven as him.”

Maria burst out laughing at that, “Jake, I’m glad you found the only woman in the country who can call you on your crap. The Lord knows that of all people, you could benefit from some humbling.”

A small frown overtook his face as he opened the cooler, pulling out a bottle of water, but you didn’t let it stay there long as you quickly pressed a kiss to his cheek. Leaning over, you whispered into his ear, “Don’t worry love, I like it when you’re cocky,” you pulled back from him with a wink and he choked on the sip of water he had been in the middle of taking.

Bob reached over and gave him a slap on the back, “You good man?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Jake said, looking at you with dark eyes. At that moment the announcer came over the PA.

“Would everyone please rise, and remove your hats for our national anthem,” he requested before the speakers crackled with the sound of a prerecorded band, the brassy notes of the trumpets giving you chills.

Once the last notes of the anthem had faded from the field and stands, the coin toss took place, Peter’s team winning and choosing to receive the ball first this half. The teams lined up and, with the kick, the game was underway.

The first half of the game was gruelling, and there were several tackles that caused you to wince. At the half, Peter’s team was down by three points, all they needed was a touchdown to take the lead.

The second half did not go much better than the first, and at the end of the fourth quarter with only two minutes left on the clock, Peter’s team was down by ten points.

“There’s no way they can make that up,” Bob said, looking rather disappointed about the fact that Peter’s team was going to lose.

“Hey now, they still have two minutes!” Jake said, gesturing back to the field.

Maria let out a laugh, “Jake, this isn’t your Texas dream team, with how hard they have been fighting all game, I doubt they’ll get the touchdown and the extra field goal.”

You sat watching in silence, it was obvious that the coaches were frustrated. Their players just didn’t have the stamina to compete with the other team and it was going to cost them the game.

As the two minutes counted down, most of the student section started to clear out of the stands. By the time the clock hit zero, the only people left were the player’s families.

As the stands started to empty out with the end of the game, you and Jake stood, collecting your seat cushions and the cooler before making your way carefully down the stairs. Jake stood beside you, holding you hand the whole way in case you were to slip.

You parted ways from Bob and Maria in the parking lot and Jake drove to Beau and Lizzie’s house for family dinner. He and the boys wouldn’t be home for a little longer, but that gave the rest of you time to prepare dinner and get ready to cheer them up once they were home.

When they arrived, everyone met them in the driveway, doing their best to make them feel better about the loss.

“I forgot how much fun High School football was!” Maria said, walking into the living room of Cyclone’s house, “Even if you lost,” she added, squeezing the boys’ shoulders sympathetically.

Football games for the Simpsons were a whole affair. It started with the game after which they would come back home and have dinner, which you usually helped with, then the men would retreat to the sofa for the weekly Mario Kart Championship Matthew had insisted they instated after Bob brought his console to youth group. Once the games were done and the winner emerged, dessert would be brought out. The girls would be put to bed, and the boys would often go back to the console to play something else, leaving the adults to wash down the food with a glass of whiskey, coffee or, for you, a nice cup of water which you were none too happy about. After another few hours of good conversation and better company, you would all leave to find your beds and sleep the night off, ready for an early morning for church.

If Maria thought the football match had been fun, you wonder how she would qualify the rest of the evening. In your opinion, the game was the boring bit.

“Did you often go?” Elisabeth asked.

“We had to, Jake, Gio and Tony were all big football players. I never fully appreciated it though, we had to cheer so I was always too nervous about messing up my part of it,” she explained.

“Yeah, Maria used to have awful stage fright,” Jake agreed.

“I got over it though, but walking the stage at my graduation was my own personal hell,” she said.

“What did you study?” Cyclone asked.

“I studied medicine but I dropped out to study English literature. I want to get my teaching cert after the wedding and hopefully teach high schools,” she replied.

“Oh that’s wonderful, I used to teach! Kindergarten though… That’s how I met Y/n,” Elisabeth said, cupping one side of your face with her hand as she said your name. She smiled, “You were a goddamned nightmare those first few weeks,” she added.

“I was not! I was a delight!” you replied, terribly offended at the accusation.

“You were,” Elisabeth agreed, “I was only joking. Y/n was pretty nice, I liked her dad better though,” she said, shooting Beau a wink.

“Eww, mom,” Matthew said, “Eww eww eww!”

“Yeah, you guys are disgusting,” Peter agreed.

“Alright well, if you guys want to eat, I’ll go be disgusting in the kitchen. Pete, Matt, set the table please. Beau, could you do bathtime?” Elisabeth said as soon as she had removed her shoes and stepped into the living room. Her boys immediately set off to do as they were told, Beau having significantly more difficulties herding the triplets towards the bathroom.

“What can we do?” Maria asked, pointing at her, Bob and Jake.

“Just sit yourself down and look cute,” Lizzie replied, “Jake, you’re on drinks duty.”

“Yes ma’am,” Jake agreed, marching off to the drinks cupboard.

Lizzie turned to you and beckoned for you to follow her with a nod of her head but you had already started walking into the kitchen, pulling ingredients out of the fridge as you passed it. With an approving smile, Elisabeth set about placing a skillet on the cooker to fry off an onion, and after a minute, some ground beef. She let it cook til it browned, in the meantime you prepared the spices in a small cup and opened a can of beans. She added those, plus some hot water and let it reduce.

