Mari & Ilna- you guys are the absolute best. Thanks for EVERYTHING! There are no two people I'd rather be on this ride with.
Sandy-what would I do without you?
REAL Worlders-The day of the gender reveal is finally here! I can never fully express what all your amazing support means to me. All I can say is that in our fourth calendar year your support and encouragement keeps me as enthusiastic as I was about this project day one.
It's A … (1/1)
Catherine took a few deep breaths and tried to control her excitement as she sat in her car in the parking lot of Dr. Kucher's office waiting for Steve to arrive. Since he was coming to their 11:00 A.M. appointment straight from a morning of interviewing witnesses on the other side of the island they'd decided it made more sense to take separate cars.
As she watched a somewhat frazzled, yet clearly happy, man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties help a woman who looked like she was about to give birth at any moment out of the car she smiled. She didn't want to wish her life away as Grandma Ang would say but she couldn't wait to be that pregnant. As the couple make their way towards the building her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID then answered with a smile. "Hi, Jenna. What's up?"
"Not much. Did I catch you at a bad time?"
"Not at all." She watched as the young couple shared a quick kiss before heading to the suite of medical offices. "I'm just sitting in the parking lot at the doctor's office waiting for Steve."
"I wanted to call to say good luck with your appointment today."
"Thanks. That's very sweet of you."
Catherine picked her purse up off the passenger's seat and placed it on her lap. She couldn't help but notice how different it felt, even with the small amount of weight she'd gained. She wondered, not for the first time, exactly how long she'd be able to continue to drive the Corvette.
"I remember what it felt like, finding out the sex of the baby." The wistful tone in the mother of five's voice was unmistakable. "No matter how many kids you have it's just as exciting each time. How are you guys feeling? Are you ready?"
"We're excited." Catherine grinned. "Very excited. To tell you the truth neither of us got much sleep last night," she admitted. "In fact, I'm not sure excited is a big enough word."
"That's fantastic!"
Catherine could hear her friend's genuine happiness even over the phone.
"What time's your appointment?"
"Eleven." Catherine glanced at her watch which read 10:35 A.M. and chuckled. "I may have left work a few minutes earlier than I needed to."
"I understand completely. I was so excited with Cody I nearly chattered the ear off the woman sitting next to me on the bus on the way to the appointment." She sighed. "Jason claimed he couldn't afford to miss even a few hours work so he didn't go with me."
"I'm sorry." Catherine had long ago ceased to be surprised by the actions of Jason Allen but that didn't mean she wasn't still saddened by them. "That must have been hard."
"At the time I was crushed but … you know what … I'm over it. I can remember the moment the doctor told me I was having a boy like it happened yesterday. I was so happy. I refuse to let anything tarnish that memory for me."
"Good for you. That's exactly how it should be. Focus on the positive."
"I know we tease Steve about all the research he's doing and how he's wearing out the pages of that book but I think it's so great how he wants to be involved every step of the way. Lots of men want to keep their distance from some of the messier realities of pregnancy."
Catherine beamed. "I'm very lucky."
"Are you guys gonna tell people the gender right away or keep it to yourselves for awhile?"
Catherine chuckled.
"As you may remember from the barbecue, when it comes to Niblet keeping secrets isn't Steve's specialty."
"Good point."
"Honestly I'm not sure how long I could keep a secret like this either. We don't have any specific plans for how to make the announcement. We'll probably just let it happen naturally."
"One of the hygienists in the office threw a party complete with a gender reveal cake."
"I think it's a safe bet we won't be doing that. That's not really our style."
"I think doing what feels right is the way to go but just be aware once Kaitlin finds out you can expect cupcakes. She's been working very hard on coming up with a design."
"She's adorable but she doesn't need to go to any trouble."
"Wait until you see some of her ideas. I'm really proud of her. She showed me some sketches the other night and told me that she isn't using the traditional pink and blue because there's no such thing as boy colors and girl colors. There's just colors."
Catherine smiled proudly. "That's our girl."
Her attention was drawn to the far side of the parking lot where she saw a familiar blue truck turn in off the highway.
She looked at her watch again and smiled. 10:40 A.M.
"Steve just pulled in."
"Looks like someone else left a little earlier than necessary too. I'll let you go. Good luck to both of you and enjoy every minute."
