'You've remembered the appointment tomorrow, haven't you?' Addison looked over her shoulder for a response. Mark was lazing on the bed, a medical journal propped on his stomach as he half read it before bed.
' Of course I have. Always the air of uncertainty Red.' Addison smirked.
' I'm just keeping you in check Dr Sloan, someone has to!' Mark laughed and Addison turned back to face her mirror and finished taking her makeup off with a final swipe of a cloth on her cheeks. She smiled for a moment in the mirror, noting the glow emitting from her skin. She turned the lamp off, and slid off the stool, her bare thighs sticking slightly to the wood. She shrugged her dressing gown off And revealed an overly large pink striped shirt that was half buttoned and sat naturally at her hips. Addison moved towards the bed, the soles of her feet clicking on the floor as she made her way around the foot of the bed frame. Mark raised an eyebrow as Addison slid into the bed and fitted herself into the nook of his right arm.
'What did I tell you about wearing my clothes, you've got an entire closet full of things.' Addison pinched him playfully, and Mark wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her even closer to him.
'I like wearing your shirts, they smell like you...' her voice trailed off as mark gave her a lingering kiss. They settled next to each other as Addison picked up her book from the cluttered night stand that was festooned with pregnancy books and half eaten packets of crackers. She placed her glasses on the bridge of her nose and opened a book clothed in a purple binding that had been worn from being read numerous times. She snapped the spine as she relaxed into Mark and cleared her throat. Mark began to read his journal on skin grafts but couldn't stop glancing over to Addison, who was transfixed by the lines she had read over and over again. He scanned her entire body, noting how the shirt buttons around her belly were straining to conceal the protruding bump of their five month pregnancy. Still staring at her bump, Mark questioned Addison, interrupting her reading.
'Hey we get to find out the sex tomorrow right? They can do that at the 20 week scan?' Addison rested the book on her legs, and took off her glasses. She brushed her stomach, completely unaware she was doing it and smiled.
'Yes, and I will obviously be winning the gender bet, I am a world class neonatal surgeon after all.' Mark laughed.
'Even you couldn't see any specific genitalia at the last scan, the baby looked like a giant jelly bean.' Addison scoffed and added.
'Well if by jelly bean, you mean girl then yes you are completely correct with your description of our baby.'
Mark tilted his head and placed his hand on his chin in a quizzical manner.
'Hmm. I may need to confer with my team mate on this one.'
Mark sat up and unbuttoned Addison's shirt. She flinched slightly as his fingers tickled the side of her chest. He noticed her jumping and continued to run his hand over her bump making her toes curl. She gave him a jesting shove on his shoulder.
'Ok mighty jelly bean, let's prove Montgomery wrong.' He pressed his ear to the top of her belly whilst his hands cupped the rest of the bump. A minute passed as Mark rested on Addison's stomach and Addison's finger's were running through his hair as she lay back, her eye's closed.
'Just as I thought.'
'And what pre tell, is your thought Dr Sloan?' Addison added, opening her eye's to hear Mark's conclusion.
'The bean and I have conferred, and we can say with absolution that he is a boy. Therefore you are wrong...' Addison lifted her eyebrows.
'I'm so glad you're putting your money where your mouth is, I'm looking forward to buying myself a nice lunch with the $50 you're going to have to give to me.'
'We'll see Montgomery. We'll see.'
Mark began to re button her shirt but Addison stopped him.
'Hang on, I need to apply some cocoa butter, I refuse to have a stomach like an old hand bag.'
Addison reached over to the night stand, shifting the crackers to get to the tub of cream. She unscrewed the lid, digging her fingers deep into the thick, ivory cream, and smeared it on her bare stomach before placing the lid on loosely. She rubbed it into her flesh in a circular motion. Her hand paused on her stomach and she grabbed Mark's hand, laying it where her hand had been moments ago.
'Just wait.' She said, as Mark looked at her puzzled.
'Oh man!. He's really wriggling tonight. I still can't get used to it.' Mark looked at Addison, his smile, wide across his face. She smiled back, lifting her hand to his cheek and running her palm across it.
'Yes, she is. I can't explain how weird it feels, kind of like a really big stomach gurgle, or wind. But then like someone is punching me... Odd but nice.' Addison watched Mark, his face right up against her belly like he was waiting to hear an unexpected noise. She yawned, pushing out her stomach as she stretched her body out.
'You look beat.' Addison replied with a nod and Mark buttoned up her shirt, and tickled her belly as though he was saying good night to the baby before he hooked the final button. He swung his legs off the bed and perched on the side facing away from Addison. He set the alarm for the morning, though he doubted he would need it. He never could sleep in when he was excited for the day ahead. Addison turned on her side as she watched Mark routinely take off his watch and t-shirt, dumping the t-shirt on the floor and placing the watch neatly on his night stand, face up. He slipped his feet under the covers and turned to face addison, punching the pillow until it fit into the nook of his elbow. He reached over to her face and she instinctively closed her eyes as he played with her hair, pushing it behind her ears and massaging her scalp.
'Big day tomorrow.'
Addison looked at him, taking in the creases around his eyes as he smiled at her.
'Big day.'
Addison shifted her body till her head rested on Marks chest and his hand found her head, allowing his fingers to forage through her red hair as they fell asleep in each others arms.
