When Jaebum had looked out the window that morning and realised that their street was carpeted in a thick blanket of snow his first thought had been ‘oh pretty’. His second thought had been ‘I’d better check the buses are still running ‘.

So he’d checked and no, the buses from their end of town were not running. Which meant his third thought had been ‘oh crap’. Because if the buses weren’t running how was he supposed to get to work?

He could try and take the car, he’d have to clear the driveway but it was an option. He’d just have to drive carefully. But if he took the car then Mark would be stranded at home with no means of transport. And since Mark was currently pregnant with their second child and less than three weeks away from his due date that wasn’t an idea Jaebum liked. Leaving his heavily pregnant husband and their four year old son snowed in at home, cut off from the rest of the world just wasn’t something he felt comfortable doing. But he also really needed to go to work…

But when Jaebum had voiced this dilemma to Mark, Mark had sighed and shaken his head, giving him a withering look. “I don’t know what you’re getting so worked up about. Just call your boss and tell him you can’t make it.” He told him. “Have you seen the news? You’re not going to be the only one.”

“But I can’t just…” Jaebum started to say, intending to protest but he hadn’t been allowed to finish.

“What are you planning to do? Walk?” Mark snapped, expression darkening.

And Jaebum stared at him in a shock for a moment, surprised by the sudden change in his demeanour. He was aware he was being slightly ridiculous but that response had been a little harsh. Then he took in the slight grimace on Mark’s face and the way he was standing, one hand flat against the kitchen counter he was standing beside, his free arm cradling his rather impressive bump. He kept shifting his feet as if he was trying find a more comfortable standing position and Jaebum remembered he was nine months pregnant and counting down the days until he wasn’t. It was no wonder his patience had worn thin so fast.

“How are you feeling today?” He asked, feeling guilty for not asking sooner.

“Tired and uncomfortable.” Mark told him, the answer immediate, his expression softening as he realised snapping hadn’t been fair. “I didn’t sleep well last night at all. But it’s fine. You’re going to let work know you can’t make it and we can play in the snow with Woojin and later we can get out some blankets and watch Christmas films together on the couch. We can use this snow day as an opportunity to spend some quality time with our eldest before his baby brother gets here and we have to split our attention between the two of them.”

“Okay,” Jaebum agreed. “You’re right, it’ll be nice to spend some time with Woojin before the baby gets here. I’ll call my boss.

And it was at that moment the kitchen door flew open, their firstborn entering the room so fast and with so much momentum that Jaebum had to grab the back of his pyjama top to stop him skidding and colliding with the kitchen table.

“It snowed!” Woojin yelled, unconcerned by his near death experience.

“Did it?” Mark asked, feigning surprise.

“Yes!” Woojin exclaimed, pulling free from his father’s grip and literally bouncing up and down in excitement. “Look!” He added pointing at the kitchen window. “It snowed lots and lots!”

Mark did as we was told and turned around to face the window. “So it did…” he said.

“We should build a snowman!” Woojin suggested, grabbing Jaebum’s hand and tugging, his other hand waving towards the door to the garden. “And throw snowballs! Let’s go!”

“We should have breakfast,” Jaebum countered, staying put, the pure joy in Woojin’s eyes making him smile. “And we should get dressed.”

“But… but… but the snow might melt!” Woojin stuttered, dropping Jaebum’s hand and throwing his hands up in frustration.  “Do you want it to melt?” He asked, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes in a way that made him look disconcertingly like his mother when he was annoyed.

“It won’t melt.” Mark assured him, looking amused. “And even if it starts to melt it’s meant to snow again this afternoon. There will be plenty of time for us to build a snowman.”

“Daddy too?” Woojin asked, turning expectant eyes on to Jaebum.

“Daddy too.” Jaebum echoed. “I’m going to stay at home today and we’ll have lots of fun in the snow.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~

Mark had been right. Jaebum’s boss hadn’t been surprised to hear he wasn’t coming in. At least half the office had already called to say they wouldn’t be able to make it.

So after breakfast was done he’d helped Woojin get dressed, making sure he was wearing plenty of layers and they’d all put on coats and gloves, hats and scarves and winter boots.

Woojin had been bundled up so well that only his eyes had been showing and Mark had looked even cuter, he could still fasten his coat but the fit was snug, highlighting his rounded belly and he was wearing a trapper hat with faux fur that was almost identical to the one Woojin was wearing, the ear flaps framing his face making cheeks rounded from pregnancy seem even rounder. Both his son and his husband had looked ridiculously adorable Jaebum had wanted to hug both of them. But there’d been no time for that. As soon as Woojin’s boots were on he had them both by the hand and was dragging them towards the door, wanting to get started on their snowman immediately.

