You Call This Work?

Twirling her hair around her finger, Vera skimmed the page before her half-heartedly, eyes moving in and out of focus as her mind wandered off in any direction but the one it was currently supposed to be fixed upon. Among the top were her hunger, Brock and the constant curiosity as to why she thought she needed a job after all.

She could have gotten by just fine on whatever she was doing right? Who was she to think that just because she was going to have a baby she was suddenly mature enough to not completely -

Frowning slightly she cut off her thoughts, and her hand jerked for her quill, a sudden sort of movement that disrupted the hush that had been hovering around herself and the room in general. Instead of going for the paper she was supposed to be working on, she instead pushed the writing instrument towards a small piece of parchment that she had been keeping at the corner of her desk.

Zoe she scrawled onto the already growing list of names, before pausing and adding Zoey?

Cocking her head to the side she was about to set the quill aside when she had another half moment of inspiration, scrawling three more names:

Isabelle
Bridget
Scarlet

Frowning a moment she crossed the last one off, before shaking her head and writing it out again. Only to cross it out and rewrite it three more times, finally outlining the letters heavily to cause them to stand out about the lines beneath it.

Scarlet. Scarlet?

Frowning again she circled the name before tapping her quill beside it, trying to decide how she felt about the name.

She supposed it was still early yet. She had tons of time to decide.

Frowning down at a report by Cooper, he shook his head. The way it was formatted... didn't seem correct somehow. The words were misused, unneeded exaggeration of a perfectly routine operation. The way it had been archived... He would have to have a word with the man, that was for sure. Just to make sure everything was alright with him. He seemed... distracted.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye at her, he flipped the page, eyes continuing their diligent work of reading the report. His hand found Vera's, and he intertwined their fingers. Gently kissing her fingers, he continued to look over the reports, frowning down at the small discontinuations.

Shaking her head softly, she attempted to shove the name out of her head for the moment, and turn back to her work. The paper was hidden beneath the form she was supposed to be filling out, she raised her quill again, attempting to start again. However, she only got Brock's name out and half a dollar amount before her hand was picked up and the warm fluttering feeling that she responded with distracted her again. Grinning to herself she hummed slightly, wiggled in her chair and then returned to her work.

This time she managed to fill out the first form she had, and two more of similar nature, stacking them neatly beside her before she found herself at her list again. Pulling at her hand attempting to rest her chin against it, she found it still clasped in Brock's. This only phased her for a moment, before she simply picked them both up, following through with the desired action. Her free hand moved to play with the edge of the paper again.

A frown set back onto her features as she took each in turn. All of them plausable suggest she supposed, though none of them felt quite...

Right.

Her gaze came back to the last one. Scarlet scrawled above the storm of ink as she had crossed and re-crossed it. Out of all of them it felt the most right, but it also seemed off at moments too. She supposed that the baby could be a boy, that could account for the wrongness of the name, but she did not think so. The image of a boy felt more wrong than a little girl.

Though Vera would be happy with either one.

Lightly her fingers moved from the page and traced her stomach dancing over the slight incline that was there, when she spoke it was soft, barely audible to herself, "What do you say, little one? Is Scarlet your name?"

He paused, canting his head to the side to look over at her. He watched her for a moment, brown eyes tracing her features before he looked back down at his work. He glanced back up at her as he found the back of his hand brushing her soft cheek, a small smile growing across his lips at the sensation.

Back to his work, he tried to focus again, but her soft voice derailed that thought process. He looked over at her, eyes softening as he leaned over, glancing down at the list before reaching behind him and pulling her chair away from the desk. Something was off about his expression, something slightly wondrous about his whole person. Slipping to his knees, he frowned slightly, pressing his ear to her stomach and listening carefully as his arms wrapped around her.

Sometimes he thought he could hear it, times like this, when Vera's heartbeat was speeding just the slightest bit, the tiny little heartbeat inside her tummy. Closing his eyes, he focused on the small sound, blowing a slow breath from his mouth as he did so. A soft sound came from his throat, something almost like a purr, contentment from both halves of him.

"Scarlet." The name growled from his chest, soft and tender, fingers caressing the sides of her stomach. It seemed to him that the small person's heart sped just a little bit, and that was answer enough for him. Humming, he nuzzled into her stomach, and grinned, looking up at her. "Scarlet." He repeated.

"Bro-" her chair was pulled away, and confusion crossed her features as she watched the man move. Completely unsure what irrational thought had crossed his brain. "Brock?"

Her breath caught for a moment in her throat as she was grabbed about the middle, before she looked down at the head against her stomach letting out a soft 'oh'. Swallowing, her confusion melted into something else at the noise that came out of his throat. Relaxing slightly, her fingers threaded through his hair, petting slightly.

Of course he had heard her speak. His hearing was as good as hers. As close as she was there was nothing short of not talking at all would have kept him from hearing the thought. She smiled at the soft touch, reminding herself that in this cause it was not for her, it was for her baby.

Scarlet?

Leaning down she brushed her lips against his grin, and grinned herself, "You think she likes it? We could be all wrong you know, and she's a he. I don't want to check."

If anything, her kiss did nothing but speed his heart and make his grin even wider. "Her name is Scarlet." He said with a mock glare. "And she is a she. Obviously. Didn't you know?" He pressed a soft kiss to her stomach, slow and tender, closing his eyes against it. "And you're both under my protection. Both my girls."

