𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 ─── bean

New York, 1st May 2008

"𝔜ou okay there, Luke?" Ellie leant down, running her hand through her husband's blond hair, as he traced his fingers around the small bump that was beginning to appear on her stomach. "You're being weirdly quiet, and in Ethan's words, that means you're planning something."

"I'm always planning how to kill Ethan." Luke chuckled to himself, looking up at her with a soft smile.

"I know you are." Ellie tugged his hand up, pulling him closer so that she could curl into his side and press a gentle kiss to his collarbone. "But what's really going on in that handsome head of yours? No sugar coating things either."

He was quiet for a moment, not saying anything as he thought.

"I think...I think I want to try and talk to Annabeth." Ellie's eyebrows furrowed as she glanced up at Luke.

"Yeah?"

"Bean has kind of put some things into perspective for me," He mumbled, burrowing his head into Ellie's curly hair as he talked. "I want Bean to know her, to know my side of the family, just as they will yours. So, I want to talk things out with Annabeth."

"I'm so proud of you." She smiled, squeezing his waist tightly, as he ran a hand through her tangled hair. His fingers teased out the knots as he smiled at her praise.

"I think I might also try and quit my job." Ellie's head shot back, almost hitting Luke, as she watched him with wide eyes. 

"Really? Like, you're not joking?" He shook his head, the shock wearing off Ellie as she noted the pain from where she'd yanked on her hair. "Oh, that's amazing! I'll finally be able to sleep easy at night knowing that you're safe!"

He chuckled, as Cai shifted on the bottom of the bed, huffing in annoyance. He stood, shaking his fur out before flopping down in between the pair.

"I want to be here for you and Bean." She grinned, running her hand through Cai's fur as the German Shepherd puppy curled closer to her. It had been clear that he was definitely going to be Ellie's dog, more than the others in the house, but Luke didn't mind. It meant she had an extra level of protection. "We should start thinking about a nursery."

"We should. One of my best friends, Beth, is an art student," Ellie began to explain as Luke nodded, listening closely to her words. "She wants to do a mural style painting for her final piece, and I don't know, maybe we could let her loose in the nursery?"

"Whatever makes you happy, I'm happy with. You know best." Ellie pressed a gentle kiss to Luke's lips at the words, smiling as she pulled away.

"You're too sweet."

"Only for you."

"Oh, I know and appreciate that." Luke laughed, tracing her belly once more as they settled into silence. "Have you thought of any names?"

"Me? No, not really. I'll just be happy that they're healthy," Luke replied, smiling at her. "But, that sounds like you've thought of something?"

"Maybe? For a boy, at least. I'm stuck on girls names."

"Let's hear it," Luke urged, shifting to stare down at his smaller wife.

"Well, maybe, Alexander Ethan Castellan?" Luke paused, as she began to explain. "Ethan as the middle name because I don't want Ethan to get too cocky by having a first name privilege and I've always liked the name Alex."

"I like it." She raised an eyebrow, somewhat sceptical of his tone. "No, I do. That's a good name for Bean, if they're a boy. But, please tell me that we can surprise Ethan with that after Bean's been born, I really want to film his reaction."

"Absolutely. Have you got an idea for girls names?" Luke thought for a moment, before shaking his head.

"No, but, I wanted to ask, regardless of Bean's gender, could Annabeth be their godmother? I know we haven't really talked about that ye-" Ellie nodded earnestly, cutting him off.

"Of course, you don't have to ask me that, I'd say yes in a heartbeat." He smiled, before burrowing back into the pillows. "So, we need to think of girl's names."

"Yeah, but sleep now." He grinned up at her. "I want to cuddle my gorgeous wife."

"Stop making me blush, you smooth flirt!"

∘☽༓☾∘

"Hello, Mrs Castellan." Ellie smiled at the doctor, from where she was sitting on the table, Luke's hand in hers. Iris, Ava and Ethan were all in the waiting room, chewing their nails as they tried to think of baby names for the pair. "If you would like to lie down on the table and lift your shirt for me."

Ellie did as she was told, lying back onto the chair and pulling her shirt up, as Bean's small bump was revealed. Immediately, a grin formed on Luke's face, as he clutched her hand tightly in his, watching the bump with awe filled eyes.

