A/N: Hey Eclare fans! Back with an update! But before we get into things, there's something I'd like to address...
I know that I'm getting views, favorites, and story alerts on this. And I appreciate that. Thank you to those who review. But to those who just favorite or story alert, I know that you like this fic. I would really appreciate it if you tell me WHY you like it, and not just fav/story alert and leave me hanging.
Or let me know why you don't like it. Constructive criticism is a writer's best friend.
Anyway, read on!
Cold Gel-2 months
Clare sighed and flexed her fingers before placing them back on her laptop's keyboard. The deadline for her romance novel was approaching, but here she was, looking for baby names on the internet instead.
She heard a car pull into the driveway and knew that Eli had come home. A minute or two later, he walked through the front door, looking completely exhausted, though he smiled when he saw her sitting at the dining room table.
"Why hello there my beautifully pregnant wife." She laughed and shook her head as her husband slumped into the seat next to her and dumped his leather briefcase on the table.
"Eli, did you make an appointment with the OBGYN?" Eli sighed and leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms over his head and groaning as he did so.
"I've been so busy. I have to grade my kids' projects and figure out my lesson plans for next week…" Clare turned and glared at him.
"So you didn't make the appointment?" Her eyes grew wider as she became increasingly worried. Eli laughed and kissed her, his hand resting on her cheek, and he felt her relax under his touch.
"Chill out Clare, I made the appointment. It's tomorrow at noon." The auburn haired woman sighed in relief.
"Don't do that again." She placed her hand back over her wireless mouse and continued browsing for baby names.
"Pregnancy hormones already getting to you, huh?" Eli tried to hide his smirk, but Clare noticed immediately and slapped his arm. "Just kidding…well, not really, but still." He dodged another slap from his wife and moved from his seat next to her, venturing into their kitchen to look for a snack.
Clare rested her cheek in her hand and stared at the LCD computer screen. She didn't want a common and overused name for her child, but she didn't want a strange one either.
Picking a name was going to be hard.
"Clare…" Eli came back into the dining room, munching on a shiny, Red Delicious apple. "Why are you looking at names for boys? I already told you that our child is going to be a girl." His wife huffed, turning in her chair to face her husband, her arms crossed.
"Quit saying that Eli. Our child is going to be a boy."
"You must really want another man in the house. What? Am I not enough man for you?" She stuck out her tongue and he laughed.
"I'm serious Eli."
"So am I. Anyway, we can't find out the gender of our child until about five months, so we'll just have to wait and see." Clare pressed her lips together and turned back to the computer, sensing Eli's movement behind her. She could faintly see his reflection in her computer screen and knew that he was standing behind her.
"Fine. Now go away so I can work on my novel."
"I can't stay?" Eli raised an eyebrow, his lips slowly sneaking up into a smirk.
"Don't you have grading to do?"
"Don't you know that I'm a procrastinator?"
"That's a bad habit for a teacher to have."
"I know. That's why I have it." Clare groaned.
"Eli, really. I need to get this done." He rolled his jade green eyes and finally gave in, kissing her neck softly before moving from behind her and heading in the direction of his study. "Fine, but only because of your amazing powers of persuasion. And because it's Friday." Clare cocked her head slightly and looked up from her computer and at him.
"Friday? What happens on Friday?" Eli merely smirked and winked before disappearing down the hallway, leaving Clare very confused.
Eli and Clare both looked up as a young male doctor stepped into the room, holding a small clipboard, and closed the door behind himself. He didn't appear to be much older than 30.
"Mrs. Clare Goldsworthy. How are you feeling?" He smiled at her, a brilliantly white and beautiful smile. He had short, light brown hair and gray eyes, and he straightened his white coat at he made his way over to the cabinets and began searching through one.
"I'm feeling wonderful. And you Doctor…" He turned and looked at the two.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Doctor Ryan Armstrong. You can call me Doctor Ryan, or Doctor Armstrong. It really doesn't make a difference to me." Eli pulled his feet out of the way as Dr. Ryan walked past him, a bottle of something in his hands, and over to the ultrasound machine. "And you must be Mr. Goldsworthy?" Eli stuck his hand out and Dr. Ryan shook it firmly.
