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Amber's News

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Amber’s News
By kira
Author’s note: Thanks to my beta, Jen, for looking this over for me and helping me with the ending.

For Kat with love… Happy late bday!




Amber stared at the little stick in her hand. It had the same reading it had had yesterday and the day before that and the day before that and so on. She put her hand on her stomach and sighed. Her girlfriend Greta’s hunch was right; she was pregnant. Now came the hard part; telling her boyfriend Bernhard. She was unsure how he was going to take it, although, she was glad he was in therapy given all his issues, especially since they all centered around his mother, who had passed way when he was very little. If things got too bad, she figured they could always talk about it in couple’s therapy too, the next time they went.

She threw the stick in garbage along with the rest of the pregnancy test, and turning off the light, Amber left the bathroom. Feeling a mix of emotions that ran the gamut from elated to frightened and back again, she crawled back into bed to wait for her boyfriend’s return. She looked at the clock and noted it would be a half hour before came back from mucking out the stable. Tacking on several minutes for him to shower, Amber found she could not wait for Bernd to get here. Despite wanting to talk to him, she felt herself drifting off.

Amber woke with a start when she felt a dip in the bed. “Bernd…?” she murmured sleepily.

“Sorry…” Bernd’s cheeks turned pink like his hair. He yawned and snuggled up next to her.

She cuddled him, instinctively mothering her lost little boy of a boyfriend. Amber breathed deeply; he smelled of shampoo and horsiness, and she smiled. “I have something I want to tell you. You awake, Bernd?” He mumbled something unintelligible in reply to her left breast, where his head was pillowed, and she shook him gently. “Bernd, this is important.”

Grumbling softly, he opened his eyes and stared myopically up at her. “What?” Bernd smiled, although, he felt a sharp pang of fear as he wondered what she wanted. He moved away, his fear of rejection clearly seen in his eyes.

“Bernd…” Amber gently cupped his cheek and he relaxed under her loving touch. “I’m pregnant.” She smiled at him.

“Oh…” His eyes went wide, reminding Amber of a frightened and cornered animal.

Her expression fell as she reined in her hurt and anger at his response. “I tell you I’m pregnant and all you can say is ‘oh’?” Amber frowned.

“No,” he frowned in turn. “It’s not that; it’s just that Vati’s gonna kill me.”

Amber laughed. So that was it… she thought, breathing a mental sigh of relief. “Bernd, it’s not like we’re kids and fooling around like we used to.” She rested her forehead on his as she thought about how lucky they were in that regard. “We’re adults now. You’re twenty four, you have a good job, and you’ve been doing much better with therapy.”

“I know, but you’re pregnant.” He scooted closer to her again and clung to her like he was afraid to let go.

“And it’s not a big deal. We talked about it, remember?”

“Yeah… but I didn’t think it’d happen so quickly.”

Amber chuckled. “Well, to be honest, neither did I, but when I’m in bed with my lil centaur,” she smiled. “I can’t resist riding him.” Amber held him close.

Bernd blushed. He loved her so much it hurt and even though they had had their moments over the years, they were still together. She had also kept him from imploding when his depression got bad, insisting he keep going to therapy, and putting up with his moods while they adjusted his medication. Amber had also played referee between himself and his father, smoothing over their fights, as he struggled to pull himself together. Sharing her with Greta, and on occasion his brother, was a small price to pay in his humble opinion. It had benefits as well, and not only in the bedroom. Greta was just as blunt as his father, and yet, he found himself listening to her instead of fighting with her like he did with his father. Bernd had the feeling he was going to need a lot of support in dealing with impending fatherhood, not only from the women in his life, but from his father and brother as well. He sighed softly. God, I hope I can do this… Oh hell! James is gonna kill me…

“You okay?”

“Yeah… I was just thinking about how I’m gonna tell James.” He looked up at her a worried expression on his face. “He’s not gonna kick my ass, is he?”

Amber laughed. “No, he loves his Prissy too much.” She added, after thinking it over, “Maybe I should tell him.”

