Jess and Odette Make a Baby

AN: In this Post-AYITL fic Jess met Odette through Logan and they developed a relationship. It's a bit of a class difference with them (former French heiress who is trying to make it on her own vs Jess Mariano from humble beginnings). Odette has been determined to have a baby as she's in her late 30s (but is still very attractive and fit - I've imagined Odette showing some resemblence to Léa Seydoux but not her exactly), even if she has to do it alone. But Odette's and Jess' relationship is fresh - just a few months in. But Jess is definitely feeling the need to make up his mind if he wants a baby with her or whether she should go at it by herself. As you probably can tell from the title, fun baby making is about to commence.

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Taking the leap for you - Jess and Odette make a baby

Odette sat at the back of her Greenwich Village garden under a shade sail, enjoying the warmth outside, her laptop in front of her, drinking a glass of ice water. She was enjoying the greenery that lay in front of her - a L shaped raised bed full of bushes and shrubs, some flowering, some not - all thanks to the gardener she'd hired a week ago. She had liked the idea when she'd bought the place - that there'd be a private outdoor space, a place for dinner parties and for her kid to play in. But when it came to the actual gardening she didn't exactly have green thumbs, hence relying on outside help.

She'd so far managed to maintain the four-story townhouse just by the help of a cleaning maid helping out once a week, who usually came when she was doing her pilates. Now there was another thing she needed outside help with. She'd never really thought that getting hired help would make her feel bad, but now it did - as if it was another thing that demonstrated how spoiled she actually was, and she was almost reluctant to tell Jess about it. She would of course, but she could see it being another one of these things that Jess didn't like about living with here. She could see that Jess didn't fit in in this neighbourhood, and among her ponderings - relating to everything and anything between having her baby, their relationship, her career, which didn't really require her to be in Manhattan these days, she'd begun considering whether it was indeed her that could and would need to adjust according to him someday.

While she'd maintained some of the luxuries of life - her assortment of exercising possibilities, help around the house, eating healthy and fresh food along with some day spa treatments she allowed herself occasionally, she really didn't live very lavishly except for the house that was clearly too big for her alone. Her daily needs for designer outfits were scarce, and without the added pressure of comparing her appearance or wardrobe to the long row of society wives and cut-throat business women, she actually didn't miss it. She also didn't go out a whole lot, especially to places that were on the fancier side, worrying she might run into someone from her past whom she hoped to avoid. She didn't travel even much, or buy art or cars or other luxury items just based on whims. She'd definitely changed - and whether Jess had a part in that transformation, she couldn't really say for sure, but what she did know was that she didn't miss her old lifestyle when Jess was around.

Odette had spent most of the week in a haze, worrying about what was going in Jess' mind, however. She'd realized that her new life leaned on Jess a lot - and it had all happened so fast. The relationships she had with her friends, or Logan and Rory even, were superficial in comparison to put it mildly. Maybe it wasn't entirely healthy that the potential loss of Jess scared her as much as it did? She'd tried pulling back a little, as a protection mechanism, attempting to spend some time apart - it wasn't too difficult as Jess seemed to have a lot of work that week, but it was at night when the longing crept in and it was at least every other night she'd still ended up either texting him to come over or just gone herself. Each time that happened it was like an automatic de-stress. They wouldn't even need to have sex, just being around him was enough. She had even begun considering that maybe she was willing to risk the wait, delay having the baby a few more years or finding some alternative paths to do what she wanted to do - maybe she could volunteer, work with kids in some way, maybe that would do it? But she wanted a baby so badly none of those scenarios really appealed to her. She was trying to find compromises in her head, leverage - anything to give her reasons to not to think about the possibility of parting from him in case all of this was just too much, too soon for him.