"Thanks, Jenna. We will."
Catherine climbed out of the Corvette and closed the door. Her features brightened as she watched Steve jog towards her. When he reached her side she planted a soft kiss on his lips. "Are you ready for this?" she asked.
He squeezed her hand and nodded as he began practically pulling her towards the entrance to the building.
"I'll take that as a yes," she laughed.
Dr. Kucher pulled a stool next to Catherine, who was laying on the exam room table clad in a too-large floral hospital gown, and glanced at her chart. Steve sat anxiously on Catherine's other side clutching her hand and examining the ultrasound machine at the foot of the bed closely.
"Your temperature, blood pressure and weight gain all look good," the doctor said as he reviewed the nurse's notes.
He watched as Steve continued to study the knobs of the unfamiliar machine carefully. When Catherine caught him watching Steve with a bemused smile he winked at her then spoke again.
"I thought today might be a good opportunity for us to discuss your changing nutritional needs over the next several months. We can go over some pamphlets and if you have any questions …"
Dr. Kucher trailed off as Steve pinned him with a confused look.
"Something wrong, Commander?"
"I thought we were going to do an ultrasound today and maybe find out Niblet's gender," Steve replied anxiously.
"Was that supposed to be today?" Dr. Kucher rifled through the papers on the clipboard in front of him. "Usually my staff is very good about making a note of things like that."
Steve looked at Catherine with mild panic then back at the doctor. "It was definitely supposed to be today."
"Well," Dr. Kucher scratched his temple, "I'm not sure if I'm prepared … "
"The machine is here." Steve pointed to the ultrasound. "We're at 20 weeks which is supposed to be the perfect time to determine gender. We really want to do the test today."
Doctor Kucher picked up a tube of gel and motioned for Catherine to pull up her gown.
"Expectant fathers are so easy to wind up," he smiled.
"What are you … " Steve looked from the doctor to Catherine as his voice trailed off.
"He was teasing you," she smiled.
"Ok, I get it." Steve shook his head good naturedly. "Very funny."
"I was just trying to release a little tension," Dr. Kucher explained as he spread the gel on Catherine's stomach. "You seemed a little tightly wound there, Commander."
"We're just a little excited about finding out the gender." He looked at Catherine for corroboration that she was as anxious as he was.
"Yes, we both are," she confirmed.
"Then let's not waste another minute." Dr. Kucher adjusted the machine so all three of them could see the screen and began to move the transducer wand over Catherine's belly. "Let's see if Niblet wants to come out to play today."
"We studied up a little on what to look for," Steve reported.
Catherine smiled and kissed his cheek as he leaned his head close to hers. They both focused intently on the screen of the ultrasound machine.
"That's good." Dr. Kucher responded. "I like informed patients."
"That gray line." Steve pointed at the image. "Is that the outline of the uterus?"
"Very good, Commander."
Dr. Kucher continued to move the wand. He'd done thousands of ultrasounds over his career but he still couldn't help getting caught up in the excitement of new parents-to-be the first time they saw an image of their baby.
"Wait." Catherine gasped and sat up slightly, momentarily dislodging the transducer wand and causing the image to blur.
She looked dejectedly at Dr. Kucher who smiled serenely. "Not a problem. Just hold on."
A few seconds later the image reappeared.
"Is that the spine?" Catherine asked breathlessly.
"It is indeed," Dr. Kucher confirmed.
Steve gripped Catherine's hand tighter. "Wow!"
Dr. Kucher pointed to the image with a practiced hand. "There are the feet, and the eyes, and that … is a strongly beating heart."
"Look at our baby," Steve said reverently, his voice barely above a whisper.
"This is a great picture." The doctor smiled. "Niblet is a born performer."
"Does everything look ok?" Steve asked anxiously.
Both he and Catherine tore their eyes from the screen and looked directly at the doctor.
"Everything looks perfect," Dr. Kucher assured them. "Exactly what we'd expect at this point in the pregnancy."
"Can you tell the gender?" Catherine asked hopefully. "I mean … we know it can be hard to tell at this stage but … "
"It can be," Dr. Kucher nodded, "but it helps if the baby's legs aren't squeezed tightly together and we got lucky today and caught Niblet during the exercise hour. You see this?"
