Names, Cravings & Mood Swings

AN: Dedicated to Passionate Heart & themindofmine for their ideas.

Enjoy!

"And here are the hands," the technician said, using the mouse to move the cursor on the screen. "This is the head, and…here are the feet," she finished after having moved the scanner over another area of Sarah protruding stomach.

Two pairs of eyes glued avidly to the screen, Eliot reached for Sarah's hand and gave it a brief squeeze, with a smile plastered on his face.

"Do you want to know the sex?" the technician asked, her friendly face smiling at them.

Eliot looked at Sarah, silently telling her that it was up to her. "Yes please," she replied after a brief pause.

"Okay, let me just get a better view," she said, moving he scanner yet again. "Here we are…it looks like you guys are going to have a little girl," she told them with a smile.

"Really? Are you sure?" Sarah asked.

"Pretty sure, she's not exactly hiding and I'm not seeing anything to tell me otherwise," she chuckled as she put the scanner away and brought out a napkin to wipe the gel from Sarah's stomach. "Just let me make a cd for you right quick and you're free to get dressed and go," she told them.

"We're havin' a girl," Eliot muttered to himself. "I'm gonna have a daughter," he said a little louder, a smile reappearing on his face.

"Here you are," the technician said, handing the cd to Sarah since Eliot seemed a little unfocussed. "Congratulation," she wished them before walking out the door with her papers.

Sarah chuckled lightly at the expression on Eliot's face as he distractedly helped her from the table. So many thoughts began running through the hitter's mind as Sarah changed, the fact that she was going to have his child in the next few months made more real by seeing her on the screen. He could imagine a little girl with his wife's smile and his blue eyes. Sarah's kindness and sassiness mixed with his stubbornness and strategic thinking. She would be beautiful. She would have them all wrapped around her finger.

She wouldn't be allowed to date until she was forty.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"You guys have no idea how much I appreciate this," Sarah said from her position in the chair she sat in.

Wanting to do something nice for her since the doctor had all but restricted her to home due to a miscarriage scare two weeks ago, Eliot had surprised her by serving her breakfast in bed that morning, dressed in tattered jeans, tennis shoes, a worn shirt and a bandana holding his hair back, announcing that she needed to hurry and eat because the rest of the team would be there soon.

After finishing the gourmet breakfast he had prepared and which she amazingly had not thrown it up, she dressed in a pair of maternity jeans and a loose tshirt before being carried downstairs by Eliot, who ignored her protests reminding her that the doctor told her to take it easy, before setting her down in the cushioned chair she now sat in. Mildly confused at why the entire team was there, Parker and Hardison in worn clothing and Sophie with several catalogs, it didn't take her much longer to realize what the surprise was when she saw the paint buckets, brushes and rollers.

"It's no problem, but you're welcome," Nate replied from the chair he occupied next to Sophie.

Eliot leveled a playful glare at him. "And what exactly are you doin'? I just see you sittin' there drinkin' coffee," he scoffed.

"I'm supervising," the older man defended.

"Why are you complaining Eliot, this is fun!" Parker stated as she glided the roller over the wall.

"I could help you know," Sarah stated. "I'm only seven months El, I could…"

"No, you're gonna sit there with Sophie and pick out stuff for the nursery. Doctor's orders," he reminded her, turning to look at her frustrated expression. "If only to ease my mind," he added.

"Fine," she huffed. "Ooh, I like that," Sarah commented, her mood changing quickly as she pointed to a butterfly crib set in the catalog her and Sophie were looking in.

"Consider it yours sweetie."

"Sophie, you don't have to…"

"Consider it one of our many gifts for her," Nate told her.

"Are ya'll ever gonna come up with a name?" Hardison asked as he began working details onto the picture on the wall.

"We can't come up with a name the both of us like," Eliot explained.

"You could name her Parker," the thief suggested.

"No," Eliot replied.

"I like Lizzie," Cam stated with a big grin as he swiped the paint brush across the wall.

"That short for Elizabeth?" Hardison wanted to know.

"No, just Lizzie," the little boy replied.

"Cam sweetie, you've got more paint on you than you do on the walls," Sarah chuckled, taking in the paint splattered face of her five year old.

"I'm gettin' it on the wall too mama," he defended.

"What are we doin' for dinner tonight," Hardison asked.

"I could whip up some spaghetti," Eliot suggested, knowing that Sarah was loving anything pasta at the moment.

"Ugh…no," Sarah groaned, looking sick all of a sudden.

"Nausea still hasn't gone away?" Nate asked in a sympathetic tone.

"Not completely. Thankfully it only happens once in a while. Can we have hot wings?" she suggested instead.

"Yeah, I can whip up a batch when we're done here," Eliot told her, understanding by this point that her food likes and dislikes changed as rapidly as her moods.

"Have you decided on furniture yet?" Sophie asked.

"No…El and I were gonna go looking this month, but with the doc's orders and all, I'm kinda stuck here," she explained forlornly.

