More fluff. It's what I'm good at! *grin*
"The Sweetest Gift"
I was awakened at 5:46 AM by the sound of the toilet flushing. Lifting my head from the pillow, I looked around and realized that my wife was not next to me in bed. I started to get up when the bathroom door opened. She appeared in the doorway, looking frighteningly pale. She managed a wan smile, which quickly morphed into a grimace as she whirled back around and slammed the bathroom door. I leapt to my feet and ran into the bathroom, where I found her bent over the toilet, gagging. I crossed to her and rubbed her back until she reached up to flush. She fell back against the tub and regarded me warily.
"Good morning?" It was a question, and we both knew it. She looked like hell. Now, let me explain something. I think my wife is the most beautiful woman in the universe, bar none. But this morning…I wanted the license plate number of the ship that had run her over. I had never seen her look worse. I could tell she was sick—really sick.
I helped her to her feet and guided her to the sink, where I rinsed her face and mouth with cold water. I then escorted her back to bed, ushering her beneath the sheets to try and sleep a little longer. The little episode had taken a lot out of her, and she quickly dropped back to sleep.
A few hours later, we both woke up to the sound of the alarm. I didn't have to be at work until 9:30, so the extra sleep was good for us both. I got up and showered while TJ made coffee and breakfast. When I emerged from our bedroom and greeted my wife in the kitchen, I examined her fully with my eyes.
"How do you feel?"
She smiled, and she looked like a new woman. "Much better. It must have been something I ate."
I was still skeptical, so I suggested a trip to the doctor. Much to my surprise, TJ agreed. "I'll call Dalia. I'll try to get in this morning. Now, sweetheart, if you don't hurry, you'll be late for work."
She hustled me out the door with promises to call as soon as she got home and an "I love you, Seth!" I listened at the door for a moment to be sure she was calling the doctor, and when I heard her ask Rosie to "please fetch your mother for me, dear", I headed off to work, assured that my wife would soon be back to normal.
The phone in my outer office at STARDOG headquarters rang shortly after lunch that afternoon. My secretary, Eliza, answered, capable and efficient as always. "Good afternoon, Commander Seth Goddard's office." I heard a "How are you feeling?" and a "That's good" before the intercom on my desk beeped. "Sir? It's your wife."
I picked up the phone. "Hey, honey. What did Dalia say?"
There was a pause, and I immediately began worrying. "Well, Seth, everything is alright, but we do need to talk. When will you be home?"
This scared me, because if TJ couldn't tell me over the phone…it must have been serious. "Honey, don't go anywhere. I'm on my way home. I love you." I dropped the phone before she could respond and grabbed my jacket on my way out the door. "Eliza, I'm going home to check on TJ. If anyone asks, I'll be back soon." I raced out the door without hearing Eliza's reply and flew home.
When I arrived home, I found TJ standing by the picture window in our living room. "Sweetheart? Tell me what Dalia said."
She took my hand and led me to the couch, where we sat facing each other. I know my fear must have been obvious in my face, because she spoke quickly to reassure me.
"Seth, darling, I'm fine. I just needed to talk to you. It seems that the cause of my illness…well, you see, it's…Seth, I'm…oh, honey, I'm pregnant!"
Pregnant?
Oh. My. God.
This is amazing. A miracle. A blessing.
You see, TJ was—supposedly—unable to bear children. According to Dalia Ianni, who has been our doctor for years, the leap we made through the white circle on the Christa all that time ago left TJ's body barren.
Or so we thought.
I stared at her, unable to speak. For long moments, I just sat there, lost. Finally, TJ spoke.
"Seth? Sweetheart, say something—anything!" She was on the verge of tears, and suddenly, it hit me—she thinks I don't want this. Nothing could be further from the truth. I always knew, deep down, that if I ever had children, they should be—would be—with TJ Davenport. I've always loved her. For years, I dreamed of nothing but telling her how I felt about her. I was always scared, though. Scared she would reject me, scared she would laugh at me, scared she would pity me for loving her while she didn't love me.
I should never have worried.
All the time I was pining for her, she was carrying a torch for me. We were in love with each other, but we were both too chicken to make a move. It took almost losing her to make me realize that I could no longer wait to confess my love. After we returned from the Christa, she was transferred back to the Starcademy, while I was to return to the STARDOGS on a supervisory basis. This, of course, meant a permanent separation. The day before I was to leave, I went to her house and confessed everything. Luckily for me, she still loved me, and the rest, as they say, is history. We were married less than a year later, and I was offered a job teaching at the Academy. I accepted, because after all, look how well my last class turned out! We were deliriously happy. Then, the bad news about TJ's infertility rocked us. Still, we persevered, and we recovered. Now, to think all of that had changed—it was a huge shock. But shock or not, I was thrilled.
I finally found my voice and, haltingly, began to speak. "TJ, this is the best news ever! Honey, I can't believe it. You've made me the happiest man in the universe. I love you so much." I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly. "Imagine, a baby. Our baby. After all this time…we're having a baby. I hope it has your hair!"
TJ laughed through tears of joy, and it warmed my heart to see her so happy. "I hope it has your eyes. Oh, Seth, I'm so glad you're happy about this. I was so afraid…"
I shushed her with a kiss. "No need. I'm thrilled. Let's talk about names."
As my wife and I started tossing about baby names—"But I like Seth Junior!" "No, TJ."—I thanked God for this latest in a string of blessings in my life. It amazed me how lucky I was. Here I was, a man who deserved nothing, getting everything I had ever dreamed of. I was tempted to question this, but looking into my wife's eyes, I decided just to be in the moment. So, I took a deep breath and settled her in my lap, content to listen to her talk and dream of a little girl with dark red hair and hazel eyes, laughing.
