Prudence really enjoyed snuggling next to Clark as they slept.  Her usual solitary existence didn’t usually have such treats.  He was warm and it was reassuring to her to hear his soft breathing throughout the night.  She didn’t worry at all about burglars.

It was pretty enjoyable to have him sitting in his underwear at her tiny kitchen table, too.  When she emerged from the shower to find him scarfing down leftover pancakes in nothing but his jockey shorts, she wondered idly if she would ever get used to such a sight.  She seriously considered dragging him back to bed, but she had too much to do.

Before she could even begin her long list of chores, however, she felt extremely nauseous and had to run for the bathroom.  Prudence felt a growing horror as she realized that it probably wasn’t food poisoning–her romp with Clark was going to come at a cost she wasn’t sure she could afford.

“Hey, are you alright?” Clark asked when Prudence emerged from the bathroom.  Her house was much too tiny and the walls were too thin–he’d heard her being ill.

“Yes, I’m fine.  Just some bad food or something.”  Prudence lied.  She wasn’t prepared to tell him anything.  She had no idea how she could–he knew that she had already behaved foolishly in this arena once before–what would he think of her if he found out that she hadn’t even thought to use birth control yet again?

Clark was suspicious of her answer, and when his back was to her, he grimaced as he realized what her illness could mean.  He’d heard of the signs of pregnancy from some of his female relatives, and he knew that he hadn’t taken any precautions.  He didn’t know whether or not Prudence was on any form of birth control, and he cursed himself for failing to ask–he just hadn’t been thinking at the time.  Prudence fed and changed Arthur, and dashed outside to work on her garden.  She couldn’t risk being around Clark before she’d worked out how she was going to handle this situation.

While Prudence was outside, Clark considered what it would be like to be a father.  Out of curiosity more than anything, he picked up little Arthur–and felt an irresistible urge to snuggle him.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad? He thought.  But if Prudence were pregnant, and didn’t tell him….wouldn’t that be a sign that she didn’t think he was cut out to be a father?  That depressed him, and he placed Arthur back into the crib gently.

Soon after Prudence finished her chores, she came back in to find that Arthur had grown into a toddler.  She sighed as she realized that her life was about to become even more busy than before–not only would she need to take care of teaching him things, but if her suspicions were correct, he’d have a sibling very soon.

Clark offered to build a small room for Arthur if Prudence would just pay for the materials.  She had just enough to add on to the foundation of the house and put up the walls and roof–but not quite enough to finish the interior or exterior.  She was grateful for Clark’s help, though, and gave him a long kiss before he left that night.  She wasn’t sure how she was going to scrape together enough money to finish the interior of the room and purchase another crib before her second baby came along, but she didn’t say a word of that to Clark.

Prudence was determined to remain positive around little Arthur, no matter how worried she was.

She chattered to him in a cheerful tone as she coached him on how to use the potty.

“See, Arthur? That’s how it’s done.  Just think–soon you’ll have a lovely little room to play in, and probably a sibling to play with as well.” Prudence cooed, wishing that she felt as happy about that as she was trying to sound.

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