Jess, on the other hand, hadn't lied saying he'd been working a lot that week, he had, but just not on strictly his job assignments - a lot of the time going into his inner debates on whether he could in fact do this with her. Whether he could allow himself to get lost even further in her. He had sensed her pulling away, keeping to herself a little, but was almost relieved to see her experience the pull back to him despite that. At least he wasn't alone in that position. He didn't want to keep Odette guessing, worrying - he knew he needed to decide whatever he was going to do sooner rather than later.

"Hi," Jess said as he stepped into the garden, jolting her out of her thoughts. It was around 6.30 PM, and he'd just come from work. He had his own key to her place, hence he'd let himself in. The key exchange, as everything else, had come without theatrics or long discussions, it had simply been practical.

"Hey," she replied smilingly, pulling down her laptop cover, to give him her full attention. They'd made plans to make dinner together here that evening and just hang out.

Jess stepped close, greeting her as they did - two kisses on the cheeks, a sneaky stolen kiss on the lips, which she always anticipated. He placed his phone, wallet and a folder he'd had in his hand onto the spare chair.

"How was work?" Odette asked, offering him a drink of water from her own glass.

"Good, I finished one title today," Jess sighed and nodded, after swallowing the sip, rolling up his dress-shirt's sleeves as the day had turned much warmer than he'd anticipated.

"What's that?" Odette asked, gesturing towards the folder, jumping right into what he'd been planning to share with her after he'd gathered his courage.

"It's something I wanted to show you," Jess began, realizing that there was no better time than the present. Maybe it was just the heat but he felt a little nervous as he opened it, placing a number of documents in front of her, and lastly a thin book with a blank front page.

"Where should I start?" she wondered, trying to quickly glance through the reports and statements that laid in front of her.

"Anywhere," Jess said in a low tone, taking a deep breath.

She browsed through the papers, first not really understanding what she was looking at. Health reports, genetic testing results, financial statements and insurances - all on Jess' name.

"I want you to know all this," Jess said assuringly, tapping his fingers against the papers.

"Wh...," she began, not really knowing what to say. Was something wrong? Why was he showing her these?

"I'm sorry, I'm just not getting it - what is it that I am supposed to be seeing here - you're not sick are you?" she asked, confusedly.

"No, I'm not," he said, feeling slightly amused, handing her the white hand-binded book. It was the book he'd written for her. The extra work he'd been doing the past week and half had gone into that. It was working on that that had led him in his mind where it was now - to a certain state of clarity.

"You finished it," she sighed, as she browsed it, realizing what it was.

"Look at the last page," Jess suggested.

The last page was handwritten.

"You crashed into my life like an odd event, like a missing piece of my puzzle and now you've become essential to me. I love you with every fibre of my being. I see you, I inhale you, I hear you...and I am unwilling to risk losing you just because of fear of failure. Not trying, thinking of what could've been, is ultimately a bigger regret than trying. Besides, I hear they say everything worth doing starts with being scared," Jess had written, quoting Art Garfunkel in the end. Odette could hear Jess' voice in her head as she read it.

Jess had done it all. He'd spoken to Luke and his best friend Adrian, he'd even listened to Logan talk about Rory's pregnancy a little - the man was almost ridiculously giddy at the thought, briefly making him wonder if he would ever be like that. He'd even called April to get a grounded perspective consisting mostly about the scientific facts rather than emotions. He'd done the tests, he'd weighed his options. He'd read most of the articles he'd found on the topic, spending too many hours of his workday on it, he'd even read a few books during his lunch hours. In theory it was largely 50-50, those swearing it was the best decision they ever made, the other focusing on the cons, but in the end he'd just gone with his gut, after reading what he himself had written about Odette - how she took chances in finding a better life for herself. Wasn't that exactly what life was all about?

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Odette asked, tears already falling down her cheeks.

"I am, but I want you to really look at these, so you know exactly what you are dealing with. I don't want any secrets, I want to be an open book to you, like you've been with me. And once you've done that I'm going to need you to tell me that this is what you really want," Jess said. He still couldn't shake his insecurity with her - he wanted to be a better person, braver, for her. But this wasn't just for her - he'd realized that making this decision was for him too - rather having it all with her than just a small serving of what could've been.

