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[Open - Gathering - Baby Shower]

They're actually having a baby shower.

Joel is fairly certain his mother wouldn't have let them get away without something, even if he had insisted it be small and consist only of family, but for some reason he and Spencer have allowed themselves to be talked into a real shower. With invitations and food and little baby themed games to play. It's sort of strange, looking at it from his position, given that Erin is the one who's going to be giving birth and therefore is the one in the glowing pregnant woman position at this entire gathering.

She'd sweetly agreed to attend and had even whispered to Joel that she would take the brunt of the attention if she could manage it. He had whispered back that he knew they had picked her for a good reason.

But here they are. Several weeks have passed, the invitations have gone out and the decorations have been put up all over Joel and Spencer's living room. He had agreed to lift the enchantments on the house for the extent of the party, which means that anyone can open the door to their guests, they don't all have to be invited in by either Joel or Spencer, and it makes him a little nervous, but he understands the usefulness of others being able to answer the door. At least for today.

It's the decorations that keep getting to him. Sweet little ducks and zebras and monkeys, little jungle animals all over the walls. The bottle and rattle shaped cookies are pretty cute, but those aren't going to be left when the baby gets here. The animal theme, though, is fairly close to the nearly finished nursery Joel has been working on upstairs and he can't help but grin at the decorations.

Spencer, on the other hand, can't stop coming back round to the center of the living room to stare at the enormous sign that's been strung up above a table already stacked with gifts when a majority of their guests haven't even arrived yet. He'd been worried this morning that the day would overwhelm him, that knowing so many people would be coming into their home would be daunting when just a year ago, he'd never even once invited company over before meeting Joel; but so far, he feels calm, in spite of having had to watch Joel remove the enchantments that act as their security on the house. If someone wishes to crash a baby shower--which he doesn't imagine will happen anyway--then they'll have to face not only the wrath of a room that will be filled with witches and sirens, but the wrath of his mother- and sister-in-law, as well. That's not a sight Spencer thinks would be very pretty to witness.

Still, he feels light, perhaps a lingering effect of the having the chance to fall in love with Joel a second time during the spell that had taken over the town. Certainly, a great deal of his contentment has to do with the fact that he won't have to worry about losing his husband in a crowd but even beyond that, he's excited.

So much has changed in the course of the past year and weeks from now, they'll be holding their newborn in their arms for the very first time without another care in the world but for who they've been looking forward to meeting since they'd decided to take this journey together. There's something a bit strange about realizing that it's all coming to a head, that the waiting will soon be over and they'll be fathers at last, but when the first knock on the door comes, Spencer can't help but smile.

[Baby shower for Joel and Spencer's wee one. Erin, their surrogate, is present and is currently 31 weeks pregnant. If you're even a little friendly with either of them, Joel's mother sent an invitation, but the enchantments have been taken off the house for the event and so it's not an impossible party to crash. If anyone wants to crash a baby shower...]

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Essie was pretty sure she was sober. She'd at least made the effort to sober up for this because it was supposed to be a happy occasion and she was happy. She adored Joel and Spencer and under any other circumstance she'd be dancing around and singing instead of sitting off to the side, surreptitiously sipping from a flask. It just wasn't fair. She should be able to enjoy this. She needed to enjoy this, to get something good back in her head after what had happened.

With a sigh, she tucked the flask back into her jacket pocket and headed towards the refreshment table for something non-alcoholic. She even tried to smile, although she wasn't sure if she was pulling it off or not.

Spencer hasn't gotten a chance to say hello to Essie yet, though he'd seen her walk in not too long ago. He remembers their brief encounter during the spell, remembers the kindness she'd extended by offering him something for his obvious pain, and he wants to thank her both for that and for attending the baby shower. It isn't often that he and Joel are willing to open their doors to a great deal of people, but Essie would be welcome on any day so it means something to Spencer that she would come.

After checking on Erin to make sure she isn't being overwhelmed with all the attention a pregnant woman would receive at a baby shower, he makes his way over to Essie, though the smile on his face falters when he thinks he sees her putting away something that looks like a flask in her pocket. He hesitates mid-step, unsure of whether it's something that needs to be addressed or not because he does like her, and he does consider her a friend, but he's not so sure that a baby shower is the best place for sneaking a drink.

Still, he supposes it's best not to jump to conclusions. Perhaps he'd merely been imagining things or what she'd put away was something else entirely, so he continues crossing the room and holds up a hand to give her a small wave. "Hi," he greets, coming up beside her by the refreshment table. "Thanks for coming. This is my first baby shower, and I've had absolutely nothing to do with it, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to whether it's a success or not."