"Eli Goldsworthy."
"Pleasure."
"So Clare, you're two month pregnant. Let's see how the little one is doing." Clare tugged her shirt up to her breasts and Dr. Ryan smeared a cold gel on her stomach before gently placing the transducer on her and sliding it around, searching for the embryo.
"So how is she?" Eli asked, squinting his eyes and looking at the monitor.
"Well, I haven't…ah! There's the little guy…or girl. So if you look right there, you can see its heart beating—it's slow, but it's there." He pointed to the screen and the couple looked on with wide eyes. "And here, you can make out some toes, and some fingers." He pointed to two other places on the screen. "At this point in time, that's about all I can tell you. But he or she is coming along quite nicely. Make sure you're taking it easy and eating healthy. So fruits, veggies and no sodas or sugary drinks. Eli, I hope you'll be making sure Clare here follows the rules." Eli smirked.
"Oh I will."
"Any more questions?" Clare opened her mouth to speak, but Dr. Ryan cut her off as he turned off the ultrasound equipment. "Don't worry, I'll print you some pictures." She smiled and laughed.
"I do have one non-picture related question actually. When will I start showing?" Dr. Ryan took a seat on the stool next to Eli and folded his hands in his lap.
"Not for a while actually. Most women start showing around four months. You might see changes sooner or later but it depends on the woman."
"I have one." Eli chimed in, his eyebrow slightly arched as he turned to look at Dr. Ryan. Clare wiped the gel off of her stomach with a paper towel as she watched and listened to her husband. "Is it still safe to have sex while Clare's pregnant?"
"Eli!" Clare shrieked, making both men laugh at her reaction.
"Try to avoid oral or anal sex, but generally speaking, you'll be fine. Position doesn't matter either." Eli's eyes shifted over to his wife and he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. She groaned softly and hid her face in her hands, her cheeks beginning to turn red. Dr. Ryan laughed again. "It's alright. That's a normal question. Any others?" Eli and Clare both shook their heads.
"Well, if that's it, I'll go get your pictures." Dr. Ryan excused himself from the room and closed the door.
"Eli, I can't believe you asked that!" Clare nearly screamed the second the door clicked shut.
"Wow Clare. Twenty-six years old and still embarrassed about sex."
"I'm not embarrassed," she snapped, sitting up and pulling her shirt back down. "But why would I want to talk to my doctor about it?"
"Well, you know as well as I do that not having sex for nine months is impossible."
"It's not impossible." Eli raised an eyebrow at Clare.
"You really think that?"
"Well…"
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Besides, you know you want this."
"I want my baby."
"And you want my pe—"
"Alright Mr. and Mrs. Goldsworthy, I have your pictures." Eli abruptly stopped his sentence when Dr. Ryan walked in.
He'd have time to embarrass his wife later—like in bed.
"Clare it's been so long since I've talked to you! How have you been?" Alli rambled on in Clare's ear, as energetic as she'd been in high school. She had yet to settle down with someone, but that was Alli for you. The auburn haired woman sat back against her headboard and listened to her best friend talk about her life, even though she had asked Clare about hers.
Eli left the bathroom and walked into their bedroom wearing nothing but a pair of black boxers. Clare's eyes flickered up to glance over his nearly naked body, and her tongue peeked out to lick her lips, making Eli smirk in satisfaction. He crawled into bed beside her and leaned over to kiss her neck softly.
"Hey A-alli," Clare interrupted her friend, stuttering. "I have something to tell you."
"Oh? This sounds serious. What's up Clare?"
"Well…I'm…pregnant."
"Really?" Alli nearly shrieked, her voice so loud, Clare had to pull the phone away from her ear for a moment.
"Hang up," Eli murmured against her skin, slipping his hands under her thin white t-shirt.
"Y-yep, really."
"Omigosh Clare! I have to start planning your baby shower!"
"B-but Alli, I don't think—" Clare frowned and pulled the phone away from her ear to see 'Call Ended' flashing across the screen. She scowled and put her cell back on the nightstand.
"Are you ready now?" Eli asked softly, kissing up her neck and to her jaw.
"Well, I…oh Eli…"
That felt really good.
"I could always call Alli back later."
"You sure could. But much, much later."
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