She looked at the papers for no more than ten seconds, realizing she really didn't care, nor was she really able to focus. Her hands were shaky as she tried to wipe her tears of joy away.

"Oh, Jess...," she began, as she rose and wrapped her arms around him, landing onto his lap. "I really want to have a baby with you, no-one else," she whimpered through her smile.

"And I really want to do this with you," he replied, emphasizing the "with you". He'd realized that if there was anyone he would be willing to do this with, it was her. There was no-one he imagined as a better mother than her and while the thought of an actual kid was still foreign to him, he knew that with her, he was willing to give it his all.

"God, how I love you... this the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me," Odette said, her forehead resting on his. None of the candlelight dinners, yacht rides, lavish galas and exotic holiday destinations she'd experienced during her lifetime measured up to this.

His lips landed on hers, the deepness of the kiss swallowing him whole. He could get lost in her now. They just stayed there for a while, both in a state of disbelief, holding each other and getting used to the thought. The words were said, leaps into the unknown taken.

(Half an hour later)

"You know it's probably not going to happen at first try, right?" Odette panted, hastily unbuttoning Jess' shirt, her lips firmly pressing against his once again. It had felt almost like the too obvious thing to do after a declaration like that - jumping right into the action, and they honestly had tried.

They'd begun making dinner - salmon and tabbouleh, along with ciabatta. But Jess had been starving, and she'd ended up feeding him bits of bread with olive oil along with a couple of bites of brie, while he prepped the fish. God, he looked sexy when he cooked.

He'd bit into the bites she'd fed her, teasing as if he was going to bite her fingers, playfully brushing his lips against her fingertips. Smiles and looks had spoken volumes. He'd washed his hands and placed the dish into the oven. At some point, while they waited, Odette had licked the bit of olive oil off her fingers, having taken a bite herself. And the way her eyes lit up, and mouth curved slightly as she did that, pushing her head to the side just a little and letting her dark blonde hair fall to the side, as she leaned up against the marble counter top - clearly deliberately - it had just been too much for him. A fraction of a second later his mouth had crashed into hers, his tongue demanding access, searching to satiate another type of hunger.

"Have I ever not enjoyed the practice?" Jess asked in a hoarse tone, his mouth making a mischievous grin. Jess continued kissing her neck, having pushed himself so up close to her, she was now jammed between the counter and his powerful body, rendering her defenceless.

His lips trailed down the side of her neck - licking, nibbling and sucking - this was definitely leaving some marks. His enthusiasm was contagious and her stomach felt like it was doing backflips already, and she could feel the need within her growing within seconds.

Odette's short poplin dress was swiftly shoved upwards, his fingers digging into the back of her hips, his thumb reaching around her slim waist. The kissing continued, until it parted just for one quick pull of her dress to get it over her head, allowing them to briefly catch their breaths, their hearts racing. Braless, like Odette often preferred to be at home, she now stood in front of him, his own shirt landing somewhere on the kitchen table without further thought, her firm nipples brushing gently against his chest.

Her fingers traced his stubble, continuing gently down his shoulder, firm biceps, forearms, wrists and palms to the tips of his fingers. The kisses that she left on his chest next were unhurried, adoring the man that had taken a leap for her in a way nobody ever had. She wanted to savor this, letting her tongue slip over his nipples, each lick feeling like embers on his skin, the tips of her fingers tracing the outline of his abs, moving downwards.

Jess cupped her breast, circling her nipples one by one, as he kissed her more fiercely again, one hand on the nape of her neck.

When Odette palm ran over his bulge, the throbbing no longer allowed him to concentrate, letting out a groan in anticipation. He reciprocated - reaching almost unfairly down between her legs, there being far fewer layers between her and his hand that she'd had with him. She elicited a moan at the sensation. Just the very thought of him had made her drench through her lace panties, and he could definitely feel it. She writhed at his attention, pushing herself even more firmly against his hand.