"The Sweetest Gift"
I was awakened at 5:46 AM by the sound of the toilet flushing. Lifting my head from the pillow, I looked around and realized that my wife was not next to me in bed. I started to get up when the bathroom door opened. She appeared in the doorway, looking frighteningly pale. She managed a wan smile, which quickly morphed into a grimace as she whirled back around and slammed the bathroom door. I leapt to my feet and ran into the bathroom, where I found her bent over the toilet, gagging. I crossed to her and rubbed her back until she reached up to flush. She fell back against the tub and regarded me warily.
"Good morning?" It was a question, and we both knew it. She looked like hell. Now, let me explain something. I think my wife is the most beautiful woman in the universe, bar none. But this morning…I wanted the license plate number of the ship that had run her over. I had never seen her look worse. I could tell she was sick—really sick.
I helped her to her feet and guided her to the sink, where I rinsed her face and mouth with cold water. I then escorted her back to bed, ushering her beneath the sheets to try and sleep a little longer. The little episode had taken a lot out of her, and she quickly dropped back to sleep.
A few hours later, we both woke up to the sound of the alarm. I didn't have to be at work until 9:30, so the extra sleep was good for us both. I got up and showered while TJ made coffee and breakfast. When I emerged from our bedroom and greeted my wife in the kitchen, I examined her fully with my eyes.
"How do you feel?"
She smiled, and she looked like a new woman. "Much better. It must have been something I ate."
I was still skeptical, so I suggested a trip to the doctor. Much to my surprise, TJ agreed. "I'll call Dalia. I'll try to get in this morning. Now, sweetheart, if you don't hurry, you'll be late for work."
She hustled me out the door with promises to call as soon as she got home and an "I love you, Seth!" I listened at the door for a moment to be sure she was calling the doctor, and when I heard her ask Rosie to "please fetch your mother for me, dear", I headed off to work, assured that my wife would soon be back to normal.
The phone in my outer office at STARDOG headquarters rang shortly after lunch that afternoon. My secretary, Eliza, answered, capable and efficient as always. "Good afternoon, Commander Seth Goddard's office." I heard a "How are you feeling?" and a "That's good" before the intercom on my desk beeped. "Sir? It's your wife."
I picked up the phone. "Hey, honey. What did Dalia say?"
There was a pause, and I immediately began worrying. "Well, Seth, everything is alright, but we do need to talk. When will you be home?"
This scared me, because if TJ couldn't tell me over the phone…it must have been serious. "Honey, don't go anywhere. I'm on my way home. I love you." I dropped the phone before she could respond and grabbed my jacket on my way out the door. "Eliza, I'm going home to check on TJ. If anyone asks, I'll be back soon." I raced out the door without hearing Eliza's reply and flew home.
When I arrived home, I found TJ standing by the picture window in our living room. "Sweetheart? Tell me what Dalia said."
She took my hand and led me to the couch, where we sat facing each other. I know my fear must have been obvious in my face, because she spoke quickly to reassure me.
"Seth, darling, I'm fine. I just needed to talk to you. It seems that the cause of my illness…well, you see, it's…Seth, I'm…oh, honey, I'm pregnant!"
Pregnant?
Oh. My. God.
This is amazing. A miracle. A blessing.
You see, TJ was—supposedly—unable to bear children. According to Dalia Ianni, who has been our doctor for years, the leap we made through the white circle on the Christa all that time ago left TJ's body barren.
Or so we thought.
I stared at her, unable to speak. For long moments, I just sat there, lost. Finally, TJ spoke.
"Seth? Sweetheart, say something—anything!" She was on the verge of tears, and suddenly, it hit me—she thinks I don't want this. Nothing could be further from the truth. I always knew, deep down, that if I ever had children, they should be—would be—with TJ Davenport. I've always loved her. For years, I dreamed of nothing but telling her how I felt about her. I was always scared, though. Scared she would reject me, scared she would laugh at me, scared she would pity me for loving her while she didn't love me.
I should never have worried.
All the time I was pining for her, she was carrying a torch for me. We were in love with each other, but we were both too chicken to make a move. It took almost losing her to make me realize that I could no longer wait to confess my love. After we returned from the Christa, she was transferred back to the Starcademy, while I was to return to the STARDOGS on a supervisory basis. This, of course, meant a permanent separation. The day before I was to leave, I went to her house and confessed everything. Luckily for me, she still loved me, and the rest, as they say, is history. We were married less than a year later, and I was offered a job teaching at the Academy. I accepted, because after all, look how well my last class turned out! We were deliriously happy. Then, the bad news about TJ's infertility rocked us. Still, we persevered, and we recovered. Now, to think all of that had changed—it was a huge shock. But shock or not, I was thrilled.
I finally found my voice and, haltingly, began to speak. "TJ, this is the best news ever! Honey, I can't believe it. You've made me the happiest man in the universe. I love you so much." I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly. "Imagine, a baby. Our baby. After all this time…we're having a baby. I hope it has your hair!"
TJ laughed through tears of joy, and it warmed my heart to see her so happy. "I hope it has your eyes. Oh, Seth, I'm so glad you're happy about this. I was so afraid…"
I shushed her with a kiss. "No need. I'm thrilled. Let's talk about names."
As my wife and I started tossing about baby names—"But I like Seth Junior!" "No, TJ."—I thanked God for this latest in a string of blessings in my life. It amazed me how lucky I was. Here I was, a man who deserved nothing, getting everything I had ever dreamed of. I was tempted to question this, but looking into my wife's eyes, I decided just to be in the moment. So, I took a deep breath and settled her in my lap, content to listen to her talk and dream of a little girl with dark red hair and hazel eyes, laughing.