“He is gonna kick my ass,” Bernd groaned. Amber’s twin, James, was a lot taller than he was and bulkier too, like Bernd’s younger brother, Dieter. Things were also complicated between them as Bernd had a sexual relationship with both twins, and while he loved them both dearly, Amber had a special place in heart.

She sighed. “He’s not going to kick your ass, Bernd. He might be upset, but he’ll get over it because he loves you and as long as you’re good to me and don’t forget about him, he won’t have a problem with it. Remember when I first moved in officially?”

“Yeah?”

“And James felt left out because he was still living at home?”

“Yeah…”

“Remember all the time you spent with him?”

Bernd smiled. “Yeah.”  His girlfriend had been working to put herself through school and due to her odd hours, Bernd had wound up spending more time with James than in all the years he had known them.

“Just do what you did back then, okay?”

“You want me to fuck James?” Bernd’s smile broadened into a smirk as memories of various sexy fun times came flooding back.

She laughed. “If that’s what it takes, then go for it.”

“And what about Greta? Am I supposed to fuck her too?” he teased.

“Nah… You’d better leave her to me, otherwise she’ll tie you up and forget about you,” she teased back.

Bernd blushed as the memory of that actually happening came back to him. His expression growing more serious, he said, “What about Didi?”

“What about him?”

“My brother’s always been your baby and now you’ve got a real one.”

“Do you remember how you felt when he was born?”

“Not really. Mutti was kinda sick back then and then she…” he trailed off. Bernd felt his eyes welling up with tears. “You’re not gonna…?” He clung to her.

“Bernd, not every woman who has a baby dies,” she said softly as she did her best to comfort him, by holding him close. She stroked his pink hair. “And I’m not gonna leave you like Uncle Luigi’s wife did, so don’t worry,” Amber soothed.

“Think we’ll ever get married?” Bernd said, changing the subject to something more pleasant. That was another thing they had talked about, but since he had never really formally asked her and she seemed kind of ambivalent towards the idea whenever he would bring it up, they never really discussed it in the same way they had a baby.

“We already are married in our hearts, Sweetie. But if you’re talking about a fairytale wedding with a white dress and a church and all our friends and family, then I honestly don’t know, Bernd. Maybe we will and maybe we won’t,” Amber said. “Let’s just worry about the baby without complicating things by throwing a wedding on top of it. Okay?”

“Okay.” Bernd tried not to look as hurt as he felt.

“Oh, Bernd, please don’t be upset.” Amber kissed him.

He kissed her back and was smiling when he broke the kiss.

“What?” Amber said, her curiosity piqued.

“Well, we’re having a baby, right?”

“Yeah…”

“And you said that would only happen if I straightened myself out and took my meds and went to therapy even when I hated it and didn’t want to go.”

Amber nodded.

“So maybe, one day we will get married. I mean you never know… And that promise I made you too, you remember, I wrote it down in my journal,” Bernd rambled on.

“Yeah, all the pussy I want without complaint.” She smiled as he kept a journal the way some girls kept a diary.

“That’ll still hold when we’re married, okay?” He gave her a shy little smile. “And I mean it.”

“I know you do, Sweetie.” Amber kissed his nose.  Changing the subject, she said, “Let’s try to get some sleep, so you’re not so tired today.”

“I know, but I’m excited about the baby, Amber.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Ummm… can we tell everyone at breakfast?”

“Sure. And I think if we’re going to make it in time for everyone then we need to go back to sleep. I’ll set the alarm and we can get up in an hour.”

Bernd cuddled her. “Sounds like a plan.” He kissed her and closed his eyes. Try as he might and as tired as he was, Bernd found it hard to fall back to sleep. He kept thinking about the old photograph she had given him of a man and woman playing with their children in the park. Amber had taken it when she was younger and while it was fuzzy and faded with time, it was still his lifeline.

Listening to her breathing even out as she drifted off to sleep, he imagined them as that couple in the photo.  He could even see himself and James taking the baby to the park and he knew without a doubt, he was going to teach the baby, when it got old enough, how to ride.  He also wondered if Amber and his father would let him get the baby a pet bunny, or maybe another chinchilla like Claudia. He knew Amber would want to get a big dog like Duke too, which would make his brother happy. Similar thoughts had kept him awake until just before the alarm went off, when he had finally fallen back to sleep. He woke with a start when Amber shook him awake and he stared bleary-eyed at her for several minutes as she shook her head and chuckled at him.