"Hey, mine, too! I've never had friends who were having a baby, so I really wouldn't know." Bach was the closest and he just kind of... acquired Isaac. Adorable, sweet-faced and probably confused as hell Isaac. Oh, she wished she could stop thinking about them, but it was like a roma curse, the more you struggle, the worse it gets.

She was going to hold it together so help her God. Of course, that probably meant no more sips, but that was probably a good thing. She just had to get through this and not ruin her friends' day. Happy face. "But everything looks great, just beautiful.

Spencer wrinkles a nose at the realization that he's the first of his small circle of friends to be having a child because really, it just doesn't compute. "This is all very strange," he admits with a laugh, "not that I'm not enjoying every moment of it, I am. I'm excited and terrified all at once but seeing so many people in my living room and knowing that they're here to celebrate the fact that my husband and I are going to have a baby..."

He trails off, shaking his head in awe as he glances at the crowd of people in front of them. "I don't know, I just never would have foreseen this a year ago. It used to be difficult to remember why I ought to get out of bed in the morning and now, every just means we're that much closer to meeting our son or daughter." He looks back at Essie, his smile softening. "Anyway. I don't mean to wax poetic about it, you can feel free to interrupt if I ever get carried away. Enough about me now, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine." And maybe if she kept saying that someday it would be right. Not tonight, but someday. "And I love hearing you talk about being a father, it's... almost inspirational."

Inspirational and a little familiar. After all, during that last little whatever, she'd wanted a baby. Very badly, she'd wanted a baby with her husband who wasn't really her husband. She felt so cheated and used and frustrated and a million other things she couldn't sort out. "This is your day. Do you have the room all set up yet? Can I see it?"

Spencer knows what that's like, to be fine and yet clearly be the opposite, but he also knows that when he's feeling that way, he quite prefers to be left alone with how fine he really is. He still comes dangerously close to pushing the subject, of course, because he cares for Essie and if something is upsetting her, he would want to offer whatever help he can; but with his teeth chewing on his bottom lip and a moment of contemplation, he decides that perhaps it might be better to let his concerns go unmentioned for the time being.

Besides, there's very few things in this world that could possibly lift one's spirits than a tour of a soon-to-be-finished nursery.

"Joel's still putting the finishing touches on it," he says, though he's smiling already at the prospect of showing the room off to a friend. Raleigh had gotten glimpses of it by virtue of the fact that she'd been living here when Joel had gotten started, but nobody but their family has seen it in its state now. "I'm hopeless with anything related to fixing things up so I mostly just watch him work and then show him new things I think we should add, but I'd love to show it to you."

He glances over his shoulder, relieved to see that his mother-in-law is busy doting over Joel with the friends she'd invited, and he chuckles to himself before turning back to Essie and gesturing toward the hall. "Come on, it's upstairs."

"Yay!" She clapped as she followed him towards the stairs, relieved that he hadn't called her on her lies. She just didn't know how to explain the mash-up of feelings she had. She didn't have the words for half of the emotions she felt and she couldn't fully explain it herself, let alone to anyone else.

Especially the part that missed it. The part that dreamed of arms around her as she slept, and a soft voice singing to her from under a window. The part that kept stopping and listening for the sounds of a little boy playing with a dog and feeling crushed when it wasn't there. That was the part that she couldn't understand. She'd never wanted any of that. So far as she was concernned, her part of the Wakewood line could end with her and she would lose no sleep over it.

"I just got you guys some onsies and some baby books, but if there's anything you need that you don't get out of this, let me know. You can also come by my shop, it's down the street from the bookstore. I'm not open yet, but I can set anything you like aside. Antiques and the like."

"One can never be provided with too many books or onesies," Spencer says sagely as he leads her up the stairs. "And I really should come visit your shop, though if you see anything that reminds you of us, I'd be happy to come look at it. I always find it interesting to see what sorts of things make people think of me, it can be very telling."

It doesn't take long to round the corner from the stairs and step into the room beside his and Joel's. He opens the door and grins at the sight that greets him, a nursery practically finished from top to bottom when just months ago, it'd been Raleigh's room and looked completely different. "We decided on a forest theme," he explains, gesturing at the wooden bookshelf Joel had made himself to resemble a tree, as well as the walls that are painted with scenery. "My favorite book is The Hobbit, you see, and we didn't want to force any sort of pre-gendering on the baby before they're born so we thought this was a nice compromise. It's why we've waited to discover the sex until the birth, too."

The birth. It still stuns him to think that there's just over two months left to go, though he'd anticipated this overwhelming sense of nervousness back when they'd first come to an agreement with Erin about the surrogacy. He and Joel have been reminding each other over the months that even though the baby's arrival is still so far away, it'll sneak up on them before they know it; and now they're here, at their own baby shower, and they'd been right all along. In weeks, the baby will be here, and they'll be the happiest two people in Siren Cove.