"If you tell me what you're looking for, maybe Sophie can take me to some baby stores and I can take pictures for you to look at," Parker suggested.

Four pairs of shocked eyes turned to the thief as Sarah's filled with unshed tears. Parker noticed the silence and turned to see the reactions, before a mixed expression of worry and confusion appeared. "Did I say something wrong? I thought it would help. Was it not the right thing to…"

"I would love that Parker. Thank you so much," Sarah murmured as a tear fell down her face.

"I didn't mean to make her cry," Parker told Hardison in an apologetic tone.

"No worries momma, I think they're happy tears," he assured her, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

"Not to mention my damn hormones," Sarah chuckled as she wiped her tears away and sniffled.

Two hours later, the group stood back and admired their handiwork. The combination of the pale pink walls and the subtle contrast of the white crown molding and baseboards gave the room a soft, feminine feel. But it was Hardison's handiwork that shown as the crowning glory, giving the room that little bit extra. On one wall he had painted a cherry blossom tree. The trunk stood proudly against the edge, allowing the intricately tangled mass of branches to spread out over the rest of the wall, creating a canopy of sorts, under which the crib would sit. Dark pink and white flowers blossomed all over the branches as butterflies in several shades of purple fluttered through the branches.

"It's beautiful Alec," Sarah whispered, her eyes watering up yet again.

"No problem momma," he assured her. "Think of it as one of many baby gifts I'm gonna get you," he told her with a grin.

"You're still gonna paint my room, right Uncle Alec?" Cam asked excitedly.

"Once you tell me what you want."

Not wanting Cam to feel left out in all of the excitement with painting the new room and buying new furniture, Eliot and Sarah had surprised him with the information that his room would be getting an upgrade as well.

"I want the justice league!" he exclaimed excitedly with a wide grin.

Eliot wrapped his arm around her as she wiped her eyes and she looked up at him with a smile. If they knew anything, it was that their little girl would be every bit as loved as Cam was.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Sarah groaned as she entered the apartment in front of Eliot, shedding her coat and gloves before waddling her way slowly to the couch, holding her lower back.

"I swear, if I get any bigger someone's gonna harpoon me," she complained as she carefully lowered herself onto the plush cushions, an appreciative moan escaping her lips.

"You are not a whale sweetheart," Eliot assured her yet again. No matter how hard he tried to convince her otherwise, it never seemed to get through.

"Now I'm a whale?" she growled, turning a hard glare his way, her mood quickly shifting to anger.

"I believe I said quite the opposite," he answered. "You're back's hurtin', why don't you let me massage it," he suggested, smoothly changing the subject.

"Oooh please," she pleaded scooting forward on the couch, making room for him as he sat behind her.

Out of all the things he had learned in Lamaze class, this had been the most beneficial. He knew that she had already done the class years ago with Daniel when she was pregnant with Cam, but to go through it again just to give him the experience made him love her even more. His large hands working methodically over her lower spine, he smiled at the appreciative moans coming from her, telling him he was obviously doing something right.

"I've been thinkin'," she began, eyes still closed as she enjoyed the massage.

"That's dangerous," he teased.

"Haha…how about Khloe?"

"Hmmm, better than your last suggestion."

"There's nothin' wrong with Molly," she defended.

He snorted. "Sure…okay. What about Mia?"

"Ugh…knew a Mia once, she was a bitch. Alexa?"

"Definitely not," he answered quickly.

When no further explanation was given, she turned her head and raised an eyebrow.

"Ex of mine," he explained. "She was workin' for men lookin' for me."

"Okay then," she said, turning back around, "Not Alexa…Mikayla maybe?"

"That's a possibility. I'm just not sold on any of them honestly."

"No worries handsome, we still have a month," she assured him. "Thanks for the massage, I feel much better," she murmured, turning her head and lifting her hand to pull him in for a kiss.

"For you…anything sweetheart."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Something woke Eliot up later that night. At first he wasn't sure what it was, but once he realized Sarah wasn't in bed next to him, his heart jumped. He threw the covers off of him and rushed to the bathroom, hoping she was there, but having no such luck; he immediately took off out of the room and down the stairs wearing nothing but pajama bottoms repeating a mantra in his head, hoping she was alright. The miscarriage scare they had six weeks ago had taken numerous years off his life. Finding her crying in the bathroom, thin rivers of blood running down her legs, would haunt him for the rest of his life.

He came to an abrupt halt once he reached the kitchen, relief flooding him before amusement and confusion took over, wiping away the fear he had felt for a few brief moments. She was on the floor in front of the refrigerator cleaning off the shelves with a wet cloth, the contents of which were scattered on the floor around her. The counter tops were crowded with what looked like all the contents of the cabinets above it.

"What are you doin' sweetheart?"

Startled, Sarah jerked her head up, eyes wide and then brought her hand up to her chest. "Shit El, you scared the crap outta me."

Eliot smirked. "Is there a reason you felt the need to rearrange and clean our kitchen at three in the mornin'?"