“Come on, we’ve got to get up and go tell everyone the news,” she said. Sitting up, Amber swung her legs out of bed on got up out of bed. She stretched. “Don’t you dare go back to sleep, Bernd.”

He yawned and reluctantly got up out of bed. Grumbling softly, he walked over to her and pulled her close. “Love you, Amber,” he said softly.

“Love you too, Bernd.”

“I’m so tired.”

“Me too, but the baby’s not going to let us sleep when it gets here, so we might as well get used to it.”

“Yeah…”

They went into the bathroom together as they often did to start their morning routine. Once they were finished there, they came back to the bedroom and made themselves more presentable. Bernd grabbed his glasses and put them on. “You ready?” he said, feeling waves of anxiety wash over him. Despite being an adult and a responsible one at that, he still could not help feeling like his father was going to be extremely disappointed with him.

“Yeah.” Amber walked over to him and put her arms around him. “Relax, Sweetie, it’s not the end of the world.”

“I know…”

“Take a deep breath, exhale and let’s go.” She kissed his cheek.

Bernd held her hand and followed her upstairs. As they pushed open the basement door, the scent of bacon frying hit their noses. Bernd felt his mouth watering. Amber, however, felt her stomach lurch at the smell, and she smiled weakly at her boyfriend when he gave her hand a little squeeze. “Umm… Vati?”

Guten Morgen, meine Kleinen,” Wolfgang said as he turned off the stove and removed the bacon from the pan. “You’re just in time for breakfast.” He smiled at them. “You two okay?” Wolfgang’s mile morphed into a frown. He did not like the look on either of their faces. Amber, whom he had come to think of as a daughter, looked like she wanted to be sick and his son wore the same expression he always did when he was little and had done something wrong.

Amber nodded. “Yeah…”

Before she could say anything else, Bernd blurted out, “I’m sorry, Vati.”

“Sorry for what?” Wolfgang, fearing the worst, mentally braced himself for whatever was coming.

“I ummm…” He looked at Amber for support and back at his father. “I got Amber pregnant.”

Amber covered her face with her hand and shook her head. Numbnuts!
Wolfgang’s normally stern expression softened at the news. They were adults even if his eldest was behaving more like his younger self at the moment. He smiled as he came over to them and hugged Amber. “That’s wonderful! Congratulations. ”

“Thanks, Vati.” Amber hugged him back.

“It’s not the end of the world, Bernd,” Wolfgang said as he moved to hug his son. I’m just surprised we never had this conversation earlier… And relieved too… “You still have your job, right?” He let go of Bernd and stepped back, his expression growing more serious.

“Yeah?” Bernd frowned. He was not expecting his father to take it that well, although his father’s no nonsense air about him had returned; still, it was that brief glimpse of warmth that threw him. “You’re not mad we’re not getting married?”

“I kind of want to deal with the baby first, Vati,” Amber said.

Wolfgang nodded. “While it would be nice if you were married, I know you two like to do things differently.” I can’t complain, while I was married to your mother, we were also married in a sense to your Onkle Luigi and Tante Gia, not that you, Bernd, know that, unless Amber told you…

“Oh…” Bernd visibly relaxed. “So, uh, now what?”

“You start saving for the baby and we work on finding a place for the nursery.” Wolfgang had long ago given up any hope of his eldest leaving the nest because there was no way he would ever give up his horse for one thing and any apartment they could find in town would be too far away for him to come out and take of Blitzkrieg every morning and still get to work on time.

“Maybe James can help, like he did when we made a room for Amber in the basement,” Bernd said. “Then I can spend time with him, Amber, and I’ll see if they let me work from home too,” he rambled on. “I still do programming and designing, and that doesn’t take that long to do and when I don’t anything like that to work on, I usually do tech support and customer service. I’m sure my boss won’t have a problem with it...”

“I’m sure he won’t, Sweetie,” Amber said. “You’ve been doing well there and just got a raise.”