"I never thought this life would be for me," he admits softly, stepping over to the crib and trailing his finger along the varnished rail. "Love, marriage, parenthood, none of it. Every single step of the way has been one surprise after another, and I've enjoyed it all. Well, almost all. I could have done without the exploding cruise ship and deserted island most of us got stuck with, but I think you managed to dodge that one, didn't you?"

"Yes, I managed to dodge those bullets. Didn't dodge the last one, no-siree." Not in the least. Looking around the room, she could tell that Spencer and Joel had but a lot of effort into it. It was beautiful. It was... everything she would have wanted for a child of her own back in that other place. Where she was the happy homemaker, ready to show off all the humble touches that made a house a home. For a moment she was paralyzed with envy at what Joel and Spencer were doing here. They made it seem so easy to be in love, so effortless and all it was to Essie was a weakness she couldn't afford.

Just because her family's internal feud hadn't followed her here yet, didn't mean it wouldn't. And she wouldn't inflict her family on anyone else if she could help it at all.

"I should show you picture of the house I grew up in. Well, the mansion, really. One of the wings was damaged in a storm before I was even born and instead of rebuliding it, Grandy just sealed off the rest of the house and let the forest have the damaged part. There's plants and even small trees just growing out of the different rooms and around the furniture. Reminds me a bit of this." She made a mental note to find one of the better pictures and get it blown up and framed for them. It might be perfect for the room.

He catches sight of the flask and it isn't that Joel really cares at all, but he's fairly certain if his mother sees it, she's going to have a thing or two to say. Apparently she hasn't seen it yet, so he steps up to Essie when she moves toward the refreshments and stands close to her side, giving her a small smile.

"Hey," he says, his voice soft. The last time he'd spoken to her had been at that ball and their interaction had been a lot different than this. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." She wasn't. She was drinking too much and crying herself to sleep over a guy she'd only casually hooked up with and then was married to for, like, a heartbeat. Why would she not be fine about that.

For a moment, she wasn't sure how much Joel remembered. She hoped it wasn't much. This wasn't exactly the place to get into those kinds of things and she really, really, really didn't want to rain on this day. Not for them. They were happy, they were going to be parents and it didn't matter what she was having nightmares about. "This is totally awesome and I'm glad someone did this because if not, I was totally doing it for you and I know you guys hate the surprises and stuff."

"My mother," he says, waving his hand at the party. "There's no way she would have allowed us to get away without having one, so it seemed to be in everyone's best interest to just agree with her."

He pauses then and looks at Essie, his eyes narrowed slightly. "I don't know if I ever thanked you at the ball," he says. "For talking to me. It's so strange to look back at that and have these memories of... of thinking I was a real prince and that people sometimes genuinely didn't know what to do around me."

"Don't even think about it... please." No really, please don't she wanted too add because she really did not need to remember gushing to the Prince about how happy she was as a wife and mother. It made her feel all kinds of things she wasn't dealing with very well. Fury. Anger. Awkwardness. And the worst feeling was loss. She hated that feeling the most.

"I'm just happy you guys got to be happy in that world, too. You totally rocked the whole thing."

"Yeah, it seems like we were some of the few who got to enjoy themselves," he says, his mouth twisting slightly. Caden isn't his brother, but he still has memories of how angry he had been at April for the way she treated him. It's strange, feeling things for people he might not have concerned himself with otherwise.

And Essie, he thinks, might not be so pleased about it. He doesn't know how she really feels about Bach, but having happiness and then having it taken away is never easy.

"Do you want a glass for whatever is in your flask?" he asks, offering a smile. "The rest of the house is blocked off, but I can take you to the library. That's where Spencer keeps the good stuff."

She shouldn't, but with everyone gabbing about babies and love and futures she was about to burst. That had been her just a little while ago, wanting a baby, living in her happy little completely fake and delusional home. She hated it and missed it and hated missing it.

"I guess maybe I'm the one needing a hiding place tonight. But I should just go, I don't need to take you away from your party."

"Don't be silly," Joel says, because while he's been making friends more and more often, while he feels comfortable around more people than he ever would have thought possible, Essie is special to him. He wouldn't be able to explain it, he only knows she is.

"Come on," he says, touching her elbow and leading her back toward the library. He catches Spencer's gaze for a moment and nods toward Essie, figuring his husband will understand enough to know they just need a moment. Or the whole afternoon. Either way, it'll all be fine. "The library's quiet."

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[Open - Gathering - Baby Shower]

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