You pulled out a chopping board and cut up a tomato, some jalapeno, and some onion, which you threw into a bowl with a squeeze of lime, some cilantro and a little salt. Elisabeth gave it a stir before opening bags of doritos and emptying them onto a large tray. To build the nachos, you layered everything you had previously cooked and sprinkled generously with some sharp cheddar. You placed it into the oven until the cheese melted, by the time it was ready, everyone had convened around the dining room table.

Dinner was inhaled in less time than it took to make it and before you knew it, it was time to move onto the next part of your usual Saturday night routine. Mario Kart was booted up and Jake and Beau found their usual dent in the couch. Bob decided to sit out the first round. Secret sore loser, Bob had been having a terrible losing streak as of late. Beau won the first race, but Jake, as usual, came out the reigning winner of the evening. With that disappointment, the triplets went to bed and the boys sulked back to their seats at the table.

With Beau’s help, Lizzie brought out the cake you had delivered to the house earlier in the day. Admittedly, you had absolutely outdone yourself but the reactions around the table were worth it. The chocolate tray cake had taken you all of twenty minutes to make but the decoration had taken you the better part of an afternoon. You had covered it in a thin layer of green icing and then piped on tiny individual blades of grass with the help of a specialty piping tip. You had also piped the field markings in white and added cookie football players, as well as a cookie football and a cookie trophy, which Lizzie was quick to hide from the boys.

As predicted, after the boys ate their cake, they went to boot up the console again, leaving the adults by themselves.

“So, how happy are you to be almost through?” Lizzie asked, nodding towards your belly

“It’s not actually that bad,” you replied, “I kinda like it actually. I mean, I won’t lie, I would love not to feel like a whale whenever I look in the mirror, but we can’t have everything, right?” you joked, hoping Elisabeth wouldn’t understand the truth behind your statement but wanting to get it off your chest all the same. Underneath the table, Jake’s hand moved to rest on your thigh.

“Good. I’m happy you enjoy it,” Maria said, “I see so many people complaining about being pregnant, I was starting to think it was a miserable experience,” she admitted

“It varies. My first pregnancy was a nightmare, but my second was quite nice. Then again, Matthew never kicked all that much,” Elisabeth said with a shrug before downing her whiskey, “Nice or not nice, you’ll be glad when they’re out,” she added.

“I know, I can’t wait! I can’t wait to hold them and hug them and kiss their little head,” you said with a little pout.

“Not long now,” Jake chuckled, giving your leg a squeeze.

“Try to enjoy those next few months. You can’t spend it all wishing for the next bit, otherwise you’ll wake up one day and your kids will have left for college,” Beau said with a frown, “ I wish I had taken more time to be present… I feel like I’ve missed so much of their lives. It feels like I’ve blinked and suddenly I’m an old man,” he added.

“Beau you’re fifty,” Elisabeth said, “Don’t be so dramatic.”

“I’m dying Lizzie. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! The Lord is welcoming me home!” he exclaimed, dramatically reaching out in front of him at something no one else could see, before flopping back onto his chair, his head turned towards his wife with his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Lizzie rolled her eyes with a smile while the rest of you laughed.

“I mean it though,” Cyclone said, sitting up straight and growing serious again as laughter died down, “Try to be present, especially because you’ll be away so much. I know how much you’ve looked forward to being parents, it would be a shame if you didn’t get to experience much.”

“Flying won’t be too much of a problem for me,” you said, “I won’t be renewing my contract.”

“Aww,” Bob said, sounding disappointed, “You’re abandoning me with this menace?!” he asked, pointing at Jake over Maria’s shoulder, “Traitor.”

“Nope,” Jake replied, “I’m being moved to a different team,” he added.

“What?” you asked, confused at Jake’s sudden dropping of the information.

Jake shot you an apologetic look, “I’m sorry. Warlock called before the game, I didn’t have time to tell you.”

Beau nodded, “Direct orders from Fleet Admiral Huntington, I’m afraid. They came through yesterday, I wasn’t at liberty to tell you before the paperwork was processed. Good job, Jake. She’s a hard woman to impress,” he said, raising his coffee cup into the air as if to say ‘cheers’.

“That’s amazing!” Bob said, patting his buddy on the shoulder, “Sad to see you go though, we’ll all miss you.”

“Sure,” Jake said with pretend scepticism, “I bet you’re already sending out the party invites to celebrate my departure,” he joked and Bob pretended to look shocked.

“Meeeeeeee?” he said, bringing a hand up to his chest to point at himself, “I would never! I’m a nice boy, I don’t do that kind of thing,” he added with a shit eating grin, “I’ll get Rooster to do it for me.”

You yawned, “I think we should go home,” you told Jake and he nodded, looking at Maria to see what she thought only to see her struggling to keep her eyes open,.

“Yeah, let’s go home before I have to carry her to her bed. She’s heavy,” he said.

“You’re an ass,” Maria mumbled.

“I meant heavier than you were as a kid, you idiot,” Jake replied.

Lizzie stuck out a hand and Jake, trained by years of his mother doing the same, took out his wallet and paid up the fine. Elisabeth carried his twenty dollar note to a glass vase she had repurposed as an argument jar and shoved it in, compacting the contents of the already full container a little more.