Bernd beamed with pride. “Yup! Who knew dealing with people’s problems and helping them design a website would be so much fun! I know there’s tons of places online where you can do that, but they’re all pretty much the same in the end with a few variations. I like to give them a site that’ll stand out.”

“Yeah…” Amber said as a wave of nausea hit her. She closed her eyes and held her hand over her mouth.

“Are you okay, Amber?” Bernd asked. He felt a sharp pang of panic rising at the thought of losing her as all his fears came back to haunt him.

“Go sit down, Amber,” Wolfgang said as he walked over to the warmer and took out a couple of pieces of toast. He put them on a plate, plunking it down in front of Amber, who was now sitting at the kitchen table, while her boyfriend fussed over her. “I’ll have some tea ready in a bit,” he said as he bustled around the kitchen. Memories of when he took care of his wife when she was pregnant with Bernd surfaced.  Mein Engel, can you believe our baby is all grown up and going to be a father…? He did alright for himself with a wonderful girl… Amber is very good for him and to him… I wish you could meet her, Mein Engel, you would have liked her…

Turning off the stove, he picked up the kettle and poured the hot water into a mug. Wolfgang let the teabag steep for a few minutes, before removing it and adding a splash of milk, a pinch of ginger, and some sugar. He brought the mug over to Amber. “Drink up, you’ll feel better.” He made a mental note to add some ginger ale to the weekly shopping list.

Amber drank the tea.  She loved that first cup of tea in the morning and while this one tasted a bit weird, the familiar warmth as it went down did wonders for making her feel better. She ruffled her boyfriend’s hair. “Bernd, your roots are showing,” she said, hoping to distract him with something completely unrelated to the baby.

“They are?”

“Yeah. You’re going to have to deal with it until I can find out if it’s okay for me to be handling hair dye,” she said.  It may not have been totally without a mention of the baby, but it did have the desired effect of calming him down. Amber had become so used to dealing with his mercurial changes in mood that she had become good at knowing when he was overwhelmed and heading for a meltdown. Sometimes a change of subject or a gentle touch was enough to stop it and sometimes she just had to ride the wave and help him pick up the pieces when it was over.

“Okay.”

Amber kissed his cheek, pleased that her distraction had worked and he had relaxed. She briefly wondered what he would be like in delivery room when it came time for their baby to be born.

Guten Morgen, Old Man,” Greta said as she breezed into the kitchen. She paused when she noticed Amber and Bernd. “What are you two doing up?” she asked, thinking she had overslept, since in her experience, Amber always came up at the tail end of breakfast because she always waited to eat with Bernd, who liked to go back to sleep for a while, after mucking out the stable.

“Amber’s pregnant,” Bernd said.

Greta’s eyes went wide in surprise; she quickly recovered, pleased her hunch was correct. Leaning over she kissed Amber’s cheek. “That’s wonderful news,” she said softly. Playfully whacking Bernd in the back of the head, she teased, “I told you, you needed to learn how to put a condom on properly!” She laughed.  “I guess this means you really are an old man, Old Man.”

Wolfgang chuckled and shook his head at her. He continued to take the plates out of the cabinet, treating this like any other morning in their somewhat unconventional household. Taking the plates, he went into the dining room to set the table. Greta joined him a few minutes later with the silverware and napkins.

“You okay, Old Man?”

He nodded. Wolfgang set a plate down in front of each chair at the table.

“You’re awfully quiet, well more quiet than usual,” she said, following behind him. Greta placed a fork, knife and spoon at each plate.

Wolfgang sighed. “My wife would have loved this, not that I don’t,” he said softly.

“Oh… Amber said she passed away when they were little.”

He nodded. “She got sick and wound up in the hospital. Poor Bernd thought he was getting another baby brother.” Wolfgang smiled sadly. “Last time his Mutti went in, he got Didi.”

“It’s okay; we don’t have to talk about it.”

He nodded. “Anyway, she would have loved seeing her children grow up like all mothers do.”

Not mine, Old Man… As soon as my parents found out I was making adult films, they were really upset even if I was out of the house by then… “Yeah…”  Pushing those bitter thoughts aside, Greta smiled as she poked him in the arm. “So, should we get the food in here and call everyone to eat or what?” she said, changing the subject.