So that’s where Jaebum was now. He was out in their garden, kneeling beside Woojin in the snow, patting extra snow onto the body of the snowman they’d made to make it look like in the words of Woojin, ‘a real snowy snowman, a fat and round one’. His trousers were wet through at the knees and the cold was starting to bite but Woojin was rosy cheeked and happy and he wasn’t about to ruin his fun. He could last a little longer. And when they were done Mark had promised to make them both hot chocolate so it would be ready and waiting for them once they got changed.

Mark had been outside with them not so long ago, mostly supervising. Bending to collect snow was kind of tricky when you had an almost full term baby weighing you down. But after ten minutes or so of simple supervision he’d looked as if he was struggling with even just that. He kept shifting his weight from foot to foot, his hand occasionally going to the small of his back as he stretched out his spine or rolled his shoulders. He’d kept frowning too, a hand going to rub his belly over the fabric of his padded winter coat. He’d been starting to look miserable and knowing Mark wasn’t going to complain in front of Woojin, Jaebum had decided he'd better step in.

“We’re warm enough, we’re running around collecting snow, it’s making us work up a sweat.” He’d said. “But you look cold. Why don’t you go back inside, watch us from the window?”

He’d thought Mark would protest, tell him he was fine. But he must have been feeling worse than he’d been letting on because he nodded his agreement. “Yeah, yeah that sounds like a good idea.” He’d said, grimacing again, a hand going to rub at the underside of his bump. “I don’t think baby appreciates being outside. He’s really acting up. Maybe if I go inside and sit down he’ll settle down.”

“You do that.” Jaebum had told him, glad he hadn’t argued but also slightly concerned. Even when Mark agreed with him he liked to be contrary just for the hell of it. “We won’t be much longer, we’ll be in to join you soon.”

So Mark had done that, he’d gone inside promising to make them hot chocolate when they were done.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

And when they finally made it inside and had both changed into dry, warm clothes Mark was waiting for them as promised in the kitchen, two mugs of hot chocolate on the table in front of him.

“You’re not having some with us?” Jaebum asked after helping Woojin into his chair and taking a seat himself.

Mark shook his head. “To be honest,” he said quietly, once he was sure Woojin’s attention was focussed on his hot chocolate, “I’ve been getting practice contractions on and off all morning and it’s making me feel a little sick.”

“Just practice contractions?” He hoped that’s all they were and that wasn’t just Mark downplaying things. “Do you want me to clear the driveway in case we need the car?”

“No, no they’re not that strong and they’re not that regular.” Mark assured him. “If they were, I’d tell you. They’re just really uncomfortable and it’s making me queasy. It was the same with Woojin, the week before he was born. Do you remember?”

Jaebum nodded. He did remember. Mark had spent almost a whole week feeling too sick to eat much before Woojin arrived. If this was the same thing then they had plenty of time to get the driveway sorted out. Days probably. “Are they still bothering you now?” He asked.

“Not really.” Mark told him. “My back is still hurting but they seem to have eased off.”

“Then why don’t you go and lie down for a while?” Jaebum suggested, he never liked to see Mark hurting and it was even worse when there was nothing he could do about it. Suggesting a nap though, he could do that. “I know you didn’t sleep well last night, maybe you can get some sleep now instead.”

“Yeah, maybe…” Mark conceded, sounding a little reluctant.

“I’ll be back at work tomorrow.” Jaebum reminded him. “You should make the most of me being home to keep an eye on Woojin and get some rest while you can.”

“Woojin would probably benefit from getting to spend some quality time with just you before the baby gets here.” Mark admitted, seemingly warming up to the idea. “And I am pretty tired.”

“Then go.” Jaebum told him. “Get some sleep. We’ll be fine.”

“Okay, yeah, I’ll go take a nap.” Mark finally agreed, mind made up. “But if I do manage to sleep don’t let me sleep for too long. I still want to watch those Christmas films with you both this afternoon.”

“I won’t, I promise.” Jaebum assured him with a smile. “We want to watch them with you too. Now go on, get to bed.”

“Give me a second.” Mark protested. “I need to prepare myself to get up. Your son is heavy you know.”