"That's it," Jess announced at the lack of any further self control, as he squatted slightly, grabbing her by her thighs onto his lap, and carried her towards the living room, while she continued to kiss his neck. God, how was it possible that he always smelled that good? A hint of cedar, black currant and bergamot with a spicy undertone and that something more that was inherently him.

"Sit," she instructed, nodding towards the tuxedo couch, as she climbed off, removing her own panties hastily, unable to tolerate any more teasing. Odette hastily unbuckled and unzipped him, pushing the pants down. She climbed back to straddle him, his appreciative gaze making her even more confident. She could feel his hot, almost pulsating, member under her, positioned between her labia.

"You feel so good already," she whispered to his ear, already feeling his warmth, that never was quite the same with protection, no matter how ultra thin they claimed to be. It was the first time they weren't using any.

She moved herself back and forth a few times, making him gasp, binding her fingers into the back of his dark hair. He tried to pace himself, knowing that it might just be too much if they hurried.

Their eyes were locked, as she impaled herself on his hard shaft, a whimper of need escaping her lips. Her core felt warm, moist, and oh so inviting.

It was like he couldn't catch his breath for a moment, feeling her smoothness without anything in between, the bare touch sending waves of shock through his body.

She owned his body now. Jess couldn't imagine wanting any other sensation ever again.

"Oh, fuck!" Jess' voice trembled, as she barely moved another muscle.

Odette held herself still, observing the effect she was having on him, making her grin ridiculously. She could see his chest heave up and down in anticipation, gathering himself.

He allowed his hands to trail down her breasts, down her soft, tight stomach. He then reached down to gently stroking her nub with his wet thumb that he'd dipped in his mouth. The sensation left her mouth slightly ajar as she now slowly began to move herself again, every sensation amplified.

She clung onto his neck, her forehead resting at the side of his, breathing hot gushes of air across his skin, her thighs and hips doing the work. Slow and deliberate thrusts led her to the point of no return, far sooner than she'd expected. She'd never imagined condomless sex to feel this good.

Jess had to apply every bit of strength he had to hold on just a while longer, digging his fingers into her thighs assertively - Just stay there!

She could feel blood pulsate through his throbbing member as he did that.

Slowly he continued to move her, controlling her movements with his strong arms, sweat glistening on his forearms. Their pace was similar to that of a slow-moving steam train - slow and steady.

The rhythmic quivering that suddenly began at her core as she became undone set him into overdrive, and his grunts got more frequent as he delved into her a few more times, hitting her cervix with a lot more force than before, releasing his energy into her with a deep grunt. No barrier. No turning back.

She didn't want to move as the afterwaves of her climax carried, her head fogged in bliss. His hands wrapped around her, holding her still until their heartbeats settled.

"Hi," she said smilingly, her head resting on his shoulder, as his eyes finally opened again, having been lost in some inner dimension.

Jess' cool lips brushed hers, receiving a gentle stroke with her hot tongue in return.

"Jep, I'm definitely going to enjoy this process," Jess noted with a crooked smile, as the kiss broke, just inches from her.

"And just think, you were the one with the doubts," she replied laughingly, having lost a bit of her filter in the process, wanting to bite her tongue the second she'd said it. Maybe it was too close to the nerve?

"An idiot - right here!" Jess replied, pointing a thumb towards himself with his crooked smile. The whole thing was a little crazy, that's what April had said too. They'd known each other for some months, skipping over a lot of the traditional parts, but had no aim to continue any other way. Even if they burned quickly and went out the same way - felt too good not to leap for.

She smiled in return, realizing that the filter could just stay gone for good. They didn't need it.

The salmon had overcooked, and they settled for bread, salad and cheese that evening, perfectly content with the result. Later in bed Odette read his book out loud in admiration of his skill for words, as they both thought of the possibility that maybe, just maybe there was new life forming inside of her as they lay there.