Chapter Thirty-Two
Claire
“Wake up, Claire,” Rogue murmured in my ear, shaking me awake. “If you don’t get up now you’re going to be late, you know? You’re starting your new job today!”
I groaned as I struggled out of my drowsiness. We’d gotten married over the weekend and today was my first day as the new Assistant District Attorney. We had recently moved back to the apartment, after our sublet contract expired and our tenant moved out. Really it was better, we had more space now for when the new baby arrived.
I smiled, thinking about how Rogue had been considerate enough not to keep me up late last night and he’d done everything with Richard, our nearly two-year-old who we named after his father, including getting up with him at one a.m. This second pregnancy was only a bit less than a couple of months along, so I wasn’t showing yet, and it hadn’t gotten in my way, though I’d still had to report it when I went in for my interview for the ADA position. I had been told it wasn’t an issue, though, and seeing as I had gotten the job, it clearly hadn’t been.
Funny how I had been pregnant when I started working as a public defender and now, I’m pregnant again starting as the ADA. I was determined though, to do my best work right up until my maternity leave.
Compared to the work I had done before, working as a public defender had been a change that I wasn’t sure about, but it turned out that I did, in fact, love it.
With Rogue now working as well, I didn’t need to put too much of a strain on myself to cover everything. Daycare for Richard was crazy expensive, even with Mom watching him three days a week. And with the new baby coming, it would be even more so, so having his added income would be nice.
We didn’t live wild lives, so it would be perfect for us.
“I can't believe you’re still this sleepy early in the morning,” Rogue murmured, supporting me as we walked to the bathroom. “I couldn’t sleep when it was my turn, you know. I was practically sleep deprived when I went in for my first day.”
“Maybe because it was your first time have a real, grown-up job?” I asked in a mumble, but I was grinning so he knew I was teasing. I rubbed the sleep from my face as he turned on the shower for us. “I am glad that you’ve found a job you love, something that means something to you. I am nervous, though. And pregnant, so that must account for some of it,” I continued explaining away my sleepiness.
Rogue chuckled, tugging me with him under the warm spray of the shower. “You can't blame everything on being pregnant, you know? You’ve been extra lazy these days because you’re ‘pregnant.’ How are you going to be when you’re further along, hmm? It’s not going to be like last time is it?” He grinned.
I grimaced, not looking forward to it. From what Mom had told me, my second pregnancy was going to be worse, and not just my stomach, but my whole body might become bloated. I’d need to go shopping for clothes that I might never wear again after I gave birth. Not to mention the morning sickness. I’d barely had any with Richard, but this one, I could tell she was going to give me fits.
Another thing I wasn’t looking forward to was going through labor again. Rogue had already promised he would be there for it, and he would stay no matter how much I screamed and cursed at him because I definitely would. He’d missed Richard’s birth because he’d been in class at the time, performing a final exam, and I wouldn’t let him come to the hospital until he’d finished and gotten his A. Mom sent him texts and kept him updated throughout the experience, but he’d missed Richard’s birth by about twenty minutes. I made him watch the video Mom took about forty times though, so he knew what to expect with this one.
“You’ll still do whatever I ask you to, though, right?” I asked, my arms going around his shoulders. “Like a good husband?”
He took a moment, but I felt his arms squeeze around me as he replied, “Of course.”
We stood there hugging for a long moment before we remembered we were supposed to be showering, and if I waited too long, the hot water would run out. After the shower, we ended up back in the bedroom. We both had enough self-control by then not to get distracted by each other, though Rogue still dragged me to him for a kiss before we got fully dressed.
“You go get Richard up and ready, and I’ll get breakfast.”
I nodded, hiding a yawn.
“What would you like this morning?” Rogue asked. “Or do you think you can’t stomach it?”
I was far enough along that I shouldn’t have been affected by morning sickness still, but Mom had explained to me that it wasn’t limited to just the first trimester, let alone only mornings, and could sometimes be triggered by food. Lucky me, I had it mornings and evenings.
However, as nervous as I was about the job, now that I was properly awake, the only thing I felt was hunger.
“I’ll eat, so make a lot. Hurry up a little, or we’ll both be late, okay? I’ll drop you off today after we drop Richard with Mom.”
“You don’t need to drop me off,” he said. “It’s still early, I doubt we’ll be late unless there’s some serious traffic on the road.”
Before Richard had been born, we’d talked about selling off my car and buying new ones for the both of us. Of course, they would have been used cars, but I thought for sure my Mercedes would be able to fetch a decent price and we’d only need to add a bit of cash on top to manage paying for new ones.
Rogue had tossed that idea out quickly. He didn’t see much point when he really didn’t like to drive anyway. However, with the new baby coming things would get harder now and Rogue said he was hell-bent on buying his own car. Now that he had a good job, he’d be able to manage it soon. Until then he’d take taxis or Ubers when I was using mine.
After breakfast, we left the house together. Rogue and I parted with a kiss as I headed for the Mercedes with Richard, and he went to the street to look for his Uber.
As he’d said, after dropping Richard and all his things at Mom’s, I arrived at work with plenty of time to spare. Since it was my first day in the District Attorney’s office, I was mostly just going to familiarize myself with my workplace and my new colleagues. I was nervous, but it went a lot better than I could have hoped for it too. For the first few weeks, I’d have to shadow the District Attorney to learn the ropes. Nothing seemed that difficult, though I noticed the cases were a bit more serious than what I had been working on as a public defender.
I hadn't taken on any of my own cases yet, I’d only assisted in a couple of higher profile ones, but I felt this was a step in the right direction. The District Attorney was strict, but kind. I didn’t think I would have to put up with an attitude like Simon’s, though it was still really early to tell. There were two other ADA’s who were helpful as well, and most of staff was very welcoming.
It turned out pretty great, for all the worrying I’d done over it.
For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was right where I needed to be.
In love with Rogue, and with my new life as a wife and mother as well as an Assistant District Attorney.