"No, no, no, missy. You let me get that."
Zarabeth stood upright again with a frustrated huff, hands instantly propped against her back once more as she watched Jim retrieve the measuring cup she had dropped.
"Jim, really. I could have gotten it."
He didn't know whether or not it was appropriate to laugh, but he made a quiet gesture of it anyway. "You squatting like a frogling isn't exactly the most graceful pose, and not the safest either. This is what I'm here for."
Accepting the fallen cup from his hand, she went back to measuring out the amount of flour she needed before dumping it haphazardly into the bowl beside her, the irritation she felt toward her own handicaps showing more than she wanted. "Picking up after my messes, washing my hair, helping me into my shoes, dressing me like some rag doll, Jim I'm getting tired of it. Seven months now and I should be independently proficient at all this stuff."
Catching sight of the amused smirk crossing her husband's lips, Zara paused her efforts to stir up the batter she was making as she abruptly turned to face him, forcing the boy back a half-step with how little room the full extent of her pregnancy left him. "Don't you laugh at me, boy. I know it's why you won't leave me alone for more than a week."
Throwing his hands up in defense, Jim did his best to put her back into a good mood, knowing how easily she fell in and out of them these days. "I just miss you. Can't a guy miss his wife?"
"Jim you're babying me beyond sanity. I'm not the baby here. Little Hawkins undercover is. I am perfectly fine. Alright?"
Seeing how miserably he was failing, Jim's last effort was quickly expended as he leaned over the girl enough to softly kiss her, gently running his hands over her arms to try to soothe his wife. "I'm not being helpful?"
Her resolve melting a little at his touch, Zarabeth forced herself to open her eyes to look at him in order to dispel the momentary lull in her mind. "There is such a thing as being too helpful. Yes?"
"Ok, ok. I get it. I'll back off a little."
"How much?"
"Uh..." Thinking it over for a moment as he rubbed distractedly at the back of his neck, Jim's eyes searched around the room for a few seconds as if hoping for something to help give him clarity before finishing. "The dressing part? But your shoes-"
"Jim." Her smile softening with the look in her eyes, Zara couldn't help the small chuckle escaping her as she let a hand reach up to rest against his cheek, wishing to ensure his undivided attention. "I've been wearing sandals for months. No help needed there. Anything else?"
"You-You still can't bend over. The cleaning up I don't mind and you need to stop doing it. What if you fell?"
"I'll make you a deal. I'll let you keep picking up and whatnot if you promise to stop worrying over me so much. That means no more sending B.E.N. over here to check on me every few hours when you're not home. Morph is almost always around, so I'm as safe as I can be. Alright? I'm carrying a baby, not a time bomb."
"Well, figuratively speaking-hey!"
Zarabeth's laugh rang through the kitchen as she wiped her fingers clean of the batter they were covered in, taking a step back to admire her handiwork. "That should keep you quiet."
Jim's scowl softened as he licked at his chocolate covered lips, using his hand to touch around the rest of his face to determine the extent of her bullying. "You're lucky this tastes so good. But quit wasting it on me! Weren't you going to use this stuff?"
"Oh, the cake will survive being just a hair smaller. The kids won't notice. Besides, now I know it tastes alright." Still enjoying watching as the boy did his best to rid his face of the chocolatey batter she'd smeared across it, Zara went back to pouring the finished product into the cake pans, letting Jim place them in the oven for her since she couldn't quite bend down that far comfortably.
Straightening up again, Jim dusted his hands on the towel his wife offered him before helping her with cleaning up the aftermath of their baking endeavors. Scrubbing at a particularly stubborn smear, the boy looked up at a thought as he gave low grunts in effort between words. "Have you heard if Silver's coming tonight?"
"I talked to him yesterday. He said he was going to keep the inn running so your mom could come instead. He...He still wasn't so sure about whether he wanted to come anyway."
Nodding slowly in understanding, Jim tried to relax as he realized his hand was gripping the dishrag a little too tightly. "Makes sense...But I wish it didn't have to be like that."