Catherine and Steve's eyes focused on the area the doctor was indicating.
"Judging by those three lines, which are clear precursors of the female sex organs, I feel confident saying that Niblet is a girl."
"A girl," Steve whispered and looked immediately at Catherine. "We're having a girl."
"A daughter," Catherine said around the lump in her throat. "Are you happy?"
"I'm thrilled. I'm more than thrilled. I'm … elated. I'm euphoric. Are you happy?"
Catherine nodded enthusiastically as tears sprang to her eyes. "We're gonna have a baby girl."
Steve wiped the tears from Catherine's face with his thumb. "And she's gonna have the best possible role model for a mommy."
Catherine captured his hand in hers. "And the best dad any girl could ever have."
"I assume you want me to print off a few copies of this and send the digital image to your email?" Dr. Kucher asked.
The doctor watched with a soft smile as Steve turned to Catherine's belly and said, "Smile, Niblet. It's your first picture."
"This one will definitely go in a shadowbox." Catherine added, her attention also focused on her midsection.
Most of his patients, especially in this day and age, addressed the ultrasound screen when they talked to the baby. They got so wrapped up in the picture they could see they momentarily forgot it was just an image. The real thing was still resting comfortably in her mother's womb.
"Take as much time as you need," Dr. Kucher smiled as he pressed the button to begin the printing process. "I'll leave the pictures at the desk."
As he left the exam room he smiled to himself. 'Niblet is one lucky little girl.'
Danny looked up the second Steve walked into the bullpen at Five-0 headquarters carrying a takeout bag and wearing a stunned expression.
In a flash he was at his partner's side. "Well?"
"Well, what?" Steve asked as he continued towards his office.
"Don't you well what me," Danny said keeping stride. "What did the doctor say? Could he tell the sex of the baby?"
"He could," Steve replied as he pushed open the door to his office.
As much as he was dying to share the news with Danny, hell with the entire world for that matter, he couldn't resist having a little fun. "Want one of my leftover fish wraps?" he asked.
"No, I don't want a fish wrap." Danny placed his hands on his hips with a huff. "Spill. Boy or girl?"
Steve's face broke out in an ear to ear smile. "It's a girl. Niblet is a girl."
"A girl? A girl!" Danny pumped his fist and without a moment's hesitation wrapped Steve in a full-on hug. "Congratulations, partner. A girl. That's great. That's right up Uncle Danno's alley."
Steve leaned against his desk. "It's a girl. Niblet is a she. We can refer to her as she now. Because she's a girl."
Danny grinned.
"Can I tell you something … something I would never admit to anyone else?" Steve asked.
"Anything." Danny's tone held absolute sincerity. "You know that."
Steve looked at the ground then back at his best friend. "I was kinda hoping for a girl. I mean obviously I would have been thrilled either way but … I was kinda hoping for a girl."
"I understand completely," Danny beamed. "I felt the same way. I'm not sure why but I just wanted a baby girl. Oh geez … Grace is going to blast off into the stratosphere when she hears."
Steve barked a laugh. "Cath and I thought maybe you guys could stop by after school and we'll tell her then."
"Sounds good."
Danny inhaled deeply.
"A little girl that's a mix of you and Catherine. Watch out world."
Steve grinned.
"Hey," Danny suddenly remembered, "did you get a copy of the sonogram?"
Steve pulled the image out of his pocket. "What do you think?"
Danny looked at the picture and beamed. "There she is. She's gorgeous."
"Isn't she?" Steve agreed. "Dr. Kucher said everything is right on schedule."
"Give her a few more weeks," Danny smiled confidently. "She'll start to move ahead."
"Top of her class," Steve grinned.
Suddenly his stomach growled.
"Why didn't you eat your lunch if you're so hungry?" Danny asked.
Steve blushed slightly and looked down.
"What?" Danny asked.
"Cath and I ordered our food but after it came we couldn't stop looking at each other and smiling and saying 'she's a girl' and before we knew it it was time to head back to work and neither of us had eaten."
"Ok," Danny laughed. "That is adorable. That is definitely a story I'll be telling her in the future. I say her because …" Danny grinned.
"It's a girl!" they said happily in unison.
THE END
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