“Who’s winning?” Bob asked and Elisabeth raised an eyebrow, “Right, sorry, stupid question,” he replied.

“House always wins Bobby,” she said, shooting him a mischievous wink.

----

Jake had known the new team for about a week now but his opinion was still mitigated. Still, you thought it was important he got to know them and built a friendly relationship with them. They would never replace the dagger squad, but they would be keeping your husband safe.

“They’re okay,” he said before the guests arrived as you rushed about the kitchen preparing the last bits for the barbeque.

“Just okay?” you asked, looking at him, concern written all over your face.

“I’ll be safe,” Jake laughed, “You know me, I’ll always come back to you baby. Even if I have to crawl through deserts or swim through oceans. You ain’t getting rid of me this easy,” he winked but his words were serious.

He knew how much this worried you. Between the baby and the nightmares, you had barely had a moment’s sleep in the past week. He had caught you stress cleaning a few times, and after the third time, he’d gone out and switched out all the chemical cleaners for natural ones. If you had noticed, you hadn’t mentioned anything to him.

“You better,” you warned, unable to finish the joke you had wanted to say due to the wobble in your voice “Because if you don’t…”

Your chin trembled, your lower lip shook and tears welled up in your eyes. Jake crossed the distance between the two of you in two large steps, dropping the vacuum cleaner against the nearest wall to engulf you into a hug.

“I won’t leave my best girl hanging,” he mumbled against your hair, “Not now, not ever.”

“Okay,” you said, backing away a little, “I need to fix my makeup before they arrive,” you gasped, your eyes suddenly landing on the clock, jolting you out of the moment. Jake chuckled as you flew up the stairs to the bedroom. You removed the mascara from your tear-stained cheeks and applied a new coat, touching up your lipstick at the same time. As it touched your lips, the tip broke off, landing straight onto your white dress.

Pregnancy was making you emotional. Screaming and snapping hadn’t been a problem, but the amazon commercial with the child reading to the pig had gotten to you yesterday and you still hadn’t recovered, Jake leaving, the mission and the lack of sleep weren’t making things any better and the recurring nightmare of his plane falling out of the sky and a military funeral that you had been suffering from every time you closed your eyes was making you cry at the drop of a hat. Funny, then, that it was the lipstick that made you have a breakdown.

“Y/n, are you okay? I heard a w --” Maria said, walking into your bedroom to find you sobbing in front of the vanity, “Oh honey, is everything okay?”

“I dropped lipstick on my dress,” you sobbed.

She paused, looking over the front of your shirt until she found the pink stain of colour on the otherwise flawless surface of the garment, “That’s not too bad, you can change, right?”

You shook your head, “It’s the only thing that fits, I haven’t had time to buy new clothes and now, I’ll have to go in this stained shirt and --”

“Sweetheart, they’re not due to arrive for what, another five hours? We can go out and get you something to wear,” she said, gripping your hands in her own and squeezing them gently.

“We can’t leave Jake to set up by himself,” you sniffle out.

Maria shrugged, “Why not? He’s a big boy,” she replied, “Y/n, how can you trust him to take care of the children if you don’t trust him to set up for a barbeque with his teammates…” she added when she saw your dubious look.

“It was my idea,” you protest but they fall on deaf ears, especially since your words and your behaviours are giving off wildly different signals. You stood up, taking the cardigan Maria was holding out for you before following her out of the door. You paused by the mirror where you checked your mascara.

“You going out for something?” Jake asked, smiling at you slightly in an adorably confused way.

“We’re going shopping for clothes,” Maria replied for you, clearly afraid you might start tearing up again, and in all fairness, you were close enough that the threat was real, “Y/n has a stain on the only shirt that fits,” she explained.

Jake nodded, getting his wallet from his back pocket and handing you his credit card. While the account is now joint, the bank had been difficult about sending another card. Jake had been on the phone with them all week and despite their promises of sending one in the mail, it had yet to arrive, so you were stuck using Jake’s card for now. Not that you minded, he had recently renewed it and gone for those personalised cards. The picture on the front was one of your wedding pictures, an adorably candid one the photographer had taken when cake had been served. The two of you had managed to steal yourselves from the crowd for a moment, finally invisible enough to enjoy your big day without being disturbed. The photograph captured the intimacy of the moment, the two of you huddled together in a corner, holding up your plates and feeding one another a spoonful of dessert, quietly talking and catching up.

“Can I ask that you get something for you to drink too? I looked in the garage and we won’t have enough soda to last the evening,” he said, “I’ll text you so you don’t forget,” he added, taking out his phone and texting you the reminder. You felt your phone buzz in your pocket a second later.

Jakey <3: Don’t forget soda. I love you, you look nice :)

“Love you too,” you replied and Jake frowned looking at his phone.

Jakey <3: You look nice.

“I really don’t, I’m a mess,” you sent back and his frown deepened.

Jakey <3: You’re not being nice to my wife :(

“I’ll look nice after we go shopping,” you replied, hoping retail therapy would make you feel better.

“Okay, go. I may need the both of you to help with carrying out the sides,” he said, ruffling up Maria’s hair to annoy her and kissing the top of your head, “I love you,” he told you.

“Okay that’s so rude,” Maria said, looking offended, “You’re so mean.”

Jake stuck out his tongue at her and she looked at you with her mouth wide open.