"This is going to be a little cold." Ellie tensed as the cold gel was placed onto her stomach, trying her best not to laugh at the tickling sensation.

"Are you excited, Els?" 

"Of course." Ellie grinned, squeezing Luke's hand tightly, as the doctor started to move the wand around over the gel, searching for a picture.

"Okay, I can see that you're around eight weeks along and if you look, here's baby number one," Ellie's eyes widened at her words, looking at the screen of the ultrasound, which showed two small blobs on the screen. "And if you look over here, you'll see baby number two."

"Twins? We're having twins?" The doctor nodded at Luke's question, as he leant down to press his lips to Ellie's head, as the woman struggled to process what was happening. "We're having twins."

"Do you want to hear their heartbeats?" 

"Yes, please." The doctor pressed something on the machine, and the faint sound of thrumming filled the room. A tear slipped down Ellie's face, as she rested a hand on the side of her belly where Bean, no Beans, lay. "Oh my god."

Looking over at her husband, Ellie was surprised to find that he was also crying, thought silently, as the tears ran down the rivet of his scar. He pressed a kiss to her hand when he saw her looking, also placing his hand onto the side of her stomach.

"I'll print out some pictures for you, if that's something you'd like?" Ellie nodded quickly, as the woman handed her a towel to clean her stomach, and left the room.

"We're having twins." She turned to Luke, who was carefully wiping the gel from her stomach. "I can't...I can't believe it."

She sat up, pulling her shirt back down, and practically falling into Luke's arms as she tried to control her tears.

"Double trouble," Luke murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "But hopefully it's two mini-yous."

"I'd prefer at least one mini-you in there," She replied, as he hummed. "I can't believe it! Twins! I'm so excited for them to get here, but not so excited for giving birth to them."

"Yeah, but I'll be there with you all the way."

"You better be." He grinned, his scar crinkling beneath Ellie's touch. "I've got to curse you out for getting us into this predicament."

That caused the tall man to burst out laughing, which echoed around the room, much like their children's heartbeats did moments earlier. The door creaked open, as the doctor reappeared with a set of pictures in her hands.

"Here you are." She smiled, as Ellie hopped off of the chair and took the pictures, staring at her two small Beans in awe. "Now, you need to go to the front desk and book another appointment for about 10-12 weeks time. Maybe start taking more walks to exercise, and think about what food you're in-taking and if it's healthy for you and the children. Drink lots of water and eat small meals, even if you don't feel hungry because you're eating for three."

"Got it, I'll make sure she does." Luke smiled, as they shook hands with the doctor and exited the room.

"Chances the family is going to go ballistic?" Luke laughed, nodding at Arabella's words.

"I'm so sure that Ethan is going to cry again." They giggled together, before coming out into the waiting room, where the rest of their small family was waiting for them nervously. "I'll go book the next appointment. You go and tell them."

"Thanks." Reaching up, Ellie pressed a kiss to his cheek, before hopping over to their family. The trio all stood up, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Is everything okay? With you? With Bean?" Iris questioned, her eyes wide as Ellie laughed.

"It's actually Beans." The trio looked at her with narrowed eyes. "We're having twins!"

"No way!" Ethan grinned, picking her up as he spun her in a circle, being careful of the small bump. "Congratulations Bella. Oh, I can't wait. I've already started thinking of things to do and now I've got two godchildren."

He placed her down, rushing off to go and annoy Luke, as Iris wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Oh, my baby's all grown up now." She pressed a kiss to Ellie's forehead, as Ava hugged her from the other side. 

"Stop it, you're going to make me cry." They squeezed her tighter, before pulling away.

"Have you got a photo?" Ellie nodded with a grin, before pulling the ultrasound from her pocket and showing them the black and white pictures of her two Beans.

"There's Bean 1 and Bean 2." Luke and Ethan joined them again, all of them looking at the picture in Arabella's hands. "The Castellan twins."

∘☽༓☾∘

Hiya,

I AM SO HYPED FOR BEAN 1 AND BEAN 2 YOU HAVE NO IDEA. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH, anyway, Ethan and Ellie are such a good sibling/friend bond, Ava and Iris are brilliant parents, Luke and Ellie are adorable to no end and Annabeth is Beans godmother, confirmed. 

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx