Chapter Text
The team won the whole fucking thing, just as Ted had promised and they were married in a small church in Richmond, at three pm on the nineteenth of June. The ring that Keeley helped him choose for Rebecca had a stone perfect in cut, colour and clarity and was fit in a stunning, yet modest setting, ideal for a woman who didn’t expect the world, but deserved it.
They spoke heartfelt vows in front of their mothers, their friends, their team and his son who carried the rings in the breast pocket of his suit that matched his father’s. It rained throughout, with a torrential downpour battering at the stained glass windows as Rebecca giggled against his lips whilst everyone they loved cheered.
They would stay Rebecca Welton and Ted Lasso, and they were happy with that because she would be his and he would be hers, husband and wife and that was all that mattered, really.
She had her second round of IVF a week after they returned from their honeymoon, trying to convince him she was more than okay to try again, even though he could see in her face it was a problem she was going to continue throwing money at until she got the outcome she wanted. It worried him just a little, considering how she’d reacted just a week before the wedding, sobbing in her mother’s arms in her childhood kitchen as he looked around the doorframe - knowing if she was aware he was there, she’d hide the tears away.
But she had enough money and he had enough heart, and as long as she wanted to keep trying he would be there to hold her hand.
They weren’t scheduled for a Boxing Day match; a whole ten days wide open from the twenty-third to the first for him to take her to Kansas for the very first time and it had surprised him just how excited she was for it, spending three days hunched over a suitcase with her entire wardrobe spread out in one of the guest rooms as she methodically packed and repacked everything she thought she’d need.
She dedicated an entire suitcase to gifts for Henry, Jones, Jefferson and Hayes and he knew it wasn’t so much the rolling hills of Kansas she was excited for, but to be surrounded by children.
The house his mother had moved into when he was seventeen was large, with broad windows that overlooked wide open plains. The way it was positioned made it feel like you were the only house for miles, regardless that from the front, it was basically suburbia. They arrived in the middle of the night, falling into bed in the dark, kicking off travel clothes and collapsing together under a quilt his mother had embroidered when he was nine, with their suitcases haphazardly stacked against the wall.
By the time they awoke the next day, it was Christmas Eve and everyone was there. Jessie squealed at Rebecca when they made their way down the stairs, tearing across the living room to pull her into her arms, yanking on her hand to see her ring as Rebecca chuckled and squeezed his arm to silently tell him she was perfectly fine.
It had been an entire year. They won the Premier League, they got married, they travelled, they failed three rounds of IVF and they were back with his family who had taken her into their hearts the year before. Jessie pulled Rebecca around the room, their arms linked together as she introduced her to Ted’s other cousins, all of them offering kisses on the cheek or hugs if she felt comfortable enough - every one, every kind word was accepted with Rebecca glowing brighter with every step.
She turned down a mimosa with a nervous smile, shaking her head when Jessie offered her tea or coffee instead and Ted smirked - her brain was probably still on London time - as he accepted a beer from his Uncle Bert and let out an ’oof’ when Henry suddenly came careening into his legs.
“Hey, Bud!” He hugged him tight, pressing a kiss to the top of his head before he mussed up his hair. “When did you get here?”
“Mum just dropped me off. Where’s Rebecca?”
Ted gestured across the expansive living room to where she was sitting on the floor next to the tree, attentively listening to Hayes telling her stories about the decorations on the tree and asking her to read the labels so the little girl could know which presents were for her.
His boy dashed off before he had a moment to ask him how he’d been, and he found himself smiling so wide it almost hurt as his kid called out for Rebecca before practically tackling her into the tree; her hearty laughter reverberating through the room as she wrapped her arms around him tightly.
Christmas presents were handed out before the sun had fully risen on Christmas Day, everyone in near-matching silly Christmas pyjamas, except Rebecca who wore silk with delicate piping, save for the silly Christmas socks Ted had slipped on her feet before they headed downstairs.
The room was covered in torn wrapping paper, ribbons and half-eaten packets of Christmas candy by the time Catherine handed Rebecca a small package that had been tucked right under the tree, with a smile between them Ted couldn’t quite name. Rebecca turned around to him, sitting down beside him on the rich leather sofa, tucking one of her Christmas-sock covered feet under his thigh as she dropped the gift in his lap, before wrapping her arm around her knee.
“For you.” She smiled and he caught a touch of nervousness there before realising everyone was suddenly watching him. Rebecca, Jessie and his mother seemed to know why, but their focus on him had drawn the attention of the others, as Ted tentatively gave the ribbon wrapped around the small box, a tug.
“Can I eat it?” He grinned as he lifted the lid and Rebecca chuckled a little, still watching intently as he set the lid aside and pulled back the delicate tissue paper. Inside there was a small green stuffed dinosaur with the softest, plush fuzz and the cutest little teeth. Ted frowned, pulling it from the box with a look of amusement as he spotted the little backpack on it’s back.
“His name is Theodore.” Rebecca grinned and Ted chuckled, leaning over to press a kiss to her lips.
“Is it?”
She nodded, giving him a little shove and a gesture to look back at his gift. The little dinosaur wasn’t all that was inside the box and when Ted finally noticed it, he felt the blood drain from his face as he released a quiet. ‘Oh.’
“Merry Christmas, Ted.” Rebecca’s voice was soft, so quiet it would have been only for him, had the whole family not stopped what they were doing to observe the exchange, all of them seeing the expression on Ted’s face, morphing and changing as he registered what he was looking at.
Inside the little box, covered by the little plush dinosaur, was a small grainy photograph and a positive pregnancy test. Holding them both tightly in his hands, Ted turned to look at her in wonder. “You’d never joke about a thing like this, so heck, I know this is real.” In an instant he’d dropped everything in his hands to the ground and lunged for her, pressing her into the back of the couch as his arms went around her and his lips were pressed to hers - each of her hands cradling the sides of his face.
“Whoa whoa, there,” Jessie grabbed at his shoulder with laughter in her voice. “She’s already pregnant, no need to try again in front of the whole gang.”
Ted pulled back, arms still around Rebecca’s waist as he looked into her eyes - alight with joy and excitement with a dusting of pink on the apples of her cheeks. “I was wrong,” He whispered and Rebecca chuckled, brushing her thumb against the edge of his moustache as he continued to hold her.
“About what?”
Ted smirked. “Last Christmas was good, but this one is definitely the best.”
“Oh,” Rebecca nodded thoughtfully, shifting a little underneath him as his hands moved to press against her stomach, not caring a lick they were still being watched by his entire family. “You’re going to eat your words next Christmas when this little one is here with us.”
“Probably.” He laughed, giddy and buoyant as Rebecca arched up to press another kiss to his lips.
Fin.