“I’m your sister, tell me you love me,” she demanded.

“I love you,” Jake replied, looking you straight in the eyes and ignoring her altogether. She hit his arm with the nearest thing to her which, luckily for him, turned out to be your stetson, “Okay! Okay! Maria,” he said, making a dramatic pause, “you’re a bitch,” he whispered, running off into the living room before she could do anything else.

“Y/n, are you sure you don’t have a kid already?” she asked as you unlocked the front door and stepped out into the cool autumnal air, your mood a little lifted by the bickering and the flannel leaves littering the sidewalks of your quiet suburban neighbourhood.

Maria drove you to the mall in her car, a mini like yours that she had bought with Bob a few weeks ago. She was still technically living in Texas but she had been a near constant occupant of your spare room for the past few months, only going home for some weekends. They had found a house and the keys had finally been given, but with a few months to spare before the big day, Maria and Bob still needed to do a lot before the house would be ready for move in day.

Bob was doing most of it himself, only leaving the plumbing and the electrics to a professional. Maria was taking care of the painting and Jake was helping out with the garden. Having lived on a farm for most of his life had made him pretty handy with a chainsaw, which was apparently the only thing that worked against the jungle of weeds and trees taking over their backyard. You had been asked to provide refreshments, a role you were more than happy with considering how sore everyone else always was the following mornings.

When you walked into the mall, you immediately searched the directory for anything that sounded like it could be a maternity store or one that would have a maternity section. Starting with Macy’s you slowly worked through first the department story then moved on to more of the boutiques littered through the mall.

Things had been going well, and it was amazing how much better you felt about yourself when the clothes you were putting on actually fit.

“Are you feeling better momma?” Maria asked, the two of you sitting surrounded by shopping bags in the food court munching on some french fries from McDonald’s.

You let out a happy sigh, “Much better.”

One of the boutiques you went to even let you wear the outfit you had picked out of the store, the clothes you had shown up in were now folded neatly in the bag they had given you.

“Good! Jake isn’t going to be able to keep his eyes off you now,” Maria said, a smile on her face as she ate another fry, “Honestly, I’m surprised he hasn’t forced you to do this yet.”

“He’s been trying to get me to go shopping, I just don’t like spending money on myself, I feel like there are other things it could go towards that would benefit us. Besides, it’s not like I really need anything,” you answered.

Maria nodded, “That can be hard, but sometimes it’s good to do things for yourself, you know?”

Giving her a smile, you answered, “Yes. Maybe you and I should plan something like once every few months we can just go out for the day. Maybe shop, maybe get our nails done, just do something for ourselves, but together?”

“That sounds wonderful,” Maria said, “I love it.”

Checking your watch, you let out a small sigh, “I think it’s time for us to head back, wouldn’t want to leave Jake to cook by himself.”

“Can we stop by Starbucks before we head back?” Maria asked, giving you her signature puppy dog eyes. You let out a heavy sigh and pretended to give in, knowing very well that you had been desperate for a cake pop since you last had one three days ago.

The ride home was quick, the drive through line at Starbucks being the longest part. When you walked in the front door, Jake met you there, and his eyes widened upon seeing all of the shopping bags you had with you.

“Did you have fun?” he asked, taking them from you.

You gave him a bright smile, “Yes, we had a great time! We even brought you some Starbucks,” you answered, presenting him with a cup.

“After all the hard work I’ve been doing, I’m going to need it,” he said, winking at you before moving towards the stairs to take your bags up, “I did everything you had on your list except the sides, I didn’t know what you wanted exactly and since you don’t write the recipes down…,” Jake said reproachfully.

He had been trying to get you to ease up on the chores too, but your pride wouldn’t let you. You liked cleaning, and cooking. It put your mind at ease to start with something and see a noticeable difference by the end of it. It also helped your nesting instinct, and while you had agreed to letting Jake take care of the baby’s room, it was bothering you more than you thought. Not because you didn’t know what was happening but because you so desperately wanted to make everything nice and perfect for your Beanie’s imminent arrival.

“That’s alright,” you called up the stairs after him, “Maria and I can take care of it!”

After Maria ran her own bags upstairs, as the two of you hadn’t just gone into maternity stores, she joined you in the kitchen. After turning on your favourite Spotify playlist, you danced around the kitchen, singing with Maria as the two of you knocked out the sides. She made the mac and cheese, while you prepared the baked beans. Eventually Jake joined the two of you in the kitchen, taking a seat at the island and watching as you made your way through dish after dish. Bob knocked on the door not too long after, stealing a kiss from Maria before helping Jake load up the coolers up with ice.

By the time the sun began descending on the horizon the two men had started up the grill and by the time the first guest arrived, the coals were hot enough to start cooking. The first member of the team waltzed in as Maria was setting the table in the garden. She was a fearsome looking woman, tall and built like a mountain, she seemed like a force to be reckoned with. She towered over you by a foot and you bit back a laugh when she introduced herself with her callsign.

“My callsign’s Tiny, but my real name is Holly. Nice to meet you,” she said, holding out a hand which you shook after wiping your hands down your apron.

“Dove, but the name’s Y/n,” you replied.

“Oh! You never told us your wife was a pilot,” she called to Jake who appeared behind her in the kitchen

“No, you just don’t listen when I talk,” he bit back with a grin, they clearly got on famously, making you feel heaps better about the new team already.