And still smiling Jaebum got up with a mock sigh and held out his hand. “Come on, I’ll help you.” He offered.

And offering Jaebum a very real sigh of his own Mark gripped onto the hand he was offering so he could pull him to his feet. “Thank you.” He said when he was eventually standing. “And remember, don’t let me sleep all day.”

“We won’t.” Jaebum promised.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

And they didn’t. When Jaebum had suggested to Woojin that they make some lunch Woojin had rather selflessly suggested that they make lunch for Mummy first.

So they had, they’d made Mark a sandwich, Woojin demanding he add extra tomato because ‘the baby likes tomatoes, Mummy says so’. Then they’d both gone upstairs with the intention of waking Mark and delivering him his lunch. Jaebum felt a little bad about waking him when he’d been so tired but he was hoping that his nap had done him some good and he no longer felt so sick, carrying their son was hard work and if he wanted to keep his strength up he needed to eat.

Only when Woojin pushed open the bedroom door for him Jaebum realised Mark didn’t need waking. He was up already, sitting at the foot of the bed, leaning back slightly, one arm cradling his middle.

“Hey,” Jaebum said carefully, noticing the slightly pained expression on his husband’s face, “you’re awake then…”

“I slept a little.” Mark told him, “but then the practice contractions started up again.”

“Are you sure that’s all they are?” Jaebum asked. Practice contractions usually bothered Mark for an hour or two at a time at the most, these had been bothering him all morning.

“We made sandwiches!” Woojin exclaimed before Mark could answer, running across the room and hopping up onto the bed to sit beside his mother. “With cheese for you and tomato for the baby! Daddy has them, look!” He added, pointing to the plate in Jaebum’s hand.

“That’s so nice, thank you.” Mark told him as Jaebum made his way further into the room so he could hand the sandwich to him. “Did you make sandwiches for you and Daddy too?” He asked.

“No, not yet.” Woojin informed him with a shake of his head. “We thinked you would be hungrier so we made yours first.”

“Ah, well, then you should go and make yours now.” Mark said.

Jaebum thought for a moment that Mark was going to ignore his question about the practice contractions entirely and opened his mouth to ask it again but Mark wasn’t done talking.

“Then maybe, after lunch, Daddy can clear the driveway a little in case we need the car later.” He said, taking the sandwich from Jaebum. “You can watch him from the window and make sure he does a good job.”

Mark was implying they might need the car and that in turn was implying that those practice contractions might be real contractions. Jaebum didn’t know why he sounded so calm and composed. “We might need the car later?” He echoed.

“Maybe.” Mark said, focussing on disassembling the sandwich on his plate, making a small pile of tomato so he could save it until last. “They’re still not very regular but they’re a little stronger than they have been so having it ready just in case won’t hurt.”

“Can I have tuna on my sandwich?” Woojin butted in, again failing to pick up on the gravity of the conversation. “And ketchup?”

Tuna and ketchup sounded kind of disgusting but Woojin looked so excited at the prospect that Jaebum didn’t have the heart to say no. “Sure.” He said instead, “Let’s go see if we can find some. Then after lunch you can help me find the shovel so we can sort the driveway.” Mark might not sound concerned but the fact he’d mentioned needing the car at all told a different story. The sooner he made the driveway usable the better.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Woojin had seemed to enjoy his tuna and ketchup sandwich and once he was done Jaebum had shepherded him into the living room, telling him to play with his toys until he came back. Then he’d fetched his coat and boots and gloves for the second time that day and headed outside to start on the driveway.

After ten minutes it looked like he’d made very little progress and it was starting to snow again. He should have started on it earlier he scolded himself, as soon as he’d been up and dressed. But he hadn’t so the fact he’d only managed to dig out the back wheels of the car and his back was already starting to ache was entirely his own fault.

Before he could feel too sorry for himself though he heard the slam of their front door and he looked up, expecting to see Mark on the front step wanting to know how long he’d be. But that wasn’t what he saw. Instead he was met by the sight of Woojin skipping his way down the path, no winter coat on and no hat on with only his slippers on his feet.

“Woojin!” Jaebum snapped, straightening up, eyes widening in horror. “Get back inside, right now!” The last thing they needed was a four year old with hypothermia to deal with.

“But Daddy, it’s a ‘mergency.” Woojin protested, coming to a halt and throwing his hands in the air dramatically. “You need to come inside and help.”