"You and me both." Releasing a heavy sigh to dispel the unhappy feelings clouding her mind, Zarabeth took a moment to look about the kitchen in satisfaction. "Much better. While those bake, I'm going to finish wrapping the girls' gifts. Let me know as soon as you're done with Daniel's so I can wrap his too."
"It won't take me much longer. I'll bring it up to you before you're even done." Accepting the kiss Zara was giving him to acknowledge that she was leaving, Jim stopped her for a moment longer with a teasing smirk. "Need me to carry you up the stairs?"
"Jim."
"Joking, joking. Morph is still sleeping up in our room, so send him down if you need me."
It never ceased to frustrate Zara, the winded feeling she always got simply from climbing the stairs. If nothing else, her pregnancy had forced her to be thankful for the little things she so ofteh took for granted. A comfy bed and overstuffed sofa especially.
Jim had been nearly the perfect husband throughout, Zarabeth still believing that it was mostly due to Delbert's coaching and Mrs. Hawkins' delicately put advice. It was nice to have Jim's mother and Amelia for support as well, feeling much more calm about the whole of the situation with two other mothers to help her along.
Just eight more weeks. Eight more.
There were times when all Zarabeth wanted was for it to be over already. For experience sake, she'd had enough of swollen ankles, insatiable cravings, uncomfortable sleep, and the gradually growing soreness her body was nearly always reminding her about.
But other times, she was more willing to endure these things than think about how nervous she was to actually hold the little life in her arms. She wanted to, of course. Meeting their baby was something she and Jim often talked of during her scattered sleepless nights. But after all, the life inside her was theirs and theirs alone to nurture and take care of. It was a daunting prospect, leaving butterflies in her stomach at the very thought. No, that was the baby kicking.
Smiling to herself as she laid her hand over her stomach, Zara couldn't help but give a small laugh as she felt the sudden movement again.
"Easy there, baby Hawkins. Your cousins will want you to perform later. Save your energy, little one."
She sat in their room for a while after, carefully wrapping up the dresses she had sewn for the Doppler girls, making certain she had each name placed correctly on their designated color. Before wrapping the last one, Zarabeth took a moment to admire the layers of frills edging the pink dress they were giving to Susan. Would their baby be a girl? It had puzzled everyone, but she and Jim had agreed that there was really no preference.
Zara enjoyed imagining Jim fiddling with his solar surfer, their son sitting beside him watching his daddy in awe. But in the same way, she smiled at the thought of a little girl curled up in his lap while he read to her before bed.
For all the moments of worry and fear of the unknown, it was thoughts like these which kept her more excited than afraid, that is, as long as she could forget about the process of labor.
Amelia was never one to exaggerate anything, but the horror stories she told of her own delivery were always unsettling thoughts which lingered in the back of Zara's mind. She'd tried to take comfort in Delbert's blatant denial of it all, but then again, she did give birth to four at once. Etherium willing, she only had to think about one. Or at least, they thought there was only one. The doctor had assured her and Jim that there was only one little heartbeat inside her, but Zarabeth was always on the alert for any sign to contradict such an idea. So far, there was no proof, leaving her thankful to hope that she and Jim would start their family slowly. One baby at a time.
{Hello to one and all! Yes, I'm still alive and writing! Thanks to everyone who has been so patient in waiting for this final story to be put up. I need to ask that your patience continue a little longer. During this six month time gap, I have been writing nearly non-stop, but not all for this final fanfic. Announcement! I am actually in the thick of writing in partnership with an illustrator to create a graphic novel series! I'm so incredibly excited and thankful for the opportunity because it is through this account that she reached out to me to offer the position of co-creator for this amazing project. If you want to learn more about what we're doing right now, I will put her publishing company blog in my bio. There you'll find some short-stories for character introduction and world-building along with some concept art she has done for the story thus far. We hope to be selling the first volume by the end of this year 2017! So in short, I will finish this story, I promise, but I won't be posting every day like I used to. But thank you again and again to everyone who has continued to support me and these fanfics over the past two years. I love you all! Alright, announcement done. Erin out!}