The doorbell rang again. Tiny moved to the garden where Bob handed her a beer and as you finished decorating the desert, you heard multiple voices speak in the foyer. You moved to go greet the pilots that had entered your home, wiping some of the icing from your hand on to your apron, when you heard it.

“Man, look at all this shit. I hope Seresin isn’t one of those ‘pregnant and barefoot’ types,” a young man’s voice said.

You heard a few awkward laughs, and some half-hearted, “Yeahs,” from whoever was with him before you rounded the corner.

“As a matter of fact, we are, Lieutenant,” you said, a cold smile coming over your face.

You watched a look of horror come over the faces of the two men who weren’t standing right in front of your crucifix and they both gulped audibly at the sight of your swollen stomach.

“Ma’am,” one of them greeted you, his eyes cast to the floor.

Out of pity, you gave him a nod, “And you are?”

“Lieutenant Thompson, ma’am, but everyone calls me Sleepy,” he said.

“Sleepy?” you questioned.

“Yes ma’am, fell asleep one too many times during ATOPS training…” he explained, trailing off towards the end.

“Well it’s nice to meet you, Sleepy,” you said, smiling at him for real now, “Jake’s in the backyard.”

He nodded and walked past you, shooting a glance back at the two other men still standing in your entryway. The one who you assumed had made the rude comment, was blatantly ignoring your presence, still bent over and looking at some of the trinkets and prayer cards you had sitting on the bookshelf.

“And you two are?” you prompted, your voice much colder than it was before.

“Duke and Prince ma’am,” the furthest man answered, “Um..I’m sorry about him,” he said, gesturing to the man you assumed was Prince, “He’s a bit of an ass.”

“That’s quite alright,” you said, not wanting to cause trouble less than five minutes into the party, “Let’s just not let it happen again and I won’t have a reason to tell the Lieutenant Commander,” you finished, a threat in the tone of your voice.

“Yes ma’am,” Duke answered, he opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could, you turned your back on him and made your way back into the kitchen. Behind you, you heard Duke speak again, “You’re so fucking stupid man, that’s his wife, we’re screwed.”

Holding in your laugh, you picked up the piping bag and continued icing the cake Maria had helped you make. Prince strutted through the kitchen and into the backyard without saying a word to you, but Duke stopped, standing at the island for a moment, “I’m sorry again. Um. Is there anything I can do to help? Do you need anything brought out or..?” he asked, you could tell he was trying his hardest to be polite.

“Sure, just in the fridge there, will you grab the condiments? I don’t think Jake has had a change to bring them out yet,” you directed, motioning to the fridge with your elbow, your hands preoccupied with the icing.

Duke seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, “Of course, no problem at all,” he said before gathering up the condiments from your fridge and walking outside quickly.

Once he was gone you let out a breath you didn't you were holding, relieved to be alone again. The comment had made you feel funny, you never minded the more traditional kind of relationship you and Jake enjoyed but you had never really been confronted about it. You pushed the thoughts aside for a moment and finished up the cake.

You removed your apron and tossed it in the corridor, doing a little happy dance despite the lingering feelings you felt towards the comment when it landed straight into the dirty laundry basket. By the time you stepped out into the garden, dinner was in full swing. Jake had kept you a plate, filling it with the stuff you liked best while Bob and Maria had piled it high with a scoop of each side. You took it gratefully and shoved a big spoonful of mac and cheese into your mouth.

The phone rang. With Jake busy at the grill, you left your plate by his side and stepped inside to answer it.

“Seresin residence,” you answered.

“Not only was I not invited to the wedding, but now I find out that you’re pregnant?!” your mother screamed into the receiver, “I had to hear it from that little rat Paisley, too! How come she knew?!” she continued.

Paisley had been a very good friend for the past ten years. Distance and time had made the bonds of friendship a little weaker, but you still loved her dearly. You had invited her to the wedding, despite being sure she wouldn’t be able to make it, but she had moved heaven and earth to get to Annapolis and you couldn’t have been happier to see her. Since then you had messaged almost every day, rekindling the friendship your mother had tried so hard to destroy from day one, simply because Paisley’s mother had once been rude to her in High School, an offence she still hadn’t gotten over despite her own reputation as a mean girl.

“I raised you and you tell her before you tell your own mother!” she screeched and you flinched, the sound of her high pitched voice piercing your eardrum. Instead of sending you cowering and apologising like it would have months ago, you suddenly thought of your Beanie and how you would feel if she ever spoke to them like that. It occurred to you that if you ever spoke to them like that, you would very much like someone to knock some sense into you, with a car if necessary. A sudden wave of pure hatred washed over you, it took over all of your cognitive abilities. Something akin to bravery sprung out of the fog of fury,

“I don’t know who you are. My mother’s name is Elisabeth. Have a nice evening,” you said, your voice sweet and friendly, hiding the fact that you were revelling in her strangled gasp. You didn’t stay on the line any longer, fearing that your second of bravery was gone, and you slammed the home phone down on its base, cutting the call. You had almost made your way back out when you turned back towards the phone and added your mother’s number to the blocked list.

“Where’s the wife gone off to?” A familiar voice asked. From where you stood in the kitchen, you could see them but they could not see you.