Woojin’s emergencies ranged from losing his favourite action figure to the time his friend Chan had tripped and fallen in their garden and hit his head on the wall. They’d had call his parents and let them know a trip to A&E might be called for. Chan had seemed quite unconcerned but his parents had been frantic and he’d ended up needing stitches. “What kind of emergency?” Jaebum asked. He was really hoping this emergency was on the missing action figure end of the scale. If it was at the someone needing stitches end, well Woojin was in front of him and seemed fine and the only other person in the house was Mark.

“Mummy had an accident.” Woojin stated, tone very matter of fact. “He needs you to go inside and help him.”

“Help him with what?” Jaebum asked next, the shovel he’d been holding dropping to the floor with thump. “Did he fall? Did he bump into something? Do we need the first aid kit?”

“No silly,” Woojin told him with a roll of his eyes, “he just needs new trousers.”

“Trousers?” Jaebum repeated, forehead wrinkling.

“Yeah, cause they’re wet. He’s really sad about it but I told him it’s okay. It happens.” Woojin said with a shrug, stamping his feet in a bid to keep warm.

It was only then that Jaebum remembered his son was ankle deep in snow in his slippers and internally cursing himself he stepped closer and swept him up in his arms, balancing him on his hip. He was getting a little big to be carried but he could deal with a little more backache if it meant his four year old keeping all his toes. “So Mummy wet his trousers?” Jaebum asked as he walked them towards the front door.

“Uh huh.” Woojin said, burrowing into his jacket, clearly appreciating the warmth. “Like a lot. But I don’t think he meant it. It was probly an accident.”

The way Woojin was talking was making it sound like Mark had wet himself. And while Mark had complained more than once about the fact that the baby was sitting on his bladder and the constant visits to the bathroom this necessitated he hadn’t actually wet himself yet. And he doubted he’d done so now, the bathroom was literally right across the hall from their room. “Did he spill something?” He asked Woojin, desperately hoping he’d say yes. He wasn’t ready to deal with the alternative, the car still wasn’t usable.

“No,” Woojin told him as they made it into the house and the door clicked closed behind them. “It’s like a real accident and now his trousers are really wet. He wants new ones.”

“Right, okay.” Jaebum said, panic building but trying not to let it show. “And where is Mummy?” That would be useful to know he thought as pulled off Woojin’s now sodden slippers and set him down on the floor.

“In the bathroom.” Woojin informed him brightly as he watched him unlace his boots. “So that’s good. It means he tried.”

If Jaebum wasn’t so worried by the implications of his husband’s waters breaking at home, while their car was snowbound in their driveway, he would have smiled. That was what they’d used to say to Woojin when they were toilet training him, that if he’d told them he needed to go and they’d made it to the bathroom then at least he’d tried. It was kind of cute, that he remembered. But Jaebum was worried so he didn’t smile, instead he kicked off his boots,  grabbed a towel from the cupboard under the stairs and ordered Woojin to dry his feet, then without bothering to stop and take off his gloves or his coat he was bounding upstairs to find Mark.

~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

Mark was standing in the middle of the bathroom, one arm cradling his bump as he frowned down at his wet pyjama bottoms.

“So they’re not practice contractions then.” Jaebum noted and Mark looked up, frown deepening.

“Apparently not.” He confirmed. “How are you getting on with the car?”

“It’s slow going,” Jaebum told him, “but I’m getting there.”

“Good.” Mark said, sounding relieved. “They’re still not that close together, but after this I think we’re going to need it pretty soon so if you can…” he started to stay, then stopped, giving a sharp intake of breath, his face contorting into a grimace.

And Jaebum was automatically stepping forward, a hand going to rest on his husband’s shoulder. “Remember to breath out again.” He said gently and Mark, with faraway eyes, nodded and complied, letting out a shaky breath.

“Okay…” he said after taking a moment to pull himself together, “That… that one was a lot stronger. So first, can you grab me some clean clothes? Then after we’ve cleaned up in here you should get back to work on the car.”

“You don’t want to get changed in the bedroom?” Jaebum asked. Mark needed a lot of room to manoeuvre now whenever he got dressed and the bathroom was kind of small.

But Mark shook his head, slowly lowering himself to sit on the padded storage basket that lived at the end of the bath. “I’d rather stay here. It’s too warm in the bedroom, and if I make another mess it’s going to be easier to clean.”

“If that’s what you want…” Jaebum said, still not entirely sure the bathroom was the best place for him to be.

“I’m sure.” Mark said firmly, “Now go on, go get me some clean clothes.”

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~