“Sounds like a plan.”

They entered the kitchen in time to see the rest of the family get the news. Dieter had his brother in a bear hug, while Valentino gave Amber a much more sedate hug. When Luigi spotted them he came over to offer his congratulation to his old friend and co-husband of sorts, and kissed his cheeks. “I told you she was pregnant, Wolfie!”

Wolfgang chuckled and said softly, “You just got lucky, Old Friend. I seriously doubt her bosom got bigger.”

Luigi snorted and stepped back. “They did! Ask her, she’ll tell you her boobs are bigger.”

Amber and Greta looked at each other and sighed. Nonno Luigi, as everyone called him, was a bit of a dirty old man that they viewed as mostly harmless, although there were times when he got on their nerves. This was one of them, and just as Greta was gearing up to verbally blast him, Bernd surprised them by coming to their rescue.

OnkleLuigi, having seen Amber’s boobs this morning, I can tell you they’re the same size they’ve always been.”

“You sure?” Luigi blinked.

Bernd nodded. “I also fondled them last night and they’re still about that big.”  He spread his fingers and held them up like he was cupping them. Oddly enough, Luigi accepted Bernd’s explanation.

“Well, if anyone knows, you do, my boy!” Luigi ruffled Bernd’s hair.

“Yeah…” Bernd grinned.

Wolfgang shook his head. His friend was as bad as his children and while he was not a prude, he was rather close-mouthed when it came to talking about things of a sexual nature. As he recalled giving his son “The Talk,” Wolfgang was once again surprised that they had waited this long, before he remembered that summer he had taken his boys and Amber to Germany under the pretence of visiting his family, when they had really gone there to get her more effective birth control. He sighed. I must be getting old, if I’ve forgotten that… “Okay, Kleinen, everyone grab something and bring it to the table. Amber, can you bring the trivet for the oatmeal pot?”

“Sure, Vati.” She got up and went to get it, while everyone else scrambled to get the food from the warmer and the fridge. It was what Wolfgang called a “farmer’s breakfast,” with stacks of pancakes, toast, sausages, oatmeal, fruit, rolls, jams, butter, cheese, and some cold cuts. It was a hearty breakfast, the rest of their mealtimes together being smaller affairs since not everyone was there because of work or school. Once all the food was on the table, everyone sat down to eat in the dining room. The main topic of conversation was the new baby.

Bernd sat there, playing with his food. A picky eater by nature, his growing anxiety about impending fatherhood quelled his meager appetite and he was glad Amber was fielding most of the questions. He looked over at her and smiled when he felt her hand on his thigh.

“You okay, Bernd?” she said softly.

“Yeah…”

“You sure? Did you take your meds?”

He nodded.  “I took them when I got up this morning to go muck out the stable.” He leaned on her. “I don’t know how Vati did it. He took care of the two of us and you and James…”

“He managed and you’ll manage just fine too. Besides, you’ve got about nine months to get used to the idea.”  She leaned her head against his. “And look at all the help we’ve got.”

“Yeah…”

“So don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Okay.”

Amber kissed his cheek. “Now eat your oatmeal like a good little boy, before Vati yells at you.”

“Yes, Mutti…” Bernd started eating.

“You know, I kind of like that,” Amber said with a smile.

“Like what?” Bernd said between mouthfuls.

“‘Mutti’. I want our baby to call me that and you, ‘Vati’.”

“But there’s only one Vati.”

“Silly, your father’ll still be ‘Vati’ to us, but he’ll be ‘Opa’ to our child and you’ll be ‘Vati’.”

“Oh…” He gave a sheepish look when he realized she was right about him being silly.

“Remember when I gave you that old picture?”Amber said, changing the subject.

“Yeah.” Bernd grinned. “I still have it.”

“I know.”

“It’s been a big help, Amber.”

“Good. “ She smiled. “You know what?” she said, changing it again.

“What?”

“I think it’ll be nice if our baby knows English and German.”

Bernd nodded. “And he’ll know how to ride, right? Cuz I’d love to teach him.”