"I had heartburn and it woke me up. Once I took some Maalox I wanted watermelon, but when I didn't find any, I realized how dirty the kitchen was and well, here I am," she finished, gesturing around.

Unbeknownst to all but Sarah, Eliot had bought a book on pregnancy so he would know what to expect. And from what he could tell, she was going through what they called 'nesting'; the uncontrollable urge to clean and tie up loose ends in preparation for the baby.

"And now my legs are numb, my back hurts, I'm feelin' nauseous and I still want some damn watermelon," she stated irritably.

Shaking his head, Eliot walked over and gently helped her to stand, before kissing her softly. "Let me help you put everything back in the fridge and I'll go to the store and get your watermelon. The stuff on the counters can wait till tomorrow," he offered, running his hands over her upper arms.

"Where are you gonna get watermelon at this time of the night?"

"There's a twenty four hours supermarket about fifteen minutes from here."

"Thank you El," she murmured, leaning in as best as she could to hug him.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Eliot closed and locked the front door an hour later, watermelon in hand. Not immediately seeing his wife, he threw his keys on the table and headed into the kitchen to place the already cut melon pieces in a bowl and grab a fork. Silently he made his way to the bedroom and froze in the doorway as he watched his wife, curled on her side; hand on her belly, singing softly to their unborn daughter.

"Sometimes I'll protect you from everything that's wrong

Other times I'll let you just find out on your own

But that's when you'll be growin'

And the whole time I'll be knowin'

.

You're gonna fly with every dream you chase

You're gonna cry but know that that's okay

Sometimes life's not fair but if you hang in there

.

You're gonna see that sometimes bad is good

We just have to believe things work out like they should

Life has no guarantees, but always loved by me

You're gonna be."

.

Something must have told her she wasn't alone because she suddenly lifted her head to see him standing there watching. "Come here daddy, she's awake," she murmured, gesturing him closer.

He quickly made his way to the bed, placing the bowl of fruit on the nightstand before settling next to her and placing his hand on her stomach. "Hello princess, not givin' your mama trouble tonight are you?" Whether from the sound of his voice or in answer to his question, his daughter responded by pushing against his hand. Eliot never ceased to be amazed at the feeling.

Eliot looked up at Sarah and chuckled upon seeing her place a piece of melon in her mouth. "What? I'm pregnant and hungry," she defended. Continuing where she had left off, he sang softly to their daughter while Sarah ate.

.

'Cause anything worth doin' is worth doin' all the way

Just know you'll have to live with all the choices that you make

So make sure you're always givin' way more than you're takin'

.

You're gonna fly with every dream you chase

You're gonna cry, but know that that's okay

Sometimes life's not fair, but if you just hang in there

.

You're gonna see that sometimes bad is good

We just have to believe things work out like they should

Life has no guarantees, but always loved by me

You're gonna be

.

He looked up to see her staring at him with a soft expression that suddenly changed to one of a more carnal nature. Leaning forward suddenly, she pressed herself against him and moved her mouth over his with an almost desperate need.

"Sweetheart…" he managed to say, pulling away slightly, "I don't think we should…"

Expression and mood changing abruptly yet again, she looked at him as if he had just kicked her. "It's because I'm fat isn't it?" she asked, her eyes watering. "You said…I looked like…a whale earlier…and now you…" her words were broken due to her crying as he struggled to understand what she was saying.

Confusion filled him as he tried to figure out what he had done. The frequency and strength of her mood swings were getting worse and he was getting whiplash trying to keep up. "Sweetheart!" he called out, gently grabbing her shoulders, trying to get her attention. "What are you talkin' about?"

"You don't wanna…have sex cause I'm so…fat," she choked out, tears falling down her cheeks. "You don't find me…attractive."

His eyes widened as he finally realized what was going on and then he immediately shook his head at the ridiculousness of the statement as he looked into her tear filled eyes. He knew it was hormones talking, but the idea that she thought he didn't find her attractive filled him with a determination to show her otherwise.

Reaching out, he took her face gently in his hands and brushed her tears away with his thumbs. "Whether you're pregnant or eighty four, you will always be the most beautiful woman I know sweetheart," he told her as he looked her in the eyes with an affectionate expression, before leaning in to take her lips with his. Pulling back a few moments later, he gave her the smirk he knew she loved so much. "I was just worried about doin' anything cause you said your back was hurtin'…remember?"

Eyes lighting up with understanding she ducked her head down. "Oh god, I feel so damn stupid. I thought you didn't want…"

Reaching out with his hand, he lifted her chin so he could see her eyes. "Nothin' could be further from the truth beautiful," he assured her.

He spent the next hour proving just that.

Writing about her pregnancy is bringing back a whole bunch of memories from mine…lol. I swear the mood swings were like an out of body experience, I knew I was being irrational & unreasonable, but I couldn't control it…lol. Thankfully, my hubby was awesome. =)

The song is "You're Gonna Be" by Reba McEntire

Jen