He hesitated briefly before leaning back on his haunches, slowly pulling away from her. Sitting back on his chair, he traced his fingers down her jawbone, before turning back toward his work, as if to return to it. "Her name is Scarlet." He repeated with absolute certainty.

"Of course I knew," she stated with a little grin, eyes twinkling with a light she couldn't quite contain, "A mother always knows, you know. I was just seeing if you did." She closed her eyes briefly, as he kissed the tiny bump, heart bouncing at the declaration, despite her stubborn independent streak claiming in a tiny voice she could protect herself.

Tracing the skin after his fingers, she paused for a moment before pulling her own chair back where it was, as if she was going to go back to her work. Only she could sit still for only a few seconds before needing to do one little thing. Her head simple would not focus on anything else until she did.

Leaning back over she brushed her lips softly across his cheek, "I love you."

Perhaps it was to soon, though from her own point of view it was long over due. Vera Parker had been in love with the man beside her knowingly for five years, unknown to herself but still there, quite possibly longer. Fear of chasing him off, overwhelming him with things he he didn't need, had forced her to keep it to herself. But in that moment she just couldn't keep it to herself any more. It had been a selfish declaration in the fact that she needed to say it. But the soft matter of fact tone she had used, and the way that she turned back to her desk, willing to do her work said what was true - if he couldn't say it back, she didn't need to hear it.

Vera was perfectly happy with what she had.

"Of course." He teased, grinning down at his work as she moved back beside him. Licking his lips, he hummed in pleasure as her lips brushed his cheek, a grin taking over his lips in bliss.

Then he heard her words.

His heart did something strange, a jumpstart that hurt, a frozen sort of immovability that lingered dangerously, an excited speeding that seemed to send entirely too much brain to his head, or perhaps away from it, seeing as he was feeling entirely too light headed to be healthy.

When had his lungs stopped working?

Swallowing, he forced his body to work, turning toward her and giving her a long unreadable look.

Quite suddenly - half sure it had been his own idea but quite sure he hadn't been thinking it - he was kissing her, as if drawing her into him and stealing away her love. He devoured her quite completely, unable to pull away for air until the very last moment, when he was beginning to get light headed for an entirely different reason.

"I-I-" He was panting against her lips, trying to find the words that he needed - needed - to tell her. "I-" He swallowed thickly, licking his lips. "I think I might be- I mean I- I-I'm pretty sure that I-"

Her quill scratched away at the page until the silence became too complete, too obvious that something wasn't right at all. Straightening away from the desk, she still held the writing utensil lightly in her head, as she met his gaze with a calm and steady one of her own. Although slightly worried that she had done something wrong, that she had miss read what she thought she had read, and had - after years of hiding her secret - still managed to let it out too soon and ruin everything, she appeared as calm as she had when she had made her announcement, her declaration.

Still...

"Brock?" The tentative question on his name was barely out of her mouth before she had somehow found herself locked in an embrace with him, kissing back at the tempo that he had been kissing her. A surge of emotion flowed from her heart, moving through the rest of her body in her blood, and fuelling the action. In fact, she was surprised when he pulled away to find her breath struggling to make up for lost time. She managed to steady it faster than Brock seemed to.

Resting a hand against his cheek, she caressed it softly, "Don't over think it. Just relax, breath," she leaned forward, brushing his lips softly once more with her own. "Just feel, and only say what you feel."

His focus was scattered, her lips her face her hand - it was all very distracting, almost moreso than the emotions pooling in the bottom of his stomach, thrumming through his veins, demanding to be said - but just like last time, Brock Veni Cox couldn't find the words to express just how much he- he-

"I don't want-" He shivered against her lips, leaning into her and wrapping his arms more firmly around her. Vera. Vera Vera Vera Vera Vera Vera-

"I don't want to hurt you." He breathed, unable to do more but interpret the feelings for whatever they translated to in Brock-speak. "I can't- I don't know how to- explain-" He took a deep breath through his nose in an attempt to calm himself down, but instead was distracted by her scent, the way it sank deep into his lungs and wouldn't let him free from it. It was even more startling to realize he never wanted to be free from it.

"I don't want to lose you." He said softly. "I don't want to. I don't want to lose you Volchitsu but the last time I couldn't- I couldn't say she- she went away and-"

"Haven't I been around long enough to prove I'm not her?" She asked softly as her gaze stayed steadily connected to his own. Vera never understood how she could have mistaken what she felt for Noel as love. It wasn't this, it wasn't as strong or as pure.

It was just gratitude of a young and neglected girl. Sure she had been adored, lusted after by boys through out school - she had never been physically lonely - but emotionally, who had Vera ever had? Ever connected to. Not even Noel had given her that. It was this man right here who gave her everything she needed. Brock who made her feel needed, wanted, valued. Brock who showed her she wasn't alone.

"You're stuck with me Brock Cox, even if you didn't want it. I never could get many people to rely on. When I get one, I'm not going anywhere." Nuzzling her nose against his taking in the feeling and smell that was him that she needed to fuel her body. The pack always were whispering ways to calm her, gripping about her unpredictable emotions even when they knew she could hear, looking for a secret. But Vera knew, the secret was right here. "Words aren't good enough for feelings anyway."