“Prince,” Duke warned, his eyes darting around the yard.

Prince laughed, “Who am I kidding, she’s probably in the kitchen,” he said with a laugh.

“What the fuck man?” Duke asked him, not laughing at the joke, instead a deep frown forming on his face.

“She’s fat isn’t she?” he asked, ignoring Duke’s outraged look when he stuck his arms out in front of him in a circle and arched his back. His posture made his point, waddling like that, he looked remarkably like a ball. Instinctively, you stood a little straighter, one hand still holding the phone while the other flew to rest on your belly.

Prince just shrugged, “I mean I know she’s pregnant and all but isn’t she a little big?”

“You disgust me,” Duke stated, “She’s growing a person, it’s not her fault the kid’s a little big,” he said.

“I’m just saying the whole ‘eating for two’ thing she had going on is bullshit. She could stand eating a little less,” Prince continued, his voice growing louder the more his friends defended you.

“You’re horrible,” Sleepy mumbled, not quite meeting his eyes.

“Awww, Sleepy’s got a crush?” Prince mocked, “Don’t see why. Seresin’s supposed to be a player, and that’s who he married?”

“She’s pretty,” Sleepy said quietly and Duke nodded in agreement.

“She’s fat,” Prince stated.

“Sorry?” Maria asked. You had been so transfixed by Prince and his teammates that you hadn’t noticed her walk in, “What did you say?”

Duke and Sleepy read the situation correctly but Prince wasn’t catching on.

“I’m just concerned, is all,” he said.

Maria gripped the empty bowl she was carrying with such force that you thought it might shatter. Her face, perfectly still and calm looking, betrayed nothing but her body language was telling everyone willing to understand that if she hadn’t been standing in someone else’s living room, she would have happily kicked Prince directly in the head. Unsure whether she might or not, Duke and Sleepy backed away, leaving enough distance between them and their friend so that if he were to fall, he wouldn’t land on them.

Maria turned around and placed the bowl she was holding on the counter, her eyes widened when she spotted you standing near the phone, hidden by the men outside by the wall separating you.

Turning back to the men on the patio, she walked out towards them. You watched through the window, tears in your eyes, as she defended you.

“I’m concerned too,” Maria said, her eyes flicking towards yours for a moment before continuing, “I’m concerned about your safety and wellbeing if you are dumb enough to say that kind of shit about my brother’s wife in his own house. If he heard what you were just on about, I can say with confidence that not only would you be dead, you’d be good and dead.”

You closed your eyes to the scene outside when Jake stepped up on the patio, obviously heading inside, your plate of food in his hand. His voice interrupted the tense silence that had taken over your backyard, “If I heard what?” he asked, the rest of the chatter dieing down to see what their new commander was on about.

You opened your eyes to see Maria give Jake a sickeningly sweet smile before saying, “Oh Jakey, you’ve just missed the best conversation. This womanising piece of work here thinks he’s God’s gift to Earth. Going on about how fat Y/n is, and how concerned he is for her health and your image.”

You watched as Jake’s face hardened, his gaze turning to Prince, but he paused when he locked eyes with you through the open kitchen window. As realisation spread over his face that you had heard every word the man had said, his eyebrows furrowed before he finally finished turning his attention to the other man.

At that moment, you heard Tiny call out from the yard, “Prince, did you fucking say that? About a pregnant woman? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Jake didn’t seem to hear her. He handed your plate to Maria before taking two steps towards Prince. You watched as the smile dropped from the young pilots face when he realised that your husband was at least a head taller than him, and while Prince was lean muscle, Jake probably had fifty pounds on him.

When he opened his mouth, your stomach sank. He just got on this new team as leader, hopefully this kid wouldn’t cause problems with their superiors, you’d have to tell Beau whatever happened that Jake was defending you.

Jake’s voice was strangely calm, “Prince, get the fuck out of my house.”

The young man scoffed, obviously not smart enough to quit poking the angry bear of a man who was standing in front of him, “What? You not willing to defend your old lady?”

“I’m not the one stupid enough to call Admiral Simpson’s daughter fat, while she could hear you,” the crowd that had gathered around the patio all started searching the house, many of their eyes finding yours and your heart sunk as pity flashed across their faces.

Prince laughed, and Jake’s jaw tightened, “No, you might not be. You were smart enough to fuck her instead. How much of that promotion was nepotism Seresin?”

Jake let out a cold laugh, “I don’t know. Get the fuck out of my house and you can find out on Monday.”

For the first time all night, you were glad to see Prince appear in your kitchen. He looked at you, no regret in his eyes, as he stomped through your house and slammed the front door. A chorus of voices began in the backyard at the same time, “What’s his problem?”, “Is Y/n okay?”, “She’s Simpson’s daughter?”, “What an asshole, why do we keep him again?”.

The one that caught your attention though was Tiny’s, “I don’t know why we keep him around, but if I have anything to do with it, he will be gone by the end of the week.”

“Well, now that’s done, anyone game for dessert?” you said nonchalantly, stepping out into the garden a minute later, holding the cake you had spent so long working on. Everyone was quiet for a moment until you put the cake down and demanded their plates in the same tone of voice as before. The new team took your cheery tone to mean you weren’t taking Prince’s comments to heart but Jake, Bob and Maria weren’t fooled.

You served up the cake, putting a generous slice on all but one plate.

“You’re not having any?” Sleepy asked, pushing your plate towards you.

“Oh,” you laughed, “Pregnancy brain. I swear I forget the most random things,” you said and he smiled, “Speaking of, I forgot the coffee. I’ll be right back,” you turned back towards the house, taking your plate with you.

You practically threw the plate onto the counter and set about making coffee. Once the grounds were in and the cups were stacked onto a tray, you turned your attention back to the cake. A nice three hours had been spent meticulously covering the damn thing in fondant. Another two had been dedicated to airbrushing and painting details, and a further hour had been used to ice the base of the cake, making the whole look like an F-15 on a runway. You had given yourself a lovely chunk of the right wing, you had been so proud of it. Now, it looked like the ugliest thing you had ever seen. You hated it, in fact. You picked up the plate and turned on your heel, crossing the kitchen in a single step. You stepped on the pedal of the bin and went to tip the plate over but a strong hand stopped you before you could go all the way.

“What are you doing?” Jake asked, “Something wrong with the cake?”

“Nothing at all. I’m not sure I’m hungry,” you replied, not meeting his eye, fixing the cake with an icy stare as you watched it slowly slide off the plate

“You’ve barely eaten, are you feeling okay?”

“I promise I’m fine,” you said, trying to keep your voice steady. The cake eventually landed in the trash with a pitiful splat and for a moment you felt sad, not necessarily because you wouldn’t have any cake, but more because one asshole had managed to make you throw hours of hard work into the trash.

“Sweetheart, look at me,” Jake asked. You ignored him, if you looked at Jake now, you were sure you’d simply burst into tears and you would very much like to not end the evening on such a disastrous note, but he wasn’t having any of it. With two fingers underneath your chin, Jake moved your head to look at him. Even then, you tried to evade his gaze, “Honey,” he pleaded, “Please.”

You gave in, “You’re beautiful. You have always been beautiful, and you will always be beautiful. Especially carrying my baby,” Jake said, his voice low and quiet, “Please don’t listen to Prince. He has the maturity of a toddler, and matching flight skills,” he joked, eliciting a small smile from you, “You don’t need to worry about it happening again, my angel, because any man who would disrespect a woman, especially my wife, is not welcome in my house.”

“I’ll always have your back,” He whispered before leaning in for a kiss which you gladly returned. You only broke apart when Bob slid the bay windows open and walked into the living room. Not wanting to be caught making out in your kitchen, it hadn’t been the first time since Maria was living with you that Bob interrupted something. You being pregnant seemed to spur Jake on more than usual, and the poor man had come into rooms without being loud enough to be heard one too many times.

Bob came around the corner, his hand knocking along the wall, “There are people entering your kitchen,” he called out rather loudly. You and Jake both laughed when he appeared with one hand held over his eyes and the other still lightly tapping against the wall.

“Come on man, it was one time,” Jake said, “And you were in my house, it’s not my fault I love my gorgeous wife so much.”

You could feel a blush burning over your cheeks as you watched Bob shiver, “I should charge you two for the therapy I’m going to need to remove those images from my mind.”

With how the evening had gone, Bob’s comments were a welcome relief and you bursted out laughing, both men looking at you with genuine smiles and escorting you back outside. Your dinner was now cold but Jake heated it up and you were happy to enjoy the mac and cheese Maria had worked so hard on.

The group of pilots stayed a while longer, their conversation turning more friendly the longer the night went on. By the time they left, you and Maria had managed to wash the dishes and Jake and Bob cleaned up the yard.

You bid Maria a goodnight, wandering up to your room to change into one of the new maternity nightgowns you bought as well as brush your teeth and wash your face. A few minutes into your routine, you heard Jake come into the room, closing the door behind him quietly. As you spread your moisturiser over your cheeks, he popped his head into the bathroom.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi!” you said back, a small smile on your face, “What’s up? Do you need in here? I’m almost done.”

“No I just -- I didn’t get the chance earlier but I just wanted to apologise,” Jake said, leaning against the door frame with a strange look on his face. You raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate.

“I used to be a lot like Prince,” he added.

“I don’t believe you. You wouldn’t have said those things,” you said, no doubt in your mind that Jake was better than that.

“No,” he admitted, “But I know him. I’ve seen how he is around people. He’s cocky and self important. He’s a player, he doesn’t stop chasing pleasure for long enough to realise he’s using actual human beings. I used to be like that. I regret it so much…” he said, looking intently at the ground, as if afraid to meet your eyes.

“Why are you apologising to me?” you asked, genuinely confused.

Jake sighed, “Because I wish I’d been a better man. I wish you’d never met me like that.”

“Jake, it’s fine,” you said, your eyebrows furrowed, confused as to where this was all coming from.

“It’s not though. I lied to myself for so long and I made such a horrible impression on you. I made us lose so much time,” he said, his smile wobbling ever so slightly, “I convinced myself I didn’t want to settle down because I didn’t think I’d find anyone who’d love me and then when I first met you, I figured a girl like you wouldn’t want to be with a guy like me, so what was the point of even trying. I knew you wanted something stable, something long term. I didn’t think I could give you that, but I still wanted your attention so I was mean and crass and… I’m not proud of that either,”

“Honey,” you breathed, crossing the distance between the two of you so you could cup his face in your hands and rest your forehead against his “Who told you that? Who made you feel like that?” you asked.

“Stacey Callahan,” he replied.

You had heard of her before, though never in great detail. Jake was never keen to discuss the topic and only let out snippets here and there. You never wanted to ask, whoever she was, she had clearly done a number on him, and by the way you had heard the girl’s name mentioned by his family, Stacey had done something bad enough that the whole Seresin family had effectively turned against her.

“She really did a number on you, didn’t she?” you asked searching for something to say that wouldn’t betray how truly furious you were about the way she had apparently treated Jake. “I’m sorry she was your first girlfriend,” you added.

“Only,” he replied.

“Sorry?” you asked, pulling away from him to look him in the eye.

“Only girlfriend. Except you,” he clarified, “I never really dated anyone else after her. She -- I just couldn’t trust anyone for a while after her.”

“I’m so sorry Jake,“ you breathed.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore. Please?” he sasked, his request sounding more like a beg. Seeing the pain in his face, you were only too happy to oblige.

“Let’s go to bed,” you said, taking his hand in yours and dragging him to the bed. Jake grabbed the book off his night stand and motioned for you to lie down and get cosy,

“The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, chapter 5: Back on This Side of the Door” Jake read, opening the book to the point he had left it to a few days ago.

“Because the game of hide-and-seek was still going on, it took Edmund and Lucy some time to find the others. But when at last they were all together (which happened in the long room, where the suit of armour was) Lucy burst out:

“Peter! Susan! It’s all true. Edmund has seen it too. There is a country you can get to through to the wardrobe. Edmund and I both got in. We met one another in there, in the woods. Go on, Edmund, tell them about it.”

“What’s this all about, Ed?” said Peter.

And now we come to one of the nastiest things in this story. Up to that moment, Edmund had been feeling sick, and sulky, and annoyed with Lucy for being right, but he hadn’t made up his mind what to do. When Peter suddenly asked him the question, he decided all at once to do the meanest and most spiteful thing he could do. He decided to let Lucy down.”

As Jake read on, even the earth shattering betrayal Edmund had committed could no longer keep you awake. With one of his warm hands resting on your tummy, and Beanie kicking up at it through your skin, you fell asleep, drifting off for the first night of nightmare free slumber you had experienced in days.

----

"Promise you'll be careful," you said, kissing him goodbye one last time. You had spent the past two hours fussing over him, straightening his already straight jacket, wiping invisible crumbs off of his uniform and making him promise to be safe and come home every five minutes.

"For the last time," he laughed, standing in front of you, "I promise."

"You'll call when you can, right?" You asked.

"Baby, stop worrying, please" he smiled, trying to reassure you, "This is going to be easy, it's a quick mission. We go in, we get out and then we're on our way home again," he said, "Easy Peasy, nothing can go wrong," he added, feeling a little like he was tempting fate with his words.

Then, it was time to go. With one last kiss, Jake walked away from you, feeling sicker with every step. He stepped into the carrier and quickly waved goodbye before making his way to his dorm, worried that if he stayed any longer he might just run out of the ship and join you back on shore.

As dorms went, this one was downright luxurious. The room was spacious, the bed was decent and the fluorescent lights were, for the first time in Jake's Naval career, in good working order.

He didn't waste time in making himself at home. Opening his bag onto the bed, Jake removed his spare boots, and his second uniform to avoid wrinkling it and laid them out neatly. Then, he removed his Bible. He went to place it on his nightstand but something fell out. Jake picked up a set of three pictures from underneath his bed, when he saw the image, he felt a blush creep across his face.

The photographs were all of you. You had used the time Jake had spent running to various grocery stores to find his favourite snacks over the previous week to have a little fun.

The first picture was fairly tame, it was a close up selfie, taken in front of your bedroom mirror. You were wearing Jake's button up shirt, your belly poking out, the curve of your swollen breasts just visible in the square frame of the polaroid.

The second and third pictures were another story whatsoever. His eyes roved over the second one in his hand and he gulped. You were kneeling on the bed, your body covered by a sheer nightie that Jake hadn’t seen before. The nightie left nothing to the imagination and the front of it split over your belly, the sheer fabric bunching at the sides to show off the matching set of panties that you were wearing. You were posed with your head tilted back slightly, and your hands in your hair, like the girls in those beer posters that they always had posted in liquor stores.

Before he could let himself carried away he flipped to the last photo, and while he could never regret looking at your beauty, he did regret the hard on it gave him. You had set up the camera to capture you in the shower, your back turned to the spray and the water cascading down the front of your naked body.

Quickly, he tucked the photos back into his bible, not before slipping the one of you in his service khakis into his pocket, patting it twice. That one was going in his plane.

#top gun maverick #top gun #top gun fanfiction #jake hangman seresin #hangman top gun #jake seresin #hangman #hangman fanfiction #hangman fic #hangman imagine #hangman seresin x reader #hangman x you #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake seresin imagine #jake seresin fanfiction #jake seresin fic #jake seresin x reader #jake hangman x reader #bob floyd

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barbiewritesstuff · 2 years

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Church Encounters: Chapter 19

-- Enjoy!

This fic was written in collaboration with @lgg5989 who is posting this on her tumblr and her AO3! She also made the lovely moodboard below!

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