“Yes, she’ll know how to ride.” Amber took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, and smiled. “I can’t think of a better riding instructor.”

Bernd smiled back at her. “You think it’s a girl?”

“I have no idea what it is, Bernd, and I don’t want to find out either. I really want to be surprised in the end.”

“Me too.” Bernd drank his milk. Setting the glass down, he said, “What if we have twins?”

“We have twins.” She shrugged. “It’s not like you can return the extra one, Silly.”

He laughed, although his cheeks heated up. “I know that.”

“Just checking,” she teased. “As long as the baby is healthy, who cares if we have one or two? Anyway, when were done here do you want to go back downstairs and just hang out for a while in bed? I feel kind of tired.”

“Okay…” He looked at her with a mix of panic and concern in his eyes.

She saw that and said, “Relax, Bernd, I’m fine and it’s normal for pregnant women to feel tired.”

“Yeah?”

“I guess all that research I did when we decided to try for a baby is going to pay off, hunh?”

“Oh yeah!” He kissed her cheek.

When breakfast was over, they went back downstairs to her room. The two of them quickly undressed and got into bed. Bernd snuggled up next to Amber, loving the skin to skin contact. He put a hand on her belly. “I love you, Amber,” he said softly.

“I love you too, Sweetie.” She put her hand on his, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m glad it’s Saturday so we can hang out together in bed for as long as we want.”

“Me too.” Bernd nuzzled her cheek.

“Anyway, I was thinking about what we should name the baby. I know it’s a bit early to be thinking about it, but there’s so much we need to do and all,” Amber said. “And if we can get that settled, we won’t be scrambling for a name in the hospital.”

Bernd nodded. “Okay.”

Amber felt him tense and she mentally kicked herself for mentioning the word “hospital”. “So what do you think about ‘Siegfried’ for a boy and ‘Elvira’ for a girl?”

Bernd blinked. “Ummm…” He frowned as he had not given it much thought because he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was going to be a father.

“If you don’t like those names, what about ‘Cuthbert’ or ‘Monroe’ for a boy? Or maybe ‘Dora’ or ‘Eugenia’ for a girl?” Amber said. “Or maybe we should pick a more unisex name like ‘Leaf’.”

“‘Leaf’?” His frown deepened.

“Yeah, ‘Leaf’. It’s a good name; works for either sex.”

“But it’s… ‘Leaf’. Why not call the baby ‘Grass’ or something like…” he trailed off when he noticed she was lying there, trying hard not to laugh. “You were bullshitting me!” He gave her a sheepish look as he had taken her seriously.

“I’m sorry, Sweetie, you were tensing up again and I just wanted you to relax, okay? I’m not made of glass, I’m just pregnant. I do promise to get weepy and hormonal on you. Kind of like when I was eleven and got my period for the first time… only worse.” She kissed him.

“Don’t remind me!” He kissed her back. They snuggled in, holding each other close, as they planned their future as best they could. Bernd laced his fingers with hers. “Hey, Amber?”

“What?”

“If we have a boy, what about ‘Frederick’ as a name? I think Vati said his Opa was called ‘Friedrich’ or something like that, and I kinda like the name ‘Fritz’. Or if we have a girl what about ‘Julia’?”

“I like ‘Frederick’. And I was thinking, what about ‘Adie’ if it’s a girl?”

“Okay. I like that name, it’s kinda cute.” He smiled.

“Then it’s settled, ‘Adie’ for a girl and “Frederick’/‘Fritz’ for a boy,” Amber said.

“Agreed,” Bernd said as he leaned in for a kiss. He was determined to conquer his fears and with Amber at his side, he knew he could do it, even if he knew she would still love him no matter what. Still, he was happy he was making enough progress that the talk about having a baby became a reality. Bernd wanted to be the kind of father his was to him and he knew the only way to do that was to get his act together.

Amber nuzzled his cheek. She had a feeling things would not be easy, but they would muddle through it somehow and that was all that mattered in the end…
Gift fic for my friend :iconkattrip033:. It's a late bday pressie based on one of rps.
© 2014 - 2024 kiramaru7
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kattrip033's avatar
